The companies bidding for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps’ Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program have experienced a shakeup, with the field widening to five teams.

Oshkosh is joining the race, while Navistar and BAE Systems, which paired for the technology development phase, are now competing separately.

The Army and Marine Corps are developing the JLTV to replace a portion of their fleet of Humvees. Companies wanting to compete in the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase had to submit bids March 27.

The Defense Department has said it plans to award up to three contracts for the 27-month EMD phase. There are two planned JLTV variants: a Combat Tactical Vehicle that can transport four passengers and carry 3,500 pounds. and a Combat Support Vehicle that can transport two passengers and carry 5,100 pounds.

According to an Oct. 3 request for proposals, the Army plans to buy at least 50,000 vehicles with the option to buy more, while the Marines could buy 5,500 vehicles. The new target price per vehicle is $250,000.

In October 2008, the Army awarded three contracts for the technology development phase of the program. Winning teams were Lockheed Martin, a BAE Systems/Navistar team and General Tactical Vehicles, which is a joint venture between Humvee-maker AM General and General Dynamics Land Systems. Those teams built and delivered several prototypes, which the Army and Marine Corps evaluated in an effort to refine vehicle requirements.

The Army said all along that it would reopen the competition for the EMD phase of the program, but many predicted the companies that participated in the technology development would have an advantage.

That advantage may not be as firm since the Army and Marine Corps overhauled the requirements to bring down weight and cost, and win back congressional support.

Five teams have confirmed submitting bids for the next phase of the competition.

Lockheed Martin
Formed in 2005, the core Lockheed Martin-led JLTV team includes the tactical wheeled vehicles team at BAE Systems in Sealy, Texas. It also includes Cummins Engine, Allison Transmission, Bosch, Meritor Defense, Lotus Engineering, L3 Combat Propulsion Systems and Vehma International of America.

It was one of three teams that won a contract for the JLTV technology development phase.

“Our improvements removed hundreds of pounds of weight from our [technology development] design, which was already proven in helicopter lift tests,” Scott Greene, vice president of ground vehicles at Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business, said in a statement.

By relying on more affordable materials and reducing the use of exotic metals, like titanium, the industry team was able to bring down cost, according to Kathryn Hasse, Lockheed’s JLTV program director.

General Tactical Vehicles (GTV)
As expected, the joint venture between General Dynamics Land Systems and AM General is also competing for an EMD contract. The team’s vehicle, the Eagle, makes use of a Double-V hull design, which has proved effective against roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“With the GTV JLTV Eagle, we offer a modified non-developmental, low-risk vehicle with inherent manufacturing readiness that is built for program success and an accelerated path to production,” Mark Roualet, president of General Dynamics Land Systems, said in a statement.

BAE Systems
BAE Systems teamed up with Navistar Defense in the last round of JLTV, but this time around, the two companies are submitting separate bids.

The BAE Systems-led team still includes Northrop Grumman and Meritor Defense. With its submission, BAE announced that it had also selected an engine designed and built by Ford. They are calling their vehicle the Valanx.

“We are excited about this significant enhancement to our team and vehicle and look forward to the possibilities it could offer in the future,” BAE spokeswoman Stephanie Serkhoshian said in an email.

Ford designed and built the 6.7 Power Stroke engine for its F-Series Super Duty trucks.

Navistar
Navistar will bid with a variant of its Saratoga light tactical vehicle, which Navistar launched in October after conducting its own automotive and blast testing, the company said.

“We made a significant investment in developing the Saratoga on our own nickel because that’s what we do commercially — it is part of our DNA,” Archie Massicotte, Navistar Defense president, said in a press release. “The Saratoga is a solid design and now that we have seen the requirements of the JLTV migrate toward our vehicle capabilities, we are in a position to modify the Saratoga to fit those requirements.”

Oshkosh
Oshkosh is offering a variant of its Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (L-ATV).

The company says it has committed significant resources for light vehicle research and development to produce the L-ATV.

“Since 2006, we have aggressively and continuously worked to design, develop and test the L-ATV to deliver a robust, mature solution for the JLTV EMD phase,” John Bryant, vice president and general manager of Joint and Marine Corps Programs for Oshkosh Defense, said in a statement.

Oshkosh also builds the MRAP-All Terrain Vehicle, designed to meet an urgent need in Afghanistan for a lighter MRAP.

Source: Defense news

SEOUL — The South Korean military is poised to shoot down a North Korean rocket should it stray into South Korean territory during a launch planned for next month, a defense ministry official here in Seoul said March 26.

The response comes as Seoul’s intelligence authorities confirmed that the main body of a North Korean Unha-3 rocket was moved to a new missile site at Dongchang-ri in northwestern North Korea. Dongchang-ri, in North Pyeongan Province, is significantly larger than the one in Musudan-ri, North Hamgyeong Province, where North Korea test-fired the Taepodong-2 missile in 2009.

The launch angle will be the first to take a southern trajectory and marks the first time a rocket has been launched from this facility.

North Korea plans to fire the rocket to put a satellite into orbit between April 12 and 16 to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founding leader Kim Il-sung.

However, the international community believes the rocket launch is a disguised test of a long-range ballistic missile that could deliver a nuclear warhead to targets in Alaska and Hawaii, as well as other Asia-Pacific nations, such as Australia and Indonesia.

“We’re preparing measures to track the missile’s trajectory and shoot it down if, by any chance, it deviates from the planned route and falls into our territory,” Col. Yoon Won-shik, vice spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, told reporters.

“North Korea’s move is a grave provocation and defiance against the international community,” Yoon said. “Through the rocket launch, we believe, the North is aimed at improving and developing its long-range ballistic missile to deliver nuclear warheads.”

According to South Korean Navy officials, two destroyers, including a 7,600-ton Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyer, are to be deployed in the West Sea to monitor the missile launch.

If parts of the three-stage North Korean rocket stray from their trajectory and violate South Korea’s territory, the destroyers will fire SM-2 ship-to-air missiles to take them down, a Navy spokesman said.

“The Army will also be ready to fire PAC-2 missiles to intercept parts of the rocket if they fly too close to the South’s territory,” Yoon said. In 2007, South Korea purchased 48 secondhand PAC-2 missile systems from Germany as part of efforts to establish a low-tier air and missile defense system in coordination with ship-based SM-2 missiles and Israel’s Super Green Pine early warning radars.

The North Korean launch site has created new problems for South Korean efforts to intercept and monitor ballistic missiles and rockets. The angle from which the rocket will be launched will make it more difficult to intercept by seaborne ballistic-missile defense systems, said Bruce Bechtol, author of the book, “Defiant Failed State: The North Korean Threat to International Security.”

The new site at Dongchang-ri “can potentially be set up more quickly and denial/deception procedures implemented more effectively than the site at Musudan,” he said. “This impacts on warning time for U.S./[Republic of Korea] policy makers.”

Bechtol said the most important aspect of this launch will not be the southern trajectory, but “seeing if this missile can actually make it through all three stages successfully of the launch cycle.” If successful, this will mean that North Korea will finally have the capability to strike U.S. territory.

U.S. President Barack Obama has renewed his warning against North Korea’s provocations.

“There will be no rewards for provocations. Those days are over,” Obama said March 26 in Seoul. “To the leaders of Pyongyang, I say, this is the choice before you. This is the decision that you must make.”

Obama is attending the two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul. Chinese President Hu Jintao and other world leaders are gathered in South Korea to discuss ways of improving nuclear security and to hold bilateral summit talks on the sidelines. North Korea and Iran are expected to dominate the nuclear agenda at the summit.

After a meeting between Obama and Hu, senior White House aide Ben Rhodes said the Chinese leader indicated to his U.S. counterpart that he took the North Korean nuclear standoff very seriously and was registering his concern with Pyongyang.

“The two leaders agreed to coordinate closely in responding to this potential provocation and registering our serious concern to the North Koreans and, if necessary, consider what steps need to be taken following a potential satellite launch,” Rhodes said.

Wendell Minnick reported from Taipei.

Iraq Body Count (IBC) warned that, contrary to apparent trends in figures released by the Iraqi government, the level of violence has changed little from mid-2009, though attacks are markedly down from when the country was in the throes of sectarian war in 2006 and 2007.

In all, the non-governmental organisation said an estimated 162,000 people were killed in Iraq in the nearly nine years of conflict.

It said about 79 per cent of the fatalities were civilians, while the remainder included US soldiers, Iraqi security forces and insurgents.

"The violence peaked in late 2006 but was sustained at high levels until the second half of 2008 - nearly 90 per cent of the deaths occurred by 2009," IBC said in a statement.

But it warned that "there has now been no noticeable downward trend (in civilian deaths) since mid-2009."

"Recent trends indicate a persistent low-level conflict in Iraq that will continue to kill civilians at a similar rate for years to come.

"While these data indicate no improvement, time will tell whether the withdrawal of US forces will have an effect on casualty levels."

IBC said it had recorded more than 114,000 civilian deaths in Iraq since the invasion, and said the addition of figures from US military logs published by whistleblower website WikiLeaks, as well as officially recorded US and Iraqi security deaths and insurgent tolls, put the overall figure at 162,000.

The worst non-civilian group affected were the Iraqi police, with 9,019 reported deaths, and Baghdad was the most dangerous city in the country, with half of the recorded deaths, equating to 2.5 times the national average.

A total of 4,474 US soldiers died in Iraq as well.

US troops, who at their peak numbered nearly 170,000 on as many as 505 bases in Iraq, completed their withdrawal from the country on December 18.

The NGO's overall toll differed markedly from that published by the Iraqi government, which said on Sunday that 2,645 people were killed in violence in 2011, compared to IBC's toll of 4,059.

Iraqi government figures, unlike IBC data, indicate attacks decreased significantly last year from 2010, when 3,605 people were killed.

The UH-60M Black Hawk is currently the most advanced UH-60/S-70 model, whose variants are in service with the US Army and over 20 other countries around the world. To date, UH-60M customers include the USA, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, plus a request from Egypt. Unlike global competitors such as Russia’s Mi-8/17 series, however, the UH-60’s operational armament is generally limited to door guns. That may be about to change, thanks to a UAE initiative.

Colombia currently flies the armed S-70 “Arpia III”, and Sikorsky has worked on armed “AH-60” versions as an offering in some foreign competitions, but efforts to sell the concept in Australia and elsewhere were less successful. Nevertheless, Sikorsky executives see considerable potential for multi-role helicopters and conversion kits, in an era of global insurgencies, tight budgets, and limited helicopter numbers. Now, the UAE has become their launch customer. What is Sikorsky’s Battlehawk, and what are their plans?...

A rare look into Israel’s unmanned weapons capabilities was revealed on Tuesday with an announcement by Germany’s Rheinmetall that it had jointly developed with Israel a loitering weapons system based on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The system, called WABEP, which in German stands for “Weapons system for standoff engagement of individual and point targets,” was developed by Rheinmetall together with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a world leader in the development of UAVs and loitering weapons.

The combined, unmanned reconnaissance and attack system developed under a collaborative program between Germany and israel has recently passed an important milestone, demonstrating the integration of two unmanned aerial systems – the Rheinmetall Defense KZO aerial reconnaissance drone and IAI’s loitering weapon – the Harop. The highlight of the test was to demonstrate the WABEP ‘system of systems’ approach – the interoperability of two unmanned aerial systems as a combined reconnaissance and strike asset, slated to become the Bundeswehr’s next unmanned air vehicle system.

This milestone, contractor trials mandated by the German ministry of defense as a critical phase of the program, demonstrated the transfer of tactical data, target information and sensor imagery between the two ground control stations of the two systems. In addition, live video was transferred from the Harop, employing data relay installed on board the KZO and a manned Opale (DA-42) aircraft. As part of the test the ‘networked’ KZO recce drone was used to map an area of responsibility, detect and identify landmarks and infrastructure installations, stationary and moving targets.

Relevant target data was transmitted to the Harop segment using a dedicated battle management network designated WABEP. In line with future operational protocols, final authorization for engagement of the target followed a target verification procedure conducted at both the ground control stations. The demonstration concluded the current phase of the testing, a follow on phase is planned with participation of the German military.

The WABEP is a combination of Rheinmetall’s KZO drone and IAI’s Harop attack drone, which according to media reports, is already in operational use in India and Turkey.

The Harop was developed as a weapon to suppress enemy radar systems used together with surface-to-air missiles or other similar high-value targets.

The Harop can fly to a designated loitering position where it searches for electromagnetic signals from surface-to-air missile batteries and then dives in to destroy them.

Source: Defense-update

The Chinese aircraft carrier that began sea trials last week is by far the largest warship of any country in Asia and in certain realms could give China game-changing capabilities. However, the carrier cannot help China assert sovereignty over the South China Sea - its biggest maritime headache - and the ship could prove to be more of a diplomatic liability than a military asset.

At 300 meters long and displacing over 60,000 tons, the carrier is by far the largest warship of any navy in Asia. No other country in the region can operate fighter aircraft from a warship except Thailand, whose Chakri Narubet is less than a fifth the size. Once fully operational, the Chinese carrier should be able to sustain up to 40 Sukhoi 33-derived J-15 naval air-superiority fighters and up to 20 rotary aircraft, including Ka-28 anti-submarine helicopters.

On the surface, this capability would seem to decisively shift the balance of power in the South China Sea, where China has territorial disputes with Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Currently, China claims its territorial waters skirt the Philippines' coast as far south as Brunei, on Borneo island, before looping north and hugging the Vietnamese coast back to southern China. This 80-year-old claim neatly encompasses the Spratly and Paracel island reefs, assumed to be rich in hydrocarbon resources by surrounding countries that have erected research installations on them.

With an operational carrier based at China's expanded naval facility at Sanya on Hainan Island, China could conceivably maintain local air superiority over any point in the disputed South China Sea - a precondition for decisive military or diplomatic efforts to enforce its maritime claim and force the withdrawal of rival commercial operations and installations from the islands.

This capability would also help China reduce other countries' enthusiasm for the frequent maritime spats that occur in these contested waters and the nationalist outpourings that follow. In the latest incident in mid-June, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman accused Vietnamese exploration vessels of conducting unlawful oil and gas surveys off the Spratly archipelago, harassing Chinese fishing vessels and "gravely violating China's sovereignty and maritime rights".

Despite Chinese defense officials claims that the new carrier is intended for scientific research and training, the ship clearly fulfills a strategic function. The official Xinhua news agency published a commentary shortly before the ship departed saying, "Building a strong navy that is commensurate with China's rising status is a necessary step, and an inevitable choice for the country to safeguard its increasingly globalized national interests."

However, even if it becomes operational, the carrier and its air groups will be hugely vulnerable and China is unlikely to risk using it in any confrontation with rivals in the South China Sea.

Without catapults or arrester wires, the carrier will not be able to operate any airborne early-warning aircraft needed to provide comprehensive radar coverage for fleets. This means the carrier will have limited area awareness, unable to see or respond to threats beyond the horizon of ship-based radar. Logistical constraints will also limit the time the carrier can spend at sea: the People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) possesses only five seaworthy replenishment ships, none of them over 22,000 tons.

The biggest liability, however, will be inadequate protection. China has two Type 52C destroyers with active phased array radar that enables them to track multiple incoming missiles and aircraft - with four more under construction. But integrating that radar with China's domestically developed HHQ-9 anti-air missiles so they can shoot down supersonic sea-skimming missiles will prove exceptionally challenging. Nor can the carrier rely on sub-surface protection. Without very-low frequency radio communication systems, China's long range patrol submarines would struggle to operate tactically in defense of a carrier group.

Defensive postures

But even without these deficiencies, China's southern neighbors will likely ensure that the South China Sea becomes too dangerous for China to risk sending its prized carrier into contested waters.

In the first week of June, an article in Vietnam's state newspaper, Nhan Dan, carried pictures of the world's fastest anti-ship missile, the Indo-Russian BrahMos, in a clear statement of procurement intentions and its navy's readiness to respond to incidents of Chinese aggression within waters it claims as its exclusive economic zone. With a speed of Mach 2.8, the missile is four times as fast as a US-made Tomahawk missile and would present a lethal threat to any vessel within its 300-kilometer range. (Even with exceptional anti-missile capabilities, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) navies would keep well out of range of this threat.)

BrahMos procurement requires joint Indian and Russian approval, and Vietnam is rapidly improving its relations with both nations. During a high profile defense cooperation visit to New Delhi by Vietnam's navy chief at the end of June, the Vietnamese government gave permission for Indian navy ships to drop anchor at Nha Trang, which has been off-limits to foreign navies since 2003.

The offer followed an announcement on June 6 by Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh that part of the strategic Cam Ranh Bay would be made available for technical and logistical support of foreign military ships. To ensure that China properly understood the significance of that offer, the announcement was followed-up on August 14 with an unprecedented visit by senior Vietnamese government officials to the American carrier, USS George Washington, as it traversed the South China Sea.

On July 2, Vietnam also took a decisive step forward in its long-heralded defense procurement deal with Russia. According to the Russian VNA newswire, Oleg Azizov, representative of the Russian state defense export company Rosoboronexport, confirmed Vietnam has signed a contract to buy six Kilo-636 MV diesel electric submarines for delivery in 2014.

The 2,300 ton boats are optimized for shallow water operations and are exceptionally quiet running. Without leaving port, these submarines would provide a powerful deterrent to China against sending the carrier far into the South China Sea in a possible confrontation situation. Malaysia already has good submarine capabilities, with two recently commissioned French-designed Scorpene class boats.

Both Indonesia and the Philippines could also quickly develop powerful deterrent capabilities, and at relatively little cost by deploying anti-ship missiles to key outposts. Indonesia has already held discussions with India to acquire the BrahMos missile. The Philippines could either purchase US missiles off-the-shelf, or negotiate purchase of Taiwan's new ram-jet Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile, unveiled with exquisite timing last week at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition against a mural backdrop of a burning carrier.

The fact that the South China Sea will be an exceptionally dangerous environment for the carrier will present the Chinese government with an acute dilemma. The carrier is hugely popular in China, where it has been touted as a symbol of the country's ascent to great-power status. Ardent online fans have already christened the vessel Shi-Lang, after the 17th century Taiwan-conquering admiral. And the government has invested vast political and financial capital in the project, both in terms of the propaganda value of the images and the cost of naval fighters and training establishments.

But the one nautical environment where Chinese opinion is most anxious for an assertion of naval authority - the South China Sea - is the one place that Chinese admirals will almost certainly never risk launching the carrier. With this knowledge, the countries on the South China Sea's littoral have every reason to welcome the carrier program. Indeed it may even strengthen their claims, knowing that they can taunt China to send it out. In any looming confrontation, the Chinese leadership will suddenly need to explain why its totemic flagship is useless for asserting power in the country's own self-claimed territorial waters or risk seeing it reduced, almost immediately, to a flaming wreck.

Phil Radford is a freelance writer and specialist on naval strategy based in Sydney.

(Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

A southern island with long-standing issues with the mainland; local residents up in arms over the construction of a new, large military base; environmentalists concerned that these plans will disrupt sensitive under sea coral formations.

Another chapter in the unending Okinawa Marine base saga?

No. In this instance the island is Jeju-do off the southern coast of South Korea. The issue is Seoul’s desire to build a major naval base in Gangjeong village on the southern part of the island to serve as a home port for South Korea’s growing fleet of large and sophisticated warships.

Much is made about China’s rapidly expanding navy and ambition to create a fleet capable of projecting power globally. Not so well known is South Korea’s decade-long project to build its own blue water navy. There is nothing particularly secret about South Korea’s naval build up, it just doesn’t get the kind of attention that China’s gets.

This ocean-going force is built around an arsenal of sophisticated guided missile destroyers, including most recently, two 7,600-ton Aegis-equipped monster destroyers with one more under construction , half a dozen 4,500-ton destroyers, submarines and amphibious assault ships.

The Dokdo is the largest warship belonging to any Asian navy east of India

The flagship of this new strategic fleet is an 18,000 ton, flat-topped amphibious assault ship with the pregnant name of Dokdo, after the tiny island in the Sea of Japan that is claimed by both Korea and Japan and which is a frequent source of tensions between the two countries.

The Dokdo is currently larger than anything in the Japanese navy or even the rapidly expanding Chinese navy – or at least until Beijing finally launches its much-talked about aircraft carrier. Indeed, it is the largest warship belonging to any Asian navy east of India.

Although its main armament would be helicopters and marines, it would also be capable of supporting unmanned aircraft in some future conflict. The South Koreans are planning to build several more of this type of vessel, although probably not as large.

The official purpose of this naval buildup by South Korea is, much as in China, to project power beyond its coastline plus being able to participate in international peacekeeping operations and disaster recovery and relief efforts. Several South Korean destroyers participate in the anti-piracy patrols off Somalia’s coast, along with warships from China and Japan.

A more logical explanation would be that, as in China, the expansion and modernization of the fleet is a natural and inevitable growing process of a nation’s armed forces proportional to the rapidly growing size of its economy. Rationales for the expansion are found later.

Tourist on the Jeju island

A naval base on the south side of Jeju is an obvious step in South Korea’s blue water ambitions, as it allows direct access to the open sea. But it is also located about as far away from the sensitive border with North Korea, supposedly South Korea’s true enemy, as one can be and still be in the country.

When completed in 2014, the base will accommodate about 20 of the country’s most modern surface warships and submarines. There is also proposed space to dock two large cruise ships, an apparent sop to locals as it could be argued the new port boosts tourism.

Growing numbers of Chinese are visiting Jeju and would likely formed the bulk of the passengers on the tourist vessels. Seoul probably is not unhappy that thousands of ordinary Chinese will get a good look at Korea’s growing naval might while enjoying beaches and sampling kimchi.

South Korea’s blue water naval strategy developed in the late 1990s, during a period of relatively relaxed relations with North Korea. This was the time of the Sunshine policy of President Kim Dae-jung and his successor.

But unlike China, which has few if any threats along its coastline, North Korea does pose a real menace. That was driven home last year when a North Korean submarine put a torpedo into the South Korean Corvette Choenan, sending her to the bottom along with more than 40 of her crew.

While Seoul was dreaming of grandiose deep sea ambitions, it had taken its eye off the ball and become somewhat lackadaisical about protecting its sensitive northern coastline. And if the events of last year proved anything, it is that one cannot be lackadaisical about the dangerous provocations from the North.

This sobering experience has not immediately altered Seoul’s naval procurement plans, which of course, were longstanding. But one hears less and less about blue water power projection. Last May the government withdrew “Ocean Navy Strategy” as an official rationale for the Jeju naval base (though work proceeds).

Unlike Okinawa, which is mainly a three-cornered dispute between Tokyo, Washington and the people of Okinawa, the Jeju base dispute has attracted more attention from international peace groups, Catholic organizations and other NGOs. Unlike Okinawa, which bristles with military bases there are no major installations on Jeju. Indeed, it likes to bill itself as an “island of peace.”

But like Okinawa, which still harbors resentments toward the mainland, Jeju has its own issues. For Okinawans it was the way they were used as cannon fodder during the last battle of World War II. For Jeju people it is the “4.3 Incident”.

The date refers to a rebellion, probably stoked by the communist Workers’ Party (now the rulers of North Korea but banned in the South, that broke out in April 3, 1948. The army put the rebellion down but it is estimated that 14,000 to 60,000 were killed. Since then South Korea’s military has not been particularly welcome on Jeju.

WASHINGTON: The US is open to Indian participation in its Joint Strike Fighter programme that would finally lead to its purchase of fifth generation F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, a top Pentagon official has said.

"There is nothing on our side, no principle which bars that on our side, Indian participation in the Joint Strike Fighter. Right now, they're focused on these aircraft which are top-of-the-line fourth-gen fighters," Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Ashton Carter said yesterday.

U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Ashton Carter, head of acquisitions at the Pentagon, hinted at the possibility saying that there was "nothing on our side, no principle that bar Indian participation in the Joint Strike Fighter program."

"Right now," he added, "they're focused on these aircraft which are top-of-the-line fourth-generation fighters."

Carter was delivering a keynote address on "US-India Defense Relations" at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, on the occasion of the release of a report on India's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) programme.

At a cost of about USD 10 billion for 126 aircraft, the MMRCA competition is the largest Indian fighter tender in years.

Determined to increase its defenses and become a regional superpower, India plans to spend up to $30 billion on its military by 2012. In recent months, it inducted a long-range, nuclear-tipped missile into its armed forces, unveiling a defense spending budget spiked by 24 percent since last year.

The United States' consideration of offering the F-35 to India isn't new.

In 2007, Lockheed Martin briefed Indian air force officials on the stealth aircraft but plans for a sale were subsequently blocked by Washington.

India's interest, though, remains.

Lockheed Martin Vice President Orville Prins recently confirmed that the company had received an official interest request by the Indian navy. The request concerned naval variants of the F-35, including the F-35B STOVL and F-35C.

"We are going to offer our aircraft to them," he was quoted saying by the Defense Update Web site.

The possible release of Joint Strike Fighter program technology to India marks a significant shift in policy toward New Delhi, a change resulting from growing concern over the military growth of China.

Also, if the United States holds out on its initial reservations, it may lose a potential client to Russia.

India is considering buying 250 T-50 fifth-generation fighters from Russia in an ambitious joint development project with Sukhoi.

Germany plans to sell 200 Leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia after lifting a decades-long ban on selling heavy weaponry to the Persian Gulf kingdom, the Der Spiegel said Saturday.

The federal security council approved the sale last week, the weekly news magazine said without citing sources.

The Saudis want to buy 200 Leopard 2A7+ tanks in an order potentially worth billions of euros to companies Kraus-Maffei and Rheinmetall, Der Spiegel said.

Saudi officials held talks with the Spanish subsidiary of the US military-industrial complex corporation General Dynamics about buying their version of the Leopard tank, but a larger portion of the order will go to German companies Kraus-Maffei and Rheinmetall, the magazine said.

Under the deals announced by the German government, Saudi Arabia will receive 200 of the last generation of Leopard 2A7+ tanks -- the upgraded version of the German battle tank first presented in 2010.

Since the 1980's, Germany has blocked the sale of Leopard 2 tanks to Saudi Arabia, afraid the equipment would be used against Israel.

The Saudis are also in talks with US companies for 60 billion dollars worth (41 billion euros) of defence equipment that would become the largest US contract ever.

The order is to include 84 new F-15 fighter jets and 178 combat helicopters.

Length: 10,97 m; Width: 4.00 m; Height: 2.64 m. Weight: 67,500 kg. Motor power: 1500 horsepower; Speed: 72 km/h.
Operating Range: 450km. Armament: 120 mm / L55 smoothbore cannon, 12.7 mm machine gun, 40 mm grenade launcher and 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun.
Distance to destroy targets: 2,500 m; Crew: 4 peoples.

Turkish defence companies FNSS Savunma Sistemleri and Aselsan have displayed the jointly produced Claw remote-controlled turret (RCT) in public for the first time.

Claw RCT can be fitted to a wide range of AFVs, either as original equipment or as an upgrade. Ammunition for weapons can be reloaded from inside the vehicle under full armour protection

Development of the Claw RCT (known as 'Pence' in Turkey) for home and export markets commenced in 2008 and is privately funded. A prototype was completed in early 2011 and shown at the IDEF exhibition in Istanbul in May.

Development of the Claw RCT (known as 'Pence' in Turkey) for home and export markets commenced in 2008 and is privately funded. A prototype was completed in early 2011 and shown at the IDEF exhibition in Istanbul in May.

Claw is suitable for installation on a wide range of tracked and wheeled armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), either as original equipment or to enhance the firepower of older platforms.

The prototype is armed with Rheinmetall Italy's stabilised 25 mm KBA dual-feed cannon, which is provided with 160 rounds (80+80) of ready-use ammunition. The empty cartridge cases are ejected outside the turret. The KBA cannon has a maximum cyclic rate of fire of 600 rds/min and the gunner can select single-shot or burst modes of fire.

A 7.62 mm MG3 machine gun (MG) is mounted coaxially with the KBA cannon on the right-hand side of the RCT and is provided with 200 rounds of ready-use ammunition. The gun is electromechanically cocked from the user interface within the hull.

A key feature of Claw is that ammunition for both of these weapons can be reloaded from within the platform under full armour protection.

A bank of four 76 mm grenade launchers is mounted either side of the turret towards the rear, but these could be replaced by grenade launchers of other calibres, such as the Russian 81 mm or US 66 mm.

Turret traverse is all-electric through 360 degrees, with weapon elevation from -10 degrees to +50 degrees.

The electro-optics (EO) and fire-control system (FCS) have been developed by Aselsan and are integrated into the left side of the forward part of the turret.

A meteorological sensor is mounted on the turret roof towards the rear and feeds information to the FCS, which has a full ballistic computation capability.

The dual-axis stabilised EO package includes an 8-12 µm thermal camera with wide and narrow fields of view, a day camera and a laser rangefinder. This enables the platform to engage targets in most weather conditions with a high first-round hit probability.

The 25 mm KBA cannon is electronically slaved to the sight and an automatic target tracker is fitted as standard. The second version of Claw is intended to have an independent commander's sight on the roof to provide a hunter/killer capability.

The weapons are laid onto the target by the gunner from within the hull of the platform using a flat-panel display with controllers for left and right hand. This display could also be used to provide images from cameras mounted around the vehicle as well as information from a battle management system.

The turret shell is made of all-welded aluminium armour with add-on steel armour, providing ballistic protection to STANAG 4569 Level 2 standard. This can be increased to Level 3 if required.

The baseline Claw's low weight of 1,700 kg enables it to be fitted to a much wider range of platforms than conventional manned turrets fitted with a basket. The latter takes up considerable internal volume and reduces the number of troops that can be carried when the platform is being used in the armoured personnel carrier role, for example.

The prototype Claw RCT was shown integrated onto the FNSS Armoured Combat Vehicle - Stretched (ACV-S), which is already in service with two export customers.

Firing trials will be carried out in Turkey in the second half of 2011 with the Claw integrated onto the latest-generation FNSS Pars (6x6) Wheeled Armoured Combat Vehicle (WACV) and the ACV-S tracked vehicle.

While the prototype Claw is armed with the 25 mm KBA cannon, a number of other weapons could be installed in this turret, including the ATK 25 mm M242 and 30 mm Mk 44 cannon or the Mauser 30 mm MK 30-2 with its air-bursting munition capability.

Claw can also be integrated onto the baseline FNSS ACV as well as the Pars (8x8) WACV that has been ordered by Malaysia.

The development of Chinese carrier Shi Lang is the focus of military experts in the world.

If you have a question, which weapons development program that attracted the most attention in recent years in Asia, the development of aircraft carrier Shi Lang and stealth fighter J-20 of China are definitely two of the answers.

"Relay" for J-20 is almost silent after the flight "advertisement" in early 2011, every steps of the carrier Shi Lang (restored from the carrier Varyag bought from Ukraine) continue to help China's military power appears in the media world.

Here are the latest photos about the development of carrier Thi Lang, were synthesized through the Chinese defense websites.

The Charles de Gaulle has been so destabilised by heavy swells in the Mediterranean that its Rafale planes have been grounded several times.

Britain has had to deploy extra warplanes over Libya. It has increased the pressure on RAF top guns flying Tornados and Typhoons from the Nato air base at Gioia del Colle in southern Italy.

British Apache helicopters last night targeted a military base being used by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's force to terrorise local people.

The Nato-led international coalition said in a statement today that its forces have destroyed more than 50 military targets in the west of Libya this week.

MoD spokesman Major General Nick Pope said Apaches from the Army Air Corps were used last night to target the Al Mayah military camp near Az Zawiyah, west of Libyan capital Tripoli.

The raid came as Gaddafi threatened to carry out attacks against civilians in Europe unless Nato halts its campaign of airstrikes.

The successful sortie came after missions on Thursday night, in which RAF Typhoon and Tornado aircraft destroyed ammunition storage facilities near the central Libyan town of Waddan and a militarised 4x4 in the Al Khums area, near Tripoli.

Speaking from an unknown location yesterday, Gaddafi sent a message by telephone to supporters rallying in Tripoli's Green Square.

He warned Nato countries that the Libyans would 'one day take this battle ... to Europe, to target your homes, offices, families, which would become legitimate military targets, like you have targeted our homes'.

He added: 'We can decide to treat you in a similar way. If we decide to, we are able to move to Europe like locusts, like bees. We advise you to retreat before you are dealt a disaster.'

A maritime arms race is under way in the South China Sea. China is already the dominant regional naval power and many of its new systems could one day threaten US naval dominance as well.

No wonder then that so many of its neighbours are worried who are engaged in long-running maritime disputes with Beijing.

According to Dr Andrew Erickson, a China expert at the US Naval War College: "China does not want to start a war, but rather seeks to wield its growing military might to 'win without fighting' by deterring actions that it views as detrimental to its core national interests."

Three weapons systems are emblematic of China's broadening strategic horizons. Those are DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile, aircraft carrier and J-20 fighter.

China's first aircraft carrier will begin sea trials later this year. Late last year, the first pictures were leaked of the prototype of Beijing's new "stealth" fighter. And US military experts believe that China has begun to deploy the world's first long-range ballistic missile capable of hitting a moving ship at sea.

Dr Erickson says China's capabilities thus far have been focused on developing a regional anti-access or area denial strategy to prevent Taiwan from declaring independence.

In part this strategy rests upon developing credible weapons systems to hold US carrier battle groups at risk should Washington elect to intervene.

China deploys a formidable array of missiles and other weapons that range far out from its own shores.

Of these, the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile is unique; a land-based system that could potentially target US carrier battle groups that have long been the corner-stone of Washington's maritime might.

American officials and the director-general of Taiwan's National Security Bureau say that China has already begun to deploy the DF-21D.

The DF-21D (known in the West as the CSS-5) is fired from a wheeled transporter vehicle and has a range in excess of 1,500km. It is armed with a manoeuvrable warhead that gives the Chinese military the ability to strike ships in the western Pacific Ocean.

It is easy to see why China would want such a missile. It is all about limiting the pre-eminent naval power in the region, the US, from intervening in any future crisis involving Taiwan.

Ever since the Pacific campaign of World War II, aircraft carriers have been the dominant means of projecting naval power.

China too is now entering the carrier race, albeit from a standing start. An old Soviet-era carrier - the Varyag - was purchased from Ukraine and has been extensively refitted.

China's first carrier will operate the new J-15 Flying Shark strike fighter, based on another Russian design, the Sukhoi SU-33 jet.

The carrier is reported to be due to begin sea trials in the summer. Once operational it would give the Chinese Navy a significant new capability in its continuing disputes with its maritime neighbours.

But Western experts note that this carrier will largely serve a training role. Carrier operations require significant expertise which can only be built up over time. The vessel is unlikely to deploy the wide range of aircraft available to the commander of a US Naval carrier air group.

Nonetheless, Dr Erickson says China will use the carrier to "project a bit of power, confer prestige on a rising great power, and master basic procedures".

Its maiden flight, last January, came only hours before a visit by the US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to Beijing, a coincidence which many analysts saw as a deliberate signal by China.

Douglas Barrie, from the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, says China's J-20 cannot match the US equivalents.

But he added: "The aircraft does mark China's ambitions in terms of developing its air combat capability, and of its defence aerospace industrial base."

Mr Barrie argues that the introduction of significant numbers of J-20-based fighters would "pose an increased challenge to other regional powers, and to US forces in Asia Pacific".

Source: BBC