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?...

AeroVironment has introduced its lightweight and man-portable Shrike VTOL unmanned aircraft system. In August 2008, AeroVironment announced the receipt of a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a portable, stealthy, persistent perch and stare unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The company’s Shrike vertical take off and landing (VTOL) UAS represents the conclusion of this development effort.

“With more than four years of customer funding behind it, our new Shrike VTOL UAS is designed to address the need for a small, lightweight hovering aircraft that delivers unique surveillance and intelligence capability not provided by current solutions.

“Not only does Shrike VTOL hover for more than 40 minutes with a high-resolution video camera, but its innovative design also allows for the transmission of several hours of live video as a remotely emplaced perch and stare sensor,” says Tom Herring, senior vice president and general manager of AeroVironment’s UAS business segment. “This new solution adds an important set of new capabilities to our existing and battle-proven family of small unmanned aircraft systems that are saving lives in theater today.”

Herring said the Shrike VTOL system delivers the superior imagery, endurance and encrypted video found in all AeroVironment small unmanned aircraft systems. Operating quietly enough to go virtually undetected, Shrike weighs approximately five pounds and is small enough to fit in a backpack.

AeroVironment's Family of Small UAS
Raven, Wasp and Puma comprise AeroVironment's Family of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Operating with a common ground control system (GCS), this Family of Systems provides increased capability to the warfighter that can give ground commanders the option of selecting the appropriate aircraft based on the type of mission to be performed.

This increased capability has the potential to provide significant force protection and force multiplication benefits to small tactical units.

AeroVironment's UAS logistics operation supports systems deployed worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness. AeroVironment has delivered thousands of new and replacement small unmanned air vehicles. International purchasers of AeroVironment's small UAS include the armed forces of Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Norway, the Czech Republic, Thailand and Australia.

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.

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

According to the company, Saab 2000 is an ideal partner for the Indian Navy’s requirement of an aircraft with long range, extended time on station, fast response, long service life and anti surface warfare capabilities. The aircraft maintains a cruising speed of 350 knots, it can climb to an altitude of 20,000 ft in 10 minutes, reaching operating area 1,000 nautical miles afar within three hours. It can operate from high altitude airfields, taking off with maximum load and fuel even at very hot temperatures.

The Saab 2000 MPA can be equipped with Saab RBS15 anti-ship missile system and its associated Command & Control (C2) system supporting mission planning of missile launching zones, trajectories and target seeking activities. The Saab 2000 MPA can operate at a maximum range exceeding 2,000 nautical miles, with mission endurance exceeding 9.5 hours.

Accordingly, the Thi Lang was installed four antennas produced by China itself. Currently, the type of radar is used on the Shi Lang aircraft carrier has not been announced.

According to data from Strategy Page, radar stations were installed on the aircraft carrier Shi Lang has the same parameters of the radar parameters produced by the U.S. built Aegis system. In addition, the ship also arranged electronic devices and implemented systems of computer information networks.

Shi Lang owns short-range artillery systems have been improved Type 730, combined missile FL-3000N, able to destroy air targets at distances up to 9km. The missile has diameter of 12cm, 2m long.

China has purchased aircraft carrier Varyag of Ukraine in 1998 and then improved and renamed Shi Lang. Currently, China is conducting repair and modernize it.

According to previous notice, by 2011 China will test the carrier and the end of 2012 will be armed for the navy.

China's Defense Ministry plan construct series of aircraft carrier based on aircraft carrier Varyag which purchased from Ukraine.

France is the NATO forces leading in Libya. Along with the deployment of aircrafts, frigates and submarines, the presence of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle gave considerable power for NATO forces. To learn more about the pride of the French Navy, Defense Daily would like to introduce the article by Jonathan Beale - Defence correspondent, BBC News.

Louis, one of the pilots, gave the BBC an insight into one of his sorties.

It is the aircraft carrier Britain no longer has.

The Charles de Gaulle is not just the French Navy's flagship. It is a projection of the nation's power that can be deployed almost anywhere in the world.

We joined the nuclear powered carrier off Libya's coast. This is where the Charles de Gaulle has been conducting military operations for the past two months.

Launching an endless stream of warplanes loaded with bombs by day and by night. A giant floating runway within easy reach of Colonel Gaddafi's forces.

Her location always shifting according to the weather and the targets. The ship can move as much as 1,000km over a 24 hour period.

On board, the first thing that hits you is the noise.

The sudden roar of jet engines is followed by the thud of a steam catapult as planes are propelled from zero to 250 kilometres an hour in a few seconds.

On deck it is deafening and the sheer force of the catapult launch shakes the entire structure of the 40,000 tonne warship.

Below decks, in two massive hangars aircrew maintain a fleet of 10 Rafale jets and six older Super Etendards around the clock.

The carrier also has two Hawkeye surveillance planes - the eyes and ears for French and other Nato warplanes flying over Libya.

Their giant wings are only unfolded when they prepare to fly.

There is also a fleet of helicopters to ferry crew, commanders and cargo.

At times it is hard to see how this can all fit onto one ship just over 260 metres long.

Planes are moved up onto the deck by two giant hydraulic lifts. Ground crew swarm around the jets as they are loaded with bombs and fuel.

After an elaborate set of hand movements by the marshals, the signal is given for the plane to launch.

The pilot pushes his head back in the seat in preparation for the sudden impact.

For these French pilots the great advantage of flying off a carrier is that they will be over their targets within 20 minutes.

One of the pilots, Louis, says it is easier to react to developments on the ground.

British pilots flying from their temporary base in southern Italy have a much longer journey.

Even harder than taking off from a carrier is the landing.

Pilots have just seconds to get their position right to catch one of three giant steel cables that lie across the deck with the hook lowered from the plane.

It will bring them to a jolting halt. When you consider the strains and forces at play it is hard to understand how the ship, plane and human body all come out in one piece.

France is currently the only European country to have this capability.

The United States, of course, has even larger carriers with catapults and traps, but so far it has deployed none for operations over Libya.

Until last year Britain had the Ark Royal with its fleet of Harrier jump jets.

But the Ark Royal was one of the big casualties of the UK Defence Review. Though Britain has ordered two new carriers, they will not be in service for a decade.

The Charles de Gaulle's Captain Jean-Philippe Rolland says it will be "difficult" for the Royal Navy to regenerate the capability.

France has promised to help train British crews, but he warns it could take another five or ten years after the carriers are built for Britain to fully regain those lost skills.

Trafalgar and Nelson seems a distant memory. France's naval presence off Libya is bigger than that of the Royal Navy.

Where the Charles de Gaulle is accompanied by three destroyers, a supply ship and a nuclear-powered submarine, Britain has one destroyer, a submarine and a minehunter.

Capt Rolland says for this operation Nato would ideally have two or three carriers.

But with a gallic shrug he adds: "You do with what you have".

In a sign that Nato's stepping up the offensive both Britain and France should soon each have an assault ship carrying ground attack helicopters close by.

When I ask the commander of the task force whether this marks a new phase of the campaign he says it is still to be decided.

But Rear-Admiral Philippe Coindreau says "all possibilities" are being considered - apart from putting troops on the ground.

For the 2,000 crew on board the Charles de Gaulle it has been a long time at sea.

The ship had only just returned home to Toulon from a four-month mission in the Arabian Gulf, when she was redeployed at short notice to take part in operations over Libya.

Morale is maintained by sackfuls of letters from back home, along with plenty of French food.

The ship even has its own bakery on board, serving fresh croissants and baguettes each morning.

In the junior officers mess there is wine with the evening meal, though pilots have to ensure that there is a gap of 12 hours from "bottle to throttle".

No one on board knows when they will be coming home.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The cost of building the F-35 fighter jet, set to replace a large part of the US warplane fleet, is "unaffordable" in its current version and must be reviewed, the Pentagon's top acquisition official said Thursday.

"Over the lifetime of this program, the decade or so, the per-aircraft cost of the 2,443 aircraft we want has doubled in real terms," said Ashton Carter, the under secretary of Defence for acquisition, technology and logistics.

"That's our forecast for how much the aircraft's going to cost.

"Said differently, that's what it's going to cost if we keep doing what we're doing. And that's unacceptable. It's unaffordable at that rate."

The cost of the plane has jumped to $385 billion, about $103 million per plane in constant dollars or $113 million in fiscal year 2011 dollars, said Christine Fox, the Defence Department's director of cost assessment and program evaluation.

Republican Senator John McCain called the figure "truly troubling," considering the original price was $69 million per airplane.

"The facts regarding this program are truly troubling," said McCain. "No program should expect to be continued with that kind of track record, especially in our current fiscal climate," said McCain.

"It seems to me we have to start at least considering alternatives"

The F-35 or Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), made by Lockheed Martin, is the Pentagon's most costly weapons program.

An additional appropriation of $4 billion brings the cost of development of the plane to $51 billion, "dismaying" figures," said Michigan Senator Carl Levin, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"These are dismaying; indeed, they are disturbing numbers in costs to us and to the taxpayers of the United States," Levin said.

Carter attributed the cost overruns and delays to the plane's complexities and its radar-evading equipment, as well as the short-takeoff and vertical takeoff versions. And he said the culture of easy money at the Pentagon since 9/11 was also to blame.

"In the decade of ever-increasing Defence budgets, which we just enjoyed, it was always possible for our managers, when they ran into a technical problem or a difficult choice, to reach for more money," said Carter. "And the money was available in the decade after 9/11."

Russia conducted its second intercontinental ballistic missile test in less than a month on May 20 as it stepped up its campaign against a US-backed interceptor system for Europe.

Acording to Defense News the Sineva missile was launched from a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea and later successfully hit its target on the opposite side of the country on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

"The launch was conducted from a submerged position," defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agencies.

"The warheads hit the test range on schedule," he added.

The Sineva submarine-launched missile is one of the most recent additions to Russia's nuclear arsenal and was only fully tested for the first time in 2008. Each missile carries up to 10 warheads and has a range of more than 6,800 miles. It was the second submerged missile launch conducted by Russia since April 26.

Russia occasionally tests its heavy nuclear missiles as it upgrades outdated models with new features and capabilities.

But the tests are also often seen as a show of force that coincide with diplomatic tensions with the West. Russia had scaled back its testing program as it negotiated a new nuclear disarmament treaty with the United States that went into effect after nearly a decade of tortuous negotiations earlier this year.

Yet Moscow is currently furious with Washington for pushing ahead with plans to deploy a missile defense system for Europe - a shield that Russia fears could one day be transformed into an offensive weapon that targets its soil.

Russia has demanded an equal say in how the system works and also sought formal security safeguards from the United States confirming the shield's peaceful long-term intent.

But both the United States and NATO have refused to let Russia have an equal say in the system's construction and operation. Moscow diplomats said Washington has also refused their safeguards request.

President Dmitry Medvedev warned earlier this week that Washington's failure to address Russia's concerns could lead to a new Cold War, and his comments were echoed on May 20 by the chief of the military's general staff. Gen. Nikolai Makarov said the system could pose a direct challenge to Russia's security once it becomes more powerful in 2015 and force Moscow to channel funds on new weapons development that could lead to "a mad arms race".

"No one needs a new round of the arms race," Makarov said.

The Independence class is a class of littoral combat ships built for the United States Navy.

The hull design evolved from a project at Austal to design a 40 knot cruise ship. That hull design evolved into the high-speed trimaran ferry Benchijigua Express and the Independence class was then proposed by General Dynamics and Austal as a contender for USN plans to build a fleet of small, multipurpose warships to operate in the littoral zone. Two ships were approved, to compete with Lockheed Martin's Freedom class design for a construction contract of up to 55 vessels.

As of 2010, the lead ship is active, while a second ship is under construction. Despite initial plans to only accept one of the Independence and Freedom classes, the USN has requested that Congress order ten ships of each class.

Planning for a class of small, multipurpose warships to operate in the littoral zone began in the early 2000s. In July 2003, a proposal by General Dynamics (partnering with Austal USA, the American subsidiary of Australian shipbuilder Austal) was approved by the USN, with a contract for two vessels. These would then be compared to two ships built by Lockheed Martin to determine which design would be taken up by the Navy for a production run of up to 55 ships.

The first ship, USS Independence was laid down at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, on 19 January 2006. The planned second ship was cancelled in November 2007, but reordered in May 2009, and laid down in December of that year as USS Coronado, shortly before Independence was launched.

The development and construction of Independence as of June 2009 was running at 220% over-budget. The total projected cost for the ship is $704 million. The Navy had originally projected the cost at $220 million. Independence began builder's trials in July 2009, three days behind schedule because of maintenance issues. A leak in the port gas turbine saw the order of trials altered, but builder's and acceptance trials were completed by November. And although her first INSURV inspection revealed 2,080 deficiencies, these were rectified in time for the ship to be handed over to the USN in mid-December, and commissioned in mid-January 2010.

Navy leaders said that the fixed price competition offered the Austal design an equal shot, in spite of its excess size and cost and limited service.

After much inconsistency on how testing and orders were to proceed, in November 2010, the USN asked that Congress approve ten of both the Independence and Freedom classes.

The Independence class design began life at Austal as a platform for a high speed cruise ship. The principal requirements of that project were speed, stability and passenger comfort and Austal's team determined that the trimaran hull form offered significant passenger comfort and stability advantages over both a catamaran and a monohull. The high speed cruise ship project evolved into Austal's commercial high-speed trimaran ferry Benchijigua Express. The ships are 127.4 m (418 ft) long, with a beam of 31.6 m (104 ft), and a draft of 13 ft (3.96 m). Their displacement is rated at 2,176 tons light, 2,784 tons full, and 608 tons deadweight.

The standard ship's company is 40-strong, although this can increase depending on the ship's role with mission-specific personnel. The habitability area is located under the bridge where bunks for ships personnel are situated. The helm is controlled by joysticks instead of traditional steering wheels.

Although the trimaran hull increases the total surface area, it is still able to reach sustainable speeds of about 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph), with a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi).[citation needed] Austal claims that the design will use a third less fuel than the competing Freedom-class, but the Congressional Budget Office found that fuel would account for 18 percent or less of the total lifetime cost of Freedom.

The Independence class carries a default armament for self-defense, and command and control. However unlike traditional fighting ships with fixed armament such as guns and missiles, tailored mission modules can be configured for one mission package at a time. Modules may consist of manned aircraft, unmanned vehicles, off-board sensors, or mission-manning detachments.

The interior volume and payload is greater than some destroyers and is sufficient to serve as a high-speed transport and maneuver platform. The mission bay is 15,200 square feet (1,410 m2), and takes up most of the deck below the hangar and flight deck. With 11,000 cubic metres (390,000 cu ft) of payload volume, it was designed with enough payload and volume to carry out one mission with a separate mission module in reserve, allowing the ship to do multiple missions without having to be refitted.

One Mobicon Flexible Container Handling System is carried on each ship in order to move mission containers.

In addition to cargo or container-sized mission modules, the bay can carry four lanes of multiple Strykers, armored Humvees, and their associated troops. An elevator allows air transport of packages the size of a 20-foot-long (6.1 m) shipping container that can be moved into the mission bay while at sea. A side access ramp allows for vehicle roll-on/roll-off loading to a dock and allows the ship to transport the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.

The Raytheon Evolved SeaRAM missile defense system is installed on the hangar roof. The SeaRAM combines the sensors of the Phalanx 1B close-in weapon system with an 11-missile launcher for the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), creating an autonomous system.

The Independence class ships also has an integrated LOS Mast, Sea Giraffe 3D Radar and SeaStar Safire FLIR. Northrop Grumman has demonstrated sensor fusion of on and off-board systems in the Integrated Combat Management System (ICMS) used on the LCS. Side and forward surfaces are angled for reduced radar profile. In addition, H-60 series helicopters provide airlift, rescue, anti-submarine, radar picket and anti-ship capabilities with torpedoes and missiles.

The flight deck, 1,030 m2 (11,100 sq ft), can support the operation of two SH-60 Seahawk helicopters, multiple unmanned aerial vehicles, or one CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter. The trimaran hull will allow flight operations up to sea state 5.

The vessels have an Interior Communications Center that can be curtained off from the rest of bridge instead of the heavily protected Combat Information Center found on Navy warships.

The control system for this class is provided by General Dynamics, while Lockheed provides their own control system for their variant of the LCS.

Austal has proposed a much smaller and slower trimaran, called the 'Multi-Role Vessel' or 'Multi-Role Corvette'. Though it is only half the size of their LCS design, it would still be useful for border protection and counter piracy operations.