News Story: S. Korea set to mass-produce new missile interceptor

SEOUL, June 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will soon begin the mass-production of its new mid-range hit-to-kill missile interceptor, code-named M-SAM, as it has passed an operational capability test, a defense official said Saturday.

The M-SAM surface-to-air missile will serve as a core element of the country's Korea Air and Missile Defense System (KAMD), currently in the making, against North Korea's threats.

"The prototype of the M-SAM (missile) to intercept an enemy's ballistic missile was rated fit for combat operation by meeting all the requirements at a test early this month," the official said on the condition of anonymity.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: French, Indonesian naval firms extend submarine study

Scorpene class Submarine

By: Pierre Tran

PARIS — French naval defense specialist DCNS and Indonesian shipyard PT PAL have extended cooperation on studies for a potential order and local assembly of submarines for the Asian nation, the French president’s office said. 

“The memorandum of understanding (MoU) covers the extension of an existing agreement (which expired in December 2016) between PT PAL and DCNS on an industrial cooperation with a view to an Indonesian acquisition of submarines,” the Elysée office said March 29.  

The agreement was among those signed during a visit to Jakarta by the French head of state, François Hollande. DCNS Chairman Hervé Guillou and PT Pal director Firmansyah Arifin signed the memorandum.  

Other agreements included a letter of intention on defense cooperation, signed by the respective defense ministers, and a letter of intent signed by Airbus Defense and Space and local partner PT Pelita to study an order for the A400M airlifter.  

The memorandum for naval studies also covered Indonesia’s interest in acquiring warships, under the Indonesian-French defense dialogue, DCNS said. 

“Indonesia wants to reinforce its naval capacity and is discussing with France to explore projects of submarine and surface ships to be built in Indonesia with a high level of local industrial content, through Indonesian-French long-term cooperation,” the company said in a March 30 statement. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: (Vietnam) Defence academy asked to uphold role in nation safeguard

Hanoi (VNA) – President Tran Dai Quang has urged the Vietnam People’s Army in general and the Defence Ministry’s National Defence Academy in particular to continue upholding their crucial role in strengthening defence and safeguarding the nation. 

He made the call during a ceremony in Hanoi on January 3 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the academy’s traditional day. 

The President stressed that the academy needs to keep a good grasp of the situation, improve its strategic forecast capacity in order to provide timely advice to the Party, State, the Central Military Commission and the Defence Ministry on national defence and military issues. 

He also required the academy to pay more attention to summing up experience and research on military science to serve its training tasks, develop Vietnam’s own defence and military science and theory as well as provide scientific ground for the Party and State’s policies on national construction and defence. 

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Military Technical Academy urged to promote role in national defence

Hanoi (VNA) – President Tran Dai Quang asked the Military Technical Academy (MTA) under the National Defence Ministry to renew its training programmes towards the modernisation of the army and carry forward its role in national defence in the new situation. 

Addressing the 50 th Traditional Day of the MTA in Hanoi on October 28, the President pointed out that the nation-building course is being challenged by complex and unexpected situations, along with fierce territorial and sovereignty disputes in the East Sea. 

Against the backdrop, the academy needs to step up scientific research on military and national defence, and make products in service of military training and combat and socio-economic development, he said. 

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

AUS: Ground-breaking PTSD research will help Soldiers

DST is conducting research into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), seeking to improve treatment for soldiers suffering from the illness.

In 2010, the ADF estimated the 12-month prevalence of mental disorders as 22% of the 50,049 ADF population sample. Among those, 6196 were Army personnel – that’s 24.4% of the total Army of 25,356.

PTSD is a significant issue among many returned service personnel in Australian and coalition forces.

Three years ago, the US Department of Veterans’ Affairs indicated that of the 1.64 million service members who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq, 20%, or 328,000, were experiencing depression, anxiety, stress of PTSD.

These figures concerned Defence scientist Dr Helen Cartledge who is the Director Science Programs for the Army, so she decided to teamed up with Carolyn Mountford, a professor at the University of Newcastle to further investigate PTSD and blast injury.

Editorial: Japan’s 5th Generation Stealth Fighter to Make Maiden Flight in Early 2016

By Franz-Stefan Gady

According to Japan’s Defense Ministry, the maiden flight will be preceded by taxiing and ground trials.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) announced that a prototype of Tokyo’s first indigenously-designed fifth-generation air superiority fighter, the Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin, will make its maiden flight in February 2016, according to Japanese media reports.

Prior to its first test-flight, the aircraft will undergo extensive taxiing and ground trials at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries testing center located in Aichi Prefecture on Japan’s main island of Honshu. From there the fighter prototype is expected to fly to Gifu Air Field, an airbase of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, situated in the neighboring prefecture of Gifu sometime in February.

The principal objective of the ATD-X Shinshin program is to develop a research prototype aircraft an–“advanced technology demonstration unit” to test the capacity of Japan’s defense industry to develop, among other things, a powerful fighter engine and various other indigenous stealth fighter aircraft technologies.

The program is meant to eventually produce Japan’s first indigenously-designed fifth-generation air superiority fighter, designated F-3, with serial production slated to begin in 2027, although various delays in the development of the ATD-X Shinshin prototype –scheduled to be fully developed by 2018– make a later date more likely.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

AUS: Australia and Japan sign arrangement on hydrodynamics research

Australia and Japan have signed a cooperative research arrangement on marine hydrodynamics, the Chief Defence Scientist, Dr Alex Zelinsky, announced today.

“This is the first joint defence research project to be conducted by our two countries,” Dr Zelinsky said.

The collaborative research program will be undertaken by Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group and Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency.

“This is an excellent start to our new relationship in defence science and technology cooperation,” Dr Zelinsky said.

News Story: New Zealand Defence Force Review Highlights Weaknesses

By Nick Lee-Frampton

WELLINGTON — The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has responded to a government agency's review requested by its top officer by forming several new committees to address areas found in need of improvement.

New Zealand’s Chief of Defence Force  Lt. Gen. Tim Keating welcomed the performance improvement framework (PIF) review, released Sept. 24 by the State Services Commission. Keating apparently requested the review to help the NZDF test its thinking about how to meet the challenges of the next four years.

“Our purpose is about preparing for combat," Keating said in a news release. "I am committed to ensuring the New Zealand Defence Force, as a force for New Zealand, continuously finds ways to be better at what we do.”

Read the full story at DefensNews

Editorial: US, India Expand Strategic and Commercial Ties

Image: Flickr User - MEAPhotogallery

By Ankit Panda

The United States and India wrapped up their first-ever Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.

The first U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue wrapped up in Washington D.C. today. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker met with their Indian counterparts, Sushma Swaraj, the external affairs minister, and Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister of state for commerce and industry. The dialogue resulted in a joint statement outlining a range of new bilateral commitments and initiatives, and builds on the momentum in bilateral ties generated during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s September 2014 trip to the United States, and U.S. President Barack Obama’s reciprocal trip to India in January 2015. The joint statement and related statements and speeches from the two days of talks are posted on the U.S. State Department’s website here.

The “strategic” component of the dialogue was outweighed by the “commercial” side. Though both sides gave lip service to important strategic issues relevant to the U.S.-India bilateral relationship, including regional stability, terrorism, nonproliferation, Afghanistan, and the recent deal over Iran’s nuclear program, there was little new. Both sides addressed the issue of terrorism with a specific joint statement, which, among other things, called on Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks to justice. What’s notable in the broader statement, however, is that the U.S. thanked India for its “leadership in evacuating foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, from conflict in Yemen” (you can read about India’s involvement in Yemen in my earlier report for The Diplomat here). Additionally, both sides highlighted an upcoming India-U.S.-Japan trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 70th UN General Assembly (Japan is also set to return to the Malabar joint naval exercise this year). The statement also notes the United States’ support for India’s UN Security Council bid as a permanent member, which remains unchanged since 2010.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

News Story: U.S.-India Joint Working Group for Aircraft Carrier Technology Cooperation Held First Meeting

CGI of INS Vikrant

In a sign of the deepening U.S.-India defense relationship, the United States Navy hosted a delegation of senior Indian naval officers for the inaugural Joint Working Group on Aircraft Carrier Cooperation on the U.S. eastern coast from 12-14 August. 

During a three-day visit, the Indian delegation, led by Vice Admiral S.P.S. Cheema, Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, visited the U.S. Navy's state-of-the-art aircraft carrier, PCU Gerald Ford, currently under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, received briefs on U.S. Navy management of aircraft carrier programs, met with senior Pentagon officials, and toured the U.S. Navy's research and development facilities for aircraft carrier launch and recovery systems as a first step to exploring opportunities for cooperation.

During the working group the U.S. and Indian navies held candid and open discussions on various aspects of aircraft carrier development, including design, integration, test, evaluation, management and oversight of carrier construction?.

Read the full story at Navy Recognition

Industry: BMT Group Signs Sponsorship for the Submarine Institute of Australia

Royal Australian Navy Collins class Submarine

BMT Group (BMT), the leading international design, engineering and risk management consultancy, is pleased to announce it has taken on a higher level of sponsorship of the Submarine Institute of Australia (SIA).

Established in 1999, the SIA is the nation’s premier organisation for promoting submarine matters. The SIA’s objective is to promote informed discussion and research in the fields of submarine operations, engineering, history and commercial sub-sea engineering.

David Bright, Sector Director for Defence at BMT Group says: “Our sponsorship of the SIA will support their work in facilitating informed debate and the sharing of reputable knowledge across the submarine enterprise. We look forward to our continued participation in this community.”

BMT has expanded its presence in Australia through its subsidiary BMT Design & Technology, and after a successful ten years in the market, is able to provide a comprehensive range of engineering design, analysis, procurement and sustainment services to support Australia’s naval materiel. BMT also benefits from the capabilities of other companies within the group which have knowledge and experience of working closely with Australian clients.

President of the SIA, Andy Keough, expressed a warm welcome to BMT assuming a Ruby sponsorship, commenting: “We like to compare the SIA with the Royal Aeronautical Society, covering as it does the full spectrum of professional involvement in aerospace. The SIA likewise covers the undersea domain and as such welcomes the sponsorship of internationally eminent companies such as BMT to our sponsorship community. That BMT has agreed to take such a high level is a wonderful vote of confidence in the future of the submarine enterprise here in Australia, and provides us with access to impartial and professional international expertise.”

BMT Group

News Story: 'KF-X Project Could Come to a Dead End'

A model of one of several possible designs for the KFX

Jung Suk-yee

TThe Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) project of the ROK Air Force could come to a deadlock without key technology transfers from the United States. However, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) is claiming that it is not going to happen, because it has the option of technology transfer from a third country.

“The softest spot of the KF-X project is the export licensing policy of the U.S.,” said Choi Jong-kun, a political science and diplomacy professor at Yonsei University, on July 14, adding, “If Korea had to do it on its own due to a lack of technology transfer, the project would not be able to be completed as scheduled.”

Read the full story at Business Korea

USA: Hagel Praises New Defense Cooperation Agreements With India

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2015 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel issued a statement today applauding agreements on defense cooperation between the United States and India, announced by President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Hagel's statement reads as follows:

"Today, on his historic visit to India, President Obama and Prime Minister Modi announced new, ground-breaking agreements on defense cooperation between India and the United States that promise to open a new chapter in our defense relationship and mark an important milestone in the U.S.-India strategic partnership.

"By finalizing the renewal of our 10-year framework for the U.S.-India Defense Relationship, we will continue to build on the growing momentum in our defense cooperation over the last decade. This renewed framework will support stronger military-to-military engagement, including deeper maritime cooperation and increased opportunities in technology and trade.

Think Tank: Why Australia should build its own submarines (Part 1)

Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) current Collins class Submarine

By Peter Briggs

The case for building the next generation of RAN submarines in Australia begins with the stand-out attributes that make submarines so important for us: they must be able to operate in areas a long way from home, without air or sea control, to watch, listen, evaluate and act when necessary. Australia’s future submarine will be a unique platform, giving early warning of an adversary’s intentions and providing an excellent antisubmarine and anti-surface ship capability.

As discussed in an earlier post, these capabilities are based on the submarine’s key attribute—stealth—which enables access to sensitive or critical areas denied to other vehicles and surveillance systems.

In simple terms, a submarine has to have sufficient buoyancy to support its payload when it’s underwater (that is, to be neutrally buoyant). If you add more fuel (or any other payload), you have to either take out an equivalent weight or increase the vessel’s volume. Simply lengthening an existing design by adding hull sections to increase volume works only so far. As the ratio of the vessel’s length to its diameter grows, it becomes noisier, less agile and less efficient.

Editorial: Japan and Israel to Work Together in Cyberspace

By Franz-Stefan Gady

During this week’s visit to Israel, Japan’s prime minister will discuss collaboration in fighting cyber terrorism.

Japan is continuing to expand its network of partner across the world to tackle growing threats emerging from cyberspace. Next to deepening ties with Europe, Japan has also launched a new cyber security dialogue with Israel. As The Diplomat reported back in October 2014, the number of cyber-attacks on Japan is rising rapidly and Tokyo has embarked on an international campaign aimed at strengthening ties with like-minded countries in cyberspace.

At the beginning of January 2014, the Israeli Cabinet approved an investment plan to bolster Israel-Japan trade ties. The plan involves numerous government ministries in both countries, a major investment over the next three years, and among other things, aims to bolster joint research on space and cybersecurity development. The groundwork for this was laid back in July 2014 when Israel and Japan signed a research and cooperation agreement – the first such agreement ever for Japan. The agreement stipulates the dispersion of funds to Israeli and Japanese companies and research centers to conduct a wide range of research including on information and cybersecurity.

Back in May 2012, after a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , the former, according to Bloomberg News, stated that both countries agreed to, “an exchange of views between the two national security organizations and to promote cooperation in the field of national defense and cyber security.” 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

News Story: India plans to kick-off future Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft development project in 2015

AMCA (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki)

India plans to kick-off its own fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) development project this year to build on the expertise gained in the long developmental saga of the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft. Top defence sources on Wednesday said the preliminary design stage of the futuristic fighter called the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA), with collaboration among IAF, DRDO and Aeronautical Development Agency, is now "virtually" over.

"Once the project definition and feasibility is completed in the next few months, the defence ministry will go to the cabinet committee on security for approval. It will require Rs 4,000-5,000 crore for the initial design and development phase," said a source.

The aim is to fly the first twin-engine AMCA prototype by 2023-2024, which will be around the time deliveries of Tejas Mark-II fighters will be underway. IAF is slated to get its first Tejas Mark-I in March this year, over 30 years after the LCA project was first approved in August 1983. But the Tejas Mark-II jets, with more powerful engines, will start to come only by 2021-2022, as was first reported by TOI.

"After Tejas-II, we have to move ahead to a fifth-generation-plus AMCA. Basic design work of AMCA as well as presentations by five to six global aero-engine manufacturers is over. Simulation modelling is also in the works," said the source.

Read the full story at AirRecognition

Editorial: A Tale of Two Offset Strategies

US SecDef Chuck Hagel

By Zachary Keck

The Pentagon’s new Offset Strategy is modeled on two very different historical examples.

In what some are rightly calling “one of the most important [speeches] by an American defense secretary in recent years,” over the weekend the U.S. Defense Department unveiled its new Offset Strategy aimed at perpetuating America’s military superiority.

In a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum (and accompanying memo [PDF]), Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced the Pentagon’s new “Defense Innovation Initiative.” In Hagel’s words: “This new initiative is an ambitious department-wide effort to identify and invest in innovative ways to sustain and advance America’s military dominance for the 21st century. It will put new resources behind innovation, but also account for today’s fiscal realities – by focusing on investments that will sharpen our military edge even as we contend with fewer resources.”

Hagel said the Pentagon would focus its efforts on the “the fields of robotics, autonomous systems, miniaturization, big data, and advanced manufacturing, including 3D printing.”

The new initiative, which was many months in the making, is being undertaken primarily in response to China and Russia’s military modernization programs. As Hagel explained in the speech, “While we spent over a decade focused on grinding stability operations, countries like Russia and China have been heavily investing in military modernization programs to blunt our military’s technological edge.” 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Think Tank: A realistic future submarine—at last

By Andrew Davies

At the Defence and Industry conference this week, we got an official update on the status of the Future Submarine project (SEA1000) from the project head, RADM Greg Sammut and DMO’s General Manager of Submarines, David Gould. That’s welcome, as multi-billion dollar government projects should be exposed to public scrutiny to the extent possible consistent with commercial and security sensitivities. (I won’t comment on other rumours doing the rounds.)

In a recent ASPI paper, Mark and I summarised the thinking that was on display at ASPI’s conference in April. What we got this week showed encouraging progress in the three months since. I’ve been writing about the project for years now (like the F-35, it’s a gift that keeps giving) and have lamented the apparent lack of coherence in planning. So credit where it’s due; with a couple of exceptions which I’ll come back to later, I think we’ve arrived at a sensible approach.

Firstly, RADM Sammut explained that the Integrated Project Team (IPT) in Adelaide is largely composed of industry representatives working in support of DMO’s project office. This ‘above the line’ industry participation is vitally important if the Commonwealth is to be a smart buyer. Having relevant industry experience in-house will allow Navy/DMO to refine their requirements cognisant of their impact on project costs and risks.

News Story: Seoul speeds up fighter jet development plan

By Song Sang-ho

South Korea is accelerating its efforts to develop an indigenous warplane with a plan to give public notice of bids for the so-called KFX project as early as August.

The military plans to confirm its required operational capabilities for the project at the Joint Chiefs of Staff Council session in mid-July, and finalize the bidding plan during a session of the national defense acquisition program committee next month.

The KFX program, which includes both the development and production of the home-built warplane, is expected to cost nearly 20 trillion won ($19.7 billion). Under the project, Seoul seeks to deploy 120 fighters after 2023 to replace its aging fleets of F-4s and F-5s.

Since February, a Defense Ministry task force consisting of officials from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Program Acquisition Administration and Air Force has been conducting research for the development project.

Read the full story at The Korea Herald

AUS: Launch of new cyber security research centre

The Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, today launched a new research centre dedicated to building Australia’s understanding of cyber threats.

Mr Robert said the importance of cyber research could not be underestimated, particularly as attempts to infiltrate networks in the public and private sectors were becoming increasingly sophisticated.

“I am very encouraged to see academia engaging in research on cyber security issues and contributing to the wider efforts to protect Australia from cyber threats that pose a significant challenge to national security,” Mr Robert said.

The University of New South Wales’ (UNSW) Australian Centre for Cyber Security will bring together cyber security researchers whose work will not only contribute to Australia’s national security, but will also benefit Australian industry and individuals.