Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (25-Oct-2016)

Christopher Cowan, Thulasi Wigneswaran, Elisabeth Buchan and Alexander Vipond

Sea State

One of the most storied names in British naval history is being revived for the Royal Navy’s new class of ballistic nuclear missile submarines. The Royal Navy announced last week that the first of its new submarines, initially dubbed the Successor-class, will be named HMS Dreadnought and the class will now be known as the Dreadnought-class. The Dreadnought name is one of the most famous in the Royal Navy, having been bestowed upon nine ships dating all the way back to the 16th century. Ships with that name have fought in some of the world’s most famous naval battles, including the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. But without a doubt the best known Dreadnought is the steam turbine powered battleship commissioned in 1906 that changed naval warfare (and the world) forever.

Significant progress is being made on the construction of two of China’s largest ever warships according to open source imagery obtained recently by Popular Science. Two hull sections of China’s enormous Type 055 cruiser—which will likely be around the same size as the newly commissioned USS Zumwalt—appear to have been completed. Meanwhile, China’s first indigenously-built aircraft carrier is even closer to completion, following the installation of its island tower earlier this month.

Think Tank: Sea, air and land updates (5-APR-2016)

Oyashio class submarine (Image: Wiki Commons)

Dione Hodgson, Ashleigh Sharp and Lachlan Wilson

Sea State

The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) rejected claims made by The Independent last week that the Falkland Islands have been left without the protection of a warship for the first time since the 1982 Falkland’s War. The report alleged that due to a major manpower crisis, engine difficulties with the Type 45 destroyers and preoccupation with monitoring Russian naval movements, there hadn’t been a warship dispatched to the region since November 2015. A MoD spokesman rebutted the claims, stating that the Falklands remained well protected by an offshore patrol vessel and approximately 1,200 UK personnel operating Royal Air Force Typhoons and ground defences.

A Japanese submarine docked in the Philippines for the first time in 15 years on Sunday, signalling the strengthening ties between the two countries. Oyashio and two Japanese destroyers docked in the former US naval base at Subic Port—just 200km from a Chinese-held shoal—as part of a routine visit. In February, Japan offered to supply military hardware to the Philippines—including the lease of three TC-90 surveillance planes—to help it to improve its naval capabilities and surveillance capacity in the South China Sea. The visit coincides with military drills between the US and the Philippines, which commenced on Monday in Manilla.

Editorial: US To Offer India New Tactical Aircraft

Textron AirLand Scorpion (Image: Flickr User - Pete Fletcher)

By Franz-Stefan Gady

Ashton Carter will push New Delhi to buy US military hardware during this June’s planned visit to the subcontinent.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is expected to offer India a new U.S. made tactical aircraft for sale during his two day visit to the subcontinent in June 2015, IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly reported last week.

Additionally, Carter will sign a 10-year India-U.S. Defense Framework Agreement, which outlines concrete steps to bolster Indo-U.S. defense ties including the co-production of weapons in India. The U.S. defense secretary also plans to accelerate the Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) and review progress on defense technology transfers from the United States to India.

IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly notes:

Industry sources said that under the DTTI, which Carter initiated as deputy defence secretary in 2012, the US was expected to offer the Textron AirLand Scorpion light-attack and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft currently being developed to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Read the full story at The Diplomat

News Story: (Thailand) PM puts hurry up on defence budgets

South Korean KAI T-50 Trainer (File Photo)

Air force delays plan for new jet fighters

Writer: Wassana Nanuam

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is pushing the military to more quickly draft its spending plans for the 2016 fiscal year and submit them within the month. 

Air Force commander ACM Treetod Sonjance said the Defence Ministry, the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, the Royal Thai Army, the Royal Thai Navy and the Royal Thai Air Force are expected to prepare their budgets by mid-January.

He said Gen Prayut, who is also head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), wants to see how the armed forces and other military units prioritise their spending.

The Royal Thai Air Force has no plan to procure new fighter jets in the next budget year, ACM Treetod said. It will focus on upgrades and maintenance instead.

Preliminary plans call for upgrades to the air force's fleet of F-5 jets at the Nakhon Sawan-based Wing 4 division. The aircraft have been in service for over 30 years.

A Defence Ministry source said the proposed defence spending is likely to be a little higher than the amount approved in 2015. It is estimated to be around 193 billion to 200 billion baht.

According to the source, the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) approved a defence budget of 192 billion baht, about 550 million baht lower than the proposed 193.49 billion baht.

Read the full story at BangkokPost