News Story: Bolster Missile Defenses Against North Korea; Could Help With China

North Korean Pukguksong-2 Ballistic Missile test launch

By JON GLASSMAN

What should the United States and its allies do to improve their ability to stop North Korean missiles?

Enhanced missile defense performance would be the best guarantee against a North Korean breakout. Should fighting occur, missile defense performance will determine how much of a time cushion is available to U.S. and allied offensive forces to eliminate the North’s missiles.

North Korea’s missile testing program has shown capabilities that make our missile defense more difficult. For example, by extending tests to orbit and extending the range of their ICBMs, they have expanded the scope of trajectories and targets we need to defend. By using lofted trajectories, the North has increased re-entry velocity and reduced time for defense. By building mobile launchers and submarine-launched missiles, North Korea has eliminated the defenders’ early warning time and reduced its own exposure.

By demonstrating its ability to launch multiple missiles simultaneously, they have complicated our planning. Finally, by creating new threats of global reach, the North has raised the specter of fractional orbital trajectories that allow unpredictable descent paths and, perhaps, the use of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) to cripple the military and civilian infrastructure of the U.S. and our allies. In short, North Korean has increased uncertainty about our ability to respond and increased the time pressure on the US and allies to engage in massive offense or to decide to remain passive.

Read the full story at Breaking Defense

USA: Exercise to Strengthen Efforts in Defense of South Korea, Mattis Says

By Lisa Ferdinando 

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2017 — A joint U.S.-South Korean computer-simulated defensive exercise set to kick off tomorrow is meant to strengthen joint efforts for the defense of South Korea, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said today.

Ulchi Freedom Guardian, which runs to Aug. 31, is focusing on command post operations for the integration of efforts, Mattis told reporters traveling with him while en route to Jordan on the first leg of an overseas trip.

"This right now is an exercise to make certain that we're ready to defend South Korea and our allies over there," he said, adding that "because of the specific circumstance, we want it to be a command post-heavy, command post exercise."

The exercise is defensive in nature, Mattis said, noting that joint exercises have been going on for decades. The exercise operates transparently and is carefully planned out to prevent any misinterpretation on what is occurring, he said.

"It's calculated to not allow for miscalculation," he added. The number of troops involved is because of the focus of this year's exercise -- command and control -- and not in response to any factor from North Korea, he explained.

News Story: Ministry reaffirms push for early OPCON transfer

SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense ministry said Monday it is committed to an early takeover of wartime operational control (OPCON) of the country's troops by beefing up its own defense capabilities.

"Basically, our position is to push for the OPCON transition (from the U.S.) at an early date," the ministry's spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said at a press briefing. "(We) will try to strengthen the core capabilities of our military."

He was responding to a summit deal between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his American counterpart Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. last week.

The two leaders "decided to continue the Alliance's work to expeditiously enable the conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control of ROK (South Korea) forces," read a joint statement.

South Korea will continue to acquire the critical military capabilities necessary to lead the combined defense, it added.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: S. Korea to modernize air defense warning system

SEOUL, June 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has developed a cutting-edge air defense early warning, command and control system using digital communications technology, the country's arms procurement agency said Thursday.

The Command Control and Alert, or C2A, system will enter service in 2019 at local military units, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

It has teamed up with the state-run Agency for Defense Development for the project that began in 2010, also joined by more than 20 domestic firms.

Currently, South Korean troops rely on radio-based verbal communications for the spread of air threat data and fire control.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: More Than Joint - The Aussies Forge A Way Ahead

A RAAF F-35 Lightning Fighter

By ROBBIN LAIRD

Australian Air Marshal Leo Davies highlighted the “institutional interoperability which the Royal Australian Air Force was shaping with its closest allies, and notably with the US Air Force and the US Navy during his recent visit to the US. The Aussies are not simply camp followers – they are shaping a way ahead an integrated force, rather than staying at the service platform level.

When Davies introduced the new RAAF strategy at the Avalon Air Show earlier this year, he highlighted the service’s way ahead:

“I don’t believe we, as an Air Force, understand how joint we need to be. We have come a long way – we talk a lot about joint, but I am not sure we are culturally able to shift from doing Air Force stuff first. I would like the Air Force in a joint context to begin to put the joint effect before our own Air Force requirements.”

When I interviewed him recently in his Canberra office, Davies underscored that the RAAF and the other services were adding new platforms as part of force modernization. But adding a new platform, even a key one like the F-35 was not enough to generate force transformation.

“It is not about how does this new platform fit into the force as it is, it is about how does this new platform enable the force to fight the way we need to be able to in the future?

“It has to be realistic but in a sense the reality we are looking at is not just the Air Force as it has fought in the past and present, but the Air Force as it vectors towards the future fight. If you don’t do this you will be only discussing and debating platforms in the historical combat space,” he said. “And when we come to new platform decisions, we are positioning ourselves to ask the right question of the services: How does a particular platform fit how we will need to fight in 10 year’s time? Is the Navy or the Army or the Air Force entitled to that particular capability choice if it doesn’t fit that criteria?”

Read the full story at Breaking Defense

News Report: Afghan Security Forces Destroy Huge Taliban Command Center in Country's South

A huge Taliban command and control center has been destroyed in the southern Afghanistan by the government security forces, local media reported citing military sources.

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) — Afghanistan's security forces have destroyed a huge command and control center of the Taliban radical movement (outlawed in Russia) in southern Helmand province, local media reported Tuesday, citing Lt. Col. Mohammad Rassoul Zazai, spokesman for the 215th Maiwand Military Corps.

Zazai told Pajhwok news agency that Afghan National Army (ANA) commandos raided the center on Monday and destroyed ten bombs, ammunition, a Fielder model car, a motorcycle, 800 BM1 shells and two walkie-talkies.

He added that militants had left the center in the Nad Ali district before the raid.

Afghanistan has long been suffering from unstable political, social and security situation due to the activity of the Taliban and Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, also banned in Russia. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are currently conducting joint offensive operations to combat terrorism across the country.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

USA: Exercise Cope North Concludes in Guam

Exercise Cope North 2015 participants and aircraft

By Air Force Senior Airman John Linzmeier 18th Wing

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan, March 13, 2017 — Airmen and aircraft from the 67th Fighter Squadron, 909th Air Refueling Squadron, 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron, and 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron returned here after participating in Exercise Cope North.

The exercise was held at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Exercise Cope North Guam aims to cultivate regional ties and seeks to enhance the Air Force's interoperability with allied forces in the Pacific region. The bilateral exercise is designed to enhance joint operational capability alongside 22 flying units from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian Air Force, and the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.

News Story: Iran's IRGC to hold massive air defense drill soon

TEHRAN, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force has plans to hold a large-scale air defense exercise in near future, Tasnim news agency reported on Friday.

Commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Force, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that in the massive war game IRGC will practice air defense tactics.

A whole range of air defense equipment will be utilized in the drill, including radars, command and control systems, and ground-to-air missiles, Hajizadeh was quoted as saying.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: China on new "Long March" to deepening military reform

BEIJING, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Nov. 24, 2015 marked a fresh start in the history of the Chinese Armed Forces, as the nation embarked on a long march of deepening military reform.

One year on, the blueprint of the reform are clearer, and the commitment to building a strong military has become stronger.

Amid profound and complicated changes in the international situation and the country's ongoing efforts in revitalizing the Chinese nation, China has entered a key stage of transforming itself from a big country to a strong power, which calls for greater courage in advancing military reform.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in late 2012, the central authority has championed improving combat capabilities as the ultimate goal of building a strong army.

Hence, a new round of reforms focusing on removing systematic barriers that hinder military development have been rolled out.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Pakistan Unveils VLF Submarine Communications Facility

By: Usman Ansari

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan on Tuesday unveiled a very low frequency (VLF) communication facility that will enable it to communicate with deployed submarines. 

Mansoor Ahmed, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center and expert on Pakistan’s nuclear program and delivery systems, said the facility is vital for command and control of submarines carrying a nuclear deterrent patrol, and the announcement essentially confirms Pakistan has established a preliminary, sea-based arm of its nuclear deterrent. 

"The Naval Strategic Force Command inaugurated in 2012 is now closer to being the custodian of the country's second-strike capability," he said. 

According to an official news release by the military’s Inter Services Public Relations media branch, the VLF facility is at a new base, PNS Hameed, near Pakistan’s main port of Karachi, and is the first of its 

kind in the country. 

“The secure military communication link in the VLF spectrum will add new dimensions by enhancing the flexibility and reach of submarine operations," the news release said.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

Industry: Systematic assist NZDF in NEA Programme

SitaWare Edge (Image: Systematic)

Systematic announces the award of a contract to assist New Zealand Defence Forces to complete Tranche 1 of the Network Enabled Army (NEA) Programme.

This will involve Systematic’s SitaWare Suite of COTS products for C4I, along with design and implementation support services that leverage Systematic’s extensive international experience of C4I initiatives. 

“Systematic will provide an Enterprise License for the full SitaWare Suite including Headquarters, Frontline and Edge products”, explains Mike Magill, President Systematic Asia-Pacific, “this enables interoperable C4I capabilities at all levels of command including not just static headquarters units, but also vehicles and dismounted commanders. In addition to the COTS based software at the heart of the C4ISR capability, we will also assist the NZDF team in providing architecture and system design services, along with implementation and integration support. A key feature of the support services is that they will take account of evolving and maturing requirements through the set-up of an ‘Agile’ project environment managed by Systematic.”

Industry: Cubic to Feature Enhanced C4ISR Solutions at Australia’s MilCIS 2016

Cubic Mission Solutions to offer leading-edge tactical communications capabilities to Australian region

SAN DIEGO – November 3, 2016 – Cubic Mission Solutions (CMS), a business division of Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB), today announced that it will highlight extensive Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities at the Military Communications and Information Systems (MilCIS) 2016 in Canberra, Australia from November 8 – 10. MilCIS is an annual conference that leads the dialogue between the Australian Department of Defense, industry and academic researchers on current and developing technology capabilities and services associated with military communications and information systems.

“The Australian Defence Force is an important customer for Cubic as we look to grow our innovative C4ISR systems and solutions within the region,” said Travis Queen, senior director of international C4ISR solutions, Cubic Mission Solutions. “We look forward to showcasing some of the most advanced and rapidly deployable communications capabilities to our new and existing customers attending MilCIS 2016.”

News Story: (US) Marines want new technologies to take enemy beaches

By: Jeff Schogol

Modern weapons can destroy ships and landing craft many miles from shore, forcing the Marine Corps to turn to new technologies to ensure Marines can land in force on enemy coasts.  

That's why a new task force is looking at everything from drone boats to electronic deception to get Marine raiders and landing teams safely ashore. 

The task force’s goal is to find existing systems to exploit gaps in enemy defenses, allowing Marine amphibious vehicles to get from ship to shore, said Maj. Jim Foley, of the Marine Corps’ Ellis Group, an internal think tank that explores future warfighting scenarios. 

“We’re going to have potentially different vehicles, but we’re going to enable them to get to the shore because we’re going to have more effective en route fire support,” Foley told Marine Corps Times. “We’re going to allow commanders to make better decisions because we’re looking at technologies that will support their command and control ability during those operations — and information warfare capabilities that will support that.” 

Industry, academia and government think tanks will show what technologies they have that meet the Marine Corps’ needs next April at Camp Pendleton, California, Foley said. The task force then hopes to allow Marines to drive those technologies in an amphibious exercise that fall. 

Read the full story at Marine Corps Times

News Story: Rear Adm. Manazir Speaks On Allied Force Transformation, A2AD

China's 1st & 2nd Island Chains, part of their A2/AD Strategy
(Click Image to Enlarge)

By ROBBIN LAIRD and ED TIMPERLAKE

Recently, Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson drove home the point that using the term Anti-Access Area Denial (A2AD), was too vague as to be useful to define the effort of US and allied forces to deal with peer competitors.

“The term ‘denial,’ as in anti-access/area denial is too often taken as a fait accompli,” the CNO said, “when it is, more accurately, an aspiration. Often, I get into A2AD discussions accompanied by maps with red arcs extending off the coastlines of countries like China or Iran. The images imply that any military force that enters the red area faces certain defeat – it’s a ‘no-go’ zone!”

But for the CNO not only does A2AD ascribe capabilities to peer competitors that are not demonstrated, but the term suggests an outcome when in fact U.S. and allied forces are being shaped to operate very differently than in the period of the dominance of the land wars.

Richardson is focused as well on the reshaping of the maritime forces to operate in a much more effective manner throughout an extended battlespace. The CNO has crafted a concept which he calls kill webs to describe the way ahead for the maritime and joint force.

Read the full story at Breaking Defense

News Report: India Expedites Its Space Centric Warfare Program

The Indian government has started a new framework that will provide an edge to Indian armed forces in the Asian region.

New Delhi (Sputnik) – The Indian Air Force (IAF) will soon receive approval from the Indian Space Research Organization for its own dedicated satellite. Air Vice Marshal Sandeep Singh Commandant of the Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) said that the plan to have a dedicated satellite for IAF was on the move. 

“The plan is in progress and we should soon have a dedicated satellite. It certainly does increase the efficiency of our critical missions,” said AVM Sandeep Singh. 

Group Captain Ajey Lele (Retired), space and national security expert from the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses explained why the satellite was needed. 

News Story: Chinese firm endorses products to AFP - IHS Janes

A Chinese company developer of communications systems “Hytera,” is setting up a new office in Manila to follow up on opportunities to promote its products to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and government sectors, an exclusive report of IHS Jane’s.

At the Asian Defence and Security 2016 (ADAS 2016) exhibition in Manila, Hytera officials verified IHS Jane’s on Friday it is promoting several systems to the AFP.

Read the full story at Tankler

News Story: India's BEL Eyes Missile Integration Market

Akash-2 Surface-to-Air Missile Launcher

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — Indian defense electronics giant Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) plans to develop into a leading missile systems integrator within the next five years, according to the company's outgoing Chairman Sunil Kumar Sharma. 

BEL is establishing a Defence Systems Integration Complex at Palasamudram in Andhra Pradesh in southern India with an investment of more than $120 million, Sharma said, adding that it will be country's largest missile systems integration facility where missile systems such as navigation, seeker, radar, fire control and guidance will be manufactured. 

"The proposed complex will be a world-class facility with automated-guided vehicles and industrial robots for material movement and handling with state-of-the-art manufacturing infrastructure for radars and weapon systems integration," he said. "The facility at Palasamudram will enable BEL to expand its business and strengthen the country's capability for manufacturing and integration of upcoming projects in the area of surface-to-air missile systems and network-centric systems". 

The complex will also have a state-of-art missile firing range facility. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Saab targets Gripen at Philippines

Jon Grevatt

Saab is to open an office in Manila by the end of 2016 to support the company's campaign to sell its JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft to the Philippine Air Force (PAF), an official from the Swedish company told I HS Jane's on 28 September.

Speaking on the opening day of the Asian Defence and Security 2016 (ADAS 2016) exhibition in Manila, Carl-Erik Leek, Saab's executive vice-president in the Asia Pacific, said the new office would be the centre of the company's marketing activities in the country.

At present, these are undertaken from Saab's regional headquarters in Thailand, although the company does not currently have a major presence, in terms of previous defence sales, in the Philippine market.

Read the full story at IHS Jane's

News Story: Xi brings strength, integrity to Chinese armed forces

BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Over three and a half years ago, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, announced his dream of building a strong army, an idea that has since been the basis of all work concerning military affairs.

From combat capability to strengthened Party leadership and unprecedented reform, Xi, as commander-in-chief of China's armed forces, has directed the path for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and brought great changes to it as it celebrates its 89th anniversary of founding on August 1.

WHAT ARMY SHOULD BE BUILT?

Xi put forward the dream of a strong army during an inspection tour of Guangzhou's armed forces in early December 2012. It was less than a month after he assumed office as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission (CMC).

Xi said achieving a great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has become China's biggest dream in modern history.

Xi later elaborated on what he meant. At a meeting with national lawmakers from the armed forces on March 11, 2013, Xi said that following the command of the Party, capability to win wars, and having a proper working style, are the fundamentals of building a strong army.

These tenets became the guideline of central authorities' work concerning military affairs and national defense.

On March 23, 2016 when inspecting the National Defense University of the PLA (NDU), Xi said military colleges needed to be strengthened for China to build world-class armed forces.

In a commentary published on May 25, the PLA Daily, flagship newspaper of China's armed forces, said a top army should have world-class equipment, organizational form, combat system, staff quality, strong training level and military theory.

A world-class army has the ability to fight and defeat the world's major powers, it said, and added that only a modernized transformation with new concepts could achieve this end.

In a group study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on July 26, 2016, Xi called for building a strong armed force commensurate with China's international status and compatible with national security.

Read the full story at Xinhua

USA: Pacific Command Amphibious Leaders Symposium-16 Commences to Build Indo-Asia Pacific Partnerships

A US Navy Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) at sea (File Photo)

By Sgt. Owen Kimbrel - U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific commenced the second annual U.S. Pacific Command Amphibious Leaders Symposium 2016 (PALS-16) with the gathering of representatives from 22 partner and allied nations from the Indo-Asia-Pacific region in San Diego, July 10.

PALS-16 brings together senior leaders of allied and partner nations to discuss key aspects of amphibious operations, crisis response, sea-basing, capability development and interoperability.

“This symposium is important for all the leaders present because it allows us to talk about amphibious operations throughout the Asian-Pacific region,” said Lt. Gen. John A. Toolan, commanding general Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.