News Story: Drones, Fighter jets on table as Mattis visits key ally India

By Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

Fighter jets, drone deals and shared concerns over Afghanistan's security look set to dominate the agenda when US Defense Secretary James Mattis visits India this week.

Mattis is scheduled to arrive late Monday and is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his new defence minister, in the first visit by a top US official since Donald Trump became president in January.

"The United States views India as a valued and influential partner, with broad mutual interests extending well beyond South Asia," a Pentagon statement said.

Trump and Modi met in June in Washington and the visit by Mattis is a sign "the political leadership in both countries place defence cooperation as a top priority", Mukesh Aghi, president of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum, told AFP.

Delhi and Washington share concerns about Afghanistan, with Trump announcing a new strategy for the war-torn country last month which cleared the way for the deployment of thousands more US troops.

The president has urged India to increase assistance to Afghanistan's economy, and has lambasted Delhi's arch-rival Pakistan for offering safe haven to "agents of chaos".

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: South Korea to Boost Military Arsenal With Nuclear Submarines, Spy Satellites

South Korea is considering boosting its three-axis defense program by building its own nuclear-powered submarines and acquiring spy satellites to counter the North Korea threat.

At their second bilateral meeting on Thursday, US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in committed to strengthen their combined defense posture against the People's Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) through Seoul's acquisition and development of highly-advanced military assets, as well as through the deployment of US strategic assets in and around South Korea.

Following the meeting, Trump said it was "a great privilege" to talk to Moon and that the ongoing North Korean crisis was the most important issue he and his counterpart had to address.

"I am allowing Japan and South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States," Trump tweeted on September 5, after Pyongyang successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that could be loaded on an intercontinental ballistic missile.

News Story: Australian Military Revises Small Drone Operating Procedures

DJI Phantom 3 UAV (File Photo)

by Bill Carey

Australia’s Department of Defence has established “revised operating procedures” for small unmanned aircraft, an action that follows a U.S. Army directive to its units in August to stop using drones manufactured by China’s DJI because of “cyber vulnerabilities.”

On August 9, “after Defence became aware of the U.S. Army’s actions, the use of all commercial off-the-shelf UAS[unmanned aerial systems] was suspended until a formal assessment into the cyber risk presented by these systems could be conducted,” said a spokesperson with the Australian department, in a statement provided to AIN. “Flight operations recommenced on 21 August 2017 following the completion of the risk assessment that led to the development of revised operating procedures for commercial off-the-shelf unmanned aerial systems.”

Australia’s military “operates a number commercial off-the-shelf UAS, including the DJI Phantom,” according to the statement, which did not describe the revised operating procedures. The Australian newspaper first reported the revised procedures.

Citing “increased awareness over cyber vulnerabilities associated with DJI products,” the U.S. Army in an August 2 memorandum ordered units to “cease all use, uninstall all DJI applications, remove all batteries/storage media from devices, and secure equipment for follow-on direction.” The memorandum, which was leaked to the news service sUAS News, cited as references a classified Army Research Laboratory report on DJI technology and a U.S. Navy memorandum regarding operational risks of using DJI products.

Read the full story at AINonline

News Report: New Generation of Chinese Drones Equipped With Anti-Tank Missiles Unveiled

Chinese drone-maker Tengoen unveiled a new series of armed reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at the 14th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China.

The UAVs include two fixed-wing models and two vertical take-off and landing models (VTOLs). One platform that was demonstrated is the TB001 "Twin-Tailed Scorpion," which Tengoen claims is the first and only Chinese-made twin-engine, twin-boom unmanned aerial system (UAS) ever.

The TB001 is 33 feet long and has a wingspan of twice that. It can fly for 35 hours and travel over 3,700 miles in that time. It is optimized for satellite control as well as an electro-optical targeting sensor. It can also be equipped with armaments, such as small missile launchers, for a total of 220 pounds of ordnance. A mock-up at the UAV show depicted the TB001 equipped with eight anti-tank Norinco Blue Arrow missiles, each weighing 100 pounds.

Also showcased was the TA001, a single pusher-engine UAV meant to carry lighter ordnance. It was about half the size of the TB001.

News Story: US Increases Number of F-16s To 18 In Afghanistan

The United States Air Force has increased the number of F-16 multi task Fighting Falcons to 18 from 12, two generals, quoted by Military.com said Tuesday at the Air Force Association's Air, Space and Cyber Conference.

In addition air refueling tankers are in Afghanistan for the first time in about five years, they said.

The Air Force now has 18 multi-role F-16 fighters in country, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, commander of US Air Forces Central Command, told reporters at the conference.

"We just plussed up our number of fighters. We had 12 F-16s; we now have 18," said Harrigian, who oversees missions at the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.

According to Military.com, Harrigian said: "Our close-air support role continues and, as you look at the strategy coming forward, we're actually right now working with [Commander of US forces in Afghanistan] Gen. John Nicholson's staff on how to best synchronize his advice-and-assist strategy going forward to optimize the placement of the air assets."

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Latest U.S. drone strike in Pakistan may further escalate bilateral tension

by Jamil Bhatti

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The latest U.S. unilateral drone attack in Pakistan would possibly enlarge the gaps between the two countries in their common course of anti-terrorism war, experts and analysts here said , expressing their concerns as the strikes are usually condemned by Pakistan as a violation of its sovereignty.

The latest U.S. strike took place on Friday, killing at least three people who were reportedly the members of Afghan Taliban in Pakistan' northwestern tribal region of Kurram Agency that bordering Afghanistan.

The unilateral U.S. military move came after Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's call for joint efforts against militants in both Pakistan and Afghanistan earlier this week. Abbasi said that any one-sided move will be counter-productive, hurting both countries' efforts for peace and fight against terrorism.

"I fear such unilateral acts will further worsen the Pak-U.S. relations in coming days," said Saeed Chaudhry, director of Islamabad Council for International Affairs, adding that the latest attack is a big blow to Pak-U.S. relations which has already gone low after U.S. President Donald Trump's serious criticism on Pakistan for hiding militants in its tribal areas bordering Afghanistan

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Bangladesh Protests Myanmar Airspace Violations as Tensions Mount Over Rohingya

WASHINGTON — Bangladesh is protesting a violation of its airspace by helicopters and drones from Myanmar, as tensions between the two countries escalate over a massive influx of Rohingya Muslim refugees into Bangladesh.

Bangladesh's foreign ministry summoned the charge d'affaires of Myanmar's embassy in Dhaka and warned the airspace violations could lead to “unwarranted consequences.”

This is the third time in three weeks that Bangladesh has summoned Myanmar's envoy as the refugee crisis of the Rohingya grows.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday that the number of Rohingya refugees who have fled across the border to Bangladesh has climbed to 391,000.

Rohingya refugees say Myanmar's military and members of the Buddhist majority have attacked their villages in northern Rakhine state, forcing them to flee. There are reports of villages being burned to the ground and the military deliberately targeting civilians, but access to the region is limited, so the reports can't be independently verified.

News Report: US Drone Strike Kills 3 Suspected Terrorists in Pakistan

Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD — An American drone attack in a remote northwestern border region of Pakistan has killed at least three suspected militants and injured another, said tribal and local security sources.

U.S. officials rarely acknowledge drone strikes on Pakistani soil, but if it is confirmed, Friday’s attack would be the first since President Donald Trump unveiled his strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia about a month ago.

Sources tell VOA that missiles fired from an unmanned aircraft destroyed a house in sem-iautonomous Kurram tribal district, which borders the Afghan province of Khost.

The house belonged to a local religious cleric, Maulvi Mohib, who was among the slain men. Tribal sources described Mohib as a loyalist of the Haqqani terrorist network, an ally of the Taliban who are fighting U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.

News Report: US Bombing Campaign in Afghanistan Intensifies, Hitting New High

Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD — The U.S. military dropped 555 bombs in Afghanistan against Taliban and Islamic State targets in August, the highest number in a single month since 2012.

Overall, the U.S. has conducted about 2,400 airstrikes since the beginning of the year in support of Afghan partners battling the Taliban and IS terrorists, said U.S. Navy Captain Bill Salvin, spokesman for NATO’s Resolute Support mission in the country.

About 1,700 of them were “strategic effects” strikes, Salvin told VOA, explaining "those are strikes that have an impact on the battlefield. They help the forces on the ground, essentially helping the ANDSF (Afghan National Defense Security Forces) take ground, hold ground and take the fight to the enemy."

Salvin said the spike in airstrikes conducted both by F-16 fighter planes and drones was facilitated by increased authority that the former U.S. administration under then-President Barack Obama gave last year to General John Nicholson, commander of international forces. The aim is to deny IS sanctuaries on Afghan soil and enable friendly ground forces to reverse Taliban battlefield gains.

News Story: Japan Defense Ministry seeks missile interceptors in budget

By: Mari Yamaguchi

TOKYO — Japan’s Defense Ministry is seeking a record-high budget to add missile interceptors and other equipment to defend the country from more North Korean weapons launches.

The 5.26 trillion yen (U.S. $47.78 billion) request for the fiscal year beginning next April is a 2.5 percent increase from the current year. A big chunk of the request announced Thursday will cover purchases of upgraded missile interceptors with expanded range, altitude and accuracy.

They include the ship-to-air SM-3 Block IIA jointly developed by the U.S. and Japan and the surface-to-air PAC-3 MSE.

The request comes amid growing fear about North Korea’s missile threat and rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. On Tuesday, Pyongyang fired a missile that flew over Japan and landed in the northern Pacific Ocean. It flight tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and has threatened to send missiles near the U.S. territory of Guam, where the U.S. has military bases.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called Tuesday’s missile firing an “unprecedented, grave and serious threat.” On Wednesday, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, an advocate of bolstering Japan’s missile and strike-back capability, said Tokyo must quickly upgrade its missile arsenal.

China, which is seen by Tokyo as another security concern, questioned Japan’s intentions.

“We think Japan is obliged to explain its real intention to the international community,” Hua Chunying, China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman, told a regular news conference.

Japan has criticized Beijing over its military spending and assertive maritime activity in regional waters.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Report: Pakistan - Trump's Afghan Policy 'Hostile and Threatening'

Ayesha Tanzeem

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s National Assembly passed a resolution Wednesday strongly denouncing President Donald Trump’s new policy on Afghanistan and calling his and General John Nicholson’s statements on Pakistan “hostile and threatening.”

President Trump had some of the harshest words for Pakistan when he announced his new policy on Afghanistan and South Asia on August 21.

“We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists we are fighting,” he said in a speech.

Soon after, in an interview with an Afghan TV channel, the top U.S. military commander in Kabul, General Nicholson said the U.S. is "aware of the presence" of Taliban leaders in the Pakistani cities of Quetta and Peshawar, and that they should not "sleep in peace."

News Report: Suicide Bomber Kills 5 Outside Kabul Bank

Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — A suicide bomber killed at least five people and wounded nine others outside a bank in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The attack occurred Tuesday at the entrance of a Kabul Bank branch not far from the heavily protected U.S. embassy.

Witnesses said personnel of the Afghan army and other security institutions were in the crowd to receive their monthly salaries.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The deadly blast occurred as Afghanistan prepares to mark the annual Eid festival.

News Story: Use Allied Investments To Help Rebuild US Military

RAAF Wedgetail AEW/C Aircraft (File Photo)

By ROBBIN LAIRD

The shift from slo mo — counterinsurgency operations — to high intensity combat is a major challenge for the US military and its allies. It is a culture shift, a procurement shift and an investment shift. But mobilization is even more important than modernization.

To get ready for this shift, our weapons inventory needs to become more robust. In visiting US bases, a common theme we hear is the challenge of basic inventory shortfalls.

The Trump Administration came to power promising to correct much of this. But there simply is not enough time and money to do readiness and training plus ups, mobilization and rapid modernization.

As a businessman, Donald Trump might take a look at how the Pentagon actually functions as an effective business in equipping the force. Having highlighted the question of allied spending, he might be pleased to learn of significant allied investments in new combat systems which his own forces can use, saving American taxpayers money and enhancing our military effectiveness at the same time.

One way to augment US forces would be to do something which might seem to be at odds with the Make America Great notion. As one of my Danish friends put it well: “I have no problem with the idea of making America great again. For me, the question is how?”

One way would be to leverage existing allied capabilities which, if adopted by the US forces, would save money but, even more importantly, would ramp up the operational capability of the US forces and their ability to work with allies in the shortest time possible. It would also allow the US to target investments where possible in break through programs which allies are NOT investing in.

Read the full story at Breaking Defense

News Story: Price spike sparked defense ministry struggle over Global Hawk drone - internal docs

The Ministry of Defense considered cancelling the purchase of Global Hawk reconnaissance drones after maker Northrop Grumman Corp. bumped up the projected cost by 23 percent from the initial 2014 estimate, according to internal ministry documents revealed on Aug. 21 by the Japanese Communist Party (JCP).

The Air Self-Defense Force plans to introduce the three drones in 2020 or beyond. However, according to the two documents presented by JCP secretariat head Akira Koike, the manufacturer boosted the total price by some 12 billion yen (about $109 million) this year because production for the U.S. military has ended and replacement parts need to be developed for the Japanese drones. Furthermore, "if the supply of spare parts is exhausted, total costs could easily rise by more than 25 percent," one of the documents states. The ministry is obliged to re-evaluate equipment purchases if the estimated cost rises by 15 percent or more.

Furthermore, if the internal documents -- one dated June 28 and the other in July -- are genuine and were leaked, the ministry's document management will once more come into question, following the cover-up of daily reports from Japan's peacekeeping unit in South Sudan.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Report: Indian Defense Firms Under Pressure to Develop New Age Technology for UAVs

The Indian Army had submitted a requirement for UAVs that could fly continuously for a minimum of ten hours at the height of up to 20000 feet, covering a range of two hundred kilometers from the control station. The army is in favor of locally developed systems but it would be a big challenge for private defense firms that lack the technology.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India is planning to purchase remotely controlled aerial surveillance platforms which would provide real time inputs in the form of imagery and electronic data to fighting formations during operations. The defense ministry announced that it would be spending approximately $461 million on the purchase of forty four such aerial vehicles.

The system would be capable of carrying different kinds of surveillance payloads such as electro optic and night payload, synthetic aperture radar and electronic support measures.

"UAVs and drones are increasingly assuming importance in warfare and are used by militaries across the world for carrying out a variety of functions mainly in terms of surveillance and target acquisition, communications and now even delivery of stores in remote areas. This will considerably enhance the surveillance and reconnaissance potential of the army in the tactical battle area and beyond," Rahul Bhonsle, a retired Indian Army brigadier and defense analyst told Sputnik.

News Story: Turkey, Indonesia team up in defense, enhance military ties

KAPLAN MT tank

YUNUS PAKSOY

As part of its defense strategy, Ankara is enhancing cooperation with Jakarta to boost bilateral projects in defense industries and the sharing of military experience

High-level diplomatic sources in Ankara told Daily Sabah that Ankara and Jakarta have recently intensified efforts to jointly develop defense industry mechanisms and share military experience.

In this respect, a prototype for the Turkish-Indonesian tank has already been created and is set to partake in an official military parade in Jakarta in October. The sources did not provide the number of tanks that would be produced, but demand will be a determining factor.

Defense industry experts said the tank will weigh around 35 tons, and will have a 700-horsepower engine. There will be two tanks in the first leg of production, one for Turkey and one for Indonesia. The development cost for the medium-weight tank is estimated at $11.5 million. The FNSS, a subsidiary of Nurol Holding, which operates in the industry, eyes the production of 40 tanks, while that number could go up to 200 if Indonesia is satisfied.

The KAPLAN MT tank is expected to make a powerful contribution due to its firepower and large ammunition options as well as its superior agility. A CMI Cockerill 3105 tower, equipped to fire high-pressured 105mm shells, provides the tank's firepower.

One of the striking points in the joint venture is the production of submarines. The senior sources stressed that Indonesia wants to gain know-how and the deal is near completion. Experts said that the Turkish defense industry is producing six submarines in Turkey's Gölcük shipyard under the license of ThyssenKrupp. The first submarine is set to be delivered in 2021.

Read the full story at Daily Sabah

News Story: Houthi Rebels Carry Out Series of Bomb-Boat Attacks

Saudi coalition forces have been on guard in the port of Mokha after a recent series of attacks by remote-controlled, bomb-laden boats operated by Houthi rebels. The Houthi forces have had success with this tactic before: in January, they damaged the Saudi frigate Al-Madinah with a remote-controlled boat, and they nearly struck a petroleum product terminal at Jazan, Saudi Arabia in April. 

On July 29, the rebels allegedly drove another remote-controlled boat into a pier at Mokha, Yemen, according to a statement from the coalition. It detonated near berthed vessels, but did not cause any significant damage. The Saudi military claimed that the Houthi rebels had attacked the port, thereby "disrupting the flow of humanitarian aid to Yemen, in particular medicines used to fight the rampant cholera epidemic." (The United Nations asserts that an ongoing Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports is contributing to widespread famine and disease.)

The Houthi forces claimed responsibility for an attack on the same date, but gave a different account. Official Houthi outlet Saba said that a bomb boat struck a UAE naval vessel at a position off the coast of Mokha, killing 12 and wounding 23 more. According to this account, the UAE warship was disabled by the blast and by a series of secondary explosions, and will require repair before it returns to service. Saba also claimed that a UAE minesweeper was damaged in the attack. 

Read the full story at MarEx

News Story: General Atomics targets first big international Avenger drone sale

General Atomics Avenger (Image: Wikipedia)

By: Valerie Insinna

POWAY, Calif. — Fewer than a dozen Avenger drones have been purchased since the product first flew in 2009, but General Atomics believes it may be able to sell about 90 aircraft in the next few years to a single international buyer, its president said Wednesday.

General Atomics has struggled to find a major customer for the Avenger, also called the Predator C, since the collapse of the U.S. Air Force’s MQ-X program and the U.S. Navy’s UCLASS program, both of which sought out UAVs that could survive contested environments.

But speaking to reporters on Aug. 16, GA president David Alexander said the company was engaged with an unnamed foreign nation on a potential Avenger purchase.

“A quantity of 90. It would be a big program,” he said.

Robert Walker, senior director of strategic development, added that “a lot of work” needs to be done to refine the requirements and that details were still being ironed out.

Although GA officials would not spell out which country is interested in the UAV, all signs point to India. In April 2016, Reuters reported that India’s Air Force had inquired about the potential procurement of up to 100 Predator Cs.

Even if India decides to press on with the sale — which is especially uncertain given the country’s fondness for rapidly changing weapons acquisition plans — it is unclear whether the United States would agree to export the armed UAVs. Unmanned aircraft are currently subject to the Missile Technology Control Regime, which spells out a “presumption of denial” for Category I systems like the Avenger.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Report: Indian Defense Sector Opens up to Private Players; Clears $2.8 Bln of Orders

Indian private companies would have to forge a joint venture with foreign firms for the purpose of manufacturing specific products with complete transfer of technology. The foreign firms, however, would not hold a majority stake in such joint ventures.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian Army has selected eleven priority defense projects worth $2.8 billion to be awarded to the private sector, in what is being seen as a bid to hasten the plugging of critical shortage.

The contracts mainly comprise development and manufacturing of arms and equipment including short range unmanned aerial vehicles, advanced robotic surveillance systems, 1200-1500 HP modular engine for tank T-90 S/SK, and third generation missile for 125mm gun barrels of T-90 And T-72 Tanks. The biggest of the contracts is the manufacturing of modular engine for T-90 tanks. The project alone is pegged at $1.5 billion.

Development of short-range remotely piloted aircraft system has an indicative cost of approximately $350 million. The Indian Army wants to purchase the robotic surveillance platform for the Rashtriya Rifles battalions which primarily tracks terrorist hide-outs in urban or built up areas.

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (16-Aug-2017)

Jack Viola, Eliza Chapman, Harley Comrie and Jacqueline Westermann

Sea state

It looks like the Russian government might have spoofed naval GPS in the Baltic Sea. A report from an American ship says that the GPS placed the ship at an airport 25 nautical miles from its actual position at the Russian port of Novorossiysk. GPS spoofing has been worrying experts for some time, but this is thought to be the first time the technique has been used ‘in the wild’. These technologies are of such concern that some countries, such as South Korea, have been developing alternative navigation systems in case of an attack on GPS.

Navantia of Spain has submitted its response to the request for tender for Australia’s future frigate project. The proposed F-5000 anti-submarine warfare vessel is an evolution of Navantia’s Hobart-class guided missile destroyer, currently used by the Australian navy, and will draw on lessons from Navantia’s F-310 for Norway.

The Chinese navy has conducted a live-fire drill in the Yellow Sea, which separates China from the Korean peninsula. During the exercise, ‘various missiles, dozens of torpedoes and hundreds of shells’ were fired. China’s defence ministry claimed that the drill was a regularly scheduled military exercise, but some pundits believe it was a response to North Korea’s recent missile tests.