News Story: Two Children Killed In Cross Durand Line Shelling By Pakistan

Pakistan Army A100 Rocket Launcher

At least two children were killed and three others were wounded in fresh rocket shelling from Pakistan on Thursday. 

The rockets landed in Nazian district in Nangarhar province – which lies along the Durand Line, the de facto border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

Nangarhar governor’s spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said Pakistani military has restarted the cross Durand Line incursions and has fired off dozens of rockets into Afghanistan recently. 

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: N.K.'s low-intensity provocation prompts expectation for dialogue

North Korean Rocket Artillery vehicle 

SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's presidential office said Sunday that North Korea's latest low-intensity provocation may indicate its intent not to aggravate the security situation, voicing hope for future dialogue with Pyongyang.

The assessment came after North Korea fired what's seen as three short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday, the first provocative act in a month after its tests of two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) last month.

Cheong Wa Dae is viewing the North's latest test as a widely expected move as North Korea made provocative acts before or during joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.

"It is clear that the current situation has nothing to do with strategic provocations," a senior official at the presidential office told reporters.

The office said that Seoul thinks the projectiles were artillery rockets fired from a multiple-rocket launcher, while the U.S. military reaffirmed its assessment characterizing those as short-range ballistic missiles.

A government source said that they may be artillery rockets from a new multiple-rocket launcher, given that their altitude is far lower than that of a ballistic missile.

Cheong Wa Dae refrained from issuing a statement condemning the North's act, which experts say reflects South Korea's hope that the current situation could set the tone for dialogue with the North.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: Malaysia denies offer for Chinese rocket launchers, radar

AR3 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)

Military spokesman says no such proposal received, Treasury secretary-general expresses surprise over report

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s armed forces said on Thursday they had received no offer from China to buy advanced rocket launchers and a radar system to be based at the southern tip of the Southeast Asian country, rebutting media reports.

The denial followed reports that a Chinese delegation visiting Malaysia this week had proposed basing the military equipment in Johor.

Quoting an unidentified source, The Malaysian Insight news portal said the delegation made the offer on Wednesday, following the launch of a US$13 billion (RM55.7 billion) rail project being built by China.

A Malaysia military spokesman said no such proposal had been received, however.

“As far as the armed forces are concerned, there has been no such proposal,” a spokesman for the Malaysian Armed Forces told Reuters by telephone.

Read the full story at Free Malaysia Today

News Report: China to Offer Radar, Rocket Launchers to Malaysia

China will offer Malaysia a radar system, as well as multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), in order to stress cooperation and trade ties that exist between the two nations, local media reported Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to The Malaysian Insight news website, the Chinese delegation headed by the country's President Xi Jinping will make "a low-interest [rate] offer" to purchase the AR3 MLRS and an advanced radar system.

The media outlet added that the systems were expected to be deployed in southwestern Malaysian state of Johor.

In recent years, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing make a number of steps to enhance cooperation in military sphere, for example in April, Malaysia signed a contract with China on purchase of four littoral mission ships.

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

News Story: Build Bare-Bones Network & Small Satellites For Multi-Domain Battle

US Army HiMARS Truck based missile launcher

By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR.

WASHINGTON: The Navy wants the Army’s help win a future Multi-Domain Battle with China, a senior defense official told me last week, but to get it, the two services have to connect through a simple, robust network using small and rapidly-launched satellites.

We don’t need massive bandwidth to handle video teleconferences, full motion video from drones, PowerPoint briefings, and all the digital tools of “micromanagement,” the official believes. We just need a regional command-and-control network for voice commands and bare-bones-data – I’m here, the enemy’s there, shoot them not me – that can run off a single small satellite.

“It doesn’t have to be a big network,” he told me. “You could have one satellite…a temporary small satellite that you’ve popped up.”

This is in keeping with the early Concept of Operation developed for the Air Force’s Operationally Responsive Space program (although the official didn’t mention ORS by name). ORS seeks to end the US military’s dependence on highly capable, highly complex and highly expensive satellites. These multi-billion-dollar masterpieces would take months or years to replace if an adversary shot them down— as China demonstrated it could in 2007.

Read the full story at Breaking Defense

News Story: U.S. commander says more combined drills with S. Korea needed

By Lee Chi-dong

UIJEONGBU, South Korea, June 20 (Yonhap) -- A top U.S. military commander in South Korea said he can't overemphasize the need for more combined exercises between the two countries, citing the seriousness of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction threats.

"I am never satisfied. I want to do more training." said Maj. Gen. Theodore D. Martin, the commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division. "I want all training to be combined just like we got a saying, 'Train like you fight.' We want to get to very high-level live-fire exercises."

He was speaking in an exclusive interview at his office at Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu, about 50 kilometers south of inter-Korean border, on Monday.

His comments came amid renewed concern about the future of the South Korea-U.S. alliance forged in blood during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Speaking at a forum in Washington, D.C. over the weekend, Moon Chung-in, a special adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in on unification, security and foreign affairs, suggested that the allies scale down their joint defense drills and the presence of strategic U.S. military assets on the peninsula.

He set the freeze of North Korea's missile and nuclear programs as a precondition.

Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office, played down his personal view that's not helpful to the Seoul-Washington alliance, with the presidents of the two sides slated to hold summit talks next week.

The upcoming meeting will be the first test of chemistry between the liberal South Korean leader and his conservative American counterpart Donald Trump.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Report: Antsy Taiwan Waiting on Long-Rumored US Arms Sale Amid Tensions with Beijing

The government of Taiwan has expressed their appreciation for American lawmakers who have called for expedited arms sales to the island nation as tensions between it and the mainland continue to escalate.

The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry and the Mainland Affairs Council have both expressed gratitude to American leaders who have been pushing for the arms deal. "Our President Tsai Ing-wen has many times called on the US side to supply appropriate arms for Taiwan in an effort to maintain cross-strait and regional stability," replied Chiu Chui-cheng, vice-chair of the Mainland Affairs Council, in a statement. "It is the obligation for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to maintain cross-strait and regional stability and we hope Beijing can seek to resolve our disputes through dialogue."

The legislator spearheading the expediting of the sale is Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce (R-CA), who chastised the White House for delaying arms sales to Taiwan. "I remain concerned about successive administrations" delays in arms sales notification for Taiwan, which have needlessly dragged out the arms sales process," said Royce on Thursday.

News Report: Indian Army to Induct 108 Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers Worth $2 Billion

Pinaka Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)

The Indian defense ministry has planned to float a tender to purchase six regiments of homemade Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers for $2 billion. Each regiment will comprise three batteries of six Pinaka launchers mounted on Tatra trucks.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The tender is expected to be issued to firms by the next month while the acquisition order is expected to be placed within 18 months. Pinaka supplements the existing artillery gun at ranges beyond 30 km with quick reaction time and high rate of fire. Pinaka is developed by state-owned DRDO with private defense firms Tata Power SED and L&T.

Indian defense ministry had placed an order for two regiments i.e 36 systems last December. The Army intends to have 22 Pinaka regiments by 2026 including 12 regiments of Guided Pinaka. This is an advanced version of the Pinaka, wherein the firing range has been enhanced to 65+ km from the existing 38 km. India conducted two developmental tests of the 214-mm caliber Guided Pinaka earlier this year.

News Report: Mattis - War With North Korea 'Would Bring Danger to Russia and China'

US SecDef Jim Mattis

A war with North Korea would be the worst in most people's lifetimes, according to US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A possible diplomatic failure and subsequent war with North Korea would be a disaster, posing a threat to many countries, including Russia, US Defense Secretary James Mattis told CBS News in an interview on Sunday.

"This [North Korean] regime is a threat to the region, to Japan, to South Korea. And in the event of war, they would bring danger to China and to Russia as well. But the bottom line is it would be a catastrophic war if this turns into a combat if we're not able to resolve this situation through diplomatic means," Mattis said.

Mattis added that a possible armed conflict with North Korea would be the worst in most people’s lifetimes due to the fact that North Korea possessed "hundreds of artillery cannons and rocket launchers" within range of South Korean capital of Seoul.

Tensions around North Korea's activities with both nuclear and non-nuclear weapons have drastically escalated in recent months, after Pyongyang conducted a number of nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches in violation of the UN Security Council's resolutions.

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

News Story: Atmar Meets With Indian, Iranian, Pakistani Counterpart In Moscow

Afghan National Security Advisor Haneef Atmar met his Indian, Iranian and Pakistani counterparts on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 8th Security Conference in Moscow and discussed a number of issues relevant to all three nations. 

In his meeting with India’s national security advisor Ajit Doval, the two officials discussed the expansion of bilateral relations and agreed to work on a joint strategy to further support the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). 

Atmar tweeted that the two sides “had detailed talks about regional security and agreed to work on comprehensive joint mechanisms for fight against terrorism.” 

Atmar also invited Doval to visit Afghanistan, and spoke about arranging a meeting between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in June in Kazakhstan. 

Later, he also met with his Pakistani counterpart Nasser Khan Janjua and said they discussed issues around the Durand Line, such as “the firing of rockets by Pakistani military and the building of military bases on Afghan soil”. 

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Taiwan war games simulate China invasion

Taiwan forces simulated an invasion by China Thursday as part of live-fire war games against a backdrop of rising tensions with Beijing.

The annual drills are Taiwan's biggest military exercise and mocked up a scenario in which Chinese troops launched an amphibious assault.

They took place on the outlying Penghu Islands, which sit in the strait that separates Taiwan from China.

The defence ministry has warned of a rising military threat from China, which still sees self-ruling Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, by force if necessary.

Taiwan's military is boosting its firepower to counteract the risk, including launching its first ever home-grown submarine project and building a new generation of jet trainers.

President Tsai Ing-wen presided over the drills and emphasised the importance of building up Taiwan's indigenous defence industry.

"When Taiwan shows its determination to take the road of defensive autonomy, it is putting on a display to the world of our determination to protect our home and land," she said at a military base in Penghu after overseeing the exercise.

Read the full story at SinoDaily

News Report: North Korea - What Happens if Tensions Finally Give Way to War?

Military experts share their thoughts on how events will unfold if Pyongyang turns its rhetoric into action.

The secluded state's missile tests are growing more frequent, and leader Kim Jong-un continues to threaten to hit the US mainland with a nuclear-armed ballistic missile if Washington doesn't stop putting pressure on the regime.

Most experts agree that if diplomatic and economic measures by the US and allies fail, a preemptive strike could follow, resulting in a conventional war and major loss of life, mainly due to Seoul's proximity to the North's border.

The US Military Times on Sunday published a model of how the US, South Korea and the North would act if the tense 64-year-old ceasefire on the peninsula were to end, based on interviews with current and former military officials, international experts and intelligence assessments of Pyongyang's military capabilities.

News Story: India floats repeat tender for homemade rocket launchers valued at $2B

A Pinaka Multi-Launch Rocket System

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — In a move aimed at becoming more self-sufficient with multi-barrel rocket launchers, the Indian Ministry of Defence has floated a big-ticket bid to buy six regiments of homemade Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers for $2 billion. The order for the acquisition is expected to be placed within 18 months.   

Last December, the ministry placed an order for two regiments — one regiment is 18 systems — totaling a $350 million order for the Pinaka rocket launchers. Industry sources say India is now contemplating exporting the Pinaka. 

The order will be split between the prime state-owned contractors Bharat Earth Movers Limited and the Ordnance Factories Board, or OFB, and private sector defense companies Larsen & Toubro and Tata Power SED. Under the contract, BEML will supply the vehicles for the rocket launchers; L&T and Tata Power SED will supply the launcher systems; and OFB will supply the rocket ammunition . 

L&T and Tata Power SED have designed and developed the Pinaka system with the Defence Research and Development Organization, or DRDO. The Indian Army currently operates two regiments of the Pinaka systems. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Pakistan Asked To Stop ‘Supporting Terrorists’

By Ziar Yad

Dozens of residents and tribal elders from both sides of the Durand Line blamed Pakistan on Tuesday of supporting and training terrorists and stated that Daesh is also supported by some circles within Pakistan. 

Speaking at a gathering in Nangarhar they urged Pakistan to stop “supporting terrorists”, saying Daesh was a serious threat to the region. 

The residents vowed to cooperate with the Afghan security forces in their efforts to eliminate insurgents. 

“Pakistan is destroying our homes on the other side of the Durand Line. We are not terrorists. It is Pakistan that has turned Daesh into a big force on the two sides of the Durand Line,” said Zarjan Shinwari, head of a tribal council on the Pakistan side of the Durand Line.

The participants at the gathering said Pakistani military in plain clothes come into the tribal belt areas and intimidate people. 

“We witnessed many things. Many were killed and this process continues. But we cannot talk anymore and we cannot say what we want,” said Hayat Massoud, a tribal elder from Waziristan.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Report: US Strike on North Korea Could Put Seoul in Jeopardy

Brian Padden

SEOUL — Thousands of North Korean artillery shells raining down on Seoul. Hundreds of tons of high explosives detonating in the densely populated South Korean capital. Missile strikes as far away as Japan and the U.S. territory of Guam.

These are just some of the possible consequences U.S. and South Korean military planners must take into account as they consider a pre-emptive strike to halt Pyongyang's steady advances toward developing an offensive nuclear capability.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has repeatedly said it is finished with its predecessor's policy of “strategic patience” toward North Korea, suggesting the possibility of military action to prevent the North from developing a nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could reach the U.S. mainland.

Adding military muscle to the rhetoric, a U.S. submarine designed to carry 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles entered a South Korean port on Tuesday. The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group is also heading to the region and conducting naval exercises with Japan and South Korea. And the United States this week began to move part of the THAAD missile defense system to its deployment site 250 kilometers south of Seoul.

News Report: North Korea Displays New ICBM, Other Missiles

North Korea rolled out its military hardware Saturday at its annual Day of the Sun celebration commemorating the 105th birth anniversary of the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader, Kim Jong Un.

Goose-stepping soldiers and marching bands filled the square Saturday where North Korea’s young leader reviewed tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems and other weapons that rolled by.

New missiles

Weapons analysts said they believe some of the missiles on display were new types of intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, including a solid-fuel missile designed to be fired from a submarine, which would make it hard to detect.

News Report: South Korea Conducts Large-Scale Artillery Exercises - Defense Ministry

South Korean MLRS

According to the Defense Ministry, South Korea held large-scale exercises on Tuesday, with the use of multiple launch rocket systems.

TOKYO (Sputnik) – South Korea held large-scale exercises on Tuesday, with the use of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), in response to provocations from North Korea, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.

"Through the current exercises, our armed forces demonstrated their fighting ability to suppress the enemy with firepower in the event of an emergency, and also confirmed their readiness to immediately destroy [the enemy] in the attempts of any provocation," the South Korean Army's statement read, as quoted by Yonhap news agency.

The ground force exercises took place in Kosong County, eastern Gangwon Province, which is split between South Korea and North Korea.

News Story: Pakistan Resumes Missile Attack On Nangarhar - Official

Pakistan Army Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)

Pakistan has once again resumed cross border shelling on Nangarhar province, local officials said on Wednesday.

The provincial governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani confirmed the reports and said that Pakistan's military has, in the past 24 hours, fired off almost 30 missiles on Lalpur, Momand Dara and Nazyan district.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Pakistan’s PM Orders Immediate Re-Opening Of Torkham

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday ordered the immediate re-opening of Torkham, Spin Boldak and other gates that were closed in the aftermath of recent “terrorist” attacks in the country, Pakistani media reported.

Sharif said in a statement that the border was being re-opened as “a goodwill gesture.”

He said he hoped the Afghan government would address the grievances cited for the closure of border.

The Torkham and Spin Boldak gates were closed on February 16 after a suicide attack at Lal Shehbaz Qalandar shrine that killed 75 people and injured hundreds others.

Pakistan authorities claimed the attack on the shrine was planned in Afghanistan.

Following the attack, Pakistan launched missile attacks on the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan, leaving hundreds of families homeless.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Torkham To Re-Open For Trade, Says Pakistan Minister

Pakistan’s Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir said Tuesday that the Torkham gate crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan will re-open soon.

Although Dastgir did not specify a date that the crossings would re-open, Pakistan media quoted a local government official, senator Taj Muhammad Afridi, as having said Torkham will be reopened for trade from next week.

Islamabad closed the crossings last month due to security concerns following a deadly blast at a shrine in Sindh province, which left at least 75 people dead.

This decision was then followed by a number of missile attacks into eastern Afghanistan by Pakistan.

This week however, Dastgir expressed hope that recent talks in London between Haneef Atmar, the National Security Advisor for President Ashraf Ghani, and the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, would prove to be helpful in resolving the outstanding issues between the two countries.

Read the full story at TOLOnews