Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (27-Jun-2017)

An unpainted Chinese Y-8Q/GX-6 ASW Aircraft during testing

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea State

Just in time for President Modi’s visit to Washington, the Trump administration has agreed to sell 22 Guardian drones to India, in a deal that’s been described as a ‘game changer’ for US–India relations. The drones would be a ‘force multiplier’ for the Indian Navy, improving its maritime surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. Though yet to be approved in India, New Delhi reportedly sees the deal as ‘a key test of defence ties’. Defense News speculates that the sale of the unarmed Guardians could be a precursor to the purchase of armed drones—something India has sought previously but which is currently prohibited by US export laws. Finalising the deal is likely to require a fine balance between Trump’s “America First” platform and Modi’s “Make in India” policy.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) successfully test-fired its Long-Range Artillery system (LORA) on 20 June. LORA’s strength is its portability: it launches from a container that can be trucked onto the deck of a cargo ship. According to The Drive, LORA’s relative low-cost and plug-and-play nature means that a range of auxiliary ships ‘could suddenly become impromptu combatants’. IAI says ‘several deals’ for LORA are underway, but it remains to be seen who’s in the market for the platform.

And for the final Sea State reads this week, here are two great pieces: one about how noisy herrings are creating (submarine) confusion; and another about marauding orcas fleecing fisherman.

News Story: Textron company eyes Australia in wake of Tiger helo critique

AH-1Z Viper (Left), UH-1Y Venom (Right) [Click Image to Enlarge]

By: Pierre Tran

LE BOURGET, France — Bell Helicopter, a Textron unit, is keen to pitch to Australia in response to reported criticism of the Airbus Helicopters Tiger attack helicopter, said Richard Harris, vice president for international military sales. 

“Sure it’s a market, you bet,” he told Defense News on the first day of the Paris Air Show, when asked if Bell would pursue an order from Australia. 

Bell is also competing in two competitions in Europe, with the results expected within six months, assuming stable political factors, he said, while declining to disclose those countries. 

Poland and the Czech Republic are reported to be holding tenders to acquire new helicopters, with the latter looking to order 12 light multi-role units. 

Harris was confident the design of a sealed rotorhead on its AH-1Z attack and UH-1Y combat utility helicopters could overcome maintenance problems arising from sand and harsh conditions, such as that found in Australia. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: India may sue Polish firm over armored recovery vehicle contract

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — The Indian government may file a lawsuit against Polski Holding Obronny of Poland, formerly known as Bumar, for allegedly not honoring a contract to supply full technology transfer for key systems of armored recovery vehicles, or ARV, to be manufactured in India by state-owned Bharat Earth Movers Limited for the Indian Army. 

“Despite an undersigned contract [worth] $275 million signed in January 2012 for supply of 204 ARVs, the Polish company has ... not given critical technology transfer for ARVs to be manufactured by BEML in India. The Polish company also refused to open performance bank guarantee of $100 million for technology transfer of critical systems for ARVs, and despite several reminders, PHO has refused to honor its commitment," according to an Indian Ministry of Defence official, who spoke to Defense News on condition of anonymity. 

“India is now actively pursuing to file a lawsuit again PHO for not honoring [its] commitment, and [the Indian] government will now recover liquidity damages,” the MoD source added. 

BEML bagged an order from the MoD in November 2011 to produce 204 ARVs with full technology transfer from PHO for the Indian Army’s Russian-made T-72 main battle tanks.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Poland workshop focuses on disputes in East (South China) Sea

Hanoi (VNA) – The 13th Lodz East Asia Meeting (LEAM) themed “Power shifts in East Asia: Prospects for Developing Asian-European Ties” took place recently in Poland, with a discussion on territorial disputes in the East (South China) Sea and navigation security in Asia being held for the first time.

As the most prestigious annual international conference in Poland, the event saw the participation of nearly 50 scholars and researchers from research institutes of Poland, the UK, Germany, the Republic of Czech, Hungary, Russia, China, Japan, and Indonesia. 

The participants reviewed recent noticeable developments in the East (South China) Sea, especially China’s activities to consolidate, expand and construct islands and rocks in the East Sea, which have hanged the status quo of sea and island structures. 

According to scholars, China’s encroachment and militarisation in the sea seriously violates regulations on navigation and aviation security, safety and freedom in the region and complicates the dispute settlement process.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Most Major Western Leaders To Skip China's Silk Road Summit

Only one leader of a big Western country is attending China's most important diplomatic event of the year, a summit next month on President Xi Jinping's New Silk Road strategy, as China's foreign minister denied it had been snubbed, Reuters reported.

Xi has championed the "One Belt, One Road" or OBOR initiative to build a new Silk Road linking Asia, Africa and Europe, a landmark program to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects including railways, ports and power grids.

Reuters reported that China has dedicated $40 billion USD to a Silk Road Fund and the idea was the driving force behind the establishment of the $50 billion China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

According to Reuters, diplomatic sources in Beijing said China had hoped for at least some senior Western leaders to attend the summit, including British Prime Minister Theresa May, but a list of attendees announced by Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday included only one leader from the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (18-Apr-2017)

Boeing WC-135 Constant Phoenix (Image: Wiki Commons)

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea State

Some worthy new analysis on the future of the US Navy surfaced last week. The crux of the analysis in Foreign Policy is that the three Congress-commissioned proposals for naval force structure—mentioned recently in this feature—‘are all overwhelmingly preoccupied with China’ and only tangentially address the threats posed by Russia and Iran. The author argues that Congress should be advised whether those proposals believe ‘a Navy built for the Spratly Islands will play just as well in the Black Sea.’ And, a Politico piece sets out ‘How Trump Can Build a 350-Ship Navy’. The writers acknowledge that growing the naval fleet will present both industrial and fiscal challenges, but nevertheless argue that taking bold actions now is the only way to meet President Trump’s goal of a highly-capable 350-ship Navy—by the end of his second term…

New research is challenging the traditional “bludgeoning” method of icebreaking, used by Russia in the Arctic to speed up melting and create clear shipping lanes. The research shows that using submarines and ‘flexural gravity-wave resonance’ would offer a faster and more elegant approach. Data demonstrates that, by using this method, a submarine could forge a passage through ice ten times faster than America’s heavy icebreaker, Polar Star. Read all about it in The Economist.

News Story: Poland eyes frigates from Australia, submarines

Adelaide class Frigate (Image: Wiki Commons)

By: Jaroslaw Adamowski

WARSAW, Poland — Poland may purchase two Adelaide-class frigates, based on the Oliver Hazard Perry-class vessel, from Australia for its Navy, said Michal Jach, the chairman of the Polish parliament’s National Defence Committee.

“The acquisition of used Adelaide frigates from Australia would represent a major upgrade for Poland, it would raise the combat capability of our Navy,” Jach said at the Safety Forum 2017 conference in Szczecin, Poland, as reported by local news agency PAP. “These units were modernized and equipped with modern weapons and systems several years ago. After a good negotiation, we will have to pay several hundred million zloty for this. A fully equipped frigate is worth about U.S. $700 million.”

The chairman said that the Polish Ministry of National Defence is also expected to decide this year on the supplier of three new submarines for the country’s Navy. Three companies have applied to take part in the procurement procedure: France’s DCNS, Sweden's Saab and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

NOTE: The “Wikipedia: Adelaide class Frigate” Link in the above was added by PacificSentinel for clarity & context.

News Story: East (South China) Sea security conference held in Poland

Prague (VNA) – Security in the East Sea came under the spotlight at a recent conference held at the Civitas University in Warsaw, Poland, drawing the attendance of local researchers, students and the Vietnamese community.

The event was held by the Centre for Poland-Asia Studies (CSPA), the Vietnamese Culture and Science Institute under Almamer University, Collegium Civitas in collaboration with Le Qui Don club.

At the conference, professors Tadeusz Iwinski, Pawel Behrendt and Oskar Pietrewicz of the CSPA and Dr. La Duc Trung from the Vietnamese Culture and Science Institute presented reports on the East Sea situation and disputes among countries related to the waters.

Reports all confirmed that maintaining security at the East Sea plays a very important role in ensuring freedom of maritime navigation and maintaining trade among countries in the world.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: U.S. Missile system deployment in S.Korea violates New START - Russian senator

MOSCOW, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea violates the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a top official of the upper house of Russia's Parliament said Tuesday.

"The deployment is one of the conditions for Russia's withdrawal from the treaty stipulated by its text," Ozerov, Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Russian Federation Council, was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

The Defense Ministry of South Korea said earlier in the day that two mobile launchers and part of the equipment necessary for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) had arrived in an air base some 70 km south of the capital Seoul, which was seen by opposition parties in the country as a "unilateral" decision by the government without gaining public approval.

The New U.S.-Russia START agreement was signed in 2010 and became effective in 2011. It is expected to last until 2021 with a possible extension for another five years.

Read the full story at Xinhua

USA: Deployments Bolster U.S. Presence in Western Pacific, Europe

By Karen Parrish

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2017 — Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook announced operational deployments that will boost U.S. presence in the western Pacific and in Europe.

“Ships and units from the Carl Vinson strike group will depart San Diego for a regularly scheduled deployment to the western Pacific,” Cook told Pentagon reporters today.

Approximately 7,500 sailors will deploy and focus on maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and bilateral exercises, he said.

Armored Brigade Combat Team Headed to Europe

Separately, Cook said, the United States is demonstrating its continued commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America’s dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region in light of Russia’s intervention in Ukraine.

“Tanks, trucks and other equipment are scheduled to arrive in Europe this weekend, beginning a nine-month rotation of U.S. Army forces supporting Operation Atlantic Resolve,” the press secretary said.

The arrival of troops and equipment from 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Carson, Colorado, marks the beginning of the presence of an ABCT and back-to-back rotations of U.S. troops and equipment in Europe, he added.

After the equipment arrives at Bremerhaven, Germany, it will move by rail, commercial line haul and military convoy to Poland, Cook said. Troops and equipment will later be relocated throughout the region for training and exercises with European allies.

“This effort is part of our European Reassurance Initiative to maintain persistent, rotational presence of air, land, and sea forces in Central and Eastern Europe,” he said.

US DoD

News Story: Mixed Signs for Foreign Military Sales Under Trump

By: Aaron Mehta and Pierre Tran

WASHINGTON AND PARIS — Foreign military sales (FMS) are a critical foreign policy tool, one used to bind partners to America while bolstering interoperability on US systems — and providing a boost to domestic industry.   

The administration of US President Barack Obama has made good use of FMS, setting records for foreign weapons sales in 2015 and coming close in 2016. But as President-elect Donald Trump’s administration spins up, the future of US sales abroad is unclear.

As with everything related to the Trump administration at this point, there is little hard evidence to go by. But analysts are watching closely for signs of what might come. In particular, there is concern that two areas of strong sales — the Gulf region and Europe — could be impacted by either the policies of the next administration or the statements of the next president. 

Analyst Byron Callan, of Capital Alpha Partners, wrote to investors the day after the election, noting some of Trump’s campaign positions could impact foreign weapon sales. 

“We would expect if countries increase spending, it would be to the benefit of their own industries and not necessarily favor US defense firms,” Callan wrote to investors, adding: “If a Trump administration takes a harder line on Muslims, that may also bear on US defense exports to some Middle Eastern and Asian countries.” 

Doug Berenson, managing director with Avascent, agrees there are potential roadblocks from Trump policies but stresses that a lot is still in the air.   

“I think there is a chance that many European countries could get nervous about what this means, about the reliability of the US as a supplier,” Berenson said. “But I think it’s too early to assume that would be the outcome.”

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: International defense show concludes in Karachi

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The 9th International Defense Exhibition and Seminar 2016 (IDEAS) concluded in Pakistani city Karachi on Friday. The four-day show witnessed bigger-than-ever participation by Chinese, Russian, and Turkish companies.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif inaugurated the event on Tuesday. The strategic show was organized by the Defense Export and Promotion Organization.

The theme for this year's exhibit was "Arms for Peace" which was spelled out by PM Sharif on the inaugural day.

Chinese, Turkish and Russian companies made their presence felt with an enormous participation. The number of Russian defense manufacturers increased to three this year including the state-controlled arms import and export company Russia Rosoboron export.

Nine Chinese companies including China Aerospace Long-March International, China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation and Poly Technologies Inc. took part in the exhibition.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Taliban Attack At Bagram Won't Change U.S Will - Pentagon

In reaction to the Taliban attack at Bagram Airbase outside Kabul early Saturday, the Pentagon said that such attacks will not change the United States' commitment to Afghanistan.

In a statement released by the United States Defense Ministry, ‎Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, said that the Pentagon will continue its mission in Afghanistan and added that the United States is commited to helping ensure security and a better future in Afghanistan and that they will not step back.

Four U.S soldiers were killed and 18 other U.S soldiers and a Polish soldier were wounded in a suicide bombing at Bagram Airbase outside Kabul early Saturday.

Bagram base is the largest U.S base in the country.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

Think Tank: France reassures its partners after DCNS leak

India's 1st Scorpene class Submarine about to be floated
after construction (File Photo)

Paul Soyez

While the DCNS leak crisis shouldn’t deeply harm France’s relations with India and Australia, it has already had consequences. In particular, recent reporting that India might not go ahead with a follow-on buy of Scorpenes will be worrying the French company.

The French public shipbuilding firm has been targeted by what it describes as an act of ‘economic warfare’: an apparent cyber-attack leading to the leak of information pertaining to its Scorpene submarines built in India. In fact, The Australian revealed last week that it had access to 22,400 pages of documents that had been leaked from the company in 2011. These documents disclose the maintenance of crucial elements of the Indian submarines, such as torpedo launching systems, periscopes and communication equipment.

A former employee of DCNS is currently suspected of the leak. It is uncertain whether the company had dismissed him for misconduct while he was working in India for one of its subcontractors in charge of training the Indian Navy.

News Story: Mexican, Polish associations backs PCA’s ruling

The Mexican Institute for Friendship and Cooperation with Vietnam (IACMV) and Poland’s Saint Stanislaw Brotherhood have voiced their support for the recent ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague on the Philippines’s lawsuit against China’s claims in the East (South China) Sea.

In its statement sent to the Vietnamese Embassy in Mexico, the IACMV highlighted the historical significance of the judgment, saying that it contributes to peacefully settling disputes in the East Sea.

The IACMV called on the Chinese government to respect the verdict, adding that if any country does not abide by international law and acts unilaterally, it will create chaotic conditions and threaten the peace and sovereignty of countries in the region.

The IACMV reaffirmed its strong support for Vietnam’s efforts to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Meanwhile, Ryszard Murat, head of the Saint Stanislaw Brotherhood, said the association applauds the PCA’s judgment at a ceremony to announce the association’s letter to Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) held in Warsaw on July 23.

Read the full story at VietnamNet

USA: Carter Lauds Poland’s Expansion, New Zealand’s Extension of Counter-ISIL Roles

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, June 21, 2016 — Defense Secretary Ash Carter released statements last night welcoming decisions by two coalition nations that he said would accelerate the effort to bring about a lasting defeat to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Poland announced that it will deploy 60 special operations forces to Iraq, as well as four F-16s and associated personnel to Kuwait for reconnaissance missions over Iraq and Syria. New Zealand will keep up to 143 trainers for the partner-capacity-building mission at Taji, Iraq, until November 2018, will provide additional training of Iraqi security forces in Besmaya, and will authorize the training of stabilization forces.

Think Tank: Sea, air and land updates (9-FEB-2016)

Dione Hodgson, Ashleigh Sharp and Lachlan Wilson

Sea State

The US Navy’s fleet of Aegis cruisers and destroyers are set to gain new ship-killing missiles, with US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announcing modifications to the Raytheon Stand SM-6 during an address to sailors at Naval Base San Diego on 3 February. In addition to its powerful air and missile defence capabilities, Carter has announced that the weapon will have an anti-surface mode, allowing it to attack and destroy targets more than 200 nautical miles away. You can read initial analysis of these modifications from Dave Majumdar at The National Interest and Thomas Gibbons-Neff over at The Washington Post.

The Indonesian Navy’s multipurpose hospital ship KRI Dr Soeharso (990) has completed its first ever international mission, returning from Timor-Leste on 4 February. In a sign of Indonesia’s growing interest in establishing a greater maritime presence in the region, the ship was deployed on a week-long mission to provide a range of medical services including cataract removal and dental services.

In the wake of the recent US Navy Freedom of Navigation Operation in the Paracel Islands, The Diplomat’s Ankit Panda and Prashanth Parameswaran have released their latest podcast discussing new developments in the South China Sea.

Editorial: What Are Boeing’s Prospects for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in Asia?

Australian F/A-18F Super Hornet (File Photo)

By Benjamin David Baker

With competition from both foreign and other U.S. companies, can the tried and tested Super Hornet stay in the game?

As the Diplomat has noted recently, the Asia-Pacific has become an important market for modern military aircraft. Companies from countries such as France, Sweden, Russia, and China have been attempting to sell their platforms to a range of states in the region (seehere and here for Beijing’s Asian aircraft bids). Several states, including Indonesia, Malaysia and India, are either planning to or are in the process of acquiring modern fighter jets.

U.S. companies have a long and established position in this market. This has partially been for political purposes. During the Cold War, many states bought American kit out of necessity as much as quality, as there were few other acceptable sellers available (the French company Dassault being an important exception).

U.S. companies are still among the top suppliers of Asian air forces. Today, however, economic considerations are becoming increasingly important and U.S hardware is often prohibitively expensive. As such, it is possible to identify two broad categories of military combat aircraft: cutting edge, “fifth generation” aircraft, and conventional “fourth generation” platforms.

In the first category, the U.S. still holds an important advantage. Lockheed-Martin’s controversial F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has attracted both confirmed and potential buyers in the Pacific, such as Australia, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. (Although the latter two are developing their own, indigenously-designed fifth generation birds, the Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin and the Korea Aerospace Industries’ KF-X.)

In the second category, U.S. models are facing a more level playing field. Modern Russian jets such as the Sukhoi Su-35, so-called “Eurocanards” represented by the Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab Gripen, and Dassault Rafale, and even the joint Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder, represent tough competition for U.S. fighters.

One of the United States’ main contenders for this market is Boeing’s F/A-18E Super Hornet. Originally deployed back in 1999, the Super Hornet is today the mainstay of both the U.S. Navy and the Australian Air Force, with over 500 aircraft fielded in total.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Think Tank: Sea, air and land updates (10-Nov-2015)

Alice Slevison, Mercedes Page and James Mugg

Sea State

Last week the destroyer USS Donald Cook visited Turkey’s Aksaz naval base on Turkey’s southwest coast for joint Turkey–US exercises. Elements of the Turkish naval force present included submarines, surface and air defence units.

Meanwhile in Paris, the French presidency announced that it will deploy its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to boost French operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Charles de Gaulle is the largest warship in Western Europe, and the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside of the US fleet. It can support as many as 40 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. According to French President Francois Hollande the aircraft carrier will ‘bolster Paris’ firepower in the region amid international efforts to launch Syrian peace talks’.

A week after the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of China’s artificial islands, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter visited US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the South China Sea, The aircraft carrier sailed ‘about 150 to 200 nautical miles from the southern tip of the Spratlys’. While attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defence Ministers Plus meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Carter took the opportunity to visit the vessel alongside Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. Carter told reporters that accompanied him on the vessel that ‘there’s a lot of concern about Chinese behaviour out here.’

News Story: Pakistan Continues Arms Export Efforts

JF-17 Thunder Fighter Aircraft

By Usman Ansari

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's Defence Export Promotion Organization (DEPO) unveiled a new exhibition center showcasing defense products from the country's public and private sectors in the presence of Defence Production Minister Tanveer Hussain, foreign diplomats and defense officials as part of efforts to increase exports.

Tanveer told guests that Pakistani defense products were internationally competitive, citing the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder as an example. While stating the government was encouraging defense production to further widen economic development, he highlighted the necessity of using the latest technology.

Increased export efforts have been underway for some time. Already experiencing some success has been state-owned conglomerate Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF), a producer of small arms, ammunition and explosives.

During a Monday visit to POF by the Senate Standing Committee on Defence Production, it was revealed that the company that already exports to more than 30 countries had set an export target of over US$100 million this year, its highest ever.

However, committee Chairman Abdul Qayyum highlighted that there is a need to ensure regular recruitment of skilled manpower, modernization of plants and an increased funds for research and development.

Read the full story at DefenseNews