USA: Key West joins Japanese, Australian subs in exercise

From Submarine Group 7 Public Affairs

USS Key West (SSN 722) file photo. (U.S. Navy/MC1 Byron C. Linder) >>

YOKOSUKA, Japan - The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Key West (SSN 722) participated in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) trilateral Submarine Competition (SUBCOMP) exercise in waters south of Japan, which also included participation by a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) submarine, Sept. 12-19.

The SUBCOMP exercise provided an excellent opportunity to further the integration and trilateral coordination in an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) environment for the three navies.

This year’s SUBCOMP involved four JMSDF submarines, a RAN Collins-class submarine HMAS Dechaineux (SSG 76), and Key West.

The competition stressed each crew’s ability to conduct various aspects of ASW. The top performer is recognized with the Japanese Battle Efficiency Award.

News Report: USS Ronald Reagan Supercarrier to Conduct Exercises Off Korean Peninsula

The US Navy has announced that the nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan will be deployed to the Korean Peninsula to participate in joint exercises with the South Korean Navy as part of a continued American military buildup in the region as it faces off against North Korea.

The entire USS Ronald Reagan strike group, which includes four destroyers and two submarines, will be participating in exercises alongside South Korean ships in late October. The Pentagon claims that the exercises have been in the works for a long time, and are not a response to current tensions with Pyongyang.

On Friday, the 100,000-ton Reagan conducted drills with Japanese warships south of the Korean Peninsula as a response to the twin North Korean ballistic missile tests in August and September.

Then on Saturday, a pair of US B-1B Lancer strategic bombers flew within miles of the North Korean border. North Korea did not issue an official response to the mission, leading South Korean intelligence to claim that Pyongyang only found out about the bombers when the Pentagon told them.

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 Report: India's Defense Sector Prepares for 100% Foreign Direct Investment

FDI proposals for 100% have to be in areas where India lacks either the existing capabilities or is not even developing it.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — India is planning to further liberalize its defense sector by allowing 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in projects. The move is mainly aimed at curtailing the striking slowdown in the defense sector which has failed to attract huge investments in recent years despite the introduction of sweeping reforms in defense investment rules.

Disclosing the government's agenda, defense ministry officials said that 100 percent FDI would be allowed in cases where foreign firms would be willing for the complete transfer of technology.

"The government of India would be open to considering 100 percent FDI in defense, should the company be willing to provide full technology transfer," Ashok Kumar Gupta, India's Secretary of Defense Production was quoted as saying during his interaction with representatives of US corporate sector.

News Story: Nuclear sub fuel, spy satellites likely on S. Korea's arms shopping list

By Lee Chi-dong

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- As U.S. President Donald Trump promised support for South Korea's pursuit of cutting-edge weapon systems, its so-called three-axis defense program is expected to receive a boost, government officials and experts said Friday.

In talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in held in New York on Thursday (local time), Trump agreed to reinforce the allies' combined defense posture against North Korea through South Korea's "acquisition and development of state-of-the-art defense assets."

They also agreed to expand the deployment of the U.S. military's high-profile "strategic" assets to Korea.

It remains unclear whether Trump is trying to help the ally in need or he's more interested in selling arms.

"I am allowing Japan and South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States," the former business tycoon tweeted on Sept. 5 following the North's claim of a hydrogen bomb test.

Regardless of Trump's intention, his approach provides South Korea with a good opportunity to upgrade its weaponry, defense officials here pointed out.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Report: India Begins Deployment of Submarine in Indian Ocean Region After Long Gap

The Shishumar class attack submarine is being accompanied by two other naval vessels and two maritime patrol aircraft on a month-long mission to enhance cooperation with the countries of the Arabian Sea rim.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India is deploying an attack submarine to the Western Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean after a long gap. The Indian submarine Shishumar entered Duqm in Oman along with naval ship INS Mumbai and two P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft on Wednesday. Meanwhile, naval ship INS Kochi is on its way to join the fleet.

"Indian Naval Ship Mumbai and submarine Shishumar entered Duqm, Oman as part of this deployment to the Western Arabian Sea, after conducting a series of exercises en-route. An Indian naval submarine is visiting a foreign port after a long gap," the Indian Navy said in a statement.

News Story: S. Korea denies report on agreement with U.S. on nuclear-powered submarines

NEW YORK, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has no immediate plans to build nuclear-powered submarines nor has it discussed the issue with the United States, an official from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.

A South Korean newspaper reported that the allies have already reached an agreement on the issue and that it will soon be announced.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Report: Is North Korea Building Their First Nuclear Submarine?

Japanese media outlets are reporting that North Korea is clandestinely building a nuclear-powered submarine that they hope to have operational by 2020. The reports come from an anonymous but “informed” source.

Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo claims that the "informed" source "familiar with the North Korea situation" told them that the DPRK has been clandestinely building the nuclear submarine, which would be a massive leap forward from the current DPRK Navy, which may maintain a fleet of 50 to 60 diesel-electric submarines.

The source went on to claim that Chinese and Russian engineers have been lending their expertise to the DPRK at North Korea's Nampo Naval Shipyard, in North Korea's manufacturing capital.

While nuclear submarines are significantly more difficult and expensive to produce than conventional diesel-electric ones, they are also faster, more powerful, more versatile, and have a wider range since they can stay underwater for much longer without needing to resurface and refuel.

News Report: India’s First Scorpene Submarine to Join Naval Fleet from Next Month

INS Kalvari during sea trials

The 1565-ton Scorpene class submarine is a critical asset in a war like situation with Pakistan as the shallow Arabian Sea does not provide required depth to the larger boats like the Kilo-class, or the six nuclear-powered attack submarines that India plans to build.

New Delhi (Sputnik) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be handing over India’s first locally built Submarine – christened INS Kalvari — to the Indian Navy next month. The much-awaited diesel-electric Scorpene class submarine is the first of the six such submarines being built at Indian shipyard with the technical support of French naval shipbuilding firm Naval Group, earlier known as DCNS. The submarine would be sent to the Indian Ocean on operational deployment soon after it is handed over to the Indian Navy. However, it would be some time before the vessel is fitted with torpedoes – its primary weapon.

The boat was scheduled to serve the Indian Navy from 2012; seven years after signing of the deal. However, the Indian firm MDL’s ineptness in absorbing the technology transferred by Naval Group delayed the project by five years, according to sources.

News Story: S. Korea's underwater forces combat ready against N. Korea

By Lee Chi-dong

ABOARD LEE EOK GI SUBMARINE, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean Navy's submarine SSK Lee Eok Gi (SS-071) wobbled a bit, setting sail from the country's newest naval port on Jeju Island.

The slight odor of oil that filled the cramped, windowless diesel-electric sub made some of the strangers aboard worry about getting seasick.

"This is (like) a lake," Cdr. Kang Byung-oh, the captain of the 1,200-ton sub, told a small group of reporters in the torpedo room, which doubles as a briefing room, last week. "The waves are only about 1.5 meters high. When we came here yesterday from Jinhae (in South Gyeongang Province), they were 5 meters high."

The sub soon shifted to a "snorkel navigation" mode to operate submerged while taking in air from above the water.

The captain checked the outside of the sub via a periscope, conveying information to other crew members.

He then shouted, "Prepare for underwater navigation." The crew repeated this loudly.

The civilian visitors were asked to be quiet. A submariner explained that it's one of the most tense moments.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

USA: HSM Wing Pacific continues Diesel Electric Submarine Initiative exercise

By Lt. Adam Arndt, HSM Weapons School Pacific Public Affairs

In this file photo, Peruvian submarine BAP Pisagua (SS 33) arrives at Naval Base Point Loma in July for phase one of DESI-EX. (U.S. Navy/MC2 Derek Harkins) >>

SAN DIEGO - Commander, Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Pacific (CHSMWP) began phase two of the annual Diesel Electric Submarine Initiative Exercise (DESI-EX), an international exercise held annually in conjunction with South American naval forces, Sept. 8, 2017.

DESI-EX is an undersea warfare exercise that allows MH-60R aircraft from various CHSMWP and Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) commands the ability to practice their anti-submarine warfare (ASW) skills against a skilled, foreign adversary in a variety of challenging environments. The event was organized by HSM Weapons School Pacific (HSMWSP) in coordination with Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic International Programs and Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, and will take place on the Southern California Offshore Range and Tanner Bank operating area.

Phase one of the exercise took place July 15 - 20 and involved aircraft and crews from six CHSMWP and three MPRA squadrons that completed 29 sorties over the course of 147 flight hours. Participants trained alongside the Peruvian Navy submarine BAP Pisagua (SS 33), a German Type 209 diesel-electric submarine, to refine their ASW and tactical acumen.

News Report: India Close to Launching Second Indigenous Nuke Submarine

INS Arinhat Ballistic Missile Submarine

The Indian Navy is preparing to drop its second nuclear-capable submarine into the open seas within the next month close to the first anniversary of India became the first nation outside the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, US, UK, France, China – to commission its first homemade nuclear attack submarine.

The INS Aridhaman is the second ballistic missile submarine India will have constructed once she begins sea trials, which could take at least a year. She is powered by a pressurized water reactor, a common nuclear energy generator used in the subs of nations as the US, Russia, and France.

News Report: ‘Strategic Dagger’ - South Korean Navy Introduces New Attack Submarine

On Thursday, the South Korean Navy launched its ninth KSS-2-class diesel-electric attack submarine made by shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).

The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) released a statement noting that the new sub, dubbed Sin Dol-Seok, debuted Thursday at a ceremony at the HHI shipyard in Ulsan. The 65-meter-long boat, which features air-independent propulsion systems, will be the last of its class. The ROKN currently operates five of the class’ (of) nine boats.

Sin Dol-Seok is named for a famous 18th century Korean military leader, and is equipped with a domestic 1,000-kilometer-range cruise missile.

Jane’s reports that the 1,800-ton submarine is HHI’s sixth KSS-2 class vessel, with the three other submarines of the class having been manufactured by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) instead.

News Story: What War With North Korea Would Look Like - 20K NK Dead A Day

By ROB GIVENS

Relatively few Americans know many details about how a war between North Korean, the US, South Korean and United Nations force would look. One of them is Rob Givens, who served as the deputy assistant chief of staff for operations of U.S. Forces Korea and as special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He shares the outlines of what would be a grim struggle, with tens of thousands dead or wounded each day on both sides — and that’s well before anyone who might go mad and use a nuclear weapon. Here’s some of what Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are likely to tell lawmakers on Wednesday. Read on. The Editor.

We often hear war with North Korea is “unimaginable,” but, as North Korea presses ahead with its nuclear and missile tests, the unimaginable is becoming more possible. Gen. Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Trump’s top uniformed military advisor, described the potential conflict as, “horrific.” So what would this no-longer-so-unimaginable war look like?

Without getting into the important questions of how the war would start — which would certainly change key aspects of how combat operations proceeded — the basic aspects of conflict are predictable.

Thousands of aircraft will wage an epic battle across the entire Korean Peninsula. The two American Air Force fighter wings—100-plus fighter aircrafts permanently stationed there — accompanied by our South Korean partners would fight the opening minutes, striking against the North’s aged, but plentiful air forces while also bombing Kim Jong-un’s missiles and artillery.

If the North gains the initiative, we will have to accept higher risk going after targets before establishing our air superiority — meaning we will suffer higher losses. In short order, the air forces in South Korea would be joined by U.S. Navy, Marine, and Air Force fighters from Okinawa and Japan. U.S. bombers from around the globe would also be called in. Every square foot of North Korea would be in range.

Read the full story at Breaking Defense

News Story: South Korea scrambles to improve weapons following North Korean test

By: Kim Tong-Hyung

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office four months ago with plans to reach out to North Korea in a way his conservative predecessors did not in the previous decade. Two intercontinental ballistic missile launches and one nuclear test later, his government is ramping up its defenses, with some officials even considering asking the United States to bring back tactical nuclear weapons a generation after their removal from the Korean Peninsula.

Seoul’s new interest in stronger weapons received a boost Tuesday when the Trump administration agreed to remove previous restrictions on South Korean missiles.

But South Korean hunger for military strength goes beyond just missiles. Government officials also endorse the nation getting nuclear-powered submarines. And Seoul’s defense minister says the idea of bringing back U.S. tactical nukes to South Korea should be “deeply considered” by the allies.

This shift right by the liberal Moon underscores deep unease that the North’s expanding nuclear weapons arsenal will undermine the country’s decades-long alliance with the United States. Pyongyang may soon perfect an ICBM that can target the U.S. mainland.

Here are some of the military capabilities South Korea is pursuing or may soon pursue:

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: U.S. to send more strategic assets to Korea - Pacific Fleet chief

Adm. Scott Swift (Image: Wiki Commons)

By Lee Chi-dong

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- A top U.S. naval commander said Tuesday his country will keep sending formidable defense assets to the Korean Peninsula in combined deterrence and response to North Korea's "self-destructive" actions.

Adm. Scott Swift, who commands the U.S. Pacific Fleet, stressed that although South Koreans stand closest to the North's threats, they "do not face this aggressor alone."

He cited the North's continued provocations, including "ill-advised" ballistic missile launches and inflammatory warnings of nuclear war, highlighted by its sixth nuclear test Sunday.

Speaking at the International Seapower Symposium here, the admiral described the Kim Jong-un regime's choice as "irrationally self-destructive actions and behaviors that defy logic and explanation."

"We will continue to deploy carrier strike groups, expeditionary strike groups, AEGIS ships, the world's most capable submarine force and advanced aircraft like the F-35, P-8 and MH-60R to be prepared to respond decisively when called," he stressed. "Today, our platforms have longer reach, are more interconnected and possess greater lethality than what has ever been fielded before."

Read the full story at YonhapNews

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 Story: Indian Navy to buy underwater systems for its submarines

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — The Indian Navy on Wednesday floated a global request for information to buy 12 anti-torpedo defense systems and associated equipment for its submarines.

“The ATDS is an important program, and it will acquired on a fast-track basis,“ a senior Indian Navy official said.

Global defense companies from Germany, Russia and the U.S. are likely to respond to this request for information, or RFI, and the service wants to induct them within the next two years, he added.

The foreign defense companies have also been asked to furnish details of transfer of production and transfer of technology of ATDS.

Currently, no Indian defense company manufactures submarine-launched ATDS.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: China, India, Pakistan face fallout from US strategy for Afghanistan

By: Aaron Mehta

WASHINGTON — In rolling out his strategy for Afghanistan on Aug. 21, U.S. President Donald Trump made clear that a change in the relationship with Pakistan is in the cards.

But regional experts warn that any change in Washington’s posture to Islamabad will impact two regional powers — China, America’s greatest rival in the Pacific, and India, an increasingly vital ally — that are currently feuding over a border dispute.

Alice Hunt Friend, an Obama-era senior adviser to the deputy undersecretary of defense for strategy, plans and forces and country director for Pakistan, calls the region “a conundrum,” adding, “This is a Gordian Knot,” in part, because of the necessity to factor in China and India for any big picture strategy.

One attention-grabbing facet of Trump’s speech was a public call for India to take on a broader role in Afghanistan.

“We appreciate India’s important contributions to stability in Afghanistan, but India makes billions of dollars in trade with the United States, and we want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development,” Trump said.

Friend, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, believes that such a call could, to Pakistan, sound like a threat to their longtime goal of “strategic depth” — essentially the idea that Pakistan cannot let itself be encircled by India in the south and an Indian-affiliated government in Afghanistan to the north.

The U.S. has historically been careful about balancing a desire for more Indian support in Afghanistan with Pakistan’s concerns, she said, which resulted in Indian funds being directed more towards economic and public development rather than military projects.

It’s unclear if that is set to change, but Trump’s India comments will likely not be received well in Islamabad, Vipin Narang, a regional expert who teaches at MIT, predicts.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: S. Korean-made submarine delivered to Indonesia

JAKARTA, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean-made submarine has arrived at a port of the Indonesian Navy's Eastern Fleet in Surabaya after 16 days of sailing from South Korea, the country's Navy said Tuesday.

The arrival of the new submarine, the KRI Nagapasa 403, on the previous day came after South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering handed over the 1,400-ton submarine to the Indonesian Navy at the shipbuilder's Okpo shipyard on Aug. 2.

During a ceremony Monday at the Indonesian port to mark the submarine's arrival, Navy chief Adm. Ade Supandi said the introduction of the new submarine will enhance deterrence in the region and the Navy's strategic capabilities, contributing to strengthening of the country's maritime defense system.

It is the first of three submarines Indonesia had ordered from South Korea under a 2011 deal worth US$1.1 billion.

Read the full story at Yonhap