Industry: SAAB and Tata Power SED to jointly develop and manufacture self-protection systems for land based platforms in india

Defence and security company Saab and Indian company Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division (Tata Power SED) have started the process of manufacturing Self-Protection Systems for Land-based Platforms, for the Indian market and for export to Saab’s global market. The partnership will also involve joint development of the next generation Self-Protection System.

The process of Transfer of Technology for production of initial orders for Saab’s global customers has already commenced at Tata Power SED.’s facility in Bangalore. Tata Power SED will eventually manufacture a large part of the system in India and also do final assembly. Tata will also be responsible for marketing the system in India.

“Saab is fully committed to working with Indian industry to Make in India, and this partnership is another step in that direction. Tata Power SED’s strengths in Defence Electronics manufacturing are a perfect complement to Saab’s expertise in Electronic Warfare systems, sensors and self-protection systems for all domains”, says Jan Widerström, Chairman and Managing Director, Saab India Technologies.

Land Electronic Defence System (LEDS) 50 MK2 is a subset of an integrated and modular, active defense system consisting of a Laser Warning Segment (LWS) and Effector Control Segment (OSCS). The solution provides combat personnel with vital situational awareness on laser threats and countermeasure availability and areas of coverage/protection offered under dynamic conditions, allowing manual or fully automatic responses against threats.

“Tata Power SED is excited to be a part of this synergetic collaboration that has already been kicked off by Saab and us. Given the long-term potential for self-protection systems for combat vehicles, both in India and abroad, we see this collaboration with Saab as an important milestone in boosting India’s capabilities in building defence systems. It is perfectly aligned with the actual essence of “Make In India” initiatives being implemented by the Indian government”, says Rahul Chaudhry, CEO, Tata Power SED.

SAAB

News Story: DPRK fires short-range projectile in show of force

SEOUL, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday fired a short-range projectile in an apparent show of force toward the ongoing U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises and sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.

The projectile was launched at about 5:40 p.m. local time (0840 GMT) from the DPRK's eastern coastal city of Wonsan into the northeast region, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

It was believed to have been fired from the DPRK's new 300-mm multiple rocket launcher as it flew about 200 km.

Yonhap news agency cited the military authorities as saying that the projectile may have landed in a DPRK soil, not in east waters, as Pyongyang may have test-fired the projectile at a target on the ground to improve its precision strike capability.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Pakistan airs video statement of alleged Indian spy

ISLAMABAD, March 29 (Xinhua)-- Pakistani officials on Tuesday aired a video of an alleged Indian spy agent who was arrested last week in southwestern Balochistan province.

The man Kul Boshan Yadev, in a seven-minute video statement, said he was a"serving Indian Navy officer working for the Indian intelligence agency RAW."

The video was released at a joint press conference by Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and the military spokesman, Lt. General Asim Saleem Bajwa in Islamabad.

The military spokesman said that the Indian national was tasked to"destabilize Pakistan, create unrest, sponsor terrorism and separatism in Balochistan."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Over 600 terror suspects arrested after blast in Pakistan's Lahore

Pakistan school killings protests 2014

ISLAMABAD, March 29 (Xinhua) -- At least five terrorists were killed and over 600 suspects arrested in an extensive operation launched by security forces across Pakistan's eastern Punjab province following the Sunday's deadly suicide blast in the provincial capital of Lahore, local media reported on Tuesday.

At least 74 people including 29 children were killed and over 300 others injured in the blast that hit the crowded Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in downtown Lahore on Sunday evening. A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Local Urdu TV channel Dunya reported that the five terrorists, belonging to a banned militant group, were killed in two separate shootouts with security forces during the search operations in Rajanpur district and Muzaffargarh district in southern part of Punjab.

According to the reports, at least 250 suspects were detained in Sialkot district, 200 in Gujranwala, 80 in Faisalabad, 34 in Rahim Yar Khan, 18 in Kasur, 10 in Bhakkar, six in Attock and one in Bahawalpur, while several others were also arrested from other different districts of the province.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: UN atomic chief warns on 'nuclear terrorism'

By Simon STURDEE

The world needs to do more to prevent "nuclear terrorism", the head of the UN atomic watchdog has warned ahead of an important summit and in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks.

"Terrorism is spreading and the possibility of using nuclear material cannot be excluded," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano told AFP in an interview late Thursday.

"Member states need to have sustained interest in strengthening nuclear security," he said. "The countries which do not recognise the danger of nuclear terrorism is the biggest problem."

Amano's comments came before a summit of around 50 leaders in Washington on March 31-April 1 on ensuring that nuclear material in the world's roughly 1,000 atomic facilities are secured.

Highlighting the risks, in December Belgian police investigating the November 13 Paris terror attacks found 10 hours of video of the comings and goings of a senior Belgian nuclear official.

The material, filmed by a camera in bushes outside the official's home, was reportedly found at the property of Mohamed Bakkali, incarcerated in Belgium for his links to the Paris attackers.

One Belgian newspaper reported that the device was collected by none other than brothers Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui -- two of the suicide bombers in this week's Brussels attacks.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Obama to discuss N. Korea threat with S. Korea, Japan leaders

US President Barack Obama will discuss the growing threat of a nuclear-armed North Korea at a meeting this week with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, the White House said Monday.

The trilateral sit-down on Thursday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye will take place on the sidelines of a wider nuclear security summit bringing together delegations from dozens of countries.

It has been scheduled for the same day Obama holds one-on-one talks with Xi Jinping, the president of North Korea's main diplomatic ally and economic benefactor, China.

"This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Chinese media laud hacker for US spying

Spying on the US is a service to China, state-run media said Wednesday, singing the praises of a man who confessed to hacking American defence contractors on Beijing's behalf.

Chinese national Su Bin, 50, pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets from the companies, including plans for transport planes and fighter jets.

In a plea agreement filed Wednesday, he admitted to conspiring with two unnamed persons in China to try to acquire plans for F-22 and F-35 fighter jets and C-17 transport aircraft.

Boeing, the American airplane manufacturer, was among the companies hacked.

If he had done so, "we are willing to show our gratitude and respect for his service to our country", said an editorial in the Global Times, a nationalistic newspaper with close ties to the ruling Communist Party.

"On the secret battlefield without gunpowder, China needs special agents to gather secrets from the US," it added.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Indo-French Surface-to-Air Missile Unveiled at Defexpo

Vivek Raghuvanshi

GOA, India — India and France are showcasing a static mock-up of a vertical-launch short-range surface-to-air missile (SRSAM) for naval applications at the MBDA stand at Defexpo.

India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and MBDA of France will jointly develop and build SRSAM systems in India to meet the requirements of the Indian Navy and other nations' navies.

SRSAM systems will replace the Indian Navy's Israeli Barak-1 air defense systems and its ageing Russian close-in weapon systems.

One DRDO scientist said the project is still awaiting the Indian government's blessing for final approval but declined to comment when the contract will be awarded.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Analysis – A Chinese Way of War

Wendell Minnick

CRS Warning for America’s China Watchers

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A new paper by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) warns of misreading Chinese tea leaves, such as the tendency of US-based China-watchers to use mirror imaging, ignore China’s lack of transparency and use of subterfuge, and the fact that the Chinese military advocates no differentiation between peace-time and war-time use of cyberwarfare.

Written by Ian E. Rinehart, a CRS analyst in Asian affairs, the report was released on March 24 for members of the US Congress. Entitled: “The Chinese Military: Overview and Issues for Congress,” Rinehart argues the US Congress must begin to examine “a Chinese way of war.”

These include numerous factors that are largely ignored in the US China-watching community that will greatly determine the winner of a war.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

Think Tank: An underappreciated strategic option in North Asia

Tom Hanson

Continued Chinese maritime ‘gray zone’ aggression in the South China Sea (as well as further afield) requires that Australia make strategic choices now to avoid being militarily dominated or economically marginalised by Beijing in the future.

China is Australia’s largest trading partner, accounting for more than 25% of Australia’s total export market. The recently-concluded China–Australia Free Trade Agreement means that Australia has unprecedented access to Chinese markets for its agricultural produce, natural resource extraction industries and a range of service offerings. If Australia’s only concern was maintaining or expanding current levels of economic activity between the two countries, the question of whether or not to conduct a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea would be self-evident.

But Australia has much more at stake than balance sheets, and therefore a more problematic set of choices to confront. The greatest challenge for the Turnbull Government and its successors is how to create manoeuvre space between the two superpowers and thus avoid the fate of either tributary state or ‘expendable ally’.