International Naval News & Discussion

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Philip
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by Philip »

This will become a game changer in the future once perfected.

Navy deploys its first laser weapon in Persian Gulf
http://hamptonroads.com/2014/11/navy-de ... rsian-gulf
By Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON

The U.S. Navy has deployed on a command ship in the Persian Gulf its first laser weapon capable of destroying a target.

The amphibious transport ship Ponce has been patrolling with a prototype 30-kilowatt-class Laser Weapon System since late August, according to officials. The laser is mounted facing the bow, and can be fired in several modes — from a dazzling warning flash to a destructive beam — and can set a drone or small boat on fire.

The Ponce "provides a unique platform" to deploy the new capability "in an operationally relevant region," Vice Adm. John Miller, the 5th Fleet commander, said in an emailed statement. The ship is the 5th Fleet's primary command and control afloat staging base for operations

Since 2011, the Navy has boosted its presence in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil flows. Equipped with naval mines and small vessels that practice swarming tactics to attack larger warships, Iranian officials have periodically threatened to close the waterway.

The Navy laser wasn't specifically designed or deployed to counter Iran's arsenal of small armed vessels, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert said in an interview earlier this year.

"I wouldn't target a country for a weapon, nor would I preclude putting together a weapons system for a country by itself," he said.

The laser deployment is "a worthwhile experiment" because "it'll help us feel out the operational limitations" such as power constraints, Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's top weapons buyer said at a Bloomberg Government breakfast in April.

However, he said, "I still think we have some work to do on the technology side."

"What am I looking for? How does it operate in that environment — heat, humidity, dust and at sea," Greenert said in the interview. "It's got to roll, move around, how much power does it take to sustain it?"

"I have to take it out and get it wet, and the Arabian Gulf's a pretty tough environment," he said.

Naval Sea Systems Command technicians developed the prototype over seven years at a cost of about $40 million. The Ponce crew was authorized to deploy the weapon after it passed a series of at-sea tests, including lasing static surface targets, the 5th Fleet spokesman Commander Kevin Stephens said in an email statement.

The prototype focuses the light from six solid-state commercial welding lasers on a single spot, according to a July 31 Congressional Research Service report. It "can effectively counter surface and airborne threats, to include small boats" and drones, Miller said, and firing it costs about a dollar a shot, according to the Navy.

The device can emit progressively stronger beams, first to warn an adversary, and then destroy it if necessary, Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder said at a Bloomberg Government session this year.

The laser can be adjusted to fire a non-lethal dazzling flash at an incoming vessel so they know it's there "all the way to lethal," Klunder said. The laser's range is classified.

New York-based L-3 Communications Holdings and Penn State University's Electro Optics Center have provided components and engineering support.

The lessons from the one-year Ponce deployment will feed Navy laser development by industry teams led by BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, to field a more powerful weapon, possibly by 2021.

Those efforts are separate from military laser designators to guide precision munitions, non-lethal crowd control devices or discontinued instruments intended to blind enemy electro- optical sensors.
The Chinese are steadily producing their reverse-engineered versions of the naval Flanker for their carriers.

http://news.usni.org/2014/11/10/chinese ... 234c8f82d4
Chinese Carrier Fighter Now In Serial Production
By: Mike Yeo
Published: November 10, 2014
brar_w
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by brar_w »

DEW and EMRG is something the USN is actually doing very good work on. EMRG sea borne testing is due next year on the JHSV. The object is to get these things out into the hands of active duty folks and then concurrently develop the systems through their input.
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Raytheon Flies Prototype Next-Generation Jammer Pod
Raytheon and the U.S. Navy have completed flight tests of a prototype Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) pod against threat radars representative of enemy air defenses.

Mounted under the fuselage of a Calspan-operated Gulfstream business jet, the pod was flown from NAS Point Mugu, California, over the China Lake weapons range.

The October flights were the first to involve an integrated prototype including the all-digital receiver and techniques generator and active electronically scanned array (AESA) front end packaged in a self-powered pod.

While all the elements had been tested in the laboratory, the flights marked the first time the end-to-end system was powered in flight by the ram-air-turbine electrical generator integrated into the pod, Raytheon says.

The company was awarded the $279 million contract to develop the initial, mid-band, Increment 1 NGJ in July 2013. Work was stopped after a contract protest from a losing bidder, but restarted after the Navy reaffirmed its choice of Raytheon in January.

The goal of prototype flight tests was to reduce risk in the engineering and manufacturing development program, which is aiming for initial operational capability of the NGJ pod on the Navy’s Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic-attack aircraft in late 2020.

Evaluation of test data from the October flights confirms "successful jamming and disruption of air defense radars, which were representative of enemy threat radars," Raytheon says in a statement.

"The combination of jamming techniques, beam agility, array transmit power and jammer management were very effective against the threat systems and all test objectives were met or exceeded," the company says.

The NGJ will replace the ALQ-99 jamming pod carried by the EA-18G and its predecessor, the Grumman EA-6G Prowler, and uses gallium nitride (GaN) modules in the AESA transmit array for increased jamming power and efficiency.

Raytheon is also using GaN transmit/receive module technology in the Navy Air & Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) and Air Force Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) development programs. Raytheon's win on 3DELRR is currently under protest from losing bidders Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Lockheed also protested AMDR, but later dropped its protest.
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There had already been airworthiness tests and pod check flights, but this was the main event. The jet was headed to California’s Mojave Desert and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake for a three-hour mission to assess aircraft integration, jamming techniques, beam agility, array-transmit power and jammer management.

The test would essentially demonstrate how air defense radars, posing as enemy threat radars, could be disrupted. The jammer would use its own, wind-driven generator for power.

In a control center ringed by monitors and instrumentation, a small team evaluated system effectiveness. Raytheon engineer Tom Brukiewa began the test by speaking three coded phrases: “Music on. See music. Data good.”

That signaled to his colleagues to begin their planned mission scenarios. The first-of-its-kind electronic warfare system performed flawlessly, meeting or exceeding all objectives and earning the operator’s highest ratings.

Slocumb marveled that the flight test was successful on its first sortie; just eight months after the U.S. Navy awarded the contract. The test platform used a high power, Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) front end and multichannel techniques generator that are common building blocks for the U.S. Navy’s NGJ and other airborne, maritime and ground-based EW systems.

In its gray, cigar-shaped pod, the Raytheon-built system will ultimately hang from EA-18 Growler jets to provide warfighters with a considerable upgrade in capability over existing equipment.

When the team members met the next day, they decided there was no need to fly a second mission test. All the fundamental subsystems required for NGJ were checked in a representative environment against real world threats.

“We’re dealing with a lot of cutting-edge technology,” said Nader Khatib, Raytheon’s NGJ Flight Demonstration Pod program lead. “Putting it together as a full system and seeing it work as intended was just so exciting.”
http://www.raytheon.com/newsroom/featur ... light.html
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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The mouse that squeaks! M.Hollande,le president of the French Republic,is trying to assert himself as a top drawer leader by denying Russia the Mistral warship which should be handed over to Russia before the end of November,in order to shore up his disastrous standing in the country,more titillated by his secretive amorous exploits than his handling of the nation's affairs. M.Hollande has also rushed with indecent haste onto the bandwagon of Uncle Sam's global warmongering express,hoping to replace Britain as the Yanquis butler,valet,footman or cook? Take your pick. But can 'Ollande 'ang on? France faces severe financial penalties if it delays or cancels the handover. A v. good time for India to delay slightly the Rafale deal until Mr.Putin visits.We can extract even more price cuts at the opportune moment.Let's see if M.'Ollande blinks first.

France 'blocks' Russian sailors from boarding warship
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 69984.html
President Hollande has been under pressure to deny Putin access to two €1.2 billion helicopter carriers over the Ukraine crisis
Adam Withnall
Wednesday 19 November 2014

Amid a growing diplomatic crisis between Vladimir Putin and the rest of Europe, hundreds of Russian sailors have reportedly been prevented from boarding a warship built for them in western France.

The €1.2 billion (£960,000) contract between France and Russia for the delivery of two new Mistral-class helicopter carriers has been the subject of intense pressure from the US and other nations.

President Hollande has spent months resisting calls to cancel the deal altogether in response to what David Cameron has described as “Russia’s illegal actions in Ukraine”, but has reportedly delayed the handover of the first of the two ships until the ceasefire in the conflict region is “fully observed”.

Russia has warned that France will be subject to huge compensation fees if it does not give up control of the vessel, named the Vladivostok, before the end of November. It was supposed to be handed over on 14 November, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported.

On Monday, the regional French newspaper Ouest-France reported that 400 Russian sailors due to board Vladivostok for training were refused access at the request of the Paris authorities.

Russia’s Interfax agency has since reported that the sailors in the port city of Saint Nazaire were allowed to board the vessel on Tuesday, citing a military source.

Tensions between Russia and the Western world

But the tussle for control of Vladivostok will do nothing to ease tensions between Russia and France, which insists that because of the fighting in Ukraine “the conditions are not in place” for delivery.

Separate Itar-Tass reports suggest the French shipbuilder responsible for the project, DCNS, is keeping quiet about a potential date when the second helicopter carrier, the Sevastopol, will be ready to float out.

And France’s prime minister Manuel Valls hit out angrily last week at suggestions Moscow was setting strict deadlines for the ships’ delivery.

Read More: • Cameron issues Putin with Ukraine warning
• Russian President leaves G20 early due to criticism over Ukraine
• Hollande to split up Obama and Putin at D-Day memorials

“Today, the conditions to deliver the Mistral aren't there,” Valls told reporters. “France honours its contracts, but France is a nation that counts, wants peace in Ukraine and that makes sovereign decisions without anybody from outside dictating how it acts.”

President Hollande and President Putin were due to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit at the weekend, but reports suggested the Mistral situation was not overtly discussed.

“What's key - and the president will discuss it with several leaders during the G20 - is to rediscover the path to peace between Ukraine and Russia,” Valls told reporters last Friday. “We're far from that today.”
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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A v. good time for India to delay slightly the Rafale deal until Mr.Putin visits
Do not expect Modi to play that card.

The timing of the Rafale decision will never be to send a signal to France based on Russian thinking.

That would be too silly and childish.
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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Japan To Make Major Switch on Sub Propulsion

No AIP.Lithium-ion Batteries Will Power Soryu-class Boats.
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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VADM Ray Griggs @VCDF_Australia · 23h 23 hours ago

@Australian_Navy's HMAS PARRAMATTA shadowing Russian Federation Navy ships in the Coral Sea last week #workingnavy
https://twitter.com/VCDF_Australia/stat ... 81/photo/1
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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brar_w
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More on the GaN NGJ..The new HiRAT can supply 60KW of power per jammer (each growler will eventually carry 3 for different freq. ranges)..and the Passive functions are performed through the aircraft's power.

Next Gen Jammer Passes First Airborne Tests: Raytheon
Raytheon’s Next Generation Jammer underwent its first test flights at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake as the electronic warfare association’s annual conference got underway in October.

The tests were performed to judge whether the system could successfully jam and disrupt enemy threat radars.

This marks the first tests of the pod itself, the AESA radar, power sources and the other subsystems. The pod, as you can see in the photo, is mounted on a civilian jet rigged with test equipment. The test were held eight months after contract award.Test flights are crucial for jammers as vibrations and their surroundings can affect their ability to function.

How did they do? Let me offer this caveat first — the great majority of what goes on in the new jammer is classified so we’re never going to be able to tell you very much about it. But Raytheon did go to some lengths to make this test public, so here’s what they said.

“The combination of jamming techniques, beam agility, array-transmit power and jammer management were very effective against the threat systems and all test objectives were met or exceeded,” Travis Slocumb, vice president of Electronic Warfare Systems at Raytheon’s Space and Airborne Systems business, said in a very carefully worded statement.

“The advanced, first of its kind system consisted of an active electronically scanned array (AESA), an all-digital, open, scalable receiver and techniques generator and a self-powered pod mounted on the underside of a Gulfsteam business jet,” Slocumb said.

One of the most interesting tidbits in that release are the mentions of agility and power. The current Growler jammers are very high-powered and, as the former head of Air Combat Command told me in an October interview, the Growler actually blankets its targets and would interfere with the F-35′s more nimble electronic warfare and cyber capabilities.

The tests occurred almost on schedule. Rick Yuse, head of the program at Raytheon, told me just before the Farnborough Air Show that flight testing would occur in September. The flight tests began on Oct. 7, so we’ll give it to him.

The program has been on track pretty much since Raytheon retained the program even after a successful protest by BAE Systems. During our air show interview Yuse attributed much of the program’s success so far to the fact that Raytheon “had a plan to do a lot of risk reduction very early in the contract.” Virtually all of the technology sits at or above Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, which is generally just below production-ready and appropriate for subsystem development. It is those subsystems that are getting tested now.

The tests should give Raytheon and the Navy a better idea of just how well the new power modules work in flight, as well as how effectively the AESA radar focuses its energy. And, as Travis noted in his statement, the core of the NGJ can be used elsewhere: “The high power AESA front end and multichannel techniques generator are common building blocks not just for the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Jammer, but also for other airborne, maritime and ground-based EW [electronic warfare] systems.”
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USN Funded MIT program DCAP

[youtube]mgtFTfnNGnY#t=114[/youtube]
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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47 Seconds From Hell: A Challenge To Navy Doctrine
Someone shoots a cruise missile at you. How far away would you like to stop it: over 200 miles out or less than 35?

If you answered “over 200,” congratulations, you’re thinking like the US Navy, which has spent billions of dollars over decades to develop ever more sophisticated anti-missile defenses.
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Someone shoots a cruise missile at you. How far away would you like to stop it: over 200 miles out or less than 35?

If you answered “over 200,” congratulations, you’re thinking like the US Navy, which has spent billions of dollars over decades to develop ever more sophisticated anti-missile defenses
They have made adequate investment both for long shooter as well as the lower ranged weapons. Both the ESSM and SM6 are continuously in development and getting better. The reason why the range could not have been extended earlier was because of OTH targeting, NIFCCA deals with that with a protected data link pipeline and OTH targeting through a network enabled SM6. Saturated attacks would be dealt with by other means, from aircrafts, to ESSM as well through DEW's and EMRG's in the future. Offensive is the best defense - is one correct assertion this article makes (its true for cyber as well) and it is kind of COMMON SENSE. The other elements are Electronic warfare, both organic (ships) as we'll as with the Next Generation jammer, Growler and the F-35C..The Electro magnetic spectrum has no fewer than a dozen DARPA programs at the moment, and these are over and above the full fledged service programs such as the NGJ.
A carrier is not alone in defending itself , if it is forced to defend itself using a majority of its resources, someone somewhere in planning and development has screwed up and there is no reason why a carrier should be placed in that situation. Investments are being made now so that the Carrier stays relevant and can push back against Area denial strategies employed against it.

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Dropping of the Top, of the DDG1001, Michael Monsoor..The second of the Zumwalt

http://intercepts.defensenews.com/2014/ ... deckhouse/
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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Enjoy the fisticuffs as the "wizards of Oz" slug it out over the proposed 12 sub deal. The govt. is hell bent upon buying the Japanese Soryu class,which is operated only by it and its larger design and lithium cell AIP system is untried. The Opposition and Oz industry want a contest ,skeptical of the Japanese design,plus costs,which they say can be cheaper if built in Oz,as well as building up Oz industry. The US is stealthily pressurizing Oz into buying the Japanese sub as it wants to cement a mil. relationship between Oz and Japan as well as drawing India into the fold. If the govt. goes ahead with the Japanese deal,there will be a stormy future for the same,esp. if the govt. changes later on. Oz's disastrous experience with the Collins class,which became the most expensive conventional subs ever,which had to get US tweaking to reduce the noise of the "underwater rock concert",which the Oz navy cannot operate successfully because of lack of sub skills.

Defence Minister says he 'wouldn't trust' Australian Submarine Corporation to build a canoe
By Jonathon Gul November 25, 2014, https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/25610212/de ... d-a-canoe/
Defence Minister David Johnston has warned he would not trust the Government-owned defence builder, the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC), to build a canoe.

Senator Johnston launched the scathing attack on the ASC in the Senate during a debate about where Australia's next submarine fleet should be built.

The Government is under pressure to build Australia's next fleet of submarines locally, rather than opt for an overseas design.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has since released a statement saying the ASC plays a vital role in supporting the Royal Australian Navy.
But the ASC does not have the confidence of Senator Johnston.

"You wonder why I'm worried about ASC and what they're delivering to the Australian taxpayer, you wonder why I wouldn't trust them to build a canoe?" he said.

Senator Johnston said the ASC was at least $350 million over budget in building three air warfare destroyer ships.
"I'm being conservative, it's probably more than $600 million, but because the data is bad, I can't tell you," he said.

"ASC was delivering no submarines in 2009 for $1 billion."
Mr Abbott's statement said the ASC had changed its submarine maintenance program and had exceeded the Navy's target for submarine readiness over the past year.

"This has improved the availability of our Collins Class fleet to defend our national interests," the statement said.
"Whilst ASC has had challenges meeting the Government’s cost and schedule expectations of the Air Warfare Destroyer programme, we are working closely with ASC on a reform strategy to improve shipyard performance and productivity.

"It is early days, but the Government is confident that ASC and its partners will successfully turn the corner on this important build."
Australian Submarine Corporation worker 'disgusted' by comments

An ASC worker said he was disgusted by Senator Johnston's comments.
Pipe fitter Andrew Daniels said the Adelaide workers would never compromise on safety.

"We're being trashed. When I go home to my family and this guy is telling me I'm useless ... I don't feel useless and that's pretty gutting to 3,000 workers in South Australia and Western Australia," he said.

"It's not a great feeling to have your Defence Minister, you're out there doing your best job for the country and he's trashing you."

SA Defence Industries Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith said Senator Johnston's comments made clear the Federal Government was planning to break its promise to build the next generation of submarines in Adelaide.

"We are outraged as a State Government and I think it is a clear signal that the promise to build 12 submarines in South Australia was disingenuous at best, some would say a lie," he said.

Earlier this month ASC general manager Stuart Wiley said it would cost between $18 billion and $24 billion to build 12 submarines in Adelaide.
The Federal Government had suggested it would cost up to $80 billion. *(???)
The Coalition's Commission of Audit recommended it consider privatising the ASC.
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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The US is stealthily pressurizing Oz into buying the Japanese sub as it wants to cement a mil. relationship between Oz and Japan as well as drawing India into the fold
How is it stealthy, if you figured it out? ;). Given their past experience and a low demand they pretty much cannot build a capable as well as affordable submarine. They also do not have the political will to ratify laws and make changes so that they can consider the SSN's. If they do make those changes they can most likely negotiate new build virgina lease as the OEM and the USN would be more than happy to move production to 3 a year and they would get the latest blocks as well. Its unlikely to happen even though they spent more on their Colins than what the USN is spending on new build virginia's at the moment. That leaves them with foreign designs unless they are willing to bite the bullet and take the financial and technical risk. Japanese subs are a good option because these two nations are signing military relationships something that is of value when making strategic investments. Of course Australia would review the Soryu, and can ask the Japanese OEM to switch to AIP (something that a majority of the Soryu will have even after the last few are produced with Lithium ion) if they are not comfortable with the Lithium iOn.

Neither Japan nor Australia can maintain their current position in the Pacific on their own nor match the Chinese Navy's activity in the Pacific. Coming together, or working with other dominant players in the region such as the USN, is a LOGICAL thing for these forces to do. Other then a rapid armament and spending a huge amount of GDP on defense they have no choice but to collaborate and for strategic partnerships. That is what smart nations that need to form alliances do.
Last edited by brar_w on 26 Nov 2014 05:59, edited 1 time in total.
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France Suspends Mistral Warship Delivery to Russia
French President François Hollande has placed a hold on the delivery of the first Mistral helicopter carrier to Russia in view of the deadly conflict in east Ukraine, the president’s office said on Tuesday.

“The president of the republic considers the present situation in east Ukraine still does not allow the delivery of the first [projection and command ship],” the Elysée president’s office said in a statement. “He has decided that it is appropriate to suspend, until further notice, the examination of the request for export authorization for the first [projection and command ship] to the Russian Federation.”

French ministers previously said Hollande would decide in November whether to grant permission for a delivery.

Hollande set two conditions for delivery: the observation of a ceasefire in Ukraine and a political agreement between Moscow and Kiev.
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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CAN INDIA BUY IT ?
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kmc_chacko wrote:CAN INDIA BUY IT ?

Not possible, until and unless France terminates the entire deal. At the moment they have only suspended deliveries. If they do decide to take the next step, they would have most likely negotiated a back door deal to sell these things before canceling with the Russians and incurring financial penalties for the same. I think its pretty much NATO or RUSSIA at the moment unless something drastic happens.
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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The US is working behind the scenes to seal the deal with Japan.It cannot come out openly which will infuriate other allies who wish to enter the fray like the European manufacturers.Oz also wants its combat system.Germany is making a strong push for a contest.The Oz navy cannot operate N-subs period.They have been so bad at handling the Collins class that even the enlarged conventional subs ambition appears to be highly ambitious.There is a big lack of manpower both to man their subs as well as support them technically.

http://thediplomat.com/2014/11/the-aust ... mplicated/
The Australia-Japan Submarine Deal Gets Complicated
Plus Japan seeks further trilateral integration with the U.S. Thursday Japanese defense links

By Clint Richards
November 13, 2014

There has been quite a bit of defense related news coming out of Japan over the last week, but the biggest stories have to do with Tokyo’s security relationship with Australia. That relationship may be growing, but the much anticipated submarine deal between the two countries received a blow this week. While Australia has been negotiating the purchase of military technology with Japan since this news this September that Canberra may buy as many as 12 Japanese Soryu-class submarines off-the-shelf in order to replace its six Collins-class submarines created excitement for the Japanese and U.S. militaries as they seek greater trilateral integration (through the use of common vessels and communications equipment), as well as for Japanese naval defense contractors Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
summer,
However, Reuters reported last Friday that Australian labor unions and politicians are pressuring the government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott to open the deal to an international tender, as other countries’ submarine manufacturers have said they would be willing to undergo production in Australia, potentially saving thousands of naval industry jobs. The government is set to spend $34.3 billion on its new submarine program, and sending the production of these vessels abroad roughly 18 months before federal elections could prove politically disastrous for Abbott.

Japanese defense officials indicated that should Australia open up the bidding process, Tokyo would have to wait and see before deciding to participate, and that the kind of vessel Canberra chose would be the deciding factor, as Japan’s diesel-electric submarine is substantially larger than any European or Turkish variant. On the other hand, Australia’s government is in a very difficult position, essentially deciding between the revival of its domestic shipping industry and further integration with its two most powerful military allies, combined with the transfer of the world’s quietest diesel submarine technology.

While Japan may have reservations about joining the bidding process for Australia’s submarine contract, it is still pushing to further integrate its southern ally in a trilateral defense framework with the U.S. After the three countries finished their first joint training exercise on the Japanese island of Kyushu on November 9, the Japanese defense ministry said it was considering joining the U.S.-Australian Talisman Saber exercises to be held in June 2015 in Australia. The Asahi Shimbun reported that this is “the Abe administration’s latest move to turn the relationship with Australia into a ‘quasi-alliance.’” The chief of staff for Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Forces, General Kiyofumi Iwata seemed to confirm that assessment, stating “it is important to manage regional peace and stability through a multinational approach… Both the United States and Australia are also seeking that, so the thinking of the three nations is the same.”

However, while the U.S. is Japan’s most important strategic ally, the update to their Defense Cooperation Guidelines this year has not gone as smoothly as planned. Both sides have leaked information in the last two months that the guidelines might not be revised until next year, despite high-level public statements that they would meet their year-end deadline. Yet last Friday the Asahi reported that the deadline might be missed due to continuing disagreement between the LDP and its junior coalition partner Komeito over the administration’s new interpretation of collective self-defense. The delay is certainly looking more likely, as rumors of a snap election in the lower house of the Diet by next month could shake up the coalition. If the LDP maintains its control over both houses after the election, it may decide it has the mandate to quickly move forward with its defense agenda, despite any potential coalition partner’s views on the matter.

In other defense related news, Japan reached an agreement with ASEAN to enhance antiterrorism cooperation. The respective countries’ leaders made the announcement on Wednesday at an ASEAN summit in Myanmar, agreeing to cooperate on cybercrime and piracy, which remains a residual problem in the high-traffic sea lanes of Southeast Asia. In what was taken as a reference to fears over a potential rise in the Islamic State’s influence in the region, the statement also called for “countering violent extremism and radicalization that leads to terrorism.”

Finally, the Japanese and Thai defense ministers met in Tokyo on Thursday and agreed that their countries would “cooperate over defense equipment,” in reference to the April change in Japan’s constitution, which now allows it to export military technology. Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said Thailand has “great interest” in Japan’s military technology, while he also said the military regime “is promoting a shift to civil government.”
PS:DID
Nov 19/14: France. The CEO of France’s DCNS opens a DCNS Australia subsidiary during an official visit to Australia by French president Francois Hollande. DCNS can tout its FREMM frigates for Australia’s ASW program, but recent decisions pointing to the Hobart Class hull as a base give them few options. On the other hand, they are specifically touting their submarine:

“Xavier Mesnet (Submarines Marketing Director at DCNS) told Navy Recognition: “SMX OCEAN is more than a concept ship, it is a concept ship near to be realized”.”

The design’s touted 14,000 mile range would help Australia meet the recent promise of a sub with “longer range and endurance than any diesel/electric submarine currently available off the shelf” (q.v. Nov 12/14), and its SSN heritage removes some of the risks associated with a new boat. On the other hand, Australia is insisting on an American combat system and weapons, which would require design modifications. Then, too, several key technologies, like the propulsion system and fuel cells, come with all of the standard risks accompanying new technologies. Sources: Naval Recognition, “DCNS opens a subsidiary in Australia to better market its SMX OCEAN SSK for the RAN”.
Meanwhile,a good perspective of the decision to go ahead and collaborate on the Char Bahar port with Iran and its strat. significance.
http://thediplomat.com/2014/11/india-iran-and-the-west/
India, Iran, and the West

Xcpts:
Why the development of the Chabahar port could be a significant development for Asian security.
By Hrishabh Sandilya
November 09, 2014
Late in October, the Indian cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, made a final decision to support the Iranian Chabahar port project on the shores of the Arabian Sea.
The much-touted port project is located in Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran’s restive border province that abuts Pakistan in the south-east of the country. Not even a hundred kilometers separate Chabahar from Gwadar, another mega port project located in Pakistan’s Baluchistan region, which was completed in 2006 with Chinese support. The Pakistani government was keen to develop an outlet for Baluchistan’s abundant resources and find an alternative to Karachi, its largest port, which is located tantalizingly close to Indian territory. Chabahar fulfills similar ambitions for Iran, as it seeks to develop an alternative channel to Bandar Abbas and its other major ports that line the Straits of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf – narrow waterways that are easily blocked – with its strategic location on the tip of the Indian Ocean. By developing the port, and the transport infrastructure that connects it, Iran hopes to quell the unrest in Sistan and Baluchestan with development and, more importantly, offer another trade route to access landlocked Afghanistan and the rest of Central Asia.

Chabahar lies eight hundred kilometers from Zaranj, the Afghan border city that provides access to the rest of the country. In 2009, India completed work on the Zaranj Delaram road, which connects Zaranj on the country’s western margins to the garland shaped Highway A01, which drapes the country and links its major cities to the capital Kabul, and in turn forms part of the wider Asian highway project, feeding into border roads that link Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. For India, this is all part of the bigger picture as it seeks an alternative route to Afghanistan and Central Asia that circumvents Pakistan, its tetchy neighbor, which has thrown a spanner in India’s aims to engage with the region further by refusing or limiting access for trade to and from India through its borders. The curse of geography leaves India with only a theoretical border in Kashmir with Afghanistan’s Wakhan corridor, yet that part of Kashmir remains in Pakistan’s hands across the Line of Control. Chabahar, only a day’s sail from western Indian ports, is slowly emerging as the only viable route for India to ramp up its trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia – economic activity that it views as a necessary step to maintain the overall security of the region and its interests there.

Iran and India see eye to eye on this and many other things. India, for long Iran’s trusted partner in the region, is the second largest buyer of Iranian oil. Its appetite for energy is insatiable, and will only continue to grow as the economy perks up and returns to pre-financial crisis growth rates. It has had a relatively stable and healthy relationship with Iran both before and after the Islamic Revolution, with only the occasional hiccup, such as when India voted against the Iranian nuclear program at a resolution passed at the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2009.
Reinforcing its commitment to the Chabahar project, the Indian government announced a strategic investment plan to convert berths in the port into a container and multi-purpose cargo terminal. While the initial commitment of $85 million remains small, it signifies an end to the policy paralysis and lack of decision making that plagued Indian foreign and trade policy in the dying months of the previous government. If things go well, and India is able to leverage its investment to boost trade and send the supplies and aid it has pA détente between Iran and the West, at a time when geopolitical tensions in West and South Asia are at a peak, is perhaps too much to expect. But with the West finding itself being sucked into conflict zones and situations all over the region, it would make sense to try and take forward a meaningful dialogue with Iran, one that goes beyond the nuclear issue that seems to have tied both sides down. With Iran turning down the rhetoric a notch since the arrival of President Hassan Rouhani, perhaps this is a golden opportunity for the West and Iran to engage with each other, with a more confident India that is trusted by both sides serving as interlocutor.

Hrishabh Sandilya is a doctoral candidate and lecturer on South Asian Politics at Charles University in Prague, and a visiting fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not reflect those of IDSA.
romised the Afghan government, it is reasonable to assume that India will be willing to make an increased commitment to Chabahar, similar to the Chinese investment in Gwadar, in the future. Iran’s offer to make the province a free-trade zone and offer India preferential tariffs for its exports en route to Afghanistan and Central Asia is also a game-changer and bodes well for the development of Chabahar.


Cosmo_R
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by Cosmo_R »

kmc_chacko wrote:CAN INDIA BUY IT ?
I must say that we get interested in buying something whether or not it fits our strategic priorities or need because "it might be cheap".

The rear 60% of the ship is Russian, the front is French and we want to complicate supply chain by getting in the middle of a diplomatic muddle that banks on offering the French something halfway between the penalties they have to pay and the original delivery price.

I love it. We actually are in the pawnshop business.

Some Sopwith Camels are going cheap, put a Brahmos on them.
vishvak
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by vishvak »

Has any interest been shown from any other nation when this deal is essentially between Russia and France, with current crisis (generated by NATO backed Ukbapzi mobs) spoiling the deal? Why would anyone want to be yet another poodle in line to service someone else's wars in a gaggle of mobs.
member_26622
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by member_26622 »

We should buy the embargoed Mistral for 1 Billion, attach the ski deck from Vikrant in front and sell it back to Russians for 2 Billion - as it's an aircraft carrier now! :rotfl:
NRao
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by NRao »

East Asian waters to be US aircraft carrier-free for a time
Aircraft carriers for Japan?

The four-month absence of the big U.S. ships could prompt Japan to start developing its own fleet of aircraft carriers.

It would not have to build the vessels from scratch. Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force already has two helicopter carriers, the Hyuga and the Ise. The much larger Izumo is due to be completed soon. If these ships were converted to carry F-35B short-takeoff, vertical-landing fighters and escorted by Aegis-equipped destroyers, Japan would have a full-fledged convoy of aircraft carriers.

If fighting broke out between Japan and China in the waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, Japan's Air Self-Defense Force fighters would have to be deployed from bases in Okinawa or Kyushu. The long flights from these bases would limit the amount of time they could operate in the area. A Japanese fleet of carriers, on the other hand, could bring fighters near the islands, which are known as Diaoyu in China.

From the end of World War II through the Cold War, U.S. policy was to keep Japan dependent on its military power. But the growing fiscal squeeze and frequent conflicts around the world have led to new priorities. Washington is now making it clear that it wants its allies to be able to deal with strategic challenges close to home on their own.

Australia is moving in this direction. The idea of turning its two Canberra-class amphibious assault ships into aircraft carriers by equipping them with F-35B fighters has been floated in the country. It appears any move in this direction would be designed to secure independent defense capabilities against emergencies when no U.S. carriers are deployed in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Washington's planned four-month break from carrier duty in East Asia may be aimed at nudging Tokyo into building its own fleet of carriers, nearly 70 years after the U.S. effectively assumed responsibility for Japan's naval air defense and combat.
brar_w
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^^ Modifying existing designs may not be as easy as a lot of folks think it would be. A lot of challenges would need to be overcome with respect to housing even a modest sized carrier air wing. Furthermore, setting this up and learning the ropes of high tempo carrier ops is a very time consuming process. From an investment point of view it does make sense although there are other ways Japan can contribute to the strategic alliances being formed in the Pacific, without resorting to such a drastic move that would no doubt kick up the tensions. The real advantage of an Ambitious ship is the flexibility in supporting troops ashore and as such using it is as carrier sub when the big boys are not around is not the most efficient allocation of resources. Conversely, the USMC commanders have sort of stated or rather hinted that they would use the Americas in the pacific where sending a carrier air wing and the entire group would appear to be too escalatory and therefore damaging to developing situations. The Japanese are really integrating themselves with the USN and MC, with the Purchase of the F-35 (The Pacific would see all three versions perhaps simultaneously), E-2D, and the V-22 and with the global hawk with a strong possibility of the Triton coming next.
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Post by Austin »

Russian Warship may be deployed on Cam Ranh Bay Vietnam

http://en.itar-tass.com/world/763988
MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. Russia and Vietnam have signed an intergovernmental agreement on the simplified entry of Russian warships to Vietnam’s Cam Ranh port, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry told TASS on Thursday.

“The agreement was signed in Sochi on November 25 during the visit of Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong to Russia. The procedure sets the requirement for Russian vessels that are approaching the Vietnamese port only to notify its authorities for entry,” said the source.

Vietnam is the second country with which Russia has such an agreement. “Russia had signed a similar agreement many years ago with Syria on Russian Navy ships and vessels’ Tartus port entry. However, Russia has another agreement with Syria on the sustainment center of the Russian Navy in Tartus. Russia so far has no such agreement with Vietnam,” the source said. According to him, the document signing will be discussed at future bilateral negotiations.
Philip
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by Philip »

Was offered to India too?
brar_w
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Post by brar_w »

With Mistral Suspension, France Seeks to Boost Ties with Poland
PARIS — France’s decision to place a hold on the delivery of the first Mistral helicopter carrier to Russia is tied to a greater effort to boost relations between Paris and Warsaw, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has personally told his Polish counterpart.

French President François Hollande suspended the ship’s delivery due to the deadly conflict in east Ukraine, the president’s office said on Nov. 25.

“The president of the republic considers the present situation in east Ukraine still does not allow the delivery of the first [projection and command ship],” the Elysée president’s office said in a statement. “He has decided that it is appropriate to suspend, until further notice, the examination of the request for export authorization for the first [projection and command ship] to the Russian Federation.”

French ministers previously said Hollande would decide in November whether to grant permission for a delivery.

Hollande set two conditions for delivery: the observation of a ceasefire in Ukraine and a political agreement between Moscow and Kiev.

Russia will not, for now, file a claim against France on the suspension and still expects the deal to go ahead, RIA news agency quoted Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov as saying last week, Reuters reported.

On the same day Hollande announced the suspension, Le Drian flew to Warsaw to see his Polish counterpart, Tomasz Siemoniak.

Besides a deepening tension between the West and Russia, Paris also has every business interest in strengthening ties with Warsaw, which is looking to buy multirole helicopters, attack submarines and a medium-range air defense system under the Wisla missile program.

“The reason for my visit to Warsaw is, first of all, to cultivate the excellence of our bilateral relations,” Le Drian told journalists on his trip to Poland. Le Drian told Siemoniak of Hollande’s withholding an authorization of the first Mistral to Moscow, the French minister said.

Within a few weeks, France will send an armored unit for exercises in Poland as part of Paris’ continuing effort to support allies, which included France contributing to the NATO air patrol, Le Drian said.

France completed a tour of four Dassault Rafale fighters on the Baltic air patrol in August, a source here said.

The meeting also included talks on drawing on the Weimar Triangle to build “a major training role” with the European partners, Le Drian said. The triangle is a trilateral partnership between France, Germany and Poland. The joint training would be in the context of preparing for the future with NATO and the European Union, he said.

On the Polish tender for the 70 multirole transport helicopters, estimated at some €3 billion (US $3.7 billion), Airbus Helicopters has pitched its EC725 Caracal against the Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk and AgustaWestland AW149. Each of the competitors has signed with a local partner for production in Poland.

On the expected missile competition, the Eurosam joint venture between MBDA and Thales is fielding the Aster weapon against the Raytheon Patriot. The French Air Force displayed a command post, radar and launcher of its Aster missile, dubbed Mamba, at the Polish MSPO exhibition in September, Eurosam said on it website.

France is offering a naval cruise missile on the DCNS Scorpene in the Polish tender for attack submarines, the source said. That missile is being developed by MBDA for the French Navy. The French bid competes with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

A UN human rights organization has reported that almost 1,000 people have been killed in Ukraine between the ceasefire agreement in September and Nov. 18, Agence-France Press reported. That is an average 13 dead a day and more than 4,300 combatants and civilians slain since pro-Russia insurgents seized regions in eastern Ukraine in April, the UN said. The total figure includes the 298 lives lost in the shoot down of Malaysia Airlines MH17 flight in July, the news agency reported.

The prime contractor, state-owned DCNS, had previously arranged for a hand-over ceremony of the first of two ships — the Vladivostok — to the arms agency Rosoboronexport and a putting into water of the sister ship, Sevastopol, on Nov. 14. DCNS canceled the ceremony, which was revealed by Russian RIA news agency.

Sevastopol’s delivery is scheduled for the last quarter of 2015. France signed the €1.2 billion Mistral deal in 2011, and has come under diplomatic pressure from Western nations, Poland and Baltic allies to refuse the hand over to Russia.
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Bulava inter-continental ballistic missile test-launched from nuc submarine in Barents Sea
Russia has successfully test fired a Bulava inter-continental ballistic missile from the Alexander Nevsky strategic nuclear-powered submarine, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry information department said on Friday.

The nuclear-powered submarine made a single test-launch in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East.

“The submarine was test launched from a submerged position. The parameters of Bulava flight trajectory functioned normally. According to confirmed objective control data, the missile’s warheads successfully reached a testing range in the Kamchatka Peninsula,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson General Igor Konashenkov said.
Video of Launch http://youtu.be/Vep02Q6yuHs
Cosmo_R
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by Cosmo_R »

brar_w wrote:^^ Modifying existing designs may not be as easy as a lot of folks think it would be. ,,,
+1
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by Kartik »

Australian Navy commissions its first Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), the HMAS Canberra.

Australia commissions helicopter carrier Canberra
The Royal Australian Navy commissioned its first of two Canberra-class landing helicopter dock (LHD) vessels at a ceremony in Sydney on 28 November. HMASCanberraand her sister ship – to be christened HMAS Adelaide late next year – will be the largest vessels ever operated by the navy. They are based on the Strategic Projection Ship design from Navantia, an example of which is in service with the Spanish navy as theKing Juan Carlos I.

Each LHD has a displacement of 27,500t at full load, and can accommodate 18 NH Industries MRH90 Taipan, Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk or Airbus Helicopters Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters, up to 110 armoured vehicles, four amphibious landing craft inside a well dock with sea door and a battalion of up to 1,200 troops. The 230m (757ft)-long design has a 1,390m2 (15,000ft2) hangar/light vehicle deck and a 1,860m2 heavy vehicle deck.The ship also has sufficient generating capacity to be able to export electricity into the power grid of a small city that may have been affected by a natural disaster.

The flightdeck has six landing spots for medium-sized helicopters, or four for the larger Boeing CH-47F Chinook – seven of which will be delivered to the Australian army from next year. Aircraft elevators are located forward and aft, while there is also a forward armaments elevator.

The Spanish design retains its ski-jump ramp, ostensibly because there was no benefit in redesigning the ships without one.However, its retention not only offers cross-decking opportunities for allied fixed-wing types such as the Boeing AV-8B Harrier II or Lockheed Martin F-35B, but also flexibility for the Australian Defence Force to operate such aircraft in the future. The possible acquisition of the F-35B is currently being studied as part of a new defence White Paper due for release in mid-2015.

HMASCanberrais due to commence first-of-class sea trials before the end of December, during which time the first aircraft will be embarked aboard the vessel to explore and expand flight envelopes from and around the ship, initially using only two of its deck landing spots.
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by Kartik »

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems for sale!

TKMS for sale
According to media reports, ThyssenKrupp had started approaching potential buyers for its submarine unit, including French peer DCNS and German group Rheinmetall, whose main product is submarines.

Following the forced divestment of its Swedish Kockums acquisition, the German industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp is seeking to divest the remaining assets related to submarine construction – under its Marine Systems (TKMS) business group, operating three divisions – submarines (formerly HDW in Kiel), military surface vessels (at Emden and Hamburg) and services (at Kiel and Hamburg). TKMS was founded when ThyssenKrupp acquired HDW in 2005. TKMS focused on the construction of military naval vessels and submarines, after its civilian business line was sold to Abu Dhabi MAR in 2011.

ThyssenKrupp president Heinrich Hiesinger was recently quoted by the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung saying the company will be ready to sell the submarine unit if the right proposal will be made. The company recently reported a profit of €210 million after three years of losses.

“The precondition for any talks would be an offer that reflects the value of the business,” the paper quoted Heinrich Hiesinger as saying. “This can’t be based on a purely political decision or merely on another company’s wishes.” Hiesinger added the group was under no pressure to sell because the shipyard was profitable and had an order backlog that would last for the next few years.
Kartik
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by Kartik »

MiG Corp's MiG-29KUB testbed crashed with both pilots ejecting. One pilot is critical. Hope he recovers.

link to article in Russian
campaign ship crashed MiG-29KUB

December 4th, 16:55 December 4th, 16:55 В In the suburbs experienced crashed MiG-29KUB (izd.9-47) black board 204, which belonged to RAC "MiG".

Judging by the staff from the crash site, the impact of the aircraft on the surface was so strong that of the MiG-29 were only small fragments of the structure.
According to preliminary data, none of the residents was injured. Pilots Rybnikov Sergei and Vadim Selivanov ejected, but it suffered serious injury. One of the pilots suffered a broken arm bone, the other - a head injury. It is reported that after receiving an open craniocerebral trauma pilot Sergey Rybnikov fell into a coma.

The representative of the Investigation Department of the interregional transport of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in Moscow and Moscow region Tatiana Morozova said that officials began preliminary inquiry. Currently being developed two versions of the reasons for the crash: crew error and failure of the equipment.

According to RIA Novosti, the flight recorders, badly injured in the crash, will be forwarded to the 13th Research Institute of the Defense Ministry.

Guys with RAC and LII not confirm anyone. Vadim broke both arms, Sergei head injury and is likely to also fractures, though unconscious and now transferred to the intensive care unit Sklifa.
Jumping with "difficult situation", with a height of 300 meters. With this rate of descent (or already padeniya0 ... was not enough without H. For normal operation of the system bailout.
KrishnaK
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by KrishnaK »

Kartik wrote:ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems for sale!

TKMS for sale
According to media reports, ThyssenKrupp had started approaching potential buyers for its submarine unit, including French peer DCNS and German group Rheinmetall, whose main product is submarines.

Following the forced divestment of its Swedish Kockums acquisition, the German industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp is seeking to divest the remaining assets related to submarine construction – under its Marine Systems (TKMS) business group, operating three divisions – submarines (formerly HDW in Kiel), military surface vessels (at Emden and Hamburg) and services (at Kiel and Hamburg). TKMS was founded when ThyssenKrupp acquired HDW in 2005. TKMS focused on the construction of military naval vessels and submarines, after its civilian business line was sold to Abu Dhabi MAR in 2011.

ThyssenKrupp president Heinrich Hiesinger was recently quoted by the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung saying the company will be ready to sell the submarine unit if the right proposal will be made. The company recently reported a profit of €210 million after three years of losses.

“The precondition for any talks would be an offer that reflects the value of the business,” the paper quoted Heinrich Hiesinger as saying. “This can’t be based on a purely political decision or merely on another company’s wishes.” Hiesinger added the group was under no pressure to sell because the shipyard was profitable and had an order backlog that would last for the next few years.
Would an Indian company be allowed to acquire TKMS ?
Cosmo_R
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by Cosmo_R »

KrishnaK wrote:
Would an Indian company be allowed to acquire TKMS ?
Sure, just like Tata and Jaguar/Land Rover. But you could not move the factory to India nor could you transfer 'ToT' to your Indian parent (all part of the JLR deal clauses).

You'd be better off having a German co buy them and support the bid with contracts to Buy/Make in India
Philip
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

Post by Philip »


Another Kilo for the Viet navy,which the IN is helping train Viet submariners on.
Admiralty Shipyards provide Vietnamese Navy with third Project 636.1 submarine

15:34 December 5, 2014 Interfax

Admiralty Shipyards (which is part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) in St. Petersburg have provided the Vietnamese Navy with the third of the six Project 636.1 diesel-electric submarines ordered by Vietnam, the Russian shipbuilding industry told Interfax-AVN.

"An act of technical acceptance of the submarine was signed on Thursday," the source said.

Admiralty Shipyards is now expecting a barge to take the submarine to Cam Ranh, where it will be based. "The submarine, which is called the Hai Phong, will be sent to Vietnam tentatively by December 10," the source said.

Designers to start work on new Russian destroyer in 2015

The contract for the supply of six Project 636.1diesel-electric submarines to Vietnam was signed in 2009 during a visit to Moscow by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Besides the construction of submarines, the contract envisages the training of Vietnamese crews and the supply of the necessary equipment and technical property.

The first and the second, the Vietnamese Hanoi and the Ho Chi Minh submarines are now in Cam Ranh.

The fourth submarine of the series began builders' sea trials in mid June. The keel of the sixth submarine was laid in late May.

Project 636.1 diesel-electric submarines are third-generation submarines. They are equipped with a Club anti-boat missile system, which considerably expands the splash zone. Due to their super-low noise level, submarines of this class have been called "black hole submarines" in the West.

The Hai Phong port was used by Soviet vessels carrying aid to the people of Vietnam to unload their cargo during the war between Vietnam and the U.S.

Source: Russia Beyond the Headlines - http://rbth.com/news/2014/12/05/admiral ... 41995.html)
[quote

Designers to start work on new Russian destroyer in 2015

November 12, 2014 Vladimir Scherbakov, special to RBTH

Russia’s new future destroyer will enter the design stages in 2015. The lead ship, the chief military purpose of which is to establish supremacy on the open sea, will become operative no sooner than 2025. It is presumed that the destroyer will be equipped with the Caliber cruise missile system and the Prometheus ZRK (anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile system).






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Designers to start work on new Russian destroyer in 2015

Work on the design of the “Leader” is scheduled to begin in 2015. Source: Vladimir Scherbakov


The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed the specifications for the design of a new destroyer, according to a report by news agency ITAR-TASS on Oct. 21, referencing a highly placed source in the domestic defense industry. The program for the creation of the vessel has been assigned the codename of “Leader.”

Work on the Russian “lord of the seas” has been entrusted to the Northern Design Bureau, the creator of practically all of the major surface warships in the Russian fleet. Work on the design of the “Leader” is scheduled to begin in 2015, but the construction of the first of the series of 12 ships – half a dozen for the Northern and Pacific fleets – is not expected before 2023-2025.

However, five years ago the fleet command confirmed that the construction of the destroyer would commence in 2012, while two years ago representatives of the United Shipbuilding Corporation mentioned 2016.

Admiral Nakhimov to become most powerful missile cruiser in Russian fleet
Admiral Nakhimov to become most powerful missile cruiser in Russian fleet

Of particular interest is the fact that the “Leader” program is said not to have been included in the state armaments program for 2020 and funds for the construction of destroyers may only be allocated within the framework of a shipbuilding program planned until 2050.

“The decision to change the date for the creation of ‘Leader’-type destroyers to 2023-2025 was completely justified,” the independent military and naval expert Alexander Mozgovoi explained to RBTH.

“First of all, the Russian shipbuilding industry simply cannot build such ships at the moment. Secondly, immense sums of money are needed to implement the program, but this money can currently be put to great use in other areas. Thirdly, some of the armaments systems meant for the ‘Leaders’ simply do not exist yet. They only exist on paper.”

The long arms and sharp claws of the ‘lord of the seas’

It is believed that the main attack method for the “Leader” will be the Caliber integrated missile system which is exported under the name “Klub” and includes 3M-14 anti-ship and cruise missiles. These are designed for the destruction of important targets at great distances deep in enemy territory and have been called upon to serve as the “long arm” of the destroyer.

In addition, the Caliber has anti-submarine missiles that make it possible to destroy various enemy submarines with great efficiency, including silent non-nuclear subs.

Russian fleet to receive secret new cruise missile
Russian fleet to receive secret new cruise missile

The destroyer’s second “long arm” may be the Onyx strike system with supersonic cruise missiles. Moreover, both the Caliber and the Onyx can be used from the same launching unit. This gives Russian warships full versatility and real multi-tasking capabilities.

A version of the unique S-500 Prometheus anti-aircraft missile system meant for ships will guarantee protection from air attacks. It is even capable of destroying targets located in nearby sectors of outer space. The ship will also get medium and close-range air and missile defense systems.

In addition, artillery and mine-torpedo equipment – used for fighting saboteurs, helicopters, and drones – will be installed on the “Leader”, as well as modern radar and sonar which will allow the destroyer’s crew to detect any air, water surface, or underwater targets, even small or inconspicuous ones, at distances of tens, even hundreds of kilometers.

However, the precise nature of the armaments to be carried by the “Leader” is not yet known - there are weapons systems still in the development stage which will only be available for use in the fleet after several years. In particular, the then-First Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin spoke in spring 2011 of work on the creation of the Zircon-S ship-based hypersonic missile system.

Nuclear or gas energy supply?

The most disputed issue in the “Leader” program is related to the choice of the destroyer’s main energy supply. So, according to the information published, the Ministry of Defense has ordered work on drafts for two options for the main energy supply – gas turbine and nuclear.


Upgrade of Russia’s strategic potential will be completed by 2020

Upgrade of Russia’s strategic potential will be completed by 2020

“At the R&D stage, the ministry will conclusively determine which is more appropriate, a nuclear or conventional destroyer, or whether it should be both. The latter option is totally possible,” a highly-placed source in the Russian military-industrial complex told the ITAR- TASS news agency.

Yet questions remain, especially financial ones. Considering the current capacities of domestic shipbuilding, today’s complicated financial and economic situation, and fact that the surface water strength of the Russian fleet requires large-scale and rapid upgrading, does the Ministry of Defense think – even hypothetically – that it can allow itself the construction of destroyers with two types of power-generation units? Or even in midget batches – six nuclear and six gas turbine ships?

“Resuming a permanent presence on the world’s oceans should not be making a hole in the Russian budget,” the executive editor of the Independent Military Review, Oleg Vladykin, told RBTH.

Source: Russia Beyond the Headlines - http://rbth.com/defence/2014/11/12/desi ... 41325.html)
][/quote]
Philip
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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Putin to Hollande: : "Stand and deliver"

http://news.usni.org/2014/12/08/russia- ... 234c8f82d4
Russia to France: Give Us the Mistrals or a Refund

By: Sam LaGrone
Published: December 8, 2014 10:48 AM • Updated: December 8, 2014 10:49 AM


Mistral-class helicopter carrier Vladivostok via Reuters
Mistral-class helicopter carrier Vladivostok via Reuters

Russia has given the French government a choice, either deliver the two promised Mistral-class amphibious warships to the Russian Navy or refund the purchase price of the $1.53 billion program, a Russian foreign policy official told reporters on Monday.

“Both options will suit us — either the ships or the money. The money spent must be recovered,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Monday, following a quickly organized Saturday meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President François Hollande in the Moscow airport.

Delivery of the two custom built variants of the 21,000-ton French Mistral amphibious warships to Russia has been stalled by the Hollande government since September over concerns of the ongoing fighting between Russian backed separatists and the Ukrainian government.

Hollande said the delivery of the two ships would be tied to the implementation of the so-called Minsk Protocol — a September ceasefire agreement between separatists, Russia and Ukraine.

“The delivery of the helicopter carriers to Russia is connected with implementation of the Minsk accords,” Hollande said according to French newspaper Le Figaro.

In comments to reporters after the Saturday meeting with Putin Hollande said, “in the Ukrainian issue, we have already got used to moving forward and then moving backwards again. It is therefore entirely possible that we will soon be disappointed about what is happening, as we have already been earlier,” according to Russian news agency TASS.

In a separate presser following the Saturday meeting, Putin said the issue of the Mistrals hadn’t come up but he’d like to see either the money or the ships come to Russia.

The tone from the Kremlin is more measured than late last month after the Hollande government announced it would continue suspending delivery of the two planned ships — Vladivostok and Sevastopol.

“The behavior of the Russian side is strictly regulated by the signed contract,” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said, reported TASS.
“If [France] won’t deliver [Mistral], we’ll sue and impose penalties.”

The most recent comments do not indicate if the Kremlin will be satisfied with just the money back or impose contract penalties as well.

Suggestions have been floated for the ships to be used as a mobile base for NATO’s emerging rapid reaction force or as a replacement for the Canadian Navy’s 1960s vintage fleet oilers if France backs out of the deal with the Russians.
If France welshes on the deal,it has to find a buyer.Perhaps a tripartite agreement can be found with India as the buyer.Throw it into in Rafale deal as a bonus! Russia gets its money,the ship is sold to an old friend ,not to a NATO nation,and France gets its money,India an amphib ek thum,which it wants 4 of.

Perhaps Pres.Putin can discuss the same with PM Modi.
Philip
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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One sometimes cannot understand the British mind.It scrapped the Harriers which still had a couple of decades of life left in them which the USMC snapped up lock,stock and barrel. They then dismembered...like ISIS,the entire fleet of Nimrod ASW aircraft which were superb ASW hunters and replaced them with ziltch! Not to mention the disastrous policy of supporting the UKR fascists. Perfidous Albion has to now humiliatingly beseech ancient one time arch enemy,the "Froggies",for help in tracking a suspected sub."O tempora ,O mores!"

Navy has to ask French for help in hunt for 'Russian submarine' thanks to defence cuts after periscope spotted off Scottish base
Five aircraft from four different nations were working with Royal Navy
They were hunting for a suspected foreign submarine near Faslane in Scotland
Since Nimrods were scrapped the UK has lacked a specialist patrol aircraft

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z3LUYyVQFN
By Maureen Sugden for the Daily Mail
10 December 2014 | Updated: 10:09 GMT, 10 December 2014

Britain was forced to call on its NATO allies for maritime aircraft to help hunt for a suspected foreign submarine after the Government scrapped its own patrol planes in defence cuts.

At the height of the operation, five aircraft from four different nations were working with Royal Navy ships in the search for the mystery vessel.

Since the Government scrapped its Nimrods, the UK has lacked a specialist maritime patrol aircraft. The Navy was forced to call on its NATO allies for maritime aircraft to help hunt for a suspected foreign submarine

A periscope was sighted in waters where British submarines would normally surface as they head into or out of the Royal Navy’s submarine base at Faslane in Scotland. The incident comes just weeks after Sweden mounted a search for a suspected Russian submarine thought to be in its territorial waters.

Maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs) from France, Canada and the US conducted patrols, in conjunction with British surface warships in the search, which began around November 26 and continued into the first week of December, operating out of RAF Lossiemouth.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that it had received assistance from NATO allies but would not say whether they had been searching for a submarine.

But a UK defence ministry spokesman told Aviation Week that Britain had ‘requested assistance from allied forces for basing of maritime patrol aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth for a limited period,’ adding: ‘The aircraft are conducting Maritime Patrol activity with the Royal Navy; we do not discuss the detail of maritime operations.’

Incursion: A Russian Tu-95 Bear 'H' photographed from a RAF Typhoon Quick Reaction Aircraft with 6 Squadron from RAF Leuchars in Scotland on April 23, 2014

A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Air Force said: ‘Following a request for assistance from the United Kingdom, the Canadian Armed Forces deployed one CP-140 Aurora Aircraft to RAF Lossiemouth for a limited time.’

An RAF Sentinel radar-reconnaissance aircraft was one of the planes said to have taken part in the operation which appeared finally to have drawn to a close last week.

A MoD spokeswoman said: ‘Nato partners have provided assistance for the operation of maritime patrol aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth for a limited period with the Royal Navy. We do not discuss the detail of maritime operations.’

The incident comes just weeks after Sweden mounted a search for a suspected Russian submarine thought to be operating in its territorial waters.

Although the hunt was unsuccessful, defence officials said there was no doubt that their waters had been violated by a foreign power.

Last month the Royal Navy tracked four Russian warships passing through the English Channel while there has been a recent upsurge incidents of Russian long-range bombers approaching UK airspace.

Scottish National Party Defence spokesman Angus Robertson, whose constituency contains RAF Lossiemouth, said: ‘This is hugely embarrassing for the UK which is totally exposed without such critical maritime patrol assets.

‘It is not the first time they have had to depend on the goodwill of allies to fill this massive capability gap.’

The SNP MP for Moray added: ‘It is absurd that Scotland as a maritime nation doesn’t have a single maritime patrol aircraft.

‘All of our surrounding neighbours have them. It is utter madness that the MoD are going to renew Trident at a cost of £100bn but not on essential conventional kit like these aircraft.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z3LUaW1jnT
brar_w
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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Yup thats UK's defense budget for you. They also played around with their carrier so much, trying to re-distribute cost over multiple programs and contracts (talk about socialism) that they delayed virtually every aspect of their carrier air wing. The F-35's have only begun to be ordered for operational units starting this year (2016 deliveries iirc) and it would take them a while to put a few units together and qualify them for the carrier. The P-8 is what they are looking at but most fully expect them to drag their feet for some time and then order it.
If France welshes on the deal,it has to find a buyer.Perhaps a tripartite agreement can be found with India as the buyer.Throw it into in Rafale deal as a bonus! Russia gets its money,the ship is sold to an old friend ,not to a NATO nation,and France gets its money,India an amphib ek thum,which it wants 4 of.
No one throws anything into any deal like you have mentioned. The Mistral deal is a diplomatic complication that would take months to resolve (if not years to resolve fully). In the meantime, most nations would stay out of the NATO-French-Russian discussions on the same. There are internal forces in french, external forces through NATO and Russia playing at this deal..
brar_w
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LAWS Deployed onboard USS Ponce..While it is still a developmental deployment they have authority to use the system for self defense if required



Star Wars At Sea: Navy’s Laser Gets Real
While the US hasn’t fired a laser in anger, yet, the Pentagon has worked out rules of engagement and given the commander of the Ponce full authority to unleash the laser if he deems it necessary to the ship’s defense. “Please make no mistake, if we have to defend that ship today, we will destroy a threat if it comes in,” Klunder told reporters today at the Pentagon. One advantage lasers have over bullets, missiles, and other physical weapons is “scalability,” added the Navy’s chief engineer, Rear Adm. Bryant Fuller of Naval Sea Systems Command. (In the Navy’s puzzling rank structure, Fuller is a one-star “RDML,” Klunder a two-star “RADM”). If a suspicious vessel or aircraft approaches the Ponce too closely, the laser operator can start out in a low-power “dazzling mode,” enough to catch the target’s eye but not enough to do any damage. If the potential threat keeps coming, though, the laser can dial up to higher power levels: frying sensors, burning out motors, and ultimately detonating anything explosive that the target might be carrying. By focusing on vital points, Ponce sailors have reduced the time to shoot down a drone to “less than two seconds,” Klunder said.

For manned targets, however, the complication is the Geneva Convention’s prohibition on weapons that blind — which lasers do at certain power levels. That’s part of the reason it took “about a year” for Pentagon policy officials to thrash out rules of engagement, Klunder said. International law and US policy boil down to “you will not point lasers at people,” Klunder explained. “We certainly honor that.”

“If there are people on a vessel…trying to kill you….well, we’re not going to aim it at the people, but we’re going to aim it at the ship,” Klunder said. “If we have to blow up the ship, well, you were on the ship.”“It’s more effective if we take out the platform,” Fuller said: Destroying sensors, weapons, or engines is a more effective way to neutralize a threat than zapping individual crew. (The two admirals didn’t specify what happens if the full-power beam does hit a human, but presumably it’s messy). As the Navy video at the top of this article shows, the laser can focus precisely enough to destroy a single rocket-propelled grenade mounted on an (unmanned) small boat — a proxy for the kind of improvised fast attack craft used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. But the video also shows the RPG detonating in a cloud of shrapnel that would probably kill the Iranians anyway, even if the laser technically never fired at them.

Faster-moving targets, however, will have to wait for future, higher-powered lasers. By 2016 or 2017, the Navy expects to install a 100 to 150-kilowatt laser aboard a ship, Klunder said. “That will expand the [target set] beyond UAVs and fast-attack craft,” he said. So while “a lot” of current ships could accommodate the current 30-kw LaWS, he said, “the 100-150 [kw] one, that’s the one we’re really targeting for potential more extensive use.”

At that higher power level, it may be possible to achieve what’s been a holy grail for lasers since Ronald Reagan: shooting down incoming missiles. Klunder and Fuller said the Navy was looking at that mission for the 100-150 kw laser, though they didn’t promise they could do it. They did compare the current laser’s cost per shot – $0.59 worth of electricity — to the hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions for current anti-missile interceptors like the Navy Standard Missile: A missile defense laser would be much cheaper and have infinitely more shots than a battery of interceptors.

A lower-powered laser like the one on Ponce is a much more limited and specialized tool. Perhaps the most surprising side benefit, however, is that the same high-quality optics, stabilization, and targeting algorithms required to aim the laser can also serve as a super telescope. So in addition to its primary defensive purpose, said Klunder, “we also now use this on an everyday basis on targeting and identification of potential threats.”

Neshant
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Re: International Naval News and Discussion

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Russia has given the French government a choice, either deliver the two promised Mistral-class amphibious warships to the Russian Navy or refund the purchase price of the $1.53 billion program, a Russian foreign policy official told reporters on Monday.

“Both options will suit us — either the ships or the money. The money spent must be recovered,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Monday
I wonder if the same can be said when Russian arms dealers low ball the price of armaments purchased by India and then start hollering for more money after the contract has been signed and deposits have been handed over.
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