A plan to buy submarines for the Royal Thai Navy is on again with strong backing from Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon who wants Thailand’s fleet to be on par with neighbouring countries. The sub plan, which has surfaced periodically over the years, re-emerged when Gen Prawit on Wednesday said the country needed to equip its navy with submarines as part of efforts to modernise the armed forces. The defence minister said chances were good that the navy can fulfil its deep yearning for submarines, but he stopped short of saying when funds would be allocated. "I can't say exactly how many percent (chance there is). But when I said the navy has a chance, it means more than 50% or 60%,'' he told reporters. The budget could be around 36 billion baht. In July, the navy opened an ultra-modern, 540-million-baht submarine base and training centre in Chon Buri province, even though the country doesn't own a single sub.
Thailand has not had a submarine since 1951, but has been trying for several years to get some. In 2011, the military negotiated to buy six small used submarines from Germany for 7.7 billion baht and considered buying two larger new vessels from South Korea, but both deals fell through. Navy officials say they want submarines to protect the Gulf of Thailand and Thai interests on the high seas. But one worry is the spat over the South China Sea's Spratly Islands — claimed in part or in whole by Brunei, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam — could erupt into a regional conflict that destabilises the region. The high-ticket price was the factor, however, that ultimately sank the submarine plan. This week, however, Gen Prawit asserted that the country needs submarines to keep up with other Asean countries. Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam all have them.
Keeping up with the neighbours
A navy source said the navy quietly set up a committee commanded by chief of staff Thanarat Ubon to dust off the project in December after Gen Prawit gave navy officers a green light. The panellists visited visited Germany, Spain and South Korea, with China set to be their next stop in investigating sub sellers.
The navy wants to buy two diesel-powered submarines with displacement of 2,400-3,000 tonnes. The source said the Chinese-made Yuan class is favoured by the committee due to its specifications. The U-class from South Korea and Germany also pinged the sonar screen. Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan offered to sell weapons with special conditions and ''friendship price tags'' to Thailand twice when Gen Prawit visited Beijing in November. The offer, which also included 10-year payment plans, was repeated when the Chinese minister came to Bangkok last month.
The source said navy chief Adm Kraisorn Chansuwanit planned to swap the position between Adm Thanarat and Narongphol Na Bangchang, who is a deputy chief of staff at the Supreme Command, in a mid-year reshuffle to speed up the sub project. Adm Narongphol was a key figure on the submarine team before he was moved to the Supreme Command, the source added.
An investigation was launched last night amid fears a Russian submarine snagged a fishing boat’s gear and dragged the vessel across the sea. Skipper Angus Macleod said he and his four crew were “extremely lucky” in the incident after his net was repeatedly pulled in front of his 62ft trawler. The 46-year-old father-of-two has now lodged incident reports with both the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
Last night, the Royal Navy said neither it nor any other Nato nations had vessels operating in the area at the time.
And one defence analyst said that a Russian submarine could be the culprit.
Tim Ripley said that Russian vessels may be getting into position to observe Nato’s huge Joint Warrior exercise, which is due to start in the next few weeks.
No one from the Russian Embassy in London was available for comment last night.
The Aquarius was fishing for haddock, monkfish and skate in 360ft of water about 10 miles east of the Butt of Lewis.
he crews had two nets out when their boat suddenly slowed down.
The port net moved in front of the boat, while the other continued to lie behind it.
Mr Macleod said he was baffled by what was happening and had to “up the revs” on the engine to try to keep ahead of the net in case it fouled the propeller.
During 15 anxious minutes, the boat was constantly manoeuvred to get in front of the moving net – only for it to go forward again.
“It kept going forward and we had to repeat the manoeuvre four times to stay ahead,” said Mr Macleod.
“The winch became increasingly under strain as we tried to haul the rope.
“There was no way the net was snagged on the bottom. It only ended when the dog rope, which attaches the top and bottom ends of the net, was cut by the propeller.
“I have been at sea for 30 years – and between the five of us there is 110 years experience – and we have never experienced anything like that.
Mr Macleod, of Barra in the Western Isles, added: “The sea conditions were good. We were mystified, we just couldn’t explain it.
The Aquarius developed steering problems as it headed for Stornoway and the port’s lifeboat was launched to tow it to harbour for repairs.
It discovered that four of the five one-inch bolts connecting the steering motor with the rudder had come out and the other was loose.
Mr Macleod said: “I think that something got hold of the dog rope and the trawl wire. The only explanation I can think of its a submarine.
“It missed the nets, which is just as well. All five of us are extremely lucky. I don’t even want to think of the consequences of what could have happened.
The incident cost Mr Macleod an estimated £10,00 in damage and loss of earnings.
Sweden is to buy two new submarines from constructors Saab Kockums, it was announced today.
The A26 subs are to be delivered by 2022 and will cost up to SEK 8.2 billion, news agency TT reports.
"This is the biggest single decision when it comes to economic investments that we will make during this parliament", Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told TT.
The decision, to be formally made by the cabinet on Thursday, is to "ensure Swedish submarine capability past 2030", the minister adds.
"These are the next generation of submarine. These submarines will be very hi-tech", he says.
Patrick H. 's insight:
L'industriel Saab Kockums accueille bien évidemment très favorablement cette déclaration gouvernementale :
Ce projet A26 avait été lancé initialement en début 2008. La commande devait être inscrite au budget 2011 pour une ASA visée à l'époque en 2018 ou 2019. Elle aura finalement été sensiblement retardée.
WARSAW — Poland's Ministry of Defense is planning to launch a much-awaited tender to acquire new submarines in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to Deputy Defense Minister Maciej Jankowski. Under the plan, three new submarines are to be delivered by 2023.
Moreover, the ministry is aiming to acquire Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US to arm the submarines, reported local daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
"Indeed, we have asked the French and the Americans on the possibility of acquiring cruise missiles for our future submarines," Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak tweeted following the report.
The long-range Tomahawk is manufactured by Raytheon. No details were available about talks with the French.
Jankowski confirmed Poland's plans to launch the submarine tender this year in an official response to a request for information by Artur Gorski, a member of parliament from the opposition Law and Justice Party. The deputy minister said the government did not want to disclose the estimated value of the planned contract, as it could influence its negotiating position.
"The ORKA program … is a multiyear program, and its financing will be spread over time until 2024. Indicating an estimated worth of the program would considerably lower the negotiating position of [the ministry] in the planned acquisition procedure," Jankowski said.
Deliveries of two submarines are scheduled to be completed by 2022, and a third one will be acquired by 2023, according to the ministry's Military Modernization Plan for the years 2013-2022.
As part of the designed contract, a service and maintenance center for the submarines is to be set up in Poland.
The Algerian National Navy has been on a buying frenzy in recent years, amassing a significant maritime force. In September 2014, representing the culmination of a longer term procurement project, Italy’s Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN) delivered Algeria’s new flagship, an 8,800-tonne amphibious assault ship called the Kalaat Beni-Abbes. But newer projects than OSN’s are currently underway. A shipyard in Saint Petersburg, Russia is building two new Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines for Algeria, while two MEKO A200-class frigates, three F-22P Zulfiquar-class frigates, and two Tigr-class corvettes are being produced for service in the Algerian National Navy at shipyards ranging from Kiel to Karachi.
This vastly outpaces the procurement projects of Algeria’s neighbours. In 1993, Algeria and Tunisia successfully resolved their maritime boundary dispute and have since launched several joint energy exploration projects. Tunisia’s 2010-2011 revolution and concernsin Algeria that the uprising might bring an Islamist regime to power created some uncertainty, but the bilateral relationship remains on the whole quite positive. Although the nearby Strait of Gibraltar has seen some heightened tension between British and Spanish maritime forces, Algeria is not a party to any of these confrontations. In this context, the aggressive expansion of the Algerian National Navy must be rather confusing.
However, it is possible that Algeria is preparing for a significant counter-piracy role. NATO’s Operation Unified Protector devastated the Libyan Navy. Currently, that country’s maritime forces consist of one Koni-class frigate, one Natya-class minesweeper, and two Polnocny-C landing ships. NATO air strikes in May 2011 totally destroyed Libya’s naval bases at Sirte, Khoms, and Tripoli. While the maritime forces loyal to the Libyan government are small in number and poorly equipped, rebels continue to hold a few ports in Libya’s east, though most were freed in a series of offensives during the summer and autumn of 2014. Earlier, in March 2014, one rebel militia succeeded in loading an oil tanker in defiance of the Libyan authorities, prompting the ouster of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.
If the Libyan authorities are struggling to secure their own ports, it is conceivable that rebel groups in the country’s eastern regions could engage in piracy in future years. Such a situation would jeopardize Algeria’s economic growth as it seeks to become a major energy exporter to Europe and Asia. In March 2014, Algerian officials announced plans to increase oil and natural gas production by 13% to 220 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent in two years. The resulting increase in tanker traffic on North Africa’s coast would present plenty of prime targets for Libyan pirates.
Yet it remains unclear whether it is indeed a counter-piracy role that is envisioned for the Algerian National Navy. Algeria is not officially cooperating with Operation Active Endeavour, which is NATO’s counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation force in the Mediterranean Sea, though five ships assigned to the NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group did make a port visit to Algiers in September 2014 prior to joining Active Endeavour. In order to avoid conflict from emerging between Algeria and Libya over the security of international shipping routes, it may be necessary for NATO officials to aggressively pursue a closer relationship with both countries.
Through the Mediterranean Dialogue, NATO established an Individual Cooperation Program (ICP) with Israel in 2006, which allows for Israeli participation in Operation Active Endeavour and other mutually beneficial initiatives. Other ICPs were completed with Egypt in 2007 and Jordan in 2009. Securing ICPs with Algeria and Libya, however, will be an uphill battle; Algeria has participated in NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue since 2000 but Libya has yet to even respond to a 2012 invitationto join. Nonetheless, it is still an effort worth attempting as it may help to avoid much hardship and conflict in the future. For now, Algeria seems to be bracing for impact.
About the Author
Paul Pryce is a Research Analyst at the Atlantic Council of Canada. With degrees in political science from universities in both Canada and Estonia, he has previously worked as a Research Fellow at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and an Associate Fellow at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs. His research interests are diverse and include maritime security, NATO affairs, and African regional integration.
The U.S. Navy operates three kinds of submarines—nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines (SSGNs), and nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). The SSNs and SSGNs are multi-mission ships that perform a variety ofpeacetime and wartime missions. They do not carry nuclear weapons.
The Ohio replacement program (ORP) is a program to design and build a new class of 12 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace the Navy’s current force of 14 Ohio-class SSBNs. The Ohio replacement program is also known as the SSBN(X) program. The Navy wants to procure the first Ohio replacement boat in FY2021, with advance procurement (AP) funding starting in FY2017. The Navy has identified the Ohio replacement program as its top priority program.
The Navy currently operates 14 Ohio (SSBN-726) class SSBNs. The boats are commonly called Trident SSBNs or simply Tridents because they carry Trident SLBMs.
Ohio-class SSBNs are designed to each carry 24 SLBMs, although by 2018, four SLBM launch tubes on each boat are to be deactivated, and the number of SLBMs that can be carried by each boat consequently is to be reduced to 20, so that the number of operational launchers and warheads in the U.S. force will comply with strategic nuclear arms control limits.
The first eight boats in the class were originally armed with Trident I C-4 SLBMs; the final 10 were armed with larger and more-capable Trident II D-5 SLBMs.
Five Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers (DDG-51) will forgo a combat system upgrade that would allow the ships to fight ballistic missile threats as part of a reduction in modernization funding included in the Navy’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 budget that will save the service $500 million over the next five years, USNI News has learned.
Modernization periods for five Flight IIA Burkes — USS Howard (DDG-83); USS McCampbell (DDG-85); USS Mustin (DDG-89); USS Chafee (DDG-90); USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) — will not include the Baseline 9C Aegis Combat System series of processing power and software upgrades to bring an Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) capability to the destroyers, according to an unclassified version of the current modernization plan seen by USNI News.
Instead, the ships will undergo a much more modest upgrade that will focus on hull, mechanical and electrical (HM&E) systems repairs, leaving the ships — all commissioned between 2001 to 2004 — without any ballistic missile defense (BMD) capability.
Additionally — without the Baseline 9 upgrade — the ships will not be wired into the Navy’s emerging Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA (pronounced: nifk-kah)) that would allow destroyers to download targeting information from assets outside of the range of their SPY-1D radars to attack air and BMD threats with the Raytheon Standard Missile 6 (SM-6).
The budget line item in FY 2016 budget reduces modernization funding by $63.1 million — about what it would cost to upgrade a ship to Baseline 9 — which precluded the Baseline 9 upgrade for Howard.
Equivalent cuts to the Burke modernization line in the Navy’s Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP) — about $500 million over five years, USNI News understands — created a knock-on effect for the McCampbell, Mustin, Chafee and Bainbridge modernizations preventing the service from buying long-lead materials for the ships and allowing even a basic BMD capability, USNI News has learned.
When asked about the reductions following a House appropriations hearing on Thursday, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert told USNI News the cuts were a result of hard fiscal choices and reflected the service’s priorities.
India's Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) has awarded INR 30,000 crore (US$4.8 billion) contract for 12 mine countermeasure vessels (MCMV) or minesweepers to Goa Shipyard.
Last November, Defense Ministry had scrapped INR 2,700 crore (US$4.3 billion) for acquiring eight minesweeper vehicles from South Korean firm, Kangnam after the firm had employed middlemen, which is a violation of the tender conditions.
Earlier last year, the deal for eight MCMV from South Korean firm Kangnam Corporation were scraped as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar discussed the idea of giving the order to Goa Shipyard.
Patrick H. 's insight:
Des années de négociations avec la société Kangnam sud-coréenne n'ont pas abouti :
C'est en tout cas ce qu'a annoncé le commandant en chef de la marine russe, l'amiral Viktor Tchirkov, à l'occasion de la mise sur cale de deux nouvelles corvettes au chantier naval du Nord (Saint-Pétersbourg) le 20 février dernier.
Par ces déclarations, le commandant en chef de la marine russe semble clore un débat qui durait depuis la fin des années 2000 sur la nature de la propulsion du futur destroyer : turbine à gaz ou nucléaire. La rupture de la coopération militaro-technique avec l'Ukraine, dans le contexte de la crise qui dure depuis fin 2013, a dû influencer la prise de cette décision. La Russie recevait en effet ses turbines à gaz de l'entreprise ukrainienne Zorya Machproject située à Nikolaïev. Les turbines ukrainiennes équipent en effet les premières unités des frégates russes des projets 11356M et 22350, mais suite à la rupture de la coopération avec Kiev, Moscou va devoir se tourner vers des fournisseurs indigènes, et c'est l’entreprise Saturn (Rybinsk) qui pourrait fournir les prochaines turbines à gaz. La Russie n'a plus mis sur cale de bâtiment à propulsion nucléaire depuis le croiseur atomique Pierre le Grand (Projet 1144, ex Youri Andropov) mis sur cale en 1986 à l'usine de la Baltique (St Pétersbourg).
L'annonce, faite au chantier naval du Nord, semble en outre confirmer que c'est ce chantier qui sera en charge de la construction du bâtiment dont la première unité pourrait être mise sur cale dès 2017, selon une source au sein du complexe militaro-industriel russe. Rappelons que le programme d'armement 2011-2020 ne comporte pas de budget dédié à la construction du futur destroyer, mais qu'en revanche, les fonds pour la phase d'avant-projet et d'étude ont bien été budgetés. Le programme d'armement 2016-2025 devrait quant à lui comporter le budget pour la constructions de plusieurs unités : l'idée, très ambitieuse, est de disposer à l'horizon 2025 de 12 unités, dont 6 dans la flotte du Nord et 6 dans la flotte du Pacifique.
Sur le design du bâtiment, il semblerait que ce soit l'institut Krilov qui ait remporté la mise sur le bureau Severnoe. Le 'Lider' déplacerait 14 000 tonnes pour 185 mètres de long et 22 mètres de large (donc équivalent de point de vue là au destroyer américain de type Zumwalt), et comme le montre les photos ci-après, de 6 complexe universels de tirs pour navire UKSK (pour les missiles de type Kalibr et Onyx notamment) et 12 VLS (système de lancement vertical) situés tous deux à l'avant, tandis qu'à arrière se situent encore 2 VLS, près de la plateforme pour hélicoptères. Krilov semble ainsi avoir revue sa copie depuis la visite que Vladimir Poutine avait réalisé dans les locaux du bureau d'étude en 2009 au cours de laquelle une maquette lui avait été présentée.
Ces déclarations prouvent que malgré les difficultés économiques, la Russie affiche toujours autant de détermination à vouloir assumer un statut de puissance navale. Au-delà du double défi technique que représente la construction d'un bâtiment de 14 000 tonnes à propulsion nucléaire, avec l'intégration de systèmes de navigation et de combat (cf. sérieuses difficultés d'intégration déjà rencontrées sur les frégates du projet 22350), il se pose également la question du budget. Combien coûte une unité ? L'objectif de 12 unités est-il réaliste d'un point de vue financier (ne parlons pas du calendrier qui est incantatoire) ? En période de difficultés économiques, si des coupes budgétaires sont à prévoir dans la marine, il est fort probable que les programmes de grands bâtiments de surface soient les premiers touchés.
The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on 24 February demonstrated the ability of Aegis destroyers to co-ordinate and determine the best ship to engage multiple short-range ballistic missile targets launched near simultaneously.
The latest ballistic missile defence (BMD) test, which took place off the coast from Wallops Island, Virginia, demonstrated Lockheed Martin's Distributed Weighted Engagement Scheme (DWES).
The capability enables automatic engagement co-ordination between ships to help avoid having to launch multiple missiles to shoot down the targets, Paul Klammer, director of BMD programmes, integration, and strategy for Lockheed Martin, told reporters on 24 February.
"[We were] testing sophisticated algorithms that we put in place as [part of the] BMD 4 functionality to make sure these ships co-ordinated their engagements and to make sure that the ship that had the best shot at the target took it," he said.
"We reduced duplication of BMD engagements. It also saves on missile expenditures; from an inventory perspective it is important that that functionality works. It also gave us a great opportunity to test that the system works in a raid scenario where you have three very challenging short-range separating BMD targets."
For the test, USS Carney (DDG 64) and USS Gonzalez (DDG 66), both equipped with the Aegis Baseline 4 capability, acquired and tracked three short-range ballistic missile targets launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Klammer said.
"In this scenario one ship took two shots and one ship took one. The USS Gonzalez took two [shots] based on how DWES [determined] who had best shot. The system can be configured to automatically fire or have operator intervention," he said.
Both ships fired simulated Standard Missile-3s.
Lockheed Martin, the MDA and US Navy (USN) have a lot of data to go through from the event. Klammer noted the DWES algorithm that determines the preferred shooter performed as designed.
A third ship, USS Barry (DDG 52), equipped with Aegis baseline 9, also took part in the test, but it did not participate in the co-ordinated tracking and engagement of the three ballistic missile targets, he added.
"[ Barry was] tracking the three targets and doing simulated engagements similar to what the other ships were doing, except that [ Carney and Gonzalez ] were testing out DWES," Klammer said. " Barry gave us an opportunity to use the latest Baseline 9 build and make sure we could do simultaneous engagements in the same raid-type scenario."
The difference between Carney and Gonzalez equipped with Aegis Baseline 4 and Barry equipped with Baseline 9 is that the baseline 4 ships have a combination of the older UYK military-based and commercial off-the-shelf computers and rely on the ballistic signal processor functionality, Klammer noted.
Barry just received Baseline 9, which has the latest software configuration that brings an integrated air and missile defence capability to the ship. Baseline 9 also has the multi-mission signal processor, which is capable of conducting both air and BMD missions simultaneously.
Aegis Baseline 9 has DWES capability built in. Additionally two cruisers, USS Lake Erie (CG 70) and USS Shiloh (CG 67), have DWES functionality.
Istanbul, 24 Fév. 2015 (MAP)- Le président turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a relancé le projet gigantesque du Canal d’Istanbul pour le désengorgement du Bosphore, une voie d’eau de 43 km entre la mer Noire et la mer de Marmara, lors d’une réunion avec des ministres concernés, rapporte la presse turque.
Avec une largeur de 400m et une profondeur de 25 m, selon la nouvelle version du projet, le canal sera enjambé de six ponts et transformera la partie européenne d’Istanbul, seule ville au monde à cheval sur deux continents, en une île artificielle, indique, mardi, le +Daily Sabah+. Lancé une première fois avant la campagne des législatives 2011, ce projet grandiose ressurgit à nouveau avant le scrutin électoral législatif (7 juin). Il sera conçu pour assurer le passage quotidien de 160 navires de très gros tonnages dont les supertankers et sera parallèle au Bosphore à l’ouest d’Istanbul.
Pour les autorités, le canal doit alléger le trafic sur le Bosphore et faire diminuer le risque d’accident dans le détroit large, en certains points, de seulement 700 m. Deux collisions s’étaient produites en 1979 et 1994 faisant respectivement 41 et 29 morts. Ce projet, devant être réalisé dans le cadre du partenariats public-privé, serait rentable avec la construction d’une nouvelle ville de 500 mille habitants le long des deux rives du canal au lieu de 1,2 million dans le projet initial de 2011 mais également grâce aux droits de péage contrairement aux statuts Bosphore et des Dardanelles, datant des accords de Montreux en 1936, prévoyant, en temps de paix, la libre circulation et sans aucun frais.
En liaison avec ce canal, les plans pour l’édification du troisième aéroport de la mégalopole turque ont été modifiés puisqu’il était prévu qu’une partie des 152 millions m3 de terre extraits lors du percement pourrait être utilisée dans la construction de cet aéroport, sur une ancienne région minière, à proximité de l’embouchure du canal sur la Mer Noire.
Cet aéroport, dont le coût global est estimé à 7 milliards de dollars, ambitionne d'être le plus grand aéroport au monde avec à terme 150 millions de passagers par an.(MAP).
Patrick H. 's insight:
Les russes avaient, en 2013, exprimé leurs craintes de voir, avec ce projet, l'équilibre militaro-politique régional déplacé en faveur de la Turquie et de ses alliés, dans la mesure où le canal artificiel risque de ne pas être soumis aux conditions de la convention de Montreux. On pourra lire l'analyse russe de cette affaire ici :
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed an £859m initial development deal for the next generation of Royal Navy warships to be built on the Clyde.
The move will "support progression" towards the manufacturing phase of the new Type 26 Global Combat Ship.
The UK government said the contract would safeguard 1,700 UK jobs, including 600 in Scotland, at both BAE Systems and its supply chain.
The news came as Prime Minister David Cameron visited BAE Systems at Govan.
The Type 26's manufacturing phase is expected to begin in Glasgow in 2016.
The first frigate is due to enter service in the early 2020s, with the class of ship expected to remain in service until 2060.
'Substantial investment'
The UK government said the deal would involve about 30 companies in the maritime supply chain and enable investment in essential long-lead items, including equipment such as gas turbines, diesel generators and steering gear for the first three ships.
Mr Cameron said the contract represented a "substantial investment" in the shipbuilding industry.
He added: "Investing in these warships will ensure we continue to keep our country safe, at home and abroad.
"As part of our long-term economic plan, we're not just building the most advanced modern warships in the world - we are building the careers of many young people with apprenticeships that will set them up for life."
'Proud heritage'
BAE Systems chief executive Ian King said: "We have a long and proud heritage of delivering complex warships in the UK and today's announcement is a significant endorsement of the government's commitment to sustain this important national capability.
"Through the Type 26 programme, we are transforming the way we design and manufacture naval ships with innovative new technologies, leading-edge processes and modern infrastructure.
"New ways of working ensure we can continue to deliver the highest quality equipment at the lowest possible cost and compete effectively for future UK and international orders."
David Hulse, national officer of the GMB union, said: "This announcement is very good news in that it secures the future of the Clydeside shipyards and the skilled workforce and will enable the company to provide a substantial number of much-needed apprenticeships."
Shadow defence secretary Vernon Coaker said: "Following this Tory-led government's substantial delay in approving this contract, it is now crucial that the programme runs on budget and on time."
The union cabinet has cleared a plan for the indigenous construction of seven stealth frigates and six nuclear-powered submarines to bolster the Indian Navy.
Defence ministry officials said today that the decision was taken recently by the cabinet committee on security.
The decision to build the six new submarines is part of the 30-year submarine building programme cleared in 1999.
The plan is to have 24 submarines in 30 years. The first project was the P75, under which six Scorpene submarines are being built in India.
Another project for six more submarines was cleared by the government last year and this project was titled P75I. The Request for Proposal for the project is likely to be issued in March.
"The government has tweaked the project under which the CCS has taken a decision that the next six submarines would be nuclear-powered, unlike the conventional ones that were envisaged," sources told PTI.
There was no indication of who would build these 'indigenous' craft, or where the technology will come from – India clearly does not have the technology to build such advanced craft; and the 'indigenous' tag merely means 'assembled in India'.
They said it was different from the P75I project and was already envisaged when the 30-year project was cleared.
The government has also decided to go ahead with the 'Project-17A' for stealth frigates under which four will be constructed at Mazagon Docks in Mumbai and three at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata.
The sources said this was a "follow on" order and money has been allocated for it.
L’Égypte est en passe de prendre le contrôle maritime du détroit de Bab el Mandeb, au débouché de la mer Rouge, alors que l’armée saoudienne intervient au Yémen contre les rebelles Houthis chiites soutenus par l’Iran.
Danish warships could end up as targets for Russian nuclear missiles if Denmark joins the NATO missile defence shield, according to Mikhail Vanin, the Russian ambassador to Denmark.
“I do not think that the Danes fully understand the consequences if Denmark joins the US-led missile defence shield,” Vanin told Jyllands-Posten. “If that happens, Danish warships become targets for Russian nuclear missiles.”
Vanin said that Denmark would become “part of the threat to Russia and relations with Russia will be damaged”. Vanin warned that joining the defence shield would be “Denmark’s decision” and that the country would “lose both money and security”.
Foreign minister angry Martin Lidegaard, the Danish foreign minister, was not pleased with Vanin’s comments.
“This is obviously unacceptable,” Lidegaard said. “Russia knows very well that NATO’s missile defence system is defensive. We disagree with Russia on many important things, but it is important that the tone between us remains as positive as possible.”
Sweden's Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist has announced that the country's navy is upgrading its fleet of ships in order to improve its ability to locate rogue submarines in Swedish waters, following a huge search for a foreign vessel last autumn.
Peter Hultqvist announced on Thursday that the government planned to boost protection from potential intruders in Swedish waters, by increasing defence spending by six billion kronor ($696 million) between 2016 and 2020.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven previously mooted strengthening the country's navy after revealing that Sweden had "conclusive proof" that a foreign vessel was present in Stockholm's archipelago in October, following a search that made international headlines.
Sweden’s armed forces later estimated that as many as four submarines were operating in the Stockholm Archipelago last autumn.
"Submarine hunting is a priority. We've had incidents showing that it is very important to have an increased capacity for anti-submarine warfare. We must do what we can to maintain and develop our skills. It is very important to protect Sweden's sovereignty," Hultqvist told Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter ahead of a media briefing.
He added that Sweden's navy would take part in more military exercises, naval ships would get larger crews and ships and boats would be taken out of action if they were not seen to be suitable for use in the current climate.
Two key military ships, Gävle and Sundsvall, are set to be significantly modernized with new sensors and other technical equipment designed to help Sweden better spot submarines in its waters.
Sweden will also return troops to Gotland in the Baltic Sea, following a decade-long absence from the waters.
Around 150 soldiers are set to be stationed on the island which is Sweden's largest and lies between the Nordic nation and Latvia.
"We are devoting a considerable sum of money to this mid-term modification," said Hultqvist.
But critics argue that the six billion kronor pledge is much less than the armed forces need to modernize their fleet and that the Swedish military is set to come under increasing financial pressure when government plans to raise payroll taxes for employers hiring young people come into action.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Defence Committee, Allan Widman from the centre-right Liberal Party, told the TT news agency: "It's too little money too late in the [parliamentary] term".
According to Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, the armed forces asked for 16 billion kronor. However the publication says that the finance ministry initially offered two billion kronor, so the figure released on Thursday is an improvement on that.
Sweden has historically portrayed itself as neutral, but the country's defence capabilities have been called into question since last October's submarine hunt and as Russia's military presence in the region continues to grow.
Last month, Estonia-based international think tank International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS) warned that Sweden might not be able to defend itself against Russia, should its Baltic neighbour become more aggressive in future.
Sweden has already announced closer military cooperation with both Finland and Denmark, but has so far ruled out joining Nato.
A bill on the proposed fresh spending will be introduced to parliament at the end of April and is expected to be passed following an agreement between the centre-left coalition and the country's centre-right Alliance parties to cooperate on security and defence issues.
A bridge design contract that will bring the U.K. Ministry of Defence’s effort to replace its aging Vanguard-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines, the MoD announced on Wednesday.
The $415 million award will fund the Successor-class design effort up until a 2016 decision point when the U.K. will decide to proceed with the four-boomer class to replace the Vanguards.
“The release of funding for the design work is within the existing Successor programme’s £3.3 billion [$4.9 billion] Assessment Phase,” read the MoD statement. “The funding forms part of the MoD’s commitment to spending £163 billion [$242.8 billion] on equipment and equipment support over the next 10 years to keep Britain safe.”
The bulk of the work will be located at BAE’s submarine manufacturing facility in Barrow-in-Furness in Western England.
“The Successor [program] is the largest and most complex project we have ever faced,” BAE Systems’ Submarines managing director Tony Johns said in a statement. “This funding will now allow us to mature the design over the next 12 months to enable us to start construction in 2016.”
However, the contract award to BAE Systems does not equate to a sure thing the Successors will proceed as planned.
The current government of Prime Minister David Cameron is supportive of a one-for-one replacement of the Vanguards with the new boomers but the odds are in favor of a new regime much less enthused by the need for the U.K. to maintain as large a nuclear deterrent being in power at the time of the final decision.
The Trident program — as the boomers are referred to in the U.K. — was a divisive issue in last year’s referendum for Scottish independence and expected gains of the Scottish National Party in U.K.’s parliament could renew calls for eliminating or scaling back the program.
The opposition Labour party leader Ed Miliband has suggested a “least cost” deterrent implying that a Trident alternative maybe on the table, wrote naval analyst Richard Scott in Jane’s Defence Weekly on Wednesday.
Additionally other political groups in the U.K. have raised the question if Britain needs a Continuous At-Sea Deterrence (CASD).
“The Liberal Democrat party, the junior coalition partner in the current government, has argued against a ‘like-for-like’ replacement of the current deterrent,” wrote Scott. “While a government Trident Alternatives Review published in 2013 concluded that there was no cheaper credible deterrent option, the Liberal Democrats have called for an end to CASD, and a reduction in the size of the SSBN fleet from four down to three or just two.”
Displacing 17,000 tons, the Successors are planned to field eight Trident II D5 nuclear ballistic missiles.
Though the U.K. deterrent policy is independent of the U.S., the two countries share technology and missile infrastructure.
Both the Successor and the planned U.S. Ohio-class Replacement program (ORP) share a common missile compartment (CMC) and the Trident II D5s.
Depuis la visite du Président Obama à Darwin en 2011, les relations militaires américano-australiennes ne cessent de s’étoffer. En témoignent les commandes militaires auprès de Washington, telles que 58 F-35 supplémentaires ou encore huit avions de surveillance maritime P-8A Poseidon, rendues possibles par l’accroissement du budget de la Défense australien, mais aussi l’augmentation de la cadence des exercices d’entraînement impliquant les deux pays.
L’Australie offre un terrain idéal pour les exercices complexes, notamment aériens, en raison d’une faible densité démographique et d’un niveau de régulation moindre qu’en Amérique du Nord. Darwin est ainsi le théâtre de “Pitch Black”, le plus grand exercice multilatéral organisé par l’armée de l’Air australienne, qui a lieu tous les deux ans et qui a réuni, en août dernier, plus de 2 300 personnels de sept armées de l’Air différentes, dont Singapour, la Thaïlande (qui inaugurait ses Gripen), la Nouvelle-Zélande, mais aussi la France (avec notamment un CN-235 venu de Nouvelle-Calédonie) et, pour la première fois, les EAU. Bilan : 110 aéronefs, 1 300 missions.
Darwin accueillera également, à terme, 2 500 US Marines – une présence rotationnelle de six mois passée de 200 à 1 100 Marines entre 2012 et 2014 – et est propice à la tenue d’exercices amphibies. La présence de l’US Navy pourrait prochainement être renforcée par le déploiement supplémentaire – provisoire ou permanent – de navires destinés à soutenir une MAGT (Marine Air Ground Task Force).
Savoir si ce déploiement s’inscrirait dans le même esprit que les accords de pré-positionnement de forces liant actuellement les Etats-Unis à des pays comme l’Italie, Bahreïn ou encore le Japon, et identifier le champ des possibles en matière de coopération navale bilatérale font actuellement l’objet d’une étude et de discussions entre les deux forces armées. C’est ce qu’a expliqué l’“US Chief of Naval Operations” (CNO), à savoir le commandant des opérations navales de la Marine américaine, l’amiral Jonathan Greenert, dans un discours prononcé récemment à Canberra. Il a visité les infrastructures portuaires à Darwin, afin d’évaluer les capacités d’accueil pour un navire amphibie de grande taille et des porte-hélicoptères susceptibles de constituer un “Amphibious Ready Group”.
Le port de Perth pourrait accueillir d’autres navires américains allant du porte-avions au sous-marin. Alors que 60 % des forces navales américaines devraient être déployées en Asie-Pacifique à l’horizon 2020, ce renforcement est d’autant plus naturel que les élongations pénalisant jusqu’à présent l’Australie sont en partie compensées par les nouvelles capacités aéroportées dont disposent les Américains, et plus particulièrement le Marine Corps.
En plus d’une aire d’entraînement incomparable (similaire à Djibouti pour les forces françaises), l’avantage d’une présence militaire américaine plus marquée en Australie est triple : elle renforce les capacités régionales de projection et de dissuasion dans la région, elle heurte moins directement les susceptibilités chinoises, en raison de son éloignement, et stimule le développement économique du pays. D’après certaines sources, en ce qui concerne Darwin, les forces armées américaines contribuent, avec un investissement actuel de 1,8 milliard de dollars australiens par an, à 10 % du produit intérieur brut des territoires du nord de l’Australie.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said claims that a test area in Scotland for Royal Navy submarines has been expanded without consultation are untrue.
SNP MSP Dave Thompson said it was his understanding local fishermen had not been consulted on extending the ranges between Raasay and the mainland.
Fishing is banned in an area six miles (10km) long and three miles (6km) wide in the Raasay Ranges.
The MoD said consultation on a planned expansion was due to begin in June.
A spokesman said: "It is absolutely not true to say that the MoD has already doubled the size of the protected areas of Raasay Ranges.
"Consultation with local sea users regarding the proposed expansion of the protected area is due to begin in June 2015 as part of the MoD byelaw review, led by the Ministry of Defence's Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
"No final decisions will be made before then."
Exclusion zone
The ranges in the Inner Sound between the Isle of Raasay and Applecross on the mainland form part of the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (Butec).
Butec provides a sonar and weapon system test area for the Royal Navy crews of Vanguard-class nuclear weapon submarines and Astute and Trafalgar-class attack submarines.
Fishing is prohibited in the area and fishing boats and other vessels can only remain in the Butec test area for as long as it is necessary for them to pass through the Inner Sound.
The submarine ranges are run from a site near Kyle of Lochalsh.
Earlier this week, Mr Thompson, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said the ranges' exclusion zone was to be expanded to the shorelines of the Inner Sound.
He told BBC Scotland: "I have no problem with them (MoD) putting in greater investment and developing the area.
"But if they wish to expand the restricted area, which will stop other people from earning a living, then any extra benefit to the local community will be totally negated."
Patrick H. 's insight:
L'article qui a fait réagir le MoD a été publié hier :
The projects most vulnerable to Ministry of Defence cuts are also those most critical to maintaining industry capacity in Britain. They include:
Type-26 ships
The Type-26 Global Combat Ship will replace the Type-23 frigate as the workhorse of the Royal Navy, with capability for battle, maritime security and international engagement.
The first is set to enter service in 2022 and the last will remain operational until 2060. The programme promises to be one of the single most financially burdensome projects for the next government with estimates running to up to as £400m per ship. Current plans are to replace the 13 Type-23 frigate with 13 Type-26 ships delivered in two variants: anti-submarine warfare and general purpose vessels.
The government has said the development contract will safeguard 1,700 UK jobs, including 600 on the Clyde, at BAE Systems and in its supply chain.
Ministers recently awarded an £859m “demonstration” contract to BAE Systems, the first of its kind to be used for a combat ship, in a move that allows the company to start ordering long-lead items, such as gas turbines, generators and steering gear.
The Type-26 programme will sustain the UK’s sovereign ability to design and build warships for the next 20 years, according to ADS, the industry lobby group.
Conceding that skills will have to be maintained to ensure future warship building capability, the Ministry of Defence in 2013 awarded a contract to BAE for three offshore patrol vessels, which will provide work between the completion of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers and the Type-26.
Trident successor
Vanguard-class submarines that carry the Trident nuclear warheads and missiles come out of service in 2028.
Their replacement is known as the successor, which will provide a continuous at sea nuclear deterrent. The successor submarine is being developed jointly by the MoD and three industrial partners — BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock International.
About 2,200 people are working on the successor programme, of whom more than 50 per cent are engineers and designers. The MoD estimates that jobs on the successor programme will peak at 6,000 during the build phase from 2016 to the late 2020s and involve an estimated 850 British companies. If the wider supply chain is taken into account the programmes will support 5,000-17,000 jobs, according to ADS.
The main investment decision on successor is expected next year with total costs estimated to be £14bn-£17bn, ADS says.
Gibraltar plays a ‘vital’ role for the US Navy’s submarine operations at a time of increased Russian naval activity, a US think tank said. The Heritage Foundation made the statement in its Index of US Military Strength 2015, a wide-ranging annual research project that assesses the ability of the United States Armed Forces.
The document notes that the US Navy keeps a number of submarines in the European region and that these contribute to the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capacities of EURCOM, the US military’s Germany-based European Command. Some of these submarines ‘frequently’ dock at the Z Berth in the naval base at Gibraltar, the Heritage Foundation said. “The US cannot dock nuclear powered submarines in Spain making access to Gibraltar’s Z berths vital,” the report added. “Gibraltar is the best place in the Mediterranean to carry out repair work.” “Strong US–UK military cooperation assists the US in keeping submarine assets integrated into the European theatre.” The Heritage Foundation cites retired US Navy Admiral James Stavridis, who in 2012 highlighted the importance of the US Navy’s European submarine operations against the backdrop of increased Russian naval activity. Since then, Russian ships have remained active in the Mediterranean and regularly sail through the Strait of Gibraltar, including calls at Ceuta for fuel. “These [US submarine] capabilities are increasingly important as the Russian Federation Navy increases the pace, scope and sophistication of its submarine fleet,” Admiral Stavridis said. The US Navy also has a fleet of P-3 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and EP-3 Reconnaissance Aircraft operating from US bases in Italy, Greece, Spain and Turkey. These aircraft complement the intelligence-gathering capabilities of US submarines. In its regional assessment of the European operating environment, the Heritage Foundation also notes the strategic importance of the Strait of Gibraltar. At 40 miles long and 8 miles wide at its narrowest point, the strait is one of the world’s most important maritime choke points. “More than 200 cargo vessels pass through the Strait of Gibraltar every day carrying cargoes between Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas,” the report notes. “Its proximity to North Africa, combined with the narrowness of the strait, has presented security challenges for US and allied warships.” The report notes the importance of the US military’s presence in southern Europe, particularly at a time of mounting instability across much of North Africa. It highlights the role of US naval bases in Europe including the Naval Air Station in Sigonella, Italy; the Naval Support Activity Base in Souda Bay, Greece; and the Naval Station at Rota, Spain. Naval Station Rota will be home to four destroyers equipped with the Aegis ballistic missile air defense system. In addition, the USS Mount Whitney, a Blue Ridge-class command ship, is permanently based in the region. This ship provides a key command-and-control platform, which was successfully employed during the early days of the recent Libyan operation.
It gave the world the linguistic sophistication of Latin and the poetry of Dante, but Italy has had its pride dented by the increasing use of English in prominent publicity campaigns.
Conservative politicians and commentators are indignant that the Italian navy – or Marina Militare – has adopted as its latest recruiting slogan “Be Cool, join the Navy”, using English rather than Italian.
The phrase appears on posters and billboards in a new recruitment campaign, along with images of Italian warships ploughing through the waves and commandos equipped as underwater frogmen.
Fabio Rampelli, an MP with the Right-wing Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party, said the use of English was unpatriotic and unacceptable.
“I ask myself how it came into the mind of the Italian navy to launch, with our money, a campaign in the English language to recruit young people,” he told parliament.
Basilio Catanoso, an MP from Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-Right Forza Italia party, said “it provokes anger, disgust and sadness to see the Marina Militare transformed into 'the navy’”.
Annamaria Testa, an advertising consultant and communications expert, told La Repubblica: “It seems a rather provincial approach. Why use the phrase “be cool”? There are plenty of equivalents in Italian.”
Employing an English slogan to drum up sailors for the Italian navy was “like putting ketchup on macaroni,” she said.
There were also critical comments on the Italian navy’s website, with one person wondering whether the adoption of English amounted to “war reparations” for Italian attacks on Royal Navy ships during the Second World War. “How can we be proud of our country if we don’t even use our own language?”
On the navy’s Facebook page, another indignant Italian wrote: “Are we now an American colony?”
But a spokesman for the navy said the campaign was intended to show the service as “modern, dynamic and international” and would appeal to an increasingly connected, internet-savvy younger generation.
Roberta Pinotti, the defence minister, said the campaign had succeeded in boosting applications to join the navy by 20 per cent since it was launched in January.
There was similar scorn this month when the city of Rome unveiled its new campaign to attract tourists.
The US Navy has successfully conducted the 155th test flight of two unarmed Lockheed Martin-built Trident II D5 Fleet ballistic missiles, which were launched in the Pacific Ocean from a submerged Ohio-class submarine.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Strategic and Missile Defense Systems deputy and Fleet Ballistic Missile programmes vice-president Mat Joyce said: "These latest test flights demonstrate the reliability of the D5 missile and the readiness of the entire Trident strategic weapon system, every minute of every day.
"The navy programme office, the submarine crews and the industry team never rest to ensure the safety, security and performance of this crucial deterrence system."
Prior to testing, the missiles were adapted to test configurations using kits comprising a range safety devices and flight telemetry instrumentation.
The US Navy performs a series of operational system evaluation tests for the Trident strategic weapon system under the testing guidelines of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Trident II D5 is a three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile, capable of travelling a range of 4,000nm while carrying multiple, independently targeted re-entry vehicles.
It is currently aboard the US Navy Ohio-class and UK Royal Navy Vanguard-class submarines.
The missile's design was completed in 1989 and was first deployed in 1990.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the strategic missile prime contractor for the US Navy's strategic systems programmes.
Russia's Navy is seeking to use nuclear power to fuel its new destroyer-class vessels, Navy Chief Admiral Viktor Chirkov was quoted by Interfax as saying at a press conference in St. Petersburg on Friday.
While the new warships are still in the design process, "the main priority is to [create] a nuclear-powered destroyer," the admiral said.
Nuclear-powered destroyers remain a novel concept in naval technology. Nuclear reactors are typically reserved for vessels that remain at sea for extended periods of time, such as aircraft carriers and submarines.
Although destroyer-class vessels are not precluded from similar long-term deployments, they are usually powered by conventional petroleum fuels, which require them to stop at overseas naval bases to refuel.
But as Russia does not have any major naval refueling facilities beyond its shores, nuclear power is an attractive option for Moscow, which is keen to increase its global reach.
Russia's navy, once an oceangoing powerhouse, has been largely relegated to coastal defense and short-range patrols by years of post-Soviet neglect and decay.
Under President Vladimir Putin's ambitious rearmament program, though, the navy is looking to reverse its fortune with the construction of a brand-new fleet. Several submarines have already been built, and by 2050 Russia hopes to construct a completely new oceangoing surface fleet of destroyers, cruisers and perhaps even an aircraft carrier.
Patrick H. 's insight:
Pour mémoire, la Russie a commencé le développement d'une nouvelle classe de destroyers connue sous le nom de classe Lider (ou Leader) :
Le Président de la République, François Hollande, a confirmé que les moyens de la dissuasion nucléaire seront modernisés, jeudi 19 février à Istres. Concernant la composante océanique, il a ainsi annoncé le lancement des études pour préparer le remplacement des actuels sous-marins nucléaires lanceurs d’engins (SNLE) de la classe Le Triomphant, au nombre de quatre.
Cette prochaine génération de SNLE sera équipée du missile M51.3. Cette version modernisée de l’actuel M51 entrera en service au milieu de la prochaine décennie. Les nouveaux sous-marins devraient donc être proches en tonnage des actuels sous-marins de la classe Le Triomphant.
Le retrait du service actif du SNLE Le Triomphant est prévue au début des années 2030. Le bâtiment aura alors environ trente-cinq ans, puisqu'il a été lancé en 1994 et admis au service actif en 1997. Pour remplacer ce bâtiment, il est nécessaire de démarrer la construction du premier SNLE de troisième génération vers 2020. Pour mémoire, la construction du SNLE Le Triomphant a commencé en 1986.
La France s’engage à partir de 2015 dans un nouveau cycle de renouvellement des moyens de la dissuasion. "Le contexte international n'autorise aucune faiblesse", a souligné le chef de l'État et des armées, estimant que "le temps de la dissuasion nucléaire n'est donc pas dépassé". "Il ne saurait être question, y compris dans ce domaine, de baisser la garde", a-t-il averti.
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