DEFENSE NEWS

BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior officer with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy said on Tuesday that "China will have more than one aircraft carrier."
Song Xue, deputy chief of staff of the PLA Navy, told foreign military attaches at a ceremony to celebrate the Navy's 64th founding anniversary in Beijing, "The next aircraft carrier we need will be larger and carry more fighters."
However, Song said some foreign media reports on China's building new aircraft carriers in Shanghai were not accurate.
Currently, China operates one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which was refitted based on a Russian-made unfinished carrier and delivered to the Navy on Sept. 25, 2012. The PLA Navy was founded on April 23, 1949.
Song, a Real Admiral of the Navy, said the Liaoning does not belong to any of the Navy's three fleets, but under direct command and management of the Navy's headquarters.
Zhang Zheng, the Liaoning's Captain, told foreign military attaches that his crew members have mastered independently operations of all the weapon systems on the carrier.
The Liaoning has a full displacement of more than 50,000 tonnes. The carrier's original design allows it to carry about 30 fixed-wing aircraft.Song Xue said the Navy hoped that the next carrier could be larger to load more aircraft.
He also revealed that the Navy is building naval aviation force for the Liaoning, and there will be at least two aviation regiments on one carrier, including fighters, reconnaissance aircraft, anti-submarine aircraft, electronic countermeasure (ECM) planes and rotary-wing aircraft.
The Liaoning has conducted successful take-off and landing tests of its carrier-borne J-15 fighters, the main striking force of China's carrier group.
Song said the J-15 still needs a lot more trial tests before being operational on the carrier, and there will be more J-15 fighters as the Navy conducts more test flights.
The officer said China's future carrier group will be composed of carrier, destroyers, frigates, submarines and supply ship.
According to Song, more than one thousand Chinese enterprises have participated in the construction and refitting work of the Liaoning.
The officer also promised that the Navy will invite foreign military attaches to visit the Liaoning.

Iran started equipping its Air Force fighter jets with air-to-surface Nour cruise missiles in a project dubbed as Qaem. Nour has a range of 120 kilometers.
Nour is a well-known cruise missile used by the Iranian army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in different wargames and can be launched from coast, vessels and aircraft against enemy vessels, oil facilities and naval positions.
In September 2011, Iran unveiled its 200-km range Qader anti-ship cruise missile with a high-precision striking capability and the Iranian defense industries have mass-produced the powerful missile.
The missile enjoys automatic digital pilot system, high-precision navigation systems, high-precision striking capability, anti-jamming radar systems and a rapid deployment capability.
Its coast-to-sea and surface-to-surface versions have previously been tested by Iranian armed forces and now the air-launched version of the Qader missile was unveiled by the Iranian Army during the military parades held in Tehran on Thursday on the occasion of the National Army Day.
Arming Iranian aircraft and choppers with 200-km range Qader cruise missile will boost the Iranian Armed Forces' power for combating and repelling naval threats.

New Zealand will acquire eight Kaman SH-2G (I) Super Seasprite naval helicopters, with two additional airframes to be purchased as spares.

The total package is worth NZ$242 million ($204 million) and includes a full motion simulator, Penguin anti-ship missiles and additional components, the New Zealand government said in a statement.

"This package from Kaman Aerospace will provide the Navy with an upgraded variant, the Seasprite SH-2G (I), and increase the fleet from five to eight helicopters," says defence minister Jonathan Coleman. "It will allow helicopters to be embarked on the two ANZAC-class frigates [Te Mana and Te Kaha] as well as the offshore patrol vessels and the multi-role ship HMNZS Canterbury."

Wellington's current fleet of five SH-2Gs have been in service since the late 1990s and will be retired.

The airframes were originally built for Australia, but in 2009, Canberra cancelled the contract after cost overruns and persistent technical issues.

"The New Zealand Defence Force and Ministry of Defence officials are acutely aware that the Australian government decided not to fully introduce these aircraft into service after concerns about a range of technical issues," says Coleman.

"As a consequence the New Zealand Ministry of Defence has invested considerable resources into examining all aspects of this project over the last two years. This included commissioning an independent study by Marinvent Corporation of Canada."

The airframes are in storage in Connecticut, and Wellington will receive the entire complement of aircraft between 2014-2016. New Zealand's defence ministry says they will have a service life "out to 2030".

Coleman says the navy requires a larger fleet of Seasprites, given that five New Zealand navy ships can operate a helicopter. The present fleet of five SH-2Gs means only two helicopters can be deployed simultaneously. Having more aircraft available will allow Wellington to get "full value" from its ship investments.

Aside from new communications equipment and sensors, the SH-2G (I) helicopters will be armed with the Kongsberg Penguin anti-ship missile. The ministry says this weapon is superior in the anti-shipping role to the Raytheon AGM-65 Maverick used by New Zealand's SH-2Gs.

Canberra scrapped its Seasprite acquisition in March 2008 with the project seven years late and 47% over budget.

It ordered 11 upgraded former US Navy SH-2Fs in 1997 under a A$746 million deal with Kaman, and had expected deliveries from 2001. But problems, primarily with the aircraft's integrated tactical avionics system (ITAS), forced it to provisionally accept nine aircraft from 2003 in an interim configuration. These were grounded by March 2006 due to automatic flight control system problems.

"A key issue was the Australian Defence Force specified an aircraft that could be flown by a two-person crew and have a computer flight system that could operate the aircraft with 'no hands' on the controls," says New Zealand's defence ministry.

"[New Zealand] has a different requirement. It will operate the aircraft with a three-person crew, as is current practice with its standard operating procedure for pilots to retain a hold on the controls at all times. The 'no-hands' requirement is not being adopted."

Of the acquisition's total cost of NZ$242 million, NZ$147 million covers the eight operational aircraft, with the balance covering the remainder of the package.

The Royal Thai Navy has chosen a South Korean naval ship manufacturer to build a new frigate that will cost about 13 billion baht.

An RTN selection committee announced on Friday it had chosen Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering to manufacture the frigate, a navy source said.

The company was one of the last two South Korean firms to enter the final round of the bid organised by the RTN panel.

The other three foreign firms ousted from the previous rounds were from Spain, Italy and China.

RTN chief of staff Chakchai Phucharoenyot, who chaired the panel, said Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering was selected because it had proposed specifications for the frigate that were in line with the navy's demands.

The navy also asked the company to manufacture a Combat Management System (CMS) which can be allied to the systems installed in the frigates HTMS Naresuan and HTMS Taksin, he said.

The frigate, which will be the first South Korean-manufactured navy ship in Thailand, is expected to be commissioned in two years' time, Adm Chakchai said.

The new frigate will have a displacement of between 3,000 and 4,000 tonnes.

The cabinet earlier approved the RTN's procurement of two frigates with a budget of 30 billion baht. The frigates will be considered for manufacturing one by one.

According to the navy source, the RTN preferred European frigates but they were too expensive.

Meanwhile, a Defence Ministry source revealed that Defence Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat will lead military top brass on a visit to Russia between Tuesday and next Monday to bolster military ties.

Thai delegates will inspect the armaments industry in Russia, the source said.

The Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a contract to VSTEP to deliver its Class-A NAUTIS full mission bridge (FMB) simulators to train the Indonesian Navy's Sigma-classcorvette bridge personnel.

Under the contract, the navy's Kobangdikal marine training facility in Surabaya, Indonesia, will receive two NAUTIS FMB simulators, which are designed with a 270° field of view projected on a cylindrical screen to enable realistic training.

The company will also supply five custom-built ports and navigation screens for the Indonesian navy as part of its modernising programme to more effectively combat maritime crime and piracy.

VSTEP director Cristijn Sarvaas said the company would support the delivery and commissioning of the simulators, as well as training of local instructors.

In order to enhance the local content, VSTEP has partnered with Terravision to install two of bothNAUTIS instructor stations and desktop training simulators at the facility.

Delivering an affordable alternative for training maritime officers and crews, the maritime training simulator is a new generation of advanced Det Norske Veritas (DNV) certified maritime training solution for the military and civilian maritime industry.

quipped with a suite of flexible editor tools, NAUTIS simulators enable instructors to quickly and easily prepare training scenarios and manage exercises in real-time.

Easily adaptable to specific training needs, the simulators can train large numbers of trainees simultaneously and provides highest level of graphical detail and realism, user-friendly set of instructor tools and standard interface to connect to external equipment.

Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) built SIGMA-class frigates have been designed to support missions, including maritime search-and-rescue, fishery and natural resources protection and law enforcement duties.

The Asia-Pacific will comprise 26 percent — nearly $200 billion — of global naval and maritime security builds in the next 20 years as complex relationships and rivalries drive procurements designed for particular regional challenges.

New builds in Asia and Australia include six aircraft carriers, 128 amphibious and 21 auxiliary ships, 12 corvettes, two cruisers, 42 destroyers, 235 fast attack craft, 115 frigates, 34 mine countermeasures, 82 offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), 255 patrol craft and 116 submarines, said Bob Nugent, vice president of advisory services at AMI International, a naval analysis firm based in Bremerton, Wash.

This list includes China with 172 hulls, South Korea at 145 and Japan at 74, he said.

The OPV market in particular is maturing, with a total regional market forecast for 2013-2030 of $4.6 billion.

24.04.2013 Diesel-electric submarine (SSK) of a series of 677 "Lada" "Saint Petersburg" is now preparing to move to the Northern Fleet, where he will test the boat. This was at a conference on "Russia's shipbuilding industry: the rise or decline of the industry?" Held on April 24 in St. Petersburg, the first deputy general director of OAO "CKB" Rubin "Valentin Alexandrovich Frolov.
The crew of the Northern Fleet has already made diesel-electric submarine "Saint Petersburg", replacing the sailors of the Baltic Fleet.
According to Valentin Frolov, the date of transfer of the boat to the Northern Fleet Command depends on the decision of the Navy Rosii, as is currently considering a proposal to participate in the boat 6th International Maritime Defense Show (IMDS 2013). In addition, the diesel-electric submarine "Saint Petersburg" to take part in providing test export submarines for the Vietnamese Navy and built by Severnaya Verf ships.
Recall the construction of two submarines "Sevastopol" and "Kronstadt" Project 677 "Lada" to "Admiralty Shipyards" was frozen previous commander in chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, because the lead ship of a series of "St. Petersburg" has not shown stated in the project characteristics.
Boats are designed to destroy submarines, surface ships and enemy ships, protection of naval bases, sea, and the sea lines of communication, reconnaissance. The ship's tonnage of 1,765 tons, a maximum depth - 350 m, speed - 21 knots, the crew - 36 people, autonomy - 45 days, armed with torpedoes and rocket-torpedoes, air defense systems "Igla-1M".

Le représentant du constructeur d’avions américain Lockheed Martin a déclaré dans une interview que les forces navales du Vietnam pourraient commander six avions de patrouille P-3C Orion.Ces avions devraient être livrés au Vietnam sans l’armement dans un premier temps. Cependant, avec le renforcement des relations américano-vietnamiennes, ces appareils pourraient être équipés d’armes. Le Vietnam recevra les avions P-3C qui proviennent de la réserve de la flotte américaine. Il s’agit des avions relativement récents qui pourront servir encore 20 ans après leur modernisation.Le Vietnam, il ne peut pas vraiment choisir parmi les fournisseurs d’avions de patrouille. Ces appareils sont les principaux instruments de lutte contre les sous-marins. La Russie a depuis longtemps cessé la production des Il-38 etTu-142. Pour l’instant, elle procède à la modernisation de son parc existant. Ces avions ne sont pas très nombreux en Russie, c’est pourquoi il ne serait pas rationnel de les exporter. L’Europe a également arrêté de fabriquer ce type d’avions. Seuls les Etats-Unis ont lancé un programme de production d’avions de patrouille P-8 Poseidon. Les P-3C Orion qui n’ont pas encore entièrement exploité leur réserve, devraient donc être radiés de l’exploitation.Le P-3C est un avion anti-sous-marin puissant et efficace. La livraison des avions de ce type au Vietnam, surtout s’ils sont armés, peut être une raison de préoccupation pour le commandement de la Marine chinoise.

La base pour les sous-marins nucléaires Yulin se trouve sur l’île de Hainan au Sud de la Chine. Cette base qui coûte des milliards de dollars renferme aussi des abris souterrains pour les bateaux, les entrepôts, des arsenaux, et un système complexe de protection. C’est ici que devraient se trouver des sous-marins de la classe 094 Jin dotés de missiles balistiques. Ensuite, ils devraient être remplacés par des sous-marins de la classe 096 Tan. La mer de Chine du Sud est la zone principale de patrouille pour les sous-marins nucléaires chinois. Et toute activité de renseignement de la marine américaine et de ses alliés dans cette zone provoque une réaction nerveuse de la part du gouvernement chinois. Par le passé, cela n’a déjà provoqué des incidents dangereux.

En comparaison avec les navires russes, les sous-marins chinois ont un certain retard technologique, considèrent les experts. Les avions P-3C étaient considérés comme un moyen très efficace pour faire face aux sous-marins soviétiques et russes, ce qui veut dire qu’ils représentent un danger encore plus important pour la Chine. En décollant des bases vietnamiennes, les aéronefs P-3C peuvent assurer la surveillance des réions de patrouille des sous-marins chinois.

La Chine devra prendre des mesures pour garantir la sécurité de ses sous-marins, notamment avec le porte-avions Liaoning. Ce dernier pourrait fermer une zone importante en mer de Chine méridionale pour les avions P-3C vietnamiens. Le premier porte-avions soviétique Amiral Kuznetsov, construit selon le même projet que Liaoning, était destiné à la même mission. Ce navire était destiné à protéger la zone de patrouille des sous-marins nucléaires et prendre sur soi les premiers tirs de l'ennemi, permettant ainsi de faire gagner du temps au gouvernement du pays afin que ce dernier puisse prendre une décision de riposte.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has been selected by the Republic of Korea (ROK) Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) as the priority negotiator in support of the ROK Marine Corps' Surion-amphibious task helicopter development programme.

Under the KRW800bn ($713m) development programme, the company will design and develop the amphibious assault variant of its existing Surion Korea utility helicopter (KUH), which was designed to meet the needs of the South Korean Army and Air Force.

Development of the Surion-based helicopter variant is expected to start in July and be complete by the end of 2015, followed by mass production of the aircraft.

In an email, KAI was quoted by Flightglobal as saying that around 40 Surion amphibious helicopter variants are likely to be acquired by the Marine Corps to enhance its ability to transport troops and equipment in the littoral environment.

Modifications to the existing helicopter will include integrated flotation system, an auxiliary fuel tank and specialised radio equipment to support missions as part of the development programme.

The aircraft are expected to operate from the Republic of Korea Navy's (ROKN) Dokdo-class landing platform helicopter (LPH) assault ships, which are capable of accommodating up to 15 helicopters, the news agency reported.

Developed by KAI and Eurocopter, Surion KUH is a twin-engine light utility helicopter designed to support missions such as troop assault, search-and-rescue, tactical lift, liaison and medical evacuation.

With a range and service ceiling of 260km and 3,000m respectively, the helicopter is armed with six BGM-71 tube-launched optically tracked (TOW) air-to-air missiles or four rocket pods and can accommodate a pilot, co-pilot, two gunners and nine troops.