China deploys misssiles on Woody Island in South China Sea

Russian Defense Radar, Missiles Worry U.S. Officials

 Russia deploying new missile defense radar while seeking curbs on U.S. defenses

Russia’s military has completed work on a new missile defense radar in southern Russia that has some U.S. military officials worried Moscow is building up offensive and defensive strategic forces in destabilizing combination.

The large radar station near Armavir, located near the Black Sea and designed to detect missiles launched from Europe and Iran, is nearly complete, said U.S. officials.

The radar deployment comes as Russia is seeking legal restrictions on U.S. and NATO missile defenses in Europe that are designed to protect the continent and the United States from long-range Iranian missiles.

“The [radar] station is in the final stage of preparations for entering combat duty,” Russian Aerospace Defense Forces commander Col. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko told RIA Novosti news agency June 19. “We are planning to almost wrap up the work on the station approximately by the end of the year.”

A U.S. military official said the Armavir radar station, along with a major buildup of missile defenses and new short- and medium-range missiles, poses a strategic threat to the United States and NATO allies.

“The Russians are upset with U.S. missile defenses in Europe and here they are building a network of missile tracking facilities,” the official said.

Disclosure of the new radar also comes as President Barack Obama is seeking further cuts in U.S. strategic offensive arsenals with Russia following his announcement last month in Berlin that he would cut nuclear warhead stockpiles by one-third, to around 1,000 warheads.

Obama said last year during an open-microphone exchange with then-Russian President Dmitri Medvedev that he would have “more flexibility” in talks on missile defenses with Russia after his reelection.

A U.S. official involved in strategic nuclear issues said the Obama administration wants to resolve all missile defense issues with the Russians, including legal restrictions, in order to begin a new round of strategic offensive arms talks.

When Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced in March the United States was canceling the fourth phase of its missile defenses in Europe to assuage Moscow’s fears, the Russian government did not back down. The fourth and last phase of the program would have included interceptors that could stop missiles from hitting U.S. territory. The three earlier phases are targeted on missiles aimed solely at Europe.

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement shortly after the March announcement criticizing the Pentagon for continuing “to maintain a course toward strengthening its system of global missile defense and raising its effectiveness.”

The statement said the Russians were continuing to demand “legally binding guarantees” that U.S. defense were targeted at Russian missiles.

By contrast, the Obama administration has made no mention of Russia’s missile defense and strategic nuclear arms buildup. It also has not sought limits on Russian missile defenses in talks with Russian officials.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in a speech June 19 that Moscow’s current offensive and defensive strategic buildup is aimed at countering similar U.S. developments.

“There has been increasing talk among military analysts about the theoretical possibility of a first, disarming, disabling strike, even against nuclear powers,” Putin said. “This is something that we also need to take into account in our plans for developing the armed forces.”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted in March in the Russian media as saying “we are not experiencing any euphoria” over the cancelation of the fourth phase. Ryabkov also voiced opposition to the announced plans by the Pentagon to add 14 new long-range interceptors to bases in Alaska and California, which he called a substantial growth in U.S. missile defenses.

In a related strategic missile development, U.S. officials said Russia’s military restricted publication of photographs of the controversial Yars-M missile.

The Yars missile, also called the RS-24, was tested last month as an intermediate-range missile that U.S. intelligence officials believe violated Moscow’s commitment to the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.

According to the officials, one site of the Yars was not allowed to be photographed by Russian news photographers.

However, one photo of the new missile’s prohibited view was published last year.

U.S. officials and private missile specialists said the excessive secrecy surrounding the Yars has contributed to concerns that the missile violates the INF treaty.

Russia has said the Yars does not violate INF because Russian officials claim its range is 3,400 miles—above the range for a missile to be considered intermediate-range.

However, during a flight test of the Yars on June 6 the missile traveled from a launch center at Kapustin Yar and landed at an impact range at Sary-Shagan, about 2,000 kilometers, or 1,242 miles away. The distance would make the missile an INF-covered weapon.

An intelligence official told the Washington Free Beacon that U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Yars is an intermediate-range missile disguised by the Russians as an ICBM to avoid being accused of violating the INF treaty.

A State Department annual report on arms compliance that was due to Congress on April 15 will address the issue, a department spokeswoman said.

Stefan Forss, a former missile specialist with the government of Finland’s Foreign Ministry, said he agrees the Russians appear to be breaking the INF treaty.

Forss said the June 6 test of the Yars to less than intercontinental ballistic missile range is a clear sign the system is an intermediate-range missile.

“If there are no further tests to intercontinental ranges—we should, however, prepare for some maskirovka [deception] tests in this regard—the matter is settled,” Forss, an adjunct professor at Finland’s National Defense University said in an email. “Yars M will take care of the upper end of the INF range spectrum and Iskander-M of the lower end.”

The Iskander is Russia’s new short-range, nuclear-capable missile.

Forss said a recent statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that any future strategic arms accords must include other states beyond the United States and Russia was significant.

“It effectively buries any hopes of further reductions,” he said.

For the Europeans, according to Forss, strategic nuclear arms cuts are less important than tactical nuclear cuts since Russia currently has an overwhelming advantage in tactical nuclear weapons.

“The reason why Russia now opposes bilateral talks with the USA is plain and clear,” Forss said. “Russia doesn’t want any lower START ceilings for the reason that it needs them for the new ‘ICBM’ that for all practical reasons is a non-strategic IRBM.”

Forss said Moscow’s strategy likely would be to first build up INF capabilities and then withdraw from the treaty.

The Armavir radar is one of four advanced missile defense radars being built by Russia in recent years that are being rushed into service by 2020. Each of the radar can track up to 500 objects simultaneously.

The radars are protected by Russian S-400 air defense and anti-missile interceptors.

Two of the stations, called Voronezh-M, already are deployed near St. Petersburg and in Siberia in the Irkutsk region.

The fourth radar is located in the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, where Moscow in the past has said it would deploy advanced Iskander short-range nuclear-capable missiles in response to European missile defenses.

The Voronezh radars can track objects up to 3,700 miles away and are considered more technically advanced than earlier Soviet-era missile defense radar.

According to Novosti, the Armavir station can track missiles from France and Spain in the west as well as areas of North Africa and through Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of India and Pakistan.

Voronezh radars also are planned for Pechora in Russia’s Komi Republic and near the Siberian cities of Barnaul and Yeniseisk.

Russia announced late last year that the Baltic missile defense radar is being built by 2014 to counter what Russia said is “the perceived threat from a joint U.S.-NATO missile defense system in Europe,” Novosti stated.

The new missile defense radar are part of a major buildup of Russian defenses against missiles first disclosed by the Free Beacon on May 16.

Other elements of the strategic missile defense modernization program include new and modernized anti-missile interceptors, such as the advanced S-500 missile defense system and advanced S-400 and S-300 defenses.

Moscow also is upgrading SH-08 nuclear-tipped anti-missile interceptors around Moscow.

Additionally, other new missile defenses being fielded are Russian SA-20 and SA-21 surface-to-air missiles, and a new advanced system called the SA-X-23, an advanced version of the S-300.

North Korea ‘deliberately breached’ Chinese contract over missile vehicles: U.N. report

The U.N. Security Council’s sanctions committee on North Korea has concluded that Pyongyang appears to have “deliberately breached” a contract with a Chinese company by converting Chinese lumber transporters into missile launch transporters, according to a U.N. report on Wednesday.

The 16-wheel missile launch transporter was seen at North Korea’s military parade in April last year, raising concerns that the vehicle’s design and technology might have come from China. If so, it would be a violation of U.N. resolutions that ban member states from selling “all arms and related materials” to the North.

In its annual report, the Security Council’s North Korea Sanctions Committee Panel of Experts said, citing a Chinese briefing to the committee in October last year, the Chinese company named Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle Co. exported six lumber transporters to North Korea in 2011.

China told the committee that, “These vehicles had a substantive distinction from transporter-erector-launchers or missile transporters and could not be used for transporting or launching missiles,” according to the annual report.

The North’s Forestry Ministry Rim Mok General Trading Co. signed a contract to buy the six vehicles worth 30 million yuan (about US$4.9 million) from the Chinese company.

According to the contract, North Korea said the vehicles would be used for “transporting the timbers in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).”

Citing an image analysis conducted by the U.N. Institute for Training and Research Operational Satellite Applications Program, the North Korean missile vehicles and the Chinese vehicles named “WS51200″ match in terms of their “fronts and sides, the fenders, the exhaust systems, fuel tanks and tires,” the U.N. report showed.

“On the basis of the information currently available, the panel considers it most likely that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea deliberately breached the end user guarantee that it officially provided to Wuhan and converted the WS51200 trucks into transporter-erector-launchers,” it said.

North Korea, which has conducted three nuclear tests since 2006, has been hit by a series of U.N. sanctions.

The U.N. panel said the U.N. sanctions have delayed the North’s development of missile and nuclear arsenal.

“Overall, the panel believes that while the imposition of sanctions has not halted the development of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, it has in all likelihood considerably delayed the timetable of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, through the imposition of financial sanctions and the bans on the trade in weapons has choked off significant funding which would have been channeled into its prohibited activities,” it said.

“In both its imports and exports, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continues to use a variety of techniques to circumvent national controls, indicating that the imposition of sanctions has hampered its arms sales and illicit weapon programs.”

North Korea tried to sell 3,500KM range missiles – arms trader

North Korea offered 3,500km intermediate range ballistic missiles to UK arms dealer Michael Ranger, information detailed in a new UN report has revealed for the first time.

Representatives from the North Korean front company Hesong Trading Corporation allegedly offered Mr. Ranger modern and vintage small arms and light weapons, GPS jammers, multiple launch rocket systems, and “extraordinarily,” ballistic missiles with a range of up to 3,500 km.

“The price per unit was in excess of US$ 100 million for those intermediate-range ballistic missiles and would be sold not less than three at a time, mixed as one long-range and two medium-range missiles or one medium-range and two long-range missiles”, testimony provided by Mr. Ranger to the UN explained.

Although North Korea has a long history of selling short-range SCUD-type ballistic missiles to governments in the Middle East, to date there have been no reports of “medium” and “long-range” missile-types being offered to foreign clients.

“DISTURBING” REVELATIONS

While no explicit link is made in the report, the range of the missiles offered to Mr. Ranger coincides very closely with North Korea’s only known intermediate-range missile, the Musudan, says Mark Fitzpatrick, Director of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“3,500km is the range sometimes mentioned for the Musudan.  They don’t have any other missiles in that medium-range category,” Fitzpatrick told NK News by email.

North Korea first showcased the Musudan to the outside world at an October 2010 military parade covered by international media. But despite the strident parade and subsequent spike in reporting on the missile type, the Musudan is not known to have ever been flight-tested.

“It’s very disturbing that North Korea is seeking to sell such systems, though the fact that they have never been tested in North Korea should make any would-be buyers wary,” Mr. Fitzpatrick further explained to NK News.

The Korean People’s Army was suspected of putting two Musudans into “launch-ready” status during tensions with South Korea and the U.S. earlier this year.

However, those launches never took place, leading some analysts to question whether the Musudan is real or not. That Mr. Ranger was offered the Musudan is therefore a noteworthy development.

SALES TECHNIQUE?

Although Mr. Ranger’s claims shed new light on how North Korean officials might be marketing the DPRK’s latest missile capabilities to foreign clients, experts suggest that his allegations should be taken with a pinch of salt.

“Regarding the price, number and specifications of intermediate-range ballistic missiles claimed to have been on offer to Mr Ranger- there appears to be no means of verifying his claims,” Lawrence Dermody, an arms researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute told NK News.

“However, it’s certainly possible that Hesong representatives had an interest in exaggerating technology on offer to establish relationships with potential buys or secure related contracts.”

Another analyst familiar with the UN report, who wished to remain anonymous, echoed Mr. Dermody’s suspicions: ”It is possible that this was the DPRK flying a kite to observe Mr Ranger’s reaction.”

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CONUNDRUM

Even if Musudan missiles really were for sale, tightened international sanctions and intensified monitoring of cargo into and out of the DPRK would have made it extremely difficult for someone like Mr. Ranger to guarantee deliveries to would-be-clients.

“It is not clear how the DPRK would ship such missiles if indeed they sold them. Given their bulk, however, they would probably use maritime rather than air routes,” an analyst familiar with sanctions told NK News.

But after the high-profile turnaround of the Kang Nam 1, a North Korean vessel suspected to have been transporting missile parts to Myanmar in 2009, increased scrutiny over DPRK sea-lanes suggest that UN sanctions may be adding serious hurdles to North Korea’s capacity to sell advanced weapons systems.

Faced with an increasingly tight sanctions regime, the latest UN report says that North Korea has few direct connections with mainstream shipping companies and has to “charter feeder vessels to carry cargo to regional hubs in neighboring countries”.

Doing so is not cheap and the principal reason why a sale of between 70 and 100 man-portable air defense systems from North Korea to Azerbaijan, orchestrated by UK national Mr. Ranger, fell apart.

“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea looks carefully at the bottom line and rejects orders for small quantities because of higher per-unit manufacturing and/or transport costs”, the UN report explains.

When Mr. Ranger’s client requested a sample of 10 man-portable air defense systems to be tested in Azerbaijan before committing to the full purchase, North Korea insisted that testing must take place on DPRK territory. But because of the risks involved in shipping even small cargoes, it simply wasn’t cost-effective for Pyongyang to export such a small cache and risk interception.

ONGOING EXPORTS?

Despite a tightening sanctions regime and steadily increasing number of arms-related interceptions being revealed the latest UN report, experts warn that sanctioned North Korean weapons exports could still be continuing under the radar.

Nevertheless, Martin Uden, coordinator of the UN Panel of Experts, told NK News: ”While there are gaps in implementation and arms exports are doubtless continuing, it’s clear that the DPRK is having to go to extreme lengths to circumvent UN sanctions, making it more and more difficult, expensive and time-consuming to pursue this illegal trade.”

But an analyst familiar with sanctions said of the repeated references to Dalian based entities in the latest UN report, ”It is clear that the Chinese port [of Dalian] has continued to be deeply involved in the DPRK’s illicit activities during the period covered by the report.”…

Iran to unveil domestically-made missile system similar to Russian S-300

Necessary tests have been carried on the Bavar-373 missile subsystems, he added.

Although the U.S. hindered us from buying the Russian missile, but we started building it domestically, so that it will be inaugurated next year, he noted.

Under a contract signed in 2007, Russia was required to provide Iran with at least five S-300 air defense systems.

Iran will unveil new ballistic and cruise missiles in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year, which started on March 21, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi told the Mehr News Agency on Saturday.

Vahidi also said that the new cruise missile will have a longer range compared with previous domestically manufactured cruise missiles.

In addition, he said that new bombs would be unveiled, a new submarine and a new missile-launching flying boat would be launched, and new helicopters, aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles would be delivered to the country's armed forces in the first six months of the calendar year.

North Korea shipped missile parts to Syria

North Korea tried to export ballistic missile parts to Syria in May in violation of UN sanctions, Japanese media said Wednesday, citing diplomats who have seen a classified UN report.

South Korean authorities inspected North Korean cargo bound for Syria and confiscated hundreds of cylinders that could be used to build the weapons, the Asahi Shimbun said.

Seoul in June reported the discovery to the United Nation's North Korea sanctions committee, which then dispatched experts to South Korea to inspect the materials, the liberal daily said.

If confirmed, the reported action shows Pyongyang violated UN bans on trading military- and weapons-related materials, imposed successively since 2006 after nuclear tests by the secretive regime.

The 445 graphite cylinders were on a Chinese-registered freighter with a cargo bound for a Syrian company with North Korean links, Kyodo News said, citing UN diplomats.

The Asahi said South Korea confiscated 535 cylinders, disguised as lead pipes that would have no connection to ballistic missiles.

The finding was included in a report filed this month to members of a special committee that is charged with overseeing the implementation of sanctions imposed on North Korea, Kyodo said.

The apparent attempt at arms exports came shortly after the UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement calling for tougher sanctions against Pyongyang, which in April attempted but failed to launch a satellite.

The launch was widely seen by other nations as cover for a missile test.

The graphite cylinders found aboard the cargo ship Xin Yan Tai in South Korea's Busan port could be used for rocket nozzles and re-entry vehicle nose tips, Kyodo said.

The ship, registered in Shanghai, was built in 2005 and is owned by a Shanghai shipping company, Kyodo said, citing the China Classification Society of vessels.

The Shanghai firm's involvement in the case could pose a question over China's commitment to implementing sanctions on North Korea, Kyodo added.

The interim report was prepared by a panel of experts from the five permanent members of the Security Council, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, as well as Japan and South Korea, Kyodo said.

Ukraine missile industry to develop active/passive-homing seeker for R-27

Three of the most prominent Ukrainian missile and electronics companies have agreed to develop a new dual-mode active/passive radar-homing air-to-air missile (AAM) seeker. This guidance package is not for a new missile programme, but would instead be retrofitted to existing models of the Vympel R-27 (AA-10 Alamo A/C/E/F) AAMs.

The seeker will not be presented as an alternative to nations looking to purchase the Russian-made RVV-AE (AA-12) active-homing AAM, "and is not an initiative to displace Russia in its traditional markets", according to representatives of these companies who spoke with IHS Jane's during the AviaSvit Ukraine National Aerospace Exhibition at the Gostomel aerodrome near Kiev.

Instead, state Ukrainian engineers and marketing executives familiar with this design proposal said that this seeker will be offered as an upgrade option to those nations that have a substantial number of the R-27R/ER AAMs equipped with the older-generation AGAT 9B-1101K semi-active homing seeker, and/or R-27P/EP models fitted with the Avtomatika 9B-1032 passive, anti-radiation seeker still in their inventory.

The semi-active guided variant of the R-27 was widely exported to almost every nation that currently has MiG-29, Su-27/Su-30-series, or other Russian-designed fighter aircraft as part of their air force order of battle.

India to 'stabilise' present missile programme

Indian Defence Minister A K Antony today indicated that India will first "stabilise" its present missile programmes before thinking of starting any project for having capabilities to strike targets at longer distances than the 5,500 km-range Agni-V.

"Don't be impatient. Let the present Agni series stabilise," he said when asked if India was working on any programme such as Agni-6 after the success of 5,500 km-plus range Agni-5 earlier this year.

The Defence Minister was talking to reporters after delivering DRDO excellence awards here.

So far, the DRDO has conducted only one test of the Agni-V and is planning to carry out more such test-firings in the future for its induction in operational service.

The Minister advised stakeholders to adopt a consortium approach involving academic institutions and industries to act as a cohesive team to explore all aspects of nanotechnology for development of missiles, aeronautics, armaments and combat vehicles.

Praising the research agency, Antony said production of DRDO-developed systems already inducted in the armed forces is worth Rs 42,000 crore but cautioned it against complacency.

"If DRDO lags behind, technology being developed by it will become obsolete and it will not be able to provide state-of-the-art equipment to our forces. It must be the endeavour of all scientists to be innovative and creative in thought and action," he added.

The awardees at today's function included 'missile-woman of India' Tessy Thomas for her contributions to the Agni-4 programme.

Iraq to stop Iran flights over suspicions of Syria arms

Visiting Iraq's Minister Foreign Hoshyar Zebari takes a seat during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, on June 15, 2012.

Iraq is determined to stop and search flights from Iran over its territory which are suspected of carrying weapons to Syria, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in comments reported on Sunday.

"We have assured US officials that the Iraqi government is determined to land (Iranian) flights and carry out random searches," Zebari said, quoted by Arabic daily Al-Hayat.

The Iraqi minister added that his government had told Tehran "to stop the flights and stop arming or financing the (Syrian regime) or any other party to the conflict." Zebari said Iraq would not "not accept being a transit point or passage way for... arming or financing" the Syrian conflict.

Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed Baghdad to deliver on pledges to stop such flights during a meeting with Iraqi Vice President Kudayr al-Khuzaie.

Clinton reported "some encouraging first steps," citing an incident in which Iraqi authorities stopped a North Korean flight from crossing its air space while on its way to Syria over suspicions it was carrying arms and advisers.

Zebari said the flights first started in March and were stopped after the Iraqis called on the Iranians to do so. By late July, however, the flights resumed.

"They (the Iranians) said they were not carrying weapons or ammunition but pilgrims, visitors and other things," said Zebari, adding that "just to be sure, we will land these planes." Washington has been calling on Baghdad to ensure that all Iranian planes flying over its air space are ordered to land and checked for weapons.

Tehran has told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki the planes are carrying humanitarian aid to Syria, where the opposition has been fighting since last year to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

But many in the US government suspect the planes are ferrying military equipment to the Assad regime.

Pakistan navy test fires missiles

Tests conducted during ongoing exercises which are named Sea Spark

Pakistan Navy on Saturday successfully test-fired several surface-to air-missiles during its ongoing naval exercises in the Arabian Sea, a navy statement said.

A spokesman of the Pakistan Navy said that the successful tests were carried off the Makran Coast in Balochistan province during the ongoing exercises which are named Sea Spark.

“All the targets were precisely hit by the missiles fired during the tests,” the spokesman said.

During the tests Admiral Asif Sandaila, chief of Pakistan Navy was also present.

Admiral Sandaila said that the successful tests would strengthen Pakistan’s missile operating capacity in land and aerial defence. The successful testing of missiles has also increased the operational capacity of Pakistan Navy, he said.

The naval chief said that Pakistan Navy was fully aware of its responsibilities for defending the naval territories of the country.

The admiral also urged the naval force to make optimum use of the resources, the nation was allocating to them by deferring their pressing economic needs.

The naval chief also visited the Jinnah Naval Base at Ormara to see the harbour defence exercises. He appreciated the spirit of the naval and other personnel engaged in the exercises.