Russia has 5 days to get out from Ukraine otherwise all information on Russian Nuclear Defense System will be given to NATO and United States.
Saturday, 16 August 2014
Third Kilo submarine to arrive in Vietnam in November
VietNamNet Bridge – The third diesel-electricity fueled submarine built by the Admiralty Shipyard in Saint Petersburg for the Vietnam Navy will be delivered to the military port of Cam Ranh in November, according to the Russian news agency Interfax-AVN.
According to Interfax-AVN, Vietnamese sailors are practicing with the submarine at sea, which is the second training phase at sea. The first phase training took place from July 1 to 20 in the waters of Hogland Island.
“In the first phase, the submarine was in the water for 57 hours," Interfax-AVN said.
On August 20 the ship will return to the shipyard and will then return to sea 10 days later. It is expected to be delivered to Vietnam.
The fourth submarine in the contract to build six submarines for Vietnam is being tested at sea by the shipyard, while the fifth and the sixth ships are being built. The launch of the sixth ship is scheduled in September next year.
Besides building the submarines, Russia will help train Vietnamese sailors and provide equipment and technical supplies.
Varshavyanka (Kilo) submarines are the most advanced type in the contemporary world. The length of the vessel is 74 meters, and the width 10 meters. Their deepest submerging level is 300 meters, and they have an underwater speed of up to 37 km/h. The submarine can run automatically for 45 days and nights.
The Kilo submarines are equipped with the "Club" missile complex which is capable of projecting power at a distance of 300 km. The unique feature of this submarine is its extremely low noise. Western experts call Varshavyanka submarines the "black holes in the ocean."
NAVSEA: North Dakota Attack Boat Investigation Complete
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Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has concluded an investigation into questionable third party components of its latest Virginia-class attack boat — North Dakota (SSN-784) — clearing the way for the submarine to commission in late October, NAVSEA told USNI News on Thursday.
“To date, all necessary inboard and outboard components have been inspected and all required repairs have been completed,” read a statement provided to USNI News.
NAVSEA inspected 58 components — mostly in the bow and stern sections — of the $2.6 billion attack boat and conducted an unspecified number of repairs, according to the statement.
“These components included stern planes and rudder rams, retractable bow plane cylinders, hydraulic accumulators, high pressure air charging manifolds, torpedo tube interlocks and shaft/link assemblies, weapons shipping and handling mechanisms, and other miscellaneous parts,” NAVSEA statement.
“The submarine was certified for sea trials and is tracking towards the Aug. 31 contractual delivery date.”
NAVSEA said other Block III Virginias would also be inspected. Neither the Navy nor Virginia-class prime contractor — General Dynamics Electric Boat —would identify the vendor to USNI News.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) — responsible for most construction of the bow and stern sections — referred comment on the program to NAVSEA and Electric Boat.
The commissioning delay and investigation are rare missteps in what is arguably the Navy’s best-run shipbuilding program in decades.
North Dakota is the first of the Block III boats. The revised design feature 40 percent of the bow retooled to accommodate a new water-backed Large Aperture Bow (LAB) sonar array and the addition of two Multiple All Up Round Canisters that can each hold six Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM).
The redesign was led by Electric Boat and constructed by Newport News as part of the teaming agreement between the two yards for the Virginia-class construction.
Despite the delay, North Dakota will most likely still deliver ahead of its 66-month construction schedule.
The final Block II boat— USS Minnesota (SSN-783) — delivered 11 months early.
NAVSEA’s full Thursday statement to USNI News follows:
The commissioning of PCU NORTH DAKOTA (SSN 784) was postponed from May to address material issues with vendor-assembled and delivered components.
To date, all necessary inboard and outboard components have been inspected and all required repairs have been completed.
There were a total of 58 components investigated aboard PCU NORTH DAKOTA (SSN 784).
These components included stern planes and rudder rams, retractable bow plane cylinders, hydraulic accumulators, high pressure air charging manifolds, torpedo tube interlocks and shaft/link assemblies, weapons shipping and handling mechanisms, and other miscellaneous parts.
These components included stern planes and rudder rams, retractable bow plane cylinders, hydraulic accumulators, high pressure air charging manifolds, torpedo tube interlocks and shaft/link assemblies, weapons shipping and handling mechanisms, and other miscellaneous parts.
The submarine was certified for sea trials and is tracking towards the August 31 contractual delivery date. The commissioning is scheduled for October 25. All other Block III submarines are being inspected and any issues found will be adjudicated.
Friday, 15 August 2014
Pro-Russian Press Release in Donetsk at 2105 CET 15.08.14
Ukrainian troops have been slowly encircling Donetsk, the regional hub with a peacetime population of nearly a million.
But the Donetsk rebel leader seemed upbeat and spoke of the counter attack.
“Now we will lift the siege of Luhansk. I think by tonight the siege (of Luhansk) will be over, but I won't talk about the second phase of our counter attack”, said Alexander Zakharchenko, the head of the Donetsk People's republic at a news conference in Donetsk tonight.
A Ukraine City Under Siege, ‘Just Terrified of the Bombing’ - by ANDREW E. KRAMER
Every night, as darkness falls over Luhansk, the focus now of intense humanitarian concern and geopolitical intrigue, a cat-and-mouse artillery duel begins.
In a neighborhood of high-rise apartments, residents can readily identify the hollow pops of mortars as they echo among the buildings. After that, rebel fighters can be seen hastily dismantling the weapons and hauling them away.
An hour or so later, the Ukrainian military’s response comes: the whistle and boom of incoming artillery shells, fired from guns outside the city, in a fruitless attempt at silencing the rebel gunners.
Ukraine and Russia are now jousting over Moscow’s intent to send a 260-truck convoy of aid to Luhansk to relieve what President Vladimir V. Putin called in a speech on Thursday a “major humanitarian catastrophe” here.
But to people standing in the bread and water lines that snake through the streets, life here is tough but far from catastrophic. In the predawn, the city comes alive with pedestrians carrying plastic water bottles, headed for the working fountains and grocery stores, on the assumption that fewer shells land early in the morning. One grocery had noodles, gum, sugar, eggs and vodka.
The only relief most people here seek is from the shelling, which goes on night and day.
“I have everything I need but peace,” Valentina Simonyenko, a retiree standing in line for water from a spring, said Thursday. Later, she said, she would buy bread. “Look around, everybody is just terrified of the bombing.”
Luhansk is indeed a grim place, besieged and partly abandoned, with no electricity or running water, where hospitals are packed and the streets are patrolled by twitchy gunmen looking for spies.
But the shelling remains the greatest danger and the most trying aspect of daily life. The separatist government reported Thursday that 40 people had been killed in the shelling in the previous 24 hours.
On the main boulevard, rebels tear about in trucks mounted with Grad rocket launchers, moving from one site to another inside the city, to avoid the inevitable return fire.
The Ukrainian forces are in the countryside all about, dug into positions in the open steppe. In their trenches and armored vehicles, they are all but impervious to even the most intensive rebel shelling.
“If one side shoots from one place, then their opponent will shoot back at that place,” Dr. Gennady M. Buniyev, the director of a trauma ward here, said, choosing his words carefully and insisting on his neutrality in the conflict, as the windows of his office shook from outgoing rounds.
The mortar crew operating inside the city in areas controlled by the Luhansk People’s Republic, a separatist group, was firing from just outside the walls of the hospital grounds.
In response this week, two rockets fired from Ukrainian-held territory smashed into the hospital yard, landing near a maternity ward and a storage shed for oxygen bottles. Fortunately, the oxygen did not ignite.
“If it blew up, the whole hospital would have gone with it,” Dr. Buniyev said.
In the afternoon on a main street, where heat shimmered off the pavement and artillery boomed all about, the only vehicle in sight was a taxi creeping along with a driver so nervous he later simply abandoned his passengers on a side road, leaving them to walk to a hotel that lacked electricity and water and any other guests.
Dr. Buniyev’s clinic was treating 16 people for shrapnel wounds, including one man with a gaping head wound and four patients with brain trauma from blast waves.
A bucket brigade carried water to the hospital; nurses boiled water on a wood fire in the yard.
Vladimir Demidenko, a surgeon, said trying to shoo away the mortar crew would be pointless. “They wouldn’t listen to us,” he said. “If we went to complain to them, they would kill us.”
The shelling has gone on for so long now, and the destruction is so widespread, that it is hard to know where the latest rounds landed in some neighborhoods, where blown-out glass, sheared tree limbs and craters are general.
Polina Ivanova, a resident of one ravaged area, was sympathetic to the rebel mortar crew. “Look how many civilians are dying,” she said. “They are trying to protect us, and they have nowhere else to fire from. We are surrounded.”
She stood on a stoop in the predawn with Ekaterina Vladimirova, a neighbor who had a different opinion. “Both sides don’t care about us,” Ms. Vladimirova said. “For them, it’s a game. One shoots that way, the other shoots this way, and simple people suffer.”
Oleg Romanov, 29, said he huddled in terror with his wife and 1-year-old son in an apartment while “it booms all night long, and plaster falls from the ceiling.” He then rises at 4 a.m. to take his place in a line for water, and make the rounds of stores to hunt for groceries.
“The rebels fire Grads and leave, and then, of course, the answer comes back to that spot,” he said. “The rebels are long gone by then, but people are still around.”
Officials with the Luhansk People’s Republic could not be found to comment on the tactic of firing from residential neighborhoods, inviting return fire to them. At the headquarters building, a teenager with a Kalashnikov standing behind sandbags said the press office was not open Thursday morning.
Luhansk, a sprawling, dusty industrial city where the now-idle locomotive factory was a main employer, had a prewar population of about a half-million. It is impossible to say how many people have left; estimates range from a third to two-thirds. But many homes remain occupied. One woman said that 7 out of 10 houses on her street were still full.
At the water lines, a community forms, and gossip turns to whether Russia has recognized the Luhansk People’s Republic as an independent state, which it has not, and to whether the Ukrainians have broken into the city with ground forces, which was unclear on Thursday. Either of these developments might signal an end to their woes. Talk turns as well to looting, which is widespread.
“There is no fire department and no police, and besides, how would we call them, because no phones work,” said Oksana Mamedova, speaking on a street strewn with uncollected, rotting pears.
“Life is scary,” she said. “It’s scary to go to the store, and it’s scary to stay in the house.”
A version of this article appears in print on August 15, 2014, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: A Ukraine City Under Siege, ‘Just Terrified of the Bombing’.
NSC NEWS & ANALYSIS CENTER BRIEFING at 12:00 AUGUST 15, 2014
As instructed by the government of Ukraine, 71 trucks with almost 800 tonnes of humanitarian aid for residents of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts departed from three Ukrainian cities – Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv.
Humanitarian convoys that left from Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk have already arrived to Starobilska in Luhansk Oblast. The convoy from Kyiv is expected in the nearest future. This was reported by Andriy Lysenko, spokesperson for the National Security Council’s News & Analysis Center at the Center’s first everyday briefing.
Kharkiv convoy includes 26 trucks: aid for 18 trucks was gathered by Kharkiv Oblast, 2 - by Poltava Oblast, 1 - by Cherkassy Oblast and 5 - by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. Dnipropetrovsk convoy includes 21 trucks.
Humanitarian aid includes: food (vegetables, grains, sugar, flour, sunflower oil, canned food, honey, tea), water, medical supplies, hygiene products (diapers, soap, washing powder, napkins, baby wipes etc.), as well as other products and goods needed by residents of Eastern Ukraine.
Total weight of humanitarian aid that has already arrived is 390 tons.
Humanitarian convoys that left from Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk have already arrived to Starobilska in Luhansk Oblast. The convoy from Kyiv is expected in the nearest future. This was reported by Andriy Lysenko, spokesperson for the National Security Council’s News & Analysis Center at the Center’s first everyday briefing.
Kharkiv convoy includes 26 trucks: aid for 18 trucks was gathered by Kharkiv Oblast, 2 - by Poltava Oblast, 1 - by Cherkassy Oblast and 5 - by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. Dnipropetrovsk convoy includes 21 trucks.
Humanitarian aid includes: food (vegetables, grains, sugar, flour, sunflower oil, canned food, honey, tea), water, medical supplies, hygiene products (diapers, soap, washing powder, napkins, baby wipes etc.), as well as other products and goods needed by residents of Eastern Ukraine.
Total weight of humanitarian aid that has already arrived is 390 tons.
At the moment rescuers and logisticians of the International Committee of Red Cross are sorting humanitarian aid by groups of goods. Perishable goods, in particular vegetables and fruits, will be sent to the places of destination first. Then trucks under an umbrella of the International Committee of Red Cross will head to Donbas cities and towns.
This night the Ministry of Foreign Affair of Ukraine published its statement on attempts of the Russian Federation to deliver humanitarian aid.
The statement explained the procedure for such aid, envisaged by the Ukrainian legislation and the international law.
It is emphasised that this is the Russian Federation which is responsible for possible provocations from terrorists during International Humanitarian Aid Mission for civilian population of Eastern Ukraine, initiated by President Petro Poroshenko.
Military actions in the conflict zone
Over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian servicemen took under control three more towns: Chernukhine of Luhanks Oblast and Bulavinske and Oleksandrivske of Donetsk Oblast.
ATO forces have been pressing and closing an encirclement of militants' units in Luhansk. There are trench battles near Donetsk, Luhansk, Gorlovka, Ilovaysk, Pervomaysk and Krasniy Luch.
Over the last 24 hours, ATO forces engaged in fire with terrorist groups 25 times near the towns of Blagodatne, Nykyforivka, Avdiivka, Sabivka, Nyzhnia Vilkhova, Ilovaisk, Olenivka, Starobeshevo, Debaltseve, Fashchevka, Berezove, Tonenke, Kuteynikove and Ilyinka.
Shelling of Ukrainian units from the Russian territory continues. Yesterday as well as today at night the BCP "Uspenka" of the Donetsk Border Guard Detail was shelled from BM-21 Grad. This is the third attack on this BCP for the last several days. As a result its infrastructure has been completely destroyed.
Yesterday in the area of the town of Makarivka in Kherson Oblast, a border guard detail detected a Russian drone, which at the height of 4 km violated administrative border from the territory of temporary occupied Crimea. Two more cases of drone reconnaissance were detected by cutters' crews of the Coast Guard in the Azov and the Black Sea. One case was detected in the area of the town of Sedove in the direction of Mariupol, another case - in the area of border guard department "Skadovsk".
Tonight Russian military heavy equipment column entered Ukraine from Donetsk of Rostov Oblast via the BCP "Izvarine", which is temporary beyond control of Ukrainian border guards. Equipment number and types are clarified. But the fact itself was witnessed by representatives of foreign mass-media.
Population centers in the conflict zone
Militants continue to destroy on purpose Donbas infrastructure. In Donetsk, from the square near the railway station they shelled city centre, setting it up as shelling by Ukrainian servicemen.
Diversionists mined the Grabovo reservoir in the area of the town of Sadovo-Khrustalnynske in the suburbs of Krasniy Luch.
According to intelligence, terrorists have been trying to form new gangs of prisoners from corrective labour colonies. It's worth mentioning that prisoners refuse to leave territory of institutions of confinement.
International situation
The Ministry of Foreign Affair of Ukraine voiced vigorous protest to the Russian side in respect of President Putin and other Russian officials visiting on 13-14 August the temporary occupied territory of Ukraine – Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol – which was not agreed with Ukraine.
Such step, made despite warnings of Ukraine, is one more fact of Russian party's disregard of Ukraine's state sovereignty, of the UN Charter, resolution “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”, adopted by the UN GA, resolution of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and bilateral and multilateral liabilities.
President of Ukraine and Prime Minister of Great Britain discussed international efforts on the settlement of the conflict in the Donbas
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a phone conversation with Prime Minister of Great Britain David Cameron.
The parties coordinated their actions on the response to the information regarding the entry of Russian armored fighting vehicles to the territory of Ukraine that has been clearly witnessed by international journalists, particularly of the "Guardian" newspaper. The President informed that the given information was trustworthy and confirmed that the majority of the Russian military armored vehicles had been destroyed by the Ukrainian artillery at night.
The British Prime Minister once again reaffirmed his strong and gradual support to Ukraine and the actions of the President. He also asked about the issue on humanitarian assistance for Luhansk. The President informed on recent developments. He stressed that the Ukrainian part of the international humanitarian assistance in the framework of the Red Cross mission was on its way to Luhansk.
The President expressed concern over the situation on the border, particularly, over the fact that the inflow of Russian arms and military machines in Ukraine through the open part of the border continued.
The parties discussed international efforts for the dialogue on the possibility to settle the situation in the Donbas and the prospects of enhancing military-technical cooperation.
David Cameron informed that Great Britain was ready to provide financial assistance to Ukraine in the framework of the UN humanitarian assistance.
RUSSIAN BULLSHIT! - Ukranian Military May Use Force to Stop Humanitarian Aid Convoy
The Kiev government has intensified its military action to prevent the humanitarian aid convoy from moving along the agreed route to the city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.
“We would like to note that the Ukrainian military has intensified hostilities with an evident purpose to disrupt the convoy’s route from the Russian-Ukrainian border to Luhansk that was previously agreed with Kiev,” the ministry said in a statement.
“It appears that a lot of people both in Ukraine and beyond its borders are willing to stop the humanitarian mission, regardless of new bloodshed and destruction,” the statement reads.
According to the ministry, reports come out regarding the direct threats to use force against the humanitarian convoy that Russia sent earlier this week. At the same time, the Russian side remains “strongly committed to a speedy and full-fledged implementation of the agreements reached with the leadership of Ukraine and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about the delivery of the humanitarian aid” to citizens of Ukrainian eastern regions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry urged all the sides to declare an immediate ceasefire for the period of the humanitarian operation in accordance with international humanitarian law and called on ICRC, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations (UN) to actively support the Russian efforts.
Amid the humanitarian crisis in eastern Ukrainian regions engulfed in armed hostilities between government forces and independence supporters, Russia dispatched a humanitarian aid to the crisis-hit country. The 280 trucks sent by Russia are carrying about 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid, including 400 tons of grain, 100 tons of sugar, 62 tons of infant food, 54 tons of medical supplies and medication, 12,000 sleeping bags and 69 mobile electrical generators.
China Declares Australia a Military Threat Over U.S. Pact
China’s state-run media have declared Australia a threat to its national security, after Australia finalized a 25-year military pact with the United States.
The United States currently has 1,200 troops from the Marine Corps and Air Force training with Australian troops for humanitarian and disaster relief. The defense agreement will increase the number of U.S. troops at Darwin in northern Australia to 2,500.
The Chinese regime is none too pleased about the agreement, however.
Li Jie, rear admiral of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, told Want China Times that Australia could pressure China’s supply lines in the Strait of Malacca in a conflict over the South China Sea.
“Australia is therefore likely to become a threat to China’s national security,” it states.
Global Times reported that if a war broke out between China and Vietnam or the Philippines, the United States could deploy submarines and aircraft from Australia.
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced the U.S.-Australia Force Posture Agreement on Tuesday alongside Australian minister of defense David Johnston and minister of foreign affairs Julie Bishop.
Hagel said during a press conference, “This is a part of the world that represents five of America’s seven treaty obligation countries that we are committed to, which we’ve made very clear we’re committed to.”
Johnston said the U.S. troops are helping train the Australian military. “The Marines, of course, are the world’s experts in amphibious combat and amphibious operations,” he said during the press conference. “And so, we’re watching as to how those operations are carried out.”
The recent troop increase is part of a 2011 agreement between the United States and Australia. It was in turn part of the Asia Pivot, which has focused the U.S. military on the Asia Pacific region.
The number of U.S. troops in Australia is comparatively small. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said during an Aug. 12 troop event in San Diego that the United States has 360,000 men and women currently deployed in the Asia Pacific.
China has previously threatened Australia for aligning with the United States.
A source who formerly worked in U.S. intelligence told Epoch Times that, around 2010 and early 2011, China was trying to strong-arm Australia with indirect threats.
The threat went along the lines of “If Australia was attacked, the United States wouldn’t get here in time to save you. You should align with China instead.”
Not long after, however, the United States signed the agreement with Australia and began stationing U.S. marines and airmen in the country.
In response, China’s Global Times published an article in November 2011 that brought its threats to the surface. “The U.S. military presence in Australia will not change matters in the short-term,” it stated. “It remains to be seen how Australia will behave in the future and how China is going to respond.”
“But one thing is certain,” it added,” if Australia uses its military bases to help the U.S. harm Chinese interests, then Australia itself will be caught in the crossfire.”
The USS Enterprise Is Being Shut Down
It's the beginning of the end for the USS Enterprise. After 50 years of service, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is going dark at the same shipyard where it was first built.
Around 600 sailors and 1,200 employees at the Newport News shipyard in Virginia have been tasked with completing the "inactivation."
The Navy has never permanently shut down a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. A big part of the job — removing spent fuel from the ship's nuclear reactors — is nothing new. Newport News has accomplished several mid-life carrier overhauls, which involve defueling followed by refueling. That's part of getting the ship back in the fight, as the Navy likes to put it.
But the Enterprise has no more fighting days left, and shipyard workers now face a sad reality: The ship is literally going dark before their eyes.
"We've got probably half the ship or more that is uninhabited," said Dave Long, program director. "It's dark — no electricity, no ventilation. And we've actually sectioned it off with certain barriers and locks, very safely, so people can't get lost."
Long tells the story about a small group of Newport News workers who would hop on a plane to make repair calls to a different part of the globe. That's the kind of loyalty the Enterprise inspires, he said.
Today, some employees simply want to walk onto the ship one last time. Long is already fielding requests from employees to "ride" the ship for a few hundred yards when, in January, it will transfer from Pier 2 to Dry Dock 11.
The Enterprise will remain in Newport News until 2016. Eventually, it will be towed from Hampton Roads around the tip of South America to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash.
There it will be dismantled and recycled.
"If you didn't serve on Enterprise, you really haven't lived," said Rear Admiral Thomas More.
Trivia Note: The USS Enterprise was on deployment during the filming of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, so the USS Ranger served as the stand-in "nuclear wessel
Britain's High-Tech New Plan to Rule the Waves
The Royal Navy is in the midst of a radical reboot—and that’s on top of the secret edge they’ve got on every other fleet.
AHRLAC gets airborne
South Africa’s Paramount Group announced on 13 August that its AHRLAC [advanced high-performance reconnaissance light aircraft] has entered flight testing; just shy of three years after launching the indigenous project.
“Unique-looking” is probably the nicest way to describe the prototype’s look, although we certainly do like the chosen camouflage scheme (squint a bit and it’s almost a mini OV-10 Bronco with Slovakia’s funky MiG-29 markings; or is that just me?).
Paramount describes the twin-seater as being “the first military fixed-wing aircraft to be fully designed, tested and developed in Africa”, and lists a broad range of potential applications for a production-standard version. A handful of these include reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering, close air support, training, maritime patrol, environmental protection, border control and light attack.
That expected versatility could be the key to whether the AHRLAC becomes a commercial success – potentially with customers within and beyond Africa’s landmass.
As reported yesterday, some 5h of flight time has been recorded to date with the prototype, which it should be noted took quite a bit longer than expected to get into the air.
Speaking as the programme was launched in September 2011, Paramount executive chairman Ivor Ichikowitz set a target of completing the flight debut in the second quarter of 2012. Despite this slip, Dr Paul Potgieter, AHRLAC Holdings chief executive, now says: “We have made all the tools for production for all sheet metal pressings and composite parts so it enables us to hit production much quicker than other aircraft.”
We’ll do our best to bring you a full update on the AHRLAC – and on the current market interest in the design – in the run-up to September’s Africa Aerospace and Defence show
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Indonesians Boost CN235 Sales after Pact with Airbus D&S
PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) has stepped up its marketing of maritime versions of the CN235 and is completing assembly of its first C295. The moves result from the collaboration agreement that PTDI signed with Airbus Defense & Space in 2011. That deal also transferred production of the smaller C212 transport to PTDI’s facility in Bandung.
Arie Wibotwo, PTDI’s vice president of marketing, told AIN that PTDI is bidding for several maritime patrol requirements in the region. “We have been selected by the Philippines government to supply two CN235 ASWs. A contract is expected to be signed this summer, with delivery taking place 26 months afterwards,” he said. Working with PTDI as a mission systems supplier will be Raytheon Systems, marking the first time a U.S. company has partnered with the Indonesians.
Several other CN 235 MPA/ASW proposals are on the table “but the mission systems will be flexible, completely the choice of the customer,” Arie added. “Malaysia prefers Thales, Vietnam wants the Airbus D&S Fully Integrated Tactical Systems (Fits) or a Swedish SSC system, while Thailand and Brunei seem fairly relaxed over the systems they want.” This means that PTDI could find itself working with several different systems integrators from Europe and the U.S. if these countries opt for the CN235. In 2011 and 2012 PTDI worked with Israel’s Elta on the Korean Coast Guard deal for four CN235-220MPAs.
Having recently delivered a CN235 to Thailand’s parapublic Kaset organization, with options on another two, PTDI feels it is well positioned to provide the Royal Thai Navy with a solution for its ASW/MPA requirement for up to four aircraft.
Domestically, PTDI will shortly deliver a second CN235 MPA to the Indonesian Navy as part of its Marpat 1 maritime patrol program. These aircraft are equipped with the Thales Amascos system and include the FLIR Systems Star Safire sensor turret. “Another two CN235MPAs are contracted by the Navy as part of Marpat 2 but the radar system will come from Telephonics,” Wibotwo revealed.
Meanwhile, PTDI is assembling the first of two C295s for the Indonesian air force.
Airbus D&S previously delivered seven C295s from its production line at Seville, Spain. The two being assembled at Bandung complete the order.
THIRD AWACS TO BE DELIVERED IN SEPTEMBER
The airborne early warning and control aircraft (AWACS) project initiated in order to ensure complete and uninterrupted surveillance of Turkey's surroundings and to manage air traffic when necessary is drawing to an end. According to Turkish Daily Dünya, the third aircraft will be delivered to Turkey in September.
The project named as "Eagle of Peace," which consisted of the purchase of four aircraft had been delayed for seven years and the first aircraft was delivered in February and the other one in May. The last aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2015. The aircraft can track and identify more than one thousand aircraft and sea vehicles. Along with exploration and surveillance functions, the aircraft can also transfer voice and data files required for communication during air traffic control. Turkish companies have a TL 576 million share in the Eagle of Peace Project.
The Eagle of Peace airborne early warning aircraft are capable of performing the duties of more than 100 radars without being affected by geographical restrains. They can also perform the backup task in case of a failure with ground radars. Dünya further noted that the total liability of Turkey in this project is around $1.5 billion (TL 3.23 billion).
The project named as "Eagle of Peace," which consisted of the purchase of four aircraft had been delayed for seven years and the first aircraft was delivered in February and the other one in May. The last aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2015. The aircraft can track and identify more than one thousand aircraft and sea vehicles. Along with exploration and surveillance functions, the aircraft can also transfer voice and data files required for communication during air traffic control. Turkish companies have a TL 576 million share in the Eagle of Peace Project.
The Eagle of Peace airborne early warning aircraft are capable of performing the duties of more than 100 radars without being affected by geographical restrains. They can also perform the backup task in case of a failure with ground radars. Dünya further noted that the total liability of Turkey in this project is around $1.5 billion (TL 3.23 billion).
India plans to buy 3 radar reconnaissance aircrafts A-50 in Russia
AEW&C aircrafts A-50 are used to detect and track air targets and surface vessels, warn automated systems of command posts and to control airplanes in sighting
India plans to buy three airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircrafts A-50 in Russia, a source in Russian governmental military and industrial commission told ITAR-TASS on Friday.
In 2003 India has already ordered three such warplanes and the contract was fulfilled in 2010.
“India is mulling possible delivery of another three AEW&C aircrafts, talks are on now,” the commission’s source said. He did not specify a timeline planned for a deal to strike.
The delivery of AEW&C aircrafts is planned “in the same configuration” as under the agreement in 2003, he said.
Meanwhile, the source added that after the A-50 delivery a contract for their maintenance was signed with India, “warplanes pass it successfully with assistance of Russian specialists.”
A-50 built on the base of a military transport airplane Ilyushin Il-76MD was brought into service in 1989. AEW&C aircrafts A-50 are used to detect and track air targets and surface vessels, warn automated systems of command posts and to control airplanes in sighting.
Global Hawk Reaches New Milestone, Expands Operational Area
The U.S. Air Force's RQ-4 Global Hawk, a wide area surveillance unmanned aircraft system, has just completed its 100th operational mission in Southwest Asia and recently moved into the Pacific region.
Built by Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC), Global Hawk is operated largely out of the 69th Reconnaissance Group at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. The 69th Reconnaissance Group falls under the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, central station for the entire Global Hawk fleet based at Beale Air Force Base, California. Global Hawk is equipped with the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program sensor capable of detecting fixed and moving targets. It has been flying early operational capability (EOC) missions since September 2013, providing the high priority wide area surveillance ground moving target indicator (GMTI) capability in the U.S. Central and Africa Command regions. Full system capability will be demonstrated when the system enters initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) in the spring of next year.
Global Hawk GMTI EOC operations have proven the viability of the system, which expanded into the Pacific with two Global Hawk aircraft deployed to Guam to support U.S. Pacific Command peacetime surveillance requirements in the region.
"Global Hawk delivers tremendous capabilities," said Col. Lawrence Spinetta, commander of the 69th Reconnaissance Group. "It offers unmatched range and persistence. As a result, combatant commander demand for the RQ-4 continues to skyrocket. Operational success has led one theater after another to request support from this high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft."
Global Hawk has flown more than 115,000 flight hours supporting diverse global missions. Carrying a variety of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensor payloads, Global Hawk supports antiterrorism, antipiracy, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, airborne communications and information-sharing missions.
Thursday, 14 August 2014
NSC NEWS & ANALYSIS CENTER BRIEFING at 12:00 AUGUST 14
Humanitarian aid
At noon today, trucks left from Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk to bring Ukrainian humanitarian goods to Luhansk Oblast. On arrival, the cargo will be turned over to Red Cross officials so that the international humanitarian mission could deliver these goods to the people who are being held hostage by militants. The key will be for these militants to allow the mission into the territory temporarily in their control and to guarantee safety. Altogether, since July 6, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has delivered 270 t of food, 800 special food packages, more than 9,000 l of drinking water, and thousands of loaves of bread to the east.
Andriy Lysenko, spokesperson for the National Security Council’s News & Analysis Center, reported at the Center’s midday briefing, August 14, 2014, that in the population centers freed of the terrorists, the Ukrainian government has been consistently renewing civilian life, ensuring that basic services and systems are working. By contrast, in territories controlled by Russian mercenaries, the situation is nearly at the level of a humanitarian catastrophe, reflecting the Kremlin’s real motives.
The Russian side was offered completely transparent conditions for joining the international humanitarian mission. Everything was supposed to take place in accordance with the procedures and rules of the International Committee of the Red Cross. However, the Russian side has for several days now avoided meeting the conditions of this renowned international organization, something that ICRC officials and international media have openly noted.
If Russia decides to bring its humanitarian aid through that part of the border with Ukraine that is in the hands of terrorists, its cargo nevertheless will hare to be inspected by Ukraine’s border guards and transferred to the Red Cross. But all responsibility for the security of this cargo will belong to Russia, which is in charge of the mercenaries that it has been arming.
Military action in the conflict zone
On August 13 in the evening, National Guard units took over the town of Hirske in Luhansk Oblast and raised Ukrainian flags over the local concert hall and the town hall. Right now, the National Guard is setting up checkpoints around the town that will be guarded day and night. Shortly, law enforcement officers will take measures to stabilize the crime situation and to ensure public order.
During the liberation of this town, there were no casualties on the National Guard side. Hirske is the nearest to the town of Pervomaisk and then to Stakhanov, where one of the larger groupings of terrorists is currently based.
Over the last 24 hours, ATO forces engaged in fire with terrorist groups 20 times near the towns of Rozsypnhe, Khriashchuvate, Zemliane, Miusinsk, Bokovo-Platove, Mariyinka, Stukalova Balka, Ozerianka, Avdiyivka, Petrivka, Novohannivka, and Ilovaisk, as well as Luhansk Airport.
The border area
The situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border remains difficult. During the night, armed clashes occurred at the border with sabotage and intelligence groups. Near 03:00, a group of mercenaries from the border side attempted an armed attack on the border patrol on duty near the village of Pobieda, Donetsk Oblast. The border guards rebuffed the attack and the militants were forced to retreat towards the border. At 04:00, near the Uspenka border crossing, another clash occurred between the border patrol and another sabotage and intelligence group. Together with reinforcements that showed up in an APC, the border patrol repelled the attack.
Terrorists continue to use remote-controlled anti-personnel mines and landmines. At noon on August 13, on the Krasna Talivka section of the border in Luhansk Oblast, saboteurs set off two landmines where a border patrol was moving. Soon afterwards, the border guards discovered yet another group of terrorists with a grenade launcher not far from the border and opened fire, shooting to kill.
OSCE mission members who continue to monitor the Gukovo border checkpoint of the RF noted in the report of a special commission and published on the OSCE site, that the border is constantly being breached by uniformed personnel.
During the past week, the OSCE mission noted many groups of young men in military-like uniforms crossing the border in both directions. The observers also noted that several times ambulances evacuated wounded supporters of DNR. The report also noted that in the last 3 days, Mi-24 helicopters belonging to the RF Armed Forces have been flying over the border checkpoint with greater frequency. At night, the helicopters fly very closely to the actual border crossing. In the daytime, observers stated that the helicopters did not violate Ukrainian airspace visible from the border checkpoint.
As reported earlier, on July 30, the OSCE leader of the mission in Rostov Oblast, Paul Picard, announced that the mission was starting to work at the Gukovo border crossing and Donetsk on the Russian-Ukrainian border.
In the last 24 hours, RF Armed Forces aircraft violated Ukrainian air space several times. On August 13 at 11:40, the border patrol on duty on the Milove checkpoint in Luhansk Oblast saw 2 Mi-24 helicopters fly over Ukrainian territory. In addition, 4 other instances of Russian drones engaged in surveillance were reported: at 21:20 in Donetsk Oblast towards the town of Yalta at an altitude of 1,500 m; at 22:05, near Mariupol on a direct line towards the towns of Yalta and Siedove at an altitude of 2,000 m, and at 22:05 in Kherson Oblast from the direction of temporarily occupied Crimea, near the village of Shevchenko, flying at an altitude of nearly 2,000 m.
Population centers in the conflict zone
While liberating the towns of Hirske and Uglehorsk, National Guard servicemen discovered weapons and ammunition that were of Russian origins and are not part of the weaponry used by the Ukrainian army.
Information is coming in about places where saboteurs have mined infrastructure. For instance, militants mined yet another bridge on the highway between the towns of Nyzhnia Krynka and Khartsyzk in Donetsk Oblast. In the Kyiv District of Donetsk, Russian mercenaries booby-trapped the power substation at the Tochmash plant.
In Donetsk Oblast, employees of Donetskoblenergo, the regional power company, have been risking life and limb to restore power lines damaged by the terrorists at the Trudovska, Cheluskintsiv, Skochynskiy and Abakumova mines. In the Petriv District of Donetsk, the neighborhoods of Tekstylnyk in Kirov District, Maidanchyk and Adminsposelok in Kuybysheve District, where more than 3,000 residents have their homes, have been reconnected to power supplies again. Unfortunately, during the repair work, a mine exploded at one of the structures, injuring 3 employees of Donetskoblenergo.
According to information from the Ministry of Social Policy, pensions are currently being paid out to 29 Donetsk Oblast cities. Pensions are also being paid out in Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and Novoaidarsk County in Luhansk Oblast as well. Altogether, 13 counties and cities in Luhansk Oblast are having their pensions funded. At the moment, benefits are being temporarily held up in Donetsk, Avdiyivka, Horlivka, Yenakievo, Zhdanivtsi, Kirovsk, Makiyivka, Snizhne, Torez, Khartsyzk, Yasynuvata, Shakhtarsk, and Shakhtarsk County in Donetsk Oblast. Pension Fund offices are currently not working in Krasniy Luch, Pervomaisk, Leninsk, Zhovtneviy, Artemivsk and Kamianobrid Counties in Luhansk Oblast.
The NSC would like to call on all parents and all citizens who have remained in the ATO zone: the terrorists have started to use mines that are prohibited by international conventions. Please do not pick up any suspicious objects, including children’s toys, lighters, mini-radio receivers and even items that appear attractive, as they can all contain mines.
International reaction to events in Ukraine
During the night of August 13, President Poroshenko spoke over the phone with US Vice President Joseph Biden. The two discussed the situation with humanitarian assistance provided to Ukraine and agreed to continue to coordinate the efforts of their two countries to respond to existing and potential challenges and threats.
The Commander in Chief of NATO’s Joint Armed Forces in Europe, Phil Breedlove, announced that any international aid should come to Ukraine through the auspices of the Red Cross, with the agreement of Kyiv. Any other variations will be seen as an act of aggression against Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Deputy Spokesperson for the US Secretary of State Marie Harf stated that Russia has no right to unilaterally, without Kyiv’s approval, to enter Ukrainian territory under the guise of the so-called “humanitarian convoy” or in any other guise.
The Swiss Federal Council Chair announced that her country had decided to take additional measures to protect European sanctions against Russia. Among others, she mentioned a prolongation of the embargo on delivering certain goods designated as for military purpose to Russia and strict control over dual-purpose technology and goods being delivered to Russia. In addition, Switzerland promised to do everything to ensure that its territory was not being used to get around EU sanctions. At the same time, the Council Chair announced that it recognized the territorial integrity of Ukraine and considers that Russia is in violation of international law for having annexed Crimea.
SAS Charlotte Maxeke refit on hold
The second of the Navvy’s Heroine class submarines, SAS Charlotte Maxeke, will not undergo a refit in the immediate future because the Request for Offer (RfO) was withdrawn by Armscor.
At the same time the Navy, though its public relations officer, Captain (SAN) Zamo Sithole, said the “refit is scheduled to commence once requisite funding has been identified”.
Charlotte Maxeke was commissioned on March 14, 2007, with the pennant number S102. Her sister underwater craft are SAS Manthatisi (S101) and SAS Queen Modjadji 1 (S103).
According to Armscor’s operational purchases tender system, Tender ARMD/10/14 for the refit of SA Navy submarine S102 at the Armscor Dockyard in Simon’s town has been withdrawn. The state security acquisition agency’s manager: corporate communication, Barileng Dichabe, said the RfO was not cancelled but withdrawn. “It was issued as a single source to the original equipment manufacturer (Howaldtserke, Deutsche Werft in Kiel),” she said.
Asked what effect the delay in refitting the second of the Type 209 submarines acquired by the maritime arm of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) as part of the Strategic Defence Procurement Packages (SDPP) would have on the Navy’s underwater capability, Sithole said “to all intents and purposes the Navy will continue to have two submarines in the operational cycle at any time”.
He explained: “The SA Navy normally has one submarine in refit and two submarines in the operational cycle, with phases of maintenance, training and operational availability.
“Owing to SAS Charlotte Maxeke preparing to go into refit and SAS Manthatisi completing harbour acceptance trials (HATS) this can be construed as the SA Navy having only one submarine (SAS Queen Modjadji 1) currently in the operational cycle. However as the refit of SAS Charlotte Maxeke has yet to commence, she can still be considered to be in the operational cycle and can still be put to sea following some minor work and training, if required.”
“Owing to SAS Charlotte Maxeke preparing to go into refit and SAS Manthatisi completing harbour acceptance trials (HATS) this can be construed as the SA Navy having only one submarine (SAS Queen Modjadji 1) currently in the operational cycle. However as the refit of SAS Charlotte Maxeke has yet to commence, she can still be considered to be in the operational cycle and can still be put to sea following some minor work and training, if required.”
The refit, including a complete battery replacement, of SAS Manthatisi, has been underway since 2007. She was originally targeted to start HATS in May but this was delayed due to problems with supply of certain spare and replacement parts.
“Sea acceptance trials will only commence once the Navy is satisfied all HATS have been completed to rigorous Navy safety standards,” Commander Greyling van den Berg said in June.
“No hard and fast date has been set for her re-commissioning. The date will be determined by progress of the harbour acceptance trials.”
The Navy previously pointed out the re-commissioning of SAS Manthatisi was the first time this has been done to a Type 209 submarine in the Simon’s town dockyard and the experience gained would be put to good use on the other two Heroine class underwater craft.
According to Sithole the Navy “is still intent” on the Charlotte Maxeke refit.
“It will be done as soon as possible and the refit will be completed within the planned timescales. No changes are foreseen to the Navy business plan for its submarines,” he said.
INS Kolkata, the Biggest Naval Destroyer, is the weakest link in Defence
Its ironic, but true. INS Kolkata is ready to be launched by the Prime Minister of India-Narendra Modi on Saturday, but it is yet to be battle-ready. Built with an aim to be India's biggest and most powerful guided missile destroyer, this 7,500 ton warship lacks basic weaponry, which cuts down the possibility of detecting incoming missiles and submarines.The ship was under construction for the past 11 years, with a little help from Ukraine and Israel.
However, the Israel-built long range surface-to-air missile called the Barak NG is still under construction. The weapon is designed to identify a missile from a range of 100 kilometers and intercept at a range of upto 500 meteres.The missile is ready, but the boosters to propel the missile (at 2 machs), which has been taken up by DRDO have failed.The ship will therefore be laced with a lesser Barack-1 version, which has a shorter range of 10-12 kilometers.
Moreover, the ship is also devoid of Active Electronic owed Array Sonar (ATAS), which is attached at the back of the ship to detect any enemy intrusion.Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral AB Singh said,"The lack of ATAS is an unfortunate void."To add icing to the cake, INS Kolkata's main engines were supplied by Ukraine, a country that is war-ridden, which means the long-term availabilty of spares is uncertain.
China continues building ‘fixed aircraft carrier’ inside PH territory
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Amid Philippine government’s call for construction freeze within the disputed territories in South China Sea including West Philippine Sea, China openly rejected the proposal.
“China opposed it immediately. They should study it before they reject it. If they reject it without studying it, then it looks like China does not recognize that the developments in the South China Sea are creating problems for everyone,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said after attending the regional Ministers’ Meeting over the weekend.
According to del Rosario, China is like saying “What tensions? What problem? There is no problem.” The Philippine top diplomat said problems can’t be solved if it is not recognized.
Instead of listening to international community’s call to freeze construction, China is busy building its ‘fixed aircraft carrier’ inside Philippine exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.
According to Filipino fishermen operating in West Philippine Sea, China is creating concrete sea barriers in Mabini reef. They also attested that there is an increased Chinese coast guard presence in the territory.
“The artificial island at Fiery Cross Reef will be an unreplaceable military base with great strategic significance due to its location and size. Such a base will realize the value of the South China Sea for China and ensure China’s status in South East Asia,” a Chinese news provider said.
“It can threaten all our vital economic installations and this is the most awesome, our vital military installations including what would be the installations we can make available at the EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement),” Former National Security Adviser Roilo Golez told Submariners World.
Russia's Mistral Warships Won't Have French Weapons
A Russian defense official said two French-built Mistral-class warships on order for the Russian navy will be retrofitted with Russian weapons systems after their delivery, signaling that Western sanctions against Russia may have succeeded in scaling back the military technology transfer proposed in the Mistral sale deal.
"The construction of the Vladivostok [the second Mistral ship] is being completed. … She will be retrofitted with Russian-made weapons at port [in St. Petersburg]," Igor Sevastyano, a spokesman for Russia's state arms import and export agency was quoted by news agency Interfax as saying Wednesday at an arms expo outside Moscow.
France's 2011 deal to supply Russia with two Mistral assault ships was part of a 1.2 billion euro ($1.6 million) technology transfer agreement. Officials have remained coy about exactly what cutting edge French technology would be supplied along with the ships, but the expectation was that the deal would be a major boost to Russia's technical military expertise.
But since Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March, the West has been expanding sanctions against Russia. In July, the country's defense industry was hit by an EU arms embargo. While stopping short of actually prohibiting the delivery of the ships and transfer of related shipbuilding technologies, this appears to have nixed the possibility of the warships from being outfitted with advanced French gear.
The first of the two warships, the Sevastopol, has already been launched and is undergoing final preparations for its delivery to the Russian navy later this year, while its sister ship, the Vladivostok, is not expected to be delivered until November 2015.
Washington and several of its NATO allies have pressured Paris to ax the deal, which Western leaders believe will enable potential Russian military aggression against NATO member states and pro-Western post-Soviet states near the Black Sea.
France, for whom the loss of the contract would be a major economic blow, has resisted pressure to withhold delivery of the first Mistral. French President Francois Hollande said in July the decision to follow through on the second vessel would "depend on Russia's attitude," referring to Moscow's support of separatists in eastern Ukraine, Reuters reported.
If everything goes according to plan and Moscow receives its new warships, the vessels will begin their induction into the Russian navy by stopping off at St. Petersburg's Northern Wharf shipyard to receive a full complement of Russian-made weapons systems.
Russian sailors are currently training on how to operate the warships, which are unlike anything else currently serving in the Russian navy. Although one Soviet-era aircraft carrier remains in service, it is plagued by technical troubles. The Mistral-class amphibious assault helicopter carriers are significantly more advanced in the areas of command and control systems, as well as communications.
US clears air missiles sales to Turkish army
The United States has cleared a potential $320 million advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM) missiles sale to Turkey after the country demanded arms from its NATO ally amid increasing security risks in the region.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has announced that the State Department has approved a possible sale to Turkey for AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM missiles from Raytheon and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $320 million, a statement released by the agency on its website said.
Turkey has requested 145 AMRAAMs, 10 missile guidance sections, and 40 LAU-129 launchers, containers, support equipment, spare and repair parts, integration activities, publications and technical documentation, test equipment, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. government and contractor logistics, engineering and technical support and other related elements or logistical and program support.
The statement said the sale was consistent with the “U.S. national interests of assisting its NATO ally in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense.”
“The Turkish Air Force (THK) intends to obtain these missiles to modernize its inventory, which will support its own air defense needs and improve its interoperability with the U.S. and other NATO allies,” the statement said.
Under U.S. law, this kind of military equipment sale to an allied country is carried out automatically unless at least one senator formally requests a hold on the sale within two weeks following the DSCA’s notification. No such opposition is expected in this case.
NATO security
According to the announcement, the missiles will be used on the F-16 aircraft – and eventually F-35 aircraft – in the Turkish army’s inventory and will maintain the THK’s air-to-air capability to defend its extensive coastline and borders against future threats.
“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region,” it said.
“The implementation of this proposed sale will require multiple trips to Turkey involving U.S. government and contractor representatives for technical reviews/support, program management and training. U.S. contractor representatives will be required in Turkey for integration, testing, and training.
The number and duration are unknown and will be determined during contract negotiations,” it said.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has announced that the State Department has approved a possible sale to Turkey for AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM missiles from Raytheon and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $320 million, a statement released by the agency on its website said.
Turkey has requested 145 AMRAAMs, 10 missile guidance sections, and 40 LAU-129 launchers, containers, support equipment, spare and repair parts, integration activities, publications and technical documentation, test equipment, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. government and contractor logistics, engineering and technical support and other related elements or logistical and program support.
The statement said the sale was consistent with the “U.S. national interests of assisting its NATO ally in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense.”
“The Turkish Air Force (THK) intends to obtain these missiles to modernize its inventory, which will support its own air defense needs and improve its interoperability with the U.S. and other NATO allies,” the statement said.
Under U.S. law, this kind of military equipment sale to an allied country is carried out automatically unless at least one senator formally requests a hold on the sale within two weeks following the DSCA’s notification. No such opposition is expected in this case.
NATO security
According to the announcement, the missiles will be used on the F-16 aircraft – and eventually F-35 aircraft – in the Turkish army’s inventory and will maintain the THK’s air-to-air capability to defend its extensive coastline and borders against future threats.
“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region,” it said.
“The implementation of this proposed sale will require multiple trips to Turkey involving U.S. government and contractor representatives for technical reviews/support, program management and training. U.S. contractor representatives will be required in Turkey for integration, testing, and training.
The number and duration are unknown and will be determined during contract negotiations,” it said.
Russia postpones Iskander missiles export
Russia embargoed export of Iskander missile systems until 2016 due to insufficient production capacities, the weaponry producer said Wednesday.
"Production of these missiles is a bottleneck. The Votkinsk plant (in northwestern Russia's Udmurt republic) has been working to the limits of its capacity," Itar-Tass news agency quoted a deputy director of the KBM Machine-building Design Bureau as saying.
The official said that all potential clients have been informed about the delay, as he was attending an arms expo in the city of Zhukovsky outside Moscow,
The KBM cannot swiftly increase Iskander production for the Russian Armed Forces to 12 systems a year required by the Defense Ministry, he said.
The Iskander tactic missiles system is an advanced ground-to-ground first-strike complex with a range of 500 km.
Currently the KBM supplies the Russian army with two to three Iskander systems a year.
On Monday, Kazakhstan asked Russia for a possible delivery of its Iskander-M missile systems to Russia, according to Konstantin Biryulin, deputy director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technological Cooperation.
"There has been a request from Kazakhstan but no decisions have been made as of yet," the Itar-Tass reported quoting Biryulin.
Last December, Russia said it has deployed Iskander-M missiles along the borders with NATO countries. The missiles deployed are said to have a range of 400 kilometers, which thus do not fall under a category of the middle-range missiles banned by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between Moscow and Washington
Egypt Asks Russia for Anti-Tank Missiles, Warplanes - Request comes after Saudis gave Egypt $2 billion for Russian weapons
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has asked Russia to supply Egypt with high-tech fighter jets, attack helicopters, and anti-tank missile systems, according to regional reports.
Sisi made the request in Moscow Tuesday during a meeting with his counterpart, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met with the Egyptian leader to discuss expanding arms exports.
The request for these advanced weapons comes just months after the Saudi Arabian government donated $2 billion to Egypt to finance the purchase of Russian-made weapons.
Sisi’s reliance on Moscow for these arms is another sign that the Egyptian government is growing more distant from Washington, which, under the Obama administration, has slashed aid to Cairo and cut back on key weapons shipments that help the country combat terrorism.
Sisi is likely seeking to cement a weapons gap left by the United States’ abrupt refusal to fulfill its arms deals with Cairo following the ousting of former Muslim Brotherhood-backed President Mohamed Morsi.
During the powwow with Putin, Sisi reportedly asked for top-line equipment, including MiG29 fighter jets, Kornet anti-tank missile system, Kamoc Ka-25 attack helicopters, Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters, and various transport helicopters, according to an Arabic report on the meeting published by Youm7.
While the State Department did not respond to requests for comment on the meeting, regional experts told Submariners World that the weapons request is no surprise given the Obama administration’s efforts to distance itself from Cairo.
“Putting aside how disconcerting it is that Saudi Arabia—which is so angry with Putin’s support to Assad—is earmarking funding for Russian weapons, a potential deal comes as little surprise,” David Schenker, director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Program on Arab Politics, told the Free Beacon.
“The Egyptians have a lot of Russian legacy systems in their current arsenal,” Schenker explained. “Washington was hoping to phase it out, and fully standardize on U.S. equipment, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
Egyptian leaders in the new secular government are still fuming over the Obama administration’s efforts to chill relations, Schenker said.
“The Egyptians were stung by the hold on U.S. weapons transfers [which were] related to Human Rights concerns,” Schenker explained.
At least 10 U.S. planes earmarked for Egypt are still docked at Fort Hood in Texas following moves by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.) to block the transfer as punishment for Sisi’s crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and its news organ, Al Jazeera.
The cutoff in U.S. arms came at a critical juncture for Egypt, which has had trouble combatting terrorists affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremist groups in the Sinai region near Israel.
“In the midst of a serious counterinsurgency campaign in the Sinai, and with a growing threat on the Libyan border, Egypt has not surprisingly come to the conclusion that it needs to diversify,” Schenker said. “The U.S. is no longer viewed as a reliable supporter.”
Schenker and his WINEP colleague Eric Trager warned in March that Egyptian “mistrust of Washington” was forcing a turn to Russia, which has foreign policy goals different that that of the U.S.
Sisi’s request for Russia’s Kornet anti-tank weaponry is perhaps the most significant. This is the same system Russia gave to embattled Syrian President Bashar al Assad, who, in turn, has allowed Hezbollah to access the system.
“Hezbollah, which had received these from Assad’s Syria, used these to great effect in 2006 against Israeli armor in Lebanon,” said Schenker.
“It’s unclear why Egypt needs these systems” and it could lead Israel to “complain, quietly, that this constitutes an erosion of” its qualitative military edge (QME) over its regional neighbors, which the United States has always promised to ensure.
However, Israel is not likely to press the case given its warmer relations with Egypt since the secular government took hold.
Questions also remain about how exactly the Egyptian military would integrate Russia’s MiG planes into its fleet of American-made F16 jets.
“This will prove both costly and a logistical mess,” Schenker warned.
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