Western military sources to Israel: ‘Brace for Syrian missile attacks’

Yesterday, an Israeli newspaper stated that President Barack Obama's National Security Advisor Tom Donilon visited Israel secretly over the weekend and stated that it was an attempt to convince Israel not to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.

While the Obama administration is out attempting to persuade Israel not to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities, western military sources yesterday are advising Israel to prepare for a possible Syrian missile attack.

To make matters more concerning, a former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said that Israel is preparing for military action in Syria, if its chemical weapons end up in the hands of Hezbollah.

“The conventional wisdom should be that we cannot exclude a non-conventional attack on Israel,” he said. “We would have to pre-empt in order to prevent it. We need to be prepared to launch even military attacks...and military attacks mean maybe a deterioration to war.”

In February of this year, Israeli officials fear that if Syria’s President Assad falls from power, Hezbollah’s could obtain chemical and biological weapons that could be used against Israel and with Iran flexing its muscle and rhetoric against Israel, this presents intense danger for Israel.

These developments come at a time when Syria is on the verge of a full scale war within its borders, amounting to a full-scale civil war and with violence increasing, there are substantial fears of military strikes, in the form of missiles, into Israel.

On July 29, the Jewish day of Tisha B'Av, a day of mourning and fasting, Republican Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney is scheduled to visit Israel on a fundraising trip at the suggestion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Indian Army and DRDO co-operate to boost tank-killer Nag missile

The defence ministry’s (MoD’s) ambitious project to develop a world-class tank-killer missile has run into unanticipated trouble. But, encouragingly, instead of the customary blame game between the Army and the development agency—the Defence Reserach & Development Organisation (DRDO)—there is cooperation and a joint effort to overcome the problem.

The problem with the DRDO’s anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), christened the Nag (Hindi for cobra), is its range. For most of the day and night, the Nag unerringly strikes its targets out to four kilometres, the range that the army demands. But in extreme heat, especially in summer afternoons in the desert, the missile cannot pick up targets beyond 2.5 kilometres. Once the temperature cools, the Nag’s seeker differentiates again between the target and surrounding objects (or ground clutter).

Dr Avinash Chander, the DRDO’s missile chief, told Business Standard, “Even in the worst conditions, the Nag is 100 per cent accurate out to 2.5 kilometres. Except when the temperature is really high, it is also accurate at four kilometres. By the year-end, we will develop a seeker with higher resolution, which will be accurate at four kilometres in any conditions.”

The DRDO’s unusual frankness in admitting a problem has been matched by the Army’s unusual helpfulness in working through it. The Army has decided to buy 13 Nag carriers (NAMICA, being developed by BEL and L&T), and 443 Nag missiles in the current state. These will be deployed in areas like Punjab, where close-set villages, groves and electricity transmission cables seldom permit visibility beyond 2.5 kilometres. When the DRDO demonstrates improved performance with a better seeker, a larger order will follow.

“This is a top-class missile in every respect except for this problem. While we must have a range of four kilometres for the open desert, the reduced 2.5 kilometre range is acceptable for developed terrain like the Punjab. We will buy 13 Nag carriers and use these to familiarise ourselves with the system. And, in Phase II, we will order the four kilometre missile in bulk quantities,” says a top general who decides such contracts.

For the Army, the delay is a disappointment. Indian infantry formations badly need a potent ATGM to handle Pakistani tank forces that now bristle with capable Ukrainian T-80 and Chinese T-85 tanks. As far back as 2010-11, the Army had budgeted Rs 335 crore for the first batch of Nag missiles.

The DRDO, for whom this is a prestigious project, says that the Hyderabad-based laboratory, Research Centre Imarat (RCI), will soon develop a seeker that can work through the hottest desert temperatures. This will feature an improved Focal Plane Array (FPA), a detector on the missile tip that picks up the target’s infrared signal. Since the DRDO’s own FPA programme is still at an early stage, the Nag’s improved FPA will be supplied by French company, Sofradir. RCI will integrate Sofradir’s FPA into an improved Nag seeker.

A third generation ATGM like the Nag is amongst the most complex land systems. Here’s how it works. The Nag missile pilots scan the battlefield for enemy tanks with thermal imaging telescopes, which picks up targets by day or night with equal facility. Having picking up an enemy tank, the Nag pilot locks the seeker onto it. Immediately, a digital snapshot of the target is taken, which serves as a reference image. As the Nag streaks towards the target, at 230 metres per second, the seeker takes repeated snapshots of the target; each one is compared with the previous image. The deviations are translated into corrections to the Nag’s control fins, which autonomously steer the missile onto the target. This is termed a “fire-and-forget” missile, relieving the pilot of the need to expose himself to enemy fire after launching the missile.

The world has just a handful of “fire-and-forget” missiles, such as the FGM-148 Javelin, built by American companies, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon; and the Spike, built by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The Javelin and the Spike are lighter, “man-portable” missiles that can be carried by an infantry soldier; the Nag is a heavier and more powerful missile that operates from vehicles and helicopters.

But the Nag’s weight is turning out to be a problem. The Army is unhappy that the missile has weighed in at 40 kilos, instead of the 30-35 kilos that the Army had specified. This, senior officers say, makes reloading difficult. The DRDO has been asked to make it lighter.

The DRDO, however, argues that weight should not be an issue since it the Nag is carried on, and fired from, a vehicle, the NAMICA. Says Avinash Chander, “I don’t see why an extra five kg should be an issue. If the Nag were a man-portable, shoulder-fired missile, weight would be crucial.

But we will bring the weight down gradually. The Mark II Nag will be about 35 kilos, and we will continue to reduce weight.

Acceptance of the Nag missile into service will conclude the DRDO’s long-delayed, but eventually successful, Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

Initiated in 1983 by then DRDO boss, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the IGMDP set out to develop five missiles: the Agni and Prithvi ballistic missiles; the Akash and Trishul anti-aircraft missiles; and the Nag ATGM. Only the Trishul will have failed to enter frontline military service.

Airbus Military C295 MPA carries MBDA MARTE MK2/S Anti-ship Missile for first time

Airbus Military and MBDA have successfully completed the first flight of the C295 maritime patrol aircraft with an instrumented Marte MK2/S anti-ship inert missile installed under the wing. The flight was the first of a series of trials planned in a joint Airbus Military – MBDA collaboration to validate the aerodynamic integration of Marte on the C295. Subsequent flights will include handling qualities testsand aircraft flight performance tests.

This initiative successfully aligns with the Defence industry strategy shared by MBDA in Spain and Airbus Military. 

Airbus Military and MBDA have successfully completed the first flight of the C295 maritime patrol aircraft with an instrumented Marte MK2/S anti-ship inert missile installed under the wing. The flight was the first of a series of trials planned in a joint Airbus Military – MBDA collaboration to validate the aerodynamic integration of Marte on the C295. Subsequent flights will include handling qualities testsand aircraft flight performance tests.

                         

The MBDA Marte MK2/S missile is a fire-and-forget, all-weather, medium-range sea-skimming anti-ship weapon system, equipped with inertial mid-course guidance and radar homing terminal guidance, and capable of destroying small vessels and heavily damaging major vessels. The missile has a weight of 310 Kg and is 3.85 m long.

In the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role, the C295 is already in-service carrying the MK42 torpedo.

The Marte Mk2/S is already integrated on the AW-101 and the NFH-90 naval helicopters.

Iran’s Ballistic Missiles Becoming Deadlier, Pentagon Finds

Iran’s military continues to improve the accuracy and killing power of its long- and short-range ballistic missiles, including designing a weapon to target vessels, according to a Pentagon report to Congress.

“Iran has boosted the lethality and effectiveness of existing systems by improving accuracy and developing new submunition payloads” that extend the destructive power over a wider area than a solid warhead, according to the June 29 report signed by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

The improvements are in tandem with regular ballistic- missile training that “continues throughout the country” and the addition of “new ships and submarines,” the report found.

The report obtained by Bloomberg News was provided to the four congressional defense committees last week to comply with a fiscal 2010 directive to provide an annual classified and unclassified assessment of Iran’s military power. The unclassified version provides the latest snapshot of Iran’s so- called asymmetric capabilities designed to counter the strengths of western militaries.

The report summarizes what’s been said publicly about the status of Iran’s nuclear program and its aid to Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iraqi Shiite groups. It repeats the long- standing U.S. assessment that Iran with “sufficient foreign assistance may be technically capable of flight-testing” an intercontinental ballistic missile by 2015.

Two analysts who follow Iranian military developments said the report provides new details and emphasis on the nation’s conventional ballistic missiles.

Accuracy Improvements

“There was a theme that Iran is improving the accuracy and lethality of its missiles,” said Congressional Research Service Iran analyst Kenneth Katzman. “U.S. government reports have previously always downplayed the accuracy and effectiveness of Iran’s missile forces.”

“The report seemed pretty sober and respectful of Iran’s capabilities, crediting Iran with improving survivability,” Katzman said.

The Pentagon report was delivered as a European Union embargo on buying Iranian crude took effect on July 1, adding to a series of trade and financial sanctions the U.S., EU and United Nations imposed on the second-biggest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in an effort to pressure the Persian Gulf nation over its nuclear activities.

‘Formidable Force’

Iran “would present a formidable force while defending Iranian territory,” the Pentagon said in the report. “We assess with high confidence” that over 30 years Iran “has methodically cultivated a network of sponsored terrorist surrogates capable of targeting U.S. and Israeli interests,” it said. “We suspect this activity continues.”

Iran also continues to develop ballistic missiles with range to reach regional adversaries, Israel and Eastern Europe, including an extended-range Shahab-3 and a 2,000 kilometer (1,240 mile) medium-range ballistic missile, said the report.

Citing the Iranian threat, the Obama administration shifted from the Bush administration’s plans to place missile-defense sites in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic to an approach that would in four phases place closer to Iran some Aegis-class Navy missile defense vessels, ground radar and eventually land- based Navy Standard Missile-3 interceptors.

Lockheed Martin Corp., and Raytheon Co. are among beneficiaries of the envisioned systems.

Missile Emphasis

The report appears to confirm Iran has actively deployed a new solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile and that the Shahab-3 has improved accuracy and submunitions, said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

The report also disclosed that Iran is seeking to improve its missile counter-measures against U.S. and Gulf Cooperation Council missile defenses and poses a potential new threat to Gulf shipping, said Cordesman, who this week is publishing CSIS updates to his reports on Iran and the Gulf military balance.

Iran, like China, is “developing and claims to have deployed short-range ballistic missiles with seekers that enable the missile to identify and maneuver toward ships during flight,” the report found.

“This technology also may be capable of striking land- based targets,” the Pentagon said.

Katzman said the language about Iran possessing a “formidable force defending Iranian territory” seemed to be a “signal to advocates of military action against Iran, suggesting any action on Iranian soil will carry risk.”

The Pentagon highlighted three early 2012 war exercises by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ground resistance forces “meant to show offensive and defensive capabilities.”

The maneuvers “were the first significant exercises” conducted by this branch of the Iranian military since 2008, the Pentagon said.

Two missiles miss targets in Taiwan drill

Two of 26 missiles missed their targets when Taiwan's military carried out a live-fire exercise Monday, but officers in charge said they were happy with the result.

More than 2,300 soldiers were mobilised in the drill held in Chiupeng, a tightly-guarded missile base facing the Pacific Ocean in Pingtung county in the island's south.

The two missiles that missed their targets were a Hsiungfeng II (Brave Wind II) -- an improved version of the Hsiungfeng ship-to-ship missile -- and a Tien Chien I (Sky Sword I) surface-to-air missile, both of which were locally developed and manufactured.

A drone, supposed to serve as a missile target during the exercise, went out of control minutes after it was launched and fell to earth near to a house. No one was wounded in the incident, the military said.

Twenty-four other missiles, launched from aircraft, vessels and ground batteries, destroyed their targets in the drill, which was presided over by General Lin Chen-yi, chief of staff of the island's armed forces.

"General Lin is satisfied with the outcome of the manoeuvre," a military officer told reporters.

Previous drills have been less successful. In an embarrassing flop in 2011 six out of 19 missiles missed their targets or failed to explode during a live-fire missile test attended by the press.

Monday's manoeuvre is likely to have been watched carefully by China's People's Liberation Army, which currently has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the island, according to estimates by Taiwanese experts.

Tensions between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland have eased markedly since Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party was elected the island's president in 2008 on a platform of beefing up trade and tourism links.

Nevertheless, China still refuses to renounce the use of force against Taiwan should it declare formal independence, even though the island has governed itself since the end of a civil war in 1949.

The lingering threats have prompted Taiwanese authorities to stockpile thousands of missiles, which it has either purchased from the United States or manufactured itself.

Morocco becomes 10th AIM-9X Sidewinder missile international customer

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 8, 2012 -  The Kingdom of Morocco and the U.S. government executed a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) to purchase Raytheon's  AIM-9X Block II missile. The Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) is the world's 10th country to employ the AIM-9X Sidewinder infrared-guided, air-to-air missile and will be the fourth country with the AIM-9X Block II.

The AIM-9X Block II adds a redesigned fuze that offers a lock-on-after-launch and datalink capability to the AIM-9X Block I. The AIM-9X Block II missile is in the operational testing phase; Raytheon is currently producing AIM-9X Block II captive air training missiles.

"The AIM-9X Block II brings enhanced capability to the RMAF that will enhance security in the Middle East and North Africa," said Capt. John Martins, U.S. Navy Air-to-Air Missile program manager. "This sale is a win for both the U.S. and Moroccan warfighters because it enhances coalition air combat operations and also reduces the unit cost of the AIM-9X Block II missile through economies of scale."

Under the agreement, the U.S. government will provide the RMAF an undisclosed quantity of tactical and training AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder missiles for Morocco's F-16 fighter aircraft.

"This is the latest chapter of Raytheon's more than half a century commitment to the Middle East and North Africa," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air Warfare Systems product line. "More than 400 Raytheon employees and suppliers have built and delivered more than 4,000 AIM-9X Block I missiles for the U.S. and our allies worldwide."

The Royal Moroccan Air Force joins the air forces of Australia, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States as AIM-9X users. The weapon is currently integrated on the F/A-18 Hornet, F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon.

About the AIM-9X Block II

•     Raytheon has more than 10 years of continuous on-time delivery of AIM-9X.
•     AIM-9X Block II is in full-rate production.
•     AIM-9X reliability is approaching three times the required mean time between failure.

Secret Olympics deal gives minister power to shoot down aircraft over London

Minister could order firing of missiles from Leytonstone flats after agreement with local council, army chief tells high court

Residents protest against government plans to station missiles on the roof of the Fred Wigg Tower in Leytonstone. Photograph: Andrew Cowie/AFP/Getty Images

The defence secretary, Philip Hammond, could personally order missiles placed on top of a tower block in east London to shoot down an "unauthorised" aircraft approaching the Olympic Park following a secret agreement reached with the local council, one of the army's most senior officers has told the high court.

High-velocity missiles placed on the flats in Leytonstone amounted to "a goalkeeper system, as the last line of defence", according to General Sir Nick Parker, commander of UK land forces.

He revealed the nature of discussions within the cabinet and Waltham Forest council in evidence to the high court, where on Monday occupants of the flats will challenge the decision by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deploy the missiles.

The Fred Wigg Tower in Leytonstone is one of six locations chosen by the MoD out of 100 sites in London for their suitability in meeting "technical and operational requirements", Parker disclosed.

He added: "Following the on-site evaluation and my review, officials entered into discussions with the landowners to secure rights to use and access sites. In respect of the FWT [Fred Wigg Tower], confidential discussions with the chief executive (and through him the leader and leading councillors) of the London Borough of Waltham Forest led them to agreeing to grant a lease [of the FWT roof], on 19 April."

Parker said the plan to site the missiles in residential and built up areas was unprecedented. The deployment was approved by the cabinet's Olympics committee, which is chaired by the prime minister.

Parker warned the high court of the "dire circumstances" in which the missiles would be called upon - namely, "where an unauthorised aircraft, possibly one that has been hijacked, is making a determined approach to the park and has evaded all other forms of air defence and efforts to divert it out of the restricted airspace".

He added: "In those circumstances, where the alternative if the aircraft is allowed to proceed could result in huge loss of life in the park, [the defence secretary] has made clear he would give the order to shoot down that aircraft.

"The ability to shoot down an airborne threat using HVM [high velocity missiles], in this location, provides further options to ministers, and means that more time would be available for such a momentous decision. Ministers have been assured that shooting down a plane in such circumstances would be lawful."

Martin Howe, the lawyer representing residents from 61 of the 108 occupied flats in the tower block, said on Friday: "It is astonishing that a secret deal was done with democratically elected council leaders and council officials, for the MoD to use the roof of the Fred Wigg Tower as a missile battery and place explosives over the heads of men, women and children, without any form of consultation with them.

"The residents of the Fred Wigg Tower recognise there is a need to protect the Olympic Games, and none of them are saying that there should be no security for the Games."

"Whilst many Londoners might be surprised at the pre-authorised decision to potentially shoot down rogue aircraft over one of the most densely populated cities in the world, the issues to be decided by the court are of significant importance to the residents in Leytonstone and other sites all over London".

Israel - Navy wants better missiles on new vessels

Requirement for new missiles is based on desire to assist large IDF ground offensives in Gaza, Lebanon or Syria.

The Israel Navy is looking to install short- and long-range surface-to-surface missiles on new vessels it hopes to buy in the coming year.

The requirement for the new missile systems is based on the navy’s desire to assist large IDF ground offensives either in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon or Syria. The missiles could be used to attack enemy installations – bases or radar stations – and to provide fire support for ground forces.

“These missiles will give us the ability to play a more influential role,” a senior navy officer said.

In Israel’s recent wars and operations – the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead – the navy mostly enforced sea a sea blockade and provided minimal support for ground forces operating along the Gaza coast.

The navy is looking at a number of systems, including Israel Military Industries’ 160 mm Accular – a GPS-guided missile system with a range of 40 km., as well as longer-range missiles.

The navy is in talks with the Defense Ministry about the need for new vessels to more effectively protect Israeli gas rigs that are under construction in the Mediterranean Sea. It is seeking a larger platform than the Sa’ar 5-class corvettes it currently operates.

The vessel will have to accommodate an advanced radar system, a helicopter and a launch system capable of firing long-range air defense and surface-to-surface missiles. One possibility is to design the ships in the United States using foreign military financing and then build them at Israel Shipyards; another option is to build them in South Korea.

China's 'Carrier-Killer' Missile Prowess May Turn Out To Be Just A Bunch Of Hype

The 'Carrier-Killer'

The United States has been eyeing China's development of the DF-21D Carrier-Killer ballistic missile for years, concerned with the possibility of a multi-billion-dollar aircraft carrier sinking to the ocean floor in a broken pile of steel.

The media has added to the hype (BI Military & Defense included), but Harry Kazianis at The Diplomat reports that hype could very well be overblown.

Kazianis points to several accounts of the missile that may not be as accurate as originally believed, starting with a recent Focus Taiwan post saying a new ballistic missile base is being installed on the South China Sea.

From The Diplomat:

For one, the report states that “Military experts said the new missile base is equipped with DF-21D anti-ship missiles that have a range of 2,000-3,000 km and are potentially capable of hitting moving targets with pinpoint precision.” U.S. Department of Defense reports suggested the DF-21D missile has a range that “exceeds 1500km.” The article could be citing a widely panned estimate from the English Language China Daily that declared a 2,700km range, which more than likely was citing the DF-21A’s range in error.

The range of such a missile is very important. With rampant speculation that U.S. forces may or may not be able to defend against it, American commanders could be wary of bringing billion dollar naval assets within its sights. In an interview I conducted with RAND Corporation Analyst Roger Cliff back in January, he noted that “solid fuel rocket motors are difficult to shut off, so the amount of energy the missile uses will be the same regardless of what trajectory it is sent on, and it would be difficult for China to deceive the United States about the range of the missile.” Unless the Chinese have made advances to the missiles that are not public knowledge, the range the report cited seems overblown.

Taken together the stories have the perfect mix of rumor and fact that make them appear credible, and we'll continue to bring updates as they develop.