The Nato and US troops have started withdrawal of their equipments from Afghanistan after more than ten years of war. They are set to withdraw all their forces by the end of 2014.

Pakistan is a key transit route for the Nato mission in landlocked Afghanistan, from where it is driven to the border from the Arabian Sea port of Karachi.

First convoy carrying weapons, armoured vehicles and trucks reached Quetta, the capital of Balochistan amid tight security on Tuesday evening from Kandahar.

They are fighting together against the regime but not jointly with FSA.....there are groups within FSA that are backed by the Turkish....Turkey is pressing on the Syrian opposition to exert pressure on Kurds

everytime there's decommissioned assets they get excited

Nimitz Strike Group Visits Thailand
USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Public Affairs Release Date: 5/28/2013 1:14:00 AM

PHUKET, Thailand (NNS) -- The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), along with embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 23 and Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 11 escorted by guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) arrived in Phuket, Thailand today for a port visit. The Nimitz Strike Group is currently deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts.


Source: US Navy

Kashtan CIWS

U.S. Navy and Indonesian Navy Ships Get Underway for At Sea Phase of 19th CARAT Indonesia Exercise
Commander Task Group 73 Public Affairs Release Date: 5/28/2013 12:49:00 AM



From front to back, Republic of Indonesia Navy ships IDN KRI Oswald Siahaan (CVT 354), IDN KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda (FFG 367),
and the U.S. Navy amphibious dock and landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) steam in formation prior to a live-fire exercise
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jay C. Pugh/Released)






Source: US Navy

Words spreading around are Saudi, Qatar....US and Israel

Wiki says:

China army to conduct first "digital" exercise

Pentagon: The Chinese stole our newest weapons








Source: TV-Novosti

Indian navy warships call on South-East Asia

NEW DELHI : As part of India's policy to strengthen ties with South East Asia, a flotilla of Indian warships is visiting four countries in the region including the South China Sea, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.


The vessels are led by Eastern Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Ajith Kumar and include India's newly inducted stealth frigate INS Satpura, Rajput class destroyer INS Ranvijay, corvette INS Kirch and replenishment vessel INS Shakti with more than 800 crew.

After leaving Indian shores on May 20, the warships have carried out the Singapore-Indian Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) with their Singaporean counterparts and will soon visit Malaysia, Vietnam and Philippines before returning home the end of June.

The battleships will be on a five-day visit to Malaysia.

A passage exercise (PASSEX) has been planned with the Malaysian Navy which officials said would contribute towards furthering peace and maritime security in the region.

"The spectrum of this exercise encompasses both conventional war time drills and cooperative military action against unconventional threats in the maritime domain," Rear Admiral Kumar had told reporters at Port Klang in Malaysia.

The vessels will head to Vietnam after Malaysia before making a final port call to the Philippines. --BERNAMA


Note: PASSEX is an exercise done between two navies to ensure that the navies are able to communicate and cooperate in times of war or humanitarian relief.

This post has been edited by noavatar: May 29 2013, 01:41 PM

F/A-50 'Golden Eagle' to revive PHL air defense capability







Source: PTV News




This post has been edited by noavatar: May 29 2013, 02:36 PM

Indonesia to create its own "cyber army"

BRP Ramon Alcaraz outfitted with ASW capabilities

The Philippine Navy's (PN) second Hamilton Class cutter, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16), will be fitted with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability, a military spokesman said.

Alcaraz, now undergoing sea trial off the waters off South Carolina, is expected to leave the US and sail to the Philippines first week June. The ship is scheduled to arrive in the country by August.

Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic, the PN spokesman, said the ASW capability will be installed on the Alcaraz and a helicopter that will be assigned to her. ASW or Anti-submarine warfare capability refers to the capability to detect, track and destroy submarines.

"As an additional asset it will greatly improve our maritime domain/situational awareness (capability) because of its capable of long range deployment," said Fabic.

At present, the Filipino warship is believed to be carrying an 76mm Oto Melara automatic cannon, two 25 Bushmaster guns and assorted machine guns.

It is also reported to be carrying a Harpoon anti-ship missile system.

Also, since the ship is fitted with hangar facilities, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz can embark a naval helicopter that can further extend its monitoring and detection capability.

"A helicopter can be launched from the vessel allowing wider and further coverage," said Fabic, who also disclosed that additional surveillance equipment like radar can also be installed on the ship.

"As a platform, radar equipment like that of the littoral observation stations (coast watch stations) can be mounted for wider range data gathering. All of these will be linked in a shore facility for better command and control for effective decision making," the PN spokesman stressed.


Manila Bulletin

More than half the world’s people live within a circle superimposed over a section of Asia....roughly 51.4 percent of the global population

S-300 Air Defense Systems Deployed at Snap Alert Drills

MOSCOW, May 28 (RIA Novosti) – Four regiments of S-300 air defense systems have been deployed at the Ashuluk firing range in southern Russia as part of another snap combat readiness check of the Russian armed forces, the Defense Ministry said.

The regiments were airlifted on Thursday by military transport planes to designated drop zones where they will carry out a variety of missions simulating the defense of the Russian airspace from massive attacks by “enemy” missiles and aircraft.

“The missions will be carried out in conditions of heavy electronic warfare to test the capabilities of the air defense units to the highest limit,” the ministry said.

A total of 8,700 personnel, 185 warplanes and 240 armored vehicles are involved in the three-day exercise, overseen by Col. Gen. Vladimir Zarudnitsky, head of Russian General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate.





The surprise alert exercise, ordered by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, is part of a series of random checks of the Russian armed forces that began in February.

The previous two checks revealed a number of systemic shortcomings, in particular in the Central and Southern Military Districts, the Airborne Assault Forces (VDV) and military transport aviation units.

Alert duty officers in some military units demonstrated a slow response to processing orders via automated combat command and control systems, especially in the airborne forces and at the 201st military base in Tajikistan.

Other problems included poor accuracy in firing, especially by tanks and infantry fighting vehicle crews.

The Defense Ministry said in February that random inspections will now be conducted on a regular basis to insure constant combat readiness of the armed forces.


Source: RIA Novosti

Airbus Military pitches new C295W aircraft with winglets



Airbus Military has launched an enhanced version of its multi-role C295W aircraft with winglets and enhanced engine performance.

Revealed during a media briefing in Seville, Spain on 29 May, the aircraft serves to offer improved performance, in particular better fuel consumption.

‘It’s not a completely new aircraft, but different to what we have today,’ Gustavo Garcia Miranda, VP market development, explained. ‘It will be our basic aircraft configuration from the fourth quarter of 2014.’

The configuration will be applicable to all C295 versions and will allow the aircraft to operate in hotter and higher conditions, in alliance with the company’s agenda to focus on regions outside of Europe with funding and demand, namely South America and Asia.

‘The ceiling of the aircraft is much improved; 2,000ft higher,’ Miranda continued. ‘The level of improvement is big.’

The enhanced engine performance of the PW127 allows for a one tonne payload increase, while a 30 minute additional time on station opens the aircraft to more ISR missions.

‘We are starting to promote it to the market,’ Miranda continued. ‘We expect to certify it by the second quarter of 2014.’

The winglets are metallic aerostructures with composite attachments, which form a thicker central wing. Flight trials are expected to take place in January 2014, and then it will be certified by May 2014.

A project for an AEW&C configuration of the aircraft will now resume with the new winglets, while future developments could include the integration of new weapon systems.

Source: Shephard Press




First flight of a C-295 model, incorporating winglets for the C-295AEW. It is accompanied by another C-295 as support aircraft and filming.

USAF estimates F-35 will cost $32,000 per hour to operate





The US Air Force estimates that the Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter will cost about $32,000 per flying hour to operate, the service's top uniformed official says.

"I think we've normalised to a couple of numbers now, about $25,000 per flying hour for the [Lockheed] F-16 C/D model and about $32,000 roughly for the F-35," says USAF chief of staff Gen Mark Welsh. "That number may continue to adjust itself slightly as we decide what factors are in or not, but that gives us an idea now."

The cost numbers have come down from original estimates, Welsh says, and as the USAF gains more experience in operating the F-35 it will glean a better understanding of the type's long-term operating costs.

Flightglobal

U.S. sees lifetime cost of F-35 fighter at $1.45 trillion


(Reuters) - The U.S. government now projects that the total cost to develop, buy and operate the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be $1.45 trillion over the next 50-plus years, according to a Pentagon document obtained by Reuters.

The Pentagon's latest, staggering estimate of the lifetime cost of the F-35 -- its most expensive weapons program -- is up from about $1 trillion a year ago, and includes inflation.

While inflation accounts for more than one-third of the projected F-35 operating costs, military officials and industry executives were quick to point out that it is nearly impossible to predict inflation over the next half-century.

They also argue that no other weapons program's costs have been calculated over such a long period, and that even shorter-term cost projections for other aircraft do not include the cost of modernization programs and upgrades.

The new cost estimate reflects the Pentagon's proposal to postpone orders for 179 planes for five years, a move that U.S. official say will save $15.1 billion through 2017, and should avert costly retrofits if further problems arise during testing of the new fighter, which is only about 20 percent complete.

The Pentagon still plans to buy 2,443 of the new radar-evading, supersonic warplanes, plus 14 development aircraft, in the coming decades, although Air Force Secretary Michael Donley last week warned that further technical problems or cost increases could eat away at those numbers.

The new estimate, based on calculations made by the Cost Assessment Program Evaluation (CAPE) office, includes operating and maintenance costs of $1.11 trillion, including inflation, and development and procurement costs of $332 billion.

The Government Accountability Office last week projected it would cost $397 billion to develop and buy the planes, up from its earlier forecast of $382 billion.

The Pentagon office that runs the F-35 program office has a lower estimate for lifetime costs, although it is still around $1 trillion, according to two sources familiar with the estimates. Both industry and government have put a huge emphasis on reducing operating costs and keeping the plane affordable.

The new estimates are part of a revised F-35 baseline dated March 26 that will be sent to Congress on Thursday.

AVERAGE COST $135 MLN PER F-35

The new baseline forecasts the average cost of the F-35 fighter, including research and development (R&D) and inflation, at $135 million per plane, plus an additional $26 million for the F135 engine built by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp.

In 2012 dollars, the average cost of each single-seat, single-engine plane, including R&D, would be $112.5 million, plus $22 million for the engine.

This is the first year that the government has separated out the cost of the plane and the engine, and comparison figures were not immediately available. Lockheed Martin has said the average cost of the plane will be around $65 million to $70 million, based on 2010 dollars.

Lockheed Martin declined comment on the new estimate, saying it had not yet received the Pentagon's latest report.

Lockheed spokesman Joe LaMarca said the company still believed the new fighter jet would cost the same or less to operate and maintain than the seven legacy warplanes it will replace, while offering far greater capabilities.

INCREASES DUE TO GOVERNMENT CHANGES

Defense analyst Loren Thompson said three quarters of the cost increases on the F-35 program were linked to government changes in the scope of the program, and the way it was estimating costs.

For instance, he said, the Pentagon initially planned to station the plane at 33 bases, but later changed the number to 49. It initially calculated operating costs over 30 years, but then chose a longer timeframe of 50 years, he said.

"The program costs appear to be rising much faster than they actually are because the government keeps changing how it calculates things," Thompson said.

The Pentagon's proposal to postpone buying 179 planes for five years added $60 billion to the operations and support cost of the program, since those planes will now be delivered in later years when inflation is higher. The push also added two years to the duration of the program, according to an internal Lockheed calculation obtained by Reuters.

But Winslow Wheeler, a critic of the program, predicts cost growth on the program will be even greater than estimated by the Pentagon, given the complexity of the F-35 fighter.

Lockheed is developing three variants of the new plane for the U.S. military and eight partner countries: Britain, Australia, Canada, Italy, Turkey, Denmark, Norway, Australia and the Netherlands. They now plan to buy a combined total of 697 planes, down from 730 in the previous Pentagon estimate.


Source: Reuters

It is not as simple as just adding the winglet. For the C295W they have to strengthened wing to allow the installation of the metallic winglets adding 90kg to the planes's weight so they also have enhanced the engine (Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 engines). The winglets will boost payload, climb, altitude and cruise performance.

I don't know whether the Indon variant have undergone similar enhancement.