The only thing that set the program back is the B STOL version. The other version seems OK. No country have ever successfully develop a supersonic VTOL fighter. The closest is the Russian Yak-104. But it was ended along with the Dissolution of Soviet Union.

did they enter illegally or did Ukraine allow them in? still got heavy fighting? 

The United Nations says its investigative teams found remnants of cluster bombs in Yemen’s northwestern region, where Saudi Arabia has been carrying out incessant airstrikes.

The UN human rights office said Tuesday that it had received reports that Saudi forces used cluster bombs in Hajjah Province, adding that a UN team found remnants of 29 cluster submunitions in the village of al-Odair.

The statement came hours after local sources in Hajjah said Saudi warplanes had once again used cluster bombs in airstrikes against the town of Vash’ha, killing six people and injuring three more.

SOS

(LEAD) KAI inks deal to jointly develop next-generation fighter with Indonesia

2016/01/07 15:32

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 2-3, 8-9; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) said Thursday that it has signed a formal deal to jointly develop its next-generation fighter plane with Indonesia.

The cost sharing agreement reached in Jakarta between KAI and Indonesia's defense ministry calls for Jakarta to foot 20 percent of the cost in the development of the Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) program.

The company also signed a second work assignment contract with its Indonesian counterpart, PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), outlining the future division of labor.


KAI President Ha Sung-yong © signs the work assignment agreement with PTDI head Budi Santoso in Jakarta on Jan. 7, 2016. (Yonhap)

"The contract effectively means all preparation for investment and division of labor related to the plane's development is concluded," the aerospace company said.

Starting in April, Indonesia will pay for 1 percent of the program, with its contribution to rise above 2 percent from 2017 onwards, it said. Overall, the Southeast Asian country will inject some 1.6 trillion won (US$1.33 billion) into the projected 8.7 trillion-won program.

KAI said PTDI will send 100 engineers to South Korea in May so they can take part in the structural design of the new aircraft and play a part in the various stages of development. U.S.-based Lockheed Martin will also take part in the development by providing aviation-related technologies and expertise.

Once the plane is built, Indonesia will get one prototype and various technical data and information.

The KF-X planes referred to as the Indonesian Fighter Experimental by Jakarta will be a twin-engine, 4.5 generation multirole fighter aimed at replacing existing aircraft in the inventory of the two air forces. In South Korea, it will take over the role of the aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 fighters, with the country also eyeing the export market.

Seoul, which ordered 120 planes, said it wants to get the planes in service by 2025 and wants to sell some 600 units to other countries. Under the IF-X program, Indonesia wants to get 50 planes.

"Successful development of the KF-X will expand bilateral ties between South Korea and Indonesia in the areas of national defense and economic cooperation," KAI President Ha Sung-yong said.

Ever since an understanding was reached with Indonesia on systems development on Dec. 28, the company has shifted its resources to move forward with the KF-X program, he said.

CIA?

The reasons for the uncertainty have to do with the estimated yield, seismic waves generated by the test and the technical complexity of building a hydroge

In contrast, a hydrogen bomb — to put it very simplified terms — involves a fission reaction which releases radioactive energy, which heats up a fusion fuel such as lithium hydride, which releases more energy, which sets off more fission reactions and culminates in a bigger, multi-megaton bang.

Another possibility, which several experts have introduced, is that North Korea could have detonated a “boosted” device made by adding tritium — a radioactive form of hydrogen — to a single-stage fission bomb.

In any case, the United States and its allies have ways to find out. The North Korean test chamber could vent isotopes into the atmosphere, which U.S. Air Force WC-135 Constant Phoenix planes — one of them possibly based in Okinawa — can then sniff for telltale signs of a hydrogen detonation.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) President and CEO Ha Sung-yong, third from right, poses with other participants at the Ministry of Defense of Indonesia in Jakarta, Thursday, after signing contracts with Indonesia’s defense ministry and the state-run defense firm PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) to jointly develop Korea’s fighter jet. Fifth from right is Defense Acquisition Program Administration Minister Chang Myoung-jin, sixth from left is Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu and second from left is PTDI President Budi Santoso. / Courtesy of KAI

Peter Jennings from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said he is not surprised the RAAF has chosen the option.

"The Gulfstream is smaller, faster, takes fewer crew so it's cheaper to operate."

Peter Jennings, Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

"Turning this aircraft from a business jet into something that can potentially be used for surveillance and electronic information gathering and I suspect that's the major intent behind this," he said.

The G550 is a luxury corporate jet boasting the ability to fly more than 12 hours nonstop, and over 12,000 kilometres.

It is powered by two Rolls Royce engines, can carry up to 18 passengers and operates out of short-field, high-altitude airports, meaning it could spy on remote and difficult locations such as Afghanistan.

Australia's current P3 maritime surveillance aircraft are due to retire in 2018, and will be eventually be replaced by the P8 Poseidon and Triton.

"The Gulfstream is smaller, faster, takes fewer crew so it's cheaper to operate," Mr Jennings told the ABC's PM program.

Today, Arabic daily Al-Massae reported that under the signed agreement, “Saudi Arabia is financing the implementation of a military industry project in Morocco with $22 billion.” Besides the funding, Saudi Arabia agreed to provide military intelligence to Morocco to help the Southern Mediterranean country to upgrade its status “from client to producer of weapons”, an unnamed source told Al-Massae.

Defense Industry Daily reported that several well-known companies such as Bombardier, Airbus, Safran and Thales are to open operations in Morocco in 2016.

Turkey has started to build a military training base in Somalia as part of its pledge to build up the national army for the Somali government, a senior Turkish diplomat has said.

Turkey has provided $400 million in aid to Somalia in recent years, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

"Advanced robotic systems of a new generation designed for military application are tested within the framework of development work. A number of them will be delivered to the army in 2016," Col. Gen. Pavel Popov said in an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper.

Platform-M is the latest such robotic combat system, created to fight without entering into contact with the enemy.

The Uran-6 is a multipurpose demining robot, powerful enough to replace 20 sappers.  It can be remotely operated from a safe distance of about one kilometer.

The Argo remotely-operated robotic platform can also swim, which makes it an ideal means of fire support for Marine landing units. The Argo is armed with a single 7.62mm machinegun and a troika of RPG-26 rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

YULA-N mobile mini-robot. Weighing about a kilogram, it can transmit information to an operator up to 100 meters away for a whole two hours non-stop.

Kadet – a miniature scouting robot which can also be used to haul small cargoes.

Indonesia Could Trump India as Japan’s US-2 Partner

by Neelam Mathews
January 6, 2016, 1:34 PM


The sole current operator of the US-2 amphibian is the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). (Photo: Chris Pocock)

India's aerospace industry stands to miss out on a production partnership for Japan's ShinMaywa US-2 amphibian aircraft, according to sources close to the situation. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi last month and stressed “the full potential of an India-Japan strategic and global partnership.” However, a deal proposed during their previous meeting in 2014 for final assembly in India of the US-2 remains unsigned. Indian defense industry sources speaking to AIN on condition of anonymity said that the delay might cause the Japanese to turn instead to Indonesia as a production partner.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense presented a detailed report on production arrangements for the amphibian in India last year, but Indian government paperwork for clearance of the project is yet to start. Meanwhile, though, Indonesia is increasingly concerned about Chinese expansion into the islands of the South China Sea. It also sees the potential for maritime rescue operations in Southeast Asia . Influential Indonesian politician Setya Novanto met Abe last November. “Japan cannot wait forever,” the Indian official told AIN.

The Indian Navy has an initial requirement for 12 US-2s, and the Indian Coast Guard recently requested another three. The envisioned missions include surveillance and reconnaissance, and logistics support and crew rotation to ships.

We are developing rangefinders that will allow more efficient use of infrared and night vision gear. These new rangefinders will be working on a wavelength, which makes the sniper invisible to the enemy,” Argus-NV Company’s general director Anton Safin told RIA Novosti news agency.

The Argus-NV gear is lightweight, small and sturdy with its powerful batteries ensuring fail-proof operation with heavy weapons under adverse weather conditions.

Argus-NV uses special brackets to install their scopes and caps on various types of weapons, including the VSS and SVD sniper rifles, Kalashnikov assault rifles and Pecheneg machineguns.

US-made cluster bombs found after recent Saudi coalition air strike



Big brother US don't wanna talk about Saudi 'war crimes violations' here?

The test flights touched down yesterday on the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands chain four days after its first landing on the 3km runway sparked an international outcry.

Pictures released by China's state news agency Xinhua showed dozens of people holding a banner and waving on the tarmac in what it described as 'our country's most southern airport.'

The Philippines denounced the flights and warned that if China was not challenged it was likely to impose an 'unacceptable' air defence zone over the area.

with 630,000 troops under arms and equipped with advanced hardware, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces had been slated to take wartime command of its own forces by December 2015, but the United States agreed to delay the transfer of command to allay the fears of South Korean conservatives until about the mid-2020s.

That means that the U.S. Army will keep the 210th Field Artillery Brigade and its M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System batteries in place at Camp Casey in Dongducheon

Seoul would likely be badly damaged. But apart from the loss to the city, the ROKAF would be more than capable of handling the Korean People’s Army during any conflict short of a nuclear war or direct intervention by the People’s Republic of China

The North’s KPA — while it is enormous — is mostly trained and equipped with antiquated Soviet hardware from the 1950s and ‘60s

North Korean forces are not likely to be a match for the ROKAF in a conventional set piece battle

North Korea’s most advanced tank is the P’okpung-ho — of which it has perhaps 500

vehicle is a poorly reverse-engineered version of the Soviet T-62 with elements drawn from the T-72 and other Chinese tanks

The rest of the KPA’s vast tank armada is comprised of antiquated Soviet T-55s, T-62s and Chinese and indigenous knockoffs of those Russian designs.

None of those machines are a match for the ROK Army’s nearly 1,600 modern indigenously built K1, K1A1 and K1A2 main battle tanks — let alone the new K2 Black Panther.

RKOA also has about three-dozen Russian T-80Us main battle tanks and thousands of older — but upgraded — M48Pattons to bulk up its forces.

The rest of the KPAAF is comprised of mostly of antiquated Chinese-built copies of the MiG-17, MiG-19 and MiG-21

North Korea’s air force would likely be annihilated by the ROKAF’s F-16C/Ds Fighting Falcons, F-15K Strike Eagles, FA-50s and eventually its Lockheed Martin F-35

The only wild card is North Korea’s dense air defenses — which are similar to the force Iraq fielded before Operation Desert Storm in 1991

Most of Pyongyang’s air defenses use old Soviet weapons like the S-75 Dvina, S-125 Neva and the S-200 Angara

North Korea may have gotten its hands on a reverse-engineered copy of the powerful Russian S-300 and 9K37 Buk systems

The ROK needs to invest in more PAC-3 — or Lockheed’s Medium Extended Air Defense System

South Korea country would suffer serious damage in such a confrontation, but the ROKAF is now strong enough to take on KPA