February 26, 2012
February 16, 2012
Sri Lanka Air Force MIG-27 crashes - Pilot unhurt
Feb 13, Colombo: A MIG-27 fighter jet of Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) has crashed today while on a training mission, the SLAF reported.
The fighter jet belonging to the Sri Lanka Air Force No. 12 Jet Squadron at Katunayake crashed in an area called Dummalasooriya, 17 nautical miles away from Katunayake.The pilot Flight Lieutenant Tharidu Herath has executed a controlled ejection to safety. There was no life or property damage has been reported on the ground, the Air Force said.
The Air Force Commander Air Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama has appointed a board to investigate the incident further.
February 10, 2012
India Tests Advanced Interceptor Missile
Interceptor missile
Aggressor missile
Detailed video of previous test
India today conducted a successful test launch of its endo-atmospheric interceptor missile., part of the country's ballistic missile defence (BMD) programme DRDO’s Air Defence Missile AAD-05 (Photo 1) successfully hit a modified Prithvi ballistic missile (Photo 2) and destroyed it at a height of 15 kms off the coast of Orissa near Wheeler Island. Radars located at different locations tracked the incoming ballistic missile. With the target trajectory continuously updated by the radar, the onboard guidance computer guided the AAD-05 towards the target missile. The onboard radio frequency seeker identified the target missile, guided the AAD-05 to hit the target missile directly and destroyed it. Radar and Electro Optic Tracking Systems (EOTS) tracked the missile and also recorded the fragments of the target missile falling into the Bay of Bengal. The interceptor hit the incoming ballistic missile directly and destroyed it at an altitude of 15-km.
February 8, 2012
After success of 3,200- 3,700 km range Agni IV , India to test 5000 km range Agni V shortly
This can reach all targets in China
USS Independence (Littoral Combat Ship)
Ordered: 14 October 2005
Builder: Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama
Laid down: 19 January 2006
Launched: 29 April 2008
Christened: 4 October 2008
Homeport: Naval Base San Diego (planned)
Status: Under construction
Class and type: Independence-class littoral combat ship
Displacement: 2,176 tons light, 2,784 tons full, 608 tons deadweight
Length: 127.4 m (418 ft)
Beam: 31.6 m (104 ft)
Draft: 14 ft (4.27 m)
Propulsion: 2× gas turbines, 2× diesel, 4× waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4× diesel generators
Speed: 40+ knots, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint
Range: 4,300 nm at 20+ knots[1]
Capacity: 210 tonnes
Complement: 40 core crew (8 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew
Sensors and
processing systems:
* Sea Giraffe 3D Surface/Air RADAR
* Bridgemaster-E Navigational RADAR
* AN/KAX-2 EO/IR sensor for GFC
Electronic warfare
and decoys:
* EDO ES-3601 ESM
* 4× SRBOC rapid bloom chaff launchers
Armament:
* BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun[2]
* 4× .50-cal guns (2 aft, 2 forward)
* Evolved SeaRAM 11 cell missile launcher
* 32 missile Vertical Launch System
* 8 Harpoon missiles
* 2 Close-in Weapons Systems
* 6 ASW Torpedoes
* Mission modules
Aircraft carried:
* 2× MH-60R/S Seahawks
* MQ-8 Fire Scout
February 5, 2012
Interesting Story: Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research found shipwreck with £2 billion of platinum bars - British merchant ship SS Port Nicholson sunk during World War II
The platinum was a payment from the Soviet Union to the U.S. for war supplies in 1942
PORTLAND, Maine: A treasure hunter said on Wednesday he has located the wreck of a British merchant ship that was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Cape Cod during World War II while carrying what he claims was a load of platinum bars now worth more than $3 billion.
If the claim proves true, it could be one of the richest sunken treasures ever discovered.
But an attorney for the British government expressed doubt the vessel was carrying platinum. And if it was, in fact, laden with precious metals, who owns the hoard could become a matter of international dispute.
Treasure hunter Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research in Gorham, Maine, announced that a wreck found sitting in 700 feet (213 meters) of water 50 miles (80 kilometers) offshore is that of the S.S. Port Nicholson, sunk in 1942. He said he and his crew identified it via the hull number using an underwater camera, and he hopes to begin raising the treasure later this month or in early March with the help of a remotely operated underwater vessel. "I'm going to get it, one way or another, even if I have to lift the ship out of the water," Brooks said.
The claim should be viewed with skepticism, said Robert F. Marx, an underwater archaeologist, maritime historian and owner of Seven Seas Search and Salvage LLC in Florida. Both an American company and an English company previously went after the contents of the ship years ago and surely retrieved at least a portion, Marx said. The question is how much, if any, platinum is left, he said. "Every wreck that is lost is the richest wreck lost. Every wreck ever found is the biggest ever found. Every recovery is the biggest ever recovery," Marx said. Brooks said the Port Nicholson was headed for New York with 71 tons of platinum valued at the time at about $53 million when it was sunk in an attack that left six people dead.
Treasure hunter Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research in Gorham, Maine, announced that a wreck found sitting in 700 feet (213 meters) of water 50 miles (80 kilometers) offshore is that of the S.S. Port Nicholson, sunk in 1942. He said he and his crew identified it via the hull number using an underwater camera, and he hopes to begin raising the treasure later this month or in early March with the help of a remotely operated underwater vessel. "I'm going to get it, one way or another, even if I have to lift the ship out of the water," Brooks said.
The claim should be viewed with skepticism, said Robert F. Marx, an underwater archaeologist, maritime historian and owner of Seven Seas Search and Salvage LLC in Florida. Both an American company and an English company previously went after the contents of the ship years ago and surely retrieved at least a portion, Marx said. The question is how much, if any, platinum is left, he said. "Every wreck that is lost is the richest wreck lost. Every wreck ever found is the biggest ever found. Every recovery is the biggest ever recovery," Marx said. Brooks said the Port Nicholson was headed for New York with 71 tons of platinum valued at the time at about $53 million when it was sunk in an attack that left six people dead.
February 4, 2012
Indian Navy stages Milan 2012 naval exercise with 14+ countries
Australia, ,Bangladesh, Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Philippines, New Zealand and Thailand Navies take part
__________________________________________________
February 01, 2012: Milan 2012, the biennial congregation of littoral navies of the Asia-Pacific region is being conducted at Port Blair from February 1 to 6, 2012, wherein 14 countries are participating. The participating countries include Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
As a curtain raiser to Milan 2012 and in order to apprise the media about the events during the Milan 2012, a press conference was held onboard INS Kesari at 1100 hrs on January 31, 2012.
February 2, 2012
February 1, 2012
Bangladesh Army Pics - Type 69 tank, tank crew , training, artillery and infantry weapons
Some of the pictures taken during the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny
$ 10-16 billion dollar deal : India on Tuesday selected the French Fighter Rafale over the Eurofighter Typhoon in a multi-billion dollar contract for the supply of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA)
India on Tuesday selected the French Fighter Rafale over the Eurofighter Typhoon in a multi-billion dollar contract for the supply of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) — the country's largest defence deal to date.
Interestingly, for a company that faltered at the start, with the Defence Ministry indicating that the Rafale was out of the race, Dassault made a comeback and went on to win the bid.
The decision to open exclusive negotiations with Dassault was acclaimed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who praised the “very high-level, fair and transparent competition involving the two European finalists.”
While expressing disappointment over the development, Cassidian — the defence and security division of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, which manufactures the Typhoon — maintained in a statement that it had offered the IAF the most modern aircraft available.
Sources in the Defence Ministry said the product was picked up on the basis of it being the Lowest Bidder (L1), a decision arrived at after complex calculations, including the life-cycle costs. The two aircraft were chosen from a list of six, including U.S. Boeing (F/A18) and Lockheed Martin (F-16), Russian MiG-35 and Swedish Saab (Gripen), in April last year.
The deal is estimated to be worth $10.2 billion (Rs.54,000 crore). The plan includes acquiring 126 aircraft, 18 of them in fly-away condition and the rest to be made in India at the Hindustan Aeronautics facility under transfer of technology.
For France, the deal is the third big defence contract that has come its way. In the current financial year, the Government of India cleared the $2.4 billion upgrade of 51 Mirage-2000 aircraft and the $970 million supply of MICA fire-and-forget missile for the same aircraft.