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April 27, 2012

U.S. to Remove 9,000 Marines from Okinawa, Japan




About 9,000 U.S. Marines stationed on the Japanese island of Okinawa will be moved to the U.S. territory of Guam and other locations in the Asia-Pacific, including Hawaii, under a U.S.-Japan agreement announced Thursday.
The move is part of a broader arrangement designed to tamp down tensions in the U.S.-Japan defense alliance stemming in part from opposition in Okinawa to what many view as a burdensome U.S. military presence.

It also reflects a desire by the Obama administration to spread U.S. forces more widely in the Asia-Pacific region as part of a rebalancing of U.S. defense priorities in the aftermath of a decade of war in the greater Middle East.
The agreement was outlined in a joint statement issued Thursday night by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and their Japanese counterparts.
Citing an "increasingly uncertain security environment" in the Asia-Pacific region, they said their agreement was intended to maintain a robust U.S. military presence to ensure the defense of Japan.
"Japan is not just a close ally, but also a close friend," Panetta said in a separate comment. "And I look forward to deepening that friendship and strengthening our partnership as, together, we address security challenges in the region."
The joint statement made no mention of a timetable for moving the approximately 9,000 Marines off of Okinawa. It said it would happen "when appropriate facilities are available to receive them" on Guam and elsewhere.
Under the new agreement, about 10,000 Marines will remain on Okinawa, which has been a key element of the U.S. military presence in Asia for decades. The U.S. also has a substantial Air Force presence on Okinawa.


April 25, 2012

Pictures from US-India naval exercises - Malabar 2012

Protecting the Indian ocean sea routes - from the Straits of Hormuz to the Malacca Straits is no easy job


Courtesy
http://navylive.dodlive.mil/



April 17, 2012

Cutting-edge Navy warship - USS Zumwalt- being built in Maine

USS Zumwalt photos


An enormous, expensive and technology-laden warship that some Navy leaders once tried to kill because of its cost is now viewed as an important part of the Obama administration's Asia-Pacific strategy, with advanced capabilities that the Navy's top officer says represent the Navy's future.
The stealthy, guided-missile Zumwalt that's taking shape at Bath Iron Works is the biggest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy.
The low-to-the-water warship will feature a wave-piercing hull, composite deckhouse, electric drive propulsion, advanced sonar, missiles, and powerful guns that fire rocket-propelled warheads as far as 100 miles. It's also longer and heavier than existing destroyers -- but will have half the crew because of automated systems.

Testing on a full-scale model of USS Zumwalt
 

 

 









 

April 1, 2012

China test its J-10 fighters near borders with India -Jets training over Tibet



http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/701550/Jets-training-over-Tibet.aspx

J-10 fighters of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force have conducted ground attack training over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the first operation of its kind for the air force of the Chengdu Military Region.

According to a report and photos released by the PLA Daily yesterday, the ground crew of the J-10 regiment fueled the fighters and loaded ammunition on the 3,500-meter-high plateau at temperatures below -20 C.

The fighters scrambled and attacked the targets with conventional bombs and laser-guided bombs. Sorties were made both during the day and at night.

Yesterday's reports were the second time that State media released photos of the J-10 fighter using laser-guided bombs.

In a joint massive live fire drill in October that incorporated air forces and air defense units as well as armor and artillery units, also held in Tibet Autonomous Region the J-10 also showed off its precise ground attack ability, the Ministry of Defense said on its website.

"The J-10 fighter was initially designed as an air superiority fighter, focusing on air combat and interception capability. But with modern sensors, avionics and land attack munitions, it can also perform well in ground attack roles," Bai Wei, former deputy chief editor of Aviation World Monthly and writer for the UK-based Air Forces Monthly, told the Global Times.

The J-10's activities on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have been relatively frequent in the past months.

"Operations on the plateau are a routine for the air force. The main obstacles for plateau operation are thin air, complicated weather conditions faced by ground crews and low oxygen density, which makes igniting the engines much harder," Bai noted.

On January 31, J-10 fighters made their first flight during the Chinese Lunar New Year on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with a typical air combat patrol payload, namely two mid-range air-to-air missiles, two short-range air-to-air missiles, and three external fuel tanks.