U.S. Navy Carriers Prepare for X-47B Unmanned Aircraft Arrival Next Year

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Indian Navy commissions INS Sahyadri multi-role stealth frigate

India will be building total 12-15 INS Shivalik class frigates.

F49 INS Sahyadri

F 47 - INS Shivalik of the same class

Armament:
• OTO Melera 76mm SRGM
• 2 x AK-630 30mm guns
• 32 x Barak SAM [5]
• 9M317 (SA-N-12) SAM, total of 24 missiles
• 8 x Klub/Brahmos cruise Missiles [6]
• 90R missiles (ASW)
• DTA-53-956 torpedoes
• Klub ASW Missile
• 2x RBU-6000 (RPK-8)

2nd Boeing P-8I Neptune submarine hunter for Indian Navy Completes 1st Flight

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The second Boeing P-8I aircraft for the Indian Navy completed its initial flight on July 12, taking off from Renton Field at 3:29 p.m. and landing two hours and 14 minutes later at Boeing Field in Seattle. The P-8I, a derivative of the Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 commercial airplane, is the second of eight long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft Boeing is building for India.
The program is on plan and the Indian Navy is excited for the P-8I to join its fleet," said Leland Wight, P-8I program manager for Boeing.
During the flight, Boeing test pilots performed airborne systems checks and took the P-8I to a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet prior to landing. Boeing will begin mission systems installation and checkout work on the aircraft in the coming weeks.

Tracking Islamic Republic of Iran Midget submarines

U.S. has great difficulty tracking Iranian submarines: retired U.S. Navy commander

U.S. Navy Commander Christopher Harmer said that the United States has great difficulty tracking Iranian mini-submarines.   

 

Iranian mini-submarines are “a huge problem for us,” said Harmer, who served as the director of Future Operations for the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet in Bahrain from 2008 to 2009. 

 

Any submarine weighing less than 500 tons is generally regarded as a mini-submarine. 

 

“They are a threat to us because they can disperse them throughout the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, and it’s extremely difficult for us to track them,” he stated, adding that as a result, they can lay “in wait to execute an ambush.”  

 

The U.S. Navy is more accustomed to tracking large, Soviet-era nuclear-class submarines, something Iran knows well, Harmer added.  

 

He stated, “Looking for small subs in shallow water is much more difficult, because the acoustics are so much more difficult -- smaller makes less noise.” 

 

As a result, he added, the Iranian military “has prioritized these mini-subs and (has) gone into overdrive building them.” 

 

Five years ago, Iran had “no mini-subs,” said Harmer, who is currently a senior naval analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, adding that now Iran has 19 in service and is building an average of four per year, which is a “strategically significant” force.  

 

Iran also has “significant special operations capability,” including “extensively” trained frogmen, Harmer stated. 

 

According to U.S. military officials, while the diesel-electric powered Iranian mini-submarines have limited range, they have torpedo tubes and can quickly lay mines.

Boeing P-8I For India Begins Flight Test Program

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Boeing P-8I For Indian Navy to detect noisy Chinese Subs

Boeing's first P-8I aircraft for the Indian Navy began its official flight test program July 7, taking off from Boeing Field in Seattle at 9:15 a.m. and landing three hours and 49 minutes later after demonstrating flying qualities and handling characteristics. The flight went as planned with all test objectives met.

The P-8I is one of eight long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft Boeing is building for India as part of a contract awarded in January 2009. During the coming months, Boeing test pilots will put the P-8I, a Next-Generation 737-800 derivative, through its paces over a U.S. Navy test range west of Neah Bay, Wash., and a joint U.S./Canadian test range in the Strait of Georgia. P-8I flight and weapons testing follows on the heels of similar testing for the U.S. Navy's P-8A Poseidon. 

 P-8I is a variant of the Poseidon. In order to efficiently design and build the P-8I and the P-8A, the Boeing-led team is using a first-in-industry, in-line production process that draws on the company's Next-Generation 737 production system. Assembly is complete on the second P-8I aircraft and it will make its first flight in the coming weeks.The P-8I features open system architecture, advanced sensor and display technologies, and a worldwide base of suppliers, parts and support equipment.

Chinese Gatlin guns