Indian Navy validates military satellite Rukmini or GSAT-7's network in Bay of Bengal during recently concluded Tropex Exercise

The exercise saw the western and eastern fleets amassing across the Bay for the intensive combat manoeuvres in all the three dimensions of “surface, air and underwater.

(China can take out satellites http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Chinese_anti-satellite_missile_test)

ISRO photos via: www.isro.org

Rukmini or GSAT-7

Indian navy used India’s first-ever dedicated military satellite, Rukmini or GSAT-7, to seamlessly network around 60 warships ,75 aircraft and unspecified number of submarines during a massive month-long naval combat exercise in the Bay of Bengal that ended last week.

The location of the exercise “Tropex,” or the theatre-level readiness and operational exercise, was significant since India is steadily bolstering military force-levels on the eastern coast and Andaman and Nicobar archipelago to counter China’s strategic moves in the critical Indian Ocean region (IOR).The geostationary naval communication and surveillance satellite, which has a 2,000-nautical mile footprint over the IOR, beams signals from its UHF, S, Ku and C-band transponders to network all warships and aircraft with operational centres ashore through high-speed encrypted data-links.Tropex exercises of the Indian navy provided with an opportunity to validate its network-centric warfare capabilities with the effective utilization of GSAT-7 satellite, which was launched last year.

TROPEX 2014 - Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Exercise

Exercise Tropex (Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Exercise) involved combination of both the Eastern and the Western Fleets engaged in a month-long exercise.

US behind Turkey's purchase of Chinese HQ-9 long range surface to air missile system: Kanwa

The primary reason for Turkey, a major US ally and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to purchase the FN FS-2000, the export version of the Chinese HQ-9 long-range surface-to-air missile, was not to defend its airspace but to steal critical information regarding the missile for the United States, according to Kanwa Defense Review operated by Andrei Chang, a military analyst based in Canada, also known as Pinkov.

The government in Ankara also realizes how much pressure will be on them if they chose to purchase Chinese instead of American air defense systems.

Kanwa said that Turkey's new cross-harbor tunnel beneath the Bosphorus was completed with investment from Japan. As Japan is now a major advocate of Turkey's accession to the European Union, the report said it is impossible for it to become a security partner with China, which is engaged in a territorial dispute with Japan in the East China Sea.

As most of its weapons systems are from either the United States or other NATO powers, Turkey is unlikely to purchase Chinese missiles, Kanwa said, which is why Russia pulled its S-400 from the competition. Apparently, Turkey is trying to steal critical data from the HQ-9 for its allies through the purchase of the Chinese missile, following the example of South Korea when it previously did the same with the Russian-built Sukhoi Su-35 fighter.

Chinese People's Liberation Army WZ-10 attack helicopter crashes in Weinan

A Chinese PLAAF WZ-10 helicopter crashed in Weinan farmland. According to eyewitnesses the aircraft suddenly lost control after the tail rotor developed a snag. Fire and police officers rushed to the scene and the injured crew were taken to the hospital for treatment.

New order for Rheinmetall Oerlikon Skyguard air defence system from MENA region

Country undisclosed!!

Photo : Wikipedia

From Rheinmetall Oerlikon Skyguard website air defence systems

A nation from the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region has opted to expand its existing array of Rheinmetall Oerlikon Skyguard air defence systems, placing a follow-up order for Skyguard fire units. The new contract, which has now been signed, represents around €83 million in sales.Skyguard air defence technology, employed by over 40 countries around the world, has clearly lived up to this customer nation’s expectations. The existing basic contract, plus previous expansions, already accounts for sales volume of €582 million, meaning that the new order brings the total – including services and spare parts – to €665 million for this country.

Only recently, Rheinmetall booked new orders for air defence systems from a European country and an Asian nation worth a total of €50 million.Rheinmetall is one of the world’s leading makers of sophisticated short-range air defence systems. The Group is the market leader in cannon-based air defence and the only single-source system supplier of fire control technology, automatic cannon, integrated guided missile launchers and Ahead airburst ammunition.

Surplus F-16 Fighting Falcon's Converted Into Target Drones for Live Fire Combat Training!

US Navy to order 33 fewer F-35s than planned in next 5 yrs

The U.S. Navy is set to order 33 fewer Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets than originally planned over the five years starting in fiscal 2015 due to budgetary pressures, a defense official said.

In a move that will sharply slow work on the F-35 model built to land on aircraft carriers, the Navy will ask Congress to fund 36 F-35Cs instead of 69, said the official, who could not speak publicly ahead of Tuesday's release of the 2015 budget request.The Air Force is also deferring orders for four conventional landing F-35 A-models in fiscal 2015, but is expected to resume its planned orders for the jet in 2016 and beyond, said a second source familiar with the plans. It plans to order 238 in total.

The Marine Corps, which expects to start using its F-35 B-model jets in combat from mid-2015, is sticking to its projected orders of 69 jets for the period, the sources said.That adds up to 343 F-35s to be funded by the U.S. military through fiscal 2019, excluding three Marine Corps jets that could be added to the Pentagon's war funding request, which will be submitted in April or May.

India's DRDO develops Corner Shot rifle

India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a corner-shot rifle for the special forces that provides greater safety during counter-insurgency operations as its user is not in the direct line of fire, a top official has said.

The lightweight rifle is made of composite materials and is multi-calibre, capable of firing both 5.56 and 7.62 rounds. It is at present undergoing final tests at its small arms unit at Armament Research and Development Establishment in Pune.

Once the evaluation trials are over, the rifle design would be offered to a public or private sector industry for manufacture as per the government’s decision, and then made available to special forces like the National Security Guard (NSG), Indian Army and police units.

Raytheon, U.S. Navy test Tomahawk Block IV's latest communications upgrades on board USS Sterett

Tomahawk missiles loitering capability was tested after the latest communications upgrades.

With a range of approximately 1,000 statute miles, the Tomahawk Block IV missile is a surface- and submarine-launched precision strike stand-off weapon. Tomahawk is designed for long-range precision strike missions against high-value and heavily defended targets. More than 2,000 Tomahawks have been employed in combat. More than 500 Tomahawk flight and production validation tests have been completed. The missile is integrated on all major U.S. surface combatants, as well as U.S. and U.K. sub-surface platforms, including the Los Angeles, Virginia, Ohio, Astute and Trafalgar class submarines.

Raytheon Company and the U.S. Navy have successfully tested communications advancements to the Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile. During a February 2014 flight test, a Raytheon-built Tomahawk Block IV missile, launched from the USS Sterett, flew a preprogrammed route while receiving updates from a simulated maritime operations center and from advanced off-board sensors updating the missile's target location. 

Throughout the flight, the missile maintained communications with all the command and control assets and provided updates on its location before hitting the target.