China military modernisation gathers pace

The leaked pictures of China's stealth plane have once again put the spotlight on China's military modernisation.

The US has the world's only operational stealth fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, and has been playing down the images that appear to show a working prototype.
But they are yet another sign of the shifting balance brought about by the rise of the country's economic power.
Their emergence coincides with a Chinese general's call to double official military spending, against a background of wider cuts in military budgets in industrialised countries caused by the global financial crisis.
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates - who is due to start his long-delayed visit to Beijing on Sunday - says the Pentagon wants to make further cuts of nearly $80bn (£51bn) over the next five years.
The US and its allies have played down any possibility of the early deployment by China of such an advanced aircraft.
But they have sounded the alarm about the expansion of Beijing's military capabilities, especially its Air Force, Navy and the Second Artillery Corps that controls China's ballistic missiles and nuclear arsenal.
Japan last month defined China as its main military concern, citing Beijing's increased assertiveness in the East and South China Seas.
More spending Beijing insists its military modernisation poses a threat to no one.

China has increased military funding as its economy has grown

The older generation of China's military used to take pride in having seized power from the ruling Kuomingtang Party in 1949 with "millet and rifles".
But three modern wars in other parts of the world have hardened the resolve of China's top brass to catch up militarily.
The conflict between the UK and Argentina nearly 30 years ago pushed the late leader Deng Xiaoping to slash one million army personnel so as to use the then limited military budget on improving hardware.
The two Gulf Wars further demonstrated the technological superiority of the US and its allies, and spurred Chinese leaders on a new drive to "informatise" the military by integrating new technology into equipment and operations.
China's official military budget quadrupled between 1999 and 2009 as the country's economy grew.
Last year, China announced a smaller-than-usual 7.5% increase to $76.3bn, causing quite a backlash among China's hard-line generals.
'Special requirements' To be sure, the US defence budget is still the biggest in the world at around $700bn, but China's is the second largest and the rate of increase may well go up this year.
In an article published in a Chinese Communist Party publication this week, General Jiang Luming, head of the military economics unit at China's National Defence University, called for "maximising national interest" by doubling China's military funding to 2.8% of GDP, which he said was the average of 132 countries since the end of the Cold War.
He said this was needed to meet "special security requirements" - an apparent reference to preparing for eventual reunification with Taiwan, safeguarding key interests overseas and offshore, and China being a socialist country without any military allies.
This last issue is compounded by the arms embargo imposed by the European Union following the military crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The Chinese government has been lobbying to get the sanctions lifted without success.
On various occasions, Chinese officials have said the 21-year-old EU arms embargo forces China to invest more in its own military research and development.
Perhaps Russia is the only country China could turn to for advanced military and space technology. But China seems to be learning very fast.
Some analysts believe the pupil is overtaking the teacher in many areas

China stealth plane still 'years away', says Pentagon

Photos of a possible Chinese-made stealth aircraft were discussed in China's state-run media

The US is playing down pictures that appear to show a working prototype of a Chinese stealth aircraft, invisible to radar.

The images - first published on websites - show what looks like a stealth fighter on a taxi run.
Beijing has not commented on whether the pictures - published ahead of US Defence Secretary Robert Gates' visit later this week - are genuine.
The Pentagon says China is still years away from deploying a stealth aircraft.
In late 2009 the deputy head of China's air force, General He Weirong, said the country's stealth fighter would be ready sometime between 2017 and 2019, reports said.
But US director of naval intelligence Vice Admiral David Dorsett said that it would be "years" before China's new fighter would be operational.
"Developing a stealth capability with a prototype and then integrating that into a combat environment is going to take some time," he said.

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The leaked photos of the prototype aircraft first appeared on military websites and blogs. They were said to have been taken at the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute.

The images were then discussed in the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper, in both its Chinese and English-language editions, although no comment was made on their authenticity.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper said China could begin test flights of the stealth jet as soon as this month, citing unidentified Chinese military sources.
Military build-up The world's only operational stealth fighter is the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, but Russia is also known to be working on its own prototype.
BBC defence correspondent Nick Childs says the aircraft certainly bears a superficial resemblance to the latest US stealth designs - and that may spook some in Washington.

And it will add to the concerns of those who have been warning especially of the increasing reach and capabilities of China's air force and navy, he adds.

The US has been watching closely as China increases its military capacity - in particular, its development of a so-called "carrier killer" missile, a land-based system which could sink an aircraft carrier from up to 1,800 miles (2,900km) away.
US battle groups - including aircraft carriers - are stationed in the South China Sea.
And in August, the Pentagon reported that China had been expanding its nuclear arsenal and submarine force, as well as upgrading its land-based missiles.

Gates cutting Pentagon budget by $78bn over five years

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has announced a $78bn (£50.3bn) military budget cut, to be achieved in part by scrapping a $14bn amphibious vehicle.

The cuts over the next five years come in addition to $100bn in internal savings already announced.
The cuts are the largest since the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
The defence budget was more than $700bn last year - representing the largest portion of the US federal government's discretionary budget.
While troop levels will shrink by 6% and some of the most expensive military hardware will be cancelled, funding for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - at a price tag of one trillion dollars and rising - will not be cut.
Cuts to weapons programmes are certain to encounter fierce opposition from members of Congress.
Senior positions cut Much of the roughly $178bn in defence cuts will come through reduced administrative costs, new organisational efficiencies, and slashed personnel costs, which the defence department called a "vigorous scrub of bureaucratic structures".The Pentagon's budget is expected to be $553bn in 2012, reflecting roughly 3% growth. After that, growth would slow and would be essentially flat in 2015 and 2016, the Pentagon said.

Mr Gates said much of the savings would be achieved by eliminating more than 100 general and flag officer positions, more than 200 top civilian defence positions, by cancelling redundant programmes and through reduced administrative costs.
As much as $100bn in savings would not be sliced from the overall budget, Mr Gates said, but would be reinvested in shipbuilding, missile defence, intelligence, reconnaissance, healthcare for wounded soldiers, and other programmes.
Among the major weapons systems set for the scrap heap is the amphibious Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), made by General Dynamics Corporation. In addition, the Pentagon will end an army surface-to-air missile programme.
Mr Gates has been sceptical about whether large military vehicles, like tanks and EFVs, will continue to be crucial military instruments as engagement in modern warfare changes.

Programmes marked for new investment

• Repair and refurbishment of Marine Corps equipment used in Iraq and Afghanistan
• New unmanned aircraft
• New ships, including a destroyer, a littoral combat ship and an ocean surveillance ship
• Updating the army's tank fleet

He has previously said the enemy has developed sophisticated weapons capable of attacking ships waiting close to shore.

Other cost-cutting measures announced by Mr Gates include plans to cut orders for the F-35 joint strike fighter over the next three to five years to compensate for repeated delays in development and testing.
He said he wanted to end the post-9/11 Pentagon's "culture of endless money where cost was rarely a consideration".
The major weapons programmes cuts are likely to encounter opposition from US congressmen and senators in whose constituencies the arms are manufactured.
"I'm not happy," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard McKeon told reporters. He said the cuts were greater than defence companies had been expecting.

UAE To Restart Rafale Talks

UAE To Restart Rafale Talks

UAE To Restart Rafale Talks | AVIATION WEEK

By Michael A. Taverna

PARIS — The United Arab Emirates has signaled that negotiations to acquire France’s advanced Rafale combat aircraft can restart, French press reports say.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and commander of the UAE armed forces, requested that Paris renew its proposal to sell up to 60 Rafales to the UAE during a visit to Paris in mid-December, the reports say.

The Emirates broke off talks last summer, seemingly piqued over the premature disclosure of details and other issues, and requested information from Boeing on a possible F/A-18 buy.

French Defense Minister Alain Juppe — speaking in the margins of a New Year’s address by President Nicolas Sarkozy at St. Dizier air base in eastern France, home of the first two Rafale air force squadrons — confirmed that the UAE proposal is again “on the right track.”

Juppe added that negotiations with Brazil, another potential Rafale customer, also are still active

The resumption of discussions with the UAE also may have been facilitated by a French decision, announced Jan. 3, to clear the acquisition of 200 Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles.

Defense budget constraints had caused concern that the production award for the missile, which is thought to be high on the list of Rafale equipment items desired by the UAE, might be deferred or reduced (Aerospace DAILY, Jan. 5).

The UAE wish list also is said to include upgraded M88 engines better suited to Middle East conditions, active electronically scanned radar, the Damocles targeting pod and Reco NG reconnaissance pod.

A partial squadron of Rafale F3 multirole aircraft equipped with the Reco NG and Damocles is standing up at a new French base in Abu Dhabi to show off the aircraft’s capabilities, backed up by a naval and air force deployment in the Afghan theater begun last month.

However, significant hurdles remain, including UAE demands that France find a buyer for 60 Mirage 2000 fighters currently in its inventory.

Largest Indo-French Naval Exercise Yet From Today

Largest Indo-French Naval Exercise Yet From Today

Largest Indo-French Naval Exercise Yet From Tomorrow

Exercise Varuna 2011, starting tomorrow in the Arabian Sea off Goa, is a major part of the French Navy's Agapanthe 2010 deployment. This bilateral exercise will involve nine ships, including two aircraft carriers: INS Viraat (with Sea Harriers and Seaking) and FS Charles De Gaulle (strike group composed of E2C, Rafale and SEM).

The 7 other units are the following: Indian frigates INS Godavari and INS Ganga, Class-209 submarine INS Shalki, French destroyers FS Forbin and FS Tourville, fleet tanker FS Meuse and nuclear submarine FS Améthyste. Shorebased maritime patrol aircraft will also participate in the exercise.

Exercise Varuna will start with a harbour phase in Mormugao (7-10 January), followed by a phase at sea (11-14 January). The phase off Goa includes air operations, submarine exercises, surface exercises as well as replenishment at sea.

http://livefist.blogspot.com/2011/01...rcise-yet.html

Seoul rejects Pyongyang's talks offer

Seoul rejects Pyongyang's talks offer

South Korea has rejected a North Korean call for unconditional talks to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula, saying the offer was "propaganda."

"North Korea previously issued statements like this early in the year ... they are normally done as part of (a) propaganda campaign towards the South," a Unification Ministry official willing not to be identified said Thursday, Reuters reported. 

Pyongyang's offer for talks was considered an empty gesture. "We do not consider this as a serious proposal for dialogue. It is not even in the correct and appropriate format," the informed official added. 

Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea announced that it was ready for an "unconditional and early opening of talks" with the South amid high tension on the peninsula. 

The North's call for talks comes after the United States met Chinese and South Korean officials for talks about how to calm the Korean Peninsula.

Tensions have been high between the two Koreas since a deadly artillery exchange on an island last November. 

Pyongyang said it shelled the area as a result of provocations by Seoul. South demands an apology after North Korea's deadly shelling of the island. 

The crisis further deepened over rounds of joint military drills South Korea held with the United States despite threats of retaliation from Pyongyang.

US sets up center for 'secret war'

US sets up center for 'secret war'

According to incumbent and former US officials, the center, run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), keeps an eye on the growing use of special operation strikes against individuals. 

"The new center would be a significant step in streamlining targeting operations previously scattered among US and battlefields abroad and giving elite military officials closer access to Washington decision-makers and counter-terror experts," the officials revealed to the Associated Press. 

"The center is staffed with at least 100 counter terror experts fusing the military's special operations elite with analysts, intelligence and law enforcement officials from the FBI, Homeland Security and other agencies," they said. 

The new military center focuses on "the offensive end of counter-terrorism, tracking and targeting terrorist threats that have surfaced in recent years from Pakistan to Yemen and Somalia and other hot zones." 

The revelation comes while the US military has already increased the number of special operations and commando raids in Afghanistan. 

A surge in unauthorized CIA-operated drone attacks in Pakistan along with NATO operations along the the country's border has sparked criticism from officials in Islamabad and given rise to the anti-US sentiment in the affected tribal regions. 

"We've gone from 30-35 targeted operations a month in June 2009 now to about 1,000 a month," said NATO spokeswoman Maj. Sunset Belinsky. 

The raids, which Washington claims to be aimed at weeding out pro-Taliban militants, often come at night and often claim many civilian lives in Pakistan. 

US officials noted that several other centers dubbed military intelligence "fusion" offices are already operating in Iraq and Afghanistan.