Australia and NZ Expand Defense Cooperation

WELLINGTON - New Zealand Defence Minister Wayne Mapp and his Australian counterpart, Stephen Smith, held their annual meeting Feb. 10 here and announced that Australia will have access to New Zealand's amphibious ship HMNZS Canterbury through a joint forces initiative.
"Today's meeting provided both countries with the opportunity to discuss strategic defense and security priorities in the region … and to give our respective defense organizations the strategic guidance they need for our essential and growing bilateral cooperation in 2011," Smith said.

The ministers asked secretaries in their respective departments to produce a joint report by July 31, detailing preliminary proposals to improve bilateral engagement structures and strengthen strategic bilateral exchanges.
The report is expected to detail proposals to ensure cost-efficient cooperation, notably complementary military capabilities, and the efficient implementation of ANZAC policies.
The ministers noted that the Pacific-focused Ready Response Force (RRF), initiated in September 2009, will be finalized in March, with New Zealand Defence Force personnel to be placed at the Deployable Joint Forces Headquarters in Brisbane.
"We have agreed that, to maintain a robust capability to respond to regional contingencies, the Australian and New Zealand defense forces will jointly develop and exercise plans under the RRF for a common response to contingencies, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," Mapp said.
The ministers also announced the sharing of key capabilities, including HMNZS Canterbury, as part of the RRF banner, with a view to early opportunities to exercise planning functions and amphibious interoperability.
"HMNZS Canterbury's amphibious-lift capability will be particularly important in our region over the next few years [as] the Royal Australian Navy faces challenges in amphibious capability," Smith said.
"The integration of HMNZS Canterbury in this way is a practical example of ANZAC cooperation which can benefit our region, particularly in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," he said.
The ministers also highlighted the successful reinvigoration of the Australia-New Zealand Airlift Agreement, an initiative developed at the previous defense ministers meeting in Sydney in 2009.
As well, Mapp announced that New Zealand will provide a maritime surveillance adviser to the Cook Islands in support of the patrol boat given to that country by Australia.
In addition, both countries will expand their cooperation in English language training for regional militaries, starting with Vietnam, to increase the number of personnel eligible for training courses in New Zealand and Australia.

S. Korean Firm Wins Contract To Supply F-15 Displays

SEOUL - LIG Nex1, a leading precision electronics maker in South Korea, signed a contract Feb. 9 with U.S. defense company Rockwell Collins to deliver 20 more heads-up display (HUD) systems for F-15 fighter jets, the company announced.

LIG Nex1 will produce 20 more heads-up display systems for F-15 fighter jets. The South Korean company's total HUD orders are 150, worth about $45 million. (Boeing)

The contract was signed by LIG Nex1 President and CEO Lee Hyo-koo and Kevin Lynch, vice president of Rockwell Collins Head-Up Guidance Systems, in Portland, Ore., a LIG Nex1 spokesman said.

LIG Nex1 has been manufacturing HUDs since 2004. The latest deal brings total orders to 150, worth more than 50 billion won ($45 million), the company said in a news release.
The company won a subcontract with Rockwell Collins to develop the HUD system as part of an offset deal with Boeing, which won the first two parts of South Korea's F-X fighter acquisition program. Boeing will deliver 60 F-15K fighters.
Under the F-X program, South Korea aims to purchase 120 advanced combat aircraft by 2020 to replace an aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 fighters.
"It's meaningful that our defense technology has been recognized by the United States, which is apparently leading the world's aerospace business," the release said.
Currently, six nations operate the F-15. They are the United States, Israel, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.
The HUD presents data without requiring the pilot to look away from his or her usual viewpoint, improving situational awareness. It sits above the instrument glare shield and allows the pilot to look forward onto a transparent screen called the optical combiner.
Besides the HUD, LIG Nex1 is moving ahead with manufacturing the new plane's Multi Function Display and Flight Control Computer, according to the release.

Boeing Touts Version of JSF Engine for Bomber

A version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's Pratt and Whitney's engine might be capable of powering the U.S. Air Force's prospective new bomber, Boeing's military engines chief said on Feb. 10.
If the long-range strike aircraft is not "as ambitious" as previously envisioned, as suggested by Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff, then a version of the fighter engine could be adapted for the bomber, said Warren Boley of Boeing. Given Schwartz's statement, made Feb. 9 during the National Defense Industrial Association's Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict Symposium, the new aircraft could be subsonic and use proven, off-the-shelf technology, Boley said.

"So the future bomber may be much more off the shelf, much more proven technology, it may be a subsonic bomber, it may use a proven [F-35 Pratt and Whitney] F-135," he said.
Previously, a senior industry official familiar with long-range strike aircraft programs had said both the F-22 Raptor's F-119 engine and the F-135 consume fuel far too quickly to be used on such a long-endurance strike platform. Instead, the official had suggested using high-efficiency advanced turbofans or perhaps Pratt and Whitney's geared turbo-fan engines.
However, Boley said the 8-foot diameter of a geared turbo-fan engine was likely too large for a new bomber. He added that the F-135 would "most definitely" be suitable for a long endurance aircraft.
The company is developing the PW9000 engine, which uses the F-135 low pressure compressor mated to the core from a geared turbo-fan engine. The engine may be used on the Navy's Unmanned Carrier Launch Surveillance and Strike aircraft, he said.
If the Air Force's new bomber was more ambitious, the developmental Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (ADVENT) engines being developed under a U.S. government contract by General Electric and Rolls Royce might be applicable, Boley said. While Pratt and Whitney is not receiving government funding, he added, it is developing similar technology internally.
The ADVENT technology would be especially useful if the bomber is supersonic, Boley said. However, the technology is also useful for managing the aircraft's signature and generating large amounts of electrical power for sensors and other ancillary systems, he said.

Pakistan May Be Expanding Nuclear Site: Report

WASHINGTON - Pakistan appears to be increasing its production of nuclear materials with the apparent construction of a fourth reactor at its Khushab nuclear site, according to a U.S.-based think tank.
Releasing satellite images from Jan. 15, the Institute for Science and International Security said in a report Feb. 9 that the pictures showed the early construction of a fourth military nuclear reactor set to be the same size as two of the other buildings.

"Pakistan is determined to produce considerably more plutonium for nuclear weapons," ISIS said in its report, noting that since the announcement of its first reactor at the Khushab site in 1998, the nuclear power began constructing a second reactor around 2000-2002, and began building a third in 2006.
Pakistan has reportedly doubled its nuclear arsenal over the past several years, increasing its stocks to more than 100 deployed weapons.
Only four years ago the country's arsenal was estimated at 30 to 60 weapons, but has since stepped-up its production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium.
"They have been expanding pretty rapidly," ISIS president David Albright noted late last month, the Washington Post reported, with Islamabad edging ahead of its nuclear-armed rival India, estimated to have somewhere between 60 to 100 weapons.

Philippines And Muslim Rebels Revive Peace Talks

KUALA LUMPUR - The Philippine government and the nation's main Islamic separatist group agreed Feb. 10 to push ahead with a faltering peace process after meeting for the first time in two years.
The government hailed the meeting as a success, saying it yielded "agreements on substantive issues" and that the two sides agreed to "fast track the peace process" with another round of talks scheduled for next month.

The meeting in Kuala Lumpur also covered concerns over the emergence of a breakaway rebel faction that authorities say could undermine efforts to end one of the world's longest-running insurgencies.
The two sides said in a joint statement that they "discussed issues related to" feared rebel commander Ameril Umbrakato's split from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which was announced over the weekend.
In their first round of talks since Philippines President Benigno Aquino came to power last year, they agreed to renew the mandate of the international monitoring team in the troubled southern region for another 12 months.
They also exchanged drafts on their positions and agreed to meet again, possibly on March 29 and 30.
Chief Philippines negotiator Marvic Leonen said he opened the talks by declaring that: "We come to work with you to bring peace, not just aspire for it" and admitting a need to address historical injustices.
The government quoted MILF chief representative Mohagher Iqbal as backing its goal of reaching a settlement within one year and voicing optimism that they were now "closer to peace".
During the talks in the Malaysian capital, Leonen raised concerns over Umbrakato's departure from the 12,000-strong group which he has said could render the MILF unable to deliver on any peace settlement.
The MILF has been fighting for an independent Muslim homeland on the southern island of Mindanao since the 1970s. The conflict has claimed 150,000 lives, according to the government.
Umbrakato, who quit the rebel organization seven months ago, taking at least a thousand fighters with him, is one of two MILF senior commanders who launched deadly attacks across mostly Christian communities on Mindanao in 2008.
The attacks were in retaliation for a Supreme Court decision outlawing a proposed land deal that would have given the rebels control over what they claim as ancestral lands on Mindanao.
The attacks, which forced the suspension of the peace process until now, left nearly 400 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Both sides agreed to a new ceasefire in 2009, allowing most of the evacuees to return home.
Aquino assumed power last year, promising to bring an end to the insurgency during his six-year term.

Blast kills 10 at army facility in north-west Pakistan

A blast has killed at least 10 people at an army recruitment centre in Pakistan's troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police say.

The explosion occurred during a military parade at the centre in the city of Mardan.
Police say it may have been carried out by a suicide bomber.
There had been a relative lull in attacks on the army in the region, where Taliban militants are active, correspondents say.
According to private Pakistani TV channel Express 24/7, the blast hit the Punjab Regiment Centre.
Residents in Mardan said the explosion happened while recruits were conducting morning training.

Taiwan general Lo Hsien-che held on China spy charges

Gen Lo Hsien-che is the most senior officer accused of espionage since the 1960s

A Taiwanese general has been detained on suspicion of spying for China - the highest-ranking officer allegedly involved in espionage in decades.

Maj Gen Lo Hsien-che was recruited by China in 2004 while he was stationed in Thailand, the defence ministry said.
Local media reported he had leaked details of Taiwan-US programmes, but officials expressed doubt that he had access to such information.
His arrest follows an investigation launched last year.
Officials said Gen Lo was posted to Thailand between 2002 and 2005, and was promoted to major general after his return to Taiwan.
At the time of his arrest, he was head of the military command's communications and information office.
Local media reported that the authorities raided his home and recovered documents relating to the $1bn (£0.6bn) Po Sheng defence system that Taiwan is purchasing from US defence contractor Lockheed Martin.

Accused general

• 51-year-old head of communications and information at army HQ
• Military attache in Thailand from 2002 to 2005
• Arrested on 27 January, remanded in custody by military prosecutors

But an unnamed US-based official told Taiwan's Central News Agency that the general should not have had access to US-related information, so any secrets leaked were unlikely to be connected to US intelligence.

The defence ministry has set up a group in an attempt to limit any possible damage, according to Lt Gen Wang Ming-wo, of the ministry's Political Warfare Bureau.
"He has brought shame to the military. Servicemen are supposed to be loyal to their country," Mr Wang told AFP news agency.
Gen Lo is the most senior officer accused of espionage since the 1960s when a vice defence minister was arrested amid a crackdown on Communist spies.

The Chinese Communists have not stopped their infiltration into Taiwan”

End Quote Lt Gen Wang Ming-wo

Critics say his alleged connection with China and the fact it took several years to detect has revealed a security loophole.

'Smokeless war' Tensions have run high between the two sides since 1949, when Taiwan was separated from China at the end of a civil war.
China sees Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force if the island ever moved to declare formal independence.
But there has been an unprecedented warming in relations since Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008.
Despite this, Taiwan's military has repeatedly said that it will not let its guard down against the mainland's government.
"Although tensions across the Taiwan Strait have eased over the past more than two years, the Chinese Communists have not stopped their infiltration into Taiwan," said Mr Wang.
"Instead, they have been stepping up their intelligence gathering, what we call the 'smokeless war' against us."