Indian Navy Leaders Review Needs, Readiness

NEW DELHI - The Indian Navy's top commanders have begun their biannual review of the maritime force's requirements and related issues at their annual conference here May 24-27.
The Naval Commanders' Conference provides an opportunity for the chief of the Naval Staff to examine the service's operational readiness, assess the progress made in key projects, and initiate functional, organizational and administrative steps to further prepare for current and emerging challenges.

"Over the next four days, commanders of the Indian Navy will discuss issues of operational relevance and future plans of the Indian Navy," the Indian Defence Ministry said in its official statement.
"With the security situation being fluid, we need to maintain the organizational ability to deploy ships, submarines and aircraft at 'immediate' notice," Adm. Nirmal Verma, chief of the Navy, said at the conference.
The Navy's strength is declining, and it is feared that the service's 140-warship fleet could dwindle to only 120 by 2017. The Navy is retiring ships more quickly than acquiring them.
The Navy has already embarked upon a modernization program under which it will buy landing platform docks (LPDs) worth $3.5 billion and build stealthy destroyers for $6.5 billion. This year, the service will begin shopping worldwide for six conventional submarines, for which it is prepared to spend more than $10 billion.
Last year, the Navy bought four additional Boeing-built P-8I long-range maritime aircraft from the U.S. at a cost of more than $1 billion.
The LPD project will be executed under the "buy and make" category, under which a foreign shipyard will help build the four LPDs in India using transferred technology, as was done in the case of the French-designed Scorpene submarines being built by India's Mazagon Docks.

Britain Undecided on Libya Choppers, Despite French Claims

LONDON - Britain said on May 24 it has not yet decided whether to deploy attack helicopters in Libya, contradicting NATO ally France which announced that both countries were ready to send choppers.
Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey was forced to make a statement to lawmakers a day after French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said London would deploy Apache helicopters from an aircraft carrier.

"I state again for the avoidance of all doubt: no such decision has been taken by the United Kingdom," Harvey said in parliament after opposition MPs claimed the government was not keeping them informed.
"It is an option we are considering and there is absolutely no sense in which it is true to say that we have kept parliament in the dark about a decision."
But Harvey insisted that any deployment of helicopters would not represent mission creep two months into the NATO-led air war against Libyan Moammar Gadhafi's forces, adding that their use would only be a "tactical shift."
Longuet said on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels on Monday that he had discussed the plan to deploy helicopters with Gerald Howarth, the British minister for international security strategy.
"The sooner the better is what the British think," Longuet said, adding that the U.S.-designed Apaches, which are used in Afghanistan, would operate from the British aircraft carrier HMS Ocean.
A British government source speaking on condition of anonymity expressed frustration that French officials had announced London's military plans before they had received ministerial approval.
NATO says it has seriously degraded Gadhafi's military machine with air strikes from combat jets, but helicopters would help the alliance strike regime assets hidden in urban areas.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Paris was deploying Tigre and Gazelle class helicopters aboard an aircraft carrier.

Attack Inflicts Severe Blow on Pakistani Naval Aviation

ISLAMABAD - The attack on PNS Mehran, the Pakistan Navy's main operational airbase in Karachi, has spectacularly underlined shortcomings in both intelligence and airbase security.

Wreckage of a P-3C Orion aircraft is seen at a major Pakistani naval air base following an attack by militants in Karachi on May 23. (Asif Hassan / AFP via Getty Images)

According to the Associated Press of Pakistan and the military's Inter Services Press Release, one officer and a rating are confirmed casualties, and two other personnel have been wounded in the attack, which commenced at 11:30 p.m. local time Sunday.

As the operation wound down, media reports here claimed 12 soldiers to have been killed.
The navy declined to give any further details of the operation against "a dozen" hand and rocket propelled grenade wielding Taliban terrorists who infiltrated the base and destroyed at least one aircraft.
It is thought to be a P-3C Orion, but the naval spokesman would not confirm this.
He said further details would be given when they could be confirmed after the completion of the operation.
The spokesman did, however, categorically state that there was no hostage situation, and no foreign personnel were present.
Confusion reigns however, as other media including the BBC have cited the navy as confirming there was a hostage situation and that there were Chinese personnel present.
It is thought any Chinese personnel present would be technicians connected with the Harbin Z-9EC ASW helicopter program.
Analyst Haris Khan of the Pakistan Military Consortium think tank said he believes the destroyed aircraft to be a P-3C, saying it had been "gutted." He also said he believes another P-3C to have been badly damaged.
Though the larger patrol aircraft are kept on the flight apron at PNS Mehran, rotary assets are usually housed in hangars, which officials have admitted were attacked.
He said the attack was a potentially crippling blow to the navy as nearly all its naval assets were based at Mehran.
"An additional naval air base has been under construction at Omara/Jinnah Naval Base since 2002, but has not been completed due to lack of funds", he said.
Visually, security at Mehran was tight, but having long been surrounded by an expanding city, it proved to be a relatively easy target.
Khan said he believes the "national security structure" is in a poor state, and the attack to be the result a long list of intelligence failures that have allowed terrorist cells to remain undetected in Pakistan's cities.
Unless this is reversed, he said, "terrorists will be able to mount such operations with impunity."
With the Taliban seeking revenge for the death of Osama bin Laden, further attacks are expected.

Supreme Court Overturns A-12 Ruling Against Contractors

The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a federal appeals court ruling that defense contractors General Dynamics and Boeing owed the Pentagon billions of dollars stemming from the cancellation of a Navy stealth aircraft program.

An artist's impression of the McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics A-12 Avenger II. (U.S. Navy)

The ruling is the latest chapter in a more-than-two-decade saga involving the cancellation of the program and the disclosure of state secrets.

The Navy awarded General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas - now Boeing - a $4.8 billion fixed-price contract to develop the A-12 Avenger, a carrier-based stealth aircraft. After falling years behind schedule and exceeding costs, the government terminated the contract for default in January 1991.
The companies challenged the termination, claiming the government did not share its extensive stealth knowledge, which was used to previously build the Air Force F-117 Nighthawk fighter and B-2 Spirit bomber.
Subsequently, a federal claims court ruled General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas did not default on the contract, and ordered the Pentagon to pay them $1.2 billion in expenses. However, a federal appeals court overturned the decision and ordered a new trial. DoD prevailed in that trial, which "reaffirmed that petitioners' superior-knowledge affirmative defense could not be litigated," due to state secrets.
The Pentagon wants a return of the $1.35 billion it paid petitioners for work never accepted, plus interest.
But the Supreme Court on March 23 vacated the appeals court ruling and sent the case back to the federal circuit.
"Whether the Government had an obligation to share its superior knowledge about stealth technology is left for the Federal Circuit to address on remand," Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the court's opinion, which ruled unanimously.
A Boeing spokesman in Chicago said the company was reviewing the ruling. DoD and General Dynamics officials were not immediately available for comment.

Pakistani Naval Aviation Base Attacked, 2 Dead

KARACHI, Pakistan - Two Pakistan Navy staff were killed in a militant attack on a naval air base in the country's biggest city of Karachi, where troops were locked in battle with gunmen, a spokesman said May 23.
"One of our officers and one Navy personnel have been martyred," said Commodore Irfan ul Haq, a spokesman for the Pakistan Navy.

"The operation is continuing. They have completely destroyed one of Pakistan's aircraft," he added

Taiwan Still Pushing for Subs, F-16s From U.S.

TAIPEI - Taiwan on May 22 said it was still pursuing its bid to buy eight submarines and dozens of F-16 fighters from the United States despite warming relations with China.
The Taipei-based China Times reported that Taiwan had decided to accept a U.S. proposal of just four conventional submarines to help expedite the arms deal, which has been in limbo since 2001.

"The report is not true. The country's position to seek [eight] diesel-powered submarines and F-16C/Ds has never changed," Taiwan's defense ministry said in a statement.
"The deal is still in the U.S. government's screening process. The ministry will keep pushing for the deal so as to meet Taiwan's self-defense demands."
In April 2001, President George W. Bush approved the sale of eight conventional submarines to Taiwan as part of Washington's most comprehensive arms package to the island since 1992.
Since then, there has been little progress as the United States has not built conventional submarines for more than 40 years, and Germany and Spain had reportedly declined to offer their designs for fear of offending China.
Taiwan also applied to the U.S. government to buy 66 F-16 fighters in early 2007, but observers say Washington has held up the deal for fear of angering Beijing.
The Taiwanese defense ministry's statement came after a week-long visit to the United States by the People's Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Gen. Chen Bingde.
Chen said the main source of friction was over Taiwan and renewed his objection to any U.S. arms sales to the island, which China still regards as part of its territory awaiting reunification by force if necessary even though Taiwan has governed itself since 1949.
The United States in January 2010 approved a $6.4 billion arms package to Taiwan, prompting a furious Beijing to halt military exchanges and security talks with Washington.
Washington switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but has remained a leading arms supplier to Taiwan.

British Navy Completes Training Mission in Iraq

BAGHDAD - Britain on May 22 concluded its naval training mission in Iraq, more than eight years after it contributed the second largest contingent of troops to the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
Despite having pulled out the vast majority of its troops in mid-2009, the Royal Navy has continued to train Iraqi personnel to defend their territorial waters and offshore oil installations.

"Their contribution was most appreciated and valuable," Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said. "They have given many sacrifices to stabilize [Iraq] and they were the second-largest force of the coalition.
"Mistakes were made, not only by them, but by all of us," Zebari added, declining to give specific details. "But that doesn't diminish their valuable contribution to training, capacity building and, recently, for the protection of our oil ports at the tip of the Gulf."
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a text message that the British naval training mission had "finished" and, when asked to confirm that there were no more British soldiers or sailors left in Iraq, he replied: "Yes."
About 46,000 British troops were deployed to Iraq in March and April 2003, at the height of combat operations that resulted in Saddam's overthrow and eventual execution for crimes against humanity.
In the aftermath of the invasion, the country was engulfed in a brutal sectarian war which peaked in 2006 and 2007. Tens of thousands of Iraqis died.
Violence has since declined, but attacks remain common.
A total of 179 British personnel died in Iraq in the past eight years.
A small number of service personnel will remain at the British embassy in Baghdad.
"The actual U.K. maritime agreement comes to an end today but pretty much everyone was out [May 19 and 20]," a British defence ministry spokesman said.
"The actual guys came out a couple of days ago."
He added: "There's a few staff left in the diplomatic corps but the deployment of military personnel has finished."
London formally ended military operations in Iraq in April 2009, and pulled out its forces in July that year, but has since been involved in the bilateral naval training mission.
That same year, then-prime minister Gordon Brown opened an independent inquiry into Britain's role in the invasion and its aftermath. The inquiry is expected to issue a final report later this year.
The Royal Navy's role has involved training 1,800 Iraqi personnel on 50 different courses ranging from oil platform defense to handling small arms as part of efforts to secure Iraq's southern oil export terminals, through which the vast majority of its crude exports pass.
About 90 percent of Baghdad's government revenues come from oil sales.
British forces will continue to support NATO's officer training program, while some Iraqi soldiers will attend the army's officer training college at Sandhurst.
Most of Britain's troops were based in the predominantly Shiite southern port city of Basra.
Basra, Iraq's third-largest city and a strategic oil hub, had been under British command since the 2003 invasion, but the province and its airport returned to Iraqi control in 2009.
The withdrawal comes 52 years after Britain's previous exit from Iraq, in May 1959, when the last soldiers left Habbaniyah air station near the western town of Fallujah, ending a presence that dated back to 1918.
It also comes with just months to go before a year-end deadline for the 45,000 U.S. troops still stationed here to withdraw from Iraq under the terms of a bilateral security pact.