World Defence Forum

Finallye deal has been cut. According to the Pravda, Russia plans to ship several regimental sets of S-400 air defense missile systems to India. The deal is evaluated at about $6 billion, sources at the Russian Ministry of Defense told RBC. "It goes about five regiments, which is ten divisions," the source said. Most likely, Russia and India will announce the deal prior to the summit of the leaders of the two countries in October of this year. In October 2015, it was reported that India's Defence Acquisition Council would acquire 12 units of S-400 for its defence needs. However, on 17 December 2015, it was confirmed that the final order would be for 5 units rather than 12 units, as it is considered to be adequate for India's defensive needs. The deal is worth US$5.5 billion. On 15 October 2016, on the sidelines of BRICS Summit, India and Russia signed an Inter-governmental Agreement (IGA) for the supply of five S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems and the f...

The Philippines has started repairing a runway and upgrading other facilities on Thitu Island, the South China Sea territory that was last year the scene of a stand-off between Chinese and Philippine vessels, according to a Washington-based think tank. Satellite images taken on May 17 show two barges anchored near the western edge of the runway, one of which appears to be fitted with a grab dredger, which comprises a crane with clamshell bucket, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said on Saturday. The airstrip on Thitu Island was built in the 1970s and was the first of its kind in the Spratly Islands. Over time, however, the western end of the runway crumbled which, coupled with the poor condition of its surface, made it difficult for aircraft to take-off and land. Besides the repairs to the runway, seven new buildings were built on Thitu last year, four of them close to a residential area on the eastern side of the island. The stand-off, in August, happened w...

A test flight of the fifth generation Su-57 fighter jet with a developmental engine installed on it has been caught on camera in Russia's Zhukovsky. The Sukhoi Su-57 stealth air superiority fighter, also known as flying laboratory T-50-2, is one of the sleekest and most modern aircraft of the Russian Air Force. It made its debut at the Victory Day Parade on May 9 on Moscow's Red Square. The first test flight of the Sukhoi-57 took place at Zhukovsky airport on December 5, 2017. Flight tests were later resumed in February, 2018. Packed with state-of-the-art avionics and active airborne phased array radar, this super-maneuverable fifth-generation warplane can carry a wide array of weaponry, allowing it to engage airborne, ground and naval targets. The Su-57, also known as the PAK FA, is a multi-role fifth-generation fighter jet which was developed for air superiority and attack operations. Some of the most impressive aspects of the airplane include the fact that ...

The Chinese air force has landed long-range bombers at an airport in the South China Sea for the first time, a move which has fuelled concerns about Beijing's ambitions to assert control over the disputed territory. China conducted take-off and landing training with nuclear-capable H-6K aircraft, state media reported, prompting US warnings about destabilising region. Beijing is pitted against smaller neighbours in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in the waters of the South China Sea, which are important for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves. The defence ministry said the exercises were carried out on an island reef but it did not specify when or where. The drills involved several H-6Ks taking off from an air base and making a simulated strike against sea targets before landing, the ministry said. The statement quoted a Chinese military expert, Wang Mingliang, as saying the exercises would help the air force improve it...

In a recorded address played on the second day of the roll-out, Major General Staff Pilot Ibrahim Naser Al Alawi, chief of the UAE Air Force, described the GlobalEye as a ‘strong force multiplier’ and added: “It’s such a powerful system and will save you platforms, manpower and cost.”
  The GlobalEye SRSS was specifically developed for the UAE, which Sebastian Carlsson, Saab senior vice president and head of group communications, described as a “well committed customer with a far-reaching vision”. The UAE Air Force announced a $1.27 billion order for two GlobalEyes at the Dubai Air Show in 2015, becoming the launch customer for the type. A $236 million order for a third aircraft was announced at IDEX on January 4 2017. Saab had previously signed a November 2009 contract for two former Swedish Air Force Saab S 100B Argus aircraft. These were equipped with the original Erieye radar and provided the UAE with an interim air surveillance capability. Deliveries took place in August 201...

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the lead of vessel of the U.S. Navy’s latest class of carriers, and the most expensive warship in U.S. history, just breached a USD$12.9 billion spending lid set by Congress by USD$120 million bringing total acquisition cost to $13.027 billion, the Navy said in a recent statement. The additional USD$120 million will be needed to fix the aircraft carrier’s faulty Advanced Weapons Elevator used to transport ammunition from the lower to the upper decks, as well as to repair the the Ford’s propulsion system bearing, which broke down during sea trials in January, the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command said in a statement quoted by Bloomberg News on May 11. (This was the second breakdown of the main thrust bearing of the ship’s propulsion system—the first incident occurred in April 2017.) The ship’s weapons elevators need to be fixed “to preclude any effect on the safety of the ship and personnel,” the Naval Sea Systems c...

Russia has been on the forefront of building unmanned ground vehicles and last week the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that their armed drone tank Uran-9 was tested in Syria. The Uran-9 is powerfully armed with anti-tank missiles, an automatic cannon and a machine gun. It can also be reconfigured to carry different weapons like surface-to-air missiles. Additionally, the unmanned vehicle is equipped with advanced optics and targeting systems including a laser warning system and thermal imaging. While the deployment of the Uran-6, a minesweeping drone, in Syria has been widely reported on, little has been said publicly about the Uran-9, and military observers and analysts have yet to see it in Syria. “In reality, [the] Uran-9 tests in Syria should have garnered major attention from all major Russian news outlets, given how proud Russian [sic] are of their remote-controlled tank,” said Samuel Bendett, a research analyst specializing in Russian unmanned systems at the Center for Nav...

The security temperature in the South China Sea has ratcheted upward precipitously in recent weeks. On May 2, news outlet CNBC reported U.S. intelligence that China has installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles on three fortified outposts in the Spratly Islands. This deployment follows the installation in April of jamming equipment that disrupts military communications and radar systems — also on outposts in the Spratlys. This continued militarization of South China Sea features that Beijing controls comes on the back of extensive land reclamation activities — to the tune of 1,295 hectares of land — since 2013; the contravention of a 2015 verbal agreement between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama not to militarize Chinese-occupied features; and Beijing’s blatant rejection of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling in 2016 in favor of the Philippines. Most worryingly, the deployment of missiles — for the first time — provides Chin...

The Russian Navy is slated to receive the first advanced variant of the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) Project 955A Borei II-class (“North Wind”) or Dolgorukiy-class in 2019, a senior Russian naval official said on May 9. The Borei II-class (also designated Borei-A) SSBN Knyaz Vladimir (Prince Vladimir) was originally expected to be delivered to the Russian Navy in 2017, a date that was later pushed to 2018 and eventually 2019 due to a two-year contract dispute between the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Severodvinsk-based Sevmash Shipyards. “Yes [in 2019],” the Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief for Armament,Vice-Admiral Viktor Bursuk, told TASS news agency this Wednesday. “The sub will have to undergo a wide range of trials, including those that were not held before.” Additionally, Bursuk noted that the new boomer will purportedly be delivered to the Navy “fully ready to accomplish assigned missions.” The Knyaz Vladimir was laid down in July 2012. It is the firs...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received a USB drive with a blueprint for connecting his country to the world when he met South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Apri l — and while the device was likely meant as a sign of goodwill, it could bring Kim's downfall. South Korea's Blue House, where Moon lives, reported that Moon gave Kim a book and a USB drive containing an e-book and a presentation on the "New Economic Map of the Korean Peninsula," something Moon announced last year. The USB drive contained a blueprint for economic cooperation between the Koreas which detailed a series of proposals for railway lines that would connect the country to China, Russia, and as far as Europe. Though Moon most likely wants to use the map to entice North Korea to keep to the Panmunjom Declaration the two leaders signed at the demilitarized zone, it could have dire consequences for the Kim family. North Korea fiercely controls the media and imprisons an estimated 100,000 of i...