Archive
We Need Military Buildup to Match China’s
In the online magazine The Diplomat, former U.S. Representative to the UN Robert O’Brien presents an excellent if disturbing overview of China’s alarming military buildup.
He notes that “China has big maritime ambitions, and they are backed up by a naval build-up unseen since Kaiser Wilhelm II decided to challenge British naval power with the building of the High Seas Fleet at the turn of the last century.”
That buildup is symbolized by the scheduled launch next month of China’s first aircraft carrier–a ship as symbolic of maritime power in our day as dreadnoughts were in the time of the kaisers.
At least Britain was Read more…
Israel, US to hold massive missile defense drill next year
Exercise aimed at improving operational coordination between countries’ defense systems in face of Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons.
In the face of Iran’s continued pursuit of a nuclear weapon, Israel and the United States will hold a large-scale missile defense exercise in the beginning of next year aimed at improving operational coordination between both countries’ defense systems.
Called Juniper Cobra, the exercise will be held in early 2012 and will include the Arrow 2 and Iron Dome as well as America’s THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and the ship-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. The exercise will likely include the actual launching of interceptors from these systems.
The Israeli Air Force’s Air Defense Division, the United States Missile Defense Agency and the US Military’s European Command (EUCOM) have held the Juniper Cobra exercise for the past five years. The upcoming exercise though is planned to be one of the most complex and extensive yet.
Last week, Air Force commander in the EUCOM Gen.Mark Welsh visited Read more…
Chinese jets chase U.S. surveillance jet over Taiwan Strait
A colonel in the Canadian Forces takes photos through the window of a civilian aircraft playing the role of a hijacked airliner as it is escorted by two Su-27 Russian fighter jets. (Associated Press)
By Bill Gertz
Two Chinese warplanes intercepted an American spy plane over the tense Taiwan Strait last month in China’s most aggressive challenge to U.S. surveillance flights since a 2001 collision that touched off an international crisis.
According to defense officials, the intercept took place June 29. The two Chinese jets flew from a base in China to head off an Air Force U-2 spy plane over the dividing line in the 100-mile wide Taiwan Strait.
“In general, these reconnaissance flights are conducted in international airspace, as are the PRC [Chinese] intercepts, which Read more…
Supersoldier 2020 will have exoskeleton, robot helpers, pathogen immunity, some doctor assisted regeneration
The new Captain America movie is out this weekend, so we take a look at the actual developments and research for enhancing soldiers in real-life.
Supersoldiers of the 2020s will be a little bit Iron man with HULC and XOS exoskeletons. They will have some wall crawling (Spiderman like) capability from the Z-Man program (attachable pads with magnets and microsplines).
They will be using a lot more ground and flying robot support. They will have flying hummers.
They will have better guns with better range, smart bullets/grenades when needed and computers and sensors to improve the accuracy of soldiers and snipers.
They will have medical enhancement to be resistant to infections and to allow them to be restored from more severe injuries.
There will also be safer SARM steroids and Read more…
US might redeploy Bahrain fleet
Citing sources in Washington, The Times wrote that there was a groundswell of opinion in favor of the relocation of the fleet, which has been stationed in Bahrain since the 1970s.
Tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters have been holding peaceful anti-government rallies throughout the country since February, demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa family.
“There was talk on Capitol Hill about moving the fleet within days of the protests breaking out, and that increased in Read more…
Taiwan says China’s military advantage is growing
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China’s military advantage over Taiwan is increasing amid Beijing’s attempts to block foreign forces from intervening in a possible conflict, the island’s defense ministry said Tuesday.
The military balance between Taiwan and China has become a sensitive issue in the United States, which remains Taiwan’s major security partner despite shifting its recognition from Taipei to Beijing 32 years ago.
Bipartisan critics in Congress have accused President Barack Obama’s administration of neglecting Taiwan’s defense needs by refusing to sell it 66 relatively advanced F-16 jet fighters. They also say the administration is deliberately holding up the publication of a classified Pentagon report believed to Read more…
Why China Wants South China Sea
By Tetsuo Kotani
Beijing is interested in more than just energy and fishery resources. The area is also integral to its nuclear submarine strategy.
In an effort to underscore its importance to Asia, geostrategist Nicholas Spykman once described it as the ‘Asiatic Mediterranean.’ More recently, it has been dubbed the ‘Chinese Caribbean.’ And, just as Rome and the United States have sought control over the Mediterranean and Caribbean, China now seeks dominance over the South China Sea.
It’s clear that China’s claims and recent assertiveness have increased tensions in this key body of water. Yet while most attention has focused on Beijing’s appetite for fishery and energy resources, from a submariner’s perspective, the semi-closed sea is integral to China’s nuclear strategy. And without understanding the nuclear dimension of the South China Sea disputes, China’s maritime expansion makes little sense.
Possessing a credible sea-based nuclear deterrent is a priority for China’s military strategy. China’s single Type 092, or Xia-class, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, equipped with short-range JL-1 submarine-launched ballistic Read more…
China discloses J-10 fighter jet base to S. Korean defense chief
SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) — China disclosed a J-10 fighter jet base to the visiting South Korean defense minister last week, a defense official in Seoul said Sunday, a move signaling Beijing’s intent to further strengthen bilateral defense and military exchanges.
South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin visited a Chinese air force training base in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, on Saturday, the last day of his three-day visit to China for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Liang Guanglie, the official said.
During his visit to the base, about 200 kilometers south of Beijing, Kim watched the takeoff and landing of a J-10 jet, a China-developed fighter with an operational radius of 1,250 km, before having lunch with Chinese military officers there.
Liang said during his dinner with Kim on Friday that the J-10 jet base has never Read more…
Brazil to build nuclear submarines which will dramatically alter balance of power in South America
The Brazilian government has started work on a submarine programme which will include the construction of South America’s first nuclear subs.
The move will boost Brazil’s claim to be the strongest force in the region, and strengthen the country’s military assertiveness.
This new-found power may harm Britain in the event of another flare-up over the Falklands, according to U.S. news agency Global Post, as Brazil thinks the islands should belong to Argentina.
The defence plan was announced in 2008, and will eventually involve the construction of five new submarines. Each will cost around $565 million.
The first, being built in collaboration with a French contractor, is due to come into service in 2016.
By the time the programme is complete, Brazil will Read more…
‘Ice Wars’ heating up the Arctic
Editor’s note: CNN correspondent Kaj Larsen recently visited the Arctic to observe the U.S. naval exercise known as ICEX. His experience is part of the CNN documentary “Ice Wars,” which will air at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on CNN Presents.
(CNN) — On a small, floating piece of ice in the Beaufort Sea, several hundred miles north of Alaska, a group of scientists are documenting what some dub an “Arctic meltdown.”
According to climate scientists, the warming of the region is shrinking the polar ice cap at an alarming rate, reducing the permafrost layer and wreaking havoc on polar bears, arctic foxes and other indigenous wildlife in the region.
What is bad for the animals, though, has been good for commerce.
The recession of the sea ice and the reduction in permafrost — combined with advances in technology — have allowed access to oil, mineral and natural gas deposits that were previously trapped in the ice.
The abundance of these valuable resources and the opportunity to exploit them has created a Read more…
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