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US punishes Pakistan Army in major shift
WASHINGTON: The US confirmed on Sunday that direct and indirect aid worth $800 million to the Pakistan Army had been withheld while Pakistani diplomats disclosed that a 10-point list had been given to the GHQ, compliance of which would determine how much and when the flow of money would restart.
The official confirmation came from the White House chief of staff who told a TV channel on Sunday that Washington was holding back the money after a major New York Times story revealed the military aid had been suspended.
The 10-point list was given some time back and diplomats said Pakistan had Read more…
US to upgrade F-16s, KMT lawmaker says
The US is expected to announce soon that it will help Taiwan upgrade its current F-16 aircraft rather than sell it more advanced aircraft, a senior legislator said yesterday.
The move to upgrade the F-16A/B combat aircraft rather than sell Taiwan the more advanced F-16C/Ds it wants will generate less pressure from Beijing, which strongly opposes any arms sales to Taiwan, analysts say.
“This will be a compromise deal,” said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), who chairs the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
Taiwan has repeatedly pressed the US to sell it F-16C/Ds, as China embarks on a rapid drive to build up its offensive military capability.
However, it is feared that such a sale would “anger” Beijing, which reacted furiously in January last year when US President Barack Obama announced a US$6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan.
That package included Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and equipment for Read more…
China’s army develops ‘online war game’
BEIJING — After setting up its own cyber-warfare team, China’s military has now developed its first online war game aimed at improving combat skills and battle awareness, state press said Wednesday.
“Glorious Mission” is a first-person shooter game that sends players on solo or team missions armed with high-tech weapons, the China Daily reported.
Weapons used in the game are part of the actual arsenal of China’s People’s Liberation Army, it added.
The final version of the game, which took nearly three years to develop and test, was launched on June 20.
“I think it is possible the game will be made open online for Chinese military fans to download and play,” an unnamed PLA press officer was quoted as saying.
China has the world’s biggest online population at more than 477 million users, according to official data.
The launch of the game comes after the military announced earlier this year that it had set up an elite Internet security task force to fend off cyber attacks.
Despite numerous allegations from around the world pointing at China as a source of cyber attacks, the state press, citing military officials, denied that the elite task force was set up as a “hacker army”.
Iran to launch military exercise, test long-range missiles
Photo by: Ho New / Reuters
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was scheduled to launch a large-scale military exercise entitled the “Great Prophet Mohammad War Games 6” on Monday, Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
Revolutionary Guard Brig-Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that the purpose of the drill was to test the IRGC forces defensive preparedness as well as to practice the use of advanced equipment.
Hajizadeh added that Iran’s arsenal of missiles, including the country’s long range missiles, would be tested during the exercise. Among Iran’s arsenal of missiles is the Sajjil, with a range of nearly 2,000 km, which would allow it to Read more…
Japan’s Stealth Fighter Gambit
Tokyo seems poised to spend billions developing the country’s first homegrown stealth warplane. But is the Shinshin really meant for military service?
China’s Growing Military Muscle: A Looming Threat?
Stonecutters Island army base in Hong Kong opens to the public once a year as a goodwill gesture. Displays include kung fu demonstrations and shows of knife-fighting skills.
This month, NPR is examining the many ways China is expanding its reach in the world — through investments, infrastructure, military power and more.
At the Stonecutters Island army base in Hong Kong, camouflage-clad Chinese soldiers lunge forward with fierce yells, making stabbing motions with their daggers. There’s a communal shout of admiration from the crowd watching the display on the army’s home territory, which is opened up once a year to the public as a goodwill gesture.
Evolving Military Technology
China is pouring money into its military forces — retrofitting ships, building stealth airplanes and developing advanced weapons technology. Below Read more…
War Evolves With Drones, Some Tiny as Bugs
A microdrone during a demo flight at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — Two miles from the cow pasture where the Wright Brothers learned to fly the first airplanes, military researchers are at work on another revolution in the air: shrinking unmanned drones, the kind that fire missiles into Pakistan and spy on insurgents in Afghanistan, to the size of insects and birds.
The base’s indoor flight lab is called the “microaviary,” and for good reason. The drones in development here are designed to replicate the flight mechanics of moths, hawks and other inhabitants of the natural world. “We’re looking at how you hide in plain sight,” said Greg Read more…
France transfers sensitive warship technology to Russia
French-built Mistral class amphibious assault ship
© AFP/ Eric Feferberg
France has transferred to Russia all the technology it asked for under a $1.7-billion deal for two French-built Mistral class amphibious assault ships for the Russian Navy, a Russian arms exporter said on Monday.
Under the deal signed on Friday, the first warship will be delivered in 2014 and the second in 2015.
“The French side has transferred all technologies, including the Zenit-9 [command and control] system, as well as two other systems,” said Anatoly Isaikin, head of the Rosoboronexport state-controlled arms exporter.
A formal contract for the construction of the two Mistral class ships will be Read more…
Look Out Above! Russia May Target U.S. Sats With Laser Jet
Back in the early 80s, Soviet engineers began outfitting an Ilyushin-76 jet with a laser cannon. Two models of the “Falcon-Echelon” planes were flown — presumably as counterweights to U.S. efforts to construct a fleet of missile-zapping jets. But when the Soviet Union collapsed, the Falcon-Echelon program perished, as well.
Or so it seemed at the time. Now, there’s mounting evidence that Read more…
India Test-Fires Nuke Capable Ballistic Missile
(RTTNews) – India on Thursday successfully test-fired a nuclear capable ballistic missile from a test range in the country’s eastern state of Orissa as part of the user’s trial by the Indian Army.
“The indigenously developed missile mounted on a mobile launcher was test-fired from the launch complex-3 in the Integrated Test Range at around 0905 hours and the trial was fully successful,” the Press Trust of India news agency reported quoting defense sources. Earlier also, the Prithvi-II missile had Read more…
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