Saturday, May 28, 2011

Final Stage set for Indian Air Force Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) Competition

Role Multirole fighter aircraft
National origin France
Manufacturer Dassault Aviation
First flight 4 July 1986
Introduced 4 December 2000
Primary users French Air Force French Navy
Program cost €39.6 billion (1 January 2008[1])
Unit cost Rafale C: €64 million, US$82.3 million (flyaway cost, 2008)
Rafale M: €70 million, US$90.5 million (flyaway cost, 2008)
Average unit cost: €138.46 million (including development, 2008)



Role Multirole fighter
Manufacturer Eurofighter GmbH
First flight 27 March 1994
Introduced 4 August 2003
Primary users Royal Air Force Luftwaffe Italian Air Force Spanish Air Force
Number built 260 as of January 2011 471 ordered (as of January 2009)
Unit cost €90 million (system cost Tranche 3A) 125M£ (including development + production costs)
Developed from British Aerospace EAP
Variants Eurofighter Typhoon variants


 

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

China to Provide Additional Fighter Jets to Pakistan

Pakistan is to receive an additional 50 FC-1 Xiaolong fighter jets from China in a deal agreed during the recent visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to Beijing, China.
Details regarding the value of the deal have not been disclosed, however, the cost of each plane is between $20m and $25m.
The planes are cost-efficient replacements for aging aircraft such as the MiG-21 and Northrop F-5 Tiger, according to the Associated Press.
Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said delivery of the JF-17 Thunder jets is likely to take place within six months.
The JF-17 Thunder is a single-engine multirole fighter that has been developed in cooperation between China and Pakistan.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

China Agree To Give J-20/FC-20 5th Generation Stealth Fighter to Pakistan

China agree to give J-20/FC-20 5th Generation Stealth Fighter to Pakistan" Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said.

The J-20 is a single-seat, twin-engine aircraft, bigger and heavier than the Sukhoi T-50 and the F-22. Comparison with ground-service vehicles points to an overall length of 75 ft. and a wingspan of 45 ft. or more, which would suggest a takeoff weight in the 75,000-80,000-lb. class with no external load. That in turn implies a generous internal fuel capacity. The overall length is close to that of the 1960s General Dynamics F-111, which carries 34,000 lb. of fuel. 

The J-20 has a canard delta layout (like Chengdu’s J-10) with two canted, all-moving vertical stabilizers (like the T-50) and smaller canted ventral fins. The stealth body shaping is similar to that of the F-22. The flat body sides are aligned with the canted tails, the wing-body junction is clean, and there is a sharp chine line around the forward fuselage. The cant angles are greater than they are on the Lockheed Martin F-35, and the frameless canopy is similar to that of the F-22.  

The engines are most likely members of the Russian Saturn AL-31F family, also used on the J-10. The production version will require yet-to-mature indigenous engines. The inlets use diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) technology, first adopted for the F-35 but also used by Chengdu on the J-10B—the newest version of the J-10—and the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

‘Underwater Predator’ unveiled in TAMPA, Florida

Respected Adm. Gary Roughead brainchild.

TAMPA, Florida — Ross Lindman gently pats the black hull of his intimidating 25-foot aquatic robot. Then he gestures to the bomblets strapped to either side of it. “This,” says the Columbia Group vice president, “is an underwater Predator.”
Lindman isn’t kidding. On one side of the Proteus, the Columbia Group’s experimental submarine, are two 220-pound bomblets. They’re merely for display here at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, but the passersby get the picture.
And that doesn’t remotely approach what the Proteus can carry. Either side of the sub can hold up to 1,600 pounds of cargo.
“You can strap different types of mines and ordnance to it,” Lindman says, 3,200 pounds’ worth. That’s way more firepower than the two Hellfire missiles that fit aboard the Predator, the iconic drone plane that serves as a muse for Lindman’s sub.
All of that is in addition to its potential spying capacity. The 6,200-pound sub can hold up to 400 pounds of gear inside it — a lot of sensors and cameras to find dangers lurking in the briny deep. Or, you can cram commandos inside.
The Proteus is designed to be a somewhat autonomous vehicle: Plug in coordinates for it and watch it go. But it also has a manned function, with enough bay space to stow up to seven Navy SEALs, should they need to be inserted. But don’t keep ‘em in long; there’s not a lot of space for them to get comfortable.
The Proteus is a step in a direction the Navy’s top officer badly wants the seafaring service to travel. Adm. Gary Roughead, the outgoing chief of naval operations, has delivered speech after speech urging engineers to build an “unmanned underwater vehicle” — a robotic sub — capable of traveling thousands of nautical miles for months on end without exposing human submariners to risk. (More on that in a subsequent post.)
Proteus can’t meet Roughead’s lofty goals. It tops out at a range of 324 nautical miles before it needs to refuel, a task that will last it 92 hours. It can’t go faster than 10 knots, and the Columbia Group anticipates it’ll most likely travel between 3 and 5 knots.
But it’s a step toward a bigger unmanned sub that’s weaponized — the current ones commandos use are about the size of a torpedo. Roughead considers weaponized UUVs to be an inevitability. Conceivably, the robot subs of the future will carry weapons like torpedos to disable mines. Or, they’ll be weapons themselves, hurtling like mechanized kamikazes at a target.
The Proteus takes the first approach. Lindman imagines it strapped with a bevy of different weapons, like the MK67 Submarine Launched Mobile Mine or the MK-54 torpedo. Or it could carry the Sea Fox, itself another robot, designed to blow up mines with a shaped charge.
Gesturing to the weapons bay, Lindman says, “I can carry other vehicles” on the Proteus — even suicidal ones like the Sea Fox.
That’s if it works. Proteus won’t go into the water until the summer, near Columbia Group’s home of Panama City, Florida. The military hasn’t invested a dime into the thing’s development. But if the sub can make it out of development doing as much as Lindman envisions, the seas will be stalked by a new robotic predator.
Photo: Spencer Ackerman

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Balochistan Problem and Solutions by Brigadier (R) Nadir Mir

Balochistan Problem and Solutions by Brigadier (R) Nadir Mir, a resolution was passed in the US Congress to divide Pakistan and carve out an ‘independent Balochistan’. With this, an old neocon dream was revived. This time the so-called globalists and propagandists, masquerading as human right activists, are the cheerleaders. Against this backdrop, Colonel Ralph Peter’s map of the ‘New Middle East’ truncating, balkanising every country – Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan – was reproduced. Despite the fact that it was scorned and reviled even at the time of its earlier exhibition.

It seems that the neocons and influential globalists of America desperately want to initiate World War III. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s interview, If you can’t hear the drums of war, you must be deaf, with Alfred Heinz on November 27, 2011, is a clear expression of this desire. The neocon-globalist geopolitical wish list – the rationale for the so-called ‘independent Balochistan’ is as under:
 
  • Cripple Pakistan by separating Balochistan (46 percent of its territory with large mineral resources, besides the future global port of Gwadar).
  • Balkanised Pakistan forced to give up its nuclear arsenal.
  • Establish India’s hegemony over Pakistan.
  • Leftover US forces in Afghanistan and US controlled ‘new Balochistan’ to act as strategic central position for multi-regions.
  • US controlled Afghanistan-Balochistan to link the Central Asian energy oil and gas pipelines with Gwadar.
  • Delink Pakistan and Iran by carving out Balochistan and obviate the Iran-Pakistan energy/gas pipelines.
  • Establish US military presence in Balochistan for upcoming US-Israeli war against Iran.
  • Block Russia-Pak cooperation with Gazprom (Russian Gas Company) reaching Gwadar.
  • Balochistan and Kurdistan to be artificially created to have imperialist bases in the heartland of Islam.
  • Independent Balochistan’ – a prelude for Kurdistan to break away from Turkey; separate Xinjiang and Tibet from China; Siberia from Russia; and separate Makkah and Madinah from Saudi Arabia.
  • US military presence in Gwadar to control the Gulf. To  use the port as an alternative for USA’s 5th fleet based in Bahrain or another fleet if brought near the Gulf.
  • Use Gwadar as a military base for intervention in the Saudi Peninsula.
The rationale of these ill-intentioned pseudo thinkers is absolutely absurd. According to them, since the Pakistani elite is exploiting Balochistan, so it should be balkanised. Those who believe that Balochistan should not be a part of Pakistan are geopolitical imbeciles. Indeed, the propagandists making these claims are clueless about regional realities because:
  • Pakistan: It will fight a war, even a nuclear war of national survival to defend itself.
  • Iran: The Iranian Seistan is part of Balochistan, which the imperialists want to carve out. Therefore, Iran will fight a war in unison with Pakistan to defend Balochistan against the US threats.
  • Afghanistan: The Taliban are winning; the Americans are leaving. No Afghan – not even Karzai – will cede the Afghan territory to become ‘greater independent Balochistan’. Nor can landlocked Kabul take up fights with both Islamabad and Tehran.
  • Turkey: The Turks will support Pakistan and oppose independent Balochistan. Those who are plotting Balochistan also support Kurdistan to balkanise Turkey. Turkey will oppose Balochistan splitting by Nato, even if Nato is foolhardy to play the diabolical game of neocons.
  • Saudi Arabia: The Saudis, too, will support Pakistan and oppose the Balochistan movement.
  • India: It has been supporting the destabilisation of Balochistan and will continue to do so. But for India to overtly support Balochistan can lead to a nuclear war with Pakistan. Besides this can also trigger freedom movements in Kashmir, Khalistan, Assam, Tamil Nadu and a dozen other places. Playing the US-Israel game will spoil its relations with Iran, Russia and China.
  • China: It will support Pakistan. USA’s aim in Balochistan is to block China from Gwadar. Balochistan today, Xinjiang tomorrow! China’s defence begins from Pakistan.
  • Russia: It is Pakistan’s new friend. Besides, the Pak-Iran link is supported by Moscow.
So, the geopolitics of the region negates any viability of an independent Balochistan. In addition, anti-Americanism in Pakistan has a complex dynamic. The US meddling in Balochistan will not create an ‘independent Balochistan’, but will initiate a war, perhaps, leading to World War III.
The situation in Balochistan certainly demands immediate attention. Out of 150 Baloch tribes three major ones Marris, Bugtis, and Mengals have had problems or are in conflict. The issue of Bugtis is greatly linked to the murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti. A fair trial of those responsible is their demand. The Mengals can be communicated with. Some of the Marris leaders are more adamant and would need to be worked on. Pakistan needs to accommodate most of the Balochistan demands and satisfy the people, while ensuring its national interests. Half the demography of Balochistan which is Pakhtun are patriotic like the great majority of Baloch.
Bugti’s killing by Musharraf led to the present Balochistan crisis. The army or the ISI is not responsible. USA and India did not oppose Musharraf’s actions in Balochistan. This was a US-India baited gambit (to lure Musharraf into a crackdown and create turmoil for instigating independent Balochistan).
Musharraf was praised by Washington and assured by Delhi of its non-involvement in Balochistan, luring him into the mess Pakistan faces today in the province. For all this time a covert war was being waged for claiming independence of Balochistan. During this period a worldwide network was established. This became overt in February 2012 as war with Iran is near centre stage in 2012. However, those who are planning war against Pakistan must be told that the choice is between peace and total war; indeed, the country will be defended at any price!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

WZ-10 - Chinese Attack helicopter


The WZ-10 (WZ, 武直 = Wuzhuang Zhishengji, 武装直升机, literally "Armed Helicopter") is an attack helicopter developed by the People's Republic of China. It is designed primarily for anti-tank missions but is believed to have a secondary air-to-air capability as well. It is being built by Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC).










Saturday, May 14, 2011

Plaaf Drills with j-7



A tactical confrontation drill with real combat backdrop held in Guangzhou Military Area, Surprise drill comes in a time when PLAAF trying to replace J-7 jets, In 2011 there will be major replacement regarding old J-7 jets.