South Korea Unveils First Surveillance Aircraft

As a hope of making another great leap in improving South Korea’s military might, South Korea’s first surveillance airplane, known as Airborne Early Warning and Control plane, arrived at an Air Force base on Aug. 1.
 
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in Seoul said that a Boeing E-737 early-warning and control aircraft landed at the Air Force base in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, after completing tests by South Korean Air Force at Boeing’s factory in Seattle.
 
“It will go through test flights and acceptance tests before it’s handed over to our Air Force in early September,” the DAPA said.
 
In an effort to establish autonomous early-warning and control system, South Korean military had decided to adopt E-737 in November 2006. Since then Seoul has been doing its effort to bring four such planes by end of 2012. Currently, Korea Aerospace Industries, the nation’s leading aircraft maker, is developing advanced multi-purpose electronic satellite radar system that will be installed in the second, third and fourth planes. They are planned to be handed over to South Korean Air Force in 2012.
 
“If necessary, early-warning and control airplane is capable of monitoring the whole land of North Korea,” said a defense official at the Defense Ministry in Seoul. “Not only the plane can monitor target areas real-time, but also it can improve airborne operations significantly by assisting air-defense system on ground. The surveillance plane will also be capable of checking airborne or seaborne targets on the entire Korean Peninsula, and will be able to catch aircraft flying at low altitude infiltrating mountainous areas.”
 
A 120-seater E-737 surveillance aircraft was made by remodeling Boeing 737 passenger plane, such as installing Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) Surveillance Radar on top of plane body and radar manipulating consol system inside the aircraft. DAPA said such systems are capable of detect, distinguish, monitor and analyze targets in the air and on sea spontaneously. When new E-737 plane is in full operation, it will observe whole operational area and provide core information of enemies to South Korea’s fighters and warships.
 
Apart from a old early warning and control plane, the new E-737 aircraft uses electronically scanned array radar which is capable of not only covering omni-directional area but also focusing on a specific target exploration. Experts anticipate that the use of the new plane could upgrade South Korea’s military power significantly. They also hope that the plane could contribute in improving independent intelligence gathering and monitor capabilities after the transition of wartime operational control from the United States to South Korea.
 
The new E-737 has a flying range of around 7,000 kilometers (4,349 miles) and it can fly on patrol for about eight to nine hours. MESA radar can detect and monitor some 1,000 target planes at the most. It also has a capability of interlocking with strategic data link system of Air Force air-defense units.
 
The aircraft has been dubbed “Peace Eye” after a naming contest in 2008. It has a meaning of demonstrating peace missions in and out of the Korean Peninsula where it remains the only divided land in the world.
 

China has passed the sea trials of its first aircraft carrier

The first Chinese aircraft carrier built on the basis of Soviet Varyag aircraft carrier, has suffered in its sea trials in August, announced Wednesday the spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Defense, Yujun Yang.

"The construction of an aircraft carrier is a long term project that involves making a series of tests and exercises. Sea trials, which have recently taken place, have succeeded," he said.

Begin construction in the Soviet Union, this warship was sold unfinished to China by Ukraine in 1988 and towed to the port of Dalian. In 2005, Beijing has begun work towards completing its construction and design of naval aircraft.

Experts say it will take several years to complete fitting out the vessel before putting into operation.

New satellite improves communications in Afghanistan

UK troops in Afghanistan have begun operating a satellite secured from NATO at no extra cost to the MOD which is providing extra communications channels for commanders on the front line.

The NATO satellite will be used to provide two extra Ultra High Frequency (UHF) tactical communications channels that can be used in Afghanistan. This additional satellite adds to the MOD's three existing Skynet 5 series satellites which provide a worldwide satellite communications service.

Satellite technology gives commanders on the ground an efficient and secure means of communication, including with operations centres that co-ordinate vital air support, as well as with other units.

Flight Lieutenant Damien Handley is a Joint Tactical Air Controller in Afghanistan. He uses satellite communications on the front line in his role co-ordinating air support for ground troops. He said:

  "I can use these satellite communications to talk from Afghanistan directly to operations centres and headquarters around the world. They are vital in the fight against insurgents, particularly to task aircraft in support of our front line troops. In the thick of battle we rely on good communications and more satellite channels will be a great boost."

                                                                 A tactical satellite communications handset and aerial

Following an agreement with NATO, the MOD's Defence Equipment and Support organisation secured ownership of the satellite earlier this year at no extra cost to the MOD. Control of the satellite and running of the two UHF channels has been incorporated into the MOD's Skynet 5 Private Finance Initiative contract and is managed by communications company Paradigm.

Commander Andy Titcomb, from the MOD's Defence Equipment and Support organisation, explained:

    "Ultra High Frequency satellite communications are a valuable resource and when it became known that NATO was about to fire this satellite into a graveyard orbit, we jumped at the chance to see whether we could take ownership of this valuable asset and use it to support our troops in Afghanistan."

Partager l'article ! BAE Systems Completes Successful Test of Mk 38 Tactical Laser System Concept

BAE Systems, Boeing, and the U.S. Navy recently conducted a successful test of the Mk 38 MOD 2 Tactical Laser System (TLS) concept at Eglin Air Force Base in Eglin, Fla.
 
The Mk 38 TLS concept is a proposed high energy laser addition to the Mk 38 naval gun systems that are currently deployed on most surface combatants. The results of the recent field testing demonstrated a capability to identify and classify hostile targets and provide rapid hand-off to the Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated Experiments (MATRIX) system for interdiction. The test system configuration fired against air and surface maritime targets, demonstrating a range of target effects.
 
Additionally, swarm tests were conducted to simulate an attack by a large number of fast, maneuvering small boats, intermingled with neutral boat traffic. These tests demonstrated a consistent ability to detect, track, classify and engage threat vessels at tactically relevant ranges.
 
"The success of this testing exceeded all expectations and demonstrates that our Mk 38 TLS has the potential to deliver an important ship self defense capability," said Mark Signorelli, vice president and general manager of Weapon Systems for BAE Systems. "The optics associated with control of the laser allow significantly greater capability in target identification, the ability to conduct precision tracking and engagement, and provide the option of non-lethal engagements, which are critical features to enhance ship defenses."
 
A distinguished visitor day was held on June 29 with representatives in attendance from U.S. Fleet Forces, Naval Air Forces, Office of Naval Research, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV), Naval Sea Systems Command and other service and joint agencies. In addition to receiving briefs on the Mk 38 TLS concept and the MATRIX system, static and dynamic demonstrations were conducted to give the visitors a first-hand look at the system’s capabilities.
 
“The Mk 38 Tactical Laser System concept was able to discriminate specific target features while tracking fast moving small boats. It was able to engage precise targets with laser energy at tactically relevant ranges," said Chris Abbott, Science Advisor for Commander, U.S. Second Fleet.
 
For the test demonstration, BAE Systems partnered with Boeing and used the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) MATRIX laser test bed and Boeing's 10kW International Photonic Group (IPG) fiber laser. The demonstration was sponsored by the Commander of the U.S. Second Fleet. Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren was the Test Executive Agent and the USAF 46th Test Squadron coordinated all range and safety support.

Turkey, Germany Jointly Seek Sub Sale to Indonesia

A team of Turkish and German companies and Turkey's arms procurement office are seeking to sell two HDW 209-type diesel submarines to Indonesia, worth about $1 billion, in a competition against South Korean rivals, a senior Turkish procurement official said.
 
In a tender opened by the Indonesian Navy earlier this year, French and Russian offers fell off and South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine emerged as the leading candidate. Daewoo was expected to bid together with Germany's Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW), but later decided to compete on its own.
 
HDW, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, faced the threat of being left out of the deal. It approached the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), Turkey's defense procurement agency, to seek the Indonesian contract jointly, the procurement official said.
 
This came just as President Abdullah Gul paid an official visit to Indonesia in April, when the two countries signed a comprehensive defense industry cooperation agreement. Both are Muslim nations that share close political and cultural ties, and they are developing their industrial relations.
 
HDW also is co-manufacturing with Turkey six modern U 214-type diesel submarines for the Turkish Navy. Turkey earlier built with HDW a set of 14 U 209-type subs.
 
HDW in June sent a letter to SSM, confirming that "SSM is entitled to market and sell HDW-class U 209 1,400-ton submarines to be built in Turkey for the Project of Procurement of Diesel Electric Submarines by the Indonesian Navy."
 
Then came SSM's sweeteners. In a letter sent to Adm. Soeparno, SSM chief Murad Bayar said that "our offer includes one or two 209-class submarines leased to the Indonesian Navy as a 'gap-filler' solution until your submarines have been built."
 
Bayar also pledged maximum work share for Indonesian defense companies, including national shipyard PT-PAL, emphasizing HDW's full support for the Turkish bid.
 
"As a well-known worldwide brand and proven technology, 209-class submarines shall increase your country's industrial capabilities and will bring us a chance to share our knowledge to provide regional peace and stability," Bayar said.
 
Next, in a letter to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in late July, Gul confirmed and reiterated Turkey's sweeteners and called for increased defense industry cooperation.
 
But Daewoo Shipbuilding's CEO said Aug. 28 that he expected Indonesia to name his company as the preferred bidder.
 
"We expect the deal will be signed within this year once the Indonesian government earmarks the budget," Nam-Sang Tae said, according to news reports.
 
If the Turkish bid is preferred, the two class-209 submarines will be built at Turkey's Golcuk naval shipyard by the Turkish company STM under the license of HDW.

China Developing Star Wars Missile Defense Shield

China is developing a missile defense system in the highest layer of the atmosphere and outer space using high-end technologies like laser beams and kinetic energy intercept.
 
In 2007, China successfully tested a direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon against a weather satellite, demonstrating its ability to attack satellites in low-Earth orbit. It has also been developing other kinetic and directed-energy technologies for ASAT missions like lasers, high-powered microwave, and particle beam weapons, according to a report released by the U.S. Defense Department last week.
 
With its manned and lunar space programs, “China is improving its ability to track and identify satellites — a prerequisite for effective, precise counterspace operations,” the report said.
 
The Defense Department speculates that China already has the technology to counter low-flying cruise missiles or short-range ballistic missiles. It is believed to be using Russian-made SA-20 ground-to-air missiles or its own homegrown HQ-9 long-range SAM missiles.
 
“China is proceeding with the research and development of a missile defense ‘umbrella’ consisting of kinetic energy intercept at exo-atmospheric altitudes (>80 km), as well as intercepts of ballistic missiles and other aerospace vehicles within the upper atmosphere,” the report says.
 
In January 2007, China joined the space war by launching an interceptor missile against a superannuated weather satellite floating 859 km above the earth. In January last year, it also successfully tested a ground-based midcourse defense (GMD) system, demonstrating its ability to intercept midcourse ballistic missiles at an altitude of 20 km.
 
Meanwhile, the U.S. obtained information at least two days before China’s GMD test in January last year and notified allies like Australia, the U.K., New Zealand, and Canada of this, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported Monday.
 
“A classified cable from the U.S. secretary of state to diplomats in allied countries on Jan. 9 last year indicated that Washington knew details of the sensitive missile test days before the launch,” the daily said. “Xu Guangyu, a retired PLA general and a researcher with the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, said the cable, if authentic, indicated the possibility that U.S. intelligence had reached into the heart of the Chinese government or military, or both.

China’s J-20 to be effective capability by 2018

 

Washington believes the J-20 could achieve an "effective operational capability" by 2018, and suggests the aircraft's role is as not a fighter, but rather a long-range attack platform. It says engine technology is the main challenge China will face in developing the J-20.

The US Department of Defense's annual report to Congress, entitled "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China," covers all aspects of China's defence modernisation.

"The J-20 will eventually give the People's Liberation Army Air Force a platform capable of long-range, penetrating strikes into complex air defense environments," said the report.

There has been debate in defence circles as to the exact role of the J-20. Some have speculated that it is intended as a direct rival to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter. Another popular theory indicates that it is designed specially for long-range attacks against American aircraft carriers and other targets.

One table in the report underlined the speed and scale of PLAAF modernisation over the last decade.

In 2000, around 2% of its platforms were considered modern, whereas today the number is 25%, with the force being filled out with types such as the Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30, as well as the Chengdu J-10.

The report indicated that most of China's modernisation efforts are aimed squarely at being able to prevail in a conflict over Taiwan, which China views as a breakaway province.

China has a total of 1,680 fighter aircraft, of which 330 are stationed within range of Taiwan, where they are opposed by Taiwan's fighter fleet of just 388 aircraft. As for bombers and attack aircraft, 160 are within range of Taiwan, out of a total of 620.

"Currently, 490 aircraft could conduct combat operations against Taiwan without refueling," said the report. "This number could be significantly increased through any combination of aircraft forward deployment, decreased ordnance loads or altered mission profiles."

A war over Taiwan could draw in the USA. Recognising this, China has developed new capabilities tailored for an "anti-access" strategy, aimed at delaying or preventing American intervention.

Indian air force targets fighter crash rate

The Indian air force has lost 46 fighter aircraft in crashes in the last six years, and has initiated several programmes to improve safety.
 
The worst year for fighter crashes was 2009, when the country lost 10 aircraft. Eight incidents were recorded in 2006 and in 2008, while six aircraft were lost each in 2005, 2006 and 2010.
 
Defence minister A K Antony provided the statistics in response to a parliamentary enquiry.
 
The aircraft involved in the crashes were Mikoyan MiG-21s, Sepecat/Hindustan Aeronautics Jaguars and Sukhoi Su-30MKIs.
 
Antony said a court of enquiry is formed for each accident to ascertain the causes of and recommend remedial measures.
 
"Apart from this, the Indian air force has taken various measures relating to the invigoration of aviation safety organisation, streamlining of the accident/incident reporting procedure and audits of the aircraft fleets to identify remedial measures to reduce accidents," he said.
 
Other measures include efforts to keep birds away from air bases and the enhanced use of simulators during training.
 
The measures appear to be paying off; so far this year as of 17 August, the air force had lost only two fighters.

Mystery Drone Crash in Pakistan

It may be a Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk with the tail plane modified to look
more like a bird for camouflage. Just a guess, but the overall size and
other features are in that ball-park. The Desert Hawk is operated mainly by the
British, but the SOF community also operates a lot of small UAVs of

China deploys advanced nuclear-missile on Indian border

China has deployed more advanced and survivable solid-fuel nuclear capable CSS-5 MRBM missiles against India as a 'deterrent posture', Pentagon has said warning that a high degree of mistrust continues to strain their bilateral ties.
 
The PLA has replaced liquid-fueled, nuclear-capable CSS-2 IRBMs with more advanced and survivable solid-fueled CSS-5 MRBM systems to strengthen its deterrent posture relative to India, the Pentagon has said in its annual report on Chinese military build up to the Congress.
 
The report also says that Beijing is pumping in huge investments on border infrastructure developments laying more roads and rail network along the Sino-Indian border.
 
"Although this construction is primarily aimed at facilitating economic development in western China, improved roads could also support PLA border defense operations," it said.
 
Pentagon said that New Delhi remains concerned by China's close military ties with Pakistan and its growing footprints in the Indian Ocean, Central Asia and Africa.
 
The report noted that Pakistan continued to be China's primary customer for conventional weapons and sales to Islamabad included newly rolled out JF-17 fighters with production facilities, F-22P frigates with helicopters, early warning and control aircraft, tanks, K-8 trainers, F-7 fighters, air-to-air missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and missile technologies.
 
On Sino-Indian ties, Pentagon said, that though bilateral dialogue between the two nations increased, border tensions remained an irritant.
 
"China deepened its ties with India through increased trade and high-level dialogues in 2010, though border tensions remained an irritant in the bilateral relationship. Bilateral trade in 2010 reached nearly USD 60 billion," Pentagon said.
 
The two neighbours have held several rounds of dialogue over disputed territorial claims. Sino-Indian defense ties were institutionalised in 2007 with the establishment of an Annual Defense Dialogue, the report said.
 
"Though India cancelled high-level military exchanges following China's denial of visa to a senior Indian general in 2010, both sides agreed to resume exchanges in April 2011," the Pentagon said.
 
The US Defence Department in its assessment said that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's trip to New Delhi in 2010 attempted to smooth over differences following a year of uneasy relations, but he did not address serious irritants.
 
"A high degree of mistrust continues to strain the bilateral relationship," it said.

US surveillance drone crashes in Pakistan

An American surveillance drone equipped with a camera crashed in southwestern Pakistan Thursday close to the Afghan border, local officials said, adding the wreckage had been recovered.
 
The unmanned aircraft went down because of a technical fault just inside Pakistani territory in Chaman town, in insurgency-hit Baluchistan province, but had caused no damage, a security official in the area told AFP.
 
"It was an American surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle. It crashed on this side of the border," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding the wreckage of the aircraft had been recovered.
 
Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Pakistan probably let Chinese engineers examine what was left of a top-secret US stealth helicopter that crashed in the country during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May.
 
Citing unnamed officials, the newspaper said US intelligence agencies concluded it was likely that Chinese engineers -- at the invitation of Pakistani spies -- took detailed photographs of the severed tail of the Black Hawk helicopter equipped with classified technology designed to elude radar.
 
Relations between Pakistan and the United States are at a low point, strained by the covert American raid that killed bin Laden near Pakistan's main military academy and Pakistan's earlier detention of a CIA contractor.
 
An official from Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps in Quetta, Baluchistan province's main town, confirmed Thursday's incident.
 
"Some spare parts and a camera were also found with it," the official said. "It crashed near a Frontier Corps fort in Chaman but caused no damage."
 
Such crashes of US drone aircraft are rare but a Pakistani surveillance drone went down in the city of Karachi in July after hitting a bird on a routine flight.
 
In September 2008, tribesmen in the country's South Waziristan tribal district claimed to have shot down a US surveillance drone in Jalal village near the Afghan border.
 
The Pakistani army said it was investigating but did not make the results of that probe public.
 
The United States uses unmanned aircraft in its war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and to monitor militants in Pakistan, from where Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked fighters launch attacks in Afghanistan.
 
It also uses Predator armed drones to launch missile attacks aimed at militants in Pakistan's unstable northwestern border areas.
 
The campaign is deeply unpopular among an anti-American public and the government has publicly demanded an end to the attacks, although in private military and civilian leaders are thought to co-operate with the programme.

South Korea receives three F-15K Slam Eagles

South Korea has taken delivery of three more Boeing F-15K Slam Eagles, with the final eight of its 2008 21 aircraft order to be delivered before April 2012.
 
The aircraft departed Boeing's St Louis production facility on 16 August and arrived at Daegu AFB on 20 August, said Boeing.
 
During the transit the aircraft stopped in Palmdale, California, Hickam AFB, Hawaii and Andersen AFB, Guam. Their tail numbers are 51, 52 and 53.
 
In 2010 Boeing delivered six F-15Ks, with a further four arriving in April and May 2011.
 
Under its F-X II requirement South Korea ordered 21 F-15Ks in 2008. The South Korean air force had previously acquired 40 of the two-seat aircraft, before signing a follow-on order in 2008 for the 21 new, Pratt & Whitney F100-229-powered examples.
 
In late July, Seoul's Defence Acquisition Program Administration shortlisted four possible replacements to meet its F-X III upgrade programme requirements: Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle, Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Sukhoi's developmental PAK-FA.
 
Boeing and Lockheed Martin said that they both expect a formal request for proposal for 60 aircraft in early 2012, with deliveries to start in 2016.

India Army To Order For 37 Crores Arjun Mark-II MBT Version

Limited technical trials with some major and minor improvements on Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun Mark-I, as part of MBT Arjun Mark-II, have been carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the deserts of Rajasthan.

      Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has cleared the proposal for placement of indent for 124 Nos. of MBT Arjun Mark-II on Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi, Chennai. Placement of indent by the Army on Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is being further processed.

      The likely estimated cost of each MBT Arjun Mark-II with ail major/minor improvements will be approximately Rs.37 crore.

      The first batch of MBT Arjun Mark-II is likely to be productionised by 2015.

PLA organizes first-ever railway containers door-to-door

The Military Representative Office stationed in Wuhan Railway Bureau organized on August 19 a “door-to-door” transportation of military materials in railway containers from the quartermaster depot to the destination troop units, which is the first time of its kind in history of the railway transportation of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
 
The reporters saw at the loading site that five soldiers were driving mechanized no-platform conveyors to carry 120 boxes of coverlets and clothes out of the military depot and directly loaded them into the railway containers. All the procedures of stowage, joint inspection, sealing, and handover were handled at the depot. Upon arrival at the unloading site through railway, this batch of military materials would be delivered to the troop units directly by the local logistics companies.
 
According to introduction, this kind of "door-to-door” military transport has simplified the intermediate links in the whole process of transportation, and with the railway container positioning system, the precise positioning and whole-course dynamic control of military materials during the trip could be realized.

Russia To Develop New A-100 AWACS Plane

Russia hopes to develop a new airborne warning and control system (AWACS) plane by 2016, Air Force chief Col. Gen Alexander Zelin said on Tuesday. “We are expecting to receive the A-100 aircraft built on the basis of the IL-476 transport plane with the PS-90 engine and extended flight range,” Zelin told reporters in Moscow. The new AWACS plane will have an advanced active phase array capable of detecting and tracking airborne and land-based targets.

“We will have the carrier IL-476 by 2013-2014 and should be able to build this plane by 2016,” Zelin said.

The Russian Air Force has around 20 A-50 Mainstay AWACS planes, based on the Ilyushin IL-76 transport.

The A-50 is equipped with the large Liana surveillance radar with its antenna in an over-fuselage rotodome and can control up to ten fighter aircraft for either air-to-air intercept or air-to-ground attack missions.

Indian Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Fifth Generation Stealth Fighter Jet Program Cleared

India has reportedly cleared a fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)to be developed by 2017 whose total cost is estimated at $2bn.
According to a news report in The Hindu newspaper, the Govt of India has released Rs. 100 crore($20 million) last month to the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), an Indian government controlled research body which has also developed the LCA Tejus fourth generation fighter.
"AMCA, when developed and produced, would probably be the first medium combat aircraft with 20 tonne weight in the world. Similar aircraft being developed by the United States and Russia are in the range of 30 to 35 tonnes," PS Subramanyam, ADA Director and Programme Director (Combat Aircraft), was quoted as saying in the news report.
 The AMCA is to be a twin-engined 5th generation stealth multirole fighter, which will complement the HAL Tejas, the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA, the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, and other aircraft in the Indian Air Force.

 

 

 

PLAN Shi Lang 83 Sea Eagle Radar

                  Phased array Radars

Fresnel-lens Based Optical Landing System

 Fresnel-lens Based Optical Landing System

1030 CIWS with tracking radar

 
                                   FN-3000N missile system

                           FN-3000N missile system on starboard Bow 

j-20 j-xx chinese stealth fighter

A Light On Pakistan's Nuclear Submarine Project Sponsored Links Courtesy

In late 2011 an internet rumor spread about Pakistan's development of nuclear submarines and in early 2012, we have heard major news networks in Pakistan announce the development of Pakistan's nuclear submarines "in 5-8 years". The earliest news of Pakistan's nuclear submarine project was in 2006 when General Musharraf announced that Pakistan now has the technology to build nuclear submarines. 

The first point to ponder is that Pakistan, unlike certain other countries, prefers to develop weapon systems quietly. If this kind of announcements are coming out, it all probability Pakistan already has a nuclear submarine, or at minimum critical components, well underway. The most critical component is the nuclear power plant, and the news thus points to the development of a miniature power plant. 

RUMINT suggests that Pakistan's nuclear submarine is likely to be based on the Qing Class Chinese SSK, which Pakistan is believed to receive 6 units of. Given the giant size of the Qing Class (5,000-6,000 tons), the submarine is ideally suited as the basis for a Pakistani SSN / SSBN. RUMINT also suggests that Pakistan is seeking a smaller sized nuclear sub that sacrifices speed for simplicity and ease of maintenance. The basic idea is that instead of hydraulic propulsion, the Pakistani subs will utilize an all-electric propulsion system that is charged by the nuclear power plant.

Such an arrangement fits in perfectly for the following reasons:

Russian Stealth 1st public flight: Sukhoi PAK FA T-50 at MAKS airshow