US Navy Orders Two Billion-Dollar DDG1000 Destroyers Zumwalt

 

The U. S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, a $1.8 billion contract for the construction of DDG 1001 and DDG 1002, the next two ships in the Zumwalt-class program. DDG 1001 is scheduled to be delivered in December 2015 and DDG 1002 is scheduled to be delivered in February 2018.

"This contract enables us to maintain a strong base of quality shipbuilding jobs in Maine and continue our contributions to sustaining the U.S. Navy fleet," said Jeff Geiger, president of Bath Iron Works. "It provides Bath Iron Works with a healthy backlog of work and reflects the Navy's continued commitment to the DDG-1000 program, as well as their confidence in our ability to build and deliver all three ships of this class."

Geiger said, "Winning this work is a result of our commitment to operational excellence and to finding more efficient, affordable ways to operate in every part of our business. It gives us the opportunity to continue introducing new and innovative ways to build capable ships for the Navy."

"We appreciate all the support the Maine Congressional delegation has provided to this program. Their commitment to national defense and their advocacy on behalf of the workers of Maine has been a crucial factor," Geiger said.

The first ship in the class, DDG-1000, is over 50 percent complete and is scheduled to be delivered in 2014. The DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer is the U.S. Navy's next-generation, guided-missile naval destroyer, leading the way for a new generation of advanced multi-mission surface combat ships. The ships will feature a low radar profile, an integrated power system and a total ship computing environment infrastructure. Armed with an array of weapons, the Zumwalt-class destroyers will provide offensive, distributed and precision fires in support of forces ashore.

Work is already underway at the Bath, Maine, shipyard on DDG 1001 and DDG 1002. Congress previously approved funding for advanced procurement and initial construction of these ships. Bath Iron Works is the lead designer and builder for the program which employs approximately 5,400 people.

Indian chopper goes home after forced landing in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - An Indian helicopter, which was Sunday forced by Pakistan's jet fighters to land because of airspace violation, has returned to India along with the crew, a Pakistan army spokesman told AFP.
 
"The helicopter and crew have been allowed to go back," Major General Athar Abbas said, adding that "military officials from both countries talked with each other", and the Pakistan army provided refueling for the helicopter.
 
An Indian government foreign affairs spokesman said on Twitter the government was "relieved" that the officers and helicopter were back in Indian territory.
 
He said that India "greatly appreciate" the manner in which Pakistan "worked with us in resolving" the matter.
 
Investigations were under way to determine why the helicopter crossed into air space around Pakistan's northern Skardu area, Abbas said.
 
In an earlier statement from New Delhi, the Indian government said it seemed the incident had been caused by bad weather.
 
Skardu lies near India-administered Kashmir.
 
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947 -- two of them over the fate of the Himalayan territory of Kashmir -- which each country holds in part but claims in full.

china first aircraft carrier named SHi Lang

 

Azmat Class Fast Attack Craft For the Pakistan Navy

The Pakistan Navy is slated to receive its first Azmat Class Fast Attack Craft (FAC) from China in within 6 months. These boats are not to be confused with the older Azmat class which are less than half the tonnage and are significantly less capable ships. The Azmat class will be the first stealth FACs in the Subcontinent. They will be superior in every way to the Indian Navy counterparts. To date however, only two such ships have been ordered. A follow on order for two more are also likely.

Of the two boats ordered, one is being built in China and another is being built in Pakistan. These boats are well-armed although somewhat lacking in air defense, a typical problem with smaller boats of this type. The ships are designed to have both a defensive and offensive capability. Herein lies the advantage of these boats - with many Indian ports within 200 miles of Pakistan, the Azmat Class's 500 nautical mile range and 110 mile C-802 range makes these boats an effective threat along with her traditional defensive coastal role. The ship is further equiped with a modern networked C4I system that will be a force multiplier in terms of network-centric warfare, utilizing the sensors of other ships, aircraft and PN assets.

The PLAN Type 022 Houbei Class

A question is often asked why the PN did not by the Type 022 Houbei Class FACs. While these boats are faster and stealthy, they have significantly less range and are also more dependent on external guidance and sensors. Their hull design is also not as suited for poor weather conditions at sea. These imply that they would be less effective for the Pakistan Navy. The Type 022 are also significantly smaller boats. In comparison, the 022 pursues closely the Soviet doctrine of missile boats which also require large numbers. In comparison, the Azmat Class is closer to an OPV (Offshore Petrol Vehicle) suitable for a wide variety of roles as an OPV and a missile boat. In fact, this author speculates that they may later even utilize ship-launched UAVs.

One notable characteristic of the Azmat Class is that it uses nearly half the crew for a similar sized / category ship. This shows how advanced automation has reached Chinese naval development and will significantly lower the cost of operating these boats. They also would lower the casualty count in case of war.

The Azmat Class is considered slower than some contemporary missile boats, although of similar speed to Corvettes and OPVs. The length of the ship in relation to the bow wave creates an optimal speed when the latter is nearly the same length as the former. At this speed the drag is lower, giving the ship greater endurance. 30 knots is thus a compromise and a an ideal "sweet spot" for a ship that is 60 meters in length. Further, this represents only open source information and it may be the ship can run faster when needed at wartime. 

At $50 million, the Azmat Class is a moderately priced ship that is well-balanced in her traits and able to play multiple roles, a quality rare for her class. The ship provides both stealth and automation that breaks new standards. Capable of both defensive and offensive operations, the Azmat class will play a small but important role in the Pakistan Navy.

Chinese Use www.baidu.com Best search engine

Chinese Use www.baidu.com Best search engine

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60% of chinese use the best search engine on planet

Baidu.com

After failing to win the market share in China , Google decided to run from the Chinese market and to make sure their shares do not plunge they made up story about the whole chinese hackers

May be Google should just accept they cannot beat Baidu.com the best chinese search engine in market.

 Asiandefence-news.blogspot.com

Indonesian navy Corvettes: Sigma Class

Num  Name
365 KRI Diponegoro (DPN)
366 KRI Hasanuddin (HSN)
367 KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda (SIM)
368 KRI Frans Kaisiepo (FKO)

Technical Data :Displacement   : 1,700 tons
Dimensions     : 90.71 x 13.02 x 3.6 meters
Propulsion     : 2 shafts; 2 cruise diesels, 8,910 bhp, 28 knots;
Crew           : 80
Combat System  : Thales TACTICOS
Radar          : MW 08  3D Radar
Sonar          : Thales UMS 4132 Kingklip hull mounted
Fire Control   : LIROD MK2 Tracking radar
ESM            : Thales DR 3000
ECM            : Racal Scorpion 2L
Aviation       : Aft helicopter deck
Armament       : 4
 MM40 Exocet SSM, 2 Mistral TETRAL SAM positions, 1 Oto Melara Super 
Rapid 76mm Dual Purpose, 2 Denel Vector 20 mm, 2 B 515 inch torpedo 
tubes.
Builders       : Royal Schelde Shipbuilding, Vlissingen, Netherlands 

                 367 KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda (SIM) 

 

           368 KRI Frans Kaisiepo (FKO)

                  366 KRI Hasanuddin (HSN)

                  365 KRI Diponegoro (DPN)

Pilot dies in Pakistan air force plane crash 19th October

At least one officer was killed on Wednesday when a trainer plane of Pakistan Air Force (P.A.F) crashed in the country's southwestern province of Balochistan, local Urdu TV ARY News reported.
According to the report, the incident took place at about 12:30 pm (local time) when a trainer aircraft of P.A.F crashed in Hub district of Balochistan during routine training session. Pilot of the plane died on the spot.
There is no official statement about the incident so far and the reason of the crash is also not determined yet.
Earlier on August 15, one man was killed and a female pilot got injured in a trainer plane crash in eastern Pakistan.

One Direction's Zayn Malik

One Direction's Zayn Malik

One Direction's Zayn Malik

One Direction's Zayn Malik

One Direction's Zayn Malik  

iran unveils shalamche surface-to-air missile

Tehran: Iran on Sunday unveiled a new domestically manufactured surface-to-air missile, the Mehr news agency reported.

Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the Shalamche missile, with a maximum speed of Mach 3 (around 3,670 km per hour)), can be used in electronic warfare.

Iran unveils surface-to-air missile
The missile is equipped with sophisticated radar signal processing technology and an advanced launcher, the minister said.

Iran unveils surface-to-air missile
The range of the missile, which is 40 km at present, will increase in the future

KAI T-50 Golden Eagle

The T-50 Golden Eagle is a family of South Korean supersonic advanced trainer and multirole fighters, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries beginning in the late 1990s. The T-50 is the first indigenous South Korean supersonic aircraft and one of the only supersonic trainer in the world. It took its first flight in 2002 and went active duty with the Republic of Korea Air Force in 2005.

 The T-50 advanced trainer developed into acrobatic and combat variants, namely the T-50B, TA-50 and FA-50. Ten T-50B to serve with the Air Force aerobatics team, South Korea. In 2011 was the first squadron of the TA-50, T-50 light attack variant is, operational. The first flight of the FA-50, T-50's multirole fighter version with similar capabilities for KF-16, also continued in 2011. First FA-50 production for 60 aircraft starting in 2013 to 2016.
As of 2011, sixteen TA-50 light attack variants of the family has been exported to Indonesia, and additional export orders are pursued in countries such as Iraq, Israel, Poland, the Philippines, and Spain. T-50 is also marketed as a candidate for the TX program of the United States and the United States Air Force's next-generation advanced trainer. The T-50 is the proposed basis for the F-50 next-generation indigenous fighter.

 The T-50 program was originally designed for an indigenous trainer aircraft capable of supersonic flight to develop, and train pilots to prepare for the KF-16 and F-15K to replace coaches such as T-38 and A -37 which was in service with the Republic of Korea Air Force. Prior South Korean aircraft programs, the propeller-driven basic trainer KT-one produced by Daewoo Aerospace (now part of KAI), and license manufactured KF-16. In general, the T-50 series of aircraft similar to the KF-16 in configuration.

 The mother program, codenamed KTX-2, began in 1992, but the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs KTX-2 suspended in 1995 due to financial constraints. The basic design of the aircraft was established in 1999. The development of the aircraft was funded by Lockheed Martin 13%, 17% by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), and 70% by the government of South Korea.

The aircraft was formally designated as T-50 Golden Eagle in February 2000. The T-50A designation is reserved by the U.S. military to avoid inadvertently assigned to another aircraft model. Final assembly of the first T-50 took place between January 15 and September 14, 2001.  The first flight of the T-50 took place in August 2002 and the first operational assessment from July 28 to August 14, 2003. KAI and Lockheed Martin are currently pursuing a joint marketing program for the T-50 variant at international level. The South Korean Air Force placed a production contract for 25 T-50s in December 2003, with planes scheduled to be delivered between 2005 and 2009. Original T-50 equipped with the AN/PG-67 (V) 4 radar from Lockheed Martin.

 he T-50 Golden Eagle design is largely derived from the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon, and they have much in common: use of a single motor, speed, size, cost and range of weapons. Previous techniques KAI's experience in producing the license KF-16 has benefited significantly in the T-50 design.

The trainer can carry two pilots in tandem seating. The high-mounted hood developed by Hankuk Fiber is used with stretched acrylic, which the pilots with good visibility, and is tested to the hood with a ballistic protection against 4-lb objects affects 400 knots to offer. The height limit is 14,600 meters (48,000 ft), and the hull is designed to provide 8000 hours of service. There are seven internal fuel tanks with a capacity of 2,655 liters (701 U.S. gal), five in the trunk and two in the wings. An additional 1710 liters (452 ​​U.S. gal) of fuel can be performed in the three external fuel tanks.

The T-50 Golden Eagle uses a General Electric F404-102 turbofan engine produced under license by Samsung Techwin, upgraded with a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system jointly developed by General Electric and Korea Aerospace Industries. The engine consists of three-staged fans, seven axial stage arrangement, and an afterburner. The aircraft has a maximum speed of Mach 1.4-1.5. The engine delivers a maximum of 78.7 kN (17,700 lbf) of thrust with afterburner. The General Electric F414 engine has been proposed as the new engine for the T-50 family, but also Rolls Royce EJ200 for better compatibility with the European air forces. Both engines deliver more thrust compared to the F404.

The T-50's central processing unit and the operating system developed by MDS technology. [40] The T-50's avionics system is the first and only real-time operating system developed by an Asian company, and receives the DO-178B certification. Samsung Thales and LIG Nex1 are the main avionics and electronic warfare equipment developer for T-50 and its variants. Other South Korean companies such DoDAAM Systems and Aero Master are responsible for the secondary of the aircraft avionics, including store management computers, avionics test equipment, flight data recorders, portable maintenance aids, data analysis software, post-flight data processing system, and aircraft structure and engine management software.

Hanwha provides the mechanical components for the operating system, and WIA provides the base. The T-50 is equipped with a Honeywell H-764G embedded global positioning / inertial navigation system and HG9550 radar altimeter. The aircraft is the first coach of the digital fly-by-wire control interface (triple redundant) function. The cockpit panels, switches and joysticks are produced by the South Korean FirsTec and Sungjin Techwin.

TA-50 mounts a General Dynamics A-50 20 mm gun internally behind the cockpit. The gun is a three-barreled version of the M61 Vulcan, with 205 rounds of link less ammunition. AIM-9 Sidewinders can be connected to each wingtip rails, and additional weapons can be mounted under wing hard points. Compatible air-ground weapons are the AGM-65 Maverick missiles, Hydra 70 rocket launchers and LOGIR, CBU-58 and Mk-20 cluster bombs, and Mk-82, -83, -84, and general purpose bombs.

FA-50 can be externally provided with Rafael's Sky Shield LITE NING ECM pods and targeting pods to further improve the fighter electronic warfare and targeting capabilities. Other improved weapon systems over TA-50 are multifunctional SPICE guidance kits, Textron Sensor Fuzed Weapon with CBU-97/105 WCMD tail kits, JDAM-ER and JDAM for more extensive air-ground operations, and AIM-120 missiles for BVR air to air operations. FA-50 has provisions for but not yet integrated, Python and Derby missiles, also manufactured by Rafael.

General characteristics
Crew: 2 
Length: 12.98 m (42 ft 7 in) 
Wingspan: 9.17 m (30 ft 1 in) 
Height: 4.78 m (15 ft 8.25 in) 
Empty weight: 6,450 kg (14,200 pounds)
Max takeoff weight: 13,500 kg (29,700 pounds) 
Powerplant: 1 × General Electric F404 afterburning turbofan
Dry thrust: 53.07 kN (11,925 lbf)
Thrust with afterburner: 78.7 kN (17,700 lbf)

Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 1.4 ~ 1.5
Range: 1.851 km (1.150 mi) 
Ceiling: 16,760 m (55,000 ft) 
Thrust / weight: 0.96Max g limit: -3 g / 8 g

Weaponry 
Guns: 1 × 20 mm (0.787 in) 
General Dynamics A-50 three-barreled rotary cannon 
Hard Points: Total: 7 
Rockets: Hydra 70, LOGIR 
Rockets:Air-to-air: AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM. 
Air-ground: AGM-65 Maverick
Bombs: Mk 82, Mk 83 and Mk 84 general purpose bombs with SPICE, JDAM or JDAM-ER guidance kits; CBU-97/105 sensor fuzed weapons, laser guided bombs

A MiG-21 combat aircraft of the IAF on Friday (October 7) crashed near Uttarlai airport in Rajasthan's Barmer district

Chinese Navy New JL-9 Trainer