Coast Guard inducts warship INS Vaibhav in operational service

The Coast Guard on Tuesday inducted its latest warship INS Vaibhav, which was involved in a mishap in which more than four fishermen were killed off the coast of Goa, in operational service.

ICGS Vaibhav is the third in the series of 90 metres class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) to be inducted by the force.

Taiwan to buy two U.S. frigates

The Republic of China Navy Command confirmed Monday that it is seeking to purchase two active Perry-class frigates from the United States.

The Navy Command said in a press release that the price and date of delivery will not be decided until after the U.S. Congress passes legislation allowing the transfer.

It denied a news report saying that the proposed acquisition includes a "mini-Aegis" fire control system and a vertical launch surface-to-air Standard I missile system.

Neither system was ever requested, the Navy Command said.

It was responding to a report in the Liberty Times Monday saying that the ships will be delivered to Taiwan's Navy next year at a total price of NT$600 million (US$20 million).

The paper said that Taiwan wants to replace its fleet of eight U.S.-made Knox-class frigates built in the 1960s.

Caretakers of Sukhoi jet fighters in Vietnam

For the ‘caretakers’ of the Russian-made Su-30MK2 fighter jets at an air base in the southern province of Dong Nai, work starts at 3:30am every day, before the sun is even up.
They are engineers and technicians of Air Regiment 935, tasked with the job of ensuring the fighters are flight-ready by 6:00am. The Su-30MK2 is a state-of-the-art supersonic fighter aircraft which is compared to a master cobra in the air thanks to its improved avionics, all-weather capability, and long-range endurance.

US Air Force selects Raytheon's transportable air traffic radar system

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) a contract to build rapidly deployable air traffic control (ATC) systems that can be delivered anywhere in the world and then be fully operational controlling flights within six hours.
The contract, with a potential full value of $260 million, calls for one Engineering and Manufacturing Development unit plus production options for up to 18 Deployable Radar Approach Control (D-RAPCON) systems. The Air Force has authorized Raytheon $50.6 million for the early development stage. Ten of the units will be delivered to the Air National Guard, seven to the active-duty Air Force Space Command, one to the Air Force ATC school and one to the Air Force depot.
D-RAPCON provides sequencing, separation of aircraft, navigation assistance and airspace control services, all with the latest digital sensors, communications equipment and advanced surveillance data processing systems. The Raytheon solution shares many common elements with existing U.S. Department of Defense ATC infrastructure.

Saab upgrading bid for Brazil FX-2 contest

Sweden's Saab is upgrading its bid for Brazil's FX-2 jet fighter purchase plan, even as it weighs challenges from rivals Boeing and France's Dassault.

Swedish manufacturer Saab is upgrading its bid for Brazil's long-delayed FX-2 jet fighter purchase plan, even as it weighs challenges from formidable rivals Boeing and France's Dassault. Saab is one of the three leading contenders for Brazil's jet fighter replacement program, said to be worth $6 billion-8 billion but wants to make sure its jet will compete successfully for roles in both the Brazilian air force and navy.
Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet and Dassault's Rafale-M have already demonstrated their multirole fighter capabilities extend from air force to naval operations. Saab ran tests on a naval version of its Gripen NG with the aim to show that its jet, if successful in the FX-2 competition, will be equal to the tasks demanded of an all-rounder combat aircraft.
The three companies have invested millions in positioning themselves for a Brazilian decision on the FX-2 acquisition program, which is no nearer the crunch time than it was at when Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff put off consideration of the project last year.

Russia, Peru to Sign MiG-29 Jet Upgrade Deal

Russia and Peru will sign a contract to upgrade Lima's fleet of Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters by the end of May, Konstantin Biryulin, deputy head of Russia’s Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service, said on Monday.
Belarus sold around twenty of the fighter jets to Peru in 1997. According to defenseindustrydaily.com, Peru signed a contract in 2008 for Russia's UAC MiG to upgrade eight of the original MiG-29S standard aircraft to MiG-29SMT standard. That work was completed in 2012.
Biryulin did not specify which organization would carry out the next upgrade or what enhancements it would include, or how many aircraft are involved.
Russia completed a $20-million upgrade last year for Peru's Russian-built Mi-25 attack helicopters. The Peruvian air force operates a total of 16 Mi-25 and Mi-35P helicopters.
Peru is also considering buying 100 T-90S tanks, Russian state arms corporation Rosoboronexport said on Sunday. Peru currently operates around 300 obsolete Soviet-made T-55 tanks, which Lima wants to replace with T-90S’s.

Six JF-17's to escort Chinese PM into Pakistan

Six JF-17 Thunder fighters of the Pakistan Air Force will escort the aircraft of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as it enters Pakistani air space on Wednesday, at the start of his two-day State visit.
The JF-17s — a symbol of deep Sino-Pakistan friendship – will guide the special Air China Boeing 747 aircraft of the Chinese dignitary to the Nur Khan Air Base, where a 21-gun salute will herald his arrival.
The JF-17s will fly past over the air base.

In a rare gesture of cordiality and warm feelings for China, President Asif Ali Zardari and the caretaker Prime Minister Justice(R) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso will receive the chief guest on his first visit to Pakistan, since assuming office in March.
President Zardari will host a luncheon for the distinguished guest in which all the major leadership of political parties have also been invited.
The Prime Minister will also host a banquet for his Chinese counterpart.
On the second day of his visit, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Chief Nawaz Sharif will meet Li Keqiang.
The two countries will also sign a number of memoranda of understanding for close cooperation in various fields.
The Chinese Premier will also address the Senate of Pakistan on May 23.

Large-scale Indian Cyber Attack on Pakistan for Intelligence Gathering Gets Uncovered

In a shocking development, a large scale cyber attack at Pakistan – aimed at gathering military scale, government and corporate data – emanating from India has been uncovered by Norman, a global security leader in malware analysis for enterprises.

Norman Securities, based out of Oslo, Norway, in its report titled “Unveiling an Indian Cyber-attack Infrastructure”, said that Indian cyber attack aimed at Pakistan and other countries could be as old as three years or close to four years.
Report said that this large and sophisticated cyber-attack infrastructure, dubbed as Operation Hangover, originated from India and is aimed at collecting military-scale data, government information and corporate data.
Norman said that primary purpose of the global command-and-control network – used in the attack – appears to be intelligence gathering from a combination of national security targets and private sector companies.
“The data we have appears to indicate that a group of attackers based in India may have employed multiple developers tasked with delivering specific malware,” commented Snorre Fagerland, head of research for Norman Shark labs in Oslo, Norway.
“The organization appears to have the resources and the relationships in India to make surveillance attacks possible anywhere in the world. What is surprising is the extreme diversity of the sectors targeted, including natural resources, telecommunications, law, food and restaurants, and manufacturing. It is highly unlikely that this organization of hackers would be conducting industrial espionage for just its own purposes—which makes this of considerable concern.”

Navy Needs B13bn for New Frigate

The Royal Thai Navy will ask the cabinet to approve a budget of 13 billion baht for a new frigate to be built by a South Korean shipyard.
Navy chief Adm Surasak Rounroengrom said the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters is scrutinising the budget proposal and later will forward it to the Ministry of Defence. Once approved, it will be submitted to the cabinet for consideration, he said. 
A navy source said the navy had set up several sub-committees to coordinate with the Korea-based shipbuilding and offshore contractor. 
A navy selection committee last month chose Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering to build the new frigate, a navy source said.
The company was one of two South Korean firms in the final round of bidding, organised by the navy panel.
Three other three foreign firms were eliminated in the previous rounds - from Spain, Italy and China.
The source said the high-capability frigate to be built by Daewoo would be based on the company’s type DX II frigate, which has a displacement of 5,000 tonnes, with modifications to meet the Thai navy’s special requirements.

Russia Seeks New Arms Deals on Growing Latin American Market

Russia will actively seek new deals on the Latin American arms market, which it expects to reach a value of $50 billion in the next ten years, the head of a Russian Technologies (Rostec) high-tech state corporation delegation said on Saturday.
“According to our expert estimates, the volume of the Latin American arms market will reach about $50 billion in the next ten years. If we focus our efforts on this, corresponding contracts could be signed,” said Sergei Goreslavsky, head of the delegation of Rostec, which comprises state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, at the SITDEF Peru 2013 defense technology exhibition.
Goreslavsky said Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico were all interested in buying helicopters and air defense systems. Russia, the world's second largest arms exporter after the United States, already has existing or previous arms contracts with those countries, as well as with several other Latin American states.
Earlier on Saturday, Goreslavsky said that Russia was in discussions with Peru over the purchase of Russian trucks, helicopters and tanks, and that Russia was considering allowing Bolivia to purchase about 10 Mi-8
/17 helicopters on credit.

Thai Navy needs B13bn for new frigate

The Royal Thai Navy will ask the cabinet to approve a budget of 13 billion baht for a new frigate to be built by a South Korean shipyard.

Navy chief Adm Surasak Rounroengrom said the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters is scrutinising the budget proposal and later will forward it to the Ministry of Defence. Once approved, it will be submitted to the cabinet for consideration, he said.
A navy source said the navy had set up several sub-committees to coordinate with the Korea-based shipbuilding and offshore contractor.
A navy selection committee last month chose Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering to build the new frigate, a navy source said.
The company was one of two South Korean firms in the final round of bidding, organised by the navy panel.
Three other three foreign firms were eliminated in the previous rounds - from Spain, Italy and China.
The source said the high-capability frigate to be built by Daewoo would be based on the company’s type DX II frigate, which has a displacement of 5,000 tonnes, with modifications to meet the Thai navy’s special requirements.
The new navy ship will have a displacement of between 3,000 and 4,000 tonnes.  
Navy chief of staff Chakchai Phucharoenyot, who chaired the selection committee, earlier told the media the navy also asked the company to install a Combat Management System (CMS) which can be allied to the systems already installed in the frigates HTMS Naresuan and HTMS Taksin.

Russian Manufacturer Offers Peru T-90S Tank

Russia’s Uralvagonzavod plant is prepared to provide Peru with a full-scale specimen of its T-90S, a main battle tank currently on show at a defense expo in Lima, a representative of the manufacturer said on Thursday.
Russia’s modified T-90S is currently on display at the SITDEF Peru 2013 defense expo that opened on Wednesday in Lima. The Peruvian military expressed an interest in the tank while visiting Russia last year.
“Given the genuine interest of Peru in purchasing T-90-type tanks, Uralvagonzavod is prepared to leave the tank in this country for testing after the exhibition is over,” Alexei Maslov, a manufacturer representative and former Armed Forces general, told RIA Novosti.

Maslov said that Russia has good chances of selling the tanks to Peru, which is expected to purchase between 120 and 170 machines of that class.
The modified T-90S is fitted with an increased power multi-fuel 1,130-h.p. diesel engine with gas turbine injection, which allows the vehicle to attain a top speed of over 60 km/h on the road and up to 45 km/h on rough terrain.

The T-90S redesigned turret features a modernized 125-mm gun, new fire control, navigation and communications