Russia Delays Arms Supplies to Syria over Money

Russia is postponing supplies of fighter jets and S-300 missile defense systems to Syria because official Damascus failed to pay for them, Kommersant newspaper said Saturday.
The 12 MiG-29M/M2 jets that Russia agreed to sell to Syria will not be supplied before 2016-2017, the daily said, citing an unnamed source at Russian state arms exports monopoly Rosoboronexport.
Though the deal was sealed in 2007, shipping was delayed over technicalities and then put on hold because Syria has only paid Moscow 30 percent of what it owes for the jets, Kommersant said.
Earlier media reports said six of 12 MiGs were expected to be shipped by the end of this year.

A 2010 deal to supply Damascus with S-300 missile defense systems, initially frozen over US and Israeli complaints, also remains on hold due because Syria has so far failed to provide an advance payment, the report said.
“Supplies of S-300 are out of question until we see real money,” the newspaper cited an unnamed official at the Russian military-industrial cooperation complex as saying.
The S-300 were initially expected to be delivered by July 2014, but shipping would be delayed until 2015 or 2016 unless the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad pays up soon, the report said.

The state-of-the-art anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems could be a serious obstacle for a potential bombing of Syrian state targets currently planned by the United States in punishment for Assad regime’s alleged chemical attacks on civilians.
Russia is also only planning to ship six of 36 Yak-130 combat trainer jets Syria contracted it for in 2011 because this is all that official Damascus paid for so far, the report said.
Rosoboronexport has not commented on the report. A military expert cited by Kommersant said that Assad’s forces, which are battling insurgents since 2011, have more need for tanks, armored vehicles and helicopter gunships than fighter jets.

Xi boards Liaoning aircraft carrier, watches training

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C front), who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission and general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, reviews an honor guard on the aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, in northeast China's Liaoning Province, Aug. 28, 2013. Xi visited the Shenyang military theater of operations before attending the Saturday opening ceremony of the 12th National Games in Shenyang. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

President Xi Jinping has this week visited the Shenyang military theater of operations and watched a training session for the country's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.

Xi, also chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), called on the military to deeply implement the goal of strengthening the troops so as to constantly enhance their ability to fulfill missions, during his recent visit to northeast China.

Xi, who is general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, urged the military to make greater contributions to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development.
On Wednesday, he watched take-off and landing training of carrier-based aircraft and asked questions about the equipment at a training base of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.
Xi applauded the pilots' efficient performance and praised their command of flight skills under complicated weather conditions.
The president listened carefully to an introduction to the aircraft's design and capability, urging technicians to carefully analyze the plane's test flight data and encouraging them to make persistent efforts and keep studying and practicing in order to become excellent pilots.
He also visited the city of Dalian and boarded the Liaoning aircraft carrier at the Dalian Port to review a parade of the honor guard.
On the carrier, Xi went down into the cabin. He asked about the capabilities and features of the equipment on board and was told about soldiers' training progress.
Xi was concerned about the carrier's logistics, asking specifically about soldiers' lodging, dining and medical treatment.

Raytheon Stock Skyrockets With Talk of U.S. Intervention in Syria

Raytheon, the Waltham based military defense corporation, saw its stocks reach an all-time high this week after talks of a possible U.S. missile attack on Syria. The military attack is in response to allegations of a chemical weapons attack by Syria President Assad on his own people.
Currently, Raytheon's stock is trading at $75.50 per share, up 44 percent since its 52-week low in February. In the last month alone, Raytheon's stock shot up 6 percent.
On August 13, Raytheon received a $200.5 million weapons order from the U.S. military and five of its allies.
The massive contract will see Raytheon supply 532 AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and training to the U.S. Navy and Army as well as Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
The Obama administration is very familiar with Raytheon. According to a report by Politico, a White House budget submission for 2013 requested 196 Tomahawk missiles, and the Tomahawk cruise missile is said to be "President Barack Obama’s weapon of choice." The total cost of the program was $320 million.

Russian Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov To Be Sent To Syria’s Tartus

The Russian Navy has confirmed its plans to send its heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov to the Syrian port of Tartus in early December.It said in an announcement made Friday that the visit was scheduled several months ago, will be a routine resupply call and has nothing to do with the current aggravation of the conflict in Syria.
The Admiral Kuznetsov is based in Severomorsk on the Russian coast of the Barents Sea. It carries several Sukhoi jet fighters and Kamov antisubmarine helicopters.
The Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday that Russia has no plans to intervene in Syria’s conflict.

Taiwan plans to buy two warships from US

Taiwan plans to purchase two warships from the United States as part of its efforts to modernise its forces against a perceived military threat from China, a lawmaker said on Friday.Taiwan plans to purchase two warships from the United States as part of its efforts to modernise its forces against a perceived military threat from China, a lawmaker said on Friday.

The defence ministry has listed Tw$5.6 billion (US$187 million) in its 2014 and 2015 budgets to buy two Perry-class frigates from the US navy, said lawmaker Lin Yu-fang, citing defence budgets submitted to the parliament.
The ministry aimed to buy two rather than four Perry-class frigates as previously reported by the media to replace some of its Knox-class frigates that were retired, Lin said.
Ties between Taiwan and China have improved markedly since Ma Ying-jeou became the island's president in 2008 on a China-friendly platform. He was elected for a second term last year.
However, China still claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan and has repeatedly threatened to invade should the island declare formal independence, prompting Taipei to seek more advanced weapons largely from the US.

India Signs $55M in Deals With Russia’s MiG Fighter Jet Maker

Russia’s MiG fighter jet maker has signed two additional contracts with India worth a total $55 million, the corporation said Wednesday.
They are part of a general contract with India’s air force.
Under the first, $43 million contract, a servicing center will be established in India for maintenance and repair of Zhuk-ME on-board radars, MiG representatives said.
The second, $12 million contract provides for the creation in India of a servicing center for modernized MiG-29UPG fighter jets.
Russia will deliver six MiG-29K Fulcrum “generation 4++” fighters to India this year as part of a 2010 contract for 29 planes worth $1.5 billion, MiG CEO Sergei Korotkov said at the MAKS-2013 international air and space show.
India currently has 21 aircraft. Under the contract, MiG is to deliver 29 planes before 2015, Korotkov said. Last year four aircraft were delivered and one has been delivered so far this year, he added.

Bangladesh Govt plans to get submarines

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government would buy submarines in future to bolster Bangladesh’s defence capabilities.

She said her government had undertaken short- and long-term plans to turn Bangladesh Navy into an ‘effective force’.

“We will buy submarines in future as part of that process,” she while commissioning three warships and inducting into the Navy's fold two maritime patrol aircraft in Chittagong on Thursday.

Navy Chief Vice Admiral M Farid Habib received Hasina at BAF base Zahurul Haq in Chittagong.

Hasina said her government had initiated moves in 1996 to add an aviation wing to the navy, and a modern frigate, BNS Bangabandhu, capable of handling helicopter flights, was added five years later.

“We have added two maritime helicopters, bought from Italy, to the navy, and today two aircraft from Germany are joining the naval aviation fleet,” she said.

India developing E-bomb to paralyze networks'

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing an E-bomb which will emit electromagnetic shock waves that destroy electronic circuits and communication networks of enemy forces, its chief and scientific advisor to the defence minister Avinash Chander said.

So next time there is a Kargil or a LoC violation, you may not hear gunshots or mortar shells, because the electromagnetic bomb will throw life out of gear.

"It will be a weapon that would explore the strong electromagnetic field generating a brief but intense or high power pulse of electromagnetic energy," Chander told TOI at the Missile Complex in Hyderabad. He said the spectrum of targets will be broad and in times to come, E-bombs would form the core of tactical warfare and electronic combat operations to damage the command, control and communications of enemy forces.

The director general of DRDO said that the electromagnetic shock wave from the bomb will destroy electronic circuits and communication network "while paralyzing them in terms of radars, communication networking, information gathering sensors, controls and other electronic equipment." Work is in full swing at the Research Centre Imarat, the Hyderabad-based laboratory of DRDO, to build the new bomb which will be ready for operational deployment within a few years.

China Defense Ministry Promises More Aircraft Carriers

China will “surely” build more aircraft carriers now that it has its first, a Defense Ministry spokesman said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Asked to confirm reports that China is building its first carrier from scratch, ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said today “there will surely be more in the future,” according to Xinhua. China will consider building carriers in accordance with its defense needs, he said at a briefing.
China’s first aircraft carrier, built from an incomplete Ukrainian hull and dubbed the Liaoning, began flight take-off and landing tests this year. The country’s next carrier will be larger and transport more fighters, Song Xue, the Chinese navy’s deputy chief of staff, said in April.
Satellite imagery of a shipbuilding facility near Shanghai suggests China started building an aircraft carrier, IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly said earlier this month.

Sweden's defence crisis isn't Russia's fault

Swedish defence policy suffers from a deep credibility crisis that has nothing to do with Russia, argues Uppsala University professor Stefan Hedlund, in response to reactions to a previous op-ed about Russia and the Swedish military.My original op-ed about Russia and Swedish defence has triggered lively reactions, which is excellent. Regrettably, few if any have been willing to address what I believe to be the main point, namely, that Swedish defence policy suffers from a deep credibility crisis.

Tax payers may legitimately wonder how it can be that we spend some 46 billion crowns annually for a defence that, according to statements by the Commander-in-Chief, can only defend a limited part of the country, only for a week and seemingly only during office hours.

The very simple fact that Finland spends about half of what Sweden does, and still manages to maintain a credible defence force, strengthens me in my belief that there is something rotten in the Kingdom of Sweden, something that has little to do with Russia.

In line with many other commentators, The Local's contributor Annelie Gregor argues that I am off target in my assessment of Russian militarization and the country’s drift towards authoritarianism. Her argument is divided into five points. I will address these in order.The first is that I am unjustified in downgrading Russian military capability solely based on failed launches with the Bulava SLBM. My reason for using this example is that the Bulava, arguably, is the only truly modern component in the 20 trillion ruble rearmament program. One might also mention the much-touted Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA fifth generation fighter aircraft, but the Moscow grapevine refers to it as "generation 4.5," suggesting that it may not quite live up to standards. The remainder is little more than hyped-up Soviet designs.

Russia to deploy jets to Belarus

Belarus Defense Minister Iuri Zhadobin stated Russian fighters will be deployed in Belarus before the end of the year. Where the aircraft will be deployed is unclear. Zhadobin did not say whether the jets will be located at an air base the Russia Federation intends to open in northwestern Belarus near its borders with Poland and Lithuania, but a Russian air force general said in late June Russian Su-27SM3 fighter jets would be stationed at the base, due to open "within a few months' time."
The Russian air force facility will be situated in Lida and will form an important element in the "strategic defense of the Union State," according to Russian air force Chief Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev.
When the Lida air base becomes operational, it will be the second one Moscow has opened in the post-Soviet space since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. The first Russian air base developed after the collapse of the Soviet Union is located at Kant, Kyrgyzstan, near the capital Bishkek and opened in 2003. The Kant air base currently houses a number of Su-27 fighters.
As both Poland and Lithuania and neighboring Latvia are now all members of NATO, sharing a common frontier with Belarus, seeking to allay European fears, in May Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the plans for a Belarus air base are not a response to the proposed deployment of a U.S. missile shield in Europe the Russian federation has fiercely opposed since it was first suggested, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday.
The Su-27SM3 is a single-seat multi-role fighter capable of air superiority and ground strike missions. The Su-27 -- intended as a direct competitor for the large U.S. fourth-generation fighters, with a 1,910 nautical mile range, heavy armament, sophisticated avionics and high maneuverability -- first entered the Russian air force as a frontline aircraft in 1985. The Russian air force has already upgraded a considerable number of its Su-27 fighters to the SM standard. The SM3 has a stronger airframe than previous variants, with additional hard points for weapons carriage. The Su-27SM3's heavier weight is offset by higher-thrust AL-31F-M1 engines manufactured by MMPP Salut.

S-300 missiles for Iran "dismantled, scrapped"

The S-300 advanced air defense missile systems that Russia refused to deliver to Iran have now been completely dismantled and scrapped, the CEO of the company that built them said Thursday.
“The equipment that was to have been delivered to Iran is no more,” Almaz-Antey Corporation’s CEO Vladislav Menshchikov said. “We have dismantled it completely. Some elements, which could be used, have been used. Some have been scrapped.”
Every contract is made for a particular client and cannot be adjusted to the requirements of another, he said.
“The makeup is different, the specifications are different, and the software is different,” Menshchikov said.
Russia signed a deal in 2007 to provide Iran four S-300 batteries. Russia annulled the contract in 2010 due to concerns over its nuclear program. Iran filed a $4 billion lawsuit for compensation over the failed deal, which is pending review in an international arbitration court in Geneva.
Russian daily Vedomosti said in June, citing undisclosed Russian arms industry sources, that Russia had offered to provide Iran with Antei-2500 air defense systems, but the offer was never officially confirmed.
Anatoly Isaikin, the head of Russia’s state-run arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport said in mid-August his agency had no plans to provide Iran with replacements for the S-300 missile defense systems that Russia had refused to deliver.