China Is Flaunting Its Only Carrier Strike Group
Via China Military Online.
China’s powerful navy isn’t trying to hide its capabilities anymore. In less than a handful of years it revived a derelict aircraft carrier and then expanded its inventory beyond any reasonable scale. No other Asian state can match the PLAN in absolute size and firepower.
One outcome of this naval resurgence is intentional overexposure for the PLAN’s different fleets. It’s been established that various small and large exercises are scheduled each month in the seas adjacent to the Chinese coast. But as April entered its final weeks the PLA’s news website published numerous photos of a carrier strike group to deliberately advertise a new doctrine: If Beijing so wishes, it will bring the fight to the enemy.
DSA 2018: Taiwan Flaunts Its Weaponry For ASEAN Customers
An inert medium-range air-to-air missile on display at the TADTE 2017 arms show in Taipei.
Malaysia’s biggest arms show played host to a very rare collection of exhibitors two weeks ago. For the first time ever, Taiwan’s mysterious defense sector was taking part. Based on a public index of companies participating in this year’s Defense Services Asia, the 202nd, 203rd, and 204th Arsenals together with the 401st Plant commanded their own floor space in hopes of enticing new customers.
But Taiwan’s unannounced participation in DSA 2018 only attracted a modicum of coverage and the sudden visibility its exhibitors enjoyed didn’t produce any transactions. Then why did Taipei send its armaments manufacturers abroad?
Armored Cars: Poly Technologies CS/VP3
Chinese vehicle companies didn’t start competing in the mine-resistant trucks sector until recently. One of the earliest models to be exported abroad was the CS/VP3 from Poly Technologies. It’s the same state-owned conglomerate responsible for AK-47 knockoffs and renowned wheeled APCs. Today, Poly Technologies’ mine-resistant truck is in direct competition with newer offerings from Norinco.
The CS/VP3 was developed at the beginning of the decade and was quickly rolled out for clients abroad in 2013. It’s believed to have been a licensed copy of another truck, albeit with superficial changes.
Pakistan Just Tested Its Newest Cruise Missile
An earlier variant of the Babur cruise missile’s launch vehicle. Via Wikimedia Commons.
On April 14 the Pakistan military announced it had successfully tested an “enhanced range version” of the Babur cruise missile. In a press release from Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) the “Babur Weapon System-1 (B)” was described as having “advanced aerodynamics and avionics that can strike targets both at land and sea with high accuracy, at a range of 700 kilometers.”
The Babur cruise missile is one of the more dangerous additions to Pakistan’s growing missile arsenal. Also known as the “Hatf 7,” the Babur has been tailored into ground and sea launched variants as a deterrent to India’s overwhelming conventional military strength. Very few details about it are available in the public domain but it’s reportedly armed with a 450 kilogram warhead.
China Threatens Its Neighbors With War On A Monthly Basis
Via China Military Online.
This April marks one of the busiest periods in the PLAN’s ongoing efforts to consolidate its vast territorial claims. In the span of two weeks China’s navy conducted an unannounced “parade” and then held multiple exercises over the South China Sea. A different series of exercises took place in the Taiwan Strait to rattle the country it condemns a “rogue province.”
In what amounts to one of the strangest martial performances in the 2010s, on April 12 Chinese state media reported President Xi Jinping was aboard a destroyer while 48 ships and submarines of the PLAN’s Southern Fleet streamed by him, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning.
Despite Duterte, Foreign Navies Are Courting The Philippines
USS Theodore Roosevelt. Via Wikimedia Commons.
As Beijing strengthens its grip on the South China Sea, its newest friend in the ASEAN is actually playing host to the world’s most powerful navies. This month had several visits by warships from three members of the “Quad Alliance”–a coalition led by the US involving Australia, India, and Japan–that seeks to contain China’s emergence as the Asia-Pacific’s strongest state.
The Duterte administration’s fondness for China is hardly a secret but there’s little evidence the Philippines has moved away from the US’ sphere of influence. Shortly after Duterte’s arrival in China for the Boao Forum, where he solicited investment pledges from Chinese companies, another US Navy aircraft carrier was in Manila Bay.
Via Russian Media.
PUNE, INDIA (MnM) – Today, the nature of warfare has changed drastically and technology plays a key role in shaping it. The threats faced by militaries are uncertain, with populated places often being the battlefields, and enemies are innovative, networked, and intelligent. This overpowers the superiority an army may have in terms of conventional warfare capabilities. Technological advancements, however, give countries the capability to counter new enemies. One important advancement is the field of military robots.
Highlights Of OEWatch For April 2018
Each month the US Army’s think tank the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) publishes its open source OEWatch magazine as a free download on the APAN Community Network. The April 2018 issue of OEWatch runs 70 pages long and features a stock image of Vladimir Putin, with his defense minister almost obscured behind him, gazing through a pair of field glasses. Hovering above the Russian leader in bold caps is the title Russia’s Ambitions.
The magazine is divided between seven sections and editorial duties are shared between Tom Wilhelm, Matthew Stein, and Lucas Winter, with further input from a familiar pool of contributors.
Armored Cars: MODIAR Tufan
Via mdi.gov.az
Another former Soviet republic that’s making serious progress with its local arms industry is Azerbaijan. The oil-rich Caspian state locked in a bitter territorial dispute with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave has spent years carefully expanding its military-industrial complex. The results so far have been modest–small arms and ordnance are produced in state-owned factories–but a recent breakthrough shows Azerbaijan’s confidence in its engineering prowess.
In early 2017 the Ministry of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan (MODIAR) unveiled the first armored vehicle designed and manufactured in the country, the Tufan. Weighing 12 tons unloaded, with a maximum cargo capacity of three tons, the Tufan is built according to the most common specifications for mine-resistant trucks.
Via ScottSchober.com
There is no shortage of cybersecurity titles in the book world. But a somewhat unappreciated volume among the multitude is Scott Schober’s Hacked Again. Beyond the hysterical cover art, where a disgruntled man is letting out a primal scream to convey the trauma of getting hacked, are pages and pages filled with practical ideas for shielding a small business from cyber criminals.
Schober’s choice for his self-published book’s title isn’t just for brevity either. As the CEO of a hardware manufacturer specializing in wireless devices, Schober’s company has suffered multiple breaches that harmed its bottom line. He’s been hacked again so many times himself, he feels an affinity for perps and victims alike. This is what makes Hacked Again so compelling–it offers an unfiltered view of the small-scale threats that can wreak enormous damage on private lives and businesses.
The Nuclear Missiles Of Pakistan Are Getting Deadlier
The Shaheen III IRBM. Via Inter Services Public Relations.
There’s a discernible trend of ballistic missile proliferation across Asia right now. One of the countries expanding its nuclear-capable arsenal is Pakistan, whose domestic missile program has run unchecked for decades. On March 23 the armed forces held a military parade in Islamabad to mark the 78th anniversary of the Lahore Resolution, an event that paved the way for the country’s total independence in 1946.
The highlight of the occasion were the ballistic missiles on their transporter erector launchers (TELs) driving past the country’s leadership.
The New Air Defenses Of Pakistan Are Made In China
The PLA’s HQ-16 during live fire exercises last year. Via China Military Online.
Pakistan has finally addressed the yawning gap in its air defenses with the new medium-range SAMs it bought from China. Last month the armed forces undertook a lavish parade on March 23 outside Islamabad to commemorate Pakistan’s inception while at the same time show off its arsenal. More than ever before, Pakistan is turning away from its tenuous reliance on the US and importing more advanced weapons from other Asian countries.
But the low to medium range air defense system (LOMADS) known as the LY-80, which is designated the HQ-16 by the PLA, spells a lot of trouble for Pakistan’s archnemesis–India!
