Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili announced on Thursday that Talaash 3, which has a range of more than 200 kilometers, had successfully been put to test and would be unveiled on September 22.
During a ceremony attended by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan on August 21, Iran also launched production lines for energy density batteries used in the electronic systems of its sea-based, ground-based and air-based missiles.
In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and reached self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems: On August 24, Iranian Armed Forces unveiled two marine cruise missiles, Ghadir and Nasr-e Basir, as well as two unmanned aerial vehicles, Karrar-4 and Mohajer-4.
NATO is preparing a rapid response to the Ukraine crisis that would allow it to deploy troops swiftly to reinforce eastern Europe and dissuade Russia from further destabilising the region, the alliance chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday.
A NATO military officer in Brussels told The Associated Press that “we assess there are over 1,000 Russian troops operating inside Ukraine” now. He said NATO estimates that another 20,000 Russian troops are close by, right over the Russian border. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the material was confidential.
Additionally, Associated Press journalists on the border have seen the rebels with a wide range of unmarked military equipment — including tanks, Buk missile launchers and armored personnel carriers — and have run into many Russians among the rebel fighters. Ukraine also captured 10 soldiers from a Russian paratrooper division Monday around Amvrosiivka, a town 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Russian border.
Joseph Dempsey, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said recent images of a military convoy in eastern Ukraine showed the presence of a variant of the T-72 tank that “is not known to have been exported or operated outside of Russia.”
The leader of the insurgency, Alexander Zakharchenko, said in an interview on Russian state television that 3,000 to 4,000 Russians have fought on the separatist side since the armed conflict began in April. The new southeastern front raised fears that the separatists are seeking to create a land link between Russia and Crimea. If successful, it could give them or Russia control over the entire Sea of Azov and the gas and mineral riches that energy experts believe it contains. Ukraine already lost roughly half its coastline, several major ports and significant Black Sea mineral rights in March when Russia annexed Crimea.
A related press release from Beijing’s state press agency carefully noted that the exercise “facilitate the pragmatic cooperation between the air forces of China and Russia in the military training field. The military cooperation between China and Russia is not targeted at any third party.”
Above all, perhaps, the high level of local media attention afforded to Aviadarts should be seen in light of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin’s efforts to flex Russian military muscle to the watching world: It was not too long ago that Russian air force units were struggling to find the fuel and spares to maintain even the minimum level of daily operations.
Aviadarts first took place in 2013, when around 50 pilots participated. This year has already seen two rounds of the competition. The first, which concluded in May, was an all-Russian affair, and involved around 50 aircrew flying from three different air bases. With this second round open to international participants, the Russian military is not only exhibiting the prowess of its aviators, but making efforts to build foreign relations at a time when Russia’s foreign policy is facing harsh criticism.
Certainly, some of the aspects of Aviadarts would come as a surprise to a NATO or other Western flier. In the weapon-employment phase, the tactical jets only employ unguided ordnance. That is to say, on-board cannon, free-fall dumb bombs and unguided rockets and no precision-guided munitions or guided missiles. Some observers have billed the Aviadarts exercise as a Russian Top Gun—a reference to the U.S. Navy’s fighter tactics schoolhouse, which the sailing branch established after losing a shocking number of pilots during the Vietnam War.
For Russia, this kind of alliance-building is useful at a time when its leaders increasingly are ostracized in the West. For the fighter pilots, a place at Aviadarts means heading to Lipetsk, the Russian air force’s center for combat and conversion training. If there is an elite unit within today’s Russian air force, then Lipetsk holds that mantle. Once at Lipetsk, competing fighter pilots have to demonstrate their skills in aerobatics, navigation, reconnaissance and evasion of ground-based air defense systems—including the feared S-300 surface-to-air missile. In order to get a place competing at Aviadarts, Russian pilots first must prove themselves the best within their own units, and then within their military district—one of the four operational commands of the Russian armed forces. Physical fitness, tactical acumen and gunnery all count.
Chinese military commentators said China may become the first foreign buyer of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system, which could help the country integrate its air defense and anti-missile systems, reports Chinese national broadcaster CCTV.
Negotiations between China and Russia over the system have been difficult since China has different needs for its air defense, said military commentator Du Wenlong. The system's operational height and range, the range of its radar and the number of targets the radar tracks will all need to be adjusted. Du said the sale will not be simple weapons trade but a technology transfer that could enhance China's air defense and anti-missile capability as a whole in the future.
America's Asia Pivot policy would be severely impacted if China obtains the S-400 system, as it could cover the airspace over Taiwan and or even its eastern coasts and counter-attack US aircrafts coming from Guam and Okinawa: The system comes with powerful radar and has anti-jamming capabilities, becoming able to create a multi-layer air defense structure with three guided missiles of different ranges as well as tracking hundreds of targets and attacking up to 36 of them at once. "The S400 could affect regional security if China buys the system and decides to plant it within range of the disputed Diaoyutai island", said Paul Schwartz, a researcher for the Center for Strategic & International Studies' Russian and Eurasia Program.
Unlike the system's predecessor S-300, S-400 is compatible with weapons made by other countries and sports superior performance. The system can hit a target 10 m to 60 km above ground and intercept a ballistic missile from 30 km away. Its life span has also greatly improved to 20 years. With the S-400 system and the existing surface-to-air guided missiles Hongqi-9, S-300 and the advanced version of S-300, China will be able to build an air defense system covering long, medium and short distances, said Du. The country will also be able to integrate the system with anti- guided-missile systems. The chance of intercepting high-precision guided weapons such as guided missiles is likely to increase significantly in the future, also expanding the types of targets that China could intercept, said the commentator.
Azerbaijan's Air Force has conducted its exercises in accordance with the plan under the supervision of Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov, the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said that according to the exercises' scenario, a conditional enemy, which violated the airspace, was detected, and the information on it was delivered to the battle control station. The aerial objects were taken under control and destroyed with a conditional fire from the S-300 PMU and S-125 2TM anti-aircraft missile systems.
Aside from that, the combat aircraft participating in the exercises completely destroyed ground targets and military equipment of the conditional enemy. They also destroyed the enemy's engineer and sapper facilities with rocket fires and aerial destruction means. Following the training flights, the Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov presented the combat aircraft pilots with the most modern helmets and flight suits that meet NATO standards.
After decades of pursuing Pakistan-centric war planning, the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force are recalibrating their sights towards the hitherto neglected northern frontiers with China, giving a hard push to improving its war-fighting capabilities against its more powerful neighbor.
But the Chinese need not worry, as it will take almost a decade for India to come anywhere near the infrastructure that the Chinese have built just in TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region): Since the 1990s, China has built a network of roads, airports and railway in the sparsely populated TAR which gives the People's Liberation Army (PLA) a distinct advantage when it comes to mobilizing its forces if needed in double quick time.
Iron Dome, which uses guided missiles to shoot down the Katyusha-style short-range rockets favored by Palestinian and Lebanese guerrillas, has scored around a 90% success rate in the month-old Gaza war, Israeli officials and U.S. observers say.
Rafael CEO Yedidia Yaari said the system’s performance had fuelled foreign interest in it, including by South Korea, which is in an armed standoff with North Korea: “South Korea is very worried not only about rockets, but other things as well ... You can certainly include them in the club of interested countries,”Yaari told Israel’s Army Radio, saying Rafael representatives had visited Seoul to promote Iron Dome.
Yaari did not give details on how advanced such a deal with South Korea may be. Rafael has not made public any foreign sales so far, saying it was giving priority to supplying Iron Domes to Israel, which has fielded nine out of a planned total of 12 interceptor units. Each Iron Dome battery costs around $50 million, and each interceptor missile between $30,000 and $50,000. Participating in Iron Dome’s production are Israeli defense contractors Elisra Group, Israel Aerospace Industries, and U.S. defense contractor Raytheon.
Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Excalibur Ib precision guided projectile has entered Full Rate Production (FRP). Additionally, the U.S. Army has awarded Raytheon $52 million for continued Excalibur Ib production: "The full rate production decision is the culmination of superb teamwork between the U.S. Army and Raytheon," said Lieutenant Colonel Josh Walsh, U.S. Army Excalibur product manager. "I am proud of the combined team's effort that is putting the world's finest cannon artillery munition into the hands of our warfighters."
"International interest in Excalibur has risen sharply during the last year," said Michelle Lohmeier, Raytheon Land Warfare Systems vice president. "Excalibur has revolutionized cannon artillery, making it possible to engage targets precisely at long ranges while avoiding collateral damage, a capability that appeals to military leaders around the world," Lohmeier added.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2013 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 92 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as cyber security and a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Mohsen Rezaei, former senior advisor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tehran has transferred missile-building technology used in fighting against Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip: "The Palestinian resistance missiles are the blessings of Iran's transfer of technology", something to bear on mind to understand how and why more than 3,000 rockets have been launched against the israeli people in recent weeks, spurring the Israeli military answer to protect the lives of their people.
As the Obama administration continues nuclear talks with Iran through November, Tehran’s military forces have continued to build up their cache of advanced weaponry, including drones and sophisticated missiles: A senior Iranian military commander has announced on Wednesday that Tehran is about to unveil new long-range and mid-range missile defense systems like Israel’s Iron Dome or the US Patriot, which can knock out incoming missiles in mid-air.
It is not a surprise for Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser on Iran and Iraq for the George W. Bush administration, who said Iran has made “great strides” in its missile technology, though it is unlikely Tehran could rival the technology employed in Iron Dome. But, when it comes to nuclear weapons, "they are on the verge of becoming the next North Korea", Rubin said.
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) entered the Black Sea on Wednesday as part of the effort to strengthen the collective security of NATO allies and partners in the region, according to a statement by the US 6th Fleet.
The vessel’s weapons include SM-2 surface-to-air missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, torpedoes, PhalanxClose-in Weapons Systems for self-defense against aircraft and missiles, and five-inch, rapid fire guns.
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