September 12, 2024 | International, Naval
The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt is leaving the Middle East
The carrier has been operating alongside the Abraham Lincoln in recent weeks amid fears of war breaking out between Israel and Iran.
March 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
India Increasingly Diversifying Its Arms, Weapons Purchases
India was the world's second-largest importer of arms and weapons during 2015-2019, according to a report from Swedish-based think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI.
Saudi Arabia ranked as the top arms importer.
Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and China accounted for 36% of all arms imports over that five-year period.
However, while Russia remained India's most important source of arms, Moscow's share of the Indian weapons market has dropped from 72% to 56% since the 2010-2014 period.
Still, India accounted for 25% of all Russian arms exports.
After Russia, Israel (14%) and France (12%) were the top sources of weapons for India.
The U.S. was India's second-largest arms supplier during 2010-14 as security ties between the two huge countries grew into a strategic partnership. “However, in 2015-19 India continued with its policy of supplier diversification, and imports of arms from the U.S. were 51 % lower than in 2010-14," the report said.
India has received a bewildering and diverse array of military equipment from many sources, including Scanter-6000 naval surveillance radar from Denmark; Embraer ERJ-145 jets for early warning and control system from Brazil; ACTAS sonar systems from Germany; Super Rapid 76-mm naval guns from Italy; and K-9 Thunder 155- mm artillery guns from South Korea.
Still, overall arms imports by India and Pakistan declined by 32% and 39%, respectively, between 2010-14 and 2015-19.
"While both countries have long-standing aims to produce their [own] major arms, they remain largely dependent on imports and have substantial outstanding orders and plans for imports of all types of major arms," the SPIRI report said.
https://www.ibtimes.com/india-increasingly-diversifying-its-arms-weapons-purchases-2939839
On the same subject
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March 26, 2019 | International, Aerospace
F-35: What The Pilots Say
by Linda Shiner In my interviews with F-35 pilots, one word repeatedly came up: “survivability.” Surviving the Lockheed Martin F-35's primary mission—to penetrate sophisticated enemy air defenses and find and disable threats—requires what the fifth-generation jet offers: stealth and a stunning array of passive and active sensors bringing information to the pilot. The F-35 can see trouble coming—ahead, behind, or below the aircraft—far enough in advance to avoid a threat or kill it. Faced with multiple threats, the sensor suite recommends the order in which they should be dispatched. U.S. forces first took these capabilities into combat last September, when Marine F-35Bs struck the Taliban in Afghanistan (five months after its combat debut with the Israeli air force). More than 360 of the multi-service aircraft—Air Force F-35As, Marine short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing Bs, and carrier-capable Cs—have been delivered to 16 U.S. airbases and to seven other countries. Reaching these milestones has not been easy. The program's difficulties and its cost—$406 billion for development and acquisition—have been widely reported. But now the F-35 is in the hands of the best judges of its performance, its pilots. I asked eight of them—test pilots who contributed to the jet's development as well as active-duty pilots—about their experiences. Here, in their own words, are their answers. Full article: https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/f-35-faces-most-critical-test-180971734/
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April 14, 2024 | International, Naval
SPY-7 radar tracks live space objects ahead of delivery to Japan
The ongoing round of live testing is meant to ensure the current iteration of hardware and software are fully integrated with the Aegis combat system.