asian defence

The US defence major Raytheon has just won a competition for a $42.8 million contract to train the Afghan airforce pilots in the Middle East. This is the first contract of this type in the region.

According to Vice President of Raytheon, Kevin Massengill, the company is also negotiating for the training of Pakistan pilots as well. Massengill said that the contract has been signed and the training will take place in an Arab Gulf country. However, he declined naming the country where the training programme will be performed. The entire programme is expected to last a couple of months by the end of which, the Afghanistan army will have a batch of well-trained pilots.

A visiting delegation of U.S. House Armed Services Committee conveyed a hidden threat that the joint defense cooperation between the Pakistan and US may be under a cloud if the standoff persisted on the issue of Raymond Davis – American citizen who was accused of murdering two men in Lahore.

A late-night press statement informed that a bipartisan US congressional delegation protested the continued illegal detention of Raymond Davis in Lahore. This happened during a meeting with Prime Minister Gilani.

Foreign missions are prohibited to officially revealing diplomatic norms, protestations or differences in the times of high-level interactions.

The statement of the delegation stated that the Pakistan government must recognize the diplomatic immunity of the American citizen and release him as soon as possible. The delegation is of three members and is led by the Chairman of the House Committee – Buck McKeon.

According to witnesses the delegation’s protest was strongly worded and could be easily seen as a warning that the bilateral defense cooperation will face problems unless Davis was not granted his immunity and immediately released.

Mr Gilani responded to the worries of the US congressmen’s about the welfare of Davis, According to his words he had been extended due facilities and security by the Punjab government. A US embassy spokesperson evaded a question regarding the nature of the protest.

So far, the government is doing all it can to stay away from taking a clear position on the issue of immunity, because of diplomatic and political considerations.

The U.S. House Armed Services Committee is responsible for the funding and oversight of defense spending, would soon debate about the promised $2 billion security and military aid for Pakistan.

Thousands of Pakistani Army soldiers have begun to leave Swat Valley and return the security to the hands of the law-enforcement agencies operating in the Area which was once a Taliban stronghold.

Officials stated that this soldier withdrawal is influenced by the military’s counter-insurgency strategy to clear, hold and transfer.

A part of the strategy is the joint police and military activities that have been conducted for capacity building and eventually leading to the entire handing over of the control to the law enforcement agencies operating in the region.



However, the complete transfer of soldiers and control may take up to one or two years. According to officials the first part of the strategy is finished and the second phase will envision the military as a monitoring agency on the two districts that were plagued by the militancy.

The third phase will see military units that were left behind only to serve as a deterrent force to repel and eventual threats. These units will rely on intelligence work to track down and hunt militants.

The joint operation of the police and army is still continuing in some parts, but overall the police has been able to send independent patrols throughout the entire Makaland region.



According to the words of the officials, the police will take over the security in Buner district by the mid part of next month. In the mean time the army will hand over the control over the Shangla district to civil law enforcement agencies by April.

Officials stated that they are on the right course to taking over full security responsibility in the region. Currently 10,000 policemen are positioned in the region and 2,500 more are being trained at the moment. It is difficult to predict the final outcome of the operation, but all of the high-ranked officials are confident enough to take full security responsibility.

Future plans include the setting up of new posts and the strengthening of the existing ones. Three military cantonments are going to be constructed in the area. A security official said that everything will be in the hands of the civil law enforcement agencies as they will have the leading role.

Pakistani officials have refused the report made by the Afghan commanders which claims that the Pakistan Air Force has imposed an attack on a district in Nangarhar thus violating the Afghan airspace.

An anonymous senior official stated that such moves which are focusing on upsetting the understandings between Pakistan and Afghanistan will have serious consequences on the regional developments.

The Pakistani Consul General in Jalalabad, Muhammad Taufeeq also rejected the charges that a Pakistani aircraft has violated Afghan airspace or hit any civilian target. By his words, only one Pakistani helicopter has landed in the Anargi area in order to observe a border post.

A local Afghan commander responded that a couple of houses were damaged by the mysterious attack and that their country is capable of retaliation, however, high-ranking officials have ordered them not to respond to the attack.

According to Afghan commander, Brig. Gen. Aminullah Amarkhel the Pakistani forces have launched an attack on border police posts thus hitting two checkpoints in the Anargi area. On the other hand according to Pakistani officials, NATO-backed troops had attacked Pakistani side and this resulted in the death of one and injuries on three others.

United States has often criticized Pakistan on not doing much, while Pakistan has suffered the most losses in the war on terror.

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has received third air to air refuelling aircraft from Ukraine, which is likely to reach here in the first week of February 2011, sources disclosed. PAF purchased a total of four IL-78P Midas tanker aircraft from Ukraine.

The third aircraft is likely to arrive in the first week of February. These aircraft are equipped with Soviet-designed UPAZs pods and refuelling kits on Mirage-III Rose-I of South African origin. In the first phase, PAF announced that 30 Mirage-III Rose-I will be upgraded with in-flight refuelling probes and this too, is being done at PAC Kamra. The IL-78s will help train Pakistani crew in mid-air refuelling techniques and once operational, will be used to refuel the Mirage-III, eventually JF-17 Thunder and Fc-20 fighter jets.



These IL-78 Midas mid-air refuelling aircraft will allow PAF to increase the range and endurance of its fighter aircraft. The capability will also allow Pakistan to hit targets deep inside enemy territory by refuelling fighter aircraft during flight. An official said that air-to-air refuelling will enhance PAF capability in military warfare allowing its aircraft long ranges. The first air to air refuelling aircraft joined the force in mid of December 2009. PAF is using IL-78 aircraft that it procured from Ukraine for refuelling purposes and immediately installed refuelling kits to save cost. It has been learnt that PAF operates around 45 F-16A/B that are being upgraded to F-16AM/BM along with 17 new F-16C/D Block 52. So far, PAF has not shown any interest in new conformal air refuel tank system for F-16s to make them capable of taking fuel from IL-78 as its old F-16A/B can not carry conformal fuel tanks.

Posted in Missiles and Bomb News category — By Press Trust of India on Friday, February 11th, 2011.

Pakistan test fired nuclear-capable Babur (Hatf-7) cruise missile with a range of 600 km that can hit targets in India.
The test of the indigenous-developed missile was “part of a process of validating the system,” said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations. The statement did not mention where the test was conducted.
The successful test of Hatf-7 or Babur cruise missile was witnessed by Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Khalid Shamim Wynne, who said the launch would “go a long way in consolidating Pakistan’s strategic deterrence capability and further strengthening national security.”
“Pakistan’s resolve and commitment to continue its strategic program will remain paramount,” he said.
The test was “warmly appreciated by the President and Prime Minister,” who congratulated the scientists and engineers on their success, the statement said.
The Director General of the Strategic Plans Division, Lt Gen (Retd) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, Army Strategic Force Command chief Lt Gen Jamil Haider, senior officers from the military and strategic organizations, scientists and engineers also witnessed the test.



The Babur can carry strategic or conventional warheads and has stealth capabilities, the statement said.
It is a “low flying, terrain-hugging missile with high maneuverability, pin-point accuracy and radar avoidance features.”
The missile also incorporates modern cruise missile technology of terrain contour matching (TERCOM) and digital scene matching and area co-relation (DSMAC), the statement said.

India and Pakistan held talks on Sunday, February 6th in Thimphu, capital of Bhutan, when Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her counterpart Salman Bashir met six months after they held talks in Islamabad, said local media.

Publication: China Brief Volume: 10 Issue: 12
June 11, 2010 11:31 AM Age: 8 days
Category: China Brief, Home Page, Foreign Policy, Military/Security, Energy, China and the Asia-Pacific, South Asia
By: Stephen Blank

In late April, China announced the sale of two nuclear reactors to Pakistan. This deal is clearly against the guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the spirit if not the letter of the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) [1]. Nevertheless, the United States has not and may not even register a protest to this sale in spite of its implications for regional stability. Washington is seeking Beijing's support for effective sanctions on Iran in the U.N. Security Council, which dampens the political will to take Beijing to task on other international issues [2]. Although the announcement of this deal does not come as a surprise, the sale reinforces China’s long-standing ties to Pakistan and the country's sensitive nuclear program, and it testifies to the growing strength of China’s nuclear industry through its ability and desire to export to foreign markets. As the Iran connection also demonstrates, this deal is taking place within a strategic framework that extends beyond Sino-Pakistani relations. Indeed, China’s sale of additional nuclear reactors to Pakistan is happening in the context of renewed aggressiveness by major nuclear powers to export reactors and technology abroad on a global scale and the parallel expansion of the desire by many Asian states for nuclear energy.

China has already built one reactor, the Chasma-1 in Punjab and is building a second one, Chasma-2. According to the “new” deal, China is lending Pakistan $207 million to buy two more reactors, Chasma-3 and Chasma-4 (Cnsnews.com, May 21). Beijing and Islamabad argue that these new deals do not violate the NSG guidelines because they are part of the original deal for Chasma-1 and 2 from 2004 before China joined the NSG (Cnsnews.com, May 21).



Pakistan has sought nuclear reactors from China since 2008 at least and oft-cites as Islamabad's defense the 2005 Indo-American deal where the Bush Administration prevailed upon the NSG in 2008 to grant India a waiver even though it is not a signatory to the NPT. Naturally, the Indo-U.S. deal infuriated the Musharraf regime and its successor regime headed by President Asif Ali Zardari. Pakistan claimed that it also had urgent energy needs that could only be solved by nuclear energy imports but the United States, though it recognizes those needs, fobbed Pakistan off. At the same time, however, India’s success with NSG owed much to its very good record on non-proliferation, something that cannot be said about Pakistan (Cnsnews.com, May 21).

To be sure, China has long supported Pakistan’s nuclear and military programs to check Indian power. This deal is another sign of the Middle Kingdom's growing assertiveness in international affairs. For example, about a month before the sale to Pakistan, China reportedly announced the opening of a missile plant in Iran (The Straits Times, April 30). This missile plant, taken in tandem with China's growing nuclear exports, arguably betokens an expansion in China’s support for dubious states in the proliferation context (Asia Times Online, May 22). The flap over Burma’s nuclear ambitions is further cause for concern about risks for regional instability. There is no doubt that China’s overall foreign and defense policy has become generally assertive but there is more within the context of this deal than its growing assertiveness.

Several nations of the world hold an annual Armed Forces Day to recognize, venerate, and honor their military forces.



After a successful political campaign based on a very unique and distinctive methodology called “ahimsa” or non-violence India threw off the colonial yoke and set in motion the decline and demise of the British Empire. For a young nation with no colonial ambitions, and, therefore, no militaristic traditions, she inherited a very young military hierarchy as yet untested with the higher direction of warfare but confronted almost immediately on the attainment of Independence with an invasion in Jammu and Kashmir intended to undermine the principles of Accession enshrined in the Independence Act by which Pakistan was created.



As a consequence of this circumstance British officers continued to preside over the top military posts in both countries leaving behind a legacy that has continued to haunt both nascent countries to this day. Five months after the UN mandated ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir the Government of India replaced the last British Commander-in-Chief in India Gen F R R Bucher with the first Indian to have been selected in the first batch for training for the Kings Commissioned Indian Officer (KCIO) at the UK Imperial War College. K. M. Cariappa held the rank of Lt General and the post of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, and he planned the recapture of the Zojila Pass and Dras and Kargil which enabled the Indian Army to push the Pakistani invaders back. A biography describes his role as being instrumental in turning an Imperial Army into a National Army. That is why the date of his appointment — 15 January 1949 — is celebrated as Army Day.

In July 1997 Pakistan allegedly test-fired an 800 km missile. The Pakistani Government acknowledged that a missile had been tested, but did not identify its range. Indian sources assert the missile was a Chinese M-9. American analysts, however, have concluded that the missile was possibly an improved M-11. Very little information is available on this alleged launch, and considerable confusion extends to the Pakistani nomeclature for this missile.

In early June 1998 a leading Pakistani scientist Dr. Samar Mubarik Mund, director General of the National Development complex, stated that Pakistan was prepared to test fire the medium range Shaheen-I (Eagle) missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads up to 700 kilometers.

The Shaheen I is a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) with an optimal range of 750 km propelled by a single stage solid fuel rocket motor. The Shaheen I can deliver either a conventional or a nuclear payload much faster than liquid fuelled missiles such as the Ghauri because it does not need to be fuelled before launch, reducing deployment time significantly.
The Shaheen I is believed to be very accurate; Pakistani military sources state a CEP of 25 to 50 m can be achieved, partly due to a "post-separation attitude correction system." This system would allow the missile to modify its trajectory, improving accuracy and, along with the stealthy warhead shaping, giving some capability to evade missile defence systems. It is based on terminal guidance system technology, which improves warhead accuracy by firing small thrusters to adjust the warhead's trajectory and uses satellite navigation systems to help find the target. Such systems would allow the Shaheen to be used against strategic targets without requiring a nuclear warhead to ensure the target's destruction.

Israel Aerospace Industries is offering a modified version of its Gulfstream G550-based conformal airborne early warning (CAEW) aircraft that has the capability to detect targets at sea and near shores.Currently used by the air forces of Israel and Singapore, the AEW-adapted G550 business jet carries a conformal dual-band active electronically scanned array radar. It also features an identification friend or foe system, electronic support measures and an integrated self-protection system, plus communications equipment designed to support network-centric operations.

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