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Back in November 2010, then-Lt Cdr James Blackmore became the last pilot of a BAE Systems Harrier to launch from the flightdeck of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, bringing to an end three decades of shipborne short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) operations from the service's three Invincible-class carriers. In a circuitous arc, now Cdr Blackmore will in five months oversee the re-birth of fixed-wing aviation in the RN, as HMS Queen Elizabeth – the first of its two new 65,000t aircraft carriers – begins first of class flying trials (FOCFT) with STOVL aircraft of an altogether...

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Three U.S. senators introduced a measure on Thursday aimed at blocking the transfer of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Turkey, a NATO ally and one of nine partner nations involved in producing the high-tech, radar-evading aircraft. The bill, by Republicans James Lankford and Thom Tillis, and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, comes at a time of deteriorating relations between the United States and Turkey, which supported the fight against Islamic State but has become increasingly worried about U.S. backing for Kurdish fighters in north Syria. snip Turkey plans to buy more than 100 of the F-35 aircraft....

The Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter promises to bring advanced operational capabilities to those air forces that operate it, and to allow a previously unknown degree of interoperability and harmonization with the US Air Force. Advanced sensors, low observability (‘stealth’) and connectivity combine to give unmatched mission performance and survivability, and the aircraft is increasingly being seen as something that no air force that aspires to ‘full spectrum’ capability can do without. At the same time, development of the F-35A has been beset by technical, political and cost difficulties, and Lockheed Martin and the US Government have been keen...

A think tank commissioned by the South Korean Navy to study possible options for a nuclear-powered attack submarine procurement has pointed to France’s 5,300 ton Barracuda-class submarine as a model candidate. Manufactured by French industrial group DCNS (Direction des Constructions Navales), the Barracuda-class is a modern class of nuclear attack submarine, notable for its extremely low noise signature, enhancing the submarine’s survivability. According to Defense News, a South Korean Navy spokesperson noted that they are reviewing the report, which was produced by the Korea Defense Network over five months. “After thorough review, we’ll report it to the defense minister and...

The U.S. Navy asked shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries on Monday for detailed pricing on the cost of two aircraft carriers, showing the Trump administration is taking a serious look at doubling its order for the most expensive ship in the U.S. fleet. The Navy’s request seeks to determine the savings achievable with a two-ship buy.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has unveiled a model and artwork of a unique multi-role amphibious ship it is building for the Qatari Navy. Still in the grips of a simmering diplomatic spat with its neighbors, and under a physical and economic blockade, Qatar expects the vessel, along with four other Italian-made corvettes, will significantly expand its naval capabilities in the region. Fincantieri offered a closer look at the designs for the Qatari landing platform dock, or LPD, and corvettes at the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition & Conference, or DIMDEX, earlier in March 2018. In June 2016, Qatar signed the initial...

Global military spending reached almost $1.7 trillion in 2015, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time since 2011, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms expenditure around the world. The United States remained far and away the top spender, which despite a dip from 2014, accounted for more than a third of total global spending. It was followed by China and then, perhaps surprisingly, Saudi Arabia, which supplanted Russia in third place.

China's J-20 stealth fighter has entered combat service, the country's armed forces confirmed on Friday, expanding the military's air power options as it presses on with a massive modernisation programme. People's Liberation Army Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke said the deployment of the J-20 to combat units would "help the air force better shoulder the sacred mission of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity". Shen said the air force was moving towards a modernised military service that could operate in all fronts, and had become an effective force to control, contain and win a war. (please see link for...

U.S. officials said Friday that President Donald Trump's administration approved a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, in a long-awaited move that deepens America's involvement in the military conflict and may further strain relations with Russia. The new arms include American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles that Ukraine has long sought to boost its defenses against Russian-backed separatists armed with tanks. Violence in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 10,000 since 2014. Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told the state RIA Novosti news agency Saturday that the U.S. move "raises the danger of derailing the process of peaceful settlement in Ukraine."...

Chinese companies were out in force at Defense & Security 2017 in Bangkok, including the China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Company (CSOC). Most prominent on its stand was a new family of submarines displacing 1,100t, 600t and 200t. Scale models of these submarines were displayed alongside a model of the 2,550t S26T (pictured above) currently being built for the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) under a $385 million order lodged in May. Perhaps the most interesting aspect was a video indicating countries currently interested in procuring Chinese submarines. In addition to Bangladesh and Pakistan that have already ordered Chinese platforms, those...

ZUOYING NAVAL BASE, Taiwan — The Hai Pao, one of Taiwan’s four navy submarines, began its service as the Tusk, an American vessel launched in August 1945 at the end of World War II. Its sister submarine, the Hai Shih, is a year older. Neither can fire torpedoes today, though they can still lay mines. The submarines, said Feng Shih-kuan, Taiwan’s minister of national defense, “belong in a museum.” The Hai Pao — with its paint-encrusted pipes, antiquated engines and a brass dial with a needle to measure speed in knots — will instead remain in service past its 80th...

The Kongsberg NASAMS adapts the Raytheon AMRAAM as a ground-based air defense system. (Photo: Kongsberg) Indonesia has become the first country in Asia to acquire the Kongsberg Norwegian advanced surface-to-air missile system (NASAMS) , a medium-range surface-to-air missile system based on the Raytheon advanced medium-range, air-to-air missile (AMRAAM). Announced on October 31 by the Norwegian arms maker, the $77 million contract will be for one complete unit of the NASAMS, including “command posts, radars, launchers, radios and integration, and training and logistics support.” Although it is unclear how many launchers were requested, Kongsberg literature suggests that a standard network consists...

In an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative, Boeing President Bertrand-Marc (Marc) Allen said the manufacturing of F15 aircraft wings and other military aircraft parts would take place inside Saudi Arabia. “We need to get you out to our al-Salam subsidiary here in the Kingdom. We’re building wings for F-15s, we’re building fuselage parts. We are doing massive conversions where we’re taking older F-15s and converting them to brand new F-15SAs,” Allen told Al Arabiya’s Maya Jureidini during an exclusive interview from Riyadh. “All of this (are) pretty advanced manufacturing, a lot of...

Russia's sole fixed-wing aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, returned from Syria late last winter to finally begin a long and supposedly deep refit and modernization that would allow it to serve for years to come. The carrier's overhaul, which had been put off time and time again over the last decade, is said to cost over $800M, and will take nearly half a decade to accomplish. But just as we at The War Zone had concerns about, it seems that Moscow is now significantly reducing the scope of work for the refit due to fiscal considerations, with only about half...

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reopened the competition to select a fighter to replace the CF-18, two questions were raised from that decision, one with long-term implications, and one with immediate consequences. The first: when will the modernization of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) fighter force be complete? The second: what will the RCAF do to mitigate the so-called capability gap (Canada’s current fleet is more than 30 years old, and down from 138 to 77 aircraft) to have a certain number of the most capable fighter jets mission-ready at all times and to ensure the capacity to address...

After experiencing a literal false start to the first ever trip by a ruling Saudi Arabian monarch to Moscow, the country’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has gone to have what his country has called “historic momentum” in expanding relations with the Kremlin, including reports of a purchase of S-400 surface-to-air missiles and other arms deals. As with developments in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, this could indicate a political shift by the Saudi regime away from its historical ally the United States or an attempt to exert political pressure on officials in Washington. Salman and his entourage...

In response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Octopus has created an army of top-secret intelligence agencies, analysts, specialists, and building complexes—phalanxes, really—devoted to identifying, spying on and rooting out terrorists both domestically and around the world. A large majority of this homeland security and intelligence apparatus actually comprises individuals who do not work for the US government directly. They are employees of private sector companies who are hired by the government to do these jobs, and are known as “contractors.” Many of these individuals and organisations claim that they are not officially...

The tiny Gulf nation of Qatar has launched a massive buildup of air power for an unclear purpose. The latest development in this saga came in September, when British Defense Secretary of Defense Michael Fallon and Qatari Defense Secretary Khalid bin Mohammed al Attiyah signed a Letter of Intent for Doha to purchase twenty-four Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from London. That came on the heels of Qatar announcing a deal to purchase thirty-six Boeing F-15 Qatar Advanced-variant Eagles from the United States for a reported $12 billion. And in 2015, Qatar signed a $7.5 billion deal with France to purchase twenty-four...

D3000 This crudely made model of the D3000 gives us a vague idea of the concept: a trimaran tumblehome hull, with armament that includes autocannons and anti-ship missiles, as well as launching tubes for small unmanned underwater vehicles, torpedoes, or mines. by78 At the turn of the 20th century, the great powers competed to build the modern-day battleship. Today, a new arms race may be breaking out, this time with robotic warships. The D3000 is a 98-foot-long, stealthy robotic trimaran warship designed to operate autonomously for months. Notably, this system—which appears to be tagged for export—is being offered by the...

Predator C Avenger Drone (Image: General Atomics) India has plans to buy 100 jet propelled Avenger predator drones from the US costing an estimated $8 billion for the Indian Air Force (IAF). Besides joint projects under the bilateral Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), in her first major engagement with a foreign counterpart, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman talks on September 26 with the US officials will focus on India-US defence cooperation, maritime security, avenger predator drones, counter-terrorism and other major issues of mutual concern, the sources added. Issues related to American defence companies seeking guarantees of retaining control of propriety...