First JF-17 Export Order Will Boost Fighter's Market

Analysts say confirmation of the first JF-17 Thunder export order could encourage other potential buyers to step forward, but they acknowledge many factors could complicate a deal. Analyst and former Air Force pilot Air Commodore Kaiser Tufail is optimistic that JF-17 will now attract further customers.

Paris Air Show Pakistan's JF 17 Thunder Aircraft To Participate News 2015.

“I am sure that after the deal that has been signed with the hitherto unknown ‘Asian’ country, the aircraft sales will surely get a big boost, and many Asian and African countries might be interested in it,” he said.

The customer in question is believed to be Myanmar, and the head of the country’s Air Force, Gen. Khin Aung Myint, was in Pakistan at the end of May for a four-day visit at the invitation of the Pakistan Air Force. He met senior defense officials and toured various bases and installations, though little more was said about the trip at the time.

Details, such as cost and the number of aircraft involved, are not known, but deliveries are expected to commence in 2017, according to information made available by Air Commodore Khalid Mahmood, head of the Air Force’s sales and marketing effort for the aircraft type. When Defense News asked Mahmood if he thought potential customers would be encouraged by the deal, he was optimistic, but also realistic.

“The first deal will certainly encourage other potential customers to conclude deals with us,” he said.

“However, it is difficult to give a timeline because there are many variables and mostly they depend on the customer countries. Sometimes it seems that the deal is around the corner but because of reasons like political instability in the country or in the neighborhood or for some other reasons, the timelines are pushed.

“So one is never sure unless the contract is inked,” he added.

Pakistan Army Aviation getting Mi-35Ms from Russian With Love

A draft contract for the delivery of four Mi-35M ‘Hind E’ combat helicopters has been sent to Pakistan from Russia, a source in the Russian military and technical cooperation said on Wednesday, according to a report published on TASS news agency’s website.

Mi-35M ‘Hind E’ of Russian Air Force.

“Following the results of the talks held earlier on helicopters, which Pakistan would like to get from Russia, a draft contract on the delivery of four Mi-35M gunships has been sent to the Pakistani side. Pakistan is now studying the document,” the source said.

According to Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, talks between Russia and Pakistan are under way regarding the delivery of helicopters. However, Rosoboronexport declined to reveal details regarding these consultations.

Last year, CEO of Russia’s Rostec hi-tech corporation Sergey Chemezov said that Russia had lifted its embargo on delivery of military hardware and armaments to Pakistan and negotiations were being held on delivering helicopters.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry also said that both sides have been negotiating the delivery of helicopters and that Pakistan currently has a number of Mi-17 helicopters delivered by the United States to assist in the fight against militancy.

Dissecting India's "Second Strike Capabilities": A Threat To The Ocean Ways

The Indian Ocean can be saved from becoming a zone of conflicts if India stops thinking it owns it. If the West encourages New Delhi to build a blue-water navy, it would only be a matter of time before it ends up becoming a nightmare for the West itself. The Indian Ocean ranks as the fifth largest ocean, covering 20 per cent of the water on Earth. It consists of 60 islands owned by different states and has four major waterways — the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el Mandeb and the Suez Canal.

 

A nuclear submarine (SSN, SSGN, SSBN) can go stealth for an infinite if there have enough supply and can be a nightmare for the foe ships & other targets.

 Interestingly, the Indian Ocean had never been nuclearised even during the Cold War. The shifting of Indian nuclear weapons capabilities from land to sea, in their deployment against Pakistan and China, could end up initiating a three-party nuclear competition. India is modernizing its navy at a rapid pace, and allocated it a budget of $4.8 billion in 2011. China, on the other hand, is not in a position right now to generate a stir in the contemporary strategic balance in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). India dragged the IOR into an intense arms race by introducing a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, INS Arihant, in 2014; it is also in the process of building two more Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear submarines. India now has two platforms, INS Subhadra and INS Suvarna, to launch Dhanush missiles. The Indian Navy also has the ability to launch BrahMos missile, a joint venture between Russia and India, which can carry both conventional and nuclear payloads. In short, India is playing a dangerous game in pursuit of prestige and international recognition in the IOR where confidence-building measures or institutionalized conflict-resolution seem to be totally absent.

In the backdrop of the traditional rivalries in this region, the addition of nuclear-capable submarines in the Indian naval fleet is a serious threat to Pakistan and China. This provocation could force Pakistan and other regional states to launch drives to acquire similar capability, thus initiating an arms race in South Asia. It is not surprising that China is willing to sell eight diesel-electric, and not nuclear, submarines to Pakistan. As stated earlier, South Asia has no institutional mechanism that can be used to deal with confrontational behaviour that regional states may indulge in the IOR. If India is resolute about taking the route of sea-based nuclear strike capability, then it is highly unlikely that any possible escalation could be controlled. Pakistan needs to work on sea-based deterrence as this can provide it with strategic advantages, which could serve many implicit opportunities. The most vulnerable part of the Indian defence is its coastal belt, which the Pakistan Navy can exploit through the element of surprise.

Connecting the "Silk Route" project through Gwadar Port of Pakistan.

During the Cold War, India was not happy about US presence in the IOR. However, China’s presence is the main factor that transformed the dynamic of Indian strategic thinking and today, Indian and US interests are congregating , which has generated a more favourable strategic environment for both countries against China. Regardless of Russian and Chinese opposition, India has offered a foothold to the US in the Indian Ocean by signing a new 10-year Defence Framework Agreement with it.

The Indian approach, which projects China as a potential threat in the IOR, is an exaggerated one. China is more focused in the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea, with trade security its only interest in the IOR. It is still behind India and the US in gaining geographical advantages and maritime power in the IOR. The imaginary Chinese ‘string of pearls strategy’ is playing with the minds of Indian strategists. Last year, in November 2014, after a patrolling Chinese submarine docked in Sri Lanka, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a cabinet committee to clear an $8billion warships project to counter the Chinese Navy. The US, on the other hand, wants to encircle China via agreements with regional states. Pakistan provides China the best way out to reach the Indian Ocean, near the Persian Gulf.

Under construction Gwader port.

There are chances of a naval arms race emerging if we consider historical Indo-Russian naval cooperation and the current increased exchange of naval collaboration between the US and India. It is up to the global players, especially the US and Russia, to either promote global peace by denying India the acquisition of deadly war munitions like Akula-II or, to sell their weaponry and jeapordise global security.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2015.