KAI-LM T-X Demonstrator Rolling Out Videos

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Royal Navy Awaiting for MoD's Clearance of Funds for FDUAS and JMUAS

The Royal Navy is looking to launch two new unmanned air system (UAS) programs, but is dependent on gaining funding for the projects in an upcoming review of Ministry of Defence spending in 2016 before it can take the projects forward. “We are trying to kick-off two programs at the moment,” Cmdr. Bow Wheaton , the Royal Navy's maritime capability (aviation) program manager told an unmanned air system conference in London earlier this month.

Royal Navy's Boeing Sea Eagle. 

The Flexible Deployable UAS (FDUAS) and Joint Mini UAS (JMUAS) programs are on the drawing board before the annual MoD budget planning round concludes for the financial year in April, known as ABC 2016, officials said. “The JMUAS is a capability option pending decision as part of the Joint Forces Command Annual Budget Cycle 2016 (ABC16) planning round. It is too early in the process to state whether this will be funded or not given other defence priorities,” said an MoD spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman said the FDUAS program was in the same position as JMUAS before ABC16 concludes. Earlier this year the British armed services received a better than expected budget settlement from the government for the remainder of the decade, in particular a hike in equipment spending.

But little new money is expected to be available in the early part of the funding cycle, giving the 2016 and 2017 planning rounds tough choices to make; including whether to fund either of the Royal Navy’s drone programs. The British only have one maritime unmanned air system operational, the contractor-operated Boeing Scan Eagle, that is machine-deployed on a Type 23 frigate in the Middle East.

But, Wheaton told the UAS15 conference in London that moves were afoot to improve on the present line-up with two new programs by the end of the decade before considering a larger tactical maritime unmanned air system. “We think of FDUAS as Sea Eagle Plus, as we would rather like to have a better find capability. We are also not writing off the fact the best way of delivering it [the requirement] may be by a family of systems,” said Wheaton.

Boeing showed one possible improved Scan Eagle design at September’s DESI defense show in London in September. The US company could find itself vying with rivals AgustaWestland, Camcopter and Raytheon if the FDUAS requirement gets off the ground. The program official said the Scan Eagle earned plaudits from navy commanders, but the deal expires mid-2017. Although the service wanted the capability handover to be seamless, Wheaton acknowledged resource constraints remain a challenge.

Wheaton said the program was “all about persistence and all about being complementary” to the manned Merlin and Wild Cat helicopter capability the RN has in service on its warships. Aside from the Scan Eagle replacement, the Joint Forces Command is also looking at a mini-drone program which can be used for a number of roles, including its use by the Royal Marines.

British land forces successfully used Lockheed Martin’s Desert Hawk mini-drone in the Afghanistan campaign against the Taliban. The system, originally purchased as an urgent operational requirement, has since been taken into the Army’s core equipment program. But Wheaton said that with the Joint Mini UAS, the Royal Navy is looking for something that worked better in the maritime environment for the Royal Marines and others.

“Desert Hawk is great, but as it’s name suggests, it doesn’t work very well in the maritime so we have also identified a clear requirement to get something for a joint capability in the mini [Joint Mini UAS] space,” he said. Lockheed Martin refuted the claim that Desert Hawk wasn’t maritime capable, particularly the latest 3.1 version, which the British don’t possess.

“With five decades of experience in unmanned systems for air, land and sea, we have a small UAS family of systems which could be suitable for a joint maritime UAS, depending on the capability that is required. We have a number of all environment platforms, including Desert Hawk 3.1, which could be considered as a solution and we look forward to hearing more about the specific requirements,” said a spokeswomen for Lockheed Martin.

Unconnected with the micro-requirement, the Royal Navy has been working with Southampton University on a small and cheap unmanned aircraft created on a 3D printer by the academics. The 3 kg vehicle was test-launched from a Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel in July and the Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft vehicle is now onboard the ice patrol ship HMS Protector ahead of an operational demonstration in the Antarctic in the first quarter of next year.

A major exercise, known as Unmanned Warrior 2016, is planned to take place in Scotland next year to test with the tactical employment of unmanned and autonomous systems. Beyond the next five years, Wheaton said the Royal Navy also had aspirations for a tactical maritime unmanned system. Britain’s main unmanned air vehicle programs — the Army’s Watchkeeper and the Air Force’s Reaper — also has “enormous potential" if the sensors are optimized for the maritime, said Wheaton.

“Although our priorities are elsewhere for the moment, I am absolutely confident we will start to exploit them in the maritime in the future,” he said. His PowerPoint presentation showed Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout as being representative of the type of machine they would be looking at for PWAS and attack roles. AgustaWestland recently completed an unmanned rotary wing capability demonstrator program for the Royal Navy using a modified SW-4 helicopter.

China Protests Against Billion Dollar US Arms Sales to Taiwan

China has summoned a senior U.S. envoy to protest Washington's announcement that it is selling two warships to Taiwan as part of a $1.83 billion arms deal. A vice foreign minister made “solemn representations” with the United States charge d'affaires regarding the sale, according to a statement on the foreign ministry's website on Thursday.

Taiwanese Armed Forces. 

The Obama administration announced the sale on Wednesday, drawing an immediate rebuke and threats of retaliation from Taipei's rival Beijing. The arms package is the first offered by the U.S. to the country in four years. Even before its announcement, Beijing, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, demanded it be scrapped to avoid harming relations across the Taiwan Strait and between China and the U.S.

In a statement to Al Jazeera, a Pentagon spokesperson said, “U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are guided by the Taiwan Relations Act and based on an assessment of Taiwan's defense needs.” That was followed by a formal diplomatic protest late Wednesday, although at a lower level than in previous such instances. “China resolutely opposes the sale of weapons to Taiwan by the U.S.,” Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said in a meeting with Washington's second-highest ranking diplomat in Beijing.

“In order to safeguard the nation's interests, the Chinese side has decided to take necessary measures, including the imposition of sanctions against companies participating in the arms sale to Taiwan,” Zheng said, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website.

US Navy 100707-N-0641S-215 SS Ford (FFG 54) departs Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to support Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2010 exercises.

Such sanctions have been threatened in the past, although there's no evidence they've had any meaningful effect. American and European Union companies are banned from selling military technology to China, and Chinese companies have extensive links with major overseas firms that often have weapon-making divisions.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman, speaking on routine condition of anonymity, declined to comment on the meeting, saying, “We don't get into the content of our diplomatic discussions.” The U.S. maintained there's no need for it to hurt the relationship, which has also been strained by China's island-building in the South China Sea and alleged cybertheft.

The administration notified Congress that the proposed arms package includes two decommissioned U.S. Navy frigates, anti-tank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles and Stinger surface-to-air missiles. There's also support for Taiwan's capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and a weapons system to defend against anti-ship missiles.

Congress has 30 days to review the sale, but it's unlikely to raise objections. There's been mounting bipartisan concern that Taiwan is inadequately armed to defend itself against an increasingly powerful mainland China, and the sale comes a year after Congress passed the Naval Transfer Act authorizing the sale of up to four Perry-class frigates to Taiwan in December 2014.

The administration has announced more than $12 billion in arms sales to Taiwan since 2010, but none since $5.9 billion in sales in September 2011 that included upgrades for Taiwan's F-16 fighter jets. That drew a high-level diplomatic protest from Beijing, which suspended some military exchanges with the United States. It did not seriously impair ties. In the meantime, President Barack Obama has sought greater cooperation with China, and the two sides have increased military exchanges to reduce the risk of conflict.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. was in contact with both Taiwan and China about the sale, which he said was consistent with U.S. support for Taiwan's ability to defend itself under the Taiwan Relations Act. Analysts and Congressional sources believe the sale process was held up by the administration's desire to maintain stable working relations with China, an increasingly powerful strategic rival but also a vital economic partner as the world's second-largest economy. Most recently the Obama administration has been working with Beijing to forge a landmark global climate agreement that was sealed on Saturday.

Indonesia Got Offers of ToT Along With Typhoon Purchase from Eurofighter Consortium

Eurofighter consortium offers Indonesia of shifting Spanish assembly line Indonesia if they pick the Eurofighter to replace its F-5 Tiger, the .

“If Indonesia decided to pick the Typhoon, we can move the final assembly line from Getafe to Bandung,” said Martin Elbourne, Eurofighter’s Head of Industrial Offset.

Elbourne also suggested that conformal fuel tanks (CFT) for the Eurofighter could be designed, tested and produced in Indonesia. Regarding defense equipment Indonesia has guidelines from parliament for the transfer of technology at least 30% while purchasing from overseas inside Indonesian territories. The offer came as the guidelines as Russian Sukhoi facing technical and legal issues with this fact.

PLANAF J-10SH from 4th Division, 12th Air Regiment Crashed

A People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF) from the 4th Division, 12th Air Regiment, crashed last 17 December in Zeguo town, Taizhou city, Zhejiang Province.

Prototype Rolled Out by KAI-Lockheed Team for USAF's T-X Trainer Program

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has revealed the prototype that will form the basis of Lockheed Martin’s bid for the US Air Force’s T-X next generation trainer competition.

Based on the T-50 family of trainer/light fighter aircraft, the company’s “T-X demonstrator aircraft” will conduct ground and flight tests in 2016, says KAI in an email to Flightglobal. In 2017, KAI plans flight tests in the USA.

The aircraft features several new features, including a large area display (LAD), embedded training systems, and an aerial refuelling capability.

Aesthetically, the most striking change from the original T-50 is the addition of a large dorsal hump.

The original T-50, along with its variants, was developed via technology transfer from Lockheed Martin with offsets related to South Korea’s large F-16 fleet.

The lucrative T-X competition has always been a major objective of the T-50 programme, which is a source of great national pride in South Korea. The country's president Park Geun-hye was in attendance at the rollout ceremony.

The winner of the T-X competition will eventually replace the 55-year old Northrop T-38 Talon, which has served as the USAF’s advanced jet trainer since the 1960s. The procurement could reach up to 350 units.

The appearance of the Lockheed/KAI T-X technology demonstrator is notable in that it makes the Lockheed/KAI team the first competitor to show its hand. Over the years KAI and Lockheed have displayed models at air shows of a baseline T-50 with T-X markings.

The other T-X competitors are Northrop Grumman, Boeing (which is teaming with Saab) and Alenia Aermacchi.

On 12 December, Northrop Grumman grudgingly allowed journalists to a view of a model of its planned offering for the requirement, but allowed no photographs. Days later in an interview with Flightglobal, Boeing Phantom Works president Darryl Davis refused to provide any more details about the US firm’s planned clean-sheet offering with Saab.

Malaysia Eyeing for Pakistani JF-17 Thunder Considerably

Crest of the Royal Malaysian Air Force

Malaysia was considering as one of the option to purchase JF-17 Thunder jet fighters from Pakistan and deal in this regard would be finalised between the two countries after completing required formalities. 

This was stated by the High Commissioner of Malaysia to Pakistan, H.E. Dato' Dr. Hasrul Sani bin Mujtabar here on Wednesday in an interview with APP. 

The High Commissioner said that Pakistan and Malaysia were enjoying excellent relations in the defence sector as a result of Joint Committee on Defence of both the brotherly countries which played as a very active forum. 

Responding to a question that Malaysia wanted to purchase how many JF-17 Thunder from Pakistan, the High Commissioner said that "this jet fighter is considered an excellent production of Pakistan in the defence sector and decision about numbers would be taken very soon by the Malaysian government". 

About Pakistan-Malaysia bilateral relations, H.E. Dato' Dr. Hasrul Sani expressed his satisfaction over the existing bilateral relations and said that both the brotherly countries were enjoying cordial and fraternal bilateral relations especially in the field of trade, economy and defence beside others.

Secret US Commandos Forced to Leave Libya After Facebook Post

“A group of US commandos who landed in Libya on Monday were ordered to leave almost immediately because of a possible mix-up between the Libyan air force and army,” the US media quotes US and Libyan officials as saying on Thursday.

The decision came after four pictures of about 20 US Special Operations Forces servicemen, arriving at Libya’s Wattiya airbase, have been posted on the Facebook page of the Libyan Air Forces.

The post said the servicemen "disembarked in combat readiness wearing bullet proof jackets, advanced weaponry, silencers, handguns, night vision devices and GPS devices."

The local commanders however asked them to go because the servicemen landed “without prior coordination” and had no permission to be at the base.

Flight trackers apparently show that the unit was flown back to Pantelleria airport, Sicily.

It appears there was a breakdown in communication between Libyan Air Force and the Libyan army.

When questioned by Libyan soldiers, the Americans said they were "in coordination with other members of the Libyan army," the Libyan Air Force said.

A Pentagon statement confirmed US forces were at the base.

“With the concurrence of Libyan officials, US military personnel traveled to Libya on 14 December to engage in a dialogue with ‎representatives of the Libyan National Army. While in Libya, members of a local militia demanded that the US personnel depart. In an effort to avoid conflict, they did leave, without incident,” the US media quotes a spokeswoman as saying in a statement.

DCNS Trying to Recover Profit Lost to Mistral Cancellation

DCNS is in talks with the French authorities to recover the “three figures” of profit that sank when France canceled the sale of two Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia, Chairman Hervé Guillou said Tuesday.

The naval shipbuilder forewent some €100 million (US $110 million) of gain when Paris and Moscow agreed to annul the deal in August, with France repaying €949.7 million of cash advances.

That cancellation led to DCNS, prime contractor on the Mistral, forgoing a profit of “three figures,” Guillou told the defense journalists association. “I am sure it will be resolved,” he said, declining to give the amount.

In his Sept. 15 remarks to the National Assembly foreign affairs committee, Guillou said the cancellation of the Mistral led to foregoing profit that is the equivalent of a year’s research and development budget.

DCNS invests €100 million in R&D, he told journalists Tuesday.

Coface, the export credit agency, repaid €893 million of production costs but that repayment excluded the expected profit. The government repaid Russia €56.9 million for adapting the ships to fit Russian combat systems.

The first of the two Mistrals will sail to Egypt next summer, the second three months later, Guillou said. The company is in talks about creating an Egyptian joint venture for maintenance of warships.

The company last year sold four Gowind corvettes and is in talks for an option on two more. Egypt also bought a multimission frigate, part of a €5.2 billion arms deal centered on the sale of 24 Rafale fighters and missiles from Sagem and MBDA.

DCNS is in discussion for a local partner in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for maintenance of ships delivered under the two Sawari arms programs.

Maintenance is also a factor in the company’s bid in an Australian competition for eight to 12 attack submarines, which is now under a competitive evaluation process.

There were no problems in cooperating with Thales, a systems company, on the Australian offer, with the systems company “unequalled” in sonar technology, Guillou said. There is cooperation with Thales at the group level with the Thales Underwater Systems division in a highly structured way.

Thales Underwater Systems could also be a subcontractor for the two US companies, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, competing for the separate combat systems contract in Australia, he said.

DCNS competes with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, and Japan teamed with Mistubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Shipbuilding.

Australia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are seen as potential markets for expansion in addition to Brazil, India and Malaysia, where DCNS is building submarines and surface warships with local partners.

DCNS has seen interest from Canada, Chile, Colombia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on the planned intermediate frigate, which the company will build for the French Navy. The frigate will have a modular design, able to be adapted to regional and defense needs of the export client.

DCNS expects to break even this year after posting a 2014 net loss of €336 million, with annual sales more than €3 billion. The company reported €3.1 billion in sales in 2014.

“We are on our financial trajectory and the operational signals for 2015 show the company is on the right track,” Guillou said.

The company is state-owned, with Thales holding 35 percent.

Of the sales, two-thirds stem from shipbuilding, one-third from maintenance.

DCNS is in talks with labor unions on the loss of 1,000 jobs, with the company looking to consolidate around specialization on sites around the country.

Anti-Submarine Aircraft of Royal Australian Airforce Flies Over Disputed South China Sea

An Australian military surveillance plane flew near disputed areas of the South China Sea, emerging Wednesday after the crew warned China's navy it was on a freedom of navigation mission.

Tensions in the region have mounted since China transformed reefs in the South China Sea into small islands capable of supporting military facilities, a move the United States says threatens free passage in an area through which one-third of the world's oil passes.

In October, Washington infuriated Beijing when the USS Lassen guided missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of at least one land formation claimed by China in the disputed Spratly Islands chain.

Now a Royal Australian Air Force patrol plane has carried out patrols in air space around the area.

"A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion was conducting a routine maritime patrol in the region as part of Operation Gateway from Nov. 25 to Dec. 4," a defence department spokesperson told AFP.

"Under Operation Gateway, the Australian Defence Force conducts routine maritime surveillance patrols in the North Indian Ocean and South China Sea as a part of Australia's enduring contribution to the preservation of regional security and stability in Southeast Asia."

The comments follow audio released by the BBC late Tuesday after a reporting assignment in the Spratly archipelago.

In the scratchy radio recording, an RAAF pilot is heard speaking to the Chinese navy.

"China navy, China navy," the voice said.

"We are an Australian aircraft exercising international freedom of navigation rights in international airspace in accordance with the international civil aviation convention and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea — over."

The BBC said it recorded the audio from a RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft on Nov. 25. It said the message was repeated several times but no response was heard from the Chinese.

The Australian newspaper said it understood that the aircraft did not fly within the 12-nautical-mile limit China claims around the artificial islands it has built up.

The BBC hired a small plane and took off from the Philippines, which also claims some of the scattered atolls and reefs in the region, to film Chinese claimed land and construction and to see whether they were challenged.

It said they were warned several times, with radio communication from the Chinese navy telling them "you are threatening the security of our station."

China insists on sovereignty over virtually all the resource-endowed South China Sea, but Washington has repeatedly said it does not recognize the claims.

In a communique after talks in Sydney in November, US allies Japan and Australia called on "all claimants to halt large-scale land reclamation, construction, and use for military purposes" in the South China Sea.

Chinese Navy Deploying Another Guided Missile Destroyer "Hefei" to its South China Sea Fleet

China has added another of its most advanced destroyers to the South Sea fleet, according to China Military Online.The guided missile destroyer Hefei (hull number 174), the third in the Type 052D class (also known as the Luyang-III class), was commissioned in a ceremony on Sunday at the naval port at Sanya, in China’s Hainan province.

As The Diplomat repeated previously, the first two Type 052Ds were commissioned in March 2014 (the Kunming) and August 2015 (the Changsha). Like the Hefei, those two ships were also deployed as part of China’s South Sea fleet, which operates in the South China Sea, where China has maritime disputes with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Vice Admiral Wang Dengping, the deputy political commissar of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) attended the naming ceremony for the Hefei on Sunday. China Military Onlineparaphrased Wang as saying that “as the most advanced guided missile destroyer independently designed and built by China, the destroyer Hefei will play an important role in further enhancing the systematic combat capability of the PLA Navy and maintaining China’s maritime rights and interests.”

China Daily expanded on that, saying that the three new “world-class guided missile destroyers” were “extensively improving the country’s maritime combat capacity.” The Hefei’s captain, Commander Zhao Yanquan, told China Daily, “Compared with the Wuhan, a Type 052B ship on which I was deputy captain, the new ship is especially stronger in terms of target detection capacity and air defense capability.”

According to a report on the PLAN from the Pentagon’s Office of Naval Intelligence, the Type 052D “embodies the trend [in China] toward a more flexible force with advanced air defenses and long-range strike capability.” The entire Type 052 series (including the Type 052B and C as well) is “considered to be modern and capable designs that are comparable in many respects to the most modern Western warships.”

ONI reports that the Type 052Ds are equipped with a long-range variant of the HQ-9 surface-to-air missile (with a range of 80 nautical miles as opposed to the standard 55 nm). The class also boasts vertically-launched YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles, which pose a potential threat to U.S. aircraft carriers. Andrew Erickson, a noted expert on the PLAN based at the U.S. Naval War College, described the YJ-18 as a “a potent new-generation supersonic anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) that could pose unprecedented challenges to the air defenses of U.S. and allied ships.”

According to Chinese media, the Type 052D class ships also carry “a single-barrel, 130 mm naval gun, a close-in weapon system, anti-aircraft missiles, and surface-to-surface cruise missiles.” A researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute told China Daily that, compared to other vessels in the Chinese navy, the Type 052D has “the best radar capability” and “the best missile combination for hitting enemy surface vessels, submarines, aircraft and ground targets.”

The PLAN has plans to add an additional nine Type 052Ds, for a total of 12. Construction has been completed on seven.

Doubts Linger Over Saudi-Led, Islamic Anti-Terrorism Coalition

Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that it will lead an anti-terror military alliance of predominately Muslim countries, with a joint operations center located in Riyadh. The formation of this coalition comes amid calls for Gulf states to do more to comprehensively fight radicalism.

Saudi security forces take part in a military parade in preparation for the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia said Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015 that 34 nations have agreed to form a new "Islamic military alliance" to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.

This new anti-terror alliance has drawn skepticism from some analysts for a number of reasons. Gulf states faced heavy criticism for funding regional proxies, particularly in the Syrian civil war, including certain extremist groups. Saudi Arabia in particular has come under fire as of late, with many commentators suggesting that the exportation of their Wahhabi ideology is to blame for the rise of extremists around the Muslim world.

It’s unclear what effect the new coalition will have on the U.S.’ fight against ISIS, as Saudi Arabia provided few details, other than that the coalition would focus on more than just fighting ISIS. But analysts also wonder if this coalition will focus on fighting extremism or simply further crack down on local activists, something that Saudi Arabia is notorious for.

“…there is the question of the exact definition of terrorism. The Saudi authorities’ interpretation of it extends far beyond the violent actions of armed insurgents,” BBC’s Security Correspondent Frank Gardner said. “Recent legislation has branded peaceful opposition activists and reformers, whether online or in the street, as suspected “terrorists” and a security risk to the state. Amnesty International said it had concerns that this new coalition could be used to further restrict human rights.”

Farea al-Muslimi, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Centre, told AFP that most of the coalition countries could be called “honorary members.” “[The coalition] seemed to have been cooked at the last minute,” he said. Muslimi said the coalition seems like an attempt by Saudi Arabia to ease some of the international pressure it has faced on the issue.

Ten Middle Eastern countries bombed ISIS to date, but statistics are hard to find considering this is a politically sensitive topic for Middle Eastern populations. While Arab and Muslim countries overwhelmingly disapprove of groups like ISIS, their populations might be apprehensive to bomb civilians, or help the United States — a country many view with hostility after years of what they perceive to be anti-Muslim or anti-Arab policies.

The Saudi-led coalition will include Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Qatar, the Palestinians, Pakistan, Senegal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

“Currently, every Muslim country is fighting terrorism individually,” Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince said at a news conference in Riyadh. “So co-ordinating efforts is very important.”

Pakistan Airforce JF-17 Thunders' Full Cockpit View and KLJ-7 Pulse Doppler RADAR

NRIET KLJ-7 Pulse Doppler RADAR

Why is Indonesia Not in the Saudi-led Sunni Coalition Against Terror?

The Saudis love coalitions. The Sunni monarchy had the Americans, the British, the French and sundry other oil importers on their side to drive Saddam’s legions out of Kuwait in 1991. Earlier this year, the Saudi military – for which read the youngest defence minister in the world and the ambitious Deputy Prime Minister, Mohamed bin Salman al-Saud – struck at the Kingdom’s Shia Houthi enemies in Yemen in yet another coalition. This included not only Saudi fighter-bombers but jets from Qatar, the Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan. 

Yemeni troops loyal to their Saudi-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi march during a parade military west of the city of Marib (Getty Images).

 But now – with all the drama of a new Hollywood franchise – the Saudis have announced their new multinational military epic against the “disease” of Islamic “terror”, starring more Muslim and would-be Muslim states than ever before assembled since the time of the Prophet. Once more, as in the Yemen adventure (already plagued by humanitarian catastrophe and credible accounts of the slaughter of civilians under Saudi air attacks), Prince Mohamed, aged 31, is leading his country.

In all seriousness, he announced that the battle of this latest “coalition” – which includes countries as mythical as “Palestine”, as corrupt as Afghanistan and as powerless as Lebanon, with bankrupt Chad and the Islamic Republic of the Comoros thrown in for good measure – would require “a very strong effort to fight”. Few spotted, however, the curious absence from the 34-strong “coalition” of Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population. 

This is very strange, since the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 mostly foreign civilians, brought al-Qaeda into Indonesia’s own “war against terror”. Surely Indonesia, with a Sunni population of more than 200 million, would have an interest in joining their fellow Sunni Muslims in this unprecedented “coalition”? Or could it be that with more than 30 Indonesian maids on Saudi Arabia’s death row after grotesquely unfair trials, the country wants an end to this injustice before committing its army to the Kingdom?

Pakistan is an interesting addition because the last time it was asked to fight for the Saudis, in the present disastrous Yemen civil war, the parliament in Islamabad rejected Saudi Arabia’s request after the Saudis insisted that only Sunni Muslim soldiers in the Pakistani army would be allowed to participate.

Saudi Arabia and another Sunni coalition have been on the offensive against tribesmen like these who are loyal to the Houthis in Yemen (Reuters).

All in all, then, a pretty vast “coalition” – most of whom are saddled with massive international debt and face constant economic collapse. So the real figures behind this extraordinary military force is not how many countries plan to participate, but how many millions – or billions – of dollars Saudi Arabia plans to pay them for their fraternal military assistance.

Along with the obvious question: just which strain of the “terror disease” does young Prince Mohamed intend to destroy? The Isis version – albeit spiritually founded on the same Sunni Wahabi purist doctrines which govern the Saudi state? The Nusrah version, which is espoused by the very same Qatar which is now part of this weird “coalition”? The Shia Houthis of Yemen, who are regarded as pro-Iranian terrorists by the Sunni Yemeni President whom the Saudis support? And what kind of relationship do the Saudis envision with the Iranians who are fighting in both Iraq and Syria against the same Isis “terror” which our favourite Saudi prince identifies as part of the “disease”? Neither Shia Iran nor Shia Iraq, needless to say, is part of the new international Muslim army.

So we know there’s a “coalition”. But who will it fight? How much will it be paid? And why is this a largely Sunni Muslim force rather than just a Muslim “coalition”?

Saudi Arabia Forms Muslim 'Anti-Terrorism' Coalition

Saudi Arabia has formed a coalition of 34 mainly Muslim countries - including powers such as Egypt and Turkey - to coordinate a fight against "terrorist organisations". The alliance was announced by Mohammed bin Salman, the country's defence minister and deputy crown prince, on Tuesday. Arab countries such as Qatar and the UAE will join the coalition, as well as Middle Eastern, Asian and African states including Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Nigeria.

Saudi security forces show their skills in handling a 'terrorist' attack as part of military exercises [Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP]

"It is time that the Islamic world take a stand, and they have done that by creating a coalition to push back and confront the terrorists and those who promote their violent ideologies," said Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi's foreign minister, speaking in Paris. When asked if the alliance would deploy troops on the ground, Jubeir said "nothing is off the table". Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran and its allies Syria and Iraq were excluded from the alliance, despite the states sharing a common enemy in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Bin Salman said the states would work together to target "any terrorist organisation, not just ISIL" in countries including Iraq, Syria. Libya, Egypt, and Afghanistan. Military operations would work in accordance with local laws and in cooperation with the international community, he added. In an earlier press statement issued by the Saudi Press Agency, officials said the group would be led by Saudi Arabia, which would host a "joint operations centre to coordinate" efforts. The United States welcomed the announcement of the anti-terrorism alliance. "We look forward to learning more about what Saudi Arabia has in mind in terms of this coalition," Defence Secretary Ashton Carter told journalists in Turkey.

"But in general, it appears it is very much in line with something we've been urging for quite some time, which is greater involvement in the campaign to combat ISIL by Sunni Arab countries." Turkey said it was set to assist any time, anywhere. "Turkey is ready to contribute by all its means to all gatherings that aim to fight terrorism, no matter where or by whom they are organised," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara. Most of the countries in the coalition are currently involved in military operations against ISIL or have been targeted by the group.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have carried out air strikes against the fighters in Syria and were targeted by the group in Yemen, where they are involved in a separate war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels. In August, an ISIL suicide bomber killed 15 people, mainly special forces soldiers, at a mosque in Asir province, bordering Yemen. ISIL has also targeted Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, killing dozens in bomb attacks on mosques. Saudi authorities have carried out raids detaining hundreds of suspected ISIL members and sympathisers in response.

First Japanese-built F-35 Begins Assembly

In a key milestone for the international program, the first Japanese-built F-35 joint strike fighter began its assembly today at a facility in Nagoya, Japan. The aircraft, known as the AX-5, officially began the “mate” process today when its wings, fuselage and tails joined together for the first time to form the structure, the joint program office said in a Dec. 15 statement.
 

First Norwegian Armed Forces Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, known as AM-1 Joint Strike Jet Fighter, is unveiled during the rollout celebration at Lockheed Martin production facility in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sept. 22.

AX-5 is the first F-35A assembled in Japan and will join the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force fleet in 2017. The first four of Japan’s planned 42 planes are in various stages of production at Lockheed Martin’s F-35 facility in Forth Worth, Texas. The first, AX-1, is slated for delivery in 2016.

The remaining 38 Japanese aircraft will be assembled and delivered in Japan from the Nagoya factory, according to the statement.

Why The JF-17 Thunder Should be Egypt's Perfect Upgradation of Mirage 5s and Chengdu F-7s?

Despite having opted for French and Russian fighter aircraft earlier this year, Egypt has reportedly expressed an interest in the Sino-Pakistan JF-17 Thunder. This has come as a surprise to analysts who had considered the possibility of Egypt acquiring the JF-17 to be lost. The interest comes as part of a wider push to increase defense industry cooperation between the two countries, according to a Dec. 4 news release by the Pakistani government's Press Information Department. It outlined how the Egyptian ambassador to Islamabad, Sherif Shaheen, met Pakistan's Minister for Defence Production Tanveer Hussain to discuss improving bilateral defense cooperation.
 

PAF Mirage and JF-17 Thunder.

A cadet exchange program is already in place, but both sides were "looking at collaboration in defense industry as the core of relations between Pakistan and Egypt," according to the news release. As a matter of policy, officials in Pakistan do not discuss potential defense deals until they are signed.

However, author, analyst and former Pakistani Air Force pilot Kaiser Tufail says there are two main reasons the JF-17 appeals to developing nations. "It offers the best value for money, being one of the cheapest of the modern fighters to purchase and maintain," he said. "Its sale is not constrained by big power politics, in that it is not likely to be used as a tool for exercising leverage over the purchaser's foreign or defense policies. Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Jordan (possibly) and now Egypt are keenly eyeing the JF-17 for these reasons."

In respect to a potential Egyptian deal, author, analyst and former Australian defense attache to Islamabad Brian Cloughley believes the JF-17 has a key advantage over other fighter aircraft the Egyptians may be able to acquire. "The Egyptians have many sources for combat aircraft, but none of those being considered for provision of advanced fighters manufacture anything like the JF-17," Cloughley said.

The Rafale and MiG-35 are larger twin-engine fighters in comparison to the JF-17, and unlike the latter are off the shelf purchases, with no local production offered for Egypt. Analysts believe this is where the JF-17 has another advantage, and one that builds on experience. Egypt already operates 120 Sino-Pakistani Hongdu K-8 jet trainer aircraft, the majority of which were built in Egypt by the Arab Organization for Industrialization. A similar deal for the construction of the JF-17 has been speculated since Egypt first reportedly expressed an interest in the JF-17 in 2010.

The bulk of Egypt's modern fighter fleet comprises of some 220 F-16C/Ds, but these are supported by a larger number of legacy Mirage 5, MiG-21 and Chengdu J-7 fighters. The order for 46 MiG-35s will likely replace the MiG-21s, but this leaves nearly 140 Mirage 5s and J-7s needing replacement. As the JF-17 was designed precisely to replace these types, Tufail says it is "an excellent platform to replace the older fleet of Mirage III/5, MiG-21/F-7" and the "glitch-free induction and full operational capability of the JF-17 in the Pakistan Air Force makes a great sales pitch for export."

Likewise, Cloughley believes the JF-17 still has a good chance to secure a sizable Egyptian order but believes it is too early to be certain. "It seems that it would be a good choice to replace the Mirages, which are very long in the tooth, but as always the detail is in the possible deal. It's too early to speculate on what mutually agreeable terms might be, but it's likely that Pakistan (and China) would come up with a tempting offer," Cloughley said. Pakistan is accepting JF-17 Block 2 aircraft into service, of which it ordered 50. There have been some key Block 2 features such as in-flight refueling and other modifications that will be retrofitted to the Block 1 aircraft.

 

However, recent reports in the Chinese media have stated any export customers will be acquiring the forthcoming Block 3 that is in its final design stages. Though it is believed to feature an AESA radar, officials are tight-lipped on confirming specific details, only saying the Block 3 will be a "game changer." A two seat, fully combat-capable variant of the JF-17 is also believed to be undergoing the final stages of testing in China before it is unveiled.

 

By Usman Ansari

Pakistan Successfully Test Fired Shaheen-I A Ballistic Missile Today

Pakistan Today Successfully Test Fired Shaheen-1A Ballistic Missile. Shaheen1A is capable of delivering different types of warheads to a range of 900 kilometers.