To be designated as FC-20s in Pakistan, the aircraft will be upgraded versions of the J-10 fighter that officially entered Chinese air force service in early 2007. The type is China's most advanced indigenously developed military aircraft.
Deliveries to Pakistan are likely to begin from 2014-15, but the country is unlikely to have any workshare in the programme.
China has been a major supplier of aircraft to Pakistan's armed forces for more than 30 years, supplementing purchases of Dassault Mirage fighters in the 1970s and Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs in the 1980s.
Relations with the West cooled in the 1990s, when Washington imposed an arms embargo after Pakistan tested a nuclear bomb. Relations improved earlier this decade, when Islamabad emerged as a key ally in the war in Afghanistan.
Last year, Pakistan confirmed an order for 18 new F-16C/D Block 52 fighters, with options for another 18. It is also buying several refurbished F-16s, and Lockheed is also under contract to upgrade 34 F-16A/B Block 15s.
However, Islamabad has also maintained its close relationship with China. The partners have jointly developed the Chengdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) FC-1/JF-17 fighter, with Islamabad having received its first two Chinese-built examples in March 2007. It has since taken delivery of around a dozen JF-17s.
The first example to be manufactured by PAC will fly before year-end, and Islamabad will eventually buy at least 150 domestically produced fighters. These will replace its air force's ageing fleets of Nanchang A-5s, Chengdu F-7s and Mirage IIIs and Mirage Vs.
The JF-17 will be capable of carrying a variety of conventional and precision-guided bombs, plus air-to-air and anti-shipping missiles of both short- and beyond-visual ranges.
Friday, November 13, 2009
DTN News: Pakistan Signs Deal For Chinese J-10 Fighters
DTN News: Pakistan Signs Deal For Chinese J-10 Fighters
*Source: DTN News / Defense Media
(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - November 14, 2009: Pakistan has reportedly reached a deal with China to buy 36 Chengdu J-10B fighters in a deal worth around $1.4 billion. If confirmed, this would form the first phase of a purchase that includes options for several dozen more aircraft and result in Islamabad eventually acquiring around 150 of the multirole fighters. To be designated as FC-20s in Pakistan, the aircraft will be upgraded versions of the J-10 fighter that officially entered Chinese air force service in early 2007. The type is China's most advanced indigenously developed military aircraft.
Deliveries to Pakistan are likely to begin from 2014-15, but the country is unlikely to have any workshare in the programme.
China has been a major supplier of aircraft to Pakistan's armed forces for more than 30 years, supplementing purchases of Dassault Mirage fighters in the 1970s and Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs in the 1980s.
Relations with the West cooled in the 1990s, when Washington imposed an arms embargo after Pakistan tested a nuclear bomb. Relations improved earlier this decade, when Islamabad emerged as a key ally in the war in Afghanistan.
Last year, Pakistan confirmed an order for 18 new F-16C/D Block 52 fighters, with options for another 18. It is also buying several refurbished F-16s, and Lockheed is also under contract to upgrade 34 F-16A/B Block 15s.
However, Islamabad has also maintained its close relationship with China. The partners have jointly developed the Chengdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) FC-1/JF-17 fighter, with Islamabad having received its first two Chinese-built examples in March 2007. It has since taken delivery of around a dozen JF-17s.
The first example to be manufactured by PAC will fly before year-end, and Islamabad will eventually buy at least 150 domestically produced fighters. These will replace its air force's ageing fleets of Nanchang A-5s, Chengdu F-7s and Mirage IIIs and Mirage Vs.
The JF-17 will be capable of carrying a variety of conventional and precision-guided bombs, plus air-to-air and anti-shipping missiles of both short- and beyond-visual ranges.
To be designated as FC-20s in Pakistan, the aircraft will be upgraded versions of the J-10 fighter that officially entered Chinese air force service in early 2007. The type is China's most advanced indigenously developed military aircraft.
Deliveries to Pakistan are likely to begin from 2014-15, but the country is unlikely to have any workshare in the programme.
China has been a major supplier of aircraft to Pakistan's armed forces for more than 30 years, supplementing purchases of Dassault Mirage fighters in the 1970s and Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs in the 1980s.
Relations with the West cooled in the 1990s, when Washington imposed an arms embargo after Pakistan tested a nuclear bomb. Relations improved earlier this decade, when Islamabad emerged as a key ally in the war in Afghanistan.
Last year, Pakistan confirmed an order for 18 new F-16C/D Block 52 fighters, with options for another 18. It is also buying several refurbished F-16s, and Lockheed is also under contract to upgrade 34 F-16A/B Block 15s.
However, Islamabad has also maintained its close relationship with China. The partners have jointly developed the Chengdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) FC-1/JF-17 fighter, with Islamabad having received its first two Chinese-built examples in March 2007. It has since taken delivery of around a dozen JF-17s.
The first example to be manufactured by PAC will fly before year-end, and Islamabad will eventually buy at least 150 domestically produced fighters. These will replace its air force's ageing fleets of Nanchang A-5s, Chengdu F-7s and Mirage IIIs and Mirage Vs.
The JF-17 will be capable of carrying a variety of conventional and precision-guided bombs, plus air-to-air and anti-shipping missiles of both short- and beyond-visual ranges.
DTN News: Lockheed Martin Sonar Array System for Spain’s S-80 Diesel Electric Submarines Completes In-Water Testing
DTN News: Lockheed Martin Sonar Array System for Spain’s S-80 Diesel Electric Submarines Completes In-Water Testing
*Source: DTN News / Lockheed Martin
(NSI News Source Info) MANASSAS, VA, - November 14, 2009: Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] successfully completed in-water testing of a new cylindrical array sonar system for Spain’s S-80 class diesel electric submarines at the U.S. Navy’s Underwater Test Facility at Seneca Lake, N.Y.
For the S-80A submarines, Lockheed Martin will support a Spanish industry design and develop the core combat system as a technology partner using experience gained over the last 40 years from combat systems design and development work for the U.S. Navy’s submarine force.
The cylindrical array is the primary acoustic sensor for submerged operations. It consists of a special hydrophone configuration that is unique to every platform. Lockheed Martin designed and developed the S-80’s new array under a 2005 contract from the Spanish government to provide the submarine’s integrated combat system.
In addition to the cylindrical array sonar, the S-80’s integrated combat system also will contain a flank array sonar and a passive ranging sonar, as well as mine and obstacle detection sonar. The flank and passive ranging sonars were successfully tested in June. The sonars are designed, manufactured and assembled by Lockheed Martin’s Undersea Systems business in Manassas, Va. and Syracuse, N.Y.
The new S-80 integrated combat system leverages proven commercial technology used on the U.S. Navy’s Virginia, Seawolf and Los Angeles class submarines, as well as Lockheed Martin’s experience as the lead contractor for the U.S. Navy’s Acoustic Rapid Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Insertion program since its inception in 1996. This experience with the Navy has influenced the company’s work on exportable versions of sonar array systems specifically for non-nuclear submarines, including Lockheed Martin’s forward and back-fit scalable International Diesel-Electric Submarine Integrated Combat System (SUBICS).
"These successful tests are important milestones towards satisfying key deliveries for the S-80 submarine program and also provide substantial risk mitigation prior to installation on the actual submarine," explained Al Simpson, program management director, International Submarines and Coastal Systems for Lockheed Martin. "The delivery of the entire open architecture, COTS-based, integrated combat system for S-80 will usher in a new and important capability for diesel-electric submarines."
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.
For the S-80A submarines, Lockheed Martin will support a Spanish industry design and develop the core combat system as a technology partner using experience gained over the last 40 years from combat systems design and development work for the U.S. Navy’s submarine force.
The cylindrical array is the primary acoustic sensor for submerged operations. It consists of a special hydrophone configuration that is unique to every platform. Lockheed Martin designed and developed the S-80’s new array under a 2005 contract from the Spanish government to provide the submarine’s integrated combat system.
In addition to the cylindrical array sonar, the S-80’s integrated combat system also will contain a flank array sonar and a passive ranging sonar, as well as mine and obstacle detection sonar. The flank and passive ranging sonars were successfully tested in June. The sonars are designed, manufactured and assembled by Lockheed Martin’s Undersea Systems business in Manassas, Va. and Syracuse, N.Y.
The new S-80 integrated combat system leverages proven commercial technology used on the U.S. Navy’s Virginia, Seawolf and Los Angeles class submarines, as well as Lockheed Martin’s experience as the lead contractor for the U.S. Navy’s Acoustic Rapid Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Insertion program since its inception in 1996. This experience with the Navy has influenced the company’s work on exportable versions of sonar array systems specifically for non-nuclear submarines, including Lockheed Martin’s forward and back-fit scalable International Diesel-Electric Submarine Integrated Combat System (SUBICS).
"These successful tests are important milestones towards satisfying key deliveries for the S-80 submarine program and also provide substantial risk mitigation prior to installation on the actual submarine," explained Al Simpson, program management director, International Submarines and Coastal Systems for Lockheed Martin. "The delivery of the entire open architecture, COTS-based, integrated combat system for S-80 will usher in a new and important capability for diesel-electric submarines."
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.
DTN News: Pakistan TODAY November 14, 2009 ~ Bombings Kill 17 At Pakistani Security Installations ISI HQ
DTN News: Pakistan TODAY November 14, 2009 ~ Bombings Kill 17 At Pakistani Security Installations ISI HQ
*Source: DTN News / The Los Angeles Times By Alex Rodriguez & Special correspondent Zulfiqar Ali contributed to this report.
(NSI News Source Info) PESHAWAR, Pakistan - November 14, 2009: A suicide truck bomber targets the country's intelligence agency in Peshawar, killing 10 people. An hour later, seven are slain in a blast at a village police station.
A soldier stands guard at the site of a suicide bomb blast in Peshawar November 13, 2009. A suicide car-bomber destroyed an office of Pakistan's main intelligence agency in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killing at least eight people and wounding over 30, witnesses and officials said.
Suicide bomb attacks killed at least 17 people today at two security installations in and near the Pakistani city of Peshawar, including a devastating truck bomb at the provincial headquarters of the nation's intelligence agency, underscored security forces' vulnerability as they struggle to clamp down on a resilient insurgency.
The suicide truck bomb blast at the Inter-Services Intelligence complex that killed 10 people early this morning was the second militant strike on the country's premier spy agency this year. In May, a van packed with explosives razed the intelligence agency's provincial headquarters and a police building in the eastern city of Lahore, killing more than two dozen people.
The truck bomb blast in Peshawar, which also injured more than 60 people, was followed by a suicide car bomb attack an hour later at a police station in the village of Bakkakhel, about 75 miles southwest of Peshawar. That blast killed seven people and wounded 27.
Security forces stand guard at the site of a suicide bomb blast Peshawar November 13, 2009. A suicide car bomber attacked an office used by Pakistan's main intelligence agency in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killing nine people and wounding 55, officials said.
The attacks in Peshawar and Bakkakhel were the latest in a long line of strikes on security compounds and facilities across Pakistan in recent weeks, as the government moved ahead with its plan to send 30,000 troops into South Waziristan to uproot Taliban and Al Qaeda militant strongholds there.
The boldest of those attacks was on the army's headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Oct. 10. A team of militants dressed as paramilitary police raided the heavily guarded compound and took scores of officers and civilian workers hostage. Pakistani commandos rescued most of the hostages, but 14 people were killed in the 22-hour siege.
Less than a week later, teams of militants carried out near-simultaneous attacks on three security compounds around Lahore, including an elite forces counter-terrorism training center. At least 26 people were killed in those attacks.
Other attacks on security facilities include a suicide bomb attack on a police station in Peshawar on Oct. 16 that killed 13 people, and another suicide attack on an air force complex west of Islamabad, the capital, that killed seven people.
In the blast in Peshawar today, authorities said a truck filled with 600 pounds of explosives drove up to the front gate of the intelligence agency's regional headquarters, a complex situated in one of the city's most heavily guarded areas. Guards at the gate fired at the truck, but the bomber was able to detonate the explosives, which razed most of the agency's three-story building.
Among the wounded were civilians passing by the complex when the blast occurred about 6:45 a.m. Mir Wais, a 35-year-old taxi driver, was driving his daughters to the nearby town of Swabi when they were injured in the explosion. His daughters, Rana, 6, and Khwaga, 5, lay in beds at Lady Reading Hospital, their faces and hands heavily bandaged.
"Life's becoming so difficult for us," said the girls' grandmother, Bas Pano, 55, as she sat beside their beds. "Our men can't go to work to earn money for their families because of the bomb blasts. The father of these girls, he can't go to the markets to get groceries because of the explosions."
A soldier stands guard at the site of a suicide bomb blast in Peshawar November 13, 2009. A suicide car-bomber destroyed an office of Pakistan's main intelligence agency in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killing at least eight people and wounding over 30, witnesses and officials said.
Suicide bomb attacks killed at least 17 people today at two security installations in and near the Pakistani city of Peshawar, including a devastating truck bomb at the provincial headquarters of the nation's intelligence agency, underscored security forces' vulnerability as they struggle to clamp down on a resilient insurgency.
The suicide truck bomb blast at the Inter-Services Intelligence complex that killed 10 people early this morning was the second militant strike on the country's premier spy agency this year. In May, a van packed with explosives razed the intelligence agency's provincial headquarters and a police building in the eastern city of Lahore, killing more than two dozen people.
The truck bomb blast in Peshawar, which also injured more than 60 people, was followed by a suicide car bomb attack an hour later at a police station in the village of Bakkakhel, about 75 miles southwest of Peshawar. That blast killed seven people and wounded 27.
Security forces stand guard at the site of a suicide bomb blast Peshawar November 13, 2009. A suicide car bomber attacked an office used by Pakistan's main intelligence agency in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killing nine people and wounding 55, officials said.
The attacks in Peshawar and Bakkakhel were the latest in a long line of strikes on security compounds and facilities across Pakistan in recent weeks, as the government moved ahead with its plan to send 30,000 troops into South Waziristan to uproot Taliban and Al Qaeda militant strongholds there.
The boldest of those attacks was on the army's headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Oct. 10. A team of militants dressed as paramilitary police raided the heavily guarded compound and took scores of officers and civilian workers hostage. Pakistani commandos rescued most of the hostages, but 14 people were killed in the 22-hour siege.
Less than a week later, teams of militants carried out near-simultaneous attacks on three security compounds around Lahore, including an elite forces counter-terrorism training center. At least 26 people were killed in those attacks.
Other attacks on security facilities include a suicide bomb attack on a police station in Peshawar on Oct. 16 that killed 13 people, and another suicide attack on an air force complex west of Islamabad, the capital, that killed seven people.
In the blast in Peshawar today, authorities said a truck filled with 600 pounds of explosives drove up to the front gate of the intelligence agency's regional headquarters, a complex situated in one of the city's most heavily guarded areas. Guards at the gate fired at the truck, but the bomber was able to detonate the explosives, which razed most of the agency's three-story building.
Among the wounded were civilians passing by the complex when the blast occurred about 6:45 a.m. Mir Wais, a 35-year-old taxi driver, was driving his daughters to the nearby town of Swabi when they were injured in the explosion. His daughters, Rana, 6, and Khwaga, 5, lay in beds at Lady Reading Hospital, their faces and hands heavily bandaged.
"Life's becoming so difficult for us," said the girls' grandmother, Bas Pano, 55, as she sat beside their beds. "Our men can't go to work to earn money for their families because of the bomb blasts. The father of these girls, he can't go to the markets to get groceries because of the explosions."
DTN News: Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean Presented 48 Military Decorations At Rideau Hall
DTN News: Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean Presented 48 Military Decorations At Rideau Hall
*Source: DTN News / Int'l News
(NSI News Source Info) OTTAWA, Canada - November 14, 2009: Warrant Officer Robin Crane and Corporal Tyler Myroniuk are awarded the Medal of Military Valour by Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean as Chief of the Defence Staff General Walt Natynczyk looks on during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa November 13, 2009.
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, have presented Military Valour Decorations and Meritorious Service Decorations (Military Division) to members of the Canadian Forces, at Rideau Hall, on Friday, November 13, 2009, at 10:30 a.m.
The Governor General have presented one Star of Military Valour and 10 Medals of Military Valour to members of the Canadian Forces who have displayed gallantry and devotion to duty in combat, as well as six Meritorious Service Crosses (Military Division) and 31 Meritorious Service Medals (Military Division) to members of the Canadian Forces whose specific achievements have brought honour to Canada.
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, have presented Military Valour Decorations and Meritorious Service Decorations (Military Division) to members of the Canadian Forces, at Rideau Hall, on Friday, November 13, 2009, at 10:30 a.m.
The Governor General have presented one Star of Military Valour and 10 Medals of Military Valour to members of the Canadian Forces who have displayed gallantry and devotion to duty in combat, as well as six Meritorious Service Crosses (Military Division) and 31 Meritorious Service Medals (Military Division) to members of the Canadian Forces whose specific achievements have brought honour to Canada.