DTN News: Iran TODAY February 25, 2010 ~ Iran's Jamaran Destroyer Heads To Open Seas On First Mission

DTN News: Iran TODAY February 25, 2010 ~ Iran's Jamaran Destroyer Heads To Open Seas On First Mission *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - February 25, 2010: Iran's first indigenous-made destroyer, Jamaran, left local waters Sunday morning in southern Iran for open seas on its first mission two days after being launched in a ceremony attended by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.A hovercraft passes by Iran's first domestically made destroyer Jamaran on the southern shores of Iran in the Persian Gulf during inauguration manoeuvres February 21, 2010.

The helicopter-carrying destroyer was designed and manufactured by experts of the Army's naval force.According to Brigadier General Fariborz Qader-Panah, Jamaran is to protect national interests and security both inside and outside the Iranian waters.

The ship is also capable of safeguarding security of all vessels crossing the strategic waterway of the Persian Gulf and the Hormuz Straight, said the commander of Army's first naval zone.

According to Iran's Constitution, navy forces are allowed to carry out patrolling missions and monitor movements of all military units inside and outside the region.

Iran has announced that building of the destroyer was aimed at safeguarding security of the Persian Gulf region.Launching the Jamaran Destroyer, placed Iran among the world's 14 countries which are capable of manufacturing and designing destroyers and cruisers.

DTN News: Northrop Grumman Announces $171 Million Advance Procurement Contract For DDG 51 Destroyer Continuation

DTN News: Northrop Grumman Announces $171 Million Advance Procurement Contract For DDG 51 Destroyer Continuation *Source: DTN News / Northrop Grumman (NSI News Source Info) PASCAGOULA, Miss., - December 4, 2009: The U.S. Navy awarded a $171 million fixed-price advance procurement contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) to provide long lead materials for a continuation in the company's Aegis-class DDG 51 destroyer program. The materials purchased will be used in the construction of DDG 113. Northrop Grumman has received a contract for long-lead items of one of two new DDG 51-class destroyers it will build under the program’s continuation. (US Navy photo) Last April, the U.S. Navy announced Northrop Grumman would be awarded contracts for the first two destroyers in the DDG 51 program continuation. The company has delivered 26 of 28 ships, with two more ships currently under construction in Pascagoula. "This award will allow us to capitalize on our long history of building DDG-class ships and provide the opportunity to exploit a number of process improvements we've been implementing," said Irwin F. Edenzon, sector vice president and general manager, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding - Gulf Coast. "We have worked closely with the Navy to secure funding for long lead time material that will support timely continuation of the DDG 51 production line. Also, this award is important to the nationwide DDG supplier base, a critical element in the program's success." The funds will be used to purchase long lead time materials and major equipment in support of the new ship, including main propulsion engines, gas turbine generators, propellers and air conditioning systems. The work will be performed at the company's Pascagoula shipyard and the award of the construction contract is expected in 2010. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

DTN News: Lockheed To Support Japanese Destroyers

DTN News: Lockheed To Support Japanese Destroyers

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) TAIPEI, Taiwan - July 8, 2009: Lockheed Martin was awarded a $7 million Foreign Military Sales contract by the U.S. Defense Department to support lifetime Aegis modernization efforts for the Atago-class and Kongo-class destroyers. Lockheed Martin won a new FMS contract to support lifetime Aegis modernization efforts for Atago-class and Kongo-class destroyers. Shown above is the Kongo. (U.S. NAVY) The July 2 contract modifies a previous award and is expected to be completed in early 2010. "This modification includes options which, if exercised, would increase the cumulative value of the contract by $41 million," said a DoD award notification. Japan built four Kongo-class destroyers in the 1990s and launched two Atago-class destroyers in 2007 and 2008. "This work will include preparing for and responding to price and availability requests, conducting studies, supporting USN [U.S. Navy] in development of a technology control plan to address product protection, computer program modifications, and future cooperative development and interface between U.S and Japan baselines," the Pentagon notification. Japan has been engaged in efforts to improve its sea-borne based ballistic missile defense capabilities in the wake of North Korean missile tests and saber rattling.

China Parades Naval Might / China Has High Naval Ambitions

China Parades Naval Might / China Has High Naval Ambitions

(NSI News Source Info) BEIJING - April 26, 2009: China paraded its warships and nuclear submarines April 23 in an unprecedented display of maritime might attended by 14 other nations to mark the 60th anniversary of its navy. Fifty-six Chinese subs, destroyers, frigates, missile boats and planes were displayed off the eastern port city of Qingdao just weeks after tensions flared after a naval stand-off with the U.S. in the South China Sea. A Chinese Navy nuclear-powered submarine sails during an international fleet review to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of People's Liberation Army Navy Thursday, April 23, 2009 off Qingdao, China's Shandong Province. China on Thursday displayed for the first time its nuclear-powered submarines, a sign of the navy's growing confidence and its aspirations to become a major sea power. The review - only the fourth to take place since 1949 and the first on such a large and international scale - was opened by two of China's nuclear-powered submarines, the first time in history they have been unveiled to the public. President Hu Jintao boarded the destroyer Shijiazhuang, after having sought to reassure the heads of foreign navy delegations that China's maritime power posed no threat to anyone. "Both now and in the future, no matter to what extent we develop, China will never seek hegemony," he said, in comments reported by Xinhua. State television showed Hu standing on the deck of the Shijiazhuang saluting and calling out to the ships that passed before him. But Jean-Pierre Cabestan, professor of political science at Hong Kong Baptist University, described the event as "a show of force, of power." "It's a public relations display with a double message - China as an integrator, showing it is keeping with the rules of the international game, but also showing it is now in the big power arena," he said. Ships from 14 countries, including the U.S., Russia and France, took part in the fleet review, which Chinese officials have said is aimed at promoting understanding about China's military development. "Suspicions about China being a 'threat' to world security are mostly because of... lack of understanding about China," Ding Yiping, deputy commander of the navy, told the official Xinhua news agency this week. China has always stressed its military build-up, watched with a wary eye by the U.S. - which accuses the Chinese of a lack of transparency - does not pose a threat to other countries. A number of recent incidents at sea have heightened tensions. In March, the U.S. complained that Chinese boats had harassed one of its ships in the South China Sea, forcing it to take action to prevent a collision. China denied the claim and accused the U.S. vessel of "illegal activities". Early this month, China's dispatch of civilian patrol vessels to waters around disputed islands in the same sea - the Spratlys - sparked concern in the Philippines, which also claims sovereignty over the archipelago. China's increasing maritime confidence was also reflected in its decision to send ships to the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia, for an anti-piracy assignment in the first potential combat mission for its navy beyond its territorial waters. And the navy's commander-in-chief, Admiral Wu Shengli, said in April China would develop a new generation of warships and aircraft to give it much longer-range capabilities. But Hong Kong Baptist University's Cabestan said China's navy still lagged behind other countries, with no aircraft carriers despite plans to build some. "In terms of technology they are still far behind the Americans, the Japanese, or even the Russians, but in tonnage, they have now become the first navy in Asia," he said. The U.S., which has sent navy chief Admiral Gary Roughead and the destroyer Fitzgerald to the event, would be watching the parade very closely, according to the professor. "The United States are participating, they are playing the card of integration, of the policy of engagement," he said. "But they are also watching attentively the progress of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), all the new missions that the Chinese navy do." Sixty years ago, the PLA's navy was formed when a unit of the Kuomintang's coastal defense fleet defected to the rival communists, bringing with it nine warships and 17 other boats. Kuomintang nationalist forces had been locked in a civil war with the communists, who eventually won and came to power on Oct. 1, 1949.