India: A bigger role in Afghanistan on the horizon?
Beijing, New Delhi and Islamabad are wrangling for position in Afghanistan following the US drawdown, the always-interesting C. Raja Mohan writes in the Indian Express. The upshot: A first-ever triangular meeting between leaders from the US, India and Afghanistan this week sends yet another signal the US may look to replace Islamabad with New Delhi in its stabilization plans.
"China’s rising profile in Kabul and the prospects for Indo-US cooperation in Afghanistan are rooted in two important structural changes in our neighbourhood," Mohan writes. "One is the declining American military footprint in Afghanistan and the end to the US’s combat role there by 2014. The other is the growing international disappointment with Pakistan’s negative role in Afghanistan."
The US pullout means that India and China will have to take responsibility for their own security, and it looks like the action is heating up.
"India became the first country to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan a year ago," Mohan notes. "Beijing is the second non-Western power to develop such a partnership with Kabul. During his brief stay in Kabul, Zhou signed a variety of agreements with Afghanistan, including one to 'train, fund and equip' the Afghan security forces."
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Laser weapons home in on military utility
Laser weapons home in on military utility
The Joint High-Power Solid-State Laser (JHPSSL) system developed by Northrop Grumman is to be tested by the US Army within the next two weeks, in a further sign that high-energy lasers are maturing as a future weapons technology.
And that future may arrive sooner than may realize. Mark Neice, director of the Albuquerque-based High-Energy Laser Joint Technology Office (HEL-JTO), told delegates at SPIE Europe’s Defence + Security symposium in Edinburgh, UK, that such systems were “not something that’s five years out, not ten years out, but we hope that within the next couple of years we will demonstrate significant military utility of this laser weapons capability”.
That’s despite a large decrease in the overall funding for laser weapons development in the US, which has fallen from more than $1 billion per year while the expensive Airborne Laser Testbed was being funded, to around only $300 million per year in the near term.
Plenary speaker Neice, a retired US Air Force colonel who previously worked on the Airborne Laser Testbed, said that now was an exciting time for high-energy laser technology advancement, and that the HEL-JTO had high hopes in particular for the Robust Electric Laser Initiative (RELI), a project seeking to increase the electrical efficiency of laser weapons systems to make them more practical for deployment by the US Army, Navy and Air Force.
The Joint High-Power Solid-State Laser (JHPSSL) system developed by Northrop Grumman is to be tested by the US Army within the next two weeks, in a further sign that high-energy lasers are maturing as a future weapons technology.
And that future may arrive sooner than may realize. Mark Neice, director of the Albuquerque-based High-Energy Laser Joint Technology Office (HEL-JTO), told delegates at SPIE Europe’s Defence + Security symposium in Edinburgh, UK, that such systems were “not something that’s five years out, not ten years out, but we hope that within the next couple of years we will demonstrate significant military utility of this laser weapons capability”.
That’s despite a large decrease in the overall funding for laser weapons development in the US, which has fallen from more than $1 billion per year while the expensive Airborne Laser Testbed was being funded, to around only $300 million per year in the near term.
Plenary speaker Neice, a retired US Air Force colonel who previously worked on the Airborne Laser Testbed, said that now was an exciting time for high-energy laser technology advancement, and that the HEL-JTO had high hopes in particular for the Robust Electric Laser Initiative (RELI), a project seeking to increase the electrical efficiency of laser weapons systems to make them more practical for deployment by the US Army, Navy and Air Force.
Army plans to buy battlefield radio that performed poorly in Pentagon tests
Army plans to buy battlefield radio that performed poorly in Pentagon tests
The Army is close to awarding General Dynamics Corp. a low rate production contract for a manpack radio to transmit broadband data on the battlefield, Nextgov has learned.
The service’s plans to buy the radio continue despite a July report by J. Michael Gilmore, director of operational test and evaluation for the Defense Department, deeming it operationally ineffective and unsuitable.
The Army anticipates fielding the Joint Tactical Radio System manpack radio to infantry brigades slated for deployment to Afghanistan in 2013, sources told Nextgov. Service officials plan to buy about 3,800 of the General Dynamics manpack radios at $78,000 each, sources said, for a total cost of $296.4 million.
The JTRS program, started in 1997, stands out as one of the Pentagon’s longest running and most troubled projects, with few radios fielded to date. It was designed to develop a family of radios that use software waveforms rather than hardware to define bandwidth, frequency, modulation, security and data rates. Its casualties to date include a refrigerator-size radio, developed by Boeing Co., whose cost peaked at $15.9 billion before the Pentagon canceled it in October 2011.
General Dynamics won a $295 million contract to develop the handheld and manpack JTRS radios in 2004 and this August, General Dynamics along with Thales Communications were awarded a contract valued at $53.9 million for 13,000 handheld radios, following successful real-world test by Army Rangers in Afghanistan.
JTRS radios need to be booted up like a personal computer to operate. Tests of the manpack in April and May at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., showed it took 20 to 25 minutes to start the radio, Gilmore said in a July 20 memo to Frank Kendall, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
The Army is close to awarding General Dynamics Corp. a low rate production contract for a manpack radio to transmit broadband data on the battlefield, Nextgov has learned.
The service’s plans to buy the radio continue despite a July report by J. Michael Gilmore, director of operational test and evaluation for the Defense Department, deeming it operationally ineffective and unsuitable.
The Army anticipates fielding the Joint Tactical Radio System manpack radio to infantry brigades slated for deployment to Afghanistan in 2013, sources told Nextgov. Service officials plan to buy about 3,800 of the General Dynamics manpack radios at $78,000 each, sources said, for a total cost of $296.4 million.
The JTRS program, started in 1997, stands out as one of the Pentagon’s longest running and most troubled projects, with few radios fielded to date. It was designed to develop a family of radios that use software waveforms rather than hardware to define bandwidth, frequency, modulation, security and data rates. Its casualties to date include a refrigerator-size radio, developed by Boeing Co., whose cost peaked at $15.9 billion before the Pentagon canceled it in October 2011.
General Dynamics won a $295 million contract to develop the handheld and manpack JTRS radios in 2004 and this August, General Dynamics along with Thales Communications were awarded a contract valued at $53.9 million for 13,000 handheld radios, following successful real-world test by Army Rangers in Afghanistan.
JTRS radios need to be booted up like a personal computer to operate. Tests of the manpack in April and May at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., showed it took 20 to 25 minutes to start the radio, Gilmore said in a July 20 memo to Frank Kendall, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
US and China Team Up for Counter-Piracy Exercise
Guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) and other U.S. Navy assets participated in a counter-piracy exercise with elements of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (Navy) PLA(N) near the Horn of Africa, Sept. 17.
The exercise, the first bilateral counter-piracy exercise ever conducted between the U.S. and China, paired Winston S. Churchill with PLA(N) frigate Yi Yang (FF 548) to conduct a combined visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) boarding.
The focus was on bilateral interoperability in detecting, boarding and searching suspected vessels as well as the ability of both Chinese and American naval assets to respond to pirated vessels.
"Piracy is a threat to the freedom of the seas, economic security, and the safety of mariners from all nations. Bilateral exercises such as this demonstrate the cooperative will of the international community and increases proficiency of multinational forces in confronting the threat," said Cmdr. Chris D. Stone, Winston S. Churchill's commanding officer. "We have common regional and global security challenges, and we are able to jointly address those by training together."
VBSS teams from both ships performed the boarding on Winston S. Churchill, which was simulating a pirated vessel. Executing the boarding side-by-side as a combined U.S.-Chinese team, the team successfully searched the vessel and provided assistance to the role-playing mariners.
Participants felt that the training was meaningful, providing a unique opportunity to operate alongside one another.
"It was exciting to interact with the Chinese Sailors and cooperate in a critical environment," said Lt. j.g. Edward R. Kellum, boarding officer for Winston S. Churchill's VBSS team. "Anytime we work with a foreign military, it adds a different perspective to how we operate. However, to collaborate with the Chinese in an anti-piracy framework is a rare opportunity and a real achievement for maritime security."
Following the exercise, leaders from both navies discussed the elements of the boarding in order to learn how to better operate together in the future.
U.S and Chinese leaders expressed how important and beneficial the training was, both in terms of building cooperative ties and development of techniques to counter piracy.
"We're appreciative of the opportunity to train with other nations to establish ties that will allow us to work together to face the piracy threat," said Stone. "As fellow mariners we have great admiration for our Chinese counterparts who are sailing alongside us and other coalition partners to keep the sea lanes safe."
The exercise, the first bilateral counter-piracy exercise ever conducted between the U.S. and China, paired Winston S. Churchill with PLA(N) frigate Yi Yang (FF 548) to conduct a combined visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) boarding.
The focus was on bilateral interoperability in detecting, boarding and searching suspected vessels as well as the ability of both Chinese and American naval assets to respond to pirated vessels.
"Piracy is a threat to the freedom of the seas, economic security, and the safety of mariners from all nations. Bilateral exercises such as this demonstrate the cooperative will of the international community and increases proficiency of multinational forces in confronting the threat," said Cmdr. Chris D. Stone, Winston S. Churchill's commanding officer. "We have common regional and global security challenges, and we are able to jointly address those by training together."
VBSS teams from both ships performed the boarding on Winston S. Churchill, which was simulating a pirated vessel. Executing the boarding side-by-side as a combined U.S.-Chinese team, the team successfully searched the vessel and provided assistance to the role-playing mariners.
Participants felt that the training was meaningful, providing a unique opportunity to operate alongside one another.
"It was exciting to interact with the Chinese Sailors and cooperate in a critical environment," said Lt. j.g. Edward R. Kellum, boarding officer for Winston S. Churchill's VBSS team. "Anytime we work with a foreign military, it adds a different perspective to how we operate. However, to collaborate with the Chinese in an anti-piracy framework is a rare opportunity and a real achievement for maritime security."
Following the exercise, leaders from both navies discussed the elements of the boarding in order to learn how to better operate together in the future.
U.S and Chinese leaders expressed how important and beneficial the training was, both in terms of building cooperative ties and development of techniques to counter piracy.
"We're appreciative of the opportunity to train with other nations to establish ties that will allow us to work together to face the piracy threat," said Stone. "As fellow mariners we have great admiration for our Chinese counterparts who are sailing alongside us and other coalition partners to keep the sea lanes safe."
Friday, September 21, 2012
US seeks to revive defence ties with N. Zealand
US seeks to revive defence ties with N. Zealand
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta flew into New Zealand Friday, the first Pentagon chief to set foot in the country in 30 years, as the two countries seek to revive long-dormant security ties. On the final leg of a week-long Asian tour, Panetta planned to thank New Zealand for its role in the Afghan war and to explore expanding defence ties that have begun to revive after a hiatus dating back to the 1980s, officials said. "Over the last couple of years, we've seen a dramatic uptick in US-New Zealand (military) relations," a senior US defence official told reporters before Panetta landed in Auckland. "There's a lot room for growth in this relationship."
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta flew into New Zealand Friday, the first Pentagon chief to set foot in the country in 30 years, as the two countries seek to revive long-dormant security ties. On the final leg of a week-long Asian tour, Panetta planned to thank New Zealand for its role in the Afghan war and to explore expanding defence ties that have begun to revive after a hiatus dating back to the 1980s, officials said. "Over the last couple of years, we've seen a dramatic uptick in US-New Zealand (military) relations," a senior US defence official told reporters before Panetta landed in Auckland. "There's a lot room for growth in this relationship."
Spain, U.S. strengthen security ties
Spain, U.S. strengthen security ties
Spain's top police official announced this week Madrid and the United States are working more closely to battle drug trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism. Ignacio Cosido, director general of the Spanish National Police Force, said Monday his recent trip to the United States yielded tighter links between Spain and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Customs and Borders Protection agency, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. A statement released by the Spanish government indicated one of main topics on the security agenda during the Washington meeting was the fight against cocaine trafficking from Latin America.
Spain's top police official announced this week Madrid and the United States are working more closely to battle drug trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism. Ignacio Cosido, director general of the Spanish National Police Force, said Monday his recent trip to the United States yielded tighter links between Spain and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Customs and Borders Protection agency, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. A statement released by the Spanish government indicated one of main topics on the security agenda during the Washington meeting was the fight against cocaine trafficking from Latin America.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Despite concerns, most in US back China ties
Despite concerns, most in US back China ties
Despite the tough talk on China in the US election, most Americans support a strong relationship with the Asian power and do not view its rise as a major concern, a survey said Tuesday. The Pew Research Center poll found often contradictory sentiments among the US public who considered the Chinese to be hardworking but at the same time lacked trust in China and voiced concern over its economic strength. Some 56 percent of the public said the United States should "be tough" with China on economic or trade issues. But nearly two-thirds believed ties were in good shape and 55 percent supported a "strong relationship" with China
Despite the tough talk on China in the US election, most Americans support a strong relationship with the Asian power and do not view its rise as a major concern, a survey said Tuesday. The Pew Research Center poll found often contradictory sentiments among the US public who considered the Chinese to be hardworking but at the same time lacked trust in China and voiced concern over its economic strength. Some 56 percent of the public said the United States should "be tough" with China on economic or trade issues. But nearly two-thirds believed ties were in good shape and 55 percent supported a "strong relationship" with China
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