Sea, air and land updates
Posted By
Alice Slevison, Mercedes Page and James Mugg
on November 10, 2015 @ 12:30
Sea State
Last week the destroyer
USS Donald Cook visited Turkey’s Aksaz naval base on Turkey’s southwest coast for joint Turkey–US exercises. Elements of the Turkish naval force present
included submarines, surface and air defence units.
Meanwhile in Paris, the French presidency
announced that it will deploy its
Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to boost French operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Charles de Gaulle is the
largest warship in Western Europe, and the only nuclear-powered aircraft outside of the US fleet. It can support as many as 40 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.
According to French President Francois Hollande the aircraft carrier will
‘bolster Paris’ firepower in the region amid international efforts to launch Syrian peace talks'.
A week after the USS
Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of China’s artificial islands, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter
visited US aircraft carrier USS
Theodore Roosevelt in the South China Sea, The aircraft carrier sailed ‘about
150 to 200 nautical miles from the southern tip of the Spratlys’. While attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defence Ministers Plus meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Carter took the opportunity to visit the vessel
alongside Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. Carter
told reporters that accompanied him on the vessel that ‘there's a lot of concern about Chinese behaviour out here.’
Flight Path
The Boeing–Lockheed team bidding for the contract to build the US Air Force’s next generation Long Range Strike Bomber have
filed a formal protest asking the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the decision to award the US$80 billion contract to Northrup Grumman on the basis that the selection process was fundamentally flawed.
Breaking Defense takes a look at the protest and the for-and-against cases
here.
Israel is looking to boost its air fleet with more F-15 Strike Eagles rather than additional F-35s.
The National Interest reports that as part of a ‘compensation package’ for the lifting of sanctions on Iran, Israel has submitted a request for a squadron of F-15s and V-22 Osprey tilt-rotors. This request might reflect Israel’s
misgivings about the cost, performance and capabilities of the F-35s, as well as whether they actually meet Israel’s ongoing
needs in terms of range, payload and manoeuvrability
On 2 November, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) received
its eighth and final C-17 Globemaster airlifter.
Defense Industry Daily explores the history of the acquisition
here, as does
Australian Aviation who also have some
pictures of the RAAF C-17s in action.
Rapid Fire
Texas-based firearms manufacturer TrackingPoint has
announced the release of two new ‘smart rifles’ for military action—the
M600 5.56 Service Rifle and
M800 7.62 Designated Marksman Rifle. The rifles make use of RapidLok technology, which automatically targets and tracks an enemy, and can adjust the velocity of fired rounds to maximise accuracy. The rifles can even shoot around corners if the user has
ShotGlass—wireless glasses that connect to the rifle’s camera. TrackingPoint are claiming up to ‘89% First Shot Success Probability (FSSP) out to 800 yards.’ They’re even offering 10 free rifles to any US organisation that can legally employ the weapons in the fight against ISIS. Smart weapons aren’t without their hazards, however. Regular readers may remember that,
back in July, hackers managed to disable TrackingPoint’s sniper rifle by exploiting its wireless network—a feature which the new squad rifles retain.
Thales Australia are
looking to supply the Hawkei 4x4 light mobility vehicle to the Polish armed forces. The Australian-designed Hawkei (aka baby Bushmaster) was recently announced as the winner of a contract to supply
1,100 vehicles to the Australian Army. Although the Australian vehicles will be built in Bendigo, Thales have said that they’re open to working with local industry for the Polish vehicles.
US Army have
deployed Stryker armoured combat vehicles to an outpost in the Arctic Circle for the first time as part of the Arctic Pegasus exercise. Arctic Pegasus isn’t nearly as large as
Russia’s Arctic exercises, but signals US acknowledgement of the growing strategic relevance of the region.
Alice Slevison, Mercedes Page and James Mugg are research interns at ASPI. Image courtesy of Flickr user Jonathan E. Shaw.
Article printed from The Strategist: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au
URL to article: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/sea-air-and-land-updates-26/
[1] Image: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2964361020_429ec2c4a2_z.jpg
[2] visited: http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense-news/2015/11/05/us-destroyer-visits-turkish-base-joins-joint-exercises/75203920/
[3] included: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-destroyer-attends-exercise-with-turkish-navy-in-east-mediterranean-after-russias-advance-in-syria.aspx?pageID=238&nID=90768&NewsCatID=352
[4] announced: http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/naval/ships/2015/11/05/france-deploy-aircraft-carrier-anti-fight-syria-iraq/75229194/
[5] largest warship: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-deploys-aircraft-carrier-to-fight-isis-in-syria-and-iraq-a6722671.html
[6] According: https://www.rt.com/news/320940-france-aircraft-carrier-is/
[7] visited: http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/627872/carter-visits-uss-roosevelt-in-south-china-sea
[8] 150 to 200 nautical miles from the southern tip of the Spratlys: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/05/us-southchinasea-usa-carter-idUSKCN0ST35J20151105#rjkbZrWLWgiujpy7.97
[9] alongside Malaysian Defense Minister: http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-us-defense-secretary-visits-carrier-in-disputed-waterway-2015-11?IR=T
[10] told reporters: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/defense-secretary-ash-carter-aircraft-carrier-south-china-sea/
[11] filed a formal protest: http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=20295&item=129558
[12] here: http://breakingdefense.com/2015/11/tanker-fiasco-again-boeing-lockheed-protest-northrops-lrsb-win/
[13] The National Interest reports: http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/get-ready-iran-israels-master-plan-upgrade-its-military-14262
[14] misgivings: http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/israel-plans-to-buy-over-100-f35s-02381/
[15] needs: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/17/us-lockheed-martin-fighter-israel-idUSKCN0J10XH20141117#TDk80bdDrrGJJjKq.97
[16] its eighth and final C-17 Globemaster airlifter: http://www.janes.com/article/55770/australia-receives-final-c-17-airlifter
[17] here: http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/australia-to-spend-up-to-15-bn-on-4-c17s-updated-01971/
[18] pictures: http://australianaviation.com.au/2015/11/eighth-and-final-raaf-c-17-delivered/
[19] announced: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trackingpoint-announces-military-squad-level-precision-guided-firearms-300172992.html
[20] M600: http://tracking-point.com/precision-guided-firearms/m600-sr-squad-556-service-rifle
[21] M800: http://tracking-point.com/precision-guided-firearms/m800-dmr-squad-762-service-rifle
[22] ShotGlass: http://tracking-point.com/products/shotglass
[23] back in July: http://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-can-disable-sniper-rifleor-change-target/
[24] looking to supply: http://www.janes.com/article/55803/thales-australia-moves-to-progress-polish-hawkei-bid
[25] 1,100 vehicles: http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/bendigo-built-hawkei-protected-vehicles-for-aussie-army/story-fnpjxnlk-1227557512224
[26] deployed Stryker: http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/army-sends-stryker-armored-vehicles-to-arctic-circle-fo-1741210673?trending_test_a&utm_expid=66866090-62.H_y_0o51QhmMY_tue7bevQ.1&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.realcleardefense.com%2F2015%2F11%2F08%2Farmy_sends_strykers_to_arctic_circle_for_first_time_275847.html
[27] Russia’s Arctic exercises: https://news.vice.com/article/russias-massive-military-exercise-in-the-arctic-is-utterly-baffling