Pakistan Tests Nuclear-Capable Cruise Missile

Pakistan on Thursday successfully tested a ground-hugging cruise missile capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads.

The Hatf-VIII (Ra'ad) missile, developed exclusively for launch from the air, has a range of 350 kilometres (217 miles).

It is a low-altitude, terrain-following missile with high manoeuvrability, and can deliver all types of warheads, with great accuracy.

The firing comes just a day after neighbouring India tested a ballistic, nuclear-capable missile capable of hitting targets deep inside China.

Last month Pakistan military carried out a training launch of Shaheen II, or Hatf VI, a long-range nuclear-capable missile which can hit targets far into India.

Pakistan's arsenal includes short-range, medium and long-range missiles named after Muslim conquerors.

South Asian rivals India and Pakistan -- which have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir -- routinely carry out missile tests since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998.

India Tested Another Nuclear-Capable Missile,China On Target

India successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile that can hit targets deep inside China, joining the ranks of nations possessing intermediate-range missile capacity, the defence ministry said.

The missile was fired from a mobile launcher Wednesday morning at a testing site on Wheeler Island off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa.

The missile, which has a 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) range, can carry conventional or nuclear payloads of 1.5 tonnes, and puts China's major cities such as Shanghai within striking distance.

The surface-to-surface projectile reached its designated target in 13 minutes and 20 seconds travelling through a peak height of 350 kilometres with a velocity of more than 4,000 metres per second.

The Agni-III -- Agni means fire in Sanskrit -- was first tested in 2006.

India has shorter-range missiles that were developed to target long-time rival Pakistan with which it has fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.

The Agni-III is the country's first solid fuel missile that is compact enough for easy mobility.

Navistar Defense to Provide Tactical Vehicles

Thousands of trucks from Navistar Defense, LLC will support rebuilding and security efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq as the U.S. Army today awarded Navistar Defense a multi-year contract valued at nearly $1.3 billion.

The U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command awarded Navistar Defense a follow-on contract to provide Medium Tactical Vehicles and spare parts to the Afghanistan National Police, Afghan National Army and the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. Previously known as International Military and Government, LLC, Navistar Defense is an affiliate of Navistar International Corporation.

Under the multi-year contract, Navistar will supply tactical vehicles built on Navistar’s severe service International® 7000 Series platform. It follows a $430 million contract awarded in 2005 to Navistar by TACOM for more than 2,900 vehicles and spare parts.

The three-year contract is valued at $1,282,939,624 for 7,072 vehicles and parts. Approximately half of the order will be delivered during the first year of the contract with nearly 1,000 units expected to be delivered in fiscal year 2008.

Navistar will supply several vehicle variants, including General Troop Transporter, POL vehicles (petroleum, oil and lubricant), water tankers, wreckers and hazardous material trucks. In addition, Navistar will supply all required spare parts necessary to support several years of scheduled maintenance.

Navistar and teammate BAE Systems unveiled their Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) design in February. JLTV is the U.S. multi-service initiative for fielding a family of future light tactical vehicles. BAE Systems and Navistar announced their collaboration in October 2007 to take advantage of combined capabilities that most effectively support the JLTV program.

New 4th Fleet to Stand Up By U.S Navy

The U.S. Navy will create a 4th Fleet headquartered at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., and will tap a two-star SEAL officer to lead it, according to a Pentagon announcement April 24.

Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan, current head of Naval Special Warfare Command, has been tapped to head the new 4th Fleet. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michelle L. Kapica / U.S. Navy)

Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan, head of Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, Calif., has been chosen to command the new fleet. Kernan will take control of both 4th Fleet and the current Naval Forces Southern Command, the Navy component of U.S. Southern Command.

The command will oversee maritime operations in Central and South American waters, and is similar to the command structure of 5th Fleet, which is also Naval Forces Central Command.

The move would result in a "small increase" in billets on the current Mayport staff, though he did not have specifics.

The extra layer of command also increases the stature of the Navy commander in U.S. Southern Command - a joint command - by adding what Stavridis calls an "appropriate counterpart" to 12th Air Force and 6th Army.

Although he's a SEAL, Kernan isn't a stranger to the conventional fleet. As a junior officer, he served aboard the cruiser Horne.

Stavridis said anti-drug operations, humanitarian and cooperative training missions are expected to be the new command's primary engagements.

One particularly important mission for the 4th Fleet will be medical diplomacy, as exemplified by the voyage last summer of [the hospital ship] Comfort, which conducted nearly 400,000 patient encounters during a four-month cruise to 12 countries in the region.

When 4th Fleet stands up, it will actually be a reconstitution of a previous command. The Navy created 4th Fleet in March 1943 to oversee patrols of the South Atlantic for submarines and other enemy vessels.

The command lasted until 1950, when it was absorbed into 2nd Fleet in Norfolk, Va.

China's NORINCO Develops New Automatic Grenade Launcher

China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) has completed development of its new LG3 40 mm automatic grenade launcher (AGL) and is now marketing it globally.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has traditionally been equipped with locally manufactured 35 mm grenade launchers of various types, including the QLZ87 (with a six- or 15-round magazine) and the LG1 add-on launcher, mounted under the barrel of an assault rifle.

The LG3 40 mm AGL features a blowback operation and NORINCO claims it has an effective range of more than 2,200 m. The barrel is fitted with a muzzle brake and feed can be from the left or right side with each box-type magazine holding 30 rounds of ready-use ammunition. Firing mode is automatic-only with a cyclic rate of fire of between 340 to 400 rounds per minute and a claimed barrel life of 6,000 rounds.

U.S Army To Test Small Robots

The U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems has begun testing of the first Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles (SUGVs) to arrive at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The SUGV is a 30-pound tactical robot designed to search for bombs, clear caves and buildings and give soldiers eyes around corners in combat.

In a $6 million deal with FCS lead systems integrator Boeing, iRobot will deliver 25 SUGVs for testing at Fort Bliss by May.

Three SUGVs have been delivered and 22 more will be produced to deliver till mid-May. This is a system that was originally supposed to be delivered in 2013 or 2010.

Once testing with the 25 robots is complete, TRADOC and FCS program officials will make a recommendation to Army leaders. As of yet, there is no set date specifying when the SUGVs will be sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. However, Army officials were impressed with industry's ability to produce a large number of robots with numerous sensors in a short time.

The robot goes in there first, where there are adversaries, tripwires or bombs.The SUGV can pass imagery onto the network and has multispectral, electro-optical infrared sensors.Emerging compression technologies allow the robot to move large amounts of video instantly.Compression algorithms allow the robot to transfer the information in smaller sizes to maintain high resolution.

In the months ahead, iRobot may add to the SUGV chemical, biological and radiation sensors such as the company's ICX FIDO kit, which examines the air for explosive residue.

The Army Research Night Vision Lab is also working on through-the-wall X-ray technology and ground-penetrating radar so that robots can detect buried explosives.

'INDEPENDENCE' (LCS 2) , A new Us WarShip

USA has successfully launched its landmark 127-metre Littoral Combat Ship ‘Independence’ (LCS 2).Since its keel-laying in January 2006, ‘Independence’ has steadily progressed within Austal USA’s purpose built construction facility in Mobile, Alabama toward becoming a formidable warship.It will get commision in USN in 2009.

The LCS indeed is a new kind of USN warship. She is high speed (40 knots-plus; we have seen numbers up to 60 knots) and very maneuverable. She is said to be able to turn 360 degrees in less than eight boat lengths at sprint speed.

Arguably, her most important feature is that she is a modular ship. That means she can be reconfigured to carry a variety of combat packages targeted for specific missions. She will be able to interdict ships on the high seas, conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and provide anti-terrorism force protection, including employment of special operations forces. She will support launching and recovering small boats for use by such special forces. She can carry two SH-60 Seahawk helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The LCS carries the nomenclature "littoral" for a reason. Littoral means the ship will operate close to shorelines, which means she can operate where larger warships cannot. She can more easily support insertion and extraction of small numbers of specialized combat forces.

She will also carry an entirely new class of missiles, called the non-line-of-sight attack missiles, which are still in development and testing.The system envisions having two kinds of missiles, both precision attack. The Loitering Attack Missile LAM is an expendable, hunter-killer that can loiter, search out a target over a large area, and attack a target using its automatic target recognition system. The Precision Attack Missile PAM is a direct attack missile. LAM will be used for fleeting targets, while PAM for fixed and stationary targets.

LCS-1 is powered by two Fairbanks Morse Colt-Pielstick 16PA6B STC diesel powerplants and two Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbines driving four Rolls Royce waterjets. She will be interconnected to many other naval elements, satellites, airborne vehicles and command centers.