Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

Kilo class submarine ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Russian Ministry of Defense) Source- The National Interest Author- Kyle Mizokami Unlike the United States Navy, which went all-in on nuclear power, Russia maintains fleets of both diesel and nuclear-powered submarines. A land power encompassing much of Eurasia, Russian submarines are based much closer to “the action” than American submarines are. While Russia maintains nuclear submarines for distant ocean patrols, its fleet of diesel submarines is more than adequate for conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and the Russian near abroad. The mainstay of the Russian Navy’s conventionally powered fleet are Project 877–class submarines, known as the Kilo class to NATO and the West. Nicknamed the “Black Hole” submarine by the U.S. Navy, the Improved Kilos are extremely quiet. The class has been built more or less continuously for thirty years, a testament to their effectiveness at sea............. ( Now click here to

PLA Ground Forces ( Image credits- VOA) Source- The National Interest Author-  Liang Xiaojun For a great power to lead the world there are a few qualities that it should bring to the table. These include, but are not limited to, material strength, an aspiration for recognition, and sufficient international support. Does China currently possess these qualities? Material strength is the idea that a great power can survive a natural disaster or a man-made catastrophe by virtue of its geographical advantage or large population. Russia, for instance, was able to hold back Napoleon’s ambitions and, later on, undermine Hitler’s aggression. The United States also had enough material strength to play a dominant role in rebuilding the world after the devastation of World War II. And, more recently, China’s material strength led it to dominate the regional response to the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis..... ( Now read on )

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / USN Source- The National Interest Author- Abhijit Singh China is waging a relentless propaganda campaign against its opponents in the South China Sea. Following the Hague arbitral tribunal’s verdict rejecting Beijing’s historical rights within the nine-dash line, China’s publicity managers have raised their game with devastating effect. With well-timed reports suggesting a plan for a Chinese ADIZ in the South China Sea, the fresh reclamation of reefs and shoals in the Spratly group of islands and even reports of military aircraft patrols over the disputed islands, they’ve managed to convince many regional watchers that China has emerged as a dominant maritime power in the Asia–Pacific.( Now read on .........)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy Source- The National Interest Author-  Mike Scrafton Under what circumstances would Australia join in a war against China? RAND’s report War with China: Thinking Through the Unthinkable (WwC) illuminates the gravity of that decision. WwC explores “two variables: intensity (from mild to severe) and duration (from a few days to a year or more).” It models a number of conventional war scenarios confined to East Asia/Western Pacific between 2015 and 2025 and waged with maritime assets—surface and submarine—and aircraft, missiles, space assets and in cyberspace. The US homeland isn’t attacked but assets in China are.......( Read on )

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy Source- The National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar While the Russian Kalibr cruise missile continues to capture the spotlight in Syria, on the other side of the globe, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is also developing advanced long-range precision strike weapons. Indeed, Chinese designers are hoping to develop a family of modular cruise missiles that could match many of the capabilities found onboard the U.S. Navy’s Block IV Tomahawks—including the ability to retarget in-flight....................................  ( Read on )

USS John C. Stennis ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Loren B. Thomson Large-deck, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are the signature expression of American military power.  No other combat system available to U.S. warfighters comes close to delivering so much offensive punch for months at a time without requiring land bases near the action.  As a result, the ten carriers in the current fleet are in continuous demand from regional commanders -- so much so that extended overseas combat tours are becoming the norm.  ( Read on )

PLAAF J-11 B Fighter ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Department of Defense, United States of America) Source- The National Interest Author- Sebastin Rublin The Shenyang J-11 is a Chinese copy of the excellent Russian Sukhoi Su-27 “Flanker” multirole fighter. In fact, it was at first an authorized copy—but Chinese ambitions to adapt it with locally produced technology transformed it into a reverse-engineered headache for Russian industry. In successive variants, the J-11 and the Flanker-derived J-15 and J-16 have been at the forefront of Chinese efforts to produce long-range fourth-generation fighters that can contest the seas around China—if only Chinese engineers can work out the kinks in their domestically produced jet engines......( Read on )

PLAAF J-11 Fighter Aircraft ( Image credits- VOA/ Reuters) Source- The National Interest Author- Robert Farley As the People’s Republic of China (PRC) emerged from war and revolution in 1949, it became apparent that the Chinese economy lacked the capacity to compete with the U.S. or the U.S.S.R. in the production of advanced military technology.  Transfers from the Soviet Union helped remedy the gap in the 1950s, as did transfers from the United States and Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. Still, the Cultural Revolution stifled technology and scientific research, leaving the Chinese even farther behind. Thus, China has long supplemented legitimate transfers and domestic innovation with industrial espionage.  In short, the PRC has a well-established habit of pilfering weapons technology from Russia and the United States.  As the years have gone by, Beijing’s spies have become ever more skillful and flexible in their approach. Here are five systems that the Chinese have s

PLAN Type-56 Corvette ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / 樱井千一) Source- The National Interest Author- Kyle Mizokami We all know that there are plenty of U.S. weapons the Chinese military would like to get its hands on. The Arsenal of Democracy churns out some of the best, most technologically advanced and versatile weapons in service anywhere. China is willing to steal American military technology to help advance its own military research and development programs. The United States on the other hand…well, there is probably not a single Chinese weapon that, in a direct comparison, is better than its American equivalent and that probably won’t change for another twenty years. So if we want to talk about Chinese weapons for the American military, we have to think about holes in current American capabilities. There aren’t many, but here are Chinese weapons that might make the American military a little better. AG600 Seaplane The United States made extensive use

Russian Yasen class SSN ( Image credita- Wikimedia Commons / Author-  Пресс-служба Северного флота (г. Североморск) Source- The National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar The Russian attack submarine K-560 Severodvinsk has completed its first operational mission. The powerful new boat—the first of the Project 885 Yasen-class—embarked on its first mission earlier this year despite having been accepted into service with the Russian Navy in 2014 due to ongoing sea trials. Indeed, Severodvinsk has been in sea trials since 2011 as the Russian Navy and its contractors struggled to correct technical issues on the new submarines. “Congratulations to the crew of ASMC ‘Severodvinsk’ on the successful implementation of the objectives of military service and return to home base - the city of Zaozersk!” reads an Aug. 1, 2016, post on the Russian Submariners page on the Russian social media network VKontakte. “The event is significant not only for the submarine fleet, but for the ent

Image credits- VOA Source- The National Interest  Author-  Taylor M. Wettach After a period of strategic drift, the U.S.-Japan alliance has been reconfirmed as the cornerstone of regional security under an Abe administration committed to moving Japan to the front of the global stage. This reinforcing of the alliance, exemplified by the revision of the U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines, is boosted by an array of Japanese national-security reforms that include reinterpretation of the constitution to allow for collective self-defense and the removal of the longstanding arms-export ban. While such developments reflect the ideological bent of the Abe government, they are rooted in a competitive security environment and, in particular, the rise of China. The challenge of China’s rise to Asia’s security has been most evident in the maritime sphere. Japan has had to bear much of the burden in responding to growing Chinese assertiveness in the East China Sea, culminating in Beijin

USAF F-35 in flight ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / USAF) Source- The National Interest Author- Loren B. Thompson Fifteen years after development began and ten years after it first took flight, the F-35 fighter is operational with the U.S. Air Force.  This week's announcement of initial operational capability for the F-35A is arguably the most important milestone in the tri-service fighter's evolution, because the Air Force will buy over 70% of the plane's domestic production run (1,763 of 2,443 aircraft), and its variant is the version that the vast majority of overseas allies will acquire. (Editor's Note: The U.S. Air Force IOC announcement is anticipated for Aug. 2 - DM) So it is no exaggeration to say that the Air Force buy is the linchpin of the whole program.  Without it, the cost of Navy and Marine Corps variants would be prohibitive.  The economies of scale generated by purchasing three variants with high commonality to meet the future t

Credits-Internet image Source- The National Interest Author-  Harry J. Kazianis Over at the Washington Post, acclaimed columnist David Ignatius takes on the always tumultuous tides roiling the South China Sea. Ignatius points out the scope of Beijing’s defeat in the recent international court case brought by Manila, noting that while most that follow professionally this important part of the world were of the collective mind China would lose in some fashion, but no one (myself included) thought Beijing would lose so badly. Score one for the “rules-based international order.” But it’s what happens next that is key. And to be clear, China will respond — and respond with a vengeance. However, as Ignatius points out, at least for now, while Beijing has only stepped up the rhetoric and seems content to take selfies of its bombers over what could be its next island reclamation project in the South China Sea, the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal, China is not exactly i

USS Freedom ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ United States Navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Kris Osborn The Navy plans to deploy two separate long-range over-the-horizon missile weapons aboard its Littoral Combat Ship later this year as part of an effort to better arm the vessel and give it an ability to attack longer-range land and ocean targets than it is currently configured to do, according to industry sources familiar with the ship's development.  The Kongsberg-Raytheon Naval Strike Missile will soon deploy with the flat-bottomed "Freedom" variant LCS and a Harpoon Block IC missile will deploy on the Navy's trimaran "Independence" variant of the ship; the idea is to further assess each weapon in an operational setting as a way to better determine the ideal over-the-horizon weapon for the ship's future.  At the same time, the Navy is also weighing the prospect of arming the LCS with the emerging Long-Range Anti-Sh