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Showing posts with the label Vietnamese defence

How Will New Subs Affect Vietnam's South China Sea Strategy? ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Nam Nguyen)

A Kilo class submarine ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Defence, Russian Federation) Source- The Diplomat Author- Nam Nguyen The fifth Kilo-class submarine procured for the Vietnamese People’s Navy (VPN) arrived at Cam Ranh Bay at the beginning of February. The Russian-built submarine started its journey from St Petersberg on the 16th of December on the Dutch-registered cargo ship Rolldock Star and arrived late in the night on Tuesday, February 2,  according to Thanh Nien News. There are currently four Vietnamese crews, supported by Russian advisers, for each of the existing Kilo-class Type 636 submarines in service with the VPN. Under Vietnam’s expanded relationship with Russia, a purpose-built submarine support facility was included as part of the deal to procure six conventional submarines for the VPN. With the end of this modernization cycle looming on the horizon, however, it remains to be seen how much of an impact these new platforms will ha

A Coming Shift in Vietnamese Military Aviation? ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Robert Farley)

Euro Fighter Typhoon ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Gordon Zammit) Source- The Diplomat Author- Robert Farley If Vietnam buys the Gripen, Typhoon, or Rafale, what exactly will it be getting? As several other writers have noted, the acquisition of Western aircraft (most likely the Gripen, Rafale, or Typhoon) would represent a huge shift in Vietnam’s defense trajectory. Vietnam hasn’t flown a Western warplane since the Vietnamese People’s Army overran Saigon, capturing 41 F-5 Tigers in the process. The Tigers that didn’t end up in the Soviet Union or the Eastern Bloc were soon grounded for lack of spares. To be sure, Vietnam has experience with modern jet fighters, currently flying a few dozen advanced Flanker variants purchased from Russia. These aircraft are far more capable than the older MiG-21s that make up the bulk of the Vietnam People’s Air Force (VPAF), but they remain Soviet kit. Any European aircraft will require what amounts to a revolution in maint

Vietnam’s Coast Guard Gets a Boost With New Patrol Vessel ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Prashanth Parameswaran)

Credits- Wikimedia Commons  Source- The Diplomat Author- Prashanth Parameswaran On 27 July, local media outlets reported that the Vietnamese Coast Guard had inducted a new patrol vessel into one of its commands. The new boat, numbered CSB 4035, is the fifth of the Vietnamese-built TT400-class vessels in the fleet and was inducted into the service’s Zone 4 command. The vessel was delivered by local firm Hong Ha Shipbuilding Company last month to the High Command of the Vietnam’s Coast Guard. According to IHS Jane’s Fighting Ships, the TT400, usually tasked with conducting maritime border patrols, surveillance and reconnaissance, can reach a top speed of 32 knots and a standard range of 2,500 nautical miles at 15 knots. The vessels can accommodate a crew of 35 and are armed with two 14.5 mm air-defense guns, one AK 176 76 mm automatic cannon, and one radar-guided, six-barreled 30 mm AK 630 close-in weapon system turret. The vessel will be part of the Zone 4 comm

Vietnam’s Navy Adds 2 Russian-Design Missile Ships ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Prashanth Parameswaran)

Russian Project 1241 Tarantul Class ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Meiciu K2) Source- The Diplomat Author- Prashanth Parameswaran The Vietnamese Navy received two indigenously built, Russian-design missile ships on Tuesday to enhance its maritime defenses. The two Project 1241 Tarantul-class or Molniya corvettes, built in Vietnam at the Ba Son shipyard under the General Department of Military Industry following a Russian technology contract inked a few years ago, were officially handed over to the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) during a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh on Tuesday. The ships, coded HQ 379 and HQ 380, are among the six ordered by the navy, with the first two – HQ 377 and HQ 378 – delivered last year. The vessels are equipped with 16 Uran-E missiles of 130 km in range, two AK-630 ship-borne artillery systems, and an AK-176M automatic gun with. Their endurance is 10 days and they can travel at a maximum speed of almost 70 km/hour in standard conditio

11 countries upgrade naval power amid South China Sea tensions ( Source- Want China Times)

PLAN Type-54A Frigate ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Bruno Corpet) Source- Want China Times No fewer than 11 countries are upgrading their navies amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times. As could be expected, China and the United States are leading the charge. China's submarine fleet is expected to match that of the US by 2020 — in numbers, at least — with 78 subs. Many are to be stationed at the Yulin Naval Base along the southern coast of Hainan. Despite continuing to increase its military budget every year, China's national defense spending still pales in comparison to the United States. The latest statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute say the United States remains by far the world's top military spender, with its US$665 billion defense budget equal to the total of the next seven countries behind it on the list. US military expenditure is still thr

Vietnam Buys Deadly New Missiles Capable of Hitting China ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Franz Stefan-Gady)

Russian Klub Missile ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- Allocer) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan- Gady Vietnam is in the process of acquiring 50 anti-ship and land attack 3M-14E Klub supersonic cruise missiles for its burgeoning fleet of SSK Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines, Der Spiegel Online reports. According to the article, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently updated data on its website, based on information obtained from the United Nations’ register of conventional arms, indicating that Russia has already delivered 28 missiles over the last two years to Hanoi, although the precise number remains unknown. The Klub is a Russian-made conventional supersonic cruise missile, “designed to destroy targets protected by sophisticated active air defenses and countermeasures,” deagel.com explains. It is an export variant of Russia’s “carrier killer” 3M-54 (NATO designation: SS-N-27A “Sizzler”) and capable of lon

Vietnam and Great Power Rivalries ( Source- Te Diplomat / Authors- Nhina Le and Koh Swee Lean Collin)

Image credits- Presidency of Russia  Source- The Diplomat Authors- Nhina Le and Koh Swee Lean Collin t all began with apparently innocuous activity reported in both the Russian and Vietnamese press citing the Russian Defense Ministry on January 4. According to the reports, Russian Air Force Il-78 Midas tanker planes were granted access last year to Vietnam’s aerodrome facilities in Cam Ranh Bay, located in the southern Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa. The Il-78s enabled the refueling of Russian Tu-95 “Bear” strategic bombers, which coincided with intensified Russian military flights in the Asia-Pacific, including “Bear” sorties that circled the major U.S. military redoubt in Guam. These flights, claimed to be a show of strength and for intelligence-gathering purposes, were deemed “provocative” in the eyes of Washington. A request was made to Hanoi “to ensure that Russia is not able to use its access to Cam Ranh Bay to conduct activities that could raise tensions in

China's Nightmare: Vietnam's New Killer Submarines (Source- The National Interest / Author- Lyle J. Goldstein)

Kilo Class Submarine ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- United States navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Lyle J. Goldstein After a brief respite, the South China Sea cauldron is starting to boil once again. This time, the hub-bub concerns not a close call between aircraft, nor dueling flotillas of coast guard vessels surrounding a mysterious oil exploration rig, nor the precarious resupply of a rusted out hulk of a ship grounded purposefully on an obscure reef Rather, the current frenzy among journalists, strategists, and now legislators concerns a variety of new structures that Beijing has undertaken to build up in and around its occupied reefs in the Spratlys. These structures will likely include an airfield. While this recent construction makes for interesting satellite photos, the impact on the actual naval balance of power seems quite minimal: limited to perhaps somewhat improved Chinese surveillance in the southern part of the South China

Made in China: A Vietnam-Philippines Axis ( Source- The National Interest, Author- Michael Mizza)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons Source- The National Interest Author- Michael Mizza Vietnam and the Philippines, which have long-standing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, are forming a strategic partnership. Worried over the rise of China and, in particular, Beijing’s increasingly belligerent actions in pursuit of its own territorial claims, Hanoi and Manila are banding together. The two rivals are moving beyond symbolic displays of unity—sports matches on disputed islands—and on to substantive cooperation: joint naval exercises and patrols as well as new trade initiatives. Neither country wants to see China extend control over the entirety of the South China Sea, which seems to be its aim. Both Vietnam and the Philippines have come to realize that China poses a greater threat to each than they do to each other. That Manila and Hanoi are choosing to balance rather than bandwagon may come as somewhat of a surprise to Beijing, which offers the promise o

Vietnam's ballistic missile can strike southern China: Kanwa ( Source- The Want China Times)

Kilo Class Submarine ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Ria Novosti) Source- The Want China Times With an attacking range of 280 kilometers, the Vietnamese navy's 3M-14E Klub-S submarine-launched ballistic missile can be used against China's Hainan and Guangdong provinces when launched from southern Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay, military analyst Andrei Chang, also known as Pinkov, wrote in an article for the Kanwa Defense Review, a Chinese-language military magazine based in Canada. The purchase of 3M-14E ballistic missiles from Russia makes Vietnam's six Kilo-class 636MV submarines more powerful than their Chinese counterparts. Pinkov said the 3M-14E is only allowed to be exported to Algeria, India and Vietnam. It is not allowed to be installed aboard China's Kilo-class MV submarines yet. In a war between China and Vietnam, the Vietnamese navy is very likely to use the submarines in the vanguard against the PLA Navy. The Vietnamese subs have also u

India and Vietnam Advance Their Strategic Partnership ( Source- The Diplomat, Author- Carl Thayer)

Image credits- Flickr/ Narendra Modi Source- The Diplomat Author- Carl Thayer In 2015 Vietnam will become the country coordinator for relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India for a three-year term ending in 2018. This will be an important partnership because the strategic interests of both countries markedly converged in 2014 and are likely to continue on this trajectory. The new government in India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi views Vietnam as an essential partner for its Act East Policy. Modi has injected new momentum in the 2007 India-Vietnam strategic partnership. For example, President Pranab Mukherjee visited Hanoi from September 14-17 and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made an official visit to Delhi from October 27-28. At the conclusion of President Mukherjee’s state visit he issued a joint statement with his counterpart, President Truong Tan Sang. This statement declared “that cooperation in national defense wa