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Japan's Ministry of Defense (MoD) has officially announced the selection of the F-35B fighter as its future short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft. The U.S. government and Lockheed Martin were the sole bidder.

The latest Taiwanese naval projects were showcased at the 2019 Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) which was held this week in Taiwan: A new LPD project, a mine-laying ship and the flight II of the well known Tuo Chiang-class corvette.

U.S. Marines with 3rd Marine Division demonstrated the mobility and lethality of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during a simulated amphibious raid, Aug. 14, 2019.

The training provides an opportunity for the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy to enhance their interoperability and develop new methods of integrating Marine assets into the naval expeditionary force. During the operation, a HIMARS platoon from 12th Marine Regiment successfully loaded personnel and equipment onto a U.S. Navy landing craft, utility, where it was then transferred to another location and offloaded on shore for follow-on missions.

This capability makes HIMARS a more lethal and extensive asset. “This exercise helps showcase our unit’s mobility and the mobility of the HIMARS in the Indo-Pacific,” said U.S. Marine Cpl. Pablo Villegas, a HIMARS operator who participated in the training. He went on to say that HIMARS are typically driven over land or inserted into an area of operations via aircraft, now that HIMARS are able to be transported via a LCU, there are no limits to where the HIMARS can be.

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense (MND) unveiled on August 14 an ambitious mid-term defense plan for 2020-2024. In addition to known projects (KDX III Batch II and KSS III Batch II) the plan calls for the design of two new naval projects for the ROK Navy: An LPX-II aircraft carrier and an arsenal ship.

From War on the Rocks:

Guide to becoming an Admiral in the Russian Navy

-C

ORIGINAL: Ancalagon451

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29477/lets-talk-about-the-post-inf-treaty-u-s-test-of-a-ground-launched-tomahawk-missile

Am I the only one that thinks that this proves the russians correct, when they complained about the Aegis Ashore being a INF-violating launcher back in 17?

Ancalagon

That article states that the Aegis Ashore Mk41 were specifically modified to not permit installation of Tomahawk.

ORIGINAL: Ancalagon451

That article states that the Aegis Ashore Mk41 were specifically modified to not permit installation of Tomahawk.

Well, since:

- Lockheed-Martin themselves are calling them "identical to the fielded maritime system"

- They are visually undistinguishable from their ship-mounted counterparts and

-There has been no information about the nature of the alleged modifications, unlike the cases of the compartimentalized bomb bay of the B-1B or the condemned missile tubes of the Ohio subs (both modified to comply with the START treaty)

You can color me more than a bit sceptic about that.

Ancalagon

ORIGINAL: Filitch

Financial year begins about calendar year ago. Either Lockheed Martin provides work free or US planned to withdraw from INF at least at summer 2018

ORIGINAL: Ancalagon451

That article states that the Aegis Ashore Mk41 were specifically modified to not permit installation of Tomahawk.

Well, since:

- Lockheed-Martin themselves are calling them "identical to the fielded maritime system"

- They are visually undistinguishable from their ship-mounted counterparts and

-There has been no information about the nature of the alleged modifications, unlike the cases of the compartimentalized bomb bay of the B-1B or the condemned missile tubes of the Ohio subs (both modified to comply with the START treaty)

You can color me more than a bit sceptic about that.

Ancalagon

ORIGINAL: Primarchx

Sort of a moot point now, anyway.

Fully refreshed after more than two years of refitting, the US Navy’s oldest guided missile submarine, USS Ohio (SSGN 726), is once again ready to set sail, the PSNS & IMF Public Affairs said on August 15, 2019.

Raytheon and the U.S. Navy completed the first system-level tests of SPY-6(V)2, the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (or EASR), at the Surface Combat System Center at Wallops Island, VA.
...
Two variants of EASR are being built: a single-face rotating array designated AN/SPY-6(V)2 for amphibious assault ships and Nimitz class carriers, and a three fixed-face array designated AN/SPY-6(V)3 for Ford class aircraft carriers and the future FFG(X) guided missile frigates.

HMAS Hobart (III) has become the first Royal Australian Navy Hobart class Guided Missile Destroyer to fire a missile in Australian waters. Hobart fired an SM-2 Standard Missile in the East Australian Exercise Area against an unmanned target during trials off the coast of New South Wales, achieving excellent results.

The Indonesian Navy has selected BAE Systems’ Bofors 57 Mk3 naval gun system for the country’s KCR-60 fast-attack vessel program. The initial contracts with government-owned shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia include four 57 Mk3 gun systems.

U.S. Marine Corps' F-35B STOVL fighters will be the first fixed wing aircraft to fly from Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Izumo-class "helicopter destroyers", following the conversion of both JS Izumo and JS Kaga into aircraft carriers.

ORIGINAL: ExNusquam
1. INF has always allowed ground launch of intermediate range systems for R&D for air and sea launch. If you were going to give the Navy a Surface/Sub-Surface strike mission again this is a permissible test.

2. The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (released February 2018) explicitly noted that the US was conducting this treaty compliant research as a pressure mechanism to attempt to bring the Russians back into compliance. You can see how well that worked out...

ORIGINAL: Filitch

The first flight of Altius-U UAV, MQ-9 counterpart

https://www.janes.com/article/90556/rus ... tius-u-uav

ORIGINAL: Hongjian

This was fast as heck. Just in June, you could even argue that what was thought to be the first Type 075 LHD hull in Shanghai wasnt even a military ship...
Now, the island is installed and the ship is only a month from being launched. Construction took just under a year.