The Brazilian Army's Logistic Command received its first five launching vehicles (Universal Multiple Launcher: AV-LMU) of the ASTROS Mk 6 (Artillery Saturation Rocket System) multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), a key part of Brazil's ASTROS 2020 project.

 The equipment was delivered as 'pre-delivery inspection' vehicles and final delivery is slated for early 2014, a Brazilian Army spokesperson told IHS Jane's.

 Ultimately, the ASTROS 2020 MLRS is meant to give Brazil's army a high-precision, long-range fire support asset that could notionally bolster deterrence along Brazil's massive borders.

 The first partially equipped battery will be inducted in February 2014 and be outfitted with six AV-LMUs, one ammunition resupply vehicle (AV-RMD), one battalion-level command-and-control vehicle (AV-VCC: for co-ordination of three batteries), and one meteorological mobile station (AV-MET), the spokesperson added.

 The systems will be operated by a Missiles and Rockets Group to be established in Formosa, State of Goiás, where the three batteries of ASTROS II Mk 3s are based and operated by the 6st Multiple Launchers Rockets Group, which will be renamed as 6st Missiles and Rockets Group. Deliveries are expected to conclude in 2018.
Development of the system, acquisition of three batteries, and development of AV-TM 300 tactical cruise missile - with maximum range of 300 km - and AV-SS-40G guided rocket were all awarded to local company Avibras Indústria Aeroespacial in separate contracts as part of ASTROS 2020 project.

 A full battery of the ASTROS Mk 6 system is to be composed of six AV-LMUs, six AV-RMDs, one battery-level command-and-control vehicle (AV-PCC), one AV-MET, one vehicle with radar for fire-control (AV-UCF), and one mobile workshop (AV-OFVE), the Brazilian Army told IHS Jane's. A tracking radar system for the AV-UCF unit is in the final step of specification.

 ASTROS Mk 6s include an armoured cabin mounted into Tatra Trucks T-815 series 6x6 and 4x4 chassis, which are outfitted with mission modules, smoke grenade launchers, a 12.7 mm weapon mount, digital communications, man-machine interface, navigation, and battle management system. It is able to fire current unguided saturation rockets.

 As part of ASTROS 2020, a contract to upgrade ASTROS II Mk 3s to the Mk 3M configuration is scheduled to be awarded soon to Avibras. [via]
The nation’s arms procurement agency said Wednesday that it will finalize a deal of importing the Taurus air-to-ground standoff cruise missiles for its F-15K fleet next month.

 According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), it reported to the military decision-making committee, chaired by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, that it will conclude the contract including a classified number of the missiles in December.

 Taurus Systems, a German-Swedish joint venture, welcomed Korea’s decision.

 “We are pleased to have won South Korea as customer for Taurus KEPD 350 and are proud to have earned the government’s trust with this state-of-the art and technologically convincing product,” said Christoffer Drevstad, vice president of Taurus Systems.

 “Since we are now capable of performing long-range strikes against deeply buried and reinforced targets, launched far away from enemy threat, the survivability of the fighter and its crew will be greatly improved while the missile will be an effective deterrence against war,” said a military official.

 The GPS-guided cruise missiles can hit strategic targets such as nuclear and missile bases with precision.
If launched above the central city of Daejeon, where the headquarters of three military branches are located, they can hit an underground bunker in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

 The modular stand-off missile is capable of performing deep penetration missions with pinpoint accuracy, making it ideal for taking out hard targets such as underground installations and bridges.

 In addition, the Taurus has three independent navigation systems ― terrain reference, imagery, and GPS ― that makes it very resistant to any form of jamming.

 The acquisition of the strategic strike weapon is one of the few times that Korea has purchased from a non-U.S. supplier. Currently, the only long-range missiles in the Air Force's inventory are 40 SLAM-ER missiles with a range of 278 kilometers. [via]
Two of the three vehicles in the Army's "Ultra Light Vehicle" program have now entered survivability testing in Nevada and Maryland to evaluate both their blast and ballistic protection capability.

 The third vehicle remains at the Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center for testing there.

 The TARDEC began development of three ULVs in fall 2011, at the request of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. While the ULV will not be fielded as a combat vehicle, it does serve as a research and development platform that will ultimately yield data that can be used by other TARDEC agencies and program managers, as well as sister services to develop their own vehicles and equipment in the future.

 "It's all about sharing the data," said Mike Karaki, the ULV's program manager. "If we have an ability to share the data internally within TARDEC, and externally within the program managers and program executive offices, and beyond that with other government agencies, we will attempt to do that. It's helping shape and inform future programs."

 Karaki said the ULV program might help development of survivability in future vehicles, and may also help development of other hybrid vehicles as well.

 "You want to be able to use anything and everything you can from this program to help reduce the duplication of efforts in the future," he said.

The ULV is a hybrid vehicle that includes lightweight advanced material armor, lightweight wheels and tires and other automotive systems, blast-mitigating underbody technology and advanced C4ISR equipment inside.

 "We tried to push the envelope in terms of state-of-the-art and out-of-the-box materials throughout the entire development process," said Karaki.

 The vehicle, from design to delivery, took only 16 months, Karaki said.

 "We show there are some successes in the rapid design, development, fabrication and integration of the effort," Karaki said. "It's doable. It's high risk and high reward. Can you do it in a rapid time frame? We've proven we can do that."
The ULV is hybrid vehicle powered by a diesel engine that drives an electric generator. That generator in turn powers two electric motors that turn the wheels. Two electric motors provides redundancy should one of the motors fail.

 Karaki said choosing a hybrid system came from the need to develop a more survivable vehicle for Soldiers. He said the contractor was concerned about how to make the vehicle perform better in a blast event, and came to the conclusion that a hybrid was the better choice.

 Because it is a hybrid vehicle, it has none of the standard equipment underneath the vehicle. It features instead a "clean underbody" that makes it more capable of withstanding something like an explosion from an improvised explosive device.

 "If you keep less equipment, accessories, systems underneath the vehicle, and you allow the underbody geometry to do what it needs to do -- have a clean underbody -- you will be able to improve your chances of being able to direct a blast away from the vehicle," he said.

 The primary customer for the ULV vehicle, which is a test vehicle, is the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The program came with four research objectives, which are a 4,500 pound payload, a vehicle weight of 14,000 pounds, protection that is comparable to the currently fielded mine resistant ambush protected vehicle, and a price of $250,000 each for a hypothetical 5,000-unit production run.

 Karaki said the program is meeting or is expected to meet those objectives.

 "On paper, the stuff upfront, the size, the weight, the cost, the timeframe, we checked those boxes," he said. "The testing and evaluation of all these advanced survivability systems are in process right now."
Two of three vehicles are undergoing survivability testing now. The third vehicle is in Warren, Mich., at TARDEC's Ground Systems Power and Energy Laboratory undergoing automotive testing and to evaluate its hybrid electric setup. Karaki said eventually the two ULVs undergoing survivability testing will be destroyed as part of that testing. The third vehicle, the one at TARDEC, will be kept as a test platform.

 The ULV is not a replacement for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program or the Humvee. It is an experimental vehicle used for testing purposes. The program will wrap up in fiscal year 2014.

 By  C. Todd Lopez
Source : US Army
Earlier this year Iran unveiled the Qaher F-313 stealth fighter jet ”one of the most sophisticated fighter jets in the world,” according to Tehran.

 Even if Iranian media outlets published articles that listed the aircraft’s top features, based on the first (and only) images released on Feb. 2, 2013, we explained that the Qaher would never fly unless it was extensively modified and improved.

 No more images of the F-313 have been released since then, until a new photo (taken by a user nicknamed “Iranian Spotters”) has emerged on Pakistan Defense forum, an image that allegedly shows the Qaher being moved to be prepared for taxi tests.
The new image (possibly partly photoshopped, based on some suspect blurry details on the tails and elsewhere) doesn’t add much to what we have already seen: the aircraft is probably the same (mock-up) plane showcased on Feb. 2. [via]
Russians arms inventories in Venezuela are blighted by widespread malfunction, breakdown and an endemic lack of operational readiness, opposition critics said.

 Amid data indicating Venezuela is now Russia's largest weapons customer in Latin America, thanks largely to deals reached before former President Hugo Chavez died of cancer in March, the Venezuelan military is having to cope with useless military hardware on a large scale, El Universal reported, citing opposition critics.

 There was no immediate official comment from the administration of President Nicolas Maduro. independent verification of opposition claims on the parlous state of Venezuelan military is hard to come by.

 "Shadiness is the key word when referring to the information on the weapons sold to Venezuela by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's government," El Universal said.

 Russia will continue military-technical cooperation with Venezuela regardless of who takes over power in the Latin American country after Chavez's death, RIA-Novosti said in March.

 Throughout 2012, Chavez actively shopped for Russian tanks, helicopters and air force aircraft, Russian and Venezuelan news media reported at the time.

 El Universal said the late president's orders to buy Russian weaponry have been followed. "The Bolivarian Armed Forces equipped themselves with rifles, tanks, aircraft, armored vehicles and artillery systems to such an extent that [Venezuela] became Moscow's top buyer," El Universal said, in a reference to Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution that Maduro has vowed to continue.

 "Have they been appropriate purchases? Is such equipment able to operate as intended when the time comes?" El Universal asked. "It does not seem so: some alarming information has just been leaked and we have already seen helicopters fall."

 The newspaper cited Russian and independent reports Venezuela became Russia's top arms buyer in Latin America in 2012.

 Out of $14.5 billion of arms Russia sold in the region over 12 years, it earned $11 billion from purchases made by Caracas, El Universal said.
Venezuelan purchases included 24 Sukhoi multirole fighter jets, about 50 helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov AK 103 rifles, El Universal said citing published data.

While Russian supplies are on track, "what has been acquired? And even more important: what are the conditions of items bought?"

 Opposition National Assembly members Stalin Gonzalez and Tomas Guanipa said they obtained information on the status of weapons inventories imported from Russia.

 "We count on reliable data which indicate that -- as a whole -- almost every weapon that has been bought from Russia presents or has presented problems and failures," Gonzalez said.

 "Some of them have -- of course --been fixed, but it is not generally the case. And such failures go beyond comprehension."

 Gonzalez and Guanipa are members of a National Assembly standing committee on defense and security.

"To a certain extent, it is appropriate to claim that Venezuela has mostly bought obsolete equipment," Guanipa said.

 Citizen Control non-government organization said it counted among "broken" Russian equipment six helicopters. Military crashes led to the deaths of 31 people, Citizen Control said in a report cited by El Universal.

 Gonzalez said some of the monitored Russian equipment suffered from software failure and unsuitability for Venezuela's hot weather conditions.

 He called for defense administration and Venezuelan military commanders to be questioned in the National Assembly. [via]
The Swedish Defense Materiel Administration has exercised a one-year contract option with Saab for continued technical system support.

 The option is worth about $16.25 million and is for operational and technical support, equipment follow-up, modifications, updates and warehouse operations for replacement parts for the country's Gripen fighters, which were manufactured by Saab.

 "With this order, Saab contributes to an effective and accessible Gripen operation for Sweden in the coming year," says Lars-Erik Wige, head of Saab's Support and Services business area.
Saab said the original contract from the Swedish Materiel Administration, issued in 2012, has options for additional work extending until 2016. Work on the contract will be performed at company facilities in Linkoping, Arboga, Vaxjo and Ostersund.

 The Gripen is a single-engine multirole aircraft with a maximum speed of 1,372 mph at high altitude and a combat radius of 500 miles.

 In addition to Sweden, military forces of Hungary, South Africa and Thailand fly the aircraft. [via]
The Slate Mobile AirDesk is a great accessory for working on your laptop away from your desk. The sleek, ultralight accessory is cut from a block of pure, premium bamboo, it is perforated for air ventilation and helping your laptop cool down. It also features a super thick heavy duty mouse pad, and a dock(includes a cable slot) for your phone or mini tablet.






Crews from the RAF’s 33 and 230 Squadrons are carrying out training flights on the upgraded aircraft from their base at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.

 The £260 million upgrade means that the helicopters benefit from new engines which give them 35% more power and improved fuel efficiency to allow them to fly faster and twice as far as the Puma Mk1. They also have highly advanced digitised glass cockpits and upgraded liquid-crystal display instruments.

 The Puma Mk2 can fit into a C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft, which means that it can be transported anywhere in the world and, crucially, can be ready to deploy in support of both combat and humanitarian missions in just 4 hours.

 The aircraft, with improved ballistic protection, is capable of carrying up to 16 fully-equipped troops. Twin cargo doors and low rotor downwash make it ideal for transporting personnel and equipment in and out of confined urban environments.

 The Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Philip Dunne, said:

 “With its greater range, endurance and payload the Puma Mk2 helicopter will give the Royal Air Force significantly enhanced, agile capability in support of combat and humanitarian operations in even the most austere conditions.

 “In 2012 we committed to spending £12.1 billion to ensure our helicopter capability remains up to date. The delivery of the Puma Mk2 will further strengthen our world class helicopter fleet, which recently saw the introduction of the upgraded Merlin Mk2 and upgraded Chinook Mk4s.”
Outperforming expectations
Puma Force Commander, Group Captain Nigel Colman, said:

 “The Puma is a remarkable aircraft and its ability to operate in urban and harsh conditions will see it play a key role in any future deployments. Needless to say the Puma Force are really enjoying getting to grips with the aircraft and are reporting that it is outperforming expectations.”

 Seven of the RAF’s fleet of 24 Puma Mk2s have so far been delivered to RAF Benson and the remainder will be handed over during the next 2 years ahead of the helicopters entering service in 2015.

 Almost a third of the upgrade carried out by Eurocopter UK has taken place in the UK, with companies in Oxford, Oldham, Redditch, Gloucester, Boscombe Down, Basildon, Surrey, Marlow, Cheltenham and Reading contributing to the work. The remainder has taken place in Eurocopter UK’s plants in France and Romania.

 Source : Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
Tonino Lamborghini has announced the launch of Antares, a new limited edition Android smartphone. The smartphone matches luxury furnishings with a high-performance quad-core 1.5 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal memory and a MicroSD card slot with up to 32 GB (included). The sound system is provided by a built-in Yamaha amplifier and speakers. 

 Antares also has a 13-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front-facing camera with full HD video (1080p). The thickness of the smartphone is 13.5 mm and its four-inch high-resolution display is protected by tempered glass with high shock and scratch resistance.

 Antares uses the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean platform and a complimentary interface designed exclusively for Tonino Lamborghini. Antares will be released in limited edition, with a unique serial number appearing on the back of every phone. The Tonino Lamborghini Antares will be available beginning in December for approximately $4,000 USD.


The French Army Aviation's (ALAT) NH90 tactical transport helicopter (TTH) has successfully conducted its initial naval trials onboard the second Mistral Class amphibious warfare ship, BPC Tonnerre.

 Carried out at an undisclosed location, the trials enabled the helicopter's maximum take-off weight to be uprated to 10.6t, while additional trials, which are planned for March 2014, will lead to the helicopter's clearance for shipboard missions. The helicopter's initial operational capability (IOC) is planned for mid-2014, when four NH90s will be available for operations.

 The French Army has to date taken delivery of three of the total 34 NH90 helicopters ordered by the French defence procurement agency from NH Industries in December 2008, along with an option for an additional 34 aircraft, to help replace the army's ageing SA 330 Puma helicopters fleet.

 The helicopters are scheduled to be transferred along with their operational crews from the training and induction centre at Cannet des Maures to their new unit, the 1st Combat Helicopter Regiment based in Phalsbourg in eastern France, in December 2013.
Powered by two Rolls-Royce-Turbomeca RTM322 engines, the NH90 TTH is an advanced helicopter designed primarily to perform logistics and utility transport, combat search and rescue (RESCO), as well as heliborne operations.

 Also known as Caiman, the next-generation helicopter can also be used to perform casualty and medical evacuation, electronic warfare, special operations and counter-terrorism missions, airborne command post and VIP transportation.

 Around 27 NH90 Nato frigate helicopters (NFH) were also ordered by the French Navy to replace its Lynx and Super Frelon helicopters, which perform anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare missions.

 The helicopters have been ordered by other NH90 members, including Australia, Belgium, Greece, Norway, Oman, Sweden, Spain, Finland and Italy. [via]
An American carrier battle group and a flotilla of Japanese warships will arrive Wednesday near a vast stretch of ocean claimed by China in what is shaping up as a test of how Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the USA will stand up to the challenge.

 The joint U.S.-Japan exercises in the sea are a direct challenge to China's claim. On Tuesday, the U.S. military said two Air Force B-52 bombers flew over the sea without notifying Beijing despite China's demand that it be told if anyone plans to fly military aircraft over its self-claimed "air defense zone."

 The aircraft took off from Guam on Monday, part of a regular exercise, said a U.S. defense official who spoke to AFP news service on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge the information.

 China has been laying claim to nearly 1 million square miles of ocean known as the East China Sea, insisting that the sea's energy resources and fisheries belong to China. Much of the ocean territory it claims is hundreds of miles from its shore, including waters off the coasts of Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

 On Saturday China went further than ever, announcing it had designated much of the sea as an air defense zone it controls. The zone includes the Japan-held Senkaku Islands, a string of uninhabited islets that China calls the Diaoyus. The Chinese Defense Ministry said the zone was created to "guard against potential air threats."

 "China has been pushing and testing Abe since he took office and for the most part he has been passing," said Brad Glosserman, executive director of the Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Honolulu.

"This is a very dumb, very risky move by China," he said. "If the People's Liberation Army tries to interfere (with the U.S.-Japan exercise), there will be real problems."

 The challenge represents a test for Abe, a conservative party prime minister elected in 2012 who has vowed to shift Japan's deferential military posture to a more muscular stance that recognizes its right to defend itself.

 On Tuesday, Abe directly confronted China, stating he would not recognize the Chinese air zone over the East China Sea or any of its claims to the Senkakus.

 "We will take steps against any attempt to change the status quo by use of force as we are determined to defend the country's sea and airspace," Abe said.

 For the United States' part, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Chinese action represents a "destabilizing attempt to alter the status quo" and "will not in any way change how the United States conducts military operations in the region."

 To that end, the U.S. Navy arrived in force Tuesday off the coast of Japan for a complex exercise in which Japanese naval ships and U.S. fighter jets, warships and submarines will practice scenarios for a possible attack on Japan.
Sailing into the waters southeast of Okinawa on Tuesday to prepare for a long-planned exercise was the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam, guided-missile destroyers USS Curtis Wilbur, USS Lassen, USS McCampbell, USS Mustin, maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and a Navy submarine.

 China issued a protest with Japan and the U.S. government over the exercises and opposition to China's self-claimed right to an air defense zone over the sea. Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said Japan's complaint about the zone is "absolutely groundless and unacceptable," according to Japan's Kyodo news service.

 Yang said Japan has "no right to make irresponsible remarks" on the sea's airspace, portions of which have been jointly administered by Japan and the United States for decades. Yujun also urged the United States to "not take sides."

 Earlier this year, Japan scrambled fighter jets when Chinese planes flew near the Senkaku islands, a rich fishing ground annexed by Japan in 1895 and purchased by the legislature in 2012. Chinese interceptor aircraft conducted the first flights into the zone after it went into force at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

 The Chinese moves have inflamed Japan and worried other nations that say they may now need to inform China when their commercial flights are heading over the East China Sea. It also has U.S. allies concerned that China is becoming more aggressive against them since the installation a year ago of Xi Jinping as leader of the Communist regime.

 But Hagel reaffirmed the U.S. military commitment to the 1952 U.S.-Japan Mutual Defense Treaty that commits Washington to intervene in defense of Japan if there is an attack on Japanese-administered territory. And Abe has backed up his belief that Japan must modify its stance held since World War II that Japan's defense can be outsourced entirely to the United States.

 Abe has been pressing for Japan to raise its readiness and play a bigger role in global security since he came to power in December 2012 and won a majority for his Liberal Democratic Party in the upper house of the Japan legislature in July.

 Defense spending in Japan has seen its largest increase in 22 years, says Kyodo. The spending has zeroed in on boosting Japan's capabilities to defend against amphibious assaults.

 But Abe has yet to garner the votes to change Japan's constitution so its defense forces can project the full military powers of a sovereign state. The constitution, written by the U.S. military after the defeat of Japan in WWII, restrains what Japan can do militarily.

 The U.S. military retains bases in Japan, primarily in Okinawa, and exercises between the two militaries have grown in size and complexity in recent years.

 Although precise locations have not been announced for the latest exercise, specific training events — which will include land-based patrol planes and other aircraft — are supposed to take place across large stretches of Japanese and international airspace, including parts of the East China Sea.

 China's Ministry of National Defense announced that any foreign aircraft entering its newly drafted "East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone" must file a flight plan with Chinese authorities, stay in two-way radio contact and follow other instructions.

 Failure to do so will result in "defensive emergency measures" by China's armed forces, according to the statement.

 It is not clear why China chose to announce the new air restrictions now, said Narushige Michishita, Director of the Security and International Studies Program at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo. Whether Jinping approved of it or the military demanded it is unknown, Michishita said.

 "It is a scary scenario," Michishita said. "What happens next is up to China." [via]
Toyota’s luxury vehicle division, Lexus, is traditionally known for their high-end premium cars, but with the F Sport road bike launched earlier this year, the company ventured into a different niche, well out of its comfort zone, but it’s something luxury automakers have been doing for a long time. Top marquees including Aston Martin, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, design premium grade bicycles and brand them in line with their flagships as a commercial and marketing tactic. The Japanese luxury automaker has unveiled another bike named the ‘NXB Concept’ at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show and it’s built using the same materials and technology used to make the LFA supercar, similar to the limited production F sport road bike.
The NBX (which stands for Neo Extreme Bike) is a mountain bike which has a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) frame made in one of the three-dimensional braiders which was earlier used for making parts for the Lexus LFA. The LFA supercar’s production ended last year and the braider is currently only being used for bicycle production. It is put on display at the Tokyo Motor Show alongside the crossover SUV concept LF-NX, and has similar swopping lines and hard edges. Some other notable features on the bike include XeNTiS Kappa2 CC carbon fiber aero wheels, special tread pattern on the IRC tubeless tires, inverted KYB suspension fork, Magura hydraulic disc brakes, a 1 x 11 SRAM XX1 drivetrain and sharp triathlon-bike-like carbon firber handlebar extensions. It’s a concept and looks impractical and was put on display to exemplify the design philosophy the marquee is working on for the future. [via]







Troubled Canadian smartphone maker Blackberry has partnered with Porsche Design once again to come up with a special edition Z10. The two companies teamed up last year to produce a limited edition BlackBerry 7 device named the Porsche Design P‘9981 and this year’s device has been named P’9982. The Porsche Design Z10 is crafted from stainless steel and wrapped with Italian leather. It also runs a customized version of the BlackBerry 10.2 OS and comes with a ‘unique’ BBM PIN making it instantly recognizable. The internal storage has been bumped to 64GB and rest of the cosmetic changes apart, the special edition is identical to the standard Blackberry Z10.

 Blackberry is also selling additional Italian leather backs in a number of colors to customize the special edition device but strangely or rather amusingly the link directs to a page that lists covers for iPhones and iPads. It seems, when times are bad, everything goes horribly wrong. The Porsche Design Blackberry P’9982 will be exclusively launched at London’s upmarket department store Harrods’ for £1,400 ($2,250) on November 25th. [via]




BMW unveils a limited edition version of the X6 M dubbed the Design Edition featuring sporty and visually striking elements both inside and out. Limited to 100 units, the upgraded interior of the BMW X6 M Design Edition comes with full Merino leather, including a bicolor instrument panel in Black/Mugello Red with Mugello Red contrast stitching. The interior trim, meanwhile, is done in a Piano Black with an edition-specific badge. 21-inch M Performance light-alloy wheels in double-spoke design set the car apart, while the exterior paintwork can be specified in Alpine White, Sapphire Black or Melbourne Red metallic.




With an Asian naval buildup underway, perhaps history can offer some inspiration.

 Following the end of World War I, Asia was a theater witnessing some worrying developments, particular the rise of Japan and associated tensions. In response, then U.S. President Warren Harding convened a peace conference in Washington, between November 12, 1921 and February 6, 1922, which would later be referred to as the “Washington Naval Conference” or the “Washington Disarmament Conference.”

 Nine countries attended: the U.S., Japan, China, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Holland, Portugal and Belgium, but not the USSR. Negotiations were primarily geared towards naval disarmament in the Pacific Ocean and East Asia, and gave way to three major treaties. These treaties helped to curtail the naval buildup in the region for a period and supported a fragile peace throughout the 1920s and 30s, up to their renunciation by Japan in 1936. Although the conference’s outcomes and effectiveness remain the subject of debate, it is nonetheless considered by many a successful milestone in disarmament. Almost a century later, could a modernized version of the Washington Naval Conference be useful, or even necessary, to deal with the competing programs and patterns of naval modernizations being witnessed in the region?

 Another Arms Race in Asia?

 Since 2000, China’s military spending has grown by 325.5 percent, to reach $166 billion in 2012, according to SIPRI’s estimates. Much of this spending was on the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), the reform and modernization of which, begun in the 1980s, accelerated rapidly in the 2000s. The creation of a nuclear submarine base in Sanya, on the island of Hainan, and the commissioning of China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, provided powerful symbols of China’s swelling capabilities and ambitions in the maritime domain. Capability development were not limited to the PLAN, however. Maritime and law enforcement agencies, those most active in the territorial disputes that pit China against a number of its neighbors, have also been given greater means, and an enlarged mandate. This simultaneously demonstrates the significance of the maritime domain in Beijing’s plans and strategic outlook, and contributes to the image of a more assertive China. Both elements have a profound impact on its relationship with its neighbors, which are now also committed to military modernization programs.

 The balance of power between China and Taiwan is now long gone, and Taipei is no longer seeking any kind of parity, in terms of missiles, aircrafts of tanks, with a continental China whose military budget is eleven times as high as its own. Given the level of forces it continues to amass on its side of the Taiwan Strait, Beijing appears more and more capable of denying the U.S. Navy access to the Strait, especially in the event of a non-pacific reunification with the island. In reaction, despite a more accommodative diplomacy towards Beijing, Taipei is committed to the maintenance of a strong deterrent force, through more asymmetric capabilities (most of them geared towards the maritime domain).

 In the East China Sea, the rise of the PLAN constitutes a major issue for South Korea and Japan, two other maritime powers extremely dependent upon their access to the sea for their security and prosperity. The South Korean navy recently went through an important upgrade, with the acquisition and indigenous development of submarine, combat and amphibious capabilities that go far beyond the needs of confronting the North Korean threat.

 Japan has also expressed preoccupation at Beijing’s growing military might, labeling China a concern for the international community and the region in 2010. Tokyo shifted the focus of its strategic outlook from the North and the Russian and North Korean threats, where it was traditionally geared, to the South of the archipelago, and the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, where the number of incidents with Chinese ships and aircrafts have skyrocketed since 2010. The Japanese Navy unveiled in August of this year one of the two Izumo-class destroyers it will operate by 2015. Such ships will be the largest Japan has built since World War II.

 Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia, military spending increased by 62 percent between 2002 and 2012, based on SIPRI’s estimates, and parts of that – at the very least that in Vietnam – can be attributed to the multiplication of incidents in the South China Sea.

 Of course,  territorial tensions and China’s naval buildup are far from the whole story; many other factors have to be taking into account in any consideration of military developments in Northeast and Southeast Asia. That shrouds the regional context in even great uncertainty and anxiety. No one country can keep pace with the PLAN expansion. A generalized movement toward the U.S. and – to a lesser extent – other regional powers such as Japan, India or Australia therefore appears to complement the many different and often competing modernization efforts underway in national contexts. And yet, although Washington’s so-called pivot, or rebalancing, has been noticed and welcomed by most regional actors, the U.S. is struggling to reconcile its ambitions and the needs of its Asia-Pacific strategy with budgetary constraints and domestic politics.

 Increased competition in the maritime domain, the parallel buildup of naval capabilities by most regional states, the ambiguity surrounding the scope and aims of China’s military modernization process, and the perceptions of threat that can derive from it, all add up to create uncertainty and potential destabilization that demand an international response.
A Cue from the Past

 This situation is all the more worrying because there is no international arms limitation regime in the region. Is it possible to prevent regional security dilemmas from spiraling into costly and destabilizing arms races? There is no diplomatic magic formula to adequately address and resolve this question. What is certain though is that international collaboration is essential. To date, multilateral forums such as ASEAN and its offshoots have demonstrated an uneven commitment by regional actors to institution-building and to the multilateral management of security issues.

 Is a new version of the Washington Conference therefore possible, or even desirable? Perhaps not. Resistance would certainly be strong. In pursuing such an agenda, the U.S. would appear to be both judge and jury, and a revamped Washington Conference an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Asian countries that would also run counter to the ASEAN centrality principle of Southeast Asia. Worse, it could easily be interpreted as part of a China containment strategy.

 Nevertheless, conventional wisdom offers little help in tackling the challenges of what are mutually reinforcing processes of military modernization. Is it not time to think again about what should be done, what can be done, and who wants to do what? The results of the Washington Conference, its very limitations and weaknesses as much as its successes, offer a valuable source of information and inspiration. [via]

 Bruno Hellendorff is a Research Fellow at GRIP (Group for Research and Information on Peace and Security). Thierry Kellner is a Lecturer at the Department of Political Sciences of ULB (Université Libre de Bruxelles), member of REPI, and Associate Researcher at GRIP and BICCS.
Something tells me if James Cameron used the C-Explorer 5 to scour the Atlantic for Titanic remains, he’d still be down there. This submersible offers more than just the ability to go deeper than that conversation you had with your dad when you turned 14. The C-Explorer 5′s four passengers can enjoy plenty of space, air conditioning, a 360-degree view, audio system, HD camera, GPS, sonar, and even a remote controlled exploration vehicle and grappling arm–just in case Ariel doesn’t wanna come ashore without a fight.

You’ll move at a speed of three knots and dive up to three-hundred meters (984 feet) deep, so prepare to see some strange creatures. You’ll enjoy 8+ hours of underwater cruising thanks to the dual power system (electric motor + lithium-ion battery). On the safety front, the hull is pressurized and allows for a speedy retreat to the surface if needed. Worst case scenario, give Aquaman a call.





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