India and Russia Aim BrahMos at Export Market
November 30, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
India and Russia aim to export the new BrahMos supersonic cruise missile to Persian Gulf, East Asian, and Latin American countries, reports the January 1, 2007, issue of Jane’s Defence Industry. According to Indian Defense Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony, the BrahMos has drawn “considerable interest” in these countries and has “tremendous market potential.” Antony added that “the Indian and Russian governments will make a joint decision on the countries to whom the missile will be exported.”
The BrahMos, which derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moscow rivers in India and Russia, is based on the earlier Russian design for the SS-N-26 (3M55 Oniks) cruise missile. In 1998, a joint venture was set up between the Indian Defense Ministry’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Russia’s Mashinostroyeniye Company. The two entities formed a company now known as Brahmos Aerospace, which would develop and manufacture the BrahMos PJ-10. In September 2006, Jane’s reported that the Indian Navy had started deploying the BrahMos missile on its frontline warships, with the DRDO also working on development of a submarine-launched version that could be ready in two to three years. Jane’s also reported that the Indian Air Force will integrate the BrahMos missile onto its Su-30MKI multirole fighters by December 2007. (Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Proliferation, India, Cruise Missiles
India to Test Launch Sagarika Submarine-Launched Cruise Missile in 2008
November 12, 2006 :: News
India plans to test launch its Sagarika submarine-launched nuclear-capable cruise missile in early 2008, according to Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) sources. The Sagarika, which is being developed by the DRDO, is reported to have a range of 1,200 km and to be capable of delivering a 500 kg warhead. The DRDO sources indicated that the missile’s first prototype, which is powered by a solid fuel rocket booster and a turbojet engine, should be ready for a test flight by early 2008. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Cruise Missiles, India
George Marshall Institute Hosts Roundtable on Cruise Missile Defense
September 30, 2006 :: Marshall Institute :: News
On Tuesday, September 26, the George C. Marshall Institute hosted a forum on cruise missile defense at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, gave the opening remarks, stressing the importance of defending the homeland and U.S. troops and allies overseas from the cruise missile threat. “Our enemy has the political will to cause death and destruction of catastrophic proportions to the United States, but they do not have the capacity to do it yet,” Franks said. “Americans have the capacity to defend ourselves; we just need to steel the will of the American people and of the Congress so that we can defend ourselves from these emerging threats.”
The Congressman’s speech was followed by a roundtable discussion with Captain Robert Barwis of the Joint Theater Air and Missile Defense Organization (JTAMDO); John Heidenrich, a senior policy analyst at Science Applications International Organization (SAIO); and Christopher Bolkcom, an analyst in national defense at the Congressional Research Service (CRS). The discussion focused on the nature of the threat and the unique challenge of protecting the homeland against cruise missiles, which are difficult to identify and track and could be easily confused with commercial airliners. The participants also discussed possible strategies for deploying an effective cruise missile defense. (Link)
» Press Release for Congressman Trent Franks’ keynote address on cruise missile defense
» More stories on: Cruise Missile Defenses, Cruise Missiles
China Upgrades H-6 Bombers to Carry Intermediate-Range Cruise Missiles
September 29, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
China is believed to have upgraded its H-6 “Badger” medium bombers to carry intermediate-range, anti-ship cruise missiles, reports the November 1 issue of Jane’s Missiles and Rockets. The H-6 “Badger” is a Chinese copy of the Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-16. The upgraded versions, designated H-6K and H-6M, are believed to now have the ability to carry four large cruise missiles beneath their wings. The bombers could carry the extended-range YJ-83 (CSSC-8 “Saccade”), an air-launched version of the YJ-62/C-602 anti-ship cruise missile. In addition, the Chinese press has published photographs of the prototype H-6 carrying unknown missiles resembling the Soviet-designed AS-15 Kent” (Kh-55) intermediate-range, land attack cruise missile, according to Jane’s. In recent years, the Chinese press has stressed the People’s Liberation Army’s capabilities against large surface ships, including U.S. aircraft carriers. (Link)
» More stories on: China, Cruise Missiles
China Offers YJ-62/C-602 Anti-Ship Cruise Missile for Export
September 27, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
China is offering its YJ-62 anti-ship cruise missile on the international market under the export designation C-602, reports the October 4 issue of Jane’s Defence Weekly. The new missile was displayed from September 20 to 24 at the African Aerospace and Defence exhibition at Ysterplaat Air Base in Cape Town, South Africa. It marked the first time that the C-602 has been formally shown abroad and offered for sale, according to officials from the China National Precision Machinery Import & Export Corporation (CPMIEC). The YJ-62/C-602 is a short-range, sea-skimming, anti-ship missile that can be launched from land or sea. Each missile carries a 300 kg armor-piercing high-explosive warhead. A standard coastal battery consists of four launch vehicles, each holding three missiles, plus command and support vehicles. When deployed at sea, the YJ-62/C-602 launchers are typically positioned in pairs. To date the system has been fitted to Type 052C (Lanzhou-class) destroyers of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, although CPMIEC notes that the YJ-62/C-602 can also be carried by frigate-sized escort vessels. (Link)
» More stories on: China, Cruise Missiles, Proliferation
South Korea Develops New Cruise Missile
September 21, 2006 :: UPI :: News
South Korea has developed a Tomahawk-style cruise missile, reports the UPI. The missile is believed to have a range of approximately 500 km and would be capable of striking almost all of North Korea’s missile sites, including the facility in Musudan-ri from where a set of missiles including a long-range Taepodong-2 was fired in July. The South Korean missile is equipped with a terrain-matching navigation system, as is capable of flying as low as 50 to 100 m to avoid radar detection. According to the South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo, the new missile was developed jointly by the South Korean military and the state-run Agency for Defense Development. Under a 1979 accord with Washington, Seoul is allowed to develop cruise missiles with no restriction on range as long as its payload is less than 500 kg. South Korea plans to produce additional cruise missiles, to be named “Cheon Ryong” (Sky Dragon), within a year or two for ground or submarine deployment. It is also seeking to develop a cruise missile with a range of 1,000 km within five years. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Cruise Missiles, North Korea, South Korea
Russia to Dismantle Five Nuclear Submarines by 2010
September 13, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Russia will dismantle five nuclear-powered Victor-class (Type 671) submarines from its Pacific Fleet by 2010, reports RIA-Novosti. The vessels are being scrapped under the joint Russian-Japanese Star of Hope Program for Dismantling Decommissioned Nuclear Submarines, which was adopted in 2003 when Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Russia. Deputy Foreign Minister Shintaro Ito told a news conference in Vladivostok yesterday that the dismantling of the first Victor-class submarine will begin at the Zvezda Shipyard, in a suburb of Vladivostok, and will take about 10 months. During the dismantlement process, spent nuclear fuel will be removed from the submarine’s reactors and sent to storage, the hull will be cut into three sections, and the bow and stern sections will be removed and destroyed. The reactor section will be sealed and transferred to storage. Japan has allocated 20 billion yen ($171 million) for the project, according to Ito.
The nuclear-powered Victor-class submarines are believed to have entered service in the Soviet Union around 1967, and were primarily designed to protect Soviet surface fleets and to attack U.S. ballistic missile submarines. Most were armed with torpedoes as well as SS-N-15 or SS-N-21 cruise missiles. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Cruise Missiles, Japan, Russia, Sea-Based Systems
India to Fit BrahMos Cruise Missile to Su-30MK1 Fighters
September 5, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
India is preparing to configure the BrahMos PJ-10 cruise missile to be deployed on Su-30MK1 fighter aircraft, reports the September 6 issue of Jane’s Defence Weekly. Static and dynamic tests on the ground for this air-launched version are reportedly underway. The BrahMos, which derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moscow rivers in India and Russia, is based on the earlier Russian design for the SS-N-26 (3M55 Oniks) cruise missile. In 1998, a joint venture was set up between the Indian Defense Ministry’s Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia’s Mashinostroyeniye Company. The two entities formed a company now known as BrahMos Aerospace, which would develop and manufacture the BrahMos.
In 2006, reports indicated that Russia and India plan to manufacture 1,000 BrahMos missiles over the next 10 years through their joint venture company. Of these 1,000 missiles, nearly 50 percent will be exported to client states. Jane’s adds that the Indian Army will introduce a ground-based version of the missile in 2007, and that a submarine-launched variant is also under development. (Link)
» More stories on: Cruise Missiles, India, Proliferation, Russia
Pentagon Finds Cruise Missile Defense “Gaps,” Warns of Ship-Launched Threat
August 17, 2006 :: Inside Defense :: News
A Pentagon assessment of the U.S. ability to defend the homeland against cruise missile attack has founds nine “credibility gaps” that may not be solved until 2015, reports Inside Defense. These “gaps” include an inability to get information on potential targets; insufficient surveillance coverage; an inability to detect small, low-altitude targets; an inability to create a common operating picture; an inability of sensor systems to provide adequate tracking information; an inability of sensors to determine or predict the intent of a cruise missile; an inability of sensors to provide senior military officials with enough information to make informed decisions; an inadequate supply of information from other government agencies; and a lack of defensive platforms able to cover the North American continent. The assessment adds that Pentagon officials are increasingly concerned with the threat of terrorists using a cargo ship stationed outside U.S. territorial waters as a platform from which to launch cruise missiles. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Cruise Missile Defenses, Cruise Missiles, Ship-Launched Threat
Richardson on Cruise Missile Proliferation
August 4, 2006 :: Canberra Times :: Analysis
“How did the [Chinese] C-802 [CSS-N-8] anti-ship cruise missile—rated by experts as among the most lethal in the world—get into Hezbollah’s hands?” asks Michael Richardson, a research fellow at the Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore in today’s edition of The Canberra Times. He goes on to discuss the “extensive but little-known trade in increasingly sophisticated missiles that have the capacity to upset stability and the balance of power in conflict-prone areas of the world.” The supply trail runs from China to Iran and then into Lebanon either by sea or over land via Syria. Iran and Syria are Hezbollah’s allies against Israel and the U.S. China has used Israel as a military supplier in the past, but has political and energy interests in Iran and Syria that are now in conflict with those of Israel. The tale of the C-802, Richardson writes, “is a classic story about the dog-eat-dog nature of the global arms trade and the destabilising impact of weapons that are not effectively controlled by national regulation or international treaties and agreements.” At present, there is no ban on the proliferation of anti-ship cruise missiles such as the C-802. Richardson lays out a plausible and frightening scenario based on the disclosure early last year by officials of Ukraine’s recently installed democratic government of the illegal export of 20 Russian-made Kh-55SM cruise missiles, each with a range of 3,000 km:
The Kh-55 family of missiles is Russia’s main nuclear-armed cruise missile launched from the air by strategic bombers. The missiles, exported in 2000 and 2001, were diverted from Soviet stocks left behind after Ukraine declared independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The illicit sale took place despite the fact that Ukraine was an regime member. Twelve of the Kh-55SMs reportedly went to Iran, six to China and two to Pakistan. Iran is alleged to have paid nearly $US50million ($A65.5million) for its missiles.
None of the Kh-55SMs from Ukraine had their 200 kiloton nuclear warheads. But the deal included the system for testing, programming and launching the missiles which had been in service for a number of years. China and Pakistan, both declared nuclear powers, evidently wanted to strip the missiles to copy and incorporate its design, propulsion and guidance components into their own efforts to develop long-range cruise missiles—a process known as reverse engineering.
Iran, too, may have similar interests in using some of the Kh-55SMs as a shortcut for developing a derivative long-range cruise missile—one capable of striking Israel from some 1500 km away. But having a dozen of the missiles could also enable Iran to fit the weapon to its Soviet built Su-24 strike aircraft or fire it from ships or land-based truck launchers.
Robertson concludes: “The ultimate nightmare for Israel and the U.S. would be a Kh-55SM-type missile, armed with an Iranian nuclear warhead.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Analysis, China, Cruise Missiles, Iran, Proliferation
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