Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

India has set a target to achieve a turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh crore ($25 billion) including export of Rs 35,000 Crore ($ 5 billion) in aerospace and <keyword id="8127101" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="defence-goods">defence goods</keyword> and services by 2025. This is part of the <keyword id="9693161" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="draft-defence-production">draft Defence Production</keyword> and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP 2020) announced on Sunday. Defence Minister <keyword id="6355121" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajnath-Singh">Rajnath Singh</keyword> announced the draft policy through a tweet on Monday. "In order to provide impetus to self-reliance in Defence manufacturing and to position India amongst the leading countries of the world in Defence and Aerospace sectors, a draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 (DPEPP 2020) has been formulated," he said. In implementing such framework and to position India amongst the leading countries of the world in defence and aerospace sectors, <keyword id="6369097" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ministry-of-defence">Ministry of Defence</keyword> (MoD) has formulated a draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 (DPEPP 2020). The DPEPP 2020 is envisaged as overarching guiding document of MoD to provide a focused, structured and significant thrust to defence production capabilities of the country for self-reliance and exports. The policy proposes to develop a dynamic, robust and competitive defence industry, including <keyword id="9694649" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="aerospace-and-naval-shipbuilding">aerospace and naval shipbuilding</keyword> industry to cater to the needs of armed forces with quality products. It also seeks to reduce dependence on imports and take forward "Make in India" initiatives through domestic design and development. The policy's aim is to promote export of defence products and become part of the global defence value chains. It emphasizes creation of an environment that encourages R&amp;D, <keyword id="9694650" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="rewards-innovation">rewards innovation</keyword>, creates Indian IP ownership and promotes a robust and self-reliant defence industry. The policy brings out multiple strategies under the focus areas of procurement reforms, indigenization and support to MSMEs/startups, optimize resource allocation, investment promotion, FDI and Ease of Doing business, innovation and R&amp;D, DPSUs and OFB, quality assurance and testing infrastructure and export promotion. The vision as stated in the policy is "To make India amongst the leading countries of the world in Defence sector, including Aerospace and Naval Shipbuilding sectors, from design to production, with active participation of public and private sector and thus fulfilling the twin objectives of self-reliance and exports". SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/mark-zuckerberg-and-jeff-bezos-got-14-billion-richer-in-a-single-day-as-facebook-and-amazon-shrugged-off-the-coronavirus-recession/articleshow/77333152.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos got $14 billion richer in a single day as Facebook and Amazon shrugged off the coronavirus recession</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/dgca-asks-spicejet-to-stop-ticket-sale-offer-as-govt-imposed-fare-limits-are-in-place/articleshow/77333769.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">DGCA asks SpiceJet to stop ticket sale offer as govt-imposed fare limits are in place</a>

Draft defence policy aims to achieve ₹1.75 lakh crore turnover by 2025

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>China's state-owned <keyword id="6354810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="defense">defense</keyword> conglomerates are looking to take their latest laser weapons onto the international arms market, and state media is giving them a leg up.</li><li>China's military arsenal has been complimented by a host of new laser weapons, all of which have a "bright future' on the international arms market, according to foreign language reports in <a href="http://en.people.cn/n3/2018/1228/c90000-9532928.html">The People's Daily</a> and other major state-owned media.</li><li>Chinese military analysts believe the weapons could "effectively contain tactical reconnaissance and prevent terror attacks and can be easily deployed on level ground," like for example, Tibet and islands of the South China Sea.</li></ul>China commitment to new-tech military hardware are proof that it's latest laser weapons have a "bright future" on the international arms market, <a href="http://en.people.cn/n3/2018/1228/c90000-9532928.html">state media has claimed</a> in multiple write-ups aimed at international arms dealers and nation-state buyers.China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, has developed a road-mobile laser defense system called the <a href="http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1126939.shtml">LW-30,</a> which uses a high-energy laser beam to destroy targets.CASIC, China's largest maker of missiles, has also brought the CM-401 supersonic anti-ship ballistic missile to market, describing it to the China Daily as capable of making rapid, precision strikes against medium-sized or large vessels, or against land targets. For a closer look at the CM-401, visit <a href="https://www.janes.com/article/84372/airshow-china-2018-casic-unveils-cm-401-anti-ship-missile-system">Jane's Defense weekly</a> here. CASIC claims the weapon uses a "near-space trajectory", which means it flies up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the ground, maneuvering at hypersonic speeds towards its target.Meanwhile, China South Industries Group Corporation (CSIGC) a major manufacturer of military ground weapons, wants to secure buyers for its mine-clearing laser gun.Carried by a light-duty armored vehicle and together with the laser weapon system, CSICG unveiled the laser weapon during the recent Zhuhai China 2018 air show, creatively called the "light-vehicle laser demining and detonation system." The system can destroy explosive devices such as mines through high-power laser irradiation at a long distance, avoiding casualties caused by manual bomb disposal, designers told state-owned media.<h3>Flying off the shelves</h3><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>According to <a href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/csg.htm">Global Security</a>, CSIGC is an especially large and internationally operating state-owned corporate established under the State Council, which falls under the purview of Premier Li Keqiang.With splashes across all the major state-owned foreign language media, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) has begun a strange sales strategy for its newly developed<a href="http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1126939.shtml"> road-mobile laser defense system</a>.China has pumped money and perhaps a little hyperbole into its laser weaponry research, but according to state media, the LW-30 is going to fly off the shelves.The LW-30 uses a high-energy laser beam to destroy targets ranging from drones and guided bombs to mortar shells. It features high efficiency, rapid response, a good hit rate and flexibility, according to CASIC.An LW-30 combat unit includes one radar-equipped vehicle for battlefield communications and control and at least one laser gun-carrying vehicle and one logistical support vehicle.The laser gun can be deployed with close-in weapons systems and air-defense missiles to form a defensive network free of blind spots, CASIC claims.According to <a href="http://en.people.cn/n3/2018/1228/c90000-9532928.html">The People's Daily</a>, in a typical scenario, the LW-30's radar will scan, detect and track an incoming target before transmitting the information to the laser gun.The gun will reportedly then analyze the most vulnerable part of the target and lay a laser beam onto it."Destruction takes place in a matter of seconds," according to People's.As part of the sales pitch, People's cited a Beijing-based "observer of advanced weaponry," who seemed to suggest that the new laser weapons were a more effective and less expensive way to intercept guided weaponry.Wu Peixin, the said "observer of advanced weaponry" told <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201812/28/WS5c2571f7a310d91214051610.html">China Daily</a> the new weapons would sell well on arms markets."Therefore, a laser gun is the most suitable weapon to defend against these threats," he said. "Every military power in the world has been striving to develop laser weapons. They have bright prospects in the international arms market."In addition to CASIC, other state-owned defense conglomerates are ready to take their laser weapon systems to market, although <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a22088889/styropyro-laser-debunking/">science has it's doubters</a>.China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation is the world's largest shipbuilder, and its technology is undoubtedly dual-use. That is to say, one of the reasons <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-chinas-new-missile-destroyers-stack-up-against-the-us-navy-2018-8">China's navy has been built up so quickly</a> is because of the initial investments made way back by Deng Xiao Ping to revive China's shipbuilding capacity - all but ignored under Mao Zedong - have resulted in CSIC and other shipbuilders producing both leisure and military naval technology.CSIC meanwhile, claims has made another vehicle-mounted laser weapon that integrates detection and control devices and the laser gun in one six-wheeled vehicle."Observers said the system should be fielded to deal with low-flying targets such as small unmanned aircraft," <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201812/28/WS5c2571f7a310d91214051610.html">state media said.</a><h3>Showcasing a defense industrial base amid rising global tensions</h3><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>Before <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/2176752/misfire-big-shot-how-military-helped-china-open-and-become-force">market reforms reinvigorated</a> the People's liberation Army and the defense industry in China, five corporations and one ministry represented China's defense industrial base, now each of the five corporations have been divided into two competing corporations in the shipbuilding, aviation, nuclear, ordnance and missile/aerospace arenas.The current organization of China's defense industrial base is pretty simple - two competing corporations face one a other in the five key divisions through shipbuilding, aviation, nuclear, ordnance and missile/aerospace.These include China North Industries Group Corporation (CNIGC) and China South Industries Group Corporation (CSIGC). Each with friendlier subordinate import/export set ups - China North Industries Corporation and China Great Wall Industries Corporation - which facilitate import and sales of commercial and military goods for profit. Strategic competition with the US is pushing China to speed up the development of new weaponry, from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/chinese-railgun-toting-ship-has-apparently-set-sail-2018-12">rail gun technology</a>, laser weaponry and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-hypersonic-weapons-test-likely-a-warning-to-the-us-2018-8">hypersonic vehicles</a> and is probably fast tracking and promoting its military inroads amid rising geopolitical tensions.

State-owned media is pitching China's latest hypersonic missiles and laser weapons to the global arms market

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A state-owned Chinese shipbuilder said it's debuted the design of a "mothership" for its coast guard.</li><li>Military bloggers in China speculate that it might be an aircraft carrier or a drone platform for the high seas.</li></ul>In early August, military bloggers started buzzing about a small detail on a Chinese shipbuilder's social media.The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI0OTM4NTY4Mw==&amp;mid=2247544555&amp;idx=1&amp;sn=2a0daccf6516a5fb7e67456de87f44a4&amp;chksm=e813108a6efbbb5b86e4e230613167502c5b0e34b5a2426455d352bfd7a722f77394e4733d6a&amp;scene=27">state-owned 708th Shipbuilding Research Institute</a> said on August 8 that it's planning something new to meet the local coast guard's needs — a "mothership" that can operate in the far seas.Little else about the project was revealed. The announcement only said the institute had debuted the ship's design at a coast guard equipment conference in Zhejiang.The shipbuilder said the vessel was designed according to "system and mission requirements" from the coast guard.But the Chinese words for "mothership" are also the words used for "carrier," leading <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1807422496324243499&amp;wfr=spider&amp;for=pc">local bloggers to discuss</a> in earnest what the new vessel could be.A law enforcement agency running a carrier-equivalent ship would be unprecedented in a world where coast guards typically rely on smaller, faster ships.Yet China has recently been looking into bigger and bolder vessels for its coast guard that are strikingly similar to its naval assets, indicating that Beijing has ambitious plans for the organization.In the early summer, it sent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beijings-monster-coastguard-ship-ramps-up-tensions-south-china-sea-2024-7">two new gigantic "monster ships"</a> into the South China Sea, startling its neighbors. Each displaces 12,000 tons and is 541 feet long, or three times the size of the US Coast Guard's cutters."Size does matter," John Michael Dahm, a former US Navy intelligence officer and a senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told Business Insider. "A vessel's size and displacement often translate directly into capabilities. A bigger ship means more people, more weapons, more fuel, more endurance, more range."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.163.com/dy/article/J9G7T7JM0515CA2O.html">Some bloggers</a> speculated that the new "mothership" could be an aircraft carrier, though China's coast guard rarely uses manned planes for its daily operations.It's more likely, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://mil.sohu.com/a/799969564_100092631">others posited</a>, that Beijing is planning a drone platform or helicopter landing dock that can sail on the high seas.<h2 id="07f342e2-8828-4941-afc5-f1f37be0adf0">The world's first drone carriers?</h2>Without photos or videos of the design, international experts can only guess what form the ship will take.Maritime drone platforms are still a novel concept, but there are signs that China is building at least one. In May, Dahm identified a large Chinese ship under construction at a Jiangsu shipyard, which he said is likely the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2024/05/china-builds-worlds-first-dedicated-drone-carrier/">world's first dedicated drone carrier.</a>Still, that shipyard is run by a different shipbuilder, so there's no evidence that this Jiangsu carrier is related to the coast guard "mothership."To Dahm, it's not yet clear if this new coast guard vessel is even equivalent to a carrier in function or tonnage."I'm often surprised by how right Chinese bloggers can be about these sorts of things, but in this case, I think they may be overselling 'mothership,'" he said.The 708th Shipbuilding Research Institute said the "mothership" would provide "comprehensive support," and Dahm believes smaller Chinese coast guard vessels could fit the bill."I think the Chinese are trying to create more options," said Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.Koh also thinks the "mothership" is more likely a drone carrier, at about 10,000 to 20,000 tons, instead of a full-size aircraft carrier at 85,000 tons.<div type="image" title="An aerial drone photo taken on May 1 shows China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, during its maiden sea trials." height="2260" width="3390" msid="112639407" hostid="261" sizebytes="654646"></div>China's coast guard already has a large fleet of more than 200 patrolling vessels. But if it wants to further contest territory in the South China Sea — its most high-profile area of operations — it has to figure out how to efficiently repair and resupply its ships at a distance.A drone carrier could circumvent that issue, Koh said, allowing Beijing to maintain a 24/7 presence by deploying in a central location and sending out the drones repeatedly."If you put drones and small craft into a very strategic area, it could have a pretty big coverage. That's likely the Chinese strategy," Koh said.Notably, Japan is planning a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/defense-security/20240608-190811/">similarly massive coast guard vessel</a> that it says will displace some 30,000 tons and be an "offshore base" for other ships. The largest ship in its current coast guard fleet is 6,500 tons.<h2 id="a8bd2f80-74c1-4fa2-96ca-15b1bf05cfb8">China saying 'far seas' could be a clue</h2>The 708th's description of its new vessel as a "far seas" support ship also indicates that Beijing may have plans to use its coast guard further abroad.China has, in the last 10 years, promoted the idea of defending its interests overseas with naval assets, in the same way that the US Navy patrols waters all over the world."As part of its Belt and Road Initiative strategy, China seems to be growing the role and presence of its coast guard in the South Pacific, after doing the same in Southeast Asia," said Benjamin Blandin, a researcher and network coordinator at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies."But there is a big step from planning to operational reality," he added. China still needs a network of ports and resupply points to operate efficiently on the high seas.Dahm said China will have an easier time putting its ships in foreign territory if they're painted in coast guard livery."Having coast guard vessels working with host nation law enforcement is a much better look for China than a big gray warship bristling with missiles," he said.The international press center for China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.

China's shipbuilders are teasing a new coast guard 'mothership,' and there's talk it could be an aircraft or drone carrier

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia's Yasen-class submarines have long been seen as a tough challenge for the US Navy.</li><li>They are quiet and able to carry torpedoes as well as Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles.</li></ul>The head of a top Russian shipbuilder revealed Monday that work is underway to arm some of Russia's most troubling guided-missile submarines with Zircon hypersonic weapons.Following the fielding of the weapon aboard a Russian navy frigate, "multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the Yasen-M project will also be equipped with the Zircon missile system," Alexei Rakhmanov, general director of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, <a href="https://ria.ru/20230814/rakhmanov-1889519222.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the state-run RIA news agency, confirming certain long-standing expectations.He <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-equip-new-nuclear-submarines-with-hypersonic-missiles-2023-08-14/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> that "work in this direction is already underway."Russia's Yasen-class nuclear-powered cruise-missile submarines are quiet, difficult to track, heavily armed, and able to conduct attacks against land- and sea-based targets. The first sub of the class, the Severodvinsk, was commissioned late in 2013 following decades of design, development, and construction that started during the Cold War.The following year, US Navy Rear Adm. Dave Johnson, then Naval Sea Systems Command's program executive officer for submarines, <a href="https://news.usni.org/2014/10/28/u-s-navy-impressed-new-russian-attack-boat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at a naval symposium that the US would be "be facing tough potential opponents," adding that "one only has to look at the Severodvinsk."The subs built after Severodvinsk are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-northern-fleet-new-class-of-subs-worry-us-navy-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part of the Yasen-M sub-class</a> and have an updated design with more advanced features, such as new quieting technology, new sensors, and a quieter nuclear reactor.<div type="image" title="Russian Navy Yasen-class submarine Kazan" height="1333" width="2000" msid="102733632" hostid="261"></div>Years later, top US defense officials continue to see them as a challenge.Armed with ten torpedo tubes and eight vertical launch system cells able to fire both P-800 Oniks or 3M-14 Kalibr missiles, these submarines are already considered formidable undersea threats, and the addition of the Zircon, sometimes spelled Tsirkon, missile is only expected to increase that threat.US Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said in 2021 that Russia was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russias-newest-subs-on-par-us-top-us-commanders-say-2021-6">fielding capabilities</a> able "to hold the homeland at risk," including some "very quiet submarines" such as the Yasen-class submarines, which the US and NATO call the Severodvinsk class.The Russian Yasen-class submarines "are designed to deploy undetected within cruise-missile range of our coastlines to threaten critical infrastructure during an escalating crisis," the commander said a year later in congressional testimony.He added that the "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nato-trains-for-anti-submarine-warfare-amid-russia-ukraine-attack-2022-3">challenge</a>" posed by these Russian submarines "will be compounded in the next few years as the Russian Navy adds the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile to the Severodvinsk's arsenal."At that time, Russia had only two Yasen-class subs, but their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-yasen-class-subs-land-attack-missiles-worry-nato-militaries-2022-7">numbers have grown</a>. Three boats are already active, one is going through trials, and Rakhmanov, the senior shipbuilding official who spoke to Russian media, <a href="https://ria.ru/20230814/podlodka-1889899681.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Monday that the fifth Yasen-class submarine will be launched later this year.<h2>'A promising weapon' that's not unchallenged</h2><div type="image" title="In this image taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, May 28, 2022, a new Zircon hypersonic cruise missile is launched by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov of the Russian navy from the Barents Sea." height="3667" width="4890" msid="102733634" hostid="261"></div>Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed the development of the scramjet-powered 3M22 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-threatens-to-target-us-with-new-weapons-2019-2">Zircon hypersonic missile</a> in 2019 — the year before the weapon's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-russia-warship-firing-new-hypersonic-missile-putin-birthday-2020-10">first test</a> aboard the Project 22350 frigate Admiral Gorshkov — and claimed that the missile could reach speeds of Mach 9 and strike targets more than 600 miles away.It is unclear if the missile can actually achieve the stated capabilities. In 2021, following a series of weapon tests aboard the Admiral Gorshkov, Russia <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-test-fires-new-hypersonic-missile-from-submarine-2021-10">test-fired a Zircon missile</a> from the lead boat of the Yasen class, the Severodvinsk, firing once while surfaced and another while submerged.It may still be some time before Russia's Yasen-class submarines <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-sending-warship-into-atlantic-armed-with-hypersonic-missiles-2023-1">deploy with hypersonic weapons</a>, but the Admiral Gorshkov set sail earlier this year on a deployment that took it into the Atlantic Ocean armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles.As the warship deployed, Putin said Russia will continue to develop weapons to "guard Russia's security in the coming decades" and called the Zircon "a promising weapon."Hypersonic missiles like the Zircon are a key area of competition between the US and rivals Russia and China, and all three are racing to field this technology.The weapons are highly sought-after because they are difficult to counter with existing air and missile defenses due to their high speeds of at least five times the speed of sound and, more importantly, their maneuverability and low, unpredictable flight paths.<div type="image" title="The Virginia-class, nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine, USS North Dakota (SSN 784)" height="750" width="1000" msid="102733636" hostid="261"></div>The US Navy has been developing its own hypersonic weapon called the Conventional Prompt Strike weapon, which uses the Common Hypersonic Glide Body jointly developed by the Army and the Navy.USS Zumwalt, the lead ship of a class of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/destroyer-zumwalt-trading-troubled-main-guns-for-hypersonic-missile-launchers-2023-8">stealthy destroyers</a>, departed San Diego earlier this month for Pascagoula, Mississippi, home of Ingalls Shipbuilding, to "receive technology upgrades including the integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike weapons system," the Navy said in a statement.The sea service argued that the "upgrades will ensure Zumwalt remains one of the most technologically advanced and lethal ships in the US Navy."The Navy has indicated that it intends to deploy hypersonic weapons aboard <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zumwalt-destroyers-will-be-first-to-get-hypersonic-missiles-navy-2021-4" rel="">Zumwalt-class destroyers by 2025</a>, replacing their impotent deck guns, the twin 155mm Advanced Gun System, and then deploy them on its Virginia-class attack submarines by the end of this decade.

Seen by the US military as a threat for years, Russia's Yasen-class submarines are now on track to get hypersonic missiles

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The new, first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is decked out with new technology, but work on the ship has been waylaid by cost overruns and delays.</li><li>Those issues have been a sore spot between lawmakers, the Navy, and the shipbuilder, but the last six months have seen marked progress, according to the service's top civilian official.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>The US Navy's newest carrier, the first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford, finished 2019 as the subject of a war of words between, Congress, the Navy's top civilian official, and the shipbuilder, Huntington Ingalls Industries.In October, after criticism from lawmakers over the new carrier, then-Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said confidence in the company's senior leadership was "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-secretary-slams-congress-for-criticizing-uss-gerald-r-ford-2019-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">very, very low</a>" and that it had "no idea" what it was doing.The Ford has a suite of new technology, and its development has been plagued by cost overruns and delays - its delivery to the Navy in May 2017 was two years late - though work on it is progressing.The Ford, now in the fifth month of its 18-month post-delivery test and trials period, finished aircraft compatibility testing at the end of January and certified its flight deck and carrier air-traffic control center on March 20.Those events attest to progress on the ship's most important systems, but "the most telling" indicator is its sailors, acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said this week. (Spencer was ousted in December over an unrelated matter.)"To talk to the sailors on the ship and see how they feel about it, particularly the ones that have served on a Nimitz carrier before, they understand the difference. They recognize how much more advanced this carrier is, how much easier ... and safer it is for them to do their jobs," Modly said on a March 25 edition of <a href="https://defaeroreport.com/2020/03/24/defaero-report-daily-podcast-mar-25-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Defense and Aerospace Report podcast</a>."Many of them told me they never want to go back to a Nimitz carrier after being on this one," Modly added, "and that's for a ship that's still sort of working through its shakedowns here. So I think that's a very telling sign, and generally I think you get to the ground truth when you talk to them."<h2>'A disaster up until now'</h2>The Ford is not out of the woods. The highest-profile problem now is its Advanced Weapons Elevators, which use electromagnetic motors <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-secretary-modly-theres-been-progress-on-ford-weapons-elevators-2020-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to lift more weaponry faster</a> than elevators on Nimitz-class carriers. Four of the carrier's 11 elevators have been certified for use, and a fifth soon will be, Modly said. "The four that have been certified have had thousands and thousands of cycles on them with no problems - the fifth one, same thing."Shipbuilders are looking to certify two more elevators this year and to finish the rest around this time next year, Modly added, echoing comments he made in January, when he said the elevators had been "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-secretary-modly-theres-been-progress-on-ford-weapons-elevators-2020-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a disaster up until now</a>."The problem isn't that the elevators are broken, Modly said on the podcast. "It's just they haven't been installed completely yet. They're still in the installation process, and that's just taking a lot longer than the shipyard thought it would take."Once the elevators are installed the main challenge is the 70 doors and hatches through which they move between the lower deck, the main deck, and the flight deck."The doors and hatches have to seal completely or else the elevator won't proceed through the different various decks, and there's no way to override that," Modly said.Of those 70 doors and hatches, "there's 20 of them that are left to be done," Modly said. "When you look at the volume of work, even though there's still five elevators, the doors, which are the biggest problem, they've been knocking those down pretty well."Other issues continue to come to light. The last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS George H.W. Bush, and the Ford were built with new toilet and sewage systems, like those on commercial airliners but scaled up for a crew of 5,000.According to a recent Government Accountability Office report, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/unclogging-the-toilets-on-the-navys-newest-carriers-costs-400000-2020-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Navy has found</a> it needs to "acid flush" those sewage systems "on a regular basis" to "address unexpected and frequent clogging."Each acid flush costs about $400,000, and, the report says, "the Navy has yet to determine how often and for how many ships this action will need to be repeated."Modly said he didn't have any details on the toilets but said he had "put a big spotlight" on the new carrier and was "actually very pleased with where the Ford is right now.""It's made significant progress in the last six months," Modly said, adding that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-aircraft-carrier-ford-completes-certifications-amid-coronavirus-2020-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with its recent certifications</a>, the Ford will soon be "the only ship that we have on the East Coast that really is qualified to do all of our carrier certifications" the rest of the year."So it's going to be contributing to the mission and to the operation of the Navy starting in the next couple of months," Modly said.<h2>'No indications' of the coronavirus on Ford</h2>The Ford's achievements this month came as much of the Navy started to grapple with the spread of the coronavirus.The first sailor tested positive for the virus on March 13. That <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-spread-more-us-navy-sailors-ships-in-san-diego-2020-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sailor and several more</a> who tested positive were assigned to ships in port in San Diego. The first deployed ship with a case was the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is now in Guam, where <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-to-test-entire-aircraft-carrier-crew-for-coronavirus-2020-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its 5,000 crew will remain aboard</a> and be tested for the virus.The TR visited Vietnam in early March, but the flights and personnel moving on and off the carrier make it hard to determine the origin of its outbreak.The Ford has also been conducting flight operations and hosting visitors. The Navy's top officer, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday, said Tuesday that "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-aircraft-carrier-ford-completes-certifications-amid-coronavirus-2020-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a couple of hundred shipyard workers</a>" were on the Ford during its recent certifications, working to keep it "at pace and on schedule" for deployment.Newport News Shipbuilding is the only designer and builder of aircraft carriers for the Navy, and as of Wednesday, three of its employees <a href="https://www.wavy.com/news/health/coronavirus/newport-news-shipbuilding-announces-third-positive-case-of-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">had tested positive</a> for the coronavirus, two of whom haven't been on company property since March 16."Newport News Shipbuilding employees temporarily assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) are required to follow any health protocols established by the ship," Duane Bourne, a spokesman for NNS, said in an email Friday.Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg, public affairs officer for the Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic, said Thursday that there had been "no indications" of the coronavirus among any crew or passengers aboard the Ford and because of that, "testing off of the ship has not been required for any previous or currently embarked personnel."The Ford is complying with Defense Department guidance and only sails with mission-essential personnel who have also complied with required medical guidelines, Cragg said.Aboard the Ford, the "crew is maintaining stringent cleanliness standards in support of the crew's health and maintaining overall mission readiness to continue carrier qualifications with fleet aviators," Cragg added.

US Navy's top official says its new, first-in-class carrier is improving and sailors don't want to get off

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li style="text-align: left;">China has unveiled what it calls a "world-leading unmanned warship" as great power rivals look to develop crewless vessels for combat.</li><li style="text-align: left;">The JARI multi-purpose unmanned combat vessel is ready for combat, the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation said, according to Chinese media.</li><li style="text-align: left;">The 50-foot-long ship can purportedly conduct air-defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine missions, although it remains unclear how effectively it can accomplish these missions.</li><li style="text-align: left;">"It may only be good for patrolling around China's islands in the South China Sea or around Chinese ports," a US <keyword id="6354810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="defense">defense</keyword> expert said.</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>China has launched a new "world-leading unmanned warship" that is supposedly ready for combat, Chinese media reports.The JARI multi-purpose unmanned combat vessel, a new product of the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, is 50 feet in length and displaces 20 tons. Chinese media reports that this ship is capable of conducting the same missions as China's Type 052 destroyers, namely air-defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine missions.Chinese military observers refer to China's latest development as a "mini Aegis-class destroyer" because of its radars, vertically-launched missiles and torpedoes, the Global Times <a href="http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1162320.shtml">reports</a>, referencing the US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, many of which are equipped with powerful Aegis radars, surface-to-air missiles, and anti-submarine warfare capabilities."This is [People's Liberation Army] vaporware," Bryan Clark, a US defense expert and former naval officer, told Insider, referencing technology that is a bit more conceptual than applicable."The boat is very similar to commercially-available&#xa0;unmanned harbor patrol vessels," he said."Like those boats, there is a mount on the forward deck that would normally carry a machine gun. It may also have some vertically-launched rockets or small missiles in cells on the rear deck or behind the gun."China has yet to say what type of missions this vessel might conduct. "This boat doesn't have the range for operations very far from Chinese territory. Therefore, it may only be good for patrolling around China's islands in the South China Sea or around Chinese ports," he said.China first revealed a model of the JARI unmanned warship last year in South Africa at the Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition, where a China industry representative <a href="http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/defence-news/2018/september-2018-navy-naval-defense-news/6515-aad-2018-china-s-csoc-unveils-jari-unmanned-surface-combatant-usv.html">explained</a> to Navy Recognition that the medium-sized vessel is propelled by a single water jet, has a maximum speed of 42 knots, and has a maximum range of 500 nautical miles.The model showed a 30mm main gun with eight vertical launch systems behind the cannon and two light torpedo launchers on each side of the superstructure.Another model was again showcased at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi back in February, where Defense News <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/idex/2019/02/18/china-is-working-on-killer-robot-ships-of-its-own/">noted</a> that the vessel included an electro-optical sensor, a phased array radar, a dipping sonar, and a rocket launcher, among the previously mentioned features.It is unclear how many of these features have been effectively incorporated into the final design. There are actually quite a few uncertainties surrounding this technology.Seth Cropsey, a seapower expert at the Hudson Institute, told Insider that China is getting better and better at technology but said there are questions of "how soon the Chinese can field this, what its real capabilities are versus what its advertised capabilities are and, this is important, how many of these things they are going to put out to sea."The JARI can, the Global Times <a href="http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1162320.shtml">reports</a>, be controlled remotely or operate autonomously, although more testing is required before it can fully do the latter. Chinese military analysts have talked about this vessel being used with other drone ships to create a swarm.The US military has <a href="https://news.usni.org/2019/08/14/navy-issues-draft-request-for-proposal-for-large-unmanned-surface-vehicle">experimented</a> with small crewless swarm boats, as well as medium-sized unmanned surface vessels like the Sea Hunter being developed by the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.Earlier this month, the US Navy <a href="https://news.usni.org/2019/08/14/navy-issues-draft-request-for-proposal-for-large-unmanned-surface-vehicle">expressed</a> an interest in the development of a large unmanned surface vessel, "a high-endurance, reconfigurable ship able to accommodate various payloads for unmanned missions to augment the Navy's manned surface force."The Navy has said that it is pursuing "a balance of high-end, survivable manned platforms with a greater number of complementary, more affordable, potentially more cost-imposing, and attritable options."Expert observers suspect the new revelation is a response to US Navy plans. "I believe one of the drivers for this rollout from the PLA is the US Navy's recent announcement of its proposed Large USV," Clark told Insider.Cropsey explained that "this is a start" for the Chinese, but added that "it doesn't really compare to what we're planning."<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/drones-101?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=drone&amp;itm_campaign=drones-101"></a><div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/circle-of-heroes-underwater-memorial-military-veterans-florida-2019-8">A new underwater memorial honors US military veterans and serves as an artificial reef to preserve marine life</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

China shows its hand in the intensifying competition with the US to sail unmanned warships

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China has the world's largest coast guard fleet, and it's still building up on an ambitious scale.</li><li>It's been taking ships from its navy and could be getting its own vessel modeled after a destroyer.</li></ul>In May, military experts spied a peculiar, half-built vessel sitting among warships at a Shanghai dockyard.Satellite images showed it had the shape and size of a Type-052D, an advanced guided-missile destroyer in China's navy.But this ship was missing key features, such as a vertical launch system for missiles and its "Dragon's Eye" radar, a standard system for Chinese warships. Its main gun was also smaller than usual.One detail stood out above all: the paint job. Chinese navy ships are gray, and this apparent Type-052D came in white — the mark of a coast guard vessel.The discovery led to speculation, which has since been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3274494/chinese-coastguard-set-get-new-ship-modelled-advanced-type-052d-destroyer">backed up by local reports</a>, that China's coast guard, a law enforcement agency, was obtaining a ship modeled after a 6,500-ton naval destroyer.The vessel is just one of several big-ticket acquisitions believed to be destined for the maritime force, which is now at a stage where its capabilities likely carry serious implications if Beijing goes to war with another naval power.The policing body, moved in 2018 to fall under military command, is undergoing one of the world's most aggressive expansions at a time when the Chinese coast guard is increasingly becoming the center of tensions with its neighbors.The sheer size and strength of its fleet, estimated at 250 vessels of at least 500 tons each, has led to Western experts often calling it a "second navy."And it's continued to break ground with bigger and bolder ships. Earlier this month, a state-run shipbuilding institute announced it was preparing an unspecified "mothership" for the high seas, leading to rumors that the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-mothership-coast-guard-drone-aircraft-carrier-south-sea-2024-8">coast guard was due to receive a seafaring drone carrier.</a>In July, China anchored one of its two "Monster" ships — the world's largest-ever coast guard vessels displacing 12,000 tons each — in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. It was an incredible show of power, which Manila accused of being an intimidation tactic.<div type="image" title="The Chinese coast guard vessel nicknamed the &quot;Monster&quot; rests on Philippine waters." height="1200" width="1600" msid="112824071" hostid="261" sizebytes="52286"></div>Experts think Beijing's ambitions for the agency are global. China has made it no secret that it intends to expand its maritime strength for distant operations, establishing a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2019/05/the-pla-navys-strategic-transformation-to-the-far-seas-how-far-how-threatening-and-whats-to-be-done?lang=en">"far-seas protection" doctrine</a> in 2015.Its coast guard looks poised to play a significant role, John Michael Dahm, a former US Navy intelligence officer and a senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told Business Insider."That the Chinese coast guard would use these new, larger ships and capabilities to establish a security presence farther from China probably has the largest security implications for the US and its allies," Dahm said. "Not just in Asia, but around the world."<h2 id="9114ae90-a9d2-47b8-b25c-dd9693d3c8eb">Why a destroyer?</h2>China's coast guard expansion isn't happening in isolation. It's locked in a pseudo-arms race with its neighbors in the resource-rich East and South China Seas, chiefly Japan and the Philippines. Both are US allies.Beijing has, for decades, already been beefing up its coast guard with dozens of former People's Liberation Army Navy ships, including corvettes that were decommissioned and modified to remove heavy weaponry.But its rivals have recently started working more closely as tensions mount over regional disputes, most of which China has been accused of initiating.Manila is upgrading its coast guard with five Japan-made ships worth a total of $400 million, while Tokyo is planning a giant <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://thediplomat.com/2024/07/japan-to-build-major-new-vessel-for-the-senkaku-islands/">30,000-ton vessel</a> for its respectable 150-ship policing fleet."Size does matter," Dahm said. "A vessel's size and displacement often translate directly into capabilities. A bigger ship means more people, more weapons, more fuel, more endurance, more range."Western experts think the destroyer-esque ship being assembled in Shanghai is part of China's effort to stay ahead."China is upping the ante again by bringing in the most kind of modern, advanced form of a coast guard ship," said Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. "We should see it more as a naval ship than a coast guard ship."<div type="image" title="The type 052D guided missile destroyer Guiyang of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy participates in a naval parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of China's PLA Navy in the sea near Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong province in April 2019." height="3272" width="4908" msid="112824072" hostid="261" sizebytes="389088"></div>From China's perspective, a destroyer-sized ship would fill a gap in its fleet, said Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.The coast guard's regular fleet goes up to 4,000 tons, before a dramatic leap to its 12,000-ton "Monster" ships.Koh said China's "Monster" ship may have been staring down the Philippines in the South China Sea, but it's impractical to station such vessels so far away for extended periods."It's expensive to operate and deploy this sort of ship, because it's too big and it's not suited for this purpose," Koh said. "It's meant more as a command ship and a disaster relief platform than to go out there and show force."A ship modeled after the Type-052D destroyer, at 6,500 tons, could fill that power-projecting purpose, especially if produced in greater numbers, Koh added.Questions also remain as to what sort of vessel China is planning for its teased coast guard "mothership." Local pundits have <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-mothership-coast-guard-drone-aircraft-carrier-south-sea-2024-8">guessed it may be a drone carrier or even an aircraft carrier</a>, though the latter is unlikely.The build-up seems a world away from what's traditionally been understood as the coast guard's role: to police fishermen and deter smugglers.Japan's coast guard already has five 6,500-ton patrol ships, and if China expands its own agency with vessels of that class, the region is set to be filled by warship-sized boats jockeying for dominance.For comparison, the US Coast Guard's largest cutters are the size of frigates, at about 4,500 tons."Anything the China coast guard does might be considered unprecedented at this point," said Dahm of the Mitchell Institute.<h2 id="3c5b5737-5ed3-4a3f-aeed-69b3fd84f11e">A coast guard that can go to war</h2>One of the most significant developments of a burgeoning Chinese coast guard is that its ships might make a difference in a war.The US Navy far outstrips Beijing's in raw tonnage and firepower, but it is losing out in the numbers game, with roughly 300 vessels to the Chinese navy's 370. Add a sizable coast guard force, and China stands to far exceed Washington's count."They're using quite common baseline hulls as existing PLAN vessels," said Koh. "And that gives us the impression that they're maintaining some level of platform commonality."That's important, because a common platform leaves open the possibility of adding naval weapons to coast guard ships."A coast guard Type-052D might have no vertical launch system on board, but it still has enough deck space to mount weapons," said Koh.The navy corvettes obtained by the coast guard, for example, might possibly be refitted with their old weapons."If they can remove some systems, it means they can be reinstalled in times of conflict," Koh said.<div type="image" title="The Type 056 patrol vessel of the Chinese Coast Guard in Zhifu Bay, Yantai, East China's Shandong province, Jan 9, 2023." height="2667" width="4000" msid="112824067" hostid="261" sizebytes="608960"></div>Benjamin Blandin, a researcher and network coordinator at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies, told BI that he's noticed the Chinese coast guard also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3268460/china-coast-guard-what-does-it-do-and-how-did-it-become-so-powerful">recently acquired landing craft.</a>"That's quite bizarre to me. I don't know why a coast guard would ever need landing capacities," he said.Legally, little stands in the way of China using its coast guard in open conflict. The agency falls under the People's Armed Police, which reports to central military leadership.Coast guard laws <a target="_blank" class="" href="http://www.mod.gov.cn/gfbw/fgwx/flfg/4877678.html">were also changed in 2021 </a>to allow the use of force when China's "sovereign rights and jurisdiction are infringed upon.""Clearly, they are being treated by the Chinese authorities as a navy reserve or a navy auxiliary," Blandin said.China's foreign ministry press center did not respond to a request for comment sent by BI.<h2 id="6b7c5a4b-0117-435a-803e-8d9b8d7e6228">Ambitions for a global policing force</h2>A key element in China's announcement for its coast guard "mothership" was the phrase "far seas."Almost nothing has been revealed about the new ship, but Chinese shipbuilders said it's designed to provide "comprehensive support" on long-range missions.That's a clue that China might intend to send its coast guard on missions far beyond the East and South China Seas, Dahm said."For example, in the not-too-distant future, will the Chinese coast guard be patrolling the coast of West Africa to secure Chinese off-shore oil projects?" Dahm said. "What about the CCG offering police services to small island nations in the South Pacific?"The US Coast Guard has been deploying more frequently to distant <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3325923/uscgc-spencer-returns-to-portsmouth-after-an-88-day-african-patrol/">regions like Africa</a>, providing training for host countries and security for their waters. Dahm said China could seek to do the same to boost its own influence.Blandin of YCAPS said sailing under the coast guard also gives China's ships a softer touch in international relations, even if they might be formidable vessels."It's not a gray navy hull, it's a white hull. White-hull ships are nice people, right?" he said. "It's just that they use water cannons. It's just that they ram other boats. If they behave in the South Pacific like they behave in the South China Sea, I predict a lot of trouble."

You Searched For "aerospace and naval shipbuilding" and got 7 results

Draft defence policy aims to achieve ₹1.75 lakh crore turnover by 2025

IANS

State-owned media is pitching China's latest hypersonic missiles and laser weapons to the global arms market

Christian Edwards,Christian E…

China's shipbuilders are teasing a new coast guard 'mothership,' and there's talk it could be an aircraft or drone carrier

Matthew Loh

Seen by the US military as a threat for years, Russia's Yasen-class submarines are now on track to get hypersonic missiles

Ryan Pickrell

US Navy's top official says its new, first-in-class carrier is improving and sailors don't want to get off

Christopher Woody

China shows its hand in the intensifying competition with the US to sail unmanned warships

Ryan Pickrell

China's coast guard is looking even more like its '2nd navy,' with 'Monster' ships, a destroyer-level vessel, and a rumored drone carrier

Matthew Loh

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides