18 Aug 15. India, US discuss joint development of carrier, further technology ties. India’s deepening strategic and military ties with the United States were recently boosted during three days of technical discussions between their respective naval establishments on jointly developing an aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy (IN). The US embassy in New Delhi said that the US Navy (USN) had hosted an IN delegation at the inaugural Joint Working Group (JWG) on Aircraft Carrier Co-operation in Washington, DC, between 12-14 August. Led by Vice Admiral S P S Cheema, head of India’s Western Naval Command in Mumbai, the IN delegation also visited Gerald Ford: the 100,000-tonne US aircraft carrier under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) in Virginia. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
18 Aug 15. Regional Tensions to Spark Submarine Manufacturing Boom in Asia-Pacific. Asia-Pacific navies are expected to surpass European nations on submarine spending over the next 10 years because of increasing instability in the region, according to a new report. The submarine market in the Asia-Pacific region is valued at $7.3bn this year, but is projected to grow at an annual rate of 4.18 percent to reach $11bn in 2025, according to a new report “The Global Submarine and MRO Market 2015–2025,” produced by Strategic Defence Intelligence, a London-based business information firm. The United States is expected to remain the largest market for submarines, with a projected cumulative spending of $102.2bn over the next decade. The growth in Asia is primarily driven by major countries such as China, India, Australia and South Korea, which are focusing more on developing their naval capabilities. This is attributed to the rising number of maritime conflicts and potential threats in the South China Sea as well as the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the report said. “Growing Chinese assertiveness in disputes over islands in the South China Sea and the rapid modernization of China’s submarine fleet spurred the demand for submarines in countries such as India, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and Vietnam,” Sravan Kumar Gorantala, an analyst at SDI said in a statement. (Source: glstrade.com/National Defense)
18 Aug 15. Indian Arms Exports to get a boost as Ministry of Defence okays 16 broad categories of Products. A formal list of defence items that can be exported has been endorsed by the ministry of defence, bringing India at par with international laws governing arms trade. The move – which identifies 16 broad categories of products that can be exported after clearance – is expected to boost military trade with experts saying that it brings clarity to private companies pursuing export orders. A military stores list, which was drawn up by the directorate general of foreign trade, has been given a go-ahead by South Block, with a new set of rules being framed to manage export clearances. What the list gives is an indication of what India wishes to export in the coming years, after it joins the Wassenaar arrangement, the international export control regime for arms. (Source: glstrade.com/Economic Times.com)
17 Aug 15. Japan slips chasing Australian subs deal. Six months ago, two Japanese companies better known for producing trains and motorcycles were favorites to win a roughly US$20bn Australian defense contract to build submarines, launching them into the nearly US$1.8trn global military hardware market after an almost 50-year ban in Tokyo on weapons exports. But secrecy surrounding the government-led Japanese bid—in contrast to public charm offensives waged by German and French rivals—might scuttle the firms’ chance to win one of the world’s most lucrative weapons deals. The makers of Japan’s Soryu-class submarine, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., haven’t made a single public appearance in Australia. They didn’t attend a government submarine-planning conference in March and declined to appear before a parliamentary hearing last mo