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25 Oct 17. Philippines, Russia sign two military deals. “It’s a sovereign decision by the Philippines,” he added. “So it’s not a big issue…other nations are coming to their help.”
The United States and China dominate regional arms trade.
Since 2000, the United States has donated close to $1bn worth of military equipment to the Philippines, ranging from surveillance planes, drones and boats to small arms.
China, which promised to donate a third shipment of small arms after a meeting on Wednesday between Lorenzana and his Chinese counterpart, General Chang Wanquan, has already given the Philippines about $7m in small arms. The deals with the Philippines will allow Russia to expand its arms market in the region, said another senior Philippine official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to media.
The Philippines is now open to buying Russian arms as Manila cultivate
(Source: Reuters)
25 Oct 17. NATO official: Turkey faces ‘consequences’ if purchase of S-400 completed. A top NATO official has warned of “necessary consequences” for Turkey should the alliance member purchase a Russian air-defense system.
Gen. Petr Pavel, chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, said Wednesday that while each nation is free to make its own defense decisions, Turkey’s planned buy of the S-400 system would preclude Anakara from being part of any integrated air-defense system with NATO allies, and may result in other technical restrictions.
“The principal of sovereignty obviously exists in acquisition of defense equipment, but the same way that nations are sovereign in making their decision, they are also sovereign in facing the consequences of that decision,” Pavel told a group of reporters hosted by the Defense Writers Group.
While Turkey announced its choice of the S-400 in September, Ankara has yet to sign final paperwork on the deal, and until they do, Pavel said it is “fair among allies to have that discussion, to raise all concerns and potential difficulties.”
Other concerns raised by Pavel about the system were “most security” focused, noting that even if NATO missile defense systems are not integrated with the S-400, its mere presence “creates challenges for allied assets potentially deployed onto the territory of that country.”
Notably, Turkey is both a partner nation and a sustainment hub for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program, which is central to the future air power of several NATO nations, including the U.S. and the U.K. Some experts have questioned if an S-400 system active in Turkey could gain information about the stealthy jet that could have operational impact down the line.
Still, Pavel said Turkey remains a key part of NATO, even as outside groups have raised concerns that the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is sliding away from democracy.
(Source: Defense News)
23 Oct 17. A new polyurethane-based material could mean self-hardening, almost impenetrable helmets. Even laser-launched micro bullets could not penetrate the new material developed by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) during tests this month. Made out of polyurethane urea elastomers (PUUs), rather than the polyethylene materials typically used, the new material could be used for helmets, face shields, and vests to protect soldiers under fire. The PUUs are formed through the linkage of the Polyurethane and Polyurea compounds. Both compounds contain negative isocyanate ions, according to a publication by Covestro, an industry specialist.
The resulting PUUs has hyper elastic properties, which means that it bounces back after impact so quickly that it is as though the material is hardening in response to impact, according to Dr. Alex Hsieh of the ARL. Where other materials puncture under levels of strain of around 108/s, PUUs are just compacted to about half their