07 Oct 16. Analysis: Swift strike raises security questions for unarmed vessels. The missile strike on the high-speed vessel Swift has raised some wider questions about defending against anti-ship missiles. Andrew Tate highlights some of the issues
The missile attack on the UAE high-speed vessel Swift on 1 October highlights the potential threat to ships operating in coastal waters. (Emirates News Agency)
Although debate still surrounds the details of the incident in which the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) high-speed vessel (HSV) Swift was attacked off the coast of Yemen on 1 October, the missile strike on Swift highlights the potential threat to ships operating in coastal waters. IHS Jane’s analysis suggests that the weapon used was a Chinese-made ground-launched C-801, fired from a position ashore.
Protection against attack by anti-ship missiles (ASMs) while operating on the high seas is a fundamental requirement for a warship’s weapon systems, with the ships and weapons also perhaps being responsible for protecting other, unarmed vessels. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
06 Oct 16. China Declines to Comment Information on Russian Su-35 Fighter Jet Delivery. Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun has declined to comment information that Russia will deliver four Sukhoi Su-35 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) fighter jets to China before the year-end.
“Russia and China continue cooperating in the sphere of combat aircraft,” he said at a regular briefing conference.
“Bilateral interaction in the aviation and other spheres is developing in accordance with the program,” he added.
Governor of the Khabarovsk Territory Vyacheslav Shport said on September 15 that the Gagarin Aircraft Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia’s Far East would deliver four out of 24 Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets to China before the yearend.
It was reported earlier that a contract for the delivery of 24 Su-35 multipurpose fighter jets to China had been signed in November 2015. The deal is estimated at more than $2bn.
Head of Russia’s state hi-tech corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov said in March that the deliveries “will not start this year.” (Source: defence-aerospace.com)
07 Oct 16. Report: Qatar continues to invest in military modernisation. Qatar’s annual defence expenditure stands at $4.4bn in 2016 and is estimated to reach $4.9bn in 2021, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 1.82%, according to a report by Strategic Defence Intelligence (SDI).
Titled ‘Future of the Qatari Defense Industry – Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2021’, the report analyses the current and future trends of Qatari defence sector.
The nation’s capital expenditure allocation is $1.1bn in 2016, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.65%, to reach $1.6bn in 2021. The defence expenditure is likely to be driven by the military modernisation, the arms race in the Middle East region, and a possible security threat from terrorism. The Qatari Defence Ministry is anticipated to acquire attack and multi-utility helicopters, missile defence systems, fighter aircraft, main battle tanks, and early warning radar systems. The Ministry also plans to procure cameras, wireless systems, airport security, biometric systems, video-surveillance systems, training, and cyber security software to facilitate the hosting of soccer World Cup 2022. The nation relies on foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to source advanced defence systems, as the domestic defence industry lacks production know-how to meet the needs of modern defence equipment and systems. Qatar currently imports more than 70% of its defence equipment from the US manufacturers. The nation, however, intends to source equipment from Germany, Italy and France for reducing dependency on a single country. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
07 Oct 16. Report: US to remain a dominant defence exporter to Qatar. Qatar, which has the world’s highest gross domestic product (GDP) per c