European Tech to India, China
* India is reportedly looking to sign contracts with Germany’s Atlas Elektronik to upgrade 64 heavyweight torpedoes on its 4 U209/ Shishumar Class submarines. Their submarine force could sure use the help, and they’re reportedly talking to the Russians about renting another SSN Akula Class nuke boat.
* The Indian Navy also intends to buy towed array sonars to equip 16 ships: their Delhi Class and Kolkata Class destroyers, Talwar Class and Shivalik Class frigates, and Kamorta Class corvette.
* Rick Fisher from the International Assessment and Strategy Center think tank said during a recent hearing at US House Committee on Foreign Affairs that China is benefiting from European dual-use technology to improve its submarines, surface ships and helicopters.
While South Korea Eyes Exports
* The Financial Times notes South Korea’s rising defense trade volume and ambitions to go further. So far they have imported much more military goods than they have sold, but that ratio has been changing rapidly.
Bandwidth in the Field
* The US Army’s Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS), developed by Raytheon, went through iterations since is initial fielding in 1987, and now could deliver bandwidth of up to 2+Mbps aboard Strykers and other ground vehicles, though the whole capability is not yet used.
Scrapping By
* American troops are scrapping more equipment in Afghanistan than they did when they left Iraq, as they’re not finding the support infrastructure on the Afghan side to make use of all that stuff.
Russian Bombers Love Foreign Escorts
* A few details have emerged regarding the recent interception by modernized Colombian Kfir C10 fighters of 2 Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers flying out of Venezuela. These same bombers had already been monitored by Norwegian F-16s on their way out of Russia.
Canada’s Performance Self-Assessment
* The Department of National Defence released its Departmental Performance Report 2012-13. Mark Collins at the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute questions the Army’s readiness claims, and finds the Air Force “just very vague.”
US Budget Perspective
* Dennis Muilenburg, CEO of Boeing’s defense arm, told AviationWeek that the company is planning for a “full sequestration” scenario.
* From the recent CSIS global security forum, a panel on whether the budget crisis shattered the Cold War consensus on defense budgets: slides [PDF], video below: