Posted on Dec. 29th The government has officially decided to drastically revise the nation’s so-called three principles on arms exports, which would make it possible for Japan to participate in the development and production of military equipment with other countries, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Tuesday. The announcement by the chief government spokesman came [...]

Posted on Dec 21st The new phase of Chinese naval development could include even more new weapons and sensors than the previous phase, if the recent launch of another specialized testing ship is any indication. Last month, the PLA Navy launched“Ship 893,” its third new weapons trials vessel since 2005. Trials ships are equipped with systems [...]

Posted on Dec 21st TOKYO, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Japan picked Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jet as its next mainstay fighter on Tuesday, choosing the aircraft over combat-proven but less stealthy rivals, as concern simmers over North Korea and as China introduces its own stealth fighters. The decision came as Japan and the United States stressed that their [...]

Posted on Dec 14th Japan said it’s close to selecting a supplier for a fighter-jet order that may be worth more than $4 billion after the Yomuiri newspaper reported that Lockheed (LMT) Martin Corp. will win the contest. “We’ve entered the final stages,” Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa told reporters in Tokyo today. “I want to [...]

Posted on Nov 28th Prime Minister Noda is heading to China in December and one of the points on Noda’s agenda will be a request for Chinese help in hunting down the source of the cyber-attacks on Japanese defense manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the attempted unauthorized access to other defense contractors including Kawasaki Heavy [...]

Posted on Nov 28th In 2007 news agency Kanwa exclusively reported from St. Petersburg that China would buy 4 arresters designed by Marine Engineering Research Institute and made by Proletarsky Zavod plant which produces all Russian arresters and arresting hooks. Earlier on, China had contacts with this plant purchasing constituent parts for Project 956E/EM destroyers. Kanwa reported referring to a [...]

Posted on Nov 28th Tensions between China and India rose on after scheduled talks on outstanding border issues were cancelled following a row over a speech by the Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, at a religious event in New Delhi. The spat is the latest in a series of rows as the emerging Asian giants manoeuvre for [...]

Posted on Nov 17th TAIPEI – Members of the U.S. Congress are calling on Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to conduct a National Security Review and a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review of a new joint venture between General Electric (GE) and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). Two letters sent [...]

Posted on Nov 16th South Korean government sources are quoted as saying North Korea’s military recently tested, in the Yellow Sea, new missiles designed to attack ships. The development is viewed as a new threat to South Korea’s patrol ships and destroyers operating in tense waters off the west coast off the Korean peninsula. North [...]

Posted on Nov 10th The U.S. Navy has quietly added a capability to its future carrier-launched unmanned warplane that has the potential to tilt the Pacific balance of power. On November 2, the Navy announced it would add equipment and software for aerial refueling to one of its two in-development X-47B armed drones built by Northrop Grumman. [...]