Light Combat Aircraft 'Tejas' in R-Day Parade

Asian Defense News: Bangalore: Indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) 'Tejas' will be seen during the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi on January 26.
Official sources here today said ''the prestigious ''TEJAS'' will be seen in the Republic Day Parade for the first time in New Delhi.''
The two-seater indigenous LCA made its maiden flight at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Airport here on November 26, 2009.
The successful flight flew at an altitude of nine km and attained Mach 0.85. The prototype was flown by Group Captain Ritu Raj Tyagi of the National Flight Test Centre with Project Director (Flight Test) Air Commodore Rohit Varma in the rear.
The IAF is reported to have a requirement for 200 single-seat and 20 two-seat conversion trainers, while the Indian Navy may order up to 40 single-seaters to replace its Sea Harrier FRS.51 and Harrier T.60.
The LCA naval variant is expected to take to the skies by 2009. Recent developments suggest that the aircraft will be inducted into the Indian Air Force by end of 2010 or early 2011.
During its sea level flight trials off Goa during December 2009, Tejas notched a speed of over 1,350 km per hour, thus becoming the first supersonic fighter being manufactured indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

India developing Next Generation Fighter Aircraft

Asian Defense News: Recently when Requirements of MCA now re-named to NGFA (Next Generation Fighter Aircraft) by Indian Air force was made public in section of media , IAF clear dedicates what it wants for NGFA and seems to leave very little room for developers ADE and other DRDO labs .
IAF seems will not compromise on the aircrafts capabilities from the start.
For years NGFA was rumored to be a strike aircraft with secondary role of Air defence capabilities.
Now IAF wants a fully multirole Aircraft with almost all the technology which only a 5th Generation Aircraft like Pak-Fa which India is partnered with Russia for its development will have, India’s contribution to Pak-Fa is limited to sub-system of it avionics and its core software very similar work which was done with Sukhoi-Su30 MKI.
Other then Avionics which can be further developed from Tejas MK-II platform they are tones of other things which NGFA will need to make it truly a 5TH Generation Aircraft .
IAF seems to be clear that it wants most of the Avionics and Engine for NGFA to be indigenous, Specially the AESA Radar; it seems IAF will not settle for AESA which has been developed by LRDE for Tejas Mk-II, it want to be more sophisticated than the Current AESA technology what LDRE is working on and better Avionics and Self-defence systems for the aircraft which will take lot of time unless similar Pak-Fa Avionics package is chosen.
The Kaveri-Snecma Engine based on core of M-88 has been seen has the possible engine which will power NGFA, Details of this engine is still not clear and what level of Technology French will bring is also crucial, GTRE failed to develop current Kaveri engine in time to power Tejas Combat aircraft .
The new engine should be based on consultation with IAF to avoid future disappointments and should be ready in time to power NGFA which will have a tech demonstrator, three prototype vehicles and two production jets. No intermediate Engine has been sought, Kaveri-II have to be ready in time for NGFA to make its first flight.
Stealthy Airframe Requirements seems to have thrown out any DRDO’s plans of having Aircraft with low Stealth characters, it wants Stealthy Airframe from the start and Current level of technology in India does not have such high end materials, composites and radar observing airframe materials and paints.
Wind-tunnel model which was displayed at Aero India 2009 of MCA will need designs changes to meet IAF’s demand of full Stealthy Airframe, while wind tunnel model seemed like Aircraft with Stealth features but not fully stealth aircraft.
Time frame set by ADA is again over ambitious. ADA plans to have the first test flight of the NGFA by 7-8 years, once go head is given which may come by end of 2010, this is simply not possible since most of the technology required for it is still not in pipeline, since various Labs will be working on it any delays by any Lab will affect the schedule flight plan and again it will look similar way which LCA was made to go.
Consultancy and joint development of various systems should be considered to meet the deadline for NGFA’s first flight; Aircraft should be developed with possible export market in mind. To give air forces around the world a cheap and high technology 5TH Generation fighter this can compete with American and Chinese aircrafts in future. Note: Vinayak shetti is a free lance journalist and also admin of www.lca-tejas.org

Bank of China to sell up to $5.8 billion in bonds

~Bank of China to sell up to $5.8 billion in bonds to replenish capital

Asian Defense News: BEIJING January 24, 2010, (AP) -- Bank of China plans to sell up to 40 billion yuan ($5.8 billion) in bonds to replenish its capital and meet government standards following a record surge in lending last year amid Beijing's stimulus measures, a state-run news agency reported.
Regulators have warned some banks that they have fallen below minimum capital requirements after handing out some 9.5 trillion yuan in loans last year. Banks are expected to scale back lending to roughly 7.5 trillion yuan in 2010.
Bank of China's proposal still requires shareholder approval at a meeting in March, the Xinhua News Agency said in its report late Saturday. Approval is likely a formality because the government and state-linked institutions control a majority of the bank's shares.
China's banking industry is regarded as the healthiest of any major economy because institutions avoided the mortgage-related turmoil that battered Western lenders.
Beijing hopes cooling the pace of lending will keep its economy growing without creating inflation and overheating. Other nations are counting on that growth and a healthy demand from China for their goods for their own recoveries.
Record bank lending in 2009 to support government spending on infrastructure and other projects under Beijing's stimulus package has led to fears of asset bubbles and huge bank losses if too many loans sour.

Assets of Headley in crores spread across US, Pak and Gulf

Asian Defense News: MUMBAI: With investigators ready to file chargesheet in Headley-Rana case, security agencies have found that the American terror suspect had assets running into crores of rupees in Pakistan, the US and a Gulf nation.

There were indications that Headley was into the real estate business in a Gulf country as per documents procured by the security agencies and the National Investigating Agency (NIA), probing the role of Headley and his Pakistani-Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Rana.

According to sources privy to the investigations, the 49-year-old Headley owns palatial houses in Pakistan and the US besides flats in a Gulf country and vast estate land running into several crores of rupees.

The sources said the probe findings were an eye-opener as the investigators were trying to ascertain the financial transactions of Headley, who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Chicago on October three last year.

The investigators were trailing the credit card payments made by Headley, charged by the FBI with conspiring in the 26/11 attacks, while he was staying in Mumbai and travelling in rest of the country including Delhi, Ajmer, Goa and Pune.

While majority of transactions were carried out by Headley with cash only, he had used his credit cards including an American Express card for purchases in Mumbai and paying hotel bills at five-star hotels in the megapolis.

Source: 24 Jan 2010, 1427 hrs IST, PTI

Al Jazeera: Bin Laden claims Dec 25 US plane attempt

Asian Defense News: DUBAI: Qatar's Al Jazeera television said on Sunday it will air a new voice recording of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in which he claims
responsibility for a Dec. 25 attempt to blow up a U.S.-bound airline. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is charged with attempting to blow up a Delta Airlines plane as it approached Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam with almost 300 people on board.

Source: 24 Jan 2010, 1459 hrs IST, REUTERS

China now world's second largest diamond market

Asian Defense News: BEIJING: China last year overtook Japan to become the world's second largest diamond market behind the United States with trade on the Shanghai diamond exchange rising 16.4 percent to more than $1.5 billion, state media said.
The official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday the year-on-year rise, when much of the rest of the world was mired in deep recession, was due to China's boisterous economic growth in 2009, which reached 8.7 percent.
"As the economy continued to develop in a stable manner, consumer demand for jewellery continued to grow, especially for diamonds for the wedding market," Xinhua said on its website (www.xinhuanet.com).
"In this year, China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest diamond market for consumers behind the United States," it added.
China's increasingly affluent middle class and vast pool of customers are seen as key factors for the rise in diamond sales in the world's most populous country.
Demand for diamonds only really started to develop in the 1990s when De Beers brought its global advertising campaign to China, tapping into the Chinese desire for conspicuous consumption and pursuit of Western lifestyle trends.
De Beers is 45 percent-owned by mining group Anglo American.

China chalks out plan for lasting stability in Tibet

Asian Defense News: China has formulated a plan for lasting stability in Tibet, it was announced at a high-level meeting held here.
The meeting, attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao and other senior leaders Jan 18-20, agreed that more efforts must be made to improve the living standards of Tibetans to ensure ethnic unity and stability in the region.
Hu said that it was a challenging task to carry out development, build a well-off society and establish a national ecological protective screen in Tibet.
The work was also vital for ethnic unity, social stability and national security, as well as a favorable international environment, Xinhua quoted Hu as saying.
During the meeting, senior leaders also outlined plans to develop Tibetan-inhabited areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai.