Australia To Receive First Airbus Military A330 MRTT

The first Airbus Military A330 MRTT new
generation tanker/transport for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has left Madrid at and will reach the Australia on Monday.

Designated as KC-30A in RAAF service, the aircraft is scheduled to arrive at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland on Monday 30 May.

On its ferry flight, the A330 MRTT is being flown by Airbus Military and RAAF crews, and will transit via McCarran (Nevada) and Hickam (Hawaii) in the USA.

Boost Military To Take On China: Australian Military Adviser

Australia  will need nuclear-powered attack submarines among a range of highly potent weapons systems, and must revolutionise its strategic culture to answer the security dangers posed by China's massive military build-up, according to one of the federal government's chief military advisers.

Ross Babbage, who served on the government's advisory panel for the 2009 Defence white paper, believes Australia should acquire a fleet of 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines.

He also favours developing a conventionally armed cruise and ballistic missile capability to be carried on new "arsenal ships", as well as a massive increase in Australia's cyber-warfare investment.

In a report to be published on Monday, Australia's Strategic Edge 2030, Professor Babbage calls for Australia to host a range of American military bases. This would help disperse US military assets and make them harder to hit in the event of military conflict with China.

It would also emphasise the strength and intimacy of the US-Australia alliance and discourage any aggression against Australia, as any hostile power would fear that this would automatically involve the Americans.

Professor Babbage, the founder of the influential Kokoda Foundation security think tank, believes all this is necessary because China's extremely aggressive military build-up has transformed Australia's strategic environment, making it much more dangerous.

"Australia cannot overlook the way that the scale, pattern and speed of (Chinese) People's Liberation Army's development is altering security in the Western Pacific," Professor Babbage argues in the new paper, which has been obtained by The Weekend Australian.

Professor Babbage believes that China's massive military expansion is focused on "striking United States and allied forces in the Western Pacific" and that this has been accompanied by much more aggressive military and diplomatic behaviour by Beijing.

"Australia has to develop an effective response," he argues.

"The challenge posed by the rising PLA is arguably one of the most serious that has confronted Australia's national security planners since World War II," he says.

"China is for the first time close to achieving a military capability to deny United States and allied forces access to much of the Western Pacific rim."

Professor Babbage argues that this is not a question of distant threats to Australia's region but of direct threat to Australia itself, as it is within range of many existing Chinese weapons systems.

He identifies a vast range of Chinese military capabilities that are on a massive growth path. These include cruise and ballistic missiles, which can attack US and Australian ships and fixed targets; a massive investment in cyber-warfare capabilities, with reports of tens of thousands of Chinese cyber intrusions daily; new classes of both nuclear and conventionally powered submarines, including more than 40 new Chinese subs since 1995; a massive increase in Chinese nuclear weapons that will double or triple in number by 2030; a huge investment in space warfare so that China could destroy the communications satellites which are central to the Western way of war; and a massive increase in fighter bomber and other airborne strike capabilities.

Professor Babbage does not believe Australia can match these Chinese capabilities.

Rather, his strategic response consists of two elements.

One is Australia taking action to strengthen the US military position in Asia, such as by hosting more US military facilities.

The other is for Australia to do to China what China is doing to the US, which is to develop an "asymmetric" ability to use a smaller force to impose massive costs on China in the event of any conflict.

This would help to deter Chinese military adventurism and avoid conflict.

Source 

Australian Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Prototypes Delivered

ARLINGTON, Va.: BAE Systems, through its U.S. Combat Systems business, along with partners Navistar Defense and ArvinMeritor, delivered three right hand drive operation configured Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) prototypes in a ceremony today in West Point, Mississippi. Each of these prototypes will be sent to Australia for durability testing that mutually supports both U.S. and Australia interests.
The BAE Systems – Navistar – ArvinMeritor team handed over aCategory A General Purpose vehicle, a Category B Command and Control onthe Move and a Category C Utility vehicle. The vehicles are designed tobe highly compatible with the U.S. variants, ensuring interoperabilitybetween forces, yet tailored specifically to meet the needs of theAustralian military.

“Our team has taken a user-centric design approach that provides thefoundation for a future family of vehicles that can be modified to meetthe needs of our military as well as those of our global allies,” saidAnn Hoholick, vice president and general manager of New Vehicles andAmphibious Systems forBAE Systems. “We look forward to continuing to improve and enhance our offerings as we receive feedback from our military customers.”
In January 2009, the U.S. and Australia entered into a Land ForceCapability Modernization Project Arrangement for the TechnologyDemonstrator phase of the JLTV program, enabling tactical vehicleinteroperability and integration between U.S. future forces andAustralian land forces.
“Australia’s participation in the JLTV program will help reduceoverall program risk through the testing and evaluation of additionalprototype vehicles,” said Mark McCoy, the U.S. Army’sproduct manager for JLTV. “As our military prepares for futurecoalition operations, similarity of tactical vehicle solutions acrossallies will enhance global interoperability and reduce the maintenanceand logistical burden.”
The JLTV prototype vehicles will undergo reliability and blast testing in Australia, as well as tropical environment testing.
“Lessons from recent conflicts highlight the importance of protectedmobility in the modern battlefield,” said Australian Army Lt. Col.Robin Petersen, JLTV Cooperative Program Personnel and Australian JLTVProgram Manager. “The requirements of the JLTV program closely alignwith our requirements; we face similar capability gaps and threats.”
BAE Systems is Australia’s largest defense company, employing more than 6,000 people who support customers at 100 locations across Australia. As a global company, BAE Systemsdraws on the resources and strengths of its people around the world tohelp deliver the most efficient, value-for-money solutions to theAustralian Defence Force.
The team builds off the three companies’ current leadership in armored and tactical vehicle development and support. Combined, the BAE Systems - Navistar – ArvinMeritor team maximizes JLTV program value through proven capabilities, lean manufacturing and extensive worldwide logistics support.
BAE Systems is a global defense, security and aerospace company withapproximately 107,000 employees worldwide. The Company delivers a fullrange of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as wellas advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions and customer support services. In 2009 BAE Systems reported sales of £22.4 billion (US$ 36.2 billion).
Navistar Defense is an affiliate of Navistar InternationalCorporation, a holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliatesproduce International brand commercial and military trucks, MaxxForcebrand diesel engines, IC Bus brand school and commercial buses, Monaco RV brands of recreational vehicles, and Workhorse brand chassis for motor homes and step vans.
ArvinMeritor, Inc. is a premier global supplier of a broad range ofintegrated systems, modules and components to original equipmentmanufacturers and the aftermarket for the transportation and industrialsectors. The company serves commercial truck, trailer and specialty original equipment manufacturers and certain aftermarkets, and light vehicle manufacturers

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