The meeting of some of world’s largest warships involved the Carl Vinson and Japan-based Ronald Reagan, joined by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter-destroyer JS Hyuga. The drill, dubbed a Multi-Large Deck Event in naval lingo, took place in the Philippine Sea between Nov. 4 and Nov. 8.

It marked the second occasion over the span of a few days that a pair of US Navy aircraft carriers conducted exercises with each other. The Gerald R. Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower staged a joint training the Eastern Mediterranean Sea the previous week.

This week’s event was also the second such meetup to be held in the Indo-Pacific this year, as the carriers Ronald Reagan and Nimitz were joined by Japan’s JS Izumo for a similar occasion in June.

Defense News was part of a small group of international media flown to the ships at a location roughly 500 miles (800 km) east of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon.

U.S. Navy Capt. Matthew Thomas, commander of the Carl Vinson, said the participating ships and aircraft undertook a variety of training missions, including air defense drills, sea surveillance, defensive air counter tactics and coordinated maneuvers.

Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, commander of the U.S. Navy’s Strike Group One, told reporters aboard the Ronald Reagan that the drill was meant as a “demonstration on how we can rapidly move to a point of crisis and interoperate and cooperate.”

The Carl Vinson had left its homeport of San Diego on Oct. 12, according to video footage captured by a publicly accessible webcam. Navy Times had previously reported that the sea service declined to disclose when the ship left port.

Improving the interoperability between the US Navy and Japanese forces was also a key objective of the exercise, according to the commander of the Ronald Reagan, Capt. Daryle Cardone. “Having been here last year and this year we see each and every time that we interoperate with our partners that the exercises increase in complexity and depth,” he said.

The Navy used a Bell-Boeing CMV-22B Osprey tiltrotor plane and a Northrop-Grumman C-2A Greyhound turboprop transport aircraft to ferry reporters from Kadena Airbase in Okinawa to the carrier and back, respectively, a practice the service calls Carrier Onboard Delivery, or COD.

Officials are in the process of phasing out the Northrop planes for such COD journeys, with the newer Ospreys taking over the missions.

The diesel-electric attack submarine, christened the Hai Kun after a mythical sea creature in Chinese folklore, was launched at the shipyard of CSBC Shipyard in the southern city of Kaohsiung earlier on Thursday, Sept. 28.

The launch ceremony was attended by the self-ruling island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, and comes seven years after Taiwan first decided to build its own submarines to replace the four elderly submarines currently operated by the country’s Republic of China Navy, or ROCN.

Photos of the launch ceremony published by the government and media present showed that the design has an X-rudder configuration for operations in shallow waters, with a pair of additional small horizontal fins.

However, Taiwan has not released the Hai Kun’s specifications, although local media has previously reported that it displaces approximately 2,500 tonnes and is 70 meters, or 230 feet, long.

It has also been reported that Taiwan has received significant foreign assistance in building the submarine, although 40% of components are local.

This overseas assistance reported includes a version of the AN/BYG-1 submarine combat management system, used in U.S. Navy nuclear submarines, being sold to Taiwan, along with digital sonar systems, integrated combat systems and auxiliary equipment systems, including periscopes.

The U.K. government has granted licenses to companies to export some $200 million worth of submarine technology and parts to Taiwan, and retired engineers from Japan’s Mitsubishi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries were believed to have provided technical support.

Reuters has also reported in November 2021 that that Taiwan had recruited engineers and retired submariners from the U.S., U.K., Australia, South Korea, India, Spain and Canada to work on the program and advise the ROCN on submarine construction and operations.

Taiwan is seeking to build eight submarines, with the Hai Kun expected to be commissioned into the ROCN in 2025 after sea trials following its launch.

Taiwan’s submarine fleet currently comprises two former U.S. Navy submarines built during World War II and two former Dutch Navy boats acquired in the late 1980s.

The six Lockheed-Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters from 75 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force, or RAAF, are currently taking part in Exercise Elang Ausindo with Indonesian Air Force Lockheed-Martin F-16 fighter jets at Manado on Indonesia’s North Sulawesi Island from Sept. 18 to Sept. 28.

The exercise will see Australian and Indonesian personnel and aircraft conduct air combat missions including offensive and defensive counter air missions; basic fighter maneuvers and air combat maneuvers and air-to-air refueling with an RAAF KC-30A multi-role tanker transport.

Squadron Leader Paul Anderton, an instructor-pilot with 75 Sqn, told Defense News that the exercise took a building-block approach to training, starting with one-versus-one air combat engagements before moving on to two-versus-one or two-versus-two training.

The engagements will then become more complex, with larger formations such as four-versus-four training dogfights.

However, Anderton said that the exercise was not just Australian jets going head-to-head with their Indonesian counterparts, but its aim also includes interoperability training with the Indonesian F-16s, flying in mixed formations and air-to-air refueling.

“There’s a heavy focus on the bilateral side of the aviator level engagement and that is us integrating with the Indonesian F-16s and providing joint training to each other,” he said.

The Australian F-35s had come to Indonesia from Komatsu, Japan, where they participated in Exercise Bushido Guardian with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, or JASDF, Sept. 4-15.

According to Wing Commander Tony Parker, the commanding officer of 75 Sqn, Bushido Guardian was conducted roughly along the same lines as Elang Ausindo with the Indonesians. However, he noted that there were several key differences, with a key one being that the JASDF was also an F-35As operator.

The drill in Japan involved both services using the F-35-specific Multifunction Advanced Data Link, or MADL, to share information. “This was a first for us, for both nations, and was a was a really successful activity,” said Parker. “We were able to operate on data links across both platforms to achieve mutual effects within their operating airspace.”

The JASDF also participated at Bushido Guardian with its Mitsubishi F-2 multirole fighters and F-16 interceptors, and the larger number of aircraft enabled the participants to organize the missions into larger aircraft packages, deepening interoperability between the RAAF and the JASDF.

Komatsu is also the home of the JASDF’s Tactical Fighter Training Group, which flies F-15s in the dedicated role of adversary aircraft. These played the role of enemy forces Air during Bushido Guardian, with other JASDF or RAAF participants taking turns fighting alongside them as adversary aircraft.

“It was pretty common practice to have Australian F-35s on both Blue and Red Air,” Parker said referring to friendly and enemy formations. “It was the same for Japanese F-35s and their F-15s. The aggressors were playing their aggressor role, and being particularly well trained to being aggressors, they often did fill that function,” Parker added.

Parker also spoke about the reliability of his jets throughout the deployment, noting that there was only one instance of a jet not being able to fulfill a mission due to maintenance problems.

“The deployment was very successful from a maintenance perspective and very reliable as a platform. We will be walking away having operated this highly technical platform on the road in Asia with limited support for five weeks, and that has given us a great sense of confidence in our ability to do that.”

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Wednesday announced the possible deal, which could change in quantity and contract value during the negotiations process.

The potential sale, which now goes to Congress for consideration, would also include 26 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines for the aircraft, an upgrade to the Block 4 standard, as well as cryptographic appliques and electronic warfare support.

If approved, the sale will bring South Korea’s fleet to 65 F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing aircraft. The country’s Air Force is currently in the process of taking delivery of 40 F-35As it previously ordered to equip its 17th Fighter Wing at Cheongju.

South Korea is using its F-35As to replace it fleet of McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II fighter jets. It had previously considered buying the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variant to equip its planned aircraft carrier.

However, the Defense Ministry said earlier this year it is looking at the feasibility of building a 50,000-ton aircraft carrier, which is considerably larger than originally planned. Such a ship would enable the South Koreans to operate catapult-launched carrier aircraft instead of the F-35B. This would likely be a naval version of the locally designed Korea Aerospace Industries KF-21 Boramae fighter. South Korea’s defense acquisition agency concluded in January that developing a carrierborne KF-21 was feasible within a 10-year time frame.

South Korea is technically still at war with its nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea, as the two countries have not signed a formal peace treaty following the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Singapore’s upgraded F-16 fighter jets can now fire the Python-5 air-to-air missile, the country has confirmed.

An information board showcasing the upgraded Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons for the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s open house event lists the Python-5, made by Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, among the weapons the aircraft can use.

The list also includes satellite-guided and laser-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition variants. Singapore had asked to integrate the two weapons in its Foreign Military Sales request to the U.S. as part of an F-16 upgrade package. The 2014 request to upgrade 60 Singaporean F-16s also sought integration of the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb and the CBU-105 (D-4)/B sensor fused weapon.

The Air Force’s F-16 upgrade program also included the AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar, the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System, new mission computers, and identification friend or foe technology.

Singapore’s 20 F-16D Block 52+ aircraft receiving upgrades first. The country also operates 40 older Block 52 aircraft delivered from 1998 onward.

A commemorative unit patch for the Singaporean F-16 upgrade program had shown a Python missile, hinting at its eventual integration with the jet. The U.S. Air Force’s 416th Flight Test Squadron, based at Edwards Air Force Base in California, issued the patch. The squadron is also supporting South Korea’s ongoing F-16 upgrade program.

The patch also showed what appears to be the ELL-8212 self-protection jamming pod, which was in use with Singapore’s F-16s prior to upgrade efforts. Elta Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, makes the pod.

Singapore’s F-16 pilots also use the Display and Sight Helmet system, made by Israeli firm Elbit Systems, that allows pilots to aim weapons by looking at a target.

The integration of the Python-5 will enable the service greater commonality in its munitions inventory. Singapore is already operating the Rafael-made Spyder ground-based air defense system, which uses the Python-5 and Derby medium-range missile, also produced by Rafael.

The company describes the Python-5 as a “fifth-generation air-to-air missile” and says it provides the pilot with a full-sphere launch capability, enabling engagements against targets from short to beyond-visual range at any point of the compass around the launch aircraft, with the missile locking onto a target after it’s fired.

The missile incorporates a dual-band imaging infrared seeker that enables it to engage “small, low-signature targets in look down, adverse background and cloudy environments,” the company says.

Singapore and Israel have had a close defense relationship since the former’s independence from Malaysia in 1965, with Israel proving instrumental in helping set up Singapore’s military.

MELBOURNE, Australia — North Korea has launched a new ballistic missile submarine believed to be capable of firing both ballistic and cruise missiles.

State media showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Sept. 6 launch ceremony for the submarine named Hero Kim Gun-ok. The event took place at the Pongdae Submarine Factory located at North Korea’s Sinpo shipyard.

The government has described the boat as a “tactical nuclear attack submarine.”North Korean state media quoted Kim as saying at the ceremony that the country “will accelerate the nuclear armament of the Navy without letup” while also pushing forward a “plan for building nuclear submarines.”

He also reportedly said in his speech that the submarine will be ready to carry out “both preemptive and retaliatory strikes” and is intended to counter U.S. and South Korean “invasion fleets.”

Analysts believe the boat is a rebuilt and modernized Soviet-designed Romeo-class diesel-electric submarine. Joseph Dempsey, a research associate for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, said the photos released by North Korean had censored the sub’s propeller area, possibly in a bid to conceal its origins.

Dempsey also believed the newly launched submarine is the same one North Korea showed off during a 2019 visit by Kim to Sinpo. High-resolution imagery released by the government showed a large missile compartment was added to the sail of the submarine, with 10 hatches believed to be for the vertical-launch missile tubes that are visible. The hatches are laid out in two rows of five, with the front four appearing larger than the remaining six.

The former is believed to be for housing submarine-launched ballistic missiles, while the latter are likely to house launch tubes for submarine-launched cruise missiles.

North Korea has previously tested its Pukguksong-1/KN-11 sub-launched ballistic missile. And the country’s naval force is believed to have operated up to 20 Romeo-class boats, although the current state of the rest of the fleet is unknown.

The ministry announced Aug. 31 that it submitted a request for $52.9 billion to the Finance Ministry for the coming fiscal year, which starts April 1, 2024. The dollar figure continues a decade-long trend of record defense budgets as Japan continues its modernization drive in the face of North Korea’s missile threat and China’s growing military might.

The request, which was only published in Japanese, features acquisition efforts, research programs and upgrades for Japan’s self-defense forces across several domains of warfare. It is now up to the Finance Ministry to approve the budget.

At sea

Equipment requests for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force stands out in this year’s budget request. According to the document, the ministry wants $2.6 billion for a pair of Aegis system-equipped vessels to bolster ballistic missile defense capabilities.

The request also provides more information about the two ships, which will be 190 meters (623 feet) long and displace 12,000 tons. They will be include 128 vertical launching system cells for ballistic missile interceptors, as wel as launchers for the indigenous Type 12 anti-ship, land-attack missile.

Construction of the first ship will begin in 2024, with commissioning planned for 2027. The second vessel is to join the maritime service the following year.

Japan will also start construction of a new class of frigates from 2024, with a request of $1.2 billion for two vessels. The 12 new ships are to be based on the current Mogami class of frigates, according to the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, and will incorporate lessons learned from the existing Mogami class.

Plans include extending the ships’ length to 142 meters from 133 meters, reworking internal spaces, and equipping the ships with Type 12 missiles that will bring their displacement to 4,900 tons.

Missiles and hypersonic weapons

Japan is taking a multiprong approach to developing its standoff attack capabilities, with the budget requesting funds for continued research into the land-based, truck-launched Type 12 missile to increase its range so it can strike targets 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) away. Japan is also working to expand the weapon’s launch methods to include shipboard and aircraft-launched variants.

The U.S. ally is also continuing to invest in the development of hypersonic weapons, with concurrent programs into developing a high-velocity glide projectile and a hypersonic missile.

It is also continuing efforts to buy standoff weapons from abroad, with the budget request seeking the Joint Strike Missile made by Norwegian firm Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace, and the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile made by U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin.

Aviation

Those two foreign missiles will equip the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters and upgraded Mitsubishi F-15J Eagle interceptors with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, respectively.

The budget request asked for $739.3 million to acquire eight F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing variants as well as $862.3 million for seven F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing versions.

Japan is on track to be the largest F-35 operator outside the U.S., with plans to eventually acquire 105 F-35As and 42 F-35Bs. The country is currently taking deliveries of its F-35As and will receive its first F-35B in 2025. It was already contracted for 63 “A” models and a further 20 “B” models prior to this latest budget request.

The Defense Ministry also wants funds to upgrade the service’s existing F-15J and F-2 fleets, with a request to upgrade eight F-2s for $83 million that will see them gain the ability to fire the air-launched Type 12 missile currently under development.

By land

The request is also seeks funding for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to acquire more combat vehicles and self-propelled artillery systems.

The ministry is asking for $561 million to buy 24 wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, eight self-propelled mortars, and 19 Type 16 maneuver combat vehicles based on a common chassis; 10 Type 10 main battle tanks; and 16 155mm Type 19 wheeled self-propelled howitzers.

It is also asking for $215.4 million to procure 28 AMV wheeled armored personnel carriers from Finland’s Patria, which won a competitive tender in December 2022.

Under the potential deal, the U.S. ally would buy 50 Lockheed Martin AGM-158B/B-2 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with Extended Range through the Foreign Military Sales program, according to an Aug. 28 announcement by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The planned sale, which the DSCA said is worth $104 million, will also include JASSM anti-jam GPS receivers, training missiles, as well as other spares and support equipment.

“The proposed sale will improve Japan’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing stand-off capability via advanced, long-range strike systems for employment on Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) fighter aircraft including but not limited to the F-15J,” the agency added.

The proposed sale now goes before Congress, during which quantities and price tags can change.

Japan plans to upgrade 68 of its Mitsubishi-built F-15J Eagle interceptors with new radars, mission computers and a standoff land-attack capability. The country had specifically planned for the JASSM weapon to provide the latter capability for its upgraded jets.

The Asian nation also plans to operate a future fleet of 147 F-35 jets that can employ the JASSM. Japan is currently on track to be the largest non-U.S. operator of the fifth-generation stealth fighter.

The AGM-158B JASSM-ER can deliver a 1,000-pound warhead up to 575 miles away, while the longer-range AGM-158B-2 has a warhead weighing 2,000 pounds with a range of 1,200 miles.

Other Japanese media outlets have reported the country is considering fitting a standoff missile capability on its Kawasaki C-2 airlifters, with the JASSM and the U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Dragon system cited as a possible option.

Japan has sought to acquire long-range land-attack capabilities in recent years as it seeks the capability to strike at potential threats as well as counter North Korean ballistic missiles or attempts by an adversary to seize Japan’s southern islands.

It had previously avoided acquiring such capabilities, as it deemed them too aggressive and in violation of its pacifist post-war constitution, which limited Japan’s self-defense forces to possessing capabilities required only for defending the Japanese mainland.

Air Vice Marshal Yusuf Jauhari, who leads the Defense Facilities Agency within Indonesia’s Defense Ministry, and Mark Sears, who serves as Boeing’s vice president and program manager for fighters, signed a memorandum of understanding on Aug. 21 confirming plans to purchase 24 F-15s. The event took place at Boeing’s St. Louis, Missouri, facility during a visit by Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.

Indonesia’s F-15s will be known as the F-15IDN jets and will be a version of the F-15EX, currently on order by the U.S. Air Force. Boeing touts the F-15EX as the most advanced version of the F-15 ever built, with digital fly-by-wire flight controls, a new electronic warfare system, an all-glass digital cockpit, and the latest mission systems and software capabilities.

“We are pleased to announce our commitment to procure the critical F-15EX fighter capability for Indonesia,” Subianto said in a statement on Boeing’s website. “This state-of-the-art fighter will protect and secure our nation with its advanced capabilities.”

The memorandum does not serve as a finalized contract, and the sale is still subject to U.S. government approval.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Defense Ministry announced Aug. 23 that the state-owned aerospace company PT Dirgantara Indonesia and the American firm Lockheed Martin signed an agreement related to the S-70M Black Hawk transport helicopter. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of Lockheed.

The agreement will see Indonesia acquire 24 S-70Ms, and PT Dirgantara Indonesia undertake the sustainment and manufacturing of helicopter components.

Indonesia has an ongoing need for new combat aircraft as it seeks to better defend the airspace of its estimated 18,000 islands that stretch from the west of Singapore to the western half of New Guinea. Indonesia already has a contract to buy 24 French-made Dassault Rafale fighters, and is seeking 18 more. The Air Force also cut a deal to acquire 12 Dassault Mirage 2000-5 jets from Qatar as a stopgap measure.

The service is currently operating 33 Lockheed-made F-16s alongside 16 Russian Sukhoi Su-27/30 Flankers as its primary combat fleet, making up 3 different squadrons. This is far short of the Air Force’s minimum essential force of 10 fighter squadrons originally planned for 2024.

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force, or JASDF, said in a release Monday that four Lockheed-Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters from the 3rd Air Wing at Misawa will undertake a two-week deployment.

According to the release, the deployment will see the jets take part in exercises flying via Andersen Air Force Base on the U.S. territory of Guam to Darwin and Tindal in Australia’s Northern Territory.

A JASDF Boeing KC-767 tanker, a Lockheed-Martin C-130 Hercules and two Kawasaki C-2 airlifters will support the F-35s for the exercises beginning Aug. 21 and concluding Sept. 2.

This will mark the first time Japan has sent its F-35s overseas for training and follows the deployment of five Mitsubishi F-2 fighters to Australia for the first time in 2022 when the JASDF took part in the multinational Pitch Black air combat exercise.

Royal Australian Air Force F-35As will deploy to Japan in early September for Exercise Bushido Guardian, a joint air combat training activity between the two countries, according to a joint announcement by Australia’s defense and foreign ministers.

Australia will also participate in Exercise Yama Sakura as a full participant for the first time with more than 150 personnel travelling to Japan in December for the land warfare exercise.

The announcement of the exercises comes as the Reciprocal Access Agreement, or RAA, between both countries comes into effect. The agreement provides the legal framework for greater cooperation between the defense forces of both countries.

This is the first visiting forces agreement Japan has struck with any country outside the United States and is expected to “streamline more effective force cooperation and enable each country to increase the sophistication and regularity of training, exercises and other cooperative activities,” according to the announcement.