F/A-18F Super Hornets will join Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom

Air Force multi-role F/A-18F Super Hornets, Navy guided-missile frigates and a Collins class submarine will join the armed forces of Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom in a major military exercise designed to enhance regional security.

The exercise called BERSAMA SHIELD 2011 (BS11) will bring together the member countries of the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA) as they exercise in various locations on the Malaysian Peninsula and in the South China Sea between 2 and 13 May.

DIAGNOSTIC REVIEW OF MRH-90 MULTI ROLE HELICOPTER PROGRAM

A full diagnostic review of the MRH-90 Multi Role Helicopter Program has now been completed.

The review was ordered in February by the Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and the Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare to address delays to the project.

It was chaired by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Defence Materiel Organisation Mr Warren King supported by a number of independent specialists.

The review has recommended that the project should not be added to the Project of Concern list at this time.

New attack on Pakistan navy kills five

A bomb ripped through a Pakistani bus in Karachi on Thursday, killing four naval personnel and a passing motorcyclist in the third attack on navy transport this week in the country's biggest city.

A dozen people were wounded in the attack claimed by the Taliban in Pakistan's politically tense economic capital and southern port, where NATO ships supplies to the 130,000 US-led troops fighting in Afghanistan.

Two other navy buses were bombed on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the military just days after Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Kayani claimed his forces had "broken the back" of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

"Now a total of four of our employees -- all sailors -- have been martyred in the attack on our bus, while seven others are injured," spokesman Commander Salman Ali told AFP. Four other navy personnel died on Tuesday.

The navy said the bomb was planted in a manhole. The explosives tore through sign boards, a fuel station and parked cars, and rescue workers were afterwards seen covering bodies with white sheets.

Indian shipyard joins UK firm to build aircraft carriers for Navy

MUMBAI (BNS): A private sector Indian shipyard on Thursday announced that it has joined hands with a British firm to build aircraft carriers for the Indian Navy.

Mumbai-based Pipavav Shipyard said that it has tied up with UK’s Babcock group to build aircraft carriers for the Navy.

“This is an important milestone in Pipavav Shipyard’s efforts to become a major player in the Defence sector,” the shipyard said in its filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. 

“This event is likely to eliminate necessity to import large battle ships such as aircraft carrier in the future,” it said. 

The Babcock group is Britain’s leading naval support company. It is involved in building next generation aircraft carriers and managing naval bases. It also undertakes refitting, refuelling and decommissioning of submarines, maintaining and refitting of warships and providing equipment support on behalf of the UK government.

Russia successfully test-launches RSM-54 Sineva ICBM

MOSCOW (BNS): The Russian military has successfully test launched a Sineva ballistic missile from a Delta-IV class submarine in the Arctic, theRIA Novosti quoted a defence ministry spokesman as saying.

"The launch was carried out from underwater in the Barents Sea from the Yekaterinburg nuclear submarine. At the expected hour, the payload of the Sineva missile arrived at the Kura range in Kamchatka in Russia's Far East," Col. Igor Konashenkov, was quoted as saying in the media reports.

The RSM-54 Sineva is a third-generation liquid-propellant ICBM that entered service with the Russian Navy in July 2007. It can carry four to 10 nuclear warheads, depending on the modification.

"The launch was designed to test the reliability of Russian marine strategic nuclear forces," Konashenkov added.

The last successful launch of a Sineva missile was completed on October 28, 2010, also from the Barents Sea.