The partnership seeks to create “new possibilities” for enhancing naval drone defenses amid rising geopolitical tensions.

According to Rheinmetall, both companies bring “complementary skills” in developing and integrating laser weapon technologies.

The two firms previously worked together on a laser demonstration onboard a German Navy frigate, successfully firing over 100 test shots at representative targets.

With the new collaboration, Rheinmetall and MBDA hope to introduce a maritime product to the defense market within the next five to six years.

Low-Cost Solution

There have been increasing calls for more affordable solutions to neutralizing drone threats, with a Pentagon official acknowledging that the costs of firing counter-drone weapons and munitions are becoming “too high.”

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have mocked the US for using $2-million air defense missiles to intercept drones that cost only $2,000.

Even US Department of Defense undersecretary for acquisition William LaPlante admitted that current military efforts to eliminate enemy drones now exceed $100,000 per shot.

Laser weapons present a cost-effective alternative, with the UK saying its DragonFire can shoot down drones at $13 per shot.

Israel’s Rafael also claims its 100-kilowatt Iron Beam ground-based laser air defense system has “almost zero cost per interception.”

While promising, laser weapon development poses challenges, as it requires extensive research and design processes.

The post Rheinmetall, MBDA to Jointly Develop Maritime Laser Weapon appeared first on The Defense Post.

Sullivan arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, the first US national security advisor to visit China since 2016, for three days of talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other high-ranking officials.

The visit came as China became embroiled in security rows with US allies Japan and the Philippines.

On Thursday morning, Sullivan met with senior Chinese army chief Zhang Youxia at the Beijing headquarters of the Central Military Commission.

“It’s rare that we have the opportunity to have this kind of exchange,” Sullivan told Zhang in opening remarks.

“Given the state of the world and the need for us to responsibly manage the US-China relationship, I think this is a very important meeting.”

Zhang, in turn, thanked Sullivan for his visit and said the meeting “demonstrates the value the US government puts on military security.”

The two officials also agreed to hold a call between the two sides’ theater commanders “in the near future,” a readout from the White House added.

Sullivan raised the importance of “stability” in the Taiwan Strait and “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea, where Beijing and Manila have clashed in recent months.

He expressed “concerns about (Chinese) support for Russia’s defense industrial base” – echoing longstanding US claims that Beijing has rejected, the readout added.

He also raised “the need to avoid miscalculation and escalation in cyberspace, and ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza,” the White House said.

‘Destabilizing Actions’

On Wednesday, Sullivan and Wang discussed plans for their leaders to talk in the coming weeks – and clashed over China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions.

Sullivan “reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to defending its Indo-Pacific allies,” the White House said.

He also “expressed concern about (China’s) destabilizing actions against lawful Philippine maritime operations” in the disputed South China Sea, it said.

Chinese state media reported that Wang issued his own warning to Washington.

“The United States must not use bilateral treaties as an excuse to undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor should it support or condone the Philippines’ actions of infringement,” Wang told Sullivan, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Wang and Sullivan previously met five times over the past year and a half – in Washington, Vienna, Malta, and Bangkok, as well as alongside Biden and Xi in Woodside, California in November 2023.

During their latest encounter, they also discussed the tense issue of Taiwan, the self-governing democracy that China claims.

China has kept up its saber-rattling since the inauguration this year of President Lai Ching-te, whose party emphasizes Taiwan’s separate identity.

Wang stressed that Taiwan belonged to Beijing and that China would “certainly be unified,” adding that the United States should stop arming Taiwan, according to CCTV.

The White House said Sullivan “underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

The US and Chinese officials also discussed issues including Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Korean Peninsula, both sides said.

The post US Raises Taiwan, South China Sea Concerns With Beijing Military appeared first on The Defense Post.

Among the warships that received the latest Block 1B version are Keelung-class destroyers, Tuo Chiang-class frigates, and Kang Ding-class frigates, according to a defense source.

Eight additional Block 1A systems are also reportedly being upgraded in the US, and they could be delivered to Taipei as early as next year.

The weapons are expected to be integrated into Taiwan’s Yushan-class landing platform docks and next-generation light frigates, which are still under construction.

Sources said the Taiwanese Navy has spent more than 10 billion New Taiwan dollars ($313 million) for the significant lethality upgrade.

‘Last Line of Defense’

CIWS is an integral part of a surface warship for they serve as its “last line of defense.”

Capable of firing 4,500 rounds a minute, the weapon is typically used for close-range intercepts or when incoming targets get too close for friendly missiles to neutralize.

The importance of close-in weapons was demonstrated in the Red Sea earlier this year when a Houthi missile got within a nautical mile (1.8 kilometers) of an American warship.

The Block 1B that recently arrived in Taipei reportedly offers a significant increase in capability over other Phalanx variants, thanks to the addition of a stabilized electro-optic sensor for countering asymmetric warfare threats.

This improvement allows the weapon a superior range of engagement and rate of fire for neutralizing high-speed enemy boats, aircraft, and drones.

Bolstering Naval Capabilities

Installation of the Phalanx weapon system comes as Taipei continues to bolster its naval capabilities amid reports that China may soon launch an amphibious invasion.

Beijing’s increasing naval activities around the island nation have fueled speculation that it is rehearsing a maritime blockade on Taiwan.

Apart from upgrading the lethality of its warships, the Taiwanese Navy has practiced the repulsion of potential amphibious attacks by the People’s Liberation Army.

The post Taiwan Navy Warships to Get Upgraded Phalanx Close-In Weapons appeared first on The Defense Post.

China and the Philippines have had repeated confrontations in the vital waterway in recent months, including around a warship grounded years ago by Manila on the contested Second Thomas Shoal that hosts a garrison.

Beijing has continued to press its claims to almost the entire South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

China Coast Guard spokesperson Geng Yu said a Philippine vessel had “deliberately collided” with a Chinese ship early Monday.

“Philippine Coast Guard vessels… illegally entered the waters near the Xianbin Reef in the Nansha Islands without permission from the Chinese government,” Geng said, using the Chinese names for the Sabina Shoal and the Spratly Islands.

“The China Coast Guard took control measures against the Philippine vessels in accordance with the law,” Geng added.

Manila’s National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea, meanwhile, said two of its coast guard ships were damaged in collisions with Chinese vessels that were conducting “unlawful and aggressive maneuvers” near the Sabina Shoal.

The confrontation “resulted in collisions causing structural damage to both Philippine Coast Guard vessels,” Manila said.

China claims the Sabina Shoal, which is located 140 kilometers (86 miles) west of the Philippine island of Palawan, the closest major land mass.

Manila and Beijing have stationed coast guard vessels around the shoal in recent months, with the Philippines fearing China is about to build an artificial island there.

‘Dangerous’

Footage purporting to show the incident attributed to the Chinese coast guard and shared by state broadcaster CCTV showed one ship, identified as a Philippine vessel by the Beijing side, apparently running into the left side of a Chinese ship before moving on.

Another 15-second clip appears to show the Chinese vessel making contact with the rear of the Philippine ship.

Captions said the Philippine ship made a “sudden change of direction” and caused the crash.

Read out statement of ADG Jonathan Malaya:

Statement of the NTFWPS

China Coast Guard Vessels Collide with Philippine Coast Guard Vessels Due to Dangerous and Illegal Maneuvers

This morning, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410) and BRP Cape Engaño… pic.twitter.com/hslR4LuoGe

— Jay Tarriela (@jaytaryela) August 19, 2024

The Chinese coast guard spokesperson accused Philippine vessels of acting “in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in a glancing collision.”

“We sternly warn the Philippine side to immediately cease its infringement and provocations,” Geng said.

Manila, however, blamed Beijing, with National Security Council director-general Jonathan Malaya saying the Philippines’ BRP Cape Engano sustained a 13-centimeter (five-inch) hole in its right beam after “aggressive maneuvers” by a China Coast Guard vessel caused a collision.

A second Philippine coast guard ship, the BRP Bagacay, was “rammed twice” by a China coast guard vessel about 15 minutes later and suffered “minor structural damage,” Malaya said.

The Filipino crew were unhurt and proceeded with their mission to resupply Philippine-garrisoned islands in the Spratly group, he added.

Repeated Clashes

Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that the incident took place at 3:24 am local time (1924 GMT Sunday).

It also said a Philippine coast guard ship had then entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal around 6 am.

The shoal lies about 200 kilometers from Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.

The repeated clashes in the South China Sea have sparked concern that Manila’s ally the United States could be drawn into a conflict as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims in the sea.

Analysts have said Beijing’s aim is to push eastwards from the Second Thomas Shoal towards the neighboring Sabina Shoal, encroaching on Manila’s exclusive economic zone and normalizing Chinese control of the area.

The situation has echoes of 2012, when Beijing took control of Scarborough Shoal, another strategic area of the South China Sea closest to the Philippines.

The post Chinese, Philippine Ships Collide Anew Near Hotspot Reef in South China Sea appeared first on The Defense Post.

The maneuvers will be held “within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone” and showcase “our collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” top military officials of the four nations said.

The exercises come as China’s saber-rattling towards Taiwan and over the South China Sea fuels fears of a potential conflict that could drag in the United States.

Beijing claims most of the strategic South China Sea, dismissing an international tribunal ruling that its claims were without basis.

Manila held separate naval exercises in the South China Sea last week, first with the United States and then with Japan two days later.

A joint coast guard exercise is also scheduled off Manila Bay on Friday between the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Philippines has a mutual defense treaty with the United States and signed a treaty with Japan last month that will allow the deployment of troops on each other’s territory.

The “multilateral maritime cooperative activity” will be the first as a group by the four nations and involve naval and air force units, a Filipino military spokesman told AFP.

“The naval and air force units of participating nations will operate together enhancing cooperation and inter-operability between our armed forces,” said the joint statement, which did not name the participating vessels and military units.

“Australia, Canada, the Philippines, and the United States uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

The post Philippines Holds Joint Patrols With US, Canada, Australia appeared first on The Defense Post.

Announced Monday, the contract modification costs $54.9 million.

According to company chief executive Paddy Gregg, the additional order reflects the service’s recognition of how the construction of its first LCU is going.

It also reportedly highlights Austal’s expertise in building military-grade vessels.

“The US Navy has recognized that Austal USA has made a great start to construction on the first LCU craft,” he said, adding that the team will continue to demonstrate its industry leading capabilities to manage multiple shipbuilding projects for the US Navy.

In addition to the LCU, the Alabama-based firm said it is also building the navy’s Towing, Salvage and Rescue (T-ATS) ships and Ocean Surveillance (T-AGOS) vessels.

170-Ton Payload Capacity

Unlike other LCUs, those ordered by the US Navy are being specifically built to have a heavy-lift capability of more than 170 tons.

It should be able to carry approximately 350 warfighters or up to two M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks.

The hull will also be large and strong enough to accommodate eight multi-purpose wheeled vehicles.

According to the company, the US Navy LCU will have a roll-on/roll-off monohull configuration that allows multiple vessels to connect for fast and secure loading and unloading.

Furthermore, the vessel will be able to transit the open ocean with a range of 1,200 nautical miles (2,222 kilometers) and a maximum speed of 11 knots (20 kilometers/12 miles per hour).

Once delivered, the landing craft are expected to support the navy’s amphibious assault ships in carrying out troop and cargo transport from ship to shore, shore to shore, and back to ship.

The post US Navy Buys Two More Landing Craft From Austal appeared first on The Defense Post.

China and Russia have greatly reinforced ties since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine that began in February 2022.

Their common goal is also to reduce the role of the United States and the West on the international stage.

“A detachment of vessels from the Pacific fleet will take part in the joint naval exercise – Interaction Maritime 2024,” the ministry announced on Telegram, posting a video of their arrival.

The first phase will take place from Monday-Wednesday and involve anti-air and anti-submarine attacks along with Chinese planes specialized in anti-submarine maneuvers, it said.

The two countries hold joint military exercises regularly but their level of interoperability is greatly inferior to that of Western military alliance NATO, the European Union Institute for Security Studies said in a report in early July.

Last year, a similar naval exercise took place off Alaska.

The post Two Russian Warships in China for Joint Naval Exercises appeared first on The Defense Post.

China claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and maintains a near-daily presence of fighter jets, drones, and warships around the island, which is located 180 kilometers (110 miles) from the southern Chinese coast.

It is also a crucial part of a chain of islands that military strategists say serve as a gateway from the South China Sea – which China claims in nearly its entirety – to the Pacific Ocean.

At around 9:30 am (0130 GMT) Wednesday, Taipei said that “since 0520 today, the Ministry of National Defence detected a total of 37 Chinese aircraft” around Taiwan, including fighter jets, bombers, and drones.

Thirty-six of the aircraft crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait – which bisects the narrow waterway separating the island from China.

“(The aircraft) headed to the Western Pacific via our southern and southeastern airspace to cooperate with the aircraft carrier the Shandong in conducting ‘joint sea and air training,'” the defense ministry said in a statement.

Defence Minister Wellington Koo told reporters the Shandong “did not pass through the Bashi Channel,” the area off Taiwan’s southern tip where Chinese ships typically transit en route to the Pacific Ocean.

Instead, it “went further south through the Balingtang Channel towards the Western Pacific,” he said, referring to a waterway just north of the Philippines’ Babuyan Island – about 250 kilometers south of Bashi.

The Chinese flights come a day after Japan’s Joint Staff Office said four PLA navy vessels – including the Shandong – were sailing 520 kilometers southeast of Miyako Island.

“On the same day, the Chinese navy’s Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier ‘Shandong’ was observed landing and departing fighter aircraft and helicopters on board,” it said in a statement.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and has ramped up military and political pressures on the island in recent years.

In May, days after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office, China launched war games around the island as “punishment” for an inauguration speech that Beijing called a “confession of Taiwan independence.”

On Wednesday, Lai met with Raymond Greene, new director of the American Institute in Taiwan – the de-facto US embassy, emphasizing their “solid partnership… in the midst of China’s repeated provocation and attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.”

While the United States, like many other countries, does not officially recognize Taiwan diplomatically, it is Taipei’s key partner and major provider of weapons – a point of consternation for Beijing which has repeatedly called on Washington to stop arming the island.

Greene said Wednesday that Washington would continue to “strongly support Taiwan’s ability to defend itself.”

“We have a long-term and shared interest to maintain the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. This is vital to the prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region, as well as to global security,” he said during his meeting with Lai.

The post 37 Chinese Aircraft Skirt Taiwan on Way to Drill: Taipei appeared first on The Defense Post.

This was according to Manila’s military chief, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., following a flare-up between Filipino soldiers and Chinese Coast Guard personnel over a resupply mission on a contested shoal.

He revealed that Washington had indeed offered its support following the incident, but the Southeast Asian nation preferred to handle the situation on its own.

“Yes, of course, they have been offering help and they asked us how they could help us in any way,” Brawner told Reuters. “We try to exhaust all possible options that we have before we ask for help.”

The US and the Philippines are bound by the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty that obliges them to support each other in case of an armed attack.

Latest Altercation an Armed Attack?

On June 17, Chinese vessels deliberately rammed Philippine resupply boats near a strategic reef in the South China Sea to prevent them from delivering food to a derelict warship on the Second Thomas Shoal.

China Coast Guard sailors brandished knives, an axe, and other weapons, threatening their Filipino counterparts.

Dramatic video footage showed a Filipino soldier losing a thumb due to the clash, while a Chinese sailor was seen deflating a rubber boat with Philippine troops aboard.

This is how barbaric the Chinese Coast Guard is in the recent RoRe mission of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. These videos show how blatantly they use physical attacks and violence to prevent our soldiers from completing the legitimate and humanitarian resupply mission to… pic.twitter.com/7vzFDem1DE

— Jay Tarriela (@jaytaryela) June 19, 2024

Despite calls to consider the latest altercation an armed attack that could invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said he believes it has not reached that point yet.

“Well, you know this was probably a misunderstanding or an accident. We’re not yet ready to classify this as an armed attack. I don’t know whether the ones we saw are bolo, ax, nothing beyond that,” he stressed.

Need for Direct US Support

The June 17 incident was not the first altercation between China and the Philippines in the contested maritime territory.

In October last year, the two nations traded blame for two collisions between their boats on another resupply mission.

Two months later, Manila accused the Chinese coast guard of using water cannons to obstruct three government boats delivering provisions to Filipino fishermen near a reef off its coast.

Former US National Security Deputy Adviser Matt Pottinger has mentioned the possibility of direct US naval support, but the Philippine government said they wanted the resupply missions to be a “pure Philippine operation.”

“This is our legitimate national interest, so we don’t see any reason for [the US] to come in,” Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said.

The post Philippines Turned Down US Help on China Row: Official appeared first on The Defense Post.

Manila and Beijing have a long history of maritime territorial disputes in the hotly contested waterway but last month’s incident was the most serious in a number of escalating confrontations.

Chinese coast guard personnel wielding knives, sticks, and an axe surrounded and boarded three Philippine navy boats on June 17 during a resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal.

A Filipino soldier lost a finger in the clash, with Manila also accusing the Chinese coast guard of looting guns and damaging three boats as well as navigational and communication equipment.

Beijing insisted its coast guard behaved in a “professional and restrained” way and blamed Manila for the clash.

A handful of Filipino troops are stationed on a rusty warship deliberately grounded on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert Manila’s claims to the area.

Philippine foreign affairs undersecretary Theresa Lazaro and China’s vice foreign minister Chen Xiaodong had “frank and constructive discussions” on Tuesday, the Philippine foreign ministry said in a statement after the talks.

“The two sides discussed their respective positions on Ayungin Shoal and affirmed their commitment to de-escalate tensions without prejudice to their respective positions,” the statement said, using the country’s name for Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

“Noting recent incidents in the South China Sea, both sides recognised that there is a need to restore trust, rebuild confidence, and create conditions conducive to productive dialogue and interaction,” it said, adding that “significant differences remain.”

China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, brushing aside competing claims from several Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its stance has no legal basis.

Chinese forces have used water cannon and military-grade lasers and collided with Filipino resupply vessels and their escorts in previous confrontations near disputed reefs.

Philippine Navy Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told reporters on Tuesday that the June 17 incident was “the most aggressive” in “recent history”.

“The reason why we are calling this out is because we don’t want any unintended consequence,” Trinidad told reporters. 

“Basically, their actions increase the risk for miscalculation.”

‘Actions Speak Louder Than Words’

The latest confrontation has fueled concerns that the dispute could drag in the United States, which has a mutual defense pact with Manila.

The Philippine government has said that it does not consider the June 17 clash as an “armed attack” that would trigger a provision in the treaty for Washington to come to Manila’s aid.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said that the United States “would welcome any efforts to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea.”

But he added that in dealing with Beijing, “actions speak louder than words.”

The two sides signed an arrangement Tuesday on improving the Philippines-China Maritime Communications Mechanism and agreed to continue discussions between their coast guards. 

China and the Philippines launched the consultative meeting in 2017 to promote the peaceful management of conflicts in the South China Sea.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said last week the Manila meeting would look to establish “confidence-building measures” that can create the basis for “more serious discussions.”

“We still believe in the primacy of dialogue, and diplomacy should prevail even in the face of these serious incidents, though I admit it’s also a challenge,” Manalo told a Philippine Senate public hearing on the Second Thomas Shoal confrontation.

Second Thomas Shoal lies about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.

China deploys coast guard and other boats to patrol the waters around the shoal and has turned several reefs into artificial militarized islands.

The post Philippines, China Agree to ‘De-Escalate’ South China Sea Tensions appeared first on The Defense Post.