India says it successfully test-fires anti-satellite weapon
India successfully test-fired an anti-satellite weapon March 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an unexpected announcement of military advancement that was broadcast live just weeks before a general election.
He said the destruction of a satellite in low-earth orbit by missile demonstrated India’s capacity as a “space power” alongside the U.S., Russia and China.
The announcement is Modi’s latest bid to flex India’s military muscle as his party seeks to retain power in polls beginning April 11.
After 40 Indian soldiers were killed in a February suicide bombing in disputed Kashmir, India said it retaliated with a “surgical strike” on a terrorist camp in Pakistan. But Pakistan later shot down one of India’s Soviet-era fighter jets, prompting scrutiny of India’s aging military hardware.
In Washington, the vice commander of U.S. Air Force Space Command, Lt. Gen. David Thompson, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that the Air Force detected the collision in space. It happened at 1:39 a.m. in Washington, or 10:30 a.m. in New Delhi.
Pallava Bagla, a science writer at the New Delhi Television Channel, said that by hitting the fast-moving satellite, India had crossed a significant threshold and demonstrated it could “bring down an enemy satellite in space.”
Modi said the anti-satellite capability is “not against anyone,” and that India’s policy remains against the use of weapons in space.
Earlier this month, acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan argued for a 2020 Pentagon budget shaped by national security threats posed by China, including anti-satellite weapons.
Thompson said the Air Force detected about 270 objects in the debris field created by the collision and the number was likely to increase. He said the Air Force will inform satellite operators if any of those objects become a threat to satellites in orbit. “At this point in time the International Space Station is not at risk,” he said. AP
China plans multinational fleet review marking navy founding
China plans to hold a multinational fleet review next month in the northern port of Qingdao to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
Defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian told reporters March 28 that more than 60 countries will send representatives to the celebrations and that some would also send ships to take part.
He gave no details, and said further information would be released later. China has been building new, more sophisticated navy ships and submarines at a world-beating pace, challenging U.S. forces and regional rivals such as Japan and India.
That’s given China a growing ability to conduct operations from ports, and while Beijing says its navy is purely for defense, it’s seen as helping cement control over the South China Sea. AP
NATO keeps Jens Stoltenberg as its chief until 2022
NATO has extended the mandate of its top civilian official, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, for two years, making the former Norwegian premier one of the longest-serving heads of the military alliance.
Stoltenberg said March 28 he is “honored” by the decision made by the 29 allies and “I thank them for putting their trust in me.”
He said, “We face the biggest security challenges in a generation and I look forward to continue working with all allies to adapt and modernize NATO.”
Stoltenberg, who assumed office in 2014, will now hold the post until Sept. 30, 2022.
Only former Dutch foreign minister Joseph Luns, who spent 13 years in office from 1971, will have served in the post longer if Stoltenberg sees out his term. AP
Turkey reaffirms commitment to Russian S-400 defense system
Turkey’s foreign minister said March 29 his country is committed to a deal to purchase advanced Russian surface-to-air missile defense system, despite warnings from Washington that the deal could put the NATO member country’s participation in the U.S. F-35 fighter aircraft program at risk.
Turkey’s decision to purchase the S-400 air defense systems from Russia has increased already tense ties between the two NATO allies, including over the war in Syria. The U.S. has issued repeated warnings to Turkey over the planned purchase, arguing that the Russian system may pose a security threat to the high-tech F-35s.
Speaking at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu ruled out the possibility of Turkey selling the S-400s to another country as suggested by some analysts as a compromise solution.
Cavusoglu also insisted Turkey had met all of its obligations concerning the F-35 program.
“As a principle it is contrary to international laws for a third country to oppose an agreement between two countries,” Cavusoglu said. “We are committed to this agreement. There can be no such thing as selling to a third country. We are buying them for our own needs.”
Cavusoglu added that Turkey and Russia were discussing delivery dates.
The U.S. had agreed to sell 100 of its latest, fifth-generation F-35 fighters to Turkey, and has so far delivered two of the aircraft. But Congress last year ordered a delay in future deliveries.
Earlier this month, the top U.S. military commander for Europe, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, told the U.S. Congress that Turkey should reconsider its plan to buy the S-400 from Russia or forfeit other future American military aircraft and systems.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed such threats and has even said Turkey could consider purchasing the more advanced Russian S-500 system in the future. AP