Latest news with #militarytechnology
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
India Explores Partners Beyond US to Build Fighter Jet Engines
India is engaging with manufacturers from at least three other countries for jointly making fighter jet engines, expanding its defense partnerships beyond the US as it seeks to close capability gaps amid rising regional tensions, according to people familiar with the matter. The engines being considered are from the UK, France and Japan and India wants to start the project quickly, senior officials said, asking not to be named as discussions are private. The offers will be evaluated by the Defense Research and Development Organisation — India's military research body —they added.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China extends strike range of Type 055 destroyer with airborne early warning system: CCTV
China's most powerful destroyer can now strike beyond visual-range targets with pinpoint precision by linking to an airborne early warning system – the same technology used by the Pakistan Air Force in the recent Kashmir conflict – according to state broadcaster CCTV. On Sunday, CCTV confirmed for the first time that the Type 055 stealth guided-missile destroyer Lhasa could use data links to synchronise with People's Liberation Army's airborne early warning platforms, enabling it to conduct long-range anti-ship and air-defence strikes without relying solely on the ship's radars. Song Zhongping, a former PLA instructor and military commentator, said this represented a major advance in operational coordination. 02:29 Chinese nationalism surges across social media as viral video mocks downed Indian jets Chinese nationalism surges across social media as viral video mocks downed Indian jets 'Battlefield data fusion – what we call 'situation connectivity' – means complete interoperability and seamless information sharing across domains,' he said. CCTV footage showed the Lhasa taking part in a live-fire exercise involving multi-service coordination under the PLA's Northern Theatre Command, firing missiles guided by airborne targeting cues. Shipborne helicopters and sensors fed data into the combat centre for simultaneous sea‑and‑air engagements, the report said. 'We used data links to share battlefield awareness in real time with the early warning aircraft, significantly expanding our detection range,' Wang Mingwei, a senior sergeant on the Lhasa, told CCTV. 'It allows us to identify both air and sea threats far beyond visual range.' Song said the networked capability mirrored Pakistan's use of the same Chinese technology to shoot down Indian fighters near the disputed Kashmir region.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump should build millions of cheap drones, not Golden Dome
The future of war has arrived in Ukraine. That country's defenders are able to hold back a Russian advance, even though the Russians have a manpower advantage of as much as 5-to-1 along some parts of the front line, largely by using drones. By some estimates, unmanned aerial systems are now inflicting 70 percent of all casualties on both sides, reducing traditional weapons such as tanks and artillery almost to irrelevance. The war has also ushered in the use of ground-based and sea-based drones — indeed, using the latter, Ukraine managed to defeat Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Beijing flexes its military might in South Asia and beyond
The scale and intensity of the four-day India-Pakistan conflict beginning on May 7 was marked by the battlefield debut of China's advanced military technology. At the onset of the conflict, US Vice-President J.D. Vance stated that the situation was 'fundamentally none of our business'. But, in a dramatic reversal, US President Donald Trump soon announced that his administration had brokered a 'historic ceasefire' between India and Pakistan. While India and Pakistan were still exchanging fire, the true victor was China, whose military technology transformed the conflict into a global moment of significance for its arms industry. After much speculation about its military capacity, Chinese defence tech has arrived on the global stage. The Pakistan Air Force fielded Chinese J-10C fighter jets and JF-17 planes – jointly developed by China and Pakistan – armed with Chinese PL-15 beyond-visual-range missiles. India used its French fighters and Israeli Harop drones, a line-up many, until now, considered technologically superior. Reports suggest that at least one French-made Rafale was downed by a missile shot from a Chinese-made J-10. The BBC authenticated images of the wreckage. The possibility of a French Rafale being downed by a Chinese J-10 sent shock waves through the Western military hardware industry. Even financial markets responded to the performance of Chinese military weapons as shares of AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, the state-owned manufacturer of the JF-17 and J-10C, soared by 36 per cent within two days. China reportedly provided Pakistan with significant battlefield advantages through realignment of air defence radar systems and satellite surveillance support which allowed Pakistan to monitor Indian troop movements and aerial deployments with precision. This elevated Pakistan's situational awareness and operational readiness, an advantage India did not seem to enjoy. The extent of coordination between China and Pakistan has set alarm bells ringing for both India and its Western partners, including the US which had earlier provided Pakistan with F-16 fighter jets. Anonymous US officials cited by Reuters claim F-16s were not used in the conflict, despite reports to the contrary. However, what is likely even more unsettling for the US is the implication that the conflict may have served as a proxy testing ground for China's military capabilities, especially in the event of a future confrontation over Taiwan
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
China's capacitor-free coil gun can fire 3,000 projectiles a minute, outpacing rivals
State-owned arms maker China South Industries Group (CSGC) has released footage of its electromagnetic coil gun. Allegedly capable of firing 3,000 rounds per minute, the prototype represents a major technical leap in portable directed-energy weaponry. Once perfected, the new weapon could play a key role in military and law enforcement applications. A coil gun is a linear motor that uses electromagnets to accelerate a projectile to high velocity. It's essentially a type of mass driver in which the projectile is launched by magnetic forces rather than traditional gunpowder or explosives. According to reports, the new Chinese weapon uses lithium-ion batteries instead of conventional capacitors to power the electromagnetic coils. This weapon debuts just a few years after another Chinese coil gun, the CS/LW21, was unveiled in 2023. Another handheld electromagnetic coil gun, the CS/LW21 was developed by China North Industries Group (Norinco) for riot control and non-lethal use. This weapon uses a nine-stage coil array powered by an internal lithium-ion battery to fire coin-shaped projectiles without traditional gunpowder. However, the newest coil gun developed by PLA's Army Engineering University features an unprecedented capacitor-free design that allows for sustained rapid fire, a historical limitation in coil gun development. As per a report in the South China Morning Post, the new weapon is equipped with twenty 1-inch (20mm) long sequential copper coils in a bullpup configuration (similar in appearance to a Belgian P90). When a steel projectile or armature is accelerated through these coils using carefully timed magnetic pulses, semiconductor switches precisely control power delivery down to nanoseconds. AI-akin timing algorithms then optimize the magnetic acceleration window to minimize energy waste and reverse drag. Other key features of the gun include special safety fuses to prevent battery overload during 750A current spikes, finite element simulations optimising coil triggers to milliseconds, and heat dissipation engineering that limits the battery's temperature rise. During testing, the weapon reportedly fired up to 3,000 rounds per minute (rpm), far surpassing traditional firearms. That is significantly higher than conventional firearms like the AK-47, which fires around 600 rpm. It also benefits from silent firing, no muzzle flash, and adjustable lethality. Currently, the test model clocks a projectile velocity of about 282 ft/s (86 m/s), which is fast but modest compared to conventional firearms. Although, it will prove sufficient for non-lethal roles like riot control. "Continuous high-speed fire deters approaching threats and overwhelms enemy reactions, which is ideal for riot control," observed the research team led by professor Xiang Hongjun from Army Engineering University. "Other advantages include no muzzle flash, silent operation, and adjustable lethality, making it ideal for 'covert missions'," they added. With scaling and improved battery power, the team is confident the gun could transition to lethal battlefield roles (e.g., drones, automated turrets, or infantry weapons). If matured and militarized, China could lead the race to deploy next-generation small arms that use electromagnetic propulsion instead of chemical reactions. While not yet a battlefield-ready killer, it hints at a future where silent, ultra-fast electromagnetic projectiles could replace bullets.
