Killer-Drone Showdown Set as Lockheed Unveils Jet-Powered ‘Bot

Sea Ghost concept. Image: Lockheed Martin

Sometime in the next few years the world’s most sophisticated drone prototypes will likely face off in what could be a multi-billion-dollar competition to shape the future of air warfare. And now we finally know what all four contestants look like.
On Friday, number-one defense contractor Lockheed Martin released the first official teaser image of its Sea Ghost jet-powered killer drone. Along with previously disclosed unmanned aerial vehicle designs from rivals Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Atomics, the Sea Ghost will go head-to-head for a Navy contract to put fast, stealthy, missile- and bomb-armed drones on the decks of aircraft carriers by 2018.


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2K12 KUB

US Military and Local Police Working Together on American Streets

The US military is being used to protect civilian events, like the 2012 Democratic and Republican Party National Conventions in Tampa, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina.
USNORTHCOM and Leon Panetta, US Secretary of Defense, has readily admitted that US armed forces will collaborate with local law enforcement “if called upon”.
In fact, more than 20,000 troops were brought home and readied for deployment within the US to assist in “civil unrest and crowd control”.
The US military will prop up the US Secret Service “for operational security reasons we do not discuss the numbers of military personnel and resources that are involved. Additionally, we do not share our operational plans,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cdr. William G. Lewis.
The extent of use of military forces on civilian matters, as reported by mainstream media (MSM) have included the reallocation of hundreds of military police officers being trained to “assist local authorities” in investigation, crime scene and case building.


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Portrait of a Drone Killer: ‘I Have a Duty, and I Execute My Duty’

One wonders if drone pilot Col. D. Scott Brenton listens to Louis Armstrong in the suburban Air National Guard Base in Syracuse from which he murders people 7,000 miles away.

“I see mothers with children, I see fathers with children, I see fathers with mothers, I see kids playing soccer,” Brenton tells the New York Times. Drone operators see their intended targets “wake up in the morning, do their work, go to sleep at night,” explains Dave, another high-tech murderer who killed from an office cockpit at Nevada’s Creech Air Force Base and who now trains new recruits to the cyber-killer corps at New Mexico’s Holloman Air Force Base.

When instructed to kill someone he has stalked from the air for a prolonged period, “I feel no emotional attachment to the enemy,” Brenton insists. I have a duty, and I execute my duty.” When the deed is done, he points out, nobody “in my immediate environment is aware of anything that has occurred.”

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S-300 destroyed 10 targets

Boeing integrates Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System into F-15SE

Boeing has integrated Vision Systems International's Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System II/h (JHMCS II/h) on the F-15 Silent Eagle demonstrator aircraft.
"The JHMCS II/h allows a pilot to aim sensors and weapons wherever he or she is looking, through the use of new head-tracking technology and a display projected onto the helmet's visor," said Boeing in a statement.


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80% of Americans think Iran’s nuclear program threatens the US

Four out of five American voters see Iran’s nuclear weapons program as a threat to the United States and its NATO allies, according to a new poll commissioned by The Israel Project and published on Tuesday.

The poll of 800 likely voters in the upcoming US presidential election found that 39 percent considered the Iranian nuclear weapons program a very big threat and 41% thought it was a moderate threat to the United States and NATO member nations. Only 12% said it was not much of a threat and six percent said it was no threat at all.

Sixty percent say Iran’s nuclear program poses a very big threat to Israel and another 27% say the program is a moderate threat. Iranian leaders have frequently vowed to wipe Israel off the map.

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IAI boosts unmanned systems portfolio with Heron NG upgrade

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is offering an upgraded version of its best-selling unmanned air system (UAS), with the Heron NG to carry an enhanced multi-sensor payload.
Representing the fourth "spiral" development of the Heron, the NG has been designed to more effectively meet the operational requirements of IAI's customers.
Sources suggest the new multi-sensor payload will enable the UAS to perform its missions over any terrain, including forests, jungles or swamps, at sea or above urban areas. Imagery and other data acquired will be relayed using a satellite communications system provided by IAI's Elta Systems subsidiary.
The modification will provide for increased flexibility in flight profile, particularly in mountainous terrain and during long-range maritime patrols, as the aircraft will be able to descend below the data link's line of sight without interrupting transmissions.


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Saudi Arabia to surpass oil output record: report

Increased local energy consumption and sanctions on Iran put Saudi oil output on track to reach record levels. (Reuters)

Analysts predict that Saudi Arabia will surpass its record oil output this year, despite pressure from other oil exporting countries to cut back and help increase world oil prices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The Saudi high output comes to offset a decline from Iran which is under international sanctions.

“Our data shows that Saudi Arabia is actively going out there trying to take up Iran's market share,” an analyst said.

Saudi Arabia’s average production level was 9.94 million barrels a day in the first half of 2012. Analysts told the paper that the output averaged 9.9 million to 10 million barrels a day in July due to increased exports and more consumption of crude to meet the high domestic demand for electricity used for air conditioning in summer months.


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IN FOCUS: F-22 pilots and engineers not convinced USAF has found root cause of Raptor's oxygen woes

A number of pilots and engineers are not convinced that the US Air Force has found the root cause of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor's oxygen woes despite the service officially naming the Combat Edge upper pressure garment and its associated systems as the culprits.
"There's one thing I know for certain: The Combat Edge isn't the culprit," one F-22 pilot says. "But they're trying to show positive momentum."
On 24 July, USAF chief of staff Gen Norton Schwartz told reporters that the Combat Edge upper-pressure garment and its associated breathing regulator/anti-g (BRAG) valve, hoses and connectors are to blame for the a series of "hypoxia-like" incidents have plagued the service's F-22 fleet since 2008.

©USAF

Schwartz added that the service must pay more attention to man-machine interfaces. He further added that the USAF's physiology expertise has atrophied over the course of the years.
Schwartz said that the service's experts did not fully understand the stresses on the human body at the altitudes and g-forces where the Raptor operates. Moreover, during the Raptor's original developmental and operational testing, important details were missed, Schwartz said.
But despite publicly disclosing what it believes to be the root cause of the Raptor's problems, the USAF says that it has not yet finished a written report that summarizes all the various tests, analysis and findings to support its conclusions.
Kevin Divers, a former USAF rated physiologist and F-22 flight test engineer, disputes Schwartz's assertions. Divers was the life support test-pilot vehicle interface officer responsible for testing and certifying both the original contractor furnished flight gear and the current flight gear on the Raptor fleet.
"To assume that important details were missed in the original developmental and operational testing is a very ignorant statement to make when I have approached the air force many times to give them insight into important details from that timeframe. If they had taken me up on my offer to help it should have made this whole investigation faster and cheaper for the USAF and the taxpayer" Divers says. "It is fair to say things were missed, but it isn't fair to give the Secretary of Defense and members of Congress the impression that the air force has used all of its available and capable resources to get to what I believe is a very flawed and misdirected conclusion. The USAF is still missing important details by ignoring those of us who believe in the airplane and know that we can help."


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Military Sealift Command-Chartered High-Speed Vessel Swift Departs Rota, Spain

The Military Sealift Command-chartered High-Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2) departed Rota, Spain, after loading cargo and supplies to support the ship’s continued participation in Africa Partnership Station (APS) West 2012, July 29.
Swift spent four days in Rota onloading more than 147 pallets including various goodwill and humanitarian supplies to assist medical care in the region.
“It’s amazing to think of the impact that some of these items will have,” said Lt. Christopher Ganske, Swift’s supply officer. “We have 11,000 eyeglasses, and that’s just an example of what two pallets contain, but that holds the possibility to affect thousands of people’s lives in just Liberia alone.”


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Rolls-Royce Snecma powers up next-generation military engine study

A new era of Anglo-French co-operation in military combat aircraft technology has been underpinned by a bilateral contract placed with Rolls-Royce and Snecma by the UK Ministry of Defence.
Announced on 30 July, the deal will enable joint venture company Rolls-Royce Snecma to "undertake studies into the next generation of UK and French combat aircraft engines", it says. This will include investigating whether to pursue "derivatives of existing military powerplants or the development of novel power and propulsion concepts" for a next-generation combat air vehicle, it adds.
While they are in rival camps in producing the Eurojet EJ200 and M88 turbofan engines for the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale, Snecma vice-president and general manager, military engines Didier Desnoyer points to a "tradition of tight-knit partnership" with R-R. This has included products such as the Adour used in the BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainer and Anglo-French Sepecat Jaguar, and the Europrop International TP400-D6, which powers the Airbus Military A400M transport.


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Japan flags Chinese army's growing role as risk issue

(Reuters) - Japan on Tuesday flagged the Chinese army's growing role in shaping the country's foreign policy as a security risk, saying a sense of caution exists across East Asia about Beijing's apparent military expansion in the region.
In its annual defense white paper, Tokyo said some believe that relations between the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Communist Party leadership were "getting complex" and said this was a matter of concern.
There is a possibility that the degree of military influence on foreign policy decisions has been changing, the paper said, without elaborating.
"This situation calls for attention as a risk management issue," it added.


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US Air Force looks to train pilots for hi-tech threats

For more than a decade, US fighter pilots have become accustomed to "owning the sky" in wars against insurgents who have no warplanes or air defenses.
But in the desert outside Las Vegas, the US Air Force is trying to get back to basics, reminding pilots how to fly against a sophisticated enemy with fighter jets, surface-to-air missiles and satellite jammers.
Traditional combat skills have gotten "a little rusty," said Steve Imonti, a former fighter pilot who helps oversee simulated air battles out of Nellis Air Force Base.
If a pilot goes three years or more without attending the "red flag" mock battles at Nellis, "then you see that rust really start to build up," said Imonti, director of programs and evaluation for the 414th Combat Training Squadron.

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U.S., Pakistan sign deal to allow supply routes through 2015

STRINGER/PAKISTAN/REUTERS - Paramilitary soldiers escort a convoy of trucks carrying supplies for NATO troops before crossing into Afghanistan from the Pakistan border town of Chaman on July 16, 2012. Pakistan and the U.S. reached a deal to reopen land routes that NATO uses to supply troops in Afghanistan.

• 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan will allow NATO supply convoys to cross its territory into Afghanistan until the end of 2015, one year beyond the deadline for withdrawal of U.S. combat forces there, under an agreement signed Tuesday by U.S. and Pakistani officials.
The pact seems to close, for now, one of the most contentious chapters in the long-turbulent relationship between Washington and Islamabad, cementing cooperation by Pakistan in winding down the war in Afghanistan, at least in terms of logistical assistance. Washington has also urged Islamabad to step up its participation in the peace process by bringing to the negotiating table militant groups that shelter in Pakistani’s tribal belt and regularly cross the border to attack NATO troops.


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Budget officials: Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan underfunded by $94 billion

By Cristina Silva

Stars and Stripes

Published: July 30, 2012

In this 2009 file photo, the Office of Naval Research E-Craft, an experimental high-speed transformable hull form vessel, is under construction at Alaska Ship and Drydock in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Courtesy U.S. Navy

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The Navy’s most recent 30-year construction plan underestimates the cost of growing and maintaining its fleet by more than $3 billion annually over the next three decades, according to a recent analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
According to the report, the Navy faces a $94 billion funding gap from 2013 through 2042 as it looks to build roughly 268 ships for its aging inventory.
The potential budget shortfall represents the latest financial hurdle for the Navy, which according to its own figures, expects to see its budget cut by $1.4 billion, to $156 billion, in the coming fiscal year. As a result, the Navy has sharply reduced its shipbuilding expectations.

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Ecuador, Brazil to help set up Haiti new military

PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 30 (Reuters) - Brazil and Ecuador have
agreed to help Haiti set up a new army that will eventually
replace the U.N. peacekeeping force that has protected the
impoverished Caribbean nation on and off since 1994, officials
say.

Haiti's President Michel Martelly has been pushing the idea
of reconstituting the army for almost a year, saying Haitians
would prefer to have their country protected by its own troops
rather than United Nations soldiers deployed in Haiti.

Brazil's Defense Ministry confirmed it was prepared to help
Haiti in everything it needs to restore its army, including
military training and engineering. Ecuador has also pledged its
support, a defense ministry official said.


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India blackout causes further chaos as power cut spreads east

About 600 million people are served by the northern and eastern grids. Link to this video
India's energy crisis has spread to more than half the country after its eastern, northern and north-eastern electricity grids collapsed, leaving more than 600 million people without power.
The power failure on Tuesday has raised serious concerns about India's outdated infrastructure and the government's inability to meet the country's energy needs as it vies to become a regional economic superpower.
The outage in the eastern grid came a day after India's northern power grid collapsed for several hours. Officials restored power, but at 1.05pm the northern grid collapsed again. About the same time, the eastern grid failed as well, with the north-eastern grid reported as being down shortly after.


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100 U.S. Dead in Afghanistan in Three Months

With so much else going on in the news -- a horrific mass shooting in Colorado, a huge election year and, of course, the economy -- it is far too easy for the average American to forget that we are a nation at war.  What little public debate there is about the continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan is incredibly muted and our people appear to largely believe we are winding down in that conflict. So we have a recipe for ignorance in which the majority of Americans have no clue about how many of our men and women are dying there every day.
The numbers of our war dead in Afghanistan just since May 1 are both sad and astounding: over 100 troops have died in less than three months, with 39 killed in May, 29 in June and 35 so far in July.
To give you an idea of how we are most assuredly not "winding down," there have been 2,063 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan in the 10 years and nine months since our war there began -- or an average of 16 deaths a month for almost 11 years.


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US arms deals in the works with uneasy Gulf allies

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  Nov. 12, 2007 - FILE photo of an Emarati visitor asks a U.S. military representative questions, as they stand next to an MQ-1 Predator spy plane, during the 2nd day of the 10th Dubai Airshow, at the Dubai airport, United Arab Emirates. (AP)
  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates –  While Iran's military loudly trumpets every new project or purported advance in hopes of rattling the U.S. and its Gulf Arab allies, the Pentagon is quietly answering with an array of proposed arms sales across the region as part of a wider effort to counter Tehran.
In the past two months, the Defense Department has notified Congress of possible deals totaling more than $11.3 billion to Gulf states such as Qatar and Kuwait, which are seen as some of America's critical front-line partners in containing Iran and protecting oil shipping lanes.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/07/30/us-arms-deals-in-works-with-uneasy-gulf-allies/#ixzz22DYeQVUP

Iron Dome Defenses Increasing by 2013

Iron Dome system

Flash 90

Two more Iron Dome anti-missile defense systems are to be delivered to Israel by early next year.
In addition, U.S. President Barack Obama signed a bill over the weekend that expanded America's defense cooperation with Israel. The bill included a $70 million allocation for the Iron Dome that was approved by the Congress two months ago.
The Iron Dome system is equipped with a battery of three launchers and uses Tamir interceptor missiles to intercept and destroy rockets at ranges of 4 to 70 kilometers.


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Japanese defense white paper focuses on China's naval threat

Satoshi Morimoto, the Japanese defense minister. (Photo/Xinhua)

China's defense budget is again the focus of the latest white paper published by the Japanese defense ministry on Jul. 31, according to Duowei News, a website run by overseas Chinese.
According to the report, Beijing has increased its defense spending to 30 times the levels seen 24 years ago. The penetration of Chinese vessels past the Pacific first island chain and the country's ambitions to create a blue-water navy are all considered a threat to Japan's national security. It stated that the purpose of China's naval development is to prevent Taiwan from declaring independence, promote its maritime interests and defend its shipping lanes. The white paper said that Beijing's lack of transparency on the issue has been a cause for concern among the international community.


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Russia to get stronger nuclear navy, Putin says

1 of 1Full Size

By Gleb Bryanski
SEVERODVINSK, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin oversaw the start of construction of one of Russia's newest generation submarines on Monday and vowed to boost nuclear naval forces to safeguard the country's position as a leading sea power.
Warning that its navy would protect top energy producer Russia's interests in the oil-rich Arctic, Putin led the ceremony to begin building the submarine Prince Vladimir, named after the ruler who founded a precursor state to modern Russia.
The vessel is the fourth Borei class submarine, designed to carry one of the country's newest and most powerful intercontinental nuclear missiles, the Bulava, or Mace.
"We believe that our country should maintain

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M1 Abrams tank builder pushes Congress to keep contract going

Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division jump off an M1 Abrams tank during training exercises in Kuwait in 2003. | David P. Gilkey/Detroit Free Press/MCT

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/07/30/158730/m1-abrams-tank-builder-pushes.html#storylink=cpy

WASHINGTON — The M1Abrams tank has survived the Cold War, two conflicts in Iraq and a decade of war in Afghanistan. No wonder: It weighs as much as nine elephants and it’s fitted with a cannon that’s capable of turning a building to rubble from two and a half miles away. But now the machine is a target in an unusual battle between the Defense Department and lawmakers who are the beneficiaries of large campaign donations by its manufacturer.
The Pentagon, facing smaller budgets and looking toward a new global strategy, wants to save as much as $3 billion by freezing refurbishing work on the M1 from 2014 to 2017, so it can redesign the vehicle from top to bottom. Its proposal would idle a large factory in Lima, Ohio, as well as halt work at dozens of subcontractors in Pennsylvania, Michigan and other states.

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Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/07/30/158730/m1-abrams-tank-builder-

 

 

 

pushes.html#storylink=cpy

New Raytheon warhead lethal to enemy rockets

File image.

The U.S. Army and Raytheon completed a warhead test for the new Accelerated Improved Interceptor Initiative (AI3). Once fielded, AI3 is intended to provide a new level of warfighter protection by destroying incoming rockets, artillery and mortars.
The ground-based system will leverage proven technologies from many of Raytheon's programs, including the Sidewinder air-to-air missile and Small Diameter Bomb II.
"AI3, which can be fielded by 2014, will save soldiers' lives," said Lt. Col. Brent Wilhide, the U.S. Army's AI3 product manager.
"This recent test success was important because it proved the warhead Raytheon will use for AI3 can neutralize the kind of threat AI3 is designed to counter."
The test, which marked a key milestone in AI3's 18-month development program, evaluated six different warheads. AI3 is a rapid acquisition program; it is being managed out of the Army's Counter-Rockets, Artillery and Mortar program directorate and Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space.


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The East Asia Pivot

Chinese telescope / AP

BY: Bill Gertz
July 30, 2012 5:00 am
A Pentagon-sponsored report to Congress outlines the U.S. military’s new pivot to Asia and calls for adding attack submarines and Marines based throughout the Pacific to head off a future war with China.
The report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies presents three options based on impending cuts in defense spending. They include keeping the current status quo forces, mainly in Japan and South Korea, or modestly increasing military forces by adding attack submarines, Marine Air-Ground Task Forces, more warships and bombers, another aircraft carrier strike group, and more intelligence aircraft. A third option looks at sharply cutting forces throughout Asia, which the report said risks undermining stability.
The report is “consistent with the major elements of the [Defense] Department’s strategy for the region,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a cover letter accompanying the report.

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Four sentenced to death over $2.6bn Iran bank fraud

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied his government was involved in the scandal

Four people have been sentenced to death for their roles in Iran's biggest-ever bank fraud scandal.

Two other defendants received life sentences, while 33 more will spend up to 25 years in jail, the chief prosecutor was quoted as saying.
The scandal involved forged documents reportedly used by an investment company to secure loans worth $2.6bn.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year denied allegations that his government was involved.
The identities of the defendants have not been made public.


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C-130 YMC-130H Lockheed Hercules flight test accident crash

Discovery Communications Content copyright.
Top secret Iran hostage rescue mission aircraft

YMC-130H were three modified Lockheed Hercules Aircraft for Top Secret

India Eyes Nuclear Triad

“India’s drive to develop a nuclear triad proceeds apace,” write Hans M. Kristensen and Robert S. Norris in India’s entry in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ 2012 Nuclear Notebook.
Like most nuclear-armed countries, New Delhi maintains a certain degree of opacity about the size of its nuclear arsenal making it difficult to pinpoint. Thus, while estimating that India has produced enough weapons-grade plutonium for 100-130 nuclear warheads, Kristensen and Norris believe that it has only produce 80-100 of them. This may increase in the future, however, as India enhances its ability to produce plutonium, and increases its delivery systems.


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Group of U.S. Inspectors to Fly over Russia, Belarus

Boeing OC-135B Open Skies


A group of U.S. inspectors will make a one-week surveillance flight over Russia and Belarus in line with the international Open Skies Treaty beginning on Monday, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“In line with the implementation of the Open Skies Treaty, a U.S. mission will make an observatory flight over the Russian and Belarusian territories between July 30 and August 4 on board of an OC-135B aircraft,” the spokesman said.
He said the surveillance flight will begin at the Kubinka airport in the Moscow Region and both Russian and Belarusian experts will be also on board of the aircraft to make sure the flight goes along the earlier coordinated route.

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Cassidian Introduces New State-Of-The-Art ‘SmartRadar’

      Cassidian has introduced an airborne ground surveillance radar that uses the newest ultra-high-resolution radar technology to monitor wide areas with stationary targets while at the same time detecting and tracking moving targets at great distances.

      The utilisation of a special modular architecture permits scalability of bandwidth, frequency band and processing performance. Rapid adaptation to new operational requirements through simple, configurable firmware and software together with a variable cooling design make “SmartRadar” (Smart = Scalable Modular Aerospace Radar Technology) suited to a wide range of manned and unmanned platforms.


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France and Britain Make Progress with Two Out of Three UAVs

A possible UCAV for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) is depicted in this BAE Systems concept. (BAE Systems)

July 27, 2012, 12:03 PM

France and the UK signed MoUs for the first phase of a Future Combat Air System (FCAS) based on a UCAV, and for industrial and military cooperation on the Watchkeeper tactical UAV. But although British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond reported “excellent progress on UAVs” after a meeting with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, no agreement was reached on joint-study funding for a Male UAV. In fact, the Watchkeeper cooperation was agreed at the previous cross-channel defence ministers’ meeting last February. That meeting also looked forward to the timely signing of a Male study contract with BAE Systems and Dassault.


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Ehud Barak says he’s ready to hand in his gas mask

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he is confident that Israel will not be attacked with non-conventional weapons because of the expected consequences to the aggressor.

“There is no entity in the world that will dare attack Israel with chemical weapons,” Barak said in an interview with Israel Radio on Monday, noting that he was prepared to give up his own state-issued gas mask to prove his point.

The comments come after a wave of concern swept the country amid a an exchange of thinly veiled warnings between Israel and Syria.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman warned last week that the transfer of weapons of mass destruction to Lebanese terror group Hezbollah would constitue a casus belli for Israel. In an interview with Fox News, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel may have to act to keep Syrian chemical weapons out of the wrong hands.

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Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker-D Extreme Landing Attempt.

Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker-D Extreme Landing Attempt.

The M1 Abrams: The Army tank that could not be stopped

The M1 Abrams tank has survived the Cold War, two conflicts in Iraq and a decade of war in Afghanistan. No wonder – it weighs as much as nine elephants and is fitted with a cannon capable of turning a building to rubble from two and a half miles away.

But now the machine finds itself a target in an unusual battle between the Defense Department and lawmakers who are the beneficiaries of large donations by its manufacturer.
The Pentagon, facing smaller budgets and looking towards a new global strategy, has decided it wants to save as much as $3 billion by freezing refurbishment of the M1 from 2014 to 2017, so it can redesign the hulking, clanking vehicle from top to bottom.

Its proposal would idle a large factory in Lima, Ohio, as well as halt work at dozens of subcontractors in Pennsylvania, Michigan and other states.

 

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Australia Defense Minister Defends Military Spending Cuts

SYDNEY — Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith on July 29 defended military spending cuts, saying the belt-tightening would not impact overseas operations or those with key ally the United States.
Canberra announced in May that it would slash Aus$5.5 billion (U.S. $5.76 billion) from its defense budget as part of sweeping government cuts, deferring or scrapping jet and weapons deliveries and sacking 1,000 staff.
Smith said he had spoken with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on three occasions about the cuts, which do not involve cutting military personnel numbers or overseas operations, most recently last week.


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Moscow Hopes to Agree Fleet Upgrade with Ukraine by Yearend

Moscow Hopes to Agree Fleet Upgrade with Ukraine by Yearend


Russia expects to reach an agreement with Ukraine on the modernization of its Black Sea Fleet before the end of the year, fleet commander Rear Adm. Alexander Fedotenkov said on Monday.
The agreement should enable Russia to bring in new warships to the naval base it rents in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, Fedotenkov said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Ukraine had objected to the replacement of the fleet’s obsolete warships with new ones.
Under the 1997 treaty, giving Russia use of the port of Sevastopol, Russia may not increase the number of warships in Crimea or modernize their weapon systems.

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Rebels attack army base

CNN’s Ivan Watson reported from northern Syria on Sunday, where he witnessed rebel fighters launch an offensive against a Syrian army base north of Aleppo.

“The offensive began around sunset, and we’ve been watching a constant stream of tracer fire emerging from the location where the Syrian army base is,” Watson said.
Aleppo is a key city in the ongoing battles between the Free Syrian Army and President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. It has been embroiled in bloodshed since since rebels burned a police a station and spurred fights in the city Wednesday. In response, the Syrian government launched a violent offensive on Saturday.


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Boeing 787 Engine Failure Sparks Fire at Charleston Airport

The first Air India Boeing 787 sits on display after rolling out of the manufacturer's Charleston, S.C., factory on April 27. (Photo: Boeing)

July 30, 2012, 9:35 AM

Another Boeing 787 engine problem—this time involving a General Electric GEnx turbofan in an airplane destined for Air India—sparked a grass fire at Charleston International Airport during a pre-flight test on Saturday, forcing the airport to close its main runway for more than an hour. The contained engine failure has prompted an investigation by the NTSB, Boeing and GE, maker of the engine now in service with Japan Airlines on four 787s.


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Debate Renewed Over Taiwan’s Need for Tanks

Taiwan confirmed it is negotiating with the U.S. to buy M1A1 Abrams tanks used by U.S. troops, such as the one seen here in Afghanistan. (Cpl. Mark Stroud / U.S. Marine Corps)

TAIPEI — Debate over the practicality of procuring more main battle tanks (MBTs) for Taiwan has intensified since the Ministry of National Defense confirmed last week it was negotiating with the U.S. for surplus M1A1 Abrams MBTs left over from the Iraq War.
The announcement renewed debate over the need for a heavy MBT, said a Defense Ministry source, “but they are cheap and available now.” The deal would include refurbishment, but not an upgrade, he said. In 2011, Vice Defense Minister Chao Shih-chang was quoted by the local media saying the Army needed 200 new MBTs.
Since the 1996 Taiwan Strait missile crisis, Taiwan has focused on improving air-sea battle capabilities, and the Army has watched its grip on power and influence slip since the end of the Cold War. The Army maintained a large invasion force to retake mainland China during the Cold War.

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What China’s Leaders Fear Most

The news that Chinese prosecutors have filed formal murder charges against Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced former Communist Party boss of Chongqing Bo Xilai, has conjured up tantalizing images of a sensational trial at which the dirtiest laundry of the Bo family would be mercilessly aired.  But before aspiring writers of a political thriller rush to purchase the rights to the Bo saga, its obvious entertaining value notwithstanding, we need to pause and reflect on one dimension of the Bo story that has not received sufficient attention: the insecurity of China's top rulers.


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India Successfully Test Fires BrahMos Cruise Missile

BrahMos Cruise Missile


The Indian army has successfully test-fired a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, a spokesman for BrahMos Aerospace, which produces the missile, said on Sunday.
“The test launch aimed to check the work of some new systems installed on the missile,” the spokesman said.
The missile was launched from the Chandipur missile test range in the eastern province of Orissa.
BrahMos Aerospace Ltd, set up in 1998, manufactures supersonic cruise missiles based on the Russian-designed NPO Mashinostroyenie 3M55 Yakhont (SS-N-26).

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Six countries begin military drill in Australia

Two Australian F/A-18 Hornet aircraft welcome Indonesian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30 Flanker aircraft into Darwin to participate in Exercise Pitch Black 2012. An Australian MoD photo

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA (BNS): Six countries have kicked off an air exercise, codenamed Pitch Black, in the Northern Territory of Australia on July 27.

Over 2,000 personnel and up to 100 military aircraft from Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, New Zealand and the US are taking part in the biennial military drill which would be held from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bases in Darwin and Tindal.

"Exercise Pitch Black will use massive military training areas near Bradshaw and Delamere to practice offensive counter air and offensive air support operations with large formations of foreign aircraft," the Australian Defence Ministry said.

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Military urged to help counter IEDs at home

Members of law enforcement prepare to place what ATF sources describe as a "water shot" in the apartment of alleged Aurora, Colo., gunman James Holmes. The "water shot" is placed near an IED and explodes. The blast is used to disable the IED.
Photo: Alex Brandon / AP 

 

WASHINGTON — Devilish improvised explosive devices that have claimed the lives and limbs of thousands of American soldiers across Iraq and Afghanistan pose a growing threat across Texas and the United States, inciting calls for urgent cooperation between U.S. military experts who are familiar with the devices and civilian law enforcement officers who are not.
Army Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero, director of the Pentagon's so-called Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, alerted Congress in classified testimony this month to the mounting IED threat at home and the challenges his team faces trying to train stateside law enforcement agencies to detect, disarm and defeat IEDs.

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In a Jerusalem park, a group of potential ultra-Orthodox IDF recruits find a bridge between two worlds

Evening was falling as I walked through Jerusalem’s Sacher Park, searching for a group of haredi guys doing sprints. I figured they wouldn’t be too hard to pick out of the summer crowd, dressed as they would be in black hats with sidelocks hanging, running a 1k around the park circuit. Sacher Park is full of haredim, but not too many jogging in a black bekishe, or suit jacket.

I was wrong. I didn’t find them. It was Sefi, short for Yosefi Zeev — one of two counselors for this particular group of young haredim taking part in the Aharai pre-army training program — who eventually found me. He brought me over to sit in on their session — to join a motley but motivated group of haredi guys my age (21), who are considering induction into the IDF.

Zeev was sporting a typical workout look — shorts and t-shirt, with a small kippah perched on his shaven head. His co-counselor, Gad Shuali, wasn’t wearing a kippah, but is religious as well, as all counselors must be to participate in this haredi pre-army program run by the Aharai non-profit leadership organization.

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F 16

Russia’s Top Court Upholds 12-Year Sentence for ‘U.S. Spy’

Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld a 12-year jail sentence for an ex-serviceman for selling classified topographic maps to the Pentagon.

Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld a 12-year jail sentence for an ex-serviceman for selling classified topographic maps to the Pentagon.
A Moscow city court established in May that Vladimir Lazar, a former colonel with the Topographic Service of Russia’s General Staff of the Armed Forces, had transferred 7,500 classified maps to Alexander Lesment, with whom he had been a fellow student, and who had allegedly collaborated with U.S. intelligence since 1994.
Lazar was found guilty of high treason and divulging state secrets. He was also stripped of his military rank.


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Syria and Jordan troops clash on border

JORDANIAN and Syrian forces have traded gunfire on their border.
According to a Jordanian security source, "brief" clashes broke out between the two armies in the Tal Al Sihab region after Syrian forces opened fire on some 300 refugees attempting to flee into Jordan. The Syrians had targeted Jordanian forces by mistake.
Jordanian soldiers returned fire, said the source, igniting a fierce 10-minute-long battle between the two sides.
Saudi Arabian news network Al Arabiya reported two Jordanian soldiers were injured, a claim both the source and Jordanian officials denied.


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The CIA Had A Stealthy Insectocopter Flying 40 Years Ago

Who knows what kind of craziness the CIA is working on now, but back in the 1970s, the goal was to perfect a robotic dragonfly. Now, 40 years later, you can see footage of the prototype in action.
The insectocopter's job would have been to deliver listening bugs used to surveil unsuspecting targets, but the little drone could never quite manage to hold its own against crosswinds so the project was eventually scrappped. Had it not been, we probably wouldn't be hearing about it today.


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Sanctions against Iran stymied efforts to produce ballistic missiles: report

Sanctions against Iran’s imports of information technology and knowledge have prevented Tehran from having access to key propellant and other ingredients necessary to develop its missile program. (Reuters)

By Al Arabiya

Sanctions imposed against Iran have thwarted Tehran’s efforts to develop and produce long-range ballistic missiles capable of striking potential targets in Western Europe and beyond, reported London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) on Monday.

The report, however, said that there is “mounting evidence,” suggesting that the sanctions did not prevent “Tehran from operating an increased number of centrifuges for uranium-enrichment activities or adding to its stockpile of fissile material.”

“If sanctions continue to disrupt Tehran’s access to the key propellant ingredients and components needed to produce large solid-propellant rocket motors, Iranian attempts to develop and field long-range ballistic missiles could be significantly impeded, if not halted altogether,” the report added.


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Italy orders two G-550 AEW aircraft from Israel

The Conformal Airborne Early Warning & Control System. An IAI photo

JERUSALEM (BNS): Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has received a contract from Italy to manufacture and supply two G-550 Conformal Airborne Early Warning & Control Systems (CAEW) to the to the Italian Air Force.

The deal, inked on July 19 and totaling $750 million, also includes ground support systems and logistical support package for the aircraft.

"As part of the Israel Ministry of Defense's agreement with the government of Italy, IAI will manufacture and supply to the Italian Air Force two G-550 Conformal Airborne Early Warning & Control Systems (CAEW), Ground Support Systems and logistical support package totaling $750 million," the Israeli company said.


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US 'spent more than $200 million on unwanted Iraqi police training'

Students from the Iraqi Federal Police perform a demonstration drill during their graduation ceremony in Baghdad  Photo: AFP/GETTY

 The Police Development Programme (PDP), the largest of its kind, was a five-year project designed to boost Iraqi security forces when US troops left the country last December.

It had been pitted as the centrepiece for America’s ongoing reconstruction effort in the region.

Included in the plans, was a bid to turn over the $108 million Baghdad Police College Annex to Iraqis by the end of the year and an end to training at a $98 million site at the US consulate in the southern city of Basra. Additionally, the number of advisers was to be cut by nearly 90 per cent – from 350 to 36.

But diplomats at the American embassy in Baghdad, who were tasked with implementing the programme, failed to receive written commitment from Iraq to participate, a report by the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction said, leading inspectors to query whether the $200 million initiative was wanted or needed.

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Russia seeks sea power with decrepit fleet

Russia’s boast that it plans to extend its naval forces to bases in Cuba, the Seychelles and Vietnam poses little strategic threat to U.S. interests in Latin America, the Indian Ocean or the Pacific, analysts say.
It is more a political move than a military one, as President Vladimir Putin continues to contest American supremacy, particularly during the Syrian crisis.
The Russian fleet may number 300 ships, about the same as the U.S. Navy, but its aging warships are less advanced than America’s high-powered guided-missile cruisers and destroyers. The Kremlin owns only one operational aircraft carrier, as opposed to Washington’s 11 nuclear-powered carriers and strike groups that comprise what is called a “blue-water” navy able to operate far from home.
Moscow deploys few ships outside its waters, while the Pentagon stations a quarter of the fleet at sea at any one time.
“Russia is trying to punch above its weight in world affairs, trying to pretend it is a major world power when it is in fact a state in [a] declining strategic circumstance,” said James Russell, an instructor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.

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US MV-22s are for Japan's national security: Japanese foreign minister

MV-22 Ospreys arrived at Iwakuni aboard cargo ship Green Ridge. (Photo Courtesy of USMC)

While the deployment of an MV-22 Osprey aircraft to the US Marine Corps Air Station in Futenma, Japan is facing opposition from ordinary Japanese citizens, Koichiro Gemba, the foreign minister, stated that the decision was made for the national security of Japan during a press conference held on July 25, according to Global Times, a paper run by the Communist Party of China.
Although the development of China is a great opportunity for the world, Gemba stated that the expansion of Chinese maritime power is currently a major concern for Japan's national security. Under the current US-Japan Mutual Defense Treaty, it is necessary for both nations to acquire new weapons and equipments to contain the growing China, according to Gemba. This is not in line with the "Asia Pivot" strategy of the United States, but also for defending the national interests of Japan.

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Can Turkey Afford Its Extensive Defense Plans?

ANKARA — Turkey’s top procurement body twice this year has reviewed several multibillion-dollar programs on its agenda without making any decisions, leaving some analysts to wonder if Turkey could afford those projects.
The country’s current $4 billion defense budget is scheduled to double in a few years, but analysts ask how the procurement of so many systems would be possible when Turkey, so far, has spent so little on them.
But procurement officials claim the process is proceeding according to plan, which features an incremental approach to contracts and lengthy negotiations that sometimes produce better terms for Turkey, although these tactics carry risk.


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How to Defeat the Air Force’s Powerful Stealth Fighter

An F-22 over Alaska. Photo: Air Force

The fast, stealthy F-22 Raptor is “unquestionably” the best air-to-air fighter in the arsenal of the world’s leading air force. That’s what outgoing Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz wrote in 2009.
Three years later, a contingent of German pilots flying their latest Typhoon fighter have figured out how to shoot down the Lockheed Martin-made F-22 in mock combat. The Germans’ tactics, revealed in the latest Combat Aircraft magazine, represent the latest reality check for the $400-million-a-copy F-22, following dozens of pilot blackouts, and possibly a crash, reportedly related to problems with the unique g-force-defying vests worn by Raptor pilots.
In mid-June, 150 German airmen and eight twin-engine, non-stealthy Typhoons arrived at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska for an American-led Red Flag exercise involving more than 100 aircraft from Germany, the U.S. Air Force and Army, NATO, Japan, Australia and Poland. Eight times during the two-week war game, individual German Typhoons flew against single F-22s in basic fighter maneuvers meant to simulate a close-range dogfight.

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Security company G4S fell short at Olympics and US bases in S. Korea

SEOUL — The international security company in the world spotlight for its failure to provide enough guards for the London Olympics is the same company that failed to fully staff gate guard positions on U.S. bases in South Korea earlier this year.
The company, G4S, has agreed to reimburse the British government for the cost of deploying thousands of British military personnel to provide security during the Games — estimated to be as much as $78 million. It has also agreed to reimburse the U.S. government for the cost of manning gates with American troops.
The 8th Army would not divulge how much G4S would pay.
G4S, based in Britain, took over gate security at most U.S. Army installations on the Korean Peninsula in December 2011, but could not hire enough guards to do the job. Most who worked for the previous security provider, Joeun Systems Corp., refused to work for the new firm, claiming G4S offered lower pay and longer hours.
The military closed or limited hours at some gates and had soldiers temporarily man others until the company reached full staffing in March.

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Horror Hospital: The Most Shocking Photos And Testimony From The Dawood Military Hospital Scandal

An explosive Congressional investigation revealed horrific new details this week about a U.S. funded military hospital in Afghanistan that kept patients in "Auschwitz-like" conditions.
The investigation also revealed that Lt. General William B. Caldwell, then commander of the $11.2 billion dollar a year Afghan training program, tried to block the probe and ordered a cover-up.
There are currently two ongoing investigations looking into the Dawood Military Hospital abuses: one centered around the Military Whistleblower Protection Act, the other concerned with Caldwell’s politically-motivated decision to delay investigations into the hospital until after the 2010 elections.


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IDF Soldier Collapses and Dies in Training

IDF at Sinai border

Flash 90

A soldier seeking acceptance to one of the IDF’s most elite units collapsed during a trial in the Negev on Wednesday morning. Despite frantic efforts to save him, the soldier was pronounced dead at Eilat’s Yoseftal hospital.

The soldier’s family in Jerusalem has been informed of the tragedy. He has been identified as Yehoshua Hefetz.

The sudden collapse occurred on one of the hottest days so far this year. Doctors are not yet sure if the heat was a factor in the young man’s death.

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Libya- French Rafales in recon mission- TF1

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