President of Russian Federation to Inspect INS Vikramaditya Taking Sea

Completion of dockside phase of works is an important milestone in the Russian-Indian contract on repair and modernization of INS Vikramaditya by Sevmash shipyard. According to the contract, the ship is to start sea trials on May 25. To fulfill contractual obligations, all capabilities of Sevmash shipyard are applied. High-ranking officials of the shipyard and shipbuilding industry reiterated about definitive meeting of that deadline.

The president will be accompanied by directors and top officials of United Shipbuilding Corporation, Rosoboronexport, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Defense Ministry, and other state agencies.

As the source assumed, apart from the carrier’s trials, the contract for construction of Borei-A and Yasen submarines can be signed in Severodvinsk in the presence of Vladimir Putin or at least extended conference may take place in order to settle the problem. Recall that the contract on aforementioned submarines has not been signed so far due to pricing contradiction between defense ministry and United Shipbuilding Corporation.

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin plans to visit Severodvinsk on May 25 to watch aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya taking the sea for the first time after shipyard phase of repairs, a source in Russian defense industry told Central Navy Portal.

By rt.com

Combat aircraft to fly over London during 2012 Olympics

Sergei Sayenko
May 23, 2012 19:05 Moscow Time

Photo: EPA

During the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, London airspace will be controlled by the Ministry of Defense for the first time since the Second World War to prevent terrorist attacks.
According to The Times newspaper, the Ministry of Defense will control most of the airspace over the South East, and fighter jets will be stationed near a Heathrow airport for the duration of the London Games. The Ministry of Defense also plans to use Rapier missiles, mobile ground radar systems and the Navy to respond to potential terrorist threats. Civilian air traffic controllers, however, will continue to guide jets carrying the extra 500,000 visitors expected during the Games into London airports.
Contributing to security during the Games will be 12.500 police officers and 23.500 employees from the global security services company G4S headquartered in the UK. The government allocated almost one billion pounds for Olympic security-related issues, in what our political commentator says resembles preparations for a full-fledged military operation.
It appears that the organizers want spectators to perceive the London Games as large-scale war games rather than a sports event. British authorities, for their part, stress the necessity of containing possible terrorist attacks during the Games which they say may also see a spate of cyber attacks. Critics say that tight security is almost certain to tarnish the friendly atmosphere of the Games, something that is out of line with the Games’ spirit. Isabella Sankey, of the civil rights group, said, for her part, that the organizers will refer to potential terrorist threats during the Games to justify their tightening screws on security.
Britain has announced in advance that the terror threat level will be shifted from “substantial” to “severe” during the London Olympics, in a move that makes analysts wonder whether it is in line with modern-day reality.
Some experts warn against underestimating the problem, referring to permanent threats by Islamic extremists to stage a series of terror attacks in Britain and beyond during the London Games.
The experts single out a deadly hostage-taking during the Summer Olympics in Munich in 1972, when Palestinian terrorists killed eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer. In any case, our commentator says, British authorities should avoid overdramatizing the situation ahead of the London Games so that athletes can only focus on the competitions.
In a separate development earlier this month, the UK’s largest trade union threatened to sabotage the London Olympics in a show of protest against austerity measures the government is currently dealing with. Unite Secretary General Len McCluskey said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper that holding the Games at a time when the government is mulling austerity measures and public servants’ pay cuts is absolutely irrelevant.
It is only to be hoped, our commentator concludes, that the British government will think twice before spending a whopping one billion pounds on the London Olympics. All the more so that part of this sum could be allocated for the resolution of pressing economics issues in Britain…
By Moscow times.

Russian air force to order Su-25 replacement

Russia's air force will acquire a new ground attack aircraft similar in concept to the Sukhoi Su-25, but has dropped plans to field an armed version of the Yakovlev Yak-130 jet/combat trainer.
"This new type of ground attack aircraft has been included in the state arms procurement programme," says Col Gen Alexander Zelin, an aide to Russian defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov and until May the commander of its air force. "It will be put in service by 2020."
The new aircraft will be equipped with an advanced radar, feature elements of stealth technology and also be able to use short runways. It will replace the modernised Su-25SM. Moscow plans to upgrade 80 of its Su-25s to the improved standard, and has so far received more than 30.
The Russian military has abandoned plans to develop a light attack aircraft based on the Yak-130, as Zelin says a prototype dubbed the Yak-131 did not demonstrate a high enough level of protection for its pilot.
Meanwhile, Zelin says the air force will receive the first batch of prototypes of its Sukhoi PAK-FA/T-50 fighter for performance testing in 2013.
"The work on the fifth-generation fighter is going according to schedule. The third prototype has joined the testing programme and a fourth is being built."
The T-50 made its first flight in January 2010 and Zelin has previously said 14 of the aircraft would be involved in testing by 2015.
In a separate development, the air force has received its first three upgraded Antonov An-124-100M transports. The service plans to have about 10 more aircraft modified to the new configuration, in addition to buying up to 10 new-build -300 variants with an increased payload of up to 150,000kg (330,000lb).

By Flight Globle

Bangladesh seeks four refurbished C-130Es from USA

By: Greg Waldron Singapore


Source:

Bangladesh has requested a possible $180 million purchase of four ex-US Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130Es in a bid to modernise its tactical transport aircraft fleet.
Outlined by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the proposed sale would cover the "regeneration, overhaul, modification and logistics support" of the secondhand Hercules. The package would also include 20 Rolls-Royce T56 engines to be provided as excess defense articles, plus training and other equipment and services associated with the upgrade.
The prime contractor for the project will be determined through a competitive bid, the DSCA says.
"The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the USA by enabling the Bangladesh air force to use its C-130 fleet to respond more capably to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief needs in the region and support Bangladesh's significant contributions to UN peacekeeping operations, and support operations to counter violent extremist organisations," the DSCA says.
Bangladesh's air force currently operates four C-130B transports, which Flightglobal's MiliCAS database records as having entered use between 1960 and 1962.

China: Pentagon hypes Chinese military threat

The Associated Press

Posted : Tuesday May 22, 2012 8:47:56 EDT
BEIJING — China's Defense Ministry has accused the Pentagon of hyping Chinese military power and its threat to Taiwan in a depiction that will ultimately undermine ties between the two militaries.
The annual Pentagon report to Congress on China's military always draws strenuous objections from Beijing. This year's report — which outlined a Chinese military modernization effort that is gaining momentum — comes as both Washington and Beijing are encouraging their militaries to built trust and improve communications.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said the Pentagon report exaggerates Chinese defense capabilities, falsely accuses China of launching cyber-attacks and plays up a military edge over rival Taiwan to boost U.S. weapon sales.
In remarks posted on the ministry's website on Monday, Geng said the Pentagon report is at odds with that effort.
"At the time when the relations between the two armies are on the rise, the U.S. stubbornly sticks to ways of casting doubts on and discrediting China," said Geng. He said China demands that the U.S. "stop making comments not conducive to China-U.S. relations and the mutual trust between the two armies."

Air Force One airfare: $179,750 per hour

By Bart Jansen - USA Today

Posted : Tuesday May 22, 2012 16:47:00 EDT
The next time airfare seems too expensive, consider the cost of Air Force One.
The plane that is used to carry the president, which is typically a Boeing 747, costs the Air Force $179,750 per hour to operate, according to a new Congressional Research Service report. Military planes are used for security and because of special equipment on board.
Costs for each trip are even higher when factoring in the passenger and cargo aircraft that often accompany the president’s plane, although those figures weren’t specified in the eight-page report.
Taxpayers cover the cost of trips for official business, and campaign organizations reimburse the government for whatever portion of a trip is deemed political.
“It is unclear how the White House designates travel that is not directly related to a governmental or political function because of traditional reluctance to address this matter,” the report said. Vacations count as official travel.
Information about the cost of presidential flights is scarce, according to the report. But earlier studies from Congress and the Government Accountability Office offer a glimpse of the cost of several major trips in the past.
For example, a European trip in 1989 cost the Air Force $1 million and a trip to Hawaii in 1990 cost $1.5 million, according to a 1992 report from a House committee on the civil service. The figures represented just operational costs for the aircraft – without related expenses such as food and lodging.
Extra costs add up quickly. These related costs for presidential trips in 1998 totaled $42.8 million for Africa, $10.5 million for Chile and $18.8 million for China, according to a GAO report.
Comparable information wasn’t available for more recent trips, the Congressional Research Service report says.

Thought Of The Day

There are two way to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to accept what is true. - SOREN KIERKEGAARD