Australian hypersonic test a success

Australian military scientists successfully completed another test flight of an experimental hypersonic vehicle, this time at the Andoya Rocket Range in Norway.
A test vehicle reached an apogee of nearly 218 miles and then achieved speeds of up to Mach 8 -- about 6,100 mph -- on descent.
The two-stage vehicle performed its nominal, sub-orbital space flight powered by a VS-30/Orion rocket, a Brazilian sounding, or research, rocket consisting of one Sonda stage and one U.S.-built Orion stage.

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Germany Says EADS-BAE Merger Talks Need More Time

NICOSIA — Talks on a tie-up between aerospace groups EADS and BAE Systems looked set for extra time Sept. 27, after German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere and another source said negotiations had some way to go.
“I think we need more time,” de Maiziere told journalists in Nicosia after meeting the day before with his British and French counterparts to discuss the proposal, which would create a giant to rival the U.S. group Boeing.
A source close to the talks told AFP that it looked as though British arms maker BAE Systems and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company would ask Britain’s stock market regulator to extend its Oct. 10 deadline.

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Israel Disappointed at Argentina Talks With Iran

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Israel said on Friday it was greatly disappointed by Argentina's decision to meet Iranian officials to discuss the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center that Argentine courts accuse Tehran of sponsoring.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez ordered her foreign minister to accept Iran's request for talks in New York this week, marking a sharp change in diplomatic policy and drawing criticism from Jewish leaders in Buenos Aires. 

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US, Egypt to begin joint naval war games

Talks are under way between senior Navy officials and their counterparts in Cairo to begin conducting joint war games for the first time since Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi took power earlier this year.
While bilateral discussions on the naval drills are still being discussed, the exercises would focus on improving Egypt's ability to deal with small boat attacks and general patrol operations of its coastal waters, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert told reporters Thursday.

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Romney hopeful military action isn't needed in Iran

ABOARD THE ROMNEY CAMPAIGN PLANE-- Mitt Romney said Friday following a conversation with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that he was hopeful that the U.S. wouldn't have to use military force to halt Iran's progress toward nuclear weapons.
The Republican presidential nominee told reporters traveling with him that he thought a peaceful resolution in Iran was still within reach, though Romney cautioned that it was important to leave open the option to use military force.
"I do not believe that in the final analysis we will have to use military action," Romney told reporters traveling with him from Philadelphia to Boston. " I certainly hope we don’t have to."

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Flying From Russian Mistrals

September 29, 2012: Russia announced that they would place 30 Ka-52K and Ka-29 helicopters on each of their four Mistral amphibious ships. Two of these new ships are being bought from France while another two will be built in Russia. Each 21,500 ton Mistral normally carries 16 helicopters, four landing vessels, 70 armored vehicles, and 450 troops. Russia will assign 30 helicopters to each Mistral, but only 16 will be on the ship at a time. The rest will be used for training and replacements.
The Ka-52K is a navalized version of the Ka-52 that went into production this year. In addition to being equipped with coatings to resist sea water corrosion, the K model will also have a lightweight version of the high-definition Zhuk-AE AESA radar used on jet fighters. This radar currently weighs 275 kg (605 pounds), but the helicopter version will weigh only 80 kg (176 pounds) and enables the Kh-52K to use the Kh-31 anti-ship missile. This weapon has a range of 110 kilometers and travels at high speed (about one kilometer a second.) The Kh-52K can also carry the sub-sonic Kh-31 missile, which has a range of 130 kilometers. Both of these missiles weigh about 600 kg (1,300 pounds) each.

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Clearing Syrian WMDs Means 75K Troops and Massive Air Strikes

A sailor from the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11, adjusts his Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) gear during a simulated chemical agent attack during a field training exercise in 2008. U.S. Navy Photo


 In July, Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Mullalem declared that Syria’s stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons would go unused in its civil war – unless a foreign power chose to intervene . The threat constituted a rare confirmation of the regime’s unconventional arsenal . The declaration raised serious concerns about U.S. policies in the event the regime did use its chemical or biological weapons. President Obama stated this would constitute a “red line” with “enormous consequences” that would alter calculations for military actions.
Given the various risks concerned with the proliferation or use of unconventional weapons, particularly chemical weapons, understanding the scope and requirements of potential military missions is essential. The first major consideration is whether U.S. and potential allied military strikes would focus on destroying, deterring, or securing Syrian weapons stocks. While a deterrent threat can be made without any military deployment, destroying Syrian weapons of mass destruction (WMD) would require airstrikes and special operations teams. A mission to secure Syria’s WMDs would likely be the most costly and dangerous of all, as it would likely involve tens of thousands of foreign ground troops, perhaps as many as 75,000, according to at least one press report.

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