DTN News - CHINA HIKES DEFENCE BUDGET: China Engaging In Military Buildup While US Cuts Forces

DTN News - CHINA HIKES DEFENCE BUDGET: China Engaging In Military Buildup While US Cuts Forces
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources by Matt Lacy - Greeley Gazette
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 18, 2012: An expert on Communist China says the United States could be making a grave mistake by cutting back on defense spending while China is doing just the opposite.

Beijing recently announced a new defense budget of approximately $106 billion, which equates to an 11.2-percent increase. Cheng says this increase coupled with last years 12.7 percent increase means that China is now spending more on its military than all other Asian nations combined. The new budget comes at a time when the Obama administration, despite calling for a higher priority in Asia, is busily reducing the U.S. defense outlay.

While many critics of defense spending in the United States say that it is larger than the majority of the world, Dean Cheng, a research fellow at the Asian studies Center with The Heritage Foundation  says there are key differences between the two militaries.

“the U.S. is a key enforcer of international norms and safety. It is the American Navy, more than any other, that keeps the world’s sea lanes safe. It is the U.S. Air Force that provides space situational awareness, including conjunction warnings, to all other space-faring nations (including China) and manages the GPS constellation to global benefit—both without charge.”

He goes on to note that by contrast China's military budget is spent almost entirely on Chinese interests. While he acknowledges that with China having the second largest economy in the world it is expected that have a substantial military, and that while the Chinese defense spending increases by themselves should not draw alarm, there are other reasons for concern.

Cheng says there are two aspects of Chinese defense priorities that could spell problems for the United States.

The first thing he says is that the Chinese are focused on countering the US military. "So they buy things like anti-ship ballistic missiles -- which really are of use only against things like American aircraft carriers, but not against, say, Somali pirates," he offers.

Cheng says another advantage the Chinese military has is that it is still more of a local military operating near China rather than maintaining a global presence like the US. This means China can put all of its resources up against only a portion of the US military.

He goes on to note the Chinese Communist Party appears to be taking a more aggressive stance not only against US interests but against its neighbors Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. The government has been making claims of sovereignty over the South and East China seas and expanding its forces opposite Taiwan.

China is not the only military United States should be concerned about. While our military is facing the possibility of close to $1 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years and a reduction of up to one third of our military force, Russia is also engaging on a military buildup.

A 10 year, $640 billion military modernization underway in Russia will include 600 new aircraft, 1000 new choppers and an additional hundred ships added to the Russian Navy including 20 submarines.

By contrast, the Pentagon has said it may be forced to engage in involuntary separations to meet troop reduction goals of 67,100 soldiers form active and reserve Army units, 15,20 from the Marine Corps, 8,600 from the Navy and 1,700 from the Air Force as part of $487 in budget cuts. If Congress is unable to reach targeted spending cuts that were a part of the congressional deal reached during last years debt ceiling debate another $500 billion could be cut from the military budget.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources by Matt Lacy - Greeley Gazette
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: First Flight For Last Raptor

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: First Flight For Last Raptor
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Lockheed Martin
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 16, 2012: The final Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took to the skies for its first test flight here yesterday with company test pilot, Bret Luedke at the controls. Raptor 4195 has a May delivery date and will join other F-22s in the U.S. Air Force’s 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. 

The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation supermaneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence roles.Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is the prime contractor and is responsible for the majority of the airframe, weapon systems and final assembly of the F-22. Program partner Boeing Defense, Space & Security provides the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.

The aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 during the years prior to formally entering USAF service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Despite a protracted and costly development period, the United States Air Force considers the F-22 a critical component of US tactical air power, and claims that the aircraft is unmatched by any known or projected fighter, while Lockheed Martin claims that the Raptor's combination of stealth, speed, agility, precision and situational awareness, combined with air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities, makes it the best overall fighter in the world today. Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, former Chief of the Australian Defence Force, said in 2004 that the "F-22 will be the most outstanding fighter plane ever built."

The high cost of the aircraft, a lack of clear air-to-air combat missions because of delays in the Russian and Chinese fifth-generation fighter programs, a US ban on Raptor exports, and the ongoing development of the planned cheaper and more versatile F-35 resulted in calls to end F-22 production. In April 2009 the US Department of Defense proposed to cease placing new orders, subject to Congressional approval, for a final procurement tally of 187 operational aircraft. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 lacked funding for further F-22 production. The final F-22 rolled off the assembly line on 13 December 2011 during a ceremony at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Lockheed Martin
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DTN News - FOAL EAGLE 2012: US, South Korean Joint Exercise Foal Eagle Largest Of Year

DTN News - FOAL EAGLE 2012: US, South Korean Joint Exercise Foal Eagle Largest Of Year
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Jon Rabiroff - Stars and Stripes
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 15, 2012: South Korea — U.S. and South Korean soldiers fired several rounds of artillery into a hillside here Thursday as part of the largest alliance exercise of the year on the peninsula.

After the half-hour exercise, Lt. Col. Adam Robinson of the Utah National Guard’s 145th Field Artillery Battalion talked about how the drill would better prepare U.S. and South Korean troops for a potential invasion from North Korea.

He stopped short of saying anything provocative about the North, even going as far as suggesting at one point, “We want to have peace.”

In doing so, Robinson became the latest in a long line of commanders involved in U.S.-South Korean military exercises in recent years to shy away from any of the chest-thumping rhetoric that usually accompanies exercises carried out by North Korea’s military.

For example, earlier this month during a North Korean drill near the disputed maritime sea border between the two countries, military commanders reportedly warned of a future attack much harsher than one the North launched in 2010 on Yeonpyeong Island, which left four South Koreans dead.

“We only fired a small number of artillery last time, “ North Korean Col. Gen. Pyon In Son was quoted as saying. “We will mobilize all our corps’ artillery pieces to turn them into a real sea of fire this time.”

U.S. Forces Korea spokeswoman Jennifer Buschick said alliance officials see no benefit to getting into a war of words.

“Bellicose rhetoric serves no constructive purpose, does not contribute to stability in the region and is not in the spirit of the armistice” (which halted Korean War hostilities in 1953), she said.

“Our mission is to maintain peace and stability, and to deter aggression on the Korean peninsula, and if that should fail we are prepared to fight and win,” Buschick said. “Our training events are transparent, defense-oriented and designed to increase readiness to defend (South Korea).”

The U.S. and South Korea are in the midst of Foal Eagle, the alliance’s largest military exercise of the year, which runs from March 1 to April 30, and involves as many as 200,000 South Korean troops and approximately 11,000 U.S. forces, most of whom will travel to the peninsula specifically for the exercise.

That was the case Thursday as the 145th traveled from Utah just days in advance of the exercise, during which U.S. Paladin M-109A6s and South Korean K-55s lined up side-by-side and fired in the direction of Rodriquez Range from an off-base staging area.

Robinson said the exercise showed that his battalion was prepared to deploy quickly from the U.S. and join with a South Korean unit - in this case the 628th Field Artillery Battalion - “to prepare for a possible invasion if that happens.”

Asked what, if any, message the exercise might send to North Korea, he said, “That we can work together; that we are united; that we can train together and that we’re ready to fight together.

“We have learned much from them, and they from us, and we will be better prepared if, in case, something happens,” Robinson said.

rabiroffj@pstripes.osd.mil

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Jon Rabiroff - Stars and Stripes
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DTN News - PAKISTAN TALIBAN NEWS: Kidnapped Swiss Couple 'Escape' Pakistani Taliban After Eight Months In Captivity

DTN News - PAKISTAN TALIBAN NEWS: Kidnapped Swiss Couple 'Escape' Pakistani Taliban After Eight Months In Captivity
*Tourists captured while campervanning in volatile region of Pakistan
*Claimed they escaped after showing up at military checkpoint
*But other reports say they were 'freed' after a ransom was paid
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Simon Tomlinson - Daily Mail - UK
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 15, 2012: A Swiss couple kidnapped by the Pakistani Taliban eight months ago today claimed to have escaped after showing up at a military checkpoint in the north-west of the country.

Olivier David Och, 31, and Daniela Widmer, 29 were captured while travelling by camper van in Pakistan's volatile south-west region and had been held on the Afghan border.

But today they were celebrating their freedom - although relatives would barely be able to recognise them.

Scroll down for video

We're free: Swiiss couple Olivier David Och and Daniela Widmer wave upon their arrival at the Qasim base in Rawalpindi today after escaping Taliban capture

Safe: The couple, who were captured while trekking in remote Pakistan, announced themselves at a checkpoint in the north of the country

Pakistan army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said: 'They escaped, this is what they have told us.

'They reported to our checkpost then. They are being questioned at the moment in Peshawar.'     

According to intelligence sources in North Waziristan, where they were held, the two were found at a military checkpoint on a main road in Miranshah, the region's main town at about 5.30am local time.

Handshakes: David Och and Daniela Widmer were believed to be held in North Waziristan by one of the Taliban's top lieutenants

They were then sent to the city of Peshawar by helicopter.    

A Swiss embassy official said the embassy was not in a position to confirm or deny the reports.

Other reports, however, say the couple were freed by the Taliban in an apparent olive branch to the Pakistani government.

Taliban commanders said an undisclosed ransom was paid in exchange for the release of the pair, who in October had appeared in a militant video saying their captors were threatening to kill them.

Unrecognisable: The passport photos of Daniela Wider and Olivier Och

Colonel Nadeem of the Pakistani Army media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), confirmed the couple were released, moved to Peshawar and have now reached Islamabad where they are being put through a medical check up.

Colonel Nadeem said: 'I can confirm that the said Swiss couple have been released, they were picked up in an area near Miranshah in South Waziristan, and have now been moved to Islamabad by security forces.

'They are in okay health.'

When asked about a possible deal for their release, the Colonel said: 'I am not authorised to speak on the matter, and an official version will soon be released by the ISPR.'

Olive branch? Some are claiming Olivier Och and Daniela Widmer, pictured in captivity soon after they were taken, were released as a sop to the Pakistan government

In fear of their lives: This video grab released in October shows the couple in front of Taliban gunman after they were abducted

Sources in North Waziristan say the Swiss couple were being kept by a faction of the Taliban led by Commander Wali ur Rehman, a senior disgruntled militant commander, who is tipped for the organisation's leadership after Baitullah Mehsud's death.

He is considered to be closer to the Pakistan government and is keen on negotiations.

Kidnapping for ransom is relatively common in Pakistan, although foreigners are not often targets. Militants also occasionally take foreigners hostage.    

Two Western aid workers were kidnapped by gunmen in the central Pakistani city of Multan on January 19. Another, a British doctor working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was kidnapped in the southwestern city of Quetta on January 5.    

Warren Weinstein, an American aid worker, was kidnapped from the central Pakistani city of Lahore in August last year. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for Weinstein's abduction in December.

VIDEO: Appeals from the couple emerged online whilst they were being held 

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Simon Tomlinson - Daily Mail - UK
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DTN News - ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT: Fighting Between Israel, Gaza Continues For 3rd Day

DTN News - ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT: Fighting Between Israel, Gaza Continues For 3rd Day
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Ibrahim Barzak and Karin Laub - The Washington Post
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 12, 2012: Cross-border fighting between Gaza and Israel, touched off by Israel’s killing of a top Palestinian militant leader, showed no signs of letting up after three days Sunday. Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets at Israeli towns, hitting an empty school, and Israeli airstrikes killed three Gazans, including a boy and a farm guard.

Egypt tried to mediate but failed to end the violence, the worst in more than a year. The fighting has killed 18 Gazans, all but two of them militants, and disrupted the lives of about 1 million Israelis living within range of rocket fire from Gaza.

Even so, Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers seemed eager to avoid a full-scale conflict. A three-week war three years ago left both sides badly bruised, Israel in the diplomatic arena and Hamas on the battlefield.

In the current round, Hamas has pointedly kept its large rocket arsenal and thousands of fighters out of the confrontation, even though it has not tried to stop two smaller Gaza groups, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees, from launching rockets and mortar rounds.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak acknowledged that Hamas did not take part in the rocket salvos. Up to now, Israel has blamed the Islamist movement for all violence directed from Gaza because it rules the territory.

Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, said Sunday, “We are not interested in escalation in and of itself.”

On a visit to southern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that the airstrikes would continue as long as necessary. “We have a clear policy: We will hit anyone who plans to harm us, who prepares to harm us and who harms us,” he said in a meeting with local leaders.

Israel said it launched the initial Friday airstrike, which killed PRC leader Zuhair al-Qaissi in a car in Gaza, to stop a plan by his splinter group to infiltrate into Israel through Egypt’s lawless Sinai Peninsula. Israel says the PRC was behind an August attack on the border that killed eight Israelis.

Palestinians across the political spectrum accused Israel of deliberately escalating tensions. The groups involved in firing rockets dismissed truce offers presented by Egypt.

On Sunday, Palestinians fired more than 30 rockets at southern Israel. One struck the courtyard of an empty school in Beersheba, police said.

Three Israelis have been hurt by rocket fire since Friday, two of them seriously, the Defense Ministry said.

At Israel’s weekly cabinet meeting, Barak asserted success in the first major battlefield test of the Iron Dome antimissile system, which has intercepted 30 of the more than 120 rockets fired from Gaza since Friday, according to a statement from his office. He said anti-rocket batteries were deployed near three southern cities close to Gaza.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Ibrahim Barzak and Karin Laub - The Washington Post
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DTN News - AIRLINES NEWS: Boeing 787 Dreamliner For Air India Debuts In New Delhi

DTN News - AIRLINES NEWS: Boeing 787 Dreamliner For Air India Debuts In New Delhi
>14-hour non-stop flight marks first visit to India for airplane painted in Air India colors
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / NEW DELHI, - March 12, 2012: After a 14-hour non-stop flight from Seattle, a Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner in Air India's colors touched down at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi today.

"We're proud to bring the world's most advanced commercial airplane to India, especially when it proudly displays the colors of national flag carrier Air India," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "This week even more of our airlinecustomers will experience the game-changing technologies and innovations the 787 has to offer."

The 787 will be on static display in New Delhi before debuting at India Aviation 2012 in Hyderabad on March 14. The Dreamliner that will be showcased is outfitted in Air India's livery and an inviting passenger interior featuring full business and economy-class cabins.

Made from composite materials, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the first airplane to provide both long distance capabilities with mid-size capacity. This capability will allow airlines like Air India to profitably operate non-stop routes to many more distant cities, providing choices preferred by the traveling public.

As a result of innovative technologies, the airplane offers unparalleled operating economics, fuel efficiency and passenger comfort. More than 800 787s are on order by 60 customers, a testament to the airplane's unique capabilities.

Air India Fleet
Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers				Notes
			F	J	Y	Total
Airbus A319	24	—	0	0	144	144	5 dry leased
Airbus A320-200	18	—	0	20	126	146	6 dry leased
Airbus A321-200	20	—	0	20	152	172
Airbus A330-200	2	—	0	24	255	279	both dry leased
Boeing 747-400	5	—	12	26	385	423	2 dry leased
Boeing 777-200LR	8	—	8	35	195	238	5 to be leased out
Boeing 777-300ER	12	3	4	35	303	342
Boeing 787-8	—	27	0	18	238	256[2]	First aircraft delivery March 2012[3]
Total	89	30

Contact: 
Wilson Chow
International Communications
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
+1 425-306-5921
wilson.chow@boeing.com

Bhawna Singh
Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick
+91 989 9158658
bhawna@corvoshandwick.co.in 

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
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