Monday, May 04, 2009

U. S. Air Force Requires Northrop Grumman To Maintain Streamline Effect On RQ-4

U. S. Air Force Requires Northrop Grumman To Maintain Streamline Effect On RQ-4
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - May 4, 2009: The U.S. Air Force and the manufacturer of the RQ-4 Global Hawk (Northrop Grumman) are feuding over design, cost and quality control issues. Development of the RQ-4 began in the 1990s, as a DARPA research project. But by 2006, per-aircraft costs were 25 percent over the original price.
The Northrop Grumman (formerly Ryan Aeronautical) RQ-4 Global Hawk (known as Tier II+ during development) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Air Force as a surveillance aircraft. In role and design, the Global Hawk is similar to the Lockheed U-2, the venerable 1950s spy plane. It is a theater commander's asset to both provide a broad overview and systematically target surveillance shortfalls. The Global Hawk air vehicle is able to provide high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)—that can penetrate cloud-cover and sandstorms—and Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) imagery at long range with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 40,000 square miles (100,000 square kilometers) of terrain a day. Potential missions for the Global Hawk cover the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in worldwide peace, crisis, and wartime operations. According to the Air Force, the capabilities of the aircraft will allow more precise targeting of weapons and better protection of forces through superior surveillance capabilities. The "R" is the Department of Defense designation for reconnaissance; "Q" means unmanned aircraft system. The "4" refers to it being the fourth of a series of purpose-built unmanned aircraft systems. The Global Hawk costs about $35 million USD each (actual per-aircraft costs; with development costs also included, the per-aircraft cost rises to $123.2 million USD each.
By 2007, production had slipped as well. The air force and Northrop Grumman disagree over what has caused the problems. The air force blames it on poor management, Northrop Grumman says it's all about dealing with complex technology.
The air force points out that the RQ-4 is not high tech. The sensors often are, but they are added to the aircraft after they come off the production line. Northrop Grumman continues to stonewall the air force, and shows no signs of making any changes. Some air force procurement officials believe Northrop Grumman is diverting resources to serving foreign customers (especially Germany and NATO), while taking advantage of the fact that there is no other supplier the air force can go to for long range UAVs. The General Atomics Predator C (similar to, but smaller than, the RQ-4) may change Northrop Grumman's mind down the road, but is not seen as an immediate threat. All nine of the RQ-4A ("Block 10") aircraft have been built (seven for the U.S. Air Force and two for the U.S. Navy). The ones in production are the larger RQ-4B (block 20, 30 and 40) models. Five RQ-4s were delivered in 2007, but the air force only had 16 in service, rather than the planned 20, by the end of last year. The RQ-4 was still in development on September 11, 2001, but was rushed into action. The first production RQ-4A was not delivered until August, 2003. Although the RQ-4 could stay in the air for up to 42 hours, all of them have only amassed about 4,000 flight hours by 2004. But most of those 4,000 hours, which were originally planned to involve testing of a new aircraft, were instead used to perform combat missions. Global Hawk also got to fly under difficult conditions, something an aircraft still being developed, would not do. Last year, an RQ-4A Global Hawk made the first non-stop crossing of the Pacific, flying 12,000 kilometers, from California to Australia, in 23 hours. The Global Hawk has previously crossed the Pacific in several hops, but it always had the endurance to do it non-stop. In the last seven years, RQ-4s have flown over 25,000 hours, most of that combat missions, and many of them from Persian Gulf bases. The latest models have been able to fly 20 hour missions, land for refueling and maintenance, and be off in four hours for another twenty hours in the sky. The RQ-4 has been very reliable, with aircraft being ready for action 95 percent of the time. The U.S. Air Force has been buying them at the rate of five a year, at a cost of $58 million each. An RQ-4 can survey about 4,000 square kilometers an hour. The new B version is larger (wingspan is 15 feet larger, at 131 feet, and it's four feet longer at 48 feet) than the A model, and can carry an additional two tons of equipment. To support that, there's a new generator that produces 150 percent more electrical power. The B version is a lot more reliable. Early A models tended to fail and crash at the rate of once every thousand flight hours, mostly because of design flaws.
The first three RQ-4Bs entered service in 2006. At 13 tons, the Global Hawk is the size of a commuter airliner (like the Embraer ERJ 145), but costs nearly twice as much. Global Hawk can be equipped with much more powerful, and expensive, sensors, than other UAVs. These more the double the cost of the aircraft. These spy satellite quality sensors (especially AESA radar) are usually worth the expense, because they enable the UAV, flying at over 60,000 feet, to get a sharp picture of all the territory it can see from that altitude. The air force stationed a squadron of seven Global Hawks on the island of Guam. These UAVs will begin arriving there next year, and undertake recon missions throughout the western Pacific.

US Seeks Pakistan Nuclear Pledge / Taliban Could Get Control Of Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal

US Seeks Pakistan Nuclear Pledge / Taliban Could Get Control Of Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - May 4, 2009: The US' national security adviser has told the BBC that Washington needs guarantees from Pakistan that its nuclear arsenal is safe from militants. General James Jones said Pakistan's army had repeatedly told him the stockpile was "under control", but "this is very much an ongoing topic". The Pakistani government is fighting to stop Taleban militants expanding their power in the north-west of the country. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is due to meet Barack Obama this week. Taleban threat In an interview with the BBC's North America editor, Justin Webb, Gen Jones said that "things are moving in a more positive direction" in Pakistan, but that more assurances were needed about the safety of the country's nuclear weapons. "If Pakistan doesn't continue in the direction that it presently is and we're not successful there then, obviously, the nuclear question comes into view," "We have received many assurances from the military that this is something they have under control but this is very much an ongoing topic," he added. "The world would like to know that on this question, that there's absolute security and transparency." The White House [is] looking, it seems to me, for something a little more certain than previous airy assurances from the Pakistanis The safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal has become more of a concern to the US government since Taleban fighters began expanding their influence in northern Pakistan beyond the Swat valley, which they already largely control. The Pakistani military has been engaged in an offensive to remove Taleban insurgents from the Lower Dir and Buner regions, parts of which are just 100km (60 miles) from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into the hands of the Taleban would be "the very very worst case scenario," said Gen Jones. "We're going to do anything we can within the construct of our bilateral relations and multilateral relations to make sure that doesn't happen." On the subject of Iran, Gen Jones warned that the US would not "wait forever" for Iran to respond positively to President Obama's attempt to improve US relations with the country. "We're interested in getting this new relationship established, to the extent that there is going to be one, but it takes two - and we're still waiting for the appropriate response from the Iranians," he said.:

Russian Warship Escorts First Commercial Convoy Off Somali Coast

Russian Warship Escorts First Commercial Convoy Off Somali Coast
(NSI News Source Info) VLADIVOSTOK - May 4, 2009: Russia's Admiral Panteleyev destroyer is escorting its first convoy of merchant vessels through the Gulf of Aden, the Russian Pacific Fleet said Monday. A flotilla of Pacific Fleet ships, comprised of the Admiral Panteleyev, salvage tug SB-37, the Izhora and Irkut tankers, a naval infantry unit and two combat helicopters, arrived from Vladivostok to the Gulf of Aden on April 27 to take part in international anti-piracy efforts off the Horn of Africa. The convoy is expected to pass through the dangerous waters by Tuesday evening, when a new one will be formed for the return journey. Russia's defense minister said last Wednesday Russian warships would continue to patrol pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast to ensure the safety of commercial shipping in the area. The Admiral Panteleyev is an Udaloy-class missile destroyer armed with anti-ship missiles, 30-mm and 100-mm guns, and Ka-27 Helix helicopters. The warship replaced another Russian destroyer, the Admiral Vinogradov, which joined the anti-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia at the beginning of January. During its mission, which ended in mid-March, the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer escorted 12 convoys comprising a total of 54 ships from 17 countries, and thwarted several pirate attacks on various vessels. Around 20 warships from the navies of at least a dozen countries are involved in anti-piracy operations off Somalia. According to the United Nations, Somali pirates carried out at least 120 attacks on ships in 2008, resulting in combined ransom payouts of around $150 million.

DTN News: Nepal TODAY May 4, 2009

DTN News: Nepal TODAY May 4, 2009 (NSI News Source Info) KATMANDU, Nepal - May 4, 2009: Student supporters of Nepal's opposition political parties shout slogans as they protest against the government decision to fire the army chief, Rookmangud Katawal, in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, May 4, 2009. Nepal's prime minister Sunday fired the army chief after a struggle over admitting former Maoist rebel fighters to the military, sparking mass protests and jeopardizing the survival of the country's first elected government since the monarchy was abolished.

DTN News: Pakistan TODAY May 4, 2009

DTN News: Pakistan TODAY May 4, 2009
(NSI News Source Info) IMay 4, 2009: A Pakistani shopkeeper arranges CDs featuring Jihad, or holy war, those contain songs praising Taliban or describing Taliban activities such as military training May 3, 2009 in Peshawar, Pakistan. The Taliban insurgency is spreading from the wild, ungoverned border region close to Afghanistan into urban Pakistan.
Peshawar, the commercial and cultural hub of the frontier province, is on the front line. Some say it is under siege. It has that feel to it.

Taliban Attack Convoy, Threatening Pakistan Deal

Taliban Attack Convoy, Threatening Pakistan Deal
(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD - May 4, 2009: Taliban militants attacked an army convoy Monday in a northwestern region covered by an increasingly fragile peace pact, killing one soldier and dealing another blow to an agreement seen in the West as a capitulation to extremists. Soldiers of Pakistan para military force rest during a break in curfew in Pakistani troubled district of Lower Dir on Thursday, April 30, 2009. Pakistani airstrikes killed dozens of Taliban fighters in a fierce struggle to drive them from a district near the capital, while the militants took over police stations and kidnapped more than 50 security forces, the army said. The Swat peace deal and Islamabad's patchy attempts to fight surging militancy will feature in talks between Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and President Barack Obama later this week in Washington. Zardari is expected to ask for more money to help Pakistan's battered economy and under-equipped security forces. Washington has said it wants Pakistan to fight the militants, not talk to them, and is unlikely to mourn the three-month-old deal if it breaks down. Still, many in the staunchly Islamic region have welcomed the pause in hostilities even though it did not lead to the eviction of the Taliban. Monday's attack took place early in the morning in Bari Kot region of Swat, said police officer Ayaz Khan. An army officer said militants used rocket and gunfire to attack the convoy, but security forces repelled the attack. One soldier was killed and one injured, he said, asking for anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan claimed responsibility for attack, saying it was in response to the alleged strengthening of military positions in the region in violation of the peace deal. "Why do you think we should remain silent if they come heavy on us? ... We will attack them too," he told The Associated Press. Under the peace deal, the government agreed to impose Islamic law in the districts that make up the Malakand Division in hopes that the militants would lay down their arms. But the Taliban in Swat, the movement's stronghold, were emboldened, and soon entered the adjacent Buner district to impose their harsh brand of Islam. The proximity of the district to the capital of Islamabad raised alarms domestically and abroad. Pakistan's military went on the offensive over the past week to drive the Taliban out, killing up to 80 militants. Several thousand have fled the area. The military has so far complied with the agreement by not launching operations in Swat, but on Sunday it accused the insurgents of "gross violations" of the deal by looting and attacking infrastructure. At least three security officials have been reported killed in recent days. Swat is just one part of the Afghan border region where Pakistan is facing Islamist insurgents. However, it is of special importance because of its proximity to the capital and the fact that it falls under the central government's control, unlike tribally ruled areas. The local government signed the deal with militants after it was unable to defeat them after two years of clashes that killed hundreds and displaced up to one-third of its 1.5 million residents.

Finland Orders EUR 340 Million Air Defence System From Norway

Finland Orders EUR 340 Million Air Defence System From Norway
(NSI News Source Info) May 4, 2009: The Finnish government said Wednesday it would buy a 340-million-euro air defence system from Norway's Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace. Kongsberg’s NASAMS, essentially a ground-launched version of the Amraam missile, has beaten competitors for Finland’s medium-range air-defense contract. (Norwegian Armed Forces photo)
Kongsberg's Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) is to replace a Russian-made air defence system.
The purchase price excludes the missiles themselves, with the government expected to authorise a further spend of about 100 million euros on US-made Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) ordnance.
The cabinet finance committee also showed green light to a 175-million-euro radar system.