DTN News: US Forces Israeli Company To Back Out Of Indian Air Force Fighter Jet Bid

DTN News: US Forces Israeli Company To Back Out Of Indian Air Force Fighter Jet Bid

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM, Israel - July 5, 2009: The United States has forced an Israeli company to back out of the multi-billion dollar tender to sell new multi-role fighter jets to the Indian Air Force. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has been pressurized by the Pentagon to back out of a joint partnership with a Swedish aerospace company, Saab Gripen. The six aircraft makers and types involved in the multi role combat aircraft (MRCA) competition are the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing Super Hornet, along with the Lockheed Martin F-16, Saab JAS-39 Gripen and the Mig 35. The deal is estimated at a whopping 12 billion dollars for 126 new aircraft. Saab, manufacturer of the Gripen, asked the IAI to jointly develop an advanced model, which would compete for the deal. The Israeli Defense Ministry ordered IAI to back out of the deal after the Pentagon expressed concern that American technology, used by Israel, would be integrated into the Gripen offered to the Indians. "The stated concern was that western technology in Israeli hands would make its way to the Indians," The Jerusalem Post quoted an Israeli official, as saying. The American request was that Boeing and Lockheed Martin - the two largest US defense contractors - are also competing for the Indian deal. For this reason, Israeli officials said it was more likely that the Americans were concerned that if the IAI competed for the deal with Saab it would force the US companies to lower their prices. A multi-role fighter, the Gripen is in service in Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary and South Africa. The IAI was supposed to provide the electronic systems like radar, communications, etc for the plane. his is not the first time that an Israeli company has been forced out of a deal due to concerns that competing with American companies would endanger Israeli-US relations. Last summer, the Israel Military Industries (IMI) had to back down from submitting a bid for a half-a-billion dollar deal to develop and manufacture a new tank for the Turkish Armed Forces.

DTN News: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon Leaves Burma Disappointed

DTN News: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon Leaves Burma Disappointed *Source: DTN News / Time By Robert Horn Sunday, July 5, 2009 (Click here) (NSI News Source Info) NEW YORK - July 5, 2009: Before it began, United Nations officials had described UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon's visit to Burma as a diplomatically risky mission that could end in failure. After it ended, following two days in Burma and two rare and lengthy meetings with the reclusive leader of the country's military government, Ban had come away with nothing concrete to show for his venture. This picture provided by the United Nations shows UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meeting Myanmar junta leader Than Shwe in Naypyidaw on July 4, 2009. His requests to meet imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi were rejected. His pleas for the government to release its 2,000-plus political prisoners were ignored. "I believe the government of Myanmar failed to take a unique opportunity to show its commitment to a new era of openness," Ban told reporters at Bangkok's international airport Saturday night. Burma, which the ruling junta has renamed Myanmar, hasn't seen anything resembling openness for nearly five decades, having been ruled by military regimes since 1962. Its generals have isolated the country, ground it into poverty and brutally suppressed periodic mass uprisings in support of democracy — the last, in 2007, was led by Buddhist monks who were gunned down or arrested. The regime says it will hold national elections in 2010, but many observers say they are designed to cement military rule under a civilian guise. The democracy movement's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been kept under house arrest for 13 of the past 18 years. The regime has now put her on what U.S. President Barack Obama has called a "show trial" for violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man broke into her home, claiming he had visions she would be assassinated. She faces a five-year prison sentence if convicted. Even Burma's normally circumspect neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have criticized the regime over the trial and Suu Kyi's never-ending imprisonment. (See pictures of foreign investment in Burma.) During his first meeting with Than Shwe, Ban asked for permission to see Suu Kyi. Than Shwe refused. The UN's top diplomat said the success or failure of his mission should not be judged solely on the benchmark of meeting Aung San Suu Kyi, though he lamented that it would have been "an important symbol of the government's willingness to embark on the kind of meaningful engagement" that would lend credibility to the elections. Ban said his mission served the purpose of allowing him to convey what the international community and the United Nations expects from the regime, as far as progress towards democracy, directly to the country's leader General Than Shwe. He said he did this "as strongly as possible, as hard as I could press." He believes, he said, that Than Shwe will "seriously consider" his proposals for making national elections scheduled for 2010 "credible, inclusive and legitimate." Democracy activists remain unconvinced. "The regime thumbed its nose at the entire UN system," said Debbie Stothard of ALTSEAN, a Southeast Asian-based network of activist groups campaigning for democracy and human rights in Burma. "It's time for the international community and the UN to take off the kid gloves. It's time the international community stopped regarding crimes against humanity, repression and human rights violations as normal for Burma. The regime didn't fail to take this opportunity, it refused to." Ban's optimism going into last week's meeting probably sprung from his limited success with Than Shwe during a previous meeting in 2008, convincing him to allow outside humanitarian assistance into the country after Cyclone Nargis. But he is far from the first diplomat to fail to persuade Burma's generals to entertain any serious notion of real political reform. Going forward, Ban said he would brief the UN on the visit, and the organization would monitor the regime's progress on his proposals, which he did not outline in detail, save for saying election laws and an election commission should be established, and that all political prisoners should be released and all political parties be allowed to participate in the 2010 polls. Stothard says the regime fears a Security Council inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity. Burma has been engaged in a civil war with various ethnic groups since 1948, although some have signed ceasefire agreements with the government. The regime has been accused of torturing its political prisoners. But China and Russia have opposed any Security Council action on Burma. China, which views Burma as a resource-rich, strategically important client state, is seen as the regime's strongest backer in the international community. "It's time China realized that having instability on its border with Burma is not in its best interests," Stothard said, adding that tensions were increasing between the military and ethnic armies in Burma based near the China border. (Read "The Scramble for a Piece of Burma.") Russia's expanding trade with Burma includes an agreement to sell the poverty-stricken nation a nuclear research reactor, and the regime has also been bolstering ties with North Korea, receiving arms shipments from its sister Asian pariah state, and employing North Korean engineers to build massive underground bunkers at its fortress-like capital of Naypyidaw. Ban stressed that he would remain focused on the situation, and said he expected the government "to demonstrate real progress in the near future." Real progress, however, hasn't been seen in Burma since 1962. And contempt for the UN is nothing new among Burma's generals. A Burmese, U Thant, served as UN Secretary General for ten years, from 1961-71. When he died in 1974 and his body was flown back to Burma, leader Gen. Ne Win, the mentor of current ruler Gen. Than Shwe, refused U Thant a state funeral, or any honors whatsoever. Read about the 2007 crackdown in Burma.

DTN News: China ~ Risky Business In The Streets

DTN News: China ~ Risky Business In The Streets

*Source: DTN News / Strategy Page

(NSI News Source Info) HONG KONG, China - July 5, 2009: It's become fairly common in China, for managers or government officials to now be held responsible for incompetence that leads to people getting killed. This leads to prison sentences, and even execution. If you have good connections in the government, you can still get off. But that is harder and harder to do.

Chinese military personnel walk past two PLA Air Force J-10 fighters on the opening day of China Airshow 2008 in Zhuhai, south China. China has become the world's second biggest military spender behind the United States, a Swedish peace research group said on July 4, 2009.

The growing public anger over poor government performance is making it difficult for the riot police, even with army reinforcements, to deal with multiple cities having large riots and demonstrations. The corruption is so pervasive, that senior officials despair of ever reducing it to tolerable levels. India is getting nervous about China's growing power (economic and military) in the Indian ocean. China has economic and military connections with Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and many African nations. For example, most of Pakistan's weapons are Chinese, and there are over 10,000 Chinese in Pakistan working on economic projects. There is $4 billion in Chinese investments in Pakistan, and that is expected to more than triple in the next year. China is doing the same thing in Africa, and trying to do it in Myanmar (run by a paranoid dictatorship) and Sri Lanka (which has long had tense relations with India.) With over six million Chinese graduating from college this year, and the recession decreasing the number of jobs available for them, the military has made a big deal out of offering good jobs in the armed forces. The college grads are joining as enlisted troops, with the opportunity to become officers after a few years. Currently, most officers come from military academies or officer training schools. Over the last decade, the Chinese military has been reducing its strength and increasing its standards. In most parts of China, you need at least a high school diploma to join. And the military is trying to increase the number of officers with a college education. About 1,300 troops, each, from Russia and China will conduct counter-terror exercises later this month. June 29, 2009: China backed off on its order for all PCs sold in China, after July 1st, to have government mandated filtering software (Green Dam) installed. The uproar from 300 million Chinese Internet users, PC manufacturers, and an American software company that parts of Green Dam was stolen from, persuaded officials to announce that the filtering software introduction would be delayed. June 23, 2009: China and United States have resumed military cooperation talks. These were suspended 18 months ago because of Chinese anger at the sale of U.S. weapons to Taiwan. June 22, 2009: A Taiwanese defense firm, AIDC, that makes military aircraft for Taiwan, wants to do a joint venture with a Chinese aviation company, to produce civilian aircraft. AIDC is government owned. Military leaders oppose this deal, while business leaders are pushing for it. June 20, 2009: There were more mass (over 10,000 people) demonstrations in Shishou (population 620,000), Hubei province, over the death of a hotel worker. Actually, there were many grievances, most involving corrupt government officials. This was so bad in Shishou, that many lower ranking government employees joined the mob. Several of these large demonstrations take place each year, and the number of them has been increasing over the last decade. To deal with this, over a 100,000 riot police are on constant stand-by all over the country, and soldiers train for riot control duties, and are also on call. But this is often inadequate. That's because a new form of mob protest has developed, using the Internet and cell phones (texting) to arouse and organize large numbers of people to go out and do something. The government fears that eventually these Internet inspired mobs will go after corrupt officials and police. June 17, 2009: China and Russia signed another batch of cooperation agreements. The two countries have settled a lot of old squabbles over borders, and are entering into more and more economic partnerships. China also offered Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (who are all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO) $10 billion in credit, to help them through the current worldwide recession. China and Russia are closer allies today, than they ever were during the Cold War. June 16, 2009: China agreed to abide by any sanctions on North Korea that the UN might impose (because of North Korean nuclear weapons and ballistic missile activities.) China is losing its patience with North Korea, and does not want another neighbor armed with nuclear weapons. June 15, 2009: China and Taiwan are planning to remove many of the beach defenses that have cluttered beaches on the mainland, and Taiwanese controlled islands just off the mainland, for over half a century. June 11, 2009: The American destroyer USS John McCain, while training off Subic Bay in the Philippines, was actually tracking a Chinese submarine as the sub ran into the destroyer's towed sonar array. The Chinese later admitted the sub was one of theirs, and the boat was apparently following the American ship unaware that a sonar array (which usually operates over a hundred meters beneath the surface, and two kilometers behind the ship towing it) was in the way. The Chinese have not revealed which submarine, or even which class, was involved in the collision. There is probably not much damage to sub, since it fled the scene without surfacing. The array was damaged, but not in a way that indicated serious damage to the sub. June 5, 2009: Last month, the Chinese government quietly notified all companies selling computers in China that, as of July 1st, they had to install new filtering software (Green Dam Youth Escort). This was mainly an effort to prevent Chinese, especially children, from having access to pornography, although Green Dam could be used to block anything. Green Dam basically controlled Internet access to the PC it was installed on. Green Dam checked with a government database (of banned web sites) before allowing the user to actually visit any site. The government already does this via its Great Firewall of China (officially the "Golden Shield") system, that filters, and eavesdrops on, Internet traffic coming into, and leaving, China. Actually, Golden Shield is more about controlling what is said by Internet users inside China, than in controlling what they have access to outside . Manufacturers protested that this was not sufficient time to install filtering software. There is apparently a lot more misbehavior going on with Chinese efforts to control the Internet, and the Green Dam project seems to be another example of this. That's because within a few weeks of the Green Dam announcement, an American software publisher, Solid Oak Software, accused the Chinese of theft. Turns out Green Dam is based on the Solid Oak product Cybersitter software, and there's plenty of incriminating evidence in the Green Dam code.

DTN News: Can Obama catch Osama?

DTN News: Can Obama catch Osama?

*Source: DTN News / Toronto Star Lynda Hurst Feature Writer Sunday, July 05, 2009 (Click here) (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 5, 2009: As the U.S. pushes hard into Afghanistan, the spotlight is back on world's most wanted ~ Six days after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, U.S. president George W. Bush demanded the capture, "dead or alive," of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden CIA counter-terrorism head Cofer Black duly dispatched a specialist team of manhunters to Afghanistan with the stark instruction: "Get bin Laden. Find him. I want his head in a box." For medieval good measure, Black also wanted the heads of al Qaeda lieutenants "up on pikes." Capture was a done deal. Or so the world thought. The last time the U.S. had a confirmed fix on bin Laden's location was Dec. 14, 2001, when he was using a walkie-talkie inside a Tora Bora cave. By the time Special Forces got there, he had disappeared into the night. Despite the most extensive manhunt in history – albeit one that's peaked and dipped and peaked again – the "highest-value" target of them all remains on the loose. Or tucked up inside a safe bolt-hole with his mujahideen. Or lies, for all anybody really knows, dead and buried. Does it even matter any more? The vastly expanded, post 9/11 world of terrorism is no longer solely bin Laden's to control. It matters, says David Harris, director of international and terrorist intelligence at Insignis Strategic Research in Ottawa. "His continued existence is a real indictment of the counter-terrorism effort and a psychological victory for al Qaeda." President Barack Obama thinks it's crucial, though his campaign rhetoric – "We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al Qaeda" – has devolved into the calmer: "Capturing or killing bin Laden is a critical aspect of stamping out al Qaeda. He is not just a symbol, he's also the operational leader." Is he? It's been a given for some time that it's his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, who runs the day-to-day operations, while bin Laden basks as the inspirational figurehead, letting his wishes be known. But finally shutting him down is a top priority at the Central Intelligence Agency, its director Leon Panetta said last month: "I ask every day, `Where he is hiding?'" Christopher Preble, foreign policy director at Washington's Cato Institute, says eliminating bin Laden "would be a bonus," but not essential to the containment of terrorism. "Symbolically, it matters because remaining at large builds into his inspirational mystique. He's seen as someone who not only stood up to a greater power but then eluded capture." He could be dead, a fact hushed up by the al Qaeda network, Preble says, but without compelling physical evidence, the assumption has to be that he's still alive. "I asked my CIA colleagues who've been on the hunt for him, and no one was quite sure," former CIA agent Robert Baer told ABC News this winter. "Half assumed he was alive and half assumed he was dead. Obviously, they've lost track of this guy completely." Yet, there was bin Laden's monotone invective on an audiotape broadcast by al Jazeera on June 3 – just as Obama arrived for the start of his Mideast visit – decrying the president for planting "new seeds of hatred and vengeance on Americans." In fact, the past 10 bin Laden communiqués have been voice only. Not since September, 2007 has video of him (with dyed black hair and beard) been released. Whether that's because his kidney disease has taken a toll on his appearance or simply for security is an unknown – one of the many. The official military consensus is that bin Laden, now 52, is holed up somewhere in the lawless, mountainous frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan, likely North Waziristan, a tribal region in Pakistan's northwest. It's where he built his first base, the "Lion's Den," in the 1980s during the anti-Soviet jihad, and the theory is that he's sought out the protection of old allies. Intelligence gathering in the area is particularly difficult because the local Pashtun tribes' code of honour, pashtunwali, fiercely protects guests, especially such an esteemed one. Also, it's known that bin Laden no longer uses electronic communication, preferring to send personal couriers. "It's pretty close to impossible to track down someone who isn't using high-tech communications and you don't have a human information source," says David Harris. "Paradoxically, returning to `primitiveness' gives him security and an advantage over technology." Or maybe, bin Laden is further north in Chitral, high up in the Hindu Kush mountains. Once a trekkers' paradise, it was sealed off to outsiders earlier this year and is now regularly buzzed by American spy drone aircraft. Then again, he could still be in the vicinity of his last known location, Tora Bora in Afghanistan. At least, that was the conclusion in February of two University of California geographers who used satellite imagery and "fundamental principles of geography" to track where he could have fled the night he almost was netted. Factoring in the need for security, electricity, high ceilings to accommodate his 6-foot-4-inch frame, and room for bodyguards (ordered to kill him if he faces capture), they narrowed their search to three walled compounds in Parachinar, a small Pakistani city less than 20 kilometres south of Tora Bora. If he was there, he's likely gone now, with this week's deployment of 21,000 more U.S. troops. It was the reverse situation back in December, 2001. The Predator drones and man-tracking specialists who'd got so close were abruptly pulled out of Afghanistan and assigned to Iraq. In the 16-month run-up to the Iraq invasion and first few years of the war, bin Laden seemed to fall off the radar, literally and figuratively. Not until 2006 did the CIA make a fresh attempt to find him, but "Operation Cannonball" foundered on internal conflicts rampant at the time. However, after it became clear last summer that al Qaeda was reconstituting itself in the tribal regions of Pakistan, the Pentagon drew up new orders for a "drone war" against the network and particularly bin Laden. The unmanned, robotic drones – the Predator and new Reaper – can sit over a target for 15 hours straight. Mounted cameras transmit live video of the scene to pilot-controllers stationed half a world away in Nevada. They launch the missile when a confirmed target is spotted. There was an additional impetus: Long criticized for jettisoning the hunt for bin Laden in favour of Iraq, George W. Bush wanted to leave office on the high of a belated capture. In the waning months of 2008, drone attacks were dramatically stepped up. In 2007, there were only three; by the end of 2008, a total of 34. Barack Obama has further ramped up the aerial war. In just the first four months of his presidency, he authorized 16 drone strikes in the region. Since last September, the drones have successfully hit half the 20 "high-value" targets on the al Qaeda "get" list. Among them, in January, two senior militants who played a central role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa. But no bin Laden. "They don't know who they're blowing up," says John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org. "They're just hopeful it will be him." Obama has also approved a new joint operation between Special Forces teams, the CIA, and a select group of trusted officials from Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence agency, under CIA control. The teams are on constant standby if "actionable intelligence" suddenly becomes available. Surveillance drones still patrol from the sky. "By making a safe haven feel less safe, we keep al Qaeda guessing," former CIA director Michael Hayden has said. "We make them doubt their allies; question their methods ... and that distracts them, at least partially and at least for a time." Indeed, the number of "spies" al Qaeda (and their Taliban allies) have killed has risen dramatically in the past 10 months, says Peter Bergen, a counter-terrorism expert at the New America Foundation. He wrote last month that this suggests "the militants are turning on themselves in an effort to root out the sources of often pinpoint intelligence." But Bergen believes many al Qaeda militants have now decamped from the tribal areas and the ratcheted-up drone program could "have hit the point of diminishing returns." In other words, bin Laden and Co. may have moved on. As northwest Pakistan becomes too dangerous, operations could be transferred to safer havens with large ungoverned territories such as Yemen and Somalia. Bin Laden could fly out by a private plane from one of several airstrips in Pakistan's Baluchistan region, says Pike. "They were built by Arab sheiks to go falcon-hunting. It's a clientele with a considerable appetite for discretion." It's possible, of course, that he will never be flushed out and face retribution for 9/11 or any other Al Qaeda attacks. "We tend to forget that he's been at this for 25 years," former CIA official Michael Scheuer recently said. "So there's very few people who are going to turn over Osama bin Laden now." Not even for the $25 million reward that's still on the table.

DTN News: Failed States Index Places Ethiopia Among Vulnerable Countries

DTN News: Failed States Index Places Ethiopia Among Vulnerable Countries

*Source: DTN News / The Fund for Peace

*2009 Failed States Index Released By The Fund for Peace (Click here)

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - July 5, 2009: Ethiopia has ranked 16th worst in the world scoring 98.9 points in the failed state index 2009, released Wednesday by the Fund for Peace, a Washington DC-based institution. Out of the 12 indicators showed in the index, Ethiopia has scored 9.8 point in demographic pressures, while other indicators like group grievance, human flight, uneven development, economic decline, de-legitimatization of the state, public services, human rights, security apparatus, etc have contributed to the worst score in the failed state rank in the index. Using 12 indicators of state cohesion and performance, compiled through a close examination of more than 30,000 publicly available sources, it ranked 177 states in order from most to least at risk of failure. The 60 most vulnerable states are listed in the rankings, The Fund for Peace said. “It is a sobering time for the world’s most fragile countries' virulent economic crisis, countless natural disasters, and government collapse. This year, we delve deeper than ever into just what went wrong and who is to blame,” the organization said. This is a sober question for sober times, and it is the backdrop for the fifth annual failed states index collaboration between The Fund for Peace, an independent research organization, and foreign policy, according to the organization. The organization said that Somalia was, once again, the number one failed state on this year’s index. A recent report by West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center, drawing on captured al Qaeda documents, revealed that Osama bin Laden’s outfit had an awful experience trying to operate out of Somalia, for all the same reasons that international peacekeepers found Somalia unmanageable in the 1990s: terrible infrastructure, excessive violence and criminality, and few basic services, among other factors. In short, Somalia was too failed even for al Qaeda. “It is also a harsh fact that a greater risk of failure is not always synonymous with greater consequences of failure. For example, Zimbabwe (No. 2 on the index) is technically failing more than Iraq (6), but the geopolitical implications of state failure in Iraq would be far greater than in Zimbabwe. It’s why we worry more about Pakistan (10) than Guinea (9), and North Korea (17) more than the Ivory Coast (11),” according to the index. It also said that Yemen is being watched intently these days in capitals worldwide. A perfect storm of state failure is now brewing there: disappearing oil and water reserves; a mob of migrants, some allegedly with al Qaeda ties, flooding in from Somalia, the failed state next door; and a weak government increasingly unable to keep things running. Many worry Yemen is the next Afghanistan: a global problem wrapped in a failed state.

DTN News: Tata Introduces Limping Luxury Brands To India

DTN News: Tata Introduces Limping Luxury Brands To India *Source: DTN News / The New York Times By Nick Kurczewski (Click here)

(NSI News Source Info) MUMBAI, India - July 5, 2009: Tata Motors has introduced its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in India, one of the world’s fastest-growing automobile markets. But the celebratory announcement to mark the occasion has been tempered by plummeting sales and the threat of job cuts and factory closures at both brands. Ratan Tata, the chairman of Tata Motors, stands far left with Jaguar Land Rover executives at the brands’ introduction in India. For the first time in eight years, Tata reported an annual loss. The culprit: a $504 million drain inflicted by struggling Jaguar Land Rover on the Indian company’s bottom line. Tata bought the historic brands for $2.3 billion from Ford in March 2008. Unfortunately for Tata, the purchase was soon followed by a collapse in the global economy. Sales of luxury sedans and S.U.V.’s – core to the Jaguar Land Rover portfolio – have been hit especially hard. According to Reuters, during a 10-month period ending in March, Jaguar Land Rover sales fell to 167,000 vehicles, compared to 246,000 in the same period the previous year. Mr. Tata maintained his optimism during ceremonies held last Sunday welcoming the British makes to India. “We at Tata Motors are proud to have these brands,” he said, according to The Economic Times, saying it was a “terrific decision.” Keith Bedford/Bloomberg News Tata Motors is better known for economical cars, like the Nano. Tata Motors says it hopes to sell the ultra-cheap Nano in the United States in two years. But how?

But questions linger as to how Tata — relatively unknown outside of India and a specialist in budget-minded vehicles — can align its operations with two British companies synonymous with prestige, power and a well-heeled clientele. Base versions of the Tata Nano city car start at $2,200 (taxes and fees included), whereas prices for Jaguar Land Rover products in India will begin at more than $120,000. While the Nano has been well received by the media – including my test drive of the range-topping LX version – the fact remains that the tiny four-door has none of the frills (and even less of the social status) typical to Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. The Indian lineup of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles will include the XF and XFR sedans, sporty XKR coupe, Land Rover Discovery 3 and the Range Rover S.U.V. Tata Motors said it would develop a dealer network for Jaguar Land Rover this year and next. According to a report in The Business Standard, Land Rover is also negotiating with the Indian government to supply military vehicles to the armed forces. That news might provide little relief for Jaguar Land Rover employees in Britain. The Birmingham Post reports that Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain has held talks with Tata regarding the company’s threats to close British factories to stem the flow of red ink. Belt-tightening by Tata could also put a crimp on the development of future models, such as a hybrid version of the Jaguar XJ sedan and an eco-themed XE sports car.

DTN News: New Helmets And Armour For British Troops In Afghanistan

DTN News: New Helmets And Armour For British Troops In Afghanistan

*Source: DTN News / MoD U.K.

(NSI News Source Info) LONDON, U.K. - July 5, 2009: New and improved helmets and body armour which will provide better personal protection and comfort will be making their way to British troops in Afghanistan this autumn. A Royal Marines Commando shows off the enhanced Mark 7 helmet and Osprey Assault body armour at DVD 2009 [Picture: Andrew Linnett, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009] The enhanced Mark 7 helmet and Osprey Assault body armour, which will provide excellent ballistic protection and an improved fit for personnel to ensure free movement, were unveiled at the Defence Vehicle Dynamics (DVD) equipment show this week.The MOD has ordered over 10,000 sets of the new helmets and armour under initial contracts worth £16m, with companies including NP Aerospace, Morgan Armour Ltd, Aegis Engineering Ltd, Seyntex and Solo International Ltd. Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said: "The Osprey body armour that we issue to all troops on operations provides excellent personal protection, as recent stories of troops surviving due to their armour show. "However, we can never be complacent, and the new Osprey Assault body armour and Mark 7 helmet offer an improvement in the way that these items fit and feel. The contracts that I am announcing today for this new personal protection system demonstrate that we're listening to what our troops need by continuously upgrading their equipment." "Troops will be issued with a new ballistic plate that is much thinner, considerably reducing their bulk and burden and improving their endurance." General Sir Kevin O'Donoghue The updated helmet has the same protection as the current Mark 6A, but will improve the effectiveness of the soldier.

It is equipped with a new harness keeping the helmet more stable on the head when night-vision equipment is fitted to it and is also better integrated with new weapon sights, making it easier to use weapons in a variety of fighting positions. The new Osprey Assault body armour has all the stopping power of the current Osprey but is closer fitting, less bulky and easier to move in. Chief of Defence Materiel, General Sir Kevin O'Donoghue, who unveiled the new kit at MOD's DVD equipment show, said: "Osprey is a proven world-class system and is undoubtedly a success story in terms of providing better protection to our troops. It is specifically developed to meet our requirements using cutting-edge materials and manufacturing technology. The Mark 7 helmet and Osprey Assault body armour from behind [Picture: Andrew Linnett, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009] "Osprey Assault is a development of this success that allows us to ensure our troops are getting the best kit for the job they are doing. Specifically the troops will be issued with a new ballistic plate that is much thinner, considerably reducing their bulk and burden and improving their endurance. "There will also be a new body armour cover to hold this plate and the soft fragmentation armour. This has been designed for an improved fit, based on user feedback, and includes a new system for carrying ammunition, first aid equipment and other vital kit." The DVD event is an equipment showcase organised by Defence Equipment and Support, which highlights the importance of diverse areas such as fuel delivery, clothing, food and vehicles that have been bought or upgraded under the Urgent Operational Requirements programme.

DTN News: DoD Awards M-ATV Production Delivery Order

DTN News: DoD Awards M-ATV Production Delivery Order

*Source: DTN News / MCSC Corporate Communications (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - July 5, 2009: The Department of Defense (DoD) announces the award of an initial production delivery order to Oshkosh Corporation for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV). This delivery order award effectively ends the Source Selection to produce the M-ATV.

Oshkosh Corporation’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) is tested on some rough terrain. (Oshkosh photo)

The M-ATV is a separate category within the MRAP family of vehicles. Its mission is small unit combat operations in highly restricted, rural, mountainous and urban environments, including mounted patrols, reconnaissance, security, convoy protection, communications, command and control, and combat service support. This category will carry up to five personnel – four plus a gunner. The Defense Department has authority to procure up to 5,244 M-ATVs, as funding becomes available. The indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract is a three-year contract with possible delivery orders up to $3.3 billion for the production, delivery and associated support of the M-ATV. Under the contract, Oshkosh Corporation will produce and deliver M-ATVs as fast as possible to meet the urgent need in Afghanistan. In order to do this, Oshkosh Corporation is expected to eventually produce up to 1,000 vehicles a month. Oshkosh Corporation plans to reach that monthly mark by December 2009. It is anticipated that the first M-ATVs will be fielded before the end of the year. These vehicles will be used to complement the other tactical vehicles, including MRAPs, already in the theater of operations. As part of the MRAP vehicle program, the M-ATV is a high-priority, accelerated acquisition program supporting the Overseas Contingency Operations. It retains the highest possible Defense Priority Rating, DX. The M-ATV program will produce a lighter, more maneuverable off-road vehicle that incorporates MRAP-level protection geared for the rugged terrain of Afghanistan. The program derived from an urgent and compelling requirement to protect America’s warfighters with a highly survivable and off-road capable vehicle. The program is the result of a Joint Urgent Operational Needs Statement (JUONS) from U.S. Central Command. “The M-ATV procurement is the result of an extremely comprehensive and rigorous source selection process, which appropriately weighed survivability, mobility, maneuverability, production capability, price and other factors within the context of the urgent need for the procurement,” said Brigadier General Michael M. Brogan, Commander, Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC), and Joint Program Executive Officer of the MRAP Vehicle Program. “The acquisition process determined the most capable and best performing vehicle against stringent survivability requirements. Extensive test and evaluation with volumes of empirical data were produced on which a “best value” decision was based. It was detailed, thorough and fair, and the results have been reviewed by an OSD peer review team made up of senior contracting officials.” The government used the same fundamental acquisition strategy as the original MRAP program: utilize initial criteria of survivability / mobility (screening for survivability and ability to produce); award IDIQ contracts; live fire test for survivability; use existing MRAP Joint Program Office (JPO) infrastructure to procure, test, field, train and support the JUONS. The MCSC Commander believes the M-ATV program will be as successful as the overall MRAP vehicle program. “We have taken delivery of more than 16,190 vehicles since we first released that initial request for proposals in November of 2006,” Brogan said, referring to MRAP. Ultimately, according to Brogan, the M-ATV is about providing a survivable vehicle to get troops safely through their mission and back to their home base. “The M-ATV is meant to augment the vehicle fleet so they can transport troops where they need to go safely,” he said. “It’s intended to be a survivable alternative to up armored HMMWVs.”

DTN News: North Korea Fires 7 Missiles Off East Coast

DTN News: North Korea Fires 7 Missiles Off East Coast

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - July 5, 2009: North Korea celebrated U.S. Independence Day with a test firing of seven missiles test into the waters off the peninsula's east coast from morning until evening on Saturday. A pedestrian passes by a television screen showing news of a North Korean missile launch, at the Seoul Railway Station in on June 4, 2009. North Korea test-fired seven missiles off its east coast. North Korea test-fired seven missiles off its east coast, South Korean officials said, in what appeared to be a calculated message of defiance timed for the US Independence Day holiday. The launches fuelled regional tensions after the communist state's nuclear test in May, which coincided with the US Memorial Day holiday. The missiles, however, were mid-range, not the long-range intercontinental ballistic test that some had feared — a threat which has led Washington to deploy anti-missile systems to Hawaii. "It is a provocative act that clearly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions 1695, 1718, and 1874 that bar North Korea's every activity related to ballistic missiles," South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Military officials told South Korea's Yonhap news agency that the missiles fired had a range of 240-310 miles — enough to hit targets all over South Korea — and may have been of the Rodong class — a North Korean upgrade of the Russian Scud. The first test launch took place about 8 a.m. and the last one finished at 5:45 p.m. Meanwhile, in a statement released by Russia's Foreign Ministry, Russia and China both urged calm from all parties. Saturday's launchings were not the first to coincide with a symbolic American date. In 2006, North Korea test launched several missiles, including a long-range Taepodong 2, on Independence Day. This year, North Korea's May 25 nuclear test coincided with Memorial Day. North Korea had previously warned international shipping to avoid its east coast until July 10, indicating the possibility of more test launches to come. The Saturday barrage followed the test firing by North Korea of four anti-shipping missiles Thursday, after North-South talks broke down with no progress. While the South Korean Navy has said recently that its patrol vessels are superior to those of the North, and outgunned them in naval clashes in 1999 and 2002, anti-shipping missiles are considered a serious threat to South Korean ships. With North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il believed to be seriously sick, there have been signs that he is positioning his third son, Kim Jong-un to take over. Some experts in South Korea see the North's threatening behavior since April — missile and nuclear tests; bellicose rhetoric; the holding of two American reporters and a South Korean worker at a joint industrial park — in the context of moves to placate the North Korean military in advance of a move to emplace Kim Jong-un as head of state. Kim Jong-il's official title is chairman of the country's National Defense Committee and he has consistently promoted his songeun (military first) policy, but what Jong-un's relationship with the military leadership is, is unknown.

DTN News: Russia To Grant U.S. Afghan Supply Route

DTN News: Russia To Grant U.S. Afghan Supply Route

*Source: DTN News / Reuters (NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - July 5, 2009: Russia will grant President Barack Obama permission next week to ship U.S. weapons supplies across its territory, or through its airspace, en route to Afghanistan, sources on both sides told Reuters on Saturday. The transit deal will open up an important corridor for the United States as it steps up its Afghan war against Taliban insurgents by sending in more troops. Routes via Pakistan have come under attack by militants. It will be one of the main agreements signed during Obama's Moscow summit next week with Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev, the sources said. "The agreement will include the transit of all U.S. goods, including military ones (to Afghanistan)," a senior Kremlin source told Reuters. A U.S. source confirmed the deal would be signed and said it would mark a step forward in cooperation on Afghanistan, which Russia views as a key area where both the former Cold War foes can work together to mend ties. It was not immediately clear if the deal would allow the United States to fly troops over Russian territory to Afghanistan. Medvedev has repeatedly said he is ready to widen cooperation with U.S.-led coalition and NATO forces in Afghanistan, though Moscow has ruled out sending any of its own troops to fight. Russia has already granted Washington the right to transit 'non-lethal' supplies, such as food, overland via Russia -- and Central Asia -- to Afghanistan. Moscow has also granted NATO members Germany, France and Spain the right to use Russian territory to transit military cargos to Afghanistan. (Additional reporting by Washington bureau) (Reporting by Oleg Shchedrov and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow, editing by Mark Trevelyan)

DTN News: Two US Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan Fighting

DTN News: Two US Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan Fighting *Source: DTN News / AFP By Khan Mohammad

(NSI News Source Info) KHOST, Afghanistan - July 5, 2009: Two US soldiers and up to 32 militants died in fighting in eastern Afghanistan, as Marines battling in the south pressed one of their biggest assaults of the eight-year war. U.S. soldiers take a moment of silence during a ceremony to mark the U.S. Independence Day at the U.S. base Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday, July 4, 2009. The US military said two American soldiers were killed and another four wounded in an explosion in the eastern province of Paktika, which borders Pakistan and where government troops are locked in battles with militants. "There was an explosion, a possible IED (improvised-explosive device), in Paktika province this morning in which two US service members were killed," said military spokesman Sergeant Charles Marsh. "Then the base came under random fire by insurgents. We do have two US service members killed and four wounded," said Marsh. Air support was then called in against rebels, he said. Hamidullah Zhwak, a spokesman for the local Afghan administration, said the US casualties were caused when Taliban insurgents blew up a fuel tanker in front of a local government building in the district of Zirok. "After the blast, American helicopters came in and attacked the Taliban who were preparing to attack the district headquarters," he said. "Thirty-two Taliban were killed," Zhwak said, adding that 32 dead bodies were recovered after a two-hour battle erupted between armed militants and US helicopter gunships following the initial explosion. Eight other militants were injured and captured by troops, Zhwak said. When contacted by AFP the US military, however, was not able to confirm the militants' casualties immediately. The Taliban later claimed responsibility for what it described as a two-pronged attack in which five militants died, excluding a suicide bomber. "Today Hafiz Omar carried out a suicide attack with 8,000 kilos of explosives in a (fuel) tanker on an American base... in Zirok," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed told AFP. "At the same time 100 mujahedin (holy fighters) attacked the base just after the explosion... Americans suffered heavy casualties and we lost five of our fighters," the spokesman said. Paktika is one of the most troubled regions in the east where thousands of foreign, mainly US forces are battling a resurgent Taliban, who were evicted from power in Afghanistan by the 2001 US-led invasion. The insurgency aims to topple the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai and has this year reached its deadliest. US President Barack Obama has made Afghanistan the centre-piece of his foreign policy, dispatching an extra 21,000 American troops as part of a sweeping new war plan to stabilise the country. Nearly 4,000 Marines and 600 Afghan forces are pressing a massive operation in the southern province of Helmand, in a pivotal test for the new strategy and to protect the local population ahead of presidential polls on August 20. So far only one US Marine has been reported killed in the offensive, which the US commanding officer said was becoming a "hell of a fight" Friday. "We don't have any casualties. The enemy had, but we don't have figures," the Afghan defence ministry said in a short statement on Saturday. The 1/5 Infantry Battalion met only light resistance in their push south and had already been able to meet locals at shuras (councils), Brigadier General Larry Nicholson said, speaking to a convoy with which AFP was travelling. But "for 2/8 there is a hell of a fight going on in the southern quarter of the sector," the top Marine said on arrival at Garmsir, a town along the Helmand River that was a key objective for Operation Khanjar. Commanders said they would persuade locals that the Afghan security forces -- backed by Western troops -- offered them a better long-term future than the fundamentalist Taliban militia as Afghanistan braces for elections next month. Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP the group had not started directly fighting against the US Marine and a separate British operation under way for two weeks north of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. Militants had planted mines on various roads to meet the troops and some vehicles had been blown up, causing several casualties, he said.

DTN News: Taliban claim Pakistan Helicopter Downing

DTN News: Taliban claim Pakistan Helicopter Downing

*Source: DTN News / AFP (NSI News Source Info) PESHAWAR, Pakistan - July 5, 2009: Taliban militants on Saturday claimed responsibility for a military helicopter crash that killed 26 people in the rugged tribal area in the country's north. The helicopter crashed on Friday on the border of the semi-autonomous Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions and officials said no one survived. "We shot down the helicopter," a spokesman for Taliban insurgents based in the nearby Darra Adam Khel region said in a telephone call to AFP. The spokesman identifying himself as Muhammad said it was in retaliation for the Pakistani military operation in South Waziristan, a Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold. A military spokesman rejected the claim, reiterating Saturday that the helicopter had crashed due to a "technical fault". "Taliban militants frequently make false claims," he added. "All 26 people on board died and the wreckage of the helicopter has been removed," he said adding that an inquiry had been ordered. On Friday a senior security official said an MI-17 (military) helicopter crashed due to a technical fault, killing 26 security personnel on board. He said that the site of crash was 20km from Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province. Pakistan has been fighting a two-month battle to dislodge militants in three districts of the northwest. The military has also launched air raids in the tribal belt to prepare for a second front against the Taliban in South Waziristan, a stronghold of feared warlord Baitullah Mehsud.

DTN News: Ukraine Sold Military Hardware Worth $800 Million In 2008

DTN News: Ukraine Sold Military Hardware Worth $800 Million In 2008

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) KIEV, Ukraine - July 5, 2009: Ukraine sold $800 mln worth of weaponry to foreign states in 2008, 14% more than the previous year, the head of the state arms exporter has said. "Our arms exports were worth $700 mln in 2007, and totaled about $800 mln last year," Sergei Bondarchuk, general director of the Ukrspetsexport company, said in an interview with the Segodnya newspaper. According to Bondarchuk, the increase was due to Ukraine's expanded presence on global arms markets. The country recently signed a contract worth $400 mln on repairs and modernization of An-32 Cline planes. The official confirmed that Ukrspetsexport continues to fulfill contracts on weapons deliveries to Georgia. "We continue to fulfill contracts earlier signed with Georgia, and will do so until the UN Security Council adopts a decision to ban the supplies," he said. Ukraine supplies Georgia with Osa and Buk air defense systems, Kolchuga-M radars, Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters, armored personnel vehicles, and a variety of small arms. Bondarchuk dismissed allegations that Ukraine delivered weaponry to Georgia illegally and free of charge. A Ukrainian parliamentary commission led by an opposition lawmaker said last December that President Viktor Yushchenko had sanctioned arms deliveries to Georgia during and after the Caucasus state's war with Russia in August. Russia has banned exports of military products and dual-purpose technology to Georgia. Under a presidential decree, effective through December 1, 2011, the Russian government is to introduce restrictions on military cooperation with countries supplying Russian or Soviet-made arms to Georgia.

DTN News: President Dmitry Medvedev Urges Completion Of Aircraft Carrier For India

DTN News: President Dmitry Medvedev Urges Completion Of Aircraft Carrier For India *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) SEVERODVINSK, Russia - July 5, 2009: The Russian president said on Thursday that modernization of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier should be completed as soon as possible so that it can be delivered to India in 2012. Admiral Gorshkov was a modified Kiev class aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy, originally named Baku. In 2004, she was sold to India for conversion into a STOBAR carrier to be named INS Vikramaditya. Dmitry Medvedev said the Gorshkov project had become, in effect, the only issue in Russian-Indian relations. "This is the first, very difficult experience. The ship must be finished," he said. "Otherwise there will be serious consequences." India and Russia have yet to agree on the cost of overhauling the Admiral Gorshkov for the Indian Navy (to be renamed Vikramaditya). Under the original $1.5 billion 2004 contract between Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Indian Navy, which includes delivery of MiG-29K Fulcrum carrier-based fighters, the work on the aircraft carrier was to have been completed in 2008. However, Russia later claimed it had underestimated the scale and the cost of the modernization, and asked for an additional $1.4 billion, which New Delhi said was "exorbitant." Indian officials familiar with negotiations said the eventual figure would be closer to the $2.2 billion estimate. The aircraft carrier is currently docked at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia, with over 2,000 workers employed on the project. The Admiral Gorshkov is to replace India's INS Viraat, which, although currently operational, is now 50 years old. After modernization, the carrier is expected to be seaworthy for 30 years.

DTN News: Russian Troops Prepare For Anti-Terror Drills With China

DTN News: Russian Troops Prepare For Anti-Terror Drills With China

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - July 5, 2009: Russian troops participating in the joint Russian-Chinese antiterrorism exercises will arrive in the deployment area by July 14, the Ground Forces press service said on Tuesday. The Ground Forces included an estimated total 395,000 including est. 190,000 conscripts and 35,000 personnel of the Airborne Forces (VDV) in 2006. This can be compared to an estimated 670,000, with 210,000 conscripts, in 1995–96 (also an IISS estimate). These numbers should be treated with caution, however, due to the difficulty for those outside Russia to make accurate assessments, and confusion even within the General Staff on the numbers of conscripts within the force. The Peace Mission 2009 antiterrorism drills, involving 2,500 military personnel, will take place in Russia and China on July 22-26. The first phase of the exercises - military and political consultations - will be held in Khabarovsk in Russia's Far East, while the second and third phases will take place outside Baichen in northern China. "The transportation will start on July 8, and all troops must be deployed in the area by July 14," the press service quoted deputy chief of the Russian General Staff Lt. Gen. Sergei Antonov as saying. Antonov said the Peace Mission 2009 exercises "will become an important step in the development of the Russian-Chinese partnership and their armed forces." The first Peace Mission bilateral antiterrorism exercises were held in Russia and the eastern Chinese province of Shandong in August 2005, involving warships, aviation and over 10,000 servicemen including marines and paratroopers.

DTN News: Japan Upgrades Missile-Detection System

DTN News: Japan Upgrades Missile-Detection System *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) TOKYO, Japan - July 5, 2009: A new $935 million project called the Japan Aerospace Defense Ground Environment has been initiated to improve the country's automatic air warning and defense control system. JADGE has replaced the Base Air Defense Ground Environment, said Japan's air arm, the Air Self-Defense Force. Japan's official military policy of Self-Defense Only does not allow the nation's armed forces to have strategic bombers, so JADGE is to improve the ASDF's capabilities to counter airborne attacks, such as by airplanes. The new air-defense network also integrates Japan's ballistic missile sensors and interception systems, and is central to protecting the country from ballistic missile attacks by improving early warning systems. JADGE begins operating amid increasing concerns about the threat of North Korean missiles. The Japanese government approved plans at the beginning of June to develop a satellite early warning system for missile launches. Tensions were heightened in April when North Korea launched what it said was a satellite-bearing rocket. It then conducted a nuclear test and several short-range missile launches. JADGE goes some way to satisfying the government's critics that the country's satellite detection systems need upgrading. The superseded Base Air Defense Ground Environment was an integrated network of radar posts and air defense installations throughout the country. BADGE was upgraded in the 1980s with E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft. Other aircraft were replaced in the early 1990s with more sophisticated models. These included the Nike-J, a Japanese version of the Nike-Hercules surface-to-air missile from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the Patriot PAC-2 ground-to-air missile system built by Raytheon. The ASDF started deploying PAC-3 systems in 2007 and last September successfully tested its capability in New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range. It shot down a mock ballistic missile by firing two PAC-3 missiles in succession. The tests were to gather operational data on the system's radar, launcher and controller set-ups. The government decided in 2003 to build a ballistic missile shield, so antiballistic missile functions were added to the concept. JADGE is now central to the country's ballistic missile shield through search, detection, tracking and interception of ballistic missiles in a centralized and automated manner, according to the ASDF. The new network, which was originally centralized at a base in Fuchu in the suburbs of Tokyo, is also linked to U.S. communications satellites, allowing the United States and Japan to share data. However, a year ago the JASDF began relocating the headquarters of its Air Defense Command to the U.S. base in Yokata, home to the U.S. Air Force's 374th Airlift Wing. The wing provides airlift support to all U.S. Department of Defense agencies in the Pacific. It also provides transport for people and equipment throughout the Kanto Plain and the greater Tokyo area. The ADC headquarters is the supreme Japanese Self-Defense Force command authority and is also headquarters for ballistic missile defense including the new JADGE. The move is to improve coordination between the two forces and around 1,200 Japanese personnel have relocated, costing around $400 million and paid for by the Japanese government. Japan and the United States have no formal agreement to operate their armed forces as a coalition. Efficiencies rely solely on daily and persistent coordination, according to U.S. military officials. The move of Japan's ADC to Yokata is to enhance these interactions, they said.