DTN News: Iran Sanctions Negotiations Begin In New York

DTN News: Iran Sanctions Negotiations Begin In New York Source: DTN News / VOA Margaret Besheer United Nations 08 April 2010 (NSI News Source Info) NEW YORK, U.S. - April 9, 2010: Ambassadors of the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany met in New York Thursday for the first round of negotiations on possible new sanctions against Iran for its suspect nuclear program. The ambassadors met behind closed doors for nearly three hours at the British mission to the United Nations.Emerging from the meeting, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that the group still hopes to find a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear issues. "I don't think any of us wants to impose sanctions, what we want to have is a diplomatic solution," said Churkin. "And all sorts of constructive proposals have been made to Iran. So if, as you mention, Iran wants to negotiate, they should start negotiating." Among the six, China, which has close trade ties with Iran, has been the most reluctant to impose new sanctions. Those steps could include targeted measures against members of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, as well as against Iran's insurance and shipping sectors. Instead, China has pushed for more diplomacy with Iran. But U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said recently that sanctions and diplomacy are not mutually exclusive, and that sanctions can be an effective part of diplomatic negotiations. After Thursday's meeting, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the negotiations among Britain, France, China, Russia, the United States and Germany would continue in New York. "We had a worthwhile discussion, the P5+1, on the Iran nuclear issue," said Rice. "We look forward to continuing these discussions here in New York and in capitals in the days and weeks to come." Earlier she said negotiations "are intensifying" now that they have moved to New York. She would not put a timetable on when a new sanctions resolution might come before the full Security Council for a vote, saying only that the group is working to get it done "swiftly." President Barack Obama said recently that he hopes to see a sanctions resolution "within weeks."The P5+1 hope to hammer out a draft text of a sanctions resolution - this would be the fourth such resolution against Iran - that they agree on and then present it to the other 10 members of the Security Council. For it to be adopted, it would need nine votes of the 15 and no vetoes from the permanent members.World powers believe Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons, a charge it denies. But Tehran has failed to allay concerns. It has not accepted confidence-building measures and other proposals from the international community and has not abided by Security Council resolutions demanding it cease enriching uranium.

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated April 8, 2010

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated April 8, 2010 Source: U.S. DoD issued April 8, 2010 (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - April 9, 2010: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued April 8, 2010 are undermentioned; CONTRACTS ARMY ~SRCTec, Inc., Syracuse, N.Y., was awarded on April 1 a $94,386,209 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 3,239 urgently required Duke V2 systems. Work is to be performed in Syracuse, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One sole source bid was solicited with one bid received. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-05-D-S205). ~BAE Systems, Ordnance Systems Inc., Kingsport, Tenn., was awarded on March 31 a $44,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract provides funding for the Area A to Area B acid facility relocation at Holston Army Ammunition Plant. Work is to be performed in Kingsport, Tenn., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Contracting Command, Rock Island, Arsenal, Ill., is the contracting activity (DAA09-98-E-0006). ~Joseph J. Henderson and Son, Inc., Gurnee, Ill., was awarded on March 31 a $24,306,000 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is to construct an advanced waste water treatment plant at Fort Riley, Kan. Work is to be performed in Fort Riley, Kan., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 22, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with eight bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Kansas City District, CECT-NWK-M, Kansas City, Mo., is the contracting activity (W912DQ-10-C-4014). ~L-3 Fuzing and Ordnance Systems, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded on March 31 a $24,069,912 firm-fixed-price contract for M762A1. Work is to be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2013. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions & Lethality Contracting Center, CCJM-CA, Picattinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15QKN-09-C-0050). ~General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems-Scranton Operations, Scranton, Pa., was awarded on March 31 a $23,888,512 firm-fixed-price contract. The contract shall provide the facilities, personnel, and equipment for the manufacture of the 15mm M795 metal parts with flexible rotation band covers. Work is to be performed in Scranton, Pa., with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions & Lethality Contracting Center, CCJM-CA, Picattinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15QKN-08-C-0244). ~BAE Systems National Security Solutions, Inc., San Diego, Calif., was awarded on March 31 a $23,405,241 cost-plus-award-fee contract. This contract is for the baseline scope of efforts including application of capabilities-based acquisition and disciplined program management, systems engineering, software engineering, hardware engineering, systems integration and testing, and other processes, practices, and resources. Work is to be performed in Newington, Va., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2012. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with three bids received. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Reston, Va., is the contracting activity (HM1572-07-C-0002). ~Trumbull Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., was awarded on April 1 a $17,659,363 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is part of the major rehabilitation project for the stabilization of Emsworth Dams. This project involves stabilization of the back channel dam left abutment and installation of permanent scour protection consisting of grout filled bags downstream of the existing dam apron at Emsworth Locks and Dam, Ohio River, Pennsylvania. The work to be performed under this contract consists of furnishing all plant, materials, equipment, supplies, and labor for the installation of micropiles and rock anchors for stabilizing the existing abutment wall; a pipe pole and sheet pile combination wall installed riverward of the existing abutment to facilitate grade separation for the scour protection; dredging the river; and installation of new grout bag scour protection across and downstream of the existing channel dam. Work is to be performed in the Ohio River at the Emsworth Locks and Dam, back channel dam on Neville Island, Pittsburgh, Pa., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 23, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with five bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Pittsburgh, Pa., is the contracting activity (W911WN-10-C-0012). ~Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded in April 1 a $16,660,000 firm-fixed-price contract for recertification of 48 PAC-3 missiles, teardown of 12 PAC-3 missiles, and repair of missiles as necessary. Work is to be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas (66 percent), and Huntsville, Ala. (34 percent), with an estimated completion date of January 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal., Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-007-C-0135). ~Northrop Grumman Information Technology, McLean, Va., was awarded on March 31 a $15,998,775 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Army-Defense integrated human resource system, personnel and pay system, and IT services. Work is to be performed in Alexandria, Va., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. National Capitol Region Contracting Center, Alexandria, Va., is the contracting activity (NOOO39-02-C-3238). ~SGS, LLC, Oklahoma City, Okla., was awarded on March 31 a $15,282,126 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is for the construction of a 60,395 square foot simulation center, access control facility, tactical operations pad, and antenna tower at Fort Bliss, Texas. Supporting facilities include utilities, electric service, parking, paving, walks, curbs, gutters, storage space, storm drainage, information systems, landscaping, site improvements, and fire protection and alarm systems. Anti-terrorism measures include laminated glass, exterior lighting, and stand-off distances. Accessibility for individuals with disabilities will be provided. Air conditioning is estimated at 210 tons. Sustainable design, development, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 will be provided. The simulation center is required to support increases in virtual and live training. Work is to be performed in El Paso, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2011. One hundred and fifty-six bids were solicited with eight bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-10-C-0034). ~Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was awarded on March 31 a $14,890,341 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This contract is under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Phase II of the Emissive Micro-Display (EMD) program. Rockwell Collins will continue to optimize the EMD system to meet final program metrics based on the quantum photonic imager devices. Work is to be performed in multiple cities across the United States, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2012. Bids were solicited via Broad Agency Announcement with four bids received. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (HR0011-10-C-0098) ~Techni Graphic Systems, Inc., Fort Collins, Colo., was awarded on March 31 a $13,192,724 contract for a production program consolidated task order to include negotiated firm-fixed-pricing which will be utilized to acquire global geospatial data products during the Award Term Five ordering period. Work is to be performed in Wooster, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2011. Nine bids were solicited with six bids received. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, ACMS, St. Louis, Mo., is the contracting activity (NMA302-03-D-0003). ~General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on March 31 a $9,750,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for modification P00143, exercising an option for system technical support for the Abrams tank program. Work is to be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 19, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM-Warren, AMSCC-AHLC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0028). ~Harris Corp., Melbourne, Fla., was awarded on March 31 a $9,280,000 contract for a production program consolidated task order to include negotiated firm-fixed-pricing which will be utilized to acquire global geospatial data products during the award term 5 ordering period. Work is to be performed in Melbourne, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 31, 2011. Nine bids were solicited with six bids received. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, ACMS, St. Louis, Mo., is the contracting activity (NMA302-03-D-0006). ~Raytheon Systems Co., McKinney, Texas, was awarded on March 31 a $6,076,246 firm-fixed-price contract for 11 improved target acquisition sub-systems. Work is to be performed in McKinney, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, AMCOM Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contacting activity (W31P4Q-06-C-0290). ~Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla., was awarded on March 31 a $5,669,300 firm-fixed-price contract. This procurement is for issuance of an undefinitized contract action for the purchase of performance-based logistics in support of Foreign Military Sales customer United Arab Emirates for the AH-64 Apache modernized target acquisition designation sight/pilot night vision sensor. Work is to be performed in Orlando, Fla., with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Center, CCAM-AP-B, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-10-C-0028). ~TKC Integration, Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded on March 31 a $5,631,715 firm-fixed-price contract for Segovia dedicated radio frequency bandwidth 8.7 aggregate outroute; Optical Carrier Level 3 direct access terrestrial network link, inside the contiguous United States; and Segovia premium light shared. Work is to be performed in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid recived. Mission and Installation Contract Center, U.S. Army Reserve, Fort Dix, N.J., is the contracting activity (W911S1-10-F-0048). NAVY ~Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Inc., Herndon, Va., is being awarded a $49,999,051 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract providing operation and maintenance services for the combined tactical training ranges. Combined tactical training ranges provide live and virtual environment to support a broad range of mission essential tactical training requirements throughout the Navy aviation training continuum. Services will be required at shore sites, land-based test facilities, and aboard ships in ports and at sea. Work will be performed in Fallon, Nev. (40 percent); Yuma, Ariz. (25 percent); Cherry Point, N.C. (17 percent); Oceana, Va. (10 percent); Key West, Fla. (4 percent); and Beaufort, S.C. (4 percent). Work is expected to be completed by April 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $3,600,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Port Hueneme Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the contracting activity (N63394-10-C-5006). ~Logistics Services International, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $48,000,000 ceiling priced indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to conduct site surveys; training plan and curriculum development; aircrew and maintenance training; publications review/update; logistics technical assistance; program management; and other support services for the P-3 aircraft for the government of Taiwan under the Foreign Military Sales program. Designed after Navy training standards, inside and outside the continental United States, training/support will provide Taiwan’s Navy aircrew and maintenance personnel with technical proficiency in their respective positions. Work will be performed in Taiwan (95 percent) and Jacksonville, Fla. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Fla., is the contracting activity (N61339-10-D-0001). ~Synexxus Inc.*, Arlington, Va., is being awarded a $7,292,774 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee, performance-based contract to provide research, development, engineering, test, operations, maintenance, and sustainment of the Oberon data distribution system architecture; total system engineering; and quantitative analytics. The contract includes (1) one-year option period which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to an estimated $11,497,036. Work will be performed in Afghanistan (70 percent) and Iraq (30 percent), and is expected to be completed by April 2011. If all options are exercised, work could continue until April 2012. Funds will not be obligated at this time. The contract is being awarded on a sole source basis. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity (N65236-10-D-6070). ~The Boeing Co., Lanham, Md., is being awarded a $7,148,440 firm-fixed-price order via the General Services Administration schedule for the procurement of 929 Combat Survivor Evader Locator radios (P/N 4866112101), including supporting equipment for the Navy. Work will be performed in Palmdale, Calif., and is expected to be completed in March 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to DFAR 206.302-1(a))(1)(i). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-10-F-0006). ~Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems., El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a $5,792,324 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously issued Basic Order Agreement (N00019-05-G-0008) for the procurement of two AN/APG-79 active, electronically scanned array test radars to support the F/A-18 and EA-18G programs. Work will be performed in Forest, Miss. (45 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (35 percent); Andover, Mass. (15 percent); and Dallas, Texas (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY ~The Boeing Co., Seattle, Wash., is being awarded a sole-source cost-plus-award-fee modification for $32,713,529. Under this contract, Boeing will continue post flight experiment Laser - 01 work with additional missile engagement scenarios and flight testing to include all required support. The work will be performed in Seattle, Wash., and at three California locations: Edwards Air Force Base, Sunnyvale, and Redondo Beach. The performance period is through May 2010. Fiscal 2010 research, development, test, and evaluation funds will be used for this effort. The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity (F29601-97-C-0001). AIR FORCE ~Wyle Laboratories, Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a $6,808,382 contract which provides for the research, test, development, and delivery of communication and technical recommendations, technical studies, network operations reports, version updates, engineering studies, and requirements traceability matrices. At this time, $371,461 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (HC1047-05-D-4005). ~Ellwood National Forge Co., Irvine, Pa., was awarded a contract which will exercise an option to procure 108 BLU-121 bombs to be used on precision guided air-to-surface weapons and Joint Direct Attack Munitions for the F-15E, F-16, and B-2 platforms. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 685 ARSS/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8677-10-C-0063, P00002). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY ~Pierce Manufacturing, Inc., Appleton, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $5,240,275 firm-fixed-price, long-term contract for fire-fighting vehicle, structural pumper. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Navy. There were originally three proposals solicited with three responses. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Dec. 28, 2010. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM500-01-D-0062-0072). *Small business

DTN News: Lockheed Martin Announces New Green Initiatives For 140,000 Employees, Their Families And Communities

DTN News: Lockheed Martin Announces New Green Initiatives For 140,000

Employees, Their Families And Communities

Source: DTN News / Lockheed Martin (NSI News Source Info) Bethesda, MD - April 9, 2010: Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) April 8., yesterday announced new green initiatives to reach its 140,000 employees, their families and communities. The orchestrated effort is rolling out in conjunction with National Environmental Education Week (EE Week), the largest organized environmental education event in the United States.

Held each year during the week before Earth Day, EE Week coordinates environmental education outreach nationwide to increase Earth Day’s impact. Lockheed Martin will celebrate EE Week and Earth Day by introducing several new company-wide employee initiatives to encourage environmentally-friendly behavior at work, at home and in local communities.

“At Lockheed Martin, it is our goal to raise awareness of natural resource conservation and to help our employees take an active role in their communities,” said Dr. David J.C. Constable, vice president, Lockheed Martin Energy, Environment, Safety & Health. “With the reach of our organization’s network, we have the opportunity to inspire hundreds of thousands of individuals - starting with our employees, their families and communities - so that as a corporation, we can make a big impact one small action at a time.”

A program of the National Environmental Education Foundation, EE Week reaches millions of students with environmentally-themed lessons and activities. In further support of EE Week, Lockheed Martin donated $5,000 to create the EE Week Nature Center Map, which includes contact information for more than 2,000 nature and environmental education centers nationwide, and is a perfect way for educators to find local natural areas for field trips and outdoor study.

“We’re grateful to Lockheed Martin for making National Environmental Education Week’s nature center map possible,” said Diane Wood, president, National Environmental Education Foundation. “Giving children unstructured time to explore nature benefits both their physical and mental health. This nature center finder enables families to find nearby outdoor space easily so they can explore nature and have fun learning about local plants and animals.”

Lockheed Martin’s employee-based initiative surrounding EE Week is just a portion of the corporation’s overall Go Green business strategy. Lockheed Martin is committed to reducing its overall energy usage by building and operating greener, more-efficient buildings, embarking on Green IT activities, constructing on-site renewable energy projects and purchasing renewable energy credits. The Corporation also ranks among the top 50 organizations in the country in green power purchases based on kilowatt hours of power used, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partnership. The Corporation’s long-term absolute goals through 2012 are to reduce carbon emissions, waste to landfill and water usage - each by 25 percent.

In addition to reducing its own environmental impact, Lockheed Martin is working with its customers in the areas of energy efficiency, management, next-generation alternative energy generation, and climate monitoring, Lockheed Martin provides a full range of energy solutions to the government and regulated industry, including the Department of Energy, state and regional energy organizations, utilities and businesses.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.

Media Contact: Matthew Swibel, 301-214-3178, matthew.swibel@lmco.com.

DTN News: First Live Warhead Flight For Lockheed Martin’s Multi-Purpose Hellfire II Missile

DTN News: First Live Warhead Flight For Lockheed Martin’s Multi-Purpose Hellfire

II Missile Source: DTN News / Lockheed Martin (NSI News Source Info) ORLANDO, FL, - April 9, 2010: Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] multi-purpose AGM 114R HELLFIRE II missile scored another success in its second proof-of-principle (POP) flight test, the first armed with a live warhead. The R model, or “Romeo” missile, features a multi-purpose warhead that enables a single HELLFIRE missile to cover all of the target sets of the currently fielded laser-guided variants.

HELLFIRE II has seen extensive action in the global War on Terrorism, with more than 3,000 rounds fired successfully from Apache and Cobra attack helicopters, Predator unmanned aerial vehicles, and other platforms.

The POP 2 flight test, conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, FL, featured a lock-on-after-launch engagement of a stationary target board at 1.6 miles (2.5 km). The team used a ground-based laser designator to illuminate the target. The multi-purpose warhead was set with a delayed fuze that allows the missile to penetrate the target before detonating.

The missile was launched with a low trajectory suitable for a military operation in urban terrain scenario and struck the target board precisely designated by the laser aimpoint. The precursor warhead detonated on impact, while the primary warhead successfully detonated a short distance beyond the target.

“This test successfully demonstrates the Romeo’s multi-purpose warhead and electronic safe, arm and fire, or ESAF, module, which provides the pilot-programmable delayed fuzing function,” said Ken Musculus, director of Air-to-Ground Missile System programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “It’s an important milestone for the HELLFIRE program, bringing us one step closer to providing the Warfighter with one missile that can defeat hard, soft and enclosed targets. In this case, we tested the Romeo’s ability to penetrate and then detonate within a target vehicle or structure, a critical capability against today’s threats.”

“Both the multi-purpose warhead and ESAF module are new to the HELLFIRE,” Musculus said. “Video imagery of the test clearly shows these systems functioned exactly as designed.”

The multi-purpose HELLFIRE II missile can be carried on both rotary-wing and UAV platforms, can be launched from higher altitudes—increasing the impact angle and enhancing stealth and lethality—and provides a wide engagement zone to properly equipped platforms, enabling them to target and fire upon targets to the side and behind them.

With more than 26,000 rounds produced for the U.S. and 15 international customers, HELLFIRE II has been successfully integrated with attack helicopters in the U.S. and many Allied fleets. It is also capable of surface launch from ground vehicles, tripods and small vessels. More than 10,000 HELLFIRE missiles have been successfully fired in combat.

Lockheed Martin performs all work on behalf of the HELLFIRE Systems, Limited Liability Company and will produce the missiles at its manufacturing facilities in Troy, AL, and Ocala, FL.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.

Heather Kelly, (407) 356-5351 e-mail heather.kelly@lmco.com

For additional information, visit our web site: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/mfc

DTN News: Oshkosh Defense Receives Four Awards Valued At $19 Million To Refurbish Vehicles In-Theater

DTN News: Oshkosh Defense Receives Four Awards Valued At $19 Million To Refurbish Vehicles In-Theater Source: DTN News / Oshkosh Corporation (NSI News Source Info) OSHKOSH, Wis. - April 9, 2010: Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), announced today it has received four awards valued at more than $19 million from the TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC) for additional work to be included under its Theater-Provided Equipment Refurbishment (TPER) program with the U.S. military. This work includes the delivery of nearly 200 refurbished heavy and line-haul vehicles, and will extend the Oshkosh Defense TPER work at its Kuwait facility to January 2011. Oshkosh will deliver more than 140 refurbished Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV), including the Oshkosh® Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT), Palletized Load System (PLS) and Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET), as well as the HET M1000 trailer. The company also will deliver more than 50 refurbished line-haul vehicles. Oshkosh has the in-theater capabilities, including a multifaceted supply-chain management approach, to repair and refurbish non-Oshkosh products such as the trailers and line-haul vehicles. “Oshkosh Defense and our partners in the military undertook a groundbreaking operation with the TPER program, and it has significantly benefitted fleet sustainment,” said Andy Hove, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Defense. “Whether it’s routine service or vehicle upgrades, our extensive repair and recapitalization capabilities ensure mission-ready vehicles are affordably and efficiently delivered to meet the Warfighters’ needs.” The TPER program is the result of an urgent requirement to repair and refurbish tactical wheeled vehicles operating in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The program brings vehicles that have become worn from extreme in-theater conditions back to full mission operability. Performing the work in-theater minimizes refurbishment costs, reduces maintenance cycle time and quickly returns vehicles to service. Upon completion of these efforts, more than 1,850 vehicles and trailers will have been repaired and returned to U.S. forces through the TPER program. About Oshkosh Defense Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, is an industry-leading global designer and manufacturer of tactical military trucks and armored wheeled vehicles, delivering a full product line of conventional and hybrid vehicles, advanced armor options, proprietary suspensions and vehicles with payloads that can exceed 70 tons. Oshkosh Defense provides a global service and supply network including full life-cycle support and remanufacturing, and its vehicles are recognized the world over for superior performance, reliability and protection. For more information, visit www.oshkoshdefense.com. About Oshkosh Corporation Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corp. manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®, Medtec®, Jerr-Dan®, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, Frontline™, SMIT™, CON-E-CO®, London® and IMT®. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide in businesses where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term value are paramount. For more information, log on to www.oshkoshcorporation.com. ®, ™ All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.

DTN News: Mexico ~ The Struggle For Balance

DTN News: Mexico ~ The Struggle For Balance Source: By Scott Stewart STRATFOR (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 8, 2010: This week’s Geopolitical Intelligence Report provided a high-level assessment of the economic forces that affect how the Mexican people and the Mexican government view the flow of narcotics through that country. Certainly at that macro level, there is a lot of money flowing into Mexico and a lot of people, from bankers and businessmen to political parties and politicians, are benefiting from the massive influx of cash. The lure of this lucre shapes how many Mexicans (particularly many of the Mexican elite) view narcotics trafficking. It is, frankly, a good time to be a banker, a real estate developer or a Rolex dealer in Mexico. However, at the tactical level, there are a number of issues also shaping the opinions of many Mexicans regarding narcotics trafficking, including violence, corruption and rapidly rising domestic narcotics consumption. At this level, people are being terrorized by running gunbattles, mass beheadings and rampant kidnappings — the types of events that STRATFOR covers in our Mexico Security Memos. Mexican elites have the money to buy armored cars and hire private security guards. But rampant corruption in the security forces means the common people seemingly have nowhere to turn for help at the local level (not an uncommon occurrence in the developing world). The violence is also having a heavy impact on Mexico’s tourist sector and on the willingness of foreign companies to invest in Mexico’s manufacturing sector. Many smaller business owners are being hit from two sides — they receive extortion demands from criminals while facing a decrease in revenue due to a drop in tourism because of the crime and violence. These citizens and businessmen are demanding help from Mexico City. These two opposing forces — the inexorable flow of huge quantities of cash and the pervasive violence, corruption and fear — are placing a tremendous amount of pressure on the Calderon administration. And this pressure will only increase as Mexico moves closer to the 2012 presidential elections (President Felipe Calderon was the law-and-order candidate and was elected in 2006 in large part due to his pledge to end cartel violence). Faced by these forces, Calderon needs to find a way to strike a delicate balance, one that will reassert Mexican government authority, quell the violence and mollify the public while also allowing the river of illicit cash to continue flowing into Mexico. An examination of the historical dynamics of the narcotics trade in Mexico reveals that in order for the violence to stop, there needs to be a balance among the various drug-trafficking organizations involved in the trade. New dynamics have begun to shape the narcotics business in Mexico, and they are causing that balance to be very elusive. For the Calderon administration, desperate times may have called for desperate measures. The Balance The laws of economics dictate that narcotics will continue to flow into the United States. The mission of the Mexican drug-trafficking organizations and the larger cartels they form is to attempt to control as much of that flow as they can. The people who run the Mexican drug-trafficking organizations are businessmen. Historically, their primary objective is to move their product (narcotics) without being caught and to make a lot of money in the process. The Mexican drug lords have traditionally attempted to conduct this business quietly, efficiently and with the least amount of friction. When there is a kind of competitive business balance among these various organizations, a sort of detente prevails and there is relative peace. We say relative, because there has always been a level of tension and some level of violence among these organizations, but during times of balance the violence is kept in check for business reasons. During times of balance, the territorial boundaries are well-established, the smuggling corridors are secure, the drugs flow and the people make money. When that balance is lost and an organization is weakened — especially an organization that controls one or more valuable smuggling corridors — a vicious fight can develop as other organizations move in and try to exert control over the territory and as the incumbent organization attempts to fight them off and retain control of its turf. Smuggling corridors are geographically significant places along the narcotics supply chain where the product is channeled — places such as ports, airstrips, significant highways and border crossings. Control of these significant channels (often referred to as “plazas” by the drug-trafficking organizations) is very important to an organization’s ability to move contraband. If it doesn’t control a corridor it wants to use, it must pay the organization that does control it. In past decades, this turbulence was normally short lived. When there was a fight between the organizations or cartels, there would be a period of intense violence and then the balance between them would either be restored to the status quo ante or a new balance between the organizations would be reached. For example, when the Guadalajara cartel dissolved following the 1989 arrest of Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, and the Arellano Felix Organization (AFO) and the Sinaloa cartel emerged from the Guadalajara cartel to fill the power vacuum, there was a brief period of tension, but once balance was achieved, the violence ebbed — and business returned to normal. However, the old model of cartel conflicts has changed. The current round of inter- and intra-cartel violence has raged for nearly a decade and has intensified rather than abated; there appears to be no end in sight. In fact, death tolls are far higher today than they were five years ago. This inability of the cartels to reach a state of balance is due to several factors. First is the change of products. Mexican drug cartels have long moved marijuana into the United States, but the increase in the amount of cocaine being moved through Mexico in the 1980s and 1990s changed the dynamic — cocaine is far more compact and far more lucrative than marijuana. Cocaine is also a “strategic narcotic,” one that has a transnational supply chain far longer than drugs like marijuana or methamphetamine, and that long supply chain is difficult to guard. Because of this, organizations involved in the cocaine trade tend to be more aggressive and violent than those that smuggle drugs with a shorter supply chain like marijuana and Mexican opium. At first, Mexican cartels like the Guadalajara cartel only smuggled cocaine through their smuggling routes into the United States on behalf of the more powerful Colombian cartels, which were seeking alternate routes to replace the Caribbean smuggling routes that had been largely shut down by American air and sea interdiction efforts. Over time, however, these Mexican cartels grew richer and more powerful from the proceeds of the cocaine trade, and they began to take on an expanded role in cocaine trafficking. The efforts of the Colombian government to dismantle the large (and violent) organizations like the Medellin and Cali cartels also allowed the Mexicans to assume more control over the cocaine supply line. Today, Mexican cartels control much of the cocaine supply chain, with their influence reaching down into South America and up into the United States. This expanded control of the supply chain brought with it a larger slice of the profits for the Mexican cartels, so they have become even more rich and powerful. Of course, this large quantity of illicit income also brings risk with it. The massive profits that can be made by controlling a smuggling corridor into the United States are a tempting lure to competitors (internal and external). This means that the cartels require enforcers to protect their personnel and operations. These enforcers and the escalation of violence they brought with them are a second factor that has hampered the ability of the cartels to reach a balance. Initially, some of the cartel bosses served as their own muscle, but as time went by and the business need for violence increased, the cartels brought in hired help to carry out the enforcement function. The first cartel to do this on a large scale was the AFO (a very aggressive organization), which used active and current police officers and youth gangs (some of them actually from the U.S. side of the border) as enforcers. To counter the AFO’s innovation and strength, rival cartels soon hired their own muscle. The Juarez cartel created its own band of police called La Linea and the Gulf cartel took things yet another step and hired Los Zetas, a group of elite anti-drug paratroopers who deserted their federal Special Air Mobile Force Group in the late 1990s. The Gulf cartel’s private special operations unit raised the bar yet another notch, and the Sinaloa cartel formed its own paramilitary unit called Los Negros to counter the strength of Los Zetas. With paramilitary forces comes military armament, and cartel enforcers graduated from using pistols and submachine guns to regularly employing fully automatic assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades. As we have previously noted, thugs with such weapons do pose a threat, but when those weapons are in the hands of highly-trained gunmen with the ability to operate as an integrated unit, the threat is far greater. The life of a cartel enforcer can be brutish and short. In order to find additional personnel to beef up their ranks, the various cartel enforcer units formed outside alliances. Los Zetas worked with former Guatemalan special forces commandos called Kaibiles and with the Mara Salvatrucha street gang (MS-13). La Linea formed a close alliance with the American Barrio Azteca street gang and with Los Aztecas, the gang’s Mexican branch. Cartels also recruit heavily, and it is now common to see them place “help wanted” signs in which they offer soldiers and police officers big money if they will quit their jobs and join a cartel enforcer unit. In times of intense combat, the warriors in a criminal organization can begin to eclipse the group’s businessmen in terms of importance, and over the past decade the enforcers within groups like the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels have become very powerful. In fact, groups like Los Zetas and Los Negros have become powerful enough to split from their parent organizations and, essentially, form their own independent drug-trafficking organizations. This inter-cartel struggle has proved quite deadly as seen in the struggle between AFO factions in Tijuana over the past year and in the more recent eruption of violence between the Gulf cartel and Los Zetas in northeastern Mexico. This weakening of the traditional cartels was part of the Calderon administration’s publicized plan to reduce the power of the drug traffickers and to deny any one organization or cartel the ability to become more powerful than the state. The plan appears to have worked to some extent, and the powerful Gulf and Sinaloa cartels have splintered, as has the AFO. The fruit of this policy, however, has been incredible spikes in violence and the proliferation of aggressive new drug-trafficking organizations that have made it very difficult for any type of equilibrium to be reached. So the Mexican government’s policies have also been a factor in destabilizing the balance. Finding a Fulcrum The current round of cartel fighting began when the balance of cartel power was thrown off by the death of Amado Carrillo Fuentes in 1997, which resulted in the weakening of the once powerful Juarez cartel. Shortly after the head of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka El Chapo, escaped from prison in 2001, he began a push to move in on the weakened Juarez cartel. Guzman initially succeeded and the Juarez cartel became part of the Sinaloa Federation until the two cartels had a falling out in 2004. Then when the chief enforcer of the AFO, Ramon Arellano Felix, was killed in 2002, both the Sinaloa and the Gulf cartels attempted to wrest control of Tijuana from the AFO. Finally, when Gulf cartel kingpin Osiel Cardenas Guillen was captured in March 2003, the Sinaloa cartel sent Los Negros to attempt to take control of the Gulf cartel’s territory, and this sparked a series of violent clashes in Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. The BLO’s top enforcer, Edgar Valdez Villarreal (La Barbie), led Los Negros into Nuevo Laredo. These same basic turf wars are still active, meaning that there is still ongoing violence in Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, but as noted above, the actors are changing, with organizations like Los Zetas breaking out of the Gulf cartel and the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO) parting ways with the Sinaloa cartel. Indeed, the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels have joined forces with La Familia Michoacana (LFM) to form a new super cartel called the New Federation and are now allies in the struggle against Los Zetas and the BLO, which have teamed up with the Juarez cartel to fight against the New Federation. One constant in the violence of the past decade has been the aggressiveness of the Sinaloa cartel as it has sought to take territory from other cartels and organizations. In the midst of the current cartel landscape, which has radically shifted over the past year, it is difficult for any type of balance to be found. There are also very few levers with which the Calderon government can apply pressure to help force the shifting pieces into alignment. In the near term, perhaps the only hope for striking a balance and reducing the violence is that the New Federation is strong enough to kill off organizations like Los Zetas, the BLO and the Juarez cartel and assert calm through sheer force. However, while the massed forces of the New Federation initially made some significant headway against Los Zetas, the former special operations personnel appear to have rallied, and Los Zetas’ tactical skills and arms make them unlikely to be defeated easily. There have been many rumors that the New Federation, in its fight against Los Zetas, was being helped by the Mexican government. (Some of those rumors have come from the New Federation itself.) During the New Federation’s offensive against Los Zetas, federation enforcers have been seen driving around Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo in vehicles openly marked with signs indicating they belonged to the New Federation. While far from conclusive proof of government assistance, the well-marked vehicles certainly do seem to support the cartel’s assertion that, at the very least, the government did not want to interfere with the federation’s operation to destroy Los Zetas. When pieced together with other observations gathered during the cartel wars, this also suggests that the Sinaloa cartel may have consistently benefited from the government’s actions. These actions would include taking out the BLO leadership after the Beltran Leyva brothers turned against Sinaloa and the government’s success against La Linea and Los Aztecas in Juarez. There are also occasional contraindications, such as the recent large-scale attacks against military bases in the northeast that appear to have been conducted by the New Federation. Despite these contraindications, the cartels fighting the New Federation believe the government favors the group, and there have long been rumors that Calderon was somehow tied to El Chapo. The Juarez cartel may have recently taken some desperate steps to counter what it perceives to be a dire threat of government and New Federation cooperation. A local Juarez newspaper, El Diario, recently published an article discussing a Los Aztecas member who had been detained and interrogated by the Mexican military and federal police in connection with the murders of three U.S. Consulate employees in Juarez in March. During the interrogation, according to El Diario, the Los Aztecas member divulged that a decision was made by leaders in the Barrio Azteca gang and Juarez cartel to engage U.S. citizens in the Juarez area in an effort to force the U.S. government to intervene in Mexico and therefore act as a “neutral referee,” thereby helping to counter the Mexican government’s favoritism toward the New Federation. Of course, it is highly possible that the Sinaloa cartel is just a superior cartel and is better at using the authorities as a weapon against its adversaries. On the other hand, perhaps the increasingly desperate government has decided to use Sinaloa and the New Federation as a fulcrum to restore balance to the narcotics trade and reduce the violence across Mexico. In any case, we will be closely watching the activities of the New Federation and the Mexican government over the next several months to see if this hypothesis is correct. Much hangs in the balance for Calderon, the Mexican people and their American neighbors. This report may be forwarded or republished on your website with attribution to http://www.stratfor.com/ *This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com Disclaimer statement Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein, DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions expressed herein are those of the author of the page and do not necessarily represent the corporate views of DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News.

DTN News: US And Russia Sign Historic Nuclear Treaty

DTN News: US And Russia Sign Historic Nuclear Treaty Source: DTN News / Deborah Haynes, Defence Editor, in Prague Timesonline.co.uk (NSI News Source Info) PRAGUE, Czech Republic - April 8, 2010: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama sign the 'New START Treaty' The United States and Russia signed a new treaty today aimed at shrinking stockpiles of nuclear warheads in a historic move that revives the push to halt the spread of atomic weapons, particularly to Iran. President Obama, who attended the signing ceremony with Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, in Prague, said that “ramped up” negotiations were expected in the coming days over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and that they would result in another set of “strong, tough” sanctions against the Islamist regime. “Today is an important milestone for nuclear security and non-proliferation, and for US-Russia relations,” the American leader said, speaking in a grand hall inside the Prague Castle where a year ago he gave a speech setting out his vision for a world without nuclear weapons. The Russian President, standing at a podium next to Mr Obama, said of the treaty: “The result we have obtained is good.” Smiling and at moments chuckling in a show of friendship, the two presidents signed the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which is seen as the first concrete foreign policy achievement by Mr Obama since he took office. The agreement requires Moscow and Washington – holders of more than 90 per cent of the world's nuclear weapons – to slash their respective arsenals by about a third and reduce launchers by a half. But the pact, which was already delayed because of difficulties in negotiations, could yet be undermined if either side fails to ratify the text or if Russia chooses to exercise a right to withdraw unilaterally over concerns about American plans for a missile-defence shield in Europe. Amid tight security, the Russian leader, who arrived in Prague yesterday, held closed-door talks with Mr Obama, who was accompanied by Hillary Clinton, his Secretary of State, ahead of the signing ceremony at the medieval castle that overlooks Prague. The bilateral discussion, which lasted longer than the scheduled hour, included a US desire for a fourth round of sanctions on Iran, which the West believes is intent upon becoming the world's next nuclear power. Tehran insists its nuclear ambition is for civilian, energy needs. Mr Obama said: “We are going to start seeing some ramped up negotiations … We are going to be able to secure strong tough sanctions on Iran this spring.” He believed that the US-Russia pact helped to increase pressure on Iran by firming ties between Moscow and Washington and also demonstrating to the world that the two powers were serious about adhering to their commitments to disarm under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Mr Obama will again advocate a tougher stance against the Iranian regime at a two-day summit of 47 world leaders that he is due to host in Washington next week. That meeting will focus on stopping illicit trade in nuclear material and the need for stronger measures to protect vulnerable stockpiles. It has been a busy few days for the American President on the nuclear front, coming on the back of a successful domestic battle over healthcare reform. The political achievements have given his administration a new sense of confidence 14 months after taking office. On Tuesday, Mr Obama unveiled a revamped nuclear strategy that for the first time declared the US would never use the bomb against a non-nuclear state provided it complied with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty — a caveat that leaves Iran and North Korea still vulnerable to attack. In a shift that is also reflected in the latest treaty with Moscow, the new policy also focuses on the spread of atomic weapons in vulnerable regions such as the Middle East and South-East Asia or to terrorists rather than outdated and far less plausible fears of a nuclear conflict with Russia. The evolution of the threat underlines the need to cut inflated Russian and US stockpiles of nuclear weapons, which no longer serve any purpose other than to add to the risk of dangerous material falling into the wrong hands. The new US-Russia pact, which replaces the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expired last December, reduces both sides' deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 from a previous cap of 2,200. Washington and Moscow must also cut the number of launchers, nuclear-armed missiles and heavy bombers in a step that will require vigorous verification procedures. The treaty, which lasts for 10 years and could be extended, still needs to be ratified by the US Congress and the Russian Duma. Mr Obama appears confident that US ratification will happen this year. One lingering headache is ongoing Russian concern over US missile-defence, an issue that has strained relations for years, even though Mr Obama scrapped a plan by his predecessor to base interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic. Russia viewed the system as a threat to its national security, rejecting American assurances that it was aimed at rogue states like Iran. It threatened to block the nuclear treaty last month after objecting to revised US plans that could see elements of the shield based in Bulgaria and Romania. Analysts, however, said Moscow was merely signalling that this issue must not be overlooked in future US-Russia disarmament pacts, which are expected to follow the latest treaty as momentum builds behind reducing the risk of nuclear war. In a day of symbolic significance, Mr Obama and Mr Medvedev are due to sign the agreement in the richly adorned Spanish Hall of Prague Castle, the official residence of the Czech president. The men will then have a formal lunch before the Russian leader flies home to Moscow, while Mr Obama — in a sensitive balancing act — is due to host a dinner for leaders of 11 Central and Eastern European nations who either belonged to or were affected by the former Soviet Union. They will be seeking assurance over concerns about slipping support from Washington as it courts closer ties with Moscow. Sealing the nuclear pact will go some way to silence critics of the US leader who last year won the Nobel Peace Prize in part for his vision of a nuclear-weapons-free world despite having not made any tangible progress towards that goal.