It’s all part of preparations to provide security for the growing number of Chinese businesses investing in turbulent regions of Africa and the Middle East. Under the instruction of former Portuguese special forces bodyguard Marco Borges, the 40-strong group, most of whom have military backgrounds themselves, take part in a grueling regimen.
DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: The Afghanistan Massacre On The Roof of The World *The first British invasion of Afghanistan in 1839 ended three years later in disaster. In an exclusive extract from his new book, William Dalrymple draws parallels with the current campaign
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By William Dalrymple - Telegraph UK (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 18, 2013: At the end of Kim, Kipling has his eponymous hero say, “When everyone is dead, the Great Game is finished. Not before.” In the 1980s, it was the Russians’ withdrawal from their failed occupation of Afghanistan that triggered the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. Less than 20 years later, in 2001, British and American troops arrived in Afghanistan, where they proceeded to begin losing what was, in Britain’s case, its fourth war in that country. As before, in the end, despite all the billions of dollars handed out, the training of an entire army of Afghan troops and the infinitely superior weaponry of the occupiers, the Afghan resistance succeeded again in first surrounding then propelling the hated Kafirs into a humiliating exit.
DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract $22.6 Million To Hawker Beehcraft Defense Company L.L.C., for Iraq T-6A
Source: DTN News & DoD 030-13 January, 2013 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 18, 2013: Hawker Beehcraft Defense Company L.L.C., Wichita, Kan., (FA8617-12-C-6194, P00006) is being awarded a $22,658,670 firm-fixed-price contract modification for Government of Iraq T-6A sustainment program.
The location of the performance is Tikrit Air Base, Iraq. Work is expected to be completed by July 3, 2013. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WLZI, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Contract involves Foreign Military Sales.
The first 4 of 15 T-6A aircraft are delivered to Iraq under a $210 million contract on 16 December 2009. No AT-6 aircraft were included as was previously reported. This equates to an average of $14 million per aircraft with support and training included. The first 8 aircraft, purchased by the Government of Iraq, will arrive at Tikrit by the end of January 2010. The last 7, purchased by the United States, are expected by the end of December 2010. Mission The T-6A Texan II is a single-engine, two-seat primary trainer designed to train Joint Primary Pilot Training, or JPPT, students in basic flying skills common to U.S. Air Force and Navy pilots. Features Produced by Raytheon Aircraft, the T-6A Texan II is a military trainer version of Raytheon's Beech/Pilatus PC-9 Mk II. Stepped-tandem seating in the single cockpit places one crewmember in front of the other, with the student and instructor positions being interchangeable. A pilot may also fly the aircraft alone from the front seat. Pilots enter the T-6A cockpit through a side-opening, one-piece canopy that has demonstrated resistance to bird strikes at speeds up to 270 knots. The T-6A has a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turbo-prop engine that delivers 1,100 horsepower. Because of its excellent thrust-to-weight ratio, the aircraft can perform an initial climb of 3,100 feet (944.8 meters) per minute and can reach 18,000 feet (5,486.4 meters) in less than six minutes. The aircraft is fully aerobatic and features a pressurized cockpit with an anti-G system, ejection seat and an advanced avionics package with sunlight-readable liquid crystal displays. Background Before being formally named in 1997, the T-6A was identified in a 1989 Department of Defense Trainer Aircraft Master Plan as the aircraft portion of the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System, or JPATS. The system includes a suite of simulators, training devices and a training integration management system. On Feb. 5, 1996, Raytheon was awarded the JPATS acquisition and support contracts. The first operational T-6A arrived at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, in May 2000. The full rate production contract was awarded in December 2001. Air Force production of the aircraft was completed in 2010. The T-6A is used to train JPPT students, providing the basic skills necessary to progress to one of four training tracks: the Air Force bomber-fighter or the Navy strike track, the Air Force airlift-tanker or Navy maritime track, the Air Force or Navy turboprop track and the Air Force-Navy helicopter track. Instructor pilot training in the T-6A began at Randolph AFB in 2000. JPPT began in October 2001 at Moody AFB, Ga., and is currently at Columbus AFB, Miss., Vance AFB, Okla, and Laughlin AFB and Sheppard AFB in Texas.
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Time
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