DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US Selling Combat Drones To Undisclosed Countries
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources RT
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 8, 2012: The unmanned aerial vehicle industry is expected to bring in billions for domestic drone makers over the next few years. Where are the robotic aircraft manufacturers sending their stealth spy plans though? They aren’t saying.
The American Independent reports that Texas’ Vanguard Defense Industries, a US Defense Department contractor that outfits the Pentagon with unmanned aerial drones, has inked agreements with several overseas governments. According to the Independent, Vanguard is expected to see most of their profits in the next year occur from selling airships to foreign nations. Just exactly who is on the receiving end — and to the tune of how many crafts — remains a mystery.
“I thought it was going to be a brutal process,” Vanguard CEO Michael Buscher explains to The Independent in discussing how his company went about gaining US State Department approval. He says that he imagined the procedure to outfit foreign nations with the controversial aircraft would be difficult, but was surprised to see how easy it was to have Uncle Sam authorize his company to deal the drones overseas.
“It was well orchestrated and extremely thorough. But when you follow their guidelines and provide copious details, the process is not as burdensome as I would have thought,” says Buscher.
Not only does an easy process mean easy income for Buscher and Vanguard — it also means that the foreign entities seeking spy planes and other drone crafts can come into possession of them much easier.
“It is just the beginning of it,” activist and author Medea Benjamin tells the Independent, adding that the distribution of drones across the world is “horrifying.”
“There is so much power these companies have with government agencies, and this places extremely powerful pressure on the executive and on the Congress. We are at a very dangerous stage because the American people know so little about the use of drones by our government, much less about these sales overseas,” adds Benjamin.
*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources RT
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com
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Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources RT(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 8, 2012: The unmanned aerial vehicle industry is expected to bring in billions for domestic drone makers over the next few years. Where are the robotic aircraft manufacturers sending their stealth spy plans though? They aren’t saying.
“I thought it was going to be a brutal process,” Vanguard CEO Michael Buscher explains to The Independent in discussing how his company went about gaining US State Department approval. He says that he imagined the procedure to outfit foreign nations with the controversial aircraft would be difficult, but was surprised to see how easy it was to have Uncle Sam authorize his company to deal the drones overseas.
“It was well orchestrated and extremely thorough. But when you follow their guidelines and provide copious details, the process is not as burdensome as I would have thought,” says Buscher.
Not only does an easy process mean easy income for Buscher and Vanguard — it also means that the foreign entities seeking spy planes and other drone crafts can come into possession of them much easier.
“It is just the beginning of it,” activist and author Medea Benjamin tells the Independent, adding that the distribution of drones across the world is “horrifying.”
“There is so much power these companies have with government agencies, and this places extremely powerful pressure on the executive and on the Congress. We are at a very dangerous stage because the American people know so little about the use of drones by our government, much less about these sales overseas,” adds Benjamin.
*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources RT
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS
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The parade, which started at 10.00 Moscow time [06.00 GMT] and continued for about an hour and a half, was the biggest military parade in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
A total of 127 aircraft divided in 20 groups took part in a ceremonial flyover.
Su-25 ground support aircraft and MiG-29 fighters flew in a setup formation resembling number 65 in reference to the anniversary.
Other aircraft displayed during the parade included Il-76 and An-124 military transport planes, accompanied by multirole Su-27 fighters, Il-78 aerial tankers, an A-50 AWACS plane, Tu-95MS Bear and supersonic Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers.
Russia's Yak-130 combat trainers, Su-34 multirole strike aircraft and Mi-26 heavy transport helicopters flew over the Kremlin for the first time.
A large helicopter group included Mi-24, Mi-28 and Ka-50 attack helicopters, and Mi-8 transport helicopters.
Victory Day on May 9 marks the final surrender by Nazi Germany to the U.S.S.R. in WWII, which is often referred to as the Great Patriotic War in Russia and other states from the former Soviet Union.
"Once again I want to thank everyone who worked on this machine, as well as those who are now putting it in the air," the premier continued.
The first Russian fifth-generation fighter jet was delivered to Zhukovsky in the Moscow Region for a flight test on April 8.
The fighter performed its maiden flight on January 29, when the jet spent 47 minutes in the air.
The Sukhoi design bureau started project development of the aircraft after it received the tender in April 2002. Last summer, the fighter's design was approved, and the prototype blueprints were delivered to the KNAAPO aviation construction company based in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
The T-50 is the domestic name of the plane which had been developed as the Advanced Front-Line Aviation Complex (PAK FA) for Russia's Air Force. The PAK FA can carry either eight next-generation air-to-air R-77 missiles, or two large controllable anti-ship bombs weighing 1,500 kg each. It can also carry two long-range missiles developed by the Novator Bureau which can hit targets within a 400 kilometer range.
The first Victory Parade was held on Red Square on June 24, 1945 on the order of the then-Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Joseph Stalin.
