Friday, October 22, 2010

DTN News: World Top Stories / Headlines - News Dated October 22, 2010

DTN News: World Top Stories / Headlines - News Dated October 22, 2010 Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources
(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 22, 2010: Comprehensive daily news related to World Top Stories for the world of TODAY.
*Comprehensive daily news related to World Top Stories for the world of TODAY.

AFP News Headlines

British nuclear submarine refloated after running aground

British nuclear submarine refloated after running aground

AFP - 39 mins ago

LONDON (AFP) - Britain's newest nuclear submarine was towed out to sea after spending Friday stuck on a shingle bank after running aground off a Scottish island.More »

  • Jazeera: WikiLeaks papers show Iraq torture, US killings

    Jazeera: WikiLeaks papers show Iraq torture, US killings

    AFP - 15 mins ago

    DUBAI (AFP) - Al-Jazeera on Friday released "startling new information" from US documents obtained by WikiLeaks, alleging state-sanctioned Iraqi torture and the killing of hundreds of civilians at US military checkpoints. More »

  • Palestinians urge water strategy

    Palestinians urge water strategy

    AFP - 1 hour 13 mins ago

    VOULIAGMENI, Greece (AFP) - Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayaad on Friday called on the international community to help find a solution to the difficult access to water in the occupied territories. More »

  • Settlers vandalise West Bank Muslim cemetery: witness

    Settlers vandalise West Bank Muslim cemetery: witness

    AFP - 1 hour 17 mins ago

    KAFR QADDUM, Palestinian Territories (AFP) - Several Muslim graves at a cemetery in the West Bank were vandalised by Jewish settlers early on Friday, a witness said as Israel opened a probe into the case. More »

  • Israel vanquishes Iran... on the chess board

    Israel vanquishes Iran... on the chess board

    AFP - 2 hours 2 mins ago

    TEL AVIV (AFP) - An Israeli chess grandmaster took the Guinness record for simultaneous chess games from the Jewish state's arch-foe Iran on Friday after a marathon 19-hour match against 523 players. More »

  • Spanish police arrest 14 suspected ETA allies

    Spanish police arrest 14 suspected ETA allies

    AFP - 2 hours 7 mins ago

    MADRID (AFP) - Spanish police arrested 14 suspected members of an outlawed organization of youths linked with armed Basque separatists ETA in pre-dawn raids Friday, the government said. More »

  • Israel settlements block Palestinian state: UN envoy

    Israel settlements block Palestinian state: UN envoy

    AFP - 2 hours 14 mins ago

    UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Israel's settlement construction in the occupied territories has become an almost insurmountable obstacle to creating an independent Palestinian state, a UN envoy said Friday. More »

  • Iraq city with soaring child cancer gets new hospital

    Iraq city with soaring child cancer gets new hospital

    AFP - 2 hours 44 mins ago

    BASRA, Iraq (AFP) - Iraq's first specialist cancer hospital for children could not have opened in a needier location -- since 1993, Basra province has seen a sharp rise in the incidence of childhood cancer. More »

  • Italian-Greek group to build Syrian power plant

    Italian-Greek group to build Syrian power plant

    AFP - 2 hours 53 mins ago

    DAMASCUS (AFP) - Ansaldo Energia, a unit of Italy's Finmecannica, and Greece's Metka, part of Mytilineos Holdings, are to build a gas-powered electricity generating plant in Syria, the press reported on Friday. More »

  • WikiLeaks promises 'major announcement' Saturday in Europe

    WikiLeaks promises 'major announcement' Saturday in Europe

    AFP - 2 hours 57 mins ago

    LONDON (AFP) - The WikiLeaks website has promised a "major announcement" in Europe on Saturday, in a message on its Twitter feed, amid speculation it will release thousands of secret documents about the Iraq war. More »

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DTN News: Aerospace/Defense Headlines - News Dated October 22, 2010

DTN News: Aerospace/Defense Headlines - News Dated October 22, 2010
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources including latest updates Defense News, Aerospace/Defense Headlines - News & Yahoo
(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 22, 2010: Comprehensive daily news related to Aerospace/Defense for the world of TODAY.
*Comprehensive daily news related on Aerospace/Defense for the world of TODAY.

Friday October 22, 2010

Thursday October 21, 2010
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DTN News: Airbus Military Looks To India For A400M Grizzly Airlifter

DTN News: Airbus Military Looks To India For A400M Grizzly Airlifter
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources
(NSI News Source Info) SEVILLE, Spain - October 22, 2010: European aerospace major EADS is on the verge of bringing into markets its new A400M Grizzly to compete in Indian military proposals for inducting giant airlifters to boost its strategic reach.

Didier Vernet, Head of A400M Market Development, Airbus Military, said the European consortium is looking to increase sales of the multi-national four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft outside Europe, particularly to "the lucrative Indian defence market".

He said Airbus Military is looking beyond the continent for new business as it inches ahead to ink a final agreement among the launch nations -- France, Germany, Spain, the UK, Turkey, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

Currently 180 aircraft are ordered by the seven launch nations, with an additional four from Malaysia.

"We can consider selling A400M to India after fulfilling the orders of the launch nations as we see India as a major market," Vernet told PTI here, adding they plan to manufacture thirty aircraft per year.

With India seeking to expand its strategic lift capacity, the Grizzly could give a run for money to Boeing C-17 Globemasters as well as the Russian competitors.

New Delhi recently announced a decision to buy through government-to-government deal 10 American C-17 Globemasters, with planners saying that airforce needed many more.

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), the parent company of Airbus Military, is looking to India as a key market for its A400M airlifter, which has been dogged by delays and spiralling costs.

In India, it plans to position the A400M between Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules and Boeing C-17 Globemasters, the two hot ticket items on the US agenda for President Barack Obama's New Delhi visit next month.

The A400M programme, which was launched in May 2003 and moving into its industrial phase in 2006, was designed by Airbus Military "as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities".

The hulking gray A400M turboprop could be "rapidly reconfigured to become air-to-air tanker able to refuel fighters, helicopter and other large aircraft at their preferred speeds and height."

It has a "built in AAR refueling capability that is fast and high enough for fast jets and slow and low enough for helicopters" "to give a commander operational flexibility enabling him to assign these aircrafts to which ever role is most needed to meet rapidly changing operational scenarios," Vernet said.

Operation from austere airfields with short runways under hot and high conditions is a key characteristic of A400M. The airlifter's "good low speed characteristic and ample power allow the use of short airstrips for take off and landing".

It can "deliver 25 tonnes of payload into a 750 metres (2460 ft) airstrip with enough fuel on board for a 500 nm return trip".

The ambitious joint European defence project is, however, running four years behind schedule and cost overruns. EADS has been in discussions with the seven customer governments, with some key nations hesitant to plough more money into the much-delayed project.

Despite reaching an agreement in principle earlier this year on how to share the cost overruns, they are still to sign the final agreement.

"We are moving to ink a deal," Vernet said, even as he agreed that efforts to trim defence budget by governments across Europe has prompted alarm for the ambitious project, already dogged by delays and spiralling costs.

However, he argued that inking a joint deal involving all seven nations is bound to take some time as consortium member nations are facing pressure from austerity budgets following the worst economic recession in generations.

Even as Vernet suggested a sense of uncertainty over the final agreement, many at Airbus saw a silver lining in global shift toward security - including anti-terror measures, border surveillance and disaster management - as key factors that will help the project survive defense spending cuts.

Manuel Portillo, Configuration Manager for A400M, agrees that the "biggest challenge for Airbus is to meet the timeline targets and cost overruns".

Vernet said the "versatile airlifter provides the strategic range capability" and undertakes both military and civic tasks.

"With a typical payload of 20 tonnes, it has an operating range of 3450 nm (6390 km) and 2450 nm (4535 km) range with a payload of 30 tonnes," he said.

*THIS ARTICLE IS BEING POSTED FROM TORONTO, CANADA BY DTN NEWS ~ DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS, CONTACT:DTNNEWS@YMAIL.COM

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DTN News: Boeing Confident With Indian Super Hornet Bid

DTN News: Boeing Confident With Indian Super Hornet Bid
Source: By Craig Hoyle - Flight International
(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 22, 2010: Boeing is optimistic it will make the shortlist for India's medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA) requirement in 2011 with its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, says Rick McCrary, capture team manager for its Defense, Space & Security business unit.

With India having completed in-country flight evaluations of the six candidate airframes, McCrary believes a shortlist will be issued next year to narrow the field, most likely after the Aero India air show in Bangalore.

"I think it will be the heavy twins," he says, referring to the Super Hornet and rival offers with the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and RSK MiG-35. "They're looking for more serious medium combat aircraft, in weight and performance," he says.

Lockheed Martin and Saab are also pursuing the MMRCA contract offering their single-engined F-16IN and Gripen NG designs.

The Indian air force is seeking an initial 126 aircraft, with an option for 50% more at the same unit price, but McCrary says the service could eventually need up to 400 of the winning design. "They've got a huge air force, but it's ageing," he notes.

Deliveries will start within 36 months of a contract award, which is expected to be made in 2012. The first 18 aircraft will be completed by the successful bidder before final assembly and manufacturing responsibilities are progressively transferred to India. "This is a 20-year programme," McCrary notes.

In the case of Boeing, the company would first transfer final assembly and test of the Super Hornet for India from its St Louis site in Missouri and then "work back from there."

McCrary says New Delhi's recent selection of GE Aviation's F414 engine - which also powers the Super Hornet - for the MkII version of its Tejas light combat aircraft could help Boeing's bid for MMRCA. "We think they're disconnected, but would certainly like to think there's some synergy there."

Boeing also continues to answer requests for information about the Super Hornet from the United Arab Emirates about its new fighter requirement. France is also pursuing a proposed sale of its Rafale to the UAE's air force.

*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.

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DTN News: KONGSBERG And Rheinmetall Sign Framework Agreement

DTN News: KONGSBERG And Rheinmetall Sign Framework Agreement
Source: DTN News / Kongsberg Gruppen
(NSI News Source Info) KONGSBERG, Norway - October 22, 2010: The scope of this agreement is to provide a framework for the co-operation between the companies for the Remote Weapon Station (RWS) product area.

Through this agreement the companies intend to not only maintain, but also to expand the co-operation as well as establish joint sales efforts in some international markets.

Kongsberg and Rheinmetall have entered into this co-operation agreement to promote the KONGSBERG PROTECTOR family of RWS' and also increase the level of integration between the two companies' product lines. The overall objective of bringing the two high technology companies together is to offer leading-edge solutions and to raise the value for our international customers.

KONGSBERG (OSE Ticker: KOG) is an international, knowledge-based group that supplies high-technology systems and solutions to customers engaged in the oil and gas industry, the merchant marine, and the defence and aerospace industries. In 2009, KONGSBERG had a turnover of NOK 13.8 billion, and the Group had 5 423 employees in more than 25 countries.

Rheinmetall AG is a globe-spanning defence technology and automotive engineering group with an international customer base. Employing a 20,000-strong global work force, the Rheinmetall Group generated sales in FY 2009 of around 3.4 billion Euro. Rheinmetall Defence's six divisions – Vehicle Systems, Weapons and Ammunition, Air Defence, Propellants, Defence Electronics and Simulation and Training – supply the world's armed forces with a comprehensive array of products and services.

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DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated October 21, 2010

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated October 21, 2010 Source: U.S. DoD issued No. 964-10 October 21, 2010 (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - October 22, 2010: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued October 21,
2010 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

NAVY

InfoEdge Technology, Inc., Austin, Texas, is being awarded a $44,505,174 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for litigation support services for the Naval Litigation Office, Washington, D.C. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C. (70 percent), and Austin, Texas (30 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2015. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured through the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with two offers received. The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (N00189-10-D-Z040).

Lockheed Martin Corp., Eagan, Minn., is being awarded a $7,300,000 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-06-D-0012) for services in support of the Pakistan Navy’s P-3C upgrade program under the Foreign Military Sales program. Support to be provided includes labor, aircraft hangar costs, and acoustic receiver technical refresh program report resolution required to upgrade and overhaul seven P-3C aircraft. Work will be performed in Greenville, S.C. (80 percent), and Eagan, Minn. (20 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 Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity.
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Thursday, October 21, 2010

DTN News: DRDO, IAI, MBDA Products To Improve Indian Air Force Air Defence Capabilities

DTN News: DRDO, IAI, MBDA Products To Improve Indian Air Force Air Defence Capabilities
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources
(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 21, 2010: In a recent interview, the Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik had been quoted saying that the Indian Air Force was close to having a 50 percent obsolence level in its equipment. This was largely a reference to the air defence capabilities of the Indian Air Force.
For the past few years, however, the Government has moved to address these gaps in capabilities with the following orders / upgrades planned:
  • December 2010 - President Sarkozy's Visit: Formal accord likely to be signed and joint development work to begin for the 15-km.-range Indo-French Maitri short-range SAM (SR-SAM). Workshare agreement between the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and European defense major MBDA has been concluded. An MBDA official says the SR-SAM would finish development work and the first phase of testing within three years of program go-ahead. The system is likely to be available for deployment by late 2013.
  • February 2011 - IAF will receive its first two Akash batteries in February, and is likely to deploy them in India's Northeast. The IAF decided to order six more Akash batteries worth USD $925 million -- each with 125 missiles -- in addition to the two systems already on order.
  • March 2011 - IAF receive the first of 18 Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)-Rafael Spyder quick-reaction medium-range missile systems. The offshore deal became necessary in 2006 because of delays in the indigenous Akash surface-to-air missile (SAM) program.
  • DRDO is developing with IAI a 70-km.-range Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MR-SAM). The IAF plans to raise at least two regiments that will use the MR-SAM, each with 40 launchers and support equipment. In India, the MR-SAM will progressively replace the antiquated Soviet-vintage SA-3 Pechora and SA-8 OSA-AK SAM systems.
  • Radar coverage - The IAF currently has fast-track tenders out for long-range surveillance radars, high-powered radars, three-dimensional C/D band air surveillance radars, low-level transportable radars and radars for mountain surveillance in India's northern and eastern sectors.
*THIS ARTICLE IS BEING POSTED FROM TORONTO, CANADA BY DTN NEWS ~ DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS, CONTACT:DTNNEWS@YMAIL.COM
Related: -- DRDO, MBDA to Jointly Develop Maitri Quick Reaction Missile -- IAI Develops Arrow 3 Interceptor for Long Range Incoming Missiles
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DTN News: Pakistan TODAY October 21, 2010 - With Pakistani Visit To The U.S., A Chance To Ease Tensions

DTN News: Pakistan TODAY October 21, 2010 - With Pakistani Visit To The U.S., A Chance To Ease Tensions
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, USA - October 21, 2010: As the Obama administration begins three days of talks with Pakistani leaders, the two sides will seek to ease tensions over the muscular new U.S. strategy in the region.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, chief of the Pakistani army, are leading the their nation's delegation for meetings with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Cameron Munter, the next U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, also will join the talks.

The U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, which started Wednesday, will address all facets of the relationship between Washington and Islamabad, but counterterrorism cooperation will be a major aspect of the talks.

During the talks the Obama administration is expected to announce a security assistance package totaling as much as $2 billion over five years to help Pakistan fight extremists on its border with Afghanistan, senior U.S. officials and diplomatic sources tell CNN. The two sides also will discuss how to help Pakistan rebuild after this summer's devastating floods.

The talks come amid renewed friction between the U.S. and Pakistan after a NATO helicopter gunship in pursuit of insurgents killed Pakistani soldiers in a border region with Afghanistan, prompting Pakistan to temporarily close a supply route into Afghanistan.

It also comes on the heels of a White House report sent to Congress earlier this month that uses unusually tough language to suggest the ally is not doing nearly enough to confront the Taliban and al Qaeda, despite repeated Obama administration claims in public that Pakistan is working hard to crack down on militants

The White House assessment, obtained by CNN, is particularly tough on Pakistan's inability to make gains in North Waziristan, where many analysts believe key al Qaeda leaders have gained a safe haven to use as a base to plot terror attacks against Western targets.

"This is as much a political choice as it is a reflection of an under-resourced military prioritizing its targets," the report said.

The $2 billion security package, which is on top of a $7.5 billion aid package over five years in non-military counter-terrorism assistance approved by Congress last year, seeks to address what U.S. officials call a legitimate lack of Pakistani capacity to fight militants.

"There is an expectation with that capacity comes a greater effort," a senior official said.

But U.S. patience with Pakistan's inability to crack down on militants is wearing thin, especially among members of Congress. Administration officials say the United States will warn the Pakistani leaders that it would be hard to persuade Capitol Hill or the American public to continue supporting the country if Pakistan failed to intensify its efforts to crack down on militants in its tribal areas, or if a terrorist plot against America was traced back to terrorists being given safe haven in Pakistan.

"There will be opportunities for us to detail for the Pakistanis what more must be done," White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs said about the talks.

Gibbs gave the Pakistani government credit for what he called "an unprecedented level of cooperation," but said the United States has been clear about what is expected of Pakistan.

The dialogue is designed to build trust with Pakistan, amid concerns the United States is not going to remain engaged with the region over the long term. This week the two sides will break into ten working groups to discuss issues like expansion of trade, public diplomacy and American investment in the Pakistani economy and agricultural and technology sectors. The Pakistanis also hope to convince the U.S. to engage in civil nuclear cooperation, like it does with India, and give Pakistan preferential access to U.S. markets for Pakistani goods such as textiles

At the last strategic dialogue in Islamabad in July, Clinton announced a major aid package for Pakistan -- with hundreds of millions of dollars pledged on projects to address the country's water and power shortage, and its floundering economy. Some of that aid is being redirected to flood recovery.

There are potentially divisive issues, such as NATO's role in facilitating reconciliation talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Taliban. Pakistan has long maintained it wants to be involved in a political settlement involving the Taliban, but is currently not at the table.

"We'll discuss this as a dimension of our strategic dialogue this week," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday. "To the extent that Pakistan can play a role in supporting an Afghan-led process, that is something that we have discussed with Pakistan, but more importantly that's something that Pakistan has discussed with Afghanistan."

Officials from both sides stress the flare-up in tensions after the NATO border incident has subsided and that this week's talks will put the relationship back on track.

Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani said in an interview that the talks help both sides focus on common strategic interests.

"We are allies but we don't always have synchronized thinking and a coincidence of understanding of interests" he said. "The talks give a long term dimension to U.S. and Pakistan relations, which help that understanding."

*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.

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DTN News: Aerospace/Defense Headlines - News Dated October 20, 2010

DTN News: Aerospace/Defense Headlines - News Dated October 20, 2010
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources including latest updates Defense News, Aerospace/Defense Headlines - News & Yahoo
(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 21, 2010: Comprehensive daily news related to Aerospace/Defense for the world of TODAY.
*Comprehensive daily news related on Aerospace/Defense for the world of TODAY.

Wednesday October 20, 2010
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