Source: DTN News / Press TV
(NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - March 7, 2010: In reaction to several accidents involving Russian-built passenger planes in Iran, the Islamic Republic
sets a two-month deadline for Russian pilots to leave the country.
sets a two-month deadline for Russian pilots to leave the country. "Upon an order from President [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad], the Road and Transport Ministry has set a two-month deadline, after which all Russian pilots must leave the country," Fars News Agency quoted Minister of Roads and Transportation Hamid Behbahani as saying on Saturday. "When our country itself has plenty of competent and skilled pilots, there is no need for hiring pilots from abroad to operate our flights," he added.
Iran has suffered a string of aviation disasters over the past decade, most involving private airlines using Russian-made planes and crew. Officials have blamed the incidents on a ban on the sale of airplane parts to Iran, forcing it to purchase the parts from Russia and other former Soviet states.
In the worst plane crash in Iran, a Tupolev-154M, crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran en route to the Armenian capital of Yerevan on July 15, 2009, leaving all 168 passengers onboard dead.
Russia, which has significant trade ties with Iran, is among six world powers trying to find a diplomatic solution to the long-running dispute over Tehran's nuclear program.
Moscow has indicated it could support new sanctions against Iran provided they are not too severe. Iran denies Western accusations that its nuclear work is aimed at developing bombs.
Iranian officials have voiced growing frustration at Russia's failure to supply the advanced S-300 missile defense system, which Israel and the United States do not want Tehran to have. Russia last month said it would not sell weapons if it leads to destabilization in any region.
UST general manager Mohd Khalizi Mohd Razak said the Fulmar SR08 was part of the company’s ongoing effort to tap the growing international UAV market.
He said the composite-body Fulmar SR08 had a 2m wing span, a range of 50km and eight-hour flight capability.
“It can easily be fitted with sensors including night vision cameras to allow use for commercial and security surveillance purposes.
“When one mentions UAV, most think it is used only by the military, like the model known as Predator.
“We hope to create awareness that UAVs are not used solely by the military but can be used by the commercial sector,” he said at the airstrip here.
The UAVs could be used by the agriculture sector to monitor tracts of plantation and farm land, he said, adding that it could be fitted with sensors to gauge the moisture content of an area.
“It can even be used by highway operators such as PLUS to monitor traffic flow along highways instead of relying on helicopters which are expensive,” said Mohd Khalizi.
UAVs could also be used by enforcement agencies in surveillance on smuggling or illegal logging, he said.
Besides testing the Fulmar SR08, UST showed off its smaller 3kg single-camera Aludra UAV that can cover a 15km radius on a maximum 90-minute flight duration.
Mohd Khalizi said the Fulmar SR08 and the single-camera Aludra together with their computer and ground-control systems could be deployed at a cost of RM1.3mil.
UST, a subsidiary of Composite Technology Research Malaysia, spent several years and RM10mil on research and development to produce the first fleet of UAVs in Malaysia and the Asean region, he added.
The company, in collaboration with the Defence Ministry, deployed its Aludra MKI to carry out aerial surveillance in Semporna, Sabah, under Ops Pasir.
Meanwhile, Sungai Rambai assemblyman Datuk Hasan Abd Rahman, also the deputy chairman of the Malacca Youth and Sports Committee, said he was proud that UST had chosen to use the microlight aircraft park for the Fulmar SR08’s maiden flight.
The airstrip has come a long way since its operations began in 1999.
“With the state’s support, we have been able to upgrade it to include a hangar, fencing and a watchtower,” he said.
He said he would lobby to the secretariat overseeing Sukma XIII in Malacca this June to use the UAVs to monitor sports events such as sailing and long-distance cycling and running.
He would also apply to the Youth and Sports Ministry for a RM200,000 allocation for upgrading works on the airstrip to allow light aircraft to use it during emergencies, he added.
The company said the seven European governments that signed on as customers for the A400M announced in Berlin that they had agreed to the increase for the 180 planes on order. They will also provide 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion) in loans in exchange for a share of the revenue from future exports.
“EADS considers this a sound basis for a successful evolution of the A400M program,” the company said.
EADS said it would also absorb some of the cost overruns by taking a write-off of 1.8 billion euros ($2.5 billion) for the project, a provision that would cause it to post a loss for 2009. The A400M project is nearly four years behind schedule and more than 7 billion euros over budget, and the plane itself is several tons overweight. EADS has already written off 2.4 billion euros in costs. The project was expending cash at a rate of about 100 million euros a month.
EADS had hoped to minimize the size of the write-off because of concern that it could have negative implications for the company’s credit rating, a main factor in determining the costs of borrowing for future jet programs like the A350-XWB commercial plane, which the company hopes to deliver in 2013.
Last month, the ratings agency Fitch warned that a significant charge for the A400M might lead it to downgrade its rating on EADS, which, at its current BBB+, remains at investment grade.
Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg and Turkey agreed Friday to increase by 2 billion euros the price of the original contract, which was 20 billion euros, and to waive all penalty charges for late deliveries. Those are now projected to begin in 2014, EADS said. The countries also agreed to accelerate predelivery payments for the planes, although the precise schedule of those payments had yet to be completed.
The financing agreement comes after more than a year of uncertainty about the A400M program, which EADS had threatened to cancel to preserve the company’s long-term viability.
