DTN News: We will Not Give Israel Air Corridor For Iran Strike Says Saudi Arabia
**Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf refutes Times of London report saying Saudi Arabia practiced standing down its anti-aircraft systems to allow an Israeli bomb run.
Source: DTN News / By Haaretz Service
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 13, 2010: Saudi Arabia would not allow Israeli bombers to pa
ss through its airspace en route to a possible strike of Iran's nuclear facilities, a member of the Saudi royal family said Saturday, denying an earlier Times of London report.
Earlier Saturday, the Times reported that Saudi Arabia has practiced standing down its anti-aircraft systems to allow Israeli warplanes passage on their way to attack Iran's nuclear installations, adding that the Saudis have allocated a narrow corridor of airspace in the north of the country.
Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, the Saudi envoy to the U.K. speaking to the London-based Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, denied that report, saying such a move "would be against the policy adopted and followed by the Kingdom."
According to Asharq al-Awsat report, bin Nawaf reiterated the Saudi Arabia's rejection of any violation of its territories or airspace, adding that it would be "illogical to allow the Israeli occupying force, with whom Saudi Arabia has no relations whatsoever, to use its land and airspace."
Earlier, the Times quoted an unnamed U.S. defense source as saying that "the Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way.
"They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren’t scrambled and no one gets shot down. This has all been done with the agreement of the [U.S.] State Department."Once the Israelis had passed, the kingdom’s air defenses would return to full alert, the Times said.Despite tensions between them, Israel and Saudi Arabia share a mutual hostility to Iran.
"We all know this. We will let them [the Israelis] through and see nothing,” the Times quoted a Saudi government source as saying.
According to the report, the four main targets for an Israeli raid on Iran would be uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and Qom, a gas storage development at Isfahan and a heavy-water reactor at Arak.
Secondary targets may include a Russian-built light water reactor at Bushehr, which could produce weapons-grade plutonium when complete.Even with midair refueling, the targets would be as the far edge of Israeli bombers' range at a distance of some 2,250km. An attack would likely involve several waves of aircraft, possibly crossing Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Aircraft attacking Bushehr, on the Gulf coast, could swing beneath Kuwait to strike from the southwest, the Times said.
Passing over Iraq would require at least tacit consent to the raid from the United States, whose troops are occupying the country. So far, the Obama Administration has refused this.
On Wednesday the United Nations passed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran in an attempt to force it to stop enriching uranium. But immediately after the UN vote, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed the nuclear program would continue.
Israel hailed the vote – but said sanctions were not enough and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to rule out a raid.
Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, is believed to have held secret meetings with high-ranking Saudi officials over Iran.
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com
Source: DTN News / By Haaretz Service
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 13, 2010: Saudi Arabia would not allow Israeli bombers to pa
ss through its airspace en route to a possible strike of Iran's nuclear facilities, a member of the Saudi royal family said Saturday, denying an earlier Times of London report.
Earlier Saturday, the Times reported that Saudi Arabia has practiced standing down its anti-aircraft systems to allow Israeli warplanes passage on their way to attack Iran's nuclear installations, adding that the Saudis have allocated a narrow corridor of airspace in the north of the country.
Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, the Saudi envoy to the U.K. speaking to the London-based Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, denied that report, saying such a move "would be against the policy adopted and followed by the Kingdom."
According to Asharq al-Awsat report, bin Nawaf reiterated the Saudi Arabia's rejection of any violation of its territories or airspace, adding that it would be "illogical to allow the Israeli occupying force, with whom Saudi Arabia has no relations whatsoever, to use its land and airspace."
Earlier, the Times quoted an unnamed U.S. defense source as saying that "the Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way.
"They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren’t scrambled and no one gets shot down. This has all been done with the agreement of the [U.S.] State Department."Once the Israelis had passed, the kingdom’s air defenses would return to full alert, the Times said.Despite tensions between them, Israel and Saudi Arabia share a mutual hostility to Iran.
"We all know this. We will let them [the Israelis] through and see nothing,” the Times quoted a Saudi government source as saying.
According to the report, the four main targets for an Israeli raid on Iran would be uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and Qom, a gas storage development at Isfahan and a heavy-water reactor at Arak.
Secondary targets may include a Russian-built light water reactor at Bushehr, which could produce weapons-grade plutonium when complete.Even with midair refueling, the targets would be as the far edge of Israeli bombers' range at a distance of some 2,250km. An attack would likely involve several waves of aircraft, possibly crossing Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Aircraft attacking Bushehr, on the Gulf coast, could swing beneath Kuwait to strike from the southwest, the Times said.
Passing over Iraq would require at least tacit consent to the raid from the United States, whose troops are occupying the country. So far, the Obama Administration has refused this.
On Wednesday the United Nations passed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran in an attempt to force it to stop enriching uranium. But immediately after the UN vote, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed the nuclear program would continue.
Israel hailed the vote – but said sanctions were not enough and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to rule out a raid.
Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, is believed to have held secret meetings with high-ranking Saudi officials over Iran.
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.comPeople who read this article also read:
The trials are likely to be conducted in the same manner as the IAF is evaluating the six combat jets in contention for an order for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft.
This means the C-17, which can take off from unprepared airstrips as short as 3,000 metres, will be put through its paces in the icy heights of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, the deserts of Rajasthan and the humid conditions of south India.
Price negotiations will begin after the trials and the first aircraft should arrive within two years of Boeing receiving a letter of acceptance, the official said.
Asked how long it would take for IAF pilots to convert to the C-17, the official said: "Pilots who have done a reasonable number of hours on the Il-76 (the IAF's current heavy lift aircraft) can convert to command status in a few months."
The US Congress has cleared the sale of the C-17 to India. The Obama administration had notified Congress April 23 of the potential sale of 10 aircraft and sought objections or approval.
The aircraft are being sold to India under the US government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme, with the maximum package value of $5.8 billion. This includes the 3.8 percent administrative fee the government charges to ensure timely delivery and guarantee the supplies.
According to DTN News, the actual cost of the C-17 aircraft would be less as India would not be buying all the options that are offered with it and the 3.8 percent fee would be payable only on the actual amount of the deal. In some countries, the administrative fee ranges up to 18 percent.
The IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik, had said last year that it was looking for ten C-17s, described in its parlance as VHTAC, or Very Heavy Transport Aircraft, as a replacement for its ageing fleet of Soviet vintage IL-76 transports. He also spoke of a repeat order for 10 more aircraft.
The US Air Force has ordered 223 C-17s, of which 198 have been delivered. The aircraft, which first flew in 1991, was inducted in 1995.
Boeing plans to continue production for about five years to ensure deliveries to the US Air Force (24), the United Arab Emirates (six), Britain (seven) and India (10).
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Designed with inherent multi-role capability and flexibility of operation, the AW139 is capable of carrying up to four litters and four medical attendants, in the most spacious cabin and with the best power reserve of any other helicopter in the medium twin-engine class. The internal dimensions of the large and unobstructed AW139 cabin make it an ideal choice for EMS and SAR applications. The flat floor and ceiling provide maximum cabin space and easy reconfiguration. An eight cubic meter cabin that is 1.42 meters high allows medical attendants easy access to casualties. Litter layout ranges from two to four in medevac configuration. If cabin access to the large baggage compartment is utilized, litter capacity can be increased to six. The AW139 is the fastest helicopter in its class with a maximum cruise speed of 167 knots and has outstanding performance, even in hot and high conditions, thanks to the two powerful P&W PT6C-67C engines. More than 460 AW139 helicopters have been ordered so far by over 120 customers in almost 50 countries to perform various roles including EMS, search and rescue, offshore transport, VIP/Corporate transport, law enforcement, fire fighting, utility and government duties. Ornge is a not-for-profit charitable organization that coordinates all aspects of Ontario's aero-medical transport system. Ornge operates one of the largest aero medical and critical care land transport medicine programs in North America and currently has more than 400 employees in eight areas of operation. This includes over 200 paramedics, paediatric transport paramedics and transport medicine physicians. Ornge's expertise in transport medicine lies in its ability to serve more than 12 million Ontarians throughout a geographic area of 1 million square kilometres, delivering its scope of services through comprehensive door-to-door acute care aero medical transport. 
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, said in Brussels on Friday that insurgents have killed 59 Afghans during the past seven days, 54 of them in Kandahar. He told NATO ministers that insurgents also wounded 116, including 94 in Kandahar.
Separately, NATO announced Friday that it has opened an alternate supply route to Afghanistan via Russia and central Asia — a critical development that gives the alliance the ability to bypass the previous ambush-prone main routes through Pakistan. Although Russia offered to open its territory to NATO as a whole, negotiations over transit rights between the alliance and central Asian states took several months to complete.
The development is important because it signals Russian willingness to indirectly support the NATO-led mission. Moscow has been warmer to the mission's success in recent years, fearing that a NATO defeat in Afghanistan would cause further problems for Russia.
In Kandahar province on Friday, nine civilians, including four women and three children, were killed and eight other people were wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Maiwand district, said Zalmai Ayoubi, a spokesman for the provincial governor. The driver hit the mine when he veered off the road to go around a section that was damaged.
In neighboring Zabul province, a suicide bomber dressed in a burqa detonated his cache of explosives in a shopping area in Shahjoy district, killing two civilians and wounding at least 16 others, said Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
The U.S. command said the two American service members died in an explosion in southern Afghanistan on Friday but did not disclose details or the location because relatives had not yet been notified. NATO said a third service member was also killed but the nationality was not released.
At least 35 troops serving with the international coalition have been killed so far this month, at least 23 of them American.
Also on Friday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Bagram Air Field north of Kabul. NATO confirmed that a rocket landed in a field inside the base but did not cause any injuries or damage. NATO said a second rocket landed outside the base.
On Thursday in Ghazni province, also in the south, three Afghan policemen were killed when their vehicle hit a mine in the Qarabagh district, the Ministry of Interior said Friday. Also on Thursday, a private security company employee was killed in a mine explosion in the Ali Shir district of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan, the ministry said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron's planned visit to a front-line base in Helmand province next to Kandahar was canceled on Thursday after cell phone calls referring to a possible rocket attack on a helicopter were intercepted, the British domestic news agency Press Association reported. Cameron, on his first visit to Afghanistan since coming to power last month, spoke with British troops at his country's main base in Helmand on Friday.
Associated Press Writers Anne Gearan and Slobodan Lekic in Brussels contributed to this report.
Kendall said he did not foresee a major new consolidation in the industry like that of the mid-1990s after the Cold War ended, but said some consolidation was part of the "natural course of events."
Mounting pressure on the defense budget could lead to some gradual decline in weapons research and development and procurement, commonly known as the Pentagon's investment accounts, Kendall told a conference hosted by Swiss bank Credit Suisse and Virginia-based defense consultant Jim McAleese.
"We're going to see possibly some gradual drawdown in the investment accounts," he said. "For the near term, I do not see a dramatic change."
Big defense companies are waiting for clues about the Pentagon's fiscal 2012 budget, which is being drafted now.
Kendall said the Pentagon was using tighter oversight to get a handle on programs, and in some cases could begin the live-or-die reviews mandated under the federal Nunn-McCurdy law ahead of schedule. He said the reviews were useful but needed to occur earlier, before programs were in deep trouble.
The department last week certified to Congress that six big weapons programs whose projected costs had risen by more than 50 percent over initial estimates -- including the Lockheed Martin Corp (+High-Speed+Surface+Ship,+USA.jpg)
