DTN News - INDIA NEWS: Indian Fishermen Shot By Italian Marines Mistook For Pirates At Sea Off Coast of Kerala

DTN News  - INDIA NEWS: Indian Fishermen Shot By Italian Marines Mistook For Pirates At Sea Off Coast of Kerala
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith
 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 25, 2012: India detained Italian marines for shooting two Indian fishermen to death in Kochi, India, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012. Latorre Massimiliano  and Salvatore Girone, members of the navy security team (marines) of  Napoli registered Italian merchant vessel Enrica Lexie, are taken for interrogation by the Indian police in the southern Indian city of Kochi February 19, 2012. 

Two fishermen were killed when a navy security team (marines) on an Italian merchant vessel opened fire on a boat it mistook for pirates at sea off the coast of Kerala, officials said on Thursday. A case of murder has been registered against the crew, said a senior official at Neendakara Coastal police station, where surviving fishermen sought help.

Italy Asks for marines’ Release.

Italian diplomats on Thursday asked a court to release two Italian marines charged with killing two Indian fishermen. The Indian police say the marines shot at an unarmed fishing boat last week as the oil tanker they were on, the Enrica Lexie, passed the Indian coast. Italian diplomats say the marines, who were acting as guards on the Italian-flagged merchant ship, fired only warning shots and did so in international waters. Indian officials have said the dead fishermen are Indian, which gives them jurisdiction to prosecute the case.

DTN India  @DTNIndia ~ Available on Twitter
Comprehensive Daily Related News on India Today ~ © Copyright (c) DTN News Defense-Technology News

DTN Italy  @DTNItaly ~ Available on Twitter
Comprehensive Daily Related News on Italy Today ~ © Copyright (c) DTN News Defense-Technology News
*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith - DTN News
*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

DTN News: Italian Navy Takes Delivery Of Its 21st AW101 Helicopter

DTN News: Italian Navy Takes Delivery Of Its 21st AW101 Helicopter

*Source: DTN News / AgustaWestland (NSI News Source Info) MILANO, Italy - August 6, 2009: AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that the Italian Navy has taken today delivery of its 21st AW101 three engine medium/heavy helicopter during an official ceremony held at Maristaeli Luni naval base in Italy.

The AW101 medium-lift helicopter is manufactured by AgustaWestland International Ltd (formerly EH Industries), a joint venture company formed by Agusta of Italy and the British company GKN Westland. The EH101 helicopter programme has been developed for both civil and military applications.

This Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)/Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) configured aircraft is the first unit of the last AW101 batch for the service which has committed to a total of 24 AW101s.

The Italian Navy is already operating 8 ASW/ASuW, 4 HEW (helicopter early warning) and 8 amphibious support helicopters.

The Italian Navy’s AW101s ASW and HEW variants are amongst the most advanced naval helicopters in service today and have been successfully deployed on overseas operations providing a major contribution to international maritime operations.

The long range and endurance of the AW101 combined with the capabilities of its sensors and onboard processers make it a highly effective naval helicopter. Recently the Italian Navy supported the G8 Forum in Italy using the AW101 to perform transport for heads of state and government officials. The AW101 was chosen due to its safety, cabin space and comfort.

The maritime variant of the AW101 is in service with the Italian Navy and the UK’s Royal Navy having replaced the Sea King helicopter in a number of ship and shore based roles.

Also the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) has chosen the AW101 for Airborne Mine Countermeasures and Antarctic Survey operations designated the MCH101 and the CH101 respectively.

Over 170 AW101 helicopters have been ordered so far by customers worldwide to perform a number of roles.

F-35B Exceeds STOVL Thrust Requirement

F-35B Exceeds STOVL Thrust Requirement

Source: F-35 Lightning II News

(NSI News Source Info) April 27, 2009: The F-35B Lightning II short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant has demonstrated during testing that it produces excess vertical thrust – more than required to carry out its missions.

The tests, conducted on a specially instrumented “hover pit,” also validated the performance of aircraft software, controls, thermal management, STOVL-system hardware and other systems.

The F-35B Lightning II tethered to a specially instrumented hover pit with its powerful engine running, tests its propulsion system in short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) mode on May 25th, 2008 at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas.

“The performance level measured was absolutely exceptional,” said J.D. McFarlan, Lockheed Martin F-35 Air Vehicle lead. “We demonstrated 41,100 pounds of vertical thrust against our requirement of 40,550 pounds.This means we will deliver excellent margin for the vertical landing and short takeoff performance we’ve committed to our STOVL customers,” he said. Those customers include the U.S. Marine Corps, the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, and the Italian Navy and Air Force.

The F-35B is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney F135 engine driving a Rolls-Royce lift fan. The F135 is the most powerful engine ever flown in a jet fighter.

During hover-pit testing, the aircraft is anchored to a metal grate 14 feet above a sloped concrete floor, separating the jet from ground effect and enabling it to simulate free-air flight. Sensors measure thrust and the aircraft’s response to pilot inputs. The testing also demonstrates control of the doors associated with the STOVL propulsion system: engine auxiliary inlet, fan inlet, fan exit, roll posts, and doors that open to enable the Rolls-Royce three-bearing swivel duct to articulate and vector engine thrust.

The testing demonstrates functional operation of all systems required for vertical flight, and measures the installed forces and moments on the aircraft during STOVL operations.

The hover-pit tests are the final series of ground tests before airborne STOVL testing begins.

“We've demonstrated critical performance such as inlet pressure recovery, pitching moment, rolling and yawing moment, effective vector angles of the exhaust, and control-input response time,” said Doug Pearson, vice president of the F-35 Integrated Test Force. “Each of these measurements correlates extremely well with our computer models. The outstanding STOVL performance gives us plenty of confidence to begin in-flight transitions to STOVL-mode flight and ultimately our first vertical landing at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., this summer.”

There are still some concerns for the U.S. Navy on how amphibious vessels will handle the new aircraft. According to quotes in a recent Inside the Navy story, “At the end of the hover pit cycle, we’re going to plate over a portion of it to start getting some of the downwash data on the hover pit. We’ll also collect thermal data at the same time to see if there should be any concern relative to what temperature environment I might induce on the decks, on ships, on asphalt, et cetera, to see if there’s a thermal issue relative to steel plate heating on the amphibs.”

"Navy officials have expressed concern that the powerful, high-temperature downwash caused by the STOVL’s lift fan could damage ships’ antennas and radars stationed in the rear, as the aircraft is more powerful than legacy AV-8B Harriers."

The U.S. Marine Corps is scheduled for initial operating capability (IOC) with the F-35B in 2012. Currently there is only two percent of the F-35 flight testing that is complete. The service intends to re-capitalize their whole fighter force with F-35B's.

The Italian Navy Takes Delivery Of The Frigate “Caio Duilio” / Final Horizon-Class Frigate Delivered To Italian Navy

The Italian Navy Takes Delivery Of The Frigate “Caio Duilio” / Final Horizon-Class Frigate Delivered To Italian Navy

(NSI News Source Info) April 6, 2009: Today there was the ceremony at Fincantieri’s Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard to mark the handover to the Italian Navy of the frigate “Caio Duilio” which had been launched in October 2007 at Riva Trigoso.

The Italian Navy has taken delivery of CAIO DUILIO, its second and final Horizon-class air-defense frigate, seen here during its sea trials.

The handover follows intensive sea trials and there will be further testing of the communication, command and control systems so that the “Caio Duilio” may become fully operational.

The key feature of the ceremony was the raising of the flag of the Italian Navy on the Duilio.

The “Caio Duilio”, together with her sister ship, the Andrea Doria, which is already in service and was also built at Riva and Muggiano shipyards and delivered to the Navy in December 2007, were ordered by the Italian Navy from Fincantieri within the “Orizzonte” (Horizon) programme, which involves cooperation between Italy and France for the construction of two vessels for the fleet of each national Navy.

At 153 metres long with a beam of 20 metres, the “Caio Duilio” has a displacement at full load of 7,050 tonnes. Her maximum speed is 29 knots and the ship can accommodate a crew of 230. This is the fourth vessel that the Italian Navy has named “Caio Duilio”, in memory of the Roman consul who distinguished himself in the first Punic war when his fleet won the battle of Milazzo in 260 B.C.

Thales Wins Radar Contract For New British Carriers / United Kingdom Selects Thales’s S1850M Radar For New Aircraft Carriers

Thales Wins Radar Contract For New British Carriers / United Kingdom Selects Thales’s S1850M Radar For New Aircraft Carriers

(NSI News Source Info) HENGELO, Netherlands - February 13, 2009: Thales Nederland has formalised a contract with BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies Limited for two S1850M Long Range Volume Search Radars to be installed on the new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy.

The carriers are being built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance comprising the UK Ministry of Defence, BVT Surface Fleet, Babcock Marine, BAE Systems and Thales.

The first radar system is scheduled to be delivered during 2011 and the second radar system in 2013. The scope includes minor enhancements to the earlier Type 45 design to meet the specific needs of aircraft carrier operation.

BACKGROUND NOTES:

The S1850M surveillance radar is based on Thales's SMART-L radar and was previously delivered to the Type 45 vessels for the UK Royal Navy and the Horizon class vessels of the French and Italian Navies, in a collaboration between BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies Limited and Thales Nederland.

The system is capable of 3D long range automatic detection, track initiation and tracking of air targets. Its performance has been demonstrated in many tests and the system has proven to be capable of detecting stealth targets in high clutter environments.

Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide.

Thales’s leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with 2007 revenues of EUR 12.3 billion. Thales Nederland, established in 1922, is one of the leading companies in integrated naval systems for surveillance, weapon control, combat management and system integration worldwide.

Russian, Italian Navies Hold Exercises In Ionian Sea

Russian, Italian Navies Hold Exercises In Ionian Sea

(NSI News Source Info) SEVASTOPOL - January 30, 2009: Russia's Black Sea Fleet flagship the guided-missile cruiser Moskva and Italy's destroyer the Andrea Doria held one-day drills in the Ionian Sea in the Strait of Messina on Friday, the Black Sea Fleet said. On Thursday all details of the joint exercises were coordinated on board the Russian cruiser. "The ships practiced elements of joint maneuvering, signaling, communications and joint actions on detecting surface targets. Ship-based helicopters from the two vessels were used in the exercises," the fleet press service said. The Russian cruiser's three-day unofficial visit to Messina port that ended today was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Messina earthquake and Russia's participation in the international relief efforts. The Messina quake with an estimated magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale was followed by a tsunami that struck many coastal cities with 40-foot (12-meter) waves, causing more destruction. The earthquake and tsunami killed two-thirds of the city's then-150,000 population.