DTN News: USAF Broadens Plans For Next-Generation UAV

DTN News: USAF Broadens Plans For Next-Generation UAV Source: DTN News / Defense News By John Reed (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 28, 2010: The U.S. Air Force has begun re-evaluating and expanding the missions its MQ-X next generation tactical UAV will be required to perform to go beyond battlefield strike and ISR, service officials announced. The move is intended to make sure specifications outlined in the aircraft's initial capabilities document meet mission requirements for new UAVs in the service's just completed Remotely Piloted Vehicle Flight Plan, according to Col. Bruce Emig, chief of Air Combat Command's (ACC's) irregular warfare requirements division. The flight plan calls for a next-generation, medium-size UAV such as the MQ-X to performseveral new mission sets, such as cargo hauling and aerial refueling, that don't fall under ACC's purview, according to Emig. "We need to see if the [current definition of MQ-X] is a good solution" for those missions, Emig said during an April 27 speech at an Institute for Defense and Government Advancement conference in Tysons Corner, Va. At a minimum, MQ-X is slated to replace the service's MQ-9 Reaper UAVs in their role as medium-sized strike and ISR planes. ACC is now working with Air Force Materiel Command, Air Mobility Command and Air Force Special Operations Command to determine what they need out of a next generation UAV, according to Emig. The service plans to have the requirements finalized in time to be included in its 2014 Program Objective Memorandum, he added. At a minimum, the aircraft must have protected communications and datalinks, the ability to survive in contested airspace, and enough power generating and cargo capacity to allow it to carry a variety of sensors and weapons, according to Emig. The aircraft must also incorporate so called sense-and-avoid technology to prevent collisions with nearby aircraft, he added. Service officials want the MQ-X and all future UAVs to be able to carry and operate a variety of mission payloads in the same way a C-130 can today. The Air Force's chief intelligence officer, Lt. Gen. David Deptula, said this probably won't have a serious impact on the service's plans to field the plane - which he described as "an order of magnitude" more advanced than the MQ-9 - close to 2020 to 2022. *This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated April 27, 2010

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated April 27, 2010 Source: U.S. DoD issued April 27, 2010 (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - April 28, 2010: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued April 27, 2010 are undermentioned; CONTRACTS NAVY ~Baldi Bros., Inc.*, Beaumont, Calif. (N62473-10-D-5479); ~Dynalectric Co., San Diego, Calif. (N62473-10-D-5480); ~NEI Contracting and Engineering, Inc.*, San Diego, Calif. (N62473-10-D-5481); ~RQ-Berg, JV, Carlsbad, Calif. (N62473-10-D-5482); ~Stronghold Engineering, Inc., Riverside, Calif. (N62473-10-D-5483); ~Syska Hennessey Group Construction, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif. (N62473-10-D-5484); and ~Watts Constructors, LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii (N62473-10-D-5485), are each being awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award construction contract for new construction and repair of dry utilities construction at various locations within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of responsibility (AOR). The maximum dollar value for all seven contracts combined is $300,000,000. The work to be performed provides for new construction, addition, repair, or upgrade of electrical distributions, lighting systems, cable television lines, airfield lighting, and communication transmission lines. Work will be performed at various federal sites within the NAVFAC Southwest AOR, including but not limited to: California (83 percent), Arizona (12 percent), Nevada (2 percent), Utah (1 percent), Colorado (1 percent), and New Mexico (1 percent). The terms of the contracts are not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of April 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site with 26 proposals received. These seven contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity. ~Orbital Sciences Corp., Greenbelt, Md., is being awarded a $94,713,285 cost-plus-fixed-fee level of effort contract for spacecraft and airborne systems research analysis and prototype development. This includes the analysis, design, development, test, operation demonstration, and transition of these prototype systems and subsystems. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C. (87 percent), and Greenbelt, Md. (13 percent), and will be completed April 2015. Contract funds in the amount of $100,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured under Request for Proposal Number N000173-00-R-KS03 for which one offer was received. The Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., is the contracting facility (N000173-10-C-2026). ~Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc., Houston, Texas, is being awarded a $22,540,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a 202-room combat systems officer bachelor housing at Naval Air Station Pensacola. Work will be performed in Pensacola, Fla., and is expected to be completed by June 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with 21 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity (N69450-10-C-0754). ~Capstone Corp., Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a $17,362,431 modification under previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00189-07-D-Z006) for studies, analyses, logistics support, and specialized program support for the U.S. Joint Forces Command. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va., and is expected to be completed by January 2011. Contract funds will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Norfolk, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity. ~Ocean Systems Engineering Corp., Oceanside, Calif., is being awarded $10,373,686 for task order #0073 under previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (M67854-02-A-9020). The scope of this effort is to provide Marine Corps Systems Command Systems engineering, interoperable, architectures and technology staff the detailed technical and analytical support required to define, integrate, certify, plan, and oversee the development and delivery of Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) systems. This effort consists of four domain areas: MAGTF systems engineering and integration; systems engineering and technology; joint certification; and architecture design and development. Work will be performed in Quantico, Va., and is expected to be completed in April 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $9,373,686 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity. ~L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $10,300,000 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity delivery order contract (N68936-06-D-0024) to provide specialized technical services in support of depot level maintenance work (DLM) performed at the Fleet Readiness Center, Southwest (FRC-SW) on aircraft and rework of associated components and materials. Services to be provided include modifications, in-service repairs, and all other categories of service associated with aircraft DLM and its planning. The estimated level of effort for this modification is 260,100 man-hours. Work will be performed at FRC-SW, San Diego, Calif. (78 percent); the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS), Camp Pendleton, Calif. (9 percent); the Naval Air Station (NAS), Lemoore, Calif. (4 percent); the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Point Mugu, Calif. (2 percent); NAS Whidbey Island, Bremerton, Wash. (2 percent); MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (2 percent); MCAS Yuma, Ariz. (2 percent); and MCAS Miramar, Calif. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity. ~Suffolk Construction Co., Inc., Sarasota, Fla., is being awarded a $9,498,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of a data center at Naval Weapons Station Charleston. Work will be performed in Charleston, S.C., and is expected to be completed by June 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with 28 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity (N69450-10-C-1762). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY ~Husky Marketing and Supply Co., Dublin, Ohio, is being awarded a maximum $84,737,520 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is in Lima, Ohio. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. The original proposal was Web solicited with 27 responses. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2011. The Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-0477). ~AGE Refining, Inc.*, San Antonio, Texas, is being awarded a maximum $84,635,512 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is in Lima, Ohio. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. The original proposal was Web solicited with 27 responses. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2011. The Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-0462). ~Alon USA, LP, Dallas, Texas, is being awarded a maximum $70,772,090 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is in Big Spring, Texas. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. The original proposal was Web solicited with 27 responses. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2011. The Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-0461). ~Metals USA, dba I-Solutions Group, Fort Washington, Pa., is being awarded a maximum $48,000,000 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, prime-vendor contract supporting customer direct deliveries to locations within the central United States region. Other location of performance is in Pennsylvania. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally five proposals solicited with four responses. The date of performance completion is April 23, 2012. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM8EG-10-D-0002). *Small business

DTN News: French Are Hopeful On Concluding UAE Fighter Jets Deal

DTN News: French Are Hopeful On Concluding UAE Fighter Jets Deal Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) DUBAI, UAE - April 28, 2010: “This can never be frustrating, as these are massive projects, requiring huge investment, and decisions sometimes take as long as fifteen, 20 or even 30 years,” Thales International Middle East president Olivier Badard told Arabian Business at the launch event of the French firm’s new Dubai office. Last year, state news agency WAM said that the UAE had been in negotiations to revamp its Mirage fighter fleet with the Dassault-built Rafale in a contract thought to be worth as much as $10bn. Thales provides the radar systems for the state-of-the-art jet, which is used by the French Air Force and Navy. The Rafale has so far not yet been sold to any other countries, although Brazil and Kuwait are known to be interested, as well as the UAE. Asked whether Thales would provide an update on the potential deal, Badard said: “we typically do not comment on ongoing bids of this potential magnitude.” “All I would say is that France and the UAE have a long history of cooperating in the area of military aircraft fighters and we’ll see what the UAE ultimately decide to do.” Badard confirmed to reporters at the event that Thales’ Middle East and Western Asia division pulled in around $1.7bn of revenue last year, around ten percent of total global operations. Asked whether he saw this percentage increasing in the future, the regional head said that the division had been earmarked as one that had greater potential for growth than its more domestic markets in Europe. In the UAE, Thales has worked closely with local authorities, providing infrastructural systems both for the Dubai Metro and Dubai International Airport’s new Terminal 3. The firm has a total of 500 staff based in the country.

DTN News: U.S. Air Force To Retire 250 Aircraft And Fighter Jets

DTN News: U.S. Air Force To Retire 250 Aircraft And Fighter Jets Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) HILL AIR FORCE BASE - April 28, 2010: The U.S. Air Force will retire more than 250 aircraft and fighter jets in the next several months. Those in the Air Force admit it's a bit of a risk phasing out so many of their fighter jets, but in the long run they hope it will make the force more effective. As part of the Combat Air Force Reduction in Forces plan, Hill Air Force Base will send out 12 aircrafts in the next two months and another 12 this fall -- making their inventory smaller, but hopefully more lethal. It's not just Hill Air Force Base losing fighter jets. "As an Air Force, we are going to accelerate the retirement of 259 aircraft," said Col. David Hathaway with the 388th Fighter Wing unit. It's all part of a master plan by the Air force, retiring several F-16s, F-15s and A-10s to save money. "It frees up $355 million this fiscal year and over the next five fiscal years will free up $3.5 billion, which will allow us to reshape our force into a smaller, leaner, more agile and capable force for the future," Hathaway explains. It also means Hill will be down one fighter squadron. But the 617 military positions from the 388th Fighter Wing won't be lost, just reassigned somewhere else. And though the retiring of these jets will mean the Air Force will have a smaller inventory right now, Hathaway says, "In the long term this makes us more lethal and combat capable, yet smaller force." Another 12 aircraft will leave Hill Air Force Base late summer for Italy.

DTN News: Algeria Cooperating With North African Countries Move Against al-Qaida

DTN News: Algeria Cooperating With North African Countries Move Against al-Qaida Source: DTN News / Algerian Daily News (NSI News Source Info) ALGIERS, Algeria,- April 28, 2010: Algeria has launched a major military campaign against al-Qaida and its fellow travelers and Morocco says it rounded up a terrorist cell amid a campaign by North African states aimed at crushing the jihadists. Insurgent groups within Algeria and parts of North Africa have become a franchise of Al-Qaeda, according to the US Intelligence reports. American military officials have evidence that a small insurgent group within Algeria has shifted tactics and it operates on the line of terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan. The recent spate of attacks on tourists, kidnapping and suicide attacks in Algeria bear Al-Qaeda’s signature. There are footprints of Al-Qaeda type terrorist activities in various parts spread all over Northern Africa as well. The campaign, dubbed Operation Ennasr -- Victory -- followed an April 20 summit attended by the military chiefs of four regional states -- Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger -- at the oasis town of Tamanrasset deep in the Sahara Desert south of Algiers. They agreed to set up a joint military base there, with the quartet joined by Libya, Chad and Burkina Faso. They will form a joint operational military committee with headquarters in the desert town to go after al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb -- the Arabic name for North Africa -- and Saharan drug smuggling and kidnap gangs associated with them. AQIM was established in 2008 to create a region-wide jihadist alliance. This is largely made up of Algeria's jihadist group formerly known as the Salafist Group for Combat and Preaching. AQIM has operated in all four countries but its main area of operations is in the mountains east of Algiers, which is the main focus of the Algerian operation. The Americans, who have established training programs for regional security forces to combat the jihadists, have shown some interest in using Tamanrasset as a tactical air base. So far there is no evidence of any direct U.S. involvement in developing the new base but the U.S. global security consultancy Stratfor noted: "AQIM is a clear priority for the United States as well … and any coherent regional effort (and it is not yet clear that this coherent) will be something the Americans will be interested in supporting and facilitating." This could be done through the recently established U.S. Africa Command, set up to coordinate all U.S. military operations in Africa and to work with the continent's military forces. Algeria, with a 47,000-person army and some 190 combat aircraft, has the largest and best-armed military in the region and is considered the driving force behind the current campaign. It gained extensive combat and intelligence-gathering experience in fighting Islamist terrorists throughout the 1990s during a civil war between Islamist militants and the military-backed government in Algiers. Morocco and Tunisia, the other Maghreb states, have also varying degrees of expertise in combating jihadist organizations, although they don't appear to be directly involved in the current planning. Tunisia and Libya were represented at a March 16 meeting of seven regional foreign ministers in Algiers, the first high-level regional counterinsurgency meeting in years, to discuss joint action against the jihadists. But traditional rivalries between the Maghreb states were clearly in evidence and are likely to impede cooperation. Indeed, Morocco seems to have been deliberately shut out of the new formation. Still, its Interior Ministry announced it had dismantled a 24-member terror network linked to al-Qaida in mid-April. It said the group, based in Casablanca and Rabat, had been planning attacks and assassinations. Morocco's security services claim to have rounded up more than 60 terrorist cells since May 16, 2003, when 45 people perished in five suicide bombings in Casablanca, the country's economic center. At the March conference, the Algerians, AQIM's primary target, called for a program of interdicting the terrorists by restricting their access to water and fuel in the desert and porous borders where they operate. Algeria advocated airstrikes and to facilitate these operations, the French army's engineering corps was reported to be looking at up to four airstrips in north and central Mali from which to conduct the air campaign. The lack of surveillance and heavy transport aircraft, and especially helicopters, among the regional states has severely limited their counter-insurgency programs. And, unless they get outside help, this could impede the current plans that will cover the vast Sahara-Sahel region, a vast, inhospitable desert territory that extends into Mauritania, Mali and Chad. The Jamestown Foundation, which monitors global terrorism from Washington, said Algeria "has been urging Nigeria to add its air force to the campaign against AQIM." The French-language magazine Jeune Afrique reported April 7 that Algeria has informed Nigeria "that AQIM emirs have begun recruiting in northern Nigeria."

DTN News: Argentina, Chile Mull Joint Peacekeeping Force

DTN News: Argentina, Chile Mull Joint Peacekeeping Force Source: DTN News / UPI (NSI News Source Info) BUENOS AIRES, - April 27, 2010: Chile and Argentina will pool resources to form a joint military force for rapid response to humanitarian crises and peacekeeping missions in Latin America. The combined rapid response force, to be called Southern Cross, will be drawn from the armed forces of both countries and will comprise initially about 1,000 troops. Officials said the force will be ready for deployment before the end of the year. Analysts said the announcement of the joint force appeared to be symbolic, an expression of solidarity, as it wasn't immediately clear whether such a force could be deployed and under what mandate. A joint statement issued after the talks indicated the accord would cover Chile for shipbuilding contracts it is struggling to complete because of extensive damage to its shipyards in the Feb. 27 earthquake. A joint production deal means shipyards in Argentina could be sharing the work while Chile rebuilds its facilities. The magnitude-8.8 temblor wrecked Chilean shipyards and other infrastructure. Money set aside for economic development and poverty-reduction programs, announced by President Sebastian Pinera as part of his election campaign last year, is being channeled instead into vast reconstruction programs. Chilean reconstruction needs have opened major business opportunities for Argentine companies but the agreement signed Friday aims to cement closer military ties between the two countries and forge long-term links between the defense industries. Aviation, including design and joint manufacture of aircraft is another field the two countries explored when Chilean Defense Minister Jaime Ravinet visited his Argentine counterpart Nilda Garre in the capital. Much of Argentine moves in the defense sector are in response to the military's earnest representations to the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Short of funds and spare parts for existing equipment, the military has kept up pressure on Fernandez to deliver on promises to refurbish the military. The government's campaign for sovereignty claims on British-ruled Falkland Islands gave ammunition to the military's demands for greater efforts to modernize the armed forces. Chile's National Aeronautics Enterprise and Argentina National Airplanes Factory will look into manufacturing a training aircraft that could be deployed in both air forces, officials said. Until further notice, Argentina's government-owned Tandanor yard in Buenos Aires will service the clients of Chilean navy yards at Asmar, the world's southernmost shipyard, which was damaged in the quake. This is to satisfy a long waiting list of clients at the wrecked yard and to prevent Asmar customers from turning elsewhere. Chilean shipyards are also looking to secure Argentine help for an early return to normal operations. "Together with Argentina we will cooperate in the recovery of the Chilean shipyards," said Ravinet.

DTN News: Israel 'Cuts Arms Sales To Turkey'

DTN News: Israel 'Cuts Arms Sales To Turkey' Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) TEL AVIV, Israel - April 27, 2010: Israel will impose a temporary freeze on the sale of advanced weapons systems to Turkey, once a key ally, because of blistering criticism of the Jewish state by Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jane's Defense Weekly reports. The latest outburst from Erdogan, who has been moving closer to Iran, came April 7 in Paris when he branded the Jewish state "the principal threat to regional peace" in the Middle East. Meantime, the Israeli air force, blocked from Turkish air space and bracing for possible longrange attacks on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, is scouting for new training skies in Europe and Asia. India has close military ties with Israel and that is being mooted as one option for the Israeli air force. Jane's reported that the arms exporting arm of the Israeli Defense Ministry has ruled it will evaluate Turkish requests for Israeli-made weapons and equipment on a case-by-case basis. One issue under review by the ministry's Foreign Defense Assistance and Export Organization, known by its Hebrew acronym, SIBAT, is a Turkish request for Israeli electronic warfare systems, the London magazine reported. Turkey's military has also shown interest in the Spike anti-tank missile manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the Barak-8 naval air-defense missile produced by state-run Israel Aerospace Industry. Relations between Israel and Turkey have been steadily deteriorating since the Israeli military invaded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Dec. 27, 2008, ostensibly to stifle rocket attacks, and fought a 22-day war before withdrawing Jan. 18, 2009, in the face of international condemnation. Some 1,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in the all-arms onslaught. Israeli casualties were 13 killed, nine of them soldiers. That effectively ended a landmark 1996 military cooperation agreement, which covered a wide range of intelligence-sharing, between Israel and Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim nation and NATO's only Muslim member. Israel's defense industry benefited from big-ticket sales to Turkey over the years. Relations soured even further over delays by Israel in delivering six Heron unmanned aerial vehicles ordered by Turkey under a 2005 contract for 10 of the surveillance drones. IAI, Israeli defense manufacturer Elbit and Turkish Aerospace Industries were partners in the $183 million deal. Jane's Defense Weekly reported that despite the nosedive in diplomatic relations, Israel and Turkey have maintained "a cautious business relationship" and discussed the joint sale of upgraded U.S.-built M-60 main battle tanks to Colombia. Israel Military Industries and Arselan of Turkey delivered the last of 170 upgraded General Dynamics M-60A1 tanks to Turkey's army on April 7. Jane's Defense Weekly said a senior Colombian general attended the handover ceremony. Erdogan's government excluded Israel from routine NATO air exercises last October in Turkey in reprisal for the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip the previous winter. It later banned Israeli aircraft from deploying in Turkey, where the Israeli air force, constrained by the Jewish state's small size, regularly conducted exercises in Turkey's extensive air space and varied terrain. This lack of air space apparently has hampered air force training for possible long-range airstrikes against Iran, whose alleged nuclear arms program is viewed by Israel as an existential threat. In recent years, the air force has intensified its long-range training schedule, presumably because of the growing threat from Iran. The most prominent of these operations was a May 2008 exercise in which some 100 Israeli warplanes, including aerial tankers and command aircraft, flew the length of the Mediterranean from Greece to Gibraltar in what was widely seen as a dress rehearsal for an assault on Iran. "We're looking for new places where we can fly," a senior air force officer told The Jerusalem Post. "As a result," the newspaper reported, "the Defense Ministry is looking to continue an agreement it signed in 2006 that allows fighter jets to deploy in Romania. "The (Israeli air force) sent jets to Romania for training in 2007 and plans to deploy aircraft there again later this year." Two Israeli air force Gulfstream G-500 Shavit electronic intelligence aircraft were spotted over Hungary in March in what may have been an Israeli air exercise in Europe. The appearance of the aircraft caused a political controversy and the head of the air traffic department at Hungary's Transportation Ministry was subsequently dismissed.

DTN News: Boeing, Lockheed Wait As India Delays Biggest Fighter Jet Deal

DTN News: Boeing, Lockheed Wait As India Delays Biggest Fighter Jet Deal Source: DTN News / Bloomberg (NSI News Source Info) NEW YORK, U.S. - April 27, 2010: India will miss a deadline tomorrow to complete the world’s biggest fighter-jet purchase in 15 years, risking a possible $1 billion price increase as Boeing Co. and five rival manufacturers resubmit bids. India’s Air Force is still conducting flight trials for competing jets from Boeing, Lockheed Martin Corp. and four European companies, two years after accepting price quotes for 126 warplanes that the government said should cost about $10 billion. The bids expire April 28 and the Defense Ministry has asked manufacturers to submit offers for an additional year, its spokesman, Sitanshu Kar, said in a phone interview in New Delhi. “The companies have been informed by the government that they can extend their bid for one more year,” Kar said. “They have the option of increasing or decreasing their price.” The delay in buying what India describes as “multi-role combat aircraft” may raise the government’s eventual cost, said Mrinal Suman, a retired Indian army major general and arms procurement analyst. “By the recent track record, the cost of these aircraft generally goes up by 7 percent to 10 percent each year,” Suman said in a phone interview. India’s failure to choose a plane within the planned two years “highlights that this is by far the biggest, most complex arms purchase India has ever undertaken,” said Suman, who monitors weapons procurement for the Confederation of Indian Industry. Political considerations have slowed decision-making by Defense Minister A.K. Antony, said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, senior fellow for South Asia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. “Antony has been trying to assure a squeaky clean deal to avoid any possible allegation of corruption, because of past scandals” that helped drive the ruling Congress Party to defeat in 1989 elections, Roy-Chaudhury said. Those scandals erupted over allegations that Indian officials took bribes in the purchase of Swedish artillery and German submarines. Open Bid Since the 1980s, no Indian government has made an open-bid arms purchase valued at as much as $100 million, or 1 percent of the fighter deal’s size, Roy-Chaudhury and Suman said. The Indian air force has conducted flight trials for the six competing aircraft from a high-altitude airfield near Leh in the Himalayas, a desert base in Rajasthan state and in the tropical climate of Bangalore, Kar said. “The trials will be over shortly, maybe by the end of May,” he added. The air force “will provide the government with two or three options that meet the technical needs, and then it will be up to the political decision makers,” Roy-Chaudhury said. Chicago-based Boeing, maker of the F/A-18 Super Hornet, and Lockheed-Martin, based in Bethesda, Maryland, which builds the F-16 fighter, may benefit from a desire by India to cement strategic ties to the United States, he said. Lockheed-Martin “plans to update our commercial bid to ensure the best possible value to India,” company spokesman John Giese said in an e-mail. Boeing is “working to provide a compliant response” to India’s request that it extend its bid, spokesman Brian Nelson wrote in an e-mail. Sweden’s Saab AB will make no change in its bid to sell the Gripen fighter, said Eddy de la Motte, who heads the company’s campaign in India. The other contenders -- Paris-based Dassault Aviation SA, Moscow-based United Aircraft Corp., and the European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co., which has headquarters in Paris and Munich -- did not comment on their plans.

DTN News: Australia Says Major Military Exercise Underway In Malaysia

DTN News: Australia Says Major Military Exercise Underway In Malaysia Source: DTN News / Australian Media (NSI News Source Info) SYDNEY, Australia - April 27, 2010: Australia on Monday said warships, combat aircraft and soldiers were engaged in a major military exercise with Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Britain designed to strengthen regional security. Exercise Bersama Shield 2010 (BS10) began Monday on the Malaysian peninsula and in the South China Sea and will continue until May 7, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) said. The operation is designed to enhance the nations' air, ground and naval forces' ability to work together under a 40-year-old regional security initiative -- the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA). Chief of Joint Operations Command Lieutenant General Mark Evans said the arrangement was an integral part of the regional security architecture and was constantly adapting to the changing threat environment. "Since the FPDA's formation, the scope of its activities has expanded from air defence to the development of joint capabilities, which has helped to develop greater interoperability among the armed forces of member nations," he said in a statement. Australian assets involved in the exercise include two ships, eight F/A-18 combat aircraft and an AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. It is not known how many military personnel from the five nations are taking part in the exercise.

DTN News: US Congress Notified Of C-17 Sales To India

DTN News: US Congress Notified Of C-17 Sales To India Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - April 27, 2010: The U.S. Congress has been formally notified of the upcoming sale of advanced Boeing C-17 transport aircraft to India, the American Embassy in New Delhi said in a news release on Monday. A key step in the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process, it is a mandatory requirement for negotiating the deal and the notification of the sale was submitted to American lawmakers by U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency on April 22. "This is an important step forward in the U.S. Foreign Military Sales process and is a necessary prerequisite to negotiations on the deal," the release said. Reacting to the news, U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer said in New Delhi the potential sale of C-17s known for its cutting-edge technology showed Washington's commitment to share the latest technology with New Delhi and was a further reflection of the growing engagement between the world's two biggest democracies. "The potential sale of C-17s strengthens the growing partnership between our two countries and demonstrates our enduring commitment to sharing the world's best technology with India." Roemer said. He also said the sale would enable both the countries to reap economic benefits and generate jobs on a massive scale. A vital cog in operations carried out by U.S. Air Force, the C-17 aircraft is known for its sturdiness and has proven its worth in trying conditions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. With a payload of 75 tons, its technical advancement enables the aircraft to take off from 3,000 to 7,000-feet airstrips, besides being capable of flying 2,400 nautical miles non-stop. Meanwhile, the C-17s will take the place of the fast aging Russian-made Ilyushin (IL-76) as the Indian Air Force embarks on a drive to modernize its fleet. Even though total cost of the deal works out to a whopping $5.8 billion, the actual costs may be much less given the fact that the total value has factored in allied costs like maintenance, training personnel, spare parts, test and ground support equipment, technical assistance, engineering services logistical and technical support which are optional. Currently, the aircraft is in use with the Australian, British, Canadian, Qatari Air Force and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) fleet.