Tuesday, January 29, 2013

DTN News - CHINA DEFENSE NEWS: China’s New Freight Plane Extends Military Modernization Program

DTN News - CHINA DEFENSE NEWS: China’s New Freight Plane Extends Military Modernization Program
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Bloomberg
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 28, 2013: China successfully tested a locally- built freight plane, two months after the debut of its fighter jet, boosting the nation’s efforts to use homegrown technology to expand defense capacity.
The Yun-20, which had its maiden flight yesterday, can take a maximum load of 66 tons and is suited for long-distance transportation, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The plane will aid the armed forces and will help deliver disaster relief and humanitarian aid, according to the report.
China achieved a military milestone when its fighter jet landed on its new aircraft carrier in November, extending a modernization bid that’s recorded advances in submarines, cyber warfare and in outer space.
The J-15 jet was developed and built by AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corp., a unit of China’s largest aerospace company, Aviation Industry Corp of China. It can carry multi-type anti- ship, air-to-air, air-to-ground missiles and precision-guided bombs.
The aircraft tests underscore China’s progress in military modernization, which has been accompanied by a doubling of the defense budget in six years. China, the biggest spender on defense after the U.S., has become increasingly assertive in the region as President Barack Obama executes a strategic shift toward Asia and tensions rise with Japan and other nations over territorial disputes.
China’s defense spending, estimated at 670 billion yuan ($108 billion) in 2012, has more than doubled since 2006, tracking a rise in nominal gross domestic product to 47.2 trillion yuan from 21.6 trillion yuan.

*China Conducts Jumbo Freighter Test Flight ~ Reuters
China has conducted a successful test flight of its first domestically developed jumbo air freighter, the official state news agency Xinhua reported.
The Yun-20, or Transport-20, is designed for long-distance air transport of both cargo and passengers, Xinhua reported.
"The successful maiden flight of Yun-20 is significant in promoting China's economic and national defence build-up as well as bettering its emergency handling such as disaster relief and humanitarian aid," Xinhua said, adding that further test flights are scheduled.
China is determined to reduce dependency on foreign firms such as Boeing, Airbus, General Electric and Rolls-Royce for the country's rising demand for planes and engines.
Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's dominant military and commercial aviation contractor, has lobbied for Beijing to back a multi-billion dollar plan to build a high-performance engine.
Meanwhile a host of design flaws has delayed approval by the Civil Aviation Administration of China for the country's homegrown 90-seat ARJ21 regional passenger jet.
At last November's China Airshow, China unveiled 50 new orders for its COMAC C919 passenger jet which is designed to challenge Airbus and Boeing in the USD$100 billion annual airliner market.
The orders for the 150-seat jet boosted the official tally to 380, reaching the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China's declared breakeven point of 300-400 orders.
However, analysts say it will be some time before the aircraft, due to make its maiden flight in 2014, proves both its technical worth and its financial viability.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Bloomberg
*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 
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Monday, January 28, 2013

DTN News - Rare Photo - Second World War: Canadian Forces in Ram Mk.II Cruiser Tank During Second World War

DTN News - Rare Photo - Second World War: Canadian Forces in Ram Mk.II Cruiser Tank During Second World War
Source:  DTN News & Wikipedia
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 28, 2013: Due to the loss of the majority of the United Kingdom's tank force in France, tank production in the UK at the start of the war was insufficient and capacity in the US was taken for British needs. So it was necessary if Canada was to equip with tanks, to manufacture locally. In June 1940 the Canadian Pacific Railway's Angus Shops in Montreal had received a contract to produce 488 Valentine tanks for the British and Canadian armies. However the Valentine was an infantry tank and Canada required a cruiser tank for its recently formed armoured division. In the end 1,940 Valentines were produced by CPR most of which were supplied to the USSR. Although the Valentine used a number of American produced parts, its reliance on British components, difficulties in adapting its manufacture to North American methods, and other problems such as limitations to the availability of the right type of armour plate affected Valentine production. The Canadian Joint Committee on Tank Development concluded, in September 1940, that its cruiser tank should be based on a US rather than a British design.
The Canadians were interested in production of the M3 Medium. However the M3 was an interim design and lacked a turret for its main armament. The British Tank Mission which was involved in the modifications of the M3 for British use contributed a tank expert - L.E.Carr - to design a new hull and turret for the Canadian tank, which could take a 6-pounder (57 mm) or 75mm gun while retaining the lower hull of the US M3 Medium.
The new hull was cast rather than welded or riveted and lower than that of the M3. The pilot model's casting was produced in the US by General Steel Castings and later they aided the set up of Canadian production. Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) was chosen to make the new Canadian M.3 Cruiser Tank (as it was then known)and was given the funding to set up the Canadian Tank Arsenal at Lonque Pointe. MLW was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company, which had experience in producing large castings and another ALCO subsidiary was producing cast hulls for the M3 Medium.
Canadian engineers ran into many challenges when developing the tank as Canada had never produced a tank before. Along with the lack of knowledge, it took time for Canadian factories to gear up for the production of many of the Ram's components. Initially Canada relied heavily on United States and British materials to complete the construction of the Ram. Most critically the Ram's Continental engine and transmissions were available only in the USA and these were always in short supply. The Ram tank was developed with a turret which unlike the US M3 could traverse the main armament 360 degrees. Its fully cast armoured steel hull gave reinforced protection and - with the driver's seat repositioned to meet British requirements for right-hand drive - lower height while the US designed chassis and power train ensured its overall reliability.
Although it could mount a US 75 mm gun, the preferred armament for the Ram was the QF 6 pounder which had superior armour-piercing capability. As it was not immediately available, early production (50 tanks) were fitted with the 40 mm 2-pounder gun.
A prototype Ram was completed in June 1941 and general production of the Ram I began in November of the same year. The Ram I and early Ram IIs were fitted with side doors in the hull and an auxiliary machine gun turret in the front. The former weakened the hull and complicated production and the doors and the machine gun turret would be discarded in later modifications. By February 1942, production had switched to the Ram II model with a 6-pounder gun and continued until July 1943. In March 1942 a decision had been made to change production over to the automotively-similar M4A1 Sherman tank for all British and Canadian units. Ram production continued due to delay in starting the new M4 production lines and a reluctance to let the plant lie idle.[2] By July 1943 1,948 vehicles, plus 84 artillery observation post (OP) vehicles, had been completed. The official Canadian history of the war states that, in retrospect, it would probably have been better for the United States to produce more tanks, and for Canada to have focused on manufacturing more transport vehicles such as the successful Canadian Military Pattern truck.

 *Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith - DTN News & Wikipedia
*Presented & compiled Rare Photo for DTN News ~ Defense-Technology 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 
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Friday, January 25, 2013

DTN News: Aerospace/Defense Headlines - News Dated January 25, 2013

DTN News: Aerospace/Defense Headlines - News Dated January 25, 2013
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 25, 2013: Comprehensive daily news related to Aerospace/Defense for the world of TODAY.
**DTN News - Special Creative Contribution;

Friday January 25, 2013
Thursday January 24, 2013
*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Defense 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 
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DTN News: Syria Top Stories / Headlines News Dated January 25, 2013

DTN News: Syria Top Stories / Headlines News Dated January 25, 2013
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 25, 2013: Comprehensive daily news related to Syria for the world of TODAY.
*Comprehensive daily news related to Syria Top Stories / Headlines News for the world of  TODAY


Latest Syria News

Bashar al-Assad's mother has fled Syria, US ambassador claims

The Assad family 
Bashar al-Assad's mother and other members of his inner circle have fled Syria as rebel continue to push closer towards Damascus, according US ambassador to Syria.
25 Jan 2013

Assad shown at ceremony for Prophet Mohammed's birthday

Syria's Bashar al-Assad shown at ceremony for Prophet Mohammed's birthday  
Bashar al-Assad shown attending prayers at a mosque in Damascus to mark Prophet Mohammed's birthday.
24 Jan 2013

Syrian girls 'sold' into force marriages

Syrian girls 'sold' into force marriages  
Syrian women and girls, some as young as 14 years old, are being 'sold' into forced marriages or prostitution after becoming refugees, aid workers and religious charities have said.
23 Jan 2013

Russia accuses Syria's opposition of prolonging violence

Russia accuses Syria's opposition of prolonging violence  
Russia on Wednesday accused the Syrian opposition of hindering efforts to end the violence in Syria with its "obsession" for toppling President Bashar al-Assad.
23 Jan 2013

Syria: Russia lashes out at 'obsession' with toppling Bashar al-Assad

Syrian President Bashar Assad gestures as speaks at the Opera House in central Damascus, Syria. 
Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, lashed out at the Syrian opposition for its "obsession" with toppling President Bashar al-Assad which he said was holding up peace efforts in the country.
23 Jan 2013

Russia to evacuate citizens from Syria

Russia will on Tuesday land two planes in Lebanon to evacuate more than 100 of its citizens from Syria, in a significant blow to the credibility of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
21 Jan 2013

Syria hit by car bombs and rockets

A rocket attack in Aleppo, fighting at a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus and two car bomb explosions south of the capital have marked the conclusion to one of the bloodiest weeks in the Syrian civil war.
18 Jan 2013

Families burnt and hacked to death in fresh Syria massacre

Entire families have been burnt or hacked to death in a small farming village in central Syria, activists have reported, in a grim manifestation of the sectarian hatred fomenting within the country.
17 Jan 2013

'100 civilians killed by Syrian army'

A Syrian army assault killed more than 100 civilians, including women and children, on farmland on the outskirts of Homs, according to a rights group.
17 Jan 2013

Shelterbox gives refugees of Syrian civil war a chance to go back to school

The charity has stepped in to avert a humanitarian crisis, reports Sally Williams
17 Jan 2013
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Syria Homs attack 'may have included use of chemical weapons'

An attack on a rebel neighbourhood in the Syrian city of Homs may have included the use of chemical weapons, according to a disputed study by American diplomats.
16 Jan 2013

'More than 80 killed' in Syria university blasts

82 reportedly killed and more than 160 wounded in attack that targeted students on their first day of exams in Aleppo.
15 Jan 2013

Aleppo university devastated by blasts

Footage from Syrian state television captures the aftemath of what are said to have been twin explosions at the main university in the northern city of Aleppo, which are reported to have killed over 80 people.
15 Jan 2013

Fear of rape 'driving Syria refugee crisis'

Rape is being used as a weapon of war in the Syrian conflict to such an extent that many refugee families are citing it a as a primary reason to flee, according to a new report.
14 Jan 2013

Syrian air strike near Damascus 'kills 8 children and 5 women'

An air strike on Monday on several houses in the rebel-held town of Moadamiyat al-Sham southwest of Damascus killed at least eight children and five women, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
14 Jan 2013

Syria: 'Biased' UN envoy to meet US and Russia

Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-arab League envoy, is to meet top US and Russian officials to discuss the Syrian conflict, a day after the Bashar al-Assad regime denounced him as "biased".
11 Jan 2013

Britain to urge EU to amend Syria arms embargo

Britain will urge the EU to “amend” its arms embargo on Syria to allow equipment like body armour and chemical detectors to be given to the rebel alliance, according to William Hague.
10 Jan 2013

Bashar al-Assad rebuked by Syrian peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi

President Bashar al-Assad was rebuked by the UN-backed mediator on the Syrian crisis on Wednesday for hardening his line on concessions to the opposition in a bleak assessment of the chances for peace.
09 Jan 2013

Syria: 'Assad family has ruled for too long' says peace envoy

UN peace envoy comes close to saying Bashar Al-Assad should go, as Syrian rebels free 48 Iranians they had been holding for months in a prisoner swap.
09 Jan 2013

Syria 'has chemical weapons that could be used within two hours'

Syria has armed dozens of bombs with sarin gas and other chemical weapons that could be used to target opposition less than two hours.
08 Jan 2013

US condemns Bashar al-Assad's speech as delusional

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's road map to end the civil war ravaging his country is "detached from reality" and he should step down, the US State Department has said.
07 Jan 2013

Assad denounces Syria's rebels as 'murderous armed criminals'

A defiant President Bashar al-Assad offered no compromise to Syria's rebels on Sunday, using his first public speech in six months to rule out any negotiation with an opposition he described as nothing more than "al-Qaeda terrorists" and "murderous armed criminals".
06 Jan 2013

Bashar al-Assad's speech echoes Gaddafi's final, desperate rallies

There was more than a little of the Gaddafi about Bashar al-Assad's appearance on Sunday, and not just the theatre of a personality cult.
06 Jan 2013

This tragedy will end

Telegraph View: For all the bombast and posturing of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, the battle has turned against him and his days are surely numbered.
06 Jan 2013
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Assad mobbed by supporters after speech

Hundreds of supporters swarmed around Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after he made a speech denouncing the opposition as "puppets of the West".
06 Jan 2013
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Syria: airbase capture 'is rebel morale boost'

A Palestinian man walks near palm trees as snow falls in Jerusalem's old city. Jerusalem was transformed into a winter wonderland after heavy overnight snowfall turned the Holy City and much of the region white, bringing hordes of excited children onto the streets. 

Snow in the Middle East

A Palestinian man uses his donkey cart to transport people across a flooded street in the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip 

Winter storms hit the Middle East

Smoke billows from burning tyres as a Syrian rebel of the Halab al-Shabah battalion under Al-Tawhid brigade fires towards regime forces during clashes in Al-Amariya district of the northern city of Aleppo 

Syria: the fight goes on

A big explosion is seen after a Syrian aircraft bombed Ras al-Ain, just metres from the Turkish border, sending scores of civilians fleeing for safety into Turkey. Helicopters also strafed targets near the town, which fell to rebels on Thursday. The jet struck within metres of the border fence that divides Ras al-Ain from the Turkish settlement of Ceylanpinar. A Reuters reporter in Ceylanpinar said the plane flew right along the border and appeared at one point to have entered Turkish airspace.  

Syrians flee into Turkey















































*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources 
*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 

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