Saturday, November 12, 2011

China - Money, Money, Money - Yuan, Yuan, Yuan

China - Money, Money, Money - Yuan, Yuan, Yuan

China is loaning funds to USA, European Union, African & Pakistan., still have YUAN to paste on the walls in Beijing, China., demonstrating to the world that it has come a long way from the grey-blue uniform of communist China


Beast Of Burden By Funny Pictures

Beast Of Burden By Funny Pictures

I'll never be your beast of burden
My back is broad but it's a hurting
All I want is for you to make love to me
I'll never be your beast of burden
I've walked for miles my feet are hurting
All I want is for you to make love to me

*Presented & compiled By BHGSG News for DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

DTN News - EUROPEAN FINANCIAL CRISIS: BRICS Plan To Revive The Global Economy

DTN News - EUROPEAN FINANCIAL CRISIS: BRICS Plan To Revive The Global Economy

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 12, 2011: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are worried about the world economy and they want fundamental reforms.

Well, not yet. At least not this Thursday, in Washington, when finance ministers and central bank governors of the BRICS group of emerging powers - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - get together on the margins of a G-20 meeting.

Brazilian finance minister Guido Mantega started the ball rolling last week, when he announced the BRICS would “talk about what to do to help the European Union get out of this situation” - ie the European-wide financial meltdown.

Hold your horses. Was this an emerging cavalry to the rescue? Could this be the end of the eurozone (eurotrash?) self-induced liquidity panic? Or was it just the BRICS graphically showing the writing on the global economic wall?

The basic (Brazilian) idea was for BRICS financial muscle to buy some extra European sovereign debt. But only “solid” bonds - from Germany or the UK - would qualify. The rationale is that BRICS would win by diversifying reserves - China at $3.2tn, Brazil at over $350bn, India at over $320bn - and making more money than investing in US Treasury bonds.

But the thing is selected BRICS have already started diversifying their reserves for quite a while – especially China.

India was not very enthusiastic about the Brazilian idea.

Nor was Russia; Moscow, via Arkady Dvorkovich, President Dmitry Medvedev’s chief economic adviser, stated flat out the Europeans must come up with a clear strategy for rescuing the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland and Italy, Greece, Spain) before Moscow starts buying more eurozone bonds.

No wonder Brazil finally decided to drop the idea.

DTN News - EUROPEAN FINANCIAL CRISIS: BRICS Plan To Revive The Global Economy

DTN News - EUROPEAN FINANCIAL CRISIS: BRICS Plan To Revive The Global Economy

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 12, 2011: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are worried about the world economy and they want fundamental reforms.

Well, not yet. At least not this Thursday, in Washington, when finance ministers and central bank governors of the BRICS group of emerging powers - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - get together on the margins of a G-20 meeting.

Brazilian finance minister Guido Mantega started the ball rolling last week, when he announced the BRICS would “talk about what to do to help the European Union get out of this situation” - ie the European-wide financial meltdown.

Hold your horses. Was this an emerging cavalry to the rescue? Could this be the end of the eurozone (eurotrash?) self-induced liquidity panic? Or was it just the BRICS graphically showing the writing on the global economic wall?

The basic (Brazilian) idea was for BRICS financial muscle to buy some extra European sovereign debt. But only “solid” bonds - from Germany or the UK - would qualify. The rationale is that BRICS would win by diversifying reserves - China at $3.2tn, Brazil at over $350bn, India at over $320bn - and making more money than investing in US Treasury bonds.

But the thing is selected BRICS have already started diversifying their reserves for quite a while – especially China.

India was not very enthusiastic about the Brazilian idea.

Nor was Russia; Moscow, via Arkady Dvorkovich, President Dmitry Medvedev’s chief economic adviser, stated flat out the Europeans must come up with a clear strategy for rescuing the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland and Italy, Greece, Spain) before Moscow starts buying more eurozone bonds.

No wonder Brazil finally decided to drop the idea.

DTN News - APEC SUMMIT IN HONOLULU: Obama In Hawaii For APEC Summit

DTN News - APEC SUMMIT IN HONOLULU: Obama In Hawaii For APEC Summit

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 12, 2011: U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are welcomed by Hawaiian Gov. Neil Abercrombe after they arrive at Joint Base Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, November 11, 2011. U.S. President Barack Obama is in his native Hawaii where Saturday, he will host an economic summit with Asia-Pacific leaders. The summit begins a nine-day trip for the president aimed at improving U.S. ties with countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

During the two-day Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, President Obama is expected to discuss a proposed Pacific Rim free trade zone that includes the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Japan said Friday it will participate in the talks on the trade zone, boosting the chances of attracting other regional economic powers such as China. (Photo - Reuters)

DTN News - MORO ISLAMIC LIBERATION FRONT: Philippine Troops Seize Rebel Camp In Fierce Attack

DTN News - MORO ISLAMIC LIBERATION FRONT: Philippine Troops Seize Rebel Camp In Fierce Attack

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 11, 2011: Philippine troops Thursday scoured the grisly remains of a heavily fortified encampment that they seized in search of a breakaway group of rebels.

“Blood is everywhere,” said Lt. Gen. Raymundo B. Ferrer in a text message from the encampment. “The safe haven of kidnapping operations and terrorist activities in Zamboanga Sibugay has fallen.”

The seizure of the camp on the western coast of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao was the culmination of a three-day police and military operation against what officials say is a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a long-established Muslim separatist organization in the southern Philippines.

The attack, by all accounts, was fierce. The Philippine Air Force launched airstrikes against the encampment, which was defended by land mines and two .50-caliber machine guns. Two soldiers and at least 15 rebels were killed in the operation, which resulted in the evacuation of more than 19,000 civilians, government officials said.

“We could see the planes dropping bombs,” said Imelda Laquio, a resident of nearby Olutanga Island. “The bombs were shaking our house. My children were terrified. We have never had an experience like that before.”

Ms. Laquio, who was contacted at a relative’s house away from the fighting, said she fled the area with her husband and two young daughters because of rumors that the rebels might hide on the island.

“There was no military protection for us if the rebels came,” she said. “There was only the local police.”

The attack on the rebels came after clashes on Oct. 18 that left 19 special forces soldiers dead, and an ambush on Oct. 20 in which 4 police officers and 4 soldiers were killed. Though both incidents were linked to Muslim rebels, a military spokesman denied that the recent military assault and airstrikes were in retaliation.

“The police on Oct. 15 attempted to execute an arrest warrant in that area, and they were met with gunfire,” Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, a military spokesman, said by telephone. “The police sought the assistance of the military.”

Many media commentators and opposition politicians have questioned the motivation behind the raid, which came at a sensitive time for the government. An uneasy cease-fire has been in place since 2003 between the government and the rebels. President Benigno S. Aquino III has met with senior leaders of the organization in an attempt to broker a long-term peace deal that would grant a degree of autonomy to Muslim areas in the south of the Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic country.

The Muslim rebels have said its forces were not behind the two attacks that led to the military raid, and the Philippine military has been careful to state that the group it assaulted was a breakaway faction not under the control of the organization’s central leadership.

“We have crafted a deliberate and calibrated response,” said Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr., the chief of staff of the Philippine armed forces, at a news briefing in Manila during the fighting.

Mr. Aquino is walking a fine line between appeasing a restive military that lost 23 personnel in those two attacks — including highly trained, elite fighters — and pursuing his stated goal of achieving a lasting peace in Mindanao.

“We will not pursue all-out war,” he said shortly after operations began. “We will pursue all-out justice.”

The rebel attacks and military raid took place as the Philippines held joint military training exercises with the United States. Since Oct. 17, about 2,000 U.S. marines have been conducting mock beach assaults with the Philippine military on the northern island of Luzon.

U.S. troops were far from the fighting in the south, and when asked whether there was any involvement by the U.S. military in the operations in Mindanao, Colonel Cabangbang said there was not.

Although he acknowledged that U.S. military advisers were operating in Mindanao, he said there was no need to involve them in the operation. “This was a law enforcement action,” he said. “And besides, they don’t know the area where the operation was conducted.”

Colonel Cabangbang said the Philippine military assault on the rebel encampment took place near the small town of Payao. The only access point to attack was a slim peninsula fortified with land mines and .50-caliber gun placements. The airstrikes were used to clear the entrance in order for land forces to launch an assault, he said.

He noted that most of the more than 100 rebels in the area probably escaped via small rivers that run through mangroves. Their leader, the renegade commander Waning Abdusalam, who was a principal target of the operation, also escaped. Mr. Abdusalam, the military spokesman said, has been implicated in the 2007 kidnapping of an Italian missionary, the Rev. Giancarlo Bossi, as well as other crimes. Father Bossi was later released.

DTN News - MORO ISLAMIC LIBERATION FRONT: Philippine Troops Seize Rebel Camp In Fierce Attack

DTN News - MORO ISLAMIC LIBERATION FRONT: Philippine Troops Seize Rebel Camp In Fierce Attack

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 11, 2011: Philippine troops Thursday scoured the grisly remains of a heavily fortified encampment that they seized in search of a breakaway group of rebels.

“Blood is everywhere,” said Lt. Gen. Raymundo B. Ferrer in a text message from the encampment. “The safe haven of kidnapping operations and terrorist activities in Zamboanga Sibugay has fallen.”

The seizure of the camp on the western coast of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao was the culmination of a three-day police and military operation against what officials say is a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a long-established Muslim separatist organization in the southern Philippines.

The attack, by all accounts, was fierce. The Philippine Air Force launched airstrikes against the encampment, which was defended by land mines and two .50-caliber machine guns. Two soldiers and at least 15 rebels were killed in the operation, which resulted in the evacuation of more than 19,000 civilians, government officials said.

“We could see the planes dropping bombs,” said Imelda Laquio, a resident of nearby Olutanga Island. “The bombs were shaking our house. My children were terrified. We have never had an experience like that before.”

Ms. Laquio, who was contacted at a relative’s house away from the fighting, said she fled the area with her husband and two young daughters because of rumors that the rebels might hide on the island.

“There was no military protection for us if the rebels came,” she said. “There was only the local police.”

The attack on the rebels came after clashes on Oct. 18 that left 19 special forces soldiers dead, and an ambush on Oct. 20 in which 4 police officers and 4 soldiers were killed. Though both incidents were linked to Muslim rebels, a military spokesman denied that the recent military assault and airstrikes were in retaliation.

“The police on Oct. 15 attempted to execute an arrest warrant in that area, and they were met with gunfire,” Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, a military spokesman, said by telephone. “The police sought the assistance of the military.”

Many media commentators and opposition politicians have questioned the motivation behind the raid, which came at a sensitive time for the government. An uneasy cease-fire has been in place since 2003 between the government and the rebels. President Benigno S. Aquino III has met with senior leaders of the organization in an attempt to broker a long-term peace deal that would grant a degree of autonomy to Muslim areas in the south of the Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic country.

The Muslim rebels have said its forces were not behind the two attacks that led to the military raid, and the Philippine military has been careful to state that the group it assaulted was a breakaway faction not under the control of the organization’s central leadership.

“We have crafted a deliberate and calibrated response,” said Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr., the chief of staff of the Philippine armed forces, at a news briefing in Manila during the fighting.

Mr. Aquino is walking a fine line between appeasing a restive military that lost 23 personnel in those two attacks — including highly trained, elite fighters — and pursuing his stated goal of achieving a lasting peace in Mindanao.

“We will not pursue all-out war,” he said shortly after operations began. “We will pursue all-out justice.”

The rebel attacks and military raid took place as the Philippines held joint military training exercises with the United States. Since Oct. 17, about 2,000 U.S. marines have been conducting mock beach assaults with the Philippine military on the northern island of Luzon.

U.S. troops were far from the fighting in the south, and when asked whether there was any involvement by the U.S. military in the operations in Mindanao, Colonel Cabangbang said there was not.

Although he acknowledged that U.S. military advisers were operating in Mindanao, he said there was no need to involve them in the operation. “This was a law enforcement action,” he said. “And besides, they don’t know the area where the operation was conducted.”

Colonel Cabangbang said the Philippine military assault on the rebel encampment took place near the small town of Payao. The only access point to attack was a slim peninsula fortified with land mines and .50-caliber gun placements. The airstrikes were used to clear the entrance in order for land forces to launch an assault, he said.

He noted that most of the more than 100 rebels in the area probably escaped via small rivers that run through mangroves. Their leader, the renegade commander Waning Abdusalam, who was a principal target of the operation, also escaped. Mr. Abdusalam, the military spokesman said, has been implicated in the 2007 kidnapping of an Italian missionary, the Rev. Giancarlo Bossi, as well as other crimes. Father Bossi was later released.

Friday, November 11, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated November 10, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated November 10, 2011

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - November 10, 2011: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued November 10, 2011 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

ARMY

CWU, Inc., Clearwater, Fla. (W911W4-12-D-0008); Buffalo Group, Reston, Va. (W911W4-12-D-0007); Global Executive Management, Hudson, Fla. (W911W4-12-D-0006); Multi Lingual Solutions, Inc., Rockville, Md. (W911W4-12-D-0005); Strategic Intelligence Group, Fairfax, Va. (W911W4-12-D-0004); Strategic Solutions Unlimited, Inc., Fayetteville, N.C. (W911W4-12-D-0003); Szanca Solutions, Inc., Bedford, Pa. (W911W4-12-D-0002); and Valbin Corp., Bethesda, Md. (W911W4-12-D-0001), were awarded a $9,700,000,000 fixed-price and cost-reimbursable-task-order contract between 14 contractors. The award will provide for the procurement of foreign language services in support of the Defense Language Interpretation Translation Enterprise program. Work location will be determined with each task order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 26, 2016. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with 11 bids received. The U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity.

Legis Consultancy, Inc., Atlanta, Ga., was awarded a $20,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the architect-engineering services for nationwide cost engineering support for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla district. Work will be performed in Atlanta, Ga., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 7, 2016. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with seven bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla, Wash., is the contracting activity (W912EF-12-D-0006).

Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded a $19,104,938 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of 129 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles; 11 armor B-Kits; 20 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles; and 20 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System B-Kits; with install for United Arab Emirates. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2013. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with three bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0159).

Thursday, November 10, 2011

DTN News - LIBYA MISSION OVER: French AWACs Aircraft Return To Base In France

DTN News - LIBYA MISSION OVER: French AWACs Aircraft Return To Base In France

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 10, 2011: An Awacs aircraft during a military exercise in a display of the French assets used in NATO-led operations over Libya, at the Mont-de-Marsan military base, southwestern France, Thursday, Nov.10, 2011.

France and Britain, the European Union's most militarized nations, emerged as standouts in the campaign that ended with the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. (Photo - AP)

DTN News - LIBYA MISSION OVER: French Fighter Jets Return To Base In France

DTN News - LIBYA MISSION OVER: French Fighter Jets Return To Base In France

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 10, 2011: A Rafale jet fighter, right, and two Mirage 2000, left, accompanied by a supply plane, center, perform during a military exercise in a display of the French assets used in NATO-led operations over Libya, at the Mont-de-Marsan military base, southwestern France, Thursday, Nov.10, 2011.

France and Britain, the European Union's most militarized nations, emerged as standouts in the campaign that ended with the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. (Photo - AP)

DTN News - EUROPE'S FINANCIAL PAIN BE CHINA'S GAIN: IMF Seeks Clarity In Italy, China Wants Stability

DTN News - EUROPE'S FINANCIAL PAIN BE CHINA'S GAIN: IMF Seeks Clarity In Italy, China Wants Stability

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / BEIJING, China - November 10, 2011: The head of the International Monetary Fund urged Italy Thursday to act quickly fill its damaging political vacuum, and China said it was willing to help maintain global financial stability that was being threatened by the euro zone crisis.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde spoke during a visit to China as Rome politicians scrambled to find a replacement for Berlusconi, who has said he will step down when parliament approves reforms aimed at placating markets.

"No one exactly understands who is going to come out as the leader. That confusion is particularly conducive to volatility," Lagarde told a news conference in Beijing.

"So from my perspective, political clarity is conducive to more stability and my objective from the Fund's point of view is better and more stability."

On European markets Thursday, hopes that new government being formed in Italy and Greece could help stave off a euro zone break-up drove the euro higher and top-rated government debt lower, while stocks held above a three-week trough.

China -- which holds an estimated 25 percent of its $3.2 trillion of foreign exchange wealth in euro-denominated assets -- is equally keen to see clarity and stability take hold in the euro zone, the country's single biggest export market.

Premier Wen Jiabao told Lagarde that Europe's sovereign debt crisis was a serious challenge to the world's economic recovery, and had increased financial risks for developed economies, Chinese state media reported.

"China supports the measures taken by the European Union, European Central Bank and IMF to deal with the crisis, and is willing to work with all parties to discuss effective cooperative measures to maintain global financial stability," Xinhua news agency paraphrased Wen as saying.

China remains focused on maintaining its own relatively fast, stable growth, Wen added.

Italian 10-year bond yields eased Thursday from the previous day's record highs, but they continued to trade around 7 percent, a level many economists consider unsustainable for financing sovereign debt of more than 2 trillion euros.

Lagarde, a former French finance minister, declined to comment on a Reuters report that German and French officials have discussed plans for a radical overhaul of the European Union to create a more integrated and potentially smaller euro zone.

YUAN APPRECIATION

She also said she believed Chinese authorities were prepared to let the yuan appreciate further, as demanded by many U.S. and other western politicians who accuse Beijing of holding its currency artificially low to give an unfair advantage to its exporters.

"My understanding is that the authorities are prepared to let that appreciation continue in the months and years to come," she said.

"Certainly from our perspective, with the goal of stability and the solid, balanced and sustainable growth that we pursue, clearly that's welcomed and encouraged."

Lagarde, who also met vice Premier Wang Qishan, said she had in-depth discussions with China's central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan, a leading advocate of internationalizing the Chinese currency.

But she said it was too early to include it in the IMF's Special Drawing Rights unit, a basket of four currencies -- U.S. dollars, euros, Japanese yen and sterling -- in which the bulk of global trade is designated.

"But there is a clear understanding that it will come in due course and that it will be a factor of the internationalization of the currency. In my view, there is a stronger signal that China is a key player but also an important partner in the composition of this ... easily convertible currency of the IMF," Lagarde said.

(Additional reporting by Sui-Lee Wee, Tracy Zheng and Ben Blanchard; Editing by John Stonestreet)

DTN News - NIGERIAN NEWS: The Rising Threat From Nigeria's Boko Haram Militant Group

DTN News - NIGERIAN NEWS: The Rising Threat From Nigeria's Boko Haram Militant Group

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 10, 2011: The U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, issued a warning Nov. 5 indicating it had received intelligence that the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram may have been planning to bomb several targets in the Nigerian capital during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, also known as Eid al-Kabir, celebrated Nov. 6-8. The warning specifically mentioned the Hilton, Nicon Luxury and Sheraton hotels as potential targets.

The warning came in the wake of a string of bombings and armed attacks Nov. 4 in the cities of Maiduguri, Damaturu and Potiskum, all of which are located in Nigeria’s northeast. An attack also occurred in the north-central Nigerian city of Kaduna. The sites targeted in the wave of attacks included a military base in Maiduguri and the anti-terrorism court building in Damaturu. Militants reportedly attacked these two sites with suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). The Nigerian Red Cross reported that more than 100 people were killed in the attacks, while some media reports claimed the death toll was at least 150.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated November 9, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated November 9, 2011

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - November 9, 2011: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued November 9, 2011 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

ARMY

Kellogg Brown and Root Services, Inc., Arlington, Va., was awarded a $245,000,000 firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The award will provide for the operations and maintenance, logistics support services, and minor military construction to support contingency operations and military readiness exercises throughout U.S. Army Europe’s Area of Responsibility. Work location will be determined with each task order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2017. Four bids were solicited, with four bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Winchester, Va., is the contracting activity (W912ER-12-D-0002).

Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., was awarded an $185,864,608 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the modification of an existing contract to procure 167 Buffalo A2 vehicles, without bar armor installed, and 102 bar armor kits. Work will be performed in Ladson, S.C., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 1, 2012. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0028).

DTN News - BOEING DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Receives $1.7B for 7 More US Navy P-8A Poseidon Aircraft

DTN News - BOEING DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Receives $1.7B for 7 More US Navy P-8A Poseidon Aircraft

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / SEATTLE, USA - November 9, 2011: Boeing [NYSE: BA] on Nov. 3 received a $1.7 billion low-rate initial production (LRIP) award from the U.S. Navy for seven additional P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft.

LRIP-II is the follow-on to an initial LRIP-I contract awarded in January to provide six Poseidon aircraft. Overall, the Navy plans to purchase 117 Boeing 737-based P-8A anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to replace its P-3 fleet.

As part of the contract, Boeing will provide aircrew and maintenance training for the Navy beginning in 2012, in addition to logistics support, spares, support equipment and tools. The training system will include a full-motion, full-visual Operational Flight Trainer that simulates the flight crew stations, and a Weapons Tactics Trainer for the mission crew stations.

"This contract is the result of the Boeing and Navy team's hard work and commitment, and moves us a step closer to P-8A full-rate production," said Chuck Dabundo, Boeing vice president and P-8 program manager. "We've assembled and flown the first LRIP plane and continue to focus on building P-8A aircraft on cost and on schedule."

"LRIP-II brings the P-8A program one step closer to delivering the Poseidon to the fleet," said Capt. Scott Dillon, P-8A deputy program manager for the Navy.

Boeing completed assembly of the first LRIP-I aircraft at its Renton, Wash., facility this summer. The aircraft subsequently completed a successful first flight July 7, 2011, from Renton Field to Boeing Field, which marked its transition from fabrication and assembly to mission system installation and checkout in Seattle.

The Poseidon team is using a first-in-industry in-line production process that draws on Boeing's Next-Generation 737 production system. All P-8A-unique aircraft modifications are made in sequence during fabrication and assembly.

The team has built and is testing six flight-test and two ground-test aircraft under the U.S. Navy System Development and Demonstration contract awarded to Boeing in 2004. Four flight-test aircraft -- T1, T2, T3 and T5 -- are conducting testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The program's static test plane, S1, completed its test program in January. S2, the fatigue test plane, will begin testing next year. Initial operational capability is planned for 2013.

A derivative of the Next-Generation 737-800, the Poseidon is built by a Boeing-led industry team that includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems, BAE Systems and GE Aviation.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 63,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

DTN News - IRAN NUCLEAR FACTORS: Israeli Officials Silent On Nuke Watchdog's Iran Report

DTN News - IRAN NUCLEAR FACTORS: Israeli Officials Silent On Nuke Watchdog's Iran Report

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / JERUSALEM, Israel - November 9, 2011: Israeli officials were tightlipped on Wednesday following the release of a damning report by the UN nuclear watchdog into Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

"We are studying the report," said an official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau without saying whether or not Israel would respond formally.

Israel's military radio said Netanyahu had ordered his ministers not to comment on the matter out of concern that any statement or Israeli move would draw international criticism and would play into Iran's hands.

But opposition leader and Kadima party chairwoman Tzipi Livni said publication of the report meant Israel should push the world to act firmly to stop Iran.

"Now that the truth has been presented to the world, Israel must galvanise the free world to stop Iran," she said in a posting on her Facebook page. "Determination and diplomatic wisdom are crucial now."

Head of the Knesset's Foreign and Defence Committee Shaul Mofaz, also a Kadima MP, said the "severe report" provided the free world with the opportunity to "take action" against Iran.

"This is the moment of truth for the Western world's foreign policy, headed by (US) President (Barack) Obama," the Iranian-born former chief of staff said late on Tuesday.

"The report should be seen as an opportunity to change the trend, and the mission is not solely Israel's."

The world must "deepen" the sanctions on Iran, to the point of paralysing its economy, he said, stressing that military action remained the last option, Mofaz told army radio on Wednesday.

"Military action in general, and specifically by Israel, is currently the last and worst option -- but all options should be on the table now," he warned.

The official silence stood in stark contrast to the chatter in Israel in recent weeks suggesting a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities was being seriously considered by Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak.

At the weekend, President Shimon Peres had warned that the likelihood of an attack was becoming "more and more likely."

Haaretz newspaper quoted government officials as saying Israel was holding off from immediate comment "because it wants to evaluate the world's response to the IAEA findings and does not want to appear to be leading the international community."

The IAEA report, a copy of which was seen by AFP late on Tuesday, said the agency had "serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear programme, and said it had "credible" information that Tehran "has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device."

In Israel, media commentators had on Tuesday suggested the "unprecedented severity" of the report meant a strike on Iran was unlikely.

Television Channels 2 and 10 both said the release of the report would give Israel "some weeks or some months" to see if the international community slaps "crippling sanctions" on the Islamic republic.

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: Up To 60 Afghan Taliban Killed In NATO Base Attack

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: Up To 60 Afghan Taliban Killed In NATO Base Attack

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / KABUL, Afghanistan - November 9, 2011: Afghan and NATO-led troops killed 50 to 60 Taliban fighters during an attack by insurgents on a base in a volatile southeastern Afghan province near the border with Pakistan, a provincial government spokesman said on Wednesday.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed there had been an attack on a base in the Barmal district of southeastern Paktika province late on Tuesday.

Mukhlis Afghan, a spokesman for the Paktika governor, put the number of Taliban fighters killed at between 50 and 60.

An ISAF spokesman said a large group of insurgents attacked the ISAF base using small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. ISAF troops fought back, causing "significant" casualties among the insurgents.

He said two buildings used by insurgents were destroyed in the fighting, which included ISAF air strikes, but said there had been no reports of civilian or coalition casualties.

Paktika province lies on the border with the Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan, where the Taliban and allied insurgents like the Haqqani network have safe havens from which they launch attacks into Afghanistan.

Paktika and neighboring Paktia ands Zabul have been hit by a number of attacks this year.

ISAF troops and Afghan special forces killed more than 50 insurgents in Paktika during an operation in July to clear a training camp that ISAF said the Haqqanis had been using as a base for foreign fighters.

In September, a bomb killed six civilians in Paktika. The Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack there in March when three suicide bombers killed 24 construction workers.

Despite the presence of about 130,000 foreign troops, violence across Afghanistan remains at its worst levels since the Taliban were toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces 10 years ago, according to the United Nations.

On Sunday, at least seven civilians were killed and 15 wounded by a suicide bomber in an attack on a mosque in northern Baghlan province soon after prayers for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

ISAF says there has been a fall in the number of attacks by insurgents recently, but that data excludes attacks that kill only civilians, and attacks on Afghan security forces operating without international troops.

(Reporting by Mirwais Harooni, Jan Harvey, Elyas Wahdat and Christine Kearney; Writing by Jan Harvey; Editing by Paul Tait)

DTN News - IRAN NUCLEAR FACTORS: China Warns Of Turmoil Over Iran, Mute On Sanctions

DTN News - IRAN NUCLEAR FACTORS: China Warns Of Turmoil Over Iran, Mute On Sanctions

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / BEIJING, China - November 9, 2011: China warned on Wednesday against turmoil in the Middle East from action over Iran's nuclear program, but declined to comment on the possibility of new sanctions following a U.N. report that Iran appears to have worked on designing an atomic weapon.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China was "studying" the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, and repeated a call to resolve the issue peacefully through talks.

"I wish to point out that China opposes the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and disapproves of any Middle Eastern country developing nuclear weapons. As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran bears the responsibilities of nuclear non-proliferation," he told a daily news briefing.

"The Iranian side should also demonstrate flexibility and sincerity, and engage in serious cooperation with the agency," Hong said, referring to the IAEA.

"I want to stress that avoiding fresh turmoil in the Middle Eastern security environment is important for both the region and for the international community."

Hong made no mention of sanctions, and indicated China was in no rush to take the matter back to the United Nations Security Council, saying only that all sides should do more to promote dialogue and cooperation.

"I've already pointed out that China has consistently advocating using dialogue and cooperation to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue," he said, when asked about the possibility of new unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Chinese policy-makers are caught between their demand for Iranian oil and worry that the United States and its allies will demand harsher sanctions against Iran, even risk military action, after the IAEA concluded Iran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic weapon.

China has kept close ties with Iran but has also backed past U.N. Security Council resolutions criticizing Iran's position on nuclear issues and authorizing limited sanctions.

But China has repeatedly resisted Western proposals for sanctions that could seriously curtail its energy and economic ties with Iran. As one of the Security Council's five permanent members, China holds the power to veto any resolutions.

China has also denounced the United States and European Union for imposing their own separate sanctions on Iran, and said they should not take steps reaching beyond the U.N. resolutions.

DTN News - ITALY BREAKING NEWS: Italy Faces Limbo After Berlusconi Agrees To Go

DTN News - ITALY BREAKING NEWS: Italy Faces Limbo After Berlusconi Agrees To Go

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / ROME, Italy - November 9, 2011: Italy looks set for lengthy political uncertainty after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's pledge to resign, with his center-right party calling for elections and the main opposition for a national unity government.

After failing to secure the majority in a vote in the lower house, Berlusconi said he would quit as soon as parliament passed budget reforms urged by European partners to help Italy stave off a debt crisis that is threatening the euro zone.

"We no longer have the majority we believed we had so we need to recognize this and concern ourselves with what is happening on markets...we need to show markets we are serious," Berlusconi told Italian television by telephone.

Votes to pass the reforms in both houses of parliament are likely this month, and opposition leaders may try to bring this forward in order to end as soon as possible the flamboyant billionaire media tycoon's 17-year dominance of Italy.

Worries about the Berlusconi government's ability to implement reforms to boost Italy's sluggish growth and cut its huge debt have helped fuel a rise in Italy's borrowing costs to unsustainable levels, weighing on the euro and stock markets.

Global equity markets and the euro rose after Berlusconi's decision on hopes that a new leader will act more aggressively to tackle the crisis in the euro zone's third largest economy that is jeopardizing Europe's single currency project.

The 75-year-old prime minister and his party say an election is the only realistic next step but opposition leaders have called for the formation of a national unity.

President Giorgio Napolitano said he would start consultations with all political parties after the new budget measures are approved.

When a government is defeated or resigns, it is the president's duty to appoint a new leader to try to build a majority in parliament, or to call new elections.

Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, called for the beginning of a new phase and reiterated the proposal to form a transitional government including representatives from across the political spectrum.

But members of Berlusconi's center-right People of Freedom (PDL) party, whose support would be needed for a broad-based government, said its formation would be difficult.

"All the leaders of the PDL prefer early elections, because it's hard to imagine a government of national unity," Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini told Italian television, pointing to major disagreement among political parties.

Berlusconi and his closest allies have also said that the appointment of a government of technocrats -- an option favored by markets and it is thought Napolitano -- would be an undemocratic "coup" that ignored the 2008 election result that brought the center right to power.

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Tuesday that EU inspectors are due to arrive in Rome on Wednesday to begin a monitoring mission aimed at ensuring economic reforms are carried out as part of an agreement reached at a G20 summit last week.

Even when Berlusconi goes, there is no guarantee that reforms will be quickly implemented and relief on markets may not last long.

Yields on Italy's 10-year benchmark bonds rose to 6.74 percent Tuesday, near levels at which Portugal, Greece and Ireland were forced to seek a bailout.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

Monday, November 7, 2011

DTN News - ISRAEL DEFENSE NEWS: Another Reason Israel Can Postpone Attack On Iran

DTN News - ISRAEL DEFENSE NEWS: Another Reason Israel Can Postpone Attack On Iran

(NSI News Source Info) HONG KONG - November 7, 2011: When you add up F-4 (Phantom), F-16 and F-15, you get F-35. The next fighter plane of the Israel Air Force is taking shape on Lockheed Martin's production line and flight lanes here, in Dallas' sister city. The industrial and technological prowess of the largest military corporation in the world, with annual revenues exceeding $40 billion, cannot fail to impress visitors from Israel. The thorn in the rose is a financial one: The F-35 will be right on the money, but only if paid in full.

The tizzy over possible war with Iran that gripped Israel last week is connected to the F-35 only by its absence: It would be best if the war were to wait for it. The first, and so far only, squadron that the Israel Defense Forces will buy - the deal should be signed in two months - will not be flying in Israel at full throttle, with the full complement of 19 aircraft, before 2018. (Israel is to take delivery of five planes in 2016 and seven in each of the succeeding two years. ) The delays in the F-35's development were very damaging to the Americans, since they do not have the available funds for aviation acquisitions that they did three or four years ago. For Israel, it's a mixed bag: The plane will be more expensive, but were it already part of the IAF's order of forces and delivering a stunning performance, the government would be that much more tempted to push the button.

The fundamental disagreement in Israel should be over national objectives. It is the operation outlines that are supposed to dictate the IDF's force structure, including the internal balance of power. As a matter of course this is replaced by a distorted argument over weaponry, including the F-15. Qualitatively, but not quantitatively, this argument has been decided. The first deal has been agreed, but not signed: Israel and Lockheed have two months to seal the deal over the proprietary and unique development costs for the air force, the electronics and communications surprises that will give it an advantage.

The numbers are guarded like a trade secret, but while the official price is between $65 million and $80 million per plane - about the same as the F-16 being produced this year - in fact it is not far from what you get when you divide the total price of the deal, $2.75 billion, by the number of aircraft; in other words, $110 million to $120 million per unit (plus added cost that will not recur for successive deals ). That is the leverage Lockheed has over Israel - buy more and get a quantity discount - but it also works in reverse. If Israel tightens its belt and postpones for five years the next acquisition, of 12 to 30 planes, the manufacturer's profits will be sharply reduced. It is in this arena that the bargaining is taking place, with the active participation of the Pentagon and the lure of fat contracts for Israel's military industries, from wingtip to the helmets that will be worn by the pilots from all eight partner nations, including Turkey.

Almost 4,000 F-35s will be manufactured over the next few decades, 2,400 of them for the U.S. army, navy and marines. Even if Israel fully exercises its purchase rights, buying 75 planes, they are a drop in the bucket by comparison. The Americans, who boast of having one of the best air forces in the world, are likely to be among the first to test the F-35 in the laboratory of truth that is the battlefield.

In the future, when most combat fleets in NATO (apart from France and perhaps Germany) and allied countries (Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Canada) are based on the F-35, Israel cannot afford to be excluded from the club. The F-35 squadron will be a flying Sayeret Matkal (the general staff's elite special-operations force). It will be capable of sneaking in, penetrating defenses and pulling additional forces after it. The armed, in-flight refueling, flying computer will be the aircraft of the next war. And that is another reason to postpone the date.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

DTN News - BOEING NEWS: Boeing Reveals Details Of International F-18

DTN News - BOEING NEWS: Boeing Reveals Details Of International F-18

(NSI News Source Info) HONG KONG - November 6, 2011: Engineers from U.S. behemoth Boeing are offering further glimpses into the so-called “international road map” variant of its F-18 Super Hornet, starting with its two shoulder-mounted conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) and numerous Enclosed Weapons Pods (EWPs).

The details are emerging as Boeing and rival Lockheed Martin, with its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), move from being cut out of the Indian Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft and look to non-JSF partners like Japan for new business.

Several other air forces also are looking around for new fighters and will evaluate not only radar and avionics performances, but also how the fighters fare in both beyond-visual-range and close combat. Boeing has been promoting F-18 improvements under its international road map concept since last year, but it continues to dribble out more information as potential non-U.S. customers like Japan are targeted.

Along those lines, Boeing’s concept for a newer Super Hornet is intended to improve the basic airframe in terms of thrust/weight ratio, acceleration, agility, maneuverability, combat persistence, low-observable characteristics and sensor capabilities.

As Aviation Week & Space Technology and sister publication Defense Technology International have reported this year, to extend the F-18’s range without having to carry drag-inducing underwing fuel tanks, the new Super Hornet could rely on two CFTs. According to a preliminary calculation of a Super Hornet fitted with two CFTs and a belly-mounted conventional, external fuel tank, the aircraft would have the same combat radius that now only can be achieved with three external tanks. This is partly due to the position of the CFT’s center of gravity (CG), which is relatively close to the aircraft’s CG. The placement also cuts the amount of trim work and trim drag generated by the horizontal stabilizers.

Furthermore, the CFTs should not require modification of the flight control software, Boeing says, although confirmation will not come until wind tunnel and flight testing are carried out. The first test efforts are to be completed by the end of year with another round in 2012, the engineers say.

Along with the CFTs, Boeing also has been promoting replacement of the F-18’s wing and fuselage pylons and hardpoints with Enclosed Weapons Pods (EWPs), each of them able to host four AIM-120 missiles, a 2,000-lb. bomb or two 500-lb.-class weapons.

Boeing says that even if each EWP has a targeted empty weight of 370 kg (815 lb.), this “addition” is more than compensated for by elimination of pylons and rails and the better resulting aerodynamics, as well as reduced radar cross section (including against existing RCS treatments). With an underbelly and two underwing EWPs, the Super Hornet can carry 12 Amraams, plus the two wing-tip-mounted AIM-9Xs.

But the EWPs have yet to be certified for supersonic carriage and full combat load factors. Moreover, Boeing has not yet decided if it will modify an existing Super Hornet to flight test the CFTs and/or the EWPs.

Indeed, Boeing has yet to detail its estimates of how much better a Super Hornet fitted with an enhanced-performance engine variant of the General Electric F414, Transonic Flight Quality Improvement wing package, CFTs and EWPs would perform. But the company says that acceleration from level cruise speed to a supersonic Mach 1.3-Mach 1.5 will be reduced, depending on aircraft configuration and altitude, by 2-3.5 times compared with a standard Super Hornet. During a typical combat air patrol mission at altitudes around 40,000 ft., the time needed to accelerate from patrol to combat supersonic speed is to be reduced by 2-3 times.

And while it is clear that a modified Super Hornet will fly, accelerate, turn and have more specific excess power compared with the current Super Hornet within the same flight envelope, the international road map concept so far rests on Boeing internally funded research and development. The company wants a customer to fund more development and integration and test the improvements.

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: Multiple Missteps Led To Drone Killing U.S. Troops In Afghanistan

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: Multiple Missteps Led To Drone Killing U.S. Troops In Afghanistan

(NSI News Source Info) HONG KONG - November 6, 2011: Reporting from Washington— On the evening of April 5, a pilot settled into a leather captain's chair at Creech Air Force Base in southern Nevada and took the controls of a Predator drone flying over one of the most violent areas of southwestern Afghanistan. Minutes later, his radio crackled.

A firefight had broken out. Taliban insurgents had ambushed about two dozen Marines patrolling a bitterly contested road.

The Air Force captain angled his joystick and the drone veered toward the fighting taking place half a world away, where it was already morning. He powered up two Hellfire missiles under its wings and ordered a crew member responsible for operating the drone's cameras to search for enemy fighters.

It didn't take long to find something. Three figures, fuzzy blobs on the pilot's small black-and-white screen, lay in a poppy field a couple of hundred yards from the road.

"Hey now, wait. Standby on these," the pilot cautioned. "They could be animals in the field." Seconds later, tiny white flashes appeared by the figures — the heat signature of gunfire. "There they are," he said, now sure he was looking at the enemy.

At an Air National Guard base in Terre Haute, Ind., an intelligence analyst whose job it was to monitor the video to help prevent mistakes on the mission also observed the muzzle flashes — but noticed that they were firing away from the embattled Marines.

Marines at Patrol Base Alcatraz, 12 miles from the firefight, watched their screens too, as they kept in contact with both the drone crew and the platoon members, who had set out from the base just an hour earlier. It would be their decision whether to call in a missile strike.

Thirty-one seconds after the pilot reported muzzle flashes, the Marines at Alcatraz ordered that the Predator be prepared to strike if the shooters could be confirmed as hostile. At 8:49 a.m., 29 minutes after the ambush began, they authorized the pilot to fire.

In minutes, two Americans would be dead.