Saturday, April 14, 2012

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Special Operations Boost Demand For Helicopters

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Special Operations Boost Demand For Helicopters 

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 14, 2012: Special operations forces have a dedicated fleet of tricked-out helicopters at their disposal, but as their workload grows, they are increasingly reliant on conventional aircraft to get their jobs done.

A high operational tempo in Afghanistan has married conventional and special operations forces like never before, forcing a heightened level of cooperation at all levels, from commanding generals to aircraft pilots and crews.

It wasn’t always so, especially when it came to sharing information and aircraft, according to Maj. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. 

As a combat aviation brigade commander in Afghanistan, Crutchfield was once asked to provide aircraft in support of a special operations mission, he said at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual symposium. 

Seeking information from his special operations counterpart, Crutchfield was turned away because he “didn’t have a need to know.”

“That was not the right answer … telling that to a brigade commander who is supplying the aircraft for you to fly the mission,” he said. “Quite frankly, it pissed me off.”

Now the once-tense relationship has changed, at least from the perspective of Army aviation, which takes the lead on most rotary wing development and acquisitions. At least until the close of the war in Afghanistan, the services will be forced to continue that cooperation. At present, half of all special operations missions flown in that conflict are carried out using conventional aircraft.

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Special Operations Boost Demand For Helicopters

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Special Operations Boost Demand For Helicopters 

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 14, 2012: Special operations forces have a dedicated fleet of tricked-out helicopters at their disposal, but as their workload grows, they are increasingly reliant on conventional aircraft to get their jobs done.

A high operational tempo in Afghanistan has married conventional and special operations forces like never before, forcing a heightened level of cooperation at all levels, from commanding generals to aircraft pilots and crews.

It wasn’t always so, especially when it came to sharing information and aircraft, according to Maj. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. 

As a combat aviation brigade commander in Afghanistan, Crutchfield was once asked to provide aircraft in support of a special operations mission, he said at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual symposium. 

Seeking information from his special operations counterpart, Crutchfield was turned away because he “didn’t have a need to know.”

“That was not the right answer … telling that to a brigade commander who is supplying the aircraft for you to fly the mission,” he said. “Quite frankly, it pissed me off.”

Now the once-tense relationship has changed, at least from the perspective of Army aviation, which takes the lead on most rotary wing development and acquisitions. At least until the close of the war in Afghanistan, the services will be forced to continue that cooperation. At present, half of all special operations missions flown in that conflict are carried out using conventional aircraft.

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Special Operations Boost Demand For Helicopters

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Special Operations Boost Demand For Helicopters 

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 14, 2012: Special operations forces have a dedicated fleet of tricked-out helicopters at their disposal, but as their workload grows, they are increasingly reliant on conventional aircraft to get their jobs done.

A high operational tempo in Afghanistan has married conventional and special operations forces like never before, forcing a heightened level of cooperation at all levels, from commanding generals to aircraft pilots and crews.

It wasn’t always so, especially when it came to sharing information and aircraft, according to Maj. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. 

As a combat aviation brigade commander in Afghanistan, Crutchfield was once asked to provide aircraft in support of a special operations mission, he said at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual symposium. 

Seeking information from his special operations counterpart, Crutchfield was turned away because he “didn’t have a need to know.”

“That was not the right answer … telling that to a brigade commander who is supplying the aircraft for you to fly the mission,” he said. “Quite frankly, it pissed me off.”

Now the once-tense relationship has changed, at least from the perspective of Army aviation, which takes the lead on most rotary wing development and acquisitions. At least until the close of the war in Afghanistan, the services will be forced to continue that cooperation. At present, half of all special operations missions flown in that conflict are carried out using conventional aircraft.

DTN News - RUSSIA DEFENSE NEWS: Russian Air Force To Get Supermaneuverable Aircraft

DTN News - RUSSIA DEFENSE NEWS: Russian Air Force To Get Supermaneuverable Aircraft

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 14, 2012: It has been decided to equip current fighter models with available thrust-vectoring engines. The first batch of upgraded fighters will be handed over to the Air Force by late 2020. It is also planned that all new T-50 fighters will have become operational by then.

“When a plane powered by a regular engine is taken to a wide angle of attack at low speeds, it loses control and stability and starts moving independently of the pilot’s commands, i.e. the plane moves randomly. The Su-35 has perfect controllability at any speed, even at negative speeds, for instance, when the plane drops tail-forward. The pilot can effectively put the plane in any angular position,” Sergei Bogdan, a Su-35 and T-50 test pilot, explained to Izvestiya.

The world’s first thrust-vectoring engine appeared in the export version of the Su-30 meant for India. The first contract for the delivery of such planes was signed more than 10 years ago. India currently operates 150 Su-30 aircrafts and plans to contract the delivery of another 100 machines. Furthermore, Russia supplies Su-30 models powered by these engines to Malaysia and Algeria.

“This is the same Indian version, but it is designed for our Air Forces and has Russian-made avionics. All of the new Su-27 class aircraft will now be powered by thrust-vectoring engines, because since 2011, the Defense Ministry has mostly sought to buy new machines,” a UEC spokesman said. According to him, technically these engines can be installed even in older planes, because they tend to wear faster than the body; however, when the time comes to replace the engines, they will likely install regular engines without vectorable jet nozzles, as the Air Force has plenty in its arsenal. As of now, the planes powered by the new engine are only used at pilot training centers.

Engines with vectorable jet nozzles will also power the MiG-29K carrier-based fighter aircraft, which the Defense Ministry is procuring for the Admiral Kuznetsov, the country’s only aircraft carrier. Klimov Engine Plant is already making these engines for the MiG fighters sold to India under the Admiral Gorshkov contract.

Aircraft designers keep working to perfect the PAK FA T-50, despite the fact that many developed countries have given up on their fifth-generation fighter plans to focus on sixth-generation unmanned aircraft. Experts agree that it would be reasonable to follow suit; however, Russia has neither the money nor time to develop its sixth-generation machines – the Russian aircraft fleet has not been upgraded in more than 20 years.

DTN News - RUSSIA DEFENSE NEWS: State Contract For Borey-Class Submarines Faces Delays

DTN News - RUSSIA DEFENSE NEWS: State Contract For Borey-Class Submarines Faces Delays

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 14, 2012: A contract to build Borey class submarines, the most costly of the 2012 state defense orders, faces delays over pricing, the Kommersant daily said on Saturday citing shipbuilding and defense source

“The defense ministry is again dissatisfied with the price substantiation, so the signing of the contract is ruled out in the near future,” a source in the shipbuilding industry told Kommersant.

According to the paper, Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) said one submarine will cost about 26 billion rubles ($878,000), or about 130 billion rubles ($4.4 billion) in total.

A defense ministry source said “the manufacturers still want to sell it at an unjustifiably high price,” while shipbuilders say such prices would barely allow them to make any profit.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.ca/2012/04/dtn-news-russia-defense-news-state.html

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: The Coming War With China

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: The Coming War With China

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 14, 2012: Is China a peaceful nation that only wants to turn out Apple iPads and iPhones? Or is the Middle Kingdom bent on attacking the U.S.? Beijing is the long, and strong, pole in the tent for the U.S. military – and they know it. China is the new Soviet Union, and perhaps it should be.

But is there a downside to view Beijing through such a lens? (Congress has created the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to track China’s growing clout [remember when the CIA was our chief threat exaggerator?] It also compels the Pentagon to report annually on Chinese military threats [remember when, for good or for ill, we counted on the Defense Intelligence Agency to keep track of such things?])

Do such assessments only create a self-fulfilling prophecy (self-fulfilling prophecy: something that allows the self-licking ice-cream cone, with apologizes to John Cameron Swayze, to keep on licking)? Perhaps not. After all, former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger’s multi-colored annual editions of Soviet Military Power — which portrayed the Soviet Union as a military superpower during the 1980s as the Pentagon, DIA and CIA missed its internal rot — hardly strengthened the Red Army.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.ca/2012/04/dtn-news-defense-news-coming-war-with.html

DTN News - Cherry Blossoms In Toronto, Canada


DTN News - Cherry Blossoms In Toronto, Canada


(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April  14, 2012: Cherry blossoms in High Park - Toronto, Photos By David Cooper Toronto Star

Friday, April 13, 2012

DTN News - Rare Photo: Marilyn Monroe

DTN News - Rare Photo: Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

Presented & compiled Rare Photo for DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT ~ OSAMA BIN LADEN NEWS: Pakistan To Deport Bin Laden Family

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT ~ OSAMA BIN LADEN NEWS: Pakistan To Deport Bin Laden Family

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April  13, 2012: Pakistan will deport the widows and children of former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to Saudi Arabia next week after their jail sentence for illegal residency ends, their lawyer said on Friday.

The three women and two children were detained by Pakistani security forces after a secret U.S. special forces raid killed bin Laden in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad in May last year
.
Earlier this month a Pakistani court sentenced the women to 45 days in prison for illegally staying in the country. It ordered their deportation after the prison term which began on March 3 when they were formally arrested.

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT ~ AFRICA CONFLICT NEWS: Sudan Army Advancing, ‘So Many Bodies At The Front Line’

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT  ~ AFRICA CONFLICT NEWS: Sudan Army Advancing, ‘So Many Bodies At The Front Line’

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 13, 2012:  Sudan’s army said on Friday it has launched a counter-attack towards Heglig town in its main oil-producing region, which South Sudanese forces seized earlier this week.

“Now we are moving towards Heglig town” and are “close,” army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad said in a statement.

“The situation in Heglig is going to end in coming hours,” he told reporters, adding that South Sudan had tried but failed to control “all of South Kordofan state.”

Malaak Ayuen, deputy spokesman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in the South, said his forces had expected a fight-back.

DTN News - MYANMAR NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Myanmar - Support Suspending Sanctions

DTN News - MYANMAR NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Myanmar - Support Suspending Sanctions

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 13, 2012: British Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday that he would support suspending the European Union's economic sanctions on Myanmar, which are to be reviewed by the end of the month.

Cameron spoke after meetings with the country's reform-minded president, Thein Sein, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a longtime political prisoner who was recently elected to parliament in Myanmar, a former British colony.

However, Cameron specified that he did not want to see an arms embargo on Myanmar be lifted as part of any easing of sanctions. The embargo, along with economic and political sanctions, was imposed during the repressive rule of the country's previous military government.

"We know there is still much, much more needed to be done, as the president himself has acknowledged, that there are more changes that need to be made," Cameron said at a news conference after meeting with Suu Kyi. "The right thing for the world to do is to encourage the change and to believe in the possibility of peaceful progress towards democracy."

By talking of suspending rather than lifting sanctions, Cameron was making clear the move would be a provisional one that could easily be withdrawn, if judged necessary.

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: North Korea Admits Rocket Fails Shortly After Launch

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: North Korea Admits Rocket Fails Shortly After Launch

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 13, 2012: North Korea has acknowledged a multi-stage rocket it launched early Friday failed to reach orbit.

An announcer on North Korean television - interrupting programming four hours after the launch, which was not broadcast - says the Kwangmyongsong-3 earth observation satellite did not succeed in reaching orbit and scientific experts are investigating the cause of the failure.
Officials in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington say North Korea's rocket indeed blasted off from the launch pad but failed to get very far.

U.S. military officials called it a Taepo Dong-2 missile. They say it was tracked by satellite on a southern trajectory where the first stage fell into the Yellow Sea. The North American Aerospace Defense Command says the other two stages failed to continue in flight and never posed a threat.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

DTN News - SEASONS GREETINGS: Happy Vaisakhi And Best Wishes From DTN News


DTN News - SEASONS GREETINGS: Happy Vaisakhi And Best Wishes From DTN News


(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 12, 2012: We Wish All our Readers and Viewers a Happy Vaisakhi - Whatever you’re doing to celebrate this Punjabi harvest festival and Baisakhi Sikh festival, we hope you enjoy the occasion to the full.


http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.ca/ 

DTN News - JAPAN DEFENSE NEWS: Japan Deployed Patriot In Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture April 12, 2012 For North Korea Missile Launch

DTN News - JAPAN DEFENSE NEWS: Japan Deployed Patriot In Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture April 12, 2012 For North Korea Missile Launch

Japanese Self-Defence Force soldiers carrying submachine guns stand guard near a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles unit in Miyakojima, on Japan's southern island of Miyako Island, Okinawa prefecture, in this photo taken by Kyodo on April 12, 2012.

 Impoverished North Korea rejected international protests over its planned long-range rocket launch and said on Wednesday that it was injecting fuel "as we speak", meaning it could blast off as early as Thursday.

DTN News - JAPAN DEFENSE NEWS: Japan Deployed Patriot In Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture April 12, 2012 For North Korea Missile Launch

DTN News - JAPAN DEFENSE NEWS: Japan Deployed Patriot In Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture April 12, 2012 For North Korea Missile Launch

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 12, 2012: A jeep is driven by a unit of Japan Air Self-Defense Force's PAC-3 surface to air missile deployed in Ishigaki, Japan's southern most prefecture of Okinawa, Wednesday, April 11, 2012. 

Japan is on alert for North Korea's rocket which is expected to launch between April 12-16.

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: South Korean Self-Propelled Howitzers During Military Exercise Near Border Village Of Panmunjom The DMZ

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: South Korean Self-Propelled Howitzers During Military Exercise Near Border Village Of Panmunjom The DMZ

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 12, 2012: South Korean soldiers use self-propelled howitzers during a military exercise near the border village of Panmunjom, the demilitarized zone which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, April 12, 2012. (Photo - AP)

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: South Korean Self-Propelled Howitzers During Military Exercise Near Border Village Of Panmunjom The DMZ

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: South Korean Self-Propelled Howitzers During Military Exercise Near Border Village Of Panmunjom The DMZ

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 12, 2012: South Korean soldiers operate K-55 self-propelled howitzers during a military exercise near the border village of Panmunjom, the demilitarized zone which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, April 12, 2012. (Photo - AP)

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: South Korean Self-Propelled Howitzers During Military Exercise Near Border Village Of Panmunjom The DMZ

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: South Korean Self-Propelled Howitzers During Military Exercise Near Border Village Of Panmunjom The DMZ

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 12, 2012: South Korean soldiers use self-propelled howitzers during a military exercise near the border village of Panmunjom, the demilitarized zone which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, April 12, 2012. (Photo - AP)

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: Kim Jong-un Was Named First Secretary At National Conference Of Ruling Workers' Party In Pyongyang Attended By Senior Military Officials

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: Kim Jong-un Was Named First Secretary At National Conference Of  Ruling Workers' Party In Pyongyang Attended By Senior Military Officials

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 12, 2012: Senior military officials attend a national conference of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang in this still image taken from video April 12, 2012. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was named first secretary at the conference on April 11, 2012, a new post created to give him the official stature to head the state where his grandfather remains "eternal president."    (Photo - Reuters)

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: Kim Jong-un Was Named First Secretary At National Conference Of Ruling Workers' Party In Pyongyang Attended By Senior Military Officials

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: Kim Jong-un Was Named First Secretary At National Conference Of  Ruling Workers' Party In Pyongyang Attended By Senior Military Officials

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 12, 2012: Senior military officials attend a national conference of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang in this still image taken from video April 12, 2012. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was named first secretary at the conference on April 11, 2012, a new post created to give him the official stature to head the state where his grandfather remains "eternal president."    (Photo - Reuters)

DTN News - JAPAN DEFENSE NEWS / KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: U.S. Adm. Samuel Locklear And Japanese Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki Inspected PAC-3 Patriot Missile Units Deployed In Preparation For North Korea's Rocket Launch

DTN News - JAPAN DEFENSE NEWS / KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: U.S. Adm. Samuel Locklear And Japanese Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki Inspected PAC-3 Patriot Missile Units Deployed In Preparation For North Korea's Rocket Launch


(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 12, 2012: U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. 
Samuel Locklear talks with Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki, front left, chief of Joint Staff of Japan Self-Defense Forces, after inspecting PAC-3 Patriot missile units deployed in preparation for North Korea's rocket launch, expected to take place sometime between April 12-16, at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo Wednesday, April 11, 2012. 


The top U.S. military commander in the Pacific has called North Korea's plans to launch a rocket a "highly provocative" move that would threaten regional security and could affect future security plans.  (Photo - AP)


http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.ca/

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

DTN News - BOEING NEWS: Boeing Announces Sixth Leg of 787 Dream Tour

DTN News - BOEING NEWS: Boeing Announces Sixth Leg of 787 Dream Tour

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 11, 2012: Boeing (NYSE: BA) will bring the 787 Dreamliner to seven more cities on the sixth leg of the Dream Tour later this month and continuing into May. Stops include cities in the U.K., Norway, Italy and the U.S.

"The Dream Tour has provided us with a great platform to show customers, partners, government officials and other stakeholders just what the team has achieved with the 787," said Larry Loftis, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. "It's an honor to showcase this airplane as we bring it around the world."

The airplane will depart from Seattle on April 21. The dates listed below are landing dates for each city or airport. Customers, employees, partners, government officials and other stakeholders will be invited to attend tour events at each location. There are no general public tour opportunities.

DTN News - CHINA NEWS: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan In Beijing China

DTN News - CHINA NEWS: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan In Beijing China

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 11, 2012: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) review the Chinese military honor guards during the welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, April 9, 2012. 

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is paying the first official visit to China by a Turkish premier in 27 years from April 8 to 10.

DTN News - INDONESIA NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Indonesia

DTN News - INDONESIA NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Indonesia

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 11, 2012: Prime Minister David Cameron (C) arrives at Halim airport on April 11, 2012 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Mr Cameron is on a five day visit to the Far East.

Cameron is in Indonesia as part of his tour to Japan and Southeast Asia, accompanied by a delegation of 40 business representatives from defence, energy, construction and other industries.

DTN News - JAPAN NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Japan Meeting With Japanese Emperor Akihito

DTN News - JAPAN NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Japan Meeting With Japanese Emperor Akihito

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 11, 2012: In this photo provided by Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Japanese Emperor Akihito, second left, shakes hands with British Prime Minister David Cameron during their meeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Tuesday, April 10, 2012. Cameron is on a two-day visit to Tokyo.

David Cameron is on a four day visit to East and South East Asia, travelling with a forty strong delegation of business representatives, seeking to boost trade opportunities with the United Kingdom.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

DTN News - BRITISH DEFENSE NEWS: The SDSR Is A Slash-And-Burn Campaign Plan - And It's Time The Government Admitted It

DTN News - BRITISH DEFENSE NEWS: The SDSR Is A Slash-And-Burn Campaign Plan - And It's Time The Government Admitted It

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 10, 2012: Four days ago I wrote, in respect of the Falkland Islands but with relevance to all British interests in the wider sense:

'The most effective deterrent of all, the true guardian of the Islands‘ security, is British clarity of vision, rational national defence policies, and consistently unambiguous and fudge-free ministerial communication. Those are issues this blog will examine during the next few months.'

Our theme for this, Rational Defence First, is linked to Effects-Based Financing (EBF) and to unwavering insistence on Integrity as the principal virtue of our national leaders. That integrity must include the willingness to admit incapacity, to acknowledge failure, and to surrender office to others better qualified in knowledge, experience and skill.

So where, amid what defence analysts recognise as a truly appalling political, economic and military situation, should we begin? If we are to concentrate on what has happened and will happen under the present coalition government (treating the dreadful years of Mr Brown’s stewardship, about which we can do little now, as merely the platform for future disasters we can still avert), then the obvious place to begin is this government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, the SDSR (or, as it is known among defence analysts, the Suicidal Disarmament and Surrender Retreat).      

Fair-minded readers may ask whether the selection of such a defenceless target can be justifed? Perhaps it seems like bullying, but effectively the target has been chosen for us by the government’s own insistence that the SDSR will not be amended (even while ministers surreptitiously seek to do just that as the true horror of their position, and of the nation’s military weakness, sinks into the government’s addled corporate brain). 

Despite its condemnation by a host of defence experts, highly qualified by experience, especially by members of the United Kingdom National Defence Association (UKNDA), whose criticisms are countered solely by personal smears (but while the MoD employs a battalion of PR spin doctors they may as well be used, no?), and despite the mounting evidence of the SDSR’s irrelevance, the government refuses to budge from its obtuse stance.

DTN News - CHINA DEFENSE NEWS: Chinese Navy Goes Unmanned For The First Time

DTN News - CHINA DEFENSE NEWS: Chinese Navy Goes Unmanned For The First Time

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 10, 2012: The Chinese military has added sea-based unmanned aircraft to its rapidly growing arsenal, with the first of those aircraft already deployed. 

The People's Liberation Navy (PLN) has begun fielding unmanned surveillance aircraft aboard its fleet of warships, according to recent news reports. 

Foreign intelligence agencies have already confirmed the existence of one Chinese-built maritime aerial drone aboard PLN ships, United Press International reported Monday. 

Other state media reports coming from Beijing claim other versions of unmanned intelligence aircraft are already under construction. 

Chinese military leaders allegedly requested information from Iran on the highly-secretive RQ-170 Sentinal drone Tehran captured from U.S. forces last December. 
Military or intelligence agencies in Beijing have also been attempting to breach Defense Department networks, in an attempt to gain more information on U.S. unmanned aircraft operations. 

That information from Iran and the Pentagon may have informed China's work on this latest- sea-worthy drone. 

Iran is also attempting to build its own fleet of aerial drones, based on what it learned from the so-called "Beast of Kandahar" aircraft, into a new surveillance aircraft of their own. 

But it's unlikely that Iranian or Chinese engineers can incorporate any of the technology from the stealthy American drone. It will likely take months, or even years, before Iran can take anything its learned from the Sentinel drone and work it into a functioning weapons system.

The new Chinese drones will likely be used to track American and foreign warships and submarines traveling in the Pacific. 

News of their existence comes as the United States prepares to shift its focus from the Middle East to Asia. 

This strategic shift, announced by President Obama in February, was driven mainly by a need to check Chinese and North Korean aggression in the region. 

Interest in unmanned technology has increased dramatically among foreign countries in recent years. Autonomous drones, operated by the Pentagon and CIA, have played a key role in ongoing U.S.-led counterterrorism operations around the world. 

Currently, U.S. defense firms lead the world in development of unmanned intelligence aircraft. But Beijing claims its new sea-worthy drone is the first step in breaking into that market.

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA ON HIGH TENSIONS: North Korea Set To Install Satellite On Rocket / North Korean Engineers Checking Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) Rocket Sitting On Launch Pad

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA ON HIGH TENSIONS: North Korea Set To Install Satellite On Rocket / North Korean Engineers Checking Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) Rocket Sitting On Launch Pad 

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 10, 2012: Engineers are seen checking the Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) rocket sitting on a launch pad at the West Sea Satellite Launch Site, during a guided media tour by North Korean authorities in the northwest of Pyongyang April 8, 2012. 

North Korea has readied a rocket for a launch from a forested valley in its remote northwest this week that will showcase the reclusive state's ability to fire a missile with the capacity. (Photo - Reuters)

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA ON HIGH TENSIONS: North Korea Set To Install Satellite On Rocket / Visitor Poses In Front Of Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) Rocket Sitting On Launch Pad

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA ON HIGH TENSIONS: North Korea Set To Install Satellite On Rocket / Visitor Poses In Front Of Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) Rocket Sitting On Launch Pad 

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 10, 2012: A visitor poses with a soldier on guard in front of the Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) rocket sitting on a launch pad at the West Sea Satellite Launch Site, during a guided media tour by North Korean authorities in the northwest of Pyongyang April 8, 2012. 

North Korea has readied a rocket for a launch from a forested valley in its remote northwest this week that will showcase the reclusive state's ability to fire a missile with the capacity to hit the continental United States. Picture taken April 8, 2012. (Photo - Reuters)

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA ON HIGH TENSIONS: North Korea Set To Install Satellite On Rocket / South Korean Soldiers Watch TV News Showing North Korean Rocket On Launch Pad

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA ON HIGH TENSIONS: North Korea Set To Install Satellite On Rocket / South Korean Soldiers Watch TV News Showing North Korean Rocket On Launch Pad 

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 10, 2012: South Korean Army soldiers watch a TV news program which shows North Korea's Unha-3 rocket at Seoul train station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 9, 2012. 

North Korean space officials moved all three stages of the long-range rocket into position for a controversial launch, vowing Sunday to push ahead with their plan in defiance of international warnings against violating a ban on missile activity. (Photo - AP)

Monday, April 9, 2012

DTN News - LAAD SECURITY 2012: Oshkosh Defense Exhibits Protected Vehicle Capabilities At LAAD Security

DTN News - LAAD SECURITY 2012: Oshkosh Defense Exhibits Protected Vehicle Capabilities At LAAD Security

OSHKOSH, Wis. (April 9, 2012) — Personnel protection in Latin America is an increasing concern for corporate, municipal, federal and other government forces. Security and safety professionals will have an opportunity this week to learn more about the protected vehicle offerings from Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), at the LAAD Security 2012 exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 10-12.

Oshkosh will display its SandCat Tactical Protector Vehicle (TPV) at the show. The SandCat TPV combines the agility and drivability of a consumer truck with the protection capabilities of a tactical military vehicle.

“Our SandCat TPV is a highly customizable vehicle designed for public safety officials needing to increase their protective detail for special events such as the FIFA World Cup™ and the Olympic Games, as well as provide critical support needed for daily patrols in urban environments or off-road terrain,” said Serge Buchakjian, senior vice president and general manager of International Programs for Oshkosh Defense. “We back our vehicles and products with full life-cycle sustainment and support services anywhere in the world.”

Oshkosh Defense has more than 90 years of experience designing, manufacturing and sustaining world-class vehicles for governments and militaries around the world. Oshkosh uses a collaborative, integrated approach to meet customers’ needs, from vehicle design and flexible manufacturing to training and aftermarket sustainment. Oshkosh can also provide in-country manufacturing capabilities to provide lasting value to local economies. The company has produced more than 100,000 military-class trucks and trailers, with vehicle payloads that cover the complete light-to-heavy spectrum.

Oshkosh vehicles have been proven on severe off-road terrain and against a variety of modern threats, and used by militaries, special forces units and government agencies around the world. Oshkosh’s advanced technologies deliver capabilities such as extensive off-road mobility, exportable power, autonomous operation and integrated on-board diagnostics.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

DTN News - CANADA DEFENSE NEWS: Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay Goes Defensive Account F-35 Costs

DTN News - CANADA DEFENSE NEWS: Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay Goes Defensive Account F-35 Costs

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 8, 2012: Defence Minister Peter MacKay stood up for himself and his department Sunday, insisting the F-35 fiscal flub outlined in a recent auditor general's report was a miscommunication matter.

Auditor general Michael Ferguson published his debut report last week, indicated the stealth fighter jets would cost $25 billion -- not $15 billion as indicated by the federal government.

But in an interview with CTV's Question Period, MacKay blamed accounting issues for a $10 billion gap between the government's account of F-35 costs and the auditor general's projections.

"The $10 billion is money we are paying right now," MacKay said. "That is the money that goes to pay the pilots of the F-18 program and fuel, oil, upkeep of the existing fleet."

MacKay said he knew the full estimated cost of the jets in 2010 but insists Canadians were not misled.

"We have included that figure in estimates and information provided to the auditor general and that information goes back to 2010. Those figures are there for all to see," he said. "I don't agree that there was a manipulation of information."

Opposition parties disagree.

"We're talking about mismanagement here as well as dishonesty," NDP defence critic Jack Harris said on the same Sunday broadcast.

MacKay said the government and the auditor general worked from different timelines, causing the confusion.

The auditor general and a parliamentary budget officer used a 36-year model for their evaluations of the fighter jet program, but the Department of National Defence used a 20-year period.

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: China Troubled By North Korean Rocket Launch Plans

DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: China Troubled By North Korean Rocket Launch Plans

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 8, 2012: China's foreign minister said Sunday that Beijing is troubled by North Korea's plan to launch a long-range rocket and has urged more diplomacy to handle the situation, a measured response to a provocation that has unsettled the region.

Yang Jiechi said he discussed North Korea's launch plan during trilateral talks with his counterparts from Seoul and Tokyo in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo.

The foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea both said that a launch by North Korea would violate UN Security Council resolutions -- indicating their belief that the North should face sanctions if it goes through with the plan.

But China, the North's closest ally, didn't echo that view and instead urged further dialogue and communication.

"The Chinese side is troubled by the developments, and strongly encourages everyone involved on all sides, at high and low levels, to remain calm and reasonable," Yang told reporters. "These issues need to be worked out in a diplomatic and peaceful manner."

North Korea says the rocket will carry a satellite into orbit to study crops and natural resources. Washington and others call the launch a cover to test missile systems that could target parts of the United States.

There have been fears in Japan and South Korea that debris could fall from the rocket, expected to be launched in the coming week. Japan's defence minister has ordered missile units to intercept the rocket if it or its fragments threaten to hit Japan. Seoul has also warned it might shoot down any parts of the rocket heading for its territory.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said the key result of the talks was a plan to continue to work together to stop the launch.