New era for air force with modern jets
The arrival of six Gripen jet fighters today will usher in a modern era for the Royal Thai Air Force, commander Itthaporn Subhawong says.
The air force will take delivery of 12 Swedish-made Gripen fighters, worth almost 40 billion baht, after the cabinet approved the purchase of the jets in 2008 when Samak Sundaravej was the prime minister and defence minister.
The Gripen 39 C/D aircraft will replace the ageing F-5A/B jets. The F-5A/B aircraft will be completely phased out by the end of this year.
The first batch of the Gripen fighters is due to arrive at Don Muang air force base after flying out of Sweden on Feb18 and will be stationed at the Wing 7 air force base in Surat Thani.
The second batch of six Gripen jet fighters is scheduled to arrive next year.
ACM Itthaporn said yesterday he was convinced the jet fighters would bring modern and significant changes to the air force.With the fighters, the air force would be transformed to a network-oriented system, he said.
'The Gripen is like a new type of computer with all the modern stuff. Most importantly, the supplier has agreed to transfer all the technology to us,'' ACM Itthaporn said, adding that software for the fighters could be constantly updated.
He said the capabilities of fighter pilots would have to change completely as the new system on the jets would provide them with flight information linked to the other fighters on a screen before them.
ACM Itthaporn said the US had allowed the Secos-link system on the Gripen fighters to link with the system of the US-made F16 fighters.
An air force source said permission was obtained after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva raised the matter with US President Barack Obama during his visit to the US last month.
ACM Itthaporn said the air force was working closely with the navy to develop a data link system because the two forces would soon hold a joint military exercise and information on the Gripen fighters would be hooked up with navy ships.
The frigate HTMS Naresuan would be the first to be linked with the fighters, he said.
ACM Itthaporn said a Saab 340 Erieye airborne early warning aircraft that the air force also bought from the Swedish government would be connected to all the Gripen fighters.
The Saab 340 aircraft is now stationed at Wing 7 air force base.
He said the air force had also spent about 1.1 billion baht on building a hangar for the Gripen jets and the Saab 340 aircraft as well as ground stations and ground logistics support systems.
ACM Itthaporn said he would conduct test flights of the six Gripen jet fighters that would be delivered today.
The air force chief conducted test flights of Gripen fighters in Sweden in 2004 when he was chief of the directorate of RTAF operations.
The air force later decided to purchase the 12 Gripen fighters in 2007 and submitted a request to the cabinet the following year.
He said a cabinet meeting on Feb 15 also approved a budget of about 6.9billion baht to be spent on an upgrade for the air force's six F16 jet fighters that would be stationed at Wing 4, Takhli air force base in Nakhon Sawan province.
He thanked Prime Minister Abhisit for throwing his support behind the project and said the premier had a good understanding of the air force's needs.
''We are not getting any commission from the purchase of the air force jet fighters,'' ACM Itthaporn said.
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Selasa, 22 Februari 2011
Senin, 21 Februari 2011
Spy Behind the Weapons Procurement of Indonesia
NIS Behind Break-In at Indonesian Delegation
Three intruders who broke into the room of Indonesian presidential envoys at Seoul's Lotte Hotel on the morning of Feb. 16 were agents from the National Intelligence Service, it has emerged. A high-ranking government official said the NIS "tried to find out the negotiation strategy of the Indonesian delegation in pursuit of the national interest. It was an unintended consequence that they were caught."
Soon after some 50 Indonesian officials including Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa left for Cheong Wa Dae to meet President Lee Myung-bak, two men and a women broke into the room on the 19th floor of the Lotte Hotel, but they were surprised by one of the Indonesian officials while they were looking into laptops there and fled. It is uncertain whether the agents copied data from the laptop.
The NIS agents were apparently desperate to obtain Indonesia's negotiation strategy for the purchase of Korea's T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer jet, K2 Black Panther main battle tank, and portable surface-to-air missile. Korea is in fierce competition with Russia's Yak-130 trainer jet.
The government has been working hard to win an export deal after negotiations with the United Arab Emirates and Singapore faltered. One T-50 is priced at US$25 million, and the government aims to export 1,000 by 2030.
A government official said, "It seems that NIS took way too much risk due to this obsession with the export of the T-50." An intelligence official claimed it is "an open secret" that intelligence agencies of every country are engaged in a highly sophisticated battle for intelligence. "After the intrusion was reported in the media, the NIS exerted a great deal of effort through many channels to smooth over the situation," he added.
Police said earlier that due to the low resolution of the CCTV at the Lotte Hotel, they were unable to identify the intruders.
Sources : chosun
Three intruders who broke into the room of Indonesian presidential envoys at Seoul's Lotte Hotel on the morning of Feb. 16 were agents from the National Intelligence Service, it has emerged. A high-ranking government official said the NIS "tried to find out the negotiation strategy of the Indonesian delegation in pursuit of the national interest. It was an unintended consequence that they were caught."
Soon after some 50 Indonesian officials including Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa left for Cheong Wa Dae to meet President Lee Myung-bak, two men and a women broke into the room on the 19th floor of the Lotte Hotel, but they were surprised by one of the Indonesian officials while they were looking into laptops there and fled. It is uncertain whether the agents copied data from the laptop.
The NIS agents were apparently desperate to obtain Indonesia's negotiation strategy for the purchase of Korea's T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer jet, K2 Black Panther main battle tank, and portable surface-to-air missile. Korea is in fierce competition with Russia's Yak-130 trainer jet.
The government has been working hard to win an export deal after negotiations with the United Arab Emirates and Singapore faltered. One T-50 is priced at US$25 million, and the government aims to export 1,000 by 2030.
A government official said, "It seems that NIS took way too much risk due to this obsession with the export of the T-50." An intelligence official claimed it is "an open secret" that intelligence agencies of every country are engaged in a highly sophisticated battle for intelligence. "After the intrusion was reported in the media, the NIS exerted a great deal of effort through many channels to smooth over the situation," he added.
Police said earlier that due to the low resolution of the CCTV at the Lotte Hotel, they were unable to identify the intruders.
Sources : chosun
Sabtu, 19 Februari 2011
Singapore Military Procures BullsEye
TAIPEI - Singapore's Ministry of Defense will procure the next-generation Super BullsEye II Advanced Weapons Scoring System built by Singapore-based Stratech Systems Limited for $1.14 million. Stratech made the announcement on Feb. 16.
"This contract covers the supply, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning of an integrated bomb and gunnery scoring system," Stratech officials said.
The BullsEye II is an advanced weapons scoring system that fully automates the scoring, recording and management of firing results in weapons training and defense exercises. The system can be used for the army, navy or air force and is configurable for different terrains.
"Stratech has been in the forefront of advanced technologies," said David K.M. Chew, executive chairman. The company is principally engaged in the design, development, integration, implementation, maintenance and project management of information technology and advanced technology systems.
BullsEye is powered by Stratech's proprietary Intelligence Vision technologies, which is a "proven product that has been deployed and currently used by air forces and navies from several countries," according to a company press release. "The automated scoring system is capable of accurately scoring weapons impact day or night for air, sea and land forces and weapons development agencies."
In August 2009, the company sold the BullsEye II system to South Korea.
Sources : defencenews
"This contract covers the supply, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning of an integrated bomb and gunnery scoring system," Stratech officials said.
The BullsEye II is an advanced weapons scoring system that fully automates the scoring, recording and management of firing results in weapons training and defense exercises. The system can be used for the army, navy or air force and is configurable for different terrains.
"Stratech has been in the forefront of advanced technologies," said David K.M. Chew, executive chairman. The company is principally engaged in the design, development, integration, implementation, maintenance and project management of information technology and advanced technology systems.
BullsEye is powered by Stratech's proprietary Intelligence Vision technologies, which is a "proven product that has been deployed and currently used by air forces and navies from several countries," according to a company press release. "The automated scoring system is capable of accurately scoring weapons impact day or night for air, sea and land forces and weapons development agencies."
In August 2009, the company sold the BullsEye II system to South Korea.
Sources : defencenews
Jumat, 18 Februari 2011
First Australian LHD Launched in Spain
The hull of the first of the Royal Australian Navy’s two new amphibious ships has been launched in Spain, heralding a new era for Australia’s amphibious capability (all photos : Australian DoD)
LHD launch paves the way for amphibious transformation
The hull of the first of the Royal Australian Navy’s two new amphibious ships has been launched in Spain, heralding a new era for Australia’s amphibious capability.
Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Russ Crane, led the launch and said the event was enormously significant.
“These ships are officially known as Landing Helicopter Docks or LHDs and are the largest the Australian Navy has ever owned,” Vice Admiral Crane said.
LHD01's hull launch was held at the Navantia dockyards at Ferrol in northern Spain; the event having a distinct Australian feel as children of Australian diplomats joined the official delegation waving Australian flags.
A Canberra regional sparkling wine was broken over the Canberra Class ship’s hull.
Vicki Coates, wife of the late Rear Admiral Nigel Coates who commanded the previous HMAS Canberra, was the ‘launch lady’.
Vice Admiral Crane said with a new generation in technology would come a new way of thinking in terms of how Navy would operate and crew this new capability.
“We are well progressed in our planning for the LHD arrival,” he said.
“I am confident we will have the people and the knowhow by the time the first LHD comes on line.
“Most importantly, for now, this project is on time and on budget.” Both ships will be based at Garden Island in Sydney. Crewed by all three services, the LHD will mark a significant strengthening of the ADF’s amphibious capability and tri-service culture.
First of class, HMAS Canberra (LHD01) will arrive in Victoria next year where it will be fitted out before being accepted into service in 2014 with sister ship HMAS Adelaide (LHD02) to follow the year after.
Sources : defence.gov.au
Singapore to Raise Defence Budget by 5.4%
The government plans to spend S$12.08 billion (US$9.5 billion) on defence in the 2011 fiscal year, up from S$11.46 billion the year before.
Singapore's navy, army and air force will get S$11.53 billion to buy and maintain military equipment, for the upkeep of camps and for payment of salaries.
The city-state currently has a population of more than five million, a quarter of whom are foreigners.
Singapore's economy grew 14.5 percent in 2010, the fastest in Asia.
The defence budget is about five per cent of gross domestic product.
Sources : channelnewsasia
Kamis, 17 Februari 2011
Gates: China stealth fighter trails U.S. planes
WASHINGTON — The United States will retain a far bigger fleet of top-end fighter planes than China for years to come despite Beijing’s early test of a stealth-style jet that has stoked concern over its military buildup, the U.S. defense chief said Thursday
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told lawmakers that China faces a “long road” before deploying its J-20 stealth fighter in any numbers, and predicted a continuing “huge disparity” compared with America’s fleet of low-observable aircraft.
The chief of the Pacific Command, Adm. Robert Willard, acknowledged that China also has a “formidable” ballistic missile capability that has grown for two decades.
Willard said the United States was watching “very carefully,” and it was important for China to be open and hold a dialogue with the U.S. and other countries in the region about its intentions.
“If the two militaries are coming into contact with each other at the rate they are, then it’s important that my commanders on the high seas or my mission commanders in the air have enough familiarity with that counterpart military not to misjudge, miscommunicate or misunderstand,” he told journalists, alluding to concerns that a chance confrontation could spark conflict.
China’s military buildup has caused unease among its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific, with whom it has territorial disputes. China’s buildup also has raised questions about how long the United States can retain its military predominance in the region, which Washington views as vital for stability and policing sea lanes that keep for international trade moving.
China’s arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles, including one designed to target an aircraft carrier, and its growing surface and submarine fleet, could potentially constrain U.S. operations in waters of the western Pacific, although Willard maintained that China’s capabilities had not necessitated a rethinking of America’s military strategy for the region.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet alone includes five aircraft carrier strike groups, approximately 180 ships, 1,500 aircraft and 100,000 personnel.
China maintains that it has no offensive intentions, and sees its military capabilities as in keeping with its rising economic and diplomatic influence.
In a move seen by some as flagging the communist nation’s clout, however, China staged a test flight of its stealth jet during a visit by Gates to Beijing in January aimed at rekindling military ties.
Beijing had severed contacts earlier in response to the latest U.S. announcement of arms sales to Taiwan.
Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the test flight was between half and one year earlier than U.S. intelligence estimates. He played down its significance, saying the United States would retain far more “fifth generation” fighter jets than China for years.
“There’s still a huge disparity in terms of these aircraft,” Gates said. “This is their first low-observable aircraft and given the challenges we have had, and we have been at this for more than 20 years, they have a long road in front of them before this becomes a serious operational aircraft in any numbers.”
He said China may have 50 of the aircraft deployed by 2020, and a couple of hundred by 2025.
Despite rolling back acquisition of top-end F-35 jets for five years as part of budget cuts, Gates said the United States still will have 325 F-35 jets by the end of 2016, and in addition to its F-22 jets, would have in all about 850 fifth-generation aircraft by 2020.
He predicted the number would rise to 1,500 by 2025.
Sources : airforcetimes
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told lawmakers that China faces a “long road” before deploying its J-20 stealth fighter in any numbers, and predicted a continuing “huge disparity” compared with America’s fleet of low-observable aircraft.
The chief of the Pacific Command, Adm. Robert Willard, acknowledged that China also has a “formidable” ballistic missile capability that has grown for two decades.
Willard said the United States was watching “very carefully,” and it was important for China to be open and hold a dialogue with the U.S. and other countries in the region about its intentions.
“If the two militaries are coming into contact with each other at the rate they are, then it’s important that my commanders on the high seas or my mission commanders in the air have enough familiarity with that counterpart military not to misjudge, miscommunicate or misunderstand,” he told journalists, alluding to concerns that a chance confrontation could spark conflict.
China’s military buildup has caused unease among its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific, with whom it has territorial disputes. China’s buildup also has raised questions about how long the United States can retain its military predominance in the region, which Washington views as vital for stability and policing sea lanes that keep for international trade moving.
China’s arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles, including one designed to target an aircraft carrier, and its growing surface and submarine fleet, could potentially constrain U.S. operations in waters of the western Pacific, although Willard maintained that China’s capabilities had not necessitated a rethinking of America’s military strategy for the region.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet alone includes five aircraft carrier strike groups, approximately 180 ships, 1,500 aircraft and 100,000 personnel.
China maintains that it has no offensive intentions, and sees its military capabilities as in keeping with its rising economic and diplomatic influence.
In a move seen by some as flagging the communist nation’s clout, however, China staged a test flight of its stealth jet during a visit by Gates to Beijing in January aimed at rekindling military ties.
Beijing had severed contacts earlier in response to the latest U.S. announcement of arms sales to Taiwan.
Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the test flight was between half and one year earlier than U.S. intelligence estimates. He played down its significance, saying the United States would retain far more “fifth generation” fighter jets than China for years.
“There’s still a huge disparity in terms of these aircraft,” Gates said. “This is their first low-observable aircraft and given the challenges we have had, and we have been at this for more than 20 years, they have a long road in front of them before this becomes a serious operational aircraft in any numbers.”
He said China may have 50 of the aircraft deployed by 2020, and a couple of hundred by 2025.
Despite rolling back acquisition of top-end F-35 jets for five years as part of budget cuts, Gates said the United States still will have 325 F-35 jets by the end of 2016, and in addition to its F-22 jets, would have in all about 850 fifth-generation aircraft by 2020.
He predicted the number would rise to 1,500 by 2025.
Sources : airforcetimes
Israeli PM: Don't doubt Israel's ability
At a ceremony marking Martyrs Resistance Day in Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned in a televised speech Wednesday that if a war is imposed on Lebanon his fighters will liberate the Galilee.
"I say to the fighters of the Islamic resistance -- be ready. If a new war is imposed on Lebanon we may ask you to take the Galilee, to free the Galilee," Nasrallah declared.
"Whoever hides in a bunker should stay in the bunker," Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said referring to Nasrallah, who since the Second Lebanon War rarely appears in public and broadcasts all his speeches to his followers from his bunker.
The Netanyahu response to the Hezbollah leader's threats at a Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem was aired on national television networks.
"Nasrallah said he would capture the Galilee, I have news for you -- you won't," Netanyahu said. "No one should doubt Israel's strength or its ability to defend itself. "We have a strong army and we are a people of strong resolve. We seek peace with all of our neighbors, but the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is prepared to defend Israel from any of its enemies," Netanyahu declared.
Marking the third anniversary of the death of his deputy Imad Mughniyeh, killed by a car bomb in Damascus in February 2008, the Hezbollah chief warned his blood was not spent in vain and his death will be avenged.
"I want to assure you and tell the Israelis that they should be careful because the blood of Imad Mugniyeh will not go to waste," Nasrallah said in footage broadcast on Israel's Second Channel Wednesday night.
Israel this week stepped up security at its embassies abroad amid Hezbollah's threats to target Israeli interests due to the third anniversary of Mughniyeh's death. The Israeli government temporarily shut down four embassies and advised diplomats from those missions to remain in their homes.
Sources : upi
Rabu, 16 Februari 2011
Navy: Bahrain protests not affecting U.S. base
STUTTGART, Germany — It remains business as usual for U.S. military personnel stationed in Bahrain, where thousands of demonstrators have been staging protests against their autocratic government.
Raucous demonstrations continued Wednesday on the streets of Bahrain, but Navy officials said there has been no sign that the crowds intend to direct their hostility toward the roughly 4,200 servicemembers who live and work in the country.
“The protests are not directed at the U.S. military presence,” said Jennifer Stride, a spokeswoman for U.S. Naval Support Activity Bahrain. She added that the protests are not taking place in the vicinity of the naval base.
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Bahrain, a strategically vital nation that hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, is the latest Arab nation to experience massive political upheaval and calls for democratic reform. Fifth Fleet’s area of responsibility includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, parts of the Indian Ocean and several important shipping lanes.
According to NSA Bahrain, there are 2,250 military and civilians who live off base among the population. Currently, there are no plans to relocate those sailors and civilians to temporary housing on base, Stride said.
“Our Sailors, civilian personnel and family members have been advised to avoid sites where the protests are occurring,” Stride said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes. “There is no indication that providing any refuge on base is necessary.”
Stride declined to say if additional safety measures are being taken on base, explaining that force protection postures are not discussed publicly.
“We do not have any information at this time that suggests that planned protests are likely to cause significant disruptions,” Stride said. “We will continue to monitor the situation.”
Raucous demonstrations continued Wednesday on the streets of Bahrain, but Navy officials said there has been no sign that the crowds intend to direct their hostility toward the roughly 4,200 servicemembers who live and work in the country.
“The protests are not directed at the U.S. military presence,” said Jennifer Stride, a spokeswoman for U.S. Naval Support Activity Bahrain. She added that the protests are not taking place in the vicinity of the naval base.
Advertisement
Bahrain, a strategically vital nation that hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, is the latest Arab nation to experience massive political upheaval and calls for democratic reform. Fifth Fleet’s area of responsibility includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, parts of the Indian Ocean and several important shipping lanes.
According to NSA Bahrain, there are 2,250 military and civilians who live off base among the population. Currently, there are no plans to relocate those sailors and civilians to temporary housing on base, Stride said.
“Our Sailors, civilian personnel and family members have been advised to avoid sites where the protests are occurring,” Stride said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes. “There is no indication that providing any refuge on base is necessary.”
Stride declined to say if additional safety measures are being taken on base, explaining that force protection postures are not discussed publicly.
“We do not have any information at this time that suggests that planned protests are likely to cause significant disruptions,” Stride said. “We will continue to monitor the situation.”
DOD Releases Fiscal 2012 Budget Proposal
President Barack Obama today sent to Congress a proposed defense budget of $671 billion for fiscal 2012. The request for the Department of Defense (DoD) includes $553 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund base defense programs and $118 billion to support overseas contingency operations (OCO), primarily in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The fiscal 2012 budget continues the DoD reform agenda, seeking additional efficiencies across the entire defense enterprise, while also strengthening our national security capability.
“This budget represents a reasonable, responsible and sustainable level of funding, the minimum level of defense spending that is necessary, given the security challenges we are facing around the globe,” said Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The $553 billion for the base budget provides funding to take care of our people, which is our highest priority, and also provides substantial funding to build capability for possible future conflicts. The OCO portion totals $117.8 billion, $41.5 billion below the fiscal 2011 request of $159.3 billion. The proposal reflects the planned withdrawal of troops from Iraq by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2012 and a modest decline in funding for Afghanistan operations.
While this budget request seeks continued efficiencies in 2012 and beyond, the absence of an appropriation for fiscal 2011 threatens to cause serious inefficiencies and problems this year. The current continuing resolution, if it remains in effect for the rest of the year, will lead to delays and inefficient, start-and-stop management. It will rob the DoD of the flexibility needed to manage effectively, especially in time of war, and it will not provide the Department with enough resources to maintain training and support while also paying bills for military pay, benefits, and inflation. In short the continuing resolution represents a crisis at our doorstep, and the DoD strongly urges the Congress to pass a defense appropriation bill as part of the overall legislation to fund government activities in fiscal 2011.
Sources : defence aerospace
Selasa, 15 Februari 2011
Foreign agencies test security of U.S. networks
WASHINGTON — More than 100 foreign intelligence agencies have tried to breach U.S. defense computer networks, largely to steal military plans and weapons systems designs, a top Pentagon official said Tuesday.
Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said that while foreign governments and rogue states may try to launch more destructive attacks against military networks, most may stick to theft and spying because they are worried about a U.S. counterattack.
The greater threat, he said, are terror groups such as al-Qaida, who are more difficult to deter. Terrorists have vowed to unleash cyberattacks, and over time may be able to either develop their own malicious computer threats or buy them on the black market.
Lynn’s remarks, made at a cybersecurity conference in San Francisco and released in Washington, come as the U.S. government is struggling to ramp up its abilities to block cyberintrusions and to lay out policies for launching the high-tech attacks when needed. U.S. government sites are scanned and attacked millions of times a day, and there have been a number of serious breaches in recent years, including into the electric grid and Pentagon weapons contractors.
In a meeting with reporters after his speech, Lynn declined to specify how many of the 100 foreign intelligence agencies that he says have tried attacks on the U.S. were successful in breaching government defenses, saying that would include classified information. He said the attacks involved espionage, such as seeking weapons design or diplomatic information, and didn’t appear to be aimed at causing destruction of physical infrastructure.
The biggest challenge faced by the U.S. as it looks to better gird against attacks, Lynn said, is finding ways to share threat information with private industry — which owns or operates as much as 85 percent of the networks. Those include much of the nation’s critical infrastructure, ranging from the electric grid, banking and other financial systems and nuclear power plants.
The idea raises privacy concerns with the prospect of U.S. military or government eyes or ears on private networks.
Lynn said the government’s intelligence capabilities give it broad knowledge of cyberthreats, and the U.S. already has shared unclassified information on a limited basis with defense companies that have sensitive data on their networks. The challenge, he said, is developing the policies and legal structure so that classified information about threats can also be shared.
Lynn also unveiled two new programs that will allow the government and industry to exchange cybersecurity experts and make better use of National Guard and Reserve members who have technological expertise.
Sources : airforcetimes
Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said that while foreign governments and rogue states may try to launch more destructive attacks against military networks, most may stick to theft and spying because they are worried about a U.S. counterattack.
The greater threat, he said, are terror groups such as al-Qaida, who are more difficult to deter. Terrorists have vowed to unleash cyberattacks, and over time may be able to either develop their own malicious computer threats or buy them on the black market.
Lynn’s remarks, made at a cybersecurity conference in San Francisco and released in Washington, come as the U.S. government is struggling to ramp up its abilities to block cyberintrusions and to lay out policies for launching the high-tech attacks when needed. U.S. government sites are scanned and attacked millions of times a day, and there have been a number of serious breaches in recent years, including into the electric grid and Pentagon weapons contractors.
In a meeting with reporters after his speech, Lynn declined to specify how many of the 100 foreign intelligence agencies that he says have tried attacks on the U.S. were successful in breaching government defenses, saying that would include classified information. He said the attacks involved espionage, such as seeking weapons design or diplomatic information, and didn’t appear to be aimed at causing destruction of physical infrastructure.
The biggest challenge faced by the U.S. as it looks to better gird against attacks, Lynn said, is finding ways to share threat information with private industry — which owns or operates as much as 85 percent of the networks. Those include much of the nation’s critical infrastructure, ranging from the electric grid, banking and other financial systems and nuclear power plants.
The idea raises privacy concerns with the prospect of U.S. military or government eyes or ears on private networks.
Lynn said the government’s intelligence capabilities give it broad knowledge of cyberthreats, and the U.S. already has shared unclassified information on a limited basis with defense companies that have sensitive data on their networks. The challenge, he said, is developing the policies and legal structure so that classified information about threats can also be shared.
Lynn also unveiled two new programs that will allow the government and industry to exchange cybersecurity experts and make better use of National Guard and Reserve members who have technological expertise.
Sources : airforcetimes
B-17 vet back in air aboard a WWII-era bomber
CLEARWATER, Fla. — A day before his final mission aboard a B-17 bomber in World War II, Norbert Swierz sat down on his bunk and jotted down a poem for his mother back in Michigan.
“I go so gladly to my fate, whatever it may be. That I would have you shed no tears for me,” wrote the 23-year-old gunner, who had already survived the ditching of his first B-17 in the North Sea that summer of 1943. “Some men must die, that others must be free. And only God can say whom these shall be.”
The next day, Sept. 6, 1943, “Skeets” Swierz and the rest of the crew of the B-17 nicknamed “Bomb Boogie” took off from their base in England, but didn’t make it back. Shot down and taken prisoner, Swierz would spend the rest of his war days in a POW camp and not fly in another B-17 for close to 70 years.
The opportunity came again last Friday, and Swierz didn’t hesitate. He strapped himself into a restored Flying Fortress and held on as the four droning engines lifted the vintage bomber off a central Florida airstrip into heavy cloud cover.
“Wonderful,” the grinning 90-year-old man kept saying during the 45-minute flight. “Wonderful.”
Strapped into the radio operator’s chair halfway back, Swierz looked around and reeled off the name of the man on his crew who occupied the same seat on his old plane, and the name of the gunner who had squeezed into the ball turret underneath. That’s what he was thinking about most, the other guys.
“They’re all gone now, but I still have the memories,” he said. “They were all kids then, just like myself.”
Swierz’s flight came courtesy of the Collings Foundation, which tours the country with several planes restored to their World War II condition. More than 12,000 B-17s were manufactured for the war effort, and the Massachusetts-based charity owns one of a handful around the world that can still get off the ground. Foundation spokesman Hunter Chaney said it’s important to put the old veterans together with the vintage aircraft while that’s still possible.
“We’re in the last throes of this generation,” he said from Stow, Mass. “It’s an increasing rarity that we’re able to share this with our World War II veterans. It adds a sense of urgency to living history programs like this.”
A top-turret gunner in those days — which means he poked his head up into a plastic bubble above the cockpit and blazed away on twin .50-caliber machine guns — Swierz was one of the lucky ones.
Participation in those daylight, precision bombing raids on industrial targets in Germany and occupied France was dangerous and terrifying duty, dramatically recounted in movies such as “Twelve O’Clock High” and “Memphis Belle.” Two out of three young men — their average age was 20 — who flew on those missions did not survive the war. Swierz recalls returning from one especially bad mission and going to bed in an empty barracks.
“Let me tell you, that was a spooky night,” he said.
Swierz grew up in Chicago and Michigan — his mother lived in Dowagiac — and was 21 when he went to Canada to join the British Civilian Technical Corps, a mercenary outfit for those who wanted to help out the British before the United States was pulled into World War II. After Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and volunteered for B-17 duty.
He flew his first mission on March 18, 1943. His luck held out until June 22 when his plane — nicknamed “Old Ironsides” — was shot up so badly it had to be ditched in the North Sea after a bombing run on a German factory. He was plucked from the sea by a British rescue boat and spent weeks in the hospital recovering from a shrapnel wound to his leg.
His 14th mission — the bombing of a ball-bearing factory in Stuttgart, Germany — would be his last. B-17 crews needed 25 successful missions to rotate home, and most didn’t make it. The crew of the famous “Memphis Belle” — they shared a central England base with Swierz and his mates — was the first to do it in May 1943.
“Somehow or another, the Germans always knew we were coming and where we were going to bomb,” Swierz said. “The German fighters were something else. They were fearless. They would come right down through the middle of our formations, scattering B-17s all over hell.”
The attack on Stuttgart was a fiasco. German fighters and flak batteries battered the planes as they flew around looking for a break in the clouds so they could drop their bombs. Of the 338 B-17s on the mission, 45 were lost. Many ran out of gas.
“Bomb Boogie” was pounded by flak and enemy fighters soon after releasing its bombs, and the 10 young men bailed out over Stuttgart, their parachutes blooming in the gray sky. Swierz was captured immediately and spent the rest of the war in a prison camp in Austria.
Swierz and his fellow prisoners were liberated by Gen. George Patton’s Third Army in May 1945. He made it home and has done a lot of living since then. Wife, kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, a long military career, a long retirement. But his recollections of wartime duty in the B-17 have survived in fairly sharp focus.
Swierz’s oldest son, Greg, said his father didn’t start talking about those war experiences in depth until about 10 years ago. His family finally persuaded him to write down the memories.
“I think it was a pretty horrific adventure, and it was just a part of their lives that they just got through,” said Greg Swierz, a retired commercial pilot. “I think they realize now that they are living history, and we’ve got to get it out of them. They are real heroes.”
Sources : airforcetimes
“I go so gladly to my fate, whatever it may be. That I would have you shed no tears for me,” wrote the 23-year-old gunner, who had already survived the ditching of his first B-17 in the North Sea that summer of 1943. “Some men must die, that others must be free. And only God can say whom these shall be.”
The next day, Sept. 6, 1943, “Skeets” Swierz and the rest of the crew of the B-17 nicknamed “Bomb Boogie” took off from their base in England, but didn’t make it back. Shot down and taken prisoner, Swierz would spend the rest of his war days in a POW camp and not fly in another B-17 for close to 70 years.
The opportunity came again last Friday, and Swierz didn’t hesitate. He strapped himself into a restored Flying Fortress and held on as the four droning engines lifted the vintage bomber off a central Florida airstrip into heavy cloud cover.
“Wonderful,” the grinning 90-year-old man kept saying during the 45-minute flight. “Wonderful.”
Strapped into the radio operator’s chair halfway back, Swierz looked around and reeled off the name of the man on his crew who occupied the same seat on his old plane, and the name of the gunner who had squeezed into the ball turret underneath. That’s what he was thinking about most, the other guys.
“They’re all gone now, but I still have the memories,” he said. “They were all kids then, just like myself.”
Swierz’s flight came courtesy of the Collings Foundation, which tours the country with several planes restored to their World War II condition. More than 12,000 B-17s were manufactured for the war effort, and the Massachusetts-based charity owns one of a handful around the world that can still get off the ground. Foundation spokesman Hunter Chaney said it’s important to put the old veterans together with the vintage aircraft while that’s still possible.
“We’re in the last throes of this generation,” he said from Stow, Mass. “It’s an increasing rarity that we’re able to share this with our World War II veterans. It adds a sense of urgency to living history programs like this.”
A top-turret gunner in those days — which means he poked his head up into a plastic bubble above the cockpit and blazed away on twin .50-caliber machine guns — Swierz was one of the lucky ones.
Participation in those daylight, precision bombing raids on industrial targets in Germany and occupied France was dangerous and terrifying duty, dramatically recounted in movies such as “Twelve O’Clock High” and “Memphis Belle.” Two out of three young men — their average age was 20 — who flew on those missions did not survive the war. Swierz recalls returning from one especially bad mission and going to bed in an empty barracks.
“Let me tell you, that was a spooky night,” he said.
Swierz grew up in Chicago and Michigan — his mother lived in Dowagiac — and was 21 when he went to Canada to join the British Civilian Technical Corps, a mercenary outfit for those who wanted to help out the British before the United States was pulled into World War II. After Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and volunteered for B-17 duty.
He flew his first mission on March 18, 1943. His luck held out until June 22 when his plane — nicknamed “Old Ironsides” — was shot up so badly it had to be ditched in the North Sea after a bombing run on a German factory. He was plucked from the sea by a British rescue boat and spent weeks in the hospital recovering from a shrapnel wound to his leg.
His 14th mission — the bombing of a ball-bearing factory in Stuttgart, Germany — would be his last. B-17 crews needed 25 successful missions to rotate home, and most didn’t make it. The crew of the famous “Memphis Belle” — they shared a central England base with Swierz and his mates — was the first to do it in May 1943.
“Somehow or another, the Germans always knew we were coming and where we were going to bomb,” Swierz said. “The German fighters were something else. They were fearless. They would come right down through the middle of our formations, scattering B-17s all over hell.”
The attack on Stuttgart was a fiasco. German fighters and flak batteries battered the planes as they flew around looking for a break in the clouds so they could drop their bombs. Of the 338 B-17s on the mission, 45 were lost. Many ran out of gas.
“Bomb Boogie” was pounded by flak and enemy fighters soon after releasing its bombs, and the 10 young men bailed out over Stuttgart, their parachutes blooming in the gray sky. Swierz was captured immediately and spent the rest of the war in a prison camp in Austria.
Swierz and his fellow prisoners were liberated by Gen. George Patton’s Third Army in May 1945. He made it home and has done a lot of living since then. Wife, kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, a long military career, a long retirement. But his recollections of wartime duty in the B-17 have survived in fairly sharp focus.
Swierz’s oldest son, Greg, said his father didn’t start talking about those war experiences in depth until about 10 years ago. His family finally persuaded him to write down the memories.
“I think it was a pretty horrific adventure, and it was just a part of their lives that they just got through,” said Greg Swierz, a retired commercial pilot. “I think they realize now that they are living history, and we’ve got to get it out of them. They are real heroes.”
Sources : airforcetimes
What does the Defense Department want from Congress?
Well the Pentagon has sent its wish list up to Capitol Hill and there the battles will continue. There are many fights going on and some of the most pitched are around programs to modernize our forces, DefenseTech take a quick look at the funding requests for those.
"Let’s start of the with F-35 program. It’s getting a total of $9.4 billion under the request with more cash put into R&D funding for the jet while reducing the total buy of F-35s in 2012 to 32 jets and locking the troubled F-35B Short Take Off and Vertical Landing version into a two year probationary program.
Next, let’s talk long range nuclear strike. The Pentagon is asking for $2 billion to fund the Air Force’s new long range bomber and sustaining its Minuteman III ICBMs along with modernizing the Navy’s Trident III submarine launched ballistic missiles.
Another $1 billion is being requested to fund research into the SSBN(X) ballistic missile submarine replacement program.
The request also extends Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet buys through 2014 with $2.4 billion to buy 28 Super Hornets in FY-12. (These are being bought to offset delays in the F-35 program.) Another $1.1 billion is being requested to buy 12 EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets in FY-12."
There is more info on other programs at the link. The upcoming budget process ought to be even more interesting than usual with new Tea Party members looking to get our spending in line with our revenues. Crazy talk I know, but President Obama's proposed budget goes another 10 years without balancing the budget. Who does he think is going to keep lending to us if we never stop spending.
The problem we have is that our national security needs and the dangerous world we live in don't take time off because we have spent all the money we could find. Entitlements are the real budget killers and any real cuts will have to come out of those. The effects to our readiness and ability to deter others from causining trouble can start as soon as we are seen as weakening. We need to hold firm on the mainstays of our ability to project strength, and if we need to cut some federal spending I would prefer a few bureaucrats and regulators get the can, rather than the folks building the weapons that will protect us all.
We are betting our future security on the F-35 as our main plane. The program has had some trouble and as noted the vertical takeoff version is on double secret probation, but they other two variants are doing well.
"Military and civilian test pilots in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program said they are making good progress in testing the stealth aircraft's ability to fly at various speeds and altitudes, take off and land vertically, and operate its avionics.
Testers said the new single-engine warplane has been reliably tested up to Mach 1.2 in maneuvers up to 1 G. They are testing its ability to handle maneuvers of up to 5 Gs -- five times the force of gravity -- and angles of attack up to 20 degrees."
There is just something completely awesome about afterburner.
"Let’s start of the with F-35 program. It’s getting a total of $9.4 billion under the request with more cash put into R&D funding for the jet while reducing the total buy of F-35s in 2012 to 32 jets and locking the troubled F-35B Short Take Off and Vertical Landing version into a two year probationary program.
Next, let’s talk long range nuclear strike. The Pentagon is asking for $2 billion to fund the Air Force’s new long range bomber and sustaining its Minuteman III ICBMs along with modernizing the Navy’s Trident III submarine launched ballistic missiles.
Another $1 billion is being requested to fund research into the SSBN(X) ballistic missile submarine replacement program.
The request also extends Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet buys through 2014 with $2.4 billion to buy 28 Super Hornets in FY-12. (These are being bought to offset delays in the F-35 program.) Another $1.1 billion is being requested to buy 12 EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets in FY-12."
There is more info on other programs at the link. The upcoming budget process ought to be even more interesting than usual with new Tea Party members looking to get our spending in line with our revenues. Crazy talk I know, but President Obama's proposed budget goes another 10 years without balancing the budget. Who does he think is going to keep lending to us if we never stop spending.
The problem we have is that our national security needs and the dangerous world we live in don't take time off because we have spent all the money we could find. Entitlements are the real budget killers and any real cuts will have to come out of those. The effects to our readiness and ability to deter others from causining trouble can start as soon as we are seen as weakening. We need to hold firm on the mainstays of our ability to project strength, and if we need to cut some federal spending I would prefer a few bureaucrats and regulators get the can, rather than the folks building the weapons that will protect us all.
We are betting our future security on the F-35 as our main plane. The program has had some trouble and as noted the vertical takeoff version is on double secret probation, but they other two variants are doing well.
"Military and civilian test pilots in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program said they are making good progress in testing the stealth aircraft's ability to fly at various speeds and altitudes, take off and land vertically, and operate its avionics.
Testers said the new single-engine warplane has been reliably tested up to Mach 1.2 in maneuvers up to 1 G. They are testing its ability to handle maneuvers of up to 5 Gs -- five times the force of gravity -- and angles of attack up to 20 degrees."
There is just something completely awesome about afterburner.
Missile Agency Seeks Funds for Defensive Systems
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2011 – A ground-based system for homeland defense and interceptors for regional defense highlight the Missile Defense Agency’s portion of the Defense Department’s fiscal 2012 budget request.
The agency requested more than $8.6 billion for fiscal 2012, compared to last year’s requested $8.4 billion, Navy Rear Adm. Randall M. Hendrickson, the agency’s deputy director, told Pentagon reporters yesterday via video teleconference from Colorado Springs, Colo.
“The 2012 budget is predicated on and assumes the eventual approval of [fiscal] 2011's requested levels of $8.41 billion," he said.
If approved, the $8.6 billion budget would be used to pay for completing the initial fielding of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System for homeland defense, in addition to enhancing regional defenses with at least two interceptor systems against short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, Hendrickson said.
Homeland security projects include completing the purchase of six ground-based interceptors and the purchase of five more, as well as finishing 14 missile-launching silos at Fort Greeley, Alaska, and starting work on a new East Coast communications terminal, the admiral said.
Regional defense plans include purchasing 68 Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense interceptors, six launchers and a tactical station group. The plan calls for purchasing 46 standard sea-based interceptors, among other projects.
The third phase, Robust Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Defense, is expected to be completed in 2018. System improvements would include expanded shooter coordination and improved radar, Hendrickson said.
The fourth phase, Early Intercept and Regional Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Defense, is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
The projects to complete the third and fourth phases include completing the preliminary design for the Precision Tracking Space System satellite, and finishing the final designs and engineering models for its spacecraft bus, optical payload and communication payload components.
Sources : militaryavenue
The agency requested more than $8.6 billion for fiscal 2012, compared to last year’s requested $8.4 billion, Navy Rear Adm. Randall M. Hendrickson, the agency’s deputy director, told Pentagon reporters yesterday via video teleconference from Colorado Springs, Colo.
“The 2012 budget is predicated on and assumes the eventual approval of [fiscal] 2011's requested levels of $8.41 billion," he said.
If approved, the $8.6 billion budget would be used to pay for completing the initial fielding of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System for homeland defense, in addition to enhancing regional defenses with at least two interceptor systems against short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, Hendrickson said.
Homeland security projects include completing the purchase of six ground-based interceptors and the purchase of five more, as well as finishing 14 missile-launching silos at Fort Greeley, Alaska, and starting work on a new East Coast communications terminal, the admiral said.
Regional defense plans include purchasing 68 Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense interceptors, six launchers and a tactical station group. The plan calls for purchasing 46 standard sea-based interceptors, among other projects.
The third phase, Robust Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Defense, is expected to be completed in 2018. System improvements would include expanded shooter coordination and improved radar, Hendrickson said.
The fourth phase, Early Intercept and Regional Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Defense, is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
The projects to complete the third and fourth phases include completing the preliminary design for the Precision Tracking Space System satellite, and finishing the final designs and engineering models for its spacecraft bus, optical payload and communication payload components.
Sources : militaryavenue
Senin, 14 Februari 2011
Iranian security forces in place ahead of opposition rallies
Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- The Iranian government kept a heavy security presence across central portions of the capital Monday, and blocked the homes of opposition leaders after they called for rallies in support of the uprising in Egypt.
Last week, the Iranian government rounded up activists after opposition leaders Mehdi Karrubi and Mir Hossein Moussavi called for supporters to gather at Tehran's Azadi Square -- the site of mass protests by Iran's opposition movement after the disputed 2009 presidential elections.
Security forces on Monday blocked roads leading to Moussavi's home, his opposition website Kaleme reported. The website also said phone lines and cell phone service to the area have been cut off.
Plain-clothes security forces blocked Moussavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, from leaving their home Monday, said Kaleme and another opposition website, Saham News.
"This is what we've been told do," security forces said when Rahnavard asked why she couldn't leave, Sahan reported. "We're sorry."
Surveillance cameras, installed outside Karrubi's home have been stolen and destroyed, Kalame reported.
About 50 riot police on motorcycles were seen heading toward Azadi Square, while 100 more were stationed at Ferdowsi Square in the city center.
Iranian authorities had warned against holding the rally, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
"We definitely see them as enemies of the revolution and spies, and we will confront them with force," Revolutionary Guard Cmdr. Hossein Hamedani told IRNA.
The government's stance on the rally was in stark contrast to its position in the days following the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The head of Iran's National Security Council and other Iranian authorities had lauded this development, comparing "the Egyptian Revolution with the victory of Iran's Islamic Revolution," according to Iran's state-run media.
The White House says such threats to stifle dissent and mass communication suggest that Iran's government is not willing to let its people voice their views and embrace freedom.
"They are scared," then-press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday, hours after Mubarak stepped down.
"That's why they threatened to kill anybody that tries to do this," Gibbs of the Iranian government. "That's why they have shut off all measure of communication."
Over the weekend, Iranian authorities blocked the word "Bahman" -- the 11th month of the Persian calendar -- from Internet searches within the country, according to an opposition website.
The measure appears to be an effort by Iranian authorities to obstruct access to several websites that are promoting the rally -- the 25th day of Bahman, Saham News reported Saturday.
Sources : cnn
Last week, the Iranian government rounded up activists after opposition leaders Mehdi Karrubi and Mir Hossein Moussavi called for supporters to gather at Tehran's Azadi Square -- the site of mass protests by Iran's opposition movement after the disputed 2009 presidential elections.
Security forces on Monday blocked roads leading to Moussavi's home, his opposition website Kaleme reported. The website also said phone lines and cell phone service to the area have been cut off.
Plain-clothes security forces blocked Moussavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, from leaving their home Monday, said Kaleme and another opposition website, Saham News.
"This is what we've been told do," security forces said when Rahnavard asked why she couldn't leave, Sahan reported. "We're sorry."
Surveillance cameras, installed outside Karrubi's home have been stolen and destroyed, Kalame reported.
About 50 riot police on motorcycles were seen heading toward Azadi Square, while 100 more were stationed at Ferdowsi Square in the city center.
Iranian authorities had warned against holding the rally, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
"We definitely see them as enemies of the revolution and spies, and we will confront them with force," Revolutionary Guard Cmdr. Hossein Hamedani told IRNA.
The government's stance on the rally was in stark contrast to its position in the days following the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The head of Iran's National Security Council and other Iranian authorities had lauded this development, comparing "the Egyptian Revolution with the victory of Iran's Islamic Revolution," according to Iran's state-run media.
The White House says such threats to stifle dissent and mass communication suggest that Iran's government is not willing to let its people voice their views and embrace freedom.
"They are scared," then-press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday, hours after Mubarak stepped down.
"That's why they threatened to kill anybody that tries to do this," Gibbs of the Iranian government. "That's why they have shut off all measure of communication."
Over the weekend, Iranian authorities blocked the word "Bahman" -- the 11th month of the Persian calendar -- from Internet searches within the country, according to an opposition website.
The measure appears to be an effort by Iranian authorities to obstruct access to several websites that are promoting the rally -- the 25th day of Bahman, Saham News reported Saturday.
Sources : cnn
Minggu, 13 Februari 2011
Navy's Frigate Systems To Get Upgrade
HMNZS Te Kaha (photo : worldisround)
Upgrade making frigates more versatile
The second phase of a $58 million project to upgrade systems aboard the Navy frigates Te Kaha and Te Mana has begun, Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said today.
“Our Navy works closely with other countries and is a valued international partner in our region’s security arrangements.
“This upgrade in our frigates’ capability will improve the performance and extend the range of conditions in which they are effective,” he said.
The Minister said that design and manufacturing contracts have been awarded to Siemens (NZ) Ltd, Noske-Kaiser NZ Ltd, Australian Marine Technologies Pty Ltd, and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Australia.
The second phase of a $58 million project to upgrade systems aboard the Navy frigates Te Kaha and Te Mana has begun, Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said today.
“Our Navy works closely with other countries and is a valued international partner in our region’s security arrangements.
“This upgrade in our frigates’ capability will improve the performance and extend the range of conditions in which they are effective,” he said.
The Minister said that design and manufacturing contracts have been awarded to Siemens (NZ) Ltd, Noske-Kaiser NZ Ltd, Australian Marine Technologies Pty Ltd, and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Australia.
HMNZS Te Mana (photo : RNZNavy)“The ANZAC Platform Systems Upgrade (PSU) contracts will allow the Navy to leverage off the technology developments that have been made over the past 20 years,” the Minister said.
The contracts awarded are for the upgrade of the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) and the Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) system on board the ships. The upgraded IPMS will provide improved control and monitoring systems and will enable the introduction of more automation.
The upgrade of the HVAC system will reduce the effects of temperature on the performance and availability of a number of key systems, as well as improving conditions for the crew.
The ANZAC frigates are the mainstay of the Navy’s combat force, and have a range of over 7000 nautical miles. They are armed with a five-inch gun, torpedoes, air defence missiles and close-in weapons systems for self-defence.
The frigates also carry a SH2G Seasprite helicopter armed with air-to-surface missiles, making these ships the sharp end of New Zealand’s maritime defences.
The upgrade work will be carried out in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Germany.
Sources : Beehive
Sabtu, 12 Februari 2011
Engineer Marines begin civil development projects in Durzay
In January, Marines with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division (Forward), conducted a one-day clearing operation in order to drive out Taliban forces occupying Durzay and surrounding areas.
Immediately following the successful completion of the operation, engineers and heavy equipment operators with Combat Logistics Battalion 3, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), constructed two bridges and improved several stretches of road leading into Durzay. Working continuously, approximately 25 Marines with CLB-3’s Engineer Company completed these engineering projects in less than three days.
These combat engineers have conducted several civil development projects throughout Afghanistan’s Helmand province since arriving in Afghanistan last October, but this was the first time they have operated in Durzay. Likewise, many Durzay residents had never seen any coalition forces prior to 2/1’s arrival and CLB-3’s supporting operations.
According to 1st Lt. Elizabeth Stroud, 25, platoon commander, Engineer Company, CLB-3, 1st MLG (FWD), in the nearly 10 years that coalition forces have spent operating in Afghanistan, January marked the first time Durzay residents had seen examples of a U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
“I’ve spoken with many of the residents in Durzay, and they are very thankful for our work here,” said Stroud, a native of Hutto, Texas. “In talking with them, I found that they realize [our] ultimate goal is to provide them with freedom, and that the Taliban has been driven out. We’re also thankful that [the clearing operation] has provided us this opportunity to be some of the first individuals to interact with [Durzay’s] residents.”
Due to the Marines’ interaction and the Afghan citizens’ appreciation for CLB-3’s support, the engineering operation was an overwhelmingly positive experience for both parties.
One local Durzay resident says he feels much safer now that Marines have arrived in his community to help dispel Taliban forces occupying his village. The Durzay resident is a 28-year-old farmer who had never seen any coalition forces prior to January.
“I am very happy with the Marines because they have provided a huge change in this village,” said the Durzay resident, through an interpreter. “The constant patrols and these [projects] will help Durzay. Marines first came here a couple of weeks ago, and already I can see and feel a difference.”
Sources : waronterrornews
Wounded Warrior Inspired by New Sport
When Anderson took up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he found things were a little different from his previous wrestling experience.
"When I first started doing Jiu Jitsu without a leg, the first thing that I noticed was I was a really good wrestler and body control is something that I was very good at," he says.
Tyler Anderson lost his leg while on patrol in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
Anderson lost his leg patrolling in Kandahar Province, on his second tour in Afghanistan.
“We sent a team around for security and I went to clear the road, once I thought the road was clear, I looked back to call my team forward, that took pressure off of the mine that I had been stepping on, it exploded. Initially it took off my leg below the knee, a finger, and a lot of shrapnel on the inside of my leg.”
While he was in the hospital after his injury, the decorated veteran found his calling.
“Once you get injured you come to the hospital, it’s kind of tough to be just sitting in a wheelchair and get taken out of that lifestyle," says Anderson. "For me Jiu Jitsu is really a release, it’s a form of helping me focus. I’ll admit that being active and missing a leg is a totally new world that you don’t know about. It’s a little scary to think that you might not be able to do the active things that you use to do.”
“Luis himself came to the hospital asked me if I wanted to do Jiu Jitsu and I jumped right on it, I was very excited," says Anderson. "It’s guys like him that give us the opportunity to take the time and want to get in there and show us that you know you have a disability but you can still do the things that everybody else does.”
Pantoja teaches Jiu Jitsu for the Wounded Warriors’ project at the Walter Reed Medical Facility in Washington. It's a rehabilitation center where injured American soldiers come for treatment.
“I’ve been working with Tyler for over six months, and you know he s a very dedicated student, he picks things up very fast and it’s actually satisfying to see people improve overall," says Pantoja. "I’ve seen what Jiu Jitsu has done with my life. Pretty much all my friendships come from Jiu Jitsu, so I see what it can do to people and how motivating it is."
Teaching amputees poses its own challenges and is also a learning process for the instructor.
“I have to think a little bit harder about how can I adapt my techniques for these guys. Their balance might be a little compromised due to, for example, an amputation,” says Pantoja. “To be honest with you it’s not just me teaching them, I learn a lot from them, and we kind of throw back and forth ideas. So it has actually made me grow as an instructor, as a Jiu Jitsu practitioner in general. I’ve learned a lot just working with these guys.”
Pantoja’s friendship and teaching helped speed up Anderson’s recovery. The soldier has learned how to use his new body, and continues changing with the world around him.
The Purple Heart recipient says the message is simple. “Really the biggest thing is just to get out there and do it. Don’t give up. That’s about it. That’s all you can do is just keep on.”
Sources : waronterrornews
Kamis, 10 Februari 2011
Police: Death of Kadena airman being treated as homicide
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Japanese police are treating the death of a Kadena airman over the weekend as a homicide, a police spokesman said Monday evening.
Tech. Sgt. Curtis Evan Eccleston, 30, was found dead around noon Sunday in an off-base apartment he shared with his wife in the Mihama district near Camp Lester, according to Japanese police. An autopsy by Japanese authorities determined the airman bled to death from a cut on his neck, a police spokesman said.
The death is under joint investigation by Japanese authorities and the U.S. military. The Air Force issued a statement of condolence for Eccleston on Monday but said it had no new information to release.
Eccleston, who was assigned to the 733rd Air Mobility Squadron, likely died sometime around dawn on Sunday, according to estimates by investigators. Police said there were no signs of a struggle in the apartment, and the apartment door was unlocked when a fellow servicemember came to visit at noon Sunday and discovered the dead man.
The apartment is located in the Mihama area of Chatan, which is a short walk from the front gate of Camp Lester and is popular among U.S. servicemembers because of its shopping areas and public beaches.
Police would not comment on Japanese media reports that there might have been a disturbance at Eccleston’s apartment the night before he was found dead.
For most of Sunday afternoon, the apartment building where the incident occurred, which sits above a tattoo parlor and other businesses, was taped off and surrounded by Japanese and U.S. military authorities, including the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
Japanese authorities draped a large blue tarp over balconies at the building to obscure views of the scene.
Sources : stripes
Tech. Sgt. Curtis Evan Eccleston, 30, was found dead around noon Sunday in an off-base apartment he shared with his wife in the Mihama district near Camp Lester, according to Japanese police. An autopsy by Japanese authorities determined the airman bled to death from a cut on his neck, a police spokesman said.
The death is under joint investigation by Japanese authorities and the U.S. military. The Air Force issued a statement of condolence for Eccleston on Monday but said it had no new information to release.
Eccleston, who was assigned to the 733rd Air Mobility Squadron, likely died sometime around dawn on Sunday, according to estimates by investigators. Police said there were no signs of a struggle in the apartment, and the apartment door was unlocked when a fellow servicemember came to visit at noon Sunday and discovered the dead man.
The apartment is located in the Mihama area of Chatan, which is a short walk from the front gate of Camp Lester and is popular among U.S. servicemembers because of its shopping areas and public beaches.
Police would not comment on Japanese media reports that there might have been a disturbance at Eccleston’s apartment the night before he was found dead.
For most of Sunday afternoon, the apartment building where the incident occurred, which sits above a tattoo parlor and other businesses, was taped off and surrounded by Japanese and U.S. military authorities, including the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
Japanese authorities draped a large blue tarp over balconies at the building to obscure views of the scene.
Sources : stripes
Marine Corps watching Army carbine search
As the Army prepares for a two-year, $30 million competition to identify a possible new carbine, the Marine Corps is watching closely and evaluating what its own future weapons should look like.
Marine officials still plan the service’s infantry weapons around the 5.56mm M16A4 service rifle, but “that doesn’t mean we can’t be getting smart” about other options, said Lt. Col. Mark Brinkman, head of the infantry weapons program at Quantico, Va.-based Marine Corps Systems Command.
“The thought process for us is very similar to what’s going on in the Army,” he said Feb. 1 at the Soldier Technology U.S. conference in Arlington, Va.
The Army released a draft request for proposals for its carbine competition Jan. 31. The desired weapon must “support future system enhancements for accuracy, lethality, reliability, signature suppression, ammunition improvements, maintenance and other weapon/accessory technologies,” the RFP said. No caliber restrictions were set in the document.
The Army intends to issue up to three indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts in a three-phase competition, said Army Col. Douglas Tamilio, project manager for soldier weapons. The Army will assess whether submissions can be mass-produced in the U.S. in the first phase. The second phase calls for the firing of at least 700,000 rounds, with the Army whittling competitors down to three rifles or fewer for a final third phase.
Soldiers will fire 850,000 rounds in phase three, compiling reams of data for the Army. The weapons will be tested to their destruction point to determine whether they maintain accuracy through their entire life cycle — something the military has not tested before.
To win a mass-production contract, the winning company also must exceed the ability of the M4A1 currently fielded in Afghanistan. Army officials have launched an aggressive campaign to enhance the M4A1, with a heavier, more durable barrel; strengthened sight rails; a piston-charged operating system and the ability to fire in full-automatic mode.
“We’re going to say, ‘Here’s weapon X that won the competition,’” Tamilio said, speaking at the same conference. “Is it worth buying it instead of using the M4A1?”
The competition leaves Marine officials playing the waiting game. With its massive size and budget, the Army can afford to test options the Corps cannot. If they like what they see, Marine officials could adopt the solution the Army identifies, at least to replace the Corps’ existing arsenal of M4s.
Nearly all infantry soldiers use M4s, but in the Corps, they are fielded primarily to vehicle operators and other Marines whose jobs render the M16A4 too cumbersome. The trade-off is accuracy and stopping power, of which the M16A4’s longer 20-inch barrel offers more. The M4 has a 14.5-inch barrel, making it difficult for service members to take down targets beyond 200 yards.
Brinkman said the Corps eventually has tough choices to face about its rifles, like whether fielding a new weapon, or a family of new weapons, makes more sense.
Advancements in the weapons industry also may allow the Corps to explore debates it had put aside, like whether it should replace its arsenal of rifles with more powerful 7.62mm rifles. Fielding weapons chambered for larger ammunition has been debated for years, but the Corps hasn’t swapped because the weapon’s larger recoil affects accuracy, Brinkman said. Industry may eventually develop a convincing way to mitigate the recoil and get the Corps’ attention, he said.
Marine officials still plan the service’s infantry weapons around the 5.56mm M16A4 service rifle, but “that doesn’t mean we can’t be getting smart” about other options, said Lt. Col. Mark Brinkman, head of the infantry weapons program at Quantico, Va.-based Marine Corps Systems Command.
“The thought process for us is very similar to what’s going on in the Army,” he said Feb. 1 at the Soldier Technology U.S. conference in Arlington, Va.
The Army released a draft request for proposals for its carbine competition Jan. 31. The desired weapon must “support future system enhancements for accuracy, lethality, reliability, signature suppression, ammunition improvements, maintenance and other weapon/accessory technologies,” the RFP said. No caliber restrictions were set in the document.
The Army intends to issue up to three indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts in a three-phase competition, said Army Col. Douglas Tamilio, project manager for soldier weapons. The Army will assess whether submissions can be mass-produced in the U.S. in the first phase. The second phase calls for the firing of at least 700,000 rounds, with the Army whittling competitors down to three rifles or fewer for a final third phase.
Soldiers will fire 850,000 rounds in phase three, compiling reams of data for the Army. The weapons will be tested to their destruction point to determine whether they maintain accuracy through their entire life cycle — something the military has not tested before.
To win a mass-production contract, the winning company also must exceed the ability of the M4A1 currently fielded in Afghanistan. Army officials have launched an aggressive campaign to enhance the M4A1, with a heavier, more durable barrel; strengthened sight rails; a piston-charged operating system and the ability to fire in full-automatic mode.
“We’re going to say, ‘Here’s weapon X that won the competition,’” Tamilio said, speaking at the same conference. “Is it worth buying it instead of using the M4A1?”
The competition leaves Marine officials playing the waiting game. With its massive size and budget, the Army can afford to test options the Corps cannot. If they like what they see, Marine officials could adopt the solution the Army identifies, at least to replace the Corps’ existing arsenal of M4s.
Nearly all infantry soldiers use M4s, but in the Corps, they are fielded primarily to vehicle operators and other Marines whose jobs render the M16A4 too cumbersome. The trade-off is accuracy and stopping power, of which the M16A4’s longer 20-inch barrel offers more. The M4 has a 14.5-inch barrel, making it difficult for service members to take down targets beyond 200 yards.
Brinkman said the Corps eventually has tough choices to face about its rifles, like whether fielding a new weapon, or a family of new weapons, makes more sense.
Advancements in the weapons industry also may allow the Corps to explore debates it had put aside, like whether it should replace its arsenal of rifles with more powerful 7.62mm rifles. Fielding weapons chambered for larger ammunition has been debated for years, but the Corps hasn’t swapped because the weapon’s larger recoil affects accuracy, Brinkman said. Industry may eventually develop a convincing way to mitigate the recoil and get the Corps’ attention, he said.
Royal Navy Merlins fly to the Mediterrania
A Royal Navy helicopter squadron is taking part in NATO's largest Mediterranean anti-submarine exercise, Proud Manta, for the first time.
Sources : mod.uk
A Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD]
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD]
Merlin Mk1 maritime patrol helicopters from 814 Naval Air Squadron (also known as 'The Flying Tigers') have flown 1,400 miles (2,250km) across Europe from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Helston, Cornwall, to Sicily in order to take part in the exercise and practise hunting submarines.
Run by NATO, Exercise Proud Manta (formally Noble Manta) sees ships, aircraft and submarines from the USA, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, Greece and Turkey, plus hosts Italy, converging on the central Mediterranean for a week.
The exercise provides a realistic, challenging training environment for all participants in order to improve the readiness, proficiency and tactical skills of all the units taking part. It gives the Merlin crews an excellent opportunity to practise their primary role of anti-submarine warfare as they operate against a wide variety of exercise 'adversaries' not normally encountered in British waters.
Run by NATO, Exercise Proud Manta (formally Noble Manta) sees ships, aircraft and submarines from the USA, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, Greece and Turkey, plus hosts Italy, converging on the central Mediterranean for a week.
The exercise provides a realistic, challenging training environment for all participants in order to improve the readiness, proficiency and tactical skills of all the units taking part. It gives the Merlin crews an excellent opportunity to practise their primary role of anti-submarine warfare as they operate against a wide variety of exercise 'adversaries' not normally encountered in British waters.
An 814 NAS Merlin launches a Sting Ray practice torpedo during last year's Auriga exercise off the USA
[Picture: LA(Phot) Gregg Macready, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
[Picture: LA(Phot) Gregg Macready, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
814 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) personnel, including aircrew and engineers, will be hosted by the US Navy at Naval Air Station Sigonella in eastern Sicily for the duration of the exercise.
The Commanding Officer of 814 NAS, Commander Darran Goldsmith, said:
The Commanding Officer of 814 NAS, Commander Darran Goldsmith, said:
"Proud Manta will provide the opportunity for 814 to hone its anti-submarine warfare skills whilst working closely with other NATO maritime air, surface and sub-surface forces.
"Additionally, for the aircrew new to the front line, the transit to and from Sicily will offer excellent navigation training and experience. Interaction with our Italian Merlin counterparts in terms of engineering practices and flying procedures is a most welcome bonus in an exercise which promises much in a concentrated period of focused tactical activity."
Sources : mod.uk
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