AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 26 May 2011 16:41 WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives has broadened the type of Chinese entities barred from receiving Pentagon contracts amid growing unease in Washington over China's expanding military might.Under the amendment, passed by voice vote May 25, all entities owned by or affiliated with the Chinese government are prohibited from providing defense articles to the United States and the U.S. secretary of defense must report to Congress 15 days before any planned waiver of the ban."With China making significant progress in the defense and aerospace industries it is critical that we ensure U.S. national security is protected and that the highly...
France, Russia Reach Agreement on Warship Deal
on Thursday, May 26, 2011
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 26 May 2011 08:19 DEAUVILLE, France - France and Russia have finalized an unprecedented deal for Paris to sell four powerful modern warships to Moscow, President Nicolas Sarkozy and his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev said May 26."All talks have been completed. The contract will be signed shortly," Medvedev told reporters after holding bilateral talks with his host Sarkozy ahead of the G8 summit in the northern French resort of Deauville."The elements of the signing have been resolved. The signature will take place within a fortnight," Sarkozy said.Under the plan, two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships will be built in France and two in Russia to the French design,...
Some Rises, Drops in 2011-12 NZ Defense Budget
on Thursday, May 26, 2011
By NICK LEE-FRAMPTON Published: 25 May 2011 05:08 WELLINGTON - New Zealand's defense budget will increase by a nominal 2 percent for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, rising to 2.9 billion NZ dollars, according to figures released by the government.The budget, announced May 19, continues to give the largest slice of the New Zealand Defence Force's dollars to the Army, although for the second year in succession, the Army's share has shrunk - from 843 million NZ dollars last year to 832 million, including more than 380 million NZ dollars for land combat forces.The Army's loss is arguably the Navy's gain, as their budget has increased by 20 million NZ dollars to almost 693 million NZ dollars.The service's...
N. Korea Again Denies Sinking S. Korea Warship
on Monday, May 16, 2011
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 15 May 2011 10:15 SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea on May 15 accused South Korea of inventing allegations against it to raise tension and repeated denials of involvement in a deadly ship sinking and a damaging cyber-attack on a bank."We strongly urge the group of traitors to own responsibility for faking up the conspiratorial farces doing harm to the fellow countrymen and make an official apology before the nation," the North's top leadership body the National Defense Commission (NDC) said, referring to the South's leaders.The North has repeatedly denied involvement in the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan, which killed 46, near the disputed sea border...
U.S. Rolls Out Red Carpet for China Military Chief
on Sunday, May 15, 2011
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 14 May 2011 11:30 WASHINGTON - The U.S. military will lay out the red carpet for China's military chief as Washington renews its effort to forge a defense dialogue with Beijing despite tensions and mutual distrust.People's Liberation Army (PLA) Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde starts a week-long visit May 15 to the United States, the first trip to America by the country's top-ranking officer in seven years, officials said.Chen will tour four military bases, deliver a speech to American officers and hold talks with his U.S. counterpart, Adm. Mike Mullen, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a senior defense official said."We've...
Taiwan President Urges U.S. to Release F-16s
on Saturday, May 14, 2011
By WENDELL MINNICK Published: 13 May 2011 13:03 TAIPEI - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou urged the U.S. to release F-16 fighters and submarines during a speech May 12 at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.New arms will allow Taipei to negotiate with Beijing on "equal footing," he said. "This is why I continue to urge the U.S. to provide Taiwan with necessary weaponry ? to keep its aerial and naval integrity intact, which is key to maintaining a credible defense."China has not renounced the use of force to reunify Taiwan despite improved ties since Ma won the presidency in 2008. Taiwan has adopted the "one China, respective interpretations" under the "92 Consensus"...
U.S. Rethinks Mideast Arms Sales
on Friday, May 13, 2011
By KATE BRANNEN Published: 12 May 2011 19:32 Due to the recent political upheaval in the region, the U.S. State Department and the Department of Defense are reviewing its defense trade relationships with countries in the Middle East and even putting some of them on hold. The United States has put "on pause" some of its planned transactions with countries in the region, James Miller, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs during a May 12 hearing. Longer term, the administration is looking at the implications for defense trade on a country-by-country basis, as well as assessing the region as a whole, he said. "Historic change of this magnitude...
House Armed Services Committee Votes Against New START
on Thursday, May 12, 2011
By Kate Brannen Published: 11 May 2011 22:38 The House Armed Services Committee voted on a number of amendments to the 2012 defense authorization bill that if they became law would limit the Obama administration's ability to implement a nuclear-arms reduction treaty with Moscow.On all four amendments related to the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), the committee voted straight down party lines 35 to 26, with Republicans voting for amendments that would restrict implementation of the treaty. The defense bill will next move to the House floor with the amendments included.The White House signed the New START treaty with Russia in April 2010.During the lame duck session following November...
Britain Orders Dual Mode Brimstone Missiles
on Thursday, May 12, 2011
By ANDREW CHUTER Published: 11 May 2011 09:44 LONDON - Britain's Ministry of Defence ordered a batch of Dual Mode Brimstone missiles for the Royal Air Force late last year but has placed no follow-on order since then, procurement minister Peter Luff said.Responding to a parliamentary question, Luff said an order to convert 150 standard Brimstone missiles to the Dual Mode variant had been agreed in December - before the Libyan crisis developed.The MoD is in discussion with supplier MBDA to ensure weapon stocks are available for operations in Afghanistan and Libya, he said.MBDA has large stocks of the standard Brimstone missile left over from a development and production contract awarded for the...
Despite First Production Aircraft Flying, F-35 IOC is Likely to Slip into 2018Defense Update
on Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Analysts Chew Over USAF'S OBOGS Groundings
on Wednesday, May 11, 2011
By DAVE MAJUMDAR Published: 10 May 2011 17:48 An abundance of caution likely motivated the U.S. Air Force to launch investigations into the oxygen-generation systems found on board a number of fighter and trainer aircraft, analysts said. "When you get to life-support systems, that is something the Air Force and any service tends to take a very hard line with," said Mark Gunzinger, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington and former Air Force pilot. "They are very, very cautious and risk-averse because we're not just dealing with the loss of a major weapon system, but the loss of a human life." On May 6, the service identified the F-16, F-15E, A-10, F-35 and...
Safran, Thales Discuss Business Asset Swaps
on Wednesday, May 11, 2011
By PIERRE TRAN Published: 10 May 2011 12:30 PARIS - Stock prices in Safran and Thales rose after the aerospace equipment and defense groups confirmed they are in talks on an exchange of business assets, following a newspaper interview with the French government's military procurement chief."Following the article published this morning in Les Echos newspaper, Thales confirms that discussions are currently being held with Safran," the electronics company said in a statement."These discussions are following on previous exchanges between the two companies, which are aiming at seeking to optimize their respective business portfolios so as to strengthen their competitiveness, especially on international...
U.S. House Committee Chair Supports Obama Defense Budget
on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
By KATE BRANNEN Published: 9 May 2011 18:55 House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., endorses the Pentagon's request for $553 billion for the 2012 defense base budget, which excludes war costs, according to the bill language released by his office May 9.The document lays out the chairman's goals and sets the stage for when the full committee meets to mark up the defense authorization bill on May 11."In releasing his version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee today cautioned that the Administration should not repeat the mistakes of the past while expecting better results," a press release...
Eurocopter Builds Integrated Development Center
on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
By ALBRECHT MÜLLER Published: 9 May 2011 18:07 BONN - As part of its Systemhaus (system house) project, Eurocopter on May 6 started to build an integrated development center at its German site in Donauwörth. "The Systemhaus project is an integral part of Eurocopter's Vision 2020 strategy and will form the basis for a promising helicopter technology site in Germany, pooling all the necessary key competencies to develop, manufacture and maintain rotary-wing aircraft at one location and securing these capabilities for the future," Lutz Bertling, president and CEO of the Eurocopter Group, said.Development activities currently located at Eurocopter's Ottobrunn site will be integrated into the new...
Poland Hopes Obama Visit Will Bring F-16 Base Deal
on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 9 May 2011 12:44 WARSAW - Poland is hoping that the May 27-28 visit of U.S. President Barack Obama will pave the way for the stationing of U.S. F-16 fighter jets on Polish soil for the first time, Poland's defense minister said May 9."I hope that both sides will be ready with this agreement by the time President Obama arrives," Bogdan Klich said, quoted by the Polish PAP news agency."I confirm that at the moment we are holding talks with the Americans on the topic of detailed agreements that will govern on what basis the Air Detachment - the detachment that will permanently service the F-16 and Hercules crews and land personnel periodically visiting Poland - will...
USAF's SBIRS Satellite Launches Into Orbit
on Monday, May 9, 2011
By TODD HALVORSON, FLORIDA TODAY Published: 8 May 2011 16:33 CAPE CANAVERAL AIR STATION, Fla. - A $1.2 billion missile-warning satellite is flying high above Earth after its May 7 launch.Secured in a protective nosecone atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, the Space-Based Infrared System satellite was dropped off in orbit 43 minutes after launch.The 19-story rocket blasted off from Launch Complex 41 at 2:10 p.m. and within the hour, a flight controller signaled mission success with four highly anticipated words:"We have spacecraft separation." The mission marked the 50th consecutive success since United Launch Alliance was formed in December 2006. The 50-50 joint venture partnership...
Libyan Rebels Say Italy Will Provide Weapons
on Sunday, May 8, 2011
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 7 May 2011 17:24 BENGHAZI, Libya - Libya's rebel government said May 7 that Italy has agreed to supply it with weapons to fight against Moammar Gadhafi, but government sources in Rome said only "self-defense material" would be sent."They will supply us with arms and we will receive them very soon," Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, the vice chairman of the National Transitional Council, told reporters in the rebel capital Benghazi.Ghoga said military officers from the rebel council had travelled to Italy, Libya's former colonial ruler, and reached an agreement with officials there for the supply of arms.He gave no details on what weapons would be supplied.If the arms supply goes...
New Tool Speeds F-35 Engine Work
on Saturday, May 7, 2011
By DAVE MAJUMDAR Published: 6 May 2011 18:11 U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin engineers have created a new type of tool that will allow maintenance crews to perform critical repairs on the U.S. Marines' F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) without removing the aircraft's jet engine.Developed under the auspices of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., the tool will be used to support the weight of an actuator that moves the main thrust-vectoring nozzle during the plane's short-takeoff/vertical landing mode. It was first used on the flight line on April 2.The Navy-Lockheed team came up with the innovation because normally, the entire engine would...
Guilty Plea From Submarine Inspector
on Saturday, May 7, 2011
By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS Published: 6 May 2011 16:59 Robert Ruks, a former inspector for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court May 6 to two counts of lying about welds he should have inspected on U.S. Navy ships and submarines under construction at the Newport News, Va., shipyard.A defective pipe joint weld on a submarine that Ruks had certified as properly done could have caused the loss of the submarine, as it was a certified SUBSAFE weld - critical to the ship's safety.As a result of Ruks' false weld certifications, Northrop Grumman was forced to expend 18,906 man-hours to complete the reinspections, at a cost of $654,000, according to a news release from the...
McKeon Opposes White House Defense Policy
on Friday, May 6, 2011
By KATE BRANNEN Published: 5 May 2011 16:17 The battle lines over the U.S. defense budget debate became clearer this week, with Democratic and Republican leaders in the House outlining opposing views for how the United States can remain a strong world power.A leading Republican would like to see the U.S. maintain its role as the world's policeman, while a Democratic House leader argued that recent defense spending came with real opportunity costs at home.Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., chair of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered a speech May 5 at the Heritage Foundation in which he voiced his strong opposition to the White House's calls for cuts of $400 billion to security spending over...