September 22, 2013 Richard D. Fisher, Jr. - thediplomat.com

China, Japan and the U.S. are ramping up their ability to deploy to disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Stability in the region between Taiwan and Japan, and the security of Taiwan, hinges on an arms race that will soon be accompanying the heightened paramilitary engagements between Japanese, Chinese and, occasionally, Taiwanese Coast Guard ships over who will control the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea.

For now this contest for control is confined to shoving matches largely between Chinese and Japanese Coast Guard ships, which take several days to deploy. However, China is now developing the means to project decisive force to these islands in hours, not days. Should China gain the upper hand in this arms race there is a greater chance it will use force to occupy the islands and then set its sights on the strategically more attractive nearby Sakashima island group.

For now, though, the upper hand is held by the United States, which has just completed the initial deployment of 24 U.S. Marine Corps Bell-Boeing MV-22B Osprey conventional, or twin tilt rotor aircraft, to Futenma Base in Okinawa. This unique aircraft, by virtue of its twisting rotors and engines at the ends of its wing, can take off like a helicopter, and then cruise at about 280 miles per hour, carrying up to 24 troops or about six tons of cargo to a range sufficient to reach the disputed islands. In a full-out surge, the 24 MV-22Bs at Futenma could potentially put about 500 troops or about 140 tons of weapons and material on the Senkakus or the Sakashimas in about one hour.

On September 17, 2013, Kyodo reported thatcurrent commander of U.S. Marine forces on Okinawa, Lt. General John Wissler, told Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaimu about the Osprey, “That aircraft has the ability to reach the Senkakus, should we need to support any sort of Japan-U.S. security treaty.”

China is also accumulating rapid lift assets. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has taken delivery of the first Ukrainian-built Zubr (Bison) large hovercraft. The first example, delivered in May, is now undergoing final modifications in Shanghai. At least three more are expected initially, but China may build many more of an indigenous version. Developed by the former Soviet Union to give its Naval Infantry the ability to rapidly invade NATO countries along the Baltic Sea, the Zubr can lift about 500 troops or up to 150 tons of armor, weapons and material up to speeds of 66 miles per hour. With just four Zubr hovercraft, the PLAN could potentially put 2,000 troops or up to 600 tons of weapons and material on the Senkakus in about four to five hours, or it could reach the island of Miyako-jima in about six to seven hours with a much reduced payload.

If it actually came to a race between the Osprey and the Bison, getting there first would make all the difference, as without the advantage of surprise, an adequately armed defender could significantly damage incoming hovercraft or helicopters. But the outcome would also depend on the result of intensive air and sea battles around these islands. For now, the superior performance of the U.S. Lockheed-Martin F-22A fifth-generation fighter and the Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarine provide a margin of superiority that undergirds deterrence, but this could change quickly as the PLA Air Force increases the number of capable fourth-generation fighters supported by AWACS radar aircraft, followed by fifth-generation fighters that could even the odds, especially if China decides to strike first. Growing numbers of PLAN air defense destroyers like the new Type 052D could also help deny air dominance to Japanese and U.S. forces.

However, China could also gain the upper hand should it successfully develop its own tilt rotor aircraft, an ambition it likely has been pursuing for most of the last decade. In a surprising revelation, an article published August 28, 2013 on the web page of the China Helicopter Research and Development Institute (CHRDI) goes further, saying that China is now developing a quad tiltrotor design called the Blue Whale, with the goal of carrying 20 tons of cargo at speeds in excess of 300 miles per hour, with a combat radius of 500 miles. A model of the Blue Whale appeared at a Chinese helicopter technology expo recently held in Tianjin, at least confirming it is an active program.

Blue Whale’s performance goals are very close to a now lapsed Bell-Boeing program to develop a V-44 Quad TiltRotor, which faded with evolving heavy-lift requirements for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat System of programs, in turn cancelled in 2009. CHRDI does not reveal when they expect the Blue Whale to enter service or how China will overcome technical challenges for a quad tiltrotor that a 2005 U.S. Defense Science Board study said would take 20 to 25 years to overcome. By 2008 to 2009 the heavy lift program was punted to the U.S. Air Force-controlled Joint Future Theater Lift program, intended to develop a replacement for the venerable Lockheed-Martin C-130, perhaps by the late 2020s. China may think it can succeed with a quad tiltrotor design before the U.S. fields a new vertical heavy lifter. The operational implications of such a capability go well beyond the East China Sea, but may matter there sooner.

For Beijing, control of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands and the much larger Sakashima Islands, which have ports and airfields, is not simply a matter of salving historical resentments or even controlling resources; it is a contest for geostrategic position to influence the future of democratic Taiwan. From the Senkakus and especially the Sakashimas, the PLA can more easily impose an air and sea blockade on Taiwan or launch multi-axis attacks to rapidly take airfields to aid follow-on invasion forces. Before making any military moves, mere possession of these islands allows Beijing to exert far greater political pressure on Taipei to make “peace” at the expense of its virtual American ally and Tokyo. Occupation of the islands would also give Beijing greater legitimacy on which to develop latent claims to other islands in the Ryukyu chain.

The Miyako Strait in the Sakashimas also must be passed by Chinese naval forces trying to reach the Pacific Ocean. This group of seemingly negligible islands are in fact the lock in the door that keeps the PLA Navy from cruising the Pacific at will, a key link in the so-called “First Island Chain.” For Tokyo and Washington, preserving Japanese control over these islands proves to Beijing that it cannot use force to solve maritime territory disputes, but also gives Japanese and U.S. forces a large number of island base options from which to counter China’s rapidly growing air and naval forces.

At a time when Washington is far more preoccupied with preserving adequate strategic capabilities under threat from sequestration-enforced defense budget reductions, an expensive heavy-lift tiltrotor development program, like so many other programs, has crossed the line from “need” to “needless luxury.” But the absence of this level of capability may have consequences. Without the means to put decisive counter-invasion forces on these islands at a moment’s notice, Japan will have to consider something it has been very reluctant to do: militarize these islands. Tokyo is already considering the development of a 500 km short-range ballistic missile to defend these distant islands. Missiles, of course, fly much faster than the Osprey. On one level, China’s looming threat justifies such moves, but deploying missiles will encourage China’s buildup as well as anti-Japan factions in Taipei.

Despite its much advertised military and political-economic pivot/rebalance toward Asia, it remains an uncomfortable fact for Washington that successful military deterrence of Beijing will also require that the U.S. remain ahead in a growing, multi-faceted arms race. In the East China Sea this arms race and its implications are taking shape rather rapidly.

Richard D. Fisher, Jr. is a Senior Fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center and author of China’s Military Modernization, Building for Regional and Global Reach, (Stanford, 2010)

Boeing has announced it will shutter its production line for C-17 transports in 2015, but a plan to swap aircraft and sell refurbished planes overseas could keep the assembly line humming. (US Air Force)

Sep. 22, 2013 - by MARCUS WEISGERBER  - Defense News

WASHINGTON — Unless Boeing can sell a few more C-17 transports to international customers or strike a novel deal with the US Air Force to swap old planes for new ones, the company will end production of the giant cargo plane in 2015 after a more than 20-year run.

Trading old C-17s for new ones — akin to what the service does with its Lockheed Martin C-130Js — could extend the line several years, sources and analysts said. Rather than retiring the aircraft, like the Air Force does with its older C-130s, the service could return its early C-17s to Boeing, which would refurbish them for sale on the international market.

It is unclear in the current fiscal environment as global defense spending shrinks if a trade-out concept is even tenable. Over the past two decades, Boeing has successfully extended C-17 production six years, but this time the Pentagon is facing another $52 billion cut to its upcoming budget.

The oldest Air Force C-17s, many of which reside in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, were built in the early 1990s and have logged thousands of flight hours.

Boeing on Sept. 18 said it would close the C-17 final assembly plant in Long Beach, Calif., in 2015, after completing 22 aircraft for international customers.

The company will begin reducing its workforce in 2014. In all, 3,000 people at facilities in California, Arizona, Missouri and Georgia work on the C-17. When the supply chain is factored in, about 20,000 people support the C-17 program.

Of the 22 aircraft still to be built, 13 are not on “firm order,” said Nan Bouchard, Boeing’s C-17 program manager.

“We expect those [13] to go to a mix of new and existing customers,” she said.

Six nations in addition to the US Air Force fly the C-17: Canada, Australia, the UK, Qatar, India and United Arab Emirates. A consortium of 12 countries — 10 NATO members and two partner nations — also jointly operate three aircraft.

But international orders have come mostly in small quantities.

“There’s a lot of interest out there, but timing of the orders just didn’t line up for us,” Bouchard said. “We’ve been protecting the production line with long-lead funding.”

The C-17 is the only wide-body military transport in production in the US. Lockheed builds the smaller C-130J in Marietta, Ga., and is also upgrading the mammoth C-5 Galaxy transport.

“We’re kind of in uncharted territory here, because there had never been an export market for a plane of this class before the C-17,” said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Virginia-based Teal Group consultancy. “It’s a clever idea, but unlikely to be successful. They’ve managed to pull off a miracle by stretching production with international orders this far. But what can they do when the only customers they do have aren’t coming through in time, like Saudi Arabia? Remember, the other 13 planes are being built on spec.”

The company said it would produce an additional 13 planes that have not yet been sold before shuttering the production line. Aboulafia said he believes those planes could end up with India, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. India has already purchased a previous order of C-17s; the latter two countries have been named for some time as potential buyers.

It is always possible that the existing user pool could see this as last call and tack on extra orders before the line closes. Countries such as the UAE, Kuwait and potentially Qatar could make that move, Aboulafia said. Another potential participant could be Japan, whose domestic C-2 program has developed slowly.

Whether this opens up market opportunities for the Airbus A400M, seen as the C-17s largest competitor, is unclear.

“The problem with the A400M is we just don’t know what the price is going to be,” Aboulafia said. “There will be some kind of export market, but it’s not clear if it’s the same as the C-17s. This isn’t a question of price point, but politics and whether you can afford the capability at all. Consider that there haven’t been any new A400M sales outside the consortium that developed the plane, other than Malaysia.

“What Boeing needs now is time. Time to see if the Saudis come through. Time to see what happens to Japan’s indigenous cargo plane program, the C-2. Time for the US to realize it’s throwing away a valuable industrial capability it will miss in five years.”

If the Air Force swapped out its older aircraft, it could likely acquire the new ones at a deep discount from the airlifter’s $225 million sticker price, sources said.

The new aircraft would also include more modern features not installed on the older C-17s. The older aircraft must go through a separate overhaul process to receive these upgrades. Boeing holds an Air Force support contract and upgrades the aircraft in San Antonio. That contract runs through 2017 and has options through 2021.

The aircraft is expected to continue flying in the US and abroad for “many decades to come,” Bouchard said.

Boeing believes its modernization and sustainment programs will help the company retain the intellectual know-how to compete for future military transport projects in the 2020s, Bouchard said. She said the company is not planning a lobbying effort to keep the production line open.

If the Air Force traded in its older aircraft, it raises the prospect of international sales. Boeing could sell the aircraft on the international market at a lower price and more directly competing with the Airbus Military A400M.

A C-17 is powered by four Pratt & Whitney jet engines, while the A400M is powered by four Europrop turboprop engines.

While the Air Force is said to find the deal attractive, federal US budget cuts will likely prevent the service — which has a host of higher acquisition priorities, namely the Boeing KC-46A tanker, the Lockheed F-35 joint strike fighter and a new long-range bomber — from signing on to the plan. That means Congress would need to legislate the move, which seems unlikely in in the current budget climate.

Several members of California’s House delegation signaled that, in the sequestration era, Congress is unlikely to reverse the Air Force’s decision.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., said he has not studied the issue in any depth.

But he did sarcastically utter a telling quip when asked about the Air Force plan to end C-17 manufacturing: “You mean keep all production lines open forever?”

And California Democratic Rep. John Garamendi — also a member of the Armed Services Committee — said he supports the service's plans.

“The Air Force has completed its purchases of C-17,” he said during an interview.

Asked if he believes the US has enough Globemasters, Garamendi replied: “Yes. Unless you’ve found another several billions dollars lying around some place.”

Boeing in 2006 began taking measures to close the C-17 production line in 2009, but Congress added dozens of Air Force aircraft and numerous international orders were also placed.

John T. Bennett and Aaron Mehta contributed to this report.

9/21/2013 Strategy Page

PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 18, 2013) An SM-3 Block 1B interceptor is launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) during a Missile Defense Agency test and successfully intercepted a complex short-range ballistic missile target off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. (U.S. Department of Defense photo)

Sep 18, 2013  (SPX)

Cape Canaveral AFS FL - The third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communication satellite, built by a Lockheed Martin team for the U.S. Air Force, was successfully launched today at 4:10 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. Lockheed Martin confirmed signal acquisition at 51 minutes after launch.

The AEHF system provides vastly improved global, survivable, highly secure, protected communications for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms.

The system also serves international partners including Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

"The successful launch of the third AEHF satellite is a significant accomplishment for the nation's protected communications mission," said Mark Calassa, vice president of Protected Communication Systems at Lockheed Martin.

"AEHF is functioning well in tests, and allies are connecting to the system for the first time. It shows that our product is meeting mission needs, and we have room to expand capacity for both tactical and strategic users in the future."

AEHF takes advantage of several Lockheed Martin capabilities to deliver six satellites and a mission control segment. Lockheed Martin contributed payload system engineering, mission control ground software, solar arrays and the A2100 spacecraft bus, which is a dependable and low-risk platform for commercial, civil and military satellites.

Both AEHF-1 and AEHF-2 are on orbit, and AEHF-4 through -6 are progressing on schedule. All satellites are assembled at the company's Sunnyvale, Calif., facility.

A single AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire legacy five-satellite Milstar constellation. Individual user data rates will increase five-fold, permitting transmission of tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data.

In addition to its tactical mission, AEHF provides the critical survivable, protected and endurable communications links to national leaders, including presidential conferencing in all levels of conflict.

19/09/2013 by Paul Fiddian - Armed Forces International's Lead Reporter

The US Navy has carried out a first-time paired SM-3 Block 1B missile launch against a short-range ballistic missile in a test conducted in September 2013.

The Standard Missile-3s were launched one after the other from the USS Lake Erie Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser. Conforming to pre-mission requirements, the first missile took out the airborne target. It wasn't planned that the second missile would engage with the target but, as anticipated, the launch yielded valuable data on multiple weapons deployments.

The trial represented the 25th time that Standard Missiles-3s have been launched and the fourth consecutive launch involving the new-generation SM-3 Block 1B version.

Standard Missile-3 Block 1B

The Standard Missile-3 Block 1B is an upgrade of the SM-3 Block 1A, which is in widespread military service. It boasts an augmented dual-colour infrared seeker and another new feature - the Throttleable Divert and Attitude Control System.

Between them, the US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are equipped with over 155 SM-3 missiles. The SM-3 Block 1B follow-up is both land and sea-deployable and initial system deliveries will take place in 2015, according to current scheduling.

The missile is produced by Raytheon, which employs more than 68,000 people and, last year, achieved a sales total of $24 billion.

SM-3 Block 1B Test Launch

"Confidence in the SM-3 Block IB's defensive capability continues to grow with each flight test", Raytheon Missile Systems president, Doctor Taylor Lawrence, explained in the firm's SM-3 Block 1B test launch press release. "When this weapon deploys in 2015, the US and our allies will have a tremendously reliable, capable defensive asset on their side."

"We're gaining a tremendous amount of information about what this missile can do, and in many instances it is far surpassing design requirements", added Raytheon Missile Systems' SM-3 programme director, Doctor Mitch Stevison. "The SM-3 Block IB is proving it can take on increasingly sophisticated scenarios, and that kind of confidence sets the stage for a production decision."

21/09 LesEchos.fr (Reuters)

Le département américain de la Défense a annoncé vendredi la conclusion d'un contrat de quatre milliards de dollars avec Lockheed Martin portant sur la fourniture aux Etats-Unis et aux Emirats arabes unis de composants du système de défense antimissile Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).

La transaction faisait l'objet de négociations depuis plusieurs années. Elle porte sur 192 missiles intercepteurs destinés aux Emirats et sur 110 pour l'armée américaine.

La mise en commun de ces commandes a permis une économie de 10% environ, a expliqué Mat Joyce, directeur du programme THAAD.

Les Etats-Unis sont en discussions avec le Qatar pour une transaction similaire. L'Arabie saoudite, le Japon et la Corée du Sud ont par ailleurs manifesté leur intérêt, a ajouté Mat Joyce.

L'agence américaine chargée de la défense antimissile a procédé la semaine dernière au premier test opérationnel du système THAAD et a la vérification de sa compatibilité le système de combat Aegis. leur association a permis de détruire deux missiles à moyenne portée tirés quasi-simultanément.

20-09-2013 letempsdz.com

Le secrétaire américain à la Défense, Chuck Hagel, a eu jeudi un entretien téléphonique avec le ministre libyen de la Défense, Abdallah al-Thani, pour discuter de la sécurité en Libye ainsi que de la sécurité régionale, a indiqué le porte-parole du Pentagone. Au cours de cette conversation téléphonique, M. Hagel a souligné à son homologue libyen le ’’soutien’’ des Etats-Unis à la Libye durant la phase de transition que traverse ce pays maghrébin.

Dans ce sens, les deux hommes ’’ont discuté des voies et moyens par lesquels l’armée américaine pourrait contribuer à la formation des forces de sécurité libyennes et au renforcement de la sécurité régionale à travers la stabilité et l’Etat de droit’’, a précisé le porte-parole du département de la Défense, George Little.

Ils se sont également félicités de l’engagement des Etats-Unis et de la Libye à approfondir leurs relations bilatérales comme ils ont convenu de poursuivre les efforts pour renforcer leur coopération militaire, a ajouté la même source.

Il est à rappeler que le représentant spécial du secrétaire général de l’ONU pour la Libye, Tarek Mitri, avait averti lundi dernier, devant le Conseil de sécurité, de la précarité et de l’insécurité croissantes en Libye.

Soulignant que les problèmes de sécurité en Libye constituent ’’la principale source de préoccupation’’, M. Mitri a évoqué notamment ’’l’insécurité croissante’’ aux frontières et à l’intérieur des parties orientale et méridionale de ce pays, ainsi que les assassinats politiques ciblés et les attaques et menaces contre les diplomates.

Tout en notant les progrès réalisés dans l’intégration des combattants ’’révolutionnaires’’ dans la police et l’armée libyennes, il a, toutefois, considéré que la restructuration de l’armée était une ’’priorité urgente’’.

A ce propos, il a observé que le développement d’un système de sécurité nationale était rendu difficile par la situation sécuritaire dans ce pays.

Selon M. Mitri, un contrôle efficace du vaste territoire libyen nécessite des ressources considérables tout en soulignant l’importance de la coopération des pays voisins en matière de contrôle des frontières.

Il a aussi compté sur l’appui politique et les compétences techniques de la communauté internationale pour faire face à la criminalité transnationale organisée, au terrorisme et à la contrebande d’armes et de stupéfiants.

Dans ce sens, il a demandé à tous les gouvernements concernés de collaborer en vue de créer des mécanismes solides et viables de sécurité aux frontières.

Dans ce sillage, le représentant permanent de la Libye auprès des Nations Unies, Ibrahim Dabbachi, a aussi fait part, devant le Conseil de sécurité, ’’des craintes de l’insuffisance d’institutions et de l’absence de force de dissuasion ne permettant pas au gouvernement libyen d’étendre son autorité sur l’ensemble du territoire national’’.

19.09.2013 Emilie Drab.journal-aviation.com

« C’était une décision très difficile mais nécessaire que d’arrêter la production du C-17 », a déclaré Dennis Muilenburg, président et CEO de la division Defense, Space & Security de Boeing. L’avionneur a en effet annoncé le 18 septembre la fermeture de la ligne d’assemblage du C-17 Globemaster III pour 2015.

Le dernier C-17 destiné aux Etats-Unis a été remis à l’US Air Force le 12 septembre. Il reste désormais 22 de ces avions militaires de transport à produire.

Dennis Muilenburg a expliqué qu'en raison des coupes budgétaires nécessaires chez les pays clients de l’appareil, d’éventuelles commandes ne pourraient pas être passées suffisamment tôt pour maintenir la ligne d’assemblage de Long Beach (Californie) opérationnelle.

Actuellement, 3 000 personnes travaillent sur les quatre sites dédiés au programme (Long Beach, Macon en Géorgie, Mesa en Arizona et St Louis dans le Missouri). Les suppressions de postes débuteront dès 2014 et se poursuivront jusqu’à la fin de la production. Son arrêt aura également un impact sur 650 fournisseurs du programme.

Développé par McDonnell Douglas, le C-17 a effectué son premier vol en septembre 1991. Depuis, la flotte mondiale a cumulé plus de 2,6 millions d’heures de vol dans des missions diverses : transport de troupes et de matériel, largage d’aide humanitaire, missions médicales… Elle compte 257 appareils, dont 223 aux Etats-Unis. Les autres se trouvent au service de l’Australie, du Canada, de l’Inde, du Qatar, des Emirats Arabes Unis, du Royaume-Unis et de l’OTAN.

September 19th, 2013 by Brendan McGarry  - defensetech.org

Lockheed Martin Corp. bills the F-35 as the pinnacle of more than five decades of fighter-jet development, with the latest in stealth technology, supersonic speed, extreme agility and the most powerful sensor package available.

But someone apparently forgot to kick the tires.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, who oversees the Defense Department’s Joint Strike Fighter program, this week said some parts of the plane break down too frequently. When a reporter asked for examples, Bogdan cited a seemingly mundane component: the tires.

“Those tires today are coming off the airplane way, way, way too frequently,” Bogdan said Sept. 17 at the Air Force Association’s annual Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition at National Harbor, Md.

The problem only affects the tires on the Marine Corps’ version of the plane, known as the F-35B, according to Joe DellaVedova, a spokesman for the Pentagon’s F-35 program office. Unlike the Air Force’s F-35A or the Navy’s F-35C variants, the F-35B takes off from both conventional and short runways, which puts greater stress on the tires, he said. (It can also hover and land like a helicopter onto a ship.)

“Tire wear must be improved for the F-35B variant and we have taken concrete actions to fix this problem,” DellaVedova said in an e-mailed statement.

The tires on the Marine Corps’ jets had a so-called initial wear rate of 10 to 11 landings per tire during testing, DellaVedova said. That rate worsened during more recent testing, which includes a higher mix of conventional take-offs and landings, he said. However, the results have improved slightly since last month’s fielding of a temporary replacement tire with a thicker tread, he said.

The tires, which cost about $1,500 apiece, are made by Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd., based in the United Kingdom, DellaVedova said. The company also made tires for the AV-8B Harrier jump jet, whose performance requirements are similar to those of the F-35B, he said.

Lockheed and Dunlop plan to begin delivering a redesigned product to the military by the end of the year, DellaVedova said. Bogdan, the general, said the companies will have to cover the cost of the redesign. “I’m not paying a penny,” he said at the conference.

A Dunlop spokesman wasn’t able to provide an immediate response to a phone call and e-mail requesting comment.

The Air Force and Navy versions of the plane use a different type of tire made by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., DellaVedova said. That firm’s products “meet specification requirements and have adequate wear characteristics,” he said.

Despite the landing-gear criticism, Bogdan struck a far more conciliatory tone toward Lockheed over the development of the F-35 — the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons acquisition program. He said the relationship between the Air Force and Lockheed, along with engine-maker Pratt & Whitney, part of United Technologies Corp., is “orders of magnitude” better than it was a year ago.

“I’m encouraged by where we are today,” he said. “I’d like to be a little further along.”

The comments were a stark contrast to those Bogdan made at the same forum last year, when he called the relationship the “worst I’ve ever seen.” This year, Bogdan indicated his previous remarks were deliberate. “I threw a hand grenade into the crowd … that was intended,” he said.

WASHINGTON, 19 septembre - RIA Novosti

La lettre du président américain Barack Obama concernant les moyens de régler le problème nucléaire iranien est "positive" et "constructive", a estimé mercredi le dirigeant iranien Hassan Rohani dans une interview accordée à la chaîne NBC.

"A mon avis, la lettre revêtait un caractère positif et constructif", a déclaré M.Rohani, élu au poste présidentiel en juin dernier, sans donner plus de détails.

Dimanche 15 septembre, le chef de la Maison Blanche a annoncé avoir échangé des lettres avec son homologue iranien. Dans une interview à la chaîne américaine ABC, le président Obama a indiqué entre autres qu'une course aux armes nucléaires au Proche-Orient "serait quelque chose de profondément déstabilisant".

Les Etats-Unis et d'autres pays reprochent à l'Iran de vouloir se doter de l'arme atomique sous couvert d'un programme nucléaire qu'il prétend réaliser à des fins pacifiques. Téhéran rejette ces accusations, affirmant que ses recherches nucléaires ont pour seul objectif de satisfaire les besoins du pays en électricité.

Depuis 2003, les six médiateurs internationaux sur le programme nucléaire iranien (Etats-Unis, Chine, Russie, Grande-Bretagne, France et Allemagne) œuvrent conjointement avec l'Agence internationale de l'énergie atomique (AIEA) pour amener Téhéran à suspendre ses travaux d'enrichissement d'uranium susceptibles de mettre en danger le régime de non-prolifération nucléaire.

Sept. 17, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Sept. 17, 2013)

Pentagon Contract Announcement

Science Applications International, McLean, Va., was awarded a $179,585,058 firm-fixed-price, non-option-eligible, non-multi-year contract in support of the Saturn Arch program and provides continued operations, sustainment and integration of aircraft platforms configured to host a suite of sensors deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

This is a hybrid contract containing both fixed-price and cost-reimbursement line items.

Performance locations will be: Beavercreek, Ohio; California, Md.; Hanahan, S.C.; Arlington, McLean and Bridgewater, Va.; Djibouti and Afghanistan; with funding from fiscal 2013 other authority funds.

This contract was a non-competitive acquisition with one bid solicited and with one bid received.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command - Redstone Arsenal (Aviation), Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-13-C-0134).

SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., was awarded a $62,337,287 firm-fixed-price, non-option-eligible, non-multi-year contract in support of the Desert Owl program and provides continued operations, sustainment and integration of aircraft platforms configured to host a suite of sensors deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

This is a hybrid contract containing both fixed-price and cost-reimbursement line items.

Performance locations will be: Menlo Park and San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Durango, Colo.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Beavercreek, Ohio; Arlington, McLean and Bridgewater, Va.; and Afghanistan, with funding from fiscal 2013 other authority and fiscal 2013 operations and maintenance Army funds.

This contract was a non-competitive acquisition with one bid solicited and with one bid received.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command - Redstone Arsenal (Aviation), Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-13-C-0135).

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Both Saturn Arch and Desert Owl are counter-IED programs managed by the US Army and deployed in Afghanistan.)

Sep 18, 2013 (SPX)

Cape Canaveral - The third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communication satellite, built by a Lockheed Martin team for the U.S. Air Force, was successfully launched today at 4:10 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. Lockheed Martin confirmed signal acquisition at 51 minutes after launch.

The AEHF system provides vastly improved global, survivable, highly secure, protected communications for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms.

The system also serves international partners including Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

"The successful launch of the third AEHF satellite is a significant accomplishment for the nation's protected communications mission," said Mark Calassa, vice president of Protected Communication Systems at Lockheed Martin.

"AEHF is functioning well in tests, and allies are connecting to the system for the first time. It shows that our product is meeting mission needs, and we have room to expand capacity for both tactical and strategic users in the future."

AEHF takes advantage of several Lockheed Martin capabilities to deliver six satellites and a mission control segment. Lockheed Martin contributed payload system engineering, mission control ground software, solar arrays and the A2100 spacecraft bus, which is a dependable and low-risk platform for commercial, civil and military satellites.

Both AEHF-1 and AEHF-2 are on orbit, and AEHF-4 through -6 are progressing on schedule. All satellites are assembled at the company's Sunnyvale, Calif., facility.

A single AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire legacy five-satellite Milstar constellation. Individual user data rates will increase five-fold, permitting transmission of tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data.

In addition to its tactical mission, AEHF provides the critical survivable, protected and endurable communications links to national leaders, including presidential conferencing in all levels of conflict.

WASHINGTON, September 18 (RIA Novosti)

A group of US lawmakers is urging Attorney General Eric Holder to assist the Pentagon’s criminal investigation into an Army aviation unit which granted contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to Russian and US firms for the maintenance and overhaul of Russian Mi-17 helicopters.

Nine senators and 23 members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Holder Monday expressing ‘great concern’ regarding allegations of criminal activity related to the helicopter program, writing that “The prospect that American taxpayers have been made into unwitting victims of corruption demands special scrutiny.”

The lawmakers urged Holder "to utilize all available resources, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation to support any criminal investigation into these matters."

Defense Department investigators are studying potential personal connections and possibly “improper” payments between the former head of the Army’s Non-Standard Rotary Wing Aircraft (NSRWA) unit and two Russian-owned subcontractors, Avia Baltika and St. Petersburg Aircraft Repair Co. (SPARC), according to Reuters.

The maintenance deals under investigation are part of a broader Pentagon program to purchase and upgrade Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters for use in Afghanistan.

The lawmakers’ letter to Holder also said, “Since 2011, NSRWA has negotiated and executed more than $1 billion worth of contracts for procurement of these Russian aircraft from Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-controlled arms exporter who simultaneously continues to supply weapons and ammunition to the Syrian government.”

There has been stern opposition from some members of Congress to the Pentagon’s dealings with Rosoboronexport, which is not a focus of the investigation, according to Reuters.

Justice Department spokesman Michael Passman said in an email cited by Reuters Tuesday: "We have received the letter, and we are reviewing it."