11 Jul 2013 By Harriet Alexander - telegraph.co.uk

As the British government examines whether it could maintain Trident's base in an independent Scotland, here is a look at some of the major military bases on foreign soil - excluding Afghanistan - around the world.

UK:

1) Scotland

The Faslane base, on Gare Loch, is home to the UK's Trident nuclear submarine base.

2) Cyprus

Two bases, at Akrotiri and Dhekelia, were retained as British sovereign territory with independence in 1960. The bases are home to army, navy and RAF personnel.

3) Germany

British forces will have all left Germany by 2020. However, there remains a significant presence, with the Rhine Garrison as the head quarters.

The US also has 48,000 soldiers in Germany.

4) Gibraltar

The army has had a presence on the Rock for over 300 years, although the last UK-based infantry battalion left in 1991. It is now home to the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, and acts as a Joint Operating Base for UK operations in the region.

5) Kenya

An army training unit in Nanyuki, 200km north of Nairobi, has 56 permanent staff and 110 rotating staff members, who work with the troops coming in to train.

Britain also has a peace support team in Kenya, working on security sector reform and mine removal.

6) Sierra Leone

Established in 2002 at the end of the civil war, Britain has a military advisory and training centre on the outskirts of Freetown.

7) Falklands

A combined force of army, navy and RAF is based on the islands.

8) Brunei

An infantry battalion and a Bell 212 helicopter flight are based in Brunei, which is used as a centre for jungle warfare training.

9) Canada

The training area in Alberta is equivalent in size to all the main training areas used by the British forces in the UK and Europe. Around 1000 tanks and armoured vehicles are kept there to train 7000 troops each year.

USA:

10) South Korea

There are 28,500 American troops based in Seoul, at the Yongsan Garrison. They will move to Camp Humphreys, 40 miles south of the capital, later this year.

11) Japan

Okinawa is home to about half of America's 50,000 troops stationed in Japan.

12) Guam

Andersen Air Force base is home to bomber crews, while nuclear submarines are also housed here.

13) UK

America operates out of six RAF bases in the UK. RAF Croughton is one of the largest military communications centres in Europe, and handles 30pc of all US military traffic within Europe.

14) Diego Garcia

A British overseas territory, the island was home to the Chagossians – who were expelled by the British between 1968 and 1973 to make way for the American base. It is now uninhabited, except for military personnel.

15) Guantánamo Bay, Cuba

Cuba granted America complete jurisdiction and control over this remote part of the island in 1903, although Cuba retains sovereignty. It is home to the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, opened in 2002 to hold prisoners from the "War on Terror".

16) Qatar

Approximately 5,000 troops are stationed between three bases and the US Combined Air Operations Centre. Most American troops left Saudi Arabia in 2003, at the end of the Gulf War, and Qatar is now one of their main centres. They also have troops stationed in Bahrain (home to the Fifth Fleet), Kuwait, Oman, UAE and Yemen. Overall in the Arabian Gulf region there are reportedly 40,000 American servicemen.

RUSSIA:

17) Ukraine

Sevastopol is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet – the largest subunit of the navy.

18) Syria

Russia maintains a navy logistics centre in Tartus, with 16 ships. It is the only base outside of the former USSR. In January Russia was forced to deny that it was withdrawing its personnel from the base, and emphasise that the centre was staffed by civilians, not military staff.

19) Tajikistan

Over 7,000 Russian troops are based in Tajikistan, making it their largest base in Central Asia. The present contract between Russia and Tajikistan ends in 2014, but a new agreement has been signed which remains in force until 2042.

FRANCE:

20) Abu Dhabi

France opened its first military base in the Gulf in 2009 – the first foreign military installation built by the French for 50 years, and its first centre in a country which was not a colony. It is home to 500 troops.

21) Djibouti

Home to France's largest base in Africa, plus a major US base.

Jul 11, 2013 ASDNews Source : iRobot Corporation

    Initial order valued at $3 million

As previously announced by the Army, iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in delivering robotic technology-based solutions, has been awarded a $30 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract by the U.S. Army’s Robotic Systems Joint Program Office (RSJPO). The four-year contract, which replaces an expiring IDIQ, allows for the delivery of iRobot PackBot FasTac robotic systems and associated spares.

An initial $3 million order under the contract for spares has also been placed. Deliveries under this order will be completed by the end of Q4 2013.

“iRobot is proud to provide robotic capabilities that help our warfighters accomplish their mission,” said Frank Wilson, senior vice president and general manager of iRobot’s Defense & Security business unit. “The Army recognizes the value of the PackBot FasTac robotic system on the battlefield, and we look forward to continuing our work with RSJPO to ensure the Army is well equipped to maintain its fleet of PackBot FasTac robots in the years ahead.”

The iRobot PackBot allows military and public safety personnel to investigate dangerous objects and environments from a safe distance. The robot is used in a wide variety of operations, including neutralizing roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices, screening vehicles, and searching buildings, bunkers, caves and tunnels.

July 11, 2013 by Zach Rosenberg – FG

Washington DC - The Northrop Grumman X-47B landed twice aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, but a malfunction with one of its three navigation computers prevented a third landing. The aircraft subsequently diverted to Wallops Field, Virginia, as programmed, for a safe recovery.

"There are three redundant navigation computers on the X-47," says Capt Jaime Engdahl, the US Navy's programme manager for unmanned systems. "We saw an issue on one of those computers and decided we had done enough for the day, flew the aircraft back and landed it."

The aircraft makes its approaches autonomously, without human interference. The computers onboard the aircraft noted the anomaly affecting one of the three precision GPS computers, and though capable of landing using only one, the aircraft is coded to abort landing under those circumstances. After the automatic abort, the human controller elected to divert the aircraft instead of continuing.

"They're working through the data right now," says Carl Johnson, Northrop Grumman's programme manager. "In terms of a malfunction it's probably a minor issue, that when we reset the computers everything will be up and running and we'll have a fully functional aircraft."

Two X-47Bs are flying. The aircraft used for the test has the tail number 502. An identical aircraft, tail number 501, will likely be used for the next aircraft carrier test series on 15 July. If all goes well in the second series, the X-47B's tests will be completed and the aircraft retired. A manned Learjet using X-47B's software will conduct autonomous air-to-air refueling trials in 2014.

The lessons learned from the X-47B demonstrations will be used to address the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) programme, meant to essentially create an operational production UAV for aircraft carriers. Four companies - Northrop, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems - have been selected to perform design work.

July 10, 2013 Source: US Department of Defense

WASHINGTON --- If sequestration continues into fiscal year 2014, the Defense Department will be forced to consider involuntary reductions-in-force for the civilian workforce, draconian cuts to military personnel accounts and a virtual halt to military modernization, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a letter to Senate leaders today.

The senators had requested detailed information on how continued sequestration could affect the military.

In the letter, Hagel detailed the “Plan B” the department must confront if Congress does not pass legislation that averts sequestration in fiscal 2014. If the process continues, DOD will be forced to cut $52 billion more from the budget that year.

Hagel stressed in the letter that he fully supports President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2014 budget request and noted that if sequestration remains in effect, “the size, readiness and technological superiority of our military will be reduced, placing at much greater risk the country’s ability to meet our current national security commitments.”

Congress gave DOD some flexibility to handle the cuts need for fiscal 2013, but more than 650,000 DOD civilians must still be furloughed without pay for 11 days. However, the cuts in 2014 are too great even for flexibility within accounts to handle.

DOD hopes to avoid furloughs in 2014, the defense secretary said, but if sequestration remains in effect, “DOD will have to consider involuntary reductions-in-force to reduce civilian personnel costs.”

Readiness has already been diminished this year, Hagel said, and it will continue to decline if sequestration continues in 2014. Hiring freezes will also continue and facilities maintenance funds will further erode, he added.

If the sequestration mechanism is applied to military personnel funding, “DOD could accommodate the required reductions only by putting into place an extremely severe package of military personnel actions including halting all accessions, ending all permanent-change-of-station moves, stopping discretionary bonuses and freezing all promotions,” Hagel wrote.

He called on Congress to work with the department to avoid sequestration in fiscal 2014 and to approve the president’s defense budget request.

The president’s budget request slows military pay raises and raises fees for some military retiree’s health care. It also looks to retire older Air Force and Navy assets and calls for a new base realignment and closure program.

“If the cuts continue, the department will have to make sharp cuts with far-reaching consequences, including limiting combat power, reducing readiness and undermining the national security interests of the United States,” Hagel said.

July 11, 2013: Strategy Page

The U.S. Army has found that GPS guided shells were more successful, but less frequently used, than anticipated. So they reduced orders for these weapons, which entered service in 2007. The GPS guided 155mm Excalibur shells were used less frequently largely because other precision munitions often take out targets before Excalibur gets a chance to. There’s a growing number of other GPS (or laser) guided weapons available.  The GPS guided MLRS (GMLRS) rocket has been especially popular. And the army uses a lot of laser guided Hellfire missiles, fired from AH-64 helicopter gunships. In addition to the reduction in Excalibur production, the army cut orders for GPS guided 120mm mortar shells (introduced in 2011) after a year of use.

Excalibur had other problems, mainly in the form of PGK (Projectile Guidance Kit) shells. PGK is actually a large fuze, that screws into the front of a 155mm or 105mm shell. This longer fuze contains a GPS and small fins to guide the shell to a precision hit. It is less precise than Excalibur. That is, the PGK will ensure that the shell lands within 50 meters of the target. If it does not hit within 150 meters, PGK deactivates and the shell does not explode. An unguided shell will normally land within 250-300 meters of where it is aimed. An Excalibur shell lands within four meters of the target, but costs more than twice as much as PGK. The army recently sent the first PGKs to Afghanistan, after successful testing in the United States. The big question is how important will the troops find the accuracy differences of Excalibur and PGK.

Another factor that hurt the popularity of Excalibur, and the 120mm guided mortar shell, is cost. Excalibur was supposed to cost about $50,000 each. Eventually. After all the debugging, and after more of the shells were produced. But the cost is still about $100,000 per shell. The 120mm GPS (using the same tech as PGK) guided shell is also pricey, but not as much as Excalibur. GMLRS cost about $100,000 each, and have a much longer range, and a bigger bang.

Another edge GMLRS has is the HIMARS rocket launcher. Only costing about $3 million each, these smaller, truck mounted MLRS (HIMARS) rocket launcher systems have become very popular. HIMARS carries only one, six MLRS rocket, container (instead of two in the original MLRS vehicle). But the 12 ton truck can fit into a C-130 transport (unlike the 22 ton tracked MLRS) and is much cheaper to operate. The first HIMARS entered service in 2005, about a year after GPS guided rockets did.

The 309 kg (680 pound) GMLRS (guided multiple launch rocket system) missile is a GPS guided 227mm rocket. It was designed to have a range of 70 kilometers and the ability to land within meters of its intended target, at any range. This is possible because it uses GPS (plus a back-up inertial guidance system) to find its target. In 2008 the army tested GMLRS at max range (about 85 kilometers) and found that it worked fine. This enabled one HIMARS vehicle to provide support over a frontage of 170 kilometers, or, in places like Afghanistan, where the fighting can be anywhere, an area of over 20,000 square kilometers. This is a huge footprint for a single weapon (an individual HIMARS vehicle), and fundamentally changes the way you deploy artillery in combat. Excalibur has a max range of 37 kilometers, and 120mm mortars about 7.5 kilometers.

The U.S. Army is buying over 800 HIMARS vehicles along with 100,000 GMLRS rockets, most of them fitted with an 89 kg (196 pound) high explosive warhead. About half of that is actual explosives. These have been used with great success in Iraq and Afghanistan, where nearly two thousand have been fired so far. The guided rocket is much more effective than the older, unguided, version, and is replacing it in most cases. No more of the unguided rockets are being purchased by the U.S.. The accuracy of GMLRS means that one rocket does the job that previously required a dozen or more of the unguided ones. That's why HIMARS is so popular. While it only carries six rockets, that's often enough to last for days, even when there's a lot of combat.

The 120mm mortar round has about 2.2 kg (five pounds) of explosives, compared to 6.6 kg (15) pounds in a 155mm shell. The smaller explosive charges limits collateral damage to civilians. But in Afghanistan, it is more common to need a large bang (which GMLRS can deliver). Excalibur was more suited to Iraq, but the American troops have left there, and all the action is in Afghanistan. Moreover, there are a lot of precision weapons readily available to the infantry that have small warheads. The Javelin missile has a 4 kg (nine pound) warhead, and the larger TOW has a 5.9 kg (13 pound one.) The Hellfire missile has a 9 kg/20 pound warhead. The air force also has its SDB (114 kg/250 pound small diameter bomb, carrying 23 kg/51 pounds of explosives.).

Meanwhile, there is still demand for unguided 155mm and 120mm shells. There are times when you need firepower over a large area (several hundred meters by several hundred meters), and for this, unguided shells do the job best, and cheapest.

In response to this competition the Excalibur manufacturer has created a model that can be used in 127mm naval guns. These are found in hundreds of warships and enable these ships to use their 127mm guns to accurately hit targets over 40 kilometers inland.

July 11, 2013: Strategy Page

For the last five months American MQ-9 UAVs could be seen regularly over northern Mali. Some days there is one up there all day, most of the time it’s only for about half the day. The video is analyzed by U.S. and French intelligence and used by the French to coordinate operations against the remaining Islamic terrorists in northern Mali. The American UAVs have been operating from an airbase in neighboring Niger, where two MQ-9s are currently stationed.

France believes that a third of the 2,000 Islamic terrorists in northern Mali at the beginning of the year have been killed and most of the survivors (less the hundred or so who surrendered or were captured) have fled Mali. That leaves several hundred, most of them Tuareg or black African, still in Mali, Most are hiding but some are in the larger towns and cities carrying out attacks. Many (up to half) of the terrorists who fled went to neighboring Niger, where a weak government and a very poor population (whose cooperation can be bought) has provided opportunities for new terrorist bases to be established. As with Mali, most of the 16 million Niger population lives in the south, where there is more water. The north is mostly desert. A fifth of the population are Arab, Tuareg and similar minorities. Over 90 percent of the population is Moslem and about eight percent are slaves. The U.S., France (and other European nations) are helping the Niger government to deal with the Islamic terrorists. That will not produce a quick fix and it may take a year (and probably much longer) to clear the Islamic terrorists out of Niger.

Mali’s fundamental problem (and the source of the discontent that triggered the Tuareg uprising in the north and the army coup in the south last year) is widespread corruption and the chilling effect this has on the economy. Despite billions of dollars’ worth of mineral exports, the country is very poor. The money the government gets from the mineral exports is largely stolen by politicians. Economic growth is stifled by the corruption, which makes it very difficult for entrepreneurs to start new businesses or expand existing ones. The result is that a third of the population is hungry and gets by with the help of foreign aid. In the north over two thirds of the population is short of food, and much else. Most of the people in the north are Tuareg and they blame corrupt southern (black African) officials for the poverty and high unemployment in the north. That is only partially true because the north has always been very poor and the Tuareg leaders also tend to be corrupt when it comes to handling government matters.  The July 28 presidential election is expected to put another corrupt politician into office. The search for a cure for the corruption has so far been unsuccessful. There are also doubts that the government can even properly organize the July 28th election.

The fragile economy in Timbuktu was devastated by the nine months of Islamic radical rule. Most of the Mali government employees were driven out and their workplaces looted and trashed. Worse, the tourism activity, which was the basis of the local economy, was largely destroyed. This included the destruction of many tourist attractions and the disappearance of many Arab and other foreign businessmen who made the tourism business work. Replacing key people and restoring infrastructure will take years. In the meantime most of the 55,000 population will have to get by on foreign aid.

July 9, 2013: In the north (Kidal) two civilians were wounded by unidentified gunmen.

July 8, 2013: In Kidal anti-government demonstrations over the weekend left two peacekeepers and a French soldier wounded. The demonstrations throw lots of rockets at the troops.

July 6, 2013: The government ended the six month old state of emergency. This means it is now legal for crowds to assemble and demonstrations to take place. The security forces must now follow all legal procedures when making arrests and holding people in custody.

July 5, 2013: After arriving on the outskirts a month ago 200 Malian army soldiers finally moved into the northeastern town of Kidal. Tuareg MNLA fighters moved out, or at least aside, in accordance with the June 18 peace deal with Mali. The MNLA had controlled Kidal since March 2012 as they tried to establish a role in governing the largely Tuareg north. MNLA were forced out of Kidal by Islamic terrorists for nine months and regained control in January 2013. French and Chadian troops have been in Kidal for over six months and have been joined by some other African peacekeepers to replace the Chad force (which returned home). The MNLA controlled security in the city and this produced growing complaints that MNLA gunmen were attacking blacks in the north and trying to force them to leave. The government accused the MNLA of ethnic cleansing, as northern Mali is predominately Tuareg and Arab. Because over 90 percent of Malians are black Africans, Tuaregs have always been touchy about blacks moving north to settle or, worse, to run the government. Partly this was because some Tuaregs and Arabs in the north still kept black slaves. Now a lot of those slaves find themselves free after their masters fled, along with several thousand Tuareg, during the French liberation of the north. Groups like al Qaeda are OK with this slavery, as it is commonly discussed in Moslem scripture and the Koran. The slaves, despite being Moslem, generally do not agree with this attitude.

MNLA means (in French) “Liberation Army of Azawad”. That is the Tuareg term for their homeland in northern Mali and until the June 18 agreement its capital was Kidal. The Mali government was upset that MNLA men controlled most of the rural (and very thinly populated) areas in the north. Mali accuses France of letting this happen, but the French only had an informal deal with MNLA in which the Tuareg would not fire on the incoming troops and would provide information on where the Islamic terrorists were.  France pressured Mali to make some kind of political settlement with MNLA and that eventually led to the June 18 deal. Many in the Mali Army still want the Tuareg rebel group crushed.  The Mali government is also angry over the extent to which so many Arabs and Tuaregs in the north cooperated with the Islamic radicals in establishing a new government. Many Tuareg still want independence, or at least a lot of autonomy in the north. Anti-Mali demonstrations accompanied the entrance of Mali troops into Kidal and will continue. Whatever the Mali government may want, the situation in the north, and with the Tuareg, is fundamentally changed. The Tuareg have tasted power and seen how weak the southerners really are.

The only large town the MNLA controlled was Kidal. It was thought unlikely that the Mali soldiers and police could handle the MNLA gunmen alone, so the concentration of security forces near Kidal last month was initially seen more as a bargaining tactic than as a real threat to the MNLA. Negotiations with the MNLA did not go well at first because the rebels were insisted on an autonomy agreement first and the French and African peacekeepers were unwilling to shut down the MNLA for the Mali government. The Mali Army is seen as more of a threat to an elected Mali government than to the Tuareg rebels. The Mali troops had spent over a month moving up several hundred kilometers of road to Kidal and planning an assault that never came. The MNLA seemed to sense that they had been outmaneuvered and retreated from some checkpoints outside Kidal but maintained enough fighters in the city to keep the Mali soldiers from entering until the MNLA and the Mali government could work out a deal.

July 1, 2013: The UN peacekeeping force took control of peacekeeping operations in Mali. The UN force currently has 6,300 African peacekeepers although the ultimate size of the force will be over 12,000. There are still 3,200 French troops in Mali along with several thousand Mali soldiers.  The UN force is officially known as MINUSMA (Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali).

June 26, 2013: Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo, who led the army coup in March 2012, apologized for his actions and promised to help repair the damage.

June 24, 2013: Some 200 peacekeepers from Benin arrived in Kidal to help maintain order.

June 18, 2013: The government and the Tuareg rebels (the MNLA) signed a peace deal. The MNLA will allow Mali troops and police to enter Kidal and any other MNLA occupied area in the north and will surrender its heavy weapons. In reality the MNLA members will keep most of their weapons but will have to surrender stuff like mortars, heavy machine-guns and large stocks of ammo. The government will not try to punish any MNLA members and will negotiate more autonomy for the Tuareg north. Many Tuareg believe the MNLA gave up too much and do not trust the Mali government.

June 16, 2013: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) admitted that it had lost two of its senior leaders (Abdelhamid Abou Zeid and Abdallah Al Chinguetti) to French forces earlier this year (February and March). AQIM kept insisting that these two leaders were still alive.

June 9, 2013: French forces captured a terrorist base in the north (in a town on the Niger River near Gao). This one contained five tons of explosives and a workshop for producing suicide bomb vests and roadside bombs.

11 July 2013 From U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - More than 27,000 U.S. and Australian personnel will participate in the military training exercise Talisman Saber 2013 in Australia beginning July 15.

 

The Talisman Saber exercise series is a biennial training event aimed at improving Australian Defence Force (ADF) and U.S. combat readiness and interoperability as a Combined Joint Task Force. The 2013 exercise, which runs through August 5, is designed to enhance collaboration in support of future combined operations, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters.

 

In addition to improving both nations' ability to work bilaterally and multilaterally throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and globally, the exercise also demonstrates the closeness of the Australian and U.S. alliance.

 

 

>> In this file photo from Talisman Saber 2011, National Guard Sgt. Bryan Bates, assigned to Charlie Troop (Long Range Surveillance) 1-158 Cavalry, Hagerstown, Md., and Australian Army Reserve Pte. Julohn Wigness, assigned to the North-West Mobile Force pause for a photo. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sebastian McCormack)

 

Jointly sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Command and ADF Headquarters Joint Operations Command, Talisman Saber 2013 will incorporate U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, the ADF and other government agencies from each country.

 

Participation by Australian government entities includes the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Agency for International Development, the Australian Civilian Corps, the Australian Federal Police, and the Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence.

 

U.S. participating agencies include the U.S. Departments of State, Justice and Agriculture, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

 

<< In this file photo from Talisman Saber 2011, a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 refuels from a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker prior to re-engaging in air-to-air operations. (Australian Defence Force photo)

 

The exercise will focus on training a Combined Joint Task Force of U.S. and Australian forces in a possible conflict scenario, incorporating interagency participation. U.S. Pacific Command units and Australian forces will conduct land, sea, and air drills throughout the training areas.

 

Approximately 18,000 U.S. and 9,000 Australian personnel will take part, including ships from the George Washington Carrier Strike Group and Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked, along with a variety of other U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Army units working alongside their Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force and Australian Army counterparts.

 

Exercise locations in Australia include Rockhampton, Enoggera, Amberley, Williamtown, Richmond, the maritime areas of the Coral Sea; and Australian ranges to include Shoalwater Bay Training Area and Townsville Field Training Area. For all aspects of the exercise, there have been extensive consultations between the U.S. military and Australian government agencies to identify effects and minimize harm to the environment.

 

>> In this file photo from Talisman Saber 2011, U.S. Marines with Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Okinawa, Japan, conduct a weapons drill with Australian Defence Force Craftsman Carl Norling, left, and Pvts. James Newton, middle, and Peter Noble, right, all with 6th Aviation Regiment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jerome Reed)

 

Talisman Saber will also include activities in multiple U.S. locations, including Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; San Diego; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; and Suffolk, Va.

 

Additional information on the exercise will be available on the U.S. Pacific Fleet website at http://www.cpf.navy.mil/talisman-saber/2013/ as the exercise progresses, and through a link from the Australian Defence Force site at www.defence.gov.au/opEx/exercises/ts13/.

 

US Pacific Fleet

Jul 11, 2013 ASDNews Source : BAE Systems PLC

    Helping Navy pilots land safely, every time.

U.S. Navy pilots count on air traffic control and landing systems to be fully operational so they can land safely every time. BAE Systems helps to make that happen. The company has received a $78 million contract to continue providing the Navy with the technical and engineering services needed to guide landings on aircraft carriers, large-deck amphibious assault ships and shore-based facilities.

“Ensuring that the landing systems function properly is paramount to the Navy’s mission and the safety of all pilots,” said Mark Keeler, vice president & general manager of Land & Electronic Systems at BAE Systems. “Our team understands the critical nature of this work, and we have a proven track record of getting the job done.”

For 20 years, BAE Systems has provided the Navy with system installations, certifications, technical assistance, training, mission-critical computer resources, and the repair and restoration of the landing systems.

This new contract is expected to be completed by 2018. The work will be performed at St. Inigoes and Great Mills, Maryland, in addition to other Navy sites, including San Diego, California and Norfolk, Virginia.

10/7/2013 EU source: European Parliament -  Ref: EP13-032EN

Summary: 10 July 2013, Brussels - The European Parliament inquiry into alleged spying by the US and EU countries will hold hearings with their authorities, legal and IT experts, NGOs, data protection authorities, national parliaments following this issue and private firms involved in data transfers, the Civil Liberties Committee decided on Wednesday. The first hearing takes place on 5 September.

The Civil Liberties Committee inquiry will gather information and evidence to investigate alleged surveillance activities by the US authorities and EU countries. It will then assess the impact of these activities on EU citizens' fundamental rights, in particular those to data protection and respect for private life, freedom of expression, the presumption of innocence and an effective remedy.

MEPs will also look into the best tools for redress should violations of these rights be confirmed, make recommendations to prevent further violations and advise on how to strengthen IT security in EU institutions, bodies and agencies.

Hearings

From September, the inquiry will hold public hearings of representatives of the US authorities, European Commission and Council, member states' representatives, participants in transatlantic experts groups, legal and IT experts, NGOs, data protection authorities, national parliaments and IT companies involved in transferring data to NSA or equivalent systems.

One of the first hearings is to be devoted to "the US PRISM programme and legal issues related to FISA" (the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act). Possible speakers include the US Ambassador to the EU, US National Security Agency officials, legal experts and representatives of US organisations such as the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Studies

The Civil Liberties Committee will commission several expert studies. The first two will deal with surveillance programmes conducted by the US and EU countries and with the follow-up to recommendations made by the Echelon Committee.

Civil Liberties Committee delegation to Washington

Civil Liberties Committee MEPs could hold meetings related to this inquiry with US authorities and US Congress during a delegation visit to Washington already planned for the end of October. The Foreign Affairs Committee plans to pay a similar visit.

Next steps

MEPs' conclusions and recommendations will be set out in a report to be presented to Parliament as a whole by the end of the year. The political groups will have to agree swiftly on which MEP is to draft the report.

So far, twelve meetings have been scheduled to take place before the end of the year. The first will be held on 5 September in the afternoon.

In the chair: Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, ES) and Sophie in 'T Veld (ALDE, NL)

July 10 By Rajiv Chandrasekaran - washingtonpost.com

The U.S. military has erected a 64,000-square-foot headquarters building on the dusty moonscape of southwestern Afghanistan that comes with all the tools to wage a modern war. A vast operations center with tiered seating. A briefing theater. Spacious offices. Fancy chairs. Powerful air conditioning.

Everything, that is, except troops.

Read more

11 juillet 2013 Romandie.com (AFP)

MEXICO - Le Mexique enquête sur un rapport selon lequel son précédent gouvernement avait autorisé les Etats-Unis à installer sur son territoire un système d'interception des appels téléphoniques et des communications par internet, a indiqué mercredi un porte-parole gouvernemental.

Le président mexicain Enrique Peña Nieto a jugé mercredi soir qu'il serait totalement inacceptable que les Etats-Unis aient espionné des usagers de télécommunications en territoire mexicain, lors d'un événement dans l'Etat du Chihuahua (nord), selon le site internet du quotidien La Jornada.

Le président mexicain a toutefois indiqué que pour le moment il n'y a pas les conditions pour altérer le climat de respect et de cordialité que nous avons établi avec le gouvernement des Etats-Unis.

Le journal Excelsior avait affirmé dans son édition de mercredi que l'ex-président conservateur Felipe Calderon (2006-2012) avait passé un accord avec le Département d'Etat américain en 2007, autorisant l'installation au Mexique d'un système permettant l'interception, le traitement, l'analyse et le stockage d'appels téléphoniques, de courriers électroniques ou de conversations sur le web.

Le ministère mexicain de la Justice examine les documents et une enquête est en cours pour déterminer si un acte illégal a été commis, a indiqué le porte-parole du ministère de l'Intérieur, Eduardo Sanchez, lors d'une conférence de presse.

Selon le rapport publié par Excelsior, le système fonctionnait sous le contrôle de la défunte Agence fédérale d'investigation (AFI) et du ministère mexicain de la Justice, au nom du combat contre le trafic de drogue et le terrorisme.

L'équipement avait été vendu par Verint System au gouvernement américain pour un montant de 3 millions de dollars, ce qui implique, selon le journal, que les Etats-Unis avait accès à l'information en provenant.

Nous allons vérifier si le contrat existe et dans quelles conditions il se trouve, a dit le porte-parole.

L'administration de Calderon avait été marquée par une coopération étroite avec les Etats-Unis dans la lutte contre les cartels de la drogue.

Le président mexicain Enrique Peña Nieto, investi en décembre, s'est engagé a poursuivre sa coopération avec le Etats-Unis dans ce domaine, mais avec une différence importante : toutes les agences américaines doivent dorénavant passer par le filtre du puissant ministère mexicain de l'Intérieur, alors qu'auparavant elles pouvaient traiter directement avec leurs homologues mexicaines.

Le gouvernement mexicain avait exigé mardi des Etats-Unis une information complète sur les cas supposés d'espionnage de pays latino-américains, révélés par le quotidien brésilien O Globo. Ce journal citait des documents provenant de l'ex-consultant du renseignement américain Edward Snowden.

Jul 10, 2013 ASDNews Source : Phoenix International Holdings, Inc.

Phoenix International Holdings, Inc. announced that the company has taken delivery of their Bluefin-21 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) after designer and manufacturer Bluefin Robotics completed a depth upgrade from a 1,500-meter to a 4,500-meter capability.

The Phoenix AUV is equipped with field-swappable acoustic  and optical payloads.  The acoustic payload section can concurrently operate a Reson 7125 multibeam (400kHz), Edgetech 2200-M side scan sonar (120/410 kHz), and Edgetech DW2-16 sub-bottom profiler (2-16 kHz) on 20 hour dives at speeds up to 3.5 knots.  The optical payload section can collect high resolution black and white imagery up to 3 frames per second using a Prosilica GE1900 camera system with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution.  This highly capable and portable deep-water vehicle ships air freight to deploy on vessels of opportunity.  The average loadout specifications which include the AUV, mission support equipment, and lithium ion batteries consist of 20 pieces totalling 10,000 lbs. and occupies 1,000 cubic feet.

“We are quite pleased with this upgraded vehicle,” said Phoenix CEO, Mike Kutzleb. “And we’re ready to go to work.”

July 9, 2013 Source: ReconRobotics, Inc

EDINA, Minn. --- ReconRobotics, Inc., the world leader in tactical micro-robots and remotely deployed sensor systems, announced today that it has passed the 4,000 robots sold plateau, making it the second largest producer of military and police robots in the world. Recent sales of Throwbot XT and Recon Scout XL micro-robots to police agencies in Michigan, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, New York, California, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands pushed the company over this significant milestone.

The only company that has sold more military and police robots is iRobot, which reports 5,000 robots sold and began selling its Packbot in 2001, six years before ReconRobotics entered the market.

“When we came on the scene in 2007, all military and police robots were large and complex and were operated only by trained experts,” said Alan Bignall, President and CEO of ReconRobotics. “Our vision was radically different: give warfighters and SWAT operators an incredibly simple, personal system that weighed one pound and enabled them to remotely deploy video, infrared and audio sensors to reveal hidden threats. What we are most proud of is the countless lives these 4,000 deployed systems have saved over the last six years.”

Among the users of the company’s systems are the U.S. military and allied friendly forces, and more than 800 police and counterterrorism teams, worldwide. The company’s Recon Scout XL and Throwbot XT robots protect operators by providing immediate situational awareness and greater standoff distance during high-risk operations. These capabilities protect personnel from hidden threats, enhance mission planning and execution, and minimize collateral damage.

ReconRobotics is the world leader in tactical, micro-robot systems and remotely deployed sensor systems. The company is based in Edina, Minnesota, USA, and markets its products through a distribution network in 45 countries. Its international operations are based in Lugano, Switzerland.