26th August 2008, 02:38 pm
Tehran Times
Iran has launched the production line of a new domestically-manufactured submarine in an attempt to boost its defensive capabilities.
Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar inaugurated the production line of the new submarine Qaaem, on Monday.
Qaaem functions as a submarine capable of carrying and firing various torpedoes and subsurface missiles with a special operation crew onboard.
During the opening ceremony, the Iranian defense official said the Islamic Republic has become self-sufficient in manufacturing all types of military vessels.
Continue reading ‘Iran begins new submarine production’ »
22nd August 2008, 01:33 am
First time since WWII an Italian sub has crossed Atlantic
By Jennifer Grogan Published on 8/21/2008
The Day.com
Groton— The SMG Salvatore Todaro (S 526) arrived at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton Thursday morning, with the Italian flag flying from the sail and crewmembers standing on top of the ship to check out their new surroundings.
“Where else do you bring a sub but the submarine capital of the world,” Capt. Mark S. Ginda, base commanding officer, said, in explaining the reason for Todaro’s visit to Groton.
Continue reading ‘Italian submarine and crew visit Groton base’ »
21st August 2008, 11:22 pm
Aug 8, 2008 0:35 | Updated Aug 9, 2008 20:23
Jerusalem Post
By YAAKOV KATZ
If Russia goes through with the sale of its most advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Iran, Israel will use an electronic warfare device now under development to neutralize it and as a result present Russia as vulnerable to air infiltrations, a top defense official has told The Jerusalem Post.
The Russian system, called the S-300, is one of the most advanced multi-target anti-aircraft-missile systems in the world today and has a reported ability to track up to 100 targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12 at the same time. It has a range of about 200 kilometers and can hit targets at altitudes of 27,000 meters.
While Russia has denied that it sold the system to Iran, Teheran claimed last year that Moscow was preparing to equip the Islamic Republic with S-300 systems. Iran already has TOR-M1 surface-to-air missiles from Russia.
Mixed media reports have emerged recently regarding the possible delivery of the system to Iran. Two weeks ago Reuters quoted a senior Israeli official who said the system would be delivered to Iran by the end of the year. In response, the Pentagon released a statement rejecting the assessment and saying that the US did not believe Iran would get it in 2008.
Continue reading ‘Israel: ‘We’ll neutralize S-300 if they’re sold to Iran’’ »
21st August 2008, 02:53 am
August 20, 2008 by admin
Pakistan Defence
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has agreed to upgrade 42 Pakistani F-16 fighter jets.
Negotiations will be done later this year and then the contract for upgrading the F-16 fighter jets will be awarded to the Turkish company.
Continue reading ‘Turkish Aerospace Industries to upgrade 42 F-16 jets’ »
21st August 2008, 02:33 am
News Release
Raytheon
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M., Aug. 5, 2008 /PRNewswire/ —
A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter aircraft fired the newest variant of Raytheon Company’s (NYSE: RTN) Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile May 22 as part of developmental testing.
The AIM-120D AMRAAM passed well within lethal range of the QF-4 target drone. The missile destroyed the target and met all primary test objectives.
Continue reading ‘New AMRAAM Variant Destroys Target During Recent Test’ »
21st August 2008, 02:26 am
Thu Aug 21, 2008 1:20am EDT
By Martin Roberts
MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish jet heading for the Canary Islands crashed on takeoff and burst into flames at Madrid airport on Wednesday, killing 153 of the people on board, the government said.
Smoke billowed up near Terminal Four from the remains of Spanair’s Flight JK5022, an MD-82 jet bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, which broke into pieces in an accident which Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez said left 19 survivors.
The 15-year-old plane, with 166 passengers and nine crew, shot off the runway at 2:45 p.m. local time (1245 GMT), according to Spanair. The airline put the number of people aboard at a slightly higher figure than government officials.
Witnesses described a huge explosion.
“Only the tail was recognizable, there was wreckage scattered all over the place and dead bodies across a wide area. A lot of them were children,” Ervigio Corral, who headed the emergency services’ rescue effort, told reporters.
Continue reading ‘153 killed in Madrid airport plane crash’ »
21st August 2008, 02:21 am
South Korea’s Black Eagles to fly KAI T-50
By Siva Govindasamy
Korea Aerospace Industries
South Korea’s air force aerobatics team will use the Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 from 2010, after the service inked a 10-aircraft deal worth an estimated 200 billion won ($200 million) this week.
The “Black Eagles”, who have performed over 500 times outside South Korea, last flew the Vietnam War-era Cessna A-37 “Dragonfly” that was retired in 2007 after the Seoul air show.
The team will be formed again after the first T-50 is delivered in 2010.
Continue reading ‘South Korea’s Black Eagles to fly KAI T-50’ »
21st August 2008, 02:15 am
Press Release
Lockheed Martin
MARIETTA, Ga., August 18th, 2008 —
The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP) flight test team has successfully completed developmental testing of all three C-5 RERP test aircraft. The testing included verification of performance and reliability enhancements to the propulsion system, utilities and subsystems, flight controls, airframe and avionics systems.
Continue reading ‘Lockheed Martin C-5m Super Galaxy Completes Flight Test’ »
21st August 2008, 02:01 am
Press Release
Boeing
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 19, 2008 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded a U.S. Army contract valued at approximately $36 million to continue developing a truck-mounted, high-energy laser weapon system that will destroy rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds.
Under the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD) Phase II contract, awarded Aug. 15, Boeing will complete the design of, then build, test and evaluate, a rugged beam control system on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. Boeing also will develop the system-engineering requirements for the entire HEL TD laser weapon system. Boeing successfully completed the preliminary design of the beam control system earlier this summer.
Continue reading ‘Boeing Awarded Contract to Continue Developing Mobile Laser Weapon’ »
20th August 2008, 01:55 am
The Associated Press
Published: August 13, 2008
International Herald Tribune
SAN FRANCISCO: The U.S. Navy agreed Tuesday to limit the loud, low-pitched sonar used to detect submarines in response to criticism by environmentalists that the sound was threatening whales and other marine mammals hundreds of miles away.
The settlement in federal court restricts the Navy’s use of low-frequency sonar to specific military training areas near Hawaii and in the western Pacific Ocean.
“When you put that much sound in the ocean, there’s a need to be careful in how you use it and where you go,” said Michael Jasny, a policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, a plaintiff in the case.
Continue reading ‘United States: Navy agrees to limit submarine-detecting sonar’ »
20th August 2008, 12:17 am
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A Navy anti-submarine warship caught fire during a routine patrol in the waters off Lampung with all personnel on board surviving the accident.
Navy spokesperson First Adm. Iskandar Sitompul said Tuesday the warship KRI Memet Sastrawiria, commanded by Maj. Gema Eka Putra, was heading to Labuhan Siging port when fire gutted the port side of its stern.
“We are still investigating the cause of the fire. More importantly, everybody is safe,” Iskandar said.
The warship is a Parchim class corvette once operated by East Germany. Indonesia bought the corvette as part of the 1985 purchase of 39 East German warships.
Continue reading ‘Indonesia: Warship ablaze, but none injured’ »
20th August 2008, 12:14 am
Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:03pm EDT
By James Kilner
TBILISI (Reuters) - The Kremlin said its forces would pull back from Georgia’s heartland by Friday to positions set out under a French-brokered peace plan, amid mounting Western criticism about the slowness of the troop withdrawal.
Washington said it had yet to see any serious pullout and accused Russia of targeting civilians and wanting to strangle Georgia.
“It’s becoming more and more the outlaw in this conflict,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said of Russia, escalating a stream of criticism from Washington.
“They intend and probably still do intend to strangle Georgia and its economy,” she said in Brussels, where she attended a NATO meeting on the crisis.
In Gori, a strategic town on Georgia’s main east-west highway, six Russian armored personnel carriers, three tanks and two other vehicles headed towards Russia on Tuesday in what Moscow said was the start of its promised withdrawal.
But nearby other Russian troops were seen digging trenches near artillery positions. In parts of western Georgia, far from the breakaway South Ossetia region at the heart of the conflict, Russian forces also showed no sign of preparing to depart.
Continue reading ‘Russia says troops to leave Georgia by Friday’ »
17th August 2008, 11:59 pm
By andrew chuter
Published: 14 Aug 14:16 EDT (18:16 GMT)
Defense News
LONDON - The possibility of British warships firing 155mm artillery is a step closer to reality after an announcement from BAE Systems that it has signed a deal with the Ministry of Defence to build a gun to undertake land-based firing trials next year.
CORDA, BAE’s consulting arm, together with the company’s Land Systems business in Britain and defense research company QinetiQ, hope to start live-firing trials in fall 2009 with a 155mm naval gun based on the British Army’s AS90 self-propelled howitzer system.
Continue reading ‘BAE to Build 155mm Naval Gun for U.K.’ »
17th August 2008, 11:55 pm
Shift of cargo to arms and people is feared
boston.com
By Bryan Bender
Globe Staff / August 17, 2008
KEY WEST, Fla. - Skimming just below the surface, they are extremely difficult to detect from surveillance aircraft or patrol boats. Their sleek design, up to 80 feet in length, can secretly carry several tons of cargo thousands of miles.
These “semi-submersibles,” which exhibit some of the same characteristics as military submarines, mark a significant advancement in the ability of drug smugglers to slip past coastal defenses.
Continue reading ‘For US, a terror threat lurks in drug smuggling subs’ »
16th August 2008, 10:02 pm
By TONY KARON
Fri Aug 15, 11:25 AM ET
Yahoo News
Washington hawks insist that the remedy to Russia’s military humiliation of Georgia is to expedite the smaller country’s incorporation into NATO. After all, Moscow might think twice about attacking any nation able to trigger the Atlantic Alliance’s Article 5, which obliges all member states to respond militarily to an attack on any one of them. President Bush, in fact, toured Europe last spring to stump aggressively for Georgia and Ukraine to be granted Membership Action Plans, the first step towards joining the Alliance. But despite Bush’s high-profile campaigning, the proposal was rebuffed at NATO’s April summit by 10 member states, led by key U.S. allies Germany and France. That rebuff, said Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain, “might have been viewed as a green light by Russia for its attacks on Georgia,” and he urged European NATO members to “revisit the decision.”
Continue reading ‘The Georgia Crisis: A Blow to NATO’ »