Frontier India Strategic and Defence - News, Analysis, Opinion

Akash SAM downs UAV in flight trial

The Akash Missile has successfully hit the bull’s eye for the fifth time in a row in the last ten days at test range in Balasore. The fifth and last trial successfully took place at 2.15 pm today at Chandipur- on- sea. The missile destroyed an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which was flying simulating the air attack. The target vanished from the radar screen when the missile was guided precisely in close proximity and the warhead blast occurred, much to the delight of users present in the flight campaign. This is the grand finale of the ten days users campaign meticulously planned by the Indian Air Force.
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Advanced Mission Computers for Navy F-18 Aircraft

The U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command has awarded General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems a $43 million contract modification to continue producing advanced mission computers for new and currently operational F-18 aircraft. The F-18 advanced mission computer (AMC) is a ruggedized, high-performance/high-reliability mission and display-processing system. This multi-functional processing system is built upon a Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS), open systems architecture and is configurable to any operating environment. It performs general purpose, input/output, video, voice and graphics processing and is designed to operate reliably in the extreme environmental conditions of today’s high-performance fighter aircraft.
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KMW delivers 10 FENNEK to German Bundeswehr.

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co KG (KMW) has been commissioned by the German Ministry of Defence to supply ten brand new FENNEK reconnaissance vehicles to the Joint Fire Support Teams (JFST) of the Armed Forces, resulting in a 31.3 million Euro deal for KMW.

Furthermore KMW has received a contract to deliver four highly protected DINGO 2 patrol verhicles to the Czech Republic. Next to Belgium, Germany and Austria, Czechia is now the fourth user nation that protects its soldiers with the DINGO 2. The contract also contains deliveries for training services and special tools.
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Fifth GPS Satellite Block IIR Launched

A U.S. Air Force modernized Global Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) satellite, was launched successfully today from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II launch vehicle. Designated GPS IIR-18M, the satellite is the fifth in a series of eight Block IIR-M spacecraft for the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. The Block IIR-M series includes new features that enhance operations and navigation signal performance for military and civilian GPS users around the globe.
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Boeing Forms New Intelligence and Security Systems Division

The Boeing Company announced that it has formed a new Intelligence and Security Systems (I&SS) division that will provide ground-based and other integrated intelligence and security solutions for a variety of U.S. government customers.

Steve Oswald, a retired U.S. Naval Reserve rear admiral and former astronaut, was named vice president and general manager of the new I&SS division, reporting to Roger Krone, president of the Network and Space Systems business of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. Oswald brings to the assignment extensive experience in national security and the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) field. I&SS will be based in the Washington, D.C. area.
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$849 million contract for Trident II D5 Missile

The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract valued at $849 million for fiscal year 2008 production and deployed system support for the Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) program.

Work under the contract includes D5 production support, including reentry system hardware, and operations and maintenance to support the readiness and reliability of missile systems deployed aboard FBM submarines and at on-shore facilities.
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Boeing and HAL sign 10 year MoU for $1 billion in new aerospace business in India

The Boeing Company and India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) today signed a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) intended to bring more than US$1 billion of new aerospace manufacturing work to India.

The agreement, signed in New Delhi by Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, and Ashok K. Baweja, chairman of HAL, also includes sharing key Boeing business and manufacturing tools with HAL.
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Pelosi: ‘I Cannot Support Spending Billions More in Iraq With No Strings Attached’

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today opposing a Senate amendment to the fiscal 2008 Consolidated Appropriations bill that provided additional funding for the war in Iraq: “Our troops are spending their fifth Christmas season in Iraq. Under the President’s plan, they can look forward to spending at least another decade there. The President contends that the presence of 30,000 additional U.S. troops over the past few months has improved security, but the Iraqi government has not used this opportunity to move aggressively toward national reconciliation.

“Last month, the House voted to provide $50 billion for Iraq, conditioned on deploying only fully trained and equipped troops and on setting a reasonable goal for when all of our forces can return home. The President and his Republican enablers in Congress rejected that bill. Their plan is for a war without end.
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U.S. Congress Passes Cluster Bomb Export Moratorium

US Congress today will effectively ban the export of US cluster munitions during 2008. Cluster munitions have caused thousands of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon and Kosovo in recent years. The ban is included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act that Congress is expected to send to the president late Wednesday. President Bush will likely sign before Christmas. “An export moratorium is a good first step,” said Lora Lumpe, coordinator of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines and a lobbyist at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers). “We will work in the coming year to make the export ban permanent and to prohibit the US military’s use of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.”
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ITT and Thales NL sign SMART-S Mk2 License Agreement

ITT Corporation and Thales Nederland have signed an exclusive agreement for ITT to build and market the SMART-S Mk2 radar system in the United States and for FMS/FMF programs.

The license agreement was officially signed earlier this year and the two teams recently met on November 28 for a signing ceremony. ITT Vice President and General Manager Willam Devlin hosted the event at the companies’ Gilfillan radar facilities in Van Nuys, California. During the visit the teams toured the ITT factory, discussed opportunities within the US, and participated in an executive seminar on “Lean Six Sigma” implementation in ITT.
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US Mrap Vehicle Orders Top 11,900

The Department of Defense today announced a contract award for an additional 3,126 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to be manufactured and completed by end of July 2008. Four manufacturers received the delivery orders totaling just under $2.66 billion.

MRAPs, with more than 1,200 in theater, have proven their value by saving the lives of warfighters by mitigating blast effects through the uniquely designed V-shaped hull and raised chassis. This contract award by the MRAP Vehicle Joint Program Office continues the rapid procurement and acquisition process for these life-saving vehicles with the release of four delivery orders resulting in a total of 11,941 vehicles in the life-saving fleet by mid-summer. The total approved acquisition objective for all services is 15,374 which includes vehicles produced for training and testing purposes.
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Royal Air Force Museum’s conservation centre open week

Next year, the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre (MBCC) at Royal Air Force Museum Cosford is opening its doors to the public for the first time. The MBCC is one of the finest aircraft conservation centres in the world. To enable greater public access and an understanding of the centre’s work, it will be opening its doors to visitors for two exclusive periods in 2008. Visitors to the Museum will gain exclusive behind-the-scenes access to aircraft conservation work and have a rare opportunity to view current projects, including work being undertaken on the Handley Page Hampden bomber, Lindbergh’s Miles Mohawk and the Sopwith Dolphin.
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Boeing Sets Up UK Defense Subsidiary

he Boeing Company has appointed Mike Kurth as managing director of Boeing Defence UK, Ltd., to establish and initially lead the newly structured business, effective Jan. 1, 2008.

Kurth will be responsible for coordinating all of Boeing’s defense activities and business development in the UK, working with Sir Roger Bone, president, Boeing UK, to pursue growth opportunities and partnerships. Supporting Kurth are Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Jonathan Bailey and Brian Moran, who also have joined the senior management of Boeing Defence UK, which currently has around 150 employees at 20 locations throughout the UK.
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