DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated January 30, 2012

Defense News: DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated January 30, 2012

 Source: U.S. DoD issued No. 066-12 January 30, 2012

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 30, 2012: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued January 30, 2012 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

            Tactical & Survival Specialties, Inc.*, Harrisonburg, Va., was issued a modification exercising the second option year on contract SPM8EJ-09-D-0001/P00016.  The award is a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $5,680,898,304 for delivery of items supported by the Special Operational equipment, tailored Logistics Support Program.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies.  There were 14 responses to the Web solicitation.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2011 Defense Working Capital Funds.  The date of performance completion is March 9, 2013.  The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.

         

   W.S. Darley & Co.*, Itasca, Ill., was issued a modification exercising the second option year on contract SPM8EJ-09-D-0002/P00015.  The award is a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $5,622,398,304 for delivery of items supported by the Special Operational equipment,  tailored Logistics Support Program.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies.  There were 14 responses to the Web solicitation.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2011 Defense Working Capital Funds.  The date of performance completion is March 9, 2013.  The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.

           

 Source One Distributors, Inc.*, Wellington, Fla., was issued a modification exercising the second option year on contract SPM8EJ-09-D-0004/P00017.  The award is a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $5,470,398,304 for delivery of items supported by the Special Operational equipment, tailored Logistics Support Program.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies.  There were 14 responses to the Web solicitation.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2011 Defense Working Capital Funds.  The date of performance completion is March 9, 2013.  The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.

           

 Atlantic Diving Supply*, Virginia Beach, Va., was issued a modification exercising the second option year on contract SPM8EJ-09-D-0003/P00017.  The award is a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $4,316,398,304 for delivery of items supported by the Special Operational equipment, tailored Logistics Support Program.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies.  There were 14 responses to the Web solicitation.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2011 Defense Working Capital Funds.  The date of performance completion is March 9, 2013.  The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.

           

 Vital Images, Inc., Minnetonka, Minn., was issued a modification exercising the first option year on contract SPM2D1-11-D-8342/P00003.  The award is a fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract with a maximum $12,000,000 for radiology systems, subsystems, and components.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies.  There were 43 responses to the Web solicitation.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012/2013 Defense Working Capital Funds.  The date of performance completion is Jan. 31, 2013.  The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.

          

  United Technologies Corp., East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract with a maximum $7,264,529 for F-100 rotor compressor.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using service is Air Force.  There was one solicitation with one response.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 operation and maintenance funds.  The date of performance completion is May 30, 2014.  The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (SPRTA1-09-G-0001-0300).

NAVY

            Insitu, Inc., Bingen, Wash., is being awarded a $41,090,719 ceiling priced modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-11-C-0061) to exercise an option for operational and maintenance services in support of the ScanEagle unmanned aerial systems. These services will provide electro-optical/infra red and mid-wave infrared imagery in support of land-based operations in Operation Enduring Freedom to provide real-time imagery and data.  Work will be performed in Bingen, Wash., and is expected to be completed in February 2013.  Contract funds in the amount of $41,090,719 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

            

CGI Federal, Inc., subsidiary of CGI Technologies and Solutions, Inc., Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $28,206,792 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for information technology support services for the Joint Strike Fight Program Office.  Work will be performed in Arlington, Va. (70.49 percent); Rosamond, Calif. (8.57 percent); Patuxent River, Md. (7.62 percent); Ridgecrest, Calif. (2.86 percent); Dayton, Ohio (2.86 percent); Point Mugu, Calif. (1.90 percent); Valparaiso, Fla. (1.90 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (1.90 percent); and Jacksonville, Fla. (1.90 percent).  Work is expected to be completed in January 2013.  This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1.  Contract funds in the amount of $3,520,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.   The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity (N68335-12-C-0119).

            

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, L.L.C., Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $23,959,388 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery requirements contract (N00019-11-D-0024) to exercise an option for contractor logistics support and Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) support for the T-39 Undergraduate Military Flight Officer (UMFO) Training Program.  This effort includes support of the UMFO government-owned T-39N and T-39G aircraft and associated equipment, including organizational and depot level repair.  In addition, this provides intermediate level maintenance and support for Chief of Naval Air Training aircraft, transient aircraft, tenant, and other services activities at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla., and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and surrounding areas through the AIMD.  Work will be performed in Pensacola, Fla. (75 percent), and Corpus Christi, Texas (25 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2012.  No funds are being obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

       

     The Boeing Co., Boeing Defense, Space and Security, St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $12,444,077 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N68335-10-C-0491) to exercise an option for the manufacture, test, and delivery of six AN/USM-702 reconfigurable transportable consolidated automated support systems and three self maintenance and test calibration interface devices.  Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo. (58 percent); North Reading, Mass. (40 percent); and Stillwater, Okla. (2 percent).  Work is expected to be completed in April 2013.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity.

            The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded an $8,261,510 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-10-C-0030) to procure an additional 700 precision laser guidance set kits for the Air Force.  Work will be performed in Haifa, Israel (37 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (32 percent); and St. Charles, Mo. (31 percent).  Work is expected to be completed in August 2012.  Contract funds in the amount of $1,357,246 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICE

            Washington Metropolitan Area Transit, Washington, D.C., is being awarded a $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide funding for Department of Defense transportation benefits for its employees.  Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2016.  Washington Headquarters Service is the contracting activity (HQ0034-12-A-001-0002).

DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY

            Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., is being awarded a $14,189,4020 technology investment agreement.  The goal of this agreement is for Novartis to perform a research and development program designed to develop a self-replicating RNA vaccine platform.  Work will be performed in Cambridge, Mass.  Work is expected to be completed by November 2015.  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is the contracting activity (HR0011-12-3-0001).

*Small business

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources U.S. DoD issued No. 066-12 January 30, 2012
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DTN News - DEFENSE ACCOUNTABILITY: U.S. Defense Department Can't Account For Billions For Iraq, Audit Finds

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE ACCOUNTABILITY: U.S. Defense Department Can't Account For Billions For Iraq, Audit Finds
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Josh Levs, CNN
 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 30, 2012: The U.S. Defense Department cannot account for about $2 billion it was given to cover Iraq-related expenses and is not providing Iraq with a complete list of U.S.-funded reconstruction projects, according to two new government audits.

The reports come from the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

The Iraqi government in 2004 gave the Department of Defense access to about $3 billion to pay bills for certain contracts, and the department can only show what happened to about a third of that, the inspector general says in an audit published Friday.

Although the Department of Defense (DoD) had "internal processes and controls" to track payments, the "bulk of the records are missing," the report says, adding that the department is searching for them.

Other documents are missing as well, including monthly reports documenting expenses, the audit says.

"From July 2004 through December 2007, DoD should have provided 42 monthly reports. However, it can locate only the first four reports."

A letter accompanying the report is signed by Stuart Bowen, the inspector general. The audit was overseen by Glenn Furbish, assistant inspector general for audits.

In a response letter also contained in the report, Defense Under Secretary Mark Easton acknowledges "a records management issue."

The audit says it believes records management is to blame, and "has been an ongoing problem for DoD in Iraq. By all accounts, DoD established good internal processes and controls to account for and report on" the funds it was given after the Coalition Provisional Authority dissolved.

Where the records did exist, they matched other records and contained "good financial documentation supporting individual payments." Also, there is "sufficient evidence" that required monthly reports were sent to the government of Iraq, even though they can't be found, the audit said.

The audit deals with a time when Iraq's government was undergoing a transition. The Coalition Provisional Authority ran the country for 14 months from 2003 to 2004. During that time, the authority awarded numerous contracts. When it dissolved in 2004, the Iraqi government gave the U.S. Defense Department access to the $3 billion to pay bills for contracts the provisional authority had awarded.

The Defense Department letter from Easton -- the department's deputy chief financial officer -- thanks the inspector general's office for "the collaborative effort and professional courtesy" in a series of audits.

Separately, the inspector general's office sent a letter Sunday to the U.S. ambassador to Iraq complaining that the U.S. government is not providing Iraq with a complete list of reconstruction projects.

The U.S. criteria for selecting which projects to report to Iraq -- which include only those valued at $250,000 or more -- is a central part of the problem, the letter says.


The U.S. Embassy says the system is designed to help Iraq "focus its limited resources on sustainment of infrastructure and other large capital projects done through U.S. reconstruction efforts," the report notes.

The inspector general's office argues that the limited list -- which is also "hampered by unreliable data and other data entry problems" -- does not allow Iraq to decide where to focus its resources, and notes that the country might consider some smaller projects more important than those that are reported.

"Without more comprehensive knowledge about reconstruction projects the (Iraqi government) will not be in a position to maximize the use of its resources," the report says.

Billions of dollars in spending are not reported to Iraq under the current system, the report says.

In a response letter, Peter Bodde, assistant chief of mission for the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, says that while the current system is incomplete, "it does capture the vast majority of reconstruction projects and there is no other alternative that captures more."

He also notes that the Iraq reconstruction effort "is now in its very last stages, and all remaining capital projects will be reported through the asset transfer process."

The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction was created in 2004 to continue oversight of Iraq reconstruction programs.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Josh Levs, CNN 
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DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Syrian Forces Battle To Retake Damascus Suburbs

Defense News: DTN News - SYRIA UNREST:  Syrian Forces Battle To Retake Damascus Suburbs
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Reuters
 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 30, 2012:  Syrian soldiers killed 19 people in fighting to retake Damascus suburbs from rebels on Sunday, activists said, a day after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of mounting violence.

Around 2,000 soldiers in buses and armored personnel carriers, along with at least 50 tanks and armored vehicles, moved at dawn into the Ghouta area on the eastern edge of Damascus to reinforce an offensive in the suburbs of Saqba, Hammouriya and Kfar Batna, activists said.

The army pushed into the heart of Kfar Batna and four tanks were in its central square, they said, in a move to flush out rebels who had taken over districts just a few kilometers from President Bashar al-Assad's centre of power.

"It's urban war. There are bodies in the street," said one activist, speaking from Kfar Batna. Activists said 14 civilians and five insurgents from the rebel Free Syrian Army were killed there and in other suburbs.

The Arab League suspended the work of its monitors on Saturday after calling on Assad to step down and make way for a government of national unity. It said Arab foreign ministers would discuss the Syrian crisis on February 5.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby left for New York on Sunday where he will brief representatives of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to seek support for an Arab peace plan that calls on Assad to step aside after 10 months of protests.

He will be joined by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, whose country heads the league's committee charged with overseeing Syria.

Speaking shortly before he left Cairo for New York, Elaraby said he hoped to overcome resistance from China and Russia over endorsing the Arab proposals. "There are contacts with China and Russia on this issue," he said.

A Syrian government official was quoted by state media as saying Syria was surprised by the decision to suspend operations, which would "put pressure on (Security Council) deliberations with the aim of calling for foreign intervention and encouraging armed groups to increase violence."

Assad blames the violence on foreign-backed militants.

ARMY DEATHS

State news agency SANA reported funerals on Saturday for 28 soldiers and security force members killed by "armed terrorist groups" in Homs, Hama, Deraa, Deir al-Zor and Damascus province.

Another 16 soldiers were reported killed on Sunday. SANA said six soldiers were killed in a bombing southwest of Damascus, while the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 10 soldiers were killed when their convoy was attacked in Jabal al-Zawiya in northern Syria.

Faced with mass demonstrations against his rule, Assad launched a military crackdown to try to subdue the protests. Growing numbers of army deserters and gunmen have joined the demonstrators, increasing instability in the country of 23 million people at the heart of the Middle East.

The insurgency has been gradually approaching the capital, whose suburbs, a series of mainly conservative Sunni Muslim towns bordering old gardens and farmland, known as the al-Ghouta, are home to the bulk of Damascus's population.

One activist in Saqba suburb said mosques there had been turned into field hospitals and were appealing for blood supplies. "They cut off the electricity. Petrol stations are empty and the army is preventing people from leaving to get fuel for generators or heating," he said.

The Damascus suburbs have seen large demonstrations demanding the removal of Assad, a member of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that has dominated the mostly Sunni Muslim country for the last five decades.

TOWN BESIEGED

In Rankous, 30 km (20 miles) north of Damascus by the Lebanese border, Assad's forces have killed at least 33 people in recent days in an attack to dislodge army defectors and insurgents, activists and residents said on Sunday.

Rankous, a mountain town of 25,000 people, has been under tank fire since Wednesday, when several thousand troops laid siege to it, they said.

France, which has been leading calls for stronger international action on Syria, said the Arab League decision highlighted the need to act.

"France vigorously condemns the dramatic escalation of violence in Syria, which has led the Arab League to suspend its observers' mission in Syria," the Foreign Ministry said.

"Dozens of Syrian civilians have been killed in the past days by the savage repression taken by the Syrian regime ... Those responsible for these barbarous acts must answer to their crimes," it said.

The Arab League mission was sent in at the end of last year to observe Syria's implementation of a peace plan, which failed to end the fighting. Gulf states withdrew monitors last week, saying the team could not stop the violence.

The United Nations said in December more than 5,000 people had been killed in the protests and crackdown. Syria says more than 2,000 security force members have been killed by militants.

On Friday, the U.N. Security Council discussed a European-Arab draft resolution aimed at halting the bloodshed. Britain and France said they hoped to put it to a vote next week.

Russia joined China in vetoing a previous Western draft resolution in October, and has said it wants a Syrian-led political process, not "an Arab League-imposed outcome" or Libyan-style "regime change.

(Additional reporting by Erika Solomon, Dominic Evans and Mariam Karouny in Beirut; Editing byJanet Lawrence)

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Reuters
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DTN News - ISRAEL DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing And Israel Aerospace Industries Mark 10 Years Of Cooperation

Defense News: DTN News - ISRAEL DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing And Israel Aerospace Industries Mark 10 Years Of Cooperation
>Companies extend work agreement on Arrow Weapon System
>Arrow 3 next step in Israel's national missile defense strategy
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources  Boeing
 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 30, 2012: The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that it has renewed its work agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on the Arrow Weapon System, and enhanced the IAI-Boeing Strategic Teaming Agreement to explore and develop new opportunitiesin the missile defense arena. Leaders of both companies gathered at IAI headquarters in Tel Aviv on Jan. 19 for a signing ceremony that also marked the 10th anniversary of the Boeing and IAI partnership.

"The Arrow program demonstrates Boeing's commitment to developing international missile defense partnerships around the globe," said Boeing Network & Space Systems President Roger Krone. "We are pleased to mark this 10-year milestone by expanding our cooperation on missile defense initiatives with our partner IAI."

Over the past 10 years, Arrow, the world's first operational national missile defense system, has become a vital anti-ballistic-missile defense strategy for Israel's national defense. IAI is the prime contractor for the Arrow Weapon System. It initiated, developed and deployed the in-service Arrow 2 program and, together with Boeing, is developing the Arrow 3 system -- a crucial asset in Israel's multi-tier anti-ballistic-missile defense strategy.

"This new agreement is the next logical step in our relationship with Boeing and a strong opportunity for both companies to play a bigger role in the missile defense market. It is based on a strong foundation of successful cooperation," said Itzhak Nissan, IAI president and CEO.

"Boeing's relationship with IAI has produced an innovative, versatile and affordable advanced missile defense capability. We look forward to our continued partnership and the development of the next generation of Arrow interceptor," said Greg Hyslop, vice president and general manager of Boeing Strategic Missile and Defense Systems.

The Arrow program has been a cooperative effort between the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the Israel Missile Defense Organization since 2002.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 63,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

Contact:

Scott Day
Strategic Missile and Defense Systems
Office: +1 703-872-4206
Mobile: +1 703-403-3083
scott.day2@boeing.com

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing 
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DTN News - US DEFENCE BUDGET CUTS: More Drones But 80,000 Fewer Troops

Defense News: DTN News - US DEFENCE BUDGET CUTS: More Drones But 80,000 Fewer Troops
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Scotsman
 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 30, 2012: The United States is to increase its fleet of unmanned drones by nearly a third and rely more on small, specially trained ground units as part of a slimmed down military.

As part of massive cuts to its budget, the army plans to shed 80,000 soldiers over the next few years, defence secretary Leon Panetta announced yesterday.

But he added the enforced belt-tightening would be an opportunity to modernise the military, with a focus on technology and the use of agile, rapid-deployment combat teams.


The US would also be refocusing it attention towards China and the Pacific, while seeking strategic partnerships in areas in which it will be cutting its presence, such as Europe.

The rethink was prompted by the need to find $487 billion (£310bn) in spending cuts over the next decade. Mr Panetta conceded it meant slashing the number of soldiers in the army from about 570,000 to 490,000 over the next decade.

Speaking from the Pentagon, he said: “The military will be smaller and leaner. But it will be agile, flexible, rapidly deployable and technologically advanced. It will be a cutting-edge force”.

He said he refused to allow the “hollowing out” of the US’s military might, and that the new strategy would “emphasise special operation forces”.

The effectiveness of these small, dedicated units was seen in the assassination of terror chief Osama bin Laden last year and the rescue of a US aid worker and her Danish colleague from Somali pirates this week.

The envisaged refocusing on smaller rotational bases will be at the expense of larger military sites, with closures expected to take place as part of the budget cuts.

There will be more money available for technologically advanced weapons and measures to counter cyber-terrorism.

Mr Panetta did not say how many more drones would be developed under the plan, but an increase of about 30 per cent has previously been reported.

Any rise in the use of umanned aircraft is likely to be met with suspicion by those who believe that their use endangers innocent life.

Figures from the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism show CIA drones stuck Pakistan 75 times in 2011, causing up to 655 fatalities. The majority of those killed were alleged militants, but as many as 126 civilians may also have lost their lives, the figures suggest.

The shrinking of the US army was signalled earlier this month in comments made by president Barack Obama.

Outlining plans to trim the armed forces, he said the US was ”turning a page on a decade of war”, with the end of hostilities in Iraq and the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan.

The president also fired a warning shot over China, by indicating the US would refocus its attention towards the Pacific region. As part of that repositioning, the US plans to station troops in Australia and dock navy ships in Singapore.

Meanwhile, US officials have been in talks with their counterparts in the Philippines over greater co-operation and an intensification of war drills in the region. It comes amid greater concern in Washington over both China’s rise as a military power and instability on the Korean peninsula following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Scotsman
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DTN News - UKRAINE DEFENSE NEWS: Ukraine Boosts Military Budget By 30%

Defense News: DTN News - UKRAINE DEFENSE NEWS: Ukraine Boosts Military Budget By 30%
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Ria Novosti
 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 30, 2012: Ukraine’s 2012 military spending will increase by around 30 percent, to about $2 billion or 1.1 percent of GDP, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s financial department said on Wednesday.

The ministry expects to spend about $120 million for purchases and modernization of military equipment, as well as scientific and military design projects, including the production of L-39 Albatros jet trainers and MiG-29 fighter jets. Ukraine’s existing fleet of MiG-29, L-39 and Su-25 close air support aircrafts will also be modernized.

Head of Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Financial Department Lt. Gen. Yvan Marko said 21 jets, five helicopters and 612 vehicles will be repaired and modernized this year.

Ukraine’s 2012 state defense order will stand at $184 million, four times more than last year, including $54 million to build a corvette-class ship and $13 million for the construction of the Sapsan multifunctional missile system.

Ukraine’s military budget amounted to 0.8 percent of GDP on average over the past few years, substantially less than the average 1.3 percent of other Eastern European states.

Related News

• Ukraine to boost military cooperation with Russia in 2011
• Ukraine to draw up new military doctrine in near future
• Ukraine to make its military leaner but meaner
• Ukraine proposes cutting military by 20%

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Ria Novosti
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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