DTN News: Canada Awards Harris C$273 Million CF-18 Contract

Defense News: DTN News: Canada Awards Harris C$273 Million CF-18 Contract

Source: This report being compiled by Roger Smith - DTN News from reliable source including Reuters

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - October 18, 2010: Canada has awarded Harris Corp a nine-year C$273 million ($270.3 million) contract to help service its fleet of CF-18 fighter jets, the communications and information technology company said on Sunday.

The Florida-based company said the contract is for a six-year period plus three additional option years.

Harris said its Canadian unit will provide repair and overhaul, engineering support, program management, life cycle support and obsolescence and material management services to support the avionics systems on the jets.

Separately, the Canadian government said over 40 full-time positions will be maintained in Calgary, Alberta on an annual basis for the length of the contract.

Canada last month extended a C$467 million maintenance contract for its CF-18 fleet with a division of L-3 Communications Holdings Inc.

The CF-18s are due to reach the end of their working lives in about 2020.

Ottawa earlier this year said it would replace them with 65 new F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp for C$9 billion, a deal that has been criticized by opposition politicians.

CF-18 Fighter Jets: A versatile, world-class fighter aircraft, the supersonic CF-188 Hornet (or CF-18 as it is popularly known) can engage both ground and aerial targets. Its twin engines generate enough thrust to lift 24 full-size pick-up trucks off the ground.

As the Canadian Air Force’s frontline multi-role fighter, the CF-188 is used for air defence, air superiority, tactical support, training, aerobatic demonstration, and aerospace testing and evaluation.

The aircraft is equipped with a sophisticated radar system that can track targets in all weather and from great distances. A Sniper Advanced Targeting pod, which contains an infra-red (heat-sensitive) camera and TV camera, allows pilots to see targets at night and in low visibility conditions. The pod also has a laser designator to guide precision bombing, and a laser spot tracker. The newly acquired Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) allows the pilot to effectively designate targets anywhere around the aircraft.

Because of its superior power and speed, and its exceptional tracking capabilities, the CF-188 has had great success in hundreds of military operations in Canada and around the world.

During the Gulf War, Canada sent 24 CF-188s to Qatar to participate in the American-led Desert Shield and Desert Storm campaigns. Canadian Air Force pilots flew more than 5700 hours and 2700 sorties.

Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, Canada’s fighter force is committed to protecting North America from future threats. As part of Operation Noble Eagle, NORAD’s mission to safeguard North American skies, CF-188s maintain a constant state of alert, ready to respond immediately to potential threats to continental security. Most recently, CF-188s were heard over the skies of British Columbia, where they provided around the clock support to the 2010 Olympic Games, helping to ensure that this special sporting event did not become a security event.

*THIS ARTICLE IS BEING POSTED FROM TORONTO, CANADA BY DTN NEWS ~ DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS, CONTACT:DTNNEWS@YMAIL.COM

DTN News: Japan PM Worried Over Safety Of Japanese In China

Defense News: DTN News: Japan PM Worried Over Safety Of Japanese In China

Source: This report being compiled by Roger Smith - DTN News from reliable source including Reuters

(NSI News Source Info) TOKYO, Japan - October 18, 2010: Japan's prime minister on Monday urged China to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens and firms and called for calm after Chinese protesters took to the streets over a territorial feud straining ties between Asia's top economies.

Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply last month after Japan detained a Chinese trawler captain whose boat collided with Japanese patrol ships near the disputed islands -- called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has come under fire domestically for appearing to cave in to Chinese demands to release the captain. On Saturday, thousands marched in Tokyo to assert Japan's claim to the rocky isles, which are near potentially huge oil and gas reserves in the East China Sea.

"Regarding the Chinese protests against Japan on the 16th and 17th, we will tell the Chinese authorities that it is regrettable and ask them to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals and Japanese companies in China," Kan told a parliamentary panel.

"Both sides need to work hard (on the matter) in a calm manner," Kan added. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said Japan had already conveyed its message to Beijing.

The feud has raised concerns about fallout for business given deep economic ties between the two Asian giants. China replaced the United States as Japan's biggest trade partner last year.

China canceled diplomatic meetings in protest over the trawler captain's detention, and concerns have been simmering that Beijing is holding back shipments of rare earth minerals that are vital for electronics goods and auto parts.

"The countersteps that China has taken are extremely hysterical," Maehara said.

"When it comes to rare earth (export stoppages), while China's commerce ministry is denying any such steps, things have not really returned to normal yet, creating a situation that does not fit well with the spirit of the WTO (World Trade Organization)."

On Sunday, China called on its people to stay within the law in their "understandable" anger at Japan.

An estimated crowd of 2,000 gathered in downtown Chengdu, capital of China's southwestern Sichuan Province, from early afternoon on Saturday, unfurling banners and shouting: "Defend the Diaoyu Islands," "Fight Japan" and other slogans.

In Tokyo on the same day, more than 2,000 protesters marched to the Chinese Embassy, waving flags and chanting in opposition to China's claim to the uninhabited islands.

Sino-Japan ties have long been plagued by China's bitter memories of Tokyo's past military aggression, rivalry over resources and mutual mistrust about military intentions.

But relations had until recently been improving after deep strains sparked major anti-Japan protests in China in 2005.

Japan and China are trying to arrange a formal summit meeting between the two countries' leaders at the end of October on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam.

Kan and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao both called for better ties at an informal meeting in Brussels earlier this month, but they also stressed their claims to the uninhabited islands.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Writing by Linda Sieg; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Chris Gallagher)

*THIS ARTICLE IS BEING POSTED FROM TORONTO, CANADA BY DTN NEWS ~ DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS, CONTACT:DTNNEWS@YMAIL.COM

DTN News: India's Proposed For The 5th Generation Fighter Su-30 With Radar Can Simultaneously Attack Eight Targets

Defense News: DTN News: India's Proposed For The 5th Generation Fighter Su-30 With Radar Can Simultaneously Attack Eight Targets

Source: This report being compiled by Roger Smith - DTN News

(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 18, 2010: India's proposed for the Su-30 radar with 5 generation machine, which can attack 8 targets.

According to the Russian "tie" network on October 11 reported for the Indian Air Force has decided to equip the Su-30MKI multi-role fighter is equipped with Russian-made "beetle-AE" active phased array radar system, the radar system can betrack 30 targets simultaneously and one of the eight attack.

The DTN News reports that India has ordered nearly 280 fighters Su-30MKI.

according to Russian reports, "link" network on October 11 reported that the Indian Air Force has decided to equip its Su-30MKI multi-role fighter is equipped with Russian-made "beetle-AE" active phased array radar system. Indian Air Force sources said the Su-30MKI for the new radar installation work will begin in 2012.

In the Indian Air Force MiG -35 to bid for 126 new fighter procurement plan process, the Indian military has repeatedly about the "beetle-AE" radar performance. In addition, India and Russia plan to T-50 fifth generation fighter based on the joint development of a new generation of fighter aircraft will be equipped with "beetle-AE" radar system.

Indian Air Force Su-30MKI fighters active equipment, but N011M type passive phased array radar. N011M target of a class of fighters maximum detection distance of 140 km and can track up to 15 air targets and guide the missile while attacking one of the four.And "beetle-AE" goal of a class of fighters maximum range can reach 200 kilometers, up to track 30 targets simultaneously and one of the eight attack.

Except for aircraft equipment, the Russian-made "beetle-AE" can also be used to equip other types of aircraft and sea-and land-based systems. For example, they use active phased array radar technology may also be applied, "Diamond - Aetna" company to develop air defense systems. The Russian Navy also expressed the hope to use this radar equipment, carrier-based aircraft, helicopters and even warships.

According to the development of the radar's "Fazhatelong Radio Manufacturing Institute," the company said, "beetle-AE" of the active detection range is significantly greater than the fourth-generation fighter radar. In addition, the radar synthetic aperture with its excellent ability to also be able to draw a map of high accuracy. "Beetle-AE" is not only able to distinguish a moving target, but also identify them by the second identifying the exact model, in particular, it is able to identify a single target in a cluster the number of goals.


Indian Defense Ministry has previously said it would start in the last few years, Su-30MKI fighters on active duty the overall modernization program.

Indian Ministry of Defence introduced, said Su-30MKI in the upgrade process, will install advanced avionics and other equipment to improve their overall operational capability, technical and tactical performance and flight performance. At the same time, also lengthened the fuselage structure to enable it to carry jointly developed by Russia and India, the production of "Brahmos" supersonic cruise missiles.

At present, India has ordered nearly 280 Su-30MKI fighters, while the Su-30MKI fighters are considered the same level in the world, one of the best aircraft, and Indian Air Force as the primary means of attack.

*THIS ARTICLE IS BEING POSTED FROM TORONTO, CANADA BY DTN NEWS ~ DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS, CONTACT:DTNNEWS@YMAIL.COM

DTN News: Lockheed Martin Awarded $24M Contract To Continue Maritime Surveillance Systems For Anti Submarine Warfare

Defense News: DTN News: Lockheed Martin Awarded $24M Contract To Continue Maritime Surveillance Systems For Anti Submarine Warfare

*Automated Signal Processing Capabilities Will Increase Undersea Situational Awareness

Source: DTN News / Lockheed Martin

(NSI News Source Info) SAN DIEGO, - October 18, 2010: Advanced acoustic processing and tracking capabilities provided by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] will enhance underwater surveillance and help increase situational awareness for the U.S. Navy fleet.

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a follow-on contract from the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command to provide technology updates and new concepts to detect and track submarines. This contract extension is valued at $24 million.

“For more than 10 years we have provided the Navy with innovative automation technology to counter asymmetric threats and conduct anti-submarine warfare,” said Jim Quinn, vice president -of Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions-Defense. “The capabilities we are providing will help detect, track, and localize undersea threats faster and more accurately.”

The team will engineer enhancements to the Navy’s common Integrated Undersea Sensor System hardware and software baseline, or Integrated Common Processor (ICP) system, which assists operators in localizing and tracking surface and subsurface maritime contacts. Managed by the Program Executive Office, Littoral Mine Warfare, PMS 485, the ICP system is being developed to provide a common workstation across all legacy and future undersea sensors and platforms.

In addition, Lockheed Martin will improve automation and localization capabilities to enable automatic detection and tracking of contact-generated acoustic energy (often described as lines on sonar grams). These automation capabilities will support key Navy initiatives to improve detection and tracking capabilities well into the future while simultaneously reducing operator workload, simplifying operator training, and limiting system development costs.

Lockheed Martin has supported the Program Executive Office, Littoral Mine Warfare since 2005, providing PMS 485 with acoustic signal processing in support of fixed and towed array systems.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 136,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s 2009 sales from continuing operations were $44.5 billion.

Media Contact: Suzanne Smith, 303-932-5230; e-mail, suzanne.m.smith@lmco.com

For additional information, visit our website: http://www.lockheedmartin.com

DTN News: Chinese Navy - Current Status Of MCM Ships With PLAN

Defense News: DTN News: Chinese Navy - Current Status Of MCM Ships With PLAN

Source: Information Dissemination

(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 18, 2010: There is a new minesweeper class coming into service with China recently. I thought it would be a good time to go through the history of PLAN mine warfare development.

MCM operation has long been a huge weakness in PLAN. If ASW is widely viewed as the Achilles Heel of PLAN, then MCM is not that far behind. As numerous navies started to develop a new generation of MCM ships in the 70s and 80s built with glass-reinforced plastic material, equipped with remotely operated vehicle mine neutralization system and advanced minehunting and classification sonar, China was stuck with Soviet 50s era T-43/Type 6610 minesweepers.

China bought the licensed production to Project 254K and 254M minesweepers in the 50s. The first 4 vessels that were built with Soviet supplied kits were Type 6605. After that, China started to build Type 6610 based on Soviet documentations to Type 254M minesweepers. As time went on, China eventually indigenized everything after the Soviet-China split and made more modifications to turn Type 6610 into more of a patrol boat.

A total of 33 Type 6610 vessels were built all the way up to 1987 and several of which were even involved in real combat against Vietnamese Navy. Even now, PLAN still operates about 15 of these Type 6610 minesweepers including the frequently photographed No. 830 to 834 of East Sea Fleet.


By the late 1970s, China started development of a new type of coastal minesweeper. This class, known as the Type 082 Wosao class, first joined service in 1988. They are 44.8 m long, 6.2 m wide and have a draft of 3.7 m. They were the first sign of a post T-43 + modernized minesweeping design by China. They were equipped with Type 316 mini contact sweep, type 317 magnetic sweep, type 318 acoustic sweep and type 319 infrasonic sweep. These vessels can also be used to control the Type 312 remote minesweeping drones. This ship class basically consists of the original Type I variant ships (No. 801 to 803) and the improved Type II variant (No. 806、807、816、817, 820 to 827). You can recognize the difference just by looking at the bridge. Here are some of the ships from this class.




As we arrived at the current wave of PLAN modernization, MCM was clearly a huge weakness in PLAN. The Type 082 class is modern compared to T-43, but they are only suitable for coastal operations and are not modern by international standard. PLAN needed MCM vessels that would push it to the modern level of MCM ships that came into service with different NATO navies in the 80/90s like the Avenger class, Tripartite class, Sandown class and Type 343 Hameln class. PLAN has kind of moved into this new era of MCM operation with 2 new classes in the past few years. The first one is the Type 081 minesweeper. They are built more for seagoing mine warfare operations than Type 082. They are larger, probably close to the size of T-43s, equipped with more modern sweeping systems, mine detection sonar and modern command system (like GPS, radar, display console, combat system). At the current time, we know of at least 4 units of this class (805, 810, 839 and 840). Each of these ships cost around $37 million in 2008. The second MCM class is the Type 082II (or another designation) minehunter. So far, there is only one unit of this ship built. As you can see with the photos below, it is very similar in size to Type 081. I would say they are both around 550 to 600 ton in displacement.




I think it has taken a while for the next ship of this class to come out, because it represented too much of an advancement in PLAN. Similar to other ship series, this first unit is testing out a lot of new equipments and concepts before further units are built. This is probably the first MCM ship in PLAN system that does not use any kind of mechanical sweep and probably the first one to be built with Glass reinforced plastic. As shown below, it is also the first MCM ship to be equipped with mine disposing ROV (+crane to lower ROV) and advanced sonar management system. The sonar system is reported to be able to track and identify everything with several hundreds meters. In fact, one of the pictures showed a scale of up to 200 m, but I'm not sure if they have a longer tracking mode.




As it happened, we saw a new class of remote controlled minesweeping drones recently. This development is kind of interesting, because China has been studying different navies around the world for ideas in improvement. In most cases, PLAN follows the path of USN (like 052C + combat system, 071/LCAC, Type 920 hospital ship). In this case, it seems like PLAN found German navy's Ensdorf class to be the one that would be the best for its given requirements. The dimensions of 804 is very similar to Ensdorf class and the dimensions of this new Type 8041 drone is very similar to Seehund drones. It looks like 804 will be operating with 3 or 4 of these drones + ROVs in disposing mines.

DTN News: Russian-Indian Joint Drills Enter Active Anti-terrorism Stage

Defense News: DTN News: Russian-Indian Joint Drills Enter Active Anti-terrorism Stage

Source: This report being compiled by Roger Smith - DTN News from reliable sources RIA Novosti

(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - October 18, 2010: Russian troops started on Sunday an active phase of anti-terrorist drills on Indian territory as part of joint Russian-Indian exercises, the Russian Defense ministry said.

"As part of the exercises, international Russian-Indian units have been set up, which are currently practicing operational coordination, working on practical training missions in mountains, arranging interaction between units," the ministry said.

"In particular, mixed companies have started patrols in the areas of the presumed terrorists' location. Mobile checkpoints have been set up on mountainous paths and roads to exclude the penetration of terrorists into populated areas and important state facilities," the ministry said.

The INDRA-2010 exercises were launched on October 16 at Chaubattia, in Uttarakhand, a mountainous area near the country's border with China and Nepal.

Russia sent more than 200 troops from its 34th mountain brigade, based in the North Caucasus, to join the Indian troops in the INDRA 2010 drills.

Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft delivered the Russian troops in the north-east of India on Thursday.

The Russian troops are equipped with lightweight Permyachka Infantry Suits, which protect at least 80 percent of the body surface from small-caliber bullets and low-speed shrapnel.

The drills will last through October 24.

The Indian and Russian military have conducted joint INDRA exercises since 2003, including biannual peacekeeping drills.

India's military cooperation with Russia goes back nearly half a century, and the Asian country accounts for about 40% of Russian arms exports.

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DTN News: CWG Delhi 2010 - Suresh Kalmadi And Sheila Dikshit Are Mud Slinging Bollywood Style Drama"Knock Out"

Defense News: DTN News: CWG Delhi 2010 - Suresh Kalmadi And Sheila Dikshit Are Mud Slinging Bollywood Style Drama"Knock Out"

*

Kalmadi hits back at Sheila Dikshit

Source: This report being compiled by Roger Smith - DTN News from reliable sources including IANS & NDTV

(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 18, 2010: Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, Sunday hit back at Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for casting aspersions on it, saying this was 'disappointing' and 'uncalled for.' ("Knock Out" movie poster has no reference to this report or article)

Kalmadi strongly defended the OC and said that despite a series of attacks in the runup to the Games, he was quiet, but this should not be taken as weakness.

'Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's aspersions on corruption in

the OC are most 'disappointing and uncalled for. It is not right to deflect and point fingers at others when she must indulge in self-reflection on corruption in her own departments. She has said that the ways of the Organising Committee are mysterious whereas the Commonwealth Games chief, Mr. Michael Fennell, declared the conduct of the Games as exceptional and successful,'

Kalmadi said in a statement.

Kalmadi also criticised Dikshit's attempt to take sole credit for getting the Games Village ready in time.

'The Games have succeeded because of the efforts of Team India, including a large number of people and agencies and not any individual. Mrs. Dikshit's attempt to take credit for getting the Games Village ready in time does not fit with the team concept. The lieutenant governor of Delhi and the Organising Committee, who were preparing the Village for over two years, co-ordinated the work of a number of agencies to ensure that it was entirely ready to welcome the athletes.'

'We have already welcomed the prime minister's decision to set up a probe panel and have said that we will support it. We are sure that the terms of reference of the Shunglu Committee will include not just the scope of work undertaken by the OC at a budget of

Rs.1,620 crore but also the Rs.16,000 crore spent by the Delhi government.'

Kalmadi, in his first strong statement since the OC came under a corruption cloud, said his patience should not be seen as a sign of weakness.

'The OC was constantly being criticised for delays and shoddy work when we were not at all involved in any construction activity. Unmindful, we kept defending the venues and infrastructure and reassured the Games family that everything would be ready in time for the Games.

'I was quiet as I wanted the Games to succeed. Keeping quiet should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness. Nor should patience be seen as a sign of guilt. It was more important to focus on the task of conducting the Games well.

'National pride was at stake and I didn't want that to be affected,' Kalmadi maintained.

'Our challenge was to keep the morale of our workforce of over 4,000 high. We succeeded in doing that and ensuring the smooth delivery of the largest ever Commonwealth Games. But, on Dusshera day, I owe it to the OC that we speak out. We don't want to be the scapegoats anymore,' he added.

Kalmadi also listed out the responsibilities undertaken by the government for the Games.

'In 2005, in the overall scheme of preparation for the Games, government laid down the following institutional arrangement:

'Sports infrastructure is to be developed by government agencies and funded directly by the government. The development, upgradation and improvement of the city infrastructure are to be done by the government of Delhi with the support of the government of India.

'The responsibility for the conduct and delivery of the Games is of the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi,' he said.

Kalmadi said he is proud that the world has declared that conduct of the Games was faultless, with all competitions being held as per schedule.

'A massive amount of work was done in planning and preparing for the Games by innumerable people under the guidance of the Indian Olympic Association and the National Sports Federations. The execution of these plans was impeccable. It led OC to deliver the spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremonies that were overseen by the Group of Ministers,' Kalmadi pointed out.

Blaming Dikshit for the delays in infrastructure mess, Kalmadi said reports of lapses in getting the city infrastructure ready caused many teams to believe that Games could not be held.

'When the foot overbridge near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed, it led to doubts about the safety of the people. Reports of delays in getting the city ready also caused many teams to believe that Games could not be held. We had to do a lot of hand-holding and cajoling to ensure that the full complement of 71 nations and territories took part in the Games.'

'We would like to point out that all decisions in the OC are made by the Executive Board, which includes two representatives each of the central and Delhi governments. And the Prime Minister's Office deputed a number of government officers to work with the Organising Committee.'

'Transparency and accountability remain the watch words in the OC. We are confident that the guilty will not be spared irrespective of which agency they belong to,' Kalmadi maintained.

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• Kalmadi meets Reddy ahead of GoM meeting on Monday
• No further tax burden on Delhiites due to spending on CWG: CM
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DTN News: Boeing Team Demonstrates Fully Immersive Training Environment For US Army Ground Forces

Defense News: DTN News: Boeing Team Demonstrates Fully Immersive Training Environment For US Army Ground Forces

Source: DTN News / Boeing - Dt. Oct 14

(NSI News Source Info) FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo., - October. 17, 2010: The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] was part of a team that demonstrated a fully immersive and integrated environment for ground forces training Sept. 29-30 at Fort Leonard Wood. The environment replicated an urban setting in Afghanistan, including costumed actors fluent in the local languages, realistic audio effects and typical architecture.

"Our customers want to provide their soldiers and Marines with a training environment as comprehensive as aircrews receive in aircraft simulators," said Mark McGraw, Boeing vice president for Training Systems & Services. "If we can train them in immersive and stressful environments before they deploy, we can help them make better decisions to accomplish their missions and return home safely."

Boeing has identified and created innovative training tools that can be seamlessly integrated into existing facilities at other military installations. These include the Virtual Mission Board -- a table with a built-in touch screen for tracking participants, controlling the exercise and recording data for the after-action review.

Boeing's industry partners for the event included Advantage Mold Inc., Creative Technologies Inc., the Leonard Wood Institute, Iowa State University, Laser Shot Inc., MiLanguages, Military Wraps, Ubisense and Zebra Imaging.

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 $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

# # #

Note to media: The Virtual Mission Board will be on display Oct. 25-27 during the Association of the United States Army annual meeting in Washington. A media demonstration will take place Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. Eastern time at the Boeing booth.

Contact:

Alison Sheridan
Boeing Training Systems & Services
Office: 314-232-8187
Mobile: 314-614-4823
alison.sheridan@boeing.com

DTN News: CWG Delhi 2010 - Witchhunt Has Started To Find Scapegoat For Excessive Expenditure To Tune Of US$ 14 Billion

Defense News: DTN News: CWG Delhi 2010 - Witchhunt Has Started To Find Scapegoat For Excessive Expenditure To Tune Of US$ 14 Billion

Source: Special report by Roger Smith - DTN News

(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 17, 2010: The media has already decided to convict Suresh Kalmadi as the major player in conjuction for excessive expenditure, alleged irregularities and corruption involved in organising the Commonwealth Games 2010 for 12 days sports show costing treasury Rs. 70,000 crores or US$ 14 billion, hugely successful and incident free.

In the interim, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday, Oct 15 sent a harsh message to the tainted Organising Committee by not inviting OC chief Suresh Kalmadi to his residence, where he met and congratulated the CWG 2010 medal winners. However, Sports Minister MS Gill was part of the meeting.


The clamour for Kalmadi’s head resumed on Friday. The Congress distanced itself from him, saying, “We are not in the business of giving a clean or unclean chit to anyone.”
This is in tune with Sonia Gandhi’s message at the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting on August 19: “I trust that as soon as the Games are over, the government will look into the allegations of malpractice and spare no one found involved.”

Just a day after the conclusion of the 12-day sporting event, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) began the investigation. On Friday, Oct 15, the auditing

watchdog sent its inspection officials to the CPWD office to check the account related to the Games projects.

"We have started with the CPWD office inside the S P Mukherjee Stadium today. Now that the athletes have vacated the venues, we will gradually start sending our inspection officers to all the stadia," a CAG official is quoted as saying.

The Centre appointed the high-level committee headed by the former Comptroller and Auditor-General, VK Shungloo, to look into “all aspects of organising" of the scandal-marred Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Quoting the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), media reports suggest that the committee is expected to submit its report to Dr Manmohan Singh in three months.

It would be imperative for Suresh Kalmadi to present his case/story voluntary to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) instead being pursued, to maintain his credibility as Kalmadi is being isolated from every concern. Once Kalmadi's case is being processed, obviously heads will roll and instead of three months resolving the case, it will linger for timeless a period like any other numerous cases in the twilight zone in Indian history.

Let us see, if Dr Manmohan Singh's government has the real will to stamp out corruption and bring those entities invovled in alleged irregularities and corruption for CWG Delhi 2010 to justice.

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Colourful ceremony draws curtains on 2010 Commonwealth Games

A dazzling laser show and a musical extravaganza on marked the finale of the Commonwealth Games, the biggest sporting event hosted by India which crowned itself with sporting glory by winning an unprecedented 101 medals.

PM snubs Kalmadi: No invite for athletes' reception

Colourful ceremony draws curtains on 2010 Games

India's journey from one to 101 medals

Saina clinches gold after thrilling win

World champions Australia trounce India 8-0

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DTN News: Falcon Country

Defense News: DTN News: Falcon Country

Source: Strategy Page

(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 17, 2010: In Egypt, the old air force is fading fast, and the emerging one looks like it s American counterpart. That's because Egypt is one of the largest operators of the F-16 Fighting Falcon (number 4, actually ), and has 195 in service and another 25 on order.

Egypt is also buying new accessories for their F-16s, including targeting and reconnaissance digital camera pods as well as defense electronics (radar and missile detectors.) Another order for 24 F-16/50/52 fighters is pending. This new order would give Egypt 244 F-16s. Some of the 38 older F-16A/B models are being either upgraded or retired. The rest are C or D models.

The F-16 is the core of Egyptian air power, as their remaining combat aircraft consists of 78 aging French Mirage F5s and Mirage 2000s, 110 Russian and Chinese MiG-21s, and 24 U.S. F-4s. The main reason Egypt has so many F-16s is because, as part of the 1977 peace deal with Israel, the U.S. has been providing several billion dollars in military and economic aid a year. The understanding is that most of this money will be used to buy American products. The F-16 seemed like a good choice, if only because Israel was very happy with them. So is the UAE, and so is Turkey and Greece. The region can be accurately described as Falcon Country.

There are actually six major models of the F-16 currently in use, and they are identified by block number (32, 40, 42, 50, 52, 60), plus the Israeli F-16I, which is a major modification of the Block 52. Another special version (the Block 60), for the UAE (United Arab Emirates) is called the F-16E. The various block mods included a large variety of new components (five engines, four sets of avionics, five generations of electronic warfare gear, five radars and many other mechanical, software, cockpit and electrical mods.) Countries like Turkey can thus add the new components and turn an older F-16 into a more powerful late model. There are also some older (Block 1, 5, 15, 20, 25, 30) aircraft out there, all with two decade old technology.

The F-16 is the most numerous post-Cold War jet fighter, with over 4,200 built, and more in production. There are 24 nations using the F-16, and 14 have ordered more, in addition to their initial order. During The Cold War, Russia built over 10,000 MiG-21s, and the U.S over 5,000 F-4s, but since then warplane production has plummeted about 90 percent. Even with the end of the Cold War in 1991, the F-16 has been popular enough to keep the production lines going. This despite the fact that the F-35 is supposed to replace the F-16. But the F-35 price keeps going up (it's headed north of $100 million per aircraft), and the F-16 continues to get the job done at half that price.

*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

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