DTN News - TURKISH DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Begins Maintenance Training For Turkey's Peace Eagle AEW&C Aircraft

Defense News: DTN News - TURKISH DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Begins Maintenance Training For Turkey's Peace Eagle AEW&C Aircraft
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 24, 2012: The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has begun an extensive maintenance training program for Turkey's Peace Eagle Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) program at a Boeing facility near Seattle.

Classroom training for 10 Turkish Air Force personnel and two Turkish Airlines employees is being conducted by instructors from Boeing Defence Australia and Boeing Training and Flight Services. The training covers all aspects of the 737 AEW&C aircraft, including mechanical avionics, mission systems and electronic warfare subsystems.

The students will have access to computer-based training, simulators, training devices, and hands-on experience aboard the first Peace Eagle aircraft.

"Training is a critical part of the full capability Boeing is providing in the Peace Eagle program," said Mark Ellis, Peace Eagle program manager for Boeing. "Boeing is working closely with the Turkish Air Force and Turkish industry to ensure that they can effectively use and maintain this powerful airborne surveillance, communications and battle-management system."

81 students are scheduled to take the system maintenance courses at the Boeing facility over the next 10 months. Another 85 will train at the Peace Eagle main operating base in Konya, Turkey. Additionally, mission crew training is under way for 20 Turkish Air Force personnel at a Seattle-area facility.

The Peace Eagle program includes four 737 AEW&C aircraft plus ground support segments for mission crew training, mission support and system maintenance. System requirements verification testing is ongoing at Boeing facilities in Seattle and in Turkey. Turkish Aerospace Industries in Ankara, Turkey, is modifying three aircraft and providing flight operations. HAVELSAN in Ankara is providing system software and the Ground Support Center. Boeing is on plan to deliver the first aircraft by the end of 2012.

The 737-700 commercial airplane on which the AEW&C aircraft is based features 21st century avionics, navigation equipment and flight deck. Because of its advanced technology and a worldwide base of suppliers, parts and support equipment, the aircraft requires minimal downtime for maintenance.

The Peace Eagle AEW&C aircraft is equipped with Northrop Grumman's Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array antenna with integrated Identification Friend-or-Foe capabilities. The system also includes a flexible, open architecture for cost-effective future upgrades, an extensive communications suite and aerial refueling capability.

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 62,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

Contact:

Dave Sloan
Boeing Defense, Space & Security
+1 253-657-8008
david.a.sloan@boeing.com

Chantal Dorange
Boeing International Corporate Communications
+34 91-426-4504
chantal.dorange@boeing.com

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
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DTN News - INDONESIA DEFENSE NEWS: Northrop Grumman To Collaborate With Indonesian Partner Companies To Produce Ground-Based Radar Systems

Defense News: DTN News - INDONESIA DEFENSE NEWS: Northrop Grumman To Collaborate With Indonesian Partner Companies To Produce Ground-Based Radar Systems
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Northrop Grumman
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 24, 2012: Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) executed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Sixth National Radar Seminar in Bali, Indonesia with PT Industri Telekomunikasi Indonesia and the Research Centre For Electronics And Telecommunications of The Indonesian Institute Of Sciences to facilitate collaboration on pending ground-based radar opportunities in Indonesia.

The Northrop Grumman AN/TPS-78 is the latest generation of state-of-the-art radars made possible by advances in high power transistor technology and designed to operate in some of the harshest, most unforgiving environments. Proven in the field, the S-Band long-range AN/TPS-78 is the choice of the U.S. Air Force and customers worldwide.

"With this agreement, Northrop Grumman will bring its recognized leadership in ground radars together with our Indonesian business partners' combined expertise in electronics research and manufacturing and knowledge of the unique needs of the Indonesian government," said Robert Royer, vice president of international systems at Northrop Grumman's Land and Self Protection Systems Division. "Our team looks forward to participating in the upcoming Indonesian ground-based radar competition designed to help Indonesia increase air surveillance control and secure its border."

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.


CONTACT: Ken Beedle
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*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Northrop Grumman
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Chinese Firm Suspected In Missile-Linked Sale To North Korea According To U.S. official

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Chinese Firm Suspected In Missile-Linked Sale To North Korea According To U.S. official
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Matt Spetalnick - Washington Reuters
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 23, 2012: The United States believes a Chinese firm sold North Korea components for a missile transporter showcased in a recent military parade and will press Beijing to tighten enforcement of a U.N. ban on such military sales, a U.S. official said on Saturday.

The Obama administration suspects the Chinese manufacturer sold the chassis - not the entire vehicle - and may have believed it was for civilian purposes, which means it would not be an intentional violation of U.N. sanctions, the senior official said.

But such a sale - coming to light amid tensions over a failed North Korean rocket launch earlier this month - raises concerns in Washington on whether China is making enough of an effort to abide by the prohibition on weapons sales to Pyongyang.

The New York Times first reported on U.S. findings about the origin of parts of the transporter launcher system - essentially a large truck on top of which a missile is mounted - displayed in a parade in Pyongyang on Sunday.

The newspaper said the administration suspected the Chinese manufacturer involved in the transaction was Hubei Sanjiang. The official, who confirmed details of the administration's thinking on the matter, said the firm likely sold the part to a front company that was used to mask the buyer's true identity.

Beijing, reclusive North Korea's only major ally, has denied it has broken any rules, although a modern, eight-axle missile transporter spotted in the military parade to celebrate the founder of North Korea was said by some western military experts to be of Chinese design and possibly origin.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday that China has provided some assistance to North Korea's missile program, but he said he did not know the "exact extent of that."

The White House plans to convey its concerns to China and use the incident to ratchet up pressure on Beijing to tighten enforcement of international sanctions on North Korea, the U.S. official said. It was unclear, however, exactly how such a complaint would be lodged.

Under United Nations Security Council resolutions from 2006 and 2009, states including China are banned from helping North Korea with its ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities as well as supplying heavy weapons.

TENSIONS AFTER ROCKET LAUNCH

Pyongyang has said it was ready to retaliate in the face of widespread condemnation of its failed rocket launch, increasing the likelihood the isolated state will go ahead with a third nuclear test.

After last week's launch, which the United States said was a disguised long-range missile test, the Obama administration responded by suspending a food aid deal with North Korea. Pyongyang insists the launch was meant to put a satellite into orbit.

Obama had pressed Chinese President Hu Jintao at a global nuclear security summit in Seoul last month to use its influence to get Pyongyang to cancel the launch. But administration officials had doubted Beijing, an increasingly assertive U.S. rival in the Asia-Pacific region, would act forcefully enough.

China has called for "dialogue and communication" as tensions with North Korea mount and reiterated its long-standing call for a return to regional denuclearization talks that have been stalled for years.

Panetta was asked during testimony before the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee whether China had been supporting North Korea's missile program through "trade and technology exchanges."

He declined to give details but said, "Clearly there's been assistance along those lines."

Panetta said there was "no question" North Korea's efforts to develop long-range missile and nuclear weapon capability were a threat to the United States. "For that reason we take North Korea and their provocative actions very seriously," he said.

"And China ought to be urging them to engage in those kinds of ... diplomatic negotiations. We thought we were making some progress and suddenly we're back at provocation," he added.

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Vicki Allen)


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Matt Spetalnick - Washington Reuters
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DTN News - IRAN DEFENSE NEWS: Iran Military Says Copying U.S. Drone

Defense News: DTN News - IRAN DEFENSE NEWS: Iran Military Says Copying U.S. Drone
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Marcus George - Reuters
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 23, 2012: Iran's military has started to build a copy of a U.S. surveillance drone captured last year after breaking the software encryption, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace division, said engineers were in the final stages of decoding data from the Sentinel aircraft, which came down in December near the Afghan border, Mehr news agency reported.

Iran said the unmanned aircraft was shot down, but Washington disputes that and says the security systems mean Iran is unlikely to get valuable information from the Lockheed Martin Corp drone.

"The Americans should be aware to what extent we have infiltrated the plane," Fars news agency quoted Hajizadeh as saying. "Our experts have full understanding of its components and program."

Iran's military regular announces defense and engineering developments, but some analysts are skeptical as to how reliable those reports are.

U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, a member of the Armed Services Committee, voiced his own doubts.

"There's a history here of Iranian bluster, particularly now when they're on the defensive because of our economic sanctions against them," Lieberman said in a television interview.

The RQ-170 Sentinel has been widely used since 2010 in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It played a role in the raid in which Osama bin Laden was killed last year, analysts say.

An Iranian defense official said recently that Tehran has received numerous requests for information on the craft and that China and Russia have shown most interest.

The loss of the plane sparked some concerns that sophisticated technology could fall into the hands of countries developing their own unmanned planes. The main worry centers on the special coatings on the craft's surface.

(Editing by Matthew Tostevin)

Related News:
*Sanctions could cost Iran $50 bln


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Marcus George - Reuters
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Fighter Jet’s Skyrocketing Costs Are On Congress’ Radar

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Fighter Jet’s Skyrocketing Costs Are On Congress’ Radar

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By W.J. Hennigan / Los Angeles Times
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 22, 2012: The radar-evading F-35 fighter jet, a nearly $400-billion weapons program under development for more than a decade, is facing its worst turbulence since Washington decided to buy it in 2001 — when it was billed as the most affordable, lethal and survivable military aircraft ever built for the U.S. and its allies.

A two-star general serving as the military's project manager was fired over the program's never-ending problems. The Pentagon has delayed orders of the aircraft, and the fighter jet is caught in the middle of a major spending fight in Congress. What's more, the plane has roiled political debate in Canada, the Netherlands and other allies that are picking up 10% of the development costs.

GRAPHIC: F-35 joint strike fighter

The Obama administration wants to delay the purchase of 179 jets to save $15 billion. But there is pressure to cut more. Next week, the Pentagon's F-35 program manager is set to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Although much of the debate is taking place in Washington, the melodrama is being closely watched in Southern California, where much is at stake. Only last week, executives of F-35 maker Lockheed Martin Corp. made an appearance in El Segundo to remind local businesses and aerospace workers that the F-35 will have a huge financial effect in the years to come — pumping an estimated $6 billion into the state's economy and creating 27,000 jobs.

"The state of California has a huge stake in this," said Danny Conroy, one of Lockheed's directors of the F-35 program. "California is the single biggest supplier base for the F-35 in the country."

Northrop Grumman Corp.is one of 260 companies in California that supply the program — far more than any other state. And the subcontractors are feeling the delays that have plagued many aspects of the F-35.

Northrop, for instance, has 1,665 employees in Palmdale, San Diego and El Segundo working on the program. But it is a fraction of the number of people Northrop had expected to hire by now.

In El Segundo, the company makes 100 parts for the stealth fighter jet. As the second work shift began last week, Northrop manager Chip Oppenlander scanned the vast factory floor and remarked on the dozens of unused workstations.

"I expected things to be much busier by now," he said, wringing his large hands. "We've hired about half as many people as initially planned."

The Pentagon's long-term vision is to replace today's fighter fleets, which have an average age of 22 years. It is centered around a plan to develop one basic fighter plane that could — with a few tweaks — be used on runways and aircraft carriers, and hover like a helicopter for joint use by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

The one-size-fits-all approach has never been tried before, and when test flights began in 2006, problems soon followed. The flaws have been so complicated and so costly that they have put the program nearly a decade behind schedule. The program's costs — once estimated at $233 billion — have skyrocketed to about $396 billion, the Pentagon said last month.

Still, the Pentagon remains dedicated to the program, saying the F-35 is vital to national security in the 21st century.

"As part of the defense strategy that the United States went through and has put in place, we have made very clear that we are 100% committed to the development of the F-35," said Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta last month after a meeting with Mexican and Canadian military leaders. "We absolutely need it for the future."

But the drawn-out development is infuriating to some in Congress because the program was sold as a way to maintain costs and shorten the procurement process by avoiding building three planes on three assembly lines.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reminded fellow lawmakers of this in December, when he took to the Senate floor to criticize the program.

"The Joint Strike Fighter program has been both a scandal and a tragedy," McCain said. "We are saddled with a program that has little to show for itself after 10 years and $56 billion in taxpayer investment that has produced less than 20 test and operational aircraft."

The Pentagon's latest estimated lifetime costs of the F-35 program — to develop, buy, and maintain the planes over 55 years — topped $1.5 trillion. 


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By W.J. Hennigan / Los Angeles Times
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DTN News - PAKISTAN DEFENSE NEWS: Nato Aircraft Making Pakistani Airspace unsafe

Defense News: DTN News - PAKISTAN DEFENSE NEWS: Nato Aircraft Making Pakistani Airspace unsafe
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Javed Mirza - The News Pakistan
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 22, 2012: The Nato aircraft changing their flying levels without taking orders from the traffic control department during the monsoon season, is creating issues for the other traffic flying on different levels and thus making the airspace near Afghan border area more vulnerable to any collision.

The Green 325 area in Balochistan has no radar coverage for 100 miles despite high air traffic frequency, while no data is available of flights taking off from Afghanistan due to telex problems between the aviation authorities of both the countries, sources said.

“Changing the flying levels by the Nato planes on their own in the monsoon season is the biggest issue CAA is facing currently, because this makes the country’s airspace vulnerable to any disaster in this highly sensitive zone of Pak-Afghan border areas,” sources said.

Sources in the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) informed that currently they were facing serious issues in Balochistan and near Afghanistan border areas where the frequency of air traffic was quite high.

“Due to the absence of radar coverage, we are not in a position to monitor the flying activities there and this is a very big security lapse,” sources said, adding that flights taking off from Afghanistan contacted the traffic control system of Pakistan CAA at the eleventh hour, which created complexities of routing the whole traffic and this could result in any untoward situation.

Aviation sources said that radar surveillance was required there to help CAA’s controllers judging the separation between aircraft coming from different many regions.

“Radar display has been improved but antennas are poor. The missing, doubling and jumping of targets is very common, and this has been for one year,” they added. A lot of air traffic consists of landing/departing of civil traffic, military operations, and allied forces aircraft operating to/from Afghanistan.

This is besides the 470 to 550 aircraft over flying the country’s space in 24 hours time.

Besides the radar surveillance issues, the CAA staff is provided with complex procedures, which add to the monitoring problems. “The procedures CAA provides to their traffic control departments are very confusing, and most of the time increases the workload instead of shedding. Procedures and air routes are developed by the officers sitting in the headquarters with the guess of having 70 to 100 aircraft over flying Pakistan air space in 24 hours, which has not been the case for years,” sources added.

The lack of surveillance is not only limited to Balochistan and Pak-Afghan border areas, as Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport (JIAP) is as vulnerable to any disasters as the mentioned areas of the West part of the country. “Brazil conducted a capacity assessment study of air controlling at Karachi’s JIAP from 8 to 14 January, 2010, in which they found that the Heavy Load Threshold (HLT) value for air traffic controllers is much time higher than international standards,” sources informed.

Sources further told that during that study, they found that there were 36 (with radar) and 323 (with no radar) occasions when all the sectors of air controlling were reaching and working beyond calculated capacity, so any disaster was not far from reality.


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Javed Mirza - The News Pakistan
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US Worried As China And Russia Prepare To Hold Historic Joint Naval Exercises

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US Worried As China And Russia Prepare To Hold Historic Joint Naval Exercises

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Internation Business Times Staff Reportes
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 22, 2012: China and Russia are making military history this weekend with the first bilateral naval exercises the two governments have ever conducted together.

China is sending a group of 16 ships, including destroyers, frigates, and a hospital ship. Russia is sending 4 ships, including the cruiser Varyag and three air defense destroyers now moving south from Vladivostok to join the Chinese after navigating through the Sea of Japan.

Another Varyag, though, might steal the spotlight from the assembled fleet. It is the Chinese aircraft carrier of the same name, the first carrier in the People's Liberation Army Navy. Even though China has not said whether it will be participating in the joint exercises, it might.

The state-owned China News Service reported Friday that carrier trials may take place April 20-29 -- an interesting overlap with the China-Russia joint exercises April 22-27.

In fact, the carrier doesn't even have an official name yet. Military analysts just refer to it as the "Chinese Varyag," as it has been called since China bought the ex-Soviet hulk from Ukraine and towed it to its port of Dalian, under the official explanation that it was going to be turned into a floating casino.

Last August, after almost 10 years of fanfare in China and a decade of anxious observation by the U.S. and Japan, the Chinese government finally conceded that the newly painted, newly renovated warship that sat in Dalian harbor would indeed become China's ticket into the very small club of nations that have aircraft carriers.

China's aircraft carrier remains largely unmanned, and no planes have ever lifted off from or landed onto its flight deck, but observers are wondering whether that will happen during the coming sea trials. That would raise China's capabilities for sea warfare to a new level.

As for the Russian Navy's Varyag, it was built during the Cold War to target major U.S. assets in the Pacific, and it would have used its fast supersonic missiles to sink large American ships in case of a breakout of hostilities during that period.

Including a ship purpose-built to hunt U.S. carriers may lead some to think the Sino-Russian exercises are really directed at America -- and its closest ally in the region, Japan. 

Yet China, even with Russian support, isn't close to matching American naval power. It now has more than 500 combat ships of all types in its navy, but many are old, small, and incapable of operating far from shore. The U.S. has more than 280, a smaller number, but ship-for-ship much more capable. And in terms of gross tonnage, the U.S. navy outweighs the next 12 fleets in the world combined.

Even so, the U.S. and Japan are deeply worried.

Over the past decade, the People's Liberation Army Navy has demonstrated that it can build large, technically complex ships, armed with advanced sensors and powerful weapons.

The U.S. Navy is particularly concerned about the combination of quiet submarines, potent anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles, anti-satellite weapons, and modern airpower that China can now deploy against its forces in the Western Pacific. The Pentagon has noted in the past that if hostilities emerged between the two countries, China could leverage these "asymmetric capabilities" to deny the U.S. access to maritime zones in the East China Sea and South China Sea.

Meanwhile, the Chinese navy is also demonstrating that it can construct larger ships, train for more complicated missions (including humanitarian assistance), and operate farther away from home shores than ever before. China's recent deployment in an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden includes the largest warship the country has ever constructed, a 20,000-ton amphibious-warfare ship. Last year, when China evacuated 30,000 of its citizens from Libya, it sent destroyers into the Mediterranean Sea to escort them.

As for the exercises beginning Sunday, China said they will "deepen the strategic and cooperative relationship [with Russia]." The aim of the exercises is to "improve abilities to respond together to new challenges and new threats," and "protect the Asia-Pacific region and world peace and stability." The official statement names no countries, but there is little ambiguity as to which one China means in the reference to "new challenges and new threats."

The U.S. Defense Department has crafted a new doctrine for its forces, the "Air-Sea Battle Concept," to better deploy technologically advanced naval and air forces in a comprehensive way against a well-prepared, well-defended, industrialized state opponent.

The doctrine marks a major strategic redirection away from fighting small, stateless armed groups, which was the predominant concern of the Pentagon during the past decade -- and that is a fact not lost on the Chinese.

A Chinese defense-ministry representative, Col. Geng Yansheng, called the Air-Sea Battle Concept "a manifestation of Cold War mentality." And Rear Adm. Yang Yi (ret.) called it a means to "undermine peace, stability, and prosperity" in the Asia-Pacific region. "To understanding people, it is clearly targeted at China's military modernization," said the former Chinese naval officer.


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Internation Business Times Staff Reportes
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DTN News - VENEZUELA NEWS: Venezuelan Government Manipulates Rulings Says Ex-Judge

Defense News: DTN News - VENEZUELA NEWS:  Venezuelan Government Manipulates Rulings Says Ex-Judge
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
*The justice system is "very corrupt at every single level," Eladio Aponte Aponte says
*The former Venezuelan Supreme Court justice says he fears for his life
*Costa Rican official: The DEA flew Aponte Aponte to the United States this week
*Venezuelan officials accuse him of connections with an alleged drug trafficker 
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Catherine Shoichet, CNN
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 19, 2012: Venezuela's judges make decisions based on instructions from the country's government rather than the rule of law, a former top justice who fled the South American nation said.

Eladio Aponte Aponte, who was a Supreme Court justice until the Venezuelan government accused him of connections with an alleged drug trafficker last month, was flown to the United States by the Drug Enforcement Agency this week, a Costa Rican official said.

The former judge told Miami-based SOiTV that he fears for his life in his home country. And he described what he said is a corrupt justice system where officials are forced to convict political prisoners.

"I think it's very corrupt at every single level. There's a lot of manipulation. ... There's no ruling that isn't consulted. Lately, all the criminal courts have to make consultations before handing down a ruling," Aponte Aponte said.

In an interview that SOiTV said was taped outside Venezuela, the former judge said "there is no separation of powers" in the South American country.

CNN has not independently confirmed the former justice's accusations, and the Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to CNN's requests for comment.

Venezuelan officials removed Aponte Aponte from his post last month, accusing him of providing a government credential to a man authorities allege was one of the world's top drug lords.

Aponte Aponte, who has not confirmed or denied that accusation, left Venezuela the day he was supposed to face questioning in the Venezuelan National Assembly.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration flew him to the United States from Costa Rica early Monday morning, according to Mauricio Boraschi, vice minister of the Costa Rican presidency and head of the country's intelligence agency.

Boraschi said U.S. Embassy officials contacted the Costa Rican government after the former judge -- who had been in Costa Rica for about two weeks -- reached out to officials in Washington.

The U.S. State Department told CNN it could not comment on what it called "this law enforcement matter."

"It may have been a way of protecting himself physically and at the same time, he has something to contribute in exchange for them allowing him to become a witness protected by the United States," said Antonio Rodriguez Yturbe, a university professor in Caracas and former Venezuelan ambassador.

Aponte Aponte told SOiTV he left Venezuela disillusioned, but has since changed his perspective.

"When I finished packing all my stuff in my office, all my books, I told myself I'd never touch another law book. Justice is nothing, justice is a ball of putty. I say putty because it can be molded, for or against. I didn't want to have anything to do with the law anymore. I said I'd rather have a hotdog stand," he said. "But then, after all my reflection, and I had time to think it over, and after I saw that, that my friends have offered to help me, I now think you need to fight for justice. And that blindfolded lady has to be shown the way."

During the interview, which was posted on the SOiTV website and aired Wednesday by CNN affiliate Globovision, Aponte Aponte did not detail any conversations with U.S. authorities.

Several of his remarks contradicted previous statements by top Venezuelan officials -- including President Hugo Chavez.

When asked whether there were political prisoners in Venezuela -- something Chavez has previously denied -- Aponte Aponte said yes.

"There are people they ordered not to be released. ... In a nutshell, we had to accept the fact that they were not to be released, so the justice system turned its back on them," he said.

Asked whether he felt that the Venezuelan government had turned against him, Aponte Aponte said, "I think they did that a long time ago. I just didn't realize it."
Venezuelan officials sharply criticized Aponte Aponte last month.

A government ethics commission said the judge had committed "serious misconduct" and a "breach of public ethics" when he allegedly provided a credential to suspected drug trafficker Walid Makled.

The state-run AVN news agency said the judge had "attacked public ethics and administrative morals."

"It is important to recognize that, thanks to the functioning institutions, this became known," said Hugbel Roa, a lawmaker from Chavez's United Socialist Party of Venezuela, according to AVN.

Makled is currently on trial in Venezuela, where he is accused of drug trafficking and killing a journalist who was investigating his family. He was extradited to Venezuela from Colombia last year.

The United States designated Makled as one of the world's most significant drug kingpins in May 2009 and had also requested his extradition.

Makled, who denies U.S. accusations of drug trafficking, said in an October interview with Venezuela's El Nacional newspaper that he paid millions of dollars to government officials and top military brass so his family's shipping business could operate at some of the nation's largest ports.

"If I am a narcotrafficker, the whole Chavez government is a narcotrafficker," he told the newspaper.

Chavez has strongly denied those accusations and stood up for his government officials.

"I am not going to pay for a crime I never committed," Aponte Aponte told SOiTV, but he said he wants to make up for the harm his rulings have caused.

Saying he felt afraid for his life and betrayed by his colleagues, the former judge said he would go back to Venezuela to face the accusations against him only if officials respect his rights.

"Knowing the system from the inside, and how it works, and how it's handled, I don't think I'd have any rights at all. Not in my case at least," he said.

CNN's Fernando del Rincon, Ana Maria Luengo-Romero and Jamie Crawford contributed to this report.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Catherine Shoichet, CNN
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DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: India Launches Long-Range Agni V Missile Successful Test

Defense News: DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: India Launches Long-Range Agni V Missile Successful Test

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources IBN

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 19, 2012: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated the scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the successful test-fire of the Agni-V missile on Thursday.

"I congratulate all the scientific and technical personnel of the DRDO and other organisations who have worked tirelessly in our endeavour to strengthen the defence and security of our country. Today's successful Agni-V test launch represents another milestone in our quest to add to the credibility of our security and preparedness and to continuously explore the frontiers of science. The nation stands together in honouring the scientific community who have done the country proud," the Prime Minister said in a statement.

A tweet from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) also said that Manmohan Singh called DRDO chief Dr VK Saraswat to personally congratulate him and his team for the successful test launch of Agni-V.

India conducted the maiden test of indigenously developed nuclear capable Agni-V Ballistic Missile from the test range off Odisha coast on Thursday. With over 5,000 km range, Agni V was test-fired at around 0807 hrs from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.

The three stage, solid propellant missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher from the launch complex-4 of the ITR, defence sources said.

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