Tuesday, August 31, 2010
DTN News: PHI, Inc. Signs Contract For Ten AW139s
DTN News: Aerospace/Defense Headlines - News Dated August 31, 2010
*Comprehensive daily news related on Aerospace/Defense for the world of TODAY.Tuesday August 31, 2010
- The American Legion Honors Armed Forces Servicemembers for Volunteer Efforts
5:43 pm - Business Wire - Letter to Shareholders of AvStar Aviation Group, Inc.
5:30 pm - Marketwire - Albany Engineered Composites to Support Boeing's CLEEN Engine Nozzle Program
5:30 pm - Business Wire - UPDATE - Applied Signal Q3 profit beats Wall Street
5:22 pm - at Reuters - UTC Calls for Redemption of Outstanding 6.35 Percent Notes Due 2011
5:00 pm - PR Newswire - AeroVironment Receives $35.3 Million Order for Digital Puma Unmanned Aircraft Systems
4:30 pm - Business Wire - Aggreko Cooling Strategies Used in Ares Five-Segment Solid Rocket Motor Test
4:04 pm - Business Wire - Cytec Industries to Present at Credit Suisse Chemical and Ag Science Conference
4:00 pm - Business Wire - UPDATE - Latecoere eyes consolidation under new chairman
3:27 pm - at Reuters - JBT Corporation to Present at CL King Conference
3:22 pm - PR Newswire - Boeing CEO McNerney Statement on U.S. Export Control Proposals
2:45 pm - PR Newswire - UPDATE - 3i mulls options for Spanish windfarm firm GES
1:51 pm - at Reuters - Astronics Corporation to Present at the Gabelli & Company 16th Annual Aircraft Supplier Conference
1:36 pm - Business Wire - Reportlinker Adds U.S. Defense & Aerospace Industry - Key Trends, Strategic Insights & Growth Opportunities
1:09 pm - PR Newswire - ATK and NASA Successfully Test the Second Five-Segment Ares Development Motor (DM-2)
12:42 pm - PR Newswire - The Allied Defense Group Announces Authorization of Asset Sale and Adjournment of Special Meeting to September 30, 2010 for the Dissolution Proposal
12:41 pm - PR Newswire - Media Advisory-REMINDER: Bombardier to Hold a Conference Call/Financial Results for the Second Quarter Ended July 31, 2010
12:14 pm - Marketwire - UPDATE - Boeing CFO repeats 787 deliver target
11:29 am - at Reuters - Lockheed Martin Delivers Prototype Threat Warning Systems to U.S. Navy for Testing
11:24 am - PR Newswire - Plex Systems Sponsors Precision Metalforming Association's Information Technology Roundtable in Cleveland
11:01 am - Marketwire - ARES Corporation Named NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Small Business Subcontractor of the Year
11:00 am - PR Newswire - Woodward to Present at CL King & Associates 8th Annual Best Ideas Conference
11:00 am - Marketwire - Scalable Smart Reserve Cell Technology Positioned for Congressional Appropriation in Fiscal Year 2011
11:00 am - Marketwire - Trinidad & Tobago Converts Unused Air Force Base to a Potential Driver for Nation's Economy
10:34 am - PR Newswire - Northrop Grumman, National Defense Industry Association Showcase Small Business Opportunities in San Diego
10:30 am - GlobeNewswire - Oxford Aviation Academy Selects Mechtronix Fnpt's for Australia Base
10:30 am - PR Newswire - Lockheed Martin Advancing on Next-Generation Commercial Remote Sensing Satellite System for GeoEye
10:15 am - PR Newswire - The Kristen Renee Foundation Continues Its Fight for Frederick, Md.
10:13 am - PR Newswire - Solers Awarded a Contract From NOAA for Development of an Environmental Data Processing System Based on an Enterprise Architecture
10:00 am - PR Newswire - NRL Ready to Deploy Virtual Mission Operations Center
9:58 am - Business Wire - Northrop Grumman Awarded Major C-RAM Task Order
9:30 am - GlobeNewswire - Corning Announces Expiration and Results of Cash Tender Offer
9:07 am - Business Wire - Intelligent Decisions Awarded Five Year Client Computer/Server (CCS) BPA with the Air Force
9:00 am - PR Newswire - Masten Space Systems Wins NASA Suborbital Contract
9:00 am - PR Newswire - Harris Corporation Receives $9.5 Million Contract to Support Australia Department of Defence Communications Modernization
9:00 am - PR Newswire - Raytheon Celebrates Beginning of School Year by Awarding More Than $1 Million in Grants and Scholarships
9:00 am - PR Newswire - Goodrich to Address the Wedbush Securities 2nd Annual Clean Technology & Industrial Growth Conference
9:00 am - PR Newswire - IEC Electronics Announces $5.1 Million Award
9:00 am - Marketwire - UPDATE - Britain cool on mooted carrier sharing scheme
8:57 am - at Reuters - Morpho Detection Explosives Detection Systems Bring State-of-the-Art Technology to India's Largest Airport
8:54 am - Business Wire - RELM Wireless Awarded U.S. Department of Defense Orders Totaling Approximately $1.1 Million for P25 Digital KNG Products
8:30 am - PR Newswire - Gibbs & Cox Appoints New Vice President of Engineering
8:02 am - Business Wire - OSI Systems Receives Contracts Worth up to $12M from U.S. Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
8:00 am - Business Wire - PICMG Completes Revision to the COM Express� Specification
8:00 am - Business Wire - L-1 Identity Solutions Amends Credit Agreement
8:00 am - Business Wire - CACI Awarded $40 Million Contract to Continue Support for Library of Congress Digital Content Management and Delivery
8:00 am - Business Wire - JAL to slash routes, aircraft in turnaround bid
7:36 am - Reuters - Saudi Arabia to raise wages for most military
7:35 am - at Reuters - REFILE-UPDATE - JAL to slash routes, aircraft in turnaround bid
7:31 am - at Reuters - UPDATE - CAE USA gets $10 mln USAF simulator upgrade contract
6:53 am - at Reuters - TASER International Wins Judgment and Final Injunction in Patent Infringement Against Stinger Systems, Inc.
6:30 am - Marketwire - CAE USA wins USAF contract to upgrade C-5 training devices
6:00 am - Marketwire - TAT Technologies Ltd. to Present at the Rodman & Renshaw Annual Investment Conference on Monday September 13th at 10:00am EST
5:44 am - PR Newswire - Boeing to Provide Landing Gear Exchange Service to Qantas Airways
3:01 am - PR Newswire
Monday August 30, 2010
- RELYANT Awarded Secure Movement & Transportation Task Order
6:34 pm - PR Newswire - Combating Obesity: Army, Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation Work Together to Promote Healthy Lifestyle Choices
5:30 pm - PR Newswire - U.S. military fatalities in past conflicts
5:11 pm - at Reuters - Ball Aerospace Wins Contract to Build WorldView-3 for DigitalGlobe
4:05 pm - PR Newswire - DigitalGlobe Announces the Development of WorldView-3
4:01 pm - Marketwire - Point Blank Solutions Awarded Prestigious Virginia State Police Contract
4:00 pm - PR Newswire
DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated August 31, 2010
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - August 31, 2010: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued August 31,
2010 are undermentioned;CONTRACTS
NAVY
Walsh Construction Co., Chicago, Ill., is being awarded a $131,103,000 firm-fixed price contract for construction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Pacific Regional Center at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. The work to be performed provides for and involves adaptive reuse of historic hangers and new construction on an historic landmark site. The diverse program includes marine biology laboratories, national data center, dive center, International Tsunami Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, National Weather Service and administrative functions. Support functions include, but are not limited to, a visitor’s center with permanent and temporary exhibits, auditorium and conference center, library and information center, training rooms, cafeteria, and an occupational health and fitness center. Project includes site work, hazardous material abatement work, and incidental related work. The contract also contains one unexercised option which, if exercised, would increase the cumulative contract value to $131,862,000. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by October 2012. Funds for this project are provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with eight proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-10-C-1301).
AECOM Technical Services, Inc., Alexandria, Va. (N62470-10-D-2021), and URS Onyx Worldwide Navy IQC, LLC, Gaithersburg, Md. (N62470-10-D-2022), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract for planning and engineering services at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities worldwide. The maximum dollar value, including the base period and four option years, of the two contracts combined is $60,000,000. No task orders are being issued at this time. The work to be performed provides for preparation of plans, project planning documents, cost estimates, planning studies, visioning and scenario workshops/planning, geo-spatial information and service, and preparation of Navy and Marine Corps planning and engineering services for projects. The preponderance of documents to be prepared under this contract includes but is not limited to the following: global shore infrastructure plans, base development plans, activity master plans, regional shore infrastructure plans, regional integration plans, maintenance and sustainment plans, integrated logistics plans, encroachment action plans, family housing and bachelor quarters comprehensive neighborhood plans, activity overview plans, project planning documentation, asset evaluations, basic facilities requirements documentation, facilities planning documents and facilities planning documents. Work will be predominantly performed in North Carolina (24 percent); Florida (16 percent); Virginia (13 percent); Connecticut (8 percent); Maryland (6 percent); Arizona (6 percent); Georgia (5 percent); Rhode Island (4 percent); Maine (3 percent); New Jersey (3 percent); West Virginia (2 percent); Mississippi (2 percent); New York (2 percent); and California (1 percent). Work may also be performed within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic area of responsibility and the adjacent waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, including the continental United States, the Caribbean, Europe and North Africa (5 percent). However, tasks associated with this contract may be assigned anywhere in the world. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of March 2015. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 10 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
Trident Systems, Inc.*, Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $48,512,191 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the procurement of technology solutions for persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance on Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle platforms. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Va. (75 percent), and Spokane, Wash. (25 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via electronic request for proposal, with 44 offers received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity (N68335-10-C-0279).
The Boeing Co., Oklahoma City, Okla., is being awarded a $19,121,714 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide contractor engineering technical services including on-site proficiency training, providing technical guidance and advice to resolve unusually complex technical problems, and providing technical expertise related to AV-8B, C-17, C-32, C-40, F/A-18, F-15, F-22 and KC-135 aircraft. The estimated level of effort for this contract is 183,323 man-hours. Work will be performed at Miramar, Calif. (15 percent); Kuwait City, Kuwait (15 percent); Beaufort, S.C. (10 percent); Cherry Point, Calif. (10 percent); Yuma, Ariz. (10 percent); Pensacola, Fla. (10 percent); Penang, Malaysia (10 percent); Rota, Spain (5 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (5 percent); New Orleans, La. (5 percent); and Oceana, Va. (5 percent). Work is expected to be completed in August 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity (N68936-10-D-0058).
T.B. Penick & Sons, Inc., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded $15,407,072 for firm-fixed price task order #0003 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-10-D-5412) for design and construction of a bachelor quarters at San Clemente Island, Calif. Three two-story buildings will be constructed that will provide 53 two-person units for accommodations totaling 106 personnel. Work will be performed on San Clemente Island, Calif., and is expected to be completed by February 2012. Funds for this project are provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Eight proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.
Raytheon Technical Services Co., LLC, Indianapolis, Ind., is being awarded a $14,831,456 firm-fixed-price contract for the Phase II production of 188 AN/ALE-47 forward firing dual dispenser pods for rapid installation on CH-53D/E helicopters. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Ind. (88 percent), and Melbourne, Fla. (12 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-10-C-0037).
T.B. Penick & Sons, Inc., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded $13,353,244 for firm-fixed price task order number #0002 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-10-D-5412) for design and construction of a child development center at Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton. The center will provide quality child care and development to meet anticipated family growth in the area and placate current needs. The program spaces include a child development center, an outdoor playground, and an outdoor shade structure. The task order also contains one planned modification for furniture, fixtures, and equipment, which if issued would increase cumulative contract value to $14,159,244. Work will be performed in Oceanside, Calif., and is expected to be completed by February 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Eight proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.
Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $12,246,216 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide technical and logistics services and products in support of H-1 helicopters upgrade program. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (96 percent), and Afghanistan (4 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-10-C-0035).
ManTech Systems Engineering Corp., Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $6,077,554 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00421-04-C-0096) to provide engineering, technical and administrative support for reliability, maintainability, testability, quality assurance, diagnostic, and system safety analyses during the design, development production, and in-service cycles of naval aircraft and their systems. The estimated level of effort for this modification is 74,100 man-hours. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md., and is expected to be completed in December 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
LB&B Associates, Inc., Columbia, Md., is being awarded a maximum $45,719,493 firm-fixed-price contract for operation, maintenance, quality surveillance, inventory accounting and fuel delivery services. Other location of performance is Virginia. Using service is Navy. There were five responses to the original proposal solicited. The date of performance completion is October 1, 2015. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-C-5048).
RKA Petroleum*, Romulus, Mich., is being awarded a minimum $36,894,026 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, partial set-aside contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and North Carolina. Using services are Army, Air Force and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 119 proposals solicited with 33 responses. The date of performance completion is Oct. 31, 2013. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-8513).
Potter Oil & Tire Co.*, Aurora, N.C., is being awarded a minimum $22,103,637 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, partial set-aside contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are 14 various Department of Defense and federal civilian locations throughout the state of North Carolina. Using services are Army, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 119 proposals solicited with 33 responses. The date of performance completion is Oct. 31, 2013. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-8510).
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $14,233,468 firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract for sustainment spares to support Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All Terrain Vehicles. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Army. There was originally one proposal solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is June 24, 2011. The Defense Logistics Agency Land, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (SPRDL1-10-C-0173).
Valero Marketing & Supply Co., San Antonio, Texas, is being awarded a maximum $12,286,460 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fuel. Other location of performance is Corpus Christi, Texas. Using services is Defense Logistics Agency/Energy Support Center. There were originally five proposals solicited with two responses. The date of performance completion is Nov. 30, 2010. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-0460).
AIR FORCE
CAE USA, Inc, Tampa, Fla., was awarded a $24,172,040 contract which will provide acquisition of services to support the KC-135 aircrew training system. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. GHMKB, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8223-10-C-0013).
Tybrin Corp., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., has been awarded a $38,685,530 contract modification which will exercise Option Year Eight for software engineering support of guided weapons evaluations, simulations, and other services supporting research and development for the principals and customers of the Air Armament Center. A t this time, none of the funds have been obligated. AAC/PKET, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (F08635-02-C-0034; PO0059).
InDyne, Inc., Reston, Va., was awarded an $8,809,359 contract modification which will provide photographic services associated with base support and the development, acquisition, testing, deployment, and sustainment of air-developed weapons including research, development, test, and evaluation photography. At this time, none of the funds have been obligated. AAC/PKET, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA9200-06-C-0071; PO0025).
United Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney, East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $9,120,904 contract modification for definization of calendar year 2010 sustainment and combined test force operations and support for the F119-PW-100 engines. At this time, $90,157,719 has been obligated. ASC/WWUK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8611-08-C-2896; PO0030).
BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services, Rockville, Md., was awarded a $7,453,915 contract modification which will provide serviceable radar components and subsystems and technical field support for instrumentation radar of the C and X band families located on 25 ranges in the U.S. and in five foreign countries. At this time, none of the funds have been obligated. 45 CONS/LGCZR, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA2521-07-C-0009; PO00180).
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Electronic Systems Section, Linthicum Heights, Md., was awarded an $18,754,182 contract which will provide 12 months of development support, sustainment management center support, field service representative support, and development lab support for the common imagery processor. At this time, $4,254,736 has been obligated. ASC/WINK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-10-G-4002; 0002).
Alion Science and Technology Corp., Chicago, Ill., was awarded $20,986,842 contract which will enable the further development of expertise on countering improvised explosive devices. At this time, $99,206 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-99-D-0301; Delivery Order 0191).
Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $24,998,506 contract which will provide transformation analysis for the 902nd Military Intelligence Group. At this time, $1,815,179 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-03-D-1380; Delivery Order 374).
Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $9,424,184 contract which will provide operationally responsive space office survivability research, design, development, evaluation, and technical analysis. At this time, $198,413 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-03-D-1380; Delivery Order 373).
*Small business
DTN News: U.S. Air Force Eagles Soar For Last Time At Hickam
Squadron, Hawaii Air National Guard, completed their last training mission with the F-15 Eagle from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii Aug 25.DTN News: Mexico - The Arrest of La Barbie
little to quell the violence in the country.Valdez Villarreal has been locked in heated battle with his former colleague, Hector “El H” Beltran Leyva, for control over the territory once occupied by the Beltran Leyva Organization under now-deceased leader Arturo Beltran Leyva. Hector has since gone on to form Cartel Pacifico Sur (CPS) and has been waging war against the former BLO elements loyal to Valdez Villarreal. The arrest of Valdez Villarreal is a tremendous blow to the leadership of his faction of the BLO, and it is unclear at this point who if anyone will take the place of Valdez Villarreal. Additionally, the detention of Valdez Villarreal also will provide Mexican authorities with a treasure trove of timely, actionable tactical intelligence about his organization’s operations, which could lead to more arrests in the near future. Furthermore, should Valdez Villarreal choose to cooperate with Mexican authorities, he could provide an enormous amount of information about rival organizations as well.
The arrest of Valdez Villarreal also comes at a time when President Felipe Calderon’s war against the cartels has been drawing some negative attention due to the high levels of violence and a recent, ominous escalation in tactics over the past week with increased use of improvised explosive devices. Valdez Villarreal was well known for his ruthlessness and brutality in dealing with his rivals, and his arrest will be a public relations coup for the Mexican government even though it will do little to quell the violence in places like Juarez and Monterrey.
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY August 31, 2010 - If Afghanistan Dissolves Security Firms, Guards Will Join Taliban, Some Predict
with rifles and rockets, battles daily to secure the most dangerous roads in Afghanistan so that critical supply convoys can reach U.S. and NATO troops.Now, Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants to do away with Watan and 51 similar firms, both foreign and domestic, which employ more than 24,000 guards working mostly for Western entities. Karzai, who calls the independent fighting forces "thieves by day, terrorists by night," has set a four-month timeline to dissolve the companies and bring their workload under his government's control.
If Karzai gets his way, the Popal brothers predicted, transit routes will be impassable, foreign companies will leave Afghanistan, the economy will suffer, and -- perhaps most ominously -- unemployed security guards will turn to the insurgency. Most of Watan's contracts are with the U.S. military and NATO, which use 19,000 private guards.
"If you get rid of the guards, 60 to 65 percent of them will join the Taliban," said Rashid Popal, Watan's deputy chairman. "They won't join the government [forces]. If you go and die for the government, they don't take care of your family like we do. Their only alternative is the Taliban."
This bleak scenario has alarmed U.S. and NATO officials, who were blindsided by Karzai's announcement Monday. In a decree issued Tuesday, Karzai said private security personnel must join the Afghan police or quit working by the deadline. An exception will be made for guards on the property of international organizations, such as embassies, but the government will provide all off-campus security.
"We are concerned that any quick action to remove private security companies may have unintended consequences, including the possible delay of U.S. reconstruction and development assistance efforts," U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said. "Private security companies are currently filling a gap."
U.S. Air Force Maj. Joel Harper, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, said the issues "must be carefully considered by ISAF and the Afghan government in a logical and sequential manner."
A strain on U.S. relations
The matter threatened to accelerate the deterioration of relations between the United States and Karzai on a day when Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with the Afghan president in Kabul and pushed him to crack down on government corruption.
"President Karzai is right on target in wanting to minimize private security company presence," Kerry said at a lunch with reporters. "Whether the four-month time frame is appropriate or meet-able, achievable with security needs in mind, is beyond me."
Major U.S.-based contractors, including Xe Services and DynCorp, which provide security-related services and police training in Afghanistan, declined to comment Tuesday. The union of Afghan security companies published a newspaper advertisement calling on Karzai to reconsider, lest he "disrespect the blood of the people who died defending this country from the Taliban terrorists."
But several companies have been implicated in the deaths of Afghan civilians and have been accused of paying the Taliban for safe passage. In May, for instance, a gardener working for a member of parliament was killed during a shootout between private guards and the Taliban in Wardak province. The Watan Group and another company, Dubai-based Compass Integrated Security Solutions, with more than 3,000 employees in Afghanistan, were banned from working on that highway for 10 days until they compensated the gardener's family.
The Popal brothers, who are distant cousins of Karzai's, maintain that the man was killed by insurgent fire. Compass officials declined to comment. Tuesday.
Ignoring the rules
Security firms are required to register with the Interior Ministry, but many don't, especially in the violent southern province of Kandahar, where warlords command massive private militias that flout a government cap of 500 security guards per firm.
The Popal brothers -- whose company also ignores the personnel limit -- said many of their guards are ex-Mujaheddin fighters tested in the Afghan civil war. Each employee is required to undergo five weeks of training on weapons and positioning; they earn about $600 monthly. In cities, they may carry assault rifles and pistols, according to government regulations, but in rural areas they can use rockets and heavier guns.
Gordon Anderson, vice president of administration and finance for the American University of Afghanistan, said his school has employed about 60 Watan Group guards for more than two years. They watch the front gate and accompany school administrators in vehicles, though they have never fired their weapons. If Watan is disbanded, Anderson said, that would "put us in a real bind."
"We would probably have to look seriously at providing our own security" for the university's 800 students and 60 faculty members, he said.
But Pierre Fallavier, director of the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, a private organization that terminated security contracts with Watan and the Olive Group, said such firms are mostly ineffective and too costly.
"Many are really useless," he said. "The big problem is not whether they are local or foreign, but that there is no accountability for what these guys do. When you start speaking with them -- especially if they've had a few drinks -- they are like murderers on the loose."
*Link to this article - Special correspondent Quadratullah Andar contributed to this report.
DTN News: UK's Most Powerful Submarine Joins The Navy
The commissioning pennant is raised on HMS Astute [Picture: LA(Phot) A J MacLeod, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]HMS Astute, which officially becomes 'Her Majesty's Ship' today, is quieter than any of her predecessors, meaning she has the ability to operate covertly and remain undetected in almost all circumstances despite being fifty per cent bigger than any attack submarine in the Royal Navy's current fleet.
The latest nuclear-powered technology means she will never need to be refuelled and can circumnavigate the world submerged, manufacturing the crew's oxygen from seawater as she goes.
The submarine has the capacity to carry a mix of up to 38 Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes and Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, and can target enemy submarines, surface ships and land targets with pinpoint accuracy, while her world-beating sonar system has a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,500km).
The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, said:
"The Astute Class is truly next generation - a highly versatile platform, she is capable of contributing across a broad spectrum of maritime operations around the globe, and will play an important role in delivering the fighting power of the Royal Navy for decades to come.
Astute arriving at her home base on the Clyde in November 2009[Picture: LA(Phot) J J Massey, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]"A highly complex feat of naval engineering, she is at the very cutting-edge of technology, with a suite of sensors and weapons required to pack a powerful punch.
"Today is an important milestone along the road to full operational capability which will follow after a further series of demanding seagoing trials testing the full range of the submarine's capabilities."
Following the successful completion of her first rigorous set of sea trials, which began at the end of 2009, HMS Astute has also now achieved her in-service date, signalling that she has proven her ability to dive, surface and operate across the full range of depth and speed independently of other assets, thereby providing an initial level of capability.
Rear Admiral Simon Lister, Director of Submarines, who oversees the build programme of the class for the MOD, said:
"To my mind Astute is a 7,000-tonne Swiss watch. There is an extraordinary amount of expertise that goes into putting one of these submarines together. There are stages when it's like blacksmithing and there are stages when it's like brain surgery.
"So to see Astute commissioned is momentous not only for the Royal Navy, who have been eagerly anticipating this quantum leap forward in capability, but for the thousands of people around the country who have been involved in the most challenging of engineering projects."
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall is escorted by Commander Andy Coles, the Commanding Officer of HMS Astute, at the commissioning ceremony for HMS Astute [Picture: LA(Phot) Stuart Hill, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]Following the commissioning, HMS Astute will return to sea for further trials before she is declared as operational.
As the base port of all the Royal Navy's submarines from 2016, Faslane will be home to the whole Astute Class, including Ambush, Artful and Audacious which are already under construction.
Astute was built by BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness, with hundreds of suppliers around the country contributing component parts, including Rolls-Royce, Derby (nuclear plant); Thales UK, Bristol (visual system and Sonar 2076); and Babcock, Strachan & Henshaw, Bristol (weapon handling and discharge system). Astute is affiliated to the Wirral in the North West.
About HMS Astute
-She is 97 metres from bow to stern.
-She has a beam of 11.2 metres.
-She displaces 7,400 tonnes of seawater.
-Her cabling and pipework would stretch from Glasgow to Dundee.
-She is the first Royal Navy submarine not to have a traditional periscope, instead using electro-optics to capture a 360-degree image of the surface for subsequent analysis by the commanding officer.
-Astute is the first submarine to have an individual bunk for each crew member.
-She manufactures her own oxygen from seawater as well as her own drinking water.
-She could theoretically remain submerged for her 25-year life, if it were not for the need to restock the crew's food supplies.
-She is faster under the water than she is on the surface - capable of speeds in excess of 20 knots (37km/h), although her top speed is classified.
-Astute's crew of 98 are fed by five chefs who, on an average patrol, will serve up 18,000 sausages and 4,200 weetabix for breakfast