DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Airbus Military A400M Receives Initial Type Certificate From EASA

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Airbus Military A400M Receives Initial Type Certificate From EASA
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources EADS
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 8, 2012: Airbus Military has received the initial type certification for the A400M new generation airlifter, marking a key milestone on the road to first delivery around the turn of the year. This first approval, known as a Restricted Type Certificate (RTC), was presented by European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Executive Director Patrick Goudou at an internal ceremony today in Toulouse, France.

The RTC is a critical step towards the award of full civil type certification which is expected in mid-2012 following the completion of 300 hours of function and reliability (F&R) flight tests, and towards military Initial Operating Clearance later in the year.

As part of the flight-test activity the A400M has recently visited countries in Latin America and South East Asia, and in the upcoming period will travel to the “home” nations that ordered the aircraft and the Middle East in the frame of the F&R tests.


The fleet of five A400M development aircraft continues to make good progress in the intense flight-test campaign in order to ensure delivery of a reliable aircraft to our customer and has now completed more than 3,100 hours in the air, despite continued engine challenges.

Cedric Gautier, Airbus Military Head of A400M programme, said: “Achieving civil and military certification of the A400M as foreseen in the programme is an immensely challenging task, but the process of working on both simultaneously provides important benefits for our customers in the future. It is deeply satisfying to receive this initial certification, confirming the good progress that has been made towards the delivery of the first aircraft.”

About A400M

The A400M is an all-new military airlifter designed to meet the needs of the world's armed forces in the 21st Century. Thanks to its most advanced technologies, it is able to fly higher, faster and further, while retaining high manoeuvrability, low speed, and short, soft and rough airfield capabilities. It combines both tactical and strategic/logistic missions. With its cargo hold specifically designed to carry the outsize equipment needed today for both military and humanitarian disaster relief missions, it can bring this material quickly and directly to where it is most needed. Conceived to be highly reliable, dependable, and with great survivability, the multipurpose A400M can do more with less, implying smaller fleets and less investment from the operator. The A400M is the most cost efficient and versatile airlifter ever conceived and absolutely unique in its capabilities.

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*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources EADS
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated May 8, 2012

Defense News: DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated May 8, 2012

 Source: U.S. DoD issued No. 355-12 May 8, 2012

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 8, 2012: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued  May 8, 2012   are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

NAVY

            Blue Tech, San Diego, Calif. (M67854-12-D-4099); CDWG, Vernon Hills, Ill. (M67854-12-D-4100); Countertrade, Arvada, Colo. (M67854-12-D-4101); Dell, Round Rock, Texas (M67854-12-D-4102); GTSI Corp., Herndon, Va. (M67854-12-D-4103); Intelligent Decisions, Inc., Ashburn, Va. (M67854-12-D-4104); Iron Bow Technologies, Chantilly, Va. (M67854-12-D-4105); ITG/EPLUS, Falls Church, Va. (M67854-12-D-4106); NCS Technologies, Inc., Gainesville, Va. (M67854-12-D-4107); and World Wide Technology, Inc., St. Louis, Mo. (M67854-12-D-4108), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract for commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) computer systems, including ruggedized and non-ruggedized desktops and laptops, as well as servers and other associated computer equipment and accessories.  This equipment, collectively referred to as Marine Corps Common Hardware Suite computing equipment, will provide standardized computing equipment and worldwide integrated logistics support for the Marine Corps operating forces and to the Department of Navy, while achieving the lowest cost of ownership through centralized procurement of high quality, COTS hardware.  The aggregate not-to-exceed amount for these multiple award contracts combined is $775,000,000 and represents a three-year base period with a two-year option, and the companies will have the opportunity to bid on each individual delivery order.  Work will be performed in various locations in and out of the United States, depending on which companies receive the delivery orders.  Funds will be obligated at the delivery order level; therefore there are no expiring funds.  These contracts were solicited via a multiple award electronic request for proposals and 14 offers were received.  Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

            Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Integrated Systems Sector, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $25,709,758 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-07-C-0041) to purchase three Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned aerial vehicles Lot 5 low rate initial production and one ground control station.  Work will be performed in Moss Point, Miss. (55 percent), and San Diego, Calif. (45 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2013.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year.  The Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources U.S. DoD issued No. 355-12 May 8, 2012
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DTN News - INTELLIGENCE REPORT/NEWS: CIA Derails Plot To Plant Al-Qaida Underwear Bomb

Defense News: DTN News - INTELLIGENCE REPORT/NEWS:  CIA Derails Plot To Plant Al-Qaida Underwear Bomb
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo - AP (Fox & Yahoo)
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 8, 2012:  Experts at the FBI's explosives lab in Virginia are picking apart a sophisticated new al-Qaida bomb to figure out whether it could have slipped past airport security and taken down a commercial airplane. U.S. officials say the unexploded bomb represents an intelligence prize, the result of a covert CIA operation in Yemen that thwarted a suicide mission in recent weeks.

The device did not contain metal, meaning it probably could have passed through an airport metal detector. But it was not clear whether new body scanners used in many airports would have detected it.

The device is an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009.

-The CIA thwarted an ambitious plot by al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, The Associated Press has learned.

The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time al-Qaida developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials said.

The FBI is examining the latest bomb to see whether it could have passed through airport security and brought down an airplane, officials said. They said the device did not contain metal, meaning it probably could have passed through an airport metal detector. But it was not clear whether new body scanners used in many airports would have detected it.

There were no immediate plans to change security procedures at U.S. airports.

The would-be suicide bomber, based in Yemen, had not yet picked a target or bought a plane ticket when the CIA stepped in and seized the bomb, officials said. It's not immediately clear what happened to the alleged bomber.

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said President Barack Obama learned about the plot in April and was assured the device posed no threat to the public.

"The president thanks all intelligence and counterterrorism professionals involved for their outstanding work and for serving with the extraordinary skill and commitment that their enormous responsibilities demand," Hayden said.

The operation unfolded even as the White House and Department of Homeland Security assured the American public that they knew of no al-Qaida plots against the U.S. around the anniversary of bin Laden's death. The operation was carried out over the past few weeks, officials said.

"We have no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the anniversary of bin Laden's death," White House press secretary Jay Carney said on April 26.

On May 1, the Department of Homeland Security said, "We have no indication of any specific, credible threats or plots against the U.S. tied to the one-year anniversary of bin Laden's death."

The White House did not explain those statements Monday.

The AP learned about the thwarted plot last week but agreed to White House and CIA requests not to publish it immediately because the sensitive intelligence operation was still under way. Once officials said those concerns were allayed, the AP decided to disclose the plot Monday despite requests from the Obama administration to wait for an official announcement Tuesday.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security acknowledged the existence of the bomb late Monday, but there were no immediate plans to adjust security procedures at airports. Other officials, who were briefed on the operation, insisted on anonymity to discuss details of the plot, many of which the U.S. has not officially acknowledged.

"The device never presented a threat to public safety, and the U.S. government is working closely with international partners to address associated concerns with the device," the FBI said in a statement.

It's not clear who built the bomb, but, because of its sophistication and its similarity to the Christmas bomb, counterterrorism officials suspected it was the work of master bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri or one of his protégées. Al-Asiri constructed the first underwear bomb and two others that al-Qaida built into printer cartridges and shipped to the U.S. on cargo planes in 2010.

Both of those bombs used a powerful industrial explosive. Both were nearly successful.

The operation is an intelligence victory for the United States and a reminder of al-Qaida's ambitions, despite the death of bin Laden and other senior leaders. Because of instability in the Yemeni government, the terrorist group's branch there has gained territory and strength. It has set up terrorist camps and, in some areas, even operates as a de facto government.

But along with the gains there also have been losses. The group has suffered significant setbacks as the CIA and the U.S. military focus more on Yemen. On Sunday, Fahd al-Quso, a senior al-Qaida leader, was hit by a missile as he stepped out of his vehicle along with another operative in the southern Shabwa province of Yemen.

Al-Quso, 37, was on the FBI's most wanted list, with a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. He was indicted in the U.S. for his role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in the harbor of Aden, Yemen, in which 17 American sailors were killed and 39 injured.

Al-Quso was believed to have replaced Anwar al-Awlaki as the group's head of external operations. Al-Awlaki was killed in a U.S. airstrike last year.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources  By Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo - AP (Fox & Yahoo)
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