Elbit Selling Hermes Drones to Brazilian Air Force

ERUSALEM - Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems said Jan. 19 that it will supply the Brazilian Air Force with unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Hermes 450 drones will be supplied by Elbit's Brazilian subsidiary, Aeroeletronica Ltd.

The deal is part of efforts by the Brazilian Air Force "to establish independent Unmanned Aircraft Systems capabilities," the company said.
Elbit did not say how many aircraft are involved or value the deal, saying only that "the contract is not in an amount that is material to Elbit Systems."
Ackerman said the Hermes, a medium size drone, was in operation with 20 countries.
Israel is the world's largest exporter of drones, selling more than 1,000 to more than 40 countries in recent years.

Deadline Emerges For India's $10B Warplane Deal

NEW DELHI - India could award the $10 billion Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract by the end of the year, according to the country's defense minister.
M.M. Pallam Raju, the minister of state for defense, said on the sidelines of a Jan. 19 conference here that the warplane contest could be decided by December. The conference was hosted by an industrial lobby group, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

"I am hopeful of awarding it by the end of this year," Raju said.
The MMRCA program, for the purchase of 126 planes, is running behind schedule, The Indian Defence Ministry has made no formal announcement on the short-listing of aircraft after flight trials last year.
Raju said the ministry still has to carry out a comparative analysis of different vendors in terms of offset and transfer of technology offers before the financial bids are opened.
Earlier this month, a secret file pertaining to the MMRCA's offset program was lost and later recovered by Delhi police. An internal inquiry by the Defence Ministry has so far not named any individual behind the lapse, sources said.
Six aircraft vying for the MMRCA contract went through field evaluations, a series of flight trials and ground tests, in mid-2010. They include two U.S. fighter jets, Boeing's F/A-18 and Lockheed Martin's F-16, as well as the Rafale, built by France's Dassault; the MiG-35, built by RAC MiG of Russia; the Eurofighter Typhoon; and the Gripen, built by Saab of Sweden.

Bolivia Set To Receive 6 Karakorum Combat Jets From China

LA PAZ, Bolivia - Bolivia is set to receive six Chinese-made combat aircraft to be used to fight drug trafficking, the head of the Bolivian Air Force said Jan. 18.
Air Force Commander Gen. Tito Gandarilla told local journalists that the K-8 Karakorum jets are scheduled to be delivered in April, at a cost of $58 million.

The aircraft, bought through a loan from China, will be the first of their kind for Bolivia, which currently has only training and freight aircraft.
Gandarilla explained that the jets "have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years" and have the ability to intercept illegal crafts that "in Bolivian airspace without authorization."
The aircraft will be used mainly around Cochabamba in central Bolivia, where there is heavy production of coca plants used to make cocaine.
The Bolivian government also plans to buy 10 Russian-built cargo helicopters for use by the police.
In 2008, President Evo Morales ordered the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to leave after accusing it of having had a hand in political unrest and drug-trafficking in Bolivia.
The U.S. State Department has identified Bolivia as a major drug-transit or drug-producing country.

Top Iran nuke envoy blames US for cyberattack

WASHINGTON: Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili blamed the United States for a cyberattack on what he insisted is a nuclear energy -- not weapons -- program, in an interview broadcast Monday.

Days ahead of a high-profile talks over the Islamic republic's nuclear program later this week, Saeed Jalili told media an Iranian investigation found the United States was involved in a cyberattack that apparently shut down a fifth of Iran's nuclear centrifuges in November.

"I have witnessed some documents that show... their satisfaction in that" the United States participated in the cyberattack -- using the Stuxnet computer worm -- that also helped delay Iran's ability to make its first nuclear weapons.

But he said the effort did not wreak as much damage as some media have reported. "Those who have done that could see now that they were not successful in that and we are following our success," Jalili said, warning the United States was "also weak and vulnerable" to cyberattacks.

His comments came after a US daily reported over the weekend that US and Israeli intelligence services collaborated to develop the destructive computer worm in a bid to sabotage Iran's efforts to make a nuclear bomb.

Tehran has also blamed its enemies for the killing of three top nuclear scientists last year, and on Monday, it vowed to sue its archfoe Israel for the murder of one of them -- Masoud Ali Mohammadi.

Iran accuses the intelligence services of Israel, the United States and Britain of being behind bomb attacks against the other two nuclear scientists on November 26.

"We believe that there is a meaningful relation between the UN Security Council resolution (sanctioning Iran over its nuclear program) and these kind of activities," Jalili said of the attacks.

"It is a big question for the international community, and a big kind of question in that the name of the scientists of a country mentioned in the United Nations council resolution and then following that the terrorists assassinated them."

WELLINGTON: The New Zealand parliament in central Wellington was evacuated and surrounding streets cordoned off Thursday after a suspicious package was found near the building, police said. Police said a suitcase was found in bushes near the distinctive building, known as the Beehive, early Thursday afternoon. "Specialist police are currently travelling to the scene to examine the package," police said.

Two Nato service members killed in Afghan attacks

ABUL: Nato on Thursday said two of its service members died in insurgent attacks in Afghanistan.It said one service member was killed Thursday in the north, while another was killed Wednesday in the south. It did not identify their nationalities or gave further details.
More than 20 Nato troops have been killed in Afghanistan so far this month — a bloody start to a year that Nato officials have said they expect to be particularly violent as they push further into insurgent strongholds to undermine the strength of the Taliban enough to allow troops to start drawing down.

Insurgents kill four in attack on Thai military

NARATHIWAT, Thailand: Dozens of armed militants killed at least four Thai soldiers and injured several more in a raid on a military camp in Thailand’s troubled Muslim-majority south, an army spokesman said Thursday.
In an unusually brazen attack in the insurgency-plagued region, about 50 militants attacked the unit in Narathiwat province on Wednesday evening, sparking a gun battle, Colonel Banphot Poonpien said.
“Four soldiers died in the attack and seven were injured. Of these, four are in a critical condition,” he told AFP.
The militants took more than 50 rifles and about 5,000 bullets during the raid, setting off bombs and burning two houses and a tent within the base before retreating, a statement from the southern Thai army headquarters said.
The troops killed were said to be aged between 22 and 33.
Shadowy insurgents have waged a violent campaign in the southern region bordering Malaysia since early 2004, leaving more than 4,400 people dead, both Muslims and Buddhists.
On Tuesday, Thailand extended emergency rule in most of the Muslim-majority southern region for another three months, despite rights groups’ concerns about the powers given to the military.
Suthep Thaugsuban, the deputy prime minister who oversees national security, said the militants staged the latest raid to terrify local residents.
“They want to show their capability,” he told reporters, a day after he made a visit to the troubled part of the country.
A security force of more than 60,000 is stationed in the region, battling militants whose precise aims are unclear.
Critics accuse the government of failing to address the grievances of Thailand’s Malay Muslim minority, including alleged abuses by the military and a perceived lack of respect for their ethnic identity, language and religion.