GD Austrian Unit Discusses Pandur Sale to Kuwait

PARIS - Steyr Daimler Puch, the Austrian unit of General Dynamics Land Systems Europe, is in talks with the Kuwait National Guard for the sale of a new generation of its Pandur armored personnel carrier, an industry executive said.
The discussions are understood to be for several dozen units of the armored vehicle, which is available in six- and eight-wheel configurations in the Pandur II version. Steyr declined comment.

General Dynamics plans to present is Mowag Piranha armored vehicle at the IDEX show in Abu Dhabi, which opens Feb. 20.

India's Arms Lab Signs Cross-Border Deals

BANGALORE - India's defense research agency is continuing to reach out to other countries for joint projects.
At the Aero India show, the Defence Research and Development Organisation launched research into armament, avionics and life sciences with Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, Ukraine and the United States, DRDO chief V K Saraswat told reporters Feb. 11.

"The thrust is to build defense technologies for tomorrow," Saraswat said. "Priority to build joint intellectual property rights with international partners will be yet another priority for DRDO."
Analysts called the moves part of the agency's long-term strategy to shed its closed-door approach and open ties with overseas defense majors and research entities.
Saraswat said DRDO already has 20 international joint defense research and development projects.
The DRDO chief also unveiled DRDO efforts to build a new supersonic missile. Ground testing has already been done on the scramjet-powered missile, which is meant to have a range of 30 kilometers, a top speed of Mach 5 and a first test flight in the middle of next year, he said.
DRDO is helping the Indian Space Research Organization develop ELINT and electro-optic pods for space.
Saraswat said he hoped that his $2 billion budget would rise next year to around $2.66 billion; the new figures are to be announced Feb. 28.
DRDO projects include the development of the naval version of the Light Aircraft (LCA), unmanned combat aerial vehicle, new-generation unmanned aerial vehicles, aerostat and medium combat aircraft. Future areas of interest include materials, avionics, structural systems, missiles and human resources.
"Cooperation at every level - local, national or global - is an absolute necessity for progress in technology, especially defense technology," Indian Defence Minister A K Antony said Feb. 7 in Bangalore.
The United States last month removed export curbs on DRDO's laboratories, including the Armament Research and Development Establishment, the Defense Research and Development Lab, the Missile Research and Development Complex and the Solid State Physics Laboratory.

Afghan Guards Suspected Of Attacking S. Korea Base

SEOUL - A rocket attack on a South Korean base in Afghanistan this week was apparently carried out by disgruntled former Afghan security personnel, a senior South Korean official said Feb. 11.
Five rockets were fired at the base housing South Korean aid workers and troops in the northern province of Parwan late Feb. 8 and two landed inside.

No one was hurt.
The suspected culprits were former Afghan security personnel who had their jobs guarding the base given to other guards, Deputy Defence Minister Chang Kwang-Il said.
"Afghan authorities believe the former security personnel were responsible," Chang said.
The attack coincided with a visit to the base by Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin.
Hundreds of aid workers, protected by South Korean soldiers, launched a mission last July to provide Parwan residents with medical services, jobs training and other services.
South Korea sent 210 engineering and medical troops to Afghanistan in 2002, but withdrew them in late 2007 after insurgents took 23 South Korean church volunteers hostage and murdered two of them. Seoul said the withdrawal was already planned and not part of any deal with the kidnappers.
It says troops deployed in the latest mission will not fight except to protect the aid workers.

Azerbaijan, Armenia May Go To War Over Territory

BAKU, Azerbaijan - Azerbaijan is seriously preparing for war with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh, the country's defense minister told international peace mediators Feb. 11.
"Azerbaijan is seriously preparing to liberate its territories," Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said in comments published by the ministry's news service.

This is not the first occasion that a top Azerbaijani official has used tough rhetoric over a possible conflict.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly threatened to use force to win back Karabakh if peace talks do not yield results, while Armenia has warned of large-scale retaliation if Baku launches military action.
Abiyev said that Armenia must end what he called its "occupation policy" in Karabakh, where ethnic Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized control from Azerbaijan in a war in the early 1990s that left about 30,000 dead.
"Only in this context is a peaceful settlement of the conflict possible," Abiyev said.
Abiyev was speaking to peace mediators from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose efforts to find a negotiated solution to the Karabakh dispute have continued for more than a decade.
Abiyev said that Azerbaijan had not yet given up hope that the mediators' efforts could succeed, despite the lack of progress so far.
A leading think tank warned this week that increased spending on weapons, escalating frontline clashes, war-like rhetoric and a virtual breakdown in peace talks were increasing the chances of renewed military action over Karabakh.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group said that exchanges of fire across the ceasefire line could spiral out of control, threatening regional stability and Western energy interests in the region.

AERO INDIA: Roadmap revealed for Medium Combat Aircraft

The head of India's Aeronautical Development Agency yesterday revealed key details of the roadmap for development of the proposed indigenous medium combat aircraft (MCA) in an interview with Flight Daily News.
ADA will complete a feasibility study on the MCA by the end of 2011. The study will be submitted to the Indian government and air force, and discuss key aspects of the programme, says PS Subramanyam, programme director at the ADA.
The study will consider several areas: the number of MCA prototypes, prototype timelines, funding, and production schedules for the final aircraft.
"The MCA will be in flight trials by end of the decade, and it will be inducted by the middle of the next decade," says Subramanyam.

India's Medium Combat Aircraft will be larger than the Tejas (top), but smaller than the FGFA, Indian variant of the developmental Sukhoi PAK FA (bottom)

Subramanyam also discussed how the MCA will fit into the Indian air force's future force structure. It will be a 20t aircraft with a 1,000km range, fitting between the 10t, 500km range of the Hindustan Aeronautics Tejas, and the 30t, 1,500km range of the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA), an Indian variant of the developmental Sukhoi PAK FA.
Therefore, Subramanyam says, the MCA "does not clash" with the FGFA. He says the MCA will be comparable to the Lockheed Martin F-35, and the FGFA comparable to the F-22 Raptor.
The MCA will be a single seat fighter. A two seat version will be developed, but primarily as a trainer. A naval variant is not envisaged, but Subramanyam foresees a requirement for a 20t aircraft for India's future indigenous aircraft carriers. A naval variant of the Tejas was rolled out in mid-2010. It is likely to have its first flight this year.
In a recent interview with Flight Daily News, IAF Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik said the MCA will be a medium weight combat aircraft with low observable features and a payload capability of more than five tons. It will have swing role capability and "provide greater flexibility in the application of aerospace power".
The ADA has previously said the MCA will have "serpentine-shaped" air intakes, internal weapons bays, and advanced radomes to increase its stealth features. Radar-absorbing composites and paints will supplement the design.
It will be powered by two Kaveri engines optimized for low observable characteristics. The Kaveri, which has suffered considerable delays, is still in development, and will eventually replace General Electric engine in the Tejas.

P&W: Cost of F-35 Engines Drops 16%

Pratt & Whitney has reached a handshake agreement for the fourth batch of low-rate-production F-135 engines for the F-35 at a price 16 percent below from the previous lot, the company's military engines chief, Warren Boley, said Feb. 10.

Pratt & Whitney's military engines chief Warren Boley announced the firm will produce 37 units of F-135 engines for the F-35 for 16 percent less than the previous lot. (Darin Russell / Lockheed Martin)

The order is for 37 units.

Eventually, Boley said, the company hopes to reduce the engine's price tag to around $10 million each. At that price, the engine would cost the same as the F-22's F119 engine despite being 1,500 lbs heavier and delivering 20 percent more thrust.
Further, Boley said, all three versions of the engine have received their Initial Service Release, which certifies that development is complete. The engine has been showing a reliability of 99 percent.
The F-35B vertical-landing variant's entire lift propulsion system, including its lift-fan and roll-posts, has demonstrated a "mission readiness" of 98 percent, he said.
Comparatively, the fully operational F119, which is known for its reliability, has a mission readiness rate of 98.5 percent.
The earlier issues with engine "screech" have been solved, Boley said. Screech kits are being installed on the first 12 engines while the subsequent units will have the modifications incorporated in the production line.
Pratt & Whitney is still working to improve the F135's reliability. For example, improvements to the vertical-landing variant's propulsion system are to be incorporated into the sixth and seventh production batches.
Any retrofits for older aircraft would be performed in depot as the changes are very minor, Boley said.
The engine has a thrust margin that can accommodate weight growth, Boley said. Even the F-35B's lift-fan has a 1 percent thrust margin.
The company's role in the flight test program is being extended by three years, he said, to support an expanded flight test program that now includes 7,000 flights, up from about 5,000 flights. The total value of the company's extended involvement might amount to a $1 billion.
In 2011, the flight test program will fly 872 sorties, Boley said.

U.S. Spy Sats, Intel Budget Eyed for Savings

Both the Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee are looking at spy satellites as an area to save money as budget cuts loom.
"I urge the intelligence community to remain open-minded about alternative satellite architectures that could potentially meet current requirements at a much lower cost to the taxpayers," said the committee's chairman, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., at a Feb. 10 hearing that covered worldwide threats.

In April 2009, Dennis Blair, then-director of national intelligence, announced the federal government's plans to develop and build new spy satellites, while at the same time buying more imagery from the commercial sector to address immediate needs.
Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time, criticized the Obama administration's plans, saying they were high-risk and "by far the most expensive" option.
The new effort comes after a program led by Boeing was canceled in 2005 due to cost and schedule overruns.
"I haven't made up my mind yet, but I'm studying my options carefully and so should you," Rogers told witnesses at the hearing, who included CIA Director Leon Panetta, National Intelligence Director James Clapper and FBI Director Robert Mueller.
The committee's ranking Democratic member, Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., said he wondered whether satellite launches could be made less expensive.
"The U.S. is spending more per rocket launch and battling more delays than anywhere else," Ruppersberger said. "That is because the United States has committed to a two-company alliance to handle all launches, despite the fact that other U.S. companies are showing promise."
Ruppersberger was referring to the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Formed in 2006, the venture was challenged on antitrust grounds but received clearance from the Federal Trade Commission.
"We must get costs under control and consider other approaches that satisfy the needs of the intelligence community, as well of the warfighter, without busting our bottom line," Ruppersberger said.
Both Rogers and Ruppersberger called for greater efficiencies within the intelligence budget. At roughly $80 billion, the intelligence budget is more than twice what it was on Sept. 11, 2001.
In July, the Washington Post described the growth of the government's top-secret world. For example, the Defense Intelligence Agency has grown from 7,500 employees in 2002 to 16,500 today.
Clapper, who ran the DIA in the early 1990s, said that, given the funding that has been provided to the intelligence community for the last 10 years, it is appropriate the pendulum is swinging back.
"We, I think, all understand that we're going to be in for some belt-tightening," he said.
To that end, Clapper said he reviewed the size and structure of his own staff.
"Based on this efficiencies review, the Office of the [Director of National Intelligence] is being reduced in size and budget," Clapper said.
Ruppersberger said an "across-the-board" reduction in intelligence funding would be a bad idea.
"We must review each program on its own merits," he said. "We must identify what is working and get rid of what is not, including redundant programs that cost us too much money."
Rogers said he wanted to avoid the mistakes of the 1990s, "when we cut too deep" into intelligence funding.