S. Korea to Launch Marine Aviation Unit: Report

SEOUL - South Korea plans to create an elite Marine aviation unit equipped with scores of helicopters in a bid to bolster its forces near the tense sea border with North Korea, an official said March 13.
"We have 11 helicopter pilots to aid the Marine Corps' operations, but now we are trying to make it bigger to create a whole aviation squadron," South Korea's defense ministry spokesman said, not elaborating further.

Yonhap news agency said the unit for elite commandos will feature about 40 helicopters and begin operations in 2017 or 2018, citing a Seoul military source.
"We plan to equip our locally developed Surion helicopters with weapons to deploy them to the Marine Corps," Yonhap quoted an official of Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying.
The South Korean military is seeking to boost its number of Marines, currently at 27,000, by several thousand as part of a plan to beef up forces along its sea border with the North.
Cross-border ties collapsed after Pyongyang's alleged sinking of a Seoul warship that killed 46 sailors in March 2010 on the Yellow Sea, a scene of deadly inter-Korea naval clashes in 1999 and 2002.
Tensions were further heightened by the North's shelling of a nearby frontier island in November that killed two civilians and two Marines, and sparked brief fear of war.
Some 5,000 Marines are stationed at islands near the sea border with the North off the west coast. The military plans to deploy additional 1,200 troops to the flashpoint region later this year, Yonhap said.

Canada Opposition Unhappy With F-35's Costs

OTTAWA - Canada significantly overpaid for new fighter jets jointly developed with the United States and its allies, a parliamentary watchdog said March 10.
Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page said in a report that Canada should expect to dole out as much as C$29.3 billion ($30 billion) for the purchase and maintenance of 65 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter over 30 years.

The estimate is nearly double the amount suggested by the government, and opposition parties pounced on the report to criticize Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet, set to replace a large part of the U.S. and Canadian warplane fleets, has become the most expensive weapons program ever, drawing increased scrutiny at a time of tight public finances.
The fifth-generation fighter was built with features designed to help avoid enemy radar and ensure supremacy in the skies for decades.
But it has been criticized for a series of cost overruns and delays, and now there is potential competition from China, which in January unveiled its first radar-evading combat aircraft.
At the same time, the contract awarded in 2001 had been planned to last 10 years, but has been extended to 2016 because of testing and design issues.
The United States is covering 90 percent of its development costs but has participation from Britain, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Australia and Canada.
Other nations, including Israel and Singapore, have signed contracts to buy the plane.
Canada's main opposition Liberals, which committed to the F-35 program when in power in 1997, are now using the lack of open competition to replace Canada's aging fleet of fighter jets to press for a change in government.
Jay Paxton, spokesman for Defense Minister Peter MacKay, however stood by the government's procurement cost projections of C$9 billion ($9.2 billion) to buy and C$250-300 million ($256-308 million) annually to maintain over 20 years.
"The F-35 is the only jet that can meet the needs of the Air Force, as noted by Mr. Page," Paxton added. "Simply put, this is the best plane for the best price."

Britain in Eurofighter Talks with Indonesia: Report

LONDON - Britain is in talks with Indonesia on the possible sale of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft despite concerns over Jakarta's human rights record, The Times newspaper reported March 10.

Britain is reportedly in talks to sell 24 Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Indonesia for about 5 billion pounds ($8.1 billion, 5.8 billion euros). (RAF)

Indonesia informally approached Britain over the potential acquisition of up to 24 jets. The previous Labour government banned defense exports to the country in 1999 amid claims it had used British-made planes to bomb civilians.

The sale would be worth around 5 billion pounds ($8.1 billion dollars, 5.8 billion euros) in total, the paper said, but would be hugely controversial in light of current concern over the source of weapons being used against Arab rebels.
British military company BAE Systems has separately offered to upgrade Indonesia's fleet of Hawk jets, it said.
Gerald Howarth, a British defense minister, will discuss the potential sale when he attends a defense summit in Jakarta later this month, the Times said.
"I fully expect that to be the case," Howarth told the paper. "Typhoon is on their agenda. Their interest shows the extent of interest by countries around the world in what is one of the most sophisticated aircraft anywhere."
Human rights group Amnesty International accuses Indonesia of rights violations including police torture and a restricted media.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour government blocked the sale of jets after it was claimed that Indonesia's Hawk fleet had bombed East Timor rebels.
Kaye Stearman, a spokeswoman for Campaign Against Arms Trade, told the Times: "From 1994 to 1999 Indonesia bought half of its military equipment from the U.K., backed by U.K. export credits.
"The people of Indonesia have accumulated huge debts which they are still paying off. The Hawk jets and other British-made weaponry were used by Indonesia in East Timor, West Papua and Aceh.
"With such a dreadful record, BAE and the British government should not be trying to sell more weapons to Indonesia," she added.
Eurofighters were grounded last year in several countries due to the problematic ejectors after a crash killed a Saudi pilot.

NATO Sends Ships to Monitor Libya Arms Embargo

BRUSSELS, Belgium - NATO's defense ministers have decided to send more alliance-member ships to the central Mediterranean, which will help keep an eye on the situation, NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters here March 10.
Rasmussen said the assets would help monitor - not enforce - compliance with the arms embargo against Libya established by United Nations Resolution 1970.

For enforcement, "NATO would require a new U.N. Security Council resolution," he said.
He would not reveal any operational details about the assets.
He denied that there had been any discussion of air strikes on Libya and refused to comment on whether France was proposing direct military action against Libya's airfields, dismissing it as an "unconfirmed rumor from anonymous sources."
Rasmussen did say that the idea of imposing a no-fly zone had been discussed but that, for any NATO operation, there would need to be a demonstrable need; a clear legal basis, probably in the form of U.N. mandate; and firm regional support.
"I can't imagine the international community and the U.N. standing idly by if Gaddafi continues attacking his people systematically," he said.
He also expressed concern that, in Libya, there was "a risk of seeing a failed state that could be a breeding ground for extremism and terrorism."
"We urge the Libyan government to stop the violence and allow a peaceful transition to democracy," he added.

A400M Production To Begin; Revised Deal Still Awaits Approval

LONDON - Airbus Military has launched series production of the A400M even though two of the partner nations have not signed off on a revised deal to build the airlifter.

Airbus said the first four A400Ms are scheduled for delivery in 2012 with production being ramped up to 2.5 a month by the end of 2015. (Lionel Bonaventure / AFP)

Reporting its results for 2010, EADS, Airbus Military's parent company, said the final details on the export levy facility still had to be resolved with Britain and Turkey, but that it had approved the start of production.

The export levy is part of a multibillion euro rescue package agreed to last November by the seven nations collaborating on the much-delayed A400M program. The levy would provide funds up front for the program in exchange for the payment of royalties on exports. In a statement announcing its results, EADS said that "following the approval of the program in France and Germany, negotiations on the export levy facility scheme are to be finalized with some customer nations and are targeted for completion this year."
A spokeswomen for Airbus Military said the agreement with Britain and Turkey was "on the verge of being finalized, it is not an issue."
Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey have been involved in developing and building the A400M since 2003. Including an export order for Malaysia, Airbus holds orders for 174 of the aircraft being built at the company's factory in Seville, Spain.
Airbus said the first four aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2012 with production being ramped up to 2.5 machines a month by the end of 2015.
Civil certification is due this year and Airbus said in a statement it expected to hand over the first A400M to the French Air Force by early 2013.
Airbus Military reported increased revenues last year of 2.68 billion euros ($3.74 billion) compared with 2.23 billion euros the previous year. The military arm of the civil airliner business also delivers A330 MRTT tanker aircraft as well as the smaller C212, CN235 and C295 airlifters.
Earlier this month, the company lost a huge deal to equip the U.S. Air Force with a new tanker when it was beaten to the post by Boeing.

U.S. Navy Pauses to Correct Aircraft Launch System

The new Electronic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) under development for the U.S. Navy took a "pause" to correct problems that appeared after the first test launch in December, a top Navy official said March 9.
The Navy conducted its first test launch of the system using a real aircraft, rather than a test load, on Dec. 21 at its catapult testing facility in Lakehurst, N.J. But no further flights have been made since the successful launch of an F/A-18E Super Hornet.

The problem, said Sean Stackley, the Navy's top acquisition official, was a "gap" between the motors as the system worked to accelerate the aircraft to launch speed.
The EMALS consists of a number of linear motors in series, Stackley explained. "In the handoff from motor to motor, as the aircraft is accelerating, there is a gap. That needs to be tuned."
The Navy and contractor General Atomics have been working on the system's software to cure the problem, Stackley said.
"We took a pause, we're coming back with corrections, and coming back with a system functional demonstration this month," he said during a hearing of the Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee of House Armed Services Committee.
Stackley made his remarks in response to a question by new chairman Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., about the system's progress.
The EMALS is a key element in the design and operation of the Navy's newest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford. The ship is about 20 percent complete, according to testimony presented earlier March 9 by Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, and the system is "on schedule to support delivery" of the carrier in September 2015.
The EMALS program has suffered numerous delays during its development, however, and is reported to have nearly exhausted the margin of error to deliver components on time to shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Newport News so they can be installed on the carrier. Further EMALS delays, one source said, could begin to impact the carrier's building schedule and threaten cost increases.
Along with the associated Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) aircraft recovery system, EMALS is expected to increase the pace of launch and recovery operations on the carrier by 25 percent.
"We are carefully watching components delivered to Newport News," Stackley said. "I think the risk is acceptable, absolutely."

Sweden Halts Arms Deliveries to Two Mideast States: Official

STOCKHOLM - Sweden has halted weapons deliveries to two countries in the Middle East and North Africa due to the unrest sweeping the region, the head of a government agency said March 9, refusing to name the countries in question.
"We have withdrawn licenses (for weapons exports) to two countries ... due to the situation in the region," Andreas Ekman Duse, the head of the Swedish Agency for Non-Proliferation and Export Controls (ISP), told AFP.

"We cannot say which countries, due to commercial and diplomatic classified information," he said.
His agency, which controls Sweden's exports of military equipment, would closely watch the situation, and the licenses could be restored "if the development in these countries goes in a democratic direction," he said, adding "when that will happen I cannot say."
ISP meanwhile also announced March 9 that Sweden last year saw its military equipment exports rise 1 percent to 13.7 billion kronor (1.55 billion euros, $2.16 billion).
Around 70 percent of that went to the European Union, the United States and South Africa, with the number boosted by a larger order of 90 tanks to the Netherlands and Sweden's ongoing deliveries of JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets to South Africa.
Another 20-some countries accounted for the remainder of exports, and the Scandinavian country for instance raked in 804 million kronor from weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates and 246 million kronor from sales to Saudi Arabia, ISP said in a statement.