Obama, Medvedev Discuss Missile Defense at G8

DEAUVILLE, France - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said May 26 after talks with U.S. President Barack Obama that an ultimate solution to the long-running row over missile defense may not happen until after 2020.
Medvedev and Obama met on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Deauville, and they also discussed the economy, counterterrorism and Russia's pending entry into the World Trade Organization.

Before the summit, Medvedev had warned of the chances of a new Cold War in Europe should Washington build its missile system without the Kremlin's agreement, although other Russian officials played down the row.
Obama and Medvedev looked stern-faced as they spoke to reporters after the talks, but both insisted that U.S.-Russian ties, "reset" under the Obama administration, were in good shape.
Medvedev said the missile defense issue "will finally be solved in the future, like for example in the year 2020" by future politicians.
But he added that he and the U.S. leader could "lay the foundation for other politicians," and called Obama his "colleague and political partner."
Obama said he and Medvedev were "committed to working together so we can find an approach and configuration that is consistent with the security needs of both countries ... that maintains a strategic balance and deals with potential threats we both share."
Russia's recent tough talk and decision to test two nuclear-capable heavy missiles in the past month underscore a fear in Moscow that the Obama administration is paying lip service to U.S.-Russian relations.
Moscow has in recent months complained that it is being sidelined in talks over the joint missile defense for Europe and Medvedev's remarks may underscore the Kremlin's disappointment over the current negotiations.
The United States argues that the shield is meant only to protect Europe from nations such as Iran but has said nothing about Russian security safeguards.
Analysts note that Moscow is primarily worried the system will leave a permanent stamp on the security map of Europe and formalize the reduced role Russia plays in the post-Cold War world.

France, Russia Reach Agreement on Warship Deal

DEAUVILLE, France - France and Russia have finalized an unprecedented deal for Paris to sell four powerful modern warships to Moscow, President Nicolas Sarkozy and his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev said May 26.
"All talks have been completed. The contract will be signed shortly," Medvedev told reporters after holding bilateral talks with his host Sarkozy ahead of the G8 summit in the northern French resort of Deauville.

"The elements of the signing have been resolved. The signature will take place within a fortnight," Sarkozy said.
Under the plan, two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships will be built in France and two in Russia to the French design, the two men said without giving further details.
Negotiations over the purchase began in 2009 but repeatedly stalled over price and technology transfer amid concerns among France's NATO allies about arming Russia with modern Western weaponry.
Some former Soviet nations like Georgia, which fought a brief but bloody war with Russia in 2008, have expressed fears in the past that Russia could use the powerful ships against them.
Earlier this year, the two sides were reportedly unable to agree on the contract price, as Russia insisted on paying no more than $980 million and France insisted on a contract of at least $1.15 billion.
The ship-purchase deal with France is unprecedented since World War II both in terms of the size of the equipment in question and Russia's insistence since the war on producing all military hardware for its own use and export.
The deal will also be seen as a major coup for the both leaders and will likely buttress their credentials as political negotiators as Russia and France head into presidential elections next year.
Brushing off any possible concerns from his NATO allies, Sarkozy reiterated that Russia was a trusted partner and the Cold War epoch was over. Medvedev for his part said the two countries enjoyed "superb ties."

Spain Halts Military Chopper Sale to Iran: Police

MADRID - Spanish police halted the illegal export of nine Bell-112 military transport helicopters to Iran and detained eight people including three Iranians, they said May 26.
Police seized the U.S.-made helicopters and arrested five Spanish businessmen suspected of trying to export them along with three Iranians accused of negotiating the purchase of military materiel.

In the operation, dubbed "Nam,' they raided industrial warehouses in Madrid and Barcelona and snatched helicopters destined for Iran, police said in a statement.
They also seized aviation spare parts allegedly destined for export to Venezuela, police said.
Police estimated the total value of the helicopters, spares and other military materiel at about 100 million euros ($140 million).
Police said the aircraft were subject to European Union and Spanish controls and were banned for export by the United Nations.
With a top speed of 140 mph and an average range of 370 miles, the helicopters were designed to ferry troops and military equipment, police said.
The Spanish companies flouted export requirements, failing to obtain licenses for the export of military materiel or so-called dual-use goods that can have military applications, police said.
The firms knew the export of the aircraft and spare parts was banned, they said, accusing them of concealing them in the warehouses, owned by a syndicate of the Spaniards who had been detained.
The helicopters and spares were being prepared for assembly and disassembly before export to Iran and Venezuela, police said.
"They tried to protect the export sale, which could have resulted in revenue of about 100 million euros, under the cover of legal aviation repairs," the statement said.
Police said they found out about the arrival in Spain of the Iranian purchasers who had come to formalize the deal and they then launched an operation to arrest them.
They arrested five people in Madrid and three in Barcelona and raided another three addresses resulting in the seizure of the nine Bell helicopters, aviation materiel and spares and related documents.

Pentagon: U.S. supplies bombs to allies in Libya

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military is supplying bombs and spare parts to allies carrying out strikes in the NATO-led air campaign against Libya's regime, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
"We have provided material support, including munitions, to Allies and partners engaged in operations in Libya" since April 1, spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said in an email.

The statement marked the first time the Pentagon had publicly confirmed it was providing ammunition to NATO allies, amid reports some countries were running out of supplies of precision-guided bombs or parts.
Lapan confirmed that the munitions included precision-guided "smart bombs."
Since NATO took the lead in the air campaign on April 1, the U.S. has provided allies and partners with about $24.3 million worth of "repair parts, ammunition and technical support," Lapan said.
Details of U.S. support came as a senior NATO military official said the alliance was stepping up operations in a bid to deliver a decisive blow to Moammar Gadhafi's regime, hitting Tripoli with its heaviest bombardment to date.

PLA Navy Commander Meets Israeli Defense Leaders

TEL AVIV - In an official May 25 visit to Israel, the commander of the Chinese Navy met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his Israeli counterpart, Rear Adm. Eliezer Marom.

In an official May 25 visit to Israel, the commander of the Chinese Navy met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his Israeli counterpart, Rear Adm. Eliezer Marom. (Inbal Griner / Israel MoD)

Barak's office provided no other details of the meeting with Adm. Wu Shengli of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), although an MoD source insisted the visit did not herald changes in Israel's marginal defense trade ties with Beijing, which focus on dual-use capabilities.

Israel-Chinese defense trade ties have essentially been subject to a de facto U.S. veto following the crisis of confidence early in the administration of former President George W. Bush over Israeli technology transfers to a country deemed by Washington as a strategic competitor, if not adversary.
After forcing Israel to cancel a $1 billion-plus deal for Phalcon aerial early warning and control planes and a subsequent period of estrangement pertaining to a later, unreported sale of drones, Israel's MoD committed to consult with Washington on any transfers that could pose an eventual threat to U.S. forces or its allies.
"Our policy of very close consultations with our American friends remains unchanged," the MoD source said. He refused to elaborate on the purpose of Wu's visit or the sites included in the itinerary.
As Barak was hosting Wu at MoD headquarters in Tel Aviv, a former U.S. Air Force chief of staff was speaking just across town.
At the Fisher Institute's annual conference on air power, retired Gen. Michael Moseley warned of "the very high likelihood" that U.S. forces would have to face off against Chinese or Russian technology in future conflicts. He recalled his response to a question once posed to him by former President Bush.
"He asked about the probability of the U.S. having to fight a future war with China or Russia, and my reply was 'near zero' because I had full confidence in the ability of our political leaders to craft the policies and take the decisions needed to prevent such wars," Moseley said.
In contrast, the former U.S. Air Force chief assessed the probability "at near 100 percent… that my son or my son-in-law will have to engage those [Chinese or Russian] systems."

Pentagon: U.S. cutting back troops in Pakistan

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military said Wednesday it has begun pulling some American troops out of Pakistan after Islamabad requested a smaller presence, amid tensions over a U.S. raid against Osama bin Laden.
"We were recently (within past 2 weeks) notified in writing that the government of Pakistan wished for the U.S. to reduce its footprint in Pakistan. Accordingly, we have begun those reductions," spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said in an email to reporters.

There are more than 200 U.S. military personnel in Pakistan serving mostly as trainers as part of a long-running effort to counter al-Qaida and Islamist militants.
But the uneasy relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. has come under severe strain following a unilateral raid by U.S. commandos that killed bin Laden on May 2 in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, home to a military academy.
President Barack Obama's administration has stepped up diplomatic efforts to smooth over the crisis sparked by the raid on the al-Qaida leader's compound, while some lawmakers in Congress have called for cutting aid to Islamabad.
Since the bin Laden operation, the U.S. has kept up CIA drone strikes on militant targets in Pakistan's northwest. The bombing raids are deeply unpopular and often draw public criticism from Pakistani officials.

Pentagon Agency Halts Kill Vehicle Production

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has suspended production of the latest version of the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV), part of the Ground Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) anti-ballistic-missile system, while it looks into a 2010 flight test failure, said the agency's director, Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly.
In May 25 testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense panel, O'Reilly also said a plan to shift program oversight of the Army's Patriot air and missile defense system to MDA could be in place as soon as 2013.

The GMD interceptor missile, which failed during the final moments of a December test, was an upgraded version of the currently deployed GMD system. This upgraded version includes a new EKV, the Raytheon-built component that intercepts an incoming missile in space.
The suspension will last until required design modifications are completed and verified, and the agency has diverted 2011 GMD funding to expedite the modifications.
The GMD program had two test failures in 2010. The first involved EKV quality control.
"We have identified and confirmed that we had an error in the assembly process of the new EKV," O'Reilly said during the May 25 hearing.
He said the problem was fixed by revising the factory's inspection processes.
O'Reilly said the agency has seen no problems in older-model EKVs currently deployed on older GMD systems, nor are there problems with the GMD booster.
As for the December test, O'Reilly did not say what the problem was.
"We have completed almost all of the ground testing to confirm what the problem was and have identified that problem," he said. "We're now in the process of correcting the problem, confirming it on the ground, but the nature of these type of problems make it very difficult to confirm in ground testing."
Investigators have found "one flaw, which … we are aggressively working to resolve it and prove it," O'Reilly said.
MDA will conduct "extensive ground testing" this summer and a non-intercept test with an upgraded EKV, and it will repeat the failed intercept test in 2012.
A Raytheon spokesman deferred comments to Boeing, the GMD program's prime contractor. A Boeing spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.
In March, Boeing's top program official said he believes the problem was solely with the EKV.
Norm Tew, a Boeing vice president and the company's GMD program director, said during a March briefing that the December test was "the cleanest, most picture-perfect flight" conducted "up until the last few seconds."
GMD is designed to protect the United States from long-range ballistic missiles, particularly from North Korea and Iran.

Patriot Transfer

The plan to transfer the Patriot program, first discussed in April 2010, would relieve the Army of certain budgetary responsibilities while providing more stable funding to the program, service officials said at the time.
"The particular proposal we have made for the Army's case is literally to take their leadership that does currently oversee Patriot," O'Reilly said. "They would become part of the Missile Defense Agency, but still … have rating responsibilities to the Army."
The transfer is still being deliberated, and a final decision has not been made, he said.
The Army and MDA also had considered transferring the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) during the last year. But since then, the Defense Department has announced that the MEADS program would come to an end in 2013 because the United States will not move forward with production.
MEADS also involves Germany and Italy. The program's prime contractor is MEADS International, a consortium of Lockheed Martin and MBDA, the European missile company.
MEADS was planned to replace the Patriot system. Pentagon officials have said that due to MEADS delays, the Patriot system needed upgrades. But the Pentagon could not afford to upgrade Patriot and buy MEADS at the same time.