Germany, France Mull Ship-Building Alliance

BERLIN - Germany and France are considering a military ship-building alliance, an "EADS of the Seas", similar to what is already done for military aircraft, the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper said Aug. 1.
The European defense group EADS, owner of airplane maker Airbus, manufactures military helicopters and the A400 military transport plane.

Berlin and Paris are considering opening talks later this year on a similar alliance in the field of naval construction which would involve the German ThyssenKrupp group and the French DCNS military dockyards, the business newspaper said, citing sources close to the negotiations.
However in a statement, ThyssenKrupp said it was not currently involved in talks with DCNS on a possible alliance and that no such talks were planned for the future.
Germany had long rejected such a deal, fearing disputes with France over political control of the group and over which dockyards would remain open.
But a recent failure by ThyssenKrupp to sell its Blohm and Voss dockyards to Abu Dhabi MAR has given new impetus to the project which is backed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the paper said.
A joint venture might see France take charge of the construction of frigates, while Germany would be responsible for submarines, the paper suggested.
A recent deal between the French DCNS and the German electronic specialist Atlas Elektronik, a joint venture involving ThyssenKrupp and EADS, for manufacturing torpedoes could serve as an initial test for such a joint venture, the paper added.

German Party Sues Government on Saudi Tank Deal

BERLIN - Germany's opposition Green party is taking the government to court over a reported secret deal to sell hundreds of tanks to Saudi Arabia, a party spokeswoman said Aug. 1.
"A suit brought by the members of parliament Christian Stroebele, Claudia Roth and Katja Keul was filed on Friday" with the Constitutional Court, the spokeswoman added.

The Greens, who oppose the reported deal, have asked the court to rule on whether the government is entitled to grant an export license for the tanks without informing parliament.
Press reports recently suggested that Saudi Arabia would be buying 200 Leopard-2s, Germany's main battle tank, which is also produced under license in Spain, for a multibillion-euro sum.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and her government have refused to comment on the reports, saying such matters are confidential and decided by the federal security council, a panel that rules on arms exports and is chaired by the chancellor.
"Deliberation and decisions by the federal security council are secret for good reason," Merkel has told the press.
For decades, Germany has declined to sell such heavy weapons to Saudi Arabia because of concerns over human rights and fears for Israel's security.
Opposition politicians and even some members of Merkel's ruling center-right coalition have slammed the reported tank sale, particularly in light of pro-democracy uprisings throughout the Middle East.

Mullen Warns of Afghan Transition Corruption

KABUL, Afghanistan - The United States' top military officer warned July 31 that some Afghan institutions central to the transition of power from foreign to local forces are corrupt.
Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was speaking after a two-day trip to Afghanistan, much of which was spent visiting troops, shortly before he is due to step down in October.

During a press conference in Kabul, he highlighted a lack of good governance in many parts of Afghanistan.
He also spoke specifically about Afghan institutions involved in the transition of power from international to Afghan troops and officials. All foreign combat forces are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Some countries, including the U.S., have already started troop withdrawals as part of the transition process.
"I think it's fair to say that in the main, Afghan government officials must work on becoming more responsive to the needs and the aspirations of their people," Mullen said.
"We know that some agencies and institutions vital to transition are infiltrated and subverted by criminal patronage networks."
He added: "We must end impunity for criminals who are subverting the state and victimizing the Afghan people."
As well as the security handover to the Afghan police and army, the transition process also includes a wide range of local and national government bodies taking on new responsibilities from foreign officials.
Mullen acknowledged that U.S. "inattention" had contributed to the problem.
The U.S. government has spent $51.8 billion on aid to Afghanistan since 2002, though much of those funds go through contractors.
Experts say corruption is an endemic problem among many officials in Afghanistan and that the government and foreign powers must do more to combat it.

North Korea Wants Early 6-Party Nuclear Talks

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Aug. 1 it wanted an early resumption of six-party nuclear negotiations following "constructive" talks with the United States last week.
The North "remains unchanged in its stand to resume the six-party talks without preconditions at an early date" and comprehensively implement a September 2005 denuclearization deal, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Pyongyang walked out of the negotiations in April 2009, a month before its second atomic weapons test. But it has indicated willingness to return to the dialogue also grouping South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the United States.
Last month the chief nuclear negotiators from the two Koreas met in Bali in the first direct and high-level talks between the rivals on the issue since the collapse of the six-party negotiations.
The surprise Bali meeting was followed by discussions July 28-29 between the United States and North Korea at the United Nations in New York.
The United States gave a cautiously positive assessment of the New York meeting, saying the "path is open" to better relations if the North shows a firm commitment to disarmament efforts.
The North's first vice foreign minister, Kim Kye-Gwan, called the talks "very constructive and businesslike" but neither side said whether a follow-up meeting was planned.
The North's spokesman said Monday the "in-depth discussion" covered improving bilateral relations, ensuring stability on the Korean peninsula and resuming the six-party talks, in a "sincere and constructive" atmosphere.
"Both sides recognized that the improvement of the bilateral relations and the peaceful negotiated settlement of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula conform with the interests of the two sides and agreed to further dialogue," the spokesman told the official news agency.
North Korea agreed in principle in 2005 to scrap its atomic weapons program in return for economic aid and major security and diplomatic benefits.
But the agreement eventually broke down, amid accusations of bad faith by both sides.
The North's deadly artillery attack last November on a South Korean island further complicated efforts to restart nuclear dialogue.
About the same time, the North also revealed an apparently operational uranium enrichment plant at its Yongbyon atomic complex to visiting US experts.
Pyongyang says its new operation is intended to fuel a nuclear power plant, but senior U.S. and other officials fear it could easily be reconfigured to produce weapons-grade uranium to augment the country's plutonium stockpile.
The North, using plutonium extracted from its Yongbyon reactor, conducted its first nuclear test in 2006. It is believed to have enough plutonium for six to eight atomic bombs.
Last week's talks were the first high-level contacts between Pyongyang and Washington since Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special representative on North Korea, went to Pyongyang in December 2009.

S. Africa Reopens Probe Into Gripen Bribes: Report

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - South African police have reopened their investigation into a controversial arms deal after Swedish defense group Saab admitted bribes were paid to clinch a contract, according to a July 31 report.

A South African Air Force Gripen fighter jet is on display at a 2006 airshow in Cape Town, South Africa. A July 31 report says an investigation into claims of bribes paid by Saab and BAE to South African officials has been reopened. (File photo / Agence France-Presse)

Officials will approach authorities in Sweden and Britain to find out what their investigations have uncovered about allegations of corruption in the 1999 deal for 26 JAS Gripen fighter jets, South Africa's Sunday Times reported.

Saab last month admitted that 24 million rand ($3.6 million, 2.5 million euros) in bribes had been paid to secure the deal, but blamed its former British partner BAE Systems for making the payoffs.
The Sunday Times said the head of South Africa's elite investigative squad, the Hawks, had sent a letter to parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts indicating the investigation would be reopened, 10 months after the Hawks were sharply criticized for dropping the politically sensitive probe.
"I have already instructed two officials... to approach the relevant authorities in both Sweden [National Anti-Corruption Unit] and the UK [Serious Fraud Office]," Hawks chief Anwar Dramat wrote.
"Subject to approval by these authorities, [we] will assess the available information with a view to determine whether there is information which points to crime[s] in South Africa."
The chair of the parliamentary committee, Themba Godi, said reopening the investigation was "a brave and correct decision."
"Unless justice is being done and is seen as being done on this matter, it's going to continue to cast a cold shadow over the political landscape of the country," Godi told the Sunday Times.
Saab's admission came after Sweden's TV4 television channel said it had evidence the defense group had promised to pay Fana Hlongwane, then advisor to the South African defense minister, millions of euros in bonuses if Pretoria did not back out of the Gripen deal.
Saab said bribes had been paid in the form of bonuses and salaries between 2003 and 2005 by its South African subsidiary Sanip, which was then controlled by BAE Systems.
The deal provided for the sale of 28 Gripen fighters for 1.6 billion euros, later trimmed to 26 planes. The last is due to be delivered next year.
Claims of corruption in the multi-billion-dollar program to modernize South Africa's military after apartheid have threatened to damage the careers of some of the country's top politicians.
In 2005, President Jacob Zuma's former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for charges that included soliciting bribes to Zuma from French arms company Thomson-CSF. He has since been released on medical parole.
Efforts to put Zuma on trial for corruption have collapsed, but questions over the arms deal continue to hang over his presidency.
After Zuma won control of the African National Congress in 2007, the ruling party made a successful push to disband the predecessor to the Hawks, the Scorpions, an investigative unit that led the probe against Shaik and also implicated Zuma in questionable deals.

With No 'Plan B,' U.S. Marine Corps Shows Off F-35B

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - In a graphic demonstration of the U.S. Marine Corps' strident support of its F-35B version of the tri-service Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the service flew the first-ever live demonstration the aircraft's short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) capability before reporters on July 29.

BF-01, the first F-35B short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) Joint Strike Fighter built for the U.S. Marine Corps, performs a slow flyby for media July 29 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. (Christopher P. Cavas / Staff)

Piloted by Marine Lt. Col. Fred Schenk, the F-35B accelerated down the runway and lifted off in less than 450 feet. Once in the air, it flew past the assembled reporters and senior Marine Corps, Navy and industry brass at 60 knots airspeed. Schenk brought the plane, designated BF-1, to a hover and landed it vertically.

The display was all the more impressive because it was made during a humid summer day when temperatures exceeded 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat and humidity reduce aircraft and engine performance.
Moreover, BF-1 is a test aircraft, not a mature production plane. That is not without risk and the service took precautions. Multiple aircraft had been prepared as back-ups, test pilots at the base said.
At least one backup aircraft, BF-3, flown by test pilot Marine Lt. Col. Matt Kelly, went on to conduct a test sortie after BF-1 successfully flew its demonstration. BF-4, which is a mission systems test plane, was also on standby in case both aircraft aborted.
U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Jim Amos, himself an F/A-18 Hornet pilot, reiterated that the F-35B is vital to his service. The Corps' position is that the service has no backup plans if the F-35B does not make it though the two-year probation period that then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates placed upon the variant when it encountered technical problem and fell behind in flight testing.
"There is no Plan B," Amos said. "We need this airplane."
Asked what would allow the F-35 to exit probation, Amos said that the exit criteria have not yet been set. But he voiced confidence the jet would meet whatever those requirements might be.
Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, the service's deputy commandant for aviation, said the F-35B's progress in test flights since last year was "amazing." The F-35B caught up on last year's test points, and is now head of this year's flight test schedule, he said. Soon, in September, the F-35B will go to sea onboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, he said.
Robling also expressed confidence that the STOVL version, which is the most expensive version of the jet, will come down in price as production increases.
"As soon as that ramp goes up, the costs will start coming down dramatically," he said.
Robling and Amos both reiterated the Corps' argument that the service needs an aircraft that can be based anywhere, which is the primary requirement behind the F-35B. The F-35B model will allow the Navy and Marine Corps to effectively double the number of aircraft carriers in the U.S. fleet because amphibious assault ships would be able to carry strike aircraft.
However, the service is also buying five squadrons of the carrier variant F-35C model planes to support the Navy's carrier fleet. Robling said that even though the service is buying some 80 C-models, the F-35B can also operate from a Navy carrier.
The F-35B will also play in the DoD's Air-Sea Battle concept, Robling said. Despite sacrificing some range, the jet retains all the capabilities of the Air Force and Navy versions. The F-35B would also support the land component of Air-Sea by providing support to Marine ground operations with having to rely on a carrier, he said.
Robling reiterated the Marines' need for a fifth-generation fighter to counter emerging threats such as advanced Russian and Chinese aircraft.
"It's absolutely the aircraft that we need to counter the fifth-generation aircraft that are coming online in places like China, "Robling said. "If we take this fifth-generation aircraft away, there is not another one on the drawing boards in the United States."

Iraq Plans to Double Planned F-16 Purchase

BAGHDAD - Iraq will ask for future defense contracts to include provision for trainers, bypassing MPs to allow some U.S. soldiers to stay past a year-end pullout deadline, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said.
Maliki also told reporters on July 30 that he had revived talks to purchase 36 U.S. F-16 fighter jets, rather than the originally mooted 18, in a multi-billion-dollar deal that has been on the cards for several months.

"Training missions do not need the approval of parliament," the premier told a news conference. "The government will include in agreements to purchase weapons that there should be trainers to train Iraqi forces to use these weapons."
Maliki said he submitted a report to parliament which concluded Iraq's security forces still required training on purchased weapons. He did not give details on the report.
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said this month that plans for a contingent of U.S. military trainers were gaining traction among Iraqi leaders, but no agreement has yet been reached on the future of the American presence here.
Iraqi leaders have already missed a self-imposed July 23 deadline to reach agreement and, in the past, political deals have rarely been reached during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which is set to start Aug. 1.
Politicians have previously noted the difficulty of reaching an agreement in parliament on a prolonged American troop presence, as many Iraqis still view U.S. forces as occupiers.
Maliki said he had signed documents restarting talks to purchase F-16s from the United States, a deal that had been close to agreement earlier this year but was put off due to widespread protests railing against poor basic services.
The original deal had involved the acquisition of 18 jets, but Maliki said the new contract would lead to the purchase of 36 F-16s.
"The new contract will be larger than what we agreed earlier, to provide security for Iraq," he said.
Any potential deal would be worth billions of dollars and take years to implement, as it would require the manufacture of the planes and the training of Iraqi pilots.
U.S. commanders say that while Iraq's forces are able to maintain internal security in the country, improvement is required in protecting Baghdad's airspace, territorial waters and borders.