U.S. Must Close Air Base: Kyrgyz President-Elect

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - The United States will have to shut down the base it currently uses in Kyrgyzstan for support operations in Afghanistan, the Central Asian republic's president-elect said on Nov. 1.
Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev, who was elected president of the strategic nation by an overwhelming majority on Oct. 30, said the United States will have to leave the Manas base after its lease expires in 2014.

"Our country will honor all its international agreements, but we have warned the U.S. embassy that they will have to close the base in 2014," Atambayev told reporters.
The former Soviet republic is the world's only nation to house both a Russian and a U.S. military base, reflecting a recent rivalry between Moscow and Washington in the energy-rich but turbulent region.
Now officially called the Manas Transit Center, the base leased by the United States is located at a civilian airport on the outskirts of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.
NATO has mapped out a strategy to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Atambayev, whose victory may still be challenged by his opponents, said he did not believe such bases provided long-term security for Kyrgyzstan.
"We are ready to create civilian transit centers, but not military bases, with the U.S., Russia or any other interested country," he said.

Turkey Pens Submarine Rescue Ship Contract

ANKARA - Turkey's procurement authorities have signed a contract with a local shipyard for the production of one submarine rescue mother ship (MOSHIP) and two towing vessels (RATSHIP), the first deal of its kind for Turkey's thriving military shipbuilding industry.
The deal was signed Oct. 28 between the country's procurement office, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), and Istanbul Tersanesi, a private shipyard based in Istanbul. SSM and company officials did not reveal the contract price.

Speaking at a ceremony for the contract signing, Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said that although it took three years to conclude negotiations with the shipyard, the government was determined to locally build military platforms needed for modernization programs.
Also speaking at the ceremony, SSM's chief, Murad Bayar, said the Turkish Navy is keen to award its vessel contracts to private (local) shipyards.
Under the contract, Istanbul Tersanesi will deliver the rescue vessels to the Navy within three years. The Turkish MOSHIP will be able to evacuate the crew of a distressed submarine at depths of up to 600 meters, according to company officials.
The proposed vessel is 91 meters long with a beam of 18.5 meters and a draft of 5 meters. Space is provided for 131 personnel, and it has a maximum speed of 18 knots and a range of 4,500 nautical miles at a speed of 14 knots.
The ship also will be able to perform rescue and towing operations for broken-down, wrecked or aground vessels. Equipped with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), diving units and an atmospheric diving suit, the ship can conduct underwater maintenance and wreck-removal operations.
The two planned RATSHIP vessels will be 69 meters long with a beam of 13.5 meters and draught of 4 meters. They will be able to attain the same speed and endurance levels of the MOSHIP and have space for 104 personnel.
The RATSHIPs will be equipped with ROVs and a diving suit for underwater missions, but they also are tasked with towing targets for surface shooting practice.
Company officials say the vessels can pick up the target ship and torpedoes from the sea during torpedo practice. Additional roles will include firefighting, support for submarine rescue operations and offshore towing operations.

Czech Planes Grounded for 3rd Time This Year

PRAGUE - The Czech Army grounded its four CASA C-295M military planes Oct. 31 due to equipment failure, said an army spokesperson, the third time the aircraft have been grounded this year.
The navigation screen and other equipment in a plane Oct. 30 from Seville, Spain, "stopped working during landing," spokesperson Mira Trebicka said in a statement. "One of the two engines then stopped working. Army Gen. Vkastimil Picek has ordered the immediate grounding of all planes, until the inquiry has ended."

The two pilots managed to land with one engine.
In 2010, the Czech Army replaced its obsolete Antonov An-26 fleet, which dated from its communist era, with CASA C-295M planes.
The aircraft were already grounded in February following a severe drop in altitude midflight, and again in May after problems with an avionics system.

Saudi King to Name Salman as Defense Minister: Source

RIYADH - King Abdullah is expected to name his half-brother Prince Salman, who is governor of Riyadh, as the new defense minister to succeed the late Crown Prince Sultan, a Saudi official said Oct. 31.

Saudi Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, seen delivering a speech in India last year, will reportedly be Saudi Arabia's next defense minister. (Raveendran / AFP via Getty Images)

"The monarch will name Prince Salman as a defense minister later on Monday," the source told AFP, requesting anonymity and without giving further details.

King Abdullah last week named Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz as crown prince succeeding his brother Sultan, who died in a U.S. hospital on October 22.
Salman and Nayef are full brothers.

Despite Sales Drop, France 4th Largest Exporter

PARIS - French arms export orders fell in 2010, but the country held its ranking as the world's fourth-largest exporter, an annual report on foreign defense sales to parliament said Oct. 26.
Exports declined to 5.12 billion euros ($7.12 billion) in 2010 from 8.16 billion euros in the previous year, according to the report.

The foreign sales were secured in a "difficult climate and in an extremely volatile context," a Defense Ministry spokesman, Army Gen. Philippe Ponties, told journalists.
Exports are seen as vital to French defense industry and the government, as the domestic budget is expected to fall sharply as part of deficit reduction plans.
A major objective next year is to pursue at a New York conference an international treaty on arms sales, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero.
France held a 6 percent share of the world market based on an annual average of deliveries, behind the United States, which dominates with a 53.7 percent share, Britain with 12.5 percent, and Russia with 8.2 percent, the report said.
The world market was estimated at 60 billion to 70 billion euros in annual sales, Ponties said.
Major deals sealed last year included a sale of the A330 multirole tanker transport aircraft to Saudi Arabia, Cougar helicopters to Malaysia, and the upgrade of Alphajet trainer jets for Morocco.
This year, France sold two Mistral-class command and projection ships to Russia, and signed a long-awaited contract to modernize Mirage 2000 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.
Winning a big contract for 60 Rafale fighter jets with the United Arab Emirates has proved elusive, as the UAE balked at an initial $10 billion price tag.
Defense Minister Gérard Longuet said Paris is in "final negotiations" with the UAE on the Rafales, but there has been no comment from UAE authorities.
Paris supports foreign arms sales, which are seen as a key foreign policy tool, helping France hold its place at the top in international affairs, Ponties said.
The sales are conducted under a strict export control regime, he said.
The foreign contracts also are seen as vital to maintaining the country's defense industry and technology base and supporting 135,000 directly employed in the domestic economy, he said.

$24M Awarded to Find Cause of F-22 Oxygen Problem

Lockheed Martin has been awarded an F-22 Raptor sustainment contract for $24 million to find the root cause of the fifth generation air superiority fighter's oxygen system among other things.
The company "is being awarded a $24,363,993 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification for the F-22 Program to provide sustaining engineering and depot partnering task associated with non-destructive inspection organic capability, hypoxia root cause analysis, titanium crack growth, site activation, slider seals, and radar cross section turntable," reads a Defense Department contract announcement posted on defense-aerospace.com.

The release was issued on Oct. 26.

Germany Wavers Over Sub Sale to Israel: Report

JERUSALEM - Germany is reconsidering its sale of a sixth submarine to Israel in the wake of new tensions over Jewish settlement construction, an Israeli newspaper reported Oct. 26.
Yediot Aharonot said Berlin was rethinking the deal because of German frustration over Israel's decision to approve new settlement building in annexed east Jerusalem, which has raised tensions between the two countries.

The Israeli daily, citing unnamed "high-ranking officials," said the deal had been jeopardized by fraying relations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Merkel was reported to have strongly criticized the Israeli premier during a telephone call last month, saying she had "absolutely no understanding" of Israel's decision to increase settlement building in east Jerusalem.
Speaking to Israeli public radio Oct. 26, Defence Ministry Director General Udi Shani declined to confirm or deny the reported problems with the submarine deal.
"It's a very complicated, very sensitive file that is under discussion. There are many parameters that have to be taken into account," he said.
There have been conflicting reports about whether Israel even wants to buy a sixth Dolphin-class submarine from Germany.
The Israeli navy currently has three Dolphin-class submarines, two of which were bought after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Two others are on order from Germany and being built at the Kiel shipyard. They are due for delivery in 2012.
Media reports have said the submarines can carry nuclear warheads and have an operating range of 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles).
In July 2010, the Defense Ministry denied that Israel was looking to purchase a sixth submarine, after media reports said Berlin had rejected an Israeli request for subsidies for the sale.