U.S. Ready To Sell F-35 to India: Pentagon

WASHINGTON - The U.S. would be prepared to sell India the new F-35 fighter jet, the Pentagon said Wednesday, after New Delhi rejected a U.S. offer of older aircraft in a major competition this year.
In a report to Congress on U.S. defense ties with India, the Pentagon said India was a vital partner and that Washington wanted to bolster security cooperation with New Delhi, including joint exercises and high-tech arms sales.

In the first round of a contest for a combat aircraft contract, India in April shortlisted France's Dassault and the European Eurofighter consortium while rejecting the U.S. offer of F-16 and F-18 jets.
"Despite this setback, we believe US aircraft, such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), to be the best in the world," said the Pentagon report, referring to the radar-evading F-35 jet.
"Should India indicate interest in the JSF, the United States would be prepared to provide information on the JSF and its requirements ... to support India's future planning," it said.
Mindful of China's rise and growing military reach, President Barack Obama has placed a high priority on deepening ties with India.
The U.S.-India defense relationship has expanded rapidly over the past decade and the administration sees India as a natural partner and global "player," Robert Scher, deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia, told reporters.
India has made no request for more information on the F-35, but the U.S. invitation was "an example of the high regard that we hold India's military modernization," Scher said.
In the April contest for a new multirole fighter for India, Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon beat out U.S. aerospace giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin, as well as Sweden's Saab AB and the Russian makers of the MiG 35.
The U.S. report noted that India is working with Russia on developing a fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
The Pentagon touts the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as the premier fifth-generation fighter equipped with stealth technology, but the program faces rising costs, with a price tag of nearly $150 million each.
The two U.S. senators who asked the Defense Department for the report welcomed the document but said Washington needed to work to expand its security relationship with India.
"While the report shows that tremendous progress has been made in military-to-military relations over the past ten years, we believe that there is much more that can be done," Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said in a statement.

New Bomber Won't Be Nuclear-Capable at First: USAF Chief

The U.S. Air Force's top uniformed officer said the service's new Long Range Strike bomber will be built with nuclear capability but will operate as a conventional strike aircraft initially.
Testifying before Congress on Nov. 2, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said deferring the new aircraft's nuclear certification until the B-52 and B-2 bombers start to retire would help the service manage costs.

"The reason is that we're trying to control costs," Schwartz said.
Testing for the nuclear role is much more elaborate than testing for conventional weapons.
Nonetheless, "the airplane will be dual-capable," Schwartz said.
Schwartz reiterated that the aircraft will be designed and built with all the hardware for both the nuclear and conventional missions from the outset.
"This will not be backed in later," he said.
At least for the time being, the service's Air Combat Command (ACC) is the lead command for developing the new bomber, Schwartz said. That is because ACC has the capability and expertise to build requirement.
The Global Strike Command is still not fully up to speed, Schwartz said. Eventually, however, the command might take over the program, he said.
For the nuclear mission, Schwartz appealed to the congressional committee to ask the Department of Energy to modernize and upgrade the B-61 nuclear bomb.
During the rest of his testimony, Schwartz reiterated that defense cuts beyond the current $450 billion would seriously damage the U.S. Air Force. Already, he said, the service is looking at divesting itself of "hundreds" of aircraft.
Entire fleets, including the entire logistical train, may have to be removed if further cuts are made, Schwartz said.
Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle mirrored those sentiments later in the afternoon during his testimony.
Schwartz also stressed the importance of the KC-46 tanker, F-35 fighter and the new bomber. However, this time, he added the MQ-9 Reaper to his three priority programs.
Cyberwarfare is the only area in which the Air Force or Defense Department forces might expand, Schwartz added.

Finland Weighs Surface-to-Surface Missile Options

HELSINKI - Finland's armed forces are examining costs and needs for surface-to-surface tactical missiles (SSMs) as part of the Army's $60 million SSM modernization program, which centers on purchasing new ordnance for guided rocket launchers and 155mm artillery systems.
The main focus is on advancing a procurement solution that will add new strength to the Army's battlefield weapons arsenal, and that can guarantee economy of purchase and deployment. The Finnish military's armory includes the M270 armored and self-propelled multiple-launch rocket system (local designation: 298 RsRakH 06), Euro-Spike anti-tank missiles and Czech-produced RM-70 multiple rocket launcher (local designation: 122 RakH 89).

The SSMs being considered would be launched from heavy rocket launchers. The SSM type review and inspection process is expected to continue into 2013, with a decision on whether to purchase in 2014 or 2015.
A big component of the SSM project would be upgrades to the rocket launchers' computer software support programs, which would enable launchers to use new types of modern ordnance with a range of 200 to 300 kilometers.
The Finnish armed forces have engaged in several notable and capital-intensive strategic defense programs since 2008. In 2009, the Ministry of Defence approved a $700 million budget to cover the cost of a new Norwegian Advanced Air-to-Surface Missile air defense and radar platform supplied by Norway's Kongsberg and the U.S.'s Raytheon.

Israel Tests Rocket Amid Talk of Strike on Iran

JERUSALEM - Israel on Nov. 2 successfully tested what local media called a "ballistic missile" as speculation in the Jewish state grew over the possibility of an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
A Defence Ministry official called the launch a "test firing of the rocket-propulsion system," which he said had long been scheduled. He did not give further details.

Haaretz newspaper, which, like public radio, described the weapon as a ballistic missile, quoted the ministry as saying the test was unrelated to a report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was seeking cabinet support for a pre-emptive strike on Iran.
Defence Minister Ehud Barak praised the engineers and technicians behind the launch.
"This is an impressive technological achievement and an important step in Israel's progress in the area of missiles and space," he said in a statement before leaving on a visit to Britain.
Public radio reported the test was carried out at the Palmachim military base, south of Tel Aviv.
Citing foreign defense analysts, the radio said the system is capable of firing ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.
The test came as local media speculation grew about the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iran.
Reports said a strike is opposed by a number of cabinet ministers and by the heads of the army and the intelligence services.
Barak on Oct. 31 was forced to deny media reports that he and Netanyahu had already decided to launch an attack against Iran over those objections.
Barak appeared to suggest in remarks to parliament Nov. 1 that Israel could be forced to act alone against Iran.
"A situation could be created in the Middle East in which Israel must defend its vital interests in an independent fashion, without necessarily having to reply on other forces, regional or otherwise," he said.
Haaretz said no decision had yet been taken on any military strike, and that a Nov. 8 report from the International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear watchdog would have a "decisive effect" on the decision-making process.
The newspaper also cited western specialists as saying any attack on Iran during the winter would be almost impossible because of thick cloud cover, raising questions about when any military action might be launched.
Israel and western governments fear that Iran's civil nuclear program masks a drive for an atomic weapon.
Iran denies any such ambition and insists its nuclear program is for power generation and medical purposes only.
In January 2008, Israel successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile, days after warning "all options" were open to prevent Iran from obtaining an atomic weapon.
Israel is thought to be developing a Jericho-3 ground-to-ground missile that can be equipped with a nuclear, chemical or biological warhead and could have a range of up to 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles).
It is widely considered to be the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, with an estimated arsenal of 200 warheads.
In September, Newsweek magazine reported that Washington had secretly authorized the sale of 55 powerful bunker-busting bombs to Israel, although U.S. officials declined to comment on the report.
The 2,000-pound bombs are designed to destroy targets buried deep underground and could be used to strike well-protected Iranian nuclear facilities.

Photo of the Day 1st November 2011

"Kill one person, call it murder. Kill thousands call it foreign policy

White House To Unveil Rules for Aircraft Exports

As part of its ongoing export control reform initiative, the Obama administration is preparing to introduce new guidelines for the export of military aircraft, according to government and industry sources.

Proposed new export rules for aircraft and associated equipment should come late this week or early next week, an Obama administration official confirmed. (Pierre Verdy / AFP via Getty Images)

Proposed new export rules for aircraft and associated equipment, which fall under Category VIII of the U.S. Munitions List (USML), should come late this week or early next week, an administration official confirmed.

In July, the White House introduced a rule that outlined how the administration plans to move items off the USML, which is administered by the State Department, and onto the Commerce Control List (CCL), overseen by the Commerce Department.
"Moving militarily less significant parts and components from the USML to the CCL is a major step in implementing the Administration's common sense approach to export controls," William Daley, the White House chief of staff, said in a July 19 statement.
Items on the USML - from aircraft to generic parts and components - are all subject to the same controls. However, the CCL's controls are tailored to what the item is and where it is being exported.
For military aircraft and associated parts, the State Department will publish a more detailed category for what the administration proposes stays in Category VIII on the USML, while the Commerce Department will publish what the administration proposes should move to the Commerce list.
There are 21 categories of items controlled by the USML. In July, the Obama administration released details for the first category - Category VII: tanks and military vehicles - as a test case of sorts to demonstrate how such transfers could take place.
Since July, the government has been accepting feedback from industry and Capitol Hill about how to improve these transfers.
"We received a lot of good, worthwhile feedback from industry and Capitol Hill," Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary for political-military affairs at the State Department, said in a September interview.
"As a result, we're really focusing on what are the things we can do most quickly," he said. "We are engaged in what we call a bright line exercise - of going through the various categories and figuring out which items should go on the CCL and which items belong on the USML as a way to offer guidance to industry about what the requirements are, and eliminate some of the ambiguity and confusion that exists under the current lists."
The new aircraft rules also will have a public comment period, in which the government will accept public feedback.
The State and Commerce departments also have been hard at work on Category XV - spacecraft systems and associated equipment - which includes the thorny issue of commercial satellites.
The 1999 National Defense Authorization Act transferred export-licensing jurisdiction over commercial satellites and related components to the State Department, making them the only items on the USML for which licensing jurisdiction is explicitly mandated by law.
The move was instigated by concerns on Capitol Hill that China had obtained secret U.S. technology through a commercial deal to launch U.S. commercial satellites into space using Chinese rockets.
There has been a growing push to ease restrictions on commercial satellites and to provide some relief to the U.S. space industry, whose ability to compete in the global market has been hampered by U.S. export laws.
According to an industry source, the Obama administration is expected to soon release draft Category XV rules along with the long awaited, congressionally required "1248" report on satellites.

India Cancels Wheeled Howitzer Purchase

NEW DELHI - The Indian Defence Ministry has canceled the tender to purchase 180 wheeled 155mm/52-caliber howitzers, another in a series of setbacks for the long-delayed Army program.
The Indian Army has failed to induct a single 155mm howitzer since 1987.

Defence Ministry sources said the purchase of the wheeled guns is being canceled following complaints to Defence Minister A.K. Antony about technical snags that came to light when a gun from one of the competitors, Konstrukta of Slovakia, burst during trials last year.
Currently Rheinmetall of Germany and Konstrukta are in the race for the $1 billion wheeled gun competition after Samsung of South Korea was eliminated from the procurement process in 2009.
After the howitzer burst during the trials last year, a Defence Ministry committee concluded the guns offered by Rheinmetall and Konstrukta are prototypes that are not in use even in their home countries.
In 2008, the tender for the wheeled guns was sent to the U.K.'s BAE Systems; Slovakia's Konstrukta; France's Nexter; IMI and Soltam of Israel; Samsung of South Korea; United Defense of the U.S.; Rheinmetall of Germany; and Rosoboronexport of Russia.
Only Rheinmetall, Konstrukta and Samsung were shortlisted after the technical evaluations.
The Indian Army requires that the wheeled 155mm/52-caliber guns be able to travel up to 40 kilometers and fire 150 rounds of ammunition in six to eight hours.
The gun should be able to operate day and night and receive data from the command post in digital and audio form.
The howitzer procurement is already delayed by more than 10 years, mainly due to India's blacklisting first of Denel of South Africa and then Singapore Technologies in 2008 because of alleged corruption.
The Army plans to buy 145 ultralight howitzers, 158 towed and wheeled, 100 tracked and 180 wheeled and armored guns in the first phase of its program to upgrade its artillery divisions.

Towed Guns

In May, BAE Systems opted out of the towed howitzer competition because the Indian Army changed requirements in the reissued tender of early 2011.
The Army's 2008 attempt to acquire the towed guns failed when BAE, which had fielded the FH-77B-5 gun, became the sole vendor after the other shortlisted competitor, Singapore Technologies, was blacklisted following allegations of corruption by India's Central Bureau of Investigation. The Army could not make an award if only one bidder qualified.

Light Howitzer

The purchase of light howitzers from BAE's U.S. subsidiary also was delayed when Singapore Technologies went to court and challenged the decision, claiming its gun was superior.
The Indian court has not issued a decision, although the Army strongly favors the immediate purchase of the 147 BAE light howitzers, Army officials said.