Bokha's defence

Thursday, January 27, 2011

USAF: Disclosing Tanker Bid Info Did No Harm

The inadvertent release of confidential information in the competition to build the next aerial refueling tanker didn't hurt the $35 billion project, U.S. Air Force officials told a Senate panel Jan. 27.
The two companies competing to build the KC-X tanker, European Aeronautic Defence and Space and The Boeing Co., received computer discs Nov. 1 from the Air Force containing the military's confidential evaluation of each company's proposal.
Maj. Gen. Wendy Masiello, who works for the assistant secretary of acquisition, told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee the error was unintentional and didn't violate procurement law.
"The Air Force has been and remains committed to a fair, open and transparent KC-X source selection," Masiello said.
But with the Air Force expected to choose the winner in February, lawmakers worried the error could still hurt the selection process.
"This is a case study of incompetence," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
Information on each computer disc graded each company on how its tanker might perform. The Air Force was supposed to send each company only that company's evaluations but inadvertently sent the competitor's evaluations, too.
An EADS staffer opened a page evaluating the Boeing plane for an estimated 15 seconds, according to Sean O'Keefe, EADS' CEO. The page didn't include pricing or proprietary information.
The worker alerted security officers and the discs were returned to the Pentagon. The file remained open for three minutes and the computer remained on for 20 minutes, according to Steven Shirley, executive director of the Defense Department's cybercrime center.
"The screen might have been open, but he was the only person in the room and he left the room," Masiello said of the EADS staffer.
O'Keefe disputed reports that EADS held the disc for a month.
"EADS North America acted correctly, quickly and responsibly in addressing an incident that was not of our making," O'Keefe said in a statement to the committee.
Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's CEO for defense, space and security, said a Boeing staffer noticed a reference to the EADS version of the tanker while opening the disc he received and reported it to security officers without opening the disc.
"Boeing's behavior in this instance is emblematic of our conduct throughout this competition," Muilenburg said in a statement to the committee.
On Nov. 22, Air Force officials decided to make sure the playing field was level and sent each company a page - corresponding to the page the EADS staffer had reported looking at - of the other company's evaluation.
"What kind of actions have been taken against the person who made the mistake?" McCaskill asked Masiello at one point.
Masiello said the two Aeronautical Systems Center workers who sent out the wrong discs were transferred and two others were counseled, but she said she didn't know where the transferred workers are now, whether they earn the same salary or whether they would ever be in a position to deal with contracting again.
Masiello said the company that loses the competition for the tanker contract could use the mistake involving the computer discs as a basis for a formal protest.
Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., noted that neither company has protested yet.
"It's really important on this committee for us not to politicize this process," Sessions said.

France Offers To Sell Iraq Mirage Fighter Jets

BAGHDAD - France has proposed to sell 18 Mirage fighters to Iraq, which is already negotiating a deal for U.S. F-16s to protect its skies after American forces pull out at the end of this year, the French ambassador said.

France has proposed selling 18 Mirage fighter jets to Iraq. Above, a Mirage 2000 jet fighter takes off from Nancy-Ochey, France. (File photo / Agence France-Presse)

"France has proposed to sell 18 Mirage F1 retrofitted aircraft that can be delivered from late 2011 and immediately operational because many Iraqi pilots were trained in the past on this type of plane," Boris Boillon told Agence France-Presse on Jan. 27.
He said France was offering the multi-role planes for $1 billion (733 million euros).
Baghdad has been negotiating to buy 18 U.S.-made F-16s, and the cabinet on Jan. 26 authorized Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to negotiate the terms of the first payment on the contract, a statement said.
Boillon said that, because of the price tag, the Mirage offer would not affect the F-16 deal.
"This [Mirage] sale is in the context of a proposal on a comprehensive military air program that France has submitted to this country," Boillon said.
Iraq's government spokesman said that Baghdad welcomed any offer.
"Iraq needs to build up its Air Force and that needs tens of fighters to protect its sovereignty," Ali-al Dabbagh said.
"Any origin of high quality with good offer will be welcomed taking in consideration that we need to unify the source of arming if they fulfill Iraq's requirements," he said, without disclosing the cost of the F-16 deal.
The Iraqi government "has submitted a letter of request for 18 F-16s and packages composed of spare parts, support equipment, weapons, logistics support and training," said U.S. Army Capt. Dan Churchill, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq.
"The delivery and cost of the aircraft will be dependent upon a finalized purchase, which has not yet happened."
In early September, U.S. Army Gen. Michael Barbero, then deputy commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said the absence of a multi-role fighter limited Iraq's air capabilities.
"They will not have the capability to provide air sovereignty, to fully protect the skies over Iraq, because they will lack a multi-role fighter," he said.
Iraq's air force was destroyed during and after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Bulgaria To Sell Off Defense Firm VMZ Sopot

SOFIA, Bulgaria - The Bulgarian government on Jan. 27 said it had agreed to a strategy for the full privatization of defense giant VMZ Sopot.
According to a statement, there will be a public tender of 100 percent of VMZ's capital, with potential buyers required to have previous experience in defense production and management.
They must also present a three-year business plan for the firm's development under the sale proposal, which still has to be approved by parliament.
Bulgaria's biggest defense firm and the last of the country's communist-era defense giants to have remained state-owned, VMZ Sopot produces a large range of missiles and artillery ammunition, as well as civil-use machinery and household appliances.
A lack of strategic investors in previous defense company tenders has led other state-owned firms to morph into joint-stock companies, owned primarily by their managers and staff.
Bulgaria's defense industry exports stood at 145 million euros ($200 million) in 2009, according to economy ministry data.

German Move Does Not Hurt A400M Program: French MoD

PARIS - The German parliament's decision to back a purchase of 53 A400M aircraft but sell 13 units into the export market keeps the military aircraft program on track but needs to be confirmed by the government, the French Ministry of Defense spokesman said Jan. 27.
"For the time being, this is an internal parliamentary process," spokesman Laurent Teisseire told journalists here. "This is a step, but we are waiting for the formalization by the German executive," he said.
"What seems very clear is that whatever the expression of the final requirement by the Bundeswehr, seemingly a reduction, the Federal Republic maintains a volume of orders that is coherent, compatible with the volumes agreed with Airbus in the agreement reached last year," Teisseire said.
The German parliamentary budget committee agreed Jan. 26 the government should buy the 53 A400M units, keep 40 and sell on 13 to third parties. This would ease strain on the defense budget and better reflected the real needs of the Bundeswehr armed forces, said Juergen Koppelin, budget expert for the Free Democrat (FDP) junior coalition partners to Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Britain has used a similar approach to buy Eurofighter Typhoon fighters and sell those no longer required by the Royal Air Force.
The German order of 53 aircraft is "important for the existence of the program" as it maintains the total A400M orders at 180 units, with a margin of 10 cancellations, Teisseire said.
That was the framework deal reached in March by Airbus and the seven anchor clients - Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey.
Asked whether there was concern over the sale of the 13 German aircraft into export markets, Teisseire referred to the welcome given by Airbus to the parliamentary decision.
Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said Jan. 26, "The decisive point for us is that Germany has agreed on an order of 53 planes, and therefore will take on the additional financing costs of 3.5 billion euros," Reuters reported.
Teisseire also referred to the estimated export market of 400 A400M units cited by the EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois. EADS is the parent company of Airbus, which builds the A400M.
Thirteen aircraft "does not undermine the fundamentals of the market," Teisseire said, pointing to the long-term prospects for foreign sales.
French Defense Minister Alain Juppé fully supports the A400M program, just as his predecessor Hervé Morin did, Teisseire said. France maintains its order for 50 units, he said.
The A400M is of structural importance to French forces, an industrial project which federates European capacity and provides the capability to project power, Teisseire said. France is one of the first customers of the airlifter.
Germany had previously ordered 60 A400M units but cut that to 53 in November due to costs.
The March agreement, worth 3.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion), was needed because the A400M is three years late and Airbus demanded extra funds to cover the 5.25 billion euros of overrun.
The A400M, dubbed Grizzly, is in test flight, with four prototypes flying. First delivery is due in the first half of 2013. The plane is intended to contest the market for military transport planes held by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Estonian MoD Proposes Cyber Defense Unit

HELSINKI - Estonia's Ministry of Defense (MoD) has proposed presented a new proposal to establishing a national cyber defense unit (NCDU) of computer experts drawn mostly from the ranks of the Baltic country's electronics and computer communities.
The NCDU will operate as part of the Total Defense League, the all-volunteer paramilitary force that operates as part of Estonia's national defense infrastructure and which is partly financed by the MoD.
"The Total Defense League is tasked with bringing together specialists in cyber defense who work in the private sector, as well as in different government agencies. The new unit will conduct regular exercises and engage in activities and projects to better prepare this country for possible cyber contingencies," said Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo.
The initiative is one of a number of improvements to the government's national cyber defense strategy, Phase 1 of which was implemented after a wave of cyber attacks - orchestrated by unknown groups in Russia - disabled key segments of the country's government administration, defense, banking and media infrastructure in 2007.
The Estonian economy, in contrast to other European Union nations, is seen as particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks because most standard services offered to the public by government agencies, banks and others are primarily accessed online.
NATO, responding to an Estonian government request for help, agreed to fund and organize the establishment of the Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCD-COE), Europe's first dedicated cyber defense center. The CCD-COE opened in Tallinn in May 2008. NATO uses the center to enhance its own cyber defense capability while providing support to Estonia's cyber defense agencies and systems.
Primary funding for the CCD-COE is provided by Estonia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia and Italy. These countries also supply the center with most of its specialist cyber defense staff. The new NCDU initiative will see the Total Defense League form a special liaison group to correlate its activities and intelligence with the CCD-COE.

Scrapping Nimrod Planes 'Puts Britain At Risk'

LONDON - Former British military chiefs said Jan. 27 the scrapping of a fleet of Nimrod surveillance aircraft will create a "massive security gap" and leave Britain's Trident nuclear submarines vulnerable.
In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, they said the decision to shelve the program for nine MRA4 Nimrods to save money is "perverse" and could inflict serious long-term damage to Britain's interests.
Ministers took the decision last year to scrap the 4 billion pound ($6.4 billion, 4.6 billion euro) fleet of planes, the latest version of the veteran sub-hunter, as part of deep defense cuts.
The Nimrods can detect and sink submarines and play a key role in drug-smuggling and counter-terrorism operations.
The ex-military chiefs said: "Machine tools have been destroyed; several millions of pounds have been saved but a massive gap in British security has opened.
"Vulnerability of sea lanes, unpredictable overseas crises and traditional surface and submarine opposition will continue to demand versatile responsive aircraft.
"Nimrod would have continued to provide long-range maritime and overland reconnaissance - including over the UK - anti-submarine surveillance, air-sea rescue coordination, and perhaps most importantly, reconnaissance support to the Navy's Trident submarines."
The signatories of the letter included David Craig, a former chief of the defense staff who now sits in the House of Lords, and Major General Patrick Cordingley, the commander of the Desert Rats in the Gulf War.
Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman denied that scrapping Nimrod undermined Britain's defenses.
The spokesman said: "The role of maritime patrol will continue to be carried out and we will use a range of other military assets to do that."
He said the defense cuts were made against the backdrop of Britain's record budget deficit and "a significant black hole" in the defense ministry's budget.
"This particular project was overspent, it had been delayed and none of the aircraft were actually operational," he added.
Gen. David Richards, the current chief of the defense staff, said in a statement that "severe financial pressures" led to the decision to ax Nimrod.
"This project was delayed and overspent; canceling it will save £2 billion over 10 years. None of these nine aircraft were operational; only one was built, and it had not passed flight tests," he said.

U.S. Pledges Help For Philippine Navy

MANILA - The United States said Jan. 27 it would help boost the Philippines' capacity to patrol its waters as part of a larger goal of keeping vital Asian sea lanes open amid the rise of China.
The pledge came from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell on the first day of an inaugural security dialogue between the two allies.
"One of the subjects for discussions tomorrow will be the bilateral steps that (we) can take to increase the Philippines' maritime capacity," Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell said.
This would enhance the Philippine navy's capacity to police its waters, he told a joint news conference.
"We think this is a critical component of our partnership. Much of this work is already underway, and we seek to intensify it in the months and years ahead," he said without giving details.
The U.S. had key air and naval bases in the Philippines until 1992, when the Philippine senate rejected a new treaty.
The U.S. ruled the Philippines as colonial power from 1901 to 1946 and the two countries remain linked by a 1951 mutual defense pact.
In recent years, as China's economic influence grew in the region, its new-found political assertiveness saw it come in dispute with its neighbors over claims to areas of the South China Sea.
China, Taiwan and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim the potentially oil-rich Spratly chain of islands in the South China Sea.
The area is also one of the world's most important shipping lanes.
"I think there's a broad recognition that this is a critical waterway, and its criticality will likely increase in the times ahead," Campbell said.
While China has asserted that the disputes must be settled directly between itself and rival claimants, Campbell repeated the U.S. position that a broader framework was better.
"We think maritime issues should be addressed in larger settings as well, and we think that's important in order to develop confidence on these issues and the larger Asia-Pacific region," he said.