NATO Denies Reported Bomb Shortage in Libya

PARIS - Countries in the NATO-led air campaign have enough precision munitions and aircraft to attack ground targets and keep military pressure on the Libyan government forces, a senior alliance official and national defense officials said.

Above, French armement air-sol modulaire guided bombs. France and other NATO nations deny that their bomb stockpiles are running low. (Wikipedia)

Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, the chairman of NATO's military committee, denied that the air operation in Libya was running short of aircraft or munitions.

"Assets are important; the alliance welcomes any contributions, including strike assets, but there is no substantial lack," Di Paola said April 20. "Any added contribution is welcome, and there is no commander who does not ask. But beyond these alarmist rumors, there is no lack. The operation continues."
The remarks follow an April 15 Washington Post report that said Britain, France and other European countries were running low on stocks of laser-guided bombs.
Other officials from NATO and allied countries said there were enough smart bombs in inventories to maintain the operational pace.
"Military aircraft is an issue for the nations. The availability of military munitions is also dealt with by individual nations contributing to our operations. We have not had any report that they are limited or constrained in the execution of operations. So I think that there's no problem," said Brig. Gen. Mark van Uhm, chief of allied operations at Allied Command Operations.
French officials concurred.
"There is no shortage," French Air Force spokesman Maj. Eric Trihoreau said April 19. "We can maintain this level without a limit on time."
The spokesman for the French Joint Staff, Army Col. Thierry Burkhard, also denied there was a lack of precision guided weapons.
"There is no problem with munitions," Burkhard said. "Stocks are being consumed, but that has not constrained the conduct of operations."
A French industry executive said in any conflict there is a natural concern over the level of munitions, but in the present campaign, there appeared to be enough bombs. In the 1991 Gulf War, coalition countries bought bombs from partners as stocks ran low.
The French government last year ordered Paveway II and Enhanced Paveway II kits to adapt GBU 12 and 49 "dumb bombs" into guided weapons, an industry source said. Deliveries of the Raytheon-built kits were made before the Libya campaign started.
The Mirage 2000D, Super Etendard and Rafale are certified for the Paveway II, while the Rafale has not yet been certified for the improved version.
In February 2010, France ordered 680 armement air-sol modulaire (AASM) guided bombs from Sagem, following an initial order of 750. The AASM kit comes in three versions: GPS/INS, GPS/INS and infrared, and GPS/INS and laser.
In 2009, the government cut the total purchase of AASMs to 2,348 from a planned 3,000 units including 1,200 with laser guidance, according to a 2010 French parliamentary report cited by newsweekly Le Point. At a total budget of 846 million euros ($1.2 billion), that implied an average unit price of 350,000 euros for the AASM, the parliamentary report said.
French warplanes have fired about 10 MBDA Scalp EG air-launched cruise missiles against Libyan ground targets, Burkhard said.
Di Paola said NATO's air campaign was reaching its goals.
"We are preventing Gadhafi from using his full firepower, which is considerable. We are forcing him to use different tactics. In Misrata, it is terrible that he is using mortars and rockets, but with his full firepower it would be a disaster. What we are forcing him to use is less lethal than his heavy tanks and heavy guns," he said.
But di Paola did admit that NATO was less able to stop Gadhafi waging the battle on the streets.
"Rockets and mortars are easily moved and hidden. They are in the urban area in Misrata," he said. "How can we take out a pickup with a mortar in a courtyard of a building without destroying the building?"
NATO is not currently considering the use of ground troops, Di Paola said, but that does not rule out individual nations sending troops into Libya.
"NATO is not the international community. It is an instrument which has taken on part of the commitment, meaning the no-fly zone, the embargo and humanitarian protection. Single countries also have a responsibility to honor the U.N. resolution and bring the crisis to resolution," he said.
Di Paola, the former chief of staff of the Italian military, said that, in any case, any military campaign would not be enough to bring the conflict in Libya to an end.
"There is not only a military strategy; this effort has to be multipronged, including financial measures, meaning sanctions and diplomatic activity," he said. "This is not a conventional war, it's a campaign to sustain a political and economic effort."
A spokeswoman for the Royal Air Force said it had sufficient stocks of ammunition and shortages were "not an issue."
The RAF has used MBDA developed Dual Mode Brimstone and Storm Shadow missiles and Raytheon's Paveway IV and Enhanced Paveway 2 as its strike weapons in Libya. With the exception of Storm Shadow, the weapons are also regularly used against the Taliban in Afghanistan where the RAF also has jets deployed.
A senior British air force officer also denied Britain has a problem with its munitions stocks. He said as far as he was aware, Denmark was the only nation that had had a problem and it had its stocks topped up by the U.S. military.
Micheal Langberg, the head of information at the Danish Air Force's tactical command, said he didn't know whether its munitions - GBU49s and GBU31s - were Danish or American, but the Air Force is "not short of weapons." The Danish Defence Acquisition & Logistics Organisation responsible for buying precision guided munitions and other weapons was not immediately available.
-- Andrew Chuter in London, Julian Hale in Brussels and Tom Kington in Rome contributed to this report.

Iraqi Army Ready to Maintain Security: Maliki

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army can maintain security, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said April 21 in talks with America's top military officer, the latest official to visit Baghdad ahead of an upcoming U.S. pullout.
Maliki's remarks to Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated those he made to John Boehner, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, who visited Iraq last weekend.

"Prime Minister Maliki said the armed forces and the Iraqi security forces were able to take responsibility, and that they worked with professionalism," a statement from the premier's office said.
He added that Iraq would "continue to strengthen their combat capabilities while providing them with the latest equipment and weapons."
The U.S. military declined to comment on Mullen's trip when contacted by AFP.
Sandwiched between Boehner's and Mullen's trips was a visit by U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey.
Fewer than 50,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Iraq, down from a peak of nearly 170,000 following the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003.
All of those troops must withdraw from the country by the end of the year, according to the terms of a bilateral security pact.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on a surprise trip to Iraq on April 8 that American forces were prepared to stay in any role beyond the scheduled pullout, but time was running out for Baghdad to ask.
"My basic message to them is [for us to] just be present in some areas where they still need help. We are open to that possibility," he said. "But they have to ask, and time is running out in Washington."
A senior American military official also said last week that Iraqi leaders should not expect U.S. forces to return to help in a crisis after they have pulled out.

Fire Scout UAVs Deploy to CENTCOM

A U.S. Navy Fire Scout UAV system has been shipped to the Central Command (CENTCOM) operating area to support U.S. Army and coalition forces in Afghanistan, the Navy announced April 21.

A MQ-8B Fire Scout UAV is loaded aboard a C-17 transport on April 13 at NAS Patuxent River, Md. The Navy drones are being sent to Afghanistan to provide video surveillance. (Mikel Proulx / U.S. Navy)

The system, under development by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) to operate from ships, will be land-based in CENTCOM for about a year. The Fire Scouts "will provide hundreds of hours of full motion video," NAVAIR said in a press release, in support of the Pentagon's Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance task force.

A wide variety of UAVs have been deployed over Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in CENTCOM at least since 2003, performing high-, medium- and low-altitude missions ranging from surveillance to strike. Most of the drones are fixed-wing, while the Fire Scout is a small helicopter able to stay aloft more than eight hours, fly at altitudes up to about 17,000 feet and travel about 115 knots.
Each Fire Scout system consists of up to three MQ-8B aircraft, at least one ground control station and other hardware.
For the CENTCOM mission, three Fire Scouts are being used along with two ground control stations. NAVAIR employees traveled with the system to perform set-up, but the system will be operated in theater by Northrop Grumman contract personnel, NAVAIR said.
Two ground control stations were loaded on a U.S. Air Force C-5 transport at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., and shipped out on April 8. A smaller C-17 transport flew out the three Fire Scout vehicles on April 13.
Fire Scouts have been deployed to sea twice, first on the frigate McInerney in 2009-2010, and currently on the frigate Halyburton.
Although the system is intended for use on other ships, the Navy plans to make it a centerpiece of the mission modules under development for the littoral combat ship (LCS). Trials were carried out last November on board the first LCS, the single-hull Freedom, and tests are now being carried out aboard the multihull LCS Independence.

U.S. to Deploy Drones Against Gadhafi: Gates

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military will use armed drones over Libya, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said April 21, calling them a "modest contribution" to international coalition efforts there.
Gates said the decision to use unmanned drones armed with missiles was made "because of the humanitarian situation" in Libya, where strongman Moammar Gadhafi's forces are battling a Western-backed insurgency.

"They give you a capability that even the A-10 (anti-tank aircraft) and AC-130 (ground attack aircraft) couldn't provide" in the conflict in the North African nation, he told a press briefing.

F-35 Program Stabilizing, May Still Be Late

Overall, the F-35 Lightning II program is making progress, but much more needs to be done before the tri-service effort can be considered truly back on track, Vice Adm. David Venlet, the program's manager, told reporters on April 21.
Venlet said that flight testing has begun to pick up as of the beginning of the year. As well, the program's ability to manufacture aircraft is beginning to stabilize.

Still, the admiral reiterated other senior Pentagon officials' warning this year that the initial operational capability might slip past the planned 2016 date for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy versions of the stealthy fifth-generation fighter jet.
"Our [Technical Baseline Review] schedule now shows development test completing in '16. Realistically, I don't see it being in '16 for Air Force and Navy," he said.
But Venlet said he deferred to the service chiefs about exactly when the aircraft would be declared operational.
This year and next year, the program must demonstrate that costs are under control, with the first order of business to determine the actual cost of the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Four contract aircraft, he said.
"We're probably just approaching about the early first 10 percent of LRIP-4 production, and I'm waiting to see actuals align to the baseline," Venlet said. "Then we'll be negotiating LRIP-5."
LRIP-5 will consist of 35 aircraft, he said.
Lockheed Martin, the F-35's prime contractor, is set to deliver its proposal shortly. After the government receives the contract, the program office will extensively review the proposal before negotiations begin, Venlet said. The program office also will conduct a "should cost" review.
It is important that Lockheed deliver on the LRIP-4 contract, Venlet said. Though the LRIP-4 contract is based on a fixed price, the dollar amount the government pays is allowed to rise by about 6.5 percent. If the price exceeds that amount, Lockheed is on the hook for that additional cost.
However, Venlet said the government cannot allow the company to be driven out of business by absorbing huge additional costs indefinitely, and as such, contracts for LRIP-5 could be adjusted to ensure the company has an acceptable margin. This, Venlet said, is why Lockheed's performance on LRIP-4 is so important. Venlet said, thus far, he is very pleased with the F-35's radar cross-section, which has undergone testing over ranges.
"We don't have any worries currently that [is] going to be a defective piece of the aircraft," he said.
However, other manufacturing issues are plaguing the program. There are parts shortages for the Navy's F-35C version, and some engines have had to be replaced due to quality problems.
Venlet also said the manufacturing timelines of certain parts need to be shorter. Currently, some parts take 29 months to build; he wants that down to 24 months.
The other big task on the plate for the F-35 program is to build a sustainment strategy for the aircraft, Venlet said.
"This is really a year to focus on sustainment," he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story failed to indicate that Venlet was repeating earlier warnings that the F-35A and –C might miss their planned 2016 in-service date.

Indian Army Division Prepares for Desert Exercise

NEW DELHI - Some 15,000 Indian troops - a full division of the Army - will go next month to the Rajasthan desert, along the Indo-Pakistani border, for a ground exercise that will include armored columns, tanks, mechanized vehicles and artillery.
The exercise will test the Indian Army's ability to respond swiftly to attacks in extreme heat. The Army's 2004 doctrine states that future wars are expected to be swift and brief so that battlefield objectives can be accomplished before the nuclear threshold is crossed, an Indian Army official said.

The service also will fine-tune its use of network-centric warfare systems, which integrate soldiers on the ground with the central command, the Army official said.
Exercise participants will include elite troops.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony is expected to witness part of the land exercises, which will begin during the first week of May.
In April 2010, the Indian Army held similar exercises in the Rajasthan desert, which were immediately followed by Pakistani Army ground exercises held along the border.
The neighboring rivals customarily inform each other in advance of planned exercises.

Taiwan To Build New 'Stealth' Warship

TAIPEI - Taiwan plans to build a new 'stealth' warship armed with guided-missiles next year in response to China's naval build-up, a top military officer and a lawmaker said April 18.
Construction of the prototype of the 500-ton corvette is due to start in 2012 for completion in 2014, deputy defense minister Lin Yu-pao said in answer to a question by Kuomintang party legislator Lin Yu-fang at parliament.

The warship, which the navy says is harder to detect on radar, is expected to emerge after China puts into service its first battle carrier group, the legislator said.
The twin-hulled boat will be armed with up to eight home-grown Hsiung-feng II ship-to-ship missiles and eight other more lethal Hsiung-feng III anti-ship supersonic missiles.
The remarks came as China has been restoring Varyag, a former Soviet aircraft carrier bought in 1998.
The aircraft carrier will be used for training and as a model for a future indigenously-built ship, according to Andrei Chang, head of the Kanwa Information Centre, which monitors China's military.
The ship, currently based in the northeast port of Dalian, could make its first sea trip "very soon," he said.
Calls have been mounting on the island for the military to come up with counter-measures against the perceived threat.
Ties between Taiwan and China have eased markedly since Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008, ramping up trade and allowing in more Chinese tourists.
But Beijing still refuses to renounce the use of force, even though Taiwan has been self-governing since 1949 at the end of a civil war, prompting the island to keep modernizing its forces.