Putin Sacks Russia's Space Chief

MOSCOW - Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency Roskosmos, was fired from his post by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on April 29 and replaced by Army Gen. Vladimir Popovkin, the former first deputy defense minister. Popovkin had overseen weapon procurement.
The official reason for relieving Perminov, cited in Putin's order, was that he reached the maximum age of 65 for a state servant in Russia. In the meantime, analysts and industry insiders quoted in the Russian media have predicted Perminov's ouster since December. On Dec. 5, three GLONASS-M satellites failed to reach orbit and fell into the Pacific Ocean after the faulty launch of a Proton-M rocket that carried them.

President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the Office of the Prosecutor General to investigate Roskosmos and other space industry companies involved into the Glonass project.
A former chief commander of the Space Forces, Perminov headed Roskosmos since 2004.
Popovkin, 53, headed the Space Forces between 2004 and 2008, when he was appointed as deputy defense minister in charge of weapon procuremen

Finmeccanica: Libyan Rebels Will Honor Contracts

Representatives of Libyan rebels fighting Col. Moammar Gadhafi have told Finmeccanica that they will honor the Italian firm's Libyan contracts should they take over the country, a Finmeccanica official said.
Before civil conflict erupted in Libya in February, Finmeccanica was expecting to see between 250 million and 350 million euros in revenue this year from contracts signed with Gadhafi's government, mainly covering border control systems, government service helicopters and civil transport.

The firm's current backlog of orders from Libya stands at 800 million euros, 80 percent of which is related to transportation contracts, Finmeccanica has said.
"We have met with the interim government, and they have told us all present contracts would be confirmed," said Finmeccanica CFO Alessandro Pansa, referring to the Benghazi-based rebels.
"They are interested in border control and railway systems," he told analysts in a conference call April 28 to coincide with the release of Finmeccanica's first-quarter results.
In the first three months of 2011, Finmeccanica reported a 92 percent decline in net profit to 7 million euros, a fall it attributed to higher finance charges. Revenues dropped 5 percent to 3.86 billion euros.
Pansa said the conflict in Libya would not change Finmeccanica's revenue prediction for 2011 of between 18.3 billion and 19 billion euros.
"We don't expect to suffer much from the defense cuts of the U.S.," he added.

IAF losing edge over PAF

Shiv Aroor and Durga Nandini

The Pakistan Air Force is stronger than ever. Since the last Indo-Pak air war of 1971, the Pakistan Air Force has with steely determination built up numbers, lethal capabilities and a combat force now counted as one of the most disciplined and well-trained air forces in the world. Headlines Today has a disturbing proof that all this has made India worried. A recent presentation by the defence intelligence establishment paints a morbid picture of how the numbers and capability advantage that the Indian Air Force has always found comfort in is rapidly slipping away. Headlines Today has accessed the recent presentation made to the Ministry of Defence. The document makes singularly ominous projections. The most glaring warning is about combat force ratio. The presentation says that the ratio of 1:1.7 is likely to progressively dip to 1:1.2 by the end of 2012. It describes this as a "historic low". It also says that the traditional hi-tech advantage is almost equal now with 9.5:11 squadron ratio.

With Pakistan rapidly acquiring early warning aircraft, mid-air refuellers and long-range missiles, the technology gap is at a historic low. It is a wake-up call to India's military planners. The decisions taken now could forever doom the crucial advantage that the Indian Air Force has always enjoyed against an adversary that can never be underestimated.

A formidable adversary

The last time the air forces of India and Pakistan fought a full-blown war was 40 years ago. But if the Pakistan Air Force of 1971 was an enemy to be reckoned with, circumstances have made it an even more formidable adversary today. The internal assessment by the Indian defence establishment makes some grimly practical projections in the light of an adversary emboldened by an unfettered modernisation spree. The government has been warned that with the Indian Air Force's edge slipping fast, the Pakistan Air Force's assertiveness is likely to increase. Once seen as a primarily defensive force, the Pakistan Air Force will use its new strength to employ offensive and defensive operations in equal measure. With new precision weapons, the Pakistan Air Force will conduct limited strikes to achieve strategic effects. The one thing that won't change - high-value targets in the Indian held Jammu and Kashmir will be high-priority targets for the PAF. There's a deeper threat at play than just fighter numbers. Consider these newly inducted force multipliers that all but kill the Indian air advantage. Pakistan is inducting four Swedish Saab Erieye and four Chinese Y-8 airborne early warning aircraft, while India, currently, has three. India no longer has the mid-air refueller advantage. Pakistan is inducting four identical IL-78M aircraft. The Indian Air Force's UAV advantage is also disappearing. Pakistan is acquiring 25 European UAVs, with more in the pipeline. Despite the ominous projections of the presentation, there are those who believe the Indian Air Force will always remain on top. Among them, Air Marshal Denzil Keelor, one half of the legendary Keelor brothers, who scored independent India's first air-to-air kill against Pakistan in 1965. But for the IAF to remain ahead, and stem the swiftly dwindling capability advantage over Pakistan, it needs to make some hard decisions across-the-board.

Pakistan Successfully tested Cruise Missile, Hatf-VIII ( Hatf 8 )

Rawalpindi - April 29, 2011: Pakistan, today conducted a successful Flight Test of the indigenously developed Air Launched Cruise Missile, Hatf-VIII (Ra’ad). The missile test was conducted as part of the continuous process of improving the technical parameters of the weapon system. The Ra’ad Missile, with a range of over 350 km, has been developed exclusively for launch from Aerial Platforms. This missile system has enabled Pakistan to achieve a greater strategic stand off capability on land and at sea. ‘Cruise Technology’ is extremely complex and has been developed by only a few countries in the world. The state of the art Ra’ad Cruise Missile with Stealth Capabilities is a Low Altitude, Terrain Hugging Missile with high maneuverability, and can deliver nuclear and conventional warheads with great pin point accuracy.

The successful launch has been appreciated by the President, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee who have congratulated the scientists and engineers on their outstanding achievement.

India Shortlists Rafale, Eurofighter for Jet Deal

NEW DELHI - India has shortlisted Dassault's Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon for a $12 billion dollar fighter jet deal, cutting out U.S. bidders from one of the largest military contracts of recent years.

A Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft (top) and a Dassault military jet Rafale are seen. India shortlisted the Rafale and the Typhoon for a $12 billion fighter jet deal on April 28, cutting out U.S. giants Boeing and Lockheed, sources said. (AFP FILE PHOTOS / PIERRE VERDY / PAUL ELLIS)

The U.S. embassy in New Delhi confirmed April 28 that Lockheed Martin's F-16 and Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet had both been ruled out of the running for India's planned purchase of 126 multirole combat aircraft.

Ambassador Timothy Roemer, who announced separately April 28 that he was resigning his post for personal reasons, said the U.S. government was "deeply disappointed" by the decision.
The long-delayed fighter jet deal has seen fierce competition between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Sweden's Saab AB, France's Dassault Aviation, a European consortium with its Eurofighter Typhoon and the Russian makers of the MiG 35.
It was also the object of intense lobbying during visits to India last year by U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"It is confirmed Eurofighter and Rafale have been selected and the remaining four are off," a senior Indian defence ministry official told AFP.
"The grounds for their rejection have been individually conveyed,: said the official, who declined to be identified.
He added that the government hoped to sign the final fighter deal by March 2012.
Saab AB confirmed April 27 that it had been notified its JAS-39 Gripen fighter was no longer in contention.
The Eurofighter is made by the four-nation EADS, representing Germany and Spain, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Finmeccanica.
The contract includes the outright purchase of 18 combat aircraft by 2012 with another 108 to be built in India.
India, the biggest importer of military hardware among emerging nations, issued the request for proposals to the six firms in 2007 and trials of the aircraft competing for the deal began a year later.
In his statement, Roemer said he had been "personally assured" at the highest levels of the Indian government that the procurement process for the multirole fighter "has been and will be transparent and fair."
The procurement of the fighter jets is a key part of India's military modernization program, aimed at securing its borders against its traditional and emerging rivals Pakistan and China.
International consultancy firm KPMG estimates New Delhi will hand out military contracts worth $112 billion by 2016.

France Using 'Training Bombs' in Libya: Military

PARIS - French jet are dropping inert bombs packed with concrete instead of explosives to destroy Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi's tanks without killing civilians, the military said April 28.
Military spokesman Thierry Burkhard denied rumors the use of the 300-kilogram (660-pound) training devices was prompted by a shortage of real bombs. He said the first such strike crushed an armored vehicle .
"The aim of this munition ... is to use the effect of the impact while limiting the risk of collateral damage," Burkhard said. "It is a very precise strike. There is no, or very little, shrapnel thrown out."
The military said French warplanes have made 216 sorties in Libya over the past week and destroyed targets including 15 armored vehicles and big guns, as well as a munitions depot.
Burkhard said French forces were also continuing to use real bombs against other Gadhafi targets in the NATO-led assault, which aims to frustrate Gadhafi's forces and protect civilians in his assault on rebels

Italian Jets Fly First Libyan Strike Mission

ROME - Italian aircraft launched their first strikes on Libyan targets April 28, two days after the Italian government said it would participate in NATO air raids on forces led by Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
Defence Ministry sources said "at least a couple" of Tornado aircraft took off from Trapani air base in Sicily to take part in raids.

The Italian government has hitherto refrained from launching strikes on Libya, citing sensitivities over its colonial role in the country. Italian Air Force jets have instead participated in no-fly zone patrols. Italian Tornado ECR aircraft have also monitored the status of Libyan air defense radars.
Italy has made its air bases available to air forces from other nations now flying over Libya.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reportedly switched policy on strike missions after speaking to U.S. President Barack Obama earlier this week.