Japan to test first homegrown stealth fighter jet: report
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
A group of major Japanese firms are planning a test flight next year for the nation's first homegrown stealth fighter jet, a report said Tuesday.
The consortium - led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - is developing a jet that has similar technology to US-made F-35 stealth fighters, with a prototype set for a test run in January, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said.
About 39.2 billion ye ...
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BAE Systems touts its Artisan radar system
London (UPI) Aug 12, 2013 -
BAE Systems is singing the praises of its medium-range 3D surveillance radar that can monitor more than 800 objects simultaneously.
The system is called Artisan and was developed for Britain's Type 23 frigates but can be used on other Royal Navy vessels as well. It has now been installed on the frigate HMS Iron Duke as part of a scheduled refit.
"We are playing a key role in help ...
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Denel to buy BAE Systems company in South Africa
London (UPI) Aug 11, 2013 -
A BAE Systems company in South Africa that produces military vehicles is to be sold to the country's Denel Group.
The transaction for BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa Proprietary Limited is for about $80.1 million. The purchase price covers not only BAE Systems' 75 percent interest in the company but also the 25 percent interest held by DGD Technologies.
"This proposed dives ...
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Chinese ex-military leader under graft investigation: report
Hong Kong (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
A former high-ranking Chinese military leader is under investigation for allegedly taking bribes, a Hong Kong-based watchdog said on Tuesday, coming on the back of the nation's much-publicised anti-corruption drive.
Guo Boxiong, 72, a former vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, is suspected of "helping others gain promotions by receiving bribes", the Information Center for H ...
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Iran president under fire for branding critics 'cowards'
Tehran (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
Iran's president came under fire from MPs Tuesday for branding his critics as "political cowards' and urging them "go to hell" if they insist on opposing his policies.
President Hassan Rouhani's remarks 24 hours earlier were aimed at hardline conservatives who have bridled at his efforts to improve relations with the West and secure a nuclear deal.
But denouncing his opponents prompted a ...
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Iraq PM designate gains support as Maliki bid falters
Baghdad (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
Iraq's premier designate Haidar al-Abadi is gaining widespread support from countries hoping political reconciliation will undercut jihadists, as Iran on Tuesday further undercut Nuri al-Maliki's bid to cling to power.
While the political drama unfolded, many thousands of members of minority groups in north Iraq, including Yazidis and Christians, faced a major threat from militants of the Is ...
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Kerry calls severed head photo among 'most grotesque' ever
Sydney (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday described the picture of an Australian boy holding a severed head in Syria as "stomach-turning" and said concerns about foreign jihadist fighters would be taken to the United Nations.
The image of the Sydney-raised boy posing with the rotting head of a soldier, posted on the Twitter account of his father Khaled Sharrouf - an Australian who fled to ...
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Indonesia ready to mediate in South China Sea, says Widodo: report
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
Indonesia's president-elect Joko Widodo said his country was ready to act as an intermediary to calm rising tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, according to an interview published Tuesday.
The Jakarta governor, who won a resounding electoral victory last month, told Japan's Asahi newspaper that he would work toward finding diplomatic - not military - solutions to the ...
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Pentagon cites progress destroying Syria chemical arms
Washington (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
The Pentagon said Tuesday it had made progress in destroying Syrian chemical weapons, saying specialists on a US military ship had neutralized "100 percent" of a precursor used to make lethal Sarin gas.
After a global outcry over deadly chemical attacks in a Damascus suburb last year that may have killed as many as 1,400 people, President Bashar al-Assad's regime agreed to an international ...
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Putin vows to boost arms sales to Egypt's Sisi
Moscow (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday promised Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to speed up the delivery of billions of dollars in arms and invited Cairo to forge free trade ties with a Moscow-led customs bloc.
The two strong-willed leaders have developed a warm working relationship since Putin gave his backing to Sisi's presidential run during the Egyptian's visit to Moscow i ...
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Kerry urges new inclusive government in Iraq, rules out sending troops
Sydney (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday urged Iraqi prime minister-designate Haidar al-Abadi quickly to form an inclusive government, while ruling out sending US combat troops to the country.
"We are urging him to form a new cabinet as swiftly as possible and the US stands ready to support a new and inclusive Iraqi government and particularly its fight against ISIL," he said after annual ...
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SRA wins new naval contract work
Fairfax, Va. (UPI) Aug 11, 2013 -
The U.S. Navy's Standard Integrated Personnel System is being modernized by SRA International, the company announced.
The modernization will be performed under a $96 million cost-plus-fee single award from the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
The award is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with initial task orders to provide development, moderni ...
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Palestinian football pays high price for Gaza war
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
Palestinian footballer Ahed Zaqqut was a local legend. Hanging up his boots after a stellar career as a midfielder, he went on to coach in Gaza until an Israeli missile slammed into his home.
The 49-year-old was killed outright, robbing Gaza of one of its best-known players and most well-respected coaches.
"I heard an enormous explosion. I rushed out of the bathroom and saw a cloud of du ...
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Raytheon partners with university of technology research
Tewksbury, Mass. (UPI) Aug 12, 2013 -
A joint research facility to advance innovative technologies is being established by Raytheon and the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Raytheon said it is committing $3 million to the Raytheon-UMass Lowell Research Institute project, with options to $5 million throughout the next 10 years.
"The creation of the RURI presents a tangible opportunity to advance the research and th ...
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Britain to transport arms to Kurds as it bolsters Iraq aid
London (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
Britain is to transport military supplies from other states to Kurdish forces battling militants in northern Iraq and strengthen its aid mission there, the government said on Tuesday.
London has "agreed to transport from other contributing states some critical military re-supplies for the Kurdish forces", a statement from Prime Minister David Cameron's office said.
Downing Street did not ...
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Chinese group appeals to Japan's emperor over artefact: Xinhua
Beijing (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
A Chinese organisation has appealed to Japan's Emperor Akihito to return a 1,300 year-old stele taken from China over a century ago, state media reported.
The Honglujing Stele was "looted by Japanese soldiers early last century from northeastern China", the official Xinhua news agency said, and now sits in "virtual seclusion" in Tokyo's Imperial Palace.
The stone monument, 1.8 metres (si ...
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US prepared to increase pressure on N. Korea: Kerry
Sydney (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday he was prepared to improve relations with North Korea, but warned of further pressure and isolation if it chose the path of confrontation.
Kerry, in Sydney for joint security talks with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop, said both sides had discussed hopes for a peaceful move towards a denuclearised Korean peninsula.
"The United States, ...
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Swiss bar Russian display team from air show due to Ukraine crisis
Geneva (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
Switzerland said Tuesday that it had decided to block the participation of Russia's air display team at a military show in the neutral nation due to the Ukraine crisis.
The Russian Knights, an aerobatic squadron who fly Su-27 fighters, had been due to take part in the Air14 festival starting later this month.
"Even in times of crisis it is important to maintain contacts," the Swiss defen ...
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US reassures China as 2,500 Marines head to Australia
Sydney (AFP) Aug 12, 2014 -
The United States stressed Tuesday it welcomes the rise of China and wants to work constructively with Beijing as it signed a deal to deploy 2,500 Marines to Australia as part of its "rebalance" to Asia.
China bristled when the agreement to deploy Marines to the northern city of Darwin was first announced by President Barack Obama in 2011.
But after signing the deal at the Australia-Unit ...
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Beijing hits out at US South China Sea proposal
Beijing (AFP) Aug 11, 2014 -
Beijing accused the US of deliberately stoking tensions in the South China Sea as it rejected Washington's proposal for a freeze on provocative actions in the region, the foreign ministry said Monday.
The remarks by Foreign Minister Wang Yi came at an ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) overshadowed by disputes over the strategically significant sea.
Beijing claims it almost in its entirety, putt ...
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China Sends Remote-Sensing Satellite into Orbit
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Aug 12, 2014 -
China on Saturday successfully launched a Long March 4C carrier rocket with the Yaogan XX satellite, Xinhua news agency reported.
The carrier lifted off at 1:45 p.m. local time (05:45 GMT) from the launch pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the country's northwestern Gobi desert.
The satellite is expected "to conduct scientific experiments, carry out land surveys, monitor crop ...
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Red Dwarf Stars Might Be Best Places to Discover Alien Life
Moffet Field CA (NASA) Aug 12, 2014 -
Red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the universe, and nearly every one of these stars may have a planet located in its habitable zone where life has the best chance of existing, a new study concludes.
This discovery may increase the chances that alien life could exist elsewhere in the cosmos, researchers say. They detailed their findings in the International Journal of Astrobiol ...
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NASA's 3-D Study of Comets Reveals Chemical Factory at Work
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 12, 2014 -
A NASA-led team of scientists has created detailed 3-D maps of the atmospheres surrounding comets, identifying several gases and mapping their spread at the highest resolution ever achieved.
"We achieved truly first-of-a-kind mapping of important molecules that help us understand the nature of comets," said Martin Cordiner, a researcher working in the Goddard Center for Astrobiology at NAS ...
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American Spaceports
Bethesda MD (SPX) Aug 12, 2014 -
Most people are not aware that the world is awash with spaceports. However, the popular ones are well-known. For example, the Cape Canaveral Area of Florida is the home of the most famous launch facilities. Both NASA and the US Air Force have launch pads and complex support infrastructures at the NASA's Kennedy Space Center and at the adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the Sunshine Sta ...
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Northrop Grumman's Scalable SIRU tapped for space mission
Woodland Hills, Calif. (UPI) Aug 12, 2013 -
Northrop Grumman's space inertial reference system is to be used on NASA's Solar Probe Plus mission to examine the atmosphere of the Sun.
The Scalable Space Inertial Reference Unit, or Scalable SIRU, provides rotation rate data for stabilization, pointing and attitude control of satellites and space vehicles.
"Our Scalable SIRU was competitively selected for the Solar Probe Plus ...
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