Congress notified of possible helo sale to Brazil
Washington (UPI) Sep 10, 2014 -
The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to Brazil under a deal worth $145 million.
Brazil would reportedly use the aircraft - three in all - for search-and-rescue missions and for bolstering the country's internal security capabilities.
"This procurement will upgrade its air mobility capability and provide for the defen ...
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US Congress may soon vote to arm, train Syria rebels
Washington (AFP) Sept 10, 2014 -
US lawmakers could vote within days to authorize the military to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels, with Democrats drafting the legislation Wednesday in an effort to reverse advances by the Islamic State (IS).
The possible move follows a last-minute request by President Barack Obama, who was scheduled to address the nation later Wednesday and lay out his plan to defeat the jihadist group ...
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Space Agency to be Established in UAE
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Sep 10, 2014 -
United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a decree on the establishment of a space agency, which will deal with all issues related to space industry, according to a statement released Sunday by Emirati newspaper Al Bayan.
The headquarters of the agency will be located in Abu Dhabi, its offices - in Dubai and other emirates as well as abroad. The agency will be ...
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Europe readies 'space plane' for sub-orbital test flight
Noordwijk, Netherlands (AFP) Sept 09, 2014 -
The European Space Agency on Tuesday put the final touches to its first-ever "space plane" before blasting it into sub-orbit for tests aimed at eventually paving the way to the continent's first space shuttle.
Assembled in Italy, the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) is undergoing final ground tests at the ESA's headquarters in Noordwijk, north of The Hague, before being shipped to Kou ...
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Taiwan, China reopen free trade talks amid protest
Taipei (AFP) Sept 10, 2014 -
Taiwan and China resumed talks Wednesday at an undisclosed location on a goods free trade agreement, sparking a protest against secrecy by demonstrators suspicious of closer ties with Beijing.
Economic affairs minister Woody Duh told reporters before the talks opened in the afternoon that Taiwan would focus on flat panels, petrochemicals, machine tools and automobiles where its industries ar ...
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China launches remote sensing satellite
Taiyuan, China (XNA) Sep 09, 2014 -
China successfully launched the Yaogan-21 remote sensing satellite into preset orbit at 11:22 a.m. on Monday Beijing Time (0322 GMT) from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.
The carrier rocket, a Long March-4B, is also carrying the Tiantuo-2 satellite, designed and built by the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT).
Yaogan-21 will be used for scientific experiments, natural r ...
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SpaceX launches AsiaSat 6 satellite
Cape Canaveral AFB FL (SPX) Sep 09, 2014 -
The 45th Space Wing supported Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the AsiaSat 6 satellite here from Space Launch Complex 40 at 1 a.m. EDT Sept. 7.
The Falcon 9 topped with the SpaceX fairing is 224.4 feet (68.4 meters) tall and 12 feet in diameter (the fairing is 17 feet in diameter). Its nine first-stage Merlin engines generate 1.3 mi ...
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Mitsubishi Electric to Deliver Satellite to Qatari Operator
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Sep 10, 2014 -
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has been awarded a contract to deliver the Es'hail 2 communications satellite to operator Qatar Satellite Company (Es'hailSat) in Doha. In-orbit delivery is scheduled for the end of 2016.
Mitsubishi Electric is the first Japanese satellite manufacturer to enter the Arab commercial communications satellite market.
With a more than 15-year design life, t ...
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Chile military groups proudly claim 1973 coup
Santiago (AFP) Sept 10, 2014 -
Organizations of active and retired Chilean military personnel took out a newspaper advertisement Wednesday proudly claiming the 1973 coup that launched dictator Augusto Pinochet's 17-year rule.
Published the day before the 41st anniversary of the coup, the letter said the overthrow of socialist president Salvador Allende set the South American country on the path to "security" and "progress ...
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Vietnam accuses China of attacking fishermen
Hanoi (AFP) Sept 10, 2014 -
Hanoi has accused Chinese sailors of attacking a group of Vietnamese fishermen near a disputed island chain, the latest in a string of maritime spats between the communist neighbours.
Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said the vessels were fishing in waters around the Paracel Islands - claimed by Vietnam but controlled by China - when they were attacked.
They were stopped by Chinese sailors i ...
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Israeli Navy awaits arrival of new submarine
Tel Aviv, Israel (UPI) Sep 10, 2014 -
A new submarine from Germany is sailing toward Israel to join the Israeli Navy following crew training in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
The vessel is the INS Tanin, the fourth of six Dolphin-class submarines Israel ordered from German shipbuilder Howaldtswerke Deeutsche Werk and the first in an upgraded design.
Upgrades include improved air-independent propulsion, and more mo ...
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What will the US-led war against jihadists look like?
Washington (AFP) Sept 11, 2014 -
President Barack Obama's vow to take the fight to jihadists in Syria and Iraq will expand a US-led air war already underway and likely require deploying more special forces to help local troops.
This is a breakdown of current military operations and what a larger effort might entail:
Strikes in Syria
Bombing IS jihadists in Syria represents the biggest gamble in Obama's war plan. Wi ...
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Israeli army launches 5 criminal probes over Gaza war
Tel Aviv (AFP) Sept 10, 2014 -
Israel's army has launched five criminal investigations into incidents involving its forces during the Gaza war, a top legal official said on Wednesday, two weeks after a truce took hold.
The United Nations and international rights groups have condemned Israel for numerous attacks which resulted in heavy civilian casualties, in a conflict that killed more than 2,140 Palestinians.
The ar ...
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Lockheed Martin to help in Aussie data processing system revamp
Kingston, Australia (UPI) Sep 10, 2014 -
Lockheed Martin Australia is to provide centralized data processing services to Australia's Department of Defense.
The services, under a contract worth about $740 million, will consolidate infrastructure and applications and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of data center delivery, the department said.
"Centralized processing will deliver a smaller number of more reliable ...
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Space Traffic Control Architecture
Bethesda MD (SPX) Sep 10, 2014 -
The number of organizations using the near-Earth space environment for applications ranging from exploration to exploitation and national security is impressive and continues to grow. Safety is a prime concern for both equipment and personnel. For government operators, the control of risk is mandatory.
For commercial operators, operational efficiency and favorable cost/benefit consideratio ...
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What if 9/11 had not happened?
Washington DC (UPI) Sep 10, 2014 -
This week marks the 13th anniversary of al Qaeda's September 11th attacks against America.
Many of the consequences of those attacks and subsequent U.S. interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the global war on terror have been tragic. Chaos in Iraq has infected Syria. An Islamic State (IS) that combines the most evil and vile elements of radical Islam has staked claims to grea ...
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Most US strikes in Iraq focused on defending Mosul dam
Washington (AFP) Sept 10, 2014 -
The majority of US air strikes in Iraq over the past month have targeted jihadists in the country's north fighting for control of the strategic Mosul dam, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, citing a tally of the raids.
Out of 154 American bombing raids conducted since August 8 in Iraq, 91 of them were aimed at Islamic State (IS) militants threatening the Mosul dam in the country's north, US ...
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Obama eyes air strikes in Syria, fixing Iraqi army
Washington (AFP) Sept 10, 2014 -
President Barack Obama will vow in a national address Wednesday to target the Islamic State with air strikes "wherever they exist" in a sign he plans to attack the jihadists inside Syria for the first time.
According to excerpts of his speech released by the White House, Obama will also pledge to lead a broad coalition to fight IS and work with "partner forces" on the ground in Syria and Ira ...
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More than half of Chinese see war with Japan: poll
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 10, 2014 -
More than half of Chinese people think their country could go to war with Japan in the future, a new poll revealed Wednesday, after two years of intense diplomatic squabbles.
A survey conducted in both nations found that 53.4 percent of Chinese envisage a future conflict, with more than a fifth of those saying it would happen "within a few years", while 29 percent of Japanese view military c ...
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Russia to boost nuclear, space defence forces against US
Moscow (AFP) Sept 10, 2014 -
Russia will respond to the United States' "prompt global strike" programme designed to take out targets within an hour by upgrading its nuclear and space defence forces, its deputy prime minister said Wednesday.
"Our response to the prompt global strike strategy is upgrading our strategic nuclear forces and resources - the strategic rocket forces and the naval ones - and also developing ai ...
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