Australia to widen scope of targets in IS air war
Sydney (AFP) Sept 1, 2016 -
Australia is to start targeting jihadist support and logistics resources in Iraq and Syria, as it broadens the scope of its air war on the Islamic State group, officials said Thursday.
The staunch US ally has some 780 defence personnel in the Middle East supporting its operation against IS and has been active in Iraq for months.
Many are based in Iraq with 400 attached to the Air Task Gr ...
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Philippines' Duterte to meet fugitive Muslim rebel
Manila (AFP) Aug 31, 2016 -
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he planned to meet a fugitive Muslim rebel wanted over a deadly siege, promising to ignore an arrest order in an effort to forge peace.
The announcement was the latest dramatic attempt by the firebrand leader to end decades-long insurgencies with Muslim and communist rebels that have claimed more than 150,000 lives.
Duterte said he spok ...
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Arab coalition raids kill 16 Yemenis: rebels
Sanaa (AFP) Aug 31, 2016 -
Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck a home in Yemen's rebel-held Saada province, killing 16 people, including women and children, the Iran-backed insurgents said on Wednesday.
Residents said the air raids hit the house overnight, while the Huthi rebels' sabanews.net website reported that the victims were "mostly children and women from three families".
There was no immediate reaction fr ...
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Navantia in design study for Australian future frigate program
Adelaide, Australia (UPI) Aug 30, 2016 -
Spanish shipbuilder Navantia and the Australian government are to conduct a risk reduction and design study on the company's offering of a future frigate.
Work on the initial phase of Australia's SEA5000 Future Frigate Program will be conducted over a one-year period under a Future Frigate Participant Services contract from the Australian Department of Defense.
Italian shipbuilde ...
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Javelin Joint Venture team inks deal with India's Tata Power Company
Tucson (UPI) Aug 31, 2016 -
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin's Javelin Joint Venture team has signed a letter of intent with India's Tata Power Company to explore development of the Javelin missile, Raytheon announced Wednesday.
The signing will lead to an exploration of co-development and production of the Javelin anti-armor missile system with Tata's Strategic Engineering Division, Raytheon said in a statement.
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U.S. lawmakers call for freeze on Saudi arms sale
Washington (UPI) Aug 31, 2016 -
Citing humanitarian concerns regarding Saudi Arabia's ongoing war against Houthi rebels in Yemen, U.S. lawmakers on Monday asked the White House to delay a proposed $1.15 billion weapons sale to the kingdom.
The letter, signed by 64 members of Congress, asks the Obama administration to walk back the Aug. 8 approval of the sale, which would include replacing tanks destroyed in the Yemen ...
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Raytheon, U.S. Navy improve anti-mine sonar
Portsmouth, R.I. (UPI) Aug 31, 2016 -
Raytheon reports its AN/AQS-20A mine-hunting sonar has been enhanced for better performance, including sharper imaging of objects deep under the sea.
The improvement in the system's ability to identify and classify mines is the result of a collaborative agreement with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center - Division Newport, it said.
"Together with NUWC, we've applied our collective ...
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U.S. Air Force QF-4 flies final unmanned mission
Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. (UPI) Aug 31, 2016 -
The QF-4 Phantom flew its final unmanned mission this month while serving as an aerial target during F-35 Lightning II testing, the U.S. Air Force said.
The final flight took place above the White Sands Missile Range on Aug. 17, the service said in a statement.
The QF-4 has served as a target for a variety of next-generation weapons over the past 15 years.
The QF-4 program ...
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Electric Boat gets $300 million Virginia-class submarine contract
Washington (UPI) Aug 30, 2016 -
General Dynamics Electric Boat has been awarded a $300 million U.S. Navy contract for various work on the fleet of Virginia-class submarines.
The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract covers lead yard services, development studies and design efforts for the class.
Lead yard services will involve maintaining, updating and supporting the Virginia class design and related drawings and data f ...
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FalTech to launch a compact Iridium repeater system at the Emergency Services Show
London, UK (SPX) Aug 31, 2016 -
Iridium two-way satellite telephones are used all over the world. They generally can't operate indoors, because the structure of the building blocks ingress and egress of the signal. When it isn't practical or safe to leave the building to use a satphone, a repeater system overcomes the barrier put up by the building and allows satellite communications at distance of up to 3Km from the outdoor a ...
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SpaceX to launch satellite by reusing rocket
Washington (AFP) Aug 31, 2016 -
SpaceX and satellite operator SES have agreed to launch a commercial satellite later this year by reusing a Falcon 9 rocket, the companies announced Tuesday.
The launch of SES-10, which will be the first satellite sent into space on a SpaceX flight-proven rocket, was scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016.
Terms of the deal were not announced. Officials with California-based SpaceX, he ...
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Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach UAS Program Leads Nation as One of First to Begin Flight Operations
Daytona Beach FL (SPX) Sep 01, 2016 -
The long-awaited Small Unmanned Aircraft (sUAS) rule known as Part 107 from the FAA went into effect today. Almost immediately, members from the Aeronautical Science Department from the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Daytona Beach Campus became some of the first in the nation to begin flying, opening new doors for students and faculty in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Science (UASS) progr ...
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Obama makes final trip to China, Southeast Asia
Aboard Air Force One (AFP) Sept 1, 2016 -
Barack Obama begins his 11th and final presidential trip to the Asia-Pacific in earnest on Friday, visiting China to nurture what has become arguably the world's most important relationship and cementing an eight-year "pivot to Asia."
After a series of US stops outside Washington, the outgoing US president jets in to the picturesque Chinese city of Hangzhou where he will take part in his fin ...
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U.S. Air Force conducts F-35 weapons tests
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (UPI) Aug 30, 2016 -
The U.S. Air Force recently completed a monthlong weapons firing test surge for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, the service announced Monday.
The tests involved 25 missions including 12 weapons delivery accuracy and 13 weapon separation tests, the Air Force said in a statement.
The final mission on Aug. 17 involved jets shooting two advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles at a ...
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India tests new scramjet rocket engine
New Delhi (Sputnik) Aug 31, 2016 -
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully tested its new scramjet engine and expects a commercial launch. This is being touted as the most cost-effective rocket engine the world has seen.
With this, the ISRO, which is already the most inexpensive commercial satellite launch service provider in the world, expects to attract more customers worldwide.
The test carri ...
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