Monday, June 17, 2013

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- June 17, 2013

A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor in flight during flight tests. (Lockheed Martin)

F-22 Program Produces Few Planes, Soaring Costs -- L.A. Times

Delays, technical glitches and huge cost overruns in the Air Force's F-22 fighter jet program highlight the Pentagon's broken procurement process.

When the U.S. sought to assure Asian allies that it would defend them against potential aggression by North Korea this spring, the Pentagon deployed its top-of-the-line jet fighter, the F-22 Raptor.

But only two of the jets were sent screaming through the skies south of Seoul.

That token show of American force was a stark reminder that the U.S. may have few F-22s to spare. Alarmed by soaring costs, the Defense Department shut down production last year after spending $67.3 billion on just 188 planes — leaving the Air Force to rely mainly on its fleet of 30-year-old conventional fighters.

"People around the world aren't dumb," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Santa Clarita). "They see what we have. They recognize that our forces have been severely depleted."

Read more ....

MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE NEWS BRIEFS

Obama assassination bid fears - aircraft carriers on standby off Irish coast during G8 summit -- Belfast Telegraph

Turkey and Russia react with fury to G20 spying revelations -- The Guardian

China DENIES Edward Snowden is working for them after Dick Cheney calls leaker a 'traitor and possible spy' and that NSA monitoring 'could have prevented 9/11' -- Daily Mail

Apple reveals US surveillance requests, following Facebook's lead -- The Guardian

Call records of fewer than 300 people were searched in 2012, U.S. says -- Washington Post

Metadata reveals the secrets of social position, company hierarchy, terrorist cells -- Washington Post

Rogers: NSA ‘is not listening’ to Americans’ phone calls -- CNN

Obama does not feel Americans' privacy violated: chief of staff -- Reuters

Debate Starts Over Who Should Have Access to Classified Material -- Defense News

India Sets Up Domestic PRISM-Like Cyber Surveillance? -- The Diplomat

Paris Air Show Preview: Boosting Foreign Sales, Arms Exports Hot Topics -- Breaking Defense

France exudes confidence on Rafale sale to India -- The Hindu

Russia Hopes to Sell Su-35 Fighter Jets at Le Bourget -- RIA Novosti

Pakistan ups ante with big military boost -- New Castle Herald

Russia to Display Yak-130 Combat Trainer at Paris Air Show -- RIA Novosti

Arms for Syrian rebels won't fall into extremist hands, says William Hague -- The Guardian

Defector Syrian general will be conduit for US military aid to rebels -- Stars and Stripes

Saudi supplying missiles to Syria rebels: Gulf source -- Reuters

Report: Iran to send 4,000 Revolutionary Guards to bolster Assad’s forces -- Al Arabiya

Philippine Gov’t mulls purchase of missiles for defense -- Inquirer

Saab Considers Developing Unmanned Gripen -- Defense News

European Aerospace Industries Call For a European MALE Program -- Defense Update

MoD whistleblower attacks lavish perks of military top brass living in luxury flats -- Daily Mail

Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey: A Nice Fit for Japan? -- Battleland/Time

Pentagon Signs New Russian Helicopter Deal -- RIA Novosti

The Red Army Gets Its Mojo Back -- Strategy Page

Why Russia won’t deal on NATO missile defense -- Yousaf Butt, Reuters

U.S. no longer the only traffic cop in space -- Omaha.com

Sensitive security vetting at U.S. Embassy in Iraq is turned over to troubled State Department -- Washington Times

Camp Humphreys construction - largest ever for military - slogs on -- Stars and Stripes

New U.S. training documents focus on Africa, Pacific -- Army Times

Troubled F-35 jet struggles to get in fighting shape -- JS Online

Boeing Seeks KC-46A Tanker Exports as Talks With Buyers Progress -- Bloomberg

Raytheon to improve US Army air defenses, better identify targets -- Space Daily

Pentagon bracing for public dissent over climate and energy shocks -- The Guardian

Researchers Find Biological Evidence of Gulf War Illnesses -- New York Times

Naval Academy sex-assault probe advances -- CNN

False reports outpace sex assaults in the military -- Washington Times

Daughters and moms now consider rape before applying to military -- CBS

Deployment to war doesn't figure in majority of military suicides -- L.A. Times

Pentagon Civil War Over 'Zero Dark Thirty' Revealed by Internal Report -- Passport/Foreign Policy

In New Book, Former US Army Officer Warns of Romancing China -- Defense News

300,000+ Military BibleSticks now in hands of Chaplains and Troops from every branch of U.S. Military -- Space War

The Security-Industrial Complex: The culture of secrecy in Washington has become absurd. -- David Rohde, The Atlantic

No comments: