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Based on military progress in the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command is undertaking an operational alignment and rebalancing effort to achieve three specific goals, CENTCOM commander Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel told the House Armed Services Committee yesterday. However, the commander said, “We remain very clear-eyed regarding both the permanence of that progress and the challenges that we face in the future.” The first goal, he outlined, is to complete major combat operations in Iraq and Syria and bring the campaign to defeat ISIS to a responsible close. Military success in the campaign up to this point presents CENTCOM with an opportunity to re-position some of its resources from Iraq and Syria to Afghanistan, he said, “in a manner that keeps the pressure on ISIS but also sets us up to break the stalemate in Afghanistan.” “We retain sufficient capability to continue our efforts against ISIS,” he emphasized, “despite the increasingly complex

  Diego Rivera, The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on this Continent (Pan American Unity), 1940. © Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera & Frieda Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico D.F. / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York. Image: courtesy City College of San Francisco. Rendering of Pan American Unity in the Roberts Family Gallery at SFMOMA. Image: courtesy SFMOMA. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) plan to display Diego Rivera’s historic mural,  Pan American Unity , as the cornerstone of a major exhibition of the artist’s work at SFMOMA in 2020. The mural — one of the most important works of public art in San Francisco — will be on view in the museum’s Roberts Family Gallery on the street level, part of the museum’s free, unticketed space. A comprehensive program of conservation, public education and CCSF student internships will accompany the exhibition of the work and will be announ

A guest post by Loondon Calling.... Science Fiction writers and Futurists have long conjured with the possibilities surrounding Cities in Flight. An early version of the theme, later to be taken up by science-fiction writers, dates back to 1928, the year of Stalin’s first 5-year plan. Georgii Kruticov, a Russian student of architecture  envisaged a city-sized nuclear powered apparatus such as his illustration:  The idea was seized upon by the generation of mid-century Futurist Dreamers including writer James Blish, who explored the theme during the 1970s in his Cities in Flight series. Here, with the help of anti-matter, complete cities were able to cut themselves free and blast off in order to go it alone in the universe, leaving behind the encumbrance of a dystopian world. At roughly the same time the great American visionary architect engineer and philosopher Richard Buckminster Fuller was proving that these machinations of cities floating above the earth were technically p

A guest post by Loondon Calling.... Science Fiction writers and Futurists have long conjured with the possibilities surrounding  Cities in Flight . An early version of the theme, later to be taken up by science-fiction writers, dates back to 1928, the year of Stalin’s first 5-year plan. Georgii Kruticov, a Russian student of architecture  envisaged a city-sized nuclear powered apparatus such as his illustration:  The idea was seized upon by the generation of mid-century Futurist Dreamers including writer James Blish, who explored the theme during the 1970s in his  Cities in Flight  series. Here, with the help of anti-matter, complete cities were able to cut themselves free and blast off in order to go it alone in the universe, leaving behind the encumbrance of a dystopian world. At roughly the same time the great American visionary architect engineer and philosopher Richard Buckminster Fuller was proving that these machinations of cities floating above the earth were technically

A post at Biased BBC this morning speculated about how the BBC would - or wouldn't - cover the Max Mosley story. It was noted that the BBC website hadn't covered it yet.  Checking at 5 pm this evening, it turns out that BBC News website published a report about it at 12:05 today , but by 5 pm it wasn't on the Home page or the UK page and was the-last-but-one news story on the Politics page. da Coincidentally, also at 5 pm. I spotted on my Twitter feed that t he Daily Mail had now passed their "dossier of evidence" to the CPS and the Metropolitan Police , so it looks as if the BBC News website might have to disinter their story.

Source:- Suchan UAV:- Indian Army Taking UAV in Hand Suchan, the new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by India’s CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) first appeared in Aero India 2017. The UAV, which is produced indigeniously, is operated hand launched and belly landed. CSIR-NAL says Suchan is equipped with an advanced autopilot system with GPS assistance. Having 75-minute endurance, Suchan also features an integrated camera. The authorities are aiming to increase the airborne time to 120 minutes and add thermal cameras. Suchan is similar in most respects to the Indian Eagle, as a hand-launched-belly-landing fixed wing, push-propeller type mini-UAS. Tested both in the plains as well as at high altitude in Ladakh, the Suchan has been similarly pitched to the armed forces, police services and counter-insurgency units, with possible interest likely to firm up this year. The Suchan is being improved, and while the model showcased at Aero India 2017 carried an interchan

In January of this year, F2F volunteer,  Janet Hernandez, had the opportunity to work with Junior Achievement Nicaragua (JA) in  Sisin,  a Miskito community located in the  North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RAAN) ,   and a community of young leaders in Managua.  The Miskito communities of Sisin and Bilwi are comprised of mostly farmers and tend to have traditional family structures, with the women tending to the household needs. During this assignment, Janet sought to empower young girls with both communication skills and tools to build their self-esteem. In Sisin, Janet conducted workshops on themes focusing on leadership, empowerment, team-building, sexism and gender roles, and  community assessment and reflection. She also integrated activities that analyze systems of oppression and build leadership and relationship skills. Janet believes  that JA  would benefit by incorporating themes of gender and self-esteem into their programs.  Interestingly, unlike most workshop

Source:- Indian Air Force Wants Home-Grown AWACS To Double As Tanker While the Indian Air Force kickstarts a fresh hunt for flight refueling aircraft, India’s $3.1 billion indigenous airborne warning and control system (AWACS) program has also gathered steam. In an interesting — if not baffling — twist, the IAF has officially asked the Defence Research & Development Organisation to move forward in such a way that the resulting AWACS jets are fitted to play the additional role of mid-air refueling tankers. The IAF directive throws up concerns over cost and time overruns in a priority project, though the DRDO exudes its traditional optimism on the demand. Speaking exclusively to Livefist, DRDO chief S. Christopher said, “While we are developing the complete AWACS system based on the Airbus A330 platform, the IAF has asked us to add the refueling capability. This could be for escort aircraft or other situations where such a dual role functionality could be critical. We are in discu

Ibrahim Khaza’il, also known as Abu Muhammad al Filistini, seen here in an undated picture reportedly taken in the Ain el Helwe refugee camp in Lebanon.  The commander of a Palestinian faction fighting in Syria was recently eulogized by a central al Qaeda-linked jihadist figure in Lebanon, further highlighting his group’s ties to the terrorist outfit. Abu Muhammad al Filistini, the leader of Saraya Ghuraba Filistin, was feted by Tawfiq Taha after he was killed in combat by regime forces in Syria’s northwestern Latakia province. Taha stated in his eulogy that Filistini, whose real name was Ibrahim Khaza’il, went to Syria “in defense of Muslims, triumphant [in defense of] their blood and their land.” Taha also said that “god blessed Sheikh Abu Muhammad with piety, zeal, good morals, respectability, humility, and rapprochement among all Muslims. He also played a positive role in extinguishing the seeds of strife and problems within the camp.” The phrase “within the camp” referred to th

SAN ANTONIO, Texas –-- Maj. Gen. Patrick Doherty, 19th Air Force commander, has ordered an end to the operational pause of the T-6 Texan II fleet, with flying operations resuming Feb. 27 following the collection and analysis of operational flight test data. The pause was the result of multiple unexplained physiological events experienced by AETC pilots at several bases during the last two weeks of January. The incidents were different from classic hypoxia, which is caused by oxygen deprivation. “The operational pause was required to provide a robust and intrusive look at every component on every aircraft connected to or critical to the On-Board Oxygen Generating System,” said Doherty. “Our intent was to ensure aircrew awareness of UPEs, as well as newly-required aerospace physiology training, checklist procedures, and flight equipment modifications that ensure aircrew safety.” Following the incidents, Doherty assembled a team including experts from the Air Force, Navy, NASA, and medi

Britain's military will have the funding it needs to continue to defend the country appropriately, Philip Hammond has said, amid calls for extra cash. The Chancellor said he is working "very closely" with Theresa May and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson as the latest review is carried out. He faced MPs just hours after defence minister Tobias Ellwood warned that spending the NATO target of 2% of GDP on defence was "just not enough" if the UK wanted to continue playing an influential role post-Brexit". Mr Ellwood highlighted concerns over a potential training backlog and the "financial pressure" the equipment programme was under, while also stressing a strong economy "cannot be guaranteed" without strong defence. Speaking in Treasury questions, Conservative MP and former soldier Johnny Mercer (Plymouth Moor View) asked: "While accepting the (Ministry of Defence) is in need of serious reform as well as more money, can the Chance

German Military Helicopter Crash In Mali Caused By Incorrectly Set Autopilot-Report (excerpt) BERLIN --- The crash of a German military Airbus Tiger helicopter in Mali last July was caused by incorrect settings on the autopilot, Germany’s Spiegel Online reported on Tuesday. The helicopter crashed while flying a peacekeeping mission in the West African nation’s desert north, killing the two crew members. Spiegel Online said the Defence Ministry had informed the parliamentary defense committee about the new findings on Tuesday. It said the autopilot controlled the airplane’s elevator. It remained unclear who programmed the settings on the autopilot software, which were not found on any other Tiger helicopters. (end of excerpt) Click here for the full story, on the Reuters website. -ends- Let's block ads! (Why?) from Defense Aerospace - Press releases http://ift.tt/2GQCPlu via Defense

Israel’s armor specialist Plasan was selected to design and produce armor protection for Britain’s new Type 26 frigate.  Plasan ’s advanced armor technology has been implemented to protect armored vehicles and personnel, transport aircraft and helicopters as well as naval vessels. In the past, the company was involved in several urgent operational requirements (UOR) to increase the survivability and protection of combat platforms operated by the British Army and Royal Air Force. The company designed the complete protection systems for the US Army/Marine Corps JLTV made by Oshkosh (soon to be supplied to the UK ) and the Australian Hawkeye light combat vehicle produced by Thales Australia. Modern combat ships are fitted with ballistic armor tailored to protect sensitive areas on the ship from typical threats such as projectiles and fragments. Such elements are often built of lightweight, hard ceramic with soft and hard composite materials to meet the required protection level at the

In a newly released Taliban video, the group documented an overnight assault on a military base in the southern province of Kandahar. The base was situated in the highly contested district of Khakrez, where the Taliban has overrun several military outposts and took control of the district center for a short period of time last year. The video, entitled “ From the Fronts of Khakrez ,” was released today on Voice of Jihad, the Taliban’s official propaganda website. The Taliban described Khakrez as “one of the strategic northern districts of Kandahar province which has experienced Jihadi triumphs over the course of last and this year including the take over of large military bases, check posts and briefly, the district center itself.” A large portion of the video detailed a nighttime assault on a military outpost in the district. A Taliban media operative recorded the attack through a night-vision device. One of the Taliban fighters seen in the video appears to have a helmet mounted nig