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U.S. Strategic Command reached a milestone with the signing of its 100th space situational awareness agreement when the Romanian Space Agency signed an agreement with USSTRATCOM April 25. These agreements foster openness, predictability of space operations and transparency in space activities. With the signing, Romania becomes the 20th nation joining Australia, Japan, Italy, Canada, France, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Brazil, the Netherlands, Thailand, New Zealand and Poland; two intergovernmental organizations, the European Space Agency and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites; and 78 commercial satellite owner/operator/launchers already participating in SSA data-sharing agreements with USSTRATCOM. In 2011, USSTRATCOM was delegated the responsibility for signing SSA agreements on behalf of the U.S. government with governmental agencies and commercial satellite owne

A new era dawned in Japan on Wednesday as Naruhito officially became emperor at midnight following his father's historic abdication from the Chrysanthemum Throne, the world's oldest monarchy. The 59-year-old Naruhito will formally take possession of the sacred imperial regalia at a solemn ceremony later Wednesday but he became the 126th emperor at the stroke of midnight, ushering in the "Reiwa" imperial era. His father, the popular 85-year-old Akihito used his final royal speech to offer his "heartfelt gratitude to the people of Japan" and pray for global peace as the curtain came down on his 30-year reign that saw him transform the role of emperor. During a 10-minute ceremony in the Imperial Palace's elegant Room of Pine, he stopped to offer a hand to his wife of 60 years, Michiko, as she stepped down from the stage and poignantly paused before exiting the room, bowing deeply to the 300 invited guests. It was the first time in more than 200 years an

Editor’s note: Below is Bill Roggio’s testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.  Chairman Deutch, Ranking Member Wilson, and other distinguished committee members, thank you for inviting me to testify today to examine the global terror landscape. The Easter day bombings in Sri Lanka serve as a stark reminder that our enemies are committed to their cause and are willing to go to any lengths to destroy our way of life. Nine suicide bombers, many of them well educated, including two sons of a wealthy spice tycoon, and a pregnant woman, killed more than 250 people during attacks on churches and hotels. The suicide bombers swore allegiance to Islamic State emir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before carrying out their heinous attacks. The Sri Lanka bombings took place just one month after the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) declared a victory over the Islamic State. While the Islamic State may have l

Ukraine has suspended a joint venture with Saudi Arabia to produce the An-132 military transport aircraft. President of Ukraine Antonov State Company, Alexander Donets, which manufactures the aircraft, announced on Friday that the company will continue to build the vehicles but with a new partner. “In the framework of this project, an An-32D was built and tests began, but for reasons not related to the Antonov company, this process has stopped. There have been changes in the project partners in Saudi Arabia,” Donets said. In February 2016, Saudi Arabia signed agreements with a number of companies including Ukraine’s Antonov to establish five organisation specialised in the transfer and localisation of advanced technologies in the fields of military and civilian aircrafts, satellites, radars and clean energy. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the Antonov company planned a joint venture to build a total of 80 aircrafts, some of them in Ukraine, and the other

The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, has been awarded a $5,700,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for KC-46 Pegasus Combat Capability (PC2). This contract provides for a broad range of post-production related non-recurring and recurring requirements centered on user-directed and Federal Aviation Administration-mandated KC-46 air vehicle needs. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be complete by April 28, 2029. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $9,121,895 are being obligated on the first delivery order at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8609-19-D-0007). Worth noting the eight-year development contract for the KC-46 cost the Air Force $4.9 billion, and this sets a cost ceiling for a new contract worth up to $5.7 billion. I have to assume t

NEW YORK --- The F-35A stealth fighter that crashed off the coast of Japan has been found, and recovery efforts are underway, a U.S. Air Force commander said Monday. "The aircraft's been located. ... It's now in the recovery aspect," said Charles Brown, four-star general and commander of the Pacific Air Forces, in a briefing for reporters in New York. Since the Japanese-built jet disappeared April 9, Japan time, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and the U.S. military have poured resources into searching for its wreckage, which could expose sensitive American military technology secrets if retrieved by China or Russia. …/… The U.S. is working very closely with the Japanese side in support of the recovery of the aircraft, Brown said. (end of excerpt) Click here for the full story, on the Nikkei Asia Review website. -ends- Let's block ads! (Why?) from Defense Aerospace - Press releases http://bit.ly/2vrRJef via Defense

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Action Needed to Improve Reliability and Prepare for Modernization Efforts Despite some minor improvements, GAO saw little or no discernible improvement for the four metrics out of eight that are not meeting targets, and program officials want to lower the metrics to “more realistic” levels. (GAO graphic) The F-35 program has made slow, sustained progress in improving the aircraft's reliability and maintainability (R&M). The F-35 aircraft (see figure) are assessed against eight R&M metrics, which indicate how much time the aircraft will be in maintenance rather than operations. Half of these metrics are not meeting targets. While the Department of Defense (DOD) has a plan for improving R&M, its guidance is not in line with GAO's acquisition best practices or federal internal control standards as it does not include specific, measurable objectives, align improvement projects to meet those objectives, and prioritize funding. If the R&M

Boeing has been awarded a $127.6 million contract for the Air Force's B61-12 nuclear bomb life extension program. The new contract modification, which covers Lot 1 and Lot 2 long lead items, brings the cumulative value of the previously awarded contract to $131.9 million, the Defense Department announced Friday. Fiscal year 2018 and 2019 procurement funds, and fiscal year 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $29.2 million are being obligated at the time of award. Work will be performed in Saint Charles, Mo., with completion expected by Aug. 31, 2020. The National Nuclear Security Administration, which is part of the Energy Department, maintains and enhances the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenel without nuclear explosive testing. "The B61-12 Life Extension Program is essential to enabling the NNSA to accomplish its mission to certify the effectiveness of the nation's nuclear deterrent," according to the agency. With almost 50 years of service, the B61

In the San Augustine Plains of central New Mexico, 27 radio telescopes stand tall, operating nearly 24 hours, 7 days a week capturing extremely weak signals emitted from all over the Universe. This flat and vast land, once a seabed, sits at an altitude of 7,000 feet and is surrounded by 360 degrees of mountains. Despite the ideal conditions of this location, "listening" to these faint radio emissions is becoming increasingly difficult as the Earth becomes "noisier" in the same direction in which these dish antennas are pointed, the sky. At ground level, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's (NRAO) Very Large Array keeps a continuous live monitoring station dedicated for receiving Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radio transmissions for visitors' cellphones and other electronic devices. Besides their inherent interference, these signals can also emit multiples of their intended frequency, causing interference in many places at once (due to poor engineering). When &q

Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed noted that the Department of Defence has not yet decided what role the Guard and Reserve will play in the new Space Force service. Sen. Joe Manchin said he was surprised to hear from committee staff that the DoD was "not really sure what the reserve components' role would be" and that those decisions would be pushed until after the Space Force is stood up. He questioned why the DoD is asking lawmakers to vote on a proposal that does not have a "real plan for a National Guard or reserve." Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said: "It is impossible for me to imagine a Space Force without a reserve component." However, in a white paper circulated on Capitol Hill, the National Guard Bureau calls for the establishment of a Space National Guard as a reserve component to the Space Force. If a Space Force is authorized by Congress, it would be placed under the Air Force. The Guard is arguing that a Sp

🇲🇺 Mauritius Post issued a single stamp on 30 April 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mauritius and Japan. An interesting design depicts the recently completed radar station at Trou Aux Cerfs which was built in co-operation with the government of Japan which had been planned since 2002 with the need for it being emphasised by fatal flooding in Port Louis in March 2019. Rating:- *****. 🇳🇬 The postal service of Nigeria issued a pair of stamps on 25 April 2019 to commemorate the holding of the African Drum Festival in Ogun State. The two values are N50 and N100 and do not have holograms attached to them. There is no accompanying miniature sheet. Currently there is no illustration available apart from one which depicts part of the stamps so we will have to make do with that for the moment. The parts we can see suggest that the quality of design is no better than we have come to expect from the majority of recent Nigerian

Russia and Turkey are jointly working on creating promising aircraft and helicopters, and also components for the armor, the press office of Russia’s state arms seller Rosoboronexport (part of the state hi-tech corporation Rostec) reported on Monday. “We have a number of joint projects for developing promising aircraft and rotorcraft platforms, components for the armor and the after-sale maintenance of the armaments supplied,” the press office quoted Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheyev as saying. Turkey also shows interest in the newest Russian combat modules, air defense systems with different range capabilities and anti-tank weapons. Despite the rivals’ interference in the bilateral relations, Russia and Turkey are coping with the difficulties that arise, the chief executive stressed. “At present, we are discussing with the Turkish partners the implementation of some most important projects in the sphere of military and technical cooperation and in the civilian industry… We ar

Chinese scientists have developed a new heat-resistant material for hypersonic aircraft which can endure over 3,000 C from friction caused by a Mach 5-20 flight within the atmosphere. The lead scientist on the project said the material outperforms all similar foreign-made ones with its high melting point, low density and high malleability. The new material enables a hypersonic aircraft to fly at Mach 5-20 within the atmosphere for several hours, as the high heat resulting from the friction between the aircraft and the air reaches between 2,000 C to 3,000 C, a temperature normal metal would not be able to endure. Normal metals melt at around 1,500 C, but this new material can bear over 3,000 C for an extended period, state-owned Hunan Television reported recently. Unlike foreign technologies that use traditional refractory metals and carbon-carbon materials, the China-made new material is a composite of ceramics and refractory metals, Fan Jinglian, the lead scientist who developed t

The Council of European Union on Monday, April 29 extended a ban on selling arms to Myanmar and prolonged sanctions against high-ranking officials over their role in the Rohingya crisis. The measures, which include an embargo on weapons and other equipment that could be used for repression, will stay in place until at least April 30, 2020, the European Council said in a release. The sanctions regime includes an embargo on arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression, a ban the export of dual-use goods to the military and border guard police, restrictions on equipment for monitoring communications that might be used for internal repression, and military training or military cooperation with the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw). The extension includes the prolongation of “targeted restrictive measures” on 14 senior military and border officials over alleged human rights violations in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States, including killings and sexual violence, barring them f

Is Andrew Neil the only ever BBC regular to retweet Old Holborn ? As Clint Eastwood in one of my favourite films  The Outlaw Josey Wales would probably say, I reckon so.

At just after 6 O'Clock this evening I had another of those 'Did the BBC really just say that?' moments. One of the headlines on tonight's BBC One News at Six began: A rise in the number of Brits going on holiday outside the EU. I'd barely had time to think 'Oh, that's interesting. That'll be good news for non-EU countries' when Sophie continued: Travel companies say Brexit's to blame. Why did the BBC put it like that? Why did they say Brexit's "to blame", as if it's 'a bad thing', for causing "a rise in the number of Brits going on holiday outside the EU"? Why wasn't their headline, say, "A rise in the number of Brits going on holiday outside the EU. Travel companies say it's thanks to Brexit"? After all, it very well might actually be a 'good news story' for plenty of non-EU countries (like Turkey and Tunisia) and for British holiday makers (who could be getting mor

Our most loyal readers will possibly know that I've a small fascination for Spanish politics. (I have my reasons). And looking at the results of the Spanish election coming overnight on Twitter I decided to form my own opinion of the results before looking at anyone else's (especially the BBC's).  Comparing the results with the last general election, I was struck by the collapse in the vote of the main conservative party, the People's Party, and how the fragmentation confirmed by the 2016 election (when the move from two parties to four parties was emphatically demonstrated) continues with Spain now becoming a five-party country due to the rapid rise of the right-wing VOX. Yet this ongoing fragmentation continues to  not  result in a collapse in the system. This election was mainly about churn within the Left/Right blocs rather than between the Left and Right blocs - and Spain, perhaps anachronistically, remains starkly black-and-white in its Left/Right split. Th