Photo and article Fwd: One man protest /S. Korea-US joint exercise to be held July 25-28

* Image source: Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea
SPARK secretary, Kim Jong-Il in front of the Ministry of National Defense, ROK, July 20, 2010

"Immediately stop the discussion on the ROK-US war exercise!
"We denounce the meeting by the ROK-US Defense Secretary& Minister"




* Image source: Hankyoreh, 'The USS George Washington aircraft carrier'

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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/07/205_69826.html

F-22 'Raptors' to join naval drill
S. Korea-US joint exercise to be held July 25-28

By Jung Sung-ki, Staff reporter
07-20-2010 18:57


Four state-of-the-art U.S. stealth fighters will join a massive combined air and naval exercise to be held by South Korea and the United States in the East Sea later this month in a show of the allies’ strong deterrence plans against North Korean provocations, South Korean and U.S. defense officials announced Tuesday.

The plan was made public after consultations between Defense Minister Kim Tae-young and his U.S. counterpart Robert Gates in Seoul. The two defense chiefs discussed a series of combined maritime and air readiness drills in waters around the peninsula in the coming months.

Gates arrived in Seoul late Monday to attend the “2+2” meeting that will include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Defense Minister Kim Tae-young.

The exercise, “Invincible Spirit,” will be the largest in scale with the participation of 8,000 Army, Air, Navy and Marine forces from the South Korean and U.S. militaries. The drill will be held from July 25 to 28.

About 200 fighter jets, and naval aircraft and helicopters will fly training missions in and around Korea. In addition, approximately 20 warships, including the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, the South Korean Navy’s 14,000-ton Dokdo large-deck landing ship, and attack submarines will participate in the exercise.

The deployment of the F-22 Raptor, the world’s most advanced aircraft, will be symbolic in heralding the solid and broader alliance of the two governments against emerging regional threats, including a North Korean provocation, said Maj. Gen. John A. Macdonald, director of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command’s operations bureau.

“The Raptor is the capability that we brought here to help in the defense of the Republic of Korea. It is part of the ROK-U.S. alliance,” Macdonald said.

“We will have four Raptors to participate in the exercise, and they will be involved in strike operations that will take place on ranges.”

This will be the first time that the “fifth-generation” radar-evading aircraft will participate in exercises with South Korea. The F-22, built by Lockheed Martin, is equipped with an active electronically scanned radar for cruise missile detection and is capable of evading advanced air defenses to bomb ballistic missile launch sites.

The single-seat fighter can fly at a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 and has an operational radius of 2,000 kilometers. Its weapons systems include AIM-9 Sidewinders and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM).

Macdonald added allied troops will be engaged in “network defense” to ensure they are secure in adverse conditions.

“The exercise will sharpen our military readiness by improving interoperability and the combined operational capability of the ROK-U.S. combined forces, while demonstrating the resolve and strength of the alliance,” Gen. Han Min-koo, chairman of the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a statement. “We stand fully prepared to respond militarily to any further North Korean provocation.”

The exercise was originally scheduled to be held in the West Sea, but defense authorities in Seoul and Washington changed the venue apparently after strong protests from China.

The USS George Washington carries nearly 5,000 crew and flight staff, including 400-plus officers and more than 4,000 enlisted sailors.

The 97,000-ton vessel carries more than 65 aircraft, including F/A 18 Hornets, F/A 18 E/F Super Hornets, EA6B Prowlers, E2C Hawkeyes, C-2 Greyhounds and SH-60 Seahawk helicopters.

Joining the East Sea exercise will be the USS McCampbell, USS John S. McCain and USS Lassen (* Aegis Destroyers)

Earlier this month, the U.N. Security Council issued a statement that expressed “deep concern” over the sinking of the frigate Cheonan in the West Sea in March, but did not identify who was responsible for sinking the ship.

China, North Korea’s most important ally, was reportedly the main force behind the watering down of the Security Council resolution. It is also very uneasy about the ROK-U.S. joint exercise involving a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

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You may also see Hankyoreh
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/431169.html
ROK-U.S. plan additional joint naval exercises
The exercises, to be held in the Yellow Sea, are expected to draw additional criticism from China
Posted on : Jul.20,2010 12:33 KST

Excerpts

The South Korean media reported that the country developed a cruise missile ‘Hyunmoo 3-C’ with a 1500 km range that can reach Beijing and northeast region of China. Observers said that South Korean government leaked the fact in order to place a power check on China. (* South Korea has become the forth nation to develop the 1500km long range missile after the United States, Russia, Israel. The Korean media reports)

One Chinese newspaper, which took a hardline stance in response to the joint ROK-U.S. military exercises, posted on the front page of its Monday edition, “South Korean Cruise Missile’s Range Covers the Region. It is Feared that Tensions Will Increase Around the Region.”

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You may also see
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=20149
Confronting both China and Russia: U.S. Risks Military Clash With China In Yellow Sea
Rick Rozoff

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com
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* Other related articles from Rick Rozoff on July 20, 2010

Voice of Russia
US, South Korea to conduct war games
July 20, 2010

Google
U.S. Deploys Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier To South Korea
Associated Press
July 19, 2010
By ANNE FLAHERTY

Excerpts:

The carrier was expected to be in South Korea's port of Busan by Wednesday and could participate in an upcoming military exercise.

The nuclear powered carrier, one of the world's largest warships, will be accompanied by three destroyers — the McCampbell, the John S. McCain and the Lassen.

The Cheonan's sinking was considered South Korea's worst military disaster since the Korean War, which ended in a cease-fire in 1953. No formal peace treaty was ever signed, and more than 28,000 U.S. troops remain stationed in the south with a vow to protect its critical ally.

The deployment of the aircraft carrier could be seen by North Korea as a particularly aggressive move by the United States because of the ship's sheer size. According to a Navy website, the George Washington is 244 feet high from keel to mast and can accommodate some 6,250 crew members.

Text Fwd: F-22 likely to join military drills with S. Korea

Yonhap News
Politics/Diplomacy
2010/07/18 15:38 KST
F-22 likely to join military drills with S. Korea

SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- The United States may dispatch its high-tech F-22 Raptor stealth fighter to the Korean Peninsula for the upcoming joint military exercises with South Korea aimed at sending a warning message to North Korea for its continued provocative acts, a government source said Sunday.

"Chances are high that the F-22 fighter jet will take part in the South Korea-U.S. joint drills to be held in the East Sea within July, in which a U.S. aircraft carrier will also participate," the source said on the condition of anonymity. "The U.S. is considering the F-22's participation in the training."

In response to the March 26 deadly sinking of a South Korean warship caused by a North Korean torpedo attack that left 46 sailors dead, the allies have decided to conduct large-scale naval drills in the eastern waters of South Korea, along with an anti-submarine training in the Yellow Sea.

The exact dates for the exercises and other details will be decided at an unprecedented group meeting of foreign and defense ministers from the two sides in Seoul this week, officials said. The U.S. has already confirmed that it will send the nuclear-powered USS George Washington, which is stationed at the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Japan.

Another source also said that the upcoming drills will involve core forces of the U.S. Second Fleet and American troops stationed in Japan.

If the F-22 takes part in the training, it would mark the first time for the jet to be deployed in Korea.

From the base in Okinawa, the F-22, dubbed the "strongest fighter jet in existence," is reportedly capable of striking North Korea's main nuclear facilities in Yongbyon within half an hour after take-off.

Text Fwd: T-50 trainer jets in full service

A T-50 supersonic trainer jet sits on a runway of the Air Force’s 1st Fighter Wing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday, after completing its ceremonial flight marking the acceptance of the last of the planned delivery of 50 T-50 aircraft to the service. / Courtesy of Air Force.

Korea Times
05-13-2010 18:50
T-50 trainer jets in full service
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

The Air Force said Thursday that it has received the 50th and last of the advanced T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer jets from the aircraft's manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

The delivery of the T-50 trainer jets jointly built by Lockheed Martin of the United States began in December 2005. KAI is the prime contractor, and Lockheed Martin is the principal subcontractor, assisting with development and international marketing.

The Air Force placed an order for 82 T-50 variants, including 50 advanced jet trainers, 22 TA-50 light armed aircraft and 10 other T-50Bs modified for aerobatic performances.

``I sincerely congratulate you on being fully operational with the world's best T-50 advanced trainer jet," President Lee Myung-bak said in a congratulatory message. "I expect the successful production of T-50 aircraft with outstanding pilot training capability will help achieve our dream of entering the world's seventh largest aerospace power within 10 years.''

The single-engine trainer aircraft features digital flight controls and a modern ground-based training system, which helps new pilots smoothly transition into advanced fighters, such the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightening II, as well as the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

It has a top speed of Mach 1.5. The per-unit price is about $25 million.

The government is accelerating efforts to make its first overseas sale of the``luxury'' T-50, tying the success of the jet to becoming a major arms exporter and reviving its economy.

The government aims to reach $3 billion in defense exports by 2012, and industry and government officials agree that sales of the T-50 are essential to attaining that goal.

But thus far, the marketing of the trainer has produced no tangible results.

The T-50 is competing with Italy's M-346 over deals in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Israel and Iraq.

The United States is also said to be looking to open a bid for trainer acquisition in the near future.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

Text Fwd: BRING HOME THE EMPIRE

Bruce Gagnon blog
Sunday, September 27, 2009
BRING HOME THE EMPIRE

I had a wonderful day yesterday at the Common Ground Fair just outside of Unity, Maine. The weather was a perfect fall day, sunny and cool, and the crowds were enormous - likely in the tens of thousands.

I worked for several hours at the Veterans for Peace table gathering signatures on the petition opposing the plan to create an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight test center (the drone zone the local paper calls it) in nearby Brunswick. Under another of the huge tents the Peace Action Maine table was doing the same thing so between us we reached many people on the topic.

At 2:00 pm about 15 fellow peace activists from around the state gathered by one of the fair entrances where we dressed ourselves in black capes and put on white masks. We hung big black sandwich-board signs over our shoulders that in white letters raised the issues of endless war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two of us with drums, one in front and the other near the rear, pounded a slow and steady heartbeat as we walked throughout the huge fairgrounds for more than 30 minutes in a solemn single-file. The crowds would stop what they were doing and watch us though many more than we would have expected at such a "progressive" fair stood with blank stares on their faces. Of course we received many positive messages too but following our second time around the fair, after we had removed our costumes, all those participating agreed that many people in the public are in emotional shutdown.

It reminds me of the book called Art of Loving by Eric Fromm. He told the story about pre-Nazi Germany where psychology students went out onto the streets and queried the public about their reasons for virtually ignoring the warning signs of a coming fascism. The students found that the public did not want to think about it nor did they wish to act.

In his book The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, Fromm wrote:

To have faith means to dare, to think the unthinkable, yet to act within the limits of the realistically possible; it is the paradoxical hope to expect the Messiah every day, yet not to lose heart when he has not come at the appointed hour. This hope is not passive and it is not patient; on the contrary, it is impatient and active, looking for every possibility of action within the realm of real possibilities. Least of all it is passive as far as the growth and liberation of one's own person are concerned.... The situation of mankind is too serious to permit us to listen to the demagogues - least of all demagogues who are attracted to destruction - or even to the leaders who use only their brains and whose hearts have hardened. Critical and radical thought will only bear fruit when it is blended with the most precious quality man is endowed with - the love of life.

At about 4:00 pm yesterday Maine Veterans for Peace president Dud Hendrick and I did a one-hour talk with about 25 people under one of the small workshop tents provided by the fair. We spoke about the growing US military empire and told some stories about how US bases in places like Diego Garcia, Marshall Islands, Greenland, and South Korea have stolen land from the peoples of those countries. We asked why the American people are not more engaged about the many thefts that result when one nation builds an empire?

My bottom line message was conversion, beating the swords into plowshares, and the need for all of us to find ways in our everyday lives to enflesh, to give life, to that demand if we hope to successfully bring home the empire.

Watch CBS TV News segment on the F-22 and local production jobs


Watch CBS Videos Online


posted by Bruce Gagnon | 11:45 AM

Text Fwd: Air Force eyeing faster retirement for many jets

* Text informed by Lindis Percy on May 23, 2009

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62852
Air Force eyeing faster retirement for many jets
By Franklin Fisher and Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, May 23, 2009

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — The U.S. Air Force in the Pacific plans to speed the retirement of more than 40 combat aircraft, three of them from Osan Air Base, as part of a restructuring plan announced earlier this week, officials said Thursday.

The remaining aircraft will come from bases in Alaska and Hawaii.

That same restructuring will see the Air Force in Europe lose 18 F-16s and possibly one of its three fighter squadrons.

In all, the Air Force would get rid of about 250 fighter jets from its inventory worldwide under what’s called the Combat Air Forces restructuring plan.

Some of the losses would be offset by the addition of the newest generation of aircraft to the inventory and by upgrades to others.

The move is in line with the Air Force’s aim of freeing up money for next-generation aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle operations.

It would save $355 million in fiscal 2010 and $3.5 billion over the next five years, according to an Air Force news release.

In the Pacific, the reduction will affect Osan Air Base, Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska and Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

"So this move is part of a larger effort to bridge our current force structure with a smaller, more capable future force composed mainly of fifth-generation aircraft," Pacific Air Forces spokesman Maj. Kenneth L. Hoffman said Thursday.

Osan’s 51st Fighter Wing would lose three A-10 Thunderbolt II jets, which are designed mainly for close air support missions, Hoffman said.

But it will retain 45 aircraft and receive upgrades to 24 of its F-16s.

Officials at Osan had no immediate details Thursday on the timetable for the change.

By next year, Elmendorf’s 3rd Wing will have retired the last of its 24 F-15 Eagles, but it has 36 F-22 Raptors that are being upgraded to the most modern, Block 35 variant.

Also by next year, Hickam will have lost its 15 Hawaii Air National Guard F-15s, but will receive 18 F-22s, with delivery starting in early 2011.

Within the time between the F-15 departure and F-22 arrival, Air National Guard units will deploy to Hawaii to maintain mission capability.

The Air Force will retire 112 F-15s, 134 F-16s and Osan’s three A-10s under the restructuring plan.

Five other aircraft had already been slated for retirement during the current fiscal year, which ends in October.

"We have a strategic window of opportunity to do some important things with fighter aircraft restructuring," the news release quoted Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley as saying.

"By accepting some short-term risk, we can convert our inventory of legacy fighters and F-22s into a smaller, more flexible and lethal bridge to fifth-generation fighters like the F-35."

(An earlier version of this story was posted on stripes.com May 20)