Event Fwd: Keep Space for Peace Week 2011

http://www.space4peace.org/actions/ksfpw11.htm

International Days of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space

October 1 - 8 2011
No Missile Defense
Stop the Drones
Convert the Military Industrial Complex!
Bring Our War $$ Home

FOR MORE, CLICK HERE

___________________________________________
See also

Raytheon, Missile Offense & Endless War
The GN's 19th Annual Space Organizing Conference,
North Andover, Massachusetts, June 17-19 2011

___________________________________________
See also

2010 Keep Space for Peace Week 2010 우주 평화주
2009 Keep Space for Peace Week 2009 우주 평화주

Fwd: Poster for GN Space Organizing Conference - June 17-19

* Fwd from Bruce Gagnon on May 18, 2011

Poster for GN Space Organizing Conference - June 17-19

Click the image for larger view

Text Fwd: Missile defense radar to enter Puget Sound (Washington state)

* Text fwd from Bruce Gagnon on May 10, 2011

http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/2011/05/09/missile-defense-radar-to-enter-strait-monday-sound-tuesday/

Missile defense radar to enter strait Monday, sound Tuesday

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Sea-Based X-band Radar vessel will enter the Strait of Juan de Fuca late Monday and the Puget Sound [Washington state] on Tuesday, according to the agency.

“The first view of the SBX for some residents in the Pacific Northwest will likely be when the vessel is just off shore before entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca tonight,” the agency said Monday. “It should be visible from Port Angeles on Tuesday morning. The vessel can be seen from various points as it makes its way through Puget Sound to Elliott Bay and to Vigor Shipyards Seattle, arriving late Tuesday night.”

Boeing won a $27.1 million contract to perform maintenance and upgrades on the huge system. The work is set to take about three months at Seattle’s Vigor Shipyards.
People are not allowed within 100 yards of SBX while it is in navigable U.S. waters and moored at Vigor Shipyard.
....................................................

Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX) is a floating, self-propelled, mobile radar station designed to operate in high winds and heavy seas. It is part of the U.S. Defense Department Ballistic Missile Defense System.

The Sea-Based X-Band Radar is mounted on a fifth generation Norwegian-designed, Russian-built CS-50 semi-submersible twin-hulled oil-drilling platform. The hull was originally built at Vyborg Shipyard.

The radar is designed and built by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems for Boeing, the prime contractor on the project for MDA.
Cost: $900 million
More information found here


Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@mindspring.com
http://www.space4peace.org/
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/ (blog)

Text Fwd: Speakers/Program at Int'l Space Organizing Conference - June 17-19

* Text fwd from Bruce Gagnon on May 10, 2011

Please share with your local lists
Global Network 19th Annual Space Organizing Conference

Raytheon, Missile Offense, and Endless War

June 17-19
North Andover, Massachusetts

Working together to demilitarize and create a sustainable future

2011 marks the 19th anniversary of Global Network’s organizing efforts to build an international constituency to Keep Space for Peace. Each year we gather to share the latest international developments on Pentagon and aerospace industry plans for the militarization of space. We approach this conference with clarity that U.S. “missile defense” programs are actually key elements in overall Pentagon first-strike planning. The Raytheon Company, which had 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a leading builder and promoter of the missile “offense” program. Headquartered in Massachusetts, Raytheon has a manufacturing plant in Andover that builds the Patriot (PAC-3) system that is now being used by the Pentagon to help encircle Russia and China.

Speakers/Singers: Dave Webb (UK), Agneta Norberg (Sweden), Regina Hagen (Germany), J. Narayana Rao (India), Tamara Lorincz (Canada), Atsushi Fujioka (Japan), Manashi Mohanty (India), Tetsu Kitagawa (Japan), Joseph Gerson (Massachusetts), Alice Slater (New York), Carol Urner (Oregon), Loring Wirbel (Colorado), Bill Sulzman (Colorado), Bob Anderson (New Mexico), Matthew Hoey (Massachusetts), David Meieran (Pennsylvania), John Schuchardt (Massachusetts), Lisa Savage (Maine), Paki Wieland (Massachusetts), Joyce Katzberg (Rhode Island), Marty Nathan (Massachusetts), Nicole Moreau (Maine), Vanessa Lynch (Massachusetts), Mary Beth Sullivan (Maine) and Bruce Gagnon (Maine).

Plenary Panels & Workshops: Local Space Organizing Reports from key Global Network activists from around the world; Raytheon & the Military Industrial Complex: Consequences of Missile Offense Deployments in Europe and Asia; Cyber Warfare, Drones, and other new space directed technologies; Missile Defense in Europe: U.S., NATO and a New Cold War; Missile Defense Deployments in Asia: Provocative Strategy & a New Arms Race; Bring Our War $$ Home Campaign; Students Speak Out: Space Weapons Technology Impacts on Social Progress


Vigil: On Friday, June 17 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm a vigil will be held at the gates of the Raytheon production plant as the workers leave for home. Local activists have been holding vigils at the facility for years. (NW corner of Rt 133 and I-93 intersection)


Conference: Saturday, June 18 day-long conference with panel discussions and workshops held at Merrimack College. Key Global Network activists from around the world speaking about current U.S. and allies space weapons technology developments and strategies.


Concert: Tetsu Kitagawa, one of Japan's leading peace and justice singer/songwriters has been described as Japan's Bob Dylan -- early Dylan, the one engaged with people's movements. On tour in the U.S. as part of his 100 consecutive concerts for peace, nuclear abolition, and defense of Japan’s peace constitution, Kitagawa will be joined by Pat Scanlon and other musical friends for a concert on June 18 at 8:15 pm (North Parish Old Center Hall, North Andover). Open to the community, as well as to conference participants, tickets will be available at the conference and at the door for $10.


Cost: Registration for the conference is on a sliding scale. Please pay what you can best afford between $15 - $100. Registration fee includes three meals on June 17-18. (Suggested fee is $50 which covers our basic costs.)


Event Co-Sponsors: AFSC Disarmament Program; Alliance for Peace & Justice, Western Mass.; CodePink Maine; Essex Unitarian Universalist Church; House of Peace; Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home; Maine Veterans for Peace; Merrimack Valley People for Peace; New England Peace Pagoda; New Hampshire Peace Action; North Shore Coalition for Peace and Justice; Office of Mission and Ministry, Merrimack College; Peace Action Maine; Salem Peace Committee; United for Justice with Peace (Greater Boston); Veterans for Peace Chapter 9 Smedley Butler Brigade; Veterans for Peace Chapter 45 Samantha Smith; War Resisters League New England; WILPF

Registration Form:
Get the full conference program, schedule and registration brochure at: http://www.space4peace.org/

Name_____________________________Organization__________________________
Address________________City______________State______Postal Code__________
Country_______________Phone ( )__________________Email________________

□ Enclosed is my conference registration in the amount of $_______ . I/We will eat these meals: June 17 supper___
June 18 Lunch ___ June 18 supper ___ (Checks payable to Global Network)
□ Enclosed is $10 each for June 18 evening concert _______
□ Please sign me up for home hospitality on ________ for ______number of people
□ Please send me local hotel information
□ I live in the Andover area and can offer hospitality to ______guests. Contact me
□ Sorry I can’t come, but here is a donation to help cover conference expenses

Return to:

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@mindspring.com
www.space4peace.org
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/ (blog)

Text Fwd: 19th Annual Space Organizing Conference - June 17-19

*Text fwd from Bruce Gagnon on April 10, 2011

19th Annual Space Organizing Conference - June 17-19
Raytheon, Missile Offense, and Endless War
June 17-19
North Andover, Massachusetts

Working together to demilitarize and create a sustainable future


2011 marks the 19th anniversary of Global Network’s organizing efforts to build an international constituency to Keep Space for Peace. Each year we gather to share the latest international developments on Pentagon and aerospace industry plans for the militarization of space. We approach this conference with clarity that U.S. “missile defense” programs are actually key elements in overall Pentagon first-strike planning. The Raytheon Company, which had 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a leading builder and promoter of the missile “offense” program. Headquartered in Massachusetts, Raytheon has a manufacturing plant in Andover that builds the Patriot (PAC-3) system that is now being used by the Pentagon to help encircle Russia and China.


Vigil: On Friday, June 17 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm a vigil will be held at the gates of the Raytheon production plant as the workers leave for home. Local activists have been holding vigils at the facility for years. (NW corner of Rt 133 and I-93 intersection)


Conference: Saturday, June 18 day-long conference with panel discussions and workshops held at Merrimack College. Key Global Network activists from around the world speaking about current U.S. and allies space weapons technology developments and strategies.


Concert: Tetsu Kitagawa, one of Japan's leading peace and justice singer/songwriters has been described as Japan's Bob Dylan -- early Dylan, the one engaged with people's movements. On tour in the U.S. as part of his 100 consecutive concerts for peace, nuclear abolition, and defense of Japan’s peace constitution, Kitagawa will be joined by Pat Scanlon and other musical friends for a concert on June 18 at 8:15 pm (North Parish Old Center Hall, North Andover). Open to the community, as well as to conference participants, tickets will be available at the conference and at the door for $10.


Cost: Registration for the conference is on a sliding scale. Please pay what you can best afford between $15 - $100. Registration fee includes three meals on June 17-18. (Suggested fee is $50 which covers our basic costs.)


Event Co-Sponsors: AFSC Disarmament Program; Alliance for Peace & Justice, Western Mass.; Essex Unitarian Universalist Church; House of Peace; Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home; Maine Veterans for Peace (VFP); Merrimack Valley People for Peace; New England Peace Pagoda; New Hampshire Peace Action; North Shore Coalition for Peace and Justice; Office of Mission and Ministry, Merrimack College; Peace Action Maine; Salem Peace Committee; United for Justice with Peace (Greater Boston); Veterans for Peace Chapter 9 Smedley Butler Brigade; Veterans for Peace Chapter 45 Samantha Smith; War Resisters League New England


Get the full conference program, schedule and registration brochure at: http://www.space4peace.org/


Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@mindspring.com
www.space4peace.org
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/ (blog)


Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. ~Henry David Thoreau

Text Fwd: Prison Labor Help Build Patriot Missiles for Raytheon

* Text Fwd from Bruce Gagnon on March 10, 2011

Wired
Prisoners Help Build Patriot Missiles
By Noah Shachtman

This spring, the United Arab Emirates is expected to close a deal for $7 billion dollars’ worth of American arms. Nearly half of the cash will be spent on Patriot missiles, which cost as much as $5.9 million apiece.

But what makes those eye-popping sums even more shocking is that some of the workers manufacturing parts for those Patriot missiles are prisoners, earning as little as 23 cents an hour. (Credit Justin Rohrlich with the catch.)

The work is done by Unicor, previously known as Federal Prison Industries. It’s a government-owned corporation, established during the Depression, that employs about 20,000 inmates in 70 prisons to make everything from clothing to office furniture to solar panels to military electronics.

One of the company’s high-tech specialties: Patriot missile parts. “UNICOR/FPI supplies numerous electronic components and services for guided missiles, including the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile,” Unicor’s website explains. “We assemble and distribute the Intermediate Frequency Processor (IFP) for the PAC-3s seeker. The IFP receives and filters radio-frequency signals that guide the missile toward its target.”

The missiles are then marketed worldwide — sometimes by Washington’s top officials. Last year, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates pitched the Patriots to the Turkish government last year, a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks reveals: “SecDef stressed that ‘nothing can compete with the PAC-3 when it comes to capabilities.’”

Patriot assemblers Raytheon and Lockheed Martin aren’t the only defense contractors relying on prison help. As Rohrlich notes, Unicor “inmates also make cable assemblies for the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15, the General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16, Bell/Textron’s Cobra helicopter, as well as electro-optical equipment for the BAE Systems Bradley Fighting Vehicle’s laser rangefinder.”

Unicor used to make helmets for the military, as well. But that work was suspended when 44,000 helmets were recalled for shoddy quality.

Government agencies — with the exception of the Defense Department and the CIA — are required to buy goods from Unicor, according to a Congressional Research Service report (.pdf). And no wonder: the labor costs are bordering on zero. “Inmates earn from $0.23 per hour up to a maximum of $1.15 per hour, depending on their proficiency and educational level, among other things,” the report notes.

Last year, Unicor grossed $772 million, according to its most recent financial report (.pdf). Traditionally, inmate salaries make up about five percent of that total.

Unicor insists that the deal is a good one for inmates — and for the government. The manufacturing work offers a chance for job training, which “improves the likelihood that inmates will remain crime-free upon their release,” the company says in its report. (Some reports suggest that Unicor prisoners are as much as 24% less likely to return to crime.)

The work also keeps the inmates in check, Unicor insists. “In the face of an escalating inmate population and an increasing percentage of inmates with histories of violence, FPI’s programs have helped ease tension and avert volatile situations, thereby protecting lives and federal property,” the company says. “Prisons without meaningful activities for inmates are dangerous prisons, and dangerous prisons are expensive prisons.”

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@mindspring.com
http://www.space4peace.org/
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/ (blog)

Event Fwd:Save the Date: Global Network Space Organizing Confab June 17-19

* Informed from Bruce Gagnon on Feb. 11, 2011

Save the Date: Global Network Space Organizing Confab June 17-19

Raytheon, Missile Offense, and Endless War
June 17-19
North Andover, Massachusetts

Working together to demilitarize and create a sustainable future

2011 marks the 19th anniversary of Global Network’s organizing efforts to build an international constituency to Keep Space for Peace. Each year we gather to share the latest international developments on Pentagon and aerospace industry plans for the militarization of space. We approach this conference with clarity that U.S. “missile defense” programs are actually key elements in overall Pentagon first-strike planning. The Raytheon Company, which had 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a leading builder and promoter of the missile “offense” program. Headquartered in Massachusetts, Raytheon has a manufacturing plant in Andover that builds the Patriot (PAC-3) system that is now being used by the Pentagon to help encircle Russia and China.


Vigil: On Friday, June 17 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm a vigil will be held at the gates of the Raytheon production plant as the workers leave for home. Local activists have been holding vigils at the facility for years. (NW corner of Rt 133 and I-93 intersection)

Conference: Saturday, June 18 day-long conference with panel discussions and workshops held at Merrimack College. Key Global Network activists from around the world speaking about current U.S. and allies space weapons technology developments and strategies.

Concert: Tetsu Kitagawa, one of Japan's leading peace and justice singer/songwriters has been described as Japan's Bob Dylan -- early Dylan, the one engaged with people's movements. On tour in the U.S. as part of his 100 consecutive concerts for peace, nuclear abolition, and defense of Japan’s peace constitution, Kitagawa will be joined by Pat Scanlon and other musical friends for a concert on June 18 at 8:15 pm (North Parish Old Center Hall, North Andover). Open to the community, as well as to conference participants, tickets will be available at the conference and at the door for $10.

Cost: Registration for the conference is on a sliding scale. Please pay what you can best afford between $15 - $100. Registration fee includes three meals on June 17-18. (Suggested fee is $50 which covers our basic costs.)

Event Co-Sponsors: AFSC Disarmament Program; Alliance for Peace & Justice, Western Mass.; Essex Unitarian Universalist Church; House of Peace; Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home; Maine Veterans for Peace (VFP); Merrimack Valley People for Peace; New England Peace Pagoda; New Hampshire Peace Action; North Shore Coalition for Peace and Justice; Office of Mission and Ministry, Merrimack College; Peace Action Maine; Salem Peace Committee; United for Justice with Peace (Greater Boston); Veterans for Peace Chapter 9 Smedley Butler Brigade; Veterans for Peace Chapter 45 Samantha Smith; War Resisters League New England

Get the full conference program, schedule and registration brochure at: http://www.space4peace.org/

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@mindspring.com
www.space4peace.org
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/ (blog)


Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. ~Henry David Thoreau

Event Fwd: Raytheon, Missile Offense & Endless War: 19th annual GN conference

Raytheon, Missile Offense & Endless War
19th GN conference: North Andover, Massachusetts, June 17 to 19, 2011

레이시온, 미사일 공격과 끝없는 전쟁
19 번째 글로벌 넷워크 회담: 메사추세츠, 노쓰 안도버, 2011년 6월 17일~19일

To down load the brochure, Click HERE

See also Winter 2011 News letter of Global Network against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space

2011년 겨울 우주의 무기와 핵을 반대하는 글로벌 넷워크 뉴스 레터

[국문 번역] [Petition Fwd] Urgent request for action: Japan is to lift the ban on weapons export 긴급 행동 요청: 일본이 무기 수출을 금지하는 조항을 해제하는 것을 막는 행동 부탁

_____________________________________________________
* Update 2 엎데이트2

Sunday, December 12, 2010
Text Fwd: Koreans’ statement and signs for solidarity with peace-loving citizens in Japan (click)
일본 평화 시민들께 보내는 한국인들 연대 성명 및 서명(클릭)
_____________________________________________________
* Update 1 엎데이트1

Tuesday, December 7, 2010
[국 문 번역] Text Fwd: [M. S.] Japan is not to lift the ban on weapon export, at least for a while(click)
일본은 적어도 잠깐동안은 무기 수출 금지 조항을 해제하지 않을 것입니다(클릭)
_____________________________________________________

* Image source: Click HERE 여기 클릭
( Images with captions sent from M. S. on Jan. 17, 2010. Korean translations were added)
(위의 이미지들과 캡션들은 2010년 1월 17일 M. S. 가 보낸 것으로 국문 번역이 추가된 것입니다.)

Click the images for larger views 이미지를 클릭하시면 확대됩니다.

* Image source: Google 구글
'SM3 (Standard Missie3) 스탠다드 미사일 3'

* Image source: Bruce Gagnon's Organizing Notes, Oct. 5, 2010
브루스 개그논의 조직 노트 블로그, 2010년 10월 5일

____________________________________________________
* Below is the urgent letter from M. S. Japan on Dec. 3, 2010. Please send protest email or fax to the address indicated as in the bottom of her email.
* 아래는 일본의 M. S. 로부터 2010년 12월 3일 온 긴급 이 메일입니다. 이 메일의 맨 밑 주소로 팩스나 이 메일을 보내 주시길.
____________________________________________________

Dear friends,

친구 여러분,

You might have read this below article by Wikileaks, and thought many of Japanese politicians have been already coaxed.

여러분은 아래 위키 리크스의 기사를 읽으셨고 많은 정치인들이 이미 감언이설에 넘어 갔을 거라 생각할 지 모릅니다.

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2010/12/01/wikileaks-japan-coaxing-tokyo-on-its-arms-export-embargo/

That is true. And Japan's self-imposed peaceful policy of the ban on exporting weapons, which originates from the answer by the then prime minister to a question in a Diet session in 1967, is soon to be thoroughly lifted up, although part of it has already been relaxed towards the U.S.

그것은 사실입니다. 그리고 1967년 일본 내각 회기에서 질문에 대한 당시 수상의 대답에서 기인한, 무기를 수출하는 것을 금지하는 일본이 스스로 부과한 평화 정책은 미국에 대해서는 부분적으로 완화되었지만 곧 철저히 해제될 것입니다.

The reason for this move towards the liftup is because without it, the joint development of the land-based SM-3 by Raytheon and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Co. would not even succeed,
in terms of its sale, especially to Europe, since the desired sale would be impossible due to the very existence of this ban based on the spirit of the Article 9 of Japan's constitution.

해제를 위한 이 움직임의 이유는 그것이 없이는 레이시온과 미쭈비시 중공업의 지대 기반 스탠다드 미사일 3의 공동 개발이 툭히 유럽으로의 판매에 있어 성공할 수 조차 없기 때문입니다. 왜냐하면, 일본 헌법 제 9조의 정신에 기반한 이 금지의 바로 그 존재자체 때문에 원하는 판매가 불가능하기 때문입니다.

Thanks to this ban, Japan had not sold weapons during days of the Vietnam War, nor to Saddam Hussein of Iraq before the first Gulf War even though at that time there were more than 20 countries to do so, with the U.S and U.K. big beneficiaries from such sales.

이 금지 덕분에, 일본은 베트남 전쟁 당시때 무기들을 판매하지 않았으며 당시 미국과 영국이 그러한 판매들로 수혜를 입으며 20개국 이상이 그렇게 했음에도 불구, 1차 걸프 전 전에 사담 이라크의 사담 후세인에게 무기를 판매하지 않았읍니다.

This simple fact explains how this ban has effectively worked for global peace. But if the ban is lifted, the currently small sized Japan's weapon manifacturers for self-defence weapons are sure to grow without dwindling in tandem with its counterpart in the U.S.

이 단순한 사실은 어떻게 이 금지가 세계 평화를 위해 효과적으로 작용했는지 설명합니다. 그러나 이 금지가 해제된다면, 현재 자위방어를 위한 작은 규모의 일본 무기 제조업자들은 그 짝 미국과 앞뒤로 나란히 하는 것을 감퇴함없이 확실히 증대할 것입니다.

（excerpt from the above Wikilieaks article:)

(위 위키 리크스 기사로부터의 발제)

- We would like to explain the President’s decision to you before our public announcement and before we speak with Russia. We are discussing this new European approach with Poland, the Czech Republic, and NATO, as we speak.―

_ 우리는 우리의 대중 공고 이전에, 그리고 러시아 인들과 논의하기 전에 대통령의 결정을 설명하고 싶습니다. 우리는 우리가 말하는 이 순간 이 새로운 유럽으로의 접근을 폴란드, 체코 공화국, 그리고 나토와 함께 토론하고 있읍니다. -

If we could and would like to stop the near future massive sale of that kind of missiles to Europe, and maybe later to India and Southeast Asia as well, now is the only time.

우리가 유럽으로, 그리고 아마도 후에 인도와 동남아에 이러한 종류의 거대한 판매를 막을 수 있고 막으려 한다면, 지금이 유일한 시간입니다.

Our Diet dissolved on Dec.3rd, and on Dec.10th, the Cabinet is to issue its Basic Defense Program, highly likely with the revision of the Ban on Weapons Export inserted in it.

우리의 내각은 12월 3일 결의하였고 12월 10일, 대통령 자문 위원회는 무기 수출 금지 개정이 삽입된 것과 함께 기본 방어 프로그램을 발표할 것입니다.

For these few days, you could help Japanese peaceful citizens with stopping this process, by sending this email to your friends, and/or sending yourself opposition emails or faxes beginning with a phrase like this in English :

이 몇일동안 여러분은 일본의 평화 시민들이 이 이메일을 여러분 친구들에게 보내고 또는 여러분 스스로 아래와 같은 영어 제목으로 시작되는 반대 이 메일을 또는 팩스를 보내 이 과정을 막는 것을 도울 수 있읍니다.

................................................................................

― Stop the revision of the Ban on Weapons Export　―
to below addresses:

_ 아래의 주소로
'무기 수출 금지 개정을 멈춰라' 라는 제목으로 보내시길.

Prime Minister : Kan Naoto:
간 나오토 수상
email 이메일: kan-naoto@nifty.com
fax from overseas 해외로부터의 팩스:: 81-3-3595-0090

Chief Cabinet Secretary : Yoshito Sengoku:
내각 장관상: 요시토 센코쿠
Email 이메일: office@y-sengoku.com
Fax from overseas 해외로부터의 팩스: 81-3-3508-3235

Party Secretary General : Katsuya Okada
Democratic Party of Japan
일본 민주당 당 사무 국장: 카츠야 오카다
Party Fax: 당 팩스: 81-3-3595-9961
Email 이메일: webmaster@katsuya.net
Fax from overseas 해외로부터의 팩스: 81-3-3502-5047

................................................................................

You could send peaceful pressure to our politicians who have been for over 10 years under pressure to lift the ban by economic circles of the U.S. and of Japan.

여러분은 지난 10년 동안 미국과 일본의 경제 그룹들에 의해 금지를 해제하도록 압박 받아온 우리 정치인들에게 평화적인 압력을 보낼 수 있읍니다.

Thank you in advance.

미리 감사드립니다.

Best regards,

성심으로,

M. S.

M. S.

A Japanese member of Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space

우주의 무기와 핵을 반대하는 글로벌 넷워크 일본 자문 위원

space4peace.org

Text Fwd: Japanese Air Force Tests Anti-Ballistic Missiles In U.S. 일본 공군, 미국에서 대항 미사일 실험

* Image source: same as the link

Stop NATO

Raytheon Company
November 10, 2010
Japanese Troops Successful in Patriot Test Firings
TEWKSBURY, Mass. - The Japanese Air Self Defense Forces (JASDF) successfully concluded its annual training exercise at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The exercise included target engagement and successful test firings of the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System in tactical mission configurations. Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) provided operational support for JASDF's Annual Service Practice (ASP).

"It's a great team effort by JASDF, Mitsubishi Heavy Industry (MHI) and Raytheon, focused on mission success," said Sanjay Kapoor, vice president for Patriot Programs at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS)....

Patriot fire unit crews operating Raytheon's Configuration-3 systems conducted numerous missions against various targets during the course of the ASP, which took place from September through November. Approximately 375 JASDF personnel participated in this year's missions.

Japan is one of the 12 nations that have selected the combat-proven Patriot as a key component of their air and missile defense program.

Raytheon IDS is the prime contractor for both domestic and international Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems and system integrator for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles. MHI is the prime contractor for Patriot in Japan and manufactures the Guidance Enhanced Missile and related ground equipment for Japan under a license agreement with Raytheon.

===========================
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Text Fwd: Spy plane development hits snag 백두 정찰기 사업 난항

* Image & caption source: A plastic model of the Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft / Korea Times

Korea Times
Spy plane development hits snag
11-02-2010
Arms agency blamed for delaying procurement programs
By Jung Sung-ki

A plan to develop a new reconnaissance aircraft to gather North Korean signal intelligence (SIGINT) has hit a snag after one of the two contenders dropped its bid, a source said Tuesday.

The contender in question — Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) — blamed the government for offering too small a budget and poor management of arms procurement programs, the source said.

As a result, the deployment of two Baekdu signal-intelligence (SIGINT) planes, which was originally planned for 2014, will be postponed, affecting the country’s pursuit of an independent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability to prepare for the 2015 transition of wartime operational command from the United States to Korea.

“KAI didn’t submit its proposal until the Oct. 29 deadline, while its competitor, Korean Air, presented its proposal to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA),” the source told The Korea Times. DAPA was supposed to select the preferred bidder Nov. 5 after reviewing the proposals from the two aircraft companies.

According to the source, KAI believes the allocated budget of some 90 billion won ($80 million) is too small to develop an advanced SIGINT plane. The aircraft manufacturer also claims there are too many risks to meet the required operational capability of the high-tech plane.

“For example, the military has demanded that the new Baekdu aircraft be equipped with domestically-built SIGINT equipment,” said the source. “But local precision electronics makers — Samsung Thales and LIG Nex1 — have only developed SIGINT equipment for ships. They have to make the naval equipment suitable for aircraft.”

It’s rare to install a ship-based SIGINT device on a surveillance aircraft, he said.

The Air Force currently operates four Raytheon Hawker 800XP aircraft-based Baekdu SIGINT planes bought in 2000. Equipped with a remote control and signaling system, the Baekdu plane flies near the border with North Korea to gather signals intelligence.

Fitted with more advanced signal and communications equipment, the new Baekdu planes would be able to detect and gather signals from missile and nuclear sites in the North around the clock.

The fiasco of the Baekdu project is the latest in a series of delays in key arms procurement programs due to DAPA’s poor management.

DAPA has failed to conclude a deal on the purchase of up-to-date military transport planes due to a disagreement on the price of the product, according to industry sources.

The failure in the projected contract of the C-130J Super Hercules built by U.S. Lockheed Martin was largely due to a “miscalculation” of the program costs by the arms agency, they say.

“The agency was trying hard in recent months to revive the negotiations over the C-130J purchase, but there is a large gap between the DAPA-estimated costs and those presented by Lockheed Martin,” a foreign industry official said.

“DAPA focuses too much on low cost arms programs but often falls short of its goals of effectiveness and professionalism in arms acquisition,” the official said. “That’s good for South Korean interests in some sense, but you should keep in mind that the top priority for soldiers in the field is to get the right systems at the right time.”

He continued, “When a contract is delayed past the planned time frame or to next year, costs for spare parts, for example, are often readjusted, so price negotiations must begin from scratch.”

DAPA was also blamed for a legal dispute earlier this year over the Tactical Information Communication Network (TICN).

Samsung Thales, one of the main bidders for the 4 trillion won program, argued that the agency changed the standards of evaluation in an arbitrary manner in favor of its competitor LIG Nex1.

The company then filed for an injunction to prevent DAPA from proceeding with the program, and the court upheld the appeal.

Samsung Thales voluntarily withdrew its lawsuit last month to get the program going. But due to a year-long dispute, the development of TICN is to be postponed by a year to 2014.

TICN is a cutting-edge digital command-and-control and sensor-to-shooter battlefield system expected to replace the existing SPIDER communication systems run by the Army by 2020.

It is designed to advance into a high-speed, large-capacity, long-distance wireless relay transmission system. SPIDER can only transmit still images and voice data, but TICN allows for the integrated transmission of video, image and voice data at more than 10 times the current speed.
_______________________________________________

[단독] 백두 정찰기 사업 난항

- 잇따른 주요 무기사업 지연에 방위사업청 사업관리 능력 도마위에

정성기 기자

북한 미사일과 핵시설의 신호를 수집하는 정찰기 사업이 난항을 겪고 있는 것으로 확인됐다.
최근 잇따른 주요 무기체계 사업이 지연되거나 법률 소송에 휘말리는 등 방위사업청의 사업관리 능력에 대한 비판이 잇따르고 있다.

소식통에 의하면 신형 백두 정찰기 사업에 체계통합 업체로 참여할 예정이었던 한국항공우주산업(KAI)이 지난 10월 29일 마감 시한까지 입찰 제안서를 제출하지 않았다.

KAI측은 해당 사업의 예산이 너무 낮게 책정되어 있고 체계개발 방안이 국방과학연구소 주도에서 업체 주도로 갑자기 변경되는 등의 ‘리스크’를 이유로 든 것으로 알려진다.

결국 신형 백두 신호수집 정찰기를 2014년까지 2대 배치 하겠다는 계획에는 차질이 빚어질 것으로 보인다. 한국군은 2015년 전시작전권 전환에 맞춰 독자적인 정보수집, 감시, 정찰 능력을 강화하는데 힘쓰고 있으며 백두 정찰기 배치는 이러한 노력의 핵심 무기 사업이다.

소식통은 “KAI는 지난 29일 마감시한까지 입찰 제안서를 제출하지 않았고, 대한항공만 제출한 상태”라며 “원래는 11월 5일 우선협상 대상자를 선정할 계획이었으나 이에 차질이 빚어질 것으로 보인다”라고 말했다.

그는 “KAI측은 약 900억원 정도로 책정되어 있는 예산이 너무 적고 군이 요구하는 성능을 업체 주관으로 개발하는 데에는 리스크가 많다라는 이유로 입찰을 포기한 것으로 안다”라고 말했다.

소식통은 “예를 들어, 군에선 백두 정찰기에 국내개발된 SIGINT 장비 탑재를 원하고 있지만 현재 국내 개발업체인 삼성탈레스와 LIG Nex1은 함정용 SIGING장비만을 개발한 상태” 라며 “함정용 장비를 개조해 정찰 항공기에 탑재하는 것은 드문 일이기 때문에 성능에 대한 리스크가 분명히 있을 것”이라고 말했다.

신형 백두정찰기는 북한의 핵과 미사일 기지를 24시간 감시하며 신호를 탐지 및 수집하는 역할을 하게 된다.

백두 정찰기 사업과 같이 최근 주요무기 사업이 지연되는데에는 방사청의 사업 관리 부실에 책임이 있다는 지적이 일고 있다.

방사청은 올해 초 마무리를 짓기로 예정되어 있던 대형수송기 구매 사업도 가격 협상 실패로 난항을 겪고 있는 것으로 알려진다.

업계 관계자들은 애초부터 너무 낮은 가격으로 협상에 임하면서 C-130J 제조사인 록히드마틴사와 큰 입장 차를 보였다고 전한다.

한 외국 업계 관계자는 “방사청은 최근 C-130J 협상타결을 위해 최대한 노력했지만 양측의 가격차가 너무 커서 이견을 좁히는 데 어려움이 있는 것으로 안다”고 말했다.

그는 “방사청은 싼 가격으로 무기를 들여오는데 너무 집중하지만 결국 무기 도입의 효율성과 전문성에는 부족함을 드러내는 게 사실이다”라며 “싼 가격의 무기 도입은 국익에 일면 국익에 도움이 되긴 하겠지만, 야전에 배치된 병사들은 필요한 무기가 제때 들어오기를 바라는 점은 간과하고 있는 것”이라고 꼬집었다.

그는 또 “계약이 기한을 넘거나 한 해를 넘길 경우 부품 가격은 올라가거나 다시 재조정되야 하고 결국 가격 협상은 처음부터 다시 해야 하는 번거로움이 있다”라고 불만을 토로했다.

방사청의 사업관리 부실은 법률 소송으로 비화됐던 TICN 전술통신체계 사업에서 여실히 드러난다.

입찰업체였던 삼성탈레스는 방위사업청이 경쟁사인 LIG Nex1에게 유리하도록 평가 기준을 바꿨다는 점에 이의를 제기, 가처분 소송을 진행하기까지 이르렀다.

법원은 삼성탈레스의 입장에 손을 들어줬지만 지난달 업체 측이 자발적으로 소송을 취하하면서 논란은 일단락 됐다. 하지만 이와 같은 일년 간의 논쟁과 법률 소송으로 4조원 가량의 TICN개발과 전력화는 적어도 1년 가량 지연될 전망이다.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

Text Fwd: Navy tests new "bunker buster" warhead [미 해군] 새로운 "벙커 버스터" 탄두 실험

* image source: same as the link:
'November 1, 2010 | Navy/Raytheon
The new warhead will be added to some warships in San Diego'

Defense News letter, Nov. 1, 2010
Sign on San Diego
Navy tests new "bunker buster" warhead
By Gary Robbins
Originally published October 31, 2010

Raytheon says in a news release that it worked with the Navy over the summer to successfully test a new, more powerful version of the warhead that's carried on the Tactical Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile. The warhead will enhance the ability of missile to penetrate bunkers, the company says.

The Tactical Tomahawk is already stocked on some San Diego-based warships, and the new warhead would become part of the fleet's ordnance, if follow-on testing is successful.

The test of the Joint Multi-Effects Warhead System (JMEWS) was conducted on Aug. 16 at Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake. The research, much of which is classified, was announced only last week. (I've been on vacation; I'm just catching up with the news.)

Capt. Dave Davison, the Navy's program manager for Tomahawk Weapons Systems, said in the same news release that, "This static test of the JMEWS program brings this powerful capability one step closer to potential integration into the Tactical Tomahawk Block IV missile, delivering enhanced capabilities to the operationally proven system. This first test demonstrates that the program is on schedule and moving forward as planned."

Text Fwd: Raytheon To Expand Anti-Ballistic Missile Sales In Persian Gulf 레이시온, 페르시아 만에 패트리어트 미사일 시스템 확장 계획

StopNATO
Bloomberg News
October 31, 2010
Raytheon Plans to Expand Patriot Missile System in Persian Gulf
By Glen Carey


Raytheon Co., the world’s largest missile maker, plans to expand its Patriot
air-defense system in the Persian Gulf as the world’s biggest oil-producing
region strengthens its missile-defense, naval and air forces.

In Saudi Arabia, “we got an upgrade to the Patriot system that is in
process,” Thomas Culligan, chief executive officer of Raytheon International
Inc., told reporters late yesterday in Riyadh. “Hopefully, we will get a
contract signed on that.”

Kuwait is upgrading and buying additional units, and Qatar “is looking at”
the system, Culligan said. The United Arab Emirates bought a missile-defense
system at a value not exceeding $3.3 billion at the end of 2008, according to a
Raytheon statement on the company’s website.

Raytheon, based in Waltham, Massachusetts will provide as much as $4 billion in
military equipment to Saudi Arabia as part of a larger U.S. weapons package to
the kingdom, Culligan said. The U.S. Defense Department notified Congress on
Oct. 20 that it plans to sell Saudi Arabia up to $60 billion in weapons to help
confront threats from Iran and violent extremists based in Yemen.

The proposed sale, which may be the largest to another country in U.S. history
if all purchases are made, includes Boeing Co. F-15 fighter jets and attack
helicopters.

Saudi Upgrade

Saudi Arabia is upgrading its military after fighting for the three months
Shiite Muslim insurgents along its border with Yemen. The Saudi military used
Apache helicopters, F-15 jet fighters and artillery to dislodge the Houthi
rebels after they seized territory in the kingdom. Fighting stopped in February.

The regional threat “is always an issue,” Culligan said. “I think that is
driving some of this too. There is air defense but now you are moving to much
more missile defense.”

Raytheon will supply advanced radar for F-15 planes for the kingdom’s Ministry
of Defense and Aviation, Culligan said. Raytheon is also interested in expanding
its training facilities and providing “homeland security” services and cyber
protection in the kingdom, he said.

Saudi Arabia’s last significant U.S. weapons purchase was for 72 F-15s in
1992, a transaction valued at as much as $9 billion. The final instalment of
those planes was delivered in November 1999. Saudi Arabia was among the top
three buyers of U.S. defense equipment and services in three periods examined by
the Congressional Research Service since fiscal 2001.
....
===========================
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Blog site

Text Fwd: U.S. Missile Agency Agency Awards Raytheon $175M For Japan Deal [레이시온, 미사일 방어국에게 일본 거래로 1.75억 달러 제공]

Business Week
U.S. Missile Agency Agency Awards Raytheon $175M For Japan Deal
Associated Press
September 27, 2010

Raytheon awarded $175 million contract

The Missile Defense Agency has awarded Raytheon Company a $175 million
development contract, the defense company said Monday.

Under the contract, Raytheon will work with partners in Japan on the cooperative
engineering and development efforts for the SM-3 Block IIA missile through the
preliminary design process. The contract also includes an option for future
studies totaling $9.8 million.

Raytheon and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, under contract to the MDA and Japan's
Ministry of Defense, are developing the next-generation SM-3 Block IIA missile,
scheduled to begin flight testing in 2014. The company says the new missile will
include larger second- and third-stage rocket motors and a larger kinetic
warhead to provide a greater area of defense against sophisticated threats.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phoenix Business Journal
September 27, 2010
Raytheon gets $175M Japan contract


Raytheon Co. has received a $175 million contract from the Missile Defense
Agency for a development program with Japan.

The contract continues engineering and development efforts for the SM-3 Block
IIA missile, the next generation of which is scheduled to begin test flights in
2014.

The missile, being developed out of the company’s operations in Tucson, will
be built with larger motors and warheads to make it more effective against
various targets.

The contract covers preliminary design revue, scheduled for early 2011.

Raytheon expects to deploy the missile by 2018 in Europe. It is being developed
by the Department of Defense’s MDA and the U.S. Navy’s Aegis Ballistic
Missile Defense System.
===========================
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Blog site

Text Fwd: Pentagon Star Wars Satellite Achieves Milestone 미 국방부 우주 전쟁 위성 이정표를 이룩하다

* Image source: cryptome.org
( Original source: New York Times, May 3, 2006
'An aerial view of Starfire, a government observatory in New Mexico where laser work is being done.'

* Image source: cryptome.org
(Original source: http://www.de.afrl.af.mil/Gallery/Images/Full/Domes.jpg
(50% reduction below)
'This sodium laser—being fired from the Starfire Optical Range on Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico—is used with deformable optics to help eliminate atmospheric distortions when gathering images of objects in space. '

* Image source: New York Times, May 3, 2006
'Graphic: Sharpening a Laser Beam to Create a weapon'
_____________________________________________________________

Stop NATO

United Press International
Security Industry
Defense satellite achieves milestone
Published: Sept. 20, 2010 at 11:55 AM


REDONDO BEACH, Calif. - A demonstration U.S. missile defense satellite in orbit autonomously transferred target track data from its acquisition sensor to its tracking sensor.

Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, which built the Space Tracking and Surveillance System satellite for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, said the successful transfer was the first time the capability had been executed in space as part of the STSS program.

"This is a major success for the STSS program," Gabe Watson, vice president of missile defense and missile warning programs for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector said. "We proved that the STSS satellites can autonomously transition from target acquisition and track mode using the acquisition sensor to target precision track mode using the multiple band track sensor,

"All of these operations occurred as intended, with no operator intervention. This is the same type and sequence of functions that will be performed on-board during subsequent MDA missile tests."

The data hand-off occurred when the MDA satellite acquired a ground laser operated and pointed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory from the Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland Air Force Base near Albuquerque.

Once the acquisition sensor acquired the ground laser, it formed a confirmed track, which was passed to the track sensor. The track sensor slewed and pointed to the coordinates reported by the acquisition sensor, detected the ground laser and formed an on-board track of the ground laser.

Data were transmitted to the STSS ground systems located at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.
===========================
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Text Fwd: [Exclusive] New spy planes to be deployed by 2014

A plastic model of the Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft
/ Korea Times photo by Jung Sung-ki

Korea Times
Signal, communications intelligence from NK missile, nulcear sites to be monitored
By Jung Sung-ki, Staff reporter
June 28, 2010

South Korea plans to deploy two new reconnaissance aircraft to be used in gathering North Korean signal intelligence by 2014, a year before taking over wartime operational control of its troops, defense and procurement officials said Monday.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) will release a request for proposals next month to local and foreign bidders who wish to participate in the integration of the new "Baekdu" signal-intelligence (SIGINT) planes. Final bidders will be selected by year's end.

The South Korean Air Force currently operates four Raytheon Hawker 800XP aircraft-based Baekdu SIGINT planes bought in 2000. Equipped with a remote control and signaling system, the Baekdu plane flies near the border with North Korea to gather signal intelligence.

The acquisition of upgraded Baekdu planes was proposed last year after North Korea conducted its second underground nuclear test in April. Fitted with more advanced signal and communications intelligence equipment, the new Baekdu would be able to detect and gather signals from missile and nuclear sites in the North around the clock.

"The Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft is one of the ROK military's key intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets, the key element for Seoul's takeover of OPCON," an official privy to the second-phase Baekdu acqusition program told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.

"Baekdu planes and other ISR systems are scheduled to be operational with the ROK military by 2014 and 2015. I believe those time frames have apparently affected the latest readjustment of the timeline for the OPCON transition," he said.

The aircraft will be delivered to the Air Force by 2012 before beginning full operations by 2014, the official added.

LIG Nex1 and Samsung Thales, two rival precision electronics companies in South Korea, will bid to supply communication, electronic and foreign instrumentation signals intelligence systems, while U.S. company Gulfstream Aerospace and Canada's Bombardier will compete to make the airframes.

Korea Aerospace Industries, South Korea's only aircraft maker, and the national flag-carrier Korean Air will bid to perform the systems integration.

Officials at Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of National Defense cited Seoul's lack of ISR systems as a main reason why the leaders of South Korea and the United States agreed to delay the transfer of OPCON to Dec. 1, 2015.

"By 2015, our military will be better equipped with intelligence-gathering, C4I, combined fire-control and precision-strike systems," Jang Kwang-il, deputy minister for policy, told reporters. "That means the ROK military will have an improved capability to lead combat operations on the peninsula and be able to take over OPCON in a more stable manner."

South Korea had sought to buy four Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles by 2011 to beef up its independent ISR capability for its takeover of OPCON in 2012. But the timeline was delayed to 2015 due to budget constraints and restrictions on overseas sales of the high-end aircraft.

The Global Hawk can survey vast areas with near pinpoint accuracy from as high as 65,000 feet for up to 35 straight hours.

The ROK Air Force operates four Geumgang aircraft that collect imagery with synthetic aperture and moving target indicator radars.

The Guemgang, based in Seongnam air base, has a mission of taking pictures of key North Korean facilities 70 to 80 kilometers away from the border by flying near the Military Demarcation Line.



[단독] 신형 대북 정찰기 2014년 전력화

정성기 기자

북한의 통신 정보를 수집하는 신형 '백두' 대북 정찰기 2대가 2015년 전시작전통제권 환수 1년 전인 2014년에 전력화 예정인 것으로 확인됐다.

방사청은 다음달 사업제안 요청서를 해당 업체에 발송해 경쟁입찰을 시작한다. 최종 기종선택은 올 연말께 이뤄질 예정이다.

현재 한국 공군은 미국 레이시온사의 800XP기종을 개조한 4대의 백두 통신.감청기를 2000년부터 운용중이다.

군 관계자에 따르면 신형 백두정찰기 사업은 작년 4월 북한이 2차 핵실험을 감행한 이후 소요가 제기 된 것으로 알려진다. 신형 백두 정찰기는 업그레이드된 신호.통신.정보수집 장비를 탑재하여 북한의 미사일과 핵시설에서 발생하는 특정 신호음을 포착할 수 있다.

한 군 소식통은 "백두 정찰기는 대한민국 정보.감시.정찰 자산의 핵심 장비이자 전시작전통제권 환수의 핵심 전력"이라며 "백두 정찰기와 다른 정보감시 장비가 2014년과 2015년 경 전력화가 이루어지는 스케줄이 분명히 전작권 전환 시기 연기에 감안이 됐을 것"이라고 말했다.

2차 백두 사업에는 LIG Nex1과 삼성탈레스가 통신, 전자, 신호정보 장치 납품에 경쟁하고 있으며 미국의 걸프스트림사와 캐나다의 봄바디어 사가 동체 납품에 경쟁하고 있다.한국항공우주산업과 대한항공은 백두정찰기 체계통합 사업에 경쟁할 것으로 보인다.

청와대와 군 관계자들은 이미 정보.감시.정찰 장비 부족이 전작권 전환 시기 연기의 주된 이유임을 밝힌 바 있다.

국방부 장광일 정책 실장은 "2015년경에 우리군의 정보 능력, c4i, 합동화력운용체제, 정밀 타격능력 등 핵심 전력이 2012년 보다 더욱 구비되어 한국군이 주도적인 역할을 수행할 수 있는 여건이 보다 향상될 것"이라고 말했다.

한국군은 당초 2011년까지 미국의 글로벌호크 무인 정찰기 도입을 추진해 왔으나 예산부족과 글로벌호크 해외판매 제한 사항때문에 도입 시기를 2015년경으로 미뤄놓은 상태다.

현재 한국 공군은 백두 정찰기 외에 금강 영상수집기를 4대 운용하고 있다. 성남 기지에서 운용중인 금강 정찰기는 MDL 이북 70-80키로 지역에 있는 북한 핵심 시설들을 촬영하는 임무를 갖고 있다.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

Text Fwd: Japan: Okinawa Decision Has Interceptor Missile Element Aimed At China

* Text informed by Rick Rozoff

Aviation Week
May 25, 2010
Okinawa Decision Has Missile Defense Element
By David A. Fulghum


-The initial Okinawa-based F-15 unit worked out tactics for cruise missile defense while stationed in Alaska. Two years ago the unit made the shift to Japan’s southernmost airbase, which has responsibility for an area of operations that extends to within about 20 miles of China.
The newest twist is that the U.S. Air National Guard and Raytheon are talking about demonstration of an air-launched, hit-to-kill missile called the network-centric airborne defense element (NCADE) for a ballistic missile defense mission. It uses an Aim-120 Amraam missile body and extends the range far enough to support an anti-ballistic missile mission.


By backpedaling on a campaign promise to move a U.S. Marine Corps airbase from Okinawa, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama may have nonetheless secured additional airborne cruise missile and tactical ballistic missile defenses for Japan.

China is seen as the cruise missile threat since it has developed a new, faster, long-range weapon that can be launched from its Su-27MKK strike fighter fleet....

Okinawa is already home to the first wing of U.S. Air Force Boeing F-15Cs carrying an older model of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. The Raytheon-designed radar essentially increases the aircraft’s radar range from about 50 miles to around 150 miles (horizontal or vertical) and it allows the fighters to detect small and stealthy targets in time to intercept cruise missiles with specially designed AIM-120C-6 and AIM-120D Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (Amraam) weapons.

U.S. defense officials tell AVIATION WEEK that more AESA-equipped fighters will be stationed in Okinawa to further beef up the anti-missile forces already there. The initial Okinawa-based F-15 unit worked out tactics for cruise missile defense while stationed in Alaska. Two years ago the unit made the shift to Japan’s southernmost airbase, which has responsibility for an area of operations that extends to within about 20 miles of China.

The newest twist is that the U.S. Air National Guard and Raytheon are talking about demonstration of an air-launched, hit-to-kill missile called the network-centric airborne defense element (NCADE) for a ballistic missile defense mission. It uses an Aim-120 Amraam missile body and extends the range far enough to support an anti-ballistic missile mission.

The Guard revealed in late April that it had started upgrades of its Golden Eagle F-15C fleet starting with the Florida ANG’s 125th Fighter Wing, followed by units in Massachusetts and Montana.

“We’re embracing an air-launched concept for theater ballistic missile defense as a deterrent and as a tactical capability to protect our forces in-theater and for homeland defense,” says Maj. Todd Giggy, the 125th’s chief of weapons and tactics.

USAF F-22s also carry AESA radars, as will both the Air Force’s active fleet of 220 F-15Es, with the APG-82(V)4 radar, and Air National Guard F-15s, with the APG-63(V)3 radar.

Leading officials have not mentioned specifics in public, but in explaining his reversal on keeping U.S. forces on Okinawa the Japanese prime minister said he now had a better appreciation of their role as a deterrent in the region.

Still, there was a public outcry from some Okinawa residents after the announcement that Japan would stick with the 2006 agreement it had reached with the U.S. over basing. That deal called for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to be moved to the less-populated north side of Okinawa rather than off the island.

In a visit there, Prime Minister Hatoyama offered his apology “for causing much confusion” by first supporting opposition to the Okinawa rebasing and then accepting it after public furor was expressed. It was his second visit this month.
===========================
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Text Fwd: US Defense Firms Considers Transparency Pledge

Korea Times
02-19-2010 18:08
[Exclusive] US Defense Firms Considers Transparency Pledge
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

Representatives from U.S. defense firms doing business here have discussed the idea of submitting a declaration of transparency to Cheong Wa Dae, amid Seoul's crackdown on irregular weapons acquisition deals, an industry source said Friday.

During a meeting at the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Korea in Seoul, Tuesday, some of the executive officers complained that the proposed policy to fight corruption in arms deals was too rigid and not realistic, the source said, requesting anonymity.

Participants included representatives from Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and General Electric, he said.

"The representatives were engaged in a debate over arms acquisition policy that has been proposed by the government," the source told The Korea Times.

"They put forward the idea of presenting a pledge of transparency to the presidential office as part of anti-corruption efforts but failed to reach an agreement."

In recent months, President Lee Myung-bak and other government officials have called for a new arms-buying mechanism, citing rampant corruption in arms contracts such as overblown commissions for purchasing arms overseas, inflated unit costs and the leakage of classified military information.

Against this backdrop, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said late last year in a report to President Lee that the government would reduce the amount of arms bought through the roughly 600 arms agents who do business in the country.

Instead of such commercial sales, which currently account for 65 percent of procurement, the ministry will encourage more government-to-government foreign military acquisition programs, the minister said.

Officially, the arms agents receive about 3-5 percent in commissions from procurement spending, but industry officials said their actual take is much higher, particularly in large deals. So the government wants to introduce a standard price cap on the payments.

"Most of the participants at the AMCHAM meeting discussed ways of meeting the new standards, but some of them complained of the Korean government's rigid approach to the issue," said the source.

A Lockheed Martin executive officer said the current commission payments rate is quite low, so agents sometimes engage in behind-the-scenes deals.

He argued that reducing the number of agents would not be a fundamental solution in that context.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

Text Fwd: Taiwan: Raytheon Gets $1.1 Billion Advanced Patriot Missile Order

Text Fwd fro Rick Rozoff (StopNATO) on Dec. 24, 2009

Defense News
December 23, 2009
Raytheon Gets $1.1B Patriot Missile Systems Order From Taiwan
By ANTONIE BOESSENKOOL

-Configuration 3 is Raytheon's most advanced Patriot system and allows the use of Lockheed Martin's Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles Raytheon's Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T) missiles and allows missile launchers to be placed miles in front of the radar of the system, rather than right next to the radar as in earlier Patriot systems.
-"We've been in Taiwan for 40 years. We are embedded (there) and are honored that they continue to trust Raytheon with the defense of their country."

Raytheon received a $1.1 billion order from Taiwan for new Patriot missile systems, Raytheon said Dec. 23.

The order for the four new Patriot fire units, made as a Foreign Military Sale, is a $966 million contract for ground-system hardware and a $134 million contract for spares. It will include new advances in technology, improved man-machine interface and reduced life-cycle costs, Raytheon said.

Raytheon already won smaller contracts for Taiwan in January 2009 and in 2008 for upgrades to the Patriot systems the country already had. Those contracts were to upgrade the systems to Configuration 3, the same upgrade the company is completing for the U.S. Army.

Configuration 3 is Raytheon's most advanced Patriot system and allows the use of Lockheed Martin's Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles Raytheon's Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T) missiles and allows missile launchers to be placed miles in front of the radar of the system, rather than right next to the radar as in earlier Patriot systems.

The four new systems under the latest contract will be built as Configuration 3 systems, said Dan Smith, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems president.

"We've been in Taiwan for 40 years," Smith said. "We are embedded (there) and are honored that they continue to trust Raytheon with the defense of their country."

Twelve countries, including the U.S., are Patriot system customers. Raytheon is in discussions with customer countries that haven't yet upgraded to the Configuration-3 status, like Saudi Arabia, and is looking at adding new customers, like Turkey, which currently has a competition going for an air and missile defense system.

"With the countries that have not yet upgraded to the Config 3 baseline, we are in discussions with those countries, along with the U.S. Army, in terms of getting their plans in order to upgrade to the baseline for all nations," Smith said.

Raytheon, based in Tewksbury, Mass., is the prime contractor for Patriot air and missile defense systems and system integrator for PAC-3 missiles.
===========================
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Text Fwd: US Wants S. Korea, Gulf States, India, Germany In Missile Shield

* Informed by Rick Rozoff
09-22-2009 21:50
South Korea Negative on Joining US Missile Shield
By Jung Sung-ki, Staff Reporter

South Korea has no plan to participate in the U.S.-led global ballistic missile defense (BMD) network, an official at the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday.

The remark came in a response to a local news report that the U.S. administration of President Barack Obama may ask South Korea to join the missile shield initiative despite its recent modification of the BMD plan.

In a major policy reversal, the U.S. government announced that it would scuttle plans to build a massive ground-based missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland that the previous Bush administration intended to use to counter the threat posed by Iranian ballistic missiles.

Instead, Obama favors shorter-range ground- and sea-based missiles positioned closer to Iran, similar to the systems being put in place in South Korea against North Korea's missile threat.

The report cited a report written by the Missile Defense Agency affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense, describing South Korea as one of the nations to potentially join the BMD effort.

The report categorized South Korea, Bahrain, France, Germany, India, Qatar and some other nations as the ``nations expressing interest in missile defense.''

Pundits say the categorization could be construed as a sign of a U.S. future request that South Korea take part in the missile defense plan.

``There has been no change in our position not to participate in the U.S. BMD network since the previous Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations,'' the official said, asking not to be named.

The Obama administration has made no request on the issue to the Seoul government, and there has not been any bilateral consultation on that matter, he noted.

Washington has long sought Seoul's participation in its BMD initiative, but the previous liberal governments here were negative about the issue, citing financial constraints and anti-U.S. public sentiment.

The atmosphere apparently changed since the inauguration of President Lee Myung-bak in February last year as the conservative government puts a priority on developing the Seoul-Washington alliance into a strategic partnership that looks beyond the Korean Peninsula.

Sources say the Lee government wants to cooperate with the U.S. BMD plan, short of fully joining the system, to improve interoperability with the U.S. military after 2012, when South Korea takes over operational control of its forces during wartime from the United States.

Currently, South Korea is on track to build an independent theater missile shield that can intercept short- and intermediate-range missiles from North Korea. The low-tier missile shield, aimed at intercepting targets about 40 kilometers north of Seoul, will include refurbished PAC-3 interceptors from Germany and reach initial operational capability by 2010.

Full operational capability is expected by 2012, when two sets of missile early-warning radar systems and three 7,600-ton KDX-III Aegis-equipped destroyers will be in service. South Korea's Navy has commissioned two Sejong the Great-class destroyers armed with the Aegis air warfare defense system built by Lockheed Martin and plans to set afloat one more ship by 2012.

Aegis destroyers are armed with Raytheon's tactical SM-2 Block IIIA/B ship-to-air missiles. The Navy also is eyeing the state-of-the-art SM-6 extended-range missile being developed by Raytheon and the U.S. Navy.

Last week, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced a plan to purchase Israel's Super Green Pine ballistic missile early warning radars with a detection range of more than 500 kilometers.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr