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Americas

• Reuters has revealed that the Venezuelan government has stockpiles of 5,000 Russian made MANPAD surface-to-air weapons. The stash of SA-24 missiles is the largest known stockpile in Latin America and is a source of concern for US officials amid the country’s mounting turmoil, where anti-government protests against the socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, has resulted in deaths. Weapons experts said there have long been fears that the weapons could be stolen, sold or somehow channeled to the wrong hands, concerns exacerbated by the current civil unrest in Venezuela and the economic crisis roiling the oil-producing nation.

• Lockheed Martin has won a $137.8 million contract modification for cost-reduction programs for the initial low-rate production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Fiscal 2016 aircraft procurement funds from the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps of $137.8 million will be allocated to the program, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Eighty percent of the modification will go to the Air Force, with the rest split between the Navy and Marine Corps. Scheduled to be completed by December 2020, work will take place at Waco, Texas, El Segundo, Calif. and Warton, England, with other work being completed across the United States.

• Boeing has been awarded a $1.09 billion undefinitized modification to a previously awarded contract for the procurement of Redesigned Kill Vehicle development. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) made the award, with work to include, but not limited to, payload development, payload ground testing, integration with the Ground-based Interceptor (GBI) and Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Ground system, flight testing and four initial production RKVs for initial fielding. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the program to $5.84 billion.

Middle East & North Africa

• In addition to its deal to build Blackhawk helicopters in the kingdom, Lockheed Martin will develop a $28 billion air and missile defense program that will include the THAAD ballistic missile defense system, the anti-aircraft missile Patriot, 150 utility Blackhawk helicopters, and other systems and logistical support. The program is projected to support 18,000 skilled jobs in the US, along with thousands of jobs maintaining the equipment in Saudi Arabia for the next 30 years. It had been reported that Riyadh was interested in THAAD ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit last weekend.

• Israel Military Industries (IMI) has unveiled a new precision rocket system for special forces’ operating in urban environments. The ACCULAR system is a 122mm rocket with a 44-pound penetration or controlled fragmentation warhead with a range of 27 miles. It was developed to respond to a need by forces who operated beyond the range of traditional artillery fire support.

Europe

• Malta has taken delivery of its third King Air maritime patrol aircraft. The $18 million purchase was made possible due to funds made available by the European Union (EU), and will go towards improving the Mediterranean island’s situational awareness with the ability to have a maritime domain awareness picture and advanced navigational capabilities. The previous two aircraft had been commissioned in 2011 and 2012 respectively

Asia Pacific

• Japanese firms have partnered with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to work on rival projects to develop new radars that will enhance Japan’s shield against any North Korean missile strike. Mitsubishi Electric Corp have paired with Raytheon, while Lockheed is working with Fujitsu Ltd in an effort to extend the range of Japan’s detection and targeting radars multiple times beyond range of models currently deployed at sea. Tokyo’s announcement comes as the government forge ahead with a plan to acquire the Aegis Ashore system ahead of THAAD.

• The Indian government is likely to approve an Army plan to to buy 11 AH-64 attack helicopters. A previous batch of 22 Apaches had been ordered for the Air Force in 2015, but an initial procurement designated for the Army had been rejected by the previous government. The additional helicopters will now be purchased out of an optional clause in the original 2015 deal through the US Foreign Military Sales program.

Today’s Video

• IMI’s ACCULAR:

Republicans have long panned the U.S. tax system; now they have a plan to change it. In fact, two plans. The first comes from Congress, the second from the White House. The congressional “Better Way” plan, championed by Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House, and Kevin Brady, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, would create a business tax system that has never existed anywhere in the world. The White House plan would enact a massive tax cut, mostly for the wealthy.

Read More

Une embuscade a coûté la vie à deux casques bleus en patrouille, mardi, dans le nord-est du Mali, a annoncé la mission de l'ONU dans le pays. Un troisième Casque bleu a été blessé.

ARI 44/2017 - 24/5/2017
Enrique Fojón Lagoa

Antes que decidir cómo se cumple el compromiso de incrementar el presupuesto de Defensa al 2% del PIB, debe reflexionarse sobre los objetivos estratégicos y las capacidades militares, así como los retornos industriales y tecnológicos, asociados con esa inversión.

Fincantieri a annoncé le vendredi 19 mai avoir signé la convention d’achat de la participation (66.7%) que le groupe sud-coréen STX Offshore & Shipbuilding détient depuis 2008 dans les chantiers navals de Saint-Nazaire. Le montant final de la transaction est annoncé à 79.5 millions d’euros.  

• Lire la suite de Vente de STX France : Le dernier round peut commencer

Vulcano logistic support ship (LSS) being built by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy is scheduled to be commissioned in 2019.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified Congress of a possible foreign military sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a navy blanket order training programme.

Schiebel's Camcopter S-100 unmanned air system (UAS) has successfully completed flight trials at Andøya Test Center (ATC) in Norway.

The US Marine Corps (USMC) has awarded a new delivery order valued at more than $33m to Oshkosh Defense for the delivery of additional 54 P-19R aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) vehicles.

Turkish Khan Short-Range Ballistic Missile

Deutschland und China haben die Trump-Regierung aufgefordert, sich weiter am Kampf gegen die Erderwärmung zu beteiligen. Die Diplomatie muss klug zwischen klaren Forderungen und weiterem Dialog mit den USA variieren, um den Klimaprozess voranzutreiben, meint Susanne Dröge.

 

 

Eltern beklagen nicht nur fehlende Kitaplätze, sondern auch die Qualität der Kindertageseinrichtungen. Diese ist, wie Studien bestätigen, mehrheitlich nur mittelmäßig. Eltern wünschen sich einheitliche Qualitätsstandards. Diese werden im vorliegenden Papier näher erläutert und die Investitionen berechnet.