Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for February 22, 2006
• ATK Receives Additional $38 Million Order for Main Battle Tank Ammunition Bringing Total to More Than $77 Million in FY06 ATK 22 Feb 2006 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) has received a follow-on contract from the U.S. Army to continue production of the 120mm M829A3 tank round. The value of the production year 4 award is approximately $38 million. Including a contract awarded earlier in the company’s fiscal year for production year 3, the total value of FY06 awards for M829A3 rounds is approximately $77 million. Under terms of the contract, ATK will manufacture the composite sabot; load, assemble and pack the round; and provide logistics support.
• FIRST T-50 GOLDEN EAGLES DELIVERED TO KOREAN AIR FORCE; ONLY SUPERSONIC TRAINER IN PRODUCTION TODAY Lockheed Martin 22 Feb 2006 -- In December 2005, just 24 months after receiving the low-rate initial production contract, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) delivered the first two production T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainers to the Republic of Korea Air Force. The success of this development program was highlighted by KAI and team partner Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] during a briefing to the press at the 2006 Asian Aerospace conference and air show here today.
• LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35 TAKES SHAPE, READIES FOR FIRST FLIGHT Lockheed Martin 22 Feb 2006 -- The first Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter completed assembly and was ceremoniously turned over to the flight line in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, on schedule, Feb. 19. This represents the next stage of development and the very first completed aircraft. Ground tests will now begin in preparation for first flight later this year.
• LOCKHEED MARTIN C-130J SUPER HERCULES: FLEXIBILITY, EFFICIENCY AND DURABILITY PROVEN THROUGH OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE Lockheed Martin 22 Feb 2006 -- From combat delivery missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, to humanitarian relief flights in the Indian Ocean, to literally flying into hurricanes, 2005 was a milestone year for operations with the Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT] C-130J Super Hercules airlifter. Lockheed Martin is highlighting the C-130J this week at the Asian Aerospace air show, the region's foremost aerospace and defense technology exhibition.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT United Nations 22 Feb 2006
• Israel Concerned Over New Hamas-Iran Alliance VOA 22 Feb 2006 -- Israel is tightening the financial squeeze on the Islamic militant group Hamas, which won Palestinian parliamentary elections last month.
• Fatah Agrees 'In Principle' To Join Hamas-Led Government RFE/RL 22 Feb 2006 -- Fatah has conditionally agreed to join a Hamas-led Palestinian coalition government.
• Somalia: UN envoy appeals to warring factions in Mogadishu to spare civilians UN News Centre 22 Feb 2006 -- As heavy fighting continued in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, the senior United Nations envoy for the fractured Horn of Africa country today appealed to the leaders of the warring parties to end their hostilities and respect the security of civilian populations caught in their crossfire.
• SOMALIA: Mogadishu "calm but tense" - residents IRIN 22 Feb 2006 -- After days of heavy fighting, a tentative calm has returned to the Somali capital of Mogadishu, with no reports of clashes since Tuesday night, local sources told IRIN.
• More attacks in Northern Darfur signal sustained volatility, UN Mission says UN News Centre 22 Feb 2006 -- The security situation in Sudan's Darfur region remains volatile as armed forces supported by militia attacked two villages in North Darfur this week and an African Union (AU) vehicle travelling through the region was assaulted and stolen, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reported today.
• SUDAN: Britain to give additional funding to AU mission IRIN 22 Feb 2006 -- Britain will provide an additional 20 million pounds sterling (US $34.8 million) to support the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), said international development secretary Hilary Benn during a visit to the Sudanese region of Darfur, where the AMIS peacekeeping force is deployed.
• US Vows to Keep Pushing For UN Darfur Force VOA 22 Feb 2006 -- The Bush administration acknowledged Tuesday it may not get a Security Council resolution for a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region as it hoped for by the end of month
• United States Welcomes Steps Toward Peace in Sri Lanka Washington File 22 Feb 2006 -- The United States lauded recent indications of a possible move towards a peaceful future in Sri Lanka.
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC-CHAD: 4,000 more Central Africans flee violence this month alone IRIN 22 Feb 2006 -- Men, women and children from the Central African Republic are continuing to flee into Chad daily, with at least 4,000 pouring in so far this month to escape violence that refugees say has killed 50 people in February alone, and shows no signs of subsiding, the UN refugee agency said.
• NIGERIA: Dozens dead as sectarian violence continues in southern city IRIN 22 Feb 2006 -- Packs of armed youths killed dozens of people and set fire to mosques and Muslim properties on Wednesday in more revenge attacks against Muslims in the mainly Christian southern Nigerian city of Onitsha.
• Kosovo parties find common ground in first round of status talks, says UN envoy UN News Centre 22 Feb 2006 -- The first round of direct negotiations between delegations from Albanian-majority Kosovo and Serbia on the future status of the Serbian province found common ground on the issue of decentralization of services, according to the United Nations envoy who chaired the talks, which ended today.
• BURUNDI: First batch of Kenyan UN peacekeepers leave IRIN 22 Feb 2006 -- Some 270 Kenyan peacekeepers serving under the UN Operation in Burundi, known as ONUB, left the capital, Bujumbura, on Wednesday, marking the start of their withdrawal from the country.
• UN Says Mladic Still at Large VOA 22 Feb 2006 -- A U.N. prosecutor says accused Bosnian war-crimes suspect Ratko Mladic remains at large in Serbia.

News Reports

• Philippine Military Says it Has Crippled Another Coup Plot VOA 22 Feb 2006 -- The head of the Philippine army says the military has crippled a plotted coup, identifying 14 officers who are said to have been involved
• Lockheed Martin Announces Partnership With the State of Florida To Pursue NASA's New Crew Exploration Vehicle Lockheed Martin 22 Feb 2006 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] announced today, in partnership with the State of Florida, its plans to locate final assembly and testing of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) in Florida if the corporation is successful in its bid to provide the next generation crew transportation system for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
• LOCKHEED MARTIN AWARDED CONTRACT FOR GOES-R GEOSTATIONARY LIGHTNING MAPPER FORMULATION PHASE Lockheed Martin 22 Feb 2006 -- The Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Advanced Technology Center (ATC) has been awarded a $2 million, 12-month contract by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to proceed to the formulation phase for the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instrument that will fly on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GOES-R Series environmental satellites. GLM's ability to monitor convection on a global scale via lightning will provide new insight into the formation, distribution, morphology and evolution of storms, and allows investigation into the mechanisms at the core of the global water and energy cycle.