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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 28 Apr 2006 [PDF]
• MND-B SOLDIER KILLED BY ROADSIDE BOMB
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• Transcript: News Briefing with Col. Barham from Iraq 28 Apr 2006 -- Presenter: Col. Rod Barham, commander, 49th Military Police Brigade, Iraq
• CENTAF releases airpower summary AFPN 28 Apr 2006 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary.
• CROWS gets Airmen out of the turret AFPN 28 Apr 2006 -- A new weapon system in the Air Force arsenal takes Airmen out of the gun turret and into the safety of a fully up-armored Humvee.
• Al Qaeda Terrorist Leader in Samarra Killed in Assault AFPS 28 Apr 2006 -- Coalition forces killed the top al Qaeda terrorist in Samarra today after tracking him to a house north of the city.
• Local al-Qaida Leader Killed in Samarra VOA 28 Apr 2006 -- A local leader of al-Qaida in Iraq has been killed by coalition forces.
• RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Volume 5, Number 12 28 April 2006
• Air refueling squadron takes flight to fuel the fight AFPN 28 Apr 2006 -- Fighters are in the air 24 hours a day, providing constant support to ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Without midair refueling, that coverage would be lost.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Lincoln Returns To Singapore For Port Visit Navy NewsStand 28 Apr 2006 -- USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) returned to Singapore April 27, after a brief at-sea period following a port call in Thailand.
• Battlelab brings force protection to the fight AFPN 28 Apr 2006 -- This medic's nightmare may soon end because of the simplified automated ventilator, or SAVe.
• Tyndall receives F-22 maintenance trainer AFPN 28 Apr 2006 -- An F-22A Raptor touched down at Tyndall April 19 on its final flight. The aircraft will now be the new ground instructional trainer, solely dedicated as the airframe for aircraft maintenance technical school students.
• Joint Public Affairs Element Improves Military Communication AFPS 28 Apr 2006 -- By standing up the Joint Public Affairs Support Element, the U.S. military is on its way to greatly improving the way it delivers timely, accurate information from combatant commanders to the media.
• Deputy Defense Secretary Signs New Personnel System into Effect AFPS 28 Apr 2006 -- Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England signed a directive to implement the new National Security Personnel System during a roll-out ceremony here today.
• New technology protects GIs, seaports against NBC Army News 28 Apr 2006 -- Service members at Kuwait's crucial seaports can focus more on their missions and less on the worries of chemical or biological attacks with the arrival of new NBC warning technology.
• DoD Implements NSPS to Spiral 1.1 Organizations 28 Apr 2006 -- Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England today signed the directive that will implement the National Security Personnel System, a new civilian human resources system, for about 11,000 employees on April 30.
• Delta II launch successful AFPN 28 Apr 2006 -- A Delta II rocket was launched from here today at 3:02 a.m. The rocket took off from Space Launch Complex 2 carrying NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations, or CALIPSO, and CloudSat satellites.
• NATO: Clear Signal On Afghanistan, Hope For Ukraine RFE/RL 28 Apr 2006 -- An informal gathering of NATO foreign ministers kept the alliance's Afghanistan plans on track and did not douse Ukrainian hopes for fast-track enlargement
• NATO must keep commitments after Bulgaria base deal - Lavrov RIA Novosti 28 Apr 2006 -- Russia's foreign minister said Friday that NATO should observe its international commitments as it prepares to deploy a military base in Bulgaria under an agreement with the former Soviet satellite.
• Daily Press Briefing US Department of State 28 Apr 2006

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for April 28, 2006
• Pratt & Whitney Awarded First Production Contract For Joint Strike Fighter Engines Pratt & Whitney 28 Apr 2006 -- Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), has been awarded the first production contract for F135 engines to power the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. The contract, valued at $23 million, is for long lead-time hardware for six engines supporting the first five production F-35 aircraft covering Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP). This contract is the first portion of a full LRIP contract valued at up to $120 million through January 2010.
• LOCKHEED MARTIN TEAM LAUNCHES SECOND PAYLOAD FOR MDA'S CRITICAL MEASUREMENTS/COUNTERMEASURES PROGRAM Lockheed Martin 28 Apr 2006 -- A Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) team today successfully launched a scientific payload for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA’s) Critical Measurements/Countermeasures Program to study measurements from various missile defense sensors. This was the second payload launched this month from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, by the Lockheed Martin-led Targets and Countermeasures industry team.
• Royal Thai Navy orders Thales MIRADOR system Thales 28 Apr 2006 -- Recently, the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) and Thales Nederland signed a contract for the delivery of three MIRADOR electro-optical weapon control systems to be installed on the RTN's future Coastal Patrol Craft. The Naval Dockyard and other local subcontractors will build these Patrol Craft in Thailand. The armament of these ships will consist of two 30 mm guns. Integration of the guns in the fire control system will be the responsibility of Thales.
• Russian arms exporter takes aim at Latin American markets RIA Novosti 28 Apr 2006 -- Rosoboronexport, Russia's state-controlled arms exporter, is looking to strengthen its positions on markets in Latin America, a company official said Friday.
• Russia pushing ban on illegal production of Kalashnikov rifles RIA Novosti 28 Apr 2006 -- Russia's state-controlled arms exporter will push to stop the illegal production and supplies of Kalashnikov assault rifles, a company spokesman said Friday.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 28 Apr 2006
• UN Security Council strongly condemns violence against civilians in wartime UN News Centre 28 Apr 2006 -- The United Nations Security Council today issued a ringing condemnation of all violence committed against civilians during armed conflict, directing its strongest language at attacks on women and children, and pledged to ensure that all peace support operations employ all feasible measures to prevent the scourge.
• Bush Calls on Sudan to Stop Darfur Violence VOA 28 Apr 2006 -- President Bush says the government in Sudan must do more to protect civilians in the troubled Darfur region.
• NIGERIA-SUDAN: AU peace deal almost impossible IRIN 28 Apr 2006 -- A Sunday deadline for negotiators to sign off on a peace deal to end the three year war in the Darfur region of Sudan is unlikely to be met because a tabled deal includes too many compromises, a spokesman for one of the rebel groups said on Friday.
• UGANDA-SUDAN: Repatriation of refugees to start next week IRIN 28 Apr 2006 -- The voluntary repatriation of southern Sudanese refugees who have lived in neighbouring Uganda for decades will begin next week, thanks to better security in the region, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Thursday.
• SUDAN: Stronger arms embargo needed in Darfur - UN experts IRIN 28 Apr 2006 -- A panel of United Nations experts has advised the UN Security Council to expand an existing arms embargo to stem the flow of weapons that continue to flood the strife-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur.
• DRC: EU appoints commanders for Congo force IRIN 28 Apr 2006 -- The Council of the European Union has appointed two commanders and adopted a "Joint Action" on its military operation to support the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during general elections scheduled to be held later this year.
• DRC-UGANDA: Kinshasa protests troops incursion, Kampala denies claim IRIN 28 Apr 2006 -- The Democratic Republic of Congo has protested to Uganda against its army's incursion into northeastern Congo in the so-called pursuit of Ugandan rebels, the Congolese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
• UN Council extends peacekeeping mandate in Western Sahara through October UN News Centre 28 Apr 2006 -- Calling once again upon the parties and States in the region to end the current impasse in Western Sahara, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum there (MINURSO) for six months, through October 2006.
• Nepal Parliament Meets Without its New Leader VOA 28 Apr 2006 -- Nepal's parliament has met for the first time in four years
• BURUNDI: South Africa agrees to facilitate peace talks IRIN 28 Apr 2006 -- South Africa has announced that it would take over peace talks between the government of Burundi and the country's only remaining rebel group, the Forces nationales de libération (FNL).
• ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Second round of border talks postponed IRIN 28 Apr 2006 -- A second round of talks to resolve the standoff over the demarcation of the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been postponed, according to United Nations and diplomatic sources.

News Reports

• ATK Propulsion and Composite Technologies Support Successful Launch of Delta II, CloudSat, and CALIPSO ATK 28 Apr 2006 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) solid propulsion and composite technologies supported today’s successful launch of a Boeing Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The launch successfully placed the NASA satellites CloudSat and CALIPSO into orbit. As elements of both satellites, ATK composite structures will help scientists gather information on air quality and long-term climate issues.
• Boeing Delta II Lifts NASA Spacecraft to Orbit Boeing 28 Apr 2006 -- A Boeing [NYSE: BA] Delta II rocket today successfully launched to orbit a pair of NASA satellites that will further study clouds and aerosols.
• General Dynamics Payload Control Processor Runs Primary Science Instrument on CALIPSO Spacecraft Launched Today General Dynamics 28 Apr 2006 -- General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems provided the payload control processor for the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) spacecraft, which was launched today at 3:02 a.m. PDT from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Calif. The processor will be used by the primary science instrument, a light detection and ranging (lidar) system. Data gathered will help NASA and other science communities better predict climate changes and improve weather forecasts. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
• Rocket Engine Roars Into Fourth Decade of Launch Success Pratt & Whitney 28 Apr 2006 -- For the 207th time -- and counting -- an RS-27 booster rocket engine, built by United Technologies’ [NYSE: UTX] Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., has powered satellites into space. This time it was the pairing of CloudSat and CALIPSO, which were launched today from Vandenberg Air Force Base and will provide a new, more intense look at the Earth’s atmosphere.
• Successful launch of the climatology Calipso satellite, integrated by Alcatel Alenia Space Thales 28 Apr 2006 -- Alcatel Alenia Space announced today the successful launch of the Calipso climatology satellite, based on its Proteus platform and integrated in its French sites. The satellite was launched by a Delta 2 rocket on April 28, 2006 at 3:02 a.m. PDT from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, along with the Cloudsat satellite.