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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 30 Sep 2008 [PDF]
• MND-B Soldier dies of wounds from small-arms fire attack (Baghdad)
• Sept. 29 airpower summary: F-15Es provide overwatch AFPN 30 Sep 2008 -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations.
• Transcript: DoD News Briefing with Geoff Morrell from the Pentagon 30 Sep 2008 -- Presenter: Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell
• DoD Announces Iraq Deployments 30 Sep 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today additional major units scheduled to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom
• Defense Department Announces Upcoming Iraq Deployments AFPS 30 Sep 2008 -- About 26,000 troops are scheduled to rotate into Iraq between this winter and next summer.
• Coalition Detains 11 Suspects in Mosul, Baghdad AFPS 30 Sep 2008 -- Coalition forces captured 3 wanted men and detained 8 additional suspected terrorists during operations targeting al-Qaida in Iraq.
• Iraqi training wing soars to 3,000th hour AFPN 30 Sep 2008 -- The Iraqi air force Flying Training Wing reached yet another goal, one that may have seemed impossible a year ago.
• Report Says Iraq Security Improves, Fundamental Conflict Remains AFPS 30 Sep 2008 -- Trends across Iraq continue to improve, but the fundamental character of the conflict remains unchanged.
• Pakistani Officials: US Drone Strike Kills at Least 4 VOA 30 Sep 2008 -- Pakistani officials say a suspected US spy drone has fired missiles at a house in northwest Pakistan, killing at least four people.
• Nine tribesmen, four militants killed in Bajaur fighting IRNA 30 Sep 2008 -- Troops and tribesmen killed 13 militants in fighting in Bajaur, as two sides teamed up to fight extremists in the Taliban and al Qaeda hub.
• Pakistan army loses 611 soldiers in 15 months fighting - officials IRNA 30 Sep 2008 -- Pakistan Army has lost 611 soldiers in operations against militants in tribal regions and Swat valley in the northwest since July 2007.
• US losing war in Afghanistan, Pak tribal region: former army chief IRNA 30 Sep 2008 -- Former Pakistani Army chief General Mirza Aslam Beg: US has almost lost its war in Afghanistan and Pakistani tribal region.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Combined Task Force 53 Maintains Supply Lines Navy NewsStand 30 Sep 2008 -- Combined Task Force 53 (CTF-53) provides operational logistical support for the U.S. 5th Fleet and coalition forces both ashore and afloat, a mission that is essential for ensuring security and stability in the region.
• Submarine Missouri Reaches First Major Milestone Navy NewsStand 30 Sep 2008 -- The Virginia-class attack submarine USS Missouri (SSN 780) reached her first major milestone Sept. 27, during her keel authentication ceremony held at the General Dynamics Electric Boat facility in North Kingstown.
• Several U.S. Ships Join Mission to Monitor Faina Navy NewsStand 30 Sep 2008 -- Several U.S. ships are now operating in the vicinity of Motor Vessel Faina, the Belize-flagged cargo ship, which was captured Sept. 25 and is anchored off the coast of Somalia near the harbor city of Hobyo.
• USS Ford Returns Home to Everett Navy NewsStand 30 Sep 2008 -- USS Ford (FFG 54) returned from a five-month deployment to her homeport at Naval Station Everett Sept. 28.
• SNA West Coast Symposium Highlights Maritime Strategy Navy NewsStand 30 Sep 2008 -- Vice Adm. D. C. Curtis, Commander, Naval Surface Forces and Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, kicked off the 10th annual Surface Navy Association (SNA) West Coast 2008 Symposium Aug. 28 at Naval Base San Diego.
• Air Force could save millions through recovery program AFPN 30 Sep 2008 -- A 2-year proof of concept project to demanufacture and disassemble condemned jet engine parts for reuse is under way.
• Air Force, Navy officials agree upon F-35 depot workload AFPN 30 Sep 2008 -- Air Force and Navy officials signed a memo identifying a new process for allocating F-35 Lightning II depot repair workloads.
• Peruvian Sub BAP Arica Completes Successful U.S. Deployment Navy Newsstand 30 Sep 2008 -- The BAP Arica participated in various training exercises while supporting the USN Diesel-Electric Submarine Initiative.
• Yushchenko And Bush Meet On NATO, Bilateral Ties RFE/RL 30 Sep 2008 -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has met with U.S. counterpart George W. Bush to discuss Ukraine's possible path to NATO against a backdrop of a resurgent Russia that has been eager to assert its interests regarding fledgling democracies in its former sphere of influence
• U.S. credibility to be at stake if arms sales fail: minister CNA 30 Sep 2008 -- The US could see its credibility among Taiwanese at stake if it fails to approve a pending Taiwan arms procurement package.
• MND cautiously optimistic about U.S. arms package CNA 30 Sep 2008 -- The Ministry of National Defense is still holding out hope that the United States will agree to sell a package of weapons systems to Taiwan.
• Venezuela Increases Ties with Russia VOA 30 Sep 2008 -- Recently, several Russian bombers spent time in Venezuela and, for many, revived images of the Cold War such as the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
• Russian frigate sails to Mediterranean for drills with Italian navy RIA Novosti 30 Sep 2008 -- A warship from the Black Sea Fleet entered the Aegean Sea heading to participate in joint naval exercises with the Italian navy.
• Russian nuclear submarine makes 30-day trip under Arctic ice RIA Novosti 30 Sep 2008 -- A Delta-III ballistic missile submarine successfully sailed from base in northern Russia to the Pacific Ocean under the Arctic
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 30 Sep 2008
• Press Briefing by Tony Fratto The White House 30 Sep 2008

Defense Industry

• ATK and FNMI Team to Win $53.4 Million Mk19 Grenade Machine Gun Contract ATK 30 Sep 2008 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) and FN Manufacturing, LLC (FNMI), have received a $53.4 million contract from the U.S. Army Joint Munitions and Lethality Life Cycle Management Command, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, to produce Mk19 Mod-3 Grenade Machine Guns (GMG).
• BAE SYSTEMS DELIVERS PROTOTYPE NIGHT-VISION GOGGLE TO U.S. ARMY BAE Systems 30 Sep 2008 -- BAE Systems has developed and delivered to the U.S. Army a new helmet-mounted night-vision goggle system that combines visible, low-light, and infrared imagery for all-weather use in darkness and in other visibility-limiting conditions
• BAE SYSTEMS RECEIVES $65.8 MILLION CONTRACT FOR MK 45 MOD 4 NAVAL GUN BAE Systems 30 Sep 2008 -- systems engineer and ASC AWD Shipbuilder is serving as the lead shipbuilder. The first of the destroyers is scheduled for delivery in 2014.
• BAE SYSTEMS SECURES $71 MILLION FOR MRAP UPGRADE ORDER BAE Systems 30 Sep 2008 -- BAE Systems, under a U.S. Marine Corps contract worth $71 million, will provide spare parts and apply engineering changes to Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles that improve the mobility and survivability for the U.S. Marines, the U.S. Army and Special Forces.
• Boeing, US Air Force Celebrate Opening of F-15E Training Center in UK Boeing 30 Sep 2008 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Air Force today celebrated the opening of the new F-15E Mission Training Center (MTC) at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in Suffolk, United Kingdom.
• Boeing Delivers 1st Standard Missile-3 Kinetic Warhead Kit Built in Huntsville Boeing 30 Sep 2008 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] last month delivered on schedule the first production Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) kinetic warhead kit built in Huntsville, Ala.
• General Dynamics Awarded $46 Million U.S. Navy Contract to Provide Education and Training Services General Dynamics 30 Sep 2008 -- General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a U.S. Navy contract to provide education and training products and support services to the Naval Education and Training Professional Development and Technology Center (NETPDTC).
• Lockheed Martin JLTV Prototypes Surpass 25,000 Miles Of Operational Testing Lockheed Martin 30 Sep 2008 -- Lockheed Martin's [NYSE: LMT] first two operational Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) prototypes have successfully exceeded 25,000 combined miles of testing, more than half of which have been conducted off-road to simulate actual mission conditions.
• Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor Reaches Milestone In Maturity Lockheed Martin 30 Sep 2008 -- The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-22 Raptor surpassed more than 50,000 total flight hours in August while establishing new standards in capability and maturity.
• Lockheed Martin F-35A Logs 50th Mission; F-35B Prepares For Transition To STOVL Flights Lockheed Martin 30 Sep 2008 -- The conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35A Lightning II notched its 50th flight last week in preparation for testing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., while the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant began a planned modification interval that will lead to STOVL-mode flight early next year.
• Northrop Grumman Awarded Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System Contract Northrop Grumman 30 Sep 2008 -- The U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) a contract for Phase 1 of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) program.
• SAIC Awarded Two Major Task Orders by Army Aviation and Missile Command SAIC 30 Sep 2008 -- Science Applications International Corporation (NYSE: SAI) today announced it has been awarded two task orders by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) to provide modeling and simulation support to the Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) -- Systems Simulation and Development Directorate (SSDD).
• Raytheon KillerBee Demonstrates Capabilities in Simulated Combat Environment Raytheon 30 Sep 2008 -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) KillerBee unmanned aircraft system demonstrated its interoperability, integration and functionality as an end-to-end UAS combat system.
• Pakistan Navy completes acceptance testing of PNS Hamza DCNS 30 Sep 2008 -- On 26 September 2008, the Pakistan Navy completed customer acceptance testing of PNS Hamza, a DCNS-designed type Agosta 90B diesel-electric submarine featuring a Mesma® air-independent propulsion system in a dedicated hull section. The Mesma® AIP module generates electrical power without snorkelling, so enabling the boat to remain submerged for far longer.
• Oshkosh Defense Awarded $180 Million Contract For Reducible-Height Armor Kits Oshkosh 01 Oct 2008 -- Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), has been awarded a new contract valued at more than $180 million from the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command. The contract calls for more than 1,500 reducible-height armor kits to be supplied to the Marine Corps for aftermarket support of the Oshkosh® Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) fleet.

Other Conflicts

• European Rights Commissioner Paints Grim Picture Of Georgian Conflict Zone RFE/RL 30 Sep 2008 -- Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, recently completed a visit to Georgia to assess the humanitarian situation there
• Rights Groups Say South Ossetian Militias Burning Georgian Villages RFE/RL 30 Sep 2008 -- In ethnic-Georgian villages across South Ossetia, the stories are disturbingly similar
• Europe's Top Rights Forum To Debate Russian-Georgian Conflict RFE/RL 30 Sep 2008 -- The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is meeting this week to decide whether to impose sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Georgia last month
• Russia to Limit EU Access to South Ossetia Buffer Zone VOA 30 Sep 2008 -- European Union peacekeepers will not have immediate access to the buffer zone surrounding South Ossetia when their mission in Georgia begins.
• Serbia's Tadic admits Kosovo split option RIA Novosti 30 Sep 2008 -- Serbia's president would not rule out dividing Kosovo into Albanian and Serbian parts if all other options to keep the disputed state within Serbia fail.
• Kenya, South Sudan Deny Pirated Arms Were Headed to Sudan 30 Sep 2008 -- Officials in Kenya and S Sudan deny reports that shipment of military equipment was headed for Sudan when it was seized by Somali pirates.

News Reports

• Ukraine faces early poll as pro-West camp struggles for new deal RIA Novosti 30 Sep 2008 -- The dissolution of Ukraine's parliament and early elections likely as pro-Western forces have failed to form a new coalition.
• Belarus leader will not harm ties with Russia to please West RIA Novosti 30 Sep 2008
• OSCE, US Disappointed by Belarus Election VOA 30 Sep 2008 -- The United States joined Europe in criticizing parliamentary elections in Belarus, noting particularly the failure to keep promises for a transparent vote count.
• Zimbabwe's Mugabe, Tsvangirai Fail to Break Deadlock in Talks VOA 30 Sep 2008 -- Zimbabwe's main opposition party says President Mugabe and opposition leader Tsvangirai failed to break deadlock on forming government.
• Zimbabweans Celebrate Mugabe's Unity Government Pronouncement VOA 30 Sep 2008 -- Zimbabweans reportedly expressing excitement after President Mugabe said he would ensure unity government formed with opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
• Over 40 African Governments Meet on Cluster Munitions Treaty VOA 30 Sep 2008 -- Representatives from more than 40 African nations are meeting today in Kampala, Uganda, to promote the signing of the cluster munitions treaty.
• Somali Pirates Continue To Hold Ukrainian Ship RFE/RL 30 Sep 2008 -- Pirates are holding a Ukrainian-owned ship loaded with Russian tanks off the East African coast, as U.S. warships and helicopters circle the vessel and trap the pirates