Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• NATO and Libya - Operational Media Update: 15 Sep 2011
• RAF conducts precision strikes over Libya UK MOD 16 Sep 2011 -- Royal Air Force aircraft have conducted further long range precision strikes against Sebha, under the aegis of the NATO-led Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR, as well as continued attacks on Gaddafi's forces around Sirte.
• Engineers on Track as Iraq Deadline Nears AFPS 16 Sep 2011 -- The U.S. military is on track to withdraw its forces from Iraq by the end of the year, the U.S. military's most senior engineering officer posted there said yesterday.
• Reintegration Builds Confidence in Afghanistan, General Says AFPS 16 Sep 2011 -- The program coalition forces helped to create in Afghanistan last year to turn young men away from the insurgency and reintegrate them back to their communities is going a long way in building trust and confidence there, a military official said today.

Defense Policy / Programs

• NRO Maintains Nation's Intel Satellite Edge AFPS 16 Sep 2011 -- The National Reconnaissance Office is 50 years old this month, but its mission of designing, building, launching and maintaining America's intelligence satellites is always future focused, its chief said yesterday.
• Army preparing to produce JLTVs, recapped Humvees Army News 16 Sep 2011 -- After refining requirements during a two-year technology development phase for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, Army developers are poised to conduct full and open competitions geared towards recapping Humvees and producing JLTVs, as part of a synergized Light Tactical Vehicles strategy.
• Army Corps' Philadelphia District completes BRAC construction Army News 16 Sep 2011 -- After more than four years and hundreds of thousands of man hours of work, the $866 million, multi-phase program to build the massive complex for the Army's communication and electronics arm is complete.
• Prowler Flies Energy Intercept Mission NNS 16 Sep 2011 -- An EA-6B Prowler successfully completed its inaugural biofuel flight here today, continuing the Navy's surge toward energy independence.
• USS Thach Completes Southern Seas 2011 NNS 16 Sep 2011 -- Guided-missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43) returned to her homeport of San Diego, Calif., Sept. 16, after six months in Central and South America for the Southern Seas 2011 deployment.
• NAVSUP WSS Renews Performance Based Logistics Contract NNS 16 Sep 2011 -- NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support announced a renewal of a $162,239,835 Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract with Raytheon Missile Systems Co., Tucson, Ariz., not-to-exceed fixed-price requirements contract for support of the PHALANX Close-In-Weapon System (CIWS), Sept. 14.
• RELIEF Program Supports Emergency Response and Security NNS 16 Sep 2011 -- Researchers at the Naval Postgraduate School are frequently involved in emergency response and homeland security research projects, to assist in disaster response and prevention efforts worldwide.
• USS Thach Returns to San Diego from Deployment NNS 16 Sep 2011 -- The guided-missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43) returned to San Diego Sept. 16 after an independent seven-month deployment to the 4th Fleet area of responsibility in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
• Officer Years Commissioned Service Requirement Reduced NNS 16 Sep 2011 -- The minimum years of commissioned service (YCS) required for selected officers for retirement purposes has been temporarily reduced from 10 to eight years, officials said Sept. 15.
• Naval Academy Saves $6.8 Million in Energy Costs NNS 16 Sep 2011 -- Annapolis public works department responded to the Navy's increased focus on energy conservation with initiatives that saved $6.8 million in utility costs in the 2010 fiscal year, more than 20 percent of the annual bill for both installations.
• Cheyenne visits Yokosuka during Western Pacific deployment NNS 16 Sep 2011 -- The Los Angeles class fast attack submarine USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) moored at Fleet Activities Yokosuka Sept. 14, for a visit as part of its deployment to the Western Pacific.
• Hale: DOD Strives to Improve Financial Management AFPS 16 Sep 2011 -- Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has taken the lead in promoting efforts to make the Defense Department's financial management processes more efficient, effective and transparent, DOD Comptroller Robert F. Hale told Congress yesterday.
• III MEF leaders discuss priorities USMC News 16 Sep 2011 -- III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Bases Japan senior leaders held a two-day commanders' conference at the Butler Officers' Club on Plaza Housing Sept. 8-9.
• MPs improve light-infantry warfighting skills USMC News 16 Sep 2011 -- In the hot, humid afternoon hours of Sept. 1, with the sun beaming through the sky, Humvees with mounted M240B machine guns and M249 squad automatic weapons were positioned to fire rounds on Range 7 in the Central Training Area.
• Marines begin joint effort in Bangladesh USMC News 16 Sep 2011 -- Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 172 arrived here Sept. 7 to conduct an engineering civil action project exercise with elements of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, in coordination with the Government of Bangladesh.
• Department Seeks to Protect GPS Operations AFPS 16 Sep 2011 -- Defense Department officials are raising concerns that a company's proposed wireless broadband network would cause harmful interference to essential Global Positioning System operations.
• NATO welcomes U.S.-Polish start of missile defense agreement RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2011 -- NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has welcomed an agreement on missile defense deployment that has come into force between the United States and Poland.
• China, Bangladesh agree to deepen military ties IRNA 16 Sep 2011 -- China and Bangladesh on Friday agreed to deepen bilateral military ties during a key meeting between Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie and the visiting Bangladeshi Army Chief, General Muhammad Abdul Mubeen in Beijing.
• Belarus may buy outdated Su-30 fighters from Russia RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2011 -- Eighteen Su-30K fighter jets which were delivered by Russia to India in the 1990s could end up in service with the Belarusian air force, respected Russian business daily Kommersant said on Friday.
• U.S. cautions Russia over joint naval drills with N. Korea RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2011 -- Any form of cooperation with North Korea should not jeopardize international efforts to convince Pyongyang to halt its nuclear weapons program, the U.S. State Department said.
• Russia to deploy S-400 air defense systems in joint drills with Belarus RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2011 -- Russia will deploy advanced S-400 air defense systems during joint military exercises with Belarus in September, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said.
• Taiwan reaffirms hope to buy F-16 C/Ds CNA 16 Sep 2011 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Friday it will continue to seek U.S. consent to sell Taiwan advanced F-16 C/D jet fighters and diesel-electric submarines, as well as to upgrade its existing F-16 A/B fleet.
• Navy censured for flaws in risk mitigation CNA 16 Sep 2011 -- The Control Yuan censured the Navy Command Headquarters Friday for flaws in its emergency response mechanism because two soldiers drowned after falling overboard on the same patrol warship in separately incidents.
• September 16, 2011 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 16 Sep 2011
• Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jay Carney and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes to Preview the United Nations General Assembly The White House 16 Sep 2011

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for September 16, 2011
• Boeing Marks 20th Anniversary of C-17 Globemaster III's 1st Flight Boeing 16 Sep 2011 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] on Sept. 15 celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first flight of the C-17 airlifter. On Sept. 15, 1991, test aircraft T-1 took off from the Boeing Long Beach site on a two-hour flight that proved the engineering and design concepts of the aircraft and marked the beginning of the program.
• Terma and DCNS have developed a fully automatic anti-torpedo decoy system DCNS 16 Sep 2011 -- At the Defense & Security Equipment International exhibition Terma and DCNS announced that their technical cooperation has resulted in an important improvement for ships with a need for protection against torpedoes<
• General Dynamics Awarded $33 Million to Procure Virginia-class Submarine Photonics Masts General Dynamics 16 Sep 2011 -- General Dynamics Electric Boat has been awarded a $32.9 million contract modification by the U.S. Navy to procure three backup photonics masts for Virginia-class submarines. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

Other Conflicts

• 16 September 2011 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 16 Sep 2011
• Libya's Anti-Gadhafi Forces Storm Bani Walid, Sirte VOA 16 Sep 2011 -- Transitional government forces stormed the desert town of Bani Walid and faced fierce resistance from Gadhafi loyalists in the former leader's hometown, Sirte. Witnesses said NATO planes flew over Sirte as rapid gunfire and the explosion of heavy rockets filled the coastal Mediterranean town with smoke.
• Security Council authorizes UN support mission for Libya UN News Centre 16 Sep 2011 -- The Security Council today agreed to deploy a mission to Libya to support the North African country's transitional authorities in their reconstruction efforts after the end of the conflict, including restoring the rule of law, drafting a new constitution, promoting reconciliation and preparing for elections.
• UN refugee agency concerned over the plight of migrants still in Libya UN News Centre 16 Sep 2011 -- The United Nations refugee agency said today it remains concerned over the plight of migrants and refugees in Libya and is working with its partners and the transitional authorities in the North African country to improve protection and other humanitarian services for the foreigners.
• Abbas to Seek Full UN Membership for Palestinians VOA 16 Sep 2011 -- Saying Palestinians deserve independence, President Mahmoud Abbas vowed Friday to seek full membership to the United Nations next week despite Israeli and U.S. objections.
• Rising Kosovo Border Tensions Elicit UN, OSCE Appeals RFE/RL 16 Sep 2011 -- The United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have renewed calls for calm amid growing tensions in northern Kosovo.
• Kosovo Deploys Customs Officials To Disputed Border Crossings With Serbia RFE/RL 16 Sep 2011 -- Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci says Kosovo police and customs officials, together with personnel from the European Union's law enforcement mission, have been deployed at two disputed crossings on the border with Serbia.
• Thousands flee to South Sudan to escape Southern Kordofan violence – UN UN News Centre 16 Sep 2011 -- More than 8,000 civilians have fled to South Sudan to escape fighting in the state of Southern Kordofan in neighbouring Sudan, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
• Liberia: Stressing importance of elections, Security Council extends life of UN force UN News Centre 16 Sep 2011 -- The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia (UNMIL) by another year, stressing the supporting role it will play when the West African country holds presidential and legislative elections next month – only the second such polls since the end of a brutal civil war almost a decade ago.
• Haiti: UN calls on world to stand by aid pledges at critical juncture for stability UN News Centre 16 Sep 2011 -- The top United Nations official in Haiti today appealed to the international community to ramp up its funding and development activities in the impoverished country, warning that political tensions and precarious socio-economic conditions are threatening its stability.
• Conditions worsen for famine-wracked Somalis in Mogadishu, but improve in Ethiopia UN News Centre 16 Sep 2011 -- Health and nutrition rates have deteriorated for famine-wracked Somalis displaced within their own country but improved for those who have fled to Ethiopia, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.
• CONGO-GABON: Former refugees unwilling to return home IRIN 16 Sep 2011 -- The refugee status of 9,500 people from the Republic of Congo, who have been in neighbouring Gabon since the late 1990s, expired on 31 July, but many are still reluctant to return home.
• South Sudan: UN team investigates after fresh round of deadly cattle rustling raids UN News Centre 16 Sep 2011 -- The United Nations peacekeeping operation in South Sudan (UNMISS) has dispatched a verification team to the site of a fresh round of deadly clashes and cattle rustling attacks in the new country.
• Indian army commander in Kashmir says no mercy for foreign militants IRNA 16 Sep 2011 -- The commander of the Indian army in Kashmir said on Friday that his force did not ask foreign militants trapped during an operation to surrender, but went straight for the kill.

News Reports

• Thousands in Yemen Demand President Step Down VOA 16 Sep 2011 -- Thousands of Yemenis gathered after Friday prayers to demand the resignation of their president, a day after U.S. officials expressed hope a deal to force him from office would soon be signed.
• Mehmanparast: Iran's peaceful N-activities follow natural course IRNA 16 Sep 2011 -- Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says Iran's peaceful nuclear activities follow their natural course.
• North, South Korea to discuss nuclear program next week RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2011 -- Top nuclear negotiators from North and South Korea will meet in Beijing next week to resume talks on the North's nuclear program, Yonhap News said citing a South Korean official on Friday.
• Activists: Syrian Forces Kill At Least 15 in Hama VOA 16 Sep 2011 -- Syrian security forces have shot and killed at least 15 people as they conducted raids and fired on protesters who flooded streets after Friday prayers.
• China policy remains open to different options: Tsai CNA 16 Sep 2011 -- Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman and presidential candidate of the Democratic Progressing Party (DPP) said Thursday, her China policy remains open, but stressed that the final formulation of the policy lies in the hands of the Taiwan people.
• Private U.S. capsule not to dock with ISS RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2011 -- The U.S. private space capsule Dragon will conduct a flight near the International Space Station (ISS), but docking between them is not planned, Vladimir Solovyov, head of the Russian segment of the ISS mission control center said on Friday.
• ISS astronauts land in Kazakhstan, crew in good mood - Mission Control RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2011 -- A special search group on Friday opened the hatch to the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft and reported that all three crewmembers returning to Earth from the International Space Station are in good condition.