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Recent News Analysis:
- Former
Mossad Agent Meets Mysterious Death in London
Another mystery death occurred last Wednesday in downtown London,
when Ashraf Marwan, an Egyptian billionaire and son-in-law of
the late President Nasser, was found dead outside his flat in
the posh Carlton Terrace in Central London. According to Scotland
Yard investigating, no suicide note has sofar been discovered
and Police are thus treating his death as "unexplained".
-
Rafah's
Subterranean Tunnel City: The Gateway to Hamastan
By seizing the so-called "Philadelphi" route along
the Gaza- Egyptian international borderline, Hamas has finally
taken full control of all exits and border crossings into
the Gaza Strip- where they are about to create an Islamic
Fundamentalist Hamastan.
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The Royal Navy released today images from firing trials
launch of its newest Block
IV Tomahawk long-range Land Attack Missile (TLAM) conducted
recently off the US coast. The missile was fired from the
5,200 ton attack submarine HMS Trenchant used one of her
torpedo tubes to launch the missile, which then flew over
the Gulf of Mexico, striking a target hundreds of miles
away with pin-point accuracy. During the 60 minute test
fight the missile reached heights of 10,000 feet and speeds
of 500 miles an hour. The Royal Navy plans to field the
new missile with existing Trafalgar class submarines next
year.
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GDLS
to Deliver 165 New AFVs for Stryker Brigade Teams
General Dynamics Land Systems will supply the US Army 165
Stryker eight-wheeled combat vehicles under a $257 million
delivery order awarded by The U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle
Management Command. The order is part of a an existing $5
billion firm fixed price contract for the delivery of the
Stryker family of vehicles. Under the current order GDLS
will deliver 31 Infantry Carrier Vehicles (ICV), 25 Reconnaissance
Vehicles, 14 Fire Support Vehicles, 11 Engineer Squad Vehicles,
46 Command Vehicles, 19 Medical Evacuation Vehicles, and
19 Mortar Carriers. The contract also funds the supply of
88 Remote Weapons Stations in the Block II Configuration
to be installed on the fighting vehicles.
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Representatives of the Israeli and German ministries of
defense signed an agreement to cooperate in the development
of new types of loitering weapons. According to the agreement,
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the German Rheinmetall
Defense Company (RDE) will cooperate in the development
of network-centric systems that will provide land forces
with the means for persistent surveillance, targeting and
attack of high value targets by loitering munitions.
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The Pentagon has approved the expansion of the MRAP program
to 21,400 vehicles. The US Army plans to increase its fleet
of MRAP vehicles from the previously planned 2,300 to 17,700
vehicles. The Marines's allocation will remain at 3,400
and special operations forces will receive about 300 (170
have already been ordered). This plans will virtually
phase out the HMMWV from use in combat patrols and high
risk missions. Responding to the urgent requirement, the
Army plans to have all 17,700 MRAPs in theater by April
2009. To accommodate this plan all suppliers are expanding
their production facilities to speed up deliveries, reaching
several hundred vehicles per month by the autumn of 2007.
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The US Department of Defense selected Harris and Thales
Communications Inc. as the two contenders to compete for
multiyear deliveries of new 'multiband radios' to the US
armed forces, as part of Joint Tactical Radio System (JPEO
JTRS). The Consolidated, Interim, Single-Channel, Handheld
Radio (CISCHR) award has consolidated all handheld radio
purchases for the U.S. Department of Defense, thus accelerating
the transition and reducing cost of JTRS technology. Thales
and Harris , the two contenders participating in the CISCHR
at this stage, will compete to win future delivery orders,
which will ultimately determine contract value. As further
JTRS systems are matured, more participants are expected
to be added to the program.
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A Standard SM-3 Block IA Missile launched from the USS
Decatur (DDG 73) destroyed a medium-range ballistic missile
target during a flight test that marked the completion of
the destroyer's Combat System Ship Qualification Trials
(CSSQT). It was the first time that an SM-3 was fired from
a destroyer. Previous tests involved missiles launched from
Aegis cruisers. The exercise was the first to involve Aegis
ships from three nations, operating together to test the
performance of their combat systems against a variety of
naval threats. It was the third intercept of a medium-range
target with a separating re-entry warhead and the ninth
successful intercept for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense
program. The test represents the Aegis BMD system's ninth
successful ballistic missile intercept in 11 attempts.
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BAE
Systems To Supply Thermal Sights worth of up to US$1 Billion
BAE Systems BAE Systems has been awarded a US$183 million
award for production of thermal weapon sights. The order
is the first award under a five-year indefinite delivery
/ indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for the supply of
up to 3,000 per month. The total potential worth of the
program could reach $1 billion. TWS uses BAE Systems’
microbolometer thermal imaging technology to enable warfighters
to see deep into the battlefield regardless of ambient light,
both day and night. The new order was issued by the US Army's
PEO Soldier. The company is already under contract to produce
and deliver more than 29,600 Thermal Weapon Sites II (TWS-II)
under a five-year, $295 million contract administered by
the Communications-Electronics Command. More than 11,000
TWS-II sights have been delivered toward this contract.
The US Army has a requirement for up to 150,000 TWS devices,
worth over $2.3 billion. Under similar IDIQ procurement
programs, the Army recently awarded $63.5 million to Raytheon
for 5,000 AN/PAS-13s and $14.3 million to DRS sensors and
targeting systems.
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Israel's
Navy to Equip with IAI's POO, MiniPOP EO Payloads
The Israeli Navy will equip its surface vessels and patrol
boats with the POP electro-optical stabilized payload system,
developed and produced by Israel Aerospace Industries' (IAI)
Tamam Division. Sofar the Israeli Navy relied on an older
version of the MSIS EO systems, developed by Elbit Systems'
ElOp fielded through the 1990s. The systems being supplied
by Tamam are based on the POP
(Plug-in Optronic Payload) and MiniPOP
payloads, which include advanced day and night (thermal)
cameras and laser rangefinders. Tamam recently expanded
its line of MiniPOP 8" (21 cm) sized payloads, with
the introduction of a new stabilized multi-sensor system
including a color day camera with a Near infra-red (NIR)
capability, a 3-5µm continuous zoom thermal imaging
camera, an eyesafe laser range-finder and a laser pointer.
The MiniPOP also provides enhanced image processing and
automatic video tracker capabilities. The MiniPOP weighs
up to nine kilograms, depending on the configuration.
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An
Asian Country Selects Elbit's ETC Computers for a C4 Program
Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT) will supply Enhanced
Tactical Computers (ETC) computers, advanced communication
controllers and additional command & control packages
under a US$80 million multi-year order awarded by an unnamed
Asian country. The contract will be performed over the next
four years. The ETC is one of the major building blocks
for Elbit Systems' Command, Control, Communication, Computers
and Intelligence (C4I) systems.
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