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Recent News Analysis:
- Annapolis
2007: Roadmap into a Dangerous Dead-End
Despite the happy faces portrayed in official photo opportunities
on Condoleezza Rice's last visit, the Bush sponsored Annapolis
summit is doomed to failure. Marc Otte, the European Union's
(EU) Special Representative to the Middle East Process warns
that failure to advance the peace process at next month's conference
in Annapolis could trigger worse violence than the second intifada
that followed the failed Camp David talks in 2000.
- What
is really behind Putin's unprecedented hop to Tehran? New!
Is it only a coincidence that Israel's Prime
minister Ehud Olmert rushed to Moscow two days after the Russian
president meeting with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Is it only an attempt to ease Israel's growing concern over
Iran's nuclear ambitions? The Russian should be concerned, after
the alleged failure of their top notch air defenses in Syria.
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 DARPA
Urban Grand Challenge, Nov. 3, 2007 - Victorville,
CA USA
UV
North America 2007, Nov. 6-7, 2007 - San Diego,
CA, USA
SOFEX
2007, Nov. 6-7, 2007 - Ft Bragg, NC, USA
 Heli-Power
2007, Nov. 7-8, 2007 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
 Defense
Security 2007, Nov. 7-10, 2007 - Bangkok, Thailand
Aviation
Nation 2007, Nov. 7-10, 2007 - Las vegas, NV,
USA
 Dubai
Air Show 2007, Nov. 11-15, 2007- Dubai
Light
Armored Vehicles Summit, Nov. 13-15,
2007 -Adelphi, MD. USA
 Expomil
2007, Nov. 20-23, 2007 - Bucharest, Romania
IDGA's
Helicon 07, Nov. 26-28, 2007 - Huntsville,
AL, USA
I/ITSEC
(Training & simulation), Nov 26-29, 2007 -
Orlando, FL, USA
 Central
European Aerospace, Nov. 28 - Dec 1, 2007 - Budapest,
Hungary
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Military Wraps Inc. has unveiled today a patent-pending,
camouflage technique enabling military units to conceal
vehicles, aircraft, UAVs, boats or hardware by blending
them in the surrounding scene. The company unveiled the
new camouflage at the U.S. Special Operations trade show
(SOFEX 2007) and will also display again at the SpecOps
East Warfighter Symposium and Expo next week.
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FN Herstal is expected to move the Special
Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) weapon into full rate production
in preparation for serial orders from the US Special Operations
Command under a 10-year contract awarded in 2004. To date
the company produced the rifles in low rate production,
fulfilling preliminary orders worth a total US$11 million
for initial operational test and evaluation of the new rifles.
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Metal
Storm, iRobot Pursue Scalable Force Response for Robots
 Australian
based Metal Storm (NASDAQ: MTSX) (ASX: MST) and US based
iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT). have signed Memorandum of Understanding
to collaborate in joint pursuit of opportunities within
the global defense and security sectors. At the AUSA exhibition
last month, the two companies unveiled a model of the Warrior
heavy robot from iRobot, carrying a Redback weapon station
with four MetalStrom electrically initiated high speed projectile
launchers. Peter D. Faulkner, senior vice president and
general manager for Metal Storm's U.S. Operations. "Together,
we stand to shape a revolution by combining robot platforms
with a scalable force response and increased mission capability
including the defeat of IEDs."
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Carnegie
Mellon University team Wins DARPA's Urban Challenge
The Tatran Racing Team from the Carnegie Mellon University
(CMU) won the Urban Challenge competition and grabbed the
$2 million first prize this weekend. The race was organized
by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Stanford University took second place, followed by Virginia
Tech which came third. The six hour race tested driverless
vehicles driving autonomously on terrain representing suburban
roads at the former George Air Force Base in Oro Grande,
California. The autonomous vehicles had to obey traffic
laws, avoiding obstacles and collisions with other robots
while fulfill their tasks. Six of 11 finalists crossed the
finish line including teams from MIT, Cornell and the University
of Pennsylvania.
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Russia,
Saudi Arabia Finalize a Multi-Billion Arms Deal
Saudi Arabia and Russia have finalized an agreement to
supply more than 150 Russian-made Mi-35 Hind and Mi-17 Hip
helicopters to Saudi Arabia. The deal, expected to be worth
over $2.2 billion. Riyad favored the Russian offer over
French proposals to supply 148 helicopters to the kingdom
- reports the French based Defense
Aerospace publication. According to the magazine, the
deal signed last month in Riyad, reflects the shift of power
from Saudi Arabia’s decision to retain Russia as a
major arms supplier is the result of recent policy decisions
made by King Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, particularly
his decision to take direct control of major arms purchases,
which were previously largely the domain of the defense
and aviation ministry headed by Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz,
the Saudi Crown Prince and deputy prime minister who is
also Abdallah’s half-brother. (read the full
article at Defense Aerospace)
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Iran
Expects to Receive 24 Chinese J-10 Fighters by 2010
Iran is buying two squadrons of
J-10, China's most advanced strike fighter. The deal
worth over US$1 billion will include 24 aircraft. The J-10
follows the design of the Lavi developed at Israel Aerospace
Industries in the late 1980s. The development was aborted
under US pressure and according to press reports the plans
may have leaked to China and provided the foundation for
the J-1 design. The J-10 is powered by a single AL-31FN
engine, an upgraded version of the Russian Saturn AL-31F
turbofan (two such engines power the Su-27 Flanker). Integration
of an indigenous engine (known as WS-10A Taihang) is currently
underway to equip three squadrons (36 aircraft) of J-10
aircraft destined to Pakistan. The maximum range of the
J-10, when equipped with maximum internal and external fuel
is 2,940 km., some 800 km beyond the reach of Iran's current
MiG-29s. Theoretically, Iranian J-10s will have the range
to attack targets in Israel.
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