DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Lockheed Martin Corp., For MH-60R Helicopters Under FMS Program

Asia News Report: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Lockheed Martin Corp., For MH-60R Helicopters Under FMS Program

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth +  U.S. DoD issued No. 773-13 November 5, 2013
(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - November 13, 2013: Lockheed Martin Corp., Owego, N.Y., is being awarded $10,458,900 for firm-fixed-price delivery order 4092 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-09-G-0005) for non-recurring engineering efforts for development and testing of the system configuration 15 series modifications to the MH-60R VHF Omni-directional Range/Instrument Landing System, crash data recorder, and ABS-B Out for the Government of Australia under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Program. 

Work will be performed in Owego, N.Y., and is expected to be completed in February 2016. 

FMS funds in the amount of $10,458,900 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. 

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

The Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk multimission helicopter replaces SH-60B and SH-60F helicopters in the US Navy's fleet and combines the capabilities of these aircraft. MH-60R is also referred to as 'Romeo'.

The helicopter is equipped for a range of missions, including: anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), search and rescue (SAR), naval gunfire support (NGFS), surveillance, communications relay, logistics support and personnel transfer and vertical replenishment (VERTREP). For vertical replenishment missions, the helicopter is fitted with a 2,721.55kg (6,000lb) cargo hook. Lockheed Martin, Owego, is the mission systems integrator.

MH-60R Seahawk helicopter development
The maiden flight of the MH-60R took place in July 2001. The first low-rate initial production (LRIP) helicopters were remanufactured SH-60Bs but the following MH-60Rs are all new-builds.

The first new production MH-60R helicopter was delivered in August 2005. Operational evaluation (OPEVAL) was completed in October 2005 and full-rate production approved in April 2006.

Production levels are due to increase to up to 30 helicopters a month. The US Navy expects to operate 252 MH-60R helicopters by 2015.

In October 2007, the US Navy established the first of five MH-60R squadrons, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 71 at Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island, San Diego.

In March 2008, the MH-60R conducted first 'at sea' operations from the USS Preble (DDG-88) Aegis destroyer. First operational deployment of the helicopter was completed in early 2009 with the USS Stennis carrier group.

The helicopter operates from frigates, destroyers, cruisers, amphibious ships and aircraft carriers and is suitable for intense littoral warfare operations for handling numerous contacts in confined spaces, and for open-water operations

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth +  U.S. DoD issued No. 773-13 November 5, 2013
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DTN News - GREETINGS 2013: New Year Revellers Begin Welcoming First In New Zealand followed by Australia

Asia News Report: DTN News - GREETINGS 2013: New Year Revellers Begin Welcoming First In New Zealand followed by Australia

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 31, 2012: Celebrations are being held around the world to mark the new year, with the city of Auckland in New Zealand holding the first major events of 2013.

Crowds began to gather on Monday evening in Sydney in anticipation of the city’s famous firework display.

Big shows are also planned in many other cities globally.

Celebrations will also be held for the first time in Burma, where large public gatherings were banned by its previous military rulers.

Tens of thousands are expected to attend the celebrations in Rangoon, which will feature a fireworks display and performances by Burmese entertainers.

Reports say the festivities will be broadcast live on Burmese television.

The celebration is seen as the latest sign of the country’s liberalisation under its military-backed civilian government.

However, there is a subdued atmosphere in the Indian capital Delhi, following the death last week of a 23-year-old victim of a brutal gang rape.

The army has cancelled its celebrations across the country, as have the governments in the states of Punjab and Haryana.

Thousands of residents and clubs have also called off new year celebrations. protests over the case continued on Monday.

Later on, festivities will be held in European cities including Moscow, Paris and London.

More than two million people are expected to be on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach.

New York will mark the new year with the traditional New Year’s Eve countdown and ball drop over Times Square.


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DTN News - AUSTRALIA DEFENSE NEWS: Australia Acceptance Of Two CH-47D Chinook Helicopters

Asia News Report: DTN News - AUSTRALIA DEFENSE NEWS: Australia Acceptance Of Two CH-47D Chinook Helicopters
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Australian Government Department of Defence
 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 3, 2012: Minister for Defence Stephen Smith announced on Wednesday ~ February 1, 2012 that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) fleet of Chinooks has increased to seven following the arrival of two additional CH-47D Chinook helicopters in Townsville.

In November last year, the Government approved the purchase of the two ex-United States Army Chinooks following the loss of one ADF Chinook on operations in Afghanistan in May 2011.

The Minister said the new Chinooks would enter a period of deep maintenance and modification to bring them up to the same configuration as the existing ADF Chinook fleet.

Both Chinooks are scheduled to be delivered to the Australian Army to support operations by the middle of 2012.

The CH-47D Chinook is a highly capable medium-lift utility helicopter.  Its roles include troop movement, battlefield equipment transport, search and rescue and disaster relief.

Chinooks have been highly capable workhorses since they entered ADF service in 1995 in operations both in Australia and overseas.

Chinooks have been deployed on Operation Slipper in Afghanistan since 2006.

They have performed an outstanding service for both ADF and International Security Assistance Forces and are in high demand across Afghanistan due to their superior performance in hot and high altitude conditions.

The ADF CH-47D fleet will be replaced with seven new CH-47F Chinooks from around 2016.

Media Contacts: 

Mr Smith’s Office: Andrew Porter (02) 6277 7800 or 0419 474 392
Department of Defence: (02) 6127 1999

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Australian Government Department of Defence
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DTN News - INDONESIA DEFENSE NEWS: Australian Surplus Hercules To Be Given To Indonesia

Asia News Report: DTN News - INDONESIA DEFENSE NEWS: Australian Surplus Hercules To Be Given To Indonesia

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources The Australian
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 5, 2012: AUSTRALIA will hand over four unneeded C-130 Hercules transport planes to Indonesia.

The Royal Australian Air Force transports are understood to have been in storage.

The RAAF's inventory has been boosted by the purchase of six giant C-17 Globemaster II transports, so the smaller and older Hercules are no longer needed. The C-130Hs that will go to Indonesia have been largely superseded in the RAAF by the more powerful J model.

According to the Jakarta Post, Indonesia's Defence Ministry confirmed this week that representatives from the two countries would meet later this month in Jakarta to discuss the handover.

Indonesian officials will visit Australia to examine the aircraft.

As the country of origin of the Hercules, the US has also approved the arrangement.

In 2009, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to increase the military budget after the crash of a C-130 in East Java that killed more than 100 people.

That crash highlighted the urgent need for a boost to the military budget to enable more rigorous aircraft maintenance.

Western security analysts in Jakarta said at the time that the Indonesian Air Force had about 28 Hercules in the early 1980s, but no more than nine were in flying condition at the time of the crash.

Military commentator John Macbeth said: "It's a very small number and they were hugely embarrassed at the time of the 2004 tsunami because they couldn't provide the airlift capability to get aid into Aceh."


The four-engine Hercules has been in almost continuous production for more than 50 years.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources The Australian
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DTN News - PICTURES OF TODAY: Pictures Of November 17, 2011

Asia News Report: DTN News - PICTURES OF TODAY: Pictures Of November 17, 2011

Source: DTN News

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 17, 2011: View the latest pictures, photos and images events unfolding around the world of Today, prepared, compiled and presented By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News.

Todays theme - November 17, 2011 - OBAMA IN AUSTRALIA, SYRIA UNREST plus others;

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources AP, Getty, Reuters & Boeing

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DTN News - PICTURES OF TODAY: Pictures Of November 16, 2011 Presented By DTN News

Asia News Report: DTN News - PICTURES OF TODAY: Pictures Of November 16, 2011 Presented By DTN News

Source: DTN News

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 16, 2011: View the latest pictures, photos and images events unfolding around the world of Today.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources AP, Getty & Reuters

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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. To Build Up Military Base In Darwin To Counter Growing Chinese Influence

Asia News Report: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. To Build Up Military Base In Darwin To Counter Growing Chinese Influence

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Laura Meckler WSJ

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada, November 13, 2011: President Barack Obama will announce an accord for a new and permanent U.S. military presence in Australia when he visits next week, a step aimed at countering China's influence and reasserting U.S. interest in the region, said people

familiar with his plans.

The agreement will lead to an increase in U.S. naval operations off the coast of Australia and give American troops and ships "permanent and constant" access to Australian facilities, the people said. While no new American bases will be built under the plan, the arrangement will allow U.S. forces to place equipment in Australia and set up more joint exercises, they said.

The move could help the U.S. military, now concentrated in Japan and South Korea in Northeast Asia, to spread its influence west and south across the region, including the strategically and economically important South China Sea, which China considers as its sovereign territory.

It was unclear how much the new presence would cost the Pentagon, which is facing years and hundreds of billion dollars in spending cuts.

But the expanded military presence is designed as a demonstration of U.S. commitment to the region, part of an effort to refocus on Asia as the U.S. withdraws from Iraq and draws its forces down in Afghanistan, officials in both countries said.

"It will demonstrate U.S. resolve, not just for Australia, but in the region," Maj. Gen. Tim McOwan, the Australian defense attaché in Washington, said in an interview this week.

At a daily press briefing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Chinese officials "hope relevant countries' bilateral cooperation will be conducive to the Asia-Pacific region's security, peace and stability."

The strategy comes weeks after China sent its first its first aircraft carrier to sea, a defining moment in its effort to become a top-tier naval power that seeks to challenge U.S. military supremacy in Asia and protect Chinese economic interests that now span the globe.

Several Asian nations, fearful of the threat China poses, also are beefing up their arsenals, fearing that the U.S. security umbrella is being eroded by China's enhanced capabilities and possible U.S. defense cuts.

One base slated for the stepped-up American presence is in Darwin, on the country's north coast. Other locations are possible, including one near Perth, on the west coast, one person said.

"Strategically, we want to be able to reassure the rest of Asia that the American presence is still strong in the 21st century as China develops its force," said Ernie Bower, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

Officials declined to detail how many new troops or sailors would be part of the U.S. effort, or how many ships would be stationed in the area, ahead of Mr. Obama's announcement next week. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, while traveling throughout the region last month, vowed an expansion in U.S. influence, but also declined to specify costs or force sizes.

An administration official said the stepped-up presence will be phased in over several years under the agreement. The deal isn't yet final and details could change.

On his trip, Mr. Obama will mark the 60th anniversary of the U.S.-Australian alliance with a speech to Parliament and a visit to a military base in Darwin, where he and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard will jointly address Australian troops.

Neither leader is expected to characterize the move as directly confronting the Chinese. But U.S. officials said one of the goals of Mr. Obama's Asia trip is to clarify free access to the South China Sea.

Mr. Panetta, after a meeting with the Australians in September, said that enhanced military cooperation would counter "threats and challenges" to come. "Security and prosperity of our two great nations depends on the security and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

The full range of U.S. naval ships is expected to rotate through the joint facilities, stopping for exercises as well as repairs and other shore work. Naval aircraft also will have access to a base in Darwin.

The increased U.S. presence will be a rotating force, one person said. In September, Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith said the enhance cooperation would be "more ships in, ships out; more planes in, planes out; more troops in, troops out."

Gen. McOwan, the defense attaché, said the increase in U.S. naval operations will send a message to the Chinese that the U.S. is committed to defending the security of regional sea and air trade routes. The stepped-up American presence will reassure Australia and well as other countries in the region that the U.S. is engaged at a time when Chinese intentions are uncertain, he said.

Still, Gen. McOwan added that the American commitments Mr. Obama plans to announce are "not going to frighten the Chinese."

"It's more symbolic than real," he said.

—Julian E. Barnes,

Brian Spegele

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Laura Meckler WSJ

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