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In a step up of service-to-service engagement, India and the United States will conduct the biggest-ever army level exercises near Ranikhet in Uttaranchal in January, as American officials on Friday indicated that Washington was working to open doors to high-technology transfers. A company force of the US army will conduct joint exercises with a thrust towards anti-insurgency operations in the mountainous terrain near Choubhatia, US officials said adding that, in the coming year, armed forces of the two countries would participate in 'more complex, patterned war games'. "The US Pacific Command wants to expand its military-level innteraction with India over...

Britain in battle with US over fighter plane Peter Almond and Dominic O'Connell BRITAIN is threatening to pull out of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), a co-operative combat-aircraft project with America that is one of the largest military programmes in the world. The move, confirmed to The Sunday Times by senior defence officials, could have serious repercussions for BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, Britain’s two main contributors to the project. BAE is part of the consortium developing the plane, and had expected revenues of about $24 billion (£13.8 billion) in development and production contracts. Rolls-Royce is developing the lift fan for...

Foreign fighter jets performed well against F-16s in recent exercises. NEW DELHI – Mingling over a few rounds of golf, dogfighting a bit over the jungles of West Bengal - this month's Cope India 2005 war games were billed as a standard two-week exercise between Indian and American top guns. But in website chat rooms devoted to the arcania of fighter aircraft, there was a buzz. Arre, wa! Oh, wow! Had the Indian Air Force beat the Americans? Not exactly, according to observers and participants. The exercises had mixed teams of Indian and American pilots on both sides, which means...

Turkey and Israel have commenced their defense contract cooperation with a ceremony to mark the joint production of upgraded M60A1 tanks for the Turkish military. The ceremonies held at Kayseri, the site of the new production line, were attended by top Turkish and Israeli officials on Tuesday. There was some initial tension over the delay of the contract by Israel, as it conducted field tests on technologies needed for the upgrade, however this seems to have been solved. The program will cost $688 million and calls for the upgrade of 170 M60 tanks to front-line condition based on advanced technologies...

KALAIKUNDA, NOV 17: As the Cope India 2005 Indo-US air force exercises wound down today after two weeks of feverish action in the eastern skies, the US Air Force were left with a stark, double-edged realization. One — that it is no longer the unchallenged leader in the skies, and two—for all future joint operations in South Asia, the IAF would, without doubt, be its natural partner. Vice Commander of the US Pacific Air Forces Lt Gen Dave Deptula said: ‘‘I have never seen a better executed exercise in my 29 years with the USAF. This will go a long...

KALAIKUNDA AIR STATION, India (AFPN) -- For the first time, U.S. pilots faced the Indian Air Force’s most advanced, and newest, fighter -- the Su-30 MKI -- during an exercise Cope India 06 mission here. F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots Capt. Martin “Gabby” Mentch and 1st Lt. Robert “Pipes” Stimpson were the first to mix it up with the Su-30s Nov. 9. The Airmen, deployed here with the 13th Fighter Squadron from Misawa Air Base, Japan, flew against the new jets, which have a thrust-vector capability and updated avionics. The MKI “is an amazing jet that has a lot of maneuverability,”...

American, Indian Airmen ‘mix it up’ by Capt. John Redfield Cope India Public Affairs 11/10/2005 - KALAIKUNDA AIR STATION, India (AFPN) -- For the first time, U.S. pilots faced the Indian Air Force’s most advanced, and newest, fighter -- the Su-30 MKI -- during an exercise Cope India 06 mission here. F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots Capt. Martin “Gabby” Mentch and 1st Lt. Robert “Pipes” Stimpson were the first to mix it up with the Su-30s Nov. 9. The Airmen, deployed here with the 13th Fighter Squadron from Misawa Air Base, Japan, flew against the new jets, which have a thrust-vector...

F-16s will take part in exercise Special Correspondent Air Force station at Kalaikunda revamped for 12-day exercise NEW DELHI: The U.S. Air Force will fly its F-16 planes for the first time in India in a joint exercise next month with frontline Indian Air Force (IAF) fighters at a newly revamped airbase in West Bengal. The F-16s will be supplemented by the airborne warning & control systems (AWACS) or sophisticated radars mounted on planes which, at a height of 30,000 feet have a surveillance radius of 400 km and the capability to simultaneously detect hostile movement of several aircraft. Few...

India and the US would soon sign an agreement on science and technology aimed at accelerating cooperation between scientists from both the countries in areas like space, energy, IT and nanotechnology. The agreement would be signed by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Union Minister for Science and Technology Kabil Sibal during the latter's visit to the United States later this month. The 'Science and Technology Umbrella Agreement' is expected to increase cooperation between scientists from both the countries working in government agencies, private sector, and academia in areas like basic sciences, space, energy, nanotechnology, health and information technology....

U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Nathan Guidry (standing, left) and retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. David Moose (standing, right) train 16 Republic of Georgia soldiers at Krtsanisi, Georgia, to be communications trainers, Sept. 26, 2005, as part of the Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jonathan Moor Marines Teach Radio Skills to Georgian Soldiers The extensive, four-month training is preparing the Georgian battalion to accomplish their mission in Iraq. By U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jonathan Moor U.S. Marine Forces, Europe KRTSANISI, Georgia, Oct. 11, 2005 --- U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery...

PARIS, Oct 3 Asia Pulse - The United States might cooperate with Spain to build submarines to sell to Taiwan, the French newspaper Le Monde reported Friday. Washington has agreed to sell eight diesel-electric submarines to Taiwan, as well as six Patriot PAC III anti-missile batteries and 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft, although the island's legislature has yet to pass the long-stalled arms procurement bill to buy the weaponry items. According to the Le Monde report, both Germany and France, which have monopolized almost entire traditional submarine production in the global market, have said they do not want to build the...

India may have refused to join the US-led coalition in Iraq and may be opposed to it being under an occupation force. But in a remote corner of Mizoram, a group of US soldiers and officers who will be deployed in Iraq early next year have just completed training at the Indian army's Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS). The 17-day training exercise, named Yudh Abhyas (battle practice), has drawn accolades from the American participants. In fact, according to Major Dan Wilson of the US army's 25th Infantry Division, based in Hawaii, critical aspects of the training will be...

Malabar 2005 Participants - USN, IN USN - USS Nimitz (Aircraft Carrier), USS Higgins (Destroyer), USS Chaffe (Destroyer), 1 X SSN (Nuclear Submarine), 1 X P3C Orion (Operating from Goa), F 18s (Embarked onboard USS Nimitz) IN - INS Viraat, INS Mumbai, INS Godavari, INS Shankul (Submarine), INS Aditya (Tanker), TU 142, Dornier Aircraft Fast Attack, Craft Special Forces (MARCOS) Details - Both groups of ships met at sea on September 25, 2005 at a location 300 nautical miles North West of Goa. The Ships carried out various intermediate level exercises (including joint exercise involving carrier borne aircraft from USS...

SOUTHWEST ASIA - An Air Force officer was killed Sept. 19, and two Airmen were injured as a result of a motor vehicle accident that occurred along the El Alamein Highway, between Cairo West and Alexandria. They were participating in Exercise Bright Star, a recurring joint/combined training exercise held in Egypt. The cause of the accident is under investigation and the names of the personnel are being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.

Yemen, despite having an ongoing civil war with Islamic conservative Shia tribes on the Saudi border, plus many Sunni Arab Yemenis being big fans of al Qaeda, has made progress crippling terrorist operations in their territory. The recent arrest of al Qaedas senior man in Yemen, Mubkhit Salih al Kuabi was a major operation. More attacks on American ships were planned by al Qaeda, and al Kuabi was sent to make it happen. Apparently, the intelligence efforts of several Arab countries, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia, were used to identify and locate al Kuabi (who was working for Iraqi al...

Turkey And USA To Cooperate In Rifle Manufacture Published: 9/23/2005 ISTANBUL - Turkish weapon manufacture firm ``Sarsilmaz`` will cooperate with U.S. giant firm ``Colt Defense`` in rifle production. Under an agreement to be signed soon, Colt Defense`s products will be manufactured outside North America for the first time, and be exported to other countries via Turkey. Latif Aral Alis, the Chairman of Executive Board of Sarsilmaz firm, and James R. Battaglini, an executive of the Colt Defense LLC, will hold a press conference regarding this cooperation on Monday (September 26th).

NEW DELHI: India might still be shy of openly jumping onto the controversial US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) bandwagon but it's certainly steaming ahead to practice mammoth operations with American forces on the high seas. India's largest-ever naval exercise with any country will kick off on Sunday when Indian and American aircraft carriers, destroyers, guided-missile frigates, fighter and surveillance aircraft undertake combat manoeuvres in the north-west Arabian Sea. The sheer scale of this 10-day Indo-US exercise, "Malabar-05", can be gauged from the fact that it will involve almost 10,000 officers and sailors from the two nations. "This will be the...

The North Arabian Sea would become the stage of a formidable build-up of naval armada, including 100,000-tonne displacement United States carrier Nimitz, as Indian and American flotilla cross swords in a nine-day joint manoeuvre from September 25.The eighth series of exercises, billed the most advanced so far, would not only see the pride of the US seventh fleet,  Nimitz, in action, but also bring the carrier-based E2C Hawkeye Air Early Warning aircraft, the Los Angeles class submarines and the F-18/A hornet to Indian shores. Against such formidable forces, the Indian Navy would pit its lone carrier, INS Viraat, carrier-based Sea Harriers,...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2005 – President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from a Sept. 16 meeting with a renewed commitment to working together in fighting terrorism and preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the two leaders told reporters at a White House news conference. Bush noted that both countries have felt the scourge of terrorism - the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, and Russia in September 2004, when a school siege in Beslan left 331 people, 186 of them children, dead. "We've got a strong ally in Russia in fighting the war on terror," Bush said....

BERLIN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Russia will send ships early next year to help in NATO patrols of the Mediterranean Sea aimed at intercepting boats suspected of links to terrorism, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Wednesday. :::SNIP::: Russia and NATO agreed last year to work more closely together in the fight against terorrism and have been negotiating for months on how Russia can take part in the patrols, known as "Operation Active Endeavour".

India and the United States will conduct a bilateral naval exercise 'Salvex' off Kochi from today focussing on 'diving salvage' operations. Held as part of the regular 'Malabar' series of bilateral cooperation, the exercise would conclude on September 23, an official release said here on Sunday. The US naval ship 'USS Safeguard' is participating in this exercise while a naval diving team and INS Matanga would represent the Indian side. The exercise would include the deployment of combined underwater salvage teams comprising naval divers from both the countries. 'Salvex' is the first combined diving salvage exercise between the US and...

Russia, U.S. to conduct joint military exercise next year (in Moscow!) MOSCOW, September 9, (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Land Forces and the U.S. Army will conduct a joint military exercise in the Moscow military district in 2006, a Land Forces spokesman said Friday. The official said the preparation and active phase of the exercise would be discussed during the September 11-13 visit of a U.S. military delegation headed by Commander of United States Army, Europe (USAREUR) General B.B. Bell to Moscow. During the visit, General Bell will meet with Commander of the Russian Land Forces Colonel General Alexei Maslov...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Troops from the United States and a dozen Middle Eastern and other countries will take part in a joint military exercise in and near Egypt beginning on Saturday, the U.S. Central Command said. Operation "Bright Star", which runs through Oct. 3, is the 12th in the series of such joint training sessions over the years. It was last scheduled for 2003, but was canceled that year because of U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S.-declared global war on terror. Central Command officials said on Tuesday about 8,600 U.S. troops would be involved in the exercise,...

ASIAN OUTLOOK - August-September 2005 While Americans have been wondering what to make of the daily news from Iraq and the Middle East and the loves-me-loves-me-not swings of U.S.-China policy, the summer’s biggest story has received relatively little attention. The mid-July summit between President George W. Bush and Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh--during which the two leaders resolved to “transform the relationship between their countries and establish a global partnership”[1]-- initially was covered as a photo-op and remains, in the media’s imagination, a story about nuclear proliferation. But when a sole superpower takes a strategic mate, such a blooming global...

ANKARA, September 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has proposed stepping up military-technical cooperation with Turkey, the Russian defense minister said, according to a Turkish daily Monday. The Milliyet reported that Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov believes joint projects would strengthen the Turkish armed forces and contribute to the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries. The minister advocated bilateral cooperation on the fight against terrorism and joint space projects, the paper said, adding that Ivanov highlighted a 1994 agreement between Russia and Turkey as the first agreement between Russia and a NATO member-state. "In my opinion, even this example...

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said today Russia and China plan to intensify military cooperation, including the use of more joint military exercises. However he stressed that Moscow and Beijing will not seal a formal alliance into a military bloc. Ivanov was speaking after meeting his Chinese counterpart Cao Gangchuan in Moscow. The meeting came after the two states carried out their first ever joint military exercises last month in the Shandong Peninsula in China's northeast. Ivanov said the exercises went well: "The overall assessment of these exercises both by China and Russia is positive. These [exercises] allowed us to...

Event Details Participants Russia, China Location Shandong Peninsula (China) and Vladivostok (Russia) Duration 18th to 24th August 2005 Chinese and Russian troops completed their first joint military exercises yesterday with a mock paratrooper invasion on China's east coast. The eight days of maneuvers, with 7,000 Chinese and 1,800 Russian troops, underscored military ties between the Cold War adversaries; the ties have been motivated by unease with US dominance in world affairs. Photographs from Peace Mission 2005

New Delhi, Aug. 26 (PTI): With the successful completion of 'Exercise Vajra Prahar' between special forces, Indian and special forces of the US, military cooperation between the two countries has strengthened further. Expressing extreme satisfaction on the conduct of joint training somewhere in the western theatre, one of the Green Beets, (popularly known US Special Forces), said "we train most of the armies in the world, but it's here we get equally-trained." 'Exercise Vajra Prahar' was conducted over a period of three weeks in the Western Theatre from August 4 to 19. The aim of the exercise was to hone...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China praised its first joint military exercises with Russia on Friday for lifting relations to an all-time high and opening room for further cooperation. Eight days of drills involving more than 10,000 troops from the former Cold War foes' armies, navies and air forces concluded on Thursday with a practice air and ground assault in China's eastern Shandong province. The last event on the schedule was an outside "family-style lunch" of noodles, braised eggplant and fried fish washed down with beer as tank engines roared in the background, Xinhua news agency said. "Through the exercises, the two...

FORT MONROE, Va. (8/23/2005) — Most local headlines in Charleston, S.C., probably won’t grab national attention: a road is closed for construction, local officials debate a proposed law, a man is shot in a small town outside Charleston. But how about this for a headline: “Run for Your Lives: Charleston will blow up this week.” A military training exercise, Sudden Response 2005, is using Charleston as the setting of a nuclear disaster to improve the United States’ readiness if such an event should occur. At Fort Monroe, Joint Task Force Civil Support, a unit composed of servicemembers from all branches...

Russian-Chinese first-ever joint military exercise, Peace Mission 2005, will take place in the north-east of China on August 18-25. All kinds of troops, including naval forces, will be involved in the exercise. Officially, the exercise is supposed to demonstrate joint anti-terrorist measures, although even Russian and Chinese leaders say that the entire event is meant to reveal the nearing tendencies between the two countries. The news about the joint efforts made Washington feel rather nervous, taking into consideration the fact that Russia and China called upon the USA to withdraw its army bases from Central Asia before. Vladimir Putin signed...

Russian and Chinese armed forces are starting a week of major exercises - dubbed Peace Mission 2005. They are the first of their kind, involving air, sea, and ground units from both countries, including long-range Russian bombers. It is reported that at least 10,000 personnel in all will take part. The manoeuvres will begin in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East before moving to the Yellow Sea and China's Shandong peninsula. Clearly, these exercises are a significant step for both countries - even in purely military terms, they appear ambitious. They also add some substance to the political rhetoric that's now...

WELLINGTON: New Zealand is taking part in a joint naval exercise involving the US for the first time since its alliance with Washington broke down over Wellington's ban on nuclear ship visits two decades ago. Kiwi naval personnel have this week joined a multinational exercise off Singapore, which involves Australia, Japan and Britain, as well as the US. The exercise involves a simulated interception of ships carrying weapons of mass destruction. The exercise comes just days after the death of former prime minister David Lange, the architect of New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy. Washington removed Wellington's ally status in 1985, after...

MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian carrier rocket Soyuz-FG, launched from the Baikonur space center on the night of August 13-14, put the U.S. Galaxy-14 satellite into orbit, a spokesman for the Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) said Sunday. "The spacecraft separated from the Russian acceleration unit, reached its calculated orbit and was placed under the control of the U.S. customer," the spokesman said. The Galaxy-14 telecommunications satellite will receive and transmit commercial TV signals across the U.S. territory and provide Internet-services. It will be a part of the space satellite grouping of the U.S. PanAmSat Corporation. Orbital Science...

The recent agreement between President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on nuclear energy programme has a definite China angle and the Americans have entered into it with the intention to counterbalance China in the region. Interestingly, some days before this historic deal, the Indian and Chinese Army, which had fought a border war four decades ago, had finalized plans to hold joint counter-terrorism and peacekeeping training programmes. It is paradoxical that China always gets factored into any American security discourse relating to the Indian subcontinent, but the ground reality indicates that India and China are getting nearer to defend...

NEW DELHI Aug. 10 - The Indian Navy will carry out bilateral exercises with the US, French and Russian navies during September- November this year, Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in the Parliament Wednesday. Nuclear powered submarines of the US and French navies and the aircraft carrier of the Russian navy are likely to be part of their forces in these exercises, Mukherjee said.

China and Russia joint exercises to strengthen ties By Mure Dickie in Beijing Published: August 2 2005 16:57 | Last updated: August 2 2005 16:57 Nearly 10,000 troops are to take part in unprecedented joint military exercises by China and Russia this month aimed at strengthening ties between the armed forces of two powers that were once bitter foes. Chinese state media said yesterday the “Peace Mission 2005” exercises would be held from August 18-25 in and around the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok and the Chinese coastal province of Shandong. The scale of the exercises, which will involve...

VLADIVOSTOK — U.S. Navy ships arrived at port here for joint Navy exercises with the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, based in this city. They will also be participating in celebrations for the city's 145th anniversary and U.S. Independence Day on July 4. The U.S. delegation will hold a meeting with the fleet's commanding officers and the city mayor, and take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Pacific Fleet Battle Memorial, dedicated to Russian soldiers and sailors who died in World War II. The American sailors will also take a tour of the city during their visit and play sports...

MOSCOW, July 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Black Sea Fleet's warships are conducting joint military exercises with an Italian Navy frigate to work out tactics for detaining an intruding vessel, said a source in the Black Sea Fleet. The crews of the Italian Espero frigate and the Russian Pytlivy guard vessel also worked on tactical maneuvering and worked out communication tactics during the exercise in the central part of the Mediterranean Sea. After the exercise, the squadron of the Black Fleet's vessels, including the Moskva guided missile cruiser and the Pytlivy guard vessel, entered the Italian port of Naples....

IAF planes back from joint exercise in France Sunday July 10 2005 00:00 IST NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force has proved itself fully compatible with advanced US-built force multipliers after 10 days of advanced joint exercises with the French air force last month. A fleet of six IAF Sukhoi-30K fighters, a pair of IL-78M mid-air refuellers and a supporting pair of IL-76 is just back from France after taking part in the Garuda-II joint air exercises with the French air force at Istres. The IAF performed elaborate combat manoeuvres over the Mediterranean with E-3F AWACS aircraft and KC-135 Stratotanker...

Tuesday July 5, 7:27 PM ASDF to have 1st airstrike drill with live bomb on island off Guam (Kyodo) _ The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force is set to perform its first ever airstrike drill with live ammunition, scheduled to take place on an uninhabited island off Guam, ASDF officials said Tuesday. The drill, in which an ASDF combat aircraft will drop a 500-pound bomb on a ground target on the island some 350 kilometers north-northeast of Guam, will be conducted on the sidelines of a joint exercise between the ASDF and the U.S. Air Force in Guam to begin Monday....

VLADIVOSTOK — U.S. Navy ships arrived at port here for joint Navy exercises with the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, based in this city. They will also be participating in celebrations for the city's 145th anniversary and U.S. Independence Day on July 4. The U.S. delegation will hold a meeting with the fleet's commanding officers and the city mayor, and take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Pacific Fleet Battle Memorial, dedicated to Russian soldiers and sailors who died in World War II. The American sailors will also take a tour of the city during their visit and play sports...

Exercise Trident FuryCanadian Forces (DND/CF) Website June 9, 2005 As HMCS Protecteur steamed in formation with Canadian and American ships, some of the ship's company enjoyed some well earned down time while watching ‘Top Gun' in their mess. They were treated to true surround sound as Air National Guard F-15s and F-16s screamed out of a dazzlingly blue sky in a low pass over the formation. Protecteur , and the other ships were participating in exercise Trident Fury , (one of the largest task group exercises ever held in this region), which ran from May 16-24. The exercise was organized...

New Delhi, May 26: The armies of India and China, which fought a border war four decades ago, plan to hold unprecedented joint counter-terrorism and peacekeeping training programmes, the Indian army chief said on Thursday. General Joginder Jaswant Singh said the plans had been discussed with visiting Chinese chief of general staff, General Liang Guanglie, who began a six-day tour on Monday. Military ties between the two Asian giants have vastly improved and their soldiers have gone on joint mountaineering expeditions, played volleyball matches, exchanged gifts and shared meals on the frontier, Singh said. "The momentum given by the leaders...

The American elite Navy SEALs (SEa, Air, Land) are increasingly interested in Umoe Mandal's speed boats that are 'invisible' to radar. Now the shipyard has a study contract with the SEALs. Umoe Mandal has Norway's military as a client, and the Norwegian navy will buy a total of six of the stealth "Skjold" (Shield) speed boats by 2008. Now billionaire Jens Ulltveit-Moe hopes that the SEALs interest in the swift stealth vessels will also lead to a future sales contract. "The Norwegian "Skjold" boat was on loan for a year's testing by special forces after Sept. 11, 2001. Our marketing...

The US and India have decided to harness their "transformed bilateral relationship" to jointly address global challenges like organised crime, trafficking in narcotics and persons linked to international terrorism and illegal arms trade, as also to use cleaner and efficient engergy sources. "The two delegations held a productive exchange of views and discussed new and expanded areas for U.S.-India cooperation on global affairs. These included issues related to protection of the environment, sustainable development, protection of the vulnerable, combating transnational organized crime, and promotion of democratic values and human rights," said a joint statement issued after the meeting. "The Forum...

U.S., Cdn flying teams in PensacolaCanoe Network ... cnews May 9, 2005 PENSACOLA, Fla. (CP) - Canada's Snowbirds will join both American military precision flying teams as well as U.S. army and navy parachute squads for a pair of rare joint public appearances Tuesday and Wednesday, weather permitting. The Blue Angels will host the other teams for practice shows at Pensacola Naval Air Station, where the Navy flight demonstration squadron is based. The flying is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m., which is when the Blue Angels normally conduct public practice sessions, and continue through 1 p.m. both days. Public...

Story Number: NNS050506-03 Release Date: 5/6/2005 1:55:00 PM USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (NNS) -- A ceremony held aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) (TR) May 4 recognized the ongoing friendship between Spain and the United States with the joining of a Spanish ship to the TR Carrier Strike Group. Alvaro de Bazan (F 101), a medium-size Spanish frigate, is now officially a part of Carrier Strike Group 2. “We are pleased and honored to welcome Alvaro de Bazan to Norfolk, Va., and into the TR strike group,” said Commander, Carrier Strike Group 2 Rear Adm. James A. Winnefeld. “This project was...

BRUSSELS, May 6 (RIA Novosti, Alexander Shishlo) - The Russian Navy will engage in the Active Efforts NATO anti-terror operation in the Mediterranean, toward this year's end into early next year. Russia's Black Sea Fleet will regularly join the operation, Vice-Admiral Valentin Kuznetsov, Russia's chief military spokesman at NATO, said to the media in Brussels today. "I think we'll appear in the Mediterranean on two or three occasions," he remarked. The partners are presently consulting on prospects for NATO assistance to prepare Russian ships for the operation, added the admiral.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin to Form Launch Services Joint Venture Lowers Cost to the Government Maintains Assured Access to Space Enhances ReliabilityProvides Full Cost Visibility CHICAGO, and BETHESDA, MD – May 2, 2005 – The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) have entered into an agreement to create a joint venture that will combine the production, engineering, test and launch operations associated with U.S. government launches of Boeing Delta and Lockheed Martin Atlas rockets. The joint venture, named United Launch Alliance, will reduce the cost of meeting the critical national security and NASA expendable launch vehicle...