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The United Kingdom’s lone munitions filing factory exploded on Wednesday, just two days after a fire erupted at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania.As The Gateway Pundit previously reported on April 15th, the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant (SCAAP), the United States’ primary producer of 155mm artillery shell bodies, caught fire.Just two days later, on April 17th, a section of the United Kingdom’s lone munition factory exploded after a single shell went off inside the factory.The explosion occurred at the BAE Systems munitions factory in Glascoed, Wales.BAE Systems is the biggest defense contractor in Europe and the 7th largest...

Development of the Eurofighter Typhoon into a multi-role combat jet has taken a long time. But the aircraft displayed here by BAE Systems test pilot Nat Makepeace shows that this capability is finally nearing. It is carrying six MBDA Brimstone air-to-ground missiles on two three-rail under-wing launchers, plus two Raytheon Paveway IV laser and GPS-guided bombs. In addition, four MBDA Meteor BVRAAMs nestle on under-fuselage stations, and two MBDA ASRAAM shorter-range AAMs occupy the outer pylons. The Paveways are already operational on UK Royal Air Force Typhoons, having been integrated as a ‘Phase 1 Enhancement’ (P1E). The Meteors form part...

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich.,- A Michigan university said its 40th annual list of "banished" words includes "bae," "polar vortex," "hack," "skill set," "swag," and "foodie." Lake Superior State University said its annual "List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness" was chosen by members of a committee from submissions by the public. Topping the list this year was "bae," a term of endearment that came into common use this year. "Meaning 'before anyone else.' How stupid! Stop calling your boyfriend 'bae,'" Evie Dunagan of Manheim, Pa., wrote in submitting the word for banishment. LSSU...

SIERRA VISTA — The Forest Service’s Air Tanker Base operations opened earlier than its planned May 10 date, albeit it is currently operating out of the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport, not from Fort Huachuca’s Libby Army Airfield. Gilbert Gil, Coronado National Forests Sierra Vista Ranger District Air Tanker Base manager, said the Army is planning to make repairs to some of the area on the post which support aircraft operations for the Forest Service, requiring the need to move the functions to the city’s airport. Tuesday morning the site on the civilian side of the airfield was busy as three...

The path to a fully multi-role Eurofighter Typhoon is finally becoming clear. At a media briefing here tomorrow (Wednesday), the company hopes to announce the first test flight in Italy of an aircraft carrying the MBDA Storm Shadow cruise missile. The jet’s full operational clearance to drop smart bombs came recently. Meanwhile one of the prototypes will fly next spring with the Selex AESA radar. Neither the Storm Shadow nor the AESA radar is yet under contract. There have been media reports that Saudi Arabian money is funding these integrations. Laurie Hilditch, Eurofighter capability manager, told AIN here Monday that...

Dennis Rodman told TMZ he will be travelling back to North Korea in August to resume political dialogue with Kim Jong-Un because Barack Obama "can't do [expletive]." According to the gossip site, Rodman said he plans to do everything he can to get the "dear leader" to release Kenneth Bae, an American who was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea for allegedly scheming to overthrow the government.

BAE unveils £2.5 bn deal for military jets to Oman LONDON — British defence giant BAE Systems unveiled on Friday a £2.5-billion ($4.1-billion, 3.1-billion-euro) deal to sell 12 Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets and eight Hawk trainer planes to Oman. The deal, which will help sustain thousands of jobs in Britain, is the first major order since BAE Systems failed to merge with European aerospace giant EADS earlier this year, but failed to boost shares in the British company. "BAE Systems and the government of the Sultanate of Oman have entered into a contract for the supply of Typhoon and Hawk...

The son of a prominent Virginia congressman agreed to help an undercover reporter forge documents in what he thought was an illegal voting effort aimed at re-electing the president, a just-published video reveals. After raising legal and practical concerns, Patrick Moran, son of Virginia Democrat James Moran, encouraged the reporter to create phony utility bills that would allow others to cast multiple votes in the November 6 election. Supporters of stronger voter ID laws seized on the video as evidence of widespread corruption among liberal get-out-the-vote organizations. “What he’s doing is soliciting fraudulent voter registrations and fraudulent ballots, and that’s...

NEW DELHI -(MarketWatch)- India's defense ministry has approved a proposal to buy 145 ultra-light howitzers from U.S.-based BAE Systems Inc. for about 30 billion rupees ($560 million), a senior defense ministry official said Saturday, as the South Asian country continues its efforts to modernize its armed forces. The proposal to buy the M777 artillery guns was cleared Friday by the Defense Acquisitions Council, chaired by defense minister A. K. Antony, the official, who didn't wish to be named, told Dow Jones Newswires by phone. He said the signing of a final contract could take some more months after completion of...

BAE Systems in £133m deal to provide Brazilian navy with 3 ocean patrol ships By Daily Mail Reporter BAE Systems has signed a £133million deal to provide the Brazilian navy with three ocean patrol ships – and hopes to follow it up with further orders. The defence giant said the first of the three 90m vessels would be delivered in 2012 and could open the floodgates to future orders. ‘It positions us really well as a partner to Brazil,’ said BAE’s commercial director Nigel Stewart. ‘This is very much the start of a partnership, a gateway to something for the...

SAN ANTONIO – A Medal of Honor recipient has dropped a lawsuit against his former employer in which he accused the defense contractor of ruining his chances of landing work at another company by claiming he was mentally unstable and a problem drinker. Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer said in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday that he is dropping the defamation against BAE Systems OASYS and a former supervisor, Bobby McCreight, because they settled their differences amicably. The company says it is pleased the matter is resolved. No terms were disclosed. Meyer filed the lawsuit in San Antonio...

Two months ago, Dakota Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama for his service in Afghanistan, the military’s most prestigious award. On Monday, Sgt. Meyer alleged that a defense contractor has called him mentally unstable and a problem drinker, ruining his chances for a job in the defense industry. In legal papers filed Monday, the Marine claims that BAE Systems, where he worked earlier this year, retaliated against him after he raised objections about BAE’s alleged decision to sell high-tech sniper scopes to the Pakistani military. He says his supervisor at BAE effectively blocked his hiring...

In September, President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's most prestigious military award, to Sgt. Dakota Meyer, the marine who saved 36 of his comrades during an ambush in Afghanistan. Obama called Meyer one of the most "down-to-earth guys that you will ever meet." But today Meyer, 23, is having trouble getting a job because of allegations by defense contractor BAE Systems that he has a drinking problem and is mentally unstable. Meyer filed legal papers Monday claiming the allegations were in retaliation for objections he raised about BAE's alleged decision to sell high-tech sniper scopes to the...

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., 31 Aug. 2011. Laser weapons experts from the Boeing Co. Directed Energy Systems segment in Huntsville, Ala., the BAE Systems U.S. U.S. Combat Systems segment in Minneapolis, and the U.S. Navy have tested a shipboard prototype tactical laser weapon based on the Navy's Mk 38 MOD 2 deck gun, during which experts tested the laser weapon against a simulated attack by fast, maneuvering small attack boats, intermingled with neutral boat traffic. The tests of the Mk 38 MOD 2 Tactical Laser System (TLS) concept were at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Mk 38 tactical...

Automated, computer-targeting machine guns are okay in a pinch, but sometimes putting 180 25mm slugs down range every minute just isn't enough. Sometimes you need a little more energy, and that's when you strap a laser on the thing. Boeing and BAE are partnering up to take the existing Mk 38 Mod 2 Machine Gun System, which offers a 25mm M242 barrel, and pair it with Boeing's directed energy system. The resulting beautiful machine is called the Mk 38 Mod 2 Tactical Laser System, offering the ability to fling both hot metal and even hotter photons against whatever targets would...

BAE Systems has signed a $3.8 million contract to continue supplying the secure operating system that runs the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s mission-planning software. The company’s operating system collects data at different security levels and is used by the aircraft’s software to develop the mission plan, which includes intelligence, weather, communications and navigation. That information is then loaded on to the jet for mission execution. When it is complete and the plane has returned, the operating system parses the data according to its security classification. The process, known as a cross domain transfer, occurs within seconds. “The most advanced aircraft...

Duke railed against France, British anti-corruption investigations into BAE and American ignorance, leaked dispatches reveal Prince Andrew launched a scathing attack on British anti-corruption investigators, journalists and the French during an "astonishingly candid" performance at an official engagement that shocked a US diplomat. Tatiana Gfoeller, Washington's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, recorded in a secret cable that Andrew spoke "cockily" at the brunch with British and Canadian business people, leading a discussion that "verged on the rude".

BAE to slash almost 1,000 jobs amid fears £5.2bn super aircraft carriers may be axed By Ian Drury on 9th September 2010 Defence giant BAE Systems is planned to axe almost 1,000 jobs as it copes with the inevitable cuts inflicted by the Government's spending review. Shocked union chiefs warned the move could be the 'tip of the iceberg' amid fears the Royal Navy's two £5.2billion aircraft carriers to be ditched to cut costs. The Ministry of Defence has asked BAE in the past week to look at the financial implications of scrapping one or both of the 65,000-ton replacement...

BAE Systems is starting to reconfigure its F-35 aft fuselage assembly line to speed up production, the company said Monday. The company, in a news release from the Farnborough Air Show, said first steps in the redesign project took place recently at its Samlesbury site in the United Kingdom, where the F-35's aft fuselage is built. A team from across BAE Systems' Military Air Solutions business stripped one of the six work stations to its bare floor and walls to examine the approach and techniques needed to achieve a production rate increase. Every stage of the manufacturing process – from...

LONDON (AFP) – An unmanned jet capable of striking long-range targets has been dubbed the "combat aircraft of the future" by the Ministry of Defence. The Taranis -- named after the Celtic god of thunder -- was unveiled at a ceremony at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, on Monday. The £142.5 million prototype is the size of a light aircraft and has been equipped with stealth technology to make it virtually undetectable. In a press release, the MoD described the Taranis as "a prototype unmanned combat aircraft of the future." It is built to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance...