Free Republic

Four Republican presidential candidates are slated to attend a closed-door summit in Utah today sponsored by Sen. Mitt Romney and his 2012 presidential running mate, former House speaker Paul Ryan. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are scheduled to attend the event in Park City where they can make their case to a network of “influential” donors, the Washington Post reported. Romney launched the annual policy forum, known as the E2 Summit, before being elected to the Senate in 2019. The report said...

China is developing a surveillance plane designed to be launched from the country’s newest aircraft carrier and fitted with a radar system to spot enemy stealth jets, military observers say. State media confirmed for the first time on Monday that China was building its first carrier-borne early-warning plane called the KJ-600. The announcement comes as the United States has deployed F-35 stealth jets to bases in Japan and other parts of the Asia-Pacific over the last year, challenging China’s air defences in the region. Chinese military observers said the KJ-600 would be fitted with an advanced active electronically scanned array,...

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, the Navy's newest airborne early warning and command and control aircraft, began Carrier Suitability Testing aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) today to assess its effectiveness in an operational environment. During this test phase, all aspects of aviation/ship integration are addressed, including logistics, manpower and interoperability, as well as catapult and arrested landing structural tests. Aircraft 501, flight test team and pilots assigned to the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 (VX-20) here are being used to test the aircraft aboard the CVN 75. "(The) Truman is here to provide the squadron with the...

Northrop Grumman Corporation is highlighting its industry-leading range of capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) including airborne early warning and control systems for maritime reconnaissance, fire control radars and unmanned aerial vehicles, at the Aero India 2011 exhibition and air show. Aero India, organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence and managed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), takes place at Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bengaluru, India from Feb. 9-13, 2011. The Northrop Grumman exhibit is at stand number E12 in Hall E. "ISR systems are critical to effective homeland security and our leadership in multiple-domain...

Indian Navy planning to procure 4 planes for airborne surveillance New Delhi: Looking to strengthen its surveillance capabilities and control over the maritime zone, the Indian Navy is planning to procure four aircraft carrier-based Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) planes. "We are planning to procure four carrier-based AEW&C aircraft to carry out airborne surveillance, detection and tracking of airborne and surface contacts and control air interceptions and air strikes," Navy officials told PTI in New Delhi. At present, the Navy operates the carrier-borne Kamov-31, which were procured from Russia for early warning roles. Using AEW&C aircraft on aircraft carriers...

After looking for a decade to buy a dark place in the country to practice landings of its noisiest aircraft, the Navy has decided to look at renting airport space for quieter aircraft landing practice and to keep the big jets working at home. Navy Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., announced Friday that it will survey public and private airfields within 90 nautical miles of Norfolk Naval air station for interest in renting landing strip time for its turboprop planes to practice. The Navy has not abandoned its search for an outlying landing field, said Ted Brown, spokesman for...

Navy eyeing U.S. airborne early warning aircraft By Rasheed Kappan BANGALORE, FEB. 10. Keen on acquiring six all-weather Hawkeye E-2C Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, the Navy has invited next week the United States defence firm Northrop Grumman, aircraft manufacturer, for initial aircraft carrier compatibility assessment. The Navy is looking at equipping the carrier Gorshkov (INS Vikramaditya) with the E-2C. The U.S. Government has issued Grumman the licence to open technical discussions with the Navy for sale of the aircraft. The U.S. has also provided the necessary "price and availability" document to go ahead with the talks, a...

Agent: Minister Tried To Get $20,000 Over R. Kelly Sex Tape CHICAGO -- The alleged victim of an extortion plot by a Chicago-area minister has been identified as the wife of New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield, NBC5's Anna Davlantes reported. Rufus Williams, Sheffield's manager, released the information in a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Williams said the Rev. Derrick Mosley, a self-proclaimed community activist, tried to obtain $20,000 from him in exchange for a videotape that allegedly contains images of Sheffield's wife having sex with R & B star R. Kelly. Williams said he went to the FBI after Mosley...

Dwain Kyles, owner of Epitome/E2 Chicago nightclub, was awakened by a phone call early Monday from his longtime business partner, Calvin Hollins. If it had been about a fight or some other disturbance, Kyles may have fallen back asleep. But Hollins was calling from the police station. By the time Kyles threw some clothes on and made it to his nightclub, the lifeless bodies were already stacked up at the door. "I couldn't get through it," he told me, explaining why it took so long for him to issue a personal apology to the families of the 21 people who...

The city's search to affix responsibility for the deaths of 21 people in a South Side nightclub has centered on a son of one of Chicago's most prominent African-American families and a street savvy entrepreneur who served prison time for manslaughter. Their connections and influence were on display this week as a who's who of black Chicago, from U.S. congressmen to Rev. Jesse Jackson, came to the club's defense. Dwain Kyles, owner of the E2 club on South Michigan Avenue, is a Georgetown University-trained lawyer, lifelong friend of the Jackson family and son of a renowned pastor from the civil...