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West Lafayette, Ind. (UPI) Jun 3, 2010 -
U.S. scientists say they have created an automated program designed to “debug” the nation’s nuclear test computer simulations.
Purdue University researchers, working with scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said their program, called AutomaDeD (pronounced like automated), finds errors in computer code for complex “parallel” programs.
Because international tr

Stockholm, Sweden (UPI) Jun 3, 2010 -
Latin American arms spending in 2009 continued rising despite the economic downturn because of the region’s cash reserves from commodity exports and other surpluses, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its annual report.
SIPRI said a number of factors ensured that defense expenditure in the region remained largely unaffected by the global economic crisis.

Canberra, Australia (UPI) Jun 3, 2010 -
Australian soldiers fighting in Afghanistan will have new lightweight combat body armor by the end of the year, army chief Lt. Gen. Ken Gillespie said.
The tiered body armor system has up to three load carriers designed for multiple combat roles. The TBAS has a new ballistic plate system weighing less than the current modular combat body armor to give added protection, Gillespie said. /

Washington (AFP) June 3, 2010 -
Nine years into a grinding war, a “degraded” Taliban is conducting fewer direct assaults in eastern Afghanistan, turning instead to more roadside bombs and suicide attacks, the US commander there said Thursday.

“We realize that Afghanistan and Regional Command East are at a critical moment,” Major General Curtis Scaparrotti said, as the United States scrambles to boost Afghan Security Forces

Kabul (AFP) June 2, 2010 -
A Taliban suicide squad armed with rockets on Wednesday targeted an Afghan peace conference hosted by President Hamid Karzai that is seeking consensus on how to end nearly nine years of war.

As Karzai addressed more than 1,600 delegates and Western diplomats at the “peace jirga”, rockets exploded and gunfire erupted near the huge air-conditioned tent in Kabul.

Officials said suicide bombers wearing explosive-packed vests and dressed in women’s burqas carried out the unsuccessful attack on the event, which was guarded by 12,000 security personnel.

“The area is under our control now and is cleared,” interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP. “Two attackers aged between 17 and 20 years had managed to come to the area using burqas and had entered a house under construction.”

A third would-be attacker was taken into custody.

At least five explosions, believed to be caused by rockets, interrupted the opening of the three-day jirga that Karzai hopes will achieve consensus on how to end the war with the Taliban.

The militia, which is opposed to peace talks until all foreign troops have left Afghanistan, claimed it had dispatched four suicide bombers armed with guns and rockets who threatened the jirga from a nearby rooftop.

Karzai left the event on schedule after his address, in his armoured convoy.

Delegates took a scheduled break for his departure, but did not return to their seats for about three hours, with some taking refuge beneath trees from the rocket attacks.

Karzai appealed to delegates to advise him on how to bring the impoverished country, blighted by three decades of war, out of the current conflict and encourage the Taliban to disarm.

“The Afghan nation is looking at you. They await your decisions, your advice so that you can show the Afghan nation the way to reach peace, to rescue Afghanistan from this suffering and pain,” Karzai said.

“Let’s free ourselves from this killing and build this land with consultation from the ulema (religious leaders) and elders of this country.”

Karzai said most of the Taliban fighting his administration were those “who fled their homes under oppression, either by us or the foreigners. I call on them — brothers, come back to your homeland, it’s over.”

He reiterated his long-held position that he would not reconcile with those he called “Al-Qaeda terrorists”.

Critics have warned that the jirga’s outcome is likely to be limited, not least because the Taliban are not officially attending.

But Farouq Wardak, Karzai’s education minister and one of the organisers, said that with “1,700-1,800 delegates, this is more than we expected. We’re sure the results will be great.”

It is already the third such conference to bring together Afghanistan’s complex mix of ethnic, tribal, religious, geographical and gender interests since the US-led invasion brought down the Taliban’s 1996-2001 regime.

Karzai’s Western allies, led by the United States, have described the jirga as a milestone in Afghan politics.

The number of US and NATO troops is set to peak at 150,000 by August as part of a strategy designed to boost government authority in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.

President Barack Obama has said he wants to start drawing down troops from mid-2011.

The Taliban have dismissed the conference as a propaganda stunt and claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attacks.

The jirga comes after Al-Qaeda announced the death of its number three leader and Afghanistan operations chief, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, believed to have been killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan late last month.

Britain said one of its marines had been killed on Wednesday while patrolling in Sangin district in the troubled province of Helmand. He was the third member of Britain’s 40 Commando to have been killed in eight days, all by explosions near Sangin.

The death brings to 290 the number of British troops killed since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001. Of these, at least 255 were killed as a result of hostile action.

London (AFP) June 3, 2010 –
EADS, the European aerospace giant, has found the US partners it needs for its bid for a major US Air Force tanker contract, chief executive Louis Gallois said Wednesday.

“We have the complete team of partners we needed for sensitive equipment but we don’t give the names because we don’t want to put them under pressure,” he told reporters in London.

EADS had previously held talks with US companies Raytheon and L-3 and the US arm of British firm BAE Systems.

Gallois remained confident that EADS had a bid that could beat US rivals Boeing to the 35-billion-dollar (29-billion-euro) deal to supply the US Air Force with 179 aerial refuelling tankers.

He insisted EADS’ design — a militarised version of the A330 aircraft made by Airbus — was the “best airplane”.

“We see the nervousness of Boeing attacking us every day in the press. If we have no chance, why would they attack us?” he asked.

The two firms’ long-running contest for the contract has been plagued by scandal, intense lobbying in the US Congress and transatlantic tensions.

EADS and its former US partner, Northrop Grumman, originally won the contract in February 2008, but the deal was cancelled after Boeing successfully appealed the decision to Congress.

In 2003, the Pentagon awarded a contract to Boeing but later suspended the deal after an ethics scandal.

Gallois also expressed confidence that “we will find solutions” to the crisis in the eurozone, saying that in Europe, “it’s when we are near the cliff that we take decisions”.

He was more concerned about the austerity measures introduced by EU governments facing huge deficits following the financial crisis, and the possible effect they might have on military spending.

Vienna, Austria (SPX) Jun 03, 2010 –
This year, Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is making aviation history. As the first unmanned VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) System to fly at ILA Berlin, the helicopter will prove its extraordinary skills at Berlin Schonefeld airport from 8 to 13 June 2010 by daily flight displays.

The pictures of the flight displays will be shown in real time. Included on the viewing screens at the Berlin Air Show will be the data transmission of the sensor on the CAMCOPTER S-100; an EO/IR payload camera.

CAMCOPTER S-100 was the first and only UAS flying in the history of the Le Bourget Air Show in Paris 2009. We are very pleased to show the advantages of our unmanned helicopter to a wide expert audience said Hans Georg Schiebel, Manager of Schiebel.

Claus Gunther, member of the Diehl Executive Board and President of the Corporate Division Board Diehl Defence, is optimistic for the future: This is not the first time our cooperation partner Schiebel’s helicopter drone has offered a convincing performance in Germany. In the summer of 2008, the CAMCOPTER S-100 successfully completed a three-week test series with the German Navy’s new corvettes K130.

The CAMCOPTER S-100 carries out target and impact reconnaissance contributing to the protection of German soldiers in military operations. The work share of Diehl BGT Defence as prime contractor comprises the system’s adaptation to German requirements, provision of sensors and logistics as well as integration in the German corvette K130 as well as the army’s reconnaissance troops inventory.

With its proven maritime capability, the CAMCOPTER S-100 is used in civil as in the military sector. Its outstanding, multi-tasking networking abilities -ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) are essential for missions in military-maritime sector. Data can be gathered, analyzed and used directly without time loss for optimal implementation of the mission.

The perfect size and mobility of the CAMCOPTER S-100 makes it the ideal UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) of its class. With its innovative autonomous flight control and its unique performance data the CAMCOPTER S-100 is the world leader in the tactical segment. The VTOL UAS was developed according to the equirements and standards of manned aviation.

Taipei (AFP) June 2, 2010 – Taiwan is to test a missile for the first time that could hit Beijing, a report said Wednesday.

The island’s defence ministry immediately denied the report on the medium-range surface-to-surface missile, but said research was being carried out on “various weapons systems”.

The missile, designed to hit targets up to 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) away, will be launched Thursday and Friday from Chiupeng, a tightly-guarded base in southern Taiwan, Taipei-based Next Magazine said.

If successful, the weapons project codenamed “Ching Sheng” would move into mass production stage, according to the usually well-informed magazine.

The defence ministry plans to deploy 150 such missiles, on top of 240 existing cruise missiles, to form one of the island’s main deterrents against Chinese attack, it said.

The medium-range missiles could also be used to strike other major Chinese cities like Shanghai and Chongqing as well as its ballistic missile bases in eastern and southeast China, it said.

“Research and development of various weapons systems have been carried out as scheduled,” a defence ministry official told AFP, but added that “the content of the report is not true”.

Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have eased significantly since President Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008, pledging to boost trade links and allowing in more Chinese tourists.

Yet Beijing still refuses to renounce the use of force against Taiwan should it declare formal independence, prompting the island to seek more defensive weapons.

The island has governed itself since it split from the mainland in 1949 at the end of a civil war.

The magazine said China had boosted the number of its missiles aimed at the island from 300 in 2001 to 1,400 in 2008.

Washington (AFP) June 1, 2010 –
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has called off plans to visit China next week after Beijing told the Pentagon the timing was “inconvenient,” officials said on Wednesday.

The snub came despite an invitation last year from China’s second-ranking officer, General Xu Caihou, for Gates to visit the country in 2010, and after repeated appeals from Washington to bolster military dialogue.

“The Chinese have told us this is not a convenient time for them,” a senior defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters.

Gates had tentatively planned to travel to China after attending an annual Asia security conference in Singapore this week, press secretary Geoff Morrell said.

The defense secretary still hoped to visit China another time and would continue to argue for the benefits of forging stronger relations between the countries’ military leaders, Morrell said.

The Chinese were sending a general to the Singapore conference but Gates did not plan on meeting the delegation, which the Pentagon viewed as too low level, he said.

China denounced US arms sales to Taiwan unveiled in January and its latest move appeared to fit a familiar pattern in which it has postponed some scheduled high-level exchanges with the American military.

Gates, citing the experience of the Cold War with US-Soviet talks, has urged the Chinese to remain committed to the dialogue even when there are disagreements and setbacks, Morrell said.

“I think the secretary has made clear time and time again that there are going to be bumps in the road with this relationship. But we cannot let those bumps derail it.

“We have to continue to engage even when there are things that happen that we don’t like,” he said. “We’re going to impress that point upon them.”

Gates has made one visit to China since he took over as defense secretary in 2006, and declined invitations to return until Beijing reciprocated with a visit by General Xu in October.

At meetings last week with Chinese leaders in Beijing, Admiral Robert Willard, head of US Pacific Command, and other US officials made the case for “why having a stable, reliable and continuous military dialogue is in both of our countries’ interests,” the defense official said.

“We are ready to work with the Chinese when they are ready to work with us,” he said.

The US administration views military dialogue as a way of avoiding misunderstandings and a repeat of last year’s standoffs on the high seas, with Chinese vessels confronting US surveillance ships.

Gates planned to address the issue at the security conference in Singapore, which is likely to be dominated by the crisis on the Korean peninsula after the sinking of a South Korean warship.

Following the Singapore summit, the defense secretary travels to Baku — instead of Beijing — to discuss US supply routes passing through Azerbaijan to support NATO-led troops in Afghanistan.

He also is due to fly to Britain next week for a two-day visit to meet newly-elected Prime Minister David Cameron as well as Defense Minister Liam Fox, before heading to Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers.

Jerusalem (UPI) Jun 2, 2010 –
There are growing indications that Israel’s military or its intelligence service sabotaged three of the foreign ships involved in the ill-fated effort to get humanitarian supplies to the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Matan Vilnai, Israel’s deputy defense minister, hinted during an interview on Israel Radio that Israeli forces had taken covert action to disable two of the ships that were supposed to have participated in the blockade-busting operation Monday.

Asked whether there had been an alternative to landing naval commandos on the leading ship, the Turkish-registered Mavi Marmara, before dawn Monday to prevent the flotilla reaching Gaza, Vilnai said: “All possibilities had been considered.

“The fact is that there were less than the 10 ships that were due to participate in the flotilla.”

His remarks appeared to dovetail with the sudden breakdown of two of the aid ships, Challenger I and Challenger II, with mechanical problems at the same time as the flotilla gathered Friday evening off Cyprus.

They had sailed together from the Greek port of Heraklion on Crete. Both vessels experienced mechanical problems around 3:30 p.m. Friday as they approached Cyprus after a 30-hour voyage.

Challenger I started taking on water after its bilge pump broke down, said Greta Berlin, founder and spokeswoman of the Free Gaza Movement, which organized the flotilla of ships that sailed from ports around the Mediterranean for the rendezvous off Cyprus.

She said an inspection turned up “very suspicious faults.”

Challenger II suffered steering problems and had to put into port in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus to repair hydraulic lines.

It transferred its contingent of pro-Palestinian activists to the Mavi Marmara, which was subsequently attacked by Israeli naval forces in international waters off Cyprus as it led five other ships toward Gaza.

At least nine people, some of them Turks, were killed by gunfire from commandos of the Israeli navy’s elite Flotilla 13 unit who said they were attacked by activists with clubs, iron bars and knives.

Berlin said that a third ship, the Irish cargo ship, MV Rachel Corrie, also suffered unexpected damage while en route to join the flotilla at the weekend.

The 1,200-ton vessel was named after a 23-year-old American peace activist who was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer during a protest in Gaza on March 16, 2003.

Berlin said that inspections revealed that electrical wires had been tampered with but the group was awaiting the results of a fuller investigation.

She said the Rachel Corrie was being repaired and would sail for Gaza within two weeks. She declined to give the ship’s location because of suspicions the Israelis were conducting sabotage operations.

Meantime, Israelis newspapers reported that an Israeli military officer, identified as Col. Itzik Turgeman, who briefed the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Knesset, on the deadly clash in the open sea, spoke of “gray operations” mounted against the aid flotilla.

He reportedly hinted that the engines of five ships were sabotaged by Israeli teams who “took care of them.”

According to various published reports, no other details were available, apparently because of Israeli military censorship.

The Israelis have sabotaged Palestinian ships in the past. In 1988, frogmen planted limpet mines on a Greek ferry, the Solphrini, which sank in Limassol harbor in the Greek-controlled sector of Cyprus.

The vessel, renamed the al-Awda — Arabic for “The Return” — had been chartered in Athens by the Palestine Liberation Organization as a so-called Peace Ship to carry an international group of activists to Israel to dramatize the plight of Palestinian refugees. Israel was blamed for the sinking.

At the same time, three senior PLO officers were assassinated in a car bombing in Limassol by what official sources said were agents of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service.

Western intelligence operatives in Cyprus said at the time that three Mossad agents had arrived on the island two days before the bombing carrying what turned out to be forged Canadian passports.