Iran Sent a Home-Built Rocket into Space

Iran sent a home-built rocket into space in a move that triggered US concern over possible military use will be able to take a satellite into low orbit around the earth.

Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar vowed that Iran will soon put its own satellite into orbit, after a dummy was sent into space.

The development was likely to add to international concerns about Iran's nuclear programme, which Western nations fear could be a cover for ambitions to build the atomic bomb although Tehran insists its aims are peaceful.

State television said the Safir (Ambassador) rocket is capable of putting a "light satellite into low earth orbit" between 250 and 500 kilometres (150 and 300 miles) above the earth.

It showed footage of the rocket launch, saying that the Safir is about 22 metres (72 feet) long, with a diameter of 1.25 metres (a little over four feet) and weighing more than 26 tonnes.

Iran's most powerful military missile, the Shahab-3, has a diameter of 1.30 metres and measures 17 metres in length.

Sunday's launch raised concerns in Washington that the rocket technology could be diverted to military use.

Initial state media reports in Iran said that the rocket had carried the nation's first home-built satellite Omid (Hope) but this was later denied by officials who said only a test satellite had gone up.

However, the defence minister said on Monday: "Iranian experts can put the national satellite into orbit in the not too distant future."

In February, Iran triggered international concern when it said it had sent a probe into space on the back of a rocket to prepare for a satellite launch, and announced the opening of its space station in a remote western desert.

At that time, officials had said the Omid satellite would be sent into space in May or June.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made Iran's scientific development one of the main themes of his presidency, asserting that the country has reached a peak of progress despite international sanctions and no longer needs to depend on foreign states for help.

However, Iran's claims about its military and technological capabilities are often greeted with scepticism by Western experts.

Reza Taghipour, the head of Iran's space agency, also unveiled plans on Monday for more satellites, including one to be built with and for Islamic countries, state television reported.

He said construction of the Besharat (Good News) satellite would begin in Iran once it had financing from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, adding that high costs were an obstacle to space development.

He also said Iran hoped to broadcast television programmes via its own satellite in the next three years and said seven universities were also working on their own small satellites.

Iran has pursued a space programme for several years, and in October 2005 a Russian-made Iranian satellite named Sina-1 was put into orbit by a Russian rocket.

India Received First Indian Built Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer

BAE Systems Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) handover the first HAL built Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The aircraft is the first of 42 Hawk aircraft being built under license by HAL, and is the 15th Hawk advanced jet trainer handed over to the IAF following 14 which have been delivered from BAE Systems in the UK.

The Indian Air Force has selected Hawk as the ideal platform for training its next generation of frontline pilots.The aircraft will join the fleet of BAE Systems built Hawks that have recently commenced training the next generation of Indian Air Force pilots at Air Force Station Bidar.

BAE Systems is the premier global defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With approximately 100,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded 15.7 billion (US $31.4 billion) in 2007.


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The IAF first felt the need for an AJT in 1982. To fill the quantum difference in the skill and judgement levels required by a young fighter pilot as he transits to state of the art fighters such as the Su-30 MKI, Mirage 2000 and MiG-29, the Hawk-132 would adequately serve as lead trainer for these advanced aircraft.

The Hawk-132 is a variant of the highly successful BAE Systems Hawk AJTs. It incorporates an open architecture mission computer, glass cockpit and a state of the art avionics suite including a new generation Inertial Navigation System with GPS (INGPS).

Hawk-132 is also equipped with several Indian components such as the communication sets, identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system and the radio altimeter.

In addition to being an AJT, the Hawk-132 is fully combat capable and can carry air-to-air missile and air-to-ground strikes. It can also be used as a lightweight fighter.

The contract for the supply of the Hawk AJT was signed between the IAF and BAE Systems in 2004. The deal envisaged a supply of 66 aircraft.

The first batch of 24 aircraft will be built at the BAE Systems' facilities in Brough in East Yorkshire (UK), with flight-testing taking place at Warton. The remaining 42 aircraft will be manufactured under licence in India through a partnership with the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore.

The Bidar airfield, which is located in northwest Karnataka, will serve as the main operating base for the Hawk. This base has been a training establishment for trainee IAF pilots since 1963.

India would be the third biggest customer for Hawks, closely following in the footsteps of the British Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force.

The Hawk is in worldwide operation with 800 plus aircraft in use by 17 customers and 22 armed forces. The trainers have generated over 1.5 million flight hours in experience.

Thales Successful in Live Firing Test of ESSM

On 2 June the new ESSM (Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile) control capability on board of the Hellenic Navy's HS Salamis of the Hydra class proved to be successful.

In the live firing test, the Thales STIR fire control system guided the ESSM missile with such accuracy to an IRIS drone at a range of approximately 5 NM, that the missile fully hit the drone. This test demonstrates once again the high level of accuracy provided by Thales systems and the experience Thales possesses with controlling ESSM missiles.

In May 2007 Thales was awarded a contract by the NATO SeaSparrow Project Office to upgrade the SeaSparrow FCS on board of the Hydra class frigates of the Hellenic Navy to an ESSM-capable FCS, and to act as system integrator for this project incl. the re-integration of the modified GMVLS Mk48.

The selection of Thales as system integrator was a logical one, as the Hydra-class vessels are already equipped with the Thales Combat Information System, one MW08 surveillance radar and two Thales STIR weapon control systems per ship. The Hydra class vessels were commissioned between 1992 and 1998 and consist of four frigates displacing about 3400 tons each.

Following the live firing test on HS Salamis the other three ships of the Hydra Class will be upgraded in 2008 and 2009. The Hellenic Navy is the fourth Navy Thales has supplied with ESSM capabilities. The other three are the Canadian, German and Netherlands Navies

Delivery of TrackSouth African Gripen

South Africa has taken delivery of its third and fourth Gripen multi-role fighter aircraft, which arrived in Cape Town this week.

South Africa has ordered 26 Gripen aircraft from a Saab-BAE Systems consortium as part of its 1999 Strategic Defence Procurement programme.

These modern Gripen C/D fighters are replacing the South African Air Force’s (SAAF) fleet of obsolete Cheetah and Mirage F1 aircraft, enabling the SAAF to simultaneously downsize its fighter inventory while maintaining its full operational capability for national defence and regional peace missions.

Deliveries of the nine dual-seat and 17 single-seat Gripens are on schedule and will be completed by 2012. South Africa’s Gripens will be operated by 2 Squadron at Air Force Base Makhado in the country’s Limpopo province.

Test for FCS Technologies by U.S. Army

Two-foot long vertical takeoff UAVs, 30-pound tactical robots equipped with infrared cameras, and groups of small, static ground sensors all sent battlefield images in real time through a high-bandwidth network from a mock-combat village set up near Fort Bliss, Texas, to U.S. Army Future Combat Systems (FCS)-networked Humvees several hundred yards away.

It was a significant step for the FCS network, which used software-programmable Joint Tactical Radio Systems (JTRS), high-bandwidth Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) and next-generation FCS computer technology to move images and information with greater effect than previously demonstrated.

The July 27-31 live exercise, called a Preliminary Limited User Test, was the first time FCS technologies were put to the test with infantry brigade combat teams in tactical, combat-like scenarios. Battlefield commanders [in the test] were able to use this equipment in live, evolving scenarios.

Prior to this test, FCS was able to demonstrate moving images with SRW between FCS-networked vehicles and Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS) placed in static positions on the battlefield to beam back images of enemy activity. However, in recent months the FCS program has been able to add the Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) UAV and the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) robot to the high bandwidth Soldier Radio Waveform network, enable them to send real-time images as well.

The FCS spinout technologies, which include the Micro Air Vehicle UAV, Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle tactical robot, Tactical and Urban Unattended Ground Sensors, Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS), FCS-networked vehicles (B-kits) and the first increment of the FCS network, are slated to field with Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs) by 2011. The test was the first major FCS exercise since the Army's June decision to field FCS technologies with IBCTs instead of the previously planned Heavy Brigade Combat Teams.

The B-kits include early versions of FCS software, computers and battle command technologies outfitted on current force vehicles such as Humvees, Bradleys and Abrams tanks; the gear, used on Humvees in the test, includes the FCS computer called Integrated Computer System (ICS), a middle-ware operating system called System of Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE), JTRS Ground Mobile Radio (GMR) and Force Battle Command Brigade-and-Below (FBCB2)/Blue-Force Tracking display screens.

During the exercise, FCS computers in B-kit Humvees were able look at live images from nearby MAVs designed to hover and stare above potential enemy locations.

Future FCS capabilities
As more lines of software code for the FCS network are finished and SOSCOE further evolves, B-kit and FCS vehicles will be able to display much larger amounts of information such as full-motion, real-time video from nearby UAVs.

FCS plans to field improved radios as they become available, such as JTRS Handheld Manpack Small Form Fit (HMS) radios for the UGS, SUGV and dismounted soldier.

155mm Naval Gun for U.K. , By BAE

The possibility of British warships firing 155mm artillery is a step closer to reality after an announcement from BAE Systems that it has signed a deal with the Ministry of Defence to build a gun to undertake land-based firing trials next year.CORDA, BAE's consulting arm, together with the company's Land Systems business in Britain and defense research company QinetiQ, hope to start live-firing trials in fall 2009 with a 155mm naval gun based on the British Army's AS90 self-propelled howitzer system.BAE said it is also exploiting the capabilities of other company business units such as Armament Systems in the U.S. and Bofors in Sweden.

The Armament Systems division is already in the latter stages of developing a similar system for the U.S. Navy - the 155mm Advanced Gun System destined for the force's DDG 1000 destroyer program.

No more than two DDG 1000s are likely to be built rather than the seven planned, but the AGS could find its way onto up-rated Arleigh Burke DDG-51 destroyers likely to be built in their place.

If the 4 million pound ($7.55 million) British contract goes according to plan, BAE hopes to move to a full technology demonstrator program ahead of possible retrofitting of the gun to existing Type 23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers, as well as an upcoming generation of warships known as the Future Surface Combatant.

This latest contract is the third phase of work that kicked off in 2006 as part of a three-year MoD research program known as Maritime Surface Effects. Eight different study programs are looking at issues such as coastal suppression, naval fire support, offensive and defensive surface warfare, and the role of unmanned surface vehicles.

BAE said in a statement that replacing the current 4.5-inch gun with a 155mm system would increase the range and effect on targets while also reducing costs by using the same gun and ammunition as the British Army.