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| October 16, 2015 |
 Beijing warns against US South China Sea move Beijing (AFP) Oct 15, 2015 - Beijing warned Thursday that it would "firmly oppose" infringement of its sovereignty after indications Washington will soon send warships close to its artificial islands in the South China Sea. Tensions have mounted since China transformed reefs in the area - also claimed by several neighbouring countries - into small islands capable of supporting military facilities, a move that the US s ... more |  |
Japan, China must move on from 'excessive focus' on past: Abe Tokyo (AFP) Oct 14, 2015 - Japan's premier Wednesday said his country's relationship with China must move away from an "excessive focus" on the past during a meeting with a top Beijing envoy. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the remarks to State Councillor Yang Jiechi, the highest-ranking Chinese diplomat to make an official trip to Tokyo for several years, a senior Japanese government official said. His visit signa ...more |  |
Chinese admiral in Iran calls for closer defence ties Tehran (AFP) Oct 15, 2015 - China wants to strengthen military ties with Iran, a senior Chinese admiral said Thursday, three months after Tehran sealed a deal with world powers over its nuclear programme. Sun Jianguo made the remarks to Iranian Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan during a visit to Tehran, China's defence ministry said in statement, noting that he hoped to continue pushing forward military relations betwee ... more |  |
 Russia, US nearing deal on crowded Syria skies Beirut (AFP) Oct 14, 2015 - Russia and the United States said Wednesday that they were close to agreeing a deal to avoid clashes between their warplanes over Syria, as regime forces bombarded rebels near Damascus. Fighting was also reported on the ground in the northern city of Aleppo, where jihadists from the Islamic State group were advancing against rebels. Talks by videoconference Wednesday came after US and Ru ... more |  |
 Russian Rocket Engine Delivery to China May Be Agreed by December Harbin, China (Sputnik) Oct 13, 2015 - Russia may sign a rocket engine delivery agreement with China during Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's visit in mid-December, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Monday. "We are talking about an agreement to deliver Russian rocket engines to China, as well as counter deliveries of Chinese microelectronics we need in spacecraft development," Rogozin said after meeting Chinese V ... more |  |
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 SMC Stands Up New Launch Systems Enterprise Directorate Los Angeles AFB CA (AFNS) Oct 16, 2015 - The Space and Missile Systems Center's newest directorate, the Launch Systems Enterprise Directorate (SMC/LE), stood up at a ceremony held at Los Angeles Air Force Base on Oct. 14. Under the leadership of Dr. Claire Leon, the new directorate brings together the Launch Systems Directorate and the Rocket Systems Launch Program (which formerly fell under SMC's Advance Systems and Development Direct ... more |  |
 Advanced Airborne Networking Capabilities Sought for Hostile Environments Washington DC (SPX) Oct 16, 2015 - Modern airborne warfare is becoming increasingly complex, with manned and unmanned systems having to rapidly share information in a volatile environment where adversaries use advanced, commercially available electronic systems to disrupt U.S. and allied communications. Complicating the communications challenge for allied warfighters, many current airborne radio networks are incompatible wi ... more |  |
China orders academics to push Communist doctrine online Beijing (AFP) Oct 15, 2015 - Chinese academics will be required to promote Communist party doctrine on the Internet, state-run media said Thursday, with promotions dependent on their ability to guide political discussions online. New guidelines from the country's education ministry call on teachers of political doctrine to promote "core socialist values" on social media, the state-run Global Times said. The move is ... more |  |
Britain's Charles to skip banquet with Chinese president London (AFP) Oct 14, 2015 - Britain's Prince Charles is to skip a state banquet during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, the office of the heir to the throne said on Wednesday. The Prince of Wales will hold "one-to-one talks" with the president but will not attend the banquet, to be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II. Charles is a supporter of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader whom Chin ...more |  |
Montenegro PM optimistic over bid to join NATO this year Podgorica, Montenegro (AFP) Oct 15, 2015 - Montenegro's premier expressed optimism Thursday that the tiny Balkan country would join NATO by the year's end, after the chief of the military alliance visited Podgorica and commended its reforms. At the end of a two-day visit by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said he was "full of optimism... that Montenegro hopefully will be invited to join NATO as ...more |  |
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 CubeSat Launchers Expected to Open Research Opportunities for All Kennedy Space Center FL (SPX) Oct 15, 2015 - NASA opened a new avenue for exploration and technology development with awards to three companies to launch missions dedicated to CubeSats. The tiny, box-shaped spacecraft have emerged in the last 16 years as a quick, viable way to test components and techniques that, if proven, can be applied to much larger missions where the stakes are far greater than a simple, 4-inch cube. The price tag for ... more |  |
Ascent Trajectories and the Gravity Turn Bethesda MD (SPX) Oct 14, 2015 - Almost all space launch vehicles liftoff from the ground in the vertical direction and continue to orbit along an ascent trajectory that is usually optimized for the conditions in order to maximize performance while maintaining conservative safety margins. The actual shape of the path to orbit is influenced by a number of factors, including winds and the desired payload injection parameters. ... more |  |
 Iridium Certus delivers latest Broadband developer kits to manufacturers McLean VA (SPX) Oct 14, 2015 - Iridium Communications has announced the availability of its next-generation broadband technology to manufacturing partners, to assist in their development of the first Iridium Certus broadband terminals, which will operate over the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation. Functional terminal prototypes using these Iridium broadband core transceiver (BCX) modules, are expected to begin end-to ... more |  |
 Obama abandons pledge to pull troops from Afghanistan Washington (AFP) Oct 15, 2015 - President Barack Obama on Thursday announced thousands of US troops will remain in Afghanistan past 2016, retreating from a major campaign pledge as he admitted Afghan forces are not ready to stand alone. Calling his decision to keep a 9,800-strong US force in Afghanistan through much of next year "the right thing to do," Obama acknowledged "Afghan forces are still not as strong as they need ... more |  |
Pakistan deploys 10,000 troops to prevent sectarian violence Islamabad (AFP) Oct 14, 2015 - Pakistan is deploying some 10,000 troops and 6,000 paramilitary members to prevent sectarian violence during the holy month of Moharram, the interior minister said Wednesday. Moharram, which begins on Thursday and sees Shiites hold gatherings and processions to mourn the martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussain, is frequently marred by sectarian violence, which has risen mar ... more |  |
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UN urges Iraq's feuding Kurds to respect democracy Baghdad (AFP) Oct 14, 2015 - Political parties in Iraq's Kurdish region, whose president's mandate expired in August, should respect democratic principles, the top UN envoy said Wednesday. Jan Kubis' warning came after a week that saw protests against regional president Massud Barzani turn violent and the leading opposition party kicked out of government. What started as demonstrations over unpaid salaries in region ... more |  |
 Iraqi forces in major push against IS jihadists Baghdad (AFP) Oct 15, 2015 - Iraqi forces battled the Islamic State jihadist group on separate fronts Thursday, ramping up operations to retake Baiji and Ramadi, two of the conflict's worst flashpoints. The Baiji area has seen almost uninterrupted fighting since IS swept across Iraq last year, but top officers said Thursday the Baiji refinery, the country's largest, was almost secure. There were contradictory statem ... more |  |
Iraq says assault to retake IS-held Ramadi looming Baghdad (AFP) Oct 14, 2015 - Iraqi forces have made significant advances around Ramadi, and an operation is looming to retake the city, captured by the Islamic State jihadist group in May, officers said Wednesday. A similar advance was also reported on the Baiji front, with Iraqi forces retaking parts of the country's largest refinery and pushing north. "Great people, the hour of victory against the Daesh (IS) crimi ... more |  |
Pentagon chief: US not leaving Afghanistan Washington (AFP) Oct 14, 2015 - US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Wednesday indicated the United States would maintain extra troops in Afghanistan beyond the end of next year. Under current plans, the United States will draw-down its troop numbers by the end of 2016 from about 10,000 currently to a crew of only about 1,000. Echoing remarks he made at a NATO meeting in Brussels last week, Carter said it was importan ... more |  |
America's 14 years in the Afghan quagmire Washington (AFP) Oct 15, 2015 - America's longest war began in Afghanistan 14 years ago, sucking in hundreds of thousands of troops and costing Washington billions of dollars and huge political capital. President Barack Obama's announcement on Thursday he was delaying the pullout of US troops beyond 2016 marks the umpteenth change of strategy aimed at stopping the Afghan quagmire from turning into an all-out military fias ... more |
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