WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defense Thursday ordered a major review of the shootings in an Army base earlier this month. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a press conference that the review would check if the military had missed any warning signs and what it can do to prevent such shootings from being repeated.
...The defense secretary named former Army Secretary Togo West and former chief of naval operations Vernon Clark to lead the review. According to U.S. media reports, Hasan was under watch before the killings but the investigation was ceased for some unknown reason.
read more @ chinaview
2. Saudi Arabia and Pentagon sign pact after visit with Gates
WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia and the United States have discussed prospects of expanding military cooperation during a strategic meeting attended by Prince Khaled bin Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs, it was announced on Thursday.
The Saudi Press Agency said the two sides signed an agreement following a meeting of the Saudi-American Strategic Planning Committee. Prince Khaled and US Deputy Defense Secretary Michele Flournoy signed the pact.
...On Tuesday, Prince Khaled held talks with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates. SPA, which reported the meeting Wednesday, did not give any details. But Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell stated before the meeting that the two officials would “discuss a range of bilateral defense and regional security issues.”
Prince Khaled earlier met with Saudi military students pursuing higher studies in the United States. The meeting took place at the office of the Saudi military attaché in Washington.
read more @ arab news3. Russian strategic bombers patrol Arctic region
Two Russian Tu-95 MS Bear strategic bombers have accomplished a routine patrol mission over neutral waters of the Arctic and Pacific oceans and the Aleutian Islands, an Air Force spokesman said on Friday.
"The air patrol mission took place on November 18-19, 2009. Two turboprop Tu-95 MS bombers took off from a Russian Air Force base in eastern Russia, and the route of their flight passed from the neutral waters of the Arctic Ocean to the Aleutian Islands in the [north] Pacific Ocean," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said.
He said the bombers spent around 16 hours in the air, and were accompanied by two NATO F-22 fighters from an airbase in Alaska.
Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans in August 2007, following an order from then-president Vladimir Putin.
All flights by Russian aircraft are performed in strict compliance with international law on the use of airspace over neutral waters, without intruding in the airspace of other states, Drik said.
MOSCOW, November 20 (RIA Novosti)
4. China humbly launches serial production of stolen Russian fighter jets
China has launched the serial production of J-10, J-11 and FC-1 fighter jets, which are rip-offs of Russia’s Su-27/30 and MiG-29 aircraft. The nation intends to build and sell not less than 1,200 planes at the prices which will be much lower than those of the Russian planes.
The report is not the news for the Russian defense industry. In 2003, China refused to prolong the license for the production of Su-27CK planes and started working on the construction of its own jet – a copy of the Russian analogue. China will put competitive pressure on Russia on the market of spare parts too.
Beijing plans to challenge Russia on its traditional defense industry markets and become the maker of inexpensive and efficient air materiel. Malaysian military officials have already expressed their readiness to cooperate with China at this point. A senior official of Malaysia’s Air Force said that his nation was going to purchase a batch of spare parts to Russian fighter jets from China.
read more @ pravda
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