Thursday, June 5, 2014

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Edward Snowden 'Probably Not' A Foreign Spy Says NSA Chief Michael Rogers

Asian Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Edward Snowden 'Probably Not' A Foreign Spy Says NSA Chief Michael Rogers
*New NSA director plays down speculation that 'our gentleman in Moscow' was working for a foreign intelligence agency
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Spencer Ackerman in Washington
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 5, 2014: The new director of the National Security Agency says he believes whistleblower Edward Snowden was "probably not" working for a foreign intelligence agency, despite frequent speculation and assertion by the NSA's allies to the contrary.

In one of his first public remarks since becoming NSA director in April, Admiral Michael Rogers, who also leads the military’s cybersecurity and cyberattack command, distanced himself on Tuesday from contentions that Snowden is or has been a spy for Russia or another intelligence service.
“Could he have? Possibly. Do I believe that’s the case? Probably not,” Rogers said during a cybersecurity forum hosted by Bloomberg Government.
The recently installed NSA director struck a more nuanced tone on the man he called “our gentleman in Moscow” than his predecessor, Keith Alexander, or many of his congressional champions – chief among them his namesake Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, who has frequently intimated that Snowden is a Russian spy.
“You gotta be very balanced. I thought he was an intelligent individual, articulate. [He] seemed fairly arrogant to me,” the NSA’s Rogers said on Snowden’s interview with NBC last week.
“He clearly believes in what he’s doing. I question that; I don’t agree with it. I fundamentally disagree with what he did. I believe it was wrong, I believe it was illegal.”
Rogers declined to say that there were no other Snowdens waiting to leak documents from the NSA. He sounded cautious about how many documents Snowden actually took from the NSA, despite a still-classified Defense Intelligence Agency assessment asserting that Snowden absconded with 1.7 million documents – an assessment based on Snowden’s internal access to NSA documents.
“We have a fairly good idea here, and I’m not going to get into specifics here,” Rogers said.
In another departure from past practice, Rogers confirmed the broad outline of a New York Times story based on the Snowden disclosures that reported NSA’s mass collection of digitized images of people’s facesand other biometric identifiers.
“We use facial recognition as a tool to help us understand these foreign intelligence targets. Counter-terrorism is another big area – this has probably had more impact for us in the counterterrorism arena than anywhere else,” Rogers said.
The Guardian reported in February that the NSA has aided its British counterpart, GCHQ, in collecting imagery from millions of unsuspecting users of Yahoo webcam chats, which GCHQ used for experiments with automated facial recognition software. At the time, months before Rogers became NSA director, the NSA declined to answer questions about its involvement in the effort.
At the Tuesday event, Rogers pledged increased candor with the public about NSA’s operations, which he acknowledged was a cultural challenge for America’s most secret intelligence agency. But he indicated a desire to move the agency out from under the shadow of the Snowden revelations.
“One of the things that I try to tell the workforce out there is: this is not what is going to define us,” he said. “We cannot go into this hunched-down crunch. We have an important mission.”
Echoing a year’s worth of reluctant statements by intelligence leaders, Rogers told Reuters last month that transparency would be key to restoring confidence in the NSA, even as he declined to criticize the broad surveillance that prompted widespread outrage.
Fulfilling the agency’s transparency pledge has been complicated by measures from the US director of national intelligence to clamp down on public interaction, even on unclassified matters, without the approval of the secretive agencies’ press monitors. Critics, noting the government’s selective and incomplete intelligence disclosures, consider the NSA and its allies more interested in reasserting control over its public image than in shedding light on its practices and authorities.
Occasionally animated during his talk, Rogers appeared relaxed and jocular. While rejecting charges of NSA wrongdoing, he said he was open to public debate about the proper scope of the agency’s surveillance authorities – though he neglected to mention that the agency and its allies worked behind the scenes last month to weaken privacy and transparency provisions in a major surveillance reform bill.
“A broad dialogue of what we’re doing and why is a good thing for us as a nation. I don’t question that for one minute,” said Rogers, who repeatedly described himself, to laughter, as a “direct” person.
Rogers declined to discuss Bowe Bergdahl, a former Taliban captive in Afghanistan whom the Obama administration traded for five Taliban leaders detained at Guantanamo Bay. Responding generically to a question about the NSA monitoring the five ex-detainees, Rogers noted that the agency has “the means to track individuals with a foreign intelligence dimension to them” but said he could not guarantee tracking “every individual constantly.”
More broadly, Rogers warned of a danger in inflating national security threats to justify the expansion of government security powers.
“There are groups and individuals out there who if they had their way, we would no longer exist as a nation,” Rogers said.
“Now, I’m not one who’s going to sit here and overhype the threat [or say] that in the name of this threat we have to make dramatic changes and curtail our rights, because if we go down that road, in the end, they’ve won. If we change who we are and what we believe and what we represent in the name of security, they have won. I have always believed that.”

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Spencer Ackerman in Washington
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - BOEING NEWS: Few Customers For Boeing 747 Despite Upgrade

Asian Defense News: DTN News - BOEING NEWS: Few customers For Boeing 747 Despite Upgrade
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources By Julie Johnsson and Andrea Rothman
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 4, 2014(CHICAGO) — Boeing’s iconic 747 jumbo jet is gliding deeper into its twilight years, with a new Air Force One fleet offering the strongest sales prospect for a passenger model that no longer fits most airlines’ needs.

Even as Boeing talks with Emirates airline about an order for the upgraded 747-8, the carrier played down the chances of a deal because it’s buying 150 Boeing 777X jets. That plane will be bigger and more efficient than the current 777, a twin-engine aircraft so capable that it’s cannibalizing Boeing’s jumbo sales.

Commercial success has proved elusive for the 747-8, the latest update to an almost 50-year-old plane known for its distinctive humpbacked fuselage. While the 747-8 is a lock to win bidding that opens this year to replace the president’s fleet, waning demand for the cargo variant further imperils an assembly line that has slowed to just one or two planes a month.

‘‘Air Force One is it, unless a miracle happens in the airfreight business,’’ said Glen Langdon, president of Langdon Asset Management, a San Francisco firm that has extensive experience selling used 747s and other wide-body freighters.

Discussions with Emirates were disclosed this week by John Wojick, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Chicago-based Boeing’s commercial airplane unit, at the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Doha. Emirates is the world’s largest international airline and it operates a fleet of A380s from rival Airbus Group.

Boeing is fighting to land customers, even using trade-ins of older models to seal deals. Boeing faces a ‘‘material’’ accounting loss if it can’t win sufficient 747 orders to recover the costs of development, according to a company filing. So far, Boeing has tallied just 51 sales for the passenger variant, known as the 747-8I or Intercontinental, since Deutsche Lufthansa AG placed the first order in 2006.

This year’s 747-8 order count: one. It wasn’t always so grim. Pan American World Airways announced a $525 million order for 25 of the first 747s in 1966, effectively launching a program that would go on to produce almost 1,500 planes.

But Boeing outdid itself with the 777-9X, the first twin-engine jet designed to carry a jumbo’s haul of 407 passengers. Meanwhile, a glut of the previous 747 iteration remain parked, and Boeing cut 747 production twice last year, to 18 jets a year, as the backlog dwindled.

‘‘We expect 747-8 sales to increase with the economy, and customers flying the airplane tell us they love its strong performance,’’ Randy Tinseth, a Boeing vice-president for marketing, said in an e-mail. ‘‘That’s why we continue to invest in the 747-8, to make it even better.’’

The 747-8’s likeliest sales are to the Pentagon. The Air Force is planning to upgrade the all-747 presidential aircraft fleet by 2023 and has also begun studying whether to replace the ‘‘Doomsday’’ fleet, four 747-200 jets hardened against nuclear blasts that provide a mobile military command, Charles Gulick, an Air Force spokesman, said in an e-mail.

The White House’s fiscal year 2015 budget proposes spending $1.65 billion over five years to replace its aging Air Force One fleet, which began ferrying President George H.W. Bush in August 1990.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources By Julie Johnsson and Andrea Rothman
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated June 4, 2014

Asian Defense News: DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated June 4, 2014
Source: K. V. Seth - DTN News + U.S. DoD issued No. CR-105-14 June 4, 2014
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 4, 2014: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued June 4, 2014 are undermentioned;


CONTRACTS
NAVY
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $90,914,168 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price-incentive-fee contract (N00019-12-C-0004) to incorporate the updated system architecture into the original Diminishing Manufacturing Sources redesign activity for the Electronic Warfare System in support of the F-35 Lot VII effort for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marines and the governments of the F-35 International Partners. Work will be performed in Nashua, N.H. (81percent); Ft. Worth, Texas (19 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2018. Fiscal 2012 aircraft procurement (Navy and Air Force) and international partner funds in the amount of $90,914,168 are being obligated on this award, $71,576,724 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, is being awarded a $9,479,821 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-10-C-0020) for the procurement of 13 low power MV-22 repairs under the Mission CareTM contract. Work will be performed in Oakland, California, and is expected to be completed in February 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,479,821 are being obligated on this award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Seaward Marine Corp.,* Chesapeake, Virginia, is being awarded an $8,885,335 firm-fixed-price contract for Pier Complex Structural Repairs to Pier 4, Trestle 1a and 4 at Naval Weapon Station Earle. The construction and repairs of pattern cracking on concrete box beams; replacement of access ladders; concrete sealing; anode repairs/replacement; fender system repairs; and recoating exposed steel bearing assemblies will assist in the support of the pier. The contract also contains four unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $12,946,707. Work will be performed in Colts Neck, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by February 2015. Fiscal 2014 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $8,885,335 are being obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-14-C-5220).
ARMY
ARGO/LRS JV,* Hanover, Maryland (W912DY-14-D-0043); Clarke Project Solutions, Inc.,* Aliso Viejo, California, (W912DY-14-D-0044); Health Facility Solutions Co.,*San Antonio, Texas (W912DY-14-D-0045); NIKA Architects Engineers, Rockville, Maryland (W912DY-14-D-0046); Polu Kai Services, LLC,* Falls Church, Virginia (W912DY-14-D-0047); and Team Integrated Engineering, Inc.,* San Antonio, Texas (W912DY-14-D-0048) were awarded a $44,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for medical facilities support services. Funding and work location will be determined with each order with an estimated completion date of June 10, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with twenty-three received. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama is the contracting activity.
MACNAK Korte Group LLC,* Lakewood, Washington, was awarded a $30,381,000 contract for a 240-person dormitory at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada with an estimated completion date of Aug. 22, 2016. One bid was solicited and four received. Fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $30,381,000 are being obligated at the time of the award. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles, California is the contracting activity (W912PL-14-C-0003).
UPDATE: Ceres Environmental Services,* Brooklyn Park, Minnesota was awarded two contracts under the multi-award contract announced May 1, 2014 for debris management services for the United States and its territories with an estimated completion date of June 3, 2019. There were six previous contractors announced and all will compete for task orders under a maximum $580,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract (W912P8-14-D-0020 and W912P8-14-D-002).
AIR FORCE
Raytheon Co., El Segundo, California, has been awarded a $7,051,595 contract for the Affordable Radio Frequency Multifunction Sensors (ARMS) program. The ARMS program will focus on developing new manufacturing processes to enable an increase in reliability and a decrease in cycle time and costs for Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) sensors. The emphasis will be on addressing key manufacturing issues while decreasing the program risk and increasing the manufacturing readiness level to 6. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California, and is expected to be completed by March 4, 2016. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2013 and 2014 research and development funds in the amount of $1,005,000 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Manufacturing Technology Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8650-14-C-5502).
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Electronic Systems, Linthicum Heights, Maryland, has been awarded a $3,750,297 contract for the Affordable Radio Frequency Multifunction Sensors (ARMS) Program. The ARMS program will focus on developing new manufacturing processes to enable an increase in reliability and a decrease in cycle time and costs for Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) sensors. The emphasis will be on addressing key manufacturing issues while decreasing the program risk and increasing the manufacturing readiness level to 6. Work will be performed in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by March 4, 2016. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2014 research and development funds in the amount of $2,645,000 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Manufacturing Technology Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-14-C-5503).
*Small Business

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth + U.S. DoD issued No. CR-105-14 June 4, 2014 
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS