DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. Navy Names Littoral Combat Ship

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. Navy Names Littoral Combat Ship

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources U.S. DoD Release No: NR-133-15 Dated April 17, 2015
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 17, 2015: Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today that the next Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) will be named USS St. Louis.

The future USS St. Louis, designated LCS 19, will be the seventh ship to bear the name. The first St. Louis, a sloop of war, was launched in 1828. It spent the majority of its service patrolling the coasts of the Americas to secure interests and trade. In addition, it served as the flagship for the West Indies Squadron working to suppress piracy in the Caribbean Sea, the Antilles and the Gulf of Mexico region.

“The name St. Louis holds a strong naval legacy,” Mabus said. “In this era when our country is faced with similar challenges as our forefathers, it’s important that all who encounter this ship are reminded of the history of our Navy’s bravery and sense of duty.”

The LCS is designed to defeat littoral threats, and provide access and dominance in coastal waters. A fast, agile surface combatant, LCS provides war fighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute focused missions close to the shore, such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and surface warfare. 

St. Louis will be built with modular design incorporating mission packages that can be changed out quickly as combat needs demand. These mission packages are supported by detachments that deploy manned and unmanned vehicles, and sensors in support of mine, undersea and surface warfare missions.

The ship will be 388 feet long, have a waterline beam length of 58 feet and make speeds in excess of 40 knots. The construction will be led by a Lockheed Martin industry team in Marinette, Wisconsin.

Additional information about littoral combat ships is available online at: http://www.navy.mil/local/lcsfreedom/

The Lockheed Martin Team
The U.S. Navy’s current Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are designed to defeat growing littoral threats and provide access and dominance in the coastal water battlespace. A fast, maneuverable surface combatant, the LCS provides warfighting capabilities and operational flexibility for focused missions including mine-clearing, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare.

A flexible and reconfigurable seaframe, LCS derives combat capability from rapidly interchangeable mission modules and an open architecture command and control system. Modularity maximizes the flexibility of LCS and enables commanders to meet changing warfare needs, while also supporting spiral development and technology refresh.

The Lockheed Martin-led team producing the Freedom-variant LCS includes naval architect Gibbs & Cox and ship builder Marinette Marine Corporation, as well as domestic and international teammates. The team’s design, a proven semi-planing steel monohull, provides outstanding agility and high-speed maneuverability.  Its common combat system provides commonality with the U.S. Navy’s fleet and allows unprecedented interoperability, while making training more cost effective. The ship’s design also provides flexibility – its shallow draft and narrow beam allow greater access to global ports given existing infrastructure, which is essential for this ship’s missions.

The Lockheed Martin team has designed and delivered two ships for this new class, while another six ships are under construction. The first ship, USS Freedom, was delivered to the Navy in 2008 and successfully completed its first deployment in 2010, two years ahead of schedule. Then, the ship deployed to Southeast Asia in 2013, a journey to be followed by USS Fort Worth in 2014.

USS Fort Worth, the team’s second LCS, was delivered two months early and incorporates improvements from lessons learned on USS Freedom. These includedifferent air compressors, fixes to cooling systems, a 15 percent increase in fuel capacity, and cosmetic changes.

The team’s third LCS, the future USS Milwaukee, was launched and christened in 2013 into the Menominee River at Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC), followed by Detroit (LCS 7) in 2014. The Freedom-variant LCS industry team continues to produce ships at MMC.

Designs provided by the Lockheed Martin industry team are based on configurations marketed to navies around the globe. These configurations, known as the Multi-Mission Combat Ship and Surface Combat Ship, are adaptable and can include proven  capabilities such as the Aegis combat system with the SPY-1F (V) radar and the MK 41 Vertical Launching System.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources U.S. DoD Release No: NR-133-15 Dated April 17, 2015
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DTN News - STRATFOR: U.S., Mexico - The Decline of The Colorado River

Asian Defense News: DTN News - STRATFOR: U.S., Mexico - The Decline of The Colorado River

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Stratfor
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 14, 2013: An amendment to a standing water treaty between the United States and Mexico has received publicity over the past six months as an example of progress in water sharing agreements. But the amendment, called Minute 319, is simply a glimpse into ongoing mismanagement of the Colorado River on the U.S. side of the border. 

Over-allocation of the river's waters 90 years ago combined with increasing populations and economic growth in the river basin have created circumstances in which conservation efforts -- no matter how organized -- could be too little to overcome the projected water deficit that the Colorado River Basin will face in the next 20 years.

ANALYSIS

In 1922, the seven U.S. states in the Colorado River Basin established a compact to distribute the resources of the river. A border between the Upper and Lower basins was defined at Lees Ferry, Ariz. The Upper Basin (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico) was allocated 9.25 billion cubic meters a year, and the Lower Basin (Arizona, California and Nevada) was allotted 10.45 billion cubic meters. Mexico was allowed an unspecified amount, which in 1944 was defined as 1.85 billion cubic meters a year. The Upper and Lower basins -- managed as separate organizations under the supervision of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation -- divided their allocated water among the states in their jurisdictions. Numerous disputes arose, especially in the Lower Basin, regarding proper division of the water resources. But the use of (and disputes over) the Colorado River began long before these treaties. 

As the United States' territory expanded to the west, the Colorado River briefly was considered a portal to the isolated frontier of the southwestern United States, since it was often cheaper to take a longer path via water to transport goods and people in the early 19th century. There was a short-lived effort to develop the Colorado River as the "Mississippi of the West." While places like Yuma, Ariz., became military and trading outposts, the geography and erratic flow of the Colorado made the river ultimately unsuitable for mass transportation. Navigating the river often required maneuvering around exposed sand banks and through shallow waters. The advent of the railroad ended the need for river transport in the region. Shortly thereafter, large and ambitious management projects, including the Hoover Dam, became the river's main purpose.

Irrigation along the river started expanding in the second half of the 19th century, and agriculture still consumes more water from the Colorado than any other sector. Large-scale manipulation of the river began in the early 20th century, and now there are more than 20 major dams along the Colorado River, along with reservoirs such as Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and large canals that bring water to areas of the Imperial and Coachella valleys in southern California for irrigation and municipal supplies. User priority on the Colorado River is determined by the first "useful purposing" of the water. For example, the irrigated agriculture in California has priority over some municipal water supplies for Phoenix, Ariz.

Inadequate Supply and Increasing Demand

When the original total allocation of the river was set in the 1920s, it was far above regional consumption. But it was also more than the river could supply in the long term. The river was divided based on an estimated annual flow of roughly 21 billion cubic meters per year. More recent studies have indicated that the 20th century, and especially the 1920s, was a time of above-normal flows. These studies indicate that the long-term average of flow is closer to 18 billion cubic meters, with yearly flows ranging anywhere from roughly 6 billion cubic meters to nearly 25 billion cubic meters. As utilization has increased, the deficit between flow and allocation has become more apparent.

Total allocations of river resources for the Upper and Lower basins and Mexico plus water lost to evaporation adds up to more than 21 billion cubic meters per year. Currently, the Upper Basin does not use the full portion of its allocation, and large reservoirs along the river can help meet the demand of the Lower Basin. Populations in the region are expected to increase; in some states, the population could double by 2030. A study released at the end of 2012 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation predicted a possible shortage of 3 billion cubic meters by 2035.

The Colorado River provides water for irrigation of roughly 15 percent of the crops in the United States, including vegetables, fruits, cotton, alfalfa and hay. It also provides municipal water supplies for large cities, such as Phoenix, Tucson, Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas, accounting for more than half of the water supply in many of these areas. Minute 319, signed in November 2012, gives Mexico a small amount of additional water in an attempt to restore the delta region. However, the macroeconomic impact on Mexico is minimal, since agriculture accounts for the majority of the river's use in Mexico but only about 3 percent of the gross domestic product of the Baja Norte province. 

There is an imbalance of power along the international border. The United States controls the headwaters of the Colorado River and also has a greater macroeconomic interest in maintaining the supply of water from the river. This can make individual amendments of the 1944 Treaty somewhat misleading. Because of the erratic nature of the river, the treaty effectively promises more water than the river can provide each year. Cooperation in conservation efforts and in finding alternative water sources on the U.S. side of the border, not treaty amendments, will become increasingly important as regional water use increases over the coming decades.

Conservation Efforts Along the Colorado

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation oversees the whole river, but the management of each basin is separate. Additionally, within each basin, there are separate state management agencies and, within each state, separate regional management agencies. Given the number of participants, reaching agreements on the best method of conservation or the best alternative source of water is difficult. There are ongoing efforts at conservation, including lining canals to reduce seepage and programs to limit municipal water use. However, there is no basin-wide coordination. In a 2012 report, the Bureau of Reclamation compiled a list of suggested projects but stopped short of recommending a course of action. 

A similar report released in 2008 listed 12 general options including desalinization, vegetation management (elimination of water-intensive or invasive plants), water reuse, reduced use by power plants and joint management through water banking (water is stored either in reservoirs or in underground aquifers to use when needed). Various sources of water imports from other river basins or even icebergs are proposed as options, as is weather modification by seeding clouds in the Upper Basin. Implementation of all these options would result in an extra 5 billion cubic meters of water a year at most, which could erase the predicted deficit. However, this amount is unlikely, as it assumes maximum output from each technique and also assumes the implementation of all proposed methods, many of which are controversial either politically or environmentally and some of which are economically unviable. Additionally, many of the methods would take years to fully implement and produce their maximum capacity. Even then, a more reasonable estimate of conservation capacity would likely be closer to 1 billion-2 billion cubic meters, which would fall short of the projected deficit in 2035.

The Potential for New Disputes

Conflict over water can arise when there are competing interests for limited resources. This is seen throughout the world with rivers that traverse borders in places like Central Asia and North Africa. For the Colorado River, the U.S.-Mexico border is likely less relevant to the competition for the river's resources than the artificial border drawn at Lees Ferry.

Aside from growing populations, increased energy production from unconventional hydrocarbon sources in the Upper Basin has the potential to increase consumption. While this amount will likely be small compared to overall allocations, it emphasizes the value of water to the Upper Basin. Real or perceived threats to the Upper Basin's surplus of water could be seen as threats to economic growth in the region. At the same time, further water shortages could limit the potential for economic growth in the Lower Basin -- a situation that would only be exacerbated by growing populations.

While necessary, conservation efforts and the search for alternative sources likely will not be able to make up for the predicted shortage. Amendments to the original treaty typically have been issued to address symptomatic problems. However, the core problem remains: More water is promised to river users than is available on average. While this problem has not come to a head yet, there may come a time when regional growth overtakes conservation efforts. It is then that renegotiation of the treaty with a more realistic view of the river's volume will become necessary. Any renegotiation will be filled with conflict, but most of that likely will be contained in the United States.

Read more: U.S., Mexico: The Decline of the Colorado River | Stratfor 
*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Stratfor
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DTN News - OBAMA IN MEXICO: US President Obama Agrees Trade Boost In Mexico Visit

Asian Defense News: DTN News - OBAMA IN MEXICO: US President Obama Agrees Trade Boost In Mexico Visit

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources BBC News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 3, 2013: US President Barack Obama and his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto have agreed to boost trade and create jobs on both sides of the border.

After talks in Mexico City, Mr Obama said illegal immigration to the US was at a historic low due to the strength of the Mexican economy.

He also pledged to continue co-operation in combating drug-trafficking despite a shift in Mexico's policy.

Mexico wants to end the widespread access the US has to its intelligence.

This is Mr Obama's first visit to Mexico since Mr Pena Nieto took office in December 2012.

'No clash'
"I agreed to continue our close co-operation on security, even as the nature of that co-operation will evolve," the US leader said at a joint news conference.

Washington is planning to further boost security at the US-Mexico border
For his part, President Pena Nieto played down notions that the recent shift meant less co-operation between the two countries.

"There is no clash between these two goals."

Mexico's Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Sergio Alcocer, announced on Monday that an arrangement allowing US security agents unprecedented access to Mexican intelligence would come to an end.

All requests by the US security agencies would now have to be channelled through Mexico's interior ministry, which controls security and domestic policy.

Mr Alcocer insisted the new policy would improve co-operation rather than hamper it, but US analysts said the move could put an end to ties forged between agents on the ground.

Reversing trend
In Mexico City, Mr Obama also highlighted that an overhaul of the US immigration system was important for US-Mexican trade, which totalled $500bn (£322bn) in 2012.

Mexico is the third largest trade partner of the US.

Getting Mexico's backing on securing the 3,200km-long (2,000 miles) border could prove key for President Obama as he tries to sell his immigration reform to US politicians, analysts say.

Bipartisan senators currently debating the reform have insisted that tough border security be in place before undocumented immigrants can gain legal status.

A strong Mexican economy could also help cut down on emigration from Mexico, as workers do not feel the need to seek employment abroad.

Last year, for the first time in four decades, about the same number of Mexican migrants returned home as arrived in the US, bringing net migration to zero, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

The trend has been ascribed to tougher border controls and immigration laws on the one hand, and the US recession and a growing Mexican economy on the other.

President Pena Nieto said the two leaders had agreed that the bilateral relationship be multi-themed - an inference that in recent years security concerns have dominated at the expense of economic and trade issues, the BBC's Will Grant in Mexico City reports.

Mr Pena Nieto said a deal had been reached to create a joint commission for the economy and bilateral trade, which would include US Vice-President Joe Biden and other senior officials.

A working group was also announced to support young entrepreneurs on both sides of the border as well as agreements on university education.

To underline the strength of the bilateral relations, Mr Pena Nieto used former US President John F. Kennedy's saying: "While geography has made us neighbours, tradition has made us friends."

However, the new tack on security combined with comprehensive immigration reform in the US will provide a strong test of that friendship, our correspondent adds.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources BBC News
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DTN News - FINANCIAL NEWS: Global Markets Jump After Greek Vote Eases Fears

Asian Defense News: DTN News - FINANCIAL NEWS: Global Markets Jump After Greek Vote Eases Fears
*Global markets jump as Angela Merkel tells election victor Antonis Samaras she is confident Greece will abide by bailout pledges, and world leaders gather in Mexico for the G20.
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources The Globe & Mail
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 20, 2012: Asian stock markets were up sharply Monday after elections in Greece eased fears of global financial turmoil, but analysts warned that the economic crisis shaking the 17 nations that use the euro was far from over. Stock markets rejoiced at the narrow victory by Greek conservatives who favour upholding an austerity program that their recession-mired country entered into in exchange for a financial bailout from international lenders.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.9 per cent at 8,731.57. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.6 per cent to 19,548.83. Australia’s S&P/ASX200 added 1.8 per cent to 4,129.20 and South Korea’s Kospi rose 2.1 per cent at 1,897.62.

On Wall Street, Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 62 points on Sunday night, suggesting the market could open higher Monday. The euro rose to $1.2700 (U.S.) from $1.2637 late Friday in New York. The U.S. dollar rose to 79.22 yen from 78.71 yen.

The New Zealand and Australian dollars were also higher. Both currencies typically rise when investors have more appetite for risk. The Australian dollar was trading above $1.01 and the New Zealand dollar was trading above 79 cents.

Masahiro Yamaguchi, a manager at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo, said the perk in Tokyo stocks came from a sense of relief that the worst had been avoided in Greece.

“There’s is a rebound simply because the risks are now reduced,” he said. “There’s a sense that, at least, things are okay for now. The solution is far from basic.”

On Sunday, pro-bailout parties in Greece won enough seats to form a coalition government.

Greece has been dependent on rescue loans to operate since May 2010, after it was shut out of international markets following years of profligate spending and falsifying financial data.

The country is mired in a fifth year of recession, with unemployment spiralling above 22 per cent and tens of thousands of businesses shutting down.

Greece had to agree to austerity measures to get its bailout. Measures included deep spending cuts on everything from health care to education and infrastructure as well as tax hikes and cuts in salaries and pensions. Anger at the measures has sent Greeks into the streets in frequent strikes and protests, some of them violent.

Some analysts said the election results could overstate the willingness of Greeks to embrace austerity.

“Overall, the Greek election result, while welcome, does not imply that the Greek people are embracing the tough reforms tied to the bailout package. It merely meant that fear overruled anger,” analysts at DBS Bank Ltd. in Singapore wrote in a market commentary.

No one is sure how bad a Greek exit from the euro would have been. Greece would almost have certainly defaulted on its debt, triggering losses for European banks that own its government bonds. The outcome of the election, however tenuous, gives Greece a chance to breathe life into its moribund economy.

“It will be tough, but Greece will survive because I think the tourist industry and the agriculture sector will help it recover from its dire straits right now,” said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong.

Japanese vehicle makers soared on hopes that Europe, a huge export market, would avoid deepening economic turbulence. Mazda Motor Corp. jumped 4 per cent and Yamaha Motor Co. gained 4.5 per cent.

Steelmakers and shipyards also gained ground. South Korea’s top shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries, rose 3.1 per cent. Japan’s JFE Holdings Inc. added 4 per cent and Kobe Steel rose 3.3 per cent.

Samsonite International SA rebounded 5.8 per cent after it issued a statement saying its luggage is safe, following a Hong Kong Consumer Council report last week that found carcinogens in the handles of some models, which caused its shares to dive 16 per cent.

But stock market operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. fell 2.8 per cent as investors worried a $2.2-billion bid announced last week for the London Metal Exchange was too high.

Benchmark oil for July delivery was up 91 cents to $84.94 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 12 cents to end at $84.03 a barrel in New York on Friday.

  DTN STOCK MARKET


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources The Globe & Mail
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Mexico Federal Police Take Delivery Of UH-60M BLACK HAWK Helicopters

Asian Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Mexico Federal Police Take Delivery Of UH-60M BLACK HAWK Helicopters

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Sikorsky

(NSI News Source Info) STRATFORD, Connecticut - January 22, 2011: The Department of State has delivered three UH-60M BLACK HAWK helicopters to the Government of Mexico’s Federal Police (FP). Designed and manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX), the aircraft are the first of six advanced helicopters designed to support Mexico’s law enforcement operations as part of the Merida Initiative, a security cooperation agreement between the two countries.

The three UH-60M aircraft expand the Federal Police force’s existing fleet of seven UH-60L BLACK HAWK helicopters. Operational since 2008, those aircraft have become a critical law enforcement tool for disaster relief, troop transport, rescue, surveillance, and in the fight against organized crime and illegal drug trafficking across Mexico.

Introduced into service with the U.S. Army in 2006, the UH-60M is the latest and most advanced variant of Sikorsky’s successful H-60 BLACK HAWK helicopter series. The U.S. Army took delivery of its 200th ‘M’ model in mid 2010, which comes equipped with an advanced flight control system to reduce pilot workload, and an infrared camera for night operations.

“Use of the forward looking IR sensor, and this BLACK HAWK helicopter’s superior lift range and speed will further enhance the capabilities of the Federal Police to perform their very important law enforcement mission,” said David L. Powell, Sikorsky Vice President of Sales for the Americas.

At a Mexico City reception to recognize delivery of the UH-60M helicopters, Sergei Sikorsky, son of Igor Sikorsky, who designed the first viable helicopter in the 1930s, remarked that helicopter operations in Mexico had lived up to his father’s ardent desire that rotary wing aircraft be deployed for humanitarian purposes.

In the summer of 1945, his father accompanied a 1945 scientific expedition to photograph the interior of Mexico’s erupting Parícutin volcano. The U.S. Army Air Corps and the Government of Mexico arranged for a Sikorsky R-6A helicopter to fly above the crater to help scientists observe the volcano’s interior during more than 100 flights at altitudes as high as 8,000 feet. It is believed the flights were the first ever by a helicopter in Mexico, and the first to conduct scientific observations of an active volcano.

Then in early October 1955, helicopters were again deployed to Mexico, this time by the U.S. Marine Corps from aboard the light aircraft carrier USS Saipan. Their mission: to evacuate thousands of Yucatan residents stranded by flooding caused by Hurricane Janet.

“The thousands of trapped residents whose lives were saved by the biggest helicopter rescue operation of its time was a great source of pride and pleasure to my father,” said Sergei. “I am proud to recognize the excellent work of the Mexico Federal Police to use Sikorsky helicopters for law enforcement.”

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in aircraft design, manufacture and service. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.

*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

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