Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Asian Defense News: Turk Satellite on Track Despite Israeli Objection

Asian Defense News: Turk Satellite on Track Despite Israeli Objection

ANKARA - March 23, 2011: The Italy-based maker of Turkey's first planned military satellite said the construction of the Gokturk satellite is on track, with a scheduled launch in 2013, despite objections raised by Israel against the device's operational capabilities.

Relations between former allies Israel and Turkey have been at their nadir since last May, when Israeli commandos raided a Turkish-led aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip, killing nine Turks onboard one of the ships. The Gokturk satellite has become the latest dispute between the two new adversaries.

"Gokturk is on track for a launch window in line with contractual requirements," according to a March 21 statement from Telespazio.Telespazio, a joint venture between Italy's defense giant Finmeccanica and France's Thales, a couple of years ago signed a deal worth nearly 250 million euros (about $345 million) for the Turkish military satellite. Finmeccanica has a 67 percent stake in Telespazio.

Asked if the satellite would meet the contractual specifications, the official said that "the satellite is being designed to meet the customer's operational requirements."

That includes a high-resolution optical sensor.

"The satellite program is on track at this point. It is at an earlier stage of technical design," said one senior Turkish procurement official.

Israel does not want to be photographed at high resolutions, and has raised objections to Turkey's military satellite program.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed security concerns voiced by Israel over the planned launch of Turkey's first spy satellite.

"Some people are disturbed by this. They say, 'Turkey will watch us from space in the future,'" Erdogan said March 11. "You have been watching us for many years, decades."

A senior Finmeccanica official earlier said his company also would seek to grab a Turkish contract for the next military satellite.

"The next satellite program involves a payload comprising a synthetic aperture radar, and the Finmeccanica Group companies will be even more competitive than in the past," said Paolo Pozzessere, Finmeccanica's commercial director.

Finmeccanica has been increasingly active in Turkey in recent years.

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica subsidiary, which already has signed a multibillion-dollar contract to jointly produce 60 T129 attack helicopters for the Turkish Army, also competes with the U.S. Sikorsky Aircraft in Turkey's ongoing utility helicopter program.

MBDA, a Finmeccanica-related company, is competing with U.S., Russian and Chinese rivals for Turkey's multibillion-dollar program to acquire long-range air and missile defense systems. Finmeccanica's aircraft firms also seek to develop military planes with Turkey.

DTN News - LIBYA NO-FLY ZONE: Canadian Fighter Jets Fly First Mission In Libyan No-Fly Zone

Asian Defense News: DTN News - LIBYA NO-FLY ZONE: Canadian Fighter Jets Fly First Mission In Libyan No-Fly Zone
(NSI News Source Info)

OTTAWA, Canada

- March 23, 2011:

Canadian jet fighters have flown their first mission in the skies over Libya as part of a coalition effort to rein in Moammar Gadhafi’s crackdown on pro-democracy rebels.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said that four CF-18 fighters accompanied by two CC-150 Polaris refuelling aircraft flew a Monday morning mission to patrol the northern coast of Libya.

No shots were fired but Canadian fighter pilots are prepared to engage any targets – on the ground or in the air, MacKay told reporters.

“They will be ready for any inevitabilities. There’s no way . . . we can predict what they may encounter,” MacKay told a briefing at national defence headquarters.

He noted the Canadian jets are part of an international effort to enforce a no-fly zone and cripple Libya’s air force, which has been targeting rebels as they advance across the country.

Over the weekend, Gadhafi’s forces were the target of airstrikes and dozens of cruise missiles by the international air force.

“These high-level strategic strikes are to dispose airfields and the use of Libyan military assets that Gadhafi’s regime is using to target civilians,” MacKay said.

“Simply put, we want to disable their air force. We want to ensure that civilians are no longer the subject or the target of Gadhafi’s regime brutality,” he said.

MacKay said it was too soon to say whether Canadian jets, based in Trapani, Italy, would be flying bombing missions against Libyan targets.

“We are hopeful that the strategic targeting that took place within the last 24 hours has had its effect in terms of the capabilities of the regime’s forces,” MacKay said.

Monday’s flight marks the first time in more than a decade Canadian air fighters have been engaged in an active military mission abroad.

While the fighters are routinely used to safeguard Canadian sovereignty, they last flew combat sorties in 1999, when they flew bombing missions during the NATO bombardment of Yugoslavia.

In 1991, CF-18s flew during the first Gulf War – flying combat air patrols, escort missions and reconnaissance.

The morning mission over Libya was to achieve air superiority, protecting not only other coalition aircraft but also coalition ships engaged in enforcing the arms embargo.

However, a senior air force official said Canadian fighters have a “significant” capability to deliver air-to-surface weapons.

“Our crews are highly trained in the use of precision guided munitions,” said Maj.-Gen. Tom Lawson, assistant chief of the air staff.

“However, having said that, the risk in employing air-to-ground munitions in such a fluid environment is real,” Lawson said.

He said that Canadian pilots are working with “very strict” rules of engagement and are aware of the need to positively identify potential targets.

“To be clear, we will aim for no collateral damage,” Lawson said.

The Conservative government last week ordered the six jets to join an international effort imposing a UN-mandated no-fly zone over the country. The move is meant to halt Gadhafi’s strikes against pro-democracy rebels who are rising up against his four-decade old regime.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the opposition leaders over the weekend to discuss Canada’s escalating involvement. The Canadian frigate HMCS Charlottetown was deployed earlier and is now in the Mediterranean Sea.

The House of Commons was scheduled to debate the crisis and Canada’s role later Monday.

MacKay said another six fighter planes are on standby to deploy if needed, though he didn’t think that would be happening soon.

“There is no set plan at this point to deploy more aircraft into theatre. . . . What we’ll do is essentially wait and watch,” MacKay said.


*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 23, 2011

Asian Defense News:
DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 23, 2011
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - March 23, 2011: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued March 23, 2011 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

NAVY

Arcadis US, Inc., Highlands Ranch, Colo. (N62473-11-D-2226); Innovative Technical Solutions, Inc., Walnut Creek, Calif. (N62473-11-D-2227); Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio (N62473-11-D-2228); CE2 Kleinfelder, JV*, Pleasanton, Calif. (N62473-11-D-2229); Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group, Inc., Pasadena, Calif. (N62473-11-D-2230); and AECOM-Envirocon, JV, San Diego, Calif. (N62473-11-D-2231), are each being awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity performance-based environmental multiple award contract for environmental remediation services at various locations in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest and NAVFAC Atlantic areas of responsibility. The maximum dollar value, including the base period and four option years, for all six contracts combined is $500,000,000. The services include, but are not limited to: preparing decision documents and other supporting documentation; preparing design documents; preparing community relation documents; performing engineering studies; performing remedial actions; performing removal actions; performing expedited and emergency response actions at sites; performing pilot and treatability studies; providing facility operation, maintenance and instruction; and performing other related activities associated with returning sites to safe and acceptable levels of contamination. Arcadis US, Inc., is being awarded task order #0001 at $409,969 for the preparation of a soil hotspot characterization work plan for Parcel E, at Hunters Point Shipyard, San Francisco, Calif. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by March 2012. All work on this contract will be performed in California (80 percent), Arizona (3 percent), Colorado (3 percent), Alaska (2 percent), Nevada (2 percent), New Mexico (2 percent), Oregon (2 percent), Utah (2 percent), Washington (2 percent), and other Department of Defense locations (2 percent). The term of the contracts is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of March 2016. Contract funds for task order #0001 will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 11 proposals received. These six contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $12,296,316 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for AIM-9X integrated logistics support for the Navy, Air Force, and the governments of Singapore, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Turkey, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Poland. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed in March 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $3,306,455 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.301-1. This contract combines purchases for the Navy ($4,661,108; 38 percent); Air Force ($4,945,270; 40 percent); and the governments of Singapore ($298,882; 2.43 percent), Australia ($298,882; 2.43 percent), Denmark ($298,882; 2.43 percent), Finland ($298,882; 2.43 percent), Turkey ($298,882; 2.43 percent), South Korea ($298,882; 2.43 percent), Saudi Arabia ($298,882; 2.43 percent), Switzerland ($298,882; 2.43 percent), and Poland ($298,882; 2.43 percent), under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-11-D-0004)

BAE Systems Tactical Vehicle, LP, Sealy, Texas, is being awarded $11,322,321 for delivery order #0010 under previously awarded firm-fixed-priced contract (M67854-07-D-5030) for the procurement of the following engineering change proposals: rear door handle kits; overhead gunner protection kit (OGPK) spotlight kits; OGPK aluminum spacers; and improved rear door combat locks and dual hole roxtec. Work will be performed in Sealy, Texas, and is expected to be completed by the end of March 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

Computer Sciences Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded an $11,199,981 firm-fixed-price cost reimbursable, other direct costs contract for support services for the operation, maintenance, support, and management of Outside-the-continental-U.S. Navy Enterprise Network (ONE-NET), Far East Region. This contract contains a six-month base period and six, one-month option periods which, if exercised, bring the total estimated value of the contract to $22,379,705. Work will be performed in Yokosuka, Japan (61 percent); Guam (16 percent); Atsugi, Japan (6 percent); Misawa, Japan (4 percent); Sasebo, Japan (4 percent); Korea (4 percent); Okinawa, Japan (3 percent); and Singapore (2 percent). Work is expected to be completed by March 2012. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the fiscal year. This contract was solicited through General Services Administration e-Buy website, with one offer received. The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N00189-11-F-0087).

BAE Systems Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded a $7,924,347 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-06-C-4408) for repairs to USS Chosin (CG 65) during the ship’s drydock selected restricted availability. Efforts to include drydock, hull, machinery, electrical, electronics, ship alterations, boiler, and piping repair work. Extensive coordination is required for the drydock evolution, in addition to the numerous systems onboard to be repaired. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by July 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $7,924,347 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Metro Fuel Oil Corp.*, Brooklyn, N.Y., is being awarded a maximum $46,798,065 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are throughout New York. Using services are Army, Navy, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 696 proposals solicited with 680 responses. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2014. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-11-D-8511).

Spraque Energy Corp.*, Portsmouth, N.H., is being awarded a maximum $20,977,456 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are in Maine, New York, and Vermont. Using services are Army, Navy and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 696 proposals solicited with 680 responses. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2014. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-11-D-8519).

ISObunkers, LLC*, Aston, Pa., is being awarded a maximum $9,023,100 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are throughout New York and Pennsylvania. Using services are Army and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 696 proposals solicited with 680 responses. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2014. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-11-D-8510).

The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, Ga., is being awarded a maximum $8,540,919 firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract for bag-in-box beverages. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was Web-solicited with one response. This contract is exercising the first option year period. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2012. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM300-10-D-9100).

PepsiCo, Purchase, N.Y., is being awarded a maximum $7,701,038 firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract for bag-in-box beverages. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was Web-solicited with one response. This contract is exercising the first option year period. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2012. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM300-10-D-9200).

ARMY

Fluor Intercontinental, Inc., Greenville, S.C., was awarded on March 21 a $16,223,618 cost-plus-award-fee contract. The award will provide for labor, supervision, tools, materials, equipment, incidental engineering, transportation, and management necessary for the maintenance, repair, and minor construction of buildings and structures and related systems and equipment. Work will be performed in Victory Base Complex, Iraq, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 21, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Central Command, Regional Contracting Center, Baghdad, Iraq, is the contracting activity (W912ER-04-D-0004).

Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., Annapolis Junction, Md., was awarded on March 21 a $6,862,692 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the support of casualty support and survivor outreach services to include long-term family management; mobile training terms and training development support; transitional base realignment and closure support; and strategic long range planning and operation services. Work will be performed in McLean, Va., with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2015. The bid was solicited through the Internet with two bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, National Capital Region, Alexandria, Va., is the contracting activity (W91WAW-09-D-0009).

AIR FORCE

Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, is being awarded a $7,808,962 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery, requirements contract modification for research toward the development of a coordinated response to potential chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive (CBRNE) threats. The results of this effort will provide Washington Headquarters Services, Facilities Support Directorate, with an analysis of requisite information that will be utilized in the development of CBRNE emergency preparedness standard operating procedures and continuity of operations to execute its mission and meet the requirement to protect and safeguard the occupants, visitors, and infrastructure of the Pentagon facilities. Work will be performed at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio. 55 Contracting Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-00-D-3180, delivery order 0697)

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $7,261,201 firm-fixed-price contract for contractor logistics support for the C-12 aircraft for Pacific Air Force, Air Force Material Command, Defense Intelligence Agency, and Defense Security Corporation Agency, consisting of maintenance, repair, and support functions for seven months (including phase-in) from April 1, 2011 through Oct. 31, 2011. Work will be performed at L3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Miss. OC-ALC/GKSKH, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (FA8106-11-D-0002-0001).

*Small business



*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - LIBYA NO-FLY ZONE: U.S., Allies Agree On Key NATO Role For Libya

Asian Defense News: DTN News - LIBYA NO-FLY ZONE: U.S., Allies Agree On Key NATO Role For Libya
(NSI News Source Info)

WASHINGTON

- March 23, 2011:

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday won British and French support for a NATO role in the air campaign against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi as the western allies thrashed out operational details aimed at transferring U.S. control of the mission.


Obama, lobbying hard to hand off U.S. command of Libya operations to allies within days, telephoned British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy and all agreed that the NATO alliance would play an important role, the White House said.

But the allies have stopped short of explicitly endorsing NATO political leadership of the mission, which they fear could be a hard sell for NATO member Turkey and undercut shaky Arab support for the effort to bolster anti-Gaddafi rebels.

"What we are saying right now is that NATO will have a key role to play here," Ben Rhodes, a senior White House national security aide, told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Obama's personal diplomacy underscored that NATO's command-and-control capability will make it central to the unfolding campaign against Gaddafi's forces, which began with air strikes on Saturday aimed at protecting civilians.

Seeking to shore up international backing for the operation, Obama has called leaders in Europe and the Middle East and has stressed that NATO must take over a coordinating role as he seeks to avoid getting U.S. forces bogged down in another Muslim country after Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Brussels, NATO diplomats agreed on Tuesday to enforce an arms embargo on Libya but again saw heated debate over whether the alliance should run the military campaign over Libya.

Admiral Samuel Locklear, head of U.S. forces enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya, said he was working closely with British and French officials and that military forces from 13 nations were moving to take part in the mission.

'TRANSFER WITHIN A FEW DAYS'

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Moscow that he still saw a quick hand-over.

"I don't want to get out in front of the diplomacy that's been going on but I still think that a transfer within a few days is likely," Gates told reporters on a visit to Russia. "This command-and-control business is complicated. We haven't done something like this. We were kind of on-the-fly before."

One U.S. official said Washington believed NATO would effectively have to take operational, if not political, control due to its superior command structure.

That prospect, which has been strongly resisted by both France and Turkey, threatens to alienate Arab nations over perceptions of Western aggression against a Muslim country.

"They are still looking at NATO," one U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It could be a subtle NATO lead but still a NATO lead."

Opinion polls show mixed U.S. public support for the Libya campaign as some members of Congress step up criticism of Obama. Some lawmakers say he waited too long to get involved. Others say Obama has failed to define the mission in Libya and warn about sending stretched U.S. forces into a third war.

Obama, who is traveling in Latin America, telephoned the Turkish and Qatari leaders on Monday evening before his discussions with the French and the British.

Turkey has said it is unable to agree to NATO taking over the Libya no-fly zone if the scope of the operation goes beyond what the United Nations sanctioned.

Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan agreed that the Libya mission should be an international effort that includes Arab states and is "enabled by NATO's unique multinational command and control capabilities to ensure maximum effectiveness," the White House said in a statement.

Western diplomats said Obama's call to Erdogan appeared to have won backing for at least some NATO role in enforcing the U.N. resolution, which could help speed the transition.

"They are not that far from the U.S. on a role for NATO. There is room for negotiation there," one Washington-based diplomat said. "We all agree we do not want to go beyond the U.N. resolution, and we are not."

The U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the action on Libya passed 10-0 but Russia and China, among five nations that abstained, have both voiced doubts about the campaign, echoed by other emerging powers such as India and Brazil. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Gates that Moscow was concerned over possible civilian casualties in what he called the "indiscriminate" use of force in Libya.

(Additional reporting by Caren Bohan, Steve Holland and Phil Stewart in Moscow; Editing by John O'Callaghan and )


*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Asian Defense News: Japan quake becomes world's costliest natural disaster

Asian Defense News: Japan quake becomes world's costliest natural disaster
March 23, 2011 - TOKYO (By Leika Kihara and Kaori Kaneko | Reuters33 minutes ago) - The Japanese government on Wednesday estimated the direct damage from a deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck the country's northeast this month at as much as $310 billion, making it the world's costliest natural disaster.

The first official damage estimates will serve to map out disaster relief plans and emergency budgets to fund recovery costs.

Tokyo said the estimate covered damage to roads, homes, factories and other infrastructure, and eclipses the losses incurred by other natural disasters such as the 1995 Kobe quake and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The figure could go even higher, as the estimate does not include losses in economic activity from planned power outages or the broader impact of a crisis at a stricken nuclear power plant in Fukushima, which economists say pose the biggest risks to the economy.

"The impact from the planned power outages is likely to be significant," Fumihira Nishizaki, director of macroeconomic analysis at the Cabinet Office told reporters.

The upper end of the 16-25 trillion yen ($197-308 billion) estimate range would amount to about 6 percent of Japan's gross domestic product.

"This quake will cause the condition of Japan's economy and output to be severe," Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa told a parliamentary committee.

Speaking separately, central bank board member Ryuzo Miyao repeated the bank's pledge to take appropriate policy action if needed to support the world's third-largest economy.

"We need to be mindful that the quake's negative impact on the economy, at least on the supply side, may be bigger than the Kobe quake 16 years ago, and be prolonged," he added.

In its initial response to the disaster, the central bank doubled the funds earmarked for purchases of a range of assets and started pumping record amounts of cash into the money market to prevent it from seizing up.

It later followed up by joining forces with other G7 central banks in a rare coordinated move to keep a rallying yen from inflicting further damage to the economy.

SPENDING PLAN NEXT

With interest rates near zero and banks' cash balances at records above levels seen in 2001-2006 when the BOJ sought to flood the banking system with cash to spur lending, there is not much more the central bank can do to help the economy.

"The ball is in the government's court," said Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo. "Currency intervention was one thing. The next thing it needs to do is to come up with a credible fiscal spending plan."

Officials from the ruling coalition have said that at least two and perhaps more emergency budgets would be needed to pay for the reconstruction, with the first focused on immediate disaster relief, possible in April or May.

The government has yet to decide how it will finance those budgets, which some analysts say may exceed $100 billion and most certainly will require new borrowing.

Yet with its debt already twice the size of its $5 trillion economy -- the highest among industrialised nations -- Japan should not rush to borrow to pay for the reconstruction, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said.

"With our public finances in a severe situation, we'll closely watch how it (the quake) could affect tax revenues," Noda was quoted by a government official as telling a cabinet meeting. "As for financial resources for reconstruction, we need to ensure market confidence and should not rely too readily on debt issuance," he said.

Economists and rating agencies say Tokyo should have little trouble raising extra funds, but some analysts say there is a risk that additional supply of government bonds could push up Tokyo's borrowing costs.

BLACKOUTS RISK

While economists expect Japan's biggest reconstruction push since the post-World War Two period to give the hard-hit economy a badly needed lift in the second half of the year, they warn that power shortages are the greatest risk to such a scenario.

The 9.0 magnitude quake that struck on March 11 unleashed a deadly tsunami that wiped out whole communities, leaving nearly 23,000 people dead or missing and 350,000 homeless, and crippling the biggest power utility in Japan and Asia.

Tokyo Electric Power Co, which serves Tokyo and the surrounding area that accounts for 40 percent of Japan's economic output, lost about 20 percent of its operating thermal and nuclear power generation and is unlikely to get enough back online to meet peak summer demand.

The utility is unable to get much surplus power from operators in the undamaged western part of the country because they operate with a different power frequency.

Toyota Motor Co, the world's top automaker, could be losing about $74 million of profit for every day its 12 assembly plants remain shut, Goldman Sachs estimated, and it is just one of dozens, if not hundreds, of Japanese manufacturers facing disruptions.

Many analysts see a ripple effect from the disaster with disruption to production, both inside Japan and abroad, and the impact of fears of radiation and food contamination hurting business and consumer sentiment worldwide. ($1 = 81.065 Japanese Yen)

(Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Writing by Tomasz Janowski; Editing by Kim Coghill and Jeremy Laurence)

Asian Defense News: Limitations Keep F-22 Raptor on Sidelines in Libya Campaign

Asian Defense News: Limitations Keep F-22 Raptor on Sidelines in Libya Campaign
March 23, 2011 - By DAVE MAJUMDAR : One aircraft conspicuous by its absence over the skies of Libya is the U.S. Air Force's vaunted F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter. The Lockheed Martin-built jet was likely benched due to its inability to communicate with other coalition aircraft and its limited ability to hit ground targets, analysts said.

"The designers of the F-22 had a dilemma, which is whether to have the connectivity that would allow versatility or to have the radio silence that would facilitate stealthiness. What they opted for was a limited set of tactical data links," said Loren Thompson, an analyst and chief operating office at the Lexington Institute, Arlington Va.

Radio emissions from various data links could potentially give away the aircraft's position, Thompson said.The F-22 can only connect with other F-22s via an intraflight data link, and can only receive, but not transmit, over the standard Link-16 data link found on most allied aircraft.

As such, while the Raptor is the stealthiest operational aircraft in the world, it lacks much of the connectivity found on other warplanes, he said.

The aircraft also lacks a significant air-to-surface punch. Currently, the F-22 can only use two 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions, which are GPS-guided bombs, against fixed targets. It does not yet have the ability to carry the 250-pound Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) or to create synthetic aperture radar maps, which are black and white photo-quality images of the Earth's surface, needed to select its own ground targets. By contrast, an F-15E Strike Eagle can carry 24,000 pounds of ordnance.

Those capabilities will be available once the Increment 3.1 hardware and software upgrade is fielded into the operational Raptor fleet later this year. However, even with Increment 3.1 installed, the F-22 will only be able to designate two targets in total for the eight SDBs it would be able to carry. The operational test force has been putting Increment 3.1 through its paces at Nellis AFB, Nev., since November.

However, the addition of Increment 3.1 will not resolve the Raptor's basic inability to connect with other aircraft, nor has the Air Force articulated a clear plan for the F-22 to do so. A future upgrade called Increment 3.2 was to have included the Multifunction Advanced Data-link (MADL) found on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, however, the Air Force deleted funding for that data link last year.

The MADL is also planned for integration into the B-2, which would have enabled the entire Air Force stealth aircraft fleet to be connected during operations inside hostile airspace.

Further, it is only with the addition of Increment 3.2 that the Raptor would be able to independently retarget eight SDBs at eight separate targets.

Under the Air Force's global strike task force doctrine, the Raptor would normally escort B-2 Spirit stealth bombers in "kicking down the door" of an enemy's air defenses. However, U.S. Africa Command, which is running Operation Odyssey Dawn, confirmed the F-22 has not flown over Libya.

"I see no indication that F-22s were used as an escort for the B-2 nor do I see anything that indicates the Raptor will be used in future missions over Libya," said Air Force Maj. Eric Hilliard, a spokesman for Africa Command.

On March 20, three B-2s flew bombing runs out of their base at Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB), Mo., against targets in Libya.

Analysts concurred that part of the reason for the absence of the Raptor is that it was not needed to defeat Libya's relatively pedestrian air defenses. The Libyans have a largely obsolete fleet of aircraft and only older model Soviet surface-to-air weaponry.

"Frankly, they might not be needed. Libya's defenses were not that robust to begin with and were rolled back quite handily," said Mark Gunzinger, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis, Washington.

"Libya is not generally considered a highly capable adversary," Thompson added.

Gunzinger said that the B-2s probably flew at night, which would eliminate any chance of the billion-dollar warplane being spotted visually by the enemy. The large subsonic aircraft could be potentially vulnerable if it was seen, which is why it would be escorted by high performance stealth fighters like the F-22 if it was flying against a more challenging foe such as Iran or North Korea, Thompson said.