DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US-Russian Helicopter Deal Under Fire

Asian Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US-Russian Helicopter Deal Under Fire

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Defense News

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 10, 2013: The US government is under fire for allegedly misleading the Congress into buying Russian transport helicopters for US troops in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon ordered 63 Russian Mi-17 rotorcrafts worth $1 billion over the past two years.

According to the Associated Press, senior Pentagon officials have repeatedly assured members of Congress that the Department of Defense had made the right call, citing a top-secret 2010 study that named the Mi-17 as the superior choice.

The report also states the Boeing Chinook was found to be “the most cost-effective single platform type fleet for the Afghan Air Force over a twenty-year” period.

The 2010 study "specifically analyzed the opportunity for DOD to provide a U.S. alternative to the Mi-17 for Afghanistan," the report said, adding the Boeing helicopter is larger than its Russian counterpart, carries up to a 26,000 pound payload, which is twice as much as the Mi-17, and can operate at nearly the same high altitude.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Defense News
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*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
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DTN News - SOUTH AFRICA: Barack Obama’s Selfie With Danish Prime Minister Leaves Twitter a-Tweet About Michelle Obama ‘Soap Opera’

Asian Defense News: DTN News - SOUTH AFRICA: Barack Obama’s Selfie With Danish Prime Minister Leaves Twitter a-Tweet About Michelle Obama ‘Soap Opera’

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources National Post
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 10, 2013: While world leaders gathered in celebration of the life of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, social media seemed more interested in a selfie and a soap opera in the stands.

President Barack Obama jokes with Danish prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, left, as first lady Michelle Obama looks on at right during the memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday Dec. 10, 2013.

U.S. President Barack Obama managed to upstage his own universally praised speech about Mandela Tuesday not once, but twice, with pictures taken in the stands at FNB stadium.

First there was a picture of Obama shaking hands with Cuba President Raul Castro. Then was the superpower selfie taken by Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt with a smiling Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

While some on social media said it was inappropriate to take such as picture at a memorial, many others focused on U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, who was sitting to the right of the president, wearing a grim look on her face.

While she appears to be facing the centre of the stadium, headlines and tweets were focused on her unimpressed look in comparison to the smiling world leaders next to her.

Comic Rob Delaney called the photo gallery the “funniest 3-panel comic in history.”

The later photo shows the Obamas have switched seats, with the first lady sitting next to the Danish prime minister and the president looking ahead sombrely. The president got up to leave and when he did, Michelle Obama could be seen chatting with Thorning-Schmidt.

A headline at Gawker blared “Obama in the Doghouse After Taking Too-Friendly Selfie with Danish PM” and linked to the photo gallery. Buzzfeed asked “Is this the most important selfie of 2013?”

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources National Post
*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 
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