Thursday, September 18, 2008

U.S. China Space War, Raytheon VECTOR, Russia +


U.S., China urged to work out space security regime

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's demonstrated anti-satellite capability makes it critical for Washington to work with Beijing to avoid an arms race in space, a leading U.S. think tank said on Thursday.

The Council on Foreign Relations report, "China, Space Weapons, and U.S. Security," urges the next U.S. administration to update policy for "an era where space is a potentially far more contested domain than in the past, with few rules."
China's destruction of one of its defunct weather satellites in January 2007 showed the Chinese military's ability to attack satellites, the report said. The United States and former Soviet Union demonstrated that capability in the 1980s.
"The risks inherent in space conflict, where vital U.S. interests are at stake, suggest that preventing space conflict should be a major U.S. security objective," said the report by technology and security consultant Bruce MacDonald.


Raytheon Solipsys Releases VECTOR Simulation and Training Tool http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080917/new059.html?.v=65
A wholly owned subsidiary of Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN - News) has expanded its solution set for command and control, homeland defense, surveillance and air traffic management.
Raytheon Solypsis has released a new simulation and training tool -- Virtual Environment for Collaborative Training and Operational Readiness (VECTOR).
"VECTOR provides the user with a simplified operator interface to create real-world scenarios in a matter of minutes," said Mark Trenor, president of Raytheon Solipsys. "With VECTOR, the user can design coordinated simulations at both tactical and strategic levels."
VECTOR delivers a dynamic environment for developing and executing training, operational readiness evaluation, and testing activities. It is fully interoperable with all of the latest Raytheon Solipsys-based software systems and incorporates industry standard Distributed Interactive Simulation interface to facilitate streamlined integration with other existing and future third party applications.
"An example of an application could be quickly creating a scenario that includes pre-recorded traffic with specifically tailored scripts," Trenor said. "Another use could be to take manual control of scripted objects to create stressful situations for an operator to further enhance the training experience," Trenor added.
Raytheon Solipsys is a business unit of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. Its product solutions have been deployed worldwide since 1997, supporting command and control applications for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps and in international air surveillance and defense systems.

Russia ratchets up US tensions with arms sales to Iran and Venezuela
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4781027.ece

Russia's strategic aircraft, the Tu-160 or White Swan, the world's largest supersonic bomber. A pair of them touched down in Venezuela this week as Moscow announced big new arms sales
Russia defied the United States yesterday by announcing plans to sell military hardware to Iran and Venezuela.
The head of Russia’s state arms exporter said that he was negotiating to sell antiaircraft systems to Iran despite American objections. Russia has already delivered 29 Tor-M1 missile systems under a $700 million (£386 million) deal with Iran in 2005.
“Contacts between our countries are continuing and we do not see any reason to suspend them,” Anatoli Isaikin, the general director of Rosoboronexport, told the RIA-Novosti news agency at an arms fair in South Africa.
Reports have circulated for some time that the Kremlin is preparing to sell its S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Iran, offering greater protection against a possible US or Israeli attack on the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities. The missiles have a range of more than 90 miles (150km).....

Military conducts anti-invasion drills (Ukraine)
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=242465&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21
RIVNE, Ukraine: Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko oversaw military exercises yesterday aimed at preparing to fight off an invasion amid growing tensions with Russia.

Homeland Security, Sesame Style
http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/YeasandNays/Homeland_Security_Sesame_Style.html
Military Industrial Complex 2.0 (limited hangout from criminal In These Times)
Cubicle Mercenaries, Subcontracting Warriors, and Other Phenomena of a Privatizing Pentagon
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20791.htm

Mock Terrorism Training Held (PA)
http://wrta.com/artman/publish/article_9572.shtml

Stamford Police Head To Israel For Security, Anti-Terrorism Training

How telcos and ISPs are prepping for a pandemic
Network operators and IT professionals already worried about how hurricanes and financial meltdowns will impact their work lives can add another potential catastrophe to their list of concerns: a global pandemic.
During a panel sponsored by the FCC in Washington, D.C., Thursday, representatives from telecom carriers and ISPs discussed what steps they’ve been taking to prepare for the mass outbreak of a disease such as influenza, and also described the needs and challenges they would have to meet to keep communications up and running during a major global crisis. The most important tool at ISPs’ disposal during a serious pandemic, panelists agreed, was that of network management.

CEO Addresses St. Louis Business Leaders About Developing Pandemic and Business Continuity Plans

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