LOCATIONS
LAND
31 Jan 14. Site Announced for Environmental Impact Statement for Potential Missile Defense Site. Pursuant to Congressional direction to complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a potential additional missile defense site in the continental United States, the Missile Defense Agency has completed an extensive evaluation of sites announced by the Department of Defense in September, 2013. The department has made no decision to proceed with construction of a new missile defense site. It is expected to take approximately 24 months to conduct and complete the EIS. The EIS will assess environmental impacts at each of the sites, to include potential impacts to land use, water resources, air quality, transportation, socioeconomics and other factors established by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Public involvement is encouraged as part of the process, to include public meetings, written comments and public review of the draft and final documents.
The sites selected for completion of an EIS are (in alphabetical order):
– Camp Ravenna, Ohio
– Fort Custer, Michigan
– Fort Drum, New York
– Portsmouth SERE Training Area, Maine (Rangeley)
30 Jan 14. Kamov to boost East Asia sales with new Service Centre in South Korea. The Korea Forest Service has formally opened a new service and maintenance centre for Ka-32 helicopters manufactured by Russian Helicopters. This set up would help the company promote sales of the Ka-32 helicopter in South Korea and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region as it would reduce waiting times for maintenance and repair of these helicopters. South Korea has operated Ka-32 helicopters since 1993 and about 61 are currently in service with different agencies within the country. The Korea Forest Service uses the helicopter for monitoring forests and for firefighting, the Republic of Korea Air Force uses it for search-and-rescue missions, while the Coast Guard uses it for patrolling coastal waters. The Ka-32 is also used in the commercial sector for carrying cargo, construction work and other missions. The service centre can service all types of Ka-32 helicopters in use in the region. Various modifications of the Ka-32 are successfully operated in Taiwan, Japan, China, Papua New Guinea, and other Asian countries. (Source: MPI – Hawk Information)
07 Feb 14. DCNS commissions shore integration facility for Brazil’s submarine combat systems. DCNS has commissioned its new shore-based integration facility for the combat systems of the Brazilian Navy’s next-generation conventional-propulsion submarines (SSKs). This dedicated facility at the French defence procurement agency’s Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer centre near Toulon will be used to test these sophisticated data processing systems before they are installed on board the submarines. The combat system is the submarine’s central nervous system, helping to analyse the theatre of operations and deploy the boat’s weapon systems.
The completion of this innovative facility is testimony to the strong and continuing cooperation between DCNS and the Brazilian Navy under a technology transfer agreement spanning submarine design, development and construction. The equipment making up the combat systems of the first Scorpene® SSKs will now be integrated and interfaced with the shore . integration facility in a technical configuration similar to the one planned for the submarines themselves. Over the next two years, joint DCNS/Brazilian Navy teams will test combat systems for Brazil’s Scorpene® SSKs while training Brazilian officers and crew in accordance with the technology transfer agreement. All combat system capabilities will be thoroughly examined. Once a system has been tested in France, its components will be sent to Brazil for integration with a submarine under construction at the Itaguaí shipyard near Rio de Janeiro.
MARITIME
05 Feb 14. Keel laid for RAN’s second Hobart-class AWD. The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) sec