EUROPE
22 Nov 05. Land Systems Hägglunds has taken an important step in the development of SEP. The 22nd of November a newly developed tracked version of the SEP prototype was handed over to Director-General Gunnar Holmgren, Defence Material Administration (FMV). SEP T2 represents a milestone in the project and is a hugh technical step forward, says Sven Kågevall, Managing Director of Land Systems Hägglunds. SEP will be good business for Sweden, as well as our all terrain vehicles and CV90´s are.
05 Dec 05. More for military as cost of Iraq war nears £4bn. Gordon Brown said on Monday the Treasury has allocated an additional £580m, taking the total cost of the war in Iraq to nearly £4bn. The new spending, the bulk of which will go to Iraq, takes the total cost of foreign wars and peacekeeping missions this year to £980m, compared with the nearly £1.1bn that was spent last year. All told, the amount Britain has spent on military operations since 2002, when the build-up for Iraq began and the bulk of military spending in Afghanistan occurred, is £4.9bn. Gordon Brown said funding for the security and intelligence services, already significantly boosted since September 2001, is to be increased by a further £85m to help finance an ongoing major recruitment drive for new officers, agents, an analysts. The Treasury is also making available an extra ring-fenced allocation of £50m, expected to be matched by similar funds from other government departments, to boost other areas of counter-terrorism and security planning, including policing and special equipment for other emergency services. Although the subject of terrorism and security was less prominent than in some previous statements from the Treasury, the chancellor said “defending our country is the first duty of government.” Monday’s allocation, brings to over £2bn the annual spending on the UK’s counter terrorism and security capabilities, more than double the spending level in the year leading up to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Under earlier spending targets set by the Treasury in the March’s budget, investment in the area of counter-terrorism and resilience was planned to top £2bn by 2007-08. But the London bombings in July exposed gaps in intelligence on Islamic terrorists both within the UK and internationally, and also led to a major review of contingency plans for dealing with the threat of further attacks, which security and police chiefs believe are still being planned. John Reid, defence secretary, on Monday reiterated his hope that British troops in Iraq could be reduced next year if security and Iraqi forces improve, but he also noted that he has prepared the armed forces for an expected new deployment to Afghanistan. Although no final decisions have been taken, Britain is poised to form part of a three-nation allied force that will take over security in southern Afghanistan early next year. (Source: FT)
06 Dec 05. Turkey, Boeing Overcome Snag in AEW&C Deal. Turkey and Boeing have overcame a major snag in the Turkish Air Force’s $1.5 billion airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) program, procurement officials here said. The problem between Turkey’s procurement office, the Undersecrateriat for Defense Industries, or Savunma Sanayi Mustesarligi (SSM), and Chicago-based Boeing surfaced earlier this when the former insisted on amending the contractual clauses related to the escalation rate in the original 2002 contract, claiming it would work to Turkey’s disadvantage. The escalation formula — which specifies the rules for increasing costs in line with a pre-agreed payment timetable, delays and other financing costs — was revised “in a way closer to SSM’s demands,” the SSM official said. He said the revised formula will save Ankara up to $100 million.(Source: Defense News)
24 Nov 05. Defence Training Rationalisation (DTR): Announcement Anticipated
The Junior Defence Minister said that he anticipated making an announcement on the preferred so