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    Ukraine's Antonov aircraft producer to compete for multi-billion U.S. tanker tender
    Erik
    By Erik,
    Ukraine's Antonov aircraft producer to compete for multi-billion U.S. tanker tender RIA Novosti. Grigoriy Sisoev -- 04/10/2010   Ukraine's state-run Antonov aircraft producer will compete with U.S. aerospace giant Boeing and Europe's EADS in a multi-billion tender to supply almost 180 airborne refueling tankers to the United States Air Force (USAF), Antonov's President and General Designer Dmitry Kiva said on Monday. "We have not managed to officially register our participation, but the terms were prolonged following our request, and we will take part in the tender," Kiva said in Kiev.   The tender, with an estimated value between $25 billion and $50 billion, was launched in January 2007. The U.S. Air Force intends to replace its obsolete Boeing KC-135 refueling tankers, which have been in service since the 1950s.   EADS and U.S. aerospace and defense firm Northrop Grumman were initially competing in the tender, which was then cancelled and restarted following a protest by rival Boeing in 2008.   In July this year, Antonov and aerospace and defense contractor U.S. Aerospace Inc. filed a joint application to participate in the tender. The companies intend to supply up to three aircraft types to the USAF, such as the four-engined Antonov An-124, a twin-engined variant of the aircraft, the Antonov An-122, and the An-112, a twin-engine modification of the Antonov An-70 propfan.   KIEV, October 4     RIA Novosti

    Global Strike command reaches full operational capability
    Erik
    By Erik,
      Global Strike command reaches full operational capability   Defence Talk -- By Air Force News Agency on October 4, 2010   BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La.: Officials declared Air Force Global Strike Command to be at full operational capability Sept. 30, on schedule, and less than 14 months after its initial activation as a command.   To reach that milestone, the command accomplished more than 700 action items identified by the secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force in 2009, when they chartered Global Strike Command to strengthen the nuclear enterprise by aligning all Air Force long-range nuclear-capable forces under a single command.   Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, the Global Strike Command commander, reported full operational capability status in a memorandum to the secretary and the chief of staff of the Air Force today.   Full operational capability status is the final step in any military unit's stand up. Air Force Global Strike Command is the first completely new major command the Air Force has activated in more than 27 years.   "Our successful stand up was possible because of the commitment, innovative spirit, and sheer hard work of Global Strike Command Airmen," General Klotz said.   "This talented team of professionals put in place all the functions of a major command while simultaneously executing those functions," he said. "This unique challenge was a lot like building an aircraft while actually flying it."   Prior to activation as a major command, what was then Air Force Global Strike Command, Provisional was launched in January 2009, at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington D.C., under the leadership of then-Brig. Gen. James M. Kowalski, now a two-star general and the command's vice commander.   General Kowalski has been nominated by the president, and confirmed by the Senate, for a third star and to become the next AFGSC commander when General Klotz retires next year.   The command was formally activated at Barksdale AFB on Aug. 7 2009, on the premise that no mission is more important than operating, maintaining, securing and supporting the nuclear enterprise, officials said.   Since then, according to General Klotz's official memo, the command has established and manned a fully-functional headquarters. It also assumed responsibility for all units of both 20th Air Force, headquartered at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., and 8th Air Force, headquartered at Barksdale AFB.   The command is fully engaged in long-range planning for the nuclear deterrence and global strike mission, now having in place a strategic master plan that aligns AFGSC with the larger Air Force strategic plan.   Global Strike Command assumes full responsibility for planning, programming and financial management activities Oct. 1, and will be lead for both sustainment and modernization of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles operated out of F.E. Warren AFB; Minot AFB, N.D.; and Malmstrom AFB, Mont.; the B-52 Stratofortress nuclear-capable bombers here and at Minot AFB; and the B-2 Spirit nuclear-capable bombers at Whiteman AFB, Mo.; as well as UH-1N Huey helicopters.   The command has also established an inspector general function and has already conducted at least one major inspection at each of the command's six operational wings, the general said.   Additionally, the command formed a crisis action team, as well as a response task force to deal with emergency situations and potential incidents.   Other command missions include targeting analysis at the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron at Offutt AFB, Neb., and the ICBM test launch operations of the 576th Flight Test Squadron at Vandenberg AFB, Calif.   (Courtesy of Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs)       Defence Talk

    Stuxnet in China
    Erik
    By Erik,
      Stuxnet in China   The Diplomat -- October 4, 2010   A computer worm that has been dubbed by some analysts the world’s first cyber super weapon has reportedly made its way to China.   Stuxnet, which was first discovered in June this year and is reportedly the first worm known to have been used to target critical infrastructure, is said to have already infected millions of personal computers in China.   The worm gained worldwide notoriety last month when international media began reporting that it had made its way into Iran’s industrial complexes, including nuclear facilities, prompting speculation that it was being used as a weapon by Israel or the United States to cripple the country’s nuclear programme.   Stuxnet is said to be different from previous malware in two ways. First and untypically, it’s delivered through a USB port, meaning systems don’t have to be connected to the Internet to become infected. But perhaps more interestingly—and uniquely—it seizes control of a targeted facility’s supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCDA) and is therefore able to disable it.   Now, official Chinese media is reporting that the worm has already infected 6 million PCs and about 1000 corporate computers.   The official Xinhua News Agency on Friday quoted Wang Zhantao, an engineer at the Beijing-based Rising International Software Co. Ltd., as saying that Stuxnet ‘can break into computers and steal private information, especially from industrial firms, sending it back to a server in the United States.’   He’s also quoted as saying that the virus exploited a bug in Siemens auto-control systems used in industrial manufacturing to skip the security check. ‘Hackers may take control of a company's machinery run under computers infected by Stuxnet, and give dangerous orders causing serious damage,’ he’s reported as saying.   So, did the attack really originate in the United States, as has been stated in some reports? I asked Marcus Sachs, executive director for National Security and Cyber Policy at Verizon in Washington, D.C. and a former member of the White House Office of Cyberspace Security, how easy attribution of such attacks is.   ‘Attribution in cyberspace is always very hard. There are too many ways to be anonymous and too many ways to spoof another person or system,’ he told me. ‘The basic protocols of the Internet don’t allow for positive attribution, which is great for free speech, but makes things hard for law enforcement.’   Sachs, who is also director of the SANS Internet Storm Center, said much of the talk about Stuxnet being a cyber super weapon is hyperbole, but admitted that the malware is complicated and will pose China and others problems.   ‘It will be interesting to see how they respond, and how transparent they are in reporting on it,’ he said. ‘What's different for them is being able to publicly discuss the impact of these tools on their systems and what they are doing to mitigate it. Here in the USA anybody can blog, speak, or publish whatever they please. That doesn't mean that what comes from us is truthful. But it's definitely hard to figure out what to believe in terms of statements coming from China.’   The issues of who is responsible for Stuxnet and why China may have been targeted also raise the interesting question of whether China itself is capable of such an attack. There’s periodic speculation in the media about Chinese cyber capabilities and how involved the government is in any attacks that take place on foreign entities, be they governments or companies.   This year alone has seen numerous reports on China’s supposed cyber war intentions, including in March, when the Times of London reported NATO and the European Union had issued urgent warnings that intelligence materials needed to be protected from a surge in cyber attacks originating in China.   The paper quoted one US analyst of saying that ‘neither the US nor any of its Western allies had formed an effective response to the Chinese threat…The West’s own cyber offensives have so far been directed largely at terrorists rather than nation states, giving China virtually free rein to penetrate Western systems with its own world-class hackers and increasingly popular Chinese-made components.’   I asked Sachs how much evidence there was of a centrally-co-ordinated effort from China.   ‘There’s most likely a "formal" government or military coordinated capability, as there is in most developed countries—think about our new Cyber Command,’ he said. ‘But there's also the millions of Chinese citizens online, and a very large population of young, technically educated, and inquisitive users.   ‘Most of the threats we see coming from China are not from the government or military, but from hacking groups and clubs, and from organized crime. There's a lot of misconceptions about China and often here in the USA we are quick to make them into the boogie man of cyberspace.’   And, he made sure to point out, it all goes back to the problem of attribution. ‘It's very easy to make it look like an attack is coming from China when the actual human on the keyboard might be sitting in Moscow or Memphis.’         The Diplomat

    Saab Receives Order for an Airborne Surveillance System
    Erik
    By Erik,
    Saab Receives Order for an Airborne Surveillance System   Defence Talk -- By Saab on October 5, 2010   Defence and security company Saab has received an order for an airborne surveillance system. The contract amounts to more than 4.5 billion SEK.   The order concerns delivery of the Saab 2000 AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Control) system, which comprises of a Saab 2000 aircraft equipped with the advanced Erieye radar system. The contract also includes ground equipment as well as logistics and support services.   The surveillance system in combination with the ground equipment provide a detailed picture of a situation which can be used in connection with, for example, border surveillance, rescue operations as well as in combating terrorism and organised crime.   "This contract can be seen as a further confirmation of our strong position in the world regarding not only the area of airborne surveillance but in systems integration and data fusion as well, says Håkan Buskhe," CEO, Saab. "This surveillance system will provide the customer with improved solutions for defence and civil security."   Saab's Erieye radar system has been well received by the market. The initial system was provided in a Saab 340 aircraft to the Swedish Air Force. The Saab 340 system was also purchased by Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The radar has been installed in the Embraer 145 as well, which was delivered to Brazil, Mexico and Greece. The latest platform is the Saab 2000 with which the system is being supplied also to Pakistan.   Upon customer's request, no further information regarding the customer will be announced. The industry's nature is such that this type of information can not always be published.         Defence Talk

    Nvidia GPU Class-Action Settlement Offers Repairs, New Laptops
    FastCargo
    By FastCargo,
      PC Magazine Article   By: Mark Hachman   The results of a successful 2008 class-action suit against Nvidia for faulty graphics chips are now being made available to consumers, although the compensation will vary dramatically.   The suit, filed in Sept. 2008, covers a defect Nvidia discovered in the packaging material of several notebook GPUs built in 2007 and 2008.   While the suit applies to dozens of notebooks computers from several manufacturers (see graphic) the compensation those notebook owners will receive depends on the manufacturer of the notebook itself. In any case, a user with an affected GPU does not have to settle, but must exclude himself or herself by Nov. 5.   More information (including claim forms) can be found at NvidiaSettlement.com.   Users with a notebook manufactured by either Dell or Apple, and containing one of the affected chips, are eligible for a replacement of the affected part.   However, if a user owns a notebook that was manufactured by Hewlett-Packard, that user is eligible for an entirely new notebook "similar in kind and value" to the one that was affected.   Users are also eligible to compensation for repair expenses accrued while trying to solve issues associated with the faulty Nvidia chips. But those funds will be paid out of a general pool, and the amount per person will depend on the claims received, according to the settlement notice.   Users will have to prove that the affected notebooks are suffering from problems related to the faulty media controller or GPU, including distorted or scrambled video, random characters, or, in certain cases, an inability to detect a wireless network.

    CombatACE Facebook Winner - Week 2
    Erik
    By Erik,
      CombatACE Facebook Contest Winner Week 2 - Shaun Griffies   The Randomizer selected #138 this week and on our Facebook list that is Shaun Griffies. Congratulations!   Week 1 - Ivan Adamek   Shaun post on your/our Facebook page what your CA username is, then send us a PM here so we know you posted. Once we have that information we'll get your free download subscription added to your account. See you again next week for our latest winner. If you haven't added us to your Facebook likes we can't draw your number.

Portal by DevFuse · Based on IP.Board Portal by IPS


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