Insitu nets $390.4M for Blackjack, ScanEagle drones for U.S. military, allies

by Allen Cone
Washington (UPI)
Jul 1, 2019

Insitu was awarded a $390.4 million contract to supply Blackjack drones for the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy, as well as Blackjacks and smaller ScanEagle unmanned air vehicles, for three foreign allies.

The contract, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, covers 63 RQ-21A Blackjack attrition air vehicles for the U.S. military branches, plus six RQ-21A unmanned aircraft systems and 17 Blackjack air vehicles for Canada, Poland and Oman under foreign military sales. The contract also includes 93 ScanEagle unmanned aircraft systems "in various configurations,"

The deal will include training, testing and engineering, operations support, maintenance and other services, Pentagon said.

Eight-three percent of the work will be performed at Insitu's plant in Bingen, Wash., with 5 percent at various locations into the continental United States and 12 percent outside. Work is expected to be completed in June 2022.

Naval fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance, fiscal 2019 building partnership capacity, and FMS funds in the amount of $9.9 million will be obligated at time of award, $9.5 million of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Neither drone model requires a runway, and can operate from land and sea.

The RQ-21A Blackjack is a military version of Insitu's Integrator drone.

A single RQ-21A unmanned aircraft system includes five air vehicles, including two ground control stations and other equipment.

Each drone's six payload spaces can carry up to 39 pounds with an endurance of 16-plus hours per day.

The Blackhack is considered a category 3 drone with maximum gross takeoff weight of less than 1,320 pounds, normal operating altitude of less than 18,000 feat above mean sea level and less than 250 knots per hour. It weighs 81 pounds and the length is 8.2 feet, according to the company.

The Insitu ScanEagle drone, which has been deployed with the U.S. Marine Corps since 2004 and the U.S. Navy since 2005, is a smaller long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle.

As a category 2, it can operate up to 19,500 feet and loiter over a battlefield for extended missions of 24-plus hours. Its normal operating altitude is less than 3,500 feet at an airspeed less than 250 knots per hour.

At a length of 3.9 feet and 39.7 pounds, its payload is a high resolution, day/night camera and thermal imager.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Insitu_nets_3904M_for_Blackjack_ScanEagle_drones_for_US_military_allies_999.html.

Washington appoints new ambassador to Turkey after 2 years

June 28, 2019

The US Senate has nominated a new Ambassador to Turkey, the embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara announced today. “We have exciting news!” Tweeted the embassy. “Last night, the US Senate confirmed Ambassador David Satterfield to be the next US Ambassador to Turkey. We look forward to welcoming him in the near future. Stay tuned!”

Satterfield, a senior diplomat across two decades, has served in a variety of posts in the Middle East and was picked for his extensive experience in the region, as well as the fact that besides English he speaks four other languages: Arabic, French, Italian and Hebrew.

He has been Coordinator for Iraq and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State from 2006 to 2009; Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Libya in 2014; and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs since 2017. In addition to those posts, Satterfield has also held top positions at US missions in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Lebanon.

The post of Ambassador to Turkey has been vacant for almost two years since the previous Ambassador, John Bass, left his position due to a visa crisis between Washington and Ankara. He now serves as US envoy to Afghanistan.

The new appointment comes at a time when US-Turkish relations have been tense and in decline, with a clash of national interests over regional and foreign policy issues. The US has recently been threatening Turkey with sanctions due primarily to the latter’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile defense system, which Washington claims will compromise the security of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and is technologically incompatible with its F-35 fighter jets.

Another issue has been Turkey’s drilling for natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Cyprus. A new pipeline is to be built after a $9 billion agreement was struck between southern Cyprus, Greece and Israel in early June.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190628-washington-appoints-new-ambassador-to-turkey-after-2-years/.

U.S. Marines test vehicle-mounted laser for shooting down drones

by Ed Adamczyk
Washington DC (UPI)
Jun 20, 2019

The U.S. Marines announced Wednesday that they are testing a portable, ground-based laser prototype for shooting down drones.

The Compact Laser Weapons System, or CLaWS, is the first ground-based directed energy weapon approved by the Defense Department. It will be evaluated for several months, with the aim of upgrading it to be included in fixed-site and other mobile situations.

Boeing Co. first announced the weapon in 2015. It is a portable device capable of using an invisible laser to take down targets several hundred meters away. It was designed to focus energy on a small enough spot to heat and destroy targets, including moving ones -- such as drones.

"Think of it like a welding torch being put on target but from many hundreds of meters away," Boeing engineer Isaac Neil said at the time of the introduction.

In 2018, Boeing expressed an interest in mounting the CLaWS on tactical vehicles, including the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle under development to replace the Humvee. The CLaWS comes in 2-, 5- and 10-kW variants and can be carried by two or more Marine personnel.

"One of the related aspects of the CLWS is that it's a counterintelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tool," said Jim Leary, Boeing director of weapons global sales. "You can shoot down enemy drones that might be observing friendly troops. That's the beauty of this laser."

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_Marines_test_vehicle-mounted_laser_for_shooting_down_drones_999.html.

Zimbabwe comedian is latest in torture of government critics

August 23, 2019

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A wave of abductions, torture and arrests in Zimbabwe are targeting opposition activists and other government critics, the latest being a popular comedian dragged from her home by armed and masked men.

Barely two years after euphoric scenes engulfed Zimbabwe following the forced resignation of former repressive ruler Robert Mugabe, frustration and fear have returned. Comedian Samantha Kureya was this week dragged from her bed, stripped naked and tortured by masked men with assault rifles for skits perceived as anti-government. She spoke to The Associated Press from her hospital bed.

"I am living in fear," she said, complaining of "severe pain" in her legs and on her back. Kureya said the men claiming to be police officers dragged her from bed half naked and bundled her into a waiting car on Wednesday night. They beat her using short whips, forced her to roll in a stream of sewage and drink from it, she said.

"I was wearing my underwear and a T-shirt when they took me, they didn't even give me a chance to dress properly," she said. Her abductors forced her to strip naked during the torture and warned her against mocking the government before abandoning her to seek clothing and help from strangers, said Kureya.

She had received threats on social media before the abduction, she said. Her latest skit mocked security agents for beating up demonstrators that included elderly women. Political tensions are rising in Zimbabwe as the economy deteriorates with inflation at over 175% and growing dissatisfaction with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over from Mugabe less than two years ago with promises of a "new dawn" and a "flowering of democracy."

Human rights groups say at least six activists were abducted and tortured by suspected security agents ahead of an opposition demonstration last week. Police later used violence to disperse demonstrators in Harare on August 16.

One of the activists abducted and tortured ahead of last week's demonstration, Tatenda Mombeyarara had visible wounds on his legs, hands, buttocks and back. His kidneys were damaged and doctors put metal plates and pins on his fractured left leg and hand, he said, showing AP a scan while lying on a hospital bed. He said he was beaten with sjamboks (short whips), gun butts and a wheel spanner and also submerged in a pool of dirty water at a quarry dumpsite.

"They told me 'you think you are a hero, all that will end today. You are going to die and your American sponsors will not save you'," said Mombeyarara, who has been in hospital for the past nine days. "I am still traumatized. The pain was unbearable. I thought I was going to die."

An opposition member of parliament said unknown people fired shots at his house Wednesday night, while a top official was arrested Thursday and accused of failing to stop supporters from demonstrating against the government. Since January, more than 20 activists have been charged with plotting to unseat Mnangagwa.

Police spokesman Paul Nyathi said the recent abductions and attacks "are being investigated" but denied that security agents were involved. "We cannot blame security agents (for the abduction) because investigations are still underway," he said.

Government spokesman Nick Mangwana blamed the attacks on "a force" he associated with Mugabe "to impair President Mnangagwa's image as a sincere reformer." The U.S embassy in Zimbabwe and the European Union Delegation to Zimbabwe said in a joint statement earlier this week that reports of worsening human rights abuses were of "great concern."

Kureya, the comedian, said she would continue poking fun at the government despite her abductors threatening to "put a bullet" in her mother's head if she continues with her work. "That is how I survive," she said. "I don't have any other job, plus we all can't just keep quiet when things are as bad as they are in this country."

Sri Lanka attacks boost feared ex-official's bid for power

August 23, 2019

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — He is a feared former defense official accused of condoning rape, torture and shadowy disappearances of critics, but to many Sri Lankans, the opposition's presidential candidate is the best choice to protect the South Asian island nation after attacks that killed over 250 people this year.

The younger brother and powerful right hand of a former strongman, Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa is seen as a hero by supporters for bringing a bloody end to a decadeslong civil war in 2009 and has cast himself as Sri Lanka's protector.

"I will accept responsibility for your safety, and the safety of your children and your loved ones," Gotabaya said as he launched his campaign this month. "I will never allow extremist terrorism in this country."

His message, met with thundering applause from supporters, resonates as the government faces blistering criticism for a high-level intelligence lapse that President Maithripala Sirisena has acknowledged allowed a group of radicalized Sri Lankans to carry out suicide bombings on Easter Sunday.

Gotabaya "is the most ideal leader the country needs at this time of crisis, and with this attack, his leadership has become more important," said Sujeewa Manage, a government employee. Despite allegations of bloodshed and war crimes that still haunt the country, Gotabaya's hardened reputation and vow to ensure national security became a selling point after the attacks on three luxury hotels and three churches that left 263 dead and 500 wounded.

Having enjoyed 10 years of peace, the brazenness of the April 21 attacks jolted Sri Lanka, conjuring the days of bombs going off in the capital of Colombo when rebels fought for an independent state for the country's ethnic Tamil minority.

The Sri Lankan government came under fire for not acting on near-specific intelligence information from Indian security forces on plans to attack churches. Officials have acknowledged that some Sri Lankan intelligence units were aware of possible attacks weeks before the bombings.

Gotabaya, who has been plotting a return to power since his brother and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa lost reelection in 2015, is seizing a key moment as voters grasp for a return to safety and a bitter divide roils the ruling coalition government.

Incumbent President Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last October and appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as his constitutional No. 2. The Supreme Court ruled against the move and reinstated Wickremesinghe.

Sirisena's party is now divided, with the Rajapaksa brothers absorbing a big chunk of its supporters in a new party. Wickremesinghe and Sirisena are both expected to seek the presidency, but the political upheaval and the attacks will hurt the incumbent's chances in an election to be held between Nov. 8 and Dec. 8.

Meanwhile, Gotabaya says the ruling government has made national security weaker and he can fill the void. "After the attacks, Gotabaya Rajapaksa's name came high on this list of possible strong leaders," political analyst Jehan Perera said.

The former defense secretary is a hero to many of the nation's majority Sinhalese Buddhists, but his candidacy is a fearsome prospect to others. Gotabaya was suspected of ordering kidnappings through so-called white van squads that whisked away rebel suspects, journalists and other government critics. Some victims were tortured and then released, while others disappeared.

Victims who say the military and police forces under Gotabaya's watch repeatedly tortured and raped political opponents have sued the former defense official, who's also a U.S. citizen, in federal court in Los Angeles. They brought their case under a statute that allows U.S. lawsuits over acts of torture and killings committed in foreign countries.

The daughter of a top journalist killed in 2009 also has sued Gotabaya in Los Angeles and is seeking damages. Gotabaya has denied the allegations and says he's started the process of renouncing his American citizenship because Sri Lankan law doesn't permit dual citizens to hold office.

Gotabaya also has been implicated in the killing of rebels and civilians who tried to surrender with white flags under a prearranged deal in the final days of the 26-year civil war. Some 45,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the last months of the war alone, according to a U.N. report.

In the final years of his brother's regime, Gotabaya has been accused of promoting hard-line Buddhist groups that carried out anti-Muslim hate campaigns and attacks on their businesses. He has denied the allegations.

He also faces a corruption case accusing him of misappropriating $191,000 in state funds for the construction of a memorial for his parents. There are other police investigations into allegations of corruption and other misdeeds involving his close relatives.

Dharmasiri Lankapeli, a trade union and media rights activist, said national security is just a political slogan used by Gotabaya and his team to capture power. "People knew and understood what happened in the country when he was the defense ministry secretary and how hard it was for the people," Lankapeli said. "If he comes to power, the democratic space for dissent and for alternative opinion that the people enjoyed during the past four years will be threatened."

Under the ruling government, more than a dozen soldiers, including intelligence officials, have been arrested on suspicion of several killings and attacks of political opponents and journalists during the Rajapaksa era. Some have been indicted.

"If he (Gotabaya) comes to power, the investigations on alleged misdeeds that occurred during Rajapaksa period will be swept under the carpet," Lankapeli said. But Ajith Kumara, a rickshaw driver in Colombo, said Sri Lanka needs a strong leader like Gotabaya.

"He will be tough, but the country needs such a person to discipline and develop the country," Kumara said. "If he was there, the attack would not have happened." To win, Gotabaya needs to convince more than 50% of Sri Lanka's 15.9 million voters.

"If Gotabaya is to generate votes he must know that people vote for a candidate out of the love for him, not because they fear him," columnist Ravi Nagahawatte wrote in the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Russian doctor has trace of radiation after explosion

August 23, 2019

MOSCOW (AP) — More than 100 Russian medical workers who helped treat victims of a recent mysterious explosion at a military testing range have undergone checks and one man has been found with a trace of radiation, officials said Friday.

The Aug. 8 incident at the Russian navy's range in Nyonoksa on the White Sea killed two servicemen and five nuclear engineers and injured six others. It was followed by a brief rise in radiation levels in nearby Severodvinsk, but the authorities insisted it didn't pose any danger.

The Arkhangelsk regional administration said Friday that 110 medical workers have undergone checks that one man was found with a low amount of radioactive cesium-137 in his muscle tissue. It said the man's health isn't in danger and argued that he could have got the radioactive isotope with food.

The statement followed Russian media reports claiming that dozens of medical workers were exposed to radiation. The reports claimed that medical teams at the Arkhangelsk city hospital hadn't been warned that they would treat people exposed to radiation and lacked elementary protective gear. They said that Russia's security agency forced the medical workers to sign non-disclosure papers.

The workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing official reprisals, said many doctors and nurses felt angry about authorities putting their lives at risk by concealing vital information. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shrugged off the reports, questioning the veracity of anonymous sources. He also alleged that certain forces that he didn't name could be interested in making false allegations about radioactive threats.

President Vladimir Putin has hailed the victims, saying they were doing "very important work for the nation's security," but kept mum on what type of weapon they were testing. Some, including U.S. President Donald Trump, said the explosion occurred during tests of Russia's prospective Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile that was code-named "Skyfall" by NATO.

Russian officials' changing and contradictory accounts of the incident drew comparisons to Soviet attempts to cover up the 1986 explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the world's worst nuclear disaster.

The Russian Defense Ministry at first denied any radiation leak in the incident even as authorities in nearby Severodvinsk reported a spike in radiation and advised people to stay indoors and close windows. Terrified residents rushed to buy iodine, which can help reduce risks from exposure to radiation.

Peskov argued that a Chernobyl-style cover-up is undoable now due to fast and multi-sourced information. "The situations like the one in Chernobyl are impossible," he said. Sergei Ivanov, Putin's adviser on environmental issues, angrily rejected comparisons with Chernobyl as "sheer nonsense."

Russia's state weather and environmental monitoring agency said the peak radiation reading in Severodvinsk on Aug. 8 briefly reached 1.78 microsieverts per hour in just one neighborhood — about 16 times the average. Peak readings in other parts of Severodvinsk varied between 0.45 and 1.33 microsieverts for a couple of hours before returning to normal.

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization said earlier this week that several Russian radiation monitoring stations went silent shortly after the explosion. Observers saw that as part of an effort to conceal the radiation data, which could help determine the technology that was being tested at the time of the explosion.

NORSAR, a Norwegian agency monitoring the nuclear test ban, said Friday its analysis found that there were two separate explosions in the Arkhangelsk region, the second blast coming about two hours after the first one. It reaffirmed that it hasn't registered any radiation increase.

The Arkhangelsk regional governor, Igor Orlov, rejected the report about the second explosion as "disinformation," according to the Interfax news agency.

Russian opposition leader Navalny released from jail

August 23, 2019

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was released on Friday after spending a month in jail for calling for an unsanctioned protest. Navalny, along with several opposition activists, has led a protest movement earlier this summer against Russian election authorities' decision to bar nearly two dozen independent candidates from running for the Moscow city legislature in the Sept. 8 election. One of these rallies was the largest anti-government protest that Moscow had seen in eight years.

Speaking to reporters outside the detention facility in Moscow, Navalny vowed to keep fighting against Russian President Vladimir Putin's government despite the increasing pressure. "I have no doubts that despite these acts of intimidation and terrorizing that are happening now, like arrests of innocent people, this wave (of protests) will grow," he said, adding that the government's heavy-handed tactics shows that popular support for the Kremlin is waning. "They feel it, and they're scared of it."

Authorities have clamped down on the demonstrations, refusing to give permission for them, briefly detaining 1,400 people and arresting dozens of protest leaders, including Navalny. Some of the independent city council candidates were sentenced to several back-to-back short stints in jail. One of them, Ilya Yashin, was sentenced to another 10-day detention earlier this week, which brings the total number of his consecutive arrests to four.

Kremlin officials have dismissed the protests as insignificant, and Putin has warned the protesters that they must abide by the law or face the consequences. Fifteen people are now in jail on charges of rioting for the rally in July that was largely peaceful. These charges have been largely seen as the Kremlin's political vendetta against the dissenters.