DARPA's Portable But Killing Lasers

The goal of HELLADS (High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System) is to shrink the mass of high-energy lasers by an order of magnitude, so a 150 kW laser can be integrated into tactical aircraft. That’s the power level sought for defense against rockets, artillery, mortars, and surface-to-air missiles at distances up to a couple of kilometers. The mass target is less than five kilograms per kilowatt of output, so the whole laser would weigh less than 750 kg. Although DARPA has not identified the design, other documents say it is a diode-pumped solid-state slab laser with flowing index-matched coolant.

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Mega Movers Space Machines

Learn how the mega parts of the mega structures namely space ships are transported across the globe. Documentary reveals how dedicated personnel with their technical expertise are able to perform a dangerous task of transporting billion dollar machinery in airplanes, trucks…when so much is at stake.

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Reya El-Salahi: Mixed Up in the Middle East

Growing up between the UK and the Middle East, I thought nothing strange of celebrating Christmas, Eid and Hanukkah. It wasn't until I started school that I realised not everyone comes from a family like mine.

My British-Jewish mother met my Afro-Arab Muslim father at university in 1970s London. I am the product of this unconventional relationship.

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The Nazi War Machine of WWII X 6 [English]

This is the story of the creation of the Nazi war machine. We trace its origins from the Freikorps and street thugs battling in the German streets after the great war, to the secret German army that was trained in Soviet Union to hide from the prying eyes of the victorius Allies. We show the growth of the Panzer Corps, the mighty Luftwaffe and the feared SS. This is the most comprehensive look at the military force that took Europe by storm during WWII.

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Raytheon SDB II Program Ahead of Schedule After Latest Round of Testing

TUCSON, Ariz., Nov. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Small Diameter Bomb II program remains ahead of schedule after completing a series of tests that demonstrated successful integration of production tri-mode seeker hardware and software. 

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The Afghanistan-Pakistan War at the End of 2011

Strategic Failure? Talk Without Hope? Tactical Success? Spend Not Build (And Then Stop Spending)?

The US faces hard decisions in the Afghanistan/Pakistan War that are growing steadily harder as the time before transition runs out, the US faces growing budget pressures, and the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan becomes more unstable. The Burke Chair has prepared a report that assesses the chances for strategic success based on new US government, UN, and NGO reporting.

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King of the Bombs

The explosion as seen from Durnovtsev's Tu-95.

It was called Tsar Bomba, king of the bombs, but it also went by the name “Big Ivan.” With a yield of 58 megatons, the hydrogen bomb detonated on October 30, 1961, over the Soviet Arctic test site at Novya Zemlya remains the biggest manmade explosion in history (see the video below).

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The Story of Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn

There is an intriguing story to tell about the lives and times of Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn, two remarkable scientists whose extraordinary collaboration culminated in the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938, turning Einstein's "theory" into atomic science. Not only did these two revolutionize the history of science and the role of women in physics and chemistry, their tale also parallels the social changes and turbulent history of their times. It involves the war against memory, Nazi intimidation, forced exile, betrayal, and a Nobel Prize awarded only in chemistry that to this day distorts science history.

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T-80 Better Than M1-Abrams…Really? (Featured post)

Nowadays its easy to generate people’s believe in something. For example, if a daily report on television states that the moon is shaped like a suitcase, as we observed in the night sky is actually nothing more than an optical illusion, then after a while millions of people believe it. And believe it against all odds.

Russians as opposed to West follows a 40-ton class as MBT basis, which leads to many shortcomings...

Country of origin	Name of MBT	Image of MBT	Weight (tonnes)
UK	Challenger 2	click me	62.5
USA	M1 Abrams	click me	61.3
Germany	Leopard 2	click me	62.3
France	AMX-56 Lecrec	click me	54.5
Israel	Merkava Mark IV	click me	65
Ukraine/Pakistan	T-84/Al-khalid	click me	48
Russia	T-80U	click me	46
Russia	T-90	click me	47.5
India	Arjun	click me	58.5

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Protector of Chinese Kingdom: Missile Technology

Over the past few years, Russian statesmen, politicians and pundits have plagued many tons of paper,uttered hundreds of thousands of words  about the deployment of U.S. missile defense system. Meanwhile, developments in BMD were active (and perhaps also under way), not only in the United States but in China, moreover it is not quite unproductive.

45years ago - February 23, 1966 the Government Commission on Defence Science, Technology and Industry of the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) adopted a step by step detailed program of a national missile defense, which was given the code name Project 640. Prone to conspiracy Chinese proceeded in this case of the so-called Directive 640 - governing the wishes expressed in a couple of years earlier by Mao Zedong in his conversation with Qian Syuesenem - the founder of the missile and space programs of China.

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Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2003-2010

This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions.

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Russia's Biggest Question: "Floating Airfields"

Russia, perhaps will get a few carriers. In any case, the representatives of the United Shipbuilding Corporation have repeatedly asserted that the design of a new heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser must begin. It is true that the Russian military has repeatedly insisted that the creation of such ships are planned. Whom to believe - it is not clear.

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The Fast And Furious Plot To Occupy Iran

Washington is looking to increase sanctions on Iran as a result of the plot to kill a Saudi Ambassador  [EPA]

No one ever lost money betting on the dull predictability of the US government. Just as Occupy Wall Street is firing imaginations all across the spectrum - piercing the noxious revolving door between government and casino capitalism - Washington brought us all down to earth, sensationally advertising an Iranian cum Mexican cartel terror plot straight out of The Fast and the Furious movie franchise. The potential victim: Adel al-Jubeir, the ambassador in the US of that lovely counter-revolutionary Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

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Land-based Optronics Market Valued at $30.77 billion over 2010-2016

Companies in the defence optronics market are set to witness growth in the future due to an increase in the number of land vehicle procurement programmes. The programmes are triggered, in turn, by the existing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-led operations in Afghanistan. Vehicle-mounted optronics devices will be acquired in the thousands, depending on the specific needs of local governments.

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A Mix Of Spider Silk, Goats Milk And Human Skin Can Stop A Reduced Speed 22 Caliber Bullet

Apparently, you don’t need Kevlar to stop bullets. Human skin combined with spider silk-infused goat milk can do the job just as well. Dutch scientists recently brought this combination to life, pushing the limits of science. The project is called “2.6 g 329m/s” which is the standard weight and velocity that a Type 1 bulletproof vest can protect against.

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What Russian Empire?

by Dmitri Trenin

Twenty years ago this month, the Soviet Union — the last of the great 20th century empires — started to crumble following the ill-advised putsch of August 1991. Within two years, it had vanished altogether.

Compared to the prolonged and bloody demises of the British and French empires, the Soviet Union’s collapse was remarkably calm. The “Commonwealth of Independent States” (C.I.S.), which many people mistook for a new name for the Soviet Union — and some dubbed “a fresh edition of the Russian empire” — accomplished the mission of making sure that the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. was one of the most peaceful and least violent imperial exits in history.

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US-Pakistan: Reloaded

by Peter Topychkanov

First of all we can receive different signals from the United States and from Pakistan about their relations; we could hear that the United States is ready to stop financial assistance to Pakistan, first of all to military agencies of Pakistan, but at the same time the United States is not ready to stop deep cooperation with Pakistan on security issues.

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Red Star in Orbit

Ironically the Soviet’s failure to make the bomb smaller, would ultimately give them the lead in the Space race

This is the story of the Russian Right Stuff. From the first rocket-powered gliders to the epic journey to Mars, this trilogy of films charts the triumphs and tragedies of the Soviet space programme.
Exclusively revealing the realities of the Soviet Space Programme, Windfall Films gained remarkable access to the real history of the cosmonauts. For the first time, they speak out about the hidden truth of these precarious missions something they had never dared do before.

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Cold War 2000: Saudi Counter-Revolution

Late at night on Sunday, August 7, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia delivered an unusual televised rebuke to Syria’s Bashar al-Asad calling on him to “stop the killing machine” and immediately begin reforms.  The Saudi move against Damascus was only the latest twist in Riyadh’s newly energetic foreign policy. Since March, Saudi Arabia has been in the forefront of a regional counter-offensive designed to blunt the momentum of the Arab uprisings and shape the new regional order to its liking. After a decade of a regional order defined by an alliance of “moderate” autocracies aligned with the United States and Israel against a “Resistance” axis, the Saudis have responded to an age of revolution by leading what many now call a regional counter-revolution. This has placed them at odds with the Obama administration in key theaters, disrupted long-standing alliances, and brought Riyadh to the forefront of regional diplomacy.

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Why Is The West So Nervous About Ahmadinejad?

Boris Volkhonsky, senior research fellow, Russian Institute for Strategic Studies

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, as usual, sparked a mass walkout. 30 delegations including those of the U.S. and all European Union members left the audience in a demonstration of protest. This has not been the first incident of the kind – last year the U.S. delegation also left the General Assembly during Ahmadinejad’s speech. And taking into account that his presidential term ends in two years this is likely not to be the last occasion of the kind.

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Veresk and its German Analogue

Let us take a look at a more special feature of small machine pistols, which engaged sufficiently durable positions in the contemporary small arms system of law-enforcement agencies and special-purpose formings.

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A Shot in the Back

The CIA's fake vaccination program in Abbottabad is an outrage. But what's important to remember is that even Osama bin Laden wanted to vaccinate his kids.

It was bound to come out sooner or later. The CIA/Navy SEAL raid that took out Osama bin Laden was just too good, just too clean. But the news that the CIA created a fake vaccination program in Abbottabad, Pakistan -- an effort to capture DNA from Osama bin Laden's children and plant a recording device in the bin Laden compound -- is an ugly smear on the high-water-mark mission of the U.S. fight against terrorism. To be fair, there's much that is still murky: We don't know for sure whether the CIA actually gathered any DNA, and we don't know whether it managed to plant the listening bug. We do know, however, that it paid a Pakistani doctor to start a fake vaccination program, administered the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine to poor children in Abbottabad, and hired an apparently unsuspecting nurse to enter the bin Laden compound.

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Is Pakistan's Army as Islamist as We Think?

BY C. CHRISTINE FAIR

The preeminent concern among Americans -- and increasingly among many Pakistanis too -- is that some personnel may support Islamist terrorism in the region and beyond or that perhaps a radical, rogue Islamist column may split off within the Army, endangering Pakistan's stability and the security of its nuclear weapons. Others fear that radical personnel might even give nuclear devices or technology to terrorists. Equally important is that some U.S. observers equate greater Islamization with deepening anti-Americanism within the Army.

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Curiosity 9/11

As the world marks the tenth anniversary of the tragic events in the United States on September 11, 2001, the Russian segment of the online community is also very much involved in the discussion, both in terms of analyzing the changes that have taken place in the world in the past ten years and in plumbing the circumstances surrounding the terrorist acts themselves.

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Engineering Britain SuperWeapons

So when it comes down to prove that Britain can & would compete with the Americans & Russians on any possible technical grounds British scientists & engineers came up with gigantic machines termed as British SuperWeapons. But little do they know that the limped British economy after WWII does no good in developing weapons of their own, rather they will ‘rent’ American made weapons to safeguard their territory, though gone are the days when this British territory was ‘completely’ independent!

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Heat-Changing Pixels Camouflage Tanks From Infrared Sensors

[Photo: BAE Systems]

Camouflage has been around for a quite a while. And though our current camouflage might seem adequate, the one thing we can’t camouflage through any practical means is the infrared radiation our bodies give off. Hotter objects give off more energy on the infrared spectrum than cooler ones  This makes it easy to pick out things like tanks or helicopters when using infrared sensors.

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A Killing Machine Called CIA

In an interview for an article about the machinations of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) one of the Washington Post’s sources described it as “one helluva killing machine”.

Then, according to the reporter, he “blanched” at his words and altered them to “one hell of an operational tool”. I think we’ll stick with the ‘killing machine’ depiction. The CIA’s drone attacks in Pakistan have killed a lot more innocent people than it does in more mundane day-to-day butchery, but the plain fact is that it has always been in the business of killing, and always will be. The double murder in Lahore by the CIA employee Raymond Davis was bizarre and outrageous but only a minor indication of its embrace of criminality.

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Ukraine: Russian Liberal’s Standpoint

Lilia Shevtsova, a well-known political scientist, felt quite at ease as she began to grant an interview at Den/The Day’s editorial office. Without waiting for an introductory word and first questions, Shevtsova started speaking out and, so to say, putting us into the picture. Those present – journalists and students of Den Summer School of Journalism – learned a lot of things even though they know Shevtsova very well not only as a regular expert for our publication but also as one of those Russian academicians who share Den/The Day’s values and philosophy. This atmosphere immediately made the participants feel free to discuss.

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Russian Aviation School

In the academic buildings of the former Air Force Engineering Academy named after Professor NE Zhukovsky (Moscow), located in the Petrovsky Park, began dismantling the equipment and to send them to Voronezh, where a single military training Air Force Research Center.

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Lock 'N Load with R. Lee Ermey–13 Episodes

Viewers this is a season every weapon lover must see. The best part is that it contains 3D animations to let the viewers understand the basic working of each weapon, something that usually is missing in contemporary programs. Bit a little biased, in all of the programs Le Jeremy pays no equal homage to Russian or even European based weapons & in the episodes of Guns, Rocket & artillery this biased is much prominent; but what can you expect from a retired US army Colonel!!

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Fall of the Soviet Union—The Inside Story

The fall of the Soviet Union and end of communism in Russia caught the world by surprise twenty years ago. In a  Q&A, Ambassador James F. Collins, the most senior American diplomat in Russia at the time, describes how the United States responded as history unfolded and reflects on the personal diplomacy between the Cold War foes as an August  1991 coup ultimately led to the breakup of the Soviet Union in December.

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Rocket and Space Corporation Energia The Legacy of S.P.Korolev

Viewers just want to share this amazing book that I  just had finished reading.

When the world's first artificial satellite sped across the night skies the impact was far-reaching and profound. Not only was this clearly one of the great scientific achievements of the modern age but it was also a catalyst which would propel the United States out of its post-War lethargy. The Political significance of the lift-capability of the R-7 rocket aroused the attentions of the West while irrevocably altering the face of human history. The Space Age had begun. The story of the R-7 rocket and its many offspring is one which still remains a mystery in the West. Now in the post-Cold war era the remarkable accomplishments of the engineers of Rocket & Space Corporation Energia are finally reaching eager readers in the West.

The pages within contain a pictorial record encompassing the entire history of the Russian space programme, from its inception at the end of World War II to the present day.

The sheer wealth of original and durable technology is a testament to the ingenuity of a remarkable people and gives a unique glimpse a the future of the historic partnership between East and West.

Published for the first time completely in English, Rocket & Space Corporation Energia features rare pictures and diagrams including:

Sputnik - Yuri Gagarin's Vostok capsule - the world's first Space Stations - the enormous lunar rocket N1 - Russia's interplanetary probes and the Buran shuttle.

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Two Stealth Aviation Articles

Russia in need of ‘Space Realism’

RIA Novosti commentator Alina Chernoivanova
The recent string of spaceflight accidents in Russia is the symptom of a deep crisis in the nation's aerospace industry. Experts say it's time to tone down the rhetoric about Russia being a "great space power." Russia must overcome possible new setbacks and work hard in order to return to the level of quality of 20 years ago.
Russia has lost six spacecraft in a matter of nine months. Last December, a Proton-M booster rocket failed to put three Glonass-M satellites into orbit. The launch of the Rokot booster rocket carrying a military geodesic satellite Geo-IK-2 ended in failure in February. These two accidents cost Anatoly Perminov his job. The long-serving official, who had been at the helm of the Russian Space Agency for seven straight years, left his job before the end of his contract and the completion of the industry overhaul he was supposed to carry out.

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H-IIA Japanese Space Rocket

Beware Russian & Americans, as there comes another player in Space race…Japan is pushing its already praised technical & engineering abilities to have a slice in the shares of billion dollar space launch industry, specializing in the launch of commercial satellites. Being renowned of their silicon & nano industry Japanese are trying hard to prove that they are second to none in even designing monsters like rocket launchers.

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China Could Make 5th Gen Engines By 2021

originally posted by DARKY

China Defense Blog posted this interesting report on the future of Chinese figther engine production — something PLA officials publicly acknowledge is the major “bottleneck” in the development of China’s 21st Century fighters.Basically, the report by China Sign Post says that China will be able to mass produce high-quality, “top-notch” fighter engines capable of powering a modern TACAIR fleet in five to ten years. That coincides nicely with the amount of time it will likely take to start mass producing its first wave of stealth fighters like the J-20.

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Russia Looks to Match US on Virtual Battlefield

by Richard de Silva

The Russian military has declared its objective of having its own serious gaming platform for training its troops by 2013. General Nikolai Makarov, Chief of the General Staff, announced the move to modernise methods by investing heavily into new technology based on popular video game technology but in a form that is far more reflective of the realities of frontline combat.

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Moon Machines

The right tools for the job... The U.S. Moon missions would never have gotten 10 feet off the ground without the pioneering engineers and manufacturers and the amazing machines they created to turn science fiction into history-making headlines. From nuts and bolts to rockets and life support systems, every piece of gear was custom made from scratch to perform cutting-edge scientific tasks while withstanding the violent rigors of space travel. Now here's your chance to climb aboard the capsule, put on a spacesuit and learn the real stories behind the right stuff.

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A Russian DARPA…

by Konstantin Bogdanov

In Russia, the voices continue, offering to create an equivalent of U.S. DARPA, functioning at the Pentagon. That is the problem author attempts to solve? And what they want, really?

A background of increasing problems with the performance of defense contracts one of the pioneers recent harsh criticism of the military departments - General Designer of Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering - Solomon once again announced a long time wandering in the summit, idea of the formation of state structures responsible for the defense advanced research. As an example of this establishment Yuri Semenovich gave DARPA.

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Pakistan’s Nuclear Forces, 2011

The US raid that killed Osama bin Laden has raised concerns about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. In the process of building two new plutonium production reactors and a new reprocessing facility to fabricate more nuclear weapons fuel, Pakistan is also developing new delivery systems. The authors estimate that if the country’s expansion continues, Pakistan’s nuclear weapons stockpile could reach 150–200 warheads in a decade. They assess the country’s nuclear forces, providing clear analysis of its nuclear command and control, nuclear-capable aircraft, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.

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Why Getting China to Consume More Won't Stop U.S. Decline

BY IAN BREMMER

Halfway through 2011, we've already seen an extraordinary year of volatility: turmoil across the Middle East and North Africa, the eurozone's ongoing fiscal crises, Japan's triple disaster, the killing of Osama bin Laden. Yet these dramatic events have obscured a slow-moving, underlying shift of much greater long-term importance: global rebalancing. In its simplest form, rebalancing means this: a reset of the global economy shifting the balance of accounts between the world's established and emerging powers or between its biggest consumers and biggest savers. That alone, of course, is a transition of landmark historic significance. Yet it is far from the only consequence, for rebalancing is not just an economic story, but one that will result in a seismic shift in the international balance of power, in every region of the world.

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Russian UAVs Dozor

The Russian Dozor-600 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). All of these pictures were been taken during 2010 Engineering Technologies, Zhukovsky Russia.

The Russian Dozor-100 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). All of these pictures were been taken during 2010 Engineering Technologies, Zhukovsky Russia.

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PAK-FA/T-50 & South Korea

by Konstantin Bogdanov

What's behind the attempt to include Seoul in the number of applicants for a place in Russian Air Force fighter jet T-50? What are the chances of our fifth-generation machines, and in what form it could get to the South Korean armed squadrons?

The domestic aviation industry are predicting the impending struggle in the new export tender.According to newspaper The Korea Times, a leading Russian manufacturer of combat aircraft -  "Sukhoi" expressed a desire to participate in the competition to supply fighters for the Air Forces of the Republic of Korea, suggesting T-50, developed in the framework of the PAK FA.

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Miral-Exposing Israel in Palestine

Being a factual film it raises the troubled historical background of Israel & Palestine. The Israel army is shown as a vicious animal gobbling the Palestine land via aggressive use of force & persuasion. With no care of human rights; war prisoners & civilians the occupying Israel army has taken drastic measures in handling of Palestinians, which to them are the real perpetrators of war!!

Not only the Palestinian but Israeli Arabs also are forsaken in denying basic human rights & suffer rudimentary behaviour at the hand of authorities. Film also shows that in Israel a cultural change towards westernizism has occurred, which wasn't witnessed in the presence of Muslims in Israel. Such culture is often seen by Palestinian (largely Muslim) Arabs as immodest.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com | SnapApp Quiz Apps

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All the Dear Leader's Bootleggers: North Korea's Secret Trade in Nukes -- and Whiskey

BY SIMON HENDERSON

Pakistan and North Korea have been involved for decades in a secretive trade: The Pakistani military acquired missiles from North Korea, and Pyongyang, as part of the deal, gained access to Pakistan's uranium enrichment centrifuges. Now, new details have emerged that reveal how this relationship was smoothed by money. The Washington Post published revelations today, attributed to me, that top-level North Korean officials bribed Pakistani military officials with over $3 million in exchange for the nuclear technology. This disclosure offers fresh details about how nuclear weapon secrets have proliferated across the globe -- and provides a unique insight into the dangerous consequences of the hermit kingdom's "entrepreneurial" role in world affairs.

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Kornet-EM New Capabilities of Antitank Guided Missile Systems

Antitank guided missile systems (ATGM) have been developed and produced globally for already half a century. Since then they became the most popular and wanted type of high precision weapons (HPW) thanks to their usability and relatively low cost. For example, there have been produced around seven hundred thousand TOW antitank missiles whose latest modifications are still being produced.

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North Korea Admitted As The Largest Supplier Of Missiles

North Korea has become the largest supplier of different types of ballistic missiles to various developing countries, according to Defense Aerospace, with reference to a report by research company Forecast International. In the period from 1987 to 2009, North Korea has exported 1200 missiles, representing about 40 percent of this market segment weapons. For comparison, the direct competitors in the market  of ballistic missiles to the developing countries - Russia and China - have managed to export only 400 and 270 missiles, respectively.

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Polyethylene Bulletproof Vests Just As Good As Steel Versions

A Moscow-based research institute has started making new bulletproof vests with high-modulus polyethylene (HMPE) inserts.
When tested together with metal vests, the polyethylene plates withstood Kalashnikov assault rifle and Tokarev handgun rounds at five meters, just like metal ones.

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What Will Happen In Afghanistan And Pakistan After 2014

For more than a quarter of a century, the history of Afghanistan is one of unending violence, death and tears. Now let us see what the future holds for this unfortunate land and, by extension, for Pakistan and the whole South Asian region. This future begins in July 2011, when US President Barack Obama will begin withdrawing 10,000 troops. General David H Petraeus wants the withdrawal to be slow because, in his opinion, the eastern part of the country is still insecure. But Obama’s mind seems to be made up. He wants this done soon and, in addition, he wants the 33,000 troops he sent in the autumn of 2009 to come back home before 2012 too. This withdrawal is widely linked with the coming presidential elections in the US but, even granting this, is this a bad thing? If many Americans want the end of the Afghan war, is the desire of the military and the neocons to give a tough nationalistic front to the world the best course of action? Or is it peace and reconciliation and the cutting of losses?

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Less Is More: Cutting U.S. Military Aid To Pakistan

By James Traub

I accompanied Sen. John Kerry on a trip to Pakistan two weeks after the killing of Osama bin Laden. Outrage over the revelation that bin Laden had been hiding in plain sight not far from Islamabad had prompted pundits and congressmen to call for an end to funding this supremely problematic ally. Kerry told me what he told Pakistan's military and civilian leaders: His colleagues were "overwhelmingly negative about aspects of the relationship" and "needed to see which way Pakistan was really going to go." The Pakistanis heard him out respectfully and promised a stepped-up commitment. Kerry was followed to Islamabad by a parade of senior American officials who offered a similar mix of blandishments and threats. And then -- surprise! -- the Pakistanis changed their minds. Or maybe they had never meant it.

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Russia’s Maritime Power Of 2nd Grade

June 17 in St. Petersburg was signed an agreement, as a result of which the Russian Navy a few years later supplemented with four amphibious assault ship of the "Mistral". Two of them will be built in France, the rest - in Russian shipyards. This event led me to some reflections.

The author does not intend to enter into polemics with those who support the signed agreement or rejects it.

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Assassin Nation: Is There Anyone Left Alive Who Can Actually Run Afghanistan?

By Edward Girardet

In the late summer of 2001, I traveled to northern Afghanistan on assignment for National Geographic to meet with Ahmad Shah Massoud, the leader of the Northern Alliance and the last remaining opposition figure of any significance to the Taliban. I had known Massoud since 1981 and was hoping to interview him in depth about why he had persevered through more than 20 years of fighting, first against the Soviets, then Islamic extremists, and now the Taliban. But no one knew where he was or when he would arrive. The desert winds were too strong for his helicopter to come in, I was told.

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Proliferation Threat Of Medium-range Ballistics Is Extremely Limited

The threat of ballistic missiles (BM) medium-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) is extremely limited and is characterized by a downward trend. ARMS-TASS on scientific and practical conference with participation of the military attaches of foreign countries on the topic "Russia's position on the creation of a European missile defense," said Deputy Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Vyacheslav Kondrashov.

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An Increasing Number Of Large-MLRS

Every year, large-caliber multiple launch rocket systems are acquired by more armies in the world. The most important weapon of war - artillery - was one of the most important ever, now we have further growth trends in its development and acquisition, even despite the fact that the XXI century has generated a huge variety of aircraft and even managed, that not so long ago it was still only limit dreams of rockets being useful for various purposes.

This trend is not fading away due to the fact that there is a constant multidirectional improvement, development and refinement of artillery systems. To date, the most powerful caliber are multiple rocket launchers(MLRS). The development of these systems has led such that most powerful of them can wipe out entire army units and connections. Previously, 300 millimeter MLRS, only one was a  proud of the Soviet Union, and now such systems become adopted by more and more countries, some of them have started their own production of MLRS.

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Can Afghanistan's Army Stand On Its Own?

 

Although Afghan President Hamid Karzai recognized the death of Osama bin Laden as an "important day" for the fight against terrorism, he remains convinced that the Western military presence in his country needs to be reconsidered. "Year after year, day after day, we have said the fighting against terrorism is not in the villages of Afghanistan, not among the poor people of Afghanistan," Karzai said, as part of his push for NATO to focus its attention on Pakistan.

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Russian UAVs-A Failure

The Russian army is in dire need of modern unmanned vehicles. But before purchasing the UAV, including abroad, would be nice to see how they will interact with current and prospective troop control systems.

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Crash-test Between Two Civilizations: West & Middle East

With the exception of Turkey and Iran, all states of the Middle East -  former colonies, protectorates and mandated territories, retained the former European metropolises with economic, political and military ties.What are today the results of these very complicated relationship?

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China's First Master Designer

After years of trying to keep it a secret, China has confirmed that one of their aircraft engineers, Yang Wei, is actually one of those extraordinary designers who produces one successful design after another. Born in 1963, he graduated from college at age 19 and finished graduate school three years later. He soon went to work at the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute, and a decade later was appointed director. So far, he has designed a working fly-by-wire system, as well as the JF-17, J-10B and J-20. He did not design the original J-10, but did design the most successful version, the J-10B, and provided important upgrades for other J-10 models. The new J-20 (a stealth design that is still in development) is less of a surprise now that it's known the Chinese have a genuine ace designer working on it.

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Cobwebs Of Rising Red Dragon: Beijing

In Middle East key partners of China - Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. They appreciate that China, unlike the West does not seek to change their lifestyle and political system.China in the region - a potential counterweight to U.S. and EU competitors. Beijing in Magribe and Sakhele, Mashrike Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Turkey and Israel; plays only according to its own rules, it does not enter into the alliances, it pursues pragmatic interests, conducts the open economic and concealed military-political expansion with the long-range goal.

 

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Sevmash: Russian Pride Of Ship-Building

"Information that Russia does not have stocks to build ships such as French helicopter carrier Mistral is untrue. At least Sevmash has such features, "- said the representative of the Northern Machine-Building Enterprise (Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region), Alexander Kholodov.

President Dmitry Medvedev with the submarine Yuriy Dolgorukiy in the background

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Science Behind Depleted Uranium

In the past I’ve made a number of posts and videos mentioning the fact that uranium is a rather common mineral and that it’s been used in a number of consumer products.   Indeed, thousands of kitchen cabinets contain uranium-glazed dinnerware, some of which was mass produced as recently as the 1980’s.

This has been met with a curious response on numerous occasions.   Many concede that uranium is not all that harmful when touched or even ingested but then say “but what about the nano-particles.”   The dust, or “nanoparticles” resulting from uranium combustion are one thing that seems to come up again and again.  They are often credited with nearly magical properties, like the ability to stay suspended in the air indefinitely or to cause horrible health problems even in those far from the location where the uranium projectile was fired.

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Afghanistan: What Happened There? Image Gallery

For 10 years, ever since the towers fell, the United States has fought a war in a distant land in hopes, it says, of protecting American interests and making the world safer from terrorism. Now, as President Barack Obama plans to end US combat operations in Afghanistan by 2014, the question remains as muddy as ever: What happened here? – Photos by AP

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Tales Of An Enigmatic Dragon

I HAVE been riveted to a fascinating account of China’s evolution as a modern power by an author who has had a ringside view of the country’s crucial days in the transformative journey from its near mythical past. Henry Kissinger’s new book, On China, reads like a novel with parallel narratives.

It is at once the story of the country’s Confucian past, its self-absorbed cultural grandeur rooted in the Sino-centric worldview of the Middle Kingdom, and how it all begins to unravel painfully, even tragically, before the assault by ‘distant barbarians’ from the West. That’s how the Chinese still describe their tryst with colonialism. Kissinger’s view of China’s perception of itself is laced with unmasked admiration, bordering on obeisance, of a brilliant but not always idyllic dream, one which was destined to be jolted in its rude appointment with history.

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Updates on Mi-28N Helicopter-2011

Author gives a lineage of the development history of Mi-24/28/28N helicopters relative to the Ka-50/52 helicopters. The document also shed light upon the recent developments in the electro-optronic, armaments, & any related aspect of the Hind family helis..

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Pendulum Of War

IN the past couple of weeks, Al Qaeda and its franchises have come back with a vengeance, attacking Pakistan, its security forces and the public. This also appears to be a prelude to an increase in violence in Afghanistan in the near future.

An important aspect of these new series of attacks is their concentration on Islamabad, Peshawar and locations along the Durand Line. In their latest onslaughts on urban centres, militants have used both improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers. Clearly, the militants are in good health and pose a serious existential threat to Pakistan.

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China Naval & SAMs Developments 2010-2011

Sean O'Connor in his latest issue of I&A analysis discuss the ongoing improvements & progress in the Chinese Naval projection & SAM systems. He discusses the evolution of Chinese SAM from Russian imported  systems & how such systems knowledge is put to manufacture local variants namely HQ-9 & HQ-12 SAMs. The expertise gained by Chinese not only is reflected in missile development but also in the domestic manufacture of RADAR & IADS complexes.

However, author analysis elaborated by Google Earth images reflect that still the potent air defence systems are Russian originated as Chinese are compelled (by the relative inferiority of their domestic complexes) to use them in defending key areas like Beijing & Shanghai…

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Tank Overhaul: The BMP

Unveiled in the mid-1960s, the Soviet BMP was the world's very first infantry fighting vehicle - a brand new concept for the modern nuclear battlefield. The BMP was designed to protect soldiers from radioactive fallout and allow them to fight from within the vehicle. But the BMP never fought a nuclear war. Instead it fought conventional wars in the Middle East where it was outclassed by its vastly superior American counterpart, the M2 Bradley. Now, Greg Taylor, one of the most experienced tank restorers, will rebuild a Cold War vehicle without enough money, time, and help. Greg is pushed to his limits.

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Iran’s Nuclear Future: US Policy Choices

Dissuading Iran from developing nuclear weapons faces major obstacles, but it's too soon to give up trying as it may still be possible to influence the outcome of Iran's internal political debate, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.

The study, "Iran's Nuclear Future: Critical U.S. Policy Choices," describes the complex considerations underlying future U.S. policy options in responding to Iran's evolving nuclear program. It also assesses the potential effectiveness of each policy option and concludes that difficult policy trade-offs will be required.

Iran’s military views Imam Hossein, who died in the desert of southern Karbala while fighting thousands of the caliph’s soldiers with only 70 of his own men, as a model worthy of emulation. The Islamic Republic’s view of victory—resistance without an actual victory— has shaped its general military doctrine. Fariborz Haghshenass, “Iran’s Doctrine of Asymmetric Naval Warfare,” Washington, D.C.: Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy Watch No. 1179, December 21, 2006.

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Arms Sales 2011: Russia, Middle East & Africa

By the important factors in the development of military-political situation in the world, most important recently, are the situations erupted from the beginning of 2011 via the tumultuous events in several Arab countries, primarily located in North Africa. As it erupted excitement strife will affect the volume of arms sales, including exports of articles of Russian military-industrial complex, "MIC" asked to tell one of the leading national expert on the subject, DC's weekly magazine.

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Pakistan's Black Pearl-Gwardar

By URMILA VENUGOPALAN

State visits between friendly countries seldom produce surprises or unscripted moments, but the recent trip to China by top Pakistani officials managed to do just that.

Upon returning to Islamabad, the defense minister, Ahmed Mukhtar, made two eyebrow-raising announcements: first, that Beijing had agreed to take over operation of Gwadar port in Baluchistan, and, second, that he had invited the Chinese to build a naval base there. China's leaders, seemingly caught unaware by these statements, promptly denied them.

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Central Air Force Museum in Monino, Russia-Image Gallery

In all, 187 aircraft are displayed at the Central Air Force Museum in Monino. Image shots include helicopters, reconnaissance & fighter planes. To get a comprehensive look into the aviation evolution of Soviets refer to this post:

Fifty Years of Soviet Aircraft Construction by Alexander Yakovlev

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Cyberterrorism Is The Time

Authorities and intelligence agencies a number of post-Soviet states are seriously concerned about the influence of the Internet on politics. It is understandable, because in the North African countries in 2011, thanks to electronic technology achieved high degree of organization of protest actions, already dubbed Twitter Revolution (Revolutions using social networking twitter).

With regard to the heads of national anti-terrorism, they are reacting to cyber extremism recognize: the methods of confrontation with the new threat they are just beginning to be developed. Obvious problem of cyberterrorism out from under the control of law enforcement agencies of national and international institutions.

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KBP-Designed Modernized Fighting Compartment Of The BMP-2

At present, the development level of armoured vehicles signifies to a large extent the military potential of the country's land forces. Infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) are the most widely-used type of the land forces' hardware. Constant upgrade of the combat vehicles fleet is performed by means of developing novel combat assets and modernization of existing armoured vehicles.

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Beijing's Blue-Water Navy-Image Gallery

Is China building an empire on the sea?

From Somalia to the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca, Beijing is increasingly seeking to project naval power, a sharp break from its traditional, narrower strategy of patrolling the Chinese coast. Military leaders in China maintain that the Chinese navy is purely a self-defense force, but this definition has now expanded to encompass broad maritime and economic interests. "With our naval strategy changing now, we are going from coastal defense to far sea defense," Rear Adm. Zhang Huachen, deputy commander of the East Sea Fleet, said in an interview with Xinhua, the state news agency. According to experts, the Chinese navy receives more than one-third of the country's overall military budget, reflecting the priority Beijing places on maintaining open sea lanes for resources and manufacturing as a vital element of national security.

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On the "Angara", "Rus", and "Bulava"…

Last week, the Russian Space Agency head Anatoly Perminov, briefed members of the Federation Council on the status and prospects of development of the domestic space industry. MIC publishes excerpts of the speech.

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RAF Eurofighter Typhoons 'beaten by Pakistani F-16s'

By Lewis Page

Pakistani pilots flying modernised versions of the 1970s-vintage F-16 Falcon fighter have beaten the RAF's brand-new Eurofighter Typhoon superfighters during air combat exercises in Turkey, according to a Pakistani officer.

Costs like a Raptor, flies like a Tornado

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U.S. Navy Is Preparing To Beat Off The Russian Missiles

U.S. Army specialists are not convinced that the American ships will be able to repel the attack of Russian missile family Klub . To test the ship's defense systems USN ordered additional 7 supersonic targets, such as GQM-163A Coyote SSST, each of which is worth 3.9 million dollars.

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The First Missiles South Asian Giant

by Vladimir Shcherbakov

Continue the story of the defense capabilities of India which has made ​​impressive progress in building its own nuclear missile shield, designed to ensure reliable security for the country.

Indian military and political leadership at the time put in front of national research and design organizations the task to focus on the development of antitank guided missiles and air defense. But soon in New Delhi came to the conclusion that the provision of guaranteed superiority over potential enemy is impossible without tactical ballistic missiles, as well as the medium-and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, which can be equipped with nuclear warheads.

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Tank Overhaul: The Hellcat

We go to the Tank Workshop in Tooele, Utah where a crew of dedicated restorers race to finish a very special project. Their boss, Karl Smith, has gathered the largest private collection of World War II vehicles in the United States, and he’s throwing a VE-Day party with a big surprise.

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Awaiting Disturbance-Afghanistan, Pakistan & Israel

by Yevgeny Satanovsky

U.S. Middle East political and military doctrine is not casually considers Afghanistan and Pakistan as a whole - AfPak. Closely related historically, these countries represent a source of instability of world importance. The crusade against international terrorism has failed in Afghanistan. Today the situation in the region (compared to what it was ten years ago) is significantly deteriorated due to the growth of drug production, expansion of operational activities of terrorist organizations in Pakistan and India and the weakening of nuclear Pakistan with the possible disintegration of its medium-term.

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Ship-Board Phase Array RADARs

Plain & a simple document discussing the role & evolution of Phase Array Radars. Writer elaborates with infographics couple with basic physics to let the reader know of the working principle of PESA RADARs. Various US, European & Russian examples also are discussed.

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Dambusters: Building the Bouncing Bomb

What better way to round off a Bank Holiday weekend than some stirring military history mixed with pop-science? That’s the payload delivered by this two-hour special, which sees a team of infectiously enthusiastic scientists try to recreate the iconic Dambusters bombing raid.

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Compare T-90 with "Leopard" and "Abrams"

The modernization of T-72 tanks, spare parts, as well as the possibility of buying new weapons to discuss with the military departments of Belarus and India, leaders of the delegation of the Rosoboronexport State Corporation in the international exhibition of armaments MILEX-2011 in Minsk.

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Indian Cinema About Combat Aircraft-MMRCA

by  Konstantin Bogdanov

India has once again postponed The tender MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) to supply air force of 126 fighters. Meanwhile, its main participants, hoping to win time and time again to trot out a variety of means, either by taking impressive steps, or walking on candid tricks.But Delhi, experiencing powerful political pressure, it seems, no longer greatly he does not understand how to now disentangle the welded porridge.

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Israeli Air Force Had “Flawed Strategy” During Lebanon War

Israel's disappointing performance in its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 did not reflect a "failure of air power," but rather a failure of Israel's political and military leaders to properly assess the enemy, set achievable goals, apply an effective strategy and adequately manage public expectations, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.

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Take Pakistan's Nukes, Please

BY KAPIL KOMIREDDI

For more than six decades, Pakistan has been at war with itself, torn between competing ideas of what it means to be Pakistani. In Pakistan's volatile trundle through history, the events that have unfolded so far this year -- the assassination of Governor Salman Taseer for expressing moderate views, the instant deification of his killer by a substantial cross-section of the country's "civil society," the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan's most conspicuously military town -- may have resolved that conflict. The attack on Sunday, May 22, by Taliban fighters on the Mehran naval air base in Karachi -- its audacity, the foreknowledge it implied, the militaristic precision with which it was executed -- carried a message: Pakistan is no longer a contested territory; it is now emphatically their turf. The reins of official power may not be in their hands yet, but the men with whom they rest dare not challenge the extremists' conception of Pakistan. The battle for hearts and minds is over. Moderate Pakistan, if such a thing ever existed, is dead.

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Nuclear Scientist Says Bomb Saved Pakistan

The father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb has vigorously defended the program as sparing his country the fate of Iraq or Libya, amid signs that Islamabad is ramping up its weapons capacities. Writing in Newsweek magazine, Abdul Qadeer Khan said that Pakistan's nuclear weapons had prevented war with historic rival India, which he accused of pursuing a "massive program" due to ambitions of superpower status.

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U.S. Military Will Spray The Enemies By "Smart Dust"

U.S. Air Force want to get a tiny unmanned vehicles that can sneak up on an opponent and mark it with a special powder or slime.This will allow U.S. troops to discreetly monitor certain people and technology and, if necessary, to immediately destroy them with precision weapons.

The U.S. military issued a request for the development of miniature unmanned vehicles that could be applied covertly hypothetical "dust" on people and track them from a distance. The request indicated that this technology will be useful in a variety of situations: from the identification of its soldiers and civilians to monitor wildlife. But probably the main purpose is surveillance of terrorists and the opening of the underground terrorist networks.

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U.S. Ahead Of Russia In The Number Of Strategic Intercontinental Missiles

The U.S. has 30 percent more strategic intercontinental missiles and nuclear warheads than Russia. These data, reported Agence France-Presse, contained in a report released on Wednesday, June 1, U.S. Department of State.

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World Wars Camouflage Technique Could Have Benefits in Modern Warfare

Painting army vehicles with high contrast geometric patterns -- 'dazzle camouflage' -- affects the perception of their speed and thus could make them less susceptible to rocket propelled grenade attacks, according to new research from the University of Bristol.

Examples of dazzle camouflage used in the First and Second World Wars. From top left: HMS Argus, SS Empress of Russia, Mauretania (World War One); USS Inaugural, HMAS Yarra (World War Two). (Credit: Images from Wikimedia Commons via Wikipedia article on Dazzle camouflage, all in the public domain except SS Empress, which is Copyright: National Museums Liverpool (Stewart Bale Collection, Merseyside Maritime Museum))

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Emperor Obama vs the Arab people

Despite calling for change in some parts of the Middle East, the US president reaffirmed the status quo where it counts.

In 1960, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan delivered an important speech titled Wind of Change, first in Accra and later in Cape Town, signaling British decolonisation of its African territories and warning the South African regime to move away from its apartheid policies. In 2011, US President Barack Obama begged to differ. While dubbing his speech Winds of Change, in reference to the uprisings ongoing across the Arab World, his speech made it clear that the same winds were not yet blowing in Washington DC, and perhaps never will. President Obama's second speech on the Arab world, delivered on 19 May, showed such constancy and lack of change in US policy as his first speech, delivered in Cairo on 4 June 2009. This is not to say that the two speeches lacked flair and imperial hubris in the delivery, but rather that their characteristic lack of substance or novelty, let alone their decorative and gratuitous verbosity, demonstrate that imperial climate control in Washington can never be "changed", not even by the wind of the Arab uprisings.

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Dassault's Rafale - The Best And Most Complete Aircraft

By Peter Collins

Most advanced Allied air forces now have operational fleets of fourth-generation fighters (defined by attributes such as being fly-by-wire, highly unstable, highly agile, net-centric, multi-weapon and multi-role assets).

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Pakistan's Spymaster Hamid Gul: Angel Of Jihad Or Windbag Provocateur?

Osama bin Laden's death presents retired general with new opportunities for intrigue
Declan Walsh in Rawalpindi guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 31 May 2011
Hamid Gul, 74, retired chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate and now a prominent pro-Taliban media commentator, at his office in Rawalpindi. Of the many dramas to grip Pakistan since the death of Osama bin Laden on 2 May, a cameo appearance by the country's most notorious spymaster had to be among the most intriguing.

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I knew bin Laden

"When he looked me in the eyes to answer my questions, he sounded like an old uncle telling a story."John Miller, former ABC News reporter

An insight into Osama bin Laden's life through the eyes of people who knew him and met him.

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Threat Lies Within, Not Across Our Border: Pakistan

If things were not quite so serious, we could imagine we are living in a black comedy of some kind. In the latest episode, six terrorists, according to an official count by the interior minister, were able to enter one of the most important bases in the country, apparently by strolling across a small drain and some bushes towards its rear. And after doing so, they apparently managed to make their way towards a hanger where navy aircraft, including P-3C Orion aircraft, used to gather surveillance and intelligence against submarines, were parked and managed to destroy at least one of them.

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Spin It: Russian Helicopter Industry

by Kirill Belov

What has been one of the most successful in recent years, domestic engineering industries relating to its defence and civilian sectors? How to track the development of new rotorcraft and ordering available helicopters?

Before the exhibition HeliRussia-2011 Russian helicopter decided to report on progress. Gathered at a press conference in agency "Interfax" industry generals, headed by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Dennis Manturov provided reporters a detailed report on the state of affairs in the field of rotorcraft technology.

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The Arms Race Is Slowing

World military spending in 2010 totaled 1.63 trillion dollars.

Annual growth - 1.3 per cent (20.6 billion dollars).As stated in the report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the lowest figure over the past ten years.During 2001-2009 years the average annual growth was 5.1 percent.

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Sputnik Declassified

Sergei Korolev, the engineer behind the 184-pound Soviet Sputnik satellite, was not credited by name until after his death.

The Army's Wernher von Braun, seen here with a model rocket, was prevented from making America's first attempt to put a satellite in orbit and was forced to defer to a team from the Naval Research Laboratory. When the Navy's Vanguard failed, he put America in space with Explorer in January, 1958.

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Bin Laden, Basayev and Terrorism's Scourge

by Dmitri Trenin

When Osama bin Laden was killed, I was in Washington and got to watch President Barack Obama’s televised announcement and witness Americans’ jubilation with the news first hand. Two themes struck me particularly: Justice is served, and there is no mission impossible for the United States. Crowds outside the White House in Washington and near Ground Zero in New York were chanting, “U-S-A!”

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Debate On Solid Vs Liquid Propelled Missiles: Russia

Defense is ready to begin funding work on the creation of a new heavy liquid strategic missile that will replace the stand in the armies of more than 30 years of complexes of RS-20 "Satan" and SS-18 “Stiletto ".

To learn how to create a new missile, the correspondent of Izvestia interviewed, Honorary General Designer of MIC NPO Mashinostroyenia, Ph.D. Herbert Efremov

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Of Communists, Couriers And Covert Actions

By Kamran Asdar Ali

The ongoing debate about Osama bin Laden’s death reminded me of other moments of crisis in Pakistan’s short history. There are many but one occurred exactly sixty years ago, when on March 9, 1951 the Pakistan government brought charges of sedition and of plotting a military coup against certain leaders of its own military and members of the Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP). This incident is now remembered as the Rawalpindi conspiracy case. What is sometimes forgotten is how the secretary general of the CPP, Syed Sajjad Zaheer, after having avoided arrest, was eventually taken into custody. Respected journalist, (late) Hasan Abidi, was, as a young man, assigned by the CPP to be Sajjad Zaheer’s courier. Abidi was arrested around April 20, and, after being tortured at the Lahore Fort for a week, he gave the police Zaheer’s address. Surprisingly, when the police arrived at the given address on April 28, 1951, Zaheer was still there and he was subsequently arrested.

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MiG Failed But Not Forgotten: MMRCA Defeat…

by Konstantin Bogdanov

As part of the tender for the purchase of India's MMRCA fighters took a step toward completion: selected two interim winner. "King for a day now consolidate efforts in the final. Loser it is time to think about how and what to do next. Date decided did not pull the cat's tail. Three weeks had passed since the reported extension of "deal of the century" - MMRCA tender to supply 126 medium fighter for the Indian Air Force as the new leadership of South Asian hegemon boldly cut the list of contenders for the tasty $10 billion from six to two points

 

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Tank Overhaul: The Sherman

The American M4 Sherman is the best known, most widely used tank of the Second World War. It is also the most controversial. Was it the all-American tank that won the war or a completely under-designed death trap?

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Faithless Warriors

By Said Nazir

In the wake of 9/11, a number of militant outfits emerged in the federally administered tribal areas, claiming that their purpose was to maintain peace and purge vulgarity, social injustices and crime from the lawless tribal society. Armed with their own interpretation of Sharia, they quickly gathered recruits from all walks of life. Men and women alike flocked to their banners, and their adherents soon included politicians, lawyers, teachers, students and medical practitioners.

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Yes, the Afghans Hate Us

by Gilles Dorronsoro

Along the road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, two cities in eastern Afghanistan, an American truck is broken down as Afghan vehicles approach. A U.S. soldier steps out to stop oncoming traffic and begins to scream obscenities and, with his rifle butt, hit cars (including mine) that don’t move back fast enough. This will block the road for almost an hour and brew distrust and even hatred between American troops and the local population. Isolated incident? Unfortunately no.

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Russian Army Waiting For A Fifth-generation ICBM

Defense Ministry decided on the development of a new heavy liquid ballistic missile, which should replace the world's most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), P-36M  (according to western classification SS-18 Mod.1, 2,3 Satan - "Satan" ).

This was reported by a former Chief of Staff of the Strategic Missile Forces Viktor Esin. "Satan" - the foundation of our land group's strategic nuclear deterrent forces. Today on constant alert is 58 such missiles deployed on their 580 nuclear warheads.The machine is immune to electromagnetic pulse and can be started from the mine, even if a nuclear warhead explodes in proximity. It will break through any missile defense system and will deliver payload to the target, even in another hemisphere it has: 10 nuclear warheads (megaton class) each having individual guidance. This is quite enough to wipe out the city in one strike, and even the whole country. However, by 2020 practically all existing missiles will serve their period, and will have to change them. Therefore has accepted the solution to develop new ICBM..

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Controversy Around Tank: T-90 & T-95

by Ilya Kramnik

Permanent scandal is shaking the Russian defense industry and military officials of the Russian Federation in connection with the purchase of new armored vehicles, had reached its climax after the announcement of Land Forces Commander Alexander Postnikov of obsolescence of proposed designs. After that search for common ground has become inevitable. How it will be successful and where are the roots of today's critical situation in the domestic tank manufacturing?

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Bin Laden: Exposing Pakistan's Paradoxes

by Asad Hashim

"Pakistan, it would seem, is one of the few countries that can get more out of its international partners by pointing a gun to its own head."

It had to be Abbottabad.That is to say, while it is unsurprising to a degree that Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda's leader and the most wanted man in the world, was found in Pakistan, it is particularly telling that when he was eventually tracked down (and killed), it was not to a cave in a remote tribal agency, but a fortified compound - not two kilometres from Pakistan's military academy, in the heart of a city that is home to three regimental headquarters of the Pakistani army.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

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YF-23 Black Widow Declassified

"Web of Secrecy - YF-23 Black Widow II - Declassified" tells the story of the YF-23 fighter jet that was conceived, designed and built during the Cold War when the two superpowers were embroiled in an invisible conflict of arms escalation and air superiority.

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