NEW STEP IN INDIA -UK DEFENCE COOPERATION

New Delhi, 30 July 2010: UK Prime Minister David Cameron for a “distinguished political career” and his “strong personal commitment” to take the India-UK partnership to an even higher level of understanding and enhanced partnership between the two countries.

Cameron's visit, which came within months of his election victory, is being seen in New Delhi as a bold bid to transform the relationship in a qualitative manner and PM Singh said: "We have agreed on specific initiatives in the areas of defence cooperation."

They also agreed to work on development of broad-based UK-Indian co-operation in the Defence sector. The two leaders noted the joint Army exercise, Shamsheer Bugle, which took place in India in June and also the joint Naval exercise Konkan, which is completed today in India. They looked forward to the joint Air exercise, Indra Dhanush, in India in October 10.

The two sides noted the threats both countries faced from terrorism, and welcomed the strong growth of co-operation in countering it.

With this visit, he said, "we have set in place a new momentum to drive our strategic partnership forward. I have no doubt that this will be good for both countries and it responds to the wishes and aspirations of both countries’ people."

Both sides discussed India's particular interest in attracting international as well as domestic investment in infrastructure over the next decade, and how best the two governments could enable and encourage this. The agreed to establish an India-UK Infrastructure Group, led by the two governments and drawing on the expertise of the private sector, which would help identify barriers to investment and potential solutions.

Welcoming the new opportunities that had opened up for co-operation in the civil nuclear power sector, following the signature earlier this year of the UK-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Declaration, the India-UK joint statement said, "This has created opportunities for wide ranging cooperation between the countries in the nuclear field including with regard to nuclear trade and exchanges between scientific institutions."

Describing India and the UK as "natural partners to shape a better world", Prime minister Manmohan Singh said, "If we join hands together, we can make a meaningful contribution to addressing the challenges of global poverty and development, reform of global institutions, terrorism and climate change."

The US messenger behind the WikiLeaks : Bradley Manning

Bradley Manning, US Army intelligence analyst was stationed at Forward Operating Base Hammer, 40 miles east of Baghdad. He served as an intelligence analyst with a Top Secret/SCI clearance and access to classified networks, including SIPRNET, the Army’s secret-level wide area network.

Manning reportedly read about Adrian Lamo's hacking exploits in a Wired magazine profile, and decided to contact him through instant message and email. Adrian Lamo, a former hacker has turned Manning in after striking up an online relationship with the soldier and learning the extent of his illegal downloads. Bradley Manning discussed personal issues with Lamo that got him into trouble with his superiors and left him socially isolated, and said he had been demoted and was headed for an early discharge from the Army.

Sometime after Thanksgiving 2009, Manning reached out to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, after WikiLeaks published 500,000 pager messages from the 24-hour period surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Army alleges that Manning illegally downloaded to unsecured computer equipment more than 150,000 secret diplomatic cables, in addition to video of a classified military operation near Baghdad. Manning had access to two classified networks from two separate secured laptops: SIPRNET, the Secret-level network used by the Department of Defense and the State Department, and the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System which serves both agencies at the Top Secret/SCI level.

Manning allegedly claimed credit for leaking the WikiLeaks video, but when he said he had also leaked classified diplomatic cables, Lamo decided to report him. So Manning came to the attention of the FBI and Army investigators.

Manning was arrested by the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command in May 2010 and detained without charge for over a month in a military jail at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

Julian Assange told The Guardian that WikiLeaks had hired three US criminal lawyers to defend Manning but that they had been denied access to him.

Former Air Force employee sentenced in espionage case

Delhi court has sentenced a former Indian Air Force employee to three-and-half-year prison term for passing on defence information to Pakistani intelligence officials. Additional Sessions Judge Shalinder Kaur also imposed a fine of Rs 500 on Sanjit Kumar Paul (62), holding him guilty under various provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Indian Penal Code.

During the arguments on sentence, Paul sought a lenient view of the court stating that he had already suffered incarceration for four years. The prosecution, on the other, submitted that the convict was found in possession of a number of documents besides the telephone directory having number of defence personnel.

Paul and Bijendra Singh Panwar were arrested by the Delhi Police on April 22, 2009. They were accused of passing secret information, prejudicial to the safety and security of the country, to Pakistan intelligence officials through Nepal.

Paul was also found in possession of one fake identity card. The prosecution, however, could not prove its charge that Paul and Panwar were also found to be in possession different wireless messages of Indian Navy and Air Force.

The prosecution examined 29 witnesses to prove its case against Paul. The court had acquitted Panwar of all the charges for want of sufficient proof.

Konkan - 2010

New Delhi, 27 July 2010.
The Konkan series of exercises is a part of the continuing and growing constructive engagement process between the two navies.A two-day submarine exercise between the British Royal Navy and the Indian Navy will begin off India’s west coast from Wednesday.


The first Konkan exercise was conducted in April 2004 at Chennai, followed by exercises in 2006, 2008 and 2009.Konkan 2007 was also a table-top exercise conducted at the Royal Navy’s Maritime Warfare Centre at Portsmouth, UK. In 2009, Konkan was conducted off the southern coast of Britain during the deployment of Indian ships to the Mediterranean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean.


HMS Talent, a Trafalgar class hunter killer submarine, of the Royal Navy will take part in the three-day exercise with a Shishumar class submarine of the Indian Navy, Navy spokesperson Commander P.V.S. Satish said.Meanwhile, the India-UK naval table-top exercise continued for the second day at the Mumbai port.The seventh edition of the Konkan series of the exercise began.

The Konkan 2010 is being conducted as a table-top exercise at the tactical simulator located at Maritime Warfare Centre in Mumbai.

A table-top exercise is one without actual participation of ships, but with participation of planning staff of both countries.

The aim of this exercise is to exchange operational planning concepts, maritime domain awareness procedures and to test these plans through simulations of a maritime scenario at sea.

Experiences from this exercise will be utilised to refine concepts for future Konkan series of exercises involving ships, submarines and aircraft.

The nine-member Royal Navy team is headed by Commodore James Morse, and the Indian team of 11 officers is headed by Captain M.A. Hampiholi, commanding officer INS Talwar.

USA Accepts Modernized S-61TM Helicopters for Use in Afghanistan

Sikorsky Aerospace Services today announced that the U.S. State Department has accepted the first two modernized S-61TM aircraft that will support missions for the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan. Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) is the aftermarket division of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.

The U.S. State Department has entered into a five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) purchase agreement for up to 110 modernized S-61 aircraft for passenger and cargo transport missions in support of its worldwide operations. The accepted aircraft will now undergo completion by SAS with specialized mission equipment to meet U.S. State Department requirements before being deployed this fall.

“The U.S. State Department’s acceptance of these first two modernized S-61 aircraft marks a major milestone in the launch of the S-61TTM modernization program. The S-61T helicopter will meet the needs of customers worldwide, and we are excited about how much interest this aircraft has generated,” said David Adler, President of Sikorsky Aerospace Services. “As the State Department pursues worldwide aviation missions, we remain fully committed to supporting their helicopter requirements.”

The modernized S-61T helicopter will incorporate key upgrades that include composite main rotor blades (CMRB), modular wiring harness, and an optional state-of-the-art glass cockpit – all of which dramatically improve aircraft supportability. The S-61T helicopter modernization will also add lift capability as well as enhance speed. Additional features will be incorporated to reduce pilot fatigue and reduced maintenance requirements for increased safety.

Sikorsky Aerospace Services, a Sikorsky company, provides comprehensive support to rotary and fixed wing operators around the world. It offers its military and commercial customers a full portfolio of support services, including material distribution, maintenance, overhaul & repair, aircraft modifications and life-cycle support.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture and service. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide.