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Clearly, the Justice department believes there is reasonable cause to think US law has been violated by the Bandar payments. Since the money actually came from a British government account, it could be argued that the UK state - rather than BAE as such - was the actor, and thus should be denied the export permit it is asking for.It appears that the British government's application to export American tech on 72 Eurofighters to the desert princes is the subject of some debate both among Capitol Hill politicos and at the Departments of State and Justice.Now the US State Department...

Most global surveys on image spotlight negative views of the U.S. But a new poll of U.S. perceptions of Britain shows a plunge.First, it's no pleasure to see U.S. perceptions fall so precipitously for our oldest and closest ally — the one with whom we went through two World Wars and the Cold War, and in each simultaneously elected great leaders who rose to the occasion. But from a BBC World Service poll of 1,000 Americans, it's clear U.S. views of Britain have fallen sharply. The BBC said "positive views" of Britain stand now at 45%, down from 67% a...

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2008 – The top U.S. general in the Pacific told Congress yesterday that he’s working to strengthen the U.S.-Sino relationship, but he emphasized the need to keep a close eye on China as it strives to expand its influence in the region.Keating described what he thinks, but isn’t sure, was a tongue-in-cheek comment a senior Chinese officer made during the admiral’s first visit there as PACOM commander. With a straight face, Chinese officer said, “As we develop our aircraft carriers,” -- a remark Keating said he found interesting in itself -- “why don’t we reach an agreement,...

Something big is in the works at Nevada's legendary Area 51 military base. A massive new building is under construction at the top secret location. Aviation experts say there's a good chance that a new, highly classified aircraft might soon be zipping around the Nevada skies. What kind of aircraft? One possibility is a successor to the SR-71 spy plane, the SR-72. The SR-71 Blackbird is widely regarded as the greatest airplane ever built. It sliced through the sky at Mach 3 and still reigns, officially anyway, as the fastest plane in history. Groom Lake, also known as Area 51,...

President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair have signed a treaty allowing Britain to buy defence products from the United States without individual export licences, Blair's office and the White House said Thursday. The Defence Trade Cooperation Treaty will address what was reportedly a significant disagreement between the two allies by making it easier to export equipment bought by Britain. The two sides hope to finalise implementation of the new arrangements by the end of the year, Downing Street said. "They have agreed to improve transatlantic defence information sharing by reducing the barriers to exchange of defence goods,...

PARIS, June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) F-22 Raptor 5TH generation air dominance fighter continues to compile an overwhelming record of performance and reliability since entering operational service with the U.S. Air Force 18 months ago, based on data that includes statistics and reactions from pilots, commanders and maintainers. "Joint and allied force commanders talk about the commanding presence of the F-22 and how the Raptor makes everyone in the battlespace better," said Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Executive Vice President and F-22 Program General Manager Larry Lawson, at the 2007 Paris Air Show. "Pilots will tell you about...

The US economy has remained the world's most competitive, despite the country's soaring trade deficit, a study says. The world's biggest economy topped the rankings of 55 nations compiled in the Swiss-based IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2007. Singapore was the second most competitive nation, moving up a place from last year, followed by Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Denmark. Britain came in 20th place in the rankings, unchanged from 2006. The least competitive nation was Venezuela, whose government has recently embarked on a forced nationalisation drive. The study ranks nations by how well they create and maintain conditions favourable to business.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., April 30, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The first Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, being built for the U.S. Navy by prime contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), made its first public appearance at rollout ceremonies here today. The E-2D was designed in New York and built in St. Augustine.At the ceremony before hundreds, Rear Admiral Pete Williams congratulated Team Hawkeye for delivering a "game-changer for the warfighter." Williams is the Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft with Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. Tom Vice, vice president of Airborne Early Warning and Joint Battle Management Command and...

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — U.S. and Japanese jet fighter pilots got a chance to play “good jock, bad jock” in the skies near Okinawa. For the first time ever, fighter jocks with Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force got to practice air-to-to-air combat last week with American counterparts who were flying stealthy new F-22A Raptors. In the first mission Friday, the U.S. Air Force was the Blue Team, “basically the good guys,” said Lt. Col. Wade Tolliver, commander of the 27th Fighter Squadron. The unit is on temporary deployment from Langley Air Force Base, Va., with 12 of the radar-deflecting Raptors....

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that US plans to build a missile defence system in eastern Europe would raise the risk of "mutual destruction". Poland and the Czech Republic are keen to allow the US to site missile bases and radars on their territory. Mr Putin spoke a day after threatening to halt involvement with a treaty limiting conventional arms in Europe. "The threat of causing mutual damage and even destruction increases many times," he told Russian media. "This is not just a defence system, this is part of the US nuclear weapons system," the Itar-Tass news agency quoted...

PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, KAUAI, Hawaii: In a first-of-its-kind dual missile defense test today, Raytheon Company produced Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) and Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) simultaneously engaged targets over the Pacific Ocean. This was the first time a U.S. Navy ship demonstrated simultaneous ship engagements against both cruise and ballistic missile targets. It was the eighth successful intercept for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system's SM-3. The SM-3 Block IA destroyed a short-range ballistic missile target in space while SM-2 Block IIIA engaged a cruise missile threat at a lower altitude. Both intercepting missiles were fired from guided missile cruiser USS...

April 26, 2007 LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE -- For a split second, the gray jet paused in mid-air with its nose pointed straight up and its wings cutting a crisp silhouette against the blue and white afternoon sky. Then slowly, at first almost imperceptibly, the F-22 Raptor started to slide tail-first toward the earth. The 12-minute test run Wednesday provided a sneak preview of this weekend's air show at Langley Air Force Base, a popular event that will draw even more attention this year coming a week after a fatal Blue Angels crash during a show in South Carolina on...

NEWPORT NEWS - Under a cloudless Carolina-blue sky, shipbuilders and the Navy on Saturday celebrated the christening of the North Carolina, the nation's newest fast-attack submarine. "May God bless her and all who sail in her," said ship sponsor Linda Bowman, a Navy wife for 38 years. She smashed a bottle of American sparkling wine on the bow's "breaker bar," splattering the bubbly on her face and down the front of her blue suit. Bowman pumped her fists over her head, laughed as she spotted herself dry with a towel and then exchanged a high-five with her husband, retired Adm....

“This could be the end for Spider-Man,” a stricken newsreader gravely informs us at a particularly nail-biting moment in Spider-Man 3, when all seems lost for our hero. Unlikely, considering that the latest film in the multimillion-dollar franchise was made by Sony Pictures and was having its premiere in the Japanese capital — the first Hollywood blockbuster to do so. In addition, the Spider-Man films have made more money on this side of the world than anywhere else. Staging this premiere in Tokyo was about giving a crystal clear message to Sony staff in Japan, and to the Japanese media:...

We may have seen it all before in science-fiction films. But the bionic warrior is in fact a vision of real-life warfare in the 21st century. U.S. defence chiefs hope to have their troops kitted out in the outlandish combat gear as soon as 2020. Included in the Pentagon's Future Warrior Concept are a powerful exoskeleton, a self-camouflaging outer layer that adapts to changing environments and a helmet which translates a soldier's voice into any foreign language. The future soldier will also benefit from 'intelligent' armour, which remains light and flexible until it senses an approaching bullet, then tenses to...

USHUAIA, Argentina — Argentina will fight on to win sovereignty over the British-controlled Falkland Islands, the government said Monday, 25 years after a disastrous war for control of the islands. Argentina's ill-fated Falklands campaign is widely seen as a mistake by the discredited military dictatorship ruling at the time. But the centre-left government of President Nestor Kirchner has stepped up Argentina's sovereignty claims over the islands, known as Las Malvinas in Spanish, despite Britain's stance that it will only enter talks if the 2,900 islanders want it to. Email to a friendEmail to a friendPrinter friendlyPrinter friendly Font: * *...

Air Force presents world's fastest jet, the F-22A Raptor; stealth fighter slices through airspace at Point Mugu.ythology descended upon the crowd. And then it twisted, cutting a 90-degree angle so sharp it looked like a shuttle taking off. <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://adsremote.scripps.com/event.ng/Type=click&FlightID=2037461&AdID=2054430&TargetID=2027303&Targets=2001053,2003385,2020914,2004402,2027303,2005014,2026797&RawValues=&Redirect=http:%2f%2fwww.advertisersite.com"><IMG SRC="http://images.scripps.com/1x1.gif" WIDTH=120 HEIGHT=600 BORDER=0></A> This weekend at the Point Mugu Air Show, the Air Force unleashed its highly anticipated F-22A Raptor, which made just its second appearance before the public. It's the world's fastest jet and carries the most advanced weapons system on wings. Its completion has been the cause of whispers among aviation enthusiasts for many years, one...

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Facing the row between Britain and Iran over the detained British sailors, as well as Iran's defiance over its nuclear program, the United States has offered support for its strong ally Britain and increased pressure on Iran on the other hand. Ever since the 15 British sailors were seized on Friday near the Shatt al Arab waterway between Iraq and Iran, the United States has been showing support for Britain. "The sailors need to be released and released unconditionally," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said at a briefing on Wednesday. Casey insisted that the...

Baltimore MD March 26, 2007 Northrop Grumman successfully completed radar flight-test certification for the fourth-generation variant of the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the U.S. Air Force's F-22 Raptor. The fourth-generation AESA radar, designated the AN/APG-77V(1), brings a significant upgrade to the F-22 aircraft beginning with Lot 5 and provides the capability to carry out numerous search and targeting missions."With its high-resolution radar, the F-22 possesses a sophisticated sensor suite, allowing the pilot to track, identify, and defeat air-to-air threats before being detected."

NORFOLK: Commander, Submarine Force has announced the participation of USS Alexandria (SSN 757), home ported in Groton, Conn., in a joint U.S. Navy/Royal Navy exercise being conducted in the Arctic Ocean in March and April. Ice Exercise 2007 (ICEX-2007) will be directed by Capt Ed Hasell, officer in charge of the U.S. Navy’s Arctic Submarine Laboratory in San Diego, Calif. Two submarines, the Alexandria and a Royal Navy Trafalgar class submarine will conduct the joint classified testing on submarine operability and war fighting capabilities in Arctic waters. Alexandria, commanded by Cmdr. Mike Bernacchi, will participate in ICEX-2007, under the operational...