Free Republic

The strategic framework and the correlation of forces in the Gulf of Guinea — one of the most significant and growing energy resource regions of the world — is changing rapidly. A new era in security arrangements for the region is beginning. The region is moving from an area of low technology defense and security systems, and minimal command and control at national levels, to one of growing sophistication, higher mobility, and the potential for military confrontation. The five-year, $250-million Equatorial Guinea maritime security program - essentially the build-up of an integrated naval and air capability - announced on February...

A North Carolina congressman is calling for a probe into a potential $418 million contract between Kenya and a major U.S. defense contractor announced on President Obama's last day in office -- a deal the lawmaker claims reeks of cronyism. Republican Rep. Ted Budd wants the Government Accountability Office to investigate a deal between the African nation and New York-based L3 Technologies for the sale of 12 weaponized border patrol planes. He said he wants to know why a veteran-owned small company in North Carolina – which specializes in making such planes – was not considered as the manufacturer. IOMAX...

Saturday, March 5, 2016: Live stream of the Donald J. Trump for President rally in Wichita, KS at the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center beginning at 9:00 AM CST. Saturday, March 5, 2016: GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally in Orlando, FL at CFE Arena. The event is scheduled to begin at 2:30pm EST. CFE ARENA ORLANDA, FL CITY OF ORLANDO, FL This should be a YUUUUUUUUGE event. Plenty of capacity at both places.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers announced the layoffs on its Facebook page Thursday night. The initial number reported by the union was 58. ... L-3 Army Fleet Support is reducing its workforce in order to address recent decreases in our customer’s flying-hour program and projected requirements ... Workers at Army Fleet Support went on strike briefly near the end of April... AFS announced layoffs of 50 workers in April of 2013 and 70 workers in August of 2013.

Almost 3,000 members of the Machinists Union Local Lodge 2003 are off their jobs today after rejecting a contract offer from L3 Army Fleet Support at Fort Rucker. The strike began Monday due to what union spokesperson Bob Wood said were issues over working conditions, eroding seniority rights and overtime procedures. Union members overwhelmingly voted against the latest contract proposal Sunday night. "The IAM is communicating with our membership and in contact with the company and Federal Mediation in order to build a path forward to resuming negotiations and solving the problems and returning our members to the mission at...

Europe's EADS would likely choose L-3 Communications Holdings Inc as a key supplier, should it decide to challenge Boeing Co for a U.S. aerial refueling contract worth up to $50 billion, according to analysts and sources following the matter. "Based on what we know today -- and things can change -- it appears that L-3 seems to be the likely subcontractor," Scott Hamilton of Leeham Co said, noting that there is a large faction within EADS that wants to move ahead with a bid. Analysts say a strong agreement could help EADS in what is seen as an uphill battle...

Secretary of Defense to stop in Greenville By BRAD KELLAR Herald-Banner Staff GREENVILLE — Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is scheduled to stop in Greenville today, to tour work being performed at the city’s largest employer. Gates will visit the L-3 Communications Integrated Systems plant as part of a two-part stop at defense contractors in North Texas. Reuters announced Gates is also scheduled to visit a Lockheed plant in Fort Worth before coming to Greenville. While in Greenville, Gates intends to inspect the ongoing Project Liberty reconnaissance program at the facility. The L-3 Mission Integration is modifying a total of...

Why did the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) buy $2,375,000 worth of walk-through airport body scanners for the radical leftist Venezuelan government of Hugo Chavez? Or did the agency purchase the high-tech equipment at all? And if not, what happened to the $2.3 million? According to UNDP, not only did the 2007 purchase take place, it was arranged in order to ensure “objectivity, transparency, efficiency” of the procurement in a country that, under Chavez, supports terrorists in neighboring Colombia and has aligned itself with sponsors of international terror such as Iran and Cuba. According to UNDP spokesman David Morrison, the...

A local consortium of DynCorp International and McNeil Technologies was awarded a five-year Army contract worth up to $4.6 billion yesterday to provide linguists to the U.S. military in Iraq. The joint venture, known as Iraq Global Linguist Solution, unseated the incumbent, New York-based L-3 Communications, for the work. "We are very happy, of course, but we are also genuinely honored to be chosen to perform this service for our troops," DynCorp spokesman Greg Lagana said. The group will begin work in March, and the contract could last through 2011, according to a statement from Army Intelligence and Security Command....

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 13, 2006 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has begun flight testing for the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program and has generated "first light" of ATL's high-energy chemical laser in ground tests, achieving two key milestones in the laser gunship development effort. During the "low-power" flight tests, which began Oct. 10 and conclude this fall, the ATL ACTD system will find and track ground targets at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. A low-power, solid-state laser will serve as a surrogate for ATL's high-power chemical laser. To prepare for the tests, the ATL...

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 23, 2006 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] Missile Defense Systems (MDS) has taken delivery of the aircraft for the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) program, achieving the first of several key milestones in the laser gunship effort. The C-130H transport, which belongs to the U.S. Air Force's 46th Test Wing, was handed over to Boeing on Jan. 18 in Crestview, Fla., near Eglin Air Force Base. Boeing is modifying the aircraft to enable it to carry a high-energy chemical laser and battle management and beam control subsystems. Boeing will begin flight testing the aircraft this summer with all subsystems...

Four persons arrested in Los Angeles are part of a Chinese intelligence-gathering ring, federal investigators said, and the suspects caused serious compromises for 15 years to major U.S. weapons systems, including submarines and warships. U.S. intelligence and security officials said the case remains under investigation but that it could prove to be among the most damaging spy cases since the 1985 one of John A. Walker Jr., who passed Navy communication codes to Moscow for 22 years. The Los Angeles spy ring has operated since 1990 and has funneled technology and military secrets to China in the form of documents...

Press Release Source: House Committee on Homeland Security Homeland Sub-Chair Rogers: 'Border Surveillance System Does Not Work'Thursday June 16, 1:57 pm ET WASHINGTON, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- House Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) delivered the following statement at today's Subcommittee on Management, Integration and Oversight hearing entitled Mismanagement of the Border Surveillance System and Lessons for the New America's Shield Initiative. "We're holding this hearing today to discuss the issue of border patrol surveillance technology."In 1998, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service launched the Integrated Surveillance Intelligence System, known as ISIS. This system was originally designed to detect...

NEW YORK - L-3 Communications Holdings Inc., a maker of satellite and marine communication equipment, is buying defense contractor Titan Corp. for nearly $2 billion in a cash deal that will give it a major stake in servicing U.S. military and intelligence agencies. San Diego-based Titan is L-3's largest acquisition to date and will boost the company's ability to compete as a prime contractor for government business, coming at a time when spending on defense equipment and technology continues to grow. Frank Lanza, L-3's chief executive officer, said Friday that while L-3 and Titan operate in the same business segment,...

All three children of U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, worked in some capacity for defense contractors that were criticized by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. General Services Administration for installing faulty or incomplete equipment for a border security technology system. International Microwave Corp. and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. — through their political action committees and others — also gave Reyes about $17,000 in campaign contributions during the past five years. Reyes, who was in his El Paso district office Friday, said that while he was a proponent of the border technology system that the General Services...

WASHINGTON - A critical network of cameras and sensors installed for the U.S. Border Patrol along the Mexican and Canadian borders has been hobbled for years by defective, poorly installed equipment and by lax oversight by government officials who failed to properly supervise the project's contractor, according to government reports and public and industry officials. The problems with the $239 million Integrated Surveillance Intelligence System, or ISIS, which officials call crucial to defending the country against terrorist infiltration, are under investigation by the inspector general of the General Services Administration. That inquiry, into whether government officials allowed the contractor to...