攸關國軍研發新一代八輪裝甲車，總價達兩億四千萬的「雲豹專案」；以及分五年編列預算，九十二年度經費達十三億，陸軍雷霆兩千多管火箭系統的「霹靂專案」，昨天由陸軍總司令霍守業，親自向立法院國防委員會報告後，原本遭保留的預算順利解凍得以執行。

陸軍總部表示，發展輕巧快速之輪甲取代履甲已成趨勢，雲豹專案預算獲得解凍後，對於陸軍適時研發新一代輪型甲車有很大助益。

由於我國國防發展已由過去大陸軍主義，明顯轉為偏重制空、制海型態，在預算資源有限的情況下，陸軍武器研發經費相對受到限縮，雲豹專案預算得以解凍順利執行，對陸軍武器取得與研發有激勵作用。

陸總表示，目前陸軍Ｍ１１３、Ｖ１５０、ＣＭ２１系甲車，其防護力、火力、夜戰能力均不足以滿足未來戰場需求。但是在立委要求國防自主的前提下，陸總承諾八輪型甲車，將由兵整中心主導負責全車設計與系統整合，各系統委由聯勤、中科院、工研院及各學術機構等單位共同參與研製。

陸總的報告中還表示，經過評估自力研製與外購、合作生產分析比較，自力研製除了可以提昇國內研製技術、振興國內的經濟之外，根據報告中的資料顯示，成本亦較低；只是，受限於國內武器研發技術仍有待提升，完成部署的時間恐較長。立委同時要求陸總所聲稱的甲車研發自製率達八十％，不能灌水，才能符合國防自主政策。

(中央社記者曾志遠紐約三十一日專電)紐約時報今天發自科威特北部的報導指出，兩名美軍士兵在伊拉克南部沙漠受困七天後，二十八日被美軍陸戰隊直升機發現獲救。兩人原來奉命搶救拋錨軍車，未料自己的卡車也故障，便就地挖戰壕等待救援。報導表示，兩人獲救後經檢查健康狀況良好，都希望趕快歸隊。

二十歲的克萊恩、二十二歲的柯比都是美陸軍第三步兵師機械士。兩人指稱，他們奉命趕往修復一輛在巴格達途中發生故障的悍馬型軍車，但自己的卡車中途卻因離合器故障。一位帶隊士官要他們留在原地，並表示車隊移動時會回來找他們。

不過幾天過去了都沒看到救援人員來。兩人就地挖掘戰壕，晚上輪流守夜警戒，並在沙地上畫出SOS求救信號。兩人隨身口糧有不少已送給乞討的伊拉克難民。

來自肯塔基獨立市的克萊恩說，其間曾有可疑的白色車輛載著阿拉伯服裝的人經過，雖曾減速但並沒有停下。克萊恩說，這輛車可能是看到他們有所防備且有武裝齊全，才沒停車。

紐約時報說，效忠海珊的突擊敢死隊，被美國國防部長倫斯斐稱為「政權行刑隊」，經常開著類似白色車輛巡邏伊南沙漠地帶，尋找落單的美軍。

被派到伊境作戰前十天當了爸爸的柯比，寫了一首詩獻給他太太。

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/afp/defense/030402162335.b44sxgk0.html
Russia to enlist soldiers from other former Soviet republics

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/afp/defense/030403040626.g0i2wekh.html
US gives 33 trucks to Philippine military

（中央社記者劉坤原華盛頓三日專電）昨天傳出一架由航空母艦起飛到伊拉克境內執行轟炸任務的美軍FA-18「大黃蜂」戰鬥機，夜間遭伊軍發射的一枚地對空飛彈擊落，飛行員下落不明。今天消息傳來，擊落戰機的飛彈可能不是伊拉克發射的導彈，而是美軍自己發射的愛國者導彈。

聯軍卡達指揮總部發言人在答覆記者的詢問時說，聯軍正在對戰機遭擊落事件進行調查，不排除任何可能性。

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/afp/defense/030404081844.wwynqbto.html
Struck says EU army still a long way off

　記者鄭心媚／台北報導

美伊戰爭中美軍堅固的頭盔引起軍事迷矚目，反觀我方陸軍，87年已遭監院彈劾有安全之虞的防彈頭盔至今卻仍在軍中使用，台聯立委何敏豪表示，經查目前確定有1 萬頂左右流入部隊使用，軍中子弟兵的身命安全沒有保障。

何敏豪指出，監察院88年糾正報告顯示，84年至88年間所採購的20萬頂頭盔，已知有超過3萬頂經檢測不合格，其餘未經建測但仍屬同批頭盔超過萬頂卻已撥發國軍部隊使用。何敏豪抨擊，國防部決策草率，不僅不重視監察院的彈劾即糾正，更無視於官兵的人命安全，何敏豪要求，國防部應全面檢測防彈頭坤的抗彈性能以保障國軍官兵的人命安全。

何敏豪同時指出，案經司法院公務員懲戒委員會審查後，已作成休職以及撤職的處分，監察院也談還該案，但國防部內部會議中卻認為相關人員並無重大缺失，甚至提報立院平反，立院竟決議提撥相關人員2272萬慰助金，明顯違反程序正義，也違反社會對此事的規範，何敏豪要求，希望後續國防部要追究包庇責任，監院重新調查事實真相，以及追究相關人員責任。

此外遭懲戒的陸軍後令部參謀長黃炳麟，87年間已遭監察院彈劾、糾正以及司法院遭懲戒休職兩年，復職後任陸軍學部主任，明顯違反公務人員懲戒法第12條復職兩年內不得任主管職的規定，立院撥出的慰助金，他更領取高達500多萬。

(中央社記者陳亦偉台北九日電)國防部今天表示，目前部隊所使用的頭盔，都經過嚴密鑑測合格，所謂「不合格」頭盔，目前全數封存在國軍庫房內，絕無外流或發放部隊的情形路。此外，國防部強調，當初遭監察院彈劾的十三位承辦人員，皆已依規定執行相關懲處，並無侵犯司法院懲戒權及監察院彈劾權的情事。

台聯立院黨團今天召開記者會指出，國防部於民國八十四到八十八年所採購的二十萬頂頭盔中，首批即有約三萬頂不合格，不合格比率相當高，雖經監察院調查糾正並彈劾相關人員，但這批鋼盔竟仍撥發軍中使用，台聯指控國防部「草菅兵命」，要求國防部全數回收。

國防部軍事發言人黃穗生表示，外界所指的「不合格」頭盔，經查一共有兩萬八千一百六十六頂，全數封存於庫房內，國防部準備再請專家根據專業作戰需要重新鑑定，現行部隊所用的每頂頭盔，都經過鑑測合格。

美國跟土耳其關係可能會影響 AH-1Z 軍售﹖
Defense Daily April 15, 2003 Pg. 1
Bell Concerned U.S.-Turkey Relations Could Torpedo King Cobra Sale
By Neil Baumgardner FORT WORTH, Texas
Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT] is concerned that the current state of relations
between the United States and Turkey over the war in Iraq, building on an
existing disagreement over source codes, could mean the end of the planned
$1.5 billion sale of AH-1Z King Cobra attack helicopters to the country,
according to a company official.

Thats a political question right now. Our offers are still on the table,
but I dont know that that will be resolved, Hank Perry, Bells business
development manager for the AH-1Z/UH-1Y program, last week told Defense
Daily during a visit to the companys facility here. The latest political
ramifications of Turkey and the war, may just put and end to it. Were not
writing it off, but right now we have a wait and see attitude.

Turkey in 2000 selected Bells AH-1Z for its ATAK program over the A129
Scorpion offered by Italys then-Agusta, now a part of AgustaWestland, and
the Ka-52 bid by a joint venture between Russias Kamov and Israel Aircraft
Industries (IAI). Under the $1.5 billion deal, Turkey could eventually acquire
145 AH-1Z King Cobras (Defense Daily, March 29, 2001).

The acquisition of source codes for avionics and weapon systems, to allow
for Turkish modifications, has been a stumbling block for the King Cobra
sale.

Last month, Ali Ercan, Turkeys undersecretary for defense industries, and
Air Force Lt. Gen. Tome Walters, the director of the Defense Security Cooperation
Agency, expressed optimism for resolving the dispute, but offered little
in the way of a possible compromise (Defense Daily, March 19).

Last month, Turkeys parliament voted to reject a motion to allow more than
60,000 U.S. troops, including the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), to
use the country as a base to attack northern Iraq. However, Perry said he
believed the AH-1Z was still the best solution for Turkeys needs.

We think we still have the best product for them, he said. Theyve worked
through the negotiations down to almost the contract. We really expected
it six months ago.

The AH-1Z is being developed as a part of the Marine CorpsH-1 upgrade program,
which also includes Bells UH-1Y transport/utility helicopter. The AH-1Z
and UH-1Y upgrades involve the remanufacture of Marine CorpsUH-1N and AH-1W
aircraft already in service to install new technological innovations.

The upgraded aircraft would share 85 percent commonality. The upgrades include
the installation of four-bladed main and tail rotors and a pair of General
Electric [GE] T700 engines to replace the Pratt & Whitney [UTX] PT6 Twin
Pack engines for the UH-1s. The upgrade also includes the installation of
new digital avionics developed by Northrop Grumman [NOC], Lockheed Martins
[LMT] target sight system and a Top Owl helmet display developed by Frances
Thales (Defense Daily, Jan. 8, 2002).

Meanwhile, Bell is still keeping tabs on opportunities to sell the AH-1Z
to South Korea and other countries. The AH-1Z was competing against Boeings
[BA] AH-64D Apache attack helicopter and the Ka-52 for South Koreas AH-X
program until the country last year decided to postpone the program (Defense
Daily, Feb. 6, 2002).

A Pakistani army helicopter has crashed into mountains in the north of the country, killing 13 people. The M-17 helicopter was on a routine flight in the Astore region, about 260 kilometres (160 miles) from the capital, Islamabad, when it went down, military officials said.

A spokesman for the armed forces, Saulat Raza, said there were no survivors amongst the crew, which included some mid-ranking officers.

An inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, he said.

Helicopters are frequently used in the region as roads are often inaccessible. In February the commander of Pakistans air force, Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir, was killed along with his wife and a number of officials when their helicopter crashed in the north-west of the country.

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Russian army puts up stiff resistance to end of draft

MOSCOW, April 25 (AFP) - 15:51 GMT - There has been, is, and always will be a draft in Russia, a top army general boomed Friday as the country faced a June 1 deadline set by President Vladimir Putin to reform a military built on Soviet-era equipment and bogged down in Chechnya.
Reforms were first launched by former president Boris Yeltsin in 1996 at the bloody end of the first Chechnya war and have since been reintroduced and abandoned on several occasions.

It hinges on a Russian admission that it can no longer afford to support a 1.1-million-strong military while also developing and building weapons to replace the outdated Soviet ones.

The latest plan pits a military brass bent on keeping the draft because it fears few would want to serve in Russias dilapidated army by choice against liberals lobbying for a small professional army and a quick end to conscription.

Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov stepped into the debate Thursday by saying he preferred to cut back conscripted army service from two years to one.

But Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov responded that the idea might work -- but no sooner than in four years.

Ivanov is Russias first civilian defense minister and a close Putin ally charged with overseeing army reforms.

But analysts agree that he has run into stiff resistance from hawkish army generals taught in the Soviet era and keen to preserve the military at its current size. Many seem convinced that ending the draft would spell the armys ruin.

Smirnov, the top Russian general in charge of the call-up and staffing, said Russias main goal was to have 176,500 professional soldiers and colonels permanently stationed in hotspots like Chechnya by the end of 2007.

The first ones to be switched to contract service will be troops permanently stationed in Chechnya and surrounding regions, said the general.

He added the military wanted to make sure that untested young conscripts -- many of whom never properly learned how to fire a gun -- are not sent into Chechnya or other war zones.

Twenty percent of the army never graduated from grammar school and we have people who cannot read, conceded Smirnov.

The general staff in part admits to accusations from liberals like deputy Boris Nemtsov that the military is largely staffed by unemployed thugs and former prison inmates.

Smirnov released a report showing that 39.5 percent of soldiers and recruits who joined the armed forces last year had no employment or secondary education.

That figure compared to just 3.6 percent in 1988.

And Smirnov appeared to concede that the finances of the latest stab at army reform do not yet add up.

Russia must find the cash not only to pay for professional soldiers but also research and development as well as housing and retraining of reduced troops.

The general staff is requesting 138 billion rubles (4.4 billion dollars, 4.0 billion euros) over the next four years to implement its plan.

The plan would see professional troops paid up to 8,000 rubles (about 260 dollars) a month compared to the current 2,800 rubles.

He said Nemtsovs idea of quickly switching all soldiers to professional service and paying them about 3,500 rubes is impossible because nobody would fight in the army for such pay.

But reports said that Kasyanov appeared to favor the Nemtsov plan because it seemed cheaper and more effective.

The Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper reported the finance ministry Thursday volunteered to allocate only a third of the sum requested by the defense ministry.

No formal decision is expected before June 1 but Nezavisimaya said that Kasyanov has refused to approve the army reform plan offered by the defense ministry.

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http://www.defense-aerospace.com/afp/defense/030424191916.5yxfvpd5.html
Russian PM wants to slash army service in half

MOSCOW, April 24 (AFP) - 19:19 GMT - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said Thursday he wanted compulsory military service cut in half to only one year as the government ponders plans to reform the nations overstaffed armed service.
The ideal length is one year, Kasyanov said, breaking down periods of service into six months of instruction, and six months of practical training.

The 1.16 million Russian teens enlisted in the armed forces currently serve two years in the army, and three in the navy.

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov supported this measure, though he could not fix the exact length of time served before the full reform plan is implemented by 2007.

Ivanov is examining a plan to eliminate the unpopular army conscription before the end of the decade, proposing to set up a small fully professional force as the backbone of the countrys defenses by 2007.

Ivanov has said a new professional force of some 176,000 servicemen, among them 136,000 dedicated to the interior ministry and special forces, will become the main force of the army.

He additionally proposed a plan to open military service to women and citizens of former Soviet republics.

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http://www.defense-aerospace.com/afp/defense/030423095032.j8uj4i77.html
Poland seeks accord with Russia to upgrade Mi-24 helicopters

WARSAW, April 23 (AFP) - 09:50 GMT - Poland is negotiating with Russia on behalf of four central European countries the upgrading of 106 Russian-built Mi-24 helicopters to NATO standards, Polish defence ministery spokesman Eugeniusz Mleczak said on Wednesday.
Mleczak told AFP that Warsaw was representing the four-nation Visegrad group in talks on the contract, which according to press reports has a value of around 500 million dollars (456 million euros).

Poland has been mandated by the other countries of the group, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Mleczak said.

Three members of the Visegrad group -- the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland -- joined NATO in 1999, while the fourth, Slovakia, is on course to join next year.

Warsaw had hoped to strike a deal during Tuesdays visit to Moscow by Polish Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski, but Polish military sources said the Russians had set unacceptable conditions.

To modernise these helicopters we need the green light from Russia. But it wants to carry out the upgrade itself, which is not possible in that NATO technologies are involved, Mleczak said.

Poland wants to limit the arrangement to buying spare parts, but Moscow is refusing to provide them citing intellectual property rights.

Talks between Poland and Moscow on upgrading the four countries MiG-29 fighter planes are also stalled, Polish television said.

Russia can agree to this but such a plan must take account of our trade interests and the protection of intellectual property rights, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said in a television interview.

Russia and Poland did sign a military cooperation agreement there.

Moscow and Warsaw are close economic allies, with Poland dependent on Russian oil and natural gas. Poland last year had a 3.3-billion-dollar deficit

However they differ on foreign affairs, with Poland firmly backing the US-led campaign in Iraq.

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http://www.defense-aerospace.com/data/communiques/data/2003Apr15475/index.htm
E&S; Image Generator For Swiss Armys Tank Simulator
(Source: Evans & Sutherland; issued Apr. 23, 2003)

Russian plant stops export of tank protection system for lack of demand

Interfax-AVN military news agency web site, Moscow, in English 0949 gmt 25 Apr 03
Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax-AVN web site

Kolomna, Moscow Region, 25 April: The Kolomna-based machine-building design bureau will not export small batches of the Arena-E active protection system for tanks and armoured vehicles, a source in the bureaus administration told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday 25 April .

The armed forces of France, South Korea, Canada and Switzerland have expressed interest in the system, including at the international arms show in Abu Dhabi in March this year. However they all wanted to buy small batches of Arena-E systems amounting to two to three pieces, which we cannot agree with, the source said.

The machine-building design bureau plans to export batches of at least 100 pieces with financial guarantees of payment for the whole batch, he stressed. Experts say the Arena-E has no rivals in the world. Companies from Germany, Israel, Great Britain and the United States are five to 10 years behind in designing active protection systems for tanks and armoured vehicles.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/afp/defense/030429181513.26aam3di.html
Four killed in crash of Turkish army helicopter

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US forces start withdrawal from Jordan: PM

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/data/communiques/data/2003Apr15517/index.htm
Raytheon Shows That Army Device Can Prevent Fratricide

(Source: Raytheon Company; issued Apr. 25, 2003)

MCKINNEY, Texas --- During a recent demonstration of the U.S. Armys Battlefield Target Identification Device (BTID), Raytheon Company, which developed the system, proved that it can discriminate among -- and positively identify -- friendly forces vehicles in less than a second, at more than three miles distance, and with more than 98 percent accuracy. This capability will help prevent fratricide and reduce combat casualties.

The BTID demonstration was conducted by Raytheon and U.S. Army engineers as part of an advanced technology demonstration program sponsored by the Armys Communication and Electronics Command, Ft. Monmouth, N.J. According to Army officials, BTID met NATOs combat identification performance standards.

BTID is the latest development in the U.S. Armys efforts to minimize fratricide and maximize combat effectiveness. The device uses advanced millimeter wave technology to identify friendly forces 24/7, in all weather and environmental conditions. The system feeds identification data directly into a weapons fire control system, helping gunners and commanders to make rapid shoot/dont shoot decisions at the point of engagement.

This successful demonstration marks a milestone in the BTID development effort, said Pete Glikerdas, technical manager for the Armys Coalition Combat Identification program. It validates the maturity of BTIDs design architecture and its readiness to support Future Combat Systems Increment 1 and other weapon platform applications.

Raytheon Company, with 2002 sales of 16.8 billion, is an industry leader in defense, government and commercial electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Lexington, Mass., Raytheon employs more than 76,000 people worldwide.

The demonstration was conducted at Raytheons Ft. Wayne, Ind., facility. Future testing of BTIDs NATO and coalition force interoperability are in the works.

BTID provides a digital data link that supports small unit networked fires, updates the commanders situational awareness and provides a common operating picture.

-ends-

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Defense Minister Wants a Leaner, Flexible German Army