Comments - THE HUB OF AIR DEFENCE - Gaia Community2024-03-28T23:46:55Zhttps://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profiles/comment/feed?attachedTo=5313775%3ABlogPost%3A34246&xn_auth=noIt is now more than eighty…tag:letschangetheworld.ning.com,2020-03-29:5313775:Comment:384892020-03-29T22:17:19.216ZMichael Grovehttps://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profile/MichaelGrove
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4269749704?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4269749704?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uYgsr3exvS4C&pg=PR3&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false" rel="noopener" target="_blank">It is now more than eighty years since radar began in Britain</a>.</strong> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In the…</span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4269749704?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4269749704?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uYgsr3exvS4C&pg=PR3&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It is now more than eighty years since radar began in Britain</a>.</strong> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In the intervening years, airborne radar has become one of the</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">most important branches of civilian and military radar. <br/><br/>In "<strong><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Radar-Days-Bowen-G/dp/075030586X" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Radar Days</a></strong>", the father of airborne radar, Dr. Taffy Bowen</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">recounts his personal story of how the first airborne radars were</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">built and brought into use in the Royal Air Force, and of the</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="http://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profiles/blogs/i-can-only-suppose-in-4d-hindsight" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tizard mission to the USA in 1940</a></strong>, of which he was a member.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Written from the point of view of the individuals who worked at</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">the laboratory bench, the story begins with the building of the</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">first ground air-warning radar at Orfordness in June 1935. The</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">book proceeds to describe how this equipment was miniaturized</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">to make it suitable for use in aircraft and the lengthy, sometimes</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">hazardous flight trials conducted before radar went into service</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">with the RAF. The author also details the activities of the Tizard</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">mission, which was instrumental in installing the first airborne</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">radars in US aircraft. The greatest achievement of the mission</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">was to pass on the secret of the resonant magnetron to the US</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">only a few months after its invention at Birmingham University.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br/><strong>This was the device that brought about a revolution in Allied</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>radar</strong>, </span><strong style="font-size: 14pt;">putting it far ahead of the corresponding German</strong></p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 14pt;">technology for </strong><strong style="font-size: 14pt;">the remainder of the war</strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p>
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<p></p> Airbus has dropped into the…tag:letschangetheworld.ning.com,2020-02-14:5313775:Comment:383412020-02-14T15:58:36.194ZMichael Grovehttps://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profile/MichaelGrove
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3862399717?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3862399717?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/feature/5/160578/airbus-promises-to-fix-a400m-problems.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Airbus has dropped into the red with a €1.36 billion loss</a></strong> as it counted the cost of paying fines for a decade of global multibillion-dollar…</span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3862399717?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3862399717?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/feature/5/160578/airbus-promises-to-fix-a400m-problems.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Airbus has dropped into the red with a €1.36 billion loss</a></strong> as it counted the cost of paying fines for a decade of global multibillion-dollar bribery and corruption scandals and the financial black hole of its A400M military transporter.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The 2019 losses at the European commercial aircraft, military and satellite giant came with news that it had taken greater control of the new A220 aircraft, which it is acquiring from <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bombardiers-belfast-factory-sold-to-us-firm-tfhrrb0m0">Bombardier</a>, the troubled Canadian group, but will slow the build rates of one of the A330, its long-haul aircraft.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/troop-carrier-lands-airbus-deeper-in-red-pqf0lmpb6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robert Lea - Industrial Editor THE TIMES Business</a><br/></span></p>
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<p></p> The UK is one of very f…tag:letschangetheworld.ning.com,2019-11-27:5313775:Comment:377102019-11-27T15:41:43.009ZMichael Grovehttps://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profile/MichaelGrove
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3744025330?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3744025330?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <strong><a href="https://airtrafficmanagement.keypublishing.com/2019/11/20/nats-uk-military-strengthen-ties-for-closer-collaboration/?dm_i=4JU%2C6LXOG%2CRGSWWB%2CQB2TW%2C1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The UK is one of very few countries</a></strong> around the world with a…</span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3744025330?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3744025330?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <strong><a href="https://airtrafficmanagement.keypublishing.com/2019/11/20/nats-uk-military-strengthen-ties-for-closer-collaboration/?dm_i=4JU%2C6LXOG%2CRGSWWB%2CQB2TW%2C1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The UK is one of very few countries</a></strong> around the world with a <strong>joint</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong> and</strong></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong> <a href="http://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profiles/blogs/whom-would-have-believed-that-having-read" target="_blank" rel="noopener">integrated civil and military air traffic control service</a></strong> and</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> this close</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> relationship allows for greater cooperation and the more</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> flexible use</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> of airspace. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The operational requirements of modern</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> military aircraft</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> can be better accommodated with flexible airspace.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Flexibility is also </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> key if aviation is to be as efficient and sustainable</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> as possible, especially</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> as the skies are becoming busier year on year,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> but this is only achievable</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> through the close working that this</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> contract enables. <br/><br/> <strong>Environmental benefits can be gained if civil aircraft don’t have</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong> to</strong></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong> avoid military airspace</strong> – <strong>more direct flights will use less fuel</strong>,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong> resulting </strong></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>in lower emission levels</strong>.</span></p>
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<p></p> National Drone ATC/Flig…tag:letschangetheworld.ning.com,2019-09-23:5313775:Comment:371342019-09-23T08:23:20.552ZMichael Grovehttps://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profile/MichaelGrove
<h1 class="single-news-title"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3603496867?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3603496867?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a></h1>
<p><strong><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3603418931?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><br></br></a></strong></p>
<h1 class="single-news-title"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3603496867?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3603496867?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></h1>
<p><strong><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3603418931?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><br/></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/2019/08/national-drone-flight-information-management-system-deployed-in-switzerland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> National Drone ATC/Flight Information System Deployed</a></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/2019/08/national-drone-flight-information-management-system-deployed-in-switzerland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> in Switzerland</a></span></strong><br/><br/><br/></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong><a href="https://www.skyguide.ch/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Skyguide</a></strong>, the Swiss air navigation service provider, and <a href="https://www.airmap.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>AirMap</strong></a>,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> a global</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> airspace intelligence platform for drones, in partnership</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> with the Swiss</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), have</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> announced that they have</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> deployed the Swiss U-space flight</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> information management system for</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> drones, referred to as the FIMS<br/></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> The FIMS is an aviation data exchange hub that connects skyguide’s</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> air</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> traffic management system to UAS (unmanned aerial systems)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Service</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> providers (USPs) with open interfaces to support safe and</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> compliant drone</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> operations in low-altitude airspace. <strong>The FIMS</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong> deployment represents a</strong></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong> critical milestone</strong> in the development <br/></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> of the Swiss U-space Implementation </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(SUSI) program, Switzerland’s</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> drone traffic management network</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> infrastructure.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> U-space complements traditional air traffic management (ATM)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> systems by</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> facilitating information exchange and interactions</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> between airspace</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> authorities and drone operators. As part of</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> U-space, the FIMS is a cloud-</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> based, interoperable platform that</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> distributes airspace information,</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> directives and real-time traffic</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> from skyguide’s ATM system to drone</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> operators through a network</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> of USPs.</span></p>
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Unmanned weapons o…tag:letschangetheworld.ning.com,2019-09-22:5313775:Comment:372302019-09-22T15:15:25.699ZMichael Grovehttps://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profile/MichaelGrove
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3597138217?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3597138217?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2884380064923559" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Defence</a></strong></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Unmanned weapons of war have been in development since World War I and the…</span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3597138217?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3597138217?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2884380064923559" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defence</a></strong></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Unmanned weapons of war have been in development since World War I and the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hewitt-Sperry_Automatic_Airplane"><b>Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane</b></a>, and several experiments in World War II were performed with remote-controlled bombing runs.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But while the concept may not be new to the battlefield, the growing sophistication of drones coupled with their falling cost and the ease with which the technology can be acquired has changed warfare. </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The military drone market alone is set to be worth $13bn by 2024, driven by government defence spending.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/> The US alone forked out $4.5bn on its drone programme in 2017, with American companies such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing making up 60pc of the military market. India and Korea are investing billions of dollars too.<br/> <br/> The UK is exploring the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/11/drone-swarms-led-f-35-jets-will-confuse-overwhelm-britains-enemies/"><b>possibilities of swarms of smaller drones</b></a>, as well as the forthcoming, laser-armed RAF Protector. It isn’t just UAVs either, with autonomous boats set to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/08/17/satellites-drones-autonomous-boats-tech-used-combat-illegal/"><b>patrol the seas</b></a> such as BAE Systems P950 Rib.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But whilst the military powers of the world are always looking for any advantage, using drones for tasks such as reconnaissance to targeted strikes, incidents like the Saudi attack show that it is the accessibility of unmanned vehicles that is changing the face of 'asymmetric' warfare. </span></p>
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<p></p> The real threat to global…tag:letschangetheworld.ning.com,2019-03-08:5313775:Comment:357232019-03-08T10:44:12.307ZMichael Grovehttps://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profile/MichaelGrove
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<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1319428120?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" height="471" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1319428120?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="679"></img></a></p>
<h1 class="title"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2019/02/27/real-threat-global-peace-developing-indian-sub-continent/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The real threat to global peace is developing in the Indian sub-con...…</a></span></h1>
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<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1319428120?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1319428120?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full" width="679" height="471"/></a></p>
<h1 class="title"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2019/02/27/real-threat-global-peace-developing-indian-sub-continent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The real threat to global peace is developing in the Indian sub-con...</a></span></h1>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1319428120?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a></span> </p>
<div><div><div><p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Even as Donald Trump arrived in Vietnam for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about his nuclear programme, a far greater threat to global peace was developing in the Indian sub-continent.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Two week ago, a murderous terrorist attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants based in Pakistani-run Kashmir killed 40 Indian troops. The Indians responded <strong><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/26/indian-planes-bomb-pakistan-kashmir-tensions-escalate/">by bombing the JeM training camp</a></strong>, risking a clash with the Pakistani air force which was scrambled in response. The strikes are the first launched across the line of control since the 1971 war.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Kashmir has long been a flash point between the two nuclear powers but the bellicose rhetoric attached to the latest stand-off is especially worrying. In India, the BJP government of Narendra Modi has been <strong><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/20/analysis-india-will-bluster-wont-risk-military-confrontation/">under pressure from its Hindu nationalist supporters to hit back</a></strong> and, with an election due by May, does not want to appear weak. This is being replicated in Pakistan, which has promised to retaliate “at a time and place of its choosing”. Once such a pledge has been made it would be hard for the relatively new prime minister Imran Khan not to follow it through.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If Pakistan is offering a safe haven to JeM then they should dismantle the camps and ensure this is done in a verifiable way. Equally, however, it is reckless of the BJP to use the prospect of Indian elections to continue actions that can only invite a response from Islamabad.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Western leaders preoccupied with other matters should take some time off to consider the geopolitics of the sub-continent and see if their good offices can reduce tensions and help avert what risks becoming a calamitous conflict.<br/></span></p>
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<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1319490926?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1319490926?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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</div> Based at RAF Brampton, Camb…tag:letschangetheworld.ning.com,2019-02-25:5313775:Comment:356302019-02-25T16:26:18.555ZMichael Grovehttps://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profile/MichaelGrove
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Based at RAF Brampton, Cambridgeshire, from 1957 to 2013, <strong><a href="https://ncap.org.uk/JARIC" rel="noopener" target="_blank">JARIC</a></strong> was the UK's national strategic imagery intelligence provider. In the immediate postwar years one of its major tasks was the plotting and analysis of captured German Air Force reconnaissance photography. What had not been destroyed, or captured by the Soviets, was discovered in several locations…</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Based at RAF Brampton, Cambridgeshire, from 1957 to 2013, <strong><a href="https://ncap.org.uk/JARIC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JARIC</a></strong> was the UK's national strategic imagery intelligence provider. In the immediate postwar years one of its major tasks was the plotting and analysis of captured German Air Force reconnaissance photography. What had not been destroyed, or captured by the Soviets, was discovered in several locations by the Allies and shipped back to the UK. The joint UK/US work on this imagery provided unique intelligence on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe during the early Cold War years before the advent of satellite imagery.</span></p>
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<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1319635436?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1319635436?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p></p> The latest air-to-air missi…tag:letschangetheworld.ning.com,2018-12-10:5313775:Comment:345802018-12-10T10:06:48.749ZMichael Grovehttps://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profile/MichaelGrove
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/305102181?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/305102181?profile=original"></img></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The latest air-to-air missiles in the RAF's armoury have been flown operationally for the first time. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The MoD has confirmed that in response to an incident last Wednesday, RAF Typhoon jets equipped with the new Meteor missile launched in defence of UK airspace. …</span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/305102181?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/305102181?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The latest air-to-air missiles in the RAF's armoury have been flown operationally for the first time. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The MoD has confirmed that in response to an incident last Wednesday, RAF Typhoon jets equipped with the new Meteor missile launched in defence of UK airspace. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">RAF Typhoons maintain a constant state of readiness to defend the sovereignty of British skies. Quick Reaction Alert jets based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland are regularly scrambled to deter Russian aircraft approaching UK airspace over the North Sea.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/10/rafs-new-mach-4-missile-flown-operationally-uk-airspace-first/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The exact nature of last week's incident remained classified</a></strong>.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The introduction of Meteor represents the culmination of many years of research, development and testing to bring the advanced weapon into service on front-line aircraft.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson, said: “This latest missile system demonstrates the next chapter of the Typhoon which will see the jet evolve its ability to target and destroy any airborne threat at great distances.</span></p>
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<div><div><div><p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“The Meteor missile will provide an unrelenting deterrence to those who wish harm upon the UK and our Armed Forces. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The RAF’s prized Typhoon Force is unquestionably now the cornerstone of British and Nato military power. It has proved itself in combat roles over Libya, Iraq and Syria, protecting UK skies and overseas territories, and providing critical support to our NATO Allies in Eastern Europe.”</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Meteor can fly in any weather condition at over four times the speed of sound. It has been designed to defeat all current and known future threats, including combat aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles or missiles. The range of the weapon is classified, but it will eventually operate from the F-35 Lightning stealth jet.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The missile - weighing 185kgs and measuring 3.7m long - uses an air-breathing ramjet to boost the weapon away from the launch aircraft. It then remains under power until warhead detonation, giving the missile the energy to pursue and destroy the fastest and most agile aircraft. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The warhead carries impact and proximity fuses so targets can be destroyed even if the missile does not score a direct hit.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The pilot flying the first Meteor equipped Typhoon said: “The responsibility of flying such a capable platform, armed with this formidable weapon is immense, but the options this gives us in responding to an emergency situation cannot be understated.”</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Meteor has been developed by a six-nation European partnership led by the UK. It is built and manufactured by MBDA in Stevenage and has created 430 jobs across the country. The Meteor programme partners include the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden.</span></p>
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</div> "Uncle Sam wants you” instr…tag:letschangetheworld.ning.com,2018-11-28:5313775:Comment:345462018-11-28T12:57:42.761ZMichael Grovehttps://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profile/MichaelGrove
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/154189081?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/154189081?profile=original"></img></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">"<strong><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/26/uncle-sam-wants-big-tech-side-10bn-deal/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Uncle Sam wants you</a></strong>” instructed posters plastered across the US during the First World War. Now, the Western world is fighting a war that exists largely in the…</span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/154189081?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/154189081?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">"<strong><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/26/uncle-sam-wants-big-tech-side-10bn-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uncle Sam wants you</a></strong>” instructed posters plastered across the US during the First World War. Now, the Western world is fighting a war that exists largely in the digital realm, and it's Silicon Valley giants that are the latest recruits to be drafted in by the top brass.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="m_first-letter">I</span>t's an <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/13/microsoft-workers-protest-bid-build-pentagons-10bn-ai-warfare/"><strong>awkward pairing</strong></a> for an industry known for its largely liberal political stance. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Battles and wars have been won or lost based upon either bad, no or late information,” Brigadier General David Krumm declared at industry conference on the US military’s cloud computing infrastructure held in Virginia earlier this year. </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/24/amazon-pitched-us-immigration-agency-flawed-facial-recognition/">Amazon founder Jeff Bezos</a></strong><span>, who is believed to be the favourite</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span>to win the JEDI contract, is unapologetic about his involvement. </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span>“One of the jobs of a senior leadership team is to make the right</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span>decision even when it is unpopular,” he told an audience in San</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span>Francisco earlier this month. “This is a great country – it needs to</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span>be defended.”<br/><br/></span></span></p>
<div class="articleBodyText section"><div class="article-body-text component"><div class="component-content"><p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged">G</span>oogle isn't as firm in its resolve. The company pulled out of the running for JEDI just ahead of the deadline, citing ethical concerns following pressure from staff. It also attempted to appease concerns by releasing principles for use of its artificial intelligence tools. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That's not to say, however, that similar military deals are now off the table for Google. CEO Sundar Pichai last week made it clear that employee politics did not impact its decisions. “Throughout Google’s history we have given our employees a lot of voice and say but we don’t run the company by holding referendums [sic],” he said when quizzed at Wired magazine’s 25th birthday party in San Francisco. </span></p>
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<div class="articleBodyText section"><div class="article-body-text component"><div class="component-content"><p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged">P</span>ichai added that Google hoped to “work with the military many times” because ultimately Google cherishes its values “but we can enjoy that because of the way our country is defended”. Pichai’s patriotism may have had something to do with Bezos’ comments hours earlier. When asked to defend his stance on JEDI, he aimed shots at Google stating: “If big tech companies turn their back on the Department of Defense then this country is in trouble”.</span></p>
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<div class="articleBodyText section"><div class="article-body-text component"><div class="component-content"><p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Cynics accuse those turning their backs of sour grapes. Many of the big names eyeing up the JEDI contract are suspicious that the <strong>Department of Defense has just one contender in mind</strong>: <strong>Amazon</strong>. The application information is strict on certain certifications that only Amazon could currently fulfill, rivals claim. <br/></span></p>
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<div class="articleBodyText section"><div class="article-body-text component"><div class="component-content"><p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged">W</span>ithin days of Google pulling out for “ethical reasons”, IBM and Oracle both launched public protests over the tendering process accusing the military of moving the goalposts, stifling competition and, the strongest allegation of all, putting people’s lives at risk.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sam Gordy, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/09/19/ibm-aims-strip-unconscious-bias-ai-tools/"><strong>IBM’s military contract</strong></a> chief wrote in a blog post: <br/><br/>“No business in the world would build a cloud the way JEDI would and then lock in to it for a decade. JEDI turns its back on the preferences of Congress and the administration, is a bad use of taxpayer dollars and was written with just one company in mind. America’s warfighters deserve better”.</span></p>
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<div class="articleBodyText section"><div class="article-body-text component"><div class="component-content"><p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged">M</span>icrosoft has submitted a bid despite an open letter anonymously signed by people claiming to be employees. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But what is strange about JEDI is the objections to the deal were made to it without anyone knowing exactly the contract would entail. So what does the government intend to do with it?</span></p>
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