Stop NATO news: April 23, 2012

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U.S. Upgrades, Expands Global Missile Shield

25 U.S. F-16s In Bulgaria For War Games

U.S.-Bulgarian Exercise Improves NATO Interoperability

Two NATO Soldiers Killed In Eastern Afghanistan

U.S. Military Chief In Jordan Ahead Of Large-Scale Exercise

U.S. Military, Defense Chiefs Build Anti-ALBA Bloc In South America

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U.S. Upgrades, Expands Global Missile Shield

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123298784

U.S. Department of Defense
American Forces Press Service
April 19, 2012

U.S. missile defense counters growing threat
By Cheryl Pellerin

–The agency…demonstrated the first Aegis intercept of a 3,700-kilometer target using remote forward-based radar, he said, and the simultaneous intercept of two missiles by the terminal high-altitude area defense system, called THAAD.
-“This year the first two THAAD batteries will be available for deployment, increasing the number of Aegis-capable ships to 29.”
-Coming up…the largest missile defense tests in history will involve the first simultaneous intercepts of multiple short and medium-range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles by Patriot forward-based radar.
The United States has missile defense cooperative programs with the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Israel, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and many other nations.

WASHINGTON: Six days after North Korea’s failed long-range rocket launch, the head of the Defense Department’s Missile Defense Agency testified on Capitol Hill about bolstering U.S. defenses against a growing ballistic missile threat.

Agency Director Army Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O’Reilly appeared yesterday before the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee to discuss the administration’s fiscal 2013 budget request of $7.75 billion for his agency.

…Since 1999, the United States has invested more than $90 billion in missile defense.

The latest request, O’Reilly said, “balances our policies as documented in the 2010 Ballistic Missile Defense Review [with] U.S. Strategic Command’s integrated air and missile defense priorities, [Missile Defense Agency] technical feasibility assessments, affordability constraints and current intelligence community estimates of the ballistic missile threat.”

But the director expressed concern to the panel about two critically needed programs that are in jeopardy because of past congressional funding reductions.

The first, he said, is a missile defense sensor capability provided by the precision tracking space system, which allows space-based tracking of ballistic missiles. The second is the need to develop a second independent layer of homeland defense with the SM-3 IIB interceptor, a highly deployable missile that would destroy threat missiles earlier in their flight paths than the current architecture.

“I request your support for these programs,” O’Reilly said, “so that our homeland benefits from the same layered missile defense approach that we successfully employ in our regional defenses.”

The director described improvements made last year to the complex ballistic missile defense system designed to protect the United States and its allies. These include activating a new missile field and a fire-control node at Fort Greely, Alaska; activating an upgraded early warning radar in Thule, Greenland; and upgrading the reliability of three ground-based interceptors, or GBIs, he said.

“This year,” O’Reilly told the panel, “we continue to aggressively pursue the agency’s highest priority – to conduct a missile intercept with the newest version of the GBI’s exo-atmospheric kill vehicle after two previous flight-test failures.”

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Also this year, the agency will activate a hardened power plant at Fort Greely, increase the firepower of fielded GBIs by testing and upgrading GBI components, and boost the capability of sea-based X-band radar, the tracking and discrimination radar used for the GMD element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System.

“Regional defense highlights over the past year include the on-time deployment of the first phase of the European Phased Adaptive Approach,” O’Reilly said, “consisting of the command-and-control node in Germany, forward-based radar in Turkey and an Aegis missile defense ship on station in the Mediterranean Sea.”

The agency also demonstrated the first Aegis intercept of a 3,700-kilometer target using remote forward-based radar, he said, and the simultaneous intercept of two missiles by the terminal high-altitude area defense system, called THAAD.

The THAAD element gives the missile defense system a globally transportable, rapidly deployable ability to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles in or out of the atmosphere during the final, or terminal, flight phase.

“This year the first two THAAD batteries will be available for deployment, increasing the number of Aegis-capable ships to 29,” the director said, and three SM-3 Block IB flight tests will show that last year’s flight-test failure is resolved.

Coming up, he said, the largest missile defense tests in history will involve the first simultaneous intercepts of multiple short and medium-range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles by Patriot forward-based radar.

The United States has missile defense cooperative programs with the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Israel, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and many other nations. O’Reilly said the agency works with more than 20 countries, “including our cooperative development programs with Israel and Japan and our first foreign military sale of THAAD to the United Arab Emirates,” and supports technical discussions with the Russians on missile defense.

Phases 2 and 3 of the European phased, adaptive approach to missile defense are on track to meet the 2015 and 2018 deployment dates, the director said.

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25 U.S. F-16s In Bulgaria For War Games

http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123298719

U.S. Air Forces in Europe
April 19, 2012

Fighting Falcons land in Bulgaria

Tech. Sgt. Brent Watkins, Airman Gage Boardingham and Airman 1st Class Corey Loesch, 31st Civil Engineer Squadron firefighters, test a barrier engagement on an F-16 after landing here April 17, 2012.

Graf Ignatievo is now host to more than two dozen F-16 Fighting Falcons and more than 500 U.S. Air Force personnel in support of Thracian Star 2012, a month-long joint training exercise focused on building partnerships and increasing interoperability with the Bulgarian pilots, maintainers, joint terminal air controllers, firefighters and security forces Airmen.

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U.S.-Bulgarian Exercise Improves NATO Interoperability

http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123298671

U.S. Air Forces in Europe
April 19, 2012

U.S., Bulgarian air forces kick off Thracian Star 2012
By Senior Airman Katherine Windish
31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

-While this is not the first time the Bulgarian air force has hosted American forces at Graf Ignatievo, Thracian Star 2012 boasts the largest contingent of Airmen to date they’ve hosted. In all, the 31st FW brought more than two dozen F-16 Fighting Falcons and more than 500 Airmen – about twice the amount than any other U.S. Air Forces in Europe wing thus far.

GRAF IGNATIEVO AIR FORCE BASE, Bulgaria: U.S. and Bulgarian Airmen launched Thracian Star 2012, a joint training exercise focused on building partnerships and increasing interoperability, during a ceremony here April 18.

Brig. Gen. Tsanko Stoykov, the Bulgarian base commander, welcomed the 31st Fighter Wing Airmen from Aviano Air Base, Italy, emphasizing the significance of the month-long exercise and wished them well during their deployment.

“Bilateral training is important for us at Graf Ignatievo because it gives us a chance to implement new tactics and procedures and increase our combat capabilities,” said Stoykov. “It also gives us a chance to improve our interoperability with our NATO allies and partners.”

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While this is not the first time the Bulgarian air force has hosted American forces at Graf Ignatievo, Thracian Star 2012 boasts the largest contingent of Airmen to date they’ve hosted. In all, the 31st FW brought more than two dozen F-16 Fighting Falcons and more than 500 Airmen – about twice the amount than any other U.S. Air Forces in Europe wing thus far.

“It is my personal opinion that this is not only the biggest deployment but also the best organized and executed deployment in the history of our bilateral training,” said Stoykov.

[Colonel David Walker, 31st Operations Group and Thracian Star 2012 detachment commander] agreed, stating, “We very rarely send two of our fighter squadrons to the same location so in both scope of training and size this is historic for us.

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During the exercise, American forces will work closely with their Bulgarian counterparts, increasing interoperability between pilots, maintainers, joint terminal air controllers, firefighters and security forces Airmen.

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Brig. Gen. Rumen Radev, Bulgarian air force deputy commander [said]:

“The F-16s from Aviano have written remarkable pages in our aviation history,” Radev said. “In 2005, you were the first ones to open the door for realistic fighter training in the Bulgarian air force…During Viper Javelin 2005, we needed to prove that we could just fly together safely, [and], thanks to your support in Rodopi Javelin 2007 and other deployments, we proved that we can fly complex missions and do it in a fully compatible and safe manner. In this deployment, we will prove there is no limit to success when two nations share common values, stand firmly shoulder-by-shoulder and fly wing-by-wing.”

It’s been eight years since Bulgaria became a NATO member. Former President George W. Bush, accompanied by former NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, congratulated the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, during a White House ceremony held March 29, 2004. Since the joining the NATO alliance in 2004, Bulgaria and the United States continue to build upon their partnership.

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Two NATO Soldiers Killed In Eastern Afghanistan

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_04_23/72632035/

Interfax
April 23, 2012

Bomb killed 2 NATO soldiers in Afghanistan

       
A bomb explosion in east Afghanistan killed 2 NATO soldiers, the British newspaper The Guardian said Monday.

The bomb explosion happened Sunday but the journalists found out about it only on the next day. There is no information on the dead soldiers’ identification and on the details of the incident.

Mostly American troops are located on eastern Afghanistan but there is a possibility that NATO soldiers could be those killed too.

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U.S. Military Chief In Jordan Ahead Of Large-Scale Exercise

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=116035

U.S. Department of Defense
April 22, 2012

Dempsey Meets With Jordan’s Defense Chief, Moves on to Afghanistan
By John D. Banusiewicz

KABUL, Afghanistan: Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met today with his counterpart in Jordan’s capital of Amman before flying here for the second leg of an overseas trip.

The chairman and Lt. Gen. Mashal al-Zaben, Jordan’s defense chief, discussed regional security issues.

“Jordan is one of our most important non-NATO allies, and they’ve been actively involved with us in Afghanistan,” Dempsey told American Forces Press Service during the flight to Kabul…

Jordan and the United States have an enduring partnership that includes exercises and exchanges, the chairman said, citing the upcoming Exercise Eager Lion 12 as an example. The exercise will bring together more than 8,000 participants from more than 15 countries over five continents. Its focus is to strengthen military-to-military relationships of participating partner nations through a joint, whole-of-government, multinational approach, Dempsey’s spokesman, Marine Corps Col. David Lapan, said yesterday in Amman.

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In his meeting with Zaben, Dempsey said, the two military leaders also discussed the Jordanian perspective on the situation in neighboring Syria.

Upon arriving in Amman yesterday, the chairman had a series of meetings with U.S. Embassy officials and took time to meet informally with service members stationed in Amman.

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U.S. Military, Defense Chiefs Build Anti-ALBA Bloc In South America

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=116037

U.S. Department of Defense
April 22, 2012

Panetta Visit to Expand South American Defense Ties
By Cheryl Pellerin

-Beyond the Western Hemisphere, the Defense Department is looking to Colombia and Brazil, both of which already have deep ties to Africa and now provide assistance there, to help U.S. Africa Command with peacekeeping and other efforts there.
-Panetta will…seek to expand the range of defense collaborations, including traditional military efforts such as training, exchanges and joint exercises.

WASHINGTON: During his first visit to South America as defense secretary, which starts today, Leon E. Panetta will meet over the next week with military officials in Brazil, Colombia and Chile, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.

The secretary “is looking to expand defense and security cooperation with three important countries in the region and, increasingly, in the world,” Little added.

Panetta will travel to Brasilia and Rio de Janiero in Brazil, Bogota in Colombia, and Santiago in Chile.

This trip follows a late-March visit by Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, Fla., and then to Brazil and Colombia.

In Brazil Dempsey met with Defense Minister Antonio Celoso Amorim and top-ranking military official Gen. Jose Carlos de Nardi in Brasilia, and in Bogota with Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon Bueno and Gen. Alejandro Navas, commander of the Colombian Armed Forces.

For Panetta, one set of discussions in South America will focus on partnering with Brazil, Chile and Colombia to help build capacity for the military to assist civil authorities in such Central American nations as Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize, a senior defense official told reporters in a background briefing on Friday.

“The challenges these countries face are towering compared to their own capacity to deal with them,” he said, adding that Brazil, Chile and Colombia already are significant contributors to building partner capacity.

Colombia, for example, offers capacity-building assistance in 16 countries inside and outside the region, including Africa.

Colombian service members have trained more than two dozen Mexican helicopter pilots and now train police in Honduras and Guatemala. The nation also provides assistance in nondefense areas like justice reform, the official said.

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“By collaborating with [all three countries],” he added, “the United States can get down to specifics about which country will be conducting specific initiatives and what kinds of initiatives, so together we can ensure the investment we’re making … is as efficient and effective as possible.”
During an April 9 meeting in Washington, President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff established the U.S.-Brazil Defense Cooperation Dialogue and announced that Panetta and Amorim would hold the first meeting this week in Brazil.

The DCD will help bolster cooperation between DOD and Brazil’s Ministry of National Defense, and between the nations’ militaries, the White House said in a statement.

Beyond the Western Hemisphere, the Defense Department is looking to Colombia and Brazil, both of which already have deep ties to Africa and now provide assistance there, to help U.S. Africa Command with peacekeeping and other efforts there.

“Africa typifies the situation we’re in, where the United States has limited capacity to help build partner capabilities,” the defense official said.

“Brazil and Colombia … are stepping up to the plate. Let’s collaborate with them, establish a dialogue between their militaries and Africom so we’re working in mutual support in an informed, cooperative way,” he added.

Panetta will also seek to expand the range of defense collaborations, including traditional military efforts such as training, exchanges and joint exercises.

“Clearly we still have plenty to talk about in continuing to support the Colombians in their efforts against [the narcoterrorist group FARC, for Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia]to talk about counternarcotics,” the official said.

Panetta also will discuss new challenges like cyber security and defense support to civil authorities that offer opportunities for collaboration.

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He added, “In the context of limited resources of the United States for defense … we have an opportunity to partner together with other nations so they become security exporters.”

Panetta, Little said, sees Brazil, Chile and Colombia “as increasingly important players on the regional stage and also in terms of their leadership roles internationally.”

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