Alert 5

Happy New Year folks.

Northrop Grumman was found by the Pentagon’s inspector general to have billed the U.S. Navy for trips to the Paris and Singapore airshows.
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France’s Le Figaro daily reported on Thursday that an arms embargo by the EU on China could be lifted in early 2011.
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Armenia has declared that it possess the S-300 air defense system in its arsenal. Russia has deployed the system on its base in Armenia but this is the first time Armenia says it has it as well.

A former CIA spy speculates that Iran is trying to test a nuclear weapon in North Korea. Reza Kahlili, a pseudonym, says the joint test next year would bring a substantial windfall to Pyongyang.

The U.S. Navy has awarded a $14 million contract to BAE Systems for Interim Defensive Weapons System (IDWS) mission kits for the V-22.

AeroVironment Inc. has received a $46.2 million order from the U.S. Army to supply 123 new digital Raven small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and initial spares packages as well as 186 digital retrofit kits for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Israeli Air Force pilots have done their flight evaluations of the T-50 and M346. They were particularly impress by the T-50 as it shares similarity with the F-16.

A T-45 Goshawk flying out from Pensacola Naval Air Station crashed in North Florida on Wednesday morning. Both pilots on board ejected safely.

Shiv Aroor reports that India’s Integrated Defence Staff has been ordered to conduct a study on the latest Chengdu J-20 fighter.