Turkey Choice of Chinese Missile Systems Causes Concern in West

This week, Chinese defense firm CPMIEC beat out US, Russian, and European firms to supply Turkey with a new air defense system. The FD-2000 is a modern SAM system based on a Russian design and priced to make headway in defense markets. The US expressed serious concerns to Turkey about the sale since CPMIEC is under US sanctions for arms proliferation to Syria, North Korea, and Iran. A US State Department official said that talks with Turkey over the sale would continue.

South Korea re--opens bids for new fighter shunning Boeing's F-15 SE

South Korea restarted its FX-III project for 60 new fighter jets today to the dismay of the Boeing company who had designed the F-15 Silent Eagle for the competition and defeated the other entries earlier in the year. The low cost of a proven air frame were enough to win the initial rounds against the Lockheed Martin F-35 and the Eurofighter Typhoon but today South Korea decided that the Boeing bid was not stealthy enough and had unanswered questions about the 1970s era jet. Boeing still has new orders for F-15s from Saudi Arabia but orders legacy aircraft like the F-15 are slowly winding down. South Korea now insists that the FX-III winner be a "fifth generation" fighter. 

Lockheed Martin gains contract for THAAD missiles for US Army, UAE.

A production contract was received today by Lockheed Martin for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense weapons systems. The order includes missiles 110 for the US Army and 192 missiles and ground systems for the United Arab Emirates. Missiles are built in Alabama and the launchers in Arkansas. The order reportedly costs $3.9 billion. 

US DoD: Colombian FARC Rebels Have Missiles

During a US House Armed Services Committee meeting General John Kelly announced that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has obtained shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, like the SA-7 pictured above. This comes in the wake of reports from other sources that the rebel group has used the missile to shoot down Colombian planes and helicopters (including this video). A supply is supposedly available from Nicaraguan military stockpiles sold in a clandestine arms market in El Salvador. Colombian army forces captured an SA-7 from FARC in November. General Kelly testified about this in context of looming budget cuts for US Southern Command which covers Colombia. 

Syria Bombs Lebanon

Syrian planes bombed an area in northern Lebanon that was rumored to be a transport site for weapons for Syrian rebels. Official Lebanese policy is to not associate with either side in Syria's two year old civil war but many factions are in favor of Assad's ouster and many support the rebels. The Syrian foreign minister said that Lebanon should control their border, where thousands of rebels cross back and forth for rest and resupply. He also said that the Syrian response to the border situation had been restrained but Syrian patience was not unlimited. 

China Plans To Man Orbiting Space Lab In Summer

China announced plans to launch its fifth manned space mission Shenzhou-10 sometime between June and August. Its mission is the second and final docking with the Tiangong-1 the country's first space platform used to perfect rendezvous procedures and serve as a test bed for the later Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-3 space station. Shenzhou-10 will have a three person crew reportedly including the first female Taikonaut. Recently, the Chinese Space Agency has reached out to the European Space Agency to cooperate on the future station. 

42 Syrian Soldiers Killed In Iraq

A convoy of Syrian Army soldiers was ambushed in Iraq, 42 were killed along with 7 Iraqi guards in the latest spill over of the Syrian civil war. Iraqi officials claimed that the Syrian soldiers took refuge in Iraq after heavy fighting with rebels near the border and were proceeding to Syria through a different border crossing when they were attacked. This comes in the wake of reports of rebel advances in Aleppo and other northern cities and accusations by rebels that Iraq is supporting the Assad government. Video of citizens in a northern Syrian city tearing down a statue of former president Hafez Al-Assad has also surfaced. Incidents in the two year long civil war have involved most of the countries in the region, including, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, and Iran.