WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to strengthen his country's NORAD defense pact ties with the United States has angered critics who believe it will lead to increased ballistic missile defense cooperation with Washington.
Harper has promised a parliamentary debate on the NORAD agreement but is refusing to allow any changes to the new defense pact that gives the joint Canada-U.S. alliance sweeping new responsibilities to oversee maritime security and get involved in "information operations."
"That kind of arrogant and rigid approach isn't helpful, particularly in a minority parliament," New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton said Monday.
"(Harper) is essentially saying once again, My way or the highway,' and when it comes to Canadian sovereignty, the independence of our decisions around military issues, that is not acceptable," Layton said according to a report Tuesday in the Toronto Star.
New Democrats are raising questions about elements of the new agreement that dramatically expands the mission of the 48-year-old bi-national agency, the Star said.
For New Democrats, that marks a "rather dramatic extension of military integration with the United States," Layton said.
"We have serious concerns about that. We also believe that it could take us further into missile defense one way or the other, something (that) Canadians oppose very strongly," he said.
The new agreement also confirms NORAD's ability to "conduct information operations," a vague reference that wasn't detailed in the document.
The Conservatives found themselves on the defensive Monday in question period in Parliament over revelations, first outlined Saturday in the Star, that Canada and the United States had quietly signed the NORAD renewal in Ottawa on Friday before MPs had a chance to debate it.
"The minister expects us to waste our time debating an issue that he has already decided," NDP MP Dawn Black said Monday. "Without the ability to amend the NORAD motion, the minister will have neutered the House."
USAF studies German fuse for cruise missile
A German-developed fuse that senses voids and counts layers is being evaluated for the U.S. Air Force Boeing Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile and US Navy Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles, to penetrate hardened and deeply buried bunkers, FlightInternational reported Tuesday.
The fuse can be programed. It is produced by TDW, and is one of the new fiscal year 2006 projects under the U.S. Department of Defense's foreign comparative testing programme.
Other projects include evaluation of a "smart bomb" umbilical connector for the 1760 weapon databus developed by Britain's EDO MBM Technology; air flotation platforms developed by Finland's Solving to reposition aircraft during maintenance; and the high-throughput Extended-1553 avionics databus developed by Canada's Edgewater Computer Systems.
The latter is being evaluated for the USAF's Northrop Grumman B-2 bomber's extremely high-frequency satellite communications system, according to a report published in Flight International's 25 April-1 May edition.
The USAF is also evaluating a Northrop technology that will allow existing voice radios to handle Internet Protocol messages and imagery; and highly conductive paint and lightning strike protection using nickel nanostrands, being developed by Utah-based Metal Matrix Composites, Flight International said.
Turkey may buy 50 Boeing missiles
Turkey is considering the purchase of up to 50 missiles made by Boeing Co. in St. Charles, Mo., in a deal worth up to $162 million, the Pentagon said recently according to a report Tuesday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency recently notified Congress of a possible sale of Boeing's land-attack missile to Turkey. Nicknamed the "SLAM-ER," the missile would be carried on Turkish Air Force F-16s.
Equipped with a 500-pound warhead, the SLAM-ER is used by the U.S. Navy and can hit moving and stationary targets.
General Dynamics wins missile center IT contract
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, announced Monday it has been awarded a $9.6 million contract for implementation and support of a Livelink Knowledge Management System, an intranet solution for collaborative knowledge management, at the Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles. Support includes around-the-clock availability with a 99.9 percent uptime, staffing a Livelink helpdesk and training 6,000 users; implementation includes engineering services to develop and execute business processes to address information management for the organization.
"General Dynamics will provide the Space and Missile Systems Center with the ability to install a secure intranet solution for collaborative knowledge management. The General Dynamics solution improves the Center's ability to manage and share information, which is critical to the space and missile missions it provides to the joint warfighter and our nation," said Steve Eng, program manager at General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems.
The work will be performed in Los Angeles and is expected to be completed by 2011. Livelink Knowledge Management System is a product of Open Text.
