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US announces Bomb Sale to NATO member Nation of the Secretary General who is toward Reconfirmation
Norway has asked for almost $300 million worth of Raytheon-made glide weapons
- Veterans Today
June 28, 2023
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Norway has asked for almost $300 million worth of Raytheon-made glide weapons
There are no obstacles to selling Norway a total of 600 glide bombs for their F-35A jets, the US State Department notified Congress on Wednesday. The total value of the contract is estimated at $293 million, and includes the munitions as well as maintenance and support.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent out the notice as required by US law. It specified that permission was required because the government in Oslo increased the request from the original $18.9 million for 20 bombs to 580 additional munitions.
The DSCA notice described the weapon as the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bombs-Increment II (SDB-II) All-Up-Rounds (AUR). Its manufacturer, Raytheon, uses the name ‘StormBreaker’.
According to Raytheon, the bomb can use millimeter-wave radar, infrared and semi-active laser homing to guide itself to the target, and can even operate in semi-autonomous mode. First entering service in late 2020, it is intended for use by the F-15 and F/A-18 fighter-bombers, as well as the F-35s, though that required a software update in 2022.
Norway has received 37 F-35s of the 52 it has ordered from the US. Each plane can carry up to 24 StormBreaker bombs, eight internally and 16 on external wing mountings.
Oslo originally ordered 20 bombs in July 2022. It was unclear whether Raytheon has already produced the munitions, or how long it may take to fulfill the order.
In addition to the bombs themselves, the contract calls for instructors that will teach the Royal Norwegian Air Force how to load the weapons and engage in explosive ordnance disposal; various support and maintenance equipment, spare parts, consumables and accessories, as well as support for repair, return, modification and maintenance.
The value of the contract is a high estimate and the actual amount is likely to be lower “if and when” the sales agreement is actually concluded, according to the DSCA notice.
Originally published by Russia Today
NATO member states agree Stoltenberg to remain Secretary General for another year
Governments of NATO member states agreed that Jens Stoltenberg will remain the alliance’s Secretary General for another year, Norway’s Verdens gang reported Wednesday.
“Governments of the 31 NATO member states have come to an agreement: according to the Verdens gang’s information, all NATO states collectively support the decision to ask Jens Stoltenberg to continue his service as the Secretary General,” the newspaper says.
Stoltenberg has not yet officially agreed to the extension of service. His contract with NATO expires on October 1, 2023. The NATO headquarters in Brussels expect Stoltenberg’s confirmation ahead of the July 11-12 summit in Vilnius.
Originally published by TASS Russian News Agency
SOURCE: Gospa News
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US Congress pushes Biden to send cluster bombs to Ukraine
Wednesday, 28 June 2023 10:38 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 28 June 2023 11:53 AM ]
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is greeted by members of the US Congress following his address at the Capitol in Washington on Dec. 21, 2022. (Photo by AFP)
A bipartisan panel of US lawmakers is urging Joe Biden’s administration to send mass-destructive cluster munitions to Ukraine, in a move that could help Kiev inflict heavy casualties on Russia forces and raise serious human rights issues.
In a letter sent to US President Joe Biden on Friday, Joe Wilson, Steve Cohen, and Victoria Spartz, a bipartisan group atop the Helsinki Commission, urged the White House to send enhanced dual-purpose conventional munitions, better known as DPICMs, to Ukraine to assist in an ongoing counter-offensive.
The weapon, which can be fired from artillery shells and scatter up to 88 bombs across the battlefield, could help Ukraine break through Russian tanks and dug-in positions. But if not cleared, bombs can be left to kill and maim civilians long after the war is over.
But the pressure to send artillery cluster bombs has intensified inside the US government and on Capitol Hill, as the Pentagon has sent or is preparing to send weapons at the top of Ukraine’s list, starting with howitzers and ending with F-16s. And with Russia successfully clinging to the dragon’s toothed trench lines, the pressure is only getting stronger.
“[T]ransferring DPICMs to Ukraine presents an opportunity to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with a powerful capability to use against the Russian army and mercenary forces,” the lawmakers wrote to Biden on Friday.
“Let us use this untapped, vast arsenal in service of Ukrainian victory, and reclaiming Europe’s peace.” The letter was sent to Biden before Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin staged an abortive mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin that managed to take control of a Kremlin military logistics hub in Rostov-on-Don over the weekend before petering out.
Pentagon believes banned cluster munitions would be useful for Ukraine
Russia hawks, including some Republican lawmakers, have argued that the Biden administration has been too slow to approve sending battle tanks and begin training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, hindering Ukraine’s ability to launch a successful counterattack.
Biden administration has sent more than $40 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia first launched its military operation in February 2022. The United States and other NATO allies have been decisive in preventing Russia from winning.
Foreign Policy previously claimed that Ukraine quietly received DPICMs from other NATO allies, such as Turkey, which began sending US-designed cluster munitions to Ukraine last fall.
However, according to lawmakers, the US has a much larger arsenal of these weapons which can be fired from 155mm howitzers that the Biden administration first provided to Ukraine last year.
Cluster bombs are banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty that addresses the humanitarian consequences and unacceptable harm caused to civilians by cluster munitions through a categorical prohibition and a framework for action.
The weapons can contain dozens of smaller bomblets, dispersing over vast areas, often killing and maiming civilians long after they are dropped.
The convention bans all use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster bombs. More than 100 countries have signed the treaty, but the United States has not.
According to media reports, Ukrainian troops also fired cluster munitions against Russian positions in an effort to take territory in the eastern Donbas region earlier this year.
As the bomblets scatter randomly, experts worry that civilians could easily mistake them for toys or debris.
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