US and China launched space weapon tests:Documents

The United States and China both used advanced missiles to blow up their own satellites in a mutual show of military strength, documents published in Thursday's Telegraph newspaper showed.

The memos, leaked by the WikiLeaks website, revealed that the US responded to China's 2007 destruction of a weather satellite by blowing up its own malfunctioning satellite in a "test" strike.

The US insisted at the time that it undertook the operation to prevent the satellite returning to earth with a toxic fuel tank which would pose a health hazard.

A leaked cable sent from the US embassy in Beijing in February 2008, the day after the US strike, revealed that China was doubtful of this explanation.

"Teng Jianqun, Deputy Secretary General of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Department, described the shoot-down as unnecessary and simply an opportunity to test the US missile defense system," the memo said.

According to the cable, Teng said the shoot-down was "an ideal opportunity to voice their (the US) objection" and proved "the US missile defense system is also an offensive system."

Another leaked cable revealed that the US embassy in China received "direct confirmation of the results of the anti-satellite test" from the US military command in the Pacific.

The White House was shocked in February 2007 when China demonstrated its capability to strike in space by blowing up a weather satellite 530 miles above earth.

In another leaked cable sent in January 2008, it was communicated that officials working for the then secretary of state Condoleezza Rice had warned Beijing.

New Study on Pakistani Nukes

Pakistan's nuclear arsenal now totals more than 100 deployed weapons, a doubling of its stockpile over the past several years in one of the world's most unstable regions, according to estimates by non-government analysts.

 The Pakistanis have significantly accelerated production of uranium and plutonium for bombs and developed new weapons to deliver them. After years of approximate weapons parity, experts said, Pakistan has now edged ahead of India, its nuclear-armed rival. 

China's Defense Machine Eyes Europe Instead of Russia

European Union may lift the embargo on arms deliveries to China. The embargo was put in effect in 1989, after the bloody suppression of youth protests on Beijing's Tiananmen Square. EU High Representative Catherine Ashton is one of the ardent supporters of the intention to lift the arms shipments embargo, AFP reports.

It seems that there are no prerequisites for lifting the embargo on China. The Asian giant has not learned to respect democratic values in the Western perception of this term. So what is the reason for such a drastic change?

The chairman of the Department for the European Security of the Institute for Europe, Dmitry Danilov, told Pravda.Ru that the issue of defense cooperation with China had been on the agenda of the European Union for years.

Lockheed Wins Contract for More High Mobility Artillery Rock

Lockheed Martin has received a $139.6 million contract to provide 44 combat-proven High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to the U.S.Army. This order will increase the Army's HIMARS launcher fleet to 375, with deliveries continuing through January 2013. Work on the contract will be performed at the company's facilities in Camden, AR, and Grand Prairie, TX.

"HIMARS brings soldiers an agile, responsive and accurate delivery system of extremely precise fires," said Col. David J. Rice, U.S. Army program manager for Precision Fires, Rocket and Missile Systems. "HIMARS continues to impress everybody with its performance and versatility, the system is reliable, robust and exceptionally effective in theater.

The system can accommodate a six-pack of Guided MLRS rockets or one Army Tactical Missile System missile. HIMARS, a highly mobile artillery rocket system based on the Army's FMTV five-ton truck, is designed to launch the entire MLRS Family of Munitions.

Russian's Billastic Missiles