UN: North Korea, Iran Share Ballistic Missile Technology

A classified United Nations report says North Korea and Iran have routinely shared ballistic missile technology in violation of U.N. sanctions, and diplomats say China has sought to block release of the report.

The document, seen by Western journalists, says the illicit technology transfers passed through a neighboring third country, which diplomats identify as China, North Korea's closest ally. Beijing has not commented on the report, which also includes accusations the technology was transferred aboard regular air flights of Air Koryo and Iran Air - North Korea’s and Iran's national airlines.

The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions against North Korea after two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. Iran is also under international sanctions because of its uranium enrichment activities, which the United States and its allies suspect are weapons-related. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

HAS Osama Bin Laden Killing Mission Involve A Stealth Helicopter

A newly-developed stealth helicopter design may have been used to transport the US Navy task force that killed Osama Bin Laden at the start of May 2011, it's been suggested.

Images of part of the helicopter released over the past few days show a tail rotor layout that's unlike anything known to be in service today. Only the tail section of the secretive design is reported to now be intact, after the troops that killed Osama destroyed the helicopter, too.

Many sources now support the idea that the helicopter could have been a modified Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter, with stealth-type upgrades.

The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a widely-used helicopter design, produced in many different versions to suit the needs of various operators.

Navy Conducts Maintenance and Modernization Performance Review

Commander,Navy Regional Maintenance Center (CNRMC) and the Executive Director of Surface Warfare for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA-SEA 21B) participated in the Navy's inaugural maintenance and modernization performance review (MMPR) in San Diego, April 26-27.

Capt. David Gale, commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Center; and Bilyana Anderson, executive director, NAVSEA-SEA 21B; spoke to more than one hundred military, civilian and contract personnel who are involved in all facets of surface ship maintenance and modernization.

"The failure point for us is anyone here today who doesn't see they are a part of this important effort," said Gale. "Whether you are a member of ship's force, a commanding officer of a ship or regional maintenance center (RMC), a type commander representative,contractor, or port engineer; we all play a critical role in getting maintenance right."

Gale and Anderson encouraged all MMPR participants to engage in frank and open discussions during the event in an effort to better identify performance gaps that were discernible during maintenance availabilities and to, in turn, provide solutions for RMCs' and ships' respective challenges.

"As the end-to-end process that is surface ship maintenance and modernization continues to evolve, we need to standardize and align our practices," said Gale. "From the way we train our workforce to the way we identify maintenance work, we need to work together to support ships and sustain their service lives."

Program managers and port engineers from each of the RMCs were among those who briefed detailed data on their recent maintenance availabilities.

Among the multitude of topics discussed during the course of the MMPR were the successes and challenges of various ships' maintenance availabilities, the surface ship maintenance initiative, total ship readiness assessments, multi-ship/multi-option contracts, and NRMC's development of a standardized workforce development program.

China urges world to back Pakistan in terror fight

China reaffirmed its support on Thursday for efforts by its ally Pakistan to combat terrorism after the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama  bin laden by US forces, and urged the world to help Islamabad.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu stopped short of directly criticising the daring raid by US special forces on Pakistani soil that ended with bin Laden's death but said national sovereignty "should be respected" at all times.

"Pakistan is at the forefront of the international counter-terrorism effort. The international community should understand and support Pakistan," Jiang told a press conference.

"We support Pakistan's position and understand and support Pakistan formulating and implementing a counter-terrorism strategy based on its national conditions."

Since Sunday's raid, Pakistan has been on the defensive over its failure to find bin Laden, who was living in a compound near the country's top mililtary academy in Abbottabad.

Pakistan tests nuclear-capable cruise missile CCTV News