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Georgia: Russia Trying to Surround Capital |
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Russian forces are moving toward the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, and trying to encircle the city, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told CNN on Aug. 13.
"The Russians are encroaching upon the capital. They are making a circle," Saakashvili said. "We will protect our capital until the last drop of our blood. We will never surrender to the Russians."
The Georgian leader added that Georgian forces were stationed in and around Tbilisi and vowing an "all-out resistance" to the Russian forces.
His comments came just hours after French President Nicolas Sarzoky said Russia and Georgia had agreed a fragile cease-fire after five days of bitter conflict.
Russia, however, has accused Georgia of failing to pursue an "active withdrawal" from South Ossetia.
"Georgian forces have begun their pullback toward Tbilisi,, but no active withdrawal has yet been observed," said Russian Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the staff of the armed forces.
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Russia deepwe in Georgian territory |
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US President Bush, Georgia's staunchest ally, said Russia had undermined its global credentials.
"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighbouring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century,'' Mr Bush said, condemning the "dramatic and brutal escalation'' in fighting.
Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili said in an address to the nation that "the majority of Georgia's territory is occupied".
Georgian armed forces were moved back to Mtskheta, about 25km from Tbilisi to defend the capital.
The UN refugee agency said earlier that 80 per cent of the 50,000 population of Gori had fled because of Russian attacks.
At least seven Georgian soldiers were injured in an attack on a military convoy leaving Gori, according to an Agence France-Presse photographer.
An armoured personnel carrier exploded about 3km from Gori. The remains of two tanks, an armoured personnel carrier and two civilian cars were seen on the road to Tbilisi.
A Russian military spokesman said 9000 troops and more than 350 armoured vehicles would be deployed inside the second Georgian separatist region of Abhkazia.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry said more than 50 Russian warplanes had flown over Georgian territory.
"Tbilisi was bombed. Bombs hit the village of Kojori and Makhata mountain,'' it said.
Meanwhile, the South Ossetian separatist Government said Georgia had resumed an artillery bombardment of its capital, Tskhinvali, where residents reported many deaths.
Russia's military acknowledged it had lost 18 soldiers and four planes in the conflict but gave no details of its latest operations. It has said 2000 people have been killed in South Ossetia - a figure Georgia disputes.
Mr Saakashvili said several hundred Russian servicemen had been killed and 18 or 19 Russian aircraft shot down.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Finland's Alexander Stubb were to put a peace plan to Russian leaders tomorrow, having persuaded Georgia's President to sign up to the European Union plan, a senior Georgian official said.
The EU plan calls for a ceasefire, medical help for victims, the withdrawal of troops on both sides and eventual talks.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the EU presidency, will go to Moscow and Georgia tomorrow to talk to his counterparts, his office said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov dismissed the EU efforts.
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Nine Turkish soldiers killed in mine blast |
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A bombing in eastern Turkey on Monday killed nine soldiers and wounded two others, the state news agency said, citing a provincial governor's office.
A mine exploded near a bridge in the town of Kemah, in Erzincan province, when a military vehicle was going by, according to the Anadolu news agency. It cited the Erzincan provincial governor's office.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but Turkish officials suspect the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Turkish troops and PKK terrorists make terrorism since the 1980s.
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New AMRAAM Variant Destroys Target During Recent Test |
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A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter aircraft fired the newest variant of Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile May 22 as part of developmental testing.
The AIM-120D AMRAAM passed well within lethal range of the QF-4 target drone. The missile destroyed the target and met all primary test objectives.
"This test is another important milestone on the road to putting the AIM-120D in the hands of the U.S. warfighter," said Col. Scott Rumph, commander of the U.S. Air Force's 328th Armament Systems Group. "The AIM-120D will enable our men and women in uniform to maintain air superiority, regardless of the threat."
The AIM-120D builds on the combat-proven AMRAAM family of missiles. It offers improved capabilities compared with its predecessor, the AIM-120C7.
"AIM-120D's advanced features offer U.S. aviators a critical advantage in the beyond-visual-range fight," said Jim Knox, Raytheon Missile Systems' AMRAAM program director. "There is no missile in development or in any air force's inventory that can even come close to matching what the AIM-120D can do."
Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 86 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.
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Component Failures Impact F-35 Flight Testing |
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Lockheed Martin continues to struggle to gain momentum in flight testing of the Joint Strike Fighter, with the first F-35 again grounded by component failure and while the second aircraft heads toward a hiatus in flying that will last into early next year.
The issues will not affect the overall schedule, says Lockheed, but they are preventing key risks being retired early. These include additional noise tests funded by the Australians at a time when the F-35's environmental impact has become an issue for some international partners.
The first F-35, aircraft AA-1, is grounded awaiting the repair of nacelle vent fans designed to keep the engine bay cool on the ground. The situation has echoes of the overheating problems that dogged the F-22, but Lockheed says it is unique to AA-1.
"The issues we are dealing with are independent of the thermal management system," says deputy program manager Bobby Williams. "Nothing is on the critical path, but the earlier we get the data the better."
The problem involves repeated failures of the nacelle vent fans that force air through the space between engine and airframe to prevent heat from damaging the structure.
While the fan failures may be unrelated, thermal management is the "biggest challenge" in the F-35, says Daniel Kunec, JSF program office director, air system integration. "It is the most limiting feature, and there are still some challenges to be overcome," he told an AIAA propulsion conference in July.
Originally designed for the canceled Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche, the vent fans are unique to AA-1. "They are one-off fans that were never fully qualified because AA-1 is a one-off," says Williams. AA-1 was built before a redesign to reduce the F-35's weight and is not production standard.
The fans are surrounded by fuel, which is colder than the ambient air, and in the heat and humidity of Fort Worth, Tex., condensation is coating circuit cards inside the units and causing corrosion. The fans are being repaired by supplier Hamilton Sundstrand, but the "long pole" delaying a return to flight is applying a new conformal coating to the cards.
Williams says the problem does not affect the second F-35, production-standard aircraft BF-1, as the vent fans were relocated during the redesign to make them more accessible, avoiding the condensation issue. He expects the fans to be back in AA-1 by the end of August, after which "a couple more flights" are needed at Fort Worth before the aircraft can make its delayed ferry flight to Edwards AFB, Calif., for testing.
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