Over 1 Million Domains at Risk of 'Sitting Ducks' Domain Hijacking Technique

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  October 5, 2018 | International, Land

  Italy stalls on missile program as budget cuts loom

  By: Tom Kington ROME – Italy's new populist government has halted plans for a new missile defense system amid reports it will reduce defense procurements in 2019 to help fund welfare spending and tax cuts. This week, the defense ministry withdrew a request it had sent to parliament for permission to acquire the CAMM-ER missile system, built by European missile house MBDA and due to cost €545 million, or $626 million. The surprise U-turn on the program comes as Rome searches for funds to support a program of cash benefits for the poor and the jobless, pension boosts and tax cuts promised when the government took office in June. “There are real fears for procurement spending, with some predicting that €1 billion will be trimmed from procurements next year,” said an Italian defense-industry source who asked not to be named. Italy's defense procurement spending stood at €4.7 billion ($5.4 billion) in 2017, combining €2.1 billion from defense ministry coffers and €2.6 billion from Italy's Ministry for Economic Development. After inconclusive elections in March, the Five Star and League parties combined to form Italy's first populist government in June and announced their 2019 budget last week. It includes €10 billion for a so-called “citizen's wage," which Reuters reported amounts to a €780-per-month subsidy for the poorest Italians. The generous budget will push Italy's budget deficit up to 2.4 percent, arousing the wrath of European Union officials given the country's €2.4 trillion debt pile. Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported that during budget talks the head of the Five Star party warned Defense Minister Elisabetta Trenta that he would not agree on the launch of the CAMM-ER program this year. The report was denied by the government, but on Oct. 1 the request to parliament for approval of the purchase, which had been submitted on Aug. 10, was withdrawn, leaving it unclear whether it would be resubmitted. The Common Anti-air Modular Missile – Extended Range, to give it its full name, is a surface-to-air, short-and medium-range missile defense system. It is a variant of a similar weapon sold by manufacturer MBDA to the UK. Another sign of uncertainty hanging over Italy's defense spending is the absence so far this year of a three-year budget plan. Usually, in the spring, Italy's defense ministry publishes details of the current year's budget, with amounts listed per program, as well as budget predictions for the next two years. That document has yet to be published this year, suggesting a delay in calculating what funds can be made available in the coming years. The total government budget is now being nailed down for 2019, which will contain the top-line defense spending for next year. As such, next year's defense allocation may be discussed in parliament as early as next week. Meanwhile, the government has given conflicting signals about its commitments to the F-35 program, with defense minister Trenta suggesting Italy would stick to its order of 90 aircraft, before hinting the order would be cut. In a recent blog post, deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio listed the F-35 as one of the projects the former Italian government had wasted money on. The new government so far has not formally telegraphed its interest in the UK's new plan for a fighter program, dubbed Tempest, despite the role to be played in that effort by Italy's Leonardo. The company operates facilities in the UK. However, last week, junior defense minister Angelo Tofalo said Italy “needed to enter the program immediately.” On Wednesday he told Defense News it was important that Italy took a leading role in international programs it joined. “The approach taken in the past has not allowed our country to acquire the know-how required to develop the most advanced technology autonomously. That is what happened, for example, on the F-35,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/10/04/italy-stalls-on-missile-program-as-budget-cuts-loom

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  June 19, 2019 | International, Naval, Land, C4ISR

  DOD announces $250M in military aide to Ukraine

  By Tony Bertuca The Defense Department announced today it plans to provide $250 million in military aid to Ukraine, including a variety of small arms, maritime surveillance systems, night vision equipment and electronic warfare detection and secure communications systems. "This reaffirms the long-standing defense relationship between the United States and Ukraine and will bring total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to $1.5 billion since 2014," the Pentagon said. In February 2014, Russian-backed forces invaded Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, ratcheting up military tensions with the Europe and the United States. The new military aide has been approved because of Ukraine's "continued progress" in adopting institutional military reforms that "align" with Euro-Atlantic principles, according to DOD. "The United States remains committed to helping Ukraine implement provisions of Ukraine's 2018 Law on National Security to strengthen democratic civilian control of the military, promote command and control reforms, enhance transparency and accountability in acquisition and budgeting, and advance defense industry reforms," DOD said. "These reforms will bolster Ukraine's ability to defend its territorial integrity in support of a secure, prosperous, democratic, and free Ukraine." https://insidedefense.com/insider/dod-announces-250m-military-aide-ukraine

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  June 27, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  US military aims for $1 billion missile defense radar in Hawaii

  By: Audrey McAvoy, The Associated Press HONOLULU — The U.S. military wants to install missile defense radar in Hawaii to identify any ballistic missiles that are fired from North Korea or elsewhere, officials said Tuesday. The $1 billion system would spot warheads on missiles headed for Hawaii and other U.S. states, and provide that information to ground-based interceptors in Alaska designed to shoot them down. It would be able to distinguish warheads from decoys that are designed to trick missile defense systems. The radar would help give the Alaska missiles “better eyes,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii and a supporter of the project. So far, lawmakers have appropriated $61 million for planning but not funds for construction. Schatz, who serves on the defense subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he doesn't have much doubt about the likelihood of follow-on funding. The radar would be about 30 to 50 feet wide and 60 feet to 80 feet high, according to the Missile Defense Agency. It will likely to have a flat-face surface like one in Shemya, Alaska, instead of a ball-like appearance of other military radar. Experts say the larger the face, the more precisely it will be able to distinguish between warheads and decoys. The agency is studying two possible locations for the radar, both of which are on Oahu's North Shore. It's collecting public comment through July 16. Schatz said lawmakers discussed the radar with the previous commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. Harry Harris, who recently retired and has been nominated to be the U.S. ambassador to South Korea. “We already have robust capabilities, but working with Admiral Harris, we wanted to double down and make sure we have the most powerful combination of missile interceptors and radar systems anywhere,” Schatz said in a phone interview. The radar would help identify long-range ballistic missile threats mid-way through flight. David Santoro, a director and senior fellow for nuclear policy at the Pacific Forum think tank in Honolulu, said threats from North Korea were increasing as Pyongyang developed more sophisticated missiles and nuclear weapons. “Over the past few weeks, we have seen a so-called peace initiative developing, but the reality is the threat is still there. It's not going away,” Santoro said. The U.S. would be expected to build a radar system to counter the threats, he said. U.S. concerns about the threat from North Korean missiles spiked last year as North Korea test-fired long-range missile over Japan and threatened to launch ballistic missiles toward the Guam, a major U.S. military hub in the Pacific. President Donald Trump warned the U.S. military was “locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely” and that the U.S. would unleash “fire and fury” on the North if it continued to threaten America. But then Trump and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, met in Singapore earlier this month and issued a declaration agreeing to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” The statement did not define a process, say when it would begin or say how long it might take. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/06/27/us-military-aims-for-1-billion-missile-defense-radar-in-hawaii/