Rapid Fire April 12, 2012: Boeing’s Angry Birds

* Britain’s Type 45 air defense destroyers Dragon & Defender are finishing up 2nd trials. They share the PAAMS combat system and Aster-30 long-range air defense missiles with France’s Horizon Class, which just shot down a Coyote maneuvering supersonic target. * The UK is restarting military sales to Indonesia. * Japan Security Watch opines on how to resolve the Okinawa conundrum between the US and Japan. * What is North Korea up to with their space launch vehicle attempts? * 2 US Marines were killed and 2 others injured in an MV-22 crash in Morocco yesterday during the African Lion exercise. * South Africa’s Department of Justice said the Commission of Inquiry into the Strategic Defence Procurement Package announced by President Jacob Zuma last year has started its work and will announce a timetable of public hearings “soon after it has completed its programme.” * Boeing plans to launch a smartphone running Google’s Android operating system by the end of the year, though it may or may not carry their brand. * Michael Petters, president and CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries, was on Bloomberg TV yesterday, talking about the consequences of sequestration and the pending closure of the Avondale, LA […]