Rapid Fire August 19, 2013: What to Do with Egypt?

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* The US Congress is split over what to do with military aid to Egypt, while the Obama administration is reviewing its options. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is floating the idea of a EU-wide arms embargo. By design in the European Union, nothing will happen without a fair amount of meetings. * The Russian government […]

* The US Congress is split over what to do with military aid to Egypt, while the Obama administration is reviewing its options. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is floating the idea of a EU-wide arms embargo. By design in the European Union, nothing will happen without a fair amount of meetings.

* The Russian government postponed a $1.1B order of 37 MiG-35s to 2016, for a mix of technical and financial reasons.

* VEB, a development bank owned by the Russian government, lowered its stake in EADS from 5% to less than 3%, in order to help out Sukhoi Civil Aircraft.

* Australia’s Shadow Minister for Defence David Johnston [Lib.-WA] tears into the Labor government’s defence record, while offering a number of interesting and useful hard data points along the way. Australia’s federal election takes place on Sept 7/13.

* Last week’s explosion aboard INS Sindhurakshak was “due to the possible ignition of armament” though India’s forensic team doesn’t know what’s the root cause of that ignition.

* From South Korea’s KIDA think tank, on North Korea’s nuclear intentions [PDF]:

“None of the nuclear power states has ended up with nuclear tests only. Deployment and operation of nuclear weapons have begun since then. Thus, we should consider North Korea’s ‘expansion and reinforcement of nuclear weapons’ an already predicted path. In this respect, the second task, clarifying North Korea’s intention to ensure deployment and operation of nuclear weapons, is a particular concern since it implies North Korea’s intention to develop nuclear weapons as a pillar of strategic deterrence, tactical use, and peacetime operation of military force.”

* The video below from Stars & Stripes showcases the sheer diversity of UAVs of all shapes and sizes that were on display during last week’s AUVSI show, as international and commercial interest in unmanned systems is rising:

* While the following video explains soldier protection work done by the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL):

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