North Korea said Saturday it had successfully tested an engine designed for an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) that would "guarantee" an eventual nuclear strike on the US mainland.

It was the latest in a series of claims by Pyongyang of significant breakthroughs in both its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

Outside experts have treated a number of the claims with scepticism, suggesting the North Korean leadership is attempting to talk up its achievements ahead of a showcase ruling party congress next month.

According to the North's official KCNA news agency, the ground engine test was ordered and personally monitored by leader Kim Jong-Un.

As soon as Kim flagged off the test, "the engine spewed out huge flames with deafening boom", KCNA said.

"The great success... provided a firm guarantee for mounting another form of nuclear attack upon the US imperialists and other hostile forces," Kim was quoted as saying.

Now North Korea "can tip new type inter-continental ballistic rockets with more powerful nuclear warheads and keep any cesspool of evils in the earth including the US mainland within our striking range", he added.

The North's top newspaper Rodong Sinmun featured photos of Kim overseeing the test on its front and second pages Saturday, and said the trial was reportedly conducted at the Sohae Space Centre.

One picture showed Kim looking down from an observation tower as flames were seen over the horizon. Another showed flames streaming down from an engine propped up vertically.

Military tensions on the divided Korean peninsula have been rising since the North conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, and a long-range rocket a month later that was seen as a disguised ballistic missile test.

The UN Security Council responded with its toughest sanctions to date over the North's nuclear programme, and Pyongyang accused Seoul and Washington of spearheading the sanctions drive in New York.

In recent weeks, state media has carried repeated threats of pre-emptive nuclear strikes against both the South and the US mainland.

- Weapons claims -

The threats have been accompanied by claims of success in miniaturising a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile, developing a warhead that can withstand atmospheric re-entry, and building a solid-fuel missile engine.

North Korea has never tested an ICBM, although it has displayed such a missile, known as the KN-08, during recent mass military parades in Pyongyang.

While the North has clearly made progress in developing the KN-08, most experts still believe it is years from obtaining a credible ICBM strike capability.

Kim described the engine test as an "eye-catching event" that demonstrated the North's national defence capability to the world.

He also noted that it represented "another great victory" to be presented at the upcoming Workers' Party Congress, which is believed to be scheduled for May 7.

It is the first congress of its kind for 36 years and seen as a showcase for the leadership to hype its achievements and to cement national unity and loyalty around Kim Jong-Un.

"Kim was showing off his military build-up achievements to consolidate loyalty ahead of the Party Congress as economic difficulties grow following UN sanctions," Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies told AFP.

Some analysts have suggested the North could even conduct a fifth nuclear test before the congress, and South Korean officials say they are fully prepared for such an eventuality.

The North said its January test was of a powerful hydrogen bomb, but experts said the detected yield was too low for a full-fledged thermo-nuclear device.

North Koreans across the country have been mobilised in a "70 day campaign" to prepare for the party gathering, with towns and cities across the country being spruced-up and prettified for the event.

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The United States on Saturday sternly admonished North Korea against acts that could "further destabilize" the region, amid claims that it successfully tested a new engine designed for an inter-continental ballistic missile that could reach US shores.

"We have seen the reports of North Korea's claims to have developed new engine technology for its ICBMs," read a statement from State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner.

"We call on North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that further destabilize the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its commitments and international obligations," Toner said.

North Korea said its breakthrough would "guarantee" an eventual nuclear strike on the US mainland.

It was the latest in a series of claims by Pyongyang of significant new inroads in both its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, although outside experts have treated a number of the claims with skepticism.

According to the North's official KCNA news agency, the ground engine test was ordered and personally monitored by the hermit nation's enigmatic leader Kim Jong-Un.

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Iran's defence minister poured scorn Saturday on US Secretary of State John Kerry's accusations that Tehran is "destabilising" the Middle East, countering that America should get out of the region.

The broadside illustrated new tension between Iran and the United States, despite last year's nuclear deal, with contrasting stances on the conflicts in Yemen and Syria underpinning the latest barbs.

If the US seeks "stability" it should "leave the region and stop supporting terrorists," Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said, quoted by the website of state television.

"If John Kerry thought about these subjects, he would no longer utter nonsense and foolish words."

The reaction came after Kerry speaking on a visit to Bahrain on Thursday condemned "the destabilising actions of Iran," noting that the United States was taking Tehran's actions "very seriously".

But Dehghan denounced Kerry's remarks as a sign of "frustration" at "Iran's defence capabilities", charging that it is the US that is intervening in the Middle East on account of massive arms sales.

"Americans have made countries in the region dependent on them through sale of weapons and suggesting that implementing US policies are a must for their survival".

A series of ballistic missile tests by Iran since the nuclear deal was struck last summer -- sanctions against Tehran were lifted in January in return for curbs on its atomic programme -- has added to US anger.

Concern over Iran's alleged involvement in the conflict in Yemen has not died down.

The US Navy said Monday its forces in the Gulf had seized a shipment of weapons on March 28 believed to be from Iran that was destined for Huthi rebels fighting in Yemen.

"We call on Iran to constructively join in the efforts to make peace and to help us to resolve Syria and rather than to continue to send weapons to Huthis, join in the effort... to make peace and to work toward a cessation of hostilities," Kerry told reporters in Manama.

Kerry later held a meeting with his Gulf Arab counterparts, two weeks before President Barack Obama is scheduled to attend a summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh.

The secretary of state also said that the US and GCC nations "remain united in our opposition to Iran's missile activities".

However, a top Iranian military official said Saturday there would be no change to the missile programme.

"The US is not qualified to make comments about our defence power," said Revolutionary Guards deputy chief General Hossein Salami.

"Our missile capabilities will never be negotiated or compromised."

an/adm/dv

KERRY GROUP

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NATO's secretary general, responding to Donald Trump's criticism of the alliance, recalled Wednesday how it stood behind America after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

The first and only time NATO invoked "collective defense goals" was after the suicide plane bombings against New York and Washington, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said in a speech in Washington.

"Europeans stepped up to help and support our ally, the United states," he added.

NATO then quickly joined the United States in invading Afghanistan on the grounds it was harboring al-Qaeda, blamed for 9/11. And more than 1,000 European and Canadian soldiers lost their lives there, the secretary general said.

Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, recently derided NATO as obsolete and said the United States covers an oversized portion of its budget.

President Barack Obama said Monday that NATO remains a cornerstone of US defense policy.

Stoltenberg said European countries are aware they need to boost defense spending and rely less on the United States to defend them.

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The Maldives government has kicked off a controversial $800-million expansion of the country's main airport by a Chinese company, a move likely to irritate giant neighbour India.

President Abdulla Yameen inaugurated construction work in a ceremony on Wednesday night in the capital Male of the politically troubled country.

"The president stated that with the expansion, the airport would become the economic backbone of the Maldives and that this would be the main gateway of modern day development," a government statement said on Thursday.

Chinese company Beijing Urban Construction Group was awarded the contract during President Xi Jinping's visit to the strategically located Indian Ocean islands in September 2014.

Two years earlier, the Maldives kicked out Indian infrastructure firm GMR which was given the airport under a privatisation deal and cancelled its lucrative contract to run the airport.

The move sparked fury from New Delhi which threatened to cut off aid to the country, amid concerns the upmarket holiday destination was tilting towards India's rival China.

The expansion comes as Yameen is set to arrive in India on Sunday for an official visit, and will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Maldives government, which says the airport will not be privatised again, has said the expansion is needed to accomodate increasing tourist numbers to the upmarket honeymoon destination.

The expansion means the Airbus A380 will be able to land at the airport which will also be able to handle 7.5 million passengers a year.

It comes despite ongoing political turmoil in the Maldives which has dented its reputation as a peaceful tourist paradise.

Yameen has faced international criticism over the jailing of dissidents and political opponents including former president and now opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed.

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka looks to restructure $8 bn China debt
Beijing (AFP) April 7, 2016 - Sri Lanka's prime minister will seek to restructure some of the cash-strapped island's $8 billion Chinese debt, Colombo said Thursday, as he met his Chinese counterpart in Beijing.

As it faces a spiralling debt crisis that has forced it to seek a bailout from the IMF, Sri Lanka's government is hoping to convert some of its loan burden into stakes in infrastructure projects.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also hopes to resolve a dispute over a $1.4 billion Chinese-built "Port City" in the Sri Lankan capital, State Enterprise Development Minister Eran Wickramaratne told reporters in Colombo.

The premier will seek to negotiate a $125 million government compensation claim from a Chinese firm over delays to the massive land reclamation project, Wickramaratne said.

The project represents the biggest single foreign investment received by the island and will add 233 hectares (575 acres) of real estate in the congested capital.

But it has been controversial as Beijing has been accused of seeking to develop facilities around the Indian Ocean in a "string of pearls" strategy to counter the rise of rival India and secure its own economic interests.

Sri Lanka's president suspended the plan shortly after taking power in January last year, before recommending last month that it be resumed.

Chinese foreign ministry official Xiao Qian told reporters after a meeting between Wickremesinghe and China's Premier Li Keqiang that both sides agreed to "speed up" the project.

"On the Chinese side, we hope to see the earliest possible resumption. We believe we won't have to wait too long," he added.

The two also agreed to "give priority" to the construction of an industrial park at Hambantota Port, he said, without giving details.

During his Beijing visit, which ends Saturday, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe will seek investment to revive loss-making white elephant projects commissioned by former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse.

Rajapakse relied heavily on Chinese financing to rebuild the country's infrastructure after the end of the island's decades-long ethnic war in May 2009.

But the present administration has accused the previous government of agreeing to unfavourable terms for the loans.

President Maithripala Sirisena's government temporarily halted all projects signed off by Rajapakse, who is under investigation over allegations of corruption during his decade in power.

"I believe your trip will give new impetus to relations. I'm willing to exchange views with you on bilateral ties and other issues of mutual concern," Li told Wickremesinghe at the start of a closed-door meeting.

The two oversaw the signing of seven agreements, including an extradition treaty and a loan to extend a highway in southern Sri Lanka.

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Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday that radical talk from critics of the country's nuclear deal with world powers was dangerous and he urged more, not less, diplomacy and dialogue.

His comments came just days after a speech by the commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, who said the accord, which lifted international sanctions on Iran, amounted to a humiliation.

Rouhani, a moderate cleric under Iran's theocratic system, was boosted in February elections when his allies made gains in parliament and their conservative rivals lost dozens of seats.

However, the polls have been followed by gestures from hardliners within the regime that appear aimed at preventing the nuclear agreement leading to any wider rapprochement.

A flurry of ballistic missile tests conducted by the Guards since October last year triggered fresh US sanctions after a UN panel said they breached previous resolutions.

The tests, however, do not amount to an infringement of the July nuclear accord as it did not cover ballistic missiles.

Rouhani, in a speech broadcast live from Tehran, said the nuclear deal, finally implemented in January after more than two years of talks, showed "logic and argument can triumph over hard power and threats."

"Under radical thinking, there should never be cooperation with the IAEA or the United Nations," Rouhani said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency responsible for monitoring the deal.

"Radical thinking tells us not to trust anyone, not to trust neighbours or friends, but moderate thinking tells us... we should talk to the world and seek self-reliance at the same time.

"Being radical is disadvantageous to us everywhere. It creates the biggest danger for any society."

- Once-only opportunity -

The Guards report not to Rouhani but to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's ultimate authority.

The force's commander, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said on Tuesday that the nuclear deal should not be seen as a model for rapprochement.

If it is "portrayed as a model, that is a sign of narrow mindedness and self-humiliation," Jafari told fellow commanders.

He said that those in Iran who espoused the deal as a model for domestic reconciliation were "involuntarily taking the road to counter-revolution and want to humiliate our great people".

Rouhani has praised the accord, which defused a 13-year showdown with the West, as an example to be followed for forging "understanding and reconciliation" at home.

But he warned the economic opportunities opened up by the deal were "not permanent or ever-lasting."

"If, God forbid, a few people succeed and don't let us use this opportunity well, this opportunity will not be repeated," he said to loud applause, denouncing those who "sow fear and reap fear."

"Uttering hollow and tough words is not art," he said, as Iran prepares to marks its National Day of Nuclear Technology on Friday.

February's elections dealt a severe blow to hardliners -- conservatives who had talked down the nuclear deal in parliament lost their seats.

In contrast, reformists, who want social and political change in Iran, made significant advances as part of a coalition with Rouhani's moderate allies, an outcome seen as an endorsement of the president.

Iran has always denied seeking an atomic bomb.

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Boeing's Directed Energy and Strategic Systems business has won a $275 million U.S. Air Force award to advance ground-based space superiority capabilities.

The contract is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract issued by the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, the Department of Defense said in reporting the award.

Under terms of the contract, the company will research, engineer, and manage a program to advance scientific and technical knowledge of ground-based space-superiority capabilities and technology. It will then apply and transition that knowledge to achieve Air Force and national goals.

Work on the project will be conducted at Kirtland AFB and in Maui, Hawaii. Three task orders for the program are expected to be completed by late November 2020.

Fiscal 2016 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $987,000; and operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $1.513 million are being obligated at the time of award.

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China has expanded its presence in the contested South China Sea by switching on a lighthouse atop a reconstructed reef also claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines, state media said.

The 55-meter-high (180-foot) facility on Subi Reef in the Spratly chain contains technology to monitor passing ships, the official Xinhua news agency reported late Tuesday.

China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines. It has constructed artificial islands in the area in recent months as it asserts its claims.

China has turned Subi Reef -- known as Zhubi in China -- into an artificial island in the past year, satellite photos have shown, reclaiming nearly 400 hectares (988 acres) of land.

The island-building has been condemned by neighbours and the United States, but Beijing insists it is aimed at helping with maritime search and rescue.

Chinese transport officials held a ceremony on Subi on Tuesday, Xinhua said. Pictures showed men in white shirts beside the towering structure next to a sign reading "Lights-on ceremony".

Washington regularly accuses Beijing -- which says it has built runways and deployed unspecified weapons to the islands -- of militarising the area.

Beijing denies the accusations and says US patrols have ramped up tensions.

Citing an obligation to uphold freedom of navigation, Washington last year sent the USS Lassen to sail past Subi Reef, a move which angered Beijing.

Xinhua reported last year that China would build two 50-metre-tall lighthouses on the Cuarteron and Johnson South reefs in the Spratly islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines.

The state-run China Daily newspaper reported in 2014 that Beijing would build five new lighthouses in the South China Sea's Paracels chain.

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North Korea is likely to deploy a large-caliber multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) late this year, having completed the development of the weapon, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Wednesday.

Last month, Pyongyang announced that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had inspected the final test fire of the 300-millimeter caliber rockets, which are equipped with an accurate guidance system, according to the Yonhap news agency.

"Recently, North Korea test-fired the system several times, through which, I believe, it has nearly completed the development... Under this assessment, I think North Korea will deploy the 300-mm MLRS as early as at the end of this year," Han told reporters, as quoted by the media outlet

In March, the South Korean National Defense Ministry said in its strategy that it was planning to develop ground-to-ground guided munitions in a response to threats posed by the North's MLRS.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated after North Korea successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test in early January and put a satellite into orbit a month later, violating UN Security Council resolutions and triggering condemnation from the international community.

Source: Sputnik News

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Lockheed Martin reports that its miniature hit-to-kill missile was successfully fired by a multi-mission launcher in an engineering demonstration.

The launch, which showed the agility and aerodynamic capability of the MHTK missile, took place on Monday at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

"Today's global security environment demands agile, close-range solutions that protect soldiers and citizens from enemy rockets, artillery and mortars," said Hal Stuart, Lockheed Martin's MHTK program manager. "This test is a critical milestone demonstrating the interceptor's maturity, and we look forward to continuing to build on this success using key data gathered from today's launch."

The MHTK is two feet in length and weighs five pounds. It is designed to defeat rocket, artillery and mortar targets at ranges greatly exceeding those of current and interim systems.

Lockheed said its compact size allows multiple rounds to be packaged in a single MML tube, a key component of the Army's Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2-Intercept program for protection from cruise missiles, unmanned aircraft systems and rocket, artillery and mortar threats.

Monday's launch advances the program, increasing the level of MHTK integration maturity with the MML.

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Defense Secretary Ash Carter outlined Tuesday several broad changes he envisions to make the Pentagon more efficient in combating global threats such as the Islamic State group.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, Carter suggested updates to parts of the Goldwater-Nichols Act, a sweeping 1986 Pentagon reform law that restructured America's vast military.

Borne from lessons learned during the Vietnam War and the botched 1980 Iranian hostage rescue mission, the act sought to soothe rivalries and fix a lack of cooperation between the services.

Observers say the historic reforms need updates to reflect the changed nature of 21st century threats and warfare.

For instance, Carter said he wants to clarify the role of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the Pentagon's top officer who serves as the defense secretary's principal adviser.

"More steps (are needed) to strengthen the capability of the chairman and the joint chiefs to support force management, planning, and execution across the combatant commands, particularly in the face of threats that cut across regional and functional combatant command areas of responsibility," Carter said.

Despite the extra influence of the chairman, a position currently held by General Joe Dunford, Carter said the role would remain outside of the Pentagon's direct chain of command, which currently flows from the president to the defense secretary to the relevant commanders.

Carter also called for simpler military acquisition processes and a greater coordination between various combatant commands, such as Africa Command and European Command, to deal with trans-regional threats such as the IS group.

He suggested each command could become more efficient if fewer four-star generals worked at the head of each organization.

"Billets currently filled by four-star generals and admirals will be filled by three-stars in the future," he said.

The Pentagon can execute some of its proposals under its own authority, and will do so in the "coming weeks," Carter said. Other decisions will need congressional approval.

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China on Tuesday imposed restrictions on imports of North Korean coal and iron, Beijing's commerce ministry said, in line with United Nations sanctions on the country following its nuclear and missile tests.

The coal trade between the neighbours was worth $1 billion last year, Chinese Customs figures show, but the announcement allowed for trade to continue if the proceeds were for livelihood purposes.

The move also put in place bans on the import of gold, titanium and rare earth metals from the North, as well as some sales of aviation fuel to it, in line with the UN Security Council measures.

The council approved the measures in March, in the wake of a fourth atomic test by Pyongyang, and Beijing pledged strictly to implement them.

But the resolution's language -- concluded after seven weeks of hard negotiations between Washington and Beijing -- left significant loopholes for Pyongyang's key economic supporter to continue business as usual.

China is the North's main provider of trade and aid and the text allowed for commerce in certain goods, including coal and iron, to carry on as long as the proceeds did not support Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

The UN did not set criteria for making that determination, leaving each country to make its own decision.

The exceptions were mirrored in the text of the statement by China's commerce ministry, which also provided a letter for companies to sign "solemnly" pledging that their imports of the products were "not related to North Korea's nuclear programme or ballistic missile programme".

Aviation fuel sales could also be permitted for humanitarian and some civil aviation purposes.

Trade with China is crucial for the isolated and impoverished North, which has suffered regular food shortages and an outright famine in the mid-1990s.

In 2014 China accounted for more than 90 percent of North Korea's $7.61 billion in total trade, according to the latest available figures from South Korea's state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

Washington has long held that changing North Korea's behaviour depends on China's willingness to use its economic leverage.

But Beijing has resisted targeting Pyongyang's fragile economy for fear of provoking the regime's collapse, potentially leading to a flood of cross-border refugees and ultimately the prospect of US troops stationed on its border in a reunified Korea.

That stance has become harder and harder to maintain, as Pyongyang has continued to defy both the international community and Beijing's efforts to restrain it.

In recent weeks North Korea has repeatedly fired projectiles into the East Sea.

The latest fit of pique followed a meeting last week between US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, where they agreed to fully implement sanctions against Pyongyang.

The leader was in Washington for a two-day nuclear security summit being hosted by Obama, at which the American president also discussed North Korea's nuclear threat with Japan and South Korea.

N. Korea video shows rocket attack on South's president
Seoul (AFP) April 5, 2016 - An official North Korean website has released a new propaganda video portraying a multiple rocket attack on South Korea's presidential Blue House and other government buildings in Seoul.

It was uploaded Monday to the DPRK Today website, which had released another video 10 days before depicting a nuclear attack on Washington.

Tensions have been rising on the Korean peninsula ever since the North conducted its fourth nuclear test on January 6.

Over the past month, Pyongyang has issued repeated threats of strikes against Seoul and Washington, largely in response to annual South Korea-US war games that kicked off in early March.

The ongoing joint exercises have been larger than usual and included a special operation to "decapitate" the North Korean leadership in the event of a full-scale conflict.

Pyongyang took that as a direct threat to leader Kim Jong-Un, and the Korean People's Army (KPA) recently issued an "ultimatum" demanding South Korean President Park Geun-Hye apologise and punish those who formulated the strategy.

The new 88-second video -- entitled "If the ultimatum goes unanswered" -- showed rockets fired from mobile launchers in the North slamming into the Blue House and destroying the buildings in a ball of fire.

It ended with the warning: "Everything will turn into ashes".

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Two astronomers at Columbia University in New York suggest humanity could use lasers to conceal the Earth from searches by advanced extraterrestrial civilisations. Professor David Kipping and graduate student Alex Teachey make the proposal in a paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Several prominent scientists, including Stephen Hawking, have cautioned against humanity broadcasting our presence to intelligent life on other planets. Other civilisations might try to find Earth-like planets using the same techniques we do, including looking for the dip in light when a planet moves directly in front of the star it orbits.

These events - transits - are the main way that the Kepler mission and similar projects search for planets around other stars. So far Kepler alone has confirmed more than 1,000 planets using this technique, with tens of these worlds similar in size to the Earth.

Kipping and Teachey speculate that alien scientists may use this approach to locate our planet, which will be clearly in the 'habitable zone' of the Sun, where the temperature is right for liquid water, and so be a promising place for life.

Hawking and others are concerned that extraterrestrials might wish to take advantage of the Earth's resources, and that their visit, rather than being benign, could be as devastating as when Europeans first travelled to the Americas.

The two authors of the new study suggest that transits could be masked by controlled laser emission, with the beam directed at the star where the aliens might live. When the transit takes place, the laser would be switched on to compensate for the dip in light.

According to the authors, emitting a continuous 30 MW laser for about 10 hours, once a year, would be enough to eliminate the transit signal, at least in visible light.

The energy needed is comparable to that collected by the International Space Station in a year. A chromatic cloak, effective at all wavelengths, is more challenging, and would need a large array of tuneable lasers with a total power of 250 MW.

"Alternatively, we could cloak only the atmospheric signatures associated with biological activity, such as oxygen, which is achievable with a peak laser power of just 160 kW per transit. To another civilisation, this should make the Earth appear as if life never took hold on our world", said Alex.

As well as cloaking our presence, the lasers could also be used to modify the way the light from the Sun drops during a transit to make it obviously artificial, and thus broadcast our existence. The authors suggest that we could transmit information along the laser beams at the same time, providing a means of communication.

David comments: "There is an ongoing debate as to whether we should advertise ourselves or hide from advanced civilisations potentially living on planets elsewhere in the Galaxy. Our work offers humanity a choice, at least for transit events, and we should think about what we want to do."

Given that humanity is already capable of modifying transit signals, it may just be that aliens have had the same thought. The two scientists propose that the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), which mostly currently looks for alien radio signals, could be broadened to search for artificial transits.

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The first fixed-wing variant of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System has been delivered to a Marine Attack Squadron of AV-8B Harriers by the U.S. Navy.

The APKWS is a 2.75-inch rocket with semi-active laser guidance for precision strikes in built up areas. It has been used by helicopters.

The Navy said the fixed-wing variant system was delivered to the Marines earlier this month.

"This capability will provide commanders with a warfighting alternative to better enable weapon-to-target pairing," said Col. Fred Schenk, AV-8B Harrier Weapon System (PMA-257) program manager.

PMA-257 and the Direct and Time Sensitive Strike program office, PMA-242, worked together to define a two-phase program to quickly field the variant. The first phase expedited fielding of 80 guidance kits. The second phase will expand the fixed-wing APKWS employment envelope.

"The intent of this requirement was to quickly provide the AV-8B with a low-cost, low-collateral damage, high-precision weapon in support of combat operations," said Navy Capt. Al Mousseau, PMA-242 program manager. "This entire effort showcases what unity of effort among all government and industry stakeholders can accomplish to expediently deliver capability."

APKWS is made by BAE Systems.

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The Russian space agency Roscosmos will transfer control over the ground infrastructure of the Glonass global positioning system to the country's defense ministry later this year, Roscosmos head Igor Komarov, said Wednesday.

"Key problems have been solved... [The infrastructure will be handed over] this year," Komarov told reporters, answering a question on the subject.

Glonass is a satellite navigation system, which offers an alternative to the US Global Positioning System (GPS). The Glonass network provides real-time positioning and speed data for surface, sea and airborne objects around the globe.

The system currently consists of 28 satellites, of which 23 are operational, and a number of ground relay stations.

related report
Russia to Launch 44 Satellites Into Orbit by 2025 in $1.3 Bln Program

Russia is planning to orbit 44 satellites by 2025 with cost amounting to 87.4 billion rubles ($1.3 billion), Roscosmos State Corporation said Wednesday.

"In the period of 2016-2025, 44 space satellites will be put into orbit. The total volume of budget financing is 87.4 billion rubles," Roscosmos stated in documents provided to journalists.

Source: Sputnik News

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