Smash EDO plans "summer of resistance" in Brighton (From The Argus)

• "since you asked
  
  Some of the evidence
  
  
  
  Archived EDO Corp ZRFAU promotional document http://web.archive.o
  rg/web/2007092721411
  3/http://www.edocorp
  .com/documentation/Z
  eroRetentionForceArm
  ingUt.pdf (accessed June 2009)
  
  Archived EDO Corp Promotional document http://web.archive.o
  rg/web/2004040112023
  3/http://www.mbmtech
  .co.uk/br.html (accessed 17 June 2009)
  
  
  
  Archived EDO MBM Website 2003-07 Pylon Ancillaries page http://web.archive.o
  rg/web/2003100812512
  0/http://www.mbmtech
  .co.uk/pa.html
  
  Archived EDO MBM Bomb Racks page that was removed in 2004 http://web.archive.o
  rg/web/2003121508203
  6/www.mbmtech.co.uk/
  br.html
  
  EDO MBM contracts with the USAF to supply parts for A-10s and F-16s
  https://www.fbo.gov/
  index?s=opportunity&
  mode=form&id=0a3d78e
  f79c64a80d119f316c8a
  d8b19&tab=core&_cvie
  w=1
  
  EDO Smart Weapon Connector System Selected by Royal Netherlands Air Force for F-16.
  
  Business Wire | November 20, 2005 | COPYRIGHT 2005 Business Wire.
  
  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- EDO MBM Technology Ltd, a U.K. business unit of EDO Corporation (NYSE: EDO), has received a contract from the Royal Netherlands Air Force for F-16 pylon umbilicals equipped with its Field Replaceable Connector System (FRCS). This is the first F-16 FRCS contract and marks a significant revenue opportunity for EDO as operators worldwide adopt the new certified standard.
  
  EDO MBM originally developed the FRCS in response to the degraded operational capability resulting from high separation loads and subsequent harness and pylon damage being ...
  
  ---
  
  EDO unit signs contract with Netherlands Air Force
  
  Long Island Business News, Nov 21, 2005 by Ken Schachter
  http://findarticles.
  com/p/articles/mi_qn
  4189/is_20051121/ai_
  n15848564/?tag=conte
  nt;col1
  
  A unit of EDO Corp. (NYSE: EDO) has signed a contract with the Royal Netherlands Air Force for pylon umbilical connector systems used in the release of smart bombs on F-16 jets, the company said.Details of the contract with U.K.-based EDO MBM Technology were not disclosed.The company's stock was up 16 cents to $26.74 in mid- afternoon trading.EDO's Long Island operations include facilities in Bohemia and North Amityville.
  Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
  Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserve
  -----
  
  
  EDO MBM Technology Ltd, a business unit of EDO Corporation, has achieved flight certification for F-16 pylon umbilicals equipped with its Field Replaceable Connector System (FRCS).
  
  June 13, 2005 (by Lieven Dewitte) -
  
  EDO MBM developed the FRCS in response to the degraded operational capability resulting from high separation loads and subsequent harness (& pylon) damage being universally experienced during "smart" Mil-Std-1760 weapon release. FRCS prevents connector jamming, ensures low and consistent separation loads, and is fully field replaceable/repairab
  le.
  
  FRCS-equipped umbilicals were first used during the UK "Urgent Operational Requirement" integration of Enhanced Paveway II onto Harrier GR7 and are now under full production for RAF Tornado GR4 and Harrier GR9.
  
  EDO MBM developed the F-16 application with improved routing of the umbilical through the pylon to further assist weapon loading. Umbilicals are now certified for 100 eject releases, an order of magnitude improvement that more than justifies the cost of embodiment. The capability is now being offered to F-16 operators worldwide.
  
  Certification is in progress for several other NATO fighter platforms.
  _____
  
  
  DATE:02/05/06
  
  SOURCE:Flight International
  
  http://www.flightglo
  bal.com/articles/200
  6/05/02/206294/penta
  gon-adds-foreign-equ
  ipment-to-comparativ
  e-test.html
  
  Pentagon adds foreign equipment to comparative test programme
  
  ...
  
  Other projects include evaluation of a “smart bomb” umbilical connector for the 1760 weapon databus developed by the UK’s EDO MBM Technology;...
  ________
  
  ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
  US Patent Granted 29 August 2006
  
  http://patft.uspto.g
  ov/netacgi/nph-Parse
  r?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=H
  ITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%
  2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fs
  rchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l
  =50&s1=7097490.PN.&O
  S=PN/7097490&RS=PN/7
  097490
  
  __________________
  
  According to US Govt records on 14 May 2008 EDO MBM were awarded a manufacturing contract by the United States Air Force for 2,638 Electrical Connectors for the American A-10 Thunderbolt II military jet used for 'close air support' operations in Iraq.
  
  The contract (file ref. FA8221-08-R-73182) was worth $183,713 and was marked
  
  “Priority: C. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY URGENT REQUIREMENT CONCERNING PUBLIC EXIGENCY.”
  
  All items were required on or before 30 June 2008
  
  Solicitation Notice
  
  http://216.239.59.10
  4/search?q=cache:tct
  CZxNruyQJ:www.fbodai
  ly.com/archive/2008/
  03-March/12-Mar-2008
  /FBO-01528280.htm+SC
  D-M11579&hl=en&ct=cl
  nk&cd=2&lr=lang_en
  
  Award Notice
  
  https://www.fbo.gov/
  index?s=opportunity&
  mode=form&id=0a3d78e
  f79c64a80d119f316c8a
  d8b19&tab=core&_cvie
  w=1
  
  --------------------
  
  
  25 August 2008
  ITT recieves full field recommendation for its Field Replaceable Connector System
  
  http://www.defense.i
  tt.com/media/news_20
  08-08-25.pdf
  _________
  
  ITT’s Field Replaceable Connector System achieves "No-Jam" success
  at Exercise Red Flag
  http://es.is.itt.com
  /pr2008/pr08_0902.ht
  m
  
  BRIGHTON, U.K. – September 2, 2008 – ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) today announced its Field Replaceable Connector System (FRCS) has achieved clean electrical weapon separation during the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Exercise Red Flag. Exercise Red Flag provides highly realistic combat training, including the release of live smart ordnance, in a combined air, ground and electronic threat environment.
  The FRCS is a jam-resistant weapons interface connector for installation on F-16 MLU Fighting Falcons from the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Its new ‘push to fit’ design replaces the traditional screw-on connectors that have often jammed at separation causing physical damage and posing risk to mission, aircraft and weapon.
  ITT’s FRCS recently completed successful field testing through USAF Foreign Comparative Testing and a full-fielding recommendation for use on F-16 MIL-STD-1760 weapons. FRCS pylon umbilical assemblies are in service on Tornado IDS, Harrier GR7/9, Typhoon, A-10C Thunderbolt and currently undergoing certification for F-15E Strike Eagle, Gripen, AV-8B, F/A-18 Hornet and several smart multiple store carriage systems.
  ITT Integrated Structures serves three primary markets: aircraft-armament suspension and release equipment, electronic weapons interface systems, and advanced composite structures and subsystems for both military and commercial customers.
  
  
  What id the F-15?
  http://en.wikipedia.
  org/wiki/F-15_Eagle
  
  _
  
  ITT Press Release 22 Jan 2009
  
  ITT receives USAF contract to install Field Replaceable Connector System
  on F-15E Strike Eagle
  
  CLIFTON, N.J. – January 22, 2009 – ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) today
  announced that it has been awarded a contract to deliver Field Replaceable
  Connector System (FRCS) weapon umbilicals (flexible cable that connects
  the payload to the aircraft before release) for the F-15E Strike Eagle for
  delivery in February 2009. This award clears the way for long-term
  embodiment of the FRCS weapon umbilical across all F-15E squadrons.
  
  Building on the success of providing smart-weapon umbilicals for many of
  the leading fighter jets including the F-16, F/A-18, A-10, B-1B, AV-8B,
  Gripen, Harrier GR7/9, Tornado GR4 and Tornado IDS, and Typhoon platforms,
  ITT has developed the interconnecting system solution for the F-15E Strike
  Eagle. Work will be performed at ITT Electronic Systems’ Integrated
  Structures facility in *Brighton, United Kingdom*. (MY EMPHASIS)
  
  "We’re pleased to be upgrading this important mission equipment for the
  F-15, and we remain committed to effectively support the services as they
  perform in extremely demanding environments," said ITT Electronic Systems
  President Chris Bernhardt.
  
  ITT’s FRCS, with a push-to-fit design, provides an efficient, jam free,
  electrical interface on weapon disconnect with predictable and consistent
  separation force. Previous equipment frequently jammed, causing risk of
  weapon damage. The FRCS weapon umbilical utilizes flexible cable from W.
  L. Gore & Associates. Demonstrated through ground trials, the FRCS weapon
  umbilical assembly life has been certified in more than 100 ejected
  releases.
  
  This award has further potential for other aircraft including the F-35
  Joint Strike Fighter and F-22 Raptor.
  
  ITT Electronic Systems is one of the world’s leading suppliers of
  electronic warfare technology for mission success and survivability. Key
  technologies include integrated EW systems for self-protection,
  reconnaissance and surveillance, force protection, mine defense, naval
  command/sonar applications, and submarine communication and tracking. In
  addition, Electronic Systems produces aircraft armament suspension/release
  equipment; electronic weapons interface systems, and advanced composite
  structures and subsystems, as well as Gilfillan precision landing and air
  traffic systems.
  
  About ITT
  ITT Corporation (www.itt.com) is a diversified high-technology engineering
  and manufacturing company dedicated to creating more livable environments,
  enabling communications and providing protection and safety. The company
  plays an important role in vital markets including water and fluids
  management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. ITT
  employs approximately 40,000 people serving customers in more than 50
  countries. Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., the company generated $9
  billion in 2007 sales.
  
  Contacts:
  
  
  Ed Mygland
  Integrated Structures Business Development
  ed.mygland@itt.com
  
  Suanne Connolly
  Integrated Structures Communications
  suanne.connolly@itt.
  com
  . http://es.is.itt.com
  /pr2009/pr09_0122.ht
  m
  
  ***
  
  Use of USAF F-15 in airtstrikes killing civilians after February 2009
  
  
  Afghans riot over air-strike atrocity
  
  Witnesses say deaths of 147 people in three villages came after a
  sustained bombardment by American aircraft. Patrick Cockburn, in Herat,
  reports
  
  Friday, 8 May 2009
  
  
  Shouting "Death to America" and "Death to the Government", thousands of
  Afghan villagers hurled stones at police yesterday as they vented their
  fury at American air strikes that local officials claim killed 147
  civilians.
  
  The riot started when people from three villages struck by US bombers in
  the early hours of Tuesday, brought 15 newly-discovered bodies in a truck
  to the house of the provincial governor. As the crowd pressed forward in
  Farah, police opened fire, wounding four protesters. Traders in the rest
  of Farah city, the capital of the province of the same name where the
  bombing took place, closed their shops, vowing they would not reopen them
  until there is an investigation.
  
  A local official Abdul Basir Khan said yesterday that he had collected the
  names of 147 people who had died, making it the worst such incident since
  the US intervened in Afghanistan started in 2001. A phone call from the
  governor of Farah province, Rohul Amin, in which he said that 130 people
  had died, was played over the loudspeaker in the Afghan parliament in
  Kabul, sparking demands for more control over US operations.
  
  The protest in Farah City is the latest sign of a strong Afghan reaction
  against US air attacks in which explosions inflict massive damage on
  mud-brick houses that provide little protection against bomb blasts. A
  claim by American officials, which was repeated by the US Defence
  Secretary Robert Gates yesterday in Kabul, that the Taliban might have
  killed people with grenades because they did not pay an opium tax is not
  supported by any eyewitnesses and is disproved by pictures of deep bomb
  craters, one of which is filled with water. Mr Gates expressed regret for
  the incident but did not go so far as to accept blame.
  
  The US admits that it did conduct an air strike at the time and place, but
  it is becoming clear, going by the account of survivors, that the air raid
  was not a brief attack by several aircraft acting on mistaken
  intelligence, but a sustained bombardment in which three villages were
  pounded to pieces. Farouq Faizy, an Afghan radio reporter who was one of
  the first to reach the district of Bala Baluk, says villagers told him
  that bombs suddenly, "began to fall at 8pm on Monday and went on until
  10pm though some believe there were still bombs falling later". A
  prolonged bombing attack would explain why there are so many dead, but
  only 14 wounded received at Farah City hospital.
  
  The attack was on three villages – Gerani, Gangabad and Koujaha – just off
  the main road. It is a poppy growing area of poor farmers and there were
  several fields of poppies near the villages. The Taliban are traditionally
  strong here and the police and soldiers waiting around the villages were
  said by eyewitnesses to be frightened. This would explain why Afghan army
  commanders might have been eager to call for US airstrikes, though they
  would have needed the agreement of American special operations officers.
  
  Provincial officials, including the governor Rohul Amin, say that in the
  lead-up to the bombing there was heavy fighting between hundreds of
  Taliban and the Afghan Army and police. Going by Mr Faizy's account there
  had been, "a fight some seven or eight kilometres from the three villages
  in which two Afghan Army and a US Humvee were destroyed. A third Afghan
  Army vehicle was captured." Three police were killed and four wounded, as
  was one American and one Afghan army soldier. This was hardly a major
  military engagement, but the pro-government forces seem to have got the
  worst of it and their burned out vehicles still stand in the road.
  
  The loss of life in Afghanistan from air strikes is often worse than in
  Iraq where houses are more modern and usually have basements. In the
  villages in Farah, people were living in compounds with mud brick walls
  which crumbled easily. Pictures of the aftermath of the attack show people
  standing beside the remains of a relative which often only looks like a
  muddy pile of torn meat. One elderly white bearded man, said by neighbours
  to have lost 30 members of his family, squats despairingly beside a body
  that has been torn into shreds. Among the few wounded to stay alive is a
  child with a badly burned face.
  
  One reason why US bombing inflicts such heavy civilian casualties in
  Afghanistan and Iraq is that both are very poor countries in which houses
  are very crowded. When the US used air strikes and heavy artillery with
  little restraint in the siege of Fallujah in 2004 it caused serious loss
  of life. Wedding parties in both countries have often been mistaken for
  "terrorist" gatherings and bombed.
  
  In Afghanistan opinion polls show that support for the Taliban and for
  armed attacks on foreign forces rises sharply after events like the
  bombing in Farah. President Hamid Karzai frequently criticises the US
  military for wantonly inflicting civilian casualties, attacks which his
  opponents say is an opportunistic effort to burnish his nationalist
  credentials.
  
  The Taliban increasingly use tactics developed by insurgents in Iraq,
  notably suicide bombing on a mass scale and IEDs, or mines in the road
  detonated by a control wires or electronically. In Helmand province
  yesterday a suicide bomber killed 12 civilians in an attack on a foreign
  military convoy near the bazaar of the town of Gereshk. No foreign troops
  were killed by the explosion, though two were wounded.
  
  
  *****
  
  The Irish Times - Saturday, November 7, 2009
  Germany admits errors in air strike that killed civilians in Afghanistan
  
  http://www.irishtime
  s.com/newspaper/worl
  d/2009/1107/12242582
  79913.html
  
  BERLIN – German troops made mistakes but acted appropriately when they
  ordered an air strike on two fuel trucks in Afghanistan that killed dozens
  of civilians, defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said yesterday.
  
  In his first comments on the September 4th attack, Mr Guttenberg backed up
  the German army’s initial assessment of a confidential Nato investigation
  into the attack on Taliban fighters.
  
  “Given the overall threat assessment, the air strike was militarily
  appropriate,” Mr Guttenberg said after briefing parliamentary floor
  leaders on the Nato report.
  
  “There were procedural errors, certain shortcomings in training, and
  questions were raised about the rules of engagement,” the conservative
  minister added. “But even if there had been none, an air strike would have
  been necessary.”
  
  The attack was the most deadly operation involving German troops since the
  second World War, killing 69 Taliban fighters and 30 civilians, according
  to the Afghan government.
  
  Mr Guttenberg also acknowledged there were civilian victims – the German
  government’s first official recognition of this.
  
  Germany has put pressure on Nato not to issue an outright condemnation of
  the officer who ordered the strike, Col Georg Klein, because it could lead
  to legal problems, according to German media reports.
  
  The attack, carried out by a US F-15 fighter jet, was condemned by several
  European foreign ministers. Germany has said it was necessary to protect
  its troops from a possible suicide attack by Taliban fighters who had
  hijacked the trucks.
  
  Mr Guttenberg took office last month after a general election and has
  quickly earned the respect of some soldiers, who see him as a straight
  talker in touch with the troops.
  
  He broke a taboo kept by his predecessor, Franz-Josef Jung, by using the
  word “war” to refer to Germany’s participation in the Nato-led mission.
  
  Germans remain highly sceptical of military operations more than 60 years
  after the defeat of the Nazis. It was only a decade ago that German troops
  participated in their first foreign combat mission since the war.
  
  Smart Weapon Connector System Selected by Royal Netherlands Air
  Force for F-16.
  
  Business Wire | November 20, 2005 | COPYRIGHT 2005 Business Wire.
  
  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- EDO MBM Technology Ltd, a U.K. business
  unit of EDO Corporation (NYSE: EDO), has received a contract from the
  Royal Netherlands Air Force for F-16 pylon umbilicals equipped with its
  Field Replaceable Connector System (FRCS). This is the first F-16 FRCS
  contract and marks a significant revenue opportunity for EDO as operators
  worldwide adopt the new certified standard.
  
  EDO MBM originally developed the FRCS in response to the degraded
  operational capability resulting from high separation loads and subsequent
  harness and pylon damage being ...
  
  __________________
  
  EDO unit signs contract with Netherlands Air Force
  
  Long Island Business News, Nov 21, 2005 by Ken Schachter
  http://findarticles.
  com/p/articles/mi_qn
  4189/is_20051121/ai_
  n15848564/?tag=conte
  nt;col1
  
  A unit of EDO Corp. (NYSE: EDO) has signed a contract with the Royal
  Netherlands Air Force for pylon umbilical connector systems used in the
  release of smart bombs on F-16 jets, the company said.Details of the
  contract with U.K.-based EDO MBM Technology were not disclosed.The
  company's stock was up 16 cents to $26.74 in mid- afternoon trading.EDO's
  Long Island operations include facilities in Bohemia and North Amityville.
  Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
  Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserve
  -----
  
  ****
  
  2. Netherlands admits air strike that killed Afghan civilians
  
  Afghanistan: Netherlands admits air strike that killed Afghan civilians
  
  
  Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP)
  
  Date: 02 Oct 2009
  
  THE HAGUE, Oct 2, 2009 (AFP) – A Dutch warplane dropped the bomb which
  Afghan authorities said killed nine civilians and four Taliban fighters in
  the south of the country on Wednesday, the Dutch defence ministry said.
  
  “It was a Dutch F-16 that dropped that laser-guided bomb,” ministry
  spokeswoman Marloes Visser told AFP on Thursday.
  
  Two Dutch F-16s based in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar were called
  in to provide air support to soldiers from NATO’s International Security
  Assistance Force (ISAF) engaged in intense combat with insurgents fighting
  from a compound in Nad Ali district of troubled Helmand province on
  Wednesday.
  
  Only one of the warplanes dropped a bomb, said Visser.
  
  “All of the procedures to pinpoint combatants were respected,” she said.
  “If there had the smallest doubt regarding the presence of civilians they
  wouldn’t have acted.”
  
  According to Helmand region officials six children and three women were
  killed in the attack, with at least three other civilians injured.
  
  “That’s terrible, it is something we never wanted to see happen and we try
  at all costs to avoid,” said Visser.
  
  Civilian casualties are a sensitive issue in Afghanistan, creating a rift
  between President Hamid Karzai’s government and international forces as
  well as resentment on the ground against foreign troops.
  
  Some 100,000 NATO and US-led troops are stationed in Afghanistan, helping
  the government fight a Taliban insurgency that is at its most deadly since
  the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the hardline regime.
  
  http://www.reliefweb
  .int/rw/rwb.nsf/db90
  0SID/KHII-7WFA3C?Ope
  nDocument"
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