The Kolchuga is intended to detect the take-off and formation of aircraft groups at ranges beyond those of existing radar, as well as determine the course and speed of targets while designating them for air-defence systems. It can identify aerial targets through their emissions and identify the mode of aircraft weapon control systems.

Three Kolchuga stations would normally operate along with a command vehicle to provide accurate triangulation on a target. The system is claimed to have a range of 600 km (narrow beam) or 200 km (wide beam) along a front of 1,000 km.

It is not known how many Kolchuga stations Iran has acquired. However, sources told Jane's that each costs about USD25 million, with deliveries either recent or imminent.

http://www.janes.com/defence/news/jd...0922_1_n.shtml

When the newly independent Ukraine that had only just survived a severe economic crisis, developed an advanced passive radiolocation complex, it was a severe blow to the Americans, who were so sure of their domination in the air thanks to their stealth planes. On the one hand, the advantages of the attacker's "invisibility" were reduced to zero. On the other, passive radiolocation, i.e., the absence of the radar's own radiation, radically reduced the disadvantage of insufficient secrecy. Besides, an attacking object detected by a passive radar is never aware of its detection and so has no reasons to activate its own defenses. It means that the most important advantage is now in the hands of the air defense, especially considering the impression produced on experts by the latest Kolchuga modification.

- A complex consisting of three Kolchuga radar stations makes it possible to spot ground and surface targets and trace their movement within a radius of 600 km (air targets at the 10 km altitude - up to 800 km), which makes an effective early warning air defense system;

- The Kolchuga station is equipped with five meter-, decimeter-, and centimeter-range aerials, which provide for high radio sensitivity within a 110dB/W - 155 dB/W swath, depending on the frequency;

- A parallel 36-channel preset receiver makes it possible to spot instantly, identify, and classify signals from any source with unlimited input density within the entire frequency range from 130MHz to 18,000MHz;

- All radio objects are spotted and identified automatically, a powerful computer digitizing and identifying targets by comparing their parameters with the available databank, results being shown on a field display;

- Special inhibitory sorters omit up to 24 interfering signals, and tracking sorters make it possible to synchronously sort out and track signals from 32 targets;

- All normal operations require only one operator (two other operators work on a shift basis for 24-hour duty), who controls the station through dialog with a PC.

Since the whole U.S. non-nuclear military power hinges on stealth technologies, the prospect of worldwide proliferation of the unique Ukrainian radar systems definitely runs counter to U.S. interests. They were first demonstrated at the SOFEX-2000 arms expo in Jordan. That is, probably, why such close interest, especially from the United States, catalyzed the notorious "Kolchuga scandal".

The Ukrainian scientific, engineering, and design solutions in the field of passive radiolocation, embodied in the Kolchuga complex, are what is eating U.S. designers and government functionaries, who are responsible for stealth technologies in modern armaments. Such technologies are meant to fulfill every general's dream: to make his aircraft, ships, tanks, and other hardware invisible to enemies. The geometrical shape may be changed (like in the F-117 or B-2) to disperse a reflected signal from active radars, or there may be various wave-absorbing coatings to transform active signals into heat energy. But no modern military aircraft, tank, or ship can exist without its own radar. Without a radiating aerial it is simply "blind". That is why every aircraft, ship, and ground-based radar complex has active radiolocation devices. These devices are always on, emitting radio signals. Each specific type of hardware emits signals within different parameters. Consequently, a machine on which an emitting radar is mounted can be identified.

Competitors Lagging Far Behind

Such a promising trend as passive radiolocation is certainly of great interest to highly developed countries. But the Ukrainian Kolchuga radar, with all its technical and operational characteristics taken together, has no analogs anywhere in the world. And in its basic parameters it surpasses all known means of the same or similar purpose.

The 800-km detection range has been achieved only by the Ukrainian Kolchuga. The best the U.S. AWACS can do is 600 km, while the ground-based complexes Vera (Czech Republic) and Vega (Russia) can reach out up to 400 km - half what the Ukrainian complex can reach. The Kolchuga's lower limit of the working frequency range is 130MHz and is the lowest of all analogs. For the AWACS it is 2,000 MHz, for the Vera it is 850MHz, for the Vega it is 200MHz.

But where the Kolchuga has the greatest advantages is its ability to identify accurately radio objects thanks to unique algorithms and hi-tech equipment. In particular, the mean square deviation in frequency measurement - the most informative parameters for identifying types of spotted radio objects - is 0.4MHz in the Kolchuga. It is 0.5MHz - 1.0MHz in the Russian Vega, 1.0MHz in the U.S. AWACS, and as much as 3.6MHz - 21.0MHz in the Czech Vera. The maximal duration of detected impulses, measured by the Kolchuga, is 999.0 microseconds, versus 99.9 microseconds for the AWACS and 200 microseconds for the Vera. And the impulse repetition period can be measured by the Kolchuga up to the maximum of 79,999 microseconds, while no analogs can perform such measurements longer than 10,000 microseconds. As a result, the number of detected radio objects that the Kolchuga can classify is practically unlimited, which can not be said about any known analogs. The Ukrainian station has advanced algorithms and software programs for analyzing, systematizing, generalizing, and storing information about all radio objects and parameters of their signals. And the data already collected in the database can be used to identify newly detected radio objects and can be correlated with data obtained from other reconnaissance sources.

It should be noted that the Kolchuga's undeniable advantages are not accidental or temporary. The Ukrainian product is head and shoulders above all American, Russian, French, Czech, or Brazilian developments in this field. But those who developed and made this unique product aren't resting on their laurels. They continue to work.

Several contracts for exporting Kolchuga complexes have been fulfilled, but that is well below the export potential of this product, which already has numerous prospective buyers.

The fire caused $100,000 in damages and destroyed part of the roof. There were no injuries.

Police said the fire was the work of arsonists but added that they found no indication it was motivated by hate.

"At this time, we haven't got any evidence pointing towards a hate crime," Det. Will Hinterberger of the Ottawa Police Hate Crime Unit told the Ottawa Sun.

But Abdala Kheireddine, the chairman of the school board, told the paper he disagreed with the police assessment.

"As far a we're concerned, it's still under investigation [as a hate crime]," he said.

"In my time [at the school], neighbourhood kids would disturb some of the playground toys and things like that but never anything of this magnitude."

Abraar School made headlines in 2005 when two teachers were suspended after allegedly praising a student for an anti-Semitic essay he wrote. The story was about revenge on Israel for the assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the leader of the Hamas militant group.

School officials said they expected classes to run as usual on Monday.

U.S. crude was trading down 74 cents at $59.81 by 1027 GMT. London Brent was 86 cents lower at $59.55.

"You have summer support unwinding, very bad product market support and on top of that the U.S. economic slowdown is becoming more compelling," said Eoin O'Callaghan of BNP Paribas.

BP's move to restore output at its Alaskan oilfield earlier than expected added to a sense of healthy supply.

The UK major said on Friday it will add 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of output to Prudhoe Bay in about a week, lifting total production to 400,000 bpd less than two months after it was forced to halve flows due to a corroded line.

Prices have been under pressure as U.S. inventories of distillates climb to their highest in nearly eight years and natural gas stocks swell to record-high levels, assuring consumers of ample winter fuel supplies.

At the same time, investors have begun to fret over the pace of U.S. economic growth -- a worry heightened last week after a key business activity index turned negative for the first time since April 2003, indicating a decline in manufacturing.

But Goldman Sachs cautioned the market's weakness may be fleeting, as a severe winter could eat into comfortable stocks while delays to new oilfields and refineries may put renewed strain on global capacity by the end of this year.

Even those who say the market may struggle to rebound warn that further losses are likely to be checked soon by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), many of whom say $50-$60 is a desirable price level.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said last week that prices were "reasonable", a shift from calling prices "high" that some analysts read as a signal for potential output action.

"OPEC has a very difficult decision to make because if they try and maintain a price support to high then they will exacerbate the downturn for the world next year that we are forecasting," said O'Callaghan.

Geopolitical worries remained on the backburner, with major powers at the United Nations still trying to reach consensus over sanctions on Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter.

French television and radio reported that racial insults and swastikas were also scrawled on the walls of a mosque in Carcassonne in southern France.

The Movement against Racism (MRAP) condemned the attacks and said they were a consequence of a link that was increasingly being made between Islam and terrorism, as well as talk of the "Islamisation" of France by far-right politicians in the run up to next year's presidential election.

"MRAP plans to take legal action over this Islamophobe act," the group said in a statement.

"It calls once again for more vigilance and a significant mobilization to stamp out this worrying increase of racism against Arabs and Muslims."

The Quimper mosque had already had been vandalized several times since it was built in February 2003.

Five million Muslims live in France, the largest Muslim minority in Europe.

This was a clear Bush administration attempt at harassment and deliberate Gestapo-like thuggery as well as a gross violation of international protocol. It was also an irrational act of retaliatory muscle-flexing by an administration losing control and reacting like a schoolyard hoodlum in response to President Hugo Chavez having had the courage to denounce George Bush's corrupted neoliberal policies on a world stage at the UN and to publicly call the US president the devil everyone knows he is. The Foreign Minister told Venezuelan reporters police officers threatened to handcuff and beat him physically if he resisted. They then held him in detention for 90 minutes before he was released denying him at any time any outside contact or legal help.

The reason given by airport officials for his detention was the allegation that he was involved in an aborted coup in Venezuela - 14 years ago in 1992 in which Hugo Chavez as an army officer was involved. It was directed against then President Carlos Andres Perez who happened to be a personal friend of GHW Bush. Perez at the time was extremely unpopular. During his 1988 winning presidential campaign, he promised vitally needed reforms for his people. Then after taking office in 1989 he adopted the same destructive neoliberal policies as before in violation of everything he said he would do. In 1993 Perez was impeached and jailed on multi-million dollar corruption charges but later was given asylum in the US where he now lives in a luxurious Manhattan apartment in New York city. This kind of treatment is a common practice by many US administrations as a show of gratitude to former deposed friendly dictators and former criminals in their employ or in service to their interests. They're allowed to come to the US to enjoy a permanent home in luxury out of the reach of authorities at home that wish to prosecute them for their crimes.

The situation with Minister Maduro is now resolved as inadequate as it is to say that. The Venezuelan government, of course, demands a full apology for this inexcusable act of abuse and effrontery. So far the only statement of apology has come from a low-level US State Department spokesperson, and it was a mealy-mouthed one that may have been intended to continue the insult against the Minister, his government, and, of course, Hugo Chavez above all others.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

He said it would be interesting to see what impact Chavez's speech would have on Venezuela's quest for a seat on the US Security Council.

"He has also been sending money to other countries in South America to try to destabilize them or get elected those who he believes would follow in his footsteps," Pace said. Noting that Cuba's Fidel Castro is ill, Pace suggested his passing would be an opportunity for political change there. "Sooner or later, just like me, he's going to die," he said. "And then the Cuban people will have an opportunity again to state who they are and establish the kind of a government they want to have," he said.

Pace described Latin America as "a large family" with common goals and aspirations. "But we need to be alert to the fact that there are forces brewing right now that are not friendly to the United States and not friendly to other freedom-loving countries in this hemisphere. And together we need to do something about it," he said.