US moves fighters to Baltic in lieu of Crimean tensions

The U.S. military is increasing its presence in Poland and the Baltics in response to the crisis in Ukraine, officials said Wednesday.

The U.S.military will deploy more jets to Britian including six F-15 fighters, one KC-135 re-fueler — to Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania, according to a U.S. defense official

In addition a dozen F-16s and 300 military will deploy next week to Lask air base in central Poland, for a combined exercise with the Polish Air Force.

The U.S. already has four F-15s in Lithuania as part of a NATO’s Baltic air policing rotation — jets that fly patrols and respond to airspace violations in the Baltics.

The NATO air patrols have been in place for a decade and include military aircraft from Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Belgium, Poland, Romania, Turkey, and Czech Republic.

At the request of Poland, the Pentagon is beefing up the number of U.S. airmen assigned to an aviation detachment in Poland that trains the Polish Air Force.

The United States has 10 Air Force personnel there now, as well as F-16s and C-130s. The U.S. defense official could not say how many additional airmen would go to Poland, but did say that they would arrive sometime this week — likely tomorrow.

In a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel refused to speculate on what the United States military response would be if Russian troops, who now control Crimea, advance toward Kiev.

Hagel also said supplying additional arms to Ukraine would be a joint NATO or presidential decision.

Canada is sending two observers to track military activities on the Crimean peninsula, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement Wednesday.

Russia sinks one of its own ships to block entrance to Black Sea

Yevpatoria, Ukraine: An anti-submarine boat may have been the first casualty of the Russian incursion into Crimea, but it was hardly an act of violence, much less war: The Russian navy sank one of its own, junked vessels to create an obstacle, a Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.

Ukraine Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Mazepa said Russian sailors pulled the anti-submarine vessel Ochakov out of a naval junkyard and sank it in the straits that connect the Black Sea with a body of water known as Donuzlav Lake. He said the act was intended to prevent Ukrainian navy ships from leaving a nearby base and going to sea.

The sinking was the latest in a series of moves by Russian naval forces in the area that were jangling the nerves of Ukrainian officers.

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Lockheed Martin to build next gen quantum computer

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Mar. 5, 2014 – Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] and the University of Maryland are partnering to develop an integrated quantum computing platform that has the potential to enhance fields ranging from drug discovery and communications to logistics.

The parties signed a memorandum of understanding today establishing the Quantum Engineering Center at the University of Maryland, College Park.  

“Classical computing can only take us so far,” said Dr. Ray O. Johnson, Lockheed Martin senior vice president and chief technology officer. “In the future, critical systems will become so complex that problems will take too long or become too expensive to solve using even our most powerful supercomputers. We believe the next computational revolution will stem from applied quantum science—a discipline that connects physics, information science, and engineering.”

Building on more than 60 years of collaboration, Lockheed Martin and the University of Maryland signed a formal strategic framework in 2010 to jointly pursue research and development projects and business opportunities. The Quantum Engineering Center is the most recent opportunity to push the boundaries of scientific discovery and innovation.

“By building on our world-class research expertise, the University of Maryland will transform the study of quantum mechanics into the practice of quantum engineering through this unique partnership with Lockheed Martin,” said Dr. Mary Ann Rankin, senior vice president and provost of the University of Maryland, College Park. “Together, we will bring multidisciplinary methods to an area that has the potential to transform the lives of citizens around the globe.”

The initial goal of the Quantum Engineering Center is to demonstrate a quantum platform that features reliable, well-characterized operation without requiring a user to have a deep understanding of the internal workings of the system—just like conventional computers work today. To achieve this will require close cooperation between scientists and engineers.

“In the case of quantum components, it’s like we’re back in 1947 working with the first semiconductor transistors,” said Dr. Chris Monroe, Bice Zorn professor of physics at the University of Maryland. “We are talking about unusual systems— specially tuned laser and microwave fields trained with exquisite precision onto individual atoms suspended with electrical fields and immersed in a vacuum chamber a million times less dense than outer space. Each aspect is challenging in its own way, but we understand exactly how every piece works. Our focus now is integrating these systems to consistently and reliably work in harmony, much like engineering a complex aircraft, so that the device is more than just a sum of its parts.”

About the University of Maryland

The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, two Pulitzer Prize winners, 49 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.8 billion operating budget, secures $500 million annually in external research funding and recently completed a $1 billion dollar fundraising campaign.

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 115,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.