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**Good news for U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The company likely will post higher 4th quarter earnings, a trend that began under President George Bush. In fact, its earnings more than doubled under Bush. The higher profits may continue under Barack Obama. Bloomberg reports that Lockheed’s earnings rose one percent to $1.91.

Boston-based analyst Cai Von Rumohr said, “Defense stocks were pretty awful in the fourth quarter on a growing recognition of pension issues and concern Obama would be worse for the industry…With Obama wanting to create jobs it’s much less likely he’ll be looking at the defense budget as a way to save money. That would be counterproductive.” (Bloomberg)

**In other Lockheed news, UPI reports that the company’s F-35 stealth Lightning Joint Strike Fighter is designed to destroy Russia’s S-300, some of which Russia may have sold to rogue state Iran. With Israel in Syria’s and Iran’s sights, the U.S. is ready, willing, and able to supply our ally with missile defense technology like the F-35. (UPI)

**According to the AFP, India’s latest missile defense test was a failure. Indian scientists said the Russia/India-developed BrahMos missile “had flown only in the general direction of its target.” The missile was fired from the Pokhran range near the Pakistan border. (AFP)

Incidentally, India has been in talks with the U.S. to buy a missile defense system. An American embassy official reportedly said, “India is a partner of ours, and we want to provide it with whatever it needs to protect itself…This fits into the overall strategic partnership we are building.”

Russia rolls on with its joint missile development plans. RIA Novosti reports that Russia and India will be developing a new BrahMos-2 hypersonic cruise missile. BrahMos Aerospace CEO Sivathanu Pillai, said, “The new hypersonic missile will have a top speed of over Mach 5, which would make it impossible to intercept.”

BrahMos is owned by Russia and India, and it makes and markets BrahMos supersonic missiles. The missile has a range of 180 miles and the capacity to carry  a conventional warhead of up to 660 pounds. (Source: RIA Novosti)

UPI is reporting that Iran is planning to launch a satellite using a new booster rocket. According to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the 16-motor space vehicle will have a boost range of 420 miles. This is Iran’s third launch this year. (Source: UPI)

According to a new report by the State Department, the U.S. needs to build new advanced weapon systems in response to China’s build-up of nuclear weapons. Although U.S. policy acknowledges the need to defend against Iran and North Korea, the report is the first to include China. The Washington Times, which based the story on a draft of the report, notes that China’s defense strategy extends beyond retaking Taiwan. (Last month we told you that Taiwan’s new president, Ma Ying-jeou, wants his country and China to enter into a peaceful relationship.)

An excerpt from the Washington Times:

“The draft report presents a tough assessment of Chinese strategic modernization that goes beyond many current government and private-sector analyses that say that China’s military modernization does not pose a major challenge to U.S. security interests.

“For example, in an interview with The Washington Times in March, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden expressed professional ‘admiration’ for China’s rapid and sophisticated buildup and said it is ‘not inevitable that they will be an enemy.’ The report said that to reduce the chance of a miscalculation by China that could lead to a crisis or conflict, the United States ‘must take seriously China’s challenge to U.S. military superiority in the Asia-Pacific region. … China’s military modernization is proceeding at a rate … to be of concern even with the most benign interpretation of China’s motivation.’” (Source: Washington Times)