Defense Articles

A 46-year-old man was detained at East London Airport, South Africa on 19 January after live ammunition was discovered in his luggage.

The Amalinda man was due to travel on a South African Express flight to Durban, when officials discovered two magazines and five rounds of live ammunition concealed in his luggage. Officials noticed the ammunition during an X-ray.

The man - who claims that he was unaware the ammunition was in his luggage - has been charged under the Firearm and Ammunition Act. The man’s wife produced a firearm licence after his arrest, however the charges still stand as the licence was not on his person at the time.

Henry Cecil starts the last full week of the turf season pounds 22,279 behind Saeed bin Suroor in the race for the trainers’ title and admitted yesterday: “I haven’t got much chance. I haven’t got the ammunition left. But win or lose I have enjoyed it.”

Cecil landed a double at Newmarket on Saturday with Ali-Royal and Palisade but his rival also scored with Saheeel and sent out Fatefully to finish third.

The ammunition was taken just after 8 p.m. at the Sportsman’s Warehouse. The man opened a box of .38 special bullets, grabbed between 15 and 20 rounds, put them in his pocket and ran, said Midvale police Sgt. Gregg Olsen.

A responding officer with his police K9 spotted the man and began chasing him. The man scaled several fences and was able to lose the officer. Police from several jurisdictions set up a large containment area with K9s but were unable to find him.

Olsen said while the one officer was chasing the man, he thought he noticed a gun in his waistband.

Police released a photo of the man late Thursday taken from a surveillance camera at the store. Investigators were looking for a Hispanic male in his 20s with greased-back black hair. He was wearing a black shirt with white stripes and black jeans.

American Ammunition, Inc. (OTCBB:AAMI) announced today that it received its Certificate of Authorization from the Chief Inspector of Explosives of Canada authorizing it to ship product into the country. This will enable AAMI to freely negotiate contracts with interested Canadian buyers.

Andres Fernandez, President and CEO of American Ammunition, Inc. stated, “We have been anxiously awaiting this approval. With this approval and the benefits of NAFTA, we feel that we can expand our sales and provide an economical alternative to the people of Canada.”

About American Ammunition, Inc.- AAMI is an autonomous manufacturer of ammunition, with the technology and equipment to take advantage of the growing market. It has an excellent reputation within the industry. The ammunition industry has experienced a 28% average increase in revenues annually between 1991 through 1998, and the trend is expected to continue through the year 2005 and beyond.

This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) the Company’s financing plans; (ii) trends affecting the Company’s financial condition or results of operations; (iii) the Company’s growth strategy and operating strategy; and (iv) the declaration and payment of dividends. The words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

In another partnership, Winchester Ammunition and Gerber Legendary Blades have teamed to produce a new line of Ranger tactical fixed and folding knives. The knives are crafted from 440A stainless steel and feature a non-reflective titanium nitride coating. They come in a choice of drop point or Tanto blade styles.

Fitch assigns its ‘AA’ rating to Lubbock, TX’s $66.9 million tax and wastewater system surplus revenue certificates of obligation (COs), series 2008, scheduled to sell via negotiation on Jan. 16 through a syndicate led by Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. Fitch also affirms its ‘AA’ rating on the city’s outstanding debt comprising $185.8 million general obligation bonds and $338.1 million COs. The Rating Outlook is Stable.

The COs are direct obligations of the city and are payable from a direct annual ad valorem tax levied, limited to $2.50 per $100 assessed valuation, against all taxable property within the city. The COs are additionally payable from a pledge of surplus net revenues of the city’s wastewater system. The CO proceeds will be used for wastewater system improvements and to pay the costs of issuance.

The ‘AA’ rating reflects the city’s restoration of solid financial reserves, the prevailing health and stability of the local economy, and the moderate direct tax-supported debt burden on city residents. Also considered in the rating is the city’s relationship with its electric utility, Lubbock Power and Light (LP&L revenue bonds rated ‘BBB+’ with a Stable Rating Outlook by Fitch), the financial posture of which has improved, minimizing its potential impact on the city’s general fund operations.

NEW YORK — CWMBS, Inc.’s (CWMBS) mortgage pass-through certificates, CHL mortgage pass-through trust 2005-J4 is rated by Fitch as follows:

–$194.5 million classes A-1 through A-8, PO, X, and A-R certificates (senior certificates) ‘AAA’;

–$3.2 million class M certificates ‘AA’;

–$1.6 million class B-1 certificates ‘A’;

–$705,000 million class B-2 certificates ‘BBB’;

–$503,500 class B-3 certificates ‘BB’;

–$302,100 class B-4 certificates ‘B’.

The ‘AAA’ rating on the senior certificates reflects the 3.40% subordination provided by the 1.60% class M, the 0.80% class B-1, the 0.35% class B-2, the 0.25% privately offered class B-3, the 0.15% privately offered class B-4, and the 0.25% privately offered class B-5 (not rated by Fitch). Classes M, B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4 are rated ‘AA’, ‘A’, ‘BBB’, ‘BB’ and ‘B’, respectively, based on their respective subordination only.

Fitch believes the above credit enhancement will be adequate to support mortgagor defaults. In addition, the ratings also reflect the quality of the underlying mortgage collateral, strength of the legal and financial structures, and the master servicing capabilities of Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP (Countrywide Servicing), rated ‘RMS2+’ by Fitch, a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (CHL).

The certificates represent an ownership interest in a group of 30-year conventional, fully amortizing mortgage loans. The pool consists of 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loans totaling $161,536,039 as of the cut-off date, Oct. 1, 2005, secured by first liens on one- to four-family residential properties. The mortgage pool, as of the cut-off date, demonstrates an approximate weighted-average original loan-to-value ratio (OLTV) of 70.43%. The weighted average FICO credit score is approximately 741. Cash-out refinance loans represent 22.64% of the mortgage pool and second homes 2.82%. The average loan balance is $542,067. The three states that represent the largest portion of mortgage loans are California (28.51%), Virginia (19.89%), and Maryland (16.86%).

None of the mortgage loans are ‘high cost’ loans as defined under any local, state, or federal laws. For additional information on Fitch’s rating criteria regarding predatory lending legislation, please see the press release ‘Fitch Revises Rating Criteria in Wake of Predatory Lending Legislation,’ issued May 1, 2003, available on the Fitch Ratings web site at www.fitchratings.com.

CWMBS purchased the mortgage loans from CHL and deposited the loans in the trust, which issued the certificates, representing undivided beneficial ownership in the trust. The Bank of New York will serve as trustee. For federal income tax purposes, an election will be made to treat the trust fund as one or more real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs).

Fitch’s rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency’s public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch’s code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the ‘Code of Conduct’ section of this site.

NEW YORK — Fitch rates GMACM mortgage pass-through certificates, 2005-AF1 as follows:

–$218,986,322 classes A-1 through A-13, PO, IO, and R certificates (senior certificates) ‘AAA’;

–$6,946,000 class M-1 ‘AA’;

–$3,179,000 class M-2 ‘A’;

–$2,355,000 class M-3 ‘BBB’;

–$1,648,000 class B-1 ‘BB’;

–$824,000 class B-2 ‘B’.

The privately offered class B-3 ($1,531,153) is not rated by Fitch.

The ‘AAA’ rating on the senior certificates reflects the 7.00% subordination provided by the 2.95% class M-1, the 1.35% class M-2, the 1.00% class M-3, the 0.70% class B-1, the 0.35% class B-2, and the 0.65% class B-3.

Fitch believes the above credit enhancement will be adequate to support mortgagor defaults as well as bankruptcy, fraud and special hazard losses in limited amounts. In addition, the ratings reflect the quality of the mortgage collateral and the strength of the legal and financial structures and GMAC Mortgage Corporation’s capabilities as servicer. Fitch currently rates GMAC Mortgage Corporation ‘RPS1′ as a primary servicer for prime residential mortgage loans.

The total mortgage pool consists of 1,227 fixed-rate mortgage loans with an aggregate principal balance of approximately $235,469,476.02 as of the cut-off date, secured by first liens on one- to four-family residential properties. The weighted-average original loan-to-value ratio (OLTV) was 70.84%. Cash-out and rate/term refinance loans represent 52.46% and 14.81% of the mortgage pool, respectively. Second homes and investor property account for 4.22% and 17.45% of the pool. The average loan balance is $192,608.57. The weighted average FICO credit score is approximately 697. The three states that represent the largest portion of mortgage loans are California (19.85%), Massachusetts (8.78%) and Florida (7.88%).

The men and women of the San Diego Police Department got a much-appreciated Christmas present a while ago. In the beginning of 2003, they were limited to 9mm pistols firing 147-grain subsonic ammunition. By the beginning of 2004, it was a different ball game. The department’s approximately 2,000 sworn officers were authorized to carry .40 or .45 caliber semiautomatics too, with a broad approval policy that included conventional double action pistols, Springfield Armory XDs, Taurus 24/7s, Glocks and even cocked and locked 1911s. By the end of January 2004, some 450 of these cops had voted with their feet and their wallets and bought larger-caliber duty guns.

Says SDPD Rangemaster and Handgunner columnist Dave Douglas, of those who bought the larger caliber guns, “The Glock 21 is far and away the most used, followed by the SIG P220. We also have a smattering of about 60 1911 and HK users.” All these pistols are chambered for .45 ACE with SDPD issuing the 230 grain Federal Tactical hollowpoint.

ArmaLite’s new A-24 double-action 9mm semiauto handgun is available in both full-sized and compact steel-framed models. The frame, slide, and barrel on both versions are machined from steel forgings on high-grade computerized machinery. The full-size has a magazine capacity of 15 rounds. while the compact holds 13. Both versions are finished with military-grade magnesium phosphate and then heat cured for maximum corrosion resistance. Options include checkered grips and adjustable sights. Future calibers include a .45 and .40 S&W. plus polymer-frame lightweight models.