Current Events in Mideast-Africa

As reported on the News, Security Council passes the No-Fly zone resolution 10-0 with 5 abstentions (Russia and China were 2 of the abstentions). So now what ??? Claims have been made of Arab support. Is Egypt likely to provide fighter-bomber support such as F16s? Or use of airbases? How much can France and UK bring if they can't use bases in Italy or Egypt? Can or will Saudis help if they can fly from closer airports? US should not be going alone to fly the cover (personal opinion here). I realize these are political questions as much as military.....

Russia Is Setting Up A Forward Operating Base in Syria, Pentagon Confirms (Defense One)

At least 173 killed - Human Rights Watch Reports that the regime has actually used "heavy weapons" including a missile on protesters.

From ARES Blog U.S. Confirms Iran Bought SA-20 Missiles Posted by David A. Fulghum at 12/10/2008 10:10 AM CST “The Iranians are on contract for SA-20,” says a senior, U.S. government official. The U.S. and Israel now face a “huge set of challenges in the future that we’ve never had [before]. We’ve been lulled into a false sense of security because our operations over the last 20 years involved complete air dominance and we’ve been free to operate in all domains,” he adds. Other senior officials independently confirm that Iran will get the Russian SA-20 strategic SAM system, irrespective of Kremlin protestations to the contrary. Tehran’s deployment of such a s…

From DefenseNews Posted 03/23/07 08:25 Britain: 15 Navy Personnel Held by Iran REUTERS, LONDON Iran captured 15 British Royal Navy personnel during a "routine boarding operation" in Iraqi waters March 23, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said. Iran’s ambassador in London has been summoned and Britain is demanding the immediate safe release of the sailors. "At approximately 1030 Iraqi time this morning, 15 British naval personnel, engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters ... were seized by Iranian naval vessels," the ministry said in a statement. "We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at t…

A topic which (unsurprisingly) is taking up a lot of bandwidth on Harpgamer IRC these days is the recent attack by an anti-ship missile(s) on the Israel Defence Force's Sa'ar V (Eilat) class corvette INS Hanit. Here's a summary of what has been reported and some comments on the same. Please feel free to add your own thoughts. My hope is to make this into a little "case study" of sorts, and hopefully we can all learn something from it. It has been said that tonne for tonne, the Sa'ar V corvettes are among the most heavily armed warships in the world. As a primer, the Naval Technology website has a helpful summary of the Sa'ar V and its various systems, sensors and…

From Stratfor Red Alert - Possible geopolitical consequences of the Mumbai attacks 27 November 2008 Summary If the Nov. 26 attacks in Mumbai were carried out by Islamist militants as it appears, the Indian government will have little choice, politically speaking, but to blame them on Pakistan. That will in turn spark a crisis between the two nuclear rivals that will draw the United States into the fray. Analysis At this point the situation on the ground in Mumbai remains unclear following the militant attacks of Nov. 26. But in order to understand the geopolitical significance of what is going on, it is necessary to begin looking beyond this event at wha…

From BBC News Last Updated: Wednesday, 12 September 2007, 20:38 GMT 21:38 UK Israel's Syria 'raid' remains a mystery By Jonathan Marcus BBC diplomatic correspondent During the early hours of last Thursday morning, a number of Israeli jets appear to have entered Syrian air-space from the Mediterranean Sea, possibly penetrating deep into the country. Later unidentified drop tanks, which may have contained fuel for the planes, were found on Turkish soil near the Syrian border, indicating perhaps the Israeli jets' exit route. The Syrian authorities are livid. They say that the aircraft were driven off but that they fired their weaponry into a deserted ar…

I'm still not convinced that this deal does not have serious potential to come back and bite someone someday ... From ARES Pakistan Fields Newest F-16s Posted by Robert Wall at 6/28/2010 4:34 AM CDT The Pakistan air force on June 27 formally took delivery of the first F-16C/D Block 52s, with a goal of having all 18 aircraft in country before year-end, the service says. The handover at the PAF Base Shahbaz represents a big jump in the service’s air-to-ground attack capability. In particular, the service stresses the new aircraft will provide a vital capability to carry out missions at night. (credit: Pakistan air force) Pakistani air force pilots …

From DefenseNews Algeria Plans To Return 15 Fighters to Russia: Report AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 18 Feb 16:40 EST (11:40 GMT) MOSCOW - Algeria wants to return 15 fighter jets it bought from Russia because of their poor quality, the Kommersant daily reported on Feb. 18, citing an official from Russia's state United Aerospace Corporation. The official said Russia was proposing to take back the MiG-29 jets, which were delivered to Algeria in 2006 and 2007, but only if Algeria bought more modern and expensive planes such as the MiG-29M2 or the MiG-35. Kommersant quoted another Russian official from the energy and industry ministry saying that a deal on…

the BBB : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7637257.stm Extract from the full news page : Somalia's pirates seize 33 tanks The waters off Somalia are among the most dangerous in the world A Ukrainian ship seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia was carrying 33 tanks and other weapons, the Ukrainian defence minister has confirmed. Earlier, the country's foreign ministry said the ship had a crew of 21 and was sailing under a Belize flag to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. There has been a recent surge in p…

I'm surprised no one has even breathed mention of the situation in Gaza. Yes, its a politically sensitive issue, and maybe the silence is because we have been conditioned to the same tired, old Israeli-Palestinian grudge?

USS Mason Fired 3 Missiles to Defend From Yemen Cruise Missiles Attack (USNI News)

From Defense Aerospace Morocco - F-16C/D Block 50/52 Aircraft (Source: US Defense Security Cooperation Agency; dated Dec. 18, web-posted Dec. 19, 2007) (See note at bottom) WASHINGTON --- The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Morocco of F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $2.4 billion. The Government of Morocco has requested a possible sale of Major Defense Equipment (MDE): -- 24 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft with either the F100-PW-229 or F110-GE-129 Increased Performance Engines (IPE)…

Is the Colonel still a kook? From Aviation Week's ARES Blog Moscow Eyes Strategic Port of Benghazi as Second Med Naval Station Posted by David Eshel at 11/4/2008 9:01 AM CST Colonel Mummar el-Qaddafi, Libya's longtime controversial leader, visited Moscow over the weekend and apparently offered the Port of Benghazi to Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev during their talks in the Kremlin last Saturday. The port is located in a highly strategic position, on the north east coast on the Gulf of Sidra, facing southern Europe. No wonder then that prominent Russian naval officers are happy with this lucrative offer. “Russia is interested in getting access to naval…

This should certainly impress the Iranians with our prowess: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090320/ap_on_...y_ships_collide Buddha

Hi, a technical question to more expert forum members than me, about the possibility of a Libyan no-fly zone. Is it possible for a AWACS plane to be aware of and to track even very low flying little planes, or helicopters? If not, I suppose Gheddafi could continue to target rebels taking off from airstrips or cities and NATO/UE forces would be impotent. Any opinion? Francesco

From Defense Aerospace U.S. Postpones Defense Meetings with Pakistan (Source: US Department of Defense; issued Nov 5, 2007) BEIJING --- The United States is watching the developing situation in Pakistan closely and will review all assistance programs to the country, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. “Pakistan is a country of great strategic importance to the United States and a key partner in the war on terror,” the secretary said during a news conference at the Chinese Ministry of National Defense. Gates spoke after meeting with Chinese Minister of National Defense Gen. Cao Gangchuan. Gates said the United States urges Pakistani Pres…

U.S. launches show of force in Gulf Aircraft carriers, warplanes feature in maneuvers off the coast of Iran The Associated Press Updated: 8:17 a.m. ET March 27, 2007 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The U.S. Navy on Tuesday began its largest demonstration of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by a pair of aircraft carriers and backed by warplanes flying simulated attack maneuvers off the coast of Iran. The maneuvers bring together two strike groups of U.S. warships and more than 100 U.S. warplanes to conduct simulated air warfare in the crowded Gulf shipping lanes. The U.S. exercises come just four days after Iran’s capture of 15 Brit…

Only technical and operative considerations in this topic, I hope. It sembles a lot of rumours about the use of a stealty variant of the H-60 Black Hawk: Photos (of the strange helo wreckrage and some corpses): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/20...326&index=0 Bill Sweetman comments: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=...&id=8112975 Also, developing my little scenario, I don't see very clear this point about helicopter ranges and helicopter loads made public after: http://www.timesleader.com/news/Inside__ls...05-04-2011.html Two full loaded Blackhawk with the team and assault gear and weapons. Perhaps from Bagram (I think the Speci…