Current Events in Mideast-Africa

From RIA Novosti [excerpt] CV32: Perhaps 'more ready' would be a better description?

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

From ARES Has Hamas Tested a C-802 Shore-to-Ship Missile off Gaza? Posted by David Eshel at 2/2/2009 9:42 AM CST Israeli military analysts have revealed what could become a formidable addition to Hamas' arsenal: The missile fired from Gaza out to the Mediterranean last week and shown on Israel TV as a Hamas display, was not a Qassam as reported but could be a modified version of a Chinese C-802, possibly an Iranian shore-to-ship Nur C-802 missile, which is based on the Chinese "Silkworm." Chinese C-802 shore-to-ship missile launched A C-802 shore-to-ship missile was fired during the Second Lebanon War from Beirut beach hitting the rear section of the I…

From Defence Talk Attacking Iran could speed up nuclear programme Agence France-Presse | Mar 5, 2007 Pre-emptive military strikes on Iran could accelerate rather than hinder Tehran's production of atomic weapons, a report by a British global security think-tank said Monday. Backed by the former chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq, Hans Blix, the Oxford Research Group said Iran could respond to an attack by launching a "crash programme" and build a crude nuclear device within months. "If Iran is moving towards a nuclear weapons capacity it is doing it relatively slowly, most estimates put it at least five years away," said one of the report's authors, leadi…

From RIA Novosti 11:36 02/06/2010 Algeria and Libya are ready to buy Russian Pantsir-S1 short-range air defense systems, deputy head of the Russian Military-Technical Cooperation Service Vyacheslav Dzirkaln said on Wednesday. [CV32: This is the SA-22 'Greyhound' in NATO parlance]. "The new system has shown high efficiency. Algeria and Libya have shown interest. Syria has already bought these systems in the past," Dzirkaln said, adding that other potential customers were likely to appear. Earlier in March the Russian press said Algeria was planning to buy 40 Pantsir-S1s for $500 million. Several Russian papers also reported that Russia had signed a $734…

From eDefense Indian Navy Looking to Orion Alternative by Pulkit Singh Apr. 25, 2005 The Indian Navy is now focused on buying Falcon 900 maritime-patrol aircraft (MPA) from Dassault Aviation of France, as over two years of negotiations over the acquisition of P-3 Orions from the US have not borne fruit. The Indian government has been negotiating the purchase of eight used US Navy P-3Bs Orions, which would be upgraded to the C model prior to delivery to India. However, an Indian Navy official said, with only three Il-38 maritime-surveillance aircraft (two crashed in October 2002) and the service's aging Il-142 surveillance aircraft long overdue for upgrades, …

From DefenseNews Iran To Launch Navy War Games in Gulf By REUTERS, TEHRAN Iran will launch a week of naval war games in the Gulf and Sea of Oman on March 31 involving more than 17,000 troops and 500 large and small naval vessels, the official IRNA news agency reported. It quoted Admiral Morteza Saffari as saying on March 29 that the maneuvers would extend from the northern Gulf coastline to Chabahar on Iran’s southern coast on the Sea of Oman, IRNA reported. The naval war games were aimed "to display the Islamic system’s defensive capabilities", IRNA reported, adding that the maneuvers would start with firing a Shahab-2 missile. Air and ground forces would also…

From DefenseNews Posted 02/19/07 08:45 UAEAF Signs Tanker Aircraft MOU with EADS By RIAD KAHWAJI, ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates In a surprise announcement, United Arab Emirates officials declared that the country’s Air Force and Air Defense Command has picked the Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport Aircraft (MRTT) as its preferred choice for a contract to provide three aerial tankers. “The UAE Armed Forces has signed today [Feb. 19] a Memo of Understanding [MOU] with EADS for the tanker aircraft,” said Maj.Gen. Obaid Al-Ketbi, the UAE Armed Forces Chief of Logistics, at a press conference at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX-07) in…

From Stratfor GEOPOLITICAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT 05.16.2007 The United States, Iran and the Iraq Negotiation Process By George Friedman and Reva Bhalla At long last, the United States and Iran announced May 13 that they will engage in direct public bilateral talks over Iraq. From Washington, it was the office of Vice President Dick Cheney and the National Security Council that broke the news. From Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirmed that the two sides will meet in Baghdad in a few weeks, most likely at the ambassadorial level. That makes these talks as officially sanctioned as they can be. Already there have been two brief public meetings -- al…

From http://www.defensenews.com India, France Practice Anti-Mine Operations in Arabian Sea By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NEW DELHI India and France practiced their first joint anti-mine operations Feb. 28 as part of naval exercises in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of southern India, a French officer said. The nine-day exercise, code-named “Varuna 2005” began Feb. 27, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. The leader of the French naval team, Capt. Marechal, told reporters this was the first time the two navies had taken part together in “mine warfare exercises,” the report said. Marechal said the Varuna exercises, which began in 1998 within the fr…

From DefenseNews Posted 02/20/07 11:06 Iran Stages War Games as U.S. Carrier Arrives in Gulf AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TEHRAN, Iran Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Feb. 20 staged a war game simulating an enemy airstrike as a second nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in regional waters in an apparent warning to Tehran. The Revolutionary Guards’ land forces fought back the hypothetical airstrike from enemy helicopters, planes and missiles with 620 anti-aircraft cannon and shoulder missiles, state television said. "Today, we are fighting back at all kinds of planes at low and average altitudes," said Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the commander of t…

From Defence Aerospace Israel – Guided Bomb Units (GBU-28) (Source: US Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued April 26, 2005) On 26 April 2005, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Israel of 100 GBU-28s as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $30 million. The Government of Israel has requested a possible sale of 100 GBU-28s that include: BLU-113A/B penetration warhead, WGU-36A/B guidance control unit, FMU-143H/B bomb fuze, and BSG-92/B airfoil group guide. Also included are: support equipment; testing, spare and repair …

From Aviation Week's Ares Blog Sea Sparrow versus Kormoran Posted by Nicholas Fiorenza at 3/22/2010 12:09 PM CDT The Bundeswehr has produced a video of the live firings which took place during Exercise Good Hope IV held between the German and South African navies and air forces on 15 February to 15 March. The film begins with the German task group commander, Capt. Marco von Kölln, saying the Cape of Good Hope is one of only two or three areas where missiles can be tested safely because of the low traffic of what is also known as the Cape of Storms. How stormy the seas are as well as the wind state has to be checked before the firings, the narrator says. The v…

From Navy Times Winter visits as Big E wraps Gulf mission By Zachary M. Peterson - Staff writer Posted : Monday Nov 26, 2007 14:36:55 EST ABOARD THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER ENTERPRISE, IN THE PERSIAN GULF — Jets launching from the Navy’s oldest nuclear flattop in service wrapped up combat operations after a gusty day on the water Saturday, flying their final missions into Iraq. The carrier simultaneously launched combat operations into Afghanistan and Iraq beginning in August. About 20 percent of F/A-18 Hornets taking off on the final day of combat operations were flying into Iraq, while the rest were performing maritime security missions over the Persian Gulf, acc…

From Ares An interesting legal question, one in which I suspect Israel (and others) would advise that Iran is due a rather large sum of general and special damages.

San Diego Union-Tribune June 15, 2007 Vietnam-Era Aircraft Combatting Roadside Bombs In Iraq By Jim Krane, Associated Press ABOARD THE CARRIER NIMITZ IN THE GULF – A secret aircraft that debuted in Vietnam and usually protects U.S. fighter jets has taken on a different and crucial task over Iraq – trying to stop roadside bombs by jamming ground signals from mobile phones and garage door openers. The EA-6B Prowler is thought to be one of the most effective U.S. weapons against the bombs, the biggest killer of U.S. service members in Iraq. But no one can be sure: Even supporters say its effectiveness is hard to measure. The aircraft had its debut at th…

From ARES Blog IDF Drills Simulating War with Syria and Lebanon Posted by David Eshel at 11/10/2008 9:32 AM CST The Israel Defense Forces Northern Command concluded a large-scale exercise yesterday which simulated a double-front conflagration with Syria and Lebanon. The exercise incorporated its various branches including Israel Air Force, Israel Navy, IDF Army, and the IDF Intelligence Corps, lasted four days. Toch command post during the exercise The exercise, codenamed "Shiluv Zro'ot III" (Hebrew - Crossing Arms III), was the second largest of its kind since the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and was largely based on lessons learned. During…

From CNN [excerpt]

Angola receives first Su-30K fighters (Jane's)

Putin Confirms Sale of Short-Range Missiles to Syria By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin said April 22 that the controversial sale of Russian short-range missiles to Syria would go ahead as planned. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon voiced fears April 21 that the anti-aircraft missiles being sold by Russia to Syria could find their way into the hands of “terrorist organizations.” “With respect to the sale which was signed with Syria and which will be finalized, it involves short-range air defense systems,” Putin said in an interview with Israeli television aired by Russian networks a few days before his visit to Israel. “These s…