Current Events in Mideast-Africa

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…

US Criticizes UN Nuclear Watchdog Agency Voice of America The United States has blasted the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency for failing to report Iran's longstanding non-compliance with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The criticism came on the first working day of a treaty review conference at U.N. headquarters, where VOA's Peter Heinlein picks up the story. U.S. State Department official Andrew Semmel Thursday accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of failing to act on its own findings that Iran was violating the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Speaking to a conference on strengthening the treaty, Mr. Semmel noted that IAEA Director Mohammed El…

From eDefense Saudi Arabia to Buy Typhoon Aircraft Source: UK Ministry of Defense Dec. 22, 2005 The governments of Saudi Arabia and the UK have today signed an "understanding document" intended to establish a greater partnership in modernizing the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces and developing close service-to-service contacts, especially through joint training and exercises. As part of this, the BAE Systems will invest in local Saudi companies, develop an industrial technology transfer plan, and provide suitable training for thousands of Saudi nationals providing through-life support for key in-service equipments. In addition, under the terms of the signed d…

From DefenseNews Posted 02/19/07 14:36 Putin Talks Arms, Nuclear Power in Gulf Visit By NABI ABDULLAEV, MOSCOW On the first tour by a Russian head of state to the Arabian Gulf countries, President Vladimir Putin offered weapons and nuclear power technologies to Saudi Arabia, coordination in trading in natural gas in Qatar, and sold arms and emerged as a power broker in Middle East affairs while in Jordan. Putin traveled to the three Gulf countries Feb. 11-13, right after he blasted the United States and its “unilateralist” actions in Iraq during a speech at a defense conference in Munich. In public appearances and private meetings, the president used his trip t…

From Reuters [excerpt]

Der Speigel: Israel preparing strike to take out Iranian nuclear sites Posted: 12/27 From: Israel Insider The German weekly Der Spiegel reported Saturday that the Mossad has marked six Iranian nuclear facilities as targets for an Israeli Air Force pre-emptive strike. An unnamed IAF pilot told the weekly that such a mission would be "complex, but feasible." The Los Angeles Times reported that Israel has modified U.S.-made Harpoon cruise missiles so it can launch nuclear warheads from submarines. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered Mossad chief Meir Dagani to devote "utmost efforts" to gather information about Iran's growing nuclear capabilities, Maariv reported …

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…

Israel, India Advance Co-Development of Ship-Defense System (Defense Aerospace)

From Jane's Opinion: Gripen hard to beat in Indian MMRCA contest By Craig Caffrey 05 August 2008 While there is no shortage of fighter aircraft procurement programmes currently under way, the most eagerly anticipated contest is undoubtedly India's medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA) requirement for at least 126 aircraft. The six contenders have now submitted their proposals: Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault's Rafale, Eurofighter's Typhoon, Lockheed Martin's F-16, Russian Aircraft Corporation's (RAC's) MiG with the MiG-35 and the Saab JAS 39 Gripen. Arguably each aircraft stands a fighting chance of securing the lucrative USD10 billion contract.…

From DefenseNews Russian Firm Confirms Syria Deal for MiGs AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 3 Sep 2009 06:37 MOSCOW - A top Russian official confirmed the existence of a contract for the supply of MiG-31 fighter jets to Syria but said work on the planes had been frozen, the daily Kommersant reported Sept. 3. "A few years ago, two contracts were signed: one for [the supply to Syria of] MiG-29s and one for MiG-31s," the head of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation, Alexei Fedorov, told the paper. "Consultations on this contract are now ongoing, so its future is unclear." Kommersant reported in May that Russia had halted work on the modernization of the figh…

For those of you contemplating Persian Gulf scenarios, this might be helpful. Pictorial: Units of the U.S. Navys Naval Forces Central Command (DefenseNews, Intercepts blog)

Indian communists protest U.S. naval exercises By Ashok Sharma - The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday Sep 4, 2007 7:19:35 EDT NEW DELHI — Dozens of communists chanted anti-U.S. slogans as they left an eastern Indian city Tuesday for the site of a naval exercise involving India, the U.S. and three other countries, a party official said. “The fight against imperialism will continue,” about 80 party workers in Calcutta shouted as they boarded buses for Vishakhapatnam, a southern port city near the venue of the exercise, set to begin hours later. Twenty-five warships from India, the U.S., Australia, Japan and Singapore are participating in the four-day drill…

From Navy Times War with Iran would be Navy, Air Force show Some point to buildup in Persian Gulf region as precursor to attack By William H. McMichael - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Feb 21, 2007 20:45:23 EST The attack would probably come by air. Waves of U.S. cruise missiles and warplanes loaded with smart weapons would swoop into Iran from the sea and land bases to destroy key Iranian nuclear facilities. Out in the Persian Gulf, the Navy would wipe out Iran’s navy in a matter of days. Iran’s air defenses could possibly take out a few higher-flying Navy and Air Force tactical jets before being located and destroyed. In short, the first round would …

From Defense Aerospace Syria Boosting Arsenal Since War (Source: ddi Indian Government news; issued Feb. 22, 2007) Syria has embarked on an "unprecedented" effort to bolster its armed forces with Iranian and Russian help since Damascus has large numbers of surface-based missiles including the Scud-D, capable of reaching any target in Israel, [israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.] Haaretz also said Russia was about to sell Syria thousands of advanced anti-tank missiles, despite Israeli charges that in the past Syria has transferred those missiles to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Syrian officials did not immediately comment on the Israeli reports, but…

From BBC News Taleban 'getting Chinese weapons' By Paul Danahar BBC Asia bureau chief, Beijing Britain has privately complained to Beijing that Chinese-made weapons are being used by the Taleban to attack British troops in Afghanistan. The BBC has been told that on several occasions Chinese arms have been recovered after attacks on British and American troops by Afghan insurgents. The authorities in Beijing have promised to carry out an investigation. This appears to be the first time Britain has asked China how its arms are ending up with the Taleban. Boasting At a meeting held recently at the Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing, a British …

NATO hunting at least one Russian Navy Oscar II Class submarine that is chasing aircraft carriers in the Med (Aviationist)

INDIA TO ASSEMBLE RUSSIAN FIGHTER JETS 12:16 Novosti MOSCOW, May 24 (RIA Novosti) - Indian President Abdul Kalam has arrived in Russia and visited the Sukhoi aircraft corporation in the forerun to India's assembly of 140 Su-30-MKI fighters under a Russian license, Izvestia, a daily, reported. Kalam and Sukhoi CEO Mikhail Pogosyan discussed New Delhi's participation in developing the fifth generation fighter and the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) medium-range airliner. India is ready to channel $100 million into the RRJ program. In 2004, Sukhoi won a state tender for developing the fighter, which is to phase out current Sukhoi and Mikoyan-Gurevich warplanes…

From Defense Talk Pakistan successfully tests nuclear-capable missile Agence France-Presse | Feb 23, 2007 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Friday test-fired its longest range nuclear-capable ballistic missile, two days after signing a deal with rival India to cut the risk of atomic weapons accidents, the military said. The Shaheen II, or Hatf VI, missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) was launched from an undisclosed location, military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP. "The test was very successful. It was carried out to validate technical parameters and it hit the target with 100 percent accuracy," Sultan said. "It is a two-stage so…

From Jane's India prepares for significant delay on Phalcon programme 21 November 2007 India's USD1.5 billion contract to mount Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)-made Phalcon airborne early warning radars on three Ilyushin IL-76 A-50 heavy transport aircraft has been significantly delayed, official sources said. Defence officials conceded that a delay in the delivery of the first Phalcon airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform to the Indian Air Force (IAF) by nearly a year to September 2008 was another example of Russia's growing list of delays in supplying military equipment to India. Consequently, the induction of the remaining two AEW&a…

Strategic Depth & Israel's Maritime Strategy (Real Clear Defense)