Current Events in Mideast-Africa

This month's issue of Foreign Affairs has several thought provoking articles that you may want to check out, including: The Latter Day Sultan, Power and Politics in Iran, by Akbar Ganji Summary: The real decision-maker in Iran is Supreme Leader Khamenei not President Ahmadinejad. Blaming Iran's problems on President Ahmadinejad inaccurately suggests that Iran's problems will go away when Ahmadinejad does.

This month's issue of Foreign Affairs has several thought provoking articles that you may want to check out, including: From Great Game to Grand Bargain, Ending Chaos in Afghanistan and Pakistan, by Barnett R. Rubin and Ahmed Rashid Summary: The crisis in Afghanistan and Pakistan is beyond the point where more troops will help. U.S. strategy must be to seek compromise with insurgents while addressing regional rivalries and insecurities.

From Defense Aerospace Israel - F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft (Source US Defense Security Cooperation Agency; dated Sept. 29, issued Sept. 30, 2008) WASHINGTON --- On September 26, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Israel of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $15.2 billion. The Government of Israel has requested a possible sale of an initial 25 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft with an option to purchase at a later date an additional 50…

From Defense Aerospace Pakistan to Buy German Submarines (Source: Deutsche Welle German radio; issued November 26, 2008) Pakistan, which has relied on French defense suppliers, is buying German-made submarines for the first time, but is still technologically behind its nuclear rival India. Pakistan has formally agreed to buy three Type 214 German submarines under deal worth more than $1 billion (773.7 million euros) that the two countries are expected to sign within the next few months, according to a media report on Wednesday. The German shipbuilding company Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW) will construct the diesel-electric submarines in a shipya…

From Flight International DATE: 10/11/08 SOURCE: Flight International Israel revives interest in F-22 purchase By Arie Egozi Israel may renew its request for the acquisition of Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter from the incoming US administration. "I anticipate that the Pentagon will release $140 million to let the next administration more easily extend production of the F-22," said Lockheed chief executive Robert Stevens during a 9 November press conference in Tel Aviv. While Lockheed is making efforts to keep its F-22 production line alive, the Israeli air force has again expressed interest in the stealth fighter. "This aircraft…

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 Aviation Week Rebuilding IQAF Not Without Challenges Nov 9, 2008 By Robert Wall The Iraqi vision is grand: build one of the Middle East's premier air forces flying F-16s, attack helicopters and modern airlifters. But years of neglect, combat losses and domestic turmoil mean that attaining this goal will be an enormous challenge. Trying to create a new air force in what's effectively still a war zone may be an unprecedented undertaking. Nevertheless, such efforts are gaining momentum as a new generation of systems, pilots, maintenance personnel and processes starts coming into its own. Transitioning to a Western-style flying culture is proving to be …

From ARES Typhoon Watch Posted by Douglas Barrie at 10/21/2008 7:29 AM CDT The first of the Royal Saudi Air Force’s Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft was flown on its maiden flight October 20th from BAE Systems Warton facility in the north of England. Saudi Arabia has 72 Typhoons on order, with formal delivery of the type to the RSAF expected to begin in June or July 2009. October also saw the start of deliveries of Tranche 2 aircraft to the Royal Air Force. The RAF will receive 91 Tranche 2 aircraft. The first two were delivered to RAF Coningsby October 21. London and Riyadh are continuing to discuss the acquisition of additional Typhoon aircraf…

From Defense Aerospace DoD Announces Activation Of Unified Geographic Command (Source: US Department of Defense; issued Oct. 1, 2008) The Department of Defense today announced the activation of United States Africa Command, the sixth unified geographic command within the DoD unified command structure. “It is, at its heart, a different kind of command with a different orientation, one that we hope and expect will institutionalize a lasting security relationship with Africa, a vast region of growing importance in the globe,” said Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates. U.S. Africa Command will coordinate military-to-military contacts and focus on relationship…

From DefenseNews U.S. Deploys Radar, Troops To Israel By gayle s. putrich Published: 26 Sep 12:14 EDT (16:14 GMT) U.S. European Command (EUCOM) has deployed to Israel a high-powered X-band radar and the supporting people and equipment needed for coordinated defense against Iranian missile attack, marking the first permanent U.S. military presence on Israeli soil. More than a dozen aircraft, including C-5s and C-17s, helped with the Sept. 21 delivery of the AN/TPY-2 Transportable Radar Surveillance/Forward Based X-band Transportable (FBX-T), its ancillary components and some 120 EUCOM personnel to Israel's Nevatim Air Base southeast of Beersheba, said sources…

From Navy Times Revolutionary Guards take charge of Hormuz The Associated Press Posted : Thursday Sep 18, 2008 15:59:21 EDT TEHRAN, Iran — Iran announced Tuesday that it has put the elite Revolutionary Guards in charge of defending the country’s territorial Persian Gulf waters in what appeared to be a hardening of its stance in the vital oil route. U.S. commanders in the Gulf have in the past said they find Guards ships more confrontational than the regular Iranian navy, which until the new order was responsible for Iranian defenses in the gulf. Iran has warned repeatedly that it will close the narrow Hormuz Strait at the mouth of the gulf if the United …

From Defense Aerospace Defeating al-Qaeda's Air Force: Pakistan's F-16 Program in the Fight Against Terrorism (edited) (Source: U.S. Department of State; issued September 16, 2008) Statement Before the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South Asia by Donald Camp, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian affairs Washington, DC, September 16, 2008 Chairman Ackerman, Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to address you today on Pakistan’s F-16 program. …/… During Prime Minister Gillani’s visit to Washington in late July, you saw the United States and Pakistan committed to maintaini…

From Jane's Iran may have lined up S-300 SAM systems By Doug Richardson 09 January 2008 Iran is set to receive Russian S-300 (SA-10 'Grumble') surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, Iranian Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar stated on 26 December 2007. Mohammad-Najjar gave no details of the order or the timescale for deliveries, but according to Iranian state radio he said: "The S-300 system will be delivered to Iran within the framework of a contract agreed in the past. The timing of the delivery will be announced at a later date." The report was confirmed by Iran's Fars News Agency, which gave no further information. Russia's Interfax news agency …

From Janes US commits increased aid for Israeli missile defence By David C Isby 01 September 2008 The US will provide Israel with aid to face a range of emerging threats, especially long-range guided missiles from Iran or Syria. No official statement has yet been made by the US or Israeli governments. However, in August Israeli press reports stated that US aid to the Arrow 3 programme - an upgraded version of the current Arrow 2 system - is currently planned to include USD750 million until the system becomes operational in 2013. The Arrow 3 will have a longer range than the current system and be able to intercept incoming Shahab-class missiles some 500 k…

Source Aviation News 17/06/2008 In spite of the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 having been declared multi-role operationally capable from the beginning of July the Ministry of Defence stated that the Royal Air Force’s Panavia Tornado GR.4s are to assume a new mission from early next year, with the type to replace a detachment of BAE Systems Harrier GR.7/9 ground-attack aircraft that has been based at Afghanistan’s Kandahar airfield since November 2004. Announcing the move on 16 June, UK defence secretary Des Browne described Joint Force Harrier’s provision of close air support services in Afghanistan (below) as "Amongst the most potent of all our capabilities in…

Source INDIADEFENCE 29/07/2008 The INS Sindhuvijay diesel-electric submarine will set sail for India on August 5 to rejoin the Indian navy after an extensive overhaul at a shipyard in northern Russia, the company said on Tuesday. The Project 877EKM Kilo-class submarine had been undergoing a refit at the Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk since 2005. The overhaul was delayed for six months due to the unacceptable performance of its new SS-N-27 Club-S cruise missiles. In six consecutive pre-delivery test firings in September - November 2007, the Club missiles failed to find their targets and India refused to accept the delivery until all the problems had been fixe…

From ARES After Georgia: Russia Takes Over Syria's Tartus Port Posted by David Eshel at 8/21/2008 9:32 AM CDT Moscow is flexing it's muscles again in the eastern Mediterranean and aims to reactivate old cold war naval installations with it's allies Syria. President Bashar Assad is on his way to the Kremlin to finalize what looks to become a high profile feature. With not a moment to lose, the Russian aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” is under orders to head from Murmansk towards the Mediterranean and the Syrian port of Tartus. The mission comes after Syrian President Bashar Assad said he is open to a Russian base in the area. The “Admiral Kuznetsov”, part of …

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.…

PART 1: Winning the intelligence war By Alastair Crooke and Mark Perry Introduction Writing five years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, US military expert Anthony Cordesman published an account of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict. "Preliminary Lessons of the Israeli-Hezbollah War" created enormous interest in the Pentagon, where it was studied by planners for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and passed hand-to-hand among military experts in Washington. Cordesman made no secret of his modest conclusions, rightly recognizing that his study was not only "preliminary", but that it took no account of how Hezbollah fought the conflict or judged its results. "This ana…

This link was originally posted by a member of the shipwreck yahoo group and appears to be interesting fodder for current day strait of Hormuz scenario development. MIT Press Journals - Closing Time Assessing the Iranian Threat to the Strait of Hormuz