Current Events in Mideast-Africa

Call made for China to battle pirates By Christopher Bodeen - The Associated Press Posted : Thursday Dec 4, 2008 9:17:56 EST BEIJING — A Chinese general has called for the country’s navy to join the fight against Somali pirates, saying the mission would boost China’s international stature and give its sailors valuable experience in fighting open ocean combat operations far from their home ports. Chinese ships have been among those seized in a wave of pirate attacks this year, including the fishing vessel Tianyu No. 8, seized in mid-November. International warships from NATO and countries including Russia patrol the Gulf of Aden and have created a security…

From Flight International Rafales go to Afghanistan as French commitment grows By Helen Massy-Beresford Air force and navy to deploy six aircraft to Tajikistan in support of ISAF mission France is in the process of sending six Dassault Rafale C/M fighters to support ground troops serving as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Three air force and three navy F2 software-standard aircraft were scheduled to leave for the region on 10 March as part of France's Operation Serpentaire. Their deployment follows the recent completion of ground and flight tests and crew training activities at the air force's CEAM test centre at …

From DefenseNews Posted 07/09/07 19:16 Satellite Images Show Work Near Iran Nuclear Site By REUTERS, WASHINGTON Commercial satellite imagery shows Iran is building a new tunnel facility inside a mountain near a key nuclear complex — a possible attempt to protect sensitive uranium enrichment activity from aerial attack, nuclear analysts said July 9. The pictures taken on June 11 were obtained from DigitalGlobe, a commercial satellite imagery firm, by the Institute for Science and International Science, whose president is David Albright, a physicist and former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq. “The construction activity is taking place in the closest mountainous a…

Well, that's a breath of fresh air ... http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/14/oba...ates/index.html

From Ares IAF and Greek Air Force Conduct Joint Exercise Over Mediterranean Posted by Noam Eshel at 5/28/2010 8:20 AM CDT The Israeli Air Force began joint training exercises with the Greek Air Force on the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea. The exercise, codenamed "MINOAS 2010", includes training for aerial combat, attacks on terrestrial targets, long-range missions and mid-air refueling. The exercise will also include search and rescue missions from Souda air force base up to the Aegean island of Aghios Eftrastio. "MINOAS 2010", is scheduled to continue through the weekend. 10 IAF aircraft are participating in the exercise – five F-15I 'Rams' and five F16I …

From http://www.defensenews.com United States, Europe Consider Penalties Against Syria By ADAM ENTOUS, REUTERS The United States and European allies are considering joint measures to punish Syria if it fails to take concrete steps to withdraw from Lebanon, officials said March 3, as President George W. Bush renewed his demand that Damascus get out now. Stepping up public pressure on Syria for a second day in a row, Bush said, "The message is loud and clear -- from the United States and France and many other nations -- that Syria must withdraw not only her troops, but her secret service forces out of Lebanon now." The president said he would discuss the is…

From Air Force Times Israeli jets come close to firing on airliner Staff reports Posted : Wednesday Apr 11, 2007 16:57:10 EDT Israel air force fighter planes scrambled Wednesday to intercept a U.S. airliner after it lost communications with air controllers, security officials said. The Continental passenger plane was flying in from the U.S. when it lost contact. Following anti-terror procedures, two Israeli warplanes intercepted the plane and guided it back over the Mediterranean Sea until communications were restored, Channel 10 TV reported. When it was determined that there were no problems on board and the pilot was in control, the plane was allowed t…

How the Nuclear Deal Enriches Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (pdf, Foundation for Defense of Democracies)

India says no to US P-3C Orion aircraft Rahul Bedi (IANS) New Delhi, February 4, 2006 HindustanTimes In a rare 'no' to Washington, the Indian Navy has called off the leasing of two US Navy P-3C Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft (MRA) on grounds they are too expensive. The 18-24 months it would take the US Navy to retrofit the two aircraft to the Indian Navy specifications once the lease had been finalised also contributed to New Delhi opting out of the deal. "The lease (of two P-3C Orions) is timed out. It was expensive and time-consuming," a senior Indian official associated with the lease negotiations said. The US Navy is believed to have d…

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…

US-Israel David's Sling Aces 2nd Intercept Test (DefenseNews)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,462466,00.html Apparantly their boat broke down. A boat filled with weapons. Every little victory counts.

Source: http://navaltoday.com/2012/01/25/fincantie...l-for-uae-navy/ Fincantieri shipyard at Muggiano recently launched the “Ganthoot”, the first of two stealth patrol vessels included in the “Falaj 2” program in progress for the United Arab Emirates Navy who ordered them in 2010. The ship, whose name comes from a geographical area in the Emirates in the neighbourhood of Abu Dhabi, will be delivered in the last half of 2012. A second will be built with an option for an additional two (which is likely to be acted upon). Specs are sketchy at this time, but they tout it will be a multi-mission platform. This will be something interesting to follow.

From Defence Talk South African Navy Commissions Charlotte Maxeke ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems | Mar 16, 2007 EMDEN/HAMBURG/KIEL, Germany: On March 14, 2007, the South African Navy commissioned the submarine “Charlotte Maxeke” at Emden-based Nordseewerke GmbH (NSWE), a company of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG (TKMS). This submarine is an ultra-modern submarine of the German 209/1400mod Class. During commissioning ceremony the boat which was christened as S102 on May 4, 2005, got the new name “Charlotte Maxeke.” The boat is the second of a total of three submarines which the South African government ordered from the German Submarine Consortium in 2000. The co…

an offensive anti muslim cartoon published in many european papers have set of protest some of which has be violent accross the middle east Bellsouth News-AP Story

Navy favours F-35 fighters, not F-18: Naval Chief July 11, 2005 02:45:00 PM .KOLKATA CAL6 Press Trust of India Kolkata, Jul 11 (PTI) Indian Navy is willing to procure F-35 advanced fighters from US, but it is not interested in F-18 fighter planes as they are not "compatible" with the aircraft carriers of the naval force, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash said here today. "Yes. Given an offer, we will be much interested in having the F-35 fighters," Admiral Prakash told reporters when asked if the Navy would be willing to procure the advanced fighters from the US. He was speaking to reporters after the commissioning of warship INS Beas at the Garden…

From Jane's Defence Weekly: Iran answers Hizbullah call for SAM systems By Robin Hughes JDW Deputy Editor London Additional reporting by Alon Ben-David JDW Staff Reporter Israeli-Lebanese border Iran is to supply the Islamic Resistance - the armed wing of the Lebanese Shi'ite Party of God (Hizbullah) - with a quantity of surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems over the coming months, Western diplomatic sources have confirmed to Jane's. According to the sources, Tehran will supply Hizbullah with Russian-produced SAMs, including the Strela-2/2M (SA-7 'Grail'), Strela-3 (SA-14 'Gremlin') and Igla-1E (SA-16 'Gimlet') man-portable SAM systems. Iran is also unde…

From Defence Talk Report On Israeli Iran Strike Incorrect Says Foreign Ministry Agence France-Presse | Jan 8, 2007 Jerusalem: Israel said Sunday that a report in The Sunday Times that the Jewish state had drawn up plans to destroy Iran's uranium enrichment facilities in a tactical nuclear strike was "incorrect." The story is "incorrect," foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. "Israel is 100 percent behind the international community's efforts to bring about an end to Iran's nuclear program. Israel totally supports Resolution 1737 and the international community must be ready to take even tougher measures against Iran," he said. Earlier Immigrant Absorpti…

From Defense Aerospace Iran’s Ballistic Missile Programs: An Overview Source: Congressional Research Service (no public website) Order Code RS22758 Released November 8, 2007 5 pages in PDF format Iran is acknowledged to have an active interest in developing, acquiring, and deploying a broad range of ballistic missiles. But there remains considerable uncertainty and disagreement over specifics. This short report by the Congressional Research Service seeks to provide an overview of the reported or suspected range of Iranian ballistic missile programs. Because there remains widespread public divergence over particulars, however, this report does not provi…

From C4ISR Journal Israel Building New Radar Satellite BY BARBARA OPALL-ROME March 04, 2005 Israel’s Ministry of Defense and Elta Systems Ltd., a subsidiary of government-owned Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), unveiled details of the TecSAR satellite, a low-earth orbiting synthetic aperture radar technology demonstrator planned for launch by the first half of 2006. According to specifications displayed along with a mockup of the satellite during a Feb. 22 seminar at Elta’s headquarters in Ashdod, the satellite will weigh 300 kilograms, including the 100-kilogram SAR payload. The multimode payload employs electronic beam steering, which can be operated in …