Current Events in Mideast-Africa

Gleaned from Sean O'Connor's excellent IMINT & Analysis blog: "Below is a link to a video, showing a presentation given by Dr. Frank Pabian at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. The concept behind Dr. Pabian's presentation was to depict the effect of open source imagery as an analysis tool in nonproliferation and the response of potentially hostile nations in the form of improved denial and deception. Dr. Pabian uses the ongoing nuclear issue with Iran to illustrate this issue, also briefly touching on the Syrian reactor complex struck by Israel, showing a number of commercial images from sources such as Digital Globe and Google Earth to depict vario…

Gunning for Damascus (Foreign Policy)

In a First, a Russian Warship Docks in Israel (RIA Novosti)

Iran Is Still Botching the Bomb (Foreign Affairs)

Photo in a exhibition of an Iranian Mi-171 helicopter with 2xC-802 Chinese anti-ship missile, but I think the radar, because the size, is a simple weather radar more than a surface search radar: http://defence-blog.com/news/photos-of-iranian-mi-171-helicopter-with-version-of-the-chinese-c-802-missiles.html

From DefenseNews Posted 03/22/07 12:06 Iranian Navy Starts War Games in the Gulf: Report By REUTERS, TEHRAN Iran’s navy started more than a week of war games in the Gulf on March 22 using tactical submarines and small vessels carrying missile launchers, state television reported. The exercises are the latest in a series of maneuvers staged by Iran’s military in the Gulf, where the United States has deployed a second aircraft carrier, a move widely seen as a warning to Tehran over its nuclear ambitions. State television said the war games staged by Iran’s regular naval forces "showed their defensive power for protecting the Persian Gulf". It said the maneuvers…

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…

Russian official says MENA country has Iskander-E missiles (Jane's)

From Congressional Research Service (CRS) Israel: Possible Military Strike Against Iran's Nuclear Facilities (pdf) an update of a report from March 28, 2012

Original article, reprinted here in its entirety, can be viewed at: Sunday Times of London Online Revealed: Israel plans strike on Iranian nuclear plant by Uzi Mahnaimi ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans for a combined air and ground attack on targets in Iran if diplomacy fails to halt the Iranian nuclear programme. The inner cabinet of Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, gave “initial authorisation” for an attack at a private meeting last month on his ranch in the Negev desert. Israeli forces have used a mock-up of Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment plant in the desert to practise destroying it. Their tactics include raids by Israel’s elite Shaldag (…

Getting to Yes With Iran: The Challenges of Coercive Diplomacy (Foreign Affairs, January/February 2013)

Russia cancels Syrian S-300 deal (Jane's)

Oman retires Jaguars (Jane's)

US offers warships to India for first time NEW DELHI, JULY 22 (PTI) OutlookIndia For the first time, the United States has offered India military hardware including warships like minesweepers and big landing ships, Chief of Naval staff Admiral Arun Prakash said here today. "The new defence framework being worked out between the two countries provides, for the first time, sale of military hardware," Prakash said as he pointed out that a high-level Naval delegation would visit the US soon to look at American Naval minesweepers and troop and equipment landing ships. According to military experts, the US gesture is significant as so far Washington's defence dea…

Here's some scary scenario fodder. India fighting a nuclear war on two fronts. After Testing China-Specific Missile, India Eyes ICBMs By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NEW DELHI DefenseNews Buoyed by the successful test of a missile that can hit China, India says it can extend its nuclear range beyond Asia, but experts say it is unlikely to take such a step for fear of upsetting the West. The launch on April 12 of the intermediate-range Agni-III missile capped New Delhi’s drive to produce a device capable of striking targets 3,500 kilometers (2,170 miles) inside China, which has an unresolved border dispute with India. The government’s Defence Research and Devel…

U.N. OKs foreign ships to fight Somali pirates By John Heilprin - The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday Jun 3, 2008 7:50:07 EDT UNITED NATIONS — Foreign ships gained authorization Monday to enter Somali waters when fighting piracy and armed robbery — rampant problems along the African nation’s lawless coast. The U.N. Security Council’s 15 members unanimously adopted a resolution intended to combat the attacks and hijacking of vessels along the country’s 1,880-mile coastline, the continent’s longest. More than a dozen pirate attacks have occurred this year alone, creating concerns for shipping along routes that connect the Indian Ocean with the Red Sea. Tw…

France Sells 24 Rafale Fighters to Qatar (DefenseNews)

From Aviation Week Japan Wants Electronic Attack In Next Fighter Jun 3, 2008 David A. Fulghum/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report TOKYO – Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor still appeals to Japan’s leadership, but there’s an implacable demand for Japan’s industrial participation in any aircraft it operates, which appears to be diminishing demand for the Raptor. “We must have the capabilities within Japan for technical support, maintenance and upgrading to meet changing circumstances during the F-X’s lifetime,” says Maj. Gen. Hidetoshi Hirata, director of the Defense Planning and Policy Department in Japan’s Defense Ministry air staff. As far as F-X capabilities,…

From DefenseNews Iranian Military Planes Crashes in Annual Parade By THOMAS NEWDICK Published: 22 Sep 2009 18:49 TEHRAN - Iran's sole Simorgh AWACS aircraft was lost during a military parade Sept. 22, one of two Iranian military aircraft that crashed in Tehran while participating in a display to mark the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force operated a single Simorgh, a former Iraqi Air Force Adnan. The Adnan AWACS was in turn a modification of a Soviet-built Ilyushin Il-76 transport. The Simorgh collided with one of the Air Force's Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighters over the area of the Imam Khomeyni …