Current Events in Mideast-Africa

From Defense Aerospace U.S. Postpones Defense Meetings with Pakistan (Source: US Department of Defense; issued Nov 5, 2007) BEIJING --- The United States is watching the developing situation in Pakistan closely and will review all assistance programs to the country, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. “Pakistan is a country of great strategic importance to the United States and a key partner in the war on terror,” the secretary said during a news conference at the Chinese Ministry of National Defense. Gates spoke after meeting with Chinese Minister of National Defense Gen. Cao Gangchuan. Gates said the United States urges Pakistani Pres…

From Stratfor Pakistan, Bhutto and the U.S.-Jihadist Endgame January 2, 2008 | 2205 GMT By George Friedman The endgame of the U.S.-jihadist war always had to be played out in Pakistan. There are two reasons that could account for this. The first is simple: Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda command cell are located in Pakistan. The war cannot end while the command cell functions or has a chance of regenerating. The second reason is more complicated. The United States and NATO are engaged in a war in Afghanistan. Where the Soviets lost with 300,000 troops, the Americans and NATO are fighting with less than 50,000. Any hope of defeating the Taliban, or of reaching s…

From Defense Aerospace Morocco - F-16C/D Block 50/52 Aircraft (Source: US Defense Security Cooperation Agency; dated Dec. 18, web-posted Dec. 19, 2007) (See note at bottom) WASHINGTON --- The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Morocco of F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $2.4 billion. The Government of Morocco has requested a possible sale of Major Defense Equipment (MDE): -- 24 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft with either the F100-PW-229 or F110-GE-129 Increased Performance Engines (IPE)…

From Flight International DATE: 20/12/07 SOURCE: Flightglobal.com Turkish air force in major attack on Kurdish camps By Tolga Ozbek The Turkish air force launched one of its largest ever strike missions on 16 December, sending more than 50 aircraft to take part in an attack on Kurdish rebel camps 150km (81nm) inside northern Iraq. Flown from Diyarbakir and Malatya air bases, the night-time mission involved 30 Lockheed Martin F-16s equipped with Lockheed Lantirn targeting pods and 20 modernised McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom. Inflight refuelling support was provided by two Boeing KC-135 tankers. Ankara says its fighters deployed 453kg (1,000lb) Mk82 a…

From Aviation Week Israel Wants JSF As Soon As Possible Dec 16, 2007 David A. Fulghum, Robert Wall and Douglas Barrie Israel plans to keep its aerial domination of the Middle East intact, and that includes buying Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, accelerating its first deliveries, and deciding whose advanced equipment will be packed into the stealthy strike aircraft. A senior Israeli air force (IAF) official says those major areas of concern appear to be on the right track because of an “understanding” with the U.S. officials. Washington’s representatives are more ambiguous, saying that there has been no official change to Israel’s F-35 program. …

From Stratfor The NIE Report: Solving a Geopolitical Problem with Iran By George Friedman The United States released a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Dec. 3. It said, "We judge with high confidence that in the fall of 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program." It went on to say, "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005." It further said, "Our assessment that Iran halted the program in 2003 primarily in response to international pressure indicates Tehran's decisions are guided by a cost-benefit approach rather than a rush to a weapon irr…

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 BBC News Last Updated: Wednesday, 12 September 2007, 20:38 GMT 21:38 UK Israel's Syria 'raid' remains a mystery By Jonathan Marcus BBC diplomatic correspondent During the early hours of last Thursday morning, a number of Israeli jets appear to have entered Syrian air-space from the Mediterranean Sea, possibly penetrating deep into the country. Later unidentified drop tanks, which may have contained fuel for the planes, were found on Turkish soil near the Syrian border, indicating perhaps the Israeli jets' exit route. The Syrian authorities are livid. They say that the aircraft were driven off but that they fired their weaponry into a deserted ar…

From Flight International DATE: 29/11/07 SOURCE: Flightglobal.com India to extend Sea Harrier by 15 years By Radhakrishna Rao The Indian navy is to go ahead with a "limited upgrade" of its carrier-borne BAE Systems Sea Harrier fighters. This is to be completed in 2008 and will extend their lives by 15 years. The upgrade, to be performed by Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics, will include more advanced sensors, radars and avionics. According to defence minister A K Antony, half of India's Harrier fleet has been lost in accidents.

From Navy Times Iran says it plans major gulf naval exercise By Philip Ewing - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Nov 27, 2007 5:38:40 EST Iran’s navy will stage a large exercise in the Persian Gulf in February, an official English-language Tehran newspaper reported Sunday, including maneuvers planned specifically for the Strait of Hormuz, the choke point through which some 20 percent of the world’s oil passes. Code-named “Etand 86,” or “Unity 86,” the exercise will include the operational debut of a homebuilt diesel-electric attack submarine, The Tehran Times reported. Navy commander Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayari told the newspaper that the navy expected to tak…

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 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…

N. Korea thanks U.S. for fighting pirates By Burt Herman - The Associated Press Posted : Friday Nov 9, 2007 8:26:16 EST SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea expressed rare gratitude Thursday for U.S. help in ending a high-seas standoff with Somali pirates, a sign of warming ties between the longtime foes fostered by progress on Pyongyang’s nuclear disarmament. The U.S. Navy’s aid to North Korean sailors last week was unprecedented in the half-century of hostility between the Cold War enemies, according to the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C. The North’s Korean Central News Agency hailed the maritime collaboration as a “symbol of cooperation” betwee…

From Stratfor Pakistan and its Army By George Friedman Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency over the weekend, precipitating a wave of arrests, the suspension of certain media operations and the intermittent disruption of communications in and out of Pakistan. As expected, protests erupted throughout Pakistan by Nov. 5, with clashes between protesting lawyers and police reported in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and several other cities. Thus far, however, the army appears to be responding to Musharraf's commands. The primary issue, as Musharraf framed it, was the Pakistani Supreme Court's decision to release about 60 people the …

MRAPs going to Iraq on Russian cargo planes By Erik Holmes - Staff writer Posted : Friday Oct 26, 2007 17:29:47 EDT The Air Force has been forced to use Russian commercial cargo jets to rush mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles from the U.S. to Iraq because it does not have enough C-5 and C-17 planes to do the job, the service’s top civilian official said recently. Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne said at an Oct. 24 House Armed Services Committee hearing that American reliance on Russian Antonov jumbo jets to move critical war supplies indicates that the Air Force may need more than its current 300 C-5s and C-17s. “We are now sharing the mission o…

From Army Times Turkish planes, copters attack rebels in Iraq By Selcan Hacaoglu - The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday Oct 24, 2007 9:50:18 EDT ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships reportedly attacked positions of Kurdish rebels along its rugged border with Iraq on Wednesday, as Turkey’s military stepped up its anti-rebel operations. Several F-16 warplanes loaded with bombs took off from an air base in southeastern city of Diyarbakir, private Dogan news agency and local reporters said. The warplanes and helicopter gunships bombed mountain paths in Turkey used by rebels to infiltrate from neighboring Iraq, Anatolia reported. On S…

From Defense Aerospace New Success for DCNS in Morocco (Source: DCNS; issued Oct. 23, 2007) PARIS --- In the course of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's recent state visit to Morocco, the Kingdom's highest authorities confirmed an agreement between the two countries to provide the Royal Moroccan Navy with a FREMM multi-mission frigate. This multi-mission front-line fighting ship will expand the Navy's operational capabilities, particularly for anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine missions. In addition to reduced crewing (a little over 100 officers and sailors), the ship will benefit from the many advances arising from the FREMM programme to produce a …

From Defence Talk Iran warns it can fire 11,000 rockets in one minute if attacked RIA Novosti | Oct 22, 2007 TEHRAN: Iran has the capability to fire 11,000 rockets at enemy bases within one minute if the country is attacked, a top commander in the Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Saturday. "Within the first minute of any attack by enemies against our country, the missile and artillery unit of the ground force is capable of firing 11,000 missiles and shells at targets that are known to us," Gen. Mahmoud Chaharbaghi, the top missile commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said on national TV. Iran has precise data on the deployment of potential attackers' …

Source: Air Force Link - Reaper UAV now flying in Afghanistan

From DefenseNews Posted 10/15/07 20:16 India Working on Sea-Based Nuclear Missiles By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI NEW DELHI — India is drawing closer to a sea-based nuclear strike capacity. The hull of its homegrown nuclear-powered submarine, the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV), is under construction by the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) shipyard and is slated for sea trials in 2009, Indian Navy sources said. Land-based tests of some systems are already completed. The classified program is being run by the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with help from Russia. India also is buying two Russian nuclear-powered subs. The DRDO is developin…