Current Events in Mideast-Africa

From DefenseNews Pakistan Test-Fires First Cruise Missile By DANNY KEMP, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ISLAMABAD Pakistan successfully test-fired its first cruise missile on Thursday, joining a select club of nations which have developed the ground-hugging projectiles, the military said. Military ruler President Pervez Musharraf hailed the launch of the Hatf VII Babur, which is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, as a “major milestone” in the country’s defense program, an army statement said. Pakistan did not give advance warning to rival India, despite a deal made at the weekend between the two countries to notify each other before missile tests and to set up …

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 …

Here's an interesting excerpt about how AIP works. Check out the full article at: DefenseIndustryDaily India Looks to Modify Scorpene Subs With MESMA AIP Propulsion Posted 01-Mar-2006 10:50 Back on September 19, 2005, DID offered in-depth coverage of India's $3.5 billion local-build deal for 6 SSK Scorpene Class ultra-quiet diesel-electric submarines between 2012-1017, as well as the present status and future plans of the rival Chinese and Pakistani submarine programs. Now the Times of India reports that India's Navy wants the last 3 submarines to include DCN's MESMA air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, changing them from CM-2000 to AM-2000 Scorpene desi…

From Navy Times Stennis leaves home port for Middle East The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday Jan 17, 2007 7:56:51 EST DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The aircraft carrier John C. Stennis set sail for the Middle East on Tuesday, leaving its Bremerton, Wash., home port to help beef up U.S. forces near Iraq and Iran. The Stennis’ arrival, expected in about a month, will mark the first time since the U.S.-led Iraq invasion in 2003 that the U.S. will have two carrier battle groups in the region. The increase in forces is a show of strength by the U.S. in the face of Iran’s growing regional assertiveness and a perception among adversaries that the U.S. is vu…

From Flight International DATE:20/04/07 SOURCE:Flightglobal.com Israel in talks with USA over F-22 orders By Arie Egozi Israel has approached the USA about acquiring Lockheed Martin F-22s as concern mounts about new threats to the country’s regional air superiority. Sources say that the issue was raised during a one-day trip by US defence secretary Robert Gates to Israel last week. Washington has so far not authorised the export of the Raptor stealth fighter, but sources in Israel say this is the first time a “reasonable” request has been made. Among the subjects discussed with the country’s prime minister and defence minister were Israel’s conce…

Israeli Navy to begin installing Barak 8 on Sa'ar 4.5 corvettes (Jane's)

Israeli Satellite Imagery Shows Russian Nuclear-Capable Missiles in Syria (DefenseNews)

https://www.voanews.com/a/iranian-made-drone-targeted-coalition-patrol-syria/3894474.html

Nuclear subs on lease from Russia to India ST. PETERSBURG—The construction of a training centre for the Indian military in Sosnovy Bor, 70 kilometers west of St. Petersburg, confirms Russia’s intentions to lease nuclear submarines to India, said Green World Chairman Oleg Bodrov. Vera Ponomaryova, 2005-08-16 15:56 Bellona The international centre will open in September in the town that also hosts the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant, and will train some 300 Indian naval officers. Sosnovy Bor is home to the Russian Training Centre for Officers of the Russian Navy which houses working nuclear reactors of the type found on nuclear submarines. These reactors a…

The gas flows from the sea and the IAF is on alert (Flight Global, Ariel View blog) Definitely scenario fodder there ...

From DefenseNews Posted 04/20/07 11:14 Kuwait Readies for Possible U.S.-Iran War By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, KUWAIT CITY U.S. ally Kuwait is to form an emergency team to draw up contingency plans for any conflict between the United States and Iran, a senior minister said in comments published April 20. ”The team ... will devise a comprehensive contingency plan to deal with risks that may result in case a war breaks out in the Gulf on the back of the rising U.S. military escalation towards Iran,” State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Faisal al-Hajji told the Al-Watan daily. The cabinet will form the team at its weekly meeting on April 22, drawing on officials from th…

An interesting and timely story, particularly in light of today's elections (see BBC News link), though in many ways the outcome has already been decided by the Guardian Council ... From Jane's Evidence emerges of Iran's continued nuclear weapons research By Mark Harrington 14 March 2008 Documents shown exclusively to Jane's indicate that Iran is continuing its pursuit of the advanced technologies necessary to develop a nuclear weapon, regardless of Tehran's claims that its nuclear programme is purely peaceful. Jane's was shown the information by a source connected to a Western intelligence service, and the documents were verified by a number of reliable…

From Defense Aerospace [excerpt]

Syria reportedly receives MiG-31 interceptors from Russia (Jane's) Interesting choice given the ongoing civil war.

From Defense Aerospace US Arms Package to S. Arabia Delayed Due to Israeli Objections (Source: ddi Indian Government news; issued April 5, 2007) A major arms-sale package that the Bush administration is planning to offer Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies to deter Iran has been delayed due to objections from Israel, saying the advanced weaponry would erode its military advantage over its regional rivals. Israeli officials, including the former defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, have come to Washington in recent months to argue against elements of the planned sales, the New York Times reported. In particular, the Israelis are concerned about the po…

Showdown With Iran? Maybe Not In 2013 (AOL Defense) The year we reckon with Iran (Fareed Zakaria)

From DefenseNews Allies India, Russia Plans Air-Land Military Exercises By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NEW DELHI Military allies Russia and India will hold their largest-ever war games in October with a focus on anti-terrorism combat using airborne commandos and ground forces, India’s defense ministry said Thursday. They said the joint military exercises would be held in the sprawling Thar desert bordering Pakistan in the middle of October. The week-long war games involving special forces units of the two post Cold War allies would “seek to strike an inter-operability between land forces for possible future operations under international peacekeeping banners in…

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 DefenseNews India To Build Aircraft Carrier to Own Design By ELIZABETH ROCHE, NEW DELHI India next month will begin building an indigenously designed aircraft carrier that will tap Italian expertise and take eight years to complete, a senior naval officer announced March 22. The carrier is designed to operate a mix of Russian MiG-29K and Kamov 31 anti-submarine helicopters and the naval variant of India’s light combat aircraft, said Vice Admiral Yashwant Prasad, the vice chief of naval staff. Construction of the 37,500-ton ship which would carry a maximum of 30 fighter aircraft will start April 11 at Cochin Shipyard in the southern state of Kerala. I…