Current Events in Mideast-Africa

From BBC News The Indian Air Force (IAF) has announced it will retire its fleet of MiG 25s, Cold War-era spyplanes, previously shrouded in secrecy. A spokesman said the last of the IAF's four surviving MiG-25s will be phased out of service on 1 May. The MiGs, capable of flying at over three times the speed of sound, were bought from the USSR in 1981. "It will be a nostalgic event and a flypast will be held," Air Vice Marshal S Mukherjee said. He said the aircraft would be shown at various installations after they had been retired. 'Darned good machine' India originally bought 10 of the MiGs from the Soviet Union and nicknamed the 20-ton reconna…

From DefenseNews Saudi Arabia said on April 3 that a deal to purchase Typhoon Eurofighter jets from Britain, believed to be worth billions of dollars, was on course after technical committees signed relevant documents. ”The papers of the Eurofighter jets deal were signed by the (Saudi and British) technical committees on March 28,” Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz told reporters. The documents “are now being studied by the political leadership (as a prelude to) signing them,” said Sultan, who is also defense minister of the oil-rich kingdom. ”The deal is on course, and there are no obstacles to it because it is in the kingdom’s interest,” he added. Saudi Arabia …

Published: 3/11/06, 6:25 PM EDT BOSTON (AP) - Former Nixon adviser Alexander Haig said military leaders in Iraq are repeating a mistake made in Vietnam by not applying the full force of the military to win the war Full Story

Published: 3/10/06, 10:36 PM EDT by the AP UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The five veto-holding members of the Security Council considered proposals on Friday to pressure Iran to resolve questions about its nuclear program, including demands that it abandon uranium enrichment and stop construction on a reactor, diplomats said. Full story Security Council Considers Iran ProposalsPublished: 3/10/06, 10:36 PM EDT by the AP

From DefenseNews Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on March 9 that if an all-out civil war erupts in Iraq, the plan would be for Iraqi government security forces, not U.S. forces, try to deal with the violence. "The plan is to prevent a civil war," Rumsfeld told a Senate panel in response to questions by Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, "and to the extent one were to occur to have the, from a security standpoint ... the Iraqi security forces deal with it to the extent they’re able to." Hundreds of people were killed in sectarian violence that flared after the Feb. 22 bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, one of Iraq’s four holiest Shi’ite shrines,…

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…

Three services to have BrahMos missiles The Hindu Arunkumar Bhatt The Navy has started inducting the missile, the Army and the Air Force to follow suit MUMBAI: While the Navy has started inducting multi-role, supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, in a big way, the Army and the Air Force are poised to follow suit to be able to `destabilise' critical targets with pinpoint accuracy. "Army is very keen to have the missile and we are working on the `land to land' version of it for the Army," said Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai, chief controller of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Dr. Pillai is also the managing director of BrahMos Aerosp…

Could al-Qaida take over Pakistan? Terrorists would inherit nuclear arsenal, delivery system This excerpt is from the latest issue of Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. Asia Times and the Times of India both report today the Taliban and al-Qaida already have taken "virtual control" of the entire North Waziristan province of Pakistan and "declared" the establishment of an "Islamic state" in the area, gaining a major base for their operations against the U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden may be the most popular figure in the nation. Just one man's life is preventing bin Laden or his allies from getting their hands not on nuclear weapons, which th…

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

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…

From DefenseNews Russia, China Want Talks, Not Sanctions on Iran By OLEG SHCHEDROV, REUTERS, MOSCOW Russia and China made clear on Jan. 17 they do not favor U.N. sanctions to induce Iran to scale back its nuclear program, and Tehran urged the European Union to return to the negotiating table. A senior British official dismissed as “vacuous” the Iranian offer, contained in a letter from Javad Vaeedi, deputy head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tehran should first halt all uranium enrichment work. “Talks presuppose an obligation. The Iranian obligation was to stick to the moratorium,” Lavrov said.…

Der Speigel: Israel preparing strike to take out Iranian nuclear sites Posted: 12/27 From: Israel Insider The German weekly Der Spiegel reported Saturday that the Mossad has marked six Iranian nuclear facilities as targets for an Israeli Air Force pre-emptive strike. An unnamed IAF pilot told the weekly that such a mission would be "complex, but feasible." The Los Angeles Times reported that Israel has modified U.S.-made Harpoon cruise missiles so it can launch nuclear warheads from submarines. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered Mossad chief Meir Dagani to devote "utmost efforts" to gather information about Iran's growing nuclear capabilities, Maariv reported …

From eDefense Saudi Arabia to Buy Typhoon Aircraft Source: UK Ministry of Defense Dec. 22, 2005 The governments of Saudi Arabia and the UK have today signed an "understanding document" intended to establish a greater partnership in modernizing the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces and developing close service-to-service contacts, especially through joint training and exercises. As part of this, the BAE Systems will invest in local Saudi companies, develop an industrial technology transfer plan, and provide suitable training for thousands of Saudi nationals providing through-life support for key in-service equipments. In addition, under the terms of the signed d…

Iran Bought Missiles From North Korea By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BERLIN DefenseNews Iran has bought 18 BM-25 missiles from North Korea which the Islamic Republic wants to transform to extend their range, the German press reported Dec. 16. ”Iran has bought 18 disassembled BM-25 missiles from North Korea with a range of 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles),” Bild newspaper said, citing a report from the German secret services. It added that Iran’s ultra conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to have the range of the missiles “extended to 3,500 kilometers”. The newspaper said that until now Iran only had Shehab-3 missiles with a range of 1,300 kilomete…

Russia Confirms Sale of Missiles to Iran By HENRY MEYER Associated Press Writer MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia has struck a deal to sell short-range, surface-to-air missiles to Iran, the defense minister said Monday, confirming reports that have raised concern in the United States and Israel. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov didn't give details. But Russian media have said that Moscow agreed in November to sell $1 billion worth of weapons to Iran, including up to 30 Tor-M1 missile systems over the next two years. "A contract for the delivery of air defense Tor missiles to Iran has indeed been signed," Ivanov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. "This…

From eDefense Indian Navy Preparing to Receive Nuclear Subs by Pulkit Singh Dec. 13, 2005 Indian Navy personnel have completed their training in Russia prior to the service taking possession of Akula-class nuclear submarines. According to Indian Navy sources, some 265 personnel, mostly from Vishakapatnam, were trained in Sosnovy Bor, west of St. Petersburg, for service onboard two Akula-class submarines (referred to as the Bars class in Russia) that India is negotiating to lease from Russia. Officially, Russia has yet to sign an agreement for the lease of two submarines, but the training of Indian Navy personnel suggests that such a deal between India and Russia…

from the November 28, 2005 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1128/p01s04-wosc.html Indian Air Force, in war games, gives US a run Foreign fighter jets performed well against F-16s in recent exercises. By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor NEW DELHI - Mingling over a few rounds of golf, dogfighting a bit over the jungles of West Bengal - this month's Cope India 2005 war games were billed as a standard two-week exercise between Indian and American top guns. But in website chat rooms devoted to the arcania of fighter aircraft, there was a buzz. Arre, wa! Oh, wow! Had the Indian Air Force beat the Americans? Not exactly, ac…

From DefenseNews U.S., EU Tentatively Back Russian Atom Plan for Iran By FRANCOIS MURPHY, REUTERS, VIENNA A Russian plan aimed at satisfying the world that Tehran’s atomic aims are peaceful has won tentative backing from the United States and the European Union’s top powers, diplomats said on Nov. 10. Under the proposal, supported by France, Britain and Germany, known as the EU3, and Washington, Iran would keep part of its atomic fuel production program if the most sensitive part, uranium enrichment, was scrapped and moved to Russia, diplomats say. Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, supports the compromis…

From Defense Aerospace South African Gripen Makes Its Maiden Flight (Source: Gripen International; issued Nov. 14, 2005) The first South African dual seat Gripen took to the skies on its maiden flight in Sweden on Friday 11 November 2005. Painted in South African Air Force grey livery, the aircraft took off at 13.40 from Saab’s Flight Test Centre in Linköping, Sweden. The flight lasted 1 hr 10 min. South African test pilot Charl Coetzee and Saab test pilot Magnus Olsson were at the controls for the first flight of South Africa’s future multi-/swing-role fighter. During the flight, the test team were able to validate the basic flight control syst…

India ready to export BrahMos The Hindu Special Correspondent Other countries also placing orders for cruise missile: Vice-Admiral Madanjit Singh MUMBAI: India has finally cleared the high-tech supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, and Chile could be among the first buyers. "The export of military hardware is no longer an issue, and we have started exporting the BrahMos," Vice-Admiral Madanjit Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, said on Thursday. He was addressing a seminar on "Navy-Industry Convergence: Challenges and Opportunities" here. Later, he told reporters that Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the CEO of BrahMo…