Current Events in Mideast-Africa

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 Navy Times Gator gets some against Somali pirates By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Jun 5, 2007 17:25:15 EDT The dock landing ship Carter Hall shot flares, fired warning bursts and unleashed a volley that set fire to three skiffs towed behind a hijacked Danish cargo ship off Somalia on Tuesday, but it could not prevent the freighter from slipping out of international waters and towards a known pirate camp, the Navy said. The Danica White, a Danish-flagged merchant vessel with a crew of five, was hijacked by pirates early Saturday in view of a French warship that could not cross into Somali territorial waters to offer help. The Danica Whit…

From Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report - Move and Countermove: Ahmadinejad and Bush Duel GEOPOLITICAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT 08.29.2007 Dr. George Friedman Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Aug. 28 that U.S. power in Iraq is rapidly being destroyed. Then he said that Iran, with the help of regional friends and the Iraqi nation, is ready to fill the vacuum. Ahmadinejad specifically reached out to Saudi Arabia, saying the Saudis and Iranians could collaborate in managing Iraq. Later in the day, U.S. President George W. Bush responded, saying, "I want our fellow citizens to consider what would happen if these forces of radicalism and extremism are al…

As I've stated in the past, I'll put my personal experience in the Middle East up against that of any member of this group. In all my years working in Saudi Arabia, I found that there are many good folks there, but also some who seem to be in a perpetual state of looking for something to be offended by, especially over religious matters. A seemingly innocuous remark or action could rapidly escalate into someone being "Offended", and even more rapid unemployment. With this fact in mind, my initial employer decided to see that all hirees received training in the various aspects of society that could prove problematic. Hard as it may be for some Americans to accept, w…

Stealth Fighters Make Combat Debut as U.S. Bombs Syria (War is Boring)

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 …

Building A Modern Arsenal In India By Heather Timmons and Somini Sengupta NEW DELHI, Aug. 30 — India is developing a military appetite to match its growing economic power. Over the next five years, military analysts expect the country to spend as much as $40 billion on weapons procurement alone, more than its entire annual armaments budget today — upgrading systems as diverse as jet fighters, artillery, submarines and tanks in its largely Soviet-era arsenal. As a result, India will become one of the largest military markets in the world. For American contractors, which had been shut out of India for decades, the surge in demand comes just as relations betw…

From Aviation Week [excerpt]

Russia Is Setting Up A Forward Operating Base in Syria, Pentagon Confirms (Defense One)

Possibly supersonic and ram-jet powered: http://defense-update.com/20160327_israeli_anti_ship_missile.html

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…

Sinking of INS Khukri: Was it avoidable? Rediff December 03, 2006 16:01 IST It has been thirty-five years since INS Khukri sank in the Arabian sea after being torpedoed by a Pakistani submarine. A new book believes that the incident could have been avoided had the naval top-brass been a little more careful. Questions are being raised over the very idea of forcing Khukri to face a submarine that was far superior and not allowing the anti-submarine Seaking helicopters to give cover to Khukri despite the Pakistani threat. Even the strategy that Capt Mahendra Nath Mullah adopted on the sea is probed. The book, The Sinking of INS Khukri: Survivors' Stories by …

From Defense Aerospace Experts Say Iranian Missile Program Poses Little Threat to US and Europe (Source: Voice of America news; issued June 7, 2007) WASHINGTON --- The U.S. says its proposal to base ballistic missile defense systems in eastern Europe is designed to deter what U.S. officials label as "rogue states," particularly Iran. As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, Western analysts believe Iran's missile program is still far from posing any threat to Europe or the United States. Iranian National Security Council Chairman Ali Larijani labeled the U.S. assertion that the proposed missile shield is aimed at Iran as a "joke" because, he said, Iranian …

From RIA Novosti 15:50 15/02/2011

Hurriyet Daily News link

Commanders in Gulf keep in touch with Iran By Jim Krane - The Associated Press Posted : Friday Jun 8, 2007 5:58:39 EDT ABOARD THE USS NIMITZ IN THE GULF — Even as Iran and the U.S. face off bitterly, Navy commanders in the Persian Gulf are working quietly to keep communications open with Iran’s military, hoping the contact will avert an accidental stumble into armed confrontation. Most of the talk takes place over the crackle of radios, using the standard international bridge-to-bridge communications network, Rear Adm. Terry Blake, commander of the strike group led by the aircraft carrier Nimitz, said aboard ship this week. Other contacts are between Iran…

From Flight International DATE:30/08/07 SOURCE:Flightglobal.com Israel sets F-35 Joint Strike Fighter specifications By Arie Egozi The Israeli air force has completed a review of its design requirements for a national variant of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, with Tel Aviv expecting to make a decision to buy up to 100 of the US aircraft under a multi-year procurement. Details of the air force's unique requirements remain classified, but are known to include a locally built electronic-warfare suite and a new internally carried bomb to be developed by Israel Military Industries. The general staff of the Israeli defence forces will soon de…

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 RIA Novosti [excerpt] CV32: Perhaps 'more ready' would be a better description?

From Foreign Policy [excerpt]