Current Events in Mideast-Africa

This link was originally posted by a member of the shipwreck yahoo group and appears to be interesting fodder for current day strait of Hormuz scenario development. MIT Press Journals - Closing Time Assessing the Iranian Threat to the Strait of Hormuz

Contradictory news reports about the ex HSV-2 Swift total loss near Bab-El-Mandeb strait, after impacted (probably) by a shore launched Chinese C-802 SSM, fired by Houthis militias. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-emirates-security-yemen-idUSKCN1213B7 But this video shows the great fire after the impact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTNeEYlO3Iw After the ex HSV-2 Swift demise, we can reckon on the same impact in a Independence-class LCS ... (yes, I know Independence displacement is some 2607 tn and Swift only some 940).

From Stratfor The Strait of Hormuz Incident and U.S. Strategy January 14, 2008 | 1955 GMT By George Friedman Iranian speedboats reportedly menaced U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Jan. 6. Since then, the United States has gone to great lengths to emphasize the threat posed by Iran to U.S. forces in the strait — and, by extension, to the transit of oil from the Persian Gulf region. The revelation of an Iranian threat in the Strait of Hormuz was very helpful to the United States, coming as it did just before U.S. President George W. Bush’s trip to the region. Washington will use the incident to push for an anti-Iranian coalition among the Gulf Arabs, as we…

From Defence Talk Algeria to acquire six modern Sukhoi-30 jet fighters Xinhua News Agency | Oct 5, 2007 Algeria will acquire, in the next few weeks, six Russian-made Sukhoi-30 jet fighters, local media reported Wednesday. The six Sukhoi aircrafts are part of a comprehensive purchase order of Russian arms by Algeria concluded in 2006, worth nearly 4 billion U.S. dollars. This order also includes Mig jet fighters, anti-air missiles and T-90 tanks, according to the Algerian daily newspaper "El Watan." The high prices of oil have enabled Algeria, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, to finance the professionalization of its armed for…

U.S. winds up biggest war games in Gulf since 2003 Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:52AM EDT MANAMA (Reuters) - The U.S. navy said on Thursday it had ordered an aircraft carrier to the Gulf to replace one of two patrolling the region, as the United States winds down naval war games on Iran's doorstep. The Nimitz carrier strike group will sail from San Diego for the Gulf on Monday, a navy spokesman told Reuters, to replace the Dwight D. Eisenhower, as tensions mount between Iran and the West over captured British troops and Iran's nuclear program. "She (the Nimitz) will deploy to the Gulf region. She is the relief for Eisenhower, who leaves and she replaces her," Lieutenant Co…

From DefenseNews Israel Subs Use Suez Canal for 1st Time: Report AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 5 Jul 2009 13:32 JERUSALEM - An Israeli submarine used the Suez Canal for the first time recently to get to military exercises in the Red Sea, a newspaper reported July 5, adding the move was aimed as a message to arch-foe Iran. The Dolphine submarine entered the canal that connects the Mediterranean and the Red seas during the day and was escorted by Egyptian navy vessels sometime in June, the Yediot Aharonot daily said. Previously Israeli submarines rounded the whole of Africa to get to exercises in the Red Sea, Yediot Aharonot reported. The daily said …

Syria's Uncertain Air Defense Capabilities (CSIS)

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 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 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 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 Navy Times U.S. to keep just 2 carrier groups in Gulf By Zachary M. Peterson - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Jul 10, 2007 17:42:00 EDT Despite a third aircraft carrier strike group steaming toward the Persian Gulf region, the Navy has no current plans to maintain three flattops in the volatile area, a Pentagon official said Tuesday. There are two carriers now in the U.S. Central Command area of operations: the John C. Stennis strike group in the Persian Gulf, and the Nimitz and its escorts in the North Arabian Sea, according to the Navy. The amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard and its expeditionary strike group is also in the region. The carrie…

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

From Flight International DATE: 11/03/08 SOURCE: Flightglobal.com Boeing's P-8I Poseidon close to India deal By Siva Govindasamy Boeing's P-8I Poseidon is close to winning India's competition for eight maritime patrol aircraft, providing further evidence of the country's growing defence ties with the USA. New Delhi has been in price negotiations with Boeing for the $2 billion, eight-aircraft requirement since December, while officials from EADS Casa - which is leading a rival bid based on the Airbus A319 - have not heard from Indian officials. With the bids due to expire on 31 March, sources close to the defence ministry expect a deal with Boeing to …

From Defence Talk Israel says will connect to US missile early warning system Agence France-Presse | Apr 15, 2008 Jerusalem: The United States has agreed to connect Israel to its ballistic missile early warning system to warn of any missile attack from archfoe Iran, a senior Israeli defence official said on Monday. "Israel asked the US to connect to its ballistic missile early warning system as part of its efforts to defend itself from missile attacks, first of all from Iran," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The US has agreed to the request," he said. Israel first benefited from the worldwide radar system, which was built in the 1959…

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 …

BBC News report So, I guess Mursi isn't as Islamist as some people feared...

IAF Jaguars ‘sink’ USS Nimitz, F-18s return the favour to INS Viraat Manu Pubby IndianExpress Posted online: Saturday, September 08, 2007 at 0000 hrs Print Email Malabar Exercise: From tracking nuclear submarines to managing 200 aircraft and taking on deep-sea terror threat, five Navies cover sweeping range of maritime operations ON BOARD USS Kitty Hawk (150 miles west of Port Blair), September 7: As the small green dots approached closer on the radar screen, the Indian officer sitting deep inside USS Nimitz knew it was too late to save the ship. Jaguar maritime fighters of the Indian Air Force (IAF), operating from the Car Nicobar air base, had managed to come…

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 Flight Global [excerpt]