Current Events in Mideast-Africa

The media are reporting wrongly (How not!) France has begun today his air bombing campaign against Daesh targets in Syria, but it's not true. The campaign, named Operation Chammal, begun on 27 September 2015, just three days before the Putin bombing actions from Latakia. But even before France was attacking Daesh targets in Irak from 18 September 2014, a year before: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op%C3%A9ration_Chammal Other references: Air Fan magazine, October 2015 issue: 6xRafale, 1xC-135, 1xAtlantique in Al Dhafra, UAE, and 3xMirage 2000D and 3xMirage 2000N operating from Jordania. The search engine (I was looking for Operation Chammal) in L'Armee de l'Air …

From Defence Talk Attacking Iran could speed up nuclear programme Agence France-Presse | Mar 5, 2007 Pre-emptive military strikes on Iran could accelerate rather than hinder Tehran's production of atomic weapons, a report by a British global security think-tank said Monday. Backed by the former chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq, Hans Blix, the Oxford Research Group said Iran could respond to an attack by launching a "crash programme" and build a crude nuclear device within months. "If Iran is moving towards a nuclear weapons capacity it is doing it relatively slowly, most estimates put it at least five years away," said one of the report's authors, leadi…

Israeli Jets In 'Iran-Attack Drill' Over Syria By Post Wire Services JERUSALEM - Israeli warplanes may have been testing air routes for a possible attack against Iran when they were fired on by Syrian forces, experts said yesterday. The official Syrian Arab News Agency Thursday quoted a military official as saying that Israeli jets broke the sound barrier flying over northern Syria earlier in the day, then "dropped munitions" onto deserted areas after being shot at by Syria's air defenses. Israel's air force may have been testing an air path to Iran, in case it decides to carry out an attack against that country's nuclear facilities, analysts said. The…

U.S.: Intelligence points to small-scale use of sarin in Syria (CNN)

A collection of arguments for and against military action ... From Foreign Affairs

From RIA Novosti [excerpt] CV32: It will be interesting to see how well that works out.

France confirms sale of Rafale to Egypt (Defense Update)

BBC News story Many of these guys fought for Gaddafi and took home some of his weapons...

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (aka the Iran nuke deal)

From Aviation Week [excerpt]

From the Aviationist: http://theaviationist.com/2013/08/19/sudan-su-24/

From CSIS ... Analyzing the Impact of Preventive Strikes Against Iran’s Nuclear Facilities http://csis.org/files/publication/120906_Iran_US_Preventive_Strikes.pdf

From Army Times Wars costing $12B a month, analysts say By Andrew Taylor - The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday Jul 10, 2007 6:26:35 EDT The boost in troop levels in Iraq has increased the cost of war there and in Afghanistan to $12 billion a month, and the total for Iraq alone is nearing a half-trillion dollars, congressional analysts say. All told, Congress has appropriated $610 billion in war-related money since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, roughly the same as the war in Vietnam. Iraq alone has cost $450 billion. The figures come from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which provides research and analysis to lawmakers. For the…

VIENNA (Reuters) - New satellite images show a heavy water plant in Iran, intended to supply a research reactor that could eventually produce plutonium for one atomic bomb a year, is nearly complete, a U.S. think-tank said on Friday. The photos of the plant in Arak, 240 km south of Tehran, were taken in February by the U.S. commercial satellite firms DigitalGlobe and Space Imaging and provided to Reuters by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a U.S. think-tank. "Adjacent to the reactor construction site (in Arak) is the heavy water production plant, which is almost completed and is anticipated to supply the necessary heavy water for the he…

Source Aviation News 17/06/2008 In spite of the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 having been declared multi-role operationally capable from the beginning of July the Ministry of Defence stated that the Royal Air Force’s Panavia Tornado GR.4s are to assume a new mission from early next year, with the type to replace a detachment of BAE Systems Harrier GR.7/9 ground-attack aircraft that has been based at Afghanistan’s Kandahar airfield since November 2004. Announcing the move on 16 June, UK defence secretary Des Browne described Joint Force Harrier’s provision of close air support services in Afghanistan (below) as "Amongst the most potent of all our capabilities in…

From Defense Aerospace Royal Navy Submarine Declared Safe After Grounding Incident (Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued May 27, 2008) The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the Royal Navy submarine HMS Superb struck an underwater pinnacle whilst on dived passage through the northern Red Sea yesterday, Monday 26 May 2008. There were no casualties and the submarine remains watertight, is safe on the surface and able to operate under its own power. The submarine's nuclear reactor is completely unaffected, and there is no environmental impact. Notwithstanding this, from the initial assessment onboard the submarine, it is clear that there is some damage…

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…

From Navy Times Kitty Hawk leaves Japan By Eric Talmadge - The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday May 28, 2008 14:39:04 EDT YOKOSUKA, Japan — The oldest active ship in the Navy, the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, made its final departure from Japan on Wednesday to be decommissioned after nearly a half-century of service. The Kitty Hawk, with sailors lining its decks, pulled away from Yokosuka port just south of Tokyo to the cheers of hundreds of schoolchildren and the sounds of brass bands. It flew the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, which designates it as the oldest ship in the Navy. The Kitty Hawk, the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier in the N…

From DefenseNews Posted 09/17/07 11:40 Saudis Sign $8.9B Eurofighter Deal By ANDREW CHUTER, LONDON The Saudi government has signed a deal with Britain to purchase Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, the largest single export order ever landed by the British defense industry. A contract covering the delivery of 72 Typhoons was signed Aug 29. Cost of the aircraft was put at 4.43 billon pounds ($8.9 billion), the Saudi Press Agency reported Sept. 17. A British Ministry of Defence statement confirmed the deal: “This new defence cooperation programme, known as ‘Project Salam,’ builds on a long and successful relationship between the Governments and their armed forces. Th…

From RIA Novosti Israel ready to counter Yakhont missiles — General Staff Israel is concerned by Russia's decision to sell anti-ship Yakhont missiles to Syria but the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) would be able to "deal" with the challenge, the chief of Israeli General Staff said on Tuesday. Russia earlier announced it would honor a 2007 contract on the delivery of several Bastion anti-ship missile systems armed with SS-N-26 Yakhont supersonic cruise missiles to Syria, despite efforts by Israel and the United States to stop the deal. "We have been following the deal for a long time. There were attempts by the highest political levels to thwart the deal but …