Current Events in Mideast-Africa

From RIA Novosti India, Russia develop airborne supersonic cruise missile 16:49 | 20/ 06/ 2008 NEW DELHI, June 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace joint venture has finished the development of the airborne version of an advanced supersonic missile, the company's managing director has said. Established in 1998, BrahMos Aerospace designs, produces, and markets supersonic missiles, whose sea-based and land-based versions have been successfully tested and put into service with the Indian Army and Navy. "For the airborne version...we had to reduce the mass of the missile and to ensure aerodynamic stability after its separation from the airc…

From DefenseNews Iran To Launch Navy War Games in Gulf By REUTERS, TEHRAN Iran will launch a week of naval war games in the Gulf and Sea of Oman on March 31 involving more than 17,000 troops and 500 large and small naval vessels, the official IRNA news agency reported. It quoted Admiral Morteza Saffari as saying on March 29 that the maneuvers would extend from the northern Gulf coastline to Chabahar on Iran’s southern coast on the Sea of Oman, IRNA reported. The naval war games were aimed "to display the Islamic system’s defensive capabilities", IRNA reported, adding that the maneuvers would start with firing a Shahab-2 missile. Air and ground forces would also…

Israeli Defense Chief Sounds Ready to Hit Iran, Thanks in Part to Iron Dome (Wired's Danger Room blog)

Turkey and Israel a high altitude crisis (Flight Global, Ariel View blog)

Launch of modernized Project 877EKM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o19rmiU-CuI Test launch of 3M14 (SS-N-27 Sizzler) cruise missile http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFyAJhJfjQU&feature=share

France takes 'immediate' military action amid CAR clashes (BBC)

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

Syria 'confirms' Israeli air strike near Lebanon border (BBC News)

The "little crappy ship" is so 'crappy' the Israelis want to study it ... hmmm From DefenseNews The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin a $5.2 million contract to study adapting the company’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) design for the Israeli Navy. During the nine-month feasibility study, Lockheed Martin will examine its LCS for hull, mechanical and electrical system compatibility with the Israeli Navy’s combat systems and other requirements, according to a company press release. The study could lead to contracts to design and build one or two ships for the Israeli Navy, the company said. The Lockheed single-hull design is one of two LCS versions being built…

I thought everyone would get a good laugh out of this one - - - Link [CV32: Edited to add link - you must always add the link when quoting a source - and to remove the bulk of the article. We don't want to bring a copyright MIRV down on our own heads. Please take note for further reference.]

From the Center for Strategic and International Studies (pdf) Vol I: The Conventional and Asymmetric Dimensions Vol II: The Missile and Nuclear Dimensions Vol III: The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula

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…

New Iranian sub seen for the first time (Jane's)

Magic Wand missile makes first flight (Jane's) aka David's Sling

From Stratfor GEOPOLITICAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT 05.16.2007 The United States, Iran and the Iraq Negotiation Process By George Friedman and Reva Bhalla At long last, the United States and Iran announced May 13 that they will engage in direct public bilateral talks over Iraq. From Washington, it was the office of Vice President Dick Cheney and the National Security Council that broke the news. From Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirmed that the two sides will meet in Baghdad in a few weeks, most likely at the ambassadorial level. That makes these talks as officially sanctioned as they can be. Already there have been two brief public meetings -- al…

Here's something for the Things That Make You Go Hmmmm File: http://nosint.blogspot.com/2012/10/irans-speedboats-capable-of-launching.html This update to the database, might make for some interesting Persian Gulf scenarios.

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…

An unmanned Syrian MiG-21 and the threat of chemical warfare (Flight Global's Ariel View blog) Interesting rumour ...

Now, with ever deadlier Adobe Photoshop stealth technology ... New York Times

From http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/syrias-dark-horses-with-lathes-makeshift-arms-production-in-aleppo-governorate-part-i/?partner=rss&emc=rss [excerpt] CV32: Necessity is the mother of invention, they say.