Mali: French major airstrikes north of Kidal

Major French airstrikes were carried out in the night from Saturday to Sunday in northern Mali, in areas near the border with Algeria, told AFP Staff few hours after the visit of French President François Hollande in Timbuktu and Bamako.

These bombings north of Kidal Region and Tessalit town 70 km from Algeria, aimed deposits logistics and training centers of armed Islamist groups, said the spokesman of the Staff French armies, Colonel Thierry Burkhard.

Thirty units were involved: fighter-bombers, tankers, reconnaissance, it was pointed out the same source.

After taking successive Gao and Timbuktu, the French soldiers had taken over five days ago Airport Kidal town held by Tuareg rebels and Islamist dissidents claiming moderate.

Saturday during a one-day visit to Mali, President François Hollande promised after the recent success in the anti-Islamist, France remain the Mali side of the time it takes.

It is to go north end this operation with African armies engaged, said the French president.

India Hands Over a Dornier Surveillance Aircraft to Seychelles

The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony handed over a Dornier surveillance aircraft to the Foreign Minister of Seychelles Mr. Jean Paul Adam at a function here today. The maritime surveillance aircraft will be used to guard the extensive coastline of the island nation in the Indian Ocean. The Dornier 228 manufactured by the defence public sector undertaking, the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) will also be supported by the HAL team for maintenance on site to enable the new user to get the requisite expertise.

The DO-228 is a highly reliable, multi-purpose, fuel efficient, rugged, light weight twin turbo prop aircraft with a retractable tricycle landing gear.

Describing the event as yet another milestone in the defence cooperation between India and Seychelles, Shri Antony said HAL-DO-228 aircraft is being extensively utilized by our various users such as the Coast Guard, the Navy, Air Force and civilians for a variety of applications. He said it is a frontline surveillance platform for applications like maritime reconnaissance, intelligence warfare, search and rescue, pollution control and transport. He expressed confidence that the aircraft will prove useful for maritime applications by Seychelles, as it is fitted with the latest state of the art surveillance and communication equipment.

Australia pillar of the U.S. strategy in Asia

Australia is a key pillar of the U.S. strategy in Asia and the revaluation of their military strategy in this part of the world, said Friday the head of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) told reporters.

During a teleconference from Hawaii, Admiral Samuel Locklear said that Australia was a vital ally of the United States in the world that is emerging.

According to the PACOM commander of the Indian Ocean (west of Australia) represents a vital strategic region that can not be separated from the Asia-Pacific region.

When we consider our relations with Australia, it is a very good and close ally, who has historically been at our side, and I think that will continue in the future, he said.

Chinese navy conducted a training exercise in the western Pacific

A fleet of naval forces People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China has conducted Thursday morning as planned its first maritime operation training of the year in the western Pacific, after crossing the Strait of Miyako, it was learned from a military source.

The fleet entered the Strait at 5:50 and in the western Pacific to 10:00.

It reached its training area while facing high waves as it passes through the strait, according to the source.

The fleet consists of three ships - the destroyer against Qingdao and Yantai Yancheng frigates - carrying three helicopters, all belonging to the Sea Fleet of northern China.

Is China’s J-31 Stealth Fighter Going Navy All The Way?

A Chinese CCTV news program about the life of late Lou Yang, who oversaw theShenyang J-15 Flying Shark carrier-borne fighter project, briefly (6:01) showed a model of the Shenyang J-31 Falcon Eagle stealth fighter armed with anti-ship missiles. They do look like the YJ-82 Eagle Strike (C-802), which is a standard anti-ship missile used by both the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and the PLA Navy Air Force. Though it is a only model, it does appear on the desk of an AVIC/CATIC boss. There have been suggestions, no evidence, that the J-31 could be a candidate as a navalized fighter, perhaps even for future aircraft carriers now in

Russian-assembled Searcher UAV takes flight

 Russia's Ural Works of Civil Aviation (UZGA) has performed the first flight of a locally-assembled Israel Aerospace Industries Searcher II unmanned air vehicle.

During flight tests performed from Yekaterinburg in early December 2012, the type operated "smoothly" despite operations being performed with a ground temperature of about -30˚C (-22˚F), the Oboronprom group company says.

Since 2009, Moscow has signed deals worth an estimated $400 million to acquire Israeli UAVs and production know-how. IAI has already transferred technical documentation, components and also provided technician training in support of the pact, UZGA says.

Under the existing agreements, Russian industry will take on an increasing role during the production of Searcher II and IAI BirdEye-400 air vehicles for use by the nation's armed forces.

The plane Lorraine Skylander saved by a consortium of Asia?

Placed in receivership since October 4, Sky Aircraft subsidiary company lorraine GECI Aviation might have found a range takeover bid by a consortium of Hong Kong Technology and China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC).

Surprise to employees when Sky Aircraft Works amazing on January 31. A takeover offer "unexpected" was presented to them. "A society of Hong Kong, based on the first Chinese aircraft manufacturer wants to take Sky Aircraft and aircraft project developed lightweight Skylander Chambley since 2008" , as and the regional newspaper The Republican Lorrain.

"A takeover bid was made ​​by Hong Kong Technology Group Corporation. It seems well put together, well worked. But for now, the funds are not there" , confirmed Nathalie Hannis, CFE-CGC representative, to AFP.
The possible future new company would "completely independent" of GECI with, "Forward, 60% of Chinese capital" from partner Hong Kong Technology, China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC), for its part, tells a journalist Republican Lorrain on site .

Minister Claims Iran Makes Short-Range Air Defense System

Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi says Tehran HAS That Launched Production of Domestically Developed a short-range air defense system.

According To the minister, the air defense system - dubbed Ya Zahra - can detect, track and destroy short-range aerial targets, Including aircraft, helicopters and drones. Vahidi added mobile que le system, Which can be integrated with the Iranian defense network, can destroy several targets simultaneously. It features fully automatic tracking aussi, he said.

Russia Battles China Over Bangladesh

Russia has agreed to provide a billion dollars in loans to Bangladesh so the poor South Asian nation can buy Russian weapons. In the last decade Russia has again been offering credit to potential customers for Russian military gear. In the decade after the end of the Cold War in 1991, Russia was broke and sold weapons on a cash basis. No more generous terms as in the Cold War past. During the Cold War Russia never expected a lot of arms loans (especially to African and Middle Eastern nations that lacked oil) would not be repaid. No matter, having these nations buy Russian arms enhanced Russian pride and prestige as well as propelling Russia into the top five weapons exporting nations.

Elbit Systems and Windward Team to Introduce Advanced Maritime Surveillance Solution for India

Elbit Systems Ltd. has teamed with Windward Ltd. to offer integrated maritime solutions for the Indian authorities. The joint solution combines Windward’s innovative satellite-based maritime analytics system, MarInt, with Elbit Systems’ wide range of solutions for maritime domain awareness, including Hermes® 900 maritime patrol unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

The cooperation between the two companies addresses the specific needs of India and its vast and complex maritime arena and will be demonstrated for the first time globally at the upcoming Aero-India 2013. The cooperation makes available a unique system adapted for very large maritime area monitoring, providing authorities with powerful means to control India's waters. MarInt, Windward's proprietary satellite-based maritime analytics system, maps the global maritime activity in unprecedented details, based on data collected from various sources, such as commercial satellites, open-source data bases and other sensors. Covering any area of interest, regardless of the distance from shore, MarInt delivers maritime domain awareness over littoral or blue water areas, for Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) monitoring, fishery control, regional traffic analysis or port traffic management. After the routine maritime patterns are observed and learned, the system performs deep behavior analysis on every vessel spotted in the designated area of interest, in order to detect anomalous and suspicious behavior.

Amphibious American UAVs Invade The Philippines

On January 6th Filipino fishermen found what Appeared to an American UAV floating off the eastern Philippines. The red painted UAV was towed back to a beach and the Police Were called. The cops Summoned the navy and naval officer has reconnu the UAV as a BQM-74E Chukar target drone III. There was flat on the year ID UAV Which Said That, as well as showing the UAV When Entered Service (2008). The U.S. Navy (and several others) thesis uses drones to simulate enemy cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles. The 3.94 meter (12.9 foot) UAV Weighs 249 kg (548 pounds), is using a rocket Launched year and Have endurance of 68 minutes, top speed of 900 kilometers and hour year max ranks of about 500 kilometers. BQM-74Es are designed to use a parachute to land in the water and float Until lifted out, refurbished and reused. The BQM-74E uses year autopilot Which is programmed to fly a series of specific maneuvers at whatever speeds, direction and altitude (up to 12,000 meters/39, 000 feet) the user desires. Over 3.000 BQM-74s Have Been built since the late 1960s and the current ones cost about $ 375,000 each.

Eurocopter delivers 10th EC135 Training Helicopter to Japan Maritime Self Defense Force

Eurocopter Japan successfully handed over the 10th EC135 Training Helicopter (TH135, a variant of Eurocopter’s EC135 T2) to the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (MSDF) yesterday. The first TH135 was delivered in December 2009, to begin the replacement of their single-engine training helicopter fleet. The TH135s have been used by MSDF helicopter pilots since November 2011, with instrument flight training as part of the program from April 2012.

The TH135 is the customized version for MSDF, based on Eurocopter’s light twin-engine helicopter EC135 T2. The selection was made taking into account the efficiency of its life-cycle cost, thanks to the operation rate and ease of maintenance. The EC135 fleet joins the Japan Ministry of Defense as its second Eurocopter helicopter type; the other being the EC225 model, which is being operated for VIP transport by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.