RSAF gets refueling jet

A new airborne refueling plane was inducted into the Royal Saudi Air Force aircraft fuel fleet at Riyadh Airbase yesterday.
The new plane, called a330mrtt will supply fuel to F15s, Tornadoes and Typhoons while flying, bringing to six the number of airbus-made a33mrtt air refueling planes.
The plane, which belongs to the TRA72-600 airbus generation, will also serve as passenger and light

A Look At Afghanistan's Drug Economy

Despite the best efforts of Afghanistan's drug eradication programme, the BBC has learned that farmers in several Afghan provinces, which had been deemed poppy-free, have gone back to cultivating opium poppies.

For years Afghanistan has been the world's largest producer of opium, the raw material for heroin, most of which is exported to Iran, Russia and Europe.
Programmes by the Nato-led Isaf force, the Afghan government and the UN to entice farmers away from cultivating the flower met with some success.
But farmers say that the high sale price of opium is difficult for them to resist.
They have another gripe: although the Afghan government and the international community initiated opium eradication programmes, many farmers say promises to provide high-quality seeds and fertiliser, carry out developmental projects and promote alternative careers have not been kept.

And despite an aggressive campaign to destroy the crop, the total area under poppy cultivation increased by 18% in 2012, reaching 154,000 hectares (380,000 acres), compared with 131,000 hectares in 2011, according to a 2012 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report and Afghan officials.

One piece of apparently good news from that report was that the overall production of opium decreased by 36% - from nearly 6,000 tonnes in 2011 to around 3,700 tonnes in 2012.
But experts say this was due to a lower yield caused by plant disease and adverse weather conditions in several parts of the country.
Better income A common complaint from Afghan farmers is that traditional crops, grown legally, do not bring them enough money.

Singapore and Malaysian navies begin exercise Malapura 2013

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is Conducting annual bilateral maritime joined exercise, Malapura 2013, with the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) at Changi Naval Base (CNB) in Singapore.

 

During the 12-day exercise, from around 540 staff will participate in. Both navies attached schedule and training at NBC, as well as perform operations in conventional warfare naval and maritime security, in the Malacca Strait.

The RSN will deploy icts first DCNS-developed Formidable-class multi-mission frigate RSS Supreme (73), second-class missile corvette Victory RSS Valour and the second Singapore Technologies built-Fearless-class patrol vessel RSS Independence (87) for the exercise .

Yarrow Shipbuilders-built frigate KD Lekiu-class Lekiu (F30), in addition to Boustead Naval Shipyard-designed two-class offshore patrol Kedah vessels KD Kelantan (F175) and KD Selangor (F176), will Represent the Malaysian Navy.

The 23rd in the series of exercises Held since 1984, has-beens Malapura 2013 designed to boost mutual understanding and interoperability, as well as professional ties Enhance Among Participating navy personnel.

India arrests man accused of spying for Pakistan

Indian police say they have arrested a man suspected of passing military secrets to arch-rival Pakistan.

The man, an Indian citizen, was held in the western state of Rajasthan near the two countries' border.
Police say he passed details of military exercises held last week to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.
India and Pakistan frequently accuse each other of spying. The arrest comes after weeks of tension over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
The alleged spy is accused of "passing information related to Indian defence installations and military activities", senior police officer DS Dinkar told AFP news agency.
One report says his telephone calls to a relative in Pakistan, who it is alleged works for Pakistani intelligence, were intercepted.
The man was arrested by army intelligence at his house in a village near the town of Pokhran on Sunday and is being questioned by security agencies.

Philippines Martial Law Victims to Receive Reparations

Philippine President Benigno Aquino signed into law Monday legislation that would recognize and compensate victims of human rights abuses during martial law under former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Lawmakers spent 14 years trying to pass various forms of a proposal that would make the government recognize human rights victims of injustices under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Congressman Walden Bello says it passed this year because many legislators realized the victims were aging, if not dying, and had grown sickly.

“It’s great that we were finally able to muster the forces to get it through both Houses of Congress," Bello said. "Also, I think it’s very significant because the Philippines is one of the few if not the only government that has in fact designated reparations payments for human rights violations that have been admitted by its agencies.”

The new law sets aside $250 million to compensate victims or families of victims, determined by an independent panel, to have been murdered, tortured or suffered other injustices at the hands of law enforcement and the military of the Marcos administration.

Iran’s parliament approves North Korean-educated military official as communications minister

Iran’s parliament has approved a North Korean-educated former military official for a key post in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government.
The official IRNA news agency says Mohammad Hasan Nami — nominated by Ahmadinejad last week for the post of communications minister — got 177 votes in parliament on Tuesday. There were 243 lawmakers present in the 290-seat chamber.

Nami is the third minister with a military background to join Ahmadinejad administration, after Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi and Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar.
Nami holds a doctorate degree in state management from Kim Il-Sung University in Pyongyang, North Korea. He is also a former deputy defense minister and Iran’s ex-deputy Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Army.
Nami is fluent in English and is reportedly behind Iran’s national intranet project.

Italy's Finmeccanica delays results over India probe

Italian defense group Finmeccanica has delayed publication of its 2012 results after a bribery probe connected with the sale of 12 helicopters to Indian authorities, it said on Thursday.

After a board meeting, Finmeccanica said it had postponed the approval of its full-year accounts from March 12 to a new meeting to be held no later than April 30, to "evaluate the impact of recent economic events on its balance sheet."
Finmeccanica is at the centre of an Italian probe alleging that it paid bribes to win the 560 million euro ($750 million) contract awarded in 2010 to its Anglo-Italian helicopter unit AgustaWestland.
An Indian delegation is in Italy to collect evidence relating to the probe, which escalated last week with the arrest of the then head of Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi.
The Italian investigation is putting pressure on the Indian government, already buffeted by a string of graft cases. It has also become a political issue in Italy ahead of parliamentary elections on February 24-25.
Italian prosecutors accuse Orsi of paying bribes to intermediaries to secure the helicopter deal back in 2010, when he was head of AgustaWestland. According to the arrest warrant, the Indian tender was twisted to favor the Italian firm.
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday the government had nothing to hide.
Orsi has denied any wrongdoing.

Russian naval task force to be deployed in Mediterranean

A permanent task force of the Russian Navy will be deployed in the Mediterranean Sea in 2015, a military source told Interfax-AVN on Monday.
"The formation of a naval task force by 2015 is under consideration; ships of the Black Sea Fleet will be its backbone and the Soviet Navy Mediterranean squadron will be its prototype. The force will accomplish scheduled and urgent missions on the Mediterranean theater of operations, including deterrence of threats to Russian national and military security coming from that sector," the source said.
Naval operations in the Mediterranean Sea by the unified scenario were successfully practiced in the exercises held in that area in January, he said.

China: delivery of a new frigate for the Navy

The first Chinese stealth frigate type 056 was delivered Monday afternoon to the Navy of People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China in Shanghai.

This new generation frigate will soon be commissioning large-scale navigation and requires only a third of the crew of the previous model of type 053, according to a report published Tuesday in the journal of the PLA.

The new frigate should be primarily deployed for escort missions and operations anti-submarine, the report said.

According to the newspaper, delivery of the frigate marked the beginning of the systematic modernization of the Chinese Navy equipment.

Sapphire is a Canadian satellite launched successfully

Sapphire, the first operational military satellite specializes Canada was successfully launched today at Sriharikota, India, the Indian Space Research Organization.

"It is with great pleasure that I announce the successful launch of Sapphire Canada, "said Defence Minister Peter MacKay. "The investment in the satellite Sapphire makes sense, because it will help to protect billions of dollars in goods space in various fields, such as telecommunications, meteorology, search and rescue, and global positioning systems." the Canadian Satellite Sapphire, an electro-optical space, will track objects created by humans in high Earth orbit to improve knowledge of Canada's spatial location. The data obtained will contribute to Sapphire Space Surveillance Network of the United States, thus enhancing the ability of these countries to detect orbiting objects and avoid collisions between them and space platforms essential. Canada's contribution also provides access to orbital data on space objects. "Launching Sapphire ensure the continued cooperation of the Canadian Armed Forces with other countries in the area of space surveillance," said Vice Admiral Bruce Donaldson, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. "This milestone marks another important step in reducing threats to our critical space capabilities." Sapphire now turn to the phase of commissioning. During the latter, the main contractor, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., Will ensure that the satellite meets all the performance requirements. Once this phase is completed, the

Flights of F-35 fighter could resume soon

The F-35, the new generation of military aircraft of the Pentagon with the test flights were suspended due to potential engine problems, should return to the air within a fortnight, said Monday the program director.

The U.S. military had suspended test flights Friday, as a precaution, after the discovery of a crack on the blade of a turbine engine of an F-35, based on Edwards California (west).

If the crack appears to have been caused by a foreign object, or just a manufacturing defect, I expect the plane back in the air next week or the week after, said Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan before press in Australia, where he is on tour to promote the device.

If it is more than that, we look at what are the risks for the fleet, he added. I think the aircraft will resume its flights within a reasonable time period if it is not a serious problem.

I do not expect that this problem will delay a major stages of the program, I can not imagine that even in the worst case scenario, said Christopher Bogdan, describing the project as on track and on time.

Further difficulties may arise in the testing phase, while only 35 to 40% of tests were made, he said. But we have enough money and (planned) developing sufficient time to take care of these things, he said.

The Pentagon feeds high hopes for its F-35 fighter, which will replace the current fighter aircraft of the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines by the end of the decade.

The U.S. military plans to produce 2,443 aircraft for itself, and hundreds of others for eight international partners, including Australia, have invested in this project, as well as two other customers, Japan and Israel .

Sweden commits to Gripen E funds first program

London - Sweden HAS Placed icts first contract with Saab linked to the introduction of 60 new-generation Gripen fighters from E 2018.

Announced in mid-February, the share of development forms a Potentially SKr47.2 billion ($ 7.4 billion) deal to field the single-seat combat aircraft, Which HAS Including design features extended-range performance, an Active Electronically Scanned Array radar and Internally Carried weapons.

Saab HAS RECEIVED year initial development SKr2.5 one billion order from Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) covering activities in 2013-14, with a further Top award aussi SKr10.6 one billion due in the first quarter of this year. A hand covering the modification deal of 60 C-model Gripens to the new standard operating shoulds be Concluded by the end of 2013, the company says, with a support contract linked to year initial batch of aircraft Likely to be signed by late 2014. Final deliveries are due in 2026 under falling on the agreement.

The Swedish parliament recently approved plans to proceed with the Gripen E program aussi With Their actions with regard to significant at Planned Swiss Air Force purchase of 22 new-build examples. The total program includes the SKr47.2 one billion projected purchase and Support Costs for the Swiss fighters. However, Saab notes: "The agreement includes sections aussi Regulating the terms shoulds Switzerland decided not to Acquire Gripen E", and for the FMV aussi "to fully or Partly make cancellations," with compensation clauses attached.