08 janvier 2015 Romandie.com (AFP)

Riga - Le président de la Commission européenne, Jean-Claude Juncker a annoncé jeudi à Riga son intention de proposer aux Etats membres un nouveau programme de lutte contre le terrorisme au lendemain de l'attentat meurtrier contre l'hebdomadaire satirique Charlie Hebdo à Paris.

Nous allons présenter un nouveau programme de lutte contre le terrorisme dans les semaines à venir, a-t-il annoncé au cours d'une conférence de presse avec Laimdota Straujuma, premier ministre de la Lettonie qui assure la présidence semestrielle de l'UE depuis le 1er janvier.

Il est encore trop tôt pour annoncer les détails, mais nous allons explorer un certain nombre de pistes, a-t-il précisé.

La Commission veut renforcer la collecte et l'échange d'informations au sein de l'UE, mais elle se heurte aux réticences des États et des élus européens.

Nous allons vérifier la qualité de la coopération entre les Etats membres, a relevé Jean-Claude Juncker. La lutte contre le terrorisme relève d'abord de la compétence de chaque Etat, mais il est évident que des interconnexions doivent être mises en place, a-t-il insisté.

La représentante de la diplomatie européenne Federica Mogherini a jugé urgent la mise en place d'un registre européen des données des passagers, un projet voulu par les États membres mais bloqué depuis 2011 par le Parlement européen.

Mme Mogherini a inscrit le renforcement des défenses européennes, en particulier face aux problèmes posés par les jeunes Européens enrôlés pour combattre en Syrie et en Irak à l'ordre du jour d'une réunion le 19 janvier à Bruxelles des ministres des Affaires étrangères de l'UE.

Elle préparera cette réunion avec le coordinateur européen pour la lutte contre le terrorisme Gilles de Kerchove, a précisé la Commission.

En matière de relations extérieures de l'UE, l'important est le travail avec les autres pays, notamment au Moyen Orient, a souligné Mme Mogherini.

J'étais en Irak et nous avons effectué un travail important et utile avec les autorités irakiennes pour que notre contribution contre Daesh (l'organisation de l'Etat islamiste) soit plus efficace et utile, a-t-elle expliqué.

Nous sommes convaincus qu'il faut séparer complètement les notions de terrorisme et d'Islam. Aucune religion ne peut être utilisée pour des actes aussi cruels et inhumains, a-t-elle insisté.

Mais le dossier est surtout du ressort des ministres de l'Intérieur et de la Justice qui se réunissent les 29 et 30 janvier à Riga.

Selon la Commission, ils devront notamment examiner les moyens de renforcer la coopération avec Europol et les autres agences européennes compétentes en matière de sécurité pour fluidifier l'échange d'informations, qui se heurte aux réserves des services de renseignements nationaux.

Les opposants au projet de PNR européen ne baissent toutefois pas la garde: je ne suis pas catégoriquement opposée à la collecte de données à des fins de sécurité, mais je demande que l'on fournisse au Parlement la preuve de la nécessité de collecter les données de tous les passagers,a expliqué à l'AFP leur chef de file, l'élue libérale néerlandaise Sophie Ind't Veldt.

Les ministres sont des cow-boys. Ils ne veulent pas de règles pour faire un contrepoids aux pouvoirs qu'ils réclament afin de garantir la protection des données, a-t-elle ajouté.

Dire qu'un PNR européen va permettre de suivre les mouvements des jeunes n'est pas sérieux. Si la directive est adoptée, il faudra des années pour sa mise en oeuvre. Ce n'est pas la réponse aux craintes de l'instant, a-t-elle soutenu.

Tous les experts nous disent qu'il faut davantage investir dans le renseignement et que les services secrets acceptent d'échanger leurs informations, a-t-elle conclu.

Près de 3.000 Européens se sont engagés au côté des mouvements islamistes radicaux en Syrie et en Irak. L'UE a de nombreux instruments pour les identifier, les suivre et les appréhender, mais leur mise en oeuvre s'avère difficile, notamment au vu des règles Schengen de libre-circulation.

7 janvier 2015 Par Olivier Kempf

Il est toujours délicat de commenter à chaud un événement grave comme l'attentat qui a eu lieu aujourd'hui contre le journal Charlie Hebdo. Toutefois, la gravité de l'événement et la portée probable qu'il aura incitent à s'y risquer, au vu des éléments connus à l'heure où j'écris (21h30). D'un mot, il s'agit d'un acte de guerre.

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05/01/2015 Armée de Terre

Les journées EIC NEB SIMU se sont déroulées les 17 et 18 décembre à l’École du génie d’Angers. Elles ont pour but de conduire une préparation à l’engagement interarmes à partir des garnisons.

Piloté par l’état-major de l’armée de Terre et mené par la sous-direction de la formation de la direction des ressources humaines de l’armée de Terre, le projet "Espace d'instruction collective à la numérisation de l'espace de bataille assisté par la simulation" est un des socles sur lesquels l'armée de Terre construit sa capacité d'entraînement décentralisé. Les EIC NEB SIMU sont donc appelés à jouer un rôle prépondérant dans le cadre de la préparation opérationnelle décentralisée (POD).

Cette année, ces journées ont été l’occasion de rassembler la communauté professionnelle des EIC NEB SIMU, de présenter les avancées du projet en matière d’équipements et solutions logicielles telles que SPARTACUS et de favoriser les échanges de savoir-faire.

 05/01/2015 IRSEM

Note de veille "Afrique" n°4 - 2014

- Transitions politiques
- Violence, conflits et terrorisme
- Forum pour la Paix et la Sécurité en Afrique

Note de veille "Afrique" n°3 - 2014

- Transitions politiques
- Violence, conflits et terrorisme
- Politique étrangère

Note de veille "Afrique" n°2 - 2014

- Relations bilatérales
- Violence, conflits et terrorisme
- Enjeux du secteur de la sécurité

Note de veille "Afrique" n°1 - 2014

- Maintien de la paix
- Violence, conflits et terrorisme
- Transition politique
- Virus Ebola

6 January 2015  Ministry of Defence

At the request of the Iraqi government, British forces have taken further action against ISIL terrorist targets.

In the early hours of 2 January, a Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 armed reconnaissance patrol located an ISIL armoured personnel carrier to the east of Al Qaim, and conducted a successful strike with a Brimstone missile. Later that day, a coalition surveillance aircraft observed ISIL positions concealed within woods north-west of Ramadi and another Tornado mounted an attack with two Paveway IV precision guided bombs.

On 4 January, an RAF Reaper, working in support of Iraqi army units, identified an ISIL vehicle and engaged it with a Hellfire missile. Shortly afterwards, the Reaper discovered an ISIL position close by, and attacked this with another Hellfire.

Reaper and Tornado missions were also flown on the morning of 5 January. Tornados again patrolled the Al Qaim area, where they destroyed an ISIL excavator vehicle, used to construct fortified positions, with a Brimstone, while a Reaper, scouting ahead of Iraqi troops, spotted an armoured vehicle being moved by ISIL on a heavy equipment transporter. A Hellfire missile scored a direct hit on the armoured vehicle, another Hellfire destroyed the transporter itself, and a third missile struck an ISIL position nearby.

On 23 December, Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s, operating out of RAF Akrotiri, conducted an armed reconnaissance mission near Al Qaim, close to the border between Syria and Iraq. 4 ISIL armed pick-up trucks were identified, widely dispersed, near a quarry. They were successfully engaged using a combination of Brimstone missiles and Paveway IV guided bombs. Wednesday saw both Tornados and Reaper aircraft providing support to the Kurdish peshmerga, as they consolidated their recent victories over ISIL. A Tornado patrol identified an ISIL armed vehicle at a large former Iraqi military compound, and attacked it with a Brimstone missile. Meanwhile, a Reaper provided overwatch to a US air strike that destroyed a truck which had been converted into a large suicide bomb vehicle, then fired a Hellfire missile at a pick-up truck being used by ISIL to build a road-block of burning tyres.

On Christmas Day, a Tornado patrol returned to the Al Qaim area, tasked with investigating a checkpoint used by ISIL to stop the local civilian population from moving around freely. 2 Brimstone missiles were used to attack a fortified position and a shipping container which had been converted into a guard room. A second pair of GR4s operated further east, and located two armed ISIL vehicles concealed amidst trees on farmland close to the Euphrates, south of the Hadithah Dam. Both vehicles were struck with Brimstones. On 28 December, an RAF Reaper again provided support to the Kurdish peshmerga in the north of the country. Having conducted overwatch for a coalition air strike on 3 ISIL buildings known to have been fortified as heavy machine-gun positions, the Reaper then mounted 2 strikes of its own using Hellfire missiles against enemy fighting positions.

These air operations have been supported throughout by an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker, whilst a British Army training team has continued its work, alongside coalition partners, to provide infantry training to the peshmerga volunteers.

23 December: The ISIL terrorist organisation has suffered further losses in Iraq thanks to Royal Air Force air strikes delivered at the request of the Iraqi Government. In Anbar province, where the Iraqi army is conducting a number of offensive operations, RAF Tornados GR4s on an armed reconnaissance mission were tasked to investigate a group of vehicles near Ar Rutbah in the early hours of Saturday morning. Four ISIL armoured personnel carriers were identified and successfully attacked with Brimstone missiles.

19 December: Remotely piloted Reapers flew armed reconnaissance missions over Iraq in support of both the Iraqi Army and the Kurdish peshmerga. One Reaper patrol was tasked to locate a group of ISIL terrorists who had fired on advancing Iraqi troops. The Reaper spotted the terrorists planting a number of improvised explosive devices and successfully attacked with a Hellfire missile. In northern Iraq, the Kurdish peshmerga, trained and equipped by a British Army training team, have had notable success in a major offensive across a wide swathe of territory. They are reported to have broken ISIL’s long-running siege of Yazidi minorities on Mount Sinjar.

18 December: In recent weeks, Iraqi ground forces have made a number of successful advances against ISIL. The Kurdish peshmerga, trained, equipped and supported from the air by the international coalition, has liberated several key towns, including Rabiyah on the Syrian border, and Zumar. On Friday, 2 RAF Tornados used Paveway IV precision guided bombs to attack a fortified ISIL compound. The early hours of Wednesday morning saw UK Tornados join other coalition aircraft as the peshmerga mounted a further offensive. The same Tornado patrol then flew 150 miles south to provide support for an additional offensive against ISIL in Anbar province. sts to deny local people any freedom of movement along a major road.

12 December: RAF aircraft operating in support of Iraqi ground forces have seen further action against the ISIL terrorist network. A RAF Reaper conducted armed reconnaissance in northern Iraq, where ISIL are facing increasing pressure from the Kurdish peshmerga. The Reaper’s mission focused on engineering equipment being used by the terrorists to construct defensive positions to hold up peshmerga advances. The remotely piloted aircraft was able to locate 2 of these engineer vehicles, and attacked them with Hellfire missiles. Further south, another Reaper identified an ISIL armed pick-up truck and engaged it with a Hellfire missile. RAF Tornado GR4s were also providing surveillance for the Iraqi army in Anbar province, and were able to assist Iraqi soldiers engaged in a firefight with terrorists near Ramadi. Paveway precision guided bombs and Brimstone missiles were used to deal with ISIL fighting positions and 3 vehicles, including 2 armoured personnel carriers.

10 December: Iraqi troops fighting the ISIL terrorist organisation have received further air support from the international coalition, including the RAF. Early on Wednesday RAF Tornado GR4s attacked an ISIL storage compound near Rawah in Anbar province with a Paveway IV precision guided bomb. In northern Iraq, a British Army team, working with other coalition partners, continues to provide infantry training to the Kurdish peshmerga, who have already succeeded in liberating a number of areas from ISIL’s control, including the towns of Rabiyah and Zumar.

9 December: Military support to the Iraqi government in their fight against ISIL continues, with RAF aircraft conducting further strikes overnight. In the north-west of the country, a patrol of RAF Tornado GR4s was tasked by coalition air controllers to investigate an ISIL site near Mount Sinjar. The aircraft identified an observation tower and guard room in use by the terrorists at a checkpoint controlling a road junction. These were being used to deny the local population any freedom of movement and both were attacked with Brimstone missiles. Elsewhere in Iraq, a RAF Reaper providing surveillance for Iraqi ground forces observed a hostile armoured personnel carrier and successfully attacked it with a Hellfire missile.

8 December: RAF Tornado GR4s have struck further ISIL targets over the weekend while flying in support of Iraqi ground forces. On Friday, an armed reconnaissance patrol of GR4s investigated a reported ISIL position near Rawa in western Iraq. An observation tower and nearby equipment were located and attacked with Paveway IV guided bombs. In the early hours of Saturday morning, a further GR4 patrol in the same area also successfully attacked an ISIL armoured personnel carrier using a Brimstone missile. On Sunday, 2 Tornados were on reconnaissance when Iraqi troops reported coming under fire from terrorists in the vicinity of Bayji. The RAF aircraft responded rapidly, and when they arrived on the scene were able to spot the ISIL position. Since the target was in a built-up area, a very careful assessment was made in cooperation with another coalition surveillance aircraft, and the aircrew used the small and extremely precise Brimstone missile to carry out a successful attack which struck the enemy position. Early this morning, a fourth Tornado patrol operating in north-western Iraq, around Mount Sinjar, located 2 ISIL armoured personnel carriers and hit them with Brimstone missiles.

3 December: RAF aircraft struck a large concentration of ISIL vehicles last night as the UK continued its work as part of an international coalition in the fight against terrorism. Two RAF Tornado GR4s were tasked to investigate reported ISIL activity near Fallujah. A group of ISIL vehicles, including armed pick-up trucks and lorries, was identified and, having confirmed that there were no civilians or friendly forces in close proximity, the jets dropped a cluster of Paveway IV precision guided bombs on the vehicle group. A single truck appeared to survive the initial strike, but was accounted for by a Brimstone missile. A Reaper remotely piloted aircraft also saw action over Iraq, attacking an ISIL vehicle with a Hellfire missile. Combined with the targeted military action in northern Iraq, a British Army training team continues to provide infantry training to Kurdish peshmerga.

1 December: A Tornado GR4 patrol investigated a reported ISIL compound near Tal Afar in north-western Iraq and found a group of armoured personnel carriers. These were successfully attacked using Brimstone missiles. A further pair of Tornado GR4s came to the support of Iraqi forces engaged in a major firefight with ISIL near Tikrit. Two terrorist positions were identified and the precision of the Brimstone missile system allowed both targets to be engaged without risk to friendly forces. Meanwhile, an RAF Reaper remotely piloted aircraft on a separate patrol was able to attack 3 ISIL positions with Hellfire missiles. Another Reaper conducted a reconnaissance patrol in northern Iraq. Two ISIL positions and a vehicle were located by the Reaper’s crew, allowing coalition fast jets to conduct strikes on each in turn. The Reaper then identified a further ISIL position and engaged it with 1 of its own Hellfire missiles.

07 January 2015 by Oscar Nkala - defenceWeb

The Zimbabwe finance ministry has defended the record US$380 million budget it allocated to the ministry of defence this year saying the money is required to fund the recruitment and training of more soldiers and acquisition of essential military equipment including new aircraft for the air force.

Responding to opposition calls for a downward review of the budget, which is the highest ever allocated to a single ministry in the history of the country, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa said the defence forces need to recruit and train thousands of new soldiers to ensure that the army is strong enough to deter internal and external security threats.

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2015-01-07 wantchinatimes.com

China's reported decision to present Pakistan three Z-10 attack helicopters as a "gift" this year has raised suspicions of ulterior motives, says Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet.

Citing unconfirmed Russian media reports, Duowei claims that although Pakistan had shown an interest purchasing the Z-10s, which are designed by Russia's Kamov Design Bureau under contract from Beijing, China decided to give the helicopters to its "closest friend" for free.

The Z-10s, designed primarily for anti-tank missions with secondary air-to-air capabilities, will reportedly be added to the Pakistan Army aviation fleet and be deployed in the ongoing fight against terrorism in the country. The helicopter is said to be capable of targeting the enemy in the air or on the ground with a range of 3-4 kilometers without appearing on radar.

Some military experts have cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Z-10 on counterterrorism operations, saying that its WZ-9 operation engine has relatively low power as well as a smaller payload and weaker defensive capabilities in comparison to other attack helicopters.

Even if the reports of the gift are true, Duowei said, the new Z-10 helicopters will only enhance Pakistan's position against India, which is about to pair its domestically produced light combat helicopters with newly imported AH-64 Apache attack helicopters manufactured by Boeing. Though there is still a sizable gap between the power systems of Z-10s and Apaches, the Chinese aircraft's body design and weapon system configurations are comparable to the world's most advanced attack helicopters, especially because of the excellent performance of its TY-90 air-to-air missiles.

For China, the "gift" to Pakistan could serve as a gift for the givers as well, as it might allow the PLA to see how the Z-10s perform in actual combat situations, providing valuable data for further research and development, Duowei said. China may have already been collecting information on its domestically produced weaponry acquired by Pakistan in recent years, including the MBT-3000 tank, the JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft and the F-22P general purpose frigate. The decision to make the Z-10s a gift instead of selling them could therefore stem from Pakistan's limited defense budget and China's relatively robust arms industry, Duowei added.

M72 LAW photo US Army

07/01/2015 - by Paul Fiddian - Armed Forces International Reporter

The US Department of Defence (DoD) is to take delivery of a new batch of M72 LAW (light assault weapon) rocket launchers. Signed with Nammo Talley, the IDIQ (indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity) contract will last into 2019 and have a maximum value of around $63 million, dependant on options taken.

The M72 LAW's service history dates back some five decades. Introduced in 1963, the design has been operationally used in Vietnam, the more recent Iraqi and Afghan wars and numerous other settings.

In US Army service, the M72 LAW took over from two preceding designs: the M31 HEAT and M20A1 ‘Super Bazooka'. The initial M72 variant has since been superseded by a host of upgrades culminating in the most recent M72E10 - this and other modern versions still equipping a number of ground forces.

DoD M72 LAW Contract

According to Nammo Talley's Chad Parkhill, the new DoD M72 LAW contract represents "another important milestone" for this "battle-proven" weapon. "It also sustains the vital ammunition industrial supply base in a period of decreasing volume", he says. "We're ready and proud to provide US and allied forces with what we believe are the lightest, most capable and cost-effective shoulder-fired weapons in the world."

M72 Light Assault Weapon

The M72 light assault weapon weighs in at 5.5 pounds and is just shy of 35 inches in length when loaded. A one-shot design, it launches 66mm rockets across a range of approximately 660 feet. Nammo Talley is a division of Norwegian/Finnish aerospace/defence group Nammo (the Nordic Ammunition Company). The company has its headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, and it's here that the new M72 rockets will be produced. The launchers themselves will be assembled at Nammo Talley's Pennsylvania facility.

Nammo Talley claims that it is the sole US-based man-portable, unguided SLM (shoulder-launched munitions) manufacturer. It has to date supplied the US and other militaries with some 350,000 LAWs.

7 janv. 2015 Thales

07.01.2015 by Claude Arpi - claudearpi.blogspot.in

Very few in India know the meaning of the French word ‘Rafale’, which is now associated with the supply of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) to the Indian Air Force (IAF); ‘rafale' means a 'gust of wind'.
When the 'rafales' prevailed in the MMRCA competition, many thought that the Big Deal would soon be signed; three years later, it is still going through tough procedural ‘gusts of wind’. The reasons are not the qualities of the combat aircraft, but other complications.

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07 January 2015 by defenceWeb

Iranian Navy vessels have disrupted a pirate attack on an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen, as sporadic pirate attacks continue in the region.

A group of eight skiffs approached an oil tanker 120 km southeast of the Yemeni city of Al-Mukalla, Iran’s FARS news agency reported earlier this week. Two vessels from the Iranian Navy’s 32nd flotilla comprising the Mowj class frigate Jamaran and supply ship Bushehr responded by opening fire on the suspected pirates, who subsequently escaped.

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