Britain had deployed the Apaches in June to support forces in Libya fighting then-leader Moammar Gadhafi. (Royal Navy)

26 Sep 2011 DefenseNews AFP

LONDON - Britain said Sept. 26 it has agreed with NATO to withdraw the five Apache helicopters that it has in service over Libya, in a major sign that the alliance's air mission is winding down.

Britain deployed the army attack helicopters in June to support forces fighting then-leader Moammar Gadhafi. The choppers were based on the Royal Navy carrier HMS Ocean, which has been based in the Mediterranean Sea.

"Given the current situation in Libya, NATO has agreed with the U.K. that HMS Ocean and her helicopter detachment can be released from Operation Unified Protector," said Major Gen. Nick Pope, spokesman for Britain's Chief of Defence Staff.

"The vessel is offloading equipment in Souda Bay and in due course will proceed through the Suez Canal en route to the Red Sea," Pope said in a statement.

British warplanes continued their mission on Sept. 26, attacking a series of targets in Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte on Sept. 25, including a command-and-control installation and a psychological warfare center, added Pope.

On Sept. 21, British Defence Minister Liam Fox had said that the "good progress made to date" would allow the country to bring home four Typhoon fast jets and three Apaches.

NATO allies on the same day decided to extend their air campaign in Libya by another 90 days but said the mission would remain under constant review following the toppling of Gadhafi earlier this month.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed last week to maintain the no-fly zone, which has been used to justify NATO air strikes against Gadhafi targets and came into force in March.

25 septembre 2011, Géraud Bosman-Delzons, RFI - sélectionné par Spyworld

September 25, 2011: STRATEGY PAGE

A trade union dispute in Germany has led to reduced German participation in the anti-piracy patrol off Somalia. The problem arose when the union that represented the civilians sailors who manned the navy's four tankers, refused to renew a deal while allowed tanker sailors to work 65 hours a week while off the Somali coast. This amount of hours was needed to run the tankers while on the high seas, and the tanker sailors received extra paid leave, when they returned home, for the hours above the 48 a week their basic contract calls for.

Without the 65 hour week, the tankers cannot operate off Somalia, so German warships there have to pull into a port to refuel, which reduces their time at sea by up to 30 percent (depending on how much time they spend moving at high speed in the pursuit of pirates.) The navy continues to negotiate with the union, but does not have much room to maneuver, as budgets are being cut. Refueling at sea requires specially trained tanker crews, and these tankers are always in short supply. German warships can depend on navy tankers from other countries in an emergency, but not for regular refueling.

23 Sep 2011 DefenseNews AFP

VIENNA - The U.N. atomic agency on Sept. 23 confirmed the existence of raw uranium in Libya after U.S. news channel CNN reported that new regime forces had found potentially radioactive material.

"We can confirm that there is yellow cake (raw uranium) stored in drums at a site near Sabha in central Libya," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokeswoman Gill Tudor said.

She said that the uranium, stored by the government of the now-fugitive Moammar Gadhafi, had been declared to the IAEA and that it hoped to be able to examine the material "once the situation in the country stabilizes."

The alleged discovery appeared to contradict a statement from the United States last month, however, that all Libya's yellow cake was at another site at Tajura near Tripoli.

Raw or unprocessed uranium, which has low radioactivity levels, needs to be enriched using a highly complex and expensive procedure before it can be used in nuclear power generation or in atomic weapons.

Libya agreed in 2003 to renounce its activities aimed at developing weapons of mass destruction as part of a rapprochement with Western countries that saw sanctions lifted and sensitive nuclear materials removed.

CNN reported that military forces loyal to the country's National Transitional Council took on Thursday a crew to two large warehouses, one containing thousands of blue barrels.

Several of the barrels were marked with tape saying "radioactive," and several plastic bags of yellow powder sealed with the same tape, CNN said.

Forces loyal to Libya's new regime this week captured Sabha, Libya's largest desert city in the deep south, from forces loyal to Kadhafi.

Sep 22, 2011 by Amber Wang ASDNews AFP

BRUSSELS - NATO can finish its air campaign in Libya within the next three months, the operations commander said Thursday, as remnants of the ousted regime are now isolated in three pockets of the country.

Asked for an assessment a day after NATO allies extended the mission by another 90 days, Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard told a press briefing: "I'm highly confident we can complete this mission well within this timeframe."

Bouchard said resistance among forces loyal to ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi was restricted to "only three isolated pockets" -- Kadhafis hometown of Sirte with a strip of coastal access; an area in the town of Bani Walid to the west; and another section around Al Fugaha to the south.

However, after a six-month-old air war, the Canadian general said progress towards NATO's final goal would be largely "based on NTC forces on ground... and also on the will of the regime forces to continue."

His comments came after fighters backing the National Transitional Council, Libya's new rulers, said Thursday they had to halt an assault on one key pro-Kadhafi cluster for a week owing to a lack of ammunition and supplies.

Bouchard said pro-Kadhafi forces were still engaging in "immoral", "unethical" and "illegal" action, with civilians still being held as human shields in the most dangerous sites.

However, Bouchard added that Kahafi forces "are no longer able to conduct coordinated operations throughout Libya," while the number of people at risk from pro-Kadhafi military action had fallen to about 200,000 people.

The big coastal cities of Tripoli, Benghazi and Misrata were all now "back to normal," and the "rule of law and order has been restored," he said.

As a result, despite complaints on Wednesday from Human Rights Watch about conditions in border camps for refugees from the fighting, Bouchard said NATO did not consider the country to be suffering from a humanitarian crisis.

As for Kadhafi's location, in Libya or elsewhere, Bouchard said he had no idea where the fugitive colonel was but stressed that the ousted strongman continues to "give orders" and "entice regime forces" to act.

"What we find right now is the media station in Syria is providing an outlet," he said, referring to Arrai TV, "but I do not know where (the broadcasts) are originating."

While NATO was "well aware of movements to the south," with armed convoys having crossed into Niger, "without troops on the ground, it is impossible for us to verify" who and what in the way of weapons are being transported.

Besides, "as far as my mandate is concerned, troops going away are no longer causing risk," and it is "left to individual governments of nations where troops are going to deal with that" and ensure weapons removed from Libya are taken back and destroyed.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday that warplanes would stay in the air as long as Libyan civilians are under threat but "not a day longer" than required, and that it could be called off "at any time."

The current 90-day mandate was due to expire on September 27.

Le Premier ministre tunisien par intérim, Béji Caïd Essebsi. AFP/FETHI BELAID

22 septembre 2011 Par RFI

L'armée tunisienne a attaqué un convoi de véhicules lourdement armés le 21 septembre 2011. Elle a détruit une grande partie du convoi. Sept des neuf véhicules tout terrain qui le composaient ont été détruits par un hélicoptère. Les combats ont eu lieu dans le sud de la Tunisie, à 80 km de la frontière avec l'Algérie. On ignore pour le moment  s'il s'agit de jihadistes ou de trafiquants, qui auraient selon les autorités tunisiennes tiré les premiers sur un hélicoptère.

Selon la version des faits, donnée par le ministère de la Défense, les combats ont commencé le 21 septembre au matin après qu'une patrouille aérienne de l'armée ait essuyé des tirs en provenance d'un convoi de neuf véhicules tout terrain.

L'accrochage s'est produit dans les environs de la ville de Douz, à quelque 80 kilomètres de la frontière algérienne. Mercredi en fin d'après midi, le porte-parole du ministère de la Défense assurait que sept véhicules avaient été détruits et que les deux autres étaient immobilisés dans le désert, à une vingtaine de kilomètres de l'Algérie.

L'armée déclare par ailleurs n'avoir subi aucune perte humaine ou matérielle dans cette confrontation. Si l'identité du groupe qui a fait le coup de feu demeure encore mystérieuse, une source sécuritaire, jointe par RFI dans le sud du pays, était formelle que « ce sont des jihadistes venus d'Algérie, dit-elle, les contrebandiers n'empruntent pas ce chemin et ce n'est pas leur façon d'agir ».

Difficile à surveiller, cette zone désertique que partagent la Tunisie et l'Algérie est propice aux trafics, la prolifération des armes issues du conflit libyen ne devrait rien arranger.

casque de vision tête haute HMD Cobra du consortium Saab/BAE/Denel

22 septembre 2011 par Optro & Défense

L’Afrique du Sud est le premier utilisateur du chasseur multirôle de quatrième génération JAS 39 Gripen à avoir commandé au suédois Saab ses casques de dernière génération HMD Cobra pour les utiliser sur leurs 26 chasseurs. Outre l’armée de l’air sud-africaine, le système sera également intégré sur les Gripen de l’armée de l’air suédoise.

Développés en coopération entre Saab, BAE Systems et Denel Optronics (devenu Carl Zeiss Optronics GmbH depuis 2007), la livraison des systèmes  à un premier escadron a maintenant commencé, alors même qu’en janvier, BAE systems proposait ses nouveaux casques au catalogue du Typhoon et qu’il y a 2 mois, VSI faisait tester ses viseurs de casque binoculaires sur les F16  des forces aériennes danoises en Libye.

Un viseur tête haute HMD (Helmet Mounted Display) affiche les données directement sur la visière du casque, permettant au pilote de rester « heads up » aux moments cruciaux de la mission, c’est à dire de ne pas avoir à quitter des yeux ses objectifs pour devoir regarder un écran déporté intégré au cockpit. Le Cobra proposé par Saab est un de ces systèmes binoculaire (Thales propose de son côté le visiocasque TopOwl) qui affiche aussi bien la symbologie relative aux munitions air-air et air-sol que les données de vol de base.

Conçu pour répondre au mieux aux exigences du Gripen, le casque Cobra fonctionne par tous les temps, pour toutes les opérations relatives à l’enveloppe de vol de combat complète. En tant que composante clé du système Gripen, la superposition des paramètres de vol, des données issues des différents capteurs et des disponibilités des armements embarqués sur la vision directe du monde réel permet de maximiser l’efficacité à travers tout le spectre des missions tactiques.

Le Cobra offrira également aux pilotes Gripen de la SAAF (South African Air Force) la possibilité d’utiliser le plein potentiel de leurs missiles air-air courte portée à imagerie infrarouge IRIS-T (un produit de Diehl BGT Defence) et du futur missile air-air A-Darter (un produit de Denel Dynamics), lui aussi basé sur une tête chercheuse à imagerie infrarouge et testé pour la première fois par la SAAF en juillet dernier.

Sep 21, 2011 ASDNews Source : Saab AB

South Africa was the first Gripen customer to order the state-of-the-art "Cobra" HMD ( Helmet Mounted Display) for use on their 26 Gripen fighters. The deliveries of the system to the front line squadron has now commenced and 2 Squadron in Makhado can now boast the first operational Cobra system in the world.

A HMD displays data directly onto the helmet visor, allowing the Gripen pilot to stay 'heads up' at crucial points in the mission. The Cobra is a binocular system that displays both air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons symbology, as well as basic flight data.

Selected to meet the stringent requirements of the Gripen, the 'Cobra' Integrated Display Helmet provides, all weather, all attitude operation over the full combat flight envelope. As a key component to the Gripen weapon delivery system, capabilities include weapon/sensor slaving with real world overlay of flight parameters, sensor data, target cuing and weapon status. These are designed to maximize effectiveness across the whole spectrum of tactical missions.

The Cobra will also allow the SAAF Gripen fighters to use the full potential of their IR-missiles IRIS-T and the future A-Darter, in close-in air combat. The HMD increases the with-in-visual range air-to-air capability considerably. The two first operational flights with the HMD were performed by Officer Commanding, 2 Squadron n, Lt Col Musa Mbhokota. The Instructor in the rear seat was Saab Test Pilot Robin Nordlander.

Apart from the South African Air force, the HMD system will also be integrated into Swedish Air Force Gripen fighters.

Patrouilleur algérien du type FPB98 MKI

crédits : OCEA

21/09/2011 MER et MARINE

Le groupe français Ocea a mené à bien le programme des patrouilleurs destinés à l'Algérie. Le dernier bâtiment, le Sirius, a été livré fin juillet. En tout, 20 unités du type FPB98 MKI ont été réalisées pour les garde-côtes, le premier étant mis à flot en octobre 2008. Longs de 31.8 mètres pour un déplacement de 100 tonnes, ils peuvent atteindre la vitesse de 30 noeuds grâce à une propulsion assurée par deux moteurs diesels Caterpillar et deux hydrojets. Leur armement est constitué d'un canon de 30mm. Ces patrouilleurs ont vu leur coque réalisée par le site Ocea de Fontenay-le-Comte, en Vendée, l'achèvement s'étant ensuite déroulée à Saint-Nazaire. Plus grand et peint en blanc, un 21ème navire, la Croix du Sud, a quant à lui été réalisé par le chantier Ocea des Sables d'Olonne.

Après cette belle série, on notera que le constructeur français a vendu trois patrouilleurs dérivés au Bénin.

Sep 19, 2011 Spacewar.com (UPI)

Pretoria, South Africa - South Africa's government reopened a potentially explosive corruption investigation into a $4.8 billion arms deal in 1999 in which President Jacob Zuma, fighting for his political survival in a leadership battle, has been implicated.

Zuma's former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2005 for soliciting bribes from Thint, a South African subsidiary of the French arms giant Thales International that was linked to the deal and illegally paying Zuma more than $150,000.

Shaik was released on medical grounds in 2009 after serving less than three years.

Another official, Tony Yengeni, who was chairman of parliament's defense committee at the time of the deal, was convicted of fraud in 2003 and sentenced to four years in prison. He was freed in January 2007.

Zuma was subsequently charged with corruption over the deal, in which a key player was Europe's biggest defense contractor, BAE Systems of Britain.

But in August 2003, charges against Zuma, then deputy president, were dropped. After Shaik was convicted, Zuma was sacked as deputy president and charged with two counts of corruption in the 1991 deal.

These charges were dropped on a legal technicality in September 2006 following allegations of political interference in the case that had tainted evidence against him. He became president in 2009.

The South African media has repeatedly alleged that BAE maintained a $100 million slush fund that was used to bribe South African politicians. Zuma has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

So have BAE and Thales, although BAE agreed in February 2010 to pay almost $400 million in fines to resolve bribery and fraud investigations linked to arms sales in the United States and Britain.

That ended years of investigations by the U.S. Defense Department into alleged kickbacks in global arms deals, most notably in Saudi Arabia.

In 2006, Britain's Serious Fraud Office dropped an investigation into BAE's $43 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia in 1985 after the Labor government of Prime Minister Tony Blair forced prosecutors to drop the case on grounds of national security.

The 1999 deal, which also involved defense companies from Germany, Italy and Sweden, was post-apartheid South Africa's largest arms transaction and was intended to modernize the country's defenses.

It included Gripen fighter aircraft built by Saab, Hawk training aircraft from BAE as well as submarines, corvettes and helicopters.

The Democratic Alliance, South Africa's main political opposition, has repeatedly called on Zuma to reopen the arms deal investigation, which was shut down last October.

DA leader Helen Zille, prime minister of Western Cape province, accused the ANC government of "a massive coverup" after the probe was abandoned.

She told the Financial Times substantial evidence had been found of "procurement deals that didn't follow due process or the needs of the military, precisely to secure benefits for the ANC as a party, and key individuals."

Zuma's surprise decision to reopen the investigation came after documents came to light indicating that Saab had paid bribes to Fana Hlongwane, adviser to Defense Minister Joe Modise.

Saab disclosed in June that payments totaling $3.5 million had been made through BAE to the Swedish company's South African subsidiary, Sanip Pty Ltd. It said the payments, which occurred without Saab's knowledge, were made to a South African consultant, but were never entered in Sanip's accounts.

Saab said it has handed over all documents to Sweden's anti-corruption authorities and will work with any further inquiry. BAE insists the matter was settled in the 2010 court settlement.

The British defense giant, a major contractor to the U.S. Defense Department, has been implicated in investigations of half a dozen major arms in Africa and the Middle East over the years. It produces a wide range of weapons systems, including Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft and Trident nuclear submarines.

Andrew Feinstein, a former ANC member of Parliament who headed an earlier official probe into the 1999 deal, said, "If an investigation is reopened in Sweden it could prove an embarrassment to a number of countries."

Zuma's move is widely seen as a bid to take control of the new investigation and limit damage to himself and his political allies in the ANC as they strive to fight off challenges from younger figures who seek to take power in party elections in 2012.

Puma et Caracal s'approchant d'un BPC de la Marine nationale

crédits : EMA

20/09/2011 MER et MARINE

On en sait un peu plus sur les moyens mis en oeuvre pour couvrir la visite de Nicolas Sarkozy et David Cameron en Libye le 15 septembre. En complément du service de protection mis en place par l'Elysée, la sécurité du président français et du premier ministre britannique a été assurée par les unités déployées dans le cadre de l'opération Harmattan, à commencer par les bâtiments de la Marine nationale intégrés à la Task Force 473. L'opération s'est déroulée en deux temps avec deux dispositifs parallèles, explique l'Etat-major des Armées. A l'aéroport de Tripoli tout d'abord, où le nouvel A330 présidentiel a atterri en milieu de matinée. Partis du bâtiment de projection et de commandement Tonnerre, qui croisait à quelques nautiques de la capitale libyenne, cinq hélicoptères de manoeuvre Caracal et Puma, appuyés par deux hélicoptères de combat Tigre, y attendaient les autorités, avec à leur bord des éléments de protection de l'armée de l'Air et du personnel médical. Leur mission a consisté à acheminer la délégation en toute sécurité vers le centre-ville, où Nicolas Sarkozy et David Cameron ont donné une conférence de presse commune. Une fois cette prise de parole terminée, ils ont effectué la manoeuvre inverse jusqu'à l'aéroport.


Puma devant l'avion présidentiel (© : EMA)

Un second BPC devant Benghazi

Le président de la République, le premier ministre britannique et leurs délégations ont ensuite gagné Benghazi par avion en début d'après-midi. La seconde phase de l'opération « Autorités » commençait pour les marins, terriens et aviateurs de la TF 473. Au large de Benghazi, c'est du BPC Mistral, cette fois, qu'un groupement d'hélicoptères a décollé pour être en mesure d'accueillir les autorités et leurs délégations à leur arrivée à l'aéroport, prendre en charge leurs déplacements et assurer leur protection.

Pendant toute la durée de l'opération, les deux frégates de la TF 473 ont accompagné chacune un BPC dans les eaux libyenne : le La Fayette aux côtés du Mistral et le Cassard près du Tonnerre. En parallèle, un important dispositif aérien était engagé par l'armée de l'Air et l'aéronautique navale. Des avions de combat, un drone Harfang et deux avions de patrouille maritime Atlantique 2 ont, ainsi, assuré dans le ciel l'étanchéité de la bulle de sécurité.

Puma au dessus du littoral libyen (© : EMA)


Puma accompagné de deux Tigre (© : EMA)

19/09/11 Angola Press

Luanda – Le ministre de la Défense de la République de la Serbie, Dragan Sutanovac, est attendu mardi, à Luanda, pour une visite officielle de deux jours en Angola, durant laquelle il sera reçu par le Chef de l’État, José Eduardo dos Santos.

Selon un communiqué de l’ambassade de la Serbie en Angola, Dragan Sutanovac arrivera à Luanda à 05h00, ensuite il ira déposer une gerbe de fleurs au pied du monument du premier président de l’Angola, António Agostinho Neto.

Vers 09h30, Dragan Sutanovac va s’entretenir en privé avec le ministre de la Défense Nationale de l’Angola, Cândido Pereira Van-Dúnem, puis il y a aura des conversations officielles.

Dans l’après-midi, le ministre serbe, Dragan Sutanovac, sera reçu en audience par le Chef de l’État, José Eduardo dos Santos, et ensuite par le président de l’Assemblée Nationale, António Paulo Kassoma.

Le ministre de la Défense de la Serbie aura également une rencontre avec le ministre d’État et chef du Cabinet militaire du Président de la République.

Le programme de la visite de Dragan Sutanovac comprend aussi des visites à l’hôpital Militaire principal, à l’Institut supérieur technicien militaire, à l’école supérieure de guerre et aux commandos de l’armée.