ZHUKOVSKY (Moscow region), August 17 (RIA Novosti)

Russia's state-run arms exporter has lost a total of $4 billion over the cancellation of contracts with Libya, Rosoboronexport head Anatoly Isaikin said on Wednesday.

The figure includes losses of opportunity and foregone profits, he added.

Isaikin stressed that in accordance with international agreements, Russia is currently not supplying any arms to Libya.

Russia has joined the arms sanctions against Libya, suspending all contracts for the supply of military hardware to the country.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday gave his backing to a UN Security Council resolution which authorized international military action in Libya.

UN Resolution 1973, which Russia abstained from voting on in March, authorizes a no-fly zone over Libya and the use of "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians.

Thousands of people have been killed since the uprising against Gaddafi's rule began in February.

17 August 2011 by defenceWeb

The South African Air Force is paying Interjet Maintenance (Pty) Ltd R60 million for the provision of product support services for the Cessna C208 Caravan light transport. The contract takes the value of maintenance work on the aircraft to R88 467 925.77 since 2007.

The SAAF operates 13 of the aircraft after acquiring the type in 1988. One of these crash-landed near the Kei River mouth area of the Eastern Cape last month and is to be written off. The aircraft, of 41 Squadron, from Pretoria, was participating in the air service's annual Exercise Winter Solstice at the time.

The SAAF uses the type as a light transport, aerial surveillance and electronic warfare (EW) platform. In 2007 the SAAF awarded a contract on Aerosud and Denel under Project Koiler for a day/night reconnaissance system for the C208.The contract involved the acquisition of three sets of mission equipment and the modification of 11 aircraft. The aircraft, so equipped, was successfully used in Operation Kgwele, the drive to secure last year's FIFA Confederations Cup and this year's World Cup.

EW niche company Sysdel has also outfitted some Caravan aircraft as EW platforms. The SAAF believes the C208 an serve at least another decade.

More details HERE

17 August 2011 by defenceWeb

The United States military Africa Command (Africom) is ready to offer assistance to the Nigerian military, according to Africom commander Carter Ham, as the country faces a growing number of internal and external security threats.

Ham was speaking at a conference with journalists in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday. He said he was in the country to find out how the United States could assist the government of Nigeria, especially with regard to security breaches in some areas of the country.

“If requested, the US will offer assistance to the Nigerian Army to boost its equipment, technical capabilities and other areas,” Ham said.

“I have met with the hierarchy of the military, but areas where Nigeria would need the offer were not disclosed.

“The US is specifically interested in the Nigerian military because our two nations shared great communality for security challenges.

Ham said that while he thought Nigeria had made progress in containing security breaches, it required some support to effectively deal with the challenges.

There are numerous internal security threats facing Nigeria, including militants in the Niger Delta region and Al Qaeda linked militants in neighbouring Niger. Off the coast, piracy is a growing problem with a number of ships having being attacked in recent weeks in the Gulf of Guinea.

Hundreds of oil workers have been kidnapped in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta while in recent months there have been repeated attacks by the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram.

Boko Haram, which translates roughly into "Western education is sinful," has claimed responsibility for almost daily shootings and attacks with homemade bombs in remote northeast Nigeria in recent months.

The group, which wants sharia (Islamic law) more widely applied across Nigeria, has killed hundreds of people this year.

Meanwhile, on May 12 two people, including a British national, were kidnapped in Nigeria and a video released allegedly showing the hostages.

Al Qaeda's north African wing, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), operates in neighbouring Niger and has kidnapped foreign workers and there is speculation that they are behind the May kidnapping.

Countries in Africa's Sahel-Sahara region have stepped up efforts to counter an increased threat from gunmen linked to al Qaeda, who frequently cooperate with and operate alongside rebels, bandits and traffickers in the largely desert zone.

If the kidnappers were linked to al Qaeda it would be a significant escalation in the security threat in Africa's most populous nation.

15 August 2011 by defenceWeb

Denmark will take part in NATO operations against Libya for another three months, and will allow the rebel National Transitional Council to send envoys to Copenhagen.

On Thursday the country announced its six F-16s would continue to participate in Operation Unified Protector after the current mandate expires later this month. Four of the F-16s actually take part in combat missions while the remaining two are on standby.

"There is a broad agreement that the strategy we have chosen is the right one," Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen told AFP.

"The pressure must remain on Gaddafi, so we will maintain our strategy, but adjust it so that it fits the developments of the past couple of months," she said.

"We agree that Denmark must be patient and steadfast. We will continue both the military pressure on Gaddafi and our political efforts to find a political solution to the problems in Libya," she said.

On August 9, Denmark declared the two remaining Libyan diplomats, appointed by the Gaddafi regime, as being persona non grata (unwelcome people) and ordered them to leave the country. Denmark subsequently identified envoys from the rebel National Transitional Council as legitimate representatives of Libya.

"We have chosen to say that we are positively inclined to letting the National Transitional Council have a political representative in Denmark in order to have a partner for political dialogue so we are also able to ensure they move along the road of democracy," Espersen said.

Only one party, the leftist Unity List-the Red-Green Alliance, opposed extending the mandate. "We have broad consensus among most political parties in parliament about this military mission, so I do not see any changes in the Danish policy towards Libya," Mogens Lykketoft, the foreign policy spokesman of the main opposition Social Democrats, told AFP.

Denmark was one of the first countries to offer air assets for the international air campaign to protect Libyan civilians from Gaddafi’s forces.

Its fighter jets have been participating in the mission since March 20 and are stationed at the Signonella base of the Italian island of Sicily.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Norway became the first country to set an end date to Libya operations and withdrew its remaining four F-16s at the beginning of this month.

Originally, Norway had six F-16s engaged in operations over Libya but withdrew two on June 24 as part of an agreement to bring back all F-16s on the first of August.

On June 10, the centre-left government announced it would slowly withdraw its F-16s based at Souda Bay on the Greek island of Crete, saying that Norway’s small air force could not sustain a large contribution for a long period of time.

The UK recently sent another four Tornados to the region, filling the gap created by the F-16s’ departure. NATO has around 250 aircraft under the command of Unified Protector.

Out of NATO’s 28 member states, only eight have flown combat missions over Libya since it took over command from the United States on March 31. These include the UK, France, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Italy and the United States.

Aug 14, 2011 ASDNews Source : Eurofighter

For Squadron Leader Jody McMeeking, a 'dawn patrol' mission over Libya as part of NATO's commitment to protecting the civilian population saw him rack up his 1,000th flying hour on the Typhoon.

That's quite an achievement when you consider that each Libyan fast jet sortie is typically around six hours duration.

With around 2,000 hours flying time in total, over half of 32 year old Sqn Ldr McMeeking's flying experience has been with the Typhoon. He's been an instructor and has flown the aircraft operationally both as part of the UK's Quick Reaction Alert force (QRA) and in the Falklands, so he knows the aircraft inside out.

"It's a fantastic jet to fly, is incredibly agile and can carry a flexible range of weaponry" says Sqn Ldr McMeeking. "The cockpit is great in terms of pilot interaction for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions. The modern air battle is incredibly complex. Typhoon helps us win that battle by significantly enhancing our Situational Awareness."

The RAF jets based at Gioia del Colle in Italy are the FGR4 variant of the Typhoon ('F' for 'fighter' and 'GR' for 'ground attack and reconnaissance'), and differ from those deployed in the UK and the Falklands which are equipped primarily for 'air-to-air' combat.

"I'm really privileged to have got 1,000 hours while on operations with the aircraft and it's great to see the aircraft 'stretch its legs' here in Italy. This is its first war fighting role, and our Typhoons have deployed over 100 precision guided weapons while out here."

There are six Typhoons currently stationed at Gioia del Colle air base and eleven pilots. Aircraft are not personally assigned to a pilot, so all pilots fly all aircraft. But does Sqn Ldr McMeeking have a favourite? "You love the one you're with," jokes the Squadron Leader. "But every jet has its personality, and our ground crew do an amazing job, putting in long hours to make sure that the aircraft are always in the best possible condition. They work 24/7, 365 days a year out here and they never fail to deliver. We just couldn't do what we do without them."

But how easy is the Typhoon to fly compared with the Tornado? "The Typhoon is a generation ahead of the Tornado in all aspects- manoeuvreability, agility, sensors- so a comparison isn't really fair. It's an easy jet to learn to fly, but it takes a lot of practice to learn to operate well because of the sheer amount of information available to the pilot. I know the aircraft had its detractors during development, but what we're seeing now on operations is proof of this great aircraft's capability."

09.08.2011 Denel- army-guide.com

Denel Land Systems has developed an artillery piece that can directly fire three shells through the same hole – at a distance of one kilometre.

The accuracy of this locally developed piece of artillery is equally impressive. This system fire at a range of 30km and deliver 50% of its projectiles within the size of a soccer field.

This remarkable degree of accuracy was achieved when the latest version of DLS’s 105mm Stryker was recently tested at the Alkantpan testing range in the Northern Cape. The Stryker LAV III LSPH (Light Self-propelled Howitzer) differs from previous versions in that it can now be serviced by a crew rather than being remotely fired.

Stephan Burger the CEO of Denel Land Systems (DLS) says the firing tests were witnessed by members of the SA Defence community. The tests underline the world-class characteristics of the gun and the quality of the engineering team responsible for its development, says Burger.

The 105-mm Stryker is a joint project between DLS, General Dynamic Systems and Rheinmetall Denel Munitions – another subsidiary of Denel, South Africa’s largest manufacturer of defence products.

Research and Development work on the system started in the 1990’s when a Denel/Armscor project team was set the task to produce 155mm, 39 calibre Artillery range, accuracy and lethality from a 105mm system. The end product was an artillery piece with the weight of a 105mm howitzer, but the range and terminal performance of a 155mm System -- with better precision.

The latest version tested at Alkantpan has a crew of three - a driver, commander/gunner and loader. Because the system fires off its wheels it can be quickly deployed in action. The system weighs 18,200 kg with 36 rounds on board and is air-transportable with a C130 aircraft.

Burger says the range of the artillery is between 6 and 30 kilometres – depending on the configuration of the projectile and propellant charge.

Its accuracy is exceptional. During the firings error margins of less than 0,3% of range was consistently achieved at maximum range. This kind of performance was made possible through the system engineering approach that was followed in developing the gun, the charges and the projectiles as an integrated system.

Burger says the system has generated significant international interest since it was first unveiled at the African Aerospace and Defence Exhibition in 2000. The turreted version of the 105mm System will also be able to fire off the Patria AMV vehicle, currently the platform for the South African Badger family of Infantry Combat Vehicles.

11 August 2011 by defenceWeb

Denel Dynamics has been awarded a R1.8 million contract to upgrade, maintain and retain the Skua high speed target drone. The Skua has been operated by Denel Dynamics on behalf of the South African Defence Force (SANDF) since 1992. The work follows a similar R2.4 million contract last year August and takes known spending to R13 875 330.35.

Skua is a high-speed target drone, designed to simulate high-speed attack aircraft during land, sea and air combat training exercises and weapon development. The complete system consists of four to eight target drones, a zero-length launcher, a mobile ground control station (GCS) and ground support equipment. The zero-length launcher includes self-loading and engine starting facilities. The mobile GCS houses the control interfaces, telecommand and telemetry equipment required to control the drone. Tracking is done via position feedback from the drone's navigation system. The GCS can control two drones simultaneously.

The Skua drone boasts an all-composite, low-drag airframe with a wingspan of 3.57m and length of 6m. The drone is further fitted with wing hard-points to carry tow-targets and signature augmentation equipment weighing up to 160kg. An internal bay can house a payload of up to 70kg. It has a maximum speed of Mach 0.86 at 10 000m and has a controllable range of 200km (line of sight). Altitude can vary between 10m and 10 700m. Endurance is 85 minutes at 10 000m at Mach 0.75. At the end of a flight, the Skua returns to the ground by parachute and is landed upside down on pneumatic landing bags.

The R2 470 929 contract, awarded last Thursday seems the first in several years. Three contracts were awarded in 2007. The first in March 2007, for R3 533 000, was to deploy the Skua in support of the SAS Spioenkop, implying the drone was deployed to help qualify its Umkhonto short-range air defence system. In June 2007, the SANDF paid R350 877.19 for the “retention” of the system, and in December it Denel Dynamics was paid R5 650 681 for the supply of one Skua high speed target drone.

Flight Global magazine reported in October 2006 that Denel was planning development of a new generation medium tactical target drone as a long-term replacement for its existing Skua series, but was seeking an investment partner to help with programme costs and to broker wider market access.

“The new system will incorporate some low-observable features, but will not pursue the sophisticated level of radar cross section shaping previously explored by Denel with its Seraph stealth target concept unveiled in the late 1990s,” the journal said.

Speaking at the African Aerospace and Defence exhibition in Cape Town in 2006 company officials said that while similar in size to Skua, the new system will involve a “totally new airframe and new engine”. The new target would support more sophisticated training presentations compared to Skua, with its requirements based on extensive lessons gleaned from operation of that system over the past decade.

Upgrading maintenance and retention of Skua high speed target drone capability

ETMG/2011/64 4 Aug 2011 R1 869 843,16 Denel t/a Denel Dynamics

Upgrading, maintenance and retention of the Skua high speed target drone capability

ETMG/2010/42 5 Aug 2010 R2 470 929,00 Denel t/a Denel Dynamics

Supply of one Skua high speed target drone

ETMG/2007/399 18 Dec 2007 R5 650 681,00 Denel t/a Denel Aerospace Systems

Retention of Skua High Speed Target Drone

ETMG/2006/677 21 Jun 2007 R350 877,19 Denel t/a Denel Aerospace Systems

Deployment of Skua High Speed Drone for SAS Spioenkop - extension of ETMG/2006/220

TMG/S2006/0783 27 Mar 2007 R3 533 000,00 Denel t/a Denel Aerospace Systems

10 August 2011 by Guy Martin- defenseWeb

Following its recent order for two Airbus Military C295 transport aircraft, the Ghana Air Force will also receive an Embraer 190 jet and two Diamond DA 42 aircraft, the country’s defence minister has announced.

Joseph Henry Smith told a new conference in Accra on Tuesday of the purchases, saying that the acquisition of the Embraer 190 from Brazil, together with logistic support and the construction of a hangar, will cost the West African nation about US$105.3 million.

The money is coming from a US$105 370 177 loan from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and approved on July 20. The hangar, with capacity for three large aircraft, will be built by Contracta Engenharia for US$17 million. It will be equipped with a bus, fire truck, ambulance and other support vehicles.

On August 4, Airbus announced that Ghana had signed a contract for two C295s, for delivery early next year. Smith said the C295 will enable the Air Force to move troops and other security agencies across the country and within the West African sub-region. The aircraft will also be used for medical evacuation, paratrooping, training and humanitarian operations, including assistance to organizations such as National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the peace mission of the United Nations.

The other two aircraft being acquired are Diamond DA 42 MPP (Multi-Purpose Platform) Guardian surveillance and training aircraft, fitted with a sensor turret for surveillance missions. The twin turboprop DA 42 MPP aircraft are being funded through a €11.750 million loan from the Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited, while the Deutsche Bank S.A.E will provide a €60 034 636 loan for the two C295 transports, according to the Daily Graphic newspaper.

Presumably, the DA 42s will be used for maritime patrol, especially safeguarding Ghana’s offshore oil assets - the country becoming a major oil producer in the region after beginning production in December last year. The Gulf of Guinea has seen a dramatic increase in the number of attacks on ships this year – last week, pirates attacked two ships carrying oil off the coast of Benin, but were driven off by the Benin navy before they could steal the cargo.

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is not on the scale of that off Somalia, but analysts say an increase in scope and number of attacks in a region ill-equipped to counter the threat could affect shipping and investment. For instance, Cameroon blamed piracy for part of a 13 percent drop in oil output in 2009.

Other maritime problems include piracy and drug trafficking. The United Nations estimates that US$1 billion worth of cocaine, destined for Europe from Latin America, passed through West Africa in 2008.

All five new aircraft are expected have been delivered by the end of next year, according to Smith.

Ghana’s Daily Guide reported that the Air Force could possibly also buy two new helicopters from Mil as well as Eurocopter Dolphin helicopters. At present Ghana’s air force only has four Mi-171V, one AB-212, two A109A and two SA319 Alouette III helicopters in service, according to the 2011 IISS The Military Balance.

James Klutse, Chairman of Ghana’s Finance Committee, said there was an urgent need to replacing the ageing fleet of aircraft operated by the Ghana Air Force.

President John Evans Atta Mills told GBC news that the new aircraft are not the personal use of government officials but will allow the military to undertake their duties. The government already has a Falcon 900EX for executive travel. The US$37million presidential jet arrived in Ghana on September 30 last year, the Daily Guide notes.

Speaking to GBC's Radio Ghana, an aide to the President Koku Anyidoho, said the flood situation in the Eastern Region has highlighted the need to purchase new aircraft for the military. He said equipping the security services will help to greatly combat crime and ensure swift rescue efforts when disaster strikes.

Not everyone is happy about the purchase of the aircraft - the minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament is concerned about the acquisition of the aircraft, telling the Daily Guide that Ghana cannot afford the aircraft when the health, education and sanitation sectors are underfunded.

Ghana has a very small air force, with around 2000 personnel. According to the 2011 Military Balance, it has nine transport aircraft, including one Britten-Norman BN-2 Defender, three Cessna 172s, four Fokker F-27 Friendships and one Fokker F-28 Fellowship. The latter is used for VIP transport, which is one of the air force’s main duties.

In the way of combat aircraft, Ghana’s air force only has three single seat Aermacchi MB-326K ground attack aircraft. It also has two MB-339, two L-39ZO and four Hongdu K-8 Karakorum trainers.

05 August 2011 by defenseWeb

The Defence Materiel Division has awarded the Armour Development division of the Amscor Defence Institutes (Pty) Ltd a small contract to continue the development of armour technology for application on main battle tanks, armoured fighting vehicles and infantry vehicles.

The R3 859 649.11 contact was awarded July 21.

The Armscor annual report notes the Armour Development division continues research and development “to maintain and advance armour protection technologies and to establish industrial capability to satisfy armour protection requirements over the entire threat spectrum in a cost-effective manner. The service includes analysis of the customer protection needs, development of armour, testing and qualification, vehicle hull structural and ballistic design, as well as specification of bonding or welding.

The annual report notes the division has extensive experience in retrofitting armour packages on main battle tanks and light armoured vehicles. Recent achievements include the completion of research work on passive and reactive armours (Science 1 and 2), as contracted with the Technology Development Board. “Good results have been obtained with protection measures against fragments of artillery shells and improvised explosive devices,” the 2009 report says. Work has also been done in support of the Project Hoefyster Badger new generation mechanized infantry combat vehicle and on protection against rocket-propelled grenades. Slat and bar armour is also available.

Development of armour technology for application on main battle tanks, armoured fighting vehicles and infantry vehicles

EAMS/2011/36 21 Jul 2011 R3 859 649,11 Armscor Defence Institutes (Pty) Ltd

t/a Armour Development

Development of passive armour protection as per approved project definition

EAMS/2008/612 5 Aug 2009 R5 789 473,68 Armscor Defence Institutes (Pty) Ltd

t/a Armour Development

Combat armour development for project Hoefyster - extension of EMFT/2005/515

IVS/S2009/0929 25 Jun 2009 R319 475,00 Armscor Defence Institutes (Pty) Ltd

t/a Armour Development

Combat armour development for Project Hoefyster - extension of EMFT/2005/515

IVS/S2007/0707 10 Jul 2008 R99 980,00 Armscor Defence Institutes (Pty) Ltd

t/a Armour Development

Development of explosive reactive armour technology

EAMS/2008/54 3 Jul 2008 R3 157 894,74 Armscor Defence Institutes (Pty) Ltd

t/a Armour Development

Development of passive armour protection

EAMS/2007/232 13 Mar 2008 R1 578 947,37 Armscor Defence Institutes (Pty) Ltd

t/a Armour Development

01.08.2011 par P. CHAPLEAU Lignes de Défense

700 soldats américains dont 400 Marines du 4th Light Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion sont actuellement en Afrique du Sud pour s'y entraîner avec les soldats du 6 South African Infantry Battalion, dans le cadre de l'exercice annuel Shared Accord. Les Marines sont arrivés par avion, alors que leurs véhicules, dont des LAV-25, ont été débarqués dans le port de Port-Elizabeth.

6SAIBn.gifLes manoeuvres conjointes ont lieu près de Grahamstown (province de l'Eastern Cape), sur la base du 6 SAIBn (insigne ci-contre) et ses collines vallonnées parsemées d'aloe capensis en fleurs (photo au-dessus). La SANDF engagera 1400 soldats au total.

Shared Accord a eu lieu l'an dernier au Mozambique (un millier d'hommes y ont participé). Précédemment, il avait eu lieu au Bénin, au Ghana, au Sénégal. C'est l'un des 14 exercices multinationaux qu'organisent les Américains sur le continent africain.

02 August 2011 by Leon Engelbrecht defenceWeb

Two extensions of existing contracts for further on-demand support services for the Saab Gripen advanced light fighter aircraft and a new order for the installation of power and cooling distribution supply systems at the Gripen maintenance facility a AFB Makhado takes the value of known ancillary work related to the R19.908 billion Project Ukhozi acquisition to R151 million.

The latest work was awarded in the last two weeks and takes the support bill for the fighter to R151 432 838.31.

South Africa ordered 28 Gripen C & D advanced light fighter aircraft in 1999 as part of a “strategic defence package”. The order was later trimmed to 26. The last of these will be delivered early next year. The Gripen were acquired as a package with 24 BAE Systems Hawk Mk120 lead-in fighter trainers.

Although still not an operational system, the SA Air Force's growing fleet of SAAB Gripen fighters conducted about half the 51 aircraft intercepts conducted during the June/July soccer World Cup. The SAAF deployed 11 of the available 15 Gripen during the month-long tournament as well as 12 of 24 BAE Systems Hawk lead-in fighter trainers.

SAAF chief Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano said in April that his service could not afford to put its 15 Gripen jet fighters into the air for the required number of hours. "No, we are not going to fly the required number of hours," he conceded during a media briefing ahead of Minister of Defence and Military Veterans' Lindiwe Sisulu's budget vote in the National Assembly. "But the hours that we will fly will ensure that the people and the aircraft are safe and that we do the correct training."

Gagiano said the air force was getting around the problem by having the cockpits of its fleet of 24 BAE Systems Mk120 Hawk jet trainers "Gripenised" to make for a smoother transition for pilots from one to the other. "We have a few mitigating strategies. First of all as a design principle, we have decided to Gripenise the cockpit of the Hawk so that means that the transition from Hawk to Gripen is almost seemless and very quick. People adapt to the new environment. It is basically just higher performance but they are totally used to the systems.

"We are also in the process of upgrading the [Pilatus] PC-7's cockpits which is enhancing this process and we intend to pull down work from Gripen to Hawk to PC-7 to do the same kind of training but at a much lower cost." He said the air force was also using Gripen simulators extensively and this was working very well.

He said the shortage of funding for the Gripen was part of the shortage of funds felt by the defence force, which is a getting a scant additional R1.3 billion this year. “Gripen is part of this under-funding, perhaps because of the cause of this capability it is perhaps more visible there." The air force's budget comes to around R6 billion of the total defence budget of just over R34 billion, which Sisulu described as totally inadequate, the South African Press Association reported at the time.

More details

MOSCOU, 1er août - RIA Novosti

Les derniers chasseurs F-16 des Forces aériennes norvégiennes ont terminé leurs missions dans le cadre de l'opération de l'Otan en Libye, rapportent lundi les médias européens citant un communiqué du ministère norvégien de la Défense.

Ainsi, la Norvège a comme prévu achevé sa participation à l'opération militaire en Libye le 1er août.

Le retrait des forces norvégiennes était progressif. Dans un premier temps, le nombre total des F-16 norvégiens participant à l'opération libyenne avait été réduit de six à quatre, avant de cesser toute participation.

La ministre norvégienne de la Défense Grete Faremo avait auparavant exprimé l'espoir que la coalition internationale comprendrait cette décision, car selon elle, "le parc aérien de l'armée de l'air norvégienne est réduit et le pays n'a pas les moyens d'assurer une participation prolongée pour un grand nombre de chasseurs".

Selon le colonel Petter Lindqvist, représentant de l'armée norvégienne, les chasseurs norvégiens ont accompli 589 missions en Libye, et assuré près de 10% de tous les bombardements lancés par l'Otan.

Le 17 mars dernier, le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU a adopté la résolution 1973 instaurant une zone d'exclusion aérienne au-dessus de la Libye. L'Alliance atlantique a utilisé ce document pour intervenir aux côtés des rebelles.

29 July 2011 by defenceWeb

The Algerian Ministry of Defence has ordered a landing and logistical support vessel from the Italian company Orizzonte Sistemi Navali as the Algerian Navy modernises and expands its fleet.

Orizzonte Sistemi Navali is a joint venture between Fincantieri (the controlling shareholder) and Selex Sistemi Integrati. Fincantieri made the announcement yesterday, but did not give any further details regarding the order. Fincantieri has built three San Giorgio class amphibious transport dock ships for the Italian Navy, and this may be the type that Algeria will receive – last month Africa Intelligence reported that Algeria was examining the idea of buying a San Giorgio class vessel.

Each ship can carry a battalion of troops, up to 36 armoured vehicles or up to 30 tanks, three landing craft in the floodable stern dock, and several helicopters, including three Sea King or EH 101 Merlin helicopters or five AB 212, from a carrier-style flight deck. The San Giorgio and San Marco were laid down for the Italian Navy in 1985 and 1986 while the third vessel in the class, San Giusto, was ordered in 1991. The two oldest ships will soon be replaced by two amphibious assault ships.

The ships are armed with an Oto Melara 76/62 gun on the gun deck at the bow of the ship and two Oerlikon 20 mm cannons for close defence.

The San Giorgio class are powered by two GMT A 420.12 diesel engines supplied by the Diesel Engine Division of Fincantieri and providing 16 800 hp. The propulsion system provides a maximum continuous speed of 21 knots. At the economical speed of 16 knots the maximum range of the ship is 7 500 nautical miles.

Algeria is enhancing its Navy and last year took delivery of two Kilo submarines from Russia. At the end of June, Algeria signed a deal with Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation and state arms exporter Rosoboronexport for two new Tiger class corvettes.

Jane’s noted that Algeria has been interested in acquiring Tiger ‘missile frigates’ since early 2006. The Tiger corvette (Project 20382) is an export model of the Project 20380 Steregushchy class, which is the Russian Navy’s newest corvette class. Russia plans to buy at least 30 Steregushchy class vessels for all major fleets. The first was commissioned in November 2007, according to Jane’s Naval Forces News.

The Tiger was designed to destroy enemy submarines, surface ships and aircraft and be able to guard borders and patrol exclusive economic zones. Although the hull and superstructure are made of steel, the vessels do feature stealth materials and technologies.

Powered by diesel engines, the vessel has a maximum speed of 27 knots and an economical speed of 14 knots, which gives a range of 4000 nautical miles and an endurance of 15 days, according to Rosoboronexport.

The vessel can be equipped with a variety of weaponry, including 100 or 76.2 mm guns, 14.5 mm machine guns, 533 mm torpedoes and a variety of surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles (e.g. P-800 Oniks, Uran-E or Yakhont).

In addition, the vessels have capacity for a helicopter such as the Kamov Ka-27, which is carried on the Russian vessels.

The Algerian Navy has been undergoing expansion in recent years as it faces problems such as smuggling, illegal migration and indigenous terrorism. These threats mainly affect Algeria's harbours and maritime communication routes and ships passing through the Straits of Gibraltar. Consequently, the Algerian Navy maintains a well trained and well equipped fleet to provide security to more than 1000 km of coastline.

According to the IISS’s The Military Balance 2011, Algeria’s surface fleet comprises of three 1970s-era Koni class antisubmarine frigates, six corvettes, 22 patrol and coastal combat vessels, three amphibious vessels and three logistics and support ships.

In June 2006 Rosoboronexport signed a contract with the Algerian Navy for the construction of two Project 636 Improved Kilo class submarines under a roughly US$400 million contract.

Construction of the first submarine started in 2006 and the second began in 2007. They were handed over to the Algerian Navy in March and September last year where they joined two Project 877EKM Kilo diesel electric submarines, which Algeria received in 1987-1988.