April 4th, 2014 By Air Force News Agency - defencetalk.com

The top three acquisition priorities for the Air Force are the KC-46A aerial tanker, the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and the Long Range Strike Bomber, officials told members of Congress during a hearing of House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on seapower and projections forces, April 2.

“On any given day, the Air Force’s mobility aircraft deliver critical personnel and cargo, and provide airdrop of time-sensitive supplies, food and ammunition on a global scale,” said Dr. William LaPlante, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition.

LaPlante was joined by Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Requirements Maj. Gen. James Jones and Air Force Program Executive Officer for Tankers Maj. Gen. John Thompson.

“The KC-46 remains essential to overall strategy,” Jones said. “Our air refueling fleet is critical to operations for all services, and our coalition partners.”

LaPlante explained the new tanker is essential to replacing an aging tanker fleet, and ushering air mobility and sustainment into the future.

“The backbone of rapid U.S. global operations is our tanker fleet,” LaPlante said. “Based on the budget submitted, we expect to see about 54 KC-46 deliveries across the Future Years Defense Plan, as part of the tanker fleet recapitalization.”

The first delivery of Low Rate Initial Production aircraft will be in Fiscal Year 2016, with an estimated program completion date of 2028.

“Tankers are the lifeblood of our joint force’s ability to respond to crisis and contingencies, and are essential to keeping our Air Force viable as a global force,” LaPlante added.

The Air Force is also investing in the sustainment of the current bomber and cargo fleets, and will make upgrades to various systems to keep these airframes practical in the future of the force, he explained.

Overall, Air Force officials said they are optimistic about the future of the air mobility and bomber fleets, and are confident in the continued capabilities to support the warfighter.

“In the midst of the challenges ahead, we will aim to keep these programs on track and deliver these systems both as vital capabilities to our forces, but also as the best value to our taxpayer,” LaPlante said. “These systems will provide the future capabilities necessary to operate effectively in the national security environment of tomorrow.”

The Air Force's 2015 unfunded priorities list includes five HC-130Js. (Air Force)

Apr. 3, 2014 - By MARCUS WEISGERBER – Defense News

WASHINGTON — The US Air Force has sent Congress an $8 billion unfunded priorities list, with more than $3.3 billion eyed for new procurement programs, according to a copy of the list obtained by Defense News.

The undated list includes $200 million for the Combat Rescue Helicopter program, a last-minute add to the five-year spending projection contained in the Pentagon’s fiscal 2015 budget proposal, which was sent to Capitol Hill in early March.

The list also includes more than $400 million for five Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighters — two for the Air Force and three for international sales.

The list includes funding for five Lockheed MC-130Js, five HC-130Js and 12 General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft. Two F-35s, the C-130Js and Reapers also appeared in the White House’s Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative.

About $1.6 billion of the funding would go toward more than five dozen weapons programs, for upgrade and enhancement work.

Another $3 billion would go toward facility maintenance.

In addition, the Air National Guard sent Congress a separate $2.6 billion 2015 unfunded priority list.

The wish list includes $720 million that would be used to purchase 10 new C-130Js. The aircraft would replace a squadron of C-130H aircraft.

The list includes $1.4 billion for modernization of Guard airlift, fighter and rescue aircraft. The eyed upgrades include electronic warfare suites, sensors, situational awareness displays and navigation equipment.

Another $40 million is eyed for five Air Guard cyber protection teams

A sonobuoy loaded on to an aircraft. Photo US Navy

3 April 2014 naval-technology.com

ERAPSCO/Sonobuoy, a joint venture between electronics manufacturing firm Sparton and Ultra Electronics (ULE) subsidiary USSI, has awarded subcontracts worth $13.3m to its parent companies.

Under the $5.6m and $5.2m deals awarded to Sparton Electronics Florida and USSI respectively, the companies will manufacture and supply passive and active sonobuoys to ERAPSCO.

The subcontracts will support the multiple international agreements that the joint venture has for proposed exercises with the US Navy, as well as independent training and exercises, which have been approved under export regulations.

Designed to support the US Navy's anti-submarine forces, the sonobuoys can detect acoustic emissions or reflections from potentially hostile submarines and transmit these signals to US Navy airborne anti-submarine warfare forces.

As part of the deal, the sonobuoys will be manufactured at Sparton's De Leon Springs facility in Florida and USSI's Columbia City base in Indiana.

With production expected to be completed by June 2014, the passive and active sonobuoys will be used for detection, classification, and localisation of opponent submarines during peacetime and combat operations.

"Sonobuoys can deploy an acoustical signal source and receive underwater signals of interest."

They can also be used to evaluate environmental conditions in order to help deploy best search tactics, and for communication with friendly submarines.

In addition, they can send an acoustical signal source and receive underwater signals of interest that are sent to monitoring units for analysis.

Passive sonobuoys are used in the initial detection of submarines and the localisation of targets, while the active ones can identify targets quickly and accurately in extreme environmental conditions against a very quiet submarine, or one in an attack mode.

Certain specialised sonobuoys are capable of identifying electric fields and magnetic anomalies, as well as the light emitted by microscopic organisms disturbed by the passage of a submarine.

April 4, 2014 by Bryant Jordan defensetech.org

The Marine Corps is walking away from the high-speed Amphibious Combat Vehicle it envisioned – at least for the time being – but Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos said a wheeled version will have to do in this budget environment.

“We elected to switch and go to a wheeled vehicle,” Amos said on April 1 during a House Appropriations Committee hearing. “These are commercial off-the-shelf … they’re already being made by several different manufacturers.”

Unlike the planned ACV, the vehicle the Corps now calls the ACV 1.1 will not be able to deploy quickly from ship to shore from up to 12 miles out and it will not move on treads once landed. But what makes it a sound alternative is that the Corps already has other means to deploy it over water rapidly, Amos said. And the fact it will move on wheels makes it more survivable in a combat theatre.

Following it’s now cancelled Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, the Marine Corps seem to have abandoned efforts to quickly develop an amphibious vehicle that can both swim at what the Corps calls high water speeds of 13 to 15 knots and survive substantial land threats once ashore. Instead, the Corps plans to field a less-ambitious interim vehicle and simultaneously work on research and development aimed at reaching the desired combination of attributes for the future , senior leaders have said.

And then there’s the cost. Amos said the 300 ACV 1.1s he anticipates buying will cost about $3 million to $4.5 million each. The original ACV, the Corps had envisioned, would have cost between $12 million and $14 million each, he said.

“It’s the way to go, and they are highly mobile, and that’s the direction we’re going,” Amos said.

It does not appear that the Corps thinks it is technically feasible or cost-effective to attempt quick delivery of a vehicle that can both swim at faster speeds for ship to shore missions and also function as a sufficiently survivable land vehicle.

The ACV, as initially conceived, would be able to swim to shore from as far out as 12 miles. While the ACV 1.1 will not do that, Amos said the Corps’ fleet of connectors can. These include some 81Landing Craft Air Cushions, or LCACs, that are capable of transporting up to 150,000 pounds and as many as 180 Marines. Powered by four gas-turbine engines and two four-bladed propellers, the LCACs can travel over water, ice, snow, sand and tundra.

Additionally, Amos told lawmakers during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, the Corps has two Joint High Speed Vehicles currently out at sea and another eight under contract.

“Those will go fast, they will haul a lot of Marines and vehicles,” he said. “That gives us the ability to maneuver from a sea base that could be pushed out as far as 100 miles because of an enemy threat.”

“So what we’ve done is we’ve changed the paradigm in the way we thought, in that we have to swim all that way in our amphibious combat vehicle,” he said. “Well, it’s impractical now. Can we get on a connector, and the connector take us in? And the answer is yes.”

Amos still plans for the Corps to get the ACV it originally wanted. That’s now called ACV 1.2.

Amos said he came to the tough decision a few months ago to scrap original plans for the ACV. What made it more difficult is that just two years earlier the Corps called it quits on the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle after spending about 15 years and more than $3 billion in research, development and testing.

Amos has not identified the companies who may compete for the ACV 1.1 contract, though in the past Lockheed, General Dynamics and BAE Systems have done so, according to Manny Pacheco, a spokesman for the Corps’s Program Executive Office Land Systems Equipment Modernization.

Pacheco said an RFI for the ACV 1.1 is still a few months off.

Chadian troops make up a sizeable part of the African Union's contingent in CAR

3 April 2014 BBC Africa

Chad is to pull its peacekeepers from an African Union mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) in protest at claims that they aided rebels.

A statement from the Chadian foreign ministry said its troops had been criticised despite their sacrifices.

Chad has contributed roughly 850 soldiers to a 6,000-strong contingent.

Its forces have been accused of siding with Muslim rebels whose ousting of the CAR government last year was followed by a wave of religious violence.

The rebels, who call themselves Seleka, seized power last March. Their leader stepped down in January amid spiralling attacks and counter-attacks between groups claiming to represent different faiths.

Recently, thousands of Muslims, a minority in CAR, have been fleeing to neighbouring Chad and Cameroon after being targeted by Christian militias.

The Chadian statement said its forces had been the victims of "a gratuitous and malicious campaign" to blame them for "all the suffering in CAR".

The ousted president of CAR, Francois Bozize, told the BBC last year that Chadian troops had helped drive him from office - a claim that Chad has denied.

Last weekend, Chadian forces were blamed for the deaths of 24 people in CAR's capital, Bangui. The troops, however, said they were responding to an attack.

The Chadian statement on Thursday said its forces would remain in CAR while the details of the withdrawal were worked out.

The African Union contingent in the country is backed up by some 2,000 French troops.

Analysis Thomas Fessy Thomas Fessy West Africa correspondent

Aware of Chad's power to destabilise CAR, some diplomats would argue that it was better to keep the neighbour on board and a part of the UN mission.

Others would say a UN mission without Chadian troops would be ideal, but diplomatically impossible to bring about.

The most pragmatic would simply argue that at a time when it is proving extremely difficult to cobble together a UN force of 12,000, losing more than 800 troops from the existing mission is not what is needed.

MOSCOU, 3 avril - RIA Novosti

La Russie a confirmé sa disposition à restituer à l'Ukraine ses biens militaires restés en Crimée, a annoncé jeudi le ministère russes des Affaires étrangères. 

"La partie russe a réaffirmé sa volonté de remettre à la partie ukrainienne les avoirs militaires appartenant aux Forces armées ukrainiennes restés en Crimée", a indiqué le ministère. 

Mercredi, la diplomatie russe a adressé à l'ambassade ukrainienne à Moscou une note annonçant l'entrée en vigueur de la loi sur la dénonciation des accords bilatéraux sur la présence de la Flotte russe de la mer Noire en Ukraine suite à l'entrée de la péninsule de Crimée au sein de la Fédération de Russie. 

Le jour même, le chef de l'administration présidentielle ukrainienne par intérim Sergueï Pachinski a annoncé que l'Ukraine envisageait  de présenter à la Russie la liste des biens, y compris 70 navires, dont elle demande la restitution. 

Un changement de pouvoir ayant toutes les caractéristiques d'un coup d'Etat s'est produit en Ukraine le 22 février dernier. La Rada suprême (parlement) a destitué le président Viktor Ianoukovitch, réformé la constitution et fixé l'élection présidentielle au 25 mai. Moscou conteste la légitimité des nouvelles autorités du pays.    

Peuplée en majorité de russophones, la république autonome de Crimée a proclamé son indépendance vis-à-vis de l'Ukraine et sa réunification avec la Russie au terme d'un référendum tenu le 16 mars, lors duquel 96,7% des habitants de la péninsule ont appuyé cette décision. La Russie et la Crimée ont signé le 18 mars dernier le traité sur le rattachement de la république de Crimée et de la ville de Sébastopol à la Fédération de Russie.

A Marine critical skills operator instructs Senegalese and Malian counterterrorism team members on movement tactics prior to a training operation in Theis, Senegal. More special operations forces will take part in missions in areas such as North Africa, according to a Pentagon official. (US Air Force)

Apr. 3, 2014 - By JOHN T. BENNETT – Defense News

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is moving aggressively to establish a “network” of elite American commandos across the globe as part of its changing strategy to combat al-Qaida cells in places like North Africa.

Senior Defense Department officials on Thursday also told a House panel that had Russia invaded Crimea before the 2014 quadrennial defense review (QDR) was completed, the Obama administration would not have altered plans to place more emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region.

Christine Wormuth, deputy defense undersecretary for strategy, plans and force development, told the House Armed Services Committee that DoD’s 2015 spending plan and the QDR include plans, equipment and dollars to “continue” using “direct action” where needed to target al-Qaeda leaders and operatives.

A major part of the Obama administration’s strategy to counter the changed nature of the violent Islamic extremist organization, which now is strongest in Yemen and North Africa, will be placing additional US special operations forces (SOF) in those — and other — regions, Wormuth said.

Under questioning from committee Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., Wormuth said the need to directly strike al-Qaeda targets is a main reason that — in an era of defense cuts — Pentagon and administration officials maintained growth for special operations forces.

US Special Operations Command chief Adm. William McRaven has been pushing his plan for a “global SOF network,” which Wormuth — nominated become Pentagon policy chief — fully endorsed on Thursday.

The Obama administration wants to work more closely with US allies in the fight against al-Qaeda than has been the case over the “last 10 years,” Wormuth said, adding McRaven’s vision will be the backbone of such efforts.

The latest QDR makes clear the administration continues to be a big believer in SOF’s role in fighting al-Qaeda.

“The United States will maintain a worldwide approach to countering violent extremists and terrorist threats using a combination of economic, diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement, development, and military tools,” the QDR states. “The Department of Defense will rebalance our counterterrorism efforts toward greater emphasis on building partnership capacity, especially in fragile states, while retaining robust capability for direct action, including intelligence, persistent surveillance, precision strike, and special operations forces.”

Notably, it includes a passage that the administration plans to “grow overall special operations forces end strength to 69,700 personnel.”

Such growth, it states, is necessary to protect “our ability to sustain persistent, networked, distributed operations to defeat [al-Qaeda], counter other emerging transnational threats, counter WMD, build the capacity of our partners, and support conventional operations.”

The QDR also says a more-robust cadre of elite commandos is needed to “preserve the element of surprise.”

Meantime, Wormuth and Vice Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. James “Sandy” Winnefeld assured the House panel that had Russia invaded Ukrainian soil before the QDR was complete, its contents largely would have remained the same.

Winnefeld acknowledged to committee Vice Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, that an earlier Russian move would have changed “the tone” of parts of the quadrennial strategy document. And Wormuth told Thornberry that the underlying strategy — and its increased focus on the Asia-Pacific — would not have changed.

Some lawmakers and analysts have criticized the Obama administration for failing to anticipate the Russian invasion — and for being, as they see it, too “weak” in dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The QDR mentions Russia 10 times. Those passages mostly focus on how US officials will work with counterparts in Moscow to avoid conflict, maintain stability in Europe and Asia, and further reduce American and Russian stockpiles of nuclear arms. On the latter, Wormuth assured lawmakers that there are no nuclear arms talks with Russia, and she doesn’t expect new ones in the foreseeable future.

“The United States is willing to undertake security cooperation with Russia, both in the bilateral context and in seeking solutions to regional challenges, when our interests align, including Syria, Iran, and post-2014 Afghanistan,” states the beefiest QDR section on Russia. “At the same time, Russia’s multi-dimensional defense modernization and actions that violate the sovereignty of its neighbors present risks. We will engage Russia to increase transparency and reduce the risk of military miscalculation.”

Thornberry, seen by many Washington insiders as the favorite to replace retiring committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., pressed Winnefeld on whether the QDR is too flawed. Thornberry bluntly asked if lawmakers should simply repeal the legal provision requiring it be conducted every four years.

Winnefeld pushed back, saying he believes it is a “valuable process” inside the Pentagon and for new presidential administrations.

3 avril 2014 par Jacques N. Godbout – 45eNord.ca

Les Nations Unies ont célébré mercredi le premier anniversaire du Traité sur le commerce international des armes, qui avait été adopté l’an dernier par l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies, et que le Canada tarde toujours à signer et à ratifier de peur de déplaire aux amateurs d’armes.

Le Traité sur le commerce international des armes a pour objectif d’instituer les normes communes les plus strictes possibles aux fins de réglementer ou d’améliorer la réglementation du commerce international d’armes classiques. Il veut aussi prévenir et éliminer le commerce illicite de telles armes et d’en empêcher le détournement.

Le 2 avril 2013, l’Assemblée générale avait en effet adopté le premier traité sur le commerce international des armes classiques, ouvrant le traité à la signature à partir du mois de juin de cette année là, à 154 voix pour et trois contre (Syrie, Corée du Nord, Iran).

Mais 23 pays s’étaient abstenus, parmi lesquels certains des principaux exportateurs (Russie, Chine) ou acheteurs de ces armes (Égypte, Inde, Indonésie).

Jusqu’à maintenant, précise le service d’information de l’ONU, le traité a été signé par 118 Etats et 18 États membres ont déposé mercredi les instruments de ratification, ce qui porte le nombre de ratifications à 31.

Chaque pays est libre de signer ou non le traité et de le ratifier, mais il n’entrera en vigueur qu’à partir de la 50e ratification.

Cinq des dix premiers exportateurs l’ont ratifié mercredi

Cinq des dix premiers exportateurs d’armes au monde, soit la Grande-Bretagne, la France, l’Allemagne, l’Italie et l’Espagne, ont donc déposé leurs dossiers de ratification à l’occasion de cette cérémonie marquant le premier anniversaire mercredi. Les 13 autres États à avoir déposé leurs dossiers de ratification sont la Bulgarie, la Croatie, le Salvador, l’Estonie, la Finlande, la Hongrie, l’Irlande, la Lettonie, Malte, la Roumanie, la Slovaquie et la Slovénie.

Les États-Unis, premier exportateur mondial d’armes, ont signé le traité mais sa ratification est bloquée par le Sénat américain, dont les membres s’y opposent vivement.

Quant au Canada, pire que les États-Unis, il ne l’a toujours pas signé, encore moins ratifié, bien qu’il ait voté pour le Traité à l’Assemblée générale en avril 2013.

Pour le gouvernement canadien, qui tient beaucoup à la liberté de possession d’armes, il existerait, dit-on, un lien potentiel entre la signature de ce traité et le registre des armes d’épaule au Canada, désormais aboli. le Canada craindrait que la signature et la ratification du Traité n’affecte les propriétaires d’armes au Canada.

Le Secrétaire général des Nations-Unies, Ban Ki-moon, s’est quant à lui dit «très préoccupé par le fait que des civils continuent d’être tués ou mutilés lors d’attaques ciblées ou aveugles avec des armes qui ne devraient pas tomber dans les mains des auteurs de ces attaques»

Le Secrétaire général a salué mercredi ces ratifications. «Cela suscitera davantage d’élan vers les 50 ratifications nécessaires pour l’entrée en vigueur du traité », a-t-il déclaré, appelant tous les États qui ne l’ont pas encore fait à signer et/ou ratifier le traité sans tarder.

The Sheffield UAV has already completed a test flight as a glider. Photo the University of Sheffield.

3 April 2014 aerospace-technology.com

Researchers at the University of Sheffield, UK, have created a low-cost disposable drone as part of a research project on 3D printing of complex designs.

Engineers at the university's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) said the 1.5m-wide prototype unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be the basis of cheap and potentially disposable UAVs that could be built and deployed within 24 hours.

The new 3D printing techniques could cut down the amounts of support material around component parts required by the earlier versions of the craft in order to prevent the airframe structures from deforming during the build process.

The fused deposition modelling (FDM), one of the latest techniques used to make the UAV at Sheffield, is expected to be soon used in the creation of products without the need for complex and expensive tooling, in comparatively less time than traditional manufacturing.

The Sheffield UAV, which comprises nine parts that can be snapped together, is made from thermoplastic and weighs less than 2kg.

Engineers are evaluating the potential of nylon as a printing material in order to make the UAV 60% stronger without any increase in its weight.

The prototype UAV has completed a test flight as a glider, with engineers currently developing an electric ducted fan propulsion system, which will be fitted into the airframe's central spine.

In addition, Sheffield researchers are considering full on-board data logging of flight parameters, autonomous operation by GPS, and control by surface morphing technology.

03 avril 2014 Romandie.com (AFP)

N'Djamena - Le gouvernement tchadien a annoncé jeudi le retrait de son contingent de la force de l'Union africaine en Centrafrique (Misca), en dénonçant une campagne gratuite et malveillante contre ses troupes, dans un communiqué publié à N'Djamena.

Face à des accusations répétées contre le comportement des soldats tchadiens de la Misca, dont ils constituent une des principales composantes, le Tchad, après avoir informé la présidente de la transition centrafricaine, la présidente de la Commission de l'Union africaine et le secrétaire général des Nations unies, décide de se retirer de la force africaine, ajoute le communiqué.

Malgré les efforts consentis, le Tchad et les Tchadiens font l'objet d'une campagne gratuite et malveillante, tendant à leur faire porter la responsabilité de tous les maux dont souffre la RCA (République centrafricaine), accuse le texte.

Face à ces accusations répétées, le Tchad (...) décide du retrait du contingent tchadien de la Misca, ajoute le communiqué, précisant: les modalités pratiques de ce retrait seront arrêtées de commun accord entre le Tchad et l'Union africaine.

En attendant le Tchad assumera, sans failles, sa mission de paix dans les zones relevant de sa responsabilité en RCA, selon le texte qui ne fournit pas de détails sur ces zones.

Le Tchad réitère sa solidarité à la RCA et continuera de la soutenir sous d'autres formes, afin qu'elle retrouve la paix et la sécurité, l'unité et réalise la réconciliation de ses fils et filles, divisés par un conflit dont la gravité et les conséquences humanitaires et sécuritaires sont sans précédent par leurs caractères dramatiques et confessionnels, conclut le communiqué.

Les soldats tchadiens ont été accusés à plusieurs reprises depuis la prise du pouvoir à Bangui en mars 2013 de la coalition rebelle à dominante musulmane Séléka de connivence avec ces combattants - dont certains étaient Tchadiens -, voire de passivité face à leurs exactions, ce que N'Djamena a toujours démenti.

Cela leur a valu l'hostilité d'une partie de la population centrafricaine. Le week-end dernier, des soldats tchadiens ont tué au moins 24 personnes à l'entrée de Bangui après avoir été la cible d'une attaque à la grenade, selon la Misca et le gouvernement centrafricain.

La présidente centrafricaine de transition, Catherine Samba Panza, de passage à Paris avant le sommet de Bruxelles, a annoncé mardi l'ouverture d'enquêtes sur cette affaire.

Cet incident est le plus grave impliquant des troupes étrangères en Centrafrique depuis la chute du président François Bozizé par la Séléka en mars 2013.

Cette version a été démentie par des représentants des milices majoritairement chrétiennes anti-balaka.

La polémique a rebondi au niveau international avec de nouvelles déclarations mardi du Haut-Commissariat de l'ONU aux droits de l'Homme et de la diplomatie française. Il semble que les soldats tchadiens aient tiré sans discrimination dans la foule, a accusé à Genève une porte-parole du Haut-Commissariat, Cécile Pouilly.

Pour Paris au contraire, la responsabilité incombe pour une large part aux anti-balaka, selon le porte-parole du Quai d'Orsay, Romain Nadal, qui a demandé que toute la lumière soit faite sur ces violences.

Depuis un an, l'ancienne colonie française, pays parmi les plus pauvres de la planète, habitué aux coups d'Etat à répétition et aux rébellions, traverse une crise sans précédent qui a fait des milliers de morts et des centaines de milliers de déplacés.

09 April 2014 by European Defence Agency

Conference Video Available

Last week's annual conference of the European Defence Agency was a landmark event for the European defence community.

April 3, 2014: Strategy Page

The predicted (last Summer when the rebel militias cut off oil exports) cash crises has arrived and it has everyone’s attention. Despite the rebels blocking oil exports now expressing willingness to deal, oil exports are still at an all-time low of 100,000 barrels a day. The government has only $116 billion left and little credit. Government banking officials insist that can be made to last for at least two years but Libyans are seeing growing cutbacks in government spending. Most Libyans depend on the government for jobs, food and other essentials. Without oil income the government cannot deliver. About two thirds of the $53 billion annual government budget is for salaries and benefits. A growing number of government workers are having their pay or benefits delayed so that more essential issues (like food imports) can be attended to. The government reserves are not all cash and it takes time to convert some of those assets into cash. The government is also warning people that a lot of Kaddafi era subsidies will have to go in order to keep the economy going. Such a move would be very unpopular. Kaddafi provided a lot of stuff at very low prices. Like loaves of bread for a few pennies. Fuel and electricity was also sold far below cost as were airline, bus and train tickets. Another problem is the many people who collect a government paycheck don’t do any work, or even show up for work. Thus there are 22,000 soldiers in Benghazi, according to payroll records, but few of them are on the job. Some of that is because some government or military official is pocketing the payroll, but in other cases there are real people getting paid but they only show up on payday, if that (because direct-deposit is available). Changing all these bad habits is very difficult. The greed, Islamic terrorism and sense of entitlement that is so widespread in Libya also means that foreign investors are not interested because Libyans make inefficient and troublesome employees. Libya is no place to create wealth but it is an ideal place to squander it.

The basic problem is that Libyans have proved unable to agree on how to handle their oil wealth. The tribes living where the oil comes from want a larger share. Actually, everyone wants more, for one reason or another. In the last year various local militias near the oil fields and export terminals have seized these facilities halted most (over 70 percent by the end of 2013 and over 90 percent now) oil exports. All this was largely unexpected because at the start of 2013 oil production was at 1.4 million barrels a day and nearly back to normal. Then greed got the best of many factions who decided their loyalties were more to themselves than to Libya as a whole. It’s been downhill since then. Before the 2011 revolution oil accounted for over 90 percent of government revenue and over 70 percent of GDP. With over $20 billion in oil revenue lost so far the government is running out of credit and will soon have no way to pay for essential imports, like food. These shortages have become more widespread and severe and that is driving many people to either back the government or use more desperate measures to grab whatever they can.

Because the refineries that provide fuel for Libyans are also shut down the government has to spend scarce cash to import fuel. Even the greedy militias are now aware that what they are doing means the economy will collapse and with that food and other essentials will not be available for most Libyans. To avoid that catastrophe there is compromise or force, or a combination of the two. Ultimately force will prevail as starvation is the last thing anyone wants. The economy is already in decline because many payments have not been made for things that can be delayed (infrastructure and replacements for old or destroyed equipment). The government ordering the troops in does not sound so crazy in light of the dire financial situation. The absence of law in most of the country is crippling the economy, which is still trying to recover from the 2011 revolution. Kaddafi tightly controlled the economy and his overthrow was supposed to allow economic activity to flourish. But the widespread presence of armed men taking what they want and kidnapping for ransom has made entrepreneurs and investors unwilling to do much.

Let’s Make A Deal

The rebel militias holding east Libyan oil facilities now say they are ready to work out a deal over control of these facilities. What changed their minds was the March 17th U.S. Navy SEAL raid to capture the rebel controlled tanker full of Libyan oil. Apparently over the last two weeks the rebels have learned that the foreign criminal gangs who were once willing to broker sales of stolen Libyan oil have backed away. The oil smuggling gangs see the American warships and commandoes as a deal breaker. With no way to sell the oil they control, the rebel militias must quickly make the best deal they can with the government because these militia leaders are broke and their armed followers expected great things to come from occupying the oil facilities. Government troops are closing in and apparently it comes down to working out a price to avoid a battle and get the militias out of the oil export facilities.

The militias holding the eastern oil facilities have also lose some of their Robin Hood glow. They now stand accused of working with former officials of the Kaddafi government to smuggle oil out of the country and sell it. There are still a lot of Kaddafi era officials in Libya and even more overseas. Some of these Kaddafi henchmen are still wealthy, having gotten a lot of money (usually obtained by corrupt means) out of the country before the 2011 revolution. These guys still have contacts and fans inside Libya (among the tribes that Kaddafi favored) as well as a taste for obtaining more Libyan cash. The pro-Kaddafi exiles are open for business and smuggling is more attractive to them than subsidizing terrorism. The war is over, Kaddafi is gone and life goes on.

The Shortages

Another unresolved problem is that while there is a Libya there are not enough true (patriotic and loyal to a central government) Libyans. There are many countries suffering from this problem with tribal, ethnic, regional and other loyalties that create lots of corruption and little national unity. In these conditions a lot of the corruption is not seen as stealing, but simply taking care of your own group. In a place like Libya, where decades of oil wealth have created a population largely dependent on oil income for basic survival, this lack of unity has become a matter of life or death.

Another source of unrest is brewing on the Tunisian border. There the smugglers are having more problems with the security forces on both sides of the frontier. It’s all about money of course as the smuggling deprives the governments of over half a billion dollars a year in revenue. But the smuggling, especially of cheap Libyan into Tunisia, has become the primary livelihood for thousands of Libyan families. Locals believe the Libyan and Tunisian security forces are simply seeking a bigger cut of the smuggler profits. That’s how things work in this part of the world. The smugglers also have to find a patron, a “boss of all bosses” to negotiate deals with local army and police commanders. Everybody wants to get paid.

France Guards The South

The continued success of the French-led counter-terrorism effort in northern Mali and the equally determined efforts by Islamic terrorists to maintain a presence there anyway has led France to set up a permanent base in the north. This would be similar to the base it has long maintained on the other end of Africa in Djibouti. Since September 11, 2001 that base has been shared with the Americans and the Mali base is expected to see a lot of Americans helping out. France currently has about 1,600 troops in northern Mali and that appears to be about what it will take to staff the permanent base. France is particularly concerned about the continuing unrest in Libya and the ability of Islamic terrorists to establish bases and training facilities there. Because of all that, this year there have been several incidents of Islamic terrorists moving into northern Mali from Libya and until the Libyan government establishes some control over the many Islamic terrorists roaming Libya, more will show up in northern Mali.

March 31, 2014:  As a goodwill gesture to get negotiations going the government has released the three militiamen who were arrested off Cyprus by U.S. SEALs on the tanker carrying $30 million in stolen Libyan oil. The rebels are also demanding the return of the tanker and the stolen oil but the government is apparently not willing to go that far. The three militiamen were quickly pointed out by the crew of the tanker after the SEALs seized control. The ship captain said the three were armed and tasked with ensuring that the tanker went to wherever the oil brokers (who were going to sell the stolen oil) instructed. The three Libyan militiamen were armed and the crew was not, so they just went along, having been assured that they would be paid and not harmed if they did. The crew were not so sure they would be safe as it appeared the Libyan militiamen were dealing with some pretty shady characters.

March 27, 2014:  Another militia composed of personnel hired to provide oil facility security has gone rogue and blocked a pipeline from a southwestern oil field. The former guards want lots of money. The main source of exported oil now are two offshore fields.

March 26, 2014: The U.S. has sent a team of American soldiers to Libya to work out details of a training program being set up in Bulgaria for the new Libyan Army. In late 2013 the U.S. agreed to establish a training facility in Bulgaria where 500 American soldiers would serve as instructors at a camp that would train 8,000 (or more) Libyan recruits in basic military skills.

March 24, 2014: The government said it is releasing the 21 man crew (consisting of six Pakistanis, six Indians, three Sri Lankans, two Syrians, two Sudanese and two Eritreans) of the oil tanker captured by American SEALs and returned to Libya on the 23rd and its cargo of 350,000 barrels of oil will be unloaded there. The U.S. handed control of the tanker to Libya in international waters some 30 kilometers off Tripoli and removed the American sailors who had supervised the return of the ship.

March 23, 2014: In the east (Derna) gunmen ambushed a van carrying $600,000 from a telecommunications company to a bank and made off with the money. The thieves were probably members of one the militias that dominate the city (to the east of Benghazi). There is no law in places like Derna but the local militias still need cash.

March 22, 2014: The army began fighting rebel militias in the east that are holding three oil export ports. The rebels apparently hoped to interfere with the arrival of more troops but were driven off. The troops are better trained than the militiamen and that is apparently making a difference. On March 12rh the government gave the rebel militias until the 26th to relinquish control of the oil ports. The rebels do not appear to be making preparations to leave.

March 21, 2014: In the capital a Tunisian diplomat was apparently kidnapped for ransom. Earlier in the day (before dawn) someone got past the tight security at the main airport and placed a bomb on the main runway. A timer detonated the bomb, causing little damage but closing down flight operations for several hours.

March 20, 2014: In a first, the Libyan government finally admitted that it has an Islamic terrorism problem and called for international help to deal with it. The government now wants to form a dedicated counter-terrorism force and knows that will require outside help. NATO, which has many members just across the Mediterranean, is expected to be the main source of assistance.  Countries like Italy and France have many Arab speaking counter-terrorism operatives and many expatriate Libyans live over there. Then there are the Americans, with all their useful gadgets, technical magic and unique specialists (like the SEAL commandos who took back the tanker full of stolen Libyan oil).

March 19, 2014: The success of recent joint operations around Lake Chad has led the nations bordering Lake Chad (Chad, Cameroon, Libya, Niger, Nigeria and the Central African Republic/CAR) to form a permanent task force to patrol the lake region and coordinate operations against smugglers, Islamic terrorists and bandits. The initial emphasis will be on containing the Islamic terrorists, mainly the Nigerian Boko Haram, in the area. The new task force will have its headquarters in the Nigerian town of Baga, which is on the lake. Baga is large enough to accommodate a new military base. The goal is to have the new task force up and running before the end of the year. Increased coordination will start immediately.

March 18, 2014: In the southwest the local Tuareg tribes warned the government not to use force to remove the militias occupying oil facilities in the area.

March 17, 2014: Some 32 kilometers off the coast of Cyprus two dozen U.S. Navy SEAL commandos used power boats to go from a U.S. Navy destroyer to a nearby North Korean tanker. Once aboard the tanker the SEALs quickly took control and arrested three Libyans the crew of 21 said had, in effect, hijacked the tanker and its $30 million cargo of stolen Libyan oil. There were no casualties and the tanker was taken back to Libya. Libya had asked the United States to help retrieve the tanker, which had fled Libya with the oil. The North Korean registered tanker fled the Libyan oil loading port of Es Sider early on March 11th and made it to international waters before Libyan Navy gunboats could catch up. The Libyan sailors were within their rights to board the tanker and retake it, but they were not trained to do so and there were apparently some armed men on the tanker. The tanker then moved towards Cyprus and Libya asked the Americans for some help. The U.S. dispatched a destroyer with SEALs on board and the American warship was soon following the tanker. The U.S. government agreed on the 16th to use SEALs to get the tanker back and the raid was carried out before dawn on the 17th.

In the east (Benghazi) a car bomb went off outside a military school killing seven soldiers and wounding twelve.

March 16, 2014: The rebel militias in the east that are holding three oil export ports now say they are willing to negotiate. Up until now the militias asserted that they were representing the new government of an independent country called Cyrenaica. The rebels have been trying to make this stick since the beginning of the year but without cash (from selling oil) they got no traction.

March 15, 2014: The parliament gave the interim prime minister another 15 days in power. Parliament is, as usual, deadlocked. This time it is over who the new prime minister should be. Parliament is split into many factions, most of them either secular or Islamic.

March 14, 2014:  The UN agreed to extend its support effort in Libya until March 13, 2015.

March 13, 2014: North Korea denied any involvement with the North Korean registered tanker that carried off Libyan oil illegally. North Korea pointed out that the ship was registered in North Korea in February for six months with the understanding that there would be no illegality involved. The ship is actually owned by a Saudi company and currently controlled by an Egyptian shipping company that is apparently helping to sell the oil. North Korea has long been involved with shady deals like this and is apparently trying to distance itself from one that went off the rails.

03.04.2014 Helen Chachaty journal-aviation.com

L’US Navy va acquérir cinq drones VTOL MQ-8C Fire Scout supplémentaires, en vertu d’un contrat signé avec l’industriel Northrop Grumman le 2 avril. Le contrat de 43,8 millions de dollars comprend également la livraison d’une station de contrôle au sol. Les drones devraient être livrés d’ici décembre 2015.

Le drone hélicoptère de Northrop Grumman est développé à partir de la cellule d’un Bell 407. Version améliorée du MQ-8B, il a effectué son vol inaugural le 31 octobre 2013 et devrait être opérationnel au sein de l’US Navy dans le courant de l’année. Il sera surtout utilisé pour les missions ISR.