Indra has developed components of the Aegis system for over 30 platforms in 6 countries

July 19, 2011 defpro.com

Madrid | Indra, the premier IT Company in Spain and a leading IT multinational in Europe, as Lockheed Martin's supplier, will develop and supply to the US Navy the different elements of the Aegis air defense system destined to the future Arleigh Burke (DDG) ships.

The project, for an amount exceeding USD 12.5 M, has an execution period of 3 years. In order to win the contract Indra had to meet the demanding requirements established by the US government to its suppliers.

The company had to prove it was able to comply with a tight deadline, as well as its capacity to provide continuous upgrades to the system in order to meet the quality standards defined by the US Navy.

This award is within the framework of the cooperation agreement between Indra and Lockheed Martin to develop the Aegis system. This cooperation between both firms started at the end of the 90's on occasion of the construction program of the F100 Spanish frigates.

After this first experience Indra has worked with Lockheed Martin in the development of the different elements of the Aegis system for over 30 platforms, not only for the Spanish Navy but also for Australia, USA, Norway, Korea and Japan's maritime branches.

The Aegis system is among the cutting-edge air defense systems worldwide. It combines information technologies with sophisticated radar systems to follow up and control more than 100 possible threats in a radio above 100 nautical miles.

19/07/11 By Craig Hoyle SOURCE:Flight International

The UK government has announced a £3 billion ($4.8 billion) increase in defence spending for the five-year period starting in 2015-16, enabling the Ministry of Defence to proceed with several planned military aircraft procurements over the coming decade.

Outlined on 18 July, the new commitment will enable the UK to advance with its planned purchase of 14 more Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters to enter use from 2014, and to acquire a fleet of three RC-135-based Air Seeker intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for the Royal Air Force. The first of these should also be available in 2014, with modification work already under way in the USA on an ex-US Air Force Boeing KC-135 tanker airframe.

Other activities facilitated by the extra funds will include initial spending on the Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter and on converting both of the Royal Navy's future Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers with catapults and arrestor gear. This will restore the UK's lapsed carrier strike capability from 2020.

"The government has committed to deliver a package of new money, further efficiencies, and adjustment to the future defence equipment programme, turning the unfunded aspirations of the last government into real contracts and real equipment," said defence secretary Dr Liam Fox. "For the first time in a generation, the MoD will have brought its plans and budget broadly into balance, allowing it to plan with confidence for the delivery of the future equipment programme."

Fox also announced plans to move the RAF's Scottish-based Eurofighter Typhoons from Leuchars to Lossiemouth, with the latter joining RAF Coningsby as a base providing quick reaction alert cover for the UK.

"We will start preparing the infrastructure at Lossiemouth to receive the Typhoon force straight away, and would aim to start to redeploy aircraft there in 2013," said Fox. "We will continue to redeploy aircraft over the following years as space becomes available."

The RAF bases at Kinloss and Leuchars in Scotland will be handed over for use by the British Army, while Lyneham in Wiltshire has been named as preferred location for the MoD's future defence technical training activities.

Allocated to support the UK's Future Force 2020 strategy, the additional defence funds equate to a real-term increase of 1% a year in the UK's equipment procurement and support programme, the MoD said.

"I am determined to maintain Britain's position in the international premier league and to ensure that our Royal Navy, Army and RAF are given the tools they need to do their vital work," said Fox.

The defence secretary also said the MoD would publish a new, fully funded, 10-year equipment plan by September and ask the UK National Audit Office to conduct an "affordability audit" of its plans.

SPYDR Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft.

July 18, 2011 defpro.com

Edinburgh | SELEX Galileo, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that it has partnered with L-3 to provide the PicoSAR as a best-of-class modular payload option on the SPYDR Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft.

PicoSAR provides high performance SAR imaging together with detection and tracking of ground moving targets. The lightweight system provides true all-weather target detection capability to significantly extend the operational utility of the platform.

Alastair Morrison, Senior Vice President of Radar and Advanced Targeting said “SELEX Galileo is confident that the addition of our PicoSAR AESA capability will significantly enhance the world-class ISR capability demonstrated by the SPYDR platform. We are pleased to have been selected as the radar supplier and look forward to working with L3 on SPYDR and other related activities in the future.”

The selection is the latest in a number of recent successes for the PicoSAR system, which has been chosen by three other customers in the past few months and is now in operation with more than six international end users. The system has also been trialled in Europe, the US and the Middle East on a number of fixed and rotary wing platforms.

PicoSAR is one of a family of AESA radars that includes the Vixen family of fire control radars and the Seaspray family of surveillance radars which are in operation in the United States, on the USCG HC- 130H aircraft and under contract for the UK Royal Navy Surface Combatant Maritime Rotorcraft (Future Lynx). PicoSAR utilises common technology and techniques used on SELEX Galileo’s other radar programmes.

© Northrop Grumman

18/07/11 By Craig Hoyle SOURCE:Flight International

Northrop Grumman has delayed plans to fly a test version of Germany's Euro Hawk unmanned air vehicle to EADS's Manching site, near Munich, early this week, attributing its decision to issues over agreeing a flight plan with the US Federal Aviation Administration.

Developed from the US Air Force's RQ-4 Global Hawk by Northrop and EADS company Cassidian for the electronic intelligence role, the Euro Hawk was due to touch down at Manching on the morning of 19 July, following a transatlantic ferry flight.

Northrop said it has been forced to delay the Euro Hawk's planned departure from Edwards AFB in California "due to mission plan routing issues with the FAA".

It added that "due to forecasted poor weather conditions in certain areas of the route in the next few days, a new date cannot be confirmed at this time".

By last month, the aircraft had accumulated almost 100 flight hours while operating from Edwards AFB since mid-2010.

Following its delayed arrival at Manching, it will have its Cassidian-developed mission equipment installed before resuming test activities for the Euro Hawk programme.

Northrop has previously outlined a plan to deliver the first of five Euro Hawk air vehicles to the German air force late this year.

It will then undergo an extensive period of service trials before entering operational use.

Photo © Troupe Azzurra/Italian air force

13/07/11 By Luca Peruzzi SOURCE:Flight International

The Italian air force's first two of six General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Predator B unmanned air vehicles will reach initial operational capability during July, ahead of a possible decision to make them available to support NATO's operation Unified Protector.

Preparations to field the medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft have included participating in exercises above a test range in Sardinia, and over the Mediterranean sea, by using dedicated air corridors.

"The second pair will be delivered by the end of 2011, while the last two are to become operational by mid-2012," Col Fabio Giunchi, commander of the 32nd Wing at Amendola air base in south-east Italy, said.

Its 28th Sqn already operates the MQ-1C Predator A+, employing the type over Iraq from January 2005 and in Afghanistan since April 2007, where more than 7,000 flight hours have been recorded.

Four upgraded Predators are in use, with a fifth being upgraded to the A+ standard and assessments being made to determine whether another can be returned to operational use after landing short of the runway during an approach to Herat air base in Afghanistan.

A replacement is also being acquired for one lost in an earlier accident.

Italy's larger Predator Bs are equipped with a Raytheon MTS-B electro-optical/infrared sensor and General Atomics Lynx II synthetic aperture radar.

The air force is waiting to receive a software update to support maritime surveillance tasks, Giunchi said, while it also has suggested that the UAV could be armed in the future to reduce the time between detecting and engaging a target.

In addition to the six air vehicles, Italy's Predator B acquisition also comprises three mission ground-control stations and related equipment, plus personnel training and support services.

Italian air force chief of staff Lt Gen Giuseppe Bernardis last month revealed possible plans to use the unmanned aircraft in support of the Libya campaign.

Jul 12 2011 David Pugliese’s Defence Watch

 The Star Telegram in Fort Worth, Texas keeps a close eye on the F-35 file.

Here is some of what they reported today:

Denmark last year delayed a decision on whether to buy the F-35 , Boeing F/A-18E/F or Saab Gripen NG. The fall election as well as Denmark's role in aiding the NATO operations in Libyan could put new momentum behind the Dane's aircraft shopping plans. Although Denmark was an original partner nation in the F-35 development consortium, the country has since opted to hold a competition for its next tactical aircraft purchase.

Meanwhile, over on AvWeek's Ares blog, the ever vigilant Bill Sweetman reports the Dutch are leaning towards delaying purchases of F-35 production jets until late in the decade, not taking first delivery until around 2019.

Read more: http://blogs.star-telegram.com/sky_talk/2011/07/more-indecision-on-f-35-in-europe.html#ixzz1RuykDrQw

12 juillet 2011 Par Rédacteur en chef. PORTAIL DES SOUS-MARINS

L’achat par la Russie de bâtiments sophistiqués auprès de la France a suscité de nombreux commentaires, spéculant sur les menaces supposées que cela pourrait représenter pour les états membres de l’OTAN ou certains de leurs alliés, en particulier la Georgie. Ainsi, selon Vlad Socor dans l’Eurasia Daily Monitor, cette vente était motivée par « le mercantilisme... court-circuitant l’OTAN et oubliant les notions de base que sont la solidarité et les alliances stratégiques. »

Un officier de l’US Navy vient de publier sa thèse de master (pdf) sur cet achat. Selon Dmitry Gorenburg, il s’agirait du « travail le plus complet sur le sujet ». Cet officier, le Lieutenant Commander Patrick Thomas Baker, explique que la Russie veut avoir ce type de bâtiments, non pas pour une capacité spécifique de combat, mais dans le cadre d’une stratégie plus large de modernisation de sa marine :

L’achat de BPC Mistral par la Russie s’explique par son besoin d’acquérir des technologies modernes de commandement et de contrôle, et de construction navale, plus que pour augmenter ses capacités amphibies en soi.

Le chef de la marine russe, l’amiral Vladimir Vysotskiy — qui est célèbre pour avoir expliqué que, avec un BPC Mistral, la Russie aurait été capable de battre la Georgie « en 40 minutes, pas en 26 heures » — s’intéressait déjà au bâtiment avant même la guerre de Georgie. Selon Baker, cela « suggère que le souhait d’acquérir un nouveau système précède l’identification d’une capacité nécessaire et le développement d’un système pour accomplir cette capacité. » :

L’amiral Vysotskiy a probablement considéré le Mistral comme un moyen d’élever le profil de la marine au sein du pays et de l’establishment militaire russe avec un grand bâtiment précieux, tout en proclamant l’insatisfaction de la marine avec les produits qu’elle reçoit des chantiers navals russes. En juillet 2010, l’amiral Vysotskiy a donné une interview sur l’Ekho Moskvy Military Council. Il y déclarait que, comme les forces russes abandonnaient le système basé sur la conscription et la mobilisation, pour un système d’unités et de forces permanentes, ces nouvelles forces avaient besoin de pouvoir se redéployer rapidement. Un Mistral pourrait certainement aider à cela. Vysotskiy a aussi indiqué que les Français avaient raison d’appeler les Mistral des BPC : bâtiment de projection (de force) et de commandement, et expliqué que la Russie les utiliserait de la même manière.

Baker analyse aussi en détail ce que la Russie aurait pu faire dans la guerre de Georgie, si elle avait eu un Mistral. Elle n’aurait probablement pas pu transporter des troupes vers la Georgie plus rapidement qu’elle n’a pu le faire avec ses bâtiments de transport actuels. Elle aurait pu envoyer des hélicoptères d’attaque plus rapidement, puisque les hélicoptères russes n’avaient pas pu traverser le Caucase à cause de l’altitude trop élevée. Le Mistral est un porte-hélicoptères, ce qui aurait pu aider à résoudre ce problème. L’étude après les faits des opérations a aussi montré que les système de commandement et de contrôle russes, s’étaient mal comportés pendant la guerre, et c’est aussi un point sur lequel les Mistral excellent. Cependant, Baker explique qu’aucun de ces points n’aurait véritablement changé la donne en mer Noire, et ne serait la raison en soi d’acheter le Mistral.

Certains analystes estime que des Mistral seront déployés en mer Noire, d’abord pour menacer à nouveau la Georgie. Il est exact que la Georgie est le seul pays que la Russie pourrait menacer en mer Noire. La Turquie est de loin une puissance navale plus importante que la Russie dans cette région. La Turquie contrôle les détroits du Bosphore et des Dardanelles, unique voie d’accès à la mer Noire. Les Mistral ne sont pas concernés par la convention de Montreux, mais la Turquie pourrait rendre les transits d’un bâtiment porte-hélicoptères très difficile. La Russie pourrait donc choisir de laisser les Mistral à l’écart de la mer Noire. Les autres pays riverains de la mer Noire sont aussi tous membres de l’OTAN. Comme le premier ministre russe, Vladimir Poutine, l’a déclaré de façon brutale, la Russie n’aurait pas besoin de Mistral pour envahir à nouveau la Georgie : l’armée russe est parfaitement capable d’exécuter cette mission.

Comme il y a déjà des bases russe en Ossétie du Sud et en Abkhasie, le soutien aérien d’un BPC Mistral ne serait probablement pas nécessaire. On peut imaginer que son utilité pour renforcer les troupes en Georgie, serait plus grande en hiver, quand la neige et le verglas limitent les mouvements dans le Caucase et le tunnel de Roki. Mais encore une fois, les autres bâtiments de transport de la Flotte de la mer Noire peuvent aussi le faire. La Russie pourrait aussi utiliser ses capacités de transport aérien. Un point qu’Aleksandr Goltz a souligné est que les Russes ont laissé des chars et des pièces d’artillerie dans les territoires occupés pour diminuer l’impact des déplacements de matériels par le tunnel de Roki, que la Georgie pourrait surement essayer de fermer dans un futur conflit.

Donc, il semble que l’importance des mouvements de matériels puisse être minimisée par la planification. Cependant, le renforcement de troupes pourrait être réalisé rapidement par avion. Le seul avantage significatif qu’un BPC Mistral apporterait à la flotte de la mer Noire serait sa capacité de contrôle et de commandement dans une opération terrestre à grande échelle. Néanmoins, comme la Russie a atteint ses objectifs en Georgie en 2008, il semble improbable qu’elle se lance à nouveau dans une invasion de grande ampleur, une qui nécessiterait des capacités sophistiquées de commandement.

Cette thèse est bien étayée, écrite dans un langage clair et fait autorité. Elle est véritablement utile pour ceux qui s’intéressent à cette vente et à la planification navale de la Russie en général.

Eurasia Net

SOURCE missiledefense.files.wordpress.com

AARHUS, Denmark, July 11 (UPI)

Terma of Denmark's BMD-Flex command-and- control system was successfully used in "live fire" test by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

During the test – conducted by MDA in collaboration with the U.S. Navy's Space and Air Warfare Systems Center -- BMD-Flex received the track of the intermediate range ballistic missile as well as the launch point and impact point.

The test demonstrated the capability of the first phase of the phased, adaptive approach for missile defense in Europe, which was announced by U.S. President Barak Obama in September 2009.

In relation to BMD-Flex, the test proves how Terma's solution is fully interoperable with the assets which will be deployed in Europe as of 2011 and scheduled to be complete in 2020.

BMD-Flex is an international command-and- control system for integrated air and missile defense and suited for both land-based and sea-based defense of deployed forces as well as population centers.

Terma has headquarters at Aarhus, Denmark, and maintains international subsidiaries and operations in The Netherlands, Germany, the United States and Singapore.

A RC-135 Rivet Joint flies over Afghanistan on Jan. 9. Britain has signed a nearly $1 billion deal with the U.S. government to support and update the threeRivet Joints due to be supplied to the Royal Air Force as part of a 2010 sales agreement. (Master Sgt. Scott Wagers / U.S. Air Force)

8 Jul 2011 By ANDREW CHUTER DefenseNews

LONDON - Britain has signed a deal worth nearly $1 billion with the U.S. government to support and update the three RC-135W Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft due to be supplied to the Royal Air Force as part of a sales agreement sealed last year.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman has confirmed that procurement chief Bernard Gray and his U.S. counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding for the sustainment and follow-on development phase of the deal last month, just days before the British retired the Nimrod R1s the Rivet Joint will replace.

"The chief of defense materiel signed the MoU on June 23; his U.S. counterpart signed on June 6," said the spokeswoman. "The MoU establishes a cooperative agreement through to 2025 for the support of the U.K.'s Rivet Joint system. Valued at nearly $1 billion, the MoU enables the U.K. to access spares to support its in-service equipment, provides U.S. contractor assistance in-country and on deployment, and covers deep maintenance of the aircraft fleet that includes capability updates every four years."

Media here have said recently the program could be on a list of new money-saving cuts being considered by the MoD as it battles to get its finances into order. The results of a three-month review by the MoD into balancing capabilities and resources are expected to be revealed by October.

When the Foreign Military Sales deal covering the aircraft, ground exploitation systems and support arrangements was announced last year, the MoD said it was the most complex contract it had agreed with the U.S. Air Force since World War II.

Part of that arrangement involves British crews co-manning USAF Rivet Joints to partially bridge the gap in capabilities between the June 28 retirement of the final two Nimrod R1s and the introduction into service of the RAF's new aircraft. The first British crew began training for the co-manning role at USAF's Offutt Air Base in Nebraska at the start of this year and has been active for several weeks over Afghanistan and Libya, MoD sources said.

The date for delivery of the first airframe to the RAF is set for April 2014, but L-3 Communications, the contractor responsible for modifying the KC-135R aircraft to the Rivet Joint configuration, reckons it will be able to advance that date.

A spokesman for the company said it was now "anticipating delivery of the first aircraft in December 2013."

The Nimrods had been due to retire in March, but the British government opted to keep them flying for a further three months due to the onset of the Libyan crisis.

Co-manned USAF aircraft will be available to support coalition operations until the RAF get their own aircraft, said an RAF brochure handed out at the retirement ceremony.

The BBC reported that Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, chief of the Air Staff, had concerns about temporarily having to rely on USAF aircraft.

Speaking to the media organization at the Nimrod retirement at the RAF's Waddington air base, Dalton was quoted saying, "It doesn't leave a hole - it dents the depth of our capabilities. We can still do the missions we need to, but this was a more efficient way of doing things. We'll have to use other methods now."

July 6, 2011 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Voice of America; issued July 5, 2011)

The Czech Republic has decided not to participate in the U.S. ballistic missile system for Europe. Our correspondent looks at the U.S. proposal and describes the reasons for the Czech withdrawal.

The United States’ plan for a ballistic missile defense system in Europe has gone through several changes over the past few years.

The original Bush administration proposal called for deploying 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar facility in the Czech Republic. That project addressed Iran’s long-range ballistic missile threat.

But the Obama administration took a different view. U.S. officials said the threat comes from Iran’s short and medium-range weapons. And so in September 2009, President Barack Obama cancelled the Bush plan, opting for what experts describe as a more adaptable approach.

The new proposal involves putting SM-3 ground-based interceptors in Poland by 2015 and in Romania by 2018. These are still being developed. Analysts say SM-3 missiles are already aboard U.S. navy ships, giving the Obama plan a flexibility the Bush proposal did not have.

Experts say officials in the Czech Republic last month reacted negatively to the Obama plan since they were looking forward to the radar facility called for in the Bush plan.

“When the Obama administration shelved plans for deploying that system, that meant that this major radar site in the Czech Republic, which was controversial within the Czech Republic, there was a lot of public opposition to this, when this system was shelved, it meant that the radar was not going to be built. Instead the Obama administration has proposed a lesser role for the Czech Republic - and in response, Czech officials were disappointed and some parliamentarians were quoted as saying they were offered a consolation prize and they didn’t want it,” said Daryl Kimball, the head of the Arms Control Association, a private research firm.

Marko Papic, analyst with STRATFOR, a private intelligence firm, describes the so-called consolation prize.

“In the revamped plan, the Czech Republic was going to receive basically a computer room - a room full of computers - whose funding would be about $2 million, instead of a giant X-band radar that cost about $100 million," said Papic."So Prague simply decided that the reward was not worth the domestic risk and decided to pull the plug.”

Papic says in essence, the United States threw a bone to Czech officials.

“It’s an early-warning system," added Papic. "And there is absolutely no reason - technological, engineering or really any reason - for it to be outside the United States. It could be in the Pentagon.”

Russia has consistently opposed U.S. plans for a ballistic missile defense system in Europe. Moscow does not believe that the goal is to defend against missile attacks from such countries as Iran. Russian officials see it as aimed against Moscow - a charge denied by the United States.

Conversely, many former Warsaw Pact nations still see Moscow as a menace. But not - says Papic - the Czech Republic.

“The Czech Republic is one of the central and east European countries that doesn’t feel the same sort of threat, same sort of existential threat from Russia that, for example, Romania and Poland may feel," continued Papic. "And this is because ultimately the Czech Republic is behind the Carpathian and Tatra mountains and doesn’t sit bordering the Russian periphery, and it has buffers of its own.

"So it has always been a little bit of an elective, a little bit of a luxury commitment to the BMD [ballistic missile defense] project. It was never really about deep core Czech national interests,” he said.

Many experts, including Daryl Kimball with the Arms Control Association, say the Czech decision was irresponsible. They say the stationing of missile defense components is not a matter of prestige, but of necessity - to make sure countries are adequately defended against potential missile attacks from rogue states.

source defenseindustrydaily.com

July 5, 2011 defpro.com

UXBRIDGE/HARLOW, England | Raytheon UK has been awarded a 10 million pounds Sterling (approximately $16 million), four-year contract to provide continued in-service support for both current and legacy U.K. Paveway Weapon Systems for the U.K. Ministry of Defence. Raytheon UK will be responsible for key support activities including configuration management, design support, obsolescence, safety management, spares provision and quality assurance.

Bob Delorge, chief executive, Raytheon UK, said: "This contract demonstrates Raytheon UK's leading industry expertise in the complex weapons arena, where the company delivers fast and reliable in-service support for both current and legacy U.K. Paveway Weapon Systems. In addition to this, our Paveway Global Factory initiative demonstrates that Raytheon UK's manufacturing facility in Glenrothes continues to be a nationally important technology leader and export success."

Simon Pearce, the U.K. Ministry of Defence Freefall Weapons Project Team Leader, said: "Paveway weapons are playing a prominent role in support of current operations and Paveway IV has become the freefall weapon of choice by providing the very best technology for operations with its combat-proven all-weather, day and night capability, as well as its ability to be integrated across legacy and future aircraft."

Paveway IV's capabilities have been proven through deployment by the RAF on Operation HERRICK in Afghanistan and, more recently, Operation ELLAMY, where the key priority is preventing casualties among the local population while delivering the required military effect.

Flt Lt Chris Wright, 31Sqn QWI, commented: "Paveway IV has brought us to a new level in weaponeering capability. Simple to employ with generous launch envelopes, the ability to alter the flight, impact and fusing of the weapon in-cockpit all the way until release, gives aircrew huge flexibility in achieving the exact effect desired. This has resulted in it being our weapon of choice for a wide range of targets and is hugely popular with Forward Air Controllers who love the range of effects available in one weapon from airburst to delay fusing, and hybrid laser and GPS guidance."

Paveway IV is the next-generation guided weapon selected by the U.K. Ministry of Defence for the Precision Guided Bomb (PGB) program. In an environment where time-sensitive targeting remains fundamental to success, Paveway IV provides the ultimate in operational flexibility. The combat proven dual-mode guidance, together with height of burst and penetrating capability in one weapon system, enable the decision of target engagement to be made right up to the point of release. Paveway IV has been successfully integrated onto the Tornado GR4 and, under contract, is being integrated onto Typhoon and Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. It expands the boundaries of traditional laser-guided weapons and also exceeds the range of rival GPS-guided bombs. The enhanced launch zone increases both weapon effectiveness and platform survivability.

The U.K. Ministry of Defence uses Paveway II, Enhanced Paveway II, Paveway III, Enhanced Paveway III, and Paveway IV. The first ever release of a Paveway IV precision-guided bomb from a Typhoon aircraft, using the avionics system to safely release the weapon, was achieved in March 2011.

July 4, 2011: STRATEGY PAGE

After years of leaving pro-terrorist web sites alone (so visitors could be monitored), there has been a sudden surge of attacks on these sites. For example, in late June, the main site for distributing pro-terrorist videos, audios and announcements was shut down. The target was the al Shamukh web site, and the attack was complex. Not only was the web site disabled, but also the server it operated from. This sort of attack requires skill, thus a government sponsored operation was suspected, although no one took credit for it. Al Shamukh is the only site al Qaeda trusts enough to communicate directly with. Now the terrorists have no "trusted" site to send their material for further distribution.

A month ago, British intelligence (MI6) hacked into al Qaeda's online magazine ("Inspire") and quietly replaced bomb making instructions with cupcake recipes, and removed or modified other information. While some intelligence officials prefer to hack hard and shut down these sites, outfits like MI6 and the CIA prefer to use sites like Inspire as a source of intelligence. This can be done by monitoring message boards, traffic to the site and other, more technical (but useful) information. The CIA has been suspected of doing what the MI6 did to Inspire, but using more subtle and lethal methods. For example, bomb making instructions can be changed in small ways, to make the bombs very dangerous to those making them. The same with other information on the site, making small changes that will create arguments or confusion among site users. These two techniques are ancient intelligence practices. Al Qaeda is particularly vulnerable to these kinds of attacks because Islamic terrorists have never become a threat via Internet based attacks and, in general, lack much knowledge of how the Internet is built and maintained. These techniques appear to be still used on other pro-terrorist sites.

Meanwhile, over a decade of warning about Islamic terrorists using the Internet to launch attacks has come to nothing. At most, there have been some defacing of web pages, often by hackers driven more by nationalism than religion. The Internet Jihad (struggle) has been mostly smoke, and very little fire.

Attempts by terrorists to recruit hackers have had very poor results. The Moslem world has much lower levels of literacy, education and computer proficiency than the West. Despite that, there are a growing number of programmers and Internet specialists in the Moslem world. But most of them have legitimate jobs in software firms, or maintaining software and Internet services for companies. Some are involved with Internet crime, and a very few are eager about helping carry out Internet based terrorism going. Nearly all the Moslem blackhats (criminal hackers) are reluctant to get on a terrorism watch list, or something worse if they join some terrorist outfit. Moreover, Islamic terrorists recruit mainly from the young and clueless (and angry, uneducated and unemployed). Internet penetration in the Islamic world is very low, as is literacy itself. The Islamic cyber threat is largely fiction, because the potential pool of Islamic Internet Jihadis is so tiny.

This is somewhat surprising, as there are Cyber War tools available that even the poorly educated terrorist computer user could operate. For example, there's a software program that online gamers use to launch DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks on other players they are particularly angry with. DDOS is used to shut down a web site, or individual user's Internet access, with a flood of garbage messages, generated from as few as fifty "zombie PCs" (machines hackers have earlier seized control of). Some bot herders (those who control hundreds, or thousands, of zombies) will rent zombies for these small scale DDOS attacks. The going rate is a few dollars a day per zombie (fifty will usually do to shut down one person's Internet access). Several thousand zombies are needed to shut down a web site, and criminals use that many to blackmail online businesses. This sort of thing happens every day, but it is rarely used by Islamic terrorists.

Counter-terrorism organizations know why there have not been more of these attacks by al Qaeda, or any other self-proclaimed Islamic warriors. The fact is that the Islamic terrorists are not nearly as well organized or skilled as the mass media would lead you to believe. There are many types of attacks, not just those involving the Internet, that terrorists could carry out, but don't. It doesn't happen because the terrorists cannot get it together sufficiently to do it. That should tell you something. The potential is there, and that is scary. But the reality has to be recognized as well, and that's a lot less scary.

One area where the Islamic terror groups are capable is in manipulating the media to their advantage, This the U.S. announced, in late June, that more emphasis was being placed on attacking al Qaeda media operations. The attack on al Shamukh was apparently part of this, and will likely be followed by more Internet based operations, as well as efforts to cripple al Qaeda propaganda in print, TV and radio news outlets.