MOSCOU, 5 septembre - RIA Novosti

Les affirmations selon lesquelles la Russie a livré à la Syrie des armes chimiques et des technologies pour leur production ne correspondent pas à la réalité et visent à créer un prétexte supplémentaire pour agresser un Etat souverain, a déclaré jeudi aux journalistes le vice-ministre russe de la Défense Anatoli Antonov.

"La Russie a toujours été et restera un partenaire et un allié responsable et prévisible dans la lutte contre la prolifération des armes de destruction massive. Nous avons toujours rempli strictement nos engagements en matière de non-prolifération nucléaire, nous sommes un dépositaire du Traité de non-prolifération des armes nucléaires et nous honorons nos engagements contractés dans le cadre des conventions sur l'interdiction des armes chimiques et des armes biologiques et à toxines", a indiqué le vice-ministre.

Il s'est dit étonné par les "tentatives de certains Etats de rejeter leur faute sur autrui". Le vice-ministre a rappelé à cette occasion la tendance à accuser la Russie d'avoir aidé la Syrie à créer son potentiel chimique militaire.

"On est allé même jusqu'à affirmer que la Russie livrait des armes chimiques au régime d'Assad", a déclaré M. Antonov.

"J'ai l'impression que ces insinuations antirusses visent à créer un prétexte supplémentaire pour effectuer une agression contre un Etat souverain", a conclu le vice-ministre de la Défense.

Sep. 5, 2013 – Defense News (AFP)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Washington is weighing expanding support for Syrian rebels by having the Pentagon take charge of arming the opposition instead of a clandestine effort by the CIA, officials said Wednesday.

"It's under consideration," said a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"If and how (it would be done) are both questions being discussed," the official told AFP.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the possible change on Wednesday.

After concluding in June that the Syrian regime used sarin gas in a small-scale attack, President Barack Obama's administration decided to start supplying weapons to the rebels through the Central Intelligence Agency.

But after another alleged chemical weapons attack on a larger scale — and as lawmakers debate whether to endorse Obama's call for military action against the regime — the administration is looking at ratcheting up support for the rebels, two US officials said.

Lawmakers have complained that promised weapons have yet to arrive, putting the opposition at a disadvantage against President Bashar al-Assad's heavily-armed forces.

Obama's deputies at hearings Wednesday and Thursday acknowledged the holdup, while suggesting the administration was open to additional assistance for the rebels.

Although the administration was focused on possible strikes to "deter" Assad's regime from employing chemical weapons, it was ready to examine how to provide more help to the opposition, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators on Tuesday.

"I think that subsequent to that (military action), we would probably return to have a discussion about what we might do with the moderate opposition in a — in a more overt way," he said.

Under the CIA, support for the rebels is deemed covert and details of the assistance remain secret. If the Pentagon took over, however, the cost and scope of the aid would no longer be classified.

Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee along with Dempsey, acknowledged that the opposition was still waiting for some military help.

"There are things that haven't gotten there yet," Kerry said.

On Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the top US diplomat called for ramping up support for the "moderate" opposition.

"I continue to believe that the moderate opposition is key to Syria's future and that we must redouble our efforts to support them as soon as possible," he said.

The administration has been cautious in its approach to the rebels, citing concerns about Islamist extremists in the ranks with links to Al-Qaeda.

And delays in delivering weapons have reportedly been due to vetting efforts by the CIA.

But the suspected chemical weapons attack two weeks ago that allegedly killed hundreds has led the administration to consider expanding the scope of its support with more weapons and training, possibly with the help of US special forces.

If a decision is made, the change would not occur overnight, the US official said.

"It's a process that would take some time," the official said.

Senator John McCain, who has urged military intervention in Syria, said he had asked the president in a meeting Monday about the CIA's delays in supplying weapons to rebels.

According to McCain, Obama confirmed the problem and told him "that that's going to change."

05.09.2013 Alain Ruello – LesEchos.fr

EXCLUSIF - Le niveau de surveillance et les astreintes ont été renforcées au maximum depuis jeudi pour éviter tout piratage des sites communiquant avec l’extérieur.

Même si aucune attaque n’a été décelée à ce jour, le ministère de la Défense a passé en alerte rouge jeudi dernier l’ensemble de ses systèmes informatiques connectés à Internet, a-t-on appris de bonne source. Cela concerne plusieurs centaines de sites, certains intimement liés à l’armée, comme celui de la Dicod - la direction de la communication - ou un peu plus distants, comme ceux d’associations ou de mutuelles.

Concrètement, les astreintes des équipes spécialisées ont été augmentées, les patch de sécurité logiciels que l’Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information (l’Anssi) diffuse régulièrement sont appliqués sans tarder, et les prestataires sont tous alertés (il s’agit principalement de Prosody). Il s’agit bien sûr d’augmenter la capacité de réaction, au cas où.

Armée électronique syrienne

A ce stade, rien à signaler. La mise en ligne lundi soir des vidéos des massacres à l’arme chimique sur le site de la Dicod (Délégation à l'information et à la communication de la Défense) a provoqué l’écroulement des serveurs, faisant croire un instant à un acte de piratage. D’autant que la fameuse Armée électronique syrienne a déjà frappé, essentiellement aux Etats-Unis, comme on pu s’en apercevoir les lecteurs du « New York Times ».

Tout dernièrement, c’est le site de recrutement du corps des Marines qui a été touché  : ceux qui étaient tentés de s’engager ont eu la surprise de voir apparaître une page appelant les soldats américains à ne pas prendre part aux frappes que pourraient décider le président Obama.

D’où la vigilance accrue à Paris. L’opération malienne s’était accompagnées d’attaques, mais d’ampleur très limitée, puisqu’elles avaient principalement concerné le site historique de l’armée. Si les réseaux Internet sont passés en Vigipirate rouge, les autres systèmes d’informations, c’est-à-dire ceux qui servent au fonctionnement du ministère mais qui ne sont pas ouverts sur l’extérieur, sont toujours en jaune.

September 5, 2013: Strategy Page

Russia has shipped a billion dollars’ worth of weapons to Syria since the civil war there began in 2011. Russia insists that this is not in violation of arms embargoes against Syria and are simply deliveries of weapons ordered before 2011. In the last year Syria has delivered over $200 million in cash to Russian banks to keep these weapons coming (mainly S-300 anti-aircraft systems and anti-ship missiles) and their warranties operational. These purchases are being paid for by Iran, which flies in the cash to a Syrian financial operation in Moscow. The cash is then delivered to Russian government accounts via a Moscow bank. The Syrian Moscow operation is run by an uncle of Syrian dictator Basher Assad.

These Russian shipments are not challenged by the international community because they are, technically, defensive weapons and cannot be used to attack the rebels. Another problem that is less clear is whether the weapons are being sent to Iran. That is illegal but without any clear evidence of such transfers there’s nothing anyone can do. The cash transfers are also illegal, since Iran is banned from the international banking system for anything involving weapons, oil sales and military equipment in general. But no one is going to shut down air traffic between Iran and Russia.

Meanwhile, at least 14 Russian cargo ships arrived in Syria since 2011, plus numerous air freight flights. Recently Russia has quietly approved new shipments of small arms, which is forbidden but can be flown in and join similar weapons Syria had before 2011. Russia appears to believe that no one will challenge this either.

September 5, 2013: Strategy page

On August 21st the Iranian Air Force announced that it had begun “mass production” of a new jet fighter, one that was designed and manufactured in Iran. This, according to the air force commander, means that Iran does not have to rely on foreign suppliers (all of whom are intimidated by international arms sanctions imposed on Iran.) This is all a bit of dark humor because the aircraft in question is apparently the Saeqeh jet fighter. A year ago it was announced that three more of these had been produced and that fifteen had been delivered to the Iranian Air Force. In 2011 Iran announced that they had put into service their first squadron of twelve Saeqeh. It was in 2006 that Iran first displayed a modified American F-5 fighter and proclaimed the new "Saeqeh" as similar to the American F-18 jet fighter. Iran is apparently producing a clone of the half century old F-5 design, not a rival for the F-18. Their local manufacturing and international smuggling capabilities are certainly up to the task of obtaining the components needed for this. But all this is mainly a publicity stunt to reassure Iranians that, despite decades of international arms embargoes, Iran still has weapons that can defend the country.

This is not the first time Iran has run a stunt like this. But even with a redesigned tail and better electronics, the 1960s era F-5 is still a low cost, and low performance, aircraft. The Saeqeh is not the first Iranian attempt to rebuild F-5s. In the 1990s, they built a clone of the F-5E, calling it the Azarakhsh. There are apparently four of these in service, and further modifications of F-5 airframes produced the Saeqeh.

The Iranians had dozens of damaged F-5s from their war with Iraq, along with many more elderly F-5s that are un-flyable or barely so. Three decades ago Iran had nearly 300 F-5 aircraft but many were destroyed in combat with Iraq during the 1980s, or due to accidents, and most of the remainder just wore out.

The F-5E, the most recent F-5 model the Iranians had when the Islamic revolution took over in 1979, is an 11 ton aircraft, with a max speed of 1,700 kilometers an hour, and a range of some 1,400 kilometers. It was armed with two 20mm cannon and could carry about three tons of missiles and bombs. The Iranians have taken the basic F-5 frame and rebuilt it to hold two Russian engines. The Chinese did the same thing and produced the J-8 (a twin engine MiG-21) that turned out to be not worth the effort.

Although the Iranians are using Russian components (if only because these are better than Chinese ones), they probably had technical assistance (for a price) from China. The Chinese have a lot of experience reverse engineering Russian warplanes and developing variations. The Chinese are getting away from that because they finally realized that all they ended up with was a lot of crap fighters. Now they are building a new air force with expensive, and high tech, fighters imported from Russia, or built under license (or just copied illegally).

The Iranians have become obsessed with these "propaganda weapons," where they hack something together from an existing Russian or American system and proclaim it to be a breakthrough weapon "designed and manufactured in Iran." It's all rather pathetic, and it all began during the 1980s, when Iran and Iraq were fighting a nasty war. Some of the hacks worked, after a fashion. Iran created a longer range SCUD missile by the simple expedient of lengthening the missile with a larger fuel tank. This changed the flight characteristics of the missile but since these things were being fired at city size (as in Baghdad) targets, it didn't matter. Actually, the Iranians didn't really need the longer range missiles because Baghdad was pretty close to the Iranian border. Iran actually got the technology for these SCUD mods from North Korea but Iranian press releases always touted the achievement as being the work of Iranian scientists and engineers.

Iranian weapons fantasies reached their peak earlier this year with an announcement that they had developed a stealth fighter; the Qaher 313. It showed photos of a single engine fighter with some curious (to aeronautical engineers) features. The air intakes were too small, the airframe was similar to older (unsuccessful) American experimental designs, and the cockpit controls were the same used in one and two engine propeller driven aircraft. There was a video of the Qaher 313 in flight but nothing showing it landing or taking off. Engineers have concluded that the Qaher 313 is a crude fake and that the aircraft seen in flight was a small remote controlled model of the larger aircraft shown in a hangar. A deception like this is nothing new for Iran. In fact, this sort of thing has become a staple of Iranian media over the last decade.

Every year the Iranian media features several new weapons described as locally designed and produced. This is to improve morale among a population that knows the country has been under an international arms embargo since the 1980s. Some of the new wonder weapons announced in the last few years include a cruise missile with a 200 kilometer range and a submarine torpedo designed for shallow coastal waters. There was also a new 73mm missile that appeared to be a small, unguided rocket, albeit with a good press agent. All of this was stuff was fluff, with a bit of recycled reality to back it up. If you go back and look at the many Iranian announcements of newly developed, high tech weapons, all you find is a photo op for a prototype. Production versions of these weapons rarely show up. It’s all feel-good propaganda for the religious dictatorship that runs Iran and its supporters.

Iran likes to recycle 1950 military tech. For example, several years ago it announced that it had developed an armed "Karar" UAV, with a range of 1,000 kilometers. Pictures of this new weapon showed what appeared to be a copy of 1950s era American cruise missiles and target drones. These, in turn, were based on a similar weapon, the German V-1 "buzz bomb" that was used extensively in World War II to bomb London. The Iranian "Karar" UAV had the benefit of more efficient jet engines, more effective flight control hardware and software, and GPS navigation. Karar is not a wonder weapon but the Iranians are depending on a clueless international mass media, and their own citizens, to believe it is.

In the last few years Iran has announced many similar weapons, many of them originally conceived in the 1950s. There was, for example, a domestically designed and manufactured helicopter gunship and another UAV with a range of 2,000 kilometers. Recently, there have also been revelations of heavily armed speed boats, miniature submarines, new artillery rockets, and much more. Three years ago they showed off a new Iranian made jet fighter, which appeared to be a make-work project for unemployed engineers. It was a bunch of rearranged parts on an old U.S. made F-5 (which was roughly equivalent to a 1950s era MiG-21). The new fighter, like so many other Iranian weapons projects, was more for PR than for improving military power.

The Qaher 313 is the most ambitious fake so far. Stealth tech is not something you can recycle from 1950s gear, nor is it something you can easily deceive the experts with.

MOSCOU, 4 septembre - RIA Novosti

Deux navires de la flotte russe de la mer Noire - la vedette lance-missiles Ivanovets et le navire lance-missiles Chtil - arriveront au large de la Syrie le 29 septembre, a annoncé mercredi à Moscou un représentant haut placé de l'Etat-major général des Forces armées russes.

"Selon le commandement de la Marine et de l'Etat-major général, deux navires lance-missiles - Ivanovets et Chtil - partiront prochainement à destination de la Syrie. Ils arriveront au large de la Syrie le 29 septembre", a indiqué l'interlocuteur de l'agence RIA Novosti.

Les deux bâtiments auront pour mission de protéger les grands navires de débarquement qui se trouveront dans la région, selon lui.

Les navires Ivanovets et Chtil sont dotés de missiles antinavires Moskit et Malakhit.

September 5, 2013 defense-aerospace.com    

(Source: Rheinmetall AG; issued Sept. 4, 2013)

Rheinmetall Wins Multi-Million Euro Contract for Mortar Ammunition

Rheinmetall AG of Düsseldorf has booked a major order for mortar ammunition. A customer in the Middle East/ North Africa (MENA) region has contracted with Rheinmetall Denel Munition of South Africa to supply ammunition for a mobile 120mm mortar system. The contract, which runs for several years and will be completed in partnership with a local company in the customer land, is worth around €50 million.

Delivery of the ammunition starts in September 2014. The order encompasses tens of thousands of service, illumination and smoke/obscurant rounds. They are developed for a modern 120mm mobile mortar system, with ballistic characteristics specifically adapted to its advanced fire control unit. The ammunition’s range of over 8,000 metres and proven performance in battle underpin its leading role in the market and with it, Rheinmetall’s technological leadership.

Just awarded, the contract issued by the MENA-customer is the culmination of cooperation between the project participants from the world of vehicles, weapons and ammunition, and fire control technology. Moreover, the order is an important endorsement for the use of Rheinmetall ammunition in the mobile 120mm mortar system, and a significant sign of possible orders to come from other customers in the MENA region.

Rheinmetall also sees the order as a validation of its strategy of internationalization. A presence in the MENA region and entering into strategic partnerships could assist the Düsseldorf-based Group to further strengthen its reputation as a reliable partner of the military as well as local industry.

September 5, 2013 defense-aerospace.com    

(Source: General Dynamics Land Systems; issued September 3, 2013)

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. --- The U.S. Army has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems a $56 million contract modification to continue providing logistics and base lifecycle support services in support of Iraqi M1A1 Abrams tanks.

Work will be performed by existing General Dynamics employees in Iraq for 30 days.

Sep 4, 2013 ASDNews (AFP)

An international coalition for action against Syria is growing, Secretary of State John Kerry told US lawmakers Wednesday, adding Arab nations had even offered to help pay for any strikes.

"We are building support with ... other countries, among them the Arab League," Kerry said, as the US administration tries to sell its plan for military action to punish Damascus for its alleged use of chemical weapons.

"Specific countries that have talked in terms of acting" were "Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qataris, the Turks and the French."

The move comes after a suspected chemical weapons attack on a suburb of the Syrian capital last month, which Washington says killed 1,400 people.

The United States had reached out to more than 100 countries as it works to shape a coalition in favor of military intervention, the top diplomat told a House of Representatives committee.

President Barack Obama has insisted the Syrian regime of his counterpart Bashar al-Assad has crossed a red line against the use of chemical weapons and should be punished with his military capability degraded.

"Thirty-one countries or organizations have stated publicly or privately that the Assad regime is responsible for this attack, and that was before our evidence package was put together," Kerry said.

"And 34 countries or organizations have indicated that if the allegations prove to be true, they would support some form of action against Syria."

He even suggested the United States had too many offers of help as he sought for a second day to persuade US lawmakers to back Obama's plan for limited missile strikes against the Syrian regime.

"A number of them have asked to be part of a military operation," he told the four-hour hearing. "The Turks, a NATO country, have condemned (the attack), pinned it on Assad, asked to be part of an operation."

"The French have volunteered to be part of an operation. There are others who have volunteered. But frankly ... we got more volunteers that we can use for this kind of an operation," Kerry said.

And a number of Arab League countries had offered to help bear the cost, he said, adding the amount on the table was "quite significant."

"Some of them have said that if the United States is prepared to go do the whole thing the way we've done it previously in other places, they'll carry that cost. That's how dedicated they are to this."

He was appearing before the House Foreign Affairs committee on the second day of the administration's blitz on Capitol Hill to convince lawmakers to approve limited military strikes.

In a sign of public opposition to the plan, anti-war demonstrators held up red-stained hands behind Kerry's head in a silent protest as he spoke.

But he told the panel Assad now only had "three principle supporters" -- Iran, Hezbollah and Russia -- while "the rest of the world is in horror of what is happening."

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel even alleged that some of Assad's stockpile of chemical weapons had come from Moscow.

Asked which countries were handing over such arms, Hagel replied: "Well, the Russians supply them. Others are supplying them with those chemical weapons. They make some themselves."

Obama's plan for military strikes passed its first congressional hurdle Wednesday, with a draft resolution authorizing limited military intervention for 90 days passing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

It will now be debated by the full Senate, with the House due to take up consideration of the proposed measure next week.

MOSCOU, 4 septembre - RIA Novosti

Les Etats-Unis ne veulent pas répéter les erreurs commises par les services de renseignement américains en Irak, a indiqué mercredi le président Barack Obama lors d'une conférence de presse conjointe avec le premier ministre suédois Fredrik Reinfeldt.

"Après l'Irak, les gens prennent très au sérieux les accusations concernant les armes de destruction massive et la véracité de telles informations. Je ne veux pas répéter les erreurs commises par nos services de renseignement", a déclaré le dirigeant américain, ajoutant qu'il disposait de preuves convaincantes de l'utilisation d'armes chimiques en Syrie.

Selon M. Obama, ce fait a été confirmé par les experts de l'ONU. Cependant, on ne sait pas encore laquelle des parties en conflit a lancé l'attaque chimique.

Les Etats-Unis et leurs alliés sont intervenus en Irak en mars 2003 sans l'aval du Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU. Cette opération a été lancée suite à une fausse information des services de renseignement américains selon laquelle le dirigeant irakien Saddam Hussein possédait des armes de destruction massive. Après l'invasion de l'Irak par une coalition internationale avec à sa tête les Etats-Unis, les militaires américains et britanniques ont entrepris la recherche de ces armes. Or, ces dernières n'ont jamais été retrouvées.

Barack Obama a à plusieurs reprises déclaré qu'il considérait l'emploi d'armes chimiques en Syrie comme une "ligne rouge" dont le franchissement autoriserait une intervention armée.

Lors de la conférence de presse à Stockholm, le président américain a déclaré que la "ligne rouge" n'avait pas été tracée par lui, mais par toute la communauté internationale

Sep 3, 2013 ASDNews Source : AFPS

Technical assistance and support from the Defense Department for an Israeli missile test over the Mediterranean Sea this morning was unrelated to U.S. consideration of military action in Syria, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.

“Early this morning, the United States Department of Defense provided technical assistance and support to the Israeli Missile Defense Organization flight test of a Sparrow target missile over the Mediterranean Sea,” Little said in a statement. “The test was long planned to help evaluate the Arrow Ballistic Missile Defense system's ability to detect, track, and communicate information about a simulated threat to Israel.”

The United States and Israel cooperate on a number of long-term ballistic missile defense development projects to address common challenges in the region, the press secretary said. “This test had nothing to do with United States consideration of military action to respond to Syria's chemical weapons attack,” he added.