Persian Gulf & Middle East Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

delft

Brigadier
Ambassador Bhadrakumar posted on his blog on Oct 8 an article about Afghanistan and its environs:
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

One quote:
A major issue here is that the US has kept the Afghan army on a tight leash, insisting on its role purely as foot soldiers. The Afghan army is almost entirely dependent on US air cover. What Russia can do will be to boost the capability of the Afghan forces by supplying weapons and helicopters. But then, such a role by Russia is sure to annoy the US (and NATO). The Afghans on their part would welcome such a Russian role, enabling them to handle the security threats with greater resources. An Afghan Parliamentary delegation that visited Moscow on October 6, in fact, “fully supported Russia’s actions in Syria” and asked Russia to provide similar military and technical assistance.
it is altogether a very interesting article.
 
...

Egypt to Buy Mistral Helicopter Carriers
Egypt intends to buy the two ex-Russian Mistral-class Helicopter Carriers

26 September 2015
...

If successful, this purchase ...
... has been signed most recently:
Egypt, France Sign Warships Deal As PM Starts Arab Nation Tour
Egypt signed a deal with France Saturday to buy two Mistral warships originally ordered by Russia as French Prime Minister Manuel Valls began an Arab nation tour.

Valls arrived in Cairo at the start of visits to three Arab nations aimed at boosting economic ties and holding talks on regional conflicts.

On September 23, French President Francois Hollande announced he had agreed the sale of the warships with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

After Valls and Sisi met in Cairo Saturday, a member of the French premier's delegation told AFP the deal had now been signed.

France originally built the Mistrals for Russia before scrapping their sale over the Ukraine crisis.

The vessels, which can each carry 16 helicopters, four landing craft and 13 tanks, were ordered by Russia in 2011 in a 1.2-billion-euro ($1.4 billion) deal.

However, France found itself in an awkward situation in 2014 as ties between Russia and the West deteriorated over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Paris decided to cancel the delivery in an expensive decision, as it had to foot a bill of more than one billion euros for the ships' upkeep and the cost of training 400 Russian sailors to crew them.

After months of intense talks, Paris and Moscow agreed on the reimbursement of the original deal in August, with Paris returning 949.7 million euros that Russia had already paid.

According to French government sources, Egypt is to pay 950 million euros for the warships, with "significant" financing from Saudi Arabia.

In February, Egypt became the first foreign buyer of France's Rafale fighters, in a 5.2-billion-euro deal for 24 of the multi-role combat jets and a frigate.

'Egypt's Essential Role'

The Mistrals will be delivered in early March, and the contract provides for four months training in France for some 400 Egyptian sailors, the defence ministry in Paris said in September.

The contract illustrates the rapprochement Paris has had with the regime of former army chief Sisi, who ousted elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and has since cracked down on his supporters and on all opposition.

Hollande has invoked what he called Cairo's essential role in the fight against extremism in the Middle East, particularly against the Islamic State group, whose local branch has staged many deadly attacks in Egypt since 2013.

Apart from arms deals, Egypt has also expressed interest in extending the Cairo metro, which was largely built by French companies, and in satellite communications deals.

The conflict in Syria and Russia's dramatic military intervention, as well as escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence, are also set to figure high in Valls' talks in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

On Sunday, the premier is due to meet Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious institution in Sunni Islam.

Travelling on to Jordan, where France has deployed fighter bombers used to strike the IS in Iraq and Syria, Valls will meet Iraqi Christian refugees in the country, which has taken in 650,000 Syrians fleeing war.

Accompanied by Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and a high-ranking business delegation, he is to travel on to Saudi Arabia late Monday.

On Tuesday he is due to have talks with King Salman, in a meeting during which the premier's office said he will request "a gesture of pardon, humanity and clemency" for a young Shiite, Ali al-Nimr, sentenced to death for taking part in 2012 demonstrations.

He will also attend a Franco-Saudi business forum in Riyadh in which 200 companies are taking part.
source:
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 

delft

Brigadier
Ambassador Bhadrakumar wrote an article in Asia times about Russia's relations with Turkey and Saudi Arabia:
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Two quotes:
In this context, a close evaluation becomes necessary regarding Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s joint press briefing on Sunday in Sochi with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir following the talks between President Vladimir Putin and the Saudi Defence Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Lavrov divulged:

  • Putin and Mohammed put “special emphasis” on the “situation in and around Syria”.
  • Russia and Saudi Arabia “share common goals” in preventing an Islamist takeover in Syria.
  • Both countries seek to facilitate a political process and national reconciliation in Syria that would “help all Syrians, regardless of their ethnicity and faith, feel at home in their country”.
  • Putin and Mohammed discussed in detail in a candid spirit the “measures” that could bring the two countries closer to realizing a Syrian political process.
  • They discussed “a range of options” and the “various approaches” in this regard, and agreed to “use them to guide their further action”.
  • Putin sought a “maximally concrete” Russian-Saudi interaction in the coming period and “relevant understandings have been reached.”
Lavrov is a vastly experienced diplomat and reading and reading the transcript of what he said, the icing on the cake in the Sochi talks appears to be that Mohammed sought and obtained from Putin a categorical affirmation that the Russian air strikes in Syria will exclusively focus on the IS and other terrorist groups.

As Lavrov put it,

  • We [Putin] expressed readiness – readiness that found a reciprocal response – for encouraging our military and Special Forces to start working together as closely as possible so as to erase any doubt as to the fact that the Russian aviation’s targets are really the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra, and other terrorist groups.
It is possible to decode that Putin and Mohammed will instruct their security agencies concerned to enter into a system of mutual consultations regarding the targets that appear in the crosshairs of the Russian jets crisscrossing the Syrian skies.
On Monday, in fact, Lavrov issued a call on “all the interested countries to attend the information centre we [Russia] set up with Iraq, Syria, and Iran in Baghdad”.

He added that Moscow is open to “review proposals for establishing new coordination centres in the region for the anti-terror fight”. Thereupon he disclosed, “We are considering setting up similar coordination centres in other places in this [Middle East] region”.

Perhaps, a coordination centre is struggling to be born in Cairo. Lavrov talked on the phone with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry last Friday (on the eve of Mohammed’s visit to Sochi) and they “agreed that regional and international organizations should coordinate their fight against IS and other terrorist groups in the region”.
 

delft

Brigadier
From Marine Forum Daily News:
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

19 October
EGYPT (RUSSIA)

During a meeting in Moscow, Russian and Egyptian Defence ministers agree, that Russia will become a kind of „subcontractor“ for the two French-built MISTRAL class helicopter carriers (originally built for Russia) ... Russia will provide equipment/systems and helicopters worth „more than US$ 1 billion“.
Not unexpected.
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


MMSC-01.jpg

Naval Today said:
The U.S. government approved a possible sale of four Lockheed Martin Corp multi-mission warships to Saudi Arabia, October 20.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified the U.S. Congress about the possible sale of a derivative of the US Navy’s Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships, made by Lockheed Martin, and program office support to Saudi Arabia on Oct 19.

This purchase is part of the Saudi Navy’s modernization efforts under the Saudi Naval Expansion Program II, also called SNEP II, which had long been discussed and prepared by U.S. and Saudi Arabian experts.

According to an announcement issued by the DSCA the sale would include four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of 11.25 billion dollars.

In addition to the ships, Saudi Arabia is purchasing ESSM missiles, Harpoon Ship Command Launch Systems, RGM 84 Harpoon Block Missiles and machine guns, among others.

This extensive sale will also include engineering operations, training facilities, spare and repair parts and communications equipment.[/center]

See also:
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 
Last edited:

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Oman-HSSV-05.jpg

Naval Today said:
Austal has launched the first of two 72m High Speed Support Vessels (HSSV’s) being built for the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO), yesterday.

Hull 390 – the future RNOV AI MUBSHIR – was successfully launched after 13 months of construction and fitout at the company’s Henderson, Western Australia shipyard.

Based on the proven Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) platform – previously known as the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) – the HSSV offers a range of capabilities to support naval operations, including helicopter operations, rapid deployment of military personnel and cargo, search and rescue operations, humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions.

Oman-HSSV-01.jpg

Oman-HSSV-02.jpg
Oman-HSSV-03.jpg
Oman-HSSV-04.jpg
 

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Similar but clearly more small as the JSHV which do 103 m and 1500 t.

Oman receive also new OPV Al-Ofouq 1 in service 3 in order do 1100 t, 74 m, 1x 76 and 2 x 30 mm but no hangar build by a Singaporean shipyard
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


This Navy increase for size in particular with the 3 recent very decent Khareef Corvettes.
OPV Al-Ofouq Oman.gif
 
Top