Jane's Defence Weekly - Middle East/Africa

Middle East/Africa

Rwandan Air Force officers undergo first-ever air power training
Rwanda has graduated its first 40 officers from a four-week air power course presented by the South African Air Force (SAAF) in its first training...
03-Jul-2009

Arab nations co-ordinate anti-piracy task force
Red Sea and Gulf states, struck by the expanding range of Somalia-based pirates, have agreed to develop their own maritime task force to deter banditry...
03-Jul-2009

*Iraqi Navy receives first OPV
The first of four Fincantieri-built 53 m 700-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) has been delivered to the Iraqi Navy (IqN) at the Persian Gulf ...
03-Jul-2009

Israel abandons LCS plan and eyes MEKO A-100 design
The Israel Navy (IN) has abandoned its plan to procure the US Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) as the baseline for a future surface combatant....
02-Jul-2009

ADSB begins construction of first Bahraini landing craft
Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has started constructing the first of two 42 m landing craft for the Royal Bahrain Naval Force at the ...
02-Jul-2009

Hamas baulks at security concessions in unity talks
Incorporating the competing security visions of Hamas and Fatah has emerged as a complicating factor in Egyptian-mediated unity talks, which were extended on 1 July...
02-Jul-2009

South Africa to pull peacekeepers from Burundi
South Africa is to withdraw most of its 1,100 troops participating in the African Union mission in Burundi following the expiration of their mandate ...
01-Jul-2009

Niger's armed forces pledge neutrality in presidential power grab
Niger's armed forces have emphasised their neutrality in the constitutional crisis set in motion by President Mamadou Tandja's efforts to remain in power beyond ...
01-Jul-2009

US withdrawal leaves air of uncertainty in Iraqi cities
Iraqi forces on 30 June took official control of security in the country's cities as US forces formally withdrew - six years after coalition troops...
30-Jun-2009

Amnesty for Delta militants to include ceasefire for Nigerian troops
Nigeria's military Joint Task Force (JTF) deployed to the oil-producing Niger Delta region will observe a 60-day ceasefire from 6 August as part of the...
30-Jun-2009

Algeria is to appoint first female general
Algeria is for the first time to promote a female officer to the rank of general at the country's 47th Independence Day celebrations on ...
30-Jun-2009

Indonesian legislators reject plan to buy UAVs from Israel
Indonesia's House of Representatives has rejected a proposal from the defence ministry to purchase three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Israel, state media in ...
30-Jun-2009

*UAE's new corvette launched in France
The first Baynunah-class corvette of six on order for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Naval Force was set afloat by Cherbourg-based shipyard Construction Mechaniques ...
26-Jun-2009

Congolese offensive fails to dislodge Hutu insurgents
Joint operations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to definitively rid the region of Hutu extremists have thus far failed to achieve their goals...
26-Jun-2009

Under siege from Al-Qaeda, Somalia pleads for help
Somalia has declared a state of emergency and implored regional allies to help its besieged government protect the country from a raft of insurgents that...
26-Jun-2009

EU mandate extended to pursue pirates, interoperability
Interoperability and co-ordination are the watchwords for the EU's anti-piracy maritime operation 'Atalanta' in the Gulf of Aden, which has been extended for 12 months...
26-Jun-2009

Islamists reject Algerian amnesty offer, continue attacks
Algeria's Islamic extremists are becoming increasingly audacious with their attacks and ambushes of security personnel, the latest of which killed 18 military police and ...
26-Jun-2009

*RSAF prepares to receive initial Typhoon deliveries
The first two Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft for the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) departed BAE Systems' facility at Warton on 23 June, bound ...
26-Jun-2009

Syria set to receive more MiGs
Syria is set to receive a number of Russian MiG-29M 'Fulcrum' advanced multirole combat aircraft and Buk-2M Ural (SA-17 'Grizzly') medium-range theatre defence missiles,...
25-Jun-2009

*BAE Systems buys rights to Iguana light armoured vehicle
BAE Systems Land Systems OMC has acquired the intellectual property for the Iguana light armoured personnel carrier and intends to develop the vehicle further, ...
24-Jun-2009

Paris Air Show: UAE submits Rafale specifications to France
United Arab Emirates (UAE) state media confirmed on 19 June that the country has delivered technical specifications for its Dassault Rafale multirole combat aircraft ...
24-Jun-2009

Iran conducts major exercises amid domestic turmoil
Iran on 22 June began four days of air and amphibious exercises in the Gulf and Sea of Oman that will include aerial refuelling ...
22-Jun-2009

*Israel moves conditionally closer to two-state solution
Israel's Minister of Defence, Ehud Barak, has made any future withdrawals from the West Bank conditional on the completion of a multi-layered defence system against...
19-Jun-2009

Paris Air Show: IAI pursues talks with Lockheed Martin on JSF wing production
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is is engaged in "serious negotiations" with Lockheed Martin on a potential contract to manufacture the wings for the F-35...
19-Jun-2009

Somalia trains navy recruits in anti-piracy struggle
Roughly 500 Somali men are preparing to join the front lines in the global campaign to deter piracy off the Horn of Africa coast ...
19-Jun-2009

SPLA reorganises amid growing tensions in South Sudan
Enduring ethnic tensions and shifting alliances ahead of elections due in 2010 have prompted a reshuffle within the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA): the ...
18-Jun-2009

Royal Saudi Air Force prepares to receive Sniper ATPs
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) will soon be receiving Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATPs) under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) ...
17-Jun-2009

Stability concerns fail to slow US pullback from Iraqi cities
The US Army has transferred more than 130 bases to the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) since October 2008 as part of the first exhaustive phase...
15-Jun-2009

Paris Air Show: Rafael to demonstrate Recce-U ISR system for UAVs
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd is demonstrating its Recce-U multi-sensor intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) at the Paris ...
15-Jun-2009

Paris Air Show: Controp unveils T-STAMP
Israeli electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensor manufacturer Controp is launching several new products at this year's Paris Air Show, being held between 15 and 21 June. ...
15-Jun-2009

*First RSAF Typhoons shown to Saudis at BAE Systems ceremony
The first two Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft for the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) were rolled out on 11 June during a ceremony at ...
12-Jun-2009

Somali government pushes back against rebels
Forces allied with Somalia's transitional government are believed to be expecting reinforcements of weapons and vehicles to continue their battle to wrest control of the...
12-Jun-2009

Lebanon vote puts new pressure on Israel and Hizbullah
Lebanon's parliamentary opposition, led by the militant Shia Hizbullah, has narrowly lost a key election to its Western-backed rival, raising the prospect of further political...
12-Jun-2009

Dialogue seen as only solution to Madagascar crisis
African and Western officials have conveyed little enthusiasm for military intervention in Madagascar suggested by a regional economic bloc, insisting that negotiations and diplomacy are...
12-Jun-2009

Rebel reluctance delays troop deployments ahead of Côte d'Ivoire elections
Côte d'Ivoire is preparing to deploy mixed units of government and rebel troops in anticipation of long-delayed presidential elections scheduled for late 2009, which ...
12-Jun-2009

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