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

ShahryarHedayat said:

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Israeli Brass Urge MoD To Stick With V-22 Deal
Nov. 2, 2014 - 02:36PM | By BARBARA OPALL-ROME

TEL AVIV — Top military officers here are urging Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon not to back out of a Pentagon package of Bell Boeing V-22 tilt-rotors offered at a cut-rate price and under conditions set to expire Dec. 10.

Ya’alon approved the package nearly two months ago, with wholesale backing by the Israel Air Force training to operate the aircraft. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) General Staff and Mossad intelligence agency also are eyeing them to support special operations, including any prospective missions targeting Iran.

The package was planned for approval by a high-level ministerial committee set for last week — now rescheduled for Nov. 5 due to Ya’alon’s decision to withdraw his support.

Israeli media reported last week that Ya’alon had decided to forgo the offer, with several outlets casting the decision as driven by ongoing tension between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a range of issues pertaining to Israel’s policy on Palestinian peace talks and West Bank settlements. ...

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Scratch said:

The israeli V-22 deal could be in jeopardy, apparently because politcal leaders don't get along. Nevertheless, israeli military leaders would like to see that very advantageous deal go ahead. They could get a very capable aircraft at very favourable conditions.

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Budget pressures threaten Israeli V-22 deal
By: ARIE EGOZITEL AVIV Source: 8 hours ago
The Israeli government will soon be called on to make a final decision on the nation's planned purchase of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.

Defence minister Moshe Ya'alon wants to cancel the proposed deal, while the air force is pushing to sign up to the type, according to the contents of a letter of agreement with the USA.

Israel's Protective Edge operation in Gaza earlier this year has placed increased pressure on the nation’s defence budget. Demand for additional ground systems, like the Israeli-made Namer armoured personnel carrier, moved to the top of the defence ministry's acquisition list.

In January, the US Congress was notified of the Department of Defense's intention to sell six V-22s to Israel, following a lengthy evaluation by the Israeli air force, conducted with the US Marine Corps. The Israeli service hopes to introduce the type to support special operations.


Israeli air force magazine

Speaking on 4 November, an Israeli source says the pressure to purchase additional ground systems for the Israeli defence forces has created a "situation that will lead to the cancellation or postponement" of the V-22 deal.


The source adds that a deadline contained in the existing letter of agreement can be changed to give the Israeli cabinet's defence committee more time to evaluate the issue again.

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Saudi Arabia and France on Tuesday signed a delivery contract Ryad French arms in Lebanon threatened by jihadist thrust through a Saudi donation of three billion dollars (2.4 billion euros), according to AFP.

"Contract aid to the Lebanese army" (Donas) was signed by the Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf, and the boss of ODAS, public export of defense equipment French company (which brings state and large groups), and former Chief of Staff of the Armed Edouard Guillaud.

We note in passing qu'ODAS (one hundred employees) has a permanent delegation abroad, Saudi Arabia ... A chance, no doubt. ODAS, through a monitoring should follow the contract.

The head of the Lebanese Army, General Jean Kahwaji, was present at the signing ceremony. For now, we have not specified the type of military equipment that will be delivered to the Lebanese army.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius welcomed the signing of this agreement, "financed by a Saudi donation will help strengthen the Lebanese army, which guarantees the unity and stability of Lebanon." "It will help fulfill its mission of homeland defense and the fight against terrorism, while Lebanon is threatened," he has said in a statement.

"The Donas illustrates the exceptional quality of the Franco-Saudi relationship," said Mr Fabius.

VAB, radars, Gazelle, patrol

The contract was under discussion since Ryad was committed in late 2013 to pay three billion dollars to the Lebanese army so that the latter, poorly equipped, can procure French weapons.

Discussions focused in recent months on the precise list of military equipment to be supplied to the Lebanese army. Although nothing is official, we spoke light armored upgraded Mk3 VAB Renault Trucks Defense, Thales radars or Gazelle helicopters equipped with Hot missiles. CMN shipyard in Cherbourg should, in turn, provide three patrol.

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... If Combattante FS56 FS56 is designed for implementation Exocet MM40 8, buildings that need to be made to the Lebanese should not have anti-ship missiles. MBDA must nevertheless provide a surface-to-air system at very short range Simbad-RC to ensure self-defense and anti-aircraft missile. Nexter, in turn, is supposed to deliver two guns remotely operated 20mm Narwhal for each patrol Lebanon who recently acquired the material for other buildings of its fleet. Finally, the main battery should be constituted by a turret 76mm ......

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Nov 2-6/14: Israel. Israeli defense minister Moshe Ya’alon is recommending the cancellation of several deals with the USA, including 6 MV-22 tilt-rotors, more KC-135 aerial tankers, radar-killing missiles, and radar upgrades for Israel’s F-15s – but the potential purchase of more F-35s has survived.

After a Nov 5/14 meeting of high-level ministers, however, the F-35i’s prospects are in some doubt as well. Opponents reportedly include Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, Finance Minister Yair Lapid, retired IAF General and Agricultural Minister Yair Shamir, former defense minister Moshe Arens, and IDF ground commanders who say that hundreds of modern armored vehicles could be bought for the same amount of money.

Recent fighting in Gaza, and developments in Lebanon and Syria, are pushing the critics to recommend buys of precision weapons, UAVs, and ground forces equipment instead. The weak protection of Israeli M113s has come in for particular criticism. Sources: Defense News, “Israeli Brass Urge MoD To Stick With V-22 Deal” | Times of Israel, “Ya’alon said to cancel aircraft purchase from US” | Times of Israel, “Ministers may look to shoot down F-35 jet deal”.

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AL-DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates — Night after night for the past six weeks, U.S. fighter jets have streaked into the muggy sky from this vast desert airfield, their afterburners spewing orange flames as they head north on bombing runs over Iraq and Syria.

The American presence at Al-Dhafra, which the Pentagon has not publicly acknowledged, is a vital part of the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State militants: The base’s twin runways have launched more strike aircraft — including the Air Force’s most-sophisticated warplane, the F-22 Raptor — than any other military facility in the region.

On many nights, the American planes are accompanied by a wave of F-16 Fighting Falcons operated by the UAE’s air force. After the U.S. military, Emirati fighters have conducted more missions against the Islamic State since the air war began than any other member of the multinational coalition, often striking targets that are just as difficult and dangerous as those attacked by the Americans.

The cooperation at Dhafra — and in the skies over Syria — is the result of a fast friendship between the U.S. and UAE militaries. While American relationships with most other Arab nations over the past decade have grown strained, Washington’s alliance with the Emirates has strengthened in remarkable ways, driven by robust participation in the Afghan war as well as shared concern over the rise of militant Islam and Iran’s nuclear program.

“The UAE has gone all-in,” said Anthony Zinni, a former commander of all U.S. forces in the Middle East. As U.S. ties with long-standing allies Turkey and Saudi Arabia have frayed, and Egypt and Jordan contend with domestic challenges, the UAE now occupies a unique position in the region. “It’s the strongest relationship that the United States has in the Arab world today,” Zinni said.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

. Ironically the Bell214st which the Iranian government helped design had on order before the revolution was sold to the Iraqi government, and as yet there are no indications that the Iranians have produced any of that design.

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ShahryarHedayat said:

Shahryar 248:

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