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Daily News
by Gail Helmer
Jane's News Briefs
Monday, August 20, 2001Jane's Defence Weekly
Eurocopter breakthrough with Aussie Tiger Eurocopter has achieved its first export success of the Tiger combat helicopter with the announcement by Australia's Minister for Defence Peter Reith on 10 August that the company has been selected as the preferred tenderer for the Australian Army's Air 87 project. Contract value will be around A$1.3 billion (US$657.9 million) for 22 aircraft.
Turkey offers F-16 lease deal
The Turkish Air Force Command is offering to lease its older Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 30 fighters to Hungary in the hope that it can replace them with new Block 50 aircraft.
Lockheed Martin wins MEADS radar contracts
Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics and Surveillance Systems has been awarded three contracts with a combined total value of $45 million to develop radar systems for the risk-reduction effort for the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS).
Romania goes ahead with MiG-29 upgrade
Romania is to upgrade its MiG-29 (NATO reporting name: 'Fulcrum-A') fighters, Chief of the Romanian Air Force General Staff Gen Gheorghe Bucse has confirmed. By the end of 2003, he said, the essential problems of the MiG-29 fighters will have been solved.
No takers for Israel's Gal-class submarines
Israel is finding it difficult to find buyers for its three ageing Gal-class submarines in a market filled with low-cost new submarines.
Iran produces latest anti-tank guided missile
The Iranian Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics has recently successfully test fired an anti-tank guided weapon that "is capable of destroying the most sophisticated armour equipment", Jane's Defence Weekly has learned.
Malaysia orders Russian anti-tank missiles
Malaysia has placed an order for an undisclosed quantity of Metis-2 anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) systems following a regular meeting of the joint Russian-Malaysian inter-governmental commission on economic co-operation, according to Jane's Defence Weekly sources in Moscow.
Nepal steps up fight against rebels
Royal Nepal Army Chief of Staff Lt Gen Pyar Jung Thapa made a week-long visit to India at the beginning of the month to buy military equipment to better equip Nepal's security forces to fight the Maoist insurgency threatening the Himalayan kingdom.
Jane's Navy International
Spoils shared from new Type 45 build strategy
A long-awaited decision on the revised procurement strategy for the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer programme for the UK's warship-building base. Richard Scott examines the implications.
Marynarka Wojenna sets new course for NATO integratio
n The need to interoperate effectively with its new NATO partners is driving the Polish Navy's modernisation plans. Grzegorz Holdanowicz looks at the key issues facing Poland's integration into NATO's maritime force structure.
UK evaluates torpedo defence bids
The UK Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) is evaluating three rival bids for the provision of a Surface Ship Torpedo Defence (SSTD) system for Royal Navy (RN) warships.
About face on RAN's Collins combat system
Australia has abandoned the tender process for a new combat system for the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) six Collins-class diesel electric submarines (SSKs) and will instead seek to establish a long-term relationship with the USA for the enhancement of the Collins class.
Longbow returns for UK PAAMS testing
The mothballed guided-weapons trials vessel Longbow is to be recommissioned and refitted as a Sea Trials Platform (STP) for the UK variant of the Principle Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS), the primary weapon system for the Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyer.
New impetus for India's Advanced Technology Vessel
India's private sector is building parts of the highly classified nuclear submarine (SSN) - which is known as the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) - and has developed a test launcher for the Sagarika (Oceanic), the nuclear-armed submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM), an integral part of the country's nuclear deterrent.
Privatisation plans for France's DCN
French naval shipbuilder Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) is to become a 100% government-owned company with more power to run its own affairs.
Thales buys out BAE Systems stake in Thomson Marconi Sonar
French-based defence electronics group Thales has become the sole shareholder of Thomson Marconi Sonar (TMS) after buying out BAE Systems' 49.9% stake in the company for a reported £50 million (US$71.3m).
Prospects for a European maritime force
Guy Toremans interviews Vice Admiral Jean Moulin, Flag Officer of France's Force d'Action Navale.
QinetiQ investigates AUV technology for MCM operations
QinetiQ (formerly the UK Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) has released details of an applied research programme to investigate the application of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in littoral mine reconnaissance.
Jane's Foreign Report
Will the Palestinian Authority fall?
Peres and Arafat in the last chance saloon. ISRAEL'S security service has recently been spreading disinformation about the supposed impending collapse of the Palestinian Authority. The Hebrew press is full of reports that the Authority's president, Yasser Arafat, is running out of cash and his power is fading. The reality is more complicated.
France turns away from Saddam
FOR several years, France had adopted a sympathetic attitude towards President Saddam Hussein's Iraq. It had discreetly supported calls for an end to UN sanctions and bombing raids by the American and British air forces. The French adopted this policy not out of love for the Iraqi dictator but because it wants Iraq to do two things when sanctions are eventually lifted: to pay its huge outstanding debt to France for arms purchases and to give French firms huge contracts for investments in the oil and other industries. Now France is losing enthusiasm for this pragmatic and somewhat cynical policy. Why? Foreign Report first describes the repercussions.
Cuts in Chinese forces
IF SOME secret documents seen by FOREIGN REPORT are to be believed, China's leaders are planning to cut the size of the armed forces over the next couple of years. Experience suggests that if China wants a modern armed force, it must not only equip it adequately but also cut numbers drastically. By how many?
Can Russia's growth continue?
LAST week we reported on the optimism in Russia about the prospects for economic growth this year. This week we investigate the down side, especially the prevalence of money-laundering.
Jane's Terrorism and Security Monitor
Mutual threat of Islamic militancy allies Israel and India
Israeli intelligence agencies have been intensifying their relations with India's security apparatus and are now understood to be heavily involved in helping New Delhi combat Islamic militants in the disputed province of Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state which lies at the core of the conflict with neighbouring Pakistan.
Jane's Intelligence Watch Report and Jane's Terrorism Watch Report
Israel- Palestinian Authority (PA)
- The Palestinian Authority's official weekly newspaper, Al-Manar, reported on 14 August that "serious thinking has begun a while ago about obtaining biological weapons." The report, titled "Will We Reach the Option of Biological Deterrence?" and signed by "The Palestinian Center for Information Sources-Gaza," says: "Due to the seriously uneven balance of power in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and in light of the escalation of the racist aggression, which elevates to the level of a war declaration, by the Sharon government ... the Palestinian side is required to use weapons of deterrence that will even the balance of power, at least on the field." The article appeared to advocate strongly the development and deployment of such weapons. The Palestinian Center for Information Sources-Gaza was directed by Jihad Al-Wazir, the son of Abu Jihad, former second in command for Arafat and head of the PLO's military forces. In the past, the Center received US aid. Once the aid was stopped, the centre's control was passed to the Palestinian Journalists Association, and it is now managed by Deputy Chairman Taufiq Abu-Khosa, who also wrote the article.
South Africa
- A bill to monitor terrorists and criminals through telecommunications interception, which was quietly passed by South Africa's cabinet in July, is being opposed widely in the country, BBC reported on 13 August. Opponents say the Interception and Monitoring Bill is draconian, describing it as a charter for government spying. The bill provides for state monitoring of all telecommunications systems, including mobile phones, internet and e-mail, once permission has been granted by relevant authorities. In most cases a judge must grant the order, but in some instances a police or army officer of a particular rank may do so. Opposition to the bill was slow at first, but some media organizations are now attacking the proposed legislation as a threat to the constitutional right to privacy and freedom of speech.Mutual threat of Islamic militancy allies Israel and India
Israeli intelligence agencies have been intensifying their relations with India's security apparatus and are now understood to be heavily involved in helping New Delhi combat Islamic militants in the disputed province of Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state which lies at the core of the conflict with neighbouring Pakistan.
India - Jammu and Kashmir
- Eight people, including three security personnel, have been killed in attacks across Jammu and Kashmir, IOL reported on 13 August. Indian forces have stepped up security preparations across Jammu and Kashmir in advance of the 15 August Independence Day celebrations. The All Parties Hurriyet Conference, the main separatist alliance, has called for a general strike on Independence Day.
Indonesia
-Authorities have detained a Malaysian former student of the Mara Technology University for the July bombing of the Jakarta Atrium Pasar Senen shopping centre, Utusan Malaysia reported on 11 August. Security officials also believe that the student was involved in the bombing of two churches in East Jakarta last March. Sources said that the student came with 10 other Malaysians last year to participate in a jihad against Christians in Ambon.
Kyrgyzstan
- Kabar reported on 13 August that Kyrgyz authorities are stepping up security to prevent terrorist attacks on 31 August, the nation's Independence Day. Col. Dzholdoshbek Busurmankulov, head of the Interior Ministry's press service, told Kabar reporters that patrols will be increased on the streets of the capital Bishkek, and that strategic sites such as the Kulbaev tunnel on the Bishkek-Osh road would also receive increased protection.
Lebanon - Revolutionary Cells Organization - The Arabian Gulf
- The 9 August bombing of the Qatari Airline office in Beirut has been claimed by the Revolutionary Cells Organization - The Arabian Gulf, according to a report in Al-Majd. The office was attacked because the company is owned by Qatar's Foreign Minister Shaikh Hamad bin-Jabr Al Thani, who the bombers regard as "pro-Zionist." The organization claims that Mossad operates out of the Israeli representative's office in Doha.
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