NATO Russia Missile Defence Confidence deteriorating -----Defense News

BRUSSELS — NATO has made little progress on missile defense cooperation with Russia, possibly jeopardizing a planned summit in May, said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

“Maybe we won’t clarify the situation until a few weeks before the [Chicago] summit,” Rasmussen said Jan. 26 at his monthly press conference.

A summit with Russia is scheduled to take place just before the NATO summit May 20-21.

“If there is no deal, there will probably be no [NATO-Russia] summit,” Rasmussen added.

Asked what he expected to come out of the NATO summit in terms of smart defense, Rasmussen said he hoped NATO would “adopt a political declaration” containing “a political commitment to a number of specific projects.”

It was “premature” to talk about them today, he said, adding that missile defense was “an excellent example of smart defense” with a number of allies providing input, such as hosting radar facilities.

He cited air policing as another example.

“At some stage, we’ll have to decide on a long-term arrangement for air policing in the Baltic countries,” he said. He cited it as a good example “because a number of allies do it on behalf of the Baltic countries so that the Baltic countries can focus on deployable armed forces for international operations.”

In summary, he described smart defense as “a combination of a number of concrete multinational projects and a long-term political vision of how to do business in the future.”

Looking ahead to the Chicago summit, he said, “We must renew our commitment to the vital trans-Atlantic bond” as it is “the best security investment we ever made.”

Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities are an area that NATO is looking into in terms of its smart defense project. According to a NATO official, it is “no coincidence” that NATO officials have been invited to the U.S.’s Schriever space and cyber defense war games in the last week of April, before the Chicago summit.

As to the growing concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, Rasmussen said individual allies are involved in the Iran question but that “NATO as an organization is not.” He urged Iran’s leadership “to live up to its international commitments, including stopping its [uranium] enrichment program and ensuring free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Referring to his 2011 annual report, Rasmussen said NATO had weakened the insurgency, strengthened Afghan forces and brought enemy attacks down by 9 percent; had conducted a “highly effective operation protecting the civilian population” in Libya; and captured 24 pirate ships off Somalia (half the figure for 2010).

Asked about Libya, he said, “NATO is not present in Libya and has no intention to return.”

U.S. Navy rescues third Iranian crew

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy announced Jan. 18 it led a rescue operation to assist the crew of an Iranian fishing vessel in distress in the Gulf of Oman, the third in 10 days in an area marked by tension between Washington and Tehran.

A Seahawk helicopter from the guided-missile destroyer Dewey spotted an Iranian fishing boat sinking early Jan. 18, while two other vessels tried to tow it to safety, according to a Navy press release.

One sailor remained onboard the sinking boat, called the Al Mamsoor, while two other crew members took refuge on the vessels that came to help.

The helicopter stayed overhead while the Dewey joined the rescue operation.

“Once we talked with their captain, it was clear that they needed food and water,” said Navy Lt. Jason Dawson, the leader of the rescue team.

The Al Mamsoor crew had fought flooding for three days before abandoning their vessel, the Navy said.

The rescue team gave the crew about 150 pounds of food, water and other supplies before returning to the Dewey.

On Jan. 7, Navy destroyer rescued 13 Iranian fishermen who were being held hostage by Somali pirates. The guided-missile destroyer Kidd made the rescue after one of the kidnapped fishermen revealed in a radio communication that pirates held his vessel’s crew captive.

The destroyer is one of the U.S. warships the Iranian government has warned to stay out of the Strait of Hormuz, which is used by ships that carry about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

On Jan. 11, the U.S. Navy rescued six Iranian merchant marines from a sinking cargo ship in the Persian Gulf.

Despite Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, Washington has pledged to maintain its warships in the area. The Dewey is a carrier escort ship that Tehran has threatened with reprisals.

The Iranian government threatened to close the Strait in retaliation for economic sanctions by Western nations against Tehran’s suspect nuclear program.

NATO Warship Assists Iranian Vessel

BRUSSELS - A NATO warship went to the rescue this weekend of an Iranian-flagged vessel whose engine broke down just days after its rescue from pirates by another NATO ship, the alliance said Jan. 16.

An Italian ship, the ITS Grecale, offered the five Iranian and nine Pakistani crew food and water and worked through the night to fix the engine, but to no avail, NATO said in a statement.

"The engine was too badly damaged to repair at sea," the statement said.

"NATO offered to transfer the crew to the closest port, but they chose to stay with their vessel," it added. The ITS Grecale "is remaining in the area to monitor the situation, ready to provide further assistance if required."

The ship had been released from suspected Somali pirates on Jan. 7 by a Danish warship, the HDMS Absalon.

That operation came days after a U.S. warship, the USS Carney, intercepted the Indian-flagged dhow Al-Qashmi off the southwestern coast of Oman and freed its 20 Indian crew members.

The weekend assistance comes amid heightened tensions between the international community and Tehran.

Britain Captures 13 Suspected Pirates off Somalia

LONDON - Britain's navy confirmed that it had captured 13 suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia on Jan. 13 in a NATO-led operation with U.S. forces.

Royal Marines boarded a dhow and captured the 13 men on board after they failed to heed warnings issued by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessel Fort Victoria and the USS Carney.

Victoria deployed a Lynx helicopter with Royal Marine snipers who provided further warnings to the suspects, but the dhow refused to stop.

Marines launched from the Victoria in speedboats and captured the craft, discovering a cache of weapons on board.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond called the operation a "clear demonstration of Britain's ability to tackle piracy that threatens our interests."

Separately, 15 Georgian sailors released by Somali pirates after more than a year in captivity returned home Jan. 13 to an emotional welcome from their families.

U.S. Ship Rescues Six More Iranians: Pentagon

WASHINGTON - A U.S. ship rescued six Iranian mariners in the Gulf after their boat broke down Jan. 10, the Pentagon said, in the latest such gesture despite soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The Iranian crew used flares to seek help from the passing U.S. ship after flooding in the engine room left their dhow unseaworthy before sunrise some 50 nautical miles southeast of the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, U.S. officials said.

The Coast Guard cutter, the Monomoy, gave the Iranians water, blankets and meals made in accordance with Islamic law and provided medical care for one of the mariners who had suffered non-serious injuries, officials said.

A U.S. military statement said that Hakim Hamid-Awi, the owner of the Iranian dhow named the Ya-Hassan, was thankful.

"Without your help, we were dead. Thank you for all that you did for us," the U.S. statement quoted him as saying.

In the afternoon, U.S. forces transferred the six mariners on inflatable boats to an Iranian Coast Guard vessel, the Naji 7, the statement said. The captain of the Naji 7 also offered his regards to his U.S. counterparts and "thanks us for our cooperation," according to the U.S. statement.

The United States says that its forces routinely rescue sailors in distress regardless of nationality but officials have been eager to highlight efforts to assist Iranians amid Tehran's threats to close the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

Last week, the U.S. Navy rescued 13 Iranians held by pirates. Iran welcomed the gesture, even though it earlier had warned the ships to stay away.

That rescue was carried out by one of several warships escorting the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, which the Iranian military had warned to stay out of Gulf waters or face the "full force" or Tehran's navy.

The Coast Guard cutter the Monomoy, which carried out the latest rescue, is in the Gulf to assist maritime security, according to the Pentagon.

Iran's threat - which analysts say it may not be able to carry out - came as the United States expanded sanctions against the Islamic regime and the European Union considers a total ban on oil exports from Tehran.

Western powers have been seeking to increase pressure on Iran due to fears it is developing nuclear weapons. Iran insists its uranium enrichment is solely for peaceful purposes.

U.S. Navy Frees Iranian Sailors from Pirates

The fishing dhow Al Molai looks like hundreds of similar craft plying the waters of the Arabian Sea.

A BOARDING TEAM from the destroyer Kidd approaches the dhow Al Molai to free a group of Iranian sailors held hostage by pirates (U.S. Navy)

For about six weeks, the fishing boat moved around attracting little attention, its average appearance masking evil intentions.

The picture of innocence began to change Jan. 5.In reality, the vessel and its crew of Iranian sailors was being held hostage by pirates. The Al Molai became a mother ship for smaller boats apparently carrying Somalis bent on attacking merchant ships.

The end of the Al Molai's pirate career began when the Bahamas-registered cargo ship Sunrise issued a distress call around 8:30 a.m. A group of suspected pirates in a small, 15-foot open skiff was, according to the master of the Sunrise, attacking his ship.

The nearby U.S. aircraft carrier John C. Stennis heard the radio call and dispatched the escorting cruiser Mobile Bay to move in. When an MH-60S helicopter from Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 8, Detachment 1 operating from the cruiser approached, the six people aboard the skiff tossed a number of objects in the water.

"We suspected the objects to be RPGs [rocket-propelled grenade launchers] and rifles," Rear Adm. Craig Faller, commander of the John C. Stennis carrier strike group, told reporters during a conference call from his flagship on Jan. 6.

According to Faller, the suspected pirates surrendered to the helicopter. The cruiser moved in and sent over a boarding team, but no direct evidence was found to hold the Somalis. Despite being found about 175 miles at sea, southeast of Muscat, Oman, the skiff's sailors feigned innocence.

"They told us they were operating in the area for fun," Faller said. "We didn't think so."

Released, the suspected pirates set off on a course for an unknown destination. The helicopter followed at a distance. Soon, the small boat approached an Iranian-flagged dhow. The destroyer Kidd, patrolling in the region against pirates since mid-November, was vectored in, and its embarked MH-60R helicopter from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 71, Detachment 3, took over from the Mobile Bay's helo.

Asked by reporters on the conference call if it was clear it a pirate situation was at hand, Cmdr. Jennifer Ellinger, the destroyer's commanding officer, was confident.

"Yes, definitely," she said.

The helicopters "observed there were Middle Eastern as well as Somalis on board the craft," Ellinger said. "But when we talked bridge-to-bridge they indicated they were Iranian and there were no foreigners aboard, which we knew not to be true," she said.

The dhow's master spoke to the Americans over the radio in Urdu, a language widely spoken in Pakistan. The pirates were unable to follow along, but an Urdu-speaker aboard the Kidd had no trouble translating.

"When we talked to the master, it was clear he was under duress," Ellinger said. "He said they were physically abused, they were scared. They invited us to come over. We reassured them that we would be on the way."

According to Ellinger, the master told the pirates the Americans were coming on board and they knew they were there.

"He convinced them to surrender," she said.

The destroyer drew up to the dhow with guns manned and ready. "Basically it was a forceful approach," Ellinger said. "We asked them all to come topside and surrender their weapons."

The pirates put down their weapons but then tried to hide. When the American boarding team arrived, the master helpfully pointed out all the hiding places, and 15 suspected pirates were taken into custody without any shots being fired.

The 13 freed Iranian fishermen were ecstatic.

"We brought food and meals," Ellinger said. "They had no refrigerator, it was broken. They were relying on fishing to get food, although the pirates had some fruit and provisions."

The Iranian sailors "were extremely grateful," Ellinger said. "Their morale continued to increase as we removed the Somali pirates."

The pirates were transferred on Jan. 6 to the Stennis, where they were still being held on Jan. 7.

"The pirates are under our custody and evidence is being gathered," Faller said. "This will be referred to the interagency in the U.S. to determine what will occur."

The pirates would be treated appropriately, Faller told reporters. "As bad as they are, they deserve humane treatment like any person."

Provisioned with food and wearing Kidd ball caps, the Iranians sailed off to return to their home port.

UNAWARE OF CONTROVERSY

Faller said neither the Iranian fishermen nor the pirates seemed to have any awareness of the recent tensions between Iran and the U.S. over transits of the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.

Shortly after the Stennis left the Gulf earlier this week, Iran's Army chief threatened the U.S. Navy and declared that the carrier would not be allowed back in. The threat was issued at the conclusion of a major 10-day Iranian naval exercise, and as new economic sanctions were slapped on Iran by the U.S. and other Western nations.

Despite the heated rhetoric from Tehran, the U.S. has sought to downplay the situation. Asked if the U.S. was exploiting the rescue of the Iranian sailors for publicity reasons, Faller was adamant.

"No sir. We didn't have a vision we'd be on a conference call tonight talking about it," he said during the conference call.

"The Navy is just doing its job out here. Conducting combat operations over Afghanistan and maintaining freedom of the sea."

No response to the rescue has been received from Iran, Faller said, although he acknowledged his forces have recently encountered Iranians.

"We have had interactions at sea with Iranian aircraft and surface ships," he said. "Those interactions have all been professional."

He did not provide further details.

Asked if the Stennis might go back through Hormuz, Faller gave the standard response.

"The Strait of Hormuz is an international strait, and by international law is subject to freedom of navigation," he said. "If it means moving back through the strait that's what we'll do. Right now it's business as usual as we focus on operations over Afghanistan."

"The U.S. Navy has been here for over 60 years," Faller added, "and we'll be here as long as we're needed. On call and ready."

Malaysia Firm Wins $2.8 Billion Navy Ship Deal

KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian shipbuilder says it has won a 9 billion ringgit ($2.8 billion) deal from Kuala Lumpur for six naval vessels developed by French manufacturer DCNS.

In a filing with the local bourse Dec. 16, Boustead Naval Shipyard said it was given a letter of award by the Malaysian defense ministry to build and deliver six "second generation patrol vessels littoral combat ships."

"The delivery of the first of class ship is estimated in 2017 with follow on ships every six months thereafter," it added.

Last week Boustead said it had been selected by Malaysia's navy to build the corvettes, which DCNS says can stay at sea for three weeks and are designed to navigate coastal areas and island groups to fight piracy and patrol fisheries. The vessels are 330 feet long and can each transport one EC275 helicopter made by Eurocopter, a subsidiary of EADS.

DCNS already had a relationship with Boustead through a joint venture in 2009 to maintain two diesel-propelled Scorpene submarines used by the Malaysian navy.

DCNS has previously sold 11 frigates to Malaysia's neighbor Singapore, five of which were built in the city-state.

China Eyes Navy Stop in Seychelles

BEIJING - China has said it may use the Seychelles as a naval supply stop while conducting anti-piracy missions, at the invitation of the Indian Ocean island state.

The announcement comes at a time of growing Indian concern about China's influence in the strategically important Indian Ocean, a vital shipping lane connecting Asia to Europe and the Middle East.

"According to escort needs and the needs of other long-distance missions, China will consider taking supplies or recuperating at appropriate ports in the Seychelles and other countries," the defense ministry said in a statement Dec. 12. The invitation was extended earlier this month during a visit to the Seychelles by Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie.

Beijing has funded or plans to invest in several major infrastructure projects in the Indian Ocean, including ports in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Reports in China's state-run media quoted military experts as saying the move did not equate to establishing an overseas military base.

China has been heavily involved in anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia and in the Indian Ocean.

Since 2008, China has sent 10 escort missions and more than 8,000 military personnel to the Gulf of Aden, escorting more than 4,300 vessels in the process, the official China Daily said.

Germany Hands Over Anti-Piracy Mission Command

BONN, Germany - Spain is the new lead nation of maritime task force 465 on an anti-piracy mission in the waters around the Horn of Africa. German flotilla Adm. Thomas Jugel handed the command of the European Union's flotilla Atalanta over on Dec. 6 to Spanish Capt. Jorge Manso.

Jugel had been commanding the task force of six ships and eight helicopters from Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and France for the past four months.

In a report issued by the German military, he spoke about the decline in the number of successful pirate raids from 50 in 2010 to 20 so far in 2011. According to the German admiral, more and more ships are passing the area registered and preferably in a convoys. In addition, the EU warships in May were granted a more offensive mandate to tackle the situation.

German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière, who visited the troops in Djibouti for the occasion, said he regarded the operation so far as a success. However, he warned that the military mission only fights the symptoms. A final solution requires that constitutional structures be established in Somalia, and the pirate masterminds had to be found and their cash flows cut off, he said.

Just a few days before the change in command, the German parliament voted to extend the country's participation in Atalanta for one more year. In the coming month, the German Navy will take part with about 500 troops, one frigate and a P3-C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. The upper limit of the mandate is 1,400 troops.

EU May Use Brussels HQ for Horn of Africa Ops

BRUSSELS - EU foreign affairs ministers are considering using a civil-military headquarters in Brussels for small-scale operations off the Horn of Africa.

In conclusions to their meeting here Dec. 1, they say they have agreed "to accelerate planning for the activation of an EU Civil-Military Operations Centre for Horn of Africa operations, at the latest by the next Foreign Affairs Council."

The next EU affairs meeting is scheduled for late January. Currently EU operations have their HQs in individual member states.

According to an EU ministers statement, "When the nature of the operation does not require a national HQ, the Council stands ready to activate on an ad-hoc basis the Operations Centre in accordance with its terms of reference for a specific Common and Security Defence Policy [CSDP] Operation."

The decision appears to signal a U-turn in the U.K.'s stance on the issue. Back in the summer, Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign and security policy, proposed an EU HQ for planning and carrying out EU military and civil missions abroad. In July, U.K. Foreign Affairs Minister William Hague said, "the U.K. will block any such move now and in the future."

The EU is currently running two operations in the Horn of Africa - the Atalanta counterpiracy mission and the EU training mission in Somalia. The Brussels' operations center may be used for any new, small-scale contributions to the Horn of Africa, such as building regional maritime capacity, said an official from the EU's Military Staff.

Where the EU has an existing command structure, such as Atalanta at the Northwood HQ in the U.K., an official from the EU Military Staff said "there is no intention of changing a working system on conduct.

"For Atalanta in particular, they are extremely well-placed in Northwood - allowing synergies with the NATO counterpiracy operation - and the scale of the command is far outside of the capacity of the Brussels' operations center," he added.

"We need to help regions [off the Horn of Africa] conduct counterpiracy themselves," Lt. Gen. Ton Van Osch, director-general of the European Union Military Staff, told Defense News in an interview. "A new line of EU action is to help countries develop their own coast guards and navies. Here, the EU military could do the training as part of a civilian mission if the political and security committee decided on a mission."

In the interview, Van Osch gives his views on various issues, including pooling and sharing proposals relating to air-to-air refueling and smart munitions.

On pooling and sharing, ministers recalled "the need to develop cooperation on military capabilities on a longer term and more systematic basis," and stressed the need "to further examine the impact of reduced defense spending on capabilities, including its possible impact on key industrial and technological capacities to be maintained and developed in Europe."

The ministers also encouraged further coordination between the European Defence Agency and the European Commission, "in particular in the field of Research and Technology, in particular regarding the new European Framework Programme for Research and Technology (Horizon 2020)."

They also recalled the commitment of the EU defense chiefs to establish or widen collaborative pooling and sharing projects by mid-2012, urged member states to take on the role of lead nation for concrete projects, and "will assess the progress made in April 2012."

They also stressed "the need to further analyze and address the constraints related to the availability, usability and deployability of existing military capabilities in CSDP operations and missions."

In addition, they bemoaned the fact that, in the first semester of 2012, "only one [EU] battlegroup will be on stand-by" and called for "efforts in order to remedy such shortfalls in the future."

Seychelles Invites China to Set Up Anti-Piracy Base

VICTORIA - The Seychelles invited Beijing to set up a military base on the archipelago to beef up the fight against piracy there, Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam said.

The declaration came Dec. 2 as Gen. Liang Guanglie is making the first-ever visit by a Chinese defense minister to the Indian Ocean island state.

"We have invited the Chinese government to set up a military presence on Mahe to fight the pirate attacks that the Seychelles face on a regular basis," Adam said.

"For the time being China is studying this possibility because she has economic interests in the region and Beijing is also involved in the fight against piracy," he explained.

Liang, who arrived in Victoria on Dec. 1 with a 40-strongdelegation, had been invited in October by Seychelles President James Michel, when he was on a visit to China.

"Together, we need to increase our surveillance capacity in the Indian Ocean ... as Seychelles has a strategic position between Asia and Africa," Michel said in statement, adding that China had given its army two light aircraft.

The two countries signed a military cooperation agreement in 2004 that has enabled some 50 Seychelles soldiers to be trained in China. They renewed their agreement Dec. 2, with China to provide further training and equipment.

If the Chinese military base goes ahead, "it won't be the first foreign military presence here because the Americans already have a small drone base here that they use in the fight against piracy," Adam said.

After warships started deploying in the Gulf of Aden in 2008 to thwart attacks on vessels, Somali pirates enlarged their field of operations into the Indian Ocean, including towards the Seychelles.

With 115 islands scattered over an area of 540,000 square miles, a population of 85,000 and an army of just 500, the archipelago has been asking for foreign assistance.

Liang flew in from the Ugandan capital Kampala, where, according to Ugandan government sources, he promised $2.3 million in military aid, including support to troops in the African Union force in Somalia.

The Seychelles president also welcomed "Russian support in the fight against piracy" after he met Dec. 2 with Sergey Kryukov, Russia's top foreign ministry official for Africa.

Piracy has flourished off war-torn Somalia, outwitting international efforts - including constant patrols by warships and tough sentencing of the pirates they capture.

Three-Way U.S.-China Drills Possible: Australia

SYDNEY - Defence Minister Stephen Smith on Nov. 22 said Canberra would seriously consider trilateral military training with the United States and China following the announcement of a US troop buildup in Darwin.
Smith said the move was suggested by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono following talks with Australian leader Julia Gillard at last weekend's East Asia Summit in Bali after Beijing criticized the troop boost.

"We don't see it as something which would necessarily occur in the short term, but it's a good suggestion. It's an interesting suggestion," Smith said. "It's a positive suggestion and one which I think in the longer term could fall for serious consideration."
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa expressed reservations about the plan to bring some 2,500 U.S. Marines to northern Australia by 2016-17. The plan was unveiled by President Barack Obama during a flying visit to Canberra last week.
Natalegawa warned that it could inflame relations and create a "vicious circle of tensions and mistrust" in the region, urging transparency, particularly about the motives behind the move.
Indonesia is building up its own military cooperation with U.S. forces.
The United States and its allies have expressed concern over the intentions behind China's military build-up and called for greater transparency.
Smith said Australia already did training and exercises with China and had completed joint live-firing drills with its navy for the first time last year.
"We're working very hard with China and the PLA (People's Liberation Army) to do precisely that, to do some training, to do some exercises, and we encourage China and the United States to do that themselves as well," Smith said.
Such training "reduces the risk of miscalculation or misjudgment", he added.
Jeffrey Bleich, U.S. ambassador to Australia, said there were "a lot of variables" but Washington was interested in strengthening military ties.
"For the broad brushstrokes, yes, we want to work more with the Chinese military, and we're looking for opportunities to cooperate with all countries in the region," Bleich told The Australian newspaper. "If you have a lot of nations rising quickly and not understanding each other's intentions, you're always concerned about the risk of a misunderstanding. You want to be prepared for that."
The U.S. and Chinese navies have held joint search-and-rescue drills.
The two sides would carry out humanitarian rescue-and-disaster relief drills next year and joint anti-piracy drills in the Gulf of Aden this year, they announced in July.
But they do not stage joint live-fire drills like those the U.S. has with its ally South Korea.

Russia Objects to U.S. Navy Cruiser in Black Sea

MOSCOW - Russia on June 12 protested the arrival of a U.S. Navy cruiser equipped with a ballistic missile defense system in the Black Sea to take part in naval exercises with neighboring Ukraine, saying it was a threat to its national security.
"We have a number of questions regarding the arrival in the Black Sea of the U.S. Navy cruiser Monterey equipped with the Aegis anti-missile system to participate in the Ukrainian-U.S. Sea Breeze 2011 exercises," the Russian foreign ministry said.

"The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that we will not let pass unnoticed the appearance of elements of U.S. strategic infrastructure in the immediate proximity to our borders and will see such steps as a threat to our security," it said in a statement.
The protest comes as Russia and the West failed this week to reach a breakthrough on a missile shield project for Europe with Moscow complaining that its demands were falling on deaf ears.
In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama said he would shelve his predecessor's plans to site parts of a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, and instead deploy more mobile equipment targeting Iran's short and medium-range missiles.
The foreign ministry noted it understood that the stationing of the Monterey in European waters was part of the U.S. missile defense shield plan but added it did not see why the warship had to be so close to its borders.
"According to an official U.S. version, they [warships] can be deployed to the Black Sea in case of necessity, for example, in case of a flare-up in the region," the statement said.
"We would like to understand what 'flare-up' the U.S. commanders had in mind when they moved the primary striking unit of NATO's future anti-missile system from the Mediterranean to the east?" it said, noting the aim of the naval exercises was to practice anti-piracy raids.
Russia has expressed fears that the planned anti-missile system would be directed against its defenses, with the dispute threatening a rapprochement between Moscow and the Western alliance.
Moscow has recently said it would be ready to drop its opposition to NATO installing missile defense facilities in Europe if it provided legal guarantees the system would not be directed against Russia.
NATO has rejected the proposal, saying legal guarantees would be hard to put on paper.
The Russian foreign ministry said Monterey's arrival in the Black Sea demonstrated blatant disregard for Moscow's concerns.
"It is being done deliberately, as if to show to Russia that no-one is going to take its opinion into account," it said.
"The reconnaissance by U.S. anti-missile ships of the Black Sea waters confirms once again the need to work out precise legal guarantees of the anti-missile system deployed in Europe not being directed against Russia's nuclear containment shield."

Iran deploys submarines in Red Sea

An Iranian Navy submarine

Iran's Navy submarines have reportedly been deployed in the Red Sea to conduct maritime surveillance operations and also identify warships of other countries.

The military submarines entered the Red Sea waters on Tuesday and are sailing alongside the warships of Iran's Navy 14th fleet, Fars News Agency reported.

The report added that the fleet entered the Gulf of Aden region in May and has now entered the Red Sea in the continuation of its mission.

The deployment of Iranian military submarines in the Red Sea is the first such operation by Iran's Navy in distant waters.

Iran has deployed warships further afield, as far as the Red Sea, to combat Somali pirates.

Rampant piracy off the Indian Ocean coast of Somalia has made the waters among the most dangerous in terms of pirate activities.

The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is the quickest route for more than 20,000 vessels traveling annually between Asia, Europe and the Americas.

However, attacks by heavily armed Somali pirates on speedboats have prompted some of the world's largest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and reroute cargo vessels around southern Africa, leading to climbing shipping costs.

Brazil's Global Player

LONDON - Take a regional flight from an airport in the U.S., Europe or Asia and there's a good chance you will be flying on a jet developed and built by Embraer.
In little more than a decade, the Brazilian company has grown from a state-owned aerospace also-ran into a privatized global player in the regional and business jet markets.
Now Embraer is turning its attention to defense and security. It has high hopes for growth in the business unit it created last year to pursue its ambitions in the sector, Luiz Carlos Aguiar, the first president of the new Embraer Defense and Security operation, said at the recent Latin American Aerospace and Defense (LAAD) show in Rio de Janeiro.
"By the end of the decade, we want to grow business in the sector to represent 20 percent of total Embraer revenues, taking into account our other businesses are going to also grow," Aguiar said.
In 2010, defense accounted for revenues of $670 million, 12.5 percent of the company's $5.5 billion in annual sales.
On top of sales, Embraer reckons its aviation support services business last year earned military revenues of $150 million. Much of that came in Embraer's traditional military markets involving the Super Tucano trainer and light attack aircraft and various adaptations of civil jet airliners into specialist platforms for airborne early warning and other tasks.
The company also is heavily involved in modernizing Brazilian military aircraft, including A-4 fighter jets for the Navy and AMX and F-5 fighters for the Air Force.
Still, company officials said, the traditional airframe business will continue to provide the core of Embraer's defense and security business for the foreseeable future.
The company is developing the KC-390, a jet-powered rival to Lockheed Martin's C-130 Hercules airlifter, and will also assemble a new fighter jet if the Brazilian government ever gets around to picking a winner.
The KC-390 is being built for the Brazilian and other air forces; first flight is scheduled for 2014.
The company also is expecting a decision from the U.S. Air Force (USAF), which is choosing between the Super Tucano and Hawker Beechcraft's AT-6 for a light attack requirement.
That could mark Embraer's long-sought foothold in the U.S. defense market. Company officials thought they had one when the U.S. ordered the ERJ-145 in 2006 as a surveillance aircraft, but that deal was canceled through no fault of the Brazilian company.
Now its U.S. priority is the light attack requirement.
"It's very important to win this campaign," Aguiar said. "We did a great job in the U.S. when we demonstrated our capability, and it's very well rated by the USAF. Better relations following [U.S. President] Barack Obama's visit here will help the process a lot."
If it wins, Embraer has a deal with contractor Sierra Nevada, an aerospace company based in Sparks, Nev., to build the aircraft.
Embraer also is transforming more generally under the government's 2008 national defense strategy to bolster local industries.
The first four months of operation at Embraer Defense and Security has seen the business already signal the intended direction of travel with moves to acquire radar, unmanned air systems and C4I and systems integration capabilities.
Much of that change became evident at the LAAD show, where in the space of two days, Aguiar announced the he had struck a deal with Elbit Systems' local subsidiary AEL Sistemas to jointly develop tactical UAVs, and then acquired 50 percent of local systems integration and C4I provider Atech Negocious em Tecnologias.
Part of the deal with Elbit, an Israeli company, involves Embraer becoming a minority stakeholder in AEL itself.
A few weeks earlier, Aguiar, who had previously been Embraer's chief financial officer, made the new business unit's first acquisition when it took a 64.7 percent stake in the radar division of Orbisat.
The UAVs, radar and particularly Atech's capabilities all reinforce a key Embraer objective to secure the lead position on a pair of massive Brazilian land border and maritime surveillance programs.
Together worth around $10 billion, the first of those programs could kick off next year and run for the next decade.
Uncertainties There are some uncertainties about the timing of these and other defense programs with the new government of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff reviewing major requirements here, including the long-running scrap between Boeing, Dassault Aviation and Saab for the fighter deal.
This year's defense budget has taken a big hit, and although the cut is said not to be directed at programs, executives at LAAD were nervous about the collateral damage the cutback could cause.
Rebecca Barrett, Forecast International's Latin American military markets analyst, said that Brazil needs to protect its strategic interests.
"This should be reflected in the defense budget and government's spending pattern during the Rousseff administration," Barrett said. "In that regard, programs that will be used for surveillance and the protection of Brazil's borders and off-shore oil assets will be top priority."
The analyst said the Brazilian defense budget for next year is set at 60.2 billion real ($38.4 billion). Forecast International says that figure will rise moderately to 64 billion real by 2015.
Aguiar told reporters at LAAD that, for the short term at least, Embraer's main focus would be on building the business at home rather than buying foreign assets.
"Acquisition has not traditionally been how Embraer has grown," Aguiar said. "Acquisition in country is a good way of learning as it is easier to do something close to us. We have a small team looking [at M&A opportunities], and not only in Brazil, but there is nothing in the short term."

Embraer

Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Employees: 17,000
2010 revenue: $5.5 billion total; $670 million in defense revenue, including $150 million from military aviation support services.

Pakistan Navy foiled first-ever piracy attempt in Pak

Friday was a great day for the Pakistan Navy as they in cooperation with the multinational naval Combined Task Force, successfully stopped the first-ever piracy attempted in Pakistan’s territorial sea.The pirates attacked on the Philippine Commercial flag vessel MV FALCON TRADE-II which operates in the Southern extremity of the Pakistan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
An official spokesperson of the Pakistan Navy stated that this was the first time a piracy attempt was reported and countered in EEZ of Pakistan.
A spokesman for Pakistan Navy said that this was the first time a piracy attempt was recorded and countered in EEZ of Pakistan.
Earlier, at the multi-national naval exercise Aman-11 from March 8 to March 12, the Pakistan Navy reported that it has adopted special measures in order to tackle the issue of piracy attacks against merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean as this has become a frequent threat near the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Pakistan.
The PN Spokesperson spoke further about the entire anti-piracy operation. On the 24th March, the PN intercepted communications of a pirates attack on a Philippine flag vessel with 20 personnel onboard. The PN immediately contacted the Pakistan Navy’s Ship Babur with embarked helicopter and Maritime Patrol Aircraft to acquire the position of the pirate boats.
Special Operating Force (SOF) onboard fast boats, specifically tuned for counter piracy operations were also sent to tackle the pirates. PNS Babur, in a close liaison with CTF-151 and the assistance of US Ship tasked by CTF-151, confined the pirates, who failed to enter the enclosed citadel boundary of the merchant ship.
Thanks to the fast action of the Pakistan Navy and CTF-151, the pirates were forced to abort the operation and flee. Currently the merchant vessel is safe and under control of its crew.
The PN said it continued to maintain a constant watch on its sea territories and it is ready to respond to any situation at sea.

Solution for Piracy 'Scourge' Remains Elusive

The international maritime community has worked together on a number of issues to beat back the threat from Somali-based pirates, a U.S. State Department official said March 30, yet the number of attacks continues to rise.
"We are intensely reviewing our anti-piracy efforts," Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary for political-military affairs, told a Washington audience. "We are looking into many possible courses of action."

Shapiro ticked off several areas where the U.S. is searching for new or expanded actions.
"We must get a handle on the prosecution problem," he said. "The United States is now willing to consider pursuing some creative and innovative ways to go beyond ordinary national prosecutions, and enhance our ability to prosecute and incarcerate pirates in a timely and cost-effective manner."
In international forums, the U.S. is suggesting the creation of a "specialized piracy court or chamber" - in one or more regional states -to bring accused pirates to trial, Shapiro said, and is exploring ways "to expand incarceration capacity in the region."
The "lack of prison capacity is perhaps the most common reason nations decline to prosecute," he added, while the idea of a piracy court has been put forward in the Security Council at the United Nations.
A key focus, he said, is "to start targeting the higher financiers who are responsible" for the pirate gangs. "That is something we are going to make a priority."
"There are a lot of lessons to be learned from in the organized crime example that we think are applicable to pirates," Shapiro told a reporter after his address, sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "The goal is to move the necessary resources and lessons learned to attack the people who are benefiting from this."
Shapiro noted the effectiveness of privately hired armed guards on board merchant ships in deterring the pirates. "Not a single ship employing armed guards has been successfully pirated," he said.
Ships declining to comply with recommended security measures are particularly at risk, Shapiro said. "About 20 percent of ships off the Horn of Africa are not taking proper security actions. These 20 percent account for the overwhelming number of pirated ships."
Ransom payments encourage pirates to continue their activities, Shapiro said. "We continue to urge against paying ransom," he said, noting it only "makes piracy an increasingly lucrative proposition."