Nato seizes 'pirate mother ship' off Somalia

A Nato warship has captured a suspected pirate mother ship off Somalia, Nato's counter-piracy mission has said.

It said Denmark's warship fired warning shots on Saturday, forcing the vessel to stop and its crew to surrender.
Sixteen suspected pirates on board were then held and a weapons cache seized. Two Yemeni hostages were also freed.
"These ships provide the pirates with a floating base. They pose a great threat to the merchant shipping," the chief officer of the Danish warship said.
"We have now eliminated one of these threats," Commander Haumann of HDMS Esbern Snare warship said.
The Nato mission said the incident happened on Saturday morning, when the warship came across a suspicious vessel with two skiffs on deck.
It said it believed the fishing vessel had been hijacked.
The Nato mission - alongside with the EU's naval force - has been escorting merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden since 2008.
Earlier this week, the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko) said Somali pirates were now using at least 20 seized vessels as mother ships to launch attacks in the region.
Somali pirates have made millions of dollars in recent years by capturing cargo vessels in the shipping lanes around the Horn of Africa and holding the ships and crew for ransom.
Somalia has had no functioning central government since 1991, allowing piracy to flourish off its coast.

Pirates have greatly expanded the areas where they operate in recent years

New Israeli army head must pacify warring generals

The process of finding a successor to the outgoing chief, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, was marred by a “battle of the generals,” in which an allegedly forged document aimed at discrediting Galant was circulated. - AP Photo

JERUSALEM: One of the first battles for Major General Benny Gantz, tapped as the next chief of Israel’s armed forces, will be to calm a high command unsettled by months of messy infighting over the post.
Gantz, 51, a former deputy chief of staff, was only named to the position after the man designated for the job was disqualified on February 1 over allegations that he had illegally grabbed land around a luxury villa he built.
The discarded candidate, Major General Yoav Galant, who was nominated for the post last year, told local media he was the victim of a conspiracy by his rivals.
The process of finding a successor to the outgoing chief, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, was marred by a “battle of the generals,” in which an allegedly forged document aimed at discrediting Galant was circulated.
At a February 6 cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the political turmoil in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East made it more vital than ever that the Israel Defence Forces had a steady hand at the helm.
“The stability of the IDF is always important, but it is much more important now given the deep shocks in our region,” he said.
“In the circumstances that have been created, my duty as prime minister is to make clear decisions in order to lift the cloud of uncertainty from the IDF senior command,” Netanyahu added, in a reference to the succession row.
Israeli newspapers describe Gantz as a decent and straightforward man, well-prepared for the complexities of overseeing the Israeli army, navy and air force.
“He definitely fits the immediate requirement of being able to restore the spirit of the army, which took a bad beating in the past few months,” Maariv daily wrote.
“He is honest, what you see is what you get. From talking to him and others who we interviewed about him I understand that Benny Gantz is someone who spreads an atmosphere of harmony wherever he goes,” said Gila Finkelstein, a member of a committee on senior public appointments which unanimously approved his candidacy on Thursday.
“One mustn’t underrate the quality of spreading harmony,” she told public radio.
“We know that when he goes back to his office in the defence ministry, he will have a hard job restoring a pleasant and harmonious atmosphere and that is very important.”
Born on June 9, 1959 in the southern village of Kfar Achim, Gantz joined the army as a conscript in 1977, completing the tough selection course for the paratroops.
In 1979, he graduated officers’ school, and went on to serve as a paratroop company commander and platoon commander.
In 1989, he became head of Shaldag, the air force’s special commando unit, and in 1994 he returned to the army to command a brigade and later a division in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
He has also served as the head of the army liaison unit dealing with UN forces in Lebanon and the Lebanese army, as commander of the northern Israel region, covering the Lebanon and Syria borders, and as head of ground forces.
In 2007, he became military attache to the United States, returning to Israel and in September 2009 becoming Ashkenazi’s deputy.
Gantz has a BA in history from Tel Aviv University, a masters degree in Political Science from Haifa University and a masters in national resource management from the National Defence University in the United States. He is married and a father of four.

Crucial test looms for key Afghan battleground

This file photo taken on January 4, 2011 shows Afghan villagers waiting to check in to start their work outside the US Stout camp in Arghandab Valley, Kandahar province. Kandahar in southern Afghanistan has for the last year been the scene of a huge US push to stamp out the Taliban in its own backyard. But the key test is yet to come on whether it has worked. – AFP Photo

KANDAHAR: Kandahar in southern Afghanistan has for the last year been the scene of a huge US push to stamp out the Taliban in its own backyard. But the key test of whether it has worked is yet to come.
Control of the province, birthplace of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and the militia’s spiritual home, is seen as crucial to US-led efforts to reverse the Islamist insurgency and bring an end to America’s longest war.
The precarious security situation in Kandahar was highlighted Saturday when 19 people, including 15 police and an intelligence agent, were killed in a string of attacks claimed by the Taliban.
They were the only latest to target pro-Kabul government officials.
With support from locals ambivalent at best, the big question is whether US gains will withstand intensified violence expected in a spring counter-offensive.
Asked what will happen in May or June, US Lieutenant Colonel William Graydon, chief of operations for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kandahar, was frank.
“I don’t know. But what I do know is that we will continue the pressure all winter so that there will not be a gap for the insurgents to come back,” he told AFP.
The situation in the province also highlights wider uncertainty over what Afghanistan will look like after 2014, when Afghan forces are scheduled to take control of security, and to what extent foreign troops will remain involved.
In Kandahar, US troops led Operation Hamkari against the Taliban from last spring after President Barack Obama ordered a 30,000-strong surge under a last-ditch war strategy in late 2009.
Nato forces claim Kandahar city and nearby districts are now safer overall following intense fighting to clear traditional Taliban strongholds, which has left at least 99 troops dead.
But over nine years after the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the Taliban, government officials are still regularly attacked in Kandahar city, the de facto capital of the south.
As well as Saturday’s police attack, the deputy provincial governor was assassinated last month.
Afghan security analyst General Helaludin Helal said the Taliban had been squeezed out of many of their heartlands but were now launching targeted attacks, particularly in and around Kandahar city, in retaliation.
“After their major defeats in Kandahar, the Taliban are now focusing on high-risk attacks to prevent people from joining the government side,” he told AFP.
Graydon said that a “security bubble” has been extended to the neighbouring districts of Arghandab, Zhari and Panjwayi, parts of which had been controlled by the Taliban since the 1990s.
Commanders are pouring money into “cash for work” schemes to try and stop locals making their living by fighting for the Taliban in poor agricultural areas which, like the militants themselves, are dominated by ethnic Pashtuns.
However, some officers acknowledge this is a stop-gap solution. Concerns also linger over corruption among Western-backed officials in Kandahar.
President Hamid Karzai’s brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, is a powerful figure who heads the Kandahar provincial council but has long been dogged by claims of graft and drug trafficking, which he denies.
What happens in Kandahar has wider implications for the war across Afghanistan, experts say.
“Success in southern Afghanistan is a necessary but not sufficient condition for successful counter-insurgency in Afghanistan as a whole,” said a report last month from Washington think-tanks the Institute for the Study of War and the American Enterprise Institute.
Like others of Afghanistan’s most dangerous provinces, it is unlikely Kandahar will see any of the limited foreign troop withdrawals due from July.
Officials now increasingly stress the 2014 transition date, and the US commander on the ground, General David Petraeus, last week warned of more bloodshed in the spring as the Taliban tries to retake territory.
Last year was the bloodiest yet for foreign troops in Afghanistan.
But even after 2014, it is not clear what role the West will play in Afghanistan.
Karzai this week said he is in talks with the United States about establishing permanent US military bases in the country.
Although the Pentagon insists this would not be lawful, officials say Washington will retain strong ties to Kabul after 2014.
This leaves open the possibility of US forces training Afghan forces, having access to bases or even keeping a small counter-terrorism force in Afghanistan indefinitely to protect its national security interests.

India to pull 10,000 troops from Kashmir

An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard in front of a graffiti in Srinagar during a curfew in Srinagar. – AFP (File Photo)

NEW DELHI: India plans to withdraw 10,000 paramilitary troops from Kashmir in 2011 and renew efforts to hold talks in the rebellion-hit Himalayan region, a top government official said Sunday.
A separatist insurgency has raged in Indian-administered Kashmir, a Muslim-majority state, for 20 years and at least 114 people died in street protests last summer in pitched battles with security forces.
“I think this year we can easily take out 10 battalions (10,000 personnel), if not more,” Indian Home Secretary Gopal Pillai told the Press Trust of India news agency.
“Irrespective of the situation, I can take out 10 battalions and it would not have any impact.”
There are currently 70,000 paramilitary troops in Indian-administered Kashmir plus 100,000-150,000 army soldiers.
Many state politicians in Kashmir believe their huge presence has fuelled recent deadly violence.
“There are more than adequate forces in Kashmir and it can do with less central forces,” Pillai, the home ministry’s top civil servant, said.
“You have to start talking to other people and get fresh ideas so I think we have to reach out to the people of Kashmir.”
Security forces opening fire at separatist demonstrations have triggered a cycle of violence in Kashmir over recent summers, and the government in New Delhi is keen to calm tensions in the year ahead.

JF-17 thunder Program Continues to Grow

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani extended the government’s complete support of the JF-17 Thunder aircraft program. PM said this project has proven to be a great positive in the Pak-China relationship.

“This is the project that can become a true flagship of the historic cooperation and strengthen the relationship between our two countries”. These were the words of Gilani as he addressed a gathering of Chinese and Pakistani technicians during his visitation to the JF-17 manufacturing facility at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.

He also expressed his satisfaction and pride of the successful progress of the JF-17 program and the fact that it is constantly completing milestones. The JF-17 project is definitely one of the biggest joint project going on between Pakistan and its strategic partner – China. Both governments expect that such cooperation will strengthen their time-tested relationship. Gilani said that every Pakistani is cherishing the help which China provides to the JF-17 program and a couple of other project. PM believes this project will write another glorious chapter in the history of the cooperation between the two countries.

Gilani wasn’t the only official visiting the factory, other names there were General Khalid Shameem Wynne, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, Chief of the Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force were also visitors of the factory. They had the opportunity to witness the amazing progress which the JF=17 aircraft manufacturing program has achieved.

The JF-17 project is one of the most ambitious Pakistani programs and it has successfully complete many milestones. Thanks to this program, Pakistan can now proudly stand amongst the group of countries which manufacture modern combat aircraft.

The JF-17 is one of the most cost-effective, multi-role combat aircraft and it is specifically designed to meet the needs of the Pakistan Air Force.

Iran to launch long-range radar systems

The Islamic Republic is to install and launch long-range radar systems in certain parts of the country in the near future, an Iranian military official says.


Deputy Head of Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base for Communications and Technology Information Brigadier General Hamid Arzhangi said that the radars are of two kinds, ISNA reported Saturday.

He further pointed out that the first type can cover a distance of up to 1,000 kilometers while the other is capable of covering up to 3,000 kilometers.

According to General Arzhangi, the radar antennas have been installed and the systems will soon become operational.

The Iranian official went on to say that Iran was also developing and using monitoring systems capable of passing on intelligence to command and control headquarters in the shortest possible time.

The Khatam al- Anbiya Air Defense Base is in charge of coordinating aerial defense activities of Iran's Army and Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Iran successfully tested and utilized advanced equipment used for communication and exchange of intelligence during massive defense maneuvers dubbed "Modafean Aseman Velayat 3" (Defenders of Velayat Skies) in November, 2010.

Iran also successfully test operated a new generation of its first domestically manufactured air defense system during the drills.

The Mersad (Ambush) modern medium-range system is capable of spotting and destroying advanced aircraft at low and high altitudes.

In addition to its high mobility, Mersad's new generation can be used in electronic warfare and can be networked with other radar and defense systems.

IAF to finalise 350 helicopter order in a month: IAF Chief

Plans for modernising Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Soviet-era helicopter fleet are gathering momentum with acquisition plans of attack, heavy-lift and medium-lift helicopters reaching final stage. The IAF is gearing up to induct new rotary wing machines to match the emerging strategic scenario and for ferrying troops, men and material even during natural calamity.

The decision on acquisition of nearly 350 helicopters of different genre will be reached in a month’s time, according to Air Chief Marshal PV Naik. The procurement process is on for acquiring 22 attack helicopters to replace fleet of ageing Mi-35 attack choppers. The contract value is pegged at $600 million approximately.

“The contest for the attack helicopters is between Russian Mi-28 and American Apache AHG-64D. The flight trials have been completed and the report is expected in a week or so,” said Naik.

The IAF has contracted the Russian Rosoboronexport to supply 80 Mi-17 V5 medium-lift helicopter valued at $1.3 billion. The rotary wing aircraft will be supplied in 2011 only. The force is going for add on order of 40 choppers, the IAF chief said.

The Mi-17 V5new acquisitions will replace the existing fleet of around 150 Mi-8 helicopters of Russian vintage.

In the heavy-lift segment the trials have been conducted between the US’ Chinook CH-47 and Russian Mi-26 helicopters for a deal potentially worth $2 billion. The IAF intends to buy 15 of these units.

“The flight evaluation bit is over and final report is expected in a month or so,” revealed Naik.

Alongwith this, IAF in conjunction with the Indian Army would be getting 197 light utility helicopters to replace its 300-odd ‘Cheetah’ and ‘Cheetal’ choppers.

“For light utility helicopters army is the main buyer. Flight trials are over in this and the report would be reaching to us in a week.”

Moreover, the successful flight of the indigenously built Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) in 2010 has given another option to the IAF which will be inducted the machine in its force only by 2014-2015.

Apart from this, the IAF is actively pursuing a comprehensive plan to upgrade its Soviet era helicopter fleet by upgrading older machines. A parallel plan is underway to renew assets in the next 10 years as part of the air force's overall perspective plan. Plans are afoot to upgrade over 50 choppers in the fleet of Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters. The upgrades are expected to increase the life of the rotary wing aircraft by a decade.