Britain Blocks Some Exports to Bahrain, Libya

LONDON - Britain on Feb. 18 revoked licenses for the export of some security equipment to Bahrain and Libya because of the risk it might be used to suppress anti-regime protests, the Foreign Office said.
A day after announcing a review of British arms export licenses, the government had decided to revoke 44 licenses for Bahrain and eight for Libya, said Alistair Burt, minister for the Middle East and North Africa.

Licenses for Yemen and other countries were under review.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was alarmed that Bahrani soldiers had fired on protestors and urged authorities to exercise restraint.
"I am alarmed by reports of soldiers firing on protestors in Bahrain," said a statement from Hague, who visited the Gulf state last week as part of a visit to the Middle East and North Africa. "This is an extremely worrying development."
Burt said licenses would not be issued "where we judge there is a clear risk that the proposed export might provoke or prolong regional or internal conflicts, or which might be used to facilitate internal repression."
"This government takes extremely seriously its export control responsibilities. Britain has some of the most rigorous export controls in the world," he added.
Burt added that the government had "no evidence of British equipment being used in the unrest in Bahrain."
A British government source said the revoked licenses were mainly for riot control equipment, including tear gas and rubber bullets.
France announced earlier in the day that it had suspended exports of security equipment to Libya and Bahrain.
Bahraini security forces opened fire Feb. 18 on anti-regime protesters in the capital Manama, wounding dozens, while demonstrations in Libya have cost at least 27 lives, a newspaper reported.
Hague urged authorities to show restraint.
"The circumstances of what happened are not yet clear, but I call on the Bahrain authorities to avoid violence and the use of excessive force and to exercise restraint," he said.
"The right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly must be respected."
He praised a pledge from Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa to open a national dialogue once calm returns, urging Bahrain to take steps to "meet legitimate aspirations for greater social and political freedoms."

Australia's Largest Ship Launched

The largest ship ever to be built for the Australian Navy took to the water for the first time Feb. 17 on the north coast of Spain.

The Canberra is the first of two 25,000-ton assault ships being built for Australia in Spain. (Royal Australian Navy)

The launch of the future HMAS Canberra took place at the Navantia dockyards in Ferrol, Spain. The 25,000-ton amphibious assault ship - a Landing Helicopter Dock or LHD in Navy parlance - will be towed to Williamstown, Australia, for completion at the Tenix shipyard, and is planned to enter service in 2014.

Vice Adm. Russ Crane, the chief of Navy, was on hand for the event, along with dozens of children of Australian diplomats waving Australian flags, according to an Australian Navy news release.
"We are well progressed in our planning for the LHD arrival," Crane said. "For now, this project is on time and on budget."
A second ship, the Adelaide, is also under construction at Ferrol, and is to be commissioned in 2015. Both ships will be based at Garden Island, Sydney, and be crewed from all three services.
A similar ship, the Juan Carlos I, was commissioned in September into the Spanish Navy.

Egypt OKs Iranian Ships' Passage Through Suez

CAIRO - Egypt on Feb. 18 gave permission for Iranian Navy ships to transit the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, state media reported, after Israel described the move as a "provocation."
"Egypt agreed to allow two Iranian warships to transit the Suez Canal," the official MENA news agency reported.

Canal officials say it would be the first time Iranian warships have made the passage since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
MENA reported that the request for the ship to pass said they were not carrying weapons or nuclear and chemical materials.
It is not known when the ships are expected to arrive at Port Said, the northern terminus of the canal on the Mediterranean. From there they are expected to sail to Syria.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has labeled the Iranian action as "hostile" and said Israel was closely monitoring the situation.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said an Iranian naval presence in the area was a "provocation that proves the self-confidence and cheek of the Iranians is growing from day to day."
Asked to comment on the latest development, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor recalled Lieberman's comments on Feb. 16.
"We have nothing to add to the minister's statement," Palmor said Feb. 18. "It's still valid."
Earlier, an Egyptian foreign ministry official said the Iranian request was passed on to the defense ministry, which has to approve the passage of any warship through the canal.
His comments came a day after a canal official and a shipping agent said the request had been cancelled, at the prompting of the Egyptian government. An Iranian diplomat said administrative reasons where behind the delay.
Iran's official Fars news agency, quoting senior naval commanders, has said the ships are the 33,000-ton refueling and support vessel Kharg and the 1,500-ton light patrol frigate Alvand, both British-built.
Kharg has a crew of 250 and can carry up to three helicopters. Alvand is armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.

Report: Brazil Delays Fighter Jet Decision Until 2012

BRASILIA, Brazil - Brazil is postponing a long-awaited decision on a multi-billion-dollar purchase of 36 fighter jets until next year as a result of massive budget cuts, a Brazilian newspaper reported Feb. 19.

From left: Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and Saab’s Gripen NG, all in the mix for the Brazil fighter jet deal. (Dassault Aviation/The Boeing Co./Saab Group photos)

Major daily O Estado de Sao Paulo cited four unnamed government ministers as saying new President Dilma Rousseff saw no "climate" for the acquisition in 2011, and that such a move in the midst of a $30 billion slash in the year's budget would be an "inconsistency."

France, Sweden and the United States are vying for the contract, which has an initial value estimated at $4 billion to $7 billion, with the possibility of many more aircraft in the future as the Brazilian Air Force seeks to revamp its fleet of fighters.
Rousseff met for more than three hours Feb. 15 with Defense Minister Nelson Jobim to discuss the budget restrictions, and while Jobim told reporters that the pending deal would not be impacted by the cuts, he also said there were "no budget expenditures this year" for the fighter contract.
Jobim also stressed the military would take its time to choose the best bid and begin complex negotiations on technical matters and the terms of the deal, but he said he expected a decision in 2011. Sources in the president's office and the defense ministry told AFP that the purchase process was ongoing.
The intense competition for the contract has dragged on for years, with Rousseff inheriting the purchase decision from her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The shortlist for the jets is made up of the French-made Rafale, Saab Group of Sweden's Gripen NG and the U.S. F/A-18 Super Hornet, and speculation has swirled about which bid is in favor.
Lula declared a preference for French planes but ultimately left the decision to Rousseff, who has not shown any favoritism during her first 45 days in office.
Brazil insists on the unrestricted transfer of technology as part of the deal, as it intends to use the vast project to develop its aviation industry and become a regional provider.
In January, the French defense minister said his country was confident of scooping the contract. Earlier this week the Pentagon assured that Brazil would get a "significant transfer of technology" by buying U.S. fighter planes from The Boeing Co.

Pakistan Air Force - Yesterday and Today

By Wing Commander Saqib Shafi
At the time of its inception, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) constituted a group of little more than 2,000 men of strong mettle flying a fleet of 16 TEMPEST II piston-engine fighter/bombers, two C-47 DAKOTA transports, twelve T-6G HARWARDs and seven TIGER MOTH biplanes.
This "force" had hardly a credible air defence element; whatever equipment reached Pakistan was not serviceable, and moreover maintenance facilities were virtually lacking. Although Pakistan, by dint of its geographical location, inherited seven operational air fields, some of these even lacked the barest minimum facilities of an operational base. Thus, the start was modest in its literal sense but high ambitions blended with staunch resolution of those pioneering air warriors were unfettered, unlimited and un-abounded. Despite all these odds and infirmities, the PAF has developed into a invincible might over a period of 54 years.
The Beginning
From 1947 to 1965, the PAF was the Royal Pakistan Air Force and was commanded by four British C-in-Cs in a row. During this period the Flying Training School at Risalpur evolved into a model unit of the RPAF. The other two flying elements (the fighter force and the transport squadron) did not develop as well; however when put to test the operational tasks of valley supply drops by DAKOTAs and HELIFAXs as part of the Kashmir War, and the spasmodic "watch-and-ward" affrays by fighter aircraft over Waziristan, were executed successfully. 1957 was a momentous year for the Pakistan Air Force, with the induction of 100 F-86 SABREs jet fighters under the US aid programme. A wave of professional enthusiasm surged through the ranks of the PAF, as squadron after squadron of fighter pilots said farewell to their FURYs or ATTACKERs and joined the queue to fly the SABRE, "the SPITFIRE of jet fighters". The new C-in-C of PAF, Asghar Khan established a Fighter Leader's School aimed at producing a class of air warriors. The arrival of the SABREs was followed by the procurement of B-57 light bombers and eventually F-104 STARFIGHTERS Mach 2 fighters. These inductions necessitated sweeping changes in many spheres of professional activity. Engineering and logistics made a wholesale and somewhat painful switch over to American systems. As combat training programmes became more realistic and dynamic, they gave birth to a new breed of professional flyers who strove to excel in the "hard-core" skills of their trade rather than in showy dangerous manoeuvres.
War Experience
By the end of August 1965, the war between India and Pakistan loomed inevitable. On 1 September, the PAF was placed on a high state of alert, and combat air patrols (CAPs) were being flown by PAF aircraft 10 miles inside their border. The first encounter took place when a CAP of two F-86s intercepted four intruding IAF VAMPIREs. Sqn Ldr Rafiqui and his wingman, Flt Lt Bhatti shot down two VAMPIREs each. The IAF did not use its VAMPIREs again in that war.
On 6 September 1965, when the Indian Army invaded West Pakistan, the IAF did not strike PAF bases. The opportunity was, thus, exploited by the PAF which attacked IAF bases to reduce the threat posed by Indian aircraft. These strikes were not much of a success, except for Pathan Kot where PAF forces destroyed at least ten IAF aircraft on the ground without losses on their own. On 7 September, it was the IAF's turn; as expected, the main thrust of IAF's strikes was Sargodha, the hub of PAF's operational activity. The early morning strike by six IAF MYSTEREs was a failure, as they missed six gleaming fighters parked on the ORP. One of these lucky pilots was Sqn Ldr Alam, who a few minutes after this raid took to the skies and established a combat record which has few equals in the history of jet warfare; Alam claimed shooting down up to five enemy aircraft within a few minutes, including three within 30-40 seconds.
7 September was the first and last attempt by the IAF to reduce the effectiveness of the Pakistan Air Force by daylight attacks against Sargodha. IAF pilots also showed a growing reluctance to engage in aerial combat, leaving the PAF in virtual control of the skies over the battle areas. The PAF was thus, able to render increased assistance to the land forces throughout the war.
In response to the US aid embargo of 1965, the PAF had to look for alternatives solution to continue on the re-equipment programme of its combat fleet. As a first step, the Chinese F-6 entered the PAF inventory in early 1966; the arrival of the MIRAGEs in mid-'67 represented a new but quantitatively limited addition to the service's counter-air and air defence capabilities. Despite these new acquisitions, at the eve of the 1971 war the odds were set heavily against the PAF. The service, however, had retained its distinct qualitative edge, and despite the overnight loss of a third of its East Pakistani manpower, it fought the unevenly matched duel fiercely, and successfully contained an adversary four times its size.
Fleet Renewal
After the 1971 war, the PAF launched a programme to revitalise its structure and assets. New operational bases were built; the obsolete T-33 jet trainer was replaced by the Chinese FT-5; MIRAGE and F-6 re-build factories were established, along with a factory for production of the MFI-17 trainer. Moreover, the air defence network was modernised through the introduction of state-of-the art radars interfaced with computerised data processing and display equipment. In 1980, A-5 ground attack aircraft were bought from China, and finally the F-16 FIGHTING FALCON entered the PAF inventory in 1982. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was yet another challenge for the PAF, which gave a good account of itself. Between May 1986 and November 1988, PAF aircraft shot down nine intruders within Pakistan's airspace, including three Su-22s, two MiG-23s, one An-12 and one Su-25.
The PAF had originally planned its force structure to include more than a hundred F-16s by the end of the century, but these plans could not be implemented because of the US embargo. The service is, thus, currently in the process of evaluating other high-tech fighter aircraft for procurement. In the meantime, the PAF has strengthened its MIRAGE fleet through the purchase of ex-Australian MIRAGE IIIs, which have been retrofitted with a state-of-the-art avionics package. Furthermore, Chinese F-7s (an upgraded version of the MiG-21) have already entered service to replace the vintage F-6s. Deliveries of 40 ex-French refurbished MIRAGE III E/5Fs started in early 1998 and are almost complete.
The PAF today remains a force to be reckoned with. It force structure presents a good mix of technology; the F-16s at the upper end give it the flexibility to cope with any offensive or defensive missions, while Chinese systems such as the F-7s provides the staying power to absorb losses and to take punishment in the face of a much bigger adversary. Planned upgrades to equip these less capable fighters with modern radars, better missiles and ECM equipment will help enhance the PAF's combat capability.
Beyond equipment issues, however, perhaps the strongest point of the PAF remains, as ever before, its high professionalism. PAF's aircrew today are as well trained as they were at any time in the past, and the depth of experience of PAF's fighter pilots is highly encouraging. Their overall awareness, seriousness on the job and flying skills remain unmatched.
In 54 years, PAF's evolution has taken it from TEMPEST to F-16s, from MOUs to Doppler radars, from laborious hand writing of air defence data to fully automated real-time displays, from WW II "ack ack" to sophisticated SAMs, from a single small air headquarters to four autonomous air commands - the myriad facets of transformation go on endlessly. The PAF of today has come a long way since 1947. The history of the service is a story of dedication, motivated by the will to be the best and "second to none".

UK arms sales to Bahrain under review

Ministers say there is no evidence UK tear gas was used in the military crackdown in Bahrain

Britain's arms sales to Bahrain are under urgent review following violence there, the Foreign Office has said.

It said 250 cartridges of tear gas and other riot control equipment had been licensed for export to the Gulf state within the past nine months.
The foreign secretary said there was no evidence UK tear gas was used in the military crackdown on protesters.
Four people were killed in Bahrain on Thursday after riot police attacked anti-government demonstrators.
'Human rights abuses'
William Hague told the BBC a review requested on the issue of future export criteria to Bahrain was expected to report back on Friday. The UK had some of the strictest export criteria in the world, he added.
Asked what message he had for Bahrain's government, he said: "Dialogue with the opposition forces in Bahrain is extremely important and must be recommenced at the first opportunity.
"And that dialogue ought to lead to further reforms in the political system and respond to legitimate grievances."
Britain's arms export licences could be revoked if they are found to have breached UK and EU export criteria.
Earlier, foreign office minister Alistair Burt said: "We will not authorise any exports which, we assess, might provoke or prolong regional or internal conflicts, which might be used to facilitate internal repression, or which would in any other way be contrary to the criteria."
He said "in light of events" he was "formally reviewing recent licensing decisions for exports to Bahrain".
"We will urgently revoke licences if we judge that they are no longer in line with the criteria," he added.
Earlier on Thursday, Labour MP Denis MacShane told the Commons governments of all parties had "turned a blind eye to the repression and corruption" of autocratic regimes in the Middle East.
Mr Hague told the Commons that, in a conversation with Bahrain's foreign minister, he had stressed the need for peaceful action in dealing with the protesters.
The Foreign Office is advising British nationals to stay away from protests and avoid all but essential travel around the island.

Russia to start building new S-500 air defense missiles by 2014

Russia will start serial production of its next-generation S-500 missile system in 2014, an aerospace defense chief said on Thursday.

The S-500 air defense system will be able to track and destroy ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 3,500 kilometers.

"[The S-500] is currently in development. By 2014, it should enter into serial production," aerospace defense strategic commander Lt. Gen. Valery Ivanov said.

"This system will be able to defend territories at heights of up to 50 kilometers," he added.
Russia's aerospace defense troops currently use S-300 and S-400 systems.
New S-400 air defense missiles will be deployed at Dmitrov just outside Moscow in March, Ivanov said.