U.S., Israel Postpone Joint Missile Exercises

JERUSALEM - Israel and the United States have agreed to postpone a major military defence exercise scheduled for spring, a senior security official Jan. 15 Sunday, amid rising regional tension over Iran's nuclear programme.

"Israel and the United States have agreed to postpone the maneuver planned for spring," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"The exercises will take place between now and the end of 2012," the official added, without elaborating.

Earlier, public radio said the "Austere Challenge 12" exercise would be pushed back to the end of 2012 over unspecified budgetary concerns, citing military sources.

Israeli Army radio, citing a defense official, said it was being postponed to avoid "unnecessary headlines in such a tense period."

The joint maneuver was to have been the biggest yet between the two allies and was seen as an opportunity to display their joint military strength at a time of growing concern about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Israel, the United States and much of the international community accuse Iran of using its nuclear program to mask a weapons drive, a charge Tehran denies.

The postponement appeared to suggest fears the exercise could dangerously ramp up regional tensions, at a time when Iran has already threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz - a chokepoint for one fifth of the world's traded oil - in the event of a military strike or severe tightening of international sanctions over its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, the United States sent Iran a letter over its threatened closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said Jan. 15, without revealing the letter's contents.

"The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, sent a letter to Mohammad Khazaie, Iran's U.N. representative, which was conveyed by the Swiss ambassador, and finally Iraqi President Jalal Talabani delivered its contents to officials" in Iran, the official IRNA news agency quoted Ramin Mehmanparast as saying.

"We are in the process of studying the letter and if necessary we will respond."

Last month, the Israelis insisted the joint maneuvers were planned in advance and denied they were related to Iran.

"The exercise scenario involves notional, simulated events as well as some field training and is not in response to any real-world event," the military said.

The postponement was not expected to affect a visit to Israel by top U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, who is scheduled to arrive this week and meet with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz.

But the delay was announced as reports suggested unease in U.S.-Israeli relations over the best response to Iran's nuclear program, and after an Israeli official voiced "disappointment" at Washington's approach.

Washington has spearheaded a push for international sanctions against Iran, including on its oil exports and financial institutions.

But Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon told public radio he thought U.S. President Barack Obama's administration should be tougher.

"France and Britain understand that the sanctions must be strengthened, in particular against the Iranian Central Bank," Yaalon said. "The U.S. Senate is also in favor, but the U.S. government is hesitating, fearing higher oil prices in an election year. It's disappointing."

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, speaking Jan. 15 ahead of a trip to Britain, also accused the international community of dragging its feet.

"It is regrettable that the international community has not yet used all the means at its disposal to stop the Iranian nuclear program," he told public radio.

Israel has made no secret of its desire to see crippling sanctions imposed on Iran in a bid to slow its nuclear development, and reports suggest it has also taken other actions to delay the program.

The Jewish state is suspected of involvement both in a computer worm that reportedly set back Iran's nuclear efforts, as well as a campaign of assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Media reports have pointed the finger at Israel's intelligence agency Mossad.

Foreign Policy magazine reported that Israel's actions had created friction with Washington, and The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 13 that U.S. officials had warned Israel against unilateral military action against Iran.

Yaalon said Jan. 15 that a military strike remained a last resort for Israel.

"Israel must defend itself. I hope that we will not arrive at that point," he said.

Bulgaria, Israel to Sign Cooperation Deals

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgaria's defense minister will sign two accords with Israel while on a two-day visit to Israel that starts Jan. 16, his office said.

Anu Angelov will ink a deal on increasing cooperation on military training and another on closer ties between the two countries' armaments industries, the Bulgarian defense ministry said.

The defence industry is an important employer in Bulgaria, exporting $380 million (300 million euros) worth of arms in 2011, according to a newspaper report, although the sector is a 10th of the size of during Soviet times.

Bulgaria and Israel enjoy close ties, helped by Bulgaria having been the only ally of Nazi Germany to have saved Jews from the death camps during World War II. Angelov will also visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and meet with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on his trip.

'Dangerous Cargo' Ship Arrives in Syria: Source

MOSCOW - A Russian ship suspected of carrying munitions for Damascus arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus on "Jan. 11 or 12," shipping expert Mikhail Voitenko said.

The ship Chariot arrived at Tartus on January 11 or 12," Voitenko said Jan. 14, basing his conclusions on an examination of data from the vessel's automatic identification system transponder.

"After leaving Limassol, the ship set sail for Tartus. After travelling two-thirds of the way, the team unplugged the AIS transponder," he added.

He believed that the vessel has docked at the Syrian port, he said. It was Voitenko who in 2009 revealed the mysterious disappearance of an Arctic Sea ship, an incident that sparked international concern.

A source from the ship's operator Westberg said Jan. 13 that the ship transporting "dangerous" cargo was bound for Syria.

According to Russian media, the vessel may be transporting up to 60 tons of ammunition supplied by Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport through freight company Balchart.

Chariot stopped over in Cyprus for refueling and was allowed to set sail from the port of Limassol after its Russian owners agreed to change the destination to Turkey rather than Syria.

But the crew decided to revert to its original itinerary after leaving the Cypriot port, according to a Westberg source.

Westberg Ltd., which is headquartered in St Petersburg, could not be reached by AFP.

The United States on Jan. 13 raised concerns with Russia and Cyprus over the ship.

For 10 months now Syria has been in the grips of an uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. According to U.N. estimates made last month, the government crackdown has cost more than 5,000 lives.

Western leaders have called for the embattled strongman to step down but Moscow has steadfastly stuck by its ally.

Pakistani President, Army Chief Meet Amid Tenions

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari met the chief of the powerful Pakistani Army on Jan. 14 for rare face-to-face talks, a spokesman said, amid a civilian-military standoff that is shaking the government.

The unscheduled talks come against the background of shaky ties between Zardari's weak civilian administration and the military over a probe into a mysterious memo that sought US help in curbing the army's power.

"Chief of the army staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani called on President Zardari in his office today," the president's spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.

Babar gave few details about the meeting beyond that, saying the "current security situation came under discussion."

Kayani, widely regarded as the most powerful figure in Pakistan, is also attended a meeting of a defense committee, which comprises senior ministers and military chiefs, later in the day.

"The committee is likely to discuss matters related to defense and national security," a government official said.

He declined to comment when asked whether the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, would help defuse tension between the civilian and military leadership.

Pakistan has been under military dictatorships for about half its history since independence in 1947, its civilian leaders thrown out in three coups.

But despite current tensions, analysts say another coup is unlikely and they instead predict early elections, possibly in the first half of this year.

The "Memogate" scandal centers on an unsigned note allegedly sent by an aide of Zardari to the U.S. military last May, apparently to avert a possible coup after the killing of Osama bin Laden by the U.S. in Pakistan.

The memo has pitted the Pakistani Army against Zardari's government, and the Supreme Court is now tasked with deciding whether the government endorsed the note and, if so, if it can remain in power.

In an unusually bold interview with Chinese media, Gilani earlier this week accused the Army and intelligence chiefs of failing to make their submissions to the commission investigating the memo through government channels,.

The Army vociferously denied Gilani's accusation and said it had passed its response through the defense ministry to the court in accordance with the law, ratcheting up tensions between the two sides.

The Jan. 14 defense committee meeting is, among other items, expected to finalize recommendations to frame new rules of engagement with NATO following the November 26 air strikes on a border post that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

U.S. Draws Up Contingencies in Case Israel Attacks Iran: Report

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government is concerned that Israel is preparing to take military action against Iran over U.S. objections, and has stepped up contingency planning to safeguard U.S. facilities in the region, The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 13.

The newspaper said U.S. President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top officials have delivered a series of private messages to Israeli leaders, warning about the dire consequences of a strike.

Obama spoke by telephone Jan. 12 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet with Israeli military officials in Tel Aviv next week, the report said.

The report said that the U.S. military was preparing for a number of possible responses to an Israeli strike, including assaults by pro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Up to 15,000 U.S. diplomats, federal employees and contractors still remain in Iraq.

To help deter Iran, the United States is maintaining 15,000 troops in Kuwait, and has moved a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf area, the report said.

DoD Tester: Toxins Suspected in 2011 Raptor Grounding

A Jan. 13 report from the Pentagon's top tester said the U.S. Air Force grounded its F-22 Raptors last year "due to suspected contamination problems associated with the aircraft environmental control system and associated onboard oxygen generation system form later April through late September 2011."

A U.S. AIR Force F-22 Raptor prepares to land at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on Nov. 16, two months after the service lifted its fleetwide grounding. (Staff Sgt. Sheila deVera / U.S. Air Force)

Complied by the Pentagon's chief operational tester J. Michael Gilmore, the review confirms Defense News' July 25, 2011, report that toxins entering the cockpit of the Raptor had caused more than a dozen incidents that resembled hypoxia.

Since the grounding was lifted in September, the Raptor has flown more than 6,000 times. More incidents have occurred, despite Air Force precautions that include installing charcoal-based filters and having pilots wear pulse-oximeters to alert them of problems.

"There have been approximately 90 events of interest and 15 are being investigated for potential physiological incidents -- 8 involving pilots and 7 involving aircraft maintenance personnel," said Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Ferrau. "This translates to a 1.8 percent event rate since the return to flight in September."

The Air Force categorizes these occurrences into "events of interest" and "physiological incidents." An event of interest is an aircraft indication, system malfunction or a data point that has not caused symptoms of hypoxia, but is noteworthy for data collection and further analysis, Ferrau said.

"Any event involving hypoxia-like symptoms may be categorized by Air Force Instructions as a physiological incident following an investigation," she said.

A Scientific Advisory Board quick-look study ordered last year by Air Force secretary Michael Donley should be finalizing its report either in late January or early February.

Sources say the service investigators have not found any single explanation for the Raptor's woes. The problem can't be duplicated on the ground, nor do the hypoxia-like incidents occur during any consistent altitude or phase of flight-if in fact the cause happens in the air.

India Casts Wider Net for Short-Range Missiles

NEW DELHI - The Indian Army has entered the global market to buy short-range surface-to-air missile (SRSAM) systems for $1.5 billion, a move that could further undercut a four-year effort to develop a system with MBDA of France.

The Army convinced the Indian Defence Ministry there is an urgent requirement for SRSAM, said Army sources, and did not want to wait for the Maitri project conceived four years ago. India and France have not been able to agree on details of the Maitri project, including funding arrangements, the source added.

The Army last month sent global tenders to defense companies in Europe, the United States and Russia including Raytheon of the U.S., Israel's Rafael, MBDA and Thales of France, Diehl Defence of Germany, KBP Tula and Rosoboronexport of Russia, Ukraineexport of Ukraine and LIG NEX1 of South Korea.

The requirements of the SRSAM are similar to those of the proposed Indo-French Maitri project, the Army source said.

The current tender is for two regiments (36 systems, 1,000 missiles) estimated to cost about $800 million each. The total Indian Army requirement is likely to be about eight regiments in the next five to seven years.

The Maitri project was proposed to be jointly developed by India's Defence Research and Development Laboratory and MBDA.

The selected vendor will have to transfer technology of the systems, as well.

The supply will be made in two batches and completed within five years of the signing of the tender, including the launchers, sensors, vehicles for transportation and the missiles. The system must have a service life of at least 20 years and the missiles of not less than eight years.

The SRSAM system should be able to engage multiple targets, including those flying up to 500 meters per second, and have a maximum range of not less than 15 kilometers.

In 2009, India bought two regiments of Spyder quick-reaction surface-to-air missile systems from Rafael. Another Indo-Israeli joint project is the $2.5 billion long-range surface-to-air missile project signed in 2009 and expected to be inducted in 2013, Indian Defence Ministry sources said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army has begun inducting the homemade medium-range Akash, which has a range of up to 30 kilometers. In 2011, the Indian Army ordered the induction of two Akash regiments at a cost of about $3 billion.

The Army also has been negotiating the purchase of David Sling and Iron Dome missile interceptor systems.