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Début de polémique en Allemagne, après le suicide en prison d'un syrien suspecté d'avoir planifié un attentat contre un aéroport de Berlin, au nom du groupe Etat islamique. Jaber al-Bakr avait été arrêté ce lundi 10 octobre à Leipzig grâce à des réfugiés syriens qui l'avaient livré à la police.

Après avoir prévenu que l’attaque contre le destroyer USS Mason et le navire logistique USS Ponce, à proximité du détroit de Bab al-Mandeb, ne resterait pas impunie, le Pentagone a fait état, le 12 octobre, d’un nouveau tir de missile contre le même navire de l’US Navy. L’USS Mason a « détecté le missile mercredi vers […]

Cet article Frappes américaines au Yémen, suite à l’attaque contre le destroyer USS Mason est apparu en premier sur Zone Militaire.

Des militaires chinois dans les rues… Rien de nouveau, sauf que ces hommes en treillis ont manifesté, mardi, à Pékin, pour dénoncer leurs pitoyables retraites et les coupes sévères dans les effectifs de l’armée chinoise (PLAN). Mardi, l’avenue Chang’an, la principale artère de Pékin, a été bloquée par des policiers pour dissimuler un millier de manifestants qui ...

While Serbia is recording the best economic results in years, ordinary people will not feel the recovery without much faster growth rates.

Mi lesz a Londonban dolgozó magyarokkal? A brit nagykövetét kérdeztük róluk és a brexitről.

Mi lesz a Londonban dolgozó magyarokkal? A brit nagykövetét kérdeztük róluk és a brexitről.

Une femme, six hommes, de la taille exacte des candidats : hier, au studio 130-2 de la Plaine-Saint-Denis, TF 1 avait convoqué des doublures pour les réglages lumière du premier débat de la primaire de...

Le Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés (HCR) a condamné jeudi les attaques contre des civils en République centrafricaine (RCA), où des affrontements entre groupes rivaux ont forcé des milliers de personnes à fuir leurs domiciles et perturbé les opérations d'assistance humanitaire.

Le Conseiller spécial du Secrétaire général pour la prévention des conflits (y compris au Burundi), Jamal Benomar, s'est dit jeudi persuadé que les Burundais peuvent trouver une issue pacifique à la crise politique qui secoue le pays depuis plus d'un an.

The General Assembly today appointed by acclamation the former Prime Minister of Portugal, António Guterres, as the next United Nations Secretary-General, to succeed Ban Ki-moon when he steps down on 31 December.

Over the past twenty years, 90 per cent of the 1.35 million people who have died in 7,056 disaster events have come from low and middle-income countries, according to a new United Nations report released today described by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as a &#8220damning indictment of inequality.&#8221

The Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is coming to Serbia on an official visit - where he will also promote his book, 'Sacrifice', to a Belgrade audience.

Amid an ongoing crisis over refugees in the south, Macedonian Army personnel have announced a strike, complaining of low and overdue wages and poor working conditions.

Despite their approval by the international monitoring body that oversaw Bosnia’s 2013 census, authorities in Republika Srpska say they will continue to dispute the results.

Alors que les sondeurs et les médias annoncent déjà le duel Juppé-Sarkozy au deuxième tour de la primaire de la droite, les cinq autres candidats espèrent changer la donne grâce à trois débats télévisés, dont le premier se tient jeudi soir sur TF1.

Un projet de loi présenté mercredi 12 octobre en Allemagne en Conseil des ministres prévoit un durcissement sensible des règles permettant aux ressortissants communautaires de toucher l'aide sociale en Allemagne. Une initiative qui est la conséquence de nombreuses polémiques autour des migrants bulgares et roumains accusés par certains de venir en Allemagne attirés par des allocations sociales.

The big news in Chess last month was the decision by FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs), which resulted in headlines that Female Chess Players Forced to Wear Hijab as Governing Body Awards World Championship to Iran:
The world's top female chess players have reacted with horror after being told they must compete at next year's world championship wearing a hijab.

Within hours of Iran being revealed as its host country, the prestigious event was plunged into crisis as it emerged players taking part face arrest if they don't cover up.
A hijab is a veil covering the head and chest.

Iranian woman wearing a hijab.
Source: Wikipeda
In response, the US women's champion, Nazi Paikidze (pronounced “nah-ZEE.”), responded by saying she will boycott the tournament, both because of what she sees as sexual discrimination as well as because of the travel warning issued by the US State Department, advising against travelling to Iran because US citizens risk being unjustly imprisoned or kidnapped because of their nationality.

Nazi Paikidze, the US women's champion
Credit: Zuma Press, Inc. / Alamy. Source: The Telegraph
Putting aside the Iranian proclivity for taking hostages, the issue of FIDE putting women in a position where they have no choice about wearing the hijab in a fundamentalist Islamic state should remind us of an outspoken woman who took the opposite approach.

Oriana Fallaci, an Italian journalist, author, and political interviewer, was famous for her interviews with world leaders during the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's. She was also well known for being outspoken. Among those she interviewed was Ayatollah Khomeini, in 1979.

Oriana Fallaci. Source: Wikipedia
For the internview, Fallaci was told she would have to  wear a chador, an open cloak worn by many women in Iran, during the interview,

Which she did.

Oriana Fallaci, wearing the chador.
Source: Wikipedia
For a while.

During her interview with Ayatollah Khomeini, Fallaci called him a "tyrant," removed the chador, and threw it to the ground:
OF: I still have to ask you a lot of things. About the "chador", for example, which I was obliged to wear to come and interview you, and which you impose on Iranian women.... I am not only referring to the dress but to what it represents, I mean the apartheid Iranian women have been forced into after the revolution. They cannot study at the university with men, they cannot work with men, they cannot swim in the sea or in a swimming-pool with men. They have to do everything separately, wearing their "chador". By the way, how can you swim wearing a "chador"?

AK: None of this concerns you, our customs do not concern you. If you don't like the Islamic dress you are not obliged to wear it, since it is for young women and respectable ladies.

OF: This is very kind of you, Imam, since you tell me that, I'm going to immediately rid myself of this stupid medieval rag. There!The argument whether FIDE requiring women to wear a hijab is an issue of discrimination or a question of respect for a different culture continues -- though Paikidze's protest is gaining support. In fact, as of this past Monday, the petition Paikidze is circulating has exceeded its goal of 15,000 signatures.

The petition notes that in its handbook, The World Chess Federation explicitly states that it:
rejects discriminatory treatment for national, political, racial, social or religious reasons or on account of gender.No matter how you view the issue, the difference in attitude between Fallaci and FIDE is striking, especially given Iran's poor human rights record.


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Technorati Tag: Iran and Chess and Hijab and Oriana Fallaci.

Americas

• The chief of the Republic of Korea Air Force is to visit the US next month to help promote the T-50A bid by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Lockheed Martin. Gen. Jeong Kyeong-doo is scheduled to meet his US counterparts during the trip. Washington is expected to begin its selection process for 350 advanced jet trainers next year which could reach $20 billion in value.

• USS Nimitz became the fifth nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to have a hard-kill anti-torpedo defense system installed on board. Designed to destroy an incoming torpedo by collision, the Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) System consists of the Torpedo Warning System, an automated control station and a Countermeasure Anti-Torpedo (CAT). The system was developed by Pennsylvania State University’s Applied Research Lab.

• POSCO Daewoo of South Korea has been contracted to provide a landing platform dock and multirole corvette vessels to the Brazilian Navy in a deal worth $1 billion. The firm will also modernize the Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro shipyard and the ships will be constructed in partnership with domestic shipyards. In order to hunt deals in the region, POSCO Daewoo has operated offices out of the city of Sao Paulo since 1980.

Middle East & North Africa

• The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen has claimed to have shot down a Houthi rebel ballistic missile headed toward Khamees Mushait city in the kingdom’s southwest on Tuesday night. After destroying the missile, Saudi forces attacked the missile’s launch site. It’s believed that that target of the strike was Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal Military Camp located about 40 km (25 miles) north of the Yemeni border.

• Germany’s cabinet has approved the deployment of additional troops to Turkey to help operate NATO surveillance aircraft. The Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft will be used for reconnaissance in support of air strikes against IS targets. Berlin already has 500 personnel fighting IS with six Tornado surveillance aircraft and a refueling plane located at Turkey’s Incirlik air base.

• Turkish and Russian rapprochement continues with Ankara re-inviting a previously disqualified Russian bidder to its first long-range air and anti-missile defense system acquisition. China Precision Manufacturing Import-Export Corp (CPMIEC) had been originally tapped to provide their air defense architecture in a deal worth $3.44 billion before being ditching by Turkey following pressure from NATO allies. Since then, an indigenous effort has commenced to develop a system alongside parallel talks with US and European bidders.

Europe

• Twelve additional F-35A fighters have been requested by the Norwegian government. The proposal, if approved, would raise the total number of authorized F-35A purchases to 40 aircraft allowing Norway to participate in a proposed “block buy” for the F-35’s US and international partners. Unlike a multi-year procurement, a block buy does not lock the US or international partners into firm orders, but it gives Lockheed’s supply chain a long-term view of likely demand.

Asia Pacific

• Australian Armidale-class patrol boats are to receive mid-life upgrades from firm Austal Australia. This month will see the commencement of work on the hull remediation, corrective maintenance and configuration changes of up to seven vessels at Austal’s shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia. Austal is currently providing in-service support to the Australian Border Force’s fleet of eight company-built Cape-class patrol boats and has been contracted to provide in-service support for 19 Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement vessels, which enter service from late next year.

Today’s Video

North Korea’s Latest Missile Launch:

American MH-6 Little Bird Light Utility Helicopter

Keeping watch
(click to view full)

Australia’s long coast is also its border, and they’ve taken an innovative approach to the problem. Unlike, say, the US Coast Guard, Australia has semi-privatized the coastal patrol function, placing contractors under the Customs service. Once intruders are detected, these contractors can then call on pre-arranged support from civil authorities and/or the Royal Australian Navy and Air Force. Contracted services of this nature are becoming more common around the world, but Australia was really breaking new ground when they began Coastwatch on such a large scale in 1995.

Coastwatch was re-competed, and in 2006, Cobham’s subsidiary Surveillance Australia Pty Ltd retained the contract through the A$ 1+ billion next phase, called Project Sentinel. The new contract under Australia’s CMS04 (Civil Maritime Surveillance 04) program has expanded the fleet and addressed some concerns, but there are still areas where Australia lags a bit behind the leading edge. Even so, Coastwatch remain a touchstone program for countries considering a similar path.

Australia’s Coastwatch RAAF AP-3C Orion
(click to view full)

Australia has a 38,000 km coastline and an Exclusive Economic Zone of 16 million square kilometres, and faces an increasing level of incursions. Illegal fishing and asylum-seekers who set themselves adrift to take advantage of Australia’s refugee laws (if they survive). As it became clear that its northern approaches held other resources beyond fish, the area’s sovereignty and safety acquired a high priority.

By 2005, the Coastwatch division of the Australian Customs Service contracted for the use of 15 fixed-wing aircraft and 2 helicopters from civil providers, and set annual availability quotas from Customs and Navy patrol vessels (about 1,800 hours) and RAAF AP-3C Orions (about 250 hours) under Operation Cranberry.

Except for contracted AP-3C availabilities from the RAAF, aerial surveillance is carried out by civilian operators. Indeed, the program is the world’s largest aerial civil maritime surveillance operation. It involves 170 personnel, flying 20,000 hours per year from 4 four permanent bases (Broome, Darwin, Horn Island and Cairns) around Australia’s northern coast. As of 2006, the Surveillance Australia fixed-wing aircraft roster included:

• 5 Dash-8 Q200 MPA aircraft fitted with Immarsat communications, SeaVue surveillance radar, infra-red sensors and daylight TV camera for long-range offshore surveillance.

• 3 Cessna Reims F406 turboprop aircraft fitted with surveillance radar and night vision systems for inshore surveillance.

• 6 Pilatus Britten-Norman BN2B Islander aircraft, fitted for the Visual Surveillance role.

• 1 Shrike AC500 Aero Commander, fitted for the Visual Surveillance Role.

As noted above, these contracted assets work hand-in-hand with civil and military authorities to thwart drug runners, people smugglers and illegal fishing. While the surveillance is carried out under the auspices of Customs, several agencies rely on the intelligence gathered, including the Australian Federal Police, Quarantine and Inspection Service, Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade and Fisheries.

The New Fleet Coastwatch Q200
(click to view full)

Under the new 2006 Project Sentinel contract, Cobham companies will provide, operate and maintain an updated fleet of Dash-8 aircraft through to the year 2021, starting in January 2008. The new service based on Bombardier Dash-8 aircraft will double the fleet to provide all-weather, day and night electronic surveillance of Australia’s maritime Exclusive Economic Zone.

The new fleet will change to 10 Dash 8 planes: 6 Q200 aircraft, plus 4 longer-range and larger Q300 aircraft. During the modification program, the Q300s were equipped with additional fuel tanks in the fuselage, providing an additional 4,000 lbs. of fuel capacity in addition to their standard long-range tanks. The Project Sentinel Dash 8 MSAs are equipped with the latest versions of Raytheon’s SeaVue radar, L-3 Wescam’s MX-15 EO system and a new SIM system based on Galileo Avionica’s “ATOS.” SIM will automatically capture and integrate surveillance information from these surveillance aircraft, and transmit in near real time between other aircraft and the National Surveillance Centre.

The Islanders and Aero Commanders were slated for retirement per CMS04’s “all electronic surveillance” guidelines, and the Cessnas may have been retired as well.

Project Sentinel will also operate some helicopters, in order to patrol key areas. Australia’s Customs and Border Patrol has contracted at least 1 Bell 412EP, 1 Eurocopter AS350B3, and 1 Eurocopter EC145 for these roles.

Improving the Fleet Mariner UAV Trial
(click to view full)

Australia’s border patrol authorities have been stretched by a flood of illegal fishing vessels, particularly from Indonesia. The influx has led to calls for the establishment of a state-based Coastguard in Western Australia. Meanwhile, more than 8,000 boats have been detected, resulting in at least 200 arrests. Fisheries officers have also expressed concern that the sophisticated radars used by Coastwatch aircraft and patrol vessels have difficulty picking up the small wooden boats used by Indonesian fishermen.

In order to keep Coastwatch capabilities up to date, the successful bidder will be required to improve detection capabilities over the life of the contract. Contenders had also been asked by Justice Minister Chris Ellison to use new technologies such as UAVs, advances in satellite imagery and new-generation radar to improve the reliability and range of Australia’s civil maritime border protection effort.

In 2006, Australia’s Ministry of Defence trialed pilotless spy planes to patrol vital North West Shelf oil and gas reserves off Western Australia. The General Atomics MQ-9 Mariner UAV was used, given the high-altitude, jet powered RQ-4B Global Hawk’s high cost and high demand. As a bonus, the Mariner uses the same SeaVue radar as Australia’s Dash 8s, which allows for good comparisons.

Australia is still debating its maritime UAV needs, and withdrew from the US Navy’s MQ-4C BAMS program in 2009. The withdrawal removes a potential shared asset, which could have helped supplement Coastwatch just as the manned AP-3C fleet does today. Meanwhile, in the trial’s aftermath there has been no movement on contracted UAV services like Mariner, or even Boeing’s smaller ScanEagle, to improve Coastwatch.

Contracts & Key Events 2007 – 2016

AS350 B3
(click to view full)

October 13/16: Australian Armidale-class patrol boats are to receive mid-life upgrades from firm Austal Australia. This month will see the commencement of work on the hull remediation, corrective maintenance and configuration changes of up to seven vessels at Austal’s shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia. Austal is currently providing in-service support to the Australian Border Force’s fleet of eight company-built Cape-class patrol boats and has been contracted to provide in-service support for 19 Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement vessels, which enter service from late next year.

Oct 29/12: Extension. Cobham has reached a GBP 105 million/ A$ 163 million agreement with the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, to extend their existing Sentinel aerial maritime surveillance contract by 2 years. This extension secures the contract until the end of 2021. Cobham plc [PDF].

Oct 1/10: SATCOM certified. Cobham SATCOM announces that their SB800 SwiftBroadband (SBB) System has been certified on CoastWatch’s Bombardier Dash-8 aircraft. With the SB800, Immarsat’s satellite network can be used to transfer the aircraft’s video and other sensor data to a land base for fast analysis.

The SB800 system works with the Immarsat constellation, and consists of an HGA-7001 antenna, SDU-7320 dual-channel satellite data unit, DAU-7060 Diplexer/Low noise amplifier and HPA-7450 High power amplifier. Cobham touts it as the most compact dual channel, class 6 SBB system available on the market. Cobham plc [PDF]

July 3/07: Helicopters. A new Australian Helicopters Pty Ltd Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuil arrives, and will replace a Bell Longranger IV in the Torres Strait per the Aug 29/05 contract.

Australian Helicopters Pty Ltd has been operating the Coastwatch helicopter surveillance and response service in the Torres Strait since 1995. They’ll operate the AS350 alongside a Bell 412 twin-engine helicopter, which has been upgraded with new surveillance and communications equipment to provide enhanced capabilities. Australia CBP.

Feb 1/07: SIMS, Helicopters. Australia’s CBP welcomes the first upgraded Dash 8 202 aircraft into service under the Sentinel program, complete with improved surveillance technology.

They also announce that Italy’s Galileo Avionica has won the opportunity to supply the new Surveillance Information Management System for the Dash 8s. SIM will automatically capture and integrate surveillance information from surveillance aircraft, and transmit in near real time between other aircraft and the National Surveillance Centre. The first aircraft will be fitted in October 2008, and the rest will be upgraded over time.

Finally, a new Rapid Response Helicopter service will be based in Gove which brings a new capability to detect and respond to landings or abandoned vessels, and combat illegal foreign fishing in Australia’s north and offshore regions. Helicopters (Australia) will operate a new EC145 twin-engine helicopter from April 2008, but provide a BK-117-B2 helicopter as an interim solution from May 2007 – April 2008. Australia CBP.

SIM & Helicopter contracts

2004 – 2006

MQ-9 trials
(click to view full)

May-September 2006: MQ-9 UAV. Australia’s government announces a September 2006 trial across Australia’s North West Shelf region, using a General Atomics MQ-9 Mariner Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and an Armidale Class patrol boat. Australian DoD release | Spacewar | DSTO mini-site.

May 2006: Australia’s 2006-07 budget proposal includes a number of measures to improve the protection of Australia’s northern borders, including an additional A$ 20.2 million to enable Customs to increase maritime surveillance flights over Australia’s northern approaches by 2,200 hours, and another A$ 338.9 million spread over numerous government agencies to combat illegal foreign fishing. See “Australia to Beef Up Northern Border Protection“.

March 6/06: Q300 order. Bombardier announces a $53 million order for 3 Dash 8 Q300 aircraft, from National Air Support of Adelaide, Australia.

In addition to the 3 new Q300 aircraft acquired from Bombardier, NAS will also purchase and convert 2 Dash 8s (1 Q200 and 1 Q300) from the existing fleet of sister company National Jet Systems. All 5 aircraft will then be delivered to Field Aviation Co. at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada for conversion to maritime patrol.

Dash-8 Q300 MPA Interior
(click to view full)

March 3/06: Contract. Cobham plc signs the CoastWatch contract with the government of Australia. It’s a 12-year, A$ 1 billion deal.

To fulfill the CMS04 contract’s new requirement for “all electronic surveillance” from January 2008, Cobham notes that the fleet will be augmented to 10 Bombardier Dash-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA): 5 upgraded Q200s, and 5 new Q300s, which are larger and offer longer range. Over time, the fleet will migrate toward this single fixed-wing type as other planes are retired. Each Dash-8 aircraft will be capable of searching an area of more than 110,000 km2 per flight, and the planes will operate from existing bases in Broome, Darwin, Horn Island and Cairns. Cobham plc.

Project Sentinel

Dec 7/05: Preferred bidder. Cobham is named as the Preferred Bidder for the 12-year, A$ 1bn Australian Coastwatch contract, beating Raytheon Australia. This isn’t a contract yet, but it means that negotiations with Cobham will be exclusive. Cobham plc | The Australian.

Aug 29/05: Helicopters. Australian Customs extends their relationship with Australian Helicopters Pty Ltd (AHPL), to provide another 12 years of helicopter surveillance and response service in the Torres Strait region. The new agreement is worth more than A$ 100 million over 12 years, and is also referred to as the Service B portion of the Civil Maritime Surveillance (CMS04) contract.

AHPL has been operating the Coastwatch helicopter surveillance and response service in the Torres Strait since 1995, with the current contract due to expire in June 2007. The new contract would begin in July 2007, and includes 1 new helicopter to replace the Bell Longranger IV in current service. Australian CBP.

CMS04 for helicopters

July 29/04: Extension. Cobham plc and the Australian government announce that the Coastwatch Civil Maritime Aerial Surveillance Contract held by their subsidiary, Surveillance Australia, will be extended to June 30/07 in an A$ 125 million deal. Surveillance Australia will re-compete the program beyond 2007.

CoastWatch has been operating since 1995, and Surveillance Australia’s fleet includes 5 Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 long range surveillance aircraft, 3 Cessna Reims F406 medium range surveillance aircraft, 6 twin-engine Britten-Norman Islanders, and 1 twin-engine Shrike aircraft. Cobham plc.

Additional Readings and Sources Coastwatch Australia

• Australian Customs Service – Coastwatch, An Overview (via Wayback Machine)

• CASR; Excerpts from a Canadian Senate Committee on National Security and Defence report – The Hon. Colin Kenny, Chair (July 2004) – Maritime Security: Lessons Learned from Other Middle-Power’s Approaches to Guarding the Coasts – Australia

• Australian Ministerial Paper, The Hon Peter Reith MP, Minister for Defence (October 2001) – Coastal Surveillance and Protection: a “US-Style” Coast Guard or the Australian Coastwatch?

Coastwatch Platforms

• Bombardier – Maritime Patrol and Search and Rescue

• Field Aviation – Case Study: Australia’s Coastwatch

• Cobham subsidiary Surveillance Australia. CoastWatch falls under the Special Mission category.

• Raytheon – SeaVue Overland and Maritime Surveillance Radar. It also operates on the MQ-9 Mariner used by US Customs and Border Patrol.

• SELEX Galileo – SIM Australia [PDF]

• L-3 WESCAM – The MX-15i. Surveillance turret.

• DID (Nov 18/05) – Australian Agreement re: A$ 1B+ AP-3C Orion Support & Upgrade Program. The RAAF’s AP-3Cs will support Coastwatch, as noted above.

• DID – P-8 Poseidon MMA: Long-Range Maritime Patrol, and More. Australia will buy this 737-derived MPA. Once it arrives, it will support Coastwatch, just as the AP-3Cs do.

• DID – Kicking it Up a Notch: Poseidon’s Unmanned MQ-4C BAMS Companion. Australia left the program in 2009, but could choose to buy this Global Hawk derivative later.

Additional Readings and Sources: Related

• CASR (July 2002) – Australia’s ‘Coastwatch’ – What Can Canada Learn?

• CASR – A Modest Proposal – SAR Aircraft: Rethinking Search and Rescue

• Australia Defence (Jan 10/08) – Aerosonde prepares for Coastwatch opportunities. UAV trial in the Torres Strait.

• DID (Dec 2/05) – Global Hawk UAV Prepares for Maritime Role

• Military.com – BORDERLINE: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Homeland Security. Includes Britain’s Watchkeeper & the USA’s Mariner.