Massive weapons shipment in full violation of UN resolutions

It's been five days since Israel seized a cargo ship reportedly carrying enough weapons and munitions for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group to fight Israel for at least one month. And for the past five days, the United Nations has failed to take any action even though Iran was caught red-handed arming a terrorist group in full violation of binding U.N. resolutions.

The cargo ship originated in Iran and was headed for Syria. The Israeli army announced it found documentation showing Iran was the point of origin for some containers on the ship, with Syria as the intended destination.

Iran regularly attempts to send weapons to Syria, and from there the shipments are smuggled to Hezbollah bases in Lebanon, Israeli security officials said.

Israel last week put on full display its find of hundreds of tons of Iranian-supplied arms, including rockets – the largest-ever weapons cache captured by Israeli forces. Israel Radio reported that advanced anti-aircraft platforms were also on board, with Rani Ben-Yehuda, the deputy commander of Israel's navy, confirming the presence of "very advanced weaponry."

The Iranian arms shipment set sail in violation of U.N. Resolution 1701, a binding resolution which ended the Second Lebanon War of 2006 and prohibits the delivery of weapons to any entity in Lebanon but the Lebanese government. The shipment also breaks multiple international laws against funding and supporting terrorist organizations.

Israel's U.N. ambassador last week complained to the international body about Iran's blatant disregard for international law, but no response has been forthcoming from U.N. officials.

WorldNetDaily

Lockerbie Bomber...

Lockerbie bomber had 'three months to live'... now he's well enough to go home
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US Defense Department eyes missile sale to Turkey

The US Defense Department has notified Congress that it plans to sell Turkey the most advanced version of its Patriot air-defense missile system, in a deal worth as much as 7.8 billion dollars, AFP reported on Monday. The move is designed to bolster the security of Turkey, a US ally and the only NATO member to have a land border with Iran.
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said that the sale would include 72 PAC-3 interceptor missiles and a host of related hardware. The sale was essential for Turkey to maintain “a strong and ready self-defense capability that will contribute to an acceptable military balance in the area,” the agency said in a statement to lawmakers.

The notification comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program, which the U.S. suspects has a military aim.

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American Tanks For Lebanon

The U.S. is continuing its effort to rebuild the Lebanese armed forces. While Russia has recently contributed ten MiG-29 fighters, the U.S. contribution has been a lot more practical. Like over 600 hummers (about half are already there, the rest will arrive over the next four months). That's just the beginning, with 200 larger trucks and 41 155mm howitzers on the way. Recently it was announced that several dozen M-60A3 tanks would be sent as well.

Some Lebanese pundits pointed out that these tanks, which were retired by the United States in the 1990s, are no good against the new Israeli Merkava 4 (similar to the latest models of the U.S. M-1.) What these pundits didn't point out was that M-60A3s were easily able to defeat Iraqi T-72s in 1991, and are widely used in the Middle East (Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan). The Lebanese generals know this, and are glad to have the M-60A3s, which are more likely to be used against Syrian T-72s, than Israeli Merkavas. The U.S. is also supplying the Lebanese with communications gear, radars, sensors, technical assistance and all manner of training.

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Morocco orders military aircaft

Morocco has ordered four military transport aircraft in a deal worth €130m ($167m). Rabat has purchased the C-27J Spartan tactical air transport planes from the Italian group Alenia Aeronautica, a subsidiary of the aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica.

The C-27J Spartan is capable of multiple roles, from troop transport and medical operations, to search and rescue missions, and humanitarian assistance.

Finmeccanica and Alenia Aeronautica recently agreed a partnership with Mubadala Development Company in Abu Dhabi. Finmeccanica will partner Mubadala to manufacture aerospace components for civilian aircraft, with Alenia Aeronautica providing technology, technical assistance and specialised training.

YourDefenceNews

Lockheed builds jets for Morocco

Lockheed Martin Corp. has landed a $233.6 million contract with Morocco to build F-16 fighter jets for that country's air force, the company said today.

Lockheed's Texas-based fighter jet division won the deal to upgrade Morocco's military aircraft fleet. The Moroccan deal also provides prospective business for Lockheed's Orlando missiles and simulation training operations, which provide key technologies for the F-16 aircraft.

Morocco will also pay for logistics management, maintenance and other support services from Lockheed and its subcontractors.

Algeria seeks additional batch of Su-30MKA fighters

Algeria has filed a request with Russia's Rosoboronexport arms agency for a further batch of 14-16 Sukhoi Su-30MKA multirole fighters, while also demanding that Moscow compensate it for an initial $250 million payment linked to its cancelled $1.3 billion deal for 36 RSK MiG-29s.

Ordered in March 2006 under an $8 billion sale also covering the supply of 28 Su-30MKAs worth $2.5 billion and 16 Yakovlev Yak-130A trainers, the MiG-29 deal collapsed after Algeria said its first 12 MiG-29SMT single-seat fighters and three MiG-29UBT two-seat operational trainers failed to meet contractual specifications. Russia agreed in February that the aircraft could be returned to their manufacturer, but a financial settlement has yet to be finalised.

Algeria has received six Su-30MKAs since mid-2007, with another four to arrive by the end of May and six more to follow in December 2008. "If the contract for the additional batch gets signed, deliveries can start in 2011, after completion of deliveries on the initial contract in 2010", says NPK Irkut president Oleg Demchenko.

flightglobal

Russia to modernize Algeria's fleet

A Russian media sources unveiled that a new armament deal between Algeria and Russia is to be sealed, which is meant to renew and modernize the Algerian Navy Fleet by purchasing two frigates. The same sources quoted shareholders in the Naval Construction Factory (Severnaïa Verf), saying that the deal was sealed by the Algerian Army and the Russian Arms Exporting Agency (Rosoboronexport). The deal amount is varying between 800 and 900 millions dollars. It is initially meant to launch repairing and modernising operations of two warships belonging to the Algerian Naval Forces in the beginning, before constructing two new frigates.

This contract was qualified by the Russian medias as “huge” and followed several other armament deals of 6.5 billions USD concluded by Algeria and Russia this year. It included purchasing tens of Mig and Soukhoï fighter aircrafts, as well as one submarine, and repairing and modernizing of other submarines that were purchased by Algeria from Russia during the 80’s.