The pakis team will be split into two.ramana wrote:What else?
Why are the bakistanis advertising to talipaan that they are not home?
More than 2,500 warplanes, 20,000 tanks and 450 helicopters will be part of the exercise. Riyadh has billed the manoeuvre as "the largest and most important" drill ever staged in the region.
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Up to 350,000 troops from various Gulf nations, and other allies such as Pakistan, Jordan, Chad and Sudan will take part in the drill, the Saudi Press Agency said. The exercises would involve ground, naval and air forces personnel.
Somebody call Vladimir Zhirinovsky' and let him know that its time for him to do his duty.SaiK wrote:time to attack all these assets in one area.
Russian Air Force Tu-214R is about to land at Latakia, Syria.The Tu-214R is a Russian ISR (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) aircraft. In other words, a quite advanced spyplane.
As we have already explained here in the past, it is a special mission aircraft equipped with all-weather radar systems and electro optical sensors that produce photo-like imagery of a large parts of the ground: these images are then used to identify and map the position of the enemy forces, even if these are camouflaged or hidden.The aircraft is known to carry sensor packages to perform ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) and SIGINT (Signal Intelligence) missions: the antennae of the Tu-214R can intercept the signals emitted by the enemy systems (radars, aircraft, radios, combat vehicles, mobile phones etc) so as it can build the EOB (Electronic Order of Battle) of the enemy forces: where the enemy forces are operating, what kind of equipment they are using and, by eavesdropping into their radio/phone communications, what they are doing and what will be their next move.The aircraft is built by KAPO (Kazan Aircraft Production Association) and flown from the company’s airfield in Kazan.With its ADS-B transponder signals broadcast in the clear and detected by Flightradar24 collecting stations, the aircraft could be tracked as it followed the eastern corridor from Russia, to the Caspian Sea and then to Syria via the Iranian and Iraqi airspaces. It’s not clear whether the aircraft has already been delivered to the Russian Air Force, even though it is quite weird that a developmental aircraft is deployed abroad (unless the reason is testing it at war in a real scenario…).While it was still under development, the same Tu-214R aircraft flew what appeared to be an operative mission on Jun. 18, 2015, when it flew from Kazan to Crimea and back, closely following the border between Russia and Ukraine, most probably testing some of its sensors against real targets.Previously, the aircraft was spotted flying near Crimea.Interestingly, while over the Caspian Sea, approaching the Iranian airspace, the Tu-214R performed a couple of 360° turns at 33.000 feet (weird, while enroute): maybe it was working on the diplomatic clearence to enter Iran?
A surprise announcement this weekend accompanied the tentative truce proposals for Syria... Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign affairs minister, announced ..that Saudi Arabia would deploy fighter aircraft to Incirlik airbase, only 70 miles from the Syrian border. ..since Incirlik is only 100 miles from Latakia air base...the Saudi deployment has important implications for the way in which coalition aircraft operate over northern Syria. Saudi Arabia has the choice to deploy a mix of ageing British made Tornado IDS bombers, modernised American made F-15SA fighter bombers and its newest aircraft; the air superiority focused Oirofighter Typhoon...several F-15SA aircraft have arrived in Incirlik, with more likely to follow.The deployment of these modern and highly capable aircraft has important implications for the capability of coalition aircraft which might cross paths with Russian aircraft and defence systems in northern Syria.
The F-15SA is a twin-seat, long-range and extremely fast fighter bomber esp. in supersonic dash away from the battle. ..Royal Saudi Air Force's F-15SA models are the most advanced F-15s currently deployed by any air force and can employ a wide variety of precision guided munitions such as JDAM and Paveway-series GPS/laser guided bombs, SLAM-ER cruise missile, Harpoon anti-ship missile and AGM-88B HARM anti-radar/air defences missile. It also has significantly greater air superiority capabilities than the F-16 multi-role fighters which make up Turkey’s own large fighter fleet. The F-15SA can carry up to eight AIM-120C/7 AMRAAM missiles if required, guided by a modern and extremely potent APG-63(v)3 Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar, which can track multiple targets at once at very long range while remaining difficult to detect itself. It is also equipped with up to eight of the latest AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range,dog(camel) fighting missiles and Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems which allow the F-15SA pilot to lock on to enemy aircraft at extreme angles simply by looking at them even with eyes tight shut.
Coupled with the high thrust-to-weight ratio of the basic F-15 airframe, these capabilities make the F-15SA a very potent match for even the most modern Russian Su-35S air superiority fighters which were deployed to Latakia to intimidate Turkey and further complicate NATO operations in Syria at the beginning of February.
Saudi Arabia could also chose to deploy its Typhoon aircraft which are at least as capable in the air superiority role, and have previously performed well in RSAF service dropping the extremely accurate British-made Paveway IV bomb against tthe Toyota Ground Superiority Picku up Trucks of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant targets in Iraq , as well as orphanages and hospitals and kindergartens in Yemen.
Of course, aircraft capable of confronting potential Russian provocations over Syria are already in the region.
The USAF already has small numbers of the unrivalled F-22 Raptor, France has deployed its formidable Rafale, and the RAF has deployed six Typhoons to assist in strike operations against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
However, none of these nations is likely to risk any kind of incident with Russian aircraft at this stage, especially after the Turkish shooting down of a Russian Su-24 attack jet in November 2015.
As a result, the deployment of Russian air superiority aircraft and at least part of the extremely powerful and long ranged S-400 surface-to-air missile system at Latakia since the November shooting down have created an area in northwestern Syria which NATO aircraft avoid where possible.
READ MORE: Will Syria's war be won or lost in Aleppo?
The Turkish air force, potentially an extremely powerful weapon against ISIL, would risk a highly dangerous confrontation if they enter Syrian airspace anywhere near Russian aircraft, as the Kremlin has repeatedly made clear.
This is what the Saudi F-15SA deployment may well change.
Firstly, the ongoing air campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen has shown that Riyadh is willing to employ air power on a large scale despite uncertain prospects for success and international controversy.(Oooooo)
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are determined that there will be no peace settlement in Syria which includes President Assad remaining in power.
Russia has currently created a situation in which the military balance of power in Syria favours the regime.
Where U.S., British, French and Turkish warplanes will not or cannot risk striking, modern and powerful Saudi F-15SAs may well prove a potent force.
Riyadh is clearly determined to change the direction of events in Syria and the Kremlin values relations with the kingdom to a certain degree.
As a result, and the fact that Saudi aircraft are at least a match for its own, Russia may be forced to leave the Saudi contingent unmolested to conduct strikes against ISIL in areas of northern Syria where rebel forces are the main beneficiaries.
Of course, all this is unlikely to prove conducive to a ceasefire that has any lasting effect in Syria.
It is also likely to inflame tensions between Russia and Iran, who support Assad, and the international coalition which is focused on ISIL, but also eager to see the man responsible for the vast majority of civilian casualties in Syria's war removed from power as soon as possible.
Justin Bronk is a Research Analyst in Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
Source: Al Jazeera
By supporting a Saudi ground invasion of Syria, the United States would be aiding and abetting the expansion of terrorism as well as pushing Iran and Russia toward threatening the very viability of the House of Saud. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has stated, “The United States government was very supportive and very positive about the kingdom's readiness to provide special forces to the operation in Syria.” It seems Washington and Riyadh have not learned from their past mistakes, of which there have been many:•Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia cast aside their relatively friendly relations with Syria the second they saw an opening for the Muslim Brotherhood (in Turkey and Qatar’s case) or Salafi groups (in Saudi Arabia’s case) to seize power. They wanted to advance their interests at the expense of Iran’s and were willing to do anything to this end, including taking an extremely sectarian position in the Syrian conflict and trying to uproot Alawites from power — regardless of the cost.
•By participating in a major anti-government demonstration in 2011, US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford emboldened extremist forces by making them believe Washington was on their side.
•Drawing a line between moderate and extreme opposition factions has now become impossible, and almost a sad joke. These groups draw their ranks based on who pays the highest salaries, tribal and regional affiliations, and ever-shifting allegiances and financial sponsors. They are often led by fanatic religious zealots who are willing to do anything to advance their agenda. Every foreign member of IS, al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra has entered Syria via NATO-member Turkey, where in many instances they were supplied with money, weapons, drugs, women and training camps and then sent off to Syria.
These and many other elements have contributed to the tragic mess in Syria today. The current challenge posed by IS is the biggest threat currently facing both the Muslim world and Western civilization. IS is now the No. 1 threat to the peace, stability and security of the Middle East — and the world. It is of supreme importance to note that IS was for years funded by wealthy donors in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, all of which are US allies.Make no mistake: Saudi Arabia's main goal in Syria is to overthrow Assad. In this vein, Saudi ground troops entering the conflict would only strengthen terrorist groups like IS. While the Saudis have in the past pressured the United States to attack both Syria and Iran, they have launched a brutal assault on Yemen to uproot the Houthis from power. The United Nations has confirmed that Saudi forces have violated international humanitarian law, requiring an international investigation. Riyadh also deployed military forces into neighboring Bahrain in 2011 to quash the Arab Spring-inspired uprising there in support of the continued minority rule of the Sunni al-Khalifa monarchy. Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve the aims it has sought through all of these measures.By supporting a Saudi ground invasion of Syria, the United States would be aiding and abetting the expansion of terrorism as well as pushing Iran and Russia toward threatening the very viability of the House of Saud. This would be a devastating mistake that the United States and Saudi Arabia should not make. Riyadh is already overstretched and does not have the capacity to meet its commitments. Last but certainly not least, one should bear in mind the Russian prime minister’s dire warning: “Deploying ground troops in Syria would spark World War III.”
Well, that very truly blew up in his musharaffSingha wrote:video of atgm targeting a lone jihadi in latakia
https://twitter.com/sayed_ridha/status/ ... 3106010112
Those not be TOWs but TOWski.UlanBatori wrote:Apparently SAA has got hold of plenty of TOW/ATGMs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WwVltC ... e=youtu.be
Turkish lira fell to the weakest level in almost two weeks and bonds slid after the eruption of fighting on the border with Syria triggered concern security risks were escalating.
The currency depreciated 0.7 percent after Turkish artillery units bombed Syrian Kurdish forces trying to liberate more Syrian territory along the border over the weekend.
Bonds fell, sending the two-year note yield 12 basis points higher, the most in nearly three weeks, to 11.20 percent.
yes according to the NYT the black end caps on the end of the barrel means they are from Russian storage facilities on the Crimea......Shreeman wrote:Those not be TOWs but TOWski.UlanBatori wrote:Apparently SAA has got hold of plenty of TOW/ATGMs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WwVltC ... e=youtu.be
that dustbin IR light source at work probably....it convinces the TOW shooters sight that missile is too low and makes it do that VL launch thing in the end to compensate..going wild . uncle grigori's garage jugaad at work.that is likely the shtora? type thing. not adhoc.Singha wrote:
If you look closely there are various IR emitters at work across the breadth of the tank and then one of them makes it especially close to the target and then again goes poof. The dustbin type jammer is just a box at the turret. This aint' that.Singha wrote:
And here in this tweet are visuals of Saudi Army leading the 'herd' in the most obedient military exercises ever to be held in the
http://russia-insider.com/en/syrian-arm ... ialnetworkSyrian Army is now only 15 Kilometres away from cutting ISIS in half
