[size=5]Greece incorporating new French fighter jets into air force[/size]
The Associated Press
Published: November 23, 2007ATHENS, Greece: Greece formally incorporated 15 French-built fighter jets into its air force Friday during a ceremony attended by the French defense minister and air force chief of staff.
The Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 planes were purchased as part of a €1.2 billion deal in August 2000 with France’s Dassault Aviation and included the upgrade of 10 of Greece’s existing 34 Mirage 2000s. The new planes are expected to have a life span of 15 years.
Defense Minister Evangelos Meimarakis met with his French counterpart, Herve Morin, in Athens.
“Alongside NATO, Europe must develop its own autonomous means that will allow it to ensure security and stability on its own continent but also in regions where traditionally and historically Europe is present,” Morin said.
As an example, Morin said it was necessary to improve European naval cooperation in order to combat smuggling and illegal immigration.
“For us Europe isn’t just an economic free trade area, for us Europe is a political project. And this political project necessarily is based on a European defense,” he said.
The two ministers also discussed Balkan issues and the EU’s relations with Turkey.
On Kosovo, Morin said it was “essential that the whole of the European Union remains united on this issue and that we maintain our effort” regardless of whether internationally brokered talks on resolving the final status of the Serbian province are successful by the Dec. 10 U.N. deadline.
On Turkey, Morin reiterated France’s assessment that there was still a long way to go in the talks Ankara is conducting with the EU. He said it would take years — possibly decades — to decide “what will be the best solution for relations between the European Union and Turkey. Is it integration or a privileged partnership?”
The two ministers later attended a ceremony at Tanagra Air Force base, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of the capital, formally incorporating the jets into the air force.
“Today, in the framework of European defense, we wish to give a new boost to this alliance between France and Greece,” Morin said.
A French pilot is flying with Greece’s 114th Fighter Squadron to help familiarize Greek pilots with the Mirage 2000-5 Mk2, said Gen. Stephane Abrial, the French air force’s chief of staff.
Apart from the French fighter jets, Greece also has U.S.-built F-16s.
For decades Greece has spent a large portion of its gross domestic product — at one time about 5 percent — on defense to stave off a perceived threat from Turkey.
The two neighbors have long-standing disputes over the war-divided island of Cyprus and the Aegean Sea. They have nearly gone to war three times since 1974, and fighter jets from the two countries often intercept each other over the Aegean.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/23/europe/EU-GEN-Greece-France-Weapons.php
Pictures from:
http://www.mod.mil.gr/Pages/HomePage.asp
😎
New Special HAF A-7E 336 Mira “Olympus” Paint job!
Credit goes to @Nikolasdani
Heads up to KORNET-E
😎
October 9, 2007
[size=18]Australia signs amphibious ship contract[/size]
Australian Prime Minister John Howard today announced the signing of a contract with Tenix, worth about A$3.1 billion (US$2.78 billion) over eight years, two build two large amphibious ships fo the Royal Australian Navy.
The first ship, HMAS Canberra, will be delivered in 2013 and the second, HMAS Adelaide, in 2015.The ships are based on a LHD design from Spain’s Navantia and their hulls will be built in Spain.
Prime Minister Howard said the “27,000-tonne ships will greatly enhance Australia’s ability to deploy forces when necessary in our region or beyond, and to provide assistance in time of natural disaster. Using their integrated helicopters and watercraft, each vessel will be able to land approximately 1,000 personnel, along with their vehicles, the new Abrams tanks, artillery and supplies. They will also be equipped with medical facilities, including two operating theatres and a hospital ward, and will be capable across the full spectrum of maritime operations, including aid to the civil community in times of natural disaster at home or abroad.”
Howard said the construction of the superstructure and the majority of the fit-out, worth approximately A$500 million to Australian industry, will occur in Melbourne. At its peak the Tenix workforce will grow to over 1,500 from its current 1,000. Combat system work in Adelaide will bring up to A$100 million to the South Australian economy. Other states will also benefit.
“As well as providing the Australian Defence Force with valuable enhanced capability,” said Howard, “this major investment by the Government will help to support a critical Australian industry. It will offer Australian defence firms unparalleled prospects in the areas of electronics, design development, systems engineering and integration, employing Australians in a range of high-value engineering, shipbuilding and project management roles.”
http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMVII/2007oct00091.html
http://www.lhd.tenix.com/index.asp
http://www.lhd.tenix.com/index.asp?id=Performance
[size=5]Israel, Syria: A Few Clues, But More Questions[/size]
September 11, 2007 16 48 GMT
Summary
More details concerning Syrian claims of an Israeli air force incursion into its airspace emerged Sept. 10, ultimately leaving the matter even more opaque than before.
Analysis
Both Turkey and Syria made statements Sept. 10 concerning the alleged Sept. 6 overflight of Israeli air force (IAF) warplanes. Taken as a whole, these statements offer a few more clues to actual events, but ultimately they obscure the matter even further.
During a scheduled visit from Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, Ankara announced Sept. 10 that it had found external fuel tanks close to the Syria-Turkey border near Hatay and Gazintep provinces. Turkey also insisted that Israel had promised a swift investigation into the possible violation of Turkish (not, however, Syrian) airspace. The same day, al-Moualem described the alleged incursion into Syrian airspace as “intentional” and “hostile” and said that three Israeli aircraft had fired four missiles in the Dayr al-Zur district. Syria’s Sept. 6 claims included the release of “live ammunition” — an odd euphemism even after translation is taken into account.
This series of clues — none necessarily contradictory or mutually exclusive — does not present a definitive picture. The continued oddities surrounding Damascus’ claims of dropped ordnance could indicate a strike mission. Many of the early details that suggested a reconnaissance flight — perhaps to track a militant training camp or ping the light Syrian air defenses in the East — still hold true. These details could indicate a possible strike against a militant camp or, as some information indicates was most likely, destruction of a newly imported ballistic missile shipment, likely from Iran or North Korea.
The northwestern spit of Syrian territory near which the external fuel tanks were found is an odd place for the fuel tanks to be dropped, if credence is lent to one (or both) of the sites where the Syrians claim they shot at Israeli aircraft. The most likely explanation is that the planes used Turkish airspace as an egress route; it is the quickest route to the open water of the Mediterranean and a nice way to avoid the dense Syrian air defense network along the coast, but would probably involve Ankara’s complicity. Furthermore — though this fact likely has no relevance to the incident — the U.S. air base at Incirlik is just 50 miles away.
The lack of an outright denial from the Israelis and Turkey’s subsequent statements lend some credence to the occurrence of some airspace violation by the IAF. But even this is not certain — and in all likelihood, the matter will remain largely obscure.
Nevertheless, two salient points have emerged. First, as was clear Sept. 6, the IAF appears to retain the ability to violate Syrian airspace with impunity. The Syrian air defense network remains aged and worn, and without a systemic upgrade, it will remain unable to defend against Israeli incursions (an impression Damascus would certainly like to change, but one it patently failed to, in this case).
Second, and perhaps ultimately more important, the incident also is very revealing of Syria’s current diplomatic posture and the price it has paid by aligning itself closely with Iran. A typical Syrian response to a serious IAF airspace violation would involve eliciting condemnations from the U.N. Security Council, the European Union and Arab League members against Israel; demanding answers from the United States; and mobilizing forces in the Golan Heights along its border with Israel. It also is curious that the Syrians took four days to specify that the alleged “live ammunition” that was dropped included four missiles — a detail they would have had by Sept. 7 at the very latest. Releasing details such as this at the last minute raises questions about the validity of Syrian allegations surrounding the incident, and could be as much an indication of Damascus’ need to keep the issue alive as it is a clue to actual events.
So far, Syria has written angry letters to EU diplomats and U.N. members demanding a condemnation. The responses, for the most part, have been either silence on the issue or outright defenses of Israel’s right to keep silent. Syria’s Arab neighbors also are refraining from showing the slightest concern, with Saudi Arabia taking the opportunity to publicly humiliate Syria by saying an allegedly canceled Syrian diplomatic visit to Riyadh was never planned in the first place. Turkey has responded with enough restraint to clear its name from complicity since fuel tanks landed in its territory. And as expected, only Iran has come out in strong defense of Syria.
Likely spooked by the IAF’s intentions behind the overflight and with only a feeble diplomatic defense against Israel, the Syrians are being extremely cautious not to provoke a military confrontation with the Jewish state. Syria has even refrained thus far from massing troops along the border in response to Israel’s military buildup in the Golan Heights, revealing that Damascus lacks the confidence and capability to risk a fight at this stage.
Posted by “saladin_ha” on ACIG
Here is a picture from Haaretz
posted by “tarnadoo” on ACIG
MAYBE israeli aircrafts came from turkey the news say : israeli aircrafts dropped his weapons and fuel tank and escape
you can see violated area in red square
sorry tom for edit you pic
SOC, Your map has become the default map for this scenario!
P.S. thank for the update map.
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