That is rather interesting. After refusing to accept Jiangwei frigates from China barely a few years ago for lack of quality, Pakistan seems to have no other choice but to go for the Jiangwei.

Pakistan never rejected them due to lack of quality, we wanted western systems on them and thats what we are going to get. Would like to see your cource for their so called “lack of quality” but I suspect like far too many posters on this forum, you dont qactually have any and are just giving your wishful thinking…..

Think we had a thread about that in spring.

Iran’s civil nuclear facilities are not a problem to bomb, but they are not the places where they R&D “The Bomb”. Iran’s core facilities for “The Bomb” are sure buried deep in some mountains; some people say in the northeast towards the border with Afghanistan in the Kerman area. And there is sure more than just one single facility. I don’t see how a (conventional) airstrike could take them out. You’d rather need some thousand troops on the ground to storm these places – which is really just short of an invasion – and with basically no chance at all to extract them afterwards.

But there do exist options for an airstrike. Although not an airstrike on the production facilities, but on the resulting weapon system. Quite risky, but managable I think. Given you know the location of the launcher system (from orbital reccon systems e.g.), those three German Dolphin class subs with their big-diameter torpedo tubes could launch a number of stealthy cruise missiles against the launcher systems.
Going in with manned systems (F-15I, F-16I) would have to happen in utmost secrecy, like from Diego Garcia (going there all the way around Africa) or from Russian territory; don’t think that going in via Iraq or Turkey would be an option. And it would propably be a one-way mission with the pilot ejecting over the Indian Ocean and being picked up by a sub.
Or maybe using fake Iranian fighterbombers would be an option, e.g. a handful of those soon-to-be stored-in-the-desert USN F-14s.
And if it don’t work Israel would still have the Arrow …

alt.speculation

Israel would then have to worry about Iranian retaliation….

Indias potential purchase of the Arrow is subject to US apporval and so far this has certainly not been forthcoming

Analysis / A rocket with a camera

The loss yesterday of the Ofek-6 was an expensive engineering and security loss, but there’s an even graver indirect cost than the loss of the capability, the time and the money.

The planning failure that prevented the satellite from going into orbit could accelerate the escalation of tension between Israel and Iran and bring them closer to a military clash.

Israel chose, rather than was forced, to launch the satellite now. A reasonable alternative would have been to warehouse the missile and satellite and wait for Ofek-5 to outlive its usefulness. The wait would have saved the cost of the launch, but contained the risk of a temporary blindness in the lacuna between the demise of 5 and the launch of 6.

The recommendation that was finally accepted was not to leave the missile and satellite ready on the shelf. The gamble, or calculated risk, was not a success. Now the shelf is empty, and there is no certainty that a new satellite will be ready before Ofek-5 reaches its end.

The greatest threat to Israel, according to the current national security assessment, is a nuclear Iran. The hostility toward Israel from the zealous Islamic regime in Tehran is constant and demonstrative. External pressure, from the U.S. and Europe, through the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN Security Council, could delay and obstruct the Iranian nuclear program, but Israel reckons that it won’t completely prevent it and that some time between 2005 and 2007, Iran will have nuclear weapons.

There is, of course, a significant difference between the first bomb and operational capabilities, but all it would take is one warhead in Iranian hands to undermine Israel’s deterrent capabilities and to grant a certain degree of immunity to Hezbollah and Syria, which could then provoke Israel through other means.

A satellite does not guarantee superior intelligence. Last year, before the Iraq War, Israel had no more specific information about Saddam Hussein’s Scud launchers than any other countries. But without a satellite, when it comes to as secretive and skillfully deceptive a country as Iran, it will be difficult for Israel to track the pace of Iranian nuclear preparations to be equipped with missiles that carry nuclear warheads.

The window through which Israel is observing Iran, “the shutter of opportunity,” could be closed precisely when the concern about what is happening in Iran reaches its climax. That would strengthen the arguments of those in Israel proposing a preemptive launch against Iran, and at the same time the voices in Tehran worried by such a blow would call for a preemptive strike against Israel. They’ll say, as experts said after earlier launches of the Ofek, that it is essentially a missile with a camera.

As opposed to the third-stage failure, which involves the camera orbiting the earth, nothing went wrong in the first two stages and, in that sense, Israel conducted a successful test of a missile that under other circumstances would be ballistic. Thus, as opposed to the damage done to the intelligence deterence, through the loss of the satellite, missile deterrence remains.

Veteran Iran hands in Israel have been issuing particularly gloomy statements lately: It is impossible to stop the Iranian bomb, and at most one can hope for – or help arrange – a change in regime in Tehran. But both the regime and its opponents share the desire to acquire the bomb. It is a national ambition, anchored in Iran’s view of itself as a regional power, which has the right to at least have the same weapons as Pakistan, India and, according to official U.S. documents, Israel.

That very same argument was heard from Israelis by the unwilling heros of the FBI investigation now underway in Washington, including Larry Franklin of the political department in the Pentagon. Franklin, his colleague, Harold Rod, and others visited Israel last December, took part in the Herzliya Conference, and among other experts had talks with Uri Lubrani, Israel’s last ambassador to Iran in the waning days of the shah, who had warned of the shakiness of the regime at the time.

After the presidential elections, the Pentagon might support providing Israel with the huge “bunker busting” GBU 28 bomb, capable of penetrating deep underground storage spaces of weapons of mass destruction. The trend toward escalation in the Israel-Iranian conflict could speed up the reassessment of Israel’s own policy of nuclear ambiguity. Three years ago, outside the government, Benjamin Netanyahu supported such a policy change. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon publicly reprimanded him for it and the idea was shelved. But in light of Sharon’s political weakness, Netanyahu now appears to be close to returning to a position where he could influence things in that direction.

With Sateilletes and the US providing Israel with F-15I and F-16I, America is virtually giving a nudge for Israel to bomb Iran…..

I think it may already be too late with Iran, the Osirak raid was almost out of the blue, the Iranians have had years to prepare for an Isfraeli raid.

This may well include dispersing nuclear facilities and making underground facilities.

What truely is frightening is the retaliation Iran may instigate against Israel, both conventionally and unconventially. This time though, Israel may lose alot of sympathy and good will in the world…….

Er, I think the whole point is that it will go “wet” before it gets into CWIS range……..

Yeah, but will it deter the worlds scariest air force equipped with F-22s, B-2s and F-35s…..?

recently the PIA signed a deal for Canadian bombardier small jets contrary to the theory that both PIA and PAF would jointly purchase a larger number of Saab2000 to get a synergy of quantity.

All doesnt seem well for the Saab deal 🙁 no news from paf chiefs visit so far 🙁

Good change of subject, whats this got to do with the Agni?

Why not post it in another thread?