Showing posts with label Denmark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Denmark. Show all posts

Thursday, January 19, 2012

New Zealand to join U.S. backed WGS program


WELLINGTON — The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is joining an international partnership that will give it guaranteed satellite communications for the next 20 years, Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman announced Jan. 18.
The NZDF is joining the Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) program, a network of nine military satellites built by Boeing and operated by the U.S. Defense Department.
Coleman said WGS will increase the NZDF’s access to satellite broadband “more than 20-fold, with guaranteed access and at a fixed price, ensuring better value for money.”
New Zealand will join Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in a joint agreement for access to the network in return for partially funding the ninth satellite. Australia has been involved in a similar agreement since 2007.
Currently, the NZDF purchases bandwidth on commercial satellites at spot prices, which can involve a premium of up to 100 percent depending on demand, and which can also limit availability of bandwidth.
The NZDF will spend 83.2 million New Zealand dollars ($67 million) on WGS over 20 years. The country’s current annual spending on satellite communications for the military is about 4.3 million New Zealand dollars, growing at some 10 percent per year.
                                                                                                                                              
                

Monday, January 16, 2012

NATO Warship Assists Iranian Vessel


BRUSSELS - A NATO warship went to the rescue this weekend of an Iranian-flagged vessel whose engine broke down just days after its rescue from pirates by another NATO ship, the alliance said Jan. 16.
An Italian ship, the ITS Grecale, offered the five Iranian and nine Pakistani crew food and water and worked through the night to fix the engine, but to no avail, NATO said in a statement.
"The engine was too badly damaged to repair at sea," the statement said.
"NATO offered to transfer the crew to the closest port, but they chose to stay with their vessel," it added. The ITS Grecale "is remaining in the area to monitor the situation, ready to provide further assistance if required."
The ship had been released from suspected Somali pirates on Jan. 7 by a Danish warship, the HDMS Absalon.
That operation came days after a U.S. warship, the USS Carney, intercepted the Indian-flagged dhow Al-Qashmi off the southwestern coast of Oman and freed its 20 Indian crew members.
The weekend assistance comes amid heightened tensions between the international community and Tehran.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Australia Ranked 1st, N. Korea Last on Nuke Safety


WASHINGTON - Australia has the tightest security controls among nations with nuclear material while North Korea poses the world's greatest risks, a new index by experts said Jan. 11.
The Nuclear Threat Initiative, in a project led by former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn and the Economist Intelligence Unit, aims to draw attention to steps that nations can take to ensure the safety of the world's most destructive weapons.
Among 32 nations that possess at least one kilogram of weapons-usable nuclear materials, Australia was ranked as the most secure. It was followed by European nations led by Hungary, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
On the bottom of the list, North Korea was ranked as the least secure of its nuclear material, edging out Pakistan.
The index, which gave rankings on a scale of 100, also listed Iran, Vietnam and India below the 50-point threshold.
"This is not about congratulating some countries and chastising others. We are highlighting the universal responsibility of states to secure the world's most dangerous materials," said Nunn, who has long been active on nuclear safety.
Nunn, a Democrat who represented Georgia in the Senate from 1972 until early 1997, voiced concern that the world had a "perfect storm" - an ample supply of weapons-usable nuclear materials and terrorists who want them.
"We know that to get the materials they need, terrorists will go where the material is most vulnerable. Global nuclear security is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain," he said.
The index, timed ahead of the March summit on nuclear security in South Korea, called for the world to set benchmarks and to hold nations accountable for nuclear safety. It also urged nations to stop increasing stocks of weapons-usable material and to make public their security regulations.
North Korea has tested two nuclear bombs and in 2009 renounced a U.S.-backed agreement on denuclearization. The world has watched warily since last month as young Kim Jong-Un takes over as leader from his late father Kim Jong-Il.
Pakistan has vigorously defended its right to nuclear weapons. The father of Pakistan's atomic bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, admitted in 2004 that he ran a nuclear black market selling secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea but later retracted his remarks.
Australia does not have nuclear weapons and supports their abolition. But it has a security alliance with the United States and holds the world's largest reserves of uranium.
Of acknowledged nuclear weapons states, Britain scored best at 10th among the 32 countries. The United States ranked 13th.
The Nuclear Threat Initiative also released a separate index of security conditions in countries without significant nuclear materials, saying they could be used as safe havens or transit points. Somalia, which is partially under the control of the al-Qaida-linked Shebab movement and has effectively lacked a central government for two decades, was ranked last among the 144 countries surveyed.
Other countries that ranked near the bottom included Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Eritrea and Chad.
On the top of the list, Finland was ranked as the most secure nation among those without nuclear material. It was followed by Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Slovenia and Romania.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Russian Planes Spark NATO Scramble in Baltics

VILNIUS - NATO jets were scrambled Nov. 7 as four Russian air force planes flew near the territory of the Baltic states, Lithuania's defense ministry said, adding that the unusual number was a cause for concern.
Defense ministry spokeswoman Ugne Naujokaityte said that four Danish F-16fighters, which currently police the skies of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, took to the air twice to escort the Russian planes.
Two AN26 transport aircraft and a TU134 bomber flew in succession from Russia's Baltic territory of Kaliningrad to Russia itself, and an IL20 intelligence-gathering plane flew in the opposite direction.
While their path over neutral waters did not ultimately encroach on the Baltic states' airspace, the flurry of flights was unusual in an area that normally sees only a few Russian aircraft transit every few weeks.
"The intensity of these Russian planes' flights raises concern. It proves once again the importance and necessity of the NATO air police mission in Baltic states," Naujokaityte said.
The Baltic states broke away from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991 after five decades of communist rule and joined NATO in 2004. They have had rocky ties with Moscow since independence and are jittery about Russian military moves in the region.
With a total population of 6.5 million and a professional military of 20,500, they lack sufficient aircraft to police their own skies.
As a result, other members of 28-nation NATO take turns patrolling the trio's airspace on rotations lasting several months, out of a base in Lithuania. Denmark took over from France in September. Russian aircraft bound for Kaliningrad - sandwiched between the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and fellow ex-communist NATO member Poland - have at times strayed into the Baltic states' skies without permission.
The line between navigational error and Russian "buzzing" of the Baltics can be hazy, experts say. While the planes involved in Monday's incident did not actually cross into the Baltic states' airspace, it comes amid growing disquiet about a Russian build-up in the region.
The Baltic states have stressed repeatedly that improving ties with their resurgent former master is by far their preferred option. But their concerns increased after Russia's 2008 war with ex-Soviet Georgia, as well as Moscow's affirmation in its military doctrine that NATO's expansion is a threat, and by military exercises with scenarios including cutting off the Baltic states from the rest of NATO.
Worries have been stoked by the bolstering of a brigade of marines in Kaliningrad, and reported Russian deployment there of a new anti-aircraft missile system sweeping the Baltic states and Poland.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Norway pulls Falcons back

HELSINKI - Norway has withdrawn its F-16 fighter squadron from NATO's Operation Unified Protector (OUP). The return of the F-16s ends Norway's direct involvement in the operation and the enforcement of NATO's no-fly zone over Libya.
Danish F-16 fighters are seen at the Italian military airport of Sigonella in March. Norway has withdrawn its F-16 fighters from NATO's Libya operation, but Denmark's fighter jets have continued bombing missions. (Mario LaPorta / AFP via Getty Images)
The Norwegian Air Force's squadron, comprising six F-16s, flew 596 missions, almost 10 percent of the total by NATO-aligned aircraft, since March. The aircraft dropped 542 bombs and logged about 2,000 hours of flight time over the four-month period, according to Norwegian Ministry of Defense figures.
The number of missions flown by the aircraft declined in June when two F-16s were recalled to Norway from Souda Airbase in Crete. Britain compensated for the partial withdrawal, sending an extra four Panavia Tornado GR.4 ground-attack jets to replace the F-16s.
By contrast, Denmark's F-16 fighter squadron, which joined the operation in early April, dropped some 705 bombs, including seven precision bombs, on Libya, according to the latest data from the Danish Ministry of Defense.
In recent weeks, six Danish Air Force F-16s have been engaged in bombing missions on targets located between Zlitan and the Libyan capital Tripoli. Targets have included military depots and support facilities.
The Libyan mission cost the Danes up to $16 million a month, a figure that excludes capital outlay to replace precision missiles, bombs and other munitions. The Danes' core arsenal includes GBU-49 type 500-pound bombs and 1-ton bunker killer BLU-109 warheads.
The Zlitan area, which lies 160 kilometers east of Tripoli, has seen increased fighting between rebel groups and forces loyal to the Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, in recent weeks.

Denmark Extends Libya Mission

COPENHAGEN - Denmark decided Aug. 11 to extend its participation in NATO operations in Libya for three months and to allow the rebel National Transitional Council to send envoys to Copenhagen.
Denmark's multi-party Libya contact group announced at a news conference the Scandinavian country's six F-16 fighter jets would continue participating in NATO bombing missions over Libya for another three-month renewable period after the current one expires later this month.
"There is a broad agreement that the strategy we have chosen is the right one," Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen told AFP after the news conference.
She insisted that Denmark's participation in the NATO operations was creating a possibility for Libya to become a free and democratic society.
"But the pressure must remain on (Libyan leader Moammar) Gadhafi, so we will maintain our strategy, but adjust it so that it fits the developments of the past couple of months," she said, adding there were no plans to pull the Danish fighters out of Libya any time soon.
"We agree that Denmark must be patient and steadfast. We will continue both the military pressure on Gadhafi and our political efforts to find a political solution to the problems in Libya," Espersen told AFP.
The foreign minister added that Denmark was prepared to welcome envoys from the NTC as representatives of their country, after Copenhagen on Aug. 9 declared the two remaining Libyan diplomats appointed by the Gadhafi regime persona non grata.
"We have chosen to say that we are positively inclined to letting the National Transitional Council have a political representative in Denmark in order to have a partner for political dialogue so we are also able to ensure they move along the road of democracy," Espersen said.
She stressed the TNC had not yet applied for such a post, and it was not yet clear whether such a representative would be able to move into Libya's now empty embassy.
Other parties said they supported the strategy.
"I hope we soon see an end-date (for military operations), but that depends on when Gadhafi leaves the scene," Mogens Lykketoft, the foreign policy spokesman of the main opposition Social Democrats, told AFP.
The Socialist People's Party also agreed with the decision, and the party's defense spokesman Holger Nielsen told AFP that if the left-leaning opposition wins general elections - set to be held in Denmark no later than November - it would not shift the strategy.
"We have broad consensus among most political parties in parliament about this military mission, so I do not see any changes in the Danish policy towards Libya," he said.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Huge Cyber Spying Effort Revealed, China Suspected


WASHINGTON - The United States, United Nations, defense contractors and the International Olympic Committee were targets of a massive global cyber spying campaign, a computer security firm said on Aug. 3, with China seen as the likely culprit.
McAfee vice president for threat research Dmitri Alperovitch described it as a "five-year targeted operation by one specific actor" but declined to identify the country responsible.
California-based McAfee said in a report it had identified 72 victims in 14 countries of a sophisticated hacking effort dubbed "Operation Shady RAT," which it traced back to at least 2006.
The "compromised parties" included the governments of Canada, India, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States and Vietnam, McAfee said, as well as a U.S. Department of Energy research laboratory and around a dozen U.S. defense contractors.
Others included computer networks of the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the International Olympic Committee, Asian and Western national Olympic committees and the Montreal-based World Anti-Doping Agency.
In a conference call with reporters, Alperovitch, the lead author of the report, said the intrusions into the systems of defense contractors targeted "sensitive military technologies."
He said McAfee had notified law enforcement about the cyber espionage campaign, briefed the White House and members of the U.S. Congress and was working with some of the targeted companies on remediation efforts.
"We believe based on the targeting and the scale and the impact of these operations, and the fact that they didn't just have an economic gain in mind but also political and military, that that this is clearly a nation-state but we're not pointing the finger at anyone," Alperovitch said.
James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the evidence may not be "conclusive in a legal sense," but suspicion points towards China.
"You can think of at least three other large programs attributed to China that look very similar," Lewis told AFP. "It's a pattern of activity that we've seen before."
Google said in June that a cyber spying campaign originating in China had targeted Gmail accounts of senior U.S. officials, military personnel, journalists and Chinese political activists.
In January of last year, Google announced it was halting censorship of its Internet search engine in China after coming under attack along with 20 other companies from hackers based there.
In February, McAfee said in another report that hackers in China have penetrated computer networks of global oil companies, stealing financial documents on bidding plans and other confidential information.
McAfee said it had discovered the "Shady RAT" series of cyber attacks by gaining access to a command and control server in a Western country used by the intruders and examining its logs.
"After painstaking analysis of the logs, even we were surprised by the enormous diversity of the victim organizations and were taken aback by the audacity of the perpetrators," McAfee said.
McAfee said attacks on Asian and Western national Olympic committees, the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency occurred in the lead-up and immediate follow-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
It described this as "particularly intriguing and potentially pointed a finger at a state actor behind the intrusions, because there is likely no commercial benefit to be earned from such hacks."
Other targets included a private Western organization focused on promoting democracy, two U.S. national security think tanks, South Korean steel and construction firms, a Danish satellite communications company, a Singapore electronics company, a Taiwanese electronics firm, Vietnam's government-owned technology company and U.S. state and county governments, McAfee said.
It said a major U.S. news organization - identified as the Associated Press by The Washington Post - was "compromised at its New York headquarters and Hong Kong bureau for more than 21 months."
McAfee said the attacks involved sending infected emails to employees of the targeted companies. When opened, the emails implanted malware and established a backdoor communication channel to the command and control server.
Data theft appeared to be the chief objective of the attackers but Alperovitch warned the "potential exists for even more insidious activity."
"These intruders are in our systems, in the systems of all these companies, in all these government systems," he said. "The likelihood that they'll escalate the activity from just stealing data to modifying data or destroying data or destroying systems is also there."

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Norway Withdraws Jets from Libya Ops: Military

OSLO - Norway on Aug. 1 withdrew as planned its final four F-16 fighter jets that have been taking part in the NATO-led mission over Libya, the Norwegian military said.
The Norwegian planes, which landed at their bases in Bodoe in the north of Norway and in Oerland in the central west of the country, carried out 583 missions, out of a total of 6,493 flown by NATO since March 31, and dropped 569 bombs, military spokesman Petter Lindqvist told AFP.
On June 10, the center-left government, split over Norway's prolonged participation in the bombing, announced it would gradually withdraw its six F-16 fighter jets stationed at the Souda base on the Greek island of Crete.
The government explained that its small air force could not sustain a large air contribution for a long period of time.
Only eight of NATO's 28 member states have flown bombing missions since the alliance took command of the operation on March 31: Norway, Britain, France, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Italy and the United States.
London has increased its contribution by adding four Tornado jets, effectively making up for the loss of the Norwegian planes.
NATO officials say Norway's departure will not affect the tempo of air operations, which have averaged more than 100 sorties per day including around 50 missions aimed at hitting targets.
The Scandinavian country, shocked by a bombing and shooting spree committed by a far-right extremist, will continue its involvement in the operation with 10 officers posted at the Libya air command centre based in Italy.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Turkey Still Hopes To Order First F-35

ANKARA - Although Turkey still plans to buy about 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, it has not formally committed to the U.S.-led program. To do so, it needs to submit a purchase order for a first batch of six aircraft before the end of this year.
"We will have talks [with the Americans] in the months ahead in an effort to resolve some matters," said Murad Bayar, chief of the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, the government's defense procurement agency. "If we manage to reach an agreement, we expect to order the first six aircraft this year. We expect to reach a deal."
The F-35, whose production is led by Lockheed Martin, will be built by a consortium of nine countries, including Turkey. Other members of the consortium are Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Norway and Denmark.
A few years ago, when Turkey's planned buy of about 100 jets was expected to cost approximately $10 billion, Turkish companies grabbed project work worth up to $5 billion. But the unit price has gone up over the past two years, exceeding $12 billion, according to Turkish officials.
Now Turkish companies seek to raise their share to around $6 billion to stay near the planned 50 percent figure. In addition, the U.S. remains reluctant to share millions of lines of source code that make the plane's flight possible. But Turkey wants access to part of the source code related to operational needs.
But placing an order for the first six aircraft before the end of this year is related mostly to early deliveries, around 2014 and 2015, and failure to do so would not undermine participation in the program, Bayar said.
"If we don't place the first purchase order by the year end, it would not necessarily mean that we have failed to agree. It may mean that we, at this point, may not have the finances," Bayar said. "Anyway, we hope that none of this happens."
The F-35 comes in three variants for conventional takeoff and landing, short takeoff and vertical landing, and for aircraft carrier operations.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Danish Planes in Libya Running Out of Bombs: Report


COPENHAGEN - The Danish military forces operating in Libya are running out of bombs for their F-16 fighter jets and have asked the Netherlands to help replenish their stock, a report said June 9.
"The Danish F-16s are about to run out of bombs to continue to attack Libya," the Politiken daily said, citing unnamed defense sources.
"The Danish military has therefore asked Holland for help," it added.
A spokesman for the Danish military's logistics division did not confirm the report but said his department was speaking to other coalition partners about supplies.
"It is our job to always support operations in the short, medium and long-term and we always have a close cooperation with our F-16 partnership countries, in particular Norway and the Netherlands," Anders Paaskesen of the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation told AFP.
Denmark was one of the first countries to offer air assets for the international air campaign to protect Libyan civilians from Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
Its fighter jets have been participating in the mission since March 20.
Denmark has six F-16 jets stationed at the Signonella base of the Italian island of Sicily, four of which are operational at any given time.
Since operations began, the Danish jets have carried out 274 sorties and dropped 494 precision bombs, Inge Borggaard of the Air Force Tactical Command told AFP.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Al-Qaida Plotted to Kill Lockheed Martin Chief: Testimony

CHICAGO - A Pakistini-based branch of al-Qaida was hatching a plot to kill the head of U.S. defense group Lockheed Martin, self-confessed terrorist David Coleman Headley testified in a U.S. court Tuesday.
In this courtroom drawing, David Coleman Headley faces U.S. District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber on March 18 in Chicago. (Carol Renaud / AFP via Getty Images)
"There was a plan to kill him because he was making drones," Headley testified during the Chicago trial of his childhood friend, Tahawwur Hussain Rana.
Headley pleaded guilty to 12 terrorism charges related to the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks and other unrealized plots in the wake of his 2009 arrest in Chicago.
He is testifying against alleged co-conspirator Rana in exchange for avoiding the death penalty and extradition to India, Pakistan or Denmark.
Headley testified that he secretly used Rana's office computer for research on the plot to assassinate the Lockheed Martin executive but dismissed his brief online search there as insignificant.
"My research is more in-depth than Googling someone a couple of times," he testified during cross-examination by Rana's defense attorney.
Headley said he was working on the plot with Ilyas Kashmiri, the commander of the Pakistani-based terrorist organization Harakat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI), and a senior member of al-Qaida.
Headley pleaded guilty to working with Kashmiri on a plot to attack the Danish newspaper Jyllen Posten, which published controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammed, after Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) got distracted with the Mumbai plot.
Rana is accused of providing Headley with a cover and acting as a messenger, with prosecutors alleging he played a behind-the-scenes logistical role in both the Mumbai attacks and another abortive plan to strike Copenhagen.
Rana, a Canadian-Pakistani and Chicago businessman, has denied all charges, and his defense attorneys argue that he was duped by his friend, whom he had met in military school.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

NATO Denies Reported Bomb Shortage in Libya

PARIS - Countries in the NATO-led air campaign have enough precision munitions and aircraft to attack ground targets and keep military pressure on the Libyan government forces, a senior alliance official and national defense officials said.
Above, French armement air-sol modulaire guided bombs. France and other NATO nations deny that their bomb stockpiles are running low. (Wikipedia)
Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, the chairman of NATO's military committee, denied that the air operation in Libya was running short of aircraft or munitions.
"Assets are important; the alliance welcomes any contributions, including strike assets, but there is no substantial lack," Di Paola said April 20. "Any added contribution is welcome, and there is no commander who does not ask. But beyond these alarmist rumors, there is no lack. The operation continues."
The remarks follow an April 15 Washington Post report that said Britain, France and other European countries were running low on stocks of laser-guided bombs.
Other officials from NATO and allied countries said there were enough smart bombs in inventories to maintain the operational pace.
"Military aircraft is an issue for the nations. The availability of military munitions is also dealt with by individual nations contributing to our operations. We have not had any report that they are limited or constrained in the execution of operations. So I think that there's no problem," said Brig. Gen. Mark van Uhm, chief of allied operations at Allied Command Operations.
French officials concurred.
"There is no shortage," French Air Force spokesman Maj. Eric Trihoreau said April 19. "We can maintain this level without a limit on time."
The spokesman for the French Joint Staff, Army Col. Thierry Burkhard, also denied there was a lack of precision guided weapons.
"There is no problem with munitions," Burkhard said. "Stocks are being consumed, but that has not constrained the conduct of operations."
A French industry executive said in any conflict there is a natural concern over the level of munitions, but in the present campaign, there appeared to be enough bombs. In the 1991 Gulf War, coalition countries bought bombs from partners as stocks ran low.
The French government last year ordered Paveway II and Enhanced Paveway II kits to adapt GBU 12 and 49 "dumb bombs" into guided weapons, an industry source said. Deliveries of the Raytheon-built kits were made before the Libya campaign started.
The Mirage 2000D, Super Etendard and Rafale are certified for the Paveway II, while the Rafale has not yet been certified for the improved version.
In February 2010, France ordered 680 armement air-sol modulaire (AASM) guided bombs from Sagem, following an initial order of 750. The AASM kit comes in three versions: GPS/INS, GPS/INS and infrared, and GPS/INS and laser.
In 2009, the government cut the total purchase of AASMs to 2,348 from a planned 3,000 units including 1,200 with laser guidance, according to a 2010 French parliamentary report cited by newsweekly Le Point. At a total budget of 846 million euros ($1.2 billion), that implied an average unit price of 350,000 euros for the AASM, the parliamentary report said.
French warplanes have fired about 10 MBDA Scalp EG air-launched cruise missiles against Libyan ground targets, Burkhard said.
Di Paola said NATO's air campaign was reaching its goals.
"We are preventing Gadhafi from using his full firepower, which is considerable. We are forcing him to use different tactics. In Misrata, it is terrible that he is using mortars and rockets, but with his full firepower it would be a disaster. What we are forcing him to use is less lethal than his heavy tanks and heavy guns," he said.
But di Paola did admit that NATO was less able to stop Gadhafi waging the battle on the streets.
"Rockets and mortars are easily moved and hidden. They are in the urban area in Misrata," he said. "How can we take out a pickup with a mortar in a courtyard of a building without destroying the building?"
NATO is not currently considering the use of ground troops, Di Paola said, but that does not rule out individual nations sending troops into Libya.
"NATO is not the international community. It is an instrument which has taken on part of the commitment, meaning the no-fly zone, the embargo and humanitarian protection. Single countries also have a responsibility to honor the U.N. resolution and bring the crisis to resolution," he said.
Di Paola, the former chief of staff of the Italian military, said that, in any case, any military campaign would not be enough to bring the conflict in Libya to an end.
"There is not only a military strategy; this effort has to be multipronged, including financial measures, meaning sanctions and diplomatic activity," he said. "This is not a conventional war, it's a campaign to sustain a political and economic effort."
A spokeswoman for the Royal Air Force said it had sufficient stocks of ammunition and shortages were "not an issue."
The RAF has used MBDA developed Dual Mode Brimstone and Storm Shadow missiles and Raytheon's Paveway IV and Enhanced Paveway 2 as its strike weapons in Libya. With the exception of Storm Shadow, the weapons are also regularly used against the Taliban in Afghanistan where the RAF also has jets deployed.
A senior British air force officer also denied Britain has a problem with its munitions stocks. He said as far as he was aware, Denmark was the only nation that had had a problem and it had its stocks topped up by the U.S. military.
Micheal Langberg, the head of information at the Danish Air Force's tactical command, said he didn't know whether its munitions - GBU49s and GBU31s - were Danish or American, but the Air Force is "not short of weapons." The Danish Defence Acquisition & Logistics Organisation responsible for buying precision guided munitions and other weapons was not immediately available.
-- Andrew Chuter in London, Julian Hale in Brussels and Tom Kington in Rome contributed to this report.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

NATO Now in Full Control of Libya Mission

BRUSSELS - NATO on March 31 warned Libyan forces they would be "ill-advised" to kill civilians as the alliance took sole command of air strikes that were under U.S. leadership.
Libyan rebels drive toward the city of Brega on March 31, en route to a battle with forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. (Mahmud Hams / Agence France-Presse)
An armada of ships and warplanes from the United States, France, Britain, Canada and other coalition nations came under NATO control after the 28-nation military organization overcame internal divisions to take over the mission.
U.S., British, French, Canadian, Danish and Belgian jets have attacked Moammar Gadhafi's ground forces since March 19 under a U.N. mandate to use "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.
Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, commander of Operation Unified Protector, said NATO aircraft had flown 90 missions since the alliance took charge at 0600 GMT March 31.
"Those who are acting against the civilian population and civilian centers, you would be ill-advised to continue such activities, I recommend that you cease these activities," Bouchard told reporters via video link from his headquarters in Naples, Italy, stressing that NATO would remain "impartial."
The United States, already stretched after a decade of combat in Afghanistan and a fragile situation in Iraq, had been eager to hand over control of the operations to someone else.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance will be able to declare "mission accomplished" when "the civilian population in Libya is not under threat any longer."
But he acknowledged it was impossible to know when this would happen, and he stressed that a political solution, not just military means, was needed to resolve the conflict.
"I urge all parties to seek a political decision sooner rather than later and ensure a political transition to democracy. But I'm not able to lay out a timetable," he said at a conference in Stockholm.
The alliance stressed it would stick to the U.N. mandate to shield civilians, as Rasmussen reiterated his opposition to arming the rebels.
The head of NATO's military committee, Italian Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, said there was no discussion about deploying troops. He also denied that NATO was coordinating its operations with the rebels.
Asked about reports that the CIA was on the ground in Libya, Di Paola said NATO does not question the source of intelligence it receives from allies.
Di Paola said he expected some 20 NATO allies to provide assets for one or all three operations under alliance control - the strikes on ground forces threatening civilians, a no-fly zone, and an arms embargo.
But key NATO members have voiced unease about the bombing missions.
Bouchard vowed that NATO pilots would conduct their missions "with care and precision" in order to "avoid harming the people of Libya."
The general launched a probe into allegations made by a Tripoli-based Italian bishop that dozens of civilians were killed during coalition bombings.
No date was given for the incident, which could not be independently verified.
Turkey, NATO's sole Muslim member, criticized the scope of the coalition strikes and has made clear its planes would not take part in any airstrikes.
Another major NATO member, Germany, refused to vote for the U.N. Security Council resolution that authorized the use of force and will stay out of the offensive operations.
The Netherlands has contributed planes but they will only participate in maintaining a no-fly zone to prevent hostile jets from flying, not the strikes against other targets.
NATO wants to bring outside partners into the mission, especially Arab nations. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are the only Middle Eastern nations to have provided jets.
Sweden, a NATO partner but not member, offered fighter jets but said it would not conduct ground strikes.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

NATO Starts Taking Control of Libya Operations

BRUSSELS - NATO on March 30 began to take command of Libyan air bombing operations from a U.S.-led coalition, as warplanes and other assets from several allies came under the military organization's control.
French Air Force Rafale jets, right and center, and a French Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet are shown March 30 over the Mediterranean Sea. The jets are taking part in the military Libya operations, soon to be led by NATO. (Gerard Julien / Agence France-Presse)
"NATO aircraft are flying under NATO command in the Libyan sky," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said.
"This is a phased process, which will be completed as soon as all allies and partners have transferred authority for their assets."
The 28-member alliance is gradually replacing the United States at the helm of aerial missions that have been conducted by U.S., French, British and other coalition planes since March 19 to protect civilians from Moammar Gadhafi's ground forces.
Britain, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands placed all or part of their military assets under NATO's authority on March 30, an alliance official said on condition of anonymity.
NATO's combined air operations centre in Poggio Renatico, northern Italy, transmitted flight plans to units involved in the aerial campaign, the official said.
A NATO diplomat has said that the alliance would effectively be in full command of the operations on March 31.
NATO has enforced an arms embargo off Libya's coast since last week and also is policing Libya's skies to prevent hostile jets from flying.
NATO agreed to take on the broader mission - strikes against forces threatening civilians - on March 27 after overcoming Turkish concerns about the air strikes and French reluctance to hand the lead to the alliance.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Coalition Against Gadhafi Growing

Overall direction of the extended, multi-national effort to enforce a United Nations-mandated no-fly zone over Libya is not yet clear. While the U.S. is leading military operations, several key NATO partners are also involved in combat operations which began March 19.
One of about 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by coalition forces against Libyan government targets March 19 rises from the U.S. destroyer Barry. (Interior Communications Electrician Fireman Roderick Eubanks / U.S. Navy)
"The U.S. is militarily in the lead," Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, director of the U.S. Joint Staff, said at a March 20 Pentagon briefing, but the goal is to shift to a coalition-led leadership structure.
"We do not know when we'll be ready to do that and we don't yet know what that structure will be," he told reporters.
The immediate goal of the combat operations is not to oust Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but to protect civilians with the establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya's northern regions, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said while making the rounds of Sunday-morning talk shows,
U.S. forces gathered to conduct military operations against Libya are organized under U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), commanded by Army Gen. Carter Ham from his headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. Adm. Samuel Locklear is in tactical command of Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn aboard the flagship Mount Whitney in the Mediterranean. Locklear is triple-hatted as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe, U.S. Naval Forces Africa and of the Allied Joint Force Command, headquartered in Naples, Italy.
British Major Gen. John Lorimer described the command structure at a morning briefing March 20. "This operation is currently under U.S. command, supported closely by French and U.K. armed forces. AFRICOM is the supported Combatant Command, and U.K. has liaison officers and staff embedded at every level," Lorimer said.
A French defense ministry source told Agence France-Presse March 20 that coalition members conducting air strikes on Libyan targets are coordinating their actions but there is no central command organizing the attacks.
"There is no centralized headquarters and at this stage everyone is using their own headquarters in a coordinated manner," the French source said.
The French are operating out of Mont Verdun, near Lyon in the east of the country, where the air force has its chief air defense control center. The British headquarters are at Northwood, in the suburbs of London, and those of the United States at Ramstein in southwest Germany. The American HQ has the "greater planning capacity," the French source said.
He added that there were "exchanges of staff between the three HQs," in particular between Mont Verdun and Ramstein, and a "definition of command structures as the deployment takes place."
The purpose of Operation Odyssey Dawn, according to AFRICOM, "is to enforce U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, which is centered on protecting Libyan citizens from any further harm from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's regime."
First Strikes 'Effective'
Forces from the U.S., France, Italy, Canada and the United Kingdom were involved in the initial operations and strikes on Libya on March 19, which included the launch of at least 110 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles from U.S. surface ships and submarines and one British submarine.
Gortney said on March 20 that more Tomahawks had been launched since then, bringing the total to 124.
Combat aircraft from the U.S., U.K., and France took part in the first strikes on Libyan targets. Many of the aircraft are operating from at least seven air bases in southern Italy.
The first strikes were aimed at Libya's air defense systems, including SA-2, SA-3 and SA-5 surface-to-air guided missiles, and their guidance radars.
"We judge these strikes to have been very effective in degrading their systems," Gortney said. "There has been no new air activity by the regime," he said. "The fixed missiles, SA-2, 3 and 5, and early warning radars have been taken down and we do not see them emitting."
Further strikes were conducted March 20 against Libyan government forces about 10 miles south of Benghazi, Gortney said. While battle reports are still coming in, "we judge those strikes at having been quite successful at halting ground movement."
"Benghazi is certainly not safe from attack but is certainly safer than yesterday," he added.
The attacks were carried out by U.S., British and French strike aircraft, Gortney said, supported by U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft flying from land bases.
Strikes were also conducted against the Ghadrabiya air base, a joint military and civilian facility, Gortney said. U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers using joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs) took on the mission, flown from their base at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, he added. A number of military targets at the base were destroyed, he said.
There were no indications of civilian casualties, Gortney said.
The Libyan government has claimed that at least 48 people have died in the assaults.
Libyan leader Gadhafi is not a target.
"At this point I can guarantee that he is not on a targeting list," Gortney said.
No coalition aircraft have been lost, he noted.
Coalition forces are not now targeting mobile anti-aircraft sites, Gortney, said, including SA-6 and SA-8 mobile missile launchers or the many hand-held SA-7 missile launchers, nor are anti-aircraft guns being directly targeted.
"There are so many mobile guns that it's better to avoid them," he explained.
Gortney would not answer questions about specific nations allowing coalition aircraft to operate from their bases or about overflight issues.
Gadhafi's call for a cease fire garnered little respect from Gortney.
"I question anything that Gadhafi calls for," Gortney said. "He moved troops into Benghazi after he called for a cease fire."
Gortney noted growing support for the coalition operations.
"Shortly before I came, in here the Arab League endorsed our enforcement of the no-fly zone," he said.
Coalition Growing
The coalition supporting the no-fly zone against Libya is growing, Gortney said, and is not limited.
"We'll take as many coalition partners as will commit to do this with us," he said. "We have many nations that are waiting to announce themselves."
More forces from the first five countries are en route to the region, and several other nations have joined the coalition or appear about to join.
Here is a country-by-country breakdown of the forces as of March 20:
UNITED STATES
· Submarines Providence, Scranton and Florida launching Tomahawks.
· Destroyers Barry and Stout launching Tomahawks.
· Amphibious assault ships Kearsarge and Ponce, carrying Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).
· Command ship Mount Whitney.
· Support ships Lewis and Clark, Robert E. Peary and Kanawha.
· U.S. Navy aircraft include EA-18G Growler electronic air warfare aircraft, at least four P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and one EP-3E Aries electronic surveillance aircraft, all flying from land bases in the Mediterranean. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier jets are operating from the Kearsarge.
· Air Force aircraft include B-2 stealth bombers flying from Missouri and F-15 and F-16 fighters from unspecified bases.
· The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group will deploy from Norfolk,Va., on March 23 ahead of schedule to support Odyssey Dawn operations. The group includes the amphibious ships Bataan, Mesa Verde and Whidbey Island carrying the 22nd MEU.
FRANCE
· Aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle left its base at Toulon March 20 en route to waters off Libya. De Gaulle is carrying 20 aircraft, including Rafale and Super Etendard strike fighters, and is escorted by the destroyers Dupleix and Forbin, frigate Aconit, oiler La Meuse, and an unnamed nuclear attack submarine.
· Destroyer Jean Bart already on the scene.
· French land-based strike aircraft spearheaded the March 19 attacks on Libya.
ITALY
· Destroyer Andrea Doria Frigate Euro Support ship Etna As of early March 20, more ships were to be en route from Italy: Destroyer Francesco Mimbelli; frigate Fenice; patrol ships Libra and Sirio; amphibious ships San Giorgio and San Marco.
· At least 4 Tornado strike aircraft and 4 other combat aircraft are available.
CANADA
· Frigate Charlottetown Six CF-18 Hornet strike fighters Canada's forces are operating as part of Operation Mobile.
UNITED KINGDOM
· Unnamed Trafalgar-class nuclear attack submarine launching Tomahawks.
· Frigates Westminster and Cumberland.
· Typhoon and Tornado strike aircraft operating from Gioia del Colle air base in southern Italy. Tornado GR4s with Storm Shadow cruise missiles took place in the initial strikes on March 19, flying from the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Marham in Norfolk, eastern England. Agence France-Presse reported the aircraft conducted four mid-air refueling operations during the 3,000-mile, eight-hour mission, the longest Royal Air Force bombing mission since the 1982 Falklands war. The British effort against Libya is dubbed Operation Ellamy.
· Additionally, E3-D Sentry, Sentinel and Tristar surveillance aircraft and VC-10 aerial tankers are operating.
BELGIUM
· Six F-16 fighters to be ready for operations March 21.
DENMARK
· Six F-16 fighters and a transport are operating from Sigonella air base on Sicily.
QATAR
· Four combat aircraft reportedly are in operation by March 20.
SPAIN
· Four F-18 strike fighters are operating from Decimomannu air base on the Italian island of Sardinia.
· One aerial tanker and one CN-235 maritime surveillance plane.
· A submarine and frigate are to deploy this week pending parliamentary approval, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
· Strike aircraft are reported en route to Decimomannu air base.
The U.S. aircraft carrier Enterprise, which recently passed through the Mediterranean, is now in the Arabian Sea conducting air operations over Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom.
Compiled from reports from U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Navy, British Ministry of Defence, Canadian Forces, Agence France-Presse and Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Saturday, March 19, 2011

West Mobilizes For Libya Air Strikes

BRUSSELS, Belgium - A coalition of Western nations mobilized Friday to launch quick air strikes against Libya after the United Nations approved military action to prevent Moammar Gadhafi from crushing insurgents.
The United States, Britain and France were expected to scramble fighter jets against Gadhafi's forces after they secured the UN Security Council's blessing.
Paris warned military action was imminent.
The strikes will come "rapidly ... within a few hours," French government spokesman Francois Baroin said after the UN Security Council approved "all necessary measures" to impose a no-fly zone on Libya.
The goal of the operation would be to "protect the Libyan people and to allow them to go all the way in their drive for freedom, which means bringing down the Gadhafi regime," Baroin told RTL radio.
The three military powers could be joined by Canada, which according to Canadian media planned to deploy six CF-18 fighter jets.
Norway said it would take part in the operation and Denmark awaited parliamentary approval before joining the action with F-16 warplanes. Poland offered logistical support but no role in a military strike force.
NATO was holding a meeting to decide what, if any, role it may take.
The West could be joined by Arab nations in the endeavor after the Arab League pressed for the international community to impose a no-fly zone against Gadhafi's forces.
Qatar's foreign ministry said the Gulf state would "contribute in the efforts aiming at stopping bloodshed and protecting civilians in Libya" and urged quick action to impose the no-fly zone, the state news agency said.
The UN's approval of the measures sparked celebrations in the rebel bastion of Benghazi in eastern Libya where the opposition had urged the international community to act quickly.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UN measures were needed to "avoid greater bloodshed" and stop Gadhafi from attacking his own people.
"This places a responsibility on the members of the UN and that is a responsibility to which the United Kingdom will now respond," Hague said.
Britain's Royal Air Force is expected to send Tornado attack aircraft equipped with precise weapons from their bases in Marham, east England, and Lossiemouth in Scotland.
NATO convened a meeting to debate whether the 28-nation military alliance would take part of the international effort.
"For any NATO operation, there needs to be a demonstrable need for the alliance to act, firm regional support and a clear legal basis," said NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu.
"Under those three conditions, NATO stands ready to act as part of the broad international effort," she said.
NATO allies have been divided about intervening in Libya, with Germany and Turkey voicing opposition to a military intervention.
Germany was among five nations, alongside China and Russia, that abstained from voting for the UN resolution, which passed 10-0 late Thursday.
Warning of "considerable risks and dangers," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle insisted no German troops would participate in military intervention.
"We remain eminently skeptical on the option of military intervention ... anticipated in this resolution. We see in it considerable risks and dangers. That is why we could not approve this part of the text," a statement said.
Russia also ruled out taking part in the operation.
The UN Security Council also agreed to protect civilian areas and impose a ceasefire on Gadhafi's military, but ruled out sending ground troops.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Canada Opposition Unhappy With F-35's Costs


OTTAWA - Canada significantly overpaid for new fighter jets jointly developed with the United States and its allies, a parliamentary watchdog said March 10.
Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page said in a report that Canada should expect to dole out as much as C$29.3 billion ($30 billion) for the purchase and maintenance of 65 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter over 30 years.
The estimate is nearly double the amount suggested by the government, and opposition parties pounced on the report to criticize Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet, set to replace a large part of the U.S. and Canadian warplane fleets, has become the most expensive weapons program ever, drawing increased scrutiny at a time of tight public finances.
The fifth-generation fighter was built with features designed to help avoid enemy radar and ensure supremacy in the skies for decades.
But it has been criticized for a series of cost overruns and delays, and now there is potential competition from China, which in January unveiled its first radar-evading combat aircraft.
At the same time, the contract awarded in 2001 had been planned to last 10 years, but has been extended to 2016 because of testing and design issues.
The United States is covering 90 percent of its development costs but has participation from Britain, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Australia and Canada.
Other nations, including Israel and Singapore, have signed contracts to buy the plane.
Canada's main opposition Liberals, which committed to the F-35 program when in power in 1997, are now using the lack of open competition to replace Canada's aging fleet of fighter jets to press for a change in government.
Jay Paxton, spokesman for Defense Minister Peter MacKay, however stood by the government's procurement cost projections of C$9 billion ($9.2 billion) to buy and C$250-300 million ($256-308 million) annually to maintain over 20 years.
"The F-35 is the only jet that can meet the needs of the Air Force, as noted by Mr. Page," Paxton added. "Simply put, this is the best plane for the best price."