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15 Sep 19. U.S. blames Iran for Saudi oil attack, Trump says ‘locked and loaded.’ U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States was “locked and loaded” for a potential response to the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, after a senior U.S. administration official said Iran was to blame.
Trump also authorized the use of the U.S. emergency oil stockpile to ensure stable supplies after the attack, which shut 5% of world production and sent crude prices soaring more than 19% in early trade on Monday, before moderating to show a 10% gain.
There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!” Trump said on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, a senior U.S. official told reporters that evidence from the attack, which hit the world’s biggest oil-processing facility, indicated Iran was behind it, instead of the Yemeni Houthi group that had claimed responsibility.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said there was no evidence the attack came from Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthis for over four years in a conflict widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Muslim rival Iran.
“Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” Pompeo said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi dismissed the U.S. allegations that it was responsible was “pointless”. A senior Revolutionary Guards commander warned the Islamic Republic was ready for “full-fledged” war.
“All American bases and their aircraft carriers in a distance of up to 2,000 kilometres around Iran are within the range of our missiles,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Commander Amirali Hajizadeh as saying.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran were already running high because of a long-running dispute between the two nations over Iran’s nuclear program that led the United States to impose sweeping sanctions.
Oil prices surged as much as 19% in early Asian trade on Monday on worries over global supply and soaring tensions in the Middle East.
Brent crude LCOc1 posted its biggest intra-day percentage gain since the start of the Gulf War in 1991.
State oil giant Saudi Aramco said the attack on Saturday had cut output by 5.7 million barrels per day.
The U.S. official, who asked not to be named, said on Sunday there were 19 points of impact in the attack on Saudi facilities and evidence showed the launch area was west-northwest of the targets – not south from Yemen.
The official added that Saudi officials indicated they had seen signs that cruise missiles were used in the attack, which is inconsistent with the Iran-aligned Houthi group’s claim that it conducted the attack with 10 drones.
“There’s no doubt that Iran is responsible for this. No matter how you slice it, there’s no escaping it. There’s no other candidate,” the official told reporters.
Riyadh has accused Iran of being behind previous attacks on oil-pumping stations and the Shaybah oil field, charges that Tehran denies, but has not blamed anyone for Saturday’s strike. Riyadh also says Tehran arms the Houthis, a charge both deny. Richard Nephew, a program director at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, said if Iran was responsible for the attack, it may be as retribution for U.S. sanctions.
“They are making decisions about whether and how to respond to what they see as a massive attack on their interests from the U.S. via sanctions by attacking U.S. interests in turn, and those of U.S. partners they believe are responsible for U.S. policy,” he said.
Aramco gave no timeline for output resumption. A source close to the matter told Reuters the return to full oil capacity could take “weeks, not days”.
Riyadh said it would compensate for the damage at its facilities by drawing on its stocks, which stood at 188 million barrels in June, according to official data.
Trump said he had “authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, if needed, in a to-be-determined amount sufficient to keep the markets well-supplied.”
CALLS FOR RESTRAINT
Consultancy Rapidan Energy Group said images of the Abqaiq facility after the attack showed about five of its stabilization towers appeared to have been destroyed, and would take months to rebuild – something that could curtail output for a prolonged period.
“However Saudi Aramco keeps some redundancy in the system to maintain production during maintenance,” Rapidan added, meaning operations could return to pre-attack levels sooner.
The Saudi bourse closed down 1.1% on Sunday, with banking and petrochemical shares taking the biggest hit. Saudi petrochemical firms announced a significant reduction in feedstock supplies.
“Abqaiq is the nerve centre of the Saudi energy system. Even if exports resume in the next 24 to 48 hours, the image of invulnerability has been altered,” Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told Reuters.
Some Iraqi media outlets said the attack came from there. Baghdad denied that on Sunday and vowed to punish anyone using Iraq, where Iran-backed paramilitary groups wield increasing power, as a launchpad for attacks.
Kuwait, which borders Iraq, said it was investigating the sighting of a drone over its territory and coordinating with Saudi Arabia and other countries.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Saturday’s attacks and called on all parties to exercise restraint and prevent any escalation. The European Union warned the strikes posed a real threat to regional security, and several nations urged restraint.
The attack came after Trump said a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was possible at the U.N. General Assembly in New York this month. Tehran ruled out talks until sanctions are lifted.
But Trump appeared on Sunday to play down the chances he might be willing to meet with Iranian officials, saying reports he would do so without conditions were not accurate.
As recently as last Tuesday, Pompeo said Trump “is prepared to meet with no preconditions”.
Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Trump that Riyadh was ready to deal with “terrorist aggression”. A Saudi-led coalition has responded to past Houthi attacks with air strikes on the group’s military sites in Yemen.
The conflict has been in military stalemate for years. The Saudi alliance has air supremacy but has come under scrutiny over civilian deaths and a humanitarian crisis that has left millions facing starvation. (Source: Reuters)
14 Sep 19. NATO Chiefs Support Afghanistan Resolute Support Mission, Look to Future. The maxim “in together, out together” still appends to NATO operations in Afghanistan, Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach said today at the conclusion of the alliance’s Military Committee meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Peach, the committee chairman, also spoke of the changes the committee is recommending to “operationalize” NATO’s new military strategy. He thanked Maj. Gen. Alenka Ermenc, the Slovenian military chief of staff, for the excellent work her military did in supporting the conference.
NATO must change with the times to ensure the alliance can continue to deter and defend in the Euro-Atlantic, Peach said. “The security challenges we face together as allies — all 29 of us — are becoming global,” the air chief marshal said. “The values-based system that we all share … is put under pressure.”
The chairman pointed to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its continued destabilization of Eastern Ukraine as just one example of the pressure the alliance is under.
“Another area where we see that challenge is the fight against terror,” he said. “As we recall 18 years since 9/11 this week, NATO has played a key role in fighting terrorism. It was the first and only time Article 5 was invoked.”
Prevention is better than intervention, Peach said, and the chiefs are committed to continuing to train local forces and build the capacities of nations so they can stabilize and secure their own countries. “All nations of the alliance benefit through membership, and we are all stronger together through our unity,” he said.
Fair burden-sharing in the alliance is crucial and all members are making progress on defense spending and capability-building, Peach said, noting that “Collective security is a price worth paying.”
NATO is a defensive alliance, but one that has the capacity to perform a wide variety of missions, he said. “As we stand here today, there are over 20,000 NATO personnel engaged in operations, missions and activities,” Peach said. “They — the armed forces — are the clearest and most powerful expression of everything the alliance stands for.”
Officials said the chiefs reaffirmed the alliance’s commitment to maintaining a deter and defend posture and to communicating to any possible adversary NATO’s determination to maintain peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic.
The chiefs are all behind the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.
“NATO allies and partners will continue to train the Afghan security forces,” Peach said. “We will help to make them stronger so they can fight international terrorism and create peace and stability in their country. All chiefs of staff, today, reaffirmed their support for the Resolute Support Mission.”
Officials said the chiefs also discussed the alliance’s new strategy and its warfighting concept. They agreed to develop the concept further to guide future military requirements.
“On the warfighting concept … and we will do further work on space, innovation and emerging and disruptive technology,” Peach said. “We are preparing for the future. We are preparing by making our forces fit for purpose.”
The chiefs also discussed ways to speed alliance decision-making at the strategic military level. (Source: US DoD)
14 Sep 19. Saudi Arabia – Eastern Province: Drone attacks cause fires at Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities on 14 September. On 14 September, the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed that drone attacks had targeted two major oil facilities in Eastern Province at c.0400 local time (0100 UTC), causing large fires, which are now under control, according to the Ministry’s security spokesperson. The facilities are situated in Abqaiq (south west of Dammam) and Khurais (between Dammam and Riyadh), located approximately 620 miles (1,000 km) and 560 miles (900 km) from the Yemeni border, respectively. Yemeni Houthi rebels have claimed they carried out the attacks using ten military-grade weaponised drones; the Saudi authorities have not commented on who was responsible for the attacks. In a similar recent incident, on 16 August the Saudi-led coalition confirmed that Houthi rebels conducted a military-grade weaponised drone attack targeting the Shaybah Oil Field facility in Eastern Province, located approximately 745 miles (1,200km) from the Yemeni border and close to the UAE border with the Kingdom. The Saudi authorities said the attack caused minor damage to the facility and oil production was reportedly not affected.
Prior to that, on 14 May the Saudi Arabian Oil Ministry indicated that two pumping stations west of Riyadh were targeted in a military-grade weaponised drone attack. On 1 August, the Houthis claimed to have launched a ‘Burkan-3’ ballistic missile at the Saudi city of Dammam located approximately 683 miles (1,100km) from the Yemen border; however, the authorities in the Kingdom have yet to comment on this claim. These locations lie outside the southwest provinces of Asir, Jizan and Najran, which are located within the Security Control of Air Traffic and Air Navigation Aids (SCATANA) area of Saudi Arabia, which is covered by a notice and a publication issued by the civil aviation authority of the country (NOTAM OEJD W0438/18; AIP SUP AIRAC 05/18 and 07/18). EASA, Germany and France have issued notices to operators advising against conducting civil aviation flight activity within the southwest provinces of Saudi Arabia (EASA CZIB 2018-01-R3, NOTAM EDGG B0609/19, France – AIC A 03/19).
Analysis
We assess Houthi rebels possess missile and/or drone technology capable of targeting locations within 932 miles (1,500km) from the border with Yemen, to include sites located within Saudi Arabia along the Persian Gulf, such as Dammam or Shaybah, as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In mid October 2018, the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority issued a notice warning that due to the ongoing conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels, there exists the potential for Houthi ‘weapons’ to affect civil aviation outside of Yemen (NOTAM OMAE A1987/18). Previous statements made by senior US government officials in the past year have pointed to a capability by the Houthis to kinetically target sites located deep within Saudi Arabia along with the UAE. On 23 May, Yemeni Houthi rebels released a video which we assess confirms a weaponised drone attack on Abu Dhabi International Airport (OMAA/AUH) on 26 July 2018, as previously claimed by the group using a “Samad-3” unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The video shows the shadow of a drone, which we assess matches the features of a UAV previously identified as a “UAV-X” in reporting released by the UN Security Council in early 2019. The UN reporting notes that the “UAV-X” (potential Samad-3) operated by the Houthi group is assessed to have a range of up to 932 miles (1,500km). We assess monthly missile/drone attacks and/or associated Saudi military air & air-defence system intercepts near Riyadh or over main urban centres located deep within the interior of the Kingdom and/or the UAE are probable until a resolution between the factions in the Yemen conflict is reached. We assess territory in Saudi Arabia outside the SCATANA area to be a HIGH risk airspace environment at all altitudes. Continued ballistic missile and/or additional drone launches into the Kingdom by Yemen-based Houthi rebels with potential associated intercepts via Saudi military air & air-defence system engagement are likely to occur weekly over the SCATANA area for the foreseeable future. We assess the SCATANA area of Saudi Arabia to be an EXTREME risk airspace environment at all altitudes.
Advice
Approvals: As a precaution, conduct operational risk-based identification of divert and alternate airports for flight schedules with planned stops at aerodromes in the country or with overflight of the airspace. Operators are advised to ensure flight plans are correctly filed, attain proper special approvals for flight operations to sensitive locations and obtain relevant overflight permits prior to departure. In addition, ensure crews scheduled to operate to or over the country in the near term are fully aware of the latest security situation.
Shoot-down Policy: The country has an aggressive air intercept and shoot-down policy which allows air and air defence forces to intercept and disable aerial targets violating airspace regulations. Military air and air defence assets may be employed to down aerial targets under the auspice of the policy. While legal civil aviation flights are unlikely to be directly targeted, there remains a latent but credible risk of misidentification and interception by military air and air defence assets.
Drones: Operators are advised to review internal and external mechanisms for suspicious activity, safety and security reporting. Any revisions to processes should account for drone sightings as part of a wider aviation risk management strategy to protect aircraft, passengers and crew. Operators are advised to monitor government advisories as well as trends in terrorist tactics, such as the employment and proliferation of weaponised drones. In addition, we recommend aviation security managers to evaluate instances where drones were recovered in possession of terror suspects along with incidents where disrupted plots were to include drones for pre-attack reconnaissance and/or drone weaponisation.(Source: Osprey)
08 Sep 19. Saudi Arabia launches military industrial licensing program. Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had begun accepting license applications for firms in the military industrial sector, a major target under plans to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil exports. The General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) will license companies to manufacture firearms, ammunition, military explosives, military equipment, individual military equipment, and military electronics, state news agency SPA reported.
GAMI Governor Ahmed al-Ohali said the move would open the door for foreign and local investment in the sector.
Investment is needed to meet reforms announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who wants Riyadh to produce or assemble half its defense equipment locally in order to create 40,000 jobs for Saudis by 2030.
Saudi Arabia is among the top five defense spenders in the world.
(Source: glstrade.com/Reuters)
09 Sep 19. North Korea says it will resume talks but adds pressure with new launches. North Korea fired a new round of short-range projectiles on Tuesday, South Korean officials said, only hours after it signalled a new willingness to resume stalled denuclearisation talks with the United States. The launches were detected early in the morning by the South Korean military, which said they appeared to be short-range projectiles.
The launches came hours after Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement carried by state media that North Korea was willing to have “comprehensive discussions” with the United States in late September at a time and place to be agreed.
Choe warned that the United States needed to present a new approach or the talks could fall apart again. A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said she did not have any talks to announce at that time.
Shares of South Korean construction firms with exposure to North Korea surged after the announcement that North Korea was willing to restart talks with the United States and continued to gain despite the latest launches.
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas in June and agreed to restart working-level negotiations that had been stalled since an unsuccessful second summit between the two leaders in Vietnam in February.
Since the DMZ meeting, however, American officials said their attempts to resume talks had gone unanswered. North Korea has also conducted at least eight test launches since then, usually with multiple missiles each time.
“All of these acts by North Korea that escalate tensions do not help efforts to ease tension on the Korean peninsula, and we reiterate our calls for an immediate halt,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The U.S. special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, spoke by telephone with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon, on Tuesday morning, South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Biegun has led working-level talks with North Korea. He discussed with Lee how to make substantive progress on denuclearisation and peace, according to the ministry, which did not mention Choe’s comments or the latest launches.
SIMPLE ANSWER?
While analysts said North Korea conducts missile tests for a range of purposes, including technical development and reassurance for the defence establishment, Tuesday’s launches appeared to have been timed to send a message to Washington.
The launches were probably the latest case of Kim turning to missile tests as diplomatic signalling, said Daniel DePetris, a fellow at Defense Priorities, a Washington-based think-tank.
“Far be it from me to get inside Kim’s head, but the simplest answer may be the most accurate: North Korea is demonstrating what will happen if the U.S. doesn’t come to the table with realistic proposals,” he said.
Trump has played down previous tests this year, saying he did not believe short-range missiles violated any agreements.
Other officials, including Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton, have said even short-range launches by North Korea are banned under U.N. resolutions.
North Korea declared last year a self-imposed moratorium on tests of nuclear weapons as well as launches of its long-range intermediate and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“Going by what they’ve said so far, they’re not too concerned about effects on talks with the U.S.,” said Joshua Pollack, a North Korea expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California.
“Trump has given them a pass on short-range missiles,” he said. “Instead, they have indicated their displeasure with Seoul.”
North Korea has said its development of new weapons aims to counter military threats and offensive pressures against its security, including joint military exercises by the United States and South Korea and the arrival of new stealth fighter aircraft in the South.
While the missiles unveiled this year have been short-range, analysts warn they have shown significant technological advances and could be used to evade missile defences. (Source: Reuters)
09 Sep 19. Accelerated Warfare key to enhancing the tactical and strategic capacity of future Army. Accelerated Warfare has been developed to enhance the interoperability, lethality and tactical and strategic capability of the Army as the regional balance of power evolves, placing greater requirements on the force. Chief of Army Lieutenant General Rick Burr’s document, Army’s Contribution to Defence Strategy, clearly articulates the modernisation of the Army.
Modern warfare has rapidly evolved over the last three decades, from high-tempo, manoeuvre-based operations that leveraged the combined capabilities of air, sea, land and space forces to direct troops, equipment and firepower around the battlefield during the first Gulf War, to low intensity, humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in southern Europe and the south Pacific, and the eventual rise of asymmetrical, guerilla conflicts in the mountains of Afghanistan and streets of Iraq.
This evolution has forced a major strategic rethink in militaries around the world, particularly as peer and near-peer competitors continue to invest in key technologies and combined arms capabilities, leveraging off the lessons learned over the preceding decades.
Australia is no different.
The introduction of Plan Beersheba in 2011, and the shift towards developing a truly ‘combined arms’ force capable of leveraging Australia’s traditional advantages in high-tech platforms, world-class infantry and ‘espirit de corps’, serves as the nation’s first attempt to modernise and recapitalise the Army to face the fluid tactical and strategic challenges of the 21st century battlefield.
Building on the success of Plan Beersheba and its focus on developing a networked, hardened and highly flexible combined arms force, with a dedicated amphibious landing capability, Accelerated Warfare recognises the impact of key external factors and the capacity of the Army to integrate within the ADF’s burgeoning ‘joint force’ doctrine, namely:
- Geopolitics: The Indo-Pacific regional order is defined by a rapidly changing threat environment and operating spectrum of co-operation, competition and conflict. The days of unchallenged coalition operations are quickly fading as state and asymmetric actors all develop capabilities that threaten the natural advantages Australia and its allies have leveraged for supremacy over the past 50 years.
- Threat: Indo-Pacific Asia’s operating landscape is changing. Adversaries, including violent extremist organisations and state-based threats, can now control and influence all operating domains. Future strike capabilities will not just be physical but also digital, executed often at the speed of a mouse-click. Sophisticated anti-access, area denial (A2/AD) capabilities offer the ability to deny manoeuvre while distributed systems that are ‘smarter’ and smaller are becoming increasingly essential to survivability. Networking will be critical in terms of generating a system capable of ‘co-operative engagement’.
- Technology: As in civilian life, technology is changing the way war is fought. The rapid development turn around of technologies like UAS, the proliferation of non-traditional intelligence gathering devices, the convergence of big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics and precision strike capabilities all present significant challenges, not only to operations, but to the decision-making process of soldiers and commanders.
- Domains: The reach of sensor and precision fire means Army must be across all domains and comprehensively integrate across them. Space and cyber have not been fully contested in previous wars and there is limited knowledge on how conflict in these domains will play out in the future. Army’s ability to operate in the traditional air, sea and land domains are at risk of being debilitated from space and cyber, yet there is also great opportunity in these domains for military advantage.
Tying off the loose ends of Beersheba
While a key component of Beersheba is the development of specialist Australian amphibious elements, combining infantry, armour, air and artillery assets to enhance the combat effectiveness, deployability and survivability of Australia’s Army, particularly as the centre of gravity for global power re-orientates to our region and its unique operating environments.
Supporting this major recapitalisation and strategic reorientation is the major redevelopment programs across both Navy and Air Force, particularly the introduction of the Canberra and Choules Class amphibious warfare ships, which have supported the development of Australian amphibious elements.
The shifting focus towards specialist amphibious warfare capabilities, combined with the structural reorganisation of the Army to focus on integrating infantry, armour, artillery, combat signals, engineers and support elements across Army’s three regular force combatants – 1st, 3rd and 7th Brigades – served as the fundamental basis for refocusing the structure and combat capabilities of the Army between 2011 and 2017.
Accelerated Warfare expands on the objectives of Beersheba to recognise the role Army will play in the ‘joint force’ and the growing impact external factors will play on the Australian Army as it engages in the implementation of key strategic defence objectives: “These changes intersect to create challenges across and within domains. This is why Army needs a joint and integrated mindset. No single system can address the breadth of vulnerabilities and opportunities. Army must prepare for war on land and be ready to act in other domains from the land in an integrated and coherent way.”
Army’s role in the era of strategic competition
“Preparing for war is Army’s mission. Meeting this mission delivers capability and capacity for conflict, and also allows Army to contribute to the joint and integrated force for competition and co-operation,” Army’s Contribution to Defence Strategy articulates the role and expectations of the Australian Army in the Indo-Pacific region.
Essential to guaranteeing the success of the Australian Army in this period of unprecedented geo-strategic competition and technological revolution is an understanding of the ‘multi-domain’ battlespace, Army’s role in driving innovation across robotics and autonomous systems, the cyber and information battlespace and the growing challenges presented by A2/AD environments.
Army’s Contribution to Defence Strategy seeks to condense these factors and focus on three key facets of strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific, namely:
- Strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific where states and non-state groups use coercive means below the threshold of war to gain advantage and disrupt other actors. Crisis situations may be used as a way to gain positions of geographical or informational advantage. This is being referred to as grey zone competition.
- Information operations and cyber attacks on civilians and government that blur the line between coercive action and conflict.
- Weapon proliferation including missiles and nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical weapons by states, terrorists and armed groups.
Ready now, future ready
Army has recognised the growing need for it to not only meet the tactical and strategic responsibilities required of it in the contemporary threat environment but, critically, future ready with a focus on enhancing the future capabilities identified by the Australian government.
“To be an Army in Motion, Army has adopted a ready now, future ready mindset:
- Army is ready now: contributing to the joint and integrated force for today’s global operations, partnering with other armies in our region and responding to disaster, crisis and conflict.
- Army is becoming future ready: increasing our agility and capacity, introducing new concepts and capabilities, and focusing on training as the driver of change.
“Army’s people own Army’s ready now, future ready mindset. It is their individual, collective and every day actions that ensure Army’s contribution to Defence is effective, for operations today and in the future.”
This focus on developing the future force is at the core of Accelerated Warfare and the concept of an Army in Motion, and will play a critical role in developing Army as a key component of the ‘joint force’. (Source: Defence Connect)
14 Sep 19. More than 40 representatives from international defence manufacturing companies expressed interest in joining the Sustain and Enhance Emiratisation in Defence and Security, SEEDS, programme, the latest initiative of the UAE defence and security industry enabler Tawazun Economic Council.
This came during a gathering hosted by Tawazun in London earlier this week, to acquaint its international defence partners with the various elements of SEEDS programme and its anticipated contribution to accelerating the pace of Emiratisation in the UAE and to stepping up the technology transfer and exchange of expertise with the world’s leading defence companies.
Launched in February 2019 as one of the new pillars of Tawazun Economic Programme’s policy framework, SEEDS offers international defence companies the opportunity to fulfil their obligations through value-driven capability development and job placement programs for UAE nationals.
Matar Ali Al Romaithi, Chief Economic Development Officer of Tawazun, said, ” SEEDS is a result of one of the key pillars of the Tawazun Economic Programme, which encourages partners to fulfill their obligations by establishing joint projects to develop and build innovative, technical and technological capabilities, in addition to creating jobs for UAE nationals.”
After its launch, a pilot programme was implemented in Germany in collaboration with Diehl, a manufacturer of defence equipment, in addition to Khalifa University, the first university in the UAE to be ranked among the top 300 academic institutions globally.
Under the pilot programme, Diehl hosted an internship for six interns to build their practical skills through hands-on experience in emerging technologies to prepare them for future employment.
Also commenting on the launch, Shahab Issa Abushahab, Chief Strategy Officer at Tawazun, said, “Tawazun is committed to the leadership’s ambitious initiatives to encourage Emirati nationals to pursue careers in the industrial sector, such as defence and security.”
“This will be achieved by playing a leading role in the development of human capabilities in the UAE. In addition to technical skillsets, Emiratis are also trained in other areas including administration, finance and legal, which will lead to the development of a sustainable defence and security industry.”
Under SEEDS, Emirati nationals at senior and mid-management levels, as well as fresh graduates of various specialties, are given an opportunity to work closely with the world’s top defence and aerospace original equipment manufacturers and develop the skillsets needed to support economic development, as well as create a knowledge and innovation-based economy in the UAE.
“Working with our strategic partners, we look forward to developing human capabilities and accelerating the development of the UAE defence industry ecosystem,” added Abushahab. (Source: Google/http://wam.ae/)
09 Sep 19. China, Russia Sign Heavy Helicopter Deal. China and Russia have fully agreed upon and signed a commercial contract on a joint heavy helicopter development project, said Miao Wei, China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology, on Wednesday.
“For the next step, the Chinese government will accelerate the progress for a project approval and finish it as soon as possible, so the project can officially start,” Miao said at a press conference held with the Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov at the 2019 Russian International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS) in Zhukovsky, near Moscow.
China is the first partner country for the Russian event, as the two ministers held an opening ceremony at the stand-alone China Pavilion on Wednesday morning.
The joint heavy helicopter Miao referred to is dubbed “Advanced Heavy Lift.” It is expected to be 40-ton class, with a weight-lift capability of 15 tons, a range of 630 kilometers and a top speed of 300 kilometers an hour, Russian news channel RT previously reported.
In February, Russia’s Tass news agency reported that Russia’s state corporation Rostec was about to sign “the contract of the century” with China on the helicopter “in the coming two months” after four years’ talks, quoting Viktor Kladov, a Rostec representative.
Under the contract, at least 200 heavy helicopters will be built in China, Kladov said in 2017, RT reported.
Miao did not give any details on the contract on Wednesday, including how many or where the helicopters will be built.
China is responsible for the helicopter’s design and production and Russia will be acting as a technical partner, Kladov said.
The heavy helicopter is expected to be delivered by 2032, Wu Ximing, chief designer for the state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China, told the Global Times in March.
“Russia is more experienced in the transmission system when it comes to 40-ton class helicopters, as Russia’s Mi-26 is of the 56-ton class. Our goal in the cooperation is to learn from Russia’s strong points and close the gap,” Wu said then.
A heavy helicopter can usually be used to airlift heavy cargo and vehicles without the need of an airfield.
For military use, a heavy helicopter can transport troops, armored vehicles, artillery and rockets. For civilian use, it can lift heavy engineering vehicles to sites where normal transportation routes could not reach in case of a natural disaster, military observers said. (Source: DefenseTalk.com)
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About Lincad
Lincad is a leading expert in the design and manufacture of batteries, chargers and associated products for a range of applications across a number of different sectors. With a heritage spanning more than three decades in the defence and security sectors, Lincad has particular expertise in the development of reliable, ruggedised products with high environmental, thermal and electromagnetic performance. With a dedicated team of engineers and production staff, all product is designed and manufactured in-house at Lincad’s facility in Ash Vale, Surrey. Lincad is ISO 9001 and TickITplus accredited and works closely with its customers to satisfy their power management requirements.
Lincad is also a member of the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register (JOSCAR), the accreditation system for the aerospace, defence and security sectors, and is certified with Cyber Essentials, the government-backed, industry supported scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common cyber attacks. The majority of Lincad’s products contain high energy density lithium-ion technology, but the most suitable technology for each customer requirement is employed, based on Lincad’s extensive knowledge of available electrochemistries. Lincad offers full life cycle product support services that include repairs and upgrades from point of introduction into service, through to disposal at the end of a product’s life. From product inception, through to delivery and in-service product support, Lincad offers the high quality service that customers expect from a recognised British supplier.
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