Russia Plans to Keep 10 Warships in Mediterranean

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, March 1 (RIA Novosti) – A proposed Russian permanent naval task force in the Mediterranean Sea may consist of up to 10 combat and auxiliary ships, a high- ranking military source said.

“A command headquarters responsible for the deployment of a permanent naval task force must be set up at the Black Sea Fleet,” the source told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

“The group may consist of up to 10 vessels, including auxiliary ships,” he said.

A source in the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces confirmed on Thursday that the deployment of Russian warships in the Mediterranean had been a subject of planning for some time.

“It could be a task force consisting of warships from three Russian fleets, similar to the one that has been carrying out exercises in the eastern part of the Mediterranean, near the Syrian coast, for the last six months,” the source said.

The task force may operate on a rotation basis and use ports in Cyprus, Montenegro, Greece and Syria as resupply points, the official added.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier said that Russia needs a group of warships to be permanently present in the Mediterranean Sea to secure the country’s interests in the region.

The Soviet Union maintained the 5th Mediterranean Squadron in the Mediterranean Sea from 1967 until 1992. It was formed to counter the US Navy 6th Fleet during the Cold War, and consisted of 30-50 warships and auxiliary vessels at different times.

U.S. proposes a 'cyber work plan' for NATO

Source :  Atlantic Council

From John Reed, Killer Apps: Defense chiefs from across NATO have begun to work on how to protect member countries from cyber attack, an alliance official tells Killer Apps.

Although NATO has been working for a while on protecting its own networks (meaning the in-house systems NATO relies on for everyday functions) from cyber attacks, it hasn't come up with any plans to defend its member states from cyber attack. (Sound familiar? It should. While the United States government is responsible for defending its own networks against cyber attack, it is still trying to figure out how to protect the U.S. private sector from such attacks.)

To help remedy this, NATO defense chiefs last week discussed a U.S.- proposed "cyber work plan" aimed at "breaking through policy impasses" to get the alliance in a "much better position" to protect its member countries from cyber attacks, the official told Killer Apps in an email.

What exactly does that mean? Basically, figuring out what roles and responsibilities NATO, the European Union, and all the national governments and private sector organizations that are involved in NATO and the EU have in defending against cyber threats. This could mean figuring out which law enforcement agencies would respond to criminal cyber attacks against alliance members; which government agencies would respond to cyber attacks by other countries; how the various government agencies within NATO would collaborate to defeat cyber threats; and how major corporations that provide critical services to the public would be protected from crippling cyber attacks. (graphic: Paresh Nath/GazetteExtra)

Russian Navy will hold military presence in the Mediterranean Sea

Russian Navy will hold military presence in the Mediterranean Sea

Russian Navy Command plans to deploy warships and auxiliary vessels group in the Mediterranean Sea since 2015 on a going basis, the source of Central Navy Portal in the General Stuff reported.

The Black Sea Fleet warships will become the base for task forces, the Baltic and the Northern Fleets warships will be involved for reinforcing the group.

Forces' tasks and goals will correspond to the Fifth Mediterranean Fleet of the Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics tasks and goals. The Fifth Mediterranean Fleet performed military tasks in the area of Mediterranean theater of operation, ensuring security of the South USSR regions, since 1967 till 1992 in conditions of Cold War.

New surface ships and submarines are currently being built for the Black Sea Fleet rearmament. Also the problem of logistical support of Russian forces in the Mediterranean has to be decided.

Conducted in January 2013 largest for last ten years inter-fleet exercises of Russian Navy showed the ability of the Navy to perform operations in the important area of the World ocean in the context of Russia's geopolitical interests.

According to minister for foreign affairs Sergey Lavrov, ""Russia's presence in the Mediterranean Sea is a stabilizing factor for the region".

"Russian Navy is able to operate in any area of World ocean, important for our national interests, and the Mediterranean is currently targeted area for us", Sergey Shoigu, the minister of defense, said.

UK Sends Nuclear Submarines To The Falklands, Claims Argentina

Source : Naval Open Source

Argentina has accused the UK of sending nuclear-armed submarines to the South Atlantic, after making an official complaint to the UN over the Falklands dispute.

The country’s representative at the UN conference on disarmament, Eduardo Zuain, said that by beefing up its naval presence around the disputed islands London was violating the provisions of a 1967 accord, banning nukes in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The conflict around the archipelago in the South Atlantic has been simmering since Britain regained control over the islands in a brief war with Argentina in 1982.

North Korean Leader Oversees “Actual War” Drill

Source :

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un monitored a live-fire artillery dri aimed at simulating an "actual war".

"An endles barrage o shells were fired by artillery piece on enem positions, thei roar rocking heaven and earth, and a of them were enveloped i flames," th Korean Centra News Agency (KCNA) said. "Feasting his eyes at the 'enemy positions' in flames, (Kim) wa satisfied," the official agency added.

KCNA gave no precise time or location for the drill, but it announcement followed Monday's presidential inauguration in th South for the new leader Park Geun-Hye. According to KCNA, Kim ordered the live fire exercise to test th capability of artillery units "to fight an actual war."

It marked the latest in a series of high-profile military inspections by Kim following the North's nuclear test earlier this month. Last week Kim oversaw an air force demonstration, a paratroop dri and a separate tactical attack exercise combined with live shell firing.

In her inauguration speech, the South’s Park demanded that Pyongyang "abandon its nuclear ambitions" immediately and warned that th North's test was a challenge to the future survival of the Korean people

While promising to pursue the trust-building policy with Pyongyang tha she had promised in her campaign, Park stressed she would neve compromise South Korea's national security.

Israel, US Test New Missile Defense System

Source : RIA Novosti

TEL AVIV, February 25 (RIA Novosti) - Israel and the United State carried out the first successful test of the Arrow 3 missile defense interceptor on Monday, the Defense Ministry said.

The interceptor, designed to shoot down long-range missiles, was fired into space from a coastal military launching pad in central Israel.

A senior defense source told The Jerusalem Post the interceptor took off at around 8 a.m. over the Mediterranean Sea, “obtained hypersonic speed, and reached an altitude of 100 kilometers, entering space.”

The test was led by technicians from the Israel Aerospace Industries, together with a team from the US Department of Defense's Missile Defense Agency.

The system is set to become operational by 2016 and is designed effectively engage Iranian Shihab 3 missiles, among others.

Arrow 3 will be part of the multi-layered defense shield Israel is building. It currently has the Iron Dome missile defense system that can intercept short-range and medium-range rockets and ha reportedly intercepted up to 85 percent of rockets fired from Gaz during the November 2012 conflict.

US radar to boost missile defence in Japan: reports

Source : Daily Times

TOKYO: Tokyo and Washington plan to install a US early- warning radar system at a coastal base near Kyoto to bolster defences against the North Korean missile threat, reports said Sunday.

The X-band radar, capable of precisely tracking the trajectory of a ballistic missile, allows US forces to launch intercept missiles from the ground and sea once a ballistic missile has been detected. It will be the second X-band radar system to be installed in Japan after another was set up in northern Aomori prefecture. The X-band radar system will be built in an Air Self- Defence Force base in Kyotango, northwest of Kyoto, on the coast of the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, Kyodo News and Jiji Press agencies reported, citing unnamed sources. The location was picked as it was likely that a North Korean missile targeting Guam or Hawaii would fly over western or central parts of Japan, Kyodo said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Barack Obama confirmed in their meeting Friday in Washington that the two countries would work together on the radar installation, the reports said. afp

Official: Israel carries out Arrow missile interceptor test

Source :  Maan News Agency

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel carried out a successful test of its upgraded, ballistic Arrow missile interceptor on Monday, the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The US-backed Arrow missile is designed to shoot down incoming missiles at altitudes high enough to allow for any non-conventional warheads to disintegrate safely.

The test was of a new generation Arrow III, which is intended to bolster defenses against threats to the Israel, including from Iran and Syria. Designers say the system has proved a success in up to 90 percent of live trials.

Monday's test did not involve an interception of any target, but was designed to try out the flight of the missile.

Arrow III's interceptors are designed to be launched into space, where their warheads detach, turning into "kamikaze" satellites that seek out and slam into target missiles.

The Pentagon and US firm Boeing are partners in Arrow. Washington has described its support for Israeli missile interceptors as a means of reassuring Israel, which in the past has launched wars against perceived threats, that it has a more passive means of defending itself.

UAE to buy weapons for $200 million in Turkey

Source : Vesti Kavkaza

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey have signed a deal. The UAE will buy weapons, including CIRIT missiles, worth $200 million in Turkey, Sabah cites Turkish Minister for Defense Industry Murat Bayar.

Turkish exports of weapons increased by 35.7% in 2012 to $1.2 billion.

The main purchasers are the US with purchases of components for helicopters for $490 million, UAE with purchases worth $101 million and Saudi Arabia $99 million.

Russian PM Medvedev to discuss military-technical cooperation in Brazil

Source : Voice of Russia

Brazil is interested in acquiring Igla-S air defense missile systems and Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon systems from Russia.

"Indeed, they have demonstrated their interest in buying Pantsir- S1 systems. Negotiations are under way," a Russian delegation source told Interfax ahead of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Brazil.

During his February 20-21 visit to Brazil, the Russian premier will hold talks with President Dilma Rousseff and Vice President Michel Temer, as well as will attend the sixth session of the high-level commission on cooperation.

Brazil has already shown its interest in acquiring Russian-made Igla-S portable air defense missile systems, the source said.

The two countries earlier signed a bilateral protocol that allows Brazil to manufacture these systems under license.

"Even if we sign an agreement, we will need time to deliver equipment, assemble and install it, and put control mechanisms into operation. That is why they have also displayed their readiness to buy Igla systems," the source said.

The source, however, denied any plans to sign documents regulating military-technological cooperation during Medvedev's visit to Brazil.

"A large set of documents was signed when Rousseff came to Moscow in December. It will be a traditional regular meeting. The Federal Service for Military-Technological Cooperation has not been given any additional tasks ahead of it," he said.

Brazilian media reported earlier that the country's Defense Ministry had announced plans to acquire Pantsir-S1 and Igla-S systems produced by the Russian company High Precision Weapons.

Voice of Russia, Interfax

Russian Navy Warplanes Start Arctic Patrols

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Northern Fleet aircraft have started patrolling the Arctic Ocean on a regular basis, Defense Ministry spokesman Capt. First Rank Vadim Serga said on Thursday.

“So far this week, Northern Fleet aircrews have made three flights to the Arctic region,” he said.

Two flights were made by an Ilyushin Il-38 May maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft and one by a Tupolev Tu-142 Bear maritime reconnaissance and ASW aircraft, he said.

The ASW aircraft take off from fleet airbases in the Murmansk and Vologda regions and fly over international waters above the Arctic Ocean and along the Northern Sea Route, Serga said.

The Navy patrol aircraft monitor the pack-ice near the Northern Sea Route to assist navigation for civilian ships in Arctic regions, Serga said.

These patrols are in addition to strategic bomber patrol flights which Russia resumed over the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans in August 2007. According to the Defense Ministry, Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers fly an average of 50 such patrol missions every year.

Russia has officially set the goal of deploying a combined-arms force including military, border, and coast guard units by 2020, to protect its political and economic interests in the Arctic and boost Russia’s military security.

The Russian authorities have recently been calling for tighter security along the country’s Arctic frontiers as rapid pack-ice loss is making the region more accessible to maritime traffic.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said in December 2012 that Russia risks losing its sovereignty by the mid-21st century if it does not assert its national interests in the Arctic today.

According to the US National Snow and Ice Data Center, in late 2012 the area covered by Arctic ice shrank to its lowest since 1979.

“Climate change has increased the transport accessibility of the Arctic region. However, growing maritime traffic is likely to bring about more attempts at smuggling, illegal migration, drug trafficking… and other types of organized crime,” Yevgeny Lukyanov, a deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council, said at an international Arctic states conference in Norway’s Tromso.

“That’s why Russia needs to cooperate with other Arctic states in strengthening and defending its Arctic borders and in monitoring transportation routes,” Lukyanov added.

He denied Russia was pursuing military or geopolitical goals in the area.

India, France review progress on multibillion-dollar fighter jet deal

Source : Fox News

NEW DELHI – India and France have reviewed progress in a multibillion-dollar deal to purchase French fighter jets for the Indian air force and a separate agreement to build the world's biggest civilian nuclear power complex in western India.

Visiting French President Francois Hollande and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks Thursday in New Delhi that also focused on defense, regional security and cooperation in space exploration.

Last year, India agreed to an $11 billion deal to purchase 126 French combat aircraft. However, tough negotiations remain on costs, technology transfers and other details.

French nuclear giant Areva and a state-owned Indian nuclear power company are also fine-tuning an agreement to build six nuclear reactors. When commissioned, the 9,900-megawatt complex will be the world's largest nuclear power station.

Air Chief: India Will Not Buy Iron Dome

Source : defensenews.com

BANGALORE, India — India has rejected Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, offered to the Indian Air Force nearly two years ago.

Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, the Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, told reporters at Aero India 2013 that Iron Dome is not suitable for the service.

The announcement puts to rest speculation in the media that India is negotiating to buy Iron Dome from Israel. Sources in the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) attending Aero India said India and Israel have been discussing the purchase of Iron Dome and the David Sling air defense system, jointly made by the U.S. and Israel, for more than two years.

No MoD official would comment on Browne’s statement, but sources say his announcement will make it difficult for India to buy the system. The fate of David Sling is also uncertain now, added MoD sources.

David Sling is jointly produced by Raytheon and Rafael Advanced Systems of Israel, while Iron Dome is manufactured by Rafael.

Israel showcased the Iron Dome at Aero India alongside David Sling. Israel has used Iron Dome against short-range rockets fired by Hamas and Gaza groups. The David Sling system is a medium- to long-range rocket and cruise missile defense system to provide ballistic missile defense.

In early 2009, India inked a $2.2 billion joint venture with Israel under which India’s Defense Research and Development Organisation works with Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael to develop a 70-kilometer medium-range surface-to-air missile program. The system would be used by the Indian Air Force and also sold to the Israeli defense forces.

India also is developing its own ballistic missile defense system called the Prithvi Air Defense system. The first phase is expected to be completed in 2013.

Great Britain may sell military equipment to Uzbekistan after withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan

Source : Trend.Az

Great Britain will sell military hardware to Uzbekistan in exchange for safe passage for the thousands of vehicles and containers that are to be brought home from Afghanistan, RIA Novosti reported on Friday, Times reported with reference to British Defense Minister Philip Hammond.

London plans to complete withdrawing troops from Afghanistan by late 2014.

According to the draft agreement, which has not been discussed by the British Parliament, Uzbekistan will ensure transporting British equipment through its territory. During his visit to the Afghan province, Hammond said that the treaty is under ratification.

"We do not sell weapons that can be used for internal repression of any country," he said. "However, after 2014 Uzbekistan will face new risks. The matter rests not only in protection from the rebels or the Islamists, but fight against crime and drug trafficking."

The minister said that the British military equipment that can be sold at a reduced price to Tashkent, will help increase security at the Uzbek-Afghan border, which will be vulnerable after withdrawing the international coalition from Afghanistan. According to Times, other participants of the international operation in Afghanistan - the U.S. and Germany have already voiced their intention to trade with Uzbekistan.

After withdrawing foreign troops from Afghanistan, part of the British equipment will remain in this country, or destroyed. According to the British military leadership, up to 80 tons of military equipment is taken out of Afghanistan every two days. But after the 11 year operation, there are still 6,500 containers with ammunition and 2,600 vehicles.

Russian Navy Testing Missile Defense System in Caspian

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 6 (RIA Novosti) – The coastal missile unit of the Russian Navy's Caspian Flotilla is conducting a series of exercises to practice using the Navy's only Bal coastal missile system, a representative of the Southern Military District said Wednesday.

Participants are learning how to detect and track air- and sea-based targets, organize communications and process and transmit data that would affect decisions about using the system, the representative said. The exercises are taking place at the Adanak test site in Russia’s republic of Dagestan.

Combat crews are practicing elements of deployment, electronic launches against imitation targets and quick changes of position after launch, according to the representative.

The crews have already practiced neutralizing enemy airstrikes and surveillance teams, as well as conducting reconnaissance of possible routes – in terms of engineering, radiation, chemical and biological factors – and putting out fires, the representative said. It was not immediately clear how long the exercises had been going on.

The Bal mobile coastal missile system with Kh-35 type antiship missiles can engage targets at up to 120 kilometers under any weather conditions, according to VPK.name, a respected Russian military news website. Armstrade.org, another Russian arms-related website, reports that the system entered service in the Caspian Flotilla at the end of 2011.

The system is designed to control territorial waters, protect naval bases and other coastal installations.

It can carry out both single and salvo launches with up to 32 missiles.

US reducing war ships in Persian Gulf

Source : Voice of Russia

The U.S. military command has decided to leave only one aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

For the last two years there has always been at least two in the region.

The main reasons for the change are cuts to the military budget.

Currently the U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "John Stennis" is in the Persian Gulf but it is to be replaced by the "Dwight D. Eisenhower", arriving at the end of the month.

Previous plans to send the aircraft carrier "Harry Truman" to the region were canceled.

U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf supposedly ensure the safe transportation of oil in the region and at the same time put military pressure on Iran.

Russia signs new defense contract with India

Source : English pravda.ru

Russia has signed a contract with India on the integration of the joint Russian-Indian cruise missile Brahmos aboard the multifunctional fighter Su-30MKI, Alexander Fomin, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) said. The Su-30MKI fighter jet is produced in India under license from Russia.

Noteworthy, the contract of the integration of the missile to the aircraft was signed in December. The news was exposed on the eve of the international aerospace exhibition "Aero India 2013". The exhibition will be held in Bangalore, India, on February 6-10. Fomin said that Russia would act only as an advisor of Indian partners in this contract.

The Brahmos missile is designed to destroy a wide range of maritime targets. It has a high range (up to 290 km), high supersonic speeds (up to 2.8 M), significant combat load (250 kg) and low vulnerability to radars. The weight of the missile is 3 tons. The new missile is designed on the fire-and-forget principle: the missile can find targets itself

Israeli aerospace, defense companies to showcase technologies at India air expo

Source : Xinhua

JERUSALEM, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Leading Israeli defense companies will showcase an array of their newest technologies at the 2013 Aero-India Air Show, which will commence in Bangalore on Wednesday.

Israel's Defense Cooperation Authority, a division of the defense ministry, is hosting the near dozen firms selected to display their wares at the five- day event.

"Among the systems that will be displayed in Bangalore, some have been successfully used in highly-challenging combat operations, proving their effectiveness and reliability," the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Israeli pavilion will be highlighted by the Iron Dome anti- rocket defense system, which will be displayed in India for the first time. The system shot down hundreds of rockets fired by Gaza militants into southern Israel during a major flare-up of cross- border violence last November.

Elbit Systems Ltd., an international defense electronics company, will display its C-MUSIC DIRCM, a system that defends commercial aircraft from shoulder-launched missiles and has recently completed a series of trials onboard a Boeing 707, the ministry statement said.

"We look forward to sharing these resourceful ideas and innovative systems with our Indian friends once again," the statement added.

British Army Unveils New Tiny Spy Drone

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

The British army unveiled a new tiny spy drone as the latest weapon against Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

Soldiers from the Brigade Reconnaissance Force at Camp Bastion demonstrated the eight-inch long plastic molded drone, which has three cameras hidden inside its nose and weighs just 15 grams.

Codenamed the Black Hornet, the tiny aircraft is being used by British troops against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The small flying machine, which has a smooth grey body and twin black rotors, can either be controlled directly or programmed to fly to a given set of co-ordinates and then return to base after carrying out its spy missions.

Britain has also spent more than £2 billion over the last five years, developing its assassination drones.

The deployment of assassination drones by the US and its allies have led to killings of at least hundreds of innocent civilians, including many women and children, in the Middle East.

Earlier in January, the United Nations (UN) decided to look into the military use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by Britain in Afghanistan and the US in Pakistan as well as in Africa in the Malian conflict.

This comes as media requests for further details about Britain’s drone strikes, including locations and dates, the circumstances leading to the strikes and casualty figures have so far been rejected by the Ministry of Defense (MoD).

Russia has started large-scale military exercises in the disputed Kuril Islands

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has started large-scale military exercises in the disputed Kuril Islands in the country's far east, a military official said on Tuesday.

The Kuril Islands, known to neighboring Japan as the Northern Territories, are a contentious issue in Russian-Japanese relations. The exercises are taking place just two days before Japan marks its Northern Territories Day on February 7.

The exercises have included cooperation between Russian Pacific Fleet ships, tactical fighter aviation and artillery as well as border guard personnel based in the islands area, eastern military district spokesman Alexander Gordeyev told reporters on Tuesday.

“In particular, the exercises will practice a special operation aimed at helping a vessel in distress in Russian waters,” Gordeyev said. He did not specifiy which of the islands was involved in the exercises.

The disputed islands of did not specifiy which of the islands was involved in the exercises.

The disputed islands of Iturup, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai, called the Southern Kurils in Russia, are still claimed by Japan. They were occupied by Soviet forces at the end of World War II.

Last month former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori suggested Japan should seek the return of just three of the islands, leaving Iturup to Russia, to settle the dispute. But Japan’s Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said all four islands belong to Japan and the government is not planning to overturn its position.

Russia has maintained it will not give up the islands' sovereignty. In 2010, then President Dmitry Medvedev sparked a diplomatic row with Tokyo by making the first ever visit by a Russian leader to the islands, and later said Russia would increase its military presence there.

South Korea, US kick off naval exercises

Source :   Shanghai Daily

South Korean and US troops began naval drills yesterday in a show of force partly directed at North Korea amid signs that Pyongyang will soon follow through on a threat to conduct its third atomic test.

North Korea announced last month it would conduct a nuclear test to protest UN Security Council sanctions toughened after its satellite launch in December that the US and others say was a disguised test of banned missile technology.

Pyongyang's two previous nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009, both occurred after it was slapped with increased sanctions for similar rocket launches. As it issued its most recent punishment, the Security Council ordered North Korea to refrain from a nuclear test or face "significant action."

North Korea's state media said on Sunday that at a high-level Workers' Party meeting, leader Kim Jong Un issued "important" guidelines meant to bolster the army and protect national sovereignty.

"We assess that North Korea has almost finished preparations for conducting a nuclear test anytime and all that's left is North Korea making a political decision" to do so, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters yesterday.

The spokesman said he couldn't disclose further details because they would involve confidential intelligence affairs. Recent satellite photos showed North Korea may have been sealing the tunnel into a mountainside where a nuclear device could be exploded.

The South Korean and US militaries kicked off three days of exercises off the Korean Peninsula's east coast that involve live-fire exercises, naval maneuvers and submarine detection drills.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the maneuvers are part of regular joint military training that the allies had scheduled before the latest nuclear tensions began. But the training, which involves a nuclear-powered American submarine, could still send a warning against possible North Korean provocation, a South Korean military official said.

Later yesterday, Pyongyang's state media said the drills showed that the US and South Korea have been plotting to attack North Korea and increased the danger of a war on the divided peninsula.

"The dark cloud of war is approaching to the Korean Peninsula," North Korea's official Uriminzokkiri website said in a commentary. "Our patience has the limit."

North Korea says US hostility and the threat of American troops in South Korea are important reasons behind its nuclear drive. The US stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

North Korea also has denounced sanctions over its rocket launches, saying it has the sovereign right to launch rockets to send satellites into orbit under a space development program.

Diplomats are meeting to find ways to persuade North Korea to scrap its nuclear test plans.

The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and China met in Beijing yesterday and agreed that they would closely coordinate on ways to stop North Korea from conducting a nuclear test, according to South Korean Foreign Ministry.

Iran to Unveil New Home-Made Tank by Early 2014

Source : Fars News Agency

Today, the army unveiled an optimized version of Zolfaqar and Samsam tanks on the occasion of the Ten-Day Dawn ceremonies, celebrating the victory of the Islamic Revolution back in 1979.

Also in the ceremony, Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan unveiled a home-made turret for M-47 tanks.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony, Pourdastan said the new turret has been manufactured by the Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization of the Army Ground Force.

"The (M-47) tank with its new turret will be unveiled under the new name of Sabalan in the near future by Farvardin 1993 (March - April 2014)."

The Army's newly unveiled Samsam tank is said to be an upgrade of the M-60A1 battle tank.

Zolfaqar is a second generation of Iran's main battle tank (MBT). The test prototypes of the tank were evaluated in 1993. Six semi-industrial prototypes of the tank were produced and tested in 1997. The tank has a distinctive box-shaped, steel-welded turret of local design. Zolfaqar combat weight is reported to be 36 tons and has a 780 hp diesel engine; the tank has a 21.7 hp per ton ratio.

Zolfaqar is operated by a crew of three personnel. The automatic loader is believed to be the same one from the T-72 tank.

The Zolfaqar-1 uses a fire control system which enjoys a 'fire-on-the-move' technology. The Zolfaqar mounts a laser-warning pod on the turret. Its design enables the tank to use an Iranian-made package of reactive armor.

Zolfaqar-2 is a prototype tank used as a test bed. The Zolfaqar-3 also features considerable upgrades to the fire control system, chassis, engine and main gun, with a 125mm autoloader.

Brazil Wants to Buy Russian Anti-Aircraft Weaponry

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 3 (RIA Novosti) – Brazil’s Defense Ministry intends to discuss purchasing air defense systems from Russia during talks with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev later this month, the ministry said on Sunday.

"We are interested in acquiring three batteries of Pantsir-S1 missiles and two batteries of Igla missiles," General Jose Carlos De Nardi, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Brazilian Armed Forces, said in a statement.

The possible purchase of Russian anti- aircraft weaponry will be discussed during Medvedev’s visit to Brazil scheduled for the end of February, De Nardi said.

An agreement, if signed, would envisage the construction of a factory in Brazil and the transfer of technologies, he said.

The Pantsir-S, produced by Russia's KBP, is a gun-missile system combining a wheeled vehicle mounting a fire-control radar and electro-optical sensor, two 30-mm cannons and up to 12 57E6 radio-command guided short-range missiles, and is designed to take on a variety of targets flying at low altitudes.

The Pantsir can engage targets up to 20 km (12 miles) by missiles and 4 km (2.5 miles) using cannons, KBP claims.

The export version of the system, Pantsir-S1, has been sold to the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Algeria.

The Igla is a Russian man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile.