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The US is considering selling an anti-missile system to the United Arab Emirates, which could be used to defend the UAE against any future aggression from Iran. THAAD is designed to defend against short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and complements the Patriot missile-defense system, which aims lower. The Pentagon is set to notify US Congress of the sale and Congress will then have 30 days to review the matter, sources close to the issue told news outlets on Monday. If approved, it would be the first sale of the THAAD system to a foreign country. The pursuit of advanced defense...

Pak to get 100 fighter jets from China, US Islamabad, Sept 7 (PTI) Pakistan will acquire over 100 fighter jets from China and the US as well as airborne warning and air-to-air refuelling aircraft to maintain numerical parity with the Indian Air Force which enjoys a "qualitative advantage", the country's air force chief has said. Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed said the Pakistan Air Force was "very close" to signing a contract with China for serial production of 42 JF-17 fighter jets. It would also acquire two squadrons or 36 of the FC-20 multi-role fighters from China and 18...

MOSCOW [MENL] -- Russia has approved the sale of the S-300PMU2 air defense system to Iran. Russian government sources said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin approved the sale of the S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Iran in 2008. The sources said the two countries have concluded delivery and other arrangements for the export of the air defense platform.

Russia may use nuclear aid to Iran as a method of responding to increased tensions between Moscow and Washington over the conflict in Georgia, the Sunday Times reported. According to the report, a source close to the Russian military told the paper that Moscow is furious over the form of continued US overtures to Georgia and the Ukraine. Since hostilities in Georgia ended two weeks ago, the United States has called for a NATO expansion which would include the two nations, has sent warships to the area to deliver emergency supplies, has promised huge sums of aid to help rebuild...

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney told President Shimon Peres yesterday that Russia is selling arms to Syria and Iran with the clear knowledge that they are being channeled to Hezbollah and terror groups in Iraq. After meeting Peres on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti forum by Italy's Lake Como, the American vice president later reiterated these remarks in his address at the economic conference, saying that "Russian arms dealing in the Middle East has endangered the prospects for peace and freedom in the region." Advertisement Cheney added that the Russian leaders view democracy as a direct threat to their regime....

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney met with President Shimon Peres on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti forum on the edge of Italy's Lake Como on Saturday, telling the Israeli leader that Russia is selling arms to Damascus and Iran with the clear knowledge that they are being channeled to Hezbollah and terror groups in Iraq. The American vice president later reiterated these remarks in his address at the economic conference, saying that "Russian arms dealing in the Middle East has endangered the prospects for peace and freedom in the region." He added that the Russian leaders view democracy as a...

China to provide Pakistan four AWACS aircrafts Updated at: 1510 PST, Friday, September 05, 2008 ISLAMABAD: Air Chief Marshall Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed on Friday said China would provide four AWACS aircrafts to Pakistan for the purpose of aerial surveillance, adding an agreement in this regard has been signed by the two countires. Talking to Geo News, he said talks were also underway to purchase FC-20 aircrafts from China and added 30 to 40 planes would be provided to Pakistan under the agreement signed by China and Pakistan. Air chief Marshall further said four such aircrafts were being also acquired from...

Excerpt - WASHINGTON -- The Iraqi government is seeking to buy 36 advanced F-16 fighters from the U.S., say American military officials familiar with the request, a move that could help reduce its reliance on U.S. air power and potentially allow more American forces to withdraw from the country than had been proposed. ~ snip ~

Ukraine's defense sector has called for a big rise in funding for the military after Russia's war with Georgia but its reliance on Russian supplies of weapons and parts poses a dilemma. Ukraine's leaders backed Georgia in the war over breakaway South Ossetia and expressed anger that Russia used ships from its fleet stationed in Ukraine's Crimea region. Politicians have voiced fears Ukraine could be Russia's next target, although analysts say an imminent invasion is most unlikely. "Russia's actions have compelled our generals to look at the possibility of using force and this has handed them the argument that we...

MOSCOW, September 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia may proceed with plans to sell advanced S-300 air defense systems to Iran under a secret contract believed to have been signed in 2005, a Russian analyst said on Monday. (Russian mobile surface-to-air missile systems - Image gallery) Commenting on an article in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper saying Russia is using the plans as a bargaining chip in its standoff with America, Ruslan Pukhov, director of Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said: "In the current situation, when the U.S. and the West in general are stubbornly gearing toward a confrontation...

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi on Monday denied reports that Tehran has purchased the S-300 system, an advanced Russian-made anti-aircraft missile, the English-language Press TV satellite channel reported. "No such thing is correct," Qashqavi told reporters in his weekly press conference. Iran's missile and technical capabilities are the outcome of a homegrown technology developed by Iranian scientists, Qashqavi said, adding that "this technology was recently demonstrated." Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) completed military maneuvers in the Gulf called Payambar-e Azam 3 (Great Prophet 3) in mid July to improve combat readiness and capability. Iran successfully test fired new...

Iran denied on Monday it had bought Russia's advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile system, after Israeli defense sources said the Islamic Republic could take delivery of the weapons by the end of the year.

LONDON, August 29 (IranMania) - An Israeli think tank claims that Iran will install an advanced air defense system the country bought from Russia next year, PressTV reported. The report says the S-300PMU-2 air defense system will be deployed in 2009 and it will be operational by the middle of the next year. The report by the Institute for Contemporary Affairs said the S-300 would complement other Russian air defense systems in Iran, particularly the TOR-M1. ?The S-300 system, which has a radius of over 90 miles and effective altitudes of about 90,000 feet, is capable of tracking up to...

The Olmert-Livni-Barak government is apparently maneuvering to stand down on Iran, and they'd like the US to be blamed for their timidity. A careful reading of a bizarre article in Sunday's edition of Ha'aretz brings this point home clearly. The report details Israel's recent agreement with the US to deploy the X-Band high powered early warning radar system in Israel. The system will be manned by a team of three US military personnel from a trailer somewhere in the Negev. The US's willingness to deploy the system is largely the consequence of ardent lobbying efforts by US Congressman Mark Kirk....

Eastern Europe Can Defend Itself By MAX BOOT August 25, 2008; Page A13 Eastern Europeans are rightly alarmed about the brazenness and success of the Russian blitzkrieg into Georgia. For many living in Russia's shadow, this is reviving traumatic memories -- of 1968 for Czechs, 1956 for Hungarians, 1939 for Poles. It does not help that senior Russian generals are threatening to rain nuclear annihilation on Ukraine and Poland if they refuse to toe the Kremlin's line. Even those states which, unlike Georgia and Ukraine, are already in NATO can take scant comfort. As Poland's foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, says,...

U.S. to give Poland five C-130 Hercules planes 2008-08-26 00:06:58 WARSAW, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Poland will get from the United States five 40-year-old C-130 Hercules transport planes as part of allied assistance, Rzeczpospolita daily reported on Monday. The first one is expected in Poland in October and the last one in 2012. 50 Polish pilots and technicians are being trained in the U.S. to service the planes. According to the newspaper, the planes will be used for soldier and equipment transport for military missions. At present the Polish Air Forces use Spanish CASA C-295M which are not fit for...

The sale of Russia’s arms is another problem. The governments of Western countries and Israel are concerned about reports saying that Russia started the shipments of first components of its S-300 missile system to Iran. The latter may subsequently use the powerful systems to down US and Israeli aircraft. Russia may complicate USA’s and NATO’s supply of the coalition in Afghanistan In April, Moscow gave France and Germany a right to transit non-combatant cargoes via Russia. Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said that the West should not bite the hand that feeds 50,000 servicemen in Afghanistan. Moscow can offer...

Syria Expected to Reach Arms Deals 22 August 2008 By Oleg Shchedrov / Reuters SOCHI — Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad backed Russia's military action against Georgia at talks with President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday that were expected to cover purchases of Russian arms. A diplomatic source in Moscow told Interfax on Wednesday that Russia and Syria were preparing a number of deals involving anti-aircraft and anti-tank missile systems. Syria, a foe of Israel in the Middle East that stands accused by the United States of supporting international terrorism, became only the second country after Belarus to voice public backing for...

US demands Russia return seized Humvees WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States has formally demanded the return of five US military vehicles seized by Russian forces in Georgia but Moscow has not indicated it will do so, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday. "The United States did demarche the government of Russia with respect to the handful of Humvees," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said, referring to the military's all-purpose, four wheel vehicles. "That has not been resolved satisfactorily for us at this point," he said. Whitman said the Russians responded to the demarche, which is a formal diplomatic representation of a...

Assault rifles, rocket launchers, tanks, uniforms... All that stuff the Russians have taken from the Georgian soldiers during the conflict, that lasted several days. Now they're boasting, showing the results of their looting to the tourists. The Russian army have organised an exhibition in Sukhumi (Abkhazia), where they're showing what they've taken from the Georgians. The weapons - mainly from the USA, Germany and Israel - looks, like it's brand new, straight from the factory. Probably its Western origins was the reason, why the Russians wanted to show it - to prove, that the Georgians have been supported by other...