ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

According to head of the joint command of the coalition forces in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, including the capture of the cities of Mosul and Raqqa, will take two years. Head of the joint command of the coalition forces in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend (Photo: Brigitte N. Brantley, TSGT, USAF / Defense. Gov) The defeat of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group , including the capture of the cities of Mosul and Raqqa, as well as clearing the remnants from other, less important areas, will take two years, head of the joint command of the coalition forces in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, told The Daily Beast on Sunday. Townsend noted that the enemy is dangerous and cruel – very often terrorists use children as a human shield in order to prevent airstrikes of the coalition. “A fighter walking out of a building will hold a child over his head so we can see him through ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] until...

The People’s Protection Units (YPG) intend to establish control over the town of Tabqa and a hydroelectric station, located there on the Euphrates River. Photo: safa.ps The People’s Protection Units (YPG), also known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in mainstream media, consisting mainly of Kurds, are going to establish control over the town of Tabqa and a hydroelectric station, located there on the Euphrates River , the Izvestiya newspaper reported on Tuesday. The combat actions are conducted within the framework of an operation to encircle Raqqa, which is considered as the capital of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. As Abd Salam Ali, a representative of the Democratic Alliance, a Syrian Kurdish party, told Izvestiya, the YPG intends to knock the IS out from Tabqa town and a dam, located there. According to Ali, “the battle is currently taking place to the north-west of Raqqa , which is considered as the capital of terrorists. On December 25, there were armed clashes i...

The second flying prototype of the China’s FC-31 fighter jet has made its first flight. The second flying prototype of the China’s FC-31 fighter jet (Photo: weibo.com) The second flying prototype of the China’s FC-31 fighter jet has made its first flight, the Sandrermakoff blog reported. In contrast to the J-20 aircraft, which was developed and is produced for the Air Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Chengdu, the FC-31 light fighter jet of a new generation is developed primarily for export. However, developers of the new fighter jet of the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation do not lose a hope to get a contract from the country’s Air Force or Navy in the future. As far as is known, the development of the FC-31 is conducted entirely at the own expense of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China without direct involvement of the Chinese government that greatly restrains the process of the development of the project. So, more than four years have passed since the firs...