ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Illustrative image On March 10, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) warned the militants in al-Qadam district south of the Syrian capital, Damascus, that it will launch a military operation against them in coordination with Russia if they do not agree on a reconciliation or evacuation agreement within 48 hours, according to the Syrian pro-opposition news outlet Enab Baladi. Enab Baladi reported that a reconciliation agreement will force the militants to join the SAA and attack ISIS in the Yarmouk camp south of the al-Qadam district. A Syrian opposition source from al-Qadam told Enab Baladi that the militants will not agree on this, but will likely accept an evacuation agreement, which will allow them to withdraw to other opposition-held areas. Currently, there are more than 600 militants south of Damascus, according to Enab Baladi. The militants there had not launched any attacks against the SAA, even before the de-escalation agreement was reached. Syrian opposition sources reported...

Illustrative image. Source: MenaDefense Russia has given Egypt a license to assemble 400 T-90S\SK battle tanks locally, the Algerian MENA Defense blog that reported on March 9. MENA Defense’s report said that Egypt will begin assembling first T-90S battle tanks in the last quarter of 2019 after receiving the needed technology from the Russian Uralvagonzavod company, the manufacturer of the tank. The T-90S is an export version of the original T-90A battle tank, while the T-90SK is the command version of the T-90S. This model is equipped with a computerized day and night targeting system and is capable of launching the 9M119 Refleks anti-tank guided missiles via its 125mm 2A46M smoothbore gun. The battle tank is powered by a 1,000 hp (750 kW) engine made by the Russian Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant. Egypt will be able to assemble 50 T-90S\SK battle tanks each year from 2019 to 2026 on the assemble line, which will be built by Uralvagonzavod. The same assumable line will serve as ...

On March 10, Taliban fighters ambushed a unit of the Afghan Army Special Forces in the Tapa Sadat area of the Bala Blok district in the western province of Farah, according to the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad. Taliban fighters allegedly killed and injured more than 53 soldiers and destroyed two armored vehicles belonging to the army. Several weapons were also captured by the Taliban. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Head of Farah provincial council Farid Bakhtawar acknowledged that the Afghan Army Special Forces had been ambushed in the Bala Blok district and revealed that fifteen Afghan soldiers, including eight servicemembers of the Special Forces, had been killed, according to the Afghan TOLO TV. Three soldiers were captured by the Taliban, according to Bakhtawar. Voice of Jihad also reported that the Taliban had captured another checkpoint in the Birnghtut area around the city of Farah, the capital of Farah province on Mar...

The Russian state-run news agency TASS reports ( source ): A MiG-31 interceptor jet made a training launch of a Kinzhal aeroballistic hypersonic missile and the missile hit a target on the test range, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday. “A MiG-31 fighter crew of the Russian Aerospace Forces made a training launch of a hypersonic missile of the Kinzhal high-precision air missile system in the predetermined area,” the ministry said. The MiG-31 departed from an airfield in the Southern Military District within the framework of a testing air alert. “The launch was normal; the hypersonic missile hit the preset target on the test site,” the ministry added. “Performance characteristics and time indicators of the Kinzhal high-precision airborne missile system were confirmed during the hypersonic missile launch,” the ministry said. Crews of the Kinzhal air system comprising a MiG-31 interceptor jet and an advanced hypersonic missile made 250 flights from the beginning of ...