ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By Moon Of Alabama  Yesterday the Syrian Arab Army supported by Iraqi and Iranian forces and the Russian air force launched a surprise attack to the south and east of Aleppo. Progress at the beginning was rapid but resistance has by now grown and the current progress is at a slower and more sustainable pace. As the front lines are constantly moving the the news about actual positions vary. An excellent map of the ongoing operation via  TexMapMaker1 . (Again with green=insurgents, red=Syrian government and allied forces) There are three important axis. The first one (the upper left marked 1 and 2 in the map) towards the besieged cities Nubl and Al-Zahra developed when earlier this week foreign paid insurgents lost some of their positions north-east of Aleppo in fighting with the Islamic State. The SAA took the opportunity of that fighting in the area to extend its position towards the besieged cities. Extending that position to relief the cities would also cut off the supply line

China’s Type 99A2 (the most modern version of the Type 99 accepted into service in 2001), is one of two tanks in this series of articles which cannot be genuinely called an independent design. The tank’s design is based on T-72 tank which has proven itself all around the world, with the addition of a new welded turret and improved armored protection, both passive and reactive, and an improved set of electronics. Type 99A2 uses an automatic loader, which reduces its crew to three and increases its rate fo fire to seven shots per minute. Moreover, this tank has a unique feature in the form of an active laser suppression system, capable of literally blinding enemy soldiers and damaging observation systems.

Editor's choice 15.10.2015 Yemen Map of War – Oct. 9-15, 2015 Written by Akram abu Abs exclusively for SouthFront Saudi coalition airstrikes continue in the northeastern provinces of Yemen. After losing… Editor's choice 09.10.2015 Yemen Map of War – Oct. 1-8, 2015 Written by Akram abu Abs exclusively for SouthFront Airstrikes by the Saudi coalition against the Houthi alliance have increased in… Editor's choice 01.10.2015 Yemen Map of War – Sep.16-30, 2015 Written by Akram abu Abs exclusively for SouthFront The Saudi-led coalition is still unable to gain a major military success despite… Hot 15.09.2015 Yemen Map of War – Sep. 15, 2015: Saudi-led Coalition Advances to Capture al Jawf and Sa’ada The US-backed Saudi coalition advances to capture al Jawf and Sa’ada. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic… Editor's choice 07.09.2015 Yemen Map of War – Sep. 7, 2015: The War Escalates The US-backed coalition have been expanding Yemen war by exercising more airst

This is the newst update of the ‘U.S. Carrier Strike Groups Locations Map’ exclusive series showing the approximate locations of U.S. Carrier Strike Groups on a weekly basis. SouthFront, Analysis & Intelligence tracks locations of U.S. aircraft carriers using the available open-source information. No classified information was used in production of the map. A carrier strike group (CSG) is an operational formation of the United States Navy. It is centered on an aircraft carrier and a carrier air wing (CVW) of 65 to 70 aircrafts. It’s composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least two destroyers and/or frigates. A carrier strike group also, on occasion, includes submarines, attached logistics ships and a supply ship. Carrier strike groups comprise a principal element of U.S. power projection over the world’s oceans.

Executive Summary While Russia’s air campaign against Islamist militants in Syria is continuing and even stepping up the pace of attacks (now with attack helicopters entering into the fray), the heightened level of military activity in the Southern Military District and the upsurge in materiel deliveries, both to the Syrian military and to the Russian contingent in Syria, suggests that Russia is weighing the possibility of an increased ground participation in the fighting to support Bashar al-Assad’s government. Some on-the-ground participation is already evident, in the form of TOS-1A Solntsepyok armored flamethrowers and apparently also heavy MRLs. Elsewhere the Russian military is continuing its modernization programs that increase the quantity of modern weapon systems in its inventory, including of many of the weapons that have proved their worth in the Syria fight. Strategic Forces 1. The seventh Borey-class SSBN to be laid down in December 2015 Location: Severodvinsk The ship wil

It’s clear that major world powers closely monitor the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces’ (VKO) activity in Syria. One of these major powers is China. Follwoing Chinese diplomatic actions and media coverage over the topic we could concluse that China noted that the US-led anti-ISIS ccoalition hadn’t achieved any substantial result, most of the anti-Assad forces had been already merged mainly by ISIS and al Nusra. Thus, China provides deliberate diplomatic support and deeply analyzes the Russian military actions in the region. There are crucial conclusions made by Chinese experts and media: First is the Russian air grouping in the Hmeymim airbase includes both old and new types of the aircrafts and helicopters. Their actual number and capabilities won’t allow successfully exercise operations against terrorists in Iraq. Second is upgrated Soviet weapons and military equipment could be very effective in the contemporary military conflicts. Moreover, the Russian space-based satellite naviga

Josh Begley This is a labyrinth with 12 entrances and no exit. It is built on a cache of documents provided toThe Intercept by a source within the intelligence community. DRONES ARE A TOOL, not a policy. The policy is assassination. While every president since Gerald Ford has upheld an executive order banning assassinations by U.S. personnel, Congress has avoided legislating the issue or even defining the word “assassination.” This has allowed proponents of the drone wars to rebrand assassinations with more palatable characterizations, such as the term du jour, “targeted killings.” When the Obama administration has discussed drone strikes publicly, it has offered assurances that such operations are a more precise alternative to boots on the ground and are authorized only when an “imminent” threat is present and there is “near certainty” that the intended target will be eliminated. Those terms, however, appear to have been bluntly redefined to bear almost no resemblance to t