ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail looks at the remains of a Russian airliner after it crashed in central Sinai near El Arish city, north Egypt, October 31, 2015. © Reuters While the investigation into the causes of the Russian passenger jet crash over the Sinai Peninsula continues, civil aviation and security experts agree that theories that the plane was downed by a militant group can be ruled out, despite terrorists making such claims. All 224 people on board the Kolavia airline’s flight from resort area Sharm El-Sheikh to Russia’s St. Petersburg died after the aircraft crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Saturday. Experts are still decoding the flight recorders, and the Russian Air Transport Agency has said that there is no point in hypothesizing about the cause of the crash until there is reliable data on the circumstances. While Islamic State jihadist group allegedly claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it downed the Airbus A321 as retaliation for Russia’s ...

Collected and analyzed by J.Hawk Executive Summary Even as the airstrikes in Syria are continuing, the Russian military appears to be preparing for all manner of contingencies dependent on the outcome of the multi-party negotiations in Vienna on the future of Syria. These contingencies include reinforcing or rotating the aircraft contingent in Syria, deploying special operations troops to help identify targets and guide aerial and artillery munitions, deploying a ground combat continent to fight alongside the Syrian Army, and even sending the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean or even the Persian Gulf. Strategic Forces 1. Yars launch from Plesetsk Location: Plesetsk; Kamchatka It was a test launch of an operational missile with a payload of multiple training warheads, which struck targets on the Kura proving ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Ground/Airborne Forces 2. Vikhr-1 missile deliveries begin Location: Izhevsk Vikhr-1 is a supe...

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.

Two Russian Tu-142 “Bear” naval reconnaissance aircraft made low-level approaches to within a mile of the U.S. Navy carrier USSRonald Reagan, prompting it to scramble four F/A-18 Super Hornets in the latest incident ratcheting up tensions in the South China Sea region. As reported by Stars and Stripes, the Russian planes made their approach at 500 feet as the Reagan conducted exercises with elements of the South Korean navy Oct. 27, according to 7thFleet spokeswoman Lt. Lauren Cole. The incident took place in waters east of the Korean Peninsula. U.S. Navy officials attempted to make contact with the Russian aircraft but received no radio response. One U.S. ship followed the Russian planes as they withdrew, Navy officials told the paper. The Tu-142 approach was just the latest in a series of incidents involving Russia. On several occasions over the past year, Russian military aircraft have tested international boundaries either by violating a sovereign nation’s airspace or engaging in w...

By Moon Of Alabama During the last days a large attack on the Syrian government supply line to Aleppo city was carried out by Jabhat al-Nusra (aka al-Qaeda in Syria) and the Islamic State seemingly in coordination with the U.S. military. During September the U.S. anti-IS coalition carried out an average of 4.2 airstrikes on IS in predominately east Syria. This after an average of 6.8 per day in August. The rate in October was about the same as in September until Thursday October 22. Then, according to the U.S. Military Times, the strike rate decreased markedly : ~4 strikes per day up to Oct 20 4 - Oct 20 Tuesday 8 - Oct 21 Wednesday 1 - Oct 22 Thursday 0 - Oct 23 Friday 0 - Oct 24 Saturday 0 - Oct 26 Sunday 1 - Oct 27 Monday 0 - Oct 28 Tuesday 0 - Oct 29 Wednesday The Islamic State used the lull in airstrikes in east Syria to move hundreds of fighters and heavy equipment towards the supply line that connects Damascus with the government held areas (green) of Aleppo. After two days of ...

By John Vibes Earlier this month, it was reported that less than two weeks before the economic collapse of 2008 , several members of Congress took their money out of the stock market. Many high-ranking government employees were given a heads-up about the impending market crash in secret meetings with the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department. Then they used that information to engage in insider trading. It was revealed that Senator Shelley Capito and her husband sold $350,000 worth of Citigroup stock at $83 per share, just one day before the stock dropped to $64 per share. Another shady trader was Congressman Jim Moran, who had his biggest trading day of the year days after the secret meeting, sellings stock in nearly 100 different companies. These actions would be illegal for any American in any other circumstance, but members of Congress and high-ranking government officials are actually exempt from insider trading laws. Years later, a 60 Minutes investigation aired on televisi...

A week from now, when all of Russia's warplanes in Syria are blown out of the sky, Putin will scratch his head and think to himself: Why didn't I consider the threat of explosive, floating condoms? But by then it will be far too late. Via the greatest tabloid article ever to grace the Internet : BIZARRE footage has been released appearing to show ISIS fighters using bombs attached to blown up CONDOMS to try to bring down Russian fighter jets. The incredible three minute video shows jihadis putting together the explosives before releasing the contraceptives into the air. Said to take place in the Syrian town of Idlib, the scenes show the desperate levels the terrorists are going to try to stop Vladimir Putin's onslaught. The astonishing footage, which has religious chanting running over the top, begins with jihadis assembling the bombs in a room with Arabic writing on the walls. (Popular Science also reported on this irresponsible Takfiri condom use. So maybe it's ac...