ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, have long been staples in the U.S. military’s arsenal and are increasingly being utilized by more and more militaries around the world. But so-called “micro-drones” – miniaturized UAVs – are beginning to saturate the civilian market, and defense officials worry that they could be adapted by terrorists or other non-state actors to carry out a variety of attacks. Along those lines, British defense firm Selex ES recently introduced a magnetic shield-type of weapon that acts as a countermeasure to ward off and defeat commercial drones. As reported by  Sputnik , the Falcon Shield was in development for three years, making its public debute at the Defense and Security Equipment International Exhibit in London in mid-September. Officials with Selex ES did not explain the new system’s proprietary technology in much detailed – technology co-developed with military partners and customers – but they did say that drones can be detected...

Click to see the full-size map On September 28, the Egyptian Defense Ministry announced that the Egyptian Air Force coducted  an aerial operation against a group of terrorists who tried to infiltrate throw the Egyptian western border. Egyptian sources suggested that the terrorist were likely ISIS members who tried to enter Egypt from Libya. Egyptian warplanes discovered, tracked and destroyed at least 10 vehicles of the terrorists loaded with weapons, ammo and other smuggled materials during the aerial operation, according to the Egyptian Defense Ministry statement. Moreover, the statement revealed that the decision to launch the operation was taken after the Egyptian Army received critical information that terrorist are preparing to enter Egypt. In the last few months ISIS tried to enter Egypt through the western border several times. ISIS is likely trying to find a foothold in western Egypt as it is very hard for ISIS to supply its cells in the Sinai desert in easte...

ALLAUDDIN KHAN / AP On September 28, 12 Afghan policemen were killed in a suicide attack that targeted a base of the Afghan Police in Maroof district of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan, according to Afghan sources. The Taliban announced that the suicide bomber was one of its members and took credit for the attack. Zia Durani spokesman for Kandahar province police chief revealed that the suicide bomber was driving a VBIED based on a Humvee vehicle. Durani also announced that “employees” from the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) were among the casualties. 2 Afghan policemen and 16 civilians were injured in the attack were killed in an IED attack in the Afghanistan capital Kabul on September 28 also. The Afghan Police said that the IED was attached to a police vehicle while it was parked outside of a mosque in Kabul. So far, no group has taken responsibility for the attack. In a separated development, Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesper...

Maybe  Elon Musk  had a point… The US’s military leaders have agreed on a strategy to guarantee the US military retains its global dominance during the twenty-first century: Connect everything with everything, as  DefenseOne  describes it.  The result?  An unimaginably large cephapoloidal nervous system armed with the world’s most advanced weaponry, and in control of all military equipment belonging to the world’s most powerful army. Sound familiar? It should… A networked military – an extreme take on the “internet of things” – would connect everything from F-35 jets to the Navy’s destroyers to the armor of the tanks crawling over the land to the devices carried by soldiers – every weapon would be connected.  Every weapon, vehicle, and device connected, sharing data, constantly aware of the presence and state of every other node in a truly global network. Of course, the development of these “smart” weapons should unnerve Tesla CEO Elon Musk,...

Jean-Philippe Arles / Reuters Based on  BMPD’s article As stated by Fabrice Gliszczynski in an article titled “ A380: Airbus rêve de commandes salvatrices en Chine ”, the head of Airbus China Eric Chen speculated that China would need 60 A380 planes in the next five to seven years. Since the beginning of this project 17 years ago only five planes of this type were sold to China. Although A380 sales are stagnating for quite a few years now, Airbus still plans selling their “Super Jumbo” to the Chinese market. That was the big plan since the start of the project in the year 2000, and said plan has been failing rapidly. A total of five A380 planes were bought by China Southern. Twelve years ago. That’s it. China didn’t order anymore of these planes, and the plan was not exactly the great success Airbus had been envisioning. Quite the opposite — it may actually kill the project. A measly 319 planes had been ordered, and two thirds of them are already delivered. Though Eric ...

AFP 2017/ Ashraf Shazly On September 27, Sundanese Army Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamad Hamdan Dalqu, revealed in an interview with the Sudanese newspaper al-Jareeda that 412 service members of the Sundanese Army including 14 officers have been killed in Yemen by the Houthis since March 26, 2015. Gen. Dalqu also announced that the Sundanese Army Rapid Support Forces participated in battles against the Houthis on 40 different fronts in Yemen. Moreover, Gen. Dalqu claimed that the Sudanese forces helped the Saudi-led collation to capture many areas in Yemen. The Sudanese Army is the third largest force in the Saudi-led collation in Yemen after the Saudi Army and the UAE Army. However, unlike what Gen. Dalqu claimed the achievement of the Sudanese Army in Yemen is very limited. The Sudanese Army Rapid Support Forces are mainly deployed around the Houthis-held Yemeni capital Sana’a. So far, the Houthis have repelled dozens of attacks of the Sudanese Army and pro...

Nimr Jamal On September 27, a Palestinian gunman attacked a security gate at the Israeli settlement of Har Adar northwest of Jerusalem city. The gunman (37-year-old Nimr Jamal) opened fire on the security gate after approaching it and killed two security guards Youssef Othman and Or Arish (both 25-years-old) before killing Sergeant Solomon Gavria (20-year-old) of the Israeli border police. After that Jamal was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers. According to the Israel authorities, Jamal had a work permit in the settlement, and he used to enter it throw the same gate on regular bases. Jamal was armed with a 9mm pistol that was stolen from an Israeli Army camp back in 2003. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that the Israeli authorities will demolish the house of Jamal’s family. Moreover, the Israeli authorities will suspend the work permits for Jamal’s family members according to Netanyahu. “While we are still invest...

Click to see the full-size map On September 27, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) Republican Guard ambushed a group of Faylaq al-Rahman fighters in Ayn Tarma area east of the Syrian capital Damascus, according to pro-government sources. 7 fighters of Faylaq al-Rahman were killed and several others were injured in the ambush. The SAA also targeted shelled positions of Faylaq al-Rahman and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Ayen Tarma area and Jobar district east of Damascus city with Syrian-made Volcano and Golan heavy rockets. From its side, Faylaq al-Rahman announced that its fighters ambushed a group of Syrian soldiers from the SAA 4th Division in Ayn Tarma. Moreover, Faylaq al-Rahman announced that its fighters destroyed a T-72 tank of the 4th Division. Click to see the full-size image Another tank, a Shilka vehicle and a bulldozer of the SAA were damaged by Faylaq al-Rahman fighters. Meanwhile, Jaysh al-Islam claimed that it repelled an attack of the SAA on its position ...