ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Model of a 155-mm artillery shell with a direct-flow air jet engine (DFAJ) Written by  Aleksandr Shirokopad ; Originally appeared at  Zvezdaweekly , translated by  AlexD  exclusively for  SouthFront For the first time in history a projectile with an air-jet engine was demonstrated in 1942 For many years now, designers have been working on any creative tricks to increase the firing range of the 152-155-mm guns if only by one kilometre. One of the novelties that caused furor at the international exhibition Eurosatory in June 2018 in Paris was the layout of a 155-mm artillery shell with a direct-flow air-jet (DFAJ) engine, presented by the Norwegian-Finnish company Nammo. The new DFAJ projectile can easily overcome both the 120 and even the 150-kilometre barrier. With it, the conventional 155-mm howitzer can solve tasks that are feasible for tactical missiles corps and even front-line command. Historical background Novelty? Here I remember the comical...

On April 14, the Houthis media wing released a video showing the group’s snipers targeting more than 18 Saudi-Backed fighters in the first quarter of April. Most of these operations took place in the southern part of the Saudi provinces of Jizan, Najran and Asir. The rest took place in different parts of Yemen. Two years ago, Houthi snipers began increasing their activity throughout Yemen, especially along the border with Saudi Arabia. They are armed with  a variety of locally modified heavy sniper rifles and Western-made sniper rifles , which were captured from the Saudi military. The Houthis rely on their snipers’ units to infect heavy losses on Saudi-led coalition forces. This simple tactic allows the Yemeni rebel group to slowly drain the coalition and its local proxies.

Wrriten by  Dennis M. Nilsen, PhD  exclusively for  SouthFront When the Islamic Revolution occurred in February 1979 with the return to Iran of the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a political earthquake in the Middle East very visibly began.  Until this year, the Iranians had only experienced the rule of an emperor,  shah  (شاه) in Persian, and with the advent of the guardianship of the jurist ( velayat-e faqih ) established by Khomeini, the 2,500-year imperial tradition of Persian came to an end. The Revolution was the culmination of opposition to the progressive modernization and centralization of the country under the last  shah , Muhammad Reza Pahlavi (1941-1979).  The  shah  succeeded his father Reza Shah in 1941 and ruled uninterruptedly until 1953, when after a brief exile, he was brought back by means of a coup planned and orchestrated by the British and Americans, a coup known as Operation Ajax by the West and the 28 ...

ILLISTRATIVE: THOMAS MCDONALD/ MINISTRY OF DEFENCE 7 crew members from the British Navy’s Trafalgar-class nuclear submarine HMS Talent were removed from the submarine after cocaine was found in their system whilst on duty last week,  The Telegraph reported on April 14 . The incident happened when the British  submarine was preparing for a mission to track Russian submarine movements in the North Sea and the Arctic Circle. The British Defense Ministry officially confirmed the incident saying that the sailors’ actions were “incompatible” with military service because it “reduces operational effectiveness.” The cocaine incident delayed the submarine deployment.  H MS Talent had been due to sail from Devonport on April 12, but the 280ft-long boat was still at the Plymouth base on April 14 night. This is not the first incident with  H MS Talent. The submarine seems to be very unluky with its tasks of tracking the “evil Russians”. In 2015, HMS Talent stru...

This article opens a series dedicated to changes of the political situation in Kazakhstan. On March 19, in a special address to the nation Kazakhstan’s long-time President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced his resignation. Despite the resignation from the presidential post, Nursultan Nazarbayev still has the official status of the “nation’s leader” [as the first president of independent Kazakhstan] and heads “Nur Otan”. He is also a member of the Constitutional Council and the head of the Security Council of Kazakhstan. He may occupy this particular post for life. Following Nazarbayev’s resignation, Senate Speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev assumed the presidential duties. In accordance with the Kazakh constitution, he is in fact the president of Kazakhstan until a new president is elected in the spring of 2020. The key factor limiting his power is that he cannot suggest changes to the country’s constitution. On March 20, Nazarbayev’s daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva, became yhe new Spea...

The Ukrainian military has received another batch of Humvee vehicles from the United States, according to photos and reports appearing oline. The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General for military purposes. At least 20 of such vehicles arrived in the Ukrainian port of Odessa on April 9,  according to Dumskaya newspaper . The report notes that this was the third batch of Humvee vehicles sent to Ukraine since the start of the conflict in the region of Donbass. The previous two were in 2015 and 2017. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) lost at least one Maysalun heavy artillery rocket launcher as a result of  the recent Israeli airstrikes  on the town of Umm Haratayn in northern Hama, a photo released by pro-government activists on April 13 revealed. Despite the low quality of the photo, the base of the launch rail, the back stairs and the hydraulic outriggers stabilizers can be seen in the remains of the rocket launcher. Click to see full-size image. Photo onthe right side by Syrian reporter Ra’if al-Salama Maysalun is a Syrian-made variant of the Iranian Zelzal-2 unguided long-range artillery rocket. The rocket has a range of 210km and a heavy high-explosive (HE) warhead. Israeli sources had accused Iran and Syria of installing guidance systems in these types of rockets, effectively converting them into precision-guided rockets. While the rocket launcher was destroyed in Umm Haratayn, the new Israeli attack was focused on the town of Masyaf in western Hama. According t...

    11   Donate Over April 12 th  and 13rd, both Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) and the Government of National Accord’s forces claimed to be making significant progress in the fight for Tripoli. On the side of the LNA, the LNA spokesperson said that while the LNA Air Force tries to limit damage and accurately strike targets, the GNA Air Force doesn’t concern itself with that. Combat aircraft that flew out of Misrata airbase on April 12 th , hit houses of civilians and caused significant human and material damage without regard to international laws on human rights, “We condemn those criminal acts and affirm that we will pursue all those who have caused harm to civilians.” The LNA also announced that the Air Force was targeting enemy positions in the outskirts of Tripoli. LNA Spox. @LNASpox Our Air forces are now targeting Enemy locations in the outskirts of # Tripoli # Libya 51 6:47 PM - Apr 1...