ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

With oil surging to a six month high  after a now confirmed  report that  Trump will not reissue Iranian oil export waivers  after they expire on May 2, removing up to 1 million barrels from the market… … Tehran has gone on the offensive and on Monday a senior Iranian military official said  the Islamic Republic will close the Strait of Hormuz if it’s prevented from using it,  the state-run Fars news agency reported. “The Strait of Hormuz based on international law is a waterway and if we are prevented from using it, we will close it, ”  Reuters reported , citing Alireza Tangsiri, head of the revolutionary guards navy force. Separately, the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Monday quoted an unnamed Iranian oil ministry source as saying that “ whether the waivers continue or not, Iran’s oil exports will not be zero under any circumstances unless Iranian authorities decide to stop oil exports  … and this is not relevant now.” The source added that “we have been monitoring an

A controversial article in the Russian Defense Minsitry’s journal “Armeysky Sbornik” regarding the usage of “psychic” warfare by the Armed Forces has gained a wide attention in the Russian media and will likely make headlines in English-language mainsream media outlets. Click to see full-size image The Russian Armed Forces are training “psychic” special forces to defeat the enemy without contact, according to an article in  February’s issue of the Russian Ministry of Defense’s journal “Armeysky Sbornik.” The article “Super Soldier for the Future Wars” was written by reserve colonel Nikolai Poroskov and reports on the methods of parapsychology  allegedly   applied by the Russian Military. The author also claims that that Russian special forces used “parapsychology combat techniques” in Chechnya. According to the article, they are training soldiers who can hack a computer with the power of their thought. “The command was interested in how to “remove” information: to revea

    22   Donate Iron Dome Missile Defense   This video is based on an analysis released by SouthFront on On June 15, 2018: “ Israel’s Iron Dome ABM System. Threats, Peculiarities and Development Prospects “ Since its inception, Israel has faced difficult political and military challenges. It defines the operational space in which IDF exists, the nature of development of its armed forces, and of individual weapons systems it uses. The key objective and permanent factors include: Israel’s geography, with the 470km-long country being no more than 135km wide. Hostile environment, including unresolved territorial disputes with neighbors and the Palestinian problem. Close proximity to borders of major cities and critical infrastructure. At the same time, Israel did not treat its adversaries’ ability to use rockets as a priority for a long time, therefore establishing a comprehensive anti-ballistic m

Written by  Philip M. Giraldi ; Originally appeared on  strategic-culture.org It is depressing to observe how the United States of America has become the evil empire. Having served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War and in the Central Intelligence Agency for the second half of the Cold War, I had an insider’s viewpoint of how an essentially pragmatic national security policy was being transformed bit by bit into a bipartisan doctrine that featured as a  sine qua non  global dominance for Washington. Unfortunately, when the Soviet Union collapsed the opportunity to end once and for all the bipolar nuclear confrontation that threatened global annihilation was squandered as President Bill Clinton chose instead to humiliate and use NATO to contain an already demoralized and effectively leaderless Russia. American Exceptionalism became the battle cry for an increasingly clueless federal government as well as for a media-deluded public. When 9/11 arrived, the country was

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 situation of 50s and 60