Armed US Drones to Start Flying Over Niger

The United States and Niger have reached an agreement permitting armed American military drones for use against jihadist terror groups in the African nation, a U.S. official told VOA.
The agreement, finalized this week, is a major expansion of U.S. military’s efforts to counter terrorism in Africa. It is unclear whether the drones will be used to carry out targeted strikes or solely as a defensive measure.
Until now, the U.S. has only been conducting airstrikes against terrorists on the continent operating inside Libya and Somalia. Officials say that arming drones based in Niger would expand the military’s ability to go after extremists in West Africa, where Nigeria-based Boko Haram, Algeria-based al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and Islamic State fighters operate.
Pentagon spokeswoman Army Major Audricia Harris would not comment on the new permissions.
voanews

Chabelley Airfield in Djibouti The small airstrip that is the future of America’s way of war

The Pentagon is quietly building up a small airstrip in a remote region of east Africa as part of its war against Islamic militants. More importantly, the airfield is a complex microcosm of how Washington runs military operations overseas — and how America’s way of war will probably look for the foreseeable future.
Chabelley Airfield is less than 10 miles from the capital of the small African nation of Djibouti. The small airport is the hub for America’s drone operations in the nearby hotspots of Somalia and Yemen.
But in spite of all of this, Chabelley isn’t what it might otherwise seem – at least not officially. You see, the site is not technically an American base.
“Chebelley [as the Pentagon likes to spell it] was categorized by the U.S. Global Defense Posture Report to Congress as an enduring Cooperative Security Location based upon the U.S. strategic interests in maintaining access for the foreseeable future.”
In plain English, Washington does not own the site, sometimes referred to by the acronym CSL. In contrast to the big American bases in Europe and Asia during the Cold War, the Pentagon has favored cutting deals with countries for access to existing runways and ports in its fight against militants around the globe something that make sense in an era of shrinking budgets
reuters

US, Spain Sign Deal On Permanent Base For Africa Force

Washington and Madrid signed a deal Wednesday setting up a permanent force of 2,200 US Marines based in southern Spain who can be swiftly deployed to crises in Africa.
The US already has a rapid reaction force of about 800 troops at Morón de la Frontera, near Seville, who were deployed temporarily in the wake of the 2012 attack on a US mission in Benghazi, eastern Libya.
Wednesday's accord amends a 1988 defense partnership between the two countries.
The main mission of the Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response unit will be to protect US embassies in Africa, evacuate civilians in difficulty, or intervene in conflicts or humanitarian crises.
It will come under the US military command for Africa (AFRICOM) which is based in Stuttgart, Germany.
defensenews

Private company procures Bell 407GT light attack helo for use in Africa, the Middle East

Bell Helicopter has sold its first 407GT light attack and armed reconnaissance platform to BBM Inc to perform a variety of security missions in the Middle East and Africa.
Bell Helicopter did not disclose how many of the armed 407GTs are to be acquired, but the private company procured 16 unarmed 407GX helicopters, on which the 407GT is based, earlier this year. According to Bell Helicopter, the helicopters will be used in undisclosed countries for missions including law enforcement and homeland security.
BBM Inc describes itself as "spearheading [a] variety of capabilities to support a wide array of mission profiles in the Middle East, Africa, and around the world"
On its website, it lists a number of capabilities that it provides, including Air Solutions; Helicopters. Besides the 407GX and 407GT platforms, BBM Inc's helicopter solutions comprise the Bell 428, Huey II, and Bell 212 platforms. The company also provides fixed-wing aircraft (including the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules), unmanned aerial vehicles, a range of armoured and soft-skinned vehicles, naval vessels (including mine sweepers and patrol boats), as well as body armour and night vision goggles.
First revealed in March 2013, the 407GT is derived from the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior in service with the US Army. It is fitted with the Garmin G1000HTM 'glass' cockpit and can be equipped with electro-optic/infrared sensors, as well as light weapons and precision-guided munitions.
janes

Mysterious NASA Plane Spotted in Africa

A mysterious NASA plane has been spotted in eastern Africa, leaving people curious whether it was on some secret mission.
The broad-winged white plane named WB-57 was photographed by the satellite company Digital Globe in the Republic of Djibouti in September.
According to the space agency, all three WB-57s are now back in the US with their status listed as "inactive".
According to NASA's website, the WB-57s have been flying research missions "since the early 1970s and continue to be an asset to the scientific community with professional, reliable, customer-oriented service designed to meet all scientific objectives".
The plane can fly nearly as high as the famed U2 spy plane and carry more weight - including an array of high-tech imagery and communications equipment, the report added.
The WB-57 can carry any number of sensor payloads.
ndtv

USAF C-17 lands in Liberia opening US military anti-Ebola airlift

A Boeing C-17 Globemaster landed in Monrovia, Liberia, on 19 September, carrying the first of 3,000 US military personnel that will deploy to West Africa in an effort to stem the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.
The aircraft carried a heavy duty forklift, drill set, a generator and a team of seven military personnel, including engineers and airfield specialists who are assigned to assess the payload capacity and stability of airport runways in Liberia’s capital.
flightglobal

Air Force may move drones, personnel inside Niger

The Air Force may redeploy its remotely piloted aircraft in Niger, moving the drones to a remote area in the Sahara to better position them to watch Islamic militants in the area.
Last year, the Air Force deployed about 100 airmen and remotely piloted aircraft to Niamey in the southwestern region of Niger to “provide support for intelligence collection and ... facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali”. The deployment included Air Force security forces to protect the aircraft.
U.S. Africa Command is looking to move the aircraft about 450 miles north to Agadez. That city of in the northern part of the country has a small airstrip on its southern edge.
The move is at the request of, and in coordination with the government of Niger and the Nigerian Armed Forces, AFRICOM.
This location would be closer for crews to keep an eye on militants spreading in Libya to the north. Nigeria agreed to the U.S. presence to help secure the country’s borders against jihadist infiltrations from Libya.
Aircraft would still operate at the Niamey base.
The Air Force, on Aug. 21, posted a solicitation for 18 shelter systems to house U.S. aircraft and personnel in in Agadez. Earlier solicitations sought jet fuel and runway repair in the area. The move would not fully take place until the infrastructure at the base is ready.
U.S. drones have also been deployed to N’Djamena, Chad, and bases in the Horn of Africa and the Seychelles. Additional surveillance flights over Libya are flown from bases in Italy.
airforcetimes

Spain OKs boost in crisis response force Marines

The Spanish government will allow an additional 300 Marines to be based at Morón Air Base to respond to crises in Africa.
The Marine Corps has the go-ahead to boost the size of its Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response from about 550 Marines to 850. Spain also will allow the unit to remain at Morón Air Base for another year.
The land-based crisis response force was stood up last year to fill a gap in available Navy amphibious ships in the region. The crisis-response Marines can be tapped to carry out a variety of operational missions — including embassy reinforcement — throughout Africa.
The unit typically comprises about 550 Marines, six MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and two KC-130J aerial refueling planes.
Spain also approved additional Marine Corps aircraft to be based there.
marinecorpstimes

366th Fighter Wing F-15E Strike Eagles return home from Africa Shadow War

On Oct. 5, a flight of (at least four) F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft with 366th Fighter Wing returned to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, after being deployed to an “undisclosed location” in Southwest Asia.
Her most probably base was Djibouti, from where an F-15E contingent has been (covertly) operating for more than 10 years in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa as an Expeditionary Squadron of the 380th Expeditionary Operations Group, based at Al Dhafra, in the United Arab Emirates.
David Cenciotti-theaviationist

US military to fund Niger DA42 upgrade

The US Navy intends to pay for an upgrade to Niger’s two Diamond Aircraft DA42 surveillance aircraft.
One aircraft will be outfitted with an L-3 Wescam MX-15 electro-optical/infrared sensor with a range-finding laser, plus data transmission and encryption capabilities and new operator display screens. The second aircraft will gain satellite communications equipment and radios.
The US military has been actively upgrading intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) equipment for Sahel-region governments, ostensibly to allow for operations against Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
At least two US-owned General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft are based in Niamey, Niger’s capital, to conduct ISR operations over Mali. As the border between Mali and Niger is essentially porous, operations are thought to be conducted over Niger in addition to other area nations.
flightglobal

U.S. Sending Drones All Around Africa

Africa,will see an enormous increase in the sorties of unmanned aerial vehicles remotely piloted by U.S. airmen. The commander of U.S. forces in Africa has purportedly requested a “15-fold increase in surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering on the continent.”
Drone bases are going up all over Africa, so the multiplicity of missions will be easily accommodated.
thenewamerican

U.N. urged to consider drones, gunships for South Sudan mission

The United Nations should consider deploying surveillance drones and helicopter gunships in South Sudan because peacekeepers are struggling to protect civilians from violence and rights abuses.
uk.reuters

Spanish Navy Ship 'Rayo' Visits Lüderitz, Namibia

The Spanish Navy Ship "Rayo" paid a visit to Lüderitz this week. This is the first time this brand new ship, an ocean patrol vessel, entered Namibian waters and docked at the Lüderitz quay. The ship was open for public viewing on Wednesday 12 June.
The ship has just completed its first operational deployment abroad and has been fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean, taking part in ATALANTA Operation under European Flag since March and May 2013
This visit, aimed at enhancing cooperation and ties with the Namibian Navy, was scheduled as part of the ship's voyage back to Spain during which it is making a tour around Africa to enhance common understanding with friendly countries and strengthen maritime security cooperation with African navies.
"Rayo" is the fourth ship of the "Meteoro" class Maritime Action Ships, built by the San Fernando manufacturer, the Navantia shipyard. Launched on 18 May 2010, the ship was commissioned on 14 May, a year later.
allafrica

La ultra rápida aeronave que transportará a los «marines» de Sevilla a África

El destacamento de 550 «marines» estadounidenses que se encuentra ya en la base aérea de Morón de la Frontera (Sevilla) para responder a cualquier crisis que acontezca en el norte de África cuenta con seis aeronaves MV-22 «Osprey» para poder transportar de modo inmediato a la fuerza de reacción rápida de EE.UU.
Además, el destacamento dispondrá de dos aviones KC 130J «Super Hercules» para su abastecimiento en vuelo o evacuación médica y poder tener así total independencia en las misiones.
Esteban Villarejo, Por Tierra Mar y Aire

BlueBird soars with African UAS deal

BlueBird, an Israeli manufacturer of unmanned air vehicles, has won a contract to supply its products to an undisclosed African country.

flightglobal

Royal Navy Lynx joins French frigate for counter-piracy ops

As part of the initiative for the UK and French Armed Forces to work more closely together, a Lynx Mk8 aircraft and 12 UK personnel from 217 Flight, based at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton, will deploy with the French frigate FS Surcouf as part of Operation ATALANTA, off the Horn of Africa.

mod.uk

Primer avión militar fabricado en Sudán/ First made-in-Sudan military aircraft launched

Sudán ha fabricado su primer avión militar, dentro de los planes de industrialización del país. Recibe el nombre de Alsafat-01, y su combustible es benceno, no el jet de aviación. Existen planes para fabricar diez aviones, antes de comenzar la producción para el mercado civil. Su coste es de quince mil dólares.
(leer más)
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Sudanese military has assembled the country's first-ever military aircraft from spare-parts manufactured locally as part of the country's industrialization strategy.
The first ever Sudanese-made plane, named the Alsafat-01, is manufactured to fly using the normal benzene-fired fuels, not jet-fuel, used by most commercial aircraft.
Sudan has been under international sanctions that bar its local companies from trading with American firms.
Sudan's military officers in-charge of the plane-manufacturing complex said their plan was to manufacture 10 such aircraft in future before moving to the construction of civilian aircraft.
The cost of the 'Safat-01' plane was US$ 15,000.
(read more)

Senegal toma control de bases militares francesas en su territorio/Senegal takes back French military bases

Senegal celebró sus 50 años de independencia. En dicha celebración se anunció que se tomaría el control de las bases militares que Francia mantiene en el país, un movimiento precedido de conversaciones entre ambos países. La noticia no tendrá un efecto inmediato, pero tiene un efecto simbólico tras 350 años de presencia francesa en el territorio. Senegal fue la primera colonia francesa en Africa y aloja una de las tres bases francesas permanentes en Africa, las otras dos están en Libreville y Djibouti.
Según el presidente senegalés Wade la presencia militar francesa puede parecer incongruente a la población y puede hacer brotar el sentimiento de que la independencia no es plena. Sin embargo Francia asegura que el territorio sobre el que se asientan sus bases, siempre ha sido considerado senegalés, y que solo estaba a disposición de las tropas. En Febrero de 2010, ambos países anunciaron un posible cierra de las bases, con la intención de establecer un centro de cooperacióm militar. No ha sido anunciada fecha definitiva de retirada, aunque el presidente francés anuncia que la presencia se reducirá a 300 soldados, desde los 1.200 actuales.
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Senegal marked 50 years of independence Sunday by exerting its sovereignty with an announcement it was taking back French military bases, a symbolic move to be cemented after talks with its former colonial ruler.
Senegalese troops are to be joined however by a French contingent on a march through the capital as part of festivities for its independence celebrations, attended by France's Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux. The historic step announced by President Abdoulaye Wade in an address to the nation on Saturday night has no marked effect in the short term, but is very symbolic for a country branded by 350 years of French presence. The first French colony south of the Sahara, Senegal hosts one of three permanent French military bases in Africa with 1,200 men based in Dakar. The other bases are in Libreville and Djibouti.
Wade's announcement followed shortly after the inauguration of a controversial monument to the African Renaissance, vaunted as a symbol of the emergence of a continent with some one billion inhabitants after five centuries of slavery and colonisation. The 84-year-old said that keeping the military bases in Senegal - one of the rare countries on the continent that has never experienced a coup d'etat - "appeared more and more incongruous and has often been felt by our populations... as an incomplete independence." "I solemnly declare that from 00H00 (GMT) April 4 Senegal will take back all the (military) bases formerly held by France and intends to exert its sovereignty," Wade said in an address to the nation on public television. However several French sources say there is no question of sovereignty as the land has remained Senegalese and was only put at the disposition of the French. The announcement has left several questions about what will happen after Wade's announcement. "Discussions are continuing," the spokesman for French Defence Minister Laurent Teisseire told AFP. In February the two capitals announced their intention to eventually close the bases. Paris said it intended to preserve a "centre of military cooperation with a regional purpose."
Does the announcement mean the departure of French troops?
"The president could have announced a date of departure, but he didn't," a French source told AFP.
No withdrawal timeline has been officially communicated, but gradually troops leaving Dakar on normal rotations will not be replaced.
How many soldiers will stay in Dakar? President Nicholas Sarkozy, who did not attend the independence celebrations, has indicated that only 300 soldiers will remain, 900 fewer than there are today.
In a letter to Senegal on Friday Sarkozy reiterated that France remained "naturally disposed to continue a policy of military, bilateral and regional co-operation in Senegal, in support of regional stability.
Where will the new "regional centre" be? Senegal proposed a site near Thies, 70 kilometres (42 miles) east of Dakar near the new international airport which is under construction.
France refused, citing financial costs.
France and Senegal have been bound by a defence agreement since 1974. It is the only European country with military bases in Africa