Mil News Africa Military News Thread

[Moro]

Militaries make final preparations for Exercise African Lion 20
Written by Africom -
24th Jan 2020
49

Military planners from the U.S., Europe and Africa concluded their final planning event in Morocco between 13 and 18 January for African Lion 20, a large-scale exercise scheduled for March.
“This annually scheduled, multi-national exercise is meant to enhance interoperability with U.S. and multinational partners in the spirit of the combined strategic military cooperation,” said Col. Nabil Taoussi, operations officer, Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.
African Lion 20, set for 23 March to 3 April, will be conducted in the Kingdom of Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Spain. During the event both land and maritime training will be conducted by more than 5,000 service members from the U.S., Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, Tunisian Armed Forces, Senegalese Armed Forces, Spanish Armed Forces, alongside participants from the armed forces of Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands and military observers from more than a dozen nations.
“African Lion will include the set-up of a combined joint task force, command post exercise, academics and workshops, a field training exercise, air training exercise, maritime, CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives] activities, civil humanitarian exercise and medical-related exercises,” Taoussi said.
The activities are designed to enhance interoperability among partner nations against adversarial networks intent on destabilizing the region.
“African Lion is focused on getting after our joint task force capabilities,” said Col. John T. Harris, director of exercises and training for U.S. Army Africa. “The ability of AFRICOM and U.S. Army Africa to stand up a joint task force, address all the domains of combat, and be able to exercise air forces, naval forces, special forces and ground forces … make this a unique opportunity for us to get out and practice fighting as a joint force and command and control all of those domains.”
More than 30 U.S. and partner units will participate, including U.S. Africa Command, its service components, U.S. European Command, U.S. Strategic Command’s Global Strike Command, 101st Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, 173rd Airborne Brigade, 31st Fighter Wing, 100th Air Refueling Wing, Utah National Guard, Michigan National Guard, Washington DC National Guard, USAID, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, among others.

Amphibious ships pass preliminary design reviews - defenceWeb

BAE Systems has successfully completed the Whole of Ship Preliminary Design Review phase of the project to build Australia‘s two largest ever warships. The completion of this phase marks another important milestone in the construction of Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships HMAS Canberra and HMAS...

www.google.com

 

[BravoZulu]

Algeria:
An Algerian fighter jet has crashed on a night training exercise in the east of the North African country killing both of its crew, the defence ministry said Tuesday.
An investigation has been opened into why the Russian-built Sukhoi Su-30 fighter crashed late on Monday 400 kilometres (250 miles) from the capital Algiers.
The plane "crashed... in an unpopulated area near the village of Ain Zitoun in Oum El Bouaghi district", the ministry said.
There have been a number of accidents involving Algerian military aircraft in recent years that left hundreds dead.
In April 2018, an Ilyushin Il-76 heavy transport aircraft crashed south of Algiers with the loss of all 257 people on board, most of them military personnel, in the deadliest air accident in Algerian history.
In February 2014, 77 people, soldiers and their families, were killed when a Hercules C-130 transport aircraft crashed east of the capital.

https://news.yahoo.com/two-crew-killed-algeria-fighter-jet-crash-081130114.html

 

[BravoZulu]

Morocco:
France’s Intelligence Online has reported that three EADS Harfang Unmanned Air Vehicles previously operated by the French Air Force have been transferred to Morocco.
The transfer reportedly took place on January 26. The sale was worth around $48 million.
The Israeli drones, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries, were transferred to Morocco via French defence company Dassault.
The report said that an agreement on the deal was made between Israel and Morocco as far back as 2013, with the drones delivered in recent weeks. The drones are to be used to monitor terror groups in the southern part of the country and the Western Sahara area.
The report said Morocco bought the drones after they were decommissioned from the French military, which used them for surveillance operations in Afghanistan.

 

[BravoZulu]

Morocco:
The DoS approved a possible FMS to Morocco of 25 M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System (HERCULES) vehicles and/or M88A1 long supply HERCULES refurbished vehicles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $239.4 million.
The potential $239.35 million sale would include 25 M88A2 and/or refurbished M88A1 vehicles along with with an equal number of .50 caliber machine guns, M239 or M250 smoke grenade launchers, 1,800 M76 or L8A1/A3 smoke grenade rounds, 25 SINCGARS radios, AN/PSN-13A GPS receivers (DAGR), and 30 AN/VAS-5B Driver Vision Enhancer kits.
The main contractor will be BAE Systems, the original producer of the M88.
The armoured M88 Hercules, or Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System, is designed to lift or tow stuck or disabled fighting vehicles while under fire.

 

[BravoZulu]

Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Portugal have all committed troops to a new French-led special forces mission in the Sahel region called Task Force Takuba, the French Ministry of Armed Forces announced after a meeting of defence ministers on 27 March.

“The Takuba Task Force should reach its initial operational capacity in the summer of 2020 and its full operational capacity in early 2021,” the ministry said. “The Takuba Task Force will be able, by its structure, to act quickly and adapt to the evolution of the threat posed by terrorist groups. It will play a key role in the rapid empowerment of local armed forces.”

It said the taskforce will mainly consist of European special forces backed by the necessary support assets. It will be under the command of France’s Operation ‘Barkhane’ regional counter-insurgency mission, but will have a high level of autonomy. It will work closely with the G5 Sahel Joint Force that is made up of battalions from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.
https://www.janes.com/article/95293/european-task-force-takuba-to-deploy-to-sahel-this-summer

An NH90 helicopter lands to pick up soldiers during Operation ‘Monclar’ that French and Malian forces carried out in Mali’s Liptako region from 3-23 March. Source: Armée Française

 

[BravoZulu]

Nigeria:
The Nigerian Army received a consignment of Chinese armoured vehicles and artillery systems that included Norinco VT4 main battle tanks, ST1 tank destroyers, and self-propelled howitzers.
Nigerian Army Chief of Policy and Plans Lieutenant General Lamidi Adeosun told local TV news during the unloading of the equipment at Lagos docks on 8 April that it was part of a large consignment ordered from China that included two types of “artillery heavy guns”. He added that the initial consignment included 15 40-ft containers of spares and accessories.
The Nigerian Army did not identify the type or numbers of platforms being procured, although the media reported that 17 were delivered in this consignment, which is the first under a $152 million contract signed in 2019 that also includes support and training.

 

[BravoZulu]

Chad:
A parked Su-25 fired a missile, which passed through a a french army tanker truck and eventually finished its flight in a nearby house and killed 4 occupants.

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[Fluff]

Chad:
A parked Su-25 fired a missile, which passed through a a french army tanker truck and eventually finished its flight in a nearby house and killed 4 occupants.

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Er wow. The number of things needing to go wrong, to let this happen is long......

 

[Fluff]

In GW 1 we couldn’t get a twin stores carrier off, so as we were operational, we armed the explosive detachment and triggered them. Didn’t see it move, one moment on the pylon, the next it was on the floor. No instruction to do this existed. THe carrier was toast.

 

[Mike1976]

Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Portugal have all committed troops to a new French-led special forces mission in the Sahel region called Task Force Takuba, the French Ministry of Armed Forces announced after a meeting of defence ministers on 27 March.

“The Takuba Task Force should reach its initial operational capacity in the summer of 2020 and its full operational capacity in early 2021,” the ministry said. “The Takuba Task Force will be able, by its structure, to act quickly and adapt to the evolution of the threat posed by terrorist groups. It will play a key role in the rapid empowerment of local armed forces.”

It said the taskforce will mainly consist of European special forces backed by the necessary support assets. It will be under the command of France’s Operation ‘Barkhane’ regional counter-insurgency mission, but will have a high level of autonomy. It will work closely with the G5 Sahel Joint Force that is made up of battalions from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.
https://www.janes.com/article/95293/european-task-force-takuba-to-deploy-to-sahel-this-summer

I had to find out about this deployment through your post because no Dutch media has mentioned this at all. To put this into perspective the Dutch "contingent" will consist of one or two staff officers because no actual SOF units are available because of deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. I don't know what the other countries will deploy, but I wouldn't get my hopes up for it being anything more than window dressing.

 

[NZM305]

Chad:
A parked Su-25 fired a missile, which passed through a a french army tanker truck and eventually finished its flight in a nearby house and killed 4 occupants.

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

I was wondering where this happened when I saw the video earlier today.

 

[BravoZulu]

South Africa:
The South African parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence has called on the country’s defence minister to intervene over Denel’s inability to meet contractual obligations related to the acquisition of Badger armoured fighting vehicles under Project Hoefyester.

In a statement released by the committee on 29 May co-chairperson of the committee Cyril Xaba said, “The unfortunate thing is that there seems to be a misalignment on progress status between Denel and Armscor. The committee has called upon all the parties involved to converge and agree on where the project is and what is the best possible way forward.”
Denel is significantly behind on the Badger infantry fighting vehicle programme, which is based on the Patria AMV.

The committee has asked for Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula to investigate the situation and report back on potential ways to remedy the crisis, with Denel and procurement body Armscor and the Department of Defence at apparent loggerheads.

The delivery of 264 Badger vehicles, which is based on the Patria 8×8 AMV, is currently three years and nine months behind schedule, with the committee noting that Denel “is unable to deliver on the agreed contractual specifications and price”.

According to a Denel presentation made during the committee meeting and seen by Janes, the company was allocated ZAR1.2 billion at 2007 values (then-USD171 million) for the Phase 1 development of the vehicles, and a further ZAR8.392 billion at 2013 values (then-USD932 million) for the Phase 2 production. Currently, there are ZAR6.4 billion (USD367 million) in multi-year unfunded Phase 2 contracts for the vehicle.
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/9620bec8-da12-4c25-81ff-5abbf162ef0d

IMHO, This whole issue stems from corruption during the Zuma administration when some members of the ANC were simply looting their way through government projects. They specifically set up a company called VR Laser to embezzle money from the Badger order. Denel now has new management but it may be too little too late to save the company

 

[morris]

South African pilot injured in aircraft crash in Mozambique

A pilot with a South African private military company fighting jihadist insurgents in northern Mozambique was seriously injured when his microlight aircraft crashed in the area on Monday.

www.dailymaverick.co.za

The pilot was evacuated by air ambulance to South Africa and is in hospital in stable condition, according to security sources, including those close to Dyck Advisory Group (DAG) the pilot’s employer.

The sources said the Bat Hawk crashed while returning from a routine patrol in the Cabo Delgado area of Mozambique.

“The reason for the crash is not known, but it was not any form of enemy action.”

This was the second DAG aircraft downed amid the fight against the insurgents. In April one of its Gazelle helicopter gunships crash-landed and was destroyed after being hit by enemy gunfire. The crew was not harmed.

Security sources say that on 16 June, the insurgents attacked the village of Koko just outside Macomia. Several houses were looted and destroyed.

 

[BravoZulu]

Burkina Faso’s security forces said on Tuesday they had destroyed two jihadist bases in the north and east of the country and arrested two suspects near the border with the Ivory Coast.

A gendarmerie unit on Saturday "dismantled a terrorist base" near the eastern town of Tanwalbougou, the armed forces chief of staff said in a weekly bulletin.

In a separate operation in the north of the country, Burkinabe troops in the five-nation G5 Sahel force, supported by a company of soldiers from Niger, destroyed a terrorist base on Saturday in a drilling zone 40 kms from Oursi, it said. Eight motorbikes, phones and other equipment were seized.
Meanwhile, two "suspects" were picked up in a joint operation with Ivorian forces to secure the two countries' 550-kilometre (340-mile) border, it said.

The operation "considerably disrupted armed groups in the area," the statement said.
The arrests near Alidougou on Saturday were made not far from where around 10 Ivorian soldiers were killed in a jihadist attack on a frontier post on June 11.

Ivory Coast said Monday it had captured the leader of the raid and arrested a "very large" number of his subordinates.

 

[BravoZulu]

Kenya:
Two military pilots died on Monday after a light attack helicopter they were flying crashed at Kithyoko, Masinga area within Machakos County.

The Air Force pilots were returning from a routine mission when they crashed.

The chopper – a US-made light attack helicopter gunship MD 530F – is believed to have been carrying two people when the incident happened at about 10 am.

The cause of the crash was not immediately established.

The chopper is among six US-made light attack helicopter gunships that the Kenya Army Aviation acquired in January.

They were part of an initial order of 12 light attack and reconnaissance helicopters meant to enhance the firepower of the Kenya Defence Forces in the wake of sustained attacks by Somali-based Al-Shabaab militants.

The helicopters were acquired from the United States through the US Foreign Military Sales programme.

https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2020/07/2-air-force-pilots-die-in-light-armed-helicopter-crash/

 

[BravoZulu]

Turkish armoured vehicle manufacturer Katmerciler is shipping Hizir armoured vehicles to an African customer, after receiving a $20 million order last year.

The order, announced in July 2019, is Katmerciler’s first export order for the Hizir armoured vehicle.

The company on 20 July said the vehicles have been loaded onto a ship headed for the undisclosed African country. Deliveries will be completed by the end of this year.

 

[muck]

Just out of curiosity, those wire frames one sees attached to the windows of many an MRAP – what are they for? Why would a pane of armoured glass need additional protection from outside forces? No rioter is going to hurl stones with that much power.

 

[Fluff]

Turkish armoured vehicle manufacturer Katmerciler is shipping Hizir armoured vehicles to an African customer, after receiving a $20 million order last year.

The order, announced in July 2019, is Katmerciler’s first export order for the Hizir armoured vehicle.

The company on 20 July said the vehicles have been loaded onto a ship headed for the undisclosed African country. Deliveries will be completed by the end of this year.

I wonder if thats what 20M gets you - enough MRAP for the presidential guard? I thought everyone was buying ex-us stuff?

Also the side windows are style over function, they are all different sizes - logistics nightmare, and the guy at the back can see sod all, especially if your in respirators as well. And all that steelwork/aka shrapnel on the steps, will presumably be blown off by any mine etc. whats wrong with tubular steel steps?

 

[Chazman]

I wonder if thats what 20M gets you - enough MRAP for the presidential guard? I thought everyone was buying ex-us stuff?

Also the side windows are style over function, they are all different sizes - logistics nightmare, and the guy at the back can see sod all, especially if your in respirators as well. And all that steelwork/aka shrapnel on the steps, will presumably be blown off by any mine etc. whats wrong with tubular steel steps?

I was thinking the same. 15 vehicles for $20 million?

 

[Mike1976]

I was thinking the same. 15 vehicles for $20 million?

Might include training, maintenance and/or spare parts as is often the case.