Rapid Fire May 14, 2012: Open Bahrain?
May 14, 2012 10:20 EDTRelated Stories: Americas - USA, Asia - Central, Boeing, Daily Rapid Fire, Europe - France, Europe - Other, Fighters & Attack, Middle East - Other, Other Corporation, Russia, Tanks & Mechanized, Think Tanks, UAVs
- The USA is reportedly resuming some weapon sales to Bahrain, which were suspended in October 2011 after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia crushed civil unrest in that country. The weapons reportedly include air-to-air missile and ammunition, but not HMMWVs or anti-tank missiles. Bahrain is the home base for the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
- The Long War journal says that 2 of the 17 documents released following the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden indicate that “al Qaeda has a much larger footprint in Pakistan than US officials have claimed.”
- Indonesia is purchasing 37 BMP-3F Series 2 amphibious tanks from Russia for $114M, to be delivered next year.
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- RIA Novosti says that Russia is considering a joint venture to make Iveco’s wheeled Centauro tank-destroyer vehicles, along with their smaller, blast-resistant Lynx MLV.
- The 1st converted QF-16 has taken flight, with a pilot at the controls. The F-16s are being turned into unmanned aerial targets for the US military.
- There’s a lot of piping in a ship for fresh water, wastewater, ballast, and fuel. AMMTIAC Quarterly explains [PDF] that the latest generation of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) composites have been tested with good results to replace the sturdy but heavy traditional copper-nickel alloy. The Royal Navy got such piping retrofitted [PDF] in the ballast area of 2 landing platform docks in 2010.
- The IFRI European think tank published a paper [PDF] critical of France’s defense budgets “between denial and decline.’
