USA
eptember 22, Assoicated Press – (Alabama) Army nears end of chemical weapons destruction at Alabama incinerator. The U.S. Army said it is ready to burn the last of tons of chemical weapons that were stored for decades at the Anniston Army Depot in Anniston, Alabama, the Associated Press reported September 22. Only a few dozen shells filled with mustard gas remain to be destroyed at the depot’s chemical weapons incinerator. Officials said those weapons could be fed into the flames as early as September 22. About 900 people work at the incinerator, which began operations in August 2003. Since then, the complex has destroyed tons of lethal nerve agent, and mustard-filled munitions. Anniston’s mayor said the community is relieved the chemical weapons are almost gone after about 50 years of storage.
September 22, Wired – (International) Military struggles to find helium for spy blimp surge. According to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the U.S. military is sending so many spy blimps to Afghanistan that “industry cannot keep up with the increased demand” for helium and the containers that hold the gas. With their ability to stay in the air for days at a time and hold more spy gear than any drone, aerostats and airships are quickly becoming surveillance tools of choice in the Afghan War. The military carried out three aerostat surges between fall 2010 and summer 2011; several dozen are deployed in Afghanistan now. Early in 2012, the U.S. military is planning to send two airships to Afghanistan — if the blimps can get the helium and helium containers they need to fly. When one of those airships, the Long Endurance MultiIntelligence Vehicle (LEMV), needed its gas, it ran into a problem. LEMV-builder Northrop Grumman “could not obtain the helium and/or the large number of bulk containers needed for its initial fill and as such, required emergency support, according to a DLA contracting document. To meet LEMV’s “huge gaseous helium requirements” in time, DLA Energy could not competitively bid out the 800,000 standard cubic feet of helium needed to fill up the airship. The DLA ran into similar bottlenecks trying to fill up the smaller, tethered aerostats used in Afghanistan to watch and listen for enemy action. In justifications for “other than full and open competition,” the DLA said it was unable to competitively bid out container lease contracts in the rush to keep the aerostats aloft. “Manufacturing new bulk helium ISO containers is a very lengthy process.” “Industry cannot keep up with the increased demand for containers needed by the Army’s second and third Aerostat deployment surges,” the agency admitted in July. Source: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/09/helium-spy-blimp-surge/
EUROPE
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
ASIA
China Security Memo: Foreigners and the Law
RUSSIA
Agenda: Russia's Upcoming Leadership Decision
Russia's Putin and Medvedev: Who Will Seek the Presidency?
Russia: NATO Missile Defense Agreement By 2012 - NATO September 23, 2011
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia and NATO will agree on missile defense cooperation by the NATO summit in Chicago on May 20-21, RIA Novosti reported Sept. 23. In an announcement of the summit’s date, Rasmussen said NATO member states might possibly be able to declare interim operational capability of the missile shield during the summit, a significant achievement after many years of effort.
Russia: Moscow Plans To Develop Marine Missile Defense September 22, 2011
Russia plans to develop a sea-based missile defense system, Vladimir Kozin, deputy director of Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said Sept. 22, RIA Novosti reported. Kozin made his comments during a video conference between Russian and Ukrainian officials about European security.
IRAN
Iran: Russia Returns Payment For S-300 Missile Systems September 23, 2011
Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport returned the $167 million it received as a prepayment for the S-300 missile system to Iran, citing U.N. Security Council sanctions as force majeure, Rosoboronexport chief Anatoly Isaykin said, Kommersant reported Sept. 23.
IRAQ
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
ISRAEL
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
AFGHANISTAN
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
MIDDLE EAST
Libya: Weapons Taken From Tripoli Spread Around Country September 24, 2011
Fighters loyal to Libya’s National Transitional Council have taken weapons seized from Tripoli to other parts of Libya, a representative of the fighters in Souq al-Jomaa, Abdelraouf al-Kurdi, said Sept. 24, Reuters reported. Al-Kurdi said that weapons have been taken to Zentan and Misurata by coordination through various armed groups
Libya: Opposition Groups Unite Under Single Command September 23, 2011
Hundreds of anti-Moammar Gadhafi armed groups operating across Libya will unite under a single command called the Union of Revolutionary Battalions, RIA Novosti reported Sept. 23, citing Arab media. Field commanders from around the country met in Misurata to form the new group.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Mexico Security Memo: Congressman Killed in Guerrero State
MISC
September 22, The Register – (International) U.S. military satellite to get attackwarning equipment. A U.S. military satellite is to be fitted with equipment which will enable it to detect hostile action and inform ground controllers what is going on, according to reports. An Air Force general said September 21 that a classified satellite is now planned to go into space equipped with a Self-Awareness Space Situational Awareness (SASSA) package. SASSA would let a satellite know if it was being jammed, blinded, or scrambled, while other dedicated spacecraft would be able to watch events in Earth orbit and detect or monitor anti-satellite operations involvingactual intercepts and collisions. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/22/sassa_to_fly/
Military Times – (California) 3rd MAW halts training flights; victims named. Nearly all training flights for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) were canceled until September 22, according to the unit commander, who made the announcement 1 day after a deadly helicopter crash at Camp Pendleton in California. That came shortly before wing officials identified the pilots killed in the September 19 crash, both assigned to Marine Light Attack Training Squadron 303 at Camp Pendleton. A major general ordered the “operational pause” as investigators look for the cause of the crash of the AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter, according to 3rd MAW. “All of our training flights are going to be grounded,” a wing spokeswoman at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California said September 20. The pause allows commanders “to conduct any safety stand-downs [and] conduct any routine maintenance on aircraft,” she said. “It’s not for a loss of confidence in their aircraft,” she added. The order affects rotary-, tilt-, and fixed-wing squadrons belonging to Marine Aircraft Group 11, MAG-13, MAG-16, and MAG-39 at Camp Pendleton, Miramar, and MCAS Yuma, Arizona. Source: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2011/09/marine-training-flights-haltedpendleton-california-092011w/
Except where noted courtesy www.stratfor.com
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