I'm still convinced its written somewhere on some convention that military weapons need to be marked as such and are prohibited to be disguised as civilian stuff.

based on the Gazan situation, I dont think anyone cares.

I'm still convinced its written somewhere on some convention that military weapons need to be marked as such and are prohibited to be disguised as civilian stuff.

All Daesh (ISIS) fighters have left. There is no resistance,' Sabah al-Numan, spokesman of Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service, said Sunday.

'Our forces have surrounded the government complex. They are checking all entrances and surrounding buildings before moving in.

'We're seeing lots of Daesh bodies, killed in the air strikes on the compound,'

'The operation is almost wrapped up. Our forces will enter in the coming hours,' Numan added.

Kurdish special operations’ soldiers backed by an unspecified American unit attacked a Daesh court in the town of Riyadh, west of Kirkuk, at 11 pm on Friday, Brigadier Sarhad Qadir of the Kirkuk police told Rudaw media outlet.

Commandos were reportedly using gunship helicopters for transportation. The combined force stormed the court, eliminating an unknown number of Daesh militants along with a field commander while capturing others, Qadir said. The goal of the operation was to free Kurdish soldiers held there in captivity, according to Rudaw.

MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. A new cutting-edge missile has been created for the Buk-M3 medium-range air defense missile system, Lieutenant General Alexander Leonov, the commander of Russia’s air defense troops, told the Russian News Service on Saturday.

"The self-propelled system’s transport and firing boxes are designed to hold six missiles. Missiles are more compact but are more precise and capable of flying longer distances. So, it can be called a new unique missile capable of efficiently hitting air targets," he said.

He said the capacity of the new missile system had been boosted by 1.5 times as it is capable of holding six missiles instead of four.

The Buk-M3 system is superior to the S-300 air defense missile system by a number of characteristics, including the kill probability.

The Buk-M3 system has a range of 70 kilometers (43.5 miles), which is 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) more compared to previous versions of the Buk antiaircraft missile system.

The Buk-M3 has a maximum firing altitude of 35 kilometers (21.7 miles).

What’s in Store for MAF in 2016?

Marhalim Abas December 28, 2015 Malaysian Defence

SHAH ALAM: What’s in store for the Malaysian Armed Forces next year? Based on the 2016 budget I believe it will be a mixed year. Mixed as only the air force and the Army are getting some new kit while the navy is finally getting one of the two long delayed training ships.

There are development projects to be completed or handed-over in the new year but I am not purview to the locations and exact dates.

At MAF, the status quo will remained with changes only expected in mid 2017. Its the same at the ministry level as changes will occur after the GE14 and unlikely before.

As mentioned earlier, in 2016, the air force is taking delivery of at least two A400M transport planes (with the second M54-02 expected any time this week); 5 PC-7 Mark II turbo-trainers (mid year) and four EC120/HC120 helicopters, to be delivered within the year.

Before RMAF day on June 1, it will also have new leaders, both of whom are fighter pilots by training. The impending change in leadership have got the industry excited but with the economic uncertainties still hanging over the nation it is unlikely the MRCA will get the nod soon enough.

Like the air force, the army is also expected to have a leadership reshuffle within the new year though it is less predictable than the former. Much of the new kit expected are the new batches of the Gempita. According to the Hansard, a total of 40 Gempita has been delivered to the army so far.

It is likely that the Gempita delivered so far were limited to the 25mm Bushmaster turret variant. Gempita to be delivered this year are expected to include the 30mm and ATGM variants. As for numbers, it is unlikely to exceed the number already delivered.

The army is also expected to receive the first batch of 20 AV4s ordered this year, though the exact numbers remained unknown. As this vehicles are meant for ESSCOM operations, they are expected to be operated by the units stationed in the area.

Both services are also expected to operate the 4 Blackhawk helicopters to be donated by Brunei in the new year, armed with the mini-guns. The exact time when the joint unit will start operating remained uncertain at this moment, however.

With more Nuris to be delivered this year (four already delivered), PUTD is also expected to stand up a new unit for this medium helicopters.

As for the navy, apart from the sole training ship, it is not expected to receive new capital assets in 2016. Most of the ships in service will receive enhancements but only minor ones unfortunately.

The new year will also be a time for reflections with three types of aircraft going into the history books though the exact dates remained uncertain. As reported before the Alouettes of Pulatibang 1 in Alor Setar is expected to be retired – in stages – with the introduction of the EC120/H120 early next year.

Another type used at Pulatibang 1, the PC-7 Mark 1s will also be retired in stages with the additional Mark IIs coming on line next year. Of course, the biggest fading away will be the Fulcrums.

That’s it for now, as we reflect on the last 12 months and celebrate the New Year, we must also keep an eye on the economy. Any further shocks will affect us all and it will not just be the security sector.

Happy New Year!

Gah! what's with everyone wearing black in the middle of the desert? I'm feeling hot just looking at them.

i think that is sf unit? most times they wear black

SF or not, black uniform+desert environment: does not compute.

The heat factor will be a major thing, not to mention the color sticks out in the sand.

It is probably still illegal, but Hamas is a borderline-illegal armed formation that use any means at their disposal to hurt Israelis. They don't care if it they break any international conventions.

The German Leopard 2 is operated by nearly twenty countries around the globe. It packs a MTU KA-501 liquid-cooled V-12 twin-turbo diesel engine that puts out just shy of 1,500 horsepower, allowing the tank to hit 45 mph on roads. But in this case, top end is not what it is all about. Clearly, torque—gobs of torque—gives the Leopard 2 the ability to dig itself out of such a precarious ditch.

Whereas the American M1 Abrams main battle tank, with its Honeywell AGT1500C turbine power-pack, puts 2,750 foot-pounds of torque, the Leopard 2’s V-12 power-pack has about the same horsepower but cranks out a whopping 3,467 foot-pounds torque. The two tanks weigh about the same amount.

More than 120 fighters and wounded have started to leave Zabadani" to other rebel-held areas in Syria via Lebanon and Turkey, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

About "335 people, including civilians" have started to leave Fuaa and Kafraya to return to regime-held areas, also via the two neighbouring countries, he said.

Those evacuated from Fuaa and Kafraya will travel to Turkey via the Syrian-Turkish border post of al-Hawa before flying to Beirut airport then travelling over land to Damascus, he said.

Those leaving from Zabadani will travel across the border to Lebanon and fly from Beirut to Turkey, before travelling back to opposition-held areas in Syria, he said.

The director of Russian arms-makers Rostec saying the company is now working on cheap, flamethrower-armed multicopters. That can dodge bullets.

Yakunin says:  "Conventional serial produced hand-held grenade launchers and flame throwers are used as their payload."

As far as the Russian military are concerned, anything with a thermobaric warhead is a "flamethrower."

Regarding the rest of the new drone's features, Yakunin said in the interview that such small multicopters are much cheaper than existing drones, so the loss of one is not significant.

The new drone's ability to carry out evasive maneuvers automatically when fired upon is hardly unprecedented

If a drone can detect nearby gunfire (acoustic sensors exist for this) it could start dodging.

The attack drone's role is likely to be one of fire support.

Instead of giving up on soldiers whose PTSD symptoms wouldn’t relent, the US military began funding research into the causes behind PTSD, and therapies that might provide relief. Luckily, some of this money ended up in the hands of smell scientists like Pamela Dalton.

After the Gulf War, Dalton and her colleagues received funding from the US military to study how smells were becoming associated with traumatic memories.

Prior to Dalton’s findings, the military trained soldiers in mock villages that were accurate recreations of what soldiers might encounter in Afghanistan or Iraq, but only to a point: these mockups failed to mimic the olfactory environment of the Middle East.

In 2006, the Army and the Marines began training some of their troops with virtual-reality devices that included high-tech collars designed to emit noisome odors like melting plastic, or rotting flesh, prior to deployment.

But what about members of the armed forces who return home associating a specific smell with a terrible memory—like the first patient in this case study, a Vietnam vet for whom diesel fuel triggers a memory of witnessing the deaths of a dozen of his fellow soldiers?

Still, while some therapists have begun using scents like “diesel, cordite, body odor, garbage, and burning rubber” during exposure therapy for veterans with PTSD, it remains difficult for scientists and psychiatrists to develop good delivery methods for various odors

let’s hope the military continues to respect the smell of war as an element of battle that should never be ignored.

"When I joined the battalion, I clearly understood that Syria is my mother. And if the mother is ill, her daughter must be at her side," said another. "Syria is ill now. And that’s why I’m here, in this battalion. I will fight for my mother. I will cure her so that we can leave together in peace like before."

"We’re willing to accept new recruits. We invite volunteers to our female battalion. The woman’s role is not limited to childbirth," one of the servicemen told RT. "There are true heroes among women. They display courage on the battlefield and while giving birth. That’s what infuses a woman with greatness. Allah gave them qualities that men don’t have."

At least 15, and potentially many more people were killed in the city of Maiduguri on Sunday, where Boko Haram militants used multiple suicide bombers and rocket-propelled grenades in an assault.

Nigerian troops said they intercepted 10 suicide bombers, but at least two others managed to inflict damage during the raid.

The radical Islamist militants fired indiscriminately from the back of three trucks as their attack went through the village of Dawari on the outskirts of Maiduguri, AP reported. The village chief, together with 10 of his children and others were killed, residents told the agency.