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Italian Military Aircraft Conducts Third Maritime Patrol Off Eastern Libya
Italian Military Aircraft Conducts Third Maritime Patrol Off Eastern Libya

Libya Review

time5 days ago

  • Politics
  • Libya Review

Italian Military Aircraft Conducts Third Maritime Patrol Off Eastern Libya

An Italian Air Force ATR P-72A aircraft carried out a nearly six-hour-long maritime patrol mission off the eastern coast of Libya, according to flight tracking data reported by Itamil Radar. The aircraft departed from Souda Air Base on the Greek island of Crete and focused its patrol over the maritime zone stretching between the Libyan cities of Al-Bayda and Tobruk. This marks the third such mission by the same aircraft in recent days. Unlike the previous patrols, which monitored wider zones, this mission appeared to concentrate specifically on the eastern coastal corridor. After completing its operations, the aircraft flew toward southeastern Crete before returning to its base. The ongoing surveillance flights reflect a heightened European military presence in the central Mediterranean, particularly amid concerns over irregular migration, maritime security, and regional instability near the Libyan coastline. Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations. Libya's economy, heavily reliant on oil, has suffered due to the ongoing conflict. The instability has led to fluctuations in oil production and prices, impacting the global oil market and Libya's economy. The conflict has led to a significant humanitarian crisis in Libya, with thousands of people killed, and many more displaced. Migrants and refugees using Libya as a transit point to Europe have also faced dire conditions. The planned elections for December 2021 were delayed due to disagreements over election laws and the eligibility of certain candidates. This delay has raised concerns about the feasibility of a peaceful political transition. Despite the ceasefire, security remains a significant concern with sporadic fighting and the presence of mercenaries and foreign fighters. The unification of the military and the removal of foreign forces are crucial challenges. Tags: ATR P-72AItalian Air ForceItalylibya

Seagull smashes cockpit of £73m Spanish fighter jet
Seagull smashes cockpit of £73m Spanish fighter jet

Telegraph

time22-07-2025

  • General
  • Telegraph

Seagull smashes cockpit of £73m Spanish fighter jet

The moment a seagull collided with a Spanish fighter jet and smashed through the cockpit was captured in an extraordinary photograph. The £73m warplane was performing in the Eurofighter display at San Javier Air Base on June 15 when it had a stroke of bad luck. The pilot landed and was unharmed. Aviation photographer Javier Alonso de Medina Salguero unwittingly captured the spectacle, only realising when he checked his camera later on. 'They reported over the radio that it had hit a seagull and broken the cockpit. Just then, I looked at the photos I had and saw the whole sequence,' he said. 'When I looked at the photos, I was amazed to see the front of the cockpit broken.' Bird collisions with aircraft are a regular occurrence, with 13,000 reported annually in the US alone. But for a bird to shatter a pilot's glass window, and for a photographer to capture the scene, is exceedingly rare.

US Spy Plane Restarts Snooping on Russia as Trump Loses Patience With Putin
US Spy Plane Restarts Snooping on Russia as Trump Loses Patience With Putin

Newsweek

time09-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Newsweek

US Spy Plane Restarts Snooping on Russia as Trump Loses Patience With Putin

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A U.S. Air Force spy plane has flown a fresh sortie close to Russian territory after spending months in the Middle East, flight data shows. The RC-135V Rivet Joint by the call sign "JAKE17" took off from a British air force base on Tuesday and crossed friendly airspace in Europe, making its way up to Finland via the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, according to Newsweek's analysis of signals recorded by the website Flightradar24. The reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering aircraft skirted around the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad before returning to the United Kingdom. The chunk of Russian soil on the Baltic Sea is sandwiched between NATO members Lithuania and Poland. In May, the aircraft was sent to the Middle East, stopping at the U.S.'s largest air base in the region, Al Udeid. The base on the outskirts of Doha, the Qatari capital, came under Iranian attack last month after the U.S. bombed three major Iranian nuclear sites. The Rivet Joint typically flies around NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Belarus, as well as on the edge of the Black Sea—not far from the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula seized from Ukraine in 2014. The Boeing-built aircraft gathers signals intelligence, hoovering up messages and data from various sources. It is crewed by more than 30 people, including electronic warfare officers and intelligence operators, according to the Air Force. The U.S.'s RC-135 platforms—including the missile-tracking Cobra Ball and radar mapping Combat Sent—are assigned to Air Combat Command and based at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. The spy planes first flew in the 1960s and are expected to remain in service well into the 2040s. The U.K.'s Royal Air Force, which operates its own Rivet Joint fleet, often sends its reconnaissance aircraft around Kaliningrad and the broader eastern flank. One of the Rivet Joint planes traveled over the top of Denmark, through Sweden and up to the Finnish border with Russia earlier this month, according to available flight data. Two days earlier in late June, the same aircraft traveled to and from the Black Sea after circling Kaliningrad. The plane had also been sent to Al Udeid in April and returned to the U.K. last month. An RC-135V reconnaissance aircraft returning to the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture on January 6, 2016. An RC-135V reconnaissance aircraft returning to the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture on January 6, 2016. Kyodo via AP Images Russia is likely returning to the forefront of U.S. President Donald Trump's mind after violence flared in the Middle East last month during the "12-day war" between Israel and Iran, in which the U.S. became briefly but directly involved. NATO members on the alliance's eastern flank have become increasingly concerned over whether Russia could mount a concerted attack against a NATO country in the coming years, particularly as the U.S. pivots away from Europe and turns its attention to the Indo-Pacific. Though Trump had pledged to end the Ukraine war in a single day, he has more recently acknowledged the difficulty of securing a ceasefire agreement. In March, Kyiv agreed to a deal put forward by the U.S., but Moscow refused to sign. In a fresh indication that Trump's patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin was wearing thin, he said on Tuesday that the U.S. had had "a lot of bulls*** thrown at us by Putin." He added, "He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless." The Republican had largely sidestepped overtly criticizing the Kremlin leader in the early months of negotiations handled by his administration. But Russia, rather than moving closer to a peace deal, has intensified its aerial bombardment of Ukraine, which regularly reports large-scale, lethal airstrikes across the country. Officials on Tuesday said Moscow had launched its largest aerial assault of the war overnight, firing 13 missiles and more than 700 drones. Last week, Trump said he was "very disappointed" after a call with Putin.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq...., THESE are the main US military bases in the Middle East? Check location, country and names
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq...., THESE are the main US military bases in the Middle East? Check location, country and names

India.com

time24-06-2025

  • Politics
  • India.com

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq...., THESE are the main US military bases in the Middle East? Check location, country and names

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq...., THESE are the main US military bases in the Middle East? Check location, country and names Iran strongly condemned the United States for bombing its nuclear sites and criticised US President Donald Trump, calling him a 'gambler' for supporting Israel's military actions against Iran. The tension spiked after the US dropped powerful bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday, officially entering the conflict on Israel's side. Since then, Iran has been warning of a strong response. If Iran decides to hit back, it could target American military bases in the Middle East. Here are some of the key U.S. bases in the region but first let us know what is a military base: What is a Military Base? A military base is a place where soldiers live, train, and work. It is owned and run by a country's military and usually has buildings, vehicles, weapons, and other equipment. Some bases are used to plan missions, some for training, and others for testing new tools and systems. Most military bases need help from outside to get supplies like food, water, and fuel. But some large bases are built to be self-sufficient and can support the people living there even if they are cut off for a while. There are different types of bases: air bases are where military planes are kept and operated, while naval bases are for military ships. As of July 2024, the U.S. had at least 128 military bases in other countries. The largest one is Camp Humphreys in South Korea. It's the biggest US base overseas in terms of area. Since 2001, between 1.9 and 3 million U.S. troops have served in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than half of them went more than once, according to a report by the Watson Institute at Brown University. BAHRAIN Main Role: Headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. Area Covered: Oversees operations across the Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. Importance: Critical for naval missions and maritime security in the region. QATAR Al Udeid Air Base (near Doha) Size: Spans 24 hectares in the desert. Troops: Houses around 10,000 U.S. personnel. Function: Acts as the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Coverage: CENTCOM oversees military actions from Egypt to Kazakhstan, making this base a strategic nerve center in the region. KUWAIT Camp Arifjan: Main hub for the U.S. Army Central Command in the region. Ali Al Salem Air Base: Located about 40 km from the Iraq border, nicknamed 'The Rock' for its rough terrain. Camp Buehring: Set up during the 2003 Iraq War, it serves as a staging area for troops heading into Iraq and Syria. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) Al Dhafra Air Base (near Abu Dhabi) Shared with the UAE Air Force. Supports U.S. missions against ISIS and regional surveillance operations. Jebel Ali Port (Dubai) Not a formal base, but the largest U.S. Navy port of call in the Middle East. Frequently hosts aircraft carriers and U.S. naval ships. IRAQ Ain Al Asad Air Base (Anbar Province, Western Iraq) Supports Iraqi security forces and the NATO mission. Was targeted by Iranian missiles in 2020 after the U.S. killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Remains one of the largest U.S. military installations in Iraq. Erbil Air Base (Kurdistan Region, Northern Iraq) Acts as a hub for U.S. and coalition training exercises. Provides a secure base for intelligence sharing, logistics, and operational planning. Plays a key role in the U.S. presence in northern Iraq. SAUDI ARABIA Prince Sultan Air Base (South of Riyadh) Hosts U.S. forces who support air and missile defense operations. Houses advanced systems like Patriot missiles and THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense). As of 2024, 2,321 U.S. soldiers were stationed in Saudi Arabia. U.S. troops coordinate closely with the Saudi military for regional defense. JORDAN Muwaffaq Al Salti Air Base (Azraq, northeast of Amman) Located about 100 km from the Jordanian capital. Home to the U.S. Air Force's 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. Supports missions across the Levant (which includes Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and parts of Iraq). Key base for air operations, surveillance, and regional coordination.

Where are US military bases in the Middle East? Iran's strike on US base in Qatar sparks renewed focus
Where are US military bases in the Middle East? Iran's strike on US base in Qatar sparks renewed focus

Mint

time23-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Mint

Where are US military bases in the Middle East? Iran's strike on US base in Qatar sparks renewed focus

The United States maintains a significant and strategic presence in the Middle East, with bases serving as aerial hubs, naval ports, logistics centers, and regional command posts. Here's a detailed overview of US military bases in the Middle East, and their strategic importance. Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar: The region's largest and a major base for approximately 8,000–10,000 personnel, including the forward Combined Air Operations Center for CENTCOM operations in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan Naval Support Activity, Bahrain: Home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, hosting around 9,000 staff, crucial for securing supply routes in the Gulf, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean Camp Arifjan, Kuwait: A major logistics hub supporting U.S. forces across the region with prepositioned equipment and supply facilities Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE, Camp Buehring & Ahmad al-Jabir Air Base, Kuwait, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia—all host US personnel and aircraft, contributing to deterrence and readiness Jordan: Multiple smaller bases for training and surveillance Iraq & Syria: Dotted with special operations outposts supporting anti-ISIS missions Oman & Qatar: Use of port facilities for naval logistics In total, about 30,000 US troops are stationed across these installations, supported by forces in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and maritime units in the region On June 23, Iran launched a missile strike on Al Udeid Air Base—headquarters of US Central Command—framing it as a 'mighty and successful response' to US strikes on its nuclear facilities. Al Udeid is just 120 miles from Iran across the Gulf. This marks a significant escalation: for the first time in this latest round of tit-for-tat strikes, Iran directly targeted a facility central to American military command in the region. The US presence in the Middle East is under renewed threat following: June 22: US stealth bombers struck Iran's nuclear sites (Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan) June 23: Iran retaliated by targeting Al Udeid Air Base, escalating the risk of wider war Regional fallout: Qatar and Bahrain implemented emergency protocols; US allies fear becoming collateral

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