Defence`s Feeds

Key Points Raytheon is developing a man-portable land-based JPALS system The system would allow the US Air Force to land aircraft where it does not have bases Raytheon is developing a smaller, expeditionary, land-based version of its Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) for a

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced on 22 August reforms to introduce greater levels of transparency in military procurement. The MND said the measures are intended to support the Defense Reform 2.0 initiative, which was announced by the MND recently and is aimed at

A “ground mishap” has just occurred to an F-35A Lightning II at Eglin Air Force Base. Nose gear collapse Just in from 33rd FW: “An F-35A Lightning II, assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron, experienced a ground mishap at approximately 12:50 p.m. today on the flightline here. The F-35A experienced an in-flight emergency and returned […]

Veteran Helicopter Pilot Killed in Crash Was in Ninth Combat Deployment. Late Tuesday, August 21, 2018, U.S. military officials identified the Army helicopter pilot who died on Monday as a result of wounds received in a crash in Iraq on Sunday, August 19, 2018 during an undisclosed operation. Official news releases report three additional wounded […]

Three Royal Netherlands Air Force helicopters have been involved in an unusual deployment to the Sardinian airbase. In the last years we have documented the deployment of RNlAF helicopters to airbases across Italy. It all started with a MoU (Memorandum Of Understanding) signed in 2003 that foresaw the periodical deployment of Dutch helicopters (AH-64D, CH-47 […]

Americas

One of the Navy’s Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruises is getting an overhaul. BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair is being contracted to modernize the USS Gettysburg (CG 64) at a cost of $146.3 million. The company is responsible to provide the Navy with ‘long-term’ availability that combines maintenance, modernisation and repair work on the vessel. The Ticonderoga Class remains critical to American seapower, functioning as the fleet’s most powerful anti-air defense, and contributing substantial anti-ship and anti-submarine combat power to its assigned naval groups. The Cruiser Modernization program aims to improve the CG 47 Ticonderoga class by modernizing the computing and display infrastructure and the Hull, Mechanical and Electrical (HM&E) systems. Weapons and sensor sets will also be improved, in order to upgrade their anti-submarine capabilities, add short range electro-optical systems that can monitor the ship’s surroundings without the use of radar emissions, as well as routine machinery upgrades to improve all areas of ship functionality. The modernized cruisers are expected to become more cost efficient to operate, as their lives are extended to serve in the fleet through the year 2030. Work will be performed at BAE’s shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia and is expected to be completed by March 2020.

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems is set to develop a new sensor for the Missile Defense Agency’s MQ-9 UAVs. The cost-plus-award fee contract has a total value of $133.9 million and provides for finalising the development, integration and flight testing of an advanced sensor. The sensor will be evaluated in realistic test scenarios, to be held at various locations inside and outside the continental US. The MQ-9 Reaper is an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft that is employed primarily against dynamic execution targets and secondarily as an intelligence collection asset. The new sensor technology has been in the works for some time. It is designed to significantly improve the ability to track cold body targets through their time of flight and enhance discrimination. The MDA is also planning to equip the MQ-9 with high-energy laser systems that could destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles in the boost phase at long standoff ranges. The sensor will be manufactured at GA’s facility in San Diego California from August 2018 through October 2021.

Camber Corp is being tapped to support the USMC’s CBRN contingency efforts. The awarded $15.2 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification allows the company to perform a variety of technical and engineering services in support of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosive Consequence Management Program. CCMRF is a robust federal entry force that is scalable and task-organized to mitigate further loss of life and relieve suffering in response to a CBRNE disaster. It supports local and state requests for assistance as part of a federal response. The USMC’s Chemical Biological Incident Response Force is capable of deploying as a battalion task force consisting of two subordinate initial response forces (IRFs) with approximately 150 personnel each. In the event of a CBRNE attack, the battalion will deploy Marines who specialize in identification and detection, and they will gather the first wave of intelligence that will be used to define the manner in which the mission will be accomplished. Work will be performed in Washington DC until August 22nd, 2019.

Middle East & Africa

The Qatari Air Force is ordering 28 NH-90 helicopters from Italian defense contractor Leonardo. The deal has a value of $3.4 billion and includes 12 NFH naval helicopters, 16 TTH troop transports, and a number of training services. The NH-90 began life as a leap-ahead competitor that would create a compelling alternative to Sikorsky’s 1980-era H-60 family airframe designs. The NH-90 TTH is the base variant for land and air forces. The platform can carry 12-20 troops and can be configured to perform SOF, MEDEVAC and CSAR missions. The NH-90 NFH an be used as a utility helicopter like the TTH, or as an anti-submarine helicopter. In its ASW configuration the helicopter is equipped with a naval radar, a dipping sonar, sonobuoys, a magnetic anomaly detector, and up to 2 light anti-ship missiles or torpedoes on side pylons. The naval variant will be manufactured at Leonardo’s facility in Venice, while the troop transporters will be assembled at a non-disclosed Airbus location. The helicopters are scheduled for delivery between 2022 and 2025.

Europe

Norway is currently testing its newly acquired F-35 JSFs. Two of Norway’s F-35s recently competed against two US F-22 stealth fighters in a number of simulated dogfights. The F-22s are among 13 jets currently deployed in Europe. Norway is a Tier 3 partner in the JSF program, has ordered a total 52 aircraft and is developing a stealthy Joint Strike Missile with the F-35 as its explicit target. The JSM/NSM is produced by Kongsberg, it can strike land or sea targets and and can be carried inside the F-35A/C weapons bay. The Raptor is considered to be the first 5th generation fighter, even though the aircraft is out of production, the program itself will continue to attract spending on maintenance, spares, and upgrades. The F-22’s deployment is part of US efforts to reassure European allies after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Asia-Pacific

South Korea’s Navy is funding a research project to explore the possibility of operating F-35Bs aboard its amphibious landing ships. The project aims to devise a feasible and affordable options to remodel the country’s 14,000-ton Dokdo-class vessel. Necessary work is likely to include retrofitting the ship with a ski-jump ramp, similarly to the one seen on the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers, and adapting the flight deck so that used materials can withstand the high-temperatures caused by fighter jet operations. In 2014, South Korea decided to acquire 40 F-35As at a cost of $6.4 billion, some experts speculate that the country will also opt for a few F-35Bs as means to mitigate the dangers of a future shortage of warplanes caused by decommissioning its ageing fleet of F-4s and F-5s.

The Singapore Air Force is adding a new multi-role transport aircraft to its fleet. Recent social media posts indicate that the aircraft recently landed at Changi West Air Base. The Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) was designed from the outset to be able to function as an aerial tanker and a transport aircraft at the same time. The A330 MRTT has a maximum fuel capacity of 246.000 lbs. and has the capacity to carry 43,000 kg of cargo, including up to 32 463L cargo pallets, or up to 272 passengers, while carrying a full fuel load. The aircraft is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-60EP engines, has a hose-and-drogue refuelling pod on both wings and a refuelling boom. Singapore has five additional A330 MRTT’s on order.

Today’s Video

Watch: Russia’s 6th Gen. fighter jet

The Military-Industrial Company (VPK) is displaying the upgraded Tigr 4x4 armoured vehicle at the Army 2018 defence show in Kubinka, near Moscow, on 21-26 August. The upgrade is based on combat experience gained during operations in Syria. Designated the ASN 233115 Tigr-M SpN, the upgraded vehicle

Singaporean STK 50MG Heavy Machine Gun

Iran claims it’s a new aircraft, but it’s just a +40 years old two-seat F-5…. Iranian media says that a new Iranian fighter jet was exhibited during the National Defense Industry show. Images released by various outlets show President Hassan Rouhani sitting in the cockpit of the new “Kowsar” plane, a “fourth-generation fighter”, with “advanced […]

The Iraqi F-16IQ Block 52 aircraft were refueled from a Stratotanker over Iraq for the first time. On Aug. 15, 2018, Iraqi Air Force F-16C and D, were refueled mid-air by a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron over Iraq: according to the U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs, this […]

This year’s Eid al-Adha comes at a time of escalating war and bloodshed, with horrendous violence across Afghanistan. Many have lost dear ones. Many have been injured. Many have been displaced. Many have seen their houses and shops on fire or destroyed. And the scars of this appalling war will remain for men, women and children well into the future. Acknowledging that many people will have a difficult Eid al-Adha this year, the Afghanistan Analysts Network wishes a quiet, peaceful and, we hope, happy Eid to the people of Afghanistan, to all Muslims and to its friends and readers.

May this Feast of the Sacrifice provide a respite from war and an opportunity for all parties to the tragic conflict to, as Rumi says, sacrifice their pride by starting to thrash out their differences peaceably.

خواهی که تو را کعبه کند استقبال مایی و منی را به منا قربان کن – مولوی (۱)

 

If you want the Kaaba to welcome you

Sacrifice your pride, collective and individual, at Mina (1)

– Rumi

 

(1) This is the second couplet (beit) from quatrain (ruba’i) number 1385 by Rumi (see here). The English translation is by AAN.

Mina is the neighbourhood in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where the Hajj pilgrims make sacrifices to Allah by slaughtering animals such as sheep, goats, camels and cattle.

Here are some interesting details about the Advanced Aerial Training exercise that took place at Albacete Air Base, Spain, last week. On Aug. 16, 2018, two U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors from the 95th Fighter Squadron, 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, conducted the Raptor’s first forward deployment to Albacete, Spain. The 5th […]

Chinese PL-96 Towed Howitzer

German Panzefaust 3 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher

Afghan Shia Muslims are feeling increasingly beleaguered after two massacres targeting their community this month. Both were claimed by the Afghan ‘franchise’ of Daesh, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP). On 3 August, gunmen killed at least 38 men and boys during Friday prayers at a village mosque in the outskirts of Gardez city. Three families lost all their men, from young boys to grandfathers. This week, on 15 August, a suicide bomber walked into an education centre in the Hazara-majority Dasht-e Barchi neighbourhood of Kabul. At least 40 people were killed, most of them teenage students, girls and boys, who had been studying for the university entrance exam. In the midst of this onslaught, AAN felt the need to pay tribute to at least some of the victims, in an attempt to make sure such deaths do not become the ‘routine’ of this conflict. Here, AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini looks at what happened when the small community of Shia Sadat (descendants of the Prophet) in Paktia province came under attack.

Sectarian attacks are on the rise in Afghanistan, with Shia Muslim mosques, gatherings and neighbourhoods being targeted. This month has been hard, with first the attack on the Khwajah Hassan mosque in Paktia province and then a lone suicide bomber attacking the Mu’ud education centre in the capital. It left at least 48 dead and 67 wounded, mainly teenagers, dead and injured. “The lecture hall had been so packed,” one journalist wrote, “and the explosion so powerful that nearly half the 230 students were among the casualties.” Many were from the provinces, sent by their families to spend a last year studying in the capital in the hope of passing the kankur university entrance examination and getting into higher education. Some, with no family in Kabul, were buried in a mass grave by their school fellows and volunteers. Unusually, some of the coffins of the girls were carried by women.

Such sectarian attacks are perpetrated by a sliver of Afghan society – ISKP usually claims them – and are always widely condemned. This was the case also in the wake of the attack on the Khwajah Hassan mosque in Gardez where the bereaved were actively supported by their Sunni neighbours. Masses of Sunnis attended the funerals of those killed in the attack and later posted themselves as human shields in Shia mosques and shrines, challenging sectarian haters to kill them as well. AAN has spoken to members of the community, to bring you this account of the attack and of the small community which has lost so many members.

The attack at the Friday prayer

It was around 13.30 on a Friday afternoon. A significant portion of the residents of Khwajah Hassan village had come to the mosque to listen to the preacher deliver the khutba and perform the congregational prayer when two burqa-clad figures approached the precinct. (1) The tattered state of their clothes and their attitude – reaching their arms out from under their cloaks as if to ask for alms – identified them as beggars, who often count on the charity of believers gathered for Friday prayers. The guards at the gates told them to wait a few minutes; as soon as the people completed their prayers, they said, and came out of the mosque, there would certainly be something for them. The two beggars turned as if to comply, but instead drew from under their burqas hidden guns, reportedly with silencers, shot the guards dead, and rushed towards the mosque.

This, according to the few who witnessed it and lived to tell the tale, is how the attack on the mosque of the Imam-e Zaman in Khwajah Hassan village on the outskirts of Gardez on 3 August 2018 started. What happened subsequently was carnage.

The mosque was built only two years ago, with contributions from the whole local Shia community. It replaced an older, smaller one and could host up to 2,000 people. That day between 150 and 200 residents were present – men and boys only, as women and girls, despite having a separate floor at their disposal, did not usually attend the congregational prayer. As is customary, community leaders and elderly men found their places in the first rows, while the youth and children sat at the back. They were the first to be met when the terrorists entered the building. The two gunmen first threw hand grenades into the crowd, then opened fire on those closer to them with the Kalashnikovs they had concealed under their clothes. A majority of the wounds, it was later reported, were from bullets and grenade shrapnel, showing this stage of the attack to have been the deadliest. Then, one after the other, the attackers activated the explosive vests they were wearing, killing and injuring even more of the people around them (see also media reporting here and here).

Survivors and local residents who rushed to the incident started to move the wounded to hospital. Later, those with only minor injuries were taken to the centre of Gardez city where they were paraded in an impromptu protest in front of the provincial government buildings. The people of Khwajah Hassan were not only bewildered by the massacre, but also by the delay on the part of the authorities in sending ambulances and security forces after the attack. Some residents told AAN that this took more than an hour, even though Khwajah Hassan is a suburb of Gardez located in Police District 2, and barely two kilometres from the city centre. Tension was so great that when the police finally arrived at the scene of the attack, armed local residents prevented them from entering the mosque, asking them what they had come for, now that everybody was dead (see also this reporting from Pajhwok).

Meanwhile, local clinics could not cope with the numbers of injured and the dire state some were in. Finally, at around 19:00 in the evening, 19 of the most seriously wounded were evacuated to different Kabul hospitals by military helicopter. Some would nonetheless die from their wounds in the following days.

The victims

This attack killed 33 people and injured dozens more. It devastated a whole community. The Shia Muslims of Gardez are Sadat – descendants of the Prophet. Living far from other Shias, they have developed a deeply intertwined community. The 3 August attack cut through these ties, leaving every family mourning the death of near or distant relations. Three families lost all the men of their household, from the young boys to the grandfathers.

Five children aged between 7 and 15 were killed and a further seven wounded seriously. An additional eight young people under the age of 25 are dead and many more injured. The total number of injured people is, as usual, a fluid figure, as many with only superficial cuts or burns were not hospitalised or counted and some may still die of their injuries. The estimate, however, ranges between 70 and 90, with around a dozen still in critical condition.

Among the dead were some of the community’s elders. The most well-known and respected was probably Dr Ali Shah Musawi, who had the singular distinction of being the only Shia prisoner incarcerated by the United States in Guantanamo Bay. During the 1980s, Dr Musawi had been a commander with the mujahedin party Harakat-e Inqilab-e Islami, in the wing led by Mawlawi Mansur. (2) While the Taleban were in power, Dr Musawi resided in Iran and did not take part in politics or fighting. Upon his return in 2004, he was immediately arrested by the Americans and later sent to Guantanamo where he spent two years as a prisoner. He was subject not only to detention without trial, but also, as the sole Shia prisoner among many radical Salafi Sunnis, to sectarian hatred by some of his fellow prisoners. His time in the detention camp was rough, even by Guantanamo standards. (3)

After being released, Dr Musawi went to Iran for a while to see his family, but ultimately settled back in Gardez, where he opened a primary school. More recently, in 2014, he had taken up the position of director of the local Department for the Prevention of Natural Disasters, where according to everybody AAN talked to, he was doing a good job. His nephew on his sister’s side, Sayyed Sajjad, aged 24, an engineer who had graduated from the Polytechnic of Kabul, was also killed.

The following is a list of those who were killed and have been honoured on the martyrdom posters and banners that have appeared across Gardez and in Kabul. Some of those who later died of their injuries do not appear here. We think, for example, that there was a second Sayyed Sajjad was killed in the attack.

1. Sayyed Ahmad Khair Andish, imam of Khawja Hassan mosque, aged 40
2. Dr Sayyed Muhammad Ali Shah Musawi, provincial head of the Disaster Management Office and former mujahedin commander
3. Sayyed Muhammad Musawi, imam of Sadat mosque, originally from Jaghori,
4. Sayyed Asadullah Rezai, taxi driver on the route between between Kabul and Gardez
5. Sayyed Humayun, car mechanic in Gardez, aged 35
6. Sayyed Murtaza, employee of Paktia University (brother of Sayyed Muhammad Reza, number 14, who was also killed)
7. Sayyed Mahram, aged 22, businessman
8. Sayyed Gul Ahmad, shopkeeper
9. Sayyed Asadullah, aged 33, a qari (reader) of the Quran,
10. Eng Sayyed Saifullah, student at Paktia University
11. Eng Sayyed Sajjad, aged 24, head of Paktia Airport and nephew of Dr Musawi
12. Sayyed Najibullah, son of Sayyid Amir Gul, lecturer at the Paktia University, aged 34
13. Sayyed Muhammad Reza, shopkeeper (brother of Sayyed Murtaza, number 7)
14. Sayyed Jan Ali, guard at the mosque
15. Sayyed Agha Zia, son of Sayyid Nur Agha, aged 28, guard at the mosque
16. Sayyed Mahram, aged 60, car mechanic
17. Sayyed Zalmai, labourer
18. Sayyed Ali Shah Musawi, tribal elder
19. Sayyed Murtaza, a student at Paktia University
20. Sayyed Rukai, a 17-year old school student
21. Sayyed Kabir, a 16 or 17-year old school student
22. Sayyed Muhammad Hussain, policemanoriginally from Bamyan
23. Sayyed Muhammad, shopkeeper
24. Sayyed Muhammad Agha, guard at the mosque
25. Sayyed Nematullah, shopkeeper

The following victims were all children, still at school:

26. Sayyed Nasrullah
27. Sayyed Hujjat Musawi
28. Sayyed Ali Asghar, aged 9
29. Sayyed Hussain Shah
30. Sayyed Murtaza
31. Sayyed Ali Ahmad
32. Sayyed Khalil
33. Sayyed Wahidullah

The Sadat of Gardez, a tiny Shia island in Loya Paktia

The location of the attack – Paktia province, which had thus far been spared sectarian violence – and the fact that it devastated a small and somewhat isolated Shia community lent it a particular vicious and destructive character.

Khwajah Hassan is a relatively big and prosperous village. Located at the northeastern edge of the town of Gardez, it sits right by the highway leading towards Logar and Kabul. With maybe a thousand families residing in and around it, Khwajah Hassan is reportedly the biggest village in Paktia to be inhabited by speakers of Dari as a mother tongue  – although most of the Sadat are fully bilingual, speaking Pashto as well. Despite being at the core of the Pashtun heartland, with inhabitants renowned for vigorously following tribal customs and Pashtunwali, Paktia also features a consistent minority of people who speak Dari as their first language. They are not newcomers to the area, but rather the remnants of ancient populations that once inhabited many parts of what is today southeastern Afghanistan (such as the Barakis of Logar and the Farmulis of Paktika). Once called Farsiwan, they nowadays mostly fall into the macro-ethnic category of Tajik, except for the Shias among them (as the Tajik identity has come to implicitly assume a Sunni creed). Moreover, these Shia communities often trace their ancestry to the family of the Prophet Muhammad, forming a separate group called Sadat (singular Sayyed).

The Sadat’s claim to a distinguished ancestry usually confers on them a certain amount of religious charisma. Throughout history they have often provided religious leadership for other Shias and engaged in learned professions and education.  The Sadat from Khwajah Hassan claim to have arrived from Sabzevar near Nishapur (nowadays in eastern Iran) shortly after the Islamic conquest of the Gardez area and to have lived there ever since, developing a prosperous and well-respected community, despite their distance from other Shias.

It seems the Sadat of Khwajah Hassan have had no conflict with their Sunni neighbours, be they fellow Dari-speakers (Tajiks) or Pashtuns. On the contrary, residents of the village interviewed by AAN pointed to instances of cooperation and unity between them and the Sunnis, from their shared participation in the jihad against the Soviets and the communist government to their united defence when Pacha Khan Zadran attacked Gardez in 2002.

After the attack on the mosque, masses of Gardez’s Sunnis attended the mourning ceremonies for the dead, provided armed security during the burials and later posed as human shields in Shia mosques and shrines, challenging sectarian haters to attack them as well.

The likely perpetrators

The residents of Khwajah Hassan seemed taken completely by surprise. In the past few weeks, the local NDS headquarters had issued threat warnings that attacks were to be expected, but the warning had not specifically referred to Khwajah Hassan and had also been issued to Sunni mosques along the highway to Ghazni. Security at the mosque was low: only a couple of armed guards had been stationed there, as had always been the case for the past few years. They were local youths who received a salary through the Ministry of Interior.

The choice of the target and the level of wanton violence against unarmed civilians worshipping in a mosque, indicates sectarian hatred as the motivation. However, the Khwajah Hassan attack is an outlier in terms of attacks on Shias because of its location. The Sadat of Gardez had never previously been attacked. Militants based in Paktia province had, thus far, so far avoided targeting whole communities. The province, like neighbouring Khost, features an active insurgency, but it remains somewhat curtailed by strong tribal affiliations and cohesive local communities. The sworn hostility of even a minor community can be a logistical nightmare for insurgents, as they have to rely on mountain routes or secrecy for the security of their movements and the success of their operations. This discourages acts that would antagonise whole communities.

Also, despite the Taleban’s not always clean record in the past (such as during their conquest of Mazar-e Sharif in the 1990s), sectarian violence is something they now publicly and emphatically condemned and distance themselves from. (4) Indeed, within hours after the attack, community leaders of Khwajah Hassan started receiving phone calls from Taleban front commanders in Janikhel, Zurmat and even Paktika province, denying any involvement in the attack, expressing their condolence for the victims and extending offers of assistance.

The actor that, since its appearance on the stage of the Afghan conflict in 2014 (see AAN analysis here and here), has proved more than willing to carry out such horrific sectarian attacks is Daesh/ISKP (see this AAN analysis). A string of attacks on Shia religious sites suggests that the group considers violent sectarian attacks an important part of their strategy – to gain resonance and renown at the national and international level, and to try to attract new recruits and funds (see this AAN analysis). The recent increase in such attacks may also be a response to the crisis the movement finds itself in, now that combined Taleban and government/US pressure has virtually eliminated Daesh from much of the territory it had controlled in Afghanistan in Nangrahar and Jawzjan (see AAN analysis here).

ISKP indeed claimed ownership of the attack, but only a full day after it happened, in the late afternoon of Saturday. On previous occasions, the group has usually been very keen to declare ownership and made claims within hours of an incident.

From the point of view of capability, Daesh, is also not the best-positioned to carry out an attack like this. Khwajah Hassan’s mosque may have been a soft target, but Daesh has never so far operated anywhere close to Gardez, and even a simple attack would have required extensive reconnaissance and knowledge of the area. A lot depends on the possibility that Daesh recruited militants in Gardez, because to bring in men and weapons from other provinces, at a time when the government controls the highway and the Taleban all the other routes, would have been very difficult.

Inhabitants of Khwajah Hassan – both Sunni and Shia – are adamant that the attack bears the signature of the Haqqani network. They believe this is the only group that could have carried it out with ease. This may well hold true in terms of operational capacity, but when it comes to motivation, things are less clear. A resident interviewed by AAN provided examples of how the Haqqanis have shown hostility against Shias in the past. During the jihad years and shortly after, the group’s fighters would harass Shia and object to their celebration of the festival of Ashura (the Sadat would then seek the mediation of Mawlawi Mansur, as many of them had fought in the ranks of his faction of Harakat-e Inqilab-e Islami). On another occasion, Jalaluddin Haqqani had insulted the local Shias in a public speech after the Taleban had come to power. (5) This alone, however, does not provide a clear reason for the current Haqqanis to perpetrate such a savage attack now.

The perpetrators of the attack, if they were trying to light the fire of sectarian hatred, causing a breach between the Sadat and their fellow Paktiawals, will be disappointed. Support for the grieving community has been strong. In the words of a political analysts hailing from Paktia: “The only fortunate thing in all this is that Paktiawals joined together for the commemoration of the dead of Khwajah Hassan. We stood collectively in abhorrence of this unprecedented attack.”

Edited by Martine van Bijlert and Kate Clark

(1) Not all Shia communities across the world maintain the need for the faithful to join the khutba, a sermon on religious, social and even political topics given before the Friday prayer, although this is usually the case among Afghan Shia communities.

(2) Harakat-e Inqilab-e Islami-ye Afghanistan was one of the major Sunni mujahedin parties that made up the ‘Peshawar Seven’. In 1982, Mawlawi Nasrullah Mansur, from Paktia’s Zurmat district, split from the main party, led by Mawlawi Muhammad Nabi Muhammadi, to form his own faction. This party, led by Nasrullah’s brother, Abdul Latif Mansur, would come to play a central role during the Taleban Emirate and in the insurgency after 2001. It is now known as the Mansur Network (for a background of the party and its resumed activities see here). That Dr Musawi and many Sadat joined what was basically a faction of traditional Sunni mullahs instead of seeking affiliation with one of the Shia mujahedin parties bears testimony to the high degree of integration the Sadat have enjoyed in Paktia society.

(3) Dr Musawi had come back to his home town in 2004 along with four friends and relatives (who were also returning home from Iran). The very night of their arrival, US soldiers broke into the house where they were staying, seized them and carried them to Bagram. His four companions were later released, but Dr Musawi was sent to Guantanamo where he spent two years. In his memoir Haqaiq-e nagofta-e Guantanamo (“Untold Facts about Guantanamo”), published after his release in 2006, he relates the problems he faced there, including performing prayers, given the sectarian intolerance of some of the more radical prisoners towards Shias.

(4) For a look at the historical record and context, see three dispatches AAN wrote in the wake of an attack on Ashura mourners in Kabul in December 2001 here, here and here)

(5) When making an introductory speech for the newly appointed governor in Gardez, in the presence of all the community elders of the province, Jalaluddin Haqqani reportedly praised the people of Paktia, comparing the province to a basin filled with pure, clean water only defiled by a few noxious vermin. At that point he paused and addressed the malik (headman) of Khwajah Hassan village who was in attendance in the front row, asking him if he was right in saying so, at which the poor man could obviously only nod, cowed in fear.

More recently, in 2011, the Haqqanis meddled in the age-old Sunni-Shia conflict in Kurram Tribal Agency of Pakistan. The Pakistani press claimed that two senior members of the Haqqani family had played a pivotal role in a ceasefire between the Turi tribe (Shia) and its Sunni neighbours (see our reporting here). The Haqqanis’ interest back then was to secure logistical routes crossing Turi territory, while for the Pakistani military, this present an opportunity to present the Haqqanis as ‘good Taleban’, willing to fight only inside Afghanistan and be helpful in Pakistan (as compared to the ‘bad’ TTP). The ceasefire, however, was either a hoax or a failure; it collapsed in a matter of weeks when the killing of Shia travellers by the local chapter of the TTP resumed.

Accident is Third T-38 Crash in Ten Months for Talon II, Continues Series of U.S. Accidents. A U.S. Air Force Northrop T-38C Talon II crashed on Friday, August 17, 2018 near Vance AFB 90 miles northwest of Oklahoma City in Enid, Oklahoma. One Instructor Pilot (the only crewmember) ejected from the aircraft and is reported […]

Americas

The upcoming FY2019 will be good year for US aerospace companies. The recently signed National Defense Authorization Act allows for the procurement of 413 aircraft at a cost of $39.5 billion. The US Navy is set to order a total of 119 warplanes. This includes 24 Super Hornets, 10 P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft, eight CH-53K helicopters. In addition, the Naval Air Systems Command is being entrusted with a multi-year contract authority for the F/A-18 Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft which gives it the right to negotiate bulk discounts with vendors based on a guarantee of several years of orders. The Air Force will buy 15 KC-46 tanker aircraft with a grant of $2.4 billion. The service will also be able to spend a further $300 million to procure aircraft for its Light Attack and Armed Reconnaissance (OA-X) program. Lockheed Martin will provide the Air Force, USMC and Navy with a total of 77 F-35 fighter jets. This $7.6 billion order is the largest appropriation for a single aircraft type. The company will deliver 48 F-35As, 20 F-35Bs and 9 F-35Cs. The total US defense funding rose by 2.4% to a total of $717 billion.

The US Army is investing in IED detection systems. Chemring Sensors and Electronic Systems will provide the service with a number of Husky Mounted Detection System systems. This firm-fixed-price contract has a value of $92.5 million. The Husky was initially developed in the 1970s by South Africa-based RSD, a division of Dorbyl and marketed by Critical Solutions International (CSI). The vehicle is equipped with a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) that detects mines and explosives by using hydraulically-controlled deploy and retract modes. The vehicle is fitted with automatic target recognition algorithms for GPR and metal detection data processing. The Husky’s crew is protected by a V-shaped hull and bulletproof glass. The employment strategy for the VMMD system involves a lead mine-detection vehicle searching for antitank mines. Upon detection, the prime mover would move forward towing the detonation trailers. A squad of engineers could then neutralize the mine or the trailers could detonate the mines in place. Locations of performance and funding will be determined with each order. Work is scheduled for completion by August 15th, 2022.

The Navy is contracting TOTE Services to support SBX-1. The company is being awarded with a firm-fixed-price contract valued at $11.1 million. The company will be responsible for operating and maintaining the Sea-Based X-Band Radar vessel. The X-band radar, also known as the SBX, was originally planned as a land-based system but a sea-based system became possible when the Bush administration withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. It constitutes a mid-course fire control radar based on a seagoing semi-submersible vessel. The $815 million, mechanically-slewed, X-band phased array assembly is 280 feet tall, and weighs 2,400 tons. The radome alone weighs 18,000 pounds, stands over 103 feet high, and is 120 feet in diameter. Made entirely of a high-tech synthetic fabric, the radome is supported by air pressure alone, and is designed to withstand 130+ mph winds and a “100-year storm” at sea. The radar performs cued search, precision tracking, object discrimination and missile kill assessment. The in-flight interceptor communication system data terminal transfers commands from the GMD fire control system to the interceptor missile during its engagement with the target missile. This contract is scheduled for completion by September 2019, but does include several options which could extend the contract until end of March, 2024. The total cumulative value of this contract would rise to $65.3 million, if all options are exercised.

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is being tapped to replace the centralized 400-Hz power distribution system of three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The contract modification has a value of $9.5 million and provides for material and labor needed to add new integrated power node centers on the USS John Basilone (DDG 122), the USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124) and on the USS Gallagher (DDG 127). The current centralized 400-Hz power-distribution system, consists of two air-cooled solid state frequency converters. The new integrated power node center combines power transfer, frequency conversion, voltage transformation, power conditioning, and fault protection into one cabinet. Electrical power is at the heart of any modern warship. On destroyers for example they allow the Mk41 VLS to perform its job. For each launcher there are 400-Hz and 60-Hz power distribution units to supply power to the launcher electronics. Work will be performed at the company’s shipyard in Bath, Maine, and is expected to be completed by November 2022.

Middle East & Africa

Reports suggest that the United Arab Emirates is currently deploying one of its Wing Loong II UAVs from its Assab airbase in Eritrea. In October 2017 satellite imagery confirmed the UAE as the first export customer of China’s next-generation medium-altitude long-endurance and strike-capable UAE. The Diplomat states that the Wing Loong II has been primarily designed and developed for export and has been marketed by China’s defense industry as a more cost-effective alternative to the US-made General Atomics MQ-1 Predator. The Wing Loong UAV’s fixed mid-mounted wings with high aspect ratio provide improved performance by reducing the drag. Its fuselage structure is designed to minimise the radar cross-section. It features two vertical tail fins, arranged in a V shape. The tricycle landing gear, with two main wheels under the fuselage and one single wheel under the nose, facilitates safe take-off and landing. The unmanned combat aerial vehicle can be armed with a variety of weapons including laser-guided bombs and missiles to attack and destroy air or ground-based targets. The UAE is currently fighting Al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Europe

Germany is issuing a long-awaited final request for its multi-national TLVS (Taktisches Luftverteidigungssystem) program. MBDA and Lockheed Martin will now negotiate the cost and technical parameters of the program with the Bundeswehr. If the German Bundestag, the country’s parliament, approves the necessary procurement funding, the Bundeswehr would receive its first-ever fielded air-defense system with a built-in 360-degree capability. The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) program aimed to replace Patriot missiles in the United States, the older Hawk system in Germany, and Italy’s even older Nike Hercules missiles. MEADS will be designed to kill enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and UAVs within its reach, while providing next-generation point defense capabilities against ballistic missiles. MEADS is the product of a $4 billion development program shared by the US, Germany and Italy that incorporates Lockheed Martin’s hit-to-kill PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missile in a system including 360-degree surveillance and fire control sensors, netted-distributed tactical operations centers, and lightweight launchers. So far, only Germany has chosen to field the system.

Asia-Pacific

Taiwan’s F-16 pilots are set to receive training support as part of a US foreign military sale. L3 Technologies is being awarded with a $25.8 million contract modification for an additional training system to be installed in an F-16 A/B Block 20 Mission Training Center. The Republic of China Air Force operates a total of 150 F-16A/B block 20 aircraft. Twenty F-16A/B Block 20 aircraft are based in the US for testing and training purposes. MTC’s immerse pilots in high-definition, dynamic training scenarios that enables them to practice air-to-air and air-to-ground missions under any condition that might be encountered during actual flight. Each F-16 MTC consists of four simulators that incorporate high-definition displays, image generation, databases and dynamic environments. Work will be performed in Arlington. Texas and is scheduled for completion by end of October, 2024.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is adding 12 L-15 advanced jet trainers to its training school. The PLAN Aviation University was formed in 2017 and is based in Shandong. The Hongdu L-15 Falcon made its maiden flight in 2006 and is intended to train pilots to fly high-performance forth-generation aircraft, such as the J-10 and Su-27. It is also suitable to complete all basic jet flight training courses. The Hongdu L-15 features a full glass cockpit which can accommodate two crew members, either a student pilot and instructor, or an official pilot and weapons systems officer. The jet has six hard points of which four are located under the two wings and two under the wing-tips. It can accommodate 6,000lb of payload. The aircraft can carry short range air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, bombs and rocket pods. The development comes amid Beijing’s general airpower build-up, specifically as it develops air wings for its growing fleet of aircraft carriers.

Today’s Video

Watch: Jane’s reports of Merlin helicopter carrier deployment