industryterm:defence

Gulf states’ defence budgets to hit $100bn in 2019: report | News | Al Jazeera
▻https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/gulf-states-defence-budgets-hit-100bn-2019-report-180906145210937.html

https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2018/9/6/8c39ddeecf9c41a8bb8531ffac72d7a2_18.jpg

Jane’s predicted defence spending by GCC countries will continue to increase in the next five years and is likely to reach $117bn by 2023.

North America and Europe provide about 95 percent of all defence equipment acquired by the Gulf states, with the United States alone accounting for about half of all the exports in the last five years.

However, GCC countries have also begun to look at other suppliers such as Russia, China, Turkey, and Australia for their defence needs.

▻https://news.ihsmarkit.com/press-release/aerospace-defense-security/gulf-states-defence-spending-hit-record-high-amid-ongoing-r

#kleptocrates #dirigeants_arabes

Britain increases arms exports to world’s most repressive regimes by nearly a third since Brexit vote
►https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/arms-sales-britain-increases-exports-worlds-repressive-regimes-nearly-third

https://inews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/GettyImages-845995128-960x640.jpg

Britain has dramatically increased the value of weaponry and defence equipment it sells to the world’s most repressive regimes since vows by senior ministers to expand arms exports after the Brexit vote. Figures seen by i show that the Government cleared export licences worth £2.9bn in the 12 months after June 2016 to 35 countries considered “not free” by Freedom House, a respected international think-tank. The figure represents a 28 per cent increase on the 12 months before the Brexit vote. Human rights Among the countries to which ministers have given the green light for military equipment sales are Equatorial Guinea, considered to be one of the most corrupt and repressive countries in the world. Licences worth £1m were also granted for Azerbaijan, accused by human rights campaigners of conducting a vicious campaign against freedom of expression, while Uzbekistan, which is rated by Freedom House as one of the least free countries in the world, was granted a licence to import military vehicle components worth nearly £200,000. The Government has singled out arms sales as a priority area for Britain’s post-Brexit trade push. Prior to his resignation last year, former Defence Secretary Michael Fallon vowed at the world’s largest arms fair in London that Britain would “spread its wings across the world” with increased weaponry and equipment sales. The Government insists that the UK has “robust” measures in place to allow “ethical defence exports” which are worth £5.9bn a year to the British economy.

Read more at: ►https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/arms-sales-britain-increases-exports-worlds-repressive-regimes-nearly-third

Swiss Newspaper reveals: Secret military cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Israel
Middle East Monitor - January 8, 2018 at 3:17 am
▻https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180108-swiss-newspaper-reveals-secret-military-cooperation-betw

The Swiss newspaper Basler Zeitung revealed the fact that there exists a “secret alliance” between Saudi Arabia and Israel, intended “to restrain Iran’s expansion in the region, despite the absence of any official relations between the two countries.”

“For the time being, Riyadh rejects any official normalization of relationships with Israel as long as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not resolved and normalization has not been publically declared by Arab countries and thus there will be no exchange of ambassadors,” said Pierre Heumann, the newspaper’s correspondent in Israel in his report.

“There is an intensive secret cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Israel in order to achieve the main goal of curbing Iran’s expansion project and undermining its regional ambitions,” said the reporter. He added that “there exists indeed military cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Tel Aviv.”

The reporter quoted unidentified sources from Riyadh as saying “the Kingdom is currently considering the possibility to purchase Israeli weapons and it has shown an interest in purchasing defence systems for the tanks and the iron dome, which Israel claims has proven to be effective in countering rocket attacks from Gaza Strip.(...) ”

#Israrabie

Airbus staff quizzed in SFO probe into alleged Saudi corruption - FT.com
▻http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c930e308-06ba-11e4-b0d3-00144feab7de.html?ftcamp=crm/email/201479/nbe/MiddleEast/product&siteedition=uk#axzz36zpbxOct

The UK Serious Fraud Office has made arrests and questioned six individuals in connection with its long-standing investigation into alleged corruption in Saudi Arabia by a subsidiary of Airbus, the European aerospace and defence group.

Arming Egypt, by Nizar Manek - English edition blogs
▻http://mondediplo.com/blogs/arming-egypt

The #US doesn’t want to lose its access to the pyramids, nor does it want to allow its bilateral ties with #Egypt — the world’s fourth largest F-16 operator — to go limp. The two main categories under which US military equipment are sold to foreign customers — Foreign Military Sales (FMS, from the US Department of Defense stockpiles) and Direct Commercial Sales (from the manufacturers) — are a form of industrial policy, labelled an act of “rent-seeking” by a political elite and a “rent-granting” state, or a “strategic effort” by the US government to finance the growth of the defence manufacturing sector of the American economy, maintain its expertise in a global market for #weapons deals, and bolster employment levels.

Former RCAF commander to head defence giant Lockheed Martin Canada
by The Canadian Press - Story: 99119
Sep 24, 2013 / 10:26 am
▻http://www.castanet.net/news/Business/99119/Former-RCAF-commander-to-head-defence-giant-Lockheed-Martin-Canada

OTTAWA - The former commander in charge of leading NATO forces in Libya has been named to head the Canadian operations at defence contractor Lockheed Martin.

Retired Lt.Gen. Charles Bouchard will take on the role at the U.S. defence giant effective immediately.

Bouchard, who is an officer of the Order of Canada, retired in April 2012 after nearly four decades with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He commanded the NATO task force in Libya in 2011.

Via angry Arab

#complexe_militaro_industriel

Royal Navy sends warship to Libya to showcase defence equipment
▻http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/17/royal-navy-warship-libya-defence

Undeclared arms race among European defence contractors to re-equip Libya’s armed forces causes concern among locals

Software that tracks people on social media created by defence firm
▻http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/10/software-tracks-social-media-defence

A multinational security firm has secretly developed software capable of tracking people’s movements and predicting future behaviour by mining data from social networking websites.

A video obtained by the Guardian reveals how an “extreme-scale analytics” system created by Raytheon, the world’s fifth largest defence contractor, can gather vast amounts of information about people from websites including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.

En plus, ils ont le sens de l’humour, le bouzin s’appelle RIOT !
#surveillance #raytheon

Revelations in #BAE Saudi case prompt inquiry call - Telegraph
►http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8377562/Revelations-in-BAE-Saudi-case-prompt-inquiry-call.html

à part ça on n’apprend rien avec #WikiLeaks #cablegate

A senior MP has demanded a parliamentary inquiry into #Britain’s £43 billion arms deal with #Saudi_Arabia after a leaked US diplomatic cable disclosed the full case against BAE Systems, the defence contractor.

#armements #corruption

BAE Systems hires Britain’s former envoy to Saudi Arabia | The Guardian
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/18/envoy-saudi-bae-systems

The senior British diplomat who played a central role in pressuring the Serious Fraud Office to drop its investigation into BAE Systems over the al-Yamamah Saudi arms deal has been hired by the defence group, the Guardian has learned.

Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, who left the Foreign Office last October, will become BAE’s international business development director, focusing on the Middle East and south-east Asia. He starts his new, full-time role next week.

The move is likely to cause uproar among anti-corruption campaigners.

#corruption #Arabie_séoudite #Grande-Bretagne