FILE PHOTO - A German air force Tornado jet takes off from the German army Bundeswehr airbase in Jagel, northern Germany December 10, 2015. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German armed forces may not be able to use the Tornado fighter jet for NATO missions, according to a defence ministry report seen by Reuters.

The report says that so far, it has not been possible to build an encryption device for secure data transfer into the jet, which entered service in the 1970s.

The communication devices of the Tornado also do not meet current standards, the report said, meaning there’s a risk that information could be intercepted.

“This could in the worst case mean that the demand for an encrypted communication system for the Tornado weapons system can’t be achieved. That means the Tornado weapons system may not take part in NATO missions,” the report states.

A spokesman for the German air force said its 10 Tornado jets registered for the NATO Response Force met current requirements, without providing further details.

The report was first cited by German magazine Spiegel.

Germany wants to start phasing out the Tornado jets in 2025 and the defence ministry has said that the Eurofighter Typhoon is the leading candidate, with Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and Boeing’s F-15 and F-18 fighters also options.

An annual report released in February said Germany’s military must move faster to tackle persistent gaps in personnel and equipment.</s>A classified German Defense Ministry report says the country’s fleet of Tornado fighter jets may be unsuitable for conducting NATO missions, several media outlets said.

The report, first cited by the German magazine Spiegel, says the Panavia Tornado, which first entered service in the 1970s, has several equipment flaws that make it vulnerable and no longer suitable for duty. The fleet of fighter jets needs costly modernization if Germany wants to keep them operational until 2035, as it plans. The upgrade would cost millions of euro, if it technically possible at all. This is not a certainty, the report noted.

Among the warplane’s shortcomings are outdated electronic equipment, a lack of proper encryption for its communications, and the absence of NATO-compatible friend-or-foe detection systems.

Of the 97 Tornados currently in service, only 10 meet NATO requirements; and these have already been assigned to the NATO Response Force, according to the document, which was released in February. Commenting on media reports about the state of the German Air Force, a Bundeswehr spokesman said the country was meeting its current NATO obligations thanks to those 10 aircraft.

The Luftwaffe is expected to start phasing out the Tornado fleet in 2025, with the Eurofighter Typhoon believed to be the most likely model to replace them. The US-made Lockheed Martin F-35 and Boeing’s F-15 and F-18 fighters are possible alternatives. Among other requirements, the replacement aircraft would need to be capable of deploying the American nuclear B-61 gravity bombs.

The deficiencies of the German Tornados have long been known and occasionally resulted in embarrassing public incidents. In 2016, their contribution to the US-led coalition counter-terrorist effort in Syria came under question when their cockpit instruments turned out to be too bright for pilots flying night missions in night-vision gear. The fleet was later grounded after monitors in cockpits started losing screws during flights.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!</s>All German Tornado aircraft are no longer capable of carrying out tasks within NATO due to outdated equipment, German magazine Spiegel has reported, citing confidential report of the German Defense Ministry.

According to the media outlet, the report has revealed many critical details. For instance, the electronics installed on all 93 Tornado planes in the 1980s are completely outdated. The jets are not sufficiently tap-proof and do not possess an encrypted communication system, which is mandatory in all international missions.

In addition, the aircraft has no friend-enemy detection system which is required in NATO operations in order to avoid erroneous attacks on allied jets.

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The Defense Ministry is confident that in their current condition the jets should "no longer participate in any NATO operation." However, any modernization of the aircraft won't be complete until 2019, when new equipment within NATO operations will become mandatory.

Earlier, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen had said that the aircraft was expected to be deployed at least until 2035, when a suitable replacement could be found.

Von der Leyen also acknowledged that the technical condition of many Bundeswehr combat systems do not correspond to existing and ever increasing operational needs. This, in particular, applies to helicopters, aircraft, tanks and ships.

Tornado planes are currently involved in an international mission to fight the Daesh terrorist group in Syria and Iraq.</s>BERLIN (Reuters) - Pentagon officials briefed German military on the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet this week but Berlin said no procurement decisions have been taken.

 Germany, which is looking to replace its aging Tornado fighter jets, is due to decide in mid-2018 about whether to start a new fighter development program or buy an existing fighter. 

 A German Defence Ministry spokesman said the decision will hinge largely on assessments of how long the Tornados can stay in use.

 "The F-35 is one of many options we are exploring," the spokesman said.

 Any move to buy a U.S. warplane could run into political resistance in Germany, which has strong labor unions, and given a big push by Europe to develop its own military equipment.

 The German Air Force asked the U.S. military in May for a classified briefing on the F-35 fighter jet as part of an "in-depth evaluation of market available solutions."

 Germany's interest in the F-35 took some European defense industry officials by surprise, given a big push by European aerospace giant Airbus and other European defense companies to develop a next-generation European fighter.

 Lockheed, which is already building the F-35 fighter for several other NATO allies - the United States, Britain, Italy, Turkey, Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark - also plans to provide the German defense ministry with information about opportunities for German industry to participate in the F-35 program, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

 This week's briefings took place in Bonn, Germany, on Monday and Tuesday and involved a German one-star general, as well as working groups looking at specific weapons requirements and capabilities, according to another source briefed on the matter.

 "This meeting is consistent with the standard Foreign Military Sales process where we explain the path to F-35 acquisition and provide a top-level F-35 capabilities brief," F-35 program office spokesman Joe DellaVedova said. 

 The German military plans to send Washington a formal "letter of request" for information about the F-35 and Boeing Co's F-15 and F/A-18E/F fighter jets later this summer, the ministry spokesman said.

 It will also gather information from Airbus about its work on a next-generation weapons system, he added.

 Experts also see the F-35 as the leading contender in a Belgian fighter competition that includes the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Aviation Rafale. Sweden's SAAB and Boeing have withdrawn from that tender.

 

 (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Susan Fenton)</s>US Influence and Hegemony in the Broader Middle East

Reminiscent of World War I, shifting alliances and the structure of military coalitions are crucial determinants of history.Today's military alliances, including "cross-cutting coalitions" between "Great Powers" are equally dangerous, markedly different and exceedingly more complex than those pertaining to World War I. (i.e the confrontation between "The Triple Entente" and "the Triple Alliance").NATO constitutes a formidable military force composed of 29 member states, which is largely controlled by the Pentagon. It is a military coalition and an instrument of modern warfare.Divisions within the Atlantic Alliance could take the form of one or more member states deciding to "Exit NATO".***In this article, we will largely be addressing a concrete case of a NATO member state's intent to exit the Atlantic Alliance NATO, namely Turkey's "NATO-Exit" and its evolving rapprochement with Russia as well as with Iran and China.Military alliances are being redefined.In turn, Turkey in Northern Syria is fighting against America's proxy Kurdish forces, i.e. one NATO member state is fighting another NATO member state.Russia's stance in relation to Turkey's military actions in Northern Syria is ambiguous. Russia is an ally of Syria, whose country has been invaded by Turkey, an ally of Russia."Moscow underscores that Turkey can calmly withdraw from NATO , and after doing so Ankara will have guarantees that it will not face any threat [from US-NATO] in terms of ensuring its own security," (According to statement of Turkish Air Force Major-general Beyazit Karatas (ret))Moreover, Ankara will be acquiring in 2020 Russia's state of the art S-400 air defense systemThe S-400 deal is said to have caused "concern" "because Turkey is a member of NATO and the [S-400] system cannot be integrated into NATO's military architecture".Has NATO's "heavyweight" (in terms of its conventional forces) namely Turkey chosen to exit the Atlantic Alliance? Or is Turkey involved in an alliance of convenience with Russia while sustaining its links with NATO and the Pentagon?The objective is to contribute to NATO "military deescalation" on Russia's Western frontier.Apart from Turkey, several EU countries including Germany, Italy, Greece (which has established defense ties with Russia) as well as Bulgaria could contemplate a NATO-Exit.(see image right)Turkey's withdrawal from NATO would have an immediate impact on NATO's land and naval deployments in the Black Sea basin, which in turn would affect NATO military capabilities on Russia's doorstep in Eastern Europe, The Baltic States and the Balkans.the Moscow-Ankara alliance facilitates the movement of Russian and Chinese naval forces to and from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via the Bosphorus.Pakistan as well as India are full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Agreement (SCO).The broader structure of military as well trade/ investment alliances must also be addressed, including maritime routes and pipeline corridors.Turkey has an alliance of convenience with Iran. And Iran in turn is now supported by a powerful China-Russia block, which includes military cooperation, strategic pipelines as well extensive trade and investment agreements.with Qatar, Oman and Kuwait building an alliance with Iran (as well as Turkey), to the detriment of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.Saudi Arabia's economic blockade directed against Qatarin the Persian Gulf.In turn Qatar has the support of Oman and Kuwait. Needless to say, the GCC which until recently was America's staunchest Middle East ally against Iran is in total disarray.While Turkey is deploying troops in Qatar, it has also established the Tariq bin Ziyad military base in Qatar (in cooperation with the Qatari Ministry of Defense) under an agreement signed in 2014.The Qatar based Al Udeid US military facility is the largest in the Middle East. Under USCentCom,-which houses some 10,000 US military personnel-,in the ongoing conduct of US air operationsThere is however a fundamental contradiction:(i.e. an enemy of America). Moreover, Qatar's main partners in the oil and gas industry including pipelines are Iran and Turkey. In turn, both Russia and China are actively involved in the Qatari oil and gas industry.In response to Qatar's rapprochement with Iran, the Pentagon has already envisaged moving its Central Command headquarters at the Al Udeid Air Force base (image left) to the Prince Sultan Air Force base in central Saudi Arabia, 80 km south of Riyadh.Force base in central Saudi Arabia, 80 km south of Riyadh.Iran and Qatar cooperate actively in the extraction of maritime natural gas under a joint Qatar-Iran ownership structure.(For further details, see Michel Chossudovsky, Middle East and Asia Geopolitical Alliances , Global Research, September 17, 2017)In March 2018, Washington demanded that Qatar's Al Jazeera News agency register in the U.S. as a "Foreign Agent" intimating that Doha has an "alliance" with enemies of America, including Iran and Russia.In November 2017, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani intimated during a visit to Washington that "Qatar does not rule out the possibility of a Saudi-led military operation against it".Meanwhile, the Pentagon is envisaging moving US Air Force facilities and personnel out of the Incirlik base in southern Turkey:The alliance between Washington and Ankara is in crisis. NATO is in crisis.We are at a dangerous crossroads.How to reverse the tide of war?"NATO-Exit" could become a rallying call, a movement which could spread across the European landscape.Both the European and North American anti-war movements should concretely focus their grassroots campaign on country-based "NATO-Exit" with a view to breaking the structure of military alliances required by Washington to sustain its global military agenda.Most of the heads of State and heads of government of NATO member countries have been coopted.Moreover, many of the West's civil society organizations and NGOs (financed by corporate foundations) are tacitly supportive of US-NATO "humanitarian wars".</s>Baku. 26 October. REPORT.AZ/ Special Representative of NATO Secretary General in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, James Appathurai will visit Georgia tomorrow in the ongoing NATO Week in the country, Report informs vreferring to the Georgian media.

J.Appathurai will participate in the III Security Forum of the Southern Caucasus, and the conference of defense and security of Georgia.

After the conference, J.Appathurai will meet with Defense Minister, Tinatin Khidasheli.

James Appathurai will visit Shida Kartli region, where will be opened a new regional office of NATO and the EU in Gori. Later Georgian Defence Minister will meet the special representative of NATO Secretary General at the National Academy of Defense named after David Agmashenebeli.

Appathurai will also meet with the President, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.</s>Baku. 26 August. REPORT.AZ/ Two NATO soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan, Report informs referring to France Presse.

According to the report, two individuals wearing Afghan military uniforms opened fire on their vehicle.

Since January 1, NATO fulfills a new military assignment under the name of "Resolute Support" in Afghanistan.

The combat operations will not be included into this event. The exercise is carried out to train Afghan security forces.
An unknown source supposedly leaks a report from the German defence ministry which suggests the nation's Tornado fighter jets may not meet NATO requirements for secure encrypted communications and are therefore potentially unsuitable for NATO missions.