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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran launches new wargames |
| 2007-02-08 |
| IranÂ’s elite Revolutionary Guards ... not to be confused with Iraq's Elite Republican Guards™... on Wednesday launched a new two-day air and naval war game, aimed at testing missile defences at a time of rising tension with the West, state television reported. The IRNA agency said that missile units of the Revolutionary Guards navy and air force were scheduled to conduct the exercises in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. The naval exercise -named Raad (Thunder) - was aimed at “enhancing the defensive capabilities” and preserving the readiness of the naval forceÂ’s missile unit, it said. The goal of the air force war game -named Saegheh (Thunderbolt) - was also to “consolidate the defensive and operational capabilities” of the missile unit, it added. Equipment used to monitor incoming enemy missiles would be tested and missiles would also be test-fired, the agency said, without giving the names of the weapons. IranÂ’s leaders have repeatedly said that the countryÂ’s armed forces were ready for any eventuality in the current standoff with the West over its nuclear programme. Although the United States has stressed that it wants the standoff to be resolved through diplomacy, Washington has refused to rule out military action to thwart TehranÂ’s atomic drive. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #19 Heh. ASW is the acronym for Awfully Slow Warfare, yes? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2007-02-08 22:32 |
| #18 That's because ASW isn't any fun and doesn't translate well to a turn-based game. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-02-08 21:09 |
| #17 Yeas, but until they actually put a missile or bullets into a US ship or aircraft will we do anything. Anyone notice that 'ASW' wasn't mentioned? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2007-02-08 20:52 |
| #16 Liberalhawk, You mean they didn't simply copy Gulf Strike[Victory Games] with minor changes? |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2007-02-08 15:36 |
| #15 And, as I always ask, when is the major plane crash scheduled, day one or day two? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-02-08 15:25 |
| #14 The naval exercise -named Raad (Thunder) - was aimed at “enhancing the defensive capabilities” and preserving the readiness of the naval forceÂ’s missile unit, it said. The goal of the air force war game -named Saegheh (Thunderbolt) - Manolo, get the attorneys on the horn. Methinks we have a ™ violation, heres. |
| Posted by: Halliburton - Lightning and Thunder Division 2007-02-08 14:31 |
| #13 LH - that was pretty good :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-02-08 14:21 |
| #12 "Do they mistake quiet contempt for military weakness?" Yeas, but until they actually put a missile or bullets into a US ship or aircraft will we do anything. A lucky first shot with some of that stuff will probably result in a loss of American life and then the cry will be about Bush not doing anything. I consider it nothing short of luck that the last round of Iranian wargames didn't result in some turban wearing cowboy cutting loose something at us. Pre-emptive strikes would remove all this uncertainty. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-02-08 14:20 |
| #11 Perhaps I should have added that in addition to the $2B (a lot more then) in weapons they already owed money on, the Soviets refused to give them any more, at least high-end weapons. And it was '72 before Sadat gave them the heave ho. $2B doesn't sound like much any more, thank you Jimmy Carter. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-02-08 13:18 |
| #10 Yes, the Russian advisors were kicked out just prior to the October War. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-02-08 12:21 |
| #9 Ironically, after wasting these huge stockpiles of Soviet weapons, the Russians gave the Egyptians a bill (including for the Aswan dam), which amounted to Egypt's entire cotton crop to something like the year 2020. At which point, Egypt kicked the Russians out. In fact they presnted the bill to Nasser (I think it was before the Six Days) and years later Saddat kicked them out. |
| Posted by: JFM 2007-02-08 11:50 |
| #8 Do they mistake quiet contempt for military weakness? Yes. Or rather, not military weakness per se, but rather weakness of will to use our military strength. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-02-08 11:27 |
| #7 The real trouble with these mullah boys is that they do believe their own lies of superiority and will eventually start shooting at ships or planes and start a war. Do they mistake quiet contempt for military weakness? |
| Posted by: whatadeal 2007-02-08 11:10 |
| #6 "IranÂ’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday launched a new ... air and naval war game" Reviews were overwhelmingly negative. "If theyre going for the diminishing market for historically accurate turnbased games, they will fail" said the review at wargamers.com, "since they fail to adequately model the likely morale problems on the Iranian side, superior US weapons systems, and several other key factors - at most we can excuse this amateurish producst as a first effort" The more mainstream Gamespy.com suggested that the game would never sell based on its poor graphics and overly complex user interface. It also suggested that it was a mistake publishing a turnbased game, unless youre Sid Meiers or Brad Wardell. "They would have been better off trying an RTS, or even an RPG" said the gamespy reviewer. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2007-02-08 10:42 |
| #5 Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards ... not to be confused with Iraq's Elite Republican Guards™... Or the Powerful Islamic Courts©... |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-02-08 10:27 |
| #4 One of the interesting problems in the ME is that they have absolutely no conception of weapons or ammunition conservation. It amazed the Israelis to see the Egyptians ineffectively blowing off huge stores of Russian weaponry at them during their wars, instead of rationing it out based on need. Ironically, after wasting these huge stockpiles of Soviet weapons, the Russians gave the Egyptians a bill (including for the Aswan dam), which amounted to Egypt's entire cotton crop to something like the year 2020. At which point, Egypt kicked the Russians out. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-02-08 10:22 |
| #3 Iran's jihadist rulers are doing everything they can to provoke full scale war in the Persian Gulf region. Tehran's terrorist exporting tyrants, infested with 'Mahdimania', will go the same route as Saddam. |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2007-02-08 04:33 |
| #2 INDIA has just reportedly carried out a successsful test of a surface-to-surface, anti-naval version of the BRAHMOS, as dev wid Russia. You just know Moud will want one. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-02-08 02:30 |
| #1 To name but a few: Shihab-2, Shihab-3, the Oghab, the Nazeat-6 and Nazeat-10, the Tondar-69, Zelzal 1 and Zelzal 2, Nazeat-6, Nazeat-10, Fagr-5, Maverick, Noor, Hawk, Tondar-69, Hadid, Fateh-110, Scud B, SAM-6, C-802 Silkworm, Fajr-3 and Fajr 5 air-to-surface missiles. Most are knock-offs, aging former regime leftovers, or military sales products from the usual suspects, ie. North Korea, China, and Russia. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-02-08 01:12 |