MikeCZA:
Can they afford to even leave their bases?

kenya Rapid response unit set up

Kenya has established a 300-man strong multiagency rapid response team to handle terror attacks and other security emergencies.

The team is drawn from the KDF Special Forces, the General Service Unit’s Recce Unit, National Intelligence Service, National Police Service, Interior ministry, the Kenya Wildlife Service, among others.

Officers will respond to terror attacks in a more coordinated way.

The Recce Unit and KDF’s Special Forces will now train together.

The two units will be able to respond to security threats in an hour.

The team aims to have a joint management of a multiagency command and control centre and incident command system.

The incident commander will brief the National Command Centre and get instructions on how to handle terror attacks and emergencies.

Henry240:
OFF TOPIC

Apart from the SANDF, i don't recall any major African military that deploys Recon vehicles for combat . Case in point the ATV, which is a rarity in the African battlespace. Special forces ATVs like the one below simply isn't used in combat. Nigeria has a few Polaris ATVs but they aren't used.


Although i'm a strong opponent of ATV and Special Forces Vehicles, as i don't see the protection they provide, i do understand they are an important asset and a force multiplier, especially when used similarly to how this "forward controller" (pictured) is using them.


My question is, why do African countries not use them(ATVs, SPVs and motor-bikes), is it a doctrinal issue or just plain ignorance?

nganduh:


Zimbabwean used to operate these in the 90s. I remember them being kitted more like the second picture than the Rhodesian version. Not sure what they have now.

MikeCZA:
I'm not certain as to what they operate now too. But they probably have a vehicle similar to the Zambians.

Advantages(RPVs) are that they can be air lifted by helicopters or parachuted into the field along with their personnel from fixed wing aircraft.

Three heavily-armed men in black turbans set upon a police station. The point man enters and fires upon three policemen. With trained precision they ransack the office, collect weapons and set a shed on fire. The assailants escape unscathed in a truck parked nearby leaving the policemen critically wounded.

If this were Syria or Afghanistan, it would be just another day. But this terrorist attack took place last week in a small village in Burkina Faso, a struggling West African nation with a 60 percent Muslim population.

There are reports of daily attacks on police stations by affiliates of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Mali. Over the weekend, an attack took the life of one Malian police officer and seriously wounded three others.

Muslim tombs are being destroyed, women are being kidnapped and marketplaces bombed.

Within the last year Al Qaeda has made three unexpected and stunning attacks on hotel resorts – in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Mali – leaving 68 dead and West African nations in deep fear of future terrorist attacks.

While U.S. and global coalition officials are touting their success in reducing the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria by forty percent, both ISIS and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are expanding their reach into the vast territory of West Africa.

Most of these nations have limited security to combat full scale terrorist attacks. Many are turning to the West for assistance. But policy makers and global terrorism experts question whether the U.S. is prepared to meet this growing threat.

West Africa is a prime target for expansion for jihadists, says author Bryan Griffin. His newly published Encyclopedia of Militant Islam provides briefs on 44 of the most violent terrorist organizations worldwide.

“Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is expanding into West Africa for two reasons,” says Griffin. “First they need recruits. And second, they want to capture and control as a much territory outside of strong government control to stockpile weapons.”

MikeCZA:
Namibia, Botswana and Zambia special forces units are using them.

Now my answer to your question: Hope you don't find this offending or anything. But most African armed lack special forces capability and I mean the full package selection(doctors, specialist trainers etc), training, doctrine, industry etc.

Look at the recent Nigerian army exercise. Air assault is still being mostly maintained in the elite units. Compared to SA which has an entire battalion/unit specializing in air assault while the parachutes battalions and sf can also provide the capability.

The need for special forces is only being fully appreciated recently with the spike in terror on the continent. It is evident in the number of sf units popping up in African armed forces. From Somalia, Tunisia, Nigeria, Kenya etc

gottfried21:

Unspecified amount of J-7/K-8 "Daredevil" Pilots
Sent to China last week for a training course on how to operate the J-10

Henry240:

Can we see the Zambian vehicle?

Henry240:


For a country as large and sparsely populated as Namibia, do you actually need the J-10? It's range is just 500km.


How many J-10s are you expecting, when is the contract supposed to be signed?

tdayof:
Suggested upgrades for the JF-17

1. Engine: Replace the vintage RD-33(RD-93) with modern, fuel efficient and signature efficient engines. SNECMA or GE can help.
2. Radar: The present KLJ-7 is literally a joke. In modern times when radars are phase arrayed or Electronically Steered, KLJ-7 is mechanically steeered. Not to mention the radar also limits the maximum range of the SD-10BVRAAM.
3. Avionics: While coding the avionics in C can be cost effective and done by college students, it has a higher failure rate and more prone to hacks, attacks and blocks as compared to modern military specific languages like ADA.
4. Weapons: The one thing JFT lacks is diversity in weapons. It has a mix of Chinese and Pakistani weapon systems. The lack of reliable Western and NATO weapons can prove damaging in a war.

nganduh:

tdayof:


always.

Henry240:


I was specifically asking about the ATV in particular and SPVs in general. ATVs, same vehicle as this or the photo i earlier posted are virtually non-existent in combat. My question is why?



Let me correct an error, parachuting is mostly carried out by N.A Airborne units. We currently have full fledged Airborne units different from elite Nigerian units.


It is rappelling/Quick insertion by helos that is mostly now carried out by Nigerian elite units. I do agree that it is only now that full spectrum S.F units are appreciated by militaries across the continent.


Which brings me to another question, are the S.F units we see across Africa actually S.F units in the mould of the SAS, Delta, SEAL, Spestnaz Alpha or are the highly mobile units in the mould of the Australian 2 Commando?

Henry240:


Which brings me to another question, are the S.F units we see across Africa actually S.F units in the mould of the SAS, Delta, SEAL, Spestnaz Alpha or are the highly mobile units in the mould of the Australian 2 Commando?

Henry240:


Wrong wording by mean. I meant the J-10s Combat Radius, not range. It's combat radius is 550KM.


It's ferrying range is 825km. 1650 / 2.

estimated): length 17.1m,
height 5.4m,
wingspan 9.8m,
normal TO weight 12,400kg,
max TO weight 18,600kg,
internal fuel 4,500kg,
max external load 6,600kg,
g load +9/-3,
max speed Mach 2.0 (high altitude)/Mach 1.2 (1,450km/h @ sea level),
TO distance 400m,
combat radius 1,100km,
static ceiling 18,000m,
ferry range 3,200km.

Henry240:


1. How is the RD-93 Vintage?

The MIG-35 a 4++ generation fighter uses two RD-93 engines, the J-31 a 5th generation fighter also use 2 RD-93 engines, both engines produce 196KN of thrust. The same engine used by the JF-17, each single engine produces 98kN of thrust. Gripen C engine produce 80.5KN of thrust.


2. You have any source which points to the JF-17 radar been a joke? A proper reliable source made by actual experts?

Do you even know what mechanical radars are? So by your logic, the Captor radar of the Eurofighter Typoon which is a mechanically steered radar is obsolete?


3. All programming languages are prone to hacks. The F-35 Lightening II, currently the world's most advanced fighter jet is coded in C++ programming.

4. The JF-17 thunder doesn't lack weapons. It is well covered in Air-to-Air, Air-to-Ground and Air-to-Sea, and can incorporate a wide plethora of munitions from many countries across the world.

Can you provide evidence that Chinese and Pakistani weapons are less reliable that western weapons?

Henry240:


I was specifically asking about the ATV in particular and SPVs in general. ATVs, same vehicle as this or the photo i earlier posted are virtually non-existent in combat. My question is why?



Let me correct an error, parachuting is mostly carried out by N.A Airborne units. We currently have full fledged Airborne units different from elite Nigerian units.


It is rappelling/Quick insertion by helos that is mostly now carried out by Nigerian elite units. I do agree that it is only now that full spectrum S.F units are appreciated by militaries across the continent.


Which brings me to another question, are the S.F units we see across Africa actually S.F units in the mould of the SAS, Delta, SEAL, Spestnaz Alpha or are the highly mobile units in the mould of the Australian 2 Commando?

tdayof:

Because Australlia can easily get weapons from the WEST. We have not really too good military relation with countries. I am not saying the JF-17 is an obsolete aircraft tho and what i posted there wasn't typed by me, i found it and decided to share.
Based on the radar i think i will be able to give a lot as an aerospace Engineering student.
what? Planar array?? What happened to PESA or AESA? and again mechanically steered beam? what happened to electronically steered beam? which beans it will be lacks an agile Beam Radar and again Operating in a spread frequency than shifting phase.
China could have offer an AESA radar. even J-10b operates on AESA jumping PESA. you can't track enough target on a planar array while launching missiles simultaneously with such radar. The JF-17 is really a good fighter for Nigeria my only point was we can as well start developing military hardware by our self. Coding an airborne radar isn't easy but it's what we can do.

It takes more than specification to know how lethal an aircraft is.

nganduh:


Well done. Great development.

ViceAdmiral:

I gather your Zimbabwean,do you know what kind of training the AFZ offers to Namibian AF pilots?