Lord Stirling's News Blog EUROPE

Israeli-Italian aerial war drill ~ link ~ Also see ~ link ~  As part of the drill, advanced Italian jets simulated battles against Israel’s F-15s and F-16s. The exercise, which officials said concluded successfully, included joint flight sessions and an opportunity for Italy to become familiar with the Israeli Air Force’s special ground equipment. 

Senior Italian officials who participated in the drill downplayed questions about any possible connection between the exercise and a potential Iran strike. Air Force Brigadier General Hagai Topolonsky also dismissed a possible link, saying that “the media have a tendency to link unrelated matters and make a story out of them. Our deployment in Sardinia was part of our annual training plan.”

Iran embarking on ambitious $1 billion cyber-warfare program ~ link ~  Tehran has embarked on an ambitious plan to boost its offensive and defensive cyber-warfare capabilities and is investing $1 billion in developing new technology and hiring new computer experts.

Iran has been the victim of a number of cyber attacks in recent years, some attributed to Israel. The most famous attack was by a virus called Stuxnet which is believed, at its prime, to have destroyed 1,000 centrifuges at the Natanz fuel enrichment facility by sabotaging their motors.






Panetta to Reinforce Strong US-Turkish Partnership ~ link ~ Keep in mind that Turkey just declared itself ready for war with Syria.  Both Syria and Turkey have moved heavy military forces to their joint border within the last few days.  Stirling     



Report: Iran blinded CIA spy satellite ~ link ~ European intelligence source claims Iran stuns West by ‘aiming a laser burst quite accurately’ at US satellite in never before reported incident. US official: If Russians provided Iran with sophisticated jamming equipment it means a lot else is at risk too.






Israel announces new ‘depth’ Command for long-range military operations ~ link ~ The Israel Defense Forces is forming a command to supervise “depth” operations, actions undertaken by the military far from Israel’s borders, the army announced on Thursday

The new authority will be commanded by a military officer at the rank of Major General, and will be headed by the former chief of the elite Sayeret Matkal special forces unit Shai Avital, who will return to military serivce to fill the position.