Saudis fund French weapons for use in Lebanon

[Gabriel92]

Thank guys for your $$
And good hunting for the Lebanese army.
@WebMaster @Rakan.SA @Scorpion @Gasoline @|_5LT3BRE_|

The first instalment of French-made weapons in a $3 billion Saudi-funded programme is due to arrive in Lebanon on Monday.
The weapons are part of a deal to bolster the country's defences against the Islamic State (IS) groupand other jihadist groups pressing along Lebanon's Syrian border.

On Monday, anti-tank guided missiles will be delivered to an air force base in Beirut, overseen by French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Lebanese counterpart, Samir Mokbel.

In the course of the next four years, France is expected to deliver 250 combat and transport vehicles, seven Cougar helicopters, three small corvette warships and a range of surveillance and communications equipment.

The programme is being entirely funded by Saudi Arabia, which is keen to see Lebanon's army defend its borders against jihadist groups operating in Syria, instead of leaving the job to Hezbollah militants, who are backed by Saudi Arabia's regional rival, Iran.

France is also contracted to provide seven years of training for the 70,000-strong Lebanese army and 10 years of equipment maintenance.

Since the conflict in neighbouring Syria broke out in 2011, Lebanon has faced mounting spill-over threats, first from the millions of refugees pouring across the border and increasingly from jihadists.

"There are an estimated 3,000 armed militants based on our border, waiting for the moment to penetrate into the Bekaa valley," Hisham Jaber, a former Lebanese general now at the Middle East Centre for the Study of Public Relations in Beirut, told AFP.

"They haven't come for tourism or to go skiing."

Middle&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];East&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];-&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];Saudis&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];fund&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];French&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];weapons&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];for&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];use&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];in&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];Lebanon&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];-&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];France&[HASHTAG]#x20[/HASHTAG];24

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So :

Three Combattante FS56 (It is also equipped with 2 Simbad launchers.)

The Combattante FS 56 is a compact ship with a stealth design capable of high speeds and strong firepower actions for anti-surface warfare and land attack missions. Those qualities make the Combattante FS 56 the vessel of choice when surveillance and attack are key requirements.

With a length of 56 meters and width of 8.2 meters, the Combattante FS 56 is capable of reaching an impressive 38 knots.



Milan misiles (They will be taken from French army's stocks,the rest will be new)

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250 armored vehicles. (VAB MKIII,VBC90s,VBLs,Sherpas)

VAB MKIII

Crew 2-3 men
Personnel up to 10 men
Dimensions and weight
Weight 12.5 - 20 t
Length 6.7 m
Width 2.55 m
Height 2.2 m
Armament
Main gun 25-mm cannon
Machine guns 1 x 7.62-mm
Ammunition load
Main gun 260 rounds
Machine guns 1 000 rounds
Mobility
Engine Renault DXi7 diesel
Engine power 320 / 340 / 400 hp
Maximum road speed 105 km/h
Range 890 km
Maneuverability
Gradient 47%
Side slope 40%
Vertical step 0.5 m
Trench 0.9 m
Fording 1.5 m


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VBC90s

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VBLs

VBL Panhard light wheeled armoured vehicle technical data sheet information description pictures UK | French army france wheeled armoured vehicle UK | French army military equipment vehicle UK

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Sherpas

Sherpa 3A Renault Trucks Defense vehicule blinde leger à roues transport de troupe multi-missions pr | Véhicules et blindés à roues France armée Army | France Equipements et blindés de l'armée française

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24 CAESAR artillery.

It can fire 6-8 shells/minute and has a maximum range of 50km.

It takes only 60 seconds to deploy the system,,40 seconds after having stopped, Caesar is ready to move on, thus avoiding counter-battery fire.

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Also :

Mortars

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Mistral missiles

Mistral Short-Range Air-Defence Missile System - Army Technology

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7 armed helicopters "Cougar"

Also :

UAVs
communication systems
Observation radars

 

[UAE]

I have a feeling that these weapons are going to be used against Hizbollah. Taking two birds with one stone. Houthis in Yemen and Hizbollah in Lebanon.

Good set of machines hopefully the Lebanese army manages to keep a grip on them not to fall in the hands of Hizbo.

 

[Gabriel92]

I have a feeling that these weapons are going to be used against Hizbollah. Taking two birds with one stone. Houthis in Yemen and Hizbollah in Lebanon.

Good set of machines hopefully the Lebanese army manages to keep a grip on them not to fall in the hands of Hizbo.

I have a feeling that these weapons will fall in Hezbollah's hands..... hope i'm wrong.

 

[UAE]

I have a feeling that these weapons will fall in Hezbollah's hands..... hope i'm wrong.

That what I fear too. It will be a slap to Saudi Arabia if that happened. The Saudis will get upset and ended up attacking Lebanon to destroy all of these weapons.

France is the winner here. If that happened I hope not please do consider some discount for us in any future deals.

 

[Rakan.SA]

i really dont understand this move by our government. i know that hizbullah has their rats inside the army in high positions.
im really pissed
BUT at the same time i know the government is not that stupid. they must have a plan. im sure they got a plan for lebanon.
i guess all we can do is wait and see.

 

[Rakan.SA]

i hope they will use it against hizbullah.. then lebanon will come back to its glory and live in peace

 

[UAE]

i hope they will use it against hizbullah.. then lebanon will come back to its glory and live in peace

Yes, Lebanon strategically is very important to us although it lacks the depth. If we can take hold of it then Syria and Iraq will be between the hammer and the anvil. I hope that is the plan.

 

[UAE]

i really dont understand this move by our government. i know that hizbullah has their rats inside the army in high positions.
im really pissed
BUT at the same time i know the government is not that stupid. they must have a plan. im sure they got a plan for lebanon.
i guess all we can do is wait and see.

Saudi Arabia is very smart and I don't think the weapons will fall into Hizbollah hands. I believe they will be under the command of Pro-Saudi elements in the Lebanese Army.

 

[Rakan.SA]

Saudi Arabia is very smart and I don't think the weapons will fall into Hizbollah hands. I believe they will be under the command of Pro-Saudi elements in the Lebanese Army.

it cant fall into hizbullah hands. but the generals in the army can take sides. and that what worries me.
but again in shaa Allah the saudi government has a good plan.

 

[Bubblegum Crisis]

I have a feeling that these weapons will fall in Hezbollah's hands..... hope i'm wrong.

Quote 1 :

Lebanese Ground Forces

By 2008 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Elias Murr and Lebanese Army Commander General Michel Sleiman had developed a vision for transformation of the Lebanese Army to a more Special Operations-capable force equipped with a Close Air Support capability such as attack helicopters. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) had faced difficulties during the Nahr Al Bared (NAB) campaign in the summer of 2007. The LAF lost a total of 176 service members as a result of the fighting. (At the end of NAB, the LAF had 168 KIA. Since that time, and additional six soldiers have died of their wounds. The two Red Cross workers who were killed at NAB are now counted in LAF casualties.) The LAF had a hard time because of the narrow streets in the camp and the lack of equipment and ammunition for the LAF, and the LAF force structure and training did not meet national requirements.

The primary purpose of this transformed army would be to address terrorist threats inside Lebanon. Syria is still assisting the terrorists that are present in all thirteen of the Palestinian camps. Other Arab nations are using the camps in Lebanon as a dumping ground for their "dirty people."

At the strategic level, Murr said it was apparent that the army needed to shift its training and equipping focus to support more counter-terrorism operations. Murr said, "we don't need this heavy army that was trained and equipped by the U.S. in 1983. Things have changed since 9/11 and we need to rely more on special forces and fewer heavy brigades. We need light and medium weapons and attack helicopters to back up the grond troops." Murr surmised that he needed 10-15,000 Special Forces troops organized in 10-15 Special Forces regiments supported by 20-25,000 conventional troops. He thought that the army's current end strength of 60,000 was too large for the missions assigned. Murr wanted to only retain the five heavy brigades and place them on the borders. The remaining six brigades, and the five intervention regiments, would be disbanded and those personnel billets would be used as billpayers for the new SF Regiments.

The intent was to place all of these special forces under a single command structure that will be known as the Lebanese Special Operations Command (LSOC). The units that will comprise this command are the Marine Commando Regiment, the Ranger Regiment, the Air Assault Regiment and the Mountain Battalion that was being trained and equipped by the French.

Christians will not enlist to be regular infantrymen who are deployed in the south and on the borders as this places them too far away from their families who predominantly live near Beirut. More importantly, Lebanese law requires that the Army be 50% Christian and 50% Muslim. There is much room for the Christian population in the Army to grow. During a recent recruiting drive, there was a call for 5,000 troops; 50,000 men appeared for review. Of these 50,000, 45,000 were only interested in SF duty. There were over 8,600 Christians from Mount Lebanon, a Christian area, who showed up to enlist in Special Forces.

Recruitment efforts over the two years 2006-2008 netted 20,000 new troops for the Army at the same time that many draftees had been leaving the army. When this process began, the Shia accounted for 58% of the enlisted force; now they comprise 25% of the enlisted ranks. At the same time, the Army was able to bring the Christians to 25% and the Sunni/Druze component to 50% of the enlisted ranks. The Shia no longer "pose a threat" to the LAF, even if Nasrallah were to call on them to leave the army [as happened in 1984].

The Sunni troops in the Army are very loyal. Most of the Sunni troops in the Army come from the economically depressed region of Akkar in northern Lebanon. Every one that joins the Army from the north usually has an extensive network of family members who are also in the Army. As for the Shia, they come to the Army for a salary and to eat. Christians come with a sense of community service; this is why the elites want to serve in Special Forces. You won't hear this from the Army, but it is their reality.

GlobalSecurity.org


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Quote 2 :

Lebanon says gas, oil reserves may be higher than thought

By Laila Bassam
BEIRUT Wed Oct 30, 2013 12:08pm EDT

(Reuters) - Lebanese Energy Minister Gebran Bassil said new estimates for nearly half of Lebanese waters suggested the country's reserves of natural gas and oil might be larger than previously thought.

"The current estimate, under a probability of 50 percent, for almost 45 percent of our waters has reached 95.9 trillion cubic feet of gas and 865 million barrels of oil," he said.

The estimates are based on seismic surveys conducted ahead of an auction for exploration rights which has already been delayed by several months by a political stalemate in Lebanon.

As Lebanon prepares to move toward exploring and developing its offshore oil and gas resources, Bassil said he hoped that hydrocarbon revenues would give the country "political, economic and financial independence".

"This definitely needs more exploration and drilling activities to get more precise figures, but this is an indication that with more work surveys and analyses, we are getting higher results and higher expectations," he said in an interview at the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit.

The figures are the first estimates by the government for such a large area of Lebanon's 10 exploration blocs, which range from 1,500 to 2,500 square kilometers, and appear to imply higher reserves than several previous estimates.

A 2010 U.S. Geological Survey study estimated that the Levantine Basin, an area of 83,000 square km which includes waters outside Lebanon's jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean, held 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas and 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

An analyst at survey firm Spectrum estimated in May that the country's total deepwater gas reserves could be up to 80 trillion cubic feet.


DEBT, POWER SHORTAGES

Lebanon has been hoping that sizeable gas discoveries could help address both its high level of government debt and its chronic domestic power shortages.

But progress will be difficult given the country's political turmoil, after Prime Minister Najib Mikati resigned in March amid partisan squabbling that has stalled most government decisions.

Earlier this month, Bassil said he had delayed Lebanon's offshore gas licensing round by another month until January after politicians failed to form a new government, which is needed to approve decrees to launch the bidding process.

Without approval of those documents, Lebanon's efforts to exploit maritime reserves are on hold and 46 companies it selected in April to bid for gas exploration will have to wait.

Bassil said that although no companies had formally withdrawn from the bidding round because of the delays, some were "hesitant and there are questions being raised".

Drilling could also be delayed in southern exploration blocs by disputes over a maritime border between Lebanon and Israel that has never been delineated because the two countries are technically at war.

Bassil warned in July that Israel had the technical ability to draw from Lebanese underwater gas fields. Israel's Energy Ministry declined to comment on Bassil's remarks.

In addition to the tensions within Lebanon's cabinet, economic activity in the country has been hurt by a spillover of sectarian violence from the Syrian civil war next door; clashes continued on Sunday in the Lebanese coastal city of Tripoli.

Separately, Bassil said an onshore oil and gas survey was moving ahead as planned, in the hope that surveys of Lebanon's Mediterranean waters could be matched by similar prospects on land.

He said one of five 2-D seismic surveys had been completed and a second was to start next week.

(Writing by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Andrew Torchia)

Reuters




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[crimsonghost747]

I am not too suprised to hear about this deal, however I am surprised to hear about the size of it. Definitely good for the French defence industry. I'm a bit surprised to see the frigates in this deal but hey, I guess the Saudi's still have some extra money to spend.

 

[Rakan.SA]

I am not too suprised to hear about this deal, however I am surprised to hear about the size of it. Definitely good for the French defence industry. I'm a bit surprised to see the frigates in this deal but hey, I guess the Saudi's still have some extra money to spend.

i hope its spend wisely to achieve its objective

 

[Gabriel92]

i hope its spend wisely to achieve its objective

Hope they'll use them wisely as you said,against all terrrorists,but also against any agression of the Israeli army.

So it has begun !
Milan missiles to begin.

 

[Rakan.SA]

@Gabriel92


maaaaaaan hasan irans rat will have diarrhea after watching this

 

[Rakan.SA]

please post more news about it