Eurocopter AS532 Cougar
The Eurocopter AS532 Cougar is a twin-engine, medium-weight, multipurpose helicopter developed by France. The AS532 is a upgrade of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma in its militarized form, its civilian counterpart is the Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma. The AS532 has been further developed as the Eurocopter EC725; the AS332 Super Puma, designed as a growth version to replace the SA 330 Puma, first flew in September 1977. It was fitted with two 1,330 kW Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turboshaft engines, composite rotor blades, improved landing gear and a modified tailfin. In 1990 all military Super Puma designations were changed from "AS 332" to "AS 532 Cougar" to distinguish between the civil and military variants of the helicopter. Canada had considered purchasing the Cougar to replace their CH-113 Labrador, but opted in the end to purchase the CH-149 Cormorant. In 2012 France began a €288.8m project to upgrade 23 Army Cougars and 3 for the Air Force to address obsolescence issues and to deliver similar avionics to their EC225 and EC725 helicopters.
AS532 UL/AL The AS 532 UL/AL is the long version of the Cougar family and is powered by two Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turboshaft engines. It carries up to 29 troops or 6 injured passengers on stretchers plus 10 others; as with the other versions of the Cougar, the AS 532 UL/AL can lift 4.5 tons by means of a sling. The Horizon battlefield ground surveillance system can be installed on the AS 532 UL; the AS 532 AL can be fitted with a variety of weapons, including pod-mounted 20 mm cannons, 68 mm rocket-launchers and side-mounted rapid fire machine-guns. AS532 SC The AS 532SC is the naval version of the Cougar family and is powered by two Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turboshaft engines; this version is used for Anti-surface unit warfare, fitted with AM 39 Exocet missiles. For deck landing, securing at high sea states and traverse this variant can be fitted with ASIST. AS535 French Army Combat Search and Rescue version. AlbaniaAlbanian Air Force BrazilBrazilian Army BulgariaBulgarian Air Force ChileChilean Army Chilean Navy FranceFrench Army GermanyGerman Air Force NetherlandsRoyal Netherlands Air Force Saudi ArabiaRoyal Saudi Air Force Royal Saudi Navy SloveniaSlovenian Air Force SpainSpanish Army Turkey Turkish Air Force Turkish Army UzbekistanUzbekistan Air Force ZimbabweAir Force of Zimbabwe Data from Brassey's World Aircraft & Systems DirectoryGeneral characteristics Crew: 2 Capacity: 20 troops Length: 15.53 m Rotor diameter: 15.6 m Height: 4.92 m Disc area: 206 m2 Empty weight: 4,350 kg Useful load: 4,650 kg Max.
Takeoff weight: 9,000 kg Powerplant: 2 × Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turboshaft, 1,185 kW eachPerformance Never exceed speed: 278 km/h Maximum speed: 249 km/h Cruise speed: 239 km/h Range: 573 km Service ceiling: 3,450 m Rate of climb: 7.2 m/s Related development Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma Eurocopter EC725Aircraft of comparable role and era Mil Mi-38 Mil Mi-17 NHIndustries NH90 Sikorsky S-92 Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk Related lists List of rotorcraft Airbus Helicopters AS532 ALe page AS 532 U2/A2 Cougar Helicopter and Rescue Variant Details
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is a country in Western Asia constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula. With a land area of 2,150,000 km2, Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest sovereign state in the Middle East, the second-largest in the Arab world, the fifth-largest in Asia, the 12th-largest in the world. Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast and Yemen to the south, it is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast, most of its terrain consists of arid desert and mountains. As of October 2018, the Saudi economy was the largest in the Middle East and the 18th largest in the world. Saudi Arabia enjoys one of the world's youngest populations; the territory that now constitutes Saudi Arabia was the site of several ancient cultures and civilizations. The prehistory of Saudi Arabia shows some of the earliest traces of human activity in the world.
The world's second-largest religion, emerged in modern-day Saudi Arabia. In the early 7th century, the Islamic prophet Muhammad united the population of Arabia and created a single Islamic religious polity. Following his death in 632, his followers expanded the territory under Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering huge and unprecedented swathes of territory in a matter of decades. Arab dynasties originating from modern-day Saudi Arabia founded the Rashidun, Umayyad and Fatimid caliphates as well as numerous other dynasties in Asia and Europe; the area of modern-day Saudi Arabia consisted of four distinct regions: Hejaz and parts of Eastern Arabia and Southern Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud, he united the four regions into a single state through a series of conquests beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud. Saudi Arabia has since been a totalitarian absolute monarchy a hereditary dictatorship governed along Islamist lines.
The ultraconservative Wahhabi religious movement within Sunni Islam has been called "the predominant feature of Saudi culture", with its global spread financed by the oil and gas trade. Saudi Arabia is sometimes called "the Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the two holiest places in Islam; the state's official language is Arabic. Petroleum was discovered on 3 March 1938 and followed up by several other finds in the Eastern Province. Saudi Arabia has since become the world's second largest oil producer and the world's largest largest oil exporter, controlling the world's second largest oil reserves and the sixth largest gas reserves; the kingdom is categorized as a World Bank high-income economy with a high Human Development Index and is the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies. The state has attracted criticism for a multitude of reasons including but not limited to: its archaic treatment of women, its excessive and extrajudicial use of capital punishment, state-sponsored discrimination against religious minorities and atheists, its role in the Yemeni Civil War, sponsorship of Islamic terrorists, its strict interpretation of Sharia Law.
An autocratic monarchy, the kingdom has the world's third-highest military expenditure and, according to SIPRI, was the world's second largest arms importer from 2010 to 2014. Saudi Arabia is considered a middle power. In addition to the GCC, it is an active member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and OPEC. Following the unification of the Hejaz and Nejd kingdoms, the new state was named al-Mamlakah al-ʻArabīyah as-Suʻūdīyah by royal decree on 23 September 1932 by its founder, Abdulaziz Al Saud. Although this is translated as "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" in English, it means "the Saudi Arab kingdom", or "the Arab Saudi Kingdom"; the word "Saudi" is derived from the element as-Suʻūdīyah in the Arabic name of the country, a type of adjective known as a nisba, formed from the dynastic name of the Saudi royal family, the Al Saud. Its inclusion expresses the view. Al Saud is an Arabic name formed by adding the word Al, meaning "family of" or "House of", to the personal name of an ancestor.
In the case of the Al Saud, this is the father of the dynasty's 18th-century founder, Muhammad bin Saud. There is evidence that human habitation in the Arabian Peninsula dates back to about 125,000 years ago, it is now believed that the first modern humans to spread east across Asia left Africa about 75,000 years ago across the Bab-el-Mandeb connecting the Horn of Africa and Arabia. The Arabian peninsula is regarded as a central figure in our understanding of hominin evolution and dispersals. Arabia underwent an extreme environmental fluctuation in the Quaternary that led to profound evolutionary and demographic changes. Arabia has a rich Lower Paleolithic record, the quantity of Oldwan-like sites in the region indicate a significant role that Arabia had played in the early hominin colonization of Eurasia. In the Neolithic period, prominent cultures such as al-Magar whose epicenter lay in mod
NHIndustries NH90
The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would be capable of being operated in naval environments; the NH90 was developed and is manufactured by NHIndustries, a collaborative company, owned by Airbus Helicopters and Fokker Aerostructures. The first prototype conducted its maiden flight in December 1995; as of January 2017, the NH90 has logged 127,000 flight hours in the armed forces of thirteen nations. The NH90 has the distinction of being the first production helicopter to feature fly by wire flight controls. There are two main variants, the Tactical Transport Helicopter for army use and the navalised NATO Frigate Helicopter. In early service, the NH90 has suffered several teething issues, which has in turn delayed active deployment of the type by some operators. In 1985, West Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom teamed to develop a NATO battlefield transport and anti-ship/anti-submarine helicopter for the 1990s.
The United Kingdom left the team in 1987. On 1 September 1992, NH Industries signed an NH90 design-and-development contract with NAHEMA; this agency represented the four participating nations: France, Germany and the Netherlands. Portugal joined the agency in June 2001. Design work on the helicopter started in 1993; the first prototype, PT1, made the type's first flight on 18 December 1995. The second prototype, PT2, first flew on 19 March 1997 and the third prototype, PT3, on 27 November 1998. On 12 December 2002, PT3 became the first helicopter to fly with fly-by-wire controls following the removal of mechanical back-up controls; the NH90 was developed into two main variants: the Tactical Transport Helicopter and the NATO Frigate Helicopter. These two main variants share about 75% commonality with each other. Many of the operators have requested specific configurations to their own helicopter fleets, thus each nation's NH90 is customized to the end-user's requirements. During the development phase of the programme in the 1990s, both technical and funding problems were experienced.
In June 2000, the partner nations placed a large production order, worth US$8.6 billion, for a total of 366 helicopters. Additional orders have since followed from customers in Europe and Australia. By April 2013, a total of 529 NH90s of all variants were on order by various customers; the NH90 was intended to be produced at three exporting final assembly lines. The Nordic and Australian contracts stipulated production locally. Spain has a final assembly line at Albacete; the Marignane assembly line can complete up to 22 NH90s per year. Major components are produced by each of the shareholding companies: Airbus Helicopters France 31.25% Airbus Helicopters Deutschland 31.25% Fokker 5.5% AgustaWestland 32% Items built by the shareholding companies are distributed to the six locations for assembly and flight test. In late 2006, the German Army, the first customer to receive production aircraft, accepted delivery of its first NH90 TTH. In April 2010, the Royal Netherlands Navy was the first customer to receive the navalised NH90 NFH variant.
In June 2014, the consortium announced that they had completed delivery of the 200th NH90. In order to alleviate delays and reduce the complexity of manufacturing a large number of NH90 variants, NH Industries proposed the adoption of a simplified baseline airframe which could be configured to the individual customer's requirements. Between 2004 and 2016, the production lead times for the NH90 had reduced from 18 months to 7.5 months. In 2014, worldwide production of the NH90 peaked at 53 helicopters. In October 2015, the delivery of the 250th NH90 was formally accepted by the Italian Army. In 2015, the rate of NH90 production declined due to countries choosing to delay their orders and some contracts having been fulfilled. In 2010, German newspaper Bild reported that German Army experts had concerns that the helicopter was not yet ready for the transportation of combat troops, they stated that the seats were only rated for 110 kg, not considered enough for a equipped soldier. Heavy infantry weapons could not be adequately secured and the cabin floor was prone to damage, citing an anecdote of damage caused by footwear.
The helicopter could only land with obstacles not exceeding 16 cm. Troops carrying full equipment could not use the rear ramp due to weight-limitations placed on it. Adding a door machine gun was not possible due to space taken by troop ingress and egress.
Frigate
A frigate is a type of warship, having various sizes and roles over the last few centuries. In the 17th century, a frigate was any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description used being "frigate-built"; these could be warships carrying their principal batteries of carriage-mounted guns on a single deck or on two decks. The term was used for ships too small to stand in the line of battle, although early line-of-battle ships were referred to as frigates when they were built for speed. In the 18th century, frigates were as long as a ship of the line and were square-rigged on all three masts, but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort. In the definition adopted by the British Admiralty, they were rated ships of at least 28 guns, carrying their principal armaments upon a single continuous deck – the upper deck – while ships of the line possessed two or more continuous decks bearing batteries of guns. In the late 19th century, the armoured frigate was a type of ironclad warship that for a time was the most powerful type of vessel afloat.
The term "frigate" was used because such ships still mounted their principal armaments on a single continuous upper deck. In modern navies, frigates are used to protect other warships and merchant-marine ships as anti-submarine warfare combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups, merchant convoys. Ship classes dubbed "frigates" have more resembled corvettes, destroyers and battleships; some European navies such as the French, German or Spanish ones use the term "frigate" for both their destroyers and frigates. The rank "frigate captain" derives from the name of this type of ship; the term "frigate" originated in the Mediterranean in the late 15th century, referring to a lighter galley-type warship with oars, sails and a light armament, built for speed and maneuverability. The etymology of the word remains uncertain, although it may have originated as a corruption of aphractus, a Latin word for an open vessel with no lower deck. Aphractus, in turn, derived from the Ancient Greek phrase ἄφρακτος ναῦς - "undefended ship".
In 1583, during the Eighty Years' War of 1568-1648, Habsburg Spain recovered the southern Netherlands from the Protestant rebels. This soon resulted in the use of the occupied ports as bases for privateers, the "Dunkirkers", to attack the shipping of the Dutch and their allies. To achieve this the Dunkirkers developed small, sailing vessels that came to be referred to as frigates; the success of these Dunkirker vessels influenced the ship design of other navies contending with them, but because most regular navies required ships of greater endurance than the Dunkirker frigates could provide, the term soon came to apply less to any fast and elegant sail-only warship. In French, the term "frigate" gave rise to a verb - frégater, meaning'to build long and low', to an adjective, adding more confusion; the huge English Sovereign of the Seas could be described as "a delicate frigate" by a contemporary after her upper decks were reduced in 1651. The navy of the Dutch Republic became the first navy to build the larger ocean-going frigates.
The Dutch navy had three principal tasks in the struggle against Spain: to protect Dutch merchant ships at sea, to blockade the ports of Spanish-held Flanders to damage trade and halt enemy privateering, to fight the Spanish fleet and prevent troop landings. The first two tasks required speed, shallowness of draft for the shallow waters around the Netherlands, the ability to carry sufficient supplies to maintain a blockade; the third task required heavy armament, sufficient to stand up to the Spanish fleet. The first of the larger battle-capable frigates were built around 1600 at Hoorn in Holland. By the stages of the Eighty Years' War the Dutch had switched from the heavier ships still used by the English and Spanish to the lighter frigates, carrying around 40 guns and weighing around 300 tons; the effectiveness of the Dutch frigates became most evident in the Battle of the Downs in 1639, encouraging most other navies the English, to adopt similar designs. The fleets built by the Commonwealth of England in the 1650s consisted of ships described as "frigates", the largest of which were two-decker "great frigates" of the third rate.
Carrying 60 guns, these vessels were as capable as "great ships" of the time. The term "frigate" implied a long hull-design, which relates directly to speed and which in turn, helped the development of the broadside tactic in naval warfare. At this time, a further design evolved, reintroducing oars and resulting in galley frigates such as HMS Charles Galley of 1676, rated as a 32-gun fifth-rate but had a bank of 40 oars set below the upper deck which could propel the ship in the absence of a favourable wind. In Danish, the word "fregat" applies to warships carrying as few as 16 guns, such as HMS Falcon, which the British classified as a sloop. Under the rating system of the Royal Navy, by the middle of the 18th century, the term "frigate" was technically restricted to single-decked ships of the fifth rate, though small 28-gun frigates classed as sixth rate; the classic sailing frigate, well-known today for its role in the Napoleonic wars, can be traced back to French deve
Jubail
Jubail is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. It is the largest industrial city in the world, it is home to the Middle East's largest and world's fourth largest petrochemical company SABIC. It has the world's largest IWPP producing 800,000 m3 of water daily. Jubail comprises the Old Town of Al Jubail, a small fishing village until 1975 and the new industrial area. Jubail Industrial City is the largest civil engineering project in the world today. In 1975, the Saudi government designated Jubail as the site for a new industrial city, with rapid expansion and industrialization arising; the new industrial and residential areas were named Madīnat al Jubayl aṣ Ṣinā`īyah. The 2005 Census Report for Jubail Industrial City estimates the population at 224,430 residents; the town of Al-Jubail, on the Persian Gulf coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has ancient roots. Human habitation dates back at least 7,000 years, when the people of Dilmun — whose civilization radiated up and down the coast of the Persian Gulf — established a settlement there.
In September 1933, Jubail gained a measure of fame as the landing site for the first team of geologists to explore for oil in Saudi Arabia. Bechtel began work on the Jubail Industrial City project more than 40 years ago and is still working in Jubail now. Bechtel has managed the Jubail project since it began in the mid-1970s, in 2004 the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu asked the company to manage Jubail II, a $3.8 billion expansion of the city's industrial and residential areas. Jubail has a hot desert climate. Jubail is directly connected with other cities by two major highways. One ongoing project is the Jubail-Qassim Expressway 500 km, which will reduce the distance between Jubail and Qassim to around 331 km from the current 831 km. A branch of the Saudi Landbridge Project railway is proposed to connect Jubail to Dammam. There are two seaports in Jubail -- the King Fahd Industrial Seaport; as of 2011, Jubail ranks 92nd in the world in terms of Total Cargo Volume with 44,700 tons. Jubail Airport is an airfield 25 kilometres west near the industrial area.
Constructed by the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu as part of Jubail project, it was meant to be used for commercial aviation until it was decided to utilize the large nearby King Fahd International Airport. Thus, it was handed over to the Ministry of Defence and has been used as a base for the naval aviation group/eastern fleet of the Royal Saudi Navy since then; the terminal in Dammam Airport is about 60 km drive from the suburbs of Jubail, 80 km from the city center and 100 km from the Royal Commission neighborhoods. However it was announced that the airport will be opened for private aviation operations starting September 2014. A project to renovate the airfield was undertaken since some of the airfield's infrastructure was incomplete, as a result of the previous change for the use of airport from commercial to military. To date, the project and renovations have not been completed. In addition, two other airfields are located in the city. Jubail has a robust market place, known as International Market.
It has a several malls, such as the Giant Store, Fanateer Mall, Galleria Mall, Jubail Center Mall, City Max, Hyper-Panda, HyperMarket, Jubail Centre, Home Center, Red Tag, Nesto, Jubail Plaza and Jubail MallThe Jubail desalination plant As part of the industrial city, Jubail has a desalination plant called Saline Water Conversion Corp.. In 2019, SWCC hit Guinness World Record as the largest producer of desalinated water worldwide; the plant hit the record. Safwa city: 56 km Qatif: 64 km Ras Tanura: 71 km Saihat: 76 km Dammam: 96 km Khobar: 104 km Abqaiq: 160 km Al-Ahsa: 222 km Riyadh: 500 km Buraydah: 823 km Arar: 975 km Ha'il: 1,132 km Medina: 1,600 km Mecca: 1,500 km Jeddah: 1,500 km Manama: 162 km Kuwait City: 342 km Doha: 496 km Abu Dhabi: 865 km Dubai: 977 km Baghdad: 1,019 km Muscat: 1,374 km ISG Jubail International Indian School, Al- Jubail Jubail Academy International School Hafeez International School Pakistan International School Mariya international School King Fahd High School Najd Secondary School Umm Alqurra Secondary School Dana Elementary School Andulas Elementary School Al Murjan Elementary School Al Ahsa Secondary School Fayha Elementary School Khaleeg Intermediate School Fanatir Elementary School Al Deffi Secondary School Al Abna'a Schools Jubail University College Jubail Industrial College Jubail Technical Institute Almana Medical Center.
Almana General Hospital. Branch Suncity Polyclinic Ram Dental Complex Al-Shabani General Hospital. Al Fanateer Hospital. Mouwasat Hospital. Mayo Dental Center. Lulu Hospital. Kingdom Dental Medical Dispensary. Royal Commission Hospital. Huda Younis Dental Complex. Armed Forces Hospital. Al-Shifa Hospital. Al-Fayadh Medical Clinic. Al-Hijailan Medical Clinic. Lulu Dispensary. Dina Dispensary for Medical Services. Al-Khonaini Dispensary. Jubail National Dispensary. Jubail Medical Center. Jubail General Hospital. Badr Al Khaleej Medical Center Ar Razi Clinic. KIMS Medical
Jeddah
Jeddah is a city in the Tihamah region of the Hejaz on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest seaport on the Red Sea, with a population of about four million people, the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. Jeddah is Saudi Arabia's commercial capital. Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca and Medina, two of the holiest cities in Islam and popular tourist attractions. Economically, Jeddah is focusing on further developing capital investment in scientific and engineering leadership within Saudi Arabia, the Middle East. Jeddah was independently ranked fourth in the Africa – Mid-East region in terms of innovation in 2009 in the Innovation Cities Index. Jeddah is one of Saudi Arabia's primary resort cities and was named a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network. Given the city's close proximity to the Red Sea and seafood dominates the food culture unlike other parts of the country.
In Arabic, the city's motto is "Jeddah Ghair," which translates to "Jeddah is different." The motto has been used among both locals as well as foreign visitors. The city had been perceived as the "most open" city in Saudi Arabia. There are at least two explanations for the etymology of the name Jeddah, according to Jeddah Ibn Al-Qudaa'iy, the chief of the Quda'a clan; the more common account has it that the name is derived from جدة Jaddah, the Arabic word for "grandmother". According to eastern folk belief, the tomb of Eve, considered the grandmother of humanity, is located in Jeddah; the tomb was sealed with concrete by religious authorities in 1975 due to some Muslims praying at the site. The Berber traveler Ibn Battuta visited Jeddah during his world trip in around 1330, he wrote the name of the city into his diary as "Jiddah". The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other branches of the British government used the older spelling of "Jedda", contrary to other English-speaking usage, but in 2007, it changed to the spelling "Jeddah".
T. E. Lawrence felt. In his book, Revolt in the Desert, Jeddah is spelled three different ways on the first page alone. On official Saudi maps and documents, the city name is transcribed "Jeddah", now the prevailing usage; some archaeologists' studies suggest the existence of inhabitants in the region now known as Jeddah since the Stone Age seeing as they found some artifacts and'Thamoudian' writings in Wadi Breiman east of Jeddah and Wadi Boib northeast of Jeddah. Some historians trace its founding to the tribe of Bani Quda'ah, who inhabited it after the collapse of Sad Ma'rib in 115 BC; some believe that Jeddah had been inhabited before the tribe of Bani Quda'ah by fishermen in the Red Sea, who considered it a center from which they sailed out into the sea as well as a place for relaxation and well-being. According to some accounts, the history of Jeddah dates back to early times before Alexander the Great, who visited the city between 323 and 356 BC. Excavations in the old city suggest that Jeddah was founded as a fishing hamlet in 522 BC by the Yemeni Quda'a tribe, who left central Yemen to settle in Makkah after the destruction of the Marib Dam in Yemen.
Other archaeological studies have shown that the area was settled earlier by people in the Stone Age, as some Thamudi scripts were excavated in Wadi Briman, east of the city, Wadi Boweb, northwest of the city. The city of Jeddah was an important port during Nabataeans frankincense trade; the oldest Mashrabiya found in jeddah dates back to pre Islamic era. Jeddah first achieved prominence around AD 647, when the third Muslim Caliph, Uthman Ibn Affan, turned it into a port making it the port of Makkah instead of Al Shoaiba port south west of Mecca. In AD 703 Jeddah was occupied by pirates from the Kingdom of Axum. Jeddah has been established as the main city of the historic Hijaz province and a historic port for pilgrims arriving by sea to perform their Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. Umayyads inherited the entire Rashidun Caliphate including Hejaz and ruled from 661AD to 750AD. No historic records mention important events taking place in Jeddah during this period of history. However, Jeddah has remained as key civilian harbor, serving fishermen and sea travelling pilgrims to Hajj. it is believed that Sharifdom of Mecca.
Abbassids, the new superpower, became the new successor to the Umayyad. in 750 the Abbasid Revolution took control of the whole Umayyad Empire, excluding Morocco and Spain. The Caliphate of Baghdad kept expanding and ruled until 1258, while Hejaz only remained under the Abbasid throne until 876, when the Tulunids of Egypt gained control of the Emirate of Egypt, Syria and Hejaz; the power struggle between Tulunid Governors and Abbasid over Hejaz lasted for 30 years when Tulunids have withdrawn from Arabia in 900 AD. In 930 AD, main Hejazi cities Medina and Taif were sacked by Qarmatians. However, it is not confirmed that Jeddah itself was attacked by Qarmatians. However, Ikhshidids Governors of Abbasids, the new power in Egypt took control of Hejaz in early 935. No historic records details the during Ikhshidids rule of Hejaz. Jeddah was without walls at this point of time. In the 969 AD, the Fatimids from Algeria took control in Egypt from the Ikhshidid Governors of Abbasids and expanded their empire to the surrounding regions, including
Phalanx CIWS
The Phalanx CIWS is a close-in weapon system for defense against anti-ship missiles, etc. It was manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division. Consisting of a radar-guided 20 mm Vulcan cannon mounted on a swiveling base, the Phalanx has been used by multiple navies around the world, notably the U. S. Navy on every class of surface combat ship with the exception of the San Antonio-class LPD, by the Canadian Royal Canadian Navy, the British Royal Navy, by the U. S. Coast Guard aboard its Hamilton and Legend-class cutters; the Phalanx is used by 15 other allied nations. A land variant, known as the LPWS, part of the C-RAM system, has been deployed in a short range missile defense role, to counter incoming rockets and mortar fire; because of their distinctive barrel-shaped radome and their automated nature of operation, Phalanx CIWS units are sometimes nicknamed "R2-D2" after the famous droid character from the Star Wars films. The Phalanx Close-In Weapons System was developed as the last line of automated weapons defense against antiship missiles and attacking aircraft, including high-g and maneuvering sea-skimmers.
The first prototype system was offered to the U. S. Navy for evaluation on the destroyer leader USS King in 1973 and it was determined that additional improvements were required to improve performance and reliability. Subsequently, the Phalanx Operational Suitability Model completed its Operational Test and Evaluation on board the destroyer USS Bigelow in 1977; the model exceeded operational maintenance and availability specifications. Another evaluation followed, the weapon system was approved for production in 1978. Phalanx production started with orders for 14 foreign military systems; the first ship fitted out was the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea in 1980. The Navy began placing CIWS systems on non-combatant vessels in 1984; the basis of the system is the 20 mm M61 Vulcan Gatling gun autocannon, used since 1959 by the United States military on various tactical aircraft, linked to a Ku band fire control radar system for acquiring and tracking targets. This proven system was combined with a purpose-made mounting, capable of fast elevation and traverse speeds, to track incoming targets.
An self-contained unit, the mounting houses the gun, an automated fire-control system and all other major components, enabling it to automatically search for, track and confirm kills using its computer-controlled radar system. Due to this self-contained nature, Phalanx is ideal for support ships, which lack integrated targeting systems and have limited sensors; the entire unit has a mass between 12,400 to 13,500 lb. Due to the evolution of threats and computer technology, the Phalanx system has been developed through several configurations; the basic style is the Block 0, equipped with first-generation, solid-state electronics and with marginal capability against surface targets. The Block 1 upgrade offered various improvements in radar, computing power, rate of fire, an increase in maximum engagement elevation to +70 degrees; these improvements were intended to increase the system's capability against emerging Russian supersonic antiship missiles. Block 1A introduced a new computer system to counter more maneuverable targets.
The Block 1B PSuM adds a forward-looking infrared sensor to make the weapon effective against surface targets. This addition was developed to provide ship defense against small vessel threats and other "floaters" in littoral waters and to improve the weapon's performance against slower low-flying aircraft; the FLIR's capability is of use against low-observability missiles and can be linked with the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile system to increase RAM engagement range and accuracy. The Block 1B allows for an operator to visually identify and target threats; as the system model manager, the U. S. Navy is in the process of upgrading all their Phalanx systems to the Block 1B configuration. All U. S Navy Phalanx systems are scheduled for upgrade to Block 1B by the end of FY 2015. In addition to the FLIR sensor, the Block 1B incorporates an automatic acquisition video tracker, optimized gun barrels, Enhanced Lethality Cartridges for additional capabilities against asymmetric threats such as small maneuvering surface craft, slow-flying fixed and rotary-winged aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles.
The FLIR sensor improves performance against antiship cruise missiles, while the OGB and ELC provide tighter dispersion and increased "first-hit" range. Another system upgrade is the Phalanx 1B Baseline 2 radar to improve detection performance, increase reliability, reduce maintenance, it has a surface mode to track and destroy threats closer to the water's surface, increasing the ability to defend against fast-attack boats and low-flying missiles. S. Navy Phalanx system-equipped vessels by FY 2019; the Block 1B is used by other navies, such as Canada, Japan, Egypt and the UK. In April 2017, Raytheon tested a new electric gun for the Phalanx allowing the system to fire at varying rates to conserve ammunition; the new design replaces the pneumatic motor and storage tanks, reducing system weight by 180 lb while increasing reliability and reducing operating costs. The CIWS is designed to be the last
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
.jpg)
_underway_during_Operation_Desert_Shield.jpg)
_of_the_Royal_Saudi_Navy.jpg)
_underway_in_the_Red_Sea,_in_1991.jpg)
USA
FRA
