Archive for category China

Executive Protection: China’s New Status Symbol–A Bodyguard

Jan 8

Posted by Matt in Africa, China, Executive Protection | 2 Comments

This is really not news if we remember my prior posts about the rise of private security in China. But what I like about stories like this is that they identify the up and coming players in the PSC market there. Or a PSC that could easily transition into more of a PMC role for ventures in places like Africa.

Yun Hai Elite Security was mentioned in this article and they have done some big name work for celebrities visiting China. They also give their guys a ton of training and they seem to attract some high end soldiers and police. These are the companies I like to watch, just because it is not that big of a step for them to cross into the realm of doing what they do in other countries and regions. China also allows these companies to exist for a reason, and these companies are really not private per se.

The other thing I have been watching lately is China’s intense focus on Africa. Businessmen from China are canvassing that continent and doing all they can to establish roots. With the amount of projects and money they bring, there is also the security required to bring peace and stability to those endeavors. That security will either come from Chinese security companies, local police or military they have agreements with, or regional private security companies–or folks that specialize in providing security on the African continent.

In other words, I expect that the Chinese will be really hitting up South African companies and individuals for all types of work. Either protecting projects or making security assessments. I could also see the Chinese contracting with companies to help professionalize the local police and military that the Chinese would make agreements with, or to help advise Chinese security companies. The Chinese are not at all afraid to set up shop in the crappiest places of Africa to get what they need. In order to make that a success, they need the right people that know how to solve problems there.

What I am interested in though is what will the Chinese do in some of these places when the local rebels or whatever group, begin to attack and give problems to these projects. Would they contract a PMC to take care of problems? Would they soup up a local military with weapons and training to go on the offensive? How far will the Chinese go in to order to restore commerce and protect their business ventures in Africa?  Who knows and it will be something to watch as these new ‘East India Companies‘ of the modern era do their thing. -Matt

 

fo08ja ChinaBodyguard2Executive Protection: Chinas New Status Symbol A Bodyguard

China’s new status symbol: a bodyguard
Hannah Gardner
Jan 8, 2012
In a badly lit housing complex on the edge of Beijing, one building burns bright late into the night.
This hall, once a community centre for workers at Beijing’s airport, is now home to Yun Hai Elite Security – one of hundreds of companies that have sprung up across China in recent years to provide bodyguards for the country’s newly minted rich.
Here until 10 every evening, six days a week, former soldiers and athletes learn the skills required to protect people who are increasing resented in this nominally communist county.
“I don’t lack clients,” says Xin Yang, one of Yun Hai’s founders and a former member of the special services in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
“I have a waiting list for my bodyguards. Our trainees have a 100 per cent employment rate.”
Just over a decade ago there was little call for a business like Mr Xin’s. Politicians were more respected, international stars rarely visited and the county didn’t have a single billionaire.
Now, China is home to at least 243 individuals with assets worth more than US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn) and last year the socialist state produced its millionth millionaire.

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History: The 1854 Tong War, California

Sep 12

Posted by Matt in California, China, History | No Comments

This is some fascinating US history that does not get much mention. I had heard about the Tong War in Weaverville when I was fighting forest fires there way back when. But I did not know about the details of this little known war.

Basically this was a classic Chinese battle between two mining companies/gangs in Northern California during the Gold Rush. And boy what a battle? Ironically, only four combatants died in the battle that had 2,500 participants! (the monument says 2000 participated and 26 were killed?)

The one bit of information that really perked me up after reading this article below was the the use of ‘white’ advisers. Here is the quote:

The Sam Yap Company, Hanley wrote, had purchased 150 muskets and bayonets and muskets in San Francisco.  They had employed fifteen whites as drill instructors.  The instructors were paid ten dollars daily along with all the food and whiskey they could handle.(What cost $10 in 1854 would cost $239.63 in 2010.)
Before the battle the fifteen white mercenaries painted themselves yellow, put on Chinese costumes, and hung a yard of horsehair tail down their backs in a mocking depiction of a Chinese queue.

I would be very interested to know who these fifteen advisers were?  At that time period, security contractors were vital to supporting all of the mail and banking activities that came along with the gold rush. The west was a rough place to operate in back then, and hired guns were essential for protecting shipments of gold heading back east or between the various towns of the west. Wells Fargo, American Express, Pinkertons, Butterfield Overland Mail, all started up around this time period. I am sure the Sam Yap Company was able to draw from this pool of security contractors that serviced this industry, to train their forces for this battle.

China was also in the process of modernizing it’s own military and drawing from the military expertise of Europe. So it does not surprise me that these companies would outsource the training of their combatants to insure a win. Which this little tidbit is also pretty cool. Here was the cost of the battle for each side:

After a hundred shots had been fired, the woefully underarmed Yan Wo beat a hasty retreat.  Thousands had watched and dueled, but the casualties were light.  Sources indicate a death toll of four.
The cost figures were much higher.  The Sam Yap Company had expended $40,000 in pursuit of victory, while the Yan Wo Company had spent $20,000 in defeat.

Either way, if you are ever in Northern California and looking for something interesting to do, go visit Weaverville and check out the Joss House. This place has a few of the original weapons that these combatants used. It would have been cool if more of the tactical details of this battle were available, but there really isn’t much out there about it.

I would speculate that if you were to draw from Chinese war fighting tactics of the early 1800′s, that we probably could have drawn some conclusions on how they might have went about fighting this war. But of course these guys were all miners/prospectors and if they had to resort to hiring advisers, and only 4 people died in the battle out of the 2500 that participated, then I have to imagine that it wasn’t that well planned or organized. So no Sun Tzu at this party. lol

Also, I am getting different dates for this war, and have decided to go with what the monument and the Joss House said about the date. So disregard the time period below. -Matt

 

Picture4 2History: The 1854 Tong War, California

 

CHINESE TONG WAR – Near Chinese Camp, October 1856
The historic Gold Country was a violent land — claim jumping, murder, theft, cheating at cards, and much more was quite common.
In October 1856, a different type of violence occurred near Chinese Camp.  It was a Chinese Tong War.
A Tong is defined as a Chinese secret society or fraternal organization.  While many Tongs were mostly social, some organizations engaged in gang warfare or ethnic revenge.
The Tongs were often rivals for control in the Chinese communities and public challenges toward one another were not unusual.  Along the Mother Lode in late Gold Rush California two Tongs were rivals for hegemony.  They were the Tuolomne County Sam Yap Company and the Calaveras County Yan Wo Company, headquartered near Chinese Camp.

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Weapons: Chinese Weapons In Al Shabab Hands– The QLZ 87 35mm Automatic Grenade Launcher

Sep 1

Posted by Matt in Al Qaeda, China, Somalia, Weapons | 4 Comments

In general, the price of Chinese weapons is still about one-third lower than comparable Russian weapons. More importantly, what China wants from Africa is resources, especially crude oil, and it has already exported substantial numbers of weapons in exchange for oil. In dealing with oil-producing countries China has an advantage over Russia, which as a major world oil producer has no need to trade weapons for oil.

This is a quick heads up. I was watching a video the other day on the latest news about Al Shabab in Somalia and a particular weapon of theirs caught my eye in the footage.(.16 in the footage) This thing is a Chinese made 35 mm automatic grenade launcher called the QLZ 87 or Type 87.

My question is who is providing Al Shabab with Chinese made automatic grenade launchers?  Or perhaps they captured this weapon in one of their raids? Or with their connections with Al Qaeda, and the chaos going on throughout the middle east, AQ is able to funnel these types of weapons to them?  Who knows…? The other weapons in the video were interesting as well, and if anyone can identify those weapons, please say so in the comments. Especially the rocket launchers. I would also be curious if those are Chinese versions of Russian equipment, or in fact they are Russian weapons.

Now imagine a QLZ 87 in the hands of a pirate? A launcher equipped with a 6 or 15 round drum, slinging 35mm grenades that have a better blast radius than our 40mm, and at a distance of between 600 to 1750 meters.

And if ‘the price of Chinese weapons is still about one-third lower than comparable Russian weapons’ on the African market, then logic would say we will see stuff like this out there. Especially if the quality has increased and the Chinese have made this stuff available. (that’s what the article below mentioned) Interesting stuff. -Matt

Edit: 09/02/2011- I believe the launchers in the video are Carl Gustav 84 mm Recoilless rifles.

 

Picture1 2Weapons: Chinese Weapons In Al Shabab Hands The QLZ 87 35mm Automatic Grenade Launcher

The QLZ 87 in Al Shabab video, August 31 2011.

QLZ87 35mm Automatic Grenade Launcher

The QLZ87 (also known as Type 87) is the 35mm automatic grenade launcher developed by NORINCO in the late 1980s. Designed to provide direct fire support for infantry troops, the Type 87 is the first grenade launcher that has entered service with the PLA as a standard weapon equipment. The weapon was described as “mini infantry artillery” and has been serving with the PLA infantry (including airborne forces and the Marine Corps) at platoon and company level since the mid-1990s.
Programme
The PLA began to study the use of grenade launcher in its infantry units in the 1970s. Reverse-engineering of the U.S. M-79 40mm grenade launcher and the Soviet AGS-17 35mm automatic grenade launcher was carried out in the late 1970s, but these weapons did not enter service. In the mid-1980s, NORINCO introduced the W87 35mm automatic grenade launcher for export market, and the weapon was widely seen as an indication of success in the Chinese indigenous grenade launcher programme. By the late 1980s, NORINCO introduced new improved version of the W87 for the use of the PLA. The weapon entered service with the PLA in the mid-1990s under the designation QLZ87.
The QLZ87 is available in two variants: the standard variant and the tripod-mounted heavy variant. The standard variant with a combat weight of 12kg can be carried and fired by a single soldier and is mainly for the engaging targets within 600m distance. The heavy variant with a combat weight of 20kg is carried by a crew of three and has a longer range (>1,750m). The weapon delivers 25kg HE or HEAT grenades in either single or burst mode, with a sustained rate of fire of 45rds/min.
Compared to the U.S. MK19-3 40mm automatic grenade launcher, the QLZ87 is inferior in range,  muzzle velocity, and rate of fire. However, the Chinese 35mm grenade, though lighter than the MK19-3’s 40mm grenade, has better performance in blasting radius (MK19-3: 7m; Type 87: 11m) and armour penetration (MK19-3: 51mm; Type 87: 80mm). Unlike the MK19-3, which can only be fired on tripod, the Type 87 can be carried and fired by a single soldier.
Design
The QLZ87 is a man portable, gas-operated, air-cooled, fully automatic weapon. It fires 35mm HE and HEAT grenades in either single or burst mode. The grenades are fed to the weapon using 6-round (standard variant) or 15-round (heavy variant) cartridge drum. The weapon is equipped with an optical aiming sight. The standard and heavy variants are almost identical in basic designs. The standard variant has a fold-able bipod for shooting, while the heavy variant is mounted on a tripod. If necessary, the weapon can also be mounted on vehicles or helicopters. As well as engaging ground targets, the weapon is claimed to be also capable of attacking low-flying airborne targets.
Specifications
Calibre: 35mm

Muzzle velocity: 200m/s

Firing mode: Single, burst

Max range: (standard) 600m; (heavy) 1,750m

Weight: (standard, with scope) 12kg; (heavy, with scope) 20kg

Elevation: (heavy, mounted on tripod) -10~70 degrees

Traverse: 360 degrees

Rate of fire: (sustained) 45 rds/min

Grenade weight: 250g

Ammunition: HE, HEAT
Link to weapon description here.
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Russian, Chinese weapons compete in Africa
By Andrei Chang
December 19, 2008
Hong Kong, China — China is increasingly challenging Russia in the African arms trade, offering lower prices on weapons that, ironically, are often made in China with Russian technologies. Chinese products are less expensive than Russian and Western systems, similar to the Russian systems that many African countries are familiar with, easy to maintain and easy to use in training.
Many countries are therefore switching allegiance to China for their weapons purchases. A typical example is Sudan. At a 2007 military parade, the Khartoum regime showcased its China-made T96 main battle tanks and T92 wheeled armoured vehicles.

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Maritime Security: China Shipping Giant To Spend 12 Million On Armed Guards And Security Measures

Jul 14

Posted by Matt in China, Maritime Security | No Comments

He said the measure was necessary for its ships when they were unable to avoid high-risk areas off Somalia, adding that the firm was keen on hiring British security companies which use former Special Air Service troops or Royal Marines.

Good on Cosco and hopefully other shipping companies will start looking hard at increasing their security investments. No idea what security companies they will use, but it does look like they are more interested in British companies at this time. Congrats to whatever company that is, and good job to the British maritime security sector for gaining such a reputation.

Which also coincides with my recent survey.  Most of the companies that guys wanted to work for, were British companies. So perhaps EOS Risk, MAST, or PVI could be in that pool of companies that Cosco is looking at?  If anyone has any inside scoop, let me know with an email or in the comments below. Although it also begs the question–what would be your status as a citizen, if you worked for a Chinese company? Can you work for them as an armed security guard, and do guys really want to work for them? I mean it is not unheard of to work on a boat that is owned and operated by multiple nationalities. But would guys have an issue working for a Chinese company like this? -Matt

China shipping giant to hire armed guards: report
Jul 14, 2011
Chinese shipping giant Cosco Shipping will spend $12 million on armed guards and other measures to protect its ships, a report said Thursday, after the UN warned of a growing threat from pirates.
The firm, China’s largest shipping company, said it would spend the money this year on bullet-proof vests and on-board equipment to deter attacks and protect its ships and crews in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
“We don’t want to injure people… but we have to protect ourselves,” Cosco Shipping’s chief operating officer Guo Jin told the South China Morning Post, describing the use of armed guards as a “difficult issue”.

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Afghanistan: Government Is Building A 7,000-man Security Force For Hajigak Mining Contracts

Jun 13

Posted by Matt in Afghanistan, China, India, Industry Talk | No Comments

“The companies (at Hajigak) need to be secure and the Afghan government is making all arrangements. Security at the work camps, the steel plant, movement of men and materials, everything will be taken care of by the government of Afghanistan. We will permanently locate 1,500 persons of the Afghan National Police at Hajigak.”
In case the contractor wants to bring in their own security, like for an “inner ring” as the Chinese have done, Shahrani says Kabul will be “flexible”.

Now this is interesting. So I am wondering how the Afghan government plans to fight the insurgency, and build a security force for these mines?  I thought we were training the police to actually ‘police’ in Afghanistan, and not be security guards for these mines? -Matt

Foreign companies fund private army: The Afghan Government is building up a 7,000-man privately funded militia to protect the country’s mining industry as it struggles to attract foreign investment while battling against a bloody insurgency. The Mining Protection Force will be funded entirely by foreign companies through licences they buy to develop iron, gold and copper mining projects.
Story here.

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New Afghanistan mining projects create opportunity for India
By Ajai Shukla
June 07, 2011
The new Great Game for the rights to mine Afghanistan’s enormous mineral wealth is gathering momentum. With the global mining industry, and especially Indian mining majors, already focused on the unfolding competition for the massive Hajigak iron-ore mine, Afghanistan has announced five potentially lucrative mines.
Speaking exclusively to Business Standard in Kabul, Afghanistan’s Minister for Mines Wahidullah Shahrani revealed, “After Hajigak, in July this year, I will put five major projects on tender: three copper and two gold deposits and, in February 2012, I will put a huge oil basin in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on tender.”
Immediate attention, though, is focused on the tender for Hajigak, a two-billion-tonne deposit of high-grade iron ore in the central province of Bamiyan, for which bids are required to be submitted by August 3. Shahrani said the winner of the Hajigak contract would be finalised by October.

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Industry Talk: China Establishes The Ministry Of Public Security–First ‘Legit’ PSC Formed

Apr 12

Posted by Matt in China, Industry Talk | No Comments

“Not only have many foreign countries legitimized private security guard services, but they have also made use of them for their national interests,” Wu told the Global Times on Monday.
“As the quality of its services is just as good as that provided by government organs and costs much less, many government agencies tend to hire security guards from private companies in order to spend less taxpayer money,” he added.

This is the quote I focused in on.  China has had explosive growth in recent years and the security market has really taken off there. China is also very active in Africa or places like Iraq and Afghanistan. They are not afraid to go into the difficult areas of the world, and establish an economic foothold. Private security is a key component of that economic foothold-both in China, and abroad.

What is interesting though, is that these guards at home are not armed from what I have read. I could be wrong there, and China is just not my expertise. If true, inevitably some enterprising criminals who happened to be armed will be taking advantage of this weakness in the system and rob this ‘new rich’ of China. Or just kidnap and ransom would be profitable in such a world. I know the Chinese are one of the top kidnapped folks in the world because of their expansion abroad. Having men at arms to defend against criminals or terrorists that are armed, is a necessary service to have in my view.

But what I wanted to focus in on was the licensing aspect of this, and the quote up top.  Of course China is looking at how the US and others use private security, and especially in war zones.  It would make total sense that they would have their own versions of Blackwater, or similar ‘blended workforce’ company. I say blended, because when it comes to Chinese interest, I doubt they would allow private industry to do whatever it wants overseas without some kind of infusion of government/military.

They probably are running into the same problems as the west when it comes to regulating a rapidly expanding security industry like this. Creating a government agency to manage that makes sense and is a natural progression of this type of thing. Interesting stuff, and I am always on the lookout for any news about the security industry throughout the world, and China is one of the big ones to watch. -Matt

First legit bodyguard company established
April 12 2011
By Li Mao
The country’s first legal security services company was established Sunday in Henan Province after the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) legitimized the business last year.
Huangjia Security Service Company, based in the provincial capital Zhengzhou, will train nearly 200 private bodyguards for over three months, said Lü Wenqi, the company’s founder. The company received the country’s first license to offer private security guard services last year. Read the rest of this entry »

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Iraq: Oil News–Local Security Firms Running A ‘Mafia’ To Artificially Inflate Prices

Dec 22

Posted by Matt in China, Industry Talk, Iraq | No Comments

     This is a great little article that gives a snap shot of the current oil security business in Iraq. It also mentions the Chinese security teams operating there and some of the issues they have faced. For a quick primer on this, I posted some stuff about China’s plans in Iraq.

     Basra is also really bad for this kind of thing. It is to be expected that these Iraqi companies would try to inflate prices and jerk around the oil companies.  Haliburton and others should not be surprised that these local companies would be like this. -Matt

rule dividerIraq: Oil News Local Security Firms Running A Mafia To Artificially Inflate Prices

WikiLeaks cables: Iraq security firms operate ‘mafia’ to inflate prices

Halliburton executive’s comments reveal tensions between security firms, oil companies and the Baghdad government

By Rajeev Syal

Tuesday 21 December 2010

Halliburton’s senior executive in Iraq accused private security companies of operating a “mafia” to artifically inflate their “outrageous prices”, according to a US cable.

Written by a senior diplomat in the US’s Basra office, the confidential document discloses the tensions between private security firms, oil companies and the Iraqi government as coalition forces withdraw from protecting foreign business interests.

John Naland, head of the provincial reconstruction team in Basra, wrote in January this year that several oil company representatives complained of “unwarranted high prices” given an improving security situation since 2008.

“Halliburton Iraq country manager decried a ‘mafia’ of these companies and their ‘outrageous’ prices, and said that they also exaggerate the security threat.

“Apart from the high costs for routine trips, he claimed that Halliburton often receives what he says are ‘questionable’ reports of vulnerability of employees to kidnapping and ransom. He said that he recently saw an internal memo from their security company which tasked its employees to emphasize the persistent danger faced by IOCs [international oil companies].” Naland wrote.

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Technology: China Used Cyber Privateers In Attack Against Google

Nov 29

Posted by Matt in China, Letter Of Marque, Technology | No Comments

     The hack was part of a computer sabotage campaign carried out by government operatives, private security experts and Internet outlaws recruited by the Chinese government. This has been going on since at least 2002, the cable said.

paragraph dividerTechnology: China Used Cyber Privateers In Attack Against Google

     I read this and the first thing that popped out at me was that China was contracting with private industry to attack an enemy in cyber space (the commons).  In this case, that enemy was Google.

     Also, just look at the list of folks they contracted with, and you wonder how is this not cyber privateering?  Perhaps the Chinese understand the concept of ‘creating an industry out of destroying your enemies’, much better than the west. It is also the Chinese who are doing this, and not some poor third world country.

     So this is the next thought that came to mind.  If China is doing this, then why couldn’t the US use the same tool of cyber warfare against the Chinese, or even against a group like Wikileaks?  Hell, we can even be open about it and issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal to individuals and companies in order to make this happen. Just a thought, and hey, China is doing it. lol -Matt

rule dividerTechnology: China Used Cyber Privateers In Attack Against Google

Chinese Government Ordered Hack on Google Servers: Wikileaks

By Clint Boulton2010-11-29

Wikileaks gave the New York Times a diplomatic cable that shows the Chinese government was responsible for the hack on Google’s Gmail system.

China’s government was indeed behind the hack on Google’s Gmail system earlier this year according to a cable captured by the controversial Wikileaks organization.

Wikileaks, which butters its bread collecting secret documents and seeding them in media outlets, snagged 250,000 American diplomatic cables dating back three years and released some of them to the New York Times and other media outlets.

The Times cited one of the cables as proof that “China’s Politburo directed the intrusion into Google’s computer systems in that country, a Chinese contact told the American Embassy in Beijing in January.”

The hack was part of a computer sabotage campaign carried out by government operatives, private security experts and Internet outlaws recruited by the Chinese government. This has been going on since at least 2002, the cable said.

A Google spokesperson told eWEEK: “We aren’t going to be able to comment. As you know, since we revealed this incident in January, we haven’t been speculating as to the parties responsible.”

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Executive Protection: The Explosive Growth Of The Close Protection Industry In China

Sep 22

Posted by Matt in China, Executive Protection, Industry Talk | 3 Comments

When Zhe, a national-level kung fu coach and former government security agent, started his company eight years ago, aiming to serve a high-end, wealthy clientele, he recalls there were few if any competitors in the game. By the end of last year, according to the Ministry of Public Security, the private security business had grown into a $1.2 billion industry with about 2,767 companies employing more than two million security guards. 

*****

    Wow, I had no idea it was this big?  And what is really interesting about this, is how this will translate into China’s presence throughout the world?  If the rich in China are reaching out to the close protection industry, then I would imagine that some of this relationship would spill overseas into some of the places overseas.  Especially in the war zones or in countries that China’s executives and businessmen might have some concerns in.

    I have to think that out of those 2,767 companies providing over two million security guards, that there are a few who have interests in overseas work.  I wouldn’t be surprised that a few of them might even consider themselves a PMC and are seeking to enter into this area of contracting in order to support China’s policy goals throughout the world. That’s if they have been watching how the US uses companies.

    Finally, it looks like they are going through a period of regulation concerns over how their industry is monitored and kept in check.  Nothing new there, and this is a problem world wide.  Some countries do better than others. Still, there will always be issues and especially when governments are involved with the process. lol -Matt

As China’s wealthy grow in numbers, so do their protectors

Bodyguard services are big hit

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As China’s wealthy grow in numbers, so do their protectors

By Keith B. RichburgSunday, September 19, 2010

BEIJING – Perhaps the most visible sign of the explosion of private wealth in China tries hard not to be visible at all – the private bodyguard.

They work as drivers or nannies, or blend into a businessman’s coterie looking like a secretary, a briefcase carrier or a toady. Unlike bodyguards in the United States, they are generally not tall and imposing; in fact, many are women, on the theory that females in the retinue attract less attention.

And also unlike in the United States, they are never armed, since private citizens in China are largely prohibited from owning firearms. Rather, Chinese bodyguards are martial arts experts, trained to disarm or subdue an attacker with a few quick thrusts, jabs and hand chops.

“In China, we don’t need people who know guns,” said Michael Zhe, president of Beijing VSS Security Consulting Ltd, which started in 2002 and counts itself as the country’s oldest private security firm. “Bodyguards can use one or two blows to stop an attacker.”

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Aviation: Iceland’s Keflavik Airbase To Become Privatized ‘Top Gun’ School

Sep 2

Posted by Matt in Aviation, China, Iceland, Russia, Training | No Comments

SU-27s are an important part of Russian and Chinese air power but Mr ten Cate insists that ECA is not aiming to imitate either. “Russian fighter jets have been sold around the world so they are widely used,” he says. “We’re a generic enemy.”

A recruitment drive is under way for up to 45 qualified fighter pilots, as well as maintenance technicians. An advertisement was placed in an aviation trade publication last month offering pilots a salary of €160,000 a year – more than all but the most senior commercial airline pilots.

*****

     Pretty cool, and check out the salary the pilots of these things will get? But what is really interesting is that this company will have a very unique capability.  By constantly wargaming and learning the limitations and capabilities of these aircraft, they will be able to learn the best way to use them.  That information will definitely be used in future planning and training, along with the incredible war gaming these folks will be able to offer.

     The other interesting angle is that the only articles that I have found about this, is the FT ones I posted below, and a Russian Times article that bashed the hell out of the idea.  Of course they called this company a ‘private army’ and mercenary and whatever ‘evil’ western name they could use to fire up any criticism of the deal. A little miffed maybe? lol No commentary from China yet.

     Interesting move, and the jobs it will produce locally will be great for Iceland. It will also help them strategically, by setting up a school that will help their air force, and friendly air forces throughout the world who wish to gain a jet fighting capability for defeating Chinese and Russian aircraft. Not a bad gig for ECA Program Ltd. -Matt

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67212b2c b4cb 11df b0a6 00144feabdc0Aviation: Icelands Keflavik Airbase To Become Privatized Top Gun School

ECA has agreed to buy up to 33 Sukhoi Su-27 fighters. 

Cold war base to be private ‘Top Gun’ school

By Andrew Ward in Stockholm

August 30 2010

Iceland’s Keflavik airbase, a bulwark of western security during the cold war, would be home to two squadrons of Russian-made fighter jets under plans being considered by Reykjavik.

The Icelandic government is in talks about renting the airbase to a private company that says it is buying up to €1.2bn ($1.5bn) of Sukhoi warplanes from Belarus for use as a mock enemy in military training exercises.

ECA Program says it has already signed up five air forces keen to test their pilots and jets against an aircraft most commonly flown by the Russian and Chinese militaries.

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