Periscope Depth 3/30/2023

Cyber Deal Deepens Russia-Iran Ties
Julian Lark

The Wall Street Journal reported on March 27 that Russia has begun providing advanced digital surveillance capabilities to Iran, the latest step in a long-running cyber partnership.

In 2021, the two countries signed an cybersecurity agreement that covered defensive cyber cooperation, technology transfer, combined training and coordination at multilateral forums. At the time, Moscow withheld offensive cyber capabilities over concerns about their resale by Tehran or its agents.

This no longer appears to be a concern, following a year of intensified cooperation following Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine and subsequent harsh sanctions that have hindered Moscow’s domestic defense industry and sent it looking abroad for ammunition and other weapons.

In January 2023, two Russian-flagged ships, the Musa Jalil and the Begey, crossed the Caspian Sea from Iran to Russia with around 100 million bullets and 300,000 artillery shells to replenish Russian stocks. An unnamed source told Sky News (U.K.) that the shipment also included rocket launcher and mortar ammunition.

Turkey Strengthens Drone Market Position With New Shipborne UAV
Aja Melville

Turkish firm Baykar has just unveiled the Bayraktar TB3 drone, the latest version of the successful Bayraktar TB2 uncrewed aircraft. The air vehicle is larger, including foldable wings for shipborne operations, with improved capabilities and greater payload than its predecessor. Baykar says the TB3 will operate from the Turkish flagship Anadolu, an amphibious assault ship that Turkey plans to turn into a drone carrier.

The drone carrier program advanced after the U.S. ejected Turkey from the F-35 fighter program in response to its purchase of advanced Russian S-400 air defense systems. This left Ankara scrambling to fill a capabilities gap, since it had planned to operate F-35Bs from the Anadolu, resulting in the accelerated development of indigenous platforms including the TB3 drone and TF-X fighter jet.

The Anadolu is expected to be able to carry 30 drones initially, although this could be increased to 100 through the use of the well deck, according to Turkish Defense Agency (SSB) officials. Turkey also plans to operate its new Kizilelma uncrewed fighter jet and Hurjet light combat aircraft from the ship.

Nordic Countries Eye Tighter Air Force Integration
Tom Freebairn

On March 16, the chiefs of the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish air forces gathered at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to sign a declaration of intent to unify their services into a cohesive joint air defense system. The agreement, the first of its kind, calls for enhanced cooperation and interoperability. In particular, the project will emphasize integrated operational command and execution, flexible deployment, shared airspace monitoring and expanded joint training and exercises.

Due to their small size and dangerous neighborhood, the Nordic countries have long worked together closely on defense and security matters. Without NATO security guarantees, Finland and Sweden in particular pursued close ties. With Helsinki and Stockholm seeking membership in the alliance following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there are new opportunities for closer collaboration throughout the region.

Discussions of Nordic military cooperation have taken place since the end of World War II, although hampered in many cases by Swedish and Finnish neutrality. Finland, with its long border with the Soviet Union, found itself limited in the types of partnerships it could pursue, while Sweden continued its longstanding neutral policy. Norway, Iceland and Denmark were founding members of NATO, creating a divide in the region.

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