Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister, visits Paris on 27 June 2016 to participate in the third Saudi-French Joint Committee, co-chaired by the young Prince and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. The Deputy Crown Prince will also meet with French President Francois Hollande, …
Read More »What we’ve been reading this week…
Welcome to a new, occasional, series of posts where we share with our readers the things that have caught our attention over the past week, and which inspire and inform us in reporting and analyzing space activities throughout the Middle East. First up, and with Ramadan being observed by Muslims …
Read More »Satellites and the Middle East’s cyber wars
The latest round of cyber skirmishes that have erupted between Iranian and Saudi Arabian hackers is a timely reminder that Middle Eastern satellites and their operators are vulnerable to more sophisticated cyber attacks. ThorGroup’s Dr. John B. Sheldon explores this often discussed yet poorly understood threat to space systems. On …
Read More »Saudi Telecommunication Company partners with Intelsat to expand broadband access in KSA
Intelsat S.A., headquartered in Luxembourg and operator of one of the world’s largest commercial communication satellite fleets, announced that the Saudi Telecommunication Company (STC), a provider of integrated mobile, fixed and broadband communications services, has expanded its relationship with Intelsat and entered into a new contract for satellite services on …
Read More »Lockheed Martin, Arabsat, and KACST complete technical review of ARABSAT-6 and SaudiGeoSat-1
Lockheed Martin, Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat), and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia have successfully completed a comprehensive technical review of ARABSAT-6A and Hellas-Sat-4/SaudiGeoSat-1, two satellites that will provide television, internet, telephone and secure communications, to customers in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. …
Read More »Arabsat to broadcast Algerian DTV channel over Maghreb and North-West Africa
The Algerian channel DTV and Arab Satellite Communication Organization -Arabsat – signed a contract today to re-launch and broadcast the DTV channel over the Maghreb and north-west Africa on Arabsat satellite Badr-5, where all viewers in the Maghreb and North West African countries will be able to watch DTV around …
Read More »Orbital ATK still in Saudi Arabian reconnaissance satellite bid
U.S. satellite and rocket manufacturer Orbital ATK has partnered with Riyadh-based Rakaa Holding to support its efforts to sell electro-optical reconnaissance satellites to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is believed that Saudi Arabia is in the market for two to eight high-resolution reconnaissance satellites over the coming years, and …
Read More »Spacepower in the Middle East: The Paradox of Strategic Depth and Transparency
Tragically, the Middle East has been the backdrop for changes in the character of war over the past few decades. With the rapid dissemination of high-resolution Earth observation satellites throughout the region, even more changes in the character of war are in store, argues ThorGroup’s Dr. John B. Sheldon. The unique, …
Read More »Saudi Arabia and Belarus agree on space cooperation
Saudi Arabian officials visited Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, on 16 May 2016 for discussions on various topics of mutual interest with their Belarusian counterparts. The discussions resulted in a number of agreements between the two countries, including one that commits Belarus providing Saudi Arabia with optics technologies for …
Read More »Securing reliable satellite navigation in the Middle East
It is difficult to overstate the critical importance of satellite navigation for the Middle East, yet the service is vulnerable to disruption. ThorGroup’s Dr. John B. Sheldon examines the threats to satellite navigation in the region, and ways to mitigate their worst effects. When Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized …
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