Blistering heatwave sweeps South Asia as mercury in Pakistan soars to 50C

AFP 13 May 2022

South Asia was in the grip of an extreme heatwave on Friday, with parts of Pakistan reaching a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius as officials warned of acute water shortages and a health threat.

Swathes of Pakistan and neighbouring India have been smothered by high temperatures since April in extreme weather that the World Meteorological Organization has warned is consistent with climate change. On Friday, the city of Jacobabad in Sindh province hit 50C (122 degrees Fahrenheit), the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said, with temperatures forecast to remain high until Sunday.

“It’s like fire burning all around,” said labourer Shafi Mohammad, who is from a village on the outskirts of Jacobabad where residents struggle to find reliable access to drinking water. Nationwide, the PMD alerted temperatures were between 6C and 9C above normal, with the capital Islamabad — as well as provincial hubs Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar – recording temperatures around 40C on Friday.

“This year we have jumped from winter right into summer,” said PMD chief forecaster Zaheer Ahmad Babar. Pakistan has endured heightened eatwaves since 2015, he said, especially in upper Sindh province and southern Punjab province.

“The intensity is increasing, and the duration is increasing, and the frequency is increasing,” he told AFP. Jacobabad nurse Bashir Ahmed says that, for the past six years, heatstroke cases in the city have been diagnosed earlier in the year — starting in May, rather than June or July. “This is just increasing,” he said.

Far worse may be on the horizon for South Asia as climate change continues apace, top climate scientists have said.

‘Take cover’

Punjab province irrigation spokesman Adnan Hassan said the Indus river — Pakistan’s key waterway — had shrunk by 65 per cent “due to a lack of rains and snow” this year. Sheep have reportedly died from heatstroke and dehydration in the Cholistan Desert of Punjab — Pakistan’s most populous province, which also serves as the national breadbasket.

“There is a real danger of a shortfall in food and crop supply this year in the country should the water shortage persist,” Hassan said. Pakistan’s climate minister Sherry Rehman this week warned residents in the megacity of Lahore “to take cover for the hottest hours of the day”.

The heatwave has also ravaged India, with temperatures in parts of Rajasthan hitting 48.1C on Thursday and expected to hit 46C in Delhi anytime from Sunday. Suman Kumari, 19, a student who lives in northwest Delhi, told AFP: “It was so hot today that I felt exhausted and sick while returning from college in a bus. The bus seemed like an oven. With no air conditioning, it was sizzling hot inside,” she said.

Most schools have declared summer holidays from Monday for junior classes. Heatwaves were also predicted in parts of northwest India including areas of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — collectively home to hundreds of millions of people — over the coming days.

But some respite is expected when the southwest monsoon makes its advance into the Andaman Sea and adjoining Bay of Bengal around May 15, said the India Meteorological Department. As power outages exacerbate heatwaves, India plans to lease abandoned coal pits to private mining companies, a government official said on Friday, in an effort to ramp up production.

Pakistan has also faced severe power outages, with some rural areas getting as few as six hours of electricity a day.

Rapid glacier melt

Home to 220 million — Pakistan says it is responsible for less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But it ranks as the nation eighth most affected by extreme weather events, according to a 2021 study by environmental group Germanwatch.

Extreme heat can also trigger cascading disasters that could pummel Pakistan’s generally impoverished population. The mountainous portions of the country are home to more than 7,000 glaciers, a number larger than any region outside the poles.

Quickly melting glaciers can swell lakes, which then burst their banks and unleash torrents of ice, rock and water in events known as glacial lake outburst floods. Last weekend a key highway bridge in the Gilgit-Baltistan region was swept away in flash flooding caused by glacier melt.

In April, officials warned there were 33 lakes in Pakistan in danger of unleashing similar dangerous deluges.

(AFP)

Leaked China database identifies thousands of Uighur Muslims detained in Xinjiang

Nursimangul Abdureshid was born in the Kashgar region of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and moved to Turkey to pursue an academic career. Her family stopped calling her in 2018. But a leaked list of thousands of detained Uyghurs has helped her shed some light on the whereabouts of her missing relatives.

MACHISMO IS FEMICIDE

Mexico president vows justice as report says teen raped and murdered


A protester holds a picture of 18-year-old student Debanhi Escobar whose death in northern Mexico has unleashed public anger (AFP/Julio Cesar AGUILAR) (Julio Cesar AGUILAR)

Fri, May 13, 2022, 12:59 PM·2 min read

Mexico's president on Friday promised justice to the parents of a teenager whose death triggered a public outcry, after an independent forensic report concluded that she was raped and murdered.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador met with the family of 18-year-old Debanhi Escobar, whose body was found last month in a motel water tank 12 days after she disappeared.

"I spoke with them and made a commitment to help clarify what happened and to ensure that there is no impunity," Lopez Obrador said in the northern city of Monterrey, where the incident happened.

They are "very good people, a teacher, his wife, and as parents they are very hurt, broken," he told reporters.

Escobar's death is now being investigated as femicide, after originally being registered as a disappearance, Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejia said.

The forensic report commissioned by the family concluded that the law student suffered "a violent homicidal death," and her body showed signs of a sexual violence, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais, which obtained the document.

Escobar's family delivered the document to the state prosecutor's office on May 2, the daily reported.

The official autopsy report, which has not been published, did not mention signs of sexual violence, according to El Pais.

Previously, prosecutors said that Escobar died of a blow to the head and that they were not ruling anything out, including an accident or murder.

An eerie photo taken on the night that Escobar disappeared showing her standing in the dark by the roadside after an altercation with a taxi driver went viral.

She quickly became a symbol for an angry women's rights movement in a country where around 10 women are murdered every day.

The attorney general's office in the northern state of Nuevo Leon, whose capital is Monterrey, dismissed two public prosecutors for "errors" and "omissions" in the case.

Theories about the teenager's fate have spread on social networks and in some media, encouraged by videos released or leaked by prosecutors.

Her father Mario Escobar said in video posted late Thursday that if the prosecutor's office was behind the leak of the forensic report to the media, then its heads should resign.

In 2021 alone, Mexico registered 3,751 murders of women, most of which are still unpunished.

jla-dr-wd

FRIDAY THE 13TH

Jacques DeMolay Thou Art Avenged

King Phillip of France ordered the arrest of the Templars and their leader Jacques DeMolay on Friday, October 13, 1307. The day lives on in infamy as the origin of 'unlucky' Friday the 13th.

The leader of the order, Jacques de Molay, was one of those who confessed to heresy, but later recanted.

He was burned at the stake in Paris in 1314, the same year that the Pope dissolved the order.

Jacques de Molay (est. 1244–5/1249–50 – 18 March 1314), a minor Burgundian noble, served as the 23rd and officially last Grand Master of the Knights Templar.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Jacques DeMolay Thou Art Avenged (plawiuk.blogspot.com)

Colombia elections: the spectre of political assassination

Lina VANEGAS
Fri, 13 May 2022



Conservative candidate Federico Gutierrez has called for his presidential rival Gustavo Petro to be protected, while also denouncing threats against himself

 (AFP/Schneyder MENDOZA)More

Every time Colombian leftist presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, who leads opinion polls, steps out in public the scene is striking: he is surrounded by a wall of nervous-looking bodyguards brandishing bullet-proof shields.

The spectre of assassination is haunting the electoral campaign in which the left has a real chance of taking power for the first time in a country that has a history of political careers ending in a hail of bullets.

In the 20th century, five presidential candidates were assassinated by opponents, drug traffickers or paramilitaries working in complicity with the state.

Three were from the left or far left, and the other two were liberals.

The country was gripped by more than five decades of conflict between the state and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that ended with a 2016 peace deal.

And while the level of violence has dropped since then, Colombia remains wracked by a multi-faceted conflict involving drug traffickers and a multitude of armed groups.

- 'Very high' risk -

"The spectre of death accompanies us," Petro told AFP in February. "It does not stop appearing to me like a flash, when I'm in a crowd, when I'm on a platform and there is a full square, someone could shoot from anywhere."

Earlier this month, the 62-year-old senator, a former left-wing guerrilla, had to call off a public appearance after his team received "first-hand information" about an assassination plot by two paramilitaries.

Two days later he did appear in the northern city of Cucuta behind the bullet-proof shields.

His 60-strong bodyguard has since been beefed up while local security forces have provided extra officers for his numerous trips to provincial areas that have contributed to his successful campaign.

The assassination risk "is very high", according to Felipe Botero, a political science professor at the Andes University.

"They won't just (try to) kill Petro the candidate but it is also highly likely they will try to assassinate him if he wins the presidency," Botero told AFP.

His running mate Francia Marquez, a black environmentalist, has also received threats.

Conservative candidate Federico Gutierrez has spoken of his concern, not just for Petro but also himself, having claimed to have been threatened by the Marxist National Liberation Army (ELN), the last remaining recognized rebel group in the country.

"Take care of Federico Gutierrez," said former president Alvaro Uribe, who escaped a FARC assassination attempt using explosives in 2002.

- Fear of the left -

In the history of modern Colombia a date that stands out is April 9, 1948 when liberal presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was shot dead on a street in Bogota.

His murder inflamed the city and set off a bloody internal conflict that, more than a half century later, has still not been extinguished.

Four decades later, communist Jaime Pardo Leal (1987), liberal Luis Carlos Galan (1989), and leftists Bernardo Jaramillo and Carlos Pizarro (1990), all presidential hopefuls, were assassinated.

Alexander Gamba, a professor at the Saint Thomas University, says there are three reasons for a "possible" attack on Petro.

Firstly, Colombia has "violence professionals" like the almost two dozen mercenaries who took part in the assassination of Haiti's president last year.

Secondly, Petro's opponents have claimed his victory would be "a huge national catastrophe", which has contributed to an atmosphere in which his assassination would almost be presented as a "patriotic act."

Lastly, the country has "never had political change" involving the left wing, which conservatives continue to link to the armed rebellion.

"In a country like Colombia, marked by political violence and with the record for the murder of social leaders, we obviously take all threats against Mr Petro seriously," said Alfonso Prada, one of the candidate's advisors.

"If we hope to run the country, we need to be capable of looking after our own security," he added.

For its part, the outgoing government of President Ivan Duque, has said Petro "is one of the best protected people" in the country.

lv/vel/das/ll/bc/bgs

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M
Lack of competition fueled US baby formula shortage


Grocery store shelves where baby formula is typically stocked are nearly empty in Washington (AFP/Stefani Reynolds) (Stefani Reynolds)


Delphine TOUITOU
Fri, May 13, 2022

There's no end in sight to America's shortage of baby formula -- and the crisis has highlighted the lack of competition that has spread to all parts of the US economy, even essential ones such as food for infants.

The problem "is not going to solve itself in a day or week," Brian Deese, a top White House economic advisor, told CNN Friday.

He was unable to say how long the crisis would last.

Initially caused by supply chain blockages and a lack of production workers due to the pandemic, the shortage was exacerbated in February when, after the death of two infants, manufacturer Abbott announced a "voluntary recall" for formula made at its factory in Michigan and shut down that location.

The shortage has left many parents frantic and fearful their infants may starve. Formula is a necessity for many families, particularly in low-income households where mothers have to return to work almost immediately after giving birth and cannot breastfeed.

A further issue is that prices for the formula that remains have skyrocketed.

An investigation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared Abbott's formula but made 483 "observations" about the factory, Abbott said in a statement Friday.

"We immediately began implementing corrective actions and subject to FDA approval, we could restart our Sturgis, Mich., site within two weeks," the company said.

The FDA promised to announce plans next week that would allow, among other things, the import of formula produced overseas.

- 'Matter of weeks' -

The FDA currently bans most foreign infant formula, including products made in Europe, not because of health concerns but due to labeling and packaging standards.

"We believe these and other ongoing efforts will help dramatically improve the supply in the US in a matter of weeks," FDA head Robert Califf said Friday on Twitter.

US President Joe Biden also said it "will be a matter of weeks or less" to start fully refilling shelves.

He said that stock levels in stores had begun to stabilize this week.

According to the data collection agency Datasembly, as of Tuesday, 43 percent of the usual formula supply was out of stock, up 10 percent from the April average.

Deese stressed that safety was key in solving the formula shortage and said that Biden's administration had been running on all cylinders to try and provide enough supply.

Accused of a wait-and-see attitude or even indifference, the White House unveiled some measures Thursday to tackle the issue, but the scope seemed limited.

Biden said Friday that his administration had intervened as soon as it was aware of the problem, but that they had to "move with caution as well as speed."

- Just three manufacturers -

"The White House... is considering all sorts of options for helping parents, which is good," Amanda Starbuck, a research director at the Food & Water Watch group, a food safety NGO, told AFP.

She said the crisis was indicative of the problem with extreme concentration throughout the food production chain.

Three US companies control 95 percent of formula sales, according to Starbuck.

"It matters a little less if... we're talking about soda or chips. But it matters a lot more when we're talking about essential things like milk," she said.

The current situation is the result of a decades-long movement. The concentration has benefited US companies that, in the absence of competition, have been able to agree on prices among themselves, Starbuck explained.

"But the blame is not completely on these companies," she said. "Why has our government allowed for... just three companies to control so much?"

Not to mention that the companies' giant size does not make them more efficient.

"It's not efficient when there's a single recall that affects every single parent across the country who needs to feed their child," she said.

Starbuck said it's time to turn back the clock, even if it means dismantling the huge corporations.

"What we need to do now is pass comprehensive antitrust legislation in order to better scrutinize companies, to break up companies that have gotten so big that they're abusing their market power," she said.

Dt/jul/to/ec

Edmonton recognizes 'Pride Corner' on Whyte Avenue

Author of the article:Hamdi Issawi
Publishing date:May 13, 2022 

Claire Pearen sets up signs at Pride Corner on Friday, May 13, 2022 in Edmonton. After a year of sustained counter-protesting of religious extremism, the City of Edmonton recognizes the corner of 104 Street and Whyte Ave as Pride Corner. 

PHOTO BY GREG SOUTHAM /Postmedia

Local demonstrators received official recognition from the City of Edmonton for a year-long effort that protested against hateful messages.

More than 100 people gathered at the southeast corner of Whyte Avenue and 104 Street Friday night to celebrate a City of Edmonton proclamation that recognized the area as Pride Corner, where protestors have held dance parties to counter street preachers who organizers say have promoted homophobic and transphobic views.

Amid dancing, music, and the occasional honk of support from drivers passing by, Jade Connors joined the celebration by dancing and waving a pair of silk fans.

Over the past year, Connors said, the community supporting the effort has grown, thrived and welcomed queer youth in a space reclaimed to make them feel safe and seen.

“It’s a space of hope and a space where the next generation is going to have way less challenges than the previous one,” Connors said.

In a 2017 update to its plan to prevent and end homelessness, the City of Edmonton recognized that LGBTQ2S+ youth are particularly vulnerable to housing instability and homelessness due to family conflict.

In a Friday news release, Erica Posteraro, one of the Pride Corner organizers, said the team behind the protest saw a need to push back against harmful narratives and create space for unhoused and queer youth to feel welcome and express themselves freely.

“The positive power of having a safe space has allowed beautiful friendships to blossom,” Posteraro said, “and having an official proclamation tells us what every 2SLGBTQIA+ person needs to hear: that we are seen, heard, accepted and supported.”

Connors said that the proclamation serves to recognize the time, energy and effort of advocates and members of the community who’ve consistently worked to counter hate.

“Having the city recognize that is a gift because it does create a queer space and outlines some of our queer history in the city,” Connors said

An online petition to officially recognize Pride Corner has collected more than 10,600 signatures and is aiming to reach 15,000.

There was no street preaching observed at the time of the celebration.

hissawi@postmedia.com

BREAD RIOTS LEAD TO REVOLUTION

Soaring bread prices spark protests and shop fires in Iran - IRNA

(Reuters) - Soaring bread prices have triggered protests in Iran in which some shops were set on fire, prompting police to arrest scores of "provocateurs", the official IRNA news agency said on Friday.

© Reuters/WANA NEWS AGENCY FILE PHOTO

An Iranian man holds stacks of bread as he walks along a street in Tehran

The protests were triggered by a cut in government subsidies for imported wheat that caused price hikes as high as 300 percent for a variety of flour-based staples.

Iran’s official inflation rate is around 40%, and some estimate it is over 50%. Almost half Iran’s 82 million population are now below the poverty line.

The government plans to offer digital coupons in the next couple of months for limited amounts of bread at subsidised prices. The rest will be offered at market rates. Other food items will be added later.

There were scattered protests in a number of cities, according to IRNA, in which crowds chanted slogans against price rises and some shops were set on fire.

In total, 22 people were arrested.

"Despite attempts by provocateurs to incite protesters, the rallies ended with the intervention of security forces,” said IRNA, adding that calm had been restored.

The largest protest was in Dezful in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan, where IRNA said an estimated 300 people were dispersed by security forces. It said 15 people were arrested for "trying to create chaos" in the city.

About 200 people demonstrated in Shahr-e Kord in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in western Iran on Thursday, IRNA said.

“The rally ended at the request of law enforcement agents to prevent thugs from exploiting the situation,” IRNA said.

In the first signs of discontent over price rises, Iranian media last week reported disrupted internet services, an apparent attempt to stop the use of social media to organise rallies and disseminate videos.

While Friday's IRNA report was the first acknowledgement of the protests by Iran’s official media, videos uploaded by social media users this week have showed protests in Dezful and other cities chanting slogans against price hikes and the country’s leaders.

Reuters could not independently authenticate the videos.

Wheat prices have drastically increased globally since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, adding to the cost of subsidies in Iran.

Iranian officials have also blamed the price hikes on the smuggling of subsidised bread into neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Iranians protest over government price hikes

President Ebrahim Raisi visits a supermarket in Terhan as protests erupt across Iran against sharp rises in the cost of basic goods -
Agence France-Presse


May 13, 2022 — Tehran (AFP)

Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in cities across Iran to protest the government's decision to raise the prices of essential goods, state media reported Friday.

Earlier this week, President Ebrahim Raisi announced a series of measures to tackle the country's economic woes, including changing a subsidy system and increasing the prices of several staples including cooking oil, chicken and eggs.

Iran's economy has suffered under stringent sanctions reimposed by the United States after it unilaterally pulled out of a deal with world powers on Iran's nuclear programme in 2018.

Official figures put inflation at around 40 percent.

Iranians reacted to the move -- which took effect on Friday -- with protests in several cities over the past two days, state news agency IRNA reported.

More than 20 people were arrested in the southwestern cities of Dezful and Yasuj, where protesters called on authorities to reverse their decisions.

Demonstrators in the southern city of Izeh attacked shops and tried to set fire to a mosque, the news agency said.

Protests broke out soon after Raisi's announcement late Monday of changes to the subsidy system introduced by his predecessor Hasan Rouhani in 2018, which covered several basic goods.

But he pledged that the prices of bread, petrol and medicines would remain unchanged.

To mitigate the impact of the price increases, Raisi said monthly payments of between $10 and $13 would be disbursed for each family member of low-income households.

- 'Horrible' -

But for some residents of Tehran, the allowance won't do much.

Azadeh, a 43 year old housewife, said the changes were "horrible".

"The new prices have limited my family's purchasing power for everything (...) prices of food items, fruits and other consumables have risen.", she told AFP in the north of the capital.

The price of cooking oil has almost quadrupled since Raisi's announcement, while the price of eggs and chicken nearly doubled.

Mohammad, a 40 year old private sector employee, said prices were rising "by the hour".

"How can people live like this?" he asked.

Following Raisi's announcement, people rushed to supermarkets to stock up on goods, videos shared on social media and footage broadcast on state television showed.

The president visited one of the main meat and poultry distribution centres in south Tehran and a supermarket in the city centre, his website said.

First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber stressed that rising prices were a global problem not limited to Iran.

"Prices in the world have changed... the situation in the region has created problems in the prices of products and the prices of basic goods were set accordingly," IRNA quoted him as saying.

Iran's economic woes have sparked several waves of protests in recent years, most notably in November 2019 following an unannounced hike in fuel prices.

Iranian authorities said 230 people were killed in protest-related violence but experts working for the United Nations put the death toll at 400.

An Engine Replacement Could Kill Europe’s Huge F-35 Plans

If the decision to replace the engine for the F-35A is implemented, countries flying F-35s will find themselves forced into unforeseen and overly complicated supply chains.

by Gaja Pellegrini-Bettoli

With the war in Ukraine and Europe’s ensuing plans to develop its own unified defense force, we are reminded daily why it’s important for the United States to encourage its European allies to stick with the F-35 acquisition program.

Yet current proposals in America to replace the F-35 Lightning II’s propulsion system with an entirely new engine would require an additional supply and logistics chain for the newer jets. While European countries do not have a unified policy on F-35 purchases, the resulting impact on cost and efficiency caused by an engine replacement may still seriously impede future European sales.

Eight partners have shared costs and take part in F-35 production: the United States, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Norway, Denmark, and Canada. Turkey was ousted from the program a few years ago for buying Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles. Moreover, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Belgium, and Poland are purchasing F-35s through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. Finland—currently a non-aligned nation—and Switzerland are pursuing similar purchases. All of this indicates that many European countries are seeking U.S. support.

The F-35 deserves much credit; it’s called the “quarterback of the skies” for its intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance capabilities. The three variants—the F-35A for traditional runways, the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35Bs used by the U.S. Marine Corps and some European navies, and the F-35C, which is used by the U.S. Navy for carrier arrested landings—are enhanced by their interoperability, in which common parts allow for integrated supply chains.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Air Force-led Adaptive Engine Transition Program seeks to replace Pratt & Whitney’s F-135 engine, which is only technically feasible for the conventional landing “A” variant. This would create dissimilar engine plants for the F-35 fleet. For instance, in Italy and the U.K., this would lead to three separate logistics and maintenance pipelines for the older F-35As, newer F-35As, and F-35Bs.

The F-35 is considered the most advanced fighter in the world. Germany’s historic decision two months ago to acquire thirty-five jets, replacing its aging Tornado fighters, was likely motivated by the F-35’s capability to carry nuclear weapons and its stand-off ability to detect and engage targets at long range. Interoperability with F-35 partner nations is a big plus. For Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, and Switzerland, Germany’s decision will result in streamlined battlefield communications, as F-35 onboard computers can network with other aircraft.

According to the U.S. Defense Department, such "integrated deterrence" will be a key element in future defense strategies and is central to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s plan for the American military. A Pentagon official described it as "integrated across domains,” involving nuclear, cyber, space, informational, and other operating environments—all of which are accessible or visible from the F-35’s cockpit. Most importantly, the Pentagon believes such integration must be inclusive of U.S. “allies and partners, which are the real asymmetric advantage that the United States has over any other competitor or potential adversary."

Forcing two different engine systems for F-35As in the middle of the jet’s lifespan doesn’t fit this U.S. integration theme. Not only do European Union allies appear not to get a vote, but the “adaptive engine” is incompatible with the other variants.

Consider also a key European gap in F-35 enthusiasm. Germany’s choice has angered France—still upset about last year’s canceled submarine deal with Australia—which perceives the F-35 as a symbol of U.S. power within NATO, according to researcher Paul Maurice at the French Institute of International Relations in Paris. More importantly, Germany’s decision sparked fears of an end to the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System, an entirely new European project designed to replace the French Rafale and the German Eurofighter by 2040.

In practice, if the decision to replace the engine for the F-35A is implemented, countries flying F-35s will find themselves forced into unforeseen and overly complicated supply and logistics chains. This would be an obstacle to foreign military sales.

At a Pentagon briefing last month, U.S. Air Force officials mentioned a nearly $290 million increase in its 2023 defense budget to fund the F-35 alternative engine program. That would translate into significantly more Euros for European taxpayers during the aircraft’s remaining approximately fifteen-year production cycle—a reality that’s flying under the radar so far.

At a time when security threats in Europe are so high, the United States and its European allies should be going out of their way to mutually support defense interoperability and efficiency. Although we’ve seen an overwhelming preference for the F-35 so far, America must not forget the geopolitical sacrifices being made by some to accommodate the aircraft’s operational and economic advantages. If those advantages are whittled away, then F-35 sales—along with the jet’s integrated deterrence potential—may be significantly reduced as European nations pursue other procurement options.

Gaja Pellegrini-Bettoli is a Rome-based dual American-Italian citizen, political analyst, independent journalist and published book author. A former United Nations and European Commission press officer, and assistant at the European Parliament, her focus areas are defense, U.S. politics, and the Middle East and Afghanistan. She served as a regular guest analyst on Italy’s national news channel for the 2020 U.S. elections. She holds a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics, and is fluent in four languages.

Image: Flickr.

The Saab 35 Had Just 1 Mission: Win A War Against Russia In The Sky

By Peter Suciu

Saab 35. Image Credit: Creative Commons.


The Saab 35 is not a household name or well known in any generalist military or aviation circles. And yet, during the Cold War, it seems clear Sweden once again locked in its reputation as a top designer and operator of fighter jets. And the Saab 35 needed to be: The Saab 35 Draken was one of the first fully supersonic aircraft to have been deployed in Western Europe. It was developed as a replacement for the first generation of Swedish fighter jets including the Saab J29 Tunnan and Saab 32 Lansen. It was a combat aircraft that could intercept bombers at high altitudes, yet still, be able to engage enemy fighters.


It proved to be one of the most capable dogfighters of its era, even if it never actually saw combat. Here are the key facts you need to know and remember:

Post War Fighter

Development of the interceptor began soon after the Second World War, and it was actually a radical leap forward in aviation technology. Engineers at Saab had a radical idea for a new all-weather supersonic jet fighter, which was to become the Saab 35 Draken.

Slow Development

While designed for speed, the development of the Saab 35 was slow going for the era. Design work began in the late 1940s, but the first flight didn’t occur until 1955, and it wasn’t until 1960 that the aircraft was ready for frontline service with the Swedish Air Force.

The main reason was that it took more than any jet fighter of the era to complete the first prototype for flight. But in the end, good things come to those who wait.

Delta Wing

The Saab 35 proved to be a radical design, and the Draken was the first aircraft to successfully employ a double delta wing design. Recognizable as the large, triangle-shaped wings are widest at the rear and taper inwards closer to the nose of the plane, it offered numerous benefits. The first was that delta wings have more internal volume for fuel than conventional wings, while the wings proved to be structurally stronger.

The tradeoff was higher amounts of drag compared to typical swept-wing aircraft.

Big Design Team

Development of the Draken was quite the affair. Led by aircraft engineer Erik Bratt, a team of more than 500 technicians worked on the design, including the unique wing shape after studying different ways of packaging the fuel and equipment.

Bratt and his team worked for three years on the double delta wing concept with the Saab 210, a sub-scale test aircraft. Such scale prototypes were needed in the era before computer-aided design (CAD) and advanced flight simulations.

Dragon or Kite?

The name of the aircraft had a dual meaning. “Draken” translates to “dragon” but was actually meant as “kite” for the shape of the wings. The Saab 210– which had first flown in 1952 to pioneer Saab’s still-unique double-delta wing form – was unofficially nicknamed “Lilldraken” or “little kite.”

Rear Landing Gear

Due to the thrusters of the aircraft being placed so far back, engineers opted to add an additional diminutive set of landing wheels along the aft portion of one of the early production models. That new landing gear arrangement helped address the fact that the Draken’s large wings created inherent drag, and allowed for “tail down” landings.


In addition, a chute was also installed, and could be deployed in case the aircraft had to make shorter landings.

Speedy Dragon

In 1955, the Draken was the first European aircraft to have reached the supersonic speed of Mach 1, equal to the speed of sound. The original requirement specified a top speed of Mach 1.4 to 1.5, but it was revised upwards in 1956 to Mach 1.7 to 1.8, and yet again in 1959 to Mach 2.0.

Inventing the Cobra Maneuver

The first Saab-35A prototype finally took to the skies on October 25, 1955, and the J35A became the early production model. Because of the then-historically unproven tailless design, the aircraft experienced a number of problems at the start of its service life – including a number of super stalls.

However, pilots were trained to prevent that from happening, and out of the extensive pilot training came what is known as a “cobra maneuver,” where the plane flying at a moderate speed can abruptly raise its nose to a vertical and slightly past vertical attitude, momentarily stalling the plane, before making a full-body air brake and then dropping back to normal position.

It is now considered to be one of the most dramatic and demanding maneuvers and is typically only performed at air shows.


The Saab 35 Was a Defensive Aircraft (Mostly)

As it was designed as a supersonic interceptor, the Draken was always intended to be a defensive aircraft – one that could stop bombers and fighters alike in the case of an invasion. It was equipped with either a single or dual 30mm cannon for close-in action and could be armed with a variety of air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground rockets. While the aircraft never saw actual combat, it would have likely performed well in its interceptor role against an enemy’s bombers and more than held its own against most fighters of the era.

The aircraft was adopted by the Swedish Air Force and was later exported to Finland, Austria, and Denmark. In fact, while all of the Swedish Drakens were interceptors with limited air-to-ground capability, the Danish Drakens could have been deployed as strike aircraft capable of carrying AGM-12 Bullpup missiles, advanced “jammers,” and increased internal and external fuel stores.

Image: Creative Commons.


Image: Creative Commons

Saab 35 Long Service History

The Saab 35 went through a series of upgrades, and in total 651 were produced. Even after the Swedish Air Force adopted the Saab 37 Viggen, the Draken remained in active service for almost 40 years after its introduction. The final Saab 35 Draken, in service with the Austrian Air Force, was only retired in 2005 – a testament to its effective design and capabilities.



Now a Senior Editor for 1945, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military hardware, and is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes.