What is Faris Ahmed

There has been very little activity lately but the فارس احمد is transmitted regularly. So what is it? We think it is short for فاكس FAX. We are under the impression that MIL-STD-188-110A and STANAG signals in use by the Navy are capable of transmitting FAX. If you have ever decoded an HF weather fax signal you know they are very long, and so is the فارس احمد. Therefore we believe they are transmitting meteorological data, a necessity for any navy. Or it could be a crew list. A frigate's complement is about 174 and nobody wants to hear that in a voice transmission.

Final thoughts on the mission Apr 20-22

We expect media coverage when the Navy is cooperating with foreign navies as in Operation Atalanta. We have not seen any coverage of this mission. So maybe it was more than counter-piracy. Maybe they wanted to show themselves to the many players in the Bab el-Mendeb region. Maybe it was an opportunity for some reconnaissance. I remember a commander talking about drones recently. Mayyun Island and Yemen are easy targets. The Navy has greatly increased its capabilities. They have demonstrated their reach from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Bab El-Mendeb and beyond. But remember our interest in this mission began when they let us know what time zone they were in. A blue water navy uses zulu time. Even a weather report passed in the clear provides useful information We know they have the capability to encrypt anything that might be sensitive. If they make a serious commitment to commsec, then we will have nothing to write about.

قائد القوات البحرية

Just heard a reference to the commander of naval forces which is a good indication they will be getting a VIP visit and photo op at the end of the mission which will probably be at the new base at Berenice and we will get pictures and more info from the magazines. Probably will be described as anti-piracy.