Monday, August 31, 2015

Nobska & Polaris.

This is coolbert:

Referring to that previous blog entry:

Steiner said... "That would be hydrazine or some variant thereof. Soviet SLBMs were liquid-fuelled because for once the Communists were unable to steal American solid-fuel technology"

American naval military planners at one time too having considered the use of liquid-fuel missiles for submarines.

The Jupiter thought to be do-able and feasible and needed for the larger size thermonuclear warheads then in existence.

American nuclear physicists and scientists however able to develop a "small" thermonuclear warhead.

The Soviet counter-part physicist evidently unable to develop the "small" thermonuclear warhead.

Such was the confidence in the ability of the American nuclear physicist the Polaris solid-fuel submarine launched ballistic missile having then gotten the approval as the way to go.

And the rest is history!! See this many decades ago newsreel footage of a Polaris being fired from a submerged submarine: "1960-07-21 First Polaris Firing By Submerged U-Boat"

"An important milestone in the Polaris missile program was inadvertently achieved at Nobska [Project Nobska]. In the course of discussing how a nuclear warhead could be made small enough for the Mark 45 torpedo, Edward Teller of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory started a discussion on the possibility of developing a physically small one-megaton nuclear warhead for the Polaris missile. His counterpart in the discussion, J. Carson Mark of Los Alamos National Laboratory, at first insisted it could not be done. However, Dr. Mark eventually stated that a half-megaton warhead of small enough size could be developed. This yield, roughly thirty times that of the Hiroshima bomb, was enough . . . and Navy strategic missile development shifted from Jupiter to Polaris by the end of the year. Within five years regular Polaris deterrent patrols were in progress."

We should consider ourselves fortunate that American physicists were able to develop a "small" thermonuclear warhead?

coolbert.

Deserter.

This is coolbert:

Also from the Sheldon Adelson Internet web site Israel Hayom:

"IDF sends warning texts in new sanctions plan against deserters"

"IDF launches new plan to fight desertion phenomenon • Deserters to be stopped from renewing driver's licenses or obtaining ID cards or passports, as well as denied housing benefits and scholarships • Plan approved by cabinet, pending legislative process."

"Sanctions against deserters will include losing housing benefits and scholarships"

"Thousand of military service deserters have received text messages from the Israel Defense Forces in recent days urging them to settle their status as soon as possible."

A deserter within the American military context a soldier having been gone for thirty days or more and without the intention of returning. A soldier gone for more than twenty-four hours but less than thirty days absent without leave [AWOL].

Desertion within the Israeli context not defined in this article. Deserters might also include reservists who refuse a call to active duty?

Behavior of this sort on the part of an Israeli citizen was at one time unheard of. NO LONGER it seems. That Israeli population as you might expect after a period of nearly seventy years not consisting of the same idealistic and altruistic type of  individual as you might have found present in 1948.

Desertion too during a time of war as associated with a movement to combat or in-the-face-of-the-enemy normally a crime punishable by DEATH! Denying you scholarships or a renewal of your drivers license hardly seeming a fit punishment.

coolbert.


Sunday, August 30, 2015

Baalshamin.

This is coolbert:

From the Internet web site of Archbishop Cranmer:

"The apocalypse of Islam and the signs of the times"

"The Temple of Baalshamin predated Mohammad by six centuries. It was a cultural jewel in the Syrian desert, revealing to the world a glimpse of the pre-Islamic religions of the region; bearing witness to Graeco-Roman myths and standing as a monument to rites and rituals long extinguished by higher powers. It is now a pile of rubble; blown to pieces by ISIS . . . Everything before Mohammad must go: it is year zero; the past is darkness and death."


When I first looked at this image I thought it had been edited by Photoshop or some such freeware. The mushroom cloud of an atomic detonation superimposed on another image of Biblical time ruins in the desert. That is however the actual demolition of the ancient temple by conventional high explosive, that destruction by ISIL in keeping with the tradition of  jahhaliya. All that existed prior to the time of Mohammad ignorance, an impediment to the moral perfection of humanity. Quantities of explosive required for such a demolition mission quite large, ISIL expending munitions in a typical ruthless manner!

That temple of Baalshamin might have been thought as the pyramids to be around for all eternity but NO!

Year ZERO indeed and the future appears to be quite grim!! The ways of the ancient gods were capricious and cruel. ISIL in the same manner too!

coolbert.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Prince Albert II.

This is coolbert:

From the Sheldon Adelson Internet web site Israel Hayom a headline and story that is somewhat misleading:

"Monaco seeks forgiveness for deporting Jews during WWII"

"Seven decades after the Holocaust, Monaco's Prince Albert II makes first clear public apology for Monaco's role in Jewish suffering: 'We committed the irreparable in handing over women, men and a child who had taken refuge with us.'"

"In an unprecedented gesture of repentance, Monaco's Prince Albert II apologized Thursday for his country's role in deporting Jews to Nazi camps, seven decades after police rounded up scores of people from the seaside principality, including those who had sought refuge from the Holocaust in what they thought was a safe and neutral land."

NO!! NOT WE!!

Vichy France at the behest of the Nazi and NOT the principality rounded up and deported the Jewish population of Monaco.

Prince Rainier, the father of Albert, having served with Free French Exterior [FFE] during the Second World War, additionally as a French liaison officer with the U.S. Army 36th Division [TXARNG] during the Italian campaign.

Understand Monaco a principality and not a democracy with the ruler the sole governance making all the decisions.

NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY! AND ARE THE BETTER FOR IT TOO. AND PLEASE, NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS THAT I AM BEING EXCESSIVELY PEDANTIC.

coolbert.


Chilly & Chili.

This is coolbert:

That word "Chilly" in American English  meaning somewhat cold to the bare flesh. "Chili" in American English that food a mix of beef, beans, tomato and hot chili sauce or powder.

The Indian Army during counter-terrorism operations using "chili" grenades as an adjunct to conventional tear gas.

"Army used ‘chilly grenades’ to flush out Pak terrorist Sajjad Ahmed from a cave"

"The 22-year-old [Sajjid] was one of the five terrorists who had crossed over from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and hid in the cave after army detected the infiltration and was hunting for them in Rafiabad area of Kashmir."

"He [Sajjid] panicked and begged for mercy after army commandos fired ‘chilly grenades’ and teargas shells into a cave to flush out the terrorists who were holed up there since last night."

. . . .

"After sometime, troops entered the cave and found Sajjad weeping bitterly — one because of panic and secondly because of the effect of chilly grenades."

Regarding the "chili" grenade some further clarification.

Info on the Chili grenade:

"GAUHATI, India – The Indian military has a new weapon against terrorism: the world's hottest chili. After conducting tests, the military has decided to use the thumb-sized 'bhut jolokia' . . . to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects . . . It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the [un]scientific measurement of a chili's spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000 [Scoville units]."

It hurts and it is supposed to hurt. Just ask Sajjad!!

coolbert.


QC Submarine.

This is coolbert:

From Strategy Page an update and further clarification regarding the recent problems as encountered by the American Virginia class submarine. My emphasis in all cases:

"Submarines: Yet Another Construction Failure"

"August 20, 2015: The U.S. Navy continues having problems with quality control (QC), or, rather, the lack of it. The latest incident was revealed on August 5th when the navy ordered its three most recently built Virginia class subs to restrict their operations until ten suspect (of being substandard) sections of pipe can be inspected and, if necessary, replaced. There are another 40 of these components in subs under construction but taking care of those won’t delay submarine operations."

"The QC problem has been getting worse since the 1980s and one 2009 incident became widely known. In this instance a welder at the Quonset Point (Rhode Island) shipyard performed substandard welds that were not caught immediately by the quality control system. These welds were not in critical areas but at least one sub already in service was involved."

"Earlier in 2009 a weld inspector at the Newport News shipyard was found to be falsifying the inspection of welding jobs on four Virginia class submarines and a Nimitz class carrier. Some 10,000 welds had to be re-inspected, as these are how many the now dismissed inspector handled in four years on the job. Each Virginia class sub has about 300,000 welds that have to be inspected. Normally, only a few will fail inspection and have to be redone. A few defective welds can cause the loss of a submarine, or serious damage aboard a carrier."

NOT SO MUCH WITH SURFACE VESSELS BUT WITH SUBMERSIBLES THE DANGER AS POSED BY THESE IMPROPER WELDS MOST ACUTE. VITAL!

That USS Thresher from decades ago lost and it is thought gone to the bottom because of a pipe-joint incorrectly silver-soldered. That pipe-joint having passed through it sea water under pressure. A failing joint spraying sea water on vital electronic and electrical components, the submarine unable to recover from damage fast enough. SINCE THAT TIME OF THE THRESHER SUCH PIPE JOINTS NOW WELDED. [for whatever good that does if the joints defectively welded!!!]

Keep in mind the modern nuclear powered submarine the MOST COMPLICATED THING MADE BY MAN!! Piping of whatever sort and joints I might assume also hidden from view in the aftermath of completion and launching. Inspection not easy to perform after the fact. A whole lot of the sub must be taken apart to get at each of those joints? Of this I am not sure but have a sneaking suspicion it is so!!

coolbert.



Friday, August 28, 2015

Hybrid.

This is coolbert:

Further info on the purported poison gas attacks. ISIL employing WMD and doing so with captured munitions?

1. "Pentagon: Tests show mustard gas on rounds fired by Islamic State against Kurds"


2. "Hybrid warfare used by Islamic State fighters is nothing new"

"The hybrid force of bandits, regular soldiers, and unregulated fighters used tactics ranging from fixed battle, roadside ambush and stolen military equipment to wreak havoc on the government’s army."
. . . .

"Militaries, including our own [United States], have been trying to come to grips with the hybrid threat ever since. It’s one thing to defend against columns of Soviet tanks ready to pour through the Fulda Gap, as was the case during the Cold War. But the mashup between a conventional maneuver army and guerrilla tactics is far more vexing for military planners":

"In June 2014, Islamic State gained access to hundreds of tons of potentially deadly poisons, including mustard gas and sarin, when it occupied the al Muthanna facility 60 miles north of Baghdad, according to the threat tactics report."

HEY, what is going on here? Saddam according to all the reports did not have WMD capacity. Other than Bunker 41 and the out-of-action rockets supposedly there was NO WMD in all of Iraq. So how is this "hundreds of tons" escape detection?

David Galula the French military theoretician would also whole-heartedly agree the modern conventional army has a difficult time fighting the unconventional military. See also the concepts of the "Three Block War" and the "Strategic corporal".

coolbert.

Santísima Trinidad.

This is coolbert:

"Who wants to live forever?"

From that previous blog entry:

"Even the submarine crews, despite benefiting from a recent upgrade, need at least 190 days of immersion practice and in 2014 only spent 19 hours submerged. A similar situation is faced by the four destroyers: Almirante Brown, Heroina, La Argentina and Sarandí, they don’t have any weaponry."

NO weapons and NO training, and that is for those ships still afloat. Consider also the case of the destroyer ARA Santisima Trinidad:

"ARA Santísima Trinidad was a Type 42 destroyer of the Argentine Navy, the only destroyer of her class built outside Britain. She participated in the 1982 Falklands War. The warship is currently . . . lying on her side, sunk at her moorings in the Argentine naval base of Puerto Belgrano."


Santísima Trinidad in better days.

"Since 2004, Santísima Trinidad is listed as 'in reserve awaiting overhaul', but it was expected that the navy would formally decommission her. There were projects in the Argentine congress calling for Santísima Trinidad to be converted into a museum ship."

"On 21 January 2013, Santísima Trinidad suffered a broken valve which resulted in the flooding of several compartments. The flooding was beyond the capacity of the pumps and the crew was evacuated. The ship took on a 50-degree list and sank at her moorings. Decisions are yet to be made on re-floating the vessel.


Santísima Trinidad as is now and since 2013. Capsized moored at dock. Never righted. This image reminds me of what you would have seen at Pearl Harbor on 8 December 1941.

Argentinean naval capability next to zero? Is that what we are to make of all this?

If not zero nonetheless inadequate BRITISH DOMINION OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS UNCHALLENGED NOW AND FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE!!

coolbert.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Fuerzas Armadas Argentina.

This is coolbert:

From a British Internet web site defense journal a less than sanguine appraisal of the Argentinean military.

"sanguine  - -  adjective 1. cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident"

"Argentine military capability almost all gone"

"After a significant period of decline, the Argentine armed forces have ceased to be a capable military force. In August 2015, the Argentine air force retired its Mirage fighters, with only a handful of them even flyable."

"Even the submarine crews, despite benefiting from a recent upgrade, need at least 190 days of immersion practice and in 2014 only spent 19 hours submerged. A similar situation is faced by the four destroyers: Almirante Brown, Heroina, La Argentina and Sarandí, they don’t have any weaponry."

"The Argentine Army has deployed on operations without some of even the most basic equipment and rarely has the resources for training."

"The Argentine Air Force largely consists of a collection of obsolete aircraft mostly dating back to the 1970’s, which are frequently grounded due to poor serviceability. They’re now even getting rid of their only semi-capable fighter aircraft."

This appraisal obviously with regard to any danger as posed to the Falkland Islands. THE ARGENTINEAN NO LONGER HAVING AN OFFENSIVE CAPACITY POSING A THREAT TO BRITISH DOMINION OF THE DISPUTED ISLANDS.

Even the recent purchase of Su-24 fighter-bomber warplanes from Russian of dubious usefulness. Those Fencer aircraft having a bad habit of crashing. NOT BRAND NEW EITHER.

See previous blog entries that Russia-Argentina connection:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/06/argentina.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/02/crash.html
 
http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/12/fencer-fernandez.html

coolbert.

WW2 Treasure?

This is coolbert:

“But Nature granted to gold and silver no function with which we cannot easily dispense. Human folly has made them precious because they are rare. In contrast, Nature, like a most indulgent mother, has placed her best gifts out in the open, like air, water and the earth itself; vain and unprofitable things she has hidden away in remote places.” - - Thomas More.

From CNN:

Remote and hidden places!

"Have treasure hunters found missing Nazi train stuffed with gold?"

"A Pole and a German say they've found a train containing Nazi treasure worth over $1 million, official says"

 "The pair won't reveal the train's location unless they're guaranteed 10% of the treasure's value. The train allegedly went missing at the end of World War II"

"(CNN) Could two treasure hunters have found a legendary Nazi train packed with gold that vanished 70 years ago?"

. . . .

"Now two people, a German and a Pole, say they have found a 490-foot (150-meter) train they claim contains Nazi treasure that could be worth 'well over a million dollars,'"

Lot of this stuff out there from the era of WW2. To include:

* Yamashita's Gold.

* Rommel's Gold.

* Mittenwald Gold.

* Awa Maru treasure ship.

"Vain and unprofitable things" but that which so greatly desired and sought after by mankind and always will be.

coolbert.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Liquid & Solid.

This is coolbert:

As germane to that previous blog entry:

My original response was to be: "ALL CURRENT RUSSIAN SUBMARINE LAUNCHED MISSILES [SLBM] AND SOVIET VARIETIES BEFORE THEM SOLID-FUEL."

NO!!

"All US SLBMs have been solid-fueled while all Soviet and Russian SLBMs have been liquid-fueled except for the Russian RSM-56 Bulava, which entered service in 2014."

Soviet/Russian SLBM until relatively recently and not until all the Delta class boats decommissioned firing LIQUID-FUELED MISSILES AND NOT SOLID-FUEL!!

Soviet/Russian SLBM liquid-fuel from the era of the Cold War to include:

* R-11. * R-13. * R-21. * R-27. * R-29.

R-31 and R-39 both solid-fuel the former only seen for a SHORT WHILE in one boat AND THE LATTER associated with the Typhoon class missile firing boat all those gone now. Predominantly so the Soviet/Russian relying on the liquid-fuel SLBM.

From the Borey class submarine onward ALL Russian SLBM henceforth to be SOLID-FUEL. This will be the Buluva SLBM. ALL [?] other classes of Russian missile firing submarines and their liquid-fuel missiles to be decommissioned and scrapped!

coolbert.



Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Agreement!

This is coolbert:

Peace in our time! Once again, overt and catastrophic war in Korea has been averted. Recall the U-boats!

"Koreas reach deal, easing military tensions after exchange of fire"

"The deal 'reduces the risk of miscalculation,' analyst says, but bigger issues remain. Seoul agrees to stop broadcasting propaganda that infuriated Pyongyang. Pyongyang expresses regret over injuries suffered by South Korean soldiers from landmines"

"Seoul, South Korea (CNN)North and South Korea have steered military tensions away from the threat of imminent confrontation, announcing an agreement over a series of recent flash points."

. . . .

"But after marathon talks between high-level officials, the two bitter foes said in the early hours of Tuesday that they had found enough common ground to dial back the situation."

Kim of Pyongyang has this bad habit of pushing things to the limit and then drawing back at the last moment. Sooner or later he might make a miscalculation with disastrous consequences for every one.

Please see previous blog entries in reverse chronological order that are germane:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/08/fifty.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/08/1-2-3.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/08/0730-gmt.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/08/morning-calm.html

coolbert.



Monday, August 24, 2015

Liquid-fuel.

This is coolbert:

From MARCO POLO through Harry:

"a report has just come in from Russian Far East.  At the submarine base in Villyuchinsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula, on August 20, about 6pm (local time), a spill of missile fuel occurred while a missile was being unloaded at a naval pier. The citizens were asked to close their windows and not to leave home."

     "According to the Ministry of Defense, the accident occurred when a ballistic missile without a warhead was being sent for disposal. It was a leak of oxidizer. There was no danger of radiation poisoning."

     "Villyuchinsk is a submarine base, facing the northern Pacific Ocean, which serves Russian SSBNs (strategic missile-carrying nuclear submarines). Two newly-built Borey-class submarines -- 'Aleksandr Nevsky' and 'Vladimir Monomakh' -- are expected to be based there later this year."

AN ACCIDENT AND NOTHING MORE!!

Soviet/Russian liquid-fuel submarine-launched ballistic-missiles [SLBM] normally until that period just before firing empty? That process to fuel and begin the launch sequence ONLY done after receiving the "go" command?

For much of the Cold War the preponderance of the Soviet SLBM liquid-fuel and not solid-fuel. American SLBM exclusively solid-fuel.

coolbert.






Fifty!

This is coolbert:

Follow up to that prior blog entry, DPRK [North Korea] submarines on the move. MILITARY SOURCES IN ALL CASES SOUTH KOREAN MILITARY SOURCES.

Thanks to the tip from Freeper.

"Military Sources, 'About 50 N. Korean Submarines Left Their Bases...Can't be Located'"

"Dozens of N. Korean submarines left their bases at both Eastern and Western coast, and can't be located. Military are increasing their surveillance capability to track them, it is confirmed."

"That accounts for 70% of (N. Korea's) submarine fleet, which totals 70 ships. This is the largest rate of deployment since the Korean War."

"Military sources said, 'This is 10 times more than their normal deployment level. Dozens of them left their bases at both coasts, and we are unable to track them.'"

All those boats diesel/electric submersibles to include midgets and those designed for special operations type missions AND EVEN PLASTIC SUBMARINES.

From data as found at the wiki ONLY about one-third of those North Korean submarines a full-size deep water [pelagic] boat. Those of the Whiskey or Romeo class. Whiskey basically a clone of the World War Two German Type XXI class. Take it from there.

coolbert.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

1-2-3.

This is coolbert:

One to make ready, two is for show, and three to go!!

We hope not!! Breaking story right now as we speak!

More on the Korean situation thanks to the AP and core.com:

"Koreas resume talks as Seoul sees North Korea troop movement"

"PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) Senior officials from North and South Korea on Sunday were in their second day of marathon talks meant to pull the rivals back from the brink, even amid reports of unusual North Korean troop and submarine movement that Seoul said indicated continued battle preparation."

. . . .

"An official from Seoul's Defense Ministry said that about 70 percent of the North's more than 70 submarines and undersea vehicles had left their bases and were undetectable by the South Korean military as of Saturday."

"The official, who refused to be named because of office rules, also said the North had doubled the strength of its front-line artillery forces since the start of the talks Saturday evening."

EVEN WHILE NEGOTIATIONS PROCEED, PREPARATIONS FOR WAR CONTINUE UNABATED?  KIM TOTALLY UNPREDICTABLE, MAYBE EVEN TO THE POINT OF INITIATING A MAJOR WAR THAT INVOLVES WMD AND ATOMIC MUNITIONS!!

THOSE SUBMARINES PERHAPS CARRYING FOR DEPLOYMENT BEHIND THE LINES UNITS OF THE RANGER/COMMANDO VARIETY. NORTH KOREAN COMBAT CONTINGENTS DRESSED IN SOUTH KOREAN UNIFORMS AND LANDED WELL SOUTH OF THE DMZ!

coolbert.



MiG/Kornet/M-46.

This is coolbert

By their friends you shall know them!!

From DEBKAfile some latest info on that delivery of MiG-31 Foxhound as was the topic of an earlier blog entry:

1. "Six Russian MiG-31 interceptor aircraft land in Damascus to rescue Assad regime"

18 August.

"Six Russian MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor aircraft from Moscow landed Tuesday, Aug. 18, at the Mezze Airbase in Damascus international airport, DEBKAfile discloses. They were followed shortly after by giant An-124 Condor transports carrying 1,000 Kornet-9M133 third-generation anti-tank guided missiles. This airlift to Damascus betokened Moscow's continued support for the Syrian ruler against peace plans currently afloat which all entail his removal. It was also intended to block any US-Turkish plans for a no-fly zone over Syria or other direct intervention in the conflict. The Russians sent exactly six MiG interceptors to match the six F-16 fighters the US deployed at the Turkish Incerlik air base on Aug. 9."

Those MiG-31 delivered as per contract from 2007 and only NOW received. Apparently a tit-for-tat response to the American deployment of F-16 to Turkey?? Now we know the rest of the story!

Further as reported by DEBKAfile Russian weapons shipments to the despot Assad continues:

2. "Russian arms lift to Syria continues after MiG landings"
   
19 August.

"DEBKAfile's military sources report that the Russian arms lift to Damascus continued Wednesday with a delivery by An-124 transports of heavy Russian M-46 MM1954 130 [mm] towed field guns with range of up to 27 km"

FROM FORTY YEARS AGO THAT 130 MM GUN AN INTEGRAL AND EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE PART OF THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ARTILLERY AS EMPLOYED DURING THAT FINAL ADVANCE ON SAIGON!

coolbert.

Red Flag NV.

This is coolbert:

Also from DEBKAfile and the same headline as was the topic of a previous blog entry further indication of increased cooperation between Israel and an Arab nation. Israeli and Jordanian warplanes apparently crossing the Atlantic together en route to Nevada, USA. DACT Red Flag exercises.

"Israel's first ever arms deal with an Arab country drones for Jordan to fight ISIS"

15 August.

"This week, Israeli Air Force KC-707 fuel tankers were sighted over the Atlantic refueling a group of five Royal Jordanian Air Force F-16s flying alongside Israeli aircraft. Both air force groups were heading west to take part in the Red Flag air-to-air training exercise in Nevada from Aug. 17 to 28."

Such cooperation unprecedented. That threat of ISIL too great to be ignored. The regional danger possibly causing catastrophic consequences that cannot be predicted.

coolbert.

Heron & Skylark.

This is coolbert:

From DEBKAfile Israel now providing armaments to an Arab nation. Such is the concern with the danger as posed to the region by the combat forces of ISIL:

"Israel's first ever arms deal with an Arab country drones for Jordan to fight ISIS"

15 August.
   
"In its first arms sale to an Arab country . . .  Israel has sold 12 advanced unmanned aerial vehicles of the Heron TP and Skylark types to Jordan to beef up its cross-border counter-terrorism campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Like other joint US-Israeli-Jordanian operations ongoing against the Islamic State, the Herons and Skylarks are almost certainly being operated by officers at the US Central Command Forward-Jordan war room north of Amman."


Skylark UAV being launched by an Israeli troop. This image gives you a sense of scale.


Heron TP UAV. Much larger and robust than Skylark. About eight and one-half meters [twenty-eight feet] in length.

Skylark to be used by the very lowest echelon units. Heron should be considered as a national asset.

coolbert.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Bravo!

This is coolbert:

From CNN more on the train incident from yesterday.:

"Americans, French national tackle, overpower suspected Islamist gunman on train"

"(CNN) The struggle was brief, bloody and chaotic."

"The high-speed train was zipping from Amsterdam to Paris on Friday when a shirtless man emerged from the bathroom -- a rifle slung over his shoulder, witnesses said."

. . . .

"A French passenger and three Americans -- a civilian, an Air Force member and a National Guard member -- jumped into action. They quickly tackled him, possibly averting a massacre aboard the train"

. . . . .

"The suspected attacker was armed with a Kalashnikov assault weapon, nine chargers [full magazines?], a Luger automatic pistol, a 9mm charger [full magazine?] and a box cutter"


Here even with an image of those three Americans that stood tall. That Frenchman too!

Nine "chargers" full represents two hundred and seventy rounds of ammo. That terrorist intended a big time massacre and a lot of lives were saved.

 Bravo to the Americans and that Frenchman. Bravo!!

coolbert.

R2 D2.

This is coolbert:

Before there was Blackjack there was Blackbird. And before there was astral-navigation on Blackjack there was astral-navigation on Blackbird. Blackbird the SR-71!

From the Internet web site article:

"15 Fascinating Facts About The SR-71 Blackbird, The Fastest Plane On Earth"

"7. Its navigation system called 'R2-D2' had a sensor so powerful that it could detect up to 61 stars in broad daylight while the plane was still on the ground."


Nortronics NAS-14V2 Astroinertial Navigation System

"Mounted behind the SR-71’s cockpit, this unit, affectionately known as 'R2-D2,' computed navigational fixes using stars sighted through the lens in the top of the unit. These fixes were used to update the inertial navigation system and provided course guidance with an accuracy of at least 90 meters (300 feet). Some current aircraft and missile systems use improved versions as a backup to GPS."

Celestial navigation from time immemorial using a selected group of fifty-eight stars: "Fifty-eight selected navigational stars are given a special status in the field of celestial navigation". That accuracy of the NAS-14V2 even greater!

An adjunct and in addition to GPS and inertial navigation. AND quite accurate.

coolbert.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Semper Fi!

This is coolbert:

Breaking news as we speak! A terrorist event averted. The events as reported thanks to Freeper from only a few hours ago in reverse chronological order:

"French official: 2 Americans subdued train gunman"

"PARIS — A gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon on a high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris Friday, wounding three people before being subdued by two American passengers, officials said. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, speaking in Arras in northern France where the suspected was detained, said one of the Americans was hospitalized with serious wounds. Their names were not immediately released"

"Unarmed US Marine 'in critical condition' after Kalashnikov-wielding suspected terrorist"

"Unarmed US Marine 'in critical condition' after Kalashnikov-wielding suspected terrorist on board high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris. An unarmed US Marine who ambushed a Kalashnikov-wielding gunman on a train between Amsterdam and Paris is in critical condition, according to French media reports. The serviceman, who has not been named, was one of two Americans who tackled the 26-year-old Moroccan national to the ground after hearing him load up a gun in the toilet. In the scuffle, one of the Marines was shot and another stabbed. France Info reports one is in a critical condition"

"BREAKING NEWS: Unarmed US Marines 'take down' gunman onboard a high-speed train (France)"

"A gunman opened fire on board a high speed train in northern France. Eyewitnesses said three U.S. Marines on the train disarmed the gunman. The man was armed with a deadly a Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle. Three people were wounded and the gunman is currently in police custody."

"Gunman 'injures three after firing Kalashnikov' on Amsterdam-Paris train: latest"

"A man has been arrested after firing a Kalashnikov rifle on board an Amsterdam-Paris train, according to French media. Le Parisien reports that a Briton and an American are 'seriously' wounded. A third person, the French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, was also wounded and is said to have raised the alarm. La Voix du Nord, a newspaper in the Calais region, said a man was arrested on suspicion of firing the weapon on a Thalys train near the northern town of Arras. Police say that have not ruled out terrorism as a possible motive"

A major massacre has been averted. An apparent terrorist was ready and loaded and his actions stopped by passengers that apparently included some U.S. Marines. UNARMED!!

coolbert.

Johnny Reb.

This is coolbert:

Consider this blog entry to be borderline but within the context of a recent previous post is germane!


That logo of Kennesaw Transportation, a cartage firm, and the incorporation of the Confederate soldier, Johnny Reb himself, might be considered as offensive to some? Kennesaw Transportation, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, USA. GEORGIA DURING THAT TIME OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE CONFEDERACY.

The man in grey, better described as "butternut" holding his rifle so proudly and defiantly so.

BUT NO STARS AND BARS. THE CONFEDERATE FLAG.

So I guess we are good to go. At least for now. AND FOR THE OWNERS OF KENNESAW AND ALL PARTIES CONCERNED INCLUDING MYSELF NO OFFENSE GIVEN AND NONE SHOULD BE TAKEN!

coolbert.


Thursday, August 20, 2015

0730 GMT.

This is coolbert:

From 0730 GMT Friday onward you should consider this a war warning.

More on the Korean situation:

"NKorea warns of war after exchange of fire with South"

"PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) North Korea on Friday declared its frontline troops in a 'a quasi-state of war' and warned of military operations a day after the rival Koreas exchanged fire across the world's most heavily armed border."
. . . .

"The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported Friday that leader Kim Jong Un ordered at an emergency military meeting that his troops 'be fully ready for any military operations at any time from 5 p.m. (0730 GMT) Friday.'"

The Korean Peninsula has been at a "quasi-state" of war since 1950!! An armistice and cease-fire only, and NEVER a conclusion amicable or otherwise to the political situation as dividing the two nations, North and South!!

I hope everyone in positions of power and all cognizant and responsible authority is aware of what is occurring and taking the situation most seriously. I surely would be!!

coolbert.

Morning Calm.

This is coolbert:

NOT to my knowledge or as I remember has the South Korean returned North Korean artillery fire. Received YES but not returned!!

This has the potentially to become very big very fast!!

"Rival Koreas trade artillery fire at border over broadcasts"

"SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Korea fired dozens of shells Thursday at rival North Korea after the North lobbed several rounds across the world's most heavily armed border and threatened to take further action unless Seoul ends its loudspeaker broadcasts."


Broadcasts as a response to the recent mining incident resulting in the deaths of several South Korean soldiers.

. . . .

"North Korea first fired a single round believed to be from an anti- aircraft gun, which landed at a South Korean border town on Thursday afternoon. About 20 minutes later, several more artillery shells fell on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas."

"South Korea responded with dozens of 155-millimeter artillery rounds, according to South Korean defense officials."

. . . .

"South Korea raised its military readiness to its highest level."

Korea from time in the distant past referred to as the "Land of the Morning Calm".

coolbert.



KV-VI.

This is coolbert:

I am not sure if this is a joke or what. Is taken from an Internet web site called Deviant Art.

The land-battleship Soviet style. From the era of World War Two! AN experiment and only that. The grandiose and unstoppable weapons system that was a total failure. Good paper but poor in execution.

 "EXPERIMENTS OF WAR"

"Russian Land-Battleship KV-VI"

The land warship almost literally so!

"Inspiration for the KV-VI came from news that one single KV-2 had held off an entire German tank division for 24 hours."


KV-VI a tracked vehicle of stupendous size. Incorporating an entire combined-arms weapons system into one vehicle. Tank turrets, multiple rocket launcher, artillery, anti-aircraft! The total package. Evidently three prototypes of the KV-VI were built, all unsuccessful! Click on image for a magnified view.

KV-VI an apparatus just from appearance alone ungainly and doomed to failure for a variety of reasons from the start. 

Or is this all done for comedy and humor of some sort?

coolbert.



Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Skynet AI.

This is coolbert:

Also thanks to John Howell we have the topic that is the stuff of Skynet and "The Rise of the Machines" nightmare scenario! The replicating robot. Perhaps even a killer machine that can wage war and when becoming sentient will do so having the human species as the enemy!

"Scientists make a robot that can have babies"

"Everyone who thinks robots are going to take over the world might be getting a lot more frightened: Scientists have created a machine that's able to have babies. Sort of."


"In an experiment designed to show how robots can learn and evolve, researchers in Cambridge and Zurich programmed a robot arm—or 'mother'—with an algorithm to create a device made out of blocks containing motors—its 'child'".

NOT exactly self-replicating. NOT a robotic arm making other robotic arms. A robot MAKING OTHER ROBOTS HOWEVER!

"Rise of the machines" as seen in previous blog entries:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/08/elon-musk.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/12/asi.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/09/skynet.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/09/autonomous.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/12/3-dreprap.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/03/ppaml.html

BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID! But not exactly so much for NOW!

coolbert.





Yank & Reb.

This is coolbert:

Superficiality, triviality, sensationalism.

And not for the better either. Also as discussed with some disdain by John Howell on his WLS radio morning talk show a controversial item now banned:

 "Confederate flag banned from mural at VA"

"GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) - Officials at the Grand Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center have called for the removal of the Confederate flag from a mural inside the facility's cafeteria."

"The Daily Sentinel reports that the two-year-old mural is a depiction of American military history, featuring the American Revolution to the war in Iraq."


This is the actual mural in question? Union soldier [left] and Confederate soldier [right] with fixed bayonets locked in mortal combat, flags flying!

"Medical center spokesman Paul Sweeney says the upper reaches of the Department of Veterans Affairs have asked that the Confederate flag shown behind an image of a Union soldier and a Confederate rebel be removed."

Presumably this mural was approved in advance? And for two years no one has raised an objection? Until now of course.

coolbert.




Hook & Alice.

This is coolbert:

To war with raccoon. For demining purposes only understand.

From the John Howell WLS radio talk show some items of interest to include:

"Ukrainian military now attempting to draft raccoons"

"The Ukrainian military is dealing with a lot right now . . . Hence, it stands to reason they’d be looking to some unorthodox parties for help, for instance: Raccoons."

". . . the Ukrainian military is hoping to train the furry bandits to sniff out mines planted by enemy forces . . .  'maybe we can teach it to carry out complicated military maneuvers that it takes dogs years to learn.'”


This might actually be Hook and Alice the couple? Note the forepaws. Like a human hand in some respects but not having [?] the opposing thumb. Nonetheless that paw is very dexterous. Raccoons can open locks?

"The army is reportedly waiting for Hook and Alice to have offspring, at which point they’ll attempt to train the baby raccoons to search for bombs and land mines . . . zoologists doubt the raccoon’s train-ability, 'describing the animal as curious, aggressive and cunning.'”

The American raccoon an introduced species to Europe. NOW a pest. Raccoons are very inquisitive, agile and adaptive, possess that forward-looking vision of the predator but are omnivorous, Also monogamous and able to raise large litters.

HOW train-able are these critters and how well can they be taught to locate mines I cannot say. That problem of demining quite acute and a world-wide problem.

Last time we had discussed the trained animal as a mine detector the critter in question was the Giant Gambian Rat. THEY WORK FOR PEANUTS AND PROLIFERATE IN NUMBERS QUICKLY, A LOSS OF SOME NOT REALLY A MATTER OF CONCERN.

coolbert.


Tuesday, August 18, 2015

HCN.

This is coolbert:

Poison powder that can become poison gas. Blood agent to be exact. Poison gas of extreme lethality.

In the aftermath of that catastrophic explosion in China danger still existing.

"All about sodium cyanide, the extremely toxic chemical found in vast quantities at the Tianjin explosion site"

"Officials investigating a huge explosion at a warehouse in Tianjin in China have discovered a store of 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide—more than 70 times the legal limit allowed. Cyanide has a particularly unpleasant reputation and finding it at a major disaster site is far from welcome. However, if officials act fast they should be able to limit its damaging effects."


This image shows the ground zero [?] of the "Tianjin explosion site". Click on image to see an enlarged view. Somewhere in the rubble is the stockpile of sodium cyanide that has been "cooked". and heated. Rain falling on the debris will release hydrogen cyanide gas. Blood agent!!

Sodium cyanide a poison in powder form as used in a variety of industrial processes and having a lethality. That large store of the powder now having been "'cooked' and heated" by the detonation now susceptible to an out-gassing of hydrogen cyanide [HCN]. HCN a BLOOD AGENT as used by the military during chemical warfare.

I WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE AMERICAN HOMELAND SECURITY IS PAYING PROPER ATTENTION TO THIS INCIDENT. ATTEMPTING TO DETERMINE ALL SUCH SIMILAR INDUSTRIES IN THE UNITED STATES THAT MAINTAIN CHEMICAL STORES OF SODIUM CYANIDE AND ADVISING USERS ON THE PROPER HANDLING, STORAGE AND SAFEGUARDING!

coolbert.

3.0.

This is coolbert:

Devoted readers to the blog will want to read this long article as seen at Ynet. That analysis of Hezbollah from the Israeli perspective.

Hezbollah in the opinion of some the BEST light infantry in the world.

"Hezbollah 3.0: How Israel's No. 1 enemy is preparing for the next Lebanon war"

"While Israeli intelligence officials believe the Shiite organization is experiencing the most difficult phase in its history after losing some 1,300 fighters in the Syrian battlefields, its leader Nasrallah is only intensifying preparations for the next conflict with Israel."

Israeli concerns that the Druze as dwelling on or near the Golan area adjacent to Israel proper will be incorporated into Hezbollah fighting units.

Hezbollah their intentions including tunnel warfare and the use of infiltrating unconventional warfare fighting teams in case of renewed fighting with Israel. INVASION OF ISRAELI TERRITORY PROPER A MAJOR GOAL OF HEZBOLLAH.

 "Hezbollah's goal is a ground invasion [of Israel proper], which could be made up of a number of elements: Using the underground and above ground area near the border's wadis; and an entry of many commando and antitank teams deep into the Upper and Western Galilee in order to survive as long as possible."

"The fighting teams will use explosive devices and antitank missiles like the Kornet, which reaches an efficient rage of five kilometers during the day and three kilometers at night. Through these ranges, they will be able to hit vehicles on the Lower Galilee's roads from the high mountains of the Upper Galilee, not to mention the Acre-Safed road, the roads going up the Galilee panhandle, etc."

"The topographic structure, the plants and rocks of the Galilee are very similar to what they are used to in Lebanon. At the same time, it's the exact same fighting they are now acquiring huge experience in through their battles in Syria, much more experience than most of the IDF's commanders and fighters have."

Hezbollah BEST light infantry in the world? Able to function as a conventional military force but so much more.

coolbert.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Foxhound.

This is coolbert:

Place this blog entry in the strange but true category?

Foxhound MiG-31 aircraft delivered to the despot Assad of Syria.

An acquisition I find to be most strange indeed.

"Turkish media report Russia's shipment of six MiG-31s to Syria; no comment from Rosoboronexport"

"BRUSSELS. Aug 16 (Interfax) - Russia has shipped six Mikoyan MiG-31 fighter aircraft to Syria under a 2007 contract, a Turkish English-language news website, BGN News, reported on Sunday."

"The website claims the aircraft have already landed in Damascus."

"Under the contract, which was signed in 2007, Moscow is to deliver a total of eight MiG-31 fighter jets to Syria, BGN News says."

Foxhound MiG-31 strictly an air defense [AD] warplane with strategic and operational capability admittedly most formidable.

BUT NOT a warplane that can operate where Assad most needs such an asset, at the tactical level, close-air-support!!

Foxhound based on the original MiG-25 Foxbat airframe. Foxhound as modified to include:

* Stretched fuselage.

* An additional crewmember/weapons officer.

* Advanced avionics.

Foxhound again STRICTLY DESIGNED AND DESIGNATED AS AIR DEFENSE. AT THIS EXACT MOMENT IN TIME THIS IS HARDLY WHAT ASSAD NEEDS OR WOULD WANT!!

coolbert.

Precursors.

This is coolbert:

More items concerning the alleged use of mustard agent by combatants of the Islamic State.

1. "US reportedly sees possible pattern in ISIS chemical weapons attacks"

"U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly believe the Islamic State used chemical weapons in Syria on Kurdish forces at least two weeks before the group may have used it in Iraq, U.S. officials said on Friday."

"The reports are fueling concerns that ISIS has acquired an arsenal of banned chemicals that could escalate fighting in the region."

. . .

"Officials told the journal the agencies confirmed through tests that mustard gas was used in northern Syria in July, making it the first known attack by ISIS using banned weapons."

2. Precursors! Previous instances of suspected chemical agent attack by ISIL involved precursor chemicals. Toxic chemical agents as used in the manufacture of mustard agent but not possessing the same lethality of mustard!

"The Pentagon has confirmed that samples taken in northern Iraq provide evidence that the Islamic State is using mustard gas in its attacks on the Kurds. Chemical agents used earlier in Syria by ISIS seemed to be precursors of mustard gas, and not the final product."

Mustard agent as reported used on several occasions now. Syria and Iraq both. Kurds the recipients. First evidently precursor chemicals toxic of themselves but NOT mustard agent, NOW mustard agent as accepted by definition.

coolbert.

Mustard Precursors.

This is coolbert:

More items concerning the alleged use of mustard agent by combatants of the Islamic State.

1. "US reportedly sees possible pattern in ISIS chemical weapons attacks"

"U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly believe the Islamic State used chemical weapons in Syria on Kurdish forces at least two weeks before the group may have used it in Iraq, U.S. officials said on Friday."

"The reports are fueling concerns that ISIS has acquired an arsenal of banned chemicals that could escalate fighting in the region."

. . .

"Officials told the journal the agencies confirmed through tests that mustard gas was used in northern Syria in July, making it the first known attack by ISIS using banned weapons."

2. Precursors! Previous instances of suspected chemical agent attack by ISIL involved precursor chemicals. Toxic chemical agents as used in the manufacture of mustard agent but not possessing the same lethality of mustard!

"The Pentagon has confirmed that samples taken in northern Iraq provide evidence that the Islamic State is using mustard gas in its attacks on the Kurds. Chemical agents used earlier in Syria by ISIS seemed to be precursors of mustard gas, and not the final product."

Mustard agent as reported used on several occasions now. Syria and Iraq both. Kurds the recipients. First evidently precursor chemicals toxic of themselves but NOT mustard agent, NOW mustard agent as accepted by definition.

coolbert.

Onion Fields.

This is coolbert:

YET more on the allegations ISIL has used mustard agent against the Kurds. Thanks to Freeper.

It has been CONFIRMED. Kurds in Syria [YPG] having come under chemical attack in Syria and Iraq.

"Islamic State confirmed to have used mustard gas against Kurds in Syria"

"The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) used mustard agent in its fight against a Kurdish militia in Syria, testing has confirmed."

"Unnamed US government officials involved in investigating alleged chemical weapon use by ISIL in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh confirmed mustard gas had been used"

"Mustard gas, used during World War One, can cause blisters, blindness and respiratory damage and is an internationally-banned chemical weapon."

"Last month, members of a Syrian Kurdish militia, the People's Defence Units or YPG, reported that projectiles fired by ISIL's jihadists had released 'a yellow gas with a strong smell of onions.'"

POISON GAS AGAINST WHICH THE KURDS WILL HAVE NO PROTECTION WHATSOEVER.

This does represent a MARKED ESCALATION IN HOSTILITIES FOR WHICH THE RESPONSE OF THOSE COMBATANTS DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY INVOLVED WILL BE?

coolbert.

AN.

This is coolbert:

Events from just the other day in China cataclysmic detonation of stored and explosive chemicals creating a seismic event on the scale of and having the destructive power of a tactical atomic weapon explosion.

"China explosions: Potent chemical mix behind Tianjin blasts"

A catastrophic accidental detonation of what appears to be ammonia nitrate reminiscent of Texas City in the somewhat distant past!!

Firefighters on the scene exacerbating a difficult situation. Causing in an accidental manner a series of sympathetic detonations that climactic blast a huge store of ammonium nitrate blowing sky-high literally!!

"Chinese authorities are still trying to ascertain what exactly caused a potent mix of chemicals to ignite in a warehouse in Tianjin late Wednesday, triggering blasts that rocked the city."

. . . .

"Authorities had earlier said that the warehouse contained calcium carbide, potassium nitrate and ammonium nitrate."

. . . .

"There were unconfirmed reports that the warehouse contained 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide, stored in wooden boxes or iron barrels."


As from the scene at Tianjin. An car park of about one thousand automobiles totally destroyed, everything within a radius of one mile [1.6 kilometers] from ground zero more or less obliterated!!

Explosions of this sort not so common but not so uncommon either. I am thinking in particular of the West, Texas, USA detonation several years ago and the French AZF fertilizer plant that also was destroyed by an ammonium nitrate explosion of prodigious size. That AZF plant in having been speculated THE WORK OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM!!

coolbert.

 


Sunday, August 16, 2015

Bunker 41 Mustard.

This is coolbert:

As is an evening news item the Islamic State now resorting to chemical weapons awaiting confirmation.

1. "Pentagon officials believe ISIS used chemical weapons against Kurds in Iraq"

"Pentagon officials believe ISIS used chemical weapons against Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq Wednesday"

"One official who had seen the latest intelligence reports from the region told Fox News Thursday that the victims had 'blisters' that matched the symptoms of other victims of mustard gas."

". . . ISIS may have obtained the mustard gas in Syria . . . Another U.S. official left open the possibility that ISIS had taken the mustard gas from old weapons stockpiles that belonged to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and weren't destroyed."

Those "old weapons stockpiles" presumably Bunker 41!

Additionally on the same topic from DEBKAfile.

2. "Germany confirms possible ISIS chemical attack on Kurds"

14 August.  

"The German military confirms a possible chemical weapons attack on Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers fighting the Islamic State group (ISIS) in northern Iraq . . . A group of Western experts has arrived to take samples after a Tuesday night mortar attack on Kurdish positions in Makhmur, 35 km southwest of the capital, Irbil, following claims that the rounds were loaded with chemicals, possibly mustard gas or chlorine. He said Peshmerga forces in the area were instructed to use gas masks in case of mortar attacks until results are verified in the laboratory."

Gas masks, filters, chemical suits, decontamination kits, alarms, chemical papers, training, etc. ALL NEEDED AND NEEDED INSTANTLY!!

During that period of the Cold War American troops under orders that if in combat with Soviet forces and coming under aircraft, rocket, artillery or mortar fire to MASK AND MASK INSTANTLY!! Do not wait for SYMPTOMS OF CHEMICAL ATTACK TO MANIFEST ITSELF!!

coolbert.





Turkmeni.

This is coolbert:

From DEBKAfile the Turk entering the fray in Syria and USING PROXY FORCES TO DO SO!

"Turkmeni forces cross from Turkey into N. Syria"

11 August.

"A large Turkish military contingent crossed into northern Syria early Tuesday . . . It is made up mainly of ethnic Turkmeni fighters trained for their mission by Turkish officers. This device aims to let Ankara off owning up to a Turkish military invasion of Syria. The unit is armed with tanks and artillery and has Turkish fighter jet air cover."

NOT merely light infantry as are the Kurdish peshmerga fighter. These Turkomen have a combined arms capability. Organic artillery, armor and on-call close-air-support AND ARE TRAINED AND PREPARED!.

This if true will represent an escalation of hostilities? Syria might feel compelled to respond but not having the wherewithal to do so. Iran too using proxies already in addition will perceive this as a danger to their interests?

coolbert.

Tanker 767.

This is coolbert:

Yet once more from DEBKAfile:

"Israel works at speed to convert Boeing 767 airliner into refueling tanker"

10 August.  

"US sources report that the Israeli Air Force contemplates giving up on the US Boeing's KC-46A Pegasus as its future refueling tanker for long-range flights because of delays in its delivery . . . Israel can't wait for the Pegasus. Israel Aerospace Industries] is therefore working at top speed to convert the Boeing 767, a long-range, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner with a range of 7,000 to 11,000 km. into a refueling tanker, to replace the outdated Boeing 707."

Conversions and modification to an original with marked improvement is something THE ISRAELI IS VERY GOOD AT DOING. THE BEST IN THE WORLD I MIGHT IMAGINE.

Also an indication of a certain degree of resolve and determination one might assume.

coolbert.





General Hassan.

This is coolbert:

From DEBKAfile yet one more high ranking Iranian officer killed in combat

"Eighth Iranian general killed in Syrian fighting"

10 August.

"Gen. Hassan Hosseini, of the Revolutionary Guards Engineering Corps was killed over the weekend in the southern Syria town of Deraa, the eighth Iranian general to die in the Syrian war. Iran has imposed a blackout on their deaths."

The Iranian has surely placed a lot of resources behind Assad. Iranian volunteers and proxy forces of Hezbollah dedicated to the Syrian conflict.

THIS IS SEEN IN TEHRAN AS AN APOCALYPTIC WAR BETWEEN THE FORCES OF LIGHT [SHIA] AND DARKNESS [SUNNI]?

coolbert.





Scud-B Latakia.

This is coolbert:

Here begins a series of blog entries rapid fire fashion courtesy of DEBKAfile:

"Assad clan's center Latakia in first taste of Scud rocket fire"

  10 August.

"The Islamic Army and Jaish al-Fatah rebel militias associated with the Nusra Front are closing in on the western Syrian port town of Latakia, a stronghold of the Assad clan. That town for the first time in the war was pounded with Scud B ground-to-ground rockets."

Latakia on the coast of the Mediterranean under attack with Scud. I was aware that ISIL had evidently from last year captured intact Scud but unaware that Nusra Front had them also. Perhaps came in possession of the missiles from Syrian stockpiles?

Scud an area weapon, most suitable for delivering WMD [weapons of mass destruction] on target, a port facility, an airbase, a military encampment. Nuclear, biological and chemical munitions. This was rather a conventional warhead of high explosive or perhaps even no warhead AT ALL!

It also takes a degree of expertise and sophistication to fuel, aim and fire successfully the Scud. Hezbollah as been previously noted has such a capability and also so does Nusra and ISIL?

A terror attack on the "stronghold" of the Alawite religious faction loyal to Assad and a warning of the day of reckoning.

coolbert.





Saturday, August 15, 2015

Neptune.

This is coolbert:

"B-52 Stratofortress during that period of the 1950's even making a famous round-the-world flight non-stop. NO point on the planet immune from the B-52."

FROM AMERICAN NAVAL AVIATION ALSO!

Competitions between American naval aviation and the U.S. Air Force at one time not an uncommon event.

Such was the flight of "The Truculent Turtle" immediately in the aftermath of World War Two.

Naval aviation PV-2 Neptune. Long-distance mission, non-stop, NO re-fueling.

"The third production P2V-1 was chosen for a record-setting mission, ostensibly to test crew endurance and long-range navigation but also for publicity purposes: to display the capabilities of the US Navy's latest patrol bomber. Its nickname was 'The Turtle'"

"Loaded with fuel in extra tanks fitted in practically every spare space in the aircraft, 'The Turtle' set out from Perth, Australia to the United States. With a crew of four. . . the aircraft set off on 9 September 1946, with a RATO (rocket-assisted takeoff). 2 1/2 days (55h, 18m) later, 'The Turtle' touched down in Columbus, Ohio, 11,236.6 mi (18,083.6 km) from its starting point. It was the longest un-refueled flight made to that point . . . This would stand as the absolute un-refueled distance record until 1962 . . . and would remain as a piston-engine record until 1986"

The "Turtle" stripped of all armaments and I might think too all associated anti-submarine-warfare [ASW] electronics, a minimal crew and many additional AVGAS tanks, NEEDING ROCKET-ASSISTED TAKE-OFF!! NOT a conventional Neptune on a conventional mission.

NONETHELESS a remarkable achievement and a demonstration of reliability, done almost without a care!!

coolbert.

BUFF B-52.

This is coolbert:

BUFF = Big Ugly Fat Fellow. A B-52 bomber.

From a previous blog entry and as was mentioned in the Daily Mail article:

"The airport at Darwin is one of only a few in the Asia-Pacific region with a runway long enough to accommodate the massive bombers."

Also a comment and observation from an acknowledged aviation authority:

"Au contraire!  Virtually any runway handling heavy body passenger jets like 747s, 787s and the like can handle BUFFs.  That means any country taking those airliners can also land BUFFs.  Not to mention [from the era of the Vietnam War] U-Tapao in Thailand, Don Muang Airport in Bangkok, the bases in the Philippines, Okinawa and Guam, and more." 

My understanding regarding the B-52 bomber is that the greatest difficulty with the BUFF ever to be encountered is the hard-stand when parking the aircraft. Must be of a sufficient thickness of reinforced concrete constructed to exacting specifications. Most hard-stands are not thick enough or well built enough to allow a BUFF to be parked for an extended period. The weight of the BUFF is too much for anything other than a quick re-fueling and back to flight again.

coolbert.

Bomber B-52.

This is coolbert:

Spotted! The most dangerous beast of them all! Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Thanks to the Daily Mail this headline and story:

"B-52 bombers sent on 44-hour non-stop flights from Louisiana to Australia in mock bombing run amid growing tensions with China"

    * "Planes flew 9,400 miles in 'bomber assurance and deterrence' mission"
    * "Vintage craft are capable of unleashing 70,000lbs of weapons"
    * "Soaring tensions in South China Sea over building in disputed territories"

Those disputed territories of course the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea but hardly confined to those alone.

A demonstration of American military and GLOBAL REACH and using the B-52 bomber to do so.

AND ALSO IN THIS CASE THE DARWIN CONNECTION.

B-52 capable of a variety of missions. Drop smart and dumb bombs [conventional], launch cruise missiles and drop sea mines. Surveillance of vast oceanic stretches, mid-air refueling with multiple crews on board.

B-52 Stratofortress during that period of the 1950's even making a famous round-the-world flight non-stop. NO point on the planet immune from the B-52.

AND YOU HAD JUST BETTER UNDERSTAND THIS TOO!

coolbert.



Friday, August 14, 2015

War Tomahawk.

This is coolbert:

Door Entry Tool but so much more.

From the article at Strategy Page that weapon peculiar and perhaps even unique [?] to the American military the war tomahawk makes a comeback!

"Tomahawks And Sharpened Shovel"

"The SOCOM [Special Operations Command] Tomahawks are mainly Door Entry Tools, but also tomahawks for the 21st century. Using such tools as weapons is nothing new. During the Korean War (1950-53), for example, American troops experienced two years of trench warfare. It was quickly found that a bayonet on the end of a rifle did not work well in hand-to-hand trench fighting. But some troops found that construction tools like axes and entrenching tools (a folding shovel all troops had) worked better. The entrenching tool worked best if you sharpened the edges of the shovel. Some troops got a second entrenching tool that was sharpened and kept handy for trench fighting rather than digging."

From that era of the Great War [WW1] and the legacy of the trench raid those weapons as found to be effective very low tech. As a matter of fact the less technology the better. Cave man warfare indeed at the most primitive level.

Weapons as most useful during a trench raid to include:

* Trench club.
* Trench knife.
* Trench shotgun. [also an American innovation]

That conventional weaponry in addition during a trench raid to include the much favored English Webley .455 revolver and lots of hand grenades.

With regard to the folding shovel I do not believe troops in Korea had such an item in their inventory. The current folding shovel is an innovation ONLY from the time of the end of the Vietnam War onward and not sooner? That shovel as issued to American soldiers in that time prior to and including the Vietnam War a clone of that used by Germans during World War Two.

THE WAR TOMAHAWK HAVING A NATIONAL SERIAL NUMBER [NSN] AND A LEGAL WEAPON OF WAR AS ISSUED TO THE TROOPS IF REQUISITIONED BY THE COMBAT COMMANDER. THE USE OF THE WAR TOMAHAWK DURING THE VIETNAM WAR A CONTROVERSIAL MATTER AND EVEN A SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION AT THE CONGRESSIONAL WINTER SOLDIERS HEARINGS!!

coolbert.


Thursday, August 13, 2015

Juxtaposition.

This is coolbert:

Here with a juxtaposition of images. Atomic attack Japan as from 1945. And conventional weaponry attack on Grozny. The latter as occurring during the First [1994] and Second [1999] Chechen Wars. Juxtaposition normally meaning side by side for comparison in this case and as is acceptably defined close together for comparison, examination and contrast.


Atomic attack aftermath Japan, 1945.


Conventional weapon attack Grozny. Thermobaric weaponry perhaps.


More atomic attack Japan, 1945.


Aftermath of conventional weaponry Grozny. Again thermobarics perhaps.

Russian roulette anyone? Play chicken at the atomic level? Improved conventional munitions for some time having reached a stage of development the destructive power equal to that of a tactical nuclear weapons.

coolbert.