Colt.

This is coolbert:

Annie! Antonov-2.

Forget about North Korean intermediate and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Forget about a profusion of North Korean artillery firing en masse.

Forget about North Korean rocket artillery of the KN-09 version.

Thank An-2 utility aircraft!

Thanks to Fox News and the article by Lucia I. Suarez Sang

"North Korea's antique airplane could be its most dangerous weapon yet"

Antonov-2 Colt [NATO code name] short take-off and landing utility aircraft. Ancient and as described an antique but nonetheless can be used by the North Korean for a variety of purposes.

RADAR SIGNATURE VERY SLIGHT!

"North Korea State Media  (An Antonov An-2 airplane, first flown in 1947, is part of Kim Jong Un's military arsenal.) The dated [1947] aircraft raises the concern that they could be used to transport a nuclear bomb to be dropped quite easily without triggering any radar at any specific target."

. . . .

“'The reason the An-2 still flies is that there is really no other aircraft like it,' aviation writer Bernie Leighton, who has flown in an An-2 in Belarus, told the BBC. 'If you need an aircraft that can carry 10 soldiers, people or goats, that can take off from anywhere and land anywhere ‒ it is either that or a helicopter.'”

More than anything else, An-2 to be used to drop paratroopers near a target. Ten man teams of ranger/commando type ground soldiers of the most highly trained variety their mission to create disruption and chaos behind enemy lines.

NORTH KOREA THE MILITARY DOCTRINE OF WHICH IS A MIX OF CONVENTIONAL AND IRREGULAR FORCES USED IN COMBINATION!

Kim has nukes. Kim has long-range missiles. Kim has antique warplanes. What exactly is there that Kim doesn't have?

coolbert.

Spillane USAAC.

This is coolbert:

Yet one more American that stood tall during World War Two [WW2]. Mickey Spillane the famous author of private investigator [PI] paperback books.

During World War II Spillane enlisted in the Army Air Corps, becoming a fighter pilot and a flight instructor.

Read this as told to me by an acknowledged aviation authority. those cap with the edges turned downward having a special significance.

"World War II officers wore what we called 'wheel hats' or officially, a service cap, due to their circular shape, with a patent leather visor. An flexible metal ring was placed inside the circular portion in order to maintain a neat, perfect shape without wrinkles--a necessity for military personnel. Pilots were required to wear the hats even while flying. They would remove the circular ring, called a grommet as I recall, in order to permit the wearing of headsets, necessary for radio communications while flying, resulting in the edges being crushed down close to the ears of the wearer. After quite a few missions, the crush became permanent, as the hat would not spring back into its original shape. It was known as a 'fifty mission crush' because it took quite a few missions to achieve that look. It was a desired look as it carried status for the pilot wearing such a hat--he was obviously a pilot and an experienced flyer at that, with the worn hat to show for it. New guys were easily recognizable since their hats would spring back into shape when the earphones were removed after flight."

Quite a few missions!

AND WOE TO THE INEXPERIENCED PILOT, THE NOVITIATE WHO TRIED TO WEAR HIS HAT THAT WAY! YOU WOULD BE SUBJECTED TO RIDICULE BY YOUR BROTHER OFFICERS AND MOST DESERVEDLY SO!!

coolbert.

Fateh-110.

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Indeed. This is the weapons system the Israeli have in mind when they consider the susceptibility of their nation to Hezbollah missile and rocket artillery attack?

The Fateh-110 family of missiles!

"Fateh-110 . . .  is a single-stage solid-propellant, surface-to-surface missile [SSM] with at least a 200 km [125 miles] range, and it is produced domestically within Iran . . . including the solid fuel propellant. Iran successfully flight tested the final version of the Fateh-110 in September, 2002. Several weeks later in mid-September 2002 the Aerospace Industries Organization opened a plant to mass-produce the Fateh-110. The initial range of the missile was 200 km [125 miles] but in September 2004 it was announced that it had been extended to 250 km [156 miles] and if needed it could be increased further. Fateh-110 has a range of 300 km [188 miles] in its fourth generation which was unveiled in 2012."

Additionally that newest and greatest Iranian SSM part of the Fateh family the Fateh-313. Possessing longer range and very advanced guidance system. Allowing attack of point targets.

"A point target is: A target of such small dimension that it requires the accurate placement of ordnance in order to neutralize or destroy it."

Fateh 313 apparently having extended range AND A VERY HIGHLY ADVANCED GUIDANCE SYSTEM. On paper at least the Fateh presumably CAN attack point targets at long-range.

"Guidance system - - Inertial, global navigation satellite system and electro-optical terminal. Accuracy less than 10 meters in Fateh-313 [at a range of 313 miles/500 kilometers]"!

One Fateh, two Fateh, three Fateh more! And all deadly.

coolbert.

KN-09.

This is coolbert:

Herewith some details as alleged of the latest North Korean missile launch.

NOT necessarily a missile as that word missile understood.

Rather a form of long-range rocket artillery. Analogous to the American HIMARS so it seems.

Thanks to the article by Harry J. Kazianis key points as extracted.

"North Korea likely tested a weapon that could start a Second Korean War"

"What is concerning, however, is that the system that was potentially tested, according to reports in South Korean media, was one of North Korea’s more advanced missile systems, a 300-mm [12 inch] artillery rocket launching platform, commonly referred to as the KN-09"

"The system, per the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has a range of 190km [118 miles], carrying a total of eight rockets in two pods of four launchers. These deadly weapons sit on a mobile truck, making them mobile and harder to destroy in a conflict."

Read further as to the characteristics and capabilities of the KN-09:

https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=1065

https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/kn-09-kn-ss-x-9/

As to the accuracy of this weapon over long-range and guidance system this is unclear. More than anything else, this is a terror weapon?

coolbert.

FAL.

This is coolbert:

The battle continues!

From Sputnik more on the fighting occurring at this very instant between the combatants of the Islamic State [ISIL] and that combined force of Lebanese army, Hezbollah, Syrian army and perhaps even American Special forces.

"Lebanese Army Liberates Almost 20 Square Miles at Border With Syria From Daesh"

Daesh = Islamic State.  

FAL = Forces Armées Libanaises.

"The Lebanese army managed to establish control over a hill range on the mountainous Lebanese-Syrian border following the start of its operation against Daesh (banned in Russia), a spokesman of Lebanese army said Saturday."

"BEIRUT (Sputnik) — On Saturday, the Lebanese army launched an operation to defeat Daesh terrorists on its side of the border with Syria. The terrorists reportedly seized 120 square kilometers (46 square miles) of Lebanon's territory."

EVERYTHING GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN. SO THEY TELL US.

See previous blog entries the topic of which was the ISIL incursion into Lebanon and the response thereof:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/08/bekaa.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/08/beqaa.html

coolbert.

Reflex.

This is coolbert:

Having seen some images of weapons equipped with a sighting mechanism of which I am unfamiliar. The reflex sight. Also with with the final word.

Israeli ground troops under-going close-quarters-combat training and using the reflex sight.

This woman of the Caracal mixed gender Israeli battalion wielding a Tavor assault rifle with the reflex sight.

Regarding the reflex sight here with the comments of an acknowledged weapons expert:

"The reflex or holographic sights take the impossible burden out of aimed shooting:  focusing the human eye on three things located at varying distances away.  The rear sight, front sight, and the target have to be focused on by the shooter's eye to be perfectly aligned for a successful shot, using the old iron sights.  It is truly impossible because the eye can only focus on one of those at a time.  We are taught to focus only on the front sight while the rear sight and the target are a blur--somewhat aligned with the front sight, but a blur nonetheless.  A most inefficient and inaccurate way to do things, but the best compromise.  That works fine for practice and to some extent for competition shooting. However, most find it hard not to look directly at the enemy who is about to kill you-- that focuses not just the mind, but the eye, on pending doom."

"With the reflex red dot (or the red dot inside the red ring as in the EOTech style sights), one looks at the target in full focus and the red dot, also in focus.  There is no need to line up a front and rear sight; whatever the red dot is on is where the bullet--if the weapon is properly sighted in--will go.  Further, it doesn't matter where or how the shooter holds the gun: if he can see the dot on the target,  proper trigger pull will send the bullet there.  Thus, the gun can be improperly shouldered (or not at the shoulder at all), the head canted left or right, and/or the eye relief varying.  It won't matter; if the shooter can see the dot on the target, he shoots knowing that is where the bullet will go as long as he has a round under the hammer."

. . . .

"I have to say, the red dot reflex sights are the greatest invention for close quarter combat since the invention of the Gladius [Roman short sword]. And the 'red dot inside a ring' found on the EOTech reflex sights is the best of the red dot developments, allowing an even quicker shot by simply seeing the target in the red ring when a red dot alone is too small for a hurried, close range emergency shot."

And thank you acknowledged weapons authority!

coolbert.

Electricity III.

This is coolbert:

Concluding the susceptibility of nations to having electrical power disrupted during a time of war.

As originally envisioned, the special operations unit First Special Service Force from the era of the Second World War intended to fight as guerrillas in Nazi-occupied Europe.

PRIMARY TARGETS TO INCLUDE GERMAN ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION STATIONS!

"[the First Special Service Force was] a commando unit that could be landed, by sea or air, into occupied Norway, Romania, and the Italian Alps on sabotage missions against hydroelectric plants and oil fields . . . attacks on Norwegian power stations, which supplied the country with 49% of its power, might drive the Axis powers out of the country and give the Allies a direct link to Russia . . . and Italian hydroelectric plants powered most of south German industry."

ATTACK TOO NOT BY MISSILE OR WARPLANE BUT BY THE PARTISAN, THE FOOT SOLDIER! TURBINES AND TRANSFORMERS BLOWN TO BITS BY DEMOLITION EXPERTS HANDS-ON!

And in the modern context a electric-production power station destroyed from afar by computer hackers. It is already a reality!! Who needs LONG-RANGE MISSILES or WARPLANES when a computer keyboard can do it all from 5,000 miles away [or greater]!

"When the US government demonstrated in 2007 how hackers could take down a power plant by physically destroying a generator with just 21 lines of code, many in the power industry dismissed the demo as far-fetched. Some even accused the government of faking the so-called Aurora Generator Test to scare the public."

 "Victory smiles upon those who anticipate the change in the character of war, not upon those who wait to adapt themselves after the changes occur." - - Douhet.

coolbert.

Electricity II.

This is coolbert:

Also during that period of the Second World War electrical producing facilities of the Soviet Soviet perceived as highly susceptible to attack !  The German having understood this and conceived of Eisenhammer!

"Operation Eisenhammer was a planned [German] strategic bombing operation against power generators near Moscow and Gorky in the Soviet Union"

"A bombing raid was to destroy twelve turbines in water and steam power-plants near Moscow, Gorky, Tula, Stalinogorsk and under the Rybinsk Reservoir, as well as to attack certain substations, transmission lines and factories. If the attack were to succeed in destroying just two-thirds of the turbines it would have knocked out about 75 percent of the power used by the Soviet defence industry"

That mission if executed the warplane and payload to attack the turbines and power stations called Mistel. A contraption that never did see use!

A Mistel. Fw-190 manned on top. Ju-88 unmanned underneath. That nose cone of the Ju-88 the foremost point of an enormous shaped charge. Mistel flown to the target, the Ju-88 aimed and released at the last possible moment the pilot of the Fw-190 hoping to make an escape before detonation. That shaped charge the meat and potatoes and tip of the spear.

The idea was sound but nonetheless the deed never done! Would it have even worked? That shaped charge reputed to be the largest shaped charge ever made!

 coolbert.

Electricity I.

This is coolbert:

From the Sheldon Adelson Internet web site Israel Hayom an item by Elliott Abrams portions extracted most pertinent.

Israel exceedingly susceptible [?] to attack by Hezbollah precision guided missiles? The targets vital infrastructure electrical power production perhaps foremost.

Abrams relying heavily [?] on an original article co-authored by Ron Tira  and Gideon Sa'ar!

Concerning Ron Tira and his specific expertise in such matters:

"Tira is a strategist ‎who was a longtime Israeli Air Force officer and pilot"

"The next Israel-Hezbollah conflict"

"Regarding electricity generation in Israel, for example, out of a capacity to generate about ‎‎17,600 MW of electricity, 28% is installed in only two sites (with 10 cumulative ‎production units -- turbines, for example). The six largest electricity generating sites in ‎Israel (including private ones) account for 51% of the national capacity for electricity ‎generation (using only 26 production units). Thus the threat represented by even a small ‎number of precision missiles that breach Israel's countermeasures and strike critical ‎systems, such as electricity generation, could be unprecedented"

HIT THAT ONE OR SEVERAL KEY POINTS OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND YOU SIGNIFICANTLY CRIPPLE YOUR ADVERSARY DURING A TIME OF WAR. ELECTRICITY IN PARTICULAR AS BEING ESSENTIAL TO MODERN HUMAN LIFE NO FURTHER ELABORATION REQUIRED!

coolbert.

Fingers.

This is coolbert:

First Doklam now Ladakh.

Now rocks. Tomorrow AK?

From The Times of India as seen at Freeper:

"Scuffle between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh as two incursion bids by PLA foiled"

PLA = People's Liberation Army. [China].

"Highlights. PLA soldiers tried to enter the Indian side in two areas -- Finger Four and Finger Five -- twice on Tuesday morning. Personnel from both sides received some injuries in stone-pelting. The rival troops pulled back from the confrontation site after banner drills to defuse the situation NEW DELHI: A major scuffle, which included stone-pelting, took place between Indian and Chinese soldiers along the Line of Actual Control at eastern Ladakh in the western sector on Tuesday even as the tense troop stand-off in Doklam area in the eastern sector remains locked in a stalemate."

See previous blog entries the topic was Ladakh:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/ladakh.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/08/ladakh.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/07/ladakh.html

coolbert.

A-35.

This is coolbert:

Galosh!

Before there was A-135 there was A-35!

I find I am part right and part wrong in this matter.

Soviet/Russian anti-ballistic missile defense [ABM] from the era of the Cold War but not exactly as I thought it was.

The A-35 system, radar components and missile. The latter code-named Galosh!

"The ABM-1 Galosh (Soviet designation A-350) was a Soviet, nuclear-tipped surface-to-air anti-ballistic missile. The Galosh (NATO reporting name, formerly SH-01) was a component of the A-35 anti-ballistic missile system. Its primary mission was to destroy U.S. Minuteman and Titan intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting Moscow"

"The ABM-1 was introduced during the 1960s with mechanically steered semi-active radar guidance. It contained a high-yield nuclear warhead [two to three megaton thermonuclear.]"

"The ABM-1B (Soviet designation A-350R) was introduced with the advanced A-35M missile system and became operational during 1978. This system was tested at the Sary Shagan Launch Facility with five test flights during 1971, 1976, and 1977, with two more tests during 1993 and 1999."

A-35 as with A-135 intended ONLY to protect Moscow and immediate environs!

Also with regard to effectiveness of the A-35 system consider this from the wiki:

"A memo from the archives of Vitalii Leonidovich Kataev, written circa 1985, had envisaged that the system 'will be completed in 1987 to provide protection from a strike of 1-2 modern and prospective ICBMs and up to 35 Pershing 2-type intermediate-range missiles.'"

THESE ABM SYSTEMS SUCH AS A-35 OR A-135 WILL NOT PROTECT AGAINST A MASSIVE MISSILE ATTACK!

coolbert.

A-135.

This is coolbert:

I was vaguely aware such a system existed during the Cold War but might have thought all missiles and radar by now in the scrap heap. But not so!

Soviet/Russian anti-ballistic missile system! ABM!

As seen at the Russian Times [RT] Internet web site and extracted from same.

"Russia tests nuclear-tipped missile interceptor (VIDEO)"

"The Russian military has successfully tested a short-range ballistic missile interceptor designed to destroy incoming nuclear warheads with a nuclear explosion in the air. These missiles are used in Moscow’s anti-ballistic missile system."

"The A-135 ABM system protects Russia’s capital and its surroundings from a possible nuclear missile attack. It consists of phased-array radar, a command center, and launchers that release two types of interceptor missiles, the long-range 51T6 and the short-range 53T6."

A-135 that combination of radar and missiles!

Gorgon long-range. Gazelle short-range. A-135 limited to the protection of Moscow proper and surrounding environs.

In the operational ABM mode Gorgon carrying a one-megaton thermonuclear warhead. Gazelle a much smaller ten-kiloton atomic warhead [fission bomb]. Gazelle too a mobile system as can be seen in the video!

coolbert.

GOOD.

This is coolbert:

Consider this blog entry to be borderline relevant but in light of the continuing crisis involving North Korean missiles and nuclear weapons pertinent.

GOOD = Get Out Of Dodge.

That article by Ned Barnett and Dianne Bilderback courtesy of American Thinker.

"Surviving the North Korean Nuclear Threat"

"If you have to Get Out Of Dodge (GOOD), you’ll need the following items"

*   "A 72-hour survival kit"
*   " A reliable car"
*    "An evacuation destination --"
*    "Self-defense weapons --"

Further considerations in addition to the GOOD kit:

a. "Self-defense."
b. "a source of potable water"
d. "Batteries, solar cells, or other sources of electricity"
e. "A first-aid kit"
f. "Sanitary supplies"

Solar-powered landscape light and excellent source for indoor lighting. Charge outside during daylight, take inside for illumination during hours of darkness.

Those of you interested further in the subject see these Internet web sites that sell kits and supplies for DOOMSDAY:

"Doomsday Prep: Prepper Gear, Bug Out Bags, and Prepper Supplies"

"Survival Gear | Emergency Survival Supplies ... - US Prepper Gear"

"US Prepper Gear: Survival Gear - Medical Supplies - Bug Out Bag"

"What's New · ‎US Military · ‎Stoves/Cookware · ‎Food
Doomsday Preppers - Survival Supplies"

At a minimum prepare and have ready what is called a "bug-out" bag!

coolbert.

Little Bird.

This is coolbert:

Deja vu all over again. Thirty years later?

From the War is Boring Internet web site as extracted from the article by ROBERT BECKHUSEN.

"A-10 Pilots Train to Attack Swarms of Small Boats"

Brrrt!! USA 1. Boghanners 0.

"It doesn’t necessarily take the resources of a major nation-state to challenge U.S. Navy warships. China for instance is building up a large navy and invests in long-range, ship-killing missiles. Iran can’t build a large navy but it does invest in swarms of small missile boats. Like a swarm of insects, a swarm of boats can pose a threat as a larger, far more expensive warship might not be able to swat them all and a single missile with enough punch can be devastating."

TACTICS AS BEING PRACTICED NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN! THINK OPERATION PRIME CHANCE FROM THIRTY YEARS AGO!!

"Operation Prime Chance (August 1987 – June 1989) was a United States Special Operations Command operation intended to protect U.S.-flagged oil tankers from Iranian attack during the Iran–Iraq War"

"Prime Chance was secret. The army helicopters flew at night, slipping to and from navy flight decks under cover of darkness. The helicopter pilots often flew some 30 feet (9.1 m) above the water, and became the first to use night vision goggles [NOD] and forward looking infrared [FLIR] devices in combat. Tactics included using MH-6 Little Birds as spotters for the more heavily armed AH-6s (for barge-launched missions), and using the warship's radar and that of their SH-60 Seahawk helicopters for the same purpose (on ship-launched efforts)."

U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Regiment [SOAR] hunter/killer units their role in great measure allowing for American success during Prime Chance.

THIRTY YEARS AGO THE UNITED STATES MILITARY FOUGHT AN UNDECLARED AND UNREPORTED WAR WITH IRAN! DEVOTED READERS TO THE BLOG ARE AWARE OF THIS?

coolbert.

Bekaa.

This is coolbert:

Bekaa sometimes spelled Beqaa.

Daesh = Islamic State.

From Sputnik more on the topic of the Islamic State combatants moving into Lebanon. Invading the traditional strong-point of Hezbollah. Opposed by a multi-national force of Lebanon, Syria, the United States and of course the fighters of Hezbollah.

The Syrian and Hezbollah both aided and abetted by the Russian and Iranian?

"Lebanon: Hezbollah vs. Daesh"

"The international media is abuzz about an impending anti-Daesh offensive along the mountainous Lebanese-Syrian border which will interestingly see the participation of both US special forces and Hezbollah."

WE ARE ALL ABUZZ!

See previous blog entries as applicable:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/08/beqaa.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/08/demarche.html

coolbert.

DPRK Nuke.

This is coolbert:

Here with an entire index of articles from various sources as pertinent to the North Korean missile and nuclear crisis. For your perusal:

1. "N Korea Says It's 'On Standby To Launch' - Warns Trump
Of 'Tragic Doom' For The US"

2. "Trump Tells NK It Will 'Regret It Fast' If It Hits Guam"


3. "N Korea Says 3.5m Volunteers 'Ready To Fight US'"

4. "North Korea Issues 'Emergency Standby Orders' To Civil Defense Units: Report"

5. "Does Kim Jong-Un's Strategy Make Sense?"


6. "How US Would Wage Nuclear War Against North Korea"

7. "Can US Attack North Korea And Claim ‘Self Defense’?"


8. "Why War With North Korea Is Unlikely"

Kim and the North Korean leadership [a family business] has a very bad habit of pushing things, causing provocation with intent that is not needed. And the North Korean for DECADES has had the carrot and stick approach used by various nations in an effort to ameliorate the situation without success.

Kim this time has made calculations that will backfire on him? One wrong step and the consequences for everyone in the region are dire!

coolbert.

ROCKETSAN.

This is coolbert:

Here too with more instances of continued Turkish indigenous weapons design, development, construction. Self-sufficiency to the greatest degree possible the goal. And to a certain degree already the goal met.

1. Attack helicopter T129.

The TAI/AgustaWestland T129 is a twin-engine, tandem seat, multi-role, all-weather attack helicopter based on the Agusta A129 Mangusta platform. The T129 was developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), with AgustaWestland as the primary partner. The helicopter is designed for advanced attack and reconnaissance in hot and high environments and rough geography in both day and night conditions."

"The ATAK programme was begun to meet the Turkish Armed Forces' requirements for an attack and tactical reconnaissance helicopter. The T129 is the result of the integration of Turkish developed high-tech avionics, air-frame modifications, and weapon systems onto the combat proven AgustaWestland A129 airframe, with upgraded engines, transmission and rotor blades."

2. UMTAS anti-tank guided-missile.

"Turkey’s indigenous helicopter to be equipped with locally-made missiles"

"Turkey’s new locally-built advanced attack and tactical reconnaissance helicopter ATAK will be equipped with UMTAS, a long range air-to-surface anti-tank missile developed by Turkey’s ROKETSAN"

ROCKETSAN a very going concern with addition product already fielded and going by the names of CİRİT, SOM, TEBER. Read it all here.

coolbert.

MILGEM.

This is coolbert:

Erdogan speaks! Listen!

From the Russian Times Internet web site.

"Turkey to build its own aircraft carriers – Erdogan"

"Turkey is 'committed' to building its own aircraft carriers the Turkish President has said. Recep Tayyip Erdogan added that Ankara is seeking self-sufficiency in its defense industry and will not allow anyone to block its military initiatives."

“'We will build our own aircraft carriers,' Erdogan said at the launching ceremony of the new Turkish Kinaliada Corvette at the Istanbul Navy shipyard."

"The Kinaliada Corvette has been built locally under Turkey’s MILGEM national warship program aimed at building frigates with anti-submarine capabilities based on Turkish domestic technologies."

THE TURK TO THE GREATEST DEGREE POSSIBLE SELF-SUFFICIENT WITH REGARD TO WARSHIPS, INDIGENOUS DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF BOTH! THIS IS THE GOAL!

"The MİLGEM project, from the Turkish words Milli Gemi (National Ship), is a Turkish national warship program, the purpose of which was to build a modern littoral combat ship with indigenous anti-submarine warfare and high-seas patrol capabilities, extensively using the principles of stealth technology in its design"

TURKISH NAVAL AVIATION ASSETS DEDICATED AND SMALL SIZE NAVAL VESSELS [CORVETTE] MORE THAN SUFFICIENT TO PROTECT THE TURKISH COASTLINE?

An aircraft carrier for POWER PROJECTION purposes. Turkey also allowed under the Montreux Convention to operate a carrier in the Black Sea in a manner other nations are not!

coolbert.

Stung Treng

This is coolbert:

War and rumors of war!

Stung Treng. Ever heard of it? As with Doklam Stung Treng now a flash point. In this case between Cambodia and Laos!

From Sputnik.

"Rumble in the Jungle? Cambodia Threatens War Over Laos Border Dispute"

"A border dispute has the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Cambodia edging closing to actual hostilities, with the leader of Cambodia giving his neighbor a deadline for removing troops from what he says is Cambodian territory."

"Hun Sen, prime minister of Cambodia, has demanded that Laos withdraw all troops from Cambodian land, threatening war to 'protect our territory' if Laos does not pull back posthaste"

"Why are we fighting? Why are we fighting? We don't want to fight at all. Who wants to fight, who is it? - - Mick Jagger, Altamont.

coolbert.

VIX.

This is coolbert:

North Korea makes ready?

NK civil defense now being mobilized. A VERY troubling development.

Read it all from Zero Hedge:

"North Korea Issues "Emergency Standby Orders" To Civil Defense Units: Report"

Stock market exchanges paying close attention to developments. Fund managers as you might well imagine apprehensive and worried. 

"With markets about to close for the next 2 days, the question on every trader's mind is: "should i carry risk over the weekend, or should I dump it all in case North Korea fires another test, or non-test, ICBM launch"

. . . .

"And while the report has yet to be confirmed by other news outlets, traders are furiously hitting refresh on the website of 38North.org for the daily satellite image update of North Korea's missile launch preparedness, which has yet to hit and which could mean the difference between another sleepy, boring open on Monday and a VIX surging above 20, 30 or more depending on what 'path' Kim Jong-Un picks over the next 48 hours."

VIX =  VOLATILITY INDEX. "The CBOE's Volatility Index, known by its ticker symbol VIX, is a popular measure of the implied volatility of S and P 500 index options, calculated and published by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). It is colloquially referred to as the fear index or the fear gauge."

WATCH THE VIX MONDAY! THOSE IN THE KNOW WILL BE!

coolbert.

Headache.

This is coolbert:

As if the Royal Navy [RN] admirals don't have enough concerns already!

The amateur who beats the professionals. And doing so using a commercial drone.

"Largest UK Navy carrier security under review after amateur lands drone on deck undetected"

"Security will be reviewed at the aircraft carrier ‘HMS Queen Elizabeth’ after a photo enthusiast landed a small drone aboard the largest ship in the Royal Navy and remained undetected"

"The incident happened when the ‘Queen Elizabeth’, which is to be commissioned by the Royal Navy later this year, was docked in the Scottish port of Invergordon in July."

A COMMERCIAL DRONE ABLE TO LAND ON THE DECK OF THE LATEST AND MOST POWERFUL BRITISH AIRCRAFT CARRIER WHILE THE SHIP DOCKED AND ESCAPE WITHOUT BEING DETECTED.

THIS TOO A CHINESE DJI DRONE.

See this video of the incident as seen and recorded by the drone operator. And posted to Facebook.

Also see a prior blog entry the deadliness of these commercial drones under the right circumstances.

coolbert.

Beqaa.

This is coolbert:

Beqaa also sometimes spelled as Bekaa.

Concluding with extracts from the latest edition of the DEBKAfile newsletter:

"US-British airlifts bring arms to Lebanese army fighting ISIS"

9 Aug.

"At least five US and British air force freighters have landed at the Lebanese military air base at Riyaq in the eastern Beqaa Valley in the last few days . . . they are delivering anti-tank rockets and artillery ammo for the Lebanese army which is battling ISIS elements that have infiltrated the the northern Beqaa Valley through the Syrian border."

The Islamic State moves west? And into what has historically been the strong-hold of Hezbollah?

Offensive action of this sort unexpected and hardly what you see as a probable or possible from an adversary beaten and on-the-ropes as they say!

coolbert.

Switchblade NK.

This is coolbert:

Yet more from the latest edition of the DEBKAfile newsletter:

"North Korea reportedly mounts anti-ship cruise missile on fast boat"
   
8 Aug.

"US intelligence sources reported Tuesday that the North Koreans had mounted anti-ship cruise missiles on fast boats, indicating that Pyongyang is preparing for an early test launch of the Stormpetel missile from boats anchored at the Toejo Dong port on its eastern coast."

"The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy practiced launching identical cruise missiles last May from a Ghadir-type submarine."

Hard to know with any degree of certainty any details of the Stormpetel missile.

The North Koreans refer to this anti-ship missile as a: "KN-09 Kumsong-3 - Reported North Korean copy of the Kh-35U". KN-09 a North Korean knock-off [?] of the Russian anti-ship missile NATO code-named Switchblade.

"'Switchblade', GRAU 3M24) . . . is designed to attack vessels up to 5,000 tonnes."

Iranians and North Koreans in harmony? Fast boats armed with anti-ship missiles an antidote to the might of the U.S. Navy. The Axis of Evil at work?

NONE of this is really clear to me!

coolbert.

Hashd al-Shaabi.

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Continuing with extracts from the latest edition of the DEBKAfile newsletter:

"A pro-Iranian militia: Many killed in US air strike at Iraqi-Syrian border"

8 Aug.

"The Iraqi Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militia claims that a US air strike Monday killed and wounded dozens of its fighters near the Iraqi border with Syria. The militia group, backed by Iran, warned the US there would be serious consequences, stating they will 'not remain silent about the attack,' and called on the Iraqi government and related authorities to launch an investigation into the incident."

"US and coalition special forces hold a position at Al-Tanf, a key point on the Syrian-Iraqi border. They have fended off unremitting forays for their eviction by pro-Iranian and Syrian government forces because their position stands in the way of Tehran's goal of a land bridge between the two countries."

THE AIR STRIKE MUST HAVE CAUSED HEAVY CASUALTIES AND DAMAGE. IF IT HAD NOT THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY COMPLAINT!

See previous blog entries the subject Al-Tanf:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/06/showdown.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/05/al-waleed.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/06/al-tanf.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/06/exporter.html

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Démarche.

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We are displeased!

Here begins a series of blog entries, extracts from the latest edition of the DEBKAfile newsletter.

"démarche 1. an action or gesture by a diplomat, especially a formal appeal, protest, or the like."

"US troops fight alongside Syrian, Hizballah, Lebanese armies"

7 Aug.
   
"Israeli diplomats have filed a quiet demarche with Washington over the participation of US special forces in a joint operation with the Syrian, Hizballah and Lebanese armies to clear the Lebanese-Syrian border region of Al Qaeda's Syrian arm the rebel Nusra Front,which is fighting with ISIS elements. This is reported by DEBKAfile. This 'coalition's' next target is the Syrian-Israeli border, for the purpose of establishing one of four ceasefire zones, the outcome of the US-Russian deal to cooperate in Syria, which DEBKAfile uncovered from the first. Both powers are determined to impose their agreed ceasefire zones right up to the Golan border, whether Israel likes it or not."

A demarche as presented by the Israeli to the United States. If indeed this joint operation as deemed a reality, politics and war both make for strange bedfellows.

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Bulldozer.

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Three - two - one. Ignition and lift off!!

Doklam!

Our patience is not infinite! Thanks to Freeper for the tip. Doklam again.

"China Says Countdown For War With India Has Begun"

"The relationship between India and China seemed to worsen Wednesday when the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that 53 people and an Indian bulldozer was in China's territory and advised India to pull them back. This followed a warning Tuesday when an editorial in the state-run China Daily said that the 'countdown to a clash between the two forces has begun.'"

ONE BULLDOZER AND THE WHOLE WORLD MUST COME TO AN END? THIS IS HOW  WARS BEGIN?

DO NOT THINK THIS IS MERE RHETORIC! MAYBE MUCH MORE THAN WORDS!

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Von Forstner II.

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Concluding with the combat patrol of the German submarine U-28 during the Great War and the alleged encounter with a sea monster.

First the family Von Forstner of noble rank and military men noted for their contributions to either the Prussian or German cause.

Second and as described an investigation into the incident as was reported and the subject of  a You Tube video:

"The Case of the U-28 Creature"

Finally from the Librivox Internet web site I highly recommend this reading of the Von Forster journal, war time patrols, a "graphic account" perhaps that most perfect example of a war journal an account of submarine warfare by any combatant of any nation during any war.

"The Journal of Submarine Commander Von Forstner" 

By George-Gunther Freiherr von Forstner.

As read by Sue Anderson and all thanks to Librivox and Sue.

"The Journal of Submarine Commander Von Forstner is a graphic account of WWI submarine warfare. Forstner was the commander of German U-boat U-28. His journal, first published 1916, gives a gritty picture of daily life inside a submarine and details several torpedo attacks on Allied shipping."

It should be noted that NOWHERE in the journal of Captain Von Forster is a mention made of the encounter with the "sea monster".

Let the devoted reader to the blog judge for themselves and at their own conclusions to the "sea monster" incident!

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Von Forstner I.

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The strange case of U-Boat Captain Von Forstner and the sea monster.

Came across this one quite by accident. Always on the alert too for that description of  paranormal phenomenon as observed by military personnel.

German U-Boat [U-28] during the Great War having sunk an enemy merchant vessel and as a consequence witnessing the appearance of a prehistoric sea monster!!

Artists rendition of the sea monster as thrown into the air by the underwater explosion of the sunken Iberia. A beast of about sixty feet [twenty meters] in length it is reputed.

For those devoted readers to the blog wanting to read more concerning the sea monster refer to this index of Internet web sites devoted to the subject of the German U-Boat U-28 and the encounter with the sea monster:

"U-28 ABOMINATION: (ATLANTIC OCEAN) - Cryptopia.us"

"Did The U-28 See A Sea Monster? | northatlanticblog"

"Baron Von Forstner and the U28 sea serpent of July 1915 | CFI ..."

"The UnMuseum - Sea Monster Tales"

"Unknown Explorers - U-28 Creature"

"Grey Forces (The U-28 Sea Monster)"

MILITARY PERSONNEL BY TRAINING ARE BETTER OBSERVERS OF "PHENOMENON" AND REPORT SAME IN A MORE UNBIASED MANNER? THEY HAVE NO AGENDA AND THUS ARE MORE TRUST WORTHY?

"There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy [science]." - - Hamlet.

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Frenzy!

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It is often suggested that the British during that period of the Great Depression and in those years prior to the Second World War were more or less oblivious to the threat as posed by a resurgent and modern German military and the aggressive intentions of the Nazi regime. "Slept" is the word normally associated with England in that era between the World Wars!

That perception being that the English took few if any measures to provide a robust military force to counter the threat of German mechanized might. This is not so!

"Driven — Britain’s Campaign to Build a Mechanized Fighting Force to Match Hitler’s Panzers"

"In November 1934, the British government, alarmed by Berlin’s rapid rearmament program, authorized the creation of a centre for army mechanization. It was to be located at Chilwell, near Nottingham in the English midlands."

"It further set up a reserve force made up of motor industry professionals and other suitably qualified people so as to be ready in the event of war."

"In November 1933, with the arrival of Hitler and massive German rearmament, the cabinet authorized the Defense Requirements Committee to examine Britain’s defenses. After eight months of interminable wrangling and arguments, the cabinet finally agreed on the sum of seventy-one million pounds over the next five years to repair the defense deficiencies"

71 million pounds in today's money equal to about $ 8 BILLION dollars [USD].

That for tank and various mechanized development alone!!

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Kim Atomics.

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I'm watching you!

From the Victor Davis Hanson Internet web site and as also seen at the National Review this item concerning the man in Pyongyang. Kim the Merciless. And the threat as posed by same to the world order.

"Is Kim Jong-un an Evil Buffoon or an Evil Genius?"

"Kim Jong-un has accomplished something that neither his grandfather nor father pulled off during the last 70 years: bringing an existential threat to the shores of the United States. North Korea’s handful of missiles that are soon to be pointed our way will be seen as posing a greater existential threat than do the far more numerous nuclear-tipped missiles of Russia and China — on the premise that by feigning (?) madness Kim is far more likely to use them. How weird that the really dangerous adversaries are seen as posing a far lesser danger than the far weaker one. Iran is looking at all this as a tutorial."

"Even in the age of North Korean technological incompetence and American high-tech excellence, a sophisticated society assumes it cannot live with the idea that there is a 1-2 percent chance that a lone North Korean nuclear missile — due to a supposedly insane finger on the button that claims it is indifferent to threats of U.S. massive retaliation — could at any moment actually get through U.S. defenses to reach Pacific Heights or South Central LA."

So what is the man? Kim! And evil genius or an evil buffoon? Or something in-between. The Professor does not answer in a categorical specific manner.!

American policy makers and military planners also must take into consider the difference between the INTENTIONS of Kim and his CAPABILITIES! He has atomic weapons and a long-range missile delivery system. But what does he intend to do with them? That is the question!

A question [what are the intentions of Kim] that can only be answered by the use of what Sun Tzu termed the INWARD SPY! Sun defining such a person thusly:

"Worthy men who have been degraded from office, criminals who have undergone punishment; also, favorite concubines who are greedy for gold, men who are aggrieved at being in subordinate positions, or who have been passed over in the distribution of posts, others who are anxious that their side should be defeated in order that they may have a chance of displaying their ability and talents, fickle turncoats who always want to have a foot in each boat. Officials of these several kinds," . . . "should be secretly approached and bound to one's interests by means of rich presents. In this way you will be able to find out the state of affairs in the enemy's country, ascertain the plans that are being formed against you, and moreover disturb the harmony and create a breach between the sovereign and his ministers."

The United States intelligence community has such an INWARD SPY in Pyongyang? I would like to think so but doubt it!

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Doklam RT.

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From the homepage of the Russian Times Internet web site we have the question being asked with the public voting their opinion on the matter!

RT asks, readers vote.

"The Indo-Chinese border conflict involving Bhutan is"

* A prelude for a major war in Asia
* Merely unpleasant, will lead to economic tit-for-tat
* Mostly allows nationalists in both countries blow off steam
* Somehow Trump’s fault, we just don’t know how exactly

And the answers are by percentage:

   *  22% - A prelude for a major war in Asia

   *  29% - Merely unpleasant, will lead to economic tit-for-tat

    * 31% - Mostly allows nationalists in both countries blow off steam

    * 19% - Somehow Trump’s fault, we just don’t know how exactly

See previous blog entries the topic of which is the Doklam crisis:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/07/doklam.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/08/threats.html

YES, and Don is to blame for it all!

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Ward 22.

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SADF = South African Defense Force.

Came across this one quite by accident. And indeed I am mildly surprised such a thing was so!

And as is so apropos with regard to the transgender controversy it being a current hot topic. Military service for transgender persons now a possible?

During the apartheid regime South African military conscripts forcibly [?] given sex change operations? Boys became girls [some willingly?] and even one girl became a boy?

From the article as seen in the English Guardian:

"Gays tell of mutilation by apartheid army"

"In practice, the army's treatment of gays was confused. Many found themselves in de facto 'gay battalions',"

"'In Uppington, virtually the whole battalion was queer until some general decided this should be broken up. There was one in Grahamstown. There was another in Pretoria. For some of them, these were supportive environments,'" 

"Some men joined the army specifically to get a sex change operation. But others were pressured into surgery by military psychologists after other methods failed. The army carried out as many as 50 sex change operations a year."

"Lesbians were also offered surgery - one woman is among those left partially altered after the programme was shut down."

TREATMENTS AS DEEMED APPROPRIATE NOT LIMITED TO SURGICAL TECHNIQUES.

Read further regarding this entire matter at these links:

https://tinyurl.com/y7yty32k

https://tinyurl.com/y6une7uh

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ROK GI.

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From The Week Internet web site.

I get a big laugh out of this one!

"For the first time, most Americans are ready to deploy troops to defend South Korea"

"Americans are increasingly willing to put U.S. boots on the ground to fight for South Korea in the event of a North Korean invasion, new poll results released Monday by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs reveal. In fact, for the first time since the organization began polling on this question in 1990, a majority of Americans — 62 percent — are ready to go to war for South Korea."

Click on image to see an enlarged view.

THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE IS ABSURD! AMERICAN MILITARY FORCES ["BOOTS ON THE GROUND"] FOR OVER SIXTY YEARS HAVE BEEN READY TO DEFEND SOUTH KOREA. U.S. TROOPS PERMANENTLY STATIONED IN THAT NATION IN SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS SINCE 1953 WHEN THE ARMISTICE WAS SIGNED!!

If and when the North Korean goes to war and invades the South with or without the use of nuclear weapons the loss of life civilian and military both to be prodigious. 

 BELIEVE TOO THAT A WAR BETWEEN DPRK [NORTH] AND ROK [SOUTH] WILL MAKE IRAQ AND AFGHAN COMBINED  SEEM AS A GALA EVENT!! EXPECT VERY HIGH CASUALTIES AMONG AMERICAN MILITARY PERSONNEL FROM THE EXACT MOMENT THE FIRST OVERT SHOT FIRED. THIS WILL HAPPEN.

Is this not obviously clear to everyone already?

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DJI China.

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From Sputnik the drones of war commercial style.

Cyber warfare commercially available drones for surveillance having embedded malware and spyware the purpose of which is for another part to watch YOU!

"Spy Toys: US Army Orders Troops to Stop Using Chinese Consumer Drones"

"The use of some Chinese off-the-shelf consumer drones by the US military has been banned as Pentagon brass fears they may be infected with surveillance tools and spyware."

"In claiming that there are unexplained 'operational risks' and 'cyber vulnerabilities' involved in the use of Chinese-made consumer-level drones by branches of the US military, the Pentagon has ordered that UAVs manufactured by the DJI company of China be immediately grounded and shut down."

I'm watching you! And you aren't even aware of it!

See previous blog entries the topic of which was smart phones being hijacked by malware as embedded:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/03/racy-risque.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/01/lllu.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/01/enticing-hip.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/02/android.html

Hijackers able to use your own device without you knowing it to develop valuable military intelligence!

coolbert.

Ready.

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Short, terse, and to the point!

From LIEFERN FELDWEBEL through Harry at Sharkhunters:

"I learned that Germany is mobilizing all its military medical groups, whether for an exercise or for a future war . . . [during that period of] the Cold War one of the things to watch out for was the movement of ambulances, medical staff and fire engines out of cities."

Additional medical preparation as made in anticipation of war to include stockpiling of blood supply, skinning of cadavers, additional hospital beds arranged for and in place.

THIS IS ALL IN RESPONSE TO ZAPAD 2017?

Does Angela Merkel know something we all should know about but don't?

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Zapad 2017.

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From MARCONI.through Harry at Sharkhunters:

 "Moscow continues with its preparations for the Zapad 2017 bilateral strategic military exercises with Belarus in September, widely expected to the the largest display of Russian military strength since the disintegration of the Soviet Union . . . the Russian defense ministry supposedly plans to use more than 4,000 train cars to redeploy it s forces into Belarus for the exercise. . . . the sheer scale of the troop movements indicates a force size way beyond the officially reported 13,000 [troops] prompting speculation that Russian forces might stay behind Belarusian soil after Zapad 2017."

 From Popular Mechanics read this amazing stuff regarding the Zapad 2013 wargames:

"The Zapad 2013 exercises, also held by Russia and Belarus, were publicly claimed to involve approximately 12,000 troops but in reality that number was more like 90,000, according to the Atlantic Council. How many troops will really exercise in September is anyone's guess, although some NATO members believe the true number of troops will be around 100,000."

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Threats.

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More on the Doklam crisis. The stand-off between China and India.

Tensions unabated. Threats made. Nuclear powers at loggerheads as they say.

Thanks to Business Standard and the tip from Freeper. Nice image courtesy of Business Standard.

1. "Doklam: China mulls small-scale military ops to purge Indians in 2 weeks"

"The expert believed Indian foreign ministry would be informed beforehand"

"China is planning a "small scale military operation" to "expel" Indian troops from the Doklam area "within two weeks", an article in a state-run daily here said on Saturday."

2. "Doklam: Our army will 'annihilate' Indian troops, Chinese media warns Modi"

"'Modi mustn't pull India into reckless conflict'"

3. "Remember 1962 defeat: Chinese media warns India again amid Sikkim standoff"

"China has accused Indian troops of transgressing into its territory; stand-off started on June 16"

And who is going to back down first or can anyone arrive at an amicable agreement to settle differences?

Small-scale operation escalates into a large-scale operation and perhaps even beyond with the consequences potentially most terrible.

Some damn fool thing in the Himalaya! Doklam too might become another geography lesson for the American public? I hope not.

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