Capture.

This is coolbert:

Capture, high seas! Tit-for-tat.

Here with an aspect of submarine warfare as waged during the Second World War [WW2] I was not familiar with.

British capturing a German submarine [U-570] and incorporating same into the inventory of the Royal Navy. Germans capturing a British submarine [HMS Seal] and incorporating same into the inventory of the Kriegsmarine.

1. HMS Graph. Formerly German U-570.

"HMS Graph (pennant number P715) was a German Type VIIC U-boat that the British Royal Navy captured during World War II. Commissioned as U-570 in Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in mid-1941, she was attacked and captured on her first patrol."

"She [U-570] provided both the Royal Navy and United States Navy with significant information on German submarines, and carried out three combat patrols with a Royal Navy crew, becoming the only U-boat to see active service with both sides during the war. She [HMS Graph] was withdrawn from service in 1944 due to problems maintaining her."

2. German U-B. Formerly HMS Seal.

"U-B. The former HMS Seal commissioned as U-boat U-B . . . U-B was of limited value to the Kriegsmarine except for training and propaganda purposes. Analysis of her British torpedoes led to development of a superior pistol design (torpedo detonation device) to replace the existing highly unreliable [German] type."

THE BIGGEST HURDLE WITH SUCCESSFULLY INCORPORATING AN ENEMY VESSEL INTO YOUR OWN NAVY IS SPARE PARTS! SURELY THE CASE IN THESE TWO INSTANCES. COMBAT CAPABILITY SEVERELY LIMITED AS A RESULT!

coolbert.

Underwater.

This is coolbert:

The title of this You Tube video misleading:

"There's only been ONE underwater sub battle in history"

NO! Not a strictly underwater battle, submarine mano-a-mano, both boats totally submerged, no optical or visual input involved..

Watch the entire video and devoted readers to the blog I am sure will agree with my assessment. This was not a strict submarine battle totally underwater as would be understood in the modern naval context.

Modern submarine warfare both vessels submerged combat dependent on passive sonar for detecting the enemy, torpedoes when fired either wire guided to target or using embedded active sonar for the final terminal guidance to the enemy warship.

THAT MISSION OF THE GERMAN U-834 SEEMINGLY DOOMED FROM THE START ANYHOW! U-834 STILL REMAINS A SERIOUS DANGER TO THE ENVIRONMENT, SLOWLY BUT SURELY LEAKING MERCURY INTO THE SURROUNDING WATER, ALBEIT THE SITUATION AMELIORATED TO A DEGREE BY MEASURES AS TAKEN BY THE NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENT.

coolbert.

Brigade 45.

This is coolbert:

War by drone. Again. 

Iraqi PMU unit [Brigade 45?] subjected to Israeli drone attack. Dire consequences. 

Once more from the latest edition of the DEBKAfile newsletter:

"DEBKAfile: PMU convoy bombed in Iraq carried Zelzal 2 surface rockets"

26 Aug.

"According to our sources, the Popular Mobilization Forces [PMU] trucks bombed by drones on the Iraq-Syrian border on Sunday were loaded with Zelzal 2 surface rockets, which have a range of 300km [188 miles]. They were hidden under camouflage netting. The PMU officer in charge of Iran’s arms delivery route to Syria and Lebanon was among the operatives killed in the attack."

A BALLOON IN THE AREA KEEPING CLOSE SURVEILLANCE OF THE AREA PRIOR TO THE ATTACK. AMERICAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS TROOPS ACTIVE IN THE AREA?

coolbert.

Beirut.

This is coolbert:

To war by combat drone! Israeli style!

Israeli combat drones over Beirut! Targeted assassination!

From the latest edition of the DEBKAfile newsletter:

"Israel in counter-terror mode: Beirut drone attack was targeted assassination.  Strikes on Lebanese Beqaa. Drone hits PMU convoy"

26 August.

"In its exclusive account of the Aug. 25 Israeli drone crash in Beirut . . . [the] real objective: the targeted assassination of Hizballah’s senior operational liaison officer with Al Qods chief Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s supreme Mid East commander. That operation was just as significant as the Israeli aerial strike a few hours earlier which pre-empted an imminent Iranian killer drone attack. This was Israel’s first targeted assassination by air over a main street in Beirut."

TARGET ASSASSINATION OF A SENIOR HEZBOLLAH OFFICER EVIDENTLY UNSUCCESSFUL. RETALIATION AND IN KIND.

coolbert.

Zap.

This is coolbert:

To war with drone. Combat drone.

Massive [?] Iranian armed drone attack on Israel thwarted.

From the latest edition of the DEBKAfile newsletter:

"Israel’s army chief: Soleimani masterminded thwarted drone attack. We’re ready for all contingencies"

25 August.

"Al Qods chief Qassem Soleimani personally masterminded and trained the killer drone team for a major attack on N. Israel . . . A force attached to the IRGC’s Al Qods Brigades, under Soleimani’s direction, had been planning the attack for months, using Mohajer drones, each packed with 5kg of explosives, of the type used by Yemeni Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia. The teams and the drones were preparing for the attack at Akraba, a village south of Damascus, where Al Qods rented a fenced compound with villa, swimming pool and storehouses. On Thursday, IDF observation posts saw 4 men leaving the compound carrying drones and entering Arnah, another Syrian village much closer to the Israeli Golan. When they tried to launch them, Israeli forces zapped their mechanisms, hoping that was the end of it . . . Israel has learned . . . that Iran has embarked on a new time [round] of serial war against Israel with explosive UAVs."

COMBAT DRONES AS EVIDENTLY COMBAT TESTED BY THE YEMENI HOUTHI REBELS NOW BEING DEPLOYED FOR USE AGAINST ISRAEL. ZAPPED BY WHAT MEANS NOT SPECIFIED.

"zap [ zap ] - - verb 1. to kill or shoot. 2. to attack, defeat, or destroy with sudden speed and force. 3. to bombard with electrical current, radiation, laser beams, etc."

coolbert.

Silver-zinc.

This is coolbert:

Silver-zinc si, lithium no!

From the Internet web site Strategy Page yet one more Losharik item the submarine disaster.

"Submarines: Losing Losharik"

Losharik not lost but badly damaged. Cause as yet undetermined but thought be battery failure.

From the Strategy Page article:

"There are still questions about the batteries the Losharik used. The sub was originally designed to use Ukrainian made silver-zinc batteries but since 2014 Ukrainian military imports have been less 'available' and Losharik switched to Russian made lithium batteries, which behave differently than silver-zinc ones. Lithium batteries will catch fire and explode if they are short-circuited. How that happened on Losharik is still unknown, much less how to avoid it."

UKRAINIAN MADE BATTERIES NOT AVAILABLE BECAUSE OF BORDER DISPUTE AND CONFLICT WITH RUSSIA. KARMA CAN BE A BITCH!

Silver-zinc batteries as used the experimental American submarine Albacore (AGSS-569). Albacore a test-bed for new and promising technology. Silver-zinc batteries the advantages for submarine operations undeniable.

'when outfitted with her [Albacore] special high capacity silver-zinc battery, could out run a contemporary nuclear submarine. In 1966, she set the record as the world's fastest submarine having attained an underwater speed of nearly 40 miles per hour."

[it is believed the Soviet Alfa class and Papa class submarines during the era of the Cold War exceeded this speed, but only one vessel of those respective classes ever having sailed]

As to the advantage of using silver-zinc batteries from the wiki:

"Experimental new silver–zinc technology (different to silver-oxide) may provide up to 40% more run time than lithium-ion batteries and also features a water-based chemistry that is free from the thermal runaway and flammability problems that have plagued the lithium-ion alternatives."

As with some Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones so too with the Losharik?

coolbert.

Reconstruction.

This is coolbert:

The Russians do it too! What are called reenactments in the USA are called reconstructions in Russia.

Here thanks to Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty a Russian reconstruction incorporating a controversial aspect. Thanks also to You Tube for the two video.

"Mock Execution Of World War II 'Traitor' In Siberia Misfires For Many"

"The guns were fake, the man acting, and the WWII uniforms part of a family oriented history festival at which this mock execution was merely one element. But video of it quickly went viral, sparking mockery on Twitter and anger from critics who saw it as further proof of the militarization of Russian society."

"Death to the traitor". And the sentence carried out with all due speed.

The condemned apparently in the uniform of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Ukrainian nationalists who fought both the Germans and the Soviets.

Yet one more video of a Russian reconstruction well worth watching. I recommend highly without qualification or reservation.

 Also: "During the war, the Red Army executed an estimated 217,000 Soviet citizens, many of them soldiers."

Indeed, about 1 million Soviet citizens joined forces with the German Nazi and fought the Soviet Red Army. About 20 % of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad Soviet citizens, those unfortunates continuing to fight the battle TWO MONTHS beyond German surrender.

coolbert.

Fort Davis.

This is coolbert:

Images from a field trip to Fort Davis, Texas, USA. A national historic site.

Color has been edited from the original in all images.

Fort Davis as an important U.S. Army installation during the American Indian Wars and often occupied by Buffalo Soldiers. American cavalry called in the parlance of the time Colored Troops.

Cavalry their main opponent the Apache and their leader the American Indian war chief Victorio.

To the images:

Crossing the bridge and entering onto the Fort Davis national historic site itself. Those are married officers quarters in the background. Parade ground in the foreground.

Closer view of the parade ground. Walking in a counter-clockwise direction.

Barracks of the enlisted men. Not much left, is there? Strictly foundation and nothing more. Two squads of about ten men each living in each building.  

Falling down, are we? Adobe structure having some sort of purpose as undetermined. Has been left in the state as was found when the National Historic Site was declared.

A dilapidated adobe structure slowly but surely crumbling away to nothing. It has been over one-hundred fifty years now since Fort Davis was established, so what do you expect?.

Several additional dilapidated structure made of adobe and again slowly deteriorating away to nothing. But it is desert country and that process going to take a while. Note the rugged terrain in the background.

Buildings the function of which is unclear to me. Some sort of operations and staff function. Even post headquarters perhaps. I cannot say for sure.

Quarters of unmarried officers. Today the nomenclature would be Bachelor Officer Quarters [BOQ].

Residence of the post commander. The dwelling at one time of Colonel Benjamin Grierson, his wife and children. A home of the period probably better than average. Two bedrooms, a drawing room and a dining room. NO bathroom or kitchen as would be found in a modern home. Persons washing themselves and performing bodily functions using a wash basin and chamber pot respectively. Food cooked in the kitchen of a separate building and brought to the dining room table.

And YES, Fort Davis, Fort Davis the town, Davis country Texas all named for Jefferson Davis. Senator, War Secretary and President of the Confederacy. Fort Davis established 1854 BEFORE the American Civil War.

coolbert.

Grierson.

This is coolbert:

"The only White officer who supports the unit is Regimental Commanding Officer Colonel Benjamin Grierson. Ostracized by other officers for his enthusiastic command of the African-American troops, Grierson believes in the abilities, dedication, and record of performance of the Buffalo Soldiers and declines offers to lead at any other post. General Pike offers to relieve Grierson 'of this self-imposed exile and have him commanding a real cavalry regiment within a month,' but Grierson refuses"

THE ONLY WHITE OFFICER! GRIERSON. BENJAMIN GRIERSON. A REAL CAVALRY REGIMENT!

Grierson a distinguished cavalry command combat officer from the era of the American Civil War. And beyond that too in a way I was not aware of.

Grierson volunteering as an amateur at the onset of the American Civil War but showing his mettle even as a novice arrayed against professionals. The Grierson's Raids often cited as epitome of behind-the-lines unconventional warfare!

Post-bellum Grierson continuing his military career as a professional, forming distinct cavalry units of what was termed Colored Troops. Buffalo Soldiers. Racial segregation in the U.S. Army at the time institutionalized.

WHITE OFFICERS AS HAVING TO SERVE IN COLORED UNITS THOUGHT TO HAVE THE WORST DUTY IN THE U.S. ARMY. BUT NOT GRIERSON. THE MAN APPARENTLY RELISHING THE TASK. GRIERSON HIS ABILITY AND PROFICIENCY AT THE OPERATIONAL ART CONTINUING TO EXCEED THE NORM DURING THAT PERIOD OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN WARS.

Colored Troops a significant and vital component of American military during the time of settlement of the Old West.

coolbert.

OZ.

This is coolbert:

OZ = Australia.

More submarine stuff, France and Australia, Barracuda Shortfin.

From WIZARD through Harry at Sharkhunters:

1. "EXPENSIVE BARRACUDA FOR OZ - Prof White believes Australia erred in choosing the Shortfin Barracuda at an estimated cost of $50 billion for 12 vessels, making it the most expensive conventional submarines ever built."

2. "NO DEFENSE IN OZ - The technical difficulty and cost of delivering these submarines could leave Australia without any operating submarines at all in the 2030s when the country’s six Collins-class submarines may need to be retired. The last of the 12 new submarines won’t be delivered until 2050."

3. "NO DEFENSE FOR AUSTRALIA? Australia’s decision to buy 12 of the 'most lethal conventional submarines ever contemplated' may actually leave it exposed to attack, according to an expert."

Ever since the time of the Second World War Australian espionage personnel and special operations forces highly reliant on submarine for behind-the-lines insertions.

See also previous blog entries the topic the submarine contract controversy, Australian and France:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/05/vernacular.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/10/impasse.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/02/shortfin.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2016/06/unacceptable_6.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2016/04/barracuda.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/09/soryu.html

coolbert.

McCain.

This is coolbert:

"The USS John S. McCain had been fitted with an 'Integrated Bridge and Navigation System' — with touchscreens controls and displays."

"Complexities of the interfaces led to the McCain's helmsmen struggling to manage helm and propulsion."

"The destroyer took its fateful course directly into the path of the Alnic MC [commercial tanker] after the port throttle was mistakenly operated on its own."

"This served to translate an intended reduction in speed into a turn."

RESULTING IN HORRIFIC COLLISION! NEARLY FATAL! COMPLEXITIES. BACK TO THE OLD WAYS! OUT WITH THE NEW AND IN WITH THE OLD!

"Navy switching out touchscreen for manual controls for destroyers after USS John McCain collision"

"The U.S. Navy is knocking certain technologies down a peg in their fleet of warships, following a deadly collision in 2017."

"Guided-missile destroyers will soon have touchscreen throttle controls replaced with mechanical ones, giving less room for hardware failure in scenarios such as the 2017 collision of the USS John S. McCain and a Liberian oil tanker."

COLLISION DUE TO ERROR WITH THE TWO TOUCH-SCREEN DIGITAL CONTROLS? HELM [DIRECTION] AND THROTTLE [SPEED] INADVERTENTLY SWITCHED IN A MANNER TO CAUSE CONFUSION? THAT IS WHAT THIS WAS. THE SOLUTION BACK TO MECHANICAL CONTROLS.

Doesn't give you a whole lot of confidence. But was not remote hacking as thought might have been the case? A foreign power hostile to the United States did not intrude into the electronics of the ship? Let us hope it was not so.

coolbert.

ROBO.

This is coolbert:

Who needs a man when you can get a robot. Mr. Robot at the controls. 

Once more thanks to the tip from Dee and the story as seen at the Internet web site New Atlas the article by David Szondy.

"ROBOpilot makes maiden flight in US Air Force tests"

DRONES CURRENT UNMANNED WILL NOT BE "MANNED". BUT ONLY FIGURATIVELY SO!

"A new US Air Force kit that can turn a conventional aircraft into a robotic one has completed its maiden flight. Developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and DZYNE Technologies Incorporated as part of the Robotic Pilot Unmanned Conversion Program, the ROBOpilot made its first two-hour flight on August 9 at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah after being installed in a 1968 Cessna 206 small aircraft."

This particular image shows the laboratory contraption and not the unit as was installed in the Cessna 206?

Next step logically to install in a drone and combine with Artificial Intelligence [AI] and you are ready to go. Make sure provisions are included to shut the damn thing down if it turns on you Skynet style.

coolbert.

Silence.

This is coolbert:

For shame! This is as it was back in the days of the old Soviet Union!

Thanks to Dee for the tip and the story as covered by the Wall Street Journal.

Russian machinations of an unseemly kind.

"Russian Nuclear Monitoring Stations Went Silent After Missile Blast"

"Outages spur concerns by experts that Moscow is trying to restrict evidence of the explosion"

"Two Russian monitoring stations designed to detect nuclear radiation went silent soon after the explosion at a missile test site this month, spurring concerns among observers that the Russian government is trying to restrict evidence of the accident."

"Two days after the explosion of a suspected nuclear-powered cruise missile undergoing testing Aug. 8, two monitoring stations nearest the site of the accident stopped transmitting data."

Map of the world-wide nuclear detonation monitoring system. Click on image to see an enlarged view. Also read about the means and methods used to detect nuclear weapons tests and detonations.

Russian missile failure not an atomic event as ordinarily understood. Not a fissionable explosion. Rather a spew of nuclear particles as released into the atmosphere but not the big atomic "bang".

coolbert.

Sonar.

This is coolbert:

Underwater combat swimmer. Naval commando. Anti-naval commando.

Technology hitherto unavailable for anti-naval commando operations now exists? An alternative to crude and probably ineffective methods of warding off naval commando asymmetric attack has been developed?

From the Sheldon Adelson Internet web site Israel Hayom for the story!

"Israeli researchers develop breakthrough sonar technology for identifying hostile divers"

"With NATO funding, University of Haifa researchers develop innovative system capable of differentiating between divers attempting to sabotage ships, ports and aquatic life."

"Researchers at the University of Haifa have created an innovative system for identifying hostile divers attempting to approach ships or ports in an attempt to sabotage strategic targets."

Technology does exist to detect approaching underwater swimmers of the naval commando type. Such technology as currently available unable to successfully "differentiate" between marine life and a human diver? Lots of false positives? Current technology effective but only to a degree? NOW we have better?

coolbert.

Bags.

This is coolbert:

Back to the future, U.S. Navy style!

Signals and messages the old-fashioned way. Thanks to Freeper and Popular Mechanics for the story.

"To Prevent Cyber Snooping, the U.S. Navy Is Relying on WWII-Era Communications"

"The U.S. Navy, anticipating a future when a high-tech enemy could read its electronic communications, is going back to a hack-proof means of sending messages between ships: bean bags. Weighted bags with messages inside are passed among ships at sea by helicopters."

To prevent hacking of computer systems and intercept of radio-frequency communications, the U.S. Navy communicating via weighted bags containing messages as dropped from airplanes.

Within the military context sometimes the old-fashioned ways are the BEST ways!

Naval signalling from times of yore to include but scarcely limited to:

* Aldis lamps. * Flag hoist. * Semaphores. * Megaphones.

Add weighted bags with written messages.

NAVAL COMMANDERS IN THE ANCIENT AND VENERABLE MANNER TRADITIONALLY GIVEN GREAT DISCRETION AND AUTHORITY. ABLE TO THINK THROUGH AN OPERATION AND ACCOMPLISH A MISSION WITHOUT A WHOLE LOT OF COMMUNICATION WITH HIGHER AUTHORITY. SUBORDINATES ALSO ENCOURAGED TO EXERCISE INITIATIVE AT THEIR DISCRETION. EXCESSIVE MICRO-MANAGEMENT DISCOURAGED. LEARN TO FIGHT WITHOUT COMMUNICATING!

coolbert.

Leviathan.

This is coolbert:

 "Casus belli is a Latin expression meaning 'an act or event that provokes or is used to justify war'"

Israel enters the fray? Persian Gulf!

PARTICIPATION BUT NOT NECESSARILY WITH MILITARY WARSHIPS. PRESENCE BUT INDIRECTLY?

From the latest edition of the DEBKAfile news letter:

"Israel’s participation in Gulf security force opens its 5th front against Iran"

12 August.

"Tehran is treating the Israeli role planned for the US-led Gulf defense force much as Israel would react to the sudden arrival in Beirut of an Iranian submarine fleet - i.e. casus belli . . . Israel’s addition to the US-led naval, aerial and intelligence force for safeguarding Gulf shipping instills the sense in Tehran that its most deadly foes are rallying at its front and back doors  - hence the almost daily warning from Tehran:  'This illegitimate presence by the Zionists in the waters of the Persian Gulf could spark a war.'  is no longer empty rhetoric. For years, Iran took no notice of Western claims that Israel’s nuclear-armed Dolphin submarines had established a permanent presence in Gulf waters as a 'second-strike' resource in the event of an Iranian attack on the Jewish state."

See additional links as relevant:

https://tinyurl.com/y3szgcnl

https://tinyurl.com/yynluvxf

https://tinyurl.com/yyxqnvkk

https://tinyurl.com/yytqdofd

coolbert.

REO.

This is coolbert:

REO = Rare Earth Oxides. REO Arctic. REO Greenland.

First thanks to Strategy Page and the article by Colonel Austin Bay.

1. "On Point: Diplomatically Countering Threats to Arctic Real Estate"

"U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's candid May 6 speech at the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Finland startled many in his well-heeled audience."

Sovereignty of disputed and overlapping territorial claims in the Arctic region needs to be resolved by negotiations. Of extreme urgency is the clarification for each concerned nation: Arctic Exclusive Economic Zone and natural resources to found in same.

"Arctic Russia, Greenland and Canada have (respectively) the second, fifth and sixth largest REO deposits. These are land deposits. The Arctic seafloor may well have large deposits."

Next from the Russian Internet media outlet Sputnik:

2. "Greenland: Trump Reportedly Interested in Buying Greenland - Yes, the Whole Thing"

"The idea definitely sounds wild on the surface, but as it turns out, there are several very solid reasons for the endeavor. In fact, the United States already attempted this exact plan not too long ago."

"former US President Harry Truman attempted to buy Greenland for $100 million in gold in 1946."

TO REITERATE, GREENLAND FIFTH LARGEST DEPOSITS OF REO IN THE WORLD!!

Indeed, this topic of Greenland and proposed purchase by the USA DID SURPRISE ME and a lot.

REO ESSENTIAL TO MODERN ELECTRONIC DEVICES! REO IS WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT?

coolbert.

George V.

This is coolbert:

"In late March 1945, King George V and Howe [battleships] were sent to the Pacific with other Royal Navy vessels as a separate group to function with the U.S. Navy's Task Force 57. On 4 May 1945, King George V and Howe led a forty-five-minute bombardment of Japanese air facilities in the Ryukyu Islands. King George V fired her guns in anger for the last time in a night bombardment of Hamamatsu on 29 July and 30 July 1945. Duke of York and Anson were also dispatched to the Pacific, but arrived too late to participate in hostilities."

Thanks here to the outstanding Internet web site isegoria.net for the idea.

Yet one more instance of British contribution to the war in the Pacific during the Second World War.

Naval gunfire, Japanese targets ashore.Think British contribution as outside of Malaya and the China-Burma-India [CBI] area of operations. DIRECT STRIKE AGAINST THE JAPANESE HOME ISLANDS!

See the wiki entry, the naval gunfire shore bombardment of the Japanese home islands at the most latter stages of World War Two.

"During the last weeks of World War II, warships of the United States Navy, the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy bombarded industrial and military facilities in Japan."

95 % of all military worthy targets in Japan within naval gunfire range of battleships cruising close to shore.

See prior blog entry the topic British involvement in the Pacific theater, the Japanese home islands the target:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/07/cc-i.html

coolbert.

Toxics.

This is coolbert:

"The workers I represented were suffering from serious illnesses they believed were caused by repeated exposure to the burning of highly toxic materials at Area 51, and the government certainly didn’t want questions asked about that. Two of the workers — Robert Frost and Wally Kasza — have since died. The likely cause of their deaths was as outrageous as it was unnecessary." - - J. Turley.

The op-ed from the LA Times courtesy the esteemed law professor and attorney Jonathon Turley commenting on Area 51.

"Op-Ed: Area 51 holds secrets, all right, but they don’t involve UFOs and aliens"

More Area 51 stuff! 

"Testing of the tissues from workers showed chemicals that were unknown to doctors."

Read the entire article. The group contemplating the "storming" of Area 51 in search of space aliens [and finding none] the danger not only from plutonium poisoning but also from toxic substances the nature of which UNKNOWN to the medical profession.

See previous blog entries as relevant to Area 51:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/08/storm.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/07/project-57.html

coolbert.

CCM Mk1.

This is coolbert:

Listen up US Navy and ship spotters! The future is now and the future is itty-bitty. Smurfs!

"itty-bitty - - adjective Informal: very small; tiny."

From the Internet web site Zero Hedge and the article by Tyler Durden

"Ship Observer Photographs Navy's New Stealth Boat"

"Two US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) stealth boats were spotted by a ship observer at a Japanese port last week who posted the images onto social media, reported Defense Blog."

Stealth vessels to be used primarily by [naval commando type units?] and indeed like a PT boat of yore.

"CCM Mk1 is the newest stealth boat to enter USSOCOM's fleet. The vessel's primary mission will be 'to provide small-caliber gunfire support, infiltrate and exfiltrate Special Operation Forces, conduct VBSS (visit, board, search, and seizure), special reconnaissance, coastal patrol and interdiction, counter-terrorism operations, and FID (Foreign Internal Defense)'"

Further: "The vessel measures 60-feet [20 meters] and features a bullet-resistant hull. It's powered two turbocharged diesel engines that can propel the boat up to 40 mph [sixty-four kilometers per hour]".

Those BIG BUCK [$$] warships you can build only a few of them now as budget constraints are so great. So go with little. Swarm tactics and all that. Think from a long time ago the French naval concept of Jeune Ecole?

coolbert.

Tory.

This is coolbert:

See the wiki entry for Project Pluto. American atomic powered cruise missile circa 1960's. Project never got off the ground literally so. The Tory American reactor however tested albeit in a very limited way.

Consider Pluto within context of the most recent Russian missile failure and the apparent release of radioactivity.

Radioactive releases previously detected on repeated occasions not from the Mayak atomic processing plant but from the Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile?

IT CAN REASONABLY BE INFERRED THAT THE RUSSIAN MISSILE AS EXPLODED WAS THE ANALOG OF THE AMERICAN PLUTO?

As extracted from that wiki entry:

"The principle behind the nuclear ramjet was [is] relatively simple: motion of the vehicle pushed air in through the front of the vehicle (ram effect), a nuclear reactor heated the air, and then the hot air expanded at high speed out through a nozzle at the back, providing thrust."

"The proposed use for nuclear-powered ramjets would be to power a cruise missile . . . In order to reach ramjet speed, it would be launched from the ground by a cluster of conventional rocket boosters. Once it reached cruising altitude and was far away from populated areas, the nuclear reactor would be made critical . . . After delivering all its warheads, the missile could then spend weeks flying over populated areas at low altitudes, causing tremendous ground damage with its shock wave and fallout. When it finally lost enough power to fly, and crash-landed, the engine would have a good chance of spewing deadly radiation for months to come."

CONVENTIONAL ROCKET BOOSTERS TO GET THE MISSILE UP-TO-SPEED FOR THE "RAM EFFECT" TO OCCUR AND BEFORE THE REACTOR TURNS ON. LIQUID-FUELED BOOSTERS PRESUMABLY.

coolbert.

Holy Cross.

This is coolbert:

From the Sheldon Adelson Internet web site Israel Hayom this article the content of which is frankly a surprise to me.

Poles collaborating with the German, WW2?

Generally it is conceded that Poland was THE ONLY Nazi occupied nation during WW2 that did not have a collaborationist government.

"Poland honors underground group that collaborated with Nazis"

"Children of resistance members respond to honor for Holy Cross Mountains Brigade, which fought both Germans and Soviets"

Holy Cross Mountains Brigade accused of collaboration with the German? 

"The Holy Cross Mountains Brigade . . . was a tactical unit of the National Armed Forces . . . one of the Polish underground military organizations during World War II. It did not obey orders to merge with the Home Army in 1944 and was a part of the Military Organization Lizard Union faction"

COLLABORATIONIST'S BUT NOT IN THE ORDINARY SENSE OF THE WORD. FOUGHT POLISH COMMUNISTS AND RED PARTISANS OF WHATEVER NATIONALITY. DENYING THE AUTHORITY OF THE POLISH GOVERNMENT-IN-EXILE.

HOLY CROSS MORE ANTI-COMMUNIST THAN PRO-NAZI!

Read from the wiki accusations of collaboration.

I guess the devoted reader to the blog will have decide this one for themselves.

coolbert.

Lost.

This is coolbert:

Considering that the Space Race of the 1960's was inextricably linked to military missile technology and that astronauts/cosmonauts were military personnel consider this blog entry to be more than borderline germane.

Also consider within context of the most recent Russian military missile failure accompanied by a spew of nuclear radiation.

The "Lost Cosmonaut" as is deemed. Soviet female cosmonaut lost during re-entry? Burned to a crisp evidently. And all concealed from the world. And as is reputed only one a number of Soviet manned space failures.

Back in the days of the old Soviet Union automobiles did not collide, aircraft did not fall out of the sky, ships did not sink, trains did not run off the track. And surely manned space missions did not fail!

AND IF DISASTER OCCURRED HIDDEN FROM THE WHOLE WORLD AND LABELED TOP SECRET!

Here is what is believed to be the actual recording of a Soviet woman cosmonaut perishing during re-entry.

Tapes of Soviet cosmonauts courtesy the Italian Judica-Cordiglia brothers. Operating an amateur radio listening station, monitoring frequencies as used by the Soviet space program.

AUTHENTICITY OF THESE RECORDINGS QUESTIONED.

Given the fact the Soviets only announced a successful launch and recovery of a mission into outer space only after might reasonably allow a person to infer there were failures and deaths of cosmonauts. Truth probably concealed and always will be. I am sure someone knows the truth but they are not saying and never will.

coolbert.

Tight-Lipped.

This is coolbert:

“'As a result of the accident at the military firing range in Arkhangelsk region during liquid reactive propulsion system tests, five employees of the state corporation Rosatom were killed,' the company said. Three military and civilian specialists remain in serious condition, but their injuries are 'not life-threatening.'”

From the Russian Internet outlet RT [Russian Times] we have a more definitive and accurate account of the missile disaster with apparent release of atomic radiation worrisome.

Rosatom again! 

"Experimental ‘isotope & liquid-propellant’ engine blast kills 5 Russian nuclear experts – Rosatom"

"Five staff of Russia’s nuclear corporation Rosatom were killed and three suffered serious burns in the blast during a test of a liquid-propellant engine that resulted in a brief spike of radiation around the military testing site."

"The Rosatom engineering and technical team was working on the 'isotope power source' for a propulsion system on Thursday, when the accident happened. The blast caused a background radiation spike, which quickly returned back to normal."

A liquid-fueled missile with some sort of  atomic "boost"? Never heard of such a thing.

See previous related blog entries:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/08/lockdown.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/08/panic.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/08/low-yield.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/08/mayak.html

coolbert.

Lockdown.

This is coolbert:

From a variety of sources and is relevant to the prior blog entry.

Russian missile test failure. Zircon hypersonic missile gone bad?

A spew of atomic radioactivity as a result most worrying?

1. "Is Putin covering up a nuclear disaster? Ambulances covered in protective film transport six Russians who suffered severe radiation poisoning in mystery explosion during 'test of new hypersonic missile'"

2. "What is Putin hiding? Emergency lockdown of Russian base after 'nuclear missile' accident"

"A RUSSIAN naval base is on a mysterious month-long lockdown after an accidental missile explosion at the base was linked to a sudden radiation spike in the region."

3. "Russians rush to buy iodine after blast causes radiation spike - reports"

"MOSCOW, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Residents of two northern Russian cities are stocking up on iodine that is used to reduce the effects of radiation exposure after a mysterious accident on a nearby military testing site, regional media reported."

Zircon the much touted hypersonic missile for which the Russians state there is no known defense. A liquid-fueled missile? At least  in the boost phase of flight probably so.

Previously this missile was described as a ballistic missile as might have  been fired from a Delta IV class Soviet/Russian submarine. NOT a Zircon!

AS TO THE RELEASE OF NUCLEAR [?] RADIATION THAT REMAINS A MYSTERY. THE MISSILE WAS FITTED WITH A NUCLEAR WARHEAD? THAT SEEMS IMPLAUSIBLE. CONTAMINATED PERSONNEL [SIX OF THEM] HAVING TO BE SENT TO MOSCOW DOES INDICATE SOMETHING MAJOR AND NOT GOOD HAS HAPPENED.

This story develops as we speak!

coolbert.

Panic.

This is coolbert:

More radioactive releases Russia!!

From the English tabloid The Sun and the article by Jon Rogers.

"NUKE BLAST PANIC Radiation leak in Russia after huge explosion at ballistic missile testing facility"

"A HUGE explosion at a ballistic missile testing facility in Russia has killed two people and started a radiation leak."

Liquid-fuel missile of the Russian North Sea Fleet destroyed during a test, a subsequent release of nuclear [?] radioactivity as a result. So it is reported.

RADIATION LEAKS RUSSIAN STYLE OCCURRING ON CLOCK-WORK BASIS. SOMETHING NOT RIGHT HERE. ATOMIC WARHEAD MOUNTED ON MISSILE DURING TEST? NORMALLY THIS IS NOT THE CASE?

Missile in question a R-29RMU Sineva as might be found on a Soviet/Russian Delta IV class missile-firing submarine?

Stated once more these accidents and radiation discharges inadvertent the type of news story that in the old Soviet Union would have been classified TOP SECRET! We now live in a brave new world.

coolbert.

Storm.

This is coolbert:

Breathe a sigh of relief everyone. Area 51 no longer in danger of being swamped and overwhelmed by curious and just plain strange persons searching for the alien spacecraft or the remains of the dead aliens.

Thanks here to the Internet web site "The Aviationist" and the story by Tom Demerly.

“Storm Area 51” Facebook Event Page Disappears, But It Isn’t Alien Abduction."

"In conversations with law enforcement officials in the area and with local business owners, including a tour company that takes visitors on a drive around the non-secure public areas surrounding Area 51, locals told TheAviationist.com that the region could not accommodate large numbers of visitors because of a lack of lodging, restaurants, public bathroom facilities and even drinking water. Concerns among the few residents and employees in the remote region included the spoof event evolving into a kind of Burning Man festival that attracted large crowds to celebrate and explore the secret lore of the area."

NOT ENOUGH BATHROOMS OR TOILET FACILITIES! THAT IS WHY THE EVENT WAS CANCELLED?

NO! None of those reasons are the real reason why we should all be relieved the "storming" was cancelled. Participants were all going to get plutonium radiation poisoning a legacy of nuclear weapons testing. Kick up the sand and dust, inhale/ingest the radioactivity. Then bring home on your clothes spreading the contamination to all parts of the USA and indeed all parts of the world.

Storming cancelled. Thank GOD and we are the better for it too. And damn the people that propose these foolish and ill-conceived stunts.

coolbert.

Nuke.

This is coolbert:

Here from the Russian Internet media outlet RT [Russian Times] the type of item that from back in the days of the old Soviet Union would have been TOP SECRET!

Weapons depot explosion non-nuclear. But having the explosive power of a tactical atomic weapon. The Big Boom!

"WATCH jaw-dropping moment of ‘nuke-like’ explosion at Siberian ammo depot"

"Powerful explosions which devastated an ammunition depot in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region produced massive blast waves across the cloudy skies, with the moment of the biggest explosion caught on video by a local resident."

"The footage, filmed not far from the town of Achinsk, shows two massive blasts. One of them produced a massive mushroom-like plume of black smoke, which rose up from behind a forest. The second one was accompanied by a burst of sparkles, which look like fireworks but are actually a high-caliber tank and artillery shells flying through the air and burning as they go."

My thoughts instantaneous to include: 1. This was tit-for-tat retaliation by the Ukrainians. Two Ukrainians weapons depots thought to have sabotaged in the the last few years by drone attack. Read here and here of these incidents. 2. A Soviet naval depot detonation [1984] the explosive force when detected have thought to have been an ATOMIC DETONATION!

Munitions intuitively understood as inherently dangerous. You want them to go off only when you want them to go off! Otherwise, stand clear!

coolbert.

ABM F-35.

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Tracking data, F-35, anti-ballistic missile.

Additional mission, F-35 Lightning multi-role combat-aircraft [MRCA] as has been suggested and found to be effective.

On board sensors F-35 able to track ballistic missiles during boost phase of launch, relay tracking to intercept sites on the ground. Data link providing missile trajectory at the earliest stage possible, making the intercept of ground based anti-ballistic missile systems that much easier.

"F-35 Successfully Transmits Live Track Data to US Army Missile Defense System"

Thanks once more to the Russian media outlet Sputnik that original story courtesy © REUTERS / Darin Russell/

"The troubled single-engine, all-weather, stealth, fifth-generation F-35 fighter recently successfully demonstrated its ability to transmit live tracking data to the US Army’s Integrated Air and Missiles Defense Battle Command System (IBCS)".

See previous blog entry [with additional link] regarding this topic:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/01/this-is-coolbert-from-controlled.html

F-35 can catch them on the "fly"! Net-centric does work.

coolbert.

Big Wave.

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Now they got one! 

Chinese successfully test a SLBM [submarine-launched ballistic-missile]. BIG WAVE!

Tiger without teeth now has teeth? From Russian Internet media Sputnik.

"‘Big Waves’: China Confirms Successful Testing of Its New Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile"

Big Wave tested and successful. A SECRET test apparently not so secret.

"In early June, residents in several provinces in central China claimed that they had spotted a mysterious light moving across the sky, with the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force and Chinese Navy hinting at the time that it could be a secret military test."

The latest version Chinese nuclear ballistic-missile firing submarine up unto this point not possessing a suitably tested missile capable of  mission? Tiger was without teeth. This test has remedied the situation?

ALBEIT TEN YEARS BEHIND SCHEDULE?

See an entire Strategy Page article the difficulties as encountered by Russia and China both, SLBM reliability questionable. Strategic weaponry a threat only on paper? At least until now!

coolbert.

Triangle.

This is coolbert:

Evil, troublesome, dangerous!

The Bermuda Triangle and legends as associated with same most followers of popular culture have heard of.

The Dragon's Triangle far fewer have heard of. An area of the Pacific Ocean with many disappearances of an unusual nature have occurred. So it is alleged. Thanks here to the Skeptics Dictionary.

Paranormal activity with the military dimension. 

"The Devil's Sea . . . also known as the Dragon's Triangle and the Pacific Bermuda Triangle, is a region of the Pacific, south of Tokyo. The Devil's Sea is sometimes considered a paranormal location, though the veracity of these claims has been questioned."

"between 1952 and 1954 Japan lost 5 military vessels and over 700 crew members in the Dragon's Triangle. The Japanese government sent a research vessel to study the area and the ship vanished in a volcanic eruption in 1958."  - - As claimed by Charles Berlitz in a 1989 book.

Read even further thanks once more to the Skeptics Dictionary a more rational, full and complete rational explanation for the "disappearances".

Devil's Triangle as with the Bermuda Triangle nothing more than stories! Stories as in the fictional sense. Right? 

coolbert.

Borkan-3.

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Yemen! Technology! Mercenaries! Al Qaeda!

As from Iranian PressTV and thanks to same:

"Yemeni armed forces unveil new generation of domestically-built Borkan missiles"

"Yemeni Armed Forces have unveiled a new generation of domestically-built Borkan (Volcano) long-range missiles, which could act as a game changer in the face of the Saudi-led military aggression against the Arab country."

Three items to take from this PressTV article:

1. Borkan-3 an Iranian version of an improved SCUD ballistic missile as being fire by Yemeni [?] forces against Saudi Arabian targets. Domestically built as in Yemeni more correctly stated as Iranian built in Yemen? Operated by Hezbollah and Iranian troops perhaps also.

2. Security Belt mercenaries from a variety of countries their numbers aided and abetted by large numbers of locals [Yemeni] presumably well paid for their efforts. Read further [with many additional links] concerning Security Belt  mercenaries.

Mercenaries from nations to include: "Australia, South Africa, Colombia, El Salvador, Chile and Panama"

3. Saudi Arabia in league with Al Qaeda? AQAP Sunni-oriented and in opposition to the Shia brand of Islam. The enemy of my enemy is my friend? And USA indirectly involved with AQAP as a consequence? War can make for strange and unexpected allies.

Yemen the civil war now characterized by the large-scale involvement of foreign interventionists. So much so the role of the foreign interventionists and the goals of same seemingly now more important that the domestic affairs of the Yemeni themselves.

coolbert.

Low-Yield.

This is coolbert:

Russians cheating? And in a big way?

This is all much more clear now?

1. "U.S. Believes Russia Conducting Low-Level Nuclear Tests"

"Russian MP notes tests can't be carried out secretly"

"With no evidence to support the allegations, US DIA [Defense Intelligence Agency] officials are accusing Russia of potentially having the capability of violating the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Russia ratified this treaty in 2000, and the US has never done so."

2. "U.S. believes Russia conducting low-level nuclear tests: official"

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States believes Russia may be conducting low-level nuclear tests, a U.S. intelligence official on Wednesday, while the head of a body monitoring a global nuclear treaty said there was no sign of such violations by Moscow."

RUSSIANS SIGNATORIES TO THE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY [USA NOT A SIGNATORY] VIOLATING THE TREATY WITH WHAT ARE CALLED "LOW-YIELD" DETONATIONS?

SO BELIEVED THE USA MILITARY INTELLIGENCE [DIA].

Repeated and unexplained high-levels of atmospheric radioactivity as might have been associated with a nuclear detonation observed by a whole host of sources.

See however within context of a previous blog entry a very reasonable explanation, those high-levels of atmospheric radioactivity not due to atomic explosion.

It is not so much reality that counts but the perception of reality that counts?

coolbert.

Gunpowder.

This is coolbert:

After viewing the various embedded You Tube video the devoted reader to the blog will have to draw your own conclusions.

From the Strategy Page CIC article # 472 by Professor Al Nofi:

"Gunpowder Empires"

 "By the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century firearms were sufficiently advanced as to provide an overwhelming advantage when used against peoples who were entirely unfamiliar with them. This sparked the era of 'Gunpowder Empires.'”

OVERWHELMING ADVANTAGE!!

Gunpowder Empires as deemed to include: * The Spanish [Mexico] from 1519 AND * The Spanish [Peru] from 1526.

Firearms and gunpowder could not been a DECISIVE factor both with regard to Spanish conquest of both the Aztec and Incan Empires. Firearms [to include cannon and small arms as understood at the time both] too FEW in number and the RATE of FIRE too slow. Not a DECISIVE factor.

Thank Spanish victory rather to:

* Steel armor and steel edged weapons.
* Horses [used in a mass formation charge].
* Guile and ruthlessness.
* Lots and lots of allies.
* Disease.

I had always believed that the widespread use of gunpowder weaponry [cannon and what moderns call small-arms] was almost exclusively a phenomenon restricted to the European cultural domain. But this apparently is not so. Even Bert learns something all the time and is better for it too.

coolbert.

Plumbbob.

This is coolbert:

A headline distressing to say the least. Shop of horrors.

"Man suing body donation company after mother's corpse was used for bomb testing"

BY CAITLIN O'KANE . . . CBS NEWS 

"An Arizona man is suing a body-donation company for selling his mother's body to the military for blast testing. Jim Stauffer believed his mother's body would be used for medical research. Instead, it was used to test bomb impact."

BODY AS DONATED TO SCIENCE FOR ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH INSTEAD SOLD FOR $6,000 USD. CADAVER SUBSEQUENTLY BLOWN TO PIECES BY THE MILITARY.

Here from the era of the Cold War and above-ground nuclear testing a You Tube video showing pigs as subjected to atomic detonation. Pigs the ideal [?] animal to be studied for weapons injuries of all sorts. A pig the body size roughly that of a human. Internal anatomy of a pig greatly resembling that of a human.

I would like to assume the remains of those subjected to blasts humanely disposed with a degree of reverence. Fragments probably only remaining, a communal grave for most probably.

coolbert.

Underground.

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To war by robot! Underground!

Thanks to the tip from Freeper.

"What Lies Beneath: Inside DARPA’s Subterranean Challenge"

"DARPA’s Subterranean Challenge is trying to address those needs. It’s a multi-phase competition aimed at promoting robotics technologies that can traverse, navigate, map and search underground environments. It will feature three different circuits — tunnel, urban underground and cave — before culminating in the grand finale that combines elements of each."

The future is now! See this You Tube video a drone useful to map large cavernous areas. A large cave, a mine shaft, even a warehouse. Apparently autonomous with lots of high-tech. Science fiction in fruition. But only for again large cavernous areas with lots of flying space.

 See this previous blog entry, from the era of the Cold War, Soviet underground warfare technology.

coolbert.

Mayak.

This is coolbert:

Finally! Culprit has been found! Rosatom! Gigantic!

From the Internet web site New Scientist and the article by Ruby Prosser Scully we have a description of mystery solved!

"Gigantic, mysterious radiation leak traced to facility in Russia"

"A nuclear fuel processing facility in Russia looks to have been been the source of the leak"

"The source of a gigantic, mysterious leak of radioactive material that swept across Europe in 2017 has been traced to a Russian nuclear facility, which appears to have been preparing materials for experiments in Italy."

"The leak released up to 100 times the amount of radiation into the atmosphere that the Fukushima disaster did. Italian scientists were the first to raise the alarm on 2 October, when they noticed a burst of the radioactive ruthenium-106 in the atmosphere. This was quickly corroborated by other monitoring laboratories across Europe."

"Mysterious" leaks of radioactive material into the atmosphere hardly a novel occurrence. A number of such instances recently have been observed the source of which was never determined.

See previous blog entries [with additional links] as germane:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/10/radioactive.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/11/ru-106.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/01/spike.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/02/u-235.html

More to follow on this subject. 

 coolbert.

Flail.

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Military robot stuff! Mr. Robot the mine clearing robot with flail!

Thanks to the Internet web site National Defense and the article by Stew Magnuson

"Mini-Flail Robot Designed to Destroy Roadside Bombs"

"Demining vehicles that use flails to churn the earth and destroy anti-personnel mines date back to World War II."

"The Protector mini-flail manufactured by HDT Robotics can be operated up to 1,300 feet away and is intended to destroy small mines and improvised explosive devices."

A Protector in action. Protector can also serve as a robotic "mule". Earth in front of the machine churned up the machine move forward. Protector is "protected" from explosion of an anti-personnel mine but not able to survived the detonation of an anti-tank mine?

Here from the era of World War Two [WW2] a Scorpion flail mine clearing machine. A tank modified with flails in front to detonate mines and clear a path for ground troops.

How effective this flail device was in clearing mines I am not sure. 

Understand full well devices such as the Protector flail apparatus never a 100 % complete solution to the mine clearing problem.

In war sometimes the old ways are the best ways? Better than nothing? 

 coolbert.