Potemkin.

This is coolbert:

Stealth or not stealth? That is the question?

Thanks to yahoo/finance and the article by Kyle Mizokami.

"Oops! China's 'Stealth Ships' Aren’t So Stealthy After All"

"China's largest class of warships—once thought to be wholly resistant to radar detection—are actually quite visible to radar scans after all."

"The Houbei-class fast-attack boats, which bristle with anti-ship missiles, are easily seen in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that remote sensing companies use, according to naval authority H.I. Sutton, author of the 'Covert Shores' blog. He has uncovered convincing evidence that the Type-022's radar-evading design is a myth."

ONE-QUARTER OF ALL CHINESE NAVAL COMBAT VESSELS THE TYPE 022  TYPE 022 CARRYING EIGHT ANTI-SHIP MISSILES WITH PRETTY GOOD RANGE AND SIGNIFICANT BANG STUFF. QUANTITY HAS A QUALITY ALL OF IT'S OWN!

My perception of stealth technology is that "stealth' in whatever form does not provide 100 % invisibility or protection. Just makes the warship [or plane for that matter] as MORE difficult to detect. Response time for the defender less.

"Potemkin: n. 2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) apparently impressive but actually sham or artificial"

coolbert.

FWSD.

This is coolbert:

Bombs away with Curtis LeMay.

Thanks to the Internet web site "The Aviationist".

"New Video Of F-35A Dropping Two B61 Nuclear Bombs Over Tonopah Test Range During Recent Tests Just Released"

"The footage shows the recent F-35A Full Weapon System Demonstration (FWSD) with two B61-12 mock nuclear bombs."

"As we have already reported in detail recently, the F-35 Joint Program Office has announced earlier this month that the F-35A successfully executed the first Full Weapon System Demonstration [FWSD] with the B61-12, considered the 'graduation' flight test exercise for achieving nuclear design certification from an air-delivered platform."

MOCK nuclear bombs thankfully. F-35 carries the B61 as an internal bomb load for stealth?

See those most recent blog entries as applicable:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2021/10/stockpile.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2021/10/ws3-b-61.html

coolbert.

Fanaticism.

This is coolbert:

From the H. I. Sutton Internet web site "Covert Shores" and thanks to same.

"Guide To North Korean Navy's Submarine Types"

Excerpts as extracted:

"With approximately 70 boats North Korea has possibly the largest submarines fleet in the world. It is rivalled only by the U.S. navy and PLAN (Chinese Navy). And while the submarines themselves may be small or antiquated, the men who man them have a proven track record. They exhibit loyalty, discipline, basic naval competence and aggressive leadership."

PARTICULAR EMPHASIS HERE ON LOYALTY, DISCIPLINE, AGGRESSIVE LEADERSHIP!

"A Sang-O damaged during an infiltration mission off South Korea on 8th September 1996. It had landed 3 agents on 15th September and was attempting pick them up when its propeller was damaged. 25 crew and commandos escaped and fought a series of skirmishes with South Korean troops while attempting to flee to the border. One was captured and the rest were killed, ten by their own commander who appears to have committed suicide. 11 South Korean soldiers and 6 civilians were also killed."

North Korean special operations submarine commander killing his own men rather than having any of them being captured. That has to be surely the most severe demonstration of loyalty, discipline and aggressive leadership imaginable. Koreans normally a very tough people and the North Korean even much more so.

coolbert.

Robbery.

This is coolbert:

Consider this You Tube video to be 100 % apropos with regard to material as was the topic of a prior blog entry.

Steel this!! Old steel that is.

Grave robbery, Java Sea. War graves violated in a manner totally heedless for the remains of the dead.

Old steel as deemed the object of the salvage operation. And not a small scale or penny-ante process but done on an industrial scale. Old steel of course as described in the video of manufacture prior to 1945. No radioactive trace elements present in the metal. Phosphor bronze also highly prized. Propellers made of such material "corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, and excellent elasticity".

"penny-ante : SMALL-TIME, TWO-BIT"

Ships and human remains it seems totally obliterated. Remnants of the Battle of the Java Sea gone for eternity.

coolbert.

Surged.

This is coolbert:

“GOOD EVENING MR. AND MRS. AMERICA—LET’S GO TO PRESS.”

Courtesy the Hal Turner Internet web site and the article

Something very big going on? You can reasonably think so?

"Two U.S. 'SeaWolf' Fast-Attack Subs, show up in San Diego, receive top secret cargos and depart port without crew disembarking!"

Sea Wolf class nuclear submarines "Sea Wolf" and "Jimmy Carter"

"An astonishing thing took place recently involving two United States fast-attack submarines, and what happened is an ominous sign that REAL trouble in the Pacific is much closer than any of us have been told." 

"Once it was placed at dock by two tug boats, the crew DID NOT disembark.  Instead, the tarps were placed along the entire dock to prevent anyone seeing what was taking place, material-handling equipment like fork trucks, went out on the dock, then straight-job trucks with concealed cargo headed out also.  Whatever the trucks were carrying was apparently loaded into the submarine."

First Jimmy Carter surfaces and receives mysterious cargo. Then Sea Wolf later the same! Both vessels immediately sailing without allowing crew to disembark.

Note that San Diego NOT the home port for either boat!

This all has to do with the recent collision in the South China Sea of the USS Connecticut [Sea Wolf class submarine] with an underwater object of an undetermined nature? Connecticut now undergoing [?] repairs in Guam.

We have not heard the last of this? Submarine operations always conducted in great secrecy. Eighty year rule applies!

I would be derelict in not mentioning that Hal Turner is a known controlled asset of the American FBI. Hal fond of acting the role of the agent provocateur with alarmist "news flashes" often of an unfounded or exaggerated nature.

When Hal Turner speaks we must all pause? See these previous blog entries:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/12/boom.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2021/01/bomb.html

coolbert.

Drills.

This is coolbert:

Original story from Reuters from less than a month ago and thanks to the tip from Freeper.

Make ready PLA [People's Liberation Army and PLAN [PLA Navy]?

1. "China says it carried out beach landing drills in province opposite Taiwan"

"China's military said on Monday it had carried out beach landing and assault drills in the province directly across the sea from Taiwan, though it did not link the exercises to current tensions with Taipei."

That Taiwan Strait about two-hundred kilometers wide [about one-hundred twenty miles]. A rather significant body of water to cross. And invasion of Taiwan by the Chinese communist military even if troops landed successfully re-supply will be a MAJOR problem.

Consider also:

2. "Chinese Military Trained 300 Nurses For Night-Time Island Landing Amid Taiwan Invasion Threat: Report"

“Days after it held a beach landing exercise in a province across Taiwan, the Chinese military has conducted a drill to prepare nurses for a combat situation involving an island landing. More than 300 nurses took part in the training on a boat simulator wherein they were required to administer intravenous medication in near-complete darkness with waves that were 2 meters [six feet] high" 

The main British/Canadian landing force at Normandy had to cross the English channel gap of about one-hundred miles [about one-hundred sixty kilometers]. Immense naval and air superiority available in case of the allied armies. Granted the Chinese have a formidable military but an invasion of Taiwan not will be easy. Did anyone ever said it would be?

See previous blog entries appreciations of an attack by the PLA and PLAN on Taiwan:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/11/invasion-roc-ii.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/07/invasion-roc.html

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come": - - Matthew 24:6. 

Certainly we all hope it is not the end!

coolbert.

147th Ohio.

This is coolbert:

Always thought the Battle of  Iwo Jima strictly an affair of the U.S. Marine Corps. Ground action sans U.S. Army. Not so. From the wiki combat action  continuing to occur for three months after the island as deemed captured and secure.

147th Regiment Ohio National Guard [ONG] performing yeoman duty under trying circumstances.

"yeoman's/yeoman work/service : very good, hard, and valuable work that someone does especially to support a cause, to help a team, etc."

As extracted from the wiki:

"Once the island was declared secure, the regiment was ostensibly there to act as a garrison force, but they soon found themselves locked in a bitter struggle against thousands of stalwart [Japanese] defenders engaging in a last-ditch guerilla campaign to harass the Americans. Using well-supplied caves and tunnel systems, the Japanese resisted American advances. For three months, the 147th methodically scoured the island, using flamethrowers, grenades, and satchel charges to ferret out the enemy. 1,602 Japanese were officially credited as killed, and 867 captured, with potentially thousands more sealed up in caves using explosives. Some sources credit the regiment with killing at least 6,000 Japanese soldiers in those anonymous and merciless small unit actions. In return, the 147th suffered fifteen men killed in action and 144 wounded."

Go 147th Ohio! Job well done.

The Japanese soldier during WW2 well known for his determination and willingness to fight to the dead 100 %. Surrender not an option even if the situation totally forlorn and hopeless. The die-hard mentality carried to the fullest measure.

"die-hard adjective: strongly or fanatically determined or devoted"

coolbert.

WS3 B-61.

This is coolbet:

"But you tell me over and over and over again my friend,

Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction."

Barry McGuire, "Eve of Destruction."

From the Internet web site Sputnik and thanks to same.

"US Actively Upgrading Tactical Nuclear Arsenal, Russian Defence Minister Says"

"Earlier, Washington withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which banned short and medium-range nuclear-capable missiles, which could carry tactical nuclear weapons – small fission-based devices that can be used to obliterate a small territory killing all enemy forces in it."

"The US, with the full support of NATO allies, has intensified efforts to modernize tactical nuclear weapons and their storage sites in Europe."

Nothing new to see here folks. Just move along.

THESE APPARENTLY ARE WS3 VAULTS AND BUNKERS. STORAGE FACILITIES FOR ATOMIC WEAPONS DELIVERED ON TARGET IN TIME OF WAR BY TACTICAL WARPLANES!

"215 WS3 vaults were built for the United States Air Forces in Europe at 13 sites in seven countries. Additionally 34 WS3 vaults were built for the Royal Air Force to store the WE.177 nuclear bomb; 10 at RAF Brüggen in Germany and 24 at RAF Marham in Britain."

Here you go! This graphic [click on image to see an enlarged view] shows American Nuclear weapons in Europe as of 2017. Some sites now inactive, others active with additional [?] bunkers being built.

See previous blog entries [some with additional links] the topic  the storage of atomic weapons Incirlik air base Turkey:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_Storage_and_Security_System

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/03/gone.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/01/incirlik-afb.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2016/08/karagul.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2016/08/atomics-incrilik.html

coolbert.

Rising.

This is coolbert:

As seen first at the Internet web site BMEWS.

World War Two naval wreckage brought to the surface by the forces of nature.

"Volcanic activity, seismic shifts: WWII ships from Battle of Iwo Jima raised from watery graves"

"Eruptions from volcanos in Japan’s Ogasawara Islands have caused movements in the earth’s crust, created a new island, and raised ships sunk during the Battle of Iwo Jima above the sea surface, according to Japan’s TV Asahi."

This is a curiosity and miscellany. New islands appear from volcanic activity not often but not terribly rare either. But to push sunken sunken once again to the surface that is very rare? Never even once heard to such a thing.

"The sea gave up the dead who were in it: Revelation 20:13"

Ships as well as men it seems.

coolbert.

AHEL.

This is coolbert:

Death ray from above! Or is it??

Airborne High Energy Laser. Mated to an AC-130 gunship. Consider this a prototype only!

"The AC-130J Gunship’s First Solid State Laser Weapon Has Arrived For Testing"

"The U.S. Air Force has taken delivery of the first prototype Airborne High Energy Laser, or AHEL, which is set to be flight tested on one of its AC-130J Ghostrider gunships next year. The service hopes to demonstrate the feasibility of adding this directed-energy weapon to the AC-130J’s already very diverse arsenal, which could give these aircraft a unique capability to engage ground targets"

Think not this AHEL a directed-energy weapon able to obliterate one-and-all targets from a distance. As reported by the Internet web site "Zero Hedge":

"The 60-kilowatt laser weapon doesn't have enough energy to punch a hole through a main battle tank or blow an enemy soldier to pieces, but rather it can melt ground-based satellite antennas and optical sensors."

Lot of pessimism regard the aviation version of the directed-energy weapon. Too much power required. Such systems will be strictly limited to large warplanes of the four engine type?

See previous blog entries the subject directed-energy weaponry:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/09/talws.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/07/zap-ii.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/06/hel-ii.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/05/pessimism.html

coolbert.

Minelayers.

This is coolbert:

Guards Minelayers. The Russian tradition continues!

Courtesy the article as seen at the Internet web site isegoria.net

"Aviation mines use an acoustic-infrared sensor to identify the noise of an aircraft up to 3.2 km away and then launch a projectile when it’s within 150 meters"

"Russia designed aviation mines in the late 1990s"

Described as anti-helicopter mines. Fires when acoustic and infrared signature of a rotary-wing low-level aircraft in the area. Automatically activates sending a spew of projectiles toward the target.

See also from the Internet web site "19fortyfive" as further described of this Russian anti-aircraft mine.

"Helicopters Beware: Russia Is Deploying Anti-Helicopter Mines"

Additionally think of a similar weapon from the era of the Cold War. Soviet special purpose ranger/commando Spetsnaz units employing an acoustically fired MANPAD SA-7 Grail missile.

As described by the Soviet defector Suvorov:

"Spetsnaz. The Story Behind the Soviet SAS"

Chapter 9: Weapons and Equipment:

"On the subject of mines, we must mention a terrible spetsnaz weapon known as the Strela-Blok. This weapon was used in the second half of the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s. It is quite possible that by now it has been very substantially improved. In a sense it can be described as an anti-aircraft mine, because it operates on the same principle as the mine laid at the side of a road which acts against a passing vehicle."

"The Strela-Blok is an ordinary Soviet Strela-2 portable missile . . . A spetsnaz group carries one or several of these missiles with it. In the area of a major airfield the launch tube is attached to a tall tree . . . nd camouflaged. The missile is usually installed at a short distance from the end of the runway. That done, the group leaves the area. The missile is launched automatically. A clockwork mechanism operates first, allowing the group to retire to a safe distance, then, when the set time has run out . . . a very simple sound detector is switched on which reacts to the noise of an aircraft engine of a particular power. So long as the engine noise is increasing nothing happens . . . but as soon as the noise decreases the mechanism fires. The infra-red warhead reacts to the heat radiated by the engine, follows the aircraft and catches up with it."

Consider then these anti-helicopter mines as a version of the Strela-Blok but more sophisticated and going to be used on a much more massive scale.

coolbert.

PELE.

This is coolbert:

An old idea brought back to life? The military autonomous nuclear reactor providing power on demand?

From the Internet web site "The Drive" in both instances and thanks to same.

1. "The Military’s Mobile Nuclear Reactor Prototype Is Set To Begin Taking Shape"

Courtesy the article by BRETT TINGLEY 

"Project Pele is one potentially revolutionary, albeit controversial, answer to the military's growing battlefield energy requirements."

"The Office of The Secretary of Defense (OSD) has requested $60 million dollars for Project Pele, which is aimed at developing a new, transportable nuclear microreactor to provide high-output, resilient power for a wide variety of Department of Defense (DOD) missions"

2. "This Alaskan Air Base Will Host An Experimental Mini Nuclear Reactor"

Thanks here to JOSEPH TREVITHICK.

"The military hopes its new mini nuclear reactor will lead to new battlefield energy capabilities and help power its sprawling installations."

"The U.S. Air Force recently announced that it has picked Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska as the base to host a new small nuclear reactor as part of a pilot program. The U.S. military, as a whole, together with the Department of Energy has been increasingly looking into micro-reactor designs as possible ways to meet ever-growing electricity demands, including for units on the battlefield,"

Consider none of this to be brand-new pie-in-the-sky never coming to fruition as envisioned.

See this topic as covered in prior blog entries:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/07/atomic-barge.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/03/small.html

coolbert.

Phenomenal.

This is coolbert:

Within context the eminent British military historian Sir John Keegan rated the Finnish soldier during the era of World War Two as the BEST.

CONSIDER THIS TO BE A WORLD-WIDE PHENOMENON AND  NOT JUST THE FINN.

Thanks the Russian Internet media outlet Sputnik in both cases.

1. "Finnish Military Lowers Physical Condition Threshold to Include 'PlayStation Boys'"

"As the proportion of men has decreased significantly over the years, from 93 percent in the early 1980s to below 70 percent today, the Finnish Armed Forces would also like more women to volunteer to plug the gap."

"Finnish Armed Forces is reviewing service classes amid a general drop in the physical condition of conscripts. The goal of this reorganization is to accommodate less fit conscripts."

2. "Finnish Conscripts' Fitness Conditions 'Worse Than Ever Before'"

"In the past few decades, the average Finnish draftee gained entire seven kilograms [fifteen pounds], while losing muscle strength and stamina."

"Fitness tests, continually used by the Finnish Armed Forces, indicate that overall conditions have deteriorated to a previously unseen level, with weight rising and muscle strength plummeting," 

Again, this is a world-wide phenomenon and not relegated merely to the Finnish recruit or the American civilian counter-part for that matter.

See previous blog entries as pertinent:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/03/food.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/09/frustrated.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/07/73.html

coolbert.

Achieve.

This is coolbert:

See from You Tube the latest Binkov video.

Binkov too has taken notice and gives his analysis of the latest and greatest American aerial bombardment innovation. As was the topic of a most recent blog entry.

"Is USAF getting hundreds of thousands of anti-ship guided bombs?"

"This video analyzes recent USAF tests of their JDAM bombs. Now with novel guidance system that will enable them to be used against moving targets, such as ships. Could it all mean that suddenly the entire satellite guided bomb inventory may become dual use weapon inventory, capable of targeting ships? Watch the video to see how it was achieved."

The anti-ship guided-bomb consider a game changer too. USAF given a capability to engage successfully enemy ships at sea with precision bombardment hitherto either not possible nor practical.

Details still mostly secret? I hope so.

coolbert.

Uppland.

This is coolbert:

"Normally, the submarine goes to the quay in the city of Karlskrona to load new torpedoes. This time we did it from a more tactical place", Lieutenant Colonel Adam Camél,

Article courtesy the Russian Internet media outlet Sputnik.

"Swedish Submarine Loaded Live Torpedoes Amid Major Russian Drill – Report"

Swedish response to the recent Russian military exercise Zapad-21. Torpedoes loaded in a tactical situation. Ship-to-ship replenishment out of the ordinary!

"In the midst of the joint Russian-Belarusian drills Zapad-21 in September, the Swedish submarine HMS Uppland was ordered to carry out a complex secret operation – namely to load live torpedoes out at sea," 

"Under great secrecy, the torpedoes were transported from their storage facility via a highway and loaded onto the HMS Pelikanen, the Swedish Navy's only missile and torpedo salvage vessel."

SWEDES PRACTICE TACTICAL REPLENISHMENT OF A SUBMARINE!

Normally at least for the U.S. Navy a submarine when it sails fully loaded for combat with all weapons as necessary to accomplish mission, if and when the go-code given. U.S. Navy too has submarine tenders that can do at-see replenishment.

Yet one more indication the Swede takes very seriously the threat of a general war and is making extensive preparations in advance. Admirable!

coolbert.

Consternation.

This is coolbert:

More dire than thought. Two tests and not just one. The Chinese hypersonic missile just tested indeed a game changer?

From the English tabloid Daily Mail an intelligence update and the article by CHRIS PLEASANCE.

"Revealed: China 'has tested TWO hypersonic orbital nukes capable of breaching missile defenses' as panicked analysts say it 'defies the laws of physics' and is unlike any weapon the US has"

" * China has carried out two tests of an orbital vehicle believed to be a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile  * First test took place on July 27 while [the] second took place on August 13, intelligence sources have claimed  * Scientists are still trying to work out exactly what the 'weapon' is capable of and say it appears to 'defy the laws of physics' and is unlike any technology the US has developed "

"China is thought to have carried out two tests of a hypersonic orbital nuke - the first on July 27 and the second on August 13 this year. Observers believe the 'weapon' is an updated version of a Soviet concept called a 'Fractional Orbital Bombardment System', or FOBS. It is designed to evade powerful US radar systems and anti-missile defenses designed to shoot down traditional ICBMs by flying in low-Earth orbit, making it harder to spot, track and destroy". Click on image to see an enlarged view.

USA BY TREATY FORBIDDEN TO HAVE A COMPARABLE WEAPON! ALL WITH BE A-TWITTER OVER THIS ONE I SUSPECT. 

American intelligence community fell flat on their face with this one so it seems!! Burn the midnight oil boys.

coolbert.

Stockpile.

This is coolbert:

Courtesy the tip the Bayou Renaissance Man Internet web sit.

"US nuke stockpile shrinks drastically - but so what?"

"On Tuesday the Biden administration issued a report detailing the number of nuclear warheads in the US arsenal.  It's way down from where it was."

"As of September 2020, the U.S. stockpile of nuclear warheads consisted of 3,750 warheads. This number represents an approximate 88 percent reduction in the stockpile from its maximum (31,255) at the end of fiscal year 1967, and an approximate 83 percent reduction from its level (22,217) when the Berlin Wall fell in late 1989."

"Additionally, 2,000 of the current warheads are scheduled to be dismantled, which will reduce the US stockpile to no more than 1,750 warheads."

See these graphics too. Click on all image to see an enlarged view.

Truly this a remarkable. Around the year1987 the total arsenal of atomic weapons the USA and Soviet Union combined about 80,000 warheads. About 7/8th of those munitions now gone!! Indeed remarkable and one and all should agree for the better. Anyone disagree?

Let us now pause and consider an additional graphic. Of which we can be less than sanguine. Not so much atomic warheads and bombs to be dropped but rather nuclear delivery systems.

Since 2010 new atomic delivery systems Russia, China, North Korea and the USA. Green signifies developmental, green as fielded. USA only one new nuclear delivery system! Without question American atomic weapons delivery system antiques, very aged the reliability questionable.  

You the devoted reader to the blog draw your own conclusions.

coolbert.

Archbishop.

This is coolbert:

“'No one should be forced to receive a Covid vaccine if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience,' said Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy P. Broglio, in a statement released Tuesday.

More Covid-19 and the military dimension:

"Military Archbishop Issues Statement… ‘Catholic troops can refuse the mandatory Vaccine’…"

Thanks to the Citizen Free press.

"Catholic U.S. troops should be allowed to refuse the Covid vaccine based solely on conscientious objection and regardless of whether abortion-related tissue was used in its creation or testing, the archbishop for the military declared in a new statement supporting service members who are seeking religious exemptions"

Office of the Archbishop for the Military Services has been rather silent for over fifty years now. Now this in response to the mandated and ordered vaccine as to be administered to all U.S. military personnel.

Let us be 100 % clear too that NONE of this has to do with the use of human fetal aborted tissue during the research/development/manufacture of vaccines.

coolbert.

Destabilize II.

This is coolbert:

Conclusion! 

Game changer? The most recent Chinese hypersonic missile test reminiscent of a nuclear weapon delivery system from over fifty years ago now?

"Fractional Orbital Bombardment System"

"The Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) was a nuclear-weapons delivery system developed in the 1960s by the Soviet Union. One of the first Soviet efforts to use space to deliver weapons, FOBS envisioned launching nuclear warheads into low Earth orbit [LEO] before bringing them down on their targets."

"Like a kinetic bombardment system but with nuclear weapons, FOBS had several attractive qualities: it had no range limit, its flight path would not reveal the target location, and warheads could be directed to North America over the South Pole, evading detection by NORAD's north-facing early warning systems."

FOBS a Soviet era weapons system. Nuclear warheads orbiting in LEO. Warheads as could be brought on down on target by radio-command. Warning notice prior to atomic detonation about five minutes!!

From the Internet web site of the Federation of American Scientists regarding FOBS:

"US planners viewed FOBS as a pathfinder system intended to precede a conventional ICBM attack. The FOBS would circumvent the existing US ballistic missile early warning radars and hit SAC airfields before the bombers could take off. FOBS could destroy ABM radars, disrupt US retaliatory capability, destroy command posts, the White House, and the command and control network"    

FOBS FINALLY ENDED BY TREATY WITH THE SOVIETS. [I believe strictly between the USA and the Soviets/Russians.]

The presence of an effective FOBS web makes all conventional ballistic-missile early-warning radars ineffective. FOBS greatly increases danger to the National Command Authority [NCA] in a time of crisis. NCA gone and informed, effective and rational decisions cannot be made.

And creates a destabilizing environment where an arms-race will occur. If the Chinese have such a weapon then the USA must too!!

coolbert.

Destabilize.

This is coolbert:

"U.S. military and private sector analysts quoted by the Financial Times said it would be 'destabilizing' if China developed the capability to deliver global nuclear strikes from space, using hypersonic delivery systems that could not be tracked or intercepted. China’s orbital test suggested it would be able to send its missiles over the South Pole if it desired, avoiding U.S. tracking systems concentrated on the North Pole."

Looked for cannot be seen. Listened for cannot be heard. Felt for cannot be touched. Hypersonic Chinese global reach?

CHINESE HYPERSONIC MISSILE TEST UNEXPECTED AND CAUSING GREAT CONSTERNATION [?] AMONG AMERICAN ANALYSTS?

First from the Internet web site Breitbart!

1. "China Stuns U.S. Intelligence with Hypersonic Missile Test"

"U.S. intelligence agencies were caught by surprise when China secretly tested a nuclear-capable low-orbit hypersonic missile in August, the Financial Times reported Saturday. The weapon circled the globe before descending upon its target, missing by about two dozen miles ]thirty-eight kilometers]."

Additionally and for the rest of the story courtesy the Internet web site Zero Hedge.

2. "China Denies Financial Times' Report Of Hypersonic Missile Test"

Article by Tyler Durden.

"Update (Monday 0700ET): On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry denied Financial Times' claim that the country had tested a hypersonic weapon in space, according to state-owned media outlet CGTN." 

"'It was not a missile, it was a space vehicle,' ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters at a regular press briefing in Beijing when asked about FT's story." 

We are not done with this. More to follow shortly. Chinese hypersonic in this case does represent a game-changer as they say. Perhaps and perhaps not.

coolbert.

Points.

This is coolbert:

Here with an article from Colonel Austin Bay courtesy the Internet web site Strategy Page.

China their position on Taiwan emboldened by American calamity in Afghan? USA beware?

"On Point: China Tests Taiwan After Biden's Afghanistan Debacle"

As extracted from the Colonel Austin Bay article:

"The Pentagon and several open-source analysts also identify other camouflage for Beijing aggression. In addition to formal independence, the cases include:

No. 1: Unrest within Taiwan, and note Beijing could seed unrest

No. 2: Foreign intervention in Taiwan's internal affairs, and that could mean anything from selling Taiwan F-16 parts to providing loans

No. 3: Taiwanese acquisition of nuclear weapons -- and like Japan and South Korea, Taiwan has the brains to produce them

No. 4: A foreign nation stationing military forces on Taiwan."

Taiwan crisis [can we call it that, a crisis?] only going to be made worse if any of  points one through four occur? I recommend the entire Austin Bay article be read, without qualification or reservation.

With regard to item # 3 see my previous blog entry.

With regard to item # 4 see my previous blog entry.

Tremble, but not so excessively so? 

coolbert.

JAG.

This is coolbert:

As extracted from my prior blog entry:

"Seems the judge was VERY fair in this cause. Even to the extent of criticizing the 'brass' for releasing apparently in a purposeful manner the medical records of the Colonel. Obvious the intention of such a release was to make the Marine officer appear to be not in full control of his mental faculties. A crazy man!"

Further with a comment from an acknowledged legal authority well familiar with the Uniform Code of Military Justice [UCMJ] and  Judge Advocate General's [JAG] procedures:

"I am impressed with the judge’s decision to deliver such a light sentence to the Colonel. That was a brave statement by him about the way the military, probably under pressure from the political leadership, handled the situation. That judge’s career will also be over, but if he is a JAG Colonel, he wouldn’t have been promoted beyond that rank. There are only one BG and one MG slot in all of JAG Corps. He is already as high as he can go before retirement. But still, a bold thing to do."

And thank you judge for job well done and thank you also acknowledged legal authority!

coolbert.

SF ROC.

This is coolbert:

ROC = Republic of China! Taiwan! SF = Special Forces.

Thanks to our good friends at the "War Zone" and the article by JOSEPH TREVITHICK.

"American Forces Have Been Quietly Deployed To Taiwan With Increasing Regularity: Report"

"A report that the U.S. military has been stepping up its activities in Taiwan for at least a year comes amid growing fears of a Chinese invasion."

Think restricted and confidential deployment of American unconventional warfare [UW] units and personnel to Taiwan as mentioned for a period of a year now. 

Preparation for UW if and when a Chinese attack does occur. Prepositioned and organized UW units in place, ready to go, their mission behind-the-lines resistance and guerrilla warfare. The Chinese will not find things so easy!

Within context consider:

"Chiu Kuo Cheng, the island's [Taiwan] defense minister, said publicly that Chinese forces would be capable of launching a 'full-scale' invasion operation across the Taiwan Strait with far fewer risks than they face now by 2025."

Tremble but not so excessively so?

These preparations greatly resemble NATO Gladio from the era of the Cold War?

See previous blog entries [some with embedded additional links] the subject Gladio:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/05/gladio.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/05/radio-gladio.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/09/american-gladio.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/05/stay-behind.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/09/grey-wolves.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/08/det-a.html

coolbert.

Deviants.

This is coolbert:

"Essentially if you refuse the vaccine or have a denied accommodation (religious or medical, of which they are all being denied) you will be administratively separated as GENERAL (under honorable conditions). This is based on Misconduct, Moral or Professional Dereliction, and substandard performance per SECNAVINST 1920.6D."

More discharge stuff U.S military. Refusal to take the inoculation for the Covid-19 virus 

"Navy To Separate Unvaccinated Officers Under Same Category Used For Drug Offenders and Sexual Deviants"

"The United States Navy is punishing and separating unvaccinated naval officers under the same category of 'Misconduct, Moral or Professional Dereliction' that is used to separate drug offenders and sex offenders from the Navy."

Refusal of military medical military treatment a violation of orders. Me3dical treatment so broadly defined as to mean any sort of prophylactics.

Sailors refusing medical treatment receiving as General discharge under Honorable conditions? There even is such a thing?

coolbert.

Verdict.

This is coolbert:

Plea entered. Verdict rendered. Sentence handed out. That was quick indeed!

From the Internet webzine "Coffee or Die" and the article by Noelle Wiehe & Carl Prine the court case of Marine Colonel Scheller is over.

"JUDGE DELIVERS VERDICT AMID QUESTIONS ABOUT BRASS MISCONDUCT IN SCHELLER CASE"

"CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Seeing a man in pain, confused, and frustrated by events on an Afghanistan battlefield far from here, Marine Reserve judge Col. Glen R. Hines delivered his verdict and sentenced outspoken Stuart Scheller, a Marine lieutenant colonel, to a $5,000 fine and a letter of reprimand for his social media campaign against the Pentagon brass."

Fine and reprimand issued by the judge as punishment. Further action to be taken, the Colonel separated from the military with less than honorable circumstances but not to include [?] a dishonorable discharge as might have been the case.

Seems the judge was VERY fair in this cause. Even to the extent of criticizing the "brass" for releasing apparently in a purposeful manner the medical records of the Colonel. Obvious the intention of such a release was to make the Marine officer appear to be not in full control of his mental faculties. A crazy man!

coolbert.

Nails.

This is coolbert:

"the French manicure features white tips that are accentuated by a natural looking base. Popularized by high fashion and popular celebrities during the last century, it continues to play a role in fashion trends today."

Consider this to be [?] a major news story with a military dimension?

From the Russian Internet media outlet Russian Times.

"As report reveals more US soldiers died from suicide than Covid, US major general complains army won't allow her French manicure"

"US Army Major General Jo Clyborne was ridiculed on social media after she protested that the military would not allow her to wear a French manicure to work."

"Clyborne posted a photo to Twitter which showed her removing her manicure on Thursday evening".

See these Twitter tweets from the distinguished flag officer:

My instantaneous reaction was that the nails perhaps will interfere with her using her personnel weapon in combat. But then what do I know? Inspecting our fingernails was done regularly in basic training for cleanliness. But that over fifty years ago now.

Are any of these tweets the use of contemptuous language as directed against higher military authority? We must mull that one over.

Have you ever done it ze French way?

coolbert.

Atomics ROC.

This is coolbert:

Taiwan = Republic of China [ROC].

Deter rather than fight? Atomics will do?

"Does Taiwan Need Nuclear Weapons To Deter China?"

"One nation depends on another for salvation at its peril. Wise statesmen welcome allies . . . without betting everything on them. Taiwan should found its diplomacy and military strategy on deterring Chinese aggression if possible—alone if need be—and on stymieing a cross-strait assault if forced to it. This is bleak advice to be sure, but who will stand by Taiwan if the United States fails to? Japan or Australia might intercede alongside America, but not without it. Nor can Taipei look for succor to the UN Security Council or any other international body where Beijing wields serious clout. These are feeble bulwarks against aggression."

"succor: noun - - 1. Assistance in time of distress; relief. 2. One that affords assistance or relief. 3. Aid; help; assistance."

It is not as if the ROC has totally in the past avoided or forswore weapons of mass destruction to include atomic munitions. Far from it.

Read from the wiki as reputedly existed the ROC atomic bomb project:

"Taiwan pursued a number of weapons of mass destruction programs from 1949 to the late 1980s. The final secret nuclear weapons program was shut down in the late 1980s under US pressure after completing all stages of weapons development besides final assembly and testing; they lacked an effective delivery mechanism and would have needed to further miniaturize any weapon before it could be effectively used in combat."

AN EFFECTIVE DELIVERY SYSTEM NOW EXISTS. THE CURRENTLY IN-THE-INVENTORY F-16 FIGHTING FALCON!!

Technically the a-bomb well within the capability of the ROC. Fissionable material a different matter? 

coolbert.

Plates.

This is coolbert:

"Some damn fool thing in the Balkans."

In this particular case we are carrying things way too far!

To war over license plates? Thanks to the Russian media outlet Russian Times.

"10 Albanians arrested in Kosovo after attacking Serbs as ethnic tensions flare, drawing in Serbia & NATO"

"The incident highlights the ongoing escalation of ethnic tensions in Northern Kosovo, which ratcheted up last week due to a row between Kosovo and Serbia over the issue of the opposing sides’ non-recognition of the legitimacy of each others’ vehicle license plates. Kosovo authorities decided to no longer recognize plates issued by Serbia, forcing drivers of vehicles who want to cross the border to buy temporary Kosovo-issued plates instead."

A trivial matter that greatly exacerbates already existing tensions.

Maps, stamps, coins, even television weather insets we have all heard of. Casus belli in some instances. Point-of-honor offense necessitating military action in response. Sovereignty the issue.

See previous blog entry [with many additional embedded links] pertinent:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/11/abominable.html

coolbert.

Benefits.

This is coolbert:

All devoted readers to the blog and those merely perusing in a much more casual manner I invite to watch this You Tube video. A must! I recommend highly without qualification or reservation. Courtesy the tip from Jay.

CCP = Chinese Communist Party.

"CCP Top Advisor Jin Canrong: Ten Benefits of Taking Back Taiwan, We can Nationalize TSMC Immediately"

Nationalize TSMC immediately! Taiwan produces 80 % of the micro-electronic semiconductors as used in the world. Further more Taiwan manufactures the machines [what exact percentage in world-wide use I am not sure] that fabricate the micro-electronic semiconductors.

China controls the micro-electronic semiconductor industry and China rules the world economy and the world.

As for the remaining nine benefits you must watch the video.

See previous blog entry the topic TSMC and the importance of same.

coolbert.

Faslane.

This is coolbert:

Consider this the type of alarmist speculation that was quite common in the days after 9/11/2001. Incidents of an apocalyptic nature most worrisome to all and with good reason.

Mass casualty events as a result of weapons of mass destruction expected with loss of life far beyond that as what occurred in NYC that fateful day. A terrorist under every bed poised and ready strike at critical targets!

"Scotland: Taliban supporter renting farm near UK nuclear submarine base asked to leave | UK News"

"A Taliban supporter who rents land near a nuclear submarine base in the UK has been told by its Iranian owner to leave the site."

Persons their identity unknown and apparently behaving in a dubious manner their appearance near the naval base Faslane arousing suspicion. Faslane home port [?] to the British nuclear submarine fleet.

A Taliban supporter renting a farm less than five miles [eight kilometers] from Faslane? A farm as owned by an Iranian national now living in Canada? Too many coincidences all at once?

BRITISH 43 COMMANDO ALREADY ON THE SCENE AND MORE THAN WELL PREPARED TO DEFEND THE PORT FACILITY AND NUCLEAR ASSETS IF ATTACKED.

Historically terrorists very planful. Their plots while being hatched if discovered early normally aborted. 

This maybe much to do about nothing but never take a chance in such circumstances is the proper approach! Prudence not over-caution.

coolbert.

Scheller.

This is coolbert:

From various sources the case of the confined and outspoken USMC Lt. Colonel reaches a climax? Some sort of leniency through a plea deal?

1. "MARINES RETREAT: OUTSPOKEN SCHELLER TO BE RELEASED FROM CONFINEMENT"

"The Marine Corps nixed a detention hearing at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 5, and agreed to release outspoken Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller from pretrial confinement."

"nix: verb [ T ] US informal - - to stop, prevent, or refuse to accept something"

"* Article 88 (contempt for officials), * Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer’s orders), * Article 92 (failure to obey a lawful general order), and * Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman)."

2. "Marine who blasted military leaders over Afghanistan withdrawal expected to plead guilty"

"A Marine officer who posted a video criticizing military leaders over the chaotic pullout of U.S. forces from Afghanistan will plead guilty to charges but will argue for favorable discharge, according to one of his lawyers."

LESS than honorable but BETTER than dishonorable. Probably a general discharge?

Scheller released from the brig as seems appropriate. His plea probably the best the man can hope for. His military service up unto recent exemplary!

coolbert.

Calmness

This is coolbert:

Consider this within context of recent events that have occurred in Afghan the type of news you do not want  to read. WION News reporting the tip courtesy Freeper.

"Living the American Dream: Son of Afghanistan’s Former Defense Minister Purchases $20.9 Million Mansion in Beverly Hills"

"Known for its ‘modern meets midcentury’ design, the house has been completely newly reconstructed this year and has been designed by the famous architecture firm Woods + Dangaran."

"The house now has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, class-A glassy walls and a breath-taking view of the Downtown LA skyline. The whole house features interiors of unvarnished woods and other similar natural materials to match the muted palette of grey and cream tones throughout the house."

"In the back of the house is an open rectangular pool a few feet away from the house which sends a sense of calmness in the areas"

ROUT and DISASTER in Afghan only compounded by adding INSULT to INJURY? A refugee and man without a country now living the lifestyle of the rich and famous, an existence as very few Americans are ever able to attain!

AND THIS $21 MILLION USD CAME EXACTLY FROM WHERE?

Wars must always be considered as consisting of three distinct stages: 1. Circumstances that led to the war. 2. The fighting of the war itself. The mortal combat. 3. The aftermath with various occurrences and incidents.

coolbert.

Zero.

This is coolbert:

From Alex and the original [?] story by the Russian media outlet Sputnik yet one more elite Afghan ranger/commando unit worthy of combat duty and performing the task well.

ZERO.

"CIA Evacuated ‘Extremely Brutal’ Afghan Commandos for US Resettlement"

"Thousands of Afghan fighters suspected in execution-style killings of civilians being brought to US"

"Members of the so-called ‘Zero units’, a shadowy Afghan paramilitary force sponsored and controlled by the US Central Intelligence Agency, enjoyed priority status for evacuation to safety to the United States, former senior US and Afghani intelligence officials and a former Afghan commando with direct knowledge of the situation"

. . . . 

"Zero units were originally envisioned by the CIA partly as a means to fight Taliban fighters travelling back and forth between the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The forces allowed the US to send units on cross-border raids"

Specialty of ZERO cross-border raids from Afghan into the Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Seek out and eliminate Pashtun Taliban in what would have been considered a sanctuary area.

See previous blog entry a listing of elite Afghan units that did perform well on the battlefield and are acknowledged as having done so.

coolbert.

Nordbat 2.

This is coolbert:

"the Swedish soldier is a very serious opponent - thoughtful, disciplined, physically strong and tough, well armed, well acquainted with the territory he will have to fight over, and well trained for action in such terrain." - - Suvorov.

See previous blog entry that type of Swedish military unit the personnel of which "thoughtful".

Swedish military leadership [officers and NCO's both] taught to be able to think for themselves and exercise initiative to accomplish mission objectives and goals without a whole lot of guidance or input from superior command. Micro-management eschewed. As was the case in Bosnia.

Thanks to the outstanding Internet web site isegoria.net for the tip.

"He would not respect rules and regulations that threatened to prevent him from achieving his mission objectives"

"The troops and officers from some of the least belligerent nations in the world — namely, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway [Nordbat 2] — turned out to be quite adept at both using force and playing the odds in the high-stakes political game played in Bosnia"

See also a previous blog entry as further relevant:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-poster.html

"den starke den modige svensken"

coolbert.

Monash.

This is coolbert:

Yet more thanks to our good friend Commander Salamander.

General Sir John Monash.

Best general officer on the Western front in Europe? World War One!

"Most Americans and others outside the Commonwealth may not know of General Sir John Monash, Australian Army. He passed away 90-yrs ago [8 October 1931] today. "

I daresay many "inside" of the Commonwealth also not knowing of General Sir John.

From that Commander Salamander Internet web site article;

"'a great bullock of a man... though his manners were pleasant and his behavior far from rough, I have seen few men who gave me such a sensation of force... a fit leader for the wild men he commanded' …  '…the best general on the western front in Europe' … 'the only general of creative originality produced by the First World War.'"

"bullock: noun - 1: a young bull"

Australia that nation as a result of participation in the First World War no longer merely regarded as a colony/dominion of the British Empire. Australia fully recognized by the international community as a peer among the nation-state world order system. 

AND LEADING THE WAY GENERAL SIR JOHN MONASH. THE BEST!

coolbert.

Kaga.

This is coolbert:

From our good friend Commander Salamander and thanks to same.

See previous blog entries as are germane to topic:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2021/10/ddh-f-35b.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2021/09/ddh-183.html

"Japan Back in the Carrier Game ..."

"Fresh from her modifications to fly F-35B, the Izumo is bringing the Japanese Navy back in the carrier business again … with some friends via United States Marine Corps F-35B."

"The Japanese will be buying 42 F-35B and maybe more, so soon we will see the Izumo and her sister ships with the first Japanese fixed wing airwing at sea since the end of the Second World War."

Watch the embedded video. Very well done VSTOL operation. Remarkable flying ability.

LET ME REINTERATE! The Japanese willing and able to put to sea a deep water navy with impressive fighting capability surely an indication of waning American military and political power. Global as well as regional!!

coolbert.

USMC HIMARS.

This is coolbert:

Seems the idea of the arsenal ship is already here. An existing naval warship with a simple addition of a already-proven rocket artillery system becomes a modern battleship [almost].

See my previous blog entries [having additional embedded links] that topic the modern battleship [arsenal ship]:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/07/arsenal-i.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/07/arsenal-ii.html

Long-range supporting fires now more than a possible. American Marines conducting an amphibious operation NOW have HIMARS. [first trial-run was of 2017]

"Marines Fire HIMARS From Ship in Sea Control Experiment With Navy"

Advanced gun system [AGS] 155 mm discarded. Railgun too. Marines lacking with conventional indirect fire support! Answer has been found! I hope so.

"ABOARD THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP USS ESSEX – The daytime launch of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System on Sunday might have seemed like another training mission if the Marines hadn’t fired it from an amphibious ship operating at sea."

"A detachment of Marines with Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 5th Battalion, 11th Marines, set up the vehicle-borne launch system on the flight deck of [the] amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD-23). Programmed with information about the objective – suspected enemy air defenses – on a nearby island, the HIMARS launcher fired off a rocket at a target 70 kilometers [44 miles] away."

The Swedish Archer artillery system also good to go to providing indirect fire support for marines as they storm ashore. Archer as with the HIMARS just brought to the deck and can engage targets with precision-guided artillery munitions in the jiffy.

Provide additionally just for grins those amphibious assault ships with Mk-32 torpedo tube launchers? Additional fire support on call anti-ship. Every ship a battleship?

coolbert.

Decimation.

This is coolbert

Do not think that the decimation of the top command of the Soviet Pacific fleet as described in the previous blog entry was a totally unique event. Far from it.

Here with other instances, airplane crash [or submarine sinking], many top military brass/civilian counterparts gone in an instant.

 

1. Egypt Air Flight 990.

"Egypt Air Flight 990 . . . was a regularly scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Cairo International Airport, with a stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. On October 31, 1999, the Boeing 767-300ER operating the route crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 60 miles (100 km) south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, killing all 217 passengers and crew on board.

"The flight was carrying 203 passengers from seven countries . . . Included in the passenger manifest were 33 Egyptian military officers returning from a training exercise; among them were two brigadier generals, a colonel, a major, and four other air force officers. After the crash, newspapers in Cairo were prevented by censors from reporting the officers' presence on the flight."

The accepted consensus [?] being that Flight 990 deliberately flown into the ocean by a co-pilot, a terrorist action quite intentional. Targets the passengers of high Egyptian army rank.

2. Chinese nuclear submarine sinking.

The worst nuclear disaster in history. Exceeding perhaps by a considerable magnitude [?] the Chernobyl reactor meltdown calamity.

Chinese nuclear submarine colliding with a Soviet submarine during maneuvers in the Yellow Sea. Chinese submersible breaking apart and going to the bottom to a depth of 3,000 feet [a thousand meters]. Reactor breached with an enormous spew of radioactive mater spewing into the ocean.

ALL HANDS LOST! ADDITIONALLY FORTY SENIOR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL OF THE TOP CHINESE SUBMARINE DESIGN BUREAU ALSO ON BOARD AND PERISHING. ALONG FOR THE RIDE TO SEE "HOW THINGS ARE DONE".

3. "General Sikorski’s Fatal Plane Crash, Gibraltar: Accident or Sabotage?"

"The presence of Soviet secret agents in Gibraltar during the days leading up to a fatal plane crash on the Rock in 1943, which killed the then President in exile of Poland, General Sikorski, continues to raise questions to this day. Was it an accident or an assassination?" 

From the era of the Second World War the untimely death of the senior Polish military commander Sikorski still problematic. 

Airplane crash at the time [1943] and even now thought in some circles to have been NO accident.

That plane too overloaded and the cargo now properly stored more than likely a more rational explanation!

Also within context think the Smolensk air disaster as deemed. Senior civilian and military leadership the demise of so many top leaders all at once again in some quarters seen as suspicious.

coolbert.

Tu-104.

This is coolbert:

Was never aware of any of this! Amazing stuff. The You Tube video a must see for all devoted readers to the blog and those merely perusing in a more casual manner.

Please REMEMBER during the era of the Cold War in the Soviet Union cars did not collide, ships did not sink, trains did not derail and PLANES did not fall out of the sky.

"When the Soviet Navy Lost 16 Admirals in a Single Accident: The Tu-104 Crash at Pushkin"

"The plane crash at Pushkin airfield on February 7, 1981 became the very last accident in the Tupolev Tu-104 history, after which they were permanently retired from service. But the main reason the disaster at Pushkin airfield went down in history was because this single crash had almost entirely beheaded the Soviet Pacific Fleet"

Understand fully well this air crash causing consternation in Soviet military circles. The loss of so many senior officers at one time most significant. Persons their training and experience of great value. Personnel at that level of command hard to replace. Further without question the crash due to the plane: 1. Overloaded. 2. Baggage improperly stowed. There was no nefarious plot or enemy special operations involved.

That initial Soviet response that a hostile nation by their secret services must have caused the plane to crash very typical too of Soviet paranoia during the Cold War.

coolbert.