Survivable.

This is coolbert:

Survive and thrive both!

Artillery truck mounted? Not self-propelled. Not towed.

First paragraph from an Strategy Page article as extracted without shame.

"ARTILLERY: France Seeks Survivable Artillery"

From https://www.strategypage.com and thanks to same.

"July 9, 2024: The fighting in Ukraine made it clear that the French concept of mounting 155mm guns on a truck to rapidly fire a few rounds, then move to avoid return (counterbattery) fire was not only unique but very effective. So far, only ten percent of these truck-mounted guns have been destroyed in Ukraine compared to a third of the conventional 155mm guns carried in an armored, tracked vehicle. The getaway speed of the truck-mounted systems made the difference and other countries are taking note"

TRUCK MOUNTED SELF-PROPELLED 155 MM HEAVY ARTILLERY ALL THE RAGE. AND COMBAT TESTED THE UKRAINE CONFLICT.

"These are just a few examples of truck-mounted 155 mm artillery systems."  [AI generated]

Systems to include:

* "PCL-181: The PCL-181 is a Chinese truck-mounted 155 mm self-propelled howitzer used by the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF). It has a range of approximately 25 kilometers (15.5 miles)."

* "AM General’s Brutus: Brutus is a truck-mounted 155 mm howitzer developed by AM General, a US-based company. It is designed to be fired from its mounted position on the truck and can be removed from the vehicle by unscrewing a series of bolts."

* "Norinco’s Truck-Mounted Howitzer: Norinco, a Chinese state-owned land systems manufacturer, has revealed a new type of truck-mounted howitzer with a 155 mm L/52 howitzer. The system is highly automated and aimed at export markets."

* "ATMOS 2000: The ATMOS 2000 is a 155 mm . . . self-propelled gun system manufactured by Israeli military manufacturer Soltam Systems. It is mounted on a 6 × 6 cross-country truck chassis and has a range of approximately 30 kilometers (18.6 miles)."

See also additional 155 mm truck mounted artillery:

CAESAR  //  Archer   //  Malva  //   Nora B-52.

Truck mounted heavy artillery. Don't leave home without it!

coolbert.

AI Military.

This is coolbert:

Instances of AI the military dimension.

1. "Ukraine Develops Drones That Can Recognize, Shoot ‘Based on Uniforms’"

From  https://www.thedefensepost.com | by JOE SABALLA | JUNE 27, 2024.

"A Ukrainian tech startup has developed artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled drones that can be programmed to recognize and shoot based on uniforms."

Separate the wheat [friendly troops] from the chaff [the bad guys] and target the latter!

"The unmanned platforms are reportedly capable of communicating with one another, making quick decisions on where to attack, and approaching targets as a 'swarm.'"

As Palmer should be well aware the future of AI military applications is not tomorrow, it is now!

2. "US Firm Develops AI-Enabled, Anti-GPS Jamming Navigation System"

 JOE SABALLA | JUNE 27, 2024.

"American tech startup SandboxAQ has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled navigation system it said can address persistent GPS jamming."

"Called the AQNav, the technology leverages powerful quantum sensors to gather data from the Earth’s crustal magnetic field."

This is MagNav. The topic of a prior blog entry: https://tinyurl.com/3mdbaznd

"This allows the system to provide real-time navigation in areas where GPS signals are denied or unavailable."

AI-enabled MagNav also not the future. Is now. Total reliance on satellite outer-space based navigation systems GPS or GLONASS not an absolute.

"In every war they invent a new way of killing you!"

coolbert.

XM914 50 mm.

This is coolbert:

AND WHAT EXACTLY IS MEDIUM CALIBER AMMUNITION?

See the previous blog entry and herewith the answer.

"NG [Northrup Grumman] manufactures a range of shells, usually fired by chain gun cannon, in the calibers 25mm, 30mm, 40mm, & 50mm.

25/30/40 mm rounds all I have heard of. 50 mm I have not ever heard of."

As to the 50 mm medium caliber round:

"AUSA 2019: Debut of XM913 50mm Bushmaster Chain Gun for U.S. Army's [NGCV] Next Generation Combat Vehicle"

See the You Tube video:

See also the wiki entry the U.S. Army NGCV vehicle. 

Chain gun a proven winner. Combat tested very successfully. Not a new technology to be frank? But in this instance with considerable more lethality.

coolbert.

NG 50 mm.

This is coolbert:

As will be perceived by the Kremlin, a direct challenge!

American munitions maker going to build a factory Ukraine.

Medium caliber ammunition at this point, heavier variety later!

"US Arms Giant Northrop Grumman [NG] to Produce Medium Caliber Ammo in Ukraine"

From https://www.kyivpost.com | by Stefan Korshak | June 19, 2024 |  

"US Arms Giant Northrop Grumman to Produce Medium Caliber Ammo in Ukraine"

"This is the first major American corporation to announce plans to manufacture arms in Ukraine."

"Medium caliber ammunition produced by the US arms giant Northrop Grumman. According to recent reports, the corporation plans to start up production of this type of ammunition in Ukraine."

AND WHAT EXACTLY IS MEDIUM CALIBER AMMUNITION?

"NG [Northrup Grumman] manufactures a range of shells, usually fired by chain gun cannon, in the calibers 25mm, 30mm, 40mm, & 50mm."

25/30/40 mm rounds all I have heard of. 50 mm I have not ever heard of.

Expect the anger Vlad in the Kremlin to be great! Wise at this point to build a munitions factory in Ukraine? I think not. Too close to the action and too susceptible to attack. My opinion.

More to follow!

coolbert.

Scooter.

This is coolbert:

To war with e-scooter?

"Ukrainian units want more sneaky battlefield e-scooters, Latvian firm says"

"A letter from a Ukrainian unit says the scooters have received 'very positive feedback' from soldiers who are using them for 'combat tasks,' according to Latvian scooter-maker Mosphera."

https://breakingdefense.com | By  LEE FERRAN | June 20, 2024 |  

"EUROSATORY 2024 — Ukrainian soldiers have an open request for a few dozen more e-scooters made by a Latvian firm and used for stealthy reconnaissance and supply missions, the company’s founder told Breaking Defense."

"Latvia initially donated a handful of the camouflaged, ruggedized electric scooters made by Mosphera to Ukrainian forces in early 2023, and after their apparent usefulness in the conflict, two Ukrainian army units have since requested more than two dozen more, according to documents provided by the company and dated late 2023. A charity has also requested more than 30 of the systems on behalf of Ukrainian forces, bringing the total order to nearly 70, the company said."

These scooters under certain circumstances have usefulness and worth. Units engaged in a  scouting/reconnaissance/screening/security mission might very well find these scooters versatile and functional. More than anything else, troops can move rapidly considerable distance with a minimum of noise.

Comments:

* Recharging the battery will not be a problem in a combat zone?

* Cold weather will discharge that battery pretty quickly.

* For the Ukraine have extra-wide tires to deal with the rasputitsa!

See the Mosphera Internet web site devoted to military applications.

coolbert.

Harmful?

This is coolbert:

"An operational test launch of an Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday, June 4, at 12:56 a.m. PT. The purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to validate and verify the safety, security, effectiveness, and readiness of the weapon system, according to Air Force Global Strike Command,"

PARANOID RUSSIAN PLEASE CALM YOURSELVES. ROUTINE DELAYED TEST NOT AN INDICATION OF HARMFUL INTENT.

ПАРАНОИД, ОФИЦЕР РУССКОГО ГРУ, ПОЖАЛУЙСТА, УСПОКОЙТЕСЬ. ПЛАНОВОЕ ОТЛОЖЕННОЕ ТЕСТИРОВАНИЕ НЕ ЯВЛЯЕТСЯ ВРЕДНЫМ НАМЕРЕНИЕМ.

"US Conducts Operational Test Launch of Minuteman III Ballistic Missile"

 From Sputnik | 04.06.2024

"MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States conducted an operational test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the space force base has said."

"Minuteman III is US nuclear-capable Intercontinental Ballistic Missile deployed in the 1970s. According to public data, the United States has about 400 Minuteman III ICBMs with a single warhead each. In 2015, the ICBM arsenal underwent modernization" 

Russians greatly concerned that two such tests going to occur within a four-day period. The test today had been delayed from last November. Subsequent firing of the second missile a routine additional test proceeding to schedule.

Read further only one instance of an American missile with live atomic warhead being launched and detonating on target. That was BEFORE the atmospheric test-ban treaty.  https://tinyurl.com/4wjwv5rb

coolbert.

WW1 VR.

This is coolbert:

I highly recommend without qualification or reservation this You Tube video!

Once more, war by computer simulation? See within context of previous blog entry.  https://tinyurl.com/4wahen3p

"War Remains - At the National WWI Museum and Memorial"  https://tinyurl.com/ytdxru3k

"For anyone who is interested in history, The National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri is a must see. This is the only museum in the world that fully interprets The Great War from a global perspective. Adding to this amazing place is a VR experience like no other"

If visiting the WW1 Museum Kansas City, MO. USA also check out in the adjacent Memory Hall what for many decades was the world's largest painting. As dedicated and as a commemoration to the victors of the Great War. Most impressive!

"The colossal war painting that time forgot"  https://tinyurl.com/38ptk96h

An art of work nearly destroyed but should now be listed as international treasure.

coolbert.

Gamers.

This is coolbert:

To war with computer simulation! Not for the faint of heart?

Very serious practitioners of PC war game "World of Tanks" able to achieve a certain degree of realism, adrenaline-pumping even.

Jury-rigged at this fundamental and rudimentary stage of development. I am sure various more sophisticated systems on the way! "Jury-rigged means something was assembled quickly with the materials on hand." You cannot be impressed by persons that have such a dedication and determination with a computer game? This could even become a lucrative business, the proverbial gold mine.

Go see for yourselves the same apparatus an additional full animated X post: https://tinyurl.com/54bbn776

coolbert.

GLSDB.

This is coolbert:

Not working according to the desired standard! Latest and greatest American weapon the Ukraine Conflict deficient. Now removed [?] from service.

1. "New US-made longer-range bomb expected to arrive as soon as Wednesday in Ukraine"

From https://www.politico.com | By LEE HUDSON, LARA SELIGMAN and PAUL MCLEARY  | 01/30/2024 | https://tinyurl.com/5exfywe2

"The Pentagon has successfully tested a new long-range precision bomb for Ukraine that is expected to arrive on the battlefield as soon as Wednesday, according to two U.S. officials and two other people with knowledge of the talks."

"Ukraine will receive its first batch of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs [GLSDB], a brand new long-range weapon made by Boeing that even the U.S. doesn’t have in its inventory, according to the four people, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss matters ahead of an announcement."

Air-to-ground glide-bomb as fired in a ground-to-ground mode. Compatible with HIMARS and ATACMS launcher. 

NOT EVEN IN THE AMERICAN MILITARY WEAPON ARSENAL!

2. "Another US precision-guided weapon falls prey to Russian electronic warfare, US says"

 From https://www.defenseone.com | SAM SKOVE | APRIL 28, 2024 |  https://tinyurl.com/2mmzbnc9

"A U.S. defense official would not provide specifics, but is likely referring to Boeing’s Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb." 

GLSDB not working! Russian electronic warfare apparatus able to INTERFERE with the GPS guidance system, weapon inaccurate! The Ukrainian not satisfied with performance, abandoned [?] further use.

See previous blog entry the Russian equivalent system:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2024/03/enhanced.html

coolbert.

Armavir.

This is coolbert:

As is usually the case, excessively alarmist headlines from the Internet web site of the noted provocateur Hal Turner.

Russian ballistic missile early warning radar out of action. Ukrainian drone action!

 "*** FLASH *** URGENT*** Russia Early-Warning (Nuclear) Missile Radar ATTACKED"

From https://halturnerradioshow.com | HAL TURNER | WORLD | MAY 24, 2024 | https://tinyurl.com/2avepw2x

"One of Russia's absolutely key over-the-horizon, nuclear-early-warning radar sites has been hit by drone attack, BLINDING Russia from missiles launched at them from . . .  the Middle East."

"The 818th Separate Radio-Technical Unit at the Armavir Radar Station located in Krasnodar Krai, Russia is now knocked-out."

Click on image to see an enlarged view. That area colored yellow of particular concern. Radar coverage of missile launch not detectable now!

"With the damage to the two radar stations at the Armavir Radar Station, there is now a GAPING HOLE in Russia's early-warning system against nuclear attack." 

"Russia is now a sitting Duck for a nuclear first strike, not only against their Strategic Nuclear missile silos, but also against all the major population centers inside Russia."

Both the Russian and Iranian need to be concerned about this? Such does Hal speculate.

coolbert.

Killer.

 This is coolbert:

He who controls the micro-electronic semi-conductor industry controls the world?

Currently 80 % of advanced micro-electronic semi-conductor originate from Taiwan fabrication facilities. 

Capturing intact those semi-conductor assembly and production lines presumably a major goal for Chinese communist military units in case of invasion Taiwan.

"Top Chipmakers Have 'Kill Switch' if China Invades Taiwan"

From Yahoo Tech News ^ | 05/24/2024 | Huileng Tan | the tip from Freeper  https://tinyurl.com/4cf9zaju

"* Chipmakers ASML and TSMC can disable advanced chipmaking machines remotely, Bloomberg reports. * The move addresses growing fears of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a key semiconductor producer. * A China-Taiwan conflict could severely impact the global economy. Two of the world's most important chip companies can flip a 'kill switch' remotely on their most advanced chipmaking machines should China invade Taiwan, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday"

Problem recognized! Precautions now taken!

See previous blog entries the Taiwanese semi-conductor issue:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2022/10/fabs.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2022/10/on-shoring.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2022/08/asml.html

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

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2021/04/embargo.html

coolbert.

Cables.

This is coolbert:

If you can REPAIR an undersea cable carrying Internet traffic, you can DAMAGE one just as easy. Simple as that.

"Fears Mount Of Undersea Cable Sabotage By Chinese Repair Ships, Report Says"

From https://www.zerohedge.com | BY TYLER DURDEN | MAY 19, 2024.  https://tinyurl.com/mr328x4n

State Department officials told a team of Wall Street Journal reporters about the increasing risks that undersea telecommunications cables could be susceptible to espionage. 

Not could be. Are! Breakage common even without human interference!

The officials became concerned when a state-controlled Chinese firm that repairs undersea cables, SB Submarine Systems, unexplainably and repeatedly concealed the location data of its ship from radio and satellite tracking services. They said the ship's concealment of its position 'defied easy explanation'"

No! Not defying easy explanation. They were up to something nefarious.

"The warnings about potential espionage or even sabotage of undersea cables come nearly three months after underwater telecommunications cables linking Europe and Asia were 'damaged' in the Red Sea between Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti in East Africa."

See previous blog entry as relevant the fleet of vessels of various nations on constant mission to repair undersea cables where ever they occur and when damaged.  https://tinyurl.com/y2kc7v7s

NOR can you preclude the possibility of bad actors intercepting fiber optic Internet communications [without destroying the cable] for intelligence gathering purposes. "Fiber tapping uses a network tap method that extracts signal from an optical fiber without breaking the connection."

coolbert.

Electrons.

This is coolbert:

SR-71 stealth. To war with charged particles!

"Two giant electron guns were to be mounted on either side of the aircraft"

As seen at https://www.isegoria.net | May 7th, 2024.

"Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen The phenomenally low radar cross section on the Oxcart (proto-SR-71), Annie Jacobsen explains (in Area 51), had to be lowered even further"

Radar cross signature of the SR-71 indeed lowered:

"'Two giant electron guns were to be mounted on either side of the aircraft,' . . . the purpose of the guns would be 'to shoot out a twenty-five-foot-wide ion cloud of highly charged particles in front of the plane as it flew over denied territory.' That gaseous cloud . . . would further absorb radar waves coming up from radar tracking stations on the ground."

But according to Quora the idea had an overwhelming flaw:

"Testing on scale models of the Oxcart aircraft showed the theory would work. Testing the electron beam guns on the full scale Oxcart aircraft, the researchers soon discovered the radiation given off by the guns would kill the pilot. So more engineers worked on developing an x-ray shield the pilots could wear to protect them from the radiation. But the first test pilot to wear the shield said it was too cumbersome to allow the pilots to fly the aircraft. Project Kemper-Lacroix was abandoned."

At least to my knowledge the SR-71 reconnaissance warplane relied MORE on SPEED and flying at a HIGH-ALTITUDE for survival more than anything else.

SR-71 too as originally envisioned as a manned bomber aircraft. A role that never materialized.

coolbert.

Undersea.

This is coolbert:

Who needs battleships and aircraft carriers when all you need to totally disrupt the ENTIRE world is a trawler that can pull up an undersea cable?

See the article: "THE CLOUD UNDER THE SEA" 

From https://www.theverge.com | By Josh Dzieza | April 16 2024.

“When communications networks go down, the financial services sector does not grind to a halt. It snaps to a halt.”

"The world’s emails, TikToks, classified memos, bank transfers, satellite surveillance, and FaceTime calls travel on cables that are about as thin as a garden hose. There are about 800,000 miles of these skinny tubes crisscrossing the Earth’s oceans, representing nearly 600 different systems, according to the industry tracking organization TeleGeography. The cables are buried near shore, but for the vast majority of their length, they just sit amid the gray ooze and alien creatures of the ocean floor, the hair-thin strands of glass at their center glowing with lasers encoding the world’s data."

 

See this You Tube Short courtesy Palki Sharma the Internet undersea cable danger, world civilization highly if not totally at the mercy of a working and effective fiber-optic undersea cable system.

"If, hypothetically, all these cables were to simultaneously break, modern civilization would cease to function. The financial system would immediately freeze. Currency trading would stop; stock exchanges would close. Banks and governments would be unable to move funds between countries because the Swift and US interbank systems both rely on submarine cables to settle over $10 trillion in transactions each day. In large swaths of the world, people would discover their credit cards no longer worked and ATMs would dispense no cash."

Indeed, the Swedish government issuing instructions to citizen to keep a sum of CASH on hand at all times. If push comes to shove and WW3 occurs, those ATM no longer able to disburse money.

An entire fleet of almost two dozen repair vessels on constant standby the mission cable repair. Disaster just one cable going kaput? I like to think not.

coolbert.

Undetectable!

This is coolbert:

Look-down shoot-down. The Ukraine Conflict.

AWACS for the Ukrainian? What next? AWACS = airborne early warning and control (AEW&C)

 Ukrainian ability to intercept and shoot-down low-flying stealth Russian cruise missiles very scant to non-existent. Now a dire necessity.

Thanks here to an extract from the first paragraph of a Strategy Page article.

"ARTILLERY: Russian Kh-69 For Never Cruise Missile"

Russian Kh-69 stealth cruise missiles used the Ukraine Conflict the Ukrainian having no counter.

"April 28, 2024: Russia is trying to perfect its Kh-69 stealthy cruise missile, which is an upgrade of the older Kh-59. Kh-69 was still in development throughout 2023, then in April 2024 six of these missiles, launched from a Russian fighter-bomber, were used to destroy a Ukrainian power plant. Ukrainian air defense systems did not detect the incoming Kh-69s because they were launched from Russian aircraft that were on the Russian side of the Ukrainian border and, when the missiles entered Ukraine, they were low to the ground and virtually undetectable by Ukrainian ground radar. It would take an aircraft based ground surveillance radar, like the one carried by the Americans AWACS aircraft, to spot incoming Kh-69s. Ukraine doesn’t have any AWACS but NATO has fourteen of them and the United States has 31. There are dozens of smaller AWACS-type aircraft produced by other countries, such as Sweden, based on twin-engine business jets. NATO or the United States could provide Ukraine with some AWACS but Ukraine would have to supply jet fighters to protect the AWACS against potentially aggressive and possibly effective efforts to shoot them down."

Comments:

* First obtain three or four of whatever type AWACS already up and flying and operational. Source not so relevant.

* Train the ground crews and those manning the electronic radar and associated apparatus.

* Train the flight crews. Those that actually fly the warplane.

* Provide protection from Russian air-launched air to air missile of the R-37 variety.

* A minimum of about $1 billion USD to get the entire paraphernalia/impedimenta up and going with success. Sustain also.

Needed now but only an item[s] that can be accomplished in the far-off future and not the near future I fear.

Foreign interventionism I might not think desirable. Crossing a red line and all that.

coolbert.

CHAMP.

This is coolbert:

Deployed but not used?

"Report: US deployed microwave missiles that can disable Iran's nuclear facilities"

"Mary Lou Robinson, former chief of the Air Force's High Power Microwave Division, confirmed to DailyMail.com that the missiles are 'ready to take out any military target, including nuclear facilities.'"

From https://www.israelhayom.com | By  ILH Staff | 04-20-2024.

"According to an exclusive report from DailyMail.com, the US Air Force has quietly deployed a new type of missile that can destroy the electronics of Iran's nuclear facilities using high-power microwaves, without causing any fatalities."

Kind of sounds like the neutron bomb!

"The missiles, known as the Counter-Electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP), were developed by Boeing's Phantom Works for the US Air Force Research Laboratory. After successful testing in 2012, around 20 of these microwave missiles became operational and were deployed to various locations around the globe in 2019."

"As DailyMail.com reports, the CHAMP missiles are air-launched cruise missiles fitted with an electromagnetic pulse cannon that generates a concentrated beam of high-power microwave energy. This energy can fry the computer chips and electronic systems of targeted facilities, rendering them inoperable."

Carried in the bomb bay of a F-35 Lightning presumably! Emits an electro-magnetic pulse that devastates all solid-state electronic components.

coolbert.

TDA-2K.

 This is coolbert:

Hasn't been anything like this since the crossing of the Niesse river by Soviet Forces, World War Two.

First [?] combat field test of a military smoke-producing machine. Envelope a friendly force on the advance with concealing cloud of smoke of prodigious size.

From WarNews 24|7 Article by Evangelo L. | April 23 2024.

See the video of the smoke-generating operation. Impressive.

See here and here not totally 100 % within context but interesting Russian technology low-level but still useful on the modern battlefield.

See also a discussion of what can be deemed "smart smoke". A smoke-cover that is designed to defeat thermal imaging devices. Evidently the Russian has the formulation of "smart smoke" and can disperse in enormous quantities on demand.

coolbert.

Enhanced.

This is coolbert:

A cross between the American JDAM and the HIMARS.

Soviet/Russian conventional aerial delivered bomb heavily modified and VERY dangerous.

See the tweet with a full account: https://twitter.com/distant_earth83/status/1772677909657825520

"The Russian version of the HIMARS system, the famous Tornado-S, has some 'improvements' mentioned in the article."

Soviet/Russian multiple-rocket launcher able to fire a FAB-250 general-purpose bomb on target at a range of up to over fifty miles!

Heavily modified weapon system, wings, jet engine propulsion, precision guidance system! Lethality very great. And can be proliferated in prodigious numbers. Ground launched!

"The FAB-250 is a Soviet-designed 250-kilogram (550 lb) general purpose air-dropped bomb with a high-explosive warhead, primarily used by the Russian Air Force, former Soviet republics and customer countries. It is very widespread throughout the Third World and used in many conflicts in Asia and Africa" among others."

Russian warplanes no longer have to approach the target and place themselves in danger! Let the modified FAB-250 do the walking and talking!

coolbert.

AGM-183A.

This is coolbert:

Final test the American air-launched hypersonic missile!

And planning for a facility to test submarine-launched hypersonic missile!

1. "US Air Force conducts final test of Lockheed’s hypersonic missile"

From https://www.c4isrnet.com/| By Stephen Losey |  Mar 19 [2024].

"The U.S. Air Force on Sunday carried out what is expected to be the final test of the hypersonic AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon".

"The service did not say whether the test was successful."

2. "US racing to deploy sub-launched hypersonic missiles"

https://asiatimes.com | By GABRIEL HONRADA | MARCH 19, 2024.

"New underwater testing facility a key step but the plan still hobbled by budget cuts, reduced shipbuilding orders and unclear mission objectives"

"The US plans to construct an underwater hypersonic weapons testing facility, paving the way for its submarine-launched hypersonic weapons against potential adversaries China and Russia."

American military planners to their dismay seem to have totally missed the development of hypersonic weaponry? It would seem the USA behind the curve with regard to this NEW and OMINOUS technology?

From this point forward USA in a catch-up mode. Back-burner R & D no longer adequate!

"back burner: noun - the condition of being out of active consideration or development"

coolbert.

Fibers.

This is coolbert:

UAV Russian impervious to jamming.

Fiber optic link!

"Russians have started using drones with fiber optic cables"

From Army Recognition ^ | 3/8/24 | the tip from Freeper.

According to a Telegram channel (@serhii_flash), the Russian military has begun deploying FPV (First Person View) drones equipped with coils of fiber optic cables, marking a significant advancement in drone communication technologies. The Ukrainian military has encountered one of these unusual drones, which had a 10-kilometer [about six miles] length of fiber optic cable unspooled during flight. 

Drone relying on on a fiber optic wire connecting the operator to the drone. Radio-frequency [RF] command link eschewed! Too susceptible to RF jamming that solution fiber optics.

coolbert.