Current Events

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From National Defense [excerpt] CV32: See how many, if any, you agree with.

Here (in PDF): 2009 USAF Almanac USAF Aces and Heroes USAF Aces USAF Bases and Installations Worldwide USAF Weapons Lots of useful facts and figures.

2014 NTI Nuclear Materials Security Index released (Nuclear Threat Initiative)

2018 World Navies in Review (Proceedings, March 2018)

From the December 2009 issue of Air Force Magazine A Specter Haunts the Carrier, by Rebecca Grant (PDF)

Aegis Air Defense System at Thirty (Defense Media Network)

Air Power Abandoned: Dropping the F-22 in 2009 (Defense Media Network)

Aircraft Carrier Killer: What Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles Are, And Who Has Them (Naval News) A topic that came up during the recent Zoom get together.

Aircraft carriers gain clout in naval power (find original AP article here.) ABOARD THE CHARLES DE GAULLE – Despite growing controversy about the cost and relevance of aircraft carriers, navies around the world are adding new ones to their inventories at a pace unseen since World War II. The U.S. — with more carriers than all other nations combined — and established naval powers such as Britain, France and Russia are doing it. So are Brazil, India and China — which with Russia form the BRIC grouping of emerging economic giants. "The whole idea is about being able to project power," said Rear Adm. Philippe Coindreau, commander of the French navy task force tha…

Snake in a plane: http://alert5.com/2012/09/21/snake-goes-hiding-inside-mig-21/

Here's something interesting from the ASEAN region - VAPN is rolling their own patrol boats (with Russian assistance). Here's the story link: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/politics/1...st-warship.html In the coming days, I'll look for some more info on the platform, for the HUCE community. FWFS, Greg Emerson, DM1(SW), USN-Retired Renton, WA, USA

From Ares We Got Hosed, Osama, We Got Hosed! Posted by Bill Sweetman at 5/12/2009 5:00 AM CDT "We can sink a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) at 100 meters," remarks a representative of a joint program between Raytheon's marine radar unit and Unifire, Sweden-based specialist in firefighting equipment. At the IMDEX maritime defense show in Singapore earlier today, Unifire and Raytheon unveiled their joint approach to non-lethal defense against typical pirate attacks. The keys are that large ships often already carry water cannon for firefighting and that they are not regarded as weapons - which demand special training and may cause a ship to be restricted in using …

Naval battles in the high Arctic may have to wait ... Arctic ice refuses to melt

Are Fighters the New Capital Ships? (The Diplomat, Flashpoints)

For those of you who have fond (or perhaps, not so fond) memories of the RGM-109B TASM antiship variant of the Tomahawk cruise missile, I have news: From Defense Aerospace Raytheon Develops Anti-Surface Warfare Capability for Tomahawk Block IV Missile (Source: Raytheon Company; issued May 4, 2009) TUCSON, Ariz. --- Raytheon Company has developed a technology plan to enhance moving target capabilities for the combat-proven Tomahawk Block IV missile. The technology will enable naval forces to effectively engage moving maritime surface targets and conduct anti-surface warfare missions. "This capability will allow the warfighter to attack a new tactical targe…

Blunt arrows: the limited utility of ASATs by Dwayne Day Excerpt from The Space Review Monday, June 6, 2005 Last week in The Space Review Mark Listner wrote about the Outer Space Treaty and anti-satellite weapons (ASATs): “Although technically the treaty does not allow these types of weapons (considering the ban on military activities), the fact is that these have been under development at times in the past, and may be so today.” (See “It’s time to rethink international space law”, May 31, 2005) This is false. The Outer Space Treaty places no limits on anti-satellite weapons and never has. During the Cold War neither superpower actively sought an international …

Boeing Eyes High-Flying Torpedo Navy League By RICHARD R. BURGESS, Managing Editor Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is proposing a new weapon that would enable sub-hunting aircraft to fire at targets from high altitudes, reducing the time between target acquisition and attack. Steven L. Wingfield, manager of JDAM Business Development for the Boeing unit, said the proposed antisubmarine warfare (ASW) weapon for the High-Altitude ASW Weapon Concept (HAAWC), would be launched from the P-8A Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) at an altitude of 30,000 feet and glide seven to 10 minutes to the water entry point, where it would shed its wings and activate a parach…

Two explosions at Boston Marathon finishing line - many injured.