Current Events

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The following is a summary of key events taking with the major navies around the world. All information is gleaned from open source intelligence (OSINT). Ship locators are provided from Naval Intelligence professionals Mail (NIPmail). Source URL’s are provided for stories, whenever possible. Use this info to catch-up on daily navy news and to plan “What-If” Harpoon scenarios. Fair Winds and Following Seas (FWFS), Greg Emerson, DM!(SW), USN-Retired Renton, WA, USA January Summary follows: 30 December RUSSIA KUZNETSOV deployment: Carrier task force south of Sicily, heading east … while enroute, flight operations with 24 sorties Su-33 Flanker and 7 hel…

Type of cannon: gas-operated revolver cannon with four chambers Max range: 3500 metres ( 1,890nm) Caliber: 35mm ROF: 1000 rounds per minutes (16rounds/s). Basic load: 200 rounds Capability to fire Ahead ((Advanced Hit Efficiency And [10:30] <JanM> Destruction) air burst munition (ABM)) ammunition (each round consisting of 152 sub-projectiles, weight of each sub-projectile 3.3 g, muzzle velocity 1050 m/s) It's a kind of improved airbust since it can be programmed (when and how detonate) http://www.rheinmetall-detec.com/product.php?lang=3&fid=1570 http://www.deagel.com/pandora/?p=pm00218001 http://proceedings.ndia.org/3500/Bradick_NL_NDIA.pps (pow…

Russian forces have entered this breakaway territory of Georgia. This looks like turning into a war. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected, including a Georgian friend of mine.

Source: http://personal.inet.fi/cool/foxfour/sovmis/sovmis-ss.html http://www.nti.org/db/nisprofs/russia/expo...eral/expmsl.htm http://www.missilethreat.com/missiles/ss-26_russia.html

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been killed CNN has just recently confirmed that the former PM was shot in the back of the neck shortly after a suicide bombing at a rally where she was due to speak. Minutes ago CNN confirmed that the former Prime Minister died at 0616 EST this morning. Reports indicate that at least 5 shots were fired at her resulting in one hit. No further information is available at this time. Later D

Alright gang, What is everyone's favorite, or most capable, modern day fast attack craft. I'm still “littoral-ly entrenched” and looking to re-invigorate my naval gaming. Please give country of origin and major weapon systems so that I could research more about them. Thanks

Has to be the Orlan/"Kirov" for me...

Find it hereHere Hezbollah cracked the code Technology likely supplied by Iran allowed guerrillas to stop Israeli tank assaults BY MOHAMAD BAZZI Newsday Middle East Correspondent September 18, 2006 AITA SHAAB, Lebanon -- Hezbollah guerrillas were able to hack into Israeli radio communications during last month's battles in south Lebanon, an intelligence breakthrough that helped them thwart Israeli tank assaults, according to Hezbollah and Lebanese officials. Using technology most likely supplied by Iran, special Hezbollah teams monitored the constantly changing radio frequencies of Israeli troops on the ground. That gave guerrillas a picture of Israe…

Interesting excerpt on the Mk41 VLS system. MK 41 Naval Vertical Missile Launch Systems Delivered, Supported (updated) Posted 03-Nov-2006 02:48 Defense Industry Daily The naval MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) hides missiles below decks in vertical slots, with key electronics and venting systems built in. A deck and hatch assembly at the top of the module protects the missile canisters from the elements et. al. during storage, and the hatches open to permit missile launches of various types. Lockheed Martin is the system's prime contractor, and BAE Systems Land & Armamaents also makes components and cannisters for the MK 41 system. This post w…

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…

From Ares UAVs Cruel as Landmines Says Senior British Judge Posted by Christina Mackenzie at 7/8/2009 12:25 PM CDT A senior British judge, Lord Bingham, says that the use of UAVs as weapons is "cruel as to be beyond the pale of human tolerance", Robert Verkaik, legal editor of Britain's daily The Independent reported earlier this week. Lord Bingham, who was until last year the senior law lord, said in an interview with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, that drones could be compared with cluster bombs and landmines. "Are there, for example, and this goes to conflict, not post-conflict situations, weapons that ought to be outlawed?…

Here is a teaser. "We didn't encounter them in the Gulf or in Kosovo. Next time, we will. The Double-Digit SAMs By John A. Tirpak, Senior Editor Since the inception of stealth aircraft such as the B-2 bomber and the F-22 fighter, the Air Force has been warning that advanced surface-to-air missile systems in the early 2000s would begin proliferating among US adversaries, sharply raising the danger to nonstealthy combat aircraft. As if on cue, Russia in December announced it had struck a multibillion dollar arms deal to equip Iran with the deadly S-300 family of SAMs and its associated radars." The full article is here.

Flight Global 2023 World Air Forces directory (pdf)

From DTI September 2007 issue Long Shots Sep 7, 2007 Bill Sweetman Naval gunnery is back in fashion as surface ships go for greater impact Guns on warships are like the guns on fighter aircraft, in that they have often been considered on the road to extinction. When the U.S. Navy's gigantic Iowa-class battleships were decommissioned in 1992, the era of 16-in. guns firing 2,700-lb. shells ended forever. Arguably, advances in ship gunnery had stopped long before, with the automatic high-rate-of-fire 8-in. (203-mm.) weapons on the Des Moines cruisers. The 4.5-in., 5-in. and 130-mm. guns on more modern warships -- all in the same overall class -- were second…

How do we model this in Harpoon?! Oz's Magnetic Sub-Hunter DefenseTech Being a sub-hunter has gotten tough, lately. The new diesel subs that Iran and China are buying up are tiny, quiet, and can swim through the crannies that hug the coasts. That makes 'em really hard to find. And it's a major reason why the U.S. Navy is switching from passive sonars to Slayer-loud, active sonars that makes whales slam dance onto dry land. Australian scientists may have found a better way to find these quiet subs, The Engineer reports -- one that doesn't drive whales psycho. The Australian development, called MAGSAFE, uses the detection of changing magnetic fields to…

Reading some of the naval blogs I subscribe to, I'm a bit out of my depth. Can you help me? 1. What's the big issue with the DDG-1000? What are its advantages/disadvantages over more DDG-51? 2. What's a Future Surface Combatant and is it the same thing as the Royal Navy are planning to order to replace the Type 22/23 frigates? 3. Explain the Littoral Combat Ship to me and the controversy over that. 4. When does the US need to start building more cruisers to replace the Ticos? On other subjects: 1. If the PRC are completing Varyag, when would we be likely to see it in service? 2. Are the Russians actually building vessels at a half-decent rate now? 3. What, in y…

Where would you prefer articles/information about Indian Ocean (READ: India) air/naval issues be posted? Middle East/Africa and Pacific Rim do not seem entirely appropriate to cover the Indian Navy, Chinese encroachment, the flow of oil to both of these entities, Pakistan vs India, Sri Lanka vs itself, etc. Could/Should there be another folder option? Thanks

A useful tool for all of you current and prospective scenario writers ... "This report is Flight International’s annual compilation of the aircraft inventories of the world’s air forces (and other military services). Presented in the form of tables, the report provides for each country a list of military aircraft types in service, broken down by the number of active, stored and on-order aircraft. Some country entries are illustrated by photographs. While very handy as a quick-reference guide, the report provides little information other than aircraft numbers, and so must be used in conjunction with other sources to provide a comprehensive overview." World air forc…

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 …