Current Events

Fleet Battle School: Innovative Ideas through Wargaming (CIMSEC)

From Aviation Week Fleets Turn to Small Ships for New Conflicts Jun 30, 2009 By Paul McLeary During a speech at the U.S. Naval War College in April, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates cited the value of developing a viable force of small warships that are better suited to face current threats in the littorals than vessels designed for blue-water operations. “You don’t necessarily need a billion-dollar ship to chase down a bunch of teenaged pirates,” he told a group of Navy officers. “The size of the ship in such cases is less important than having Navy Seals on board. To carry out the missions we may face in the future—whether dealing with non-state actors at…

Flight Global 2023 World Air Forces directory (pdf)

Here (requires registration): https://www.flightglobal.com/asset/21905/waf/

Flight Global's World Air Forces 2017 inventory available now (Free registration on the web site): https://www.flightglobal.com/asset/14484

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

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…

Seriously, what on Earth?

Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds (National Intelligence Council)

From Code One

The newly revamped Code One website has some great pics that I thought I would share: The ROK Air Force's Black Eagles: Royal Jordanian Air Force F-16s during Falcon Air Meet 2009: F-16 Block 52+ for Greece (under the Peace Xenia IV program): F-35C roll out: Turkish Air Force F-16 (undergoing Peace Onyx III program upgrade): C-5M Super Galaxy: C-130 Hercules taking part in MAFEX at Nellis in November 2009:

Here Comes Adversary Stealth (Air Force Magazine, December 2012)

From IISS Introduction: Statement by IISS Director-General (Source: International Institute of Strategic Studies; issued Jan. 27, 2009) Welcome to the launch of the 2009 The Military Balance. Joining me to answer your questions today are: James Hackett, Editor of The Military Balance, Alex Nicoll, Director of Editorial, Nigel Inkster, Director for Transnational Threats and Political Risk; Tim Huxley, Executive Director IISS-Asia; Oksana Antonenko, Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia; Christopher Langton, Senior Fellow for Armed Conflict and Defence Diplomacy; Dana Allin, Editor of Survival and Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy and Transatlantic Affairs; Ma…

Enjoy these news snippets. Maybe it will help to develop some "what if" scenarios. Enjoy ... FWFS, Greg Emerson, DM1(SW), USN-Retired Renton, WA, USA Naval News Summary: 23 December CHILE Update: Together with dock landing ship FOUDRE (renamed SARGENTO ALDEA) the French navy also sold CDIC landing ship RAPIERE and two CTM landing craft (CTM-19, CTM-24) to the Chilean navy. 28 December HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE RUSSIA KUZNETSOV deployment: Frigate LADNIY pictured in Valetta, Malta. 29 December RUSSIA KUZNETSOV deployment: Tanker SERGEI OSIPOV arrives at Valetta, Malta. 30 December HAITI Officials in Turks and Caicos have intercepted…

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

Does anyone know if Italy has retired their Atlantique MPAs and/or have they replaced them with anything else? Thanks in advance D

JFCOM releases study on future threats By John T. Bennett - Staff writer Posted : Thursday Dec 4, 2008 15:49:23 EST A new U.S. Joint Forces Command planning document offers insights into planning for irregular conflicts, urges long-promised acquisition reform, and outlines potential threats and enemies. Released Thursday, the “Joint Operating Environment” document is a “historically informed, forward-looking effort to discern most accurately the challenges we will face at the operational level of war, and to determine their inherent implications,” Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, JFCOM commander, writes in its foreword. “Its purpose is not to predict, but to s…

Gentlemen, Please find the above article here. It is a very interesting read for better understanding some of the problems encountered with attempts at suppressing enemy air defenses in the relative recent past.

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…

From Stratfor The Maneuvering Before the Storm: Second Quarter Forecast 2007 The second quarter of 2007 will brim with fury and froth as two states attempt to challenge the geopolitical order imposed by others to stem their expansion, in hopes of regaining their long-lost position as major powers. Throughout the quarter, these two states will seek a louder voice and a stronger hand. The real conflicts, however, will come later. For the first country -- Iran -- the more aggressive tone is part and parcel of the diplomatic dance with the United States. Both countries realize that their ideal for Iraq -- unified and pro-American for Washington, unified and pro-Ir…