Current Events

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

From Stratfor Stratfor, 17 September 2007 Red October: Russia, Iran and Iraq By George Friedman The course of the war in Iraq appears to be set for the next year. Of the four options we laid out a few weeks ago, the Bush administration essentially has selected a course between the first and second options -- maintaining the current mission and force level or retaining the mission but gradually reducing the force. The mission -- creating a stable, pro-American government in Baghdad that can assume the role of ensuring security -- remains intact. The strategy is to use the maximum available force to provide security until the Iraqis can assume the burden. The forc…

Earth Penetrating Warheads Against Deep Targets FAS.org The Administration is requesting funds from Congress for exploring the feasibility of a Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, or RNEP. “Robust” means that the nuclear bomb will be able to penetrate some distance into hard rock before exploding. The RNEP is being pursued in response to the worldwide proliferation of deeply buried targets. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has just completed a study, “Earth Penetrating Warheads against Deep Targets,” that examines arguments for the RNEP, analyses countermeasures, and calculates the consequences of using an RNEP. We find it comes up short on all accoun…

Yes, I know its Carlo Kopp ... read it anyway, its good for you. Surviving the Modern IADS

Report of the Global Commission on Drugs [excerpt]

Taking Airpower for Granted: A Smart Bomb Story (War on the Rocks) Another excellent article from Mike Benitez. Worth your time.

Mine Countermeasures Face Setbacks Warfighters The U.S. Navy's first destroyer fitted for modern mine countermeasure operations has begun searching for mines in the Mediterranean Sea. The USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) is forward deployed and has begun using the AN/WLD-1 Remote Minehunting System (RMS). Mines are a major concern for U.S. warships operating in forward littoral waters, such as the Persian Gulf. Beginning with Operation Desert Storm in 1961, three U.S. Navy ships have been severely damaged by mines in the Gulf-a helicopter carrier, an Aegis missile cruiser, and a guided missile frigates. Mine are cheap, readily available, and can be clandestinely emplac…

Revitalizing Wargaming is Necessary to Be Prepared for Future Wars (War on the Rocks)

How US nuclear force modernization is undermining strategic stability: The burst-height compensating super-fuze (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) Maybe I am morbid, but this stuff is fascinating.

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:

From Defense Aerospace DRS Technologies to Develop Shaftless Propulsion Technology for Next-Generation Nuclear Submarine Design (Source: DRS Technologies, Inc.; issued June 28, 2005) PARSIPPANY, N.J. --- DRS Technologies, Inc. announced today that it was awarded a new $30 million contract, including options, to develop advanced shaftless propulsion technology for a next-generation U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine design study under the Tango Bravo program. Tango Bravo is a joint effort established by the U.S. Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Advanced Technology Office (ATO), in Arlington, Virginia, to develop a demonstrati…

ELF still controversial BY EMILY FAWVER Spooner Advocate Last Updated: Wednesday, May 11th, 2005 10:14:16 AM On Sept. 30, 2004, the United States Navy shut down the much-debated Project ELF (extremely low frequency) stations in Clam Lake, Wis., and Republic, Mich., after the Navy said the project was outdated and no longer of use. Project ELF was built in 1968 and started transmitting ELF waves in 1989. The purpose of the project was to communicate with deeply submerged, fast-moving Trident and fast attack submarines, each carrying 24 missiles with up to eight nuclear warheads. The Navy used ELF waves because the waves are able to deeply penetrate the o…

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…

Could I suggest that we add Alert 5 to the Intel feed?

From The Wargamer Rumored: Matrix to Publish Harpoon Titles? Posted by Chris Abele @ 11:56 EST Harpoon – Commander’s Edition and Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare to be added to Matrix catalog "Sources close to the matter have revealed to The Wargamer that Advanced Gaming Systems' Harpoon line of products will be re-published by Matrix Games. Two of the classic naval simulation games will be re-released: Harpoon Classic will be renamed Harpoon – Commander’s Edition and will feature improved AI and database elements. It is unclear how this game is related to the "Harpoon Classic 2005" game mentioned on the AGS web site. The more recent Harpoon 3 will be published …

Could America Win a War Against Russia and China at the Same Time? (National Interest)

From the August 2009 issue of Air Force Magazine Fighting Under Missile Attack By John Stillion The Air Force hasn’t thought about air base defense for a while. Now, things are changing. For the first time in decades, Air Force aircraft deployed in an international crisis now face substantial risk of damage or destruction on the ground. By some estimates, missile and air attacks could disable up to 70 percent of the aircraft at some overseas bases in the opening minutes of a fight. The problem is not insurmountable; the Air Force and the Pentagon already have the means to start addressing this critical problem. Even so, there is no doubt the threat is g…

Interesting and not far of the Harpoon simulation outcomes: http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3691

From Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists [excerpt]

2018 World Navies in Review (Proceedings, March 2018)