Raw Intel

For a certain generation of officers, your host included, there was one foundation event for many of all designators that shaped the way they looked at leadership - both uniformed and civilian - for their entire career. They learned early that bravery in combat and cowardice in life are not mutually exclusive of each other, and can easily inhabit the same person. They learned that facts were of little importance in the face of a politically driven head wind. They learned that when the going gets tough - the top cover they hoped their senior leadership would provide for them - would fade as fast as the Romanian Army at Stalingrad. They learned not to trust - they lear…

So you hate the Littoral Combat Ship? Looking for that Frigate alternative? How about a frigate based on a modern, mature, evolved design? Look no further than South Korea. The Navy plans to launch six 5,600-ton "mini-Aegis'' destroyers between 2019 and 2026 in an effort to help facilitate coastal and blue-water operations, the service said Tuesday. The plan was unveiled in a report submitted to a National Assembly inspection of the Navy at the Gyeryongdae military compound in South Chungcheong Province. The medium-sized KDX-IIA destroyers equipped with SPY radar and close-in weapon systems will be a core part of the Navy's strategic mobile fleet led by 7,6…

Just in case there was any doubt that head wanker Julian Assange was a self-promoting, narcissistic jackwagon, he is catching shite from people who should be allies. First a bunch of human rights groups said, "Hey dumbass, what part of stop getting civilians killed don't you understand?". Now he gets a letter from the head of Reporters without Borders calling him out for acting like a first rate bandito of ass. Dear Mr. Assange, Reporters Without Borders, an international press freedom organisation, regrets the incredible irresponsibility you showed when posting your article “Afghan War Diary 2004 - 2010†on the Wikileaks website on 25 July together with 92…

If you think I am being unkind to the Greek military - well, I'm not. From AFG to HOA to Libya - pound for pound few NATO nations have contributed less to the war effort than Greece. Heck - even Bulgaria contributes trigger pullers in a fashion. I'm not being unkind, I'm being honest. What we do know is that the Greeks have a spending problem that even the present American administration would have trouble understanding. Their military doesn't help much with the problem, it seems. When a military officer dies, his pension continues for his unwed daughter as long as she remains unwed. Considering the Greek marriage stats - that is just pathetic. Don't just smi…

The war in Somalia is at a pivot point. If you read the latest Report of the Secretary-General on Somalia to the United Nations Security Council (PDF), you will find things do appear to be getting worse, not better. There are no territorial advances by the TFG, while security and humanitarian problems appear to be deteriorating within Somalia. Civilian casualties are up as are the use of IEDs, but fewer AU troops are being killed. Noteworthy the report explicitly claims "Mortars also impacted regularly near the United Nations common compound and the UNICEF compound," which is a new development over the period of the report suggesting perhaps territory is indeed being conc…

Eric Lindsey of CSBA published an excellent monograph last month examining how the U.S. Army might field land-based anti-ship missiles and rockets, not to mention air and missile defense systems, to defend forward U.S. allies from aggression. I strongly agree with the concept in principle. Such capabilities would be extremely useful for constraining an adversary’s wartime use of the waters and airspace adjacent to a U.S. ally’s territory. They would definitely increase the adversary’s potential costs and risks of hazarding transits through maritime chokepoints controlled by the ally, conducting close blockades against the ally, or executing amphibious/airborne assau…

What is Mandarin for "BOLTER"? I told you ... I told you .... you all owe me beer. China may be ready to launch its first aircraft carrier in 2011, Chinese military and political sources said on Thursday, a year ahead of U.S. military analysts' expectations. Analysts expect China to use its first operational aircraft carrier to ensure the security of its oil supply route through the Indian Ocean and near the disputed Spratly Islands, but full capability is still some years away. "The period around July 1 next year to celebrate the (Chinese Communist) Party's birthday is one window (for launch)," one source with ties to the leadership told Reuters, reque…

When I first saw these pictures of the new PLA Navy SSK, my first thoughts were of the old Golf class conventional ballistic submarines like the K-129 discussed in Norman Polmar's latest book Project Azorian. But as I look closer and think about it, I think what I am seeing is something of an evolution leveraging a similar design concept. You may have to open the third picture up and look closely to see what I'm talking about, but there appears to be some sort of large hatch built into the sail. If I was to guess based on what I am seeing, I think China has developed a special operations SSK to augment their Yuan class SSKs. I haven't seen this idea floated around…

According to this source (in French), the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is deploying for 4 months to the Indian Ocean to support operations in Afghanistan. "Agapanthus 10," as the mission is called, was presented at a press briefing of the Ministry of Defense by Admiral Jean-Louis Kerignard. The carrier battlegroup will consist of the aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R91), FS Forbin (D620), FS Tourville (D610), the naval auxiliary vessel FS Meuse (A 607), and the submarine FS Amethyst (S605). The air group on board the aircraft carrier will have 12 upgraded Super Etendard, 10 Rafale, 2 Hawkeyes, and helicopters. The operation is expected to begin in …

Another hijacking. Pirates have seized a Panama-flagged chemical tanker with a crew of 31 off the coast of Somalia, the European Union Naval Force for Somalia (EU Navfor) said on Thursday. The anti-piracy taskforce EU Navfor said that the 24,105 tonne MV Hannibal II was taken while sailing to Suez from Malaysia ferrying vegetable oil. "The master of the vessel reported that he had been attacked and boarded by pirates in an area some 860 nautical miles East of The Horn of Africa which is considerably closer to India than it is to Somalia," EU Navfor said in a statement. The naval force said the ship's crew consisted of 23 Tunisians, four Filipinos, a…

Via The Economist; read all the way to the bottom. When you think about it - their population is 4x ours and their economy has been growing 2-3+ more than ours for over a decade; is was only a matter of time barring a bad black swan. Not all is smooth sailing for China; but 2025 is not that far down the road. Ponder. View the full article

We've covered the Battle of Tsushima before - but who can say no to this quality cut from the NHK mini-series? If nothing else we can once again see that no one has a better war face than the Japanese. BTW - the Japanese flagship is still out there. Now if we can only save the USS OLYMPIA .... Hat tip CB. View the full article

AN/TPS-77 Radar May 9/11: Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin MS2 Tactical Systems in Eagan, MN receives $26 million firm-fixed-price/cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide a turn-key “Long Range Radar 2” site for the Iraqi Air Force, as a Foreign Military Sales contract. At this point, $13 million has been committed by the Electronic Systems Center/HSGK at Hanscom AFB, MA (FA8707-11-C-0007). See also: FedBizOpps. The question is, what radar are they referring to? After some back-and-forth, Lockheed Martin consulted the USAF and replied that “We can’t provide any more details about this in theater project. Sorry.” Having said that, the likely options fall withi…

Dr. Andrew S. Erickson is an Associate Professor in the Strategic Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College and a core founding member of the department’s China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI). Are China’s Near Seas “Anti-Navy†capabilities aimed directly at the United States? Yes, but it’s more complicated than that. In the military realm, Washington and Beijing face a situation that is complex both in concept and in policy implications. In contrast to its mostly-settled land borders , China’s island and maritime zone claims in the “Near Seas†remain mostly unresolved. To further its still-contested claims in these “Three Seas†(the Yellow, …

I don't know more than anyone else here, but I think that some are getting a little too excited over what happened with the USS CHANCELLORSVILLE (CG-62). Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar; a training incident is a training incident. Most you need to know will come out in the investigation - but for those who need a refresher; An aerial target drone malfunctioned and struck guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) off the coast of Southern California at approximately 1:25 pm local time today, Nov. 16, while the ship was conducting a radar tracking exercise during routine training at sea. Our friend Galrahn over at ID really got a bone in his teeth on the inc…

When Dr. Ashton Carter testifies in front of the Senate that your program is unaffordable in this fiscal climate, the only hope left is to find enough politicians that will sell out. Something drastically changes, or the Joint Strike Fighter is done. "Over the lifetime of this program, the decade or so, the per-aircraft cost of the 2,443 aircraft we want has doubled in real terms," said Ashton Carter, the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. "That's our forecast for how much the aircraft's going to cost. "Said differently, that's what it's going to cost if we keep doing what we're doing. And that's unacceptable. It's unaff…

While working on the orchard at my Dacha/bolthole this weekend, acreage so far off the grid I can't even get broadcast TV unless I get a 20' tower, I had a little revelation when thinking about a video I saw last week. What is one of the breathless reasons we seem to have disgorged so much intellectual, professional, political, and real capital on LCS over the last decade? What is the panic button ... ah yes; "the swarm." Sure, you hear MIW and ASW wishfull chattering of "make it work" about; but the swarm is the driver. The fear of a bunch of expendable guys in small expendable boats with unguided weapons or suicide packages attacking ships in relatively confin…

Note: I was originally planning on publishing a series of articles this week on the large-deck aircraft carrier's doctrinal roles, but I'm shifting that to next week as I need a little more time to make final edits. As a result, I'm moving up my series analyzing the DF-21 arsenal. Both series touch on my theme for the first part of this month: the implications of guided munitions inventory management and producibility. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Medium Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM) arsenal’s traditional primary role is supporting theater nuclear deterrence. China’s first generation DF-3 series (NATO Designation CSS-2) MRBMs were tasked with h…

A few days ago a warning went out regarding good weather over the next few days. Good weather in the region means piracy usually surges, and it is clear piracy has surged. This morning, another ship was hijacked - this time a Chinese vessel. Pirates hijacked a cargo ship with 29 Chinese sailors aboard in the Arabian Sea and told the shipping company they were taking it toward Somalia, Chinese officials and state media said Saturday. The attack came just two days after another 17 Chinese sailors returned home after being held by Somali pirates for four months. It also highlights the spread of piracy to areas outside the Gulf of Aden, a hijacking hot spot now p…

Not really wading into the debate on the 2nd Amendment (let's keep it), but going after some of the morons who think they have the moral authority and bright ideas to change it/eliminate it. Take this supposedly retired LTC, Bob Bateman, writing in Esquire about how true gun control might be brought about... For starters, this retired LTC living in England is embarrassed by our country when among the Brits. There's plenty to be embarrassed about - first, I'd start apologizing to Her Majesty for Bruno Mars, the POTUS, and what we did with plaid in the 70s. But they owe us because that bumbling idiot, Piers Morgan, lives here. Anyway, I digress...you should read the Esquire…