HG S2 (Intel Bot)

Let’s return to a topic we covered in a FbF last month: the U-Boat war in the Caribbean. Not just the Caribbean, U-Boats in the Gulf of America (nee Mexico). From a strictly professional point of view, you have to tip your hat to the men of the German U-boat fleet. They didn’t have the great fleet boats like we did - no, not even close. But what they did with what they had ... it is still amazing. In the summer of 1942, U-166 patrolled the Gulf of Mexico in searches for a new victim. Steamer Robert E. Lee appeared 70 kilometers from the Mississippi mouth on July 30. The passenger carrier of 5184 tons displacement was going from Trinidad escorted with a PC-566 cruiser. There were over 400 passengers on board the vessel, mostly technical specialists and seamen rescued from sunk ships. The cruiser contacted with the coast station over the air and reported its coordinate position; it was a fatal mistake as the negotiations were intercepted by the German submarine. The U-166 captain Kullmann ordered to immediately open fire against the ship. People on board the passenger carrier saw a white foamy trace on the sea surface and then a torpedo explosion followed. Marshal Charlton, who was a sailor on Robert E. Lee steamer tells: ?We felt a quick bump, as if the ship ran against a stone wall. The torpedo got into the engine-room and smashed it to pieces.¦ The steamer got a serious breach and sank very quickly; passengers on Robert E. Lee were rather lucky v only 25 people sank. German submariners were eager to find out whether the hunting was a success. They got so used to remain unpunished for their doings in the Gulf of Mexico that U-166 surfaced without any cautiousness. PC-566 seamen rescued passengers from the steamer, then they noticed the hostile submarine and showered it with depth-bombs. One of them hit the fore body. A catastrophe was inevitable, and the submarine broke into two pieces just in few minutes and sank. The debris went down at a depth of about 1.500 meters in Mississippi-s underwater canyon. Not far from the dilapidated submarine hull, was lying an awkward carcass of the steamer that it torpedoed. Germany waited for any information from U-166 in vain. No information about the submarine appeared after July 30, 1942, that is why U-166 and its crew of 52 seamen were considered missing. In almost 60 years, at the beginning of 2001, researches were held at the sea bottom for further laying of oil pipelines there. By that time, the place where Robert E. Lee steamer sank was known, as its framework was found in 1986 already. However, when measurement was done, underwater robots detected strange anomalies of the sea bottom near the place where the steamer was lying. Maritime archeologists joined the researches and determined that wreckage of a submarine of the IX-C class were quite close to the steamer. But what was the submarine that American pilots bombed not fat from the Mississippi delta? On July 24-25, 1942, U-166 executed a secret mission in the Gulf of Mexico near the Mississippi mouth and laid mined there. In that very place U-166 came across U-171, a giant submarine of the same class. In several days, an American plane noticed U-171. The pilots decided to attack the submarine. Submarine specialist Krist says that the pilots had one depth-bomb weighing 120 kilograms. ?It would have been an exceptional case if the pilots had managed to sink a submarine of the IX-C class. But no miracle happened.¦ The American pilots remained above the place where they dropped the bomb for an hour. They even saw an oil spot spreading on the sea surface, that is the reason why they were sure that they managed to sank a submarine. But out of the whole number of German submarines that prowled the Gulf of Mexico, only U-166 didn’t get back home from there. But it is unlikely that U-171 submarine seriously suffered from the dropped bomb, as the submarine moved away from the American shores. But the days of U-171 were also numbered: it was blown up when it approached the base in Lorient, near the French shores. Some members of the U-171 crew were saved, but 22 men were killed. U-166 suffered the same fate that majority of the Nazi Germany-s submarines did. Within ten years, 1935-1945, over a half of submarines out of the whole number of 1167 didn-t get back from their combat missions. German historians sum up losses of the enemy: 2900 vessels and 33 thousand seamen at the cost of the life of 30 thousand German submariners. Underwater pictures of the U-166 framework and wreckage of the steamer that it sank lying side by side produce a painful impression: the hunter and the pray, the killer and the victim are lying together in one underwater grave, covered with sand and silt, almost forgotten. This is just another reminder of the war horrors. The U-boat fleet suffered extremely heavy casualties, losing 743 U-boats. From one of my favorite books of all time, Gaylord Kelshall’s The U-Boat War in the Caribbean, the story is told in much greater detail. U-166 was a Type IXC U-boat commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Günther Kuhlmann, 28 years old. He made three patrols - but his third, 44 days, is the one he is remembered for. U-166: Displacement: (tons) 1,120 (sf); 1,232 (sm); 1,540 (total) Length: (m) 76,76 oa; 58,75 ph Beam: (m) 6,76 oa; 4,40 ph Draught: (draft) 4,70 m Height: 9,40 m Power: (hp) 4400 (sf); 1000 (sm) Speed: (knots) 18,3; (sf) 7,3 (sm) Range:(miles/knots) 13450/10 (sf); 63/4 (sm) Torpedoes: 22; 4/2 (bow/stern tubes) Mines: 44 TMA Deck gun: 105/45, 110 rounds Crew: 48-56 men Max depth: ca. 230m (755 feet) Share Leave a comment This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 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The Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) has finalized a €4.5 billion ($5.2 billion) contract to procure 270 additional Boxer armored vehicles for Germany and the Netherlands, expanding the multinational Boxer program’s total value to more than €10 billion ($11.6 billion). According to OCCAR, the agreement includes new driver training and ambulance variants for the […] The post Germany, Netherlands buy 222 Jakal fighting vehicles first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Türkiye plans to allocate over $51 billion to defense and internal security in 2026, according to the Clash Report. Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said in remarks to parliament that the government has set aside ₺2.155 trillion ($51.4 billion) for defense and internal security-related expenditures. The combined amount represents about 11.4 percent of Türkiye’s total projected […] The post Türkiye to raise defense budget in 2026 first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has unveiled its latest unmanned weapon platform, the “Ragnarök” Low-Cost Cruise Missile (LCCM), engineered for high-volume, precision strike operations at a fraction of the cost of legacy systems. The system is designed to meet emerging demands for affordable, long-range firepower in contested environments. According to the company, Ragnarök delivers a […] The post Kratos unveils cruise missile for $150,000 first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Aerospace giant Boeing has been awarded a series of multiyear contracts valued at approximately $2.7 billion to manufacture more than 3,000 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) seekers through 2030, the company announced. The seekers are built by Boeing for Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the PAC-3 interceptor, and play a central role in enabling the […] The post Boeing boosts PAC-3 production in $2.7B deal first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Army has awarded Lockheed Martin an Integrated Fires Protection Capability (IFPC) 2nd Interceptor project agreement to advance the service’s layered air and missile defense network. According to Lockheed Martin, the program will provide an integrated air and missile defense solution to bridge the operational gap between short-range air defense systems and the Patriot […] The post U.S. Army taps Lockheed for new air defense interceptor first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

NATO has begun its annual nuclear deterrence training exercise, Steadfast Noon 25, involving 70 aircraft and approximately 2,000 personnel from 14 Allied nations, the alliance confirmed this week. The long-scheduled drill, which runs from October 13 to 24, is part of NATO’s recurring efforts to validate its nuclear posture and joint force readiness. The exercise […] The post NATO conducts exercises for fighter-based nuclear roles first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

India’s MKU Limited has signed a ₹660 crore ($75 million) contract with the Indian Army for the supply of nearly 30,000 night vision weapon sights, in what the company describes as one of the largest electro-optics deals in the country’s defense sector to date. According to MKU, the agreement covers 29,762 Netro NW 3000 night […] The post Indian army buys almost 30,000 night vision weapon sights first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Marine Corps’ Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 542 (VMFA-542) has returned from a five-month deployment to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility. Operating under CENTCOM’s Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central), VMFA-542 flew over 1,099 combat sorties and logged 4,736 mishap-free flight hours, according to the Marine Corps. During the deployment, the […] The post U.S. Marine F-35Bs return after combat missions in Middle East first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) has conducted a large-scale maintenance drill featuring dozens of Type 15 light tanks, captured in recent imagery from the 54th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade, operating under the Tibet Military Region. The footages—originally shared by defense observer Jesus Roman and other open-source analysts—show rows of Type 15 light […] The post China holds mass tank readiness drill in Tibet first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukrainian defense officials claim that Russian forces shot down their own military aircraft over Crimea during an attempted interception of drones, according to a statement by Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk. “So actively were they trying to repel Ukrainian attacks that they ended up shooting down their own aircraft today over Crimea,” Pletenchuk said. “The fight […] The post Ukraine: Russia shoots down own aircraft over Crimea first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries and German defense firm Taurus Systems GmbH are in early discussions on technical cooperation for cruise missile engines, according to several sources familiar with the matter. As reported by Reuters, Taurus has expressed interest in Kawasaki’s compact, fuel-efficient turbofan engine currently under development for Japan’s next-generation anti-ship missiles. The engine is […] The post Japan may provide engines for Germany’s Taurus missiles first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

In response to mounting losses from low-cost Ukrainian FPV drone strikes, Russia’s VNII “Gradient” has developed a new counter-UAV system named “Multik”, designed to protect helicopters and ground forces from first-person view (FPV) drone attacks. The new system was detailed in promotional materials released by KRET, a division of Russia’s defense electronics sector. The system […] The post Russia equips helicopters with new drone defense system first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Ground Force is moving away from traditional close-quarters tank engagements, instead focusing on long-range networked warfare, according to a frontpage report by PLA Daily on Monday. The change is being driven by the deployment of the new-generation Type 100 main battle tank, described as a platform capable of linking […] The post Chinese new tank pushes warfare beyond line of sight first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A previously unseen image of Russia’s Su-57 multirole fighter has surfaced on pro-Kremlin social media channels, showing the aircraft’s internal tail-mounted weapons bay in detail. The release appears to be part of a broader effort by Moscow to promote the export potential of the fifth-generation jet as it seeks foreign funding to complete development. The […] The post Rare photo reveals Su-57’s hidden weapon bay first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

United States Forces Korea (USFK) has lodged a formal protest with the South Korean government over a search and seizure operation carried out at Osan Air Base in July by a special counsel team. The protest was submitted on October 3 by U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. David Iverson, USFK’s deputy commander and head of […] The post U.S. Forces protest raid on Osan Air Base first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

As some of you are aware, I am forcing myself to finish General Kenneth McKenzie, USMC (Ret.)’s book on his tour as the Commander at CENTCOM, The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century. My opinion of his performance at CENTCOM is well known to readers. However, Tom Ricks subtly challenged me to read the book. I’ve compromised and checked it out as an audiobook. (spoiler: my opinion of his performance gets worse with each minute of the book). Anyway, in order to get through this before it ruins my early fall, I’ve sped the audio up to 1.25X speed to get through the remaining 2+ hours I have left. I’m at the point right before the Abbey Gate attack, and it only darkens my mood on the way home. Mrs. Salamander has noticed. As I sat in the truck for a bit when I got home last night, I remembered a brief I gave in Kabul in December of 2008. I think it was on Fridays. In my branch, someone would be assigned to give a short “fun brief”, not directly related to what we were doing, but tangentially connected. It was usually historical, but not always. It was my turn, and knowing my Hopkirk, I decided to make this as personal as possible for my fellow staff weenies at HQ ISAF. First of all, of course, let’s go to the chartroom. Here is an overhead of part of downtown Kabul. The former HQ ISAF is highlighted roughly in the center, and the Kabul River is at the bottom. Note the shape of the Kabul River, this will come in handy later. Look at the street layout and the different neighborhoods. Anything stand out to you, a little off-kilter? Go ahead, study the above. I’ll wait for you here. Did you note the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood northwest of HQ ISAF? Let’s zoom in. See that abrupt outline of…something? That, my friends, is the Sherpur Cantonment in 1879, the 23rd of December, 1879 to be exact, right at the pivot point of the Second Anglo-Afghan War and the Battle of Kabul. Yep, NATO’s Kabul compound was right outside the Sherpur Cantonment. Salamander Constant: geography does not change. Urban design tells stories. It gives warnings. The Afghans knew their history, we should know it too. …50,000 Afghans, headed by white clothed Ghazis, fanatical religious leaders, rushed the cantonment fortifications. The garrison guns illuminated the area with star shells as the defending infantry poured volleys into the attacking tribesmen. By dawn on 23rd December 1879, the attack was in full flood against the west, south and east walls, with the emphasis on the east side and Bimaru village. Only in the north-east corner did the Afghans make any lodgement. The hard-pressed Guides were reinforced by companies of Sikhs from the neighbouring heights which had not been attacked. After reaching a peak of ferocity between 10am and 11am, the attack generally slackened, the Afghans returning to the assault many times, but with diminishing enthusiasm. At around 11am, Roberts sent a force of guns and cavalry through the gap in the Bimaru Heights, to open a bombardment on the right flank of the Afghans attacking the village. Under this fire, the attackers withdrew. At around midday, the British and Indian cavalry issued from the cantonment and began the work of dispersing the remaining Afghan forces and pursuing the retreating tribesmen, while the infantry cleared the villages around the cantonment. No quarter was given to Afghans found with weapons. On the morning of the 24th December 1879, Roberts was preparing to eject the Afghan tribesmen from Kabul city, when he received news that Mohammed Jan’s enormous army had completely dispersed. Despite pursuit by the British and Indian cavalry, Mohammed Jan and his entourage escaped to Ghuznee. Casualties at the Battle of Kabul 1879: British and Indian casualties were 33. General Roberts estimated that the Afghan casualties, almost all killed, were 3,000. Let’s go back to the name of the neighborhood, Wazir Akbar Khan. Who was he that was so honored to have the development made out of the former British base named after him? You have to go back an additional 37 years to 1842 and the First Anglo-Afghan War. …a Barakzai prince and military commander who served as emir of Afghanistan from 1842 to 1843. He also served as vizier and heir apparent to his father, Emir Dost Mohammad Khan (r. 1826–1839, 1843–1863), until his death in 1847. Wazir Akbar Khan’s fame began with the 1837 Battle of Jamrud. He was militarily active in the First Anglo-Afghan War, which lasted from 1839 to 1842. He is prominent for his leadership of the national party in Kabul from 1841 to 1842, and his massacre of Elphinstone’s army at the Gandamak pass before the only survivor, the assistant surgeon William Brydon, reached the besieged garrison at Jalalabad on 13 January 1842. Wazir Akbar Khan became the emir of Afghanistan in May 1842, and ruled until Dost Mohammad Khan’s return in 1843. In 1847 Wazir Akbar Khan died of cholera. Gandamak. You see, the Sherpur Cantonment of the Second Anglo-Afghan War was built on what was created by British forces in the First Anglo-Afghan War. At the beginning of the conflict, British and East India Company forces had defeated the forces of Afghan Emir Dost Mohammad Barakzai and in 1839 occupied Kabul, restoring the former ruler, Shah Shujah Durrani, as emir. However a deteriorating situation made their position more and more precarious, until an uprising in Kabul forced Maj. Gen. Elphinstone to withdraw. To this end he negotiated an agreement with Wazir Akbar Khan, one of the sons of Dost Mohammad Barakzai, by which Elphinstone’s army was to be guaranteed security as they fell back to the Jalalabad garrison, more than 140 kilometres (90 mi) away. No sooner had the British left Kabul than Afghans loyal to Akbar launched attacks against the column, continuing to harry it as it made slow progress through the winter snows along the route that is now the Kabul–Jalalabad Road. In total the British army lost 4,500 troops, along with about 12,000 civilians: the latter comprising both the families of Indian and British soldiers, plus workmen, servants and other Indian camp followers. The final stand was made just outside a village called Gandamak on 13 January. Out of more than 16,000 people from the column commanded by Elphinstone, only one European (Assistant Surgeon William Brydon) and a few Indian sepoys reached Jalalabad. Over one hundred British prisoners and civilian hostages were later released. An uncertain number of the Indians, many of whom were maimed by frostbite, survived and returned to Kabul to exist as beggars or to be sold into slavery elsewhere. About 2,000 sepoys returned to India after another British invasion of Kabul several months later, but others remained behind in Afghanistan. In 2013, a writer for The Economist called the retreat “the worst British military disaster until the fall of Singapore exactly a century later. The fall of Kabul could have been much worse. Final note: my 21 AUG 2021 wargaming of the fall of Kabul aged pretty well. Leave a comment Share This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. View the full article

Israel-based Aero-Sentinel has shared with Defence Blog the results of an independent acoustic test, confirming that its Aerosol G2 drone outperformed leading commercial models, including DJI’s Matrice 350 and Autel Alpha, in overall noise reduction and frequency control. The objective test was conducted by Galit Environmental Quality Company, an accredited Israeli organization specializing in acoustic […] The post Israeli G2 covert drone beats competitors in noise test first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

As Western armies adapt to lessons from the war in Ukraine, France’s 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment has begun training its soldiers to use shotguns against small aerial threats, including low-cost FPV drones. “In an environment of constant aerial threat, the regiment is expanding its counter-drone capabilities,” the French military unit said in a recent statement. […] The post French army adopts hard-kill tactics for drone threats first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Japanese Ministry of Defense is exploring the potential for low-cost, easily mounted drone munitions as part of a broader effort to expand its unmanned capabilities and accelerate the deployment of scalable, mass-produced strike systems. According to an October 14 announcement by the Ground Staff Office, the Ministry has issued a formal Request for Information […] The post Japan eyes cheap drone bombs for mass deployment first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Kalashnikov Concern has delivered a new batch of SV-98 sniper rifles to Russian forces under a 2025 state contract, the company said in a statement this week. The rifles, chambered in 7.62×54R, are widely used in combat operations and were handed over on schedule, the manufacturer noted. According to the company, the SV-98 is equipped […] The post Russia sends new sniper rifles to frontline troops first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Indonesia will acquire 42 Chinese-built Chengdu J-10C fighter jets in a deal valued at over $9 billion, marking the country’s first major non-Western aircraft procurement, according to top defense officials in Jakarta. Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin confirmed the move on Wednesday, stating that the aircraft, produced by China’s Chengdu Aerospace Corporation, would soon be flying […] The post Indonesia buys Chinese J-10 fighter jets first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division has taken a major step toward soldier-driven battlefield innovation with the creation of a new lightweight, low-cost FPV-style drone designed to deliver precision bomb strikes. Developed under the newly established Robotics and Autonomous Integration Directorate (RAID), the Attritable Battlefield Enabler 1.01 (ABE 1.01) is part of the division’s push […] The post U.S. Soldiers unveil DIY bomb-drone for frontline strikes first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

U.S. Soldiers from the 127th Military Police Company are deploying the Black Hornet 4 micro-drone system to enhance surveillance and threat detection along the U.S. southern border, providing real-time intelligence to support security operations. According to the U.S. Army, Soldiers are leveraging miniature unmanned aerial vehicles to improve monitoring of remote areas, helping to identify […] The post U.S. Army uses micro-drones for border surveillance first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

DEUTZ, a German system provider for mobility and energy solutions, and ARX Robotics, a European defense technology company developing next-generation unmanned ground systems, have announced plans for a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating Europe’s defense innovation. According to a joint statement issued on October 16, DEUTZ intends to become the lead investor in an upcoming […] The post DEUTZ and ARX Robotics announce strategic defense partnership first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article