HG S2 (Intel Bot)

Americas Boeing won a $71.8 million contract modification, which adds scope to provide segregable effort support, unknown obsolescence, Class I change assessments and obsolescence monitoring in support of the P-8A Multi-mission Maritime aircraft Lot 12 production line. Work will take place in Washington, California and Colorado. Estimated completion will be by April 2025. Raytheon won a $40.4 million contract modification. This modification exercises an option to integrate, produce, qualify, test and field 29 Lot Two low-rate production Maritime Strike Tomahawk seeker suites and all subsystems required to provide midcourse and terminal guidance to a modernized Tactical Tomahawk missile for prosecution of maritime targets from surface and subsurface platforms. The seeker suites will be installed in recertified Tomahawk missiles for the Navy. Work will take place in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Utah and Michigan. Middle East & Africa Contrack won a $34 million deal for the design bid-build construction of an electrical system upgrade at the Naval Support Activity in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Work will take place in Bahrain. Estimated completion date is October 19, 2024. The US State Department also has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Bahrain of M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) Upgrade and related equipment for an estimated cost of $176 million. Bahrain had requested to buy upgrades to 9 M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) to a M270 A1 minimum configuration. The upgrade will include: the Common Fire Control System (CFCS); Improved Launcher Mechanical System (ILMS); 600h Engine and associated engine compartment modifications; Improved Electronics Distribution Box (IEDB); fan speed control valve; cables and mounting hardware, Power Take Off (PTO) and BOO series transmission; the Digital Communication Systems (DCOMMS); Vehicular Intercom System (AN/VIC-3); and related support and equipment. American International Contractors won a $24.8 million deal to construct an F-16 maintenance hangar at Marsa Matrouh Air Base in Egypt. US Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District, is the contracting activity. Work will take place in Egypt. Estimated completion date is September 30, 2024. Europe Greece signed a deal for the procurement of six additional Rafale combat jets and three Belharra frigates with France. Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, and Vice-Admiral Aristidis Alexopoulos, Director General of Armaments and Investments of the Greek Ministry of Defence, signed in Athens, in the presence of Florence Parly, French Minister of the Armed Forces, and Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, Greek Minister of National Defence, a contract for the acquisition of six additional new Rafale aircraft, Dassault Aviation confirmed. Asia-Pacific South Korea’s Defense Project Promotion Committee has approved a $580 million project to buy new transport planes by 2026. Yonhap reports that the contenders are likely to be the Airbus A400M, Embraer C390 and Lockheed Martin C-130J. The committee also approve the upgrade of the Cheolmae-2 air defense interceptor with $591 million of funding. The upgrade will take place next year and runs till 2029. The Cheolmae-2 will have the ability to intercept ballistic missiles after the upgrade. Today’s Video WATCH: Tomahawk vs. Kalibr Cruise Missile View the full article

An encore FbF because, well ... it sings to me ... and it is always good to see the Navy-Marine Corps work together as designed. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3589/3522978114_d92fd9321c_m.jpg One. Hundred. Feet. Then pull closer. The two steam cutters were fitted out as mini-gunboats to provide the sailing launches with covering fire and pin down the Spanish soldiers firing from the rifle pits along the beach and from the surrounding hills. For this purpose, each of the steam cutters, in addition to its crew of five, carried a sergeant and six Marines to act as sharpshooters. To supplement the Marines and provide greater firepower, additional armaments were added. A one-pound Hotchkiss cannon was mounted aboard Marblehead’s steam cutter, while Nashville’s cutter was fitted out with two Colt machine guns. Together, the two cutters provided the operation with significant firepower. Just after dawn on the morning of May 11, 1898, Nashville’s cutter and launch pushed away from the gunboat. They were soon joined by the boats from Marblehead. Winslow was in command aboard Nashville’s sailing launch; Lieutenant E.A. Anderson of Marblehead, the expedition’s second-in-command, was in charge of the flagship’s sailing launch. En-sign T.P. Magruder commanded both of the accompanying steam cutters. The task of the supporting naval squadron during the operation was to draw the Spaniards’ fire away from the work boats. And the gunboats wasted no time in putting their part of the plan into operation. At 6:45 a.m. both ships got underway. Marblehead was the first to open fire upon the Spanish positions on shore. And no sooner had the sound of Marblehead’s opening salvo faded than Nashville commenced firing as well. The ships soon found the range of their target, their shells falling regularly in the vicinity of the cable house. There was no doubt about the effectiveness of the naval fire. The cable house on the beach was quickly destroyed. Again and again the shells found their mark, bursting and sending clouds of stone and mortar into the air, Winslow would later write of the engagement, …until one shot, striking the tottering structure, burst, and brought it down, leaving nothing but a disordered pile of masonry covering the wreck of the electrical equipment. At five minutes before 7 o’clock,, the second phase of the raid began when, with the bombardment continuing, the boat flotilla started moving toward its designated position offshore. The steam cutters led the way, each towing one of the sailing launches. When they were about 300 to 400 feet offshore, the steam launches threw off their tow lines, leaving the sailing launches to move in toward shore under their own oar power. The men in the sailing launches began throwing their grappling hooks overboard in order to locate the telegraphic cables. The presence of coral, however, made the task of locating and raising the cable with grappling hooks particularly difficult. In order to grapple the cable, the men had first to be able to see it on the bottom through the clear Caribbean water. To do this, the launches were forced to move closer and closer to the shore — closer and closer to the source of enemy fire. Almost from the beginning, the Americans had lost all hope of keeping their true intentions secret. A Spanish cavalryman astride a white horse spotted the boats as they moved toward the beach. The sharpshooters in the steam launches opened fire in an attempt to prevent him from escaping and raising the alarm among other Spanish troops in the area. The pitching of the boats in the Caribbean waves, however, made precise shooting impossible. The Spaniard was successful in his escape, and word of the American operation quickly spread among the Spanish troops. The boats were about 100 feet from the shore when the sailors saw the first of the cables in about 20 feet of water. This particular cable ran east and connected Cienfuegos to Santiago. The sailors aboard the launches wasted no time in trying to raise the cable, but pulling it up from the bottom and aboard the boats proved difficult. The heavy submarine cable, two inches in diameter, was shielded in so much lead and insulation that it weighed about 6 pounds per linear foot. The 30 men in both boats heaved and strained to pull the cable to the surface. The heavy cable, laid taut along the bottom, seemed to weigh tons, Winslow later wrote. They finally did raise it, and now the steam cutters towed the launches to deeper water for the task of cutting the cable. Here inexperience at the task began to tell. The sailors aboard the launches at first tried to use axes to hack through the cable. Then, when this method proved unsatisfactory, they tried to cut through with cold chisels. They finally found, however, that hacksaws worked the best. All the experimentation took time. It took 20 to 30 minutes to complete the first cut, but the work went more quickly after that. The sailors finally managed to make two cuts in the cable, removing a section of about 150 feet to make it difficult for the Spanish to repair. Despite the heavy labor, the first step of the operation had gone with surprising ease. The eastbound cable, though, had been out of the line of fire from the Spanish rifle pits on the beach. In addition, the task had been largely completed before reinforcements arrived from the town. All in all, the Spanish response so far had been weak and ineffective. Winslow later wrote that the Spanish fire was so desultory and ineffective that the working parties had paid no attention to it. Such a lack of enemy resistance, however, was not to last for long. The search for the second cable took the boats farther and farther to the west, and when the American sailors discovered the second cable, their launches were directly in front of Spanish rifle pits on the shore. To make matters worse, the underwater coral again forced the boats to move closer to shore to search for cable. When the crews finally discovered it, the launches were within 100 feet of the shore — close to the Spanish rifle pits dug along the beach. To ease the plight of the cable-cutting parties, the ships’ commanders increased their bombardment of the Spanish positions on shore. According to Winslow, the shells from the ships’ guns passed so close overhead that the crews instinctively ducked when the rounds passed. The shells could hardly have come closer to us without hitting the boats, Winslow said. The close shelling was unnerving for friend and foe alike. We soon realized that we had to take the chance of an accidental hit from our ships or receive fire from the enemy at pistol range, Winslow wrote of the battle, and the men worked in disregard of both. As if the location were not enough to contend with, the second cable proved to be even more difficult to snare than the first. The coral growth underwater made it hard for grappling hooks to reach the cable. Worse, rough water knocked the boats together and made it hard to see through the high waves. Increasing fatigue also overtook the crews as they struggled to locate the second cable, which connected Cienfuegos with all-important Havana, and drag it to the surface. Nonetheless, the men persevered and eventually succeeded. As with the first cable, Marblehead’s men made the cut in the inshore end while Nashville’s men made the cut on the offshore end. A section of cable about 100 feet long was removed. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3414/3522170591_c83e432a91_m.jpgIn lifting the second cable, Winslow and his party discovered a third, smaller telegraphic cable, too small to be an ocean cable. They assumed that it connected the cable house with the city of Cienfuegos, and before returning to the ships, Winslow and his men set about cutting it as well. Under the intense naval bombardment that lasted throughout the morning, the Spanish small-arms fire from the shore had gradually faded. As the boat crews finished cutting the second cable, it almost seemed that the Spanish had given up the fight altogether. In response, the fire from the American warships had also nearly stopped. The lag in Spanish gunfire, however, was only temporary. As work began on the third cable, the Spanish shore fire became stronger. By late morning, large numbers of Spanish reinforcements had made their way out from Cienfuegos and the surrounding area and taken up positions at Punta de la Colorados. Under cover of tall grass and bushes of the chaparral, the reinforcements were able to crawl unseen into the rifle pits and trenches, even into the lighthouse. Locating and raising the third cable again took the boats perilously close to the Spanish positions. Both boats were within 100 feet of the shore and within 200 feet of the Spanish trenches. Because of the noise of sea and wind, the Americans at first did not notice the increase in fire. Moreover, the Spaniards’ Mauser rifles used smokeless gunpowder, so the men in the boats could not see the incoming fire. The only evidence of the gunfire for the men aboard the boats was the small splashes the bullets made as they struck the water. Again the ships moved into position, firing their heavy guns upon the positions ashore in effort to quell the Spanish gunfire. And again the naval fire had its devastating effect. All along the ridge and down its sides our projectiles were falling, shattering the rocks, bursting, and sending fragments into the air, clouds of dust, Winslow later said. Despite the shelling from the ships offshore, the Spanish fire remained concentrated on the launches and the cutters as their crewmen worked to destroy the enemy cable. The Spanish persistence led to the first American casualties of the Spanish-American War. Aboard Marblehead’s cutter, one of the Marines, Patrick Regan, was killed when struck in the head by a bullet. Another man, also struck by a bullet, fell in Nashville’s cutter as well. And in Winslow’s own boat, sailor Robert Volz was struck four times by Spanish bullets. Winslow himself was struck in the hand. No longer using small arms only, the enemy now opened fire with a fieldpiece mounted in the vicinity of the lighthouse and with machine guns, as well. Clearly, the position of the men in the boats had become untenable. Winslow was forced to abandon the effort to destroy the third cable and ordered the boats back to the ships. It was a fighting retreat. Some of the sailors took up their rifles to return the Spanish fire, while others bent over the oars. Ensign Magruder’s steam cutters quickly came up to take the launches in tow. They then all made their way back to the ships. Their ordeal, however, was far from over — the Spanish fire remained heavy. Especially hard hit were the boats from Marblehead, enveloped by shore fire as they passed in front of the lighthouse. Five of their men were badly wounded. The heated Spanish fire also caused minor casualties aboard the gunboats. Spent bullets from the shore injured several men aboard Nashville. At one point during the action, a spent round struck a sailor, then hit Commander Maynard in the chest as he stood on the bridge of the gunboat. The impact was sufficient to put him out of action, and Nashville’s executive officer, Lieutenant A.C. Dillingham, was forced to assume command. The brief interruption in command, however, did little to disrupt the gunboat’s covering fire. We had to clear away very large numbers of Spanish troops, and you can tell [the volume] of our firing when I say we each [Marblehead and Nashville] fired 400 shells, an officer aboard the Nashville wrote home after the battle. By 10:15 that morning, the boats had finally pulled alongside the ships after being under enemy fire for three hours. For about 30 minutes, the fire had been galling. Nevertheless, Americans casualties were amazingly light. One Marine had been killed, one sailor would later die of wounds, and several men had been seriously wounded. Winslow’s bullet had passed through his left hand. About an hour later, the American ships got underway and put back out to sea. The raid on Cienfuegos was over.What was that mission? Computer Network Attack before computers? Electronic attack with a hatchet? Still lessons, ahem satellite comms ahem, to be taken on board today. The following men served in the cable-cutting party. Those with an asterisk (*) received the Medal of Honor: From the NASHVILLE: ERNEST KRAUSE, Coxswain. * AUSTIN J. DURNEY, Blacksmith. * JOHAN J. JOHANSSON, Ordinary Seaman*. JOHN P. RILEY, Landsman. * DAVID D. BARROW, Ordinary Seaman.* BENJAMIN F. BAKER, Coxswain. * LAURITZ NELSON, Sailmaker's Mate. * HUDSON VAN ETTEN, Seaman. * WILLARD MILLER, Seaman. * ROBERT BLUME, Seaman. * FRANK HILL, Private, U. S. M. C. * JOSEPH H. FRANKLIN; Private, U. S. M. C.* JOSEPH F. SCOTT, Private, U. S. M. C. * THOMAS HOBAN, Coxswain.* ROBERT VOLZ, Seaman. (severely wounded 4 times)* ALBERT BEYER, Coxswain. * GEORGE W. BRIGHT, Coal Passer. * WILLIAM MEYER, Carpenter's Mate, 3d class.* HARRY H. MILLER, Seaman. * JOHN EGLIT, Seaman. * MICHAEL GIBBON, Oiler. * PHILIP GAUGHAN, Sergeant, U. S. M. C.* POMEROY PARKER ,Private, U. S. M. C. * OSCAR W. FIELD, Private, U. S. M. C. * MICHAEL L. KEARNEY, Private, U. S. M. C. * FROM THE MARBLEHEAD. JAMES H. BENNETT, Chief Boatswains Mate. * JOHN J. DORAN, Boatswains Mate, 2d class (shot through right buttock)* FRANK WILLIAMS, Seaman. * HARRY HENRICKSON,' Seaman (shot through liver, thought to be fatal)* ALBERT BADAS, Seaman. * AXEL SUNDQUIST, Chief Carpenter's Mate * WILLIAM HART, Machinist, lst class. * FRANZ KRAMER, Seaman. * HENRY P. RUSSELL, Landsman. * HERMAN W. KUCHMEISTER, Private, U. S. M. C. (shot through the jaw bone and neck; thought to be dead). * WALTER S. WEST, Private, U. S. M. C.* WILLIAM OAKLEY, G. M., 2d class. * JULIUS A. R. WILKE, B. M., lst class. JOSEPH E. CARTER, Boatswain. * JOHN DAVIS, G. M., 3d class. (wound, right leg)* WILLIAM, LEVERY, Apprentice, lst class. (wound, left leg, very slight)* HERBERT L. FOSS, Seaman. * NICK ERICKSON, Coxswain. * FREEMAN GILL, Gunners Mate, 1st class. * JOHN MAXWELL, Fireman, 2d class. * LEONARD CHADWICK, Apprentice, lst class. * JAMES MEREDITH, Private, U. S. M. C. * EDWARD SULLIVAN, Private, U. S. M. C. * DANIEL CAMPBELL, Private, U. S. M. C. * PATRICK REGAN, Private, U.S.M.C. (fatally wounded) E. SUNTZENICH, Apprentice, 1st Class JULIUS A. R. WILKE, Boatswains mate, 1st Class* Lt. Winslow was slightly wounded in the hand.Is your crew ready? http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=SN7yMKZSt8o:vItvbc4kLe4:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=SN7yMKZSt8o:vItvbc4kLe4:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=SN7yMKZSt8o:vItvbc4kLe4:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=SN7yMKZSt8o:vItvbc4kLe4:F7zBnMyn0Lo View the full article

No one really knows for sure what caused the explosion this AM on the Russian Navy's 54-yr old Alligator Class LST Orsk in the Port of Berdyansk. What we do know was the accident/attack was livestreamed. This video captures it best.Time-lapse video showing the events at the port of Berdyansk this morning. Two LSTs left the port, one of them was on fire. pic.twitter.com/5HljSBOhbQ — C O U P S U R E (@COUPSURE) March 24, 2022 Just as a professional side note: BZ to the crews of the two Ropucha Class LSD for getting underway and out of the way - both of which seems to have fires of their own to fight. What we do know is that the Russians liked to store a lot of things on the deck of an Alligator, as you can see in this pic of the Orsk's sister ship Saratov going through the Dardanelles. In this still, it appears that the explosion took place on or under the after portion of the deck storage area. I'm not sure how long it takes to unload those ships, but the Russians put out this video two days ago showing the unload going rather well with most of the gear already gone;#Russian large landing ship #Orsk and escorts occupy & unload at captured port of #Berdyansk, #ZaporizhzhiaOblast, southeast #Ukraine.#RussianArmy claim thousands #UkrainianArmy and sailors abandoned the port without a fight, leaving all infrastructure and facilities intact pic.twitter.com/jVCWy74lks — Faith Reporters (@FaithReporters) March 22, 2022 There was, and continues to be, a lot of speculation as to the cause of this incident being some kind of attack by the Ukrainians via one of their few remaining SRBM or other weapons. I have no more information than anyone else, but that isn't my bet. Heck, some are even blaming the video above as some PAO mistake in giving targeting data, etc. No. Everyone knew the ship was there and the unloading areas of the pier are easy to enter in to any precision targeting software from a paper map even decades old as they DON'T MOVE and thousands of people can see what is there from their apartment balcony. No, my bet is - like the burning of our large-deck amphib the Bonnie Dick in San Diego almost two years ago - this was not caused by an attack. Probably an accident or something else internal to the ship. Perhaps sabotage, but that is low probability as well. That being said, I had a flash of SRBM theory of my own when I first saw this ... and it brought to mind one of the nightmares LTjg Salamander had to ponder one day a bit over 31-yrs ago. 31-yrs is a long time in weapons development. Even in 1991, the Iraqis were using old Soviet Scud hit ... and yet they knew where the ports were that we were using; which piers we would use, etc. Again, they don't move. Anyone can see them. Even in 1991 with old kit and ... well ... the Iraqi army ... they got close;c. February 16th Attack on Al Jubayl (Event 7 in Table 3) Iraq fired a single Scud at the port city of Al Jubayl early on February 16th.[75] The Patriot battery positioned to defend Al Jubayl was undergoing maintenance at the time and could not engage the Scud.[76] The incoming missile broke up in flight over the harbor and hit in the water just off a large pier where six ships and two smaller craft were tied up. The missile’s impact also was about 500 feet from ammunition storage on the pier.[77] Figure 4 displays a map of the harbor showing the impact location. Well in to the 3rd decade of the 21st Century we need to realize - regardless to what happened to the Orsk - that fixed ports are as vulnerable as fixed airfields to conventional ballistic missiles tipped with modern multi-spectral seeker-heads and other precision guidance that may or may not require external sources. These warheads are - how can I put this on this net - not dumb. Especially west of Wake, deep in to our operational rear during a war in the western Pacific, our fixed ports, airfields, repair depots, storage areas, magazines - command locations - you name it - are all well within range of the PRC's rocket force's thousands of S/M/I/RMBs. How can we mitigate that? Are we taking steps to mitigate that? Do we have enough BMD defenses? Do we have enough alternative places to keep the fight going? Of course, as regular readers of CDRSalamander, you know the answers to these questions. What you need to ask yourself is why are you letting your government and your Navy continue to act like they don't exist in the reality we have? http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=XCtWjGWKz7Y:-lu0BNKvMWo:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=XCtWjGWKz7Y:-lu0BNKvMWo:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=XCtWjGWKz7Y:-lu0BNKvMWo:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=XCtWjGWKz7Y:-lu0BNKvMWo:F7zBnMyn0Lo View the full article

Americas The United States aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk headed to a scrapyard in Texas and too large to slip through the Panama Canal, reports MercoPress. The ship must sail around South America. In her 16,000-mile trip this weekend the impressive vessel “rested” for a few hours in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile as she was crossing the Magellan Strait towed by a couple of tugs. Jane’s reported, that the Brazilian Navy is in the process of receiving its seventh and final modernised Skyhawk fighter jet. The acceptance of the AF-1B jet, tail number N-1004, was initiated on March 7 and is expected to take three to four weeks. Five AF-1 single-seat and two AF-1A twin-seat aircraft from Squadron Falcão based at the Naval Air Base of São Pedro da Aldeia were modernised to the AF-1B and AF-1C standard, respectively, since 2015. One AF-1B crashed in July 2016. Middle East & Africa Pakistan Navy’s Agosta 90B Class Submarine PNS/M HAMZA (S-139), modernized by Turkish firm STM managed to hit and sink a decommissioned frigate with a single torpedo shot. The trial was conducted during the SEASPARK-2022 Tactical Exercise, which was held biennially by the Pakistan Naval Forces Command. PNS/M HAMZA (S-139) destroyed a TARIQ class ship (Type 21 frigate) decommissioned with a DM-2A4 torpedo shot. Lockheed Martin won a $16.6 million contract modification, which adds scope to provide for the development, integration, and testing of the Israel unique software data load in support of integration of Technology Refresh 3 (TR3) onto the F-35 Lot 15 Israel production aircraft. The integration efforts will include reverification of a select subset of the 3F+ software capability captured in the Israel System Development and Demonstration TR-3 reverification systems requirements document, airworthiness related flight testing of 3F+ software on TR-3 enabled aircraft, and weapons certification updates for use with TR-3 aircraft. Work will take place in Texas, California, Missouri, Arizona, Florida and Israel. Expected completion date is in March 2024. Europe The US State Department gave the green light for a potential Foreign Military Sale to the government of the United Kingdom of Ballistic Missile Defense Radar (BMDR) and Command and Control Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $700 million. The government of the United Kingdom (UK) had requested to buy one (1) Ballistic Missile Defense Radar (BMDR); and two (2) Command and Control Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) user nodes (with network capability required to connect to the C2BMC System to support radar operations). Also included are design and construction of a combined radar-equipment shelter; encryption devices, secure communication equipment, and other required COMSEC equipment to support radar operations; spare and repair parts, support and testing equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, US Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistical and program support. According to the website “Soldat und Technik”, German small arms manufacture Heckler & Koch recently received a number of orders from the Baltic States. The Latvian Army ordered additional HK417 sniper rifles worth 3,433,878 euros. Latvia already uses the HK417 in a semi-automatic version as a sniper rifle, equipped with a Schmidt & Bender ZF 3-20 x 50 PMII. Asia-Pacific Pakistan showcased its latest defense equipment at its annual Pakistan Day Parade on Wednesday. This highlighted ongoing efforts to maintain a credible conventional deterrent against India. One notable element of the parade including aerial displays, which this year began with an F-16C Block 52 escorted by a pair of newly inducted Chinese J-10C Firebird fighters. Today’s Video WATCH: Brazilian Navy A 4 Skyhawks View the full article

Americas The US Space Force wants to send a satellite to the moon in order to help detect, track and identify artificial objects operating there. A draft Request for Proposals was published recently for the spacecraft, called the Cislunar Highway Patrol System (CHPS) satellite. The satellite will expand the Space Force’s space domain awareness by one thousand times. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate will be in charge of developing CHPS. The Defense Department (DoD) is ending a study on how to streamline and better protect its vast array of often incompatible ground terminals for satellite communications to introduce some changes next year, the DoD’s SATCOM chief was quoted by Breaking Defense. Middle East & Africa Lockheed Martin and IAI partnered up to jointly promote a Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD) system, which is centered around the Lockheed Martin United Kingdom SkyKeeper and the BARAK MX system. As part of the partnership, Lockheed Martin and IAI will promote their technological and manufacturing expertise in air defense solutions that protect military forces and high value assets from missile threats around the world. Europe Thales has demonstrated its anti-drone system, Horus Shield, to the Spanish Army a few weeks ago at the airfield of the Segovia town of Marugán. The demonstration was part of the Spanish Army’s Fuerza 2035/BRIEX 2035 initiative and was coordinated and supervised by the Spanish Army’s Head of Information Systems, Telecommunications and Technical Assistance (JCISAT). The US State Department approved the sale of up to eight MH-60R multi-mission helicopters to Spain in a deal potentially worth $950 million. The deal would also include a range of weapons and systems — Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II guidance sections, communications equipment, Airborne Low Frequency Sonars, sonobuoys and more — to enable surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and electronic warfare by these ship-based helicopters. Asia-Pacific South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) launched a new 2,800-ton frigate with enhanced anti-submarine capabilities. Launching ceremony for the Chuncheon took place at the shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in Ulsan, some 410 km southeast of Seoul, according to the state arms procurement agency. Today’s Video WATCH: HUNTER C-UAS in SPAIN View the full article

Here and on Midrats over the years we've discussed the embarrassingly dangerous maladministration of the US merchant fleet, but we're not alone. We are putting a lot of emphasis on our growing partnership in security with Australia. How are things down under? Australia faces a “national emergency” unless it re-establishes a sovereign commercial shipping fleet to ensure critical goods flow during times of war and economic sanctions. The war in Ukraine, alongside Canberra’s geopolitical tensions with Beijing, has highlighted the vulnerability of Australia’s security and economy given its supply chain is almost completely reliant on ships registered to other countries. The Australian government was forced last week to ask a British ship set to bring in munitions for the defence force to replace Russian crew members. The number of Australian-owned ships is set to wither to just nine by 2024, according to data from Maritime Industries Australia Limited, an industry association. That comprises six roll-on, roll-off ships used in the Bass Strait and three cement ships but no container ships or oil tankers. In the 1980s, the country boasted about 100 Australia-domiciled ships. She is an island nation whose wealth relies on the sea. So does the USA. Why then don't our national leaders act like it? Is it myopia? Is it a corrupt donor class? Is it ignorance? What illness besets our nations? h/t SW. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=EoRaGSFtNfM:Yo3eJsIw3uI:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=EoRaGSFtNfM:Yo3eJsIw3uI:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=EoRaGSFtNfM:Yo3eJsIw3uI:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=EoRaGSFtNfM:Yo3eJsIw3uI:F7zBnMyn0Lo View the full article

Reviewed by Rhonda Smith-Daugherty, Ph.D. In his famous work, On War, Carl von Clausewitz discussed the qualities that make up what he termed the “Military Genius.” While he acknowledged that good leaders require intellect, the real heart of leadership is intuition and courage. Since the battlefield is fluid, a leader must have the ability to counter whatever tactics the enemy uses, while never losing site of the objective. He or she, must gauge the enemy’s path using information obtained during the battle. This information may be incomplete or even false, but a good leader acts on the intuitive and sees through the “fog of war.” The leader’s courage and determination ultimately wins the battle since the spirit of the leader is infused in the troops. “Courage,” Clausewitz wrote, “above all other things is the first quality of a warrior.” Leaders can acquire these skills by studying the campaigns and generals of the past. One such recent work, which analyzes both ancient and modern military campaigns is Christopher Kolenda’s Leadership: The Warrior’s Art. Leadership: The Warrior’s Art is a book highly praised by the U.S. Army. It is a book written for the Army largely by the Army. The editor and author of the first chapter, Christopher D. Kolenda, is a West Point graduate, retired Army colonel and veteran of the Afghanistan conflict. The book is recommended by the Association of the Army and includes forewords by a former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and a retired U.S. Army General. The introduction, written by a retired U. S. Army Lieutenant General, stresses the importance of studying leaders and actions and the circumstances which made them into leaders. The book is also praised by the late Gen. Harold Moore, hero of the 1965 Ia Drang Valley battle, who called the work the “absolute best book on military leadership.” Meanwhile, retired Marine General Joseph Dunford described the book as “a must read for military leaders navigating the challenges of the post 9/11 era. “ The book includes 22 chapters which explore many different topics relating to the art of leadership and warfare. Ancient and contemporary military strategies are examined as well as Army doctrine and how to create and maintain cohesion among soldiers. Each chapter begins with a summary and ends with “Action Steps,” suggestions that the Army could adopt. The book includes endnotes and an index but no bibliography. Authors of the chapters include current and retired Army officers and military historians, such as the late Dennis Showalter. The book is divided into three sections. Section I is entitled “The Ancient and Modern Concepts of Leadership” and includes chapters on defining leadership and role of good leadership in building cohesion among the soldiers. Section II is entitled “Historical Case Studies,” and analyzes the leadership qualities of Alexander the Great and Frederick the Great. The section also includes chapters on individual soldiers in World War I, World War II, the ethics of total war in relation to bombing campaigns in World War II and Soviet doctrine in the inter-war period. The third and final section is titled “Contemporary Experiences and Reflections on Leadership.” Daniel W. Christman’s chapter on “Twenty-First Century Leadership,” examines the “minefield” of modern warfare where the battlefield may be technological or covert rather than sending armies into the field. Warriors must also prepare for peacekeeping missions and disaster relief missions, which involve respecting and understanding the civilian population. The last three chapters deal with unresolved issues in the modern army, including the acceptance of women soldiers and transgendered individuals, the dangers of sexual harassment and hazing and, the importance of respecting others’ ideas and cultures. Overall, the book examines leadership from several perspectives. Case studies are in-depth and examine how diverse warriors have faced military challenges in Ancient Greece, Empirical Germany, the world wars and contemporary battlefields. A recurring theme is how the quality of leaders directly affects those who are led. The book stresses that a leader should follow a moral compass. Leadership qualities include courage, willingness to take the initiative and the ability to inspire and motivate troops. Furthermore, a leader who shares the same hardships as the troops gains respect. In addition, a leader who sees everyone on the team as an essential member, transfers that idea to the troops. Soldiers learn by example and if a leader is dismissive or condescending to part of the team, other soldiers will adopt this behavior. Soldiers will also follow a leader who believes in the cause and doesn’t put their lives in unnecessary danger. The book also stresses the importance of education, training and experience to mold great leaders. Finally, Leadership: The Warrior’s Art examines the role of technology on the battlefield and its effects on leadership. The authors recognize that technology will continue to evolve and influence the planning and outcome of war as well as the conduct of soldiers in battle. The authors and editors, however, leave some unanswered questions that include: Is it easier to rationalize killing if the enemy is only a blip on a screen? Or, how much participation will the human soldier have in battle if drones and robots take over warfare? Also, how will leadership tactics evolve in the technological battlefield? The book could be used in a leadership course or a graduate level military history course. Undergraduate students would flounder with the scope and depth of the book. Students would need a solid background in ancient and contemporary military history in order to comprehend the chapters. They would also need some background in military tactics and terminology, thus the book is more suitable for junior or senior level students attending mid-level and senior professional schools. Dr. Rhonda Smith-Daugherty is a Professor of History at Alice Lloyd College. Leadership: The Warrior’s Art. Ed. by Christopher Kolenda (Guilford, CT: Stackpole Books, 2021). The post Leadership: The Warrior’s Art first appeared on Naval Historical Foundation. View the full article

Reviewed by Ingo Heidbrink, Ph.D. On the surface Robert M. Bunes new book Wind, Fire and Ice: The Perils of a Coast Guard Icebreaker in Antarctica is an autobiographical take on a young physician’s deployment on USCGC Glacier to Antarctica in the early 1970s. As such it is a welcome addition to the body of literature on the maritime history of the Antarctic region in particular as it covers a period seldom covered by polar or maritime historians who still tend to focus mainly on the so-called heroic age of Antarctic exploration. But reading deeper into the book, it becomes obvious that there is much more to the book and that it needs to be recommended not only to the small group of maritime and polar historians interested in the history of navigating the frozen waters adjacent to the seventh continent, but also to everybody interested in maritime leadership, the debate if and why the US needs to maintain a fleet of heavy ice-breakers capable to operate in Antarctic waters, and even Antarctic expedition cruise tourism as it tells a cautious tale on how standard operations have the potential to turn into disaster and to substantially affect other Antarctic operations. When Bunes was deployed to become the head physician on USCGC Glacier it seemed to be an easy deployment, but as the reader realizes only a few pages into the book, this was by no means the case. Instead of going to port in exotic locations, USCGC Glacier set sail towards the Weddell Sea and thus towards an area where Ernest Shackleton and his men needed to endure one of the most tragic and most lucky Antarctic journeys of all time after their ship Endurance was crushed by the ice of the Weddell-Sea, but also an area where Antarctica shows utmost beauty to everybody respectful enough to enjoy this beauty while knowing and respecting at the same time the inherent dangers and taking these dangers into account for all decisions. As an autobiographical recollection Bunes’ book mainly follows a chronology of the journey and thus he takes his reader through the events during his cruise but also to observe the issues encountered during the cruise or at least Bunes’ personal perspective on these issues. Covering topics like accidents aboard and the issue of venereal diseases ashore Bunes provides a realistic inside into the responsibilities of a physician onboard a vessel during international deployment before moving forward towards Antarctica. In the chapters devoted to the Antarctic operations of the USCGC Glacier, Bunes provides an interesting insight on Antarctic operations during the heydays of the Cold War, including the direct cooperation with Soviet Antarctic scientists, which was standard practice despite the Cold War. All this would be easily enough to recommend Bunes’ book, but the really interesting part of the book begins when he describes, how the Glacier became trapped in the ice of the Weddell-Sea due to a decision by her commanding officer which was by the point of view of the author somewhat questionable. While the ship was finally freed from the ice by nature itself, further decisions by the commanding officer followed that Bunes did not only consider also as questionable or wrong, but where he directly confronted his superior. If he was right or wrong with doing so cannot be the subject of this review as the book is an autobiography and thus is written exclusively from the author’s perspective. Instead of simply describing these confrontations from his personal point of view, Bunes puts them in his autobiography into a comparison with Shackleton’s style of leadership after the Endurance became trapped. While it is obvious for the reader that Bunes disagreed with the style of leadership of his former commanding officer, it is enlightening to read, what elements of Shackleton’s style of leadership in extremely difficult situations he admired and this reviewer needs to agree with Bunes that despite of all hierarchy and military chain of command, openness and transparency with your crew is mandatory if you are in a situation where nature might endanger the survival of all men aboard the ship. Nevertheless, the reviewer does not necessarily agree with Bunes’ decision to confront his superior as it also needs to be taken into account that the CO was an experienced master of an icebreaker, while Bunes was a surgeon on his first deployment and might have simply misjudged the situation. Nevertheless as this book is an autobiographical account, in the end it does not matter if Bunes was right or wrong. This reviewer needs to admit that he normally becomes somewhat skeptical whenever an author dealing with Antarctica draws the comparison with the experiences of Ernest Shackleton as this comparison has been overstretched by some authors in the past and sometimes even feels like mainly driven by marketing purposes. Nevertheless, when Bunes uses this comparison, it is a different situation, as he thought that there was a real chance that USCGC Glacier would not only have share the same fate but this would have happened also in the Weddell-Sea and thus the same waters where Endurance was hit by disaster. Thus, using the comparison seems to be most appropriate from his point of view and will also help understanding, that the Weddell -Sea is still one of the most dangerous parts of the oceans even for modern ships. In a short but interesting and relevant epilogue, the author relates his personal experiences onboard USCGC Glacier to the situation a Russian research vessel used as an expedition cruise ship has experienced some years ago. This ship had become trapped by the ice for a number of days at least partially due to an ill-advised decision by the respective expedition leader and numerous assets had set sail to start to help the ship before it was finally freed from the ice by a whim of nature itself. Like the situations Bunes describes from his personal perspective when being onboard USCGC Glacier it once again had become obvious that every attempt to force something against nature in Antarctica is not only bound to fail and Antarctica’s nature being completely unpredictable, but that successful leadership in this region often simply means to be humble and that everything else might result in catastrophe or at least in the need for substantial efforts of external help that will be provided without question, but also might jeopardize other operations. If for example the USCGC Polar Star would have been required to complete its already begun mission to help with freeing the Russian research vessel, other critical missions like the opening of a channel to the US Antarctic research hub McMurdo might have been affected. Fortunately, nature itself solved the issue and this time the disagreement between the master of the ship and another senior member of the crew remained ultimately without major consequences. A selection of black and white photographs and maps dispersed through the book helps the reader to get a better idea of everyday life on the ship as well as to understand the geography of a region most definitely unfamiliar to most readers. Unfortunately, the reproduction quality is by no means stellar, but often characterized by various shades of gray instead of black being real black. Of course, this minor criticism does not go to the author but to the publisher and it needs to be anticipated that this is simply a consequence of offering the book for a moderate retail price despite of being otherwise a high-quality hard cover book. The book is completed by a comprehensive and most helpful index and a short bibliography that lists the basic literature used by the author but by no means covers the literature available on the subject. To be fair, the author explains that he was not aiming to write a scholarly book, but an educational book and thus did neither provide individualized footnotes nor a bibliography according to scientific standards. While this might be disappointing for some readers, it also needs to be stated that this is an understandable position for an author of an autobiographical work that mainly provides personal recollections of past events and not a historical analytical take. In conclusion, Bunes’ autobiographical book on his time as a crewmember of the USCGC Glacier can easily be recommended to any polar historian interested in Antarctic maritime history of the Cold War period but also to any maritime or naval historian with an interest in this period. Finally, it might also be recommended to anybody who is preparing for a trip to Antarctica regardless if for professional purposes or as a passenger on an expedition cruise ship due to it being a firsthand account of what might happen when sailing to these remote parts of the globe, and last but not least, because it is a well written book that makes an interesting read also for those travelling to Antarctica only as an arm-chair traveler. For anybody who was lucky enough to have been able to travel to the Weddell Sea him- or herself, like the author of this review who has had the opportunity to work on ships sailing the Weddell-Sea nearly every season for the past decade, it will be a most exciting read helping to understand that certain situations and issues experienced are not mainly a consequence of the specific group of people involved, but of these people being exposed to live and work as a small group of human beings exposed to one of the most hostile but at the same time most wonderful environments on the globe. Precisely the day when completing this book review, it was announced that the wreck of the Endurance has finally been located and powerful underwater footage of the well-preserved shipwreck became available. Fortunately the USCGC Glacier did not share the fate of the Endurance but Bunes’ book is an important and powerful reminder, that this still can easily happen to any ship sailing the Weddell-Sea and that the risk for this happening is not only determined by nature and technology but also largely by style of leadership and experience of the commanding officers. As nature ultimately freed the USCGC Glacier itself, it will never be known if Bunes confrontation of his CO was justified or if his CO with his years of experience in icebreaker operations was right. Does it matter for the book – no, as it is not an analytical history of the Antarctic operations of USCGC Glacier, but an autobiography of his surgeon during his first deployment to Antarctica. Ingo Heidbrink is a Professor of Maritime History at Old Dominion University. Wind, Fire and Ice: The Perils of a Coast Guard Icebreaker in Antarctica. By Robert M. Bunes (Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2021). The post Wind, Fire and Ice: The Perils of a Coast Guard Icebreaker in Antarctica first appeared on Naval Historical Foundation. View the full article

Want to take a break from the Second Russo-Ukrainian War? Good, so do I. As we (well at least I) impatiently wait for the USS Constellation (FFG 62) and her sisters to start displacing water, it is interesting to see the design decisions other nations have made to meet their frigate requirements. As our new FFG will be the USN version of the French and Italian FREMM, it is natural to compare it to other European designs, but what about our friends in the Pacific? What are the South Koreans building? Let's take a quick side-by-side look at their Daegu-class frigate presently under serial production. Of course, different nations have different requirements, and you can see it in the fact that the US Navy, as a global navy, needs a larger frigate to get the range and endurance requirement we need to get to the fight and stay there. ROKN's concerns are a lot closer to home, and their design reflects this reality. Constellation is expected to displace twice as much as the ROKN frigate...but does she bring twice the punch? Well, you all know how stupid I think a 57mm is on a ship this size, but if you look everywhere else, you are getting a lot of fight for the size. I'm not too happy with the lack of TLAM. A ship this size should have this capability. We may want it to only do escort and ASW missions, but when war comes, warships over 7,000 tons won't have the luxury to pick out missions they want. I hope some of those MK-41 have ASROC in them and the NSM retain their surface-attack capability. Anyways, that is my quick look. The ROKN ship does not have the legs a USN ship needs, but for her size, she's a nice bit of kit. h/t PointLuck. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=avhPNLSVjq8:THqAyU2e2jI:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=avhPNLSVjq8:THqAyU2e2jI:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=avhPNLSVjq8:THqAyU2e2jI:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=avhPNLSVjq8:THqAyU2e2jI:F7zBnMyn0Lo View the full article

Americas Foster Miller won a $10.7 million contract modification to exercise Option Year One for production, engineering support and post production support of the MK 2 Man Transportable Robotic System (MTRS) series systems and Talon systems. The services under this contract cover the production of systems, depot level repair parts, initial spares kits, consumables, repair parts and approved accessories. Engineering support services such as configuration management, engineering enhancements, reviews, reporting and shipping are also included. The MTRS MK2 provides a man-transportable capability to remotely perform reconnaissance. Estimated completion will be by March 2026. Boeing won a $95 million contract modification, which increases the contract ceiling to provide depot level maintenance and modification efforts support for F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G aircraft inspections, modifications, and repairs, as well as F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G inner wing panel modifications and repairs. Work will take place in Florida, California, Missouri, Washington and California. Estimated completion will be by December 2022. Middle East & Africa It has been disclosed that Uganda has chosen India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to provide maintenance and technical support for its fleet of five Su-30 fighters. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Uganda Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Charles Lutaaya at the Indian High Commission in Kampala on March 4. Europe Hungarian Defense Ministry Undersecretary Gaspar Maroth said that 40 units of Turkish-built ‘Gidran’ tactical wheeled armored vehicles were delivered to the country’s Armed Forces. Gidran is the name given to Turkish company Nurol Makina’s Ejder Yalç?n 4×4 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, which are being produced under licenses. Hanwha Defense partnered with Lockheed Martin UK bidding on a key British Army artillery program. The South Korean defense contractor announced March 21 that Lockheed had become the latest industry member to join Team Thunder, the group bidding to secure a $1 billion) deal to supply 155mm self-propelled howitzers to the Army. Asia-Pacific Boeing subsidiary Insitu Pacific has been selected by Australia’s Department of Defence to supply the Australian Army with 24 Integrator unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) under an A$650 million investment programme aimed at addressing LAND 129 Phase 3 project requirements. According to the DoD, the initial contract period with Insitu Pacific – which includes deliver and support of the UASs as well as associated ground systems and prime systems integrator services – will be worth A$307 million. Production has already commenced, with delivery expected between 2023 and 2024. Today’s Video WATCH: Turkey deploys Gidran armored vehicles in Hungary View the full article

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $17.3 million deal for depot level repair. This follow-on contract includes: maintenance, modifications, repairs, alteration, upgrades of systems and spares for the AN/AQS-24 Sonar Detecting Set (all variants), Common Post Mission Analysis and Intermediate Level Test Equipment to support the Navy for the currently deployed airborne mine countermeasures legacy systems. The AQS-24A is a helicopter towed airborne Sonar mine countermeasure detection system equipped with a side scan sonar to detect and classify underwater mines. Work will take place in Maryland. Expected completion is in October 2026. The UH-60V variant has been inducted into service with the 106th Aviation Regiment at the Illinois Army National Guard. Around 60 pilots were trained to operate the V variant and they did that by first undergoing six weeks of training on the UH-60M before spending another two weeks for a training support plan to be qualified. Middle East & Africa Israeli Steadicopter and Smart Shooter have unveiled the Golden Eagle – an unmanned helicopter with precise hit capabilities. Based on the Black Eagle 50E platform, the Golden Eagle incorporates AI-based technology and Smart Shooter’s SMASH Dragon system. The AI-based technology enables superior situational awareness and autonomous multi-target classification and tracking. The SMASH Dragon, a remotely-operated robotic weaponry payload, locks on the target, tracks it and ensures precise target hit. UAE Minister of State for Defense Affairs, Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi, visited South Korea and the UAE has expressed interest in KAI’s T-50. The UAE had recently announced its decision to buy the L-15 advanced jet trainer from China. Europe Defense News reports that according to Defense Minister Jana Ernochová, the Czech Republic plans to buy more UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper helicopters for the military because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown that the country’s current fleet is “insufficient.” “At the Ministry of Defence, we have all the prerequisites to catch up as soon as possible in terms of defence spending,” ernochová was cited as saying in a statement released by the ministry. The minister was alluding to Prague’s ambitions to increase military spending to 2% of GDP in order to meet its NATO obligation. Asia-Pacific Australia will designate the Boeing Loyal Wingman unmanned aircraft as the MQ-28A Ghost Bat, Defense Minister Peter Dutton announced. “The introduction of the new popular name is a rare and special moment in aviation history for our RAAF partners and industry team of over 35 Australian suppliers,” said Glen Ferguson, director Airpower Teaming System Australia and International. Today’s Video WATCH: UH-60 Black Hawk: The Front Line Utility Helicopter View the full article

As navalists are wont to do, first think I do when looking at the latest developments in Ukraine, I look to the Black Sea coast. In the run-up to the war, a lot of attention was given to the naval buildup on the area by the Russian Navy, especially with the bulk of their remaining amphibious warships. Besides a minor operation in the Sea of Azov early on, there has been little seen of them, much less a vaunted amphibious assault around Odessa. There are many tactical level details we just don’t know about at this date, so as we look to the sea, today we’ll keep this to the big pixels, specifically the fundamentals we already knew but may have forgotten to one degree or another; Here are the five take-aways as of 21MAR2022 that have been reinforced: 1. The threat of an amphibious landing is greater than a landing itself: for a land component commander, the sea is a dark and mysterious place. Unlike land where you can take out a map and clearly see where terrain limits an enemy and define where you can employ forces to attack or defend – the sea has few natural obstacles that are easy for a land-focused force to understand. Some shores are more suitable than others, especially if the opponent’s amphibious capability is limited in number and capability, but as both the Germans and North Koreans learned the hard way, a risk-tolerant and aggressive opponent will not let that be a deal breaker if the gain is sufficient. 2. Once your force is there, sooner is better than later: Russian does not have a lot of naval infantry/marines and ships to host them. As such their risk tolerance is small (warning USN). The longer a war goes on, the more hardened vulnerable shoreline can be made. Approaches can be mined, coastal defenses – both active and passive – can be put in place. Options narrow. 3. Mobile reserve: not limited by GLOC or tied to a specific ground campaign, when opportunities present themselves ashore accessible that is accessable from the sea, or the land component needs rapid reinforcement not available elsewhere to exploit and advance, bringing your forces ashore can provide combat ready, already provisioned, fresh forces in to theater and directly in to the fight. At sea, combat effectiveness degrades over time, but when employed ashore correctly, they appear almost magically and can be a shock for an opponent not ready for them. Video of the Black Sea Fleet’s Orsk Project 1171 large landing ship offloading BTR-82A vehicles in Berdyansk. https://t.co/G2RaJM1DaL pic.twitter.com/S21wCfcIbO — Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 21, 2022 4. Ashore, just another army: In line with #3, once ashore, especially with limited forces like the Russians have, you lose your amphibious card. Your naval infantry/marines just become a butched up army running around confusing everyone with naval jargon. 5. Golden BB: Without full control of the seas, you don’t have an amphibious capability: again, small numbers exponentially increase operational risk. Especially with today’s amphibious forces where peacetime efficiency drivers put a lot of capabilities and souls on fewer and fewer ships, you are one mine, one ASCM, or lucky 152mm round away from being operationally ineffective by loosing a critical percentage of your equipment and up to 1,000 dead, wounded, or missing – in an instant. So, there we are. There is still a chance for an amphibious operation at scale in support an Odessa investiture (I know how I would use them), but as we see in the video embedded above, as more Russian naval infantry/marines are brought ashore to fill shortages in capability in the Russian land force, there simply won’t be much left at sea to do more than a raid here and there … if that. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=xWSemZeGEwY:rhJO4p-ICyo:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=xWSemZeGEwY:rhJO4p-ICyo:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=xWSemZeGEwY:rhJO4p-ICyo:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=xWSemZeGEwY:rhJO4p-ICyo:F7zBnMyn0Lo View the full article

Americas The Lockheed LC-130 is a ski-equipped aircraft that supports US missions in the Arctic and Antarctic. The aircraft requires rocket-assisted-takeoff (RATO) rockets for take-off when carrying heavy loads over snow or ice. However, the LC-130 was upgraded with T56-8-15A 3.5 engines that negate the need for RATO rockets. FLIR Systems won a $19.3 million deal for maintenance and overhaul of the UH-60 turret. The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is March 16, 2027. Middle East & Africa Sikorsky won a $52.5 million contract modification, which adds scope to procure long lead items in support of full rate production, Lot 7, CH-53K aircraft for the government of Israel. In February 2021, the Israel Ministry of Defense announced that it chose CH-53K as its next heavy-lift helicopter, over Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook. The new chopper will replace the country’s five decades-old CH-53D Sea Stallion Yasur helicopter. Work under the modification will take place in Connecticut. Estimated completion date is in December 2022. Europe Russia’s military has reportedly fired a hypersonic ballistic missile into Ukraine. The defense ministry in Moscow said, that it destroyed a big underground arms depot in western Ukraine. If confirmed it would be Russia’s first use in this war of the Kinzhal, or Dagger, ballistic missile launched from the air, most likely by a MiG-31 warplane. Fincantieri said it delivered the first of seven Multipurpose Offshore Patrol ships (PPA – Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura) “Paolo Thaon di Revel.” The PPAs are built at the Integrated Shipyard of Riva Trigoso and Muggiano, with deliveries expected until 2026, and they are part of the renewal plan of the operational lines of the Italian Navy vessels, approved by the Government and Parliament and started in May 2015 (“Naval Act”) under the aegis of OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation sur l’Armement, the international organization for cooperation on arms). Asia-Pacific Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems have laid the keel beam for New Zealand’s first P-8A maritime patrol aircraft. This process, also called ‘keeling,’ was done at the Spirit AeroSystems facility where all Boeing 737 fuselages, nacelles and pylons are designed and built. Srinjoy Chowdhury of Times Now says the Indian government will soon place an order with Russia for 12 new Su-30 fighters. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to approve the purchase during a meeting of the Defense Acquisition Council next week. Today’s Video WATCH: Russia Fires Kinzhal Hypersonic Missiles in Ukraine View the full article

Your town isn't a small town at a bit over 34,000, but everyone knows each other more or less. It isn't so big that you are disconnected from your neighbors. You are always one degree away from having a connection to anyone. Maybe 2. Any American from New England would feel comfortable here. The weather is not that different, really - perhaps even a few degrees warmer. Trip Advisor does not give your off the beaten path home (even though you are a stop on the railroad line to Odessa) a big write up, but you have nice restaurants and pubs. You have shockingly beautiful parks. Again, you are poor, but you were, at least before the Russian Army came, a tidy and proud town in a post-Soviet way. Not so tidy now, especially near the bridge where you used to swim as you can see on the googlestreetview, but still proud. Do you think your town is worth fighting for? Do your neighbors? Do you run, or do you stay? The people of Voznesensk seemed to have answered that question, at least for them. At first, I thought this story about the Ukrainian stand at Voznesensk was too rah-rah to be true, but when WSJ picked it up I figured, "Must be ligit." From most reports I've seen, Voznesensk is a Russian speaking town...but as true as that may be, they were Ukrainians to the core. As the CBS report isn't behind a paywall, let's pick up the story; Ukrainian troops in Voznesensk came up against a Russian invasion force that was armed to the teeth. They had heavy artillery and helicopters. In a heroic act of self-sacrifice, they blew up the main bridge into the town to keep Russian tanks from crossing. ... The mayor guided CBS News through the rubble and around the anti-tank mines still littering his town. "This is where we stopped them," said Velichko. His sleepy country town, without heavy weapons of its own, routed a Russian battalion. Even locals like 66-year-old Sushenko Nikolay Semenovich, a retired minesweeper in the Soviet army, pitched in to repel the Russian force. "I jumped out and shot with my own rifle," he told CBS News. "Our commander told me, 'get back in the basement, grandpa!' But my heart simply couldn't handle just sitting in the basement. These Russians don't give up. We will kill them all." The Wiki summary is solid; On 2 March 2022, elements of the Russian 126th Naval Brigade advanced northwest towards the city of Voznesensk from Mykolaiv, attempting to find a crossing over the Southern Bug river. The Russian column was alleged to have consisted of 400 men and 43 vehicles.[2][3] In preparation, Yevgeniy Velichko, the mayor of the city and one of the Ukrainian commanders, stated that local businessmen helped Ukrainian forces create numerous roadblocks and destroyed a bridge over the Mertvovod River [uk] in Voznesensk, as well as digging out the shoreline of the river so that Russian vehicles couldn't ford it.[3] Russian forces initiated the battle by shelling the city, damaging several buildings. Russian paratroopers were dropped to the southwest of the city, while an armored column advanced from the southeast, staging in the neighboring village of Rakove [uk]. Russian snipers created nests in several houses in the village, and Russian forces set up a base at a local gas station. A Russian APC fired at the local Territorial Defense Forces base, killing several Ukrainian soldiers. However, Russian forces were unable to push into Voznesensk, and Ukrainian artillery began shelling Russian positions, preventing Russian artillery from setting up their mortars.[3] By nightfall, Russian tanks began firing into Voznesensk, but retreated after being met with counterfire. Concurrently, Ukrainian forces continued to shell Russian positions, destroying some Russian vehicles. Ukrainian soldiers advanced on foot, attacking Russian vehicles with American-supplied FGM-148 Javelin missiles, destroying at least 3 tanks. Ukrainian forces were also able to down a Russian Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter. Russian forces fully retreated on 3 March, abandoning equipment and vehicles. During their retreat, Russian artillery shelled Rokove, hitting a clinic. Russian forces also looted the village. The Russian column retreated 40 miles (64 km) to the southeast.[2][3] In total, 30 Russian vehicles, including some tanks, were abandoned. Among them, Ukrainian forces were able to salvage 15 tanks. Local officials stated that around 100 Russian soldiers were killed and 10 were captured, while Ukrainian forces suffered some causalities, mainly among the Territorial Defense Forces. 12 civilians were killed during the battle.[2][3] Second battle On 9 March, Russian forces conducted another attack on Voznesensk.[4][5] Ukrainian forces positioned a defense near the destroyed bridge. The following day, Russian forces captured the city. However, Ukrainian forces recaptured Voznesensk three days later on 13 March.[1][6] By 18 March, Ukrainian counter attacks around the area , had pushed the Russians 120 kilometres back from the city.[7] The local Ukrainian forces continued to fortify the city after the second assault, believing that Russian forces would continue their attacks. This would make a great movie. Who will pay grandpa? http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=6ack7AqAr2I:M9rOwWkZuWw:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=6ack7AqAr2I:M9rOwWkZuWw:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=6ack7AqAr2I:M9rOwWkZuWw:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=6ack7AqAr2I:M9rOwWkZuWw:F7zBnMyn0Lo View the full article

So, we have this great new Australia-United Kingdom-United States alliance in the Pacific. We are supposed to be the big power here - to instill confidence in the face of a growing China. What signal does this ship send? Context here: Welcome to our close friends from @USNavy to Brisbane for a routine logistics visit. The Men & Women of #USSFrankCable will also work alongside #YourADF to provide vital support to Australian communities as part of #OpFloodAssist. Thank you and Bravo Zulu !🇦🇺🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/3h1wxAaWUi — Chief of Navy Australia (@CN_Australia) March 17, 2022 There is no excuse here. This speaks for itself. I'm embarrassed for myself, my Navy, my nation, and for our friends for showing them so much disrespect by showing up as their guest like some late-Soviet trawler. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=1THkgDotOmo:scbcdUdkER4:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=1THkgDotOmo:scbcdUdkER4:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=1THkgDotOmo:scbcdUdkER4:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=1THkgDotOmo:scbcdUdkER4:F7zBnMyn0Lo View the full article

Americas The US Air Force is proceeding to install the AN/ALQ-257 Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite (IVEWS) on several F-16s for flight testing. Northrop Grumman was selected last year to deploy a new electronic warfare suite for the F-16. The new contract, awarded on Mar. 10, will allow the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD), Developmental Test/Operational Test (DT/OT), and Operational Assessment (OA) phases to be carried out in early 2023. The US Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and Boeing recently completed a critical design review for the Protected Tactical SATCOM Prototype (PTS-P). PTS-P features an on-board processor of the US military’s jam-resistant Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW), providing users in-theater anti-jam capability with network routing. Middle East & Africa Italian company Beretta has won, through Saudi General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), a contract to supply 3,500 PMX submachine guns in 9×19 mm caliber to the Saudi Royal Guard. According to Beretta, this follows two years of tests that led to the qualification of the PMX both by GAMI. The contract also includes a small batch of accessories. Europe General Dynamics European Land Systems` local company GDELS-Romania (GDELS-RO) signed an agreement for the creation of an industrial consortium with C.N. ROMARM Uzina Mecanica Bucuresti (UMB) for the production of wheeled armored vehicles in Romania. The signing ceremony took place on March 15 in the newly established vehicle production facility at UMB in Bucharest. The event was attended by the Prime Minister of Romania, Nicolae Ciuca, the Minister of National Defence, Vasile Dancu, the Minister of Economy, Florin Sp?taru, as well as the United States Charge D’ Affairs to Romania, David Muniz and GDELS President, Alfonso Ramonet. Asia-Pacific Indonesia’s military took delivery of the first batch of Kaplan MT/Harimau medium-weight tanks jointly produced by Ankara-based FNSS and Indonesian company PT Pindad. This marks the first export of Turkish-developed tank. Ismail Demir, head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) of Turkey said the tanks will be produced in both countries and that the contract included technology transfer. He revealed that mass production of Kaplan MT has begun and will continue. Boeing won a $55.4 million order, which procures P-8A training systems hardware for the government of Korea. Specifically, this order provides for the production and delivery of one Operational Flight Trainer with Brief/Debrief Station, one Weapons Tactics Trainer with Brief/Debrief Station, one Virtual Maintenance Trainer, one Maintenance Support Cabinet, one 10-seat plus one instructor seat Maintenance Electronic Classroom (EC), one Training System Support Center, one 10-seat plus one instructor seat Mission Systems Desktop Trainer EC, one 10-seat plus one instructor seat Flight Management Systems Trainer EC, and one 10-seat plus one instructor seat Aircrew EC. Additionally, this order provides contracts, logistics, engineering and management technical expertise required for the procurement, build, inspection and acceptance of the Phase 1 hardware for the P-8A training system for the government of Korea. Work will take place in Missouri and Florida. Estimated completion is in July 2025. Rolls-Royce won an $8.6 million ordering agreement, which provides for sovereign repair capability development as well as facility standup for the V-22 AE 1107C engine to include establishment of an indigenous depot-level maintenance and repair capability for the Rolls-Royce AE 1107C engine and integration of an AE 1107C engine test cell into existing Kawasaki Heavy Industries facilities in support of the government of Japan. Work will take place in Indiana and Japan. Estimated completion will be in June 2024. Today’s Video WATCH: Harimau Hitam / Kaplan MT, the new face of the medium tank. View the full article

Americas The 40th Flight Test Squadron had the rare opportunity to fly five different types of aircraft assigned to the unit all together for one time on January 31. The F-15EX, F-15C, F-15E, F-16, and A-10 were all at Eglin Air Force Base for testing of upgraded systems. The formation represented for the first and last time, all five fighters in the 96th Test Wing inventory. Speaking at a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event on March 14, the US Pacific Air Forces commander said new weapon systems such as the F-15EX are required in order to prepare for Indo-Pacific conflict. Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said the aging F-15C, now based in Japan, needs to be replaced with the newer F-15EX. The new fighter is able to stay airborne for up to four hours without aerial refueling and can carry hypersonic weapons in future, Wilsbach added. Middle East & Africa The Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) received new smart sub-surface vessels along with missiles and speedboats. The new equipment were handed over to the IRGC’s naval forces during a ceremony in Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas on March 15, Iranian state-owned media reported. Europe The Irish Ministry of Defense (MoD) has confirmed the acquisition of two second-hand Lake-class inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) from New Zealand to equip its naval service. The two ships, the former HMNZS Rotoiti and HMNZS Pukaki, are intended to replace the Irish Naval Service’s (INS’s) Peacock (P 41)-class coastal patrol ships LÉ Orla (P 41) and LÉ Ciara (P 42) following their planned withdrawal from service. Ukraine’s military has claimed that a Russian surveillance drone crossed into Polish airspace before reentering Ukrainian airspace, where it was shot down. The destroyed Russian drone is believed to be Forpost UAV, a license-produced version of the IAI Searcher II reconnaissance drone, built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Licenses were sold to Russia in 2015, and the country is now believed to operate several dozens of such drones. Asia-Pacific A North Korean projectile, likely a ballistic missile, fired Wednesday exploded mid-air at an altitude of below 20km, the South’s military claimed. The projectile is said to have been shot from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at around 9:30 a.m., South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. Today’s Video WATCH: F-15EX – Is the most heavily armed USAF jet worth it? View the full article

For obvious reasons, the navalists amongst us (guilty) have an ear out for Odessa. Not only is it the last significant port on the Black Sea under the control of Ukraine, it has a history from the dawn of time as the key to any conflict in this area. The Russians must take it during this campaign. As such, this got my attention today; The Ukrainian military is reporting Russian warships in the Black Sea are shelling villages near the coast close to the nearby port city of Odesa. These attacks specifically targeted the settlements of Lebedivka, Sanzheika, Zatoka, and Bilenke, according to a Wednesday Facebook post from Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces. These villages are approximately 18 miles south of Ukraine’s third-largest city. Why these small towns to the southwest of Odessa, on the other side of the main drive to invest that critical city? Could be a few things. On the low end, it could just be the Russian Navy doing something to appear to be part of helping this operation, but when you look at the map - which you always must do - something else comes to mind; The Ukraine-Romanian border is in the southwest corner of the map. The four towns shelled by the Russian Navy are the triangles. That large bay/lake looking body of water is the bay and estuary the Dniester River empties to. That small road at the top of the estuary is the border to Moldova. There is a small road across the estuary, well within range of the Russian forces in the Transnistria. I have no idea why they shelled poor, isolated, sleepy village of Lebedivka (that would be like attacking Namskaket, MA) but if you need to move supplies in to Odessa from Romania, you would need to use the roads that go through the other three towns. Zatoka also has the rail line go through it. Does that mean a move on Odessa is imminent? I don't think so...but would shelling those towns be a preparation for one? Probably. Then again, I can see the Russian General Staff looking at the Russian Navy senior member and asking, "Exactly what use are you? What have you done today?" It could be that. First map credit to ISW Second is mine. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=mwcyAUk9wdA:_y4uH_VSlA0:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=mwcyAUk9wdA:_y4uH_VSlA0:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=mwcyAUk9wdA:_y4uH_VSlA0:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=mwcyAUk9wdA:_y4uH_VSlA0:F7zBnMyn0Lo View the full article

Americas The US Navy took delivery of the newest Virginia-class fast-attack submarine Montana (SSN 794) on Monday. Montana (SSN 794) completed sea trials last month. It is the third of the 10-ship group of Virginia-class submarines known as Block IV. Virginia-class submarines displace 7,835 tons, with a hull length of 377 feet and a diameter of 34 feet. They are capable of speeds in excess of 25 knots and can dive to a depth greater than 800 feet, while carrying Mark 48 advanced capability torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Overhaul Support Services LLC won two contracts in support of the CH-47 Chinook. swashplates. A $15.8 million deal ist to overhaul aft control swashplates for the helicopter. A $12.5 million contract provides the overhaul of forward control swashplates. Estimated completion date is March 13, 2027. The CH-47 Chinook helicopter transports troops, artillery, supplies and equipment to the battlefield with other applications ranging from medical evacuation, aircraft recovery, parachute drop, search and rescue to disaster relief, firefighting and heavy construction. Middle East & Africa Israel Shipyards, which manufactures vessels, announced Sunday that it has won an agreement to supply two vessels and various services to a government customer in Africa. The value of the deal, in which Israel Shipyards will supply the vessels over a period of about 22 months, is about 10.7 million euros. The company does not specify the model of the vessel, but Israel Defense has learned it is a new model made by Israel Shipyards that is being sold for the first time. Europe Latvian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Artis Pabriks has confirmed the country’s interest in buying Bayraktar TB2 combat drones from Turkey, which have been used on battlefields in Syria, Libya, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Iraq; and now in Ukraine. In an interview with Nikkei Asia on March 12, Pabriks said Latvia “is interested in acquiring from Turkey the kind of armed drones Ukraine’s military has been using against invading Russian forces.” Germany will buy up to 35 copies of the F-35 fighter jet, reversing years-long plans that saw the fifth-generation warplane eliminated from consideration, defense leaders announced Monday. The planes will take over by 2030 the nuclear-weapons mission from the aging fleet of Tornado aircraft, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said during a joint statement with Air Force Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz in Berlin. Asia-Pacific The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is expected to begin receiving the first tranche of 17 new Mil Mi-17 twin-engine multirole transport helicopters from Russia by the end of 2023, amid the continuing Ukrainian conflict. Philippines Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement to the media that the contract and the initial down payment for the Mi-17 acquisition project had been completed before Russia began its military operations in Ukraine. Today’s Video WATCH: C-130 Hercules | What It’s Like To Fly Inside View the full article

Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This remarkable book is much more than a biography of Lt. Col. Barry B. Bridger; it is also a guide to living life to the fullest. The story is of two parts, Lt. Col. Bridger’s life up and through captivity and his life after leaving the U.S. Air Force. His time as a POW started on January 23, 1967, when his F-4 Phantom fighter was shot down by a SAM over North Vietnam and ended 8 years later when he was repatriated home. One of the points that Lt. Col. Bridger makes in the book is that while PTSD affected 31 percent of those who served in Vietnam, it affected less than 5 percent of those held POW. This difference, he holds, was of the result of the POWs maintaining a positive outlook on life. Lt. Col. Bridges spent the first six years of his life in the Durham County Orphanage Home before being adopted. With adoption, he found loving parents and later a wife who moved forward hand in hand with him. The heart of the book concerns his time as a POW in North Vietnam, and how he survived the physical and psychological tortures inflicted upon him. He holds strong opinions concerning certain individuals over actions they did during and after the war. There is much for the reader to learn from his tale of POW life and how he coped with it. Missing from the story is how his family moved forward with their lives during his period of captivity. Many may be put off by Lt. Col. Bridger’s faith in God, a God who to him works through prayer to help one maintain their mental health and succeed in meeting life’s challenges. The reviewer, however, could relate to the relationship Lt. Col. Bridger has built with God. It is not a relationship built on dogmatic religious beliefs, but built on the idea that there is a supreme being who can provide each of us with comfort and guidance if we reach out for it. If there is one consistent message that can be learned from Lt. Col. Bridger’s life it is that with perseverance, courage, determination, and faith in God all things can be overcome to allow one to live a life free from mental anguish. Strictly speaking, this book is not a straight forward military history but more of a book on how to live a life that allows one to cope with the events that disrupt life’s smooth flow. Yet having said this, the book does lay out parameters that provide guidance on how to successfully navigate one’s military career path and yet remain true to oneself and immediate family. This is a book well worth reading to contemplate how to maintain one’s mental health during periods of crisis. Charles H. Bogart recently published A Kentucky Boy in the U.S. Navy: 1958-1961. The Spirit to Soar: Inspiring Life Lessons and Values for a Victorious Life. By Jim Petersen (New York: Morgan James Publishing, 2022). The post The Spirit to Soar: Inspiring Life Lessons and Values for a Victorious Life first appeared on Naval Historical Foundation. View the full article

Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This book is a must read for anyone interested in U.S. Naval aviation in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Lt. Commander Harry “Dirty Eddie” March Jr. joined the Navy in December 1940 and pinned on his naval wings in August 1941. He would serve in the Pacific Theater during the course of World War II and be promoted from Ensign to Lt. Commander. Along the way he gained the distinction of being designated an Ace, having downed five Japanese aircraft. Contrary to regulations, Lt. Cdr. March, throughout the war, maintained a journal in which he wrote about what was happening in his life and his thoughts on the war as a whole. The journal was written so that his wife, Elsa, could understand and share in his life in the Navy. As might be expected, the entries are uneven, some of them simply a record that he was alive, while others are reflections upon his mental and physical state as he fights the Japanese in the air. A constant in his journal writings is a lack of letters from his wife and his need for them. Lt. Cdr. March would start the war flying F4F Wildcats, move to the F6F Hellcat, and end the war flying the F4U Corsair. During 1942 he saw combat with VF-6, flying from the decks of the carriers USS Enterprise CV-6 and USS Saratoga CV-3 and the airfields on Guadalcanal. It was while on Guadalcanal that Lt. Cdr. March gained the nickname “Dirty Eddie.” This name was bestowed upon him due to the fact that he lived around the clock in the same set of flight gear. In 1943, Lt. Cdr. March was again back at sea flying with VF-24 from the deck of the carrier USS Belleau Woods CVL-24. Before the year was out Lt. Cdr. March left Belleau Woods and joined the shore-based VF-17, which was engaged in establishing aerial supremacy over Bougainville and Rabaul. In 1944, Lt. Cdr. March returned stateside to serve as an instructor at NAS Green Cove Springs, Florida. While at Green Cove Springs, Lt. Cdr. March was interviewed by the news media and an excerpt of an interview is presented in the book, The gist of Lt. Cdr. March’s comments was that the U.S. Navy provided its pilots with training superior to any other air force. In 1945, Lt. Cdr. March became Executive Officer of VBF-74, which was part of USS Midway CVB-41 air group. While on board Midway, “Dirty Eddie” gained a regular commission in the Navy. The war ended before Midway saw combat and, with a decreased operating tempo during the winter of 1945, Lt. Cdr. March began to practice to compete in the 1948 Olympic field events. However, while at a 1946 pre-qualification Olympic event, he contracted viral pneumonia and, despite being given the wonder drug penicillin, died within days. The book is much more than a series of wartime observations by Lt. Cdr. March. The author has woven Lt. Cdr. March’s comments into a broad story of what was happening around him This framework is based upon unit records and the personal records of those with whom he flew. The inclusion of official records provides a firm foundation to understand the context of the journal’s jottings and thus allows the reader to place them within the larger picture. This supporting text greatly amplifies the intimacy of the thoughts of Lt. Cdr. March and provides a firm understanding of the love he had for his wife. The author concludes the book with a number of appendixes. One is a glossary used to explain in detail various names and abbreviations used in the journal; another provides short biographical sketches of fellow pilots; and yet another provides detailed biographical details on five of Lt. Cdr. March’s pilot friends, two were killed in combat, two died in aircraft accidents, and one survived the war to be discharged from the Navy. This book can be read on two levels: that of a man’s wartime experiences or that of a man deeply in love with his wife. However, no matter how the book is read, the reader will, when finished, have looked into the heart and soul of an average American caught up in the turmoil of World War II and understand why some have referred to them as the Greatest Generation. Charles H. Bogart recently published A Kentucky Boy in the U.S. Navy: 1958-1961 Dirty Eddie’s War. By Lee Cook (Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 2021) The post Dirty Eddie’s War first appeared on Naval Historical Foundation. View the full article

As a former recidivist staff weenie, one thing that I keep thinking about when it comes to watching the performance of the Russians in Ukraine is the clearly deficient staff work. I've touched on it a bit here, over on Midrats and my visit to Bill Roggio's podcast, so regulars here are familiar with my take; this is a textbook case of the real world impact of a dysfunctional staff culture. No staff can do their job without clear and well thought out Commander's Intent and higher Direction and Guidance, but more importantly, the staff needs to be able to produce an honest Estimate of the Situation and Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace. These cannot be allowed to be skewed or shaped by external biases and other kind of "forcemoding." You can see this in exercises on a regular basis or "bespoke" wargames, but the bad habits of exercises cannot be allowed to transfer over to real-world operations. War does not care if you are scared of your principal, or you have a pet theory to validate. If you shape all you do to artificially meet the desires of the Chief Executive - and it doesn't matter if you are invading Iraq or Ukraine - you will soon find reality revealing your poor staff work. Over at Real Clear Defense, Taft Blackburn, Keith Detwiler & Alex Shykov have a nice, efficient breakdown of the Russian Army's performance so far. I especially liked their comments on the staff work; Given the sheer number of units pulled from across Russia for the invasion, planning for the operation would have been a central military task for the General Staff. However, as the war grinds on, we are beginning to see cracks in the Russians’ planning. The opening air and missile attacks appear to have failed to defeat the Ukrainian air force and air-defense forces. Russian logistics planning may not have accounted for fuel shortages stemming from combat losses of transport vehicles or soldier indiscipline. Russian planners also seem to have underestimated the will of the Ukrainians to fight, the effectiveness of Western anti-tank and man-portable anti-aircraft weapons, and the will of the European nations to continue arming a defiant Ukrainian state. Viewed collectively, these shortcomings likely point to insufficient training or experience in military staffs. Past large-scale exercises were often scripted. This may be the first time many of the Combined Arms Army and lower echelon staff have planned such a complex operation. While many of the Russian commanders and surely select staff officers have combat experience in Syria, the majority of the staff likely do not. Deploying individual officers or select tactical units does not directly translate into experienced, functioning staff able to plan and execute combined arms combat operations, often while on the march. Before drawing final conclusions on the Russian military performance, it will be imperative to fully understand the impacts of the unique conditions in this war. One should always be cautious about underestimating the enemy. All the military education and experience in the world won't help you if your readiness reporting is fake, your command culture squashes contrary ideas, and your principal lacks humility. A story as long as war. Map credit to Institute for Defense Analyses Media Team. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=M1jEOQ9gMJw:IAeKYsOrI0M:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=M1jEOQ9gMJw:IAeKYsOrI0M:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=M1jEOQ9gMJw:IAeKYsOrI0M:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=M1jEOQ9gMJw:IAeKYsOrI0M:F7zBnMyn0Lo View the full article

The longer this war goes on, the more dangerous it is not just for Putin's hold on power, but for the hope the conflict can be contained. For those keeping an eye on the big picture, the question is how this effects China. Located on the other side of the Eurasian landmass, China is looking west to see not just how they can work this to their advantage, but also how they can maneuver themselves so that Russia's adventures do not derail China's plans and priorities. She is on cusp of greatness and she knows it. She has been given a small taste of primacy and she wants all of it. The Russo-Ukrainian War will either be a catalyst for an accelerated grasp on global power for China, or and unexpected headwind for what she seen an an inevitability. Irrespective of what is happening on the ground, the great power dislocation the invasion of Ukraine by Russia this winter is bringing out all the China watchers to see who can read the tea leaves best. Two articles - both from different perspectives - this weekend had me pondering all sorts of different options. About all I came away with in the end was that almost no one really knows how this will impact China and the US/Europe-China competition for the global stage. We all have a variety of scenarios we can come up with, but really it is still early in this conflict to see firmly where things are headed. If anything, there are more possible futures now than there were in the already chaotic international world of January 2022. One thing in common is that most people are trying to construe some outcome other than an expanded global conflict that brings in all the major powers. We are not out of those woods yet. Remember, WWI began with a conflict between a 2nd-rate power, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and a 3rd-rate power, Serbia. Russia is a 2nd-rate power. Ukraine is a 3rd-rate power. We've seen this game before. The only thing giving everyone some time here is neither party has entangling alliances so the diplomats and luck have a chance to slow things down to a human scale. For those too focused on military issues, it is very easy to come up with a whole host of reasons this war will spin out of the control of any well meaning people, but is that the most likely outcome? No one knows. I lean towards the conflict being contained with some kind of diplomatic outcome involving border and status changes, but I know that I lean that way simply because the other option, expansion of the conflict, it something I simply do not want to imagine. I'm not alone. Let's look over at something that is a little Eeyore-ish from China - but in the end sees an opening for something positive. I had to read it a couple of times and the best I can come away with is the author is suffering from something I am struggling with as well - trying to find some way to believe this can be contained because to think the opposite is to invite all sorts of horrors in to your mind. I see nothing good for the USA and the West coming out of this getting out of control, and the first author sees nothing good for China either. The Carter Center's (yes, that Carter) U.S.-China Perception Monitor has a translation of an article written on March, 5th 2022, Possible Outcomes of the Russo-Ukrainian War and China’s Choice, by Hu Wei, vice-chairman of the Public Policy Research Center of the Counselor’s Office of the State Council, the chairman of Shanghai Public Policy Research Association, the chairman of the Academic Committee of the Chahar Institute. Some of the below I'm not aligned with - though I do enjoy the "West will win" Sino-pessimism - but it is worth a read. An interesting perspective. ... Even if the Russian army were to occupy Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and set up a puppet government at a high cost, this would not mean final victory. At this point, Putin’s best option is to end the war decently through peace talks, which requires Ukraine to make substantial concessions. However, what is not attainable on the battlefield is also difficult to obtain at the negotiating table. In any case, this military action constitutes an irreversible mistake. ... As people’s livelihoods are severely affected and as anti-war and anti-Putin forces gather, the possibility of a political mutiny in Russia cannot be ruled out. With Russia’s economy on the verge of collapse, it would be difficult for Putin to prop up the perilous situation even without the loss of the Russo-Ukrainian war. If Putin were to be ousted from power due to civil strife, coup d’état, or another reason, Russia would be even less likely to confront the West. It would surely succumb to the West, or even be further dismembered, and Russia’s status as a great power would come to an end. ... At present, public opinion believes that the Ukrainian war signifies a complete collapse of U.S. hegemony, but the war would in fact bring France and Germany, both of which wanted to break away from the U.S., back into the NATO defense framework, destroying Europe’s dream to achieve independent diplomacy and self-defense. ... With Nord Stream 2 put on hold indefinitely, Europe’s reliance on US natural gas will inevitably increase. The US and Europe would form a closer community of shared future, and American leadership in the Western world will rebound. ... The unity of the Western world under the Iron Curtain will have a siphon effect on other countries: the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy will be consolidated, and other countries like Japan will stick even closer to the U.S., which will form an unprecedentedly broad democratic united front. 3. The power of the West will grow significantly, NATO will continue to expand, and U.S. influence in the non-Western world will increase. After the Russo-Ukrainian War, no matter how Russia achieves its political transformation, it will greatly weaken the anti-Western forces in the world. The scene after the 1991 Soviet and Eastern upheavals may repeat itself: theories on “the end of ideology” may reappear, the resurgence of the third wave of democratization will lose momentum, and more third world countries will embrace the West. The West will possess more “hegemony” both in terms of military power and in terms of values and institutions, its hard power and soft power will reach new heights. 4. China will become more isolated under the established framework. For the above reasons, if China does not take proactive measures to respond, it will encounter further containment from the US and the West. Once Putin falls, the U.S. will no longer face two strategic competitors but only have to lock China in strategic containment. Europe will further cut itself off from China; Japan will become the anti-China vanguard; South Korea will further fall to the U.S.; Taiwan will join the anti-China chorus, and the rest of the world will have to choose sides under herd mentality. China will not only be militarily encircled by the U.S., NATO, the QUAD, and AUKUS, but also be challenged by Western values and systems. ...the primary goal of the U.S. is to contain China from becoming the dominant power in the Indo-Pacific region. Under such circumstances, China’s top priority is to make appropriate strategic adjustments accordingly, to change the hostile American attitudes towards China, and to save itself from isolation. The bottom line is to prevent the U.S. and the West from imposing joint sanctions on China. 4. China should prevent the outbreak of world wars and nuclear wars and make irreplaceable contributions to world peace. As Putin has explicitly requested Russia’s strategic deterrent forces to enter a state of special combat readiness, the Russo-Ukrainian war may spiral out of control. A just cause attracts much support; an unjust one finds little. If Russia instigates a world war or even a nuclear war, it will surely risk the world’s turmoil. To demonstrate China’s role as a responsible major power, China not only cannot stand with Putin, but also should take concrete actions to prevent Putin’s possible adventures. China is the only country in the world with this capability, and it must give full play to this unique advantage. Putin’s departure from China’s support will most likely end the war, or at least not dare to escalate the war. As a result, China will surely win widespread international praise for maintaining world peace, which may help China prevent isolation but also find an opportunity to improve its relations with the United States and the West. Next let's go over to Steven Lee Myers and Chris Buckley at NYT who see something I am more aligned with - that the smart money has the war in Ukraine will be significantly to China's advantage; In the end, China’s leadership has calculated that it must try to rise above what it considers a struggle between two tired powers and be seen as a pillar of stability in an increasingly turbulent world. “This means that as long as we don’t commit terminal strategic blunders, China’s modernization will not be cut short, and on the contrary, China will have even greater ability and will to play a more important role in building a new international order,” Zheng Yongnian, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, who has advised senior officials, wrote after the invasion in a widely circulated article. … “All the difficulties and all the balancing and all the embarrassment that we’re talking about, those are short-term,” said Yun Sun, the director of the China Program at the Stimson Center in Washington, who has studied Beijing’s actions in the lead-up to the war. “In the long run, Russia is going to be the pariah of the international community, and Russia will have no one to turn to but China.” China’s path ahead is by no means certain. Drawing too close to Russia would risk entrenching animosity toward China in Europe and beyond, a possibility that worries Mr. Xi’s government, for all its bluster. And if Germany, France and other allies build up their defenses as promised, the United States could ultimately be freed up to shift more of its military resources toward countering China. Mr. Biden has vowed to rally an “alliance of democracies,” while American military leaders say they will not let Ukraine distract them from China. “We also feel very, very anxious because the Russia-Ukraine war will force Europe to lean to the U.S., and then China will be dragged deeper into a dilemma,” said Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Nanjing University. The United States’ allies in the Pacific, including Japan and Australia, “will also adopt a stronger military posture. So it all seems unfriendly to China.” … Aleksandr G. Dugin, has written extensively on what he sees as a growing clash between the liberal, decadent West and a conservative Eurasian continent with Russia as its soul. ... “The West should not have become a hegemon in defining universal standards because the West or Europe, or the West in general is only part of humanity,” Mr. Dugin told a Chinese state television interviewer in 2019. “And the other part, a majority of human beings, live outside the West, in Asia.” … “The old order is swiftly disintegrating, and strongman politics is again ascendant among the world’s great powers,” wrote Mr. Zheng of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. “Countries are brimming with ambition, like tigers eyeing their prey, keen to find every opportunity among the ruins of the old order.” That quote from Zheng is sticking with me. The "old order" really was a historical exception to the normal course of human events and experience. The new order he sees as ascendant is, really, a regression towards the mean. Free nations need to prepare for that. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=zTCpUsbYczA:RPDsGKO8Ce4:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=zTCpUsbYczA:RPDsGKO8Ce4:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=zTCpUsbYczA:RPDsGKO8Ce4:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=zTCpUsbYczA:RPDsGKO8Ce4:F7zBnMyn0Lo View the full article

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $17 million modification, which adds scope to provide for the production, delivery, and installation of Link 16 Crypto-Modernization/Hybrid Beyond Line of Sight capabilities on 15 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) is the newest variant of the E-2 aircraft platform. It features a state-of-the-art radar with a two-generation leap in capability and upgraded aircraft systems that will improve supportability and increase readiness. Work will take place in Florida, Virginia, Illinois, California and New York. Estimated completion date is May 2023. The US Air Force, the US Navy, and the US Marine Corps will have an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle that will need to increase the combat capability, accuracy, and concentration of the US military during air battles. The ‘Aggressor’ aircraft, dubbed Bandit, is a training UAV and its construction has been given the green light, Jane’s reports. Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Communications and Electronics Systems (ACES) inked an agreement with a Chinese defense firm to design and manufacture military drones in the kingdom. The joint venture is called “Aerial Solutions”. It was announced during the World Defense Show 2022, held from March 6 to 9 in Riyadh. Europe Israeli small arms manufacture Emtan has won the Spanish Civil Guard contract for the supply of a new MZ-4P 5.56 x 45 mm caliber assault rifle to equip personnel from various units worth almost six million euros – 5,929,000 euros. According to Infodefensa.com, the price offered per unit is 850 euros, without VAT. The contract initially contemplates the supply of a minimum of 3,500 units over the next two years, although everything indicates that the final order will be considerably higher. During the acquisition of three Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 and KC-130J “Super Hercules” aircraft each, the German Air Force decided to equip all aircraft with HENSOLDT’s latest generation of defence sensor technology. With MILDS Block 2, the company is supplying a total of 35 sensors (five per aircraft and five units for lab use) to Danish company Terma A/S, which is managing the integration of the systems at Lockheed Martin through Terma Inc. The contracts were signed in 2020. So far, 20 sensors and the ordered desiccant-kits have already been delivered. By January 2023, the remaining 15 sensors will be delivered. The first “Hercules” for the German Air Force was handed over in Évreux/Fauville (France) on February 19, 2022 to the Franco-German air-transport squadron. With MILDS Block 2, HENSOLDT is also helping to close the capability gap created by the retirement of the C-160 “Transall”. Asia-Pacific A Global Hawk acquired by Japan has arrived home at Misawa Air Base on the morning of March 12. It is the first of three unmanned aerial vehicles ordered by Japan. The Global Hawk’s mission is to provide a broad spectrum of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance collection capabilities to support joint combatant forces in worldwide peacetime, contingency and crisis operations. The system can be used to cooperatively address common regional challenges such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, piracy, terrorism and other issues affecting the region. Today’s Video WATCH: First Flight of 1st Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules for the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) View the full article

Americas Bell Boeing won a $24.3 million contract modification, which increases scope to provide additional MV-22 Common Configuration Readiness and Modernization in-service and over and above repair support. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopters. Boeing is responsible for the fuselage, landing gear, avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, performance and flying qualities. Work will take place in Pennsylvania and Texas. Estimated completion will be in June 2023. General Dynamics won a $12.3 million contract modification for Abrams systems technical support. The M1 Abrams is a third generation American main battle tank. An upgrade of the Abrams M1A1 main battle tank, the M1A2 features an improved commander’s weapon station, independent thermal viewer, an inter-vehicular information system, and an enhanced position/navigation system. Work under the modification will take place in Michigan. Estimated completion date is February 28, 2023. Middle East & Africa Aviation won a $13 million deal, which provides pilot, enlisted aircrew, and maintenance training support services as well as program management and administrative support services for the government of Kuwait. Work will take place in Oklahoma and Kuwait. Estimated completion date is in March 2025. Europe The Defense Ministry of Slovakia has received word from the United States that the delivery of F-16s that it has ordered will be delayed by 12 to 14 months. The Pentagon awarded a $799 million contract to Lockheed Martin for the production of 14 F-16 Block 70 fighters back in 2019. The jets will now arrive home in 2024. A foreign company has approached Ukraine’s state-owned Ukroboronprom to provide the country’s Air Force with six Antonov AN-158 twin-engine passenger aircraft. Although these aircraft cannot participate in combat, they can perform special flights to deliver everything the Air Force needs under wartime conditions, Ukroboronprom’s head Yuriy Husyev said in a statement. The aircraft will first undergo maintenance and repair. Asia-Pacific India has admitted that one of its BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was accidentally fired into Pakistan on March 9. The missile was fired due to a technical malfunction during routine maintenance. According to Pakistan, the missile landed in an area called Mian Channu. No one was hurt in the incident. Today’s Video WATCH: Slovak Air Force student pilots training in Tucson for transition to the new Block 70 F-16s. View the full article