CV32

Yes, the version currently found in the HCDB is the updated aircraft. (Sorry for the delayed reply). Would you like to see the original variant in the DB ?

Very sorry for your loss, Pete. It's like losing a family member, I know. (Tony, I would have said Golden Retrievers were the hardest to lose, but none are easy).

I'll certainly look at the new Israeli subs. They may merit a new entry, and I'd really like to add a nuclear capability, but it would still be purely conjecture without further information. As you know, the Israelis are extremely tight lipped about their nuclear capabilities. Afaik, they don't even have the bomb. Right ? This might be good fodder for Tony's Fictional DB. Not that I would want to add to Tony's workload.

With summer holidays, other commitments and such, I don't expect a new release until late September. I'll take a look. I've been watching this development for a while, and collecting info, but there are still several parameters missing. Otherwise I'd have to guess ... As discussed with you on IRC, I have no plans to change the existing policy of not including "off map" nations like those you mentioned. There simply isn't enough room in the HCDB annexes to do justice to both the existing nations and their entries, and any new ones. We can dream about AGSI permitting the continued development of HCCE so that these limitations might be removed, but at this point that seems extremely unlikely. Sorry.

The C-212 I will look at. Already looking at expanding the list of coastal defence missile systems (like the Chinese/Iranian models).

From Defence Talk Evolved Design Unveiled for Australia's Next Generation Air Warfare Destroyer Gibbs & Cox Tue, 8 Aug 2006, 12:43 ADELAIDE, Australia: The first images of the Evolved Design for Australia's Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project were unveiled by the Minister of Defence Brendan Nelson in Adelaide at the opening of the new AWD Systems Centre. Three-dimensional animated vision has been released showing the advanced capabilities of the Evolved Design, with 360-degree protection for Australian troops against threats of air, underwater or missile attack. A series of detailed images of the Evolved Design from different angles has also been released. The Evolved Design provides continuous 24-hour protection with 64 missile cells, two helicopter hangars, extended range and good future growth capabilities. Gibbs & Cox is part of the Evolved Team working at the AWD Systems Centre on the new design, which also includes ASC Shipbuilder Pty Ltd, Raytheon Australia, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and the Defence Materiel Organisation. Gibbs & Cox Chairman Kevin Moak said the Evolved Design Team has the proven experience and specialist skills to deliver the next generation of warship for Australia. "The team is highly focused and working harmoniously in a dynamic environment at the new AWD Systems Centre to achieve an affordable solution to the capability needs," Mr. Moak said. "Defence will present a final design to Government for consideration next year. We look forward to the opportunity to provide the Australian Defence Force with a leading edge, affordable and fully capable Evolved Design. "We are excited by the challenge -- to prove we can deliver the design for the next generation warship for Australia." "The AWD project is one of the most significant design and shipbuilding projects undertaken in Australia and we are committed to its success." Gibbs & Cox Australia Managing Director Peter Croser is working to grow the Adelaide workforce from just one employee early this year to about 100 people in the medium term -- primarily specialist marine engineers, naval architects and designers. "The project is attracting skilled people and their families from throughout Australia and overseas to work on the Evolved Design," Mr. Croser said. "There has been high demand for these specialist jobs resulting in a top quality workforce in Adelaide. "We now have specialist technical expertise in Australia from Concept Design to Through-Life Support, with the ability to 'reach back' to the US when needed." Gibbs & Cox has been contracted to work as part of the Evolved Team on the successful development of the Evolved AWD Design.

From Jane's Defence Weekly: Iran answers Hizbullah call for SAM systems By Robin Hughes JDW Deputy Editor London Additional reporting by Alon Ben-David JDW Staff Reporter Israeli-Lebanese border Iran is to supply the Islamic Resistance - the armed wing of the Lebanese Shi'ite Party of God (Hizbullah) - with a quantity of surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems over the coming months, Western diplomatic sources have confirmed to Jane's. According to the sources, Tehran will supply Hizbullah with Russian-produced SAMs, including the Strela-2/2M (SA-7 'Grail'), Strela-3 (SA-14 'Gremlin') and Igla-1E (SA-16 'Gimlet') man-portable SAM systems. Iran is also understood to have agreed to deliver its own version of the Chinese QW-1 man-portable low- to very-low-altitude SAM system - the Mithaq-1- developed by the Iranian Defence Ministry's Shahid Kazemi Industrial Complex in Tehran. Iran launched a mass production line for an advanced variant, the Mithaq-2 - believed to be a short-range passive infra-red SAM - on 6 February. Both variants, believed to be based on Chinese technology, are understood to have been made available for Hizbullah. However, Jane's understands that Hizbullah already has Iranian-supplied Strela 2s in its inventory Israel Air Force sources say that their platforms, most notably helicopters, have encountered Strela-2 fire throughout the current conflict. Senior Israel Defence Force sources told Jane's that they believe that Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps personnel, in support of Hizbullah, were involved in these launches.

One of the problems with the Neutrals (simulated and real alike) is the exchange of information with other units. You may or may not want to have these "neutrals" exchanging contact and sensor data, but unfortunately its not currently possible to restrict it.

More news, and more details, from Jane's Navy International: A preliminary Israel Navy investigation into the circumstances surrounding the missile strike suffered by the Sa'ar 5 Eilat-class missile corvette IN Hanit has acknowledged that the incident was largely the result of an intelligence failure that led to operational gaps. Early indications are that the warhead of the Iranian-supplied Noor anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) that hit Hanit off Lebanon on 14 July did not detonate. Even so, the missile - fired by Hizbullah forces - killed four crew and inflicted severe damage to the ship's flight deck and steering systems. According to Major General Gadi Eisenkott, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) Chief of Operations, Hizbullah operatives received targeting information from the Lebanese Navy's radar station in Beirut. "That is why we destroyed all the radar stations along the Lebanese shore immediately after the attack," he said. Israel has accused Iran of deploying military advisers alongside Hizbullah to enable the deployment and operation of the Noor system - a clone of the Chinese C-802/YJ-2 'Saccade' radar-guided ASCM. "From now on we have to assume that every weapon that exists in Iran has also been supplied to Hizbullah in Lebanon," a senior IDF source told Jane's. "We are prepared for more surprises," said Maj Gen Eisenkot.

Discussions on HarpGamer are always relevant (well, almost always). We were discussing on IRC the role of aircraft carriers in WWII and whether a German carrier would have made any difference. Then I see this report today from Defence Talk: Divers find Hitler's aircraft carrier Times Online Thu, 27 Jul 2006, 00:51 The location of the wreck of the Graf Zeppelin had been a mystery for more than half a century POLISH divers have discovered the rusting wreckage of Nazi Germany’s only aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, solving one of the most enduring maritime riddles of the Second World War. For more than half a century the location of the huge vessel was kept secret by the Soviet authorities. Even the opening of the Moscow archives in the 1990s failed to produce a precise bearing. The once-proud ship was simply one of dozens of wrecks that littered the bed of the Baltic Sea near the Bay of Gdansk. “We were carrying out soundings for possible oil exploration,” Krzysztof Grabowski, of the Petrobaltic exploration group, said. “Then we stumbled across a vessel that was over 260 metres (850ft) long at a depth of 250 metres.” Divers confirmed this week that it was the German ship, though who owns her and what — if anything — will happen to her remains unclear.

I meant to respond to this post earlier, Darren, sorry. And welcome to HarpGamer. I am always in favour of database diversity, so by all means, I support any work on a HUD3. (Especially now that I tinker with ANW, hehe). Without the work of a few dedicated souls, Harpoon couldn't possibly be what it is.

Convoy SC-7 Background from Uboat.net: "The slow convoy SC-7 left Sydney, Nova Scotia, on 4 October 1940, bound for Liverpool and other British ports. The convoy was supposed to make 8 knots, but a number of its 35 merchant ships were much slower than this. The convoy consisted of older, smaller ships, mostly with essential cargoes of bulk goods. For the first days all was quiet, but as the convoy entered the Western Approaches on 16 October 1940, seven U-boats launched a coordinated attack. On the 17th the U-boats sank three more ships. The 18th was worse with seven ships torpedoed and sunk. 19 October 1940 was the blackest day of all, with the U-boats sinking nine ships. The convoy lost 20 ships out of 35. No U-boats were lost." Date: October 19, 1940 (dawn) Location: North Atlantic, Western Approaches Weather: Cloudy, medium wind U-boats: 2 x VIIB (1940) Enemy force encountered: Large escorted convoy Results: TonyE: HMS Fowey, HMS Leith, HMS Scarborough, SS Empire Brigade, SS Fiscus, SS Scoresby, SS Empire Miniver, SS Shekatika, SS Sedgepool, SS Aenos (a Greek neutral), SS Thalia (another Greek neutral), SS Beatus, SS Creekirk, SS Boekelo CV32: HMS Bluebell, HMS Heartease, SS Blairspey, SS Languedoc, SS Soesterberg Friendly Losses: None

A pilot friend of mine has a new job, but it means he will have to move from this island to a much smaller one in the Caribbean. Poor fella ... From Defense Industry Daily Canadian Firm Wins $100M Maritime Reconnaissance Contract from Dutch Posted 24-Jul-2006 07:18 In the fall of 2003, the Dutch government announced the retirement and sale of its P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft fleet, including 2 aircraft stationed at Curacao that flew missions for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The Orions were sold to Germany (8) and Portugal (5), but their services needed to be replaced. Australia's contracted public-private Coastwatch approach offers a solid model for such situations, and now similar Dash-8 aircraft with maritime patrol mission suites will be operating in the Caribbean - operated and managed by a private Canadian firm.... Provincial Airlines, a subsidiary of Provincial Aerospace Ltd. in Newfoundland, Canada, has won a USD $100-million contract to supply reconnaissance aircraft and services in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba for 10 years. The 2 DC-8 aircraft will be purchased, outfitted, and operated by Provincial airlines; they will be used to save lives at sea, track down offenders on environmental, economic, and fisheries matters, and intercept drug transports in the Caribbean Sea. The St. John's-based aerospace and defence contracting company has over 25 years' experience in air reconnaissance operations, and maintains other bases in Barbados & Trinidad and Tobago. Yet the firm pointed to its 20-year partnership with Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans as a major reason for its success with this contract. The contract with the Netherlands government will add about 75 new full-time technical and professional jobs to Provincial's workforce.

From Defence Talk China Warns U.S. Not to Sell Fighters To Taiwan AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Mon, 24 Jul 2006, 00:33 Beijing has warned Washington not to proceed with a reported deal to sell fighterss to Taiwan, indicating it would impact on regional security and harm Sino-U.S. relations, state media said on July 21. ”The Chinese side has taken note of the report and lodged serious representations to the United States,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. The China Times reported on July 17 that a Taiwanese delegation had proposed the procurement of 66 advanced fighter planes during an annual military meeting with Washington early this month. If the report is confirmed, it would be the biggest arms deal Washington has offered Taiwan since 2001 when U.S. President George W. Bush agreed to provide the island with eight diesel-powered submarines, 12 P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft and an improved version of Patriot missiles, the paper said. Taiwan’s defense ministry has declined comment on the report. The new fleet of F-16C/D fighters aim to reinforce the air force’s combat capability before it can acquire so-called “third generation” fighters from the United States, the paper said. The United States in 1992 agreed to sell Taiwan 150 less sophisticated F-16A/Bs, but refused to provide F-16C/Ds which have a longer range and powerful ground attack capability. In addition to 146 F-16A/B fighters, the air force has 128 locally produced Indigenous Defense Fighters and 56 French-made Mirage 2000-5s, along with 60 or so aging F-5 Tigers. Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has pledged gradually to increase military spending to around three percent of gross domestic product, up from the current 2.5 percent. China has repeatedly threatened to invade Taiwan should it move towards formal independence, prompting the island to seek more advanced weaponry. China announced in March its military budget for this year would rise 14.7 percent to $35 billion, the latest in a series of double-digit annual increases dating back to the early 1990s. A Pentagon report last year estimated that China’s defense spending was two to three times the publicly announced figure and that the cross-strait military balance was tipping in Beijing’s favor. Bush met briefly in Washington on July 20 with China’s top military officer and highlighted Sino-U.S. cooperation on issues like North Korea and military matters, the White House said. General Guo Boxiong was visiting the United States as part of a US-Chinese effort to expand cooperation between their militaries.

From Defense-Aerospace Saudi Arabia Launches Huge Arms Buying Spree; France to Net Most Orders (Source: defense-aerospace.com; issued July 22, 2006) By Giovanni de Briganti Saudi Arabia will buy 142 helicopters from France, including 64 NH-90 helicopters such as the one shown here, as well as tanker aircraft and other weapons in the largest arms export deal ever signed by France. PARIS --- The Saudi government last week agreed to purchase a total of 142 helicopters from France, in a deal that will modernize its military helicopter fleet at a single stroke and that, together with additional contracts to follow, firmly establishes France as the kingdom’s main weapons supplier. The helicopter contract, due to be signed with France’s Sofresa arms export agency, will cover 64 NH-90 battlefield helicopters; 20 Eurocopter Cougar utility helicopters in Combat Search and Rescue version; 42 Eurocopter Fennec light helicopters; four Panther naval Search and Rescue helicopters; and an initial batch of 12 Tiger attack helicopters. The NH-90s are made by NH Industries, a joint company in which France’s Eurocopter has a 62.5% share, while all other types are produced by Eurocopter. The contract also includes the provision of weapons, spare parts, training services and support equipment, as well as the construction of several helicopter bases, boosting its total value to well over 7 billion euros, sources say. It is the largest single arms export deal ever signed by France. The NH-90 order includes 10 naval NFH-90s for the Saudi navy; 42 TTH-90 battlefield helicopters for the Saudi Army and 12 more for the Saudi Arabian National Guard, while the Fennec order comprises 30 helicopters for the Saudi air force and 12 for the national guard. A separate contract will cover an unspecified number of Airbus A330 aerial tankers, similar to the KC-30 that EADS, the corporate parent of both Airbus and Eurocopter, has offered to the US Air Force. ... The new Saudi arms purchases from France are the result of an expanded defense alliance set out in two political framework agreements signed here late on July 21 by the Saudi Crown Prince and Defense Minister, Sultan Ben Abdelaziz Al Saoud. The agreements cover closer defense cooperation between the two countries as well as the supply of a wide range of military hardware. “These agreements, signed at the highest level of the two states, define the scope of our cooperation in the field of military equipment,” French presidential spokesman Jérôme Bonnafont told reporters July 21 adding that “new cooperation projects for military equipment will be implemented.” In addition to the helicopters and tankers, contracts for which should be signed in the coming weeks, Saudi Arabia also plans to purchase Leclerc main battle tanks, French-Italian FREMM frigates and submarines in 2007 and 2008, while the possible purchase of Dassault Aviation Rafale combat aircraft is still being discussed. The French orders come as Saudi Arabia last week unexpectedly embarked on a huge weapon buying spree to substantially upgrade its armed forces. The first contract, announced July 21, covers the supply of 76 Caesar truck-mounted 155mm artillery pieces manufactured by France’s state-owned GIAT Industries, for a value estimated at several hundred million euros. The manufacturer, for whom this is both the largest Caesar contract to date and the largest export contract of the past decade, will confirm neither the customer nor the value. The previous day, the Pentagon formally notified Congress of its intention to sell 724 Light Armored Vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems, London, Ontario and related equipment (worth $5.8 billion) for the Saudi Arabian National Guard. A separate contract was also notified covering the sale of 24 Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk armed utility helicopters, worth $350 million, to the Royal Saudi Land Forces. These two contracts will be automatically approved unless Congress opposes them within 30 days. According to French spokesman Bonnafont, the additional contracts “will be finalized later, depending on the progress of bilateral discussions.” He confirmed that these talks will center on the acquisition by Saudi Arabia of Dassault Aviation Rafale combat aircraft and of Leclerc main battle tanks, made by GIAT Industries. The latter are intended to replace the obsolete AMX-30 tanks operated by the Saudi army’s so-called “French brigade,” and which were originally procured in the 1970s. A possible Rafale sale to Saudi Arabia has been the subject of much speculation in recent years, but had appeared to fade after Saudi Arabia on December 21, 2005 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the British government which called for “Typhoon aircraft [to] replace Tornado Air Defence Variant aircraft and others currently in service with the Royal Saudi Air Force.” At the time, British media reported that the related contract, initially covering 24 Typhoons with at least 48 more to follow, would be signed by June, but none has so far been announced. The French spokesman’s confirmation that a Rafale sale is being negotiated is a major advance for the French fighter, which formally entered French air force service in late June but which is still looking for its first export customer. It is not clear, however, whether Rafale would be procured instead of, or in addition to, the Typhoon. No indication has been given of the number of Rafales that Saudi Arabia would buy, but sources say an initial purchase would likely cover 48 aircraft. If confirmed, this would set the deal’s value at around 6 billion euros, including weapons, spares and support equipment. Saudi Arabia also has a relatively urgent requirement to replace her older coastal defense vessels (four Badr-class corvettes and nine Al Siddiq-class patrol boats) with much larger missile corvettes displacing around 2,000 tonnes. France’s DCN has offered its Gowind design for this requirement. A second naval requirement is for four to six French-Italian FREMM new-generation multi-purpose frigates to replace the older French-supplied Medina-class (Sawari I project) frigates. These frigates alone are valued at 3 billion euros. In the longer term, the Royal Saudi Navy would like to introduce a submarine flotilla comprising about six conventionally-powered attack submarines, for which DCN is offering its Marlin design, derived from the Scorpene submarine it developed jointly with Spain’s Navantia shipyards group. No value has been quoted for this project. French companies, along with contractors from China, Russia, the UK and the US, will compete for Saudi Arabia’s Miksa program, an ambitious border control network comprising up to 225 radar stations to monitor the kingdom’s ground borders, coasts and airspace. While this was negotiated directly with France’s Thales Group for several years, Saudi Arabia earlier this year decided to launch a competition; responses to its Request for Information are due in late August, to be followed by a Request for Proposals with a deadline of late December. The project’s value is estimated at 7 billion euros.

Supposedly the first pic of the damaged INS Hanit in port. If this is a credible pic, then the tarp hanging over the hull aft supposedly covers the hole caused by the missile. If this is the case, then it was either a very small missile or one that passed through the ship. (Note also the Phalanx, which means the ship was not conducting shore bombardment).

I like the way you've added relevant pics for flavour, Frans. Nice job.

Force Z A little background, from Wikipedia: "The Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a World War II naval engagement which illustrated the effectiveness of aerial attacks against naval forces that were not protected by air cover and the resulting importance of including an aircraft carrier in any major fleet action ... What was then designated as Force G , consisting of the modern battleship Prince of Wales, the World War I era battlecruiser Repulse, and the four destroyers HMS Electra, HMS Express, HMS Encounter, and HMS Jupiter, arrived at Singapore on 2 December, 1941. They were then re-designated Force Z ..." Date: December 10, 1941 (evening) Location: East of Malaya, near the island of Pulau Tioman Weather: Cloudy, medium wind U-boats: 3 x VIIB (1941) Enemy force encountered: Task force Results: Brains: HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Jupiter CV32: HMS Repulse, HMS Electra TonyE: HMS Encounter Friendly Losses: CV32 (depth charged by HMS Vampire)

Here's an interesting account from Situational Awareness, a "blog" from the former editors of the now (sadly) defunct eDefense Online website. I don't ordinarily find any merit at all in "blogs" (the very word conjures images of what a dog might do if he had an upset stomach), but I suppose this topic is all about analyzing the rumour mill, so what the heck. In any event, they have some interesting comments on the "surprise" aspect of the attack and draw some comparisons with the Styx attack on the Israeli "Eilat" (fate is cruel, huh) destroyer in 1967. I expect that eventually we'll hear an account very much like this one (found here): Lieutenant Yitzhak Zoran, Israeli Navy, received a special commendation for bravery for his selfless and effective efforts to save crewmembers when the destroyer Eliat was hit by Egyptian Styx missiles in October 1967. The citation accompanying his medal for bravery reads in part: "... after the sinking of the Eliat, Lt. Zoran began to assemble survivors in the water into groups and help care for their wounds. He saw that survivors were widely scattered and he continued to swim in all directions to assist them in getting back to the relative safety of the life rafts. He put his own life jacket on a wounded crewmember and remained in the water without one for over six hours in terrible sea conditions. He continued to search for and assist other lone survivors who would not have made it on their own. He was finally recovered by a missile patrol boat, but only after making sure that all the others around him were safe. He saved many lives." Yitzhak, known affectionately by his friends as "Tze Tze," is currently the managing director of Marathon Venture Capital Fund LTD in Israel and the past president of Elisra. "Forty-seven crewmembers of the destroyer Eliat paid the ultimate price when the enemy was underestimated and the COMINT system failed. I happened to be on the bridge with the Captain and we both saw it go off. I thought that it was a harmless signaling rocket, but he knew better. It was about 5:30 PM on a lazy Saturday afternoon in October 1967, about four months after the cease-fire agreement had stopped the shooting in the six-day war between Israel, Egypt, and other Arab nations. I was the electronics and electrical officer on the destroyer Eliat, on a routine patrol mission, 12 to 14 miles offshore in international waters off the coast of the Sinai Peninsula opposite Port Said, the Mediterranean entrance to the Suez Canal. Since the Egyptian navy had come away virtually unscathed in the war, we were there to prevent them from either re-supplying remaining forces in the Sinai or attempting an offshore bombardment of Israel. The Eliat was a 25-year-old British WW II destroyer that had been taken out of mothballs and sold to Israel. One of a total three destroyers in our navy at the time, it displaced about 2,000 tons and carried a crew of about 150. As a 22-year-old navy lieutenant, this was my first assignment after getting my college degree in electrical engineering. But back to that signaling rocket. Visibility could not have been better. The Captain was pointing out the buildings in Port Said that we viewed through our binoculars when we saw the launch from the harbor. Earlier, he had witnessed test firings of our own Gabriel missiles, and so correctly decided that what we saw meant that a missile was headed our way. It turned out to be the first of four Styx radar-guided missiles launched at the Eliat . He immediately sounded the alarm, called for battle stations, and turned the ship in order to present the smallest target to the incoming missiles. In about a minute most of the crew were at their stations and I could hear the chatter of our machine guns firing at the inbound missiles. But it wasn't enough. By the time I arrived at my battle station below decks at the electrical monitoring and distribution panels, both missiles had hit. The first, with its 200 pounds of high explosive warhead struck near the smokestack, about 30 feet away from where I was standing. By some miracle, I was unhurt - perhaps shielded by a bulkhead. I immediately saw that the lights were growing dim and realized that our motor-generators were hit and losing RPM. It was obvious that we were hurt badly. All four generators were out, the ship was listing badly, and we were going down. The most horrifying realization was that no one else (except perhaps the Egyptians) knew of our predicament. Prior to the attack, we were under strict emission control. That meant we had not maintained radio contact with our Naval headquarters, or anyone else. I had to get the word out. Before I could attempt to hook up the radios in the radio room to battery power, I had to find the radio operators who knew the codes needed to validate our distress calls. Back on deck, it took all my powers of persuasion to convince crewmembers to leave the comparative safety above-deck to return below in a sinking ship. They did, but to no avail. We got the radios working, but discovered that the antennas were gone, so no signal was getting out. The good news was that someone remembered that we had a hand-held, battery operated radio used to communicate with Israeli land forces for training and special operations. It worked, and thus began the rescue operation about two hours after the first missile had hit. That was about the same time that the Eliat sank. The bad news was that the nearest Israeli vessel was four or five fast-steaming hours away. The ships finally arrived about midnight. But our helicopters had gotten there earlier and airlifted the wounded from the water. Forty-seven men died that day, either killed in the initial blasts, or subsequently drowned. The hundred of us who survived were in the sea for many hours. What went wrong? Did this tragedy have to happen? A lot of thought went into answering these questions. Actually, we knew that the Egyptians had the SS-N-2 Styx missiles, but we didn't believe that these were either operational as yet, or that their forces knew how to use them. Our operating procedures actually depended on both COMINT and ELINT to alert us to such dangers, but that time the systems broke down. For one thing, our COMINT operators (the ones who continually monitored radio traffic) were not aboard at the time. They had rotated ashore, and their replacements had yet to arrive. We later found out that our home based COMINT intercept operators had indeed monitored Egyptian radio traffic indicating an impending missile launch, but they (our INTEL assets) were not aware of any Israeli ships in the area that would be threatened, so no warning was issued. We were equipped with a relatively capable and sophisticated ELINT system for its time, the tunable microwave APR-9 receiver of Korean War vintage. Using the system, we had seen an increased level of high PRF radar signals, which usually meant military rather than commercial applications, and increased activity. But the Styx was one of the first of the easy to employ fire-and-forget surface-to-surface missiles and its onboard targeting radar did not turn on until it was in mid-course to its target. That gave us less than a minute and a half to react. We probably had been painted by surveillance radars, but there were so many radars operating in the region of the Suez Canal, we were not aware of any particularly hostile ones. Unfortunately, I was there on the receiving end when the first radar-directed anti-ship missile was successfully employed in combat. The event triggered a level of maximum awareness of the importance of EW in the Israeli Navy, and for me as well. For the next ten years, my sole preoccupation was to help us develop the EW systems we did not have when the Eliat went down; many of which are still in place today. As a result, our Navy was totally prepared for the Yom Kippur War. We now had missile patrol boats and we also had "smart" missiles. We also had the EW hardware and tactics that allowed us to win in every engagement where our much shorter range Gabriel missiles faced the Styx. We sunk over 10 enemy missile boats without sustaining a single hit."

Glad to hear it. It really "brings it home" when the platforms you have been playing Harpoon scenarios with, actually go to war.

There are differences, no doubt, but probably only in terms of performance and features. The basic premise and the inherent dangers are the same. This, from Defense Update: Hmm, I think that was an oversight in the targeting plan, especially since they obviously had already planned on having their own warships offshore and they already had a long lived belief that Lebanon/Syria were supporting Hizballah.

Date: October 1, 1944 (morning) Location: North Atlantic, northeast of Newfoundland Weather: Overcast, medium fog, medium wind U-boats: 3 x VIIB (1944) Enemy force encountered: Escorted tanker convoy Results: CV32: Tonnage: 1,850 warship; Renown: 140 Sunk: 1 x Somers DD TonyE: Tonnage: 1,400 warship; Renown: 130 Sunk: 1 x Buckley DE Friendly Losses: All Enemy Damage: A half dozen or more tankers damaged, but escaped.

Some comments on the Defense Update story above ... Apparently it was a Cambodian merchant with an Egyptian crew. Some or all of them survived, but the ship sunk. If this ship was indeed 60 km from shore, that would certainly lend credence to the missile having been a C-802 (or something with similar range and utilizing radar guidance). Secondly, the fact that it was sunk matches the relatively powerful warhead of the C-802. Just how big was this ship ? The C-802 carries a 165 kg warhead, enough to cause devastating damage to a ship the size of the Hanit (ca 1200 tonnes full load). If it was a C-802, then the Hanit is lucky indeed. Its possible that the missile failed to detonate, or passed completely through without detonating, or maybe struck the helo on deck. Its reported that one of the casualties was the helo pilot, suggesting the helo was on deck at the time. An active radar guided missile like the C-802 would certainly some degree of target cueing, even for a BOL launch. But wouldn't the Israelis have targeted these coastal radars for destruction from the beginning of their campaign ? Interesting tactics. Even a little disturbing, because it suggests a degree of coordination and sophistication that is in line with the possibility of Iranian troops having supported and assisted in the attack. In any event, Hizballah achieved total surprise, because the Hanit's defensive systems apparently weren't operating. That makes sense if it was a radar guided C-802 or similar missile. This sounds credible. The C-802 is a pretty big system, and if launched on a high altitude profile, its possible the launcher was further inland and the missile didn't have an opportunity to lock its radar seeker on the Hanit so close to shore. The C-701 (and its variants), on the other hand, is a pretty small missile (with a semi-armor piercing warhead in the 50 kg range) with a limited range, launched from a relatively small truck. If an IR variant was employed, it may have locked onto the Hanit's diesel exhaust port, which is fairly fair aft (and near the helo deck) and low on the waterline. (Some of the pics circulating the Web that purport to show the missile damage are actually just showing the staining from this exhaust port). I don't think its questionable. It makes sense that the Hanit would not be using its ECM jammers or have activated its Barak SAM system, because of the fear of interfering with or jeopardizing the IDF/AF aircraft operating in the same area. What I find questionable is why didn't the Hanit's passive systems (including an ESM suite, communications intercept (COMINT) system and EO/IR surveillance system) didn't detect the missile launch ? Even a spotter on deck might have been able to see the launch and perhaps the missile itself at such close range. It may have been simply a question of extremely short reaction time. We continue to await pics of the damage sustained by the Hanit, which should tell us more.

From Defence Talk North Korea Launches Wartime Alert AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Wed, 19 Jul 2006, 00:15 Seoul: North Korea has launched a wartime alert, putting its armed forces and nationals in a state of a war mobilization, an unconfirmed news report said here Wednesday. Kim Jong-Il, head of the communist country, issued an order to that effect hours before the United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's missile tests last week, said the Joongang daily, quoting an unnamed government source. Government officials were unable to be reached for confirmation early Wednesday. North Korean soldiers on leave were told to return to their barracks, camouflage nettings were being draped on military vehicles and weapons, and people were prohibited from entering the countryside, the source said. The alert was not issued publicly but spread quietly through military and civilian emergency networks, the daily said. North Korea announced a war mobilization in 1993 at the height of a stand-off with the United States over its nuclear weapons programme. South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun was due to hold a cabinet meeting later Wednesday to discuss security in the aftermath of the UN resolution. The cabinet meeting was arranged before the report of the wartime alert. The resolution, the first UN action against North Korea since 1993, requires nations to prevent the shipment of equipment and technology for the North's missile or weapons of mass destruction programmes. But the isolated communist state rejected what it called the "brigandish" resolution and vowed to bolster its defences, saying the situation had deteriorated due to the hostile policy of the United States.

From Defense Aerospace First British Pilot to Finish Raptor Training (Source: US Air Force; issued July 18, 2006) TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --- The first British pilot to complete F-22 Raptor training graduated this week at Tyndall Air Force Base. Flight Lt. Dan Robinson, from the Royal Air Force, is assigned to Langley Air Force Base, Va. He has completed two months of training with the 43rd Fighter Squadron as part of an exchange program. In return, an American fighter pilot will be trained and fly side-by-side with the Royal Air Force on the new EF-2000 Eurofighter Typhoon. For the coalition, the benefit of the exchange program is the implementation of the aircraft capabilities into the multi-national planning process. Both the Raptor' and Typhoon' potential and capabilities will be better understood by both America and the United Kingdom in battle, providing better results and minimizing collateral damage and loss of coalition life. Robinson is a combat veteran who has served in the Royal Air Force since 1996. "I have been fascinated with aircraft since I was a child; I was that kid who always wanted to talk to the pilot," he said. "My father was a businessman, and we traveled a lot on planes while I was growing up." He comes from a family of warriors. Both of his grandfathers served in the military during World War II. Robinson was flying F-3 Tornados with the Royal Air Force 25th Fighter Squadron in England prior to the exchange program. The 29-year-old pilot arrived in the United States in March. He originally applied for the F/A-18 Super Hornet exchange program and was given the disappointing news in front of his peers that he was not selected. As he stood there dumbfounded and disappointed, his commander announced that he was going to the F-22 Raptor exchange program instead. "I didn't even know that it existed or that I was up for it," Robinson said. "I couldn't believe it." He said his biggest challenge in the program was taking all of the information that is made available in this weapon system and using it. The F-22 has the ability to pull from multiple sources of data, allowing the pilot to gain a large, detailed picture of the battlefield. "It is the leading edge for fifth-generation aircraft," he said. Following graduation, Robinson will train, exercise and deploy with his assigned Langley squadron. "I will be like any other front-line pilot in the squadron," he said. Other than a few phraseology challenges, his instructors said he did outstanding in the program and will return to Langley a true asset for the Raptor program. Little things like "flight pattern versus circuit" can cause confusion between pilots and air traffic controllers, said U.S. Air Force Maj. Mike Cabral, 43rd Fighter Squadron chief of weapons and tactics. "But, once we got him his decoder ring for U.S. speech, he was good to go," Cabral noted. "Fighter pilots are fighter pilots." "The fact that we were to train a British pilot came as no surprise; it is a natural progression to integrate our coalition partners into this process," he explained. "With his combat skill set, it was a seamless transition," he emphasized. "He has coalition operations and weapons instructor experience; he will be a force multiplier." Approximately 70 pilots have graduated from the Raptor training program to date. [i note that about 71+ Raptors have been delivered, so the number of pilots is roughly equivalent, it seems].