CV32

From DefenseNews NATO Stages Major Naval Exercise By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BRUSSELS About 6,000 military personnel from 17 NATO member states are due to begin a large-scale exercise on March 24 off the coasts of Denmark and Germany to test their rapid reaction capabilities, the alliance said. The maneuvers, codenamed “Brilliant Mariner 2006”, are due to last until April 6 and will take place chiefly in the North Sea and the Baltic. More than 60 warships, five submarines and 13 aircraft will take part, according to the allied maritime component command based at Northwood in Britain. The exercise is the last in a series preparing for maneuvers NATO is due to mount in June off Cape Verde in West Africa. These will test the alliance’s new Response Force, a 20,000 strong interservice body developed as a key element in its transformation from Cold War military bloc to post-September 11 global security player. The so-called NRF brings together naval, air and ground forces which NATO plans to deploy speedily in the event of a crisis. It was set up at the Prague summit in November 2002 and has been taking shape before being declared fully operational, it is planned, in the autumn. Taking part are Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the United States. Units from non-NATO members Finland, Sweden and Ukraine are also expected to participate.

New trivia question ... A well trained and formidable military force is launching an operation involving an initial strike by Storms, Lightnings and Vultures, followed up by an assault using Vipers, Pythons and Serpents. The objective will finally be seized by troops using Rhinoceros, Albatross, and Night Owl units. What platforms are in play here ?

Still too hard ? You guys are getting slack ... To recap the question: This highly decorated American pilot and lawyer, a veteran of multiple conflicts, survived being a POW for nearly six years. He also – quite remarkably - survived calling his wife the "Viking". Who is he ? The answer ... Bud Day. He served honourably in both Vietnam and Korea, and has nearly 70 military decorations, including the Medal of Honor, the Air Force Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal and the Silver Star. He wrote a couple of books, "Return with Honor" and "Duty, Honor, Country". His wife, Doris Sorensen, is Norwegian (hence the "Viking" moniker). He still practises law in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

An error. Thanks for finding it.

It is unlikely that you will find one single source that will provide everything you are looking for. I have found that in order to get truly reliable information (or at least, as reliable as one can expect in the unclassified world), you need to consult a wide variety of sources and build a picture of what you are looking for. Some of the sources I have found helpful on the Internet include: Aviation Now DefenseNews Jane's Information Group Defense Industry Daily eDefense Defense Aerospace Some of these sites have archives which you can search. There are books on the topic, of course, such as the Naval Institute Guide To Combat Fleets Of The World, and while usually very informative and accurate, they are also usually quite expensive. Generalised data on arms transfers around the world can be gleaned from sources like the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), but these tend to lack specifics about weapons systems and platforms. Hope this helps.

OK, that should be interesting, for sure. (I am most interested in the SA-6 scenario, though, and perhaps the SA-3, as these are widely proliferated). Btw, offhand, I am not sure if the SA-6 Gainful has ever served with Iran. Does that matter for your scenario ? I have H4 information for the SA-11 Gadfly and SA-17 Grizzly systems, if you need it.

Yup, you need to energize the radar to activate the jamming systems. And, I should add, if you're actively jamming in the way that the Prowler and other offensive electronic warfare platforms do, the enemy already knows you're there in a big way, so turning on the radar isn't a big deal. Hope this helps.

I expect all of the users you have mentioned employ F-5s in the same roles and with very similar loadouts to those which have been added, but I will look at them in more detail. I believe the bulk of the Swiss F-5s, btw, have been transferred to the US for use in aggressor training. IIRC, the US has never used the type for anything else.

I'm only interested in IP onward, i.e. the terminal phase of the engagement, so that's fine. Whenever you get a chance. Have a good trip, Pete.

This H4 scenario/engagement brings home to me again how deficient our computer Harpoon models are in dealing with missile vs SAM site engagements. IMHO, only the most modern and sophisticated SAM systems have any chance of taking down incoming missiles like your Mavericks. The H4 time sequence is certainly better at showing just how little time they (the SAM sites) really have in reacting to such threats. I wonder, Pete, if you could plug in a few other weapons into your calculations and run the numbers to see what results we get. I am thinking in particular of the GBU-12D Paveway II LGB and the 1,000 lb GBU-32 JDAM.

Probably a land unit would be better. I will look into it. A "ship" looks best for this; I will look into it. I will look into all of these, though offhand I think some of them may already be there. I can't offhand think of any SA342L users that employ them aboard ship. These are ordinarily employed in the observation and attack roles by army aviation units. Their pilots wouldn't usually be trained to land on ships even if the helo is small enough to do so.

The traditional search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, aids-to-navigation, and counter drug missions continue, of course, but the profile of the US Coast Guard in the "homeland security" mission has really expanded in recent times, especially with the Deepwater modernization program. (Just Google "Deepwater" and the "Coast Guard", and you'll quickly see this). If we had a Caribbean map for HCCE, then USCG oriented scenarios could be better exploited, but the northeast coast remains good territory for homeland security scenarios too.

I think the lingo is: "they go stupid".

More Westpac scenario fodder ... From DefenseNews Posted 03/20/06 10:08 S. Koreans See China as Long-Term, Threat, Not North: Poll By REUTERS, SEOUL South Koreans view China rather than North Korea as the biggest threat to their security 10 years from now, according to a survey. The two Koreas are technically still at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. North and South Korea have hundreds of thousands of troops stationed near the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula. In the survey by the state-funded Korea Institute for Defence Analyses (KIDA), 37.7 percent of respondents listed leading trading partner China as the biggest threat to South Korea 10 years from now because of its growing strength in the region. Japan was second on 23.6 percent, while North Korea was third on 20.7 percent and the United States fourth with 14.8 percent. "North Korea may seem to be less of a threat 10 years from now because the government has been conducting a successful policy of cooperation with it, while China is getting powerful both in terms of economics and its military," a KIDA official said by telephone. The survey was conducted in December among about 1,000 people aged 20 or older and was released on March 19. To underscore the potential for tension on the peninsula, North Korea responded to planned annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises by saying last week it had the right to attack preemptively. The United States, which has about 30,000 troops in South Korea to support the country’s 690,000 troops, was considered South Korea’s best ally by 81.7 percent of respondents. China was a distant second at 6.1 percent. North Korea has most of its 1.2 million troops stationed near the border with the South. The North’s official KCNA news agency reported over the weekend leader Kim Jong-il had visited a forward command post, but did not say exactly where or when.

From Aviation Week & Space Technology And so the real troubles of the JSF development begin. IMHO, the US has much to lose if this very important program goes belly up. What do you think ?

Very nice, Pete. I enjoyed your account of this engagement.

The warhead is a 11 kg WDU-31/B blast-fragmentation type, which I expect would be more than sufficient to shred the Gun Dish radar, which you can see here

Sure, there are many. Prime example being the Avenger, which uses a FLIR and laser rangefinder.

HCDB-060316 Aircraft: Atlantic - Germany Atlantique - Italy Atlantique - France Atlantique - Pakistan Atlantique 2 - France B737-2X9 Surveiller - Indonesia C-130H Scathe View - USA Eagle Eye VUAV - USA EP-3C Iron Clad - USA F-1 - Japan F-4E-2020 Terminator - Turkey F/A-18A Hornet - USA F/A-18A+ Hornet - USA F/A-18C (USN/Cold War) - USA F/A-18C (USN/Post Cold War) - USA F/A-18C/D (USMC/Cold War) - USA F/A-18C/D (USMC/Post Cold War) - USA F/A-18D(RC) - USA F/A-18E (AESA) - USA F/A-18E Super Hornet - USA F/A-18F (AESA) - USA F/A-18F Super Hornet - USA HC-130H Hercules - USA HC-130N Kingbird - USA HC-130P Kingbird - USA Jaguar - Oman Jaguar A - France Jaguar GR.1A - UK Jaguar GR.1B - UK Jaguar IM - India Jaguar IM (Shamsher) - India Jaguar IS - India Jaguar IS (Shamsher) - India MH-65C MCH - USA OC-130 Keen Sage - USA P-3B(RP) Reef Point - USA S-3A Viking - USA Ships/Mobile Land Units: Island WPB 110 PG - USA Island WPB 123 PG - USA Legend WMSL 750 PG - USA MKV-C PG - Kuwait

A new version of the Harpoon Classic Commander's Edition (HCCE) Database (HCDB-060316) is available. Get it at HarpGamer via the DB Share button. New additions (or overhauls of existing entries) include: Aircraft: Atlantic - Germany Atlantique - Italy Atlantique - France Atlantique - Pakistan Atlantique 2 - France B737-2X9 Surveiller - Indonesia C-130H Scathe View - USA Eagle Eye VUAV - USA EP-3C Iron Clad - USA F-1 - Japan F-4E-2020 Terminator - Turkey F/A-18A Hornet - USA F/A-18A+ Hornet - USA F/A-18C (USN/Cold War) - USA F/A-18C (USN/Post Cold War) - USA F/A-18C/D (USMC/Cold War) - USA F/A-18C/D (USMC/Post Cold War) - USA F/A-18D(RC) - USA F/A-18E (AESA) - USA F/A-18E Super Hornet - USA F/A-18F (AESA) - USA F/A-18F Super Hornet - USA HC-130H Hercules - USA HC-130N Kingbird - USA HC-130P Kingbird - USA Jaguar - Oman Jaguar A - France Jaguar GR.1A - UK Jaguar GR.1B - UK Jaguar IM - India Jaguar IM (Shamsher) - India Jaguar IS - India Jaguar IS (Shamsher) - India MH-65C MCH - USA OC-130 Keen Sage - USA P-3B(RP) Reef Point - USA S-3A Viking - USA Ships/Mobile Land Units: Island WPB 110 PG - USA Island WPB 123 PG - USA Legend WMSL 750 PG - USA MKV-C PG - Kuwait Enjoy.

I think the Optical Back-up column is geared towards the radar guided SAMs that might have an optical back-up to their usual radar guidance (like the SA-8 Gecko). So, in the IR guided types, the column is sorta redundant.

That makes sense. Older non-IR guided systems, though, like Blowpipe, for example, would use the same optical sighting rules.

Thanks for posting this, Pete. Useful stuff. Would it be correct to make the same assumptions for most MANPADS ?

Great post, Tony. Personally, I think the UN is a great premise, and does a lot of good through its various agencies, but on the really important stuff, like stomping on the crazies, it comes up short. Unfortunately, its not terribly surprising nor is it easily fixed.

No takers, huh. Too hard ? Ok, here's the answer ... 721 Squadron, of the Royal Danish Air Force, is the country's oldest flying unit, established in 1926. It is 28 years older than the RDAF itself. The Squadron has hung a propeller from a WWI era Hansa Brandenburg torpedo bomber on the wall of its crew briefing room. This is the squadron that flies patrols out to the Faroe Islands and Greenland. And a new question ... This highly decorated American pilot and lawyer, a veteran of multiple conflicts, survived being a POW for nearly six years. He also – quite remarkably - survived calling his wife the "Viking". Who is he ?