CV32

Russia bolsters western air defence capabilities (Jane's) Russia activates new long-range radar (Jane's)

16 December 1914 Ships of the Imperial German Navy, led by Rear Admiral Franz Hipper, conduct a raid of the British seaport towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby. There is outrage over the civilian casualties, but also over the Royal Navy's decision to try and intercept the German fleet after the raid instead of attempting to prevent it.

14 December 1995 The Dayton Accords are signed in Paris, formally ending the Bosnian War that had raged since April 1992.

Germany Christens First of New Frigate Class (DefenseNews)

Russia to Finish Slava-Class Missile Cruiser Refit in 2015 (RIA Novosti)

Panel: China Will Likely Continue Aggressive Naval Expansion (USNI News)

13 December 1939 The first naval battle of WWII, the Battle of the River Plate, takes place off the coast of South America. The German "pocket battleship" Admiral Graf Spee, which had been commerce raiding in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean, since the start of the war, is hunted down by the three Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter, Ajax and Achilles. Exeter is severely damaged and forced to retire, her sisters Ajax and Achilles having suffered moderate damage. Graf Spee, meanwhile, is critically damaged. Trapped in Montevideo and deceived into believing a far superior British force is assembling, German Capt Hans Langsdorff scuttles the Graf Spee four days later and then commits suicide.

Finding I-400: How It Happened and Why That Matters (USNI News)

A couple of events with a local flavour today. 12 December 1901 Italian physicist and radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi receives a trans Atlantic radio message sent from Cornwall, England, and received at what is now known as Signal Hill, Newfoundland. 12 December 1985 Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes about half a mile from the runway just after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland. The DC-8-63CF jet liner was carrying US troops of the famed 101st Airborne Division from Cairo, Egypt, to their home base at Ft Campbell, KY. All 256 passengers and crew are killed. The soldiers had been serving on a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai.

Is the F-35 JSF the New F-4? (War is Boring blog)

Usual spoilers apply. The author did a great job with the scenario background, description and general layout. I chose the southern route for my aircraft, via the Gulf of Aqaba and the northern boundary of the KSA, and then nearly straight across the breadth of Iraq. (I am not sure the latter part of the southern route is a legitimate reflection of what would likely be available to the Israelis, but who really knows). All of the B707 tankers and the two G550 were sent forward to patrol zones along the Iraq-Iran border. The strike packages were arranged in the following order: F-16I with AGM-88A HARM (too few of them) for the SEAD role F-15C/D for the offensive counter-air role F-15I with GBU-28 bunker busters F-16I with Griffin/Mk 84 LGBs More F-16s with Mk 82 iron bombs and a handful of more HARM carrying jets were mixed into the latter strike elements for dealing with "pop up" threats. SA-5 and HQ-2 SAM sites were dealt with on ingress, and although there were some Hawk sites near the targets and major airfields, the point defense SAM coverage was much sparser than I expected. I did not encounter any SA-15 around the targets, for example. Good thing too, because as I said earlier, I had too few anti-radar missiles available. Some SA-5 sites had to be ignored, and my pilots relied solely on evasive maneuvers to deal with them. AAA coverage around the targets was quite thick, but it didn't much matter, as I was going to be dropped precision guided ordnance from high altitudes. Defensive counter-air action from the IRIAF proved the most serious threat, with quick reaction alert MiGs (mainly from Dezful) and aircraft arriving from more distant bases (incl F-14s) later. Even so, I think the strike went very well, with all targets destroyed and the bulk of my aircraft already out of Iranian airspace and returning home within four hours. The tunnel entrances and centrifuge halls at Fordow in the north were the toughest. Minor Victory: 4175 7 h 49 min to go

11 December 1994 Russian Federation troops begin a ground assault into the unrecognized secessionist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, aimed at the capital Grozny. It marks the start of the First Chechen War, which would continue for the better part of the next two years.

A rebuttal for LTC Bateman from Ranger Up.

A topic often discussed on our IRC channel. The Battlecarrier Was Part Battleship, Part Aircraft Carrier (War is Boring blog) And one of the handful of 'hypotheticals' to appear in the HCDB database.

Exploits of the RQ-170 Sentinel in 2009. Stealth Drones Secret Pacific Missions (War is Boring)

High-Tech Defense Gun Misses as Navy Accidentally Blasts Own Ship (War is Boring blog)

A valid point, although the rather large warhead aboard the Tomahawk kinda implies that it ain't coming back, unlike your average drone. Chatter on IRC was more or less unanimous that exploiting this new capability is going to be very dependent on who your adversary is at the time. Most sub skippers are not going to be anxious to be launching and recovering drones with ASW capable helos and MPAs lurking about.

Iran, UAE Close to Deal on Hormuz Islands (DefenseNews)

More on Operation 'Sangaris' France launches CAR operation (Jane's)

China Is Surprisingly OK with South Korea's New ADIZ (The Diplomat, Flashpoints)

10 December 1941: The capital ships of the British Royal Navy's Force Z, the King George V class battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the Renown class battlecruiser HMS Repulse are attacked near Kuantan (Malaya) by Japanese G3M 'Nell' and G4M 'Betty' medium bombers flying out of Saigon. Struck by multiple torpedoes and bombs, Repulse was the first to succumb, followed by Prince of Wales less than an hour later. The battle is known for an early hallmark of the vulnerability of warships to airpower.

Anti-access lessons from the past (USNI, Proceedings)

Russian Navy 'rebalances' to the Med (USNI, Proceedings)

French Aircraft Carrier deploys to Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf, will train with US Navy (Navy Recognition)

9 December 1917 Jerusalem surrenders to British troops of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), during its campaign against forces of the Ottoman Empire.