Potentially interesting MILITARY-related stuff

[Winston]

Talk about a bad boss.

"Werwolf was built mostly using Soviet prisoners of war. Working under Organization Todt supervision, according to one account, Hitler ordered [the] commander of the FBB to liquidate the workers on completion of the project. Hitler remarking, "They must all be shot. There is not a moment to lose. They know too much about my HQ." Thomas apparently carried out this order faithfully for there are large grave pits in a nearby village."

Also discussed at length is a Hilter assassination plot.

Werwolf - Hitler's Forgotten Eastern Front Headquarters

 

[Winston]

U.S. Army M119A3 Howitzer • Small But Packs A Punch

The U.S. Army M119A3 Howitzer is an artillery piece (105mm) that packs a deadly punch and be transported by smaller U.S. helicopters like the UH-60 Black Hawk. It provides very accurate fire support for ground troops with a maximum range of about 10-12 miles.

U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to 4th Battalion, 319 Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade fire the M119A3 Howitzer for a danger close mission in support of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, in Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany on July 29, 2020. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the United States Europe, Africa and Central Command areas of responsibility. Forward deployed across Italy and Germany, the brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build partnerships and strengthen the alliance.

Film Credits: U.S. Army Video by Spc. Mathew Pous, 173rd Airborne Brigade

 

[Winston]

F-35s Dropping Full Loads Of Small Diameter Bombs During A Test Mission
It's one of the F-35's most versatile and critical weapons, and it's about to get a whole lot more capable.
AUGUST 22, 2020

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...full-load-of-small-diameter-bombs-during-test
The GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb is a remarkable weapon. It has greatly extended the magazine depth of fighter aircraft, while also providing them with a voluminous standoff 'fire and forget' precision attack capability. The $39,000 glide bombs can reach as far as 60 miles to their targets, depending on their launch height and speed. This combination of precision, compactness, and range is useful in myriad ways, including taking out multiple targets in a single pass that are situated under an enemy's air defense umbrella.

For stealthy aircraft, in particular, this can allow for the targeting of even advanced threat emitters and other air defense nodes outside the distance in which they can successfully engage the launching aircraft. The F-35 and the F-22 both leverage the GBU-39's unique abilities, as do 4th generation fighters, but for the F-35, which has a larger air-to-ground role than its Raptor stablemate, the SBD really expands the type's tactical flexibility in critical ways. With all of this in mind, testing to make sure the tactics and procedures that support successful SDB delivery actually work is essential, and this is what is depicted in the photo above.

The GBU-39 has been operational for 14 years, but the next iteration of the weapon will be in widespread use soon, the GBU-57 SDB II Stormbreaker. It will incorporate a tri-mode seeker and a data-link. These additions will allow it to be able to engage moving targets in any weather. This will bring a new level of flexibility and lethality to the SDB concept, including such tasks as close air support against maneuvering ground targets and anti-ship attacks. The original SDB is not capable of engaging moving targets and is far less flexible when it comes to targeting and retargeting overall. You can read all about SDB II and the incredible capabilities it brings to the table in these past pieces of ours:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...overruns-wont-slow-delivery-of-vital-new-bomb
...the SDB family will be even more essential to future unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs), especially the smaller, lighter, and lower-cost 'attritable' ones that will have highly limited internal weapons carrying capabilities.

These aircraft are largely being designed around the SDB as their primary weapon, allowing them to make prioritized pinpoint strikes in the most dangerous airspace before manned platforms flood in.

GBU-39 SDB

GBU-57 SDB II

 

[Winston]

Beale AFB U-2 Ops

The 9th Reconnaissance Wing is home of the U-2 Dragon Lady, an outstanding reconnaissance aircraft that travels up to 70,000 feet. Included in this B-Roll is footage of the U-2 community before take-off.

 

[Winston]

K-219 Soviet Submarine Missile Disaster

 

[Winston]

This brought to mind the question: has anyone ever tested their job performance during their monthly menstruation cycle?

Air Force Wants New Ideas To Help Make It Easier For Female Fighter Pilots To Pee In Flight
The service says that women aviators are deliberately not hydrating to avoid having to go, which creates all sorts of serious risks.
AUGUST 24, 2020

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...er-for-female-fighter-pilots-to-pee-in-flight

 

[KilroySmith]

has anyone ever tested their job performance during their monthly menstruation cycle?

Has anyone ever tested your job performance when you have your head so firmly wedged up your posterior? Sheesh.

 

[Winston]

Has anyone ever tested your job performance when you have your head so firmly wedged up your posterior? Sheesh.

Ah, the reaction to one of the perfectly reasonable and logical questions that simply cannot be asked... because PC.

EDIT: And here's the answer:

MILITARY MEDICINE, 172, 1:9, 2007
Women in War: Operational Issues of Menstruation and Unintended Pregnancy
Guarantor: Maj Leslie A. Christopher, USAF NC
Contributors: Maj Leslie A. Christopher, USAF NC*†; Leslie Miller, MD†‡

With rapid and frequent deployments around the world, the current high level of military operations demands combat readiness of every military member. In the U.S. Armed Forces, women represent 15% of active duty troops and 17% of reserve and Guard troops and are a critical component for mission accomplishment. The operational issues of menstruation and unintended pregnancy, unique to this population, can decrease a female member’s military readiness and affect her ability to deploy. Strategies to mitigate and even eliminate these concerns include the optional use of hormonal medications to induce reversible menstrual cycle suppression. These medications, traditionally indicated for contraception, should be considered essential for female troops during training and deployment. This article, tailored specifically for military women, provides valuable information regarding the risks and benefits, as well as the various options available for menstrual cycle suppression.

https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/172/1/9/4578919

 

[Winston]

‘Smart’ Bullet Downs Cruise Missile in 2nd ABMS Test
Sept. 4, 2020

https://www.airforcemag.com/smart-bullet-downs-cruise-missile-in-2nd-abms-test/
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md.—More than 1,600 personnel, 60 companies, over a dozen aircraft, and dozens of radars and sensors came together for a massive Air Force-led event that utilized everything from boots on the ground to satellites in space to test how the service expects to fight a war in the future. The event culminated when a cruise missile was downed by a “smart” bullet.

The Air Force’s second “Advanced Battle Management System onramp,” long delayed because of COVID-19, took place on Sept. 3, largely within four national training ranges, as well as a part operations center, part fusion cell at Joint Base Andrews, Md. The new cloud-based, artificial intelligence-fueled command center brought together new and legacy ways of fighting wars into the service’s push for joint all-domain command and control.

“The focus is showing we really are building an internet for the military that feels like the internet that we use when we go home, except the things that we’re connecting are very different than the refrigerators, televisions, smartphones. They are warfighting systems and the operational need to move data quickly in a way operators understand really came out,” said Will Roper, the Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition.

The exercise played out with old and new sensors tracking a BQM-167 cruise missile, fired by USAF bombers posing as enemy aircraft, over White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The sensors fed into the real-time nerve center, where Airmen in the service’s new 13 Oscar Air Force Specialty Code gave the order for an Army Paladin Howitzer to fire the new Strategic Capabilities Office-developed Hyper Velocity Gun Weapon System, downing a cruise missile for the first time.

“Just for the record, tank [it's not a "tank" -W] shooting down cruise missiles. That’s just awesome,” Roper said. “That’s video games, sci-fi awesome. You’re not supposed to be able to shoot down a cruise missile with a tank. But, yes, you can, if the bullet is smart enough, and the bullet we use for that system is exceptionally smart.”

Hypervelocity Projectile

https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/product/hyper-velocity-projectile-hvp
The HVP is a next-generation, common, low drag, guided projectile capable of executing multiple missions for a number of gun systems, such as the Navy 5-Inch; Navy, Marine Corps, and Army 155-mm systems; and future electromagnetic (EM) railguns. Types of missions performed will depend on the gun system and platform, but range from Naval Surface Fire, to Cruise and Ballistic Missile Defense, Anti-Surface Warfare and other future Naval mission areas.

 

[Winston]

Twin of NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Moves Into New Home

 

[Winston]

Red Flag Mission

 

[Winston]

How China's Ballistic Missile And Nuclear Arsenal Is Ballooning According To The Pentagon
Beyond rapidly growing its ballistic missile force, the report says China could double its nuclear stockpile in the coming years.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...senal-is-ballooning-according-to-the-pentagon

 

[Winston]

The Army Is Working To Field A Ground-Launched Strike Version Of The Navy's SM-6 Missile
The missile already has latent land and ship attack capabilities that could be swiftly adapted for the Army's post-INF treaty needs.
SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...ched-strike-version-of-the-navys-sm-6-missile
The Army is working hard to reorient itself toward expeditionary peer-state warfare across huge geographical areas, namely in the vast Pacific Theater. Unbridled by the now-defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, whole categories of land-based missiles that can reach out over long distances to make pinpoint strikes are now once again an option for the service. These missiles could be cruise and ballistic types, as well as hypersonic ones. With an eye on fielding longer-range strike capabilities in Asia to counter-balance China's growing military might and to deter Russia in the Europen theater, the question becomes how can the Army get these long-dormant capabilities re-deployed in a relatively short period of time. The answer is to adapt missiles that other services already have.

This is a no-brainer for the Navy's Tomahawk cruise missile, which is now a multi-role weapon that is able to hit surface targets as well as ones on land, and it can even be retargeted in flight. The Tomohawk's land-based cousin, the BGM-109G Gryphon, served as a major component of the nuclear deterrent in Europe during the last decade of the Cold War. So, this type of application is far from unfamiliar when it comes to America's venerable land-attack cruise missile.

With this in mind, a version of the new and greatly improved Block IV "Tactical Tomahawk" in a forward-deployed, ground-launched format is the closest thing there is to a mature capability available for the Army's use. Such an initiative is already underway, which you can read more about in this past piece of ours, and the U.S. Marines are slated to receive the weapon for a similar application soon.

SM-6, also known as the Standard Missile-6 or the RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM), is primarily a surface-to-air missile, with the capability to swat down air-breathing threats, such as aircraft and cruise missiles, over great distances, while also having a terminal ballistic missile defense capabilities.

What most don't realize is that the missile has secondary land-attack and potentially even anti-ship capabilities. In that manner, it is something of a quasi ballistic missile that is already intrinsically multi-role in nature. It is also fast. We don't know specifics, but it likely would descend on ground or surface target at very high supersonic or even hypersonic speeds, making it more survivable than say a Tomahawk.

So, the Army could leverage what the Navy has already paid for and thoroughly tested for their land-based needs. What's more exciting is that with additional development dollars from the Army, a joint SM-6 program effort could greatly accelerate the ongoing development of the missile, especially in its new second-generation, larger form-factor configuration. There is even a real possibility the SM-6 could be adapted for air-launch as a very long-range air-to-air missile, as well as a land-attack and anti-ship weapon. This could make it truly a joint tri-service program. You can read all about the SM-6 and its capabilities here, and its next big evolution in this past feature of ours.

The idea that the Army could get a networked, precision land attack and anti-ship quasi-ballistic missile, and maybe even a long-range anti-air weapon, all in one package by adopting the SM-6 is undoubtedly a very attractive proposition. This is especially true for a service that is trying to find its way in a new strategic reality where air and sea capabilities seem to have stolen the stage. Land-based SM-6s and Tomahawks could also potentially use the same launch system as they were both designed around the naval Mk 41 vertical launch system's constraints.

 

[Winston]

That U.S. Air Force B-52 Flying Over The Black Sea Was Bait For The Russians
30 Aug 2020

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davida...k-sea-was-bait-for-the-russians/#2eed8cf03608
On Aug. 28, six U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota flew over all 30 NATO countries in a single day.

Yes, even Canada.

This theatrical display of air power wasn’t just for show. It apparently also was the bait in a carefully-planned intelligence-gathering operation targeting Russian air-defenses around the Black Sea.

The Air Force on Aug. 22 flew six B-52s from Minot to the Royal Air Force base at Fairford. The bombers flew over the Arctic—where the Russian navy recently staged a mock amphibious landing—around the same time as a rarely-seen U.S. Navy submarine, USS Seawolf, also passed under the North Pole ice.

Six days later four of the bombers at Fairford, plus two still in the United States, took off in the morning and fanned out across Canada and Europe before returning to base in the afternoon.

The fourth B-52, call-sign “NATO01,” had the most interesting flight path. NATO01, a B-52H built in 1961, headed for the Black Sea, which since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 steadily has become more dangerous. Russian warships and fighters crisscross the sea. Russian air-defense systems ring it.

Understanding those Russian defenses is top job of NATO intelligence. Which apparently is why, when NATO01 flew through international air space over the Black Sea, two U.S. Air Force RC-135V/W Rivet Joints were nearby.

The four-engine RC-135V/Ws are electronic-intelligence systems. Using sensitive receivers, they listen for, and help to catalogue, enemy radars and other sensors. The U.S. Air Force has just 17 RC-135V/Ws. Committing two of them to a single mission... is a big deal.

Russian forces went on alert as NATO01 passed through. Two armed Su-27 fighters flew so close to the B-52 that their afterburners rocked the eight-engine bomber.

But the same Russian response—not only fighter-intercepts but sea- and ground-base air-defense efforts—likely handed the RC-135V/Ws lots of interesting data.

 

[Winston]

Aug 27, 2020
China And Russia In Mysterious New Submarine Project

https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutt...ysterious-new-submarine-project/#4eb7325a1629
Unlike the U.S. Navy, both Russia and China continue to operate non-nuclear attack submarines in addition to nuclear ones. They are cheaper and have some advantages compared to nuclear boats, especially inshore.

According to RIA Novosti, a state-controlled Russian news agency, Russia and China are collaborating on a new submarine design (in Russian). The project is being coordinated by Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.

Russia has a proud tradition of submarine building, creating many of the most powerful and largest subs in the world, so it’s not surprising that Russian submarine technology is seen as significantly ahead of China’s. Russia helped China develop its submarine building industry, giving it the plans to the Golf Class ballistic missile submarine and Romeo Class attack submarine during the Cold War. More recently Russia supplied China with Kilo Class diesel-electric attack submarines.

But China has gone its own way with submarine design and has the indigenous capability to build any category of sub. And while there are still categories of submarine where Russia is clearly ahead, in the field of non-nuclear submarines it is less clear cut. Certainly China’s capabilities in this space should not be underestimated.

One important area where China may be ahead is in propulsion. China is building AIP (Air Independent Power) submarines while Russia has struggled to field this technology, though it was a pioneer of AIP in the early stages of the Cold War. Russia’s current Lada Class boat was expected to have AIP but it has yet to be fitted. Given Russia’s prowess in submarine design and construction the issue may be more about investment than engineering. But today it is fair to say that China is ahead in AIP.

Advanced batteries might be another space. Submarines are only now switching to lithium-ion batteries. The world’s first Li-ion subs were Japanese, with South Korean and Italian subs to follow. China has also been rumored to be adopting this technology, making it another area where China might well be ahead of Russia.

So have the roles reversed, and might Russia in effect be looking to buy a largely Chinese non-nuclear submarine?

Combining the hull technology of one nation with the combat systems and weapons of the other is another possibility. For example, giving a Chinese submarine Russian sonar and weapons, or fitting a Russian submarine with Chinese battery and AIP technology.

Meanwhile the famous Russian submarine design bureau Malachite is promoting its own submarine design. The P-750B ‘Serval’ is 214 ft long and features a type of AIP which uses gas turbines fed by stored liquid oxygen. The design has been prominent at recent Russian arms expos, including the Army-2020 exhibition currently underway in Moscow. Chinese ship builders also promote their own designs. It is not clear therefore exactly where this new joint submarine fits into either navy’s future line up.

September 15, 2019
These Are the Quietest, Most Stealthy Non-Nuclear Subs Ever to Exist

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/b...st-stealthy-non-nuclear-subs-ever-exist-80436
One of the most crucial improvements in submarines of the postwar era is the air independent propulsion (AIP) system. First fielded in the 1990s, the development of AIP changed the ways non-nuclear submarines operated, allowing them to fight—and hide—underwater longer. Combined with their extreme quietness, the use of AIP has made modern diesel-electric subs efficient killers, capable of stalking and sinking their prey even in a challenging anti-submarine warfare environment.

Conventional, non-nuclear propulsion submarines previously spent a great deal of time on the surface. Equipped with diesel-electric engines, these submarines needed surface air to run the engines and recharge their batteries. This had the unfortunate effect of limiting the amount of time a submarine could spend submerged, and meant diesel-electric subs would typically leave port sailing on the surface and then submerge once in the patrol area. A reliance on surface air also limited the amount of time a sub could stay underwater during combat.

AIP, while not granting a diesel-electric submarine the same underwater staying power as a nuclear-powered submarine, is still a radical improvement. There are several types of AIP propulsion systems. The Sterling system is one of the oldest, closed-circuit diesel generators, followed by chemical fuel cells. The latest trend in AIP systems is the use of powerful, long-lasting lithium ion batteries.

Chinese submarine technology has grown by leaps and bounds over the last three decades, moving quickly from aging Romeo class diesel-electric submarines to more modern designs. One of China’s latest submarine classes is the Type 039A or Yuan class submarine. The submarine is roughly similar to the Soviet/Russian Kilo class, with a bullet-shaped hull and large sail, but at 3,600 tons the Yuans are twenty percent larger. The submarines have a top speed of twenty knots submerged and are the first Chinese submarines to use AIP, reportedly the Sterling system. The class is equipped with six 533-millimeter standard diameter torpedo tubes capable of launching torpedoes, Klub anti-ship missiles, C-802 anti-ship missiles or sea mines.

Considered one of the most advanced diesel-electric attack submarines in the world, the German Type 212 class was the first to use an AIP system utilizing hydrogen fuel cells. According to submarine authority HI Sutton, Type 212s use proton exchange membrane hydrogen fuel cells, allowing the subs to stay submerged for up to three weeks, with practically no detectable emissions. The x-shaped stern planes allow the ship to operate close to the seafloor or in shallow water. The Type 212 class can do twelve knots submerged and twenty knots underwater, and has six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes for Sea Hake torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and mines. Type 212s are operated by Germany, Italy, Norway and Poland.

Another highly advanced submarine class from Japan, the Soryu class is a large, 4,600 ton diesel-electric submarine with AIP propulsion. The Soryu class utilizes the original Swedish Kockums AIP system to stay quietly underwater. The latest submarine in class however, Oryu, was launched in early October 2018 at Kobe, Japan. Oryu is the first submarine equipped with a large bank of lithium ion fuel cells, the same types that power laptop computers and electric cars, to act as a powerful, long-lasting reservoir of energy for long endurance underwater. Like the Type 212 class the Soryu submarines have x-shaped stern planes. Each submarine has six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes for launching Type 89 heavyweight guided torpedoes, sub-Harpoon anti-ship missiles and mines.

The grandfather of AIP submarines, the Swedish Gotland class were the first submarines equipped as a class with the advanced propulsion system. At just 1,600 tons submerged, the three Gotland class boats are smaller than many diesel-electric submarines, but Sweden has little use for large submarines in the restricted confines of the Gulf of Bothina and Baltic Sea. The Gotlands can do twenty knots submerged and five knots operating off AIP. The subs have four 533-millimeter torpedo tubes and unique among subs can ferry up to forty-eight mines externally mounted to the hull to quickly sow minefields.

 

[Winston]

MQ-9 Reaper training

 

[Winston]

Photos Show South Korea’s Next-Generation Fighter Jet Rapidly Taking Shape
Production of the first of South Korea’s KF-X advanced fighter prototypes has advanced to an impressive degree.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...t-generation-fighter-jet-rapidly-taking-shape
Like its new-generation counterparts — the Chinese FC-31, the Indian Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), and the Turkish TF-X — the KF-X is a twin-tailed multi-role fighter with a configuration broadly similar to the F-22 Raptor or F-35 Lightning II. All these designs share the outwards-canted twin tails, low-observable shaping, and parallel alignment of edges that are characteristic of modern ‘stealthy’ fighters. The shaping of the KF-X's inlets is especially reminiscent of those on the F-22.

From the outset, the KF-X was planned to offer better kinematic performance than the F-16C. KAI has stated it hopes the jet will have a maximum speed of 1,370 mph and a ferry range of 1,800 miles, as well as a total payload capacity of 17,000 pounds.

The two engines that will give the jet its power have yet to be installed in the prototype. These powerplants will be a specially adapted version of the 22,000-pound-thrust-class GE Aviation F414 known as the F414-GE-400K. GE Aviation delivered the first F414-GE-400K for the KF-X in May 2020. In a press release, the company said the KF-X “will deliver significantly greater mission capability, extended combat radius and longer lifespan compared to current aircraft.”

GE Aviation will provide South Korea with 240 F414 production engines plus spares. The same basic powerplant is used in the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler, Sweden’s JAS 39E/F Gripen, and is set to power the Indian Tejas Mk 2.

Many more photos at link:

 

[RobertH3]

‘Smart’ Bullet Downs Cruise Missile in 2nd ABMS Test
Sept. 4, 2020

https://www.airforcemag.com/smart-bullet-downs-cruise-missile-in-2nd-abms-test/
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md.—More than 1,600 personnel, 60 companies, over a dozen aircraft, and dozens of radars and sensors came together for a massive Air Force-led event that utilized everything from boots on the ground to satellites in space to test how the service expects to fight a war in the future. The event culminated when a cruise missile was downed by a “smart” bullet.

The Air Force’s second “Advanced Battle Management System onramp,” long delayed because of COVID-19, took place on Sept. 3, largely within four national training ranges, as well as a part operations center, part fusion cell at Joint Base Andrews, Md. The new cloud-based, artificial intelligence-fueled command center brought together new and legacy ways of fighting wars into the service’s push for joint all-domain command and control.

“The focus is showing we really are building an internet for the military that feels like the internet that we use when we go home, except the things that we’re connecting are very different than the refrigerators, televisions, smartphones. They are warfighting systems and the operational need to move data quickly in a way operators understand really came out,” said Will Roper, the Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition.

The exercise played out with old and new sensors tracking a BQM-167 cruise missile, fired by USAF bombers posing as enemy aircraft, over White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The sensors fed into the real-time nerve center, where Airmen in the service’s new 13 Oscar Air Force Specialty Code gave the order for an Army Paladin Howitzer to fire the new Strategic Capabilities Office-developed Hyper Velocity Gun Weapon System, downing a cruise missile for the first time.

“Just for the record, tank [it's not a "tank" -W] shooting down cruise missiles. That’s just awesome,” Roper said. “That’s video games, sci-fi awesome. You’re not supposed to be able to shoot down a cruise missile with a tank. But, yes, you can, if the bullet is smart enough, and the bullet we use for that system is exceptionally smart.”

Hypervelocity Projectile

https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/product/hyper-velocity-projectile-hvp
The HVP is a next-generation, common, low drag, guided projectile capable of executing multiple missions for a number of gun systems, such as the Navy 5-Inch; Navy, Marine Corps, and Army 155-mm systems; and future electromagnetic (EM) railguns. Types of missions performed will depend on the gun system and platform, but range from Naval Surface Fire, to Cruise and Ballistic Missile Defense, Anti-Surface Warfare and other future Naval mission areas.

Yet another rocket-assisted and / or guided projectile for the 5" gun. I was a Navy Fire Controlman for 21 years and I saw several iterations of this idea. The first was unguided and wildly inaccurate (the RAP). Then there was one in development for the 5" gun and for the 155mm guns on the DDG1000. It seems to go away when the cost of developing a smart round for a naval rifle/artillery exceeds a missile leaving a launcher. For the Army, possible utility. For the Navy, with 90 or 120 vertical launch missiles onboard, it'll probably taper away again. Understand a 5" gun standard round leaves at 2750' per second - requires really robust electronics!
I was on both sides of the gun/missile fence - Terrier SM2 ER back in the day and 5" gun on my last DDG. We used to joke that the missile community wanted rocket powered everything. I think it's a paradigm thing.

Cheers / Robert

Cheers / Robert

 

[Winston]

I think it's a paradigm thing.

I agree. See, "Atomic Cannon."

 

[Winston]

The U.S. Air Force Has Secretly Flown A Demonstrator For Its Next-Generation Fighter
Little is known about the actual aircraft or who even built it, but it's a sign that the next-generation fighter effort is rapidly accelerating.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...-demonstrator-for-its-next-generation-fighter
In his address on the second day of the Air Force Association’s virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference, on September 15, 2020, Dr Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, revealed that a previous undisclosed demonstrator for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program has begun flight testing.

“We’ve already built and flown a full-scale flight demonstrator in the real world,” Roper confirmed to Defense News, “and we broke records in doing it. We are ready to go and build the next-generation aircraft in a way that has never happened before.”

In his address on the second day of the Air Force Association’s virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference, on September 15, 2020, Dr Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, revealed that a previous undisclosed demonstrator for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program has begun flight testing.

“We’ve already built and flown a full-scale flight demonstrator in the real world,” Roper confirmed to Defense News, “and we broke records in doing it. We are ready to go and build the next-generation aircraft in a way that has never happened before.”

Whether the demonstrator should be understood as a true prototype for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) is uncertain — of course, it may also be an unmanned aircraft — but it’s clear that the U.S. effort to field a new-generation fighter is accelerating now that it has reached the inflight testing phase.

Based on the nature of the NGAD program, it seems most likely that the aircraft in question is a technology demonstrator that will be used for risk-reduction efforts and to help prove major concepts that could underpin the NGAD program. Perhaps coincidentally, there has been a notable uptick in flight-test activity in the Southwest of the United States of late, which could point at least in part to NGAD-related testing.

While Roper’s reference to breaking “records” might conjure up images of manned X-planes pushing the limits, it could equally refer to advances made in the aircraft’s design and development path, which is known to make use of the digital engineering espoused in the Air Force’s new “eSeries.”

The first U.S. Air Force aircraft designed using the digital approach, the eT-7A Red Hawk [trainer, seen below - W], embraced model-based engineering and 3D design tools which reduced assembly hours by 80% and cut software development time in half. The aircraft moved from computer screen to first flight in just 36 months.

The Air Force Has Already Flown a Secret Plane That Could Be Its Next Fighter
15 Sep 2020

https://www.military.com/daily-news...n-secret-plane-could-be-its-next-fighter.html
The U.S. Air Force has quietly built and flown a brand-new aircraft prototype that could become its next-generation fighter, the service's top acquisition official announced Tuesday.

Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, revealed during the virtual 2020 Air, Space and Cyber conference that the new aircraft is part of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, which defies the traditional categorization of a single platform, featuring a network of advanced fighter aircraft, sensors and weapons in a growing and unpredictable threat environment.

During a roundtable with reporters, Roper declined to give specifics on the project, except that the craft was created using digital engineering, which allows the service to bypass the regular manufacturing process for parts and gives developers more flexibility to design and change blueprints. The service announced Monday that any weapon made using digital concepts will have an "e-" prefix in an effort to showcase these innovative processes.

The new aircraft has "broken a lot of records and is showing digital engineering isn't a fluke," Roper said. He declined to comment on whether the defense industry has taken part in the endeavor.

While he touted the expedited process of digital methods, "we don't want our adversaries to know what they are," Roper added.

 

[Winston]

Yet another rocket-assisted and / or guided projectile for the 5" gun.

I suspect this is what the cannon fired, guided hypervelocity projectile is mainly all about:

Testing Points To Relevance Of Hyper Velocity Projectile For Zumwalt Destroyer's Dormant Guns
A version of the Zumwalt's beleaguered Advanced Gun System deck shot down a cruise missile with Hyper Velocity Projectile during a major land test.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...rojectile-for-zumwalt-destroyers-dormant-guns
After the successful destruction of a cruise missile by a Hyper Velocity Projectile in a land-based test, the case for the U.S. Navy’s stealthy Zumwalt-class destroyers adopting the fast-flying ammunition has strengthened. These warships are arguably the Navy's most advanced and survivable, but also its most controversial — you can read more about them here — but their main guns, which take up the entire forward third of the 16,000-ton displacement vessels, lie dormant.

During the recent trial, an Advanced Gun System (AGS) mounted on an M110 8-inch self-propelled Howitzer fired a Hyper Velocity Projectile (HVP) that downed a cruise missile target over the White Sands Missile Range. It was part of the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management Systems (ABMS) test that ran from August 31 to September 4, 2020. You can read more about this major multi-faceted series of trials in this past piece of ours.

Although the HVP was originally designed to be fired from an electromagnetic rail gun, propelling it to speeds of over Mach 7 and to a maximum range of over 100 nautical miles, it has also been adapted to work with existing naval guns that use traditional chemical propellant, including the Mk 45 deck guns found on existing U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and 155-millimeter tube artillery. As the test proved, the HVP can also be fired from a modified version of BAE Systems' Mk 51 Advanced Gun System (AGS) that arm the Zumwalt-class destroyer. These guns are currently dead weight, with no suitable projectile fielded. At present, a pair of 30mm cannons are the Zumwalt’s only usable guns.

ABMS - Hypervelocity Gun Weapon System
Sep 16, 2020

 

[Winston]

Sandia’s Nuclear Energy Work Complex

 

[Winston]

AGM-183 ARRW

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-183_ARRW
The AGM-183 ARRW ("Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon") is a prototype hypersonic weapon planned for use by the United States Air Force. Developed by Lockheed Martin, the missile has a reported maximum speed of Mach 20.

The AGM-183A has a maximum speed of 15,345 miles per hour (24,695 km/h).

The weapon uses a boost-glide system, in which it is propelled to hypersonic speed by a rocket on which it is mounted before gliding towards a target. According to Popular Mechanics, the U.S. Air Force was, as of April 2020, considering using the remaining fleet of B-1B bombers as AGM-183A firing platforms, with each aircraft carrying up to 31 of the weapons mounted internally and on external pylons.

 

[Winston]

Far more capable than I'd known.

MiG-31: Intercepting the SR-71



Mikoyan MiG-31

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-31
Mikoyan MiG-41

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-41
In an interview for Russia Today, the Director General of RSK MiG, Ilya Tarasenko, said that it would be a new construction capable of Mach number 4–4.3, equipped with an anti-missile laser, and said would be able to operate at very high altitudes and even in near space. He also stated that it could be transformed into an unmanned version later. If purchased by the Russian Air Force, he said that the first production MiG-41 would be completed in 2025.

The aircraft will likely cruise at speeds of at least Mach 3 (3,675 km/h; 2,284 mph) and fly at high altitudes (at levels between the stratopause and the tropopause, ie below 45,000 meters and above 12,000 meters) to cover the most amount of Russia's very large territory in the shortest period of time. It could use the Izdeliye 30 engines currently under development for the Su-57. The MiG-41 will use stealth technology.

According to Avia Pro, the MiG-41 will be built on the basis of the [stealth] Su-57 fighter, with a different configuration and a modified airframe in order to be able to reach a maximum speed of more than 6100 km/h (Mach 4.9), and a cruising speed of 2500-3000 km/h (Mach 2-2,4). Experts do not exclude that the design of the MiG-41 will be similar at the same time to the appearance of the Su-57 and of the MiG-31.

An unmanned version is also under consideration.

 

[Winston]

The Archaeologists Who Unlocked Cold War Spy Photos of Israel
Their efforts convinced the U.S. to declassify CIA images from America’s first satellite program.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/satellite-archaeology-photos-israel
SEARCH FOR ISRAEL IN THE satellite view of Google Maps and you’ll see beige strips of desert, brown crinkles of mountain, and the deep-blue tongue of the Dead Sea. Try to zoom in, however, and the online mapping service thwarts your curiosity: Anything smaller than roughly six feet across, anywhere in the country, looks fuzzy. Do the same thing in many other parts of the world, and it’s possible to spot street lamps, bushes, and even individual pedestrians.

Today, it’s unusual not to be able to zero in on an address using Google’s exhaustive map of the globe. Blurred sites are the outliers, which makes them stand out even more. The Marcoule Nuclear Site in southern France is pixelated, for example; part of the western coast of North Korea is blurry; and so is Belgium’s Fort Eben-Emael—a fortress predating World War II. Governments can ask Google to obscure sensitive locations, and in many cases, the tech giant complies.

But Israel is a special case. In 1996, after the Clinton administration declassified Cold War-era images taken by the CORONA satellite, the U.S. Congress passed a law called the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment, which blocked the public release of American satellite imagery of Israel and the Palestinian territories. “Enemies of Israel could use the photos to target Israel for long-range attacks or assaults by terrorists,” argued Senator Jon Kyl when he introduced the legislation.

Kyl may not have been aware that photographs of the region also have enormous value to archaeologists, who survey the landscape for cultural heritage sites. “[We] use satellite imagery to identify and monitor sites across the region, and because of the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment, we just had a blank area in the middle of the Levant,” says Michael Fradley, a landscape archaeologist based in the United Kingdom. Fradley works on the Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa project, which locates and tracks archaeological sites with support from the Universities of Oxford, Leicester, and Durham. When his searches kept producing fuzzy results, Fradley decided to focus on the KBA.

“We rely on open-source providers, particularly Google Earth, because they provide historic imagery as well, and you can see how a site has changed over time,” Fradley says. “We started looking into the law and very quickly realized that it had this reform mechanism and it had just not been enacted.”

 

[Winston]

Nazi Weather Station in Canada during WW2

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/03/nazi-weather-station-kurt-2/103568
On September 18, 1943, U-537, commanded by Peter Schrewe, left Germany carrying a Wetter-Funkgerät Land weather station or WFL, codenamed “Kurt”. Also on board were meteorologist Dr. Kurt Sommermeyer, and his assistant, Walter Hildebrant. Nearly a month later on October 22 the U-boat glided into Martin Bay, Labrador. Shortly after arriving some of the crew and Dr. Sommermeyer were assembling the station ¼ mile inland.

There were 26 similar stations manufactured by Siemens. Fourteen were established in Arctic and sub-Arctic areas and five were placed around the Barents Sea. Two were supposed to be in North America but the U-Boat carrying the second was sunk.

Getting the station on shore would have been a difficult and dangerous task. It consisted of several measuring instruments, a telemetry system and a 150 watt Lorenz 150 FK-type transmitter. It also had 10 cylindrical canisters which were about 3 feet tall and weighed around 220 lb each. One canister contained the instruments and was attached to a 10-metre (33 ft) antenna mast. A second, shorter mast carried an anemometer and wind vane.

The other canisters contained nickel-cadmium batteries that powered the station. The WFL would broadcast weather readings every three hours during a two minute transmission on 3940 kHz. The system could work for up to six months, depending on the number of battery canisters. All of this material had to be carried from the U-Boat, put into rubber dinghies, rowed ashore and carried ¼ of a mile inshore to be installed at the station. This was all done in a little over 24 hours by hand and in October in northern Labrador, meaning most of it was done in near darkness.

After having the station assembled, Dr. Sommermeyer ensured that it was operating and U-537 departed Martin Bay. According to German records, the station operated for about 2 weeks.

In 1977 Peter Johnson, a geomorphologist working with the project stumbled upon the German weather station but didn’t realize what he had found. He suspected it was a Canadian military installation. As part of the project the weather station was named Martin Bay 7 and issued Borden number JaDc-07.

Around the same time as the Torngat Archaeological Project discovery Franz Selinger, a retired engineer gathering information for a book on Nazi weather stations contacted Dr. Alec Douglas.

German Weather Station Kurt set up on the Hutton Peninsula, Labrador, Newfoundland (now Canada) on 22 Oct 1943:

The Secret Nazi German Weather Station In Canada, Discovered 38 Years After It Was Built

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/weather-station-kurt.html

Also, start at 9:00 in this:



The Nazi Weather Station in North America

 

[Winston]

Russia's Doomsday Weapon - 100MT nuclear reactor propelled torpedo



Killing KANYON: Countering new Russian Intercontinental Nuclear Torpedoes

https://www.hisutton.com/Countering_Russian_Poseidon_Torpedo.html
How Russia’s New Doomsday Torpedo Works
Kanyon can evade enemy defenses to destroy enemy fleets, cities.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a19160734/how-russias-new-doomsday-torpedo-works/

 

[Winston]

Israeli LORA Missile Operational Tests 2020

 

[Winston]

General Atomics' Sparrowhawk Drone-Launched Drone Breaks Cover
This low-cost unmanned demonstrator could give larger drones, such as the MQ-9 Reaper, game-changing new capabilities.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2020

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...sparrowhawk-drone-launched-drone-breaks-cover

 

[Winston]

Because to air refuel stealth fighters enroute to target, you need stealth tankers.

Navy Establishes First Squadron To Operate Its Carrier-Based MQ-25 Stingray Tanker Drones
The Navy is standing up the unit now to ensure personnel are as prepared as they can be for the arrival of these drones in the coming years.
OCTOBER 1, 2020

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...ts-carrier-based-mq-25-stingray-tanker-drones