International Military Discussion

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 24 Apr 2011 10:22

How to Save a Trillion Dollars from the Defense Budget

PratikDas · Post by **PratikDas** » 24 Apr 2011 18:31

National Army Day in Iran (16 images)

Qadr

Camouflaged soldiers

Space travel

Ghased

Sejil - first and second

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 24 Apr 2011 20:25

abhishek_sharma wrote:How to Save a Trillion Dollars from the Defense Budget

Nice article.

The impacts of a PC war machine, when in war there is nothing called PC!!

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 27 Apr 2011 08:48

Lean, Mean Fighting Machine: How to slash the Pentagon budget? Declare victory and go home

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... ng_machine

A Radical Plan for Cutting the Defense Budget and Reconfiguring the U.S. Military

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... s_military

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 27 Apr 2011 16:42

Russia prepares for swift nuclear retribution

A new control system being installed by the Russian military will allow the fast automatic retargeting of strategic missiles in silos directly from command center. The triple-backup communication lines can survive even a full-scale nuclear attack.

The system, which recently received government approval, is now being installed by the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel Vadim Koval, the Army spokesman said on Wednesday. He did not elaborate on when the process is scheduled to be complete.

It is the fourth generation of the system. In addition to traditional functions like communicating orders, reports and controlling the status of missiles, the new version allows automated change of flight plans.

The retargeting does not require on-site human assistance and can be done despite enemy interference up to and including a nuclear attack, the military official said. All communication lines have several back-up options including satellite, radio and wired lines.

The system also has a precise automatic self-diagnosis function, which allows fast and reliable maintenance.

The upgrade is being done to keep up with the new weapon systems developed for the Strategic Missile Forces as well as to improve the overall combat readiness of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

The Russian military is undergoing a major overhaul, with more than $700 billion of budget money set to be spent over a decade for procurement of new weapons. Development plans for the Strategic Missile Forces include the deployment of RS-24 Yars mobile missiles and construction of a new silo-based missile to replace the R-36M Voevoda currently on duty.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 30 Apr 2011 09:44

War College papers: A brief history of trends in U.S. Army thought since 1950

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Apr 2011 09:53

test launch of the RS24 Yars..gotta love those big wheel low ground pressure TELARs deploying through the mud and snow..its time we license made some of those and moved our road mobile missiles on such platforms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB-w0GfG6LY

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 30 Apr 2011 16:03

Unique Missile Defense system shields Moscow from nuclear strike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVS6wAT5atM

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 05 May 2011 07:30

Could the bin Laden Raid Have Revealed a Secret New Helicopter?

It seems that the tail rotor visible in the picture belongs to a highly modified version of the H-60, the chopper of choice of the special forces for more than 30 years. Aviation Week doesn't beat around the bush, claiming: "A previously undisclosed, classified stealth helicopter apparently was part of the U.S. task force that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 1."

Stealth technology on helicopters is not itself new, but the fact that a previously unknown machine was used in this raid is yet another proof of the degree of importance that this mission had for U.S. commanders.
:
This would explain why the Seals wasted critically precious time to blew up the mysterious helicopter and why many experts had problems identifying its remains. It's unclear what Pakistan could have made of the downed chopper, but growing ties between Pakistani and Chinese armed forces could have made the destruction of such new machine a must. China and Pakistan, over the past two decades, have developed a multi role combat aircraft called JF-17 and an advanced trainer, the JL-8.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 07 May 2011 08:57

Are the US Navy's big aircraft carriers too risky?

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 12 May 2011 15:53

Video: Tigr vs. Iveco: the battle for expert approval

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 17 May 2011 22:37

History
The Army first donned the camo web covered helmets in the 1940s. The netting helped protect soldiers fighting in areas thick with foliage.

Function
The cargo netting helps reduce any glare that might reflect off of a helmet. Even the olive drab head covers made rough with the addition of sawdust or other components could be potential targets, whereas the netting caused a disturbance in regular vision.

Effects
The nets can also contribute to field cover. If the soldier is fighting in the forest or jungle, leaves and twigs could be stuck in the webbing as an additional source of camouflage.

The Netting was used to break up the outline of the helmet. For the same reason why modern helmet covers have little slits all over them so vegetation can be inserted to the slits to break up the outline of the helmet.

Read more: Why Did they Put Cargo Netting on Army Helmets? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_7428264_did-c ... z1McvNzbT6

VishalJ · Post by **VishalJ** » 18 May 2011 14:53

Photos from the NATO Tiger Meet 2011 by Guillaume Besnard

aniket · Post by **aniket** » 19 May 2011 06:20

Saw F-18 doing patrols in Virginia Beach
Impressive.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 25 May 2011 22:56

Army And Marines Go Fossil Fuel-Free

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 28 May 2011 09:54

The Jet That Ate the Pentagon

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 29 May 2011 06:21

abhishek_sharma wrote:The Jet That Ate the Pentagon

some in the ddm were pitching for it.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 29 May 2011 15:36

West to have 80,000 cruise missiles by 2020 - interview

"We expect Western countries to have at least 80,000 cruise missiles by 2020, including about 2,000 of them nuclear-powered," Gen. Igor Sheremet said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station.

He added these missiles are clearly not simply designed for drilling or intimidation purposes.

"They can deliver disarming or even 'decapitation' strikes," Sheremet said.

aniket · Post by **aniket** » 29 May 2011 20:42

2,000 of them nuclear-powered

Nuclear powered ?

aniket · Post by **aniket** » 29 May 2011 20:45

I can only find reference to Project Pluto,that too has been canceled.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 29 May 2011 21:16

They mean Nuclear armed cruise missile

UBanerjee · Post by **UBanerjee** » 30 May 2011 10:48

F35B is causing nearly all the problems. Wonder why they tried to shoehorn a VTOL system onto the same airframe as a variant. Should have just designed a VTOL from the ground up and let the F35A and C do their own thing.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 30 May 2011 11:43

The Marine Corp need a VTOL and to build a dedicated VTOL aircraft from scratch would have costed them more funds , the F-35B with the same airframe compromised with lower fuel for vtol capability .... its a fine balancing trade-off.

The F-35 is a fine aircraft designed for US needs the problem is they badly managed the project leading to cost overrun criticism , but its too big to fail the US would fund it since there is no alternative.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 01 Jun 2011 05:55

UAVs, network centric and now small critters. An interesting article:

Pentagon seeks mini-weapons for new age of warfare

Raytheon is developing a 13-pound GPS-guided "smart bomb" intended to be dropped from a drone. (Jim Muntz / Raytheon Co.)

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 01 Jun 2011 16:42

US Pentagon to treat cyber-attacks as 'acts of war'

'All necessary means'

The Pentagon's planning follows an international strategy statement on cyber-security, issued by the White House on 16 May.

The US would "respond to hostile acts in cyberspace as we would to any other threat to our country", stated the White House in plain terms.

"We reserve the right to use all necessary means - diplomatic, informational, military, and economic - as appropriate and consistent with applicable international law, in order to defend our nation, our allies, our partners and our interests."

The strategy will classify major cyber-attacks as acts of war, paving the way for possible military retaliation, reported The Wall Street Journal after interviewing defence officials.

Don · Post by **Don** » 01 Jun 2011 19:14

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Dutch_T ... g_999.html

Dutch Tank History Ends With a Bang

by Staff Writers
Bergen-Hohne, Netherlands (SPX) Jun 01, 2011

With four shots fired on Range 6 at the Bergen-Hohne firing range, the Defence organisation said farewell to the Leopard 2A6 main battle tank on the 19th of may. The Dutch tank history ended on the same German firing range where the Dutch Leopard fired its first shots.

The farewell ceremony was tough for the many tank personnel present. Commander of the headquarters and headquarters company, Captain Johnny Romein said: "This feels like a funeral. The tank is part of our lives." In his speech, the Senior Officer of the Cavalry, Major General (ret'd) Harm de Jonge, praised the deployment of the tank during the peace operation in the former Yugoslavia and the deployment of the personnel during the recent missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The fact that no tanks were deployed during the latter two missions mainly had to do with the image projected towards the civilian population. After all, the Leopard 2A6 main battle tank is still considered to be a highly modern weapon system with unequalled armour and fire power.

Dependent
Although the personnel understand the need for cutbacks, there was no sympathy for this measure among those present. The commander of Bravo company of 11 Tank Battalion, Captain Chiel Nieuwenhuis, pointed out that as a result the army can no longer implement its current doctrine. "Without the tank, manoeuvres such as a breach or a turning movement are no longer possible."

Now that the battle tanks are being disposed of completely, some 90 years of Dutch tanks history have come to an end. The first tank was introduced shortly after the First World War. At the height of the Cold War, the Netherlands had almost 1,000 battle tanks at its disposal. They formed the backbone of the Netherlands armed forces.

Cold War
In the event of an attack by the Communist Warsaw Pact, the Dutch tanks were to engage the enemy on the North German Plain. The objective was to slow the enemy advance in order to allow Allies, the US in particular, to mount a counterattack. After the end of the Cold War, the number of tanks was quickly reduced to the most recent number of 60.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 02 Jun 2011 09:57

Russian Nuclear Forces, 2011

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 10 Jun 2011 22:38

gates term is ending, and made a disappointing note on nato interests not supporting to agreed/increased military budgets and programs. so, there could be some shake up in nato and as is we are seeing degradation of nato joint ops in the recent gulf wars..besides UNSC is no where near in understanding its future.

look what the AQ and pakibans have done to nato., the shift is entirely based on expenses incurred on unconventional warfare, and this is where many nations have no clue how to hand, and how and where to spend.

bottom line, nato is no more nato without unkill leading the show. some interesting times to come under cia panetta .

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 11 Jun 2011 03:21

^^^
Gates said something like this: "future leaders of US won't have the Cold War frame of mind that I did. therefore, for them, NATO won't mean as much as it did for me. If NATO can't change direction and beef up its operational doctrines and military budgets, then future US leadership will question American investment in NATO."

Gates is indicating that there is a generational change happening in American establishment and NATO, if it wants to stay relevant, has to take up more burden...

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 11 Jun 2011 07:24

“What I’ve sketched out is the real possibility for a dim, if not dismal future for the transatlantic alliance,” Mr. Gates said in a speech to the Security and Defense agenda think tank in Brussels.

Mr. Gates warned that future US political leaders whose worldview wasn’t molded by the Cold War may not consider the return on America’s investment in NATO worth the cost.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2 ... 52679.html

and

http://dyn.politico.com/members/forums/ ... id=5546172

“The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress - and in the American body politic writ large - to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense,” he said. “Indeed, if current trends in the decline of European defense capabilities are not halted and reversed, future U.S. political leaders- those for whom the Cold War was not the formative experience that it was for me - may not consider the return on America’s investment in NATO worth the cost.”

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 13 Jun 2011 12:06

Iran seems to have tested a new LR SAM the range makes it in S-300PMU1 class

Iran successfully tests domestic air defense missiles

Mersad and Shahin missiles that were designed by Iran's Defense Ministry had already been submitted to the country's air defense system, the senior Iranian Army commander, General Farzad Esmaili told country's official TV.

Esmaili said that Mersad air defense system was capable of hitting targets at the average and low altitude up to 150 km away. The general did not specify on Shahin characteristics.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Jun 2011 14:18

well well well I come bearing news. some of you will remember the Stavatti SM36 Stalma...yes those old dregs who were in BR during 1990s! .... well the "company" (in a maglev herr wagner sense) is still around and still thriving, with a new range of manned and unmanned "designs" with a vast array of roles and weaponry

http://stavatti.com/

he has even identified all the whos-who of industry who will be the tier-1 partners
http://stavatti.com/SM47_INDUSTRY_TEAM.html

he has even written to the pentagon, in response to RFIs for various programs
http://stavatti.com/NEWS_RELEASES.html

Between 1994 and 2005, Stavatti Corporation initiated the design and development of multiple new aircraft to satisfy a variety of aerospace niche markets. Beginning in 1994, the most prominent program was the development of the SM-36 Stalma Multi-Role Fighter (MRF). The SM-36 is single seat, single engine, variable geometry air superiority aircraft designed to serve as a suitable successor to F-16 and F/A-18 aircraft in US and NATO allied Air Forces, competing directly with the F/A-35 JSF. An extremely capable weapon system conceived for maximum performance and combat capability, the SM-36 design combines supercruise, stealth, extraordinary acceleration, climb and instantaneous turn rates with exceptional maneuverability. Remaining a primary development program through 2006, beginning in January 2007 Stavatti Aerospace shifted priorities to focus upon the SM-27/47 Machete series with the SM-36 program being recapitalized to form the basis of a new sixth generation, variable geometry multi-role fighter intended for production in the 2015-2020 time-frame

http://stavatti.com/AIRCRAFTPIX/SM74_174.jpg

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Jun 2011 14:21

now if this guy had just taken the next step and converted his company into a maker of RC kits from his fertile mind, he would have a reasonable business model on his hands already.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 14 Jun 2011 16:42

US Army abandons 'impractical' black berets

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 17 Jun 2011 10:45

Russian Military present advanced armored vehicles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh5evm5jDqY

Gaur · Post by **Gaur** » 17 Jun 2011 15:06

An "extremely" TFTA shot of Stryker's interior:
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/ ... 3inz6g.jpg

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Jun 2011 15:20

and truth be told such interiors exist and are being used everyday, unlike Rus products that are still lagging behind in creature comforts and sensor fits. they can cobble together something but fallen a generation behind the western products in many areas like IFVs.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 17 Jun 2011 15:29

Israel marks record defense exports in 2010

Israeli industries noted a record on Wednesday in defense exports, reaching an unprecedented $7.2 billion in comparison to $6.9b. in 2009, the Defense Ministry announced ahead of the Paris Air Show, which opens next week.

Israel is believed to be one of the world’s top four exporters of arms with specializations in the development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini satellites, command-and-control systems, armored vehicles and the refurbishment of various types of commercial and military aircraft.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 17 Jun 2011 15:35

Singha wrote:and truth be told such interiors exist and are being used everyday, unlike Rus products that are still lagging behind in creature comforts and sensor fits. they can cobble together something but fallen a generation behind the western products in many areas like IFVs.

It would simply boil down to what the customer demands , Rich customers like UAE would have a BMP-3 AFV that has all the bells and whistles money can buy on the contrary the Indian BMP-2 would not have changed much since BMP-2 first started rolling off production line , while UAE might have a small BMP force of 600 odd vehical , India would have more then 2000 of that type.

Not many country can still afford to have shiny LCD touch screen , EO and comfort for their troops for what is essentially a troop carrier which meets basic amenities like fire power and decent protection.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 17 Jun 2011 17:41

It would simply boil down to what the customer demands ,

Not true

The Russians simply do not have the widespread commercial industrial base to do these sort of things.

When LCD screens and sensors and other gizmos are produced for millions of civilian use the huge base makes it easy to churn this up with a slight toughened spec for strykers etc

eg. millions of civilian vans, trucks etc for service related tasks have gizmos related to work

The ability to view the display from thermal imagers on a screen and direct fire without stepping out is not a luxury.