Military Media Watch Thread

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Shameek
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Re: Military Media Watch Thread

Post by Shameek »

I have been noting all the media coverage about the LCA has one common factor. Everybody starts off with it being delayed 30 years and being over budget. And this is the biggest problem which we were talking about at the beginning of this thread. We always go negative first. And that is what people remember. Half the people who watched even 10 seconds of the news will remember the delay and the cost overrun. But no one talks about the progress made, or the big step this is towards getting our aircraft industry rolling. Or the contribution of all the scientists and pilots.
I wish for once these people would err on the positive side and make some statement like 'LCA is the best aircraft in the world'. May be DDM for the jingoes but its fine that the common person believes that.
disha
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Re: Military Media Watch Thread

Post by disha »

What do you expect from white-pakis!!!! :mrgreen:
shiv
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Re: Military Media Watch Thread

Post by shiv »

The purpose of this post is to try and make sense of how the media are willing to lie and mislead - but that is a generally accepted fact. More significant for me is the likelihood that someone in the media is getting paid to push what appear to be plain lies. This is in the context of how reports started appearing that Ashton Carter was going to push Scorpion sales and that Air Marshal Arup Raha was actually interested. I tried to go back to the genesis of this story,

First is the early 2014 RFI for a single engine jet trainer that the IAF issued. Here is the pdf of the IAFs RFI for a trainer, issues as per norms by the MoD. This was when Antony was Defence Minister
http://tenders.gov.in/viewtenddoc.asp?t ... no=1&td=TD

Soon after this, in 2014, there were reports that Textron would offer the Scorpion to India . This was despite the fact that the Scorpion did not meet RFI specifications.

Then things went quiet till April 29 2015 when the Hindustan Times said this. This was the first report that unequivocally and out of the blue stated that Arup Raha "has shown keen interest" in the Scorpion. This sounds like an outright lie to me. Another outright lie was the linking of the Carter visit to a possible Scorpion deal
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-new ... 42006.aspx
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter is expected to arrive in India late on June 2 on a visit aimed at inking an amendment to the 2005 India-US Defence Framework Agreement to allow co-development and co-production of military hardware and platforms.

The amendment will breathe new life into the bilateral Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) with a proposal to make Scorpion light attack aircraft in India as well as to use it as an intermediate jet trainer (IJT) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A known defence expert, it was Carter as Deputy Secretary (Defence) under Chuck Hagel who had initiated the DTTI government-to-government (G2G) programme with India.
<snip>
With Indian defence PSUs failing to deliver on the Sitara IJT despite red-flagging by Air Force Chief Arup Raha, the IAF has shown keen interest in Scorpion jet plane, jointly developed by Textron and AirLand Enterprises. The Sitara IJT is under development since 1997. Powered by two Honeywell engines with missile hardpoints, the two seater sub-sonic Scorpion not only fits the IJT role but can also be used for intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance in war. The plane, which has been inducted into US Air Force, has a composite body with operating cost as low as $3,000 per hour compared to over $18,000 per hour for fourth generation US fighters. “If India agrees to bring Scorpion under DTTI, then the company has plans to set up a manufacturing facility in the country,” said a Delhi-based American diplomat.
The Next day, April 30 2015 Jane's picked it up with Rahul Bedi saying unequivocally that Carter is expected to push the Scorpion and that Arup Raha "is believed" to be intereted
Carter to offer Scorpion to India under joint development plan
Industry sources said that under the DTTI, which Carter initiated as deputy defence secretary in 2012, the US was expected to offer the Textron AirLand Scorpion light-attack and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft currently being developed to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, who is believed to have expressed interest in the Scorpion, believes the twin-seat platform can double as an intermediate jet trainer (IJT). The IAF badly needs an IJT due to delays to the Sitara (Star) platform, which Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been developing since 2005.
It is interesting that the sources quoted are "A Delhi based American diplomat" and "Industry sources"

In the end the statement released after the Carter visit said nothing about the Scorpion.The whole thing was a bogey, a lie propagated by the media saying that Carter would push the Scorpion and that Arup Raha was interested.

Why did the media do this? Who paid them to say that carter would push the Scorpion and that Arup Raha was interested? What was gained? Was there a set of middlemen who descended on Delhi along with Carter to try and push something through? I think that is likely. I just find it amazing how the media simply lie when they want to draw attention to something.

A lot of our discussions on BRF end up revolving around what the media say and the words used by the media assume a larger than life personality. I saw that happening with "No plan B". It seems to be happening again with the Army Chief saying that "We are prepared for short intense wars". This may take on a life of its own.
shiv
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Re: Military Media Watch Thread

Post by shiv »

For many years I have tried to point out the way media - especially in the US but to a lesser extent Russia and even Pakistan use language to make a military event or person or piece of hardware "larger than life"

The US has a long history of giving names that evoke power and death (to people familiar with English). I have repeatedly remarked that "Rolling Thunder" and "Highway of death" fall in that genre. Now here is a news item and video of what? Nothing much. Just Shornets shooting unguided rockets - an event we see year in and year out repeated at Vayu Shakti or Iron Fist by MiG 21s and even trainee pilots in Hawks.

But just look at the language and the hype. This is a form of psychological indoctrination that I believe would be useful for Indian media. I have sometimes heard this sort of language construct in Hindi. But in our self loathing English speakers such pride will never emerge and when it does it is often extinguished by other cynical Indians as being proud of nothing - just unguided rockets
https://fightersweep.com/4997/cockpit-h ... ts-fallon/
Good afternoon, Fightersweep Fans! We’ve got some homegrown footage of 2.75-inch death for you today! This video was taken during a training flight during a detachment to NAS Fallon, Nevada during the airwing’s workup cycle. Check us out as we fire rockets at targets on the ground!

This was my first time shooting these bad-boys, and let me tell you, it was awesome! Starting from the hold short of runway 31L, my lead and I takeoff and head towards the B-17 range, a mock enemy airfield that is a part of the huge Fallon Range Training Complex. Once overhead, we execute a number of roll-in deliveries with 2.75 inch Zuni rockets before we rejoin and RTB for the carrier break.
deejay
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Re: Military Media Watch Thread

Post by deejay »

^^^ Ha Ha Ha. Shiv Ji, very true. The best I've heard of our MSM English media is "Somewhere in the Western Sector..." :D
shiv
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Re: Military Media Watch Thread

Post by shiv »

I have cross posted this from the Navy thread - yet another example of hype in what appears to be paid news. You read this news item and you can easily be convinced that this is the world's best sub and anything less is a loser

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/05/03/ ... -subs.html

It's not just a sub. It's a super sub
Australia's $39 billion submarine deal heralds new era of super-subs
Australia, is ramping up their military might with $39 billion in futuristic submarines.

Hah - Indians also write like this - about stuff made by anyone outside India
The powerful French subs are aptly named after the Barracuda fish that tends to incite fear with its large size and scary predatory look. Rapid and powerful, it is a smart, formidable hunter known to deploy clever tactics like working together to drive fish into shallow water and trap them.

More information about the super sub:
Naturally lean and stealthy, barracudas excel at stalking targets hidden from their sight until they strike – just like these mega stealth submarines.

Why is the new sub called Shortfin Barracuda? Shortfins are native to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Capable of conducting missions for about 80 days straight, a crew of 60 sub- and possibly more than 20 Special Operations Operators - will be able to fit into the approximately 320 foot long sub.(sounds like a tight fit to me)


If your ship has propellers you are screwed. That stuff is gone.
The sub’s pump jet propulsion replaces the old school obsolete propeller tech found on many fleets around the world.

What amazing tech!!! Take that ya bad guys!
Shortfin’s hydroplanes will be able to retract and this plays a role in helping to reduce both drag and noise; The quieter the sub, the harder it is for bad guys to find it.
And at the end
Ballet dancer turned defense specialist Allison Barrie has traveled around the world covering the military, terrorism, weapons advancements and life on the front line. You can reach her at wargames@foxnews.com or follow her on Twitter @Allison_Barrie.
Prem
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Re: Military Media Watch Thread

Post by Prem »

Rheinmetall Air Defence - High Energy Laser (HEL) Combat Simulation
Austin
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Re: Military Media Watch Thread

Post by Austin »

MOD Video on Russian Land Force Day

shiv
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Re: Military Media Watch Thread

Post by shiv »

From a private list:
Prasun Sengupta writes on technical issues about IN, IAF and Army. I chanced upon this recent (dated 15/8/17) 'appraisal of future IAF requirements' as penned by said individual. Interesting details picked up from publicly available sources have been cleverly interwoven as if he were creating an ASR for future aircraft acquisitions - To his credit, the author has gone to great lengths to obtain information and images. Forwarded because it has been presented in a form that seems to be aimed at influencing decision makers, within and outside outside the IAF. The bias towards certain technologies and suppliers is evident.

https://trishul-trident.blogspot.in/201 ... ality.html

One interesting aspect is that a largely imported series of engines will be given the moniker "Kaveri' so that these appear to be a products of indigenous R&D and manufacture!
Austin
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Re: Military Media Watch Thread

Post by Austin »

CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF ADMIRAL SUNIL LANBA IN CONVERSATION WITH NITIN A GOKHALE... EXCLUSIVE

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