International Military Discussion

MN Kumar · Post by **MN Kumar** » 18 Dec 2007 17:16

Ajay K wrote:Russian anti terror police using body armour.
2

Jeez those scooter helmets...

Multatuli · Post by **Multatuli** » 31 Dec 2007 10:29

USAF's F-15 Woes Continue to Unfold

Structural fatigue has been found in the "longerons" on eight grounded F-15s

Quotes :

Â´A November 2 crash during a routine dogfighting maneuver in Missouri caused an F-15 to break apart in mid-air. The aircraft buckled and broke apart aft of the cockpit while performing an 8G dogfighting maneuver at 500 MPH.

"I heard a big rush of air, very loud, like a tornado ripping the roof off a house," said Maj. Stephen Stilwell. "It was like I was in a car and it's flipping down the road. I felt like the airplane was tumbling and I'm being slammed around, left, right, front and back."

Early analysis of Stilwell's crash and subsequent inspections of the grounded F-15s showed that cracks in the "longeron" main support beams aft of the cockpit were the cause of the crash. The Air Force discovered serious structural flaws of the longeron in eight aircraft.Â´

Some analysts in the aviation industry feel that the Air Force is possibly making a mountain out of a molehill in order to get its hands on additional F-22 Raptors at $132 million USD apiece. The Air Force is currently earmarked for 183 Raptors, but the problems with the F-15 could lead to additional purchases to fill the void left by F-15 airframes that are not structurally sound.

"I don't suspect that the Air Force is lying when it says it has discovered stress fractures in the longerons of the F-15s," said Center for Defense Information expert Winslow Wheeler. "But there's no big deal about that. Fix it."

http://www.dailytech.com/USAFs+F15+Woes ... e10130.htm

gopal.suri · Post by **gopal.suri** » 04 Jan 2008 07:33

Russian Nuclear Submarine Project 971 completes navigation trials

In the course of tests the functional check of all devices, general ship-based systems, power plant is realized. As a result of repair the technical readiness of ship is completely restored.

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 04 Jan 2008 12:54

A huge resource having various field manuals of the US Army.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 05 Jan 2008 05:38

Sweden misplaces military secrets

Sweden's military is investigating a major security breach after a member of staff left a memory stick holding classified data on a public computer.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 07 Jan 2008 20:57

Iranian ships 'harass' U.S. Navy, officials say

gopal.suri · Post by **gopal.suri** » 10 Jan 2008 09:41

Eight battalions of Russian Army will be mordernised in 2008

First Submarine of Class 214 delivered to the Republic of Korea Navy

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 11 Jan 2008 14:51

Researchers claim cloak can render subs invisible to sonar

Whoo boy; Shields up; cloaking device on; warp speed...

Katare · Post by **Katare** » 12 Jan 2008 03:19

Multatuli wrote:USAF's F-15 Woes Continue to Unfold

Structural fatigue has been found in the "longerons" on eight grounded F-15s

Quotes :

Â´A November 2 crash during a routine dogfighting maneuver in Missouri caused an F-15 to break apart in mid-air. The aircraft buckled and broke apart aft of the cockpit while performing an 8G dogfighting maneuver at 500 MPH.

"I heard a big rush of air, very loud, like a tornado ripping the roof off a house," said Maj. Stephen Stilwell. "It was like I was in a car and it's flipping down the road. I felt like the airplane was tumbling and I'm being slammed around, left, right, front and back."

Early analysis of Stilwell's crash and subsequent inspections of the grounded F-15s showed that cracks in the "longeron" main support beams aft of the cockpit were the cause of the crash. The Air Force discovered serious structural flaws of the longeron in eight aircraft.Â´

Some analysts in the aviation industry feel that the Air Force is possibly making a mountain out of a molehill in order to get its hands on additional F-22 Raptors at $132 million USD apiece. The Air Force is currently earmarked for 183 Raptors, but the problems with the F-15 could lead to additional purchases to fill the void left by F-15 airframes that are not structurally sound.

"I don't suspect that the Air Force is lying when it says it has discovered stress fractures in the longerons of the F-15s," said Center for Defense Information expert Winslow Wheeler. "But there's no big deal about that. Fix it."

http://www.dailytech.com/USAFs+F15+Woes ... e10130.htm

I read in a local news paper (print) yesterday 9which quoted from (LA times) that out of 700 F15, 440 are still grounded and some 180 of them (the oldest ones) will/may never fly again.

Vick · Post by **Vick** » 12 Jan 2008 07:53

Camera Shy? Pentagon Builds a Portable Lens-Destroying Laser

Any night-vision device used by the enemy -- light intensifiers, thermal imagers or infrared scopes -- could be swiftly nullified. And crews of enemy armored vehicles might find that their only way of seeing out is to open a hatch and expose themselves to fire.

Still in the lab testing phase.

vivek_ahuja · Post by **vivek_ahuja** » 12 Jan 2008 08:05

Vick wrote:Camera Shy? Pentagon Builds a Portable Lens-Destroying Laser
Any night-vision device used by the enemy -- light intensifiers, thermal imagers or infrared scopes -- could be swiftly nullified. And crews of enemy armored vehicles might find that their only way of seeing out is to open a hatch and expose themselves to fire.
Still in the lab testing phase.

Time to thank god for that.

However, it is a sign of things to come. A device such as this could render armored assualts against fortified positions look like running your car into the wall with your headlights off. Also an anti-UAV weapon as they claim.

Thing is, if they are concentrating the laser in such a way as to prevent divergence to a good degree, and the laser beam itself is very narrow, how on earth are they going to aim the weapon at the optics of a target three kilometers away? or for that matter at a UAV flying at high altitude?

Wouldn't it be simply easier to develop some good hard-hit kinetic weapon and achieve guaranteed results?

gopal.suri · Post by **gopal.suri** » 12 Jan 2008 12:09

vivek_ahuja wrote:Time to thank god for that.

However, it is a sign of things to come. A device such as this could render armored assualts against fortified positions look like running your car into the wall with your headlights off. Also an anti-UAV weapon as they claim.

Thing is, if they are concentrating the laser in such a way as to prevent divergence to a good degree, and the laser beam itself is very narrow, how on earth are they going to aim the weapon at the optics of a target three kilometers away? or for that matter at a UAV flying at high altitude?

Wouldn't it be simply easier to develop some good hard-hit kinetic weapon and achieve guaranteed results?

The beam won't be very narrow. A general laser scan in the general direction will kill the optics. Its another task to kill a hardened optic. Cameras do not have hardened optics.

Challenge will be to make a laser strong enough for optics and weak enough to not kill live tissues.

Most U.S. Air Force F-15s Get Green Light to Fly

JCage · Post by **JCage** » 12 Jan 2008 12:23

The beam won't be very narrow. A general laser scan in the general direction will kill the optics..

A general laser scan cant kill the optics. The effective power density will not be enough to do the job. Normally a general scan is used for detection, ranging, while the system goes to full power for the detected target.

JCage · Post by **JCage** » 12 Jan 2008 12:24

Vick wrote:Camera Shy? Pentagon Builds a Portable Lens-Destroying Laser
Any night-vision device used by the enemy -- light intensifiers, thermal imagers or infrared scopes -- could be swiftly nullified. And crews of enemy armored vehicles might find that their only way of seeing out is to open a hatch and expose themselves to fire.
Still in the lab testing phase.

Not such a great boon. Many countries have / are working on dazzlers. And they can be counteracted by treating the aperture so as to only allow specific wavelengths through.

gopal.suri · Post by **gopal.suri** » 12 Jan 2008 12:47

JCage wrote:
The beam won't be very narrow. A general laser scan in the general direction will kill the optics..
A general laser scan cant kill the optics. The effective power density will not be enough to do the job. Normally a general scan is used for detection, ranging, while the system goes to full power for the detected target.

You are right. It has to be a directed laser.

vivek_ahuja · Post by **vivek_ahuja** » 12 Jan 2008 15:41

JCage wrote:
Vick wrote:Camera Shy? Pentagon Builds a Portable Lens-Destroying Laser Still in the lab testing phase.
Not such a great boon. Many countries have / are working on dazzlers. And they can be counteracted by treating the aperture so as to only allow specific wavelengths through.

Not to mention the issue of targeting. In order to be of any use whatsoever, the laser itself must be directed useing some very high power optics and at a extremely small section of the target vehicle. It would in fact require some sort of automatic targeting system as well, given that you cannot possibly direct a thin beam of laser on a rapidly moving and jerking target's optical systems. It is much easier to buy and then use a few standard anti-tank missiles at the same target for much less a hassle.

Nevertheless, a sign of things to come. Expect more powerful applications of this technology to come forward soon.

Abhi K Rao · Post by **Abhi K Rao** » 13 Jan 2008 06:36

edited

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 20 Jan 2008 04:29

Chinese Submarine Patrols Rebound in 2007, but Remain Limited

China's entire fleet of approximately 55 general-purpose submarines conducted a total of six patrols during 2007, slightly better than the two patrols conducted in 2006 and zero in 2005.

The 2007 performance matches China's all-time high of six patrols conducted in 2000, the only two years since 1981 that Chinese submarines conducted more than five patrols in a single year.

The new information, obtained by Federation of American Scientists from the U.S. Navy under the Freedom of Information Act, also shows that none of China's ballistic missile submarines have ever conducted a deterrent patrol.

Twenty-five years after it launched its first ballistic missiles submarine, Xia (Type 092), China has yet to conduct its first deterrent patrol. The new information confirms that neither the Xia, nor the two new Jin-class (Type 094) ballistic missile submarines - the first of which was launched in 2004 - have ever conducted a deterrent patrol.

The single-warhead Julang-1 sea-launched ballistic missile developed for the Xia has been test launched twice, but is not thought to be fully operational

From the shallow bay, the Julang-2 missiles could be used to target Guam and Alaska, India, Russia, and - at the limit of its range - Hawaii.

JCage · Post by **JCage** » 20 Jan 2008 15:03

This went totally unreported in most press.

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/graha ... .html#more

Japan rolls out two large aircraft- a MPA and a transport.

C-X transport

P-X MPA

Vid of the P-X:

Link

PaulJI · Post by **PaulJI** » 20 Jan 2008 17:24

JCage wrote:This went totally unreported in most press.

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/graha ... .html#more

Japan rolls out two large aircraft- a MPA and a transport.

...

It was reported in Flight, JDW, AFM, & Air International, that I know of. But not in the non-defence, non-aviation press.

JCage · Post by **JCage** » 20 Jan 2008 17:50

S'what I meant. Flight is free and thats what I've linked btw, but JDW, AFM and AI are subscription. Plus this should have got much more publicity than it did in non trade press.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 22 Jan 2008 15:31

vivek_ahuja wrote:Camera killers ---
Nevertheless, a sign of things to come. Expect more powerful applications of this technology to come forward soon.

I assume it is to actually blind satellites in a non intrusive manner and not necessarily equipment on ground.

Meanwhile something to note

New Armored Truck Sees First Iraq Death

The V-shaped hull of the huge MRAP - Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected - truck is designed to deflect blasts from roadside bombs, a weapon that has killed more American soldiers than any other tactic used by Sunni insurgents and militia fighters in Iraq.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 22 Jan 2008 16:14

Russians flexing their military muscles after years of lethargy.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 230615.ece

Russian bombers to test-fire missiles in Bay of Biscay
A British Tornado escorting a Russian bomber away from British air space in a previous skirmish

Tmes Online and agencies in Moscow
Russia has sent two long-range bombers to the Bay of Biscay, off the French and Spanish Atlantic coasts, to test-fire missiles in what Moscow billed as its biggest naval exercise in the area since the Soviet era.

Firing missiles off the coastline of two Nato members is the latest in a series of Kremlin moves flexing Moscowâ€™s military muscle on the world stage.

Russian bombers joined aircraft carriers, battleships and submarine hunters from the Northern and Black Sea fleets for the Atlantic exercises, which come as the country enters an election campaign to choose a successor to President Putin.

â€œThe air force is taking a very active part in the exercises of the navyâ€™s strike force in the Atlantic,â€

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 24 Jan 2008 01:34

Khalkhin-Gol: The Battle that shaped WW2

In August 1939, just weeks before Hitler invaded Poland, the Soviet Union and Japan fought a massive tank battle on the Mongolian border - the largest the world had ever seen.

shetty · Post by **shetty** » 25 Jan 2008 16:16

Interesting read of how commercial products are creating headaches for military.

JC, I am sure you will be interested in this.

Military Hackers Turn To Commercial Electronic Attack Tools

rajkumar · Post by **rajkumar** » 25 Jan 2008 17:01

Gerard wrote:Khalkhin-Gol: The Battle that shaped WW2
In August 1939, just weeks before Hitler invaded Poland, the Soviet Union and Japan fought a massive tank battle on the Mongolian border - the largest the world had ever seen.

Very good find Gerard

shetty · Post by **shetty** » 28 Jan 2008 04:20

Unmanned aboard - Northrop Grumman aims to prove UCAS can operate from carriers
By Graham Warwick

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 28 Jan 2008 10:50

Stunning revelations,that Mrs.Thatcher ordered British naval forces to enter Swedish territorial waters,pretending to be Soviet sub intruders!That British and US forces "dirty tricks dept."did this to besmirch the Soviets ,is an indication of whatthe real truth might be in current flashpoints in Iraq and elsewhere.

The capture in Iraq earlier,of British agents in "Mufti" carrying explosives,indicate that many of the so-called bombings between sectarian forces might actually have been done by coalition forces,contractors,special forces,to engineer hostility between different ethnic/religious groups and causing them to fight each other making Iraq ungovernable, ready for dismemberment as was done with India at independence!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/p ... 257297.ece

Margaret Thatcher told navy to raid Swedish coast
Pelle Neroth
MARGARET THATCHER ordered the Royal Navy to land Special Boat Service (SBS) frogmen on the coast of Sweden from British submarines pretending to be Soviet vessels, a new book has claimed.

The deception involved numerous incursions by British forces into Swedish territorial waters in the 1980s and early 1990s, designed to heighten the impression around the world of the Soviet Union as an aggressive superpower.

Sometimes the boats landed commandos, but often their job was to fool the Swedes by mimicking the sonar signals given off by the Soviet vessels that stalked the same waters.

The Swedish government, neutral in the cold war, is not believed to have known about the deceptions, which were carried out by the British and American navies.

A Swedish parliamentary inquiry noted evidence found on the seabed of submarine â€œmidgets with bottom-crawling capacity of a hitherto unknown characterâ€

shetty · Post by **shetty** » 31 Jan 2008 18:36

Karzaiâ€™s Eagles: The Afghan Air Force flies again

Russia Air Force to adopt new training helicopter by 2010

Azerbaijan plans to buy JF-17 aircrafts from Pakistan - Pakistani Defense Ministry

USAF seeks to harden satellite defences

Opponents call Boeing's plane "Frankentanker"

JCage · Post by **JCage** » 31 Jan 2008 20:08

shetty wrote:Interesting read of how commercial products are creating headaches for military.

JC, I am sure you will be interested in this.

Military Hackers Turn To Commercial Electronic Attack Tools

Thank you! Thats a very informative article.

Drevin · Post by **Drevin** » 01 Feb 2008 13:33

Gerard wrote:Khalkhin-Gol: The Battle that shaped WW2
In August 1939, just weeks before Hitler invaded Poland, the Soviet Union and Japan fought a massive tank battle on the Mongolian border - the largest the world had ever seen.

nice stuff yaar.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Feb 2008 18:59

the account is a bit brief. Zhukov actually used the ring of steel approach to surround them, pound for a while with artillery and airpower, then tighten the ring, pound some more....
this was later used in Stalingrad with some differences in that soviets also setup big field kitchens and let the delicious smells waft across and torture the starving 6th army surviving on the meat of fallen men and rats in the last weeks.

Vick · Post by **Vick** » 01 Feb 2008 21:21

From DN
[quote]Posted 01/31/08 18:24

U.S. Navy Breaks Record with Railgun Test-Shot
By ZACHARY M. PETERSON

DAHLGREN, VA. â€” The Navy set a new world record for the most powerful electromagnetic railgun when it fired a test shot here Thursday morning.

The gun fired an aluminum projectile at 10.68 megajoules. A joule is the work needed to produce one watt of energy for one second. A megajoule is 1 million joules.

Watch video of the test (MilitaryTimes.com)

Guests including Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead and Rear Adm. William Landay, head of the Office of Naval Research, witnessed the shot via a live video feed at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren. The gun was launched from a control center after approximately four minutes of charging the electromagnetic rails. After the charge, the gun fired and witnesses saw a quick burst of flame as the projectile, traveling at 2,500 meters per second, or Mach 7, hit its target.

Roughead called the gun a â€œrevolutionary approach to naval warfare.â€

shetty · Post by **shetty** » 01 Feb 2008 23:54

The F-22: expensive, irrelevant and counterproductive
By Pierre Sprey, James Stevenson and Winslow Wheeler

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 03 Feb 2008 11:35

R-29RM Sineva SS-N-23 launch videos , All the modernised Delta 4 SSBN will be equipped with this near new SLBM

SS-N-23 Sineva

shetty · Post by **shetty** » 04 Feb 2008 04:53

Edwards tests X-51 antennas

U.S. to wait for Taiwan vote before jet sales possible

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 04 Feb 2008 17:35

Send these soldiers to Afghanistan,they aresorely needed there!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 298980.ece

Nine soldiers charged over rampage in holiday resortMichael Theodoulou in Nicosia
Nine British soldiers have been charged with serious offences after they allegedly went on a drunken rampage through a pub in the Cypriot resort of Ayia Napa, injuring two Britons and two Greek Cypriots.

The young soldiers, serving with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (2RRF), were out celebrating after receiving their last pay packet before leaving Cyprus after a two-year posting. Extra British military police patrols had been put on duty over the weekend in case of trouble.

Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis, the owner of the Bedrock Inn, a bar themed on the Flintstones, gave a dramatic account of the mayhem late on Saturday night.

About 20 to 25 off-duty British soldiers had begun fighting among themselves outside a nearby pub, he said. They then turned on an Englishman after he swore at them for banging heads on a car belonging to a friend.The Englishman fled into the Bedrock with the soldiers allegedly in pursuit. Inside the bar three Greek Cypriots and two Britons were playing pool.

Britons on trial in Cyprus for hit-and-run collision
Mob attacks Briton over Cyprus moped death

â€œThey [the soldiers] started throwing glasses, bottles and chairs at the English guy who had sworn at them. They didnâ€™t attack us at the beginning but they started to smash the place up,â€

Vick · Post by **Vick** » 06 Feb 2008 07:19

The EM gun projectile right before impact. Notice the lensing effect from the shock front. Reported muzzle velocity of the gun is around Mach 7.5 and that's at half power.

I wonder if it would be possible to use railguns in an ABM role. Maybe that's the future application for this technology.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 06 Feb 2008 07:26

Thanks for the cool pic.

Bah, these days solid-state lasers are getting strong enough that they'll do the job much better than mere railguns.

Railguns should be used to deliver more ordinance at farther distances.

For speed, lasers will be king.

Vick · Post by **Vick** » 06 Feb 2008 07:36

Let's see how far the ABL's laser can be effective before writing off the railgun in that role.