International Military Discussion

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 26 Jun 2009 19:08

A declining Russia.

Moscow marches on with military reform

FT (print):

Year: Total Armed Forces: conscirption: Officer Corps approx
1991: 3,400,000: 2,000,000: 1,100,000
2009: 1,476,000:   190,000:   360,000
2012: 1,000,000:         0:   160,000

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 27 Jun 2009 05:14

My gosh! Somebody call Stephen Spielberg - I have the plot for the next Indiana Jones movie!

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... plane.html

Ananya · Post by **Ananya** » 27 Jun 2009 08:29

This is too good, just with some intelligence and would be a fully true UAV !!!! , can be ambhious as well.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 02 Jul 2009 02:45

Marching out of step in the US military

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Jul 2009 06:25

another advanced design of 1950s was the "Swallow" of barnes wallis
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread365340/pg1

wallis designed the tallboy and grandslam bombs for the avro lancaster bombers among other things. perhaps the first heavyweight deep penetrator bombs designed with supersonic terminal velocity and streamlined heavy casing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallboy_bomb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_bomb

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 03 Jul 2009 00:25

U.S. arms sales seen topping $40 billion
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMol ... 9620090617

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 03 Jul 2009 06:03

Probe into RAF jet fighter crash

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 03 Jul 2009 23:21

EADS wins Saudi border security contract

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 04 Jul 2009 18:20

A Pentagon Trailblazer, Rethinking U.S. Defense

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 04 Jul 2009 18:21

Pentagon to Outline Shift in War Planning Strategy

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 05 Jul 2009 18:09

Saudis to support Israeli strike on Iran
A great idea.

Kersi D · Post by **Kersi D** » 05 Jul 2009 18:40

Jamal K. Malik wrote:Saudis to support Israeli strike on Iran
A great idea.

An non Islamic nation supported by a Islamic nation attacks another Islamic nation !!!!

Is Islam in danger !!!!

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 05 Jul 2009 18:45

Kersi D wrote:
Jamal K. Malik wrote:Saudis to support Israeli strike on Iran
A great idea.
An non Islamic nation supported by a Islamic nation attacks another Islamic nation !!!!

Is Islam in danger !!!!

Good for India!!!!!

vavinash · Post by **vavinash** » 05 Jul 2009 19:41

Why is it good? Support to pakis comes from saudi not iran. India needs Iran to keep the pressure on the arabs. They just need to tone down the rhetoric wrt israel.

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 05 Jul 2009 22:13

vavinash wrote:Why is it good? Support to pakis comes from saudi not iran. India needs Iran to keep the pressure on the arabs. They just need to tone down the rhetoric wrt israel.

Dear vavinash,
You are wrong. They both are with porky.Iran are going nuclear but Israel is with us for now. Eliminate Iran,then Saudi too.Both helped the porky during previous wars.

Think out of box friend.

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 05 Jul 2009 22:16

Students create portable device to detect suicide bombers

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 05 Jul 2009 23:46

Kersi D wrote:
Jamal K. Malik wrote:Saudis to support Israeli strike on Iran
A great idea.
An non Islamic nation supported by a Islamic nation attacks another Islamic nation !!!!

Is Islam in danger !!!!

Its a simple case of "The enemy of my enemy is my (convenient) friend".

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 06 Jul 2009 16:39

Amazing story of a Russian WWw T-34 tank pulled out of an Estonian lake ,after it was captured and used by the Germans.They dumped it when retreating.The tank was in mint condition with German markings and sfter minor repairs started up! A tribute to Russian tank manufacturers of WW2.Great unmissable pics.

http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/nidokidos

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 07 Jul 2009 12:45

CENTCOM climbs aboard social media train
Print E-mail
by Sgt. Rick Nelson
U.S. Central Command
http://www.centcom.mil/en/press-release ... train.html

Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Smith, mass communicator, uploads photos to Central Command's Flikr page. Engaging in social media makes it easier for people around the world to see what is going on in the CENTCOM area of operation.
Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Smith, mass communicator, uploads photos to Central Command's Flikr page. Engaging in social media makes it easier for people around the world to see what is going on in the CENTCOM area of operation.

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (July 1, 2009) — As social sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube storm the world, United States Central Command has begun their Twittering and Facebooking in order to better reach the people around the world and get the word out about operations and what's happening in the area of operations.

For some people these social sites are used for keeping in touch with close friends from the past or family members, but members of U.S. Central Command's Digital Engagement Team work on these sites so everyone can see just how the command works and gets the job done.

"CENTCOM started its social media outreach by setting up its own channel on YouTube and an account with Flickr for still images," said Lt. Cmdr. Bill H. Speaks, who is currently the chief of the D.E.T., U.S. Central Command. "We then started our own Facebook page and are also on Twitter."

Speaks expressed his desire to soon expand the Facebook presence to the predominant languages of our area of responsibility, particularly Arabic and Farsi.

"These are forums where we will have to be to communicate with the American public," Speaks added. "The internet is increasingly becoming a primary source of news and information in the U.S., and within online communication, there is a shift to what is being called 'Web 2.0.'"

As a second generation of web development and design, Web 2.0 is characterized as a source of web communication, sharing and interoperability on the World Wide Web, explained Brent Walker, web editor for the D.E.T.

"Using these social media sites allows us to communicate more directly with those interested in what we're doing," Speaks said. "They can be updated through a feed on their own personal pages, rather than check our web site periodically for updates. There is also more direct feedback."

These social media sites are not for one-sided broadcasting of information, but for sharing it, said Speaks.

"We get feedback and questions from our followers, and with Twitter in particular, we can follow others and respond to their own questions and comments," added Speaks.

As these social sites are updated continuously by the personnel assigned the D.E.T., the numbers of friends and members will continue to grow spreading the U.S. Central Command news worldwide.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 07 Jul 2009 12:52

http://www.centcom.mil/en/what-we-do/fe ... women.html

Marine Capt. Mike Hoffman, commanding officer of 3/8’s Company I, said the all-female team is an important asset for his Marines.

“[The team] provides us access to half of the population that we normally do not have access to,” Hoffman said. “They did extremely well interacting with the female villagers.”

Marine 2nd Lt. Johanna Shaffer, the team leader, said their first mission, a cordon-and-search operation in support of Operation Pathfinder, was very successful.

“We were accepted by both the men and women villagers and were able to obtain valuable information about the way they lived and what they thought about the Marine Corps operating in the area,” Shaffer said.

During the mission, the female Marines donned brightly colored head and neck scarves as a sign of cultural respect to the Afghan women.

“The scarves showed the Afghan women that we were women too, and we respect their culture,” Shaffer said. “They automatically felt more comfortable with us. They showed us their homes, and even though they didn’t have much, they were still very generous to us. They accepted us as sisters, and we’re glad that we were here to help them.”

Although Afghan women tend to be more reserved than Afghan men, they still have a large influence on their children, Shaffer said, so engaging with them is important.

“If the women know we are here to help them, they will likely pass that on to their children,” she said. “If the children have a positive perspective of alliance forces, they will be less likely to join insurgent groups or participate in insurgent activities.”

Hoffman said the female Marines also were accepted by the village men.

“They were not opposed by the villagers,” Hoffman said. “They had no problem allowing [the team] the chance to interact with their women.”

The concept employed by her team varies greatly from the program in Iraq because of differences in Afghan culture, Shaffer said.

“The cultural background here is completely different than that of Iraq,” Shaffer said. “Women here are more timid than in Iraq. There is less of a chance that an Afghan women would try to harm us, because they understand that we are here to help them.

“We also do not know much about the daily life of Afghan women,” she continued. “This provides us not only the opportunity to learn about the women, but also to build and maintain faith and trust of the Afghan women.”

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 07 Jul 2009 13:01

Philip wrote:Amazing story of a Russian WWw T-34 tank pulled out of an Estonian lake ,after it was captured and used by the Germans.They dumped it when retreating.The tank was in mint condition with German markings and sfter minor repairs started up! A tribute to Russian tank manufacturers of WW2.Great unmissable pics.

http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/nidokidos

http://www.mallumagic.com/forums/world- ... years.html

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 07 Jul 2009 17:43

LTTE's captured arms.

http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Secti ... RTID=53634

LTTE’s grand plan emerges with discovery of weapons

Although the Sri Lanka Security Forces completely defeated the LTTE more than a month ago, more and more weapons including sophisticated weapons hidden by Tamil Tigers still continue to be unearthed by the troops in many areas in the recently liberated Wanni as well as the east.

In the recent past, the security forces have recovered weapons that were not even with the Sri Lanka armed forces. Most of such weapons were those used by armed forces in countries, that possess nuclear power. As most of these weapons are recovered there is an increasing doubt that the now defeated Tamil Tigers had more ambitions than merely gaining a separate state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

Top brass of the Sri Lanka security forces too are surprised after seeing these sophisticated arms and the amount of military hardware recovered so far. The main objective of the Tamil Tigers, seems to have been not only a to have a separate Eelam in the North and East of Sri Lanka but also to extend their power beyond that.

In order to find an answer as to whether this was the real objective of the Tigers the army has decided to get a total count of the LTTE military assets, how many weapons they had, varities of weapons, capabilities etc.

It is learnt that the security forces will continue to search for more weapons after they obtain further information from the surrendered LTTE cadres. The military believe that more and more sophisticated weapons would be recovered from the Wanni region and as such most of the troops deployed in the north have been assigned for this purpose.

Two weeks ago, the military unearthed a submarine from Vellamullivaikal area in the Mullaitivu district, where the final phase of the battle took place.

The 24-foot (7.2-metre) submersible had reportedly been used by the LTTE, most probably by their senior cadres, for clandestine sea movements before the LTTE was wiped out, the army said. It is said that several other Tiger submersibles had previously been found, but the latest device appeared to be the first one that was actually used.

This submarine had been hidden by the Tamil Tigers in order to enable the LTTE leaders to escape from the sea during the last phases of the battle. However, it was not clear whether this underwater craft was fully functional and also met the requirements that operational submarines need.

However, this underwater craft had been damaged when the Sri Lanka Air Force Aircraft bombed it resulting in the Tigers hiding it for repair and later use. According to the LTTE cadre, who gave the clue about this underwater craft to the military there were three more types of craft that had been buried by the LTTE in the same area during the last few month

During the Wanni operation Task Force III soldiers found a workshop that manufactured underwater submersible craft by the LTTE. It was the first time the troops had found such a workshop. Since then a large number of such craft were recovered by the troops.

Although the surrendered cadres claimed that the LTTE had tested these craft underwater in the eastern seas and that several LTTE leaders including its Sea Wing Leader Soosai had participated there was no evidence to prove it as yet.

According to experts most of the LTTE underwater craft is designed very similar to semi submersibles used by Colombian drug traffickers. Construction of these craft are incomplete (experimental level) and has not been operated even for trials. This type of craft can be detected by radars as all parts above hatch level are above water.

However, investigations are still underway to solve these unanswered questions.

Two weeks after the recovery of the underwater craft, troops on information received , recovered another sophisticated military item-,torpedoes- that are used by the prominent navies in the world.

Two torpedoes, each 26 ft in length and 5 ft 7 inches in circumference neatly wrapped in polythene was recovered by the troops in Puthukudiyiruppu. The torpedo’s launcher of 28 ft in length and 5 ft 10 inch in circumference had also been buried by Tamil Tigers in the vicinity to be used at an appropriate time.

The manner the torpedoes with their launcher had been safely kept underground in four different pits of about 12 ft in depth affirms the fact that Tigers were patiently marking time for an attack on a ship or any other vessel sailing in the seas. Troops found long bombs that could be exploded underwater when the vessel hits them from four different areas in the same location. One of the warheads of a torpedo had been kept separately dismantled.

During the same search, Task Force-8 troops were able to find a complete 130 mm artillery gun sans wheels, probably brought there for some clandestine missions.

Troops on Wanni Operation earlier recovered three more 130 mm barrels from the west of Puthukudiyiruppu and the northeast of Visvamadu, six 130 mm artillery guns from Puthukudiyiruppu, Anandapuram, and Mullaitivu, including two guns destroyed by the LTTE in Vellamullivaikkal.

These are some of the recent recoveries from the LTTE and accordingly more and more weapons would be unearthed after further information is received from the surrendered or the captured LTTE members by the relevant state authorities.

According to experts, if the LTTE had opportunity to drag the so called Ceasefire Agreement and did not have a war situation for at least another one year then the security forces would have had to face a completely different and very difficult situation. This is because the LTTE at that time was engaged in purchasing and importing arms and ammunition to fight against the government armed forces. If the government security forces did not carry out the war properly, by this time the LTTE could have been able to keep what they had obtained almost three years back.

Although the LTTE had enough weapons and ammunition with them they continued to purchase and smuggled weapons into the country by various means. If they had been able to unload the ten ships with military hardware, which were destroyed by the Sri Lanka Navy in the deep seas, it could have been a completely different scenario that the government armed forces would have had to face.

The LTTE could not have brought or purchased weapons and other military hardware or achieved their goal without help from foreign powers. Definitely there will be at least more than one power from whom the LTTE had received help to achieve their purpose. The government should launch a full investigation to find out who assisted the LTTE to strengthen themselves to the extent they did.

Considering these facts it is now clear that the LTTE had its own undisclosed agenda to fight against the government forces not only to capture the north and east and form a separate Tamil Eelam as mentioned in their propaganda campaign but it appears that it had a wider ambition. If that was so then if the LTTE succeeded what would have been their next step after they capture the north and east of the country?

SL to increase defence ties with France
Commander of the French Joint Forces in Indian Ocean Region Vice Admiral Gerard Valin, who was on an official visit in Sri Lanka met top defence officials to increase the defense ties between the two nations.

His arrival on June 27 on board the supply ship ‘BCR Var’ was a good -will visit, Vice Admiral Valin first met Chief of Defence Staff Donald Perera and exchanged views concerning the two nations, the armed forces and the current situation in the north and east.

Later he called on Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka on Monday at the Army Headquarters, Colombo.

The Senior French Naval Commander, was accompanied by French Ambassador Michel Lummaux during his meeting with General Sarath Fonseka and exchanged views with regard to security and matters of bilateral interest.

The Army Commander gave a detailed account on the recently concluded Wanni humanitarian operations that brought total defeat to LTTE terrorism.

On the same day the visiting Vice Admiral Valin met Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda at the Naval Headquarters in Colombo.

The two officials exchanged views with regard to security and matters of bilateral interest. Admiral Karannagoda gave a detailed account of the Sri Lanka Navy’s role in the successfully concluded war on terror.

The commanding officer of the French Naval Ship ‘BCR VAR’ Captain Frederic Babin-Chevage also present at the occasion.

Later on the day, Admiral Karannagoda held a reception to the visiting French Vice Admiral at the Navy Headquarters.

Vice Admiral Valin had arrived in Sri Lanka on board the supply ship ‘BCR VAR’ When the ship left Colombo with two officers of the Sri Lanka Navy, who were to learn and experience the life on a French Naval ship. They will stay on board till the ship reaches its next port of call, Djibouti in Somalia. This exercise is expected to strengthen the ties and broaden cooperation between the two Navies further.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 08 Jul 2009 12:47

Hilter's amazing stealth bomber! This aircraft,the Horten Ho-2-29,was built in small numbers and its superb design looks as if it were the forerunner of the B-2.Had it been built in time in numbers,the outcome of the war could've changed.The innovative use of charcoal dust and wood glue was the main ingredient in its stealth features.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... story.html

Nazis were close to building stealth bomber that could have changed course of history
Nazi engineers were dangerously close to building a fighter plane with stealth powers which could work against radar and may have changed the outcome of World War II.

Published: 7:00AM BST 08 Jul 2009

A full scale replica of the Ho 229 bomber made with materials available in the 1940s Photo: LINDA REYNOLDS / FLYING WING FILMS

A prototype of the Horten Ho 2-29 made a successful test flight just before Christmas 1944, but by then time was running out for the Nazis and they were never able to perfect the design or produce more than a handful of prototype planes.

However, an engineering team has reconstructed the bomber – albeit one that cannot fly – from blueprints.

It was designed with a greater range and speed than any plane previously built and was the first aircraft to use the stealth technology now deployed by the US in its B-2 bombers.

It has been recognised that Germany's technological expertise during the war was years ahead of the Allies, from the Panzer tanks through to the V-2 rocket.

But, by 1943, the Nazis were keen to develop new weapons as they felt the war was turning against them.

Nazi bombers were suffering badly when faced with the speed and manoeuvrability of the Spitfire.

In 1943 Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering demanded that designers come up with a bomber that would meet his '1,000, 1,000, 1,000' requirements – one that could carry 1,000kg over 1,000km flying at 1,000km/h.

Two pilot brothers in their thirties, Reimar and Walter Horten, suggested a "flying wing" design which they were sure would meet Goering's specifications.

The centre pod was made from a welded steel tube, and was designed to be powered by a BMW 003 engine.

But the most significant innovation was Reimar Horten's idea to coat it in a mix of charcoal dust and wood glue which he believed would absorb the electromagnetic waves of radar.

They hoped that that, in conjunction with the aircraft's sculpted surfaces, would render it almost invisible to radar detectors.

This was the same method eventually used by the U.S. in its first stealth aircraft in the early 1980s, the F-117A Nighthawk.

Until now, experts had always doubted claims that the Horten could actually function as a stealth aircraft.

But, using the blueprints and the only remaining prototype craft, Northrop-Grumman defence firm built a fullsize replica of a Horten Ho 2-29, which cost £154,000 and took 2,500 man-hours to construct.

The aircraft is not completely invisible to the type of radar used in the war, but it would have been stealthy enough and fast enough to reach London before Spitfires could be scrambled.

"If the Germans had had time to develop these aircraft, they could well have had an impact," Peter Murton, aviation expert from the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, in Cambridgeshire told the Daily Mail.

"In theory the flying wing was a very efficient aircraft design which minimised drag.

"It is one of the reasons that it could reach very high speeds in dive and glide and had such an incredibly long range."

The research was filmed for a documentary on the National Geographic Channel

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 08 Jul 2009 20:03

Makes a Good Read

High Technology Air Defense Weapons vs Planned US Force Structure

Why 187 F-22s Are Not Sufficient

The Proliferation of Counter-Stealth Systems

The Global Impact of Anti-Access Weapons

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 09 Jul 2009 16:48

Russia wants Israel to buy the S-300s sold to Iran if it wants to stop the deal.

Russian Defense System Sale to Iran Undermines Military Balance in Middle East
http://newsblaze.com/story/200907071843 ... story.html

EXcerpt:

Western politicians are increasingly worried about a significant change in Russia's position regarding the possible sale of S-300 air defense missiles to Iran. [1] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last week and asked him to annul the critical arms deal with Iran. [2]

The S-300, also called SA-20, is one of the world's most advanced air-defense systems. It is an improved version of the American Patriot battery, carried on trucks, and can locate one hundred targets simultaneously as well as intercept aircraft or cruise missiles up to a range of 196 kilometers and an altitude of 27 kilometers. [3] According to longtime Pentagon advisor Dan Goure, the purchase would effectively rule out any strike against Iran, an option Israel keeps on the table as a last resort in case negotiations over Iran's illicit nuclear program are unsuccessful. [4]

Rishi M · Post by **Rishi M** » 09 Jul 2009 17:16

Russians are honing their business skills, adapting with the Capitalist World

Philip wrote:Russia wants Israel to buy the S-300s sold to Iran if it wants to stop the deal.
Russian Defense System Sale to Iran Undermines Military Balance in Middle East
http://newsblaze.com/story/200907071843 ... story.html
EXcerpt:
According to longtime Pentagon advisor Dan Goure, the purchase would effectively rule out any strike against Iran, an option Israel keeps on the table as a last resort in case negotiations over Iran's illicit nuclear program are unsuccessful. [4]

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 10 Jul 2009 18:23

Malaysia's new Scorpene will transit to base via Cochin.A good opportunity for us to see it as we are getting the same.

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsg ... ?id=424300

Malaysia's First Submarine Begins Journey Home From France

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 13 Jul 2009 17:40

Israel wants 50+ JSFs including the VSTOL version.
Excerpt:

Israel-US F-35 deal 'targets Iran, Syria defense'
Sun, 12 Jul 2009 An F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
Israel's plans to buy US F-35 fighters indicate its desire to be able to penetrate the Russian air defense systems Iran and Syria are set to receive, a report says.

F-35 fighter aircraft can make the S-300 air defense systems ineffective, as computer simulations have shown that the new US stealth fighters outperform Russian missiles, Ria Novosti cited officials in Tel Aviv as saying.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=10 ... =351020104

Vinito · Post by **Vinito** » 14 Jul 2009 13:42

Philip wrote:Israel wants 50+ JSFs including the VSTOL version.
Excerpt:
Israel-US F-35 deal 'targets Iran, Syria defense'
Sun, 12 Jul 2009 An F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
Israel's plans to buy US F-35 fighters indicate its desire to be able to penetrate the Russian air defense systems Iran and Syria are set to receive, a report says.

F-35 fighter aircraft can make the S-300 air defense systems ineffective, as computer simulations have shown that the new US stealth fighters outperform Russian missiles, Ria Novosti cited officials in Tel Aviv as saying.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=10 ... =351020104

All this time the Israelis have been blaming every other middle eastern country of having or developing nuclear weapons inspite of they themselves sitting on a sizeable arsenal. Using this as a pretext they are always after the Amrikis to provide them with their latest hardware which no one can get, in this case the F-35 and also having their eyes on the F-22. The icing of the cake is that they dont even have to pay for it but (with their meager $7.2 billion budget) rather have the Amriki's adjust the amount in their yearly defence grant(pocket money) the Amriki's pay to them hence hey dont even have to spend a shilling on it.

the nuclear ambiguity status granted to the Israeli's is really paying off well

yossarian · Post by **yossarian** » 14 Jul 2009 13:55

According to a report in the Israeli daily Maariv, Medvedev has announced that if Israel wishes to prevent the sale of S-300 missiles to Iran, it must either buy them itself or work to have another country purchase them

How many of these systems do we have? Wiki claims 4. We could go shopping around Diwali..

anand_sankar · Post by **anand_sankar** » 14 Jul 2009 16:25

Nice blog post on the raging F-22 funding debate in the US

http://tinyurl.com/lhoj5r

Drevin · Post by **Drevin** » 14 Jul 2009 19:23

Yes , the main feeling I get from this F22 debate is that of wariness. Also the F35 and F22 programs seem to be connected very superficially. Until we know the status of the stovl f35 the picture seems cloudy. Something is definitely fishy wrt the F22 numbers.

AmitR · Post by **AmitR** » 14 Jul 2009 23:21

Drevin wrote:Yes , the main feeling I get from this F22 debate is that of wariness. Also the F35 and F22 programs seem to be connected very superficially. Until we know the status of the stovl f35 the picture seems cloudy. Something is definitely fishy wrt the F22 numbers.

I think US made a blunder by pumping in billions into F22 program. That money could have been used to create much more powerful drones which are the future of air force. With F22 they are stuck with a super expensive plane which they are afraid to use and lose. In addition, while stealth is very expensive and hard to make, anti-stealth is much more cheaper. In a few years anti-stealth will surely advance to a point where F22 will become pretty much useless in front of modern radars.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 15 Jul 2009 17:05

UR right.The use of drones/UCAVs has accelerated to the point of making manned missions passe,at least in the Af-Pak badlands.No pilot to be captured and paraded as a hostage and stealth as a bonus.Barring a heavy load delivered by a B-52 and larger aircraft that can carry a alrger payload,more recce and difficult strike missions will fall to UCAVs,while air dominance and air defence will remain the perogative of manned aircraft.Even here,the future has scenarios of manned aircraft as a flight leader in charge of a number of accompanying UCAVs acting in concert.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 20 Jul 2009 08:29

http://www.marsoc.usmc.mil/videos/marsoc%20vid_300k.wmv

Taking warfare beyond the front lines...

The foundation of MARSOC is its people.

MARSOC Marines must be mature, intelligent, mentally agile, determined, ethical, physically fit and able to contribute to and collaborate as part of an independent team. They must also be able to function in remote, ambiguous and complex environments with limited support.

http://our.marines.com/cms_content/show ... 91/id/1742

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 20 Jul 2009 08:45

AmitR wrote: I think US made a blunder by pumping in billions into F22 program. That money could have been used to create much more powerful drones which are the future of air force. With F22 they are stuck with a super expensive plane which they are afraid to use and lose. In addition, while stealth is very expensive and hard to make, anti-stealth is much more cheaper. In a few years anti-stealth will surely advance to a point where F22 will become pretty much useless in front of modern radars.

The F-22 is a plane designed in the 80s.

The US is pumping a lot of funds into the UAVs today. They have landed one on the deck of a air craft carrier!!!

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Jul 2009 11:01

high endurance UAV of the reaper kind are the perfect weapons for the low intensity bush wars and support for
small strikes on enemy groups . fairly cheap, more austere infra than a jet fighter base, much higher endurance,
very little noise or visual signature.

I am thinking why dont we try the same ideas against our naxal elements ? the optics on a searcher should be
good enough to spot people moving with arms in some campsite and call in the cavalry.

periodically we hear of IAF helis pressed into service to locate camps etc. but a heli can be heard from miles
and lacks endurance by a long long way.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 21 Jul 2009 00:47

Waste of monies I would say. When the Naxals take over Calcutta then we can think about investing. Remember to send out bids, in triplicate.

koti · Post by **koti** » 21 Jul 2009 09:38

NRao wrote:
AmitR wrote: I think US made a blunder by pumping in billions into F22 program. That money could have been used to create much more powerful drones which are the future of air force. With F22 they are stuck with a super expensive plane which they are afraid to use and lose. In addition, while stealth is very expensive and hard to make, anti-stealth is much more cheaper. In a few years anti-stealth will surely advance to a point where F22 will become pretty much useless in front of modern radars.
The F-22 is a plane designed in the 80s.

The US is pumping a lot of funds into the UAVs today. They have landed one on the deck of a air craft carrier!!!

The sad part for US in F-22 is they wont be selling it any time sooner. So it became a huge burden burden. If US of A puts in on sale, then it sure would end up good for them. Atleast in the economic prospective.

In a few years anti-stealth will surely advance to a point where F22 will become pretty much useless in front of modern radars

But it will fare better then the rest.

abhiti · Post by **abhiti** » 21 Jul 2009 18:37

koti wrote:In a few years anti-stealth will surely advance to a point where F22 will become pretty much useless in front of modern radars

Folks just underestimate F-22 too much. Sleath advantage that F-22 has is not about not being detected, but being detected late. So as long as F-22 keeps matches opponents radar (true forever) it will always get first look and first shoot advantage. The advantage isn't only to be compared with opponents fighter radar but also the radar carried by each of the missile being shot. It will be easier for F-22 to use towed decoys to ward of attack from a missile which depends on heat or radar guidance. Also with supercruise and high manuever capability missiles will need higher energy to hit F-22. The combination of sleath, high aesa power radar, supercruise, high manueverability, latest weapons, and improved situational awareness will always have telling effect on any fighter combat no matter what radar.