International Military Discussion

[NRao]

US plane in 1961 'nuclear bomb near-miss'

[NRao]

Doomsday scenario plan would divide North Korea

It sounds like a doomsday scenario drawn up by strategists at the height of the Cold War.

Chinese armies move south into the Korean peninsula and collide with American and South Korean forces moving north. The resulting clashes spark war between nuclear-armed superpowers.

A new report says such a confrontation is still a real danger in the event of a sudden collapse of the North Korean regime.

The report produced by the US research institute, the Rand Corporation, says that North Korea is a failing state that could fall apart at any moment.

It says agreement is urgently needed between Washington and Beijing on contingency plans - including setting up a temporary line of division inside North Korea to keep their armies apart.

....................................................

[member_23694]

pretty good launch video especially the stage seperation and ignition of the 2nd stage (after ~ 4min), something that ISRO can take note of for the GSLV D 5 launch for the Cryo test.

http://www.spacex.com/media-gallery/detail/1645/511

also check the Falcon 9 heavy configuration.. 53 tonne to LEO with 27 engine working at lift off.. wow !! where is ULV ???

[TSJones]

pretty good launch video especially the stage seperation and ignition of the 2nd stage (after ~ 4min), something that ISRO can take note of for the GSLV D 5 launch for the Cryo test.

http://www.spacex.com/media-gallery/detail/1645/511

also check the Falcon 9 heavy configuration.. 53 tonne to LEO with 27 engine working at lift off.. wow !! where is ULV ???

Please keep in mind that SpaceX is the recepient of help from NASA from the initial merlin engine design, to monetary goal payments, use of DoD test ranges, employment of ex-nasa personnel including ex-astronauts and so forth. This child was meant to succeed. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it did, if nothing else to put pressure on Boeing and LockMart. But one needs to kep the above facts in mind when thinking about the success of SpaceX.

[anmol]

No. 2 US nuke commander suspended amid probe
by U.S. Navy., foxnews.com
September 28th 2013

A senior officer at the military command in charge of all U.S. nuclear war-fighting forces is a suspect in a gambling investigation and has been suspended from his duties, two senior U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News.

Navy Vice Adm. Tim Giardina has not been arrested or charged, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent David Dales said Saturday. The state investigation is ongoing.

A well placed source told Fox News Saturday morning that the suspension was related to gambling, while the Associated Press reports that the case involves counterfeit chips at an Iowa Casino.

Giardina, deputy commander at U.S. Strategic Command, was suspended on Sept. 3 and is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a Strategic Command spokeswoman said.

The highly unusual action against a high-ranking officer at Strategic Command was made more than three weeks ago but not publicly announced at that time. The command is located at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Neb.

Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, who heads Strategic Command, suspended Giardina, according to the command's top spokeswoman, Navy Capt. Pamela Kunze. Giardina is still assigned to the command but is prohibited from performing duties related to nuclear weapons and other issues requiring a security clearance, she said.

Kehler has recommended to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that Giardina be reassigned, Kunze said. Giardina has been the deputy commander of Strategic Command since December 2011. He is a career submarine officer and prior to starting his assignment there was the deputy commander and chief of staff at U.S. Pacific Fleet.

DCI agents stationed at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa, discovered the counterfeit chips, Dales said. He would not say when the discovery was made or how much in counterfeit chips was found, only that "it was a significant monetary amount."

Council Bluffs is located across the Missouri River from Omaha.

"We were able to detect this one pretty quickly and jump on it," Dales said. He declined to give specifics on how authorities determined that casino chips had been counterfeited or how Giardina might have been involved.

Strategic Command oversees the military's nuclear fighter units, including the Navy's nuclear-armed submarines and the Air Force's nuclear bombers and nuclear land-based missiles.

Kunze said Strategic Command did not announce the suspension because Giardina remains under investigation and action on Kehler's recommendation that Giardina be reassigned is pending. The suspension was first reported by the Omaha World-Herald.

Kunze said a law enforcement investigation of Giardina began June 16. Kehler became aware of this on July 16, and the following day he asked the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to begin a probe.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Austin]

Proton-M launch success after last time failure

http://www.ilslaunch.com/mission-contro ... on-success

[Singha]

Two Marine generals lose their jobs over deadly Taliban attack
By Barbara Starr

In an action unprecedented during 12 years of war in Afghanistan, the commandant of the Marine Corps is firing two top generals for failing to protect troops and their base in southern Afghanistan from a Taliban attack.

Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos, has agreed to a finding that Maj. Gen. Charles M. Gurganus and Maj. Gen. Gregg A. Sturdevant "did not take adequate force protection measures" at Camp Bastion last year, the service said on Monday.

On September 14-15, 2012, Taliban fighters got through an unguarded part of a fence and engaged in a long running gun battle with U.S. and coalition forces.

Two Marines were killed and eight other personnel were wounded. Six aircraft were destroyed by the Taliban, the largest loss of Marine aircraft since the Vietnam War.

There were three investigations of the incident, two of which Gurganus ran, according to a Marine Corps official. But Amos then asked U.S. Central Command for an independent probe. Central Command recommended both generals leave the corps and Amos accepted it.

Amos has recommended to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus that Gurganus's promotion to lieutenant general, currently on hold in the Senate, be rescinded. He also recommended that Sturdevant receive a letter of censure from Mabus.

Both men have been told to submit their retirement letters.

In a statement, the Marines said Amos praised the generals for pursuing the U.S. combat goals, but "concluded that the commanders, in overseeing the camp's force-protection plan, did not exercise the level of judgment expected of general officers."

[nits]

In Afghanistan drawdown, U.S. forced to take costly option in transporting military gear out

Interesting article on logistics.

In the comments section of the article someone said ask the Soviets how they left Afghanistan. The answer is the Sovs left their equipment. There are old Sov tanks and trucks all over Afghanistan, rusting away.

Hopefully, the US will get most of its stuff out of the country but it will be a tricky process. Also, we don't have hardly any tanks in Afghanistan, we never sent them there, although we have the giant bomb proof trucks MRAPS there. They are very heavy and there are a couple of thousand of them. It will take a long slow process through Pakistan to get them out.

Sometime back i heard they were planning to sell it to TSP

[TSJones]

Two Marine generals lose their jobs over deadly Taliban attack
By Barbara Starr

In an action unprecedented during 12 years of war in Afghanistan, the commandant of the Marine Corps is firing two top generals for failing to protect troops and their base in southern Afghanistan from a Taliban attack.

Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos, has agreed to a finding that Maj. Gen. Charles M. Gurganus and Maj. Gen. Gregg A. Sturdevant "did not take adequate force protection measures" at Camp Bastion last year, the service said on Monday.

On September 14-15, 2012, Taliban fighters got through an unguarded part of a fence and engaged in a long running gun battle with U.S. and coalition forces.

Two Marines were killed and eight other personnel were wounded. Six aircraft were destroyed by the Taliban, the largest loss of Marine aircraft since the Vietnam War.

There were three investigations of the incident, two of which Gurganus ran, according to a Marine Corps official. But Amos then asked U.S. Central Command for an independent probe. Central Command recommended both generals leave the corps and Amos accepted it.

Amos has recommended to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus that Gurganus's promotion to lieutenant general, currently on hold in the Senate, be rescinded. He also recommended that Sturdevant receive a letter of censure from Mabus.

Both men have been told to submit their retirement letters.

In a statement, the Marines said Amos praised the generals for pursuing the U.S. combat goals, but "concluded that the commanders, in overseeing the camp's force-protection plan, did not exercise the level of judgment expected of general officers."

You can make mistakes in the Corps, just don't make the Corps look bad or you are history buddy. The Corps doesn't tolerate looking bad. If it was the Army or Air Force probably nothing would have been done, but the not the Corps.

[Garooda]

US to Deploy Global Hawks, F-35s, New Radars to Japan

WASHINGTON — During a diplomatic visit to Tokyo this week, US officials confirmed that the Japanese government has agreed to base “two to three” American-operated Global Hawk UAVs on Japanese soil beginning early next year.

The deployments of the unmanned aircraft “will not be year-round,” a senior administration official said. “It’ll be a seasonal deployment, but they'll be flying out of a US base in Japan for a period of the year.”

It will be the first time that US unmanned assets are based on Japanese soil, but the announcement was only one part of a sweeping defense cooperation effort between the two countries that will also include F-35 joint strike fighters, new ballistic missile radars, and increased bilateral cyber and ISR programs.

The moves kick off an emerging era of increased US and Japanese military cooperation that included joint training operations earlier this year in California and a program to share the costs of moving 5,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam sometime in the next decade.

The Japanese government has agreed to contribute about $3.1 billion to support the move to Guam.

In an Oct. 3 statement by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida and Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera, the two governments also agreed to base two US Marine Corps MV-22 squadrons in Okinawa to replace CH-46 helicopters, as well as deploying US Navy P-8 maritime patrol aircraft beginning in December.

The Marines will also begin to deploy their F-35B aircraft in 2017, marking the first forward deployment of the aircraft outside of the United States.

The “2+2” meeting, which marked the first time that the American and Japanese diplomatic and military chiefs met together in Tokyo also kicked off the official effort to rewrite the US-Japanese defense guidelines, the first time since 1997 that the document will be updated.

The new guidelines are expected to be completed by the end of 2014, Kishida said.

Hagel added that as the discussions over the defense guidelines continue, “we will identify new technologies and capabilities that we will need to meet emerging security challenges, including those in space and cyberspace. Cyber cooperation in particular has emerged as a focus area for the alliance,” and the two sides also pledged to establish a Cyber Working Group to begin to share information.

There is also a Defense ISR Working Group being established to look at more possibilities for cooperation there.

The allies also want to beef up their missile defense cooperation, which should be good news to US defense companies like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, which are looking to expand international opportunities for their radar and missile business segments.

The memo released by the two governments today underlined ballistic missile defense capabilities as a key element going forward, and for the first time established a location for the second ballistic missile defense radar at the Air Self-Defense Force base at Kyogamisaki.

[member_23370]

LoL China will be shitting bricks now.

[Surya]

The legendary Gen Vo Nguyen Giap passed away

a true legend

[Jaeger]

^+1. I was surprised to learn he was still alive actually. What a man. To lead his troops to victory against the most brutal and genocidal occupation - from the French to the US. A true Son of the Soil for Vietnam.

[Austin]

RIP Gen Vo Nguyen Giap , Vietnam has lost a true son.

Tested a new ICBM SRF which is equipped with hypersonic warheads

"The main difference of the new complex of the complex" Yars "with an intercontinental missile RS-24 that is equipped with a new hypersonic missile warheads that have the ability to maneuver altitude and course. Earlier this fundamentally new military equipment passed a series of successful flight tests at start-up with other missiles, "- said the official, commenting on the planned missile tests in the SRF, which in contracts for insurance start-ups received the name of the PC-26.

He noted that the program tests missile with new combat equipment contains several test launches in 2013-2014.

Earlier, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel-General Sergei Karakayev told reporters that "the possibility of such warheads were demonstrated technical means of verification of the U.S."

In his words, "to solve the problem of missile defense breakthrough, the new missiles have such characteristics that suggest the invulnerability in all phases of their flight."New Strategic Missile defense systems will be equipped with highly maneuverable and guided warheads and more advanced missile defense penetration aids. All this allows you to confidently predict the ability of Russian strategic nuclear forces to ensure the safety of the country at any development of the international situation, "- said S.Karakaev.

[Philip]

More on legendary Gen,Giap,perhaps the most successful post-WW2 general of the 20th century,who defeated two great powers, the French and the US.Gen.Giap's life story is a fascinating one,with many twists and turns both militarily and politically.

http://www.theguardian.com/world

Vietnamese general behind victories over French and US dies aged 102

Vo Nguyen Giap masterminded battle of Dien Bien Phu, which led to France leaving Indo-China, and commanded North's forces in Vietnam war

theguardian.com, Friday 4 October 2013

General Vo Nguyen Giap, who known as the Red Napoleon, died at a military hospital in Hanoi aged 102. Photograph: Na Son Nguyen/AP

Vo Nguyen Giap, the celebrated general who masterminded the defeat of the French military at Dien Bien Phu and led North Vietnam's forces against the US, has died aged 102 at a military hospital in Hanoi.

Giap, whose victory at Dien Bien Phu triggered France's departure from Indo-China, was a self-taught leader regarded as one of the great military geniuses of the post-second world war era.

He remained as the commander of the North's forces supporting the Viet Cong throughout the subsequent Vietnam war, being credited with the 1968 Tet offensive.

Giap, known as the Red Napoleon, was a national hero whose reputation was second only to that of Ho Chi Minh.

While some, such as the American journalist Stanley Karnow, regarded him as a strategist in the mould of Wellington, others, including the US general William Westmorland, believed his success was down to his ruthlessness.

Indeed, Westmorland complained to Karnow: "Any American commander who took the same vast losses as General Giap would have been sacked overnight."

Giap was born in the village of An Xa on 25 August 1911 and attended the University of Hanoi, gaining degrees in politics and law, before working as a journalist.

It was his command of Viet Minh forces during the eight-week battle of Dien Bien Phu, which raged from March to May in 1954, that made his reputation.

Vietnamese forces, who wore sandals made of car tyres and lugged their artillery piece by piece over mountains, managed to encircle and crush the French troops in a bloody engagement immortalised in Bernard Fall's Hell in a Very Small Place.

Although he was at first a renowned exponent of guerilla tactics, Giap commanded a devastating conventional assault at Dien Bien Phu, in which his forces used Chinese-supplied artillery to prevent effective resupply by air of the base deep in the hills of north-western Vietnam.

During the bitter fighting that would follow, the garrison, comprising a series of outposts in a deep valley, gradually succumbed.

On the brink of being overrun by Giap's forces, the French commander, Christian de Castries, was forbidden to surrender in an infamous order from his superior, General René Cogny in Hanoi, who told him: "You will fight to the end. It is out of the question to run up the white flag after your heroic resistance."

The unlikely victory, which is still studied at military schools, led not only to Vietnam's independence but hastened the collapse of colonialism across Indochina and beyond.

Giap went on to defeat the US-backed South Vietnam government in April 1975, reuniting a country that had been split into communist and non-communist states. He regularly accepted heavy combat losses to achieve his goals.

"No other wars for national liberation were as fierce or caused as many losses as this war," Giap told the Associated Press in 2005 in one of his last-known interviews with foreign media on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, the former South Vietnamese capital.

"But we still fought because for Vietnam, nothing is more precious than independence and freedom," he said, repeating a famous quote by Ho Chi Minh.

In later life Giap served as deputy premier and minister of defence.

[Philip]

To counter China's attempt at "breakout" of the "1st island chain",of which total domination is China's avowed goal Part-1,part of the alrger objective of domination of the entire Asia-Pacific region,the US is planning a new mil. base at Saipan to protect the "2nd island chain" from PLAN domination.The base will also be in support of Guam which China plans to neutralise with massed missile attacks.This is a very welcome move of the US,beefing up its strenrth and presence in the Asia-Pacific region.If it is also able to work out basing agreements with the Phillipines as before,along with allies like SoKo,Japan,Singapore and Oz,not to mention neutrals also afraid of China like Vietnam,Indonesia and Thailand,then China will find it very difficult to dominate the Asia-Pacific maritime region as intended.

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subc ... 0930000100

US to build base on Saipan to counter PLA missiles: analyst

Staff Reporter
2013-09-30
A US B-52 strategic bomber lands at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. (Photo/USAF)

The island of Saipan — an unincorporated territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean — will be reconstructed as a military base to prepare for a potential missile attack by the People's Liberation Army over the Second Island Chain, according to John Reed, a US military analyst, in an article written for the website of Foreign Policy magazine.

The Second Island Chain is a series of island groups stretching from northern Japan to the Bonin and Marianas islands. It is the second defense line of the United States to prevent the expansion of China's maritime power in the Eastern Pacific after the First Island Chain, which extends from Alaska to the Philippines, Reed said. Guam is currently the most important US military base in the Western Pacific with the Apra Harbor and Andersen Air Force Base.

If a conflict were occur, China would likely attack the naval base at Guam with its newly developed DF-21D anti-ship missiles, Reed said. He added that other islands within the area such as Saipan and Tinian should be used as support bases to the US Air Force and Navy under the Pentagon's Air-Sea Battle concept. He said that if the main base at Guam is destroyed, the US can still disperse its force into those small, bare bones bases in the Pacific.

Reed said the US Air Force is planning to lease 33 acres of land on Saipan for the next 50 years to build a "divert airfield" on an old World War Two airbase there. "Saipan would be used by American jets in case access to the US superbase at Guam or other Western Pacific airfields is limited or denied," said Reed. It will be able to accommodate cargo, fighter, and tanker aircraft along with up to 700 support personnel, he said.

Saipan's new air force base will be used for periodic divert landings, joint military exercises, and joint and combined humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts, according to US Air Force documents.

[NRao]

Pentagon-funded Atlas robot refuses to be knocked over

[Philip]

Indo-Turkey defence cooperation.

Turkey, India revive defence cooperation agreement
Monday Oct 07, 2013

Read more: http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticl ... z2h8g0ySBs

Phillipine navy's sub plans to counter China,with whom they havde a major dispute over the Spratly islands,some which have been occupied by China.

BEEFING UP | PH planning to acquire 3 submarines, other military assets - report
By: Priam F. Nepomuceno, Philippines News Agency
October 7, 2013 1:08 PM

One of the Philippines' recent military acquisitions, the BRP Alcaraz. FILE PHOTO

MANILA - The Philippines plans to acquire three submarines and among many other military assets, Northern Luzon Command head Major Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang says in a paper cited by the state-run Philippine News Agency.

PNA quoted Catapang as noting that submarines, by their inherent stealth capabilities, may be deployed to monitor and protect the country's extensive maritime domains. The vessels being eyed are conventional-powered or diesel-electric types, and not the nuclear-powered ones.

Also supposedly being eyed is the acquisition of six frigates for anti-air warfare, 12 corvettes for anti-submarine warfare, 18 offshore patrol vessels, and three anti-mine warfare ships.

The PNA said Catapang's paper did not specify when and how much it will cost the Philippines to complete these acquisitions.

An earlier Philippine Navy (PN) study revealed that some P497 billion is needed to fully upgrade its fleet.

Once it has this money, the Navy will acquire the above-mentioned items along with four sealift vessels, 18 landing craft utility vessels, three logistics ships, 12 coastal interdiction patrol boats, 30 patrol gunboats, and 42 multi-purpose assault craft that can be equipped with torpedoes and missiles.

Also envisioned are eight amphibious maritime patrol aircraft, 18 naval helicopters, and eight multi-purpose helicopters.

"Looking at the PN's inventory of mission essential equipment, it is very discernible that the majority of our assets and vessels were acquired not necessarily because they fit into our strategy or operational requirement but because they are available as grant from the US or from our allies," the PN study said.

[anmol]

Videos contradict Medal of Honor recipient’s account of Taliban attack
by Jonathan S. Landay, mcclatchydc.com
October 14th 2013

WASHINGTON — In his memoir of the 2009 battle in Afghanistan that brought him the Medal of Honor, Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer describes how he reflexively switched from his machine gun to his rifle and back to his machine gun as he mowed down a swarm of charging Taliban from the vehicle’s turret.

“My mind was completely blank. I fired so many thousands of rounds I didn’t think what I was doing,” Meyer, then a corporal, wrote in his 2012 book, “Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War.”

But videos shot by Army medevac helicopter crewmen show no Taliban in that vicinity or anywhere else on the floor of the Ganjgal Valley at the time and location of the “swarm.” The videos also conflict with the version of the incident in Marine Corps and White House accounts of how Meyer, now 25, of Columbia, Ky., came to be awarded the nation’s highest military decoration for gallantry.

The videos add to the findings of an ongoing McClatchy investigation that determined that crucial parts of Meyer’s memoir were untrue, unsubstantiated or exaggerated, as were the Marine Corps and White House accounts of how he helped extract casualties from the valley under fire. The White House and Marine Corps have defended the accuracy of their accounts of Meyer’s actions. The Marine Corps declined to comment on the videos.

Army National Guard Sgt. Kevin Duerst, the helicopter crew chief whose helmet camera recorded one of the videos, confirmed the absence of insurgents on the valley floor as the aircraft flew in on a first run to retrieve casualties.

“We totally flew over everything. . . . There was nothing going on down there,” Duerst said in a telephone interview Friday. “There was no serious gunfight going on.”

Former Army Capt. William Swenson, who’s to receive a Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama on Tuesday for gallantry in the same battle, declined in an interview Sunday to directly address questions about the purported swarming of Meyer’s vehicle.

But, he said, the videos showed the reality of what happened in the Ganjgal Valley on Sept. 8, 2009.

“Those videos allowed me to relive the reality of that battlefield: what I saw, what other people saw, where people were, the valley, the terraces, the trees, the friendlies,” meaning Afghan and U.S. forces, said Swenson, 34, of Seattle. “It shows the truth of that battle, a truth I never expected to see again.”

In a telephone interview Friday, Meyer said, “I wrote my book to the best of my recollection of what happened. And if that’s not it, then that’s not it.”

After reviewing the videos, Meyer said his vehicle was charged after the helicopter had departed with Swenson’s wounded sergeant and an injured Afghan soldier. His book, however, puts the “swarm” before the aircraft landed for the pair.

Bing West, who co-authored the book, didn’t address the videos in an email, saying only that a McClatchy reporter who survived the ambush “has annually dredged up baseless innuendoes to attack the Medal of Honor process and to denigrate the valor of Meyer."

The videos aren’t the only new evidence that’s surfaced that disputes crucial events described in the official accounts and in Meyer’s book.

The Army narrative of how Swenson was nominated for the Medal of Honor and Swenson’s comments in the interview undermine the book’s claim that Meyer killed an insurgent with a rock after he’d joined the then-Army captain in an unarmored pickup to recover casualties.

It was Marine Capt. Ademola Fabayo, not Meyer, who rode in the truck with Swenson, according to Swenson and the account posted Thursday on an Army Web page devoted to Swenson’s Medal of Honor. Fabayo was a lieutenant at the time.

“Fabayo and I fought side by side for the entire battle,” Swenson said. “When Fabayo and I returned into that valley in that unarmored truck, he was shooting out of his passenger side window and I was on the radio, driving.”

It wasn’t until the pickup broke down and Fabayo and he switched to an armored Humvee for a final run that Meyer joined Marine Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez, an Afghan translator and them, Swenson said.

The Army narrative and Swenson’s account are corroborated by sworn statements included in Meyer’s Medal of Honor file or given to military investigators after the battle by Rodriguez-Chavez, Fabayo and then-Maj. Kevin Williams, the Marine commander who nominated Meyer for his Medal of Honor.

The videos, Swenson’s comments and the Army account of Swenson’s actions add to the controversy that’s embroiled the battle from the minute it erupted. Tipped off in advance, scores of insurgents trapped Afghan forces and their American trainers in the U-shaped valley, firing storms of bullets and shells from a fortress-like village and the surrounding slopes.

A nearby U.S. base failed to provide air support or adequate artillery cover to the Afghan and U.S. forces for 90 minutes. Two Army officers later received career-ending reprimands, while Swenson – in an interview with military investigators – accused senior U.S. commanders of imposing politically driven rules of engagement that were getting U.S. troops killed.

The battle, which lasted six hours, cost the lives of five American servicemen, nine Afghan troops and an Afghan translator, and 17 others – including Swenson and Meyer – were wounded.

Swenson, who was training Afghan Border Police on his second tour of Afghanistan, and Meyer, who was training Afghan troops, were recommended separately for the Medal of Honor for repeatedly returning to the battlefield to retrieve casualties, including the bodies of three Marines and a Navy corpsman. Swenson also was recommended for his role in extracting U.S. troops from the ambush.

In addition to finding that key parts of Meyer’s memoir, as well as the Marine Corps and White House accounts of his actions, were embellished, untrue or unsubstantiated, McClatchy’s investigation raised questions about the military awards process, which some lawmakers, military officers and veterans groups say is subject to improper influence and manipulation.

McClatchy’s findings were based on dozens of military documents – including sworn statements by American participants in the battle – and on interviews last year with nine Afghan troops who survived the clash near the border with Pakistan.

The purported “swarm” of Meyer’s vehicle by charging insurgents is a major facet of the official narratives and his memoir.

In the book, Meyer and West wrote that Meyer, firing from his Humvee’s turret, killed up to five of some 10 insurgents who assaulted the vehicle as he and the driver, Rodriguez-Chavez, pushed into the ambush zone in a rock-strewn wash that leads up the Ganjgal Valley to the village of the same name.

Their telling describes Meyer’s purported thoughts and actions as he mows down Taliban with a .50-caliber machine gun and his rifle. Rodriguez-Chavez ran down an insurgent, they wrote.

Narrating the incident at Meyer’s Sept. 15, 2011, award ceremony, Obama related how the insurgents were “running right up to the Humvee, Dakota fighting them off.”

Meyer and West wrote that the “swarm” occurred just before an Army Black Hawk helicopter landed to retrieve Swenson’s sergeant, Kenneth Westbrook, who died a month later from complications from the treatment of bullet wounds. A map in the book titled “Meyer swarmed during MEDEVAC” pinpoints the location of the swarm at 300 meters – 328 yards – ahead of where the Black Hawk landed.

The videos, however, dispute the accounts of the “swarm” in the book, the Marine Corps accounts and the narrative Obama read.

Cameras mounted in the helmets of the co-pilot of the Black Hawk – Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer Jason Penrod – and of the crew chief, Duerst, captured the scene as the aircraft flew into the valley to retrieve Westbrook and the wounded Afghan soldier.

All accounts agree that Westbrook was being carried out of the kill zone by other Americans escaping the ambush when Rodriguez-Chavez and Meyer sped around them and headed up the wash in search of the missing Marines and Navy corpsman with whom contact had been lost.

The videos record the Black Hawk helicopter’s west-to-east flight up the wash. The aircraft then turns right onto a western heading, banks around and lands in clouds of dust to pick up Westbrook from a terrace where Swenson had laid out a bright orange panel. Swenson is seen kissing Westbrook on his forehead before the aircraft takes off.

The videos record sweeping shots of the terraced valley, occasional trees and enclosing slopes. Penrod’s video – shot through the cockpit windscreen – briefly shows another U.S. helicopter above the valley, looking to rain rockets and gunfire at any insurgents who showed themselves, and trying to spot the missing Americans.

No Taliban are seen anywhere on the valley floor, including the vicinity of the location of the “swarm” pinpointed by Meyer and West.

What is briefly seen in Penrod’s video, between the helicopter cockpit windshield divider and the right-hand wiper blade, are the blurry figures of the American ambush survivors crossing out of the kill zone with the injured Westbrook. Just ahead of them is a dust cloud thrown up by Meyer’s vehicle.

At that moment, Duerst’s video – shot from the Black Hawk’s right door – records an Afghan soldier walking upright in the open, pointing up toward the village. He’s the first of at least five Afghan soldiers seen in the vicinity of where Meyer and West pinpoint the surge. None are shooting or taking cover from incoming fire or explosions. Nor are they running to help as would be expected if insurgents were attacking Meyer’s vehicle.

Instead, the five walk slowly, fully exposed to any gunfire, moving toward the village. Duerst’s video shows a second Afghan soldier pointing up and forward, trying to direct the helicopter crew’s attention toward the village.

Duerst said the only insurgents seen firing were spotted by the crew member in the left-hand door in an area at the base of a mountain on the northern side of the village, which is about a quarter mile from the kill zone. “That’s why we turned when we did,” he explained.

In the interview, Meyer said the videos didn’t depict the time the swarm took place. He said his vehicle was charged after the aircraft flew away with Westbrook.

“There was no way I was all the way up. I didn’t even push forward . . . until that bird was out of that,” he said. “The bird was off the deck when the swarm happened.”

But the narrative in the book and a timeline in the appendix say the swarm occurred before the helicopter landed.

The timing of the videos with Meyer’s run into the wash also corresponds with sworn statements given by Rodriguez-Chavez, Fabayo and other U.S. servicemen.

The Army’s account of Swenson’s action and Swenson’s comments undermine Meyer’s claim that he killed an insurgent by bashing his head in with a rock.

In his memoir, Meyer relates how he joined Swenson in the unarmored Ford Ranger pickup belonging to the Afghan Border Police for a run into the kill zone to search for casualties and the missing Marines and Navy corpsman.

After returning to the wash, Meyer got out of the vehicle, while Swenson remained behind the wheel because of injuries, the book says.

Meyer, the book continues, ran across the body of Dodd Ali, an Afghan soldier whom he’d befriended, and as he was getting ready to pick up the corpse, a “tough looking Afghan with a long black beard” tried to take him prisoner at gunpoint.

After firing a grenade at the Afghan that failed to explode, Meyer grappled with the attacker and killed him with the rock, according to the book.

The incident, however, isn’t mentioned in any sworn witness statements – including the handwritten statement that Meyer provided to military investigators days after the battle – nor does it appear in any of the official accounts.

It was Fabayo, a Nigeria-born American citizen, who joined Swenson in the pickup – not Meyer – to retrieve casualties under ferocious enemy fire before the bullet-torn vehicle broke down, according to Swenson, the Army account of his actions and sworn statements, including by Rodriguez-Chavez, who was awarded the Navy Cross for gallantry.

“After the second trip, it became very clear to us the absurdity of the situation,” Swenson told McClatchy. “We are in an unarmored truck. We have helicopters overhead. The enemy is still engaging us and my truck is destroyed. We had to return; we had to get an armored vehicle.”

In a Nov. 12, 2009, statement to military investigators, Fabayo described the shock of finding numerous casualties, picking them up with Swenson and slinging them into the pickup.

“We had so many casualties. . . . I mean there was blood everywhere, guys shoot everywhere. It was turning into a mass casualty situation,” recalled Fabayo, who also received the Navy Cross for gallantry. “By that time, it didn’t matter. We were not going to leave our guys behind.”

Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @jonathanlanday

Video in question:

[NRao]

With U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, American military gear sold as scrap

[Austin]

US Army Leadership Delivers Message of Frustration, Resignation

[NRao]

These guys have some b@11s:

China Asked Korea Not to Sell Jets to Philippines

[Austin]

America's soaring military budget: no control, no oversight - expert

[NRao]

US Army plans 'Iron Man' armour for soldiers

[Austin]

Russia Develops Multiple Nuclear Systems - Bill Sweetman

[Austin]

Iran unveils Sayyad-2 surface to air missile system

According to statements in the Iranian media, the solid-fuel rocket Sayyad 2 supposedly has a range of over 100 km, the flight speed of 1200 m / s and a warhead weighing 200 kg.



Pictures ---> http://bmpd.livejournal.com/657566.html

[negi]

Impressive has close resemblance to American SM-RIM66 missile actually even the Russian 9M38 missile from SA-11 Gadfly.

[Austin]

Yes Sayyad 2 to me has mid control surface resembling SM-1 something they had from Shah era and rear control surface like BUK-M1. Though this missile has range similar to SM-1 series in 100 plus km range

I think this SAM has SARH or TVM guidance , Indeed Quite impressive for a country under UN sanctions and under microscopic view of major Western Intel.

[NRao]

Nov , 2012 :: US military invests in 3D printing on the frontline

the US military is developing its own 3D printers for the frontline which will enable soldiers to quickly and cheaply produce spare parts for their weapons and equipment.

By bringing the new technology to the battlefield, troops will be able to produce spare parts for sensitive equipment, such as GPS receivers and air drones, without having to wait weeks for new deliveries.

"Parts for these systems break frequently, and many of them are produced overseas, so there's a long lead time for replacement parts," said operations research analyst D. Shannon Berry in a statement.

"Instead of needing a massive manufacturing logistics chain, a device that generates replacement parts is now small and light enough to be easily carried in a backpack or on a truck," he added.

The Future Warfare centre at Space and Missile Defense Command in Alabama has been developing its own 3D printers as an alternative to the more expensive printers available commercially. Early versions of its printer have cost just under $700 each, compared to at least $2,000 for commercial models.

The 3D printers are now being rolled out to the frontline in shipping containers that act as mobile production labs. The first of the $2.8m labs, which contains 3D printers and CNC machines to make parts from aluminium, plastic and steel, was sent to Afghanistan in July this year. While there are no plans to print weapons from scratch, the labs could produce spare parts to repair them, according to Pete Newell, head of the US army's Rapid Equipping Force.

The military developments mirror similar advances claimed by amateur gun enthusiasts in recent months, with a group of libertarian activists in the US releasing blueprints for 3D printed weapons, while another hobbyist announced the successful firing of a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle using 3D-printed parts.

Following that news, Ronen Kadushin, a pioneer of the open design movement, told Dezeen that advances in 3D printing could allow people to "print ammunition for an army". "Nobody will kill anybody with a 3D printed gun soon, I hope. But in the future, you don’t know," he warned.

The technology has also been taking off in civilian manufacturing, with President Obama investing $30m of government money in a national 3D printing centre in Youngstown, Ohio this August. The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute is part of a military-led public-private partnership to research the possibilities of mass-producing machine parts.

We've been covering the latest developments in 3D printing as the technology proliferates through the design world. In a recent interview with Dezeen, Janne Kyttanen, co-founder of design studio Freedom of Creation and creative director of 3D printer company 3D Systems, predicted that consumers would soon be able to save money by printing products at home rather than shopping for them, while MakerBot Industries CEO and co-founder Bre Pettis told Dezeen that cheap 3D printers would place manufacturing back in the home, as it was before the industrial revolution.

[TSJones]

Looks like the Hubble Telescope can be replaced with something even better although I am not sure I understand the concept.

DARPA MOIRE project (with video):

http://spaceref.com/nasa-hack-space/dar ... ncept.html

[NRao]

Meet the US Army’s hybrid hellion

Developed by the Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), this all-wheel-drive beast is unusual for reasons that go well beyond its hybrid powertrain. It was designed in conjunction with non-traditional contractors, such as the motorsport-steeped Roush Enterprises. Moreover, it’s a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle, its rear-mounted lithium-iron phosphate battery charged by a 175-horsepower Subaru turbodiesel boxer engine. And although it is smaller and lighter than other similar Army vehicles, such as the long-serving Humvee, it still offers vanguard blast-mitigation and survivability features.

[Austin]

ILS Proton-M successfully launches Inmarsat-5 F1

[TSJones]

Brazil space craft lost after Chinese launch:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/12/ ... b-cbers-3/

A Chinese Long March 4B launched the CBERS-3 satellite at 03:26 UTC on Monday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. However, despite initial news of a launch success, the Chinese media are now claiming the launch vehicle suffered a problem during ascent, failed to insert the satellite into its required orbit, leading to the satellite being classed as lost and potentially re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.

[Austin]

DARPA designs giant foldable satellite capable of surveiling 40% of Earth (VIDEO)

[Austin]

Arianespace, Astrium sign more than euro 2 bn rocket supply contract

PARIS, December 14, 22:14 /ITAR-TASS/. The French company Arianespace, which provides commercial space launch services from Kourou at the Guiana Space Centre, and EADS Astrium, the world’s second leading space technology company, have signed a more than two billion euro contract for the supply of 18 additional Ariane-5 heavy carrier rockets.

The contract was signed at Kourou in the presence of President Francois Hollande, who had arrived in French Guiana on a two-day visit.

The 18 new Ariane 5 rockets will be launched starting in 2017, following the 35 launchers that were already ordered in 2009, in the PB batch.

This latest order brings the number of Ariane 5 launchers under construction or on order to 38. It ensures that Arianespace's customers will enjoy continued launch services from the Guiana Space Centre until the end of the decade.

The contract follows the framework contract signed by Arianespace on September 17, 2013, which already enabled Astrium and its partners to start procurement of long-lead items, and begin production of the new launchers.

Commenting on this latest contract, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Stephane Israel said: “I would first like to thank the French President, whose presence here today at the Guiana Space Center shows how important France considers its space program, and also reflects how both public authorities and our partners identify with the values that characterize Arianespace, namely reliability, availability and quality. I would also like to thank Astrium of course, and the European launcher industry, for delivering Ariane 5, an exceptional launch vehicle that has driven Arianespace's operational and business success. Coming at the end of a record year of launch orders, this contract guarantees the longevity of the Ariane launch system, while also improving its competitiveness. In other words, it's a strong sign of confidence in our future, allowing us to give customers the services that best match their needs.”

Astrium CEO Francois Auque thanked Arianespace for “this major new order, which shows that the industrial network set up by Astrium is capable of producing the most reliable launcher in the world as well as ensuring the global leadership of Arianespace.”

He believes that the contract reaffirms Astrium’s role “as prime contractor of Ariane 5 since 2003 and reinforces its robust order book. The presence of the French President here in Kourou today shows the importance of the space sector to the European economy and industry, as well as France’s commitment to guarantying European independent access to space for the past 40 years.”

Arianespace is the world’s leading satellite launch company, delivering innovation to its customers since 1980. Backed by 21 shareholders and the European Space Agency, the company offers an international workforce renowned for a culture of commitment and excellence. As of December 1, 2013, Arianespace had carried out a total of 215 Ariane launches, 31 Soyuz launches (five at the Guiana Space Centre and 26 at Baikonur via Starsem) and two Vega launches. Arianespace has a backlog of 21 Ariane 5, 10 Soyuz and four Vega launches, equalling three years of business.

Astrium is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services.

[Austin]

The future of Russia’s launch vehicle fleet

[TSJones]

The future of Russia’s launch vehicle fleet

I have never seen such a frank discussion from the Russians concerning their rocket fleet. I am impressed.

BTW, we may be counting on the Russians to launch a power module for our next space station that would be in Cis lunar space. They would be using their energia rocket system for this BEO launch. However, first the US has to complete the new SLS rocket system. That may be a tall order with the new budget realities.

[Austin]

I suspect irrespective of their geo-political differences Russia and US and EU would be co-operating in their future space program specially Mars,Lunar and Manned program .....its impossible for any single country to marshal the resources for these programs.

Another promising area between these countries will be Nuclear power for space applications

[Austin]

In Pictures Armoured vehical Tigr and Wolf derivatives

Tigr
Wolf

[Austin]

Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Russia's Nuclear Forces - James M. Acton