August 11, 2014: Strategy Page

Between May and June 2014 the U.S. Navy conducted tests using a Nimitz class carrier off the coast of California to determine if there was any benefit in expanding the EA-18G "Growler" electronic warfare aircraft squadron on each Nimitz class ship from five aircraft to eight. The tests were a success and the navy is trying to use that success to get Congress to provide cash to buy another 33 EA-18Gs to expand the squadrons on all the large carriers. The navy has enough support in Congress to get some additional EA-18Gs but defense budgets are being cut and there are too many worthy (or not) projects seeking cash that is not there anymore. The EA-18G manufacturer would like to keep production going into 2017 but it looks like they’ll be lucky to keep the line going into 2016.

Meanwhile the navy is getting some money for EA-18G upgrades. In 2013 that included new communications technology that allows the EA-18G to share data instantly with other EA-18Gs and other types of aircraft (combat and support, like E-2 and E-3 AWACS). The new capability is JTIDS (Joint Tactical Information Data System). Development (by the U.S. Air Force) of this system began 30 years ago and mature examples of the technology only began showing up in the last decade. JTIDS is a datalink that gives the pilot complete and real-time situation reports, showing what other pilots (and planes like the E-3) are seeing. Pilots who tested JTIDS reported drastic increases in their situational awareness (a “sense of where you are”). For example, during combat training exercises pilots with JTIDS had a 4-to-1 kill ratio in their favor against pilots without JTIDS.

Noting results like this the navy began adopting JTIDS, not only to improve the capabilities of its own aircraft but also to improve data sharing with air force warplanes, which often carry out joint operations with the navy. JTIDs is just one of several new technologies navy aircraft will need to get their “combat Internet” working. The EA-18G was the first navy aircraft to test JTIDS because the EA-18G is designed to work with air force and navy aircraft as the EA-18G now provides electronic warfare support for both services.

 EA-18G saw combat for the first time over Libya in 2011 and got to use a lot of its high tech gear in combat for this first time. This included the ALQ-99 radar jamming pod and an APG-79 phased array (AESA) radar, which also has some jamming capability (via the right software) as well as the ability to fry electronics. It was suggested that the EA-18G might have done this to some Libyan armored vehicles.

It was only in 2007 that the navy received its first operational (as opposed to developmental) EA-18G and in 2008 the first EA-18G squadron entered service. In early 2014 the hundredth EA-18G was delivered and there are only 17 to go on the original order. Meanwhile the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps are planning on developing an electronic warfare version of the new F-35, or use a UAV, if the EA-18Gs are not plentiful or powerful enough to provide all the electronic protection needed in future wars.

The EA-18Gs have replaced the aging navy EA-6Bs that long provided electronic protection against enemy radars and missiles for navy and air force aircraft. The air force retired their EF-111 electronic warfare aircraft in 1998, on the assurance that the navy would get the EA-18G into service before the EA-6Bs died of old age. The older 27 ton EA-6B carries a crew of four, while the highly automated 29 ton EA-18G will have only 2 people on board. The EA-18G carries up to 5 electronic warfare pods, plus 2 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and 2 anti-radiation (HARM) missiles. It may be the last manned aircraft to handle the EW job. UAVs are becoming more capable and will eventually take over this dangerous task.

JOUKOVSKI (région de Moscou), 11 août - RIA Novosti

Les sanctions décrétées contre la Russie n'ont pas dissuadé l'Allemagne, les Etats-Unis et la France de participer au salon international de l'armement et du matériel militaire Oboronexpo-2014 de Joukovski (région de Moscou), ont annoncé lundi les organisateurs de l'événement.

"Les principales entreprises de l'industrie de défense russe participeront au salon", indiquent les organisateurs dans un communiqué précisant en outre que l'Algérie, l'Allemagne, l'Arménie, la Biélorussie, la Chine, les Etats-Unis, la France, l'Inde, la République tchèque et la Suisse prendront en outre part au salon qui se déroulera du 13 au 17 août.

L'exposition réunira au total 250 participants qui exposeront leurs produits sur une surface de plus de 6.000m2 .

11 Aug 2014 Pacific Sentinel
 

The chairman of the US House Armed Services Committee said Thursday in Taipei that he supports Taiwan efforts to participate in the Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC) and to obtain a transfer of US technology to build its own submarines.

"We have some influence and we will push to see that they (Taiwan's armed forces) are invited next time" to take part in RIMPAC, Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif) told CNA in an interview just before he and his congressional delegation wrapped up a two-day visit to Taiwan.

He said Taiwan's participation in the US-led RIMPAC, the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise, will help build a stronger relationship between Taiwan and the United States.

McKeon said the issue was raised during his meetings with Taiwan's defense minister, Yen Ming, and the National Security Council Secretary-General King Pu-tsung.

RIMPAC 2014, held June 26 to Aug. 1 in and around Hawaii, marked the first time that China took part.

McKeon, who arrived in Taiwan Wednesday as part of a trip to East Asia, also met with President Ma Ying-jeou Thursday. During the meeting, Ma reiterated Taiwan's desire to have diesel-electric submarines to strengthen the country's defense capabilities.

Read the full story at Want China Times

Aug. 8, 2014 - By ANDREW TILGHMAN – Defense News

President Obama says it all the time – no combat troops will return to Iraq.

But many experts believe it will be extremely hard to achieve Obama’s newly expanded military mission there without more Americans on the ground.

“I think the slippery slope analogy is the right one for Iraq right now,” said Barry Posen, director of the Security Studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

On Thursday, Obama authorized a new open-ended operation in response to gains by the Islamic State militants in northern Iraq.

For now, the new mission relies on aircraft based outside Iraq. The U.S. will help defend the Kurdish city of Erbil from Islamic State fighters using “targeted air strikes,” Obama said. Those air strikes began Friday morning and included at least three separate bombings before noon, defense officials said.

The second mission is a commitment to protect some 40,000 Iraqi Yazidis who are trapped on a mountain surrounded by the militants. That began Thursday night with air drops of food and water for at least 8,000 people.

Military experts say tactical commanders will want more ground forces. Forward air controllers could provide more precise targeting information. U.S. advisers could support the Kurdish forces fighting the militants. And U.S. commanders may need to expand their intelligence effort on the ground.

In turn, U.S. forces might need a forward operating base with a security perimeter, more force protection and a logistical supply line. Medevac capabilities may require a helicopter detachment and a small aviation maintenance shed.

“You’re talking about a 10,000- to 15,000-soldier effort to include maintenance, and medevac and security,” said retired Army Col. Peter Mansoor, who served as executive officer to David Petraeus during the 2007 surge in Iraq and now is a professor of military history at Ohio State University.

“But that is the price you’re going to pay if you want to roll back [Islamic State]. You can’t just snap your fingers and make it go away,” Mansoor said.

Obama’s address to the nation Thursday night suggested that the city of Erbil will be a no-go zone for the militants, and he offered no timeframe for that commitment.

The biggest near-term military challenge stems from Obama’s commitment to prevent a “genocide” of the Yazidi people trapped on Mount Sinjar. The air drops providing food and water that began Thursday night are a short-term solution. Obama promised to use air strikes on Islamic State forces, if needed, to “break the siege” and “help refugees get the shelter and food and water they so desperately need.”

Getting the Yazidis off the mountain and safely transporting them to a secure location will require either an “an enormous helicopter air lift” or ground combat units to confront militants and secure a safe-passage corridor for the refugees, Mansoor said.

“That may require some kind of ground presence to escort them through enemy held territory,” Mansoor said.

“That is [IS] controlled territory. There could be major combat along the way. This could be very difficult,” Mansoor said.

'Leverage Locals'

The key to limiting ground-level involvement for U.S. service members will be coordinating with the Kurdish Peshmerga militia or other allied forces, said Mark Gunzinger, a retired Air Force colonel and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

“I don’t think this is headed down a slippery slope whatsoever,” Gunzinger said in an interview Friday.

He pointed to the success at the early stages of the Afghanistan war in 2001 when U.S. aircraft, working closely with small U.S. special operations teams and friendly Afghan forces, toppled the Taliban regime.

“I think that kind of model could be effective in Iraq,” Gunzinger said.

That model may be even more effective today because the U.S. military has far more drones to provide a constant presence overhead.

Also, there is little evidence that Islamic State forces have significant anti-aircraft weaponry, making an aggressive U.S.-led air campaign easier, Gunzinger said.

The analogy of Afghanistan in 2001 was also cited by Seth Jones, a counter-insurgency expert with the Rand Corporation. “Leveraging locals is the key,” Jones said in an interview Friday, adding that additional ground forces may be limited to small elements of forward air controllers and special forces teams.

While the need for U.S. ground troops may be limited, Jones said, Obama’s plan poses another risk: If air strikes are successful in the area around Erbil, pressure may grow for the U.S. to provide similar air strikes in other parts of Iraq. “The slippery slope may be a much broader demand for air strikes,” Jones said.

It’s unclear how far Obama and his military leaders plan to take this current campaign.

“There is still some question about whether this is going to be a major air campaign to defeat [the Islamic State] or whether it is going to me more along the lines of strikes and raids to deny them access and prevent them from making further advances. I’m not sure,” Gunzinger said.

Obama’s language Thursday was ambiguous, Posen said. Despite his repeated aversion to sending “combat troops” back into Iraq, Obama has signaled a long-term commitment to support the Iraqi military and a continued belief in a cohesive, Democratic Iraq in which Sunnis and Shiites and Kurds share power under a Bagdad led government.

“Is this going to be a limited mission? Or is this the beginning of a project where we are once again going to fix Iraq, to build a homogenous, unified Iraq?” Posen said. .

“If they are going to succumb to that logic, if they are going to try to build the beautiful outcome that the Bush Administration failed to build, then they are not edging up to the slippery slope — they are diving over it.”

10 août 2014 20minutes.ch

Contrairement à ses déclarations d'intention, la Banque nationale suisse détient toujours des participations auprès de fabricants d'armes controversés.

La Banque nationale suisse (BNS) détient toujours des actions dans plusieurs entreprises de défense américaines d'une valeur supérieure à 250 millions de francs, rapporte l'hebdomadaire Schweiz am Sonntag.

Dans son rapport annuel 2013, la BNS avait pourtant annoncé ne plus vouloir miser dans des titres controversés liés à l'armement. «La Banque nationale a décidé en 2013 de ne plus investir dans des actions d'entreprises qui produisent des armes interdites à l'échelle internationale», avait-elle énoncé. Depuis, la BNS a confirmé, durant le premier semestre de l'année, ses participations dans les entreprises américaines de défense Honeywell International et Lockheed, en les renforçant même à 66 millions de francs, respectivement 43 millions de francs. Les deux sociétés sont notamment accusées par des organisations des droits de l'homme, mais aussi par l'Etat norvégien, de fabriquer des armes nucléaires.

Les participations de la BNS dans Raytheon et General Dynamics sont encore plus controversées. Les deux firmes sont toutes les deux suspectées d'être impliquées dans la fabrication de munition. La Banque nationale n'a pas voulu s'exprimer sur ces participations. Elle affirme se baser sur des analyses de titres effectuées par des institutions bien établies. Elle se serait néanmoins quand même séparée de participations au sein de la firme Textron active dans la fabrication de munition.

Les actions des sociétés actives dans l'armement ont la cote ces derniers mois avec la hausse du nombre de conflits militaires et les incertitudes géopolitiques.

8 août 2014 portail des Sous-Marins

Le ministère japonais de la défense et l’US Navy prévoient de lancer un projet commun de recherche afin de développer un drone sous-marin pouvant mener pendant 30 jours des activités de surveillance et d’alerte, a appris le quotidien japonais The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Les 2 pays souhaitent en particulier développer une pile à combustible pour le drone sous-marin. La principale mission du drone sera de recueillir des informations sur la marine chinoise qui accélère la modernisation de ses sous-marins.

Le ministère japonais de la défense prévoit de dépenser environ 25 millions $ pour ce projet, entre 2014 et 2018.

Le drone sous-marin, d’une longueur de 10 m, sera conçu pour pouvoir rester en plonger pendant environ 30 jours.

Référence : Asia News Network

August 10, 2014: Strategy Page

The U.S. Navy recently retired its last C-9B transport aircraft. The C-9s are actually DC-9 airliners converted to serve as 23 C-9A medical evacuation aircraft for the air force and 29 C-9B convertible personnel/cargo aircraft for the navy and marines. There were also three converted to be VC-9C VIP transports for the Department of Defense and two were purchased by Kuwait as C-9Ks. All of these have now been retired except for two C-9Bs still in use by the marines. The C-9 weighed 49-52 tons (depending on type) and could carry up to 16 tons of cargo or over 120 passengers. The C-9 entered service in the 1960s and 70s although the navy bought twelve second hand DC-9s in the 1980s and converted them to C-9s. 

The DC-9 was very popular once it entered service in 1965. Nearly a thousand were built before production ceased in 1982. The DC-9 continued in production as the MD-80, MD-90 and Boeing 717 until 2006. Over 2,400 of all models were produced and hundreds are still in service. But the navy wanted a replaced for the C-9 and in 2001 the navy received its first C-40A transport. The navy has received a dozen C-40s so far. The C-40 is actually a Boeing 737-700C commercial aircraft. The plane entered service in 2001, and 19 have been built, eleven for the navy. The 78 ton aircraft carry 121 passengers, or eight cargo pallets (or a combination of both, usually three pallets and 70 passengers.) Max range is 5,600 kilometers. It normally carries a crew of five (two pilots, one crew chief, one loadmaster and one transport safety specialist, which is what the navy calls a flight attendant). When carrying just cargo, the flight attendant does not come along.

The C-40A is operated by navy reservists, and is mainly used to rush needed parts or personnel to where the fleet needs them. The C-40s also replaced the C-137 (a military version of the 148 ton B-707.) The navy is also using the 737 as the basis for its new P-8 maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The C-40 experience had a lot to do with the P-8 decision.

August 6, 2014 by Kris Osborn -  defensetech.org

The Navy and Newport News Shipbuilding are working on new shipbuilding methods and making early progress with initial construction of the second, next-generation Ford-class aircraft carrier slated to enter service in March 2023 — the John F. Kennedy, or CVN 79.

The construction strategy for the Kennedy, which is thus far only 6 percent built, is using a handful of techniques intended to lower costs and call upon lessons learned from the building of the first Ford-class carrier in recent years, the USS Gerald R. Ford. The Ford was christened in November, is now undergoing additional testing and slated to enter service in 2016.

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10/08/2014 JDD

Les combattants kurdes ont reconquis dimanche deux villes du nord de l'Irak pour la première fois depuis le début des frappes américaines contre des territoires tombés aux mains des jihadistes de l'Etat islamique (EI), ont indiqué des responsables.

"Les peshmergas ont libéré Makhmour et Gwer (...) Le soutien aérien américain a aidé", a affirmé un porte-parole des forces kurdes, Halgord Hekmat, dont les propos ont été corroborés par un responsable régional, qui a précisé que les combats avaient été meurtriers.

10.08.2014 Romandie.com (ats)

L'armée ukrainienne a pilonné Donetsk dimanche pour, dit-elle, "resserrer l'étau" autour de la ville, fief des séparatistes prorusses. Une maternité a été touchée. La veille, les Occidentaux ont mis en garde la Russie contre toute mission humanitaire, qui équivaudrait à une intervention.

L'armée ukrainienne a annoncé avoir tiré contre les bases rebelles en leur infligeant "de lourdes pertes". Trois soldats ont été tués et 27 blessés en 24 heures, a annoncé le porte-parole militaire Andriï Lyssenko.

Il a également fait état de "combats acharnés" à Krasny Loutch, ville de 120'000 habitants située à 65 km au nord-ouest de Lougansk. Le contrôle de cette Krasny Loutch permettrait, selon Kiev, de bloquer l'acheminement d'aide aux séparatistes de Donetsk depuis la Russie.

Solution humanitaire russe

La veille, le "Premier ministre" séparatiste Alexandre Zakhatchenko a reconnu que Donetsk était "encerclé" et au bord d'une "catastrophe humanitaire". Il s'est dit prêt à un cessez-le-feu si les forces ukrainiennes interrompent leur offensive.

Face à cette situation qui se dégrade pour les civils, dont 300'000 ont déjà fui vers la Russie et les autres régions de l'Ukraine, Moscou a proposé de mener une mission humanitaire dans l'est de l'Ukraine pour protéger la population russophone.

Crainte d'intervention

Mais le président américain Barack Obama, le Premier ministre britannique David Cameron et la chancelière allemande Angela Merkel ont tous estimé que toute incursion russe en Ukraine, même sous des prétextes humanitaires, serait "injustifiée, illégale et inacceptable". Ils craignent une intervention russe sous couvert d'une mission humanitaire.

Selon l'OTAN, le nombre de soldats russes postés près de la frontière ukrainienne est passé en trois semaines de 12'000 à 20'000 hommes. Le secrétaire général de l'Alliance atlantique, Anders Fogh Rasmussen a estimé jeudi que la liberté de l'Ukraine et son avenir étaient "menacées". Il a sommé la Russie de retirer son armée.

The Legged Squad Support System (LS3) robotic ‘mule’ is experimental technology being tested by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab during the Advanced Warfighting Experiment portion of RIMPAC. It is programmed to follow an operator through terrain, carrying heavy loads like water and food to Marines training. Photo: USMC by Sgt. Sarah Dietz.

Aug 1, 2014 defense-update.com

Earlier in July 2014 the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) has tested two new robotic systems during the Advanced Warfighting Experiment which took place as part of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014 exercise in Hawaii. The systems included the the LS3 Legged Squad Support System and GUSS - Ground Unmanned Support System.

One of the robots included the Legged Squad Support System (LS3) which joined a Marine company on rugged terrain, offloading part of their supplies. The other was the Ground Unmanned Support System (GUSS), an autonomous Jeep size vehicle, that could deliver relatively heavy loads to the forward units, without putting drivers and security teams at risk. Both vehicles are part of MCWL’s thrust to lighten the load carried by the Marine squad; the two vehicles are designed to carry out such mission in different terrain. In addition, the GUSS can also be operated for casualty evacuation missions.

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The Helmet Electronics and Display System-Upgradeable Protection, or HEaDS-UP, helmet prototypes allow crew members to avoid breathing air fouled by dust, sand and rocks while looking out the hatches of moving vehicles. Photo: NSRDEC by David Kamm

Aug 3, 2014 defense-update.com

The U.S. Army is looking at helmet prototypes with optional parts to protect the face and jaw from various threats, including blast waves.

The US Army recently concluded a study evaluating the safety and survivability applications of different headgear carried by the modern soldier. The Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center conducted the study called ‘Helmet Electronics and Display system — Upgradeable Protection’ (HEaDS-UP) as part of a multi-year effort to develop integrated headgear technologies for the Army and Marines. The program, managed by Mr. Donald R. Lee II, recommend potential upgrades for current helmets, improving the safety and integration with headgear, communications displays. Two modular headgear concept designs emerged from the process include improved eye and face protection which include the mandible and visor. Both provide fragmentation protection for the face. According to Don Lee, project engineer in the Headgear Thrust Area at Natick, the new new headgear parts will be provided as attachments parts can be added or removed in seconds. “Being able to don that (mandible and visor) protection when needed or being able to remove it when not needed is the big ‘wow’ factor,” he added. Other aspects of the program are evaluating improved ballistic materials, non-ballistic impact liner materials and designs, see-through and projected heads-up display technologies,improved hearing protection and communications.

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The ultimate goal is to replace the tracer rounds with the OWL rounds and, potentially, put OWL on the back of every ball round. Since it is anticipated that OWL will be applied to all ball rounds, effectively making ball rounds trace without the need of a cavity, they will all have the same trajectory. And since the shooter can see the exact trajectory of where their round is heading, they can quickly make adjustments to get on target faster. Photo: US Army by Reece Lodder.

Aug 6, 2014 defense-update.com

Engineers at Picatinny Arsenal are researching a way to develop a tracer round that will be visible to the shooter in daylight and night time but would remain invisible to the enemy at night.

Engineers at Picatinny Arsenal are researching a way to develop a tracer round that will be visible to the shooter in daylight and night time but would remain invisible to the enemy at night.

Tracer rounds, which are usually loaded as every fifth round in machine gun belts, provide essential information to Soldiers firing at an enemy target by creating a line-of-sight that allows them to track the trajectory of their bullets and adjust their aim. However, the pyrotechnic streak they emit also gives away the shooter’s location by allowing the enemy to follow the line of pyrotechnic back to the shooter.

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