Tense calm in the Taiwan Strait

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG-85) armed with Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles, transited the Taiwan Strait earlier this week, eliciting a terse response from Chinese military officials.

The guided-missile destroyer conducted what was described as “a routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Wednesday 8th in accordance with international law, Lt. Anthony Junco, a spokesperson for U.S. 7th Fleet, told in an email: “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Junco said. “The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.”

McCampbell’s transit through the narrow body of water separating Taiwan from mainland China is the third such transit this year by a U.S. Navy vessel: Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) transited the strait in February and USS Shiloh (CG-67) performed a similar trip in January. On Thursday, following McCampbell’s transit, Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense’s spokesman, issued a statement calling the transit “was very dangerous and said it sent the wrong message to Taiwan secessionists.”

Ren added McCampbell’s transit was part of a years-long effort by the U.S. to spy on China’s marine and air space and near People’s Liberation Army ships and aircraft: “The provocative actions by the U.S. has damaged China’s security interests and has endangered the lives of front-line soldiers and their equipment. They constitute a serious violation of international laws on freedom of navigation and are the root cause of problems between China and the U.S. on maritime security,” Ren’s statement said. “We will absolutely not allow any foreign forces to play the Taiwan card, and will not tolerate any attempts of secession. The PLA has the will, confidence and capability to thwart all secession efforts and safeguard the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Naval S-300 vs Naval SM

Air defense is one of the most critical features of a modern warship: Planes represent some of the most lethal threats to a ship with modern anti-ship missiles and other guided munitions.

However, ships are some of the most ideal platforms to mount anti-aircraft missiles on, having a lot of power readily available and not being restricted by the same weight and mobility restrictions ground systems have.

The U.S. Navy has the capability to engage aircrafts with the SM-2 Block IV, which has a listed range of 240 km. This missile entered service in 2004, following a lengthy development process for the Mk 72 thrust vectoring booster that gave it a massive boost in range.

Russian ships only reached parity with this capability in 2015, when a version of the 48N6DM missile (adapted from the S-400) was integrated onto the Admiral Nakhimov, which could reach out to 250 km.

(Read more...)

The defense industry is expanding the use of 3D printing

In 2012, the Pentagon established the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute in Youngstown, Ohio, and many companies are using 3D printing more regularly in the manufacturing process. This technology, which makes manufacturing more agile and wastes very little material, is already being used aboard the USS Essex, a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship. In words of Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “The crew has printed everything from plastic syringes to oil tank caps, to the silhouettes of planes that are used on the mock-up of the flight deck to keep the flight deck organized”

Actually, the Pentagon is using 3D Printers and 3D Production Systems across the military services for multiple purposes not only in the R&D labs but also in the battlefield: "When needed, an item can be printed from an electronic blueprint or scanning an existing part. Just the U.S. Navy has about 70 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, projects at dozens of sites" Winnefeld said.

Regarding private companies, defense giant Lockheed Martin is using 3D printers to manufacture jigs and fixtures used to build the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: “We use hundreds of 3D-printed tools for F-35 manufacturing, such as bracket locators and drill templates,” Lockheed spokesman Mark Johnson said. 

Estado actual de la disuasión nuclear

El pasado 5 de mayo, los comandantes supremos del U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), del Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) y del U.S. Submarine Forces han participado en un simposio acerca del estado actual de las fuerzas de disuasión nuclear, organizado por la University of Central Missouri (Warrensburg, Missouri).

En palabras del Almirante Cecil D. Haney, comandante supremo del USSTRATCOM, "La disuasión estratégica constituye uno de los pilares del futuro de nuestra nación, y debe ser considerado un asunto de máxima prioridad". Haney hizo especial hincapié en la importancia de la disuasión nuclear como elemento fundamental de la estrategia defensiva estadounidense, recalcando la necesidad de mantener unas fuerzas nucleares tan fiables como preparadas: "Aunque se ha disminuido el número de cabezas nucleares, el peligro no ha disminuido," afirmó Haney. "Vivimos en un mundo donde la amenaza se ha visto incrementada, lo cual implica disuadir a múltiples países de manera simultanea y en múltiples escenarios."

Uno de esos escenarios es el mar, donde la U.S. Navy dispone principalmente de una fuerza de submarinos nucleares armados con misiles balísticos dispuestos en todo momento para ser disparados. A este respecto, el Vicealmirante Michael Connor, comandante de las U.S. Submarine Forces, habló sobre la triada nuclear y el papel de la U.S. Navy en la disuasión estratégica: "La demostrada capacidad de la triada constituye un aviso para potenciales adversarios de que no sería una buena idea llegar a un conflicto, ya fuese nuclear o convencional," dijo Connor.

Otro escenario es el espacio aereo, donde la USAF dispone de bombarderos B-2 y B-52, así como de misiles balísticos intercontinentales Minuteman III, que constituyen las otras dos piezas de la triada. Ampliando los comentarios de su contraparte, el Teniente General Stephen Wilson, comandante supremo del AFGSC, hizo especial hincapie en el hecho de que las armas nucleares han detenido la posibilidad de una guerra a gran escala entre las grandes potencias mundiales, lo cual exige siempre mantenerlas al día para evitar un desastre a gran escala.

Russia: ¿Getting Ready For Nuclear War?

A Russian general has called for Russia to revamp its military doctrine, last updated in 2010, to clearly identify the U.S. and its NATO allies as Moscow’s enemy number one and spell out the conditions under which Russia would launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the 28-member military alliance, Interfax reported Wednesday.

And Russia is spending money as if a nuclear confrontation with the U.S. is a very real possibility.  In fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin has committed to a “weapons modernization program” that is going to cost the equivalent of 540 billion dollars. In line with this program, it is said Russia would be building submarines so quiet that the U.S. military would not detect them. These “black hole” submarines could freely approach the coastlines of the United States almost without fear of being detected. The U.S. Navy openly acknowledges that they cannot track these subs when they are submerged, so it would mean that the Russians would be able to sail right up to U.S. coastlines and launch nukes whenever they want.

Meanwhile...

• U.S. nuclear officers are actually still using floppy disks and other computer technology from the 1960s
• The size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal has been reduced by about 95 percent from the peak of the Cold War
• Most Americans still believe that “the Cold War is over” and that Russia presents absolutely no threat to U.S.
• The Obama administration has discussed reducing the size of their already neutered strategic nuclear arsenal down to just 300 warheads

But...

• Russian media is reporting that 60 percent of all Russian nuclear missiles will have radar-evading capability by 2016.
• Just this week, Russia conducted a successful test of the new submarine-launched Bulava intercontinental nuclear missile.

Most Americans don’t want to think on this, but ¿What if Russian subs could come cruising right up to U.S. coasts while americans are sleeping..., and launch missiles towards the main cities? Of course nobody on either side actually hopes that such a war will happen, but most wars are won before a single shot is fired, and right now Russia is working very hard to make sure that it will have the best chance possible of coming out on top in any future conflict.

Let us hope and pray that we never see a nuclear war between the United States and Russia.

Chinese and Russian fighter pilots maneuvers at Aviadarts

A related press release from Beijing’s state press agency carefully noted that the exercise “facilitate the pragmatic cooperation between the air forces of China and Russia in the military training field. The military cooperation between China and Russia is not targeted at any third party.”

Above all, perhaps, the high level of local media attention afforded to Aviadarts should be seen in light of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to flex Russian military muscle to the watching world: It was not too long ago that Russian air force units were struggling to find the fuel and spares to maintain even the minimum level of daily operations.

Aviadarts first took place in 2013, when around 50 pilots participated. This year has already seen two rounds of the competition. The first, which concluded in May, was an all-Russian affair, and involved around 50 aircrew flying from three different air bases. With this second round open to international participants, the Russian military is not only exhibiting the prowess of its aviators, but making efforts to build foreign relations at a time when Russia’s foreign policy is facing harsh criticism.

Certainly, some of the aspects of Aviadarts would come as a surprise to a NATO or other Western flier. In the weapon-employment phase, the tactical jets only employ unguided ordnance. That is to say, on-board cannon, free-fall dumb bombs and unguided rockets and no precision-guided munitions or guided missiles. Some observers have billed the Aviadarts exercise as a Russian Top Gun—a reference to the U.S. Navy’s fighter tactics schoolhouse, which the sailing branch established after losing a shocking number of pilots during the Vietnam War.

For Russia, this kind of alliance-building is useful at a time when its leaders increasingly are ostracized in the West. For the fighter pilots, a place at Aviadarts means heading to Lipetsk, the Russian air force’s center for combat and conversion training. If there is an elite unit within today’s Russian air force, then Lipetsk holds that mantle. Once at Lipetsk, competing fighter pilots have to demonstrate their skills in aerobatics, navigation, reconnaissance and evasion of ground-based air defense systems—including the feared S-300 surface-to-air missile. In order to get a place competing at Aviadarts, Russian pilots first must prove themselves the best within their own units, and then within their military district—one of the four operational commands of the Russian armed forces. Physical fitness, tactical acumen and gunnery all count.

Navy’s Next Missile Launcher Spins Like a Revolver Barrel

The Navy may have a new line of defense against a changing threat environment after the successful missile firing from a new multi-role launcher in development. Chemring Countermeasures and Raytheon Missile Systems say they have successfully fired a Raytheon-Lockheed Martin Javelin missile from a prototype multi-role Centurion launcher during testing at the Defence Training Estate on Salisbury Plain in England, where it was able to hit a static target.

“We’re bringing an entirely new dimension to ship self-defense by providing a sea-based, inside-the-horizon platform protection,” said Rick Nelson, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems’ Naval and Area Mission Defense line, in a statement. “Chemring’s Centurion launcher, when coupled with Raytheon’s combat-proven missiles, offers an evolutionary capability to defeat surface threats with this One System-Multiple Missions technology.”

Raytheon awarded Standard Missile-6 contract

The U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon a $243,478,659 contract for procurement of 89 Standard Missile-6 Block I all up rounds, spares, containers and services.

The SM-6 provides U.S. Navy sailors and their vessels extended range protection against fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles as part of the Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) mission area.

SM-6 delivers a proven over-the-horizon air defense capability by combining the Standard Missile's airframe and propulsion with the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile's signal processing and guidance control capabilities.

US planning missile strikes for 3 days on Syria

If President Barack Obama orders the strike on Syria that Congress is considering, the U.S. Navy will be at the forefront of an attack that has the unusual objective of degrading Syria’s chemical weapons capabilities without striking at the heart of the program. However, Pentagon planners are now considering to unleash a heavy barrage of missile strikes to be followed swiftly by using Air Force bombers, as well as several US missile destroyers currently patrolling the eastern Mediterranean Sea, to launch cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles from far out of range of Syrian air defenses.

The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group with one cruiser and three destroyers positioned in the Red Sea can also fire cruise missiles at Syria. The weapon of choice is the Tomahawk cruise missile aboard four Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean. An operation in that range would likely be limited to the cost of launching missiles from U.S. destroyers cruising within range of Syria, according to budget analysts. The Tomahawk missiles aboard the ships, which generally carry dozens of them, cost about $1,1 ... 1,5 million each.  The mission is among the most complex the U.S. military has launched in recent history because Syria will have had weeks to shield its most vulnerable targets from a widely anticipated volley of Tomahawk missiles.

As lawmakers continue to discuss the scope and risks of a strike, military planners are fine-tuning a plan to blast dozens of targets that include air defense infrastructure, long-range missiles, rocket depots and airfields, according to defense officials and military analysts. The six air bases the Syrian government is currently using to carry out the bulk of its military operations and its roughly two dozen stationary radars are likely targets of cruise missile strikes, according to military analysts who have studied Syria’s armed forces. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers last week that the strikes would likely hit Syrian long-range missile and rocket depots because the weapons can be used to protect – and deliver – chemical weapons. The Navy has kept four Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers stationed within firing range of the Syrian coast for several days.

The ships – the USS Ramage, USS Barry, USS Gravely and USS Stout – are loaded with the latest generation of Tomahawk missiles. Tomahawks, which made their debut during the Gulf War in 1991, have been used in several military campaigns, often as the first salvos of protracted engagements. Raytheon, the defense giant that manufactures the missiles, has marketed them as an alternative to drones, which have become the weapon of choice in U.S. stealth counterterrorism attacks. “Unmanned aircraft seem to get all the headlines these days,” the company’s promotional website for Tomahawks says. “But the ship and submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missile – an unmanned aircraft that goes on a one-way trip – is quietly upping its game.”

Unlike earlier versions, today’s Tomahawks, which cost roughly $1,1 ... 1,5 million a piece, can be programmed quickly using GPS technology to strike targets and may be redirected midflight. The missile, which has a 1,000-mile range, can be airborne for up to four hours and deliver a 1,000 pound bomb or a package of 166 “bomblets.” The first would be ideal for a crushing blow to a critical building, while the latter would be effective against a wider area, such as a parking lots with military vehicles or a warehouse that contains weapons.

Raytheon's Standard Missile-6 Exhibit Capabilities

The U.S. Navy fired two Raytheon Company Standard Missile-6 interceptors from the USS Chancellorsville, successfully engaging two cruise missile targets (BQM-74 drones) in the missile's first over-the-horizon test scenario at sea.

The SM-6 will provide U.S. Navy sailors and their vessels extended  range protection against fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles as part of the Naval Integrated Fire Control - Counter Air (NIFC-CA) mission area. "The SM-6's ability to engage threats at significantly greater ranges than other missiles in its class is a game changer for the U.S. Navy," said Jim Normoyle, Raytheon Missile Systems' SM-6 program director.

In February, Raytheon delivered the first SM-6 from its new $75 million, 70,000 square-foot SM-6 and Standard Missile-3 all-up-round production facility at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala. In May, a Defense Acquisition Board approved full-rate production of the SM-6 missile. "SM-6 combines the best of our SM-2, SM-3 and AMRAAM missiles, providing an enhanced anti-air warfare and over-the-horizon capability at a reduced cost," said Mike Campisi, Raytheon Missile Systems' senior director of Standard Missile-1, -2, and -6 programs. "We have delivered more than 50 missiles ahead of schedule and under cost, and we remain on track to reach initial operating capability in 2013."

 

About the SM-6

SM-6 delivers a proven over-the-horizon air defense capability by leveraging the time-tested advantages of the Standard Missile's airframe and propulsion.

• The SM-6 uses both active and semiactive guidance modes and advanced fuzing techniques.
• It incorporates the advanced signal processing and guidance control capabilities from Raytheon's Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile.

Obama set to launch missile strikes on Syria 'in days'

• United States is set to launch missile strikes against the Syrian regime in retaliation for its barbaric chemical attack on civilians.
• It is believed that a "one-off barrage of strikes" using cruise missiles launched from warships in the Mediterranean is the leading option under consideration.
• United Kingdom would be pressing to launch the missile strike in the next few days.
• The cruise missile blitz is likely to be short and sharp and will not signal an intention to get involved in the bloody civil war in Syria.
• The intervention is likely to involve missile strikes rather than an airborne bombing campaign, in order to avoid the dangers posed by the sophisticated air defenses supplied to Syria by Russia. The U.S. Navy had sent a fourth warship armed with ballistic missiles into the eastern Mediterranean Sea but without immediate orders for any missile launch into Syria.
• It is not revealed if Moscow has delivered advanced S-300 missile systems to the Syrian regime, a development which would vastly improve its defence capabilities and make any attempt to seize control Syrian air space considerably more difficult.

Raytheon gets $80M Navy contract to build 200 missiles

Raytheon Co., a defense and aerospace technology giant, recently won an $80.5 million contract with the U.S. Navy for the procurement of its Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) missiles, which are a group of air-to-ground weapons that use an integrated GPS navigation system and terminal imaging infrared seeker, which guides the weapon to the target. (Read more)

El Pentágono aprueba la producción masiva del Standard Missile 6 de Raytheon

El comité de adquisiciones del Pentágono ha aprobado la producción a gran escala del Standard Missile 6 de Raytheon. Una vez operativo, proporcionará a los buques de la U.S. Navy un mayor radio de protección frente a aeronaves de ala fija y de ala rotatoria, aeronaves tripuladas y no tripuladas, e incluso misiles de crucero.

Características más notables:

• Sistemas de guiado tanto activos como semiactivos
• Espoletas de última tecnología
• Procesador de señales AMRAAR (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile)