US Navy: Loses F35

(South China Sea) On Tuesday a F35C (The carrier variant) ended up in the drink after landing on the USS Carl Vinson, snapping the arrestor cable resulting in the aircraft traversing the entire flight deck before ending up in the drink, thankfully the pilot ejected but not before several crew members were injured by the back lash from the cable. The Navy is currently on a mission to recover the aircraft.

US: Carries out the first ever air-to-air refueling operation between an unmanned tanker and a manned receiver aircraft,

(Washington)  In 2006 the US Navy started its own strike UAV program, however over time the Navy decided to divert it program away from strike missions and instead concentrate on an unmanned refuelling UAV in 2018 the Navy declared the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray as the winner.

The aim of the MQ-25 is to be able to refuel 4-6 Super Hornet jet aircraft at a range of 500 miles. That goal became a lot closer last week when the first ever refueling of a manned aircraft by a an unmanned one took place:

History in flight! During a recent #MQ25 T1 test asset flight, this unmanned aerial refueler for the @USNavy delivered fuel to an F/A-18 #SuperHornet — the first time an unmanned aircraft has ever refueled another aircraft. pic.twitter.com/oDs9Y2uQdQ

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) June 7, 2021

US: The US Navy just became more lethal

(San Diego)  The US Navy has for the past few years recognised that other nations have gone out of their way in which to try and level the playing field at sea. We see that with the Iranians and their leaning towards mass boat attacks, the Russians with hypersonic missiles and the Chinese, well they have gone down the route of the numbers game. why only last week China inaugurated 3 new navy ships (1 assault ship, I huge missile destroyer and 1 nuclear submarine) 3 days ago. 

The problem with Navy ships is they are fitted with certain (usually single use) weapons, so torpedoes are only good for ships or submarines. Anti ship missiles target ships, cruise missiles target land targets and anti aircraft missiles target aircraft. Having to assign space for each weapon system reduces the amount of weapons you can field on a ship as well as the amount of missiles you can carry.  Now if the other fellow has more ships than you, he has a better chance of winning a future bunfight simply due to the numbers game. So the US Navy went back to the drawing board and decided multi mission weapons was the way to go.

So the Tomahawk cruise missile which started life 37 years ago as a land attack missile, has just been given a new lease of life by giving it the capability to strike moving naval targets.  which with its 1000 mile range outranges most anti ship missiles in the world by far bar one the Chinese DF-26 which is a ballistic missile believed to have the ability to hit ships at sea.

The otherday the USS John Finn took part in a naval exercise off of San Diego where using UAVs running on passive sensors they hunted for and found a barge (meant to resemble an enemy ship) 260 miles away and launched a SM6 standard missile (The Standard Missile family has been the US Navy's main anti aircraft missile since 1967) resulting in a direct hit. The most impressive thing about the strike was not in the use of a multi mission missile , but rather in the use of unmanned vehicles (under the surface, on it and above it) which were able to find the target using only passive sensors and relay that information back to the USS John Finn allowing it to launch a missile without the target knowing it was been targeted.

US; Knocks out Iranian UAV

(Arabian Gulf)  Whilst the Iranians love to play the part of the victim , behind the scenes of the worlds media they do love to mess about. Be it on the Pakistani border, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, Nigeria (yes Nigeria) or even Europe they do enjoy stiring the pot.

And so it is on the high seas, over the years the Iranians have made a name for themselves by harassing ships, under President Obama the Mad Mullahs loved nothing more than racing their missile carrying ships  towards US navy ships and then pulling away at the last moment.  Strangely enough since Trump became President, that nasty habit stopped happening (I wonder why?) Instead of ships the Iranians have started flying UAVs (drones over US ships) and then boasting to the world of their ability to thwart the US Navy. Until yesterday that is when an Iranian Drone was knocked out of the sky by the USS Boxer. whilst sailing in convoy with a number of navy ships. 

What makes this shootdown notable is that smaller UAVs have proven to be hard to target with conventional weapons (As seen in Syria, Iraq and Israel)  Yesterday the US Navy used a vehicle borne system  - Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (LMADIS)- which apparently uses microwaves to knock UAVs out of the sky. Expect  a number of British airports (which have suffered  shutdowns due to UAVs to be very interested.

Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (LMADIS)

Arabian Gulf: US shows video of Iranians removing failed mine from stricken tanker.

(Iran) After yesterdays explosions on two oil tankers traversing the Arabian gulf.

The US government has released a video of Iranian naval forces sidling along side one of the stricken tankers and removing a limpet mine which had apparently failed to detonate, but which had forced the crew to abandon ship.

Video recorded by U.S aircraft of an IRGC Gashti-class patrol boat removing an unexploded limpet mine from M/T Kokuka Courageous. Courageous suffered an explosion while in #GulfofOman. Her 21 crew members were rescued by #USNavy destroyer #USSBainbridge. https://t.co/YpiEUALHWj pic.twitter.com/rjWKJN0qcf

— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) 14 June 2019

نشاهد بالاحمر مدفع 23ملم
ونشاهد بالاخضر تصميم قمرة القيادة
ونشاهد بالازرق تصميم مقدمة القارب
وبالاصفر نشاهد اجهزة الاتصال pic.twitter.com/hzKdAF2JAW

— Eng. Talal Alazmi 🇸🇦 (@ENG_TALAZMI) 14 June 2019

Naturally the Iranians have denied doing so, which is strange from a nation which has shouting out loud that they would shut down the entrance to the Arabian Gulf  if the world doesn't do as it demands and has done so in the past, resulting in Operation Praying Mantis in 1988 where the US Navy decided to bitchslap the Mad Mullahs.

However it now transpires that before the wee Iranian boat went alongside the Kokura Courageous, they had noticed the US drone flying above and launched a surface to air missile at it. it missed, but it did ensure that the UAV kept a healthy distance from the de mining operation and now it has been reported  that the Iranians have surrounded the Kokura Courageous and are refusing rescue tugs from towing her to port.

US:The United States Navy cruisers and destroyers in 2019

(Naval Analyses) The following info-graphic depicts all the cruisers and destroyers that will be in active service with the United States Navy by December 31, 2019.

By the end of the year. the United States Navy will have in service 92 guided missile large surface combatants, consisting of:
1) 2 Zumwalt class destroyers (DDG) with one more vessel to join the fleet this year,
2) 22 Ticonderoga class cruisers (CG) of which one vessel, the USS Bunker Hill, will be retired this year,
3) 66 Arleigh Burke class destroyers with two more vessels to join the fleet this year.

US: The US Navy submarine fleet as of April 1, 2018.

(Washington) The nice folks at Naval Analyses have knocked out a pretty decent infographic  on all the submarines that are currently in active service with the United States Navy (as of April 1, 2018).

Currently, the United States Navy operates:

• 14 Ohio class ballistic missile submarines (SSBN).
• 4 Ohio class (modified) guided missile submarines (SSGN).
• 3 Seawolf class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) (including the modified USS Jimmy Carter SSN-23).
• 15 Virginia class SSN while one more, the USS Indiana SSN-789 is about to join the fleet.
• 23 Improved Los Angeles class SSN, and 12 Los Angeles class SSN. 

US: Boeing reveals its MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based tanker-drone.

(Washington)  The US navy concerned about the proliferation of anti-carrier weapons has quite right hit upon the idea of refuelling its strike aircraft mid air in which to give them the extra legs needed in which to keep the carriers safe and the enemy guessing . A big tanker would light up the sky something rotten and give the game away, so the Navy wanted something smaller. They decided on a UAV and opened up a competition with the remit being the UAV  has to unload seven tons of gas to other aircraft after flying 500 miles from the carrier and then have enough fuel to return .  Well Boeing revealed their entry and it looks pretty good. Say hello to the MQ-25 Stingray

Whoever wins , the initial contact will be for just four airframes that aren't scheduled to arrive until 2024. The Navy says it will begin buying MQ-25s in bulk two years later if it likes what it sees, with up to 76 airframes being delivered in total.

The other competitors are Lockheed Martin with its Sea Ghost and the General Atomics Sea Avenger.

US: US Airforce successfully tested the new Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRSM)

(Point Mugu)  Since the end of the cold war, the US like many other western nations downsized its military forces and diverted the money saved towards other projects. Unfortunately that so called era of peace and understanding went out of the window when countries such as Russia/China/North Korea and Iran upped their military expenditure.  That hasn't been helped with how the west has spent the last 16 years fighting a primarily asymmetrical war across the globe, which has resulted in a lot of money being spent on fighting terrorism, be it new body or vehicle armour, new mine resistant vehicles  , UAVs  and of course the low collateral damage weapons (Brimstone/JDAMS/SDB)

Due to the cuts enforced upon the US military and the redirection of funds to combat terrorism, they have found themselves deficient in certain areas, aircraft numbers, ship numbers and offensive capabilities, such as Anti-ship missiles.

Until recently, the only missile US Navy ships could fire at enemy ships was the ageing Harpoon, whose 70 to 150 mile range (depending on model) is badly outgunned by newer Russian and Chinese Missiles. (Yes the Harpoon is getting a new update, but it is still based on 70s technology)  

Missile range graph taken from this document 

The US started development in 2009 of a new stealthy, intelligent anti-ship missile. Using technology already in place arising from the development of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) a low observable standoff air-launched cruise missile, the Americans fast tracked their development  of their new anti-ship missile coming up with the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile or LRASM and today they carried out their final test of the missile before it is enrolled out to the Navy next year.

LRASM comes to the table with a long range (200 miles) and a large warhead, 1,000 pounds. It is designed to navigate autonomously around enemy radar and defences,  by using artificial intelligence In otherwords it is designed to to be sneaky, which combined with its stealth features means it should be able to hit the enemy without giving them time to react. Hopefully allowing the US military to get back into the game. Mind you, I think the Anti-ship missile to watch is the Japanese XASM-3 with its Mach 3 speed and range of upto 124 miles.

US: Black Sailor who complained about racist abuse on Facebook invented the whole story

(US) 27 year old Marquie Little is a sailor serving aboard the US S George H.W. Bush. Last month he came back to his bunk and found it covered in rubbish and racist graffiti . Instead of reporting this through the normal channels, he posted pictures of his bunk onto social media platforms under the title:

“I proudly serve the Navy and this is what I’m receiving in return,” he wrote in the post. "#SailorAskingForHelp things are getting out of hand. Please share. Somebody knows something. (Thank you all for your guidance.”

Well an investigation by NCIS has found the guilty bastard. 29 year old Marquie Little. No doubt he will be punished with the Navy stating:

“He will remain a member of the crew and continue to perform his military duties,”

It is idiots like these, that cause racism.

US: Navy Day Oct 27th 1945

(New York)  In 1945 President Harry S. Truman reviewed the returning home American fleet in New York Harbour after victory in World War II on what was billed as ‘Navy Day’:

USS Missouri (BB-63)

USS Renshaw (DD-499)

USS Enterprise (CV-6)

USS Augusta (CA-31)

USS Columbus (CA-74)

USS Boise (CL-47)

UK: USS Winston S Churchill, and USS Mitscher pop in for shore leave.

(Portsmouth) The USS Winston S Churchill, and USS Mitscher both Arleigh Burke class destroyers (The former named after British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill,)  have arrived in Portsmouth. after missile air defence exercises with the Royal Navy.

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White Ensign flies proudly from USS Winston S Churchill. Welcome back to your other homeport #Portsmouth #USNavy @NavyLookout @VAdmJWoodcock pic.twitter.com/4CUSvv5r6g

— Proud of Portsmouth (@PortsmouthProud) 19 October 2017

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Welcome to our American 🇺🇸 friends and allies aboard USS Mitscher arriving #Portsmouth today! @NavyLookout @NATO @PortsmthNewsHub @DonnaPCC pic.twitter.com/kPteUmna1j

— Proud of Portsmouth (@PortsmouthProud) 18 October 2017

Lebanon has just received a load of Bradley IFVs from the US

(Beirut) Yesterday, eight M2A2s (Bradley Infantry fighting Vehicles) were landed at the port of Beirut in Lebanon. The armoured vehicles are part of a total order of 32 Bradleys which the US is selling to the Lebanese Government. The acquisition of these much more modern IFVs, which have come fitted out with electro-optical and thermal imaging sensors, meaning that the vehicles will be able to help monitor Lebanon’s tense border with Syria and provide more accurate fire support for friendly troops at night.

The only problem here is, Hezbollah has already been seen operating inside Syria with previous US arm shipments made to the Lebanese (which naturally was denied by Beirut)...

... and it will allow Iran (and I suppose Russia as well) to inspect the strength and weaknesses of a vehicle still in service with the US Army, likewise with the electro-optical and thermal imaging sensors. However, it's not just M2A2s the US has handed over. The US Ambassador Elizabeth Richard gave a speech before handing the keys to the vehicles over to the Lebanese Army, and she stated exactly what the US had handed over to Lebanon these past 12 months:

• 40 M198 howitzers
• 50 armoured Humvees
• an armed Cessna aircraft with hellfire missiles
• 55 mortar systems
• 50 Mark-19 automatic grenade launchers
• 1,100 machine guns, including 800 .50 calibre machine guns
• 4,000 M4 rifles
• over half a million rounds of ammunition
• 320 night vision devices and thermal sights
• 360 secure communication radios

The Bradley was designed specifically for reconnaissance and has a second mission of being able to transport a squad of infantry. It is designed to be highly maneuverable and to be fast enough to keep up with heavy armor during any military advance. The M2A2 has a crew of three: a commander, a gunner and a driver, as well as being able to carry six fully equipped soldiers.

It comes armed with a 25 mm cannon which fires up to 200 rounds per minute and is accurate up to 2,500 m. It can also be armed with two BGM-71 TOW wire-guided missiles which are held in a rectangular compartment on the left side of the turret and are capable of destroying most tanks out to a maximum range of 3,750 m. The Bradley also carries a coaxial 7.62 mm medium machine gun, located to the right of the 25 mm chain gun.

The M2A2 has an improved 600 horsepower (447 kW) engine and improved armour (passive and with the ability to mount explosive reactive armour). The new armour protects the Bradley against 30 mm APDS rounds and RPGs (or similar anti-armour weapons). Currently, the US operates the M2A3 which, to be honest, is a much more advanced iteration of the M2A2, and even those are now being upgraded again.

Arabian Gulf: US Navy fires warning shots at Iranian ship

(Arabian Gulf) Yet again the Mad Mullahs have tried to play my cock is bigger than your cock with the US Navy which, when faced with an Iranian gunboat ignoring all forms of communication as it sailed within 150 feet of the front of the USS Thunderbolt, suddenly stopped dead in the water when said ship opened up with a machine gun and fired just in front of the Iranian ship.

The US Navy ship involved, as stated, was the USS Thunderbolt. A Cyclone class patrol ship commissioned into the United States Navy 7 October 1995. Coming in at 331 tonnes, these small patrol boats' primary mission is coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance, a task it is perfectly suited to do in the pinch points of the Arabian Gulf. For their small size these ships are well suited in defending larger ships from the swarm boat tactics which Iran would use in any future conflict. To that end they are armed with the following:

2 × MK 38 25 mm autocannon
5 × .50 caliber machine guns
2 × MK 19 40 mm automatic grenade launchers
2 × M240B machine guns
6 × FIM-92 Stinger SAMs
2 × MK-60 quadruple BGM-176B Griffin B missile launchers

Naturally, the Iranian intent is to wave their little cocks around in the air in which to either intimidate the US or even worse - give them a reason to close down the Gulf to tanker traffic. Problem is, the last time they did that, Regan was in office and he hit the mad mullahs hard.

US military has launched missiles aimed at Syria:

(Washington)  Yesterday the US expressed its distaste and possible response regards the chemical weapon attack on a town inside Syria by the Syrian Government. A government which apparently under UN supervision disposed of all its chemical weapons under Security Council Resolution 2118 of 27 September 2013 with a completion date of mid 2014.

Well this morning the U..S gave its response by launching dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles from the guided-missile destroyers USS Ross and the USS Porter in the eastern Mediterranean, which targeted the Shayrat airfield, where the US believes Tuesday's deadly attack was launched

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#VIDEO: Footage just in from #Syria's Ash Sha'irat airfield hit by #US missiles shows extent of damage. #BREAKING - Kom News pic.twitter.com/q81OW2Hm3N

— Kom News (@KomNewsCom) 7 April 2017

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WATCH: @ABC News Special Report: U.S. launches dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syrian airbase. https://t.co/b7yCiDWvdy pic.twitter.com/EU3gd3yBl2

— ABC News (@ABC) 7 April 2017

President Trump's Press Conference regards this Missilestrike

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Pres. Trump after U.S. strikes in Syria: “I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria” pic.twitter.com/Nf7gqOufgT

— ABC News (@ABC) April 7, 2017

Yemen: SEAL Team 6 take out al-Qaeda base:41 Terrorists killed.

(Al Bayda') US Navy Seal team 6 carried out the surgical strike today, the target was a headquarters for Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen based in the town of Al Baydathat officials had deemed valuable enough to warrant a ground operation rather than an airstrike. Going in at dawn and supported by Apache gunships, the team took out 41 terrorists at the cost of 1 dead seal and the loss of a MV-22 Osprey (A plane which can land vertically) resulting in 2 crew members injured.

Naturally the propaganda has begun to flow, with those who murder people in markets squares and such claiming that a mosque, school and a Hospital was destroyed.

Video: The moment Ft. Lauderdale airport shooter opens fire

(US) Security footage of the moment Esteban Santiago opened fire at Fort Lauderdale Airport has emerged. Cold blooded isn't the word.

Yemen: US bitchslaps Iran by taking out 3 radar stations used to target ships

(Red Sea) Well, after yet another attempt by the mad mullahs to close the sea off the coast of Yemen by firing anti-ship missiles at anybody who passes by. The US today took out 3 radar stations used by the Iranian proxies in which to target ships sailing off the coast

At 0100hrs local time (0400hrs GMT) USS Nitze (DDG-94) launched an unknown number of the Tomahawks against the installations along the Red Sea and north of the strait of Bab el-Mandeb 

USS Nitze

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook described the attack as:

 “limited self-defense strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships, and our freedom of navigation in this important maritime passageway. The United States will respond to any further threat to our ships and commercial traffic, as appropriate, and will continue to maintain our freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb, and elsewhere around the world,”

These were authorized by President Barrack Obama on the recommendation of Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford.

#Yemen Air Defense site and radar position near Mocha targeted by #US cruise missile was destroyed before by #Saudi coalition. pic.twitter.com/U4e0ZntCmg

— Aldin Abazović (@Ald_Aba) 13 October 2016

In response, Iran has sent a 48 year old Alvand-class frigate (Alvand) supported by the Bushehr  a Bandar Abbas class Light replenishment ship in which to scare the crap out of the US Navy. The fact that The USS Nitze weights twice as much as the so called Iranian task fleet, is only 10 years old and is supported by another 2 US warships (As well as the entire Saudi Navy which is blockading Yemen) and the Iranian deployment appears to be more for Iranian public propaganda means than anything else.

Alvand

 

IRINS Bushehr

Yemen: Iran sponsored terrorist target USS Mason with Anti ship missiles again.

(Yemen)  After their success in striking a civilian ship with an Iranian made and supplied Noor antiship missiles, the mad mullahs intent on causing more trouble as only pious Muslims can presumed that they could target USS warships with impunity, which is why last Sunday they fired 2 anti-ship missiles in the direction of the USS Ponce, USS Nitze and the USS Mason, well that failed big order.

USS Mason

Which is why today they tried again and failed yet again. what is it with peaceful Islam and wishing to kill and murder as many innocent people as possible. The thing these idiots don't realise, is its one thing to target a civilian ship and another a state of the art warship with a well trained crew. Expect the Mad Mullahs to cry foul play.

It was unclear if the USS Mason was targeted in Yemen. https://t.co/fvP0wDQiDq pic.twitter.com/ZEPxgBB2bM

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) 12 October 2016

On Sunday USS Mason fired  fired three missiles : two SM-2 missiles and one EnhancedSea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) to destroy the incoming ordnance, along with a Nulkaanti-ship missile decoy. Whilst the SM2 missiles and the Sea sparrow can be easily understood, the Australian made Nulka is a very clever piece of kit as this video shows:

ISIS lose up to 80 men to kill one US Navy Seal.

(Iraq) Charles Keating a US Navy Seal deployed  to northern Iraq was killed today when ISIS launched a sophisticated mass attack on the Kurdish Peshmerga forces facing this blight on humanity near the town of Tel Asqof, around 28 kilometres (17 miles) from the ISIS stronghold of Mosul.

Using over 100 men, these religious bigots using Vehicle IEDs  and Bulldozers broke through the Peshmerga front line and proceeded to strike the camp, where US troops are based resulting in the death of Mr Keating .

Charles Keating

Charles Keating

The U.S. responded with F-15s and drones that dropped more than 20 bombs, according to a U.S. official. However in targeting US troops, over 80 ISIS idiots were killed in an offensive which wasn't even as effective as the Nazi Battle of the Bulge during WW2 (And that was a huge failure).