Hamas and Hezbollah Have SA-24s

    Aviation Week reports that Hamas in Gaza, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, are now in possession of an unknown number of SA-24 "Grinches" from Libya.  The missiles reportedly were shipped from Libya to Iran, where they were sent to Syria and Gaza. 

     The SA-24 has a maximum engagement altitude of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles), and a warhead of 2.5 kilograms (5.5lbs). The SA-24 also has a more advanced guidance system than the SA-7, and is not as easy to evade as the SA-7. The SA-24 entered into service with the Russian military in 2004 making it rather new, and thus is just entering it's service life. This also makes the SA-24 a threat for a long time to come as the batteries in a MANPADS's (MAn Portable Air Defense System ) guidance system determine the missile's lifespan as long as there are no problems with the missile itself.

    This is not a surprising development, back in September I wrote that a number of SA-24s had fallen into terrorist hands. It was only a matter of time till the SA-24 showed up around Israel. Now it will be interesting to see what kind of threat this poses to Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon and Gaza, and  how long it takes till a plane gets shot down.

A Strategy For The 21st Century, Part 7: The Navy

     The Navy. This service among all 5 is probably the most important not only from a war fighting point of view, but in terms of foreign policy. However, the Navy has made a number of grave errors in recent history which must be fixed.

     1. Cancel the Littoral Combat Ship. Between 2004 and 2011, the Navy ran a contest between General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin for a contract to develop the Littoral Combat Ship. Basically, the LCS is meant to get in the shallows and chase down pirates and other hostiles, hunt mines, and hunt subs. In 2011 the Navy asked Congress purchase both designs, this has since been approved. The price for a single LCS is about 450 million dollars. The LCS also uses "modules" for specialized tasks like ASW, whcih can switched out for other modules to handle other tasks. However, as of 2011 not one of the "modules" supposed to be used in the LCS has become operational. At the same time the missile meant to be used by the LCS, the XM501 has been canceled, which takes away a good deal of the LCS's firepower. At the same time Huntington Ingalls has produced a frigate design based of the Coast Guard's National Security Cutter, called  "Patrol Frigate 4921". This design offers several advantages over the LCS, better handling in heavy seas, longer range, slightly heavier armor (armor does matter in the littorals), greater firepower. All that is required is upgrading the radar and electronics to Naval standards, upgunning the 57mm cannon to a 76.2mm or a 127mm gun, adding several 25mm chain guns for close in fighting, and the addition of a towed sonar array.                                       

     2. Cancel the Zumwalts. Another Navy boondoggle is the Zumwalt-class of destroyers. The Zumwalt-class have an emphasis on land attack, while at the same time handling the duties of a regular destroyer. Originally, there were supposed to be 32 Zumwalts, as of 2012 there will only be 3 Zumwalts built. On top of this the Navy has stated that they no longer want the Zumwalts, and they would rather have more Arleigh Burkes. Also, in this instance quantity over quality should be the mantra, because destroyers are exponentially more valuable. Thus, the loss of one not as capable destroyer of which there are many, would not be felt as much as the loss of an extremely capable destroyer of which there are few. The cost of a single Zumwalt is 3 billion dollars, at the same time 5 Arleigh Burkes can be purchased for the same amount. There are also concerns that even though the Zumwalt is equipped for the land attack role, it will be unable to fufill it's duties as it pertains to naval fire support. In this instance the solution would be simply to purchase more Arleigh Burkes rather than the Zumwalt-class.

     4. During the Cold War the U.S. was the best in the world at anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and had the best sub force in the world. However, since the  so-called "Peace Dividend"  sub force hgas dropped from 93 SSNs and 33 SSBNs, to 53 SSNs, and 14 SSBNs in 2011 (this does not include 4 SSBNs converted to SSGNs.). Some of these cuts are understandable, as the collapse of the Soviet Union there was not as great a need for a large sub fleet. However, with the rise of the PRC there is need for more subs, as carriers and surface warships might not be able to get close to Asia because of ASBM and cruise missile threats. Same goes for the Navy's ASW capability, at the end of the Cold War, American ASW crews were the best, however the skills which were honed by hunting Soviet subs in the North Atlantic have deteriorated with a lack of emphasis on the sub threat. 

     This is just a beginning on the road to rebuilding the Navy, there need to changes in the way the Navy selects it flag officers and makes promotions, naval aviation, women on subs and carriers, and the SEALs. But what is stated above, is an excellent start to rebuilding the Navy.

  

Obama Impeachment Bill Introduced

Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. has introduced a bill into Congress that would impeach Obama if the U.S. bombs Syria without the permission of Congress. 

This is what Rep. Jones is ticked about:

Viper Crash In Arizona

DF-41 Back From The Dead?

    China Defense Blog posted this photo showing an unidentified Chinese missile being carried on a WS-9000 commercial truck chassis. Defense Tech suggested that this might be a DF-31, but he pointed out it is much to small to be a DF-31. However, there are couple of other possibilities, 1) It could be a DF-41, 2) It could be a DF-16, or 3) something new.

     Personally, my first thought is that this is a DF-41. The DF-41 program was started in 1986, and was supposedly canceled 2002. However, no one really knows what has happened to the program, and it is entirely possible that it is still going strong. Also, the DF-41 was reported to be silo-based and road mobile, which could make this a DF-41. 

      As to the possibility that this might be a DF-16, this is probably the most debatable as no one actually knows anything about the DF-16 is, if it is in the first place road mobile, and the dimensions. All that is known about the DF-16 is that is an IRBM with a range of 4,000km, and that it is in development. As to the possibility that this is an entirely new missile, it is either an ICBM or an IRBM, obviously road mobile, has length of at least 20m, besides that there is not much else one can tell from this photo.

      It will be interesting to see over the spring and summer to find out whether or not this is a DF-16, -41, or an entirely new system.

A Strategy For The 21st Century, Part 6: North America

     Now, we come to home, in the years since the Cold War America has become more and more at risk for attacks on our shores by other countries and by terrorist organisations. Here is a good start for securing America.
     1. Secure the borders. In the last few years our borders have become increasingly porous with millions of illigal aliens pouring across the border. Recent estimates have put the number of illegals in the U.S. at arounf 11,000,000. There are several threat which arise from this. 1. Not every illegal alien wants to pick produce or wash dishes. Many work for drug cartels, are criminals, or could be even terrorists who want the southwest U.S. to be given back to Mexico. 2. It is extremely easy for muslims to cross the border and commit acts of terror in the U.S.. 3. It becomes easy for the drug cartels and human trafficker to ships people and/or drugs across the border. The solution to this is not to build a wall in a conventional sense but, rather to build a electronic wall using drones, and soldiers brought home from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Europe (see Part 1 and Part 3). There also needs to be tightening of the border with Canada, as the situation is many times worse with fewer border agents, and laziness based on the idea that all Canadians are our friends (most are, but not all).
     2. Establish a working land based missile defense shield covering all of the U.S.. The U.S. has been working on missile defense systems for the last 20 years, examples of this are Aegis, THAAD, and the Patriot PAC-3.  At the moment all three system have been deployed, however there is no missile shild covering the entire U.S..
     3. Stop closing bases. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union  many bases have been shut down, NS Ingleside here in Texas was just shut down a few months ago, and now there is talk of closing NS Mayport, among others. This must stop with fewer bases means fewer targets to hit and a larger amount of America's military is concentrated in a smaller number of locations.Now, it is understandable if some bases become redundant and are closed. However, this rash of bases closures since 1991 seriously undermines America's security.
     These among other things, must be down to secure America, from outside threats. Because like it or not we have been and will be attacked from abroad.

Saturday Funnies

This Sunday is the Broncos vs. Patriots, so go Broncos!

Video Credit: Steve Porter

A Strategy For The 21st Century, Part 5: Central & South America

     This week we come to the U.S.'s backyard, South and Central America. These two regions are key to our national security, as they are so close to home, and harbor a number of threats for the U.S., both domestically and overseas. These threats range from drugs to Venezuela to Cuba.

     Drugs. In the last 40-odd years drugs have become extremely widespread throughout American culture, and because of the demand for drugs the cartels are making an enormous amount of cash. As has been seen, the drug cartels which lie just to the south of the border with Mexico, are becoming increasingly violent, with decapitation, executions, and other crimes becoming almost a daily occurrence. And with Operation Fast and Furious, which gave the cartels more than 2,000 rifles, including AKs, ARs, M4s, the drug cartels are becoming increasingly better armed. In this case there are a number of things which must be done to curtail drug violence in the U.S. and keep it from our shores. 1. Stop looking the other way while assault rifles continue to flow to drug cartels, when our own people have  to get background check to buy a rifle. 2. Secure our border (and get out of NAFTA to). 3. Allow the Coast Guard to do it's job, and get the Navy out of drug interdiction.

     Venezuela. The Barack "Dear Leader" Obama's best friend Hugo Chavez, has over the last few years, begun making a lot noise, ranging from Russian Tu-160 "Blackjacks" conducting exercises, to the purchase of Su-30MK2s, to an overall modernization of the Venezuelan military. However, while Hugo makes a lot of noise, he recently was diagnosed with cancer, and in is in failing health (this is the only guy you can wish would die of cancer), and will hopefully expire by the end 2012. Once Hugo is dead, either a power struggle ensues, or a somehow Venezuela become a democracy. Either way Venezuela does not pose a major threat at the moment, but it would be prudent to keep an eye on them.

     Cuba. Cuba is at the moment falling apart, their military is in a decrepit state, and Fidel Castro is dying. When Communist Cuba finally collapses, the U.S. must be ready to step in and give the Cubans a democracy. Until then, we must maintain the economic sanctions we have on Cuba, as they are strangling the  Cuban economy, and weakening Cuba further.

     Overall, the strategy in Central and South America is the same as Africa, keep out! Central and South America is a pit full of quicksand, if you step in you are screwed. This said, the U.S. would be wise to maintain friendly relations with countries like Panama and Brazil, as Panama controls the Panama Canal (mainly because of Jimmy Carter), and Brazil because they are an emerging economic powerhouse. And with a strong economy comes the need for a strong military. But, as I said before the overall strategy must be keep out!

2011 In Review

Well, as midnight creeps ever closer, I think it would be good to look back all that has happened in 2011.
     The Good. Gadhafi, Bin Laden, and Kim Jong Il are all dead (I hope they have special places near the furnace in Hell). Eric Holder and the DOJ are in hot water over Fast and Furious.  The U.S. is out of Iraq (its debatable if thats good). General Quarters! was started, and as of 3 PM, The Peanut Gallery was started. And some other stuff happened I don't remember.
     The Bad. The Japanese Tsunami killed a few hundred people. The economy continues to tank (three guesses why... Hint: its not only Congress). Agent Brian Terry was killed on the border with Mexico with a gun from Fast and Furious. A Congresswoman Giffords was shot in Tuscon, (she is now doing at lot better, and can talk again). Robert Gates canceled the SLAMRAAM and EFV. And a lot of other stuff I'd rather not remember.
     As the year comes to close, here are a few stats from the year, General Quarters! was viewed almost 8200 times, 8 comments were posted, and the country with the most views outside of the U.S. (at 4500) was the Philippines at 321. The most popular post in 2011 was The F-15 Silent Eagle: A Dark Horse, you can see the rest at the popular posts gadget below. Finally, I would like to thank you to who have read General Quarters! this year, and as we are only 5 hours from midnight I wish you a happy 2012.


Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Obama Economic Stats

Shamelessly stolen from Mostly Cajun.

Petition To Name CVN-80 USS Enterprise

      Recently, I came across a petition to name CVN-80 USS Enterprise, at the moment the CVN-79 is slated to be named the USS John F. Kennedy. Since the founding of the U.S. Navy, the Navy has had 6 ships named the Enterprise, a 14-gun brig, a 10 gun schooner, a motor yacht, and two aircraft carriers (CV-6 and CVN-65). The Enterprise (CV-6) during WWII earned 20 battle stars, becoming the most decorated ship in U.S. Navy history, the second aircraft carrier to be named the Enterprise (CVN-65) was the worlds first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, and holds the record for length of service for an aircraft carrier (50 years as of this November). It has become a symbol of the U.S. Navy to have a carrier named the USS Enterprise, and it would be a terrible shame to not have a CV named the Enterprise.

     At the moment the petition only has around 300 signatures, and started in August. The petition is looking for at least 10,000 signatures, and then will be sent to Congress and SECNAV. The folks over at the USNI Blog did the same thing last year and ended up at about 3,000 signatures. So, if you would, sign the petition, spread the word, and let's see if the Navy will name CVN-80 the USS Enterprise.

Photo Credit: US Navy

   

     

A Strategy For The 21st Century Part 4: Africa

     Africa. In that last few months Africa has undergone series of radical events (not all good): Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya, the overthrow of Hosni Mubarack in Egypt, the creation of South Sudan, a Kenyan military campaign against the Somalian pirates, and even deployment of 200 U.S. special forces troops to the Central African Republic. Overall the African continent has no major threats or concerns for the U.S.. However, there are a few things which are cause for minor concern, and which must be dealt with.
     1. Somalia's pirates and terrorists. In the last few years Somalia has spawned many small bands of pirates on the sea, and Al-Shabab on land. The pirates Somalia has produced have attacked thousands of ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Western Indian Ocean, not all successfully though. Some ships which were attacked and taken are the Maersk Alabama (cargo ship), MV Faina (carrying arms, including T-72 tanks), and numerous other cargo and fishing vessels. Along with Al-Shabab they pose a threat to American shipping, including oil tankers coming from the Persian Gulf. In this situation it would be best to carry out a series of cruise missile strikes on the bases, and also hit their "stock exchange" in Haradheere. But, overall the long term solution would be to have every U.S. flagged ship have a squad or two of private security agents (e.g. mercenaries) onboard while moving through the Gulf of Aden or the Western Indian Ocean.
     2. Egypt's new government. The new government in Egypt which is now controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, has control of one the most valuable assets in the world: the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal is a the link by which many U.S. warships get to the Indian Ocean, and 15,648 oil tankers, bulk carriers, LNG tankers, and many types passed through the Suez Canal in 2010. If the Suez Canal is shut down by Egypt's new muslim government, it would be enormous blow to the world economy, and to U.S. economic interests in the Indian Ocean region. This would also force U.S. warships to either double the Cape of Good Hope, or sail from the West Coast, both of which would vastly reduce time on station, and increase the time needed to get to the Indian Ocean if a crisis arose. In this instance there really is no military solution as the "Dear Leader" (Obama) has backed the new muslim government instead of our former ally Hosni Mubarack, who generally did things that were good for the U.S.. Since there is no real military solution, and negotiating with the Muslim Brotherhoo  would be like talking to brick wall, it would be best to: 1. Wean the U.S. off Arab oil, and drill in the U.S. 2. Do not attempt to reenter the Indian Ocean and the Middle East until we have realized the our enemy here is Islam.
     Overall, there is not much to say about Africa with the exception of keep out! Africa is at the moment a big pit filled with quicksand, if you step in it you are basically screwed. The best strategy would be to stay out of Africa (this includes pulling out all 200 U.S. soldiers from the C.A.R.), and only do anything if attacked. 



Photo Credit: Chris Lofting

Merry Christmas

 

A Strategy For The 21st Century Part 3: The Middle East

     The Middle East (the Middle East in this blog post is defined as Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the U.A.E., Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan).
In the last few months the Middle East has begun to heat up with Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya, Iran allegedly having an intact RQ-170 Sentinel, Israel getting hit with rockets more frequently, and President Bashar Assad massacring his own people in Syria. So, here is what is necessary for the U.S.' national security as it relates to the Middle East:
     1. Pull out of Afghanistan. We have been in Afghanistan since late 2001, and 10 years later we have allegedly killed Bin Laden, established a democracy, pushed Taliban back into the mountains, and have avenged the 2,600 Americans who died on 9/11. Now it is time to pull out. We have reached a stalemate where no side can truly win, the Taliban can't beat the U.S., and the U.S. can't beat the Taliban. This more or less is what happened to the Soviets during their war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. The Soviets got bogged down in a guerrilla war against the Taliban, after a few years the war got very unpopular back home. Thus, with folks back home becoming unhappy, and the collapse of the USSR beginning, the Soviets were forced to pull out of Afghanistan in 1989. This is exactly what is happening now 21 years later, Americans are beginning to wonder why we are still in Afghanistan, and we cannot afford to continue to fight this war with the debt at 14 trillion.
     2. Prepare for war with Iran. Since the mullahs took over Iran in 1979, they have been hell-bent on wiping the U.S. (known to them as the "Great Satan") off the map. In the last 10 years the mullahs have actually gotten serious, with their nuclear program kicking into high gear, attempted purchase of SA-10s, and the development of more advanced missiles (Shabab series).  On top of this, Iran claims they have an RQ-170 Sentinel in their possession, if true it probably means one of two things: 1) Iran has a better cyber-warfare capability than we give them credit for, 2) Iran has a better air defense capability than we give them credit for. We need to be ready to hit hard in a first strike. We cannot afford to let the Iranians get the first punch in if we go to war. We always have a carrier battle group (CVBG) in the Persian Gulf, and there is no place to run, especially if you are in shallow water. Honestly, it would be better to have an SSGN in the Persian Gulf as a deterrent rather than a CVBG, as an SSGN can hit hard and would be hard to find. Both of which are qualities needed when fighting in the Persian Gulf.
     3. Be ready to support Israel in the coming war. Back in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War, Israel came within 72 hours of running out of ammunition, and almost resorted to nuclear weapons. However, the U.S. began an airlift the likes of which had not been seen since the Berlin Airlift. This airlift was named Operation Nickel Grass, and airlifted everything from M60 Pattons to 155mm artillery rounds to Israel over the span of one month. We must be ready to this again, as Israel is our only true ally in the Middle East. Furthermore, war is coming to the Middle East, Bashar Assad continues to massacre his own people, and the U.N. will at some point step in with it's R2P (Responsibility 2 Protect) doctrine, and stop the Syrian military. When that happens all hell will break loose, as Assad has threatened to start an "earthquake", this translates to: bombard Israel with thousands of rockets ranging in size from large Estes rockets to 20 SS-26s. When this begins the U.S. will probably be Israel's only supporter in the world, and we must be prepared to help our one true ally with military supplies.
     4. Remove all bases from the Middle East. Since Operation Desert Storm in '91, the U.S. has had several hundred bases in the Middle East, ranging in size from FOBs to full fledged Air Force bases. Most of these have been closed, but many still remain in operation. These bases have served their purpose, and we have gone about as far will can ever go in defeating the Muslims (we could do more if we had decent ROEs, a decent president, and actually knew who our enemy is). And with the debt climbing ever higher it is time to pull out of the Middle East, as we have gone as far as we can, until we realize our enemy is not just Al Qaeda, but Islam itself.
     The points above are in my opinion the beginning to winning in the Middle East. However, the key to winning is to realize that the enemy here is not just Al Qaeda, the Taliban or the Muslim Brotherhood, but the true enemy is Islam and everything it stands for.

Ron Paul On 9/11 & Iraq

     Ron Paul recently made a statement that the Bush administration was "gleeful" after 9/11 because they now had a reason to invade Iraq. However, what Mr. Paul forgets is that we didn't invade Iraq until December of 2003, two years after 9/11. We invaded Afghanistan immediately following 9/11. On top of this the pretext for invading Iraq was that they were supporting Al Qaeda (true), and they had Weapons of Mass Destruction (true).
     My real beef with this statement is for three reasons: 1. The fact the Mr. Paul fails to realize we were attacked preemptively by 19 muslims.  2. Mr. Paul continues to disrespect those who died in the attacks on the Pentagon, the WTC, and United Flight 93. 3. Mr. Paul shows a complete lack of historical knowledge of something that happened only 10 years ago.

Here is the quote:

Video Credit: CBS


Here are some previous posts on Ron Paul:

Ron Paul on The War On Terror

Ron Paul on Iran

Israel vs. The U.N. On The Refugees

I have posted before on Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon's series of videos detailing the Israeli-Arab conflict. However, his most recent video blasts the U.N. on the way it handles Arab refugees from Israel. Take a look: 

A Strategy For The 21st Century, Part 2: Asia

     Asia. Since the Communist Chinese took over China in 1949 there has been a secret war waged along the west side of the Pacific Rim. After that was the Soviet naval buildup under Admiral Gorshkov, that turned the Soviet Navy into a true blue-water navy. However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union (and it's navy) there is only one real Communist nation that poses a threat in the Pacific, the People's Republic of China. Just in the last few weeks China's president Hu Jintao urged the PLAN to prepare for combat. This comes as tensions continue to rise over the Spratley Islands in the South China Sea, and the PLAN stopped an Indian Navy ship just outside Vietnamese territorial waters. As China continues to buildup their military, the United States must respond. Here is what I believe the U.S. must do to stop China.
     1. Build new bases, and reopen old ones. Since the U.S. took over the Philippines from Spain in 1896, we operated Naval Base Subic Bay, and Clark Air Base a few miles away. However, after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Clark AB was covered in ash. The year after in 1992 the treaty leasing NB Subic Bay expired. Thus, the U.S. lost 2 very valuable bases located only 1100km from China. With the U.S. backing the Philippines in the Spratly Islands dispute, it would be in the Pilippines' and the U.S.'s best interests to reopen NB Subic Bay, and if possible Clark Air Base, as the former Clark Air Base is now Diosdada Macapagal International Airport. Also, the Marine Corps is in the process of stationing 2500 Marines near Darwin, this should be augmented with a full-fledged Air Force base and Naval Station in Australia, if the Australians are willing. Bases should also be established in Taiwan, and Singapore, existing bases on Guam, Hawaii, and Okinawa should be expanded.
     2. Cease the construction of "Supercarriers", and design and build a new class of aircraft carriers about the size of the USS Midway-class. In that last few years the Chinese have begun developing the DF-21D, as a means of denying most of the Western Pacific to U.S. aircraft carriers. This coupled with the proliferation of supersonic cruise missiles, and Kilo-class submarines poses a grave threat to U.S. naval air power throughout the Pacific. Furthermore, in this case quantity is better than quality, because at the moment if one carrier is lost there is a gaping hole the Navy's capabilities until the next carrier is completed. Thus, it is necessary that the Navy instead of building very few "Supercarriers", build a smaller class of carriers with a displacement not to exceed 65,000 tons, a max speed of 40 knots, and a complement of  50 aircraft. This is feasible as the USS Midway had a displacement of 62,000 and could carry 65 aircraft as of it's decommissioning in 1992. 
     3. Resurrect the Navy's ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) capability. During the Cold War the U.S. Navy was the best in the world at ASW. However, since the USSR collapsed in 1991 the Navy's ASW capability has gone down hill. This can be rectified by, 1. Extending the life of Perry-class frigates 2. Investing in more SOSUS systems and towed array sonars. 3. Developing a new class of frigates specifically for the ASW role.
     There is more that I will lay out in future posts, but the ideas I have laid out in this post, I believe are a good start to beating China and maintaining the U.S.'s national security.





Photo Credit: U.S. Navy

A Strategy For The 21st Century Part 1: Europe

     Europe. Since 1991 and the "Peace Dividend" almost every country in NATO has been drastically cutting back on it's military. Examples are the U.K., Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France, Italy, and the list goes on. The more NATO members slash their military, the more the burden falls to the U.S. defend NATO. Thus, it is in our interests, and NATO's for the U.S. to pull out of NATO and Europe. And here's why:
     1. We are for all intents and purposes defending NATO instead of NATO members defending themselves. As of 2011 there are roughly 54,000 U.S. soldiers in Germany, 9,000 in the U.K., and a further 9,000 in Italy. In last year's SDSR the U.K. canceled the Nimrod MRA4,  personnel numbers in the Air Force, Navy and Army were reduced by a combined total of 17,000 troops. The number of Challenger 2 tanks was cut by 40%, the number of AS-90 self-propelled artillery was cut by 35%, and list goes on. The same thing that is taking place in Britain is also taking place in Germany, with the Germans cutting their military drastically from it's Cold War strength of 360,000 to just 76,000 men. Why? Because the U.S. has become the sugar-daddy in terms of defense for NATO members, and this is putting strain on the U.S. military and the defense budget as the troops and equipment based in Europe are needed elsewhere, and we cannot afford to defend Europe any longer.
     2. The USSR is gone, and the Russian Federation is not much of a conventional threat. Since the collapse of the USSR, the Russian military has been in decline, and has lost most of conventional military power. For example, the Russian Navy has 61 submarines of all types (cruise missile, ballistic missile, attack, diesel-electric, and rescue) as of 2011, down from a high of 373 submarines of all types in 1985. The Russian Army has a strength of 321,000 men, this is down from a strength of 1,995,000 men in 1985. The Russian Air Force is down to 769 fighters from 1620 fighters in 1985.  However, Russia is still a nuclear threat, as Russia's nuclear forces are for the most part still intact, with at least one new missile in development, and the fact that with the decline of Russia's conventional forces they forced to rely heavily on their nuclear deterrent.
     However, there are some bases in Europe that are actually needed for our (the U.S.'s) national security. Namely, RAF Lakenheath, RAF Fylingdales, Naval Station Rota, and Lajes Field. RAF Fylingdales because it is the base of one of two early warning radars meant to detect Russian or Chinese ballistic missiles launches. RAF Lakenheath because it is the base of the 48th Fighter Wing, and it would be good to maintain a small force in Europe for any unforeseen events. Naval Station Rota because it is located strategically at the mouth of the Mediterranean, and also will provide a base for operating against the Russians who have become more active in the Med'. Lajes Field because it provides a landing strip for transports heading east, and would provide a rest stop for transports in the event of another Operation Nickel Grass.  Also, as Air Force units based in Germany and throughout Europe are being withdrawn, the 100th Air Refueling Wing from RAF Mildenhall, and the 52nd Fighter Wing from Spangdahlem Air Base, would be moved to RAF Lakenheath.
     If the the U.S. can get itself out of Europe there would no savings for a few years as the bases are shut down and the troops brought home, but over the long term you are looking at savings in the billions of dollars a year. These saving could be used in other areas of Defense or in paying off the debt, and pulling out of Europe will force NATO members to actually defend themselves.
   

Ex-Varyag Begins Her Second Sea Trial

     Yesterday, China Defense Blog and Alert 5 posted new photos showing the Ex-Varyag leaving Dalian at 11:30 AM local time. This marks the second time the Ex-Varyag has sailed, the first time was back August. This time it appears that the Ex-Varyag has more of her equipment on board as she is riding a bit lower than previously.

Starting here the photos are from China Defense Blog

This photo below is from the Ex-Varyag's first time out.

Photo Credit: Alert 5 and China Defense Blog

F-35B Lands On The USS Wasp

Ares posted this video showing a F-35B making the first landing by an F-35B on a helicopter carrier. This a big milestone for the F-35B, as for the most part it will operate off of helicopter carriers.

Video Credit: U.S. Navy