Kuwait Buys 60 Patriot PAC-3 ABM Missiles

     From Defense News:

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Wednesday it planned to sell 60 Patriot missiles to Kuwait in a deal worth an estimated $4.2 billion, as the emirate tries to bolster its defenses against the threat from Iran.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which is in charge of U.S. weapon sales to foreign countries, notified the Congress of the intended sale on July 20, the agency said in a statement on its website.

Congress has 30 days to raise any objections it may have. If nothing is said, the contract is deemed valid after that waiting period.

The deal involves the sale of 60 Patriot advanced capability (PAC-3) missiles, 20 launching stations, four radar systems and control stations, personnel training and training equipment, and spare parts, the DSCA said.

“Kuwait will use the PAC-3 missiles and equipment to improve its missile defense capability, strengthen its homeland defense, and deter regional threats,” the agency said.

     Nothing like the threat of ballistic missiles from Iran to light a fire under a country's leadership. Though, I think THAAD would be a better choice from missile defense.

Of Syrian Scuds And SAMs

     Jeffrey Lewis over at Arms Control Wonk postedthis vdeo apparently showing 3-4 SS-1 Scud TELs moving out of a Syrian military base. The TELs are at 0:01, 0:36, 0:47, and at 2:47. Due to the quality of the vidoe the identity of the TELs are up for debate with some looking like an SS-26 TEL in some ways

    This video below is reportedly from the same Syrian military base, and shows SA-2 Guideline missiles on their launchers and on a transport. At the very least the fact that these rebels can take over an air defense base indicates a greater level of strength than than was previously known.

Video Credit: The140205

A Strategy For The 21st Century, Part 8: The Air Force

     The Air Force. Airpower has in the last 100 year, determined America's success on the battlefield, and is the key to winning a war. That is why the Air Force is so important. However, the Air Force is among all the services, is the service with the most problems, here they are, and some ideas on how to fix them.

     1. Stand By The F-35A to the end. Have a contingency ready if the F-35 is canceled. The Air Force has hung it's hat on the F-35A, and must not back down. In recent months, writers like Carlo Kopp of Air Power Australia, and Bill Sweetman of Aviation Week has stepped up attacks on the F-35 (I tend to agree with them on the fact that the F-35 is a piece of crap, but at the same time a piece of crap is better than no piece of crap). The Air Force must move forward and defend the F-35A, they have done an excellent job of this, but must keep it up. Also, the Air Focre must have a Plan B in case something does happen to the F-35A, something along the lines of the F-15SE, F-16E/F, or a watered down F-22. 

     2. Develop a new ICBM and nuclear weapons. The U.S. has not developed a new ICBM since 1986, and a new nuclear weapon since 1988 (as a interesting side not, the U.S. has not conducted a nuclear test since Operation Julin in 1992). The Air Force has begun looking into developing a new ICBM to replace the Minuteman III. However, as I outlined in "Air Force Looking Into Producing A New ICBM"  there will be many problems with developing a new ICBM, especially since the the skills honed during the Cold War have been all but lost. 

     3. Develop a replacement for the B-52. The B-52 was developed in 1945, but was not actually fielded until mid-1955. The B-52 was originally a long range nuclear bomber, but is now used as a low cost bomb truck. The B-52 can carry 32,000kg (70000lbs) worth of ordnance, and with it's long range it was optimal for staying over an area and providing air support as needed. The Air Force plans to operate the B-52 through 2040, 85 years since it was first fielded in 1955. The problem here is that the Air Force has no plan for after 2040. The Air Force needs to have a replacement for the B-52 ready before 2040, as they would lose an extremely valuble capability with the retirement of the B-52.

    4. Develop a replacement for the A-10. As of 2012, the Air Force plans to field the A-10 through 2028, when it will be replaced by the F-35A. This is NOT  a smart move by the Air Force, the A-10 is designed to go low and slow and take a lot of punishment, and still get the pilot home (see example here, point made?). The F-35 simply cannot absorb several dozen 23mm hits and stay airborne.

     Once again, these are just a series of ideas, that if implemented would go aoong way towards bringing the Air Force back on track.

Libyan SA-24s: Terrorists New Toy

     Defense Tech reports that over 20,000 surface-to-air missiles mainly, SA-24s, along a number of SA-7s have fallen into terrorist hands.
     The SA-7 was developed in the 1970s to shoot down low flying western aircraft, and has a max altitude 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) and a warhead of 1.15 kilogram (2.5lbs). The SA-7 has been fired at civilian airliners several times, including an incident where a DHL aircraft was hit by an SA-7 taking off from Baghdad in 2003.
     However, the more serious threat is the SA-24 Grinch. 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.
     As Libya is still in turmoil it will be interesting to see what other weapons are stolen from ex-Qaddafi weapons caches.
     


Photo Credit: Mike1979Russia

Last Week's Helicopter Crash Wasn't Caused By An RPG

     Last week a CH-47 Chinook carrying 22 SEALs, 3 Air Force Air Controllers, and 7 Afghan Army troops was shot down by the Taliban over Afghanistan. Defense News reports that the Taliban shot down the helicopter with an RPG that struck the helicopter.

     The report also says that the attack took place late August 5th, at night in other words. However, you have a better chance of finding Flight 19 with a fishing net than hitting a moving helicopter with an RPG, and there it is more likely that the Taliban used a MANPADS ( MAN Portable Air Defense System).

     A MANPADS is a a small rocket similar to an RPG, but with an infrared guidance system that locks on to the exhaust from an aircraft engine. A MANPADS that most people might have heard of is the FIM-92 Stinger. The Stinger is the standard issue MANPADS of the U.S. military and several other countries.

     The Mujaheddin (now known as the Taliban) who fought the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s, received among other things Stinger MANPADS to shoot down Soviet helicopters with.  By now the batteries in those missiles are long dead, and the equipment needed for their upkeep is impossible for the Taliban to get their hands on. Thus, this would point toward a new outside source for these weapons.

     The first suspect to come to mind would be Iran, Iran has been caught before giving the Taliban weapons in the form of 122mm rockets that have a range of 13 miles. On top of this Iran is known to produce a MANPADS under the designations Misagh-1 & 2. Another possible source for MANPADS would be China, they are known to produce several types of MANPADS, and also shares a border with Afghanistan. Russia is also another possible supplier of MANPADS, but has no motive for this. Libya might also be the source for these missiles due to the fact that MANPADS have been stolen from Gaddafi armories several times, and no one knows where they are. Other more unlikely sources could be Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, or even India, but these countries with the exception of Pakistan, have no reason to provoke the U.S. like this.  

     Until the military comes clean and admits that the Taliban is using MANPADS this is all pure speculation, but if true this poses an enormous risk to civilian and military air travel all over the world.

     

Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force

Iran's Impenetrable Missile Silos & All The Other Doomsday "Weapons"

     During the last few years Iran has unveiled a stream of new weapons and facilites, ranging from copies of Germany's V-1 flying bomb to ship killing flying boats that look like they were made in the 1920s to missile silos that are supposedly impenetrable. So, here are some examples of Iran's newest weapons.

     This year during the Great Prophet 6 exercises Iran showed off it's new missile silos that the say can withstand direct attack (just not the nuclear kind), and can handle Shahab-3 and Sajjil-2 Medium Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBMs).

     Next up is Iran's fleet of flying boats, Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmed Vahidi stated concerning the boats "Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the few countries which managed to design, build and use flying boats in a short time.". The flying boat is designated the Bavar 2 and is supposedly armed with 1 machine gun and a camera. Defense Tech reported that Iran also claimed that the Bavar 2 cannot be seen by any radar because of it's hull's advanced design.

     Moving on we come to Iran's "Ambassador of Death" which is a V-1 flying bomb with a range of 1,000 kilometers, a max speed of 560 MPH, and can be armed with 2 113.4 kilogram bombs or a single 450lbs bomb.

     Stephen Trimble spotted this gem apparently showing a model of a stealth fighter, which looks somewhat like a YF-23.

     While most of this stuff is extremely low tech, if deployed en masse it could drive the price of oil sky high, and shut down the Strait of Hormuz 

Photo Credits (top to bottom): U.S Air Force, Federation of American Scientists, CNN, Fox News, The DEW Line

       

     

     

     

Grainy Videos Showing Officials Touring The Varyag & The Varyag's Weapons Systems

     Alert 5 spotted these two videos showing a group of officials on the Varyag's deck, and below, a video showing a HQ-10 (FL-3000), a 10 barrel gatling gun, and an unidentified rocket launcher.

Here is the video showing the tour.

And here is the video showing the Varyag's weapons.

If you made the mistake of not turning the sound off for the first video, here is the real song.

Video Credit: Alert 5 & Hans Zimmer

China Admits What The West Already Knew: Yes, We Are Building An Aircraft Carrier

Well, its official, Defense News reports that General Chen Bingde (whom I have discussed before) admitted the existence of the Varyag (now known as the Shi Lang) along with the fact that they are overhauling it.
     Personally, I am surprised that China has not admitted the existence of the Varyag prior to yesterday as almost every defense enthusiast knows of the Varyag's existence and overhaul. I have written quite a bit about the Varyag (I can't bring myself to call it the Shi Lang), covering everything from the Varyag's weapon systems to the J-15.
     With the Chinese finally admitting that the Varyag exists, it's interesting to see that the Chinese military is similar to the Soviet military in that they both are and were extremely secretive.
   
     

New Submarine Design From France Has Some Interesting Possibilities

French defense firm DCNS had a very interesting submarine design at last year's Euronaval show as Ares reports. This innovative submarine design is meant for anti-ship warfare rather than the more conventional mission of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) which is what most submarines are designed for.
     The SMX-25 is very large design for a diesel-electric submarine with a length of 360 and, a displacement of around 3200 tons on the surface with a displacement of around 6100 tons submerged (for more detailed specifications here is a link to DNCS's website for the SMX-25). The SMX-25 also has a range of about 8000 nautical miles at a speed of 14 to 20 knots, with a top speed of 38 knots which rivals many surface warships.
    However, what makes the SMX-25 extremly interesting is the fact that the SMX-25 has 16 vertical launch tubes just aft of the front of the sail. DCNS's website states that the vertical launch tubes can be used for anti-ship missiles, land strike missiles and surface-to- missiles. The last type of missiles, surface to-air missiles (SAMs) is what raises a multitude of possibilites. Most submarines carry several MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense Systems) like the FIM-92 Stinger or the SA-N-8 Gremlin. If you could put a real surface-to-air missile like a RIM-174 Standard ERAM missile, which is the U.S. Navy's medium range surface-to-air missile, it would be a literal bolt from the blue.
      The problem with that idea is that generally submarines don't carry the type of radar used in surface-to-air missile systems thus, it would be necessary to either setup a data link with a ground based radar system or install a new radar system in the submarine. The first option is probably the better of the two as installing a new longer range radar system brings a higher risk of anti-radiation missiles (ARMs). However, if the submarine is operating far out at sea, depending on the range of the ground based radar being used it would better either to set a datalink with a warship or simply take the risk of ARMs and install a new radar system. The radar sytem used in the submarine would have to relatively compact as submarines are not known for their spacious compartments, possible radars would be the AWG-9 used on the F-14 Tomcat or a modified version of the AN/SPY-3 which will be used on Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, and Zumwalt-class destroyers.
     This concept explained is just an idea, the possibility of operating SAMs from a submarine is an very interesting idea, however submarines in use today do not anywhere near the capability to launch SAMs and would need extensive modifications to do so. This concept has enormous potential and needs to be seriously looked at by the U.S. Navy and Navies around the world.

Photo Credit: DCNS

A Tale Of 10 Barrel Gatling Guns And Surface-to-Air Missiles

 The Chinese have a habit of copying things made in the West and they have done it again, recently China Air and Naval Power posted some photos of the Varyag showing a missile system that looks suspiciously like the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile which is used by the U.S. Navy. The above photo is of the Chinese version which is designated the HQ-10 or FL-3000, I am not sure which. The photo below is of the RIM-116.

Another interesting development on board the Varyag is the addition of a 10-barreled gatling gun which as Defense Tech reports is based of the Type 730 CIWS (Close In Weapon System). Since the new type of CIWS is probably developed from the Type 730 it probably is a 30mm weapon as was the Type 730, to put this weapon into perspective the American Phalanx CIWS  has a caliber of 20mm and 6 barrels along with a RPM (Rounds Per Minute)of 3,000 to 4,500, compared to the Type 730's RPM of 5,800.

Photo Credit: China Defense Blog, China Air and Naval Power, freerepublic.com