First Euro Hawk Unmanned Aircraft (UAV) for Germany

After additional checkout and systems testing, Northrop Grumman will unveil the Euro Hawk(r) in a ceremony later this year at its manufacturing facility in Palmdale, Calif. (Northrop Grumman)

From World Military Forum:

SAN DIEGO,- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has finished assembling the first Euro Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the German Ministry of Defence (MoD). With a wing span larger than a commercial airliner and endurance projected at up to 30 hours, the Euro Hawk(r) will serve as the German Air Force’s high-altitude, long-endurance signals intelligence (SIGINT) system.

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My Comment: With a wing span larger than a commercial airliner, this is a big UAV drone.

Forgotten Lessons From The Falklands War

The Destruction of the HMS Antelope in the Falklands War

From New Wars:

Over time we often forget hard-won lessons from previous conflicts. There are several myths prevailing over the Falklands Conflict which some use to justify long-cherished naval ides which have little to do with actual lessons from war, but more with peacetime economy and building projects too often favored by industry over National Security. The 1982 Falklands Conflict is one such where myths prevail, so I decided to repost this in hopes of setting the record straight, or at least get you to thinking. From 2007 here are 5 Lessons of War from the Falklands Conflict:

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My Comment: New Wars observations are on the money.

Company Last Seen Making Lightning Guns Is Now Attaching Lasers To Planes

Lightning Gun: FAIL.

From Popular Science:

We at PopSci appreciate new weapons. And lasers. And laser weapons. Which is why we're excited to tell you that the Navy and the Marines have given a company called Applied Electronics about a million dollars to attach lasers onto planes. The weapons would be ultra-short-pulse (USP) lasers, which shoot beams of frequent-pulse light that create a path through the air, via which bolts of electricity can travel toward a target.

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Update: Lightning Gunners Take to the Skies -- The Danger Room

A Petition To Name the Next United States Navy Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier The USS ENTERPRISE

From The U.S. Naval Institute:

It’s time to return some sanity to the way ships are named. Why? Because the silliness is upon us once again:

111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 83 Expressing the sense of Congress that a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the Navy, either the aircraft carrier designated as CVN-79 or the aircraft carrier designated as CVN-80, should be named the U.S.S. Barry M. Goldwater.

Bill information and status here

Enough with the politicians – these ships are going to last to the middle of the century and outlive many of us reading these words.

It is time to reclaim our heritage and properly name our ships – and leave it to a Chief to put it succinctly:

“One man’s hero is another man’s goat. Carriers should be named for things we all have in common, not the party in power’s favorite politician. I vote we go back to the traditional carrier names as a reminder of the great ships and men who held the line when the chips were down and the odds were against us. Those names are a tribute to America’s greatness. Politicians? Not so much.”

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Safety Of Combat Military Vehicles Examined

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (July 30, 2009) — A Queen's University Belfast academic is working on research that could help protect the lives of military based in Afghanistan.

Professor Wei Sha from Queen's School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering has been testing how safe vehicles with titanium alloys are when attacked by bullets or explosions.

Professor Sha's research examines the damage tolerance of the popular material titanium. It is the first research of its kind to reveal the reasons behind the deformation and damage of titanium alloys under strong impact or fast applied force.

Military based in Afghanistan currently use land rovers which have titanium alloys.

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My Comment: It appears that more research and study is necessary.

Have Islamic Extremists Been Successful In Infiltrating MI5?

Number 30 double-decker bus in Tavistock Square,
which was destroyed by a terrorist bomb. Photo: PA

MI5 Targeted By Islamic Extremists In Rushed Recruitment Drive After July 2005 Attacks On London -- The Telegraph

MI5 is facing questions over whether it recruited up to six al Qaeda sympathisers in the rush to find Islamic recruits in the wake of the worst terrorist attacks on mainland Britain for a generation.

The potential breach occurred as the security services battled to fill an intelligence gap in the wake of the July 7 2005 bombings on London's transport network which resulted in the deaths of 52 people.

The Security Service was desperate to understand why and how four men from Leeds had plotted the attacks to give them a better chance of identifying future threats.

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My Comment: From what has been said publicly by former officials who served in the intelligence services, the impression is that the British have stumbled in their anti-terror strategy and implementation. I like to believe that this is not the case, but Britain has a lousy history of letting in recruits whose interests were different from what were the objectives of Britain's intelligence services.

I lost count on the number of Soviet moles that were found within Britain's intelligence services, and if the British Intelligence culture has deteriorated further .... I could only imagine what has been brought in. What is even more worrisome .... is that in the Al Qaeda "playbook" infiltrating intelligence and military services has always been one of their strategic goals, and if there is one thing that we know about Al Qaeda, is that they are tenacious in meeting their goals.

Is Iran Home To 'Most Competent' Military In The Middle East?

Lieutenant General Reza Mohammad-Soleimani

Iran Home To 'Most Competent' Military In Mideast -- Press TV

A senior Iranian military official says the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has turned into the "most competent military power" in the Middle East.

Lieutenant General Reza Mohammad-Soleimani said that IRGC is fully capable of defending the Islamic Revolution against "any kind of threats".

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My Comment: Is Iran the "Most Competent" military in the Middle East? When I first read this I laughed .... the U.S., Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia .... all of these countries have weapon systems and personnel that will outclass anything that Iran can throw at them.

But when I thought about it later on ..... I realized that this Iranian General is probably looking at the situation from a point of view that we do not. His reliance is on asymmetrical warfare, terrorism, suicide bombers, IEDs, assassinations and targeted killings. Using small cells and small groups of men to attack the enemy, as well as using Hezbollah (and other allies) in Europe and Latin America to attack our interests abroad .... and maybe even at home.

If Iran is successful in their nuclear program as well as enhancing their missile program .... his boasts will even add more credence.

On the one hand this Iranian General's remarkes are rediculous .... Iran is a broke and improvished nation that is deeply divided politically as well as by ethnicty and religion. But even with this turmoil, every major power in the world .... the U.S. included .... is obsessed with what Iran is doing and what it is not. The mega billions that is spent on the military by the U.S., Israel, the Arab states, and by our NATO and Asian allies .... in response to the few bucks that Iran spends .... is both comical and depressing.

So is the Iranian military "the most competent" in the Middle East .... on a dollar to dollar comparison .... this Iranian General is (definitely) right.