[PJ Media] A Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to Minneapolis had to make an unscheduled landing in Utah because two flight female flight attendants got into a fistfight at 37,000 feet.
The Boeing 757 was south of Salt Lake City when the fist fight broke out between Delta employees servicing the flight. The pilot asked air traffic control for a diversion to Salt Lake City because he "wanted to hear from his flight attendants," according to the Aviation Herald. Delta Air Lines Flight 2598 then diverted to Salt Lake City and safely landed. Why I fly F-150.
#3
Well I'd hate to be a terrorist on a Delta Flight and end up in a brawl with those heavy weights. "Next in the Cage are Mary and Bernice fresh from Delta."
Posted by: Chaith Oppressor of the Lutherans1517 ||
01/30/2016 4:23 Comments ||
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#4
Probably not the in-flight entertainment people expected. Was the video system on the fritz?
The F-35's flight plan appears to have delays written all over it. A previously unreleased memo from Michael Gilmore, the Department of Defense's director for Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E), details a list of problems that will likely hold up the testing of the final configuration of the aircraft--and will mean the "Block 2B" aircraft now being delivered to the Marine Corps soon will continue to be full of software bugs for years to come. But officials with the F-35's Joint Program Office (JPO) have downplayed the seriousness of Gilmore's concerns, with one military member of the office taking to the Facebook page of a defense publication to call the memo "whining."
The concerns center largely on testing of software components--many of which the JPO has deferred to keep the program close to its schedule, and which JPO leadership has suggested would be a waste of time and money to fix now--since they are in interim releases of the F-35's systems and an entirely new set of software will be completed for the final version of the F-35. But with the Marine Corps and Air Force scheduled to fly as many as five F-35A and F-35B aircraft at the Farnborough International Air Show this summer, and production of the aircraft ramping up, so much uncertainty about the software could lead to even more complications down the road--particularly as weapons systems are added to the aircraft.
"The current 'official schedule' to complete full development and testing of all Block 3F capabilities by 31 July 31, 2017 is not realistic," Gilmore wrote in the memo dated from December, which was first obtained by Aviation Week. Making that schedule would require dropping "a significant number of currently planned test points, tripling the rate at which weapons delivery events have historically been conducted, and deferring resolution of significant operational deficiencies to Block 4"--a software upgrade the aircraft won't see until at least 2021.
Of particular concern to Gilmore was the F-35's "Autonomic Logistics Information System" (ALIS), which he said "continues to struggle in development with deferred requirements, late and incomplete deliveries, high manpower requirements, multiple deficiencies requiring work-arounds, and a complex architecture with likely (but largely untested) cyber deficiencies." ALIS is a system that spans from the aircraft itself to the entire supply chain for its maintenance and repair parts, and it includes portable computing gear required to check if the right parts are installed properly before flight. The software is still a work in progress, and testing of potential security vulnerabilities--which could potentially keep aircraft from being able to take off--has largely been deferred for now while Lockheed Martin and the JPO focus on getting the software to actually work as intended.
The Marine Corps' F-35B aircraft are being delivered with Block 2B software, which Gilmore said has "hundreds of unresolved deficiencies." And those problems have compounded in Block 3F software. That's because the first round of Block 3 was created by "re-hosting the immature Block 2B software...into new processors to create Block 3i," the initial release for the code, Gilmore noted. This led to "avionics instabilities and other new problems, resulting in poor performance during developmental testing."
And rather than fix Block 3i, the JPO made a "schedule driven decision," Gilmore said, to throw the final features for Block 3 on top of the buggy code to create Block 3F--the software that will be installed in full-rate production F-35s. The final release of Block 3F is scheduled for the middle of this year.
#2
continues to struggle in development with deferred requirements, late and incomplete deliveries, high manpower requirements, multiple deficiencies requiring work-arounds, and a complex architecture with likely (but largely untested) cyber deficiencies."
#4
well as long as the engine responds to throttle commands and the flight controls work in alignment with the stick and rudder pedals, then i think we can safely say lockheed created the perfect A-4 Skyhawk clone.
#5
Sounds like a big part of the problem is the software French pastry to develop an integrated system that monitors the aircraft, tells people when to repair it and orders the parts for the repairs AND checks to see if the repairs are done correctly. Geez guys, open the maintenance manual...you DO know how to read a book don't you? Or does it have to be on a tablet to have the proper degree of techyness that the generals/admirals/feather merchants want.
Throw out all of these silly soft ware add ons and they could have been bombing Kirkut with the thing instead of using them for door stops at Miramar.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
01/30/2016 12:28 Comments ||
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#6
Wild turkeys can fly very well.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/30/2016 18:51 Comments ||
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The U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship struggled in drills at sea to fend off a swarm of small attacking vessels like the Iranian boats it could encounter in the Persian Gulf, according to the Pentagon's chief weapons tester.
The fast-attack boats were ultimately defeated by the USS Coronado during three mock engagements in August and September to test its guns and targeting gear. But in two exercises an attacker came too close, penetrating the vessel's "keep-out" zone, Pentagon testing director Michael Gilmore said in his annual report on major weapons submitted to congressional defense committees.
While Gilmore didn't mention Iran as a threat, its Islamic Revolutionary Guards operate small boats with crews trained for swarming attacks in the contested waters of the Persian Gulf. The Coronado's "inability to defeat this relative modest threat beyond 'keep-out' range routinely under test conditions raises questions about its ability to deal with more challenging threats," Gilmore added.
Lockheed, Austal
The report adds to questions about the vulnerability and reliability of the ships, designed in two versions by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Austal Ltd. and intended to operate in shallow coastal waters. Defense Secretary Ash Carter last month directed the Navy to truncate to 40 ships what was to be a 52-ship mix of original LCS vessels and upgraded models that would be better armed. Twenty-six vessels are now under contract in a $23 billion program.
In the exercise, the crew of the Coronado "expended a large quantity" of 57mm and 30mm ammunition "while contending with repeated network communications faults that disrupted" information flowing to gun systems and weapon elevation flaws that occurred more than a dozen times, disrupting firings, he said. The Coronado, the initial Littoral Combat Ship, was built by General Dynamics Corp. before Austal became lead contractor for that version of the vessel.
Gilmore also cited reliability issues with both versions of the ships, from troubles with generators and air-conditioning units to "cybersecurity deficiencies that significantly degrade operational effectiveness."
That's a particularly serious problem for the Littoral Combat Ship because its ability to survive in combat depends on communicating with better-armed vessels and support on shore through a maritime battle network linked by computers and sensors.
The lightly manned vessel also relies on ship-to-shore and satellite communications to help crews monitor the ship's condition, perform repairs and order medical supplies. At least 245 functions traditionally performed aboard a Navy ship will be done onshore.
The Freedom-class version built by Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed isn't "operationally suitable because many of its critical systems supporting ship operations, core mission functions and mission package operations are unreliable," Gilmore wrote.
Before the Lockheed-built USS Fort Worth departed in November 2014 for a 16-month deployment to Asia, testing failures of subsystems "fundamental to ship operations," such as mobility and maneuvering, "caused the ship to return to port for repairs or reduced readiness at sea for 42 and 36 days respectively," Gilmore wote.
Although data collected to date on the Independence-class version built by Henderson, Australia-based Austal is incomplete, many of its systems "have significant reliability problems," Gilmore wrote.
In tests at sea, the Coronado's crew "had difficulty keeping the ship operational as it suffered repeated failures of the ship's diesel generators, water jets and air conditioning unit," he said.
#1
...If you want to see just how bad the LCS is, check out a superb PC simulator called COMMAND: MODERN AIR & NAVAL OPERATIONS. It's detailed enough that you can get a very realistic view of how modern weapon systems work, and has been used by a couple of writers to show how a naval clash between us and the PRC might go.
Give ya a hint: the LCS will get its a$$ handed to it in anything resembling modern naval combat. It has NO missiles (might in a few years...IF the money's there and they can actually be integrated into the kludge of systems on the damn thing), its main gun is outranged by just about anything else it might come up against, and it's ability to take any kind of damage is almost nonexistent -a Flower-class corvette from WWII is more heavily armed and far more lethal than one of these billion-dollar tin cans. The bottom line is that it is bad enough that we might either have to keep the LCS's close to home in a future wartime, or consider them lost as soon as they enter an operations area.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/30/2016 8:20 Comments ||
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#4
At this point, what does it matter? When the USN (and I assume that's per the CNO and CIC) will not shoot down a Iranian drone that directly overflies a USN vessel?
You don't have to be defeated if you simply give up.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/30/2016 11:57 Comments ||
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#6
Strikes me as a lot of money to spend on a coast guard cutter ....
No offense to the USCG intended.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
01/30/2016 12:18 Comments ||
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#7
I don't think I'm entirely wrong to think of the LCS as a heavy-duty coast guard cutter.
Problem is that we're tasking the LCS do things it wasn't designed to do. Having it serve in the Pacific, with 6,000 miles plus just to get somewhere, makes no sense. It can't serve as a long-range ship -- there's a reason the 'L' stands for 'littoral'.
The Navy is building 9,000 ton 'destroyers', or what used to be called light cruisers. Fine if that's what the Navy needs. But the Navy also needs a 5,000 ton ship that can sail from Pearl to Singapore and fight along the way. Especially as we're retiring all the frigates due to age, we need ships that can do what frigates have done.
The LCS isn't a frigate, and we can't use it as one.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/30/2016 12:24 Comments ||
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#8
Basically what it is, is a floating F-18. Which, in a way, is an insult to the F-18.
[Nuus24] Maputo - Some of the more than 3 000 refugees fleeing renewed fighting in Mozambique have accused government troops of killings, sexual assaults and razing villages suspected of harbouring opposition fighters, according to a journalist who visited the refugees in Malawi. The Mozambican government denies the charges.
So it's sort of like a suburb of Paris...
More than 20 years after the end of a decades-long civil war, sporadic fighting has again flared up between the government and fighters loyal to the opposition forcing growing numbers of refugees to cross the border into neighbouring Malawi. The ruling party, Frelimo, has been in power since Mozambique's independence from Portugal in 1975, but the opposition, Renamo, is urging an independent government in the north where it has support.
Mozambicans who have fled to Kapise village in Malawi's southeastern Mawanza district say that they are escaping an undeclared war across the border in Mozambique's northern Tete province, said Fungai Caetano, a Mozambican journalist working in the area for the Malacha newspaper.
Refugees charged that Mozambican government forces killed, raped, burned houses and barns, said Caetano.
The Mozambican government has denied that conflict is forcing thousands to flee, with officials saying the refugees are actually Malawians in search of food aid.
[DAWN] Health officials in Zim-bob-we's capital, Harare, have detected several cases of typhoid fever in the past week, adding to fears that a water crisis will fuel the spread of infectious diseases.
The city's health director, Prosper Chonzi, said six cases of typhoid had been confirmed, with more expected to emerge.
"The conditions on the ground -- frequent water cuts and poor sanitation -- are conducive to a typhoid outbreak," he said.
Last year, more than 40 people in Harare were hospitalised due to typhoid, a bacteral infection that causes fever, headaches and constipation or diarrhoea.
Health officials have been deployed to affected areas including Hopley, a sprawling township without sewers and tap water, to contain the situation and identify suspected cases. Headwaters of the Flint River or another man-made phenomena ?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2016 00:00 ||
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On the last day of 2015, Chinese leader Xi Jinping formally inaugurated three new services into the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). The commanders of the PLA Ground Forces, PLA Rocket Forces and the PLA Strategic Support Forces were vested with the colors of their respective services by Xi himself. This constitutes the first step in what promises to be one of the most far-reaching and radical reorganizations of the PLA, or indeed of any major power's military, in the past two decades.
The creation of the PLA Ground Forces, for example, reflects a tectonic bureaucratic shake-up. Until now, the four General Departments (General Staff Department -- warfighting, intelligence; General Political Department -- political training, personnel; General Logistics Department -- beans, bullets, blankets; General Armaments Department -- weapons development, space infrastructure) that run the PLA doubled as the top leadership of the ground forces. Thus, the ground forces were bureaucratically first among equals, with substantially more clout since they staffed the top General Department billets administering the entire military. Now, the PLA Ground Forces have been made their own service -- in effect a demotion, as they are separated from the General Departments.
By contrast, the creation of the PLA Rocket Forces is a massive bureaucratic gain for the former Second Artillery. Although in control of China's rocket forces, and managing China's nuclear warheads, the Second Artillery was only a "super branch," half a bureaucratic step below the PLA Navy and PLA Air Force. By granting it the status of a service (junzhong), the Second Artillery has not only been elevated, but moves out of the shadow of the ground forces as well.
Most strikingly, however, is the creation of the Strategic Support Forces (zhanlue zhiyuan jun). Reportedly comprised of China's space, electronic warfare and network warfare forces, this will arguably be the centerpiece of Chinese efforts to prepare for fighting and winning future "local informationized wars." Chinese military writings on the conduct of "information warfare" (xinxi zhan) emphasize the need to establish "information dominance" (zhi xinxi quan). This, in turn, rests upon the ability to conduct network warfare (wangluo zhan) and electronic warfare (dianzi zhan), as well as psychological warfare. Because of the role of space systems in the collection, transmission and exploitation of information, the ability to establish space dominance (zhi tian quan) is integral to any effort to establish information dominance.
The establishment of the Strategic Support Force is therefore as much a reflection of how the PLA thinks future wars will be fought as the creation of the ground forces command. In both cases, the PLA is changing its organizational structure to improve its ability to prepare for future "informationized" warfare. Information warfare forces, including space forces, are being elevated, while the separation of the ground forces into their own command effectively signals that their role will shrink. This is further reflected in Xi Jinping's remarks at the investiture, where the ground forces are praised as the earliest expression of the armed might of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), while the Strategic Support Force is described as a vital extension of the PLA's combat power, and the newest form.
Xi's comments further presage the likely direction of future development. The Strategic Support Force is exhorted to firmly hold to leapfrog-style development, to accelerate development of new forms of combat power. Given its composition, the Chinese military is making clear that it will be a force to be reckoned with in the space, electronic warfare and network warfare domains.
And this is just the first major announced reform.
It remains to be seen how the Chinese will reorganize, if at all, the four General Departments. The Strategic Support Force likely gained network warfare assets from the GSD 3rd Department (home of the infamous Unit 61398), and likely the GSD 4th Department (responsible for radar and electronic warfare.) It likely assumes responsibility for space infrastructure, formerly the purview of the General Armaments Department. The separation of the ground forces suggests that there may now be a non-ground force commander for one or more of the General Departments, if all four are, in fact, retained.
It is likely that the seven military regions will also undergo changes. Many of the rumored reorganizations have discussed the idea of reducing the number to four or five military regions. The structure of their commands will also likely change, with the potential for a non-ground force commander for one or more of them, the permanent creation of a more joint headquarters structure, and the formal incorporation of space, electronic warfare and network warfare (in the form of Strategic Support Force commanders) into the highest levels of those structures.
Most of all, it remains to be seen what "strategic missions" will be assigned these new services, but especially the Strategic Support Force. The PLA Air Force, apparently the biggest loser in this reorganization thus far, only received a strategic mission in 2004: "Prepare for integrated air-space operations, prepare to conduct both offensive and defensive operations." Will the Strategic Support Force receive a strategic mission now? If so, how will such a mission relate to the PLA Air Force's?
For the United States, the Chinese reorganization is the clearest signal yet that, in the event of future conflict, the PLA will challenge the American ability to access and exploit outer space and cyber space. Past untrammeled supremacy in these vital arenas can no longer be taken for granted. Instead, in any crisis, whether in the wake of the 2016 Taiwan elections, or future developments in the South China Sea or East China Sea, will see a PLA organized and prepared to secure information dominance, including in outer space.
The talks of OPEC with non-cartel oil producers won’t give any results, said Nikolai Ivanov, head of the energy markets sector at Russian Institute for Energy and Finance, speaking to Trend Jan. 28.
This week, OPEC urged non-cartel countries to jointly solve the problem of oil excess on the market. On Jan. 28, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that in February, OPEC plans to hold a meeting with participation of the non-cartel oil producing countries, and Russia is ready to participate in it.
“OPEC is in fact on its last legs,” Ivanov asserted. “Saudi Arabia is taking steps that other countries perceive as unfriendly. There are very strong contradictions within the OPEC itself.”
The expert reminded that most of OPEC countries are not pleased with the current low oil price. He added that Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Venezuela are among them.
"In particular, Arab countries do not suffer,” he said. “The Arabs are able to reduce the price upon the long-term contracts."
Ivanov also said that currently OPEC must somehow save reputation and pretend that it is somehow trying to act in the common interests of the organization’s members.
"Their actions are unlikely to result in anything,” he said. “But it is necessary to imitate some activity. It is necessary to negotiate, meet in Vienna and make statements."
Ivanov added that OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri’s initiative to negotiate with different oil producers contradicts to OPEC’s previous actions.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said earlier that only efficient producers should stay in the market, Ivanov recalled, saying that in other words, Saudi Arabia didn’t want to subsidize inefficient producers within OPEC.
“The Saudis didn’t want to share their part in the market and told about it directly. After Saudi Arabia has showed its true intentions, it is unlikely that anyone would believe it,” said Ivanov.
In addition, the majority of traditional fields in the world do not allow reducing oil production smoothly, according to him. For example, he said, if the production is cut in Russia, the specifics of the old Siberian fields won’t allow increasing the output later.
“Therefore, the negotiations between Russia and OPEC are absolutely meaningless,” said Ivanov.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/30/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Schadenfreude, indeed. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of parasites...
To try and get around software-associated delays, the F35 test program is being revised: some test points are being eliminated, reducing the total number of test points remaining for Block 2B from 529 down to 243; and some fixes are being deferred to the Block 3 program.
Skipping and deferring tests that were previously deemed to be necessary translates to a more sloppy and rushed effort to still meet deadlines.
A major operational test series planned for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been abandoned in an attempt to protect the schedule for delivering a fully operational aircraft.
Previously reported improvement in reliability was due to changes in how failures were reported. ie. They started lying in how they reported failures
The Pentagon's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation also notes that an apparent improvement in a major reliability metric -- "mean flight hours between failure -- design controllable" -- up to late summer 2014 may be due to changes in reporting. More failures were reported as "induced," or due to maintenance actions, and fewer to "inherent" design problems. Also, once a redesigned version of a failure-prone part is introduced into the fleet but before 100% of the fleet has been retrofitted, the program stops counting failures of the previous version, improving the system's on-paper reliability even though failures are occurring.
One of the F-35's distinctive features, the Distributed Aperture System, is still problematical, the report says, continuing "to exhibit high false-alarm rates and false target tracks, and poor stability performance, even in later versions of software.
Well over $100 billion has been spent on the F35 program so far and it is well on its way to total program costs of over $1.5 trillion.
The lifetime cost of each F35 (procurement and operation and maintenance) will make each 32000 pound plane cost more than its equivalent in gold by weight.
F35 program is cheating on its scheduled milestones
F35 program is lying about reliability failures
F35 program is costing $30+ billion every year
F35 fighter jet is really not combat ready yet after over $100 billion
There are serious questions about the military effectiveness of the F35 even after its gets working versus lower cost improvements that could be made to other planes
Buy more F/A18F's for the Navy. Buy the same and F16Vs for the Air Force. Buy more Harriers for the Marines.
And build a cheap replacement for the A10.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/30/2016 12:32 Comments ||
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#4
What if this is all a front to get the Chinese to steal all the data and material in order to build a knock off piece of crap in anticipation of a conflict?
[DAWN] The outbreak of water-borne and viral diseases in the drought-hit Tharparkar district took lives of 12 more children on Friday, raising the corpse count to 138 this month.
A newborn died at Civil Hospital in Mithi, while an infant Shahpuri died in village Jagan Lund, Hamida died in village Narori while two other kids bit the dust in the village of Dahli.
Two infants and a six month old girl Mariam Arbab died in village Chanor near Islamkot.
A six year old child Ghulam Rasool Wasan died in village Kunryo Wasan near Mithi, while twins Saima and Qasim along with another child died in village Galhau near Diplo town.
However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... the government officials still claimed that so far "only 42" children have died at the government hospitals of the district.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Circassian guards, who have served Jordan's kings since the founding of the monarchy, still adhere to their ancient traditions, such as donning an incongruous cold weather uniform of black wool hats, red capes and leather boots in this desert climate.
The Associated Press was recently granted a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the world of the guards, highlighting the success of a minority in a region now awash with sectarian tensions.
Circassians are a non-Arab ethnic group that originated on the northeast coast of the Black Sea and in the mountainous Caucasus region, but were dispersed around the Mideast in the mid-19th century after being defeated by the Russians. They have been central to the culture and history of Jordan, where about 100,000 of the world's 3.7 million Circassians live, according to the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.
Both the first prime minister in 1923 and the first female lawmaker in 1993 were Circassian. Mayors, ministers, and ambassadors have come from the community, along with leaders of the air force, army and intelligence agency.
Circassian food is popular among Jordanians, including a walnut, garlic and barley dish on offer at a Circassian restaurant in Amman. The iconic black-and-white marble mosque of Abu Darwish, a Circassian noble, tops the capital's skyline.
Today, the Circassian guards' role at the Basman and Raghadan palaces in a royal compound in Amman, like that of their counterparts in London's Buckingham Palace, is largely ceremonial. Actual security for the royals is handled by military units.
In the compound, the 14 guardsmen march under stone arches and pine trees, greeting dignitaries and visitors to King Abdullah II, his brother, regent Prince Feisal, and the heir to the throne, 21-year-old Prince Hussein.
All the guards were hand-picked by Ghazi Bilal Qala, 65, who retired last year after a lifetime protecting the late King Hussein and the current monarch.
"I served here for 42 years and treated the guards like my sons, not simply as staff or anything like that, but sons. No one was ever treated differently, no distinctions were made. Respect is foundational," Qala said.
Chosen from the various Circassian tribes in Jordan, recruits undergo eight months of training in self-defence, security, palace protocol, and military techniques.
Their unique uniform includes 16 decorative rifle cartridges, adorned in silver and black leather and draped across a guard's chest. Traditionally, one cartridge held poison for suicide if captured, or to pour into a slot in their short sword. Another shell held a vial of honey for sustenance.
The guards wear two ceremonial swords: the long "seshweh" blade bearing an Arabic engraving reading "If God helps you, no one can overcome you," and the short "qama" blade, referred to in Arabic as "the scent of death".
"This is a costume of war, of the old days," Qala said.
After Circassians were driven out of their homeland by the Russians, most settled in the Ottoman Empire, where more than 150 years later they live as Turkish, Syrian, Israeli, Iraqi and Jordanian citizens. Their military skills proved vital to the early Jordanian kingdom.
In 1921, Circassian horsemen offered to protect King Abdullah I, the first in Jordan's Hashemite dynasty of monarchs, who was a native of the Hijaz province of what is now Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah had a Circassian grandmother, Bezm-i Cihan, according to TE Lawrence's book "Seven Pillars of Wisdsom". Circassians remained at Abdullah's side throughout the tumultuous birth of the kingdom, facing local revolts and marauders from Saudi Arabia. This alliance of the Hashemites, the Circassians and Arab tribes became the kingdom, said Amjad Jaimoukha, author of the book Circassian Culture and Folklore.
In 1948 and 1967, Palestinians from what is now Israel and the West Bank were added to Jordan's population, now making up around half the population.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
This was interesting. Thanks Fred.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
01/30/2016 10:17 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON/ANKARA (Reuters) -- An unarmed Iranian drone flew directly over a U.S. aircraft carrier operating in international waters in the Gulf this month in a move that was "abnormal and unprofessional," the U.S. military said on Friday. I can remember the days when U.S. Navy ships carried antiaircraft weapons.
Iranian state television said a surveillance drone flew over a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Gulf and took "precise" pictures during an Iranian naval drill on Friday.
But a U.S. Navy spokeswoman only confirmed an incident on Jan. 12, when an unarmed Iranian drone flew directly over the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman. She could not confirm if it was the same incident reported by Iranian media.
The Jan. 12 overflight took place the same day Iran detained 10 U.S. sailors who it said had entered Iranian territorial waters by mistake.
The drone initially flew towards the French carrier the Charles de Gaulle, and then flew directly over the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman, said the spokeswoman, Lieutenant Commander Nicole Schwegman, in an e-mailed statement. The U.S. carrier was not conducting flight operations at the time, Schwegman said.
"The UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) was unarmed and posed no risk to the carrier's flight operations," Schwegman said. "While the Iranian UAV's actions posed no danger to the ship, it was, however, abnormal and unprofessional."
#3
At what altitude was this overflight? And "unarmed" is completely irrelevant; crashing it into a crowded hanger deck or flight deck could and probably would make things very unpleasant. I assume carriers still have a CIWS and someone was ready to use it. Or would that be a "provocation"?
#4
The only thing 'abnormal and unprofessional' is that the drone was not shot down as it approached the vessel, and it's home base destroyed in a violent bombing raid.
#10
Back when I was in the Navy in 71-73, I heard stories about how the Russian jets flying out of Egypt would make pretend attack runs on US ships. That ended pretty quickly when a couple of the US ships turned on their missile fire control radars and locked onto the Russians.
I'm not sure what the effect would be on the drone's electronics if every ship in the task force focused its radars on the drone.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/30/2016 12:37 Comments ||
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#11
That were just looking for a waving white flag Kerry and Obama told them would be there.
#12
Shoot it down next time because next time it may be armed and attacking. If there is another naval capture incident give Iran 1 hour to return all US personnel and equipment or we blow up an Iranian city. They declared war on us in 1979.
#1
The Klan would be envious of the kills in the hood these days. Thugs doing the job the Klan never could get away with without invoking martial law intervention.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The F-35's flight plan appears to have delays written all over it. A previously unreleased memo from Michael Gilmore, the Department of Defense's director for Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E), details a list of problems that will likely hold up the testing of the final configuration of the aircraft--and will mean the "Block 2B" aircraft now being delivered to the Marine Corps soon will continue to be full of software bugs for years to come. But officials with the F-35's Joint Program Office (JPO) have downplayed the seriousness of Gilmore's concerns, with one military member of the office taking to the Facebook page of a defense publication to call the memo "whining."
The U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship struggled in drills at sea to fend off a swarm of small attacking vessels like the Iranian boats it could encounter in the Persian Gulf, according to the Pentagon's chief weapons tester.
[DAWN] Health officials in Zim-bob-we's capital, Harare, have detected several cases of typhoid fever in the past week, adding to fears that a water crisis will fuel the spread of infectious diseases.
