Archive for June, 2007
Some various views of the missile launches and one shot of last Friday’s successful intercept.
The founder of an antiviolence group called No Guns pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal weapons charges.
Hector “Big Weasel” Marroquin is accused of selling an assault rifle, a machine gun, two pistols and two silencers to undercover federal agents last fall. He could face up to 50 years in prison if convicted.
It’s wasn’t a one-time offer, either. Apparently, he sold illegal weapons to ATF agents on at least three separate occasions. The irony is so delicious you could eat it.
At Sister Toldjah, we see a link to another story on Big Weasel that reveals No Guns received $1.5 million from the city of Los Angeles for its efforts.
Mark Steyn adds: If you outlaw guns, only anti-gun groups will have guns. Also noted on Wizbang.
(via Instapundit)
A Standard Missile (SM-3) is launched from the Aegis combat system equipped Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Decatur (DDG 73) during a Missile Defense Agency ballistic missile flight test. Minutes later the SM-3 intercepted a separating ballistic missile threat target, launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii. It was the first time such a test was conducted from a ballistic missile defense equipped-U.S. Navy destroyer. The previous flight tests were conducted from U.S. Navy cruisers. The maritime capability is designed to intercept short to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats in the midcourse phase of flight. USS Decatur is one of 18 U.S. Navy ships (three cruisers and 15 destroyers) that will be identically equipped, by early 2009, with the ballistic missile defense capabilities of conducting long-range surveillance/tracking and launching the SM-3 missile. U.S. Navy Photo (Released)
The Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance calls it a Hat Trick:
It was the first intercept from a United States Destroyer, the USS Decatur (DDG 73); the first active participation by the country of Spain and their Spanish frigate, MENDEZ NUNEZ; and the first integration of sharing information with a ground based missile defense system — the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, THAAD.
UPDATE: A commenter asked about the Mendez Nunez’s involvement. Details are sketchy, but it appears that the Mendex Nunez’s Aegis system fed course-correction data to the Decatur. USS Port Royal (CG 73) also contributed tracking data and helped with the differentiation between the separated warhead and the missile itself.
CDR Salamander pays homage to USS Saint Paul (CA 73) in today’s Fullbore Friday.
The St. Paul was a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser built during WW2 and also fought in both Korea and Vietnam. The main armament, standard for US WW2 heavy cruisers, consisted of nine 8″ guns in three triple turrets. Other than three half-sisters in the Oregon City class, the only gunned US heavy cruisers to follow the Baltimores were the larger Des Moines class. The three ships of that class featured the rapid-fire turrets and could put out hellacious hurt.
CDR Salamander writes:
Think about Somalia, Pakistan, SE Asia, China, South America – anywhere there is a shore line. Look at the mission she did and the firepower, and ability to take a hit, she took with her. Littoral? Yea, she has that. Range? Ditto? You can go on and on.
Here is the point to ponder, did we take the wrong fork in the road when we left the gun cruiser behind? Don’t talk to me about the 5″ guns we put on our CLG (which is what a Tico class is) or the Arleigh Burke class (which are a CLG as well – I don’t care what you call them).
The dirty little secret here is that the Navy has realized that it did make a mistake when it decided to go all missile and pop guns, and left the MK-71 behind. DDG-1000 proves my point.
For what it’s worth, I sure wouldn’t have minded seeing those 8″ guns from Des Moines pulled off and put on a new class of nine Littoral Fire Support Ships, each with an 8″ gun, a 5″ gun or two, and some 40mm. Or, as we’ve discussed in the past, maybe toss on a MLRS. One goes out with each Marine Expeditionary Strike Group. Just in case.
Heck, just put a triple turret on an armored barge and call it a monitor. Something.
We may never need heavy naval fire support again. But if we do, there’s no substitute for big guns going boom.
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq — Marines with Quick Reaction Force, Headquarters and Support Company, Task Force 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, attached to Regimental Combat Team 2, complete the sustained machine gun training and the Multiple Grenade Launcher 32, familiarization, fire and movement exercise. The training teaches Marines how to properly engage multiple targets performing suppressive fire and implementing a six-round semi-automatic grenade launcher instead of the single shot M203 traditionally used by Marines in combat.
Photo by: Cpl. Eric C. Schwartz
Photo ID: 2007621123321
Submitting Unit: 2nd Marine Division
Photo Date:06/21/2007
See Task Force 1/4 uses handheld thunder to secure Al Qa’im for more.
Rice orders Baghdad embassy posts filled
Seems that Condoleeza Rice feels the need to resort to direct orders so that the department’s staff in Baghdad remains filled. Why are these orders necessary?
They also come amid private accusations from some senior officials that Iraq war foes inside the State Department and its union have compromised staffing and operations at the embassy through either direct efforts or inaction.
The union denies the charges, but they threaten to re-open wounds from the rancorous debate over the decision to topple Saddam Hussein that many diplomats questioned, and the initial plans for post-war construction, which largely ignored recommendations prepared by a special State Department task force…
Officals familiar with the situation said Crocker was more importantly addressing concerns that Iraq policy is being obstructed by opponents of the war who have influence on staffing decisions.
They cited numerous examples, including three involving qualified mid-level staffers and two involving more senior diplomats, who volunteered for Baghdad duty but whose appointments were delayed for months or discouraged at the expense of the embassy and its tasks.
One senior State Department official described the resistance as “passive-aggressive,” but said it was clearly related to differences over the Iraq war and at odds with the requirement for career diplomats to promote the policies of any administration for which they serve.
Another said that in some cases there appeared to be active sabotage of Iraq staffing plans and claimed that the diplomats’ union, the American Foreign Service Association, or AFSA, was interfering in the process by suggesting that Baghdad is too unsafe for civilian diplomats, many of whom are returning home with stress-related disorders.
The official allowed that Iraq is an extremely dangerous hardship post with near daily insurgent mortar attacks on the fortified Green Zone where the embassy is located but accused AFSA and some in the State Department of attempting to hamper policy by advising Baghdad candidates not to go and warning of potential career damage.
To say that not everyone is terribly happy with the State Department might be a bit of an understatement.
Stryker Soldiers with Company B, 4-9 Infantry Regiment, walk through a village in the outskirts of Baqubah, as the Mobile Gun System Stryker variant pulls security down a road, June 20. Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team are assisting Soldiers of 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team in the clearing of Baqubah, a major operation known as “Arrowhead Ripper,” by isolating Baqubah just outside the city limits, to prevent insurgents from getting in, or out, of the city. Both Stryker brigades are with the 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. Photographer: Sgt. Antonieta Rico, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Tikrit
Found at The Tension.
UPDATE: Speaking of Baqubah, check out Michael Yon’s Operation Arrowhead Ripper: Day One
The enemy in Baqubah is as good as any in Iraq, and better than most. That’s saying a lot. But our guys have been systematically trapping them, and have foiled some big traps set for our guys. I don’t want to say much more about that, but our guys are seriously outsmarting them. Big fights are ahead and we will take serious losses probably, but al Qaeda, unless they find a way to escape, are about to be slaughtered. Nobody is dropping leaflets asking them to surrender. Our guys want to kill them, and that’s the plan.
A positive indicator on the 19th and the 20th is that most local people apparently are happy that al Qaeda is being trapped and killed. Civilians are pointing out IEDs and enemy fighters, so that’s not working so well for al Qaeda. Clearly, I cannot do a census, but that says something about the locals.
The prep work in Dalyia has been going on for months. This is full-on “surge” in action. If the battles here are successful and the developments in An Anbar remain on track, it’s going to be a huge summer.
In From the Cold on Russia’s delivery of the first of five M-31E Foxhound fighters to Damascus: No Cause for Alarm
While the Foxhound represents an upgrade for the Syrian Air Force, it’s hardly a world-beater, as implied by the Israeli daily. In terms of overall capabilities, the MiG-31 is roughly equal to the F-14 Tomcat, recently retired by the U.S. Navy. The Foxhound was the first Russian fighter with a true lookdown/shootdown capability, allowing it to find low altitude targets amid ground clutter, and engage them with a long-range missile, the AA-9 “Amos.” It’s cutting edge technology, circa 1982.
Like the older MiG-25, the Foxhound and its missiles are not optimized for dog-fighting. The MiG-31’s powerful radar (nicknamed “Flashdance) and the AA-9 were designed to engage non-maneuvering stand-off targets (like the B-52) and penetrating cruise missiles. Against a maneuvering, fighter-sized target, the AA-9 is much less likely to score a hit, despite its range and large size (the missile weighs over half a ton). In a dogfight against Israeli F-15s and F-16s, the MiG-31 would actually be at a disadvantage, given the “fire and forget” capabilities of the IAF’s AMRAAMs.
No doubt some MO readers will scoff at the idea that the MiG-31 is “roughly equal” to the F-14, but before you blow a gasket, remember that we’re talking about specifications on paper. In real-world performance, Russian-built hardware often (usually?) doesn’t live up to expectations even with skilled crews. It’s safe to say that Syrian flight crews, ground crews, and other assorted support personnel like controllers and mission planners aren’t exactly top-notch.
The ‘E’ model of the MiG-31 is an export variant with some systems downgraded from front-line Russian planes, though I don’t know which systems they are or how much the changes will affect capability. The planes are reworked aircraft from the Russian reserves, not new builds, and are being offered to customers as a replacement for MiG-25s. This is the first MiG-31E sale.
In From the Cold also notes that Syria will have to establish a Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) program because they currently operate single-seaters almost exclusively.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see Iranian “advisers” turn up at Syria’s Foxhound base; the Iranians have long experience with two-seat fighters, operating both the F-4 and F-14, and could provide some assistance in such areas as crew coordination, and the tactical “division of labor” between the pilot and WSO. However, the tactical proficiency of Iranian crews has also declined in recent years, so it’s debatable if Syria would gain anything from Iran’s WSO cadre.
What? Syria-Iran cooperation? Say it ain’t so!
Anyway, while Israel is completely justified in being concerned over any Syrian upgrades, MiG-31s aren’t going to have a significant impact on the balance of power, particularly since there will only be five of them.
Go read the whole thing at In From the Cold. (Photo from Airliners.net)
I think I’ve linked to this before:
Get a better look at GasBuddy.com. Considering Murdoc’s recent trip to Maine and back to Michigan, this certainly looks right. Particularly the higher prices in New York.
What Murdoc would really like to see is a map like this that shows:
- Gas prices (like this map)
- Gas prices minus taxes
- Taxes
I don’t know for sure, but Murdoc’s betting that the final option would explain a lot of yellow and red counties.
Not that I’m opposed to gas taxes. In fact, the gas tax is one tax that I don’t have a whole lot of trouble with. But if we’re all going to be up in arms over gas prices, which seems like a rational reaction at times, let’s at least consider the whole picture.
