Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Austere.

This is coolbert:

Airdrops humanitarian aid Gaza too little, too much chance of error hitting a small area on the ground from height with accuracy.

See from https://www.aljazeera.com the Internet article "On a Jordanian aid airdrop over Gaza City". Article by Nils Adler | 21 Mar 2024.

Parachute drops of humanitarian aid Gaza often [?] missing the target or even causing death to those on the ground!



See additionally described as a "low-level" method of resupply more accurate in getting the parcels on target. LAPES. No LONGER used. Too dangerous!


"The low-altitude parachute-extraction system (LAPES) / Low-level parachute extraction resupply system (LOLEX) is a tactical military airlift delivery method where a fixed-wing cargo aircraft can deposit supplies in situations in which landing is not an option, in an area that is too small to accurately parachute supplies from a high altitude. This practice is no longer used in the USAF."

What mostly needed Gaza for accurate and on-the-mark humanitarian aid drops are a contingent of American air force CCT?


"The United States Air Force Combat Control Teams, singular Combat Controller (CCT) (AFSC 1Z2X1), are an elite special operations force specifically known as 'special tactics operators' who specialize in all aspects of air-ground communication, as well as air traffic control, fire support . . . and command, control, and communications in covert, forward, or austere environments."

CCT personnel functioning as air-traffic controllers providing instructions from the ground to the aircrews. Accuracy of food parcel drops greatly enhanced. American boots on-the-ground for political reasons probably not possible.

coolbert.








Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Culloden 1746.

 This is coolbert:


"What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times... all things are as they were then, except you were [ are] there."

I recommend highly without qualification or reservation these You Tube video. Done in a "You Are There" type genre' or format. 

"blend[ing] history with modern technology, taking an entire network newsroom on a figurative time warp each week reporting the great events of the past."

"Culloden" even can be described as a cult classic?

"A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated viewings, dialogue-quoting, and audience participation"

See first "Culloden".


"The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart fought loyalist troops commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The Hanoverian victory at Culloden decisively halted the Jacobite intent to overthrow the House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the British throne"

Also see a critique and review of "Culloden" Special emphasis placed on the scene of the Highlander charge.


"Often times when a film is plagued with poor levels of authenticity and material accuracy, things like a small budget are blamed for the gaps. This film proves that a small budget is hardly any excuse, because with only a handful of actors and some incredible cinematography it represents one of the most authentic looks at the genuine terror of linear warfare in the Long 18th Century. Culloden is set around its namesake battle, fought in 1746 between the British army and Jacobite rebels in the Highlands of Scotland. In this video we will look at just one scene in the film, and precisely what makes it so extraordinary."

Frontal assaults by the Scots using broadswords and not else quite often succeeding. Not so at Culloden. Basically Bonnie Prince Charlie an incompetent with a staff of incompetents. The brave Scots commoner at Culloden never stood a chance.

coolbert.





Promulgated.


This is coolbert:

Justice was done? 

"1915: 22 Singapore mutineers"

From ExecutedToday.com ^ | March 25, 2012. The tip from Freeper.

"On this date in 1915, 'the sentences of the court-martial on a batch of 45 mutineers of the 5th Light Infantry were promulgated in public' — as the Straits Times reported — 'and, in the case of 22 who were condemned to death, the sentences were executed on the spot.'”

"A crowd of fifteen thousand watched the spirited Indian sepoys shot dead for revolting the previous month."

"This demoralized 800-strong garrison of Punjabi Muslims — who had, it need hardly be added, a noble history of insurrection to think upon — was already deployed far from home to look after the imperial interests of the London gentry while British lads mustered for bayonet charges in No Man’s Lands."

"The last straw for these sepoys was a rumor that they were to be shipped to the European theater and made to turn their weapons against the Turkish sultan, their Muslim coreligionist."

Comments:

* Mutineers guilty without question. A collective disobedience to orders. But more than that. Those guilty went on a rampage and murdered innocent civilians.

* This mutiny too suppressed in part by Japanese soldiers. Yet one contribution of the Japanese WW1 effort in concert with other allied nations.

* See yet more the Siege of Al Kut, WW1. An episode of the Great War a mass surrender of British Indian army troops fighting the Ottoman. Mistreatment of captured sepoy at the hands of the Turk extreme. 

coolbert.





Monday, March 25, 2024

Linking.

This is coolbert:

Some items of interest with links as pertinent to some recent blog entries. 

1. "US Claims It Hasn’t Received Formal Request to Leave Niger"

"The ruling government has said the US presence is no longer legal"

From https://news.antiwar.com | by Dave DeCamp March 21, 2024. 

"A Pentagon official on Thursday insisted that the military-led government in Niger, known as the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), has not formally asked US troops to leave the country despite declaring the US presence is no longer legally justified."

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2023/08/nigerien-1.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2023/08/nigerien-2.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2023/08/nigerian-3.html

American drone airfield Niger a laborious and expensive project now gone?

2. "Lithuania Pledges to Spend at Least 3% of GDP on Defense"

From https://www.usnews.com | March 21, 2024. Original story Reuters.

"VILNIUS (Reuters) - Lithuania's parliament on Thursday confirmed state budget guidelines which foresee an amount worth at least 3% of gross domestic product to be spent on defense from 2025 onwards."

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2024/03/wanting_12.html

As goes Poland so does now Lithuania?

coolbert.





Sunday, March 24, 2024

R-37 BVRAAM.

This is coolbert: 

Foxhound si, Flanker-E no.

"Russian Su-35’s radar ‘eats’ half of the R-37M missile full range"

From https://bulgarianmilitary.com | By Boyko Nikolov | Mar 23, 2024.

"The Russian R-37M hypersonic air-to-air missile is regarded as one of the most potent and impressive munitions in Russian combat aviation. According to the technical specifications released by Russia, the missile travels at a speed of Mach 6 and boasts a range of up to 400 km." [about 240 miles]

"Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, analysts have speculated that the missile’s range has not been substantiated. Instead, the ambitious 400 km seems unattainable, though the R-37M met the standard for operational range before entering service in 2019. Some experts attribute this to the difference in the plane that tested the missile and the one wielding it in actual combat."

R-37 very long-range air to air missile not performing to standard as touted? Range during engagements ONLY HALF as advertised!

MiG-31 FOXHOUND that organic radar able to detect an adversary and guide onto target the R-37. Su-35 FLANKER-E the organic radar less powerful. Not able to detect targets at maximum range of the R-37. R-37 fired from a FLANKER-E only HALF the maximum range possible.

R-37 a beyond visual-range air-to-air missile now reliant upon the Russian A-50 AWACS for targeting and guidance to the target? My speculation intuitively so!

See prior blog entry A-50 with additional embedded links as possibly relevant:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2024/03/kindled.html

coolbert.





Upgrades.

This is coolbert:

Stealth compromised? F-22 Raptor now not so stealthy?

Upgrades a hindrance? Not an improvement?

"The F-22 Is Finally Getting Some Much Needed Upgrades"

https://theaviationist.com/2022 | Military Aviation | STEFANO D'URSO | May 3, 2022.

[original article from two years ago]

"25 years after it entered service in the U.S. Air Force, the F-22 Raptor is scheduled to receive some major upgrades to keep its edge over future adversaries. Some of these upgrades were unveiled last week in the Fiscal Year 23 Budget request documentation and in an official artwork shared by Gen. Mark Kelly, the Commander of Air Combat Command, in a post about the 15th anniversary of the approval of the first F-22 flight demonstration."

"In the artwork we can see three Raptors loaded with new stealthy external fuel tanks, two underwing faceted pods and a new unknown air-to-air missile, but there are even more novelties in the documents, which unveils a previously undisclosed relationship between the F-22 and the development of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), the 'system of systems' which includes the first Air Force’s 6th gen fighter aircraft. "

F-22 Raptor American air superiority/supremacy fighter plane the stealth feature threatened by the addition of EXTERNAL fuel drop-tanks?

Ordinarily all add-ons and weapons for maximum stealth operation carried in the weapons bay of the F-22.

In this instance however the EXTERNAL fuel drop-tanks also stealthy? They had better be!

See this most recent "Aviationist"post the F-22 now having been observed in flight with drop-tanks in place. It is now all a done deal?

coolbert.





49-244.

This is coolbert:

Paranormal SAC? American Strategic Air Command the Cold War!

"73 Years Ago Today: SAC Transport with Nuclear Secrets and Mysterious Cargo Crashes in Atlantic. Then it Gets Weird."

From https://theaviationist.com | TOM DEMERLY | March 23, 2024.

"A Desperate Plea for Help. A Terrifying Survival Ordeal. A Bizarre Disappearance, and the Strangest Cold War Mystery You’ve Never Heard Of."

"It started out as a seemingly routine Strategic Air Command transport flight across the Atlantic. Then it became an alarming inflight emergency. And then, a harrowing survival ordeal. But it ended with the disappearance of America’s largest cargo plane and every survivor on board- including a man who held America’s nuclear secrets. All without explanation. What happened in the bizarre loss of USAF C-124A Globemaster II aircraft number 49-0244 on March 23, 1951?"

"We’ll likely never know. And that may be on purpose."

There one moment, gone the next! This was all a new one on me. So many rather senior command personnel onboard rather strange? High-value VIP types with good knowledge of American atomic secrets nothing ever found of them!

Devoted readers to the blog encouraged to read the entire article.

coolbert.




https://theaviationist.com/2024/03/23/sac-transport-with-nuclear-secrets-crashes-in-atlantic/