US military news, discussions and history

[AMDR]

Mexican Standoff: Berlin Crisis of 1961

Berlin Crisis

During the 1950s a steady outflow of refugees from the Soviet occupation zone to the West consisted primarily of young people of working age. By 1950 some 1.6 million had migrated to the western zones. Between 1950 and 1961, the refugee flow continued at a rate of 100,000 to 200,000 annually. Workers were attracted by the economic opportunities open to them in West Germany, and in the early 1950s, they and their families formed the majority of emigrants. By the late 1950s, a growing proportion of those leaving were professional people and students whose skills were sorely needed for internal development. In 1959 about 144,000 persons fled; in 1960 the figure rose to 199,000; and in the first seven months of 1961, about 207,000 left the country.

In November 1958, Soviet Premier Khrushchev issued an ultimatum giving the Western powers six months to agree to withdraw from Berlin and make it a free, demilitarized city. At the end of that period, Khrushchev declared, the Soviet Union would turn over to East Germany complete control of all lines of communication with West Berlin; the western powers then would have access to West Berlin only by permission of the East German government. The United States, Great Britain, and France replied to this ultimatum by firmly asserting their determination to remain in West Berlin and to maintain their legal right of free access to that city.

In 1959 the Soviet Union withdrew its deadline and instead met with the Western powers in a Big Four foreign ministers' conference. Although the three-month-long sessions failed to reach any important agreements, they did open the door to further negotiations and led to Premier Khrushchev's visit to the United States in September of 1959. At the end of this visit, Khrushchev and President Eisenhower stated jointly that the most important issue in the world was general disarmament and that the problem of Berlin and "all outstanding international questions should be settled, not by the application of force, but by peaceful means through negotiations."

During the early months of 1961, the government actively sought a means of halting the emigration of its population to the West. By the early summer of 1961, East German President Walter Ulbricht apparently had persuaded the Soviets that an immediate solution was necessary and that the only way to stop the exodus was to use force. This presented a delicate problem for the Soviet Union because the four-power status of Berlin specified free travel between zones and specifically forbade the presence of German troops in Berlin. Although it is not known who made the actual decision to erect the Berlin Wall, it is generally accepted that overall operations were directed by Marshal Ivan Konev, commander in chief of the GSFG. Apparently Konev appointed Major General Martin Blek of the NVA as the operational commander.

During the spring and early summer, the East German regime procured and stockpiled building materials for the erection of the Berlin Wall. Although this extensive activity was widely known, few outside the small circle of Soviet and East German planners believed that East Germany would be sealed off. Approximately 32,000 combat and engineer troops were used in building the Wall. Once their efforts were completed, the Border Police assumed the functions of manning and improving the barrier. The Soviet Army was present to discourage interference by the West and presumably to assist in the event of large-scale riots.

In June 1961 Premier Khrushchev created a new crisis over the status of West Berlin when he again threatened to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany, which he said, would end existing four-power agreements guaranteeing American, British, and French access rights to West Berlin. The three powers replied that no unilateral treaty could abrogate their responsibilities and rights in West Berlin, including the right of unobstructed access to the city.

As the confrontation over Berlin escalated, on 25 July President Kennedy requested an increase in the Army's total authorized strength from 875,000 to approximately 1 million men, along with increase of 29,000 and 63,000 men in the active duty strength of the Navy and the Air Force. Additionally, he ordered that draft calls be doubled, and asked the Congress for authority to order to active duty certain ready reserve units and individual reservists. He also requested new funds to identify and mark space in existing structures that could be used for fall-out shelters in case of attack, to stock those shelters with food, water, first-aid kits and other minimum essentials for survival, and to improve air-raid warning and fallout detection systems.

On 30 August 1961, President John F. Kennedy had ordered 148,000 Guardsmen and Reservists to active duty in response to Soviet moves to cut off allied access to Berlin. The Air Guard's share of that mobilization was 21,067 individuals. ANG units mobilized in October included 18 tactical fighter squadrons, 4 tactical reconnaissance squadrons, 6 air transport squadrons, and a tactical control group. On 1 November; the Air Force mobilized three more ANG fighter interceptor squadrons. In late October and early November, eight of the tactical fighter units flew to Europe with their 216 aircraft in operation "Stair Step," the largest jet deployment in the Air Guard's history. Because of their short range, 60 Air Guard F-104 interceptors were airlifted to Europe in late November. The United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) lacked spare parts needed for the ANG's aging F-84s and F-86s. Some units had been trained to deliver tactical nuclear weapons, not conventional bombs and bullets. They had to be retrained for conventional missions once they arrived on the continent. The majority of mobilized Air Guardsmen remained in the U.S.

East Germans, stirred by the crisis, fled to West Berlin in increasing numbers. In July alone there were some 30,000. The construction of the Berlin Wall started at 2:00 A.M. on August 13, 1961. The Wall effectively sealed off the best escape route open to disenchanted East Germans, thus halting the mass movement of people to the West. After its construction, the number of refugees entering West Berlin and West Germany fell drastically.

The Soviets also tried to prevent Allied access to the eastern half of the city. In response, the United States deployed men and planes to Europe. Numerous USAF Reserve and Air National Guard units were mobilized to increase Tactical Air Command [TAC] combat strength and in November, TAC deployed more than 200 Federalized ANG airplanes and thousands of personnel under "Operation Stair Step" to France, Germany, and Spain to augment units already on duty in Europe. During "Operation Stair Step," the largest overseas movement of a fighter force since WWII), not a single plane was lost.

The Berlin Crisis saw US Army troops facing East German Army troops in a stand-off, until the East German government backed down. The crisis ended in the summer of 1962 and the personnel returned to the United States. President Kennedy who visited the city in June 1963 and said:

"All free men,
wherever they may live,
are citizens of Berlin.
Therefore, as a free man,
I take pride in the words
'Ich bin ein Berliner'."

Though intending this final phrase to mean "I am a Berliner," in one of the memorably humorous footnotes to Cold War history, Kennedy's words would be more accurately translated as "I am a donut" since a "Berliner" is a popular German pastry.
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One of the lesser known events in US military history that almost resulted in a skirmish between US forces in Europe and Soviet-backed East Germany

Soviet T-54/55s in the back, US M48s in the Front, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin October 27 1961

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Army Testing Rapid-Zoom Rifle Scope

U.S. Army weapons officials are testing a sophisticated rifle-scope that let's shooters zoom in and out on near and far targets faster than ever before.

Brett Bagwell, a former Army Special Forcesofficer, has developed what's known as the Rapid Adaptive Zoom for Assault Rifles, or RAZAR, scope, using a patented active optical zoom system, called "adaptive zoom."

Traditional optical zoom changes magnification by adjusting the positions of the lenses along the optical axis in the same way a 35-mm camera mechanically moves the lenses as you zoom in on or out on a subject.

Adaptive zoom changes the focal lengths of two or more lenses by varying the curvature of the lenses' surfaces to provide optical zoom without changing their overall positions relative to one another. This allows the user to view either a wide-angle image or zoom in on an area of interest with a compact, low-power system, according to a recent Army news release.

"The impetus behind the idea of push-button zoom is you can acquire what you're interested in at low magnification and – without getting lost – zoom in for more clarity," said Bagwell, now an optical engineer with Sandia National Laboratories.

Bagwell began work on RAZAR in 2006 responding to the military's interest in a compact zoom riflescope that could rapidly toggle between magnifications. Early work had been funded by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, the release states.

It took years to meet the military's power usage, speed and accuracy requirements, Bagwell maintains.

"As an engineer, I was impressed with our progress," Bagwell said. "But as an operator, I was constantly dissatisfied. We had to make it smaller. We had to make it lighter. It's got to toggle faster."


Representatives from U.S. Special OperationsCommand first tested the RAZAR in late 2012 at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center near Edinburgh, Indiana.

"The guys picked it up and when they pushed the button and it zoomed, and then instantly it zoomed back out; they were like kids at Christmas," Bagwell said.

"There was this look of astonishment and pleasure. That's very gratifying. Here's this grizzled veteran looking at me like I've just created magic."

Complex Design

RAZAR'S adaptive zoom technology -- invented by Sandia optical engineer David Wick – relies on three core technologies.

A polymer lens core has two flexible, hermetically sealed membranes, which encapsulate a polymer fluid. The three-quarter-inch lenses are aligned with glass lenses to complete the optical design.

A piezoelectric actuator electro-mechanically changes the flex of the lenses, achieving the correct position within 250 milliseconds to an accuracy of 100 nanometers, about 1/100th the thickness of a human hair. These actuators operate the way the muscles of the human eye change the curvature of the eye's lens to focus far away or up close.

Variable-focal length system design tools had to be developed from scratch, including analytical expressions and computer models that trace rays of light through optical systems.

Adaptive zoom accomplishes true optical zoom -- as opposed to digital zoom -- by changing the focal length of two or more lenses in concert, without the normal mechanical motion, reducing the size and power requirements of the zoom lens, Wick said.

The theory that underlies zoom scopes hadn't changed significantly since the 1960s, until the adaptive zoom technology came along, according to the release. Using adaptive zoom, Sandia's team worked for 18 months to achieve an optical quality of about half a wavelength of light.

Sandia had to perfect the manufacturing process of the lenses so the quality of the prototype could be replicated. When the polymer is sealed, no air bubbles or specks of dust could remain in the lenses or on the surrounding rings, Bagwell said.

Freddie Santiago, who at the time was a doctoral candidate in physics and in Sandia's Student Internship Program, developed the process for making the lenses.

"You have to start from the basics: How do we make the polymer? How do we stretch the polymer and make it an optical surface? We had to understand the process, from mixing the polymer all the way to the final product and we had to do it in a systematic way," Santiago said.

Game Changer

Many of the technologies and designs that make up the riflescope came from mechanical engineers, robotics experts, chemists and other Sandia experts, but Bagwell went outside the labs for the actuator to flex the lenses, seeking help from Dynamic Structures and Materials, LLC, a small business in Franklin, Tennessee.

Matthew Stefanick, who was the company's lead engineer on the project, said the team used an ultrasonic piezo motor to actuate the flex in the lenses. A voltage is applied at an ultrasonic frequency to vibrate and move a rotor and lead screw, which causes the lens to flex.

Stefanick said the decision to use an ultrasonic motor provided a key feature, a "zero-power hold" that maintains the last selected focus, even if the power is lost.

The feature allows users to complete 10,000 actuations on two AA batteries, Bagwell said.

John Heinsohn, project Manager Soldier Weapons called the RAZAR a "monumental achievement."

"This is a leap-ahead technology," Heinsohn said. "What this liquid lens technology allows us to do is take something that could be as big as our current optics and increase the performance – five, 10-fold."

Michael Squire, a former sergeant first class with Special Operations Research Support Element, said the ability to zoom between near and far targets within seconds, without taking his hand off the weapon, is "game-changing."

"The difference that can make, especially with somebody shooting back, could mean life or death," he said.

From Army Testing Rapid-Zoom Rifle Scope | Military.com

 

[AMDR]

Report: US to Purchase Iron Dome Battery


Report: US to Purchase Iron Dome Battery | Missile ThreatMissile Threat

New interest has arisen among foreign countries in purchasing the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Countries like Poland, Ukraine and South Korea have all expressed interest in purchasing the system, but the US has once again taken the lead and is the first country to purchase the very system that only months earlier they had refused to fund, NRG reported.

The US has attained one battery, and pending trials, will invest in purchasing numerous other Iron Dome batteries for their offshore military assets, having little or no need for anti-missile defense systems on the homefront.

In the early stages of development and deployment, the US was not confident that the Iron Dome system would be effective. This led US officials to not allocate a funding for the system among the regular military aid payments that the US gives Israel. Rather, a separate budget had to be created specifically for the defensive system after Israel had solely funded the creation and deployment of the first two batteries.

Private Israeli defense firm Rafael has agreed to work with US-based Raytheon group to develop one battery on US soil. The development of this battery will allow Israel to purchase future batteries from the US under the regular yearly aid package that Israel receives, thereby cutting down costs for the Israeli taxpayers.

The joint venture between Rafael and Raytheon will also allow the partner countries to offer other interested parties to purchase the Iron Dome system.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon visited the US last week to discuss a variety of potential partnerships between the two nations. During the visit, Ya’alon cancelled an order for six V-22 heliplanes claiming financial constraints on the IAF budget. Also discussed was the increase of the manufacturing of ‘Leopard’ APC’s on US soil.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

U.S. Army to deactivate long-serving 'Iron Brigade' in South Korea

An Army combat brigade that has anchored the U.S. military presence in South Korea for nearly 50 years will be deactivated and replaced with a rotational unit as the service shrinks in size due to budget cuts, defense officials said on Thursday.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel approved deactivation of the 2nd Infantry Division's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team effective next summer, officials said. The unit, the so-called "Iron Brigade," has been permanently stationed in South Korea since 1965, staffed by individual soldiers sent to serve a year.

Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the move was long-planned and did not represent a reduction in U.S. commitment to South Korean security. In fact, he said, similarly sized, fully trained units would be rotated into South Korea for nine-month tours.

Defense officials said the rotation of units that had trained together beforehand, rather than individuals who had to get to know their fellow soldiers upon arrival, could improve unit cohesion and readiness of U.S. forces in South Korea.

"There's not loss in capability," Warren said. "Some would argue that the capability might even be slightly higher because it's a trained unit that arrives there in Korea."

Warren said the first rotational unit would be the 4,600- member 2nd Brigade Combat Team from the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. It is due to begin its tour in South Korea in June 2015.

The shift is part of an Army plan originally conceived in 2013 to have some brigades overseas on a rotational basis rather than stationed permanently abroad. A continuous rotational presence would enable different units to gain experience training with allies.

The decision to deactivate the "Iron Brigade" in South Korea is part of the Army's effort to cut the overall size of its force as a result of budget reductions enacted in 2011.

The action will reduce the need for 4,500 military jobs. Soldiers currently with the brigade would be deployed to other units. But Army officials said it would allow the service to shed that number of positions by attrition and other means, moving closer to its planned force size.

The Army currently has about 505,000 active duty soldiers and is in the process of shrinking to 490,000. It is expected to reduce further during the coming year, dropping to between 440,000 and 450,000.

The job cuts come as the Pentagon tries to reduce projected spending by nearly a trillion dollars over a decade. Congress and the president agreed to the cuts in the 2011 Budget Control Act.

From U.S. Army to deactivate long-serving 'Iron Brigade' in South Korea| Reuters

Report: US to Purchase Iron Dome Battery


Report: US to Purchase Iron Dome Battery | Missile ThreatMissile Threat

New interest has arisen among foreign countries in purchasing the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Countries like Poland, Ukraine and South Korea have all expressed interest in purchasing the system, but the US has once again taken the lead and is the first country to purchase the very system that only months earlier they had refused to fund, NRG reported.

The US has attained one battery, and pending trials, will invest in purchasing numerous other Iron Dome batteries for their offshore military assets, having little or no need for anti-missile defense systems on the homefront.

In the early stages of development and deployment, the US was not confident that the Iron Dome system would be effective. This led US officials to not allocate a funding for the system among the regular military aid payments that the US gives Israel. Rather, a separate budget had to be created specifically for the defensive system after Israel had solely funded the creation and deployment of the first two batteries.

Private Israeli defense firm Rafael has agreed to work with US-based Raytheon group to develop one battery on US soil. The development of this battery will allow Israel to purchase future batteries from the US under the regular yearly aid package that Israel receives, thereby cutting down costs for the Israeli taxpayers.

The joint venture between Rafael and Raytheon will also allow the partner countries to offer other interested parties to purchase the Iron Dome system.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon visited the US last week to discuss a variety of potential partnerships between the two nations. During the visit, Ya’alon cancelled an order for six V-22 heliplanes claiming financial constraints on the IAF budget. Also discussed was the increase of the manufacturing of ‘Leopard’ APC’s on US soil.

More great news on the missile development and procurement front:


Navy Plans to Arm LCS With Long-Range Surface Missile

Navy developers plan to arm the service’s Littoral Combat Ship with a long-range surface-to-surface missile by 2020 to defend against fast attack craft, ships and patrol boats, service officials said.

The long-range missile plan is intended as a follow-on effort to the Navy’s near-term move to arm the LCS with a shorter-range Hellfire Longbow missile, said Navy Capt. Casey Moton, LCS mission modules program manager.

“Hellfire will meet the short-range missile requirements. We have a requirement to go to a longer range missile,” Moton said. “We have a surface warfare package increment, Increment 4, which requires a longer-range, over-the-horizon type missile capability. Right now our plan is to have that be a competitive procurement.”

The Hellfire, which has already been tested and integrated onto the LCS platform, is slated to be operational on ships by 2017. The Hellfire, which features an all-weather millimeter wave seeker, already exists in the Army stock as it is widely used by helicopters and drones.

“We are essentially taking that missile (Hellfire) and its fire control system and modifying it to do a vertical launch from the ship and go against maritime targets,” Moton said.

The new long-range LCS missile, which will be acquired through a planned future competition among vendors, will be both offensive and defensive, he added. The longer-range surface missile would enable the LCS to engage targets without being in close proximity to a threat or potential attacker.

“We have a short range requirement against small, fast targets – which Hellfire will meet. There is a second requirement for a long-range surface missile to work against bigger craft for the LCS,” Moton explained.

Analysts and lawmakers have criticized the LCS platform for not being survivable or protected enough to perform its envisioned range of missions and address anticipated threats.

Both the Hellfire and the new long-range missile for 2020 will function as part of the LCS’ Surface Warfare Package, or SUW, a collection of technologies designed to add lethality and transition on and off the LCS platform as needed.

The Surface Warfare Package, which is slated to deploy this year on-board the USS Fort Worth, or LCS 3, includes MH-60 helicopters, two 30mm guns and 11-meter RIBs, or rigid hull inflatable boats, for fast-attack, rescue or maneuver operations.

Future SUW increments will also include the Fire Scout UAS for additional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology. The Navy has already successfully tested the Fire Scout on-board the LCS and plans to include it on the upcoming deployment of the USS Fort Worth. The SUW package deployed on board the first LCS, the USS Freedom, which deployed to Singapore and other parts of Asia last year. LCS 2, the USS Independence, participated this past summer in the large Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, exercise with the SUW package on board.

The Navy also conducted SUW testing this past summer on board the forth LCS, the USS Coronado; it was the first time on the tri-moran hull or Independence variant of the LCS wherein integrated fires were performed with the ship’s combat system, Moton explained.

Missile Options

Although the formal competition for the long-range LCS surface missile has yet to get underway, the Navy and some industry partners are already exploring a handful of possible options.

“We’ve already done background work on some of the missile capability. A lot of prep work still needs to be done,” Moton added.

For instance, the Navy recently test-fired a Norwegian long-range precision strike missile from the deck of its Littoral Combat Ship to assess whether the weapon should be permanently integrated onto the ship, service officials said.

A live-fire demonstration of the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile took place Sept. 23 aboard the USS Coronado, or LCS 4, Navy officials said, resulting in the missile achieving a direct-hit on a mobile ship target.

“We look at foreign weapon systems to see how good they are. We want to see if they can be integrated into our systems and to see if they are competitive. It was a successful firing,” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus told reporters Sept. 30.

The Kongsberg NSM is a long-range precision strike missile currently used on Norwegian Nansen-class frigates and Skjold-Class missile torpedo boats. The missile is also used by the Polish Coastal Missile Division, Navy officials said.

At the same time, Raytheon is testing a new extended range Griffin missile which triples the range of the existing weapon and adds infrared imaging guidance technology, company officials said.

“We start off with a baseline Griffin and add an extended range rocket motor. This more than triples the range of the current Griffin and it has more than twice the range of the Hellfire,” James Smith, the business development lead for Raytheon’s advanced missile systems, told Military.com several weeks ago.

The existing Griffin missile, which can be launched from the air, sea or land, uses GPS and laser guidance technology. The new variant now being tested allows infrared technology to work in tandem with laser designation, Smith explained.

“It is a semi-active laser sensor which we have in the current Griffin. With the new missile, we have both a semi-active laser system and an imaging infrared dual mode. You can use the semi-active laser to point out the target to the missile. The imaging infrared captures the target and then navigates on its own,” he added.

The extended range Griffin also features a data link in order to allow the weapon to receive in-flight target updates, he added. Smith said this technology could prove particularly useful on a platform such as the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship, or LSC.

Smith explained that the targeting technology could help destroy small fast-moving surface targets such as swarming boats and also help fast-moving ships reach targets as well.

“An LCS moves fast. Before the seeker finds the target you may want to continue to update the target location until the missile then finds the target on its own,” Smith added.

The Griffin does not have millimeter wave technology, like the Hellfire, but is capable of operating in some difficult weather conditions, Smith said. Overall, however, the extended range Griffin is engineered to operate in reasonably clear weather conditions. The new missiles infrared guidance system is configured with computer algorithms which enable the weapon to distinguish targets from nearby objects, Smith added.

“The imaging infrared is passive and uncooled so there is no cooling involved. Once the laser spot is removed, the imaging infrared seeker takes over on its own. You don’t have to keep the laser on the target you can move the laser onto another target,” he added.

Raytheon plans to continue testing of the weapon for another year and hopes the new missile will be considered for a range of ground applications, surface ships and air platforms including patrol craft and even unmanned aerial systems.

From Navy Plans to Arm LCS With Long-Range Surface Missile | Defense Tech

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Army Upgrades Stinger Missiles

The U.S. Army has begun a plan to upgrade and extend the service life of its Stinger Block 1 missiles, service officials at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant said recently.

The portable infrared heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles, first produced in the 1980s, will have their expected service life extended by an additional ten years after workers replace aging components, an Army statement said.

The Stinger service life improvement extension program will upgrade 850 Army missiles and 1,155 for the Marine Corps. The $11 million project is being done by Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Ala.

In addition to extending the service life, the Stinger upgrade program will install a warhead section equipped with a proximity fuse, Army officials said in a statement.


The proximity fuse is designed to increase the weapon’s effectiveness against unmanned aerial systems.

The new upgraded Stinger missile will be redesignation as the FIM-92J. Work is expected to continue through 2016, Army officials said.

from Army Upgrades Stinger Missiles | Kit Up!

My Comments

Honestly, I don't see any reason to retain the stinger in the first place, but at least they aren't being neglected either. It's a system that almost never sees use by the US military, so I'm not sure why its been retained all these years.

 

[AMDR]

DARPA Tests New Close Air Support Technology
DARPA Tests New Close Air Support Technology | Defense Tech

The Pentagon’s top research arm and Raytheon will test a new system designed to massively speed up air-ground coordination and reduce targeting time for close air support from as long as an hour — down to as little as six minutes.

A program called Persistent Close Air Support, or PCAS, connects pilots in real time with the ground-based Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, or JTACS, there to help establish and confirm target information.

“The way we are able to decrease the timeline from 30 to 60 minutes to six minutes or less is by having digital communications tablet-to-tablet between the pilot and the JTAC, having autonomous decision aides and sharing situational awareness,” said Dave Bossert, senior engineering fellow, Raytheon.

The PCAS program, which began four years ago and is now involved in what’s called phase three, plans a close air support weapons drop demonstration next February from an A-10 Warthog at the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, Ariz. Phase three of PCAS involves a $25.5 million DARPA deal with Raytheon.

The DARPA effort, which in total includes a roughly $45 million developmental deal with Raytheon, is moving forward under the watchful eye of interested Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps observers, Bossert said. The system could be ready for operational use by May of next year.

The first flight test of the PCAS system took place on an A-10 in October of this year and a test-flight to verify the on-board sensors is slated for December, Bossert explained.

Right now, most close-air-support is done using only voice radio to identify and confirm target information or coordinates, a process which can at times be lengthy in order to ensure the pilot and JTAC have correctly confirmed a given target location.

With PCAS, pilots and JTACs have digital messaging capability and are essentially networked through software programmable radio, technology which can wirelessly transmit IP packets of voice, video and data in real-time. Through the use of android-based digital tablets on the ground and in the cockpit of the aircraft, pilots and JTACs can view and exchange relevant targeting information using icons, digital maps and display screens.

Using what’s called smart launcher electronics, the PCAS system integrates software programmable radio with a processor and a digital tablet in the cockpit of the aircraft. The smart launcher electronics includes a computer to host the PCAS software, radios, an ethernet switch and a GPS/inertial navigation systems unit, Bossert explained.

The digital tablet, used by both the pilots and the JTACs, leverages digital navigation technology and mapping information gleaned from a Navy and Air Force program called Electronic Fight Bag. Electronic Flight Bag is an effort to replace paper maps in the cockpit with a tablet-based digital map database, Bossert said.

With PCAS, the standard so-called “nine-line” targeting information form no longer needs to be relayed only by voice but can be viewed simultaneously in real time by pilots and JTACs using a digital tablet, Bossert explained.

“The nine-line is a standardized methodology to pass target information. It is a format and a form that has nine pieces of information on it used to describe the target and its location. Right now they read it off. We’ve implemented the form digitally. Through this IP-based network, we want it to be like the pilot and the JTAC are sitting side by side,” Bossert said.

As a result of being networked through IP-based radio, PCAS allows a JTAC to view a pilot’s airborne targeting pod control picture and, similarly, permits a pilot to view target-grid coordinates and other displays from a JTAC’s tablet on the ground.

In addition, the PCAS technology uses what’s called autonomous decision aides, allowing things like weapons employment planning on the JTAC tablet. While a ground commander and pilot will be the humans in the loop finalizing targets, the PCAS system will use algorithms to recommend which weapons might be best-suited to attack a given target.

“Not only do we have digital representation of the target but digital representation of the surrounding friendlies so you will be able to cycle through the different weapons effects and say ‘that is the weapon that I want.’ Then, the system will make a recommendation. The pilot and the JTAC can choose whatever weapon they want,” Bossert added. “We aren’t changing anything in terms of how the weapon is initialized and how the weapon is passed to the target.”

The targeting information can be networked to other air and ground platforms in the vicinity as well, he said.

“Anybody that is on the network that has an IP-based radio can get this information as well,” he said.

The A-10 is merely a demonstration platform for the technology, meaning the PCAS apparatus could easily migrate to other fixed-wing platforms able to provide close air support.

“You have increased situational awareness, so this has the potential to reduce collateral damage, decrease the likelihood of friendly fire incidents and save lives on the battlefield,” Bossert added.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Army Testing Rapid-Zoom Rifle Scope

Honestly, I don't see any reason to retain the stinger in the first place, but at least they aren't being neglected either. It's a system that almost never sees use by the US military, so I'm not sure why its been retained all these years.

For use against helicopter gunships.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Air Force Ready to Fight Ebola with Virus-killing Robot

Air Force doctors at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia have a germ-killing robot ready to help keep rooms clean should any returning service member show symptoms of Ebola.

The 366th Medical Group at Langley is responsible for housing and monitoring troops returning from Ebola aid missions to West Africa during a mandatory 21-day quarantine period.

The 5’2”-inch robot, named Saul, is essentially a germ terminator whose pulses of high-intensity, high-energy ultraviolet rays can destroy viruses lurking in areas where hazmat-suited humans using traditional cleansers cannot reach, according to the Air Force.

“Saul will provide an extra measure of safety for both our patients and our intensive care unit staff,” Col. Marlene Kerchenski, chief nurse of the 633rd Medical Group at Langley said. Saul’s role is to do a final mop-up in contaminated environments.

There are about 1,800 American troops in Liberia and Senegal for the Ebola mission, as well as about 100 contractors and close to 60 Defense Department civilians, according to the Pentagon. The quarantine is mandatory only for service members.

Langley-Eustis is one of five U.S. bases chosen by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey to look after troops returning from West Africa during a 21-day isolation period. The other bases are Fort Hood and Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The quarantine is mandatory for service members, though not for Defense Department civilians.

The robot is made by Xenex of San Antonio, which has sold more than 200 of their “germ zappers” to hospitals, according to the company.

The ultraviolet ray pulses emitted by Saul are 25,000 times brighter than florescent lights, Geri Genant, Xenex’s health care services manager. The rays split open bacterial cell walls and kill pathogens.

“Xenex has tested its full spectrum disinfection system on 22 microorganisms, studying nearly 2,000 samples in several independent labs all over the world,” said Genant.

The machine has already shown it can kill a single strand of ribonucleic acid, a virus similar to Ebola, two meters out in any direction, within five minutes, at an efficiency rate of 99.9 percent, Genant said.

Kerchenski said Saul will be used throughout the hospital on a rotating basis.

“Our surgical services groups have already been trained on this, so we will use them as well as our service representative for a train the trainer type program,” she said.

From Air Force Ready to Fight Ebola with Virus-killing Robot | Defense Tech

 

[Oldman1]

Army Upgrades Stinger Missiles

The U.S. Army has begun a plan to upgrade and extend the service life of its Stinger Block 1 missiles, service officials at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant said recently.

The portable infrared heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles, first produced in the 1980s, will have their expected service life extended by an additional ten years after workers replace aging components, an Army statement said.

The Stinger service life improvement extension program will upgrade 850 Army missiles and 1,155 for the Marine Corps. The $11 million project is being done by Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Ala.

In addition to extending the service life, the Stinger upgrade program will install a warhead section equipped with a proximity fuse, Army officials said in a statement.


The proximity fuse is designed to increase the weapon’s effectiveness against unmanned aerial systems.

The new upgraded Stinger missile will be redesignation as the FIM-92J. Work is expected to continue through 2016, Army officials said.

from Army Upgrades Stinger Missiles | Kit Up!

My Comments

Honestly, I don't see any reason to retain the stinger in the first place, but at least they aren't being neglected either. It's a system that almost never sees use by the US military, so I'm not sure why its been retained all these years.

Thats equivalent to saying no reason to have man portable anti-tank weapons.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Thats equivalent to saying no reason to have man portable anti-tank weapons.

I don't think so. Man portable anti-tank weapons have been used in conflict by US forces, even in our most recent wars (Iraq and Afghanistan saw US forces use anti-tank weapons in an anti-tank and anti-bunker role), but the Stinger hasn't seen any action with the US military. I understand what you're saying and I agree that it is a good idea to have an option to deal with an eventuality, even if said eventuality never comes, but the Stinger isn't likely to see action as the forces the US is prone to fighting, or expecting to fight, lack the air power that would make the Stinger a relevant weapon. Against China or Russia, the Stinger isn't going to be much help and against ISIS or any other radical group they aren't needed. The Stinger isn't a versatile weapon that can be used for other uses, such as anti-bunker or personal, and is much more limited in its role than are anti-tank weapons with have a greater versatility.

 

[Oldman1]

I don't think so. Man portable anti-tank weapons have been used in conflict by US forces, even in our most recent wars (Iraq and Afghanistan saw US forces use anti-tank weapons in an anti-tank and anti-bunker role), but the Stinger hasn't seen any action with the US military. I understand what you're saying and I agree that it is a good idea to have an option to deal with an eventuality, even if said eventuality never comes, but the Stinger isn't likely to see action as the forces the US is prone to fighting, or expecting to fight, lack the air power that would make the Stinger a relevant weapon. Against China or Russia, the Stinger isn't going to be much help and against ISIS or any other radical group they aren't needed. The Stinger isn't a versatile weapon that can be used for other uses, such as anti-bunker or personal, and is much more limited in its role than are anti-tank weapons with have a greater versatility.

And yet in Iraq and Afghanistan insurgents with no air force was able to defend themselves with MANPADs against a superior force. If there is a war with countries like China and Russia with attack helicopters or aircraft providing close air support, the U.S. forces on the ground needs them.

 

[AMDR]

Army Buys More Self-Propelled Howitzers, M109A7s

Army Buys More Self-Propelled Howitzers | DoD Buzz


The U.S. Army has awarded a $142 million contract to BAE Systems new M109A7 self-propelled howitzers and M992A3 ammunition carriers.

The follow-on contract calls for BAE to build 18 M109A7 howitzers and 18 carrier ammunition, tracked vehicles for the low-rate initial production deal.

BAE Systems is proud to partner with the Army to continue production on this important upgrade program,” Adam Zarfoss, director for Artillery and Recovery Systems at BAE Systems, said in a recent BAE release.

“The M109A7 is a significant leap forward in technology for the field artillery, addressing the current system shortfalls while providing significant margin for growth to help position the service for the long term.”

BAE Systems was originally awarded a one-year base contract for the M109A7, formerly the Paladin Integrated Management program, in October 2013.

In total, the Army intends to purchase a total of 66.5 vehicle sets plus spares, kits, and technical documentation. One set includes a M109A7 Paladin Self Propelled Howitzer along with its battlefield companion, the M992A3 Carrier Ammunition, Tracked.

The M109A7 program is a significant upgrade over the vehicle’s predecessor, the M109A6 Paladin Self-Propelled Howitzer, BAE officials maintain.

The design includes a Bradley–common chassis, engine, transmission, suspension, steering system, and improved survivability, while leveraging technologies developed during the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon program such as a 600 volt on-board power system.

The state-of-the-art “digital-backbone” and power generation capability provides significant growth potential for future payloads as well as accommodating existing battlefield network requirements.

Work on the M109A7 is currently underway at Anniston Army Depot, Alabama, and BAE Systems’ York, Pennsylvania, facility. Final production will take place at the company’s Elgin, Oklahoma, facility, with the first vehicles scheduled to be delivered to the Army in early 2015.

 

[AMDR]

US seeks to purchase small UAS for battle against Islamic State - 11/11/2014 - Flight Global

US President Barack Obama has asked for $55 million worth of small, tactical unmanned air vehicles as part of a $5.6 billion request to Congress for the US fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Obama on 10 November issued a request for amendments to his fiscal year 2015 budget request for “activities to degrade and ultimately defeat” ISIS. The funds would be added to the US government war budget, called overseas contingency operations (OCO) funding, which brings total OCO requests for the year to $63.6 billion.

The document lists $544.5 million for “classified purposes” for the Air Force, one of the largest single sums requested.

The funding request specifically earmarks $55 million for the navy for procurement of small, tactical unmanned aerial systems in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, as the fight against ISIS is named. The document does not specify a platform and Naval Air Systems Command did not immediately return calls seeking information.

The most likely candidates are the Boeing Insitu Scan Eagle or RQ-21 Blackjack, which can launch and be recovered aboard ship or by Marine UAV squadrons ashore to provide real-time tactical surveillance. Their limited range means that in Iraq and Syria, they likely will be operated by personnel at one of the two staging bases the Obama administration announced would be built outside Baghdad and in Anbar province. At least 1,500 troops in addition to those 1,500 already in Iraq will be sent to man those bases, which are tasked with supporting the Iraqi army’s fight against ISIS militants.

Small tactical UAS (STUAS) are designated by the navy as Group II aircraft, which generally require mechanically assisted launch. The Marine Corps initially established the STUAS programme of record to have 10h endurance and a ceiling of 15,000ft (4,572m) and an operational radius of 50nm.

The additional funding is aimed at “sustaining personnel forward deployed to the Middle East to provide training, advice and assistance to partner security forces” fighting ISIS, says Obama’s letter to Congress. It also will provide “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms and support that are essential to conduct comprehensive counterterrorism operations”.

Obama has also requested $24 million for Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles for the army and air force and Boeing GBU-39 small-diameter bomb to replace those already fired against ISIS targets. Another $54.3 million would pay for Raytheon BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles and AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles for the Navy.

 

[Aepsilons]

I don't think so. Man portable anti-tank weapons have been used in conflict by US forces, even in our most recent wars (Iraq and Afghanistan saw US forces use anti-tank weapons in an anti-tank and anti-bunker role), but the Stinger hasn't seen any action with the US military. I understand what you're saying and I agree that it is a good idea to have an option to deal with an eventuality, even if said eventuality never comes, but the Stinger isn't likely to see action as the forces the US is prone to fighting, or expecting to fight, lack the air power that would make the Stinger a relevant weapon. Against China or Russia, the Stinger isn't going to be much help and against ISIS or any other radical group they aren't needed. The Stinger isn't a versatile weapon that can be used for other uses, such as anti-bunker or personal, and is much more limited in its role than are anti-tank weapons with have a greater versatility.

@SvenSvensonov ,

Did you hear reports from PACOM that there will be 4 months next year wherein there will be no US Carrier in the 7th Fleet AOI ? Just read reports from JMSDF article. Can you verify this as true or not? JMSDF noted that its due to cost issue or something ? This is rather worrisome to me and others.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

@SvenSvensonov ,

Did you hear reports from PACOM that there will be 4 months next year wherein there will be no US Carrier in the 7th Fleet AOI ? Just read reports from JMSDF article. Can you verify this as true or not? JMSDF noted that its due to cost issue or something ? This is rather worrisome to me and others.

Link? PACOM isn't reporting anything, their last news update is about the CARAT 14 drills, from 10 November. Given the importance of the Pacific region to the US military, relative to other regions, and a lack of money problems at the moment, even the sequester and its auto budget cuts are likely to be roled back by republicans, I couldn't fathom the veracity of this report.