.@navalgroup launched the #Suffren, during a ceremony attended by French President Emmanuel Macron. Suffren is the first of six new generation, Barracuda-type, nuclear-powered attack submarines #SSN for the @MarineNationale ⚓️🇫🇷 https://t.co/3GlnkQpT6x— Naval News (@navalnewscom) July 14, 2019
Sunday, July 14, 2019
French Barracuda Nuclear Attack Sub...
Cool Armor....ASCOD Medium Main Battle Tank...
Is the time of the Medium Main Battle Tank dawning? Heavyweight IFVs, plus superior optics/sensors, with added APS (especially when it matures) should provide sparkling protection/first shoot-first kill capability..
Horizontal Escalation...the new concept that the Pentagon believes could defeat China/Russia in the next war....
via Bloomberg
An American war against China or Russia would be truly awful. Even if the U.S. won — no sure thing — it could well suffer costs and casualties that would make the toll of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars seem minor by comparison. So is there a way the U.S. could stymie a Chinese attack in the Pacific, or a Russian land-grab in Eastern Europe, without having to defeat enemy forces head-on? This is the motivating question behind the idea of “horizontal escalation.”Story here.
Horizontal escalation is a strategic concept that relies on attacking an adversary's weaknesses outside the theater where the fighting started, so as to avoid confronting its strengths within that theater. It is an alluring idea that has won support from some key national security professionals. Unfortunately, it probably won’t work.
Horizontal escalation is a response to a genuinely difficult problem: The immense challenges associated with directly defeating Chinese or Russian aggression.
As studies by the RAND Corporation have shown, if Beijing decides to use force against Taiwan, or Russia assaults its Baltic neighbors, the U.S. would be hard-pressed to respond effectively. American forces would be defending exposed territories on the adversary’s doorstep. They would have to project decisive power over thousands of miles, into areas where China and Russia can bring to bear formidable “anti-access/area denial” capabilities (sophisticated air defenses, anti-ship missiles and others). It would be harder than anything the U.S. military has done since World War II.
What is horizontal escalation? via Wikipedia.
Horizontal escalation is the process by which conflicts are heightened through geographical expansion with reasoning including diplomatic, economic, informational, and military components. This also includes international intervention as well as the geographical widening of combat operations.I have my doubts about this concept but want to learn more. On the surface this thing seems fraught with danger.
What happened to the Romanian-Rheinmetall Agilis?
Was doing a scroll thru previous blog posts and rolled across one that I did on the Romanian Agilis (here).
A quick check of Google to try and find out what was going on with the program revealed several articles that put further development in doubt because the Romanian have recently purchased the Piranha V 8x8, but I did find this via RomaniaJournal.ro...
Rheinmetall’s investment through the Romanian-German joint venture Romanian Military Vehicle Systems (RMVS) will create more than 600 direct and indirect jobs at the factory in Moreni. 400 units of 8×8 Agilis armoured conveyors will be manufactured here and about 87 percent of the components will be produced and supplied from Romania, a press release shows.Story here.
This is the first joint venture in the Romanian defense industry where the Romanian state owns 50 percent. Thus, the first Romanian armoured conveyor will be sent to the National Army in 2020.
”Each invested euro in the Moreni factory multiplies. There are amounts that remain in the Romanian economy, as well as the intellectual rights of the product, as it is a product made in Romania,” Karl-Ulrich Zulauf, General Manager RMVS said.
Just on Wednesday, the Competition Council (CC) authorised the economic operation by which Romarm SA (UAM) and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH set up the new joint venture.
The Agilis will incorporate Romanian technologies from the local-made SAUR prototypes and German Boxer 8×8 armoured vehicles.
The Agilis vehicle is 8.02 metres long and 2.99 metres wide and is powered by a 612 horsepower diesel engine from the German manufacturer Liebheer. The top speed of the Agilis is expected to exceed 100 kilometres per hour on road, while the road range is more than 800 kilometres. The vehicle can climb 60 percent slope and drive on 30 percent side-slope. The vehicle is designed with a turn radius of 9.5 metres.
Is this accurate? Are the Romanians still on track to produce the vehicle in 2020? That article is from Jan 2018 so its over a year old now and I couldn't find anything more recent.
As far as the vehicle itself is concerned, I don't think it'll be ground breaking. If anything I see it as a competent 8x8 that could potentially get substantial orders IF they're able to incorporate cheap Romanian labor (skilled labor) with Rheinmetall tech.
Saturday, July 13, 2019
This article explains how arrogance trumped commonsense in Turkey's decision to buy S-400s and threaten/end participation in the F-35...
via Foreign Policy.
Turkey is even more dependent on the F-35 network, because its own aviation industry supplies a number of F-35 components. It would face major losses if the United States cut Turkey off for good. Whereas the Pentagon estimates that finding alternate domestic suppliers to replace Turkey will cause at most a few months’ delay, Turkish production lines will be unable to so easily adapt, putting at risk the $12 billion in component parts business Turkey expected. That figure may be a rounding error for the trillion-dollar F-35 program, but it is equivalent to eight years’ worth of all Turkish aerospace exports. Erdogan will thus pay a high cost if he crosses the United States and persists in his purchase of Russian weaponry.Story here.
The article makes some linkages that I believe are a step too far. I'm not exactly a fan of the F-35 but to consider it the equivalent of what the Chinese are attempting with their "Belt and Road" Initiative is in my opinion a bridge too far.
What did catch my attention is the arrogance of Turkey's stance.
Erdogan risked (and now has lost) the equivalent of eight years worth of Turk aerospace exports.
That is nutty beyond belief. Even worse? TASS is reporting that sanctions will be levied against Turkey next week (Bloomberg: US to announce sanctions against Turkey at end of next week http: // go.tass.ru/r1Pz).
Long story short?
This was an extremely short sighted decision that did NOT enhance Turkish security, threatens their economy further and will only lead to more pain for his people. What was he thinking?
Saab offers Gripens to replace Colombia's IAI Kfir Fighters...
via Janes.
Saab AB is offering its single-seat and dual-seat Gripen fighters to the Colombia Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Colombiana: FAC) to replace its Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) Kfir combat aircraft fleet.Hmm. No Super Hornet in this competition? Wonder why. Additionally I wonder what upgrades IAI has in store for the Upgraded Kfir Next-Generation!
Jonas Hjelm, Saab's head of business area aeronautics, told Jane's on 10 July from the Feria Aeronáutica Internacional (F-AIR) show in Colombia that the company offered 12 single-seat Gripen Es and 3 dual-seat Gripen Fs. He said that Colombia is looking for multirole air superiority fighters and that Saab believes the Gripens perfectly fit these requirements.
Hjelm said it was too early to say where Saab would build its Colombian Gripens if the company was selected to provide the aircraft, but added that Saab would use existing facilities in Brazil and Sweden if chosen to provide Gripens to Colombia. The company, he said, is offering a very comprehensive technology transfer package as Saab knows Colombia wants its aeronautical industry to take a step forward in maturity.
Saab expects competition from Lockheed Martin and its F-16 Block 70 Fighting Falcon and Eurofighter Typhoon, while IAI is offering the upgraded Kfir Next-Generation (NG). Colombia currently operates Kfir Block 60s.
F-16V is the weapon system that Taiwan REALLY wants...should Chinese "kvetching" play a role in the decision?
via Breaking Defense.
The 108 Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger ground-to-air missiles the Trump Administration has approved for sale to Taiwan are purely defensive acquisitions, but Taiwan, ever worried about Chinese desires to bring it back into the fold, has long had its hopes pinned on a more politically fraught deal with Washington: dozens of 4th generation F-16V fighters the Trump administration continues to debate whether to make a deal for.Story here.
Shuang added that the proposed deal is a deliberate “crude interference” in Chinese internal affairs that takes aim at Chinese sovereignty. “China urges the US to immediately cancel the planned arms sale and stop military relations with Taipei to avoid damaging Sino-US relations and harming peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he added.
The latest proposed arms transfer between the US and Taiwan, which still needs to be approved by Congress, includes 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks, 250 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and related equipment, all for a price of $2.2 billion.
Monday’s announcement comes amid ongoing discussions between Washington and Beijing over the trade war the two are waging and just days before Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, prepares for a trip to North America, which has also angered the Chinese government.
But a much bigger deal looms on the horizon.
--------------------------------------------
“Beijing will kvetch about anything,” Harold added, “but would probably complain more about F-16Vs primarily because these would be a politically embarrassing sale for Beijing.”
The Stinger sale, however, might be an indication that Taiwan is truly adopting a more asymmetric approach to self-defense, as the shoulder-launched weapon is easily moved and allows soldiers to fire and flee quickly.
Another protest in Hong Kong...this time 30K residents take part against TRADE with China!
via Sputnik.
More than 30,000 people on Saturday took part in a protest in Hong Kong's area of Sheung Shui against the practice of parallel trading with mainland China, citing rising housing prices and hygiene issues, local media reported.Story here.
The protesters have demanded that Hong Kong authorities stop to ignore negative effects that parallel trading has on the economy of Sheung Shui, an area close to the border with mainland China, the RTHK broadcaster has reported.
The Hong Kong police said a series of clashes had occurred during the protest, calling on the demonstrators to end violence and disperse.
We're missing a vital piece of the story here. For protests of this size and scope to be continuing after the supposed "flashpoint" has been resolved tells me that something else is going on. What is it? I have no idea but this bears watching.
The Chinese authorities have tried the soft approach. I wonder how much longer their patience will last.
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