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Surface to Air Missile for Surface to Surface use. DIY weaponeering.
So, the other day, @ThinkDefence shared a tweet that took me here:
The surprising move by Libya Dawn that resulted in the conversion of several S-125 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) into surface-to-surface missiles is not the only of its kind in Libya. Indeed, initiated at roughly the same time, Libya Dawn also worked on the conversion of 2K12 SAMs to the surface-to-surface role. The first contraption, seen above, combines an Italian produced Puma 6×6 APC with the launch section of a Soviet designed 2K12 SAM system.
The collapse of Libya into a mishmash of competing factions means that there really isn’t a lot of new weapons being imported beyond perhaps some small arms.
That being the case, the combatants are forced to make do with what they have on hand. There’s not really much of an air war going on, so Surface to Air missile systems are not exactly a priority. But in the old Ghaddafi days, they were, if only because they’d been raided a few times by A-6s, A-7s, and F-111s.
The 2K12, better known in the West as the SA-6 Gainful, was something of a rude surprise to the Israelis when they first faced it in Egyptian hands in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It’s rather dated technology by today’s standards, but still a credible threat.
But again, the factions in Libya don’t really need SAMs. So apparently, they’re using these as unguided surface to surface missiles. As the Onyx Blog notes, they have a poor warhead and fuze for this role, but shooting something is better than nothing.
And it isn’t as if they’re the only ones to use SAMs in a surface to surface role. US Navy Arleigh Burke class destroyers beginning with DDG-79 USS Oscar Austin don’t carry the Harpoon anti-ship missile, and so rely on their anti-aircraft SM-2 missiles for the anti-surface role.
One program that never came to fruition, sadly, was a recent one involving the SM-2. Earlier blocks of SM-2 missiles have been replaced in service by newer, longer ranged versions of the SM-2, and now also by the SM-6, featuring basically the same airframe and autopilot, but also incorporating the radar seeker from the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the IIR seeker from the AIM-9X. This new production meant a couple thousand earlier SM-2s were surplus to needs. Someone in the Navy or at Raytheon had the bright idea to convert them for land attack use. The SM-4* Land Attack Standard Missile (LASM) program was born.
LASM took a surplus SM-2 and replaced the Semi-Active Radar Homing guidance system with an INS/GPS system. The firing ship would simply input the map coordinates of the target, and launch the missile. The missile could fly a very efficient ballistic or semi-ballistic path to the target, which meant its range would be considerably greater than for the air to air role. While its warhead would be no great shakes against any hardened target, it would be fairly effective against soft targets.
For whatever reason, most likely budgetary, LASM was cancelled. Which, to us, seems a shame, as the next logical step to us would have been to equip it with the seeker from the AGM-88 HARM, and use the LASM to suppress land based air defenses in support of carrier operations.
*SM-3 is a ballistic missile defense variant of the Standard Missile Family.
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More punishment for paratrooper who jumped with fish
The paratrooper who celebrated his upcoming departure from the Army by jumping with his pet Siamese fighting fish — and whose selfie of the act later went viral on social media — will serve 12 days of extra duty before closing out his time in uniform.
Spc. Matthew Tattersall, who is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, received a company-grade Article 15, with the extra duty as punishment.
via More punishment for paratrooper who jumped with fish.
I’m a leg, so I don’t normally comment too much on Airborne matters.
Safety matters, a great deal. It would have been a damn shame if SPC Tattersall or one of his fellow soldiers had been injured because of this.
But…
Look, everyone knows everyone takes at least one selfie on a jump sometime. For that matter, there are plenty of pics and youtube videos posted of POV jumps.
And this was SPC Tattersall’s last jump. It was, for him at least, a “Hollywood” jump, without the encumbrance of a weapon and a rucksack. And one suspects that while he might not be a Senior or Master Parachutist, he’s probably got enough jumps under his belt to have a fair idea what he’s doing by now.
As to his 1000 word essay, please note that in the eyes of the Army, that’s not punishment, but rather training, and thus not double jeopardy.
We have a sneaking suspicion that SPC Tattersall is “that guy.” The member in good standing of the E-4 Mafia that is a bit of a clown. A solid citizen that does what is required of him, but has never treated the Army as seriously as the Army likes to be treated.
One also strongly suspects that SPC Tattersall received an Article 15 not so much for his own actions, but as a shot across the bow of the next guy. One guy doing something silly is one thing. But young men, being young men, particularly in the era of viral social media, often attempt a little one-upsmanship. Where this incident was not a gross violation of safety, the next time might not be so benign.
Still, SPC Tattersall seems to have the right frame of mind to cope with extra duty (it’s unpleasant, but no one ever died from mopping the battalion headquarters) and we wish him the best upon his transition back to civilian life.
And best wishes to Willy Did Makeit.
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M/V Maersk Tigris and Lawfare in Action
The explanation offered by IRNA creates more questions than answers.
The IRGC Navy is sent to intercept and seize a cargo ship at the Strait of Hormuz to enforce a civil law suit by an private company in Iran against a shipping giant during a tense period in the region. Highly unusual, indeed!
According to the Navigation and Ports Organization public relations bureau, the decree was issued upon a complaint lodged by a private company named ‘Pars-Talaeeyeh Oil Products Company’ manager Hamid Reza Jahanian against MAERSK Shipping Line.
via MFS – The Other News: Iran denies releasing pirated Maersk’s ship.
There may or may not be a legitimate debt owed, but that’s beside the point.
Seizing a vessel in international waters for debt is outside the norms of international law. But Iran’s actions, in addition to the constant goal of tweaking American noses, is being used to bolster their claim of territorial waters in what the US (and just about every other nation in the world) recognizes as international waters.
Iran also recognizes that most institutions in the West have a great deal of respect for the courts, be they domestic institutions or admiralty courts, or other transnational entities. They are simply using the West’s respect for the rule of law as a shield for their own lawlessness.
Of course, the current feckless US leadership encourages this behavior. But sooner or later, US leadership will change. And Iran would do well to remember that in the end, international law is simply what the strongest willed players in the game decide it is.
We’re curious as to the status of the crew. Iran might hold them as quasi hostages. Or, considering they are likely poor people from some third world nation, they could do the smart thing PR wise, and repatriate them to their home nation, and simply hold the vessel, loudly proclaiming their intention is solely to force Maersk to met its debt obligations.
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.50cal Smart Rounds
DARPA is always coming up with cool stuff. Some eventually becomes operational, and some is just a neat concept that doesn’t really have a military future. I’m not sure yet where on the spectrum this falls.
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That sound you hear is all our allies shuffling papers to re-examine their treaty relationships with us.
Every country that falls within the sphere of influence of a potential aggressor, say Putin’s Russia, or more emphatically, China, just learned that the supposed benefits of being allied with the United States is worth exactly nothing. And so, they’ll react accordingly, and make accommodations, against our interests, with those nations.
H/T to Fringe.
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Commentary: The A-10 Needs To Go | Defense News | defensenews.com
The US Air Force is correct in trying to kill the A-10 fleet. It is an archaic vestige reflecting a technology, and a style of warfare, that is outdated by a generation.
It fulfilled the purpose for which it was procured: Killing the Army’s AH-56 Cheyenne attack helicopter program. As a secondary purpose, it has served reasonably well as an interdiction, combat-search-and-rescue (CSAR), escort and close-air support (CAS) platform. Befitting its unique role and visage, it is surrounded by rumors and myths. These myths need to be dispelled so the US Air Force can do the right thing for the nation, its taxpayers and the infantryman on the ground.
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Myth No 1: The A-10 is the best aircraft at CAS. The A-10 is in fifth place, at best. The king of CAS is the AC-130. The attributes listed as critical to effective CAS platforms are lethality and loiter. The AC-130 has the competition beat by a country mile. The AC-130 has a 105mm cannon, dual 40mm rapid firing cannons and a 25mm machine gun capable of over 2,500 rounds per minute. It can fly for hours, has pinpoint accuracy and is able to self-target. Unlike the A-10, there is no need for airmen on the ground to control it. Any infantryman asked to pick a support aircraft would choose the AC-130. Incredibly, the AC-130 is normally available only to special operations troops for reasons that remain a deadly mystery to conventional forces.
The A-10 is lauded for its firepower. Firepower is only relevant, however, if it is lethal. The mighty 30mm cannon on the A-10 was designed to kill Soviet armor, not men. The 30mm is surprisingly ineffective against dismounted enemies. The 25mm on the AC-130 is more effective against all but the stoutest armor.
The A-10 was also designed to take advantage of the revolutionary AGM-65 Maverick missile. Today, however, this missile is only one of a myriad of precision weapons available on virtually all combat aircraft. As long as the infantryman knows the location of the enemy, a wide array of ground and air weapons can destroy them. The runners up to the AC-130 in the CAS competition, the Kiowa, Apache, and Cobra attack helicopters, all have guided missiles.
via Commentary: The A-10 Needs To Go | Defense News | defensenews.com.
Note that this rather controversial position is staked out not by the Air Force, but by a National Guard Infantryman.
I can explain why AC-130s usually support SOF forces. Because they’re incredibly expensive planes, and there just aren’t a lot of them. And SOF forces are incredibly fragile. As badass as they are, they’re still mortal. And when they need firepower, they need a lot, right then. This need for on call dedicated assets means AC-130s can’t really be tasked for general support of other forces. Whether that’s the best way to do business is an open question. But that is the way things are now.
As to LTC Darling’s other points (read the whole thing, it’s quick) it falls in line with our repeated argument that the A-10 in CAS is not so much being replaced by the F-35 as it is by precision guided munitions.
He also has a good point on the antiquated method of terminal control. I’d like to hear from my fire support and maneuver guys what they think about that, and the pros and cons of updating how we do terminal control of CAS.
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The Falklands, Asymmetric Naval Warfare, and Iran
Yesterday, we read a very interesting piece in CIMSEC about tensions in the South Atlantic between Argentina and Great Britain. While we’ve maintained for some time that Argentine does not currently have a legitimate military capability to seize the Falkland Islands, Alex Calvo proposes some scenarios that would greatly complicate Great Britain’s hold on the territory:
The question is then, could Argentine choose asymmetric non-lethal force over conventional rearmament? A number of scenarios come to mind, from the occupation of a minor island by activists, special forces, or a combination of both, to the operation of trawlers escorted by non-naval state vessels. Things may get more complex with the involvement of third parties. Could Argentina grant a Chinese company a licence to explore for oil in the Falklands’ EEZ? Or to fish there? Could Buenos Aires then deploy non-naval state vessels (coastguard units or simply law enforcement personnel on board civilian vessels) to protect Chinese trawlers or even a rig? To make things more complex, Taiwanese trawlers operate in the region, under license by the Falklands Government.
China might be tempted to take up such an offer just to tweak the West’s nose. China, of course, has been using asymmetric non-kinetic naval power in the Western Pacific for some time now, and for arguably good reason.
China has been pretty good about not actively involving itself in its neighbors, actually. And from *China’s* perspective, the establishment of hegemony over the SCS and other first island chains is merely prudent DEFENSIVE planning. Early warning outposts, and establishment of strategic depth. They don’t see what they’ve been doing as offensive. And given the history of China being occupied in whole or part by everybody and their dog, to include even the damn Italians in the last century or so, it makes sense from where they sit.
And then there is Iran. Iran has long wanted to establish itself as a regional hegemon. Iran has, since the 1979 revolution, consistently made themselves a pain concerning shipping the the Arabian Gulf, particularly near the Straits of Hormuz. The most obvious example of this policy was the 1987-88 Tanker War, but harassment has continued at lower levels since then. Iran fared badly after Operation Praying Mantis in retaliation for their mining of the waters, and was relatively quiet for some time. Lately, however, they’ve been ratcheting up their mischief.
Today news comes that Iranian forces have seized a Marshall Islands flagged merchant vessel, the M/V Maersk Tigris, firing shots across its bow, and directing it toward Bandar Abbas.
The Marshall Islands are technically an independent and sovereign state. They’re also members of the Compact of Free Association, which is almost a kind of quasi-protectorate status with the United States. That is, they aren’t Americans, but for practical purposes, the US is the guarantor of their security interests.
Of course, the M/V Maersk Tigris isn’t really a Marshallese ship. It is operating under what is known as a flag of convenience. It’s really a Danish ship. But it is cheaper to register the ship with the Marshall Islands (or some other country- Panama and Liberia are popular nations for flags of convenience). Maersk pays less for registration, and the Marshall Islands get a nice little sum of money for not a lot of effort. I would be quite surprised if there were even any Marshallese aboard. A lot of merchant shipping worldwide is crewed by nationals from places like Indonesia, the Philippines, and other third world nations, where what you and I would consider low wages are quite ruminative to them.
Still, it’s the sovereign flagged vessel of a nation which we, the United States, have agreed to act as shield and sword for. I suppose there might be some valid reason for Iran to seize the vessel, but you and I know that’s highly unlikely. The US has dispatched a warship to “monitor” the situation. Of course, it should take action to re-seize the vessel, but that simply won’t happen with the current administration.
As an acquaintance on Facebook noted, this is more than likely a counter to the recent US intervention to turn back Iranian ships en route to Yemen, not to mention leverage during the talks about just how to allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons without appearing to be even more craven.
Having behaved badly here, with little or no consequence, Iran will almost certainly be emboldened to act ever more brazenly.
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NAACP- National Association for the Advancement of Coke Peddlers
Sometimes the stories just write themselves. From NYDN:
An Indiana bus transit system director and president of a local NAACP chapter was arrested for selling cocaine to a confidential informant, once asking for sexual favors in exchange for the drug, cops say.
Miles told cops he’d buy an ounce of coke for $1,250, then sell it off and double his take to pay off his child support, according to the documents.
Child support? Good lordy. I know some guys call it “junior”, but that doesn’t really make it “supporting a child”.
Miles, who has been president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter in Muncie since December 2013, reportedly sold drugs to the informant three different times. Once was in a park with kids nearby and another time, he asked for sex instead of cash, according to cops.
But you have to admire his entrepreneurial acumen, as he was leveraging his position as a transportation official with Muncie Indiana Transit System (MITS) to aid in the distribution of his burgeoning enterprise.
Timothy Miles, 49, was in uniform, wearing his work badge and in a Muncie Indiana Transit System (MITS) vehicle when he was arrested Wednesday near the downtown Muncie Civic Center, according to the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department.
What would a beer commercial say? “Here’s to you, dealing cocaine from a gummint vehicle guy!”
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Load HEAT- Charlize Theron
I think the last thing I saw with Charlize Theron was Men of Honor. I’ve still never seen Monster.
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Euro Plane Pron
Via Bold Method, a very nice little film featuring some European airshow action. Go full screen, it’s worth it.
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