Passage.

This is coolbert:

Yet one more headline courtesy the Russian controlled [?] media outlet Sputnik. More yawns?

"US May Send Warship Through Taiwan Strait Amid China Tensions - Navy Chief"

"In late October 2018, the Pentagon sent two US Navy vessels through the Taiwan Strait, in the second such operation that year. Beijing voiced serious concern about the move, while Taiwanese officials claimed that the island's defense ministry was in full control of the situation"

"The US Navy doesn't rule out sending an aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait despite risks related to China's increasing military capabilities, Admiral John Richardson, chief of the US's naval operations, said."

"'We don't really see any kind of limitation on whatever type of ship could pass through those waters. We see the Taiwan Strait as another [stretch of] international waters, so that's why we do the transits,'" - -  Richardson

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT BY WARSHIPS THROUGH INTERNATIONAL WATERS?

CAN BE SEEN BY THE CHINESE COMMUNISTS AS INTIMIDATION ALSO? AN INSTANCE OF DEMONSTRABLE AMERICAN RESOLVE?

Two warships hard qualifies as an international incident? Especially when sailing in international waters. This is much to-do about nothing?

DURING THE KOREAN WAR THE AMERICAN SEVENTH FLEET HAVING INTERPOSED ITSELF BETWEEN THE ASIAN MAINLAND AND TAIWAN HAVING GUARANTEED THE SURVIVAL OF THE CHINESE NATIONALIST REGIME AND PREVENTING FURTHER AND MORE  DESTRUCTIVE CONFLICT IN THE REGION.

See previous blog entry the topic of which was the Chinese Nationalists being an indirect winner of the Korean war.

coolbert.

Razz Dazz.

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Without any ado images of modern warships hull and superstructure painted in the dazzle fashion. See previous blog entry the topic was dazzle.

Swedish vessel HSwMS Gävle.

Swedish vessel HSwMS Sturkö.

Swedish vessel HSwMS Visby.

Norwegian patrol boat. this is more camouflage in the traditional variety than dazzle?

American LCS [Littoral Combat Ship] of the Freedom class.

Dazzle as a measure designed to confuse the optical range-finders of enemy combat surface vessels during the Great War [WW1]. Confuse even more so the optical range-finders of submarines.

Long-range missiles with radar, infra-red and GPS guidance as might be the dominant force in modern naval warfare makes dazzle a totally ineffective defensive measure. Dazzle however looks "cool"?

coolbert.

Bloop.

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Always on alert for paranormal experiences and description of same that have the military dimension.

Such as the case here. USO [Unidentified Submerged Objects]! American submariners on alert!

Thanks once more to the Internet web site The Drive and the article by Tyler Rogoway

"What U.S. Submariners Actually Say About Detection Of So-Called Unidentified Submerged Objects"

"Big claims abound about mysterious objects submariners detect below the waves, so we went straight to the source and what we found out was surprising."

"There has been a spate of high-profile claims regarding U.S. Navy nuclear submarines detecting and even interacting with the underwater equivalent of Unidentified Flying Objects, referred to in UFO circles as USOs, or Unidentified Submerged Objects. Yet when it comes to the covert world of naval warfare below the waves, it is easy for laymen to misinterpret things that may seem very much alien to them, but are actually quite commonplace."

Inexplicable undersea noises. See this You Tube video. Such noises more more numerous than generally believed? Unidentified in all [?] cases? Go listen for yourself. To me these "noises" represent a big nothing!

There is of course in all cases a very reasonable and natural scientific explanation for these phenomenon! Isn't there?

coolbert.

Vengeance.

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From WIZARD through Harry at Sharkhunters:

More problems with the British Royal Navy Astute class of submarine?

Most complicated thing made by man but seemingly the entire class of vessel jinxed?

"jinxed - - 2. A condition or period of bad luck that appears to have been caused by a specific person or thing."

"Are Royal Navy submarines appear to be blind… first HMS ASTUTE, touted as the world’s the most sophisticated submarine, ran aground. A short time later, her sister ship HMS AMBUSH surfaced right under a mammoth tanker and now we note that there are online photos of HMS VENGEANCE returning to her base in Scotland from her latest three-month deployment with ‘considerable damage’. The report states that some 30% of her sonar panels were shed at some point during her mission."

THE MODERN SUBMARINE RUNNING "BLIND" UNDERWATER RELIANT ALMOST TOTALLY 100 % ON WHAT CAN BE "HEARD" VIA SONAR, PASSIVE AND  ACTIVE. NO SONAR NO CAN SEE, NO CAN DO MISSION!

coolbert.

P-59.

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Conclusion!

Again extracts with commentary from the Internet web site "Great Power War". Topics in all cases aviation . . . oddities and curiosities for want of a better term and description.

"The Coolest Experimental Planes of World War II"

"Ryan P-59 Fireball"

Hybrid!

"The development of jet fighters began during World War II began, but the United States fell behind early as it worked on fielding propeller-driven aircraft and then building them in great numbers. One of the earliest efforts was the U.S. Navy’s P-59 Fireball, a hybrid propeller-jet fighter that lacked in several areas."

A puller and a pusher. Internal combustion engine up front and the jet engine at the rear.

The U.S. Navy in the post-war [WW2] era DID employ a hybrid warplane, the AJ Savage. A combination of propeller and turbo-jet engines. AJ a bomber warplane as to be used in a strategic nuclear role, flown from super-carriers.

coolbert.

BV 238.

This is coolbert:

Further more extracts with commentary from the Internet web site "Great Power War". Topics in all cases aviation . . . oddities and curiosities for want of a better term and description.

"The Coolest Experimental Planes of World War II"

"German BV 238 Floatplane"

Before there was the H-3 Hercules there was the BV 238? Before there was Howard Hughes there was Blohm and Voss

"German Aerospace company Blohm and Voss designed the bulk of the Luftwaffe’s flying boats during the war, and as it progressed, the firm’s engineers designed more complex — and larger — flying boats. This eventually led to the BV 238, a massive aircraft that became the largest designed by the Axis Powers during the conflict."

Think also the Howard Huges H-4 Hercules flying plane from the era of WW2. The H-4 possessing eight engines rather than six. H-4 made only one flight and is now a museum piece. I have often wondered why flying boats and not used more for military and commercial purposes both. Especially those flying boats able to use wing-in-ground technology for additional lift. Prodigious loads carried across the oceans with phenomenal speed.

coolbert.

HMS Argus.

This is coolbert:

Here begins a series of blog entries, extracts with commentary from the Internet web site "Great Power War". Topics in all cases aviation, warplane design as of the era prior to and during the Second World War, aviation oddities and curiosities for want of a better description.

"The Coolest Experimental Planes of World War II"

"Birth of the aircraft carrier"

DAZZLE!

"Between World Wars I and II, fighter planes underwent a great deal of innovation. From the bi-planes and tri-planes in the 'Great War' to the high-speed monoplanes of the late 1920s and 1930s, the world powers made great strides in aviation."

"That included the development and introduction of the aircraft carrier, the first of which belonged to the British Royal Navy, the HMS Argus, the first flat-deck carrier which debuted in 1918. The U.S. would not follow suit until 1920."

HMS Argus the first flat-top aircraft carrier. The conventional design as has been since 1918. In this case not so much the vessel or the warplanes but the dazzle paint pattern. Confuse the range finder of an enemy warship, most especially so the very limited range finder of an attacking German submarine.

coolbert.

N N 3.

This is coolbert:

Pitch, roll, yaw!

The French submarine Robert Surcouf [N N 3]. French naval vessel from the inter-war era [WW1 and WW2], at the time the LARGEST submarine in the world.

With an unconventional mission. A submarine designed primarily to engage enemy targets using naval gunfire! Organic dual 203 mm [eight inch] naval guns with extraordinary range. A formidable capability. Surcouf the mission as envisioned as a commerce raider, destroy enemy merchant shipping.

That mission of Surcouf commensurate with the French naval doctrine of Jeune Ecole from the era of the late Nineteenth Century?

"Surcouf . . . an 'underwater heavy cruiser', intended to seek and engage in surface combat"

Ability of those big-bore naval guns to successfully destroy targets inhibited by a variety of factors to include:

* "Because of the low height of the rangefinder above the water surface, the practical range of fire was 12,000 m[eters] . . . well below the normal maximum of 26,000 m[eters] (28,000 yd)."

* "The duration between the surface order and the first firing round was 3 minutes and 35 seconds."

* "Firing had to occur at a precise moment of pitch [up/down motion] and roll [side to side motion] when the ship was level."

* "Training the turret to either side was limited to when the ship rolled 8° or less."

* "Surcouf was not equipped to fire at night"

* "The mounts were designed to fire 14 rounds from each gun before their magazines were reloaded."

Sailors have their own words for pitch, roll and yaw. Gunners firing the eight inch [203 mm] guns of the Surcouf their primary concern the surge and sway.

Surcouf also able to attack targets in the manner of a conventional submarine attack, using torpedoes of either 400 mm [16 inches] or 550 mm [22 inches] diameter. Unconventional sized torpedoes for a conventional type of naval warfare. Do it the French way I guess.

coolbert.

MTB.

This is coolbert:

Concluding with extracts and commentary from the original articles as seen at the isegoria.net Internet web site. Thank you isegoria.net in all cases.

Small and fast! Motor torpedo boat!

"Trade off and compromise"

"On Design Constraints"

"Donald Pittenger shares his thoughts On Design Constraints — which he, as a humanities type, never had to consider"

IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE CONSIDER NOT SO MUCH THE DESIGN CONSTRAINTS , MODIFICATION "TRADE OFF AND COMPROMISE" BUT THE VALUE OF ASYMMETRIC WEAPONS OF WAR, SUCH AS THE MOTOR TORPEDO OF THE PRE-DREADNOUGHT AND DREADNOUGHT ERA.

"Battleship designers in those days were seriously concerned about the danger posed by torpedoes launched from small, fast ships, the solution being secondary quick-firing four or five inch guns for defense. Until the war, such guns were placed in casemates strung along the upper part of the ship’s hull. But with the battleship at speed in any but the calmest seas, many of the guns couldn’t be operated dues to splashing water. The obvious solution was to mount the guns higher, on the main deck itself. But this would raise the ship’s center of gravity, making it less stable and seaworthy. After the Great War most navies plated over the casemates and did move the guns higher, but that required some compensating weight-shifting and perhaps making beams wider."

Japanese motor-torpedo boat [MTB] during the Battle of Tsushima successfully attacking a much larger Russian capital ship. Direct hit! Night time encounter between a capital ship and a MTB most particularly to the disadvantage of the former.  

The motor-torpedo-boat [MTB] extremely cost-effective? Just the threat of small and fast torpedo boat attack and the danger from same requiring the major world powers to modify their capital ships in a manner that rendered them less capable than originally intended? A swarm of MTB an example of asymmetric naval warfare.

coolbert.

Dazzle.

This is coolbert:

Further additional extracts with my commentary from original articles as seen at the isegoria.net Internet web site topic the Great War.

DAZZLE!

"Dazzle camouflage, also known as razzle dazzle (in the U.S.) or dazzle painting, was a family of ship camouflage used extensively in World War I, and to a lesser extent in World War II and afterwards . . . [dazzle] consisted of complex patterns of geometric shapes in contrasting colours, interrupting and intersecting each other."

"Unlike other forms of camouflage, the intention of dazzle is not to conceal but to make it difficult to estimate a target's range, speed, and heading . . . [dazzle] intended . . . primarily to mislead the enemy about a ship's course and so to take up a poor firing position."

"Give ‘em the old razzle-dazzle"

"razzle-dazzle  3 : a confusing or colorful often gaudy action or display"

NOT SO MUCH CAMOUFLAGE BUT PATTERNS AS USED TO CONFUSE THE RANGE- FINDERS OF ENEMY NAVAL COMBAT VESSELS. PARTICULARLY THE RANGE-FINDERS OF SUBMARINES [VERY CONSTRICTED].

"During the Great War, navies learned that they couldn’t hide their ships through camouflage, because the background shifted so drastically with every change in the weather — but they could razzle-dazzle enemy range-finders with what painter Norman Wilkinson called dazzle painting"

I wonder if it has ever been determined the effectiveness of DAZZLE? I cannot recall ever having seen an image of a World War Two naval vessel or merchant shipping having the DAZZLE pattern.

Merchant vessel from the era of the Great War with dazzle pattern. I must admit with a mere glance this does appear to be confusing. The German submariner thought the same?

coolbert.

Bloch I.

This is coolbert:

The naval sea mine!

Continuing yet further extracts with my commentary from original articles as seen at the isegoria.net Internet web site topic the Great War.

"A Rivalry in Invention"

"Ivan Bloch describes the rivalry in invention in naval warfare leading into the Great War"

WITH SPECIFIC REGARD TO THE NAVAL SEA MINE:

"Would it not be possible to direct mines underneath these immense ships, and destroy them by means of powerful explosions in the vicinity of weakly defended parts? For a long time the application of this idea was unsuccessful, many obstacles had to be overcome, and only in recent times has the question been successfully resolved."

See previous blog entry the efficacy of the naval sea mine:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/07/mine-b-29.html

NAVAL SEA MINES SIXTY TIME MORE EFFECTIVE COST-EFFICIENCY WISE AS OTHER CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS OF NAVAL WARFARE!!

"Bloch was a financier turned political-economist, in case that wasn’t clear."

BLOCH UNDERSTOOD PERFECTLY WELL TECHNOLOGY AND THE MILITARY APPLICATION THEREOF IN A MANNER FLAG OFFICES OF THE PERIOD DID NOT? AND WHY IS THAT?

coolbert.

SS Minden.

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How many times have we heard this before?

The lost treasure of the Sierra Madre?

In this instance the lost Nazi gold of the SS Minden.

German merchant vessel SS Minden reputed to carrying $130 million USD In gold [current value] from South America to German during the earliest stages of World War Two scuttled and sunk. Gold lost. At least until now.

SS Minden has been found??

From the British tabloids from over a year ago now but still an item worthy of consideration.

1. "British treasure hunters caught hunting for the wreck of a 'Nazi gold ship' sail into a diplomatic row with Iceland"

"A group of British treasure hunters are claimed to have prompted a diplomatic row with Iceland after they were caught searching for a ‘Nazi gold ship’."

2. "Nazi gold hunters held Brit crew caught looking for German WW2 ‘gold ship’ wreck in Atlantic ocean sparks diplomatic row"

"A NAZI 'gold ship' has sparked a diplomatic row after Brit treasure hunters were caught hunting for its wreck in the Atlantic ocean."

See previous blog entries the topic the hunt for missing gold treasure of enormous value as associated with events of the Second World War:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/02/gold.html 

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2016/12/incredible.html 

coolbert.

A759.

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French to the rescue?

From the latest edition of the DEBKAfile news letter:

"A French spy ship reserved for trouble spots joins USS Truman in Syrian waters"

24 November.

"The French Dupuy de Lome spy ship [A759] has reached Syrian waters and begun operating in conjunction with the USS Harry Truman and its five-ship strike force . . . the Dupuy le Lome, is reserved by the Directorate of Military Intelligence of France (DRM) for deployment to the world’s flash points ahead of or amid military flareups . . .  Beamed to the French ship is intelligence gathered by US reconnaissance aircraft in the air over Syria since last May. These USAF MC-12S EMARSS and MC-12W Liberty planes have for some months been making passes over Syria from their base on the island of Crete. command centers."

Not so much "spy" as intelligence gathering.

Read further of the MC-12, EMARSS and MC-12W aircraft and missions.

"Américains et français ensemble. merci et tout va bien"

coolbert.

NYC.

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Attack USA WW2!! Preposterous?

From the outstanding Internet web site "Covert Shores" and the article by H I Sutton:

"Decima-MAS_attack_on_New-York"

"Planned Special Forces attack on New York, 1943

Attack USA, New York City!! Italian naval commando.

"For the New York attack the CA-Class was heavily modified with the torpedoes removed and four large mines instead added to a remodeled superstructure. A diver lock-out compartment was built into the hull with hatches on both top and bottom. This allowed the frogmen to access the midget submarine directly from the dry interior of the host submarine."

Naval commando combat swimmers [free divers] exiting a modified CA class Italian midget submarine. Attaching limpet mines to the hulls of merchant vessels anchored New York harbor. Ships sent to the bottom. Material loss minor, psychological damage GREAT! So was the plan!

"The plan was to deliver a CA midget submarine to the mouth of the Hudson River using a submarine of the Italian Atlantic Fleet which operated out of occupied France. It would then drive up the river, releasing frogmen who would place limpet mines on unsuspecting merchant ships there before rejoining the mini-sub and returning to the mother submarine."

MUCH H AS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THE POOR PERFORMANCE OF THE ITALIAN MILITARY DURING BOTH WORLD WARS. ITALIAN NAVAL COMMANDO UNITS HOWEVER THEIR ABILITY AND DARING SUPERLATIVE, THE STANDARD BY WHICH ALL OTHER NAVAL COMMANDO UNITS MUST BE JUDGED.

coolbert.

CVN-78

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Courtesy Bloomberg and the the tip from Harry at Sharkhunters a report the up-to-date and most advanced American aircraft carrier USS Ford [CVN-78] NOT combat ready and might not well be for some period.

"U.S. Navy’s Costliest Carrier Was Delivered Without Elevators to Lift Bombs"

DELIVERED WITH ELEVATORS BUT NOT FUNCTIONING ELEVATORS! NO ABILITY TO BRINGS BOMBS AND OTHER MUNITIONS FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE VESSEL TO THE FLIGHT DECK.

"The $13 billion Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, the U.S. Navy’s costliest warship, was delivered last year without elevators needed to lift bombs from below deck magazines for loading on fighter jets."

. . . .

"The Advanced Weapons Elevators, which are moved by magnets rather than cables, were supposed to be installed by the vessel’s original delivery date in May 2017. Instead, final installation was delayed by problems including four instances of unsafe 'uncommanded movements' since 2015, according to the Navy."

WARPLANES CAN PERFORM MISSION BUT SANS ANY MUNITIONS? SEEMS INCREDIBLE, DOESN'T IT!

coolbert.

PD-50.

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Egg-on-face, Russian style.

"have egg on face - - To be suffering embarrassment as a result of some public failure or faux pas."

From the Russian media outlet Russian Times [RT].

"Russia’s largest floating dock sinks, while nation’s sole aircraft carrier still inside"

"Four workers were injured and one is missing as Russia’s largest floating dock quickly went underwater. Its tower crane fell 15 meters, crashing on the country’s only aircraft carrier and piercing a hole in its hull."

Kuznetsov to the bottom! But only indirectly so!

This is the type of  event if having occurred during the Cold War would have classified by the Soviets as a state secret TOP SECRET and known only to a few. In the old Soviet Union planes did not fall out of the sky, ships did not sink, trains die not collide, cars did not run into one another. Those sorts of things only occurred in capitalist nations such as the USA.

The Soviet battleship Novorossiysk having spontaneously exploded while in port, docked, sunk, a mystery never solved

AND A STATE SECRET FOR THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AFTERWARD.

coolbert.

Super.

This is coolbert:

From Harry at Sharkhunters some info regarding the American submarine force as envisioned for the future.

Virginia class submarine [replacing the Los Angeles class] already a done deal and already at-sea and on patrol.

Columbia class construction of which on-order, to commence in a few years. [replacing the Ohio class missile-firing ballistic missile boats]

Consider also the future of the American submarine force. None of this I was aware of.

"SUPER SUBMARINES – The US Navy plans to develop two new classes of submarine, according to Congressional analysis of the sea service’s shipbuilding plan for 2019. The cost of designing and building five of the new ‘Large Payload Submarine’ cruise missile submarines and 30 of the new SSN(X) attack submarines could set the American tax payers back some $200 Billion by 2048."

Details courtesy this article as seen at the Internet web site The National Interest"

"The Navy's New Submarine Plan Is In. Take a Look."

"Designing and building five of the new Large Payload Submarine cruise-missile subs and 30 of the new SSN(X) attack submarines could set back U.S. taxpayers $200 billion by 2048."

With regard to the "Large Payload Submarine cruise-missile subs" mission of which is to fire a stupendous barrage of cruise-missiles. Four current Ohio class submarines already having a capability. Newer submarines as on-the-drawing-board their design specifically for such a dedicated mission.

"[Large Payload Submarine] based on the Columbia-class hull with its missile tube section reconfigured to perform whatever missions the Navy might want"

Furthermore the SSN(X) submarine an attack boat more suited to wage undersea-warfare, submarine versus submarine, conventional torpedo attack in the ancient and venerable manner.

"the next-generation attack submarine should be faster, stealthier and able to carry more torpedoes than the Virginia class"

Thank you for the input Harry. Note also no diesel/electric boat or Air-independent-propulsion.

coolbert.

Houthi Navy.

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"cock·le - - noun: cockleshell 2. a small shallow boat."

Strangely enough [?] the Houthi rebels, Yemeni hill tribesmen NOW even possessing a naval capability. That Strait of Bab al-Mandab crucial to regional and international oceanic commerce.

From the Internet web site of H. I. Sutton and as extracted an entire article devoted to the Houthi navy to the extent such an entity exists.

"Houthi Naval capabilities"

"The Houthis have increasingly adopted an asymmetrical naval doctrine focusing on small boats and shore based anti-ship missiles. They have been aided and influenced by Iranian forces. The strategy has scored some modest successes but the advantage remains with the well-equipped Saudi-UAE coalition."

Houthi cockleshell-navy threat currently as existing and consisting of:

* Low Profile Vessel (LPV).

* Explosive Boats.

* Sea Mines.

* Combat Swimmers.

* Other vessels.

Explosive boats as described a remotely-controlled speed boat packed with high-explosive. Ram a target and explode! The improvised-explosive-device [IED] naval version!

Real-time screen capture [as of only yesterday and thanks to maritimetraffic.com] maritime traffic vicinity Strait of Bab al- Mandab. A crucial choke-point yesterday, tomorrow, forever. Maritime traffic [red and green arrows] moving to and fro, Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Click on image to see an enlarged view.

Houthi naval threat even if NO DAMAGE EVER DONE  to a naval or merchant vessel the danger boosting insurance rates making transport by sea in that part of the world  cost-prohibitive!

The Houthi if nothing else resilient and resourceful.

coolbert.

MQ-25.

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From the outstanding Internet web site "War is Boring" several articles the topic of which is the latest U.S. Naval aviation UAV warplane. MQ-25 Stingray.

AT THIS EXACT MOMENT AND AS CONCEIVED WILL FUNCTION ONLY AS A TANKER AIRCRAFT [CARRIER-BORNE] BUT HAVING MORE OR LESS AN UNLIMITED POTENTIALITY FOR FUTURE GROWTH.

1. "The U.S. Navy’s New Carrier Drone Borrows 1970s Stealth"

"MQ-25 shows Tacit Blue's influence"

"The U.S. Navy’s new MQ-25 Stingray aerial-refueling drone bears an uncanny resemblance to an experimental U.S. military plane from the late 1970s. And that similarity could point to the way for the Stingray’s potential evolution from a tanker into a stealthy surveillance and strike aircraft."

Finished and flying product [MQ-25] top. Tacit Blue stealth concept shown below. Curved surfaces for stealth and not a faceted surface [as was the F-117]. Tacit Blue was a fly-able aircraft [image as shown not having a proper scale] but very unstable.

2. "After 20 Years, the U.S. Navy Finally Buys a Carrier Drone"

"How will the MQ-25 evolve?"

"The U.S. Navy on Aug. 30, 2018 chose Chicago-based Boeing to build the sailing branch’s first carrier-launched unmanned aerial vehicle."

"In choosing Boeing to build the MQ-25 Stingray multi-mission tanker, the Navy has opened the next major chapter in a story that began in the mid-1990s, when the sailing branch worked alongside the U.S. Air Force to develop a fighter-like drone."

This is a stealth warplane based on OLDER technology [1970] but still do-able now and effective to the extent needed. GOOD TO GO NOW RATHER THAN BETTER TOMORROW!

coolbert.

Impasse?

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Australians now at odds with the French? Shortfin now fini? Soryu yes Barracuda no? I thought this was a done deal!

From the story as seen at Freeper.

"Aussies At Impasse With France Over New Sub; Japan May Win"

"You don’t often think about France and Australia, unless you really know your history and know that a French explorer arrived in the Antipodes days after the First Fleet arrived from Britain and that much of the vast continent was surveyed by French sailors. But France and Australia may grow much closer . . .  if they can sign a strategic partnership agreement to clear the path for work on a stealthy attack submarine known as the Shortfin Barracuda. That is beginning to look less likely, with French and Australian politicians and policymakers increasingly questioning the program."

"France and Australia must resolve major differences over the Aussie’ new submarine program before a new Australian government is elected next year, and the most obvious alternative is Japan."

A$50 billion [Australian dollars] contract at stake here? NO chump change as they say.

See previous blog entries the topic of which was the next-generation RAN submarine. Royal Australian Navy having decided first on the French model Shortfin Barracuda but now the impasse?

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/02/shortfin.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/04/steel.html

coolbert.