Textron's Slidell plant to build military vehicles for Afghanistan



Textron Marine & Land Systems has won a contract to build 55 Mobile Strike Force vehicles for the Afghanistan army. The vehicles will be built at Textron's Slidell facility. ((Photo: Textron Systems))

Textron Marine & Land Systems was awarded a $56.18 million contract to build 55 Mobile Strike Force vehicles for Afghanistan's army.

The work will take place at Textron's Slidell facility with the order expected to be filled by April 2016. The contract for Mobile Strike Force vehicles includes related hardware and field service.

Textron was the only company to submit a bid for the fixed-price foreign military sales contract.

http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/201...nt_to_buil.html

Rail Phantom: Russia Developing Invisible 'Death Trains' With Nukes



The Soviet Union decided to produce combat railway missile complexes (BZhRKs) with ballistic missiles in 1969 in response to the US' powerful system of nuclear-capable submarines.

The USSR operated 12 BZhRKs with three missile launchers each, and it was an efficient and intimidating solution. The vehicles travelled across the system of railroads on the country's vast territory and closely resembled ordinary cargo trains, bringing to naught the capabilities of satellite surveillance.

As it was impossible to precisely determine the place where they could fire a nuclear missile, they were dubbed as "death" or "phantom" trains.

In 2005, Russia decommissioned the trains. Ten years later Moscow has decided to embark on the idea again.

Russian military industry official Viktor Murakhovsky explained the advantages of the next-generation nuke trains:

"They will not need any specific big cars. They will completely coincide with the existing parameters of railcars and will therefore be completely hidden from a foe's reconnaissance and surveillance. Moreover, the system will enable launches virtually everywhere on the railway bed in contrast with the previous system that required special launch conditions."

The new project, codenamed "Barguzin," will carry six ICBMs RS-24 Yars (a land equivalent of the submarine-launched Bulava).
A Russian BZhRK's cars can resist an explosion of a nuclear warhead just several hundred meters away. Such a train can run for a month autonomously and pass up to 1,000 kilometers daily at the speed of nearly 100 kmph.

http://sputniknews.com/military/20150926/1...lear-train.html

Boeing's secret stealth fighter jet from the ’60s was decades ahead of its time









Without any context, you might look at this photo and think, "that's a mockup of a modern stealth fighter jet" — perhaps a first stab at an F-22 or an F-35. But this is very different: what you're seeing here is Boeing's "Quiet Bird," a classified project from the early 1960s — yes, the early 1960s — to develop a military aircraft with an extremely low radar profile. That kind of stealth technology didn't end up seeing wide use in small military aircraft until the production of Lockheed's F-117 two decades later.

Foxtrot Alpha reports that it was provided details of Quiet Bird by Boeing, including a number of photographs and schematics, but that much of the information about its development has been lost over time. The aircraft never flew; in fact, it never made it beyond the half-scale model pictured here, which was tested at a radar facility in Kansas and found to be very stealthy indeed. The company filed a number of patents relating to stealth technology as a result of the Quiet Bird program, but that's about it: the US military wasn't interested in stealth fighters at the time, so the project was shelved.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/26/9399135/...ird-fighter-jet

New 'super material' could be used in bulletproof vests, military tanks




Beijing: Chinese scientists have developed a 'super material' that is light as a balloon but as strong as metal and can be used in bulletproof vests and military tanks.

The foam-like material consists of tiny tubes of graphene formed into a cellular structure that has the same stability as a diamond, said researchers led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shanghai Institute of Ceramics.

The new material was able to support about 40,000 times its own weight without bending,' South China Morning Post reported.

One piece of the graphene foam withstood the impact of a blow that had a force of more than 6,577 kg per square inch - almost as much pressure as is experienced at the deepest depth of the world's ocean - about 10.9 km - known as Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench, off the coast of the US island of Guam.

Researchers said their newly created material could withstand more external shocks than other previously reported graphene materials.

The material can also be squashed to just 5 per cent of its original size and still return to its original shape, and remained intact after the process was repeated 1,000 times, the researchers said.

The new material could serve as cushion under the surface of bulletproof vests and on the outside of tanks to absorb the shocks from incoming projectiles, researchers said.

The material was described in the journal Advanced Materials.


Beijing: Chinese scientists have developed a 'super material' that is light as a balloon but as strong as metal and can be used in bulletproof vests and military tanks.

The foam-like material consists of tiny tubes of graphene formed into a cellular structure that has the same stability as a diamond, said researchers led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shanghai Institute of Ceramics.


Image: Shutterstock
The new material was able to support about 40,000 times its own weight without bending,' South China Morning Post reported.

One piece of the graphene foam withstood the impact of a blow that had a force of more than 6,577 kg per square inch - almost as much pressure as is experienced at the deepest depth of the world's ocean - about 10.9 km - known as Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench, off the coast of the US island of Guam.

Researchers said their newly created material could withstand more external shocks than other previously reported graphene materials.

The material can also be squashed to just 5 per cent of its original size and still return to its original shape, and remained intact after the process was repeated 1,000 times, the researchers said.

The new material could serve as cushion under the surface of bulletproof vests and on the outside of tanks to absorb the shocks from incoming projectiles, researchers said.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/tech/new-super...ks-1116971.html

Syria Says Thank You to Hezbollah with Gift of 75 Tanks, Increasing Danger to Israel





http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/49735/sy...lJosFvEmhqWs.97

New Taliban Assault On Afghanistan’s Kunduz City





http://www.rferl.mobi/a/27274663.html

US to relocate 30,000 marines to counter China in S. China Sea: report



In the face of China's growing presence in the South China Sea, the United States Marine Corps is moving ahead with plans to eventually place nearly 15% of the service's personnel in Hawaii and beyond, reports Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet.

Citing a report from South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo, it is noted that the 190,000-strong US Marines Corp specializes in expeditionary warfare and is typically mobilized for regional conflicts or the rapid delivery of combined-arms task forces with the US Navy.

Experts believe the aim of of relocating nearly 30,000 marines is to reduce America's reaction time in the Asia-Pacific and form a key part of US president Obama's "Asia rebalancing" strategy.

The US-based Marine Corps Times notes China's land reclamation activities and military constructions on disputed islands in the South China Sea as a primary reason for the personnel placement, along with the development of North Korea's nuclear program and Russia's increased activity in Japanese air space.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Munhwa Ilbo has reported that America's "four major strategic weapons" — nuclear powered aircraft carriers, B-2 stealth bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and nuclear submarines — will either be in South Korea or be stationed at the US naval base in Guam next month, possibly as a warning to a possible fourth nuclear test by North Korea.

The report states that three B-2 bombers were moved to Guam in August, while the advanced USS Ronald Reagan nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and two F-22 fighters will visit South Korea in October. The RQ-4 Global Hawk drone is also expected to make an appearance at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition from Oct. 20 to 25.

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news/content...000052&cid=1101

Expert Shatters Rumors About Chinese Aircraft Carrier in Syria



The Liaoning CV-16, China's only aircraft carrier, isn't on its way to Syria, according to Zhang Junshe, a military expert and employee of the Research Institute of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's Navy.

In an interview with the Chinese newspaper Huantsyu Shibao, Zhang rejected "false rumors" about the Liaoning CV-16 being en route to the Mediterranean.

"China's position is to respect the free choice of the Syrian people and not to add to a military intervention in Syria or a forcible power shift, which is why China could not send an aircraft carrier to Syria to interfere in the internal affairs of the country," Zhang said.

He also pledged that China will not support any groups or individuals in Syria, saying that Beijing adheres to a fair and objective approach to this issue.

Earlier, the Lebanese news network Al-Masdar quoted a Syrian military source as saying that the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning-CV-16 was due to arrive at a Syrian military base in Latakia in the coming days.

Israeli military sources went even further, claiming late last week that the Liaoning-CV-16 had already docked at the Syrian port of Tartus.

http://sputniknews.com/world/20150928/1027...ier-rumors.html

Hezbollah Use Abrams Tanks And Close Air Support Against ISIS In Iraq

Kata’ib Hezbollah is an Iranian backed Shia militia that operates against ISIS in Iraq. Although the group fought against the U.S. and other Western forces during OIF, the group is now allied with Central Command through Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I). Proving themselves to be somewhat more combat effective than actual Iraqi Military units, CENTCOM has allowed its arms and hardware to be dispersed into the ranks of its former enemy.



https://www.funker530.com/hezbollah-use-abr...t-isis-in-iraq/

Thailand's Military Needs to Boost its Amphibious Capability





http://thediplomat.com/2015/09/thailands-m...ous-capability/

The Russian military buildup continues as 6 fighter jets arrive in Syria after taking a roundabout path





http://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-russ...out-path-2015-9

The military built an app to call in bomb strikes



The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) demonstrated a new Android tablet app where an Air Force Joint Terminal Attack Controller — the guy on the ground who is an expert at calling in air strikes — was able to call in multiple close air support (CAS) strikes with an A-10, using only three strokes of a finger.

Conducted at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, the test was the first set of tests with U.S. Air Force aircraft. Earlier this year, the test were successfully conducted with Marine Corps Osprey aircraft. The Air Force tests used a mixture of laser and GPS-guided weapons, with a 100% success rate, all within the six minute test time frame.

The app — called Persistent Close Air Support — allows the JTAC on the ground to link directly with aircraft pilots, pick targets, and locate friendly forces for the inbound CAS. And you thought the Blue Force Tracker was awesome.

http://www.wearethemighty.com/darpa-app-bomb-strikes-2015-09

Russians In Syria Building A2/AD ‘Bubble’ Over Region: Breedlove





http://breakingdefense.com/2015/09/russian...gion-breedlove/

Military secret brain-chipping soldiers program exposed





http://www.examiner.com/article/military-s...program-exposed

Russia Creates 'All-Seeing Eye' for Drones to Uniquely Identify Any Target



MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Specifically, small-class Corsair surveillance drones will be equipped with the technology.

"The module for processing a stream of hyperspectral data is being created. Key to the technology is the unique characteristics of the spectral radiation that every material or subject has. By processing these characteristics, our equipment can identify what exactly is in its field of view, regardless of the enemy's attempts to hide something or mislead us," Sergei Skokov told RIA Novosti.

Skokov explained that the use of these modules would significantly increase the effectiveness of aerial surveillance and monitoring of the Earth's surface. This is a very accurate means of monitoring, receiving not just "pixels" but a unique spectrum able to distinguish a camouflage net on grass as well as differentiating between a natural object and an artificial one, he said.

According to UIMC, the system is able to identify detected targets independently, without an operator, with the help of a database ​of the hyperspectral characteristics of different objects and materials.

http://sputniknews.com/military/20150929/1027721247.html

PLA's stealth fighters to make US air superiority more costly





http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news/content...000052&cid=1101

Images Show China Hard at Work on First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier



Rumors of Beijing’s construction of a new aircraft carrier first surfaced back in February, and were confirmed in July by internal documents from the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.

"The priority missions of building the aircraft carrier and nuclear-submarines have been carried out smoothly and with outstanding results," documents, published by Taiwanese media outlets, report.

New satellite imagery of Dalian shipyard in northern China shows the extent of that construction. Released on Sunday, the images show what appears to be the hull of an aircraft carrier under construction in a dry dock.

According to IHS Jane, the hull "is in an advanced state of assembly."

Based on the photographs, experts estimate the ship’s length to be roughly 787 feet, with a beam of nearly 114 feet.

China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was commissioned in 2012, and was a retrofitted ship from the Soviet Navy.

According to Wang Min, the Communist Party secretary of Liaoning Province, officials hope to complete construction of the new ship in 2020. Once operational, the aircraft carriers could greatly expand Beijing’s ability to defend territory beyond its borders.

"[China’s home-based carriers] would be capable of improved endurance and of carrying and launching more varied types of aircraft, including electronic warfare, early warning, and anti-submarine, thus increasing the potential striking power of a PLA Navy ‘carrier battle group’ in safeguarding China’s interest.." reads a Pentagon report.

In particular, the ships could be of use in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. Beijing’s construction of artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago has led to an increased US presence in the region.

The ships could also allow Beijing to more effectively carry out humanitarian operations in the South China Sea.

http://sputniknews.com/asia/20150929/10277...r-Progress.html

Military spending in Hawaii accounts for 10% of state GDP





http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/20...-for-10-of.html

Untrained commander led Syrian rebels that gave up equipment





http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2...-isil/73051724/