Military Photos - General Discussion http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/ Current and general topics that are military related. en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:32:23 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg Military Photos - General Discussion http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/ Iraqi Prisoners Make Fun of Brett Farve http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169207&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:21:10 GMT Revenge of the Iraqi detainees: Brett Favre jokes
Fri Nov 20,2009 12:06 PM ET By Rick Chandler

You think you know how to torture, America? Waterboarding is for schoolchildren. Detainees locked in an internment camp in Iraq are mocking their captors -- members of the Wisconsin National Guard -- with Brett Favre jokes.
Evil bastards!
It all started when the National Guardsmen began decorating their trucks and other areas of Camp Cropper with Packers colors recently. The prisoners picked up on it, did some research (Wiraqipedia?), and began with the Favre barbs. What goes around comes around, I suppose. I blame Dick Cheney.
"They know Favre by name," said First Lieutenant Tim Boehnen, who is from New Richmond, Wis.
"One of the big words they know now is shenanigan. They'll constantly talk about 'Favre shenanigans,' 'He's so good for the Vikings,' and 'The Packers have got to really feel bad about that one.' "
According to Boehnen, it started when troops there started decorating their camp in Packers colors.
"They obviously then started up the conversations, and started talking about Brett Favre. They soon learned about Favre going to the Vikings, and things just started going downhill from there."
Boehnen said soccer is the main sport that detainees pay attention to there, so there's not exactly a Vikings fan club chapter in Iraq.
"They'll hear guards talking about it, and then they pick up a lot of stuff from that, too," said Boehnen. "They're very crafty. They learn different stuff from different ways."
Once they learn a little more about football, they can start increasing the pressure: Like calling for Matt Flynn to replace Aaron Rodgers, or making fun of cheese.
And wait'll they learn that Joseph McCarthy is from Wisconsin. Oops. Do they have Internet access?
***
Detainees at Camp in Iraq Use Favre To Tease Wisconsin Soldiers [620 WTMJ]

http://outofbounds.nbcsports.com/200...jokes.html.php


This guy will go to Iraq to defend Brett's honor:

]]> General Discussion Some Dude http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169207 <![CDATA[UK 'sorry' for shooting at 'Spanish flag' buoy]]> http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169203&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:00:12 GMT
Quote:
The UK has apologised to Spain after the Royal Navy used a buoy with the Spanish colours for target practice.
The exercise took place off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this week. The UK ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Madrid to explain.
According to local reports, the navy hastily removed the buoy, which had a red-and-yellow marker, when approached by a Spanish police launch on Tuesday.
Ambassador Giles Paxman conceded it was insensitive and an error of judgement.
While acknowledging that the target had appeared "similar" to the Spanish flag, he insisted that was not what it was supposed to represent.

And he assured his hosts there would be no repetition of the incident.
Gibraltar remains the lingering source of tension in an otherwise good relationship between the UK and Spain.
The UK claims a radius of three nautical miles around the Rock of Gibraltar as British territorial waters.
Spain disputes this, and in recent months there have been bad-tempered verbal exchanges between the Royal Navy and the Spanish police.
Spain's main opposition Popular Party has urged the government to demand what it calls the "respect that Spain deserves".

Mr Paxman said the target was "similar" to the Spanish flag
my first real thread! ]]> General Discussion crocker038 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169203 Russian Priest Critical of Islam Assassinated in Moscow http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169200&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:56:45 GMT
Quote:
The gunman approached Father Daniil Sysoyev, 34, in his small wooden church in Moscow on Thursday night, checked his name and then shot the priest in the head and chest, police said.
The priest died on the way to hospital, Interfax news agency quoted investigators as saying. A choirmaster was injured in the attack, and is in hospital under armed guard.
Father Daniil, who claimed to have christened 80 Muslims, had repeatedly received death threats.
"I have received 10 threats via e-mail that I shall have my head cut off (if I do not stop preaching to Muslims)", Father Daniil stated on a television programme in February 2008, according to Interfax. "As I see it, it is a sin not to preach to Muslims".
The killing could increase tensions between the powerful majority Russian Orthodox Church, which has close ties to the Kremlin, and the country's growing Muslim minority of about 20 million.
"The main theory is that religious motives are behind the crime," a spokesman for the prosecutor-general's office said.
Father Daniil had written books including "An Orthodox Response to Islam" and "Marrying a Muslim", in which he advised Russian women against taking a Muslim partner.
Russia has seen a religious revival after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dominant Orthodox Church has become an important political force. Its leader, Patriarch Kirill, is frequently seen in public with Russian and foreign leaders.
Russia's Chief Mufti Ravil Gainuddin expressed his condolences to the Orthodox Church and to Father Daniil's family. He cautioned against assigning blame prematurely or speculating about the motives for the killing.
"We want to say that we oppose any expressions of terrorism and extremism," he told reporters. "Islam denounces terror and the murder of an imam, an orthodox priest, is an awful sin..."
Awful......
I hope they get the scums responsible and pulverize them!

RIP. ]]> General Discussion kilimunati1 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169200 2009 quietest year for Israel, what does the future hold? http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169197&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:12:37 GMT It comes from the air
By Amos Harel


On Tuesday, the day Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slipped while climbing into a sea commando's rubber dinghy, he also made several interesting statements. The media, which focused on Netanyahu's stumble and the security guard who caught him, devoted minimal attention to the prime minister's remarks at an international conference on aviation and space.

Israel, said Netanyahu, is the "most threatened country in the world." The rocket and missile barrages targeting the civilian population are "attacks that no country has faced since Britain in World War II." We are facing enemies "who aren't hiding their intentions and are arming themselves accordingly. They are attacking us physically and afterward they are also attacking our right to defend ourselves."

Netanyahu spoke via video conference to 1,000 conference-goers at the convention center near Ben-Gurion International Airport. The organizers, in consultation with the Shin Bet security service, decided the prime minister would speak in a different auditorium, on a separate floor, in front of a few dozen top officials from the defense industries. This was an effort to spare the conference attendees - many of them defense industry employees and Israel Defense Forces officers - the security checks undertaken any time Netanyahu speaks in a closed area. Even if Israel is not the most threatened country in the world, its prime minister is undoubtedly the most secured leader.

Though Israel is much stronger than its neighbors and the terror organizations they host, the enemy's response to it - first suicide attacks, and more recently massive rocket barrages - narrows the gap created by the IDF's great technological advantage. In the past, the enemy needed to occupy territory in order to obtain a military or diplomatic achievement after a war. Now, steep trajectory missiles can harm the civilian population, and be used in an attempt to force Israel into an advantageous cease-fire. Plus, missile systems can be used in an attempt to interfere with air force bases, the focus of Israel's qualitative advantage.

GOC Northern Command Gadi Eizenkot said this week in a lecture at the University of Haifa that it is impossible both to ask the IDF to conduct a limited war and to expect it at the same time to achieve a decisive victory, as in an all-out war like the Six-Day War. A short war with few Israeli casualties and fantastic achievements? "This is an equation that doesn't add up," said the major general.

At the beginning of the decade, it seemed as though the Palestinians had found a way to erode Israel's strength, by means of suicide terrorism. However, a combination of superior intelligence, freedom of operational action in the West Bank and the building of the separation fence blocked the suicide bombers, and the tactic has not been a significant factor in the conflict since 2005. Thwarting the suicide bombers, along with the deterrence achieved by the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, brought Israel its quietest year in the territories and on the borders in about a decade.

Compared to the suicide bombers, the rockets have caused far fewer civilian casualties to date: In the 34-day-long Second Lebanon War, 4,200 rockets killed 54 people. About 20 people have been killed by the approximately 12,000 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip since January 2001. In total, the rockets have killed the same number of people as four or five suicide attacks, the toll of one murderous month at the height of the second intifada.

However, formulating an answer to the rockets seems to be a complex and lengthy process. It will have to involve a complicated combination of deterrence, threats, passive defense (from gas masks to shelters), multi-layered defense systems (the Iron Dome, Magic Wand and Arrow anti-missile programs) and some offensive activity.

The Iranian equation

The current delicate balance is liable to be disrupted by the events surrounding Iran. When Netanyahu met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, the latter said he is determined to address the Iranian threat thoroughly - and that Israel's role is not to interfere right now. It appears that the Americans believe Tehran is caught in a dilemma; this week, the Iranian foreign minister stated his country would not agree to the draft agreement that would have it send abroad 75 percent of its uranium for enrichment. The Iranians don't like the draft, but they know that refusing may bring serious sanctions. The Americans have stated that negotiations with the Iranians will be concluded by the end of the year, but it seems things will take a bit longer.

If the talks fail, Obama may manage to convince the Russians, who apparently were surprised by the existence of a secret enrichment plant near Qom, to join the sanctions initiative. China cannot be counted on. Washington, which is embroiled in intricate economic ties with Beijing, will have trouble pressuring it. A coalition, most likely including the United States, several prominent European Union countries and maybe Russia, will declare strict sanctions on oil refining and insurance and banking relations with Iran.

The situation on the Lebanese border is complicated. Despite the tremendous arsenal Hezbollah has accumulated - tens of thousands of short-range, thousands of mid-range and hundreds of long-range rockets - the group has been involved in no terror attacks since the 2006 war.

About a week ago, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah started taunting Israel again. Nasrallah claimed that 40,000 enemy soldiers had failed to defeat him three years ago, and that the next time, too, his organization would trounce "the seven or eight divisions" the IDF would send.

At the height of the war, there were about 9,000 IDF soldiers inside Lebanon. The threats do seem a bit hollow when one recalls that this time, too, they were made from the depths of the bunker where Nasrallah has been hiding since the war.

One of the conclusions that could be drawn from the Second Lebanon War was that the top brass did not attribute enough importance to the impact of the Katyusha threat on the home front, and to the need to eliminate that threat quickly. It appears that again, the military is placing more importance on maneuvers and ground advances, at the expense of "the chase after the fired Katyusha." This could upset Hezbollah's equilibrium and cause it many casualties.

Since the war, home-front preparedness has improved immeasurably, and the commanders' awareness also has been honed. Anyone who visits operations rooms during training maneuvers these days will see clear signage: "Four days of home front bombardments," "Eight days," and so on. The critical question in wartime, in the need to balance between ground maneuvers and hunting for launchers, is politicians' patience.

Even though Hamas is also arming itself and increasing the range of its rockets, Gaza is much less of a priority for the IDF than Lebanon. The shared interests of Israel and Hamas, both of which currently seem interested in quiet, might enable a relative truce. The north, however, is definitely liable to ignite by spring or summer.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1129436.html ]]> General Discussion GiladS http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169197 New Russian doctrine allows preventive nuclear strike http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169194&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:56:03 GMT MOSCOW, November 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia views its nuclear arsenal as deterrence, but may deliver a preventive strike in a critical situation, according to the draft of a new national military doctrine.

“The possibility of using nuclear weapons depends on the situation and intentions of the potential adversary.

In critical situations for the national security a nuclear strike at the aggressor, including preventive strike, is not ruled out,’ Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Friday.

At the same time he stressed Russia is categorically against resolving any conflicts by military way, to say nothing about the use of nuclear weapons.

He said Russia views its nuclear arsenal as deterrence from aggression, first and foremost, from nuclear powers. “A potential adversary shall comprehend the futility of unleashing aggression with the use of nuclear and conventional means of destruction. Inevitability of retaliation is a sobering factor for any potential aggressor. Such an understanding is based on the ability of nuclear forces to inflict unacceptable damage to the aggressor in any situation,” Patrushev said.

He recalled that Russia had always been a reliable partner in disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. “We confirm that we are ready to progress and promote the nuclear-free world idea. However it is necessary that not only Russia and the United States reject the nuclear weapons, but other member-countries of the ‘nuclear club’ that currently occupy a wait-and-see attitude follow their suit.”

Patrushev said military threats to Russia continue to exist.

“The results of the analysis of military-strategic situation in the world and prospects of its development up to 2020 demonstrate that potential military threats to our country have not been dropped,” he said.

Among the threats he listed NATO expansion to Russian borders and mounted military activities of the alliance. He cited as an example the exercises of US strategic forces to train control of the use of nuclear arms that resumed after a nine-year break.

Other destabilizing factors include proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological technologies, production of weapons of mass destruction and international terrorism.

Patrushev said conflict potential is growing in border areas, including in the Arctic region, due to the struggle for energy and other natural resources. Besides, territorial claims to Russia intensify from such states, as Japan.

The situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflicts in the Middle and Near East, in some African and southern Asian countries, on the Korean Peninsula will negatively affect the international situation in the mid-term, Patrushev predicted.

Domestic military threats also exists and mostly come from North Caucasus, he said.

The ongoing military conflict in Afghanistan affects Russian national security, as it triggers illegal migration in close proximity to Russian borders and results in threatening production and spread of illegal drugs.

Last year “senseless policy and unmeasured ambitions of Saakashvili unleashed hostilities in South Ossetia that directly affected the life and security of our citizens,” Patrushev said.

It will be the third variant of the military doctrine in the history of modern Russia. The 1993 document excluded military conflicts. The 2000 variant said the doctrine was defensive.

“Life is changing. Developments in the world showed that conflicts, even large-scale, are possible,” Patrushev said.


http://itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html...0850&PageNum=0 ]]> General Discussion Danskeren http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169194 Assaukt Rifle used in attack in Paris, France??? http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169191&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:07:11 GMT Caught something on the news, about an attack on a car, but it was very basic, any French members got any updates? Caught something on the news, about an attack on a car, but it was very basic, any French members got any updates? ]]> General Discussion Connaught Ranger http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169191 Israel, Egypt squeeze Gaza tunnel business http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169184&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:22:43 GMT Israel, Egypt squeeze Gaza tunnel business

Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:47am EST

* Egypt, Israel choke tunnel business in Gaza - workers
* Tunnel worker says income 25 pct of previous level
* Egyptians make $18,000 a month supplying Gaza-official

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

RAFAH, Gaza Strip, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Fearing loss of life and money, Palestinians are abandoning tunnels that supply the blockaded Gaza Strip with everything from food to fridges to weapons.

On the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, there is little activity in an area that was once as busy as an industrial zone.

Many tunnel workers have concluded that the risk of being buried alive by Israeli bombardment and accidental ground collapses or poisoned by gas pumped underground by Egyptian security forces is just not worth it. Around 100 people have been killed in the past year.

"Most of the people closed their tunnels and left," said Abu Mohammed, a tunnel builder who declined to give his full name and covered his face with a red and white Arab headdress.

The number of tunnels that had reached 3,000 a year ago before a three-week Israeli military offensive now stands at several hundred. Of those, workers said just 150 are functional.

It is unknown how many weapons tunnels are functioning.

Highlighting the risks faced by the tunnellers, Israeli warplanes carried out two strikes along the border with Egypt on Thursday, wounding three workers, medical workers said.

"The situation is very bad. The Egyptians and the Israelis stepped up their campaign," Abu Mohammed said. "Israel bombards from air. Egypt either pumps gases that kill people, pours water or detonates explosives to destroy the tunnels," he said.

The tunnels, some of which have existed for decades, have become a vital supply artery for Gaza since 2006 when Israel began to restrict the flow of goods into the enclave after the Hamas Islamist group won a legislative election.

With Egyptian help, the blockade was tightened in 2007 when Hamas, which does not recognise Israel's right to exist, seized control of Gaza.

Ahead of the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival later this month, the remaining tunnels have been bringing cattle into Gaza ready for slaughter. Forty animals were brought through the tunnels overnight, workers at one tunnel said.

Though Israel has allowed thousands of cattle into Gaza for the holiday, the tunnel workers said there was still demand for the hundreds they were supplying from Egypt.

INCOMES FALL

Food, electrical goods and even cars, sliced into four parts and reassembled in Gaza, have been brought through the tunnels. They have also been an important supply route for construction materials restricted by the blockade.

Israel restricts the entry of materials it says could be used for military purposes by Hamas. It launched the offensive with the stated aim of halting rocket fire from Gaza and says militant groups there use the tunnels to supply weapons.

Hamas has a visible presence in the tunnelling zone, but only to register workers' complaints against their employers and to prevent the smuggling of drugs and weapons by regular tunnellers. Operators are required to pay compensation of $7,000 to the families of workers killed in the tunnels.

Hamas and other militant factions are believed to have their own tunnels through which they bring their supply of arms.

The sound of generators indicates where the remaining tunnels are still operating. Plastic sheeting covers the mouths of abandoned tunnels. Workers are hesitant to speak to the media, fearing that their tunnels may be located by Israel.

Abu Mohammed, 30, has been in the business for two years and says it has never been this bad. His daily income has fallen to 100 shekels ($26) from four times that amount a year ago.

"Goods are not coming like before, our income is low but we have no other choice and no other way to earn money," he said.

Tunnels now have to reach deeper into Egypt to make it harder for the security forces there to locate them, he said. An Egyptian official said the tunnels are closed as soon as they are uncovered.

Egyptians involved in smuggling goods to Gaza from Sinai have been making profit of at least $18,000 a month, said Mohamed Hussein, head of the North Sinai Food Supplies Police.

Most of the goods taken into Gaza this year have been cement and food, while last year fuel was the main export, he said.

Despite the hardships, Abu Mohammed said it would be difficult for Egypt and Israel to cut off the tunnel supply network altogether. "They are choking us but not yet throttling us to death," he said. (Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh in Cairo and Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia; Editing by Tom Perry))

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLJ94474 ]]> General Discussion 500 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169184 100th, Repatriation at Wooton Bassett. http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169183&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:16:21 GMT Town marking 100th repatriation


Cpl Loren Marlton-Thomas was praised for his courage

The bodies of two soldiers killed in Afghanistan have passed through the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett marking the 100th repatriation. The cortege conveyed army bomb disposal expert Cpl Loren Marlton-Thomas, 28, from Essex, and TA Rifleman Andrew Fentiman, 23, of Cambridgeshire.
The bodies, flown in to RAF Lyneham, will be taken to Oxford for inquests.
The deaths brought the total number of UK service personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 234.
Cpl Marlton-Thomas, from 33 Engineer Regiment, was killed by an explosion in on Sunday while searching for roadside bombs.
Territorial Army Rifleman Fentiman was shot on the same day.
He had been in the country for just two weeks and had volunteered to serve with 3 Rifles Battle Group in Afghanistan, in an attempt to become a regular Army officer.

Rifleman Fentiman died after coming under fire while on a foot patrol

A mechanical engineering graduate, Rifleman Fentiman was killed while on foot patrol near Sangin, central Helmand.
Cpl Marlton-Thomas - known as Loz - came from Thornton-Cleveleys in Lancashire and lived in Braintree, Essex.
He had joined the Army in 1998 and deployed to Afghanistan in September as a search team commander.
His wife, Nicola, described him as "army barmy right back to being a cadet".
Rifleman Fentiman - nicknamed Fen - had been a regional sales manager for a software firm before volunteering for a tour of duty.
He died after coming under fire while on a foot patrol.
...........Rest in Peace........ ]]> General Discussion wotsnext http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169183 <![CDATA[Guinea's SA trainers: US worried]]> http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169178&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:43:43 GMT Guinea's SA trainers: US worried
2009-11-19 22:03

Washington - The US is "deeply concerned" by reports that South African "military instructors" are training militiamen backed by the ruling junta in Guinea, a US official said on Thursday.

"The US has received reports of 40 or 50 South African military instructors training militia members in Guinea, including some under the age of 18," the State Department official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.

Witnesses in Guinea told AFP on Monday that South African as well as Israeli army instructors, hired by the ruling junta, are training recruits in a camp in Forecariah, 100km south of the capital Conakry.

The State Department official, who also understood that the camp is in Forecariah, said: "We are deeply concerned." He did not mention Israelis.

"We view this activity as a direct affront to the democratic aspirations of the Guinean people contrary to the efforts of the international [community] to reach a peaceful resolution to the current crisis and [a] calculated move by the ruling junta to maintain power through armed force and ethnic division," the official said.

He said the US government has raised its concerns with the South African authorities who "promised to investigate these reports. We applaud that."

In Pretoria on Tuesday, South Africa's foreign ministry said it was investigating the reports that people described as South African mercenaries are training pro-junta recruits in Guinea.

Witnesses said the new soldiers recruited by the junta, which seized power in Guinea on December 23 last year, are being trained in a camp formerly used to house Sierra Leone refugees outside Forecariah.

Around 40 military instructors are training soldiers "recruited on the basis of their ethnicity" as they belong to the same group as junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, witnesses said.

Observers accuse the junta, under increasing international pressure after the massacre of over 150 opposition supporters at a rally in September, of recruiting young men from Camara's home region close to Liberia and Sierra Leone.


- SAPA ]]> General Discussion Rudolph http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169178 Taliban chief hides among Pakistan populace : Washington Times http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169174&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:28:46 GMT The Washington Times
Friday, November 20, 2009
EXCLUSIVE: Taliban chief hides among Pakistan populace

Eli Lake, Sara A. Carter and Barbara Slavin THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Mullah Mohammed Omar, the one-eyed leader of the Afghan Taliban, has fled a Pakistani city on the border with Afghanistan and found refuge from potential U.S. attacks in the teeming Pakistani port city of Karachi with the assistance of Pakistan's intelligence service, three current and former U.S. intelligence officials said.

Mullah Omar, who hosted Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders when they plotted the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, had been residing in Quetta, where the Afghan Taliban shura -- or council -- had moved from Kandahar after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Two senior U.S. intelligence officials and one former senior CIA officer told The Washington Times that Mullah Omar traveled to Karachi last month after the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He inaugurated a new senior leadership council in Karachi, a city that so far has escaped U.S. and Pakistani counterterrorism campaigns, the officials said.

The officials, two of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic, said Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, the ISI, helped the Taliban leaders move from Quetta, where they were exposed to attacks by unmanned U.S. drones.

The development reinforces suspicions that the ISI, which helped create the Taliban in the 1990s to expand Pakistani influence in Afghanistan, is working against U.S. interests in Afghanistan as the Obama administration prepares to send more U.S. troops to fight there.

Bruce Riedel, a CIA veteran and analyst on al Qaeda and the Taliban, confirmed that Mullah Omar had been spotted in Karachi recently.

"Some sources claim the ISI decided to move him further from the battlefield to keep him safe" from U.S. drone attacks, said Mr. Riedel, who headed the Obama administration's review of policy for Afghanistan and Pakistan last spring. "There are huge madrassas in Karachi where Mullah Omar could easily be kept."

Mr. Riedel also noted that there had been few suicide bombings in Karachi, which he attributed to the Taliban and al Qaeda not wanting to "foul their own nest."

A U.S. counterterrorism official said, "There are indications of some kind of bleed-out of Taliban types from Quetta to Karachi, but no one should assume at this point that the entire Afghan Taliban leadership has packed up its bags and headed for another Pakistani city."

A second senior intelligence officer who specializes in monitoring al Qaeda said U.S. intelligence had confirmed Mullah Omar's move through both electronic and human sources as well as intelligence from an unnamed allied service.

The official said that neither Osama bin Laden nor al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri has been spotted in Karachi. The official said the top two al Qaeda figures are still thought to be in the tribal region of Pakistan on Afghanistan's border.

But, the official said, other midlevel al Qaeda operatives who facilitate the travel and training of foreign fighters have moved to the Karachi metropolitan area, which with 18 million people is Pakistan's most populous city.

"One reason, [al Qaeda] and Taliban leaders are relocating to Karachi is because they believe U.S. drones do not strike there," the official said. "It is a densely populated urban area."

Al Qaeda has had a presence in Karachi since at least 2001.

In late 2001, a cell likely commanded by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed -- the admitted operational planner of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- abducted and killed journalist Daniel Pearl.

Mohammed, who was captured by the CIA with ISI help in Pakistan in 2003, was sent to the detention facility at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and is now set to go on trial in New York. In 2007, at a closed military hearing at Guantanamo, he confessed that he personally beheaded Mr. Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter.

Pakistani officials said they were perplexed by the U.S. reports regarding Mullah Omar and denied that the ISI had facilitated a move by the Quetta shura to Karachi.

Nadeem Kiani, a spokesman for the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, said the U.S. has not provided Pakistan with any credible intelligence regarding Mullah Omar's whereabouts.

"We have no evidence of his presence in Pakistan," Mr. Kiani said. "If anybody in the U.S. government knows of any Quetta shura or Karachi shura, why don't they share that intelligence with Pakistan so we can take care of the issue ourselves? We have not been made aware of any presence of Mullah Omar in the region."

He said the ISI and Pakistani military have "suffered a lot of losses fighting the terrorists" and that "people who are making these accusations have their own agendas."

"Our forces are fighting the Taliban in Waziristan and other areas," he said. "The terrorists are now killing and targeting innocent people in Pakistani cities. ISI is a very professional intelligence agency and these allegations are baseless."

Mr. Kiani added that the U.S. and Pakistan have "24-hour intelligence sharing."

Another Pakistani official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the nature of his work, told The Times, "If Pakistan is made aware of the allegations and we do nothing, then the U.S. will know who to blame. Pakistan can take action with credible information.

"But to shift the blame on Pakistan and the security forces because Afghanistan is becoming more of a problem is not going to be helpful but have a demoralizing effect on the situation both here and there," he said.

Mary Habeck, a professor and analyst on radical Islam at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, said the reported move "suggests the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban are one and the same thing."

She said that it also "shows the Taliban are not the marginalized group we have been saying they are. They can move into a major city in Pakistan and believe they are safe there."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...stan-populace/ ]]> General Discussion Sana Saudagar http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169174 Military medals sold for £120,000 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169171&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:28:06 GMT A set of military medals, including the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for gallantry, have been sold for £120,000 at auction.


Captain Melvill K "Taff" Townsend, from Newport, was in the SAS when he was awarded the DCM for his actions while under ambush in the Middle East.

Also under the hammer were his medals for service in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, and the Falklands campaign.

The five medals had an estimate of between £40,000 and £60,000.

A copy of a letter of thanks from the late Princess Diana was also sold.

The princess sent the former soldier a letter in 1997 thanking him for leading the operation for her security protection during her visit to highlight the problem of landmines in Angola.

The auction took place at Spink in London on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the auctioneers said: "We're very, very pleased. These sort of medals are really worth the money. There's fantastic stories of bravery behind them."

The auctioneers had said that the most important medal in the set was the DCM for gallantry which is second only to the Victoria Cross.

The medals were considered more sought after because they had belonged to a former member of the SAS which tended to be "more glamorous and less conventional than general warfare".

Capt Townsend's DCM was the only one given in the action at Sheeri****ti, Western Dhofar, Oman, in 1975, which added to its value.

The citation for the award for Captain Townsend, who was then a Lance Corporal in the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (Royal Corps of Signals), described his bravery and leadership when under heavy enemy fire in an ambush in January 1975.

Security adviser

The citation read: "The conduct and courage of this junior NCO throughout this very fierce engagement was magnificent.

"He undoubtedly saved the lives of many soldiers in the leading company, besides those of the company to which he was attached. It was an inspiring example of the highest gallantry and military ability."

The Royal Corps of Signals, Captain Townsend's regiment, later commissioned a painting of his DCM action, which hangs in the officers' mess.

Later in his career, Captain Townsend saw action, again in the SAS, in the Falklands war.

He went on to work as a security adviser to several companies and embassies.

It was in this capacity that he conducted the security operation and lead the close protection for Princess Diana on her visit to Angola in January 1997.

He retired in August this year.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8367305.stm ]]> General Discussion welshmann http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169171 Crosshairs http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169164&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:33:43 GMT
Quote:
A lot of questions are likely to rush through your head when you’re out on the battlefield and the enemy projectiles come flying. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency is making big strides on a program to respond with life-saving speed and accuracy. The goal of DARPA’s CROSSHAIRS – or Counter Rocket-Propelled Grenade and Shooter System with Highly Accurate Immediate Responses -- program is to develop a threat detection and countermeasure system for light tactical vehicles, program manager Karen Wood explained.

As envisioned, Wood said, CROSSHAIRS will be able to detect and locate enemy shooters firing threats ranging from bullets to rocket-propelled grenades to anti-tank guided missiles to direct-fired mortars. In addition, it will engage the shooters and notify other friendly forces of the threat.

“In an engagement, what am I worried about?” Wood asked. “The first thing I have got to know is what is coming at me. So the CROSSHAIRS system has to be able to identify the threat coming in.”

Next, Wood said, “I need to know, ‘Is it going to hit me or not?’ So CROSSHAIRS has to be able to track whatever is coming in.”

“The third thing you want is to know where that shooter is so you can retaliate or put down suppressive fire” or take some other action, she said. “Then lastly, if something like an RPG is coming in, can I have self-protection?” she asked. “Do I have an active protection system to help me with vehicle survivability?”

CROSSHAIRS aims to do all this, then share details about the attack and the enemy’s precise location with other friendly forces.

“I can seamlessly network that information to other vehicles in my convoy and let them know there is a shooter here,” Wood said. “That way, if I am busy with survivability, they can do the retaliatory fire or respond to the shooter.”

The CROSSHAIRS program builds on another DARPA effort: the Boomerang II acoustic gunshot detection system. This vehicle-mounted anti-sniper system “listens” for a bullet’s shockwave and muzzle blast and transmits the shooter’s location to the vehicle crew – all in less than a second.

The Army ordered about 8,000 Boomerang systems, and about half of them already have been deployed to the combat theater, Wood said.

But test results during earlier stages of the CROSSHAIRS program determined that radars are the best way to detect larger projectiles. The contractor ultimately selected came up with a system Wood said was “head and shoulders above the rest” in successfully identifying the type and source of incoming fire.

The “Cross-Cue” sensor system combines low-cost radar and acoustics technology with signal processing.

The CROSSHAIRS system marries the two sensor technologies to respond to a full array of threats. “Now we have the Boomerang for gunshots and the Cross-Cue radar solution for everything else.” Wood said.

The CROSSHAIRS program got a shot in the arm when the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force agreed to team with DARPA to apply the technology to the Vanguard vehicle it was developing. In December, DARPA engineers took CROSSHAIRS’ dual detection systems, along with its networking piece, and automatic weapon “slew-to-cue” capability and put the system through the paces at the Redstone Technical Test Center in northern Alabama.

“We don’t make it easy for these contractors,” Wood said. CROSSHAIRS had to stand up to gunshots, RPG rounds and machine-gun fire, all coming from different sources and often all at once. And as it responded, it simultaneously networked the information to another vehicle, which demonstrated an automatic weapon slew-to-cue to the shooter location based on the information received from the vehicle under fire.

Even Wood was surprised at the results. “The system really kind of hit a home run,” she said. “Very rarely do you get to go before your director and say, ‘We met all the objectives we were going after in this phase of the program.’”

The program, now in its final phase, then turned to developing an active protection system for CROSSHAIRS. The engineers faced two major challenges, Wood said. The system had to be affordable enough to deploy on light, tactical vehicles, and deployable in a way that didn’t cause additional collateral damage.

“We are not gong to be spraying shrapnel or blowing something up at a distance, because innocents could get killed,” she said.

After exploring numerous options, the DARPA team ultimately settled on another system their agency had initiated: the Iron Curtain. This system, mounted on the roof of a Humvee, defeats incoming projectiles using a shoot-down system to dud the round before it strikes the vehicle.

Because Iron Curtain shoots directly down from the rooftop and engages the incoming round just inches away from the vehicle, it causes little or no collateral damage, Wood said.

Wood explained how the integrated CROSSHAIRS system works. The radar detects and tracks the incoming round. An embedded optical sensor gives a profile of the round. “Based on a lot of shots, we know exactly where to hit that RPG to make it dud,” she said.

Meanwhile, the vehicle crew is able to monitor the process, seamlessly networking the shooter’s location and threat type to other friendly forces.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/news....aspx?id=54089

They really wanted that anacronym, didn't they.

Interesting concept, especially that Iron Curtain APS. ]]> General Discussion Alpheus http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169164 Special IDF explosives lab attracts international experts http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169161&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:38:32 GMT
Quote:
Over the past decade, a small compound of single-story buildings at the IDF base in Tel Hashomer has become a Mecca for munitions and explosives experts from the world over. These buildings host the materials laboratory for the experiments and quality assurance units at the technological division of the ground forces.

The lab is considered to be one of the world's top centers in the field of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a kind of weapon the IDF has been dealing with for decades, and which in the last few years began taking a high toll among American and British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Any weapon component that reaches the IDF - whether confiscated from smugglers, captured in raids on terrorist explosives labs, or collected and pieced together as shards of shrapnel from bombs aimed at IDF soldiers and vehicles - finds it way to this lab sooner or later. The lab's commander, Lt. Col. Eran Tuval, can outline the developments in a terrorist organization's methods by tracing the ingredients of the bombs and their construction.

In some cases, the labs get the actual bomb assembly manuals, neatly written in school notebooks. In other cases, they themselves need to dismantle and rebuild bombs to understand their construction and origins. The lab then produces guidelines for forces in the field to deal with the newest generation of explosives.

Lt. Col. Tuval, a jumpy man with a goatee and a faint Italian accent, is relishing his image of a mad scientist as he carries out controlled explosions in the yard with a cigarette lighter, and skips among the items exhibiting the components of explosive devices currently en vogue in the Gaza Strip. Some are fertilizers and foodstuffs allowed into Gaza as part of humanitarian aid packages. Others are smuggled into Gaza through tunnels under Rafah.

The attempts by Palestinian organization to simplify explosive devices while increasing their impact has led them to try materials not often used in explosives; one example is R-salt, known to Israelis as white cubes for lighting barbecues, which has not been utilized in bombs since World War II. Another innovation is copper covering, which turns the bomb into hollow charges, allowing them to inject a jet of molten metal into armored vehicles - this was how an IDF scout patrolling the Gaza border in his armored jeep was killed in January.

"We see continuous improvement in the materials they use," says Tuval. "They now put copper where they used to put tin. You also get all kinds of chemicals."

Recently, the American military began studying the IDF experience. "They never imagined IEDs like that. They're still back in the 1980s, fighting the Soviets. They're making this huge review and came to us to learn everything about the materials and how to take the things apart," says Tuval.

Delegates from other armies fighting in Afghanistan, including the British, Italians and Germans, have also visited the lab to study the threats ahead. British experts, this time from Scotland Yard, also visited the lab in 2005 to learn the types of explosives used in the 2005 London bombings, which were different from bombs they knew from the IRA.

The lab also cooperates with the IDF dog-handling Oketz unit, providing samples of the explosives the dogs are trained to discover. Reports by the lab are used to construct instruments to trace explosives in airports.

The staff is also studying Qassam rockets, and produced instructions for the IDF to build exact copies of the Palestinian Qassam, which they then fired at practice targets, trying to determine the type of protection that would withstand a Qassam strike. All improvements in the Qassam construction, range and explosive force are being duly documented by the lab.

Often the lab only gets the complete materials weeks or months after the event. When the lab was investigating the attack on the tank from which Gilad Shalit was captured, they received new evidence several months after the skirmish - but managed to determine that the rocket-propelled-grenade used by the militants was armed immediately, unlike standard RPGs that arm only after flying for at least 30 meters. This allowed the militants to fire from a very close range.

In other cases, the lab is requested to produce results in real time. During Operation Cast Lead the lab deduced from shrapnel embedded in a paratroop officer's helmet that he was not injured by an IED but by a sniper's bullet, thus making the army aware a sniper was operating in that area.

Sometimes the lab influences the political arena, too. After the Second Lebanon War, Israel accused Russia of providing a large part of Hezbollah's missile arsenal. The Russians, for their part, denied the allegations, claiming the missiles were produced elsewhere. A report by the Tel Hashomer lab's metallurgy expert, Dr. Menachem Retzker, showed the alloy used to produce the missile met specific Russian standards. It was sent to the Kremlin, leading to the removal of a senior weapons export official. This particular accomplishment led to renewed interest by the army in the lab, and to greater funding.

However, despite its many roles - which also include assisting in forensic tests of civilian casualties and quality control of all new weapons introduced into the IDF - the lab is still encountering recruiting problems. "The problem is, we don't have the glow, the aura," says Major Marianne Bitton, who heads the chemical department of the lab. "A lot of our work is classified, and we're not considered to be a sexy unit, so it's hard to bring the right people here."

Like other technological units of the IDF, the lab, too, complains of a shortage in qualified young people with technological background. Tuval is trying hard to persuade veteran officers to stay in the lab, while also hunting for recent immigrants from the former USSR with technical knowledge you can't learn in Israeli schools.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1129505.html ]]> General Discussion Snoshi http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169161 <![CDATA[India to launch Iran's Satilite in near future!]]> http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169157&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:50:58 GMT India, Iran Weigh Troop Training, Sat Launch

NEW DELHI - Officials from Iran and India discussed cooperative training of troops and the possible Indian launch of an Iranian commercial satellite during Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki's visit here Nov. 16-17, sources in the Iranian Embassy here said.

Mottaki called on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna during his visit.

Details of the Iranian satellite to be launched from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) vehicle have been under consideration since July, but no decision has been taken, an Indian External Affairs Ministry official said.

India and Iran are also negotiating a joint patrol exercise in the Arabian Gulf. India and Iran have a defense cooperation framework in the Joint Working Group on Defence Cooperation, which has been dormant since 2005.

New Delhi is also pressing Iran to share information with India on the movement of terrorist groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba, sources in the Home Ministry here said, but there has been no major breakthrough on this issue.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php...61&c=ASI&s=AIR ]]> General Discussion bhramos http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169157 Defending the Falklands http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169155&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:49:16 GMT Defending the Falklands


This thread is not about the Falklands War, but is intended to collate information about primarily the modern defence of the archipeligo (and also other South Atlantic territories such as South Georgia and the South Shetlands), and a historic record of how the locally based defence has evolved from a few Chelsea Pensioners in the 1830s to the extensive modern arsenal of today. For a thread about the 1982 war, see here:
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums...d.php?t=107232

Note: If you wish to make a contribution, please ensure it is both pertinent and respectful. There are far too many comments made online which do nothing other than provoke offense, or insult the memory of the nearly 1000 souls who died in a needless war.
If you are contributing personal material, please consider OPSEC. ‘If in doubt, leave it out’.





Background


The Falklands are a British Overseas Territory (OT) in the South West Atlantic. They have a complex and slightly bizarre history which have led to them being the only ‘threatened’ British territory of the modern age. Though Argentina claims that it will no longer pursue its claim to the islands through military means, the British government consider it necessary to station considerable military force in the islands in order to deter and respond to any threat to British sovereign territory in the region.

The defence of the islands is a true tri-service operation, with assets from all three branches of HM Armed Forces, as well as the Falkland Islands Defence Force and civilian-contracted units.





Falkland Islands Defence Force



What is the FIDF?

The FIDF is the ‘military’ of the Falkland Islands Government. As with all other British OT’s, the Falklands are locally governed, and have a large degree of autonomy.

The FIDF are drawn from locals in a similar fashion to a Territorial Army unit in the UK. They are however not part of the British Armed Forces, but are directly at the control of the FIG.

All FIDF members are volunteers, and have regular civilian jobs when not in uniform. Only two of their soldiers are full-time (the Commanding Officer (a Major) and usually the adjutant).


Training

A Permanent Staff Instructor trains the FIDF in accordance with British military doctrine. The PSI is a Royal Marines WO2, provided by the MoD in order to ensure that the FIDF are trained to an exceptionally high standard, and able to integrate seamlessly with regular British military units.







Roles

The FIDF essentially operates as a niche light-role infantry unit, specialising in defensive and some guerrilla tactics. The lack of overseas deployments, and intimate knowledge of the local area means that the FIDF can carefully prepare for any incursion or other emergency.

Force specialities are sniper/recce, machine gun, close-combat, amphibious, and logitics support, all coordinated by a central command. The FIDF also provides the Islands’ mountain rescue service.
As of 1999, the FIDF provide a naval capability to the FIG, by operating 20mm Oerlikon guns onboard the FIG’s own armed patrol vessels, as well as the capability to make unopposed and opposed boardings, and conduct searches of suspect or belligerent vessels. This has given the FIG Fisheries Department the capability of providing an armed deterrence and response to illegal fishing and maritime security issues within the Falklands’ large Exclusive Economic Zone.








Demonstrating a 20mm Oerlikon (as fitted to FPVs) to Princess Anne, on a Royal visit early in 2009




Equipment

The FIDF outwardly look like regular British troops, using standard DPM. The basic assault-rifle of the FIDF is the Steyr-AUG. Heavy weapons include GPMGs, and the Browning .50 cal. Vehicles include primarily Land-Rovers, quadbikes, inflatable boats and rigid raiders. The FIDF do have access to the full range of British Military vehicles on the islands.

The Force also has modern night-fighting equipment, as well as secure comms equipment (compatible with standard British comms). The FIG has repeatedly stated that it wishes to provide a greater share of the defence burden of the islands, as the economy continues to expand. Currently the cost of defending the Falklands, as a proportion of the UK defence budget stands at less than 0.5%.

The most valuable asset of the FIDF is it’s dedicated members, who acutely understand the value and fragility of their freedom. 4 of the islanders serve in the regular British military (as of 2007), and a very large proportion of the population of the islands are involved in their defence in some capacity. The islands also have highly relaxed firearm laws in comparison to the mainland UK, and ownership of rifles is high.







Civilian


Some elements contributing to the islands’ defence are contracted to civilian companies, or are FIG owned services manned by civilians. The main components of this are Sikorsky S-61 helicopters owned and operated by British International Helicopters Ltd (BRINTEL), and the fisheries protection vessels.

An Airbridge to the UK is maintained by the MoD to ensure full control of access to the islands. Argentina refuses to allow charter flights to the Falklands to enter its airspace, and any passenger with an FI stamp in their passports are guaranteed a world of hassle at any Argentine airport. As a consequence, this service continues to be provided by the RAF as well as Flyglobespan 767s, Omni International and Air Atlanta Icelandic 747s on a British Government contract. An225 and An125 transports are also occasional visitors to the islands, bringing in outsized items of cargo.


Flyglobespan 767-300ER on the ground at MPA





British International Helicopters

BRINTEL provide non-combat helicopter transport to the British garrison, the FIDF, and other agencies as required. The demand on this service has increased since the redeployment of RAF Chinooks in 2005. The company is also a major provider of rig-to-shore transport for oilfields in the North Sea, and it is highly likely that BRINTEL’s presence on the islands will increase as oil in the Falklands Basin begins to be extracted over the next couple of years.






Soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment board BRINTEL S-61s onboard HMS Clyde, in Ajax Bay during Exercise Cape Bayonet. Sept 2009






Falkland Islands Government Air Service

FIGAS operates a fleet of 5 Britten-Norman BN2B Islander short take off and landing aircraft. Based mainly at Stanley Airport, FIGAS provides a transport link to the remote settlements around the islands, most of which have either a basic grass airstrip or a convenient beach. FIGAS also performs the important function of coastal surveillance, fisheries patrol, and miscellaneous work in support of the FIG.


FIGAS Islander seen here at MPA

Patrol Vessels

A couple of Fisheries Patrol vessels are also operated by the FIG. Pharos SG is primarily for the enforcement of fishing legislation around the South Georgia islands, and in addition to the British Antarctic Survey team based at the ‘capital’, Grytviken, serves as a representative of the British and Falklands Government in the territory.
FPV Protegat and FPV Sigma spend most of their time in the Falklands EEZ. Protegat joined the fleet earlier this year, replacing the illustrious FPV Dorada in the demanding role. Dorada had previously opened fire on poachers on numerous occasions, and participated in the longest chase in history (21 days chasing a Uruguayan poacher, eventually apprehended by the Royal Australian Navy).




Pharos SG in heavy seas


Pharos SG tied up in Stanley Harbour




Royal Navy

The RN maintains a permanent presence in the region. As well as providing personnel for a variety of duties at RAF Mount Pleasant (otherwise known as MPA, the primary military base) the RN enjoys the use of the Islands’ military port, Mare Harbour, a few miles south of MPA.

After several years invaluable service, the Castle Class patrol vessels (HM Ships Leeds Castle and Dumbarton Castle) were replaced with state-of-the art River Class offshore patrol vessel HMS Clyde. Rather than having to make the frequent returns to the UK of the Castle Class, Clyde can remain on station for many years at a time, providing maritime security and fisheries protection for British interests in the region. She is also capable of handling medium sized helicopters.




Class and type: River class patrol vessel
Displacement: 1,850 tonnes
Length: 81.5 m
Beam: 13.6 m
Draught: 3.8 m
Propulsion: 2 × Ruston 12RK 270 engines developing 4,125 kW @ 1,000 rpm
Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h)
Range: 7,800 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement: 36 (room for 20 extra personnel)
Armament: 30 mm gun, 2 × Mk44 Miniguns, 2 × GPMGs
Aircraft carried: Flight Deck arrangements of sufficient size to take Lynx, Sea King and Merlin helicopters



Air Defence Ex (ADEX) with MPA based Tornado F3s


Drygalkski Fjord, South Georgia


Also providing security to the region is the warships of Atlantic Patrol Tasking South, APT(S). This is normally a Type 42 Destroyer, or Type 23 Frigate accompanied by an RFA support ship. In recent years, the number of ships assigned to APT(S) have varied in accordance with the threat assessment. Though not always close to the islands, these would be the first major RN units to arrive in the event of an serious incident. The RN is currently operating a sea-swap scheme, where entire ships companies are swapped to the ship already in-situ, to reduce operating costs.

Current APT(S) ship is Type 42 Destroyer, HMS Gloucester. She took the role from HMS Manchester in August.


HRH Princess Anne in South Georgia, with HMS Manchester


HMS Manchester entering Valparaiso harbour for Ex Teamwork South with the Chilean armed foces.


HMS Endurance, the Royal Navy’s Antarctic patrol ship, affectionately known as 'The Red Plum', is also forward based at Mare Harbour while she undertakes survey work in the Antarctic region for 7 months of the year, and supports the mission of the British Antarctic Survey.
Last year, however, Endurance suffered a catastrophic flooding whilst en-route to Chile for Christmas leave, and had to be first towed to Mare Harbour, then piggy-backed to Portsmouth for major repairs. At the time of writing, the damage assessment phase is still ongoing. HMS Scott is currently standing in for Endurance, though she lacks the ice-breaking hull.


HMS Scott

Class and type: Scott-class Ocean Survey Vessel[1]
Displacement: 13,500 tons full load
Length: 131.1 m (430 ft)
Beam: 21.5 m (71 ft)
Draught: 8.3 m (27 ft)
Propulsion: 2 × Krupp MaK 9M32 9-cylinder diesel engines, Single shaft with controllable pitch propeller, Retractable bow thruster
Speed: 18 knots (33 km/h)Complement: 63 (42 onboard at any time)




Endurance in happier times



The deployment of submarines is classified. ]]> General Discussion happyslapper http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169155