Hmmm, I wonder how much it would cost for the federal government to connect the military bases in Texas up to the national grid. Based on Texas’ size I’d assume a shit-ton, but if bills like this are going to be a regular thing it might be a smaller shit-ton.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
rollin' on dubs
Chinese Aerial Armada With Bombers, Fighters, And More Filled Airspace Near Taiwan
No fewer than 20 Chinese People’s Liberation Army aircraft flew within Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone today, in a significant expansion of activity within this area, which covers most of the highly volatile Taiwan Strait. In what seems like a deliberate escalation over other recent incursions, today’s mission included bombers and airborne early warning platforms, as well as the more familiar fighters and surveillance aircraft.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft that entered the air defense identification zone (ADIZ) today comprised four H-6K bombers, 10 J-16 multirole fighters (Chinese-made derivatives of the Russian Su-30 Flanker), two J-10 fighter jets, two KQ-200 anti-submarine patrol planes, one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft, and a KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.
Hit up the link for more.
I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor....Really Tempting Fate for the PLAAF to have their own air accident over the Strait sooner or later. It's always worth remembering that these sort of operations also exhaust and wear down the Chinese pilots as much as the Taiwanese ones.
Here's the ROKA's order of battle in 1950 and afterwards.
Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Mar 31st 2021 at 5:10:17 AM
rollin' on dubs
A roundup of links:
- Theft of Military Equipment on the Rise at Fort Bragg, Assistant Chief Says
- CID is doing a heck of a job...
- Army's Pilotless Black Hawk Highlights Emerging Technology in Demo Flight
- hope this takes off...
- Microsoft Wins $22 Billion Deal Making Headsets for US Army
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- Reversing Trump, Pentagon Releases New Transgender Policy
The new department regulations allow transgender people who meet military standards to enlist and serve openly in their self-identified gender, and they will be able to get medically necessary transition-related care authorized by law, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a briefing.
Cross-posting from The Navy Thread.
Random trivia I learned as a part of my research for historical fiction:
So apparently U-864
was the only submarine in (documented) history to get attacked and sink by an enemy submarine while both submerged.
Huh. I thought that happened at least a couple dozens of times through the course of WWII.
Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.Well, for that to happen, a lot of things needed to line up:
- Both subs had to be submerged. In WWII, submarines were surface-going vessels first and foremost and only submerged when they needed to. They ran on diesel power while surfaced, which also recharged the batteries that ran the electric motor that powered them wile submerged. That means that they were only underwater some of the time, and for a limited period, at that.
- The attacking sub would need to know where the target was. By sound. A lot of things can give away a submarine underwater. The most obvious source of noise would be the propeller(s). A propeller of a certain shape, with so many blades, would produce a distinct sound (which is why navies nowadays tend to take care not to get their subs' screws on photo). When the vessel changes depth, the metal would flex under the pressure, which creates more noise. Protrusions and imperfections on the boat's surface generates turbid flow in the water, which can make noise. The opening of torpedo tube doors, the blast of pressurised air that launches a "fish" into the water, and sound of the weapon's own screws propelling it through the water makes further noise. Even sounds emanating from within the hull, like the movement of machineries, the yelling of crewmembers and the echoes of their footsteps on unpadded metal floor can be heard sometimes. But to listen for all that with a WWII-era hydrophone array and figure out your query's depth, bearing and distance would've taken some serious skill.
- The attacker would need to get into position to line up their attack. Preferably without being detected themselves, which would give the target the chance to get away. Behind every submarine is a region called its "baffles", where the noise of its own propeller(s) prevents it from effectively detecting sounds from its immediate rear. A skilled attacker could find a way to sneak up there, but staying there requires you to keep listening in and match the target's movement, turn for turn.
- A firing solution would need to be plotted. On the surface, it's simple trigonometry. For an attacker travelling at a certain velocity, launching a torpedo which runs at a given speed at a target travelling at its own velocity, you would need to fire from so-and-so angle and distance for the "fish" to find its way home. But that's just scratching the surface. Are both subs at the same depth? Is the target changing its speed or heading? Are there any sea changes in current and temperature that could mess up the torpedo's course?
- Most of all, though, you needed luck. As Clausewitz put it: "Everything is very simple in war, but even the simplest thing is difficult."
After WWII, submarines and their crews began to be designed and trained for the express purpose of hunting enemy submarines. Improved diesel propulsion gave them better underwater speed and endurance, and then nuclear propulsion pretty much allowed them to stay underwater for as long as food stores and the crew's endurance allow. Streamlined hull designs, optimised for underwater performance, improved their swift and silent travel. Guided torpedoes, launched fully electrically, gave them a way to seek out enemy submarines underwater. And modern sonar suites, fed by hydrophones all over the submarine's body to a computer that could automatically process the signal, made the crew more aware of what's going on outside their tin can, along with towed-array sonars that reeled out behind the sub and ESM antennae to look out for electronic signatures.
Edited by eagleoftheninth on Apr 2nd 2021 at 3:15:37 AM
One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.Even if all those things lined up perfectly, there was also the mater of "is this worth it"
Submarines often had under two dozen torpedoes, and generally fired them in a spread of 4-6 on a valuable target... that's not very many attacks they can make before they have to go get reloaded... and with all the aformentioned factors it was likley to fail.
On the other hand, submerged submarines were slow, 4-5 knots for most, 8 for some specific cruiser subs... it is so much easier and likley to work to just note where you saw the enemy sub, and radio for a friend that is better equiped to go take care of it.
Its a bit of a misconception that every time enemy vehicles ran into each-other they would fight each-other... there was always an added "is this worth it" calculus involved before making a blind action... which was often seen in airplanes, where breaking off to engage the enemy might mean forfeiting your own mission... so two opposing flights may pass without issue besides being very tense... Or in the pacific the H8K flying boat was generally just used for transport and recon but was covered with 10x20mm guns turning it into a flying ball of nope that most fighter pilots just kind of left to its own thing while they went elsewhere... because its normal mission profile just wasn't worth the risk involved in attacking it.
Ships also had this calculus though due to there expense, and the limited resources they had to do there missions with in the case of submarines.
Edited by Imca on Apr 2nd 2021 at 3:28:18 AM
With the post-WW 2 era you’ve also got the question of when two navies with submarines have actually fought each other. You’ve got the Falklands and obviously India and Pakistan have fought each other but I’m not sure of the level of naval engagement.
Between land-dominant conflicts and ones where one side doesn’t have submarines there aren’t going to be many chances for two submarines to have run into each other.
Actually, that’s a fun trivia point. British submarines have accidentally crashed into as many other submarines underwater as they have deliberately sunk.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranCross-posted from General US Politics: From Reuters: Biden affirms U.S. 'unwavering support' for Ukraine in call -statement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden on Friday expressed strong U.S. support for Ukraine in a call with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the White House said.
“President Biden affirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbass and Crimea,” the statement said.
NATO said on Thursday it was concerned about a Russian military buildup near Ukraine’s borders, as NATO ambassadors met to discuss the recent spike in violence in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region. Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, drawing Western condemnation and tit-for-tat sanctions.
Biden emphasized his administration’s commitment to a strategic partnership with Ukraine and support for Zelenskiy’s anti-corruption plans and reform agenda.
“The leaders agreed these reforms are central to Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations,” the statement said.
Zelenskiy said on Twitter he was glad to speak with Biden and appreciates U.S. support on different levels.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder when it comes to preservation of our democracies. My commitment to transform Flag of Ukraine, improve transparency & achieve peace is strong. The American partnership is crucial for Ukrainians,” Zelenskiy said.
In November, Biden defeated then-President Donald Trump, who was impeached in 2019 over what White House aides described as an effort to withhold nearly $400 million in security aid and a coveted White House visit unless Ukrainian officials announced investigations Trump sought into Biden.
That exchange was at the center of a charge by the Democratic-led House of Representatives that Trump abused his power for political benefit. The U.S. Senate, then controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans, acquitted him of the charge and another of obstructing justice. Trump denied any wrongdoing.
One of my favorite bits of trivia about submarines is that HMS Dreadnought sank a German sub by ramming during WWI. It was apparently the only combat engagement the famous battleship ever actually fought in, and it didn't use any of its guns for it.
Worth noting, while Dreadnought was a game-changer when she entered service in 1906, by the time WWI broke out about a decade later, she was considered kind of small for a battleship, with larger and more advanced designs like the Orion superdreadnoughts already in service by 1912.
Edited by AFP on Apr 3rd 2021 at 3:00:41 AM
While still on a navy topic, me and my friends somehow started talking about the US Navy and just how big it is.
He was like, the US Navy is so big that it has the second largest air force in the world, and he bet that it probably has its own armored division hidden somewhere.
Well, I'm pretty sure the USN doesn't have any tanks. Yet.
That's nothing. The Reichspostministerium was in charge of Germany's nuclear enrichment plans and its surface-to-air missile program.
One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.Northern Fleet marines use clearly marked Red Cross vehicle as target and cover in ambushing drill
rollin' on dubs
T-hound, remember that the Ruskies gave a SAM system to the "Rebels" in Donbass
. Cue the "rebels" shooting at a civie airliner because the Nimrods didn't know how to use the IFF, or that there was a civil air corridor in the area. RIP Malaysia Air Flight 17
. I suspect that the Russian Ground Forces sent their "little green men" and they fucked up royally.
Edited by TairaMai on Apr 3rd 2021 at 6:59:11 AM
I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor....

Fort Hood kept lights on during winter storm, and now has a massive electric bill
About half of Fort Hood's power comes from its new 15-megawatt solar array on post, along with a 50-megawatt wind farm in West Texas. Both those renewable production facilities opened in June 2017, but the post had to buy power from Texas' privatized grid for the other half of its electricity needs at a time when those private market prices were spiking.