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A Training and Adventure news article
12 May 09

The Royal Navy’s TAURUS 09 deployment recently arrived in Bangladesh where sailors and marines took part in a joint naval exercise in some of the most complicated waterways and coastlines in the world.

Exercise Shomudro Torongo, part of the TAURUS 09 deployment, was aimed at integrating the Bangladeshi and British forces in order to share expertise to combat terrorism and enhance UK environmental training and preparedness for natural disasters in the region.

It is the first such interaction between the two nations’ naval forces in more than a decade.

The five day exercise saw amphibious assault ship HMS Bulwark insert Royal Marines ashore into the Ganges Delta supporting them from sea in a combined training package with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

Fast boats and landing craft from 4 and 539 Assault Squadrons Royal Marines pushed the troops ashore and stalked through the riverine environment, supporting a multi-agency search for a ‘Contact of Interest’.

The environment enabled the marines from Charlie Company, 40 Commando, to practise anti-ambush drills, patrolling and the insertion and extraction of observation posts, culminating in a successful interception and boarding.

The exercise was designed to test and train a multitude of cross-governmental agencies, including Bangladeshi security forces, intelligence agencies, police, coastguard and both nations’ military forces. Bangladeshi Navy ships, helicopters, Air Force assets and Army Commandos all took part.

Support tanker RFA Wave Ruler sat off the coast with a Merlin maritime patrol helicopter from 820 Naval Air Squadron embarked to offer essential CASEVAC (casualty evacuation) support in this complex environment as well as assist in the gathering of intelligence.

Royal Navy and Bangladeshi Navy personnel embedded in each others ships for the exercise, providing a truly integrated battle staff.

Speaking as the exercise came to an end, Task Group Commander, Commodore Peter Hudson, Commander UK Amphibious Task Group, said:

“This has been an ambitious and demanding exercise with some complex hurdles in a challenging coastal and riverine environment.

“There has been much to learn on both sides; the Bangladeshi forces have witnessed and learnt from some of the Royal Navy’s best practices and in turn the Royal Navy has learnt a huge amount from our hosts, who are far more used to working in such complex waterways. This sort of activity is vital for us - after all, you don’t find many waterways such as these in Devon.

“All the training objectives were achieved, including the establishment and function of a joint, combined inter-agency command centre, where information and intelligence was shared and analysed between a range of law enforcement agencies. This key objective will assist both countries in their joint efforts to combat terrorism and be prepared for natural disasters in the region.”

His thoughts were echoed by the Bangladeshi Director, Naval Captain Akhtar Habib, who said:

“Shomudro Torongo is the first major joint exercise conducted between the Royal Navy and the Bangladeshi Navy including sister services, paramilitary forces and maritime agencies.

“Events like these boarding operations, coastal maritime security operations, joint and combined inter-agency command exercises add significant stride to Bangladeshi Navy capability in maritime security. It has been a resounding success at all levels of exercise.”

Royal Navy personnel also demonstrated a good example of civil-military co-operation as a team of twenty personnel from HMS Bulwark ventured ashore to assist with building work on a community house in the south of Kutubdia island at Ali Akbardeil village. It gave them a great opportunity to experience at first hand the hardships and living environment of the coastal communities in the area as well as providing a helping hand.

The Task Group is now preparing for the next stage of TAURUS 09 which includes an exercise under the Five Powers Defence Agreement in Malaysia and culminates with a major multi-national exercise in Brunei where the participating maritime assets will inject the landing forces (40 Commando Royal Marines) ashore for a training package in the primary jungles of Brunei.

Source: U.K Ministry of Defence

Written by By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Derek R. Sanchez, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West
Tuesday, 05 May 2009 14:05
Navy Compass

SAN DIEGO (NNS) — Peruvian submarine BAP Arica (SS-36) arrived in San Diego April 30 to participate in the Diesel Electric Submarine Initiative (DESI) training program alongside the U.S. Navy.

DESI is a three-month partnership that allows the U.S. and partner navies to work together to train and test underwater warfare capabilities through engagement tactics, weapon system tests and close-encounter operations. The partnership also assists in the development of a stronger Navy and setting historical milestones with the United States and countries like Peru. Other participating DESI partners include Colombia, Chile and Brazil.

“We have one of the oldest submarine navies between the two continents [North and South America],” said Cmdr. Manuel Rivadeneira, Arica’s commanding officer.

“Now there are many improvements in submarine warfare, so we have the opportunity to train with the U.S., who has the latest improvements in submarine warfare. It helps us, and it also helps the U.S. because they don’t always have the opportunity to train with other countries like us [Peru].”

This is the third time the Peruvian submarine has participated in DESI, but it is the first time Arica has visited San Diego and partnered with Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, to conduct operations off the west coast.

“The DESI program objectives help us establish a solid framework for a continued excellent operational training relationship between Third Fleet, the Peruvian submarine force and Submarine Squadron 11,” said Cmdr. John Doney, U.S. 3rd Fleet training staff.

“Partnership continues a history of us working with a very lethal capability in looking for the very quiet diesel electrics, which are a huge threat to any navy,” said Capt. Neil May, assistant chief of staff, training and readiness, Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet. “It’s going to be a very productive several months.”

While in San Diego, Peruvian sailors and officers will stay with their U.S. counterparts in bachelor enlisted and officer quarters. They will also have the opportunity to explore the San Diego area and spend time with U.S. Sailors during several social events scheduled in their honor.

Navy Compass - San Diego’s Navy Newspaper - San Diego Navy Compass

Defense & Security News — By Agence France-Presse on May 7, 2009 at 7:19 am
Defence Talk

TBILISI: NATO kicked off controversial military exercises in ex-Soviet Georgia on Wednesday as tensions spiked in relations with neighbouring Russia over Moscow’s expulsion of two alliance diplomats.

Launched a day after Georgia accused Russia of backing a brief military mutiny that allegedly included a plot to assassinate President Mikheil Saakashvili, the exercises have strained ties between the Cold War-era rivals.

Tensions in the region, the scene of a short war between Russia and Georgia last August, were raised further on Wednesday as police clashed with anti-government protesters trying to storm a police building in Tbilisi.

Officials said riot police had used truncheons to repel the protesters as they attempted to climb a fence into the building, but the opposition said police had fired rubber bullets into a crowd of peaceful demonstrators.

Georgian television showed riot police using batons to force back hundreds of protesters trying to climb over the fence, as opposition supporters threw sticks and rocks at police. At least one protester was seen covered in blood.

The opposition has accused Saakashvili of staging Tuesday’s mutiny in a bid to distract attention away from the protest movement against his rule and what the president’s critics see as his mishandling of the conflict with Russia.

Earlier on Wednesday, Russia said it had expelled two Canadian diplomats working as NATO envoys in Moscow after an “unfriendly act by NATO.” NATO has expelled two Russian envoys from its Brussels headquarters in a spy scandal.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer criticised the Russian expulsions as “unfortunate” and “counterproductive.”

“NATO very much regrets the Russian action and does not consider there to be any justification for it,” he said.

Officials in Ottawa said Canada “strongly regrets” the expulsions and that Russia’s ambassador had been summoned to explain the move.

But Moscow’s envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, criticised the alliance as “more and more unpredictable” in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper, saying: “The alliance can’t seem to behave in a respectable, stable and decent way.”

Russia fiercely objects to Georgia hosting the month-long NATO exercises and is also opposed to Georgia’s bid to join the alliance.

Georgian Defence Minister David Sikharulidze countered, saying: “The noise from Russia about these exercises is completely unreasonable.”

In another sign of tensions, Georgia said Wednesday it had arrested one of its top former diplomats on espionage charges and said he had been providing detailed military intelligence to Moscow.

On Tuesday Georgia said it had peacefully put down a mutiny at a military base outside Tbilisi aimed at disrupting the NATO exercises.

Georgia initially accused Russia of backing an armed coup — a claim Moscow described as “insane” — but later backed away from the claim.

At least 20 people have been arrested and police were hunting for two former military officers and a current officer alleged to have been involved.

Defence minister Sikharulidze said it was “a serious but isolated incident.”

“The investigation will reveal the real picture of what happened. (The organisers) never clearly formulated their demands and goals,” he said.

The NATO exercises involve at least 1,100 soldiers from 10 NATO countries and six of the alliance’s “partner” countries.

Russian ally Armenia backed out of the exercises after Tuesday’s mutiny.

On Wednesday a Georgian defence ministry spokesman responsible for the exercises, Colonel Giorgi Kakiashvili, said participants were gathering for planning meetings and full-scale command exercises would begin on Monday.

The exercises have two parts: the first will be carried out almost exclusively on computers and the second, between May 18 and June 1, will involve 400 troops as part of training for peacekeeping operations, NATO said.

Google News

ABOARD THE USS MESA VERDE — Capt. Larry LeGree sat on the bridge of his stealth warship, looked out and saw dozens of warships participating in exercises in the Atlantic Ocean, while a television monitor gave him a view of the flight deck as helicopters landed.

Tucked into the stern of the USS Mesa Verde, which has a very low radar profile, were two hovercraft designed to deliver troops and supplies quickly to a shore.

LeGree is the Mesa Verde’s commanding officer and he was pleased with his crew’s work and the new ship, which is serving as the flagship of the multinational task force.

“I think it looks like a beautiful woman,” he said Friday.

The U.S. navy’s longest-running annual exercise, UNITAS Gold, started April 20 and continues through Tuesday with several Latin American countries, Canada and Germany taking part.

It is the first time UNITAS, now in its 50th year, is being held off the mainland United States, although the navy has hosted the event in Puerto Rico.

Sailors, marines and other military forces have been performing live-fire exercises, undersea warfare, helicopter and amphibious operations, among other training. More than 25 ships, four submarines, 6,500 sailors and 50 aircraft are taking part in the exercise hosted by the U.S. navy’s 4th Fleet, based at Mayport Naval Station just north of Jacksonville, Fla.

On Thursday, the combined navies sank a mothballed U.S. navy destroyer about 500 kilometres off the coast. They hit it with guns, missiles and bombs before the ship slipped beneath the waves.

U.S. ships participating in the $7-million exercise are the Mesa Verde, which is an amphibious transport dock ship, and a host of other U.S. ships, including the USS Harry Truman battle group. They are acting as the “bad guys” in the exercise.

Brazil, which sent a ship and a submarine, feels UNITAS provides valuable training for its sailors.

“We can learn some lessons and use those lessons to combat all the defence threats in the future,” said Brazilian Cmdr. Mario Simoes, one of dozens of foreign sailors aboard the Mesa Verde on Friday.

Countries involved in UNITAS exercises are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Germany and Canada plus the United States.

In the lunch room on the Mesa Verde on Friday, it sounded like a United Nations assembly with sailors speaking English, Spanish, Portuguese and German.

UNITAS got its start in 1959 when the U.S. navy and South American countries participated in a series of anti-submarine training exercises. Later that year, after the First Inter-American Naval Conference, South American officers asked that the countries train again in 1960. In May 1960, the commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet called the exercise, UNITAS, for unity, united and oneness. Early planning documents suggested UNITAS also stood for United International Anti-Submarine Training Exercise.

Over the years, the missions of the navies have changed to drug-interdiction and fighting piracy and have included anti-air, anti-surface and electronic warfare, communications and seamanship.

Besides the at-sea operations, sailors attended training symposiums, humanitarian and community relations projects, plus some athletic games, concerts and social events.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Story Number: NNS090424-16
Release Date: 4/24/2009 3:20:00 PM
United States Navy
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alan Gragg and Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Patrick Grieco, UNITAS Public Affairs

ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) — Ships from eleven nations got underway April 23 for UNITAS Gold, the 50th iteration of the longest-running multinational maritime exercise.

Maritime forces from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, Mexico, Peru, the United States and Uruguay left Mayport, Fla., and began the underway portion of the annual partnership building exercise.

“Through the years, UNITAS has evolved to fit the landscape, needs, and mutual naval and maritime interests of the Americas and Caribbean,” said Rear Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSO) and U.S. 4th Fleet. “As we move forward together, I am confident that future opportunities to work with our partners will not only strengthen our ability to operate together and provide for our nation’s security but will also build personal and professional respect and friendships.”

For 50 years, UNITAS has served as the primary maritime security engagement exercise among the militaries of the Western Hemisphere.

During the two-week exercise lasting from April 20-May 5, the United States and partner nations will train together in a realistic scenario-driven training environment featuring live-fire exercises, undersea warfare, shipboard operations, maritime interdiction operations, air defense and surface warfare, amphibious operations, electronic warfare, and special warfare. More than 30 ships, two submarines and 50 aircraft from the U.S. and participating navies are involved.

“This isn’t something we have an opportunity to do quite often,” said Canadian Army 1st Lt. Michael Faber of Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment. “The Canadian forces are very much arranged towards international partnerships and joint operations. UNITAS provides us a chance to practice working on our basic operational skills with people of other countries.”

Faber also said UNITAS helps provide his team with the experience they need to be ready for almost any real-world operation.

During the exercise, Sailors, Marines and Coastguardsmen have the opportunity to train side-by-side with Latin American navies in a high-tech environment using state-of-the-art equipment. The relationships that develop from this exercise will help to foster cooperation and understanding between participating Navies.

A member of the Brazilian marines, Private Renan Gabriel said he is grateful his unit was selected to participate in this exercise. He said the differences between American and Brazlian operational procedures are almost non-existent.

“There are little differences between our two forces,” said Gabriel. “We have identical fast rope and amphibious operation instructions.”

“It’s quite amazing,” said Ship’s Serviceman Seaman Philip Kozloff, a ship store attendant on board amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19). “It’s great to meet other people from different countries and learn their customs or culture. It helps build our relationships with them abroad.”

For more news from Commander U.S. 4th Fleet/ U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/cusns.

Written by Lt. j.g. Megan Isaac, Ice Exercise Public Affairs

Monday, 30 March 2009
Navy Compass

USS HELENA, At Sea (NNS) — Los Angeles-class fast attack submarines USS Helena (SSN 725) and USS Annapolis (SSN 760) are conducting various weapons and tactics training in the Arctic environment. During ICEX, Helena and Annapolis are conducting a torpedo exercise to test the capabilities of different warfare tactics and of the weapons themselves. Once an exercise shot is fired, the torpedo is collected and shipped back to the United States for data retrieval. The data collected will help provide the submarine force with valuable insight into warfighting in the Arctic.

While information gathered by ICEX 2009 will benefit the entire Navy, it is uniquely important for the submarine force.

“The only two types of boats that can operate in the arctic right now are ice crushers and submarines,” said Yeoman 1st Class Amalio Gamboa, from Helena.

“It’s about assured access,” said Cmdr. Daniel Brunk, Helena’s commanding officer, about submariner operations under the ice. “We can get anywhere.”

Helena surfaced March 27 in an open channel in an ice field, within a few miles of the Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station camp. The camp is set up on a piece of Arctic pack ice and supports all of the evolutions during ICEX. After mooring on the ice, Brunk, along with a few members of Helena’s crew were able to disembark the submarine and spent some time at the camp.

Before arriving on station to participate in ICEX, Helena transited through the Bering Strait, often a hazardous route due to shallow depths and overhead ice canopy.

“The Bering Strait is tough because there [is] only 25 feet of water below you, and at times, ice keels hang down low enough to force you to maneuver the submarine,” said Brunk.

For Master Chief Fire Control Technician Christopher Gillen, operating in the Arctic is an exciting but difficult experience, he said.

“Surfacing the ship is totally different; we have to do a vertical surfacing as opposed to our usual surfacing done at an angle,” said Gillen. “Also, you can really feel the difference in how the water holds the sub; the salinity makes it hard to maintain a depth, and you have to be on it all the time.”

ICEX 2009 was the first time many Sailors experienced the Arctic.

“Operating in the Arctic makes everyone pay a lot more attention,” said Yeoman 3rd Class Jonathan Bong, aboard Helena.

For the Sailors of Helena and Annapolis, ICEX 2009 offered training in a new type of undersea warfare.

“Something that really surprised me about the Arctic Ocean is how it’s constantly changing,” said Brunk. “A lot of people think it’s just a static chunk of ice, but the ice is always moving. One day something will be solid ice and the next it’s open water.”

Helena is homeported in San Diego, and Annapolis is homeported in Groton, Conn.

Thursday, Mar 19, 2009
Your Defence News

Under the clear blue skies of the Mediterranean, the eleven ships of the Royal Navy’s TAURUS 09 deployment lined up in a rare display of might.

HMS Bulwark, the flagship of the deployment, has led the Task Group through the Mediterranean towards the final stages of part one of this six- month deployment, the biggest Royal Navy sea deployment of recent years.

Phase one of the TAURUS 09 deployment has already seen the Task Force take part in Exercise Cyprus Wader which saw some of the Royal Navy’s biggest ships rehearse the projection of Land Forces and their equipment ashore in Cyprus using both surface and aviation assets.

It will culminate in a series of amphibious landings in Turkey as part of Exercise Egemen - a joint and combined exercise - before moving on to Phase Two where the Task Group will sail through the Suez Canal, culminating in a multi-national training package in the primary jungles of Brunei.

Riverine training will also be conducted with the Bangladeshi Navy; the first such interaction in more than a decade.

The TAURUS 09 Task Group sailed from the UK in February. It aims to maintain the Royal Navy’s fighting capability as well as develop the UK’s capacity to operate with key partners and allies from NATO countries and other nations, enhancing interoperability and demonstrating the UK’s commitment to the stability and security of the Mediterranean, Middle East and South East Asia.

In exercising its ability to deploy globally, the Task Group is conducting a wide range of activities, including maritime security operations, and exercising amphibious and anti-submarine warfare.

Source: Defense Professionals

By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 3, 2009 16:24:49 EST
Navy Times

Scores of sailors are headed to the frigid waters off the northern coast of Alaska for an exercise that will test undersea tactics in Arctic conditions.

Ice Exercise 2009 begins later this month and will last roughly two weeks, depending on ice conditions, according to Lt. j.g. Megan Issac, spokeswoman at Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, in Norfolk, Va.

“Everything is based on the stability of the ice,” she said.

The attack submarines that will participate are on the way. Helena left San Diego for northern waters Friday and Annapolis left Groton on Monday.

Before the submarines arrive, a temporary research camp of huts and tents is set up on the pack ice about 200 miles from the north coast of Alaska, near Prudhoe Bay. A tracking range is also set up. In addition to the two participating submarines, researchers from the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory and personnel from the Navy’s Arctic Submarine Laboratory will take part.

The most recent ICEX was held in 2007. The attack sub Alexandria and HMS Tireless of the British Royal Navy participated. Two British sailors died and one was injured aboard Tireless in an onboard explosion and fire during the exercise.

Although a British sub will not be on hand this year, Issac said several Royal Navy officers will be at the camp.

During the Cold War, U.S. submarines began operating frequently under polar ice. The first submarine to make a submerged transit across the top of the globe and reach the North Pole was Nautilus in 1958.

The polar region has been subject to increased attention lately because of the effects of climate change and potential international competition for natural resources.

A Training and Adventure news article

20 Feb 09
U.K Ministry of Defence

Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST), which ensures that ships are fully prepared to support UK and coalition tasks around the world, has marked its 50th year as the premier Royal Naval training organisation.

To celebrate the anniversary of the training organisation, the Commander-in-Chief Fleet, the Second Sea Lord, and thirteen other Admirals who have formerly commanded FOST, put to sea on Tuesday 17 February 2009 aboard HMS Cornwall to witness again the arduous training for which FOST is world-renowned and which keeps the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary at the peak of professional and operational efficiency.

Established in 1958 by the visionary Lord Louis Mountbatten (the then First Sea Lord), almost every western European navy and navies the world over have sent, and continue to send, ships to FOST.

Their performance is honed, tested and assessed in order to meet the most exacting standards of peacetime diplomacy, humanitarian, patrol and war- fighting operations.

The collective training, which lasts for up to eight weeks, ensures that ships are ready for any eventuality.

Damage control and full war-fighting scenarios are a particular feature in the training area off-shore, culminating in the weekly exercise known colloquially as the ‘Thursday War’.

HMS Cornwall conducted air defence manoeuvres in the training area off Plymouth as part of its FOST training on Tuesday, coming under attack from Hawks out of Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose.

After their visit on HMS Cornwall, the senior naval officers had a mess dinner in the wardroom at HMS Drake, Plymouth, where FOST is based, with staff ‘past and present’ and the guest of honour Admiral Lord Boyce. This took place on the same day that Rear Admiral Ibbotson handed over command of FOST to Rear Admiral Snow.

Commenting on the training, Rear Admiral Ibbotson said:

“In half-a-century the Royal Navy has witnessed enormous changes in the demands placed upon it, from peace to war, to cold war, counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and disaster relief. In that time Flag Officer Sea Training has maintained the highest level of expertise and training ensuring that our sailors and those of our allies master themselves and their technology in an ever-changing world.

“Those celebrating today represent a unique body of people with an international reputation and my successor and his team will remain much in demand by our navy and navies from around the globe.”

FOST relocated from Portland to Plymouth in 1995 where shore-based training facilities include a simulated hurricane disaster site. Vessels attending FOST regularly visit from Germany, the Netherlands, Chile, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Poland, South Africa, Sweden and Romania, to name but a few.

Boeing

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 05, 2009 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] received a $28.3 million contract on Jan. 21 for two Virtual Mission Training System (VMTS) retrofit kits that will integrate low-cost, realistic radar training into the U.S. Navy’s T-45 Training System for undergraduate military flight officers (UMFO). Flight officers are the “backseaters” who operate weapons and electronic warfare systems.

“VMTS will enrich the UMFO’s weapons-and-tactics curriculum, producing flight officers who are better prepared for carrier strike-fighter and electronic-attack duty,” said Barbara Wilson, director and program manager of T-45 Training Systems for Boeing.

This phase of the VMTS program, which follows a requirements-definition phase, is scheduled for completion in September 2011. It calls for Boeing to finalize design, procure hardware, modify two aircraft and flight-test the system. The work involves T-45C aircraft and ground-station systems assigned to Training Air Wing 6, Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla. An additional 18 aircraft will be retrofitted with the system during the program’s third phase, if funded.

VMTS provides an unclassified, mechanically scanned tactical radar that simulates air-to-air and air-to-ground modes as well as weapons and electronic warfare. These functions can be networked between the participating aircraft and instructor ground stations. The system will provide in-flight training against virtual enemy aircraft, including cooperative training with both real and virtual aircraft.

Boeing is currently under contract for 221 T-45 Goshawk trainer aircraft and recently rolled out the 215th from its St. Louis assembly facility. The two-seat Goshawk forms the heart of the fully integrated T-45 training system, which is in use at NAS Kingsville, Texas, and NAS Meridian, Miss., as well as at NAS Pensacola. The system includes high-fidelity instrument and flight simulators, computer-assisted classrooms and courseware, and a computerized training management asset.

Described by instructor-pilots as “eminently forgiving,” the T-45 is the only jet trainer designed to land routinely at sink rates of greater than 700 feet per minute, which are required for aircraft carrier-approach landings. The Goshawk has logged more than 870,000 flight-hours and 59,000 aircraft carrier catapult launches and arrested landings since entering service in 1992 and has seen approximately 3,500 Navy, Marine Corps and international student aviators earn their wings.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32 billion business with 70,000 employees worldwide.

Contact Info:
Doug Cantwell
The Boeing Company
(206) 662-0949
doug.cantwell@boeing.com

by Staff Writers
Bangkok (AFP) Feb 4, 2009
Space War

Thailand launched its annual war games Wednesday with troops from the United States, Japan, Singapore and Indonesia linking up with Thai forces for two weeks of joint military exercises.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the biggest war games in Southeast Asia in the northern city of Chiang Mai, US Deputy Chief of Mission James Entwistle said the focus would be on peacekeeping and humanitarian operations.

“Multinational responses to regional crises are likely to be the norm in the future. It is therefore vital that friends train together in order to better address future requirements,” Entwistle told the gathering.

“Cobra Gold is unparalleled in preparing our militaries for the real-world priorities of peace support, stability and reconstruction, humanitarian assistance and combat operations,” he said.

About 11,600 military personnel from the five nations are involved in the games, which run until February 17.

The militaries will conduct a joint planning exercise and armed forces from all five nations will train together in various locations across the country and carry out humanitarian projects, Entwistle said.

Training would range from “non-combatant evacuation operations to full spectrum combined arms operations” including live fire, he added.

Nearly 7,300 troops have come from the United States to train with about 4,000 from Thailand, 106 from Singapore, 75 from Japan and 113 from Indonesia in air, water and ground exercises, the Thai armed forces has announced.

It earlier said it would allocate 40 million baht (1.1 million dollars) for the games, while the United States would contribute 13 million dollars.

Thailand and the United States are long-time allies, but a large sum of US military assistance to Thailand was suspended after a coup here in 2006. The aid was resumed after elections in December 2007.

F-16.net

January 29, 2009 (by Dirk A. Geerts) - Beauvechain AB, home of the 1WG from the Belgian Air Component and a former F-16 base, is again acting as “Deployed Operating Base” for the exercise Deployed Falcon.

Eight F-16s from the Belgian Air Component will deploy, preparing them for a NATO Tactical Evaluation.

About 600 military men and women from the Belgian Defence will be involved in this necessary “national preparation & evaluation cycle”. The high operational quality standards specified by NATO HQ to their member Nations are evaluated every 3 year by a Tactical Evaluation “TACEVAL”.

NATO decided in 2002 to transform their “Cold War Ops” vision to Deployable/In Place Forces. Since then the assigned forces will be activated as NATO Response Forces “NRF” and High Readiness Forces “HRF”. To test the capability of the Air Component to sustain its NATO mission in peace, 3 exercises (2x Deployed Falcon and 1x National Evaluation) will take place before the final Operational Evaluation “OPEVAL” team of aprox 150 NATO evaluators in May 2009 will evaluate the professionalism of the Belgian Air Combat Force.

An Air Combat Force “ACF” will be created with 8x F16A-M and F16B-M from the 2WG (Florennes AB) and the 10WG (Kleine Brogel AB). All tasks assigned to Belgian F-16s including conventional attack, air defense and air reconnaissance will be trained / evaluated. The leading unit is this time the 2WG.

To minimize the costs to the budget of the Ministry of Defence, deployments are no longer outside of Belgium.

Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s naval forces on Tuesday started a large-scale naval exercise involving over 60 warships in the Persian Gulf.

The 5-day-long maneuver started today with the deployment of troops in and around the strategic Straight of Hormoz and the troops are scheduled to officially start their drills on Wednesday.

“Over 60 combat vessels will take part in the exercise, codenamed “Unity 87″, in the Gulf of Oman,” Commander of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said yesterday.

The four-stage exercise will involve destroyers, missile boats, submarines, helicopters, fighters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

“The goal of the exercise is to improve the combat readiness of the Iranian navy to counter potential external threats and to test modern weaponry developed by the Iranian defense industry,” the Admiral said.

Sayyari confirmed last week the delivery of two new domestically-built missile boats, Kalat (Fortress) and Derafsh (Flag), as well as a Ghadir-class light submarine to the Iranian navy.

Iran has launched a domestic weapons procurement campaign aimed at improving its defense capabilities and has announced the development of 109 types of advanced military equipment over the past two years.

Tehran has conducted several high-profile war games this year, while promising to strike back hard against in the event of any attack.

Last week, Sayyari said that “All the movements of the enemy in Oman Sea, Persian Gulf and Hormuz Strait are under control and the enemy will never dare to enter Iran’s waters.”

The Bush administration and the Zionist regime of Israel have intensified threats of military action against Iran during the last two years.

US forces attacked a Syrian village near the borders with Iraq on October 26, and the raid on Sukkariyah, which took place almost simultaneously with an air raid on a Pakistani village, has raised speculation about the likelihood of similar unilateral strikes by the US troops on other regional states, including the Islamic Republic.

Speculation that Israel could also bomb Iran mounted after a big Israeli air drill in June. In the first week of June, 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters reportedly took part in an exercise over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece, which was interpreted as a dress rehearsal for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear installations.

Israel and its close ally the United States accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Both Washington and Tel Aviv possess advanced weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads.

Iran vehemently denies the charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

Iran has warned that it would target Israel and its worldwide interests in case it comes under attack by the Tel Aviv.

The United States has also always stressed that military action is a main option for the White House to deter Iran’s progress in the field of nuclear technology.

Iran has warned that in case of an attack by either the US or Israel, it will target 32 American bases in the Middle East and close the strategic Strait of Hormoz.

An estimated 40 percent of the world’s oil supply passes through the waterway.

In a Sep. 11 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy says that in the two decades since the Iran-Iraq War, the Islamic Republic has excelled in naval capabilities and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces.
According to the report, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy (IRGCN) has been transformed into a highly motivated, well-equipped, and well-financed force and is effectively in control of the world’s oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz.

The study says that if Washington takes military action against the Islamic Republic, the scale of Iran’s response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets.

Meantime, a recent study by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a prestigious American think tank, has found that a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities “is unlikely” to delay the country’s program.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: 29 Nov 15:19 EST (20:19 GMT)

Defense News

SINGAPORE - First, there was F1. Now come the F-16s.

After a Formula One (F1) Grand Prix auto race in September, Singapore streets on Nov. 30 will see something even faster - F-16 fighter bombers.

The jets and other military aircraft are to take off and land on a stretch of road that has been converted into an alternative runway, the Ministry of Defence said.

The exercise, which helps prepare the air force in case normal runways become unusable, hones its readiness “to deliver uninterrupted air power at all times,” a statement said.

“The aircraft will be executing a series of take-offs and landings along a stretch of Lim Chu Kang Road, 2,500 meters long (1.6 miles) and 24 meters wide,” the ministry said.

Singapore is an island nation of just 3.6 million citizens and permanent residents that was ejected from the Malaysian Federation in 1965 over ethnic issues.

The security-conscious city-state, one of Asia’s wealthiest, also has one of the region’s most modern armed forces.

All able-bodied 18-year-old male citizens are eligible to be conscripted for two years of full-time active service in the military or emergency services.

Military planes and helicopters often roar over parts of the city on their way into and out of air bases.

“In war, runways are one of the key targets for the enemy,” Colonel Tan Kah Han, who is overseeing the exercise, was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.

The exercise will involve more than 10 aircraft including F-5 jets and E-2C early warning planes as well as F-16s, the inistry said.

Troops will set up a mobile control tower, lights, and cables to help stop the planes when they land, it said.

The Straits Times reported that about 400 air force personnel have been removing lamp posts, road signs and bus shelters in preparation.

The six-lane road on the far west of the island has been closed since Thursday and will reopen on Dec. 1, the paper said.

This is the sixth exercise of its kind in the past 22 years, the ministry said.

Singapore staged Formula One’s first night race in September on a circuit that snaked through the city’s streets.

By ILYA KRAMNIK, UPI Outside View Commentator
Published: Nov. 28, 2008 at 10:26 AM

MOSCOW, Nov. 28 (UPI) — The nuclear-powered battle cruiser Pyotr Veliky — Peter the Great — the anti-submarine warfare — ASW — ship Admiral Chabanenko and their supply ships arrived in La Guaira, Venezuela, after leaving Severomorsk, the main base of the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet in northern Russia, a month ago.

The Russian naval squadron conducted exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean en route to Venezuela.

Russian warships, which have never been to Venezuela before, are now sailing the Caribbean Sea for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The current Russian show of flag is a simple and effective method for using naval units in peacetime.

By dispatching their warships to any specific region, naval powers show that they have strategic interests in that part of the world, display a readiness to defend those interests and force their rivals to monitor a new potential threat.

This is also the best way to remind the world about the existence of naval powers and to raise their popularity in countries being visited by warship units.

The best and most powerful warships always take part in such visits. Suffice it to recall the number of voyages involving British battleships over the ages.

The arrival of the Russian squadron in La Guaira also illustrates this concept. Moscow’s friendly relations with Caracas are a highly important element of Russian foreign policy striving to enhance the Kremlin’s influence in Latin America.

A recent Russian-Venezuelan exercise involving two Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers and the latest visit will serve to improve Moscow’s reputation.

Russia and Venezuela plan to conduct a joint naval exercise involving joint maneuvers, high-seas rescue operations, ship inspections and in-motion refueling and materiel transfers. Naturally, the visit does not threaten U.S. domination in the Caribbean region in any way.

The Russian warships will remain in Venezuela until Dec. 1 and will then sail into the Indian Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope.

After reaching its new destination, the squadron will exercise with Pacific Fleet warships, namely, the guided-missile cruiser Varyag and the ASW ships Admiral Tributs and Marshal Shaposhnikov.

Instead of merely showing its flag, Russia wants to resume regular naval presence in the region, probably the most difficult high-seas theater of war in the world.

It would be pointless to try to use the Pyotr Veliky and the Varyag for fighting Somalian pirates in the Indian Ocean because this would be a classic case of cracking a nut with a sledgehammer.

The Pyotr Veliky displaces more than 25,000 metric tons, carries 20 Granit anti-ship missiles, including nuclear-tipped missiles, 96 S-300F long-range surface-to-air missiles — SAMs — 96 Kinzhal — Dagger — short-range SAMs, a 130mm twin mounting, other short-range anti-aircraft weapons and various ASW weaponry, including three helicopters.

The Varyag displaces 12,000 metric tons, carries 16 Vulkan anti-ship missiles, 64 S-300F long-range SAMs, short-range SAMs, artillery systems and ASW weapons.

The guided-missile frigate Neustrashimy — Intrepid — now fighting local pirates will, most likely, be replaced by the Admiral Tributs or the Marshal Shaposhnikov.

Apart from showing the Russian flag and maintaining regular naval presence in key areas of the world’s oceans, this and other voyages make it possible to train ship crews and to enhance combat readiness.

–

(Ilya Kramnik is a military commentator for RIA Novosti. This article is reprinted by permission of RIA Novosti. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.)

–

(United Press International’s “Outside View” commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

The Times Online
November 26, 2008

Tony Halpin in Moscow

Russian warships received a 21-gun salute in Venezuela yesterday as they made their first show of force in America’s backyard since the end of the Cold War.

The nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and the submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko arrived at the port of La Guaira before war games in the Caribbean with the Venezuelan Navy.

Their presence was timed to coincide with the visit of President Medvedev today, the first to Venezuela by a Russian leader, as Moscow seeks to reclaim influence in the region.

President Chávez, Venezuela’s fiercely anti-American leader, welcomed the arrival of the task force in what is being seen as a calculated display of Russian defiance to the United States.

Peter the Great, the largest ship in the Russian Navy, is so big that it had to anchor offshore. Venezuelan sailors lined the harbour as the Admiral Chabanenko and two support vessels docked. General Jesús González, head of Operations Command in Venezuela, said that eleven ships and eight aircraft would take part in the exercises with the Russian fleet, which includes five aircraft. Some 1,150 Russian and 600 Venezuelan servicemen were involved.

Venezuela showed off two Sukhoi fighter jets recently bought from Russia, which performed a flyover as the task force approached. Mr Chávez has bought more than $4 billion of Russian arms since 2005 and is expected to conclude more deals during Mr Medvedev’s visit.

The Kremlin has described its relationship with Venezuela as a “counterweight to US influence”. The presence of its task force so close to the American coast is seen as a retort to the US decision to send warships to deliver aid to Georgia after the war over South Ossetia in August.

The US State Department laughed off the arrival of the ageing Russian vessels, with its spokesman Sean McCormack asking reporters: “Are they accompanied by tugboats this time?”

Mr Chávez insisted that the manoeuvres were not provocative and described them as an “exchange between two free countries”. He is seeking Russian aid to build Venezuela’s first nuclear power station.

Mr Medvedev, who has also visited Peru and Brazil, will continue his Latin American tour with a trip to communist Cuba, the focus of the 1962 missile crisis between the US and the Soviet Union.

Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister, said in August that Russia should “restore its position in Cuba” amid speculation that it may seek to open a military base there in response to US plans for a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe.

Defense News

MOSCOW - The Russian navy will hold war games in the Indian Ocean in a bid to boost its global presence, a navy spokesman said Nov. 1, announcing Moscow’s latest move to flex its military muscle.

“Ships from the Pacific Ocean Fleet and forces from the Northern Fleet will meet and carry out joint military exercises in the Indian Ocean basin,” navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said in a statement.

Dygalo did not specify when the exercises would take place, but he said warships from Russia’s Vladivostok-based Pacific Ocean Fleet would leave “shortly” for the Arabian Sea, docking in various ports on the way.

He called the Indian Ocean maneuvers part of an effort to raise the Russian navy’s worldwide profile before the end of the year.

“In the remaining months of 2008, Russian Navy Central Command will increase the presence of Russian Navy forces in the world ocean in the interests of strengthening stability and security in its various regions,” he said.

This month, a flotilla of Russian warships from the Northern Fleet, based in the Arctic port of Severomorsk, are to hold exercises with the Venezuelan navy in the Caribbean Sea.

The flotilla, led by the massive nuclear-powered missile cruiser Peter the Great, stopped in Libya last month as part of a global show of Russian might not seen since the Cold War.

<---End of Quote--->

Related Article:
Russia Conducts CIS Wide Integrated Air Defense Exercise

by Martin Sieff
Washington (UPI) Oct 30, 2008
Space War

Russia continues to step up the alertness and combat readiness of its prime domestic anti-aircraft and ballistic missile defense systems in cooperation with its close allies.

The Russian-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States last week announced the successful completion of a joint command-and-staff air defense exercise as part of the integrated air defense network, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Oct. 23.

The report said that elements of the CIS integrated air defense network based in Kazakhstan, central Russia and Siberia, Belarus, Ukraine, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan all participated in the maneuvers. It described the CIS as “an alliance of former Soviet republics.”

“All the tasks, including testing combat interoperability of CIS air defense units, have been accomplished successfully,” three-star Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, the head of the Russian air force, announced.

RIA Novosti noted that the CIS integrated air defense network was created on Feb. 10, 1995, to cover 10 CIS member nations. However, the former Soviet republic of Georgia in the Caucasus has recently pulled out of the integrated network since the Russian army occupied one-third of Georgia in a lightning five-day military operation from Aug. 8 to Aug. 12.

According to the RIA Novosti report, the CIS air defense network currently consists of “seven air defense brigades, 46 units equipped with S-200 and S-300 air defense missile systems, 23 fighter units equipped with MiG-29, MiG-31 and Su-27 aircraft, 22 electronic support units and two detachments of electronic warfare.”

Zelin stated that the Russian air force planned to restructure its units into four air force and air defense commands in strategic regions as part of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Chief of the General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov’s ambitious military reform plans.

“These commands will be formed in Russia’s Far East, in Siberia, and in southern and northwestern Russia,” the general stated.

RIA Novosti noted that Serdyukov had previously stated he planned to slim down the number of units in the Russian air force from 340 to 180 as part of his restructuring.

18:42 | 23/ 10/ 2008

VLADIVOSTOK, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - Surface ships and submarines from Russia’s Pacific Fleet have completed a three-day anti-submarine exercise, the fleet’s press service said on Thursday.

Continue reading ‘Russia’s Pacific Fleet completes anti-submarine drills’ »

Friday, Oct 17, 2008

Your Defence News

Russian military aircraft and helicopters will conduct joint exercises with the Belarusian Air Force, a Russian Air Force spokesman said on Wednesday.

Continue reading ‘Russian combat aircraft to join military drills with Belarus’ »

16/10/2008 | Moscow News №41 2008

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia fired three long-range missiles and pronounced its nuclear deterrent strong in an extraordinary show of force experts said had not been seen anywhere since the days of the Cold War.

Continue reading ‘Russia fires long range missiles’ »