TheList 5355

The List 5355     TGB

Good Monday Morning June 8, 2020

Lots going on here and I will try to get some more out later. I have a CT scan in a couple hours for my C-diff problem and My wife took my brother in law to the hospital emergency room late last night and he was in bad shape. Today they are putting a stint in. So she is running all over the place today. No food this morning and I have to stuff 32 ounces of fluid in and try to hold it  while they are doing the CT. I think I will take and extra pair of pants. All the anti-biotics have made my back break out and I want to find a rough barked tree and make like a bear and scratch my back. As we used to say "more fun than the law allows".

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I hope that your weekend went well.

Regards,

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Today in Naval History

June 8

On This Day

1830

The sloop of war USS Vincennes becomes the first US Navy warship to circle the globe when she returns to New York. She departs on Sept. 3, 1826, rounds Cape Horn and cruises the Pacific protecting American merchantmen and whalers until June 1829.

1937

Capt. Julius F. Hellweg commands the Navy detachment that observes a total eclipse of the sun.

1943

TBF aircraft from USS Bogue (ACV 9) damage German submarine (U 758) west by south of the Canary Islands.

1943

USS Finback (SS 230) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks auxiliary minelayer Kahoku Maru about 100 miles north of Palau.

1959

The Navy and the Post Office deliver the first official missile mail when USS Barbero (SS-317) fires a Regulus I missile with 3,000 letters 100 miles east of Jacksonville, Fla., to Mayport, Fla.

1967

USS Liberty (AGTR-5) is mistakenly attacked by four Israeli jet fighters and three motor torpedo boats (MTB). Of the 293 U.S. personnel aboard, 34 (31 Sailors, 2 Marines, and 1 National Security Agency civilian) are killed and 171 wounded as a result of multiple strafing runs by jet aircraft, surface fire from the MTBs, and one hit by a 19-inch torpedo.

1996

USS Cole (DDG 67) is commissioned at Port Everglade, Fla. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is named after Medal of Honor recipient Marine Sgt. Darrell S. Cole, a machine-gunner killed in action during action on Iwo Jima Feb. 19, 1945.

1996

USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) is commissioned. The Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship is the second named to honor the home of President James Monroe, where he penned the Monroe Doctrine.

This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History:

1945 - During the Okinawa Campaign, while serving with the Third Marine Battalion, Twenty-Ninth Marines, Sixth Marine Division, Pvt. Robert M. McTureous's company suffers casualties after capturing a hill on Oroku Peninsula, and the wounded can't be evacuated due to heavy Japanese fire. Waging a one-man assault to redirect enemy fire away from the wounded, McTureous attacks numerous times and suffers severe wounds in the process. He crawls 200 yards back to safety before asking for aid. His actions confuse the enemy and enable his company to complete its mission. He dies on June 11 on board USS Relief. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" on this occasion, McTureous is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

 

Thanks to CHINFO

Executive Summary:

•           USNI reported ships and aircraft from the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group returned to Norfolk Friday ahead of the entire CSG by mid-June.

•           Military Times reports that more than 10,000 new cases of Coronavirus have been detected within the Department of Defense.

•           Multiple outlets covered the U.S. Marine Corps' ongoing ban of the Confederate battle flag on its installations.

 

 

This Day in World History

0452 Attila the Hun invades Italy.

0632 Muhammad, the founder of Islam and unifier of Arabia, dies.

0793 The Vikings raid the Northumbrian coast of England.

1861 Tennessee votes to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy.

1862 The Army of the Potomac defeats Confederate forces at Battle of Cross Keys, Virginia.

1863 Residents of Vicksburg flee into caves as General Ulysses S. Grant's army begins shelling the town.

1866 Prussia annexes the region of Holstein.

1904 U.S. Marines land in Tangiers, Morocco, to protect U.S. citizens.

1908 King Edward VII of England visits Czar Nicholas II of Russia in an effort to improve relations between the two countries.

1915 William Jennings Bryan quits as Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson.

1953 The Supreme Court forbids segregated lunch counters in Washington, D.C.

1965 President Lyndon Johnson authorizes commanders in Vietnam to commit U.S. ground forces to combat.

1966 Gemini astronaut Gene Cernan attempts to become the first man to orbit the Earth untethered to a space capsule, but is unable to when he exhausts himself fitting into his rocket pack.

1967 Israeli airplanes attack the USS Liberty, a surveillance ship, in the Mediterranean, killing 34 Navy crewmen.

1968 James Earl Ray, the alleged assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr., is captured at the London Airport.

1969 President Richard Nixon meets with President Thieu of South Vietnam to tell him 25,000 U.S. troops will pull out by August.

1995 U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O'Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia.

 

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Thanks to the Bear

 

ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED… When Naval Aviation Roared… Tales of the Brave and Bold… #10…

June 7, 2020 Bear Taylor0 Comments

COMMEMORATING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR (1961-1973)… and honoring the gallant Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers, and aircrewmen who carried the war to the heartland of North Vietnam in the years of Operation Rolling Thunder (1965-1968)…

GOOD MORNING. It is Monday, 8 June 2020, and I have another great tale to tell. But first a remembrance of this week fifty years ago (8 to 14 June 1970).  Down in Argentina President Juan Carlos Ongania was overthrown by a military coup d'etat after he fired the Army's commander-in-chief. A week later the three generals who pulled it off named General Roberto Levingston President. The Argentine Supreme Court blessed the selection. Go ahead, "cry for Argentina."… In sports, jockey Willie Shoemaker passed Johnny Longden with his 6,033 win and the major league baseball players agreed to a new minimum salary of $12,000/year… The United States cleared out of Wheelus Air Base in Libya and the Beatles were on top of the album charts with "Let It Be."… President Nixon appointed five whites and four African-Americans to the PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON CAMPUS UNREST…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President%27s_Commission_on_Campus_Unrest

ON THE BATTLEFIELDS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA: The U.S. lost another 100 frontline fighters to bring the war total of Americans killed while fighting to 42,617. Another 15,783 would make the supreme sacrifice in the war before "an honorable exit" could be arranged. IN THE AIR WAR: Eight fixed wing aircraft were lost and three valiant aviators lost their lives in combat… See details at the Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady website… https://www.vietnamairlosses.com  …

 

WHEN NAVAL AVIATON ROARED… #10… a tale of the brave and bold… 27 October 1967… 

USS ORISKANY (CVA-34) and CARRIER AIR WING 16 ("Bloody Sixteen") were on their third deployment to Southeast Asia to participate in the Vietnam air war. They departed NAS Alameda in Oakland and their air bases on 16 June 1967 and returned on 31 January 1968. On 27 October 1967 the ship and air wing were in the third of five line-periods at Yankee Station, where they conducted strike operations for 122 days at the cost of twenty (20) aviators killed-in-action and another seven (7) captured and held POW. Thirty-nine aircraft were lost on the deployment. The full story of Oriskany and CVW-16 is told in Peter Fey's superb history of the air wing in BLOODY SIXTEEN… "Fey portrays the Oriskany and its heroes in an indelible memorial to the fallen of CVW-16 in hopes that the lessons learned from such strategic disasters (as the Vietnam war) are not forgotten in today's sphere of war-bent politics."… (58 copies available at  www.abebooks.com  )

THIS TALE OF THE BRAVE AND BOLD is the combat action of two ORISKANY Lieutenants Junior Grade, USNR, flown on 27 October 1967 as part of an Air Wing 16 strike on the Kim Quan Ferry Crossing in southeast Hanoi. LTJG George Frank SCHINDELER and LTJG Roger Steven DUTER were wingmen in the 26 aircraft strike force.

 

THE MISSION. "Bloody Sixteen" was ordered to strike the Kim Quan Ferry Crossing, a military target within the city limits of Hanoi that was considered an essential link in the North Vietnamese logistical system. The object of the mission was to effect a long term interdiction of the ferry crossing utilizing influenced fuzed delayed action bombs. The mission was planned, briefed and led by COMMANDER William F. SPAN, VA-164…

THE ENEMY DEFENSES. Downtown Hanoi. The target was at the very heart of North Vietnam's most concentrated and integrated defensive system of antiaircraft artillery positions, surface-to-air missile batteries and MiG bases. The entire Hanoi complex of 200 gun barrels, eight active SAM sites and more than 30 MiG fighters was linked by the latest Soviet communicationa and radar systems. The array of defensive AAA and SAM sites covered the entire 70 mile route to and from the target. On the day of this mission–27 Oct 1967– the Air Force lost five strike aircraft in the process of executing missions into this cauldron of enemy opposition. All five of the Air Force losses were within a few miles of the "Bloody Sixteen" target in Downtown Hanoi. The enemy was primed and ready for CVW-16 and LTJGS SCHINDELAR and DUTER. When the strike group was still 30 miles from the target in Hanoi, the formation was taken under fire by 37mm, 57mm and 85mm antiaircraft gunfire. The first of several volleys of SAMs was evaded fifteen miles from the target and MiG warnings were issued for the entire duration of the strike force's thirty minutes over the beach. As the strike group turned in for the final five mile run to the target and rollin for the dive bombing attack, the North Vietnamese responded with a sustained launch of SAMs from three directions. At least ten missiles were observed as the brave and bold of "Bloody Sixteen" carried out their "mining" attack on the ferry crossing.

LTJG DUTER was the strike leader's wingman. Throughout the continuous barrage of flak and missiles directed against the strike leader LTJG DUTER, in a display of superior aerial skill, cool judgement and raw courage, again and again warned the strike lead of missiles threatening the strike group. His timely calls allowed the lead to take successful evasive action while leading the entire strike force to the target. At rollin, LTJG DUTER followed the lead and plunged his A-4 Skyhawk through the intense antiaircraft fire and placed his weapons on his assigned target in the ferry crossing waters less than five miles from the center of the city of Hanoi. LTJG DUTER maintained tight section integrity on his leader through the attack and in the retirement through the continuing opposition of AAA and SAMs to feet wet…

LTJG SCHINDELAR flew the wing of the second division leader, LCDR Denis R. WEICHMAN– who would log more than 600 combat missions during the war– in the 27 October 1967 attack on the ferry crossing. Throughout the opposed ingress and attack LTJG SCHINDELAR maintained his tactical wing position. In several instances he observed missiles tracking other aircraft in the formation and provided timely and accurate warnings contributing to the successful evasion of the enemy SAMs. Throughout several violent evasive maneuvers he held steady on the wing of his leader. Upon reaching the dive attack rollin point LTJG SCHINDELAR's flight was required to evade two more enemy missiles taking the flight into intense 37mm and 57mm gunfire and requiring repostioning for the attack on the ferry crossing. LTJG SCHINDELAR hung with his leader in the maneuver and in the attack to accurately deliver his ordnance on his assigned area of the targeted waters. On retirement he continued to maintain formation integrity.

"Throughout this action, the courage of LTJG DUTER and LTJG SCHINDELAR, in the face of extreme personal danger, their aggressive pursuit of the dangerous task at hand, their outstanding performance in warning other pilots of immediate peril, and their precise and successful delivery of their ordnance in the most effective patterns were indeed performance above and beyond the call of duty." (Source: Humble Host notes from review of CINCPACFLT awards records held at the Navy Annex in Suitland, Maryland in 1985)…

 

BITS OF RIBBON. It is interesting to note that the date of this heroic mission came more than four months into the deployment and after more than 60 days of combat. Neither LTJG DUTER or LTJG SCHINDELAR had received any awards. Recommended for many: awarded none. The process of appropriate recognition and reward for heroism in Vietnam strike operations –Rolling Thunder–was slow, lean and mean. For their bold, brave performance on 27 October 1967 the two young aviators were recommended for Individual Air Medals. They were notified of approval of downgraded awards of Navy Commendation Medals with Valor devices by Commander SEVENTH FLEET in February 1968…  Other "Bloody Sixteen" pilots on the strike recommended for medals included the strike leader COMMANDER SPAN (Silver Star), LCDR Denny WEICHMAN (DFC), LCDR Earl JACKSON (Air Medal), LCDR Edwin VAN ORDEN (DFC, posthumously awarded– LCDR VAN ORDEN perished on 19 Nov 1967 on a cold cat shot), LT Earl CLARK, CVW-16 Staff (Air Medal), LT Harding MEADOWS (NCMwV), and LTJG Edwin CHADWICK (Air Medal)…

 

HUMBLE HOST END NOTE. I am pleased and proud to report that ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED.com has a bright future. Within the next two weeks the baton for the website and the domain will be passed from Humble Host and webmaster Angie to Peter Fey and his wife. I will continue to make my weekly posts under the title "When Naval Aviation Roared." Check out "Peter Fey–The Author" on Facebook…RTR WILL BE IN GREAT HANDS for the forseeable future… Thanks Peter…

NEXT POST. Monday, 15 June 2020. Tale of the Brave and Bold #11… USS TICONDEROGA and CVW-19 close down the Vinh Airfield and leave the Vinh Petroleum Storage Facility in flames when Naval Aviation roared on 14 February 1968.

Lest we forget…     Bear 

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Thanks to Micro

 I'm Not Sure Of Who I Am Anymore

I Used to Be A Normal Person.

As a man, I used to think I was pretty much just a regular tperson, but I was born white, into a two-parent household which now, whether I like it or not, makes me "Privileged", a racist & responsible for slavery.

I am a fiscal & moral conservative, which by today's standards, makes me a fascist because I plan, budget & support myself.

I went to High School, College, military, & have always held a job. But I now find out that I am not here because I earned it, but because I was "advantaged".

I am heterosexual, which according to "gay" folks, now makes me a homophobe.

I am not a Muslim, which now labels me as an infidel.

I believe in the 2nd Amendment, which makes me a defacto member of the "vast NRA gun lobby!"

I am older than 60, making me a useless person who doesn't understand Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

I think & I reason, and I doubt much of what the "main stream" media tells me, which makes me a "Right-wing conspiracy nut".

I am proud of my heritage & our inclusive American culture, making me a xenophobe.

I believe in hard work, fair play, & fair compensation according to each individual's merits, which today makes me an anti-socialist.

I believe our system guarantees freedom of effort - not freedom of outcome or subsidies which must make me a borderline sociopath.

I believe in the defense & protection of America for & by all citizens, now making me a militant.

I am proud of our flag, what it stands for and the many who died to let it fly, so I stand & salute during our National Anthem - so I must be a racist.

Please help me come to terms with the new me because I'm just not sure who I am anymore!

And as if all this nonsense leftist-labeling me a privileged, advantaged, racist, fascist, homophobe, infidel, gun-nut, old, right-winger, xenophobic, anti-socialist, sociopath, militant, wasn't enough to deal with, now I don't even know which restroom to use… and I gotta go MUCH more FREQUENTLY!

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"This Day in Aviation History" brought to you by the Daedalians Airpower Blog Update. To subscribe to this weekly email, go to https://daedalians.org/airpower-blog/.

 

June 6-7, 1962

A B-52H bomber (tail # 61-018) set a National Aeronautic Association world record for distance over a closed course without air-refueling. The flight was 22:45 hours duration and covered 11,336.92 miles. The aircraft was assigned to 19th Bomb Wing (Heavy), 28th Bomb Squadron at Homestead AFB, Florida. The route of flight was Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina - Bermuda - Sondestrom, Greenland - Anchorage, Alaska - March AFB, California - Key West, Florida - Seymour Johnson AFB. (Thank you to retired Air Force Lt. Col. Dave Wilson for sending us this heritage item)

 

June 7, 1936

Maj. Ira C. Eaker performed the first blind transcontinental flight on June 7, 1936, as he piloted an airplane from New York to Los Angeles, relying solely upon instruments. Eaker was Daedalian Founder Member #289.

 

June 8, 1995

After being shot down in his F-16 Fighting Falcon, Air Force Capt. Scott O'Grady was rescued in Bosnia on after spending six days in hostile territory. He was assigned to the 555th Fighter Squadron at Aviano AB, Italy.

 

June 9, 1942

In Washington, D.C., President Franklin D. Roosevelt awarded the Medal of Honor to newly promoted Brig. Gen. James H. Doolittle for his role in the raid on Tokyo, Japan. General Doolittle was Daedalian Founder Member #107.

 

June 10, 1989

Capt. Jacquelyn S. Parker became the first female pilot to graduate from the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California. Parker attended the University of Central Florida, majoring in mathematics and computer science. She graduated from college at age 17, the youngest graduate in the school's history. She became an intern at NASA's Johnson Space Center, and was responsible for analysis of onboard computer systems. She was the youngest flight controller in NASA's history. After completing Officer Training School in 1980, she entered pilot training at Reese AFB, Texas. Parker received her pilot wings in 1981, later becoming the first female T-38 instructor there. Between 1983 and 1985, she was named "Most Outstanding T-38 Academic Instructor" five times. She has also flown the F-16, F-111, F-4, C-141, KC-135 and UH-60 Blackhawk.

 

June 11, 2007

The National Aeronautic Association presented its annual Robert J. Collier Trophy to the Lockheed Martin Corporation and the Air Force for developing the F-22 Raptor. The award submission focused heavily on the F-22's performance during the 2006 Northern Edge exercise in Alaska where Raptors flew 97 percent of their assigned sorties. The F-22 pilots scored an 80-to-1 kill ratio against their opponents and direct hits with 100 percent of their 1,000-pound GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munitions.

 

June 12, 1918

The 96th Aero Squadron carried out the first American daylight-bombing mission in World War I from Amanty Airdrome against the occupied Dommary-Baroncourt rail yards in France. The squadron flew the Breguet 14B.2 bomber.

 

June 13, 1973

The National Aeronautic Association presented the Robert J. Collier Trophy for 1972 jointly to the Navy's Task Force 77 and to the Seventh and Eighth Air Forces for their "demonstrated expert and precisely integrated use of advanced aerospace technology" during Operation Linebacker II against the North Vietnamese during December 1972.

 

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Thanks to Bill

Powerful Video that should be played but will not by the current media!

https://www.facebook.com/realCandaceOwens/videos/273957870461345/

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for June 8

FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR June 8

THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

 

1908: The first aeronautical exhibit building was dedicated at the Jamestown Exposition on Sewell's Point, facing Hampton Roads across from Norfolk Va. (24)

1911: The Connecticut State Air Regulation passed and became the first state air law. (24)

1920: Lt John H. Wilson made a new unofficial world record parachute jump of 19,861 feet over San Antonio. (24)

1921: Lt Harold R. Harris flew an Army Air Service's first pressurized cabin airplane, the USD-9A. Harris was a noted Air Service pilot of the period. He flew the XNBL-1 "Barling" Bomber's first flight and became the first Air Service pilot to save his own life using a free-fall parachute. (18) (24)

1942: A presidential directive established the European Theater of Operations with Maj Gen James E. Chaney as commander. 1953: The Thunderbirds, officially known as the 3600th Air Demonstration Flight, gave their first performance at Luke AFB, Ariz. (21) (26)

1959: The USS Barbero submarine fired a Navy Regulus I missile off the Florida coast to deliver the mail ashore at Mayport. The missile made a 22-minute flight. (24)

After a B-52 launched the X-15A-1 rocket research plane at 38,000 feet for its first nonpowered glide flight, Scott Crossfield flew the aircraft on a five-minute unpowered descent to Edwards AFB. (3) (7) (9)

1960: The 4135 SW from Eglin AFB launched SAC's first GAM-72A Quail missile. (6) While testing the X-15's new 57,000-pound thrust XLR-99 engine on a static test stand at Edwards AFB, Scott Crossfield endured a force of 50 G's.

1962: The USAF ejected Zena, a chimpanzee, from a B-58 flying at 45,000 feet at 1,060 MPH to test an escape capsule. (24)

1963: At Davis-Monthan AFB, the 570 SMS became SAC's first operational Titan II squadron. (6)

1966: Research pilot Joseph A. Walker, a veteran of 25 flights in the X-15 and holder of the world's speed and altitude records, died when his F-104N (NASA) chase plane collided with the XB-70 No. 2 near Edwards AFB. Alvin S. White, the XB-70 pilot, ejected successfully; however, his copilot, Maj Carl S. Cross, died when the aircraft crashed into the ground. (3)

1968: The Colorado ANG's 120 TFS, deployed to Phan Rang Air Base, flew its first combat mission in Vietnam. (32)

1971: An Air Force Thor space booster, with a Burner II upper stage, placed two instruments into a circular 300-nautical-mile polar orbit. This launch was part of the DoD's Space Experiments Support Program (SESP) to test a celestial mapping service. (16) The Air Force and Navy signed a joint agreement to develop the AIM-9L Short Range Missile for the F-15. Additionally, the Air Force approved the F-100 engine design for the F-15. (30)

1980: In the first all-woman airlift mission, Capt Susan R. Regele flew a C-9 from Scott AFB. The crew included two other pilots, two flight nurses, three aeromedical technicians, and a flight engineer. (18)

1984: The HH-60D Night Hawk helicopter flew for the first time at night. (3)

2001: Global Hawk No. 5 landed at Edwards AFB after a 22.3 hour flight from Australia. While there, the UAV completed 11 of 12 planned sorties in 238.5 flight hours. The Global Hawk took over 1,500 pictures. (3) Technicians towed a Boeing 747 fuselage from an aircraft salvage facility at Mojave Airport to south Edwards for integration into the airborne laser program's System Integration Laboratory under construction. (3)

 

 

 

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World news thanks to  Military Periscope for June 8, 2020

 

  USA—Air Force Wants To Test Combat Drone Against Crewed Fighter Jet Air Force Magazine | 06/08/2020 The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is working on an autonomous aircraft that could defeat a crewed fighter jet in air-to-air combat, reports Air Force magazine. The goal is to conduct a head-to-head test in July 2021. Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, the head of the Pentagon's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, said that the AFRL would likely have a difficult time achieving the goal of defeating a crewed aircraft with a drone in that timeframe during a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event on June 4. The Autonomy Capability Team 3 (ACT3) at the lab has been working on an artificial intelligence-based fighter concept since 2018, reported the War Zone website. The initial goal was to show substantial progress within 18 months. The first step would involve integrating machine learning technology in a less advanced aircraft, such as an F-16 fighter, before testing it with a newer platform, such as the F-22 or F-35, Inside Defense reported in May 2018. 

 

USA—National Guardsmen Withdraw From D.C. Following Order From Trump Washington Post | 06/08/2020 President Donald Trump has ordered National Guardsmen deployed to Washington, D.C., to support law enforcement during mass protests to return home, reports the Washington Post. On Sunday, Trump said that he had ordered the Guard to begin withdrawing, saying that everything was "under perfect control." Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that all out-of-state Guardsmen would be withdrawn within 48 to 72 hours. At that time, about 4,900 guardsmen from 11 states and the District of Columbia were active in and around the capital, a National Guard spokesman told the Military Times. The process had already begun for those from neighboring states and would continue through the week for those from more distant locations, he said. The drawdown was a de-escalation of the confrontational response favored by the administration to large-scale protests against the killing of George Floyd last month at the hands of Minneapolis police. 

 

USA—Global Hawks Shift To Japan Ahead Of Typhoon Season In Guam Air Force News Service | 06/08/2020 The Air Force has transferred its fleet of RQ-4 Global Hawk uncrewed aircraft from Guam to Japan to avoid the annual typhoon season, reports the Air Force News Service. The Global Hawks from the 319th Reconnaissance Wing Detachment 1 flew from Andersen Air Force Base to Yokota Air Base starting on May 30, the service said on June 4. The redeployment will ensure that the Global Hawks can continue to conduct operational missions throughout the Indo-Pacific region during Guam's typhoon season. The season generally lasts from June to December, noted Air Force magazine. The RQ-4s previously moved to Yokota in 2017 and 2019.

 

USA—China, Iran Attempt To Hack Presidential Campaigns NPR News | 06/08/2020 Google says that hackers based in China and Iran have attempted to hack the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, reports NPR News. On June 4, Shane Huntley, the head of Google's Threat Analysis Group said on social media that Chinese hackers had targeted former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign staff, while Iranian attacks targeted President Donald Trump's campaign. Both campaigns were hit with phishing attacks, which typically involve emails intended to look official with links that are designed to download malicious software or send the user to a website controlled by the attacker in an effort to capture information. Huntley said that Google informed federal law enforcement of the attempted attacks. Neither appeared to have been successful. Meanwhile, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has begun briefing both campaigns and the national parties on election threats from foreign adversaries, reported the Washington Post. 

 

USA—Air Force Wants To Test Combat Drone Against Crewed Fighter Jet Air Force Magazine | 06/08/2020 The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is working on an autonomous aircraft that could defeat a crewed fighter jet in air-to-air combat, reports Air Force magazine. The goal is to conduct a head-to-head test in July 2021. Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, the head of the Pentagon's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, said that the AFRL would likely have a difficult time achieving the goal of defeating a crewed aircraft with a drone in that timeframe during a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event on June 4. The Autonomy Capability Team 3 (ACT3) at the lab has been working on an artificial intelligence-based fighter concept since 2018, reported the War Zone website. The initial goal was to show substantial progress within 18 months. The first step would involve integrating machine learning technology in a less advanced aircraft, such as an F-16 fighter, before testing it with a newer platform, such as the F-22 or F-35, Inside Defense reported in May 2018. 

 

Bulgaria—MiG-29s To Be Sold Once New F-16 Fighter Jets Arrive Sofia Globe | 06/08/2020 The Bulgarian Defense Ministry plans to sell some of its MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter aircraft once its replacement enters service, reports the Sofia Globe. On June 4, Defense Minister Krassimir Karakachanov told the National Assembly portfolio committee that some the air force's 12 remaining MiG-29s would be sold to help with the costs of the fighter replacement program. Bulgaria has purchased eight F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters from the U.S., with the initial aircraft due to be delivered in late 2022. The balance of the order would be handed over in 2023 and 2024, the minister said. Once the initial aircraft have been delivered, the air force will no longer need all 12 MiG-29s and some of the jets can be sold, he said. The air force will need to buy eight more F-16s to complete the transition to the new type. It is not clear when that procurement might take place. 

 

Belarus—Government Reviewing Terms For Continued Operation Of Russian Bases Tass | 06/08/2020 The Belarusian government is evaluating potential terms for extending the presence of Russian military facilities in Belarus, reports Russia's Tass news agency. Russia currently operates two facilities in Belarus: the navy's 43rd communication center in the Minsk region and the missile attack warning center in Baranovichi in the Brest region. An agreement covering the Russian presence at those facilities entered effect on June 7, 1996, for a period of 25 years. It will expire on June 7, 2021. Both parties had until June 6 to provide written notification of any intent to withdraw from the agreement. The Belarusian government will inform Moscow of its terms for extending the deal once it makes a decision, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said on Friday. The navy communication center links Russian nuclear submarines deployed around the world with service leadership and conducts reconnaissance and electronic warfare operations. The Baranovichi center operates a Volga early warning radar.

 

India—New Delhi, Beijing Pledge To Pursue Peaceful Solution To Border Dispute Hindustan Times | 06/08/2020 China and India have agreed to resolve their border dispute in the Himalayas diplomatically and peacefully, reports the Hindustan Times. Following a meeting between military commanders on the Chinese side of the line of actual control (LAC) on Saturday, the Chinese and Indian foreign ministries each issued statements promising to resolve the standoff through diplomatic channels. The Indian statement reiterated an oft-repeated phrase associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on not allowing "differences to become disputes." Further talks are expected to resolve the standoff. Despite the agreement, no changes should be expected in the near term, Indian security sources told the Print (New Delhi). On Monday, Asia News International reported that Chinese helicopter activity had increased along the LAC. 

 

Pakistan—Construction Begins On New Corvettes At Turkish Shipyard News International | 06/08/2020 Work has formally begun on the first of four corvettes for the Pakistani navy ordered from Turkey, reports the News International (Karachi) On June 4, the keel for the ship was laid during a ceremony at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, the Pakistani navy said in a release. First steel for the ships was cut in October 2019. A goodwill agreement detailing construction plans for the four corvettes was signed between Pakistani and Turkish defense firms in May 2017. The navy signed a contract for the ships based on the Heybeliada class with the Turkish state-owned defense firm AFSAT in 2018. Construction of the first ship is expected to take 54 months, with launching slated for 2021, reported Naval News. Delivery would take place in 2023, with the remaining corvettes to be handed over at six-month intervals. The final vessel is scheduled to be delivered in 2025. Two of the frigates will be built in Turkey and the remainder at Karachi Shipyard in Pakistan. Few details of the configuration for the Pakistani corvettes have been revealed. In February 2019, a top Pakistani navy official said the ships would have a 16-cell vertical launch system behind the main gun, which would be armed with Chinese medium-range surface-to-air missiles. These would likely be LY-80/HHQ-16 missiles, analysts said. The armament is also expected to include anti-ship cruise missiles. 

 

Afghanistan—U.S. Airstrikes Target Coordinated Taliban Attacks Stars And Stripes | 06/08/2020 The U.S. conducted a pair of airstrikes against Taliban fighters last week, reports the Stars & Stripes. On June 4, air attacks were made against militants attacking Afghan security force checkpoints in the western Farah and southern Kandahar provinces, said a spokesman for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan. Overnight, U.S. forces attacked 25 Taliban fighters making a coordinated attack against a government security checkpoint in Farah. On Thursday afternoon, strikes were made against militants attacking a security checkpoint in Kandahar, the spokesman said. These were the first U.S. airstrikes since a three-day cease-fire was agreed during the Eid al-Fitr holiday in late May, noted the Military Times. No casualty figures were provided for either strike. 

 

Syria—Israeli Warplanes Hit Weapons Facility Near Masyaf Times of Israel | 06/08/2020 At least nine people have been killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike on a weapons facility near Masyaf in northwestern Syria, reports the Times of Israel. The strikes on Thursday night targeted Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Center (CERS), a facility known to be involved in the production of chemical weapons and advanced missiles. The Step News Agency in Syria reported that the attacks targeted four factories belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) where missiles are produced. Munition depots and weapons were destroyed, said the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Four Syrians and five non-Syrians were killed, the observatory said. Satellite imagery showed the target was destroyed. The facility was previously struck by Israel in July 2018, said analysts. Syrian state media claimed that Israeli jets launched their weapons from Lebanese airspace, reported Reuters. The state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency reported that Syrian air defenses responded to the attack. However, nearby S-300 and advanced S-400 air defense systems did not appear to have been activated. 

 

Libya—Moscow Steps Up Recruiting Of Syrians To Fight For LNA Reuters | 06/08/2020 Russia has increased its recruitment of Syrians to fight for the Libyan National Army, led by eastern militia leader Khalifa Haftar, reports Reuters. In May, Russia accelerated a recruitment campaign bringing Syrians into Libya to back Haftar, five opposition sources and a regional source told the news service. The operation is a joint effort between the Russian military and the Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor with close ties to President Vladimir Putin. About 300 former members of the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) from the Homs area and 320 fighters from southwest Syria were recruited, the sources said. A total of about 900 Syrians were recruited by Russia, reported the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The fighters receive training near Homs before heading to Libya, where they are paid between $1,200 and $2,000 a month. Russian efforts to recruit Syrians to fight in Libya began in 2019, said the sources. 

 

Mali—Senior Al-Qaida Leader Killed In French Operation Long War Journal | 06/08/2020 A top Al-Qaida leader in Africa has been killed by French forces in Mali, according to French and American officials cited by the Long War Journal. Abdelmalek Droukdel, leader of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was killed in a French operation on June 3, French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Friday. A spokesman for U.S. Africa Command confirmed Droukdel's death to CNN, indicating that the U.S. provided targeting assistance in the operation. Droukdel had led AQIM since its founding in 2006, when it was born out of an Algerian group, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC). He began his militant activities as part of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) during the Algerian civil war, functioning as an explosives expert. Droukdel moved to Mali as Al-Qaida increased its focus on the country in the early 2010s. Parly said that French operations against militants in Mali, including those allied to Al-Qaida and ISIS, would continue.

 

Nigeria—6 Soldiers Killed, 45 Missing In ISWAP Attack In Borno State Agence France-Presse | 06/08/2020 Six Nigerian troops have been killed in a militant assault in the northeastern Borno state, reports Agence France-Presse. On Saturday, the militants attacked an army base in Auno, a village 15 miles (25 km) from Maiduguri, the state capital, in trucks equipped with machine guns, army sources said. The Nigerian troops were forced to withdraw after a two-hour gun battle. The attackers looted and burned buildings in the area before being driven out in a counter-attack with air support. At least 45 soldiers were missing after the assault. The attack was blamed on Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the faction of Boko Haram that is recognized by ISIS.

 

Cameroon—Government Confirms Death Of Anglophone Journalist Journal du Cameroun | 06/08/2020 The Cameroonian government has confirmed the death of an Anglophone journalist in state custody, reports Journal du Cameroun. On Friday, a defense ministry spokesman said that Samuel Wazizi, also known as Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe, died after being arrested in August 2019. Wazizi was long believed to have died at the hands of the state after he was arrested but officials had refused to confirm his death. The spokesman said that Wazizi had health issues that became apparent during his interrogation and was immediately transferred to a hospital in Yaounde, the capital. He has also said that Wazizi's family was aware of his whereabouts once he entered the hospital, a claim his family denied. Wazizi was a pidgin English-language broadcaster in Cameroon's English-speaking southwestern and northwestern regions, where a small Anglophone separatist group has fought a guerilla insurgency since 2017. He was alleged to have criticized the government's actions in the region, reported Agence France-Presse.
 
The journalist union in Cameroon has maintained that Wazizi was tortured to death. On Monday, the family members of Kingsley Njoka Fomunyuy, an English-speaking freelance journalist in Douala, declared him missing after he was taken into custody by men who said they were members of the Cameroonian security forces on May 15. 

 

El Salvador—Officer Stands Trial In Spain For 1989 Slaying Guardian | 06/08/2020 A retired Salvadoran army officer is standing trial in Spain for the killing of six Jesuit priests in 1989, reports the Guardian (U.K.). The trial of Col. Inocente Orlando Montano began on Monday in Madrid, reported El Pais (Madrid). Orlando Montano is accused of authorizing the 1989 attack on the Central American University (UCA) in San Salvador, in which six priests and their two housekeepers were executed in the middle of the night by government death squads. Five of the priests were Spanish citizens. The attack was intended to derail peace talks aimed at ending the civil war, which pitted the U.S.-backed government against the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of Cuba-backed leftist groups. Two officers served short sentences in El Salvador for the killing. Orlando Montano is the first high-level official to stand trial for planning the attack.