TheList 5740

The List 5740     TGB

Good Wednesday morning 9 June

A bit of history and some tidbits

Regards

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Today in Naval History

June 9

On This Day

1813

During the War of 1812, the frigate, President, commanded by John Rodgers, is en route between the Azores and England when it begins a series of captures of British vessels that include the brig Kitty, the packet brig Duke of Montrose, the brig Maria, and the schooner Falcon.

1869

Secretary of the Navy Adolph E. Borie, orders the construction of the first torpedo station on Goat Island, Newport, R.I. Cmdr. Edmund O. Matthews is the first Commanding Officer. During the establishment, the station experiments with torpedoes and trained sailors in the use of the weapons.

1882

The Office of Naval Records of the War of the Rebellion (which later becomes part of the Naval History and Heritage Command) is established. The office is placed under the direction of James R. Soley, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the 1890s.

1944

During her Fifth War Patrol, USS Harder (SS 257) sinks Japanese destroyer Tanikaze in the Sibitu Passage, about 90 miles southwest of Basilan Island. On June 6, she sinks the Japanese destroyer Minazuki 120 miles east-northeast of Tarakan, Borneo. On June 7, Harder sinks the Japanese destroyer Hayanami south of the Japanese fleet anchorage at Tawi Tawi, southeast of the Sibitu Passage, Borneo. On the morning of Aug. 24, Harder is sunk in Dasol Bay, Philippines, by enemy depth charges on its Sixth War Patrol. There are no survivors and the crew is never recovered. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity " in sinking the Japanese destroyers during the Fifth War Patrol, Cmdr. Samuel D. Dealey, Harders CO, is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

1959

USS George Washington (SSBN 598), the first U.S. Navy nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarine, is christened and launched at Groton, Conn. Her nuclear capability is removed in 1983, and she is classified as SSN 598 serving until 1985. USS George Washington is later processed in the nuclear recycling program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1998.

2007

USS Kidd (DDG 100) is commissioned at Galveston, Texas. The 49th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is named after Rear Adm. Isaac C. Kidd, who was killed in action onboard USS Arizona during the Japanese Navys attack on Pearl Harbor. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

 

 

Today in History: June 9

1064 Coimbra, Portugal falls to Ferdinand, king of Castile.

1534 Jacques Cartier sails into the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in Canada.

1790 Civil war breaks out in Martinique.

1861 Mary Ann "Mother" Bickerdyke begins working in Union hospitals.

1863 At the Battle of Brandy Station in Virginia, Union and Confederate cavalries clash in the largest cavalry battle of the Civil War.

1923 Bulgaria's government is overthrown by the military.

1931 Robert H. Goddard patents a rocket-fueled aircraft design.

1942 The Japanese high command announces that "The Midway Occupation operations have been temporarily postponed."

1945 Japanese Premier Kantaro Suzuki declares that Japan will fight to the last rather than accept unconditional surrender.

1951 After several unsuccessful attacks on French colonial troops, North Vietnam's General Vo Nguyen Giap orders Viet Minh to withdraw from the Red River Delta.

1954 At the Army-McCarthy hearings, attorney Joseph Welch asks Senator Joseph McCarthy "Have you no sense of decency?"

1959 The first ballistic missile-carrying submarine, the USS George Washington, is launched.

1972 American advisor John Paul Vann is killed in a helicopter accident in Vietnam.

1986 NASA publishes a report on the Challenger accident.

 

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Thanks to Dr. Rich

 

Airline flying

 

Thanks to YP ...

 

 As a 30 year vet airline puke, I survived the era of hijackings to Cuber at gunpoint and some maniac in Baltimore that shot and killed a Dallas Grits DC-9 copilot and then shot the captain (I knew them both) because he refused to fly to DC and crash into something.  Fortunately, it was at the ramp, and the FBI blew a hole thru the entryway door and the arseholt with a large caliber weapon.  The captain survived only because he was close to John Hopkins….  He returned to flying after a good while.

I carried a .25 cal Colt in my flight kit after this, until they started xraying flight kits.

 

Then, I was capitano on a 727 red eye from the West Coast that stopped in Salt Lake City enroute to Hotlanta.  The boy band "New Kids on the Block" had given a concert, and we took a delay til they showed up with their entourage, which included "security."  Flying along in flight, after about an hour, a stew knocked on the cockpit door and said something like "there's a light out in back," and the engineer took off.  WTF, sez copilot and I.  After a while, the engineer came  back with the story.  Seems that Marky Mark Walberg had decided that his seat in first class was too small, so he went to the back for search of a row of seats where he could lie down.  There wasn't a full row, so he picked a row with the aisle seat occupied by a college aged chap.  Marky diplomatically told him to get out of the seat, kid said NO, so Marky popped him in the eye with his fist (the eyeball displaced some), and immediately the airplane went into two armed camps:  Marky's goons vs the rest of plane.  The engineer was convinced that there was at least a DMZ and returned to the cockpit.  I ensured that the goons understood that if there was as much as a hickup, I would immediately land, where ever (there wasn't anyplace suitable close, and we were far enough along that it might as well be Hotlanta).

 

Naturally, we radio'd ahead and requested large rednecks to meet the Boys in the Band ASAP after we landed.

 

Dawn was breaking when we taxied into the gate, and when the pax door was opened, there were four of the biggest Hapeville, GA cops there to take Marky and his Boys and their goons away.  That was a very satisfying moment.

 

Turns out the kid Marky punched out went to Hahvuhd, and I understand he got a jolly good sum from the little chit Walberg.  I understand he cleaned up his Southy act and has had a successful movie career.

 

On the other hand, flying from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt on Lufthansa, there was a medical event—some poor pax was having a cardiac problem.  An announcement was made for any doctor on board, and it turns out there were thirteen…..(Israelis).

 

Got to smile about that.

YP

 

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Thanks to Dave

 

Meet the I-400: Imperial Japan's Submarine Aircraft Carriers | The National Interest

 

Date: Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 12:06 PM

Subject: Meet the I-400: Imperial Japan's Submarine Aircraft Carriers | The National Interest

Dr. Shiro Ishii, Japan's top virus expert and head of the Army's notorious 731 unit in Manchuria, was consulted. He recommended that the planes drop plague-inflected fleas, something he had tested with success in China, on the United States with San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego suggested as targets. The plan was discarded in late March by the head of the Army's general staff who called it  "unpardonable on humanitarian grounds."
In effect, the Japanese Army, which had led the development of biological weapons and had tested them on Chinese and American captives, nixed the idea of using the weapons late in the war on American civilians, perhaps in the belief that the war was already lost.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/meet-i-400-imperial-japan%E2%80%99s-submarine-aircraft-carriers-178540

 

 

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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear

LOOKING BACK 55-YEARS to the Vietnam Air War— ... For The Post for Wednesday, 9 June 2021... Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻

 

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)...

From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 9 June 1966...

"Incubator of Discontent comments expanded"...

 

https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/rolling-thunder-remembered-9-june-1966-pertinent/

 

 

This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip

 

Vietnam Air Losses

Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at:  https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.

 

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Thanks to Rich ...

 

 

Drone video through the Norwegian fjords, absolutely magnificent!

If you have a fear of heights, take a deep breath,  hang onto your chair and go for a ride through Norway.

 

Watch on the largest screen you can. In HD, and absolutely beautiful ...

 

 

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This Day in American Military History

 

June 9

 

1945 – On Okinawa, the Japanese forces defending the Oroku peninsula are cut off and surrounded by forces of the US 6th Marine Division. The US 1st Marine Division advance southward to Kunishi Ridge, one of the last Japanese strong points.

1945 – On Luzon, the US 37th Division captures Bagabag. The American forces attempt to block the routes into the Cagayan valley in order to isolate the Japanese forces concentrated in the Sierra Madre, in the northeast. On Mindanao, elements of the US 24th Division take Mandog, the last major strong point in the Japanese defenses.

1945 – Japanese Premier Kantaro Suzuki declared that Japan will fight to the last rather than accept unconditional surrender.

 

1963 – JFK named Winston Churchill a US honorary citizen.

1964 – In reply to a formal question submitted by President Lyndon B. Johnson–"Would the rest of Southeast Asia necessarily fall if Laos and South Vietnam came under North Vietnamese control?"–the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) submits a memo that effectively challenges the "domino theory" backbone of the Johnson administration policies. This theory contended that if South Vietnam fell to the communists, the rest of Southeast Asia would also fall "like dominoes," and the theory had been used to justify much of the Vietnam War effort. The CIA concluded that Cambodia was probably the only nation in the area that would immediately fall. "Furthermore," the report said, "a continuation of the spread of communism in the area would not be inexorable, and any spread which did occur would take time–time in which the total situation might change in any number of ways unfavorable to the communist cause." The CIA report concluded that if South Vietnam and Laos also fell, it "would be profoundly damaging to the U.S. position in the Far East," but Pacific bases and allies such as the Philippines and Japan would still wield enough power to deter China and North Vietnam from any further aggression or expansion. President Johnson appears to have ignored the CIA analysis–he eventually committed over 500,000 American troops to the war in an effort to block the spread of communism to South Vietnam.

 

1972 – Under President Nixon, the number of USAF fighter bombers in Southeast Asia has tripled, the number of aircraft carriers has tripled and will quadruple (2 to 8), and B-52s are being quadrupled.

 

1972 – Part of a relief column composed mainly of South Vietnamese 21st Division troops finally arrives in the outskirts of An Loc. The division had been trying to reach the besieged city since April 9, when it had been moved from its normal station in the Mekong Delta and ordered to attack up Highway 13 from Lai Khe to open the route to An Loc. The South Vietnamese forces had been locked in a desperate battle with a North Vietnamese division that had been blocking the highway since the very beginning of the siege. As the 21st Division tried to open the road, the defenders inside An Loc fought off repeated attacks by two North Vietnamese divisions that had surrounded the city early in April. This was the southernmost thrust of the North Vietnamese invasion that had begun on March 30; the other main objectives were Quang Tri in the north and Kontum in the Central Highlands. Although the lead elements of the 21st Division reached the outskirts of the city on this day, they did not represent significant reinforcements for An Loc, having suffered tremendous casualties in their fight up the highway and the two-month siege was not lifted. It would not be lifted until large numbers of fresh reinforcements were flown in to a position south of the city from which they then successfully attacked the North Vietnamese forces that surrounded the city. By the end of the month, most of the communist troops within the city had been eliminated, but the North Vietnamese forces still blocked Route 13 and continued to shell An Loc.

 

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

 

GRAY, JOHN
Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 5th Ohio Infantry. Place and date: At Port Republic, Va., 9 June 1862. Entered service at: Hamilton County, Ohio. Birth: Scotland. Date of issue: 14 March 1864. Citation: Mounted an artillery horse of the enemy and captured a brass 6-pound piece in the face of the enemy's fire and brought it to the rear.

HARDING, THOMAS
Rank and organization: Captain of the Forecastle, U.S. Navy. Born: 1837, Middletown, Conn. Accredited to: Connecticut. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Served as captain of the forecastle on board the U.S.S. Dacotah on the occasion of the destruction of the blockade runner Pevensey, near Beauford, N.C., 9 June 1864. "Learning that one of the officers in the boat, which was in danger of being, and subsequently was, swamped, could not swim, Harding remarked to him: 'If we are swamped, sir, I shall carry you to the beach or I will never go there myself.' He did not succeed in carrying out his promise, but made desperate efforts to do so, while others thought only of themselves. Such conduct is worthy of appreciation and admiration–a sailor risking his own life to save that of an officer."

 

*DEGLOPPER, CHARLES N.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Co. C, 325th Glider Infantry, 82d Airborne Division. Place and date: Merderet River at la Fiere, France, 9 June 1944. Entered service at: Grand Island, N.Y. Birth: Grand Island, N.Y. G.O. No.: 22, 28 February 1946. Citation: He was a member of Company C, 325th Glider Infantry, on 9 June 1944 advancing with the forward platoon to secure a bridgehead across the Merderet River at La Fiere, France. At dawn the platoon had penetrated an outer line of machineguns and riflemen, but in so doing had become cut off from the rest of the company. Vastly superior forces began a decimation of the stricken unit and put in motion a flanking maneuver which would have completely exposed the American platoon in a shallow roadside ditch where it had taken cover. Detecting this danger, Pfc. DeGlopper volunteered to support his comrades by fire from his automatic rifle while they attempted a withdrawal through a break in a hedgerow 40 yards to the rear. Scorning a concentration of enemy automatic weapons and rifle fire, he walked from the ditch onto the road in full view of the Germans, and sprayed the hostile positions with assault fire. He was wounded, but he continued firing. Struck again, he started to fall; and yet his grim determination and valiant fighting spirit could not be broken. Kneeling in the roadway, weakened by his grievous wounds, he leveled his heavy weapon against the enemy and fired burst after burst until killed outright. He was successful in drawing the enemy action away from his fellow soldiers, who continued the fight from a more advantageous position and established the first bridgehead over the Merderet. In the area where he made his intrepid stand his comrades later found the ground strewn with dead Germans and many machineguns and automatic weapons which he had knocked out of action. Pfc. DeGlopper's gallant sacrifice and unflinching heroism while facing unsurmountable odds were in great measure responsible for a highly important tactical victory in the Normandy Campaign.

GANDARA, JOE
Rank and Organization: Private.  U.S. Army. Company D, 2d Battalion. 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment.  Place and Date: June 9, 1944, Amfreville, France.  Born: April 25, 1924, Santa Monica, CA .  Departed: Yes (06/09/1944).  Entered Service At: Los Angeles, CA.  G.O. Number: .  Date of Issue: 03/18/2014.  Accredited To: .  Citation:  Gandara is being recognized for his heroic actions on June 9, 1944, in Amfreville, France. His detachment came under devastating enemy fire from a strong German force, pinning the men to the ground for a period of four hours. Gandara advanced voluntarily and alone toward the enemy position and destroyed three hostile machine-guns before he was fatally wounded.

McGONAGLE, WILLIAM L.
Rank and organization: Captain (then Comdr.) U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Liberty (AGTR-5). place and date: International waters, Eastern Mediterranean, 8-9 June 1967. Entered service at: Thermal, Calif. Born: 19 November 1925, Wichita, Kans. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sailing in international waters, the Liberty was attacked without warning by jet fighter aircraft and motor torpedo boats which inflicted many casualties among the crew and caused extreme damage to the ship. Although severely wounded during the first air attack, Capt. McGonagle remained at his battle station on the badly damaged bridge and, with full knowledge of the seriousness of his wounds, subordinated his own welfare to the safety and survival of his command. Steadfastly refusing any treatment which would take him away from his post, he calmly continued to exercise firm command of his ship. Despite continuous exposure to fire, he maneuvered his ship, directed its defense, supervised the control of flooding and fire, and saw to the care of the casualties. Capt. McGonagle's extraordinary valor under these conditions inspired the surviving members of the Liberty's crew, many of them seriously wounded, to heroic efforts to overcome the battle damage and keep the ship afloat. Subsequent to the attack, although in great pain and weak from the loss of blood, Captain McGonagle remained at his battle station and continued to command his ship for more than 17 hours. It was only after rendezvous with a U.S. destroyer that he relinquished personal control of the Liberty and permitted himself to be removed from the bridge. Even then, he refused much needed medical attention until convinced that the seriously wounded among his crew had been treated. Capt. McGonagle's superb professionalism, courageous fighting spirit, and valiant leadership saved his ship and many lives. His actions sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. (Captain McGonagle earned the Medal of Honor for actions that took place in international waters in the Eastern Mediterranean rather than in Vietnam.)

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for June 9, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

 

9 June

 

1916: Lt Richard C. Saufley died in a crash near Pensacola after being in the air 8 hours 51 minutes on an endurance flight. He set an American altitude record earlier on 2 April 1916. (24)

 

1945: 110 B-29s attacked the aircraft factories at Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe, Japan. (24)

 

1952: KOREAN WAR. An H-19 helicopter of the 3d Air Rescue Squadron picked up a downed UN pilot, encountering moderate small arms fire enroute. (28)

 

1959: The Republic F-105D Thunderchief first flew. First Navy fleet ballistic missile submarine, the nuclear- powered USS George Washington, launched.

 

1960: SAC began a test program to disperse B-47s to civilian airfields in times of crisis. (1)

 

1961: The 1611 ATW at McGuire AFB received the first C-135A Stratolifter, the first jet aircraft in MATS. (18) (21)

 

1964: FIRST KC-135 SUPPORT FOR VIETNAM COMBAT OPERATIONS. Four KC-135s from Clark AB refueled eight F-100s from Da Nang AB, South Vietnam, on an attack against anti-aircraft batteries in North Laos. PACAF RF-101Cs and KB-50Js supported the strike. (1) (17)

 

1967: The first O-2A Forward Air Controller aircraft arrived in Vietnam. (16) (26) The USAF started evacuating some 1,300 military and civilian Americans from the Middle East because of the Arab-Israeli War. (16) (26)

 

1971: Karl Stefan set a FAI altitude record for 2,220-3,000 cubic meter balloons (Subclass AX-8) by taking his Raven S-60 to 31,000 feet over Boulder, Colo. (9)

 

1974: Northrop's YF-17 prototype made its first flight at Edwards AFB. Northrop pilot Henry E. "Hank" Chouteau flew the jets for 61 minutes at altitudes up to 18,000 feet and speeds of 610 MPH. (3)(12) (21)

 

1983: C-5B fabrication began almost three months early. (12)

 

1989: MAC units flew four tons of medical supplies to aid the victims of a rail disaster at Ufa on the Trans-Siberian Railroad about 750 miles southeast of Moscow. A liquid-gas pipeline exploded as two trains passed each other. One train derailed and crashed into the other. Nearly 850 passengers were either killed or injured, making it the worst rail disaster in history. (16)

 

1995: A B-2 Spirit flew its first "Global Power" mission by flying from Whiteman AFB, Mo., to the Netherlands in 12 hours. It simulated a bomb drop. (16)

 

1997: During the 9-20 June Central Enterprise exercise, for the first time in the 10-year history of the B-1B bomber, two units became one force at a forward operating location, RAF Fairford, England. The 7th Bomb Wing from Dyess AFB and the 28th Bomb Wing from Ellsworth AFB, along with 350 people, fused together to form the 7th Expeditionary Bomb Group. (AFNEWS, 19 Jun 97)

 

1997: The Pathfinder RPV set a new world record for high-altitude flight by a solar powered aircraft, reaching 67,350 ft. This flight to the highest altitude ever reached by a propeller-driven aircraft took place at the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii. (3)

 

2003: The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Altair UAV first flew at Gray Butte at El Mirage (near Edwards AFB), Calif., where it reached 7,000 feet in altitude. The turboprop Altair was a high altitude research vehicle for NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. (3)

 

2005: The USAF accepted 420th, and final, re-engined KC-135R from Boeing. The KC-135R (tail number 57-1441) went to the 141 AREFW, an ANG unit at Fairchild AFB. (22)

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World News for 9 June thanks to Military Periscope

 

 

 

USA—Justice Seizes Part Of Colonial Pipeline Ransom Dept. Of Justice | 06/09/2021

The U.S. Dept. of Justice says it has seized $2.3 million that was allegedly part of the ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline following last month's ransomware attack.The department seized 63.7 bitcoins valued at approximately $2.3 million that had been paid to the DarkSide criminal organization on May 8, according to a Justice release on Monday.Colonial Pipeline paid a ransom of 75 bitcoins worth $4.4 million the day after the ransomware attack, reported CNN.Law enforcement reviewed the bitcoin public ledger and was able to track multiple transfers of the cryptocurrency and identify 63.7 bitcoins associated with the ransom that had been transferred to a specific address, said the release.Colonial Pipeline notified law enforcement before making the payment and followed instructions that helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) track the payment to the cryptocurrency wallet thought to be based in Russia.The FBI had access to the address through the "private key," the equivalent to a password used to access assets from a specific bitcoin address, allowing it to seize the assets.

 

 

NATO—50th BALTOPS Exercise Underway Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO | 06/09/2021

NATO has just kicked off the 50th iteration of its Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) joint air and maritime exercise in the Baltic Sea, reports Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO).The exercise began on June 6 and is scheduled to run until June 18. Eighteen countries are participating, including two non-NATO partners: Belgium, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the Netherlands, U.K. and U.S.The training covers air defense, anti-submarine warfare, amphibious, maritime interdiction and mine-countermeasure operations.For the first time, BALTOPS is incorporating defensive cyber warfare tactics, techniques and procedures to strengthen the asymmetric capabilities of the participants.BALTOPS consists of two phases: An initial combat enhancement training and force integration training phase and the tactical exercise phase.The combat enhancement and force integration training runs for six days during which ships and aircraft will sail through the Danish Straits and conduct maritime operations at key chokepoints and ensure access and freedom of navigation in the Baltic Sea.The tactical phase includes a free-play component where commanders are given additional freedom to run their own programs in order to better represent real world scenarios Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO will command the exercise from its headquarters in Oeiras, Portugal. The II Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Expeditionary Strike Group II will command marine forces during the exercise from the command ship Mount Whitney to demonstrate international naval integration and will support an amphibious demonstration in Lithuania. Forty naval vessels, 60 aircraft and 4,000 personnel are taking part in the dril

 

 

Bulgaria—MiG-29 Crashes Into Black Sea During Exercise Sofia Globe | 06/09/2021

A Bulgarian fighter jet has been lost during training over the Black Sea, reports the Sofia Globe.

Early Wednesday morning, the MiG-29 jet disappeared from radar during the Shabla 21 drills, the Bulgarian Defense Ministry said. A search-and-rescue operation involving assets from the navy, joint special operations command, border police and air force was launched. Acting Defense Minister Georgi Panayotov told Bulgarian National Radio that the area where the jet went down was known but not the precise location. The cause of the accident was not clear. The pilot did not communicate with the ground prior to the crash, and it did not appear that he ejected, reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The pilot's life jacket was recovered later Wednesday morning, according to local media. The Shabla exercise was suspended following the crash.

 

 

Latvia—Delegation Discusses Defense, Military Industry Cooperation With Turkey

Daily Sabah | 06/09/2021

A Latvian delegation is in Turkey this week to discuss defense and industry cooperation, reports the Daily Sabah (Istanbul).

The delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Artis Pabriks arrived on Monday for discussions on defense cooperation and the development of Latvian defense industry. Pabriks met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation opportunities in the defense industry sector. The delegation also toured the Baykar Makina research and development and production facilities in Ankara, posting a picture afterward of Pabriks standing in front of a Bayraktar TB2 uncrewed aerial vehicle. The visit sparked speculation that Latvia could become the second NATO country to purchase the drone after Poland.

 

 

Bosnia-Herzegovina—Court Rejects Final Appeal By Mladic On War Crimes Conviction

Washington Post | 06/09/2021 An international court in The Hague has upheld a life sentence for a convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal, reports the Washington Post. On Tuesday, five judges with the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) rejected an appeal by Ratko Mladic. Mladic had appealed both the life sentence he received in 2017 and the conviction. Among the crimes for which he was convicted were the July 1995 massacre at Srebrenica, in which 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed, and the four-year siege of Sarajevo in which more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, died. The judges also dismissed an appeal by prosecutors to convict Mladic on charges of genocide, noting that he had already been convicted on lesser charges in 2017. The proceedings were the final chapter for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, established by the U.N. Security Council 25 years ago.

 

 

Russia—Stealthy Mercury Corvette To Be Completed Next Year

Reuters | 06/09/2021

Russia is building its first fully stealthy warship, reports Reuters, citing Russian media. Two industry sources told RIA Novosti on Tuesday that work on the Mercury naval corvette (Project 20386) began two years ago. Delivery is scheduled for next year, the sources said. The Mercury features a combination of radar-absorbing paint and a shape designed to counter radar. The corvette will be armed with cruise missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and artillery and will be capable of anti-submarine warfare operations.

 

 

Azerbaijan—Another Armenian Soldier Detained On Border

Tass | 06/09/2021 Azerbaijan says it has captured an Armenian soldier that infiltrated its territory, reports Russia's Tass news agency. On June 8, the soldier was part of team that crossed into Azerbaijani territory in the Lachin area to lay mines, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claimed. Azerbaijani army units responded, capturing one soldier and forcing the others to retreat. The Armenian Defense Ministry said that the unit accidentally ended up in Azerbaijani territory after becoming disoriented in fog. Tensions between the rivals have been high since last year's war in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

 

 

China—Birth Control Policy In Xinjiang Could Reduce Uighur Population By 30 Percent, Study Says

Reuters | 06/09/2021 Forced birth control policies in China's western Xinjiang region could cut minority Muslim populations in the region by up to a third, according to new research cited by Reuters. Peer-reviewed work by German researcher Adrian Zenz relies in part on unreleased research by Chinese academics and officials in Xinjiang. Policies including forced work, separation of married couples and forced sterilization, intra-uterine devices (IUDs) and abortions have all been used to strictly enforce birth quotas. Zenz estimates that these policies could reduce the Uighur population in Xinjiang by 2.6 million to 4.5 million, or about a third, within 20 years. The researcher argues that documents and data from Chinese sources make the intent of this reduction clear. If fully executed, the policies would increase the ethnic Han Chinese population in the region from 8.4 percent to 25 percent, said Zenz. According to official government statistics, birth rates in Xinjiang dropped by 48.7 percent between 2017 and 2019.

 

 

South Korea—Air Force Grounds All Aircraft After Takeoff Mishap

Yonhap | 06/09/2021 The South Korean air force has suspended flights for all its aircraft after a fighter jet suffered an engine issue this week, reports the Yonhap news agency (Seoul).On Tuesday, an F-16 from the 20th Fighter Wing in the western city of Seosan was taking off when the pilot saw flames and smoke coming from the engine and decided to eject, military officials said.The pilot was not injured. The aircraft sustained damage and remained on the runway at the time of the announcement. The service subsequently halted operations of all types of military aircraft and formed a team to investigate the accident.

 

 

Afghanistan—10 Deminers Killed In Baghlan Attack

TOLONews | 06/09/2021 At least 10 volunteers working to clear land mines in northern Afghanistan have been killed in an attack on their camp, reports the Tolo News (Kabul). On Tuesday, unknown gunmen attacked a compound operated by the HALO Trust organization in the Baghlan-e-Marzaki district in Baghlan province, said a security official. At least 16 others were wounded, said HALO Trust. The victims were all Afghan citizens, reported the New York Times.The interior ministry blamed the attack on the Taliban, which denied involvement.HALO Trust CEO James Cowan told BBC News that Taliban fighters helped to disperse the attackers.

 

 

Israel—Airstrikes Target Military Sites In Syria

Jerusalem Post | 06/09/2021 Suspected Israeli aircraft have struck military facilities in central and southern Syria, reports the Jerusalem Post. On Wednesday, weapons launched from Lebanese airspace hit military positions in Damascus and Rif Damascus provinces, including the towns of Sahnaya and Al Kiswah and air defense and missile units north of Damascus. The attacks on Al Kiswah targeted the Syrian military's 1st Division, reported opposition media outlet Halab TV.Positions in Latakia and Homs provinces were also hit, the outlet said. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported that many of the incoming missiles were intercepted and denied that there were any casualties. Halab TV reported that up to eight Syrian soldiers were killed and many others were injured. These were the first Israeli airstrikes in Syria in nearly a month.

 

 

Israel—New Government To Be Sworn In On Sunday

Times of Israel | 06/09/2021 The speaker of the Israeli Parliament, known as the Knesset, has scheduled the vote to approve a new coalition government, reports the Times of Israel.On Tuesday, Speaker Yariv Levin scheduled the vote for Sunday to approve the "change government" coalition led by Prime Minister-designate Naftali Bennet and Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid. A new speaker is expected to be elected at the same time, Levin said. Levin notified the Knesset on Monday that a new coalition had been successfully formed. All coalition agreements must be published by Friday to allow the opposition to scrutinize them and provide time to convince right-wing members to abandon the coalition. The coalition's likelihood of winning the vote increased on Tuesday after a Yamina coalition member Nir Orbach said that he would support it. The upcoming government expects to hold a slim 61-59 majority with the support of right-wing, centrist, left-wing and Arab parties. A successful vote would end Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 12 years in power.

 

 

Israel—IDF Says Media Building In Gaza Housed Electronic Warfare Site

Israel Hayom | 06/09/2021 The Israeli military says that a media tower in Gaza that it destroyed last month was used by militants as an electronic warfare site, reports the Israel Hayom newspaper.

On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces said that the Jala Tower was used by Hamas for intelligence research and electronic warfare operations, including efforts to develop a system that could disrupt Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system. The bombing of the 12-story building, which contained offices of Al Jazeera and the Associated Press, was internationally condemned at the time.The building owner was warned of the strike and evacuated the tower. Accordingly, there were no casualties, the IDF said. AP officials said that they had not received any evidence that there was a Hamas presence that posed a threat and called for an investigation. In a statement to BBC News, a Hamas spokesman denied that the group had offices in Jala Tower.

 

 

Lebanon—France, U.S. To Supply Patrol Vessels

Defense News | 06/09/2021 France and the U.S. will supply a total of seven patrol vessels to the Lebanese navy, reports Defense News. Four will be built in France and financed through a 400 million euro (US$488 million) line of credit for military equipment. The vessels will measure 213-feet (65-m) and 246-feet (75-m) long, a Lebanese navy official said last week. The specifications and costs are still being negotiated. In addition, Washington will provide three former U.S. Coast Guard Protector-class OPVs for delivery in 2022. The ships are intended to help counter regional threats; keep maritime passages open; help protect the Lebanese coast and territorial waters; combat smuggling and illegal immigration; and protect against terrorist attacks, said They will help protect Lebanon's coastal and territorial waters; prevent smuggling and illegal immigration; protect against terrorist attacks; and help secure Lebanese oil exploitation in the Mediterranean, a Lebanese lawmaker said.

 

 

Nigeria—New Tank Landing Ship Launched In U.A.E.

Nigerian Navy | 06/09/2021 Dutch shipbuilder Damen has launched a new tank landing ship (LST) for the Nigerian navy at its shipyard in the United Arab Emirates, reports the service. On Monday, LST-1314 was launched at the Damen shipyard in Sharjah, the Nigerian navy said in a release.Nigeria ordered the LST in June 2019 after launching the procurement process in December 2017, reported Defence Web (South Africa). The ship's keel was laid on Dec. 9, 2019. The LST-1314 is designed to improve the ability of the Nigerian navy to transport troops, equipment, sea-launched maritime security vehicles and relief supplies during emergencies. She is also expected to be used for naval power projection missions to enhance maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea and protect maritime assets and preserve law and order at sea, the navy said. The landing ship has a crew of 32 and can carry up to 250 embarked personnel, and another 450 on the upper and lower decks for short trips during humanitarian or evacuation missions. The LST-1314 is 330-feet (100-m) long and displaces 1,300 metric tons. Her bow and stern ramps are each rated to 70 metric tons and the internal ramp is rated to 30 metric tons. Two landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVPs) can be embarked, as well as a helicopter or uncrewed aerial vehicle on the flight deck, uncrewed undersea vehicles and miscellaneous deck cargo. A 25-metric-ton capacity deck crane is fitted.Two Caterpillar/Cat 3516 C-rating engines, each producing 1,650 hp to 3,390 hp, power the LST along with four Caterpillar C-18 generators. The ship has an endurance of 15 days and a range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,410 km) at a cruising speed of 15 knots (28 kph). A maximum speed of 16 knots (30 kph) can be achieved. LST 1314 will replace the Nigerian navy's Ambe-class landing ships, which were decommissioned a decade ago.