Good Thursday Morning 11 November
I hope that your day goes well. A bit more info for all.
Regards,
Skip
Thanks to Buster
Veterans Day Moment of Silence Act Became Public Law No: 114-240 on 10/07/2016.
Veterans Day: The Veterans Day Moment of Silence calls on all Americans to observe two minutes of silence on Veterans Day, beginning at 3:11 pm Atlantic standard time, in honor of the service and sacrifice of veterans throughout the history of the nation. The 3:11 pm time was chose because in 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in World War I.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear For The List for Thursday, 11 November 2021… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 11 November 1966… Veterans Day in a bad week: US troop losses in SEAsia for week=127 KIA/605 WIA, and 7 aircraft lost on the 11th…
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 Dan B
Here is another article for "the list", concerning an Air Force pilot who ejected over North Vietnam and was rescued (unexpectedly) by a Navy helicopter. He thought he was being delivered to land, not a ship!
Subject: Navy chopper rescue
This is from Vic Vizcarra -- F-105 pilot
Fifty-four years ago, around 15:14 hrs, I was forced to eject over North Vietnam and spent two hours on the ground evading capture before being rescued by a Navy helicopter from HC-1. My eternal thanks to the crew and men of HC-1 for going beyond the call of duty by going way below "Bingo" fuel (fuel needed to get back home) in retrieving me. Thanks Bob Cooper, pilot of the "Gray Ghost", the name of his chopper and happy birthday. That was some way to celebrate your birthday!
The startled look is my shock and surprised to find myself on a ship. I did not know I'd been picked up by a Navy chopper and expected to jump out onto terra firma....surprise, surprise!
We landed on the USS Halsey with about five minutes of fuel remaining. The Halsey had to turn around in the Gulf and steam at full speed toward the chopper for us to recover before running out of fuel. The normal flight endurance of the UH-2A is around two hours....the "Gray Ghost" had been airborne two and a half!
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Another from Dan B
Skip,
Here is an article for "the list" concerning a triple air refueling operation during the Vietnam War, which occurred when a Navy air refueling aircraft couldn't transfer fuel to other aircraft it was supporting, and Air Force and Navy aircraft had dissimilar refueling systems (boom vs drogue), and couldn't refuel each other. This resulted in aircraft #1, refueling aircraft #2, while it refueled aircraft #3, thus saving 6 Navy aircraft.
During the '60's, KC-135's were banned from refueling Navy aircraft. (Remember, tankers were under SAC control) On 31 May 1967, my crew was deadheading (U-Tapao in Thailand to Kadena on Okinawa) on the tanker that saved several Navy fighters -- see attached. Here are some photos I took:
This was a tri-level refueling. The first photo, you can see the F-8 tail section behind the KA-3.
Memories back in the day ... Gary
Gary Lueders was a KC-135 pilot during the Vietnam War. He was deadheading on a KC-135 when this incident occurred and he took these pictures. He subsequently retired from American Airlines as a Standardization Pilot.
Dan
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On 10 Nov 2020 , at 18:28, D E MOORE <dan.moore@mac.com> wrote:
Thanks to Dan
11 NOV 43 – The Battle of the Solomon Sea -- 35 v 100+
Two carrier task groups -- TG 50.3 and TG 50.4 -- combine with a total of five carriers to launch the largest carrier-based attack to date. The targets are Japanese Imperial Navy ships and aircraft defending the Japanese Fortress at Rabaul, Papua New Guinea with over 100,000 troops.
TG 50.4 with carriers USS Saratoga and Princeton strike first from the northeast. Due to weather at the target, the strike has limited success. The Japanese defend the first attack with 68 airborne Zero fighters. TG 50.3 with carriers USS Bunker Hill, Essex, and Independence strike second from the southwest. The second attack with over 185 aircraft empties the flight decks of the three carriers leaving them and their nine destroyers vulnerable to attack for more than six hours. During this vulnerability window, four shore-based fighter squadrons – two Navy -- VF-17 with F4U Corsairs and VF-33 with F6F Hellcats and two Marine -- VMF-212 and VMF-212 with F4U Corsairs – protect TG 50.3 from Japanese counter attacks.
Following the largely successful second attack, the Japanese counter-attack with one of the largest anti-carrier attacks of the war consisting of 27 Val dive bombers 14 Kate torpedo planes, 67 Zero fighters and a number of G4M2 Betty twin-engine bombers. The ensuing engagement of 35 US Navy fighters v 100+ Japanese aircraft is known as The Battle of the Solomon Sea.
LCDR Tommy (Big Hog) Blackburn was the commanding officer of the Skull and Cross Bone Squadron of Navy Fighting Squadron 17. Two months earlier logistical -- not operational -- constraints required the VF-17 Corsairs detach from the USS Bunker Hill and begin combat operations ashore on the Solomon Islands of Guadalcanal and then Odonogo, New Georgia.
At 0400 on 11 November 1943, twenty-three F4U Corsairs from VF-17 and twelve F6F Hellcats from VF-33 launch from ashore and proceed 150 miles out to sea to rendezvous with TG 50.3. They provide air cover during and after the 0530 dawn launch. Shortly before his planned ship-board recovery at 0830, Blackburn scores the first kill when he bags a Tony. The two Marine fighter squadrons relieve VF-17 and VF-33 and they recover, rearm and refuel aboard the Bunker Hill, Essex and Independence in preparation for the Japanese counter-attack. Blackburn took great pride that all of his VF-17 pilots recovered uneventfully and without a wave off or incident despite the two months ashore.
At 1030 VF-17 and VF-33 launch and relieve the two Marine squadrons overhead who return uneventfully to shore. On the side of Blackburn's "Big Hog" aircraft is another Japanese "meatball" flag signifying the morning's first kill – freshly painted while his aircraft was checked out, refueled and rearmed aboard the Bunker Hill. While aboard, Blackburn learns that a massive Japanese counter-attack would begin at 1300. The enemy was only thirteen minutes late.
Chaos reigns as thirty-five Corsairs and Hellcats along with ship launched 5-inch proximity fuses and dense 40-mm and 20-mm fires shredded what would have been an overwhelming Japanese air strike earlier in the war of 100+ airplanes. The Japanese lost all 14 Kates, 17 of 22 Vals, several Betty bombers and dozens of fighters. No US ships were damaged and only ten sailors were injured aboard the carriers.
During the battle LCDR Roger Hedrick, Blackburn's XO, bagged a Zeke. He then chased another Zeke into a cloud. It suddenly reappeared from the cloud. Hedrick quickly pumped six rounds into the aircraft before realizing it was not a Zeke but a Corsair AND the one flown by his commanding officer, Blackburn. Three rounds penetrated the Big Hog aircraft just in front of Blackburn's cockpit and three rounds penetrated just behind Blackburn's cockpit. Blackburn remembers, "Fortunately Big Hog had been inside the convergence distance of his guns. Otherwise those six rounds would have gone through me." Once safely ashore Blackburn thanked Hedrick for being such a lousy shot.
VF-17's scorecard for 11 November includes 18.5 kills in a single day led by Ensign Ira (Ike) Kepford with 4.5 kills. Blackburn remembers, "Ike drilled right on through the intense friendly AA fire to burn a Kate just as it seemed ready to launch its fish only 1,000 yards from Bunker Hill." Low on gas Kepford made an unplanned second recovery aboard the Bunker Hill to refuel and rearm before safely returning ashore at Odango after 11 hours flight time. For his actions, that day, Kepford was awarded his first Navy Cross.
From Vice Admiral Jim Stockdale's introduction to The Jolly Rogers: The Story of Tommy Blackburn and Navy Fighting Squadron VF-17:
VF-17's combat record in the Solomons was unbeatable. That one squadron, in seventy-six combat days, had a confirmed kill score of 154.5 Japanese airplanes with a kill to loss ratio of over eleven. Thirteen pilots of VF-17 made ace in this period. This, by a factor of more than a third, exceeds the scores of the Black Sheep Squadron made famous in the modern television serial…. But inspiration is what I'm writing these few pages about, and that was the legacy Tom left all fighter pilots. He saw his war in a heroic, go-for-the-jugular, romantic context.
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This Day in U S Military History
Feast Day of St. Martin of Tours, Patron Saint of Chaplains and Logisticians: When Sulpicius Severus first met Martin of Tours he was stunned. Not only did the bishop offer him hospitality at his residence — a monk's cell in the wilderness instead of a palace — but Martin washed Sulpicius' hands before dinner and his feet in the evening. But Sulpicius was just the kind of person Martin showed the greatest honor to — a humble man without any rank or privilege. People of nobility and position were turned away from his abbey by chalk cliffs, out of fear of the temptation to pride. From that visit, Sulpicius became Martin's disciple, friend, and biographer. Little is known of many of the saints who died in the early years of Christianity but thanks to Sulpicius, who wrote his first biography of Martin before the saint died and who talked to most of the people involved in his life, we have a priceless record of Martin's life.
1620 – The Mayflower Compact is signed in what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod. The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the Separatists, sometimes referred to as the "Saints", fleeing from religious persecution by King James of England. They traveled aboard the Mayflower in 1620 along with adventurers, tradesmen, and servants, most of whom were referred to, by the Separatists as "Strangers". The Mayflower Compact was signed aboard ship by most adult men. The Pilgrims used the Julian Calendar, also known as Old Style dates, which, at that time, was ten days behind the Gregorian Calendar. Signing the covenant were 41 of the ship's 101 passengers, while the Mayflower was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor within the hook at the northern tip of Cape Cod.
1865 – Dr. Mary Edward Walker, 1st Army female surgeon, was awarded Medal of Honor by Pres. Andrew Johnson for her work as a field doctor for outstanding service at the Battle of Bull Run, at the Battle of Chickamauga, as a Confederate prisoner of war in Richmond, Va., and at the Battle of Atlanta.
1885 – George Smith Patton, one of the great American generals of World War II, is born in San Gabriel, California. Patton came from a family with a long history of military service. After studying at West Point, he served as a tank officer in World War I, and his experience in that conflict, along with his extensive military study, led him to become an advocate of the crucial importance of the tank in future warfare. After the American entrance into World War II, Patton was placed in command of an important U.S. tank division and played a key role in the Allied invasion of French North Africa in 1942. In 1943, Patton led the U.S. Seventh Army in its assault on Sicily and won fame for out-commanding Montgomery during the so-called Race to Messina. Although Patton was one of the ablest American commanders in World War II, he was also one of the most controversial. He presented himself as a modern-day cavalryman, designed his own uniform, and was known to make eccentric claims that he was a direct descent from great military leaders of the past through reincarnation. During the Sicilian campaign, Patton generated considerable controversy when he accused a hospitalized U.S. soldier suffering from battle fatigue of cowardice and then personally struck him across the face. The famously profane general was forced to issue a public apology and was reprimanded by General Dwight Eisenhower. However, when it was time for the invasion of Western Europe, Eisenhower could find no general as formidable as Patton, and the general was again granted an important military post. In 1944, Patton commanded the U.S. Third Army in the invasion of France, and in December of that year his expertise in military movement and tank warfare helped crush the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes. During one of his many successful campaigns, General Patton was said to have declared, "Compared to war, all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance." On December 21, 1945, he died in a hospital in Germany from injuries sustained in an automobile accident near Mannheim.
1918 – At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiýgne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure. On June 28, 1914, in an event that is widely regarded as sparking the outbreak of World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, was shot to death with his wife by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Ferdinand had been inspecting his uncle's imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite the threat of Serbian nationalists who wanted these Austro-Hungarian possessions to join newly independent Serbia. Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian government for the attack and hoped to use the incident as justification for settling the problem of Slavic nationalism once and for all. However, as Russia supported Serbia, an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war was delayed until its leaders received assurances from German leader Kaiser Wilhelm II that Germany would support their cause in the event of a Russian intervention. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe's great powers collapsed. On July 29, Austro-Hungarian forces began to shell the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and Russia, Serbia's ally, ordered a troop mobilization against Austria-Hungary. France, allied with Russia, began to mobilize on August 1. France and Germany declared war against each other on August 3. After crossing through neutral Luxembourg, the German army invaded Belgium on the night of August 3-4, prompting Great Britain, Belgium's ally, to declare war against Germany. For the most part, the people of Europe greeted the outbreak of war with jubilation. Most patriotically assumed that their country would be victorious within months. Of the initial belligerents, Germany was most prepared for the outbreak of hostilities, and its military leaders had formatted a sophisticated military strategy known as the "Schlieffen Plan," which envisioned the conquest of France through a great arcing offensive through Belgium and into northern France. Russia, slow to mobilize, was to be kept occupied by Austro-Hungarian forces while Germany attacked France. The Schlieffen Plan was nearly successful, but in early September the French rallied and halted the German advance at the bloody Battle of the Marne near Paris. By the end of 1914, well over a million soldiers of various nationalities had been killed on the battlefields of Europe, and neither for the Allies nor the Central Powers was a final victory in sight. On the western front–the battle line that stretched across northern France and Belgium–the combatants settled down in the trenches for a terrible war of attrition. In 1915, the Allies attempted to break the stalemate with an amphibious invasion of Turkey, which had joined the Central Powers in October 1914, but after heavy bloodshed the Allies were forced to retreat in early 1916. The year 1916 saw great offensives by Germany and Britain along the western front, but neither side accomplished a decisive victory. In the east, Germany was more successful, and the disorganized Russian army suffered terrible losses, spurring the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917. By the end of 1917, the Bolsheviks had seized power in Russia and immediately set about negotiating peace with Germany. In 1918, the infusion of American troops and resources into the western front finally tipped the scale in the Allies' favor. Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies on November 11, 1918. World War I was known as the "war to end all wars" because of the great slaughter and destruction it caused. Unfortunately, the peace treaty that officially ended the conflict–the Treaty of Versailles of 1919–forced punitive terms on Germany that destabilized Europe and laid the groundwork for World War II.
1921 – Exactly three years after the end of World War I, the Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia during an Armistice Day ceremony presided over by President Warren G. Harding. Two days before, an unknown American soldier, who had fallen somewhere on a World War I battlefield, arrived at the nation's capital from a military cemetery in France. On Armistice Day, in the presence of President Harding and other government, military, and international dignitaries, the unknown soldier was buried with highest honors beside the Memorial Amphitheater. As the soldier was lowered to his final resting place, a two-inch layer of soil brought from France was placed below his coffin so that he might rest forever atop the earth on which he died. The Tomb of the Unknowns is considered the most hallowed grave at Arlington Cemetery, America's most sacred military cemetery. The tombstone itself, designed by sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, was not completed until 1932, when it was unveiled bearing the description "Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God." The World War I unknown was later joined by the unidentified remains of soldiers from America's other major 20th century wars and the tomb was put under permanent guard by special military sentinels. In 1998, a Vietnam War unknown, who was buried at the tomb for 14 years, was disinterred from the Tomb after DNA testing indicated his identity. Air Force Lieutenant Michael Blassie was returned to his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, and was buried with military honors, including an F-15 jet "missing man" flyover and a lone bugler sounding taps.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*LINDSTROM, FLOYD K.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Mignano, Italy, 11 November 1943. Entered service at: Colorado Springs, Colo. Birth: Holdredge, Nebr. G.O. No.: 32, 20 April 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 11 November 1943, this soldier's platoon was furnishing machinegun support for a rifle company attacking a hill near Mignano, Italy, when the enemy counterattacked, forcing the riflemen and half the machinegun platoon to retire to a defensive position. Pfc. Lindstrom saw that his small section was alone and outnumbered 5 to 1, yet he immediately deployed the few remaining men into position and opened fire with his single gun. The enemy centered fire on him with machinegun, machine pistols, and grenades. Unable to knock out the enemy nest from his original position, Pfc. Lindstrom picked up his own heavy machinegun and staggered 15 yards up the barren, rocky hillside to a new position, completely ignoring enemy small arms fire which was striking all around him. From this new site, only 10 yards from the enemy machinegun, he engaged it in an intense duel. Realizing that he could not hit the hostile gunners because they were behind a large rock, he charged uphill under a steady stream of fire, killed both gunners with his pistol and dragged their gun down to his own men, directing them to employ it against the enemy. Disregarding heavy rifle fire, he returned to the enemy machinegun nest for 2 boxes of ammunition, came back and resumed withering fire from his own gun. His spectacular performance completely broke up the German counterattack. Pfc. Lindstrom demonstrated aggressive spirit and complete fearlessness in the face of almost certain death.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for November 11, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
11 November
1918: Armistice ending World War I declared. During the conflict, the Army Air Service dropped 138 tons of bombs and had verified credits for 765 aircraft and 76 balloons. Marine Corps aviation also grew to 36 aircraft by this time. (10) (12)
1935: Capts Albert W. Stevens and Orville A. Anderson flew a 3.7-million-cubic-foot helium balloon, Explorer II, from Rapid City to a record of 72,395 feet, where they gathered scientific data on the upper atmosphere. They also earned the National Geographic Society's Hubbard Gold Medal. (9) (24)
1943: The Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces made their first joint attack on Rabaul along with Navy carrier planes. (24)
1956: Convair's B-58 Hustler, the first supersonic bomber and delta-winged aircraft capable of 1,000 MPH speeds, completed its first flight at Fort Worth. (3) (12)
1957: Operation LONG LEGS. For Argentina's Aeronautics Week, Gen Curtis E. LeMay, the Vice Chief of Staff (VCSAF), flew a KC-135 6,350 miles from Westover AFB to Buenos Aires in 13 hours 3 minutes to set a FAI record for nonstop, unrefueled jet flight. In a 13 November return flight, he averaged 471.451 MPH to set a record of 11 hours 3 minutes 58 seconds for the 6,322 miles between Buenos Aires and Washington DC. (See 17 November 1957) (1) (9)
1966: Gemini XII (the last Gemini mission): Cmdr James A. Lovell (USN) and Maj Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., completed 94 hours 34 minutes in space. This made Lovell the individual with the most spacetime: 425 hours and 11 minutes. (12) Through 12 November, MAC aircraft moved nearly 205 tons of emergency supplies and 93 Dutch Army troops from Ypenberg, Netherlands, to Pisa, Italy to provide flood relief. (18)
1982: Vance Brand, Robert Overmyer, Joe Allen, and William Lenoir launched in the Space Shuttle Columbia. This was the first time four astronauts were aloft at the same time.
1989: The Navy commissioned the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in ceremonies at Norfolk, Va. It was the fifth Nimitz-class carrier and will be based in San Francisco. (8: Feb 90)
1996: Two 509 BW pilots, Captains Scott Vander Hamm and Scott Hughes, flew the second B-2A long-endurance simulator flight. The test at Whiteman AFB, which lasted 38 hours, broke the previous 34-hour record of 7 October 1996. (AFNEWS Article 970175, 18 Feb 97)
2004: AFFTC's Speckled Trout C-135C interrupted its mission to bring an Airman on emergency leave back to the US. At the time, the aircraft was at Incirlik AB to carry SECAF Dr. James Roche and CSAF Gen John Jumper back to the US from Iraq. (3)
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World News for 11 November thanks to Military Periscope
USA—Dept. Of Air Force Survey Turns Up High Rate Of Interpersonal Violence Air Force Magazine | 11/11/2021 Tens of thousands of military and civilian personnel under the Dept. of the Air Force have experienced some form of interpersonal violence, according to a new survey cited by Air Force magazine. The Air Force's Interpersonal Violence Task Force sent out a survey in the fall of 2020 that was answered by around 68,000 personnel, representing about 10 percent of the department. The results, released on Tuesday, indicated that 55 percent of the respondents, more than 35,000 people, reported experiencing behavior that fell on a "continuum of harm" established by the task force. This included two-thirds of women and nearly half of men, reported the Washington Post. The continuum included a list of 81 behaviors ranging from workplace bullying and hazing to physical violence and sexual harassment. In the survey, 36 percent of respondents reported experiencing workplace bullying; 29 percent, harassment; 21 percent, non-intimate violence with a partner; and 9 percent, intimate partner violence. According to the survey, the majority chose not to report incidents of troubling behavior over fear of retaliation by superiors or peers as well as concerns that the problem would not be addressed. Of those who said they did report, most said that they were not satisfied with the support services provided. Based on the survey, the task force formulated three recommendations: a cross-functional database review to improve data awareness and sharing; pursue a one-stop policy for victims of interpersonal violence; and establish a cross-functional team to examine barriers to reporting.
USA—New Missile Tracking Satellite Passes CDR Northrop Grumman | 11/11/2021 The Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) satellite being developed for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency has successfully completed its critical design review, reports Northrop Grumman, the manufacturer. The recently completed review established the company's technical approach for precise, timely sensor coverage to defeat ballistic and hypersonic missiles, said a Northrop Grumman release on Wednesday. The HBTSS is intended to provide continuous tracking and handoff of data to support the targeting of hostile missiles launched from the ground, sea and air. The system is part of the Overhead Persistent Infrared multilayer constellation of satellites being developed to track hypersonic and ballistic missiles from launch through intercept. The MDA chose Northrop Grumman and L3Harris in January to build HBTSS prototypes, noted Space News. Northrop Grumman received a $153 million contract to deliver the prototype by 2023. After delivery, the prototype will be used for an on-orbit test to demonstrate its ability to continuously track and process observations of hypersonic threats and hand off information to enable an intercept.
USA—Precision Strike Missile Flies At Least 499 KM In Latest Test Breaking Defense | 11/11/2021 Last month's test of the Army's new Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) likely traveled more than 310 miles (500 km), reports Breaking Defense. During the test on Oct. 13, the PrSM flew to a range of 310.2 miles (499.2 km) when telemetry was lost, Gen. Mike Murray, head of Army Futures Command, said on Tuesday. As a result, the Army described the test flight as achieving a range of "499 plus." The service is confident the missile flew farther than that. The 499-km mark is significant, since it was the limit established under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The U.S. withdrew from that treaty in 2019.
USA—Army, Navy Test Advanced Hypersonic Technologies U.S. Navy | 10/22/2021 The U.S. Army and Navy have just completed trials of new hypersonic technologies, reports the U.S. Navy. On Oct. 20, the Navy Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) and the Army Hypersonic Program Office (AHPO) successfully conducted a High Operational Tempo for Hypersonics flight test at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Wallops Flight Facility, Va., the service said on Thursday. The tests involved three precision sounding rocket launches carrying hypersonic testing equipment for CPS, AHPO, the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory, MITRE, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and several defense contractors. The trials, performed by SNL, demonstrated hypersonic technologies, capabilities and prototype systems in a realistic operating environment. The testing is part of the development of the Navy-designed common hypersonic missile, consisting of a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (CHGB) and booster, which will be fielded by the Army and Navy using individual weapon systems and launchers optimized for land and sea operations, respectively.
Belarus—Russian Strategic Bombers Conduct Overflight Amid EU Tensions Daily Beast | 11/11/2021 Russian strategic bombers have been training over Belarus in a signal of solidarity with Minsk in the midst of its migrant crisis with the European Union, reports the Daily Beast. On Wednesday, a pair of Tu-22M3 bombers conducted a patrol in Belarusian airspace, reported Russia's Tass news agency. The flight was intended to practice interoperability with Russian and Belarusian military command posts, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. On Thursday, a pair of Tu-160 bombers conducted a similar overflight, simulating bombing runs during a training exercise, reported Reuters. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko later said that he needed Russian nuclear-capable bombers to navigate the ongoing border crisis with the E.U. Thousands of migrants are trapped at the border between Belarus and Poland. The E.U. has accused Lukashenko of organizing the migrant flows in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the bloc.
Turkey—S. Korean Engines For Altay Tanks To Be Bought Off-The-Shelf Defense News | 11/11/2021 Plans to co-produce powerpacks for Turkey's domestically developed tank with South Korea have been dropped, reports Defense News. The South Korean and Turkish governments signed a letter of intent in October under which Doosan and S&T Dynamics in South Korea would supply the engines and transmissions for the Altay tank. Initial plans called for the South Korean firms to provide technology and knowledge transfer for the systems, which would be built in Turkey. These plans have now changed, with negotiations focusing on an off-the-shelf contract, according to Turkish procurement and industry sources. This would involve the South Korean firms directly supply the powerpack and supporting integration with the Altay and subsequent testing, officials said.
Poland—Used Cougar MRAPs Being Procured From U.S. Army Recognition | 11/11/2021 The Polish Ministry of Defense plans to acquire a large batch of used mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles from the U.S., reports Army Recognition. On Wednesday, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced in a social media post that Poland would acquire 300 used Cougar 4 x 4 vehicles from the U.S. The contract includes a logistics and training package. The accelerated acquisition will see deliveries begin in 2022, reported Defence24 (Poland). Further details of the acquisition, including the cost, have not been made public.
India—Another Kalvari-Class Boat Handed Over Hindustan Times | 11/11/2021 The Indian navy has taken delivery of its fourth Kalvari-class diesel submarine, reports the Hindustan Times (New Delhi). On Tuesday, the Vela was handed over by shipbuilder Mazagon Dock (MDL) following two years of sea trials, reported Naval News. She is expected to be commissioned before the end of the year. India ordered six Kalvari-class subs in 2006. The first three are in service. The fifth, Vagir, was launched in November 2020 and has started harbor trials. Her sea trials could begin as soon as next month. The sixth, Vagsheer, is under construction and scheduled for delivery in June 2022.
India—Regional Security Officials Meet In New Delhi To Discuss Afghanistan Deutsche Welle | 11/11/2021 India has hosted a regional conference of top diplomats and security officials to coordinate policy on Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, reports Deutsche Welle. On Wednesday, India hosted the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue for Afghanistan. Representatives from India, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan attended. Pakistan and China were invited but chose to boycott and skip the event, respectively. No Afghan representatives were invited. The agenda covered threats from terrorism, radicalization and drug-trafficking as well as the need for humanitarian assistance. A particular concern for New Delhi was ensuring the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan does not become a haven for terror groups.
Afghanistan—Hundreds Of ISIS-K Fighters Arrested, Says Taliban Khaama Press | 11/11/2021 The Taliban government in Afghanistan says it has captured hundreds of Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) fighters since taking power, reports the Khaama Press (Afghanistan). On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence said that 600 ISIS-K members had been arrested and 33 killed over the last three months. The spokesman emphasized that the overall security situation has improved and was getting better every day. Another Taliban spokesman argued that ISIS-K was not the same as the main ISIS group in Iraq and Syria, calling it a small faction impressed by ISIS ideology.
United Arab Emirates—Foreign Minister Visits Syria Agence France-Presse | 11/11/2021 The United Arab Emirates foreign minister has become the highest-ranking Emirati official to visit Syria since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, reports Agence France-Presse. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus to discuss bilateral relations and ways to develop cooperation in areas of common interest. The U.S. denounced the meeting and warned it would not support efforts to normalize or rehabilitate the "brutal dictator" Assad. The U.A.E. reopened its embassy in Damascus in December 2018 and announced in March its support for Syria returning to the Arab League. Some Arab countries see renewing ties with Syria as a way to reduce the Iranian influence there that has grown throughout the conflict, analysts said.
Ethiopia—Dozens Of U.N. Staffers Detained British Broadcasting Corp. | 11/11/2021 The Ethiopian government has arrested dozens of U.N. drivers and local staffers, reports BBC News. On Tuesday, the U.N. condemned the arrest of 22 of its Ethiopian staff members in Addis Ababa, six of whom were later released, reported the Voice of America News. The arrests targeted ethnic Tigrayans, according to lawyers and rights groups. The government denied arbitrarily arresting Tigrayans. No explanation was given for the detentions, a U.N. spokesman said. On Wednesday, the U.N. reported that 72 of its drivers, who had been contracted to deliver humanitarian aid under the World Food Program, had been arrested in Semera, the capital of the northern Afar region, reported Reuters. Semera is a staging ground for humanitarian aid headed to the Tigray region, where regional rebels and Ethiopian government forces have been fighting for the last year. The arrests have left hundreds of trucks stuck in Semera and restricted the flow of aid into Tigray.
Mozambique—President Fires Defense Minister Reuters | 11/11/2021 Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has suddenly fired his defense minister, reports Reuters. On Wednesday, Nyusi dismissed Defense Minister Jaime Neto without giving a reason or naming a replacement. As part of his duties, Neto has overseen the fight against Islamist militants in the northern Cabo Delgado region. The move came a day after Nyusi fired Interior Minister Amade Miquidade without explanation.
Cameroon—11 Injured In University Bomb Attack All Africa | 11/11/2021 At least 11 people have been injured in a bomb attack at the University of Buea in Cameroon's Anglophone Southwest region, reports All Africa. On Wednesday, an explosive device was thrown onto the roof of a lecture hall at the university, reported Reuters. The device fell to the ground and exploded, injuring 11 students, said university officials cited by Agence France-Presse. All are in stable condition at the hospital. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. Buea is the capital of the Anglophone Southwest region, which has been the site of an insurgency since 2017. Anglophone separatists have regularly attacked schools and universities, which they accuse of favoring French-language education.
Cameroon—Separatists Abduct Civilians To Enforce Lockdowns Voice Of America News | 11/11/2021 The Cameroonian government says Anglophone separatists are kidnapping and torturing civilians who violate a lockdown, reports the Voice of America News. The separatists in the western Anglophone regions have imposed a weekly Monday lockdown since 2017. According to Cameroonian military officials, separatists have abducted and tortured several hundred civilians for violating the lockdown. In one video shared by the separatists and highlighted by the Cameroonian military, the militants forced a group of 17 civilians off of a bus and beat them. One civilian abducted by the separatists paid a $500 ransom to secure his release. Local officials says the military has been ordered to protect civilians and businesses from fighters seeking to enforce the lockdown.
Chile—Lower House Impeaches President For Alleged Corruption Financial Times | 11/11/2021 The lower house of the Chilean Parliament has voted to impeach President Sebastian Pinera over corruption allegations revealed in the Pandora Papers, leaked files on wealth held in offshore havens by leading politicians and businesspeople, reports the Financial Times (London). On Tuesday, Pinera was impeached by a vote of 78 to 67 with three abstentions. The lower house moved forward after an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists showed that the US$152 million sale of a mining company by Pinera's children to a close friend of the president was contingent on the government refusing to impose environmental protections on a mining area, reported the Washington Post. Legislators have called the environmental protection clause a conflict of interest. The sale occurred in December 2010, nine months into Pinera's first term as president. The impeachment process now moves to the senate, which would need a two-thirds majority to convict. A vote could take place before Nov. 21, when an election to choose Pinera's successor is scheduled. The president's term will end on March 11. Pinera is barred from seeking re-election.
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