Slitherine

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led in the power lines, Chinese media reports. The state-owned Xiangyang Electrical Power Company in Hubei Province tested an aerial drone equipped with a flamethrower to address the growing problem.

The fire burns the trash on the line without incinerating the line itself, which are aluminium conductor steel-reinforced cables. The drone can obliterate garbage in a matter of seconds.

When trash builds up on the power lines, outages occur. In the past, workers would have to climb up the poles to remove the trash, but it was not always effective, as the garbage was sometimes out of reach. While a unmanned aerial vehicle spraying fire sounds dangerous, it’s probably safer than trying to pull trash off the line 30 feet off the ground.

Other methods for trash removal that China is looking into are high-powered laser cannons.

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The Defense Department, which two years ago expressed doubts over near-term prospects for fielding an affordable hypersonic strike weapon, has promised U.S. commanders in Europe and the Pacific an initial hypersonic strike capability between fiscal years 2018 and 2022.

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ORIGINAL: Dysta

Like I said many times, it could be a ruse.

It just don't make sense for hiding SAM inside a building, for stationary point and area defenses, mounting on building externally have more flexibility to redeploy and reload than inside of it. And the island itself isn't too small for mobilization.

As for the troops garrison, they have reasons to be here. Not just for guarding missiles, but also for sea control, as they take part-time with coast guard operations.

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ORIGINAL: strykerpsg

I disagree it not making sense to house missiles in a building. Given the potential for nations to overfly the islands with prying electronic eyes, strong tropical storms and overall surrounded by very corrosive salt water spray and rain, it stands to reason that it's far cheaper to set up a shelter with a sliding roof to protect their investment.

Then, there's always the "deniability" of the militarization of the islands themselves, not to mention the legality of even building them in the first place.

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ORIGINAL: Hongjian

Better pictures showing the J-20 carrying 4x2400 litre drop tanks. Seems to be new built ones as well, with transit loadouts for delivery to the FTTC

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Indian Air Force rejects British Advanced Hawk aircraft
By: Vivek Raghuvanshi, February 23, 2017 (Photo Credit: BAE Systems)
NEW DELHI — The Indian Air Force says it will not make an acquisition request for the British Advanced Hawk trainer aircraft.

The decision comes after the Ministry of Defence asked the service not request the aircraft following allegations that British company Rolls-Royce bribed officials of India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited between 2005 and 2009 to secure orders for engines to power the British Hawk 132 advanced jet trainers meant for the Indian Air Force.

"We will not make any formal request for the Advanced Hawk to HAL, and the program will be officially shelved. This is because the MoD does not want [to] give additional orders for engines to tainted Rolls-Royce for the Advanced Hawk program," a senior IAF official said. "IAF has no intentions to place any order for the Advanced Hawk trainers."

-more at link-

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ORIGINAL: jtoatoktoe

Boeing unveils Eagle 2040C (F-15C upgrades)video......Can you say 16 AMRAAMS!

http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/boeing-unveils-commercial-for-eagle-2040c

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ORIGINAL: Dysta

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ORIGINAL: jtoatoktoe

Boeing unveils Eagle 2040C (F-15C upgrades)video......Can you say 16 AMRAAMS!

http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/boeing-unveils-commercial-for-eagle-2040c

It's quite sad that isn't based on F-15SE for more stealthiness, in case of the stealthy weapon pods will be developed in the future.

So what's the next? Install 2 F-119s to its aft?

EDIT: My god, what am I reading here... I thought the patriotic comments with boasts and memes are only I could see on 4chan. It made commenters on Foxtrot Alpha and Strategy Page more conservative in comparison.

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According to its brochure, LASS has a maximum power of 30 kw and a range of 4,000 m. A Poly official said the Silent Hunter is capable of power levels greater than 30 kw, but fewer than 100 kw.

Whereas LASS is designed to defend against large numbers of slow unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Silent Hunter's laser is credited with being able to penetrate five layers of 2 mm steel at 800 m, or 5 mm of steel at 1,000 m.

Poly is in the process of integrating a mm-wave radar to supplement its infrared and optical search and track system.

While Silent Hunter is not able to defend against mortar shells or other small artillery, Poly officials said they are developing more powerful versions as well as a version for naval applications.

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ORIGINAL: Excroat3

Just curious, how does one even counter laser defense? Jammers? Glass anti-ship missiles? Or just good old numbers?

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In this video, coverage of:
0:41 UAE Navy vessels Al Hili Corvette and Arialah Patrol Vessel
2:32 Ferreti FSD195
5:06 MBDA Marte MK 2/N for UAE Navy
5:25 Leonardo, Siham Al Khaleej and MBDA SIHAM3 naval gun system
5:58 Zodiac Milpro and Al Fattan ECUME RHIB
6:17 DAMEN SIGMA 6110
7:06 Taiwan naval defence industry NCSIST
7:28 Tuo Chang class catamaran missile corvette
8:01 SeaOryx SAM
8:20 Hsiung Feng III and Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles
9:08 Thales CAPTAS-1 variable depth sonar for UAE Navy
9:30 Navantia new AVANTE 500 and AVANTE 2200
10:41 NAVDEX demonstration
11:07 Rheinmetall new SeaSnake 27 naval gun system
11:39 China's naval defence industry
11:54 CSSC new trimaran vessel
12:17 CSSC UUV
12:30 ALIT LY-80N VLS Systems
13:00 CSOC Stealth Missile Attack Craft
13:13 CSOC ET52C Lightweight Torpedo

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ORIGINAL: Hongjian

Interesting; at 13:13 it's said that the ET-52C torpedo is already in service with the Pakistan and Bangladesh navy.

A244-S Mod.3 level?

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At NAVDEX 2017, the international naval defense exhibition which was taking place in Abu Dhabi, UAE, last week, Navantia unveiled the Frigate design it is proposing for the Royal Saudi Navy. Navantia representatives at NAVDEX 2017 told Navy Recognition that this Frigate design is based on their F-538 proposal for the Peruvian Navy (unveiled at NAVDEX 2015) and belongs to the AVANTE 2200 Combatant family.

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A traditionally Muslim group, many Uighurs complain of cultural and religious repression and discrimination by China.

It appears to be Islamic State's first direct threat against China, Dr Michael Clarke, an expert on Xinjiang at the National Security College of Australian National University, told AFP.

'It is the first time that Uighur-speaking militants have claimed allegiance to IS,' he added, referring to the group by its other name.

The video showed China is now 'very firmly a target of jihadist rhetoric,' Clarke said, marking a shift from years past when it rarely figured in statements by global militant groups.

But Clarke said it also could indicate a possible split among Uighur fighters, as it includes a warning to those fighting with the Al Qaeda-aligned Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in Syria.

China maintains tight security in Xinjiang but a drumbeat of deadly unrest has continued.

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(Reuters) - More than 10,000 armed police in China's western Xinjiang region staged a mass rally in the capital Urumqi, state media said, as authorities rolled out a rapid-response air patrol system to quell unrest that the government blames on Islamist militants.

The rally held on Monday, complete with circling helicopters and armored vehicles, was at least the fourth such mass display in the region this year, intended as a show of force after a recent uptick in violence.

Hundreds have died in Xinjiang in the past few years, mostly in unrest between the Muslim Uighur people, who call the region home, and the ethnic majority Han Chinese.

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China can ‘blind’ THAAD

Global Times | 2017/3/1 0:08:39 By Yang Sheng

South Korean protesters stage a rally to oppose a plan to deploy an advanced US missile defense system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, in front of the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday. Photo: AP

The Chinese military is capable of either destroying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system or making it "blind," once the US military system is deployed in South Korea, experts said, though peaceful means to defuse the planned military facility are still a priority.

South Korea's defense ministry signed a contract to exchange land with Lotte Group on Tuesday and secured the land for the deployment of THAAD, after Lotte on Monday agreed to offer a golf course in Seongju county to the military.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on Tuesday warned South Korea on THAAD. "China is firm in its resolve to oppose the deployment of THAAD in South Korea and will resolutely take necessary actions to safeguard its own security interests," he said.

"Once the system has been deployed, Seongju county will appear on the list of the PLA missile system's strike targets," said Song Zhongping, a military expert who used to serve in the Second Artillery Corps (now the PLA Rocket Force).

The main threat is its X-band radar which can monitor China's military deployment and missile-launch, which will seriously undermine China's nuclear deterrence, Song said.

But of course, China will not launch an attack in peacetime, but China has various measures to destroy it in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula, so it will not pose a threat to China during the war period, Song said.

"In peacetime, China also has measures to counter the THAAD system, for instance, making it 'blind,' which is very easy. The PLA is entirely capable of doing that," Peng Guangqian, a military strategist at the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Science, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Making it 'blind' is a choice, but it will require damaging or even destroying THAAD's radar system, so this is a 'hard measure,' normally implemented by a directed-energy weapon or laser weapon," Song said.

"Apart from this, we can also make THAAD useless through electronic interference and feigned military activities, because such activities can interrupt the functioning of the THAAD system," Song said.

Russia faces similar threats from its European neighbors such as the Czech Republic and Poland, Peng said, so "China can learn from the Russian experience in countering this kind of provocation."

"Russia's countermeasures including regular patrols by strategic bombers and development of more advanced missiles to show the US 'shield' cannot defend against Russia's 'spear,'" Peng said.

Now that Russia is facing the threat on both its eastern and western borders, China and Russia should work together to counter the threat of THAAD, Peng said.

Turning back



The possibility of turning back the process of the deployment still exists, said Xu Guangyu, a retired PLA major general and a senior advisor of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.

"South Korea is fully aware of our capability, so we don't need to conduct extra military actions or movements to display our muscle at this moment," Xu said.

An anonymous PLA officer told the Global Times, "Remember what happened between the Philippines and China last year? It was also highly intense after the arbitration by the Permanent Arbitration Court. And what is happening now after they have a new president? We became friends again. Why don't we just wait and see what will happen next?"

The deployment of THAAD in South Korea has met strong opposition in both China and South Korea.

The push for the THAAD deployment was made amid strong objections from residents in the Seongju county and the city of Gimcheon which faces the site of the super microwave emitting anti-missile system.

Dozens of Seongju residents gathered in front of the defense ministry's headquarters in Seoul, and they plan to stage a protest rally outside the golf course once a week to draw public attention to the THAAD issue, Xinhua reported.

According to Xinhua, the Lotte and THAAD issues are also related to President Park Geun-hye's political scandal. South Korean special prosecutors on Tuesday branded the impeached Park as a criminal suspect for bribery in collusion with her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is at the center of the corruption scandal. Lotte is suspected of making contributions to Choi-controlled foundations in return for the rejection of the warrant to arrest its chief and the restoration of the license to operate downtown duty free stores, Xinhua reported.

Moon Jae-in, the Democratic United Party's candidate for president and the most likely candidate to win the general election, also has reservations about THAAD. He said that the US' missile system has antagonized China and should be decided by the next administration, Reuters reported.

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ORIGINAL: texag11

Can't post a link due to not having reached the required posts but usni news had an article today regarding McCain wanting to reevaluate the upgunned Frigate and possible consider other designs.