Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: Dysta
So you are saying it's not a proper unmanned tanker, but an ex-UCAV loaded with buddy pods?

I don't doubt they can't do this, KQ-X experiment is indeed a tanker from the very existence, but not a carrier borne:

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ORIGINAL: Tailhook

Look at it another way: Northrop Grumann already had a fully functional design that was easily modified for presumably very cheap. Other contenders have to start from essentially the ground up. It also gives the Navy the option of realizing "Hey we have this stealthy tanker onboard, let's just slap some sensors on it so we can use it for more roles" rather than having to go all in on a new project. I think it's a great idea for saving money.

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ORIGINAL: Primarchx

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ORIGINAL: Tailhook

Look at it another way: Northrop Grumann already had a fully functional design that was easily modified for presumably very cheap. Other contenders have to start from essentially the ground up. It also gives the Navy the option of realizing "Hey we have this stealthy tanker onboard, let's just slap some sensors on it so we can use it for more roles" rather than having to go all in on a new project. I think it's a great idea for saving money.

It really depends on how much you want to pay for that stealthy tanker that might someday be a strike or ISR platform, too. In this case we'll wind up paying for a product that jumped from a high capability requirement (with a corresponding price tag) to one much less so.

Of course, this might turn out to be window dressing for the Navy getting the stealthy UCAVs they originally wanted in the guise of unmanned tankers to squeak through Congress, too.

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ORIGINAL: Sharana

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ORIGINAL: CrazyIvan101
When is this from? They using them for new UCLASS trials or something?

The photo surfaced 2 days ago, so it's recent. If you didn't follow the Pentagon in all it's wisdom changed the focus from Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program into Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System (CBARS).
That's first photo of the result. The flights were scheduled for 2017. There are 4 competing designs with the winner to be chosen in 2018.

I called it joke of the day for the simple reason that it looks like this: You invest tons of money to design UCLASS that is stealth (ISR+strike), but then the Pentagon say nah, let's focus on CBARS instead. So you end up with expensive stealth UAV that isn't even stealth with those drop tanks and use it as tanker. Because ... why not :)

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The French Navy Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) vessel Dupuy de Lôme (A 759) was spotted last week in Yokosuka naval base, HQ of the JMSDF Self Defense Fleet and of the US Navy's 7th fleet. Based on pictures from a different spotter, the vessel was still in Yokosuka on August 12th.

Navy Recognition contacted the French Military Central Command (EMA - État-major des armées) to ask if the presence of this SIGINT vessel is linked to recent events in North Korea. Here is the press service's answer:
To answer your question, the presence of this French vessel in this zone is not related to recent events. The French armed forces regularly deploy units in all theaters of interest, particularly in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Regular deployments in strategically important areas allow us to maintain our knowledge of the area and respect the freedom of navigation. As the vessels of other oceanic navies, French ships, during this deployment, navigate and conduct cooperation that develop their knowledge of the Indo-Pacific zone in particular. This deployment thus maintains our autonomous capacity of appreciation under the "knowledge and anticipation" strategic function.

It has to be noted that the Dupuy de Lôme already visited Yokosuka in 2012, during North Korean ballistic missile tests.

The Dupuy de Lôme is designed for the collection of signals, communications and electronic emission beyond enemy lines. It is fitted with an impressive array of sensors, most of them developed by Thales. The vessel has an endurance of 70 days at sea and is available 350 days a year for the French Direction du renseignement militaire (DRM) (English:Directorate of Military Intelligence). DRM is an intelligence agency that has the task of collecting and centralizing military intelligence information for the French Armed Forces. Created in 1992, its role is similar to that of the DIA (United States), the DI (United Kingdom) or the GRU (Russian Federation).

It may be unrelated but our colleagues from Air Recognition also pointed to us that a French Air Force C-130H belonging to the GAM 56 unit was spotted landing the same week in Seoul, South Korea. GAM 56 (Groupe Aérien Mixte 00.056 "Vaucluse") is in charge of supporting France's external intelligence agency (French: Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure, DGSE).

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ORIGINAL: kevinkin

"knowledge and anticipation" .

Interesting language. I learned some geopolitics reading that. Thanks for sharing navyrecognition.

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H-6N maiden flight

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ORIGINAL: Dysta

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H-6N maiden flight

Henri again had just wrote an article about this:

http://www.eastpendulum.com/h-6n-h-x-les-programmes-de-bombardier-chinois-se-multiplient (French)
https://www.sinodefenceforum.com/h-6-bomber-aircraft-discussions.t2326/page-111#post-468705 (Translated)

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Japan's Acquisition Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced on August 9th the launch of a new surface vessel programme called 30DX for the JMSDF. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) was selected as prime contractor while Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (Mitsui) was selected as subcontractor. ATLA is a branch of Japan's MoD created in 2015 to "ensure technological superiority and respond to operational needs smoothly and quickly".

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On Thursday 17th August, the Secretary of the Mexican Navy, Admiral Vidal Francisco Soberón Sanz, took part in a symbolic coin ceremony at Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) at Vlissingen in the Netherlands. He was accompanied by the Secretary of National Defense, General Salvador Cienfuegos. The Coin Ceremony is an event which takes place at the keel laying, in the early stages of a ship's construction. In it, the shipbuilders place one or two coins under the keelblock of the new ship to bless the ship and as a symbol of good fortune. On this occasion, the vessel is a Damen Sigma 10514 Long Range Patrol Vessel.
...
An image of the Sigma 10514 in Mexican Navy configuration has been released. Compared to the Indonesian Frigate, the Mexican vessel is fitted with a BAE Systems Bofors 57Mk3 57mm main gun (in place of a 76mm), a 12.7mm remote weapon system right behind it (in place of a Rheinmetall 27MLG CIWS). Similar to the PKR, the Mexican Navy opted for the Smart Mk2 radar by Thales. It appears that the Mexican "Long Range Patrol Vessel" will not be fitted with VLS cells but a Raytheon RAM launcher will be fitted on top of the helicopter hangar.

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A scale model of the FTI (frégate de taille intermédiaire or mid-size frigate) is currently being tested at the French defense procurement agency DGA "Techniques Hydrodynamiques" site, an hydrodynamic test facility in Normandy.