155mm gun could be deployed on RN warships

BAE Systems has been granted a contract to build a 155mm gun for land-based trials which could replace the main gun on RN warships such as the Type 45 and 23. The 155mm gun is based on the British Army's AS90 self-propelled howitzer and would help reduce costs by using the same gun and ammunition. If the tests go to plan BAE Systems will unveil how they can retrofit the new gun to RN Type 45 and 23 warships as well as it's use on future RN surface combatants. The gun is similar to one BAE are also developing for the US Navy.

MASS partnership agreement signed by MOD to supply UK ammo

The MOD has agreed a $2 billion deal (which could rise to £3 billion depending on the amount ordered) with BAE Systems called the Munitions Acquisition – the Supply Solution (MASS) programme which is, initially, a 15 year programme to supply 80% of the general munitions used by the UK armed forces ranging from naval shells, artillery shells to small arms ammunition. So what does MASS actually mean, well it consists of a "capability charge" to cover fixed costs, pricing is insulated from commodity price increases (steel especially), and supply will be flexible to allow for "surge manufacture" (for when we get dragged into another pointless war).


Would you like some of the bullets back?

Performance will be monitored and there will be a system of rewards and penalties. BAE Systems will invest in the Royal Ordnance factories it bought in the late 1980s, some of the equipment dating back from the Second World War. BAE's Radway Green facility will be expanded to double capacity. Happily it is also "green", 18,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year will be reduced. Well the Army has always been green.

Russia recognises South Ossetia and Abkhazia

Russia has recognised the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia following a vote in the Russian parliament. Western countries have protested of course as have the Georgian government. The U.S. called it "inconsistent with international law" though Russia said it was to protect people's lives.



Russia has also been accused of assisting with ethnic cleansing of Georgians from South Ossetia. Georgia has compiled a list of Russian attacks on it's territory.

Russian tanks leave Gori

The Georgians have said Russian tanks are finally leaving Gori and returning to South Ossetia and surrounding areas however did not say if all checkpoints set up by Russian forces had been removed with Russia saying they may maintain some near South Ossetia. Meanwhile the Mirazh, the Russian corvette which was named in sinking a Georgian vessel during a sea battle near the Abkhazian coast, has returned to Sevastopol to a mixture of patriotic cheers from Russians and boos from Ukrainians.

How bad exactly was Russia in Georgia?

Georgia has claimed extensive damage to it's military and civilian infrastructure at the hands of Russian forces, however western journalists invited to visit sites in western Georgia by the government have found few signs of damage to civilian facilities. The journalists in the port of Poti, for example, saw extensive damage to Georgian naval facilities including most of their navy and coast guard destroyed in their berths. However the civilian parts of the ports were largely untoughed except for the odd blast damage. Georgians said they were nervous about the presence of Russian troops however a student in Zugdidi said the Russians also seemed afraid of the Georgians.



Meanwhile Abkhazia is taking advantage of the situation to strengthen it's position and are posting troops on their border with Georgia. Russian tanks have begun withdrawal from Gori finally and there has been a prisoner exchange between Russia and Georgia though Russia are accusing Georgia of not withdrawing from South Ossetia.

Army introduces Desert Hawk III in Afghanistan

The British Army has begun to use the Desert Hawk III UAV in operations in Afghanistan. Used by the 1 Battery, 47 Regiment Royal Artillery the UAV is one of several the Royal Artillery. The mini UAV can be launched by simply throwing it aloft though gunners have found that launching it while at speed from a quad bike is better (and no doubt more fun).



Desert Hawk is used to over look patrols and reconnaissance for bases with live video footage to the operator's laptop which can also be viewed later by commanders.

Philippines to go on offensive against MILF

Following the latest Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacks that left dozens dead the Philippines have sent extra troops into southern Philippines and have pledged "aggressive action" against the MILF. Towns in Lanao del Norte were attacked by MILF rebels said to be led by a renegrade commander yesterday and that the attacks were not sanctioned by the MILF leadership. This was dismissed by the armed forces chief General Alexander Yano saying it was their usual line.

Georgia accuse Russia of firing Iskander at them

The Georgians are accusing Russia of firing SS-26 “Iskander” missiles, one of the most advanced SSMs in the world, into their country. The Georgian Interior Ministry have posted nearly two dozen photographs online proporting to show missile debris and thus proving the use of the missiles. They are claiming Iskanders were fired at a number of positions including Poti and Gori and say it was a crime to use the missiles against civilian targets. The Russians have denied it's use.

MILF launch more attacks

28 people have been killed following attacks by MILF in the Lanao del Norte and Sarangani provinces of southern Philippines. Most of the dead were civilians an Army spokesman said. Government officials accused the rebels of atrocities against civilians saying the rebels killed them like they were chickens. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu however said the attacks were not sanctioned and were by a renegrade commander.



The Philippine Coast Guard are meanwhile providing boats to evacuate civilians from areas being attacked by MILF forces.

Russia will begin withdrawing tomorrow

The Russians have said they will begin withdrawing on Monday from Georgian territory. However the Russian President said forces that were supporting Russian peacekeepers would withdraw which indicates Russian forces will remain in South Ossetia, as peacekeepers.



Meanwhile the Georgian government are claiming that Russian troops working with Abkhazian separatists are seizing more territory for the breakaway region from Georgia and also continuing to carry out acts of sabotage against Georgian infrastructure such as the destruction of a bridge in the Kaspi district. South Ossetian militia are also claimed to be attacking civilians around Gori. Meanwhile 37,000 South Ossetian civilians (which is over half the population of the region isn't it?) have fled into Russia where they are living in emergency shelters.

Medvedev : Georgia will lose South Ossetia

The Russian president has said that the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are unlikely to want to remain part of Georgia. His comments came as both Russia and the US made statements about the Georgia situation. The US have accused Russia of wanting to punish Georgia for being western-leaning while trying to secure the truce between the 2 sides.

Meanwhile Russia have been accused of using cluster bombs against the Georgians after claims by US human rights groups. The Russian military however denied the weapons, banned by many countries, had been used. Some relief operations have been hampered by gunmen who stole vehicles from UN workers in Gori.

Russia sending more troops into Georgia?

Georgia is claiming that, contrary to claims the Russians were pulling out of Gori, they are sending more troops in and also entering the Black Sea port of Poti. Russia itself is saying they could send more peacekeeping troops into South Ossetia to guard against Georgian attacks (not that it is likely Georgia will be able to mount any attack for some time). Both South Ossetia and Abkhazia support the presence of Russian troops in their "countries".



Meanwhile the US and UK have pulled out of a planned joint naval exercise with Russia and France.

Blogger comes to rescue of Georgian cyber attacked websites

Russian cyber warfare attacks badly affected the Georgian government's web presence during the conflict, the virtual information war being raged as fiercely as the physical war. Georgia though have managed to create various blogs using Google's Blogger (which this blog uses of course) to get their message out when their normal web sites were down. For example the Ministry of Foreign Affairs blog and the blog of the State Minister for Reintegration.

As for the cyber attacks themselves Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks were used by Russian hackers to knock out the Georgian websites by overwhelming the servers with masses of requests. Russia Today's website was also knocked out by a DDoS attack, the initial attack coming from Georgia.


An alternative way of hacking electronics

Georgia-Russia : the war at sea

One aspect of the conflict has been a skirmish at sea between the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which was sent to blockade Georgia and the much smaller Georgian Navy, however the skirmish is shrouded in secretcy and much confusion. According to some reports the guided missile cruiser Moskva, which was the flagship of the Russian force, was hit by some sort of fire from a Georgian boat, some reports even have suggested it was hit by an Exocet missile. Moskva was withdrawn from the area with some damage though reports suggest not extensive (which perhaps suggests it wasn't a missile or perhaps the missile was hit by a point defence CIWS and Moskva was hit by debris).



The Georgian ship Tbilisi is then reported to have been hit by a Russian SS-N-9 missile and destroyed, it sinking within minutes. Though photos which appear to show Tbilisi on fire at port would perhaps indicate it was either able to get away or another ship was sunk.



Anyway another Georgian ship was damaged but was able to escape according to the report. Russian ships also launched missile attacks on Kodori according to the Georgian government and "saboteurs" destroyed various Georgian coast guard vessels.

After the war comes the looting

Officially there is now a ceasefire in the conflict between Russia and Georgia but there have been several reports of looting and burning of Georgian villages by either Russian or South Ossetian forces out for revenge. Several villages near Gori have been seen burning and people have been fleeing in panic. Russian forces are also on the road to Tbilisi from Gori seemingly in violation of the ceasefire. The conflict has definately continued between Georgia and Russia in the ...er.. Olympic Beach Volleyball.



Meanwhile the Russians have said 74 Russian military personnel died during the fighting with Georgia. They also said 1,600 civilians were killed in South Ossetia during the conflict. The Mayor of Tskhinvali said 70% of the buildings in the city were damaged or destroyed.

Georgia told to surrender or else

Georgia has been given tough terms after Russia ceased military operations yesterday and both sides agreed to an EU plan to stop fighting. Russian President Medvedev said Georgia must pledge to remove all forces from the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and to not use force in their territorial disputes. The populations of the 2 regions should also be given a vote as to whether they wish to join Russia. For it's part the Russians would withdraw back to the pre-war peacekeeping positions though would take action again if Georgia did attack South Ossetia again. Saakashvili probably doesn't have any choice to accept the terms considering the wrecked state of his armed forces, abandoned and destroyed military vehicles littering Georgia's highways.

MILF withdraw from villages

MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) fighters have withdrawn from a number of villages in North Cotabato, Philippines. Five more villages have been cleared of MILF by the Philippines army leaving eight still in rebel hands. A Philippines police spokesman said the MILF had retreated back to bases in Maguindanao. Residents of the villages have not yet been given the all clear to return to their homes before they have been checked for land mines.

Russian President calls an end to hostilities

The Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, has called an end to the military offensive in Georgia. He said Russian forces had punished the Georgians and restored security in South Ossetia. However forces will remain where they are for now and the offensive would resume if Georgia attacked. There are no signs yet of any peace talks with the impression being the Russians do not want to deal with Georgian President Saakashvili and want him removed from power.



An aspect of the war has been the often one-sided coverage of events, to be honest i've felt a lot of western outlets have been ridiculously overtly anti-Russian and gave the impression that the original Georgian attack on South Ossetia never happened. However there has also been a lack of coverage of Russia's bombing of Georgia in the Russian media.

RFA Gold Rover refit begins

Royal Fleet Auxiliary small tanker Gold Rover has begun a refit in Merseyside to refresh and update the ship. Improvements will include a new rescue boat, an Avon Searider, a new electric crane and new diesel generators. The ship will return to service later in the year following it's £8.5 million refit.

Chaos reigns in Georgia

News coming out of Georgia is conflicting to say the least, Georgia seems to be claiming the Russians have seized major towns and cities like Gori while the Russians deny it, it could be Georgian communications are too chaotic or they are over egging the Russian advance in a last ditch attempt to get NATO to start World War 3 for them (or likely a bit of both). Unfortunately much of the western media seems to be accepting Georgian claims without the required pinch of salt as they, rightly, would from the Russians.



It is clear that the Russians have moved outside of the 2 breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia such as taking the western town of Zugdidi but no evidence yet they intend to advance on the Georgian capital Tbilisi. Meanwhile Galrahn's always excellent blog has a report on the interesting problems bloggers are giving for Russian operations security. Blogs both from military and non-military sources, an example of the former.

Russians break out of Abkhazia

Russian forces in the other breakaway region of Abkhazia have crossed into Georgia to attack the town of Senaki. Meanwhile there are reports that Gori had fallen to Russian forces though Russia itself has denied the claims made by Georgia although earlier on in Gori the Georgian leader Saakashvili was bundled away (below) in chaotic scenes when it was feared Russian aircraft were making an attack.



Georgian forces appear to be withdrawing back to the capital Tbilisi though Russia has accused Georgia of making an air attack on South Ossetia using helicopters.

Renewed fighting between Philippines army and Muslim rebels

Fighting between the Philippines army and Muslim rebels in the country's troubled Mindanoa region. Violence flared after the courts blocked a move to expand a Muslim autonomous zone into North Cotabato which is outside of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) formed following a 1996 peace accord. The army attacked MILF rebels after they ignored a deadline to leave the province.



15 villages in Cotabato were occupied by MILF fighters but now 2 have been cleared the army said.

US airlift Georgian troops back from Iraq

The US have airlifted 800 Georgian troops stationed in Iraq back into Georgia to help bolster the forces trying to resist against the Russians. The Russians have criticised the US for supporting Georgia calling them the real aggressors (as indeed they were though they would argue they are quite entitled to using military force against rebels in their own country).



There are signs the conflict could be coming to an end though as Russian President Medvedev has said objectives in South Ossetia are nearly completed with his forces now in control of the Ossetian capital, though the Georgians say Russia want to invade all of their country.

Meanwhile Israel will limit future sales of UAVs to Georgia to avoid angering the Russians. Three Elbit Hermes 450 UAVs have been destroyed by the Russians in recent months including one which memorably filmed it's own destruction at the hands (or rather AAM) of a MiG-29.

Autosub6000, Britain's new robot submarine

(Although not strictly military one can easily see the potential of this new toy.)

Undersea volcanoes 6km below the Caribbean will be searched for and explored by Britain's new robot submarine the Autosub6000. The Cayman Trough between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is the world's deepest volcanic ridge and unexplored. Autosub6000 can dive to more than 6000 metres and operate without control from the surface. First of all it will try and find the volcanic vents, once found the sediments, gas and life living there will be catalogued.



Autosub6000 is an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) that can be equipped with a variety of sensors such as cameras, sonars and samplers. It is guided using "an Ixsea PHINS Fiber Optic Gyro (FOG) based Inertial Navigation System".

Abkhazia ready to open second front?

The other breakaway region of Georgia, Abkhazia, has mobilised it's forces and could be preparing to open a second front against Georgia. Abkhazian aircraft and artillery have already attacked Georgian positions and are massing in Gali district next to the Georgian border. As reported earlier Russian forces are already in the region.


Russian forces proported to be in Abkhazia

Meanwhile there are reports of dead mercenaries among Georgian losses in Tskhinvali or dead soldiers with dark skins anyway who are said to be either mercenaries or military advisers. An American soldier is a prisoner of the Russians though photos of him seem to be bogus.


Georgian soldiers usually look like this

Meanwhile there are signs the Russians have unleashed cyber warfare (how cool) against Georgia. Also have a look here for some interesting commentary on possible bigger consequences behind the events of the last few days.

Saudis to order more Typhoons

Saudi Arabia could order a second batch of up to 70 Eurofighter Typhoons in a deal worth up to 20 billion pounds. However the order is more likely to be for 48 to add to the 72 already on order.

Russian forces move out of South Ossetia into rest of Georgia

Russian forces have crossed from South Ossetia into central Georgia apparently (though a BBC TV reporter in the city this morning didn't seem to mention this oddly) and are now assaulting the city of Gori. The city, which has already been subject to a number of air attacks, was HQ for the Georgian military during their campaign against South Ossetian separatists last week which prompted the Russian invasion. Now Gori is coming under tank and artillery fire while Georgian defenders dig in. Other Russian forces are massing with local fighters in the other breakaway region of Abkhazia and could also enter Georgia. In other developments there have been reports that a US soldier working as an adviser to the Georgians has been captured in South Ossetia.


Russian artillery operating in South Ossetia

Georgian troops prepare for battle in Gori

Fighting continues despite peace moves

Fighting has continued between Georgia and Russia despite Georgia saying it had called a ceasefire and claiming it's forces had been withdrawn from South Ossetia. Russian aircraft have been reported striking targets deep in Georgia including the airport at the capital Tbilisi. Russian forces are also said to be in control of Tskhinvali though this was claimed before.

Meanwhile there are signs of escalation of the conflict, the Russian Navy is blockading Georgian ports (though they deny it of course) on the Black Sea and Russian sources are claiming a Georgian missile boat was sunk when it tried to attack Russian ships. Georgia has said the Russians have landed thousands of troops in the other breakaway region of Abkhazia, a sign that they want to open up a second front and more secure logistics line perhaps. The way into South Ossetia from Russia is via one road and tunnel and thus rather vulnerable. Incidentally the port the Russians are landing the forces at, Ochamchire, was linked to Russia by a new railway line completed just a couple of months ago. By the way Ukraine says Russian ships that attack Georgia will not be allowed back into it's waters to use the naval base the Russians lease there.

Fighting continues between Georgia and Russia

Fighting is continuing between Georgian and Russian forces over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russian aircraft are said to have attacked Georgian positions and bases outside of South Ossetia, some of them deep in Georgia. The Russians have admitted to losing 2 aircraft, a TU-22M Backfire and a SU-25 Frogfoot. Meanwhile control of the Ossetian capital is said to have been lost by the Georgians and the town now held by Russian forces. Much of South Ossetia is still in Georgian hands with the Russian forces (not that many have been deployed yet) most concentrated on the capital Tshinvali and a road to it from the Russian border.



Georgia is now trying to withdraw the troops it has in Iraq to help bolster it's forces back home. The Georgian president Saakashvili appealed to the US for help, they are allies after all though surely even Saakashvili can't imagine the US will start World War 3 over Georgia? Georgian aims in all of this mess are interesting, i suspect they want to bring their long-running problems with Russia into the open and get the international community involved. Its a high risk game thats for sure.

But why not grant South Ossetia independance one might ask, if it's good enough for Kosovo it's good enough for them surely?

Russian forces enter South Ossetia

150 Russian tanks and other AFVs have crossed the border into the breakaway South Ossetia region of Georgia and headed towards the capital Tskhinvali. Georgia meanwhile has claimed to have shot down 2 Russian aircraft amid reports of Russian Su-24s and -25s attacking Georgian positions though Russia have denied it. The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, meanwhile has said that those responsible for the deaths of Russians would be punished.

Have Georgia lost their marbles?

After years of uneasy truce and the occaisional shot down UAV Georgia has attacked and invaded the break away territory of South Ossetia and have surrounded the capital Tskhinvali. The question of course is, what will Russia do? There are already reports (or rather accusations by the Georgians) of bombing by Russian aircraft on Georgian positions and Russian volunteers crossing the border to help fight the Georgian forces. Russian forces in the region arn't that bad and already has peacekeepers in South Ossetia, three of whom are reported to have been killed.


SU-25, Georgian examples have been in action

A dificult situation for Georgia and the rest of the region, you can't really see how this could end well especially if Russia get involved. However at the moment the Bear is inactive, perhaps because Putin is in Beijing? If so the Georgian attack was perfectly timed. Georgian forces are said to be all over South Ossetia and victory should be assured... for now anyway.







Update : Georgian forces are observing a 3 hour ceasefire to allow civilians to leave the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali. Meanwhile there are reports of possible troop movements on the Russian side of the border, Russia pledging to protect it's nationals stuck in South Ossetia.

New radar for Royal Navy

For a change the Royal Navy is to get some investment. £100 million is being spent on new radars for the Type 23s, landing ships, Ocean and the new carriers. The BAE Systems Artisan radar can "track a target the size of a snooker ball over 20km away" which sounds pretty cool and using some beloved MOD buzzwordese provides improved "3D maritime Medium Range Radar (MRR)" capability.

RAF rescue teams to be sent to Afghanistan

The number of crews available at the RAF's search & rescue stations around the UK will be reduced from 5 to 4 to enable to sending of these teams to Afghanistan. These teams will then help rescue troops caught in insurgent attacks such as IEDs to reduce the number killed. However there are fears this will weaken the search & rescue response at home, currently each station has to provide a helicopter and crew able to respond within 15 minutes and nowhere in the UK is said to be more than an hour away (in daylight), though an MOD spokesman said response times and normal service will not be affected. Well we'll see.

Typhoons in Austrian service

Flight International have an interesting article on the Eurofighter Typhoon in Austrian air force service. Their procurement was controversial having being chosen to replace the Saab Draken but since the decision to choose the Typhoon there have been many questions in the Austrian parliament, no doubt the cost is an issue but defence does cost. Also interesting are the details of Austria's "tiered approach to ensuring airspace control" using a mix of armed trainers, helicopters and ground bases.

Paveway IV bomb could enter service next year

Paveway IV could enter service with the RAF later this year following the successful passing of tests. The test in the UK consisted of 14 bomb releases by an RAF Harrier GR9. The bomb will equip the Harriers, Tornado GR4 and Typhoon. The GPS and laser guided weapon completed impact, air burst and delayed detonation tests and was highly accurate. Its a good comeback for the Raytheon bomb after it failed an initial evaluation last year because of problems with it's fuse and explosives. The bomb will become operation on the Harrier next year and other types later on.

RAF to keep full Sentry fleet; update considered

The RAF is to keep it's entire fleet of 7 Boeing E-3D Sentry AWACS aircraft operational and not mothball 2 as they originally planned in an effort to cut costs. Instead they will reduce the hours flown and the number of assigned aircrews. The MOD are also considering an upgrade to their fleet similar to the USAF's Block 40/45 upgrade. The upgrade would include new flat screen operator panels and updated computers to replace the 1970s style mainframe architecture currently used.

Pork barrels and FutureLynx

An interesting opinion piece on UK defence procurement, especially the status of FutureLynx and the consequences if the RAF gets it's way and the Army Air Corps (and FutureLynx) is abolished. To be honest FutureLynx is an interesting project, good though i'm sure it is you have to wonder why the Navy needs 3 different types of helicopter, i believe the only ships too small for Merlins are the Type 42s and they will be going soon.

Airship coming soon in shape of neutrally buoyant rotorcraft

Boeing are to build for Skyhook the JHL-40 (Jess Heavy Lifter) termed a neutrally buoyant rotorcraft which must be the politically correct term for an airship with big engines. The JHL-40 does not carry a lot of gas though, just enough for countering the craft's weight. The JHL-40 is a helium filled airship anyway and will be able to lift 40 tons and transport it 200 miles.

Book Review : The Baby Killers by Thomas Fegan

Zeppelins fascinate me especially their use in WW1 where, lets face it, they didn't do very well. The Baby Killers documents the use of the zeppelin (which i am using for the Schütte-Lanz airships too) as a bomber in WW1 along with aeroplane bombers which followed on afterwards.

We can only suppose what it must have been like on one of these raids, flying slowly over the seas and then over land in often terrible weather and cold (raids took place at night). Navigation was rudimentary and the zeppelin could not outrun trouble. Although it could out climb aeroplanes and flak at least for a while the crews were always aware they were traveling on a huge slow moving bag of highly inflammable gas. Indeed such was the fear of the gas that in some cases crewmen chose to jump overboard out of the zeppelin (without a parachute and thus to near certain death) if the zeppelin was on fire rather than be burnt alive. Thomas Fegan documents all this as well as including some intriguing photographs from the raids.

The reaction of the British people is also documented, and Fegan reveals that the "stiff upper lip" was not always in evidence. This was the first time war had been raged against civilians on such a scale on the British mainland for centuries and the first time civilians had been bombed from the air and it was a terrible shock. Waging war on civilians was considered cowardly and criminal, the German zeppelin crews were called baby killers (hence the book's title). Fegan quotes from letters and diaries of normal people to convey the shock, fear and sometimes excitement of the people during the raids.

The second part of the book is a gazetteer documenting where each raid took place. Of course i had to look at Birmingham, actually we fared quite well here and got off pretty lightly. However amusingly on one zeppelin raid the zeppelin was sent to bomb Liverpool but went slightly off course and ended up mistaking Tipton for Birkenhead and bombed that instead.

Overall a very readable and enjoyable book which does a good job of portraying the events and also the people behind them.

Dreadnought project

Fear nothing, dead nought.

Late-Victorian to WW1 era military technology is something I am very interested in these days, especially in terms of battleships, zeppelins and gas warfare (OK now i am starting to sound a bit weird). The Dreadnought Project is an excellent website dedicated to modeling the ships of the Dreadnought era and there are some nifty computer models on there.

The part i like the best though are some of the photo galleries which show photographs from a number of collections, what i like about the photos is they are largely "ordinary". They arn't posed or familiar action photographs but images of ordinary every day life in extraordinary times. Gold dust to anyone interested in history like me.



Another interesting site covering the olden days of naval warfare is My Victorian Navy.