Another fall Again

Saturday, November 26, 2016

World Keith Zhai, David Tweed,Bloomberg Thu, Nov 24 8:55 PM PST

American military vessels and aircraft carried out more than 700 patrols in the South China Sea region during 2015, making China the U.S.’s No. 1 surveillance target, according to a report by China’s only state-backed institution dedicated to research of the waters. The patrols pose a threat to China’s sovereignty and security interests, said the report by the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, which is headquartered in Hainan island. The document, the first of its kind released by China, warned that continued targeted operations by U.S. patrols would lead to militarization of the waters. “China could possibly set up an Air Defense Identification Zone in the South China Sea if the ...

World Newsweek 20 hours ago

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appeared Friday to make a U-turn on peace talks with Abu Sayyaf, the radical Islamist militant group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and beheaded two Canadian nationals this year. Speaking on a visit to wounded soldiers at a military hospital in the southern city of Zamboanga, the firebrand leader appealed to the group to come to the negotiating table for the good of the population, and appeared to suggest that he would consider federalism for the country’s Muslim minorities. Duterte has previously said that he could not negotiate with Abu Sayyaf, which mainly operates in the southern Philippines, because they are primarily motivated by their criminal activities. ...

World nextbigfuture.com 18 hours ago

The missile is about 28 percent of the length of the J-16, which measures 22 meters (about 72 feet). The puts the missile at about 19 feet, and roughly 13 inches in diameter. The missile appears to have four tailfins. Reports are that the size would put into the category of a very long range air to air missile (VLRAAM) with ranges exceeding 300 km (roughly 186 miles), likely max out between 250 and 310 miles. (As a point of comparison, the smaller 13.8-foot, 15-inch-diameter Russian R-37 missile has a 249-mile range). This missile would easily outrange any American (or other NATO) air-to-air missile. The VLRAAM's powerful rocket engine will push it to Mach 6 speeds, which will increase the no ...

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

World Fox News 2016-11-22T17:37:00Z

Cheeky North Korea has sent a nine-page letter to the U.S. demanding it stops the ‘hostile nuclear threats’ towards the rogue state and its despotic leader. The missive sets out what it now expects from American and is being seen by many in Washington as a direct message to new President-elect Donald Trump. North Korea has kept pretty silent about Trump’s shock victory in the November 8 election but it has now laid out what it wants of the incoming US administration. The statement, carried by the official Korea Central News Agency, claims Barack Obama’s administration went out of it’s way to “overthrow” Kim Jong Un and his country. It also accused Obama of “constantly heaping malicious slander ...

World The Motley Fool 2016-11-22T16:17:00Z

Over-budget, behind schedule, and -- reportedly -- not a particularly good fighter jet, Lockheed Martin's (NYSE:LMT) ultramodern Joint Strike Fighter may be destined for the scrap heap. Unfortunately, it turns out that the F-35 may not do the "invisibility" thing very well, either. As DefenseNews.com recently revealed, China has a new device that may be able to track Lockheed's F-35 fighter with "passive" radar detection technology. Dubbed the DWL002, China's equipment can apparently detect stealth aircraft at distances of up to 400 kilometers -- and 600 kilometers for larger "stealth" targets -- processing "pulse, frequency agility, pulse duration, tactical air navigation system, distance measuring equipment, jitter/stagger radar, and identification friend or foe" signals emitted by the otherwise stealthy aircraft to determine its location. ...

Politics NPR.org 18 hours ago

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has had a strained relationship with the U.S. since taking office in June, mainly because of U.S. criticism of his controversial — and often brutal — war on drugs. But he says he's hoping to get along with President-elect Donald Trump. Toward that end, Duterte appointed real estate magnate Jose E.B. Antonio as a special trade envoy to the U.S. — and Antonio happens to be the man building Trump Tower Manila. "Donald Trump himself is an icon of real estate," Antonio says on the website for the project. "He has been my reference for a lot of projects; he exudes luxury, he exudes quality, he exudes a standard that most real estate developers should emulate if ...

World Alex Lockie,Business Insider Mon, Nov 21 1:38 PM PST

(Sailors assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) render assistance to a distressed Iranian vessel.US Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Hopkins/Released) In yet another development in an already eventful deployment, US Navy sailors aboard the USS Nitze rescued three stranded Iranians in the Arabian Gulf on Friday.

The Iranians made a distress call after their boat stalled. US Sailors responded quickly, providing a case of water and a new battery for the vessel.

"Our Sailors are trained to respond quickly to those in distress at sea," said Cmdr. Paul Kaylor, commanding officer of Nitze said in a US Navy statement. "We are proud to have assisted in this situation."

Interactions with Iranians in the Arabian Gulf have not always been positive.

The USS Nitze specifically has been the target of "harassing" and swarming behaviorlike simulated attacks while sailing off Iran's coast.

Last month, Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen fired missiles towards US Navy ships, including the Nitze. In response, the Nitze fired Tomahawk cruise missiles, destroying the radar sites used by the militants to target the US ships. Experts and US military officials attribute blame to Iran over the incident.

Additionally, when US Navy sailors found their boat inoperable in Iranian waters last January, Iranian navy vessels surrounded them and captured them at gunpoint. Iranian state TV then broadcast footage and images of the captured sailors for some time as propaganda. Iran apparently plans to build a monument of the event.

After the October incident, Iranian ships reportedly went to the Arabian Gulf. However, they were nowhere to be found when their countrymen were stranded at sea on Friday.

NOW WATCH: The US struck radar sites in Yemen after rebels tried to attack a Navy ship with missiles

Saturday, November 26, 2016

U.S. Naval Patrols Threaten Sovereignty, Chinese Think Tank Warns

Philippines' Duterte makes U-turn on peace talks with ISIS affiliate

China successfully fires radical 300+ mile range hypersonic missile that would put key parts of US air operations at risk

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Kim Jong Un writes 9-page letter to Trump, demanding end to 'hostile nuclear threats'

Did China Just Render America's $1 Trillion Stealth Fighter Program Obsolete? -- The Motley Fool

Who's The New Philippine Envoy? The Man Building Trump Tower Manila

The US Navy destroyer that fired missiles at Yemen just rescued stranded Iranian sailors