The Return of SHORAD

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An AIM-92 Stinger missile is fired down-range from the US Army’s new Interceptor launch platform at the Eglin Air Force Base range on March 23. The 96th Test Wing hosted the Army’s Stinger-Based Systems and Raytheon for two days to demonstrate the new launch platform’s capabilities. The interceptor can hold up to four missiles and can be mounted and launched from a variety of ground vehicles.(Photo: Samuel King Jr./US Air Force)

Via the Army University Press, this great 31-minute film covers the return of Short Range Air Defense, a doctrine and skill set thought all but dead after 1991, but now more important than ever.

It starts with some great Cold War footage of the old-school Vulcan Air Defense System (VADS) and M48 Chaparral system, then advances through Stingers, Avengers, C-RAMs, and current initiatives like Sgt Stout.

It’s good stuff!

Those wacky Ethiopian Type 68 AKs are here

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RTI, which has been bringing in the massive larder that has been Ethiopia’s accumulated military surplus going back to the 1940s, is now landing Ethiopian GAEC Gafat-1 pattern AK parts kits.

Ethiopian GAFAT-1 rifle from ConflictID (https://conflictid.c4ads.org/weapons)

My friend Vladimir Onokoy, probably the world’s foremost AK expert, wrote about these in TFB late last month, noting field experience with GAFAT guns in Somalia.

Ethiopian AKs are certainly not the best Kalashnikov rifles out there. But they do have a unique and fascinating history, and I am sure the gunsmiths in the US will do a better job putting them together than Ethiopian factory workers. So I am kinda excited that parts that I never expected to see outside of Africa will be available at the US civilian market.

According to RTI, “Ethiopian-produced ET-97 AK Parts Kits available now! These rifles were produced by the Gafat Armament Engineering Complex based upon the North Korean Type 68 rifle and further updated with some features similar to an AK-103.”

They are 7.62×39 and accept common AK-pattern mags, but have an AK-74 muzzle device, AM-72 style stocks, and two bayonet lugs.

These guns are riveted differently from just about anything else, and have seriously odd trunnions and sights.

More from RTI, below:

The Hun in Southeast Asia: 65 Years in the Rearview

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A U.S. Air Force North American F-100D-85-NH Super Sabre aircraft (s/n 56-3415) fires a salvo of 2.75-inch rockets against an enemy position in South Vietnam in 1967. This aircraft was lost with its pilot, 1Lt Clive Jeffs, after an engine failure near Nha Trang on 12 March 1971. VIRIN: DF-SN-82-00883

The North American F-100 Super Sabre, remembered simply as “The Hun,” had the distinction of being the longest-serving American jet fighter-bomber to fight in the Vietnam War. The first six F-100s were deployed from Clark Air Base in the Philippines to Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base on 16 April 1961, some 75 years ago this week.

F-100 flying low over Dinh Tuong Province, Vietnam, in 1969, providing close air support

F-100F Super Sabre 56-3923 90th TFS 3rd TFW Bien Hoa Vietnam 1968ish

The type was only withdrawn from the country in 1971, after serving as the first Wild Weasel SEAD aircraft and serving on “Misty” FAC missions.

A staggering 242 F-100s of various models were lost in Vietnam over its decade “in country.” While none of those were to PVAF fighters, 186 were downed by assorted anti-aircraft fire, seven destroyed in Vietcong sapper attacks on airbases, and 45 lost in operational incidents.

Notably, F-100s fought the USAF’s first air-to-air jet combat duel in the Vietnam War, with the 416th TFS’s “Green 2” Capt. Donald W. Kilgus, downing an enemy MiG-17 via cannon fire in a pursuing dive on 4 April 1965 while some 76 miles from Hanoi.

The thing is, though Kilgus painted a MiG kill marking beneath the windscreen of his Hun and another on the F-105G Wild Weasel that he flew later in the war, he was never given official credit for the kill, although even the Vietnamese say it happened.

Captain Donald Kilgus in his F-100D Super Sabre, 55-2894, named Kay Lynne.

An interesting factor about the F-100’s service in Vietnam was that four Air National Guard squadrons were activated in 1968 and deployed overseas to see combat, a rare use of the Guard during the war.

  • 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Colorado ANG (Deployed April 1968)
  • 174th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Iowa (May 1968)
  • 188th Tactical Fighter Squadron, New Mexico (May 1968)
  • 136th Tactical Fighter Squadron, New York (June 1968)

Two other outfits, the 119th TFS of New Jersey and the 121st TFS of the District of Columbia, provided so many volunteers to the active-component’s 355th Tactical Fighter Wing that it was referred to as the “fifth Air Guard squadron” in Vietnam.

“Scramble at Phan Rang” By William S. Phillips shows pilots of Colorado’s 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron running to get their F-100 Super Sabre aircraft airborne during an enemy rocket attack. The 120th became the first Air Guard unit to arrive in Vietnam, less than four months after mobilization. Flying F-100C Super Sabre aircraft it, like the other three mobilized Air Guard units to serve in Vietnam, will primarily conduct low-level ground support missions in coordination with American and South Vietnamese units operating in South Vietnam. These include precision bombing plus machine gun and rocket attacks on enemy emplacements and troop concentrations. The 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron entered combat on 5 May 1968, two days after its arrival, and completed its 1,000th mission 51 days later.

Tuy Hoa F-100C from 188th TFS, NMANG, Albuquerque, NM

During the Air Guard’s 11 months of service in Vietnam, the four deployed F-100 squadrons flew 24,124 combat sorties and accumulated 38,614 combat flying hours.

The last F-100s, operated by the ANG’s 114th TFG (South Dakota) and the 185th TFG (Iowa) were retired in 1977.

One of the two Huns in the collection of the National Museum of the Air Force wears Vietnam camo and for good reason. F-100F (s/n 56-3837) was a Misty FAC aircraft assigned to the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing at Phu Cat Air Base, Vietnam.

Marking the passing of Brigade 2506 including Baker, Gray, Ray, and Shamburger

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Today marks the end of the attempted liberation of Cuba by Brigade 2506 (Brigada Asalto 2506), which landed at the island’s Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on 17 April 1961 and, surrounded and cut off, laid down their arms on 20 April, some 65 years ago.

Special Demolition Frogman, Brigade 2506, Cuban Bay of Pigs, by Stephen Walsh, Paratrooper from 1st Bn, and a Brigadista with a MP40

Brigade 2506, Cuban Bay of Pigs, Stephen Walsh

The brigade, 177 airborne paratroops and 1,297 landed seaborne, fought valiantly but, facing upward of 25,000 Cuban troops backed by militia and police, never stood a realistic chance, especially once the Cubans controlled the air over the beachhead.

An estimated 114 drowned or were killed in action, and 1,183 were captured, “tried” before a kangaroo court, and imprisoned.

Exile groups in the U.S. raised $53 million worth of food and medicine in ransom to exchange for the release and repatriation of Brigade prisoners to Miami starting on 23 December 1962.

Four Americans, Capt. Thomas Willard “Pete” Ray, TSgt. Leo Francis Baker, Major Riley W. Shamburger, and TSgt. Wade C. Gray was killed when their Brigade 2506-marked B-26s were shot down over the beachhead. The CIA had recruited all through the Alabama Air National Guard and posthumously earned the Distinguished Intelligence Cross.

A new museum of the Brigade 2506 Association just opened in Miami.

The Southern Museum of Flight, joined by the 117th Air Refueling Wing of the Alabama Air National Guard, will assemble in Birmingham on 21 April in solemn remembrance to honor four Alabamians who paid the ultimate price.

And so we remember…

In Coast Guard News…

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In honor of 4/20 (haha), this seemed appropriate.

Just catching folks up on the operations of the country’s most unsung maritime force.

How about this cutter task group steaming in the Florida Straits, 23 March 2026. They include the 1960s-vintage 210-foot Reliance class cutters Vigorous (WMEC 627), left, and Resolute (WMEC 620), right, with the center being held by two much newer 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class FRCs Raymond Evans (WPC 1110), center-forward, and William Flores (WPC 1103), center-rear.

It is a decent little OPV SAG, with 200~ assorted Coasties embarked and spots for two MH-65 Dolphin helicopters (and/or assorted UAVs), four RIBs (two 26-foot OTH-IVs and two 19-footers), making it capable of some serious littoral interdiction.

If things get kinetic, they have four (two stabilized Mod 2 and two older Mod 0) Mk 38 25mm mounts and 16 crew-served .50-cals to fall back on, plus well-stocked small arms lockers for their boarding teams.

Of note, Vigorous, seen above, just returned to her home port in Virginia Beach last week following a 26-day patrol.

Busy Tampa

Speaking of returning from patrol, the 270-foot Famous (Bear) class cutter USCGC Tampa (WMEC 902) just offloaded “enough cocaine to kill more than 1.4 million Americans” in Miami after two interdictions in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean through Operation Pacific Viper on a 74-day patrol.

Note that she is one of the last cutters with a Mk 75 76mm OTO. Her sisters are getting them replaced with a Mk 38 Mod 2 25mm (!) during refits

Typical of such patrols, Tampa had a HITRON helicopter detachment aboard, who surgically riddled several go-fast outboards with .50 cal rounds from afar.

They brought back the engine covers for trophies:

Coast Guard Cutter Tampa’s (WMEC 902) crew poses for a group photo during a drug offload at U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida, April 16, 2026. Tampa’s crew offloaded nearly $28.7 million in illicit narcotics interdicted in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Reese Hindmarsh)

Bertholf returns after 80 days

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) departs the San Francisco Bay on Jan. 21, 2026. Bertholf departed for a deployment to the Eastern Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard Courtesy photo) 260121-G-G0200-1001

Likewise, the class-leading 418-foot Legend-class USCGC Bertholf (WMSL 750) just returned to her Alameda homeport after an 80-day counter-narcotics deployment to the Eastern Pacific.

Bertholf departed Alameda on Jan. 21 to support Operation Southern Spear in the Caribbean, but prior to transiting the Panama Canal, the cutter was retasked to remain in the Pacific theater, shifting focus to counter drug trafficking and transnational criminal threats on the high seas in support of Operation Pacific Viper.

Bertholf traveled nearly 20,000 nautical miles during the deployment, crossing the equator multiple times while patrolling maritime smuggling routes from Central and South America. The cutter conducted 24 approaches or boardings of suspected drug trafficking vessels and responded to two search and rescue cases, including a vessel fire near Costa Rica.

Bertholf’s crew conducted more than 180 flight operations with helicopter aircrews from Air Station San Francisco, Air Station Ventura, and Air Station San Diego, refining proficiency in shipboard landings, in-flight refueling, and vertical replenishment. The crew completed more than 120 hours of small boat training, strengthening the capabilities of law enforcement teams and cutter boat pursuit crews. Additionally, Bertholf executed two live-fire gunnery exercises, employing minor caliber weapons as well as major weapon systems including the 57 mm and the Phalanx Close-In Weapons System.

In other news, the service just announced it intends to homeport the first two (of up to 11) new Arctic Security Cutters in Alaska, a change from basing polar vessels in Seattle.

How about an NFA compliant 18 inch PDW with a Honey Badger Brace?

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Featuring a 5.5-inch barrel, Colt-pattern 32-round magazines, and an SB Tactical HB brace on a three-position receiver extension, the new Saint Victor PDW from Springfield Armory is maneuverable and uncompromising.

Springfield introduced its first 9mm blowback-action Saint Victor model AR in late 2022, featuring a Melonite-coated 16-inch CMV barrel with a 1:10-inch twist, ambidextrous safety, nickel-boron-coated flat trigger, and a standard GI-style charging handle. In a departure from the widespread use of Glock double-stack mags for 9mm PCCs, the Victor carbine accepted 32-round Colt SMG stick mags, which are widely available. We’ve evaluated these carbines in the past and found them to deliver on the range.

Since then, the stick-magged 9mm PCC proved popular, with Springfield responding to customer feedback by delivering more compact models, including an 8.5-inch and a 5.5-inch pistol outfitted with an SB Tactical SB-A3 stabilizing brace. The 5.5 incher, in particular, taped out between 20 and 22.5 inches due to the adjustable receiver extension.

Going even more compact, the new Saint Victor 9mm PDW sticks with the 5.5-inch barrel, while its SB Tactical HBPDW brace, paired with a short buffer system, shrinks the overall length to 18.5 inches and feels much more solid.

And that brings us to this:

The new Saint Victor 9mm PDW uses forged 7075 T6 aluminum, Type III hardcoat anodized receivers finished in a low-glare Tungsten Gray Cerakote. 
With its HBPDW brace collapsing into its shortest format, the pistol is 18.5 inches long while still offering a 23.5-inch extended length. Like the rest of its family, it runs Colt-pattern 32-round stick mags.

Sporting probably the best brace I’ve felt and using a common ($30) double-stack steel mag that gives it a very SMG vibe, this new AR-9 from Springfield knocks it out of the park and fits in just about any bag big enough to hold a laptop.

We found the Victor PDW to fit easily in a 5.11 LVC12 Backpack. The bag is small enough (19″ H x 11″ W x 7.5″ D) to be discreet with a clean, urban profile, and still has lots of extra storage available besides the pistol and extra mags.

If you want a solid and utterly dependable 9mm PDW platform that can live in just about any bag that stands 19 inches high, this is it. The tolerances are tight. It is well thought out. It has a vibe.

About the worst you can say is that it is hefty by comparison, about a half pound heavier than a Kuna, which has a softer recoil and is a little cheaper. Plus, when you first load those Colt pattern sticks, take your pre-workout because you have to work on it to get to 32. After a while, they break in, but you have to climb that hill first.

Still, if you are looking for an AR-9 platform that can fit in almost any bag, here you go.

the new Springfield Saint Victor PDW
The MSRP on the new Springfield Saint Victor PDW is $1,399

Glock Generational Differences

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My bud (and podcast partner) Alexander went through the GDC Vault at work, pulled all seven generations (G1-6, plus V, minus the 4.5s), and compared them in a great piece on the site. I just couldn’t pass up the chance to repeat the profile pictures here for those of you guys who may be interested.

As you can tell, the Glock over the past 40 years has basically retained the same profile and manual of arms while showcasing a variety of minor internal tweaks and lots of gentle ergonomic improvements, the latter evolutionarily sculpting away at the pistol’s inherent blockiness.

Each in turn:

Glock Gen 1

Glock Gen 2

Glock Gen 3

Glock Gen 4

Glock Gen 5

Glock Gen V

Glock Gen 6

The article here.

Nothing More Stirring than a Super Delta

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The Thunderbirds took a slight detour on their way to SUN ‘n FUN from Panama City to link up with the Blue Angels over the Emerald Coast.

Offical caption: The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron (NFDS) – the Blue Angels – and the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron (USAFADS) – The Thunderbirds – took part in a rare formation flyover of Pensacola Beach April 14. The Super Delta formation, a much anticipated event, stems from joint training opportunities held in 2020 and 2021 and serves as a show of both teams’ discipline and skill.

Photo by Bruce Cummins VIRIN: 260414-N-GO179-9001

The image also shows the big difference in size between the Birds’ 10-ton F-16C/D Vipers they have been flying since 1992 and the Blues’ more recently acquired (2021) F-18E/F Rhinos, which run 16 tons empty.

Have a great weekend, guys!

Guppy foursome

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Some 60 years ago this week.

Subron-21’s GUPPY IIIs, complete with high “North Atlantic” sails, motor by in a tight formation on 18 April 1966.

USS Clamagore (SS-343) is in front, with USS Corporal (SS-346) on Clamagore’s port side, USS Cobbler (SS-344) on Clamagore’s starboard side, and USS Blenny (SS-324) bringing up the rear.

All four submarines were part of the Balao-class, and all were commissioned into the U.S. Navy in the final two years of WWII, although only Blenny arrived in time to make war patrols that earned battle stars (four) before VJ-Day.

In formation on 18 April 1966. The boats seen are: USS BLENNY (SS-324), CLAMAGORE (SS-343), COBBLER (SS-344), and CORPORAL (SS-346)

Formation on 18 April 1966. The boats seen are: USS BLENNY (SS-324), CLAMAGORE (SS-343), COBBLER (SS-344), and CORPORAL (SS-346)

Of the quartet, Clamagore survived the longest, retired in 1980, and was scrapped in 2022 after four decades of slowly wasting away as a museum ship in Charleston.

Blenny, the WWII combat vet, decommissioned in 1973, was scuttled off Ocean City, Maryland, on 7 June 1989.

Cobbler, which transferred to Turkey in 1973, was renamed TCG Çanakkale (S 341) and somehow served until 1998.

Corporal also transferred to Turkey in 1974 and commissioned TCG Ikinci İnönü (S333), serving until 1996.

What 603 feet of Sovereign U.S. Territory can Do in a Pinch

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After mentioning the helicopter carrier that saw the first use of ships’ caps for recovered astronauts earlier this week– USS Guam (LPH 9) in 1966’s Gemini 11, we would be remiss not to mention what that same humble Iwo Jima-class phib was up to some 30 years ago this week.

Guam, some 31 years young at the time, left Morehead City, North Carolina, on 27 Jan 1996 at the head of an ARG that included the transport dock ship USS Trenton (LPD 14) and the dock landing ships USS Portland (LSD 37) and USS Tortuga (LSD 46). Embarked was the 22nd MEU (SOC), made up of Battalion Landing Team 2/4, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 261, and assorted support elements, sailing under U.S. Sixth Fleet orders.

Just over two months into her (planned) six-month deployment to the Med and afloat in the Adriatic on a series of planned exercises, the call came on 11 April 1996 for Guam— the Mediterranean ARG with the embarked Landing Force Sixth Fleet– to sail at best speed to Monrovia, Liberia, some 3,000nm distant, where trouble was brewing. Leaving Tortuga behind (she was in Haifa, Israel, with the MEU artillery– Battery B, 1st Battalion, 10th Marines, and the light armored reconnaissance company, Company D (-), 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion) to take part in exercise Noble Shirley), Guam and the rest of the ARG made for West Africa.

Four days later, on 15 April, the Marines of the 22nd MEU’s flyaway forward liaison cell arrived at the embassy in Monrovia to begin coordinating with the deployed European Special Operations Command’s forward headquarters in the country.

By 19 April, Guam and the promise of embarked Marines just offshore became real when they arrived at Mamba Station located off the coast of Liberia. The mission now assigned to 22d MEU was to conduct noncombatant evacuation operations and to provide security for the American Embassy in Liberia– Operation Assured Response.

USS Guam (LPH-9), Op Assured Response off Liberia, April 1996. Note her mix of CH-46Es, CH-53Ds, AH-1s, and UH-1s. 

As noted by the 82-page Marine History of Assured Response:

At 0600 on 20 April, the first helicopter sorties carrying Marines arrived to replace the soldiers at the embassy in Monrovia. The well-briefed platoon guides from Company F and Weapons Company BLT 2/2 came ashore first. The main body of Marines began arriving at the basketball court landing zone one hour later. Company F arrived first, quickly followed by the small 22d MEU forward command element and some MEU Service Support Group 22 (MSSG-22) personnel. Fast attack vehicles debarked carrying .50-caliber machine guns, Mk19 grenade launchers, and tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided

missiles, commonly called TOW missiles. These vehicles, combined with the mortars, machine guns, and sniper weapons already on station at the embassy, significantly enhanced the Marines’ firepower. The MEU completed the entire lift by 1015.

Company F, commanded by Captain Eric M. Mellinger, assumed security of the compound. The smooth transition left Marine squad leaders and platoon commanders with fire plans and field sketches drawn by the departing airborne troops. Starting at about 1230, soldiers from Company C, 3d Battalion, 325th Infantry, left in six sorties of three Boeing MH-47D Chinook helicopters. The last flight out of the embassy at 2015 included the outgoing commander of the European Special Operations Command’s Joint Task Force Assured Response. That evening, more than 275 Marines protected the compound. Captain Mellinger noted the embassy staff seemed overjoyed the Marines had arrived.

Guam, her two fellow gators, and (most of) the 22nd MEU would remain in/off Liberia with the ships often within direct-line sight of Monrovia for weeks as USAF aircraft ran a quiet evac operation ashore (103 combined sorties via MH-53 Pave Low helicopters, MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft, AC-130 gunships, KC-135 Stratotankers, and C-130 cargo aircraft) from M’Poko Airfield, with the Navy/Marine force providing muscle and presence.

USS Guam (LPH-9), Op Assured Response off Liberia, April 1996

The already split ARG/MEU was further dimenished when Trenton left for the coast of Spain to join with Tortuga for Exercise Matador 96 in early May, and Portland left on 20 June, leaving Guam alone on station off Liberia until the scratch-built SPMAGTF Liberia (732 Marines and Green side Navy personnel with 5 LAVs and 9 AAPV7s, along with six CH-46Es of HMM-264) arrived crammed aboard USS Ponce (LPD 15) on 27 June.

Between 9 April and 18 June, Joint Task Force Operation Assured Response evacuated 2,444 people (485 Americans and 1,959 citizens of 72 other countries) from Liberia.

USS Guam was decommissioned on 25 August 1998 and was disposed of as a target off the East Coast on 16 October 2001 in a SINKEX conducted by the John F. Kennedy Battle Group.

Although battered, Guam took over 12 hours to sink. One tough girl to the last.

Her motto was “Swift and bold.”

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