Ukraine’s ground war with Russia is a charnel house that requires something like 30,000 new/returning recruits every month to keep the trenches semi-full. It is a war that has always been a numbers game.
An innovative method that the troop-poor country is turning to is the old enlisting prisoners bit, be it from among civilian or military inmate populations.
You know, the whole Dirty Dozen thing.
It is something that is actually pretty common in Soviet military history, with the Shtrafbat Penal Units of the Great Patriotic War being infamous. During that conflict, no less than 65 independent criminal battalions and 1,028 penal companies were established; however, pardons generally only came after being too wounded to fight any more, with the bonus of being sent to a regular infantry unit on the front once/if you healed, so there is that. Of the more than 427,000 who served in Soviet punishment units during the war, very few were still standing in 1946, and even those lucky bastards usually got a post-war ticket to the gulag for their service.
However, the difference with Ukraine is that they are actively recruiting in women’s prisons.
It makes sense on a modern battlefield when you need things like drone makers and operators and lots of EW/SIGINT folks.
The USCG, which is increasingly being tapped for Navy-adjacent blue water ops far away from any American coastline, is getting its first vessel “contracted in a new initiative using commercial vessels to transport supplies, equipment, and personnel to Coast Guard cutters” operating at sea.
The new (to them) vessel is the blue-hulled Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean (HSC-Ocean), a long-term charter from Louisiana-based Bordelon Marine.
Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean is moored at U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida, June 26, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Reese Hindmarsh)
Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean is moored at U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida, June 26, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Reese Hindmarsh)
The HSC-Ocean initiative will rapidly deploy this leased commercial asset to augment the Coast Guard’s existing fleet, enhancing the Service’s ability to control, secure, and defend U.S. borders and maritime approaches. The initiative is designed to provide a rapid, adaptable, and effective way to deliver logistics support to high-demand, multi-mission cutters, such as the Fast Response Cutter fleet. By delivering supplies and personnel directly to cutters underway, the vessel will help keep Coast Guard assets on station longer and focused on mission execution.
In short, a rented patrol boat tender with civilian mariners “driving the bus” and embarked Coasties calling the shots.
HSC Ocean started as the M/V Connor Bordelon, a 257-foot/3,285 LT “Ultralight subsea intervention vessel” with a 60-ton AHC crane and 17m USCG/ABS Certified D Value helideck capable of supporting up to an AW189 (8 ton class) aircraft (the Coast Guard’s MH-65 weighs half that).
Connor Bordelon is fairly new, just completed in 2013, is rigged to support diving and multiple ROVs, has a work deck big enough to burn doughnuts on, and has room for 60 berths, including 24 showers and eight stacked laundry units. When it comes to support, she can carry nearly 70,000 gallons of potable water, produce another 3,100 a day via a Neptune system, and carry 122,000 gallons of diesel.
Under the contract, Bordelon Marine will provide a fully crewed commercial vessel operated by civilian mariners, under the direction of a Coast Guard crew. The vessel will transport supplies, equipment, and mission-essential personnel in support of Coast Guard operations. The contractor will be responsible for vessel operations and maintenance, while embarked Coast Guard personnel will coordinate logistics and support mission execution.
While the Royal Navy has been increasingly in doldrums, its love/hate sister fleet across the Channel has been hard at work.
The French Navy celebrates its 400th anniversary this year, and you can tell they are going big.
Big Chuck
On 18 May, while deployed in the Indian Ocean, the sole French aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle (R91) celebrated 25 years of entering active service.
How it started:
Since 2001, she has been holding down deployments around the world in Operations Heracles, Agapanthe, Harmattan, Arromanches, Clemenceau 19/21/22/25, etc., and has traveled in excess of 865,000 nautical miles, and logged more than 60,000 catapult traps.
She had sailed from Toulon in late January for the multinational ORION 26 exercise in the Baltic, then had been shifted to a more war-adjacent deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean and now the Indian Ocean/Arabian Sea.
While scheduled for long-term maintenance for July 2026, this could very well be bumped.
Le vendredi 15 mai, sur le pont d’envol du porte-avions Charles De Gaulle, lors du catapultage d’un E2C Hawkeye ainsi que plusieurs Rafale marine. Le porte-avions Charles de Gaulle et ses escorteurs ont franchi le canal de Suez le 6 mai 2026, sur ordre du Président de la République, afin de rapprocher le groupe aéronaval de la zone du détroit d’Ormuz.
Le samedi 13 juin, sur le pont d’envol du porte-avions Charles De Gaulle, lors du catapultage d’un E2C Hawkeye ainsi que plusieurs Rafale marine. Le porte-avions Charles de Gaulle et ses escorteurs ont franchi le canal de Suez le 6 mai 2026, sur ordre du Président de la République, afin de rapprocher le groupe aéronaval de la zone du détroit d’Ormuz.
Le samedi 13 juin, sur le pont d’envol du porte-avions Charles de Gaulle, lors du catapultage d’un E2C Hawkeye ainsi que de plusieurs Rafales marines. Le porte-avions Charles de Gaulle et ses escorteurs ont franchi le canal de Suez le 6 mai 2026, sur ordre du Président de la République, afin de rapprocher le groupe aéronaval de la zone du détroit d’Ormuz.
At least three French frigates, the replenishment ship Jacques Chevallier, and an SSN have deployed with CdG. Several allied frigates (Spanish, Dutch, and even a Brit, HMS Dragon) have tagged along as well.
Meanwhile, two Mistral-class LHDs and five other frigates are active in the Eastern Med and Red Sea, performing tanker and container ship escorts among assorted taskings under the EU’s Operation Aspides.
On June 10, a French FREMM-class multi-mission frigate escorted the largest container ship sailing under the French flag, the 24,212 TEU CMA CGM Notre Dame, through the Bab el Mandeb Strait as part of the Aspides mission.
The two ships are carrying 160 officer cadets on their summer cruise, a detachment from the 34F Flotilla equipped with an AS565 Panther helicopter, a 36F Flotilla detachment with S-100 Camcopter drones, and a group of 3e RIMa Marines to rotate out the 400 deployed members of the Guadeloupe-based 33rd RIMa.
Also present on board the Fourth Air Combat Brigade (4e BAM) with two NH90 Caiman helicopters and two Gazelles from the 3rd Combat Helicopter Regiment (3e RHC). Also carried are Flexrotor UAVs and a Sirehna unmanned surface vessel.
Le 03 mars 2026, lors du passage du détroit de Bab El-Manded, un poste aviation a lieu pour effectuer de la surveillance maritime. Du 17 février au 14 juillet 2026, le groupe amphibie, composé du porte-hélicoptère amphibie (PHA) Dixmude et de la frégate de type La Fayette (FLF) Aconit, est déployé en Méditerranée orientale, mer Rouge, ainsi qu’à travers l’océan Indien, dans le cadre de la mission « Jeanne d’Arc
Le 03 mars 2026, lors du passage du détroit de Bab El-Manded, un poste aviation a lieu pour effectuer de la surveillance maritime. Du 17 février au 14 juillet 2026, le groupe amphibie, composé du porte-hélicoptère amphibie (PHA) Dixmude et de la frégate de type La Fayette (FLF) Aconit, est déployé en Méditerranée orientale, mer Rouge, ainsi qu’à travers l’océan Indien, dans le cadre de la mission « Jeanne d’Arc
They first sortied to the Indo-Pacific, where they took part in Balkatan 26, Papangue 26, and La Perouse 26, then doubled back to the Americas for Operation Atlantia, conducting port calls and exercises all the way, making sure to stop by every French colony within striking distance to show the flag.
This has included taking part in Caraibes 2026 with Barbados, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago, and Marambaïa 26 with Brazil.
Dixmude at Guadelupe
FS Dixmude (L9015) and FFH Aconit (F713) arrived in Halifax on May 29
What a recruiting poster! Dixmude at Guadelupe, with her 160 embarked naval cadets, no doubt loving life
Mistral-class amphibious assault ship FNS DIXMUDE docked at Cape Town harbour
FS Dixmude (L9015) i FS Aconit (713) widać FS Confiance (P733) off Guyana
Le PHA Dixmude en Atlantique Nord, lors d’un phénomène météorologique créant des nuages en surface, le 28 mai 2026. Du 17 février au 14 juillet 2026, le groupe amphibie, composé du porte-hélicoptère amphibie (PHA) Dixmude et de la frégate de type La Fayette (FLF) Aconit, est déployé en Méditérannée orientale, mer Rouge, ainsi qu’à travers l’océan Atlantique, dans le cadre de la mission “Jeanne d’Arc
FS Dixmude (L9015) in Mombasa
This has seen her embarked marines hold and seize beaches from St. Pierre and Miquelon off the coast of Canada to Brazil, Guadeloupe, and the Philippines.
Forces armées aux Antilles, French Op Caribes, Dixmude’s landing craft and 33 RIM marines
Un EDAR s’apprête à débarquer des véhicules du GTE, à Marie Galante, le 17 mai. Du 17 au 21 mai 2026, le Groupement Tactique Embarqué participe à la première phase de l’exercice Caraïbes 26, qui les opposent à des membres du 33e RIMA, entre Marie Galante et Basse-Terre. Du 17 février au 14 juillet 2026, le groupe amphibie, composé du porte-hélicoptère amphibie (PHA) Dixmude et de la frégate de type La Fayette (FLF) Aconit, est déployé en Méditérannée orientale
Débarquement par EDA-S des soldats du 3e RIMA à Basse-Terre pour un exercice de prise de fort, le 19 mai. Du 17 au 21 mai 2026, le Groupement Tactique Embarqué participe à la première phase de l’exercice Caraïbes 26, qui les opposent à des membres du 33e RIMA, entre Marie Galante et Basse-Terre. Du 17 février au 14 juillet 2026, le groupe amphibie, composé du porte-hélicoptère amphibie (PHA) Dixmude et de la frégate de type La Fayette (FLF) Aconit, est déployé en Méditérannée orientale, m
Un EDA-S s’apprête à débarquer des véhicules du GTE à Marie-Galante, le 17 mai. Du 17 au 21 mai 2026, le Groupement Tactique Embarqué participe à la première phase de l’exercice Caraïbes 26, qui les opposent à des membres du 33e RIMA, entre Marie Galante et Basse-Terre. Du 17 février au 14 juillet 2026, le groupe amphibie, composé du porte-hélicoptère amphibie (PHA) Dixmude et de la frégate de type La Fayette (FLF) Aconit, est déployé en Méditérannée
Un VBL de la section PEI en progression dans les pistes de Marie Galante, en recherche de la FORAD, le 17 mai. Du 17 au 21 mai 2026, le Groupement Tactique Embarqué participe à la première phase de l’exercice Caraïbes 26, qui les opposent à des membres du 33e RIMA, entre Marie Galante et Basse-Terre. Du 17 février au 14 juillet 2026, le groupe amphibie, composé du porte-hélicoptère amphibie (PHA) Dixmude et de la frégate de type La Fayette (FLF) Aconit, est déployé en Méditérannée orientale
Assaut de l’entrée du fort par une section de soldats brésiliens, dirigées par deux sous-officiers français, à Basse Terre le 19 mai, lors d’un exercice de prise de fort. Du 17 au 21 mai 2026, le Groupement Tactique Embarqué participe à la première phase de l’exercice Caraïbes 26, qui les opposent à des membres du 33e RIMA, entre Marie Galante et Basse-Terre.
Un EDAR du Dixmude rejoint la plage pour le rembarquement des troupes à l’issue de l’exercice, sous la surveillance d’une soldat française, posté à l’entrée du fort Delgrès, à Basse Terre le 19 mai. Du 17 au 21 mai 2026, le Groupement Tactique Embarqué participe à la première phase de l’exercice Caraïbes 26, qui les opposent à des membres du 33e RIMA, entre Marie Galante et Basse-Terre.
Entrainement du groupement tactique embarqué à terre, comportant une désignation de cible pour frappes aéroportées, et simulation d’évacuation médicale par hélicoptère, sur l’ile de Miquelon, le 06 juin 2026.
Le 6 mars 2026, pendant l’opération ATALANTA, les 2 EDA-S à bord du PHA Tonnerre réalisent un déradiage simultanée, avec une mer défavorable.
Le 06 juin 2026, Le groupe Jeanne d’Arc 2026 arrive en escale à St Pierre et Miquelon. C’est l’occasion pour le PHA Dixmude et l’Aconit de réaliser différentes cérémonies auprès de la population, dépose de gerbes, cérémonie du 06 juin et cérémonie des 400 ans.
They just wrapped up exercises with the U.S. Marines and Navy off Little Creek, which included cross-decking an MV-22 and an LCAC, and is due back in France for Bastille Day.
Dixmude with an American V-22 on her deck while working out with U.S. Marines off the Virginia Capes last week
Stosskopf
Intermittently, Dixmude and Aconit have teamed up with the brand new 31,000-ton replenishment ship BRF Jacques Stosskopf, which was recently commissioned and just completed a 155-day, 38,000nm independent cruise that included trialing the new H160M Guépard helicopter and conducting 40 replenishments at sea.
Jacques Stosskopf sailing between the frigate Aconit and the amphibious assault ship Dixmude
Jacques Stosskopf sailing between the frigate Aconit and the amphibious assault ship Dixmude
Jacques Stosskopf sailing between the frigate Aconit and the amphibious assault ship Dixmude a
She has also teamed up with other French and allied assets around the hemisphere.
Jacques Stosskopf Dutch De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate Zr. Ms. De Ruyter (F804) and the British Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33) during ORION 26 in February.
Shadow Fleet Grief
French naval commandos seized another oil tanker from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in the Mediterranean Sea near Sicily this week. Flying the Cameroonian flag, the MT Deliver was sailing from Russia’s Baltic port of Primorsk and boarded on Tuesday after allegedly violating maritime law.
Deliver was the fifth tanker seized by France since it launched an enforcement campaign against Russia’s shadow fleet last September in what Moscow calls “another act of piracy.”
In late May, French authorities, with British help, detained the Tagor in the Atlantic on suspicion of flying a false flag and arrested her Russian master.
In January, French forces impounded another suspected Russian tanker, the Grinch, and in March, the Deyna, sailing from Murmansk under a Mozambican flag, was detained in Marseille.
Last September, the French navy boarded the Boracay, which claimed to be flagged in Benin.
Roaming paradise
The new 262-foot/1,300 ton Félix Éboué class patrouilleur outre-mer (overseas patrol boat) Jean Tranape (P782) just made it to her first homeport, the French colonial capital of Noumea in New Caledonia.
She did so after a nearly three-month unescorted sortie that saw her leave Brest in April, cruise across the Atlantic to the colony of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, visit Halifax, the Bahamas, and cross through the Panama Canal before participating in Exercise Marara with her sister Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai (P780) in French Polynesia.
The new patrol boat, armed with a 30mm Nexter Narwal autocannon, two .50 cals, two FN MAGs, and Aliaca UAVs, has a crew of 30 but can accommodate a platoon of marines if needed.
Jean Tranape joins her sister, Auguste Bénébig (P779), in Nouméa and is one of six POMs ordered to replace the much smaller (179-foot/400-ton) P400 class OPVs formerly used for the task.
Sister POMs Jean Tranape (P782) and Auguste Bénébig (P779) are French patrol boats at Noumea in New Caledonia
Tall ship fever
Meanwhile, the French Navy’s windjammer, the 123-foot, two-masted schooner Belle Poule, is actively participating in the Sail 250 flotilla and is set to sail into Baltimore this week.
From there, she will continue on to port calls in New York and Boston for the 4th.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Interceptor, first fielded in 2008, is, along with Aegis SM-3, the exo-atmospheric ballistic missile defense “meat” in the layered air defense sandwich between the full-on ICBM-killing Ground-Based Interceptor, and shorter-range MIM-104 Patriot and SM-2.
The thing is, the Army only has a grand total of eight THAAD batteries, and in the recent escapades in the Middle East, reportedly anywhere between 15 and 50 percent of the total U.S. THAAD interceptor stockpile has been expended.
So the meat is getting pretty thin on that sandwich.
As it moves toward rebuilding and expanding that inventory (keep in mind all the Gulf States are buying them as well), the Pentagon has just given Lockheed a 7-year, $35 billion award for more THAADs.
For that same amount of taxpayer slush, the Navy could get 13 of the newest SM-3 slinging Flight III Burkes (maybe even 14 or 15 if done in a block buy), each of which will serve for 30 years, or almost three new Ford class CVNs (airwings not included), which would each serve for 50.
Just saying.
Anyways, via DOD/DOW contracts:
Lockheed Martin Corp. Missiles and Fire Control, Dallas, Texas, is awarded a multi-year procurement sole-source, fixed-price incentive, undefinitized contract for the production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Interceptors. The total value of this contract is $35,327,237,604. Under this contract, the contractor will produce THAAD missile rounds, under fixed-price contract line-item numbers. The work will be performed in Dallas, Texas; Sunnyvale, California; Troy, Alabama; and Camden, Arkansas. The performance period is from March 2026 through June 2032. One offer was solicited, and one offer was received. Fiscal 2026 procurement funds in the amount of $842,871,672 are being obligated at time of award. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
U.S. Pacific Fleet oiler USS Hassayampa (AO 145) refuels two ships simultaneously while underway at sea. To the right is the attack carrier USS Hancock (CVA 19), and on the left the destroyer USS McKean (DD 784) on Yankee Station during Vietnam at a time when the fleet had some 100 fleet oilers on the Naval List. NHHC L45-121.03.01
During the naval build-up for World War II, Maritime Commission standard T2 and T3 tankers were converted to US Navy oilers (AO)s with relative ease. By the time VJ-Day came, this fleet included 35 large (22,000-ton) T3 Cimarron-class, and 60 even larger 25,000-ton Kennebec/Suamico/Mission Buenaventura-class T2 oilers.
And that’s not even including tankers requisitioned from trade, and older Kanawha/Patoka/Kaweah class oilers left over from the circa 1917 expansion.
That’s well over 100 large tankers in haze grey.
And Nimitz needed every single one.
It is no secret that the lack of oilers to send to the Southwest Pacific in 1942 led Nimitz to hold back his *numerous available battleships from the opening acts of the Guadalcanal campaign for lack of bunker fuel to feed them. *(USS Maryland, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania were only lightly damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor and rejoined the Pacific fleet relatively quickly after, while USS Idaho, Mississippi, and New Mexico were also available, but largely spent 1942 on the West Coast and Eastern Pacific.)
The saga of the oiler USS Neosho (AO-23) from Pearl Harbor to the Coral Sea, during which Admiral Cox referred to her as a “critical strategic asset,” is legend. Further, the ship that took her name after she was sunk, USS Neosho (AO-48), well earned her 13 battle stars for World War II service.
The Navy well remembered the tanker lessons of WWII throughout the Cold War and kept many of the AOs from that era on the payroll for as long as their engines held out– even buying a dozen more T2s from the commercial market after the 1956 Suez crisis pointed the way.
Even with all of the old tankers soldiering on, the Navy still invested millions into six 38,000-ton Neosho-class oilers in the 1950s, eight 40,000-ton Wichita-class AORs, and four massive 54,000-ton Sacramento-class AOEs in the 1960s, even while the Navy began cranking out nuclear-powered carriers, cruisers, and destroyer leaders.
To keep the fleet in fuel as the older T2/T3s began to retire in the 1980s, a new breed of Cimarron-class AOs and fast Supply-class AOEs were ordered.
By 1995, with block obsolescence catching up and the Cold War over, the Navy’s armed grey-hulled oiler fleet had dwindled to a still very respectable 13 Cimmaron and Wichita class AO/AORs, eight Sacramento and Supply class AOEs, and 16 further new 50,000-ton gas turbine-powered AOE(V) class ships planned. Added to this were 16 42,000-ton Henry J. Kaiser-class T-AOs operated by the Military Sealift Command with primarily civilian crews. That’s a hard 30-40 tankers, bube.
Since then, the follow-on AOE(V) class never materialized, the remaining Cimmaron, Sacramento, and Wichita class replenishment ships have been put to pasture, and everything else has long ago been transferred to the MSC. Today, the MSC only has 20 tankers: four new John Lewis-class T-AOs, two aging fast T-AOEs (Supply and Arctic), and 14 assorted Kaisers.
Well, enter the rented tanker turned fleet oiler.
The 58,000-ton MSC chartered Motor Tanker Empire State was built by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego with MARAD funds and officially entered service under a long-term charter agreement in October 2010. She even has a DANFS page.
Empire State is one of 10 U.S.-flagged chartered commercial tankers in MSC’s inventory. They are not USNS grey hulls, but fly normal “bright” commercial livery and have MT designations with an MSC hull number, for instance, MT Empire State (T-AOT 5193).
MT Empire State (T-AOT 5193) 101007-N-IS698-0001
While usually used to shuttle fuel to overseas bases, Empire State last year notably conducted an underway replenishment at sea with the big deck phib USS Tripoli (LHA-7). During the evolution, the two ships remained on station side-by-side at 12-15 knots for 40 minutes with wet lines attached, transferring F-76 diesel ship fuel.
Military Sealift Command’s chartered Motor Tanker Ship Empire State and U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7) conduct the first Consolidated Replenishment at Sea (CONSOL) between Tripoli and a tanker ship, 9 June 2025. MSC Photo 250530-N-WD133-4432 by Sarah Cannon
Before that, at RIMPAC ’22, another contract tanker, MT Maersk Perry, transferred JP-5 and diesel to the three MSC fleet auxillaries: USNS Henry J Kaiser (T-AO 187), Pecos (T-AO 197), and Washington Chambers(T-AKE 11), during CONSOLS-at-sea.
Note these contract announcements on Wednesday, basically laying out a process to rent-an-oiler for at $100 million a pop from now through 2031. Emphasis mine.
Federated Maritime LLC, Boca Raton, Florida, is awarded a $21,557,995 firm-fixed-price contract with pass through reimbursable elements (N3220526C1244), for time charter of one clean, Coast Guard approved, upon delivery U.S. flag or foreign flag to be reflagged prior to delivery, double hull tanker with an inert gas system and segregated ballast tanks that is capable of carrying a minimum of 240,000 barrels of clean petroleum products (intention JP5, JP8, JAA, or F76) within the vessel’s natural segregation in designated cargo tanks with double valve isolation. This contract includes a 12-month base period with three one-year option periods, and one 11-month option which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $97,749,572. The contract will be for worldwide performance, with intentions to operate in the Western Pacific. The contract is expected to be completed if all options are exercised by May 2031. Transportation Working Capital Funds in the amount of $21,557,995 are obligated for fiscal 2026 and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured as full and open competition with proposals solicited via the Governmentwide point of entry and nine offers were received. Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
U.S. Marine Management LLC, Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $16,607,500 firm-fixed-price contract with pass through reimbursable elements (N3220526C1243), for time charter of one clean, Coast Guard approved, upon delivery U.S. flag or foreign flag to be reflagged prior to delivery, double hull tanker with an Inert Gas System and Segregated Ballast Tanks that is capable of carrying a minimum of 240,000 barrels of clean petroleum products (intention JP5, JP8, JAA, or F76) within the vessel’s natural segregation in designated cargo tanks with double valve isolation. This contract includes a 12-month base period with three one-year option periods, and one 11-month option which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $97,138,351. The contract will be for worldwide performance, with intentions to operate in the Western Pacific. The contract is expected to be completed if all options are exercised by May 2031. Transportation Working Capital Funds in the amount of $16,607,500 are obligated for fiscal 2026 and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured as full and open competition with proposals solicited via the Governmentwide point of entry and nine offers were received. Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Step back into the Cold War and the defense of West Germany with the Army University Press’s latest (free) publication, the 422-page Lariat Advance: Insights from the Cold War for the 21st Century, edited by Gregory Fontenot and James P. “Pat” O’Neal.
Saab recently published a great and highly moto 17 minute video of the unveiling of the new two-seat multirole Gripen F (powered by a GE F414G) in Brazil and handing over the first logbook to the commander of the Brazilian Air Force. Interestingly, the presentation is in English, the common language of aviation, naval, and military affairs, rather than Portuguese or Swedish.
The Gripen F is type classified as the F-39 in Brazil and will be domestically produced as part of a licensing agreement.
In conjunction with the gift, Kyiv plans to allocate €2.5 billion ($2.9 billion) from the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan to purchase 20 of the more advanced Gripen E/Fs. Ukraine hopes to operate as many as 150 Gripens at the end of the day.
Beyond that, Saab has done a great job marketing Gripen F to Canada, Thailand, and Colombia as well, and you have to admit– it is a fetching aircraft.
The Gripen’s Arexis Electronic Warfare (EW) suite.
This one could end up being the little jet that could.
Carrier Strike Group Twelve just posted some great images of the mission symbol nose art applied to some of the birds of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) Eight as they returned on USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) following an historic and successful 11-month (326 day), 57,713 nautical mile, deployment to the Central Command, European Command and Southern Command across U.S. 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Fleet AORs.
During the cruise, the wing made 11,500 cats from EMALS, 12,200 flight launches when the rotors are included, logged more than 5,760 flight hours, and took part in NATO Exercise Neptune Strike and Operations Southern Spear, Absolute Resolve, and Operation Epic Fury.
For reference, when it comes to Modexes on CVW-8 during this epic cruise, 100s are the Ragin’ Bulls of VFA-37, 200s are the Black Lions of VFA-213, 300s are the Felix-the-cat carrying Tomcatters of VFA-31, 400s are the Golden Warriors of VFA-87, and 500s are the Growler-riding Gray Wolves of VAQ-142.
The Pakistan Navy yesterday welcomed “home” the first specimen of the 249-foot/2,800-ton S26 class submarine, PNS Hangor, an export derivative of the Chinese Type 039A SSK, which is currently operated by the PLAN.
Built at CSOC in China, it is a very modern boat with a double-hulled design and powered by AIP, which means she can remain submerged virtually every minute of an entire 40-50 day patrol if needed. It is roughly equivalent to a German Type 209 and superior to a Kilo-class SSK.
The Chinese are rapidly building the first four of the class at CSOC, with the future Shushuk, Mangro, and Ghazi already launched and fitting out for delivery next year. Then, with technology sharing, the next four will be built by KSEW in Karachi, with the future Tasnim and Seem Maai already laid down.
The eight new boats will replace the trio of French Agosta 90B-class submarines (Khalid, Saad, and Hamza) that are now in their 20s, and a pair of much older Agosta 70s (Hashmat and Hurmat), the latter two originally built for South Africa but not delivered due to sanctions on the Apartheid government, so the Pakistani Navy well knows how to run modern SSKs.
The Agostas replaced a trio of Daphnés, one of which sank an Indian frigate in 1971. Before that, the Pakistanis operated a leased Guppy Tench-class boat, ex-USS Diablo, as PNS Ghanzi, which was lost during the 1971 war, so they know the game well.
By comparison, the Indian Navy has 16 boats, three small 6,000-ton domestically built (with Russian help) Arihant-class SSNs, six brand new French Scorpènes, six cranky Kilo (P.877) class boats, and four German Type 209/1500s.
