Tag Archives: tomahawk

105 missiles in 2 minutes

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Regardless of your political views, France, the UK and the U.S. pulled off a remarkable joint effort from a military standpoint in their punitive operation against Syria on Saturday. In short, three aviation task forces from three different countries, a submarine, and four naval surface vessels coordinated an attack against three different and heavily defended land targets, with zero losses to friendlies.

The Russians say most of the incoming cruise missiles were shot down, but bomb damage assessment doesn’t hold up to that, although the kitchen sink was apparently thrown into the air around Damascus and Homs. CENTCOM says they tracked 40~ Syrian SAMs fired into the air, with zero hits on aircraft or incoming weapons.

Statement from SECNAV

CENTCOM statement

Five French Rafale jets loaded with a pair of SCALP-EG cruise missiles, covered and supported by five Mirage 2000-5F fighters, two E-3 AWACS, and six C-135FR tankers. The Rafale landed 9 SCALPS, two on the Him Shinshar storage site and 7 on the Him Shinshar CW bunker. This came while the French Navy (Marine Nationale) conducted the first ever operational strike involving the new MdCN (Missile de Croisiere Naval) naval cruise missile (the naval version of SCALP), firing 3 of the weapons from the Aquitaine-class multipurpose frigate Languedoc (D653) at the Him Shinshar CW storage site (west of Homs):

Two B-1Bs, deployed to Al Udeid AB from Ellsworth AFB, S.D., employed 19 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER), marking the first combat employment of the weapon. The JASSMs were targeting the Barzeh CW research and development center in Damascus

(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Phil Speck)

The Navy fired 7 TLAMs from USS Laboon (DDG-58) and 30 more from USS Monterey (CG-61) from the Red Sea while USS Higgins (DDG-76) let 23 TLAMs loose from the Northern part of the Persian Gulf, and the Virginia-class submarine USS John Warner (SSN-785) launched 6 more Tomahawks from the Med. In all, some 66 TLAMs– 57 directed at Barzeh and 9 at the Him Shinshar CW storage site.

180414-N-DO281-1123 U.S. FIFTH FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS (April 14, 2018) The guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) fires a Tomahawk land attack missile. Monterey is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations to reassure allies and partners and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g Matthew Daniels/Released)

The Brits, using aging Tornados, got some Storm Shadow cruise missiles in at the Him Shinshar CW storage site– the only site hit by all three Allied nations.

RAF Tornado GR4 Royal Air Force Akrotiri Cyprus 2018 April, isn’t she beautiful…(MoD photo)

From Cyrpus:

Four Royal Air Force Tornado’s took off this morning from RAF Akrotiri to conduct strikes in support of Operations over the Middle East, firing eight Storm Shadow missiles

The Tornados, flown by 31 Squadron the Goldstars, were supported by a Voyager aircraft.

At 0200 UK time on 14 April, British forces joined close Allies in a precision strike on Syrian installations involved in the use of chemical weapons.

The UK element of the carefully coordinated joint action was contributed by four Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s. They launched Storm Shadow missiles at a military facility – a former missile base – some fifteen miles west of Homs, where the regime is assessed to keep chemical weapon precursors stockpiled in breach of Syria’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Very careful scientific analysis was applied to determine where best to target the Storm Shadows to maximize the destruction of the stockpiled chemicals and to minimize any risks of contamination to the surrounding area. The facility which was struck is located some distance from any known concentrations of civilian habitation, reducing yet further any such risk.

As of note, the RAF turned 100 years old on April 1st.

Navy fedex’s 59 TLAMs to Syria via overnight delivery

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It looks like the Navy really plastered Shayrat Airfield in Homs with several flights of Tomahawks from USS Ross (DDG-71) “Fortune Favors Valor” and USS Porter (DDG-78) “Freedom’s Champion” in response to the Syrian government’s chemical weapons attack April 4 in Khan Sheikhoun.

Both ships are DDG-51s built at Pascagoula in the 1990s, with Ross being an earlier Flight I ship and Porter a Flight II. Both are stationed at Rota as part of a four-DDG force used for forward ballistic missile defense and have been in the news a lot lately for patrols in the Black Sea.

It should be pointed out that the bit below about the strike being coordinated to a degree with the Russians holds water as the TLAMs flew across the Russian S-400 MEZ unscathed. That, or the S-400 is not what its cracked up to be.

From the Navy’s presser:

A total of 59 TLAMs targeted aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems, and radars. As always, the U.S. took extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties and to comply with the Law of Armed Conflict. Every precaution was taken to execute this strike with minimal risk to personnel at the airfield.

The strike was a proportional response to Assad’s heinous act. Shayrat Airfield was used to store chemical weapons and Syrian air forces. The U.S. intelligence community assesses that aircraft from Shayrat conducted the chemical weapons attack on April 4. The strike was intended to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again.

Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using the established deconfliction line. U.S. military planners took precautions to minimize risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield.

We are assessing the results of the strike. Initial indications are that this strike has severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment at Shayrat Airfield, reducing the Syrian Government’s ability to deliver chemical weapons. The use of chemical weapons against innocent people will not be tolerated.

So I have a bayou bladesmith buddy

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Warren likes to beat himself up.

I met him a little over a decade ago and he is a fellow LE instructor in everything from niche stuff like ballistic shield training to edged weapon defense as well as, of course, the more pedestrian rifle-pistol-shotgun fields of study.

Currently the head of a police department covering an area the size of a small city but with greater jurisdictional issues, some of my fondest memories of ole Warren (who shows up as the character Heath in one of my zombie novels) is in how he just seems to love pain as he goes out of his way sometimes to get himself hurt.

Take for instance in his long-studied craft of knife making. On my last visit to his shop, I found him with fingertips almost completely devoid of fingerprints due to regular interaction with forge, belt, and interaction with metal.

He likes taking abused old tools like broken draw knives, rusty shovels, and other items, then giving them a new life as a handcrafted edged weapon. He calls them “recovered material” which sounds very hipster to me and argues each has a touch of character and one-of-a-kind appearance that newly manufactured products just don’t.

These neck knives are made from an old shovel. He crafted the leather himself. The guy has a palm like a baseball bat.

This hawk head is made from a used lawnmower blade while the handle is made from a seasoned Cedar limb. The limb is hand sanded and treated with beeswax and orange oil. The heat-treated head is attached with epoxy, brass pins, and wrapped with imitation sinew

These display pieces are made from elk antler and found arrow/spearheads

This file is being remade into what Warren calls a “bayonet style knife.” You can bet this one will be full tang!

I don’t know what he made this sushi knife out of, but it’s wicked sharp

He also crafts blades from new flats of 1095, 1080 and 1085 tool steel.

One of the neatest of which is a little self-defense retention knife he carries at work and is proving popular with other local LE types. The single edge chisel grind blade is worn behind the holster and can be drawn with one hand to separate you from whoever is trying to gain control of your weapon.

It’s got a 1 3/4″ blade and 4″ overall length and is super sharp, coming with a companion Kydex sheath he makes himself.

He told me the design is constantly evolving and he has been working on it with feedback from others for the past six years.

I’ve been carrying one around for a few weeks and have told Warren he needs to ship these with complementary bandaids.

To pick up one of Warren’s blades, check him out here.