Reflections: Of Youthful Exuberance and the Search for Speed.

Prologue This past weekend Your Humble Scribe (YHS) was engaged in fleet maintenance of the various assorted vehicles assembled under his garage’s roof. Whilst pausing between oil changes (and silently cursing the designers and engineers who placed oil filters cheek-to-jowl with exhaust headers) he gave reflection to the variety of speedmobiles that have graced said…

SecDef recommends NORAD-U.S. Northern Command commander to lead Pacific Command

BreakingSecretary of Defense Robert Gates announced his recommendation to the President to fill two key leadership positions in the unified command structure. Admiral Keating, Commander NORAD and USNORTHCOM, is being recommended to command Pacific Command. In addition, Lt. Gen. Victor “Gene” Renuart Jr., current senior military assistant to Secretary Gates, will be nominated for a…

Flightdeck Friday – Vought V-173/XF5U-1 "Flying Flapjack"

(ed: BTW, huge props to Vought for their heritage site from whence most of these photos were sourced and double props since they are refurbishing the V-173 at the Vought facility in Gran Prarie, Tx. (Thanks for the heads-up Tommy!) ) June, 1947. Navy Day. Bathers along the beaches lining Long Island Sound look aloft…

Americans Demand Military Response After Chinese Shoot Down DirecTV Satellite

Americans Demand Military Response After Chinese Shoot Down DirecTV Satellite WASHINGTON, DC—A citizens’ group presented a petition signed by nearly 75 million Americans to key members of Congress Monday, demanding the United States take immediate military action against China after the Communist nation shot down a DirecTV satellite last week. “This is a blatant attack…

Wednesday Roll-up of Missile News

Continuing the themes from yesterday’s post: a. India plans aerospace military command to oversee space-based assets: In yet more fallout from China’s ASAT test comes the announcement from India that they intend to “create an aerospace command to control and protect satellites and spacecraft orbiting the Earth.” Air Chief Marshal Shashi Tyagi said India was…

Tuesday’s Roll-up of Missile/Nuclear News

Reverberations continue this week over the Chinese ASAT test and allegations of Iranian and North Korean cooperative development of nukes and long range missiles; meanwhile Iran continues to rattle the cage with announcement of another Shahab-3 test and a “new” sub-surface ship killer missile; India announces its intent to establish a dedicated aerospace defense command…

Navy Aviator Missing In Action From the Vietnam War Identified

NEWS RELEASES from the United States Department of Defense No. 104-07 IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 29, 2007 The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military…

Friday’s Missile News: Iranian Satellite & China’s DF-31

Couple of quick ones from around the ‘sphere: Iran Announces It Has Built a Satellite Launcher. (26 January) – Jerusalem Post. Iran has converted its 30-ton Shahab-3 missile into a satellite launch vehicle, a US-based aviation journal reported Thursday. According to Aviation Week and Space Technology, Alaoddin Boroujerdi, chairman of Iran’s National Security and Foreign…