SJS, Since the last post card not much else has changed out here. We are just approaching the International date line again. So soon we are going to repeat a day to catch up for the day we jumped over about eight months ago. So in preparation (or as a cruel joke) one of the…
Two items of note for today’s summary — France may be seriously studying missile defense and Russia’s at it again (re. European Phase Adaptive Approach – PAA). Parlez-vous la Défense de Missile Balistique ? A recent 65-page study on BMD, written by three members of Parliament at a think tank linked to the National Assembly…
Well, it’s been a short piece since we last heard from our deployed correspondent, Charles, and that from Hong Kong. He checks in today (well, actually a couple days ago but we’ve been a mite bit overtasked at the day job of late.. Yeah, yeah, yeah — whine, whine….) with another underway note: SJS, So…
Last month Iran unveiled a new long-range missile, the Simorgh, as a follow-on to the Safir SLV. Putatively identified as a space launch vehicle, it bears strong familial ties to the TD-2 prototype SLV/ICBM launched last April (2009). Since then, some analysts have noted that while the airframe has made an appearance sooner than the…
Third ship of the Forrestal-class CVA’s – the first supercarriers . . . Veteran of Vietnam and Desert Storm, Southern Watch and Restore Hope . . . Last ship to bear the storied name, Ranger, that began with John Paul Jones . . . Decommissioned in 1993 as part of the post-Cold War rush to…
As part of the sea trials coming out of a yard period, you put the ship through its paces to include high speed runs and extreme turns. When we pulled IKE out of the yards on my first at sea period as her ‘gator (navigator) we did the whole nine-yards, including a high speed run…
“Racing,” as the saying goes, “improves the breed.” And during the Roaring 20’s, the rage of the nation (and the world at large) was airplane racing. While the sport would reach its ultimate form in the 1930’s with the likes of the Thompson Trophy races, one of the earliest trophy races was the Schneider Trophy,…
Trying to get something that presents a clean look, loads fast and provides quick access to more content. Thoughts? Comments? Brickbats?
Fifth ship of the Essex class — fifth ship to bear Benjamin Franklin’s name… On the 19th of March, 1945, her crew would write a story for the ages as they were tested in the crucible. Today, like so many of their generation, the already small band of survivors of that day continue to dwindle….
If it’s Saturday, this must be Hong Kong…and time for another postcard from our deployed correspondent: SJS, So I am in one of my father’s favorite ports and a few of the old WestPac sailors favorite ports as well. Hong Kong. Home of fast action films, mainland Asian banking, and an every changing landscape. To…
