Rob Fowler’s Post

The Liberty Lifter concept may aid fast logistics missions. It offers enhanced capabilities for sea-based search and rescue operations and improved disaster response efficiency across challenging maritime environments.

"Sadly, the Corps rolled out the EABO concept with no good idea how to get to the remote terrain to shoot from, how to resupply it, to medically evacuate Marines, how to keep it concealed, how to defend against missiles, aircraft, enemy Marines, unconventional forces or a rudimentary infantry force, how to keep locals from reporting on it, or how to position vehicles, radars and crew in the restrictive and varied terrains. Perhaps most critical, it focused on missiles with a very short range and has yet, after five years been able to meld it all together to detect, identify, engage and sink a moving warship. It has failed to lay out a template on how to achieve an overlapping and continues belt stretching the distance of the first island chain or redeploy forces to adjust for the maneuver options available to Chinese ships if you wish to herd them into kill zones."

Has anyone pondered how the recent natural disasters or the threat of climate disasters impact national security? I know the United States has a new climate change strategy, but how significant can things like the Canadian forest fires or regional dust storms be for security forces? Can tremors that lead to earthquakes in Japan and California and volcanic eruptions in Russia affect regional security? The ghost of tidal waves and eruptions across the Ring of Fire has made me wonder how we factor these threats into our military plans. I remember when Iceland's volcanoes erupted and the impacts on airline flights. Could there be a similar impact on military aircraft maritime patrol routes and responses to incursions? Do volcanic eruptions affect early warning systems? How do earthquakes and tidal waves affect naval force distribution? I am still trying to figure out how this works, and I'm curious.

Most planes fly away from hurricanes 🌀 but this one penetrates them… The WC-130 Hercules is medium-range aircraft used by the Reserve Command for weather reconnaissance missions. It penetrates tropical storms, hurricanes, and winter storms to collect critical weather data. The WC-130J, based at Keesler Air Force Base, is equipped with advanced weather instruments and can stay airborne for up to 18 hours. Missions last 11 hours and covers 3,500 miles, with a crew of five collecting data at altitudes between 500 and 10,000 feet. The WC-130J features external and internal fuel tanks, extending its range and mission capabilities. The aircraft is fitted with GPS dropsondes to measure temperature, humidity, and pressure as they descend through the storm. In 2007, it was upgraded with a Stepped-Frequency Microwave Radiometer to measure wind speeds and rainfall rates. The data collected enhances hurricane forecasts and warnings by up to 30%, directly supporting the National Hurricane Center. 👉🏼 More info here https://lnkd.in/eraKwHRM.

Europe’s critical-maritime-infrastructure protection: still in the pipeline? Louis Bearn Jonathan Bentham 9th September 2024 With the new focus on protecting critical maritime infrastructure, Europe’s overstretched navies are grappling with introducing new capabilities for monitoring and surveillance to replace legacy systems which have already gone out of service. In the United Kingdom, the Royal Navy is struggling to bring its flagship new undersea-warfare capabilities into operation. And despite heightened concerns across Europe over the vulnerabilities of and threats to critical maritime infrastructure (CMI), there remain stark shortfalls in European naval capabilities for protecting such assets.  But technological proliferation will also mean the underwater domain is no longer the exclusive playground of those countries operating expensive and sophisticated surface vessels and submarines. The new technologies will undoubtedly bring efficiency in areas such as maritime-domain awareness and the monitoring of the seabed, but they will also make the offshore and underwater domains more accessible to those malicious actors intent on causing disruption. These factors are also part of the equation as Europe’s navies grapple with prioritising resources to meet the multiple demands, both near and far, which they now face.

US special operators are shifting focus to jungle warfare as the potential for conflict with China grows. Marine Raiders recently completed a jungle warfare course in Hawaii showing the requirements of jungle operations. Decades of desert ops have dulled jungle warfare skills, requiring more specialized training in this environment. After spending more than 20 years fighting in the wars in the Middle East, US special operators are pivoting to other environments. With the potential for a conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific looming ever larger in the background, the US special operations community is focusing more and more on jungle operations. A relatively recent exercise involving Marine Raiders highlighted the challenges and unique requirements of jungle warfare. Note: Every clime and place….

Talk about weird timing as the central/western half of North Carolina is being absolutely pummeled by Tropical Storm Helene today with high winds, flooding, dumping rain, that, #OTD, 9/27/1957, a P2V-5 "Neptune" BuNo 131442 Hurricane Hunter aircraft of Airborne Early Warning Squadron Four departed Naval Air Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to fly into Hurricane Janet. Onboard were nine crewman and two reporters from the Toronto Daily Star. "Snowcloud Five" departed around 0630 and at 0815, the crew radioed that they were about to penetrate the storm. At 1015, the last broadcast was received stating the position but what was troubling was that although the crew indicated there were no issues, they reported their altitude at only 700 feet, which was way too low for storm penetration. That was the final radio call. Aircraft from Guantanamo and Puerto Rico and nearby Navy ships were called into to search near the last reported position; however no trace was ever found of the aircraft or crew. From reading, this is reported to be the only hurricane hunting aircraft ever lost during an active storm investigation. Note: Hurricane Janet hit the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico with winds in excess of 175-200mph!!!! The Hurricane Hunters have been pretty busy this year and you can see the NOAA aircraft flying into storms. Two of the planes are Lockheed WP-3D Orions, Kermit and Miss Piggy, BuNo's 159773 and 159875. #p2neptune #lockheed Friends of Naval Aviation, Inc. #hickorync #hickoryaviationmuseum #aviationdaily #aviationgeek #aviationgeeks #avgeek #avgeeks #avnerd #aviationlovers #aviationhistory #aviationphoto #aviationphotos #aviationphotography #airplane #airplanes #aircraft #hurricane #hurricanehunters Lockheed Martin #usnavy #flynavy #navalaviation US Navy

In this article, I discuss how the Arctic has evolved from a region of cooperation to one of competition as #climate changes the region, and makes resources more available, while enduring institutional frameworks falter. The Wilson CenterThe Center for Climate and SecurityInternational Military Council on Climate and Security https://lnkd.in/e6a9iZR4.

  Explosive Ordnance Disposal (#EOD) of 5No. 2” mortars and 1No. Anti-Tank projectile at a nature reserve in East Anglia. The work was required to support a #habitatrestoration scheme. The works were carried out with minimal fuss and no disturbance to wildlife or the public, allowing the habitat restoration to proceed safely. To learn more about the typical sources of UXO hazard associated with military training areas, see: https://lnkd.in/eDX7vDzs To learn more on how Zetica can mitigate UXO risks provided by similar sites, use: https://lnkd.in/evDc7vQX #UXO #RiskAssessment #WWII #geophysicalsurvey #EOC #RiskMitigtaion

When lives depend on it, USAFE is the answer. USAFE proudly partners with the International Maritime Rescue Federation and extends its services to Navy fleets, Coast Guards, Search and Rescue (SAR) teams, the Oil and Gas industry, fishing vessels and yachts amongst others. Our mission is to enhance water safety worldwide, whether for national, commercial, or private operations. #USAFE #maritimeindustry #shipping #maritimeinnovation #portsandterminals #maritimelogistics #seafarers #maritimesafety #shipbuilding #cruiseships #yachts #oilandgas #watersafety  #MaritimeLogistics #MaritimeTrade #NavalArchitecture #Seafarers #MaritimeSafety #Oceanography #MaritimeLaw #MarineEnvironment #MaritimeEducation #MaritimeHistory #Shipbuilding #MaritimeEconomics #MaritimeSecurity #CruiseShipDepartures #ThrusterControl #MaritimeMastery #JourneyOfDiscovery #PassionForTheSea #MaritimeEducation #MaritimeIndustry