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Jul 30, 2016
I didn't know Air Force Kicks Off Competitions for Two Critical Nuclear Programs

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related is A Bridge to B-21
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Development of a new Long-Range Standoff missile (LRSO) is critical to sustaining the US nuclear deterrent, Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday. The problem is a combination of aging missiles and aging bombers. The current AGM-86 air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) fleet, which dates back to the early 1980s, is on its “fifth service life extension,” and the missiles will soon become “unreliable and not able to reach their targets,” Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson told the committee. Selva said the current US bomber fleet is performing well, but that “a decade from now these weapons will not be able to penetrate Russian air defenses.” The LRSO would be designed to do just that, even when launched from a B-52, and Selva said the LRSO is “critical to extending the life of our current bomber fleet” as USAF waits for the new, stealthier B-21 Raider to come online in the 2030s.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis questioned the necessity of an air-launched component of the US nuclear triad at his Senate
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in January, when he said the program “makes sense” but that he doubted its “deterrent value.” On Wednesday, Selva told Congress that “open debate about abandoning the weapon because of cost puts us at a strategic disadvantage,” and that the Joint Chiefs are “committed to the development and fielding of an LRSO.” Wilson told the committee that the LRSO is “the most flexible leg” of the nuclear triad. Able to be carried by the B-52, B-2, and B-21 bombers, the LRSO would present “a very effective deterrent capability,” he said.
 

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
I hope Locklear's saber rattling (likely with full blessing of the Pentagon) on DPRK is just that, a big bluff, because if neocons truly want to manufacture a war, I'm sure Kim Jun-un would oblige.

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With a ONU resolution easy to have now ... a strike with LACMs or aicrafts is completely possible yet do several times especialy with Iraq end 1990's and what they have to oppose museum weapons decision time can occur.

And post about B-21 come very well :D
 

Blackstone

Brigadier
With a ONU resolution easy to have now ... a strike with LACMs or aicrafts is completely possible yet do several times especialy with Iraq end 1990's and what they have to oppose museum weapons decision time can occur.

And post about B-21 come very well :D
Problem with your scenario is Seoul, ROK's capital of 14 million people and hundreds of Americans, is within the range of thousands of conventional artillery (some of the museum pieces you spoke of). So, the question Trump has to answer is how many American and ROK civilian casualties he's willing to trade for strikes on DPRK that may or may not achieve mission objectives. That's not even considering Beijing's reaction or overreaction to aggressive US military moves on the DPRK.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
North Korea is trying to test the Trump administration, They have a weak hand, everyone knows it.
Trump is telling North Korea that he is not the Obama Administration or any of the administration's his father had to deal with.
If they try to play the military angle sure they could leave a smoking radioactive Poisoned crater where Soule used to be but a few weeks later Kim Jong un would be swinging on a rope if he is lucky.
Kim can't try to go crying to Xi. Kim has been step by step burning The bridges (or rather Machine gunning them) to Beijing. When he killed his Uncle he killed someone the Chinese were working with. When he killed his brother He killed someone the Chinese were protecting.
If a war starts today my money is that the PLA would only move in to stop the US/SK advance from hitting the Chinese border and turn any would be escaping divine general back to the fight.
So it's bluster off bluster. The North launched missiles off japan to build the tensions then is trying to play nice and intimidate. The Trump admin is not playing that and sending all the signals that they are not amused. Now it's North Korea's play. They either get the hint or try to ratchet again.
This is classic Brinksmanship. Both sides, know there is no winner so it's a question of who can make the other guy flinch or posed another way who can make the other guy think he is more nuts.
 

Blackstone

Brigadier
North Korea is trying to test the Trump administration, They have a weak hand, everyone knows it.
Trump is telling North Korea that he is not the Obama Administration or any of the administration's his father had to deal with.
If they try to play the military angle sure they could leave a smoking radioactive Poisoned crater where Soule used to be but a few weeks later Kim Jong un would be swinging on a rope if he is lucky.
Kim can't try to go crying to Xi. Kim has been step by step burning The bridges (or rather Machine gunning them) to Beijing. When he killed his Uncle he killed someone the Chinese were working with. When he killed his brother He killed someone the Chinese were protecting.
If a war starts today my money is that the PLA would only move in to stop the US/SK advance from hitting the Chinese border and turn any would be escaping divine general back to the fight.
So it's bluster off bluster. The North launched missiles off japan to build the tensions then is trying to play nice and intimidate. The Trump admin is not playing that and sending all the signals that they are not amused. Now it's North Korea's play. They either get the hint or try to ratchet again.
This is classic Brinksmanship. Both sides, know there is no winner so it's a question of who can make the other guy flinch or posed another way who can make the other guy think he is more nuts.
You made some good points, and we agree it's brinksmanship by both Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump. Problem is, Kim's conventional artillery holds a city of 14 million people at risk with not only explosive shells, but chemical and biological weapons too; it may be hard for Kim to launch a nuke against South Korea, but not hard to fire thousands of cannons. If Trump orders strikes against Kim, he better kill the dude on the first try or there'll be the devil to pay.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
The Trick with brinksmanship is to threaten but not act. Killing Kim by the way would create a nightmare of it's own that really no one wants. as those shells the chemical, biological and the nuclear warheads would be in the open well the whole system breaks down and every general aims to be the next to wear the crown.
 

Blackstone

Brigadier
The Trick with brinksmanship is to threaten but not act. Killing Kim by the way would create a nightmare of it's own that really no one wants. as those shells the chemical, biological and the nuclear warheads would be in the open well the whole system breaks down and every general aims to be the next to wear the crown.
So, let's say YOU, TerraN_Empire, are the President. DPRK just launched more ballistic missiles in defiance of your warnings, what's your next move?
 

Blackstone

Brigadier
Speaking of next moves, what now, Mr. Trump? Unlike the DPRK, Iran doesn't have nuclear weapons yet, so the regime should be easy to deal with for a man who claimed he could win the war against ISIS in a week.

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As tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue to mount, the semi-official news agency Tasnim is
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that Iran's Revolutionary Guard has successfully conducted yet another ballistic missile test, this time from a navy vessel. Called the Hormuz 2, these latest missiles are designed to destroy moving targets at sea at ranges up to 300 km (180 miles).

Reports on the latest test quotes Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Force, who confirmed that "the naval ballistic missile called Hormuz 2 successfully destroyed a target which was 250 km away."

The missile test is the latest event in a long-running rivalry between Iran and the United States in and around the Strait of Hormuz, which guards the entrance to the Gulf. About 20% of the world's oil passes through the waterway, which is less than 40 km wide at its narrowest point.

2017.03.09%20-%20Iran%20Missile%20Test_0.JPG




* * *

Of course, this latest provocation follows additional tests conducted earlier this week in which Iran test-fired a pair of ballistic missiles into the Gulf of Oman and subsequently proceeded to provoke a U.S. Navy ship in the area. For those who missed it, here is what we wrote earlier this week:

Trump's geopolitical headaches continue to mount.

One day after North Korea launched 4 ballistic missiles, 3 of which fell into the East Sea inside Japan's economic exclusion zone, and which have painted a spotlight on how Trump will react to this latest provocation,
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that Iran also test-fired a pair of ballistic missiles this weekend into the Gulf of Oman, with one missile destroying a floating barge approximately 155 miles away.

The launches of the Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missiles were the first tests of the missile in two years, one official said. It was not immediately clear if this was the first successful test at sea -- raising concerns for the U.S. Navy, which operates warships in the area.

According to one quoted official, Iran launched the two short-range ballistic missiles from Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bases in Bandar-e-Jask, in southeastern Iran. The first missile was fired on Saturday, but missed its target, though it landed “in the vicinity,” one official said. A day later, Iran made another attempt and was successful. The Iranian Fateh-110 Mod 3 has a new “active seeker,” helping the missile locate ships at sea, according to one official.

"It's a concern based on the range and that one of the missiles worked," said one official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the launch. Two years ago, Iranian cruise missiles destroyed a large barge designed to look like an American aircraft carrier. Iranian state-television broadcast the images publicly at the time.

The new Iranian short-range ballistic missile launches come a week after Iran successfully test-fired Russian surface-to-air missiles, part of the S-300 air defense system Russia sent to Iran recently.

According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran has conducted as many as 14 ballistic missile launches since the landmark nuclear agreement in July 2015. A senior U.S. military official told Fox News that Iran had made great advances in its ballistic missile program over the past decade.

Late last month, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said Iran’s behavior had not changed since the White House put the Islamic Republic “on notice” following Iran’s successful intermediate-range ballistic missile test-launch in late January.

This launch appears to be in addition to what
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, in which Iran successfully test-fired a sophisticated, Russian-supplied S-300 air defense system, according to the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday. The drill took place during a recent military exercise named Damvand, and was attended by senior military commanders and officials according to Tasnim.

In a separate report, Reuters notes that Iranian vessels came within 600 yards of U.S. Navy ship in Strait of Hormuz, forced it to change direction, Reuters says in tweet, citing unidentified official.

It is unclear as of this moment if the two incident were related, and whether the White House plans on responding to either the North Korean ballistic missile launch or the latest moves by Tehran as the Trump administration has vowed to do.
 
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