Urban Battles Highlight Shortfalls in Soldier Communications

National Defense Magazine
Another article that highlights the fact that we are trying to run before we can walk in the realm of warfare. Soldiers are reduced to shouting to communicate within buildings. Tadiran, Raytheon, ITT & Harris provide radios that attempt to solve this problem. Actually an interim and cheap solution is to use commercial off the shelf [COTS] PMR446 class of walkie-talkies for short range communications. Utilising UHF frequencies, these are more likely to be effective in urban areas as UHF waves pentrate walls better than the usual VHF waves used by military tactical radios. While it lacks frequency hopping and encryption functions, this lack of security is tempered by the fact that such squad/section level communications need not have to be secure. The only potential problem is that these radios would not be integrated into the overall combat radio network.

Integration time for security forces?

opswarfare wonders if it is time to integrate the various security forces [e.g. armed forces, police, customs]. It does not have to be done structurally, just a regular exchange of information and processes is good enough for the new security landscape that every country faces today. The various organisations can use this opportunity to verify leads, bounce ideas off each other, and share best practices. It won't be easy at first, as the potential inter-service rivalries and suspicions will have to be diluted before real work gets done.

Urban areas complicate military communications

eDefense - Detect. Decide. Shoot. Survive.
An article on communication, jamming and direction-finding in urban areas.

Portability and resolution of infrared-based sights will only get better

eDefense - Detect. Decide. Shoot. Survive.
Article on thermal imaging & night vision advancement & applications, with uncooled sensors coming to the fore.

edefenseonline.com

eDefense - Detect. Decide. Shoot. Survive.
A new defence website, well at least new to opswarfare, with info on hardware, operations, and opinion articles. Registration is required, however, it is free. opswarfare will select articles from this site to blog about in the near future.

Australia Risks Asian Ire with Long-Range Missiles

International News Article | Reuters.com
Replacing a long-range bomber [F-111] with a long range air-to-surface missile sounds smart, but why not go further by using tube-launched Tomahawk missiles from the torpedo tubes of the Collins-class submarines? The 3 missiles mentioned in the article under consideration by Australia do have a shorter range compared to the Tomahawks, so may be cheaper in comparison.

RSMC?

Just thought of this idea of SAF settting up a Republic of Singapore Marine Corps [RSMC]. It fits in with our geography, being surrounded by water. Technically, it would require certain army, air force & navy units to be transferred to this new service, specifically BX IFVs, C-130 transport aircraft, CH-47 transport helicopters, AH-64D attack helicopters and Endurance-class LSTs. It would dovetail neatly with the new urban warfare unit [3SIR] being developed, although opswarfare still has some reservations for a urban warfare unit solely based on an infantry unit.

Rules of Engagement and Non-Lethal Weapons: A Deadly Combination?

Rules of Engagement and Non-Lethal Weapons - A Deadly Combination
haven't had the time to finish reading this article, but it looks comprehensive, providing historical accounts of ROE scenarios faced by US troops.

US Navy Virginia-Class submarine

A detailed pictorial at the new nuclear attack submarine of the US Navy, the Virginia-Class. Click here for the full resolution picture.

Simon Door Breaching Rifle Grenade

isayeret.com
More rifle grenades, this one opens doors. Something to note, if this is an official israeli defence force website, then kudos for the frankness in discussing about its disadvantages, something you don't often see in official websites.

REFAIM Advanced Infantry Weapon System

REFAIM Advanced Infantry Weapon System
A potential Western counter to the RPGs used by insurgents all over the world. Much more high-tech, plus no need to carry a separate launcher, just use the standard rifle and fire. Should provide better range & firepower as compared to the M203.