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Military/Intelligence Bulletin 03/2016 – Iskander TEL spotted in Syria.

Television footage and satellite imagery has revealed a single Iskander TEL deployed to Humaymim air base, currently the air base used by Russia’s air force in Syria.

Although it is clear that Russia has deployed an Iskander TEL in Syria, its purpose is as yet undetermined. The SS-26 is a mobile short-range ballistic missile system and is capable of carrying a number of differing warheads, including cluster munitions, fuel-air explosive enhanced-blast warhead, a bunker buster and an EMP, Electro-Magnet Pulse, warhead.

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9K720 Iskander – SS-26 Stone

Photo By Aleksey Toritsyn – Victory_Day_09_05_2010_Tech, CC BY-SA 3.0,

But on a more ominous note, the SS-26 can also carry nuclear warheads.

 

Iskander missile in launch position

Photo By http://www.defensetech.org/archives/images/russian_missile.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0,

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Iskander missiles right, and an OTR-21 Tochka missile on the left.

Photo By Leonidl – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

The range of an Iskander missile is believed to be in the region of 280-500km, although to comply with the INF treaty it would need to be officially less than the 500km. If the one in Syria is an export version, Iskander-E, then the range could be the lower 280km. The TEL chassis is an 8×8 MZKT 79306 ASTROLOG Truck.

The one sighted in Syria is believed to be either an Iskander-M ballistic missile system, or the Iskander-K, the cruise missile system. Why is it there? Consensus is that it has been put there as a warning to countries in the region not to attack Russian aircraft on the ground for fear of retaliation, or replace the role of the strike aircraft that have been withdrawn form the country. Perhaps it is there to target Patriot batteries based in Turkey, although at the moment the Spanish Patriot PAC-2 battery at Adan airport is too far from the border to threaten aircraft in Syrian airspace.

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Post copyrighted to Harvey Black

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Military Bulletin 02/2016 – UK Aircraft Carrier Progress.

How are the UK’s Aircraft Carriers progressing?

The completion of the first of United Kingdom’s new Queen-Elizabeth class aircraft carrier is progressing well. HMS Queen Elizabeth is currently engaged in harbour trials and system integration. It is expected to leave Rosyth and go to sea towards the end of 2016, early 2017.

The lessons learnt in the modular construction of the 65,000 ton HMS Queen Elizabeth, has enabled the time taken to fabricate and assemble the modules of HMS Prince of Wales, to be cut by around 9 months. HMS Prince of Wales is also expected to come in under budget. The naming ceremony is expected mid 2017.

The aircraft carriers will each have a 110 MW power and propulsion system, which will consist of two 36MW MT30 gas turbine alternators, four diesel generators (combined 40 MW output) along with four electrically powered 20 MW advanced induction motors to drive the the twin shaft lines and propellers.

A key focus currently is on QECs on-board network, currently constrained to 8 Mbits/s. The belief is that it could need to be in excess of 32 Mbits/s. The US Marine Corps operating F-38Bs from its newest amphibious assault ship , USS America, is experiencing bottlenecks with a network limited to 32 Bits/s.

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The Royal Navy's largest ever warship HMS Queen Elizabeth is gently floated out of her dock for the first time in Rosyth, Scotland.
The Royal Navy’s largest ever warship HMS Queen Elizabeth is gently floated out of her dock for the first time in Rosyth, Scotland.

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Post copyrighted to Harvey Black

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Military Bulletin 01/2016 – Russia’s anti-tank multicopter concept.

Russia has revealed a new concept in anti-tank warfare, using a multicopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

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1647084_-_main

The multicopter can be seen here carrying a probable RPG-26 Aglen light anti-tank weapon. In this instance, it has been positioned for a vertical shot, aiming for the top cover of an armoured vehicle.

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The concept was demonstrated in a video at the Russian Armed Forces Robotics conference, near Moscow. It was demonstrated engaging a  number of simulated armoured targets. Although a number of firings were shown, it is only a one-shot solution and obviously needs to land after each firing to be reloaded.

The RPG-26 fires the 72.5mm armed with a HEAT warhead. It has an effective range of 250m and can penetrate 400mm of rolled homogenous armour. It is naturally still undergoing testing.

Post copyrighted to Harvey Black

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Duplicity (Cold War – Redux Book 1).  Available in Kindle and Paperback

I have recently written the first of two novels in my latest Apocalyptic series, ‘Force Majeure – Purgatory’ and ‘Force Majeure – Paralysis’. The third in the series will be out mid this year. Prior to these two books, I wrote a Cold War trilogy, The Red Effect, The Black Effect and The Blue Effect, portraying what I believe could have happened in the 1980’s, had the Soviets, and the Warsaw Pact, taken the decision to attack West Germany and plunged the world into a third world war.

I now ask myself the question, are we heading down that very route again?

To answer that, I have written the first book in a new Cold War trilogy, or the ‘Cool War’ as it is sometimes referred to. Duplicity (Cold War – Redux) is now complete and available in Kindle and Paperback

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Duplicity-front cover-100dpi

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What does the president of the Russian Federation want?

A Eurasian Union incorporating the former Soviet republics – a new USSR, with President Putinov at its helm.

What does he fear?

Russia’s satellite states uniting against him and allying themselves to western Europe and NATO.

What should he do about it?

Of this he is certain. He initiates a new form of hybrid warfare, using deception, double-dealing and treachery. His first victim? Ukraine.

Harvey Black leads the reader through a continent on the brink of war in the first book of his new Cold War – Redux series. Based on the real events of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, ‘Duplicity’ sees the birth of a campaign to return Russia to its former glory by a president who is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants, no matter the cost…

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Site and content, including photographs, is copyrighted to Harvey Black.