OVER THE ALASKAN WILDERNESS: A USAF F-22 Raptor prepares to be air refueled by a KC-135 tanker during exercise Red Flag Alaska 20-3. Photo taken Aug. 5, 2020 — and a fine one it is, the Raptor approaching the tanker with broken clouds and snow-capped mountain peaks below. Here’s a photo from 2017 of four Raptors participating in an exercise in Australia. This photo from April 2019 got several kudos — an F-22, an F-35A Lightning II, and an A-10C Thunderbolt II in formation with a Korean War-era F-86 Sabre jet fighter.

FAST PATROL BOATS EVOLVE: The latest StrategyPage Surface Forces update is a quick look at why navies around the world are acquiring modern fast patrol boats. Here’s a photo of a Norwegian CB90 fast patrol boat. (As the update notes, the CB90 is a Swedish design.) This second photo shows a Norwegian “Storm”-class fast patrol boat.

SENTRY CLIMBING: An E-3 Sentry aerial surveillance plane takes off from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The E-3 is also called the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).

STRATEGYTALK: James F. Dunnigan, StrategyPage editor and the designer of over 250 commercial war games, discusses war games and analytic simulations. This is the first of a series of podcasts on Jim’s long career as a designer and publisher. The first link goes to youtube. MP3 link here.

SUPER HORNETS READY TO LAUNCH: Two F/A-18E Super Hornets prepare to launch from the USS Ronald Reagan — somewhere in the Indo-Pacific. Photo taken August 5.

FIRING AWAY: A Opposing Force (OPFOR) soldier opens up on soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, and the Royal Thai Army (RTA). The action took place during Exercise Lightning Forge 2020 held at the Kahuku Training Area, Hawaii. Photo taken July 15.

WHEN BASEBALL KNEW BETTER: Powerline’s John Hinderaker shares a letter from former Minnesota Twins’ owner Clark Griffith.

TRIDENT STORM: U.S. Marine and Navy helicopters participate in Exercise Trident Storm. Photo taken July 30, 2020, off San Clemente Island, Calif.

FROM DESERT SHIELD TO DESERT STORM: Assessing Desert Shield’s Power Cocktail 30 Years On. On August 2, 1990 Saddam invaded Kuwait. Desert Shield officially began August 9, but the military, diplomatic and economic response began immediately.

…Saddam wanted more than money; he sought global glory. A speech he delivered in Amman, Jordan, in February 1990 sketched his plan. After discussing the “Palestinian cause,” Western Europe’s decline and the Cold War, “suddenly, the situation,” Saddam said, “changed in a dramatic way.” The Cold War ended. America was “fatigued” and would fade, but “throughout the next five years,” the U.S. would be unrestricted. He implied that defeating the U.S. entailed scraping the scar of Vietnam and threatening massive U.S. casualties. “Fatigue” and domestic self-recrimination would stall U.S. power. A crucial line stands out: “The big,” Saddam said, “does not become big, nor does the great earn such a description unless he is in the arena of comparison or fighting with someone else on a different level.” (Translation: If a minor leaguer wants to move up, he takes on the majors.)

Read the whole thing — my latest Creators Syndicate column.

TWO HAWGS FLARING IN CENTCOM: Two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs release countermeasure flares somewhere in the Central Command area of responsibility.

CHINA’S LITTLE SPACE FAILURE WITH LARGE IMPLICATIONS:

On July 10, 2020 China’s new KZ (Kuaizhou)-11 solid-fuel satellite launcher failed about a minute after its first commercial launch when the third stage motor failed to ignite. This KZ-11 was carrying two satellites, which were lost. This first launch was supposed to have been in 2018 but there were technical delays. A second KZ-11 launch was already scheduled for late in 2020 and it is not yet known if that will be delayed. The 78-ton KZ-11 is a larger commercial version of the military LM (Long March) 11.

It’s a setback for China. China intends to become the major player in the commercial satellite launch business, but the StrategyPage update points out it’s done that with liquid fuel rockets. Now China is trying to move to solid fuel birds — but problems are occurring.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU THREATEN AND BULLY EVERYONE, BUT ESPECIALLY YOUR SMART AND RICH NEIGHBORS WHO AIN’T GONNA TAKE IT:

China now has to deal with over 300 F-35’s operating near its northern borders. In the 1990s Chinese support for an aggressive and unpredictable North Korea prompted South Korea to become a major developer, manufacturer and exporter of modern weapons. Now Japan, with a larger population and industrial base than South Korea has followed South Korean in an arms race with China.

It’s the latest StrategyPage Procurement update. Japan is primarily buying the F-35A but has decided to add some F-35Bs (the vertical takeoff and landing variant) to its air fleet. The update includes a look at the implications of that decision.

UPDATE: A very related post – Taiwan orders $620 million worth of missiles and upgrades for its seven Patriot PAC-3 missile batteries.

WOE UNLIMITED: A look at politics, death and what passes for life in ayatollah Iran.

KING STALLION TACTICAL REFUELING: Marines on the ground deploy a tactical aviation ground refueling system (TAGRS) to support a CH-53K King Stallion. The Pentagon caption is a bit misleading. The King Stallion is the Pentagon’s most powerful helicopter — most powerful and heaviest.

TURKEY’S SULTAN IS AT IT AGAIN: Erdogan’s Hagia Sophia Distraction Masks His Mounting Problems.

In a desperate attempt to remain in power, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dealt the Turkish republic’s democratic structure a symbolic, historical insult so divisive it has the potential for serious, systemic political damage.

In so doing, the man derisively nicknamed Sultan Recep once again exposed his intense jealousy for Kemal Ataturk, the soldier-statesman and political genius who founded the modern Turkish state.

It’s my latest Creators Syndicate column.

ERASING HISTORY: From China to Portland to Minneapolis there are a lot of folks trying to erase history. It’s the latest StrategyTalk podcast. The link goes to YouTube. If you prefer, go here for the MP3 download.

AN INTERNET BLOCKADE VERSUS A DRUG-FUELED INSURGENCY: A StrategyPage Information Warfare update discusses Burma’s (Myanmar) extended internet blockade on the Arakan Army’s insurgency. The Arakan Army insurgency has a tribal veneer, but the update quickly points out the outfit has a gangster reputation. It relies on cell phones for combat and for smuggling drugs, usually into Bangladesh. The Burmese government’s blockade is an inexpensive communications and information warfare operation. The blockade began in June 2019 and it appears to have had some positive effects from the government’s perspective. It may be lifted in early August. The update also surveys Burma’s various complex insurgencies and its complex drug business. Burma is still in the opium business, producing over 700 tons in 2015.

VIPER ON APPROACH: A USMC AH-1Z Viper approaches the amphibious landing dock USS Somerset while training in the eastern Pacific. Good photo of the attack helicopter’s weapon systems. This Warplanes update from 2017 has background on the AH-1Z helicopter, which is a remanufactured and upgraded AH-1T/W attack helicopter. The AH-1T/W was an upgrade of the Vietnam era AH-1 Cobra. This photo shows two Vipers maneuvering on a target during training at Twentynine Palms, California.