Don't recall location, Fireworks warehouse exploded late Jun, at least one fireworks barge...
English over the centuries lost a number of warships to internal explosions, the U.S. several munitions ships.... Story of the Maine is still up for debate...

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 05:03 pm: Edit

I think it's 99% probable that the Maine blew from chemical deterioration of the ammo.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 05:04 pm: Edit

Weapons: Combat Robots
October 13, 2025: In the last twenty years there has been tremendous evolution of small unmanned ground-based robots. In the beginning there was RoBattle, a seven-ton wheeled modular drone transport vehicle, that can carry three tons of cargo. A great Israeli concept that never entered service.
PackBot 510 entered service in 2002. It operates on tracks and can climb stairs, move through rubble, mud, snow and so on. It weighs 24 kg. Accessories included cable cutters, a hook and the ability to probe for and remove buried obstacles. Battery-operated, the tracked drone can operate four hours on one charge. The drone is operated remotely via a wireless link using a touchscreen tablet controller. This drone is still in service with several countries.
The similar but smaller 13 kg XM1216 SUGV also operates on tracks and each one can carry 2.7 kg of accessories. Its capabilities are like that of the Packbot 510.
Talon is a 27-45 kg drone that operates similarly to Packbot and SUGV, but with additional capabilities. Entering service in 2000, it was mainly used to disable roadside bombs and other explosive devices. A combat version is armed with a 7.62 or 12.7 mm machine-gun to provide protective fire for infantry. The drone can also operate a 12.7mm sniper rifle, 40mm grenade launcher and several other weapons. The lighter reconnaissance version can be equipped with chemical weapons, temperature and radiation sensors. When operating it has an eight hour life between recharge for its lithium-ion batteries. It is operated remotely using a game-type controller. The operator can be up to 1,200 meters from the robot and day/night color cameras on the drone provide sufficient detail for the operator to guide the drone over rubble and into wreckage. Talon was used during the recovery effort after the 2001 Islamic terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York City. Talon’s cost up to $6 million each and are still in servic
Between 2004 and 2007, over 6,000 ground drones were shipped to Iraq and Afghanistan. Most were of the small, under 25 kg types. They were used to check for roadside bombs, and to lead searches into buildings and caves suspected of enemy activity.
In 2025 Ukraine equipped its combat brigades with ground-based combat and transport robots in addition to drones. The ground robots come in different versions. Some are used for planting and removing landmines. Others advance along the ground while firing remotely controlled machine guns. These systems can fire accurately at moving targets during the day and at night. There are also drones for transporting supplies to the front lines and carrying casualties back to first aid stations and field hospitals. The growing number of Ukrainian drone systems were developed based on reports from the front line troops. Those ideas were quickly put to use because of wartime urgency.
In 2024 Ukraine created a new branch of their military, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Force. This is in addition to the Ukrainian Air Force that consists of manned aircraft. This Drone Force does not control the drones Ukrainian forces use regularly but contributes to developing new drone models and organizing mass production for those new models that are successful. Such drones have been an unexpected development that had a huge impact on how battles in Ukraine's current war are fought. Drones were successful because they were cheap, easily modified, and expendable.
Both Russian and Ukrainian forces were soon using cheap quadcopter drones controlled by soldiers a kilometer or more away using First Person Viewing or FPV goggles to see what the video camera on the drone can see. Each of these drones carries half a kilogram of explosives, so it can instantly turn the drone into a flying bomb that can fly into a target and detonate. This is an awesome and debilitating weapon when used in large numbers over the combat zone. If a target isn’t moving or requires more explosive power that the drones can supply, one of the drone operators can call in artillery, rocket, or missile fire, or even an airstrike. Larger, fixed wing drones are used for long range, often over a thousand kilometers, operations against targets deep inside Russia.
These small drones are difficult to shoot down until they get close to the ground and the shooter is close enough, as in less than a few hundred meters, away to successfully target a drone with a bullet or two and bring it down. Troops are rarely in position to do this, so most of these drones are able to complete their mission, whether it is a one-way attack or a reconnaissance and surveillance mission. The recon missions are usually survivable and enable the drone to be reused. All these drones are constantly performing surveillance, which means that both sides commit enough drones to maintain constant surveillance over a portion of the front line, to a depth, into enemy territory, of at least a few kilometers. Ukrainian drones have pretty much ended Russian motorized transport with 20-30 kilometers of the front lines.
This massive use of FPV-armed drones revolutionized warfare in Ukraine and both sides are producing as many as they can. Ukrainian drone proliferation began when many individual Ukrainians or small teams designed and built drones. The drones served as potential candidates for widespread use and mass production. This proliferation of designers and manufacturers led to rapid evolution of drone capabilities and uses. Those who could not keep up were less successful in combat and suffered higher losses.
One countermeasure that can work for a while is electronic jamming of the drones control signal. Drone guidance systems are constantly modified or upgraded to cope with this, and many use multiple modes of communications. Most drones have flight control software that sends drones with jammed control signals back to where they took off from to land for later use. The jammers are on the ground and can be attacked by drones programmed to home in on the jamming signal. Countermeasures can be overcome and the side that can do this more quickly and completely has an advantage. That advantage is usually temporary because both sides are putting a lot of effort into keeping their combat drones effective on the battlefield.
Western armed forces, after a century of trying, still cannot get the air force people up there to come down and get a much needed reality check on what is happening down below where battles and wars are decided. Meanwhile the proliferation of surveillance and armed drones have in many cases replaced conventional air forces, at least for operations close to the ground and requiring more urgency to find and attack targets.FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 05:05 pm: Edit

Iran: Iran Strives to Survive
October 13, 2025: After war with Israel and the United States, the Iranian government and people are reconsidering what they want and how they will get it. The swift and effective Israeli and American attacks on Iran, especially those on individuals comprising the Iranian military, government and nuclear program staff, left many Iranians wondering if the time for some fundamental change in Iran was right now. That’s more likely now because the Israeli/US operation devastated and diminished Iranian military power.
Over the last few years Iranians have been angrier and more outspoken about the wretched economy and brutal suppression of dissent created by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/IRGC. Worse, the IRGC officers have acquired a substantial portion of the economy and have made themselves and their families rich. The rest of Iran is mired in poverty. Public expressions of criticism or calls for economic relief are met by violent IRGC suppression of such heretical talk.
It gets worse. Iran has long been the Persian Gulf superpower. The name of the Gulf is an example of that dominance. One of the things all Iranians can agree on is that for thousands of years Iran was often its own worst enemy. It was internal squabbles that weakened the mighty Persian empire 2,500 years ago so that the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great, could do the impossible and conquer the Persian/Iranian Empire. Same situation 1,500 years ago when the Arabs, inspired by their new Islamic religion, did the impossible and conquered the Sassanid Persian Empire. At that point the Iranians were engaged in a multi-century conflict with the Byzantine Empire. It took several decades for the Persians to abandon their ancient Zoroastrian faith and many pretended to accept Islam while continuing to quietly practice Zoroastrianism. Currently only about 40 percent of Iranians consider themselves Moslems and most adhere to other faiths, including the ancient Iranian Zoroastrianism.
Many Iranians believe Iran has not recovered from the Arab conquest and that Islam is more at fault than the Arabs. Many Iranians now believe that, without the internal squabbling, Iran could have avoided damage done by the Greek, Arab, Mongol and Western invasions. The moderates pay attention to history and the radicals don’t. But when radicals do look closely at the past, they often become moderates and that is how the moderates are winning.
Another reason is demographics. The generation that lived through the 1979 revolution and subsequent ruinous war with Iraq is no longer the majority. The current generation sees religious dictatorship for what it is, a coup by the Islamic radicals that were part of the movement that overthrew the Persian monarchy and used the subsequent Iraqi invasion as an excuse to replace the promised democracy with a religious dictatorship. The senior clerics and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/IRGC leaders know this is a threat because opinion polls have shown, for several years now, more Iranians are abandoning Islam and many are secretly adopting other religions or no religion at all. The clerics label this as blasphemy, a crime punishable by death if done openly.
Iranian use of denial is not restricted to the current government, but is a national survival trait that makes sense in many situations. Fewer Iranians are showing up at mosques or religious schools. If pressed by a local cleric they plead poverty and the need to work more just to feed their families. The local clerics understand there is a lot of truth to this and that Islam is losing a lot of believers for very practical reasons. This is reported to senior clerics and eventually reaches the Council of Guardians. This group of elderly Shia clerics appear, on the surface, as wise and caring holy men. The reality is that the Guardians preside over a corrupt and incompetent bureaucracy and senior clergy, and Iranians are out in the streets calling them out on this.
Meanwhile Iran is consorting with Turkey and Russia, two ancient enemies, in order to maintain a position of power in the Middle East. This region has long been fought over and occupied by Turks and Iranians. It was a major achievement for Russia, which lost its own empire in 1991, to take on the Ottoman Empire that was destroyed in the early 1920s and the former Persian Empire. A century ago the growing economic importance of oil began changing the Middle Eastern political landscape. The Ottomans lost access to oil and the Iranians got a minority share of it. Most of the oil is now owned by Arabs, former subjects of the Ottomans and Persians. To defend their new wealth the Arabs made alliances with their biggest customers, the new superpowers in Europe, the United States and now China. Despite all that Russia, Turkey and Iran still want to play empire builders. This led to the three former foes becoming allies. It has been an unstable and unpredictable partnership but Russia still sees itself as the key pla
Meanwhile Iranians continue to honor their Persian ancestors. In 2016 thousands of Iranians gathered in Pasargadae, 800 kilometers south of Tehran to celebrate the birthday of Cyrus the Great, considered the founder of the Persian Empire 2,500 years ago. The religious dictatorship that has run Iran since the 1980s quietly tries to discourage this sort of thing, without giving it a lot of publicity. That has proved increasingly difficult. This is a problem because this form of Iranian nationalism appeals to all Iranians to one degree or another but particularly to royalists and democrats who want to keep religion out of government.
The Greeks still honor Alexander the Great and want to celebrate the battle of Gaugamela with a monument outside the Iraqi city of Mosul. The battle took place 2,340 years ago when Alexander defeated a Persian army and destroyed the Persian empire that stretched from modern Turkey to modern Pakistan. The Iraqis were enthusiastic about the idea, even though the defeated Persian army contained a lot of Arabs. For the Iraqis, the big thing is that the battle represented a major defeat for Iran. Even though most Iraqis share the Shia form of Islam with Iran, the Iranians are not Arabs, but an Indo-European people related to Indians and Europeans. Iran has long menaced, invaded and generally beat up on the Arabs, and is now threatening the Arab world again. So anything that celebrates anyone smashing Iranian power is something to be encouraged.
FYEO

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 06:51 pm: Edit

"I think it's 99% probable that the Maine blew from chemical deterioration of the ammo."

Either that or a fire in the coal bunker, courtesy of firedamp from the low-grade coal, touching off the magazines. Or a combination of the two.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 06:55 pm: Edit

There's apparently a run on the Russian banks underway...and has been underway since June. Alfa Bank had a 4% decline in deposits in June, and it only accelerated in July and August.

By Eddie E Crutchfield (Librarian101) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 07:33 pm: Edit

There was a great debate on the cause of the loss of the Maine on its 100Year anniversary in the USNI History Magazine. It does include Rickovers investigation of the coal dust theory as well as others, nothing about faulty ammo> It is available on line for those interested.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 07:52 pm: Edit

You tube clips are being posted showing several Chinese ZTZ-100 medium tanks exploding. (Note:not from battle damage or any form of attack. The internal batteries powering the hybrid electric motor inside the tank armored hull are over heating and exploding.)

For those not familiar with the ZTZ-100, a Google search revealed:

Quote:”Type 100: China's Vision for a Modern Tank - MilitarnyiThe ZTZ-100 (also called the Type 100) is a new Chinese medium tank that uses a hybrid diesel-electric powertrain, which provides both high speed and silent, stealthy operation. It weighs around 40 tons and features an unmanned turret with a 105mm gun, along with advanced technology like a 360-degree active protection system and AI integration, representing a strategic shift towards lighter, more digitized tanks.
Key features of the ZTZ-100
Hybrid diesel-electric power:
Combines a 1,500 hp diesel engine with an electric motor for high performance and silent running capabilities.
The electric mode allows the tank to operate with a significantly reduced thermal and noise signature.
Lightweight design:
At around 40 tons, it is significantly lighter than traditional main battle tanks, making it more mobile and suitable for operations in various terrains, including high-altitude areas.
The lighter weight is a result of its unmanned turret and 105mm gun.
Unmanned turret:
The turret is unmanned, and the crew of two or three is housed in a heavily armored compartment in the hull, increasing crew survivability.
Advanced technology:
Equipped with a comprehensive active protection system (APS) with multiple radar and optical sensors for 360-degree threat detection.
Features include AI-driven capabilities and integration with other networked systems.
Armament:
Armed with a 105mm main gun with an autoloader.
While the caliber is smaller than typical main battle tanks, China claims its advanced ammunition and propellant technology give it comparable firepower to 120mm or 125mm cannons.
Includes a remote-controlled weapon station with a 12.7mm machine gun. “

Several caveats should be noted:

First, the advanced ammunition posted above is not in general use in the People Liberation Army (PLA). Since the 105mm main tank gun is an older design, the ammunition for its use is primarily of older type 10+ years or more) and consists of mostly conventional tank gun ammunition of a similar age or older.

Second, reports of the crew compartment layout indicates there are only two crew positions inside the tank with cushioned seats, the optional third crewman apparently is at liberty to rest somewhere within the compartment.

The third point, is that there is a debate about the choice of the batteries installed for this Hybrid EV. With the decrease in world demand for Chinese electric vehicles, the decision to build a medium tank variant EV Hybrid was to use the consumer style batteries in a combat tank simply because there were no other customers looking to buy the unneeded auto Hybrid EV batteries.

One of the reasons demand has fallen for this style battery, was because numerous battery fires have broken out in the EV’s, resulting in the loss of several car ferries around the world with full loads of chinese EVs, a number of parking garages as well as several auto dealerships.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 08:08 pm: Edit

Concerning the U.S.S. Maine explosion.

Eddie Crutchfield:

It has been many years since I read The Rickover investigation report, (it was a document in The University library government documents section when I was a student there.)

If I recall correctly, there was a theory (based on several other incidents of spontaneous fires breaking out in coal bunkers of other naval ships, two United States warships, an English ship and a French warship) all within two years of the Maine explosion.

Apparently (and again, this is my memory of a report I read back in 1992) the coal bunker was adjacent to one of the ships magazines.

several ships in various navies were destroyed by unexpected or unexplained magazine explosions. The U.S.S. Maine was not the only ship lost in that manner.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 08:49 pm: Edit

Jswile: while I'd be perfectly happy to find that the ZTZ-100 is a self-exploder, the only video I could find on the topic (title, "China’s Latest Electric Tank Shocks the World: Explodes and Catches Fire Without Enemy Attack") doesn't show any of them exploding; rather, it shows footage of various tanks exploding in Ukraine while talking about the vulnerability of the lithium batteries in the ZTZ-100.

Do you by chance have a different video on this?

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 09:23 pm: Edit

The Lusitania reportedly had munitions stored near the coal bunkers, debate on whether the secondary explosion, after the torpedo hit was coal dust in surrounding bunkers or the munitions....

Story that the Titanic had a coal bunker fire going, even before it left Liverpool... Apparently Captain kept the ship at flank speed, using up the coal as the best (in some opinions) way to fight the fire....

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Monday, October 13, 2025 - 10:20 pm: Edit

Jessica:

Good catch.

I viewed and posted after looking at the first video.

The other two turned out to be reposts by a blogger who used a different screen shot of the same video.

My mistake.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 08:43 am: Edit

No worries, Jswile; they certainly didn't make it clear.

In other news, Russia's shadow fleet of aging tankers used to evade sanctions are - surprise! - also carrying intel officers, being used as surveillance ships, carrying out sabotage, and are in at least some use as drone launch platforms. I could have a heart attack and die from lack of surprise.

Frankly, I think NATO should establish a blockade from Kotka in Finland to Narva in Estonia and inspect every last ship that wants to pass.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 12:32 pm: Edit

As Hamas has not yet returned all bodies of deceased hostages, Israel has declared Hamas in violation of the ceasefire and ordered all aid entering Gaza to be halved.

In other words, this is going just about as well as we all figured it would go.

By Ryan Opel (Ryan) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 01:05 pm: Edit

Probably trying to remember where they buried the bodies since the guy who did it is also dead.

By A David Merritt (Adm) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 01:37 pm: Edit

While I suspect that a few remains may be unfindable, with their being moved around alive, then killed before any superiors knew the new location, the people who knew possibly being dead, and/or the bodies location having been bombed by large bombs and the body destroyed.

However; they only returned four bodies, that's not even trying.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 01:43 pm: Edit

Any one willing to wager that the Target priority list has dramatically changed?

Now that all of the still living hostages are accounted for, the IDF has no reason to hold back hitting every bunker, suspected bunker and possible bunker locations in Gaza.

Some civilians had moved back thinking that the peace would endure…such optimism is likely to be rewarded as those same civilians once again are forced to retreat, under fire, for the supposed safety in the southern region.

Not a good time or place to be a civilian.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 02:20 pm: Edit

Not sure what the agreement says...

...But how do you prove "We don't know where the bodies are" and how can you prove if they are lying?

If you buried the body in location X - and location X and all around it for 100 feet is rubble - it will only be found in the clean up.
(and some will never be found - if they was in a tunnel which was collapsed).

Surely best option is for Hamas to provide a 'living Palestinian Hostage' to allow an Isreali Search Team to go through the areas Hamas think a body is in, with the help of Hamas.

They search - and when they cross the division line the Palestinian Hostage goes free.

Aid need to flow while this is going on.

Both sides need to talk and resolve this....before it all goes horribly wrong (again).

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 03:40 pm: Edit

I'd speculate that the reason the bodies of the murdered hostages aren't being returned is the bodies themselves will forensically reveal details of their savage mistreatment.

--Mike

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 04:06 pm: Edit

Aid does not need to continue if Hamas isn't keeping up their end of the bargain. Leverage is needed to keep progress going. You don't get your end of the goodies when you did not do your end of the committed actions.

The deal includes provisions for bodies with locations unknown or approximate. Search teams of joint Gaza/IDF people go to the most logical areas and look for them.

By A David Merritt (Adm) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 04:27 pm: Edit

---

Quote:

The deal includes provisions for bodies with locations unknown or approximate. Search teams of joint Gaza/IDF people go to the most logical areas and look for them.

---

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 04:29 pm: Edit

Not the first time Hamas has refused to comply with the terms of a negotiated agreement with Israel.

Normally, Israel has honored their end of the deal, sometimes for years afterward.

Doesn’t look like Israel is going to fall for it, this time.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 04:52 pm: Edit

Well, four more bodiies have been handed over to the Red Cross..... and as a counter, the Right Wing elements of the Israeli governemnt are sayng no aid should be delivered until all the deceased are brought home - when they know that is not possible until a full clear up is done (on top of publcially stating they will never allow a Palestinian Nation).

So both sides are not following through on their committments.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 09:11 pm: Edit

"""So both sides are not following through on their committments."""

POINT OF ORDER!

Paul, you're full of it as usual, always ready to blame Israel (or the US) even if you have to make up stuff.

The fact that some right wing elements WANT to do soemthing does NOT mean that the entire nation is "not following through" so DO NOT ever again invent bull to illustrate your point.

By Carl-Magnus Carlsson (Hardcore) on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 12:17 am: Edit

It is perverse however that a handful of dead bodies are more important than to feed two million people.