Archive through February 17, 2026
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Non-Game Discussions: Real-World Military:
Archive through February 17, 2026
Mike, a “fast google of “ Key Points on Cohen's Credibility and Testimony:
Perjury Findings: A federal judge previously indicated that Cohen committed perjury, questioning his reliability as a witness.
Lying to Congress: Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to lying to Congress about the timing and scope of a Trump Moscow project.
Dossier Validity: While the dossier's allegations were heavily scrutinized, the 2023 Durham report noted that the FBI was unable to substantiate any substantive allegation within it.
Defense Accusations: During the 2024 New York criminal trial, the defense emphasized that Cohen has a demonstrated history of lying and acting as a "fixer" to serve his own interests.
Politico
Politico
+6
Therefore, Cohen's testimony has been widely contested as untruthful in various contexts, and he did not provide credible validation of the Steele dossier's allegations in his public statements. ”
Michael Cohen is not a reliable source.
Regarding which ship are part of carrier strike groups in the middle east, there is a very current org chart of the US Pacific Fleet at:
https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/Portals/54/Documents/CNSP/CNSP-ADCON-ORG-CHART---14JAN26.pdf
This is the 0ffical Navy website and is public info. It includes lots of info including home ports and commanding officers of every ship.
Carrier Strike Group Three consists of the Abraham Lincoln and Destroyer Squadron 21; these destroyers are marked as D21 on the chart. (Strike groups often have cruisers, but the previously assigned cruiser was decommissioned last August.) I believe the direct escorts are the Spurance, Peterson, and Murphy
The ships in the Mediterranean and Red Sea are from the Atlantic Fleet and I haven't found a centralized source of this info.
Concerning the “missing” cruiser John W mentioned above, the navy is retiring the Ticonderoga class cruisers.
Built between 1980 and 1994, there are/were 27 constructed.
As of six months ago (the date of the Seapower article I am referencing) the navy has already retired 13 of the Ticonderoga class ships, and that left 14 still in service.
A quick google search indicates that several more have been retired subsequently, but again, google AI sometimes makes mistakes, so be aware. Google check indicates there are currently only 9 late model Ticonderoga ships still in service, though the Navy has announced that the last one is expected to retire by the end of 2029. (Again, this is Google AI.)
Should be pointed out, that the follow up class CG cruisers were canceled in 2010, and to date the Navy has not released an information on a new design.
The Ticonderoga class, the oldest units are now 46+ years old have become increasingly expensive to maintain.
Between the steel hull and the aluminum superstructure, corrosion has become a major (and very pricey) issue. The gas turbine power plants, after 40+ years of service are also wearing out to the point that issues routinely required very expensive dock yard services to correct issues.
The electronic equipment, once state of the art, are increasingly becoming difficult to integrate into modern electronic warfare as newer built ships have changed from standards dating back to the 1980’s.
Update on fired Coast guard pilot:
Corey Lewandowski, unofficial chief of staff for the secretary, did “fire” the pilot(s), but almost instantly, was forced to “rehire” them, as there were no replacement pilots available to fly the aircraft. Reported 24 hours after the initial storyline was announced.
Please do not ask me to explain Lewandowski actions, mental state or judgement. This is, yet again, another example of his “talking first, thinking second.”
THIS WHOLE STORY ISN'T RELEVANT TO ANYTHING DISCUSSED IN THIS TOPIC AND SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN POSTED HERE. JUST BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL POSTER DIDN'T LIKE MS NOEM ISN'T A GOOD ENOUGH REASON.
Steve,
Apologies.
Just trying to help.
I left Jeff's post as it seemed to "close the file".
Support: Russia Reinforces Novorossiysk Defenses
February 16, 2026: Two months ago Ukraine used a new submarine version of their Sea Baby naval drone to attack a Russian Kilo Class submarine in the port of Novorossiisk on the east coast of the Black Sea. In response the Russians added several barges to block the entrance to the port and floating boom barriers that include netting underneath the barrier to stop or slow down Ukrainian submersible or surface drones and alert the Russians to an impending attack. The Russians have heavy machine-guns and autocannon systems manned around the clock, ready to open fire on surface drones. New underwater defenses include sonar systems to detect submerged intruders and remotely detonated bottom mines to destroy any threat the sonar systems detect.
The recent attack in Novorossiysk was the first time a drone submarine attacked and crippled a manned submarine. The damaged Kilo was apparently written off as last February Russia shut down all ship repair activities in the Black Sea because of increasing Ukrainian drone and missile attacks. This included the shipyards at Novorossiisk. The damaged Kilo cannot be taken to a submarine repair facility in northwest Russia because Turkey has a treaty allowing it to refuse wartime access to warships in Turkish-controlled waters that are the only exit from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. There is another damaged Kilo stranded in a Crimean shipyard. With its latest Kilo loss, Russia has no operational Kilos in the Black Sea.
The Black Sea Kilos were used to launch Kalibr cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine. Kalibrs launched from Russia are easier to detect and shoot down. The submerged Kilos launched Kalibrs from their torpedo tubes at sea. The cruise missiles reached the surface, and their engines took the Kalibrs to targets anywhere along the Ukrainian Black Sea coast and hundreds of kilometers inland.
Meanwhile Ukraine continues to develop and build naval drones to enable Ukraine to make the Black Sea unusable by Russian commercial shipping as well as warships. The freighters and tankers can use the Turkish exit to the Mediterranean only if they survive Ukrainian naval and land-based drone attacks. In 2024 and most of 2025, Russia and Ukraine avoided attacking each other’s commercial shipping in the Black Sea. But with all the Kilos gone and surface warships withdrawn to Russian ports in the distant ports of the northeastern Black Sea, Ukraine is free to threaten Russian commercial shipping in the Black Sea. Ukraine already has armed commercial merchant raiders firing on Russian commercial shipping in the Mediterranean Sea. The Russians can launch drones and missiles at Ukrainian Black Sea ports but cannot effectively attack commercial shipping in the Black Sea.
Ukraine continues to develop, build and use drones to continue their domination of the Black Sea. Last December Ukraine introduced its Magura V7 naval drone, which weighs about 1.2 tons and can carry 650 kg of weapons. Its operational range is a thousand kilometers. The V7 can also be equipped with an electricity generator, enabling it to stay at sea for up to seven days. This model can move at speeds of up to 72 kilometers an hour. Cruising speed is 43 kilometers an hour.
Ukrainian naval drones have revolutionized naval warfare that takes place within a few hundred kilometers of a coastline. So far, no other navy has shown much interest in duplicating the Ukrainian success with naval drones. The U.S. Coast Guard has used naval drones to assist in interdicting drug smuggling boats. The U.S. Navy has access to Ukrainian naval drone technology and is paying attention because the Chinese are doing a lot of work on naval drones, including a ship described as a drone carrier, equipped with aerial and naval drones.
The Ukrainian experience using naval drones to defeat the Russian Black Sea Fleet was unique. Ukraine had only surface-to-ship missiles when the war started, but eventually shifted to three new naval drones, Sea Baby, Mother, and MAGURA, or Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus.
Ukrainian drone operations in the Black Sea forced the Russian Black Sea Fleet to withdraw to the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Sevastopol was no longer a safe place to be, and Russian ships could no longer launch their Kalibr cruise missiles without risking attack by Ukrainian drones. The presence and aggressive use of the drones meant that Ukraine’s grain corridor was kept open despite Russia’s threats to interfere
Russian countermeasures to Ukrainian naval drones included using aircraft and helicopters to destroy slow-moving drones before they attack and expanding use of jamming to disrupt drone control signals. These changes made it much more difficult for Ukrainian naval drones to reach and destroy targets. But by 2025 the Russians had already lost control of the Black Sea and were not getting it back.
The lessons learned by American, Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Ukrainian and Russian naval commanders is that these drones have changed the rules for naval warfare. If China tries to invade Taiwan, they have to prepare countermeasures for numerous naval drones blocking the way. Everyone continues to observe Black Sea operations for details on what new tactics, techniques and drone’s designs appear. The U.S. has an edge because they are a major supporter of Ukraine and are seeking to make the most of their insider knowledge of the Ukrainian naval drone effort.
FYEO
Information Warfare: Small Nations Have a Technical Edge
February 16, 2026: Ukraine is one of the best examples of small nations with a technically inclined and innovative population that can do the seemingly impossible. The Ukraine War has seen the frequent involvement of civilians and civilian groups supporting the war effort. This was a factor from the beginning when civilians used their cell phones to capture pictures, with locations, of Russian military activity, especially air attacks using drones. The Ukrainian government quickly created an organization to receive all these civilian reports and provide civil or military authorities with useful information on a timely basis.
Ukraine was also welcoming when it came to weapons or other military related items developed by individuals or groups of civilians. This was quite different from the situation in Russia, where the government expects civilians to take orders, not make suggestions.
In contrast Ukrainian civilians, most of whom were born or came of age after the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became an independent country, turned to the west for inspiration on how to live, govern and run the economy. When the Russians invaded in 2022, many officers and soldiers were surprised that Ukrainians were no longer culturally related to Russia but had become more like western Europeans.
An example of this was seen in 2023 when Ukraine announced that it was going to spend over half a billion dollars on drones. What was not revealed was the extent of efforts to add more capabilities to commercial drones as well, and the growing number being manufactured by Ukrainian companies. These developers and manufacturers are often small groups of civilian hobbyists that proved capable of creating new features for drones, both commercial and hobbyist-produced models. The Russian invasion spurred a lot of innovation, mainly among Ukrainian developers. Among the items available to commercial customers were a lot of miniature digital video cameras as well as lighter, miniaturized computer components that could be assembled and programmed by users to perform essential tasks, like using AI apps and data from onboard video cameras enemy forces, even if they are camouflaged or in underground bunkers. Constant combat use of these systems enables developers to address shortcomings and continually improves the hardware and software carried on these hunter killer drones. Earlier in the war two drones were needed for this but now all that tech and weapons can be carried and used by one drone.
Wartime developers are able to improve their tech and hardware more rapidly because there is continuous feedback from users. Ukraine had an edge here because many of these developers were hobbyists who knew little about peacetime development, its bureaucracy and counter-productive over-supervision. Ukrainian developers were often creating these new drone techs for friends or family members who were now in the military and eager for whatever help they could get. The Ukrainian military saw this entrepreneurial spirit as an advantage, not some form of insubordination or recklessness. Russians consider the entrepreneurial activities as unauthorized innovations. Despite that, some Russian innovations appeared, but the Russian innovations took longer to arrive and implement.
Most Russian commanders and civilian officials are less willing than their Ukrainian counterparts to encourage individual initiatives. Another problem was that the economic sanctions made it more difficult for Russians to obtain the commercial tech that Ukrainians used.
That free access to Western or Chinese components meant Ukraine could build very capable and lethal drones that were designed to carry out one or a small number of missions. That is why Ukraine and Russia are each losing thousands of drones a month. Cheap, useful and expendable is now the rule with most battlefield drones.
Russia is at a disadvantage when it comes to its drone losses because Ukrainian civilians are quick to report to their military any useful information they witness about Russian drones and military practices in general. Russia tried to shut down Ukrainian access to communications with the Ukrainian military. Initially this was handled by cellphone, but the Russians gradually replaced Ukrainian cell towers with Russian ones wherever they could. Ukrainian civilians found other ways to communicate with the Ukrainian military. One of these alternatives was the widespread use of SpaceX Starlink internet terminals that turned a Ukrainian cellphone, desktop computer or tablet into a communications device that could get past Russian jamming and efforts to eliminate the ability of civilians to communicate with the Ukrainian military or government. Civilians continued to take cellphone photos or videos of Russian activities and transmit this information back to the Ukrainian military. This provided lots of useful target information on Russian forces and facilities.
Many civilian photos and videos showed up on social media, which the Ukrainian military monitors for useful information. Throughout history civilians have often been useful informants for the military. With the appearance of cellphones, the internet and Starlink, civilian contributions have become more numerous, accurate and useful.
Another example is Israel, with a population of ten million that is the only true democracy in the Middle East. Israel is defined more by the many nationalities that make up the population than the Jewish religion 74 percent of them share. Moreover, most Israelis consider themselves non-religious. Israel possesses the most dynamic economy in the Middle East, producing far more technical innovation per capita than any nation in the world, and economic growth that the Palestinian terrorism campaign has slowed, but not stopped.
Israel is much like the United States, in that it is a nation of immigrants. Some 18 percent of the population were born in Russia, or their parents were, or had a grandparent that was. The only larger group are Arabs, who comprise 19 percent of the population. Overall, 28 percent of the Israeli population was born somewhere else. Other major nationalities represented are Moroccans at seven percent, Iraq at four percent, Romania at four percent each, and Poland at three percent.
Most of what makes Israel unique offends other Middle Eastern nations. In the region, the concepts of democracy, reforms needed for rapid economic growth and absorbing immigrants are considered alien and generally avoided. Few of the Palestinians who fled Israel in 1948 have been allowed to become citizens of other Arab nations, while Israel absorbed an equal number of Jews driven out of Arab nations at the same time. Arab advocates of democracy, reforms in education and rules of law needed for economic growth are a minority, and smaller in number than those who practice, or back, terrorism against Israel and the West. Until the Arab world becomes more like Israel, the economic and military disparities between Israel and the rest of the Middle East will remain.
Despite furious efforts, Palestinians are unable to carry out most of the terrorist attacks they talk about and try to plan. Israeli police and intelligence agencies have informants inside the Palestinian community and are able to disrupt planned attacks that include suicide bombers, gunmen or large violence demonstrations
This was the result of an intense, but largely unseen, counter-terrorism operation that has been continuous for decades. In most years over 90 percent of Palestinian terrorist operations are aborted, most of them while they are still in the planning stage. This includes capturing or killing Palestinian terrorist leaders and planners soon after they become active or when one or more of their attacks are carried out.
FYEO
Marines: The USN LST 1000
January 15, 2026: Late last year the U.S. Navy selected the Dutch firm Damen’s LST/Landing Ship, Tank 100 design for the new U.S. McClung-class landing ship medium. The American 4,000 ton LST 100 is a hundred meters long and 16 meters wide. It has a top speed of 28 kilometers an hour and a range of 6,300 kilometers before needing refuelling and resupply. This ship can carry 5oo tons of cargo or vehicles including M1 tanks, HIMARs missile carriers, trucks or up to 282 troops. There is a flight deck that can handle medium size helicopters like the SH-60 or drones. Crew size varies from 18-32 depending what type of operations and how long the LST will be at sea.\FYEO
Sea Transportation: Expanding The Indian Fleet
February 14, 2026: India is making a multi-billion dollar effort to expand the Indian shipbuilding industry. Currently China builds 70 percent of commercial shipping while India builds only 7 percent. India is investing $5.4 billion to expand Indian shipyard capacity. India is emulating the Chinese expansion that, in roughly two decades, increased their share of shipbuilding from 14 percent to about 65 percent. Most of their competition is local with South Korea at 20 percent and Japan at 12 percent. American shipyards account for a tenth of a percent.
The global shipbuilding market is growing, from $165 billion to more than $200 billion by the end of the decade. India is providing affordable loans to the shipyards as well as government-backed insurance. These are the same techniques the East Asian ship builders used. Indian labor costs are lower than China and shipyard managers are emulating their Chinese counterparts.
India is also providing the U.S. Navy with needed maintenance support. Three years ago, India and the U.S. Navy signed a Master Ship Repair Agreement/MSRA that allows American warships to use an Indian shipyard to supply repair and maintenance services for American warships. This is convenient for the growing number of U.S. warships operating in the region and provides more business for Indian shipyards.
Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, there has been a major shift in naval power in the Indian Ocean. With the demise of the Russian fleet, seen as an Indian ally, and the rise of Chinese naval power, India has sought cooperation from a growing U.S. Navy presence in the area. This is all about keeping Indian naval power supreme in the Indian Ocean. The rising Chinese threat is seen as more than India can handle alone. With Indian inability to expand, or even maintain their current naval power, more help has to come from somewhere.
While India was technically neutral during the Cold War, India was generally hostile to the United States and quite cozy with Russia. India still has good relationships with Russia but the Russians have no fleet to speak of these days and suddenly the Americans are seen as potential allies. In part this is because the anti-American slant was more the product of Indian postcolonial nationalism that was generally anti-Western and infatuated with socialism. Both those policies proved failures and, while many Indian politicians do not accept the shift to a market economy and better relations with the West, these changes have happened anyway.
Above all this there is China, which has already taken some disputed territory on the Indian border and claims still more. Chinese ships, both commercial and military, are more frequently seen in the Indian Ocean. Chinese shipping firms have refurbished ports throughout the region and manage them to handle growing Chinese trade with the countries where these ports are located. The Chinese presence cannot be ignored and the Indians are now welcoming the Americans.
Yet there won’t be a lot of Americans. The U.S. defense budget is growing but the size of the American fleet is not. Most of the U.S. naval presence in the Indian Ocean is in and around the Persian Gulf and is there mainly to curb growing Iranian aggression. The only major American base actually in the Indian Ocean is Diego Garcia, a 44 square kilometer island 4,700 kilometers south of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The U.S. Navy maintains a base in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf and several Gulf states host American warplanes. What India wants is some American warships closer to the Indian coast. That does not seem to be happening soon enough to influence the Chinese fleet moving into the region. The MSRA is part of an Indian effort to gain more support from the Americans to defend Indian naval dominance in the region.
FYEO
Thailand Cambodia War Continues
February 14, 2026: China is trying to mediate a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia. Meanwhile, three months ago, Thai troops advanced further into Cambodia and seized a compound that had housed several thousand people engaged in scams carried out via audio and video communications. The compound contained a six story building where most of the employees and several hundred slave laborers worked. There were also studios decorated to look like the interior of police stations or banks in various Asian countries as well as Australia and Brazil. The volunteer or enslaved workers use scripts and coerce people to pay fines or extortion for non-existent offenses. The scripts were designed to deceive the victims and worked often enough to keep this scam center in business for years. Those in charge of the operation bribed local officials to ignore foreign demands to shut down the operation from countries, including the United States, where the victims lived.
Chinese gangsters operated the scam center, as well as three more in Cambodia plus ones in the Philippines and other Asian countries. Thai military forces had recently moved into this part of Cambodia, forcing several hundred civilians out of their homes temporarily. Several dozen civilians were killed or wounded.
Last year a ceasefire agreement in Thailand’s war with Cambodia went into effect on July 28. This conflict was brief with 350 dead and wounded. With all the shooting between soldiers and armed civilians, it is difficult to obtain accurate casualty figures. Thai forces, better trained, organized, and led, experienced far fewer casualties. So far Thailand has reported about 300 killed or wounded, mostly military personnel, with approximately fifty civilians killed or injured. Earlier this year the United States sent $58 million to help implement the peace agreement with Thailand.
What triggered this year’s violence was a February incident when Thai soldiers entered Cambodia and ordered Cambodian tourists to stop singing the Cambodian national anthem at the Prasat Ta Muen Thom temple. In late May, Cambodian and Thai soldiers briefly exchanged fire, resulting in the death of one Cambodian soldier. Attempts to halt the fighting failed, and continued tensions led to the closure of border checkpoints. Talks between Thai and Cambodian officers took place on May 29. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet responded to the May 28 incident by seeking a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), stating that he did not want conflict with Thailand. Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said neither side wanted to escalate the conflict and that it had been resolved.
Fourteen years ago, fighting on the Cambodian border continued over a weekend. The action was not intense, mostly involving assault rifle fire. Local villagers reported hearing machine guns, artillery, or mortars. There were approximately twenty casualties. This was a sharp break from recent peace efforts. Three months ago, after two years of armed stalemate, Thailand and Cambodia agreed to reopen border crossings at the site of the ancient Preah Vihear Hindu temple on the border. The two countries have long disputed ownership of parts of the ancient site. In 1962, an international court declared the temple Cambodian, but Thailand continues to claim adjacent areas that Cambodians insist are part of the temple complex. Each side maintains about 3,000 troops near the temple, and there have been a few shooting incidents since 2008, though none were serious. The two countries have been negotiating the withdrawal of soldiers.
The most recent fighting damaged portions of the temple, which Cambodians occupied, and caused over 20,000 local civilians to flee the area. This dispute is one of many similar conflicts. The fundamental issue is that the current 730-kilometer-long border, defined in 1907 by the placement of only 73 border markers, leaves the exact border location open to interpretation. Occasionally, these interpretations clash, as is happening now. Neither side wants a full-scale war, even though Thailand has a larger and better-equipped military. In recent years, Cambodia doubled its annual military budget to $500 million. Thailand spends more than six times that amount and has done so for decades. Thailand has 300,000 troops, while Cambodia has only 100,000. However, Thailand faces distractions, including Muslim terrorists in the south, rebellious populists in the north, and unrest across the northwest border with Mynamar. The Preah Vihear temple is 340 kilometers east of the capital. The government believes that a major war with Cambodia would soon become unpopular and strengthen Thailand’s anti-army “red shirt” faction, potentially allowing them to take power.
The red shirt populists claim they have proof that the army planned a violent crackdown in 2010. This elicited surprise among military and police planners, who consider it standard to prepare plans for all imaginable contingencies. The attack on the red shirts last year was similar to the 1989 Chinese response to the massive demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
The government has asked the army to be more flexible and effective in the south. Senior officials believe that Islamic radicals and Muslim gangsters are adapting their tactics more innovatively. The generals are being urged to be more creative and quicker to adapt. The military is asked, not ordered, because in Thailand, the generals wield significant political power and are not easily pushed around. The army believes its tactics are effective and that the Islamic terror groups are being gradually defeated.
Royalist yellow shirts continue to occupy Ratchadamnoen Road, a historic district in the capital, to pressure the government to take a more aggressive stance against Cambodia. The yellow shirts are also threatening to occupy key locations in the capital.
Earlier this year, Thai and Cambodian troops agreed to a ceasefire at the Preah Vihear temple. It lasted less than 24 hours. Elsewhere in the area, three policemen were killed, and five Buddhists were shot dead, apparently by Islamic terrorists seeking to drive all non-Muslim infidels out of the region.
FYEO
Winning: Chinese Wargames About Taiwan
February 13, 2026: Two months ago, China conducted its most elaborate live wargames around Taiwan. This included live firing exercises in international waters near Taiwan. This was a Chinese demonstration of its ability to cut Taiwan off from American, South Korean, and Japanese support. China declared that the recent exercises were meant to discourage outside support. This comes less than two weeks after the United States revealed another arms sale to Taiwan, this one for $11 billion.
Taiwan has been relatively quiet about its long range missile programs. Taiwan has missiles that can reach targets deep inside China. Also mentioned was a recent wargame, where Taiwanese used these missiles to defeat a Chinese attempt to invade Taiwan.
Two years ago, Taiwan tested a cruise missile version of its Hsiung Feng anti-ship missile. With a range of over 500 kilometers, and a highly accurate guidance system, the missile could do a lot of damage to the many Chinese military targets near the coast. Taiwan held off on mass production of the missile, so as not to alarm China, and to avoid the enormous expense of building up a Hsiung Feng stockpile. The missiles cost over $300,000 each. There are already over 700 Chinese medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles sitting across the 160 kilometer wide Taiwan Straits. The Hsiung Feng is capable of hitting land targets along the Chinese coast, and deep inland, via a GPS guidance system.
Taiwan also revealed that it had developed yet another version of its Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missile. This one is launched from trucks or fixed launchers, has a range of at least 600 kilometers and is intended to go after targets on the Chinese mainland. Only if China attempts to invade Taiwan, of course. Three prototypes have been built, and production has apparently already begun. So far 500 of these one ton Hsiung Feng IIE cruise missiles are in service. They use GPS guidance and some stealth features, to make them less liable to getting shot down. Using a more efficient engine, range could be extended to 1,000 kilometers or more. The Hsiung Feng IIE is pretty cheap, about $300,000 each, and carries a 228 kg warhead. The Hsiung Feng IIE project was kept quiet, with few details released officially. Apparently, this was done so as to not alarm the Chinese, at least in public.
Taiwan also built their own version of the American AGM-154A JSOW/Joint Stand Off Weapon. The Taiwanese version is called the Wan Chien. JSOW is basically a smart bomb with wings. That enables it to glide up to 70 kilometers from the aircraft dropping it, to a target on the ground. Range is about 25 kilometers if dropped from low altitude. JSOW also contains more elaborate fins and software that enables it to follow a specific route. Like the wingless JDAM smart bomb, JSOW uses GPS and inertial guidance as a backup to find its target. Like JDAM, JSOW hits within ten meters of its aiming point. The U.S. pays about $250,000 for each JSOW. The Taiwanese could use their Wan Chien. JSOW is a form of HARM/Homing Anti-Radar Missile to take out the latest Chinese air defense radars. Taiwan is also building its own version of HARM, called Tien Chien 2A. JDAM technology is a lot simpler than these two other projects, and Taiwan could easily design and build its own. Refusing to sell them just costs the U.S. export sales. On the other hand, it allows the United States to tell China that it didn't sell JDAM to Taiwan, thus defusing tensions over Taiwan. In reality, of course, Taiwan can just go build their own JDAM, which they can do and apparently have, but kept quiet about it.
FYEO
Submarines: North Korean Nuclear Submarine Fleet
February 13, 2026: Last year, after two months of effort, North Korea managed to salvage the Kang Kon, its second Choe Hyon-class DDGHM destroyer. The destroyer was declared operational on June 5th. The Kang Kon capsized while being launched. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was furious at the embarrassing incident and his terrified subordinates rushed to get the Kang Kon operational. While the Kang Kon was again ready for service, there were doubts. There was no indication that internal damage from the accident had been repaired. A lot of salt water got into the ship and that ruined a lot of essential equipment. Until the Kang Kon is observed at sea actually using its weapons and equipment, there will be doubts.
The Aang Kon is the second of two Choe Hyon-class destroyers. These 5,000-ton warships are the largest surface warships North Korea ever put into service. North Korea says it will build two more in the coming years. These 144 meter long vessels are the first to be equipped with a phased array radar and vertical launching system/VLS for storing and launching missiles from ships. The U.S Navy invented VLS in 1986 and currently has over 8,000 VLS cells deployed on surface warships and submarines. There are a total of more than 11,000 VLS cells in use worldwide. Nearly all are on ships of American allies. Russia, China and North Korea use a similar system.
North Korea is trying to upgrade its navy. This includes replacing 76 submarines from the 1960s and 80s with a dozen or more Chinese models, some of which can be equipped with ballistic missiles. North Korea is building these Type 33 submarines with some Chinese components. North Korea is also building a nuclear-powered submarine carrying ballistic missiles. This will not be successful unless they get more technical help from Russia or China. Equipping subs with nuclear power is very difficult and both China and Russia took decades to get it right.
The rest of the North Korean navy consists of ten elderly frigates and corvettes. Another one of these was converted into a mine sweeper. The remainder of the fleet consists of about a hundred patrol and missile boats, most of them built in the 1970s and 80s. Few are currently seaworthy. Similar situation with over 2,000 amphibious ships and boats.
At the same time South Korea is building nuclear subs with the help of the United States. Currently the South Korean navy has thirteen destroyers, 17 frigates, three corvettes and 34 patrol boats. There are also 22 submarines and 21 amphibious warfare ships. The frigates and submarines are the first line of defense along South Korean coasts. The patrol boats patrol and report what they encounter. It’s up to the larger warships to deal with any threat. The most prominent ships defending the coasts are the frigates. The destroyers and larger submarines operate much farther from Korea.
South Korea has become the seventh nation to use Sea Launched Ballistic Missiles or SLBMs. The second version of the KSS-III submarines feature a number of firsts. They were non-nuclear, the first non-nuclear submarines that not only use Air Independent Propulsion or AIP but do so using lithium ion instead of lead-acid batteries. With this AIP system the KSS-III submarines can operate submerged for about three weeks. These subs also have ten Vertical Launch Cells or VLS filled by Hyunmoo 4-4 SLBMs with a range of 800 kilometers. North Korea is developing similar technology, but the north can only manage to build crude imitations of what the South Korean created. South Korea is far wealthier and technically advanced than the north. Both Koreas produce weapons that work often enough to do some damage and kill people. The South Korean weapons do this more reliably and effectively. North Korea is content to be able to say, “We have that too.”
South Korea joins six other nations, the United States, Russia, France, Britain, China, and India that also have SLBMs and submarines to launch them from. The United States was the first nation to develop SLBMs and install them in nuclear powered submarines. The South Korean SLBMs have conventional warheads and are launched from non-nuclear submarines. South Korea is developing nuclear weapons, after not doing so for many years to appease the United States.
FYEO
According to the Wikipedia article there are 7 Ticonderoga-class left in service. Six are assigned to the Pacific Fleet and one to the Atlantic fleet.
Three ships Gettysburg, Chosin, and Cape St George will serve through 2029.
CNN World reported today that the Panama Supreme Court has ruled that majority Chinese CCP (Communist Party)ownership of both the Atlantic and Pacific ports terminals of the Panama Canal is “Unconstitutional “.
The actual details of what this court decision will mean hasn’t yet been released.
The U.S. state department has been working for this for a year, at the request of POTUS.
When the only reason to post something is to embarrass a politician, it is not appropriate for "real world military." We did not allow such things about the previous administration.
Ah, that makes sense.
Thanks for understanding. If you want to argue that this or that policy is wrong, maybe it fits if we haven't done it to death or banned that sub-subject. But "did you see the president trying to shake hands with a ghost?" isn't relevant.
Can we talk a little bit about drones and swarm tactics in the “real world”
Fact#1, Russia in the war with Ukraine has, depending on the source consulted, lost thousands of tanks and other vehicles. They on average are currently losing anywhere between 300 to 400+ per month.
Fact #2, Russia has been unable to replace modern designs of tanks, last figures I saw listed only being able to build 40 or less T-90M models per month.
Fact #3, Ukraine is still innovating and revising its tactical use of drones and does not appear to have reached plateau status yet.
Question: is it possible that at some point the western Nations might be able to effectively establish a electronic warfare ability to jam or block all radio /wireless frequencies in a area of their control?
Leaving aside, for the moment, just how this might be accomplished, my question is, will AI and internal computer control of drone systems be able to improvise tactics “on the spot” without operator control?
Modern milspec radios are probably very hard to jam (there are a bunch of advantages to the side signalling, starting with the fact that you know where the signal is supposed to be coming from and know what frequency hopping pattern/waveform you are expecting).
But the return video signal from the drone is high bandwidth, low power, and from a moving source. I would not care to bet that it can't be jammed, and lots of military drones are repurposed civilian gear, and should be fairly trivial to jam.
The hypothetical semi-autonomous military drone with weapons is something I would really hope has the milspec expensive radio.
So, the video feed from the drone to the controller is the communication's weak-spot on a full up milspec system. But even if someone cuts your video feed from a future limited autonomous operation enabled drone, I would expect that you'd still be able to send a signal giving general guidance to an onboard computer, like "attack any tank in that general area", or "don't shoot and return to base", or "fly five kilometers due east and then attack any tank in that general area".
Leadership: Warship Commanders Need Engineering Skills
February 17, 2026: Navies are still trying to find the optimum combination of technical and command skills needed to effectively run a warship. As ships are equipped with more technology, the officers' jobs and responsibilities must evolve. One of the most rapidly evolving areas is engineering. Every member of the crew is assigned to a department. The most important ones are Engineering, Weapons, Operations, Navigation, Supply, and Communications. There are ten or more other departments handling things such as medical training, aviation, safety and so on.
Officers traditionally work in a number of key departments on a ship in order to get promoted. For a long time, navies did not allow engineering officers to command ships. That has slowly changed, but there is still an attitude that engineers are too focused on technical issues to develop the array of skills ship commanders and admirals require. During the first century of steam-powered ships, most nations did not allow engineers to eventually command ships. As the ships became more complex, this restriction fell away. Now there is a trend towards selecting officers to command ships who have the most engineering experience. That means the more engineering skills an officer obtains, the more capable they would be in commanding increasingly more complex vessels.
FYEO
Jeff - The EW environment on the battlefield in Ukraine is already pretty oppressive, but the solution both parties adopted was decidedly more robust and lower-tech than AI:
They use wire-guided drones which are controlled by fiber-optic cable.
You absolutely could make a drone system which uses AI or computer control to do target selection, make fire/no fire decisions, etc... but I expect western militaries would be slow to adopt it (since they're going to be more concerned about pesky issues like 'is that a tank or an ambulance' than some other nations might be)
Patrick, sounds about right.
Fibre optic cable seems effective in Ukraine, not sure how effective it will be at sea or at very great altitude… just don’t know what effectiveness level would be.
I mean if the drone controller is in or very near the combat zone, the range cold be relatively short {say 10 to 25 kilometers).
At sea, say Indian ocean or pacific ocean, can fibre optic exceed a hundred or a thousand nautical miles?
And let us assume that an enemy is contacted beyond range of a launcher (warship, submarine, drone carrier etc.) will a group of swarms be able to coordinate a drone strike in the manner that F.Y.E.O. Reported has been done in striking Russian heavily defended targets?
Ev3l aircraft drone controller could use fibre optic cables but the speed and range of helicopters (tilt roter aircraft being an obvious exception) is so slow that they need hours of flight time to get to various locations.
Just not sure if drone operations far out at sea or at very high altitudes will “Scale up” compared to operation in and over Ukraine.