"Government cannot attract the quality managers" Look at the pay a US Government manager gets. As a lowly subcontractor safety guy I was making more than a SES 5. And most Contracting officers are about GS 12 or so. Truck MECHANICS were making GS 13 level pay.

'Kamikaze" Underwater drones are just torpedo's. Wire guided torpedoes have been a thing for long time. It's the other usages that are truly revolutionary.

I'm waiting for Ukrainian "suicide freighter' Loaded with drones to go after Russian Eastern bases... Buy a cheap freighter. Load with spiderweb type containers. Abandon ship and run away while ship keeps plodding along under autopilot. Then drone launch wave goes wild. Maybe ship itself is programmed to go into the Russian harbor vs some waterside thing. Like a big drydock. or the pier where Subs tie up...

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Thursday, September 03, 2026 - 11:42 am: Edit

Hedy Lamarr is the one who co-invented the frequency-hopping torpedo guidance system. During WW2!

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, September 03, 2026 - 01:52 pm: Edit

Iran: The Shadow War
September 3, 2026: The conflict between Iran and America, which began about four months ago, recently ended. The peace agreement was seen as a victory for Iran. What was left out was that both sides understand this is an intermission, and both are preparing to resume hostilities in the near future. The world cannot afford to let Iran, led by a fanatical religious dictatorship, continue its regional Islamic terrorist campaign using groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis in Yemen, and several smaller groups or special operations carried out by the Quds Force.
The war, and the Iranian threat, will only end with an Iranian unconditional surrender. That will mean the end of the religious dictatorship and the IRGC and Basij terrorizing Iranians who refused to act or do what the government demanded of them. How that happens follows the ancient timeline of insufferable tyrants eventually collapsing under the weight of internal quarrels and external retaliation, plus lynching by an aggrieved population.
Earlier, the government sought to increase its Basij militia of Islamic conservative gunmen to over a million men, with the formation of 2,000 battalions. They did not get that many volunteers, but it certainly showed the government was willing to fight to maintain power. The Islamic conservatives believe they have the moderates and reformers, who comprise, according to opinion and election polls, some 80 percent of the population, on the run. The Islamic conservatives are willing to fight to maintain control of the government, and their opponents, at least so far, can’t. A brief January 2026 uprising was bloodily suppressed, with at least 30,000 dead.
Several Islamic radical factions can operate freely with the government's support. Some of these groups encourage, fund, and arm Islamic conservative Shia Arab groups in southern Iraq. Others provide shelter for al Qaeda leaders looking for a place to hide. Still others support Islamic terror groups operating in and around Israel.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged Muslims everywhere to work towards the destruction of Israel. Usually, senior officials do not utter such sentiments publicly, leaving them to local journalists and junior officials. This statement caused an international uproar that soon faded.
The government is also cracking down on bloggers, arresting and convicting them of lifestyle crimes and slandering the government. As a result, few Iranians on the Internet will reveal their true identity, and all fear that the government will install better filtering and monitoring equipment on Iran's Internet. The government has banned the importation or viewing of most Western films; only those showing approved religious content are allowed. The Islamic conservatives believe most Western films brainwash young people with un-Islamic ideas. Once more, the government resumed pretending to cooperate with UN nuclear weapons investigators, thus averting UN moves to impose sanctions.
FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, September 03, 2026 - 01:53 pm: Edit

Russia: Military Expansion Failure
September 3, 2026: Since 1945, the Russian army has undergone seemingly continuous reform and anti-corruption efforts. Another one of those is now underway, again in response to the lackluster performance of Russian forces in Ukraine. One can see how the current reform efforts will plagiarize earlier ones.
Two years ago, a scandal led to the arrest of a Russian deputy defense minister. Then the ministry’s personnel directorate head was hauled into court. Within a few weeks, two more senior military officials were detained. All face corruption charges, which they have denied. The arrests began shortly before President Vladimir Putin started his fifth term, as longtime ally and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was demoted to a new job.
This immediately raised questions about whether Putin was reasserting control over the Defense Ministry amid the war in Ukraine, whether a turf battle had broken out between the military and the security services, or whether some other scenario was playing out behind the Kremlin’s walls. To many, this seemed to be a return to the Russian government long described as a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
Corruption scandals are not new, and officials and top officials have been accused of profiting from their positions for decades. Corruption in Russia functions as both a carrot and a stick. It encourages loyalty and keeps people on the same page, while also serving as a tool of control. Putin favors men with embarrassing secrets when selecting key government officials. Trust those who have a secret they want kept secret. The Russian government constantly searches for such secrets so it can threaten to publicize them if the officials do not do as they are told. This hidden policy and tolerance for corruption are keys to how the current Russian government operates.
The war in Ukraine has led to much larger defense spending with the usual increased opportunities for graft. In April, the first official arrested for corruption was a former Deputy Defense Minister who oversaw high-priority military construction projects with access to large sums of money and few financial controls. One of the projects was rebuilding the devastated Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. The Ukrainians held out for a long time, and the Russians had to fight hard to capture a city of ruins, unusable factories, and port facilities.
The recent arrests are not described as part of an anti-corruption campaign but rather ongoing activities throughout the Russian government. That’s another way of admitting corruption was everywhere and ongoing, and an essential element of making the government work.
Key officials make little effort to hide their new wealth. They do this through ostentatious displays ranging from hundred-million-dollar yachts to new wristwatches that cost several times their official annual salaries. These displays of ill-gotten wealth by senior government and military officials and their family members were so extensive and obvious that it enraged Russians who were suffering economically because of the cost of the war.
There were more personal costs because at least half a million Russians have died in Ukraine since early 2022, and their families and friends blame the Russian government because it was Russia that invaded Ukraine, not the other way around. During World War II, the last time Russia was invaded, there was little corruption in part because 14.4 percent of Russians died in that war. Most of them were killed by the Germans, but many were killed by the Russian government.
Prompt obedience to orders was a matter of life or death for Russian soldiers and civilians because military officers and NKVD secret police personnel could kill any Russian displaying reluctance or refusal to carry out orders. The desperate situation during World War II limited opportunities for corruption. The war in Ukraine is different, but as many corrupt officials are discovering, not different enough to keep them out of prison or an early grave.
The recent arrests, prosecutions, and imprisonment of senior officials who were corrupt, or too obviously corrupt, have sent a message to all senior officials in jobs that give them access to the swollen defense budget, now 6.7 percent of GDP. Before the invasion, it was 3.6 percent. Putin thought the invasion would quickly overthrow the Ukrainian government. That did not happen, and the war's costs exceed what Russia can afford. This is nothing new; decades of spending 15 percent of GDP on defense and tolerating widespread corruption by senior officials led to the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. Many Russian economists and bankers believe another economic collapse, similar to what destroyed the Soviet Union, is possible unless the increased defense spending is restrained along with the growing corruption.
Fifteen years ago, the Russian Defense Minister caused a firestorm of bad publicity when he announced that Russia was shopping for foreign assault rifles and sniper rifles. This offended many Russians, who consider the AK-47, and all of its derivatives, to be perfectly suitable for Russian troops, and national icons as well. But the defense minister has a point. Professional soldiers prefer more accurate assault rifles, and Russia wants to create a more professional army. While the AK-47 was popular with irregulars and bandits, that's mainly because it was a rugged weapon that could survive a lot of abuse and neglect, and still fire. Not very accurately, but as amateurs often fired the AK-47 type weapon on full automatic, accuracy was beside the point. Russians also take pride in the fact that the AK-47 was the first modern assault rifle when it was introduced in 1947. That's not true either. A very similar weapon, the German Sturmgewehr 44 (also known as the MP43, MP43/1, MP44, and StG44), entered the Russian front in July 1943 and remained in production and use until 1945. The Russians had four years to examine captured Sturmgewehr 44s. Its resemblance to the AK-47 was no accident.
Meanwhile, Russia had implemented a five-year plan to spend $12 billion on Western weapons and weapons manufacturing technology. The most visible deals were with France to obtain four Mistral-class amphibious ships (that look like small aircraft carriers), another with Israel for drones, and yet another with Italy for wheeled armored vehicles. In particular, Russia wanted to obtain manufacturing technology. Russian companies have shown they can adapt to Western manufacturing methods and produce comparable goods in Russia with Russian staff. But Russia has long resisted doing this, legally, with military equipment. Now Russia wants to obtain Western technology and manufacturing techniques for designing and building better assault and sniper rifles.
At the beginning of this century, President Putin got the legislature to back one of his major military reforms: taking much of the military's control away from the generals and admirals. The Russian military high command has always had more authority than the Secretary of Defense has in America. Putin realized that the U.S. approach makes it easier to deal with corruption and incompetence if his defense minister had a say in things like training exercises, field operations, and domestic base inspections. Generals can no longer stonewall Defense Ministry queries with "it's a military matter that only the Chiefs of Staff have authority over." This response has been used frequently over the past decade to cover up military corruption and incompetence.
A bit later, the Russian armed forces underwent yet another round of reforms, including attempts to eliminate corruption and conscription. The Railway Troops and Special Construction Troops were brought back into the armed forces, bringing total troop strength to an alleged 1.2 million, plus 876,000 civilians. Volunteer troops were paid more and received better training and living conditions than conscripts. But a major reason for moving to an all-volunteer force is that so many young men avoided service (legally or otherwise). This was nothing new. At the end of the Cold War, only about a third of each year's 18-year-old males actually made it into military service.
Morale among officers and NCOs was also in trouble. So, pay for these career troops was increased. A major general received $541 a month, and a lieutenant $216. The changes also affected how career troops receive family housing and other benefits. The relative lack of these benefits produced a steady exodus of the best officers. Russia’s war with Ukraine, starting in 2014, made all this worse.
FYEO

By James Cain (Jcain) on Thursday, September 03, 2026 - 08:11 pm: Edit

Mike Grafton: Regarding "Maybe ship itself is programmed to go into the Russian harbor vs some waterside thing. Like a big drydock. or the pier where Subs tie up...", it sounds like you mean something like what HMS Campbeltown did during the 28 March 1942 Operation Chariot raid on St. Nazaire?

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Thursday, September 03, 2026 - 08:18 pm: Edit

US used surface drones against Iranian Sub and piers.... Several videos of different angles if you can find them....

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Friday, September 04, 2026 - 08:37 am: Edit

I do agree with SVC that drone defense is vital.

Ukraine has had limited successes in this area. Perhaps 80% of incoming Shaheds are shot down. Basic training includes drone defense, and there are videos online of individual soldiers shooting down FPV drones, thereby saving their lives. I recently watched a video of a Ukrainian soldier destroying an FPV with a machine gun. The video said it was his 23rd one. I consider that part unverified.

Both Russian and Ukrainian electronic warfare stop a lot of drones. The problem with this is that drones with AI can be resistant to EW, as they may not need a link with the operator in their terminal phase.

However, the overall state of drone defense is still not good. Shooting down 80% of Shaheds means 20% of them get through, and the damage those 20% cause greatly exceeds the cost of the Shaheds. Similarly, shooting down an FPV destroys a $500 drone, but you may die if you fail.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Friday, September 04, 2026 - 08:51 am: Edit

Germany is experiencing an increase in attacks on infrastructure. For the fifth time in a month, explosives have been found near or detonated at infrustructure locations. Targets include power plants and airports.

Germany says some of these attacks were coordinated by Russia. The sources of the others is unknown, but Russia is an obvious suspect.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, September 04, 2026 - 12:40 pm: Edit

Surface Forces : Turkish Istanbul-class Frigates
September 4, 2026: Last month, the Turkish Navy launched the sixth of eight 3,100-ton Istanbul-class frigates. Two more such frigates are being built for the Indonesian Navy. Each ship costs about $500 million and is 113 meters long and 14.4 meters wide. Top speed is 54 kilometers an hour, with a cruise speed of 26 kilometers an hour. Range is 10,600 kilometers at cruise speed, or 19 days at sea. Two Rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) are carried.
The crew of 123 operates an air search radar with a max range of 400 kilometers. The ship also has a surface search radar, fire control radar, and sonar. In addition, other radars and electro-optical devices detect incoming missiles and boats, and the ship can engage them with an auto-cannon similar to the U.S. Phalanx. Communications include satellite links, LANs, and other internal comms, as well as an underwater phone. A combat management system uses encrypted data links to prevent others from listening in. The ship also has electronic warfare systems and decoys for incoming missiles or torpedoes.
Weapons include a 76mm cannon, one 35mm twin Barracuda CIWS (Close-in Weapon System), and two remotely controlled 25mm autocannons. It carries 16 anti-ship missiles and 16 VLS (Vertical Launch System) cells, carrying 16 long-range air defense missiles, 64 shorter-range missiles, or a combination of both. There are four torpedo tubes. There is a hangar for one ten-ton helicopter plus some drones.
Currently, the Turkish Navy consists of a drone carrier that also serves as an amphibious assault ship, 13 submarines, 17 frigates, 9 corvettes, 6 amphibious ships, 11 mine warfare ships, and about a hundred other vessels.
Turkey currently has the world's fifth-largest shipbuilding industry. Turkish yards mainly produce commercial ships. Nearly twenty years ago, when the government decided to expand the fleet, more local shipyards became available to do the work. Now there are 77 shipyards, three of which specialize in military construction, as well as repairing and upgrading existing ships from countries throughout the region. Turkey has done the same thing with military aircraft, with hundreds of combat aircraft, especially F-16s, being repaired or upgraded at Turkish facilities.
Even before the Cold War ended in 1991, Turkey was seeking to become self-reliant in arms production. Turkey has even designed a fighter-bomber, the twin-engine, 27-ton Kaan. The engines are American, but Turkey makes everything else.
FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, September 04, 2026 - 12:40 pm: Edit

Russia: Expands Army For Ukraine
September 4, 2026: Vladimir can sense that he is going to lose in Ukraine but wants to go out fighting and keep Russian forces in Ukraine, even if only a small portion of Ukraine, for as long as possible. Part of this plan involves allegedly expanding the army to 2.3 million soldiers. Russian officials in charge of mobilizing troops expect to be asked for another few hundred thousand at most. Currently, Russia has about 700,000 troops in Ukraine, while the Ukrainian forces have nearly 900,000. Worse, there have been months when Russia has not been able to mobilize enough soldiers to replace monthly battlefield losses.
Most Russians now know, from reports of returning wounded and disabled soldiers, that going to Ukraine is worse than playing Russian Roulette. About half the troops sent there in the last year have been killed or wounded. Worse, the Ukrainians are taking far fewer casualties; currently, for every killed or wounded Ukrainian, there are eight or nine Russian losses. Ukraine keeps its losses down by training new recruits first, something the Russians avoid. Ukraine is also using more ground combat drones, most of them equipped with machine guns or other infantry weapons and controlled by operators in bunkers several, or up to twenty, kilometers away. One operator can often handle three or more of these drones, although in an active combat situation it's one operator per drone. At the same time, Ukraine has even more aerial drones overhead, supporting the ground drones and providing information on where the targets are.
The weakening Russian resistance in Ukraine has enabled the Ukrainians to regain territory that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. That means that Crimea and eastern Ukraine will eventually, this year or next, be under Ukrainian control. Putin is desperate to expand his forces to avoid a Ukrainian victory, but many Russians are avoiding military service. Because of the losses in Ukraine, nearly 1.5 million Russians are dead, wounded, or missing, plus another million or so who fled Russia to avoid army service. These losses have created labor shortages, and Putin's economic advisors warn that the Russian economy cannot support an expanded war in Ukraine.
It’s a classic Guns or Butter situation that has Putin trapped. If he continues to fight, he risks civil unrest over continued mobilization to fight a lost war. If Putin stops sending more soldiers to Ukraine and pays more attention to the economy, he risks retaliation from Russians angry because so much has been lost and nothing gained.
FYEO

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Friday, September 04, 2026 - 04:12 pm: Edit

... Russian "6.3 % of GDP on defense.

I think this is very wrong... More like 10 to 12 % according to Russianomics.

"Q1 military spending amounted to 12% of estimated nominal GDP for the quarter"

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, September 04, 2026 - 05:30 pm: Edit

Ukraine has declared that Russian air space is no longer safe for commercial aircraft. This was not framed as a threat, but as a fair warning that Russian air space will become increasingly dangerous and civilian airlines should take note. This was an official warning to airlines and insurance companies. Ukraine will not deliberately target civilian aircraft but with the increasing drone attacks "accidents could happen". Told about the announcement by a reporter during a press conference, Putin called it "nothing less than terrorism."
THE MILITARY SHOW, YouTube

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, September 05, 2026 - 11:11 am: Edit

The IRGC fired at but apparently didn’t hit two US destroyers. To teach them a lesson, the US hit and damaged three Iranian oil tankers, meaning they cannot sail without serious repairs.
Fox, CNN, just now

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Sunday, September 06, 2026 - 10:04 am: Edit

Ukrainian bomber drones attacked the Russian ship Lady Maria in the Mediterranean. There is video online showing munition drops, followed by explosions on the ship. Ukraine said the ship was carrying Iranian weapons.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, September 06, 2026 - 11:35 am: Edit

In the med? Sheesh

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, September 06, 2026 - 12:11 pm: Edit

I have long said that were I to become president the first phone call would be to Canada and I would promise not to invade because that didn't work out the two previous times. Now I think the second phone call needs to be to Ukraine to say "What do I have to give you so you won't mess with us?"

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Sunday, September 06, 2026 - 05:23 pm: Edit

Wrong approach:

If you start offering money to the Ukrainian’s, they know (not suspect, no hunches involved, they Know) that you do not value money very highly.

It is like trying to reason with a Missouri Mule.

Metaphorically speaking, you have to hit a Missouri mule with a two by four (four by four is better, but most people can’t wield a four by four) between the eyes just to get its attention.

Putin Tried, but botched the attempt. 1.4 million casualties later, and he burned through the stockpile of left over Soviet tanks with little to show for it.

About all you can do with Ukraine is stay on their good side, support them in whatever war they get involved with, and hope they lose before they get around to attacking the United States.

By Alan Trevor (Thyrm) on Sunday, September 06, 2026 - 06:19 pm: Edit

Another possible phone call or two; call up South Korea and/or Japan.

1. Offer them a big chunk of money for a "first tranche" of modern frigates such as the Chungnam class or the "upgraded Mogami" class. Structure the procurement so that, unlike with the FREMM/Constellation" class, any design changes are kept to an absolute minimum necessary to make these already-existing (and capable) designs fully compatible with existing USN systems and doctrine. If the further changes are subsequently discovered to be called for, those will be incorporated into subsequent tranches, as well as mid-life upgrades to already-in-service ships. The Flight III Arleigh Burke class ships currently being built are substantially different from the original Flight I ships built in the 1980s and 1990s.

2. Offer Japan and/or South Korea a further chunk of money to help modernize our own shipyards as well as our design processes. In some sense, this would be asking them to help modernize a potential future competitor. But we would be paying them a chunk of money now to help us get our shipbuilding house in order. And if Xi Jinping, or his successor, starts getting "twitchy", both Japan and South Korea might find it... reassuring... if the U.S. once again knows how to put a lot of small but capable (within size parameters) warships in the water quickly.

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Sunday, September 06, 2026 - 07:42 pm: Edit

>> absolute minimum necessary to make these already-existing (and capable) designs fully compatible with existing USN systems and doctrine

And that's the problem right there. To USN brass, swapping out 75% or more of a foreign design IS the minimum necessary.

--Mike

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, September 07, 2026 - 03:07 am: Edit

Then we could borrow some Japanese captains. I heard that they’re really good at using tidal wave detection buoys to track targets.

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Monday, September 07, 2026 - 09:00 am: Edit

Don't need the Captains, we need the Techs....

Get them to train some of our techs...

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Monday, September 07, 2026 - 11:11 am: Edit

The problem is big ship building goes through booms nd hires tons of workers nd then lays them off. When the next contract comes they hve to retrain their workforce.

And of course "consolidation" means fewer competitors, so less competition...

By Gregory S Flusche (Vandar) on Monday, September 07, 2026 - 11:38 am: Edit

I work in ship repair. Mainly USN ships. Our problem is a skilled work force. Most of are skilled workers. Those with a lot of experience are in the 50s and 60s We do not have the young people coming in and learning what they need to. There is a gap in age from the new 20 something's and the old hats that will retire soon.

That gap is hurting us bad.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, September 08, 2026 - 03:08 pm: Edit

Surface Forces : 35 Experiments at Sea
September 8, 2026: The 2026 RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific) naval exercises involved forces from 30 nations, including 30,000 personnel, 31 surface ships, five submarines, and more than 190 aircraft. The forces carried out more than 500 naval exercise events and 2,400 aircraft sorties. Participants handled nearly 5,000 training scenarios. The 2026 RIMPAC operations took place in and around the Hawaiian Islands. This year, the exercise included the American, Japanese, and South Korean navies demonstrating nearly three dozen new technologies, including new 3D printing technology and ship-to-ship drone delivery, enabling ships with more 3D printing capabilities to get needed replacement parts to ships that needed them.
RIMPAC exercises are held every two years and last about two weeks. This is the world's largest naval exercise, and about twenty nations currently participate. China was invited in 2014 but never participated. Instead, a Chinese intelligence collection ship shows up to monitor the activities.
Since the mid-80s, 3D printing technology has evolved into a more versatile and cheaper way to manufacture metal and plastic components. Inexpensive 3D printers can be purchased and used to manufacture the components needed for 9mm pistols and similar weapons.
At first, using 3D printers to manufacture these crude pistols for gangsters and Islamic terrorists was time-consuming, but the technology quickly improved. Now you can buy a 3D printer for a few hundred dollars and create more of these weapons quickly. Obtaining ammunition is still a problem, but it won’t be long before 3D printers take care of that as well.
The U.S. Navy is using 3D parts printers to quickly fabricate metal replacement parts for many systems on ships, including aircraft, weapons, and vehicles. 3D printers for plastic parts already exist, but metal 3D printers have been around for a while, and computer specification files exist for enough aluminum parts to make this 3D printer worth having on board. The Navy 3D printer can handle aluminum components up to 25cm by 25cm. In the last century, warships have had limited capability to fabricate metal parts and even less space to store spare parts. Most of the parts are common hardware items that require no manufacturer's license to duplicate.
This 3D printer tech got a lot of publicity in the last few years when it became clear that SpaceX rapidly developed more effective, cheaper rockets and satellite launchers using 3D printers. SpaceX inspired European countries, which had already developed some of the tech SpaceX used to build its novel rockets and Space Launch Vehicles (SLVs). One of these technologies was 3D printing metal components for rocket engines and other major SLV components needed in small quantities. Traditional manufacturing methods like forging, machining, and stamping metal are expensive and time-consuming, especially for small quantities. Change has been coming since the 1980s, when the concept of 3D printing tech arrived. Soon, it became clear that this technology would evolve to the point where it could handle metal components and build complex objects with a 3D device. For manufacturers, this would be a major revolution for anyone needing small numbers of complex systems or developing prototypes for testing and further refinement. Spacecraft developers and manufacturers were among the first to use this new technology visibly. The first decade of the 21st Century saw the appearance of more effective 3D printers that could handle metal parts of different sizes and complexity. It was only a matter of time before the military adopted this new generation of 3D printer technology.
Other Western nations have followed suit for ships at sea and peacekeeping operations in remote areas. For example, in 2019 France joined a growing number of armed forces and adopted 3D printers for its counterterrorism operation in Africa. This force contains 4,500 soldiers, special operations troops, and aircraft crews that have been in the Sahel since 2014 to combat Islamic terrorists. The task force headquarters is in landlocked Chad, and about half the troops are in landlocked Mali to the west. A shortage of rivers and roads means it is time-consuming and expensive to get supplies in, even if you expedite the process by putting them aboard military transport aircraft that regularly fly between the Sahel bases and France. The French Task Force received two 3D printers at its Chad base, and they soon went into regular use to quickly supply needed parts. Otherwise, much equipment would be sidelined for days or weeks while waiting for parts to arrive from France or a foreign manufacturer.
The U.S. Army pioneered this approach in 2003 by establishing a Mobile Parts Hospital (MPH), and in 2013 MPH added 3D printers. By 2016, Special Operations Command/SOCOM noted that users, including some SOCOM personnel, were designing their own new parts and using MPHs to build them for immediate testing. A growing percentage of those new component designs worked, and many became part of the factory-made systems. Most SOCOM MPH detachments consisted of just a laptop and a 3-D printer for non-metal parts. The 3D printer for metal parts was bulkier and much more expensive, and fewer were in the field at the time.
Meanwhile, other nations were adopting these technologies. The Royal Navy had adopted the 3D printing concept for its warships in 2015, as had the U.S. Navy and American Marines. Meanwhile, many companies providing field support for expensive, complex equipment had adopted this 3D-printing approach. It was easy and inexpensive to supply field support teams with a 3D printer that could quickly produce thousands of plastic and metal parts for aircraft, ships, generators, electronics, vehicles, and so on.
It took the American army a decade to develop and deploy second- and third-generation MPHs. The 2013 version, called Expeditionary Lab, or Ex Lab, was more compact and relied more on 3-D printers and operators trained to help users design components that don’t yet exist. Troops often discovered the need for a new component or an improved replacement part for their equipment. In the past, this request often had to go back to the original factory for development and manufacturing. But with the software and equipment available now, along with satellite data links to factories, they can do this work quickly in the combat zone. Thus, the new name is essentially MPH 3.0.
MPH was developed when the Army realized the easiest and quickest way to get many rarely requested but vital replacement parts to troops was to manufacture them in the combat zone. After September 11, 2001, the Army built a portable parts fabrication system that fits into a standard 8x8x20-foot shipping container. The original version used two containers, but smaller equipment and more powerful computers eventually made one container possible. By 2010, four MPH systems were in service, two of them in Afghanistan. Over the next few years, they built two more for under $2 million each. In the first decade of use, MPHs manufactured over 150,000 parts on the spot, saving lots of time, shipping expenses, and aggravation for troops needing the item. This saved days or weeks compared with obtaining the part from the manufacturer. The MPH part is usually much cheaper because it avoids air freight and manufacturer markups for maintaining inventory. MPH 2.0 had a 3-D part builder, which uses metal dust and a laser to build a part.
SOCOM built its own, more ambitious, version of MPH in 2009. This was the Mobile Technology Complex, or MTC, that could fix more complex and exotic gear, which SOCOM has a lot of. MTC could modify their special gear or even create something new. SOCOM sent most of its MTCs to Afghanistan to see how effective they would be at improving equipment readiness and the value of modifying existing gear and building new items on the spot. The MTC was modified, with some new gear, a version of MPH 2.0. This led to Ex Labs.
The key to making this work originally was the availability of computer-controlled machine tools, which can take a block of the proper metal and machine into the desired part. Computer-controlled machine tools have been around for decades, but the big breakthrough came with the development of CAD software for PCs in the 1980s, which made designing and fabricating a part much faster. The computer-controlled machine tools can use the CAD file to automatically create the part. The MPH has a high-speed satellite data link, which enables it to obtain the CAD file for a part. Many CAD files are already stored in the MPH. Often, MPH staff improve a part based on broken parts they see and what the troops tell them.
Computer-controlled machine tools were eventually complemented and are now often replaced by 3D printers that can make all manner of metal parts. Aircraft and SpaceX spaceship manufacturers used this equipment on a large scale to build prototypes and items like satellite launchers and transport vehicles that brought supplies and people to the International Space Station. The metal 3D printers now come in a wide range of sizes and capabilities. Some never leave the factory, but the more portable ones are now common in field service offices and with the military.
These instant parts-builder operations were often staffed and open 24/7. Demand for critical parts happened round the clock in a combat zone, and it was often a matter of life or death to get the part as quickly as possible. This has eliminated many spare-parts crises where large quantities of equipment in a combat zone would be unavailable because a few parts wore out faster than anticipated. When that happens now, the MPH can get parts to troops quickly while the factory is alerted to produce more and airfreight them to the combat zone as soon as it can.
Meanwhile, the military's use of this technology led to the concept of building entire systems on demand with 3D printers or making extensive modifications to existing equipment. One application involved 3D-printed UAVs that cost about $1,000 but use commercial components like batteries, electric motors, cameras, and wireless comms. The airframe is 3D-printed on demand at the battalion and brigade level. Troops would still have a similar Raven UAV, with longer duration, better sensors, and encrypted comms. But for most combat zone needs, 3D-printed UAVs built at battalion or brigade headquarters as needed would do the job. These weigh less than a kilogram, have 20 minutes of endurance, and a range of about three kilometers. For most combat situations, that is sufficient. A smartphone or tablet can be used as a controller. The required 3D printers are small and use plastic material that can also be used to create replacement parts on demand for damaged UAVs, as well as a long list of parts for other equipment in the battalion. A 3D Printer would not be added to battalion or brigade equipment just to make UAVs, but to supply a long list of plastic replacement parts instantly.
In a combat zone, there is simply more demand for modifications to existing equipment that are a matter of life or death, or at least less anxiety.
FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, September 08, 2026 - 03:09 pm: Edit

Russia: Putin Versus the Internet
December 10, 2024: Russia is trying again to create a national intranet that would only be used by people in Russia and unavailable to those outside Russia. This effort involves plugging the many holes created in a prior intranet by those who want to maintain access to the world wide web. When Russia invaded Ukraine the second time in 2022, the West imposed economic sanctions that included making Russian access to the global internet more difficult. This did not work because while Russia was officially sanctioned, they still could obtain electronics and other items via internet based smugglers. Russia needed these items to keep their economy going and to produce weapons that required imported components.
Despite their realities, in 2019 the Russian parliament passed a Sovereign Internet law that created an Internet infrastructure that restricted Internet use within Russia by confining most Internet users within Russia to web sites within Russia and funneled all Internet traffic from Russian users through Russian censors who would screen traffic for forbidden activity, particularly soldiers of civilians posting pictures and video of military operations to social media.
Those who backed this plan were told that such a plan was technically impossible and would reduce Russian internet users to the sort of local intranet found in North Korea. The North Korean approach ensures that only a select few users have access to the worldwide Internet. But even in North Korea civilians found ways around that. Moreover, North Korea has a primitive and much less productive economy that can function without free access to the global Internet. The Russian economy could not function with such restricted Internet access, something China has discovered and is still trying to overcome.
The Russian legislators were outraged at the inability of the military to halt these often embarrassing leaks of military information via the Internet despite numerous efforts to deal with the problem. Legislators proposed simply making it illegal to post military information on the Internet and prosecute those who violate these rules. Military experts responded by pointing out that this would be ignored or evaded by many military personnel and would make it even more difficult to recruit Russians for the military.
Russian Internet officials point out that the technical aspects of this proposed law would be impossible to implement and passing a law would not change that. The Russia-only Intranet law was adopted in 2019 and proved to be useless. Russian civilians as well as government and military personnel continued to do whatever they wanted on the internet despite the new censorship law.
What sparked this effort to censor the Russian internet was how easily Russians found out about what the military was really doing in Syria and, after the first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, in Ukraine. The Russian military was breaking a lot of Russian laws, and promises to the Russian people, in order to keep operating in Ukraine and Syria. Earlier efforts to impose rules to plug these leaks failed.
For example in mid-2018 Russia ordered bases where Russian forces operate in Syria, including major ones like Hmeimim airbase and the naval facilities at the port of Tartus, to jam signals used by cellphones capable of handling 2G and 3G speeds. All Russian personnel have been ordered to only use older cell phones without cameras and GPS. These orders were issued in February 2018 after several ISIL attacks using fixed wing and quadcopter UAVs. These mass attacks were made possible by using the features and capabilities of modern cell phones. This ban also sought to solve another problem that has long caused headaches for Russian propagandists as well as military commanders. That is, the new law sought to, and failed, to make it more difficult for Russian civilians and military personnel to post sensitive or embarrassing information on the Internet.
The 2018 ban only slowed down the battlefield information leaks because the Russian soldiers and civilian contractors still had their smartphones for taking pictures and writing email to the friends and family back home. Whenever they got into a jamming free zone they could and did, send that material or post it to social media sites where most of these leaks tended to appear.) Jamming made improvised mass attacks by cheap commercial drones carrying explosives more difficult to carry out against the Russian airbase Hmeimim that was located near the Syrian coast. Several such attacks occurred between the end of 2017 and early 2018, causing two deaths and a lot of property and equipment damage. Improved air defenses and airstrikes against the Islamic terror groups responsible seemed to play a larger role in halting the attacks but intel sources and interrogations indicated the jamming helped.
What happened in Syria was unusual because normally it was the Russians who were exploiting cell phone technology on the battlefield although the information leaks because of Russian troops with cell phones has long been a problem, but not as serious as enabling aerial attacks on major bases.
The cell phones have become a major intelligence problem in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine as well. For example, in late 2017 the Russian backed Donbas rebel government in eastern Ukraine sentenced a local man to ten years in jail for distributing a cell phone photo via Twitter that showed Russian Army vehicles and other equipment in the rebel-controlled half of Donbas. Russia denied they have troops there but it had been an open secret because of cell phones, Internet access and most Ukrainians there wanted the Russians gone. Sending this fellow to prison and publicizing it was expected to make the population less ready to do this sort of thing. Little changed as the leakers became more proficient at leaking without getting caught.
In 2019 the Russians had been in Donbas since 2014 and, from mid-2015 until Russian’s second, bigger, invasion in February 2022, Ukraine become a secondary operation for Russia with Syria, the rest of the Middle East plus North Korea demanding more attention. This made it easier for Ukrainians to document the presence of Russian troops inside Donbas. This was possible because Donbas had cell phone service and a lot of people in Donbas took pictures and shared them. Although the Russian soldiers in Donbas were supposed to remove all identifying items from their uniforms, not all the troops did that completely. They were not supposed to spend too much time socializing with the locals but did anyway and often shared those experiences on Internet-based social networks. Russia denied everything and, since Russia had state-controlled mass media most Russians saw only the official version of who was in Donbas, not the reality.
While Russia decreased military support for their forces in Donbas Russia continued using Ukraine as a test site for new Cyber War tactics and techniques. Thus by the end of 2016 Ukraine accused Russia of employing hackers to insert trackers into cell phones used by Ukrainian military personnel fighting in Donbas. Ukraine also found evidence of the same or similar hackers, usually civilian groups working as contractors for the Russian government going after numerous government and commercial networks in Ukraine. Some of these hackers were also identified as going after targets in the United States. The hacking of Ukrainian military personnel cell phones is believed to have been the cause of several recent accurate and fatal attacks on Ukrainian troops in Donbas. The hackers made it possible to track the location of the phone owners and accurately fire shells at them.
These capabilities had already attracted the attention of the U.S., which was supplying Ukraine with military equipment and technical assistance. American and NATO electronic warfare experts paid close attention to what the Russians were up to in Donbas and the cell phone hack was not unexpected. When it did arrive it was scrutinized and dissected.
Russia considers any such revelations as harmful to Russian military capabilities. There is some truth to that but worldwide it should be noted that even the most oppressive and proficient police states like China, North Korea and Cuba have found that the need for an operational Internet is more than one that is crippled.
As long as there is any freely available wireless communications in a country, some of your citizens will risk the most severe penalties to get access to the world wide web and share what they found. Russia legislators did what legislators often do; passed a law, declared the problem solved and then tried to ignore contrary evidence for as long as they could. Russia lost, the internet won and life went on.
FYEO