Text Fwd: U.S. Completes 14-Nation Submarine Warfare Drills For East Asia

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM Military brass conversed after holding a press conference yesterday at Pearl Harbor regarding the Rim of the Pacific exercises. Pictured are Marine Corps Brig. Gen. John Broadmeadow, left, Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Harwood, Navy Vice Adm. Richard Hunt, Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force Rear Adm. Kazuki Yamashita and Canadian Navy Rear Adm. Ron Lloyd. In the background is the Republic of Korea Navy's DDG 991 Sejong, which was participating in RIMPAC. Closing ceremonies for RIMPAC will be held tomorrow.

* Text Fwd: Rick Rozoff on Aug. 1, 2010

Star Advertiser
Sub training ends RIMPAC:
The maritime exercises involving 14 nations wrap up with closing ceremonies tomorrow
By William Cole
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 31, 2010

Country "Orange" ignores all diplomatic and political requests to cease operations in country "Green," and a sea battle ensues.

That was the framework for the final "free play" tactical phase of Rim of the Pacific war games Sunday through yesterday as the big 40-day maritime exercise wraps up in Hawaii waters.

RIMPAC is advertised as interoperability practice between allied nations, but real-world threats are never far behind.

Diesel electric submarines from Japan and South Korea stalked the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan in the final phase -- simulating a growing undersea worry as nonallied nations build up their stock of quiet subs in the Pacific.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Richard Hunt said the training encounters were still being reviewed, "but I will say that the Reagan did very well -- moved quickly and smartly out there at sea."

He added, "The diesels (submarines) that came are incredibly capable and presented tremendous challenges throughout the exercise. (They) provided some of the best training that we had."

Another U.S. aircraft carrier, the George Washington, was at the center of war games off the east coast of South Korea this past week as a reproach to North Korea.

Adm. Robert Willard, head of U.S. Pacific Command at Camp Smith, said July 20 in South Korea that future exercises would be held in international waters in the West Sea (or Yellow Sea) west of South Korea, which China considers to be on its doorstep, as the U.S. seeks to maintain its reach in the region.

The U.S. Navy downplayed RIMPAC yesterday in the context of world events.

"RIMPAC is something that we do every two years. It's two years in planning, and we truly have been working this in detail for the last 12 months," Hunt said. "What we are trying to accomplish with RIMPAC is training for ourselves, not necessarily sending a message, but training preparedness."

Hunt and other senior officers from the U.S., Japan and Canada spoke pierside at Pearl Harbor in front of the South Korean destroyer Sejong the Great and the Japanese destroyers Atago and Akebono.

The 32 ships participating in this year's RIMPAC started pulling back into Pearl Harbor yesterday, officials said. Closing ceremonies for the exercise will be held tomorrow.

Five submarines, more than 170 aircraft and about 20,000 personnel took part in RIMPAC, which involved the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

This year's exercise included units or personnel from Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the U.S.

The Navy also said there were three observer nations: Brazil, India and New Zealand.

Participating countries conducted gunnery, missile, torpedo, anti-submarine and air defense exercises as well as maritime interdiction and vessel boardings, explosive ordnance disposal, diving and salvage operations, mine clearance operations and amphibious landings.

The Marines experimented with beach landings involving smaller company forces of about 180 Marines versus a battalion landing team of about 1,100 Marines coming ashore. The goal was to evaluate dispersing Marines in wider areas.

"I won't say it was a success across the board ... but we learned some very, very important things from it," said Marine Corps Brig. Gen. John Broadmeadow. "As you take a smaller force, spread it over a wider area, you can imagine the command and control issues that you are going to have."

Text Fwd: U.S. Missiles Deployed Near China Send Message

* Image source: same as the link: The U.S.S. Ohio, a guided-missile submarine, moors at a harbor in Pusan, South Korea, on Feb. 21, 2008 (Choi Jae-Ho / AFP / Getty Images)

* Text sent from Rick Rozoff on July 8, 2010

Times Magazine
July 8, 2010
U.S. Missiles Deployed Near China Send a Message
By Mark Thompson
_____________________________________________________________

-The 14 Trident-carrying subs are useful in the unlikely event of a nuclear Armageddon, and Russia remains their prime target. But the Tomahawk-outfitted quartet carries a weapon that the U.S. military has used repeatedly against targets in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq and Sudan.
That's why alarm bells would have sounded in Beijing June 28 when the Tomahawk-laden 560-foot USS Ohio popped up in the Philippines' Subic Bay. More alarms likely were sounded when the USS Michigan arrived in Pusan, South Korea, the same day....The Chinese military awoke to find as many as 462 additional Tomahawks deployed by the U.S. in its neighborhood....The move forms part of a policy by the U.S. government to shift firepower from the Atlantic to the Pacific theater, which Washington sees as the military focus of the 21st Century.
_____________________________________________________________

Washington: If China's satellites and spies were working properly, there was a flood of unsettling intelligence flowing into the Beijing headquarters of the Chinese Navy last week. A new class of U.S. super weapon had suddenly surfaced nearby. It was an Ohio-class submarine, which for decades carried only nuclear missiles targeted against the Soviet Union, and then Russia. But this one was different: for nearly three years, the U.S. Navy has been dispatching modified "boomers" to who knows where (they do travel underwater, after all). Four of the 18 ballistic-missile subs no longer carry nuclear-tipped Trident missiles. Instead, they now hold up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, capable of hitting anything within 1,000 miles with non-nuclear warheads.

Their capability makes watching these particular submarines especially interesting. The 14 Trident-carrying subs are useful in the unlikely event of a nuclear Armageddon, and Russia remains their prime target. But the Tomahawk-outfitted quartet carries a weapon that the U.S. military has used repeatedly against targets in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq and Sudan.
(See pictures of the U.S. military in the Pacific.)

That's why alarm bells would have sounded in Beijing June 28 when the Tomahawk-laden 560-foot USS Ohio popped up in the Philippines' Subic Bay. More alarms likely were sounded when the USS Michigan arrived in Pusan, South Korea, the same day. And the klaxons would have maxed out as the USS Florida surfaced the same day at the joint U.S.-British naval base at Diego Garcia, a flyspeck of an island in the Indian Ocean. The Chinese military awoke to find as many as 462 additional Tomahawks deployed by the U.S. in its neighborhood. "There's been a decision to bolster our forces in the Pacific," says Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "There is no doubt that China will stand up and take notice."

U.S. officials deny any message is being directed at Beijing, saying the Tomahawk triple-play was a coincidence. But they did make sure news of the new deployments appeared in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post — on July 4, no less. The Chinese took notice quietly. "At present, common aspirations of countries in the Asian and Pacific regions are seeking for peace, stability and regional security," Wang Baodong, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said Wednesday. "We hope the relevant U.S. military activities will serve for the regional peace, stability and security, and not the contrary."
(See pictures of the most expensive military planes.)

Last month, the Navy had announced that all four of the Tomahawk Tridents were operationally deployed away from their home ports for the first time. Each vessel packs "the firepower of multiple surface ships," says Capt. Tracy Howard, commander, Submarine Squadron 16 in Kings Bay, Ga., and can "respond to diverse threats on short notice."

The move forms part of a policy by the U.S. government to shift firepower from the Atlantic to the Pacific theater, which Washington sees as the military focus of the 21st Century. Reduced tensions since the end of the Cold War has seen the U.S. scale back its deployment of nuclear weapons, allowing the Navy to reduce its Trident fleet from 18 to 14. (Why 14 subs, as well as bombers and land-based missiles carrying nuclear weapons, are still required to deal with the Russian threat is a topic for another day.)
(See "Obama Shelves U.S. Missile Shield: The Winners and Losers.")

Sure, the Navy could have retired the four additional subs and saved the Pentagon some money, but that's not how bureaucracies operate. Instead, it spent about $4 billion replacing the Tridents with Tomahawks and making room for 60 special-ops troops to live aboard each sub and operate stealthily around the globe. "We're there for weeks, we have the situational awareness of being there, of being part of the environment," Navy Rear Adm. Mark Kenny explained after the first Tomahawk Trident set sail in 2008. "We can detect, classify and locate targets and, if need be, hit them from the same platform."
(Comment on this story.)

The submarines aren't the only new potential issue of concern for the Chinese. Two major military exercises involving the U.S. and its allies in the region are now underway. More than three dozen naval ships and subs began participating in the "Rim of the Pacific" war games off Hawaii on Wednesday. Some 20,000 personnel from 14 nations are involved in the biennial exercise which includes missile exercises and the sinking of three abandoned vessels playing the role of enemy ships. Nations joining the U.S. in what is billed as the world's largest-ever naval war game are Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Peru, Singapore and Thailand. Closer to China, CARAT 2010 — for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training — just got underway off Singapore. The operation involves 17,000 personnel and 73 ships from the U.S., Singapore, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.
(See "Hu's Visit: Finding a Way Forward on U.S.-China Relations.")

China is absent from both exercises, and that's no oversight. Many nations in the eastern Pacific, including Australia, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam, have been encouraging the U.S. to push back against what they see as China's increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea. And the U.S. military remains concerned over China's growing missile force — now more than 1,000 — near the Taiwan Strait. The Tomahawks' arrival "is part of a larger effort to bolster our capabilities in the region," Glaser says. "It sends a signal that nobody should rule out our determination to be the balancer in the region that many countries there want us to be." No doubt Beijing got the signal.

See pictures of President Obama visiting Asia.

See "Why Is China Slowing Its Military Spending?"

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Text Fwd: Japan, South Korea Join U.S.-Led Pacific War Games

* Text sent from Rick Rozoff on June 26, 2010

Suite 101
June 24, 2010
RIMPAC 2010 War Games Launch in Hawaii
Jane Anderson


The Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) war games opened in Hawaii on June 23, 2010, with 32 ships, including the U.S.S. Freedom and the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan.

The Rim of the Pacific 2010 military exercise, or RIMPAC 2010, launched on June 23, 2010, as ships, aircraft and military personnel from 14 nations poured into Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to participate.

The U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, fresh from a six-month planned maintenance period, and the U.S.S. Freedom, the first of the U.S. Navy's planned Littoral Combat Ships designed to operate in shallow coastal waters, will participate, as will a variety of other U.S.-flagged vessels.

In total, RIMPAC 2010 was expected to involve 34 ships, five submarines, more than 100 aircraft and 20,000 personnel, the U.S. Navy said.

RIMPAC 2010 Includes Ships from Japan, Republic of Korea

By June 28, the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet will be hosting units and personnel from Australia, Canada, Chile, Columbia, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.

In addition to the Freedom and the Ronald Reagan, San Diego-based U.S. Navy ships participating in RIMPAC include the U.S.S. Benfold, U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard, U.S.S. Chancellorsville, U.S.S. Cleveland, U.S.S. Comstock, U.S.S. Devastator, U.S.S. Hopper, U.S.S. McCluscky, U.S.S. Pioneer and U.S.S. Sampson.
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Text Fwd: CATCHING UP ON [THE RECENT SPACE NEWS]

* Image source: same as the below link
'The first test flight of the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV)-2 failed '

Bruce Gagnon blog
CATCHING UP
May 4, 2010

* Just back from New York City yesterday afternoon with much to catch up on. Feeling a bit groggy. Might be a second cup of tea morning. The sun is shining and the temperature outside more to my liking - cool. A beautiful Maine day. Our guest Rao has gone for a walk to the local library. Housemate Karen will take him for a ride out to the ocean today while I try to get my backlog of work done.

* Space News reports, "The U.S. Defense Department’s first test flight of a new hypersonic glider ended abruptly as communications with the vehicle ceased mid-flight, a setback in the Pentagon’s pursuit of a highly precise long-range strike weapon. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA)’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV)-2 program is one of three designs in the running to serve as the basis for the Conventional Prompt Global Strike weapon the Pentagon wants to build in order to hit a target anywhere in the world within an hour with a non-nuclear munition. The first of three planned HTV-2 flight tests took place April 22."

"The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has made clear its intention to maintain the nation’s strategic deterrent while reducing its dependence on nuclear weapons. As such, the New START nuclear arms reduction agreement signed with Russia on April 8 will not constrain any current or planned conventionally-armed ballistic missiles, according to an April 8 fact sheet posted on the U.S. State Department’s website."

The cost of this week's HTV test and a follow-on in 2011, together is $308 million. Your tax dollars in action enriching the aerospace industry and likely ensuring a new, expensive, arms race in space as Russia and China (who clearly understand they will be the targets) feel they must respond.

* I got an interesting email the other day about Obama's effort to privatize NASA and "civilian" space operations.

The article, by Steve Zeltzer, reports, "A full bore campaign is now being waged by the Obama administration to shutdown the U.S. unionized space program and turn it over to 'new age' speculators who want to build a new space program in a 'regulation free zone' in Florida. A key player in this plan is billionaire and former owner of Paypal, Elon Musk."

Musk, has set up SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) which appears to be on the way to running a taxi service for American astronauts. This is just another step toward eventual turning "ownership" of the planetary bodies over to corporations who envision making untold riches from mining the sky in years to come. You, the taxpayers, have paid the technology start-up costs and now the corporate elite will stand to make zillions in profits and pay little back in taxes.

You can see the full article here

* Yonhap News reports, "South Korea's first Aegis destroyer will undergo a comprehensive evaluation of its fighting capabilities near Hawaii in June, a Navy source said Monday.

"The source said Sejong the Great will conduct tests while taking part in the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise. Lockheed Martin -- the developer of the Aegis system -- and U.S. Navy experts will act as observers and evaluate the weapons systems during the trial."

This is an indication that the South Korean Navy is now being fully integrated into the command structure of the U.S. Navy and that the Aegis destroyers that would be deployed at the proposed base on Jeju Island will in fact be a part of the larger U.S. military strategy of surrounding China's coastal region in order to create the ability to choke off their importation of oil via ship.

See the recent New York Times article on China's fear and response here.

* I head back to NYC on May 7 for a couple more international meetings including the Global Network annual meeting on May 9.

Text Fw: S. Korean Aegis destroyer to check its combat capabilities in June

Yonhap News
2010/03/01 15:30 KST

S. Korean Aegis destroyer to check its combat capabilities in June

SEOUL, March 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's first Aegis destroyer will undergo a comprehensive evaluation of its fighting capabilities near Hawaii in June, a Navy source said Monday.

The source said Sejong the Great will conduct tests while taking part in the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise. Lockheed Martin -- the developer of the Aegis system -- and U.S. Navy experts will act as observers and evaluate the weapons systems during the trial.

Text Fwd: Construction-Planned Jeju Naval Base, for the 1st South Korean strategic Mobile Fleet?

* Image source: Yonhap News

S. Korea activates high-mobility combat unit
Feb. 1, SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea on Feb. 1 activated its first high-mobility naval fleet, led by an Aegis destroyer. The fleet aims to secure safe sea lanes for South Korean commercial ships and better protect the country from hostile forces, including North Korea. (Photo courtesy of Navy) (Yonhap)

* Image source: Yonhap News
'Feb. 1, SEOUL, South Korea -- Seen is a 6,700-ton Aegis destropyer "Sejong the Great" that remains docked at the southern port of Busan. The state-of-the-art naval vessel is the centerpiece of South Korea's first high-mobility naval fleet that was activated on Feb. 1. (Yonhap) (END)'

____________________________________________________________________________________

The Sisa Jeju article on Feb. 1, under the title of “Jeju Naval Base, ‘ Civilian-military Complex Tourism Beauty Harbor? [or] Main Military Center? Says:

The ‘7th Mobile Fleet’, the first South Korean strategic fleet, with the most-advanced large size war ships are planned to be deployed in the construction-planned Jeju naval base and the southern sea area of the Jeju island will be one of the main activity areas of the 7th Mobile Fleet, as well.
____________________________________________________________________________________

Korea Times
02-01-2010 17:54
Navy Activates 1st strategic Mobile Fleet
By Jung Sung-ki, Staff Reporter

The Navy inaugurated Monday its first Aegis destroyer-led squadron Monday in an effort to develop its blue-water operational capability beyond coastal defense.

The inauguration ceremony of the 7th Mobile Fleet which will be made up of two squadrons took place at the Naval Operations Command in Busan, the Navy said in a news release.

Each squadron consists of a 7,600-ton KDX-II Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyer and three 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyers.

The second KDX-III destroyer, Yi I, will be delivered to the Navy in August after sea trials.
The Navy plans to launch one more Aegis ship by 2012.

Six 5,600-ton mini-Aegis KDX-IIA destroyers, which will be built and operational between 2019 and 2026, will also join the squadrons.

The mobile fleet will be backed by 1,800-ton submarines, frigates, P3-C maritime patrol aircraft and Lynx anti-submarine helicopters, when it conducts operations to secure sea lanes and defend against a possible North Korean invasion, among others, the Navy said.

The squadrons will be based at the Busan operations command and a naval base in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, it said.

A forward-deployed naval base to be built on the southern island of Jeju by 2014 will serve as the home port for the mobile fleet.

"The establishment of this mobile fleet heralds the ROK Navy's development into a blue-water force," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jung Ok-keun said in his speech during the ceremony. "As a rapid deployment force ranking with naval powers in the world, the fleet will support national policies and interests by perfectly completing missions assigned."

The fleet is scheduled to participate in combined or multinational maritime exercises, including the annual Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), which will be held in waters off Hawaii, from this year.

During RIMPAC, in particular, the Sejong the Great KDX-III destroyer will test-fire ship-to-air SM-2 Block IIIA/B Tactical Standard Missiles for the first time as part of Aegis combat system ship qualification trails (CSSQT) with allied nations, Navy officials said.

CSSQT is a series of at-sea exercises and tests to verify whether shipboard combat and weapon systems have been installed properly, and can be operated and maintained safely and effectively by the crew. (gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr)