Raytheon to create DARPA's airborne "wireless internet for energy"
By Loz Blain
December 14, 2023
https://newatlas.com/military/raytheon- ... ess-power/
DARPA has tapped Raytheon to design and develop a wireless, airborne relay system to "deliver energy into contested environments," as part of its Energy Web Dominance program, in which DARPA wants to be able to power anything from nearly anywhere.
Under a two-year, US$10 million DARPA contract, Raytheon will create a Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay (POWER) system, using a series of high altitude unmanned aircraft equipped with laser-based power receiving and transmitting capabilities. Energy will be beamed up to high altitude, then relayed across however many jumps are necessary to reach the target area.
That target might be on the ground, or it might itself be another autonomous aerial platform, in which case it could stay airborne as long as necessary, its batteries being constantly charged from afar.
With enough of these power-relaying birds in the air, the POWER system creates an "energy web" that military logisticians can use to route energy where it's most needed at a moment's notice. It's a supply line in the sky, capable of giving land, sky or sea-based robots indefinite endurance, or sending the same energy elsewhere if it's strategically necessary.
Each airborne relay drone will receive power through an optical laser system, then send it further on in the network
New Stealth Destroyer INS Imphal Joins Indian Navy Fleet by Rahul Singh
December 27, 2023
Introduction:
(Hindustan Times) The Indian Navy on Tuesday commissioned its latest guided missile stealth destroyer, INS Imphal, which will bolster the country’s presence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region and its capabilities to respond to an array of regional contingencies including the emerging challenges in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, where tensions have escalated following a wave of drone and missile attacks against merchant vessels by Houthi rebels, officials aware of the matter said.
INS Imphal, built under a ₹35,000-crore project for four modern stealth destroyers, comes with a raft of historic firsts, the officials said.
It is the first warship to have fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile before its commissioning; it has separate accommodation for women officers and sailors, as no woman officer has yet been a part of a warship’s commissioning crew; and its construction time has been the shortest for this class of destroyers. It is also the first warship in naval history to be named after a city in the country’s Northeast.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who commissioned the destroyer at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, said INS Imphal was a symbol of India’s growing maritime might, and it would enhance the country’s power in the vast Indo-Pacific region in line with the time-honoured naval strategy of “One Who Controls the Sea is All Powerful”.
“India plays the role of a net security provider in the entire Indian Ocean region. We will ensure that maritime trade in this region reaches greater heights. For this, together with our friendly countries, we will keep the sea lanes secure. We have full confidence in the ability and strength of our navy,” Singh said.
In Major Shift, Japan Gives Nod to Exports of Lethal Weapons by Nobuhiko Tajima
December 23, 2023
Introduction:
(The Asahi Shmbun) In a hugely significant policy shift for pacifist Japan, the government approved revisions that will allow for the export of finished weapons like Patriot missiles.
The changes that got the nod from the Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were made possible by the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology. The National Security Council later approved revisions to the implementation guidelines for those principles.
In 1976, the government banned weapons exports in principle, citing war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.
But in 2014 when Shinzo Abe was prime minister, the government scrapped the three principles regarding weapons exports and replaced them with the current principles on the transfer of defense equipment and technology.
On Dec. 22, the government quickly took advantage of the revisions and approved the export of finished Patriot surface-to-air missiles to the United States.
Business of War Is Booming as Orders Surge at Top Global Arms Firms by Brett Wilkins
December 28, 2023
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Orders at many of the world's biggest arms companies are "near record highs" due to rising geopolitical tensions in recent years, an analysis published Wednesday by Financial Times revealed.
The London-based newspaper analyzed the order books of the world's 15 top arms makers and found their combined backlogs were $777.6 billion at the end of 2022—a 10% increase from 2020.
According to FT:
The trend's momentum continued into 2023. In the first six months of this year—the latest comprehensive quarterly data available—combined backlogs at these companies stood at $764 billion, swelling their future pipeline of work as governments kept placing orders.
The sustained spending has spurred investors' interest in the sector. [Member of Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment's] global benchmark for the industry's stocks is up 25% over the past 12 months. Europe's Stoxx aerospace and defense stocks index has risen by more than 50% over the same period.
Private equity firms including BlackRock, Vanguard, Capital Group, and State Street are dominant or major shareholders in most of the weapons companies analyzed by FT. These Wall Street speculators are "the ones driving the perpetual wars to maintain their bankrupt financial system," according to the International Schiller Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
After U.S. Navy Helicopters Sink Houthi Boats Are Strikes Next? by Tyler Rogoway
December 31, 2023
Introduction:
(The Drive) Things are really heating up in the southern end of the Red Sea. Houthi attacks on shipping moving through the chokepoint not only continue, but appear to be getting more complex. Now U.S. Central Command has said Navy helicopters were fired upon by Houthi raiding craft while responding to a distress call from a cargo ship. The helicopters fired back, sinking the boats. This comes as a report claims the U.S. and the U.K. are planning to strike back against Houthi forces.
The statement from CENTCOM about the latest incident reads as follows:
"Iranian-backed Houthi small boats attack merchant vessel and U.S. Navy helicopters in Southern Red Sea
On Dec. 31 at 6:30am (Sanaa time) the container ship MAERSK HANGZHOU issued a second distress call in less than 24 hours reporting being under attack by four Iranian-backed Houthi small boats. The small boats, originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, fired crew served and small arms weapons at the MAERSK HANGZHOU, getting to within 20 meters of the vessel, and attempted to board the vessel. A contract embarked security team on the MAERSK HANZGHOU returned fire. U.S. helicopters from the USS EISENHOWER (CVN 69) and GRAVELY (DDG 107) responded to the distress call and in the process of issuing verbal calls to the small boats, the small boats fired upon the U.S. helicopters with crew served weapons and small arms. The U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats, and killing the crews. The fourth boat fled the area. There was no damage to U.S. personnel or equipment."
Endless War and the American 'Ghost Budget' That Pays for It by Linda J. Bilmes
January 7, 2024
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) The post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were enabled by a historically unprecedented combination of budgetary procedures and financing methods. Unlike all previous U.S. wars, the post-9/11 wars were funded without higher taxes or non-war budget cuts, and through a separate budget. This set of circumstances – one that I have termed the “Ghost Budget” – enabled successive administrations to prosecute the wars with limited congressional oversight and minimal transparency and public debate. I adopted the name “Ghost Budget” because the term “ghost” appeared frequently in post-9/11 government reports in reference to funds allocated to people, places, or projects that turned out to be phantoms.
The Ghost Budget was the result of an interplay between changes in the U.S. budgetary process, a more assertive military establishment, and the conditions in global capital markets. It has had far-reaching implications for the conduct and course of the post-9/11 wars and for defense policy today.
Funding the Post-9/11 Wars
The “Ghost Budget” was the biggest budgetary anomaly in U.S. history. Prior to 9/11, U.S. wars were financed through a mixture of higher taxes and budget cuts, and funded mostly through the regular defense budget. One third of the costs of World War I and half the costs of World War II were met through higher taxes. During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt described paying taxes as a “patriotic duty” as he raised taxes on business, imposed a “wealth tax,” raised inheritance taxes, and expanded the number of income taxpayers to roughly 80 percent of the workforce by 1945. Wars in Korea and Vietnam largely followed a similar pattern, with President Harry Truman pledging to make the country “pay as you go” for the Korean War. War funding was also a central issue in the Vietnam War, which ended when Congress refused to appropriate money for the South Vietnamese military.
The post-9/11 war funding pattern was completely different. For the first time since the American Revolutionary War, war costs were covered almost entirely by debt.
