Feral Jundi

Monday, August 22, 2011

Libya: US, NATO Concerned About Libya’s Stockpile Of Weapons

You know, I congratulate the Libyan rebels for taking Tripoli and that victory is significant. But as the rebels continue to take more territory, and they come upon the weapons caches of the old regime, there is a big concern here that those weapons will make their way into the black market. Stuff like chemical weapons or MANPADS in the hands of islamic militants comes to mind. (estimates are at around 20,000 of these shoulder fired missiles in Libya’s stockpiles)

In Iraq, securing the ammunition storage facilities after the initial invasion was non-existent. There was just too much going on and not enough resources. Eventually units were able to secure these depots, but not after they were ransacked. And then as everyone remembers, much of those ransacked munitions were used by the insurgency to attack the coalition.

The other thing to remember is that it was contractors that came in and cleared those depots of munitions. The CMC program that the Army Corps of Engineers ran in Iraq is what I am talking about. So the question I have is who in the rebel command is in charge of securing the ammunition depots in Libya as terrain is taken, and is this effort even coordinated?

My other question is do we know who these rebels are and who they do business with?  I posted about this when the war first kicked off, and also made the point that a huge number of suicide bombers from Libya made their way to the Iraq battlefield back in the day.  Jihadists are in Libya and who knows what they have been able to grab during the chaos of this war.

Going back to the idea of who will help secure or remove munitions in Libya, it will more than likely be a contractor.  I don’t know if it would be a US contractor, but someone close to France or Italy might have a shot. Or those countries might reach out to specific contractors of other countries to help get this done. But to me, this is just one of many dilemmas to focus on as Libya transitions. Hat tip to Jack Murphy over at Kit Up for putting together that photo below. –Matt

Edit: 08/23/2011- I wanted to post this story in regards to contractors cleaning up these munitions. We are already contracting with MAG and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Clearance to find and clean up munitions.

 

This photo came from Kit Up's Jack Murphy. Notice the SA -7's?

 

U.S., NATO concerned about Libya’s stockpile of weapons
08/22/2011
Washington (CNN) — The U.S. and NATO have been quietly talking to National Transitional Council officials for the last several weeks about securing Libya’s remaining stockpiles of mustard gas and other weapons material in the event the Gadhafi regime fell, U.S. officials confirm. Topping the list of worries is Libya’s stockpile of mustard gas.
“The opposition forces are being asked to keep track of what’s going on” with both weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the regime’s inventory of surface-to-air missiles, a NATO official said.
“We have had direct eyes on the storage facilities” of the WMD for some time, the official said, including the use of satellites, drones and other surveillance aircraft.
The official also confirmed that intelligence personnel from the U.S. and other countries have been in Libya in recent weeks to help maintain security at various sites, although he could not confirm Western personnel are currently at those locations. “Individual nations have folks on the ground,” he said.

(more…)

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Publications: Small Arms Survey 2011, Chapter 4–Private Security And Small Arms

Small Arms Survey 2011 Chapter 4: Private Security And Small Arms

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Weapons Stuff: Libyan Rebel Weapons Development–Robots Armed With Machine Guns!

Filed under: Libya,Video,Weapons Stuff — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 11:40 AM

Interesting development. Although what the rebels need is what every military unit needs to be successful. They need to be organized, disciplined, trained, well equipped, well led, have unit cohesion, and most of all, have excellent strategy. So my question with the whole ‘robots with machine guns’ thing, is how does this advancement in their DIY weapons development, help in winning their war?
The other thing that strikes me here, is this whole DIY weapons movement going on in places like Mexico, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya? What would be fun is to start a whole new website just to track this very unique ‘makers’ industry. Much of it seems to be based on mimicry. They see a photo or video of a professionally made weapon system, and they try to copy it. This mimicry strategy helps to explain why you see the same type of armored vehicle design in Mexico, Iraq, or an attempt to armor vehicles in Libya. –Matt


Thursday, May 19, 2011

Technology: The Multi-Band Video Receiver MVR IV, By Coastal Defense Inc.

Hat tip to Nathan Hodge for this one.  The weight of this system is an outstanding two pounds! It is also a lot less obtrusive than the system being used in that Switchblade video below. I am telling you, the day when Drone Archers become a reality in infantry units and special forces units is coming.

The next step is to take micro drones like the Switchblade and make them launchable from Gustavs, SMAWs or similar hand held rocket launchers. If you watch that Switchblade video, these things are tube launched from a basic mortar type launcher, which I assume are disposable. Perhaps they should make the Switchblade launchable from an actual mortar tube? Or the other concept would be to make a micro drone that could be launched from an RPG. Or make it like a LAW or AT -4?

The reason why I say make them launchable like this, is so that you can get these drones on top of the enemy as soon as possible. The enemy will have a running start if they see a force hand launch this drone. But if a team could shoot that UAV immediately above the battle space, then getting eyes on for the kill or for tracking purposes becomes more efficient and increases success. It can end the fight a lot quicker, if this was possible. I imagine the electronics would have to be pretty sturdy to withstand this kind of launch, but after all, they have done it with systems like the Javelin.

What is interesting too, is that drone archers would be more successful while the fight is in progress. Accurate fires in the direction of the enemy would help to keep them in place and behind cover, while at the same time the drone archer can get a UAV above that enemy element and go for a kill or for over watch purposes to help develop the situation and contribute to a team’s OODA. Interesting stuff. –Matt

 

Photo from Wired's Danger Room and the company website for MVR IV

Multi-Band Video Receiver (MVR IV)
Overview
The MVR-IV is a hand-held unit that receives real-time, full-motion video. Designed to work over the L, S and C bands, it provides situational awareness to ground troops from aircraft, UAV, or ground based video sources. The unit is compatible with standard-issue eyepiece and can be interfaced to a portable computer for video capture, manipulation (John Madden), retransmitting and storage. It is modular in design, is upgradeable for unit specific requirements (to include digital encoding), and works with all legacy video transmission systems. Digital link encryption for all bands is available.

(more…)

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Weapons Stuff: A Look At The New M855A1 62 Grain EPR ‘Green’ Ammunition

Filed under: Weapons Stuff — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 4:04 PM

Inevitably, contractors will be using this ammo at one point or another. So I figured I would just give a heads up in case you do see some of it floating around.  This ‘green ammo’ sounds interesting, but I would really like to hear some more input before making any judgments on the stuff.

On the positive side, the article below says that it is a more accurate and consistent round. I like that, and I wonder how it compares to the Mk 262 or the Mk 318 ? If anyone has experience with this ammo, or if your company is able to obtain this stuff out there, I would like to hear your feedback. I also wonder what ammo the SEALs were using in their HK 416’s when they killed Bin Laden, because I am sure that will get a ton of attention as well. –Matt


Green Bullet’ as Effective as M855 Round – Consistently
May 9, 2011
Aberdeen, Md. – Since June, the Army has fielded about 30 million of its new 5.56 M855A1 “Enhanced Performance Round” in Afghanistan.
The cartridge, sometimes called the “green bullet” because it has an environmentally-friendly copper core instead of the traditional lead, has been getting mostly good reviews in the 11 months since it first deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom.
“The vast majority of everything we’ve got back from the field is positive,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey K. Woods, product manager, small caliber ammunition, during a “media day” at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
During the day-long event, reporters learned the benefits of the new cartridge, witnessed a demonstration of the round, compared to the round it is designed to replace, and had the opportunity to fire the round from both an M16 and M4 rifle.
Perhaps the biggest plus of the M855A1 “enhanced performance round” is the consistency it brings to the fight — more so than the 5.56 M822 round it is designed to replace.
Woods and other officials were reticent to talk specifically about the effects of the new bullet, or any bullet, on a “soft target” — a euphemism for enemy personnel. But what they made clear was the M855A1 is at least equal to the M855 on a soft target — but that it did damage with more consistency. (more…)

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