Feral Jundi

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Al Qaeda: Boko Haram, Al Shabaab And AQIM Are Linking Up

Filed under: Africa,Al Qaeda,Libya,Mali,Nigeria,Somalia — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 2:59 AM

“It’s one of the main depots of the Malian army,” a security source told AFP, adding that it had been built in case of “a long and difficult war.”A regional security source confirmed the seizure, saying the vast cache of weapons will “really boost AQIM’s striking power”, and adding: “It is really impressive what AQIM has found in the underground depot.”The source said the group “is today more armed than the combined armies of Mali and Burkina Faso”, Mali’s neighbour to the east.

This to me is fascinating and startling at the same time. Look at how fast these Islamist groups are spreading in Africa? They are taking advantage of the leadership vacuum caused by the Arab Spring, or making their moves in really poor and poorly governed countries. Where there is darkness on the continent, they are moving in to set up shop.

They are also capturing some pretty significant weapons and using this stuff to gain ground throughout the region. From the stuff in Libya that was ‘liberated’ during that fighting, to weapons depots in Mali that were taken by force.

And what gets me here is that I still haven’t heard what exactly Ansar Dine was able to get out of this weapon depot in Gao, Mali. Apparently they are now ‘more armed than the combined armies of Mali and Burkina Faso’, says the quote up top. So these non-state actors are now more armed than several countries combined? Yikes, and that is quite the accomplishment….It also makes you wonder about places like Syria, where that country is imploding and weapons depots–to include chemical and bio, could potentially be compromised.

Not only that, but now that the Muslim Brotherhood is in control of Egypt, whose to say that some of their weapons wouldn’t slip out into the world and find their way into Islamist’ hands? Or directly given to Islamists by a government that openly supports them. pfffftt.

We will see how it goes and somehow I don’t think this fire in the Middle East or Africa is going out any time soon. –Matt

 

Captured armored vehicle in Mali.

 

African extremist groups linking up: U.S. general
June 25, 2012
By Lauren French
Three of Africa’s largest extremist groups are sharing funds and swapping explosives in what could signal a dangerous escalation of security threats on the continent, the commander of the U.S. military’s Africa Command said on Monday.
General Carter Ham said there are indications that Boko Haram, al Shabaab and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb – groups that he labeled as the continent’s most violent – are sharing money and explosive materials while training fighters together.
“Each of those three organizations is by itself a dangerous and worrisome threat,” Ham said at an African Center for Strategic Studies seminar for senior military and civilian officials from Africa, the United States and Europe.
“What really concerns me is the indications that the three organizations are seeking to coordinate and synchronize their efforts,” Ham said. “That is a real problem for us and for African security in general.”
The United States classified three of the alleged leaders of the Islamist sect Boko Haram, based in remote northeast Nigeria, as “foreign terrorist,” on June 20. But it declined to blacklist the entire organization to avoid elevating the group’s profile internationally. Police in Nigeria said members of the group seized a prison there Sunday and freed 40 inmates.

(more…)

Friday, March 23, 2012

Building Snowmobiles: The Quadrotor EFP

Filed under: Building Snowmobiles,Weapons — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:00 PM

This is a pretty awesome combination of technologies if you ask me. A quadrotor of the size necessary to carry an EFP, programmed with all the necessary system controls to make it precise and maneuverable, and armed with an EFP that can be aimed at an engine block or the driver of a vehicle.

Plus, an EFP can penetrate armor (40 mm from 25 ft for the SLAM), and with the quadrotor EFP, you could target from multiple angles depending on the amount of munitions you have, the terrain, the weather, the targets and the mission. This is another Drone Archer weapon to look at, and it’s possible uses are many.

So here are some pieces to combine, just to fire up the imagination. These are not the final solutions or pieces to this ‘snowmobile’, but at least you can get the idea of what we are going for here. Please list better devices and pieces if you are interested.

First is the Control Systems or brains of the thing. If you have been watching those incredible quadrotor videos I have posted lately, then this TED describes the ‘how’ for these things. Very impressive.

 

 

Next would be the quadrotor itself. The Draganflyer x8 can carry 2.2 pounds and has a gyro stabilized, servo controlled mount for a camera. (or EFP in this case)

 

 

And finally, the munitions. I like the SLAM munitions. (which is 2.2 pounds–oh how convenient? lol)

 

 

Put them all together and you have the Quadrotor EFP.

As to the ideas of how to use such a device, I will leave that up to the minds and imaginations of the reader. From ambushes on armored columns and motorcades, to anti-material missions, to taking out individuals-there are many uses for such a thing. And because the Quadrotor EFP can be precise, pre-programmed, and remain hidden behind a wall or blocks away on top of some building, it would be very difficult to defend against. Especially if this system was used in a swarm type attack, where the device is used to attack from multiple angles and at erratic moments of the attack. Imagine bees or wasps and how they attack a target.

Or you could use the Quadrotor EFP for very surgical attacks. You could also just park the Quadrotor EFP behind a trash can, and use it like a traditional EFP for an ambush. Maybe it can drop off it’s lethal payload and set the munition. Maybe you want to use for ISR only, and call off your ambush because of whatever reason. Imagine the thing being used at night? Or a swarm at night? Lots of frightening and lethal uses for this weapon….

Now of course with every weapon, there is someone out there thinking of ways to defeat it.  Perhaps a jammer or some device could be used to defeat the Quadrotor EFP. Even counter Quadrotors or some kind of counter-battery system could zap them out of the sky.  Who knows, but these things are a reality and the pieces are all there, so it behooves us to start thinking about this new reality. So with that said, let me know what you think. Do you have a better Quadrotor EFP idea, or do you have ideas on how to defeat this weapon? Maybe you have a radical idea on how to use them for maximum effect? –Matt

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Maritime Security: Piracy Fighters Use Floating Armories

Filed under: Maritime Security,Weapons Stuff — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:03 PM

There are between 10 and 12 ships operating as floating armories at any one time. About half a dozen are located in the Red Sea, three off the United Arab Emirates and a couple off the island nation of Madagascar, said Thomas Jakobsson of Sea Marshals Ltd.
“Many companies are too small to be able to comply with regulations. It costs a lot of money,” he said. His company only used floating armories licensed by the Djibouti government and flew the flag of landlocked Mongolia, he said. He believed most of the rest were not operating legally, he said.

This is some interesting reportage on floating armories. It is a reality of maritime security operations out there and it is yet another option–versus buying the weapons and throwing them overboard before coming into port. Or having to deal with the myriad of confusing and conflicting laws of the various ports and countries. Arms on the high seas is a very touchy thing.

My concern with the practice of floating armories is the security of these vessels. Who regulates how this is to be accomplished? We are basically depending upon that vessel and it’s crew of protecting that cache of weapons, and hopefully all parties involved are taking their job seriously? Imagine a pirate force or terrorist group purposely attacking such a vessel in order to take those weapons by force?

On the other hand, it is within the best interest of that floating armory to secure their vessel. They also have plenty of weapons to do such a thing. It is the ultimate ‘armed guards on boats’. lol

As to the legality of such a thing? This would be another great use for the Letter of Marque. Or just call it a license, and the flagged vessel would receive a license from their sponsoring country for this kind of activity. Throw in a bond and some rules/laws to operate by, and now we would have some accountability here.

Another idea is to just use the military for this. If a country assigns specific naval units to assist in this matter, as well as do their anti-piracy thing, then we can have some government control over the distribution of weapons.

These military floating armories would also be contributing greatly to the anti-piracy mission, because they would be ensuring that functioning weapons and ammunition are actually going into the hands of competent guard forces. A naval armory could be used to check licenses, competencies, bonds, etc. before issuing weapons. Hell, a shooting test and zeroing could be done on a military vessel, much like how infantry units do their thing on vessels. They could also hand off crucial intelligence, procedures, or even escorts to these companies, depending upon the routes they take and their mission. It would be an excellent public/private partnership. Something to think about as we navigate this stuff. –Matt

 

Piracy fighters use floating armories
By Katharine Houreld
March 22, 2012
Private security firms are storing their guns aboard floating armories in international waters so ships that want armed anti-piracy guards for East Africa’s pirate-infested waters can cut costs and circumvent laws limiting the import and export of weapons, industry officials say.
Companies and legal experts say the operation of the armories is a “legal gray area” because few, if any, governments have laws governing the practice. Some security companies have simply not informed the governments of the flag their ship is flying, industry officials said.
Some members of the private security sector are urging governments and industry leaders to impose standards on the unchecked practice of storing weapons offshore to equip anti-pirate forces off Somalia’s coast.
Storing guns on boats offshore really took off as a business last year. Britain — where many of the operators are from — is investigating the legality of the practice, which has received little publicity outside of shipping industry circles.
Floating armories have become a viable business in the wake of increased security practices by the maritime industry, which has struggled for years to combat attacks by Somali pirates. But those in the industry say the standards vary widely.

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Monday, November 28, 2011

Weapons: APC Mounted 10kW Laser By Rheinmetall

Filed under: Technology,Weapons — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 3:53 PM

Through its work on behalf of the German government and well-targeted application of its own resources, Rheinmetall has acquired tremendous expertise in this field in recent years. Rheinmetall expects a high-energy laser weapon system with an output of 100 kW to be available within the next three to five years.

This is impressive. Rheinmetall is producing some really awesome military grade laser systems that everyone should be taking notice of. Especially these APC mounted systems. But at what point does it transition from a mild APC with laser to a tank armed with a high-energy laser?

If they can increase the strength of these lasers to 100kW, and especially if Moore’s Law applies to this industry, then why not have a tank that fires a high powered laser? Something that is quiet and will slice an enemy’s tanks/jets in half, or zap a hole in the engine. Or a tank that can shoot miles away on a single human target, and basically vaporize that individual? I could see a lot of uses for a laser.

Which brings up my next point. Why are we not using these laser weapons against humans? Is it more humane to drop a bomb on a target and potentially kill innocent people surrounding that target, or is a laser not the better tool for selectively taking out targets in population centers? This kind of weapon would put the ‘surgical’ into a surgical strike, and in a pretty dramatic star wars kind of way. lol Imagine the look on the faces of a crowd that just watched a bad guy get quietly vaporized by some laser, shot from miles away…

The other cool thing with this system is that their goal is to shoot down UAV’s and mortars/rockets. According to this article and their recent demonstration, they did just that. That is cool and hopefully they will post a video of it. So that asks another question– will we see lasers replacing guns for CRAM duty? Possibly, and the future is now. –Matt

 

Rheinmetall: successful target engagement with high-energy laser weapons
22/11/2011
Full-scale demonstrator confirms Rheinmetall’s technological lead
Having recently used a high-energy laser weapon to down an unmanned aircraft at a proving ground in Switzerland, Rheinmetall has demonstrated the operational potential of combining a powerful laser weapon with an advanced air defence system. This event provides compelling proof of the Group’s 360° competence in relevant technologies ranging from military lasers and target recognition and identification to target tracking and fire control units – and its unrivalled ability to weld them into a single, forward-looking, fully functional full scale demonstrator. At a live fire laser demo at the Group’s Ochsenboden proving ground, international guests were able to view two laser weapon demonstrators in action, each featuring different performance parameters. For example, a 10-kW laser was integrated into an air defence system consisting of an Oerlikon Skyguard 3 fire control unit and a Skyshield gun turret. Modular and scalable, the laser weapon itself consisted of two 5-kW laser weapon modules. In addition, a 1-kW laser weapon module was displayed, specially mounted on a TM 170-type vehicle for the purpose.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Weapons: US Flew The Switchblade Drone Against Taliban

Filed under: Afghanistan,Aviation,Weapons — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 5:55 PM

This is very cool. It sounds like this little drone archer weapon was used in Afghanistan just as it was intended. The article below also hinted at how the munition worked and said it was like a ‘flying shotgun’ and ‘the operator has control of how far away from the target it goes off –preselected distances,’. It will be cool to hear more reports about it’s various uses, and especially after the Army get’s their order of $4.9 million worth of Switchblades. –Matt

 

U.S. Flew Kamikaze Drones Against Taliban
By Tony Capaccio
Oct 18, 2011
The U.S. military has launched miniature kamikaze drones against Taliban targets and plans to deploy more next year for U.S. special operating forces, according to documents and an Army official.
The tube-launched “Switchblade” drone, made by Monrovia, California-based Aerovironment Inc. (AVAV), was secretly sent to Afghanistan for the first time last year. “Under a dozen” were fired, said Army Deputy Product Director William Nichols.
“It’s been used in Afghanistan by military personnel” and “shown to be effective,” Nichols said. The drone’s GPS guidance is made by Rockwell Collins Inc. (COL) and the warhead by Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK)
Disclosure of the Switchblade’s use in Afghanistan highlights the Pentagon’s expanding range of missions for remotely piloted aircraft. The fleet also includes broad-area surveillance aircraft such as the Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) Global Hawk, the missile-firing General Atomics Co. Predator and Reaper drones, and hand-launched short-range surveillance models, such as the Aerovironment Raven.
Nichols declined to detail the Switchblade’s targets. He said the drone’s “designed for open threats, something that’s on top of a building but you can’t hit it” with regular artillery or mortars for fear of collateral damage.
The drone is less than 24 inches long and weighs about six pounds.
“It’s a ‘flying shotgun,’” Nichols said, not a “hit-to- kill” weapon that explodes on impact.
“The operator has control of how far away from the target it goes off –preselected distances,” he said in an interview Oct. 12 at the Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington.

(more…)

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