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TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Feb 28, 2017
and Government rejects Glock protest; Army's new handgun will be a Sig Sauer
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Word is they are already moving to field first units to the 101st Airborne.
The Other three services, the USAF, USN and USMC have yet to officially make a call on if they will pick up the M17 ( full size) and M18 ( Compact) however I think it's likely that they will before the Decade is out start replacing M9's with the Same pistols.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
@TerraN_EmpirE @bd popeye

I am am pretty sure that is not a Sea Wolf, the Jimmy Carter, or the Connecticut (the three Sea Wolf Class boats) shown by the Russians

The Sea Wolf curve on the front of the sail starts fairly high, just below the radar apeture. Enough of the sail is sticking through the ice there that you would see it. Yet you do not in their pics

Here's the Sea Wolf sail:

View attachment 39290
Sea Wolf Sail

...and here it is from that side seen on the video:

View attachment 39291
Sea Wolf Sail 2

You can see how up the curve goes.

The Sea Wolf class was strengthened extensively in its design for coming up through the cap. Here's the Connecticut actually up through thick polar ice...and you can see the sail's curve forward there (to the right) even in this thickness:

View attachment 39292
USS Connecticut (2nd Sea Wolf Class) surface through the Ice

You do not see the curve at all in those pics...and clearly enough of the sail is through the ice that you would.

More likely that is a 668i class...which is the later, improved LA Class, which were designed for sub polar operations and coming up through the ice. The control surfaces that had been on the sail were moved to the hull just for that purpose.

Here's how a Improved LA Class looks after going through the ice:

View attachment 39294
Improved LA Class Surfaced through Ice

Now, the older LA class can go through the ice, they rotate their dive planes vertical when doing so. But the improved LA class lessened damage. Still, they are not as strong as the Sea Wolf Class.

Anyhow, as I said, I am pretty positive that that is not a Sea Wolf class boat they are showing...and I also believe in any case that they simply flew over a US sub that had surfaced already. IMHO, their helos did not force either LA class o Sea wolf class...or for that matter Virginia class to surface through the ice. They simply do not have the capability to find, and then force such an occurance through the polar ice.
Totally Agree. The Russians of course want to spin this and the Seawolf Sounds better than an Aging 688I and having been forced to the Surface sounds better then having been stumbled upon by a Mi8 crew who got lucky.
The Fact that the USN has not responded may mean that the issue is not a major one and the crew fixed what ever happened and has continued operations.
 
now I noticed New Bonus: $455K Over 13 Years for Air Force Fighter Pilots
The
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on Monday unveiled a tiered bonus system to combat a chronic pilot shortage, with bonuses of up to $455,000 over 13 years for fighter pilots.

And while the benefit clearly takes aim at fighter pilots, it's also designed to target aviators across a number of platforms, including drones, and for periods of as short as one year.

"Pilot retention right now is in a crisis when it comes to fighters, and we're changing around the way we do incentive
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," Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said in announcing the initiative during a breakfast in Washington, D.C. The bonus "will encourage pilots to stay where they are needed most," she said.

The new
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is an expansion of Aviator Retention Pay and puts into place the cap authorized for the incentive under the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. It also details for the first time the "tiered" benefit, with specific amounts based on specialty area.

$35K a Year for Fighter, Drone Pilots
Fighter and drone pilots are slated to receive the highest maximum bonus of $35,000 a year, while special operations combat systems officers the least at $10,000.

Here's a look at the different tiers for the bonus, according to figures released by the Air Force:

Tier 1 -- Fighter Pilot (Air Force Specialty Code: 11F)

  • Bonus eligibility based on one-year, two-year, five-year, nine-year, or up to 24 years of aviation service (13-year maximum) commitments.
  • Maximum annual bonus: $35,000.
Tier 2 -- Bomber Pilot (11B)/Special Operations Pilot (11S)/Mobility Pilot (11M)

  • Bonus eligibility based on one-year, two-year, five-year, or nine-year commitments.
  • Maximum annual bonus: $30,000.
Tier 3 -- C2ISR Surveillance Pilot (11R)/Combat Search and Rescue Pilot (11H)

  • Bonus eligibility based on one-year, two-year, or five-year commitments.
  • Maximum annual bonus: $28,000.
Tier 4 -- RPA Pilot (18X/11U/12U/13U)

  • Bonus eligibility based on a five-year commitment.
  • Maximum annual bonus: $35,000.
Tier 5 -- Combat Search and Rescue Combat System Officer (12H)

  • Bonus eligibility based on a five-year commitment.
  • Maximum annual bonus: $20,000.
Tier 6 -- Fighter Combat Systems Officer (12F)/Bomber CSO (12B)

  • Bonus eligibility based on a five-year commitment.
  • Maximum annual bonus: $15,000.
Tier 7 -- Special Operations Combat Systems Officer (12S)/C2ISR Surveillance CSO (12R)

  • Bonus eligibility based on a five-year commitment.
  • Maximum annual bonus: $10,000.
Upcoming Deadline
The Air Force Personnel Center on Tuesday will begin notifying airmen eligible to receive the bonus. Officers have until Oct. 1 to decide whether they want to extend their service, an Air Force spokeswoman told Military.com.

"You're only eligible to take one of these bonuses if your service commitment is expiring in fiscal year 2017," the spokeswoman said.

Officials said there is a benefit to extending career time sooner rather than later.

For example, with fighter incentive pay of $35,000, "if you lock in for, say, nine years, you'll get the bonus" no matter what, the spokeswoman explained. But "if you do just a one-year to the two-year sign up, OK great, you'll get it for those," but an unpredictable budget cycle the following year could torpedo another chance for an annual bonus.

The spokeswoman said shorter commitments work best for airmen who are considering a career change but may still be on the fence about when they want to exit the service.

No Enlisted Pilot Bonuses Yet
While enlisted personnel have begun flying the
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, they are not currently eligible for the same aviation bonuses, the spokeswoman said. Depending on career field, enlisted bonuses work through a different, re-enlistment bonus system, she said.

In September, then-Air Force Chief Master Sgt. James Cody said enlisted drone pilots -- who became eligible to fly the Global Hawk in 2015 --
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the Air Force plans to offer its officers. But not yet.

"There aren't any enlisted eligible, and there won't be for a couple years until they come up on their commitment," the spokeswoman said.

Only those officers whose service commitments expire in fiscal 2017 are eligible. Colonels and colonels-select; airmen recalled under the Voluntary Recall to Active Duty (VRAD) Program; inter-service transfers; and rated officers who are medically disqualified from aviation service are also ineligible for the bonus incentive, the service said.

'Where the Need Is Most Critical'
The fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act allowed the Air Force to
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from $25,000 to $35,000 per year and flight pay up to $1,000 per month "as needed to address manning shortfalls and challenges," the service has said
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.

In passing the legislation, lawmakers in Congress instructed the Air Force not to "just take this $35,000 and give it to every [pilot] -- do give it to the people who need to be given" up to that amount, the spokeswoman said.

When releasing the fiscal 2018 budget submission last month, service officials said
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but that levels would vary based on career fields.

Wilson, the Air Force secretary, said "The bonuses are higher for where the need is most critical."
source is Military.com
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nicky

Junior Member
About the sub: I feel the same Jeff.
She encountered a problem so routine in the Arctic: have a look at Delta III.

The crew reported and seemed to be awaiting air support, yet a Russian Hip (probably Border Troops) came first.
I wish we knew something more.


9820193.1496730516.jpg
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
I did some checking, Some claim the Video was Shot in 2015 others as far back as 2006.
One Posting I saw on Live leak Claims it's the Santa Fe. She did have some major repair work done in 2007 But I can find no report of damage done.
. Another possibility is that she is in fact not American but British The HMS Talent suffered damage to her Sail in 2015 The Details actually seem to match the Talent.
 

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
@TerraN_EmpirE @bd popeye

I am am pretty sure that is not a Sea Wolf, the Jimmy Carter, or the Connecticut (the three Sea Wolf Class boats) shown by the Russians

The Sea Wolf curve on the front of the sail starts fairly high, just below the radar apeture. Enough of the sail is sticking through the ice there that you would see it. Yet you do not in their pics

Here's the Sea Wolf sail:

View attachment 39290
Sea Wolf Sail

...and here it is from that side seen on the video:

View attachment 39291
Sea Wolf Sail 2

You can see how up the curve goes.

The Sea Wolf class was strengthened extensively in its design for coming up through the cap. Here's the Connecticut actually up through thick polar ice...and you can see the sail's curve forward there (to the right) even in this thickness:

View attachment 39292
USS Connecticut (2nd Sea Wolf Class) surface through the Ice

You do not see the curve at all in those pics...and clearly enough of the sail is through the ice that you would.

More likely that is a 668i class...which is the later, improved LA Class, which were designed for sub polar operations and coming up through the ice. The control surfaces that had been on the sail were moved to the hull just for that purpose.

Here's how a Improved LA Class looks after going through the ice:

View attachment 39294
Improved LA Class Surfaced through Ice

Now, the older LA class can go through the ice, they rotate their dive planes vertical when doing so. But the improved LA class lessened damage. Still, they are not as strong as the Sea Wolf Class.

Anyhow, as I said, I am pretty positive that that is not a Sea Wolf class boat they are showing...and I also believe in any case that they simply flew over a US sub that had surfaced already. IMHO, their helos did not force either LA class o Sea wolf class...or for that matter Virginia class to surface through the ice. They simply do not have the capability to find, and then force such an occurance through the polar ice.
And one advantage for nuclears over conventionnals even one with AIP with a speed of only 4 - 5 kn can' t normaly do the job.
 
Last edited:
Seawolf in Arctic filmed by a Russian Mi-8 !

A video has been published in which a Russian helicopter, perhaps an Mi-8, is supposed to discover an American submarine on the surface in the Arctic; Probably one of the Sea Wolf class submarines of the US NAVY

According to the video, the scene may have been filmed in 2015 during the deployment of the USS Sea Wolf submarine in its 6-month campaign for the region ...

The crux of the matter is that in the Russian recording is seen something that does not fit with the information that have published the Americans of that campaign and is that the submarine seems to have damage to the sail, which is revealed if we take a look at the following Video captures

Apparently, the sonar deck of the sail has been removed or detached, and it does not seem to make sense to do so during a mission unless it is an emergency resulting from operations, probably because it was damaged by ice or emerging.

It is not the same to sail by the Arctic ice-cream than to do it by the Atlantic or the Pacific or by the Mediterranean.

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What is that big red splotch on the ice nearby?
 

nicky

Junior Member
this visual distress signal shows that the crew recongnized the damage and asked for assisstance.
probably, russian sigint intercepted the signal and sent out search mission to see what's going on (although, I'd prefer some kind of cooperation in such emergency for both sides).
if it's a hip helo, the nearest airbase is no more than 150 miles away. nagurskoye?
 
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