Global Conflict Reporting

Tag: US military

  • Daily Briefing 

    01/21/2024

    Good afternoon. This is the return of the GCR Daily Briefing. For those who are new this is a daily article I used to do where I pick a couple headlines from around the world and I do a little write up on it. The world is increasingly turbulent  and it’s more important than ever to stay up to date in the events taking place in our world. 

     

    US President Trump orders 1000 national guard to the border. 

    The Pentagon-on the orders of President Donald Trump, has ordered 1,500 troops to join the already 2,500 soldiers to the US and Mexican border.These forces are ordered to “to support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security in obtaining complete operational control” and provide troops and supplies. The soldiers will also help build border fortifications and walls. These troops are apart of a larger force of 10,000 that will eventually make it to the border to help Customs and Border Protection (CBP) according to a leaked CBP memo being reported in the press. 

    This is all apart of a larger immigration policy put in place on the Trumps administrations first day in office. Surging troops to the border as well as using DoD bases as makeshift “holding facilities” until ICE can build more facilities. The above mentioned memos show that ICE will be drastically increasing the number of ICE holding facilities. 

    Trumps plan is to use the military to completely seal the border from migrants and asylum seekers. Migrants, who have long come to the U.S. to work in the farm industry will be picked up crossing into the US and deported before being able to ask for asylum or any sort of hearing. 

    At this point the southern border is effectively closed. Even those trying to enter the country legally have been turned away. This policy is likely to affect food prices for a time as the USDA Economic Research Service reported that in agriculture the number of migrant laborers was 59 percent and another 45% in the animal farm industry. 

    //UK

    UK navy shadows Russian spy ship through the English Channel. 

    HMS Somerset shadows Russian Spy ship Yantar.

    This week a Russia Spy ship (technically an oceanography ship),Yantar (also know as Cruys) has been shadowed by the UK Navy this week as the ship made its way through the English Channel. 

    In November this ship had been loitering above the area where several undersea cables were but was surprised by a Royal Navy Submarine when it surfaced near them to let the Yantar crew know that they were being closely monitored and warned them off. The ship left the area for the Mediterranean but returned this week and has been shadowed by the HMS Somerset(F82), a Type 23 Frigate.

    The Russian Spy Zship Yantar.

    Russian ships have even connected to sabotage of undersea cables in the recent past in the Baltic so no chances are being given in in the English Channel.. The Yantar is equipped with a small submersible that can be used to go down to the ocean floor and tamper with communications and power cables, potentially adding devices to the cables so Russia can access the data. 

    The UK has taken a lead role in countering the threat of Russian attacks on critical undersea infrastructure in the European seas and oceans. They have announced they will send several P-8 Poseidon and Rivet Joint maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft for the Baltic Sentry activity announced after the damage to the ESTLINK2 cable. Baltic Sentry is a NATO mission that aims to bring different maritime and aerial assets into the Baltic area and integrate them into the protection of the area. 

  • US Department of Defense reveals the amount of munitions expended while engaging the Houthis in the Red Sea. 

    US Department of Defense reveals the amount of munitions expended while engaging the Houthis in the Red Sea. 

    The US military has been engaged in defensive operations against the Yemeni Houthis for the past 15 months in the waters of the Red Sea and in the Arabian Sea as well as the sky’s above Yemen. Several different US carrier strike groups have been deployed into the area to protect the billions of dollars of international commerce that moves through the Red Sea daily heading to and from the Suez Canal. The Houthis have targeted any ship they believe is connected in any way to America or Israel as a way to show support for Palestinian terror group Hamas and their war with Israel in Gaza. 

    The Head of Naval Surface Forces Vice Admiral Brendan McLane revealed at a Surface Navy Association conference that was attended by journalists from The War Zone( TWZ is great, I always recommend them when they come up) just how many munitions had been expended in the operation. Statements made by the Vice Admiral also give us a more detailed look at how the operation has been going and what US forces as well as their European allies have been dealing with. US CENTCOM which is the United States military command over The Middle East  region regularly puts out reports and social media post however they can sometimes be sparse with the details. 

    The U.S. Navy Surface Fleet has expended 400 individual munitions against the Iranian backed Houthis.

    The Vice Admiral also gave an example of the current state of modern surface warfare by talking about a recent engagement that the sailers aboard the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111).

    “They were in a fight where they shot down 3 anti-ship ballistic missiles(ASBM), 3 anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) and 7 one-way [unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs],” McLane said. “So that’s how it kind of rolls up.”

    USS Spruance (DDG 111) after its return to its homeport, Naval Base San Diego, Cali

    I’d like to break down the specific munitions, what they are used for, and maybe most importantly- the cost to the American taxpayers. 

    USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) fires an SM-2 missile.

    SM-2 missiles (RIM-66)

    120 expended. This missile is the workhorse of US navy air defense, being used to take out incoming anti ship missiles as well as other 

    missiles and incoming enemy jet fighters.. High speed-highly maneuverable and considered one of the best in the world at what it does. The Sm-2 has a reported range of 90 nautical miles and can reach an altitude of 65,000 ft. A cornerstone of the fleets layered air defense systems. 

    SM-2

    Cost vary on specific missile block but these come in at roughly $2 million USD per. 

    The U.S. is reported to have around 12,000 of these in its stocks.

    US Aegis Destroyer intercepts Medium-Range Ballistic Missile with new SM-6 SWUP Missile.

    SM-6 missiles (RIM-174)

    80 expended

    This is a newer addition to the fleet and the navy has a more limited stock of these missile with only 500 being reported to have been delivered according to the Raytheon website. 

    Coming equipped with the active radar seeker found in the Air-to-air AIM-120C AMRAAM, This missile is capable of a wide range of task being capable of defensive anti air against missile (including ballistic missile in their final terminal phase) as well as manned and unmanned air units. Its high speed also makes it a useful anti surface weapons although it’s high cost makes other weapons better choices. The thought behind this missile was warship today have limited space and a weapon that can effectively do everything is a benefit.  The explosive warhead as opposed to a hit-to-kill style missile makes this missile capable of potentially defeating the Chinese DF-21D and DF-25B anti-ship ballistic missiles. 

    SM-6 missile profile.

    Cost average around $3.9 million per. 

    A combined 20 expended from the 

    Sea sparrow and the SM-3. 

    Sea Sparrow launch

    Sea Sparrow ESSM

    Medium-range, semi-active homing missile that makes flight corrections via radar and midcourse data uplinks. The missile provides reliable ship self-defense capability against agile, high-speed, low-altitude anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs), low velocity air threats (LVATs), such as helicopters, and high-speed, maneuverable surface threats

    Sea Sparrow Profile

     $787K – $972K depending on configuration

    SM-3 launched from the USS McCampbell (DDG 85) intercepts ballistic missile .

    SM-3 (RIM-161)

    The SM-3 is the main ballistic missile defense of the fleet. It uses its powerful kinetic energy to utilize a hit-to-kill method of attack. It has a lower production rate than everything else on the list which also puts a heavy cost on these missile, especially if you have to fire more than one at a time. 

    SM-3 missile profile

    Anywhere from $10 million to $30 million (this price likely to come down some as missile production is ramped up as announced earlier today. 

    While the expenditure of these weapons is something to be concerned about it only highlights the logistical issues that the US would have in a near peer, great power conflict when the amount of munitions expended in the Red Sea over the past year would equal only several days of fighting in say the pacific against China. Addressing these procurement and cost issues is paramount if the US is to remain a dominant force on the world’s stage.