Guy Stuff – Pics – Military – Cool

The Dog That Cornered Osama Bin Laden… not your standard K9.
When President went to Fort Campbell , Kentucky , for a highly publicized, but very private meeting with the commando
team that killed Osama bin Laden, only one of the 81 members of the super-secret SEAL DevGru unit was identified by name:
Cairo, the war dog.

Cairo, like most canine members of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs, is a Belgian Malinois. The Malinois breed is similar to German shepherds
but smaller and more compact, with an adult male weighing in the 30-kilo range.

(German shepherds are still used as war dogs by the American military but the lighter, stubbier Malinois is considered better for the tandem
parachute jumping and rappelling operations often undertaken by SEAL teams. Labrador retrievers are also favoured by various military
organizations around the world.


Like their human counterparts, the dog SEALs are highly trained, highly skilled, highly motivated special ops experts, able to perform
extraordinary military missions by Sea, Air and Land (thus the acronym SEAL).
The dogs carry out a wide range of specialized duties for the military
teams to which they are attached: With a sense of smell 40 times greater
than a human’s, the dogs are trained to detect and identify both explosive material and hostile or hiding humans.

The dogs are twice as fast as a fit human, so anyone trying to escape is not likely to outrun Cairo or his buddies.

The dogs, equipped with video cameras, also enter certain danger zones first, allowing their handlers to see what’s ahead before humans follow. As I mentioned before, SEAL dogs are even trained parachutists, jumping either in tandem with their handlers or solo, if the jump is into water. Last year canine parachute instructor Mike Forsythe and his dog Cara set the world record for highest man-dog parachute deployment, jumping from more than 30,100 feet up – the altitude transoceanic passenger jets fly at. Both Forsythe and Cara were wearing oxygen masks and skin protectors for the jump.

Here’s a photo from that jump, taken by Andy Anderson for K9 Storm Inc. (more about those folks shortly).

As well, the dogs are faithful, fearless and ferocious incredibly frightening” and efficient attackers.

When the SEAL DevGru team (usually known by its old designation, Team 6) hit bin Laden’s Pakistan compound on May 2, Cairo ‘s feet would
have been four of the first on the ground.

And like the human SEALs, Cairo was wearing super-strong, flexible body Armour and outfitted with high-tech equipment that included “doggles” – specially designed and fitted dog goggles with night-vision and infrared capability that would even allow Cairo to see human heat forms through concrete walls.
Now where on earth would anyone get that kind of incredibly niche hi-tech doggie gear?
From Winnipeg, of all places.
Jim and Gloria Slater’s Manitoba hi-tech mom-and-pop business, K9 Storm Inc., has a deserved worldwide reputation for designing and
manufacturing probably the best body Armour available for police and military dogs. Working dogs in 15 countries around the world are
currently protected by their K9 Storm body Armour.





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An assault breaching vehicle with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion fires a line charge to clear Improvised Explosive Devices in and around the Ladar Bazaar in Shukvani, Helmand province, Afghanistan. The charge is comprised of 1,750 pounds of C4 explosive and is spread along a 350-foot rope.

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An explosion rocks the ground in the Ladar Bazaar in Shukvani, Helmand province, Afghanistan, after a line charge is detonated. Second Combat Engineer Battalion leveled the marketplace to clear it of Improvised Explosive Devices and make the area a safer place for local residents. (Cpl. Jeff Drew/USMC)

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New Navy Subs – No Periscope – No External propeller!
Step Aboard The Navy’s $2.4 Billion “Virginia” Class Nuclear Submarine
The USS Virginia Class Submarines are the United States newest and most advanced submarine.
The first Virginia slipped beneath the waves just eight years ago and only nine vessels have been completed.
They take more than five years to build and run about $2.4 billion apiece.
The Virginia-class submarine is a new breed of high-tech post-Cold War nuclear subs.

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The submarines are nearly 400 feet long and have been in service since 2003. The ships were designed to function well in both deep sea and low-depth waters. The engine room, near the sub’s stern, is the place where power from the SG9 nuclear reactor core drives the ship to nearly 32 mph when it’s submerged. The ship has an airlock chamber with room for 9 SEAL’s. The command center doesn’t have to be directly under the deck of the ship in the Virginia-class subs because there isn’t a periscope. The monitor the Commander is looking at is this is the sub’s “periscope” – a state-of-the-art photonics system, which enables real time imaging that more than one person can see at a time. The Virginia eliminates the traditional helmsman, planesman, chief of the watch and diving officer by combining them into two stations manned by two officers. The subs are equipped with a spherical sonar array that scans a full 360-degrees. The Virginia subs carry a full crew of 134 sailors. The ships carry up to 12 vertical launch tomahawk missiles and 38 torpedoes. Even as they are being built, new improvements and upgrades are being added into the design of the submarines.
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Inside the British Navy’s new £1 billion super sub: Deadly Hunter Killer submarine is capable of hearing a ship leaving port in New York… while underwater in the English channel.

• One of the world’s most sophisticated and powerful nuclear submarines
• Carries dozens of cruise missiles capable of hitting targets 1,200 miles away
• Her sonar can detect vessels moving on the other side of the ocean
• Powerful nuclear reactor allows her to cruise non-stop for 25 years
• HMS Ambush is so hi-tech the giant submarine doesn’t even need a periscope

She cost around £1 billion to build, has sonar so sensitive it can hear other vessels 3,000 miles away and carries a giant payload of 38 deadly Tomahawk cruise missiles.
HMS Ambush, the Royal Navy’s newest nuclear attack submarine, is one of the most sophisticated and powerful vessels of her type ever built.

The giant Astute-class sub, is so hi-tech she doesn’t even need a periscope.

HMS Ambush, which was built by BAE Systems, is believed to be the world’s most powerful nuclear attack submarine. Her huge weapons payload includes super-accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and Spearfish torpedoes for fighting other vessels

The super hi-tech vessel has undergone rigorous testing. Despite her size the sub’s 103 crew will be tightly packed, with some sleeping up to eight to a room in bunk beds

A cross-section of the sub shows the complexity of her design and the need to fit as much technology in as possible

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Her crew instead using a digital camera system to see above the surface when she is submerged.
Built by BAE Systems, she has enough nuclear fuel to carry on cruising for up to 25 years non-stop – giving her huge tactical flexibility.

Her nuclear reactor is so powerful her range is only really limited by the need for maintenance and resupply.

Astute-class submarines are the largest, most advanced and most powerful in the history of the Navy, boasting world-class design, weaponry and versatility. HMS Ambush can travel over 500 miles in a day, allowing them to be deployed anywhere in the world within two weeks. The vessel is also one of the quietest sea-going vessels built, capable of sneaking along an enemy coastline to drop off special forces or tracking a boat for weeks.

HMS Ambush was fitted out with her sophisticated technology at Devonshire dock hall in Barrow-in-Furness, Cambria. She contains some of the most hi-tech weapons and sonar systems ever created.

Foreign forces will find it almost impossible to sneak up undetected by her incredibly powerful sonar equipment that can hear halfway around the world. Her Tomahawk missiles are capable of hitting targets up to 1,200 miles away – making her a vital weapon for Britain’s armed forces. The sub’s commander Peter Green, 47, said the vessel’s capabilities are ‘unparalleled.’

‘This sub is a huge step forward in underwater operations,’ he told the Daily Mirror.’Her listening ability is quite awesome. She has a sonar system with the processing power of 2,000 laptop computers.

‘It is possible this class of submarine is the most advanced in the world.’
Another Astute Class sub is currently undergoing sea trials – and could be operational within a year.
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Kinda looks like it might get your attention, huh?

Air Force Now Has the MOP

Rogue states with nascent nuclear weapon programs (cough, Iran, cough), consider yourselves on notice. The Air Force has started taking delivery of Massive Ordnance Penetrators. Yup, the 30,000-pound bunker busters, known as MOPs, designed to penetrate 30 stories of reinforced concrete.

(Oh, and the massive bomb’s name is almost as charged as the term, Pre-Dawn Vertical Insertion, if you get what I’m sayin.)

The service apparently got its first production MOP in September and has been stockpiling them ever since. That’s a decent turnaround since April when the Air Force gave Boeing a $28 million contract to deliver eight MOPs and their associated loading equipment. The service gave Boeing a follow-on $32 million contract for eight more MOPs in August. No word on why that deal cost an extra $4 million when it appears otherwise identical to the April contract.

The Air Force has modified several B-2 stealth bombers to carry two of the GPS-guided bombs, apiece. This pretty much tells you all you need to know about the type of mission the MOP will be used for; a super bunker-buster carried by our most survivable heavy bomber. It’s meant to threaten nations like Iran and North Korea with the prospect of an air strike that can take out their most hardened targets.

I’ve got to say, this is pretty timely, given the recent flood of publicity surrounding Iran’s alleged progress toward building a nuclear weapon. While the MOP is big and costly, the West may have more subtle ways of putting kinetic pressure on states like Iran.

Military technology has created some fearsome weapons, such as the 5,000 lb GBU-28 Deep Throat bunker buster, 15,000 lbBLU-82 Daisycutter, 15,650 lb Russian ATBIP (Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power), 22,000 lb Grand Slam earthquake bomb, and the 22,600 lbGBU-43 MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast), but if you were hiding under 50 meters of hardened concrete, none of them were going to bother you.

Not any more!

The U.S. Air Force has just taken delivery of the first GBU-57A/B (Massive Ordnance Penetrator). It weighs 30,000 lb and will penetrate 200 ft of hardened concrete BEFORE it goes off. If you are reading this from an underground nuclear facility in Iran or North Korea , might we suggest some extended sick leave is (or soon will be) in order.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator is that it is a relatively simple weapon.

The GBU acronym at the front of the official designation for the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (GBU-57A/B or MOP) can be found at the front of the name of almost everything the United States Air Force drops from a plane these days.

Not all that long ago, bombs were dropped in large numbers in the hope that at least some of them would hit their target.

These days, almost every bomb and missile is delivered with pinpoint accuracy. GBU stands for Guided Bomb Unit, and it means that the 20 foot GBU-57 A/B missile is zeroed in on the target by a GPS navigation system guiding its four lattice-type fins.

Not surprisingly, the bomb is intended for only one purpose – to destroy the type of hardened concrete bunkers which house central command facilities and weapons of mass destruction. It’s hence not surprising that the program has been hurried into readiness with the growing concern that Iran has developed nuclear weaponry.

It is designed to penetrate supposedly untouchable facilities in one piece. The warhead case of the MOP is made from a special high performance steel alloy designed to maintain the integrity of the penetrator case during impact so that the payload can then do its job most effectively by exploding deep underground.

The MOP is deployed from high altitude and allows gravity to add momentum to its 30,000 pound weight so that it hits with enormous kinetic energy.

Put simply, the MOP hits exactly where it is intended to hit with enough energy to bury itself 200+ feet into hardened concrete, then it explodes its 5,300 pound warhead.

The MOP is designed to be carried aboard B-2 and B-52 bombers so there’s nowhere that is out of reach. The B-52 has a combat range of nearly 9000 miles, but aerial refueling means it effectively has an unlimited range.

During Operation Desert Strike on September 2/3, 1996, two B-52s flew out of Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and disrupted communications in Baghdad with AGM-86C cruise missiles. By the time the mission was over, 34 hours had expired. Hence it would be fair to say that the B-52 is only limited in its range by the endurance of the four-person air crew.

The most likely aircraft to deliver the MOP however, is the B-2 Spirit which like the B-52, can carry two MOP’s.

The largely composite B-2 has vastly reduced infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic, visual and radar signatures, extraordinary aerodynamic efficiency, a long range (6000 miles) without refueling and a massive payload. It is hence a potent delivery system for the likes of the MOP, as it is very difficult for defensive systems to detect, track and engage.

With aerial refueling, there is now nowhere to hide
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