Who was Ariel Sharon?

Ariel Sharon with Moshe Dayan of unit 101

Vietnam tests 1st Russian-made submarine in Cam Ranh

Vietnam navy HQ182 Hanoi

The first of six Varshavyanka-class submarines bought from Russia carried out its first operational tests in Vietnamese waters Wednesday.All of HQ182 Hanoi's engines were tested for the first time and the vessel returned to Cam Ranh military port the same day, a source said.It had been towed by two Vietnamese Navy tugboats from Dutch heavy-lift ship Rolldock Sea and into the port last Friday.It is expected to finish tests by this Friday.

An official handover ceremony will be held on January 15 instead of Friday as earlier planned.The Rolldock Sea had brought it on a 27,000-km journey from St. Petersburg that took more than six and a half weeks. HQ182 Hanoi was launched in August 2012 and several trial runs were performed at sea in Russia.

It is one of the six diesel-electric submarines – considered improvements over the older Kilo-class vessels – that Vietnam agreed to buy from Russia under a US$2-billion deal signed during a visit by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to that country in 2009.Russia will deliver all of them by 2016, train Vietnam crews, and supply Vietnam with necessary spare parts.

The submarines are being built by the St. Petersburg-based Admiralty Shipyards.They are nicknamed “black holes” for their ability to remain undetected underwater, and are designed for anti-submarine and anti-ship missions in relatively shallow waters, general reconnaissance, and patrols.They are equipped with six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes and 3M54 (or 3M-54 Klub) cruise missiles. They weigh 3,100 tons, can reach speeds of 20 knots (37 kilometers per hour), dive to 300 meters, and hold 52 crew members.

They make little noise and can hit long-distance targets. RIA Novosti cited sources from the Admiralty Shipyards and Russian defense officials as saying that the second and third submarines, HQ183 Ho Chi Minh City and HQ184 Hai Phong, are scheduled to be delivered later this year.The Vietnam Navy established its first modern submarine unit last June.

Expect some interim MMCRA deal signing between India and Dassault by Feb-Mar 2014

MMRCA pact covering only the supply of 18 Dassault Rafale aircraft from the French production line might be signed between India and Dassault by Feb-Mar 2014

A scene never to be repeated again: a sky filled with black stealth fighter jets

The Lockheed F-117A, world’s first operational stealth aircraft and one of the most secret planes ever developed, only flew after darkness until its existence was publicly acknowledged in 1988.

Then, the veil of secrecy on the “Nighthawk” was gradually lifted and the stealth fighter jet (actually, an attack plane) regularly flew in daylight and later began taking part to airshows.

Although it’s not clear who took it (it must be an Air Force image) and where it was taken, the photo in this post is quite impressive: 59 production aircraft (one of those was lost to the Serbian Air Defense during “Operation Allied Force“) served with the U.S. Air Force until the type was retired in 2008 and slightly about half of them can be seen flying together in the image.

Image credit: via Tom Demerly Pinterest/zonamilitar.com.ar

On Oct. 27, 2006, twenty-five Lockheed F-117A stealth jets flew over Heritage Park at Holloman Air Force Base during the Silver Stealth event for the F-117′s 25th anniversary.

59 production  “Nighthawk” aircraft (one of those was lost to the Serbian Air Defense during “Operation Allied Force“) served with the U.S. Air Force until the type was retired in 2008: about half of them can be seen flying together in the image taken by Denny Lombard and released by LM’s Code One magazine.

For another impressive air-to-air image of the 25 stealth jets taken during the same event, have a look here.

By the way, isn’t that ironic that 25 aircraft filling the sky would still not appear on radar?

Image credit: Denny Lombard via Lockheed Martin.

Photo of Royal Kuwait Air Force C-17 at Long Beach Airport (LGB/KLGB)

These will be in addition to the Lockheed L-100 Hercules currently existing with the Kuwait Air Force

The C-17, photographed by Californian photographer, Michael Carter(www.aeropacific.blogspot.com), is yet to make its first flight, but should be delivered in the coming weeks.

Kuwait is modernizing its air arm. As well as C-17s, it is also investing in C-130J and KC-130J Hercules and is also looking at purchasing a new fighter aircraft to replace its McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C/D Hornets.

As INS Vikramaditya reaches INS Kadamba, pilots plan to move from MiG-29 Simulator Facility to actual landings and takeoff from INS Vikramaditya

India's newest and biggest ever warship, the INS Vikramaditya, arrived at its home port of Karwar in Karnataka after an uninterrupted six-week sail from northern Russia.The 44,500-ton aircraft carrier, which has been under a nine year refit in Russia, docked at the naval base on Tuesday evening.The aircraft carrier, which undertook the long sail home without any armament or combat aircraft on board, will over the next few months get integrated with the Western Naval Command.

At its home port of Karwar, celebrations have been planned for the arrival of the warship, with the families of over 1600 sailors on board waiting to meet their loved ones after several months.The crew of the warship had gone to the Russian town of Severodvinsk last year for training.With the ship now at its home base, preparations have been made to ensure that it is operationalised at the earliest. The ship currently does not have its main armament — the MiG 29 K fighters — and merely has a small chopper complement on board for utility missions. The plan now is to start with the first landings and takeoffs of the fighters on board Vikramaditya within a few weeks.

While Russian aviators have landed and taken off from the carrier during trials in Russia, no Indian pilot has been qualified yet for deck operations.At present, Indian pilots are being trained on simulators to operate from the confines of the small flight deck. A shore-based training facility in Goa, where the MiG 29 K fighter squadrons will be based, is also set to start training pilots on landing and taking off from the carrier. The facility is a replica of the Vikramaditya flight deck — for both taking off from a ski jump and landing with arrestor wires.The certification of both pilots and air controllers has to be completed before the ship can formally join the fleet. A team of around 83 Russian personnel, who sailed with the ship, will remain in Karwar over the next year as part of the one year guarantee of the Sevmash shipyard.

High Methane Levels over Arctic Ocean continue in 2014

The high methane levels over the Arctic Ocean, the biggest story of 2013, continue in 2014, as illustrated by the image below.

As above image shows, high methane readings (as high as 2301 ppb on January 6, 2014) continue in 2014. High methane concentrations continue to enter the atmosphere where the sea ice is thin and where the sea ice is carried by currents outside of the Arctic Ocean.

The inset shows ice thickness on January 6, 2014. The inset highlights the huge amounts of sea ice that are carried by the sea current from the north of Greenland into the Atlantic Ocean.

What is the impact of these high methane releases over the Arctic Ocean on global methane levels? The image below shows the most recent global methane levels available from NOAA.

The image below shows readings from surface flask at Mauno Loa, Hawaii, with two recent readings (in the top right corner) reaching levels close to 1880 ppb.

Clearly, methane levels are rising globally and high releases over the Arctic Ocean are contributing to the global rise. The images below show recent data from stations in the Arctic, i.e. the image below showing readings from in situ measurements at the station at Barrow, Alaska, and the image further below showing flask samples taken at Tiksi, Russia.

Note that the above images reflect land-based measurements taken at altitudes that are typically too low to capture the extent at which methane is rising in the atmosphere over the Arctic Ocean. Nonetheless, the wind can at times carry along some of the methane from the Arctic Ocean, as is apparent in a number of readings in above images showing levels of over 2100 ppb.

The image below shows high methane releases over the Arctic Ocean, as recorded on (part of) January 7, 2014, when levels were reached as high as 2381 ppb.

The image below shows methane levels on (part of) January 8, 2014, when levels as high as 2341 ppb were recorded. The inset confirms indications that these high levels originate from the Arctic Ocean.

These high methane concentrations over the Arctic are contributing to high temperature anomalies that further accelerate warming in the Arctic, as illustrated by the image below.

For a more detailed description of the kinds of warming and feedbacks that are hitting the Arctic, see the post The Biggest Story of 2013.

Post by Sam Carana.