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The Pentagon's top military officer oversaw a secret war game this month to evaluate the two primary military options that have been put forward by the Pentagon and are being weighed by the Obama administration as part of a broad-based review of the faltering Afghanistan war, senior military officials said. The exercise, led by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, examined the likely outcome of inserting 44,000 more troops into the country to conduct a full-scale counterinsurgency effort aimed at building a stable Afghan government that can control most of the country. It also examined adding...

Moscow accused the United States of hysteria today after reports that Russian nuclear submarines were patrolling off the East Coast of America. Russian officials responded vehemently to accusations that they were dabbling in Cold War-style cat-and-mouse manoeuvring but did not deny that two vessels had entered international waters just 200 miles of the US coast. “Activities of Russian submarines in the world’s oceans outside their own waters do not violate international maritime law and are within normal practice,” a military-diplomatic source told the Russian state media. US defence and intelligence officials told the New York Times that two Akula class...

Terrorists groups could soon use the internet to help set off a devastating nuclear attack, according to new research. The claims come in a study commissioned by the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), which suggests that under the right circumstances, terrorists could break into computer systems and launch an attack on a nuclear state – triggering a catastrophic chain of events that would have a global impact.

Israel Air Force test pilots are flying MIG 29 jets and conducting dogfights against the IAF's F-16 fighters, Channel 2 revealed Wednesday evening. This F-16 IAF jet is seen during an experiment where it is armed to its maximum capacity. SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World The MIG 29, a jet developed by the soviets in the 1970s, is one of the best fighter jets used by eastern and Arab countries, as well as by Syria and Iran. It was developed to counter American-made jets such the F-16 or F/A-18.

Bill Clinton's election in 1992 gave rise to the American "militia movement": hordes of overwhelmingly white, middle-aged men from suburban and rural areas who convinced themselves they were defending the American way of life from the "liberals" and "leftists" running the country by dressing up in military costumes on weekends, wobbling around together with guns, and play-acting the role of patriot-warriors. Those theater groups -- the cultural precursor to George Bush's prancing 2003 performance dressed in a fighter pilot outfit on Mission Accomplished Day -- spawned the decade of the so-called "Angry White Male," the movement behind the 1994 takeover...

Their progress watched closely by increasingly jittery western militaries, dozens of nuclear bombers will take part in the exercise. Tu-95 Bear bombers will fire cruise missiles at targets in sub-Arctic Russia for the first time since 1984. While Russia insists that the war games are not meant as a gesture of aggression, the West is growing increasingly uneasy about the scale of the manoeuvres. The aerial exercises, which will take place close to American airspace in Alaska, are part of a month-long war game known as Stability 2008 that Russia claims is the biggest for 20 years.

Excerpt - MOSCOW. Sept 16 (Interfax-AVN) - Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers have patrolled the eastern coast of South America, aide to Russian Air Force commander Col. Lieut. Vladimir Drik told Interfax-AVN. "The aircraft took off from the Libertador military airfield in Venezuela at 4.30 p.m. Moscow time [on September 15]. They flew over neutral waters along the eastern coast of South America in the direction of Brazil. They landed at an airfield in Venezuela at 10 p.m.," Drik said. The Alexander Molodchy and Vasily Senko bombers were in air for about six hours. The crewmembers practiced synchronization and...

It is not just the Indo-U.S. Civilian Nuclear Deal that has gained momentum in recent days, nor is it just the ever growing economic and business ties but the Armed Forces of the two largest democracies in the world are coming together at an unprecedented rate even as the Government of India has gotten rid of its Communist backers in the Indian Parliament. Operation Vajraprahar Indian and American armed forces are holding joint maneuvers on counter-terrorism in the famous Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairangte, Mizoram - about 100 km from Mizoram capital Aizawl. The three week-long 'Operation...

Think of some of the movies you really want a chance to see on the big screen. The Wizard of Oz? Lawrence of Arabia? Star Wars? Would you ever, ever put War Games, the 1983 Matthew Broderick thriller, on that list? No, me neither. But, lucky us, we will have the chance to see War Games in theaters this summer—on July 24, the movie will screen for one night only in select theaters across the country, thanks to NCM Fathom, a company that specializes in special theater events. It’s the 25th anniversary of the movie, and the Fathom website boasts...

Muslim outrage over 'corporate war game' where office workers shoot enemies dressed as ArabsLast updated at 15:06pm on 7th April 2008  Muslim leaders condemned a new war game where teams of soldiers shoot at enemies - dressed as Arabs.   Men in camouflaged military gear battle opponents wearing shemaghs - the traditional headdress of Arab men - at Zulu 1 Tactical Airsoft Simulations. Participants use replica machine guns, pistols and sniper rifles which fire 6mm BB rounds at a 20-acre former RAF hospital in Nocton, Lincs. Images from the company's website show soldiers pointing rifles at hooded "Arab" men spreadeagled...

WASHINGTON: The ongoing naval wargame in the Bay of Bengal involving five nations does not "target" China but is designed to shape strategic choices by regional actors like India, a senior Pentagon official has said. "This exercise does not target China. It is designed to shape strategic choices being made by all regional actors. Malabar is a sign of responsible stakeholders interested in promoting peace and security by a visible presence," said Brigadier General John Toolan, Principal Director for South and South East Asia at the US Department of Defence. The four-day 'Malabar Exercise' started on September 4 with the...

Front PageIAF Jaguars ‘sink’ USS Nimitz, F-18s return the favour to INS Viraat Manu Pubby Posted online: Saturday, September 08, 2007 at 0000 hrs Malabar Exercise: From tracking nuclear submarines to managing 200 aircraft and taking on deep-sea terror threat, five Navies cover sweeping range of maritime operations ON BOARD USS Kitty Hawk (150 miles west of Port Blair), September 7: As the small green dots approached closer on the radar screen, the Indian officer sitting deep inside USS Nimitz knew it was too late to save the ship. Jaguar maritime fighters of the Indian Air Force (IAF), operating from...

I've seen this video numerous times but I don't think it's been posted to FR. It's a BLAST. I promise, you WILL NOT be disappointed. Go to the link provided to: Dillon Aero Videos Click onto the M134 Highlight Reel. Enjoy...

Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Army Ataollah Salehi said that for the first time, the Saeqeh, or Thunderbolt, fighter plane "carried out a mission to bomb virtual enemy targets in northwest of Iran." He added that the plane, which is similar to the US F-18 fighters, was designed, remodeled and improved by Iranian experts at the army's Sattari Air Base. Salehi noted that the technology needed for manufacturing Saeqeh fighters basically came from foreign countries such as the US, Russia, China and India and was only modified by Iranian experts...

The DOD is developing a parallel to Planet Earth, with billions of individual "nodes" to reflect every man, woman, and child this side of the dividing line between reality and AR. Called the Sentient World Simulation (SWS), it will be a "synthetic mirror of the real world with automated continuous calibration with respect to current real-world information", according to a concept paper for the project. SWS provides an environment for testing Psychological Operations (PSYOP)," the paper reads, so that military leaders can "develop and test multiple courses of action to anticipate and shape behaviors of adversaries, neutrals, and partners" SWS...

Iran's navy started more than a week of war games in the Gulf on Thursday using tactical submarines and small vessels carrying missile launchers, state television reported. The exercises are the latest in a series of maneuvers staged by Iran's military in the Gulf, where the United States has deployed a second aircraft carrier, a move widely seen as a warning to Tehran over its nuclear ambitions. State television said the war games staged by Iran's regular naval forces "showed their defensive power for protecting the Persian Gulf." It said the maneuvers would last until March 30...

Excerpt - TEHRAN (AP)--Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards launch Monday their second war games in a month, just days ahead of a U.N. deadline regarding Iran's nuclear program. The Revolutionary Guards will begin three days of ground maneuvers, dubbed Eghtedar, or Grandeur, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sunday "The guards will practice various kinds of fighting tactics including tactics of asymmetrical warfare," the report said without elaborating. ~ snip ~

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed that Iran will never bow to UN resolutions over its nuclear programme, as the military prepared for war games that will include short-range missile tests. "Even if they adopt 10 other resolutions it will not have any effect," Ahamdinejad told parliament as he introduced a new budget for the Iranian year starting March 21.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran plans to conduct missile war games during a three-day period beginning Sunday, state-run television reported. The war games will be carried out near Garmsar city, about 60 miles southeast of Tehran, according to the broadcast. "Zalzal and Fajr-5 missiles will be test fired in the war game," the broadcast quoted an unnamed military commander, as saying. Both are considered short-range missiles. The exercise will be the first by Iran since the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on December 23, which banned selling materials and technology that could be used in Iran's nuclear and missile programs and...

WAR can be funny. Amid the blood, the broken lives and fractured affairs of state there must, somewhere, sometimes, be reason to smile; the "if you didn't laugh you'd cry" axiom. Think about the war on terror. We have George W. Bush – a complete joke every time he opens his mouth without a teleprompter. We have nasty little men running around with tea-towels on their heads trying to blow up civilisation as we know it. We have fridge magnets exhorting us to be alert but not alarmed – and this sage counsel is nothing to do with the cold...

The Chinese Communist Party's People's Liberation Army (PLA) personnel and 1,000 tanks were involved in a major military exercise recently to test their ability to engage in high-technology combat. More than 20,000 personnel participated in the exercise code-named "North Sword -- 0607(S)", organised by the PLA Beijing Area Command at a north China training base. It was the first joint exercise involving troops from a PLA area command, the Air Force, the Second Artillery, and the Chinese People's Armed Police, Xinhua news agency quoted military sources as saying.

That sounds a bit ominous... Iran: Khamene'i Message Greets Congress of University Students' SocietyIRNA (Internet Version-WWW)Saturday, August 19, 2006 Shiraz, Fars Prov, Aug 19, IRNA -- The Islamic Society of University Students opened its 8th national congress in this southern city Saturday with an inaugural message from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.In an inaugural ceremony, the Supreme Leader's message to the congress was read for him by the representative of the Vali-ye Faqih (religiousjurisprudent) in universities. "Dear university students! I hereby greet you one by one and pray that God Almighty would grant you a more prosperous and dignified future...

The number of vessels participating in the show of force — and some of the specific war games they played — were fine-tuned to train for countering long-range missiles even though the exercises were scheduled long before the current threat from North Korea. Led by the U.S. Navy, the countries participating included Japan, South Korea, Chile, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain — the last still viewed as a Pacific naval power in view of its colonial legacy and strong ties to other participants. The exercise, called RIMPAC, the acronym for Rim of the Pacific, held every two years...

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - The largest U.S. military exercise in the Pacific in decades ended Friday after showing North Korea and other nations that the United States can swiftly muster a huge combat force in the region, officials said. The five-day "Valiant Shield" exercises massed an armada of three aircraft carriers and 25 other ships along with 22,000 troops and 280 warplanes off this tiny U.S. territory about halfway between Hawaii and Japan. Tensions are rising in the region over the possible test-launch of a North Korean long-range missile. Two guided missile cruisers participating in the games were...

As tensions with North Korea rise, three U.S. aircraft carriers filled the skies with fighters Tuesday for one of the largest U.S. military exercises in decades off this small island in the Pacific. For the first time ever, a Chinese delegation was invited to observe the U.S. war games. As the show of American military power began, North Korea — one of the region's most unpredictable countries — was rattling swords of its own. The maneuvers, dubbed "Valiant Shield," bring three carriers together in the Pacific for the first time since the Vietnam War. Some 30 ships, 280 aircraft and...

In a step up of service-to-service engagement, India and the United States will conduct the biggest-ever army level exercises near Ranikhet in Uttaranchal in January, as American officials on Friday indicated that Washington was working to open doors to high-technology transfers. A company force of the US army will conduct joint exercises with a thrust towards anti-insurgency operations in the mountainous terrain near Choubhatia, US officials said adding that, in the coming year, armed forces of the two countries would participate in 'more complex, patterned war games'. "The US Pacific Command wants to expand its military-level innteraction with India over...

October 03, 2005 - "Reality Game" maker Kuma Reality Games has released a stunning 3-D video game simulation of what a U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear facilities might look like. Based on declassified documents and the latest thinking of military experts, Kuma's latest episode, "U.S. Attacks Iran," is available for free download at Kuma\War. As with all Kuma\War episodes, "U.S. Attacks Iran" contains in-depth, expert analysis and a thoughtful discussion of the political ramifications and tactical considerations of military action as well as a playable 3D event simulation, letting ordinary individuals experience firsthand what military planners think such an attack...

WASHINGTON: The United States is deploying its F-16 fighter jets for large scale air exercises with India to be held at the Kalaikunda Air Base outside Kolkata in November this year. Twelve F-16 CJs and an E-3 AWACS from the Misawa and Kadena Air Base on Okinawa in Japan will be flying down for the ten-day Cope India exercises starting November 7, according to defence sources. It is the first time the US is deploying F-16 fighter jets for exercises in India. Washington held back its F-16s and sent six F-15 Eagles from the Elmendorf Air Base in Alaska during...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China praised its first joint military exercises with Russia on Friday for lifting relations to an all-time high and opening room for further cooperation. Eight days of drills involving more than 10,000 troops from the former Cold War foes' armies, navies and air forces concluded on Thursday with a practice air and ground assault in China's eastern Shandong province. The last event on the schedule was an outside "family-style lunch" of noodles, braised eggplant and fried fish washed down with beer as tank engines roared in the background, Xinhua news agency said. "Through the exercises, the two...

Russian-Chinese first-ever joint military exercise, Peace Mission 2005, will take place in the north-east of China on August 18-25. All kinds of troops, including naval forces, will be involved in the exercise. Officially, the exercise is supposed to demonstrate joint anti-terrorist measures, although even Russian and Chinese leaders say that the entire event is meant to reveal the nearing tendencies between the two countries. The news about the joint efforts made Washington feel rather nervous, taking into consideration the fact that Russia and China called upon the USA to withdraw its army bases from Central Asia before. Vladimir Putin signed...

President Vladimir Putin donned navy uniform to watch a missile launch at sea yesterday, hours after dressing as a pilot and flying in a supersonic bomber. "I think a man in my position must know how it all happens," the president said after a five-hour flight on a giant TU160 strategic bomber to test-fire a cruise missile over northern Russia. He then boarded the cruiser Peter the Great in the Barents Sea to watch a missile launched from the nuclear submarine, Yekaterinburg. It hit a target 5,000 miles away in Russia's far east, helping to offset the failed missile launches...

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AP) -- Russian navy ships and long-range bombers headed Wednesday to a Chinese peninsula jutting into the Yellow Sea for the first-ever joint military exercises between the two nations. Moscow and Beijing will stage a mock intervention to stabilize an imaginary country riven by ethnic strife. But they insist the "Peace Mission 2005" exercises - which were to start Thursday and include some 10,000 troops from land, sea and air forces - aren't aimed at a third country. And analysts agree Russia and China are unlikely to team up against a common foe. They say the maneuvers are...

BEIJING -- As they prepare to join forces for their largest military exercise in modern history, China and Russia have billed this week's maneuvers as a cooperative fight against terrorism. But they're also sending a message to Washington, analysts say: Don't push the two former Cold War adversaries too far. The eight-day exercise, which is set to begin Thursday, will be the most extensive since Beijing and Moscow fought together against U.S.-led forces during the Korean War half a century ago. Originally billed as a modest exercise when proposed last year, it has grown in scope to include nearly 10,000...

The Bush administration has described a planned joint Chinese-Russian military exercise in the Yellow Sea north of Taiwan as one that could advance the "mutual goal of regional stability" in East Asia, despite some reports that paint the exercise as being eerily similar to a rehearsal for a joint invasion of Taiwan. The exercise, prominently reported in the Washington Post Monday morning, is to start Thursday near the Russian city of Vladivostok, before moving to the Yellow Sea and China's Shandong Province. The simulated land, sea and air operation would "seize a beachhead on China's Shandong peninsula in advance of...

Nearly 10,000 troops are to take part in unprecedented joint military exercises by China and Russia this month aimed at strengthening ties between the armed forces of two powers that were once bitter foes. Chinese state media said yesterday the “Peace Mission 2005” exercises would be held from August 18-25 in and around the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok and the Chinese coastal province of Shandong. The scale of the exercises, which will involve land, air, naval, paratroop and marine forces, underlines the determination of Beijing and Moscow to expand a military relationship that has blossomed over the past...

War game gives Washington a lesson in power By Alec Russell in Rhode Island (Filed: 04/06/2005) The mood in the White House situation room was gloomy. Iran had nuclear weapons; the Chinese had turned North Korea into a de facto colony; and Brazil was getting uppity and refusing to take America's side. And still the world's lone superpower was barely reacting. Peter Sellers in the cold war satire Dr Strangelove "We are perceived as losing prestige, as not taking the lead,'' a US aide said. "Not,'' she added thoughtfully, "that we didn't get whacked around earlier for being a bully.''...

WASHINGTON - The CIA is conducting a secretive war game, dubbed "Silent Horizon," this week to practice defending against an electronic assault on the same scale as the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks. The three-day exercise, ending Thursday, was meant to test the ability of government and industry to respond to escalating Internet disruptions over many months, according to participants. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the CIA asked them not to disclose details of the sensitive exercise taking place in Charlottesville, Va., about two hours southwest of Washington. The simulated attacks were carried out five years in the future...

Vajra Shakti Military Exercise 9th May 2005 @ Near Jalandhar, Punjab, India Click here for Photographs ---------------------------- Exercise Vajra Shakti was jointly planned by the Indian Army's 11 Corps and the Indian Air Force's (IAF) 1 Tactical Air Centre, which is an integral part of the corps, said a defence ministry spokesperson. The army and the IAF regularly carry out exercises to improve interoperability. This was the first large-scale exercise in the Punjab sector after Operation Parakram, the mobilisation of forces on the Pakistan border following the terror attack on parliament in December 2001. Combat units from bases under IAF's...

NEW DELHI: India is mobilising 20,000 troops for May war games on its northern borders in the largest movement of forces since 2002 when war almost broke out with Pakistan, defence sources said. The exercise would be held in the arid plains of Jallandhar in Punjab state, which borders Pakistan, defence ministry sources said. Artillery and heavy armour would also be involved in the manoeuvres to hone the battle-readiness of India’s million-plus armed forces, they said. However the sources would not reveal the exact date of the war games, although they said mobilisation has already begun. “The exercise is of...

The Army is paying Iraqi immigrants $220 day, plus board, just to be themselves. [. . .]Some 250 Arabs and Kurds, including about 50 from metropolitan Detroit, occupy the 18 ethnically, politically and religiously diverse villages that comprise the fictitious province of Talatha, located at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La. "When we come here, we act like we are back home," Amir Saymari, 30, of Dearborn, Mich., said. "We teach them about the culture, and we teach them about the Iraqi people." Some role players portray local officials such as sheik, imam, mayor and council member....

An American military adviser group is observing a computer simulation that is part of Taiwan's annual "Han Kuang 21" military exercise, a legislator of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said Tuesday. The remarks by DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung, a member of the defense committee in the Legislative Yuan and an expert in Taiwan military affairs, came after Japan's NHK TV channel reported that Dennis Blair, former head of the U.S. Pacific Command, is leading a delegation of around 20 military officers that is observing the computerized wargames that started Monday. NHK commented that this was the first time that...

SIRKIN AIR FORCE BASE, Israel, April 5 (UPI) -- U.S. and Israeli troops Tuesday completed the second of a three-phase joint air defense exercise at Israel's Sirkin Air Force Base.Some 1,000 U.S. troops usually based in Germany traveled to Israel for the exercise that will end next weekend with the firing of a Patriot missile at an incoming air-launched rocket. One of exercise's goals was to practice coordination between the two militaries. Asked whether they practiced defense against Iranian Sheehab missiles, the Israeli Air Defense Forces Commander, Brig. Gen. Ilan Bitton, said: "We deal with current threats and future threats...

DRAGON SPACEMaybe time to get beyond the coats and hats and show us the real stuff. Russian Chief of General Staff Yury Baluyevsky flies home from the Far East this week after finalizing plans for large, ambitious joint-military exercises to be held with China this fall.But the negotiations were far from a bed of roses. China wanted the exercises - the first ever between the two countries - to be held in its southwestern Zhejiang province near the island of Taiwan, the Moscow newspaper Kommersant reported Thursday. The political message of holding the exercises there would have been dramatically clear:...

   Pentagon delegation arrives in Taipei for talks with militaryBy Rich ChangSTAFF REPORTER Thursday, Mar 17, 2005,Page 1 A US military delegation arrived in Taipei yesterday, and will discuss the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities with Taiwanese military officials. A member of the delegation, who requested anonymity, told the Taipei Times that the US saw the possibility of China's launching an attack using asymmetric warfare tactics against Taiwan as increasing. "The US is concerned as to whether the PLA would be able to start an asymmetric war against Taiwan and whether there exists a fifth column of infiltrators in Taiwan," he...

Washington, March 10 (IANS) Acknowledging India as a "rising power", a top US navy official has praised Washington's growing military ties with New Delhi and said their strategic interests were on the same wavelength. Admiral William Fallon, the US Navy Commander (Pacific Command), said: "India's emergence as a rising power is important to the region and the world." Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Admiral Fallon called the dialogue between India and Pakistan and the resulting easing of tensions as "very positive signs". "This year, US Pacific Command (USPACOM) forces have conducted a number of successful events with the...

Even during a war, as busy as soldiers are, there’s a lot of down time. Throughout American history, the troops relied on reading material (newspapers, books, letters), or games of chance (cards, dice) to deal with the boredom With the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns, that’s all changed. The troops are still reading and gambling, but they’re also spending a lot of time watching DVDs (on laptops or large screen TVs), listening to digital music (iPods are very popular) and playing computer games (XBox and Playstation are the big favorites.) Today’s troops are from a generation that grew up with PCs...

Military and homeland security officials began a week of space warfare games Saturday involving representatives from 20 US agencies and three allied countries. About 250 military and civilian experts from the United States, Great Britain, Canada and Australia are taking part in the Schriever Three exercises through February 11th. Details are classified. Air Force Brigadier General Dan Darnell calls it a tabletop test involving military, homeland, transportation, intelligence and strategic command decision-makers. The Air Force says the games pit mock friendly and enemy forces against each other in scenarios designed to test command and control of military space systems. There...

Russia and China will carry out their first joint military manoeuvres in the second half of 2005, Russia's defence minister, Sergei Ivanov, said. "For the first time in history, we have decided to hold large-scale military exercises with China," he said.

MOSCOW (AP)-Russia and China will hold unprecedented joint military maneuvers on Chinese territory next year involving both nations' air forces and navies, Russia's defense minister said on Monday.Sergei Ivanov, speaking at a Cabinet session chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said that the exercise would involve submarines and possibly strategic bombers, the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies reported.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Defense Department was said to have completed simulated war games to determine the feasibility of destroying Iran's nuclear weapons program. The Atlantic Monthly magazine reported in its latest issue that the Pentagon held simulations of a U.S. military strike on Iranian bases and nuclear facilities. The magazine said the recent war games also included a ground invasion of Iran. The simulation envisioned a three-phase war against the Islamic republic. The first phase was composed of air strikes against bases of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, believed to control Iran's nuclear and missile programs. U.S. intelligence sources...