Free Republic

Members of the House of Representatives are being told that no holiday greetings, including “Merry Christmas,” can be sent out in official mail. According to the Washington Examiner, members who submit official mailings for review by the congressional franking commission that reviews all congressional mail to determine if it can be "franked," or paid for with tax dollars, are being told that no holiday greetings, including "Merry Christmas," can be sent. "I called the commission to ask for clarification and was told no 'Merry Christmas.' Also told cannot say 'Happy New Year' but can say 'have a happy new year'...

In April of 1775, one of America’s most promising young officers had an idea. A Connecticut merchant who joined up as soon as shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, Arnold was a sharp idea man and a fine strategist, and he approached General Washington with a proposal to lead a mission to Fort Ticonderoga, up at Lake Champlain, to take it from the British. Oh, it was a decent enough prize on its own, sure, but its major value, said Arnold, was the opportunity to acquire all the artillery sitting in the fort. They moved forward and accomplished the...

Title only so far.

IDF to replace outdated howitzers after decades of service By YAAKOV KATZ 17/07/2011 American M109 howitzers have undergone a series of upgrades since they debuted in the Yom Kippur War. The IDF is looking to replace its aging M109 155 mm. self-propelled howitzers, after decades of service and participation in a number of wars. Israel received the American M109 howitzers in the 1970s and they debuted in the Yom Kippur War. They have since undergone a series of upgrades and today are fitted with air purification systems so crews can continue operating in the event of a chemical or biological...

IAI to unveil naval version of new artillery system The high-precision missile artillery system has a range of up to 50 kilometers. 16 May 11 15:41, Yuval Azulai Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1) Missile Systems and Space Group Division will unveil the naval version of its Jumper autonomous artillery missile system, which has a range of up to 50 kilometers, at the Singapore International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference IMDEX Asia 2011 on Wednesday. The naval platform of the system will enable navies to provide support for land forces. The missiles have GPS/INS and optional laser guidance system...

US Howitzer field trial report leaked, Army seizes computers in probe shishir gupta Posted online: Mon Feb 14 2011, 08:15 hrs New Delhi : In what the Army suspects is a case of “commercial espionage,” pages have been leaked from the classified report of the just-concluded field trial of the M777 ultra-light Howitzer that from the United States this year. The Army Headquarters has ordered the Director General Military Intelligence (DGMI) to conduct an inquiry. The acquisition, through the government-to- government foreign military sales route, is worth over $ 647 million for 10 regiments (160) guns. And is meant to...

G6 Renoster: Twisting in the Wind NEWTOWN, Conn. - The G6 Renoster has seen no new sales since Denel completed the export order for Oman in 1999. Production for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is complete; modernization and retrofit of the 43 systems in SANDF service are ongoing. Despite ongoing development (including the T6 turret and associated 155mm ammunition) and an aggressive international marketing campaign, Denel is facing a lack of sales prospects for the G6 Renoster. In addition to an increasingly wide array of comparable offerings on the international market, Denel's legal problems with India's Ministry of...

This again. According to Reuters and Yonhap, there has been more North Korean artillery fire, though it's all in the water near disputed territory, and not necessarily in actual South Korean waters. South Korean markets went quickly negative on the news:

S.Korea to Buy $1.2 Bil Dollar Worth of K9 and F-15Ks The South Korean government has set a 1.4 trillion won or about 1.2-billion-US-dollar budget in purchasing K-9 self-propelled howitzers and F-15K fighter jets with the hopes of strengthening the country's military and naval forces. According to finance and defense ministries on Friday the amount of next year's national defense budget has increased 5.8 percent compared to this year's. Such an increase is seen as an effort to strengthen South Korea's military capabilities in the wake of North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island this week. With the newly set budget...

(LEAD) Military: artillery sound from within North's territory, no shells land in southern waters SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- The series of explosion sounds heard Friday on the border island attacked by North Korea earlier this week appear related to training within the North's territory, military officials said. No shells landed in waters on either side of the Koreas' Yellow Sea border or near Yeonpyeong Island, said Col. Lee Bung-woo, a spokesman at the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff. "The firing was not aimed at us, and we believe the sounds were heard as North Korea conducted its routine training...

Let’s dispense from the beginning with the idea that more “sternly-worded letters,” sanctions, condemnations, or talks (serious this time!) are the answer to North Korea’s dual declarations of war. They have never worked, because when dealing with evil, you must speak to it in the language it understands. Evil only understands violence. And yes, it’s time for violence. It gives me no pleasure to say so, but the pattern of history has borne out this truth: there will never be peace so long as only one side is willing to abide by the rules for peace. The pictures coming from...

Seoul not safe from artillery attacks By Bae Ji-sook Seoul is never safe from North Korea’s artillery attacks such as the one that broke out on Yeonpyeong Island earlier this week, analysts say. As the capital city is filled with skyscrapers and a complicated layout of roads, the severity of damage that could be caused by any military attack threatens to be even higher, they said. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, there are 3,919 underground shelters in the city including the underground floors of public organizations, local administration units, large buildings and metro stations. The specific address and information...

South thwarts even bigger attack Military says strike by howitzers took out equipment November 25, 2010 North Korea had planned to fire more shells than the roughly 170 rounds that fell on Yeonpyeong Island and the waters around it, but a counterattack by South Korea damaged their equipment, South Korean military officials said yesterday. The South, however, did not describe the extent of the damage, adding to the list of unanswered questions over the first inland skirmish between the two Koreas since the Korean War. The attack by the North left two marines and two civilians dead. “After the North...

Military Projections Show The Devastating Capabilities Of North Korean Artillery Gus Lubin | Nov. 23, 2010, 4:59 North Korea is said to have the world's largest artillery force. South Korea's capital city is only 35 miles from the border. This frightening military scenario is suddenly relevant after North Korea fired shells this morning at a South Korean military facilities on a rival island. At least one person was killed in the attack, and now South Korea has returned

North Korea fired artillery barrages onto a South Korean island near their disputed border Tuesday, setting buildings alight and prompting South Korea to return fire and scramble fighter jets. At least one South Korean marine was killed and 13 wounded, the military said. The skirmish came amid high tension over North Korea's claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility and just six weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il unveiled his youngest son Kim Jong Un as his heir apparent. One South Korean marine was killed, three were seriously wounded and 10 slightly wounded, a Joint Chiefs...

(Reuters) - North Korea on Tuesday fired dozens of artillery shells at a South Korean island, setting buildings on fire and prompting a return fire by the South, Seoul's military and media reports said.

N. Korea fires artillery towards S. Korean island, official says SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Tuesday fired several rounds of artillery towards South Korean waters and an island near the tense west sea border, the South's military said. The North's artillery shells fell at 2:34 p.m. in the South's waters off the island of Yeonpyeong, some of them landing directly on the island, said Col. Lee Bung-woo, spokesman at the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The South's military responded with its artillery firing.

South Koreans return fire- scramble fighter jets Some houses in South Korea's Yeonpyeong Islandin the Yellow Sea are ablaze as scores of rounds of artillery,fired by North Korea at 2:34 p.m. on Nov. 23, hit the island.  As revelations of secret advances made in Pyongyang's ability to enrich uranium come to light, some have suggested arming the South with nuclear weaponry... looks like Dear Leader didn't care for that prospect much... North Korea on Tuesday fired dozens of rounds of artillery toward South Korean waters and an island near the tense west sea border, the South's military said, leaving at least...

Since the GPS-guided Excalibur artillery round first made it to Iraq and Afghanistan, roughly 200 rounds have been fired. In the last week or so, use of that round has pulsed. Army artillerymen have fired 20 rounds or 10 percent of the total in Afghanistan, according to James Riley, Raytheon Missile System’s vice president for land systems. We don’t have similar numbers for the Marines, who have been using the shell as well. Excalibur has been at the center of debate in the Army as the service grapples with the tradeoffs of cost, capability and logistics. Army Vice Chief of...

The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance 2010 report places China third in the number of artillery systems it fields, after Russia and North Korea. But China doubtless exceeds both in resource commitment and breadth of artillery investments. Credited with an estimated 17,700-plus towed, self-propelled and rocket systems, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has at least 56 artillery systems in use, development or available for export. The U.S. Army and Marine Corps, by contrast, have 8,137-plus artillery pieces of roughly 10 types. China has had a mixed record of using artillery for military and political-military goals. Its successes, as...