Free Republic

As tensions rose over the weekend between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf, several vessels were “sabotaged” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Both Iranian media and the UAE reported the incident, but 24 hours after it happened, much of what occurred was still shrouded in mystery, with allegations of “explosions” and questions about how severe the “sabotage” actually was. The Saudi energy minister confirmed that two of its oil tankers were targeted in a “sabotage attack.” It took place as the tankers were “on their way to the Arabian Gulf” via the Emirate of Fujairah,...

The CBO States: http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=4130&sequence=4 Helicopter HangarsGenerally, the most effective weapon against quiet diesel-electric submarines and small, fast boats armed with torpedoes or cruise missiles is a helicopter equipped with missiles. Counting the number of helicopter hangars on surface ships reveals the number of helicopters that the Navy could have available to counter such threats. The more hangars available on-station during peacetime or in-theater during a war, the more flexible the surface combatant force is, and the better equipped it will be to perform its missions, particularly defeating antiaccess threats. During both peacetime and wartime, Option I would outperform the other...

Fei Hung-po leads arms group to USDEFENSE NEEDS: High on the Taiwanese admiral's list will be finding a way to secure the 12 submarines the US agreed to provide the nation in earlier talks, but have yet to materializeBy Brian HsuSTAFF REPORTERA delegation led by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Admiral Fei Hung-po (¶OÂEªi) flew last weekend to the US to discuss arms procurement with the US military, defense sources said. The meeting is a temporary substitute for annual arms talks between the two countries, which came to an end last year. At last year's talks, the George W....