Free Republic

It’s been obvious for years that China has a Potemkin economy, kept alive by slave labor, market bubbles, and government underwriting. it can’t last forever. The latest grim forecast about the economy comes from Peter St Onge, an economist with a much deeper fund of knowledge about and understanding of the Chinese economy than I could have in a thousand lifetimes.The biggest hint that the Chinese economy was in trouble was the demise of Evergrande, a massive property developer in China. The bankruptcy was huge, with the company’s assets valued at a probably inflated $245 billion and debts of $300...

It's still not known what caused the Sindbad submarine to sink. One report, from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, suggested the vessel may have hit a reef at a depth of around 20 metres. A woman now tells Russian outlet Ren TV, in a phone interview, that water flowed into hatches as passengers boarded the submarine. Ekaterina says as they took their reserved seats, water started "pouring in" as two hatches were open. She says it was as if the submarine had fallen off "whatever it was holding on to". Earlier, we learned that tourists are taken out...

At least six people are believed to be dead and another nine injured — six critically — after a tourist submarine sank off of Egypt’s Red Sea coast Thursday. Twenty-nine of the roughly 40 passengers onboard were rescued, with those injured taken to local hospitals according to the BBC. The submarine, “The Sinbad,” foundered close to the harbor in the city of Hurghada, a popular tourist destination on the Red Sea known for its beaches. The vessel can descend 82 feet deep in the sea and offers stunning views of the coral reefs and marine life, according to the website...

On a training exercise from its home port in Guam, USS Minnesota is a forerunner to four Virginia class submarines that will be hosted at a Western Australian naval base from 2027, under the AUKUS partnership to transfer nuclear submarine capability to Australia. Commanding officer Jeffrey Corneille says the Virginia class submarine is “the most advanced warship in the world.” “If someone wakes up and they say ‘Is today the day?’, we make sure that they say ‘Maybe not’,” he says, describing its deterrent role. Around 50-80 United States navy personnel will arrive by the middle of the year at...

Elon Musk just revealed that the government handed the Navy $12 billion to build new submarines—and not a single submarine was built. When investigators asked where the money went, Navy officials shrugged and said they had no idea. “There’s a case where I think Senator Collins was telling me about how she gave the Navy $12 billion for more submarines, got no extra submarines, and then held a hearing to say where the $12 billion go. “And they were like, we don’t know. That was it. I mean, basically, stuff is so crazy. Only the federal government could get away...

The loss of the Skipjack-class nuclear attack submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589) remains to many an unresolved mystery more than 56 years after it sank, with all hands, on 22 May 1968. But a closer look at the event suggests a different description: that it is one of the more closely guarded secrets of the Cold War.This is a focused review of the critical 18-day period immediately following the sinking, and eight key events that occurred during that span. It includes the sinking itself; the Scorpion’s failure to reach Norfolk as scheduled on Monday 27 May; the formal declaration of “Event...

UFO Encounter During Polaris Missile Test – April 19, 1961A newly disclosed message, which appears to have been drafted by COL Phillip G. Evans of the U.S. Air Force and appears authentic, has been forwarded to TheSubVet.com, detailing an account of a possible UFO incident involving a Polaris submarine on April 19, 1961. Approximately 60 seconds before the scheduled launch, the object appeared on the FPS-8 radar at Cape Canaveral AFS and the FPS-20 Radar at PAFB. There was an attempted intercept by a (USAF) F-102 Delta Dagger, a manned supersonic jet interceptor, which locked onto the object for two...

The Hidden Roots of Anti-Gravitic Propulsion and the DARPA "Loki" ConnectionThe Sub Vet and the Quest for Hidden TechnologiesAll Conditions Normal on The DiveThe quest for revolutionary propulsion systems, including anti-gravitic technology, has long captured the public's imagination, fueled by mysterious UFO sightings and stalled congressional transparency efforts. In this narrative, we explore these themes through the lens of a lesser-known DARPA project named "Loki." While the connection to UFOs/UAPs might be considered speculative or conspiratorial, the factual elements of the project can be examined for their potential implications.The Loki Project: A Jet Fighter UnderwaterThe "Loki" project’s primary goal was...

Unveiling the Deep: Chinese Submarines and Anti-Gravitic Drones Along U.S. CoastlinesThe realm of naval warfare is undergoing a significant transformation, with submarines potentially serving as launch platforms for drones capable of operating in both sea and air. This shift was spotlighted in a recent episode of the Shawn Ryan Show, aired on January 3, 2025, where guest Sam Shoemate discussed shocking allegations about the use of anti-gravitic technology by drones, possibly launched from Chinese submarines near American coastlines. These revelations, combined with documented advancements in Chinese naval and drone technology, suggest profound implications for global security and military strategy.(The internet...

CDR Poole has been assigned to the Office of Naval Re-search (ONR) since November 2001, working with the Naval Research Science and Technology Action Team (NRSTAT), ONR-Global and, currently, the Tech Solutions Program. A native of Albany, New York, Rich currently resides in Washington, DC. Mr. Christley is a retired Senior Chief Petty Officer who served from 1962 to 1982 on seven submarines ranging from diesel boats to fast attacks and missile submarines. After working in the field of submarine noise reduction until 1997, he started a third career in fine arts. Jim presently resides with his wife Peggy in...

China's People's Liberation Army Navy has a lot of combatant ships, more in fact than the United States Navy, and that's concerning. What they don't have is much ability to project power; they lack at-sea replenishment capacity, and for the most part, their navy is a frigate navy. Nothing wrong with that, unless you're going up against America's carrier fleet. One way to project power, of course, is with nuclear-powered ships, especially nuclear-powered submarines. China has a few of those and was reportedly earlier in 2024 to be building the first in the new Zhou-class subs. But now we learn...

China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank in the spring, a major setback for one of the country’s priority weapons programs, U.S. officials said. The episode, which Chinese authorities scrambled to cover up and hasn’t previously been disclosed, occurred at a shipyard near Wuhan in late May or early June.

The sudden appearance of four crane barges where a submarine had been parked has prompted questions about the possibility of an accident. Satellite imagery shows unusual activity last month, including the sudden appearance of four crane barges, at a shipyard in China that builds submarines and other naval vessels, which might potentially be a sign of an accident of some kind. Tom Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank and a retired U.S. Navy submarine warfare officer, was first to notice the goings-on at the Wuchang Shipyard. This yard, which is...

Last Tuesday Vladamir Putin sent a nuclear submarine to the Gulf of Mexico. It arrived in Cuba for a rare port visit. A Russian naval task force joined it for an even more rare port visit. The next day, an American nuclear attack submarine docked in Guantanamo Bay for perhaps the first time. It had been trailing the Russian sub-ready to kill it at any given moment. Patriot Surface to Air Missile Batteries were setup on Florida beaches to stop any missiles launched from the Russians. USAF units were placed on alert as well. In response, the United States Navy...

Arkhangelsk: The K-564 Arkhangelsk is a Yasen-M class multi-purpose submarine. It was recently launched from the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, Russia. Key features: Displacement: Approximately 13,800 tons submerged (almost twice the size of an American Virginia-class submarine). Armament: Equipped with 10 torpedo tubes and 32 vertical cells for cruise missiles. Missiles: It carries Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles (also known as Zircon), which are nuclear-capable and can accelerate up to Mach 9 (nine times the speed of sound). Range: The Tsirkon missile has a range of up to 1,000 kilometers. Purpose: The Yasen-M class submarines play a crucial role in Russia’s...

An Ohio real-estate investor is planning to take a two-person submersible down to Titanic-level depths to prove that the journey can be carried out safely following the Titan sub's implosion last year. The investor, Larry Connor, told The Wall Street Journal: "I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way." He's working with Patrick Lahey, a cofounder and the CEO of the submersible manufacturer Triton Submarines. They aim to show that such an expedition can be carried...

The final resting place of an iconic U.S. Navy submarine that was sunk 80 years ago during World War II was located 3,000 feet below the ocean's surface, the Naval History and Heritage Command said Thursday. The USS Harder – which earned the nickname "Hit 'em HARDER" – was found off the Philippine island of Luzon, sitting upright and "relatively intact" except for damage behind its conning tower from a Japanese depth charge, the command said. The sub was discovered using data collected by Tim Taylor, CEO of the Lost 52 Project, which works to locate the 52 submarines sunk...

The job of commanding a nuclear submarine should go to smart and well-qualified officers. Or at least that's the case in Western navies. Not so in the Chinese navy. Except for engineers, Chinese submarine officers tend to come from military academies with the lowest college-entrance-exam scores, a US military analyst said. This suggests that People's Liberation Army Navy sub commanders are not the "best and the brightest" officers who may be most equipped to cope with the stresses and challenges endemic to submarine warfare. Based on China's college-entrance exam — called the gaokoa — the People's Liberation Army Navy engineering...

Virginia-class submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798) was recently launched into the James River at Newport News Shipbuilding. Shipbuilders transferred the submarine from a construction facility to the floating dry dock, where it was later submerged and moved by tugboats to a submarine pier at the shipyard for final outfitting, testing and crew certification. Massachusetts is the U.S. Navy’s 25th Virginia-class submarine and will be the 12th delivered by NNS.

Eerie banging sounds that briefly gave rescue teams hope of saving the Titan submersible’s crew and passengers have been released. The Titan was destroyed a few hours into a dive to the Titanic shipwreck on 18 June, claiming the lives of OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush, father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet.