Can Russia and China Detect the F-35 Stealth Aircraft?

Can Russia and China Detect the F-35 Stealth Aircraft? The above 5 minute VIDEO at https://youtu.be/Ruz6MoHKZn0 from Covert Cabal, June 4, 2017, clearly responds. 

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Also see Michael Peck's explanation at The National Interest’s "RIP F-35 and F-22: China Claims It Has Radar That Can Detect Stealth Aircraft" of May 29, 2019 HERE.

Radar detection of very small RCS objects, eg. F-35s?

Here is another thought provoking article from the Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, July 29, 2020, at
 https://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/thales-ground-fire-radar-production-gets-underway/

"Thales Ground Fire radar production gets underway"

"The first Ground Fire radar is now in production at the Thales Limours site in Essonne to equip, among others, the French Air Force’s New Generation Medium Range Surface-to-Air System (SAMP/T NG). The fully digital multifunction radar, equipped with advanced anti-air and anti-missile capabilities, is capable of countering a wide range of threats, including ballistic missiles. Highly mobile, tactical and air transportable, the radar can be deployed in less than 15 minutes, a major advantage in the theatres of operation. It can handle 360° coverage in azimuth, up to 90° in elevation, and a 400km range.

"Ground Fire: Production of the latest generation radar for air and ballistic missile defence, Thales, [Uploaded by Thales July 28, 2020]"

Designed to simultaneously detect and track a wide range of stealth targets, drone swarms and to prevent coordinated saturation  attacks, the Ground Fire has an air defence missile guidance capability to intercept high-manoeuvring or ballistic targets. Multi-mission, it can be used in various contexts, such as air defence, air surveillance, counter-battery or trajectography.

Ordered in 2019 by the French Procurement Agency, the radar draws on years of engineering and manufacturing development for the Sea Fire, the naval version of the radar selected to equip the Defence and Intervention Frigates of the French Navy. The Ground Fire benefits from Thales’ technological advances in artificial intelligence and cyber security, enabling it to respond perfectly to the fast evolving needs and threats faced by the armed forces..." 

See WHOLE ARTICLE
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PETE COMMENT

For the most modern radars capable of counter-battery mode (like Thales' Ground Fire) Wikipedia reports https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-battery_radar#Description :

"The basic technique is to track a projectile for sufficient time to record a segment of the trajectory... done automatically...Projectile detection ranges are governed by the radar cross section (RCS) of the projectiles. Typical RCS are:

·      -  Mortar bomb 0.01 m²

·      -  Artillery shell 0.001 m²

·       -  Light rocket (e.g., 122 mm) 0.009 m²

·       -  Heavy rocket (e.g., 227 mm) 0.018 m²

The best modern radars can detect howitzer shells at around 30 km and rockets/mortars at 50+ km." 

So counter-battery Radar detection of an Artillery shell with an RCS of "0.001 m²" can be achieved.

Then, in anti-aircraft mode, can detection of the latest F-35s and future B-21 bombers be achieved (albeit with widely distributed sensors eg. other radars and IRST)?

The Russian and Chinese could get hold of such Western radars through third party countries - then incorporate the technology into S-400 radar-missile systems. 

AUSMIN Talks: Australia Charts Its Own (No FONOPs) Course

Below is an excellent summing up of the 2 day Australia-US Ministerial (AUSMIN) talks (ending July 28, 2020) by Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter (APDR) 

at https://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/ausmin-talks-conclude-with-australia-saying-it-charts-its-own-course/

"AUSMIN Talks Conclude With Australia Saying It Charts Its Own Course"

"The annual AUSMIN talks between the United States and Australia wrapped up on [July 28, 2020] with the two allies reaffirming their close ties but with Australia saying it goes its own way when it comes to dealing with China, which is a major trade partner for Australia. Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds flew to the US to meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark Esper. The talks focused on growing tensions with China, conducting further exercises in the South China Sea and the two sides discussed a US-funded military fuel reserve scheduled to be built in Darwin."

Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne [in a special "flag camouflage" uniform ] and Mike Pompeo.       (PHOTO: Pool handout)

"China was the main focus of the talks and both parties criticised China for its recent crackdown on Hong Kong and both sides agreed to work to counter state-backed disinformation campaigns. The Australian side however, pushed back against US efforts to force Australia to conduct assertive freedom-of-navigation exercises [FONOPS Pete link] in the South China Sea. Australia’s Reynolds told reporters such exercises were “subject of discussion” but that “our approach remains consistent, we will continue to transit through the region in accordance with international law”. Payne went a step further and said while Australia had much in common with the US, “we make our decisions, our own judgements in the Australian national interest and about upholding our security, our prosperity and our values.” Australia is set to host the annual AUSMIN talks in 2021...."

See WHOLE APDR Article which includes "AUSMIN 2020 Global Health Security Statement".

What Happened to India's Charlie-class SSGN?

Here is an excellent article from India’s Defence Aviation Post written 22 hours ago at https://www.defenceaviationpost.com/2020/07/the-untold-story-of-the-development-of-indian-submarine-force/

“The Untold Story of the Development of Indian Submarine Force”

“In 1957, the government of India requested Lord Mountbatten, then the First Sea Lord, to provide India a target submarine which could be the oldest and cheapest available to serve as a foundation to build a submarine force for the Indian Navy (IN), a request he flatly refused to consider. In 1959 the Indian Navy asked the UK for three operational submarines, this never happened as the UK refused the soft credit terms sought by India. The Indian Navy finally got a Break when the Soviet Union came to India’s rescue and provided the Indian Navy with eight Foxtrot class submarines between 1967 & 1974. [Pete comment - India's Foxtrots were 4 x the first Kalvari-class and 4 x Vela-class].

Submarine acquisition in India was hit by a double whammy in the 1980s with the German HDW Submarine scam in 1987 which saw the much required class of six HDW type 209 submarines being acquired being reduced to four boats. [Pete comment - India's 4 x Type 209s are known as the Shishumar-class]. To make matters worse, India also had to prematurely return the Charlie-class SSGN it had leased from the USSR for 10 years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it had only served the IN for a bare three years. The Russians came to the rescue once again and the fleet was bolstered by 10 877EKM (KILO) class boats which were inducted between 1986 & 2000. [Pete comment - India's 10 x Kilos are known as the Sindhughosh-class].

In the year 2000 the Indian Navy adopted a 30 year submarine building plan which would see the induction of 24 new submarines by 2030 with 18 SSKs (Submersible ship killer) & 6 SSNs (Submersible ship nuclear) joining the fleet by 2030. This was later tweaked to 24 SSKs with all 6 SSNs getting their own separate category & $14Bn approval under the strategic nuclear submarine program in February 2015. The plan called for half the Slated strength of 24 SSKs or 12 boats to be built on two simultaneous lines with foreign collaboration by 2012 with another 12 to be built completely of an indigenous design between 2012-30, needless to say that plan lies in tatters.”

PETE COMMENT

Re paragraph 1: As well as the UK not willing to extend soft loans for such expensive items as submarines, I assume the UK overall distrusted India's Non-aligned foreign/defence policy status. The West often classed Non-aligned as pro-Soviet.

Re para 2: I always wondered why India's lease of the Soviet Charlie-class SSGN (K-43 as Chakra I, leased 1988-1992) was so short ie. less than the agreed 10 years. Now this article answers it. The end of the USSR by 1992 effectively overrode the lease agreement with India. I assume financially strapped (new) Russia did not have the naval funds to maintain Chakra I (ex K-43). Russia's lack of money would explain why K-43 was scrapped in 1992. 

Re para 3: Of the new SSKs India has completed 2 Scorpenes, known as the second Kalvari-class, with 4 to go. 

Photos, Figure of Conventional & Polymer LIBs

Thanks to Anonymous for these advanced battery comments and links of July 23, 2020.

Photos of [solid] all polymer Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs), co-developed by APB and Sanyo Chemical Industries (SCI), are introduced at [1] and [2].

Pete Comment: "Resin" and "Polymer" is essentially the same thing. A Resin is liquid when pored, then cures/hardens into a solid polymer. Meanwhile conventional Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) use an electrolyte which remains liquid.

-------------------------------------------------------

[1]  Motor-Fan TECH article "What is an "all-resin battery"? APB raises 8 billion yen
       [US$74 million] for developing next-generation lithium-ion batteries" of March 4, 2020
       at https://motor-fan.jp/tech/10013828 (document in Japanese. Right-click mouse to "Translate..")

       "APB is a start-up company that manufactures and sells [solid] All Polymer Battery, which
        s a bipolar laminated lithium-ion battery jointly developed by Sanyo Kasei Co., Ltd. and APB's
        director Hideaki Horie...."

(a)  Photo (courtesy APB via Motor-Fan TECH) on the upper left, is a newly developed all polymer

      [solid] LIB-module (size ca. 550mm x 400mm x 50mm).

(b)  Photo (courtesy APB via Motor-Fan TECH) on the upper right, is an internal structure (inside of
          "(a)" ) with 40 LIB-cells being bipolar stuck-structured and directly connected.

-----------------------------------------------

[2]  MONOist article “Nissan's "all-resin [polymer] battery" technology licensing, venture to mass production for stationary storage batteries” of April 17, 2020 at    https://monoist.atmarkit.co.jp/mn/articles/2004/17/news049.html

Figure above (courtesy MONOist ): Difference between conventional [liquid electrolyte] LIB (left) and all polymer solid LIB with bipolar structure (right): green arrow (ion), yellow arrow (electron), black line (casing), red line (cathode), blue line (anode).

Anonymous

Explanation: Solid Polymer Batteries vs Conventional Liquid LIBs

Pete Comment: "Resin" and "Polymer" is essentially the same thing. A Resin is liquid when pored, then cures/hardens into a solid polymer. Meanwhile conventional Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) use an electrolyte which remains liquid.

Pavel Alpeyev in an excellent Bloomberg article of July 8/9, 2020, explains https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-08/nissan-pioneer-touts-resin-battery-that-s-90-cheaper-to-make :

"Power Pioneer Invents New Battery That’s 90% Cheaper Than Lithium-Ion
 

·       All-polymer batteries could cut manufacturing costs by 90%

·       Japanese startup outfitting factory to begin mass production

Lithium-ion batteries play a central role in the world of technology, powering everything from smartphones to smart cars, and one of the people who helped commercialize them says he has a way to cut mass production costs by 90% and significantly improve their safety.

Hideaki Horie, formerly of Nissan Motor Co., founded Tokyo-based APB Corp. in 2018 to make “all-polymer batteries” -- hence the company name. Earlier this year the company received backing from a group of Japanese firms that includes general contractor Obayashi Corp., industrial equipment manufacturer Yokogawa Electric Corp. and carbon fiber maker Teijin Ltd.

“The problem with making lithium batteries now is that it’s device manufacturing like semiconductors,” Horie said in an interview. “Our goal is to make it more like steel production.”

The making of a cell, every battery’s basic unit, is a complicated process requiring cleanroom conditions -- with airlocks to control moisture, constant air filtering and exacting precision to prevent contamination of highly reactive materials. The setup can be so expensive that a handful of top players like South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd., China’s CATL and Japan’s Panasonic Corp. spend billions of dollars to build a suitable factory.

Horie’s innovation is to replace the battery’s basic components -- metal-lined electrodes and liquid electrolytes -- with a resin construction. He says this approach dramatically simplifies and speeds up manufacturing, making it as easy as “buttering toast.” It allows for 10-meter-long battery sheets that can be stacked on top of each other “like seat cushions” to increase capacity, he said. Importantly, the resin-based batteries are also resistant to catching fire when punctured.

In March, APB raised 8 billion yen (US$74 million), which is tiny by the wider industry’s standards but will be enough to fully equip one factory for mass production slated to start next year. Horie estimates the funds will get his plant in central Japan to 1 gigawatt-hour capacity by 2023.

Lithium-ion batteries have come a long way since they were first commercialized almost three decades ago. They last longer, pack more power and cost 85% less than they did 10 years ago, serving as the quiet workhorse driving the growth of smartphones and tablets with ever more powerful internals. But safety remains an issue and batteries have been the cause of fires in everything from Tesla Inc.’s cars to Boeing Co.’s Dreamliner jets and Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphones.

“Just from the standpoint of physics, the lithium-ion battery is the best heater humanity has ever created,” Horie said.

In a traditional battery, a puncture can create a surge measuring hundreds of amperes, several times the current of electricity delivered to an average home. Temperatures can then shoot up to 700 degrees Celsius. APB’s battery avoids such cataclysmic conditions by using a so-called bipolar design, doing away with present-day power bottlenecks and allowing the entire surface of the battery to absorb surges.

“Because of the many incidents, safety has been at the top of mind in the industry,” said Mitalee Gupta, senior analyst for energy storage at Wood Mackenzie. “This could be a breakthrough for both storage and electric vehicle applications, provided that the company is able to scale up pretty quickly.”

But the technology is not without its shortcomings. Polymers are not as conductive as metal and this could significantly impact the battery’s carrying capacity, according to Menahem Anderman, president of California-based Total Battery Consulting Inc. One drawback of the bipolar design is that cells are connected back-to-back in a series, making control of individual ones difficult, Anderman said. He also questioned whether the cost savings will be sufficient to compete with the incumbents.

“Capital is not killing the cost of a lithium-ion battery,” Anderman said. “Lithium-ion with liquid electrolyte will remain the main application for another 15 years or more. It’s not perfect and it isn’t cheap, but beyond lithium-ion is a better lithium ion.”

Horie acknowledges that APB can’t compete with battery giants who are already benefiting from economies of scale after investing billions. Instead of targeting the “red ocean” of the automotive sector, APB will first focus on stationary batteries used in buildings, offices and power plants.

That market will be worth $100 billion by 2025 worldwide, more than five times its size last year, according to estimates by Wood Mackenzie. The U.S. alone -- which together with China will be the main source of increased energy storage demand -- is likely to see a 10-fold increase to $7 billion in the period.

Horie, 63, got his start with lithium-ion batteries at their very beginning. In February 1990, early on in his Nissan career, he started the automaker’s nascent research into electric and hybrid vehicles. A few weeks later, Sony Corp. shocked the industry, which was betting on nickel-hydride technology, by announcing plans to commercialize a lithium-ion alternative. Horie says he immediately saw the promise and pushed for the two companies to combine research efforts that same year.

By 2000, however, Nissan was giving up on its battery business, having just been rescued by Renault SA. Horie had one shot at convincing his new boss Carlos Ghosn that electric vehicles were worth it. After a 28-minute presentation, a visibly excited Ghosn proclaimed Horie’s work an important investment and green-lit the project. Nissan’s Leaf would go on to become the best-selling EV for a decade.

Horie came up with the idea for the all-polymer battery while still at Nissan but wasn’t able to get institutional backing to make it real. In 2012, while doing a teaching stint at the University of Tokyo, he was approached by Sanyo Chemical Industries Ltd., known for its superabsorbent materials used in diapers. Together, the two developed the world’s first battery using a conductive gel polymer. In 2018, Horie founded APB and Sanyo Chemical became one of his early investors.

APB has already lined up its first customer, a large Japanese company whose niche and high-value-added products sell mostly overseas, Horie said. He declined to give further details and said APB plans to make the announcement as early as August.

“This will be the proof that our batteries can be mass-produced,” Horie said. “Battery makers have become assemblers. We are putting chemistry back into the lead role.”

— With assistance by Jason Clenfield, David Stringer, and Daixin Li."

Limerick in July: I can't get no. Just...

I can’t get no satisfaction
Life in COVID. No reaction
Well there’s booze. And there’s food
I’m a prude. Don’t be rude!
I can't get no. Just double negation :)

by Pete
(first line with apologies to The Rolling Stones :)
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And here's the song:

Trump Pre-Re-Election Created Confrontation Formula

The Trump Administration is creating international confrontations to encourage the US voter rally-around-the President-in-times-of crisis-effect. Its an election year you know , November 3rd... So Trump:

-  ordered closure of China's Houston Consulate. China may retaliate by closing a similar sized US
   Consulate in China.

-  has doubled the number of Nimitz-class carrier battle groups to 2 in China's near seas, to encourage
   in a Chinese reaction. Also see the rise in US warship FONOPs in the South China Sea in 2020.

-  Trump is working with his good friend Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, on a plan for
    Israel to annex areas of the West Bank before the November 2020 Elections. Trump will step
    into this timely crisis as "Peacemaker" to make Israel and some Palestinians happy. Arab countries
    will likely object, raising the price of oil, worrying Americans as they rally-around President
    Trump.

Timely confrontations with Iran, Russia (thankyou Trump's friend Putin) or North Korea might also be the types of crises to boost votes for Trump.

One can always say that crises happen anyway and China's actions deserve reactions. But get ready for a predictable "inexplicable" increase in crises - before November 3, 2020.

Pete

Australia's Newest Spy Satellite Companies

The Air & Space section of the excellent Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter (APDR) website is a good start:

-  leading to "New satellites to boost Australia’s national security capability" APDR, July 7, 2020.

"Australian-based company LatConnect 60 announced Tuesday (7 July) a global space partnership to build and deploy a smart satellite constellation over Australian skies to help the Australian government and commercial clients monitor and protect their interests in the region. The announcement comes amid rising global tensions, with the Australian prime minister last week announcing a A$1.35 billion response to a major cyber-attack targeting Australia by a state-based actor. With plans to launch in June 2021, the new low earth orbit smart satellite constellation will provide close to real-time data on request to clients giving Australia a boost to its strategic observation capabilities.

The key industries set to benefit from access to the new RF Signal Intelligence and High Resolution Multispectral Imaging include government security and intelligence agencies...and maritime. Potential examples of use are maritime surveillance..."

"...LatConnect 60’s smart satellite constellation offers a valuable service differentiator in the geospatial market by collecting high-resolution Earth Observation (EO) imagery products and RF signal intelligence at the same timestamp, and processing it on-orbit with machine learning capabilities to make sense of the data..."

"...LatConnect 60 has chosen to set up its headquarters in Perth, while it is also plugged into the growing South Australian space ecosystem and is a start-up member of the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre based in Adelaide..."

"...LatConnect 60 is collaborating with satellite partner York Space Systems and Perth’s Curtin University, which will develop local capability in WA...."

See the Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter's WHOLE ARTICLE 
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Wrote Debra Werner, SpaceNews, June 9, 2020 “LatConnect 60 selects York to build and operate satellites”:

“SAN FRANCISCO – Australian Earth observation startup LatConnect 60 announced plans June 9 to hire York Space Systems to manufacture small satellites and to operate its Earth observation constellation.

LatConnect 60, a company founded in 2019, plans to launch its first satellite in 2021 and to establish an initial constellation of three satellites with multiple payloads, including radio frequency detection sensors and multispectral imaging cameras.

By relying on artificial intelligence, each LatConnect 60 satellite will be “able to autonomously geolocate and process RF signals identified in order to trigger its imaging payload and any other secondary payloads” to collect data, according to a June 9 news release. Data collected will be “fused and delivered to end users in an Activity Intelligence Report,” the release added...” 

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PETE COMMENT

Australia may want greater autonomy (at least in cheaper, much smaller and more easily launched Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites) from Australia's traditional LEO satellite provider, the US. Small Australian LEO satellites can be launched with small booster/rockets from the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. Cape York is relatively close to the Equator, giving a greater Earth rotational boost to a rocket-satellite launch and importantly there is open ocean to the east for a safer-less-politically-complex west to east rocket trajectory.

However reliance on the US, specifically the National Reconaissance Office (actual US Government NRO website) will remain. This is for much larger satellites, which after launch are parked at much higher altitudes, hence needing more difficult/much larger boosters to launch. These are called geo-stationary (aka geo-synchronous) (GSO) reconnaissance satellites. 

The main customer-regional "fusion" center (collection and some analysis) for most of the LEO and GSO reconnaissance satellite data may well be Pine Gap which likely passes on data and some analysis to Canberra, Washington D.C. and regional commands.

High on the maritime reconnaissance satellite sensor priority list may be development of technologies capable of detecting submerged Chinese submarines.

Pete 

Next Generation Plastic-Polymer Battery Superior to Lithium

1.  YUKI MURAKAMI of NIKKEI's Asian Review, July 21, 2020 reports: 
       https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Japan-drone-submarine-eyes-16-hour-dive-with-plastic-battery

“Japan drone submarine eyes 16-hour dive with plastic battery

Sanyo tests rechargeable prototype with Kawasaki's unmanned vessel

TOKYO -- Sanyo Chemical Industries' rechargeable battery made almost entirely of plastic [polymer]  is now powering an unmanned submarine [photo above] by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in a test run, with the promise of doubling the vehicle's operation range to 16 hours. 

The trial presents the first commercial use of the all-polymer device made by Sanyo subsidiary APB.
The battery, whose electrolytes are also made of resin, lasts twice as long as its lithium-ion cousin and boasts cheaper production costs and greater resistance to fires.

Kawasaki's autonomous underwater vehicle is designed to inspect oil pipelines and other deep sea equipment. Due to the nature of the work, an internal battery would be subjected to high pressures.

The all-polymer battery can withstand depths of more than 3,000 meters.

APB's battery can power the vehicle for about 16 hours on a single charge, up from roughly eight for a lithium-ion battery.

Mass production for the all-polymer battery is said to cost 90% less than for a lithium-ion counterpart due to the simplicity of the manufacturing process. 

APB, is setting up a plant in Japan's Fukui Prefecture.

Full-scale production will be ready around fall 2021, with sales to begin before the fiscal year ends in March 2022. The aim is to develop a business worth hundreds of billions of yen (100 billion yen equals US$934 million) within five to 10 years.

The operation will focus on stationary power storage for buildings, but batteries for undersea drones have become feasible as well.

APB has raised roughly 9 billion yen from eight investors through June, including trading house Toyota Tsusho and energy major Eneos Holdings. Both Nissan Motor and Sanyo have licensed polymer battery technology to APB to accelerate development.”
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2. Japan's Asahi Shimbun, earlier reported, September 20, 2019

 http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201909200001.html

...Manufacturers in Japan, China and South Korea are developing the next-generation battery to replace the widely used lithium-ion ones.

Lithium-ion batteries can catch fire or explode if they short circuit due to deformations or being dropped.

The problem can be attributed to their low electrical resistance levels. Lithium-ion batteries contain metal, which is less resistant to electricity and allows electricity to run quickly within.

A battery made of highly resistant resin is believed to have a smaller risk of generating heat and causing fires.

Even at high resistance levels, the new storage cell can maintain its power output by changing the direction of the electric current.

Hideaki Horie, a specially appointed professor of battery studies at Keio University [in Tokyo] who proposed the idea of resin-based storage cells, described his invention as “the first-ever battery that does not use metal for electrodes or other parts.”

Horie has been involved in the development of the battery system for electric cars at Nissan Motor Co [eg. the Nissan Leaf ] and started research on the all-resin battery in the 1990s.

One key challenge in commercializing the technology is how to produce dedicated resin for storage cells.

Sanyo Chemical Industries joined the research project in 2012 after one of its employees heard Horie’s lecture. The chemical maker creates mainly water-absorbing resin for disposable diapers and had no know-how on battery development.

Despite the disadvantage, Sanyo Chemical Industries suggested “5,000 kinds of material” to pave the way for the commercial application of Horie’s brainchild.

A characteristic of the resin battery is its simple structure. Larger batteries can be created just by layering positive and negative electrodes made of different resin materials as well as resin-based current collectors.

Resin storage cells do not require the drying process essential to their predecessors, so the sheet-type battery can be “printed” with rotary presses.

This will help slash manufacturing costs by half compared with existing cells, according to Horie.

In addition, resin is flexible, so batteries made of the substance can be shaped freely for various purposes by bending or cutting...”

UK Nuclear Missile Submarine Vengence in Near Collision With Ferry

Nuclear missile carrying HMS Vengeance submarine allegedly almost collided with a 30,000 ton ferry MS Stena Superfast VII.

---

Following my July 18, 2020 article a UK online newspaper, known as "London Loves Business"  reported on July 19, 2020:

"It has been confirmed that a Royal Navy submarine that almost hit a Stena Line passenger ferry [the 30,285 ton MS Stena Superfast VII] in British waters, was a nuclear [missile armed] Vanguard class [SSBN].

[The UK Express, July 19, 2020 reveals: "analysis of pictures taken by ferry passengers revealed its true identity as a Vanguard class sub. They show a unique optronics mast, and also visible to the trained eye was a specific radar, attack scope, communications node, and exhaust system - all unique to the Vanguard class." See Richard W. Stirn Tweet with diagram below

The antennas, radar, attack scope, communications node, and exhaust system identifying the sub as Vanguard-class (Diagram courtesy Richard W. Stirn at @mrdickstirn )]
---

[The London Loves Business article continues] Experts have claimed that it was almost certainly armed with nuclear missiles at the time of the near miss, [a collision] could have resulted in the loss of the Vanguard submarine.

The nuclear submarine....is thought to have been the HMS Vengeance... 

The Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB) filled in their report, which has only just been released, said the passenger ferry was carrying over 200 passengers and crew.

The Stena Line ferry was literally yards away from being hit by the 17,500-tonne nuclear submarine, which would have ended with devastating results.

The MAIB stated, “This incident happened because the submarine’s control room team overestimated the ferry’s range and underestimated its speed.”

The submarine has a crew of around 130 and can carry a pay load of up to 16 Trident-II D5 [submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads], which have a range of over [7,200] nautical miles.

...The near miss incident was only averted when a [ferry] crew member spotted the ferry whilst on lookout.

New Force in Australian Politics: Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Party

Following my article "Eden-Monaro By-Election: Gov Lost on Preferences-Bushfires Link" of July 7, 2020, I made the comment on July 13, 2020, below the article, along the lines:

1/ My July 7, 2020 article argued that the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (SFFP) preferences to the Labor Party, in the July 4th, 2020 Eden-Monaro By-Election, decided the Election in favour of Labor.  I also argue it was Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison's "unannounced overseas holiday with his family to Hawaii during the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season" that angered rural people in the Eden-Monrao Electorate. It was this that may have led to the SFFP directing its preferences to Labor. 

"Where was the Deputy Prime Minister in all this?" You have touched on a major problem. The Deputy Prime Minister then-and-now is a "stuffed shirt" numbers man who heads the National Party coalition partner. The Nationals are an essential partner the ruling Liberals despair in knowing they must keep on good terms with to govern.

2/ Leader of the Opposition Labor Party Albanese now (like Kim Beazley years ago (but Beazley was a great Ambassador to the US)) is an uninspiring Labor leader. "Nice" isn't enough, indeed. Labor's election strategy is more the hope the overall-popular-Liberals will make major mistakes (and/or fall out with the Nationals) by 2022, than Labor winning on charismatic, better policy, merit.

3/ The SFFP are more than disillusioned "National Party voters". Australian politics for decades has been balance-of-power determined by minor parties like the Australian Greens and once the now invisible Australian Democrats. Now the growing SFFP has preference power over the 3 main parties (the Liberals, Nationals and Labor).

The politically unstable National Party now represents big agri-businesses including large Darling River water stealers, billionaire Arab horse stud owners and even massive Chinese owned farms. Under the table political donations, from powerful monied interests, are a fact of life for the 3 main parties.

The SFFP are more than just small-medium farmers and small town voters, but many center-right people dissatisfied with All of the 3 main parties. The SFFP recognise their votes and preferences would be wasted if they delivered them to a main party that already had the highest number of First Preference votes. A well directed preference strategy, as practiced by SFFP, is inching towards holding the balance of power in future years.

4/ "Rural people" love politics, because by backing swing parties like the SFFP, it can give rural people disproportionate political power compared to the majority of people in the cities.

Near Ship-Submarine Collision long ago: Another Actual Collision This Week

1. Hot news of a near Ship-Submarine collision - that was publically reported in mid July 2020, but note that the actual incident occurred on November 6, 2018! 

"Statement from the [UK Royal Navy] Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents: Published July 16, 2020

 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/stena-superfast-vii-and-royal-navy-submarine-report-published 

"On 6 November 2018, the lookout on board the ferry Stena Superfast VII spotted a [UK Royal Navy] submarine’s periscope close ahead. The [ferry's] officer of the watch then took immediate and effective action, turning the ferry to avoid a genuine risk of collision with a submerged submarine. The incident happened because the submarine’s control room team had underestimated the ferry’s speed and overestimated its range, resulting in safety-critical decisions being made based on inaccurate information.

Although there was no collision, this was the third accident or incident between a dived Royal Navy submarine and a surface vessel in 4 years,"

 Ferry's "eye view" of very close UK submarine periscope.

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Such is secrecy, keeping near collision quiet for 19 Months!!

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2. Then an actual collision on the other side of the world, which occurred July 15, 2020: 
https://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/07/17/norwegian-car-carrier-collided-with-korean-submarine/

"On Jul 17 [2020] Korean media reported minor collision between car carrier HOEGH LONDON and Korean Navy submarine, which took place at around 0500 UTC Jul 15 [2020] southeast of Gadeokdo island, Busan [aka Pusan] area [South Korea].

Car carrier had just left Masan port, E of Busan, and was under way, en route to China. Submarine reportedly was under way too, surfaced. Car carrier bow suffered 0.5 meter long gash, submarine reportedly, suffered minor damages. Car carrier interrupted her voyage and anchored in [South] Korean waters, for investigation." 

Peter Comment

Goes to show submarine operations, even in peacetime, are dangerous.

 And that lengthy official enquiries may serve to cover-up mistakes.