- Google displayed actual keywords used by "Northern Hemisphere" countries, intelligence agencies and nuclear weapons establishments (eg. Iran nuclear) searching my blog, and
- with these "Northern Hemisphere" entities not disguising their organizational IP addresses, which in turn revealed their organization's name up until April 2011, 2 weeks before this (further details below).
- Meanwhile Southern Hemisphere entities were/are always more anonymous and careful.
- Since 2011 all agencies everywhere (except some navies and defense departments) are much more careful not to too openly link IP addresses with actual organizational names, when they're searching.
OPERATION NEPTUNE SPEAR (double tapping just before 2am May 2, 2011 Pakistan time)
In mid April 2011, based on my interpretation of Obama’s then weakness in the national security "polls" and his April 2011 statements on foreign policy, I began to discuss, with my neighbour in rural NSW, the likelihood that Obama would organise a major counter-terrorism stunt to boost Obama's national security credibility.
On April 23 my Statcounter sitementer picked up a visit to my website (gentleseas)
from a US agency (name in clear). Why, I don't know, because the agency wasn't pursuing a keyword search.
My birthday just
happens to fall towards the end of April and my Mum’s on May 2. So I drove
800km to Canberra on April 28, 2011. In retrospect this worried some authorities
because Canberra (being Australia’s capital city) hosts a Pakistani High
Commission and large press corps.
My and Mum’s joint birthday having been celebrated on May 1, 2011, I began to drive back home early morning May 2, 2011 (Australian Eastern time) which just happened to coincide with (the reported about 6 hours later) date/time of Neptune Spear (killing of Osama/Usama bib Laden (UBL) at 2am May 2, 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan time).
As I drove through Manuka, Canberra I stopped across a vacant carpark - empty as it was early morning, 8am pre-business hours Canberra time, 2am May 2, 2011 Abbottabad time, to change my compact disk player disks.
by which time the boys from Seal Team 6 had just double tapped UBL's head and were helicopting out as bemused Pakistani crowds looked on
Some guy, for no apparent reason, pulled 2 meters behind me ACROSS the lines of an empty carpark, in a white one tonner (a type of Aussie car) with a small dark grey metal concrete mixer in the tray.
The guy, looking distinctly Polish American, from his good living facial shape and light suntan, spoke into a corded car phone seemingly back to base for further instructions. Turned out later he was senior bureau - main job (with a broader team) to stop me from approaching Paki diplomats/defense attaches/ISI with a quietly documented story (gathered from unsuspecting sources) that the US had known since 2008 precisely where UBL was.
Aforementioned guy in one tonner seemed satisfied with the instructions from his Embassy (the Abbottabad Team by then had helicopted out with UBL's body).
So when I drove off to the backblocks of New South Wales the guy no longer tailed me.
7 comments:
A great post Pete. Clearly you respect the US as much as Australia.
Thats true Anonymous.
http://youtu.be/_ECNHhkLw2g?t=4m20s
Pete
Something is wrong with SEA 1000 program [1].
[1] https://www.9news.com.au/national/submarine-gap-risk-to-australia-defences-senator-warns/de858c8e-65a2-443f-9187-7223ca610059
“The Collins vessels are scheduled to end their service by 2026, while the first of Australia's 12 new Attack-class submarines is not expected to be delivered until about 2035 - potentially leaving the Australian Defense Force without submarines for years.”
Unrelated, but interesting.
I'm not sure how much effect the 2019 shooting down of a RQ-4 Global Hawk by Iran has had on the decision-making process concerning this, but it appears the USAF wants to retire its fleet of RQ-4s in favour of a stealthier, more survivable platform. Notwithstanding the fact that a supposedly stealthy, flying-wing design like the RQ-170 Sentinel was also brought down by Iran approximately a decade ago.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40505/global-hawk-drones-to-be-retired-in-favor-of-secretive-penetrating-spy-aircraft
I think at some point the US may have to realize & accept that some level of attrition loss of deep-penetration surveillance platforms of this class (which will constantly find themselves in questionable airspace) is unavoidable against even a moderately capable foe who can learn & evolve his tactics. Well, it's their money.
More importantly - what does this speak for American Allies who have also bought into the Global Hawk program (or its maritime variant, the MQ-4 Triton)? Namely Japan, South Korea - and Australia?
Considering these countries do not routinely conduct penetrating recon missions over perceived rogue states who may or may not be trigger-happy with anti-aircraft fire, I doubt that any possible limitations of the RQ-4/MQ-4 to penetrate high-threat airspace will ever manifest themselves.
However, it will also mean Commanders will need to be aware as to the survivability of these platforms in a situation of open hostilities...I think at some level there is a perception that RQ-4/MQ-4 is pretty much like an unmanned version of the SR-71 Blackbird. It most certainly is not. In fact I would argue it only barely approaches the title of "unmanned U-2 Dragon lady". Any battle plans that call for RQ-4/MQ-4 to function as a set of eyes in the networked battlefield against a technologically advanced foe - like China - will need to take that account, and remain aware that RQ-4/MQ-4 will NOT be anywhere as survivable as the Blackbirds were against the Soviet Union.
Only program that may have a strong chance of being survivable in such situations against the likes of China, is perhaps the "SR-72" program currently under development by Lockheed Martin.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/05/image-may-reveal-a-new-type-of-submarine-for-the-chinese-navy/
It appears the Swedish sail has been copied.
KQN
Hi KQN
Yes I noticed the Saab A26 like sail. When added to the Stirling AIP most Yuans are meant to have, I suspect:
1. Saab is quietly transferring usually secret A26 submarine tech to China (so Saab at least gains SOME foreign exchange/cash from its so-far not succesful submarine export operations)
OR
2. China is covertly collecting (through human and hacking means) this tech from Saab.
OR
3. More likely 1 and 2.
Cheers
Pete
Hi Gessler [at May 8, 2021, 11:12:00 AM] I think RQ-4 Global Hawk-Tritons will be retained for their main peacetime surveillance, intel gathering roles in low threat environments.
The RQ-4 Global Hawk and Triton used by the US and soon some allies, like Aus (watching Indonesia, refugee boats and Chineses vessels) are meant for peacetime spying on low tech opponents. Not against Chinese, Russian and Iranian territory (CRI) who are all capable of shooting down Global Hawk/Tritons.
The RQ-170 Sentinel is just the "stealthier, more survivable platform" designed to spy on CRI - preferably semi-safely outside their borders. In December 2011 a RQ-170 was famously "shot down" by jamming by an Iranian-Russian cyberwarfare team using Russian equipment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93U.S._RQ-170_incident#Capture_of_the_drone .
Newer, stealthier US drones, satellites and spaceplanes are in development in various overt andd Black programs.
Regards
Pete
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