Commando HUBERT

The Hidden Casualties

 With the withdrawal of 33,000 American troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year, the U.S. has decided to increase the number of special operations troops (Special Forces, SEALs and SOCOM support forces) in Afghanistan. In effect, the U.S. will concentrate more on what SOCOM (Special Operations command) operators do. That is, go after terrorist leadership and specialists. The American troops being withdrawn were mainly concerned with protecting Afghan villagers from the Taliban (who operate like gangsters and bandits these days).

While this plan sounds useful, the reality is that there are not that many additional SOCOM troops available to be sent to Afghanistan. Currently, there are over 7,000 SOCOM troops in Afghanistan, and still 3,000 in Iraq. But by the end of the year, most of the SOCOM troops in Iraq will be withdrawn. Not all of them will go to Afghanistan, that's because SOCOM has a growing problem with burnout. Since the war on terror began, SOCOM has been the most heavily engaged branch of the armed forces. This is wearing out the elite troops that make SOCOM such an effective organization.

Since September 11, 2001 SOCOM has nearly doubled its size, to a current strength of 60,000 troops. This includes many support specialists, as well as the Special Forces, Rangers, SEALs and Marine Corps and Air Force operators. Currently, 10,000 of these commando type troops are in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sounds good, doesn't it? But it’s not enough, considering on all the work SOCOM operators have been asked to do.

Not surprisingly, 60 percent of SOCOMs current troops signed up after September 11, 2001. But an increasing number are leaving the military, despite reenlistment bonuses of up to $150,000. The problem here is overwork. While the number of SOCOM personnel has doubled, the number overseas at any time has quadrupled. That's why SOCOM wants to bring most of the Iraqi based troops back home, for a little rest.

Many SOCOM personnel are spending more than half their time overseas, usually in a combat zone. There, Special Forces troops take the lead in intelligence gathering and capturing or killing key terrorists. It's mentally and physically exhausting work. Unlike past wars, these troops can remain in touch with families back home, for better or worse. While it's been a long war, most SOCOM operators realize that it could easily go on for another decade. Thus SOCOM has learned to say "no" more often, otherwise the expansion will go into reverse as many more exhausted operators leave the service. Thus the reluctance to send a lot more people to Afghanistan.

Trying to recruit replacements is a solution that didn't work. The U.S. Army's effort to recruit another 2,300 operators (as members of the Special Forces are called) has been a hard slog. Qualified candidates are out there, but it's hard to convince them to endure the additional effort, stress and danger to become a Special Forces operator (or a SEAL, Ranger, Pararescue Jumper). Even with higher pay ($10,000 or more additional a year) and high reenlistment bonuses (adding about $10,000 more a year), it's hard to find the men who can meet the high standards, and are willing to put up with the large amount of time spent overseas.

Recruiting and training more operators is a time consuming process, as it takes about three years to get a Special Forces recruit up to a basic level of competence. It takes another few years in the field before such men are ready for anything serious. At least half of those recruited, are lost (quit, wash out) before they reach their full capability. Recruiting to expand the number of operators began right after September 11, 2001. Soon, SOCOM was told to increase its strength by 43 percent, and do it by 2013.

The main problem isn't operators concerned about getting killed, SOCOM casualties have been lower than in infantry or marine units. The big issue is overwork. Keep the operators out there for too long at a time and you'll lose them to resignations, retirement or, rarely, combat fatigue. It's not just the equipment that is being worn out.

Because the Special Forces troops are the product of an exacting screening and training process, they are in big demand by intelligence agencies as well. Special Forces operators who retired or quit in the last decade have been sought out and offered opportunities to get back in the business. If not with one of the five active duty groups, then with training operations, or to work with the intelligence agencies.

Most Americans tend to forget that the U.S. Special Forces are a unique organization in military, and intelligence, history. No other nation has anything like the Special Forces, and never has. While other nations have some operators skilled in understanding foreign cultures, the idea of training thousands of troops to very high standards, then having them study foreign languages and cultures, is unique to the Special Forces. The war on terror is the kind of war Special Forces are perfectly suited to dealing with. But now that this unique kind of war is under way, we find that those soldiers uniquely suited to fighting it are in short supply. This is largely because Special Forces set high standards, and has resisted all attempts to lower those standards. One hard lesson the Special Forces has learned in the past sixty years is that lowering standards just increases the chances of failure, and getting your people killed.

In the past three years, SOCOM has been shifting forces from Iraq (where it had 5,500 personnel three years ago) to Afghanistan (where it had 3,000 troops three years ago). The ratio has been reversed. Many American allies have moved all their commando forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, where they not only do what they were trained for, but also train Afghans for special operations tasks. This has already been done in Iraq, where it worked quite well. The SOCOM troops in Iraq and Afghanistan account for about 80 percent of American special operations forces overseas. The rest are in places like Colombia, the Philippines and Djibouti (adjacent to Somalia).

Πηγή

Where Have All The SAS Recruits Gone

 Britain is running into problems recruiting commandos for the SAS (Special Air Service) force. This has become an issue for several reasons. First, the SAS decided, seven years ago, to expand its strength by twenty percent. That attracted a lot of the new recruits the SAS would have taken later on. That's because the SAS recruits from people already in the army (usually infantry). Then another obstacle developed. Since 2003, Britain has been sending more combat troops overseas (first to Iraq, now Afghanistan and some new hot spots). Britain does not have a large army, and this meant that most potential SAS recruits were too busy being overseas, or getting ready to go overseas (or recovering from being overseas) to train for the arduous SAS entrance exam. There are few options here. The U.S. Army Special Forces ran into a similar problem a few years back, and tried to recruit directly from the civilian population. That brought in a few good people, but not enough. The best recruits, as always, are those already in the army.

Then there's another problem. The British infantry force is shrinking, for several reasons. Four years ago, the British Army revealed that it was short about 3,000 infantry. The situation has not improved much since then. There are only 51 infantry battalions in the British army, and only 37 are active duty units. That's about 26,000 infantrymen, if the battalions are at full strength. But for the past eight years, troops have been heavily involved in Iraq and Afghanistan. The latest crisis is the accumulation of injuries from repeated deployments that has left 20 percent of active duty infantry unfit for duty in a combat zone. The main reasons are medical, including combat fatigue, and battle wounds, as well as all the exotic diseases one can pick up in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the many accidents (especially vehicular). Since 2001, over 1,500 British troops have been killed or wounded in Afghanistan (there were far fewer casualties in Iraq).

While the British military has been all-volunteer for over half a century, the current shortages were partly driven by the job offers from private security firms, especially for the best people. British troops in elite infantry units (paratroopers, marines, SAS), are particularly attractive to the private firms, and vice versa. Noting the American success with reenlistment bonuses, the British began offering bonuses of about $10,000, for troops who decide to sign up for more time in uniform, or return after having been a civilian for a while. Some of the troops who have gone off to work for the private security companies, have found the work not to their liking, and came back to the army. This bonus system encouraged more such returns.

In addition, Britain has been reducing its infantry force. Battalions are going to be disbanded. It's also been noted that about eight percent of the infantry are tied down in ceremonial functions, a distraction that has largely gone unnoticed. Many infantry get out because of the constant trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. While some young Brits are attracted to the prospect of combat, for others, a taste is enough. Another problem is that not all who join the infantry, have what it takes. The British have high standards, and not everyone can make it through the training.

Finally, a unique problem with infantry battalion shortages is that each regiment (of one or more battalions) does its own recruiting. The regiments are local, except for the five Guards battalions (two of which are always performing ceremonial duties). Some regiments have an easier time attracting recruits than others. But these days, most infantry battalions are going off to Afghanistan shorthanded.

The SAS itself is the model for all modern commando units. The SAS evolved during World War II , from the original commando units (which were more similar to current Royal Marine Commandos and U.S. Army Rangers). SAS developed the concept of elite infantry operating in small groups (as few as 3-4 men) for special operations. Britain has only some 460 men in the SAS, and four 80 man "Sabre Squadrons" form the deployable combat units of the organization. SAS commandos are often sent around the world in groups of less than a dozen men for missions.

The SAS has to recruit and train 20 or more new commandos a year just to maintain its current strength. Several thousand British troops apply to join the SAS each year, but the SAS is very selective in who it takes. Some SAS members felt that expanding to 480 troops would dilute the quality. This is not necessarily so, but the debate over the issue continues within the SAS. Another ongoing dispute has to do with how the SAS is sometimes used. There have been several actions in the last decade where an entire Sabre Squadron was used in one action. As one SAS officer observed, an infantry company would have been more suitable for these operations. But other SAS officers believe that only SAS men could have gotten to scene of the action and launched these attacks in time. Regular infantry may have been able to do the fighting effectively, but the SAS are the best trained force for getting to difficult locations, scouting them out adequately and then quickly coming up with an effective attack plan.

The SAS does not like to speak openly about tactics or internal matters in general. But the current debate over recruiting and tactics have been so vehement that some of it has gotten out to the press. Another problem that does not get as much attention is the frequent inability of senior commanders and planners to recognize situations where the SAS would be the best solution. This is one reason why SAS likes working with the American SOCOM (Special Operations Command) and special international commando task forces for hunting terrorists. The Americans have done more work on developing missions for commandos within larger military operations. The Americans have also ordered SOCOM to take the lead in the war on terror and the hunt for terrorists.

In peacetime, most SAS missions are at the request of the Foreign Ministry, and are usually to solve some problem overseas that does not require a lot of muscle, but must be done quietly. In these situations, the SAS will spend a lot of their time operating as spies, even though all they are doing is reconnaissance for some mission. In peacetime, the SAS rarely operates in groups of more than a dozen men. But the war in Afghanistan found British military planners realizing that the troops that could be moved to that isolated country most quickly were the SAS. For a while in Afghanistan, the only British combat troops available there were SAS. So anything that British commanders wanted to do had to be done by SAS. In effect, the SAS were victims of their own success in being able to get anywhere, anytime, in a hurry.

Πηγή

Ζ’ ΜΑΚ: Οι φύλακες του Αιγαίου

Μετά την κρίση των Ιμίων, παρατηρήθηκε ένα «κενό» φύλαξης των ελληνικών βραχονησίδων, κενό που εκμεταλλεύτηκαν οι Τούρκοι για δικό τους όφελος. Η αντίδραση των ιθυνόντων του Ελληνικού Στρατού έλαβε «σάρκα και οστά» με την ίδρυση της Ζ’ Μονάδας Αμφιβίων Καταδρομών, μιας ομάδας πλήρους εκπαιδευμένης και οπλισμένης, η οποία είναι σε συνεχή ετοιμότητα ώστε να επέμβει σε κάθε σημείο του Αιγαίου Πελάγους.

Η Ζ’ ΜΑΚ αποτελείται από περίπου 300 άτομα προσωπικό, ηλικίας μικρότερης των 32-33 ετών, και διαθέτει στο οπλοστάσιο της ό,τι πιο σύγχρονο διαθέτει ο Ελληνικός Στρατός. 

Μάλιστα σε ότι αφορά τον οπλισμό της, πρέπει να τονίσουμε ότι αυτός προσαρμόζεται σε ποσότητα και σε είδος, ανάλογα με το είδος της υπό διεκπεραίωση αποστολής. Η ανάγκη για συνεχή ετοιμότητα της μονάδας, την κάνει να βρίσκεται σε συνεχή εκπαίδευση καθώς ο μεγαλύτερος εχθρός της είναι η απραξία. Στο πλαίσιο της εκπαίδευσης βοηθούν και φίλιες χώρες όπως η Ισπανία και η Ιταλία.

Η μονάδα αποτελείται από τρεις λόχους: δύο λόχους κρούσης όπου το προσωπικό τοποθετείται κυκλικά και έναν λόχο διοίκησης. . Οι δύο λόχοι κρούσης είναι πάντοτε πλήρως επανδρωμένοι, πανέτοιμοι επιχειρησιακά και με δυνατότητα ανταπόκρισης εντός ολίγων ωρών. 

Η δημιουργία ενός τέτοιου σώματος προσφέρει ένα επιπλέον πλεονέκτημα στην «Φαρέτρα» του Ελληνικού Στρατού για την προάσπιση των εθνικών συμφερόντων στο ευαίσθητο κομμάτι του Αιγαίου.

Η συνεχής προσπάθεια της Άγκυρας για «γκριζοποίηση» ζωνών και βραχονησίδων στο Αιγαίο δεν θα ήταν δυνατό να παραμείνει αναπάντητη. Με την Ζ’ ΜΑΚ υπάρχει η δυνατότητα αποτροπής τέτοιων προσπαθειών και η ανακατάληψη ελληνικών περιοχών, σε περίπτωση κατάληψης τους από εχθρικές δυνάμεις.

Το πλήρως εκπαιδευμένο προσωπικό της Ζ’ ΜΑΚ εγγυάται την Ελληνική κυριαρχία στους χώρους ευθύνης του και αποτελεί ένα πραγματικό «στολίδι» των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων.

Πηγή

In Your Face

July 14, 2011: Last year, the Indian Army decided to add a para commando battalion to its Special Forces. This caused an uproar among Special Forces officers, who believed that the new unit would not be trained or equipped to existing Special Forces standards. So the initial plan, to recruit troops from the northeastern part of India the new battalion was to operate in, was changed to instead take troops from the seven existing para commando battalions. But there were still concerns about the troops of the new battalion getting adequate equipment.

The Para-Commandos are one component of Indian special operations forces. Increasingly used against terrorists and rebel factions, there are growing complaints that the troops involved are not getting adequate training or equipment. This is an increasingly common issue for all the Special Forces troops, not just the para commandos. India has several different special operations groups and, each of these groups has a specific mission, and all too often, serious problems with the government bureaucracy.

Para Commandos form the parachute infantry of the Army, but most have been given additional training and equipment to enable them to carry out commando type operations. Seven of the ten parachute battalions are trained for commando operations, while the other three are just parachute infantry.

The Special Protection group are assigned the task of protection for India's Prime Minister and VIPs from terrorist attacks.

The MARCOS unit acts as India's Navy SEAL organization and performs special ops on the high seas.

The primary counter-terror unit in the country, however, are the 15,000 National Security Guards and the ones who have borne most of the responsibility for dealing with various rebel and terrorist groups.

The army has also created a force of over 7,200 commandos so that each of the 359 infantry battalions in the army has a twenty man Ghatak (commando) platoon. This gives each battalion some shock troops. Each Gharak platoon is commanded by a captain and contains two NCOs and 17 troops with special weapons and tactics training. The Ghatak recruits from the best of the regular infantry, and puts them through months of commando type training.

India has been increasing spending on equipment for its ground forces over the last decade, but these efforts have been uneven. Some of this has been caused by corruption. Like many other nations, India has long had problems with kickbacks and favoritism in defense procurement. But it's been worse with India, which ranks 87 (out of 180) in an international survey of least corrupt nations. India has responded with a major effort to halt corruption in defense matters, but this has stalled some procurement efforts. The end result of this is that India is under increasing pressure, from below, to honor promises to upgrade the weapons and equipment of the infantry forces. These troops have fallen far behind other armies, and the troops, and especially their officers, are not being quiet about it. But government plans to upgrade infantry weapons and equipment have not amounted to much. The troops are not happy with this.

While India spends a lot of money on its fighter aircraft, naval vessels, and heavy ground equipment like tanks and APCs, very little is spent on taking care of the infantry. This isn't unique to India, it just happens that the infantry historically don't get first grab at funds within the military and are usually at the bottom of the list when it comes to spending in general.

The special operations forces have received new weapons and equipment, but not to the degree that their Western counterparts have. The regular infantry suffer lower morale when they realize that the special operations are getting better gear, especially compared to the often elderly weapons and equipment the infantry possess.

These differences are very visible to the infantry. That's because, eight years ago, the government attempted a stopgap upgrade effort. They spent $65 million to train and equip a commando ("Ghatak") platoon for each of its infantry battalions. The new platoons were intended to make the infantry more effective in dealing with irregulars in Kashmir and the northeast tribal areas. The Ghatak troops were trained to perform commando type operations (raids, long range patrols), especially at night. Thus one of the things the Ghatak troops received was night vision equipment. They also had more radios and additional weapons (sniper rifles, more compact assault rifles, day/night scopes). The Ghatak training enabled the troops to specialize in the more dangerous aspects of dealing with irregulars, thus making duty against irregulars less unpopular with the troops. But this just made Indian infantry angrier at the fact that they had ancient and worn out gear. They could see this every day when they encountered one of the Ghatak troops in their battalion.

Πηγή

Teledyne Awarded $383 Million Shallow Water Combat Submersible Contract

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.  Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE: TDY) announced today that its subsidiary, Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc., in Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a contract from the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to design, develop, test, manufacture and sustain the Shallow Water Combat Submersible (SWCS), a replacement system for the current SEAL Delivery Vehicle. The contract, including all options, is valued at $383 million.

Teledyne Brown successfully developed a full-scale interior mockup of the SWCS vehicle, provided hullform models and a demonstration of the system's functionality under a Phase One Critical Item Development (CID) Contract awarded in October 2010. The SWCS System is a manned combat submersible vehicle specifically designed to insert and extract Special Operation Forces (SOF) in high threat areas. USSOCOM oversees these elite military tactical teams from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

"We are very pleased to support our Special Operations Forces in this critical program," said Robert Mehrabian, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Teledyne Technologies. "Winning this program validates our continuing strategy of integrating advanced technologies into complex systems for our customers in the marine defense, ocean science and offshore energy markets."

Teledyne Brown was one of two companies awarded a CID contract by USSOCOM. At the conclusion of the CID Phase, USSOCOM evaluated items delivered in the first phase as well as final proposals from both companies, then down selected and awarded Teledyne Brown the option for the Engineering Development Model (EDM) Phase.

The EDM Phase which begins this month and continues through October 2013 is valued at $34 million.

Teledyne Technologies is a leading provider of sophisticated instrumentation, digital imaging products and software, aerospace and defense electronics, and engineered systems. Teledyne Technologies' operations are primarily located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico. For more information, visit Teledyne Technologies' website at www.teledyne.com.

Πηγή

Foreign Legion : six weeks in the green hell

During six weeks, seventeen Legionnaires are in French Guyana to do a commando training course, one of the hardest organized within the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment based at Kourou.

COMBATANT COMMS

There is a lot we may never know about the heroic and historic operation that took down America’s most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. But what we do know is that the helmet cams and other comm gear employed by SEAL Team 6 were critical elements of the mission’s success. The White House and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) will neither confirm nor deny that live video from the team’s helmet cams were being fed to the president and others in the White House Situation Room during the raid. However, we have seen the famous picture of a concerned Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and we do know that she, and the others gathered in the room, were able to monitor the situation in real-time and were given regular updates as the operation proceeded.

In a statement released to the press following the successful raid, Lieutenant Commander Fred Kuebler, a public affairs officer with SOCOM, said, “With today’s technology, it’s not uncommon for cameras to be carried into combat operations.” We do know for sure that some of the members of the raid were wearing such cameras. Whether they were used to stream live video remains unconfirmed, but we do know they did record and document the entire mission.

This Isn’t Your Father’s Helmet

Today’s helmet worn by special forces is a lot more than simple head protection; it is an extension of the operative’s eyes and ears, equipped with a myriad of sophisticated communications gear. The helmet worn by SEALS and other special operators is known as the Modular Integrated Communications Helmet (MICH), and it is much more than the typical “K-pot.” The MICH incorporates lightweight yet superior ballistic protection with the ability to interface with the sophisticated tactical communications headsets, microphones and other gear utilized by special operations forces. Special forces need to communicate for the execution of their missions, often in remote or austere environments, but they also have to be sure not to be encumbered by the gear. According to retired Army Colonel Mike Bradley, with Lockheed Martin Advanced Development & Ventures Business Development, communications gear used by SOF “must be lightweight, able to withstand extreme changes in temperatures and be very rugged in order to survive in the types of environments in which special forces operate. Any wearable gear system must be easy to put on and take off, not have a lot of wiring that will get tangled up while the operator is moving or crawling around, and be easy to operate in a hands-free mode. The components must be tightly sealed so that no water can penetrate into the electronics or battery compartment.”

According to its original specs, the MICH provides 9 mm handgun and fragmentation protection across all operational environments. The helmet also allows for maximum sensory awareness for the user by providing an unobstructed field of view and ambient hearing capabilities. Most importantly for today’s high-tech special operator, it has been designed to allow mounting of night vision devices, cameras and a communications sub-system, as well as gear such as oxygen masks to protect personnel from chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

The communication sub-system provides sound suppression protection, as well as a dual channel communications capability. Communications apparatuses include: omnidirectional hearing, dual channel ear-specific communications, low-profile microphones, microphone adapters for mask microphones, multiple radio and intercom adapters, and push-to-talk access. Communications headsets may be worn alone or with the ballistic helmet retention system and pad suspension system.

According to Natick Soldier Systems operations, where the MICH was designed and developed, “The MICH communications suite is fully compatible with all 30 radio systems used by the special operations forces and Marine Corps. This is accomplished by using modified commercial off-the-shelf impedance matching technology with a version for land and maritime operations.”

Headsets can be worn alone or inside the helmet. Depending on the operation, the warfighter can use high- or low-noise headsets. High-noise headsets go completely over the ears and have unidirectional microphones built into the front of each earphone to pick up and amplify ambient sounds up to 150 meters away. These headsets double as aural protection. If sound from concussion or gunfire exceeds 85 decibels, the point where ear damage can occur, the microphones shut off automatically, and the headphones become hearing protection. High-noise headphones are meant for use in close-quarters battle or forward positions such as lookout points. The headphones also completely hold in any radio chatter or static, allowing special operators to move in stealth and silence.

Low-noise headsets would be used during patrol or recon operations; they do leave the ears somewhat less protected, but allow the warfighter to monitor ambient environmental sounds from all directions.

The MICH has seen several improvements and is now known as the ACH, or Advanced Combat Helmet. The standard issue for all troops deploying to the Iraq/Afghanistan theater, the ACH TC-2000 is manufactured by MSA. Based in Pennsylvania, MSA was the contractor for producing the original MICH, on which the MSA TC-2000 is based, and continues to produce most of the ACH helmets worn by warfighters today.

The Comm Gear

So just what are today’s increasingly networked warfighters plugging those microphones and headsets into, and wearing under and with ACH? A key piece of personal communications gear that was critical in improving situational awareness in Afghanistan was the Thales AN/PRC-148 radio used by special forces. Known as the Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR) it is a lightweight squad radio that many believe was a game changer in the overthrow of the Taliban. According to Thales, teams in the field said the MBITR significantly extended their operating range and proved extremely reliable in the hot and dusty conditions of the Afghan desert. Some said this was simply the best SOF communications system they had seen in years. According to Thales, the MBITR compresses over 60 pounds of equipment into approximately 2 pounds, without losing any functionality.

Ground-based SOF in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom also rely on the Multiband Multimission radio, (MBMMR) AN/PRC-117F, manufactured by Harris Corp. Also known as the Falcon, it is a secure two-way tactical radio covering the 30-512 MHz frequency range. The MBMMR is NSA certified for transmission of voice and data traffic up to the Top Secret level. This ultrahigh frequency satellite communications radio proved very useful for transmitting locations of high-value al-Qaida and Taliban targets to various operations command centers, which were then able to call in drones or manned aircraft to engage those targets.

In 2010, L-3 Communications, headquartered in New York, was awarded a five-year $170 million contract by SOCOM for portable satellite communications gear to provide high-speed transmission of voice and data communications. The system known as the Panther very small aperture terminal (VSAT) represents two years of R&D to reduce the size of a VSAT terminal to the point that it can fit into a rucksack. According to L-3, the Panther is “the smallest, most rugged VSAT terminal of its type, and provides 1-4 Mbps data rates for transmit, depending on satellite beam, and multi-Mbps for receive. The custom flat panel antenna design provides the operational simplicity of commercial satellite services while providing significantly higher throughput and lower operational cost.” Amplifiers provide more power to boost an otherwise weak signal.

AR Modular RF’s KMW1031 is a fourth generation product and the latest version in a line of tactical booster amplifiers that date back to the founding specifications for the MBITR PRC148 radio and a 20W tactical booster amplifier to give this then-new radio concept a significant increase in range covered.

Subsequent versions of the booster amplifier have focused on complete automation to allow the operator to focus on the mission rather than fiddle with a bunch of radio knobs. Additional design changes have been made to the unit to make it compatible with new modern waveforms and run more efficiently so that it lasts a long time on a single battery pack.

This 20W booster has been for the past seven years or so one of the cornerstone amplifier designs in the market, and like all good ideas has often been imitated by others. The innovative circuit designs used in the latest generation KME1031 have spawned higher power amplifiers like the AR-50, which offers 50W output power with only a few watts input from a radio like the PRC148 or the PRC152, with the ability to run on 12/24V vehicles, and has a separate satcom antenna port and control of a low-noise amplifier with co-site filtering.

AR Modular RF is continually developing new products to meet the advancing market needs. AR’s next generation 20W tactical amplifier, the AR20, will release later this year and have all of the feature set of the highly popular AR50 but in a form factor smaller than the original KMW1031.

Other Wearables

Helmet cams and communications interfaces are not the only ruggedized personal electronics utilized by SEALs and other SOF. Nor is the helmet the only place they are worn. The idea of a truly networked soldier—a warfighter literally wired into the situational command of the battlefield network with a wearable hands-free system—actually began 20 years ago with the then-mostly science fiction concept, Land Warrior.

Some $500 million dollars later, the Land Warrior program was cancelled in 2007, but not its vision. Bits and pieces of Land Warrior tech continued to be used successfully over the years and the quest for an integrated wearable computer/radio continued. Land Warrior itself morphed into the Ground Soldier Ensemble, which is now known as Nett Warrior. When it was cancelled, the prototype Land Warrior vest was a wearable computer/GPS/radio combination, inlaid into an improved body armor design.

Nett Warrior was tested in 2010 in Afghanistan. Like Land Warrior, the heart of the system is a wearable, networked computer that weighs about five pounds, with an eyepiece for the display and a handheld, wrist-mounted keyboard. The eyepiece display can show anything a computer can, but is usually a heads-up display map showing the constantly updated position of the wearer in relation to other friendly troops and the most recently reported location of the enemy. Battery life is about 24 hours.

The test for the most part was a success, but the still relatively bulky system faces many of the same challenges that its predecessor did. Nett Warrior may also be in danger of being scrapped, and its biggest competition may be coming not from something wired into the lining of a soldier’s body armor, but carried in his pocket. The dream of the networked soldier, which began decades ago, may actually become reality via an app on a cell phone.

The replacement for the five to 10 pounds of gear that makes up Nett Warrior is not exactly available as an iPhone app—yet. However, top brass is seriously looking at smartphones and their use on the battlefield. A program called Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications, within the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), is dedicated to how iPhones, Droids and other smartphone technology can be most useful to the Army.

Long-time military contractor Lockheed Martin has responded to this interest with the Monax system, a solution that delivers the versatility of a smartphone with the security and ruggedization needed in the SOF environment. The 4G wireless system uses a proprietary portable Monax Lynx sleeve that connects touch-screen commercial off-the-shelf smartphones to a Monax base station infrastructure, offering uninterrupted service to warfighters in the field. Monax uses a secure RF link protected through strong exportable encryption, enabling transfer of pertinent and sensitive information with speed and ease. “Not all special forces missions require highly specialized communications equipment,” LM’s Bradley said. “Special forces can take advantage of commercial or slightly modified commercial equipment such as cellular technology to assist in some of their missions such as foreign military training and assistance. They can use smartphone technology in these types of missions as well as in other support requirements without the need for expensive communications gear.”

The challenge in leveraging existing smartphone technology for the needs of SOF primarily had to do with range. Bradley explained how Monax gets around that. “Using a modified standard waveform, we developed a system that provides increased range and connectivity than [is] currently found in typical commercial cellular systems. This reduces the amount of equipment and support requirements needed to establish a cellular system on the battlefield.” This means that Monax does what Nett Warrior does not: It provides a way for the warfighter to use low-cost commercial smartphone and tablet devices to provide voice, data and streaming video capabilities down to each individual at the tactical level.

Motorola, whose Droid platform is giving the iPhone a run for its money in the consumer electronics world, is also responding to DoD’s increased interest in smartphone technology.

According to a recent U.S. Army press release, “the Army is planning to deploy a new handheld known as the Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P. The two-pound JBC-P is essentially a military-friendly smartphone designed to run on a variety of existing radio networks, while supporting the full suite of forthcoming apps.” Under the soon-to-be-operational new Army framework known as the Mobile/Handheld Computing Environment, third-party developers will be able to create and submit tactical Android apps using the military’s Computing Environment Product Developer’s Kit that is expected to be available in late summer.

Northrop Grumman, another well-known name across the board in military contracts, also sees the value of the networked soldier, and of leveraging existing technologies. “Northrop Grumman is investing in affordable, mature technology to allow soldiers to have full situational awareness and voice and data communication capabilities down to the squad and individual rifleman,” said Bill Clingempeel, director of Northrop Grumman Information Systems, Battle Management Business. “Given the operational environment in Operation Enduring Freedom, this capability provides tremendous advantages. It enables situational awareness by allowing other friendly units to track their positions in near real-time. It also allows them to receive actionable intelligence such as biometric data and full motion video from unmanned air and ground sensors.”

Moving Ahead

The routing of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the successful mission that closed the book on Osama Bin Laden are prime examples of the effectiveness of the networked soldier. Special forces have been leading this charge toward more network-centric warfare in the 21st century. The success of these and similar operations could be largely attributed to increased shared situational awareness and extremely robust real-time communications capabilities that allowed SOFs to maximize their efforts. As Northrop Grumman’s Clingempeel put it, “Extending the network to the tactical edge will allow U.S. dismounted formations conducting stability operations to dominate the enemy as decisively on the ground as our forces currently do in the air and on the sea.”

This is all part of SOCOM’s decision several years ago to redouble emphasis toward improved battlefield situational awareness. Working with vendors, Natick Soldier Systems and other developmental arms of DoD, a push was made to acquire new systems and leverage new technologies. Fielding these advances has proved their worth time and again, and they are making the vision of the networked soldier a reality.

As always, special operators have the uncanny ability to adapt to changing situations on the battlefield that has forever been their hallmark. However, they are now able to do that even more effectively with significantly improved battlefield awareness and an unprecedented ability to link operationally with conventional forces from all the services, thanks to personal electronics.

Πηγή

SNIPER DETECTION

“Shot. Two o’clock. Three-hundred meters.”

These or similar words are familiar to generations of warfighters. In the past, it may have taken a few seconds, or even a few gunshots, before a shooter’s position could be ascertained.

These days, this information is communicated to warfighters almost instantaneously, sometimes by voice through an earpiece attached to a dismounted soldier or through a graphic display on a vehicle-mounted system. These kinds of capabilities are being provided by a number of sniper detection systems that have been designed and developed for use by ground forces.

The current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have made personnel particularly vulnerable to sniper fire. U.S. forces face small bands of hit-and-run insurgents with endless places to hide in rural mountainous terrain or densely populated urban environments. Vehicle and environmental noise often prevent personnel from hearing the report of sniper fire or from localizing its source. They might not be aware they are under attack until they hear the ding of a round bouncing off a vehicle—or worse.

The prevalent sniper detection system used by the U.S. military, called Boomerang, was developed by Raytheon BBN Technologies in 2004 in response to an urgent request from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA. Boomerang is acoustic-based, meaning that it is equipped to listen through an array of microphones for the bang and crack of sniper gunfire.

The U.S. military is currently evaluating other acoustic systems, all of which process signals collected from sensors, alert users to the presence of incoming fire, and provide an indication of the direction and distance of that fire. Warfighters also are testing infrared-based systems that detect the heat signature of a weapon’s muzzle flash, systems that claim to offer a more accurate indication of the location of a shooter. These assets range from vehicle-mounted systems to soldier-worn gadgets and are increasingly being used for fixed-site perimeter protection at observation posts and forward operating bases.

Boomerang is a passive acoustic system that activates on the shock wave of a supersonic round and, if available, the muzzle blast to pinpoint the location of a hostile shooter. “Because the system focuses on the shock wave, there are no false alarms caused by extraneous noises such as door slams or backfires, and line of sight is not required,” said Mark Sherman, Raytheon BBN’s Boomerang chief.

The system has been deployed in both mobile and static environments. It has been successfully deployed on HMMWVs, mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles, Stryker vehicles, light armored vehicles, as well as various other types of military and commercial vehicles.

The system’s sensors consist of an array of microphones mounted on a mast at one corner of a vehicle. The system has proved to work effectively on vehicles moving at speeds up to 60 mph. BBN has sold over 10,000 Boomerang systems to the U.S. military, according to Sherman.

“There has been a shift in the use of Boomerang to protect fixed-site locations,” Sherman added. “The ability to locate a shooter in an urban environment or mountainous terrain is important for self-preservation.”

Earlier this year BBN was awarded a $54 million contract to provide security against gunshots at sites in Afghanistan. The technology associated with the fixed-site system provides the location of the shooter with greater accuracy than the vehicle-mounted system, Sherman explained.

“The system installed in vehicles provides a relative ‘o’clock’ positioning of the shooter,” he said. “The fixed-site system provides precise grid coordinates. Multiple systems can be networked together and information provided to a central command location.” The fixed-site system provides an alert to users by pinpointing the location of hostile sharpshooters on a map display.

PDCue, another acoustic-based gunshot detection system developed and marketed by AAI Corp., identifies the two signatures associated with a round moving at supersonic speed: the initial muzzle blast, or bang, and the crack as the round pierces the sound barrier. Most sniper weapons fire supersonic rounds such as the 7.62 mm or .50 caliber.

“We delivered 50 PDCue systems to the U.S. Army that were deployed to Iraq,” said Michael Paturzo, managing director, business development, for AAI Test & Training. “We understand they were since moved to Afghanistan and that the Army is still evaluating the systems. We haven’t heard much more than that and we have not heard any negative feedback.”

PDCue differs from Boomerang in that it utilizes a distributed array of sensors at four separate points of a vehicle as opposed to the collocated Boomerang sensors mounted on a single corner mast. PDCue’s groups of six sensors are arrayed in four small cubes that are mounted at or below the roof line at multiple locations on a vehicle. The system uses the length and width of the vehicle as the aperture to generate target information. The system determines where the shot is coming from by measuring the different timing of the sensors in detecting the shot.

The sensors feed data to a processing unit inside the vehicle. The targeting output of PDCue is displayed graphically in the form of a bulls-eye on the vehicle-mounted tablet computer equipped with the proper software. PDCue systems have been mounted on Strykers, HMMWVs, and MRAPs, as well as on helicopters and small boats.

PDCue was recently updated so that it can be run on a vehicle-mounted Windows-based computer. “We did this to meet the Army’s preference for open architecture systems,” said Paturzo. “If you already have a PC in a vehicle running Windows for another application, you can use the same PC and don’t need a unique screen to display PDCue data. This also increases processing speed.”

Sniper detection systems also come in soldier-wearable variations. QinetiQ set out to develop a miniaturized version of a sniper detection system that was designed from the beginning to be soldier wearable. The system, called SWATS, for Soldier Wearable Acoustic Targeting System, is part of the company’s Ears family of products, which now also includes vehiclemounted systems, Ears-VMS, as well as systems for fixed locations, Ears-FSS.

SWATS is an acoustic system that uses four microphones contained in a small package measuring 20 cubic inches, including the graphic display of the shooter location. The microphones detect the bang and crack of incoming rounds.

Ears is the smallest, lightest, lowest power and lowest profile gunshot localization system available, according to Mike Halas, business development manager for the technology solutions group at QinetiQ North America, with the shoulder-worn system, SWATS, weighing less than one pound.

“SWATS has become the Army’s system of choice for soldier-wearable gunshot detection,” he said. “The military has ordered several thousand of these systems. Before long, 20,000 will be deployed in theater.”

SWATS has been integrated with the Land Warrior Program, an integrated fighting system for infantry soldiers that includes weapons systems, helmet, computer, digital and voice communications, positional and navigation systems, protective clothing, and individual equipment.

The vehicle mounted and fixed location variations of Ears were developed in collaboration with QinetiQ customers, who realized that the soldier-worn technology could be adapted to other situations. The advantage of mounting a small Ears system on a vehicle, Halas noted, is that it saves space and power, both of which are at a premium.

The Ears family of systems is built in a modular fashion so that the same sensor mounted on a soldier’s shoulder on a dismounted patrol can then be placed in the vehicle and later in a fixed location when the patrol returns to a forward operating base. “The same kit provides gunshot detection for all of these operational phases,” said Halas. “I’m pretty sure no other system moves from the body to the vehicle to the FOB as seamlessly as ours.”

Boomerang Warrior is a soldier-worn version from Raytheon BBN that provides the same shooter location technology provided by the conventional Boomerang system to individual dismounted soldiers. Boomerang Warrior is integrated into tactical vests and situational awareness systems. The user wears a small ear bud and a small display is attached to the vest. The system provides the “o’clock” position of the shooter and can work with the earpiece, the visual display, or both.

“Within one second of detection, the soldier hears an immediate alert through an ear piece and can get additional details such as azimuth, elevation and range from the wrist display,” said Sherman. “It utilizes the same technology as Boomerang to locate and announce shooter locations but is dramatically scaled down in size and weight.”

The 11-ounce Boomerang Warrior fits on a soldier’s shoulder. “It presents a very small footprint,” said Sherman. “When you do that you give up a little on performance, but it meets or exceeds all government requirements for soldier-borne systems.” Boomerang Warrior is currently undergoing U.S. military evaluations.

A system that boasts a robotic element, as well as a few more bells and whistles than its cohorts, comes from BioMimetic Systems (BMS). Dubbed RedOwl, the system was originally incorporated into an iRobot android but has since also been adapted as a soldier-wearable system. The system has been acquired by the U.S. Navy for specialized missions, but has yet to be deployed.

The robotic version listens autonomously for sniper fire. When incoming fire is detected, the robot turns toward the source and aims zoom optics and thermal optics laser illuminators on the target. “The shooter is put in light that can be seen only through night vision equipment,” said Socrates Deligeorges, chief technology officer at BMS. “That way we can light up the shooter without him actually knowing it.”

The system relies on research originally conducted at Boston University that allows the signal processors to mimic the functionality of human hearing. “The difference between our system and other acoustic systems is that our specialized processing is based on the human neural system,” said Deligeorges. “It processes the signals the same way as the brain. This nontraditional method of processing allows our system to do things other systems can’t do, particularly in noisy environments.”

Within the last year, research on the soldier-worn RedOwl system has advanced so that sensors are networked and warfighters become nodes in a network. Shooter data can be processed centrally to gain more accurate information. The system has also been integrated with command and control and situational awareness systems such as Blue Force Tracker. RedOwl will be undergoing live fire demonstrations later this year.

Another system currently being evaluated by the U.S. military in Afghanistan uses infrared technology, and not acoustic sensors, to detect, characterize and locate enemy snipers. Pete Weiland, chief engineer at Radiance Technologies, which makes the WeaponWatch system, noted that acoustic systems typically provide a direction and a distance for a shooter; the infrared sensor, which detects the heat signature of the muzzle blast, he said, is able to pinpoint the exact location of a sniper.

“An acoustic system will tell you which side of the street the shooter is located on,” said Weiland. “Infrared sensors will tell you which window he is perched at.”

One advantage of IR technology is that the sensor does not have to see a flash from a weapon nor hear the discharge of the round. It just has to pass through the sensor’s field of view. “The technology consists of a sensor camera and processor,” said Weiland. “The sensor picks up the signature of the gunfire and distinguishes that from possible false alarms. We are also able to classify the type of round such as small arms fire, RPG, or mortar.”

WeaponWatch has been tested on ground vehicles with good results, according to Weiland. U.S. special operations forces in Afghanistan have acquired dozens of WeaponWatch units for outpost perimeter protection.

“They have mounted the system on towers,” said Weiland. “WeaponWatch is good for base protection because the sensor can stare out over a wide area to pick up the flash of a weapon.” Weiland also suggested that WeaponWatch could be integrated with Boomerang, with the latter providing a warning and the former pinpointing the location of the shooter. 

Πηγή

South Korea sends more troops to train UAE in counter-terrorist skills

Daniel Bardsley (Foreign Correspondent)

A second batch of South Korean troops is to begin a deployment today in which they will train their UAE counterparts in counter-terrorist skills, such as anti-hijacking actions, and counter-insurgency operations.

The 140 personnel replace a unit in Al Ain that arrived six months ago at the start of a two-year commitment by Seoul to offer training and to conduct joint exercises.

Seo Jeong Min, a professor of Middle East politics at Hankuk University in Seoul, said yesterday that opposition legislators in South Korea initially opposed to sending the troops have come to recognise the value of strengthening the countries' strategic partnership.

"Korean companies have focused on economic co-operation [with the UAE] for a long time, but nowadays we're trying to expand the areas of co-operation into various fields, like military or defence systems, energy and related developments," he said.

"This kind of co-operation, the defence sector, is the weakest link we've had in our history so, through dispatching troops, we are trying to show our strong intention to expand our relationship."

The chief of staff of the South Korean army, Kam Sang Ki, said last week he hoped the troops would "help increase the national status of the Republic of Korea", using the official name for the country,

A send-off ceremony for the troops, among them 17 naval commandos, was held in South Korea on Thursday.

According to news reports, the UAE is said to have requested naval specialists after an incident in January in which the South Korean military freed a South Korean-operated freighter, the Samho Jewelery, and its 21 crew, after the vessel was hijacked by Somali pirates. Eight pirates were killed and five captured in the operation.

The importance to the Emirates of having naval commando skills was underlined in April when UAE special forces, working with the US Fifth Fleet, stormed a hijacked bulk carrier, the MV Arrilah-1, in the Arabian Sea.

The hijackers on board the vessel, owned by a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and sailing from Australia to Jebel Ali, were captured and handed to the UAE authorities.

The original request for South Korea to provide the UAE with special-forces training was announced after the $20 billion (Dh73.5bn) agreement in December 2009 for a South Korean-led consortium to build four nuclear power stations in Abu Dhabi emirate.

When the first troops were dispatched, the South Korean president, Lee Myung Bak, said the programme would "significantly help solidify our energy security and expand trade in the Middle East".

The Al Ain-based South Korean unit is called "Akh", the Arabic word for brother.

While the South Korean military has been active in Lebanon, Iraq, East Timor, Nepal and Haiti, the UAE deployment is the first to a country not facing or in the middle of a war, or other disturbance, or at risk of conflict.

Mr Seo said the South Korean forces were trained to a "very high" level, as the country faces threats from North Korea, and this expertise could be passed on to the UAE military personnel.

"We have accumulated skills in training soldiers and special forces, so this may help in training the special forces or the normal soldiers in the Arab world," he said.

The UAE has held discussions about purchasing South Korea's T-50 trainer jet, and Mr Seo suggested the special-forces training programme could encourage agreements on defence hardware sales.

Πηγή

Russia announces two army brigades will be sent, including special forces soldiers, to the Arctic

Russia has announced it will send two army brigades, including special forces soldiers, to the Arctic to protect its interests in the disputed, oil-rich zone. Russia, the U.S., Canada, Denmark and Norway have all made claims over parts of the Arctic circle which is believed to hold up to a quarter of the Earth’s undiscovered oil and gas. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia ‘remains open for dialogue’ with its polar neighbors, but will ‘strongly and persistently’ defend its interests in the region.

Russia’s defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov said the military will deploy two army brigades which he said could be based in the town of Murmansk close to the border with Norway. He said his ministry is working out specifics, such as troops numbers, weapons and bases, but a brigade includes a few thousand soldiers.

In 2007 The Russians used a mini submarine to plant their flag and stake a claim on much of the Arctic Ocean floor

In May Commander of the Russian Ground Forces Aleksander Postnikov took a three-day long trip to military camps on the Kola Peninsula, next to the borders of Finland and Norway. A spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry said that the first soldiers to be sent would be special forces troops specially equipped and prepared for military warfare in Arctic conditions.

The Russians say the establishment of an Arctic brigade is an attempt to ‘balance the situation’ and point to the fact that the U.S. and Canada are already establishing similar brigades. Drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Circle has been made feasible as much of the Sheet ice has melted due to climate change.

Earlier this month Russia and Norway finally agreed terms on a deal to divide an area of the Barents Sea. The two countries had been locked in a dispute over the 68,000 square mile area since 1970.

However the agreement does not address one of the Russians’ key claims, that a huge undersea mountain range that covers the North Pole, forms part of Russia’s continental shelf and must therefore be considered Russian territory. The race to secure subsurface rights to the Arctic seabed heated up in 2007 when Russia sent two small submarines to plant a tiny national flag under the North Pole.

'Open for dialogue': Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is to send thousands of troops to protect their interests in the Arctic

Russia argued that the underwater ridge connected their country directly to the North Pole and as such formed part of their territory, a claim which was disputed by other Arctic nations. The Russian company Rosneft has struck a short-term deal with BP to begin drilling in areas of the far north, even if the future of the marriage business is still not clear.

Another change brought about by the melting ice in the Arctic Ocean is that it has opened up new sea routes. The amount of ice in the region continues to decrease each year and many experts predict it will disappear completely by the year 2030.

This week a leading British global security expert predicted that the competition between nations for natural resources will bring about a third world war. Professor Michael Klare of Hampshire College, believes the next three decades will see powerful corporations at serious risk of going bust, nations fighting for their futures and significant bloodshed.

He said the winners in the race for energy security will get to decide how we live, work and play in future years – with the losers ‘cast aside and dismembered’.

He explained: ‘The struggle for energy resources is guaranteed to grow ever more intense for a simple reason: there is no way the existing energy system can satisfy the world’s future requirements.’

Πηγή

Η Μάχη της Δωδεκανήσου

Το στρατηγικό τόξο που αρχίζει από το ακρωτήριο Μαλέα της Πελοποννήσου και περνάει από τα Κύθηρα, Αντικύθηρα, Κρήτη, Κάσο, Κάρπαθο, Ρόδο και τελειώνει στο ακρωτήριο Αλεπώ της Μικράς Ασίας, υπήρξε μια από τις πιο στρατηγικές περιοχές του Β’ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου. Σ’ αυτή την περιοχή διεξήχθηκε η περίφημη «Μάχη της Κρήτης» και η αρκετά σημαντική «Μάχη της Δωδεκανήσου». Ο κύριος του τόξου μπορούσε να ελέγχει τις προσβάσεις από την Μεσόγειο προς τα Δαρδανέλια, τον Εύξεινο Πόντο και τις παραπόντιες χώρες. Συνάμα επηρέαζε ολόκληρη τη λεκάνη της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου και ιδιαίτερα τον δίαυλο μεταξύ της Κρήτης και της Βόρειας Αφρικής. 

Εξελίξεις στο Αιγαίο

Στην αρχή του πολέμου το δυτικό και κεντρικό μέρος του τόξου βρισκόταν υπό ελληνική κυριαρχία με κύριες βάσεις τα αεροδρόμια Μαλέμε και Ηρακλείου και την ναυτική βάση της Σούδας. Με την έναρξη του Ελληνοϊταλικού πολέμου στις 28 Οκτωβρίου 1940 η Ελλάδα επέτρεψε στην Αγγλία να χρησιμοποιεί τις βάσεις της Κρήτης. Το ανατολικό μέρος του τόξου βρισκόταν υπό Ιταλική κυριαρχία που κατείχε τα Δωδεκάνησα από το 1912 και τα είχε οχυρώσει με τα στρατιωτικά αεροδρόμια Μαριτσά και Καλάθου στη Ρόδο, τον Αφιάρτη στην Κάρπαθο και της Αντιμάχειας στη Κω, καθώς και με τη ναυτική βάση της Λέρου. 

Όταν την 1η Ιουνίου 1941 οι Γερμανοί κατέλαβαν την Κρήτη, ολόκληρο το στρατηγικό τόξο περιήλθε στην κυριαρχία του άξονα. Καθ’ όλο το διάστημα του πολέμου, τα Δαρδανέλια ήταν απρόσιτα στους συμμάχους, ενώ ταυτόχρονα οι Γερμανοί προξένησαν σοβαρές απώλειες στα αγγλικά πλοία που εφοδίαζαν τη Μάλτα. Ο δε Εφοδιασμός της στρατιάς του Ρόμμελ στη Βόρειο Αφρική έγινε πιο εφικτός.

Με την κατάρρευση του γερμανικού μετώπου στη Βόρειο Αφρική τον Μάιο του 1943 οι σύμμαχοι έστρεψαν την προσοχή τους στην Ευρώπη. Τα αγγλικά σχέδια προέβλεπαν την κατάληψη της Δωδεκανήσου και με τη συνεργασία της Τουρκίας και μέσω των Βαλκανίων να προχωρήσουν `προς την Γερμανία. Όμως οι Αμερικάνοι δεν ευνοούσαν το σχέδιο των Άγγλων και έτσι τελικά απεφασίσθη η απόβαση στην Σικελία την οποία κατέλαβαν οι σύμμαχοι και ανάγκασαν την Ιταλία να υπογράψει ανακωχή στις 3 Σεπτεμβρίου 1943.

Ιταλική ανακωχή

Σύμφωνα με την συνθήκη ανακωχής που ανακοινώθηκε στις 8 Σεπτεμβρίου, οι Ιταλοί θα παραχωρούσαν τα Δωδεκάνησα στους συμμάχους. Το βρετανικό στρατηγείο που προέβλεπε τις εξελίξεις διέθεσε την 234η βρετανική ταξιαρχία, 280 αεροπλάνα με βάση την Κύπρο και για την περιοχή του Αιγαίου 8 αντιτορπιλικά, 10 υποβρύχια, 16 αποβατικά και άλλα βοηθητικά πλοία.

Οι Γερμανοί από τη δική τους πλευρά ενίσχυσαν τη φρουρά της Κρήτης υπό τον στρατηγό Muller και κατάρτισαν στην Ρόδο την 440 Μεραρχία Εφόδου, δύναμη 6.000 ανδρών υπό τον στρατηγό Kleeman. Οι δυνάμεις αυτές υποστηρίζονταν από 300 αεροπλάνα διασκορπισμένα στην Ελλάδα και στην Κρήτη και από 6 ιταλικά αντιτορπιλικά και βοηθητικά πλοία που κατέλαβαν από τους Ιταλούς. 

Στα Δωδεκάνησα οι Ιταλοί διέθεταν την Μεραρχία Regina στη Ρόδο υπό το στρατηγό Scaroina και από ένα Σύνταγμα στην Κάρπαθο και Κω υπό τους συνταγματάρχες Impriami και Leggio. Η ναυτική βάση της Λέρου βρισκόταν υπό τον ναύαρχο Mascherra με 6.000 άνδρες, μικρότερες δυνάμεις διέθεταν οι Ιταλοί στα άλλα νησιά της Δωδεκανήσου. Στην ευρύτερη περιοχή του Αιγαίου οι Ιταλοί διέθεταν την μεραρχία Siena στην ανατολική Κρήτη, την Μεραρχία Cuneo στην Σάμο και μικρότερες δυνάμεις στις Κυκλάδες. Συνολικά οι ιταλικές δυνάμεις στο Αιγαίο υπό τον ναύαρχο Campioni με έδρα τη Ρόδο έφθαναν τις 100.000. 

Στη «Μάχη της Δωδεκανήσου» πήρε μέρος και ο Ιερός Λόχος υπό τον συνταγματάρχη Τσιγάντε, το υποβρύχιο "Κατσώνης" και τα αντιτορπιλικά "Β. Όλγα", "Ανδρίας", "Πίνδος", "Μιαούλης", "Κανάρης" και "Θεμιστοκλής". Χαρακτηριστικά ο Τσόρτσιλ αναφέρει: «Το Ελληνικό ναυτικό έπαιξε ένα ηρωικό και σημαντικό ρόλο σ’ όλο το διάστημα των επιχειρήσεων». Αλλά ας μη παραλειφθεί η συμβολή των ντόπιων Δωδεκανησίων που είχαν επανδρώσει το συμμαχικό κατασκοπευτικό δίκτυο. 

Η Τουρκία παίζοντας το παιχνίδι του παζαρέματος συναίνεσε να χρησιμοποιούν οι σύμμαχοι τα χωρικά της ύδατα, αλλά όχι τα αεροδρόμια της.

Ιταλική αποσύνθεση 

Το βράδυ της 8ης Σεπτεμβρίου, όταν ο στρατηγός Badoglio μετέδιδε από ραδιοφώνου την ανακωχή, ταυτόχρονα ο συμμαχικός ραδιοσταθμός του Καΐρου προέτρεπε τις ιταλικές δυνάμεις του Αιγαίου να επιτεθούν εναντίον των Γερμανών. Όμως την ίδια νύχτα ο διοικητής της Siena δραπέτευσε με αγγλικό υποβρύχιο και ολόκληρη η μεραρχία παραδόθηκε στους Γερμανούς αμαχητί. 

Στη Ρόδο ο ναύαρχος Campioni δήλωνε υπακοή στην κυβέρνηση Badoglio αλλά ταυτόχρονα ήλθε σ’ επαφή με τον στρατηγό Kleeman πιστεύοντας έτσι ότι θα αποφεύγονταν οι συγκρούσεις μέχρι νεοτέρων οδηγιών του. Ο Kleeman όμως εκμεταλλευόμενος την αδράνεια των Ιταλών κινητοποίησε αμέσως τεθωρακισμένες μονάδες με σκοπό την κατάληψη των αεροδρομίων Μαριτσών και Καλάθου. Παρά την έλλειψη διαταγών από τον Campioni ορισμένοι Ιταλοί αξιωματικοί αντέδρασαν δυναμικά.

Το βράδυ της 9ης Σεπτεμβρίου ο ταγματάρχης Jellicoe έπεσε με αλεξίπτωτο στη Ρόδο και προσπάθησε να πείσει τον Campioni να κρατήσει τη Ρόδο για τους συμμάχους, αλλά αυτός του ζήτησε βοήθεια. Μικρές αγγλικές δυνάμεις αποβιβάστηκαν στη νότιο Ρόδο αλλά αποχώρησαν χωρίς να πάρουν μέρος στη μάχη. 

Οι Γερμανοί χρησιμοποιώντας άρματα μάχης και με την υποστήριξη στούκας από την Κρήτη κατέβαλαν σταδιακά όλες τις ιταλικές αντιδράσεις, αφού πρώτα πήραν αιχμάλωτο τον Scaroina, ο οποίος με επίνευση του Campioni αναγκάστηκε να υπογράψει στις 11 Σεπτεμβρίου την παράδοση όλων των ιταλικών δυνάμεων του Αιγαίου στους Γερμανούς. 

Στο μεταξύ στις 6 Σεπτεμβρίου κατέφθασαν από την Κρήτη στην Κάρπαθο δυο πολεμικά και 4 μεταγωγικά με ένα γερμανικό τάγμα. Στις διαπραγματεύσεις μεταξύ του συνταγματάρχη Imbriani και του Γερμανού λοχαγού Bethge ο τελευταίος απείλησε ότι θα καλούσε στούκας από την Κρήτη για να βομβαρδίσουν τους Ιταλούς αν ο Imbriani δεν επέτρεπε την απόβαση των Γερμανών. Τις επόμενες μέρες οι Γερμανοί εκμεταλλευόμενοι την αδράνεια των Ιταλών σταθεροποίησαν τις θέσεις τους, αν και οι Ιταλοί κατείχαν όλες τις οχυρώσεις του νησιού, μέχρι που στις 13 Σεπτεμβρίου ήρθε από τη Ρόδο διαταγή του Campioni που παρέδιδε τους Ιταλούς της Καρπάθου στους Γερμανούς.

Η μάχη της Κω

Η απώλεια της Ρόδου και της Καρπάθου έθεσε σε μειονεκτική θέση τους Άγγλους, ωστόσο κινητοποίησαν τις δυνάμεις των για την κατάληψη των Καστελόριζου, Σύμης, Κω, Λέρου και Σάμου. Τις πρωινές ώρες της 10ης Σεπτεμβρίου έπεσε με αλεξίπτωτο στην Κω ο Άγγλος λοχαγός Johnson, ο οποίος ήλθε αμέσως σ’ επαφή με τον συνταγματάρχη Leggio και ζήτησε να αποτρέψει κατάληψη της Κω από τους Γερμανούς. Αρχικά ο Leggio ήτο αναποφάσιστος γιατί υπήρχε διαφωνία μεταξύ των επιτελών αξιωματικών του, αλλά αργότερα ζήτησε από τον Johnson να καλέσει αμέσως τους συμμάχους να τους παραδώσει το νησί. Οι Άγγλοι ανταποκρίθηκαν αμέσως και στις 12 Σεπτεμβρίου απέστειλαν στη Κω ένα τάγμα, δυο σμήνη αεροπλάνων και ενίσχυσαν την αντιαεροπορική άμυνα του νησιού.

Στις 18 Σεπτεμβρίου οι Γερμανοί άρχισαν αεροπορικές επιδρομές κατά του αεροδρομίου της Αντιμάχειας και των άλλων οχυρών θέσεων του νησιού. Μέχρι τις 29 Σεπτεμβρίου οι Γερμανοί κατέστρεψαν 13 αγγλικά και 2 ιταλικά αεροπλάνα και ανάγκασαν τα υπόλοιπα συμμαχικά αεροπλάνα να αποχωρίσουν για τη Μέση Ανατολή. Έτσι οι Γερμανοί εξασφάλισαν απόλυτη κυριαρχία στον αέρα. Στο μεταξύ στις 26 Σεπτεμβρίου γερμανικά αεροπλάνα βύθισαν στο Λακί της Λέρου τα αντιτορπιλικά Β. Όλγα και Intrepid και την 1η Οκτωβρίου στο Παρθένι το ιταλικό αντιτορπιλικό Euro. 

Την 1ην Οκτωβρίου γερμανικές δυνάμεις από τον Πειραιά, την Σούδα και το Ηράκλειο υπό τον στρατηγό Muller επιβιβάστηκαν σε 28 μεταγωγικά με προορισμό την Κω. Συνολικά οι δυνάμεις αυτές αποτελούνταν από ένα τάγμα εφόδου, ένα λόχο ναυτοκυνηγών, ένα λόχο αλεξιπτωτιστών και μια ομάδα κομάντος. Τα ξημερώματα της 3ης Οκτωβρίου οι Γερμανοί αποβιβάστηκαν στους όρμους Μαρμάρι, Καμάρι και Θέρμες και οι αλεξιπτωτιστές έπεσαν νοτίως του αεροδρομίου της Αντιμάχειας, ενώ τα στούκας βομβάρδιζαν το αεροδρόμιο και τις οχυρές θέσεις του νησιού. 

Οι Ιταλοί που φρουρούσαν το Μαρμάρι έμειναν άπρακτοι και οι Γερμανοί χωρίς αντίσταση κατέλαβαν τις πυροβολαρχίες του Προφήτη Ηλία και τον παραλιακό δρόμο προς την πόλη της Κω, την οποίαν κατέλαβαν την ίδια νύχτα. Στην Αντιμάχεια το 62ο ιταλικό τάγμα πυροβολικού προσχώρησε στους Γερμανούς ο δε αντισυνταγματάρχης Mastrogianni παραδόθηκε αμαχητί. Οι άλλες ιταλικές δυνάμεις αγωνίστηκαν εναντίον των Γερμανών και ιδιαίτερα ο λόχος του Κεφάλου υπό τον υπολοχαγό Di Giovanni. 

Οι Γερμανοί που αποβιβάστηκαν στο Καμάρι συνδέθηκαν με τους αλεξιπτωτιστές και κατά τη διάρκεια της νύχτας, παρά την σθεναρή αντίσταση των Άγγλων, κατέλαβαν το αεροδρόμιο. Την επομένη οι Γερμανοί αιχμαλώτισαν τον διοικητή των συμμαχικών δυνάμεων αντισυνταγματάρχη Kenyon μαζί με άλλους 1387 Άγγλους και 3145 Ιταλούς, ενώ εκτέλεσαν τον συνταγματάρχη Leggio και 101 Ιταλούς αξιωματικούς. 

Στις 7 Οκτωβρίου ένας γερμανικός λόχος προερχόμενος από την Κω κατέλαβε την Κάλυμνο. Οι 350 Ιταλοί παραδόθηκαν αμαχητί, ενώ 250 Άγγλοι που είχαν αποβιβαστεί νωρίτερα στο νησί αποχώρησαν εγκαίρως. Για ένα μήνα η Κάλυμνος έγινε κέντρο συγκεντρώσεως και προετοιμασίας για την επίθεση εναντίον της Λέρου.

Στο μεταξύ, στις 5 Οκτωβρίου, 25 γερμανικά στούκας προερχόμενα από τη Ρόδο επετέθησαν συμμαχικής μοίρας αποτελούμενη από ένα αεροπλανοφόρο, 5 καταδρομικά και 2 αντιτορπιλικά στο μεταξύ Καρπάθου και Ρόδου στενό. Παρά τις απώλειες τους, τα στούκας διέσπασαν τον κλοιό των αγγλικών καταδιωκτικών και βύθισαν το αντιτορπιλικό Panther, ενώ έθεσαν εκτός μάχης το καταδρομικό Carlisle. Σ’ αυτή την αεροναυμαχία έδρασε με ηρωισμό και το αντιτορπιλικό Μιαούλης. 

Η μάχη της Λέρου

Μετά την κατάληψη της Κω ο στρατηγός Muller διετάχθη να καταλάβει την Λέρο αρχίζοντας την επίθεση στις 9 Οκτωβρίου και χρησιμοποιώντας τα αξιόμαχα στρατεύματα της Κω, που έπρεπε να αντικατασταθούν από ένα τάγμα που θα ερχόταν από την Κρήτη. Όμως στις 7 Οκτωβρίου τα συμμαχικά πλοία συνάντησαν την γερμανική νηοπομπή με τα μεταφορικά και τα μεταγωγικά που μετέφεραν το τάγμα. Επίσης, στις 16 Οκτωβρίου το υποβρύχιο Torday βύθισε ένα από τα δυο μεταφορικά πλοία που μετέφερε ένα δεύτερο γερμανικό τάγμα. Το δε υποβρύχιο Unsparing βύθισε το φορτηγό Ingenborg που μετέφερε ένα τρίτο γερμανικό τάγμα. Παρά τις απώλειες τους οι Γερμανοί δεν εγκατέλειψαν το σχέδιο τους να καταλάβουν την Λέρο. Οι επιζήσαντες Γερμανοί εξοπλίστηκαν και αποτέλεσαν την φρουρά της Κω και της Καλύμνου και μέσω του αεροδρομίου της Αντιμάχειας μετέφεραν ενισχύσεις και εφόδια. 

Πέντε γερμανικά μεταγωγικά πλοία περνώντας από τον Δούναβη, τη Μαύρη Θάλασσα και τα Δαρδανέλια έφθασαν στον Πειραιά, ενώ 13 άλλα αποβατικά στάλθηκαν σε τμήματα από την Γερμανία και συναρμολογήθηκαν στον Πειραιά. Όλος ο αποβατικός στόλος των Γερμανών συγκεντρώθηκε στο Λαύριο και απ’ εκεί προωθήθηκε στην Κάλυμνο με αρκετές απώλειες.

Στις 2 Νοεμβρίου έφθασε στην Κάλυμνο ο στρατηγός Muller, ενώ στις 5 Νοεμβρίου πήγε στη Λέρο ο ταξίαρχος Tinley που ανέλαβε την άμυνα του νησιού. Ο Tinley τοποθέτησε από ένα τάγμα στο βόρειο, κεντρικό και νότιο μέρος του νησιού, ενώ 6.000 Ιταλοί είχαν επανδρώσει όλες τις πυροβολαρχίες του νησιού και είχαν οχυρώσει ένα τάγμα πεζικού 1200 ανδρών στην κεντρική Λέρο. 

Περασμένα μεσάνυχτα στις 12 Νοεμβρίου ξεκίνησαν τα γερμανικά αποβατικά χωρισμένα σε δυο ομάδες. Η πρώτη κατευθυνόταν προς την ανατολική ακτή της Λέρου με στόχους τους όρμους Παντέλι, Γρύφο και Βάγιας με αρχηγούς τον υπολοχαγό Schadlich, τον ταγματάρχη Saldern και τον λοχαγό Doerr. Οι Γερμανοί του Schadlich κατόρθωσαν να αποβιβαστούν στο Παντέλι, και ν’ ανέβουν στο βουνό Αππετίκι και να επιτεθούν εναντίον των Ιταλών της πυροβολαρχίας Lago. Οι Γερμανοί του Saldern κατέβαλαν τους Ιταλούς στο Γρύφο ανέβηκαν στο βουνό Κλειδί και επιτέθηκαν εναντίον των Ιταλών της πυροβολαρχίας Ciano. Οι Γερμανοί του Doerr δεν μπόρεσαν να αποβιβαστούν στη Βάγια λόγω των ιταλικών πυρών και επέστρεψαν στο Παντέλι για να ενισχύσουν τους Γερμανούς του Schadlich που μάχονταν στο Αππετίκι.

Η δεύτερη γερμανική μοίρα υπό τον λοχαγό Aschoff με προορισμό τον κόλπο της Γούρνας έγινε αντιληπτή από τις ιταλικές πυροβολαρχίες και αναγκάστηκε να επιστρέψει στην Κάλυμνο όμως επέστρεψε την άλλη μέρα και αποβιβάστηκε στο Παντέλι για να ενισχύσει τον Schadlich. 

Στις 1:00 το απόγευμα ξεκίνησαν 40 γερμανικά JU52 από αεροδρόμια της περιοχής Αθηνών, με ένα τάγμα αλεξιπτωτιστών που έπεσαν στο ύψωμα Ράχη, που βρίσκεται μεταξύ των κόλπων Γούρνας και Αλίντας και χωρίζει το νησί στα δυο μέρη. Ο Tinley διέταξε αντεπίθεση κατά των Γερμανών αλλά αυτοί με τη βοήθεια των στούκας κατόρθωσαν να σταθεροποιηθούν, έτσι σε 24 ώρες κατέλαβαν τις στρατηγικές θέσεις Αππετίκι, Κλειδί και Ράχη διαχωρίζοντας το νησί στα δυο.

Την δεύτερη μέρα οι Γερμανοί απέκρουσαν όλες τις συμμαχικές επιθέσεις και ενισχυμένοι με ένα λόχο αλεξιπτωτιστών σταθεροποίησαν πιο πολύ τις θέσεις τους. Ενώ την Τρίτη μέρα επιτέθηκαν εναντίον του υψώματος Μεροβίγλι που δεσπόζει της πόλης της Λέρου και απέκρουσαν επίθεση των Άγγλων εναντίον του υψώματος Ράχη από ένα τάγμα που μετέφεραν οι Άγγλοι από τη Σάμο. Την δε Τετάρτη μέρα επιτέθηκαν και πάλι οι Άγγλοι εναντίον των Γερμανών στη Ράχη αλλά χωρίς επιτυχία. Ενώ οι Γερμανοί προερχόμενοι από το Αππετίκι επιτέθηκαν και παρά την αντίσταση των Άγγλων κατέλαβαν το Κάστρο της Λέρου.

Την Πέμπτη μέρα οι Γερμανοί ενισχυμένοι με ένα τάγμα που ήλθε αεροπορικώς στη Κω και απ’ εκεί στη Λέρο επιτέθηκαν εναντίον της πόλης την οποίαν κατέλαβαν και αιχμαλώτισαν τον ταξίαρχο Tinley. Εκτός ορισμένων που διέφυγαν, οι Γερμανοί αιχμαμώτισαν3.200 Άγγλους και 5.350 Ιταλούς. Οι απώλειες των Άγγλων ανήλθαν σε 357 νεκρούς των δε Γερμανών 246 νεκρούς και 162 αγνοουμένους. Ο Ιερός Λόχος και οι άλλες συμμαχικές δυνάμεις που ευρίσκοντο στη Σάμο εγκατέλειψαν το νησί και μέσω Τουρκίας επέστρεψαν στη Μέση Ανατολή.

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