DDP Newsletter November 2018 Vol. XXXIV, No. 6
For decades, the American homeland has, by deliberate policy, been left virtually defenseless. The civil defense of the 1950s has been dismantled—only government elites are protected. We have only limited strategic anti-missile defenses. We have been relying on our status as the “world’s only superpower” to deter aggression by the threat of certain retaliatory annihilation. But what if American military supremacy is past, as Dr. Donald Miller argued at the 2018 meeting of DDP (https://tinyurl.com/y96dg8wd)?
In all the frequent reminders of the “911” disaster, two observations that are seldom discussed are: (1) The U.S. was apparently incapable of protecting Manhattan and the Pentagon from four hijacked airliners. Where was NORAD? Why no scrambled fighter jets? (2) Then our retaliatory strike against the alleged perpetrator (Afghanistan, which was purportedly harboring Osama bin Laden, who turned out to be in Pakistan) has us mired in a 17-year stalemate in the “graveyard of empires.”
During our 2017 tour of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, I asked the docent about the vaunted “strategic triad.” He agreed that it certainly isn’t a triad now. At least the bomber aircraft are missing. The Strategic Air Command used to have nuclear-armed bombers on constant alert, and, as I recall, at least one airborne at all times.
The Defense Intelligence Agency’s series, Soviet Military Power, ceased publication after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Without a publicly available equivalent of potential enemies’ capabilities, information must be pieced together from various sources.
The Nuclear Posture Review released Feb 2, 2018, stated: “DOD [Department of Defense] and National Nuclear Security Administration will develop for deployment a low-yield SLBM [submarine launched ballistic missile] warhead to ensure a prompt response option that is able to penetrate adversary defenses.” Note the future tense.
In Vladimir Putin’s State of the Nation speech in Moscow on Mar 1 (tinyurl.com/y8hostwd), he boasted of six new Russian systems: a Sarmat nuclear-powered ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile), the Kinzhal aircraft-launched hypersonic missile, the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, a nuclear-powered underwater drone, a nuclear-powered cruise missile, and a combat laser. Putin claims that the Kinzhal missile can “penetrate through all existing and projected air defense systems and deliver a nuclear or conventional warhead over a distance in excess of 2,000 kilometers—1,200 miles.”
Dr. Miller stated: “Putin’s speech…publicly ended U.S. military supremacy. The United States is no longer the world’s technologically superior superpower. Russia is.”
Concerning hypersonic weapons, Gen. John Hyten, Commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, told Congress: “We don’t have any defense that could deny the employment of such weapons against us….”
The Sukhoi Su-57 jet fighter, one-tenth the cost of an F-35, features stealth, supersonic flight, super maneuverability, and sensor fusion. In October, the Pentagon grounded the entire F-35 fleet for days for a fuel tube issue. And at least a dozen F-22 fighters took a beating from Hurricane Maria, unable to escape the storm because of lack of needed parts. Only about 7 in 10 Air Force planes are mission ready (WSJ 10/16/18).
What are the implications of these systems, if they indeed operate as claimed? As one analyst put it, “US aircraft carrier battle groups can only be used against small, defenseless nations” (https://tinyurl.com/y6w4en8w).
MILITARY NEWS ITEMS
China is launching a fleet of robotic submarines utilizing artificial intelligence, capable of reconnaissance, mine-laying, or attacks on enemy vessels—without human intervention (https://tinyurl.com/y7ucej9o).
China is massively invested in heavy industry and high technology. “China’s share of high-tech exports has risen from about five percent in 1999 to about 25 percent at present, while America’s has plummeted from about 20 percent to about seven percent,” writes David P. Goldman, a columnist for Asia Times. “That’s not a sustainable situation. What it means in practical terms is that America can’t build a military aircraft without Chinese chips” (Imprimis, March 2018, https://tinyurl.com/yayobqrk).
The new Chinese J-20 stealth fighter jet is “likely to be a serious threat to US aircraft, ships and bases,” according to the U.S Naval Institute (tinyurl.com/ycyamsow).
China is also rapidly building other advanced arms systems for use against the U.S. These include: anti-satellite missiles, orbiting killer satellites, swarms of attack drones, hypersonic missiles, maneuvering warheads, directed energy weapons, and electromagnetic rail guns. Its development of quantum computing and encryption will also hamper U.S. military intelligence collection (https://tinyurl.com/y7nvaeko).
Russia is making its presence felt in the Western Hemisphere by deploying two nuclear-capable Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack bombers to Venezuela to bolster the Maduro regime. They participated in training exercises with the Venezuelan air force. The Tu-160 is the largest combat aircraft in the world. It flies at supersonic speeds and can fire cruise missiles with either conventional or nuclear warheads (https://tinyurl.com/y7t86gyo).
According to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Russian forces agreed to remove the jets and return them to Russia after President Donald Trump spoke with senior Russian officials (https://tinyurl.com/ya8wnzqc).
MICROWAVE WEAPONS IN CUBA?
In the autumn of 2016, more than three dozen American diplomats and family members in Cuba and China experienced baffling symptoms, most after perception of a high-frequency noise and/or a pressure sensation. Long-term symptoms included nausea, dizziness, crushing headache, fatigue, dizziness, and hearing loss. The use of microwave weapons is suspected, and though the precise source and culprit have not been identified, the incidents resulted in a diplomatic rupture between Cuba and the U.S. William J. Broad (NY Times 9/1/18, https://tinyurl.com/yawbyop4) discusses relevant weapons research and the Frey effect. Discovered in 1960, this phenomenon involves acoustic effects, even in deaf people, induced by microwave radiation. The internal sound perception could disrupt behavior. The Soviets and the U.S. have investigated beaming comprehensible speech into the brain as a psychological warfare measure. Paralysis and long-term brain damage can occur. Hoffer et al. describe in detail the vestibular and cognitive dysfunction and advanced diagnostic testing in 25 affected individuals (Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology 2018, https://tinyurl.com/y8a584bj).
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