China

Perfecting an Exoskeleton for SOF Needs To Happen Now

Today’s military is much more technology-based than in previous eras but while the high-tech gadgets make the soldier’s job easier and much more lethal on today’s battlefield, it also weighs them down more than ever before.

The price of having the technology at their fingertips is that, while all of that gear works and is vital, but it also has to be carried and all of it adds up. Eventually, normally many years later after toting the gear a pack animal used to carry, those long humps under a heavy rucksack will take their toll.

It is common for Special Operations troops to have a very high preponderance of knee, back and shoulder woes after a career in the military. In our day, we used to joke about carrying over 100-lbs of ‘Lightweight’ gear. And it is only going to get worse down the road considering how much more they have to carry now.

Operators today carry more weight into combat than any army in history. Think about that for a moment and the long-term ramifications for the health of the force. Take a look back in history and it plays out.

The Roman Legions did have pack animals, but only one for every eight Legionnaires. So, the average light infantryman carried about 60-100lbs of gear plus his arms. They were expected to complete 20 Roman miles (29.62 km or 18.405 modern miles) with 20.5 kg in five summer hours, which was known as “the regular step” during the march.

During the Revolutionary War, both the Redcoats and Rebels carried about 60 pounds of gear with them on the march. That remained the same during the Civil War. Although the soldiers wore the thick woolen uniforms which made their marching in the summer an exercise in itself.

But during the 20th century that would change. During World War II, the normal infantryman for the United States carried about 82 pounds of gear into battle. If that man was a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifleman) gunner, it would jump to 99 pounds.

During the Falklands War between the Brits and the Argentinians in the early 1980s, British infantrymen were frequently toting rucksacks in excess of over 120-lbs over long distances. During the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, a Marine officer, Aaron Ferencik wrote about his troops at one time carrying nearly 200-pounds. Think he’s exaggerating? Think again.

Which is why the military needs to perfect and begin to field the new exoskeletons that are currently being tested by the U.S. Army’s Natick Labs. We’re not talking about a ‘pie-in-the-sky’ TALOS Iron Man suit which isn’t even close to being ready for testing. That is probably at least a generation away.

No, the one being tested, right now is the very workable version by Lockheed-Martin is called the ‘Onyx’ and it is a computer-controlled exoskeleton that counteracts overstress on the lower back and legs and increases mobility and load-carrying capability. It boosts leg capacity for physically demanding tasks that require repetitive or continuous kneeling or squatting, or lifting, dragging, carrying, or climbing with heavy loads.

We wrote about this system about 18 months ago after seeing it at SOFIC (Special Operations Command’s Industry Conference) and speaking with the techs involved with the project in Tampa. The Onyx is designed to enable SOF operators the ability to carry heavy loads for long distances without using up their own energy, especially when climbing steep inclines, such as troops are doing on a daily basis in Afghanistan. Operators can climb 60-degree gradients without a loss of energy from a human standpoint, the idea is they want to maximize the metabolic efficiency of the operator.

Onyx uses the FORTIS Knee Stress Release Device (K-SRD). The K-SRD system is a computer-controlled exoskeleton that counteracts overstress on the lower back and legs and increases mobility and load-carrying capability. It boosts leg capacity for physically demanding tasks that require repetitive or continuous kneeling or squatting, or lifting, dragging, carrying, or climbing with heavy loads.

Sensors on the exoskeleton report the soldier’s speed, direction, and angle of movement to an onboard computer that drives electro-mechanical actuators at the knees. The exoskeleton delivers the right torque at the right time to assist knee flex and extension. FORTIS K-SRD ultimately reduces the energy needed to cross terrain, squat or kneel. These benefits are most noticeable when ascending or descending stairs or navigating inclined surfaces.

The Army is testing it with grunts from the 10th Mountain Division. When we met with the good folks at L-M last year, they told us about some operators from an Army Tier 1 unit that had already put it thru its paces, carry heavy weight, navigating small narrow streets, climbing up and down hills, even crawling thru a tunnel. One operator after just a few minutes of training leaped with all of his gear on to a table.

Both the Russians and the Chinese are experimenting with testing out their own exoskeletons. The Chinese version looks much like the Lockheed-Martin one does….imagine that?

The ‘Onyx’ isn’t bulky or too cumbersome and allows the operator the freedom of movement where he can be as agile and nimble as without it. It will, however, allow the operator to do his job without all of the weight he’s carrying be subjected to his own joints.

Not only will this save the operators’ bodies now and to be fresher during ongoing missions, but they will suffer fewer long-term injuries. That may not be visible today, but 10-15 years down the road? Most definitely.

After rucking three times during the past week, I can feel the aches and pains creeping back in my own knees and back. And I don’t wish that on anyone today…well maybe our enemies…DOL

Photos; Lockheed-Martin

China’s Military Suffering From “Peace Disease” With No War Experience

A Chinese military newspaper was subtly rattling a saber when it said that the PLA is suffering from “peace disease” after nearly four decades without war.

The People’s Liberation Army Daily wrote, “Peace disease has been a common symptom in our military for decades.”

The Chinese PLA hasn’t had any combat experience since a brief foray into Vietnam in the late 1970s and it added, “If we do not make up our mind to eliminate those evils, we must pay a heavy cost in the event of a war.”

Although China boasts the world’s largest standing military, with more than 2.1 million active-duty servicepeople, the country’s last offensive took place in the late 1970s in Vietnam. As a result, military leaders and the Chinese president are afraid troops have grown complacent and less capable. Xi aims to transform his nation’s military into a world-class fighting force within the next 30 years.
“We can only stop a war when we are able to fight,” the PLA newspaper wrote. “Let the army get back on the right track, concentrating on combat-ready training.”
Retired PLA Colonel Yue Gang pointed to corruption, as well as avoiding responsibilities, as the major problems plaguing the Chinese armed forces.
“Apart from corruption, job omission is the next key symptom of ‘peace disease’ in the Chinese military that should be cured,” Yue said, pointing out that the government is working to address both issues.
The army publication also warned that China currently faces greater security threats and unprecedented global concerns. Currently, China continues to flex its muscles in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, raising tensions with multiple Asian neighbors. Beijing has also moved to open foreign military outposts, such as a military hub in the African country Djibouti.

In an effort to confront the U.S. at every turn, China has now befriended an old enemy Russia, to improve ties with the Russians and work together against U.S. interests. After a visiting Russian high ranking military officer to China, Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe vowed that the two nations will “jointly deal with threats and challenges.”

The Chinese potential adversary, the U.S. military has no such “peace disease” having been in constant combat since 2001 in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and several other global hotspots. Despite this, the Chinese continue to push the envelope in the South China Sea, Djibouti, where Chinese military fired lasers at U.S. planes taking off from nearby airfields and potentially blinding pilots and other places

To read the entire article from Newsweek, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

China Will Increase Its Defense Ties, Influence in Africa

China’s presence in Africa has been steadily growing and since establishing their first overseas military base in Djibouti, they are looking to expand their foreign military presence all across the continent.

The claim is to protect their national assets, where the Chinese government has dumped billions in economic assistance. But now, they’re looking to expand their influence in the military field as well, challenging the US at every turn.

In Djibouti, where Chinese companies have constructed strategic ports and Africa’s first electric transnational railway, Beijing last year formally launched its first overseas military base, which also operates as a logistics and intelligence facility. Many experts now anticipate more Chinese bases in the years to come, with Namibia rumored as a potential location.
Meanwhile in Tanzania, where the state-run conglomerate China Merchants Holdings International is hoping to invest in the Bagamoyo mega port, China built a complex designed to train local armed forces earlier this year. And, at the first-ever China-Africa Defense and Security Forum in Beijing on Tuesday, the communist state announced it will provide African countries with “comprehensive support” on matters such as piracy and counter-terrorism. That includes providing technologies, equipment, personnel and strategic advice, local media reported.
All that comes amid expectations for the U.S. to reduce troops in Africa under President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy, which is set to boost Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government as the dominant foreign power on the continent.
“In recent years, Chinese arms sales to Africa have surpassed the United States,” said Luke Patey, senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies: “In particular, Chinese small arms and light weapons have spread rapidly since China is less inhibited by selling arms to countries in the midst of conflict than Western providers.” That goes hand in hand with Beijing’s expanding military cooperation, he continued.
The world’s second-largest economy has long described Sino-Africa cooperation as a “win-win” arrangement — one that provides China with natural resources and African economies with badly-needed infrastructure. But while the flood of Chinese resources may be welcomed by the region’s cash-strapped governments, the fear is that increased capital could translate into political leverage.
In fact, many speculate that it was Beijing’s concerns over its investments that resulted in the 2017 coup that ousted Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe — a charge that Xi’s administration has denied.

The Chinese will no doubt look to expand their base in Djibouti as well as start exploring other avenues in the very near future. As the events in Zimbabwe showed, the influence of China and their willingness to project their force is a new, and unsettling threat to the West in the region.

To read the entire article from CNBC, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

US Suspects China of Hitting US Military Jets With Lasers Over Pacific

U.S. planes have been increasingly hit with lasers while operating in the Pacific. Since September of 2017, there have been 20 incidents and military officials suspect that the source of these lasers is the Chinese.

The latest incident occurred within the last two weeks, the official said.
None of the incidents have resulted in any medical complaints or injuries, the spokeswoman said. The attacks appear similar to incidents that occurred in the East African country of Djibouti earlier in the year when US military airmen were injured by lasers which the US military said originated from a nearby Chinese military base.
China’s Ministry of National Defense dismissed media reports concerning the incidents, according to a piece published in the Chinese state-run Global Times tabloid. A ministry source called the US accusations “groundless and fabricated,” according to the newspaper.
The latest round of suspected laser attacks have all occurred in and around the East China Sea, which is home to disputed island chains, including the Senkaku, claimed by both Japan and China, where they are known as the Diaoyu.
The area’s waters are near heavy-traffic shipping lanes, and are used regularly by both Japanese and Chinese military and civilian ships, as well as a semi-autonomous “maritime militia” which defends China’s territorial interests in the region.
The Wall Street Journal reported that military officials don’t necessarily believe the attacks were initiated by official Chinese military sources, but would not rule out that those responsible were acting on behalf of the Chinese government.
Aviation Week & Space Technology, an industry publication, quoted a spokeswoman for the US Marines who said that the attacks had originated “from a range of different sources, both ashore and from fishing vessels.”
The incidents in the region over the past several months echo similar tactics the Pentagon says were carried out by the Chinese military earlier this year, when personnel at the country’s first overseas military base in Djibouti used military-grade lasers to interfere with US military aircraft from a nearby American base.

The laser incidents in Djibouti resulted in injuries to U.S. pilots, where the United States launched a formal diplomatic protest with Beijing. Initially, the Chinese claimed to have used a laser to scare birds away from their own airfield, close by the U.S. but have denied any wrongdoing.

Chinese state media denied the laser story and accused the U.S. of “cooking up phony laser stories.”

To read the entire article from CNN News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

US Cancels August Military Drill With South Korea, Kim Visits China

The United States has canceled a major joint exercise with South Korea as a sign of good faith with the summit meeting with North Korea. Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, where he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“Consistent with President Trump’s commitment and in concert with our Republic of Korea ally, the United States military has suspended all planning for this August’s defensive ‘wargame’,” Pentagon spokesperson Dana White, said in a statement.

“The South Korean and U.S. military authorities have been having close consultations over the combined exercises that U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will stop,” South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

The suspension of the military exercises reportedly will include a clause to resume the exercises if North Korea stops bargaining in good faith.

This is Kim’s third trip to China this year, coming a week after he met Trump in Singapore for historic talks.
Trump agreed to work with Kim toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, committed to provide the North’s regime with security guarantees and pledged to end “war games”, which Pyongyang and Beijing have long seen as provocative.
South Korea and the Pentagon announced they would halt the annual Freedom Guardian military drill scheduled for August.
In an unusual move, Chinese state media announced Kim’s visit and said he would stay for two days. Previously China would only confirm Kim had visited after he had left the country.

While critics of Trump are saying that he conceded these exercises with no assurances, they should recall that at the request of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis postponed the start of the Foal Eagle air, sea and land exercises prior to the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in South Korea.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

France’s Military Pushing Back Against China in Pacific

France is increasing its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, sending warships through the South China Sea and planning air exercises to help counter China’s military build-up in disputed waters.
In late May, the French assault ship Dixmude and a frigate sailed through the disputed Spratly Islands and around a group of reefs that China has turned into islets, pushing back against Beijing’s claim to own most of the resource-rich South China Sea.
“Our patrol involved passing close to these islets to obtain intelligence with all the sensors it is possible to use in international waters,” the Dixmude’s commanding officer, Jean Porcher, said.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, a researcher from the Hudson Institute think tank who was on board, said “several Chinese frigates and corvettes” tailed the French vessels.
Porcher said the ship maintained “cordial” radio contact with Chinese military vessels, “which were present in the area until we left”.
But France, which along with Britain is the only European nation to regularly send its navy into the region, has also waded into the dispute, sending its ships into the South China Sea three to five times a year.
In August, the air force will stage its biggest-ever exercises in Southeast Asia as part of a strategy to mark France’s presence in a region that is home to 1.5 million French citizens in the country’s overseas territories.
Three Rafale fighter jets, one A400M troop transporter and a C135 refuelling tanker will fly from Australia to India, with several stops along the way.
The sea and air operations follow a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron last month to Australia, where he spoke of the need to protect the Indo-Pacific region from “hegemony” – a veiled reference to Beijing’s growing might.
He stressed that France, which will be the last country in the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc to have territories in the Pacific, did not want to antagonise China.
But a “strong Indo-Pacific axis” was needed to ensure respect for freedom of navigation and aviation in the region, he told Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

France is protecting its territories in the South China Sea and has been pushing back in the area since 2016 with their navies conducting a visible presence in the area.

To read the entire article from South China Morning Post, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Chinese Hackers Steal Sensitive Data on US Submarines

Sensitive data about U.S. submarine research has been hacked from an unnamed government contractor by Chinese hackers working for China’s Ministry of State Security or MSS.

Included in the loss were six hundred fourteen gigabytes of data which were stolen, including submarine communications data and information on a secretive project known as Sea Dragon.

The Washington Post, citing anonymous American officials, reports that the data was stored on the contractor’s unclassified network, though officials said the material could be considered classified and was highly sensitive. The compromised data could give China important edges in both technology and tactics at sea, including in its conflict with a half-dozen nations including Japan and Indonesia over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Little is known about the classified Sea Dragon initiative, but it is an underwater technology that the Defense Department has described as introducing a “disruptive offensive capability,” according to the Post, and which some defense experts regard as a key component in America’s precautions for conflict with China. Submarine weapons are key for China’s military ambitions, but Chinese cyber-incursions in recent years have nabbed designs and data for everything from advanced fighter jets to missile systems.
Former Navy officer and NSA analyst John Schindler, writing for the Observer, highlights the loss of cryptographic information used in submarine communications. Those techniques allow coordination of forces at sea, and their compromise can lend an enemy a huge tactical advantage in any conflict. As a precedent, Schindler cites the Allied compromise of the German Enigma cipher, and the resulting demolition of Nazi U-Boats that hastened the end of World War II—though it’s important to note that the Germans didn’t know the code had been cracked, and the U.S. may be able to react to the recent hack by changing codes and practices to keep messages out of Chinese hands.

The Chinese said that they were not aware of any such operation. Not much is known on Sea Dragon, however, the Pentagon has asked for or spent more than $300 million dollars for the project since late 2015 and said it planned to begin underwater testing by September.

Whether or not this latest hack sets that timetable back remains to be seen.

To read the entire article from Fortune, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Iran Seeks Help From China After US Sanctions

Politics makes for some strange bedfellows. This weekend, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani heads to China to participate in a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Will China, insistent on pushing the United States on every turn, improve ties with the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional security bloc led by China and Russia, is set to hold its 18th annual gathering in the Chinese city of Qingdao on Saturday (June 9) and Sunday. Iran is currently an observer member of the SCO, though it has long sought full membership.
The event will be chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The participants — including leaders from four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics and two new members, Pakistan and India — will discuss matters of international security and trade, with shoring up the Iranian nuclear deal likely to be on the top of the agenda. In May, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the deal, which aimed to contain Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting Western sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
China, along with the European Union and Russia, also signed onto the deal with Iran. The Chinese had been ardent supporters of the agreement, according to Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese Studies at King’s College, London.
Iran and China already have a strong relationship, as China is Iran’s biggest trading partner. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an ambitious project launched by President Xi aiming to link China with other parts of Asia and Europe through multibillion dollar investments in infrastructure, also plays a role in strengthening their economic partnership.
Iran is a key transport hub between Asia and Europe. According to Berger, “Iran provides maritime access to land-locked countries and if China manages to build a high-speed railway across Central Asia, the Central Transport Corridor is faster and poses less hurdles in terms of rail-track standards and customs than the Northern route via Moscow.”

The Chinese are too shrewd and too cautious to get overly cozy with the Iranians who are back to square one economically after the US reinstituted sanctions after President Trump backed out of the nuclear deal. The Chinese will undoubtedly make some concessions to Iran, but probably not much more. They don’t view Iran as the major player that the Islamic Republic sees itself.

To read the entire article from Deutsche Welle, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

US B-52 Bombers Fly by Chinese Contested Spratly Islands

Tensions in the South China Sea increased on Tuesday after the US sent two US B-52 bombers flew within the vicinity of the contested Spratly Islands, according to a statement from US Pacific Air Forces, which oversees air operations in the region.

The flyover came days after Secretary of Defense James Mattis called Beijing out over its militarization of the islands, accusing China of “intimidation and coercion” in the Indo-Pacific, making clear the US has no plans to leave the region and prompting a furious Chinese response.
Beijing claims the Spratly Islands, but those claims aren’t recognized by the US or by China’s neighbors — Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan — which also say the islands are theirs. China has used geographic features in the Spratlys to build man-made islands, some of which it has equipped with military facilities, including anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.
A US defense official who has knowledge of the mission’s original flight plan said it called for the nuclear capable B-52 bombers to fly about 20 miles from the islands.
A spokesman for the Pentagon said the mission involved the Guam-based bombers conducting “a routine training mission,” flying from Andersen Air Force Base in the US territory of Guam “to the Navy Support Facility” in the United Kingdom’s Indian Ocean territory of Diego Garcia.
On Tuesday, the bombers flew from Diego Garcia and conducted “training” in the vicinity of the South China Sea, returning back to Diego Garcia the same day, according to the statement from US Pacific Air Forces.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that the Chinese are using intimidation and coercion in the region by militarizing these man-made islands. The Chinese minced few words either as Foreign Minister Hua Chunying called the latest from Washington as “blatant lies.”

“China will not be intimidated by any planes or ships. We will only be firmer in our resolve to take all necessary measures to safeguard our sovereignty and security as well as maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.”

To read the entire article from CNN, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

US Tells China They Have Experience Taking Down Small Islands

The war of words between the United States and China has been amped up even more when on Thursday a Pentagon official stated while the US will seek common ground with China on North Korea and other issues, they will continue to protect their interests.

And the message was clear on what the United States claims are clear provocations by the Chinese in the South Pacific, especially in areas of the South China Sea.

“We continue to seek areas to cooperate with China where we can, but where we can’t we’re prepared to certainly protect both U.S. and allied interest in the region,” Director of the Joint Staff Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told reporters at the Pentagon.
“I would just tell you that the United States military has had a lot of experience in the Western Pacific taking down small islands,” McKenzie said, when asked if the United States has the ability to “blow apart” one of China’s disputed, man-made islands in the South China Sea.
He later clarified that he was referring to U.S. military operations during World War II.
“It’s just a fact we had a lot of experience in the Second World War taking down small islands that are isolated, so that’s a core competency of the U.S. military that we’ve done before. [You] shouldn’t read anything more into that than a simple statement of historical fact,” he said.
U.S. warships on Sunday cruised by disputed islands in the South China Sea in a planned exercise. The United States claims the area is considered international waters, while China asserts its right to the islands and saw the move as a threat.

The US Navy conducts what it terms “freedom of navigation” exercises in the disputed areas that Washington claims as international waters. The Chinese however, claim these as their own.

To read the entire article from The Hill, click here:

Photo: Wikipedia