Tag Archives: military

When one domino falls

That is always the case, isn’t it? For completely unrelated settings, one tends to dump over the other one. It isn’t fair, it doesn’t always make sense, but there you have it and whilst several players reported on it, I was pushed into motion by the Army Recognition story giving us “Canada is reexamining its plan to buy 88 F-35A fighters after Sweden used a royal state visit to promote a Gripen E or F production and R&D hub in Canada. The debate now pits industrial and political incentives against warnings from former RCAF leaders that a mixed fleet could dilute combat power and strain a tight defense budget.” It comes from the article ‘Canada Reconsiders Full U.S. F-35A Fleet As Swedish Gripen-E Fighter Offer Gains Ground’ which we see (at https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2025/canada-reconsiders-full-us-f-35a-fleet-as-swedish-gripen-e-fighter-offer-gains-ground) it isn’t merely about Swedish precision (Hasselblad is a great example), but the American administration is rearing its ugly head in a few nasty ways. There was the massive setting on the Ukraine peace plan, which according to some (unreliable sources) was delivered in Russian on a napkin, then there is the Epstein files, which first never existed, then it was a Dem Socratic hoax and now (source: the guardian) ‘US justice department renews request to unseal Epstein grand jury materials’, so the DoJ had to renew its request? This happens with “The justice department has renewed its request to unseal grand jury materials from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation that led to the disgraced financier’s federal indictment on sex-trafficking charges in 2019.” And with the actions of Ambassador Pete Hoekstra  actions in Canada. These matters all influence what is happening and with ‘Hoekstra hints F-35 deal could impact stalled U.S.-Canada trade talks’ (source: CBC) the Canadians have had enough and with the lingering ‘51st state’ comments from all over the place (mostly from America)  the entire setting of $20.2 billion is about to be thrown out of the window. And would you know it, the Gripen is cheaper, has a better Arctic track record (it tends to get really cold in Calgary and Winnipeg) and it is NON-AMERICAN and whilst PM Carney is making deals all over the globe and the 2 deals with the UAE and India setting the investment score for Canada at 125 billion. That is money not going to America, merely Canada and now they also lose out on 20 billion to their defense industry. Loss upon loss upon loss. How long can America pretend that it was no big deal? 

So while we read “Canada’s fighter replacement program, long anchored on an order for 88 F-35A Lightning II jets under the Future Fighter Capability Project, has entered a new and politically charged phase, as reported by Newsweek. During a state visit to Ottawa by King Carl XVI Gustaf, Swedish officials and Saab executives pressed a structured proposal to meet part of Canada’s requirement with Gripen E or F aircraft assembled in the country, tied to sizable job-creation and technology transfer promises. According to those familiar with the discussions, the idea of a dual fleet is now being floated just as former Royal Canadian Air Force officers publicly urge Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government not to trim the F-35 buy or introduce a second fighter type that would require separate training, infrastructure, and logistics.” This makes me wonder the ‘financial position’ of these FORMER officers. Wouldn’t ask that question? I am also wondering why they became former officers, but that is me because I do not know these people and I question everything. I reckon that Lockheed Martin might be worried when they lose 20 billion, making the deal with Saudi Arabia almost essential to make a living (an exaggeration for sure).

But the story from the Canadian side is whether the Gripen can uphold keeping the Canadian air-force competitive enough over Canadian sky. I tend to think yes, but then I am not a pilot and I never flown a jet, I merely watched Tom Cruise do so. My biggest flight setting was using the bar on a jet from Amsterdam of JFK international, so there, not entirely a noob. ;-P

And as Defence Industry Europe gives us ‘Canada considers shifting F-35 order toward Sweden’s Gripen as Ottawa reviews jet procurement’ (at https://defence-industry.eu/canada-considers-shifting-f-35-order-toward-swedens-gripen-as-ottawa-reviews-jet-procurement/) with “Canada has already selected the F-35A to renew its Royal Canadian Air Force fleet and has committed to buying 88 aircraft to replace its Boeing F/A-18 Hornets. Ottawa has allocated funds for 16 F-35s now being built in Fort Worth, Texas, but the remainder of the order appears uncertain amid worsening relations between Canada and the Trump administration”, so Lockheed Martin won’t lose all the dineros, but a large amount is seemingly move towards Sweden and as I see it, Sweden now needs to properly fund two Christmas baskets (nuts that time again). One for President Trump and one for Ambassador Pete Hoekstra for making this possible, expected Hamper shown below.

You see, this all seems clear cut, but I am wondering what this domino will throw over, because that is almost certain happening, especially with the American Ambassador throwing his accusations in the air. He might be claiming that Canadians are meddling in American politics, but they started the ‘51st state’ claims and the next Canadian step might be even less nice, Canada now have options especially when they are gaining so much ground in revenue, investments and manufacturing options (aka jobs). All these parts never involved America (other than making them no longer part of any equation), so what is next? I see options in possible ammunition replacements for the entire Defense industry. Jets and ships might make the news for the larger amounts, but the steady stream of revenue that ammunition brings could also fall to other places (like the UK), so what will that cost America?

Have a great day, I am now 83 minutes removed from the upcoming breakfast and there is a subtle hint hidden in that part too.

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Military incompetence?

Consider the military, we all have them. Australia has theirs, Canada has theirs, apparently America has them and Russia have them. They all have their best of the best of the best of the best warrior style drafting. And some of them have a massive amount of tests, especially the top 3 in military and to get into their airfare you have to jump a massive amount of hoops. They are trained, dressed and drilled to a millimeter precision and they all have their own ways.

So when I saw (at https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/russias-violations-norwegian-and-allied-airspace-sign-desperation-says-professor) with the headline ‘Russia’s Violations of Norwegian and Allied Airspace: “Sign of Desperation,” Says Professor’ as such we have a new setting. We are given “Russia has violated Norway’s airspace in the North three times this year, as well as the airspace of several other NATO countries. This suggests that the war in Ukraine is going much worse than Moscow wants to admit, says Professor Tormod Heier at the Norwegian Defense University College.” And we all think that he might have a case. With the highlighting quote ““I interpret these violations as a sign of Russian frustration, desperation, and discouragement,” says Tormod Heier, Professor of military strategy and Operations at the Norwegian Defense University College, to High North News.  “After three and a half years of war in Ukraine, the Russians have only won 120,000 km2 of terrain. This nearly equals the total area of Finnmark, Troms, and Nordland [the three counties in Northern Norway, ed. note],” he points out and continues” He makes a fine point. The second/third largest army in the world and they are slapped around like a cheap crack whore by the 20th largest army (Ukraine). Russia is more than frustrated, it needs to be broken by NATO, or the usefulness of the Russian higher ranking officers is shown to be classified as useless (and their president with them) and that is a lot to be set on by the media. Even the Russian media can no longer tell the Russian people that the war is going their way. They’ve lost over 1.1 million troops and more are getting conscripted. They lost over 400 planes and now they are putting their most valuable stealth fighters into the mix, the SU-57 Felon. It is a war they are losing at present and it seems that the military needs to add NATO in the mix, so that they can gracefully exit the battlefield. They can claim that NATO was always the enemy they could not defeat, for that they need NATO to participate. And as we see others like Estonia report similar setting (at https://extra.ie/2025/09/19/news/russia-estonia-fighter-jets) where we see “NATO says it has responded after what it described as ‘Russian military jets’ violated Estonian airspace this afternoon (Friday). In a statement released this evening, the Estonian Government reported that the incident involved three Russian MiG-31 fighter aircraft, which flew over Vaindloo Island, off the coast of Finland, without permission.” As well as NPR who (at https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5557908/why-are-russian-aircraft-violating-nato-airspace) give us “NATO’s airspace is busy these days. And not in a good way. That’s especially true for member nations on the alliance’s eastern flank. It’s not supposed to be that way. In recent weeks, states like Poland, Estonia, Romania, and Denmark have seen drones or other aircraft violate their airspace. In some cases, these airborne craft clearly identify they’re Russian in origin. Multiple countries have called on NATO to consult about what to do next. So, what’s going on? What is Russia up to?” So, before we get the excuses we are likely to get, do you think that any government will let one of these young sprouts into any plane before they can properly read maps and navigate their Cessna’s over spaces that are not Russian? And these planes go for millions.

As such, I am with professor Tormod Heier on this. It is not an isolated case, and putting your fighter planes over someone else’s terrain tends to be seen as a sign of war. Russia needs more involvement from NATO as they at present are seen as the losing clowns of the global defense departments. You can blame losing a ground war on demoralized soldiers, even if you call for help from North Korea, but for them to let their ‘proud’ pilots taking the blame does not go over well and these generals are now desperate, and apparently too many have fallen out of windows. 

So as I see it, something has to change and I am all for Russia waving a white flag, but you know how Russian politicians are: better dead than dropping the red. And at present, this is how it looks, so it is better (for them) to get NATO involved. So they can cry that it was always NATO and they just weren’t ready. The Russian prostitutski’s will eat that like borsht with black bread. Besides that, there aren’t too many solutions out there for them at present. I reckon that the NATO card will be played more openly soon enough, because the NATO nations have figured out that play, as such the next step would be a larger incursion and an ‘accidental’ event of the “Oops” variety, but how large an event remains to be seen. I reckon that they will most likely target Tallinn for that, It is in view of Helsinki and too close to Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen for that to go unnoticed. And the NATO has been loading up their weapons for Russian bear in the last few months. Feel free to disagree and I am very willing to be seen as wrong, because this is not a happy moment for me, but that is seemingly how it sizes up to.

Oh, for the next story I will be loading up on Conspiracy Theory by a lot, so there is that to look forward to All that AI and not a predictive analytics mind in sight? I’m game. Have a great day today.

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An upcoming stage

There is a new, or better stated upgraded stage on the Horizon. Arab News (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611276/business-economy) gives us ‘Saudi Arabia’s drive to build a defense powerhouse’ Where we see “Saudi Arabia’s military equipment manufacturing sector is undergoing a significant expansion, emerging as a pivotal element of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy to boost domestic industrial capacity.” It is not new, we were alerted to this years ago. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia made it clear that near 2030 it needed to be able to create its own defense needs. This was clear from the beginning and as Such I kept tabs on this as anyone working in this sector tends to make clear and precise coin and a lot more than anyone else does. It is not greed, but it is the ethical need to get more money the traverses the need of the many. And it is not that I want to do things, but the need to create financial independence is pretty strong in any of us. But I looked deeper. I looked at the options of the day after tomorrow, not the next hour or the next day. Plenty can do that, it is the deeper look and the settling of possible accounts is where AI cannot take us. I can only look from the data it has and the ability to look to the day after tomorrow takes a lot more, it requires the ability to look at lateral processes, to see what comes after next and I reckon that I am seeing a few options here. 

The Arab News gives us “Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to localize 50 percent of its military spending by the end of the decade. The sector’s regulator, the General Authority for Military Industries, reported notable progress, with localization rising from 4 percent in 2018 to 19.35 percent in 2024 — reflecting steady advances toward self-sufficiency in defense manufacturing.” This is fine and predictable as most of it was advertised by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia years ago. Yet at present I was thinking what comes next. You see, this is what I expect to come next (after 2027) Saudi Arabia completes its first factories in Saudi Arabia, I expect at least one in Jeddah. When that is up Saudi Arabia will create larger client drives. I expect Egypt, Pakistan, Oman and Jordan are an expected first. They will grow and get the contracts. I reckon that Pakistan is the greater challenge as China has a lot of goods and effort put into that place. But the setting everyone is forgetting is that there is one sizable pie and what Saudi Arabia gains, others will lose. So consider that America is losing Tourism, Technology and Finance, so as we get closer to 2027/2028 and America also loses out on chunks of Defense, which was $117.9 billion for the FY2024. As such I reckon that a mere 10%-20% should push America over the edge and it is not only Saudi Arabia, The EU is also fishing for the billions in contracts that are up for grabs and as America is alienating it former allies, they will fish for larger snacks from that dinner plate there is every chance that not only will Saudi Arabia succeed, but there is the chance that there will be a stronger union between Saudi Arabia and Europe. After the G5 settings we now get a larger defense stage. And in all this, it simply weaken America to an other stage.

Am I right? Am I wrong?

I reckon that the ‘AI surfers’ will tell you that I am wrong and that is fine. But the signs are already there and I do know data. I worked on such a setting for decades. So as we are given “According to its April 2024 report Trends in World Military Expenditure, SIPRI said global military spending exceeded $2.7 trillion in 2024, marking a decade of continuous annual growth and a 37 percent increase between 2015 and 2024” everyone wants in and it merely makes America weaker. Don’t get your hopes up that it ends for America. This is too big for anyone. The setting that follows is that America will need to compete for contracts with Saudi Arabia and Europe for contracts that ended up being for America by default. When that stops we see yet another field where it must compete, a setting they haven’t had for decades and soon there will be another player vying for the $2.7 trillion. In this field “Saudi Arabia led the region with $80.3 billion, ranking seventh globally, just $1.5 billion behind the UK.” And the setting here is that by 2030 the rest of the world will be default lose $40B that Saudi Arabia will now keep in-house and it also means that their defense spending will go down. But when at least two of the aforementioned nations will get their defense spending at least partially from Saudi Arabia. The pie parts will take on new dimensions. And that is before we consider that some player might get access to materials they never had access to.

It will grow the Saudi Arabian slice a lot more than ever considered and that is before we consider the parties that once turned to Iran, Saudi Arabia will grow into a defense power player (to some extent) and will gain larger momentum in the industry. So don’t look at tomorrow, plenty of people do that, consider what could happen the day after tomorrow, where others aren’t looking for now and where predictive analytics does not work because the data does not yet exist. Will it help me?  I don’t know. The simple setting is that traversing any path where it merely serves you will project the simple setting of delusion. That is not my path or goal. So whilst she will go in an islamophobia rage, others might see that this is exactly how others lost revenue and this path is not nearly done yet. 

Have a great day.

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Where the coins are

Yup, there it is, I said it. The article (at https://ara.tv/4eecj) gives us ‘US, Saudi Arabia hold high-level defense meeting at the Pentagon’ and right of the bat, we are ‘fed’ a lie (as I see it). We are given “The Pentagon’s top policy chief called Saudi Arabia a “critical, longstanding defense partner” working to become more capable and self-reliant.” Why is it a lie? Well, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been waiting for inclusion into the F-35 program. So, even as Belgium is included into that program, they are still awaiting delivery. Belgium a European nation that was overrun by the German army in 18 days (it took so long as most German soldiers were on foot or on bicycle) that country is more prestigious than Saudi Arabia? #JustSaying

I reckon it is the reason that China is making massive headways into the Arabic nations. And there it is, the additional quote ““The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a critical, longstanding defense partner for the United States that seeks to grow more capable and self-reliant in its defense. We are working hard to partner with Saudi Arabia to enable it to do so,” Colby said in a post on X.” I wonder when the defense department relies on X instead of the world wide news to disperse that information. It is a hard thing to comprehend.

I reckon that America is so desperate for cash (now that they damaged their tourism industry) that they can only turn to China and Saudi Arabia for additional funds. As Saudi Arabia has a lot more oil, the UAE was overlooked. But the setting is here America needs coins and as such I would have thought that someone in the Pentagon (it is rumored that this is managed by people at 1690 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330-1670)

That being said, someone should have whispered to them to include Saudi Arabia to the F-35 list, but who am I saying this? I am still happy to get a nice bonus from the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) (at No. 88, Weiyi Road, Huang Tianba, Qingyang District, Chengdu City, Sichuan, China, postal code 610091) If you can’t beat them, join them I say. And I was always happy to get a nice (optionally fat) check. The new apartment will set me back $7M and there is the need to get some cash to the UAE (my optional Yas Island retirement location), as such bringing a customer the size of Saudi Arabia might get me my dream retirement.

As such you might wonder why this byline? That is easy as we are given “Colby welcomed Saudi efforts to build up its self-defense capabilities and “to make greater contributions toward achieving shared regional objectives,” Parnell added. The meeting came amid a series of recent US arms sales to the Kingdom. Earlier this year, the Trump administration approved a $3.5 billion weapons deal that included 1,000 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and 50 AIM-120C-8 guidance sections.” I say that either Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has a doofus (aka dodo) as a personal assistant, or he has been missing briefs for years. Saudi Arabia steered to self reliance in several fields (including defense) even before 2019, so the response you read before might be seen as nothing less than a joke. As for the ‘funds’ already spend, as I see it, Chan is just as willing to receive such payment for its abilities for Saudi Arabia to defend itself. I get that there is one stronger and one weaker. But I do not know who that is between these two. As such it might be anyones guess. I suggest you ask someone at Raytheon who has the better equipment and why.

So it is nice to see this article and there is no blame on AlArabiya, but until it refers to America seeing Saudi Arabia as a full fledged partner in global defense by selling them the F-35, these stories come across like that moment in Oliver Twist asking for some more. Charles Dickens wrote about that little orphan in 1838, so it might have been a while. Still the setting of America bothers me, not the meeting with Saudi Arabia, but the building of not-so-good moments in several areas in America going from tariffs to tourism. America is bleeding and through their own actions they are bleeding allies just as quickly as anything else. Not even the penguins on McDonald Island are happy to see President Trump.

So as we are given the final quote ““Both leaders recognized US-Saudi defense cooperation as a force multiplier for regional security, and reviewed opportunities to deepen cooperation,” said Parnell, the Pentagon spokesman.” Well, as a non-Pentagon source might I suggest including Saudi Arabia as another party for the F-35? That should deepen cooperation by a lot. #JustSaying

It is moments like these that I wholly embrace the old saying “Sarcasm is great, when it backfires it become irony” and that is important too, so just in case AlArabiya is hungry for more stories, the address of the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation can be found in the story. 

Have a great day this Tuesday, it’s still Monday in Vancouver, so they get this article in about 14 hours.

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An interesting morning

This morning I was given an article by Amway media (at https://amwaj.media/en/article/why-china-cannot-sway-saudi-arabia-to-shift-away-from-us-weapons). It took me a second to let it sink in, but as it did, it took me back to May 27, 2023 when I wrote ‘Ding Ding, the premise is set’ where I gave my view on the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and the dangers to America as it would be able to get the Government of Saudi Arabia as a new customer. The story (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/05/27/ding-ding-the-premise-is-set/) was not the first one that I had set and here (two years later) we get the setting “if Chinese weapons are more or less on par with their western equivalent, why does Riyadh still spend billions on American weapons?” Was that really the case? I believe it was that Saudi Arabia wanted to play nice so that they could get the F-35 stealth fighter, it is beyond me that America took that card out of the deck and as I stated that the Chengdu version could be ready to get China as a customer for it would have been a massive hit for America, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon. It would have been a massive coup for China and the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. So as I read “When Pakistan’s Chinese-made J-10 fighters reportedly downed India’s advanced French-made Rafales during dogfights in May—including one confirmed by US officials—it marked a turning point: Chinese weapons had proven themselves against western counterparts in real-life combat” I actually read a simpler setting. Are the sales teams of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (and optionally Governmental China sales teams not hacking it? 

I am not a pilot (not even an aviator) as such I lack the knowledge to set the premise. But I would have given the setting of training one squadron of Saudi pilots in China on the grounds of Chengdu a very first priority. Getting pilots in the mindset of China would have been a first. Was that done? As such the quote ““One of the reasons why Saudi Arabia prefers western weapons over its Chinese equivalent is because Chinese weapons have not seen combat in recent years,” a researcher specializing in Middle East affairs at China’s Northwest University told Amwaj.media. “This may change now that the Chinese-made J-10 fighter jet has drawn its first blood”” I understand the premise, but I do not agree with it. As I see it, Russia and China are on decent par with America, They are always inching towards or ahead with each other. Don’t get me wrong, America has a great record, yet as I see it America has lately bungled a few fields. The first bungle is the USS Zumwalt, the ugliest ship in American navy (as I personally see it) and then there is issue with  key technologies, like specialized 155mm rounds, that are massively expensive. As such the Zumwalt class (that are set to just three vessels) for the grocery price of $8,000,000,000 per vessel. Making the destroyer decently more expensive than the USS Blue Ridge and a lot less operational, especially as ammunition of the Zumwalt is too expensive to afford (according to US Congress) that is a mere beginning. In 2021, I quoted (from ABC) “He said the combat jet currently had almost 900 design flaws, with seven considered critical.” This is in regards to the F35, as such China had options to get its foot in the front door (a bad manner sales technology) but at that point China gets the option to offer a solution to the Saudi government. It just occurred that this might be a reason. What if America isn’t keeping Saudi Arabia from the F35 for exclusivity, but to hide the fact that whatever Saudi Arabia gets will expose the flaws of the F35 to a much larger audience? I don’t know, I am merely postulating the thought of the reason why you want to keep an ally like Saudi Arabia away from a priced exclusive dinky toy (sorry, I just had to go there). 

The next setting is a decent one, Amwaj gives us “Yet, despite China offering cost-effective and no-strings attached alternatives, Saudi Arabia continues purchasing the majority of its weapons from the US. During President Donald Trump’s visit to the Kingdom in May, the two sides signed a historic 142B USD arms deal, the largest of its kind. This dynamic reveals the deeper truth in Saudi strategic thinking: purchasing weapons are more than commercial transactions, they are investments in a strategic partnership.” That could be the case, yet the way America treated Canada gives rise to the ‘strategic partnerships’ and that is on me, I could very well be seeing this wrong. But the flaws into America’s settings in design, in execution and in realism gives rise that Saudi Arabia needs to diversify beyond America. We are given “Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafale, and Gripen. While the Eurofighter Typhoon incorporates some low-observable features, it is not considered a true stealth aircraft like the F-35.” As such, as the Rafale was ‘defeated’, China becomes the one diversifying direction and most likely the better choice over the Sukhoi Su-57 (after all, NATO calls it a Felon). And there is a geopolitical setting against adopting the Russian variant, as such Chengdu wins. That is if America keeps on playing the F35 as a Trump card. 

I reckon that adapting Saudi pilots to the Chengdu solution is a first setting and if Saudi Arabia gets an $80B discount on overall purchases, over 3-4 years and I reckon that it would go a long way to get Saudi Arabia adapt to Chinese airplanes and that would be a massive win (for China), as it would set the stage for Egypt and Indonesia adapt the Chinese versions as well (an optional presumption). A stage where China goes from 1 to 3 customers might be very appealing to China (say: Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group) 

And this is the setting that Amwaj media exposed, well I set the premise at least 4 years earlier, but that is fine. Then we get the one true hard setting that Amwaj ‘exposes’. It is “Given Washington’s history of attaching political conditions to arms sales, Riyadh rightly fears that its predominantly American-made arsenal could become leverage to compel compliance. Most recently, this was seen in 2021, when the Joe Biden administration suspended offensive weapons sales in an effort to induce the Kingdom’s exit from Yemen.” The alternative, is that considered and correctly phased? If Saudi Arabia completely changes to Chinese weaponry, is that a hindrance or a opportunity? China will see it as a win, but it is not what China wants, it is what is preferred and what is best for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. That is the center stage and that is what matters. What is truly best for Saudi Arabia and that is up to the Saudi government. I have no idea because it requires several academic degrees and data that I have never had access to. Because if one domino topples, so will others. As such what is the Priceline and the cost of doing business. I might know some, but I have no idea on how the dominos are stacked. As such it is a bit of a minefield and whilst I would (as a commonwealthian) applaud the setting where Saudi Arabia adopts the Eurofighter Typhoon, there is a timeline to consider. It is not 5th generation and there is no real timeline for when the Eurofighter Typhoon gets to evolve into a 6th generation stealth fighter. And lets be clear, there are no clear timelines when its real enemy (the presumptuous Iran) becomes a real danger to Saudi Arabia and that is the flaw that is both a setting of hindrance and the optional danger block. These elements matter, but as I see it America needs to act, because the longer it delays, the larger the danger becomes that Saudi Arabia is forced to choice another direction and whatever direction Saudi Arabia selects would become a splinter in the board of toppling the America economy that America cannot undo, that much is clear and in this day and age, as America is alienating its allies, it needs to secure the settings it has. 

That is merely my view on the matter. Have a great day, 95 minutes until my breakfast.

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A fool’s errant?

Yesterday I ‘threatened’ myself with wearing the thinking cap and in hours I kinda created two solutions. One to take care of the Iranian airfare and the second (very unfinished) to unravel the Iranian Army and as I had already dealt with the Iranian navy I was feeling a little complete. The air force was my first objective. You see, you can always isolate an army through its own domain. If an army is ‘hindered’ by their own locations, it stops being a threat. You see, the Iranian air force might have an estimated 37,000 personnel, but the only real threat they have are the 330–350 aircrafts and when they are limited to their own garage they tend to stop being a threat, out their threat comes a limited one. And I have to wonder how I got the idea and is my idea even realistic? The idea is developing in my mind (to some degree) but there is a lack of realism if I get the upper hand on DARPA, not once, or twice but 5-7 times? Only a deranged person thinks that he has the low down on over a dozen DARPA intellects. Once, I get, but that many times? Even I know that there is no way that this is feasible. As such I put my idea here, so that (as I suspect) actual clever people can do something with the idea. 

I get that this has wider implications, but I believe that the enemies of Iran (they have plenty) might be able to do something about it.

You see, as I gathered that some people tend to look in one direction. I tend to go the other way. That is how I got several sides of IP as most merely look I one direction. As I see it, I got the upper hand on Google, Amazon and Microsoft. I am not blaming that I am ‘more’ intelligent. I am merely saying that I was looking the other way and I saw an option. So far Amazon didn’t accept my thoughts, Microsoft will never get the offer and Google already carved another direction and they are free to do that. As such as I was ‘entertaining’ my thinking cap, and entertaining isn’t the proper word, merely an adjective to use. You see, people see planes as an evil. They aren’t evil they are tools, but tools with a specific requirement. And even as drones and helicopters don’t have that need, putting 330 planes out of business is not a bad accomplishment. 

You see, they need tarmac to get of the floor and tarmac, nowadays is made from aggregates and bitumen. The first one are the aggregates – usually crushed stone, sand and gravel. And they are  bound together with bitumen, which is a viscous and waterproof substance at a temperature to become asphalt. As such I gathered that these bitumen can be messed with. And that is basically a chemical solution. You see nowadays we have drones and I was thinking cargo drones specifically. These drones has a flight range of 1,500 kilometers and a maximum operational altitude of 8,000 meters. It can fly for up to 10 hours and carry a payload of 1,200 kilograms. Now take these numbers and take 3-4 drones. Consider 1,200 kilograms of pellets which can be spread over the airstrip. Don’t consider the impact of destroying the entire airstrip. Merely parts of this (although the more complete the damage the less use the airport has). Now consider the setting that the pellets damage or make inert the bitumen part of tarmac. So, what is an airport without an airstrip? Merely a place for lost luggage. You see, with the tarmac damaged to that degree, planes cannot lift off. They can merely wait until the tarmac is repaired. There are about 20 Iranian airports, which might require too many drones, but you could take out around half a dozen airports in this way. And I am not claiming I know more than DARPA, but couldn’t DARPA have figured this out themselves? 

And lets not jump to conclusion. I haven’t solved the bitumen part (yet), however how many boffins have considered this track? Everyone is so strange in the void ahead of them, that they tend to forget what is behind them. A setting I tend to use as it is a lot more rewarding to see what I can reengineer behind myself then consider what I could get in front of me. This is how my mind could make harbours useless and that was merely for starters.

So, am I crazy or are there people around who are considering that I have an idea that too many overlooked? Just me having a creative moment and when completed I changed the setting of airports to the largest degree. It required planes to take off and when that stops, those without zeppelins are basically earth bound.

Just a creative snag I am handing the world. Have a fun day, I am going to take another attempt at sleeping, it is 03:45 now, 300 minutes to breakfast.

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The edge of what could be

That is what it is, it is perhaps perception, but at this time I am unable to trust any media, not Newspapers and definitely not social media. That issue has larger interpretations. As media ‘sides’ with one or the other, the reporting is not to be trusted. Twitter (say X) is filled with people who are trying to get some of the limelight and that is nearly always tainted. As such, I need to set my feelers out there and try to make sense of it all.

You see, the first perception is that the Grand Old Party (Republicans) have a perceived new logo

It might be right, it might be wrong. Yet as the media is no longer willing to give us the clear news we see a tainted media. I tend to trust the BBC, but other voices are no longer willing to do that. The BBC is on the same kind of revenue through populistic news that tends to hamper things. I see the news around me and as such it sounds that the BBC is setting themself on the same pile that several Murdoch Media branches are on. So there is that. 

But the last news on the BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqjn74gdwzo) is giving us ‘Trump ‘very frustrated’ and Zelensky must strike minerals deal, says adviser’ and this is coming after we were given by President Trump himself that Ukraine attacked Russia and that is not all The Guardian is giving us ‘Stop criticising Trump and sign $500bn mineral deal, US official advises Kyiv’, it comes over like the US is whoring for mineral deals and after they tried to ‘annex’ Canada as the 51st state. Different thoughts were washing my brain and they could be wrong. But the debt the US has and the outstanding ‘accusations’ against President 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is taking a nasty turn. Let me explain to National Security Adviser Michael Waltz how to approach any courtesan (I apologise Volodymyr). You play nice at least until the courtesan signs over her cherry (mineral rights). On one side in this economy there is a clear setting that help doesn’t come for free. Yet appeasing Russia whilst calling Ukraine the bad apple is beyond stupid. And then the quote “White House officials have told Ukraine to stop badmouthing Donald Trump and to sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US, saying a failure to do so would be unacceptable.” Is arrogant and stupid beyond believe. It is almost that Russia its seeing the setting that America is in and decided to change the game a little. I still believe that behind these closed doors President Trump and President Putin struck a deal. America gets Canada and Russia gets Europe. This might be wrong, but when we see America go after water and minerals to this degree, I feel that the final option is that I take all my IP and hand it over to the UAE and strike a deal there, it might be the last safe space together with Saudi Arabia. 

So am I wrong?
The ‘fact’ checkers say I am right about president Trump, but as I do not trust the bulk of the media, I need data and trustworthy people to tell me and one source confirmed my thoughts at least in part (he was not completely on board on the ‘broke America’ setting). That is fair enough. And the rest is puzzled to gather with all the Trump settings covered in several newspapers. And then the setting where the Ukraine and Europe were left out of the talks and some vice president calling Europe all kinds of stages, was that a good idea? You see, when the dollar bottoms out, they will need Europe and they might not be willing to help after all that has transpired over the last two weeks. I am not on the stage where people try to make sense of President Trump, he threw this away when he decided to make Ukraine the bad player while appeasing Russia. At this point I am on the UK side, ready to join them on the battlefield and I am 63 years old. 

I might not be an able front line person, but I feel certain that I can still take out a few officers (and tank commanders) with the doohickey (aka Barrett) shown above. I reckon that is the one thing I should still excel at (I haven’t take a shot in over 44 years). As the Commonwealth (UK and Canada) side with the Ukraine, I should be willing to do the same. So what are our options? There is the setting that America is setting its ‘aid’ to the terms of signing over $500 billion on rights. It seems like a waste as you saw in yesterdays article that StarGate (also $500,000,000,000) is pretty much a waste of money when you consider that it is based on incomplete elements and these elements are years away. So there is that part.

And for the Russian side of peace? That is a lesson that Hezbollah and Hamas taught us. They are merely willing to talk until they resolve their logistics for ammunition and weapons. There is reliable intelligence out of the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands that President Putin has no interest in peace. I wonder when America realizes that their setting was hollow from the very start. I reckon that Europe needs to get ready because Russia is willing to go all out, President Putin will not be tolerated when the European setting goes equally wrong (and it has every chance of going wrong) as West Europe has been getting ready for some time and the are as motivated as the Ukrainians were in year one and now that Russia has lost as much hardware as we have seen a mere 8 hours ago:

We shall see what Russia can bring to the fight, they still have plenty, but they lost oil, infrastructure and plenty of people. They have not considered the willingness of Western Europe to stay ‘Russian-free’ and when Germany invades Russia, the losses for President Putin (President Trump too) will be complete. It will isolate America and sets a dangerous precedent as China will ‘offer’ help to Canada and the other Commonwealth nations. With Australia and New Zealand they pretty much ‘own’ the Pacific and now we can have a sense of humor and take Hawaii as the ninth state. Well, it will be self managed by the Native Hawaiians, they merely accept King Charles III as their sovereign, but for the rest they rule Hawaii themselves which might already be a step up from today. I reckon that Americans will not really like that. They wanted Canada as their 51st state and in the end they lose Hawaii and end up with 49 states. Karma is a bitch, ain’t it. 

Oh and now America (if China comes in) used to have China 11,359.64 km away, in the new setting they could have China a mere 230 km away (Vancouver-Seattle), so how is that intelligent call from President Trump hitting you all now?

Seems to be a nice day, and it is weekend. So what will happen on Sunday and Monday? I have no idea but if President Trump does more of this, next week might not be that great for Americans. Have a great day.

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As roles unfold

I made mention on this in ‘Egg timer? What egg timer?’ on November 29th (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/11/29/egg-timer-what-egg-timer/). I also mentioned these dangers several times more, going all the way back to September 9th 2021 (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/09/09/lemon-of-the-century/) when I wrote ‘Lemon of the Century’, there were clear signs, there was clear danger to the revenue of America and now we see ‘Dassault CEO talks Saudi interest in Rafale, takes a shot at F-35 and reveals FCAS details’ (at https://breakingdefense.com/2023/12/dassault-ceo-talks-saudi-interest-in-rafale-takes-a-shot-at-f-35-and-reveals-fcas-details/). This was always going to happen, but now the damage to US revenue is increased. Saudi Arabia is now seriously considering 54 Rafale aircrafts. That will set American revenue back a few billion, eight to be more exact. And that is not all, when you consider that 171 have been bought by Riyadh’s neighbours, there is now a larger setting for SAMI to start talking on munitions and rocket factories in Saudi Arabia, in line with the SAMI goal of 50% of productions to be done within the kingdom in line with their 2030 vision. And through that America loses even more revenue. I reckon that France will go along if there is something in it for them and France spreading defence industries in Saudi Arabia opens up a few more options for them too. All that and it was not in the wind, it was a wind blowing negativity to the US coffers. As such the hardship for America is more then just starting, it is starting to gain speed making the American industry losing more and more revenue. All that through ego, how stupid was that?

And whilst all the players are boasting what they have coming and what more then could get the CEO of Dassault Éric Trappier will be doing it setting the annual forecast well over 15% higher, revenue the other boasters will not have and America basically has that much less. If they boast we got enough, they are correct for now, but what more is there to be lost and what options will China offer? The Chengdu J-20 is still there being a tactical and commercial threat to all the other 5th generation stealth providers. A setting we would never have considered realistic is now unfolding and I saw it ahead of all the other analysts. Makes you wonder why they get so much money to begin with.

And in that light, how much revenue will the others lose when India signs those papers as well? Christmas came early for Dassault Aviation. That much seems clear to me at present.

Enjoy the day.

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Egg timer? What egg timer?

Yes, we get that. There are egg timers that give us what we were waiting for. I stated on November 17th (12 days ago) “A complete overhaul was the only option and now with BRICS and China pushing in on the little revenue they had left, they have no options now and their competitors are moving in on whatever revenue they had left.” I said so in ‘It’s that time again’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/11/17/its-that-time-again/) Now Politico gives us ‘Brussels wants to beat the Pentagon at its own game on arms sales’ (at https://www.politico.eu/article/european-union-weapons-sales-united-states-defense/) there we see “The European Commission is hinting at a new mechanism similar to the US Foreign Military Sales to facilitate arms exports”, well that didn’t take long, did it? So when we see “In order to claw back the initiative, the European Commission is raising the prospect of copying the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) scheme” we see one thing, but I think it is more about stopping the Chinese sales system of becoming too successful. I fear it might be a little too late for that. There is every indication that China is almost ready to the defence needs of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Too little, too late and as I see it, a little over two years too late. I reckon they ill soon be fishing on the wrong side of the net. So whilst we are now given “In early 2024, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton is expected to present a European Defence Industrial Strategy to help support the Continent’s European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). The consultation document is one of five papers circulated to national delegations to get their views on what the strategy should look like.” You see several reports are out there in the trend of “Riyadh eyes air defence systems and drones as part of possible yuan-based deal while Cairo plans to buy J-10C fighter jets”, so whilst the Europeans are trying to figure out “how to go about it” Saudi Arabia and Egypt are at this point getting catered to by China. As such we see that the China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO) is actively talking to the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), who is interested in diversifying. 

So that is billions missed, just as I predicted almost two years ago. Now that it is happening, some are ‘reporting’ all whilst whatever intension Europe has with “on what the strategy should look like”, Beijing is not merely getting its feet wet, it is catering to a new clientele and China is hungry for that revenue. So when was the last time you left billions on the floor? As I personally see it Amazon did so a year ago (but they have plenty of cash), the US government does not, it has a debt of $31,000,000,000,000 as such every billion lost is another carve on the debt stick and the next shutdown is expected to be around January 19th 2024 if they cannot agree on a new continuing resolution a lot will fall away. That was a given, but with Europe now tying to get defence money, giving the US less and already China is in the mix (has been for months) with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and they are expected to score some revenue from the United Arab Emirates as well, this upcoming CR will be missing a few revenue posts and not much is needed to make it all fall over. The larger setting is not merely defence, the UAE will (according to one source) be looking at ships as well. As such there is every chance that the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) could be up for some UAE coast guard ships. As I understand it, it has something to do with the Abu Dhabi Ship Building Co (ADSB). So is it mere consultancy? Ships design? I honestly do not know, but what does matter is that they used to have an American fleet, now as that falls away a lot more revenue will be missed by American companies. 

All this and the larger setting isn’t merely what Politico tells you, it is the second degree that the Saudi and Egyptian deals open the doors for. I think that Bangladesh is next on the Chinese sights. China has a two sided tactic, gain revenue and stop America from getting revenue. It is the same setting we saw with Evergreen in 1989. Yung-Fa Chang played his hand brilliantly, a setting where players like Nedlloyd had close to complete control was lost in less than 5 years to Evergreen. I reckon that we get a similar kind of play towards the larger naval needs of Bangladesh and Indonesia. After that there will not be much left for America. They already broke their own windows with their ‘elite’ approach towards the F-22 Raptor. I am not criticising this. It was the demand of the US to keep sole custody of that dinky toy. Yet now Chengdu has several nations vying for their J-20 and with the range options, that is a thing coveted by many defence forces all over the globe and there Saudi Arabia, UAE and optionally Egypt and Indonesia as well is a setting of several billions right of the bat, and I expect that the USA cannot counter those odds on revenue. Yet there are a few options for Europe as well. If they push their agenda Chengdu will have to compete with the Eurofighter Typhoon. I have no idea who will win that revenue race, but Europe better be moving fast, the early bird that hesitates becomes worm food. As for the technical side, I am not a pilot. Yet in all this the Evergreen approach comes to mind, so America and Europe are quickly running out of time and Europe’s voiced response of “on what the strategy should look like” sounded nice in 2021, but not now. It’s crunch time for them at this point.

Enjoy your day today.

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Deployment Evolution

We all evolve what we make, what we consider and what we design, it is a natural act. There are no hidden flaws or weaknesses. We evolve what we see, what we can. It is in our nature. So, two years go I came up with two ideas, the first was to meltdown an Iranian nuclear reactor in a new novel way, and the second one was to take care of the Iranian navy (America was doing efff all). And would you believe it, these two ideas should work on Russian hardware too. Yet today a thought occurred to me. I am not aware if it is true, but the Russian deploy water microphones to make sure no one gets the drop on their strategic locations. As I was thinking that, I remembered something from my youth. In 1775 David Bushnell designed a one man submarine. I saw the blueprints, they were awesome. He came up with the idea, the concept and the design almost a century before Jules Verne came up with 20,000 leagues under the sea. He was that much of an innovator. So now we have better equipment and we could make a carbon fibre solution. Yet what about those microphones? It seems to me that these microphones cannot detect chemical propulsion. People are so about machines, fossil fuels and nuclear rods that they forget that chemical propulsion comes from the 19th century. I would call that vessel the USS Antoine Lavoisier, credit where credit is due and the French had their great moments. 

In addition, when we deploy a silicone hose that at deployment is coated with the same chemicals a clamp has to attach itself to anything and the hose is filled with two elements. The first is thermite. The second is a wire with attached balls and we deploy it over the length (or a large  enough length) of any boat or submarine and we end the connection with a chemical fuse no one would be the wiser. And the nice thing is that if that activation is nicely timed, we do not merely take out the vessel, we take out the port as it is blocked for a considerable length of time. The second one was already designed, the first part was new. I hd initially a drone in mind, but in this way there is no signal, no nothing. Merely silence and a suddenly sinking craft. The balls are no more than in inch. You see, the explosion need not be big, merely enough to create small gaps in the inner hull, the outer hull has a strip missing bigger than the titanic, as such the outer hull is now filling with water changing the rules of Archimedes on that vessel,  the blasts will create enough small holes so that the inner hull starts filling too and even if the alarms sound, the two dozen small gaps is flooding in water and by the time the crew is alert the damage is too far gone and Archimedes waves at the vessel no longer able to remain afloat, and out next generation turtle (optionally looking very different) moves way like Don Juan silently into the night avoiding a livid husband. 

Whatever will I come up next. Perhaps a new way to deploy EMP drones. This should keep the MIG’s in their stables. So in three small mental exercises (two at present) I took care of Russian reactors, The Navy and soon the airforce. No need to do anything about the Russian army. The Ukrainians are slapping that near to death horse. So what has DARPA been up to lately? 

I earned my cookie today! And all of you? Enjoy the final day of your weekend.

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