I worked for a contractor who had a relationship with Collins development and with the Taiwanese. The CSI in Taiwan were desperate to get access to Collins either at discretionary tech levels or as a turnkey. It was a political bridge too far - getting a co-op boat via Japan and Aust would be a bigger bridge to cross

Palmers comments are a good example of where he's either done no research or been provided with poor advice.

A nuke driven boat is out of the question - and poss for another generation at least

 

I worked for a contractor who had a relationship with Collins development and with the Taiwanese. The CSI in Taiwan were desperate to get access to Collins either at discrtetionary tech levels or as a turnkey. It was a political bridge too far - getting a co-op boat via Japan and Aust would be a bigger bridge to cross

Palmers comments are a good example of where he's either done no research or been provided with poor advice.

A nuke driven boat is out of the question - and poss for another generation at least

 

No, not evem remotely under consideration - political hot potato

they've wanted to partner up before with numerous others - every time they try the mainland gets grumpy with the suitor

not enough capability and internal political climate to build their own.

 

We have requirements that posters provide some commentary rather than just cutting and pasting articles. Your posting habits have begun to concern the Moderators. If you are posting just pictures or videos, please post them in the Photos & Video section rather than within the specific topics unless you are using them to illustrate a point that you are making in a related post.

You have also posted some items without posting a link to the source or source for the item. That breaches international copyright law and as such leaves you and the forum open o accusations of plagiarism. You are required to post links and or sources to all items that you have posted without said links or sources.

Nous avons des exigences pour que les affiches fournissent des commentaires plutôt que de simplement copier et coller des articles. Vos habitudes de publication ont commencé à concerner les Modérateurs. Si vous ne publiez que des photos ou des vidéos, veuillez les publier dans la section Photos et Vidéo plutôt que dans les rubriques spécifiques, sauf si vous les utilisez pour illustrer un point que vous avez créé dans un message associé.

Vous avez également publié des éléments sans publier de lien vers la source ou la source de l'élément. Cela enfreint la loi internationale sur le droit d'auteur et, en tant que tel, vous laisse, ainsi que le forum, des accusations de plagiat. Vous devez publier des liens et / ou des sources sur tous les éléments que vous avez publiés sans ces liens ou sources.

 

DefenceTalk strives to provide a different environment from other internet forums, even forums that cover similar topics. We do this using a set of forum rules which are strictly enforced. Following upgrades to the forum software, we are working to get a copy re-posted so that all members, new and old can view them.

In the meantime, when members post to the forum, there is an expectation that their post will contribute to the discussion and debate on the forum including their own thoughts and content. Posting a copy of a sourced/referenced article or preferably a link to avoid claims of copyright infringement is fine, provided the post also contains more than a line or two of the member's own questions, thoughts or opinions.

Also, unless a member is uploading pictures in the Picture Gallery there is a requirement that the posted picture include content from the member that is relevant both to the picture they uploaded, and the thread the post was made in. Just uploading a picture to a thread simply because the member thinks it looks 'cool' is frowned upon.

These requirements are all in place maintain the quality of discussion on DefenceTalk.
-Preceptor

 

In the past month, US officials such as Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as hawks, have framed the issues around Iranian activity—threats from Iran’s proxies against US troops and personnel, purported attacks against shipping interests, and the transport of short-range ballistic missiles around the Persian Gulf. Which is a very wide approach, instead of a narrow one.

I don't see military escalation as being in American interest at this point; until

• they present evidence; and
• come up with an exit plan via escalation dominance, in case of increased hostilities (in the face of Iranian desire for continued escalation),

when their mid-term goal is to have a smaller footprint in the Middle East and seek an exit from Iraqi and Syria. Further, Trump is not Ronald Reagan (who had the ability to convincingly talk to the American public through his presidential addresses to make his case for small wars, prior sending in troops). Pew Research in October 2018 shows that America’s international image continues to suffer a year after global opinion of the United States dropped precipitously. Favorable views of the U.S. remain at historic lows in many countries polled. In addition, more say bilateral relations with the U.S. have worsened.

The SUN: Iran accuses the US of LYING about the ‘suspicious’ attack on American-linked oil tanker and denies ordering ‘torpedo’ assault

As expected, Iran has accused the US of lying about the "torpedo attack" on an oil tanker.

These are limpet mines (a type of naval mine attached to the ship by magnets by hand). The Iranians are no longer so silly (in the case of Operation Praying Mantis in 1988), where they used an Iranian ship to lay naval mines, giving Ronald Reagan the proof he needed and the excuse to take military action against the Iranians. While it is suspected that Iran or its-backed militias that did this.

Business Insider: The Navy has reportedly found a smoking gun as the US blames Iran for the latest tanker attack that threatens the global oil market

* The US Navy discovered an unexploded limpet mine attached to one of the two tankers attacked on Thursday.
* The mine, which was discovered by the USS Bainbridge, is a potential smoking gun because it very likely points to Iran's involvement in the attack on the commercial vessels.

 

If it was a torpedo attack, it would be hard to deny because what non state actor would have access to a platform from which to launch torpedoes undetected. Mines, especially limpet mines, however are another story and are able to be deployed by stealth by anyone with the appropriate training.

The US is blaming the Iranians for these attacks, but it is the US who initiated this round of tensions by unilaterally withdrawing from the nukes agreement and then illegally imposing economic sanctions on Iran. I say illegally, because the sanctions being imposed are not approved by the UN. The claims made by the Us that the attacks are by Iran has to be taken with some caution because of those making the claim, namely Bolton, Pompeo and co. The latest evidence offered is that a limpet mine recovered is Iranian, but that does not mean that the mine was placed by an Iranian operative on orders of the Iranian govt. It could'be be placed by a non state actor attempting to stir things up, or it is a false flag operation by another nation trying to initiate hostilities between Iran and the US. There are four nations who I think are very capable of and have sufficient motive for such an act. Finally it could be an overt act by Iran, but TBH what does Iran have to gain from it at the moment? They are trying to get the other 5 nations to get the US to honour the agreement. The oil cargo was bound for Japan and they had the Japanese PM in Tehran at the time. In either case such an act by Iran would be counterproductive. They have the moral high ground because of the unilateral action of the US and by the US imposition of economic sanctions, technically it has committed an act of aggression / war against Iran.