429 Squadron is reactivated

According to the Intelligencer, 429 Squadron has been reactivated. They will fly the new C-17 cargo aircraft once they start arriving next month.

HMC Ships in the news

Two stories about Canadian Navy warships:

Firstly, the Halifax Chronicle Herald has an article about HMCS Fredericton's participation in a secret drug operation in the Caribbean. Interestingly the presence of the ship in the region only became public when Prime Minister Harper met the vessel during a visit to Barbados.

The second, in the Halifax Daily News, is about an upcoming voyage by HMCS Toronto which will feature a number of historic firsts. In addition to exercising with the South African Navy, Toronto will circumnavigate Africa.

CF has a new robot sub

According to this article in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald the Canadian Navy has a new remote controlled submarine.

While the navy’s mini-sub — dubbed Dorado after the big fish — is now based in British Columbia, it is highly portable. The sub and the gear used to control it can be loaded into a few shipping containers and sent anywhere in the world.

Canadian UAVs in Afghanistan

The National Post has an article where the artist Richard Johnson describes, with sketches, a mission for a Canadian Sperwer unmanned aerial vehicle. You'll have to scroll (or read) down a little bit to get to the section where he describes and illustrates the Sperwer and its launch vehicle.

Google Earth reveals new Chinese Sub

The Strategic Security Blog reports that a picture of the new Chinese Ballistic Missile submarine has made its way into Google Earth.

Robotic Air Attack Squadron bound for Iraq

Yahoo has an article about a probable upcoming deployment of a new American Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to Iraq. The MQ-9 Reaper is similar to the older MQ-1 Predator but is larger and more capable.

Follow up: The Daily Mail reports that the RAF has purchased some Reapers for deployment in Afghanistan. Interestingly, the aircraft will be remotely controlled from Nevada.

Who will man the new arctic patrol vessel?

This article on the CTV website speculates that the new arctic patrol vessels, recently announced by the Prime Minister, will be manned by reservists.

New Russian Arctic Claims

A blog post at the New York Times talks about the recent Russian attempt to claim a large part of the Arctic Ocean. There are links to a number of maps of the various claims and counter claims for how to divide the Arctic.

US tries to simulate the world

An article on The Register describes the US Department of Defense's effort to create giant simulations of the world. They aim to have one "node" in the simulation for every person on earth.

via slashdot

US Forces to use Aghan currency

A very short article in the Economic Times says that US troops in Afghanistan are going to start using local currency rather than US dollars in their dealings with local people. The goal is to try to stabilise the Aghan currency.

Map of Canadian casualties in Afghanistan

The CBC has a Google Map showing the locations of the incidents in Afghanistan where Canadian soldiers have been killed.

Special Forces Underwear

Canada.com has an article about the US Air Force's efforts to develop special underwear for their special forces units. The goals are for the underwear to eliminate odours and to be very durable.

CF Hercules in Afghanistan

The Torch has a blog post about Canadian Forces Hercules aircraft operations in Afghanistan. The post links to an article and a video of a Hercules making a supply airdrop.