Executive Intent (2 page)

ACU
—Army Combat Uniform, new designation of American battle uniform

ADS
—Active Defensive System, American aircraft laser system that defeats enemy antiaircraft missiles with bursts of laser energy

American Holocaust
—term used to describe the Russian bomber attacks against the United States

BG
—Brigadier General

Boats
—abbreviation for a naval enlisted man who trains, supervises, and directs ship's maintenance duties

CAG
—Carrier Air Group, referring to the commander of an aircraft carrier's air wings

CID
—Cybernetic Infantry Device, an American infantry combat system utilizing a manned robot to afford superhuman protection, strength, speed, and attack capabilities equivalent to an infantry platoon

CINC
—Commander in Chief; former designation of the commander of a major U.S. military command (now reserved for the president of the United States)

CJCS
—Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the senior uniformed adviser to the president of the United States

CNO
—Chief of Naval Operations, the senior uniformed officer of the U.S. Navy

CTF-150
—Combined Task Force-150, a multinational antipiracy maritime security force

DCI
—Director of Central Intelligence, the senior administrator and coordinator of all of America's intelligence services

dielectric
—a hard or rigid structure that allows electromagnetic energy to pass through in both directions

Duty Officer
—a computerized interactionable service linking several computer services

Electronic Elastomeric Activity Suit
—a mechanical compression garment worn by astronauts that uses computer-controlled electronically compressible material to maintain near-sea-level pressure on the human body while in a vacuum

EMU
—Extravehicular Maneuvering Unit, a device that attaches to an astronaut's space suit that allows precise movement in space

EPIRB
—Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon, a device that transmits identification and location information via satellite to rescuers

FBI
—Federal Bureau of Investigation, American federal domestic law enforcement and investigation agency

ForceNet
—American naval computer global data-exchange system

FSB
—Federal Security Bureau, new name for the Russian KGB foreign and domestic intelligence and security force

GRU
—
Glavnoye Razvedyvatel' noye Upravleniye,
Russian military intelligence agency

GUARD
—international emergency radio channel

HMU
—Handheld Maneuvering Unit, a device used by astronauts to maneuver in space

Hohmann transfer orbit
—an orbit used by spacecraft to move from one orbit to another

home plate
—common term for home base or aircraft carrier

Hydra
—smaller version of a COIL laser used for self-defense

hypoxia
—physical difficulties associated with a lack of oxygen (loss of sight, uncoordination, unconsciousness)

ISI
—Interservices Intelligence, Pakistani intelligence agency

KGB
—
Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti,
Soviet domestic and foreign security and intelligence agency, now FSB

Maddie
—Multifunctional Advanced Data Delivery and Information Exchange, the civilian version of the “Duty Officer”

MFD
—Multi-Function Display, an advanced computer control and display system

NCIS
—Naval Criminal Investigative Service, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps' chief law enforcement investigation service

NOSS
—Naval Ocean Surveillance System, a system of satellites that detects and tracks vessels by homing in on radio transmissions

NSO
—National Security Organization, the Republic of Yemen's domestic and foreign intelligence and security force

PETA
—People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal-rights organization

PLA
—People's Liberation Army, the unified land, sea, and air forces of the People's Republic of China

PNSA
—President's National Security Adviser, senior civilian military and domestic security adviser to the president of the United States

PRC
—People's Republic of China (mainland China)

Ro-Ro
—Roll-On, Roll-Off, a cargo ship where vehicles or equipment can be loaded on one end and driven off on the other end

SAC
—Strategic Air Command, former major American military command that controlled all nuclear-capable attack and global reconnaissance and command-and-control forces

SCA
—Suez Canal Authority, civil organization responsible for regulating, maintaining, and patrolling the Suez Canal

SECDEF
—common acronym of the secretary of defense, the senior civilian administrator of all branches of the U.S. military

SECNAV
—common acronym of the secretary of the navy, senior civilian administrator of the U.S. Navy

SECSTATE
—common acronym of the U.S. secretary of state

SIGINT
—Signals Intelligence, collecting, identifying, and analyzing electromagnetic emissions

Space-Based Infrared System
—satellite-based system that detects and tracks missiles and aircraft

SPACECOM
—common acronym for the U.S. Space Command, the major American military command responsible for space activities

STRATCOM
—U.S. Strategic Command, the major American military command responsible for strategic missile defense, information warfare, command and control, and surveillance

TMO
—Traffic Management Officer, the officer responsible for monitoring movements of ships or aircraft through a particular area or region

VFR
—Visual Flight Rules, the rules governing aircraft operations in good weather

WMD
—Weapons of Mass Destruction, referring to biological, nuclear, or chemical weapons designed to kill large numbers of people over very large areas with few numbers of weapons

U.S. PLANS FOR FUTURE WARS IN SPACE (www.Space.com, February 22, 2004): The U.S. Air Force has filed a futuristic flight plan, one that spells out need for an armada of space weaponry and technology for the near term and in years to come. Called the Transformation Flight Plan, the 176-page document offers a sweeping look at how best to expand America's military space tool kit.

…The CAV (Common Aero Vehicle) is an unpowered, maneuverable, hypersonic glide vehicle deployed in the 2010–2015 time period. The CAV could be delivered by a range of delivery vehicles from an expendable or reusable small launch vehicle to a fully reusable Space Operations Vehicle. It can guide and dispense conventional weapons, sensors, or other payloads worldwide from and through space within one hour of tasking. It would be able to strike a spectrum of targets, including mobile targets, mobile time-sensitive targets, strategic relocatable targets, or fixed hard and deeply buried targets. The CAV's speed and maneuverability would combine to make defenses against it extremely difficult…

 

SINO-RUSSIAN MILITARY MANEUVERS: A THREAT TO U.S. INTERESTS IN EURASIA (Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., and John J. Tkacik Jr., www.Heritage.org, September 30, 2005): Peace Mission 2005, the unprecedented Sino-Russian joint military exercises held on August 18–25, should raise concerns in Washington. The war games are a logical outcome of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Good Neighborly Friendship and Cooperation, signed in 2001, and the shared worldview and growing economic ties between the two giant powers…

The Russian daily
Nezavismaya Gazeta
was more blunt about the purpose of the war games: This is above all an assault on the unipolar world that has so suited Washington since the end of the Cold War. Chinese commentators were similarly frank. Jin Canrong, professor of international relations at the People's University of China, stated that the main target is the United States. Both sides want to improve their bargaining position in terms of security, politics, and economics. As Pravda.ru announced, “The reconciliation between China and Russia has been driven in part by mutual unease at U.S. power…”

 

RUSSIA NEGOTIATES SALE OF 50 SU-33 FIGHTERS TO CHINA (Sinodefence.com, October 27, 2006): Russia and China are finalizing negotiations for the delivery of up to fifty Su-33 carrier-based jet fighters, at a cost of US$2.5 billion.

China is expected to initially get two Su-33 jets to be used for evaluation and operational trials on the ex-Soviet carrier
Varyag
China acquired from the Ukraine in 1999. The carrier is currently stationed at China's Dalian Shipyard, being refitted since 2002. Once commissioned to service, the carrier will be able to operate the twelve aircraft of Su-33, which are included as the first-option part of the current program.

Eventually China could buy up to fifty aircraft of this type, to equip the first indigenous Chinese-built aircraft carrier expected by 2010.

 

CHINA'S ASAT TEST WILL INTENSIFY U.S.-CHINA FACE-OFF IN SPACE (
Aviation Week and Space Technology,
January 21, 2007): China's successful test of an antisatellite (ASAT) weapon means that the country has mastered key space sensor, tracking, and other technologies important for advanced military space operations. China can now also use “space control” as a policy weapon to help project its growing power regionally and globally.

…Although more of a “policy weapon” at this time, the Chinese ASAT shows that the Chinese military can credibly threaten imaging reconnaissance and other satellites operated by the United States, Japan, Russia, Israel, and Europe…

 

THE WEAPONIZATION OF SPACE (www.Stratfor.com, April 10, 2008):…The Pentagon intends to dominate space the same way it dominates the world's oceans: largely passively, allowing the free flow of international traffic, but with overwhelming and unchallenged military superiority. That will include not only defending assets in space, but holding those of a potential adversary at risk…

But the trajectory of development and the challenges that lie ahead will sooner or later dictate space-based weapons platforms. (BMD [Ballistic Missile Defense] is just one of a variety of potential justifications and applications.) And since the United States intends to ensure that its dominance in space remains unrivaled, it will move preemptively to consolidate that control. At some point, that will include actual weapons in space.

As has been said of other matters, the debate is over. Space is an integral part of U.S. military fighting capability, and therefore in all practical terms it has been weaponized.

 

DECADE FORECAST 2005–2015 (www.Stratfor.com):…Russia is the only competitor with an outside shot of actually reforming its existing space program to the point of creating a
near-global, near-real-time reconnaissance system. Add this to existing ballistic-missile technology, and a space-capable Moscow would pose a genuine threat to U.S. hegemony…

Of course, geopolitical and military alliances between any of these rivals could accelerate indigenous programs and capabilities. It is worth noting that Russia has made a virtual cottage industry out of exporting its own space expertise and technology to countries such as India, China, and Iran…

 

THE LASER GUN TAKES FLIGHT (www.popsci.com, November 10, 2008):…The first successful test of a plane-mounted laser gun came on August 7, when Boeing's eighteen-ton chemical laser fired a beam from a C-130H aircraft and destroyed a three-by-three-foot target on the ground. It was the first time all of the ATL's lab-tested pieces came together to vaporize a target…

 

RUSSIA SET TO BUILD NEW AIRCRAFT CARRIER (
RIA Novosti,
March 3, 2009): Russia's state-controlled United Shipbuilding Corporation (USBC) has disclosed some specifications of a new-generation aircraft carrier currently being developed for the country's navy.

It appears that the new warship will closely resemble advanced NATO carriers also displacing sixty thousand metric tons. This revelation has been indirectly confirmed by media reports about the interest of Russia's top naval brass in the projects of France's Thales, a leading developer of advanced CVF carriers for the British Royal Navy and PA-2 carriers for the French navy.

Her dimensions will match those of the PA-2 with a standard displacement of fifty-nine thousand metric tons, while her full displacement will total seventy-five thousand metric tons. Unlike the French carrier, which will have a gas-turbine propulsion unit, the Russian ship will be powered by a nuclear reactor and will have a different air wing.

…The sufficiently large new-generation carrier will accommodate an air wing comprising thirty to thirty-six heavy-duty fighters, not to mention aircraft of other types.

A mixed air wing comprising twenty-four heavy-duty and twenty-four lightweight planes, including MiG-29Ks or advanced lightweight fighters, can also be deployed on-board the carrier, whose deck and hangars will also accommodate Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs), helicopters, and auxiliary multirole planes.

 

CHINA READIES MILITARY SPACE STATION; LAUNCH COINCIDES WITH SHUTTLE PHASE-OUT (Craig Co-vault,
Spaceflight Now,
March 2, 2009): China is aggressively accelerating the pace of its manned space program by developing a seventeen-thousand-pound man-tended military space laboratory planned for launch by late 2010. The mission will coincide with a halt in U.S. manned flight with phase-out of the shuttle.

…Importantly, China is openly acknowledging that the new Tiangong outpost will involve military space operations and technology development.

Also the fact it has been given a number one numerical designation indicates that China may build more than one such military space laboratory in the coming years…

 

RUSSIA BUILDING ANTISATELLITE WEAPONS (Associated Press, March 5, 2009): Moscow—Russia is working on antisatellite weapons to match technologies developed by other nations and will speed up modernization of its nuclear forces, a deputy defense minister was quoted as saying Thursday.

The statement by General Valentin Popovkin signaled the government's intention to pursue its ambitious plans to strengthen the military despite the money crunch caused by a worsening financial crisis…

Popovkin said Russia continues to oppose a space arms race but will respond to moves made by other countries, according to Russian news reports…

 

DOD QUESTIONS GROWING CHINESE POWER (Associated Press, March 25, 2009): Washington—China is increasing its military power more rapidly and developing new “disruptive technologies” that are shifting the military balance in East Asia and possibly beyond, a Pentagon report said.

“…its armed forces continue to develop and field disruptive military technologies…that are changing regional military balances and that have implications beyond the Asia-Pacific region,” the report said. It said that included technologies for nuclear, space, and cyberwarfare…

 

CHINA ADDS PRECISION STRIKE TO CAPABILITIES (
Defense Technology International,
April 8, 2009): China has been developing and purchasing weapons for precision-strike warfare…The PLA's (Chinese People's Liberation Army) near-term goals appear to be greater asymmetric capabilities to target U.S. naval assets in the western Pacific and in space as part of an antiaccess strategy…

…A far less-noted potential co-orbital ASAT demonstration occurred on September 27, 2008, when the Shenzhou-7 manned spacecraft, which had just launched a BX-1 nanosatellite, passed within forty-five kilometers (twenty-eight miles) of the International Space Station…

…The U.S. and Japanese navies have long been concerned with the PLA program to create an antiship ballistic missile, by placing a maneuverable terminally guided warhead on the 2,400-kilometer-range DF-21, and likely, on the 600-kilometer DF-15. Asian military sources are also concerned that a new
3,000-kilometer version of the DF-21 may have multiple terminally guided warheads…

 

CHINESE NAVY REQUIRES SUPERCRUISING FIGHTER (
Aviation Week
's Defense Technology International, April 27, 2009): A supercruising combat aircraft is a high priority of the Chinese navy, the country's top admiral says in a revealing official interview that gives strong clues of perceived shortcomings and future directions for the maritime force.

Admiral Wu Shengli also says China must step up work on precision missiles that can overcome enemy defenses, and the nation should move faster in developing large combat surface ships—probably meaning the aircraft-carrier program that looks increasingly imminent.

…For the Chinese navy, one advantage of supercruising would be the ability to cover a large defensive area in less time—quite useful if the imagined target is a U.S. carrier group at long range.

…“We must develop new-generation weapons such as large surface combat ships, stealthy long-endurance submarines, supercruising combat aircraft, precision long-range missiles that can penetrate defenses, as well as deep-diving, fast, and intelligent torpedoes, and electronic combat equipment offering compatibility and commonality.”

 

JAPAN: THE MILITARY EXPLOITATION OF SPACE (www.Stratfor.com, July 19, 2009): The Japanese Ministry of Defense's annual white paper on defense was released July 17, making it explicit—for the first time—that Japan recognizes the need to develop space-based systems specifically for military purposes…

…This will further solidify the JSDF as one of the most technologically advanced and capable military forces in the world, and it will give it the tools to better monitor and secure Japan's global
interests. But it will not happen in a vacuum. Japan's space program, combined with a concerted—and often clandestine—Chinese effort, could mean that a space race is heating up in East Asia.

 

CHINA DELIVERS FRIGATE TO PAKISTAN (www.Stratfor.com, July 30, 2009): China delivered the first of four F-22P frigates to Pakistan,
Dawn News
reported July 30, citing a Pakistani naval spokesman. Each warship will carry a helicopter, surface-to-surface missiles, and surface-to-air missiles.

 

CHINA LAUNCHES LONG-RANGE WAR GAMES (Associated Press, August 12, 2009): Beijing—China's military launched war games Tuesday aimed at deploying forces at long distances…

The exercises will send fifty thousand armored troops—the People's Liberation Army's “largest-ever tactical military exercise”—to unfamiliar areas far from their bases for two months of live-fire drills, state media reported.

…“In the unprecedented exercise, one of the PLA's major objectives will be to improve its capacity of long-range projection,” the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said the war games constituted the army's “largest-ever tactical military exercise…”

The 2.3-million-member PLA is the world's largest standing military.

…The PLA has undergone a rapid upgrade in recent years in both equipment and doctrine. Two decades of almost annual double-digit increases in military spending have allowed the addition of cutting-edge fighter jets, nuclear submarines, and hundreds of ballistic missiles…China has announced a 14.9 percent rise in military spending in its 2009 budget, to 480.6 billion yuan (US$70.3 billion).

…The military has also taken steps to emerge from its traditional veil of secrecy and engage with other nations, most strikingly in sending ships to join the international antipiracy flotilla off the coast of Somalia this year.

 

COMMENTARY: PAKISTAN NUKE THEFTS FOILED (UPI, August 12, 2009): Washington—…Pakistan's secret nuclear storage sites are known to Islamist extremists and have been attacked at least three times over the last two years, according to two recent reputable reports.

…The first such attack against the nuclear-missile storage facility was on November 1, 2007, at Sargodha; the second, by a suicide bomber, occurred December 10, 2007, against Pakistan's nuclear air base at Kamra; and the third and most alarming was launched August 20, 2008, by several suicide bombers who blew up key entry points to a nuclear-weapons complex at the Wah cantonment, long believed to be one of Pakistan's main nuclear-weapons assembly points, where warheads and launchers come together in a national emergency…