CJ-20—long-range air-launched cruise missile
CJCS—chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
CNO—Chief of Naval Operations
COO—Chief Operating Officer
DEFCON—Defense Readiness Condition
DFAC—Dining Facility
DoD—Department of Defense
Dolphin-class—Israeli submarine
E-3C Sentry—airborne radar plane
Eagle Eye—unmanned remotely piloted reconnaissance plane
EEZ—Economic Exclusion Zone
EGT—Exhaust Gas Temperature
F-15C Eagle—American-made air superiority fighter
F-22 Raptor—fifth-generation American air superiority fighter
FPCON—Force Protection Condition
GDP—Gross Domestic Product
HARM—High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile
IDAS—Interactive Defense and Attack System, sub-launched attack missile
JASSM—Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, medium-range cruise missile
JH-37
Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS)—advanced military data-sharing system
KC-10 Extender—third-generation U.S. Air Force air refueling tanker and cargo plane
KC-135 Stratotanker—second-generation Air Force air refueling tanker
KC-46A Provider—fourth-generation Air Force air refueling tanker
long legs—able to fly long distances
LORAN—Long Range Navigation, ground-based long-range radio navigation system
MAD—magnetic anomaly detector, a system to locate submarines by aircraft
Mjollnr—space-based land or sea attack system
Nansha Dao—Chinese name for the Spratly Islands
netrusion—injecting false code or viruses electronically into an enemy radar
NVG—night-vision goggles
OTH-B—over-the-horizon backscatter ultra-long-range radar
PACAF—Pacific Air Forces
PL-9C—Chinese short-range heat-seeking air-to-air missile
Preppie—cadet entering the Air Force Academy who needs academic assistance
RQ-4 Global Hawk—long-range high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft
RTB—return to base
SAM—surface-to-air missile
SAT—Scholastic Aptitude Test
SBIRS—Space-Based Infrared Surveillance, new missile launch detection and tracking system
Shaanxi Y-8—Chinese medium turboprop transport plane modified for ASW patrol
shapes—inert practice bomb with the same size, weight, and shape of a real bomb
Shenyang J-20
sonobuoy—floating air-dropped sensor to detect submarines
StealthHawk—stealthy long-range attack cruise missile
Tank—nickname of the Joint Chiefs of Staff conference room
Thor’s Hammer—space-based land and sea attack weapon
Tomahawk—long-range ship- or sub-launched attack cruise missile
UNCLOS—United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
UNR—University of Nevada–Reno
Wilco—will comply
XB-1F Excalibur—refurbished B-1B Lancer bomber
XF-111 SuperVark—refurbished F-111 Aardvark bomber
Xisha Dao—Chinese name for the Paracel Islands
Zhongnanhai—Chinese government building complex in Beijing
REAL-WORLD NEWS EXCERPTS
PACIFIC POWER MAY SHIFT WITH NEW CHINESE WEAPON—(
China may soon put an end to that.
U.S. naval planners are scrambling to deal with what analysts say is a game-changing weapon being developed by China—an unprecedented carrier-killing missile called the Dong Feng 21D that could be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier at a distance of more than 900 miles.
. . . The weapon, a version of which was displayed last year in a Chinese military parade, could revolutionize China’s role in the Pacific balance of power, seriously weakening Washington’s ability to intervene in any potential conflict over Taiwan or North Korea. It also could deny U.S. ships safe access to international waters near China’s 11,200-mile-long coastline . . .
THE SIMMERING STRATEGIC CLASH IN U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS—(Stratfor.com, January 20, 2011): . . . Beijing is compelled by its economic development to seek military tools to secure its vital supply lines and defend its coasts, the historic weak point where foreign states have invaded. With each Chinese move to push out from its narrow geographical confines, the United States perceives a military force gaining in ability to block or interfere with U.S. commercial and military passage and access in the region. This violates a core American strategic need— command of the seas and global reach.
But China cannot simply reverse course—it cannot and will not simply halt its economic ascent, or leave its economic and social stability vulnerable to external events that it cannot control. Hence we have an unresolvable strategic clash; tempers are simmering, giving rise to occasional bursts of admonition and threat. Yet unresolvable does not mean immediate, and both sides continue to find ways to delay the inevitable and inevitably unpleasant, whether economic or military in nature, confrontation.
LEANING FORWARD, BUT NOT OVERREACHING—(AirForce-Magazine.com, January 27, 2011): Air Force will design its new long-range bomber by leveraging the best of today’s technology and not trying to incorporate exceedingly risky approaches, USAF Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Philip Breedlove told lawmakers Wednesday. “One of the cost-savings approaches we have for this bomber is to not lean forward into technology that’s not proven, but bring our aircraft up to the current day’s standards,” he testified before the House Armed Services Committee. For instance, Breedlove said stealth technology has advanced much since the B-2 bomber came along through subsequent work on the F-22 and F-35. “So the new bomber will have better stealth capability, but not [by] making leaps forward that we can’t count on,” he explained. This same mind-set applies for the bomber’s avionics, information-gathering systems, and so on . . .
MORE FOR LESS—(AirForce-Magazine.com, March 3, 2011): Air Force scientists aim to demonstrate a 2,000 -pound-class penetrating weapon that packs the same wallop as one of today’s 5,000-pound-class bunker busters, said Stephen Walker, who oversees USAF’s science and technology activities. This work, occurring under the new
