Achilles has entered my life my new wingman

Its funny how I have always wanted a dog and this little Basset Hound puppy entered my life just over 2 weeks ago.  I have to say I'm not sure who gets more out of our friendship him or me.

He was born on Jan 28, 2011 and is proving to be a challenge and a huge part of my life.

he is a bit of a helper dog and I challenged some friends to come up with some cool names for him.

Helper dog, companion dog, guide dog but the one that seems most appropriate is "wingman" 

Also his name is Achilles as in the Greek demi god.

4 soldiers hurt in Afghanistan helicopter accident

Canada has been very lucky with the used CH-147D  Chinook helicopters it received from the US military in 2009 for the bargain price of $282 million.  These airframes are quite old and it was unlikely that there would be buyers for them once the mission ends.   The reason Canada is selling these versatile aircraft is that they have already purchased newer version in the amount of 15 of the CH-147F version.

Canadian Chinooks bought used off the US Marines in 2009

The number for 15 new chinooks is $1.2 billion the 20 year service and support contract is $2.2 billion and will provide approximately 5,500 jobs and an opportunity for up to 15,000 indirect jobs for Canadians across the country.

Originally there were 6 aircraft but now that number falls to four as the one to replace the bird that was shot down in August 2010 was a leased aircraft.  

Canadian soldiers gather near a burning Canadian Forces CH-147 Chinook helicopter after it made a hard landing close to the village of Bazaar e Panjway, in the Panjway district west of Kandahar on 5 August 2010

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Four Canadian soldiers were injured when a helicopter "rolled" Monday during a "hard landing" on a riverbed in Afghanistan.

Chinooks are very good aircraft and with the high altitude and very austere conditions in Afghanistan they have saved many lives.

The Canadian CH-47 Chinook transport chopper accident occurred during night operations by the Quebec-based Royal 22nd Regiment in the Horn of Panjwaii. Insurgents were not blamed in the incident.



None of the injuries were considered serious or life threatening at this time, said Maj. David Devenney, the Task Force Kandahar spokesman. Among several dozen passengers was a Canadian journalist who was uninjured.



Three of the wounded were flown by another helicopter to the U.S. Navy-run Role 3 Hospital at Kandahar Airfield. Canadian and other coalition forces secured the crash site.

"I am extremely happy everybody is in good shape," said Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner, the Canadian commander. "The casualties were very minor. They'll be looked at over the next few days."

Canadian troops stand beneath a Chinook Ch-47 helicopter in Afghanistan in a 2010 file photo. Four Canadian soldiers were injured when their helicopter crashed upon landing on a river bed in Afghanistan.

Photograph by: Sgt Daren Kraus, DND

"It was a standard operation," Milner explained. "We move Chinooks through that battle space all the time and are very deliberate about where we land. We landed on a piece of turf in a riverbed that is fairly straight. But that little piece wasn't and the wheels went cockeyed. As a result, the helicopter rolled, the blades broke, and it finished the roll ending up on its side."

Devenney said that an assessment was being conducted to decide whether the aircraft was salvageable. Initial reports suggested that it had been heavily damaged.



Milner said that the damaged helicopter would have no impact on military operations.

"There will be no loss of operational tempo as we close in on the fighting season which is about to begin because the poppy harvest is almost over," he said.



Monday's accident was the third involving a Canadian helicopter in Afghanistan. Another Chinook was hit by insurgent gunfire and burned after being forced to make a hard landing on Aug. 5, 2010.  Eight soldiers were wounded in the crash.

Canadian soldiers from the NATO-led coalition sit in a CH 147 Chinook helicopter before take off over a neighbourhood in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, March 27, 2009. Helicopters are a prime asset to move NATO-led coalition troops and supplies in the war-plagued country because convoys by road are often blown up improvised explosive devises (IEDS).

Thirteen months earlier a smaller Canadian CH-146 Griffon helicopter crashed on takeoff in neighbouring Zabul province. Three on board died and three others were injured.

Those who died were: Master Cpl. Pat Audet, 38, of Montreal, and Cpl. Martin Joannette, 25, of St-Calixte, Que., and a British officer.

Interior of crashed Chinook

Another Canadian, military photographer Master Cpl. Darrell Jason Priede, was killed in 2007 when the U.S. Chinook helicopter that he was flying in was apparently shot down in Helmand province. Six other coalition soldiers died in that crash.



Helicopters are one of the main ways to get around southern Afghanistan's rugged terrain. When available they are often the preferred means of transport because the Taliban often mine the roads with homemade explosives.



Canada acquired a small fleet of Chinooks from the U.S. army after the Manley Panel on Afghanistan recommended to Parliament that helicopters were urgently needed to help troops off Kandahar's dangerous roads.

Read more: http://www.canada.com/news/soldiers+hurt+Afghanistan+helicopter+accident/4787736/story.html#ixzz1MXh0cHbS

A Canadian helicopter sits on its side after it crashed on landing in the Panjwaii district of Afghanistan on Monday. Four Canadian soldiers were injured, one of them seriously, in the incident.
(Colin Perkel/Canadian Press)

Canada sold its Canadian Chinooks to the Dutch and here is one carrying a Dutch F16.

Russian 5th generation stealth helicopter?

KA 50 (notice the rounded body compared to the KA 58 representations that show angled stealth designs)

KA 50 (compared to the old but very reliable Mi24 (Hind) Gunship)

KA 52 Alligator (has small mid-mounted wings, fitted with four underwing suspension units and wingtip countermeasures pods)

KA 52 Alligator (52 refers to twin aircrew version of the Alligator)

KA 58 Stealth?

The Russian military have been developing the twin counter rotating Kamov Ka 50, then the KA 52 and now on the drawing board is the stealth version the KA 58.  Notice in the actual aircraft and the representations on how the design is developing from a a single person attack helicopter to a twin air crew stealth aircraft.

Stealth Blackhawk (Silent hawk) in pictures...

When compared to recent revelations of Chinese Stealth technologies it should be of no surprise that the American military was capable of creating a stealth Blackhawk.

 Of course the real shock is that they have been able to kept it secret.

Silent hawk? (from the Sun)

The Chinese have had rapid development in Stealth technology with the revelation of two working test beds of their new Stealth Fighter earlier this year.

J20 with variable fins and stealth technology

They have also developed a helicopter that incorporates some stealth technologies from shaped airframes to radar limiting coverings and paint.  Compare the Chinese designs on airframes in service to the Blackhawk drawings and the wreckage.

Chinese Attack helicopter WZ 10 (operational in 2010) 

WZ 10 with radar avoiding features

Stealth Helos Used In Osama Raid

Posted by Bill Sweetman

Well, now we know why all of us had trouble ID'ing the helicopter that crashed, or was brought down, in the Osama raid.

tail rotor recovered in Abbottababd raid

It was a secretly developed stealth helicopter, probably a highly modified version of an H-60 Blackhawk. Photos published in the Daily Mail and on the Secret Projects board show that the helicopter's tail features stealth-configured shapes on the boom and tip fairings, swept stabilizers and a "dishpan" cover over a non-standard five-or-six-blade tail rotor. It has a silver-loaded infra-red suppression finish similar to that seen on some V-22s. 

A graphic of a so called Silent hawk

No wonder the team tried to destroy it. The photos show that they did a thorough job - except for the end of the tailboom, which ended up outside the compound wall. (It almost looks as if the helo's tail hit the wall on landing.)

http://www.aviationgraphic.com/sparta/

Aviation Graphic's version of the Stealth Blackhawk compared to a typical Special Forces helicopter

Stealth helicopter technology in itself is not new and was applied extensively to the RAH-66 Comanche. Priorities are usually different versus fixed-wing aircraft. Reducing noise and making it less conspicuous is the first job (more main and tail blades reduce the classic whop-whop signature). Listen here. 

Noise can also be reduced by aerodynamic modifications and flight control changes that make it possible to slow the rotor down, particularly in forward flight below maximum speed. Infra-red reduction measures are crucial -- the Comanche had an elaborate system of exhaust ducts and fresh-air mixers in its tailboom.

Comanche cancelled in 2004 (stealth gunship)

Radar cross-section reduction is also possible - you can't make a helo as radar-stealthy as a fixed-wing airplane, because of all its moving parts, but on the other hand it is generally operating at low altitude in ground clutter, and is not an easy target. Reducing RCS also makes jamming more effective, whether from the aircraft itself or from a standoff jammer.

The willingness to compromise this technology shows the importance of the mission in the eyes of US commanders -- and what we're seeing here also explains why Pakistani defenses didn't see the first wave (at least) coming in.

Why Osama is dead (graphic image)

Subtle caption from the New York rag....

Osama bin Laden was killed by US Navy SEALs in a daring raid in the dark of night in the military town of Abbottabad on the night of 1 May 2011 (the same day that Hitler killed himself in 1945).  Without releasing pictures of OBL body the conspiracy files have ramped up saying that OBL is really alive and/ or was actually a CIA agent.... or that he died in December 2001. 

There are some ways to verify the events without looking at any OBL pics.  His eldest son was allegedly killed in the raid and the body show below showcases very similar familiar traits.

Look at the thin frame of OBL.

Long nose.

Thin but long eye brows.

Prominent lips.

Two images that showcase Osama bin Laden face and slight thin frame

Younger Osama bin Laden for comparrsion

 Now the picture shown below has very similar traits.

Cropped and enlarged picture of eldest bin Laden son in Abbottabad?

Long nose.

Thin but long eye brows.

Prominent lips.

One can't confirm identity just using pictures but it defiantly showcases a very similar facial features.

Now could this be called proof?

Body of alleged Osama bin Laden's son in Abbottabad (original photo)

Omar bin Laden (note the long nose and thin eye brows)

Congrats the witch is dead.

I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.

Mark Twain

Before today this was only the word... Osama is dead or alive

Now we know he is dead... congrats

The world sees things differently

Its always good to know that the world sees things in a different light then we do.  

Its hard to respect some people's ideas and ideals but that is the nature of who we are is to accept those that hate us and those with opposing views.... despite it hurting.