Pirates...

Yeah, Somalia is nothing new. Many types of ships are forced to sail well beyond visual range from the Somalian coast because of fear of attack from 'go-fast' type boats I watched a documentary on Discovery where they were talking about the same piracy issue and also talked with the captain and crew of a certain container ship that was held up while passing the Somalian coast. They even go to the extent to 'train' to practice protecting the ship in case of pirate attack. Fire hoses were the main weapons

I know ever since the attack on the small luxury cruiseship Seabourne Pride close security have been more focused upon. LRADS have been bought and better training for crew. How about introducing LRADS to luxury yachts if it isn't being done already?

Hi,

LRADS are used by some boats.

I have recently been privy to a demonstration done in a Military establishment with a couple of different LRADS.

I am reliably informed that they are not the all powerful disabling weapon the marketing hype would have you believe.

They are evidently very good for carrying voice over a long distance, someone who was present at the demo went as far as to suggest they would be good for communicating with guests on the beach from the mother ship at anchor.

Just another pirate attack. Here is the link.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080908/ap_on_re_as/malaysia_somalia_pirates

An unidentified warship off pirate-ridden Somali waters captured 14 pirates.

I would think if they really wanted to get rid of the pirates it could be done quickly and easily using the proper tools for the job. These two can be launched from ships a long distance away, be on target quickly, and dispose of said target with a minimum of fuss and bother.

Hi,

What ship can launch that plane?

The plane is by the way laying out chaff to distract heat seeking missiles not shooting at anything.

This is the tool that should be used on these Pirates at every available opportunity,

The AN/GAU-8 30mm Avenger seven-barrel gatling gun, mounted only on the A-10 attack jet, is a 30mm, 7 barrel gattling gun used primarily in the air to ground role as a soft target killer and tank buster. This aircraft is used for close-air support in attacking ground threats such as armored tanks and vehicles, and also serves as a forward air control observer for sighting ground threats and directing air strikes against enemy targets. The gun, mounted in the fuselage nose of the A/OA-10 Thunderbolt, is produced by [ex General Electric] Martin Marietta Armament Systems.

According to some sources, the GAU-8 fires 1,800 rounds per minute, with the higher 4200 rd/min rate having been deleted in the 1980s. However, the A-10 can only fire in high rate, which is 3900 rounds per minute. Low rate went out with the use of the batelle gas diverting device, and although the A-10 no longer uses the batelle device, the limit on high rate only has remained, since it made no tactical sense to fire in low rate and have to spend that much more time on final to get the same number of rounds on target.

The gun fires a mix of both high explosive incendiary (HEI) and armored piercing incendiary (API) ammunition. The PGU-13/B HEI High Explosive Incendiary round employs a standard M505 fuze and explosive mixture with a body of naturally fragmenting material that is effective against lighter vehicle and material targets. The PGU-14/B API Armor Piercing Incendiary round has a lightweight body which contains a sub-calibre high density penetrator of Depleted Uranium (DU). In addition to its penetrating capability DU is a natural pyrophoric material which enhances the incendiary effects. The PGU-15/B TP Target Practice projectile simulates the exterior ballistics and provides a ballistic match to the HEI round and is used for pilot training.

A typical combat load for the GAU-8 would include 1,100 rounds of 30mm high explosive or armor piercing ammunition. The 30mm API is mixed with 30mm High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) at the factory and is called Combat Mix Ammunition. The ratio of API to HEI rounds in the Combat Mix is 4:1. Combat mix is a sequential mixture of DU and HEI rounds in which 1 HEI round followed by 4 DU rounds are fired by the AN/GAU-8 gatling gun. DU is the primary munition for the A/OA-10 in a combat environment.

Depleted uranium results from the enriching of natural uranium for use in nuclear reactors. Natural uranium is a slightly radioactive metal that is present in most rocks and soils as well as in many rivers and sea water. Natural uranium consists primarily of a mixture of two isotopes (forms) of uranium, Uranium-235 (U235) and Uranium-238 (U238), in the proportion of about 0.7 and 99.3 percent, respectively. Nuclear reactors require U235 to produce energy, therefore, the natural uranium has to be enriched to obtain the isotope U235 by removing a large part of the U238. Uranium-238 becomes DU, which is 0.7 times as radioactive as natural uranium. . Since DU has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, there is very little decay of those DU materials. When manufactured as 30mm rounds, each DU projectile contains approximately 4,650 grains [0.66 pounds (lbs)] of extruded DU, alloyed with 0.75 weight percent titanium. The projectile is encased in a 0.8 mm-thick aluminum shell as the final DU round.

During Operation DESERT STORM the Air Force fired 30mm Armor Piercing Incendiary (API) munitions using a depleted uranium [DU] penetrator slug from the GAU-8 Gatling gun mounted on the A-10 Aircraft. The 148 A-10s that deployed to Saudi Arabia flew 8,077 combat sorties. The Air Force fired a total of 783,514 rounds of 30mm API in the Gulf War. Since each round contains approximately 0.66 pounds of DU, the Air Force expended a total of 259 tons of DU in the Gulf. The armor-piercing capability of the DU projectiles fired from A/OA-10s proved exceptionally effective in countering threats from the Iraqi tanks so that a successful ground offensive could then be achieved.

At times 30mm DU rounds misfire in the A-10’s GAU-8 cannon. These "hangfires" have to be cleared and removed from the gun barrel, potentially exposing ground crews to airborne DU. Technical data available to maitenance crews does not provide an accurate means for determining the status of rounds in an unsafe/jammed gun, and revisions are in progress.

I beg to disagree. Why coddle the bad guys when you can really teach 'em a lesson:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2046393742348211186

Hi,

Good One but I still think this would drive the message home without destroying the environment totally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZFFQcXDl4o&feature=related

I am agreeing with K1W1, this is an impressive piece of equipment:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1Oc-xbpy-OI

I can see it now...

"So, whatever happened to Omar the Pirate?"

"He went to **** and the Warthogs ate him."

K1W1, that's an AC-130 gunship and it can launch off an aircraft carrier if equipped with JATO bottles. It also can be launched from hundreds of miles away from a carrier or land base and refueled to stay in the air for hours at a time. Its awesome firepower is what makes it a good choice. You're right that the chaff is to foil heat seeking missles, but I believe those same chaff dispensers can also be used to fire flares down at targets on the ground. From Wikipedia...


"The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily-armed ground attack airplane. The basic airframe is manufactured by Lockheed, and Boeing is responsible for the conversion into a gunship and for aircraft support.[1] It is a variant of the C-130 Hercules transport plane. The AC-130A Gunship II superseded the AC-47 Gunship I in Vietnam.

The gunship's sole user is the United States Air Force, which uses AC-130H Spectre and AC-130U Spooky variants. The AC-130 is powered by four turboprops and has an armament ranging from 20 mm Gatling guns to 105 mm howitzers. It has a standard crew of twelve or thirteen Airmen, including five officers (two pilots, a navigator, an electronic warfare officer and a fire control officer) and enlisted personnel (flight engineer, electronics operators and aerial gunners).

The US Air Force uses the AC-130 gunships for close air support, air interdiction, and force protection. Close air support roles include supporting ground troops, escorting convoys, and flying urban operations. Air interdiction missions are conducted against planned targets and targets of opportunity. Force protection missions include defending air bases and other facilities. Stationed at Hurlburt Field in Northwest Florida, the gunship squadrons are part of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a component of Special Operations Command (SOCOM)."

If you want to see the capabilities of an AC-130, go to YouTube and type in AC-130. It will amaze you if you have not seen it in operation.

Hi,

The French at least showed some spine and gave these pirates some medicine.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/09/16/somalia.pirates/index.html

The Dutch Navy fregat Hr.Ms. Evertsen is also in Somalian waters to fight pirates.
That instead of the UK Royal Navy, once the scourge of brigands on the high seas,
their Foreign Office has told them not to detain pirates because doing so
may breach their human rights. Link

Hi,

This sums up what is currently wrong with the UK and the rest of Europe and it's open door policies.

The Nanny State on steroids- The Pirates should have no rights under E.U. Law as they are not members of an E.U. State but the Poms seem to spread this world wide.

It's not an internationally well known fact that the Ex Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife makes her living as a Q.C (Queens Counsel) fighting the Govt on Humans Rights Issues. This just encourages financial refugees, terrorists and other undesirables to find their way to Europe and to cling on to the Milk Tit of Western Civilization all the while planning and scheming their best way to take advantage of the soft underbelly of Civilised 21st Century Society.

Why detain them when they could just shoot them and solve a lot of the problems straight away?

This just in from a delivery skipper we know well:

A French Catamaran skipper was shot dead during an attack last Sunday night – 14 September – on board his yacht at anchor outside Marina de Caraballeda, situated on the Central Litoral coast between La Guaira and Cabo Codera, Venezuela.

Caracas newspaper "El Universal", report that four robbers attacked French yacht "Chrisalide", using a pirogue to reach the yacht at anchor. In resisting the attack, Skipper Philip Armand Leudiere, age 61, was shot several times in the head. The second crew member on board, Philip’s wife Catherine Marie Therese de Leudiere, remained captive until the robbers had finished their looting, taking an undisclosed quantity of money and equipment.

It appears that the pirogue driver was scared on hearing the shooting down below and fled, leaving the remaining robbers to swim ashore. Mrs de Leudiere alerted police by firing a red flare when the robbers had left. It appears the couple did not hear the robbers board their yacht until they were down below.

This is not the first robbery or attack on a boat near Marina de Caraballeda, which frequently suffers petty theft and occasionally violence towards crews during robberies. However it is the first with this sad outcome.

Alfredo Penso of SV Irie, currently waiting for repairs to be finished to his yacht in Marina de Caraballeda, advises the following; "A note of caution to fellow sailors who visit our waters: Never, under any circumstances, anchor in the bay of Marina de Caraballeda for overnight stays. Please call VHF channel 16 to speak with the Marina Commodore or his assistant (they remain on duty during the daytime) and ask for help in anchoring. They will probably assign you a slip or even allow you to anchor inside the marina where they have security personnel".

Marina de Caraballeda is for public use and state owned and is officially closed for repairs due to the damage suffered during the 1999 land slides. However a lot of boats remain in the marina waiting to finish their repairs.

Hi,

Isn't there some lunatic in charge of the country mentioned above who hates everything western except his petro dollars?

Maybe his attitude to the west has spilled over to the rest of the countries inhabitants and it's time for some backyard gardening!

You forgot to mention his penchant for buggery!!