Japan deploying Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile defenses in lieu of DPRK missile lauch

Japan's Defense Ministry has deployed Patriot PAC-3 antimissile air defense units to three Self-Defense Forces installations, in Tokyo and Chiba, to defend against possible North Korean missile strikes, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday.

The PAC-3 units were deployed to the Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Ichigaya in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, as well as the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Camp Asaka in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward and Camp Narashino in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, Suga told a news conference.

Those units have been deployed apparently to defend the ministry’s headquarters and key SDF units as well as the heart of the capital, given the limited range of the PAC-3 interceptors, which is about 30 km.

But Suga declined to reveal further details of the operation in order not to reveal confidential defense information.

“We’d like to refrain from explaining further because it would give away details of the cards we hold. At any rate, we have taken thorough measures to ensure the safety of the people,” Suga said.

Japan has already deployed Aegis destroyers in the Sea of Japan to monitor the possible launch of North Korean ballistic missiles, which Pyongyang has threatened to use to attack the United States, possibly including U.S. military bases in Japan.

Aegis destroyers are equipped with SM-3 interceptor missiles, which are designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in their early stage of flight. The Patriot PAC-3 systems are designed to intercept missiles that evaded the SM-3 defense layer.

On Monday, Suga told a news conference that Japan would use those antimissile systems only to defend Japanese territory.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proposed that the government change its interpretation of the Constitution so Japan can intercept a ballistic missile fired at the United States, but an advisory panel to Abe is still discussing relevant issues and the government has maintained its current interpretation.

Shooting down a ballistic missile aimed at the U.S. would fall within the category of collective self-defense as defined by the United Nations Charter. The government interprets the war-renouncing Constitution as prohibiting the exercise of the right of collective defense.

Was there ever a DARK Flight of 7?

Photo (C)  Steve Douglass 

The internet has been buzzing ever since I reported I monitored (what sounded like seven B-1B bombers winging their way to UAM (Guam) possibly being  pre-positioned to strike North Korean missile sites.

Since then  USPAF has denied any B-1s have landed at Guam nor anywhere else in the Pacific theater and since I did not have a recording of DARK FLIGHT of Seven - some have doubted the veracity and (or) have speculated the transmission I heard was "spoofing" deliberately made in the clear to make an enemy think there was a flight of B-1Bs on the way.

Begin linked snippet: "Under less ouvert mission, a flight of seven B-1B bombers was deployed over the Pacific, using open communications to transmit their destination of interest – Guam. Although it was not clear if their destination Guam, the use of open comms channel to deliver what would be considered classified information could have been a signal to Pyongyang."

Let me digress - .On April 3rd at approximately 10:42 PM CDT I  monitored (live) "DARK" FLIGHT OF SEVEN on PRIME"  (311.000 MHZ STRATCOM PRIMARY) asking for current weather for UAM.

Later that same evening I monitored  on 251.100 MHz DARK flight  calling for "GASSR 11 and GASSR 12" (KC-135s) for a "Tanker drag to BAB." BAB is Beal AFB in California.

251.100 MHz is a published military air-refueling  ATC frequency for Albuquerque Center (ZAB) and indicated the bombers were in New Mexico airspace. 

Later, when I went through my recordings I could not find the audio. I have several scanners that automatically record to my computer and all I could find (during the point in time  in question) was civil/commercial radio traffic - and in particular a  FEDEX  flight talking in an extended phone-patch  through AIR INC - to his company, trying to find a better flight level due to heavy chop. 

I reported what I heard anyway - but really had no proof- especially the all important communications concerning weather at UAM.

 Along with my report I posted some audio recorded earlier in the day off a military satellite of a  B-1B from Ellsworth, AFB (SLAM ONE) practice bombing a simulated mobile missile site,  in actuality a school bus depot in Snyder, Texas) standing in for the real thing. 

You can hear that communication HERE .http://www.webbfeatproductions.com/satcom.mp3

That recorded communication all but verified that B-1Bs were training to hit missile sites - an educated guess - most likely in North Korea.

An article published on Air Force Times website contained this paragraph: : "B-1 bomber pilots based at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas are spending more time training for long flights over the Pacific and spending less preparing for attacks in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan."  This confirms what I heard.

I then contacted David Cenciotti (The Aviationist) and told him what I had monitored and captured.  He posted a story about it on his blog (as did I ) - and then things went nuts.

It was amazing watching the report propagate through the Internet. In no time the story was posted on about every aviation forum and news service across the planet. My blog began getting slammed as did my live aviation radio feed with hundreds of people listening in at any given moment. My blog logged over fifty thousand page views over the weekend.

And then the denials began. No B-1Bs ever landed at Guam - this according to official and unofficial sources. David posted this STORY in response.

Could it have been that DARK FLIGHT never existed at all and was I just a unknowing participant in some kind of well-orchestrated ruse to make North Korea think B-1Bs were heading to the area even though they were not? Had I been "spoof chattered?"

I decided to go through my recordings again and seek proof.  I deduced I had heard the "UAM" reference when DARK FLIGHT of SEVEN was in Albuquerque Center airspace - I decided I needed to look earlier in my recordings to see if DARK could be heard as they left Abilene or while they were still over Texas.

After wading through recordings I found my nugget. DARK FLIGHT of SEVEN did (at least on the radio) exist.

I had recorded a DARK FLIGHT OF SEVEN as they (possibly) refueled near the Childress VOR with a tanker (most likely) from Altus AFB.

You can listen to the audio (with the spaces edited out) HERE.

In the recording you can hear "DARK FLIGHT OF SEVEN" coming up on the tanker frequency (316.100 MHz) and checking in one at a time.

Refueling seven B-1s has to be herculean task because at one point the boom operator has to take a break.

 However (updated 4-10-13 ) it has not been confirmed if the refueling communications I recorded involved DARK FLIGHT of SEVEN and in fact has been disputed in a comment by a reader on  The Aviationist who claims to be attached to the refueling wing based at Altus, AFB Oklahoma.

Be that what it may, in conclusion - it seems there was a radio call "DARK FLIGHT of SEVEN" - but where (or if) they deployed anywhere is still not known.


-Steve Douglass

UPDATE: David Cenciotti (The Aviationist) posted this report this morning confirming that Dark flight did exist. He speculates the mention (in the clear) of UAM being their final destination may very well have been subterfuge - the B-1s flying a deterrence mission, intended to send a clear message to Pyongyang.

PS: As I drove to work today I pondered one other possibility. It's now  clear there was a DARK FLIGHT of seven. 

According to recordings three B-1bs left Dyess AFB and three returned after doing some practice air refuelings across the southwestern United States. 

But what happened to the other two? Maybe (posit) the two other B-1Bs in DARK FLIGHT were from Ellsworth AFB and maybe (posit) they did head out across the Pacific, took part in  a long distance and long duration sortie, flew close enough to the DPRK to show up on early warning radar screens - then flew home. 

Days before a B-2 stealth bomber made the round trip from Whiteman AFB in Missouri and flew over South Korea. 

Normally (as these stealth training sorties go) no one would have known about the flight since stealth aircraft (duh) do not appear on radar. But it's clear now it was never a training sortie but more of a publicity stunt staged by the Pentagon. It was a public show of force and an attempt to strike fear into the hearts of the generals in the DPRK - complete with a press release and photos. In other words, carefully engineered propaganda. 

But maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe (since the B-2 had an FA/18 escort) it showed up on the North's radars as big as a barn. I imagine some Pyongyang general pointing out that the B-2 stealth bomber is not that stealthy at all. They were not scared and in fact the B-2 flyby only wrenched the rhetoric and threats coming from the DPRK a notch. Not long after at least two medium range missiles were reported being moved to the eastern coast of North Korea.

And then the inevitable happened. Spy satellites pick up on the missile movements, B-1Bs start practicing to take out missile sites and the Pentagon realizes that the DPRK saw the B-2 flyby for what it was - a photo op. 

So someone dreams up a mission. B-1bs from Dyess and Ellsworth team up for a special (un- publicized) training op. Five B-1s and two KC-135s take to the sky - join up over the southwestern US .One B-1B radios a  request for weather at  "UAM" in the clear, either an OPSEC mistake or on purpose.

Maybe - later that evening  all but two  B-1bs fly back to Dyess and Ellsworth.  Two fly off  across the Pacific with their tanker drag to the west coast.  Maybe they pick up other tanker drags as they cross the big pond. The operational (un-refueled)  range of a B-1b is close to 6,000 miles.

Maybe they pick up a tanker out of Guam - or other parts west and then make a run over South Korea.  

They don't land at Guam or anywhere in the Pacific theater because they don't have to. Yes - that's a lot of maybes. 

Or maybe it was a ruse - spoofing - I think they call it.  

Maybe too many maybees for this author but alas I'm not privy what's going on in the halls at the Pentagon - i only report what I hear on my radios.

Besides, deploying  B-1bs closer to Pyongyang would also not only raise already sky-high tensions in the area - it would also dilute the message which could be; "We can hit you from Texas." 

-Steve Douglass 

North Korea warns foreigners living in South Korea to leave in case of war.

THE GUARDIAN: As the world waits to see if North Korea launches a ballistic missile, the regime has attempted to raise tensions further, warning foreigners living in South Korea to make evacuation plans because the peninsula is on the brink of war.

"We do not wish harm on foreigners in South Korea should there be a war," the official KCNA news agency quoted an official from a North Korean organisation calling itself Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee as saying.

The KCNA report did not offer details and there are reportedly no signs of a military buildup near the border dividing the Korean peninsula, located less than 40 miles from the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Analysts noted that Pyongyang had issued similar threats in the past, adding that this latest warning is designed to elicit aid and political concessions from Seoul and Washington.

Amid the bluster of recent weeks – during which the North has threatened to launch a nuclear attack on the US – the regime appears to have made good on its threat to withdraw its workers from the Kaesong industrial complex.

None of the 53,000 North Korean workers at the site, located just north of the border, arrived for work on Tuesday morning – a day after Pyongyang accused the South of turning the jointly run zone into "a hotbed of war".

The suspension of all operations at the site momentarily shifted attention from North Korea's east coast where, according to reports, preparations were being made to test launch at least one medium-range missile, possibly as early as Wednesday.

In response, Japan deployed PAC-3 missile interceptors in Tokyo on Tuesday. Japan's self-defence forces are under orders to shoot down any incoming North Korean missiles; Tokyo has also deployed two Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles in the Sea of Japan.

The two missiles, thought to be the untested Musudan, have a maximum range of 2 485 miles, putting South Korea, Japan and US bases on Guam within reach.

The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said his government would take "every possible measure to protect the lives and safety of the Japanese people".

The closure of Kaesong, the last symbol of rapprochement between the two Koreas, marks a serious deterioration in cross-border ties. The move is also a sign of how far the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, may be prepared to go to foment crisis on the peninsula, given that a prolonged closure would deprive his regime of an important source of hard currency.

South Korea's president, Park Geun-hye, described the suspension as "very disappointing" and said investors would now shun the North.

"Investment is all about being able to anticipate results and trust and when you have the North breaking international regulations and promises like this and suspending Kaesong while the world is watching, no country in the world will invest in the North," Park told a cabinet meeting.

"North Korea should stop behaving in this way and make the right choice for the future of the Korean nation."

South Korean firms have invested an estimated $500m (£327m) in the site since it opened in 2004. The complex generates about $96m for the North Korean economy every year.

About 475 South Korean workers and factory managers remain in Kaesong, with 77 expected to return across the border on Tuesday.

The warning to foreign residents in the South comes a week after North Korea told overseas embassies in Pyongyang that they should consider evacuating staff, warning their safety could not be guaranteed if war breaks out. No embassies are thought to have acted on the advice.

F/A 18F Super Hornet crashes into sea - crew ejects safely

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY, Bahrain (NNS) -- No one was injured when an F/A-18F Super Hornet crashed into the water while operating near USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) in the North Arabian Sea, April 8.

Search and Rescue (SAR) swimmers from an SH-60F of HS-5 "Night Dippers" recovered the two aircrew and safely delivered them back to the carrier.

The two aircrew, from VFA-103 "Jolly Rogers" based in Virginia Beach, Va., safely ejected from their jet when it incurred an engine failure at 12:20 p.m. local time.

Eisenhower is homeported in Norfolk, Va., and is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts.

This incident is under investigation. 

North Korea expected to launch missile

By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: April 7, 2013


SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean government warned on Sunday that the North might launch a missile later this week, while a top military leader postponed a scheduled trip to Washington, citing escalating tensions on the peninsula.

The warning by Kim Jang-soo, director of national security for President Park Geun-hye, came three days after the South Korea’s defense minister said that the North had moved to its east coast a missile with a “considerable range” but not capable of reaching the mainland United States.

The missile was widely believed to be the Musudan, which the South Korean military says can travel “more than” 3,000 kilometers or 1,864 miles. But South Korean media and analysts say the missile can extend its range to 4,000 kilometers or 2,490 miles, which would put American bases in Guam within its reach.

Mr. Kim said that the North Korean authorities had told foreign embassies in Pyongyang to inform them by Wednesday whether they needed assistance in evacuating should they wish to because of rising tensions on the peninsula.

The North gave a similar warning to some of the 123 South Korean factories in the joint industry park in the North Korean city of Kaesong, Mr. Kim said. For a fifth consecutive day, North Korea blocked South Korean workers and supplies from entering the factory park, forcing 13 plants to stop production as of Sunday.

The Kaesong complex is the last remaining major project of inter-Korean cooperation and a crucial test of whether North Korea was willing to sacrifice a lucrative source of hard current to push its political and military priorities.

“We believe this is a calculated move by the North,” Mr. Kim said during a meeting of security-related officials on Sunday. The North, he said, “may launch a provocation, such as missile launch,” around Wednesday, he said.

His comments were relayed by Kim Haing, a presidential spokeswoman.

“North Korea has been engaged in a so-called headline strategy,” Mr. Kim, the national security director, said, referring to an almost daily drumbeat of North Korean threats that has made newspaper headlines since early March.

North Korea was raising tensions in an effort to frighten and force the United States and South Korea to return to dialogue with possible concessions, Mr. Kim said. The pressure was also aimed at China and Russia to mediate on North Korea’s behalf.

“We see through their motive," he said. Although North Korea shows no signs of attempting a full-scale war, it will suffer damage many times more than we doif it launches even a localized provocation.”

South Korea “has no intention of attempting premature dialogue just because of a crisis,” Mr. Kim said, urging the North to ease tensions so dialogue can start.

Foreign embassies told to consider evacuating Pyongyang have dismissed the advisory.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Sunday that the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang was operating normally, and urged the North to "thoroughly ensure the safety of Chinese embassy and consular personnel resident in North Korea." The Xinhua News Agency on Saturday quoted Foreign Minister Wang Yi as telling United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that Beijing would “not allow trouble on China’s doorstep.”

Also on Sunday, Gen. Jung Seung-jo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South Korean military, postponed plans to meet with his American counterpart, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, in Washington on April 16, military officials said. General Jung could not be away from South Korea amid the rising tension, the officials said.

South Korea’s military is on heightened alert after North Korean threats to strike the United States and its allies. North Korea has been angry over United Nations sanctions imposed on it for its February nuclear test and joint American-South Korean military drills.

Washington responded by flying nuclear-capable bombers over South Korea in training missions and moving two of the Navy’s missile-defense ships closer to the Korean Peninsula. It also planned to deploy a land-based missile-defense system to Guam later this month.


Christopher Buckley contributed reporting from Hong Kong.