Defense News: IDF successfully tests naval Iron Dome defense system against multiple attacks

 

IDF successfully tests naval Iron Dome defense system against multiple attacks

The C-Dome successfully intercepted advanced targets which represent threats to the State of Israel's infrastructure and strategic assets. 

By YONAH JEREMY BOB, Jerusalem Post, MAY 29, 2023

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-744485

  

IDF runs successful tests on new naval Iron Dome system on May 29, 2023.

(photo credit: ISRAEL DEFENSE MINISTRY)

The IDF Navy has successfully completed a series of multi-system and multi-tier interception tests using the naval version of the Iron Dome system from the Saar 6 “Magen” in another landmark moment for enhancing the capabilities of one of the navy's prized ships.

The naval Iron Dome, known as “C-Dome,” is a joint project of the navy along with the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), under the Israeli Ministry of Defense’s DDR&D, along with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

The C-Dome successfully intercepted advanced targets which represent threats to the State of Israel's infrastructure and strategic assets in its exclusive economic zone.   

C-Dome interception test

In November 2022, the navy had carried out a successful C-Dome interception test, but Monday's test included a much wider array of existing and future threats that the “Magen” ships may face during conflict, such as rockets, cruise missiles, and UAVs. 

A Defense Ministry statement said, "The tests integrated shipboard systems with Israel’s multi-tier defense array and tested new technologies to enhance the air and missile defense multi tier array's operational effectiveness at sea and on land. The success of the tests is another significant milestone in the array’s development to counter existing and future threats in various combat arenas."

 IDF runs successful tests on new naval Iron Dome system on May 29, 2023. (credit: ISRAEL DEFENSE MINISTRY)

The Sa’ar 6 missile ships will guard strategic infrastructure such as the natural gas rigs, and protect the commercial shipping lanes which bring in 98% of Israel’s imports. The IDF has decided not to place Iron Dome batteries on oil rigs themselves for safety reasons – instead, the C-Dome has been placed on the Sa’ar 6.

The Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta is the radar manufacturer and mPrest is the command-and-control manufacturer.

C-Dome adds to the existing array of Israel's four operational defense tiers: Iron Dome, David's Sling, Arrow 2, and Arrow 3. 

Operational capabilities in the face of growing maritime threats

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “The C-Dome system constitutes a significant leap forward in our defense capabilities, and ensures the Israeli defense establishment’s superiority and operational capabilities in the face of growing threats in the maritime arena." 

Head of the DDR&D, Brig. Gen. (res.) Dr. Daniel Gold responded, "The campaign's success further strengthens our confidence in the defense systems and their ability to protect extensive areas as well as the State of Israel's strategic assets on land and at sea." 

Director of DDR&D's IMDO, Mr. Moshe Patel, added, "During this current campaign, we successfully tested the Naval Iron Dome's new capabilities aboard the Sa'ar 6 corvette together with additional systems in Israel’s multi-tier air and missile defense array, including connectivity between systems on-board with those on land, and a new radar developed to protect Israel's exclusive economic zone."

"The system successfully identified various threats including rockets, UAVs and cruise missiles, and destroyed them using interceptors launched from onboard the ship at sea, with exceptional precision. The preparation and execution of this test was done in parallel with the successful operational participation of Iron Dome and David’s Sling during Operation 'Shield and Arrow.'"

The Defense Ministry also said that some new operational capabilities were tested on Monday which had not been tested in November 2022, but declined to specify exactly what, Similarly, the ministry declined to say when the C-Dome would be fully operational, a sign that the system is still a year or more away from full regular deployment.

Israel Armed Forces cheer as ship-mounted Iron Dome aces fresh tests

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Researchers suggest very short-lived halogens partially to blame for ozone depletion over the tropics

MAY 29, 2023 **REPORT**by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

https://phys.org/news/2023-05-short-lived-halogens-partially-blame-ozone.html

Future long-term evolution of tropical LS ozone.

 a, Indices of the change of 20 year mean ozone concentration relative to the 1998–2018 average in UppLim8.5, LowLim8.5, UppLim 6.0 and LowLim 6.0 simulations. Indices represent four-member ensemble-mean values ± 95% confidence interval. 

The horizontal dashed line marks the threshold of severe ozone depletion relative to the recent past. ∆6.0 and ∆8.5 for the gap obtained by 2100 by reducing anthropogenic VSLS emissions, respectively, under RCP6.0 and RCP8.5 scenarios. 

b,c, Latitude–height profiles in pressure levels (hPa) of the four-member ensemble-mean stratospheric ozone change averaged across 2080–2099 represented, respectively, by LowLim6.0 (b) and UppLim8.5 (c) simulations. 

Credit: Nature Climate Change (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-023-01671-y

An international team of climate scientists has used climate models to show that some very short-lived substances are partially to blame for ozone depletion over the tropics. In their paper published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the group describes how they used a variety of climate models to simulate the impact of very short-lived substances (VSLS) on the lower parts of the ozone layer over the tropics and what they learned by doing so. Seok-Woo Son with Seoul National University, has published a News & Views piece in the same journal issue outlining the work done by the team on this new effort.

In the 1980s, it became clear that substances used by humans were harming the ozone layer, which is a layer of the Earth's stratosphere with a high concentration of ozone that is very important for life on Earth because it absorbs UV radiation. Worried about the damage, world leaders established the Montreal protocol in 1987. It called for the discontinuation of chlorofluorocarbons and some other aerosols. The protocol worked as hoped, and the ozone layer began to recover.

But more recently, it has been found that there is still a problem over the tropics, and depletion there is still occurring. Some have suggested it is due to swift upward warm air flow, resulting in winds blowing from the tropics toward the poles, which leaves the stratosphere over the tropics with a thinner ozone layer. In this new effort, the researchers suggest that such an explanation is only partially right. They believe that there are some other gases that are also part of the problem.

Suspecting that halogenated VSLS might be playing a role in ozone depletion over the tropics, the research team ran a host of simulations using what they describe as a variety of sophisticated climate models to show what happens when VSLS enter the atmosphere. They found that these substances live long enough to make their way to the lower parts of the stratosphere where they cause damage to the lower parts of the ozone layer. The VSLS were able to do this, the research team noted, because of the strong upward winds over the tropics.

Their simulations showed that VSLS are likely responsible for up to 25% of the damage done to the lower part of the ozone layer over the tropics over the past two decades. They conclude their study by suggesting that VSLS be added to the list of banned substances.

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China plans to land astronauts on moon before 2030, another step in what looks like a new space race

MAY 29, 2023

https://phys.org/news/2023-05-china-astronauts-moon-space.html

Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission, from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng, and Zhu Yangzhu wave as they stand behind glass during a meeting with the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

China plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, in what would be another advance in what's increasingly seen as a new space race pitting the Asian autocracy against the United States and its democratic allies.

The U.S. aims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025.

Deputy Director of the Chinese Manned Space Agency Lin Xiqiang confirmed China's goal at a news conference Monday but gave no specific date.

China is first preparing for a "short stay on the lunar surface and human-robotic joint exploration," Lin said.

"We have a complete near-Earth human space station and human round-trip transportation system," complemented by a process for selecting, training and supporting new astronauts, he said. A schedule of two crewed missions a year is "sufficient for carrying out our objectives," Lin said.

China's space agency also introduced the new crew heading to its orbiting space station in a launch scheduled for Tuesday and said the station will be expanded. The Tiangong space station was said to have been finished in November when the third section was added.

The fourth module will be added "at an appropriate time to advance support for scientific experiments and provide the crew with improved working and living conditions," Lin said.

Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu behind glass meet the reporters at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center ahead of the launch mission from Jiuquan in northwestern China, Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's space program said Monday.

 Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

The trio being launched aboard the Shenzhou 16 craft will overlap briefly with the three astronauts who have lived on the station for the previous six months conducting experiments and assembling equipment inside and outside the vehicle.

The fresh crew includes a civilian for the first time. All previous crew members have been in the People's Liberation Army, the military wing of the country's ruling Communist Party.

Gui Haichao, a professor at Beijing's top aerospace research institute, will join mission commander Jing Haipeng and spacecraft engineer Zhu Yangzhu as the payload expert.

Speaking to media at the launch site outside the northwestern city of Jiuquan, Jing said the mission marked "a new stage of application and development," in China's space program.

"We firmly believe that the spring of China's space science has arrived, and we have the determination, confidence, and ability to resolutely complete the mission," said Jing, a major general who has made three previous space flights.

Staff members take photos of a billboard depicting Chinese astronauts at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's space program said Monday. 

Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

China's first manned space mission in 2003 made it the third country after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. to put a person into space.

China built its own space station after it was excluded from the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. objections over the Chinese space programs' intimate ties to the PLA.

Space is increasingly seen as a new area of competition between China and the United States—the world's two largest economies and rivals for diplomatic and military influence. The astronauts NASA sends to the moon by the end of 2025 will aim for the south pole where permanently shadowed craters are believed to be packed with frozen water.

Plans for permanent crewed bases on the moon are also being considered by both countries, raising questions about rights and interests on the lunar surface. U.S. law tightly restricts cooperation between the two countries' space programs and while China says it welcomes foreign collaborations, those have thus far been limited to scientific research.

In addition to their lunar programs, the U.S. and China have also landed rovers on Mars and Beijing plans to follow the U.S. in landing a spacecraft on an asteroid.

Other countries and organizations ranging from the India and the United Arab Emirates to Israel and the European Union are also planning lunar missions.

The U.S. sent six crewed missions to the moon between 1969 and 1972, three of which involved the use of a drivable lunar rover that China says it is now developing with tenders in the private sector.

While America currently operates more spaceports and has a far wider network of international and commercial partners than China, the Chinese program has proceeded in a steady and cautious manner reflecting the county's vast increase in economic power and global influence since the 1980s.

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Fungal Infections Could Obliterate Our Food Supply, Scientists Warn

26 May 2023, By RUSSELL MCLENDON

https://www.sciencealert.com/fungal-infections-could-obliterate-our-food-supply-scientists-warn

Close-up of a stem rust infection on a wheat plant. 

(Yue Jin/USDA/Wikimedia Commons)

Fungi pose a significant threat to crops worldwide, scientists warn in a new commentary, with increasingly "devastating" effects on our food supply.

We tend to worry more about pathogens that sicken humans directly, especially viruses and bacteria. But while corn smut and stem rust might not scare us like Ebola or E. coli, maybe they should.

Such fungi are already wreaking havoc, with growers globally losing up to 23 percent of their crops to fungal infections every year. Fungi claim another 10 to 20 percent after harvest, they add.

Due to their effects on five of the world's top calorie crops – rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, and potatoes – fungi currently destroy enough food to provide 2,000 calories every day for one year to between 600 million and 4 billion people.

And it's getting worse thanks to a "perfect storm" of factors leaving swaths of farmland dangerously vulnerable to fungi, according to University of Exeter plant pathologist Sarah Gurr.

Even if they don't turn us into zombies, as a fictional fungus (or slime mold) does to humans in the HBO drama The Last of Us, these fungi are no less of a nightmare, Gurr warns. Also, they're real.

"While the storyline is science fiction, we are warning that we could see a global health catastrophe caused by the rapid global spread of fungal infections as they develop increasing resistance in a warming world," she says. "The imminent threat here is not about zombies, but about global starvation."

Farmers have battled fungi for millennia, but not quite like this, write Gurr and co-author Eva Stukenbrock, an environmental genomicist at the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel.

Climate change is one key difference since the extra warmth is helping some fungi extend their ranges (among other unsettling adaptations), including species that threaten major food crops.

Humans have invited this crisis in other ways, too, the researchers write, like establishing vast monocultures of genetically similar crops, which are especially susceptible to fungal outbreaks.

And while fungicides have helped growers fend off those outbreaks in recent generations, fungi are finding ways around even the most robust defenses, Gurr and Stukenbrock explain.

Many fungicides work by targeting just one cellular process, allowing space for fungi to evolve resistance – an opportunity fungi seem eager to seize.

(Janine Haueisen/University of Exeter)




As fungicides loir efficacy on newly resistant fungi, frustrated farmers sometimes respond by using higher concentrations of the same fungicides, potentially making things worse.

With temperatures rising, pesticides failing, and large monocultures virtually defenseless against fungi, our crops are like sitting ducks.

And since more than 8 billion humans now inhabit Earth – many of whom already lack food security, often due to other effects of climate change – this is not the best time for fungi to wipe out food sources, Stukenbrock notes.

"As our global population is projected to soar, humanity is facing unprecedented challenges to food production," she says. "We're already seeing massive crop losses to fungal infection, which could sustain millions of people each year."

Those losses are already a disaster in need of global attention, but the new commentary aims to highlight how bad the situation has become and how much worse it could still get.

"This worrying trend may only worsen as a warming world makes fungal infections more prevalent in European crops, and as they continue to develop resistance to antifungals," Stukenbrock says. "This will be catastrophic for developing countries and will have a major impact in the Western world, too."

Since humans helped make this mess, though, we at least have the power to fix some of it, Gurr and Stukenbrock argue.

Aside from the obvious yet elusive goal of curbing the emissions behind climate change, which is already vitally important for other reasons, there could be a few ways to better protect our crops from fungi in the near term.

Researchers at the University of Exeter have developed new techniques that might enable a novel class of fungicides targeting multiple cellular mechanisms, Gurr and Stukenbrock note, making it harder for fungi to evolve resistance.

Research suggests this type of antifungal may work against several major pathogens, they add, including corn smut, rice blast, and the fungus responsible for fusarium wilt in bananas.

Even without better fungicides, we might reduce the risk of fungal outbreaks just by adopting better farming practices, Gurr and Stukenbrock suggest, pointing to a project in Denmark that found success against fungal infections by planting genetically diverse seed mixtures.

"Fungal infections are threatening some of our most important crops, from potatoes to grains and bananas," Gurr says. "We are already seeing massive losses, and this threatens to become a global catastrophe in light of population growth."

The commentary was published in Nature.

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Why did Luftwaffe shoot down civilian flight 777a from Lisbon to Bristol in 1943?

Did Hitler's Luftwaffe blast Flight 777A out of the sky because they were convinced Churchill was on board? Historian LORD ASHCROFT offers intriguing theory of 1943 mystery that saw Nazis shoot down the civilian aircraft as it flew from Lisbon to Bristol

It is one of the great enduring mysteries of the Second World War. Why was Flight 777A, a civilian aircraft, shot down by German pilots on its way from Portugal to Britain, with the death of all those on board?

On the morning of the fateful flight, June 1, 1943, while Europe was in the depths of the deadliest war it had ever known, civilian aircraft were considered off- limits to attack. There existed a convention, widely adhered to by both the Allies and the Axis powers, to respect the neutrality of civilian planes from countries not involved in the hostilities.

Portugal and Spain – both ruled by nationalist dictators who wanted to avoid the conflict – had kept out of the fighting, but as was common with all neutral countries on the Continent, they had become a hotbed of espionage and intrigue. Both sides in the war employed spies in Lisbon. Agents would find ways of viewing passenger lists and scanning for names of interest to their paymasters. Could there have been a high-profile target on board – one that the Nazis couldn't risk landing safely in Britain?

Days before the 80th anniversary of the tragedy over the Bay of Biscay, which claimed the lives of 13 passengers and four Dutch crew, I have re-investigated the incident with the help of a relative of one of those who perished.

Ivan Sharp, named after the grandfather he never met, has spent more than 30 years making inquiries into the tragedy and he offers an intriguing insight into what may have happened.

Target: The DC-3 was attacked by eight German Junkers Ju 88 in 1943

It is one of the great enduring mysteries of the Second World War. Why was Flight 777A, a civilian aircraft, shot down by German pilots on its way from Portugal to Britain, with the death of all those on board?

On the morning of the fateful flight, June 1, 1943, while Europe was in the depths of the deadliest war it had ever known, civilian aircraft were considered off- limits to attack. There existed a convention, widely adhered to by both the Allies and the Axis powers, to respect the neutrality of civilian planes from countries not involved in the hostilities.

Portugal and Spain – both ruled by nationalist dictators who wanted to avoid the conflict – had kept out of the fighting, but as was common with all neutral countries on the Continent, they had become a hotbed of espionage and intrigue. Both sides in the war employed spies in Lisbon. Agents would find ways of viewing passenger lists and scanning for names of interest to their paymasters. Could there have been a high-profile target on board – one that the Nazis couldn't risk landing safely in Britain?

Days before the 80th anniversary of the tragedy over the Bay of Biscay, which claimed the lives of 13 passengers and four Dutch crew, I have re-investigated the incident with the help of a relative of one of those who perished.

Ivan Sharp, named after the grandfather he never met, has spent more than 30 years making inquiries into the tragedy and he offers an intriguing insight into what may have happened.

Target: The DC-3 was attacked by eight German Junkers Ju 88 in 1943

The plane was a Douglas DC-3, an American propeller airliner, which had been chartered to the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) by the Dutch airline KLM. It was part of a service that flew between Portela airport in Lisbon and a small airfield at Whitchurch, near Bristol, delivering mail, newspapers and other goods.

But rumour had it that secret agents, and even escaped prisoners of war, used this same route to get to and from mainland Europe.

The aircraft, named Ibis, had been due to take off at 7.30am, but there was a five-minute delay as a passenger had to pick up a package from customs.

Whitchurch airfield maintained contact with the plane until 10.54am. About 200 miles north-west of the Spanish coast, the pilot messaged that they were being followed and then that it was under attack. Shortly afterwards, Ibis crashed into the sea with no survivors.

The following day, BOAC put out a brief statement: 'We regret to announce that a civil aircraft on passage between Lisbon and the UK is overdue and presumed lost. The last message received from the aircraft stated that it was being attacked by an enemy aircraft. The aircraft carried 13 passengers and a crew of four. Next-of-kin have been informed.'

It later emerged that the aircraft had been attacked by eight Junkers Ju 88s. But what had been their motive and who had given the order?

The most famous passenger on the flight that morning – and the person who delayed take-off to retrieve his parcel – was actor Leslie Howard. The son of a Hungarian Jew, recently turned 50 and a true movie idol, he had made a name for himself playing quintessentially British gentlemen. He had starred in hit pre-war films such as The Scarlet Pimpernel, Pygmalion and Gone With The Wind.

His background had made him fiercely anti-Nazi, and after the outbreak of war, Howard bought himself out of his Hollywood contract so he could return to Britain to play a role in the war effort. Two years earlier, when Howard met Winston Churchill, he shared his strong views.

LORD ASHCROFT: Why was Flight 777A, a civilian aircraft, shot down by German pilots on its way from Portugal to Britain, with the death of all those on board?

LORD ASHCROFT: Did German agents in Lisbon tip off the Nazis that they believed the British Prime Minister was a passenger? Churchill eventually became aware of the theory and thought it may have been true

Not only was Howard asked to make propaganda for the Ministry of Information during the war, he also starred in feature films designed to boost morale at home, notably in 'Pimpernel' Smith, as the eponymous character who saved Jewish refugees from the Nazis, and The First Of The Few, about the designer of the Spitfire.

In May 1943, Howard had undertaken a lecture tour to Spain and Portugal at a time when his wartime work was proving increasingly irritating to Dr Josef Goebbels, the chief propagandist for the Nazi Party.

The tour also coincided with German attempts to persuade Spanish dictator General Franco to enter the war on the side of the Axis Powers. Hitler was especially keen for Spanish forces to attack the British base at Gibraltar and deprive Allied navies of access to the Mediterranean.

Was Howard's 'lecture tour' a smokescreen for a more secretive role in trying to get Franco and the Spanish to resist Germany's diplomatic overtures? Or was Howard even using it as a cover for his role as a real-life James Bond?

It is highly likely that pro-German agents would have got hold of a passenger list which revealed that Howard was on the flight. News of his death was published in the Times on June 4. But was Howard really the target of the mighty Luftwaffe?

Another intriguing discovery involves Father A.S. Holmes, who had been seated on the aircraft at Lisbon airport but left to take an urgent phone call. Was it good fortune or something sinister that made him miss the flight? The mystery caller was never identified. So when the flight took off there were only 13, not the intended 14, on board – including three women and two children.

One of the 13 was Ivan Sharp, aged just 41. He is the grandfather and namesake of Ivan Sharp, now 54, a Post Office worker from Norfolk.

Sharp Jnr still has a copy of the telegram sent to his grandfather's widow, Minnie, who had two young children at the time. From the British Airways 'Passenger Superintendent', it reads: 'Have to inform you with deepest regret that Mr I.H. Sharpe [sic] was believed travelling in an aeroplane lost near England yesterday. Not yet known if any survivors. Will keep you informed.'

LORD ASHCROFT: The most famous passenger on the flight that morning – and the person who delayed take-off to retrieve his parcel – was actor Leslie Howard (pictured)

Over the years, the amateur sleuth has retraced the flight path taken by 777A and obtained copies of the flight log and the passenger list. Sharp is convinced that his grandfather's wartime role might have made him a target, or even the target, for the Germans.

'My grandfather was tasked with going to Portugal to buy wolfram – better known as tungsten – that was being used in the manufacture of armaments. He was often competing with German buyers for the rare metal that was found in Portugal and Spain, paying for the goods in uncut diamonds that he had brought with him from Britain.

'[He] was widely known as "the wolfram man" but his work was highly secretive and even his closest family did not know exactly what he was doing,' said Sharp.

However, there were other passengers on board who may have been targets. One of them was Wilfred Israel, a senior member of an Anglo-German Jewish family who was known to have rescued Jews from the Holocaust and who had links to the British Government.

Another was Tyrrell Shervington, a director of the Shell-Mex oil company. Far more crucially, as the Germans may have discovered, he was an intelligence operative – codenamed agent 'H.100' – in the Iberian force run by Britain's Special Operations Executive, the unit formed in 1940 to carry out espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe. Yet remarkably, the true quarry of the Nazis might have been a humble taxman. Seated next to Howard was his tax adviser Alfred Chenhalls. The financier was not a man of whom the Germans would usually have taken note. Except that – tubby (15st 9lb according to the flight log), balding and smoking cigars – Chenhalls bore more than a passing resemblance to Churchill.

And the Prime Minister had indeed flown to North Africa in late May. Perhaps he was now making his way back to Britain.

Did German agents in Lisbon tip off the Nazis that they believed the British Prime Minister was a passenger? Churchill eventually became aware of the theory and thought it may have been true.

In the post-war years, at least four of the eight German pilots who attacked Ibis were interviewed. They claimed to be unaware of the civilian flights between Portugal and the UK and insisted they had targeted Ibis by mistake, thinking it was a military aircraft. Some of those pilots, however, are believed to have carried out two unsuccessful attacks on Ibis in the previous year, and their accounts are dismissed by experts as attempts to avoid war crimes charges.

Leslie Howard made a name for himself playing quintessentially British gentlemen (pictured in Pygmalion)

It has been more than a decade since Ivan Sharp Jnr arranged for plaques honouring the 17 dead to be unveiled in Portugal and Britain, close to the two airports.

'I don't believe that, 80 years on, we will ever know the answer to this wartime mystery,' he says. He is inclined to believe that the attack was targeted. 'It is possible that the German agents got a message out saying it would be worth targeting their aircraft because so many key "players" just happened to be on board at the same time.'

But even he admits that little can be known for certain.

The film critic Barry Norman once wrote that Leslie Howard had gone to a 'violent, untimely death that is, and no doubt forever will be, shrouded in mystery'.

Eighty years after the tragedy, we are still wondering why the 17 souls of Flight 777A met their end.