Gear Analysis: Smersh LBE Derivatives In Idlib

Load bearing equipment, or LBE, is one of the most important components of a proper combat load-out. Load bearing equipment allows soldiers to carry extra magazines, grenades, medical gear, and sustainment materials such as food and water. Like every piece of military equipment, the LBE takes many forms (chest rigs, vests, battle belts, webbing systems, the list goes on). In Syria’s Idlib Province, we can see this variety in its full force on local opposition gear markets, with everything from $5 Chinese-made chest rigs to brand-new $200 Russian-made vests.

While there is an almost infinite variety of LBE styles in Idlib, one design stands out. Hailing from Russia, this LBE is known to its western users as a Smersh, and was designed and produced to this day by SSO (a large Russian military equipment manufacturer). Original and copied LBEs listed on Idlibi equipment markets are known by many names, but the design remains more or less the same. Presumably introduced by foreign fighters from the Northern Caucasus, who used them in combat (and saw their use by Russian forces) during the later stages of the 2nd Chechen War, this LBE has been viciously reproduced and copied into an infinity of variations.

How to Dodge and Disarm the Sonic Weapon Used by Police

But while whistles emit sound waves in all directions, LRADs concentrate the waves in a narrow cone of sound, extending about 15 degrees in every direction from the axis, like a flashlight. This “directional” sound wave packs the typically diffuse kinetic energy into a tight space, bombarding those in its vicinity with a powerful tone that’s an annoyance at a distance … and a serious medical threat up close.

“Remember that the LRAD beams sound in a narrow pattern, so move off to one side to get out of the main pattern,”

“If it is used as a communications device, put in ear plugs and check out the scene for routes of escape from possible injurious exposure,”

Climate Chaos Is Coming — and the Pinkertons Are Ready

as the world grows more predictably dangerous, tactical know-how will simply be more in demand than ever. And second, that by adding data analytics, Pinkerton stands to compete more directly with traditional consulting firms like Deloitte, which offer pre- and postdisaster services (supply-chain monitoring, damage documentation, etc.), but which cannot, say, dispatch a helicopter full of armed guards to Guatemala in an afternoon. In theory, Pinkerton can do both — a fully militarized managerial class at corporate disposal.

U.S. Surveillance Is Not Aimed at Terrorists

The infrastructure set up by the National Security Agency, however, may only be good for gathering information on the stupidest, lowest-ranking of terrorists. The Prism surveillance program focuses on access to the servers of America’s largest Internet companies, which support such popular services as Skype, Gmail and iCloud. These are not the services that truly dangerous elements typically use.

The NSA’s Prism, according to a classified PowerPoint presentation published by the Guardian, provides access to the systems of Microsoft Corp. (and therefore Skype), Facebook Inc., Google, Apple Inc. and other U.S. Internet giants. Either these companies have provided “master keys” to decrypt their traffic - - which they deny — or the NSA has somehow found other means.

The Non-State Navy: Sea Shepherd as a Case Study for 21st Century Maritime Non-State Actors

The last decade has again reminded us that irregular warfare can be every bit as challenging and deadly as conventional wars, even in the maritime setting. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Somali pirates, and Lebanese Hezbollah have demonstrated at least some capability to challenge the primacy of modern navies at sea. Maritime non-state actors wreaking havoc on the ocean are nothing new. Pirates in particular have menaced merchants and navies around the world for hundreds of years. But the advent of transnational terror groups with IEDs or modern anti-ship missiles capable of destroying a warship is fairly recent. The evolution of these non-state actors at sea challenges the conventional definitions of a naval force.

Among maritime non-state actors (MNSAs), the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has the closest assembly of platforms resembling a fleet since the demise of the Tamil Sea Tigers. The organization was established in 1977 as a non-profit marine conservation organization, founded by Paul Watson who had been with Greenpeace. [1] Examining Sea Shepherd’s goals, strategies, platforms, and tactics is a worthwhile endeavor because it serves as a model to understand the motives, operations, and threat posed by emerging maritime non-state actors. Understanding the irregular challenges these MNSAs pose can help navies and coast guards respond to similarly-structured groups in the future.

How to Shoot Down a Drone

Taking a drone out of the sky, especially with an actual gun, does not take a whole lot of firepower. According to Cornblatt, “Drones are so fragile that almost anything that hits them or touches them is likely to cause them to crash or lose orientation.”

That being the case, virtually any firearm can absolutely thrash a drone if it draws blood, so to speak. 9mm pistols on up to full-on sniper rifles stand roughly the same chance of turning a hit into a kill. Even lowly pellet guns—some of which have muzzle velocities on order with that of a .22 caliber rifle—stand a good chance at doing fatal harm. “If you were to hit a drone with [a BB], that pellet would penetrate and certainly cause some damage,” Cornblatt told me. Should you find yourself in range to hit it with a rock or a baseball, that’s likely to be a game-ender as well.