Global SITREP B7-16: Blatant Russian and Chinese Aggression Continues; North Korea has Miniaturized Nuclear Warheads

Kim Jong-Un stands behind North Korea's miniaturized nuclear warhead

Update 21 April 2016: The image above is all over the internet. It shows North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un standing behind a North Korean miniaturized nuclear warhead. North Korea made the claim of successful miniaturization of a nuclear device a little over a month ago; this image at the minimum shows the world they at least have a viable design if not a bonafide warhead to put on top of a ballistic missile. 

The miniaturization of a nuclear warhead means that the possessor nation has successfully designed and manufactured a warhead which weighs less than 2200 pounds and has a diameter of 35 inches or less. The warhead imaged above reportedly weighs in at 660 pounds. North Korea is assessed to have manufactured between 8 and 20 of these warheads. 

Question: How easy would it be for North Korea to put a full-scale production prototype of this miniaturized nuclear warhead on an aircraft and covertly fly it to Iran as a "diplomatic pouch" for reverse engineering? Or better yet, how about the digitized machine production specifications loaded on a CD and sent that to Iran.  

Answer: Too easy. Entirely too easy. And probably already a matter of fact.

RC-135 'Combat Sent'

17 April 2016: The day before the original posting of this SITREP a second inherently dangerous incident occurred in northern Europe when a Russian Su-27 'Flanker' combat aircraft intercepted and performed a barrel roll maneuver over a United States Air Force RC-135U 'Combat Sent' (based on the Boeing 739) reconnaissance aircraft.  The RC-135U, assigned to the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, was flying its mission in international airspace over the Baltic Sea when the incident occurred. A U.S. officer assigned to European Command (EUCOM) described the Russian pilot's maneuver as 'erratic and aggressive,' and a U.S. Navy Captain described it as 'unsafe and unprofessional.' 

The RC-135U Combat Sent is a strategic electronic collections platform whose data is sent directly to the POTUS, SECDEF, Pentagon JCS and European theater field commanders in real-time. There are only two RC-135U Combat Sent aircraft in service with the USAF. 

Russian Su-24M2 'Fencer-D' (video frame capture)

15 April 2016: The above image is a video frame capture of the split-second a Russian Su-24 'Fencer-D' strike aircraft was completing its high-speed strafing run of the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) in international waters of the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. 

This image proves beyond any doubt that the subsequent official statements concerning this incident made by the Russian government in Moscow are all bald-faced lies. The Su-24 in this image is within 30 feet of DDG-75.  The aircraft and its crewmen should have been shot down according to United States Navy rules of engagement. The Russian aircraft was clearly in violation of the 1973 agreement between the U.S. and Russia strictly prohibiting this type of maneuver. 

Chinese PLA Cyber Warriors (Photo Credit: AP)

As the expanded title of this SITREP informs, the Chinese are executing assaults against the United States on a daily basis. So testified Vice Admiral (three stars) James D. Syring, commanding officer of the United States Missile Defense Agency (MDA), before the House subcommittee on strategic forces. VAdm. Syring testified that the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army cyber warrirors attacks on American computer networked are of an equivalent threat level as both the North Korean and Iranian ballistic missile programs. 

Quoting Admiral Syring, "I view the [Chinese PLA] cyber threat that I specifically face with MDA and the systems we are fielding on par with any ballistic missile threat that either Iran or North Korea possess...They [the Chinese PLA] are continuing to try and attack my government networks, every day, classified and unclassified." 

Admiral Syring also warned that our enemies risk considerable costs to be borne as a result of their cyberwarfare assaults against our critical Informational Technology (IT) base and classified and unclassified military networks such as those which serve as the backbone of our missile defense capabilities.

More on this from Bill Gertz at the Washington Free Beacon.