The Hillier Report

17/06/2025

Lend Lease Solution

The Israelis don't have the ability to reach a deeply buried nuclear development bunker in Northern Iran. The Americans do. Read on.

The American GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) cost between $400 and $500 million to develop, and each unit costs approximately $3.5 million to manufacture. The MOP is a 30,000-pound bomb designed to destroy deeply buried and hardened targets, like Iran's Fordow nuclear facility.

I understand not allowing the Israelis to use or have our B2 bomber so that they can deliver the MOP on the buried Iranian nuclear development facility. However, that is not the only platiform available.

A B-52 bomber can carry a massive amount of bombs, with a maximum payload of 70,000 lbs (31,500 kg). This payload can be a mix of bombs and missiles, including both conventional bombs and air-launched cruise missiles. For example, the "Big Belly" program allowed modified B-52Ds to carry 84 500-pound or 42 750-pound bombs. The B-52H, the most modern variant, can carry up to 20 air-launched cruise missiles, in addition to other weapons. It can also carry an MOP, which it did in testing the weapon.

The Lend-Lease Act, formally titled "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States," was a US law passed in March 1941 that allowed the US to provide military aid to countries deemed vital to its defense, primarily Britain, China, and the Soviet Union during World War II. This aid, including weapons, ammunition, food, and other supplies, was provided without immediate payment, as the US was still officially neutral at the time.

Let use the same idea through an executive order, to allow Israel to lease a B-52, and allow them to purchase 2 or 3 GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs for use on Iran's Fordow nuclear facility. A single B-52 Stratofortress bomber costs approximately $84 million, cheap by today's standards, when you consider that a B-2 bomber costs about $700 million. The upside, the United States stays neutral, and the Iranian nuclear threat is eliminated for the foreseeable future.

07/06/2025

Surprise on the Ride

This was another grueling day of riding, as we did two major climbs, the Col d'Aspin and the Col de Peyresourde, both featured in the Tour de France. Whilst on the Col de Peyresourde, I encountered two cows getting frisky. I thought maybe I was hallucinating after a 100 km day in the saddle of my Bottecchia Campy Record world champion series road bike.

The Col de Peyresourde was first used in the Tour de France in 1910 and has appeared frequently since. The leader over the summit in 1910 was Octave Lapize.

In 2007, the Tour de France crossed the Col de Peyresourde on stage 15, joining the climb at Saint-Aventin (5.5 km from Bagnères de Luchon) after descending from the Port de Balès. This stage was selected for the 2007 L'Étape du Tour, in which amateur and club riders ride over a full stage of the tour.

The col was crossed twice in the 2012 Tour de France, firstly on Stage 16 from Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon, when it was ranked a Category 1 climb, and again on the following day, when it was unranked, with the stage continuing on to the ski station at nearby Peyragudes. It was used again in the 2016 Tour de France on Stage 8, from Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon, which saw eventual race winner Chris Froome make a daring descent attack from the top of the Col that caught many of his main rivals off guard, resulting in a solo stage victory.

Clearing these climbs was a surreal experience.

25/04/2025

Fifth Column: The Left's Constant Attack on Secretary Pete Hegseth

So, let me get this straight. This article is from Dan Lamothe, a liberal who writes about the military but has never served in any branch of our military. He is utilizing anonymous sources to make disruptive claims about the Secretary of Defense, which is disturbing in itself. Secretary Hegseth has a right to fire anybody that leaks sensitive information, and, additionally, has a right to organize the Defense Department so as to concentrate on lethality, not DEI. The Secretary is confronting several problems in our military: low recruitment figures, depleted stocks, waste, severe cost overruns, the inability to pass an audit (7th in a row), and the failure to account for 63% of nearly $4 trillion in assets.

Perhaps Mr. Lamothe should read the Secretary's book "The War on Warriors."

To further set the record straight on Pete Hegseth, after graduating from Princeton in June 2003, Hegseth was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Hegseth completed his basic training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, in 2004, and for eleven months, he was a Minnesota Army National Guardsman at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. There, he led a platoon of soldiers from the New Jersey Army National Guard guarding detainees. Thereafter, he volunteered in the Iraq War as an infantry officer, where he received a Bronze Star Medal. (He also received another Bronze Star Metal as well as a Combat Infantry Badge.)

Additionally, Hegseth served in the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment in the 101st Airborne Division, led by Colonel Michael D. Steele. He began his tour in Baghdad before moving to Samarra (a city in Iraq), where he served as a civil affairs officer, working with the city council and forming an alliance with council member Asaad Ali Yaseen. Hegseth has described a near-death experience in Iraq in which a rocket-propelled gr***de hit his vehicle but failed to detonate. In 2011, Hegseth was commissioned into the Minnesota Army National Guard as a captain. He volunteered to teach at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul, Afghanistan, for eight months, during the withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan; he taught one of the final classes at the school. After completing his tour in 2014, he was promoted to major and enlisted in the Individual Ready Reserve. Through the reserve, he joined the District of Columbia Army National Guard in June 2019 as a traditional drilling service member, remaining in duty until March 2021. He was barred from serving on duty at the inauguration of Joe Biden after a guardsman flagged Hegseth as an "insider threat", noting a tattoo on his bicep of the words Deus Vult (Latin for "God wills it") He left the Individual Ready Reserve in January 2024, stating that he resigned over the incident in his book The War on Warriors (2024).

Show me the critic who gains his glory by attacking things he never had the courage to do, and I'll show you a coward.

Joe Kasper leaves the role voluntarily, but his departure adds to the sense of instability that has gripped the Defense Department for weeks.

05/02/2025

The Problem with Altitude

The Blackhawk helicopter was restricted to a height of no more than 200 feet. Unfortunately, the Blackhawk was flying at approximately 325 feet, thus crossing paths with the airliner to everyone's tragedy. Could the rookie pilot have thought she was flying at 200 feet? The answer is yes, if her altimeter was off. The most common cause of such an error is the failure of the pilot to "set the altimeter."

An altimeter setting is the atmospheric pressure used to calculate an aircraft's altitude. It's used to adjust the scale of a pressure altimeter so that it can read the aircraft's height above a reference surface.

How it works

-The altimeter setting is a baseline pressure.

-The aircraft's sensors compare the actual air pressure at the aircraft's location to the altimeter setting.

The difference between the two pressures is used to calculate the aircraft's altitude. The altimeter must be set to the proper baseline pressure based upon extant conditions in the flight environment. The failure to do this will cause erroneous altitude readings.

How it is done.

Aircraft pressure altimeters indicate the elevation of the aircraft above a defined datum. The datum selected depends on the barometric pressure set on the altimeter sub-scale. Sound altimeter setting procedures are an essential tool in ensuring safe separation from the ground and from other aircraft.

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04/02/2025

Drones and Modern Warfare: Lessons from the War in Ukraine

February 4, 2025
Drew Allan Hillier-Cicconi

The war in Ukraine has profoundly transformed the way modern warfare is conducted, with one of the most significant shifts being the increased reliance on drones. What was once a tool reserved for surveillance and reconnaissance has evolved into a versatile weapon, reshaping both strategy and tactics. As the conflict has unfolded, it has highlighted both the promise and peril of drone technology, with several harsh lessons for military leaders, policymakers, and strategists around the world.

The Emergence of Drones in Warfare

Drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), have become a central component of military operations in Ukraine, used for everything from gathering intelligence to launching attacks on strategic targets. Their ability to navigate difficult terrain, conduct long-duration surveillance, and deliver precise strikes has made them indispensable in modern warfare. In the Ukrainian context, drones have been used for both offensive and defensive operations, as well as in psychological warfare to disrupt enemy morale.

Ukraine has increasingly utilized off-the-shelf commercial drones, modified for military use, enabling them to carry out precise strikes on Russian supply chains, command centers, and even high-ranking military personnel. Meanwhile, Russia has employed a mix of drones for surveillance, airstrikes, and tactical maneuvers, learning from early setbacks to adapt and refine their strategies.

Lessons Learned from Ukraine

Asymmetry in Warfare

One of the most striking lessons from the war in Ukraine is the growing asymmetry between technologically advanced nations and their adversaries. Ukraine, with limited resources compared to Russia, has demonstrated how even smaller, less equipped nations can utilize drones to level the playing field. Drones allow smaller forces to disrupt larger, more traditional military powers, emphasizing the importance of agility, innovation, and technological adaptation in modern warfare.

The Changing Nature of Surveillance and Intelligence
Drones have revolutionized intelligence-gathering, providing real-time surveillance with a level of detail and coverage that was previously unimaginable. In the conflict, both Ukrainian and Russian forces have leveraged drones to locate enemy positions, monitor troop movements, and plan strikes. However, this also means that the battlefield has become far more transparent.

The constant presence of drones creates a surveillance-heavy environment, where even small movements can be detected and targeted, making traditional strategies of maneuver warfare harder to execute.

Precision Strikes and the Evolving Concept of "Air Superiority"

Traditional notions of air superiority, once defined by the dominance of fighter jets and bombers, are now being challenged by the rise of UAVs. Drones, while inexpensive compared to manned aircraft, can achieve remarkable precision, making them effective for targeting high-value assets. However, as both sides in Ukraine have learned, drones are also vulnerable to countermeasures such as jamming, electronic warfare, and air defense systems.

The concept of "air superiority" now involves both manned aircraft and drones working in tandem, with new doctrines and countermeasures emerging to deal with these threats.

The Psychological Impact of Drones

Another lesson from the war in Ukraine is the psychological impact drones have on both soldiers and civilians. This effect cannot be underestimated by a battlefield commander. The constant threat of surveillance and sudden, unexpected strikes can severely affect morale. On both sides, drones have been used to intimidate, harass, and disrupt the enemy's ability to operate effectively. The fear of drones hovering above, tracking movements, or launching attacks at any moment adds a new layer of stress to an already volatile and dangerous environment.

Vulnerability and Countermeasures

While drones offer many advantages, they are not invulnerable. The war in Ukraine has underscored the importance of developing countermeasures, such as anti-drone systems and electronic warfare capabilities. Ukrainian forces, in particular, have developed an effective network of drone-jamming and interception technologies to combat Russian UAVs. This evolving arms race between drone technology and countermeasures will shape the future of conflict, requiring both sides to continuously adapt their strategies.

Impact on Logistics and Supply Lines

One of the more underappreciated aspects of drone warfare is its ability to disrupt logistics and supply lines. The war in Ukraine has seen numerous instances of drones targeting supply convoys, ammunition depots, and fuel tanks, rendering traditional logistical routes unsafe.

Our military cannot fall into the trap of fighting the next war or conflict with the last war's outdated technology. Thus, drones have forced militaries to rethink their logistical strategies, focusing more on mobility and adaptability to avoid becoming easy targets. This shift also emphasizes the importance of securing critical infrastructure and ensuring resilience in the face of new technological threats.

Conclusion: The Future of Warfare

The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that drones are no longer a mere supplementary tool but a core component of modern warfare. Their role in surveillance, precision strikes, and psychological warfare has changed the dynamics of the battlefield. However, the conflict has also highlighted the vulnerability of drone technology and the need for constant innovation in both offensive and defensive measures.

The lessons learned in Ukraine are likely to shape future conflicts, prompting militaries around the world to invest more in drone technology while developing countermeasures to neutralize the evolving threats posed by UAVs. For our part, we need to invest in hardening our drones from attack, along with making them more efficient.

As technology continues to advance, the line between traditional and modern warfare will continue to blur, making the study of new technological trends, such as drones, absolutely critical for understanding the future of military conflict.

This essay discusses the transformative role of drones in modern warfare, particularly the lessons learned from Ukraine, and how this will likely impact future military strategies globally. Let me know if you'd like to elaborate on any section or make adjustments!

21/12/2024

I think it is time to primary these 38 Republicans who defied common sense in passing a spending bill that was lean and stripped out the pork.

A bill to avert a partial government shutdown that was backed by President-elect Trump failed to pass the House of Representatives on Thursday night, pushing Congress closer to a government shutdown.

06/11/2024

Trump wins 2024!

06/11/2024

The Hillier Report calls the election for Trump!

06/11/2024

I am calling the election for Trump!

27/10/2024

What a despicable hit job on a person who has done so much for our country. Is it because he endorsed President Trump? Without doubt. What is ironic is their lack of coverage over the millions of illegal immigrants entering our country under the Biden administration, and distributed all over our country.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that South African-born billionaire businessman Elon Musk worked illegally in the United States during a brief period in the 1990s while building a startup company.

04/09/2024

Death watch on a lonely shore, a silent vigil before the edge of eternity.

28/08/2024

Policy versus Common Sense

This is another example of a misguided policy trumping common sense. Anybody who has lived in and around the Mediterranean Sea knows how rough this sea can get. My first experience with this rough and treacherous body of water came when my family took the overnight ferry from Barcelona to our home on the Island of Mallorca. It was very rough as I held onto my little brother for dear life in our shared bed. My dad told us how bad the sea could get from his experience of coming through Gibraltar during WWII on his way to various ports in France, Italy, etc. Since we were transporting our car, a Peugeot 403 station wagon, in the hold, he made doubly sure the car was properly secured to the deck for the passage. The Biden Administration was told about this tricky situation yet went forward anyway. Another disaster ensued from this flawed decision making costing millions of taxpayer dollars and marring our reputation in the world community.