S-61 –
See UH-60.

SA-11 –
Radar guided, solid fueled, semi-active radar guided surface-to-air missile designed to attack high performance aircraft and cruise missiles. Considered to be the next generation after the SA-6. Offers significantly improved electronics and is jammer resistant. NATO designation: GADFLY.

SA-2 –
Radar guided, liquid fueled surface-to-air missile system provides coverage against small groups of aircraft. This was extensively deployed throughout the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. Deployment consisted of a fixed radar site and a ring of six revetted missile launchers. Deployed in the early 1960s. NATO designation: GUIDELINE.

SA-3 –
Radar guided, solid fuel surface-to-air missile system designed to attack surface and naval targets. Truck and trailer mounted on ZiL-157 and ZiL-131 transporters. Deployed in the early 1960s. NATO designation: GOA.

Salman Pak –
This is a twenty square kilometer base used for terrorist training activities and biological weapons research. It is a highly secure facility. Saddam’s chief biological weapons scientist, Dr. Rihab Taha, moved her team from al-Muthanna to Salman Pak in 1987. Toxic Taha or Dr. Germ, as she is known in the west, directed research and development of weaponized anthrax and Botulinum toxin. In their spare time, they have been perfecting gas gangrene, which causes your skin to melt, and aflatoxins designed to give you liver cancer. They’ve played around with ricin (recently found in London), camel pox and hemorrhagic conjunctivitis.

SA-6 –
Radar guided, solid fuel, low altitude surface-to-air missile system designed for fast target acquisition. Mounted on a tracked vehicle. Probably one of the most successful anti-aircraft weapon systems produced by the Soviet Union. Deployed in the late 1960s. NATO designation: GAINFUL

SAMSON –
Informal designation of the suitcase or backpack nuclear weapons described in Blood Covenant. SAMSON was based on a man portable nuclear weapon system developed at the direction for the KGB. This is significant, because it demonstrates that nuclear weapons were not solely under the control of the Strategic Rocket Forces. When Blood Covenant was written, my best intelligence indicated that 132 weapons had been developed and that 84 were missing. Soviet sources suggested they were as large as 10-kiloton weapons, but I doubt this because weight restrictions for a weapon that size would prohibit one or two man deployment.

Sandinista –
Let’s face it, Nicaragua is a messed up country. The Sandinistas were formed in 1961 as the national liberation front opposed to the Somoza regime. Eventually they came to power spouting their Marxist philosophy and sounding like a second Cuban revolution. The Reagan Administration funded the Contras to overthrow the Sandinista regime. For now, Nicaragua is ruled by what passes for democracy in Central America.

SAS –
The Special Air Service is Great Britain’s elite counter-insurgency, Special Forces. They are among the best-trained forces in the world. Their motto is “Who Dares Wins.” Their most public exhibition was when they took down the terrorists at the Iranian Embassy in May 1980. If you’re going into combat, you want these guys on your side.

SAVAK –
This was the Shah of Iran’s secret police. They were jointly trained by Israel and the United States. They grew to become a repressive agency, and in the end, their repressive measures could not prevent the Islamic revolution.

SBIRS –
Space Based Infrared System is part of a layered detection defense to assist in the targeting and destruction of incoming ballistic missiles for National Missile Defense (NMD). SBIRS consists of 24 – 30 satellite radars in LEO designed to track ICBM and discern between real and decoy warheads. SBIRS feeds targeting data back to NMD Command and Control.

SCUD –
Soviet designed surface-to-surface missile that is a n evolutionary design based on the German V-2 World War II rockets. The SCUD is capable of mounting a 2000 pound HE, chemical, biological or nuclear warhead. The orginal missile had a limited range of 100 to 180 miles.

SECDEF –
Secretary of Defense.

SH-60F -
The Seahawk is a twin-engine helicopter. It is used for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, drug interdiction, anti-ship warfare, cargo lift, and special operations. The Navy's SH-60B Seahawk is an airborne platform based aboard cruisers, destroyers, and frigates and deploys sonobouys (sonic detectors) and torpedoes in an anti-submarine role. They also extend the range of the ship's radar capabilities.

Maximum Speed: 180 knots

Range: 380 knots

Armament: Hellfire

Penguin

Mk-46/50 torpedoes

Shatt al Arab –
The marshy real estate between Iraq and Iran where most of the killing took place during the Iraq/Iran War (1981-1988).

Shkval -
The Shkval is the first use of supercavitational technology in modern weapons and represents perhaps the largest leap forward in underwater warfare since the invention of the submarine itself. Launched from Bars (Akula) and Antyey (Oscar) class submarines, Shkval torpedoes travel at over five times the speed of conventional torpedoes. Supercavitating munitions form an air pocket around the projectile and use a rocket motor to propel the projectile. Estimate speeds suggest 500 kilometers per hour. There is one draw back to the technology; they don’t turn all that well.

Sidewinder -
The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried by fighter aircraft. Its main components are an infrared homing guidance section, an active optical target detector, a high-explosive warhead and a rocket motor. The guidance section enables the missile to home in on the engine exhaust of target aircraft. An infrared unit costs less than other types of guidance systems and can be used day or night in all weather conditions. The infrared seeker also permits the pilot to launch the missile then leave the area or take evasive action while the missile guides itself to the target.

Speed: Supersonic

Range: 8+ nautical miles

Warhead: 21 pounds, blast fragmentation

SIGINT –
Signal intelligence involves the capture of missile telemetry, radar, and communication frequencies.

Silkworm –
Chinese made anti-ship missile designed for costal defense. Various sources suggest the warhead can be anywhere from 800 to 2000 pounds. The charm behind this threat is that it has been sold to Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. In the confined waters of the Persian Gulf, this is another reason why defense inside the Gulf is a 360 degree problem.

SIOC –
See Strategic Information and Operations Center.

SKS -
The SKS, (the SKS45), was designed by the famous Sergei Simonov. The Russian SKS were produced originally in the Tula Arsenel in 1949 through the mid 1950's. The Soviets Army replaced the Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifles with the SKS rifle. The AK-47 replaced the SKS.

SL-11 –
Primary Russian launch vehicle for military satellites into LEO. Tskylon is a 3-stage rocket capable of generating 617,000 pounds of thrust. Payload: 2800 kilograms.

SLAM –
The Standoff Land Attack Missile - Expanded Response (SLAM-ER), an evolutionary upgrade to the combat-proven SLAM, is a day/night, adverse weather over-the-horizon, precision strike missile. Most significant among these enhancements are: a highly accurate, GPS-aided guidance system; improved missile aerodynamic performance characteristics that allow both greater range and more effective terminal attack profiles; a redesigned ordnance section for increased penetrating power and lethality; and a more user-friendly interface for both Man-in-the-Loop control and mission planning. SLAM-ER will be the first weapon to feature Automatic Target Acquisition (ATA), a revolutionary technological breakthrough which will automate and improve target acquisition in cluttered scenes, and overcome most countermeasures and environmentally degraded conditions.

Speed: High Subsonic

Range: 150+ nautical miles

Warhead: Many packages

SM-2 –
See Standard.

SOE –
See Special Operations Executive.

Solwind P78-1 –
Solwind was a gamma ray detector satellite launched for civilian purposes in 1979. However, it was a handy target for a test of ASM-135A ASAT system. On September 13, 1985 it was converted from a fully functional satellite to an aluminum shrapnel cloud. I believe that’s called progress.

SOSUS -
The SOund SUrveillance System, or SOSUS, is a fixed component of the U.S. Navy's Integrated Undersea Surveillance Systems (IUSS) network used for deep ocean surveillance during the Cold War. The U.S. Navy began installation of SOSUS in the mid 1950s.

SOUTHCOM –
The United States Southern shapes the environment within its area of responsibility by conducting theater engagement and counterdrug activities in order to promote democracy, stability and collective approaches to threats to regional security; when required responds unilaterally or multilaterally to crises that threaten regional stability or national interests, and prepares to meet future hemispheric challenges. SOUTHCOM used to be based at Howard Air Force Base in the Panama Canal Zone. After the Canal’s surrender (liberals call it a hand over), SOUTHCOM relocated to Miami, Florida. SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility includes the western hemisphere south of the CONUS border.

South Sea Fleet -
PLAN fleet tasked with South China Sea.

HQ: Zhanjiang, Guangdong.

Major bases: Zhanjiang, Guangzhou, Yulin.

Sovremenny class –
This is a Russian class destroyer. Eighteen were built for the Russian navy, of which 11 are in service; 6 are decommissioned; 1 is awaiting commission. Two more were built for PLAN delivered in December 1999 and November 2000.

Displacement: 8480 tons.

Maximum Speed: 33 knots.

Cruise speed: 18 knots.

Main armament: 2 x 130 mm guns (AK-130-MR-184)

4 x 30 mm AAA

2 x SA-N-7 SAM launcher

8 x SS-N-22 SSM

1 x Ka-27 ASW helicopter

Spanish Poppy –
A rogue operation run out of the White House by the Lexington Compact. The purpose was to take over the cocaine and heroin trade in Panama and redirect the profits to special off shore accounts. The complete story is in Reap the Whirlwind.

Sparrow –
The Navy's RIM-7M Sea Sparrow and the Air Force's AIM-7 Sparrow are radar-guided, air-to-air missiles with high explosive warheads. They have a cylindrical body with four wings at mid-body and four tail fins. The Navy uses the Sea Sparrow version aboard ships as a surface-to-air anti-missile defense. The versatile Sparrow has all-weather, all-altitude operational capability and can attack high-performance aircraft and missiles from any direction.

Speed: Mach 3+

Range: 30+ nautical miles

Warhead: 90 pounds, blast fragmentation

Special Operations Executive –
The SOE operated behind enemy lines and inside Laos and Cambodia against the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. These were clandestine forces the American government never officially recognized.

Special Republican Guard -
The SRG is responsible for protecting the president and providing a military response to any attempt at a rebellion or coup. Saddam Hussein, founded this elite paramilitary unit in March 1995 with recruits drawn from Tikrit, Baiji, al-Sharqat and small towns south and west of Mosul and around Baghdad -- areas and clans noted for their loyalty to Saddam's person and regime.

Spetsnaz -
Soviet Special Forces are known as Spetsnaz, and they were formed in 1974 by Yuri Andropov to carry out special missions. Whether these missions are legal or was not questioned. Spetsnaz troops normally operate deep in enemy territory and carry out typical militaristic actions such as destroying facilities, airfields, communications, missile silos etc. Some Spetsnaz units train for kidnapping and assassination of enemy personnel. Spetsnaz troops are currently active in Checnya.

SQLDBA –
Main Oracle RDBMS (see definition) interface program for Oracle version 7.x.

SR-71 –
The Blackbird is a very high altitude, hypersonic aircraft that performed image reconnaissance throughout the Cold War. This is the fastest aircraft acknowledged by any government. Of course, there is the rumored Aurora which is suppose to approach speeds of Mach 6.

Range: Unlimited

Speed: 3+ Mach

SRAM –
Static Random Access Memory.

SS-20 -
The RT-21M / SS-20 is a solid-fuel, two-stage, theater-based ballistic missile based on the first and second stages of the SS-16. The SS-20 was probably intended to replace or augment the SS-4s and SS-5s deployed in the Soviet Eastern European theater, thus providing approximately three times the number of warheads of the older force. As part of the INF treaty, the SS-20 was destroyed.

SS-N-22 –
Super sonic anti-ship missile deployed on Sovremennyy class destroyers and Tarantul class patrol boats. It is designed to reduce response time for shipboard anti-missile defenses from 150 seconds to 30 seconds. The Russian Federation has been selling these weapons to the PRC. It is also known as AEGIS Killer.

NATO designation: SUNBURN

Range: 90 kilometers

Payload: 350 kilograms

Maximum speed: Mach 2 or 3.

Manufacturer: Rosvoorouzhenie State Corporation

Standard –
Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) is the world's premier surface-to-air air defense weapon. As an integral part of the Aegis Weapon System (AWS) aboard Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, SM-2 can be launched from the MK 41 Vertical Launcher System (VLS) or MK 26 Guided Missile Launcher System. Its primary mission is fleet area air defense and ship self defense, but it also has demonstrated an extended area air defense projection capability and it has a secondary anti-surface ship mission.

Speed: Classified

Range: 40 - 90+ nautical miles

Warhead: blast fragmentation

START –
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is the agreement between the United states and the Soviet Union to produce real reductions in the stockpile of strategic nuclear weapons in both country’s arsenals.

Strategic Information and Operations Center -
The FBI SIOC in Washington, D.C. is described as a "war room" on the fifth floor of the John Edgar Hoover building. It has a raised floor so that the tiles may be raised while the room is swept for listening devices. FBI commanders gather here to direct every crisis situation the agancy encounters, sometimes even before the situation arises. It is tied by secure line to the White House Situation Room. It is armored from possible attack, and is situated away from exterior walls. It has a single, secured portal guarded 24/7, and is always manned by at least one team of caretaker agents in case something happens.

SVR -
Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (Foreign Intelligence Service) inherited most of the KGB’s foreign intelligence assets at the end of the Cold War. Some popular writers like to fantasize that the terrible parts of the KGB just vanished in a puff of Glasnost wishful thinking. Those elements that threatened the peace for 40 years still exist and continue under a new name with the same agenda.

Douglas De Bono / DouglasDeBono.Com Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota E-Mail readermail@DouglasDeBono.Com