US Submarine That Attacked Syria ‘NOT WELCOME’ Back To Italy After ‘Failed’ Strike

The United States nuclear submarine that took part in the attack on Syria over the alleged chemical weapons use is not allowed back in the waters near Naples, Italy, the mayor declared.  The mayor states that he designated the city a “denuclearized zone” in 2015 and wants to keep it that way.

Naples Mayor Luigi de Magistris wrote last week to Rear Admiral Arturo Faraone, head of the city’s port authority, complaining that the official had given permission to allow Virginia-class submarine USS John Warner to pass through the Gulf of Naples on March 20, following a two-week exercise by Western military alliance NATO. Magistris argued that he had designated the city a “denuclearized zone” in a 2015 act that sought to “prohibit docking and parking of any vessel that is nuclear-powered or contains nuclear weapons” and declared Naples a “city of peace,” according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

“Our administration is not against anyone but it is in favor of policies of peace, disarmament and international cooperation,” de Magistris told Italian news service Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata on Monday. “It is in favor of diplomacy so that international institutions like the U.S. are the lead players in moments of crisis.  The fact that it is the same submarine (involved in the Syria attack) further reinforces the rightness of the order with which we said ships of nuclear propulsion or carrying nuclear weapons are not welcome in the port of Naples and, therefore, they are not allowed to travel through or stay,” he added.

Adding further insult to injury, Israel has come out saying the US-led strike on Syria, which was coordinated with the help of France and the United Kingdom, was a failure. Based on their goals outlined, which was to prevent Bashar al-Assad from using chemical weapons in the future, the US-led strike on the war-torn nation won’t accomplish that. Israeli intelligence said that the US strike was, for all intents and purposes, a waste of money because it didn’t take out anything, really.

“If President Trump had ordered the strike only to show that the US responded to [Syrian President Bashar] Assad’s use of chemical weapons, then that goal has been achieved,” Israel’s Ynetnews quoted a senior defense official as saying. “But if there was another objective — such as paralyzing the ability to launch chemical weapons or deterring Assad from using it again — it’s doubtful any of these objectives have been met.”

Eerie Satellite Images Show North Korea Gearing Up For Another Nuclear Test

As the world stands at the precipice of a third world war, eerie satellite images show that North Korea is likely getting ready for another nuclear test. The new images are reigniting fears that this could be the final straw that would officially lead to world war 3.

Dramatic satellite images taken earlier this month show disturbing activity on a barge that supports the development of a deadly nuclear submarine. The photos show activity on a second submersible ballistic missile test stand barge at the Nampo Navy Shipyard, a seaport in South Pyongan Province. This particular barge supported the development of the deadly Pukguksong-1 SLBM and the SINPO-Class experimental ballistic missile submarine.

The photo below was taken by satellite on January 6, 2018.

The fitting-out dock is used when vessels need systems such as pumps or electrics to be installed and minor work to be completed before being placed into devastating service. Since the last set of images were taken in December, the barge now has a small floating crane moored alongside it. Though the purpose of the work is unclear, it is probably related to final stages of repair before declaring the barge operational, reported Express.co.uk.

It comes as Kim Jong-un’s repeated tests of his atomic arsenal have caused tensions to heat up in Asia, bringing condemnation from numerous powers and fanned World War 3 fears. This news also surfaces as a nuclear scientist, who has frequently visited North Korea, warned that the nation could have an atomic bomb capable of fitting onto a missile. The director of Los Alamos National Laboratory Sig Hecker said that the rogue regime could also have anywhere between 30 and 60 small mobile nuclear warheads. Speaking to CBS News’ 60 Minutes, Hecker said: “What’s even more important than the 30 or 60, is how small can they make them.”

When prompted as to what the nuclear warheads look like, Hecker said that they looked like a “fission bomb.” “This to me is one that I would call a spherical fission bomb, in other words, the atomic bomb,” Hecker said.  “It looks like a simple bomb. However what I found most important about this is the size of it, it looks to be about 60 centimeters.

Photos from almost two years ago show North Korea’s tyrannical dictator posing with what he claimed was a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a missile. When asked whether it could be mounted to a missile, Hecker said: “They definitely want us to think so.”

China Is Building The World's Largest Nuclear Submarine Facility

Perhaps it is time to shift attention away from the "rally around the flag" diversion that is North Korea and pay some attention to China, which delighted by the ongoing geopolitical distractions is currently building the world"s largest submarine facility, which will be able to produce as many as four ultramodern nuclear submarines at a time.

Starting later this year, China"s new submarine factory on the Yellow Sea will churn out nuclear-powered attack submarines (or SSNs) ensuring that the sub program of the People"s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will soon be a deadly global force. Once fully operational, the assembly line will enable China to at least match USN SSN production.

Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industrial Corporation (BSHIC) is putting the finishing touches on its new facility, which as profiled by Popsci, will start production this year. BSHIC, based in Huludao, Liaoning Province, is China"s only builder of nuclear submarines. It previously built the Type 091, 093 nuclear attack submarines (SSN) and Type 092 and 094 nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN).

When this enclosed submarine factory begins operation later this year, the BSHIC will be able
to quickly build nuclear submarines.

Why is this building such a big deal? Simple: inside a superstructure, submarines are hidden from snoops, spies, and satellites. It also provides a controlled environment for development and construction.

According to Popsci, the massive new assembly hall, which measures more than 430,000 square feet, has enough room for two parallel production lines; each production line has one half dedicated to assembling and attaching together submarine modules, and the other half dedicated to finishing the hull with quieting measures like anechoic tiles. That"s enough space for four SSN"s to be built simultaneously (two sets of modules being assembled at one end, and another pair of assembled hulls being fitted out before launch). Once completed, the SSN is rolled off the line and into the ocean. The assembly hall can also handle construction of the next generation SSBN, the Type 096.

The module assembly hall is well equipped, with gantry cranes for lifting SSN modules in
position and parallel rails for moving completed hull sections further down the assembly line.

The facility is reported to begin construction on the first Type 095 SSN later this year. The Type 095 is expected to have a single/hybrid pressure hull, pumpjet propulsion and vertical launch system cells, making it (at least) superior to older SSNs like the U.S."s Los Angeles III and Russia"s Akula II.

The Type 095 SSN, swhon in this rendering, will likely have VLS cells for launching a wide range of cruise missiles, plus pumpjet propulsion and improved quieting technology. The first Type 095  will likely begin production in late 2017 at the new BSHIC factory, with many more to follow in the 2020s.