Friday Films: The Battle of Midway - Background and More

3 June to 7 June 1942 - and the turning point in the war in the Pacific:

Background:





Award winning documentary by John Ford:

North Korea: Missile Threat Against U.S.

I don't see it in this BBC report, "North Korea warns US on missiles after South deal", but I'm pretty sure that along with the claim that the NORKS have the missile range to strike, in addition to Guam and Japan, the U.S. mainland, there was the threat of a "nuclear sea of fire" -

North Korea says it has missiles that can hit the US mainland, in a statement two days after South Korea unveiled a missile deal with the US.

The statement said US bases in "Japan, Guam and the US mainland" were within its "scope of strike".
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North Korea routinely issues strong rhetoric against Seoul and Washington.

The statement, carried by state-run KCNA news agency and attributed to North Korea's National Defence Commission, said Pyongyang would match any enemy "nuclear for nuclear, missile for missile".

On Sunday, South Korea announced it had reached an agreement with the US on extending the range of its ballistic missiles.

Really? Well, allegedly the Taepodong-2 has a range of about 6000km, which might bring Alaska into range. The red line on the Google map is roughly 6000km, which would indicate a possible ability to hit mainland Alaska from where North Korea was before it launched a missile at the U.S.

In case you are curious, the U.S.Navy has Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) equipped ships:

As of November 2012, there are 26 Aegis BMD combatants (5 cruisers [CGs] and 21 destroyers [DDGs] in the U.S. Navy. Of the 26 ships, 16 are assigned to the Pacific Fleet and 10 to the Atlantic Fleet. In response to the increasing demand for Aegis BMD capability from the Combatant Commanders, the MDA and Navy are working together to increase the number of Aegis BMD capable ships. Such efforts consist of upgrading Aegis DDGs to the BMD capability, incorporating Aegis BMD into the Aegis Moderization Program and new construction of Aegis BMD DDGs.
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Aegis BMD is the first missile defense capability produced by the MDA that has been purchased by a military ally. Japan’s four KONGO Class Destroyers have been upgraded with BMD operational capabilities.

New, Bigger Japanese Navy Helicopter Carrier

Comparison of current JN "DDH" (foreground) with new design in background

Reported at Maritime Propulsion, "New Helicopter Carrier for Japanese Navy":

Details of the propulsion system for the new Helicopter Carrier of the Japanese Navy / Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) have been announced. To be built by IHI of Tokyo, the LOA 814 ft (248 m) and beam of 124 ft (38 m) vessel will have a fully loaded displacement of around 27,500 tons. The official Japanese 22DDH designation of the ship is of a “destroyer” but in reality it is a helicopter carrier. The reason for the diplomatic designation lies in the post World War 2 constitution which prohibits Japan to own aircraft carriers.
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The propulsion system comprises four GE LM2500 gas turbines of 33,600 hp (25 MW) each giving a total power of around 135,000 hp (100 MW) in a COGAG arrangement giving a speed of 30 kt. The ships will also be using GE’s smaller turbine, the LM500 with an output of approximately 6,000 hp (4.5MW) in a turbo-electric configuration for on board power generation.

More info from here:

Japanese accounts suggest that one of the reasons for the drastic increase in size of the 22DDH design is a planned shift to the V-22 Osprey as the primary air group element for these ships. It is not clear whether these would be replacements for or supplemental to the SH-60Ks that equip the Hyuga class. These accounts also make it clear that the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is seen as a key system for these ships. Apparently, provision for the operation of UAVs is being included within the design.