Juan Carlos I (Amphibious Assault Ship) at MARFIBEX-51

Is the Foxhound the best "utility" vehicle in production?

Above you see pics of the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment (The Vikings) in Afghanistan operating their Foxhound vehicles.

I don't quite know how the Brits are marketing them but in my opinion they're next gen utility vehicles in the same vein as the Humvee but optimized to be mine resistant.

Most new utility vehicles are...to include the JLTV contestants.  But this is a design that is already in production (General Dynamics) and is available now.

Is this the Foxhound the best utility vehicle in production?  I think a case can be made...the only thing holding it back is terrible marketing and a lack of awareness among foreign militaries.  Too bad.  This thing should be a best seller.

Military exercise in ANOTHER US city damages a building.

via Detroit Free Press.

A U.S. Military helicopter caused damage to the historic Sperry's building in downtown Port Huron early Monday morning.
Around 1:30 a.m., during a military training operation, a helicopter approached the building from the east and the wind from the helicopter caused damage to the awning and bricks of the building.
Randee Farrell, U.S. Army spokeswoman, said engineers have already reviewed the accident and found that the structure of the building was not damaged.
"Rotor wash from a helicopter caused damage to the brick veneer along the roof line which fell and caused damage to the awning," Farrell said in a press release.
No one was hurt during the incident.
Farrell said crews would be working to clean up the fallen brick and broken facade before residents wake up in the morning. She said the U.S. Army would make sure to return the building to the condition it was before the accident.
No additional military training will take place at the Sperry's building, she said.

Here.

For all you people that say "no big deal" and "this is the sound of freedom" this isn't for you.

For everyone else that has the ability to think independently, I have one question.

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?????

The US military is ramping up training in US cities and the idea that they're doing it for overseas work is utter bullshit.

I don't know what's going on but this is starting to have me believing that just maybe the tinfoil hat crowd might be right.  They better get the truth out or a MUCH MORE CREDIBLE lie because now I'm raising the bullshit flag.

Stealth is dead.

via Jewish Business News.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) unveiled a unique, highly advanced family of modular Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar.
The new radar, developed by IAI’s ELTA Systems Group and subsidiary, has a formidable capability of Early Warning and long range search and tracking of low observable Air Breathing Targets (ABTs), and ballistic missiles.
The radars offer an advantage of low RCS target detection at long ranges, operation under all weather conditions, and in the presence of dense electromagnetic environments.
The ULTRA radar, already operationally proven, uses a modular, common UHF-band cluster architecture capable of wide angle electronic scan in both elevation and azimuth. The basic cluster can be modularly scaled to 6 and up to a 22 cluster configuration which offers extended detection ranges and tracking accuracies. Other cluster configurations are possible to meet specific customer’s requirements.

Here.

Airpower Australia predicted this years ago.  Many laughed but who's laughing now?

IAI is selling this?  You can have it configured to your needs?

That means Israel already has a more advanced version that is classified, already in service and probably already tested against the very best versions of the F-35, F-22 and B-2.

The Israelis probably can see what we're doing and how we're doing it whether we like it or not....remember you sometimes develop capabilities to keep eyes on "friends" as well as enemies.

Stealth is dead.  It had a good 30-40 year run but its an evolutionary dead end.

On to the next new thing.

Ranger: Mark of a Man - The Big Picture

Saab - Gripen The Smart Fighter

Finally! A manufacturer went there. Did you catch the part about "your airplanes should fill your skies, not your hangars"? Awesome. Now if they would go after the price issue I think they might have finally hit on the real issues with the F-35.

Oh and isn't it funny that the situational awareness card that the F-35 program is currently hanging its hat on is found in every warplane flying today? Datalinks aren't proprietary tech belonging only to the F-35...neither are Sniper pods....the F-35 is a dog, a bad dog and I still don't understand this "all in attitude" that is sweeping the Pentagon.

Ukrainian Armed Forces - Oplot-M Main Battle Tank

Jeez.

I really should do a cheap "Janes" to cover all the armor that is in service.  It would probably run over 500 pages if I included light info and pics.

World of Tanks. Finally seeing some success!

FINALLY!

After all the raging, cursing, wall punching and outright disgust I'm finally seeing some success.

The reason why?

I don't move for the first minute of the game!  I sit in place like I'm AFK, wait for everyone to rush out to positions, get blasted and then I slice and dice.

Oh and for my fellow T-69 drivers.  Do yourself a favor.  Dump the 90mm, downsize to the 76mm gun--run optics (so you can circle strafe if necessary but still see far), vertical stabilizer and enhanced gun laying drive.  Pack about 10 rounds of HE and the rest your normal APCR (the 76 gets that for standard ammo).  A reload time of 15 seconds, matched with crew skill deadeye and you'll bring most tanks to their knees (including heavily armored beasts like the ST-I if you can get their sides) and run a profit at the same time.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome at US Air Base in Korea.

via CNN

A Korean Air Force member stationed at a U.S. air base in South Korea tested positive for MERS earlier this week and remains in isolation at a military hospital on the base, a Korean Department of Defense official said.
The chief master sergeant initially tested positive for MERS on Wednesday. Because he showed no symptoms of the illness, he received further testing which reconfirmed that he has MERS.
The sergeant had received treatment for his Achilles heel at the same hospital as the first MERS patient in Korea, who became sick after visiting four Middle Eastern countries.
There are no other diagnosed cases of MERS on base, according to a statement released by Osan Air Base on Thursday. But six civilians and 64 soldiers -- all Koreans -- remain under quarantine in their barracks to prevent further infection on the base.

First pigs, then birds and now a disease that comes from camels.

Worse.  A S. Korean went to Hong Kong so it might have a foothold in China...and I don't have to tell you about the number of American and Westerners that flow through Saudi Arabia.

The Middle East just keeps giving.  Is the relationship worth the headache?  I say no...not by a long shot.

Airborne operation in Pordenone, Italy....pics by Paolo Bovo

Note:  Is it just me or are we seeing nothing but hollywood jumps lately?  Interesting because this new chute is suppose to be designed to handle the weight of all the gear carried today.  Additionally, does it seem like we're seeing bunch more CH-47 jumps?

Look at how he's pulling those risers!  Seems like a side PLF.  Pain awaits and you can see his sphincter muscle tightening up from here!  Also---Those reserve chutes are HUGE!