Is this the F-35's tipping point?

Are we finally seeing the tipping point for the F-35?

Is the news media, prodded by David Axe over at War is Boring Blog, finally going to do their jobs?

I don't know but check out these articles....

Jack of All Trades, Master Of None: F-35 Lightning II Clobbered By 70s Era F-16 In DogfightHot Hardware
Report: High-priced F-35 outgunned in the sky during air combat testStars and Stripes
F-35 Lightning stealth fighter comes up short In dogfight against ageing F-16 Fighting FalconInternational Business Times UK
The F-35 can't outmaneuver a plane it is meant to replaceBusiness Insider
The Air Force's trillion-dollar jet lost a dogfight to an aircraft from the 1970sWe Are The Mighty
New report claims F-35 outclassed by 40 year-old F-16, government disagreesExtremeTech
Old F-16 vs. next-generation F-35: Guess who wins?Komando
Pentagon say reason most expensive fighter jet ever the F35 lost a dogfight with an F16 from 40 ...Daily Mail
Leaked Dogfight Test Reveals That F-35 Jet Is In 'Very Big Trouble'Huffington Post Canada

Note that this is just from my news crawler for this afternoon.  Its set to run 3 times a day.

Critical mass?  Don't know.  Is the media finally paying attention?  Hell yeah! 

The Chinese Navy's Mobile Landing Platform (graphic) via China Defense Blog

China Defense Blog is speculating that the MLP will be used to transport the Zubr Landing Craft since its too big for the LPDs (more pics, not just graphics here).

Those sneaky, cheeky, Chinese bastards.  They've basically created a Tank Landing Ship hybrid.  The Zubr can carry a  VERY respectable payload of armored vehicles but can't self deploy over great distance.  They've developed a work around that will allow them to LAND A MECH DIVISION ASHORE QUICKLY...no multiple sorties by LCAC sized boats to the beach for them.

I like the Chinese as enemies.  They're formidable.  Good enemies make you better...I know we're making them better!

The Armata is the most protected IFV in the world? Ok, that just means we're headed back to the future!

via Sputnik 

The Armata is one of the most protected, if not the most protected IFV in the world. It seems that in terms of protection it is superior to most heavy armored personnel carrier and heavily-armored vehicles such as German Puma, or Namer, a heavily armoured infantry fighting vehicle based on the chassis of the Merkava 4 main battle tank of Israel, also called Tiger or Leopard.

I've always thought that battlefield prioritization of targets had it wrong.

You don't kill the tanks first.  You kill the IFV/APCs first.

Knocking out supporting infantry in a "tank" attack will cause the assault to slow and more likely to stop.  Consider that we're seeing IFVs approaching the armor protection of MBTs (yeah I know that's a sketchy statement)...consider the fact that we're making them modern day tank destroyers because of the anti-tank missiles they carry....the fact that the infantry they carry simply adds to the available firepower inherent in each vehicle....

And its obvious to me that killing IFVs is the #1 priority on any battlefield not tanks.

So where does that leave tanks if we have IFVs that can destroy anything on the battlefield and yet carry troops?  It means we're going back to the future!

We're going back to the British/French idea of Infantry Tanks.  Super heavily armored, slow (they only need to keep pace with the grunts) and probably armed with small caliber cannons (no bigger than 30mm) and multiple, independently targetable machine guns.  It will also probably be unmanned (all those cyber units being assigned to frontline units are gonna need a real job when everyone realizes that they actually have nothing to do...they're gonna transition over to being unmanned ground vehicle crewmen!).

The Matilda will live in the 21st Century!

How the UK views the 4th of July!

Mad props to Defense Matters Tumblr!  This is too funny!

239 years ago we kicked British ass.

239 years ago we kicked British ass....

So celebrate the victory, remember those that can't be here and have a good time..Happy INDEPENDENCE DAY everyone!

25 Greatest Warriors History Has Ever Seen

Stillion wants missile trucks? The Navy can do that...the weak link is tankers!

I keep rotating back to David Axe's article in War is Boring (here).  This part stood out to me...

...Stillion concluded that sensors and missiles are more important than speed and maneuverability.

An "ad hoc" version of Stillion's proposal is possible now!

The E-2D's sensors and along with the "air defense network" that they're developing should be able to allow the F-18's to launch at the AMRAAMs maximum distance.  Since its been demonstrated that the C model could lift a total of 10 AMRAAMs along with 2 Sidewinders, the weak link isn't sensors.

The weak link is aerial refueling.

Unfortunately that situation is compounded with the Navy's selection of the MV-22.  IF the Navy had gone with the S-3 Viking solution then we could see a work around that arrives at Stillion's proposal today.

Of course upgraded engines and conformal fuel tanks could help mitigate the tanking shortfall (yep, I'm pitching the Advanced Super Hornet) and barring that stationing KC-130's around the Pacific (along with Air Force tankers...not sure if they'd be willing to participate) at friendly air fields could also help (that opens up a new can of worms...would the S. Koreans let us launch planes to help defend Japan?) but the point remains.

If the E-2D can be tweaked to a level where it can spot Chinese stealth planes at distance....IF the AMRAAM can be improved to a point where it can hit at over 100 miles with reliability...IF the tanking issue can be worked out....

Then the Super Hornet can keep the few F-35's that are forced down the Navy's throat from being clubbed like baby seals.

Sidenote:  I realize that the Super Hornet does buddy refueling.  I think that's a waste.  Why take a shooter out of the fight?  We have the deck space to carry a section of S-3 Tankers aboard each carrier....the benefits outweigh the cost.

Cooking Snakes...

cut up Rattlesnake...ready for batter and frying in my way of doing things.

via Preparedness Advice Blog...

his year there seems to be more rattlesnakes on the move around here. It may just be that they are being forced to move because of the drought. But it got me to think about cooking snakes. Now rattlesnake tastes to me like a cross between chicken and Cornish game hens. I like the taste.
Now rattlesnakes are not hard to prepare. You can use the same techniques for cooking other types of snakes; just the taste may be different. I don’t know of any snakes that will hurt you to eat as long as you aren’t bit.

Read it all here. 

I don't know why but Rattlesnake is found in most local restaurants from Arizona (and the desert parts of California) east to Florida and up to Tennessee. For some reason its not as popular in the rest of the country.

Don't know why.

But take my advice.  Try it.  You'll be pleasantly surprised.

The F-35 hangs its hat on the work of one of its biggest critics.

David Axe's latest is here and for the F-35 fanclub its another damning yet eye opening article that does more than "take apart" the lie that is the F-35 program..A small tidbit...

Instead of trying to improve the F-35 or replace it with a faster, nimbler new jet, the Pentagon should rethink its obsession with speed and maneuverability, Stillion insisted. “The goal of aerial combat,” he reminded readers, “is still to achieve a victory, then get or remain outside the effective reach of a potential counterattack.”
And that goal, Stillion continued, doesn’t necessarily require speed and agility. Especially considering the tradeoffs that speed and agility demand.
“Supersonic aircraft are larger, more complex and less fuel-efficient compared to subsonic aircraft with the same range-payload capabilities,” Stillion wrote. For its part, high maneuverability is expensive and adds weight to a combat aircraft, Stillion added.
Having analyzed 1,400 air-to-air engagements between 1965 and 2002, Stillion concluded that sensors and missiles are more important than speed and maneuverability.

Read the whole thing here. 

What has me spinning is that the F-35 Program Office, the USAF, USMC and other supporters are hanging their hats on the work of this man that they once said was a fool (metaphorically).

The saving grace of the airplane today (according to its boosters) is its sensors.

They've taken Stillon's work, bastardized it, used it for their own selfish needs and at the end of the day they've lied once again.

Already the F-35's AESA is no more advanced than the competition.  Its EO/DAS isn't as good as the latest pods on the market today and into the future.

In short, its sensors will barely keep up (if that).

When is enough, enough with this airplane?

Rosomak/AMV set to become the European "standard" APC/IFV.

via Reuters

Slovakia plans to buy 30 armored personnel carriers (APC) from Poland over the next three years in a deal worth about $32 million, Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz said on Friday.
Under the agreement, Slovak firms will jointly develop the vehicles with Poland, and provide turrets for the APCs, Kopacz said at a joint news conference with Slovak counterpart Robert Fico.
The vehicles will be an updated version of the Rosomak APC, manufactured in southern Poland under a license agreement with Finnish firm Patria. Kopacz said she hoped the model could be exported globally.

A European Union embargo on arms imports from Russia has pushed Slovakia, among other EU states, to accelerate its transition from Russian-made military hardware to NATO-standard weaponry.

Is it just me or does it seem like we're seeing an increase in development cycles...especially with armored vehicles and aircraft (for some reason, naval tech seems to be lagging...or we're just not hearing much about improvements in the technology).

Having said all that the Rosomak/AMV is set to become the European standard APC/IFV.

With the updates that are being pumped out by the original manufacturer and the license holders this vehicle seems poised to be the gold standard for that continent.

I find that interesting.  I thought a couple of years ago that the Boxer would become the golden boy but it looks like I was wrong.