Saudi Arabia/GCC begin the Yemen "surge"...

Photos and video via Defence Blog...

Otokar Arma IFV

I have no idea what this vehicle is.

Defence Blog has been doing a really good job of following the armor movements in Yemen.  They're to be applauded.  

But to the facts at hand.  It appears that Saudi Arabia/GCC is following the American playbook by surging forces into Yemen in an attempt to correct the setbacks they've recently faced.  They should be thrilled that the Western media isn't covering this conflict carefully.  They'd have egg all over their faces if they did.

One thing is certain though.  The US, Iran, Russia, the EU and China are all probably monitoring events carefully.  Not only is the fighting being followed but also the performance of the armored vehicles in the fight.

With the appearance of more French LeClerc MBTs and Otokar Arma IFVs we should finally get a good look at their performance in a real conflict.  But what really has me amazed is the number of forces being suged.  Does Saudi Arabia have much left?  I'm sure they're keeping their National Guard forces in reserve so if this doesn't work out (or even if it does) do they have the ability to reinforce/exploit its failure/success?

USAF anxiety about F-35 Close Air Support?

via John Q. Public Blog (READ IT ALL HERE!!!)...

If the F-35’s inability to perform CAS nearly as well as promised becomes publicly undeniable, the program stands to have its currently exorbitant scale trimmed back appreciably. This will become necessary in order to find budgetary tradespace to keep the A-10 operational for the foreseeable future. This manifests a threat to the F-35 program, which, given the foregoing, Mark Welsh likely perceives as a larger threat to the entire Air Force institution, not to mention his legacy as Chief.
It’s my guess that this is why Welsh is rhetorically turning, pulling, and throttling radically enough that he’s occasionally spilling out of the design envelope. His rapid gallop from “silly exercise” to full support of said exercise to professed confusion, all in a single news cycle, can be seen as well-founded anxiety about the viability of the F-35 program beginning to bubble out into public view.

And this...

In other words, the F-35 will never be anywhere near as effective as the A-10 at traditional CAS, something proponents of the mission have long known and contended.
Second, this shows how frightened Welsh is of a CAS face-off between the A-10 and F-35 – especially one over which the Air Staff has no control and limited influence. His initial attempt to marginalize the idea before realizing it was non-negotiable was an attempt to avoid a direct comparison between the two platforms on terms unfavorable to the F-35.
Welsh knows — or should know — that such a comparison will show the F-35 has been oversold as a CAS weapon, and that it is years from being even modestly capable in the mission set. His loss of rhetorical coherence reflects a sort of wobbliness, which in turn reflects fear about the potential impact to the service’s modernization priorities if the F-35 is exposed as toothless in one of its hyped mission areas. It’s one thing for a weapon to come up short. It’s another for the service’s credibility to be publicly impeached.

I'm loving this.

More and more bloggers are keying into the real issue with the F-35.  Its no longer just about whether the airplane is as capable as its proponents are saying...its becoming about INTEGRITY, TRUTHFULNESS, and FULL DISCLOSURE TO THE PUBLIC!

We can excuse F-35 fanboys for their enthusiasm.  We can't forgive generals for lying to the public about issues with airplane.  We expect...correction...the REPUBLIC demands MORE from them!

What started out as a debate over whether an airplane fulfills the objectives laid out for it has morphed into a debate over whether or not the public should trust military leadership.

The test that the GAO DOT&E (my mistake) is setting up to test the F-35 against the A-10 will be instructive.  The USAF/USMC will have no say in its modeling.  They will not be able to spin its outcome.  We will get the truth and many will be embarrassed.  Unfortunately many of those responsible will have already retired.  However they will still be within reach of law enforcement if corruption can be proved (as in making factually false statements to Congress under oath).

Awesome blast from the past. Handley Page Victor Bomber.

Many thanks to Defense Matters for the pic!

Everyone talks about the demise of the British aviation industry but I believe that it really came about with the end of the V-Bombers.  When these planes were put into service I think they were world beaters.  Not only were they flying beauties that would put to shame any stripper in a night club anywhere but they were technological wonders.

Full disclosure I'm a huge fan of the V-Bombers...but even with my boyhood crush on them just think about the possibility.  What if the Brits had been doggedly determined to replace them?  What if they had chosen the path of relying not only on carriers but also strategic bombers to deliver expeditionary power?

What would a Handley Page Victor Bomber Mk4 look like today?  It had futuristic styling at conception.  What would happen with modern engines, a more streamlined fuselage and modern weaponry?  Perhaps its a good thing it turned out the way it did.  The British Empire might not have crumbled.

Where does free will end and coercion begin?

Photos and story via MiseeHarris (here).

A boy commits suicide and his online girlfriend encouraged it.  Now she's on trial for manslaughter.

This is only on my radar because of its morality play.  Personally I find the charges ridiculous.  Its a cause celeb' on the internet because it allows people (in my opinion) to act as if they're somehow superior and feel pain that they really don't for this persons passing.

But it does beg the question.  Where does free will end and coercion begin?  If we truly are the "captain's of our ship" then the opinion of others should be irrelevant.

But that's the problem isn't it?  Most are swayed by the desire to be seen as "better" or "on the right side of history" by others instead of following their own moral compass.

Yeah.  This is bullshit and the District Attorney is seeking headlines instead of justice.  Time to whip out the cartoon panel again.  Drink it boys and girls.  The opinion of others IS irrelevant.

The real crime here is that this young man wasn't taught independence in thought and deed at an early age.  Luckily lifetime learning is a reality. Hopefully many of the people that are caught up in groupthink will learn the bravery that comes from simply THINKING and not relying on others to do it for them.  

Call for info! Dimensions on the Oshkosh JLTV.

The JLTV is a side project for the US Army but because of the USMC concepts of operations, it's quite consequential.

A bigger utility vehicle means added weight and space considerations aboard ship.  Space on an amphib is finite.  It can only carry so much weight.  So a JLTV that is bigger than a HUMVEE and weighs more too is not to be taken lightly.

Having said all that, me and Bryan haven't been able to find definitive specs on an outfitted JLTV.  Dimensions aren't readily available online and neither is its weight with a nominal loadout for combat missions.

If your Google-foo is strong and you can find it then please send it my way!  I have a guy that has several decades experience that will do a fictional loadout on a San Antonio Class to see how this will affect our Marine Expeditionary Units.

Oh and sidenote.  If you think I'm smoking crack when I'm pushing the weight and size angle then check out the pic below.

The days of carrying 12 utility vehicles ashore in one lift with an LCAC are over with this vehicle.

Dog and Pony for the SecDef...Photos by Staff Sgt. Bobbie Curtis

Note:  Recon and Riverines played this game but I didn't find the photos compelling.

Note 1:  Let me clarify.  The photos were fine.  I just don't buy the scenario of Recon doing a beach recon in this day and age.  First we have sat pics and UAVs that can give up to the minute view of conditions ashore.  Second, I just don't see a Riverine Command Boat dropping off Recon to do their work.  That's what I didn't find compelling.

When the JLTV boards the ship, what gets left on the dock?

Thanks to Bryan for the link!

By now you've heard about Oshkosh winning the JLTV contest.  This little rip isn't about that company.  I'm a huge fan of their MTVR (I believe it to be the most useful vehicle in the inventory at this time)...this is a rip about the JLTV concept for the Marine Corps.  Check this out from USNI News.

The shift for the Marines means replacing the 74 Humvees currently in its infantry battalions with 69 JLTVs.
“The intent is to replace 5,500 vehicles that are most likely be in direct combat,” Col. Andrew Bianca, U.S. Marine Corps Deputy Program Executive Officer, Land Systems, said during the briefing.

Ok.  That sounds reasonable right?  Wrong.  Marines deploy aboard ship.  They're forward deployed aboard Navy Amphibious Ships.  Check out the following....

Oshkosh Defense — the Marines will now work on how to integrate the vehicle on the U.S. Navy’s fleet of amphibious warships designed for the much smaller legacy Humvee.
For example, the San Antonio-class (LPD-17) landing platform dock amphibious warship was designed to carry 5,500 pound Humvees not 14,000 to 15,000 pound JLTVs.
“As you deploy out on a [Marine Expeditionary Unit], yes it’s not a one-for-one swap as far as space available on the ships. There is some additional [weight] growth but you also have an increase in protection, an increase in performance and an increase in payload to accompany that also,” Rodgers said.

Ok.  Lets do a little math.  I believe (and I could easily be wrong) that the average MEU deploys with about 60 Humvees.  Lets be generous and cut that number by 10 and say its 50.   Assume that the JLTV is more capable and they're able to get by with 45.

You just added 1/2 million pounds of weight to your ship (250 short tons).  Additionally that added weight in vehicles will not transport the same number of Marines so you're going to end up using your MTVRs in the transport role....again.

But the biggest issue is the weight.  For all the talk of a lighter Marine Corps it just got heavier.  What's worse?  The ACV will be heavier than the AAV!

So we will have ships that are carrying heavier loads (which means that we will have fewer combat vehicles), with vehicles that carry fewer Marines, and a Marine Corps more dependent on vertical assault every minute!

Its diabolical.  Its mind numbing.  Its begs the question.  Who is coming up with this shit?

The USMC & Army must field Active Protection Systems on its vehicles NOW!

Many thanks to BaneBlade for the idea!

Face the it boys and girls.  The action in the Middle East has moved from Iraq/Syria over to Yemen.  Saudi Arabia and the other members of the GCC have launched an offensive in that country and by all accounts they're getting their asses handed to them.

BaneBlade stated the obvious and I'm sorry I missed it.

Anti-armor missile tech is outpacing armor development.  You just can't make it thick enough and be able to maneuver properly anymore.  Even if we accept the idea that the M1 Abrams that we sold the Saudi's aren't up to US standard we should still be aware...and a bit alarmed at how easily all manner of ATGM/RPG are able to slice into them.

What does this mean for US forces?

It means that the paradigm has shifted again.  For the USMC specifically it means that its survivability upgrade for the AAV is no longer valid.  IEDs aren't the weapon of choice in the fight that the Houthis are waging.  They're using anti-tank missiles and RPGs.

If I was part of a think tank I'd swear that the Saudi's thought that they were running into an insurgency and instead found themselves involved in Hybrid Warfare (I believe but can't prove that Iranian Advisors are working with the Houthis).

The Army is pushing 30mm cannon upgrades for its Strykers.  In light of information that we now have, I believe that's the wrong move.  They should instead be investing in Armor Protection Systems.  I don't care which one, but it should be a priority.  Additionally the USMC has at least 7 years and probably a whole lot more before it fields the Amphibious Combat Vehicle.  APS must be part of that vehicle when it rolls off the assembly line.  The USMC has already delayed the purchase to such an extent that today's off the shelf vehicles will probably be antiquated by the time Marines receive them anyway so at least give them a fighting chance.

The script has flipped.  IEDs aren't the threat.  Its ATGM/RPG.

Is the Saudi offensive in Yemen failing?

Thanks to NO for the link!



I couldn't understand one word that was said in this video.

Even without understanding the language its easy enough to make out a few things.  Apparently the Saudi Army was involved in some type of vehicle recovery op and got ambushed.  Additionally the number of vehicles damaged (if true) should have alarm bells ringing in AFRICOM/CENTCOM.

The Saudi offensive is grinding to a halt under best case scenarios and under worse they're getting their asses handed to them.

One thing has me wondering.

ISIS is proud to show the bodies of those they kill.  They take pride in brutalizing those they capture.  These people aren't doing that.  Even in the "non" news vids that I've seen we aren't seeing the type of vulgarity that is the hallmark of ISIS.

I'm just throwing this out there.  If these people are different --- are we supporting the right side?  I honestly don't know.  What I do know is this.  I predicted this thing would get nasty and I was spot on.

15th MEU Amphibious Assault Vehicle Night Shoot....pics by Sgt. Emmanuel Ramos

The best night skies are always in the deserts...or at sea.  You really can't beat them.