Quick update to my contributors. I'm working with GoFundMe to issue refund all those that tried to make my Modern Day Marine trip happen....maybe next year...anyway...Appreciate all you guys and I'm just waiting on their reply. Interesting "inside baseball stuff"....apparently the European version of their business makes it a simple one click affair, in the US you jump hoops. Don't understand why but I'm hoping to make this right today.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
BAE's SuperAV harkens back to the first USMC landing craft (at least in their designation)!
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| Pic via Defense Media Review |
Kinetics was discussing aspects of the ACV and posted the above pic in comments to illustrate why I believe that BAE/IVECO have cracked part of the code to improve water speed for wheeled vehicles.
Save that for another discussion. What caught my eye is the nomenclature that BAE assigned to the SuperAV. Do you see it? The "LVW-1"? Landing Vehicle Wheeled-1! A simple nod to the Marine Corps past but in my opinion brilliant.
Anyone that has even a passing interest in the Marine Corps knows all about Roebling's Alligator, later designated the "LVT" or Landing Vehicle Tracked. It revolutionized Marine Corps operations and saved lives.
Let's hope that the LVW-1 carries on that tradition.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Russian Marines have engaged ISIS. Reports are three ISIS fighters killed two captured.
Thanks to MiloMonkey for the link!
The Russian Marines have landed and it appears they're already engaging ISIS elements. This is to be expected. I hope that the Pentagon is talking to their Russian counterparts. Damn the politics, we don't need an incident here. Whether we like it or not we are fighting the same enemy...even if its for different reasons. We can take care of the "Assad" issue after we put a bunch of murderous savages in the ground.
Story here and here.
NOTE: This is why I ABSOLUTELY LOVE having readers in so many different countries. Its all about information flow. That is the source of power in the modern age. Getting info on a particular subject from a variety of sources can give you the REAL picture.
The Russian Marines have landed and it appears they're already engaging ISIS elements. This is to be expected. I hope that the Pentagon is talking to their Russian counterparts. Damn the politics, we don't need an incident here. Whether we like it or not we are fighting the same enemy...even if its for different reasons. We can take care of the "Assad" issue after we put a bunch of murderous savages in the ground.
Story here and here.
NOTE: This is why I ABSOLUTELY LOVE having readers in so many different countries. Its all about information flow. That is the source of power in the modern age. Getting info on a particular subject from a variety of sources can give you the REAL picture.
China's PL-15....its 150-200 km air to air missile..
Thanks to FNU for the link!
via Popular Science...
Trump is right. Their guys are smarting than our guys.
Say it loud. Payloads over platforms! AGAIN! PAYLOADS OVER PLATFORMS!
Even if the F-35 meets every one of its design goals ITS STILL GOING TO BE AT A DISADVANTAGE! Radars are beating stealth. Its time in the sun is over and computing power will render it obsolete in a decade or less (shaping stealth that is) if it hasn't already.
Meanwhile our enemies are developing not only long range Surface to Air missile but long range Air to Air missiles as well.
So let me get this straight. The scenario is that a flight of F-35's escorted by F-22's are going to dodge long range surface to air missiles being guided by Chinese long range UAVs, land based AESA arrays, ship based AESA arrays, their version of AWACs, dodge enemy J-11s and J-20s and conduct strikes against their ballistic missiles to protect our carriers/Guam/Okinawa?
Wow. Just wow. Are we trying to lose the war before it starts?
via Popular Science...
The PL-15 is developed by the 607 Institute. It is the replacement for China's current BVRAAM, the radar guided, PL-12, which reportedly has a range of approximately 100km. Compared to the PL-12, the PL-15 has an improved active radar seeker and jam-resistant datalinks, along with a dual pulse rocket motor to extend its range.Here.
Even in the prototype stage, the PL-15 is already an international star. Speaking at the 2015 Air Force Association conference the same week as the test, USAF Air Combatant Commander General Hawk Carlisle cited the PL-15 as the reason for Congress to fund a new missile to replace the American AMRAAM. His reasons for concern is the PL-15's range. By incorporating a ramjet engine, its range could reach 150-200km, was well as its terminal maneuverability. That would out-range existing American air-to-air missiles, making the PL-15 not just a threat to fighters like the F-35, but also to US bombers and aerial tankers critical to American air operations across the vast Pacific. General Carlisle called "out-sticking" the PL-15 a high priority for the USAF.
Trump is right. Their guys are smarting than our guys.
Say it loud. Payloads over platforms! AGAIN! PAYLOADS OVER PLATFORMS!
Even if the F-35 meets every one of its design goals ITS STILL GOING TO BE AT A DISADVANTAGE! Radars are beating stealth. Its time in the sun is over and computing power will render it obsolete in a decade or less (shaping stealth that is) if it hasn't already.
Meanwhile our enemies are developing not only long range Surface to Air missile but long range Air to Air missiles as well.
So let me get this straight. The scenario is that a flight of F-35's escorted by F-22's are going to dodge long range surface to air missiles being guided by Chinese long range UAVs, land based AESA arrays, ship based AESA arrays, their version of AWACs, dodge enemy J-11s and J-20s and conduct strikes against their ballistic missiles to protect our carriers/Guam/Okinawa?
Wow. Just wow. Are we trying to lose the war before it starts?
LM infographics/background on their ACV...
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| What is that device above the trim vane...just above the left headlights as we're looking at it? |
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| Wonder why they're comparing the duck boat to this vehicle instead of the LVT 1/2/3? |
Read it here.
Wow. The Pope's reception is creepy. Updated.
Ok. Slam me if you want but I find the adulation that the Pope is receiving in Washington a bit creepy.
No bible prophecy or anything but the rhythmic chanting by the crowd, the fawning by the leadership of this country....The whole thing rubs me the wrong way. Can't explain why.
UPDATE!
Below is the vid of the Pope's arrival. Listen to the chanting. I don't know why but it struck me as .... off. A rock star? I can see that. The leader of a church? Nope. But that's just my impression.
No bible prophecy or anything but the rhythmic chanting by the crowd, the fawning by the leadership of this country....The whole thing rubs me the wrong way. Can't explain why.
UPDATE!
Below is the vid of the Pope's arrival. Listen to the chanting. I don't know why but it struck me as .... off. A rock star? I can see that. The leader of a church? Nope. But that's just my impression.
Marine Air MUST fix the MV-22 fast rope situation!
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| U.S. Marines with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force—Crisis Response—Central Command, conduct fast rope training from an MV-22 Osprey while deployed to Southwest Asia, Sept. 16, 2015. Fast roping allows Marines to insert ground forces quickly from the air, without the need for a stabilized landing zone. The Marines and Sailors of SPMAGTF-CR-CC provide the commander of USCENTCOM with a unique set of solutions to emergent crises across a broad swath of the Middle East. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Leah Agler/RELEASED) |
To the guys in the Wing, this isn't directed at you. To the grunts and others in the GCE, this isn't directed at you.
I'm aiming this directly at the Assistant Commandant for Aviation.
SIR THIS IS BULLSHIT!
How can you look at the above pic and think that that is ok? In order to fast rope from a MV-22 the first Marine out has to make a life defying leap and then once on the ground he lays on the rope and maybe the second guy down does too in order for the rest of the stick to make it down?
Seriously?
Workarounds are part of the job but you have to know when its time to say enough is enough. That is too much. Work needs to be done to do this better!
Fix this shit SIR!
BAE's SuperAV shows up at MDM...
They cracked the code. Notice how no vehicle structure extends over the wheels back to the props? That's the secret to increased water speed. This vehicle should equal if not best what we're getting from the AAV. You want the props to bite into as much undisturbed water as possible.
Saudi Arabia/GCC continue to suffer heavy losses in Yemen.
Thanks to Armorfan for the link!
This is the most underreported story going. Saudi Arabia/GCC armored formations are getting taken apart in Yemen.
Of special interest in this vid. At the 2 minute mark you can see what I believe is a Kornet missile doing its classic corkscrew into the turret of a Bradley. You can see a crewman escaping the vehicle so we know it was a hit but not a "kill"...at the 4 minute mark you can see a column of destroyed vehicles.
They've lost or are in the process of losing this war in a major way. Our advisors need to tell them to save their forces for the bigger fight that is coming. In short, they need to leave the field of battle to save their army. It'll probably be needed for a more important fight sooner rather than later.
This is the most underreported story going. Saudi Arabia/GCC armored formations are getting taken apart in Yemen.
Of special interest in this vid. At the 2 minute mark you can see what I believe is a Kornet missile doing its classic corkscrew into the turret of a Bradley. You can see a crewman escaping the vehicle so we know it was a hit but not a "kill"...at the 4 minute mark you can see a column of destroyed vehicles.
They've lost or are in the process of losing this war in a major way. Our advisors need to tell them to save their forces for the bigger fight that is coming. In short, they need to leave the field of battle to save their army. It'll probably be needed for a more important fight sooner rather than later.
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