Blue Chromite 15 AAV beach landing...Photos by Cpl. Tyler Giguere

“The J-31 will finish it off in the sky.”

via Techworm.com

Experts who are close to the subject of aerial warfare have stated that China’s latest stealth fighter, the J-31, and J-20 fighter jet are variants that were inspired by F-35. This could mean that the Chinese took intricate details from the fighter jet and implemented them on their own fighter jets. According to AVIC Chairman, Lin Zuomin, he had this to say about J-31 if it ever met F-35 in an open air fight:
“The J-31 will finish it off in the sky.”
According to the Snowden files, there are several details that outline the scope of Chinese F-35 espionage efforts. These ranged from acquiring the radar design of the fighter jet, as well as detailed engine schematics. These schematics would most likely enable the Chinese to build a fighter whose speed matched that of F-35 and they could also replicate the cooling system of the engine, to prevent it from overheating even when it was stressed to its limits.
The leaked documents from Snowden also reveal that several terabytes of data related to F-35 joint strike fighter program were stolen, meaning that if the Chinese were actually responsible for the hack, they had sufficient information on their hands to build a fighter jet of their own in order to match the prowess of F-35.

Story here.

The continuing ACV drama.

via SeaPower Magazine...

Walsh cited some of the progress being made on multiple programs dealing with amphibious operations and said the Marines had to maintain that capability.
“If we can’t come from sea to shore, we have no reason to exist,” he said.
A key part of maintaining that capability is the ACV. Walsh said he expected two of the four bidding contractors would be chosen to build 16 vehicles to be tested over the next two years to select the best for production.
Although the ACV will not have the high water speed the Marines sought in the canceled Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program, Walsh said the proposed vehicles are better able to protect the Marines in them and operate on land, where they will spend 90 percent of their time. The Marines still hope a future model ACV can provide a faster water speed, he said.

Two years of testing?  Really?  We're talking about a ground combat vehicle.  The flight test schedule for the CH-53K will be shorter and people are going to be riding in that at 5000 ft, but somehow it takes 2 years to determine the best vehicle?

We're getting jerked around and HQMC is playing games.

The AAV replacement drama has dragged on longer than even the pitiful F-35 program.  Time to get this done OR its time to be honest with the tribe and state that it isn't gonna happen till 2030 at the soonest because leadership fucked up.  Its really that simple. 

Despite backroom budget deal, Pentagon still in a pain locker...

via Defense News...

The US House and Senate armed services committees are working to identify $5 billion to cut from the defense budget as part of a larger budget pact between Congress and the White House, leaving procurement programs vulnerable to reductions.
The Pentagon will get nearly everything it wanted in the budget deal — minus $5 billion — leaving defense watchers to speculate how the rewritten policy bill will play out.

Five Billion dollars.

The article goes on to quote a Senator as saying that the cuts will come out of muscle....and the Pentagon has already cut real combat power to pay for the F-35.

How much longer will the USAF, USMC, USN and US Army (what is the abbreviation for the Army?) play nice when one airplane is killing needed upgrades like the Stryker lethality upgrade and pushing back even further the Amphibious Combat Vehicle?

The SC Cop is fired, but many still defend him.

News hit that the SC cop has been fired...yet many continue to defend this guy.  Check this out from LEO Affairs.com

When the girl refused, a school administrator came in and ordered the teen to get out of her seat. She refused. That’s when Fields was called in to remove her.
In the viral video, the officer is seen and heard asking the student to get up. She refuses. As he goes to physically remove her, she attempts to punch him in the head, striking him in the chest. Almost simultaneously, he pulls her from the desk and throws her to the floor, where she is promptly put into cuffs.
Now, instead of learning an important lesson that there are rules and laws, and that breaking them has consequences (a lesson so many of today’s youth seem to be missing), there will be publicity, sympathy and likely no repercussions for her terrible behavior. In fact, following the incident, no injuries were reported. Now, after the media attention, the student is claiming multiple injuries.

I find this type of thinking stunning.  Some it would seem, believe that their uniformed overlords can do no wrong! 

This was a girl!

Not a gang member.  She wasn't yelling and screaming in class.  She wasn't fighting in class!  She simply refused to participate in class and she got her ass beat.

Yet some of my readers think that's ok?  Absolutely amazing.  Quite honestly this would be outrageous regardless of the color of the officer OR the child!

If you're the type of person that believes that obedience to law enforcement trumps a persons civil rights then I happily part company with you.

The officer's behavior was over the top.  The amount of force used on a "suspect" was uncalled for.

But there is a part that has me spinning even harder.  Check this out from the same article...

Regardless, many members of the NAACP have already spoken out about the incident saying, “race played a role in the arrest of the black student” and the officer should be charged. After all, nothing drives donations (and ratings for CNN) like a race war, even if it’s largely fabricated.

This publication talks about race war and its suppose to cater to LEOs?

And you wonder why relations between police and the minority communities are so bad? 

The History of Fallout Power Armor

More Exercise Trident Juncture 2015...pics by WO Artigues

Lockheed Martin Amphibious Combat Vehicle Vid...

Israel converting old Merkava tanks to Armored Personnel Carriers...

via Ynet...

The new armored vehicle was first put to the test in a division-wide exercise that was held in the spring in the Jordan River valley.
The vehicle is based on a Merkava Mk.2, many of which have been phased out within the framework of the IDF's transition to the advanced Merkava Mk.4 tanks, which are now equipped with the "Trophy" active protection system. Rather than sending the tanks to junk yards, scrapping, or selling them to foreign militaries, the tanks were sent back to the military's repair yards at Tel Hashomer.
The tanks later underwent a thorough facelift; their cannons and turrets were removed, along with spaces used to store tank shells inside the hull. The result is a heavy armored personnel carrier, which outperforms the lighter M113 APC, which is currently in widespread use throughout the military.

Here.

Getting a lot of mixed signals from the IDF when it comes to armored vehicle development.  Just a couple of days ago I read a story about a new wheeled, heavy APC that they were developing, now this.

Of course this is a common thing in the IDF when it comes to repurposing old tank hulls.  They did the same with Centurions and other MBTs so this doesn't come as much of a surprise.  The sad but necessary news?  They're finally making solid moves to take the M113 out of service.  It's just too lightly armored to serve anywhere on the battlefield...to include support roles.

Sidenote.  What do the Israelis and Russians know that we don't.  They're both making moves to heavy IFV/APCs.  Either they're wrong or the rest of the world will be very sorry.

A-12 Avenger II, the failure that ended US Navy deep strike...

While reading some of the comments about the F-35 and how it will not solve the US Navy's problem regarding distance/deep strike, its become obvious to me that some are forgetting about an important part of our nation's naval aviation history....The cancellation of the ALL ASPECT Stealth A-12 Avenger II.  via Wikipedia...

The United States Navy began the Advanced Tactical Aircraft (ATA) program in 1983. The program was to develop and field a replacement for the A-6 Intruder by 1994. Stealth technology developed for the United States Air Force would be used heavily in the program.[4] Concept design contracts were awarded to the industry teams of McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics, and Northrop/Grumman/Vought in November 1984. The teams were awarded contracts for further concept development in 1986.[5]
The McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics team was selected as the winner on 13 January 1988, the rival team led by Grumman surprisingly failed to submit a final bid.[6] The McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics team was awarded a development contract and the ATA aircraft was designated A-12. The first flight was initially planned for December 1990.[5] The A-12 was named Avenger II in homage to the World War II-era Navy torpedo-bomber Grumman TBF Avenger.[7]
The Navy initially sought to buy 620 A-12s and Marines wanted 238. In addition, the Air Force briefly considered ordering some 400 of an A-12 derivative.[5][8] The A-12 was promoted as a possible replacement for the Air Force's General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, and for the United Kingdom's Panavia Tornado fighter-bombers.[6] The craft was a flying wing design in the shape of an isosceles triangle, with the cockpit situated near the apex of the triangle.[9] The A-12 gained the nickname "Flying Dorito".[9]

The A-6 was the long range strike platform of choice for the US Navy.  The A-12 was to be its replacement and IF it had succeeded we would see a Navy much better positioned to handle the anti-access threat we're facing today.  From the same entry...

The A-12 I did terminate. It was not an easy decision to make because it's an important requirement that we're trying to fulfill. But no one could tell me how much the program was going to cost, even just through the full scale development phase, or when it would be available. And data that had been presented at one point a few months ago turned out to be invalid and inaccurate."
Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, 1991.[15]

Long story short?

The A-12 was the right airplane at the wrong time.