Aussie company hacked for F-35/P-8 secrets.

via UPI

The hack, which came to light in a threat report from the Australian Cyber Security Center, infiltrated the unidentified company's computer network in July 2016. It was not discovered and reported to the government until November.

About 30 gigabytes of information was purloined. The reported hacking was confirmed on Tuesday by Dan Tehan, the Australian government's minister in charge of cyber security, but he offered no specific details.

Mitchell Clark, response manager of the Australian Signals Directorate, told a conference Wednesday in Sydney, Australia, the targeted company was a small "mum and dad type business" -- an aerospace engineering company with about 50 employees.

"The compromise was extensive and extreme," he said at the Australian Information Security Association national conference. "It included information on the [F-35] Joint Strike Fighter, C130 [Hercules aircraft], the P-8 Poseidon [surveillance aircraft], joint direct attack munition [JDAM smart bomb kits], and a few naval vessels."

Story here. 

This is another part of the F-35 story that no one talks about.  The parts supply network is so jacked up, so convoluted and so spread out over so many countries that its another built in vulnerability.

Warhammer News. N. Korean hackers probed US energy companies...

via CNBC

North Korean hackers used fake emails to try to infiltrate U.S. electric companies, according to a report released Tuesday.

Cybersecurity firm FireEye detected and stopped the so-called spear-phishing attack — when attackers send emails containing malicious links. When a person clicks the link, it could open the doors for hackers to enter an organization's network.

NBC News, which first obtained the report, said Tuesday that emails using fake invitations to fundraisers were used to target victims. FireEye made clear that the spear-phishing campaign did not compromise or manipulate any of the industrial control systems that regulate the supply of power. The researchers found no evidence that North Korean-linked actors have the capability at this time. Instead, it was likely a intelligence gathering exercise.

"This activity was early-stage reconnaissance, and not necessarily indicative of an imminent, disruptive cyber attack that might take months to prepare if it went undetected," FireEye said in a report.

Story here. 

This is interesting.

Could this mean that if N. Korea is attacked kinetically, even in a limited strike then they'll respond in the cyber realm?

If so then this raises the stakes tremendously.

Let me hit you with a hypothetical.

What if the US gets a green light from China and Russia for a limited strike against N. Korea.  What if that green light comes with assurances that we won't decapitate the govt and in return China will not allow the N. Koreans to launch nuclear missiles or an artillery barrage against S. Korea/Japan.

But what happens if they do go cyber against Los Angeles and/or San Diego? What if those cities are in the dark for weeks?

How would we retaliate?

Could an attack of this type on major US cities justify nuclear retaliation? How about a massive conventional attack?

Last question.

Is the Pentagon adding this tidbit to their list of possible enemy reactions?

Canada takes first official step to buying used fighter jets from Australia

Thanks to Darren for the link!

via National Post.

Canada has taken the first official step to purchasing used fighter jets from Australia as its dispute with Boeing continues unresolved.

The Canadian government has now submitted a formal expression of interest to Australia to acquire the aircraft, Public Services and Procurement Canada confirmed.

Canada began discussions in late August with the Australian government to assess the potential purchase of used F/A-18 fighter aircraft from that country.

“On Sept. 29, 2017, Canada submitted an expression of interest, formally marking Canada’s interest in the Australian equipment,” Public Services and Procurement Canada announced in a new statement. “Canada expects to receive a response by the end of this year that will provide details regarding the availability and cost of the aircraft and associated parts that Canada is considering.”

The Australian jets are being considered as interim fighters. They would supplement Canada’s existing CF-18 fleet until a new aircraft could be acquired.

The move to try to acquire fighter jets from Australia coincides with the U.S. government’s decision, based on a Boeing complaint, to hit Bombardier with almost 300 per cent duties on its CSeries civilian passenger jet.

Story here. 

I can't quite figure out what Boeing is doing.  My guess is that they've concluded from previous deals that selling military equipment to Canada isn't worth the loss of revenue from the issues with Bombardier.

As far as Canada buying Australian jets?

Weird move. 

Why?

They're old, crusty and worn out.  It's not like the Aussies aren't flying the wings off the things!  Even worse though is that if they think they're pressuring Trump this won't cut it.

I saw the body language at the meeting he had with Trudeau and I can tell you one thing.  Trump sees Trudeau as being pure pussy and Trudeau views Trump as being an unrefined caveman.

They won't solve a thing.

I think Canada isn't playing this hand well.  Trump won't back down in this dispute because he has to be seen as supporting US business.  Buying Australian jets is a poor bandaid on a terrible situation and in the end they still have the same old problem.  Will they buy the F-35 or another jet.

My prediction?

At the end of the day they'll opt for the Gripen.

Russia accuses the US of pretending to fight ISIS in Syria...

Thanks to Rogerio for the link!

via Ynet.

Russia accused the United States on Tuesday of pretending to fight Islamic State and of deliberately reducing its air strikes in Iraq to allow the group’s militants to stream into Syria to slow the Russian-backed advance of the Syrian army.

Story here. 

Read the WHOLE story for yourself but consider this.  We aren't seeing as many strikes as we have in the past.

By my reckoning and I don't know cause I ain't there, but it looks like from my chair that this should have been in the mop up stage long ago.

What am I saying?

That there is no way an organization like ISIS could stand up to persistent US airstrikes much less the power of the US, Iraq, Russia and Syria.

If ISIS was the only target that everyone agrees on then ISIS should be an afterthought IF they were the max effort objective that so many claim.

Are the Russians right?

On this I would say yes. 

Are there other objectives that I don't know?

Undoubtedly yes!

I'll believe this till my dying day.  There is literally no way ISIS should take this long to defeat.  No way at all.

General Dynamics Flyer 72 @AUSA...

Thanks to Matt for the pics!

Wow.  GD has really worked on this vehicle made it much much better than it was when it first came out but they're hit with a slow procurement system.

While GD and others were working on candidates for the internally carried vehicle solicitation, the services were all climbing aboard the SOCOM solution of using off the shelf farm/hunting/rec vehicles to fill the role.

Now?

Now these guys are faced with a much cheaper solution being all but formally adopted while they engineered a solution following the system laid out by the Pentagon.

Something is gonna have to give or manufacturers will get to the point of feeling burned. 

This is why the industry/pentagon partnership will not work.  The Pentagon might want to formalize the relationship and make industry more responsive but troops will always gravitate to what works and works now.

The solution is inside the Pentagon itself, not industry.  Requirements writers should be forced to scour the internet to find products that fill a need without having to be "invented" before they make a request to industry.

Russian Il-76 Heavy Vehicle Airborne Drop...

Pics via Enrique 262 Tumblr Page.

Open Comment Post. Oct 11, 2017

Aftermath of the CH-53 crash in Japan...Marine Air is in trouble...

The concept has failed.

It's time to put it in the dustbin of history and move.  An aviation centric Marine Corps is just not workable.

I don't know the details of this crash and I hope that the crew is safe, but the birds eye view of this is plain as the nose on your face.  Marine Air is being asked to do too much with too little and the results are what you're seeing.

Crashes, injuries and death.

The pilots, crews and personnel of the Wing deserve better.  Its time to bring common sense back to the Corps. 

Rethink this thing.

Reinforce the Marine Air-Ground Task Force.  Don't unbalance things in the hope of making warfare "simple" and "easy".

Partisan One Military SUV ...

Thanks to Jonathan for the link!

via Motor 1

The necessities of modern war have forced combat vehicles to get sophisticated, like the massive JLTV that replaces the venerable Humvee. However, Dr. Juri E. Postnikov thinks that there’s an alternative. His Partisan One concept eschews cutting-edge tech for the ability to put huge numbers of them on the road in a quick period of time. The goal is to be the “best car for the world's worst roads."

Dr. Postnikov says that the design is deliberately primitive. The Partisan One’s shape takes the two-box design to its logical extreme with an ultra-angular front end and large rectangle for the passenger compartment. There’s not a single curvy line visible on the SUV.

As a military vehicle, survivability is a major concern. The circular recesses along the exterior act as points for attaching armor plates. There would also be locations underneath the vehicle for fitting V-shaped armor as protection against explosives in the ground.

Underneath the angular body panels, the Partisan One would use a high-strength steel space frame and wishbone suspension. The company seems rather unsure about the engine, though. The firm’s release offers the “possibility of installing various power units,” including powerplants with a transverse or longitudinal layout.

The thinking behind creating this box on wheels is that it would be an incredibly simple to build. Dr. Postnikov also imagines a variety of body layouts, including a short-wheelbase three-door, long-wheelbase five-door, and pickup. Conceivably, 6x6 and 8x8 variants would be possible, too. An army could fit knockdown kits for 5 of the vehicles in standard shipping container and then deliver the vehicles where the force needs them the most.

Story here. 

Ugly as hell...but maybe they're onto something.

West Point is the canary in the coal mine...The Officer Corps is in trouble...

Thanks to Itsa_Me for the link!

via Medium

Just recently a cadet openly and obviously plagiarized his History research paper, and his civilian professor reported it. The evidence was overwhelming — there was not the slightest question of his guilt, yet the cadet was not found. The professor, and indeed all the faculty who knew of the case, were completely demoralized. This is the new norm for the cadet honor system. In fact, there is now an addition to the honor system (the Willful Admission Process) which essentially guarantees that if a cadet admits a violation, then separation is not even a possibility. In reality, separation is not a possibility anyway because the Superintendent refuses to impose that sanction.
Academic standards are also nonexistent. I believe this trend started approximately ten years ago, and it has continued to get worse. West Point has stated standards for academic expectations and performance, but they are ignored. Cadets routinely fail multiple classes and they are not separated at the end-of-semester Academic Boards. Their professors recommend “Definitely Separate,” but those recommendations are totally disregarded.
I recently taught a cadet who failed four classes in one semester (including mine), in addition to several she had failed in previous semesters, and she was retained at the Academy. As a result, professors have lost hope and faith in the entire Academic Board process. It has been made clear that cadets can fail a multitude of classes and they will not be separated. Instead, when they fail (and they do to a staggering extent), the Dean simply throws them back into the mix and expects the faculty to somehow drag them through the academic program until they manage to earn a passing grade.

Story here. 

Wow.

This is a story of anguish and pain.  Its also one of frustration.  I don't know what's going on at West Point but if this is even half true then you can point to this as another data point of why we will lose the next "real" war.

Don't get my wording jacked up.  The stuff in Afghanistan, Syria, Africa, Yemen and Iraq is real but its not against a peer opponent.  That's what I mean by real.

Back on task.

West Point is suppose to be a rigorous environment that tests the mettle of potential officers both physically and academically.

It is failing in that mission.  While the writer focused on the academics I just can't help but wonder about the physical.

We know for a fact that they're failing the moral test.

Another great American institution has crumbled.  In the past we laughed it off and made ourselves feel better by saying that its just another symptom of big govt.

While annoying we could deal with nonsense from the EPA,FEMA, Social Security Admin etc.

But what happens when the US military becomes just another failed govt institution?

I have no idea but we're about to find out.