ST Kinetics/SAIC Mobile Protected Firepower Variant of their Next Generation Fighting Vehicle (concept art)...

concept art via Senang Diri Blog!

Forensic acoustic proof of SECOND shooter in the Las Vegas massacre

Thanks to Matthew for the link!



This is gonna continue until we get solid answers.

I don't know what is and isn't real but none of this adds up.  A Marine sent me a vid taken by a cabbie in a parking lot and I KNOW I HEARD 7.62 fire.

This guy is going off the information that there had to be a second shooter because of acoustics patterns.  The discrepancy in the audio file could be explained by the higher ballistic values of 7.62 over 5.56 (haven't crunched the numbers but just eyeballing it the distant covered should equal his second shooter theory).

Either way the FBI and Las Vegas Metro better get out of their crouch and get ahead of this story.  From a public perception angle this thing is beginning to spiral.

A Marine aircraft has crashed every month since July

via Marine Times.

Constant operations, budget cuts, delays in procuring new aircraft and other factors have all pushed Marine aviation into a crisis. A Marine aircraft has crashed every month since July, when a KC-130T crashed in Mississippi, killing 15 Marines and one sailor — the deadliest crash for Marine aviation since 2005. All 12 of the Corps’ KC-130Ts have remained grounded pending the crash investigation.

The following month, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller ordered all squadrons to suspend flight operations for 24 hours after an MV-22B Osprey crashed off Australia, killing three Marines.

Story here. 

Excuses are irrelevant.

Don't tell the American people what you can't do with the resources you have, either manage it or you inform policy makers that the current pace of operations is too much.

If it is funding (and I seriously doubt that) then you make that clear and scale back operations to a level that meets the available monies.

If it is delays in procuring new aircraft/other factors then you deal with the reality of the situation and you adjust.

But giving an excuse of constant operations, budget cuts, delays in procurement of new aircraft and other factors is pure bullshit.

Children give excuses.  Marines get it the fuck done.

Israel steps back from V-22 purchase

via Flight Global

The Israeli air force has frozen its evaluation of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, with a senior defence source indicating that the tiltrotor is unable to perform some missions currently conducted using its Sikorsky CH-53 transport helicopters.

In January 2014, the US Department of Defense notified Congress about its intention to sell six V-22s to Israel. This followed an evaluation conducted by air force personnel, which led to the service seeking a rapid acquisition to support special operations. The proposed purchase met with opposition from elsewhere within Israel's defence ministry, however.

Other potential candidates to replace the Israeli air force's aged CH-53s by around 2025 include Sikorsky's new CH-53K and the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

Story here. 

This is beyond interesting.  It confirms everything we've said on these pages and is another data point for future purchases by the USMC.

It can't perform some missions performed currently by it's Sikorsky CH-53 helicopters.

Why is this stunning?

Because Israel doesn't operate the CH-53E model.  They're all D's!  That's the highly maneuverable but not quite as powerful twin engine model!

If the V-22 can't do what that elderly airplane can do then that says something....something bad...very bad.

This Vegas thing is turning into a coverup...Security Guard given gag order...

via SHTFPlan.

Over the last few days Las Vegas law enforcement officials have significantly altered the timeline of the mass shooting that left 59 dead and hundreds injured. Adding further intrigue is the fact that the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino now says that they have their own timeline of events, which diverge from the official story.

On top of that, mystery still surrounds Mandalay Bay security guard Jose Campos, who was shot in the leg when Stephen Paddock opened fire and unleashed some 200 rounds through the door of his hotel room. Campos, who is reportedly not registered to work in the State of Nevada, was scheduled to do an interview with Sean Hannity Thursday night. But just minutes before the interview was to take place, Campos was said to have abruptly cancelled his appearance:

Story here along with a video. 

WTF is going on with this thing?  The Cops rolled out the LEOs that made the entry into the terrorists room but now won't allow the security guard that got shot to be interviewed?

This thing reeks!

I don't know what's going on with this case but it has either been sloppy as hell or they tried to pull a fast one and got blocked. 

Pics of the room being leaked a day after the incident?  LEOs being interviewed on TV just days after?

Now you block the security guard?

I'm raising the bullshit flag high!

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems - Trophy Active Protection System

Geez.  You skyline your track like that you're asking to get killed.  Better to just get out, and suck on your sidearm and save the taxpayer money if you're that stupid.

But I came for the Merkava porn.

It does raise an interesting point though.  If the turret slews towards the launch point then you're gonna need missiles that allow you to shoot and scoot.  Are there man portable missiles out now that allow you to do that? Do they hit reliably without manual input?

Task Force Wolfpack (2nd Cav & Brit Light Dragoons) conduct 1100km roadmarch to Poland....pics by Staff Sgt. Jennifer Bunn

As currently setup, the 2nd Cav is a light mech infantry unit.  By my minds eye its not even close to being medium weight.  The British Dragoons are without a doubt light infantry.

So the question becomes...why do this?

Neither unit is truly capable of even blunting the nightmare scenario of a push into Europe.  Both would be rolled over and would serve as poor speed bumps against heavy armor.

So how are they deterring aggression?

They MIGHT reassure allies but only those that have no knowledge of military affairs.

I know I'm critical but this 1100km jaunt from Germany to Poland is just a publicity stunt in my eyes.  It's a chance to wave at German and Polish ladies while you zoom down the highways but that's about it.  Militarily its just busy work for the unit and a data point for the European Commander's end of tour award.

Have you heard about Estes?

via Heavy.com

A 46-year-old man is facing federal charges accusing him of leaving a jar filled with explosives at a North Carolina airport as part of a war he pledged to fight on U.S. soil.

Michael Christopher Estes was arrested October 7 and charged with attempted malicious use of explosive materials and unlawful possession of explosive materials in an airport, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday.

The improvised explosive device, or IED, was found inside a jar at the Asheville Regional Airport about 7 a.m. on October 6, the FBI said in the complaint. Bomb technicians from the Asheville Police Department rendered the device safe. The baggage claim and lobby area of the airport were evacuated and shut down for about 2 hours. No one was injured.

Story here. 

What's hot on the internet today?  Not the war in Syria.  Not the fighting in Afghanistan.  Not the news of UN Peacekeepers drugging and raping women.

No, what's hot on the internet today is a YouTube (or some social media) "accidentally" broadcasting her having sex.

What's being ignored?

All of the above AND the news that some idiot pledged allegiance to ISIS and planted explosives at a US Airport.

We live in an interesting age.

Triviality is considered important, serious issues are being ignored and the news media is chasing their own agenda. 

Meanwhile, ISIS somehow is able to recruit 46 year old dummies to do idiotic stuff on their behalf.

Warhammer News. U.S. forces in South Korea to conduct evacuation drill

via UPI

 The U.S. military in South Korea is preparing to hold evacuation drills for military families and other civilians, weeks after President Donald Trump pledged to "totally destroy" North Korea if he is forced to defend the United States and allies.

Stars and Stripes reported Thursday that U.S. Forces Korea would hold the drills in late October.

The exercise, Courageous Channel, will simulate the evacuation of U.S. civilians. It was also conducted about a year ago.

Story here. 

This is an ongoing thing and nothing unusual.  I just wonder why would a guy take his family to a country in the past couple of years with all this going on?

I seriously don't understand the thinking of the servicemen and the Pentagon.

If crazy across the border decides to send up the balloon then your loved ones are gonna be caught in the middle of chaos and you'll probably be caught fighting for your life.

Mattis is smarter than this.

S. Korea should have become unaccompanied as soon as he took office.

Lockheed Martin's ATACMS Successful in Flight Test

via Press Release.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) conducted another successful Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) modernization flight test recently at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. All test objectives were achieved.

Launched from a Soldier-manned High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher, the ATACMS missile flew approximately 140 kilometers and demonstrated a proximity sensor height-of-burst detonation over the target area. This is a new ATACMS feature that allows battlefield commanders to address imprecisely located or area targets.

"This was our seventh consecutive successful test in the ATACMS modernization program," said Matt Berger, Precision Fires program manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "ATACMS is extremely accurate, affordable and mission-flexible, and is a missile our warfighters can rely upon when performance is most needed."

This flight was a system-level test conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Army's Precision Fires Rocket & Missile Systems (PFRMS) Program Management Office. Other test objectives included confirming the missile's performance range and accuracy from launch to warhead event, and validating the interface with the HIMARS launcher, as well as testing system software performance.

TACMS is the U.S. Army's only tactical long-range precision-strike surface-to-surface weapon system, and it provides combatant commanders with critical deep-strike capability to service high-value targets in all weather conditions. It can be fired from the entire family of Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) launchers.

The first production contract for Modernized ATACMS missiles for the U.S. Army was signed in August 2017, and called for the modernization of 150 missiles. As part of the U.S. Army's ATACMS Service Life Extension Program, the modernization process disassembles and demilitarizes ATACMS Block 1 and 1A submunition warheads, replacing them with new unitary warheads and bringing them into compliance with Department of Defense policy on cluster munitions. The modernization process also resets the missile's 10+ year shelf life.

More than 600 TACMS missiles have been fired in combat, and the system has demonstrated extremely high rates of accuracy and reliability while in theater. Each ATACMS missile is packaged in a Guided Missile Launch Assembly pod, and is fired from the MLRS family of launchers.

Two things stood out to me in this article.  The first is that I didn't know that 600 had been fired in combat.  If you asked me to guess it would have been south of 300.  I'd sure like to know what they were targeting with those launches. 

The second is the range.  140 kilometers or in real talk 87 miles?  I thought they were working on range extension.  As things stand that is hardly impressive and is lacking when compared to peer weapons.

We talk alot on these pages about the armor gap.  We talk about how we're losing air superiority but we sometimes forget that in artillery and rocket artillery we're also behind the eight ball.