Steel Rain...Enemy style. Do you really think we're ready?

What you see above is the BM-30 Smerch Heavy Rocket Artillery System.  If you're of a certain age then you remember the action in Gulf War 1.

You remember the chest thumping when the arty boys were bragging about not taking out a single tank.  Not a single resupply point.

No.

They're were bragging about taking out entire grid squares.

I ask you a simple question.

If we use the Marine Corps as an example and push forward the idea of Company Landing Teams then imagine using their exquisite mobility to fly 1000 miles behind enemy lines.

Imagine then gathering to conduct a raid on an enemy site of importance during the early stages of a landing.

Then imagine a foe equipped with heavy missiles like this locating that CLT with the use of either UAV or Recon or simply tracking the MV-22's while they inserted our forces.

Then imagine our guys being on the receiving end of "enemy" steel rain.

I ask again.

Do you think we're ready?

NOTE:  This isn't a slam at the Company Landing Team concept.  The same question can be asked of ANY FORMATION, from the Stryker Brigades, Armored Brigades, Airborne Forces.... to even our ideas about Forward Arming and Refueling Points.  I only wish to spark a little real discussion about what we're talking about when we talk peer vs peer conflict.

2nd Cav Regiment gets more 30mm ICV-D Strykers...

Pics via 2nd Cav's Instagram Page.

Getting a bit tired of seeing these vehicles in shrink wrap.  It's past time to take the wrap off, put them in the field and bang them around a bit.

The new car smell needs to get worn off with a quickness.

Russians are gonna build a EFV???

Thanks to S300V4 for the pics!

Two things.

1.  I need a Russian reader to give me a DETAILED .... SLIDE FOR SLIDE translation of this thing.

2.  This will be a fucking slap in the face.  First the Chinese try it and for all accounts (well my opinion) get it half right and now the Russians are going for the full Monty?  Slap in the face doesn't properly describe it.

All I can hope is for one thing.

I hope this is vaporware.  If the Russians pull this off and we can't then that says more about us than I want to face.

Open Comment Post. May 2, 2018

Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod HC-144 Ocean Sentry....pics by Aux. Michael Dubin

U.S. Army fires

Wow.

This short short vid makes me envious of the tremendous firepower the Army has at its disposal.

I know they were pushing the Marine Expeditionary Brigade concept real hard only a couple of years ago (seems to have fallen by the wayside...don't hear much about it lately) but I have yet to see any real deal exercises or wargaming with US Army units.

We practice all the time with foreign units but never with the guys just a few hundred miles away inside the continental United States.  If nothing else I can see a strong case being made to regularly attach Army Air Defense and Artillery units to Marine forces.  If for no other reason than to save money and not have to duplicate resources.

I don't think either service is too interested in that.  Too bad.  The Army would get wet but it would still be a win for them.

High rise fire in Brazil...they're snake bit...

I don't usually post on this type of thing but I've never seen JUST a fire collapse a high rise building before.

Quite honestly I've never seen one this fully engulfed before.  Maybe my memory is bad but this seems unusual to me.

Between the Brazilian Army and Marines taking over to fight the drug traffickers in the favilas to this and it seems like Brazil is snake bit (won't even touch on their economic woes).

Watch the vid from the BBC of the collapse here.

Commando Helicopter Force trains in the rain (pic)...

via RNAS Yeovilton Instagram Page.

Rotor wash, rain and a slick rope.  That should be interesting....

Indonesia's Kaplan (FNSS) Medium Tank to enter production soon...

Thanks to John for the link!

Story here.

Israeli Prime Minister talk on the Iran deal was obviously coordinated...

via Daily Caller.

A State Department official confirmed to the Free Beacon Monday evening that it is "aware of the information just released" by Israel and is "examining it carefully."

"The United States has reviewed many of the documents Israel has obtained relating to Iran’s nuclear weapons program," an official confirmed to the Free Beacon. "We assess that the documents that we have reviewed are authentic."

The State Department further confirmed that "new details in this information are consistent with a large body of evidence and intelligence the U.S. government has amassed over many years on Iran’s past clandestine nuclear weapons program," according to the official.

While the administration's analysis of the document cache is "ongoing," officials said they "agree with the Israelis that…. this information provides new and compelling details about Iran's past efforts to develop nuclear weapons deliverable by a Shahab-3 ballistic missile."

In addition, the new "information indicates plans for Iran’s nuclear weapons program included building five nuclear weapons," the official said. "It demonstrates once again that Iranian leaders have for years lied to the world and their own citizens when they claim Iran has never pursued nuclear weapons."

Story here. 

If we were about getting medieval on Iran's nuclear program then I'd be all for a short sharp bombing/assassination campaign that destroyed sites and killed key personnel.

But I've seen this movie before and I know how it goes.

First we've gotten news that the Iranians are close to a nuclear weapon and that they have the means to deliver either to the US or our allies.

Then we're told that this extreme threat must be faced.  Efforts are made to push thru UN resolutions.  Most fail.  Then we get a coalition of the willing probably composed of MAYBE the UK along with Saudi Arabia, other GCC states, and Israel...and then we posture before the fight begins.

The Iranian regime survives and we station about 35K troops in the region to "deter aggression".

Why am I so convinced that this whole thing is pre-scripted?

How do you go over that many documents and confirm them in an afternoon?

If this is real then this stuff had to have been pushed over to the US at the beginning of this year at least....

What I can't figure is that if they're true then why Macron and other EU leaders unaware of it.  Are their intel services that inefficient?

This is kinda weird.

The Iranian nuke deal was NOT a favorite but it had the chance to take a wild card off the table while we dealt with other issues.  With the happy talk coming out of N. Korea we had a chance to sort some things and tackle that issue at a time of our choosing.

Now?

Now we solve (potentially) one mess only to unravel another.