Dutch defense minister, top general resign over soldiers' deaths in Mali

via UPI

The Netherlands' defense minister and top military commander have each resigned over the deaths last year of two Dutch soldiers in Mali.
In announcing her resignation, Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert told the lower house of Dutch parliament on Tuesday, "I am politically responsible and am taking that responsibility."

Story here. 

This probably won't catch the attention of many but it could be a turning point in the way the wars in Syria and Afghanistan are fought.

I know this was in reaction to the Mali intervention but I consider that op to be a baby "Afghanistan".

To think that The Netherlands defense minister would be forced to step down over a couple of deaths is beyond interesting. 

It appears that at least one country in Europe has reached it's tipping point when it comes to deploying its sons and daughters to foreign lands with illusionary objectives.

What does this have to do with the US?

Many in the DoD were hoping for a plus up of forces via NATO partners in the EU.  This will make that harder. 

Bell V280 Ground Rotor Test...

The Bell #V280Valor prototype aircraft has successfully begun its restrained ground run test operations. The aircraft will continue ground run testing at the Bell Helicopter Amarillo Assembly Center where it will undergo a series of functional tests running all aircraft systems and flight controls in preparation for first flight this fall. . Check out our most recent video/photos of the aircraft and the progress we’ve made to-date. . #V280 #Tiltrotor #military

A post shared by Bell Helicopter (@bellhelicopter) on Oct 4, 2017 at 9:27am PDT

BAE Systems - 6th Generation Hypersonic Stealth Fighter Concept

Israel believed the F-35 stealth would be effective for 5 to 10 years...IN 2012!!!!

Foxtrot Alpha blog while slamming the President for another one of his silly statements stumbled upon a stunning truth. Check this out.

A report in 2012 from Aviation Week on Israel’s deal to update its own air force with the F-35A claimed the Israeli military anticipated the stealth technology of the plane to only have a short lifetime of “five to 10 years.”

Story here. 

Yeah.

They buried the headline.  Maybe they consider it old news but the reality is stark.  In 2012 the IDF reckoned that stealth had maybe another 5 to 10 years before it became irrelevant on the modern battlefield.

Do the math.

Then think about what's been said on this blog.

We've beat the drum telling you that Raytheon, SAAB, the Russians, the Chinese and others have stated that they're able to detect stealth aircraft.

Now we add this to the mix and it all adds up.

I know what you're saying.  If stealth is a non-issue then why are they building stealth jets.  My response is that they're not going for all aspect stealth like we are.  They're going for reduced signature.  Both of the peer nations being discussed are building planes that are HIGH PERFORMANCE, and reduced signature...not full stealth!

We missed the memo.

The future of airborne warfare will be dominated by electronic warfare, not stealth.

Which brings me back to another side issue.  What happened to those two reports of interest?  Remember the report comparing the F-35 to the Super Hornet?  What was the outcome and why hasn't it been made public? The other report was to determine how many Growlers the tri-service needed to maintain credible electronic warfare capability.  We never heard the results of that one either.

Stealth is already dead.  The Israelis know that.  How they're gonna work around the problem will be interesting.

Exercise Kamandag @ Subic Bay, Philippines...Lance Cpl. Caleb T. Maher

FNSS/Pindad Medium Tank Prototype on parade...

Thanks to DWI for the link!

Wow.  Another small nation with mid level manufacturers are able to design, test and field an armored vehicle in less time than it takes the USMC to supposedly get an "off the shelf" solution in service.

This is becoming common.  We HAVE lost the ability to go fast.  We have lost our initiative and become bogged down in issues that are at best inconsequential and in reality are just plain silly.

We're seeing more examples of why we are doomed to lose the looming peer vs peer fight that is coming our way.

New Pentagon-ese for the same jacked up Afghanistan strategy say hello to R4+S...

via Defense News.

Appearing in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis described the strategy as “R4+S,” which stands for “regionalize, realign, reinforce, reconcile and sustain.”

Both Mattis and Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, sought to draw a line between U.S. President Donald Trump’s strategy and that of the Obama administration, with Dunford flatly stating that the U.S. drawdown was “too far and too fast” to allow for success.

But senators expressed skepticism that the strategy truly would change anything on the ground after 16 years of ongoing conflict.

Story here. 

Wow.  Expected so much more from Mattis and Dunford.  They have the keys to the kingdom and the best they can come up with is a rehashed plan with a new nomenclature?

Afghanistan is unwinnable. 

The answer is one that is totally unappealing to the power that be and even if implemented might not be doable.

My solution?

Get the Taliban to the table and partition the damn country.  Try and make Kabul an open capital so that they can MAYBE attract foreign investment. End the fighting.  Make it federated with either joint or rotating leadership and put the UN in charge of it and hope it sticks.

Yeah they'll be fighting again soon after the ink is dry but it gives us the room to get the fuck out while the bureaucrats are filing the papers.

What will we do?

We'll stay the course and go bankrupt trying to prop up a worthless country.

Australia seeks small diameter bombs....

via UPI

Australia has received U.S. State Department approval to purchase GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment II weapons from the United States.

The possible sale of the bombs through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program carries the estimated value of $815 million and was reported to Congress by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

"The proposed sale of SDB II supports and complements the ongoing sale of the F-35A to the Royal Australian Air Force," the agency said in a news release. "This capability will strengthen combined operations, particularly air to ground strike missions in all-weather conditions, and increase interoperability between the United States and the RAAF."

Australia is seeking as many as 3,900 GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment IIs, as many as 30 GBU-53/B Guided Test Vehicles, and up to 60 GBU-53/B Captive Carry Reliability Trainers.

Story here. 

Ya know what kills me about the F-35?  Every time they develop a weapon to "enhance" it's capabilities, it turns out that it makes "legacy" fighters much more lethal at the same time.  Check out the pic below of an F-15 carrying SDB's.

So what do we have here?  Big motor, fast, high flying, AESA, latest generation litening advanced targeting pod, and superior range.  What does the F-35 have that it doesn't?  Stealth.

At the end of the day will that be enough?

Taiwan acquiring 30mm cannons for its CM-32 Clouded Leopard as 25mm found to be inadequate.

Defense News.

 Taiwan has ordered the Orbital ATK 30mm Mk44 Bushmaster II cannon for an indigenous wheeled armored vehicle program, according to its Ministry of National Defense.

The contract for 285 automatic cannons, valued at $112 million, was issued on Sept. 27, according to bid documents seen by Defense News. The ministry announced it two days later. The automatic cannons will be used on an infantry fighting vehicle, or IFV, variant of the CM-32 Clouded Leopard 8x8 armored vehicle.

Ministry officials were quoted by local media as saying that the cannons will arrive “soon” with mass production of the IFV expected to start by the end of the year. Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology will be responsible for designing a two-man turret incorporating the cannon for the IFV.

The cannons will be integrated with charge-coupled device cameras and mount a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, according to the ministry spokesperson. Taiwan had originally intended the IFV to be fitted with the 20 mm T75 revolver cannon combined with improved armor-piercing ammunition. However, Taiwanese sources told Defense News that inadequate performance of that weapon in tests led the country to seek a heavier weapon instead.

Story here. 

First.  I think the article is wrong.  I'm pretty sure the vehicle is currently mounting a 25mm cannon.  Second.  This is pretty stunning news and we haven't seen similar testing by the US Marine Corps or Army on the same subject.

Is the 25mm cannon as mounted on the LAV-A2, and Bradley even competitive anymore or do we need a crash rearmament program?  Everyone and their mother has stated on this blog that 30mm is now the MINIMUM caliber necessary on the modern battlefield.  Our allies seemingly agree.  Has the US fallen behind in this area too?

Note:  If you know of published tests that escaped my attention I'd love to see them!

BAE Systems is talking up their ACV!

The above photo was seen on the BAE Systems Instagram page with this caption...

Our fully amphibious ACV 1.1 offering provides greater ship-to-shore capability than any similar vehicle in the world.

Sounds like boasting you say?

I say its much more.  They're not only taking aim at the ST Kinetics/SAIC rig but they also have the Hyundai Rotem 8x8/6x6, the various Chinese amphibious vehicles as well as the coming Turk vehicle in their sights.

The amphibious armored vehicle race is on.  The USMC might not be that interested in the market (I say that based on the number of vehicles being bought) but the race is on none-the-less.

Open Comment Post. Oct 4, 2017

Two Russian PMC's captured by ISIS....

Thanks to MicMac80 for the link!

Damn it.

They should have made them kill them before being captured.  I hope God has mercy but if he doesn't they're gonna die ugly.  Will the Russians mount a rescue operation?  Will the terrorist dare kill them knowing the Russians will retaliate in full?

I don't know.  I don't think this is not gonna end well.  I hope someone has prepared their families.