Europe suddenly goes dark warrior on the world.

Well so much for a passive Europe.  It seems like the Brits and France are getting ready to do things...We've all heard about the French strikes against Islamist in Africa and now we hear this ...

A series of military options are being actively considered as the war of words over the islands intensifies.
It is understood that additional troops, another warship and extra RAF Typhoon combat aircraft could be dispatched to the region ahead of the March referendum on the Falkland Islands’ future.
The options being proposed by planners at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, north-west London are also said to include a “show of force” such as conducting naval exercises in the South Atlantic.
These could involve the deployment of the Royal Navy’s Response Task Force Group, a flotilla comprising destroyers, a frigate, a submarine and commandos.
Alternatives include deploying elements of the Army’s 16 Air Assault Brigade — the airborne task force which includes members of the Parachute Regiment — which has just completed a series of demanding exercises in Spain preparing for “general war”.

I don't quite know what to make of it all.

The current administration is clearly signalling a desire to slash defense spending and at the same time the UK and France are gearing up.

2013 will certainly not be boring.  You can't feel it?  It seems like the world is ready to pop.  This will be interesting!

People are already starting to get inventive.

Power packed running boards.

I wish to God I remembered the website where I got this from but for all the trying I can't.  I wonder if its disguised when closed to look like a solid piece?  I doubt it but interesting none the less.

I don't know if I personally would feel confident in this kind of setup.  Security looks weak and the chance (that we all run) of vehicle theft is just too high for me to be in favor of it.

BUT it is inventive and if the truck is used just on the ranch then its pure genius.

Jan 12, 2013 Wallpaper. Russian edition.

Want to know where your Representative or Senator stands on the 2nd Amendment? Check this blog out.

Predator Blog is doing a public service.

Whether you're for or against the Gun Confiscation/Registration Bill or not they're writing every Senator and Representative to get their stance on the subject.

If you haven't written your Rep yet then get on it.  If you have and are wondering who is standing with or against you (and I'm assuming you're against the fascist bill if you're viewing this blog) then check out the Republicans in name only.

Maritime Raid Force. Changes needed.

I'm still trying to get a handle on exactly what the Maritime Raid Force (MRF) is actually suppose to be.  Is it an in house Special Ops Unit...Is it a in house enabler for the Battalion Landing Team or is simply an evolution of what the MEU is soon to be.

I personally think that its a feeble attempt for the Marine Corps to maintain a "Special Ops" Capable in house unit.

If that's the case then its bound to fail.

First its duplicating capabilities found in SOCOM.

Second its a waste of limited resources.

Third it relegates the MEU to the worst of worlds.  It takes boat spaces from the Infantry and essentially allocates them to SOCOM (lets be honest...Force Recon is a feeder to MARSOC) yet carries them on the Marine Corps books.

A better solution would be to establish a working relationship with SOCOM to have either a MARSOC, SEAL or even Green Beret Team attached to each MEU and have the BLT provide supporting units.  That would allow the Marine Corps to establish closer ties to SOCOM, save boat spaces AND allow the Marine Corps BLT to re-achieve its Special Operations Capable designation again...as blocking forces, reinforcement or even logistical support for the attached unit or other units ashore.

What is the cost?  Force Recon would go away.  We would instead retask Scout Snipers to a Direct Action and Scouting role by simply reorganizing its structure.  They're already moving toward a Force Recon look (structurally) all it will take is to simply designate a few school spots to make this a reality.

MARSOC conducts VBSS training with 160th SOAR

Can't put the genie back in the bottle.

We call that crawfishing where I come from.

If you ever go out and grab a crawfish, it'll start to back up rather quickly with its claws out in an attempt to defend itself.

That's what James is doing.

That's the good news.  The bad news is the fact (that i'll repeat for the millionth time) that if you saw the original video before he took it down...if you read the comments then you would have seen thousands of people giving him atta-boys and way to go.

The Left, led by the President continues to press.  The Right, currently leaderless is viewing this bill as a line in the sand.

The East and the West Coast is determined to see this through.  The South, Midwest and parts of the Rocky Mountains (leaving out liberal Colorado) are determined to see it fail.

I've been watching MSNBC to see how the liberals are reacting to this bill.  Tonight I saw and heard fear from Chris Matthews.  Paraphrasing him, he said that I see trouble coming soon on this.

He's right.  Too bad our leaders can't.

They're conspiring to kill the F-35.

My prediction.

The Obama administration is seeking to kill the F-35.  Proof?  None.  But check this out...

Turkey said Friday it has postponed an order to purchase its first two U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets due to technical problems and rising costs, but said it still intends to buy 100 more in the long run.
"Due to the current state of the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter)...and the rising cost..it was decided to postpone the order placed on Jan 5, 2012 for the two aircraft," the Undersecretariat for Defense Industry (SSM) said in a statement.
The SSM, the public body responsible for Turkey's arms purchases, said the decision was taken because the technical capabilities of the aircraft were "not at the desired level yet."
After the initial purchase of the two jets, Turkey plans to order 100 units of the stealth fighter to replace its current fleet consisting mainly of F-4 Phantoms and F-16 Falcons, according to the statement.
Turkey is one of nine countries that are part of a U.S.-led consortium to build the F-35 fighter. The others are Britain, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Norway and Denmark.
The development of the stealth fighter has been plagued by technical problems that have prompted some countries to cancel, scale back or defer purchases.

Canada getting wobbly?  No problem.

The UK getting goofy?  Its to be expected.

Italy delaying purchase?  Makes economic sense.

But Turkey?  Turkey!  It just doesn't add up.  First they've been gung-ho about the airplane from the start.  At the height of the F-35's problems they were steadfast.

Now.  Out of no where.  They delay purchase?  I think we're looking at the first victim of the new Defense Chief.

What better way to send a shot across the bow of the Pentagon than to cancel a much needed airplane?  

EADS NA Armed Scout

James got slammed.

MSNBC is reporting that the Tennessee State Police have rescinded James Yeagers concealed carry permit.

Don't feel good about this.

Some will take this as a call to arms.  Still others will think that the fight is on.  Some will go further down the road to being radicalized.

This will get nasty.

EuroHawk

Yeager is famous in the UK.

Thanks for the heads up Chris.

Click here to see the Daily Mail story. 

 My view of things.

I said this would get nasty and I can't wait to see what happens next.  Yeager is suppose to be on MSNBC  "The ED Show" tonight.  He should be capable enough to walk back all  the negativity thats come with these stories.

The problem.

Someone is becoming radicalized as we speak.  Someone is not saying a word but will act when his line in the sand is crossed and will act in a decisive way.

Think Timothy McVeigh 2.

Now imagine that in this day and age we might not have one McVeigh but hundreds maybe thousands.

Yep.  Nasty it will be.

On gun control. One possible win. Two possible losses.

Check this out from the New York Times (go there to read the whole thing)...

As a task force led by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. readies recommendations on reducing gun violence for delivery to the president next week, White House officials say a new ban will be an element of whatever final package is proposed. But given the entrenched opposition from gun rights groups and their advocates on Capitol Hill, the White House is trying to avoid making its passage the sole definition of success and is emphasizing other new gun rules that could conceivably win bipartisan support and reduce gun deaths.

And then this...

But Mr. Biden noted that his former colleagues in the Senate have long been “pretty universally opposed to any restrictions on gun ownership or what type of weapons can be purchased.” He said they now seem more open to limits on the purchase of high-capacity magazines.A spokesman for Mr. Obama said later in the afternoon that the vice president’s remarks merely reflect a desire for a broad approach to gun violence.“President Obama has been clear that Congress should reinstate the assault weapons ban and that avoiding this issue just because it’s been politically difficult in the past is not an option,” said Matt Lehrich, the spokesman. “He’s also stressed that no single piece of legislation alone can solve this problem, which is why he has asked Vice President Biden to explore a wide array of proposals on topics ranging from gun laws to mental health to school safety.” 

And finally this...

 The ammunition limit has drawn attention from Democrats in Congress, both because they think it might be easier to pass and because it might have more impact than an assault weapon ban. To pass the last assault weapon ban through a Democratic Congress more amenable to gun control, Mr. Biden had to accept compromises that allowed many guns to be sold.

Yeah.

If this is true then we win on assault weapons and lose on normal capacity magazines and they go after ammunition.

Sorry.

That's a compromise I can't live with.

NOTE:  From reading the story I can't determine whether the "ammunition limit" that the author is talking about is regarding actual ammunition or if its a sloppy reference to reduced capacity magazines.

Remote Weapon Stations (RWS) is the future for armored combat vehicles.

The above video was put out by Rafael for their version of a heavy (30 mm plus anti-tank missiles) RWS system for IFVs.

What caught my attention and blew my mind was the weight reduction.

I just didn't expect it to be so dramatic.

The manned turret is dead.  Long live the RWS.

Imagine what the weight reduction could be if the Marine Corps changed direction, teamed with the Jordanians and put the Falcon Turret on the M1 Abrams?

But more to the point.

We're heading into defense budget hell.  If we're going to be in the upgrade mode then one possible starting point could be switching out turrets.

Like the vid shows, the weight reduction is rather dramatic, the firepower equal or greater and with proper sensors and track/tank commander training we should lose little to no situational awareness.

Update. James Yeager is going on MSNBC!

Just heard on MSNBC that James Yeager is going to appear on some clowns 7 o'clock pm central  The Ed Show. This should be interesting.

In his own words. Eric Holder.

Thanks Michael.  This says it all...



The Attorney General does NOT want to  defend a constitutional right but to categorize it in the same way as cigarette smoking.  If that's not bad enough he wants to brain wash the public.

If you haven't already write your Congressman.  Call their office.  Don't be confused.  This is a regional issue..where gun bans are favored they already have them.  They want to control the conservative parts of the nation.  They want the 2nd amendment repealed.  They want gun confiscations. They want Australia on steroids.

Don't let it happen!

Pakistan and India on the verge!

Thanks for the heads up Numo!

via Publico

Sunday, shots were exchanged in Kashmir. This Tuesday two Indiansoldiers were killed by the Pakistani Army, and one was mutilated,denouncing the Indian Army."It was a ground patrol and they saw anything suspicious, then there wasan exchange of gunfire with Pakistani troops," said Rajesh L. Kalia,spokesman of the Northern Command of the Indian military. "We lost twosoldiers and one was badly mutilated."According to Kalia, this "intrusion" was "... a significant escalation inviolations of the ceasefire and infiltration attempts backed by PakistanArmy," Reuters quotes. "The exchange of fire continued for about half anhour until the intruders retreated back to their own posts, on your side ofthe LoC."The Army of Islamabad denied "the allegations of Indian shooting withoutprovocation" in a written statement.The incident happened in South Kashmir, some 170 kilometers from thewinter capital of the region, Jammu, said the Indian television quotedmilitary officials on condition of anonymity. The same that describe theattack as an ambush of Pakistani soldiers in Indian territory that Indiantroops took by surprise.

I got the article through Google translator so I can't be sure if its a precise translation but the images are clear.

Pakistan killed two Indian Soldiers and one was mutilated.

The only parallel that I can think of is when the bubbas in the 2nd Infantry Division told stories about how 'back in the day' a couple of Americans were caught by the North Koreans and killed..

I had forgotten about the tensions between Pakistan and India.  The Pacific is going to be a flashpoint.

F-35 High Angle of Attack Testing

Morgan got owned!

Morgan is such a smug bastard.  Highly recommend he stay in the Northern part of our country.  Further South or West and he'd be in for a very rough ride.

More US Army PAC-3's...

I've made some suggestions on how the US Army can get into the fight in the Pacific.  They include highlighting Airborne and Light Infantry (forget about the 101st..too heavy, and not optimized) instead of its Stryker Brigades, allocating additional UAVs and OH-58's to the theater and last by providing Anti-Air/Anti-Missile defense to any and all that ask for it.

Seems like the Army might have gotten at least part of the message.  Via Lockheed Martin Press Release.

DALLAS, Jan. 10, 2013 – Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a contract totaling $755 million from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command for hardware and services associated with the combat-proven PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment program.  The contract includes Fiscal Year 2013 (FY‘13) missile and command launch system production for the U.S. Army and a follow-on sale of the PAC-3 Missile to Taiwan. In 2009, Taiwan became the fifth international customer for the PAC-3 Missile. The contract includes production of 168 hit-to-kill PAC-3 Missiles, 27 launcher modification kits and associated tooling, as well as program management and services. This is the 14^th production buy of the PAC-3 Missile Segment by the U.S. government. “The PAC-3 Missile remains in demand from the U.S. and governments around the world,” said Richard McDaniel, vice president of PAC-3 programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “In fact, we continue to see expanding interest from all PATRIOT-using nations as well as from countries that want to acquire the PAC-3 Missile Segment for the first time.”

Interesting.

Taiwan is buying the missile.

So if this doesn't indicate that the threat from China isn't being realized then nothing will.  Taiwan, Japan, S. Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia and even the US Military are all warming to the idea that the next big bad besides the economy is China (and perhaps they're one and the same).  I give it less than five years before we see a major naval incident in the S. Pacific.  Five short years.

Better buy more missiles.