Skunk Works® UCLASS Concept Video

This video reminded me of something.  Lockheed had two very stealthy UAVs that just fell off the radar.  The Darkstar and Polecat were probably more advanced (stealth wise) than even the B-2 but we haven't heard anything about them since.  Wonder if they're operational?

Just Fucking Awesome. It might even make ya misty.

Seven-Year-Old Cancer Patient Scores at Nebraska Spring Game
Must-watch video: Seven-year-old brain cancer patient Jack Hoffman takes the handoff and scores on a 69-yard run at Nebraska's Spring Game.

Vital Targets in unarmed combat.

Did Lockheed make design changes to the Havoc 8x8?

I've been looking at this photo of the Havoc from swim tests out at Pendleton.

I can't tell much because they did a good job of hiding it behind a wall of water....but I did pick up on two things.

First, at the last Marine Day they had a manned, legacy AAV turret in place, it appears that they've switched to a RWS.  Next and I can't be sure (I've been comparing photos all morning) but it looks like the swim vane has changed.



I watched the video of their previous (private) tests that they released and my only guess is that they're trying to improve on swim performance.  Quite honestly it looks like they satisfied all Marine Corps specs right out of the box but perfection is desired by their head shed I reckon.

What has me scratching my head is this.  Could a change in the shape, thickness etc...of a swim vane improve water performance?  I don't know.  Hopefully a YAT-YAS guy can fill the blanks.

Soccer Moms behaving badly.

I saw this video over at EveryDayNoDay'sOff Blog and it had me laughing my ass off.  Long story short...These women are going to end up dead.

Now the guy that they failed to capture after TASING, SHOOTING HIM WITH RUBBER BULLETS AND PEPPER SPRAYING is planning on suing them for 1 million dollars for retinal damage caused by getting shot in the eye.

Watch the vid above and read the story here.

Rangers in the Breach - illustration.

The Firebird is operational.

via Popular Mechanics.

The Firebird, Northrop Grumman's new intelligence, surveillance, and recon (ISR) aircraft, has caught the eye of a certain unnamed special ops command or intelligence agency, which has ordered 10 of them.

Hmmm.  I'm guessing Homeland Security.  SOCOM has all the intel assets it needs...probably too many UAVs.  Possibly the CIA but didn't they just give up the drone mission to the Pentagon?  Or is it that they just gave up the kill mission?  Its got to be Homeland Security, nothing else makes sense. 

LPD-24 commissioned.

Well if you didn't notice it, the USS Arlington was commissioned today.

The amazing thing about all this is that the USMC and Navy have successfully pushed through 8 of an 11 ship class.  The crazy thing is that these ships are so capable (at least on paper) that they SHOULD cause a re-evaluation of Marine Corps amphibious shipping needs.  Each ship in this class can carry almost a Battalion of Marines itself.  While not having a full flight deck, its capable of embarking many more aircraft than the legacy LPD and the dream of mini-ARGs should be operational, not theoretical.

If the LSD even fulfills the requirements of the legacy ship then the Marine Corps will be in good shape when it comes shipping.

Now how about we get our armored vehicle programs fixed.

The Purge...Would you survive the night?

False bow-waves

OTD: False bow-waves were officially adopted on the 6th of April 1915 and ordered to be painted on all ships to counter the efficiency of submarine attacks. This form of camouflage made it hard for submarines to estimate the ship’s speed and range due to the distortions it created.

RP Advanced Mobile Systems New C2 Strike Mobility LTATV.

C2 Strike Mobility LTATV

Guns and Tactics has a write up on RP's new vehicle.  

Disturbed - Land of Confusion Official Music Video

First F-35B Night Vertical Landing

Simo Häyhä..one of the world's greatest Snipers?

Simo Häyhä is arguably the greatest Sniper the world has ever known.

How bad ass was he?

*Well over 700 confirmed kills...and not urban combat where multiple kills and confirmation are easier, no he did it during winter warfare in a wooded environment.

*The Russians became so alarmed at his success that they deployed counter sniper teams that ended up dogmeat.

*The Russians got so frustrated that they sent Infantry Battalions to hit him down.  He sent them back in body bags.

*Finally the Russians quite the subtle tactics and launched artillery strikes on grid squares where they thought Simo might be hiding.

Simo was 100 percent warrior personified, and probably one of the greatest snipers the world has ever seen.

CBO Ground Combat Vehicle Report.

I found this on MacGregor's Scribd account.  Interesting reading...

  CBO: U.S. Army Buy Available Pumas not Fantasy GCVs!

L-CAT 44

2012_L-CAT-44

BAE's response to the GAO report is interesting.

BAE's response to the GAO report....

"We continue to support the U.S. Army's efforts in developing the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program, which was created from the ground up to meet a specific set of requirements and an ever-changing threat on the battlefield. The Army's Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) completed last year supports the development of the GCV program and confirmed that there are currently no existing vehicles that would cost less and meet the GCV program requirements. The characteristics of the notional GCV used in the Congressional Budget Office study do not reflect the capabilities of the BAE Systems GCV design, which is significantly more lethal, survivable, and mobile than any of the alternatives discussed. In addition, the development work accomplished by BAE Systems under IRAD prior to and during the Technology Development phase has mitigated the development risk attributed to the GCV program in the report. We are focusing our efforts on building a highly survivable, lethal, mobile, affordable and adaptable platform that will serve our customer today and well into the future. We will continue to work closely with the U.S. Army as the program requirements continue to evolve."

I got ahold of BAE's response to the GAO report and I find it interesting.

We've already hit on the subject of how the GAO "messed up" with regards to the firepower assessment, I have no idea how they measured mobility...especially without being able to put the vehicles in the mud and survivability sounds like a wild ass guess too.

What I found interesting in the BAE response is that they didn't tout the savings in fuel costs that the Army would gain with their Hybrid engine.  Quite honestly with all the Greenies in the current administration I would expect that to be a major selling point.  If it works as advertised they could be looking at replacing the engine packages in all the heavy armored vehicles in the Army and Marine Corps...but they didn't bite.  I wonder why.

S. Korea buying German bunker busters.

via the Chosun Ilbo

South Korea will likely buy European long-range air-to-surface cruise missiles by 2014. Launched from the air above Daejeon, the Taurus KEPD 350s could hit an underground bunker in Pyongyang with precision.

A military officer said Wednesday price negotiations with Taurus Systems, a German-Swedish joint venture, will start soon since the missile has found favor with the brass here.
The Taurus would be the first strategic weapon Seoul has imported from Europe rather than the U.S.
The only long-range missiles in the Air Force's inventory are 40-odd SLAM-ER missiles with a range of 278 km, which were made by Boeing. An Air Force officer said, "We urgently need more long-range air-to-surface missiles due to the mounting nuclear threat and the increasing possibility of provocations from North Korea."
The Taurus has a range of 500 km. Launched from South Korean airspace that is not under threat from North Korean surface-to-air missiles, they could hit strategic targets like nuclear and missile bases in the rear with precision.

The country is expected to buy about 200 of them, to be mounted on F-15K or KF-16 fighter jets.

Taurus Systems Website.

They're coming unhinged.

Chris Matthews is upset.  With good reason too.  At the beginning of this year it looked like the Obama Administration's agenda would run wild and the Republicans were in no position to stop it.

Thanks to going so far left on guns, he's about to suffer his second straight political defeat (if things continue in the Senate as they appear today).  His whole agenda could start to unravel and the Republican Senators are finally starting to get a bit of common sense...they're going to regular order.

No more backroom deals.  No bargains and then shoving it down the Senate's throat.  The Senate working the way it was intended as the cooling saucer for America's passions.

What should worry them even more is that if regular order is assumed then they will be lucky to finish immigration reform this year and that battle will be so bloody that Congress won't have the stomach for many more battles.  And that will effectively run out the clock to the beginning of the 2014 elections.

He thought he was bullet proof and went after the second holy grail for Democrats..he went after gun control and wrecked his chance at a legacy.

JLTV. Will it survive?

AM General

Lockheed Martin

Oshkosh

via Defense News.

The Army plans to purchase 20,000 JLTVs, while the Marines expect to buy 5,500. The current development and procurement schedule is expected to stretch out over an unknown period if the automatic spending cuts triggered by sequestration are allowed to remain permanent, according to Heidi Shyu, the Army's top acquisition executive.

"Clearly sequestration is going to stretch out the program," Shyu told ITA in a brief interview on Feb. 28. The delay will most likely result in increased development costs, which could cause the Marine Corps to balk at staying aboard (ITA, Feb. 18).

The Army's new equipment modernization strategy maintains that the service is fully committed to the JLTV and is planning for the "aggressive divestiture" of tens of thousands of light wheeled vehicles to be able to afford it (ITA, March 6).

Both the Army and Marine Corps have pointed to the JLTV as an acquisition success story because of how rapidly the services were able to tone down the vehicle's technology-development requirements for greater affordability and technological tenability (ITA, April 4, 2012). Those efforts rescued the program from termination after Senate appropriators recommended canceling the JLTV in their FY-12 spending bill.

Go to Defense News to read the whole article, but the question must be asked.

Will the JLTV survive?

The Marine Corps has already stated that if cost rise, participation in the program will have to be reconsidered.  That appears almost certain now.  The question at hand is what will the Army do?

Will it fight to keep the GCV, AMPV or JLTV.  Quite honestly I see the Marine Corps being given the same choice.  MPC, AAV Upgrade/ACV or JLTV.  

I see both services dumping the JLTV.

Upgrading the HUMVEE is already planned and the JLTV was never planned to replace it on a one for one basis.  Both the Army and Marines will cast aside a combat support vehicle in favor of combat vehicles without blinking an eye.

The JLTV is DRT.  Dead right there.  You heard it here first.

AM General Website.

Lockheed Martin Website.

Oshkosh Website.