What happens when LHDs rival carriers in size?

If you were wondering why the USMC is pushing aviation centric ships (supposedly they're going back to a well deck but...) just take a look at the F-35 on the legacy LHD.  My complaint with the F-35 is that it costs too much...that alone makes it a curious buy for a cost conscious (supposedly) branch of the military.  What should add to those alarm bells is the fact that our legacy LHDs will be Harrier only compatible for the near future.

Our current LHDs are just too small to carry the F-35 AND the rest of the air wing as currently constructed.  Taking a look at some of our partners their ships will be equally stressed.  The Canberra class?

It'll get the job done but it will be far from ideal.   Notice the location of the elevators?  I would guess (and I'm hardly an expert) but moving F-35's from below would be an exercise in and of itself.

The Japanese and S. Korean ships?  Better suited to the task but they're more aircraft carrier than LHD.  How about the French Mistral class?

No way in hell.  The Mistral has gained many fans when it showed up for Bold Alligator off the Eastern seaboard.  Many Marine and Navy officials came away highly impressed with the ship.  A few defense commentators even went so far as to suggest the USMC lobby to build the ships here in the states as a way of gaining a highly effective ship at a reasonable price.

But that leaves the Brits and the Italians. We all know that the QE class being built by the UK is more than large enough to operate the F-35, and the Cavour passes that eyeball test too.

So having done this eyeball test what does that leave us with?

The very sad case of Marine Corps amphibious shipping growing to such a size as to rival the carrier Navy.  When an LHD starts morphing into a carrier sized ship...the USS America is larger than the Admiral Kuznetsov when its standard loaded...then you have issues.

What happens when the nation has to choose between LHDs and Carriers?  What gets selected and what gets canned?  

LCS-3. The USN tries a lower profile paint job.

You can keep putting lip stick on this ugly whore of a ship (I refuse to call it a pig, I like bacon too much) but its still totally inadequate, expensive and ill defined for the missions its being asked to undertake.

Paint will never cover up the reality that is the Littoral Combat Ship Concept.  Complete failure can never be masked...for long that is.

Russia shows the S-350. The hits keep coming. via English Russia.

First.  No I don't expect Russian Weaponry to work as advertised and to defeat any and everything we throw at it.

Second.  I do credit the enemy with ingenuity, guile and competence.

Last.  I also recognize that while we've been chasing stealth to the exclusion of every other component of modern aerial warfare, the Russians and Chinese have been modernizing and building new high speed anti-air, anti-ship and surface attack missile systems.   The US is lagging in this effort and the Europeans are only doing marginally better.

All that add up to the US and its allies having UBER expensive aircraft and mediocre missiles to launch at targets.  Hopefully we have some systems in the black budget that are world beaters because on the surface we're waaaay behind.

NOTE:  The S-350 is the replacement for the S-300 series of missiles.  Supposedly in the Patriot class, the Russians are claiming that it greatly outperforms that system.  Real or propaganda?  I don't know, only a real combat test will tell the tale.

F-15SE. The likely winner.

via YonhapNews.

"Restarting the project with no clear reason would delay the replacement of old combat jets, affect other new projects and hurt South Korea's international credibility," the DAPA said.
"The DAPA will suggest a model that comes within the overall budget to a committee meeting, which will make a decision whether to accept it or not," it said, indicating that only F-15 SE will be up for grabs in a meeting of top military officials slated for mid-September.

This will be interesting.

Lockheed Martin and the Joint Chiefs will lie, cheat and fabricate information to make sure that the F-35 gets selected.  Die in the ditch was a quote by one of the members.

S. Koreans are a proud, stubborn people and won't accept pressure to change their decision and will resent people meddling with their selection process.

The critics have been waiting on one country to drop out of the program.  LM counted S. Korea and now it looks like they lost.  Is this the beginning of the end?  I don't know but this won't help bend the cost curve...especially if the program office was counting on these 60 airplanes to help make the F-35 more affordable. 

Sea Power Magazine's USMC Report.

Sea Power Magazine opens its doors to allow everyone to take a look at their Marine Corps Report.  You can check it out here.

PAK-FA formation.

Thanks for the video Doug!

What would it take to secure the Chemical Weapons when Syria falls?

Its obvious that we're about to launch a strike on Syria.  So my question is simple.  The Chemical Weapons can't be allowed to drift all over the Middle East (I'm talking about the weapons, not some gas....) and possibly fall into the hands of AQ, so what would it take to secure them?

I'm thinking its going to be an all hands on deck affair.

*  The stockpiles are probably in several different locations.
*  The dictator or his minions will probably seek to grab a few themselves before the fall as negotiating chips to a comfortable life after the fighting.  AQ is already in country so it'll be a race to get their first.
*  If they're in warheads or containers, Chemical Weapons are heavy.  Destroy in place or move them out of country?  If you attempt to move them then you're looking at a massive air or sea logistics problem.

You know I love my war fiction but in even trying to do a make believe outline of the fighting this thing is hairy.  Oh and be advised.  This issue is coming sooner or later...unless we leave the dictator in power.  But anyway this is my order of battle for the US (hopefully we can count on the Brits, Australians, Italians, Spain, Danes, Dutch, French and damn near everyone else in this effort)....

*  The entire Ranger Regiment.  This is pure raid work and they do it well.  But 3 Battalions of Rangers won't be enough.
*  MARSOC.  They're essentially maritime Rangers so they get to play in this scenario.
*  22nd MEU.  Cobras used to provide cover for the Assaulters.  MV-22s to carry out casualties.  And the BLT to secure a beachhead if we're going to be taking the weapons out.  Not sure how I'm gonna approach this.  Might be better to simply destroy them in place.
*  3 Aircraft Carriers.  We're going to need air cover and plenty of it.  A continuous CAP with the added burden of a massive CAS effort to go with it.

I'm still trying to figure this out, but this really looks like the mission from hell.


UPDATE;  Maybe I'm making it harder than it should be.  Maybe we can leave it to the Air Force and drop MOABs on it.

736th Security Forces Squadrons & 36th Contingency Response Force.

The 36th CRF of which the 736th is assigned.

The mission of the 36th Contingency Response Group is to train, organize, equip and lead cross functional forces providing initial Air Force presence potentially austere forward operation location as directed by commander Pacific Air Force.

The 36th CRG incorporates more than 30 different jobs into one close-knit team. It is a rapid-deployment unit designed at the initiative of Air Force leadership to be a "first-in" force to secure an airfield and establish and maintain airfield operations. The 36th CRG was created specifically to respond to the growing number of fast-moving contingency deployments today's Air Force experienced in the Western Pacific.

Although typically tailored for a specific mission, the CRG is postured to deploy all or part of a 120-person team of more than 30 specialties with no more than 12 hours notice. The 36th CRG is designed to be a multidisciplinary, cross-functional team whose mission is to provide the first on-scene Air Force forces trained to command, assess, and prepare a base for expeditionary aerospace forces. The cross-functional design under a single commander provides a unity of effort while also minimizing redundant taskings or personnel. This in turn allows the unit to be trained to task and ready to deploy rapidly--all with minimal equipment and personnel.

The 36th Contingency Response Group is comprised of the 36th Mobility Response Squadron, the 554th RED HORSE Squadron, the 644th Combat Communications Squadron, and the 736th Security Forces Squadron.

Quite honestly I think they should heavy up a bit.  120 people in just the Red Horse Squadron would seem rather small...especially if you're asking them to setup a forward airfield...even in support of HA/DR.  If they're trying to get something done on a more "challenging" mission then its waaaaay too light.

F-18 Pod Carry Weapons Graphic.

F-18 w/conformal fuel tanks via Amy Butler & Aviation Week.

One Boeing official says the aircraft actually has less drag with the fuel tanks than a clean base model without Them.

Jihadist gets micro fragmented...

One second you're fighting your enemies the next you get micro fragmented and they'll be lucky to find a tooth.

War is hell.

The rank and file finally wake up to the implications...

I wondered when this would happen.  I wondered when Marines would wake up to the implications of the sequester.  Well no need to wonder anymore.  Its happening right now.

He expressed concern about the size of the budget and force reductions and uncertainty about future funding levels. These factors, and the speed with which cuts are taking place, give the DOD leaders "very little flexibility in the tough decisions that are going to have to be made," he said.
Even with these challenges, the secretary emphasized that the U.S. military remains the world's best.
"Even with these cuts – and they are severe, and they may be even more severe – there is no question that America has the most significant military capability in the world," he assured the Marines.
"There is no military even close to this military," he said, a point he said the United States has made its friends, allies and adversaries alike.
"We are not without resources. We are not without capability," Hagel said. "You can measure that by any metric," most notably by the men and women in uniform.
"You are the best-trained, the smartest, the best-led, most professional military force this country has ever had," Hagel told the group. He lauded the noncommissioned officer corps that he said stands head and shoulders above all others. "No other armed force in the world, no one is even close to having an enlisted NCO corps like we have in our institution," he said.
The secretary also noted the U.S. military's technological superiority and a budget, that even with deep reductions, remains sizeable.
"When you look at the balance sheet here, we are going to be the best, most capable, strongest military force in the world for a long time to come," he said.
Strategic choices being made today will help ensure that continues into the future, Hagel said.
"I think this is going to make you stronger," he said, expressing confidence in America's people, its values and its military. "We will come out of this stronger than we went in," he said.

He lied his ass off.

The Chinese are rapidly closing the gap and within 5 years will erase it.

But more importantly the troops are waking up to the facts of the sequester.  What happens when the Marine Corps wakes up to the fact that leadership has been lying all along---about everything?  The military is different from the civilian world.  A level of trust must exist between leadership (even at the highest levels) or everything becomes iffy.  When it reaches critical mass and that trust is lost that's when bad things happen.  That's when this gets nasty.

That damned A-10!

An A-10C Thunderbolt II from the 40th Flight Test Squadron, moves down the runway at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The aircraft is loaded up with weaponry to test the combat carriage limits of the Sargent Fletcher external fuel tank. The A-10 flight personnel are testing to ensure the A-10 can carry the tank into a combat environment safely. If proven to be safe to carry, the tank will add up to 60 minutes of flighttime to its combat sortie. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Awesome!

I'm waiting for them to test an escort loadout for SOCOM CV-22's.  This plane is an oldie but it really does appear to be irreplaceable.

*CV-22 escort.
*Special Ops infil/exfil support.
*Anti-ship/anti-pirate ops in the littorals.
*Aerial combat patrol against insurgent smuggling routes.

Those are just a few things off the top of my head that they can get done for our nation in the Pacific.  That pesky smuggling route between the Philippines and Malaysia/Indonesia?  Squashed.  CV-22 escort?  Done.  Anti-ship operations in the littoral zone?  Probably one of the best assets going especially if teamed with UAVs.  SOCOM infl/exfil support?  SOCOM took alot of hits either going in or leaving the landing zone.  A few dedicated A-10's to support their mission sets seems like a no brainer.

The A-10.  The plane that can't be boneyarded (or more precisely, "refuses to die in a ditch").

Chinese helicopters now sporting air to air missiles.

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese-developed attack helicopter has successfully fired air-to-air missiles for the first time, state media said Monday, in another apparent advance for the domestic arms industry.

The firing took place last week during drills off the coast of the southern province of Guangdong that were the biggest test yet for the army's aviation wing, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The aircraft were of the WZ-10 model developed by the domestic arms industry primarily for attacking tanks. Xinhua said its missiles successfully intercepted low-altitude targets during the drill, indicating an increased role for the helicopter in countering enemy aircraft.

China has shifted rapidly over the last decade from importing most of its military hardware from Russia to producing it at home, a result of the booming economy, increasing technical sophistication, and annual double-digit percentage increases in the defense budget.

China is now working on two separate stealth fighter programs, and is believed to be building at least two aircraft carriers, along with domestically developed destroyers, cruisers, and nuclear submarines.

However some key items, namely top-performing jet aircraft engines, must still be imported

Well if this ain't a kick in the teeth. Even if they're purely for defense then it should be concerning.  But if they're offensive.  If they're actually planning on assigning a few helicopters to attack our anti-tank helos....then we're facing a different kettle of fish.

Wow.

"Absolutely, die in a ditch, we need this airplane."-Gen Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Uh.  Wow.

I mean geez.  I wonder if his wife ever heard him speak with such emotion when he talks about her.

I've never heard him express the same thoughts about the need to keep strong infantry battalions...to get the amphibious combat vehicle...etc.  Marine Corps procurement is jacked up because leadership has a myopic view of things.  Future Marines will suffer because of the failings of the current Commandant.

Die in a ditch because we need this airplane?  You first sir.  I'd rather get what we can afford and live to fight another day.

BAE Ground Combat Vehicle Testing.

How can the Army's Ground Combat Vehicle program be so far ahead of the Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle effort?

Oh that's right...THE ARMY DOESN'T HAVE A BILLION PLUS DOLLAR AIRPLANE WRAPPED AROUND ITS NECK.

Historians will look back at the F-35 program and declare it the cause of the  demise of the Marine Corps and the weakening of the Commandant's office.

Marines test F-35B vertical landing on ship

The desperation is palpable.  

I can imagine the conversations between the Joint Chiefs and the President.  He's calling for cuts (and would have even if sequestration wasn't in play) and the Chiefs are offering personnel up instead of weapons.  The Chiefs want their F-35 instead so now they're trying to rally support for the F-35 in the public.

But no one gives a damn.

Lockheed Martin spread the cheddar all around the globe but in the end, its still costs too much and other militaries are balking at the cost.

What will be the blowback from a strike on Syria???

Credit goes to Twenty-Twenty for this line of thinking...

Watching the news this morning it's fair to say that this has gone from a thought exercise to almost a done deal.

I wonder what the blowback or rather what the anticipated blowback will be from a strike.

Here's my list...

1.  Gas prices spike.  The economy is sputtering this could send us into a world wide recession...all because a President lacks the courage to say no to an ill advised adventure.
2.  Hezbollah gets activated by Iran.  Israel better strap on tight because you can bet that missiles will rain and suicide bombers will roam.
3.  Al Qaeda will attempt to attack US interests.
4.  Egypt will probably experience even more violence and the Arab Winter will probably accelerate.  We might see Saudi Arabia and the other moderate Gulf States rocked by violence.
5.  Relations with Russia and China will turn even more sour.  I have no problem with bad China relations, but the relationship with Russia could have been salvaged and they would have been a great ally against Muslim extremist.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.  Might have missed some so fill in the blanks.

Philippines look ripe for revolutionary change...

Google Translator is all jacked up for me but something is going on in the Philippines.  I can't get the specifics but they're holding a million people march to protest government corruption.

The Filipino version of the Tea Party?

Its more serious than that...and appears to be more widespread.  I'd love to read the intel reports on the internal politics of that nation.  More to come I'm sure.

China launches three ASAT sats...

via the Free Beacon.

China’s military recently launched three small satellites into orbit as part of Beijing’s covert anti-satellite warfare program, according to a U.S. official.
The three satellites, launched July 20 by a Long March-4C launcher, were later detected conducting unusual maneuvers in space indicating the Chinese are preparing to conduct space warfare against satellites, said the official who is familiar with intelligence reports about the satellites.
One of the satellites was equipped with an extension arm capable of attacking orbiting satellites that currently are vulnerable to both kinetic and electronic disruption.
“This is a real concern for U.S. national defense,” the official said. “The three are working in tandem and the one with the arm poses the most concern. This is part of a Chinese ‘Star Wars’ program.”
China’s 2007 test of an anti-satellite missile shocked U.S. military and intelligence leaders who realized the U.S. satellites, a key to conducting high-performance warfare, are vulnerable to attack. Officials have said China could cripple U.S. war-fighting efforts by knocking out a dozen satellites. Satellites are used for military command and control, precision weapons guidance, communications and intelligence-gathering.
The official discussed some aspects of the Chinese anti-satellite (ASAT) program on condition of anonymity after some details were disclosed in online posts by space researchers.
“The retractable arm can be used for a number of things – to gouge, knock off course, or grab passing satellites,” the official said.
The three satellites also could perform maintenance or repairs on orbiting satellites, the official said.
Details of the small satellite activity were first reported last week in the blog “War is Boring.”

Ole Bill is good but he's wrong on this one.  I first noted the launch of these sats from Space.com.  They were reported as mysterious launches by Space and by English Russia as research sats.  One thing should be obvious to all.  The Chinese are gearing up to fight a first rate opponent.  They will NOT have a repeat of the war against Vietnam where their forces got mauled.

Oh and if you're curious about the US response...The US Navy will be holding "partnership missions" with Chinese warships in a "anti-pirate" exercise in the Gulf of Aden.