M27. Understanding arrives.

The M27.

One of the Marine Corps recent purchases that's had me punching walls, howling at the moon and grabbing a big bottle of Southern Comfort for....well comfort.  I never understood the reason behind it.

My thoughts on it in a nutshell?  We were getting a modern day Browning Automatic Weapon and we've been down that road before.  Additionally I thought that it duplicated the functions of weapons we already have in service.

Thankfully a little birdy landed on my window sill and set me straight.  First the weapon is about precise suppressive fire.  Next, it is suppose to allow the Automatic Rifleman to maintain pace with a fast moving Rifle Squad.

But the biggest issue I had was with the doctrine.  A weapon was issued to Marines and it didn't have doctrine behind it?  No "book" on it?

Despite my bitching this is still the United States Marine Corps.  There is even a proper way to take a shit in the Marines so this had me scratching my head till the skin came off.

Now word has it that the Marine Gunners behind the push didn't want "paper" on the weapon because it might limit the Infantry Battalions on how they would utilize it.  I get the impression that this one time (in my experience) HQMC was allowing Marines in the field to take a new weapon out and get creative.  Impressive and quite unique thinking.  Especially when it comes to small arms in the Marine Corps.

I'll temper my rage about the M27.  There was more going on there than meets the eye.  I'll continue to watch its use in the Corps with great interest.

F-35. Reality finally strikes. Fewer to be purchased?

via Daytona Daily News.

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE —
The Air Force will have fewer airmen and civilian employees and entire fleets of aircraft may be pulled out of the air because of sequestration reductions, the service’s top civilian leader said.
“If the sequestered numbers are the new normal, we’re too big of an Air Force,” said Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning. “The military is too big for the budget so we’ll have to reshape, resize.”
In an exclusive interview with the Dayton Daily News, Fanning said sequestration has impacted “everything” in the service branch. The Air Force may buy fewer fifth generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, and pilots may be grounded periodically two to three months in rolling rotations of a tiered-readiness model if the sequester persists, he said. The automatic cuts amount to roughly 10 percent reductions a year for a decade.

And that ladies and gentlemen is how a politician rolls out a cut in procurement.

Not with bang, but with a whispered statement.

We "might" buy fewer....

Once again the punch is being telegraphed.  150K or fewer Marines is a done deal.  398K Army.  And now we know that the F-35 is in a full fledged death spiral due to its largest customer having to cut orders.

My thoughts that the S. Korean, Japanese (and I'm willing to bet the full court press is on the Singaporeans) and Turkish orders were being pursued with gusto was because the US purchase was going to be lower and they needed to get those sales just to maintain numbers is now proven correct.

The problem now?  Costs will increase, numbers further reduced by allies and the biggest ponzi scheme in history will become apparent to all...Not just the early adopters of the idea, not the late arrivers like myself, but to everyone. 

Armor news from Thailand and Poland....

From Thailand, we see this interesting 8x8 vehicle called the Black Widow Spider.  A collaboration between Thailand's Defense Technology Institute and Ricardo of the UK....

Another instance of modern armor thats showing up in the Pacific.

Next we have the Polish Armed Forces testing out the Rheinmetall MBT Revolution for their Leopard 2A4 upgrade program....

I find this all fascinating.

With the exception of the Western powers, every other force on the planet is in the midst of well planned upgrades of their entire force structure.

No imbalance.  No total focus on simply getting one airplane into service and the hell with the rest of the force.  The future is bleak if my worst fears are confirmed.  The Chinese hacked the F-35, and either planted a trojan horse in the programing or detected a fatal flaw and every advantage in network centric warfare along with stealth vanishes in the first day of combat.

Never has the US military placed all its eggs into one basket.  The F-35 basket seems extremely fragile.

Bulgarian Frogfoots via War Machine.

Marine Expeditionary Brigade makes no sense for disaster response.

First we need to get a few definitions out of the way....

A Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) is a formation of the United States Marine Corps, a Marine Air-Ground Task Force of approximately 14,500 Marines and Sailors constructed around a reinforced infantry regiment, a composite Marine aircraft group, a logistics group and a command element.[1] The MEB, commanded by a general officer (usually a Major General or sometimes a Brigadier General), is task-organized to meet the requirements of a specific situation. It can function as part of a joint task force, as the lead echelon of the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), or alone. It varies in size and composition, and is larger than a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) but smaller than a MEF. The MEB is capable of conducting missions across the full range of military operations.

And now lets look at a SPMAGTF.....

SPECIAL PURPOSE MARINE AIR GROUND TASK FORCE.A Marine air-ground task force organized, trained, and equipped with narrowly focused capabilities. It is designed to accomplish a specific mission, often of limited scope and duration. It may be any size, but normally it is a relatively small force � the size of a Marine expeditionary unit or smaller. Also called SPMAGTF. See also aviation combat element; combat service support element; command element; ground combat element; Marine air-ground task force; Marine expeditionary force; Marine expeditionary force (forward); Marine expeditionary unit; task force.

Tell me how a command staff capable of commanding over 14000 Marines is the go to staffing levels that we want to send to an event that will probably require no more Marines than a MEU?

In the Marine Corps before Amos, HQMC would simply have formed a Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force, assigned Marines to it,  put a Colonel or LT Colonel in charge and sent them on their way.  They would be subordinate to the Commander of the Fleet of ships that were sent to the scene and they all would fall under the Regional Commander.

With the Marine Expeditionary Brigade we simply added a layer of unneeded bureaucracy to an already chaotic situation.

This push by HQMC to reinvigorate the MEB is in error. 

M36 Jackson. My latest steed.

What is a sweet diversion while droning on the computer?

Being hull down in your M36 Jackson waiting for a German E25 to crest a hill (because some clown had more money than tactical sense) and blasting him in the belly with your 90mm cannon.  Even better is the fact that the Kraut was so startled that instead of backing off he tried to attack so I hit again due to my steed fine rate of fire due to my auto rammer.

Life is brutal for the weak on the World of Tanks, but their tears and shrieks of agony filly my soul and keep me hydrated.  Tears of the vanquished are quite satisfying.

Sidenote:  Spudman!  Hit me up on e mail.  Need some tips and tricks---and the download info for the team communication thing.  Random battles are boring now!  Got to PLATOON UP.

F-35 supplier sees revenues soar 12.1%

via Courier Islander.com

TORONTO - Magellan Aerospace Corporation (TSX:MAL) has reported a 12.1 per cent increase in revenue in the third quarter, but a smaller net profit due to a one-time, extraordinary gain in the comparable year-earlier period.
The Mississauga, Ont.,-based supplier of components and products to the aerospace industry and to utilities, says net income amounted to $9.5 million, or 16 cents per share, in the three months to Sept. 30.
That compared with $14.8 million, or 26 cents, in the same 2012 quarter when it realized a one-time after-tax bargain purchase gain of $7.4-million in the acquisition of John Huddleston Engineering Ltd.
Under accounting rules, a buyer is required to record the difference between the fair value of an acquired asset and the purchase price as a gain on its statement of income.
Revenue rose to $181 million from $161.4 million.

Simple question.

How is the F-35 ever going to be affordable for the taxpayer, yet continue to return for the many investors worldwide?

Answer.

Its never going to be affordable.  The plane is being marketed and chopped up into so many bits that its going to make a tidy little profit for those involved, then price itself out of contention and then everyone will say "we can't afford this, so lets start over and build a good enough airplane".

Air Power Australia, Sweetman, ELP and others labeled this a ponzi scheme.

This news story shows that they were right.  I have only a limited knowledge of economics but the F-35 business model MAKES NO SENSE!  There is no way (unless they can charge outrageous prices and get it) that it should even produce a TINY profit.  Yet while the Pentagon and Program Office are claiming cost savings we're seeing every company involved post profit after profit.  I continue to state that we're seeing something that rivals Enron in its complexity and illegality.  They (the bean counters) know it too.  They're just too scared to say so.

YAK 130 photo essay via English Russia.

See it all here.

F-35. The Navy's plan B is staring us in the face.

First, read this story from USNI News about the Navy restarting tests of the X-47.

Second, consider a couple of things....

1.  The Navy put out a "feeler" to buy additional Super Hornets and Growlers.
2.  The Chief of Naval Operations has stated flat out that he didn't (and I'm paraphrasing) believe that stealth is as vaunted a capability as many think.
3.  The F-35 is still a no show for carrier qualifications.
4.  The Navy has stated that the Super Hornet is viable until after 2030.  They are already working on a 6th generation fighter.
5.  Sequestration continues.

Now look at the photo above.

The Super Hornet & X-47 are the plan B.

The Navy is pushing ahead and I almost believe that failure of the tail hook is believed to be inevitable.  I've been scratching my head at the desperation being displayed by Lockheed Martin, the Program Office, Amos and others to gather additional sales.

The loss of the C variant is the only answer.  Thats why they have practically soiled themselves over the S. Korean order.  They desire that order if they have a snowballs chance in hell of keeping costs even remotely reasonable.

I've looked at the numbers and they should have a buffer by now.  But take the Navy C's and the Marine Corps carriers requirement out of the equation and suddenly they're behind the eight ball.

BM "Oplot" tanks in Thailand for tests...

Yep.

An airmobile Marine Corps will work out just fine in the highly mechanized Pacific.

Why is beyond the notice of many that this region is home to some of the most numerous and advanced anti-air systems...an increasingly high tech armored force and network integration across the board that is beginning to rival those found in American/European countries.

Unless we're going to become raiders and only raiders (with an expensive air force) this "Amos" Marine Corps is setting itself up for slaughter.

“Vladivostok” & “Sevastopol” nearing completion headed to the Russian Pacific Fleet.

Photos via English Russia (additional construction photos can be found here.)

Putin makes Obama and Kerry look like 1st graders...now we have the Russians making their own swing to the Pacific in grand style.  Not one but two Mistral Class LHDs will be deployed with their fleet in the region.

Additionally our MV-22, CH-53E/K,  AH-1Z and UH-1Y  all might need to bone up on their anti-helicopter tactics.  This beauty will carry KA-52's.  The Russians have been big into the anti-helicopter mission and the first literature on this helicopter indicated that the CIA and DIA believed its main mission to be shooting down our birds.

But feel good.  We have the LCS to counter this threat! (sarcasm spiking)

Philippines. Why aren't we running to chaos?

Where chaos looms, the Few emerge. Marines move toward the sounds of tyranny, injustice and despair...

Ok.  First off let me admit that I hate the idea of Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Response (HA/DR) becoming first in the reasons for our existence as a Marine Corps.  I believe that if you can fight from the sea, onto the beach and then onto the objective then a hurricane or typhoon relief effort is a piece of cake.

Having said that I'm at a loss of words of the pathetic Marine Corps/US response to the killer Typhoon that has destroyed parts of the Philippines.

90 Marines tasked to disaster relief?  That's all we're sending?

They're going to need the aid of a FULL Marine Expeditionary Unit.  They need AAV to deliver supplies to the hungry, our excellent medical facilities (GO NAVY CORPSMEN!!!) to aid their wounded.

They need us.

When it was about getting basing right to Subic Bay we were all up in their "grill".

Now when they're bloodied, hurting and need help?

We're no where to be found.

EMBARASSING!

Note:  I've said it once I'll say it again.  Watch what the Chinese do.  If they go all out to aid the Filipino people then that will tell everyone in the region who the real Pacific power is...especially if we remain as indifferent as we are now to the suffering of a country we call an ally.

Update:  Russia is in the game.  Read about what they're doing here.

Update 1:  I don't believe in fighting other people's wars.  Case in point.  The enemy in Afghanistan isn't terrorist but Afghans that belong to a different tribe..the Taliban.  In that case I want us out of the way of a civil war.  But the Philippine situation is different in my mind.  To see the news coverage of the event, to see the lack of action from the Obama Administration tells me that we're well on our way to totally backing off the world stage.  This is all the proof that I needed.  Americans are tired.  The world wants us gone and we're saying fine.  Strangely, the world will suffer but maybe we can finally get our affairs in order...once we get a new set of leaders---and that's across the board.  Military, Political and even a whole slew of the clowns in bureaucracy.

Battle of the Bulge via Daily Mail.

photos via Daily Mail from Life Magazine.

EVO-105. via ELP Blog.

Looks like the S. Koreans did to the 105mm Howitzer what the Marine Corps had envisioned for the 120mm Mortar.

Its really quite interesting.  The 105 can have much extended range, is as lightweight and is capable of being moved by air almost as easily as the 120mm mortar.  Additionally it has a high angle of attack and can act as a surrogate to the mortar in most of its profiles.  Last but not least its widely used.  Dragon Fire would have been a winner.  The current system?  Not yet sold.  But back to the 105.  I wonder if this is a viable option?  The EVO is interesting but I'd like to see it in action.

Improvised Armored Fighting Vehicles (IAFV) via Borderland Beat.

F-550 armored up with protected upper and side firing ports.

Armored up FJ Cruiser with adhoc  upper firing position.

Read about this stuff here.

Sooner or later we're going to see criminals on this side of the border armor up a vehicle to commit a crime.  I'm sure its already being seen in the border communities but since the worst of the violent crime is being committed in the Latino community against Latinos then we ignore it.

The problem with that approach is that it will spread.  And when it hits middle America there is gonna be hell to pay.

The good news?

The gun debate will become a moot point.  So will the militarization of police.

By necessity they'll need to start arming up with AT-4's and LAW rockets.  Quite honestly they'll probably need to allocate a couple to at least each Watch Commander so that if his boys are faced with these types of vehicles then someone has the capability to take them out.

But we have the power now.  We have got to lock down the border before its too late.  I can handle a MadMax or Wild West type situation but freaking Improvised Armored Fighting Vehicles (IAFV)?  Thats taking it to a new point.  How do you defeat these vehicles as an armed and ready citizen?

Bob Work Deputy SecDef? Aw man! Its gonna get horrible.

Read the article that Information Dissemination wrote on the rumors reading Work here.  He's clued in to the political bullshit that is Washington.  Its distasteful, I feel juvenile but its the way the place works.  A bunch of grown men gossiping like teenage girls is just the way of the world there.  But often times it telegraphs a punch thats about to be thrown.

Which leads me to Work.

Hagel has been shown to be exactly what everyone thought he was.  A light weight that wasn't ready for prime time.  He is expert at one thing.  Not wanting to go to war.  When it comes to everything else...strategy, procurement, personnel matters, diplomatic relations...he's at a loss.

In steps the Work possibility.

If Work is the actual nominee for Deputy SecDef then its gonna get horrible.  The JCS has shown NO backbone on anything but they appear to be getting ready to fight more budget cuts.  Work will short circuit that in a heartbeat.  He knows the department, he knows where waste is and he has a plan.  In essence, the Work nomination signals that the worse case projections for personnel cuts is a fact.  I've been predicting as much but this indicates that the worse case might be optimistic.  150k Marines?  We might fall to 145K or 140K.

The DoD is about to be murdered and they're bringing in "Jack the Ripper" Work to do the deed.

Happy Birthday Marine Corps!

Good job Marine Corps and happy 238th to all my Brothers....

Pic of the day. Mirage 2000D.

AV-8A Harrier via National Naval Aviation Museum.

An AV-8A Harrier of the "Ace of Spades" of Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 231 operates from the flight deck of the carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA 42) steaming in the Mediterranean Sea on November 9, 1976, thirty-seven years ago today.

I wonder.

From talking to and reading about the situation at sea at the height of the Cold War, I get the impression that events just short of war were taking place on a daily basis.  Quite honestly a few times warfare occurred but both sides chose not to call it that.

If we assume the same type of posture with China will our naval forces hold up?  I don't know.

Wait! What?

Marines with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit answer questions about their values, joys, strengths and needs during the Four Lenses communications class at the Family Readiness Center aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., Nov. 5. The class is designed to enhance personal and working relationships and individuals learn about their personality. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Emmanuel Ramos/Released)

Uh.

Wow.

If you told me Sailors were doing shit like this I wouldn't bat an eye.  Soldiers or Airmen or Coast Guardmen?  Cool.  Let them do their thing.

But Marines?

Geez.