Top Tanks.

My quick and dirty top tanks for each "need"...Please note ahead of time that my placing of the Leopard in the celebrity category will enrage all its supporters.  Sorry, but yes, the Canadians used it in Afghanistan but it never got a chance to see the full time combat in their sector.  We still don't know how it stands up to the rigors of deployment and the brunt of enemy fire.  Until we do, it remains a question.  Is it as tough as we're all told or is it a paper tiger that will shred once the first anti-tank round hit it?  I don't know and neither do you.

Expeditionary.  You have to move halfway around the world and need firepower to bring with you because airpower is spotty and you might not have enough cannons available.

CV-90120.

Defensive.  You're surrounded by enemies that want to slice your throat in the dark and you need a tank that can soak up punishment while dishing it out.

Tie.  Merkava IV and Challenger 2.

Offensive.  You need a tank that can go fast, hit hard and protect its crews at the same time.

M1A2 Abrams.

Cutting edge.  The future of warfare.  We don't know where armored vehicle development is going but these look good.

Tie.  Altay, K2 and Type 10.

Celebrity.  You're loved, we don't quite know why but everyone worships the ground you walk on.

Leopard 2.

Arma 8x8 Wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicle w/Mizrak-30 pics

Altay Main Battle Tank. Turkey's death dealer...

Many thanks to Mustafa for the vid!



Fast forward to 05:21 for the firing tests.

I am so impressed by this machine.  I want to see it in combat before I declare perfection but I like what I see and consider this.  Japan and Turkey have the newest tanks in the world. Everyone else is operating cold war variants of long established tanks.  Is our ranking of the worlds best tanks justifiable?  I wonder.

F-35. Giovanni de Briganti nails down the lies about it costs...

via Defense Aerospace.

If South Korea’s order for 40 F-35s does indeed save the Pentagon about $2 billion, then each aircraft lowers Pentagon costs by $50 million. By the same logic, each lost order should increase the cost to the Pentagon by the same $50 million – not far off, by the way, from the $65 million unit cost that Lockheed continues to claim is the average unit cost of the aircraft.
Following the same logic, we can now estimate how much the reduced orders by other customers have increased the price the Pentagon will pay for its F-35s.
A short look at recent changes in the foreign order book is thus instructive.
- United Kingdom:
Initially slated to buy 150 aircraft, the UK government has now amended its plans and will only buy 48 F-35Bs for its new aircraft carriers, any possible buy for the Royal Air Force being pushed off well into the future. At $50m each, the loss of 102 UK orders adds $5.1 billion to what the Pentagon will pay for its F-35s.
- Italy:
Italy initially planned to buy 130 F-35s, but this was reduced to 90 because of budget cuts. This is a loss of 40 orders, which will add $2 billion to the Pentagon’s F-35 bill.
- Netherlands:
The Dutch air force initially planned to buy 85 F-35s, but the current government has decided to reduce the number to 37, a loss of 48 orders and a price increase of $2.4 billion for the Pentagon.
- Canada:
Initially due to buy 65 F-35s, Canada has now reopened its new fighter replacement program. While the F-35 might still be selected, but in smaller numbers as there is a price cap on the program. For the time being Canada is no officially no longer a buyer, and the loss of its 65 orders translates into a cost increase of $3.25 billion for the Pentagon.
- Norway:
While it also initially planned to buy 85 F-35s, Norway has now decided it will buy only 52, a reduction of 33 and thus a cost increase of $1.65 billion for the Pentagon’s own F-35s.
So, in total, the program has so far lost 228 orders from the above international partners.
At $50m a pop, these cancellations have so far added $14.4 billion to the cost of the Pentagon’s own F-35s – something that Lockheed’s P.R. machine has failed to point out, even though it was quick to stress the $2 billion savings entailed by that future Korean order.

I've been waiting for someone to do this.

Pretty damning huh?

What say you now Jason Simmons?  

(Note.  If someone makes personal attacks against the author of the piece then I'll immediately delete your comments.  I've done it, thought better and we're not going down that road.  I won't let you make my same mistake).

Philippine Army deploys to the Golan Heights????

via The Inquirer.

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine Army sent off on Thursday more than 300 of its personnel to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Golan Heights.
A ceremony was held at the Army Grandstand at Fort Bonifacio, with Army chief Lieutenant General Noel Coballes as guest of honor.
This batch will replace the contingent in Golan Heights that has been serving for a year now, exceeding the usual six months of duty. The current batch of peacekeeping forces in Golan Heights was deployed November last year and was supposed to return home last May. However, their return home was delayed several times pending the government decision and the United Nations.
Twenty five of the peacekeepers currently deployed in Golan Heights were abducted in March and May this year. They were later released. In June, one was injured in a “wayward indirect fire” amid fighting between Syrian rebels and the government.
They are scheduled to arrive in the country early December.
The contingent sent off on Thursday consists of 336 Army personnel, wherein 15 are female. Out of the 336, 49 are officers and 287 are enlisted personnel; and out of the 15 females, four are officers.
The contingent will leave for Golan Heights in three batches: November 29 (first serial), November 30 (second serial), and December 7 (third serial).
The battalion which will be deployed to Syria underwent the battalion of excellence program, Coballes said.
“This was created to cater all the needs to be an outstanding unit,” he said.
He added that all regular battalions undergo the excellence program. It just happened that the 80th Infantry Battalion is the one trained for this year.
Coballes said he advised the peacekeepers to abide by the instructions of the UN.
“In these kinds of UN deployments there is minimal use of force. We only use force on self defense,” he said.
In his speech, Coballes assured they received a guarantee from the United Nations that measures will be put in place for the personal safety and well-being of the deployed personnel during their tour of duty.
The Philippines started sending troops to Golan Heights in Syria in November 2009. Foreign peacekeepers have assisted the United Nations in its mission to bring about international peace for the Syrian and Israeli governments.

Why?  Are the pennies that the UN pays these smaller countries so enticing that they would ignore the disaster at home (where every military member is needed) to service a useless mission?  Lets be honest here too.  These observer missions are dog and pony shows that couldn't stop a determined Boy Scout unit.  I've ignored these observer missions since the US has basically pulled out of them.  It might be time to give them a second look.

The Battle of the Chosin Reservoir begins (The famous Frozen Chosin). Today in Marine Corps history.

via Stolen Valor facebook page.

Also on this day in History, 27 November 1950, the Battle of Chosin Reservoir begins.

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Changjin Lake Campaign (Korean: 장진호 전투; Chinese: 长津湖战役; pinyin: Cháng Jīn Hú Zhànyì), was a decisive battle in the Korean War.

Shortly after the People's Republic of China entered the conflict, the People's Volunteer Army 9th Army infiltrated the northeastern part of North Korea and surprised the US X Corps at the Chosin Reservoir area. A brutal 17 day battle in freezing weather soon followed. In the period between 27 November and 13 December 1950, 30,000 United Nations (UN) troops (nicknamed "The Chosin Few") under the command of Major General Edward Almond were encircled by approximately 67,000 Chinese troops under the command of Song Shi-Lun. The units near the Chosin (Changjin) Reservoir included the 1st Marine Division and elements of the 7th Infantry Division.

Although Chinese troops managed to surround and outnumber the UN forces, the UN forces broke out of the encirclement while inflicting crippling losses on the Chinese. The evacuation of the X Corps from the port of Hungnam marked the complete withdrawal of UN troops from North Korea.

On the night of 27 November, the PVA 20th and 27th Corps of the 9th Army launched multiple attacks and ambushes along the road between the Chosin Reservoir and Koto-ri. At Yudam-ni, the 5th, 7th and 11th Marines were surrounded and attacked by the PVA 59th, 79th and 89th Division. Similarly, RCT-31 was isolated and ambushed at Sinhung-ni by the PVA 80th and the 81st Division. Finally, the PVA 60th Division surrounded elements of the 1st Marines at Kotor-ri from the north.Caught by complete surprise, the UN forces were cut off at Yudam-ni, Sinhung-ni, Hagaru-ri and Kotor-ri by 28 November.

Advancing quickly, the Ninth Army Group of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) blunted X Corps advance and swarmed around the UN troops at Chosin. Alerted to their predicament, Almond ordered the commander of the 1st Marine Division, Major General Oliver P. Smith, to begin a fighting retreat back towards the coast.

Smith's men endured extreme cold and severe weather. The next day, the 5th and 7th Marines attacked from their positions near Yudam-ni, on the west bank of the reservoir, with some success against the PLA forces in the area. Over the next three days the 1st Marine Division successfully defended their positions at Yudam-ni and Hagaru-ri against Chinese human wave assaults. On November 29, Smith contacted Colonel "Chesty" Puller, commanding the 1st Marine Regiment, at Koto-ri and asked him to assemble a task force to re-open the road from there to Hagaru-ri.

Complying, Puller formed a force consisting of Lieutenant Colonel Douglas B. Drysdale's 41 Independent Commando (Royal Marines Battalion), G Company (1st Marines), B Company (31st Infantry), and other rear echelon troops. Numbering 900 men, the 140-vehicle task force departed at 9:30 AM on the 29th, with Drysdale in command. Pushing up the road to Hargaru-ri, the task force became bogged down after being ambushed by Chinese troops. Fighting in an area that was dubbed "Hell Fire Valley," Drysdale was reinforced by tanks sent by Puller.

Pressing on, Drysdale's men ran a gauntlet of fire and reached Hagaru-ri with the bulk of 41 Commando, G Company, and the tanks. During the attack, the B Comapany, 31st Infantry, became separated and isolated along the road. While most were killed or captured, some were able to escape back to Koto-ri. While the Marines were fighting to the west, the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT) of the 7th Infantry was battling for its life on the eastern shore of reservoir.

While not a victory in the classic sense, the withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir is revered as a high point in the history of the US Marine Corps. In the fighting, the Marines and other UN troops effectively destroyed or crippled seven Chinese divisions which attempted to block their progress. Marine losses in the campaign numbered 836 killed and 12,000 wounded. Most of the latter were frostbite injuries inflicted by the severe cold and winter weather. US Army losses numbered around 2,000 killed and 1,000 wounded. Precise casualties for the Chinese are not known but are estimated at 35,000 killed. Upon reaching Hungnam, the veterans of Chosin Reservoir were evacuated as part of the large amphibious operation to rescue UN troops from northeastern Korea.

Chest Puller made one of his more famous quotes a Chosin, "We're surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them." – November 1950, during Chosin Reservoir campaign.

PHOTO: Marine braving the cold at Chosin

King Tiger vs. IS-2. World of Tanks battle royal.

  King Tiger vs is-2

Blame and credit World of Tanks.

I've been running the American line of tank destroyers and have noticed that the IS-2 is a tough nut to crack and the KV-1s seem overpowered for their tiers.  We won't even get into the Tiger and King Tiger side of the equation, so I wanted to do some light reading on how they performed in combat.

The game's designers are Russian so that I thought they were biased toward Soviet vehicles (or maybe its my American nationalism peeking through) but after reading a few things it seems they are playing it pretty straight.

The above pdf just scratches the surface with information on the two vehicles but it gives a nice, quick overview of things.  Check it out.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Scorpion Taxi Test

The Pacific. Looking more and more like pre-WW2 days...

Sōryū-class submarine

via The Telegraph.

The Asian arms race is young, but clearly under way already. China has launched its first stealth drone, known as Sharp Sword. It developing indigenous aircraft carriers. Its “Two-Ocean-Strategy” implies a fleet of five or six carrier battle groups.
Japan is already rearming. It is building a de facto marine force. It has launched its largest warship since WW2, an 800-foot long DDH-class helicopter carrier, an aircraft carrier in all but name. Tokyo is developing its own version of the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency. Spending on warships and aircraft will jump by 23pc this year.
When I visited the spanking new buildings of the Japanese defence ministry in Tokyo in March, it already seemed like another world from the run-down digs of the old Self-Defence Force that I had visited six years earlier.
You could feel the emergence of a new military power, pacifist still in name only. The message that came through loud and clear from talking to officials is that Japan is ready for a fight if necessary, and is convinced that it can sink or shoot down any force sent by China into Japan's waters and airspace – whether to close in on the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, or to ratchet up pressure against Okinawa.

The author looks at British history pre-WW1 as a template for whats going on.

I think if you change the names of the players, you have a pre-WW2 scenario going on.  A hunt for resources, age old claims and extreme nationalism.

Yes.  I will be alarmist.  The seeds have been sown and soon the crops will be harvested.

We're looking at the opening moves for the next major war.  Oh and yeah.  I called this an arms race months ago and finally the mainstream media is catching on. 

F-35. Supporters move from questionable claims to utter bullshit...

via Reuters....

By 2019, the Pentagon projects the cost of each new F-35 fighter plane will be around $85 million, putting it on a par with the cost of current fighter planes, said Jim McAleese, a Virginia-based defense consultant.
The South Korean order could create 10,000 jobs at Lockheed and its suppliers as they build the components to make the 40 jets.
The sources said the projected savings and job counts were comparable to similar estimates released when Japan announced plans to buy 42 F-35 jets from the U.S. government in December 2011

I'm throwing the bullshit flag on this one.

No.  I'm not an economist but if 40 jets can create 10,000 jobs then the USAF order alone should bring the US unemployment rate down to at least 5%.

Read the entire article (here) but be advised.  They moved from questionable claims to fantasy island.

Why are they this desperate?  What is going on that we can't see to make supporters give such silly statements to reporters, and why can't reporters see that its craziness on a bun? 

X-47. At sea and kicking ass...

Thanks for the article NICO!

via Aviation Week.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt returned to port last week after hosting the X-47B for more at-sea trials.
The goal was to test the aircraft's interaction wiht the ship in off-nominal wind conditions. Nominal conditions are winds up to 25 kt. right down the runway on deck. Testers were looking for 35 kt. of relative winds and crosswinds up to 7kt.
Here are a few statistics from the tests:
26 total deck touchdowns
21 of those were touch and gos
five catapult launchs and five trap landings
five wave offs (two planned and three owing to software logic the automatically conducted a wave off owing to extreme wind conditions).

A robotic attack airplane.

Started development after the F-35, made it to the carrier before the F-35, has a higher degree of stealth than the F-35 (this is my layman's view .... I read somewhere that tail-less designs are more stealthy) and for a Marine Corps view of things can set up orbit over a squad of Marines in contact and provide support until no longer needed or relieved (assuming that they integrate aerial refueling for these planes...really a no brainer...if you can land on a carrier then refueling in air shouldn't be difficult).

Now tell me why the Navy needs the F-35 again,

NOTE:  Follow the link to check out some of the vids that Amy "Wonder Woman" Butler posted.

US Army gets its AMPV program going despite budget woes...

via Army Times...

The new document says the Army plans to award a five-year EMD contract in May 2014 to one contractor who will manufacture 29 vehicles for government testing, followed by a three-year low-rate initial production contract beginning in 2020.
Earlier documents estimated the EMD phase would run from fiscal 2014 to 2017 and cost $388 million. But the final plan stretches that out while adding to the overall price tag. The EMD phase will run from fiscal 2015 to 2019 and cost $458 million to develop and build the 29 prototypes.
The document released Tuesday lowered that number slightly to $436 million.
Likewise, whereas the estimate for the LRIP order of 289 vehicles between 2018 and 2020 was initially pegged at $1.08 billion, the Tuesday RFP lists three options for the LRIP years totaling $1.2 billion, giving the program a $1.68 billion budget before full-rate production begins.

Simple question.

If the Army is able to do this with their Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) then why wasn't the Marine Corps able to move forward with a low rate production run of Marine Personnel Carriers?  Or even better a quick and dirty high rate production run?

As things stand the US Army is drinking our milkshake.  Is the Air Wing and MARSOC the only portions of the Marine Corps that current leadership cares about? 

Chinese Carrier Battle Group puts to sea. And now it begins...

The USAF flew two B-52's into China's Air Defense Identification Zone.  NBG.  No Big Deal.  Not big fucking deal.  Just...no big deal.

It matters not.  Its not flexing muscle and its the same thing that we have setup.  The UK too.  Japan, Australia, S. Korea...practically everyone has it.

But an advanced Carrier Battle Group?  That my friends is a VBFD.  A VERY BIG FUCKING DEAL.

No throw back to Russian single ship operations.

No hybrid type fleet.

They are practically saying that they will meet the US Navy on the high seas, face off with them and that they're planning on winning.

Read about this development here.  Also make note of the escorts.  Air Defense Ships.  Harpoons won't get it done.  LRASM (subsonic) will get shot down.  And we're cutting defense.  Experts say parity in 20 years.  I say 10...if we're lucky.

Swedish Strv 105 A/T, the best Centurion. Next up for World of Tanks?

The Swedish Strv 105 A/T as its full designation was, was arguably the best centurion upgrade ever made. It had been modified with a french IRV-sight with monitors for the gunner and commander. This sight was supposedly better than the one in the new Leopard 2S or Strv 122. The turretdrive had been modified and adjusted for a smoother, more precise rotation. The commanders cupola was now powered by electricity and a hunter-killer system was added. The electrical system had been changed from the troublesome system in the Strv 104 to a much improved one. A new suspension allowed the full capacity of the engine to be used, greatly adding to the tanks speed. A revolving turretfloor was added and was clearly better than the one in the Strv 101 which many thought less efficient than the lack of one as in the Strv 102 or 104. A new air cleaner system for the engine, a new hatch and seat for the driver are examples of less revolutionary, but still appreciated modifications. There was only one built and that is now to be seen at Axevalla armormuseum. The 105 was almost impossible to identify externally. The only easy thing to use for distuinguishing it from the 104 was the IRV-camera mounted by the gunbarrel.

Source: swipnet.se..via War Machine

US Army heading towards smaller squads, lighter vehicles? Big mistake.

high speed roll on/roll off ship.

via DefenseNews.

During the service’s yearly sen­ior leader seminar Nov. 20, the Army’s top uniformed leadership for the first time called for a look at cutting the size of the squad from nine soldiers to as low as six, while reminding subordinates that the service is shrinking and likely won’t be able to afford new leap­ahead technologies in the near fu­ture.
And briefing slides referenced vehicles half the weight of the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV), which enjoys dwindling support among the brass.
Going smaller while focusing in­vestments on increasing the com­bat punch a small unit can bring to bear will “make us more afford­able, yet as capable” as the service is now, one leading general said. A key point is also to become faster and more expeditionary.
One senior leader said that in coming years, the Army will have to “reduce the size of our forma­tions but increase the capability of our formations. ...If we can be more effective with less people it will make us more expeditionary.”
A handful of reporters were al­lowed to sit in on the briefing un­der the condition that names not be used.
This talk about moving faster comes in response to the fact that the Army will primarily be a do­mestically based force in the com­ing years. The idea that rapid deployability to hot spots around the world will be a key to future conflicts is one that the Army is taking very seriously.
This new push has generated a new Army catchphrase: “Speed that matters.”
The thinking goes that speed can act as a deterrent to adversaries. The idea was also floated during the seminar that having a rapidly deployable force provides civilian leadership with more leverage and “decision space” in which to politi­cally exploit an adversary’s weak­ness.

Read the entire article and marvel at the stupidity, shortsightedness and lack of spine being shown by Army leadership.  The only thing that gives me hope is the knowledge that the Marine Corps isn't the only organization suffering from failed leaders.

Assuming that we are heading into a time period where we will be reacting to moves from bad actors or using Special Ops to shape future battlefields, I wonder why the idea is to replicate a hybrid Armored Airborne/Motorized Infantry.

The issue is and has always been transport.

The issue is and has always been the lack of acceptance by Army officials that transport by air is NOT delivering the benefits long promised.

The answer isn't to make squads smaller.

Not to make smaller, lighter more vulnerable vehicles.

The answer is to work with the US Navy and develop/deploy high speed roll on/roll off ships that can motor from the US to distant area quickly.   

Instead of doing the obvious, they would instead tinker once again with war winning formations just so they can be at the forefront of "change".  Change without purpose is stupid meddling.  Army leadership is meddling.

Mainstream media finally wakes up to the police MRAP situation.

via The AP.

An Associated Press investigation of the Defense Department military surplus program this year found that a disproportionate share of the $4.2 billion worth of property distributed since 1990 - everything from blankets to bayonets and Humvees - has been obtained by police and sheriff's departments in rural areas with few officers and little crime.
After the initial 165 of the MRAP trucks were distributed this year, military officials say police have requests in for 731 more, but none are available.

People are asleep.  Once they wake up ... if they wake up ... many are going to be asking serious questions.  From NSA spying, to the Obamacare issue, to the IRS overreach, to Fast and Furious.

I'm not a Tea Partier, mainly because the organization has been corrupted by the Republican hierarchy, but they were right when they first started.  A big government is big trouble.

Read the entire story here.  Its eye opening.

NOTE:  The DoD really should have put some restraints on this program.  Giving them to each states Highway Patrol or State Police force.  Enough to have a couple in each major city.  Maybe some to each major city with a population over 1 million people...heck even 500,000.  Have each department write a serious justification for needing the vehicle (not the bullshit that Ohio State University used to get one) etc...  As things stand both law enforcement AND the Defense Dept are going to be painted with the same bad brush.

Hey Gunny, you have the right to act an ass, just not in uniform.

The Marine Corps needs to get a handle on public decorum while in uniform.

Most, I'd say 99% of you won't agree with me on this, but its ok for the Gunnery Sgt to act an ass...just not in uniform.

He's cheering on his favorite college team...and gaining attention for doing so.  But is this how we want Marines to be viewed?  This isn't the only instance of a SNCO or Officer messing up while representing (or being viewed as representing) the Marine Corps.

Remember Marine Day in St Louis either last year or the year before?  A Colonel with the SPMAGTF spoke out of turn while being interviewed on the radio.  The announcer tried to reel the cocky bastard back in but the pompous idiot continued.

Something is broken in our house gents.  This type of behavior is new.  Its time to "crush" it now.  For the good of the Corps.

PTL02 assault gun tank destroyer via Army Recognition.

The US military is so caught up in defeating the anti-access strategy of China that the ground forces are losing sight of what needs to be done once that access is gained.

If we're talking about a peer competitor (China) then we need to focus on developments in their ground forces.  I'll find the article, but China is moving toward a smaller, more technologically advanced force.  Smaller is relative, but technologically advanced is not.  The PTL02 assault gun is just one example.  Amphibious landings.  Air Assault.  Airborne Ops.  They all become more difficult if they've doped out our sites and have a couple of companies of these vehicles, along with infantry waiting.

Why the sermon?  Because the Marine Corps seems to be getting more and more locked into this SPMAGTF-CR concept. 

The MV-22 is a sitting duck in the approach to the landing zone.  It might be fast but in the end all the pilots and grunts will be doing is rushing to their deaths if we don't get beyond the idea of MV-22 transported infantry/Special Ops being able to take on mechanized forces and win.

Bro' Code via Grunt Works.