Fire Dept Militarization? Body armor for Fire Fighters.

This one has been floating around and it has missed most peoples attention...including my own.  I've been so focused on Police Militarization that I've ignored whats going on with our Fire Depts.

via ITS Tactical.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Chiefs now support the Rescue Task Force (RTF) concept. From what Dr. Callaway was saying, this is a big deal as it talks about equipping FD personnel with body armor and sending them into the “warm and hot zones”, which has been almost unheard of up until now. Read the NFPA document Here. There’s a department in California that is actively looking to issue body armor and helmets to their firefighters/paramedics but the only holdback currently is funding.

Fire Fighters have been able to roll into the roughest neighborhoods in America with little fear because residents all over recognized that they are there to help.  Now we're seeing them "body armor" up.

I wonder if that will change the dynamic, make them viewed more as law enforcement and put them in the line of fire.  I tried to check but couldn't find any info...how many times have fire fighters been the subject of assault?  How many times have them been involved in shootings and does this make sense?  What the fuck is the "Rescue Task Force Concept"?

I don't know.

What I do know is that this is either extremely ominous or something that should have happened long ago.

Time will tell. 

Marines that can't do pullups.

Amos is starting to look rather pathetic in all the delays that he's announcing.  First he delays a decision on the ACV.  Over.  And over.  And over again (we're still waiting).  And now after study, he delays implementing a simple PFT change for female Marines.

Doesn't the Marine Corps teach that decisiveness is a leadership trait?

This is just another illustration of why Amos is the wrong leader, at the wrong time (there is never a good time for his type of leadership), and in the wrong service.

"Fun Fact"
Haynie is at it again over at USNI Blog on this issue.  As usual it full of the usual feminist blather.  We are women hear us roar shit, yet treat us special because we're ladies nonsense.  Read it here if you're interested.  But what caught my attention and made me laugh out loud is the fact that NOT ONE person has commented on the article.  Marines, Sailors everyone in and out of uniform (with a few exceptions) has gotten the message.  Touch this if you want but you'll get burned.

F-35. Chinese parts are in it. via War News Updates.

Thanks for the link Mike!

via WNU from Reuters.

(Reuters) - The Pentagon repeatedly waived laws banning Chinese-built components on U.S. weapons in order to keep the $392 billion Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter program on track in 2012 and 2013, even as U.S. officials were voicing concern about China's espionage and military buildup.
According to Pentagon documents reviewed by Reuters, chief U.S. arms buyer Frank Kendall allowed two F-35 suppliers, Northrop Grumman Corp and Honeywell International Inc, to use Chinese magnets for the new warplane's radar system, landing gears and other hardware. Without the waivers, both companies could have faced sanctions for violating federal law and the F-35 program could have faced further delays.
"It was a pretty big deal and an unusual situation because there's a prohibition on doing defense work in China, even if it's inadvertent," said Frank Kenlon, who recently retired as a senior Pentagon procurement official and now teaches at American University. "I'd never seen this happen before."

Just plain awesome.

This program is a disgrace and before its over someone will go to jail.

UPDATE:  This program is losing friends.  Reason is a libertarian magazine that I read from time to time.  Did you know that more and more Americans are identifying as libertarian conservative rather than Republican or even Democrat?  Regardless, check out this story from the editor.

NOTE:  This story smacks of a Friday afternoon message dump orchestrated by the Pentagon.  This is huge news, and would ordinarily be a lead story (if the media actually covered the F-35 story outside of the small defense outlets).  Prediction.  This is the first of many "bad news stories" about this plane that we're going to see over the next several weeks.  Someone has a hardon for the F-35 (besides me) and I hope they get satisfaction.

Marines‬ evacuate embassy in South Sudan

Note:  I might be reading this wrong, but the evacuation of the embassy in Juba, S. Sudan is being publicized by Marine Corps Public Affairs as a triumph of Amos' Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response concept.  I see it as another example of a dog and pony show gone bad.  Check out the pics below and I'll get back to you....

check out the bubba in the black polo shirt.  he has state dept security written all over him...5.11 tactical pants, some type of what i call sport combat boot, cool boy shades and if you look real close i can almost see him printing in the photo.  too easy to clock.  make note law enforcement/security bubbas!  i won't even bother to talk about the joker in the checkered shirt with cool boy shades, hat rolled ranger style and the BIG ASS ear wig showing for the world to see!  you would think they'd get these boys some modern gear so they don't have so many tells!

I have to admit that I selected these photos because they marry up with my theme that this is nothing but a show.  What do you see when you look at them?  I see a few Marines running around in helmet, flak, ruck sacks and weapons.  I also see Air Force personnel chilled the fuck out, maxing and relaxing.  Even further back (look closely) you can see what I assume are security personnel taking it all in.  Lastly I see a Marine on a work detail without any gear on slinging boxes.

What does all this tell me?  That this isn't actually a danger area.  That their isn't really a threat where these men are.  That this is all a show.

Marine propaganda at its worse...if you know what to look for (assuming I'm reading this right).

Epic Rap Battle: Navy Seal vs. Army Ranger NSFW!!!! FUNNY AS HELL!!!!

Death of the Marine Corps by pieces...UPDATE.

Thanks to ELP Blog for catching this!

Check this out....

Command and control stovepipes within the task organizations of the Navy and Marine Corps must be dismantled, with a common command structure implemented that sees the land power of the Marine Corps as one of its several primary tools. With the fielding of the VSTOL variant of the F-35B, Marine tactical aviation must necessarily evolve from its singular focus on ground support to a broader mission in support of the Seapower Task Force.

Evolve from its singular focus on ground support?

Marine Air is going to evolve from its focus on providing close air support to Marine units?

When I first heard this I went high and to the right.  The very essence of the Marine Corps is to have the worlds finest combined arms team in the truest sense of the word.  Fully integrating all aspects of combat power with one singular goal.  To take control of a piece of land, destroy enemy forces and win the battle.

But it seems that some want to take various pieces of a fine organization and use it for other purposes.

McGrath obviously has the ear of the Congressman.  They wrote this abomination as a joint piece.  He obviously huddles with the Commandant...this sounds like an air wingers wet dream.

The problem?  If this becomes reality then we will see a fundamental change in the way the Marine Corps operates.  What happens when 7th Marines is making a push to the objective and they call for Air Support and Marine Air is off fighting the deep battle?  Lets hope AH-1Zs and UH-1Ys aren't rescuing pilots and that NavAir still wants to play the Close Air Support game.

Its becoming obvious that Marine Air doesn't anymore. 


Note:  More fuel to the fire.  Check out this article...F-35 Costs $182 Million to $299 Million Per Plane

HAGEL NAMES WM AS NEXT COMMANDANT!

QUANTICO, VA — She’s been in combat, she wants to radically reorganize the Marine Corps, and she thinks male Marines need to stop whining and put their big girl panties on. This week we sat down for a one-on-one interview with Gen. Isabella Santiago, who sources at the Pentagon say is poised to become the Marine Corps’ first-ever woman commandant.
Santiago will replace current commandant Gen. James Amos, whose term has been marred by a series of public relations fiascoes and scandals. While it is unusual for a commandant’s successor to be named this early, Pentagon sources say the recent photograph of Amos wearing a Raider patch was the last straw for Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who quietly told the general it was time to move on.

The story above is from the Duffle Blog and you can read it here.

I won't lie.

My heart stopped.

I couldn't breathe.

I thought I was having a heart attack.

Then my buddy told me it was joke.  Once the blood returned to my head, and I picked him up off the floor (he deserved that punch), I realized something.

Amos is gone this year.  God does love the infantry.

Farley gets it wrong on the F-35 and the UAV connection.

via Diplomat.

But if we evaluate the contribution of the drone not in isolation, but rather as part of a system-of-systems for air dominance, its utility becomes clearer. Stealthy F-35s operate in contested environments, identifying and tracking targets, with the UAVs supplying the missiles that the JSFs can’t carry on their own. Even the payload challenged F-35B can contribute in this context; having as many F-35s in the air as possible increases the clarity of the picture offered to pilots and commanders.
Indeed, this is precisely the type of aerial warfare that the developers of the F-35 envisioned. Although this vision has been part of the Joint Strike Fighter program for some time, it has not, for whatever reason, been articulated clearly to the public. Our public conversation still struggles to conceptualize specific weapons as part of a larger system, rather than with respect to their individual characteristics. This hardly means that programs such as the F-35 or the UCLASS should be above criticism, but it does suggest ways to add nuance to the critique.

Read it all here.

Robert is halfway there but stumbles at the one yard line.  The concept that was lined out by the Navy Chief of Air Warfare is just that.  The parts that we flesh out that concept with are whats in question.

The same concept that was outlined can be fulfilled at a much lower price by using the F/A-18 and the F-14 sized UAV.  Its been said that the F-22 has even better stealth than the F-35.  Want to get real bang for your buck?  Have a flight of F-22 penetrate enemy airspace providing targeting data to your UAVs.  The F-35 was designed in the late 90's.  Its been in development for over 10 years.  Are we really suppose to believe that it will be more stealthy than a UAV that is built sometime in the next 5 to 10 years?

Its the concept that is the key.  We have many other tools that we can use at less cost than the F-35 to make it a reality.

And that's where Robert went off the rails.  

Fact.  The F-35 was first designed 20 years ago.

Chinese Carrier Strike Group Analysis by Members of Sino Defense Forum

Pics via SDF.

The guys over at the Sino Defense Forum have been China watchers before being a China watcher was cool.  A quick look at the Chinese Carrier Strike Group follows.

CV-16 Liaoning (50~60,000 tons)
3 x Type 054A Frigate (4000 tons ea.)
2 x Type 051C (7100 tons ea.)
1 x Type 052C (7000 tons ea.)
1 x Type 071 LPD (17,000 tons ea.)
3 x Type 093G SSN (Unknown tonnage)


That's a 103,000 tons minimum CSG. Note (1) the lack of an air wing aboard CV-16 at this time. Once operational the Liaoning is expected to host approx. 24 ~ 36 J-15s. Note (2) the lack of any replenishment vessels. Note (3) only the 052C is AEGIS capable and likely co-ordinates the entire fleet air defense. This in of itself is a weakness as it denotes a single point of failure but also tells us that the battle management software across the fleet is standardized and highly advanced to allow for this type of co-ordination.

At this time, it is unknown what type of mission this formation is designed for. However, we know that this is a real dedicatd CSG and not just cobbled together for a photo op. The PLAN is now able to field a near bluewater CSG in addition to covering all of its home bases.

Check out the living areas of the CV-16. It's like a college dorm FFS.

There is alot more at their site.

A couple of things.  The living conditions aboard the aircraft carrier look luxurious.  Compared to the conditions aboard a US warship they're beyond luxurious.  Once France was the gold standard when it came to fancy living aboard ship with the Italians following close behind.  No more.  What does this mean?  I think its an indication that the Chinese are seeking the best and the brightest for their military...especially their Navy.  Not only is it the patriotic thing to do, but you'll also live in relative comfort.  This also points to the fact that the Chinese military is seeking to effectively compete for all those college graduates with business.

The next thing that caught my attention was the description of the Type 52C coordinating air defense.  I remember seeing the British Daring Class doing the same thing in a joint exercise with the USN.  I thought it was a strange way of doing business but the Chinese seem to be following that lead.  I don't understand the advantage of operating that way (there must be something useful) and hope to find out more.

The last thing that I found odd was the attachment of an LPD to the strike group.  Is this how they plan on operating in the future?  In the US it would be considered a hybrid configuration.  Part CSG and part amphibious ready group (or expeditionary strike group if you want to be trendy).  In this case the advantages are obvious.  High performance aircraft are able to protect the Chinese Marines in any action they may be called on to perform without the delay of having to marry up the CSG and ARG.  The LPD can make use of all available space for transport helicopters for its Marines without having to make room for jump jets.  Of course the problem with this type setup is that it puts Marines in harms way for any sea actions that the carrier might have to fight and the enemy (us) would probably make them a high priority target.  I'll have to chew on this one before I buy into it.

Everything considered, a pretty good day for China.

F-35. Split buy looking more likely in S. Korea.

via KT.

But the problem is that Seoul is expected to finalize the F-35 order this year, aiming for the first delivery of the stealth jet in 2018.
Since aging F-4s and F-5s are to retire soon, it would mean a big hole in Air Force’s fleet of fighter jets.
The Air Force, by some estimates, would be in need of 100 new fighters by 2020.
The current budget can secure only 40 F-35s with 8.3 trillion won ($7.8 billion) 60 F-X IIIs, but Lockheed says that amount could secure 52 or 53 F-35s.
Amid the growing concerns, European Aeronautic Defense and Security Company (EADS) and Boeing, both of which can meet the timeline, are proposing a split-buy.
“If I were the Korean Air Force, I would actually do a 20-40 split-buy. That way you give yourself a chance to assess the F-35s and you might also get 40 newer aircraft at a much better price,” said James Hardy, Asia-Pacific editor of IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly.
“The split-buy makes sense because there is still some uncertainty about the software development timeline of the F-35. Most of its advanced capabilities are only due to come with the Block 3F software, which isn’t likely to be deployed until 2017. Software has been perhaps the most challenging aspect of the F-35’s development thus far,” said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor of FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry website.

Read the entire story here.

The problem for Lockheed Martin, the USAF and the Marine Corps is that others will look at whats going on and wonder if they're actually making the right move.

I seriously doubt that S. Korea will buy 40 airplanes.  My guess is that they're going to do something to mollify the Pentagon...promise to buy the plane in the future, but take care of their defense needs now.  Eurofighter and Advanced F-15SK are probably still in the running to supply all 100 airplanes now.  Lockheed Martin will probably have orders in the 2020-2030 timeframe wrapped up though.

Happy New Year.

I'm wishing you and yours a happy new year.

NSA. Rogue Agency.

via The Daily Caller.

Shipping giants FedEx and UPS haven’t said much since it was revealed Sunday that the National Security Agency intercepts electronics packages to install spyware, but what they have said implies they knew what the agency was up to.
Security researcher Jacob Appelbaum co-wrote a Der Spiegel article published Sunday detailing how the NSA intercepts newly purchased computer products mid-shipment to install surveillance malware before reaching the buyer without their knowledge.
“If a target person, agency or company orders a new computer or related accessories, for example, TAO [Office of Tailored Access Operations] can divert the shipping delivery to its own secret workshops,” Appelbaum wrote. ”The NSA calls this method interdiction. At these so-called “load stations,” agents carefully open the package in order to load malware onto the electronics, or even install hardware components that can provide backdoor access for the intelligence agencies. All subsequent steps can then be conducted from the comfort of a remote computer.”

Read it all here.

Sorry.  It is beyond a fact now.  Snowden is a hero.  We would never have learned about any of these abuses without him doing what he did.  The scary part of all of this is that there is more to come.  By the NSA and White Houses own admission, this is just a tip of the iceberg.  The US is now spying on its citizens so efficiently now that the Soviet Union, Communist China or even the Nazis would be envious.

Forget Obama Care.  The spying on its citizens by the government is the issue that has fundamentally changed America (although I hasten to add that centralized medical record keeping/access- think ready made nation wide DNA database-- could also be seen as part of total information warfare).

F-35 Negotiations in S. Korea going badly.

This news is from Slowman a frequent commenter here and at other defense related websites.  I haven't verified the info but if any of it is true then the news of a slam dunk in S. Korea was very premature.

The F-35 negociation reportedly is not going well in Korea, enough to the point that the DAPA is now going back to the drawing board and is trying to come up with a Plan C in case the F-35 negociation fails.
1. The tech transfer negociation with Lockheed isn't going well, especially now that the defense ministry decided on the C103(The twin EJ2x0 powered jet) as the bases of their negociation. Because of the impending fighter jet short fall, the KFX has become the "MUST DO" top priority for the defense ministry and this is causing a lot of friction with Lockheed and the US DoD.
2. The defense ministry negociators are trying to verify if they could in fact buy 40 F-35s for $7.3 billion approved budget(No increase is possible). If not, they will have to bail out of the F-35.
3. Because of a 2-year delay in the KFX program due to the F-X selection delay and a budget allowing only 40 F-35s(assuming they could actually get 40 for $7.3 billion), this opens a whopping 120+ fighter jet short fall by early 2020s and filling this short fall has become super critical. Vendors are expecting another F-X contest right after the current one, because the present security conditions in Northeast Asia doesn't allow a country to fall behind in arms race.
4. This anticipated 120+ unit shortfall is the reason the EADS and Boeing are still staying in the race, because the F-35 surely won't be a contender in this follow up contest because it will be a "let's buy lots of cheap jets" kind of contest. Boeing may try to sell the Silent Hornet in place of the Silent Eagle. Lockheed can only offer the F-16 or the F-50 in this contest.
5. EADS is preparing a Typhoon lease deal from the existing European Airforce inventory, in hopes that the Korean government would be more open to a Typhoon buy after having used some. Boeing can't match this lease deal, unfortunately.

The highlighted portion is the other story that is being ignored by the defense media.

What happens to Air Forces when they go from 100 plus F-16's to fewer than 50 F-35's?  I know.  The F-35 is twice as effective so fewer are needed.  That sounds good until you start taking into account training, homeland security, deployment and maintenance.

How can an airpower advocate claim success if only 10 out of say 48 airplanes are available for contingency operations?  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  The F-35 is weakening not only our defense but that of our allies.

F-35 profits likely to exceed half a trillion dollars.

via Forbes.

It was during his tenure as COO that Lockheed
Martin won the competition to build the tri-service F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, by far the biggest weapon program in the world with hardware and service revenues likely to eventually exceed half a trillion dollars. The company also pushed deeper into federal IT markets as the build-out of military networks accelerated, began recovering space franchises lost to competitor Boeing, and
consolidated its leadership in naval electronics.

Something evil is brewing when we are on the cusp of guaranteeing a company's survival for another 100 years, plus its shareholders an enormous return on little investment, all at tremendous cost to the governments of the Western World.

Somehow we have allowed a Mega-Corporation that will probably lead to a defense monopoly to develop.

We once had laws that prohibited such things.

We.

Are.

Screwed. 

Sidenote:  SFO pointed out that these aren't profit figures being thrown out by Thompson.  I say ok, but this is why I was so happy to see Robert Farley's article on the F-35.  The other side of this coin isn't just what it means to the military capability of Western powers but also the economics behind this program.  He either knows, or knows someone who can crunch the numbers and explain how a program that has so many subcontractors can be cost efficient/affordable and yet earns Lockheed Martin a strong buy by every stock picker on the planet.  Something doesn't add up.  And all this is before we start looking at the monopoly that is becoming Lockheed Martin.

Self Defense. Fighting under duress.

I'm definitely going to see this movie, but a couple of things stood out in the trailers for me.

The first.

"Never shoot a large caliber man with a small caliber bullet."

Quite honestly that made me pause.  I'm a 9mm fanboy to the core.  I believe its the ideal sized round for most applications...but that quote sung to me.  I don't know if thats a real quote said in the Teams or not, but if it is then good on them.

The second thing that caught me was when one of the SEALs asked another if he could fight.  The second SEAL said that he was shot and Wahlberg replied "we're all shot, can you fight?".

That simple quote made me sit straight up, swallow hard and think.  How many of us even consider fighting under duress.  By duress I mean injury.  I don't follow MMA as much as I used to because I'm definitely NOT liking some of the moves being made by management, but I did hear the news about Silva kicking a guy so hard that he broke his leg.

On the street the fight would continue.  The aggressor would simply take advantage of that infirmity and pound the other guy into serious injury or death.  I don't have the answer on this one but its something to consider.  Continuing the fight after you've been shot, stabbed, had your nose broken...whatever.  I've never had to do it.  MMA fighters do it on a limited basis, but in a deadly force encounter I don't even see Professional Law Enforcement (I'm talking about the guys that are good solid pro cops) training for such a scenario.

Research continues and when I get it I'll pass it along. 

Turkey to join the LHD club. via Navy Recognition.

via Navy Recognition.

Turkey's Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) just announced via press release that it selected Sedef shipyard as winner of its LPD tender and that final contract negotiations with this shipyard can now begin. Sedef shipyard in Turkey offers a design based on Juan Carlos LHD under the collaboration with Spain's Navantia.

I am seeing a disturbing worldwide trend.

Countries around the world are gearing up.  The countries in the Middle East are buying everything they can lay their hands on...same is going on in the Pacific.  This latest buy from the Turks is just another indication that we're seeing forces go from a strictly defense profile to one of force projection.

The answer from the US and our European allies (who are all in the midst of rather dramatic cuts in defense spending)?

Partnership missions.

I see no indication from the State Department or the Pentagon that alarm bells are being rung.

But consider this.

The more capable 3rd world forces become, the less likely we are to successfully intervene if those nations go rogue.  Stable governments today can become radical governments overnight.  And while I am a fan of Turkey and cheer their modernization, I also remember this past year when that country looked to be on the brink. 

J-10 Advanced. More copy and paste. via Chinese Military Review.

via Chinese Military Review.

China is developing an advanced J-10C fighter aircraft fitted with Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFT) which are attached on the upper surface of the J-10’s fuselage. These Conformal Fuel Tanks will increase the aircraft's range, loiter time, and combat persistence. Image posted above is a fan art to give an idea of this new development.

Just plain wow.

These guys either have the world's best hackers, or they have a couple of people inside Lockheed Martin.  This "fan art" is remarkably similar to a LM effort on a diverterless intake for the F-16 and the conformal fuel tanks are also a straight rip off of the LM program.

Those people have absolutely  NO shame.  Check out the pics below.

Note:  Don't discount fan art.  In the 90's the art was mostly fanciful.  Hopes and dreams.  Lately though (meaning in the last 5 years) they've been hitting closer and closer to the mark.  Quite honestly they have been spot on for the last couple of years.  I consider this as part of the Chinese practice of announcing new programs at the start of the year.

The US power grid is suffering military style attacks.

via The Daily Mail.

The FBI is investigating a ‘military-style’ attack on a California electric power facility earlier this year.
The April 16 attack saw as many as two gunmen storm the PG&E Metcalf substation after severing phone service and fire several dozen rounds at transformers.
Federal officials took over the investigation from local law enforcement on fears it was linked to the Boston marathon bombing only a day earlier, but those fears appear to have subsided.
At least one person, maybe two, went down multiple manholes at the facility in a San Jose suburb and cut fiber cables leading to the substation, according to Foreign Policy, which detailed the well-planned attack.

&

The FBI is also investigating a series of attacks on the Arkansas power grid where multiple high-voltage transmission lines were severed and one substation was set on fire, according to the New York Times.
‘You should have expected U.S.’ was scribbled on a control panel at the torched substation.
There is no indication the attacks in Arkansas and California are related.

Read the entire article here.

Interesting.  Quite honestly I'm surprised that we haven't suffered "brown outs" in the past few years.  I do know that security for our infrastructure has increased so the success of these attacks is a bit troubling.

But I'm sure a reader or two will point out how this is nothing new and nothing that anyone should be concerned about.

Pacific Naval Power Chart via Commander Salamander.

Commander Salamander Blog posted the above pic.  Quite interesting and US cheerleaders (I include myself in that) will note the overwhelming power of the US Navy.

A couple of things though.  First it doesn't count Amphibious Ships in the US roster of firepower even though it credits Japan.  Additionally the chart ignores S. Korea and even Australia in this lineup.  And my final point is that it should be noted that if you only count the power of the US Navy actually assigned to the Pacific then the lead we have shrinks considerably.

It might be time to take a serious look at our foreign policy.  If you defend everything, you defend nothing...its time to prioritize our defense posture as defined by our interests and our interests alone.

Where are we with Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicles (UGCV)?

BAE Black Knight.

After reading the Admiral's views on the future of UAVs in the air fight, I became curious.  Where are we with Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicles?  UGCVs have been the darling of every guy that has even a passing interest in scifi warfare (military science fiction is what they prefer you call it) and I wondered where we stand.  Above you see BAE's Black Knight.  Developed at company costs and went no where.

MAARS | QinetiQ North America

MAARS developed by QinetiQ of North America put together a neat package that is based off bomb detection robots but as far as I could tell has gotten no orders (formal orders at least, although I don't doubt that kits have been bought).

The Crusher was a test bed sponsored by DARPA so I guess it really doesn't count, but it was a HIGHLY mobile system and looked big enough to fit a large caliber weapon.

The Oshkosh Terramax is another example of a vehicle that really doesn't belong on the list but I include it because the Pentagon tasked industry to come up with a vehicle that could displace drives and operate in a convoy.  They succeeded.  These trucks ran obstacle courses in the desert, avoided other traffic and could haul an equal load when compared to their manned counterparts.

Above you see the assault Mule.  It died when the FCS died.  The US Army had a winner and I believe this part of the system was ready to go.  It would act in concert with M1's, Bradley's, Stryker's and the other parts of FCS and would have given the Chinese a heart attack.  Instead, it went to the grave because the Army packaged the FCS as one program instead of individual systems.

And finally (for my list) is the vehicle that appears to be the most successful.  The Guardium.  The Israelis use it for border security and early on it was armed.  Photos today show it operating without armament, but the Israelis are tight lipped about their security practices and I would bet body parts that they have all sorts of weapons attached.

Long story short.  With UGCVs, costs will always be a consideration.  If they are armed and armored, require the same amount of maintenance/upkeep as manned vehicles, and provide only limited savings then you'll see people behind the wheel.

We aren't there yet but will probably reach a point where the cost of sending a human where you can send a robot will make as much sense on the ground as it does in the air.

Sidenote:  Yes.  I missed some vehicles/systems.  This is just a brief overview.