French Forces hooking and jabbing in C.A.R. pic by Peter Bouckaert.

French forces at #Bangui PK12 on full alert as antibalaka forces surround another Muslim quarter. #CARcrisis pic.twitter.com/LJKENQw18Q

Russian Naval Infantry conduct landing exercise near Kaliningrad. via English Russia.

All pics via English Russia.

Sidenote:  If you were to do an assessment of every Marine Corps/Naval Infantry worldwide, you would find that the USMC is the most technologically advanced, powerful and thanks to the US Navy most agile found.  This is what makes the move toward these Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response Units based on the MV-22 so dangerous.  It takes the USMC in the wrong direction and places it on par with the other forces it might face.  Instead of a powerful, combined armed force arriving from the sea, you would instead have a Company of Marines arriving by air, supported by air, without the firepower found in a traditional Marine formation.  

Fantasy Edition. True NATO Integration.

Was watching Pacific Rim last night and although a little campy it did touch on a subject that we covered (in the brief way that SNAFU does it business) on integration of weapons and I guess in particular NATO integration.

The film is like many others.  The world is facing an Alien threat and the nations put aside their differences to finally unite and win the day.

That's where the theory of NATO breaks down in my opinion and at the end of the day, I believe its because of a tremendous dose of nationalism, corporatism and a fear of losing secrets.

But imagine for just one second if we could have actually done it in the fight against the Soviet Union?  Imagine if we could do it in preparation for the coming war with the Chinese?

The best minds from the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, S. Korea, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the other countries that I failed to list all getting together to build the absolute best weapons possible at a reasonable price.

The F-22?  A lower tier fighter to what could have been made...and even then it would fill the skies like the F-16.  The Leopard 2A6?  Standardized and built in all allied countries.  Cavour?  Standard light carrier NATO wide.  Nimitz?  Shared and manned by all nations...cost shared, multi-national crews and everyone trained to TOP GUN standards.

But it would take cost sharing that everyone would deem fair.  Commitment by all to fights that the majority were in favor of, yet all would participate.

It would would take NATO being what NATO was meant to be but never achieved.

Ain't fantasy grand?

Jankel's hot formed armor + Active Defense Systems = the immediate future of armor protection?

via Jankel

Armoring hasn't changed in over 100 years but Jankel is at the cutting edge of a revolution.American entrepreneurship meets German engineering to bring a technology that is not only game-changing but also brings added protection to the front-line. This technology replaces the jigsaw of hundreds of flat pieces of armor used in conventional armoring with 31 pieces of armor.  Molding the plates while they are still hot preserves the strength of the steel and allows the armor to better contour the vehicle.Benefits of Hot Formed Armor:

• Reduced weight of armor system as 70% less welding, bolting and support armor required

• Increased blast and ballistic protection due to use of larger components

• Rapid delivery due to reduced labor content and reduced production times

• Increased protection from the over-matched threat

• Conformity of protection in production from OEM tolerance panels

• Reduction in purchase price

Could the future of armor protection - at least the immediate future - hot formed armor coupled with active defense systems?

Trophy is ready and if Jankel is right we have the answer right in front of us.  There is no excuse for not upgrading Marine and Army armor.  Decide what is needed, determine a reasonable price...then toss it to industry to come up with a solution.

**Don't jack with contractors by starting competitions and then canceling them...

**Don't add requirements after the start of the program...

**Don't do what you've always done and expect different results.

A battleship sized cannon on a tank? via Bayou Renaissance Man.

Read Peter's article here.

A couple of things.  Kinda makes 8in guns look small don't it?  Speaking of which, I wonder what type of ranges we could get out of that sized gun these days?  Add rocket assist to the projectiles and I bet we would get ATACMS type range.

Second, OH GOD PLEASE!!!  Please don't let World of Tanks see this.  They love Russian armor and this would one shot even a Death Star!  Artillery already owns me on the game and this would make a bad situation worse!

Cool vehicle though.  My search for obscure armor continues...especially since its obvious that nothing new is going to come out of the US.

Correction.

Everyone knows that I consider the Amphibious Combat Vehicle and/or the Marine Personnel Carrier to be essential items that the Marine Corps needs to go into the future.

So I regret that I failed to properly credit INSIDE DEFENSE with their ongoing coverage of the issue (they're also one of the few sources that are actually keeping an eye on the Army's Ground Combat Vehicle, Armored Multipurpose Vehicle and the JLTV) in an earlier post today.

Click here to be taken to the INSIDE DEFENSE website --- they're a great read or here to follow Lee Hudson, one of the reporters that's been all over the subject.

Navy Fighter/Attack UAV request for proposal pushed back. Is the Navy UAV what the F-35 was suppose to be?

via USNI News.

The U.S. Navy has pushed back the release date again for a draft request for proposals (RfP) for its Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft program, service officials told USNI News.
“The UCLASS draft RfP is scheduled for release by the end of this quarter,” wrote Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) spokeswoman Jamie Cosgrove in a Tuesday statement to USNI News.
“The program team is exercising due diligence and great discipline in the formulation of the draft RFP and planned evaluation criteria to ensure the government’s objectives are best met. They are still on track to release a final air segment RFP for the technology development phase in third quarter FY [fiscal year] 14 and contract award in early FY15.”
According to sources familiar with the program, the Navy is revisiting the issue of performance requirements versus cost, which is likely to lead to yet another revision to the UCLASS’ specifications and draft RfP evaluation criteria.

Read the entire article here.

There is one other passage in this article that bears highlighting here though...

“The end state is an autonomous aircraft capable of precision strike in a contested environment, and it is expected to grow and expand its missions so that it is capable of extended range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, tanking, and maritime domain awareness.”

This airplane will be far more capable when fully developed than the F-35 could ever dream of being.  Quite honestly this whole delay and the author's point about some wanting the Navy to take a time out on the program smacks of the F-35 mafia playing games with the budget once again.

Everything must die so that the F-35 can live.  But in the end they won't win.

A cheaper, longer ranged, multi-multi-mission unmanned airplane will enter advanced development at the same time the F-35 is entering extremely limited service.  By that time a full picture of the real cost of the F-35 will be known and an alternative like the Navy is proposing will be too good to ignore.

Ironically the Navy UAV could end up being the "F-35 that the F-35 was suppose to be".  If it has exportable stealth, if it is affordable, and if it delivers on all the missions that the Navy foresees then the USAF will be forced to adopt it by Congress and allies will be clamoring for it.

The Navy UAV.

What the F-35 was suppose to be.

Armor. A little this and that....

Just a bit of armor stuff that I ran across or was suggested (thanks Ryan!) that I thought the readers here might find interesting.

Armor Art.
Ever heard of Peter Sarson?  If you've glanced at an Osprey-Vanguard and enjoyed the illustrations then you have (just didn't know it).  Some of his more unusual "period" work is below.

X-Weapon Light Tank.
Ryan suggested the T-92 as perhaps the best light tank never to make it into service.  I was aware of it but wondered what else was out there.  Then I ran into this beauty.  The X-Weapon Light Tank.  Pics and a bit of info below.

via Welsh Robot's Deviant Page...

A proposal for a new light tank developed by General Motors as part of the ASTRON project. The engineers at GM decided that the best form of protection was mobility (same concept with the Leopard I, AMX-30, and other similar tanks). The tank was estimated to weigh 26 tons and be powered by a 590 horsepower Continental AOI-119 5 engine. The wheels were sprung with half-width torsion bars meaning that the opposite suspension sets did not have to be offset from each other. Shock absorbers were placed on the first and last road wheels on each side. The tracks were to be 22" (56cm) wide single-pin steel tracks (mine are rubber pads to cut down on polys). Speeds were expected to be up to 50 mph (80 km/h) on level ground. 

The armor on the tank was only enough to protect against small arms fire and shell fragments as the designers believed that modern guns would make heavily armored vehicles useless. The turret front and sides were both protected with 29mm of welded homogeneous armor at 30°. The front hull was 19mm thick at 67°.

The X-Weapon was to be armed with a modified 90mm T208 smooth bore gun without stabilizers. It was mounted in a 3-man turret with a 85" (216cm) turret ring. The tank was also armed with 2 .50 caliber machine guns, one mounted coaxially to the left of the main gun with the other in the commander's cupola. The optics and FCS where to be the same as found in the M48 Patton tank. The turret was to be able to spin in a complete 360° circle in 8 seconds. 

The commander and gunner were stationed in the turret on the right side with the loader on the left. The driver was stationed in the front hull on the left side. All of the ammunition was stored below the turret ring in the hull. It is worth noting that General Motor's X-Weapon closely followed their work with the M18 and M41; both being fast tanks with minimal armor. 

The T101A, a proposed self-propelled gun mounting the same gun was also developed with this chassis. All sources and reference images were taken from Abrams: A History of the American Main Battle Tank by R.P. Hunnicutt (note his images weren't used, just the info..as usual photos are open source).

Uruguay receives M41C Light Tanks from Brazil. via Army Recognition.

via AR

Brazil still has a fleet of 150 M41, which have been replaced for frontline units by German Leopard main battle tanks.
The cost of the transfer for the 25 light tanks is around $150,000 and will be paid by the Brazilian government.
These M41C light tanks will be delivered to the Cavalry and Armoured Infantry units of the Army Uruguay to replace old M24 Chaffee.
The Light Tank M24 Chaffe was an American light tank used during the end of the World War II and in postwar conflicts including the Korean War and, with the French, in the War in Algeria and the First Indochina War. A total of 17 M24 Chaffe tanks are still in service with the armed forces of Uruguay.
Uruguay has also 22 M41UR armed with a 90 mm Cockerill cannon in place of the original 76mm light gun.
The M41C is a Brazilian upgrade of the standard M41 Walker Bulldog developed by United States after the World War II.
The latest version of the M41C is motorized with Brazilian build Saab-Scania DS-14A O4 eight cylinder diesel engine with modifications to the rear hull and electrical system. The transmission package is upgraded allowing the tank to run at a speed of 70 km/h. Night vision and a laser range finder is added to the gun sight. Additional spaced armour plates are added to the forward part of the hull, glacis plate and turret. Four smoke grenade dischargers were added to each side of the turret. The original 76 mm M32 gun is replaced by a 90 mm Ca 76/90 M32 BR3 gun with thermal sleeve and muzzle break made in Brazil.

Read it here and subscribe to AR.

The more I become familiar with some of the "old" armor, the more I wonder if simply recycling the designs with modern materials and weapons wouldn't solve some of todays issues.

A "modern" M41 built with today's hardware would be a formidable light tank.

It would be the perfect expeditionary/airborne tank and we could get that requirement off the table.

Even better?

The War Dept owned the designs so we could simply bid it out for production!

Conserve electricity Weds to help out Texas.

via CNN

(CNN) -- Mexico's government is trying to block the execution of a convicted cop killer in Texas this week, arguing that it would violate international law.
The case of Mexican citizen Edgar Tamayo Arias is the latest battle in a dispute over the rights of the foreign-born on American death rows. And U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said it could put Americans abroad at risk.
Tamayo, 46, was convicted in the 1994 murder of a Houston police officer, whom he shot three times in the back of the head, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
His attorneys are scheduled to present oral arguments Tuesday, calling for a preliminary injunction to stop the state's governor and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles from considering Tamayo's clemency petition until the process is "adequate and fair," read a statement from his team.
Mexico's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that going ahead with Arias' execution by injection, scheduled for Wednesday, would violate international law because Tamayo wasn't advised of his right to receive consular assistance.

Read it all here.

Amazing.

I'm hard on law enforcement, but at the same time it must be acknowledged that they do one helluva tough job.

This bastard needs to fry....in the America I visualize we'd go N. Korea and the only light visible during his execution would be in the prison where this guy is being executed.

Animals...regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, or sex need to be put down like the beasts they are.

This guy needs to die. 

ACV decision delayed till 2015. The most visible victim of the F-35.

Thanks for the note Lee!

via Inside Defense.

Navy and Marine Corps officials have reviewed the most recent version of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle feasibility study, and any decisions made will be tied to the fiscal year 2015 budget request, according to the Navy's top acquisition official.
The ACV team briefed senior leadership on the status of the group's efforts and the team continues to research and engage with industry and academia to develop requirements for the program. Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, called it a "great study" with "great results," he said. "Now we're at the decision point."
The team, which is located at Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA, briefed Navy and Marine Corps leadership on what is in the realm of the possible. However, Gen. John Paxton, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, said on Jan. 15 that the service is not at decision point, but is getting closer to it. "What we have committed to do is keep the ACV program alive in the current budget environment," he said.

This my friends is why I keep pounding on the F-35 like a old drum.

That one program is altering Marine Corps procurement in particular and Department of Defense programs in general.

Critics will state that the F-35 isn't causing delays and cancellations.

I say BULLSHIT!

The Amphibious Combat Vehicle, Marine Personnel Carrier, Ground Combat Vehicle, Advanced Armed Scout, Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle and I'm hearing rumblings that even the CH-53K are all victims of the biggest clusterfuck in US history.  Even worse?  Savage personnel cuts are also coming down the pike that will be used to fatten the stockholders' account at Lockheed Martin just to keep a questionable (at best) program going.

The F-35 is a venereal disease that is being passed around and is infecting every part of the Pentagon.  Strangely enough its affecting both personnel and equipment.

Remember this from 2011?  via Defense Tech.

“There are two answers to that, one is as Commandant of the Marine Corps’s answer which is Before I leave leave office four years from now … we’ll have a program of record, we’ll have steel, there will be a vehicle and I’ll be able to drive it,” Amos said responding to lawmakers questions during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. “I’m trying to pressurize industry, I’m trying to pressurize the acquisition folks, I want the word to get out. If we followed the standard acquisition timeline, which in some cases got us to where we are today, it’ll be 2024.”

Considering the track record of leadership, I am not surprised by another broken promise/lie.

The experiment failed.  An aviator is not fit to lead the United States Marine Corps.

Divas in boots. Your new US Army!

No comment on this one you can read the bullshit here.

Cross Decking Aircraft. To what purpose?

The US Navy is making a big deal of the fact that French Rafales and Navy Super Hornets operated from each others carriers recently.

Simple question.  To what purpose?  Can you imagine that a French carrier involved in combat operations are going to embark a US Navy Fighter Squadron?  How about a US carrier embarking a French Squadron?

Its a freaking show.

But the Navy aren't the only ones involved in silly publicity stunts made to impress the uninformed.

Take the Army and Marine Corps doing "partnership" missions.

I cringe at the thought of how many future enemies are being taught US tactics by our people.  Have you wondered how the bad guys in Iraq, Afghanistan (even Hezbollah against Israel) are able to pull off more and more complex attacks against our forces?  I'd wager that it has to do with us teaching them how its done.

I'm not impressed.

Mega Default in China? Shake off your normalcy bias.

via Forbes

On Friday, Chinese state media reported that China Credit Trust Co. warned investors that they may not be repaid when one of its wealth management products matures on January 31, the first day of the Year of the Horse. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sold the China Credit Trust product to its customers in inland Shanxi province. This bank, the world’s largest by assets, on Thursday suggested it will not compensate investors, stating in a phone interview with Reuters that “a situation completely does not exist in which ICBC will assume the main responsibility.”

This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the bubble that is economic globalization.

China is suffering a real estate, banking and industrial bubble that will make the 2009 crash look like a New Year's Eve party.

Its past time to shake off your normalcy bias.  When China catches a cold...and it will....the rest of the world ends up with bird flu.

Major Hat Tip to Modern Survival Blog for the links!

Marine Tanks. Where do we go in the future?

This is an issue that has me go in two different directions.  First, we should just go with a new build Marine Personnel Carrier, mount a large caliber gun on it (similar to but done much better than the Mobile Gun System Stryker) or We could simply say enough is enough...we can do without the added logistical burden of heavy armor....or we could keep the Abrams in service as is since its extremely formidable and lastly we could marry up with the Army and upgrade to the M1A2 TUSK or even Army Airborne and develop an Airborne Expeditionary Tank.  James Hasik asked the question....

Even the vehicle were not configured for parachuting, the purchase of even a battalion set of something like these would provide the Army a competitive expeditionary capability that the Marine Corps lacks. Companies of ASCODs CV90 tanks would be far more portable by air and sea those of Abrams or their kin. The Army is quite accustomed to working with Air Mobility Command and Military Sealift Command for moving its kit, and learning to get its light tanks on and off the Regular Navy’s amphibious ships would require rather less effort than mastering shipboard air operations. Note also that the Marines have deemphasized their tank companies of late: only eight companies remain in the active force, and another six in the reserves. For its reinforcing potential, an Army light tank initiative might actually be appreciated in the Corps. Conversely, the Marines themselves might look upon their relatively old M1A1 tanks—which the Army is removing from its inventory—and wonder whether a lighter tank would not be more appropriate for their organic units as well. But whether the Marines were moved by inter-service dynamics to move closer to or farther from the Army’s pattern, the effect could be beneficial. That whole 'Pacific Pivot’ almost demands it. 

Read his entire article here.

He touches on the other option that I've discussed before.  Pawning off the heavy armor tasks to the US Army and have them attach to our units when required.

The current Commandant would love this idea, but it takes away the in house "SHOCK TROOP" capability that has been a hallmark of Marine operations for over 200 years.

The future Commandant is gonna have alot on his plate.  A real deal decision on the F-35 is looming.  He will have to deal with real budgets, not fantasy projections.  What about the MPC, AAV Upgrade and the ACV?  What about the final, real deal end strength of the Marine Corps?  He'll also have to deal with Women in Combat Arms...not as a theoretical proposition but actually implementing a policy...without weakening Marine Combat Arms anymore than Amos already has.

Dealing with the issue of what we're going to do with Tanks might be the easiest issue the next Commandant deals with.

Lori follows Amos' Command Intent. She's crushing Marines.

The Pussification of the Marine Corps continues.  via Marine Corps Times.

“Even from afar,” Solis said, “it appears a clear and simple case of over-charging that badly needs correction. This case doesn’t set an example; it discourages and alienates every DI in the command.”
Solis, who served as judge advocate and military judge for more than 750 cases, said such action from a military judge is unheard of in his experience. In hearing about the case and reading Jones’ statements and letter, Solis said he also finds the trial forum for Bromery’s case inappropriate, the offense “clearly not meriting a federal felony conviction.”
Military judges almost always have more experience with the Uniform Code of Military Justice than the convening authority, and often more than the convening authority’s legal adviser, Solis said. Yet they have no authority to correct such apparent misjudgments if a case is sent to an inappropriate forum, he added.
“I applaud Lieutenant Colonel Jones’ actions,” Solis said. “Having had the courage to take the rare action he has, the judge makes the question simple: Will the [convening authority] have the grace, courage and good sense to correct his/her initial misjudgment and set aside the conviction in favor of minor administrative action?”

Read the entire story here, but wrap your fists first because it'll make you want to punch walls.

We have a few months left then Amos and his band of idiots will be shit canned to the dustbin of bad Marine Corps history.

On that day I will open a bottle, pour entirely too much of it into a double shot glass and celebrate our survival.

That son of a bitch and his merry band can't be gone soon enough.  Lori included.

J-31 pic via Chinese Military Review.

Tell me again that the F-35 is....well you know the rest!

On a different note, one thing has me a bit confused/mystified.  Why haven't the Chinese turned to doing anything with their armored vehicles?  If its about new designs then BAE, General Dynamics, Iveco, and the Russians have some stuff out that should get their attention.

So if they're not duplicating, designing or in general upgrading existing vehicles then why not?  Could that be the canary in the coal mine?

Build up your naval and air forces to beat down the door...and when we suddenly start seeing new armored designs entering service that's the clue we need that they're getting ready to strike?

I don't know but the lack of attention on their army is puzzling.

For all the rise of China talk that I engage in, we all need to remember what the Vietnamese did to them.  They thought they were ready -- a rising and dominant power -- only to be defeated handily by a determined and focused nation.

CSIS on China....

CSIS is one of the think tanks that I'm starting to tune into when it comes to the "conventional wisdom" regarding China.

Above you see a panel discussion on the ADIZ that China announced.  Quite honestly outside of former Senator Sam Nunn, I wasn't interested in what these people had to say.  Anthony Cordesman and Sam Nunn?  Must see TV.  These guys?  Not so much (why they always give a spot to a reporter is beyond me...many of those guys are less tuned in than I am).

Something else you might want to read is  "Chinese Military Modernization and Force Development" written by Cordesman.

J-20 high rez photo via Alert 5.

Tell me again that the F-35 will be good enough.

Really?

Seriously?

If you believe that, you're smoking crack.

Mythical Future. How would a modern day civil war look?

Nicky gave me this idea and I will expand on it in the future...

via OGLAF Comics (over 18)...could this be the thoughts of a future American President?

Question.  How would a modern day civil war play out?

Answer?
I have no idea.  I do know that the tables have turned in a massive way since the first one though.

Military.  The South, Midwest and many of the Rocky Mountain states houses the majority of our military units.  Quite honestly the only major units that exist outside of the "Red" states is the 1st MarDiv, 25th Inf Div, 10th Mtn Div and a number of ships stationed at San Diego.  The 2nd MarDiv, 82nd Abn Div, 1st Inf Div, 101st Abn (AAslt) Div, SOCOM and numerous other units (both AF and Navy) live and breath in the Red.

Resources.  Ditto.  Off shore oil, on land drilling, forestry, etc...are found primarily in the red states.

Industrial capacity.  The same.  The only major industries found in the blue states are finance (Wall Street) and to some extent movie making (Hollywood---but they're losing out as movies are going to cheaper locations in the US and Canada).  Boeing is in Washington State but has much of its manufacturing in middle America and Lockheed Martin (the people I love to hate because of the F-35) are in Texas.  Red wins again.

Food Production.  The same on steroids.  California has a robust agricultural industry but it pales in comparison to the rest of the red states.  Additionally beef, poultry, wheat and other grains are all in the red states.

Summation.  I'm just mudballing while waiting to watch the SeaHawks get throat punched by the 49ers.  Don't take this seriously.