Commando Select trialled with CMI Defense 90mm Turret.

via Defesa Global.

CMI Defence of Belgium has trialed its 90 mm Cockerill CSE 90LP weapon system in Portugal mounted on a Textron Land & Marine Systems COMMANDO Select high-mobility 4×4 protected vehicle. The trials and demonstrations were held in first half of January 2014.
Comprehensive numbers of 90 mm ammunition were fired mainly from Mecar, including HEAT-T, HESH-T and HE-T rounds. The gun is also capable to fire APFSDS-T, canister and SMK-WP-T rounds, as well as 14.5 mm or 20 mm sub-calibre devices training purposes.

I think CMI is onto something here.

I have never been convinced that wheeled vehicles could carry 105mm and larger guns effectively.  90mm seems to be the sweet spot, although I have heard that the Israeli 76mm hypervelocity gun was a real deal tank killer.

But back on task.  CMI is working with everyone that makes vehicles to get their products out there.  Have Russian gear?  No problem...

A quick easy upgrade that adds tons of firepower relatively cheaply?  I can see that.

Oh and it also appears that Textron is not giving the US Army an excuse for not giving its Airborne Forces mobile firepower.

Shredding the Army via American Mercenary.

Have you been keeping up with the proposed cuts in the Army?  I have and with good reason.  Combat power.  Unless you're the most silly think tank member or part of the airpower can do it all mafia, you're aware that wars are decided by young men standing on, and owning real estate.

You can't do that from the air.

Additionally I'm a Marine Corps snob.  The Marine Corps is a shock force.  A rapid response force.  Even a crisis response force if you want to use the latest buzz words...but it isn't an Army.  So to keep the Marine Corps "pure" we need the Army to do the jobs that the Marine Corps isn't designed or optimized to perform.

So I read the latest by American Mercenary with alarm.

The Army is getting shredded.  Raped.  Destroyed.  Whatever you call it it ain't good.  Check out his article here, and understand the drama.  Combat power is being cut...and Ukraine proves one thing.  We don't live on a safer planet.  A weaker Army means even fewer options for decision makers and did you notice that the action in that country involved 99% ground forces?  An air centric defense is a fools thinking.  

Australia's amphibious capability coming together quietly.

Two stories of interest regarding work that is being done with Australia's amphibious capability.

The first is Australia putting the Canberra to sea for sea trials.  In hindsight its been a rather quick process.  The construction went smoothly (from an outside look) and the ship will add much needed capability.

The second story is about Australia sending some of its sailors to the LCM-1E school in Spain.  The LCM-1E is quickly becoming the world standard when it comes to landing craft.  Take the basic design and upsize it and I'd be happy to call it an LCU(R) candidate.  Even in its original design it brings value.

Aircraft are cool, but if you're going to stay for any length of time on the beach you're crossing then you need to bring in heavy supplies by boat/landing craft.

But back on topic.  Japan is getting headlines for its move to create a Marine Corps type outfit, but Australia recognized the need first and is well on its way to making the dream a reality.

F-35. Buying broken jets....

Question.

Would you buy a brand spanking new car that you knew would have to be torn apart and have parts replaced on it right after leaving the show room?

I wouldn't but thats what the JSF Program Office is doing.  Check this out from AOL...

On the cracked bulkheads found during ground lifecycle testing of the F-35Bs — the Marine aircraft –Bogdan said “his biggest worry” about them is that there are planes on the production line due to receive the bulkhead models that cracked. He said he has “challenged Lockheed to figure out a way to get that fix done as quickly as possible” so he doesn’t have to buy jets and fix them later on.

That's the biggest "oh shit" statement mixed with full on "bullshit" alert I've heard in a long time.

The son of a bitch Bogdan is basically telling us that he's buying (yep, I'm borrowing ELP's term here) mistake jets that he knows we'll have to fix later.

Why am I putting this in past tense?  Because the only way he could prevent those jets from having to be torn apart and reassembled to correct this deficiency is if he halted F-35 production today.

So consider this another one of those under reported black eyes for the F-35 program.

Sidenote:  Just like Romney was right about Russia...APA, Sweetman, ELP and Goon were right about the F-35.  They're being proven right everyday yet many refuse to see the obvious.

Meet your new military....

Thanks to Jim for sending me the vid link!

This is your new military.

As for me?

Proudly old skool.

Sidenote:  How do you maintain good order and discipline yet still support this type of activity?  How do you maintain it when a newly identified minority is identified as such based solely on sexual practices?  Whether or not you support this policy, one thing is certain.  The ramifications on the force is yet to be realized.

Connecticut is a flashpoint? Where have I been?

I saw this vid and then went back through my blog roll.

Damn!

Bad winds are blowing up North!  This should prove interesting.  They sent out confiscation notices?  Wow.  I hope they're ready for the pushback.

I personally think Yeager is understating the danger here.  All it will take is a dozen or so people out of even a million to start some savage fireworks...and I bet there are more than a dozen people that will NOT give up their firearms.

This is gonna get interesting in a VERY bad way.

M9 Armored Combat Earthmover (ACE) vid by Cpl. Austin Long

Interesting.

Combat Engineers have so focused on the "sapper" mission that they're going to be in a hurt locker if they have to operate as part of a mechanized unit in the attack.  Personally I'm still seeing a gap in capabilities.  The old skool CEV provided offensive and defensive punch that is lacking.  More on that later.

22nd MEU trains with Portuguese, Spanish Marines for PHIBLEX 2014 pics by Sgt. Austin Hazard

Health. Your number one resource.

Geez.  This flu virus is a bear.  This guy is going to be missing almost 4 months of work because of the flu?  Who knew!    The problem is that there is something worse lurking inside that pestilence factory known as China that goes by the name H7N9 that is an outright killer.

Take care of yourself people.  

If you haven't been working out.  Start.  

If you haven't been eating right.  Start.

If you haven't been getting enough sleep.  Start.

Do what you know needs to be done.  Today.

Quick note. The Middle East is about to boil.

It just dawned on me.

Russia is the lynchpin of Obama's Middle East foreign policy.  Syria?  Iran?  Israel?  The entire Middle East policy will collapse (as its currently constructed) without Russian cooperation.

The way things are headed, Syria will receive increased arms from Russia, that means that the rebels will need increased assistance which will mean even more refugees in Jordan and Turkey...Jordan could collapse...Turkey could see increased attacks from Kurdish forces.  You can stick a fork in getting the rest of those Chemical Weapons out of Syria too.

Iran?  Forget about it.  Any thought that they had of stopping nuclear enrichment is a done deal (if they actually considered it in the first place).  So that means that the dreaded fight between Iran and Israel is back on.  Israel will strike because they no longer trust this administration.  That means Iraq will be pulled into the fray because it will be the an "overflight" country.

If they do nothing Iran will screw with them.  If they attempt to stop Israel, the Israeli's will make dog food out of them.  Iraq is done.

Oh and Israel.  They're between a rock and a hard place.  The only thing that unites the Arab world is hatred of Israel.  They had a grace period where the peaceniks were ascendant.  Those days are over.  Its back to a full wartime footing for that state.

The Middle East is about to become a cesspool.  Thanks Mr. President.

AAV Upgrade Path.

Thanks to Jonathan for finding this!  Good stuff.

  12_2013ATIP_AAV

This is the latest on the AAV Upgrade Path.

To call this insufficient would be an understatement.  Oh and another reminder of what our Marines are dealing with.  Below you see another pic of the AAV's interior.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to crunch numbers to let even the dumbest politician realize that the smallest IED encountered in Afghanistan would cause serious casualties if an AAV hit it during a training or partnership exercise in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, etc....

We need to do better.

AFSB and SPMAGTF-CR. A match made in hell.

via Marine Corps Times

“Imagine something with persistence, with a flight deck, with the ability to move a large amount of capacity on and off for [humanitarian assistance and disaster relief], for counter-terrorism, counter-piracy, for what some call the new normal in protection,” Greenert said. “Being able to respond to our embassies in North Africa, off the coast of Yemen, or actually up and around the Arabian Gulf.”
These afloat forward staging bases are capable of holding MV-22s and the range of Marine Corps helicopters, and with some extensions to the flight deck could accommodate the F-35, he said. Greenert said the MLPs were designed to deploy alongside other ships in an auxiliary capacity, and could ideally assist in missions for which the Navy’s fleet of amphibious ships, which support the Corps’ seven Marine expeditionary units, are in high demand.
“They’re not amphib ships. They’re not replacing amphibs,” he said. “But these kind of ships can take the pressure off and help supplement the missions that are out there today that we’re having to use our amphibs for. And these ships can do those kinds of missions.”

Make no mistake about it.

This is a terrible idea.  But before I dig into this, consider the sleeves situation.  The Commandant reversed his decision on rolled sleeves for one reason and one reason only.  Legacy.  The next Commandant would have come in and the first thing he would have done is to reinstate rolling sleeves.  That would be part one of rolling back the Amos legacy.  Amos was just smart enough to take it off the table.

Now to the SPMAGTF-CR and the AFSB.

Its another legacy builder that Greenert is trying to help Amos with that will be rolled back by the next Commandant.

The main problem with this idea is that it starts looking a whole lot like an MEU.  Its not as good as an MEU, can't do the work of an MEU and has MUCH less combat power than an MEU.

So why did Amos attempt to reinvent the MEU?  One reason.  To justify the MV-22 that is getting hard second looks around the Corps because it costs so damn much.

NOTE:  Marine Corps Times has the story behind a paywall with a twist.  If you aren't subscribed you can wait, watch an advertisement and be brought to the story.  Good on Marine Corps Times.  Subscribe if you can, be patient if you can't.

F-35. The Navy's plan is beginning to crystallize.

via Chicago Tribune.

He said the Navy and the Pentagon's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office were "very seriously" studying the need for more electronic attack capability, and Boeing could eventually land 50 to 100 more Growler orders.

&

But others say the Navy remains skeptical about the carrier variant of the F-35, which is due to start sea trials this summer. The Navy plans to defer orders for four F-35s in fiscal 2015, and a total of 33 jets over the five-year planning period that runs through fiscal 2019, said one source familiar with the plans.

Yep.

This issue is starting to crystallize.  How does the Navy convince the US Congress that it needs to maintain F-18 production?

You go after the holy grail.  You talk electronic warfare!

That bugaboo that is only discussed in closed sessions...that expertise that the USAF long abandoned but has been proven necessary in every air campaign...

And the fact that electronic warfare has evolved into electronic attack is sauce for the goose.

The Navy is looking to bail and the EA-18G is the plane that will give them the soft landing they're looking for.

Ukraine. Where are we now?

I've been watching the issues in Crimea/Ukraine and suffice it to say I'm not impressed.

1.  The United States has been proven to be impotent.

2.  The EU, UK and NATO has been proven to be impotent.

3.  This action is accomplished.  Anything the US/UK/EU does from this point on is meaningless.  The deed is done.

4.  The Chinese are taking notes and will act.  The same issues that prevent our aiding the Ukraine apply to Taiwan.  I expected them to take some of the smaller islands first.  I now think thats wrong.  I expect a push on Taiwan to occur first and then a move on the disputed islands.

It is enough to say that US foreign policy is in shambles...even more worrying?  The most powerful nation on this planet is being led by a group of naive neophytes.

About my banner image....

I've been getting tons of questions about where I got my banner image.  Well here ya go.  Check out these sites for some pretty cool Military SciFi.

Mecha and More...

Fuck yeah starships....

Coolvibe...

J-20 refined. via Alert 5.

Note:  If you're not subscribed to Alert 5 then you're missing out.  Whoever runs that shop is always quick on the trigger with developments in the Chinese Aviation world.  Check him out.

This plane is cleaning up nicely.  It appears that they like the USAF color scheme too.

This is the HALO movie we were promised but never got....

It would have been glorious.  Hopefully the guy (he also made District 9) will get back to it....

Brazilian Army illustrates USMC incompetence.

via Forcas Terrestres

The first regular unit of the Brazilian Army will soon receive the first armored Guarani locally produced by Iveco Latin America.
In mid-March the 33rd Motorized Infantry Battalion, the 15th Infantry Brigade Mechanized, located in the city of Cascavel (Paraná), should receive 13 vehicles VBTP-MR (Vehicle Armored Personnel Carrier, Medium on Wheels) Guarani, informed the manager the program group IHS Jane's.
The vehicles are part of an initial batch consists of 86 units, signed by the Department of Science and Technology in August 2012.

I'm just the messenger don't hate me....but consider this.  The Brazilian's put forward a set of requirements.  Additionally they demanded that production take place in their country and that they would have rights to vehicle developed.

All that and Iveco Defense stepped up to the plate, pitched their vehicle, setup production facilities and now they're about to deliver vehicles to frontline units.

Meanwhile the USMC conducted a study of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle for two years and still don't know what they want.

Its pathetic.

Indecisiveness is not an admirable leadership trait, yet thats all we see coming out of HQMC.

We need new leadership. 

Our treaty with Ukraine. Shit just got real.

Massive thanks to Max Headroom for this link!

via the Telegraph

*The agreement sees signatories promise to protect Ukraine's borders
*Signed by Bill Clinton, John Major, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma in 1994
Ukrainian parliament has now reached out directly to all the countries who signed the treaty
*The US and Britain have both made 'crisis calls' to President Putin to warn him to respect territorial boundaries
NATO also asked Russia not to take action that could escalate tension,
*However Moscow responded by telling the organization to 'refrain' from provocative statements on Ukraine and respect its 'non-bloc' status

Shit just got real. Read it all here.

Ukraine is saying that it has been invaded (Crimea) and that the treaty is activated.

If the Obama Administration can't legalize its way out of this and IF they don't do anything and IF Putin pushes the issue, then the reputation of this country is garbage until Obama leaves office (assuming that it isn't already).

I thought Syria was embarrassing but this has just become the most serious foreign policy test of the administration.

Putin, Ukraine & the West....

A few things about the latest flare up...this time in the Ukraine...

1.  Putin.  Love him or hate him, one thing is certain.  He stands by his friends and is seeing Russia rise.  They might be viewed as a counterweight to the US and the EU but they are predictable.  A two year old could have told you what Putin's reaction.  He's predictable...That makes him even more dangerous.  He's a pro and will not miscalculate.

2.  Crimea is all but back in Russian hands.  Ukraine can play the game if they want but its obvious that Crimea is again a Russian holding.

3.  The Obama foreign policy is a joke.  Happy, happy, joy, joy doesn't play on the world stage.  At every turn the State Dept seems to be caught flat footed and behind the power curve.

4.  The Obama defense establishment is a joke.  We entered a phase where the DoD began taking the lead when it came to international diplomacy with the Bush Jr administration.  Fast forward to today and  we hear nothing from the DoD warning the Russians to back off.  We appear impotent to the world.

US foreign and defense policy has been exposed as the emasculated shell it once was.

We can't do shit about whats going on and everyone knows it.  Trust me on this.  The Chinese are watching and they are not impressed.

I've talked about it but never believed that it would happen in my lifetime.  The military decline of the US appears to be occurring right before our eyes.