AMX 50 100

A big French autoloader that started develop at the end of WW2.  It was an extremely modern design that never entered service.  Read about it here.

Contact! Ambush!

What do the Russians know?

Thinking about the crisis in Ukraine and I thought back to the Olympics.

The Russians intercepted/bugged/got into our diplomats communications.  That's where the "Fuck the EU" comes from.

Shortly after the Olympics are over, the Russians are on the move.  Additionally the street protests seemed to bloom out of nowhere.  The question must be asked.  What do the Russians know and did they learn anything from the diplomats comms that encouraged them to take the actions that they have?

PTS-4 Amphibious Cargo Vehicle

Thanks to Gunner for the info.

PTS-4

PTS-M

I am intrigued by this vehicle.  The Russians use it as a type of surrogate landing craft and ended up with a vehicle that is in some ways more capable than what the West is using.

Russian amphibious doctrine emphasizes raids or combined action when it comes to an assault.  They tend to use their Naval Infantry and Airborne forces to compliment/support each other to a greater degree than the US and even the British.

What will be interesting is to see whether the acquisition of the French Mistral LHD changes their normal operating procedure.  By that I mean over the horizon assaults aren't stressed and they tend to operate within sight of the beach with much more comfort than US forces.  Whether the LHD pushes them further out to sea and negates the utility of the PTS-4 and PTS-M remains to be seen.

Sidenote:  Shas recommends the Vityaz ATV for comparison sake.  Amazing.  But considering the fact that the US military is seriously looking at ops in the Arctic, it might be time to consider a similar vehicle.

Huffington Post reports that F-35's to be cut to 45; Aircraft Carrier sold...

Thanks Pietro for the link...

via HP.

The cuts in the spending review could not not lose heart, even on military expenditure. According to early rumors, it is important cuts: there is even talk to divest and sell Garibaldi Italian first aircraft carrier to enter service after the ban imposed by the peace treaties. And to cut spending for the purchase of F35 fighter jets, for which the government wants to halve the level inherited from the past government: 12 but not more than 6 billion to be spent over the course of 12 years. 90 but not more than 45 aircraft, with savings expected to be around half a billion a year.
The idea, then, is not to exit the Joint Strike Fighter , to which Italy contributes actively with Alenia Aermacchi (a Finmeccanica subsidiary in charge of producing the wings of the F35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and assemble). Rather, it is yet to revise downward the number of fighter jets to buy (which at the beginning had to be 131).

Notice the diplomatic wording?  They're not exiting the program, but simply cutting numbers.

More to come I'm sure.  On a sidenote, I have serious questions about a buyer for their light carrier.  I can't think of one country that would be interested in buying it.  MAYBE Brazil.  Maybe.  Perhaps Indonesia.  Either way its future lies in how capable a Helicopter Carrier it will be.

F-35 News. Navy to buy Growlers to protect industrial base...

Thanks for the heads up Andrew.

via Flight Global.

The US Navy has confirmed it wants to buy additional Boeing E/A-18G Growler aircraft – a move the service says will protect the nation’s industrial base and provide it with the electronic warfare capability it will need in the coming decades.
“I see a growing Growler need,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm Jonathan Greenert told lawmakers during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on 12 March. “We are at the minimum requirement as we know it.”
“Today we have the minimum numbers [of Growlers] in each squadron,” adds USN secretary Ray Mabus.
The navy, which did not immediately respond to a request for additional information, currently has five Growlers per squadron, Mabus says. “Looking in the future, we don’t think electronic attack is going to get any smaller,” he adds.
The comments come days after news that the USN is seeking to include 22 additional Growlers in its “unfunded” requirements request for fiscal year 2015. That document, which must be approved by military leaders, includes items that were not in the military’s FY2015 budget request, released earlier this month.
In his committee testimony, Greenert calls the request a “hedge and risk-reduction” effort, adding that the navy is “very mindful of the industrial base”.
The US government is also “working on things like foreign military sales to keep that [Boeing] line in business”, Greenert adds.

Read the article here.

The big news?  Mabus is onboard with the Navy plan.

The F-35 cabal is fracturing.  Additionally it appears that Greenert's position is hardening.  He is saying plainly now that he is seeking foreign sales to keep the line open.

I read that to mean that additional buys of Super Hornets are being considered and he wants partners in the program to make that possible.  All of this is a direct attack on the F-35 program.

The real question now is this.

If the Navy is successful and I believe budget reality will see more Super Hornets and the cancellation of the C model, then what does the USMC do?  The B will not get cheaper, its obvious that the SecNav is "evolving" on the reality that is the F-35 so what is the future of the plane in the Dept of Navy?

BOBR Armored Recon Car...

I was doing an updated list of possible candidates to replace the LARC-V and of course the AMZ Hippopotamus came up.  But much to my surprise the Hippo has a little brother, the BOBR.

Information on this interesting light weight, high speed armored recon car can be found at Army Recognition and Defense24.pl (translator required).

F-35. More on those Italian cuts...

Thanks for the link Pietro!

via ilsole24ore.com

The cut that the government Renzi could bring to the program by reducing to 45 F-35s would represent a compromise that would ensure savings and would maintain the cooperation with Washington while still allowing the Air Force to equip two groups of bombers and the Navy has 15 aircraft short takeoff and vertical landing version of the F-35B to be loaded on the aircraft carrier Cavour. These are the only F-35 really essential for Italy since there are no other aircraft with similar characteristics to replace the old Harrier.

A reduction to 45.

That would be the opening that the other allies are looking for to reduce their purchases.

This will ACCELERATE the death spiral the airplane is already in, and with the Senate set to fall back into Republican hands---along with a resurgent Tea Party led by Rand Paul---we can expect the program to face further cuts here at home.

The craziest thing about all this?

The Pentagon has mortgaged the future of the US Military on the belief that all must be sold to save the F-35.

What happens when they've wrecked the military to pay for an airplane that in the end isn't bought. 

Ukrainian forces move toward Russian border.

First...a couple of quotes from "The Hunt For Red October" that seem applicable...

"This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it."

&

"Ruskies don't take a dump without a plan, son".

via Russan Times.

Ukrainian heavy military equipment, including armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles are heading towards the Russian border, while the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk are protesting the entry of Ukrainian military hardware.

When you have two opposing military forces in close proximity, bad things can happen.  One pissed off Patrol Leader, Company Commander, Battery Commander etc...can start festivities.  Those in power are not capable of properly dealing with this situation.

As critical as I've been of the administration approach, its become apparent that they have been operating behind the Russians decision cycle since the beginning...and they haven't been able to catch up.

Sanctions won't work.  Europe is too tied and too dependent on corrupt Russian money and natural gas.  Additionally it will be the first real deal dismantling of the globalization scheme.

The missing airliner is opera.  Tragic, and heartbreaking but opera none-the-less.  The Ukraine situation is history.  Course changing history.

BTR-82A closeup via English Russia...

Entire photo essay here.

Russian Naval Infantry conducting landing ops via English Russia

Check out the entire photo essay here....

The Russians are getting their new Amphibious Infantry Vehicle into service rather quickly.  But despite the big fast LCAC, the interesting BTR-82A or other vehicles, ships and airplanes in Russian service the one that I think the Marine Corps/Navy would best copy is this tracked landing craft...

A heavy duty tracked vehicle designed to carry cargo from ship to the front lines is exactly what we're missing. No need to transfer cargo from landing craft over to 7-ton trucks...just straight to those who need it.  If not for that then it would make a fantastic LARC-V replacement.

Breaking! Italian F-35 order to be further reduced!

Pietro Nurra is reporting that the Italian Prime Minister and Defense Minister are stating that the F-35 order will be further reduced.

This comes on the heels of a "non" order of F-35's by the Brits, continued cold feet by the Canadians and everyone else looking on warily.

More info soon.

Tom Ricks takes aim at The Basic School and hits HQMC...

Thanks for the link Chaos56! 

via Foreign Policy

Under Todd, there have been some ambitious and interesting changes made in NCO professionalization. But there has also been a maniacal focus on garrison stuff, and a loss of focus on tactical/professional preparation of lieutenants. If you PT on your own, green-on-green only; if I catch windows open in the BOQ, I will summarily fire the Co. commander (no shit, that actually happened). Captains in the bullpen will be used as a labor force for stuff like painting rocks. That last one has become symbolic of the madness there -- painting rocks is something we did at the worst commands in the '90s because it was easier to make your garrison area look nice than come up with a creative, challenging training plan that prepares Marines for operational and life challenges.

Read the entire article here.

I'm surprised.  I'm surprised that someone didn't throw his bars at whoever ordered rocks to be painted so hard that they hit whoever in the face and came out his ass!

Ricks took a swing at TBS but I think he's pointing at a problem that is Marine Corps wide and comes from the top.

I hope that Ricks follows up on this and goes straight to Amos to get his views on things.  Amos is talking so instead of the small ball he gets from reporters that don't know the in's and out's of the Marine Corps, he needs to get some hard balls from someone who does.

US Marines at Cold Response 14...Photos by Sgt. Tatum Vayavananda

An LAV-25, the Marine Corps’ flagship eight-wheeled amphibious assault vehicle, sits above the small Norwegian town of Soreisa during Cold Response 14. Cold Response 14 brings together nearly 16,000 troops from 16 countries to train high-intensity operations in the unique climate of northern Norway, above the Arctic Circle.

Uh what the fuck over?

Is this just a Sgt that needs to be educated in the proper nomenclature of Marine Corps armored vehicles or is this a hint at a MUCH diminished standard when it comes to amphibious assault vehicles?

On a different note, do you see how much that green sticks out in the arctic environment?  We've gone to Coyote Brown as a "common" color for all uniform accessories (782 gear), would it work for vehicles too? 

ATF declares war on gun owners...

Read the story about the goose stepping trolls and how they're attacking Ares Armor here.

A few things...

1.  Ares Armor got a restraining order yesterday, yet ATF does a raid today.  That means that they used a national security rationale to get the restraining order overturned.  Expect Ares Armor to be called everything but a child of God.  '

2.  They want the names of people that bought 80 percent lowers.  I fully expected a crack down but not like this.  They went from zero to Mach 12 in one step.  I believe they're trying to help out Connecticut State Police and I expect this info to be used there first.  Don't doubt that it won't spread to the other states that are enslaved though.  Confiscation is coming.

3.  If you're a shit talker and a person that yells "come and get them" from the roof tops then you're about to get your chance.

4.  I've been in a middling position with regards to my feelings on law enforcement.  Its a tough job and God bless them.  But its also obvious that while they smile and take some of the same training classes as military and civilians they are the ENEMY.  They are the fist of the state and the state is corrupt.

Last but not least if you don't subscribe go over to Nutn Fancy Youtube page to listen to his latest on this subject.  The owner of Ares Armor is interviewed and it'll answer many questions for you.

You don't have to wait for shots to be fired like at Waco or Ruby Ridge.  Understand the obvious.  ATF has declared war on gun owners.

"NO ONE RULES IF NO ONE OBEYS"

Finmeccanica SpA pics of AgustaWestland: AW609

This program must be picking up speed behind the scenes.  Finmeccanica is posting pics of this plane on its Flickr site.

Regardless.  Bell is going to regret letting this one slip away.  I can see the AW609 being used by Homeland Security, the US Coast Guard, FBI and even some militarized versions being put into service by SOCOM, the 160th and even more foreign militaries than the MV-22 could even dream of.

The AW609 hits the sweet spot.  Big enough for most utility missions, small enough to be weaponized and probably much less expensive than its bigger brother.

Yeah.  Its taking a looooong time to get it up but it'll probably be worth it.

Stealth warships. Separating fact from fiction

Navy Matters has a discussion going on this morning with regards to what features are essential for a ship that will operate independently.  One of the requirements that Navy Matters put forward was for the design to be stealthy.
That gave me pause.  In my mind there is only one stealth ship in service today.  The Visby.

Visby

You don't have to be a naval engineer or a "stealth scientist" (is that an actual job?) to know that this ship took stealth seriously.  I'm not so sure that same care was taken with other so called stealth ships.

DDG-1000

Above you see the DDG-1000.  Quite honestly it comes closest to being a stealth ship than the others (excluding the Visby) in service.  The UK's Type 45?  Seriously?  The beast has a rotating billboard at the top of the ship!  Even the DDG-1000 has a superstructure that is as tall as a small building, is as flat as a pancake and will spike every radar within range.  I'll dig into this further but I'm leaning in the direction that ultimate stealth for warships is achievable but not worth the costs.  

Sea Shadow

OV-10B Bronco Demonstration Team...

OV-10B Bronco Demonstration Team.

Great idea, beautiful aircraft, and nicely done.  Check out there website here.

The Few, The Proud, The Muddy---Mud Run in Moscow, Idaho...

This is the first of probably monthly reminders (this is your heads up) of a great group of guys putting on a helluva event this September.

A buddy of mine named Ted runs a group called the Marines Of The Palouse and they're putting on a Mud Run. So if your cardio is lacking (I'll only ask about your cardio since I know you've been pounding steel), get it together and put this on your list of trips to make and courses to run.

More info later...oh and check out their website, send them an e-mail and lets make this thing a success!