US and China...inching toward a miscalculation...

via CNBC News.

"This is a new dynamic," said a former Pentagon official familiar with the operation. "The message is, 'we know what you are doing, your actions will have consequences and that we have the capacity and the will and we are here'."
More extensive use of surveillance aircraft in the region could be coupled with a greater willingness to publicise images or videos of Chinese maritime activity. Some US officials believe the Chinese might be given pause for thought if images of their vessels harassing Vietnamese of Filipino fisherman were to be broadcast.
The US military's Hawaii-based Pacific command has also been asked to co-ordinate the development of a regional system of maritime information, which would allow governments in the western Pacific detailed information about the location of vessels in the region. Several governments say they have been caught unawares by the surprise appearance of Chinese ships.
The US has supplied the Philippines, Japan and other countries in the region with improved radar equipment and other monitoring systems and is now looking for ways to build this information into a broader regional network that shares the data.
The Pentagon has also been working on plans for calculated shows of force, such as the flight of B-52s over the East China Sea last year after China declared an exclusive air defence zone over the area. The potential options involve sending naval vessels close to disputed areas.

Anytime you have warships in close proximity...hell any weapons of war....you face the issue of a miscalculation, or the interpretation of a mistake being seen as an act of war.

I don't know of a better way to handle the Chinese but it might be less risky to simply reverse the defense cuts that are underway.

As things currently stand, "this business will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it". 

Top Expeditionary/Infantry Support Tanks....

Overview:

This is my long overdue list of what I would consider ideal expeditionary/infantry support tanks.  Expeditionary is self explanatory.  The ease of transport...whether by air, sea, rail, truck or self deployment (in the proper tactical/strategic environment).  Infantry support is the ability of the squad, platoon or company commander to communicate with the armor crew and for them to be able to put down the types of fires that will facilitate the accomplishment of the objective.

Desired characteristics:

Mobility - As far as mobility is concerned, I'm agnostic when it comes to the wheels versus tracks debate.  I will state at the outset however that the US Army has found that their Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles DO NOT have the same level of mobility as their tracked counterparts.  Having said that, wheels do provide some advantages.  Lower maintenance and operating costs.  Ability to travel at high speed over roadways used by civilian vehicles etc...

Firepower - This is an old fashioned infantry support tank.  Heavy armor will be engaged by attached infantry using TOW, Javelin, artillery (at extended range preferably using both cannon, precision shells and MLRS) and finally with rotary/fixed wing aircraft.

Weight - Putting a weight limit on this vehicle is essential for it to fulfill its expeditionary role.  We are sacrificing armor for speed and firepower.  This will not be a frontline vehicle but will be deployed just behind it.  Supporting infantry in the assault and the defense, blasting fortifications, engaging enemy IFVs...those are the tasks.  But to do that it has to be there.  40 tons is the max weight limit that the USAF will waive to do LAPPES or a heavy air drop (NOTE:  this vehicle if pursued would be used by both the USMC and 82nd Airborne so being airborne capable is a must....additionally I could even MARSOC and Army Rangers to clamor for it once it enters service).

My selections.

The list is five to one.  It could be expanded but that would just cloud the issue.  Additionally the self imposed weight limit of 40 tons rules out purpose built tanks currently in service.  That leaves us with Infantry Fighting Vehicles that mount weapons of between 75mm to 120mm.  It should also be noted that the concept will probably be pushed more by budgets than operational necessity.  With manufacturers offering turrets that mount large caliber guns that can be mounted on IFVs currently in service, it will be too tempting to standardize combat fleets to one vehicle that fulfills a variety of roles.

Number 5.  Textron Commando Select w/90mm Turret 

Number 4.  Japanese Maneuver Combat Vehicle

Number 3.  Polish PL-01

Number 2.  B1 Centauro

Number 1.  CV90-120

You could argue against any of these choices...But the overall trend is clear.  IFV based infantry support tanks are the wave of the future.  I personally feel that the trend is based more on budgets and the desire to standardize on one vehicle that fulfills a variety of roles, thereby reducing operating and training costs more than any operational need.

Scorpion Jet arrives at the Royal International Air Tattoo...

Thumbs up from Chief Pilot Dan Hinson as ‪#‎ScorpionJet‬ arrives at Royal International Air Tattoo. Thank to Andrew Evans for the amazing photos!  (photos are via Textron Facebook Page).

Grunts are taking back the Marine Corps!

via Marine Corps Times...

A Marine two-star has been tapped to receive a third star and serve as the next top adviser to the commandant, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. James Laster was nominated to become director of Marine Corps Staff, based at the Pentagon in Washington. Pending congressional approval, Laster will serve as the top assistant and adviser to Gen. Joseph Dunford, who has been nominated to become the 36th commandant of the Marine Corps.

Of concern is a whole bunch of staff work in the latter part of his career but I guess that is to be expected.

The other thing that gives me concern is that he's spent so much time in SOCOM.

Having said all that he does have an Infantry background and that is nothing but good in my opinion.  Did you realize that over the past 4 years the top 3 Marines and many of those surrounding them came from the wing?

This is a much needed rebalancing.

Hagel has fucked alot of things up but this has his fingerprints all over it...he was grunt, he respects other grunts and even though he's as liberal as a 2 dollar hooker on bourbon street he also...just maybe...wants to see the Marine Corps return to its glory.

Sidenote:  In some swings around the internet I believe the one video that made people sit up and say what is going on with the Marine Corps is that of the Marines singing "frozen"....that's the one that made people say what the fuck.

Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) in testing...

Note:  Second Line of Defense Blog had these pictures.  To be honest I'm a bit surprised...I have an alert setup to get information on anything new happening with the MLP and didn't get a blurb....and my alerts are pretty good.  Additionally I searched DVIDS for these pics and even did a Google search and found nothing.  What does this tell me?  First that the services have so many websites, so many ways of dispersing information that it has become literally impossible to keep up with everything...thats why I love tips from readers.  Second, it kinda looks like the USMC is trying to claw back the MLP after basically gifting them to SOCOM for the AFSB mission.  This will get interesting.

Scorpion Jet - Overview

F-35 News. Danger Will Robinson, Danger!

Thanks for the article Peter...



via Foreign Policy...

Burying bad news before a long holiday weekend, the Pentagon announced just before 9 p.m. on July 3 that the entire F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet was being grounded after a June 23 runway fire at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
The grounding could not have come at a worse time, especially for the Marine Corps, which had lots of splashy events planned this month for its variant of the next-generation plane, whose costs have soared to an estimated $112 million per aircraft.
Effectively saying that the most expensive warplane in American history is too dangerous to fly is a huge public relations blow for the Pentagon, which has been under fire for years for allowing the plane's costs to increase even as its delivery time continued to slide right. The plane's prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, could also take a hit to its bottom line if the F-35 isn't cleared to fly to the United Kingdom for a pair of high-profile international air shows packed with potential customers. One thing the grounding won't do, however, is derail the F-35, a juggernaut of a program that apparently has enough political top cover to withstand any storm.

The article itself is unremarkable...

What is remarkable is that the major news outlets and "opinion-shapers" are all coalescing around the idea that the F-35 isn't worth the cost.

That is the new danger for the F-35.

Spain’s Tank Program Squeezes Defense Budget

Thanks for the article Jonathan...

via Bloomberg.

Spain’s 30 billion-euro ($41 billion) plan to buy heavy armament, including Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH’s Leopard battle tanks, will put the country’s defense budget under pressure, according to a report from opposition party UPyD.
The payments on 19 programs for purchasing military equipment will double from almost 1 billion euros per year in 2014 and 2015, to as much as 2.1 billion euros in 2020, UPyD said in a report citing data from the Defense Ministry. That compares with an annual defense budget of 9 billion euros per year, the report said.
Defense Minister Pedro Morenes said last year he’d reached a deal with companies including Airbus Group NV (AIR), BAE Systems Plc (BA/) and Finmeccanica SpA (FNC) to extend the time frame for payments from 2025 till 2030, reducing the annual bill in the initial years while increasing the total cost. Spain is under scrutiny from the European Union’s Excessive Deficit Procedure, reducing the government’s room for maneuver on spending.
The Defense Ministry’s finances “face a deterioration due to the coming payments,” Irene Lozano, UPyD’s spokeswoman on the Spanish Parliament’s Defense Committee, said in an interview today. “We may end up with an ultramodern army but with little budget for training.”
A spokesman at the Defense Ministry in Madrid didn’t provide a comment when contacted by Bloomberg.
While most of the defense spending was agreed between 1997 and 2004, more than 22 billion euros, out of 29.5 billion euros, was still due to be paid at the end of 2013, according to the report written by Lozano and defense industry analyst Bernardo Navazo.
Spain spends 1 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on defense, according to European Defense Agency data. That compares with 1.9 percent in France and 2.3 percent in the U.K.

I don't quite know what to make of this.

I thought Spain already had a full inventory of Leopard Tanks.  They're being given away so why would this need to pressure their budget?

Regardless, don't laugh.  Spain is simply the canary in the coal mine.

Remember this phrase by Irene Lozano...

“We may end up with an ultramodern army but with little budget for training.”

I think we will see that spread to other countries soon. 

Terrorists now have combat swimmers?

This is getting disturbing.

Terrorists now have combat swimmers?

Worse, from what I saw on the vid it looks like they have rebreathers!

Where are they getting this fabulous kit from?

Quarantine in effect for 120 illegal immigrants in border crisis.

Thanks Erik for the link...

via Mail Online.

Border guards in Texas are on high alert after two child immigrants were confirmed to have swine flu following their interception trying to cross the border from Mexico.
The minors were diagnosed with the highly-contagious H1N1 virus on Friday at two separate military detention facilities in Brownsville, Texas.
Both centres, at Brownsville and nearby Fort Brown, were today on lockdown as border officials scrambled to contain a potential outbreak, placing some 120 people who came in contact with the juveniles in isolation.
It comes days after Texas officials renewed demands that the federal government take further steps to secure the border as waves of illegal immigrants are turning military bases into makeshift settlements.

Read the article here.

One thing becomes clear.

Now we understand why there is a gag order on the Border Patrol.

Iraqi Army has lost 5 M1A1 MBTs...

via Janes..

The armour on five of Iraq's M1A1 Abrams tanks was penetrated by anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and six helicopters were shot down between 1 January and the end of May, The New York Times quoted an unnamed US official as saying on 13 June.
The official said 28 Iraqi Army Abrams had been damaged in fighting with militants, five of them suffering full armour penetration when hit by ATGMs. The United States supplied 140 refurbished M1A1 Abrams tanks to Iraq between 2010 and 2012. While they have new equipment to improve situational awareness, they do not have the depleted uranium amour package that increases protection over the tank's frontal arc.
The penetration of a tank's armour by a shaped-charge warhead increases the likelihood of crew casualties, but does not necessarily result in the destruction of the vehicle, especially if it has a dedicated ammunition compartment, as in the case of the Abrams.
However, the US official said the Iraqi Army has problems maintaining its Abrams, suggesting it will struggle to get damaged tanks back into service.
At least one video has emerged showing an Abrams 'brew up' after being hit by an ATGM during fighting this year in the western province of Al-Anbar. Militants operating in Al-Anbar have also released images of numerous attacks on other Abrams tanks, including ones involving a 9K11 Kornet ATGM, RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and a M70 Osa rocket launcher. The latter is a Yugoslavian weapon that has been widely used by insurgents in neighbouring Syria, but is rarely seen in Iraq.

In the above photo the ammo compartment is operating as designed.  Its deflecting the blast out and away from the crew so that doesn't excite me much.

What does concern is the fact that freaking RPG-7's are able to penetrate a MBT.

Here is where I vacillate.

The US Army had the good stuff and those weapons were able to penetrate their tanks...the ones with the DU armor (the briefings said that the anti-tank crews firing the rockets must have had training on where to hit those tanks but still...).

If you can pin a MBT with an RPG then does that mean the IFV concept is dead?  Doesn't it make sense to transport infantry to the edge of the battlefield (ala the classic battle taxi or armored personnel concept) and advance on foot instead of transporting them onto the objective and fighting from within the vehicle?  Does the USMC need to follow the Army's lead and push ISR assets down to the Battalion level (I'm talking about Predator sized assets not these hand launched systems) so that we can better protect our vehicles from anti-armor teams?

I don't know.

Airbus Military Helicopters...

I originally went to the Airbus Helicopter site because they announced yesterday that they sold 123 helicopters to Communist China.  Not really much news as they're only getting the EC-135 (yeah I know they're going to reverse engineer them but at least they're buying more than two to get it done...read about the deal here).  What has me psyched though is that Airbus redesigned the website.  Its fabulous.  Check out the photos below and visit them here.

Notice the cheek fuel tanks?  They also use that station for forward firing gun pods and even missiles....why can't the USMC do the same for the woefully under-armed MV-22?

The world is burning news. Separatist in Ukraine destroy IL-76 Heavy Air-lifter and 7 Armored Personnel Carriers.

via Voice of Russia...

The press service of the Lugansk People's Republic has reported the destruction of an Ilyushin Il-76 heavy military-transportation aircraft and seven armored personnel carriers of Ukrainian law enforcers near the Lugansk airport.
The Lugansk People's Republic official website said on Tuesday that the regional militia had conducted a successful operation in the area of the Lugansk airport controlled by the Ukrainian airmobile units.
Ukrainian military lost an Ilyushin Il-76 plane, seven armored personnel carriers, a mortar crew, an air defense launcher and five vehicles, the statement says.
The situation near Sverdlovsk is moderately tense; Ukrainian law enforcers are "heavily bombing the city center and Ukrainian army soldiers are marauding and drinking," the report says, Interfax reports.

Hmmm.

Nothing from the State Dept, EU, the UK, France, Germany, Poland or any other European country about the ongoing fighting.

Its like they believe that if you ignore it, it will go away.... 

Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_07_08/Self-defense-forces-destroy-military-jet-seven-armored-vehicles-of-Ukrainian-army-in-Lugansk-airport-0529/

Watch this CHP Officer pummel a grandmother...

Even in a fight against a dude, I wouldn't have continued punching him like that after it was obvious that his ass was kicked (unless it was a do or die type thing).

This guy went overboard but just like the Cop that pushed a guy over in a wheelchair he'll probably only get a couple of days off.

Law enforcement is out of control (at least some of them are).

The world is burning news. Israel launches offensive into Gaza..

via The LA Times...

Israel said early Tuesday that its military has launched what could be a long-term offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, striking at least 50 sites in Gaza by air and sea and mobilizing for a possible ground invasion, the Associated Press reported.
The army said its offensive, dubbed “Operation Protective Edge,” is aimed at striking Hamas and ending the rocket fire that has intensified in recent weeks.

Read the entire article but quite honestly I've been waiting for this for awhile now.

The idea that Israel hasn't been the target of Muslim extremist ever since the so called "Arab Spring" erupted is to me startling.

Now that this is about to kick off, all bets are off.

Will the Israeli's see strikes from Lebanon?  What about the issues with Syria?  Is now the time that Iran does a pre-emptive strike to further confuse an already confused and retreating US foreign policy?

An already dangerous world just became a little more so.

35 Most Badass Elite Fighting Units From Around The World?

I never go for these type lists and I hope the guys at Atchuup! weren't doing a top "35" but simply listing these units.

One thing I'll never understand though is why the Special Boat Service and US Army Special Forces don't get more recognition.  They consistently rank low on these type lists but from my limited time with them, they are some of the hardest, most professional guys around, that tend to get the toughest missions and then don't blab about it in the local watering hole.

Check out the list here.

About that Ship to Shore Connector the Commandant is talking about....

First a refresher via Armed Forces Press Service...

“[The force] is not just going to be amphibious warships -- it’s going to have flat-bottom hulls that will give us the capability to do at-sea assembly and transfer of capabilities at sea,” Glueck said.
For example, he said, a fully-loaded logistics ship can be selectively off-loaded at the capability needed and the equipment then can be transferred at sea onto a connector or Landing Craft Air Cushion, a high-speed, over-the-beach fully amphibious vehicle.
“It [will] give you that step forward and the opportunity to be there quickly to bring some command and control, some organization, to any crisis and be able to set up and be prepared to receive forces,” he said. “I look at it as a great opportunity for the challenges to move forward, and this is right there in our wheelhouse.”

Lt. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr, isn't talking about an amphibious vehicle.  He's talking about a new version of the LCAC or in HQMC parlance a new ship to shore connector.

The problem is, the Navy just doesn't have the money.  The USMC doesn't have the money and Commander Salamander lays out quite well...a tidbit (go to his house to read the tale of woe and misery)...

Not a good thing to gloat about - but .... behold.
The U.S. Navy can’t meet its funding needs for surface warships and a new class of nuclear attack submarines from 2025 to 2034, according to the service’s latest 30-year shipbuilding plan.
The congressionally required blueprint, submitted late last week and obtained by Bloomberg News, says the Navy’s plan “requires funding at an unsustainable level” unless spending on shipbuilding is increased.
The document outlines challenges facing the plan to increase the Navy fleet to 306 vessels from the current 289 while building 12 new Ohio-class submarines, part of the nation’s nuclear triad of air, land and sea weapons.Yea, it's that bad - and a tad more.
The average cost of the Navy plan during the period when the service will be spending the most on the new submarine is $19.7 billion a year, including more than $24 billion at the peak year of fiscal 2032, according to the report.
This budget “cannot be accommodated by the Navy from existing resources -- particularly if” the Pentagon remains under congressionally mandated automatic cuts known as sequestration, the report said.

Without a new ship to shore connector, Amos' plan to use Marine Personnel Carriers as the new Amphibious Combat Vehicle 1.1 (why are they calling it that when it won't be fully amphibious?) no longer makes sense if the plan is to launch from 100 miles out.

That means that we're looking at an air assault 101st, sea going Marine Corps.

Now answer this one.

Who is stupid enough to believe that an enemy that has anti-ship missiles that will keep an amphibious task force at bay won't have anti-air missiles that won't feast on MV-22s?

Admiral Spruance's FitRep after the Battle of Midway.

Thanks for the link Joe...This takes a little sting out of things.  Even the great Admiral Spruance didn't score perfect marks after this victory!

Adm Spruance's Fitrep after Battle of Midway from Naval History and Heritage Command

F-35 News. Mishap declared Class A (over 2 million dollars in damages..)

via USNI NEWS...

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has ordered additional inspections of F135 engines installed across the roughly 104 aircraft strong F-35 fleet. That includes all three variants flying with the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Pratt & Whitney officials said the company is cooperating with the investigation.
“We are working closely with the Air Force Safety Investigation Board to determine root cause and inspect all engines in the fleet. Safety is our top priority,” company spokesman Matthew Bates told USNI News on Monday. “Since the incident is the subject of an investigation it is inappropriate to comment further.”
The Air Force has classified the damage to the stricken F-35A as a Class A incident—where the cost estimates for repairs or write-offs exceeds $2 million.
USNI News understands that the F-35A in question suffered extensive damage and may be considered a write-off.

The plane suffered extensive damage and may be considered a write-off.

Amazing.

And yet the USMC continues with the fiction that  the plane will show up to airshows in Europe.

How much of an ass kisser do you have to be to think that this is a good idea?  How much of a sycophant are you to not state that we need to pullback from the edge and announce that we're not going?

If you want to see everything that is wrong with the modern day Marine Corps look no further than the F-35.  Tribalism is one thing, but moronic behavior is something else entirely.  This is insane.

Rousey is a bad ass....

I missed the fight.

To be honest I wasn't interested.

Then I saw the 16 seconds it took for Rousey to kick ass and I have to admit that I might actually start watching.