Yak-130 Advanced Trainer/Light Attack Aircraft Combat Simulation

This video points out something I had never considered.  Will light attack/fighter aircraft pilots become Aces if they shoot down five drones?  Additionally is the definition of low intensity combat changing?  Is the combat we're seeing in Ukraine considered low intensity?  What about the fighting against ISIS?

Personally I consider them both mid intensity, but that would go against how we've designated counter insurgency warfare (technically both ISIS and the separatists in Ukraine are insurgents).

It's Only Sexist When Men Do It

Thanks Aybars for the link!!!

Russian jets buzz Canadian warship off the coast of Ukraine.

Thanks M.C. for the link!

via globeandmail...

Russian military aircraft are buzzing the Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto which is on a U.S.-Ukraine training exercise in the Black Sea – low-level flyovers that signal Russia is watching them as tensions remain high between Moscow and Kiev.
“While the Russian military aircraft that circled the HMCS Toronto did not in any way pose a threat to the Canadian ship, their actions were unnecessarily provocative and risk escalating tensions even further,” Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said.

Wow.

Talking about blowing something simple out of proportion!

Russian planes buzz a ship at sea?  No big deal!  Nothing earth shattering.  A tempest in a teapot if I ever heard one.  Lets look at it this way.  If Russian ships were just off the coast of the US doing exercises with the Cuban Navy, I'd expect F-18's to be doing close fly bys.  I'm sure Canadian would want the same thing.

Personally I'm beginning to tire of Defense Ministers overstating things.  Its almost as if they want to push a diplomatic incident instead of avoiding one. 

Attack on Titan. A metaphor for Japan vs. China?

I got a note to check out the entirety of published Attack on Titan videos on Crunchyroll before it enters a blackout so Cartoon Network can air it.

Let me just say,  ITS AWESOME!

Its late and you're gonna have to hurry but you can check it out here.

While just drinking in the flick it occurred to me.  Are we seeing a metaphor for the Japanese vs. China issue?  I mean think about it.  Japan can be considered a walled city...with the ocean standing in for the walls in the movie.  The Survey Corps (or Scouting Legion) can be thought of as the Japanese Marine Corps...and of course the crazy Titans can be thought of as the Chinese military and people...an enemy that wants to gobble up its neighbors for no rational reason but seemingly only for the glory of the kill.

Even the fact that they named the walled cities can be considered an allegory for the Japanese Islands!

If you trash my idea thats fine.  But if you're into anime check this out quick...oh and they're making a season 2 as we speak, plus there is a Manga (never been into it but I'll check this one out) that is suppose to be fairly impressive so watch the videos, check out the Manga and let me know if you like it.

Ray Rice video proves that guys need to be careful!

First.

STOP!  THINK!  ANALYZE THE VIDEO!!!!

Now consider this.  The female approached Ray Rice twice in a threatening manner.  Whether we should say that he is a football player and should easily be able to take a punch is not the issue.  Neither is the fact that knocking a woman unconscious is bad.  It clearly is.

But WHAT IS AT ISSUE is the fact that this woman moved to assault Rice.

If we were talking about another guy then this wouldn't even be close.  We would say that he should defend himself.

So my question is this.  Why have women suddenly gotten to the point where they think that they can stand toe to toe with men, punch them and face no consequences?

Its because our society is twisted, warped and messed up.  Women have become "unlady like" but still want the protections of being women, yet don't acknowledge physiological differences.

This has ramifications for our military and positions where we will put women into.

But it has greater ramifications for men in society.  Guys.  You need to be careful.  Whenever you deal with a "mad" woman you just need to get the fuck out of dodge.  The law, society, etc...is never going to hear your side of the story.

Hasik questions Marine Corps plans for mechanizing its infantry

First read Hasik's article but a tidbit...

There’s a big difference between cross-country mobility over packed sand, and cross-country mobility through mud. Wheeled vehicles just haven’t shown that performance, and given the ground pressure inherent in any wheeled configuration, I’m not sure how they will. But is it possible that the Marines have found something amazing? As Commandant Amos told the Congress in April, the candidate vehicles "are commercial off-the-shelf… they’re already being made by several different manufacturers.” Normally, I’d call COTS (MOTS, really) an excellent approach—automotive technology isn’t advancing as rapidly as that of, say, robotics. But that means that we know the usual suspects: the AMV-360 from Patria, the Boxer from ARTEC, the VBCI from Nexter, the LAV-V from General Dynamics Canada, and perhaps the 6x6 RG-35 from BAE Systems (soon to be Denel). I haven’t run the rodeo myself, but I wouldn’t claim that any of these vehicles could keep up with a tank over soft ground.

Yeah.

We're back to the age old question.  Wheels vs. Tracks.  Which has greater mobility.  Which has greater utility.  And if you need rough, swampy, sandy mobility can you make due with less than is offered by many tracked vehicles (including threat tanks AND infantry fighting vehicles/APCs).

But wait it gets better.  Check out this article from Marine Gazette.

When another look was taken at the MPC program, in addition to the benefits mentioned in the paragraph above, it was found that wheeled vehicles have substantially closed the maneuverability gap that previously existed between tracked and wheeled vehicles. The MPC Technology Demonstrator uses “in-line” drive technology that enables all four wheels on each side to pull together in much the same way that a tracked vehicle’s does. Combined with a higher ground clearance and the central tire inflation system currently in use in the medium tactical vehicle replacement (MTVR), the wheeled variants have equal or better maneuverability than the M1A1 and are much more maneuverable than the AAV. This has been amply demonstrated in testing.

Mobility issues.

We've seen enough Strykers stuck in the mud to know better.  We see the US Army picking tracks for its Armored Multi Purpose Vehicle (AMPV).  We see our allies like Germany with the Puma, the UK going for Ascod and Poland developing Anders even though they're operating AMVs.

Quite honestly I still wonder about the "de-tuned" EFV that retained all the bits except for the high water speed...that included MRAP quality protection against IEDs.

This whole issue is a mess and current leadership might have tied future leaders hands because of budget games.  Even if thats the case I do hope that General Dunford is honest about the reasons why we're in the mess we are, his solutions (if he has any) and lay out a realistic way forward.

ISIS beheads captured Lebanese soldiers.

Thanks for the link John!

via AP

BEIRUT – The mother of a Lebanese soldier held captive by the militant Islamic State group says that photographs posted online purporting to show his beheading appear real.
Zeinab Noun called her son, Abbas Medlej, a "martyr" after Islamic State supporters posted images Saturday appearing to show a captured Lebanese soldier before and after he was beheaded.
Medlej's maternal uncle, Abu Ali Noun, also said the photographs appeared to be of his nephew.
A spokesman for Lebanon's military said it was still investigating the incident.
Militants from the Islamic State and other groups in Syria are holding around 35 Lebanese soldiers and policemen captive. They were seized in August when militants from Syria overran the Lebanese border town of Arsal in the most serious spillover of the neighboring civil war.

My take?

This is gonna sound cold but this is a Middle Eastern problem.  The nations of the region have the military capability to put down the threat but are waiting for the hated Westerners to do it for them.   ISIS is not capable of striking the US.  If our intelligence agencies are doing there jobs then we know who is going and can lock their asses up when they come back.

The beheading of the Lebanese troops is a tragedy.  I fear that the same fate awaits the captured UN troops.  Unfortunately tragedies happen everyday.  

Russian Logistics Combat Element...

 

English Russia has a spread on Russian Army Logistics.  I found the photo essay fascinating but it does bring up a lingering issue from the early days of the war on terror.

I'm sure many have forgotten but those were the heady days of Rumsfeld as SecDef.  His mantra, besides "transformation"/"revolution of military affairs", was to emphasize the military operating like a business.

Listening to General officers at the time was painful.  Pentagon speak was filled with business nonsense.  Soldiers and Marines became "customers".  Just in time logistics was the call of the day.  War stocks were seen as something from a by gone era and the idea was to buy only what you needed, only when you needed it.

That way of thinking in many ways extends to today.

Which brings me to my long winded point (sorry about that)...what happens if the enemy is ever able to attack our supply lines?  It seems that we have become extremely reliant on either air or sea delivery of basic supplies needed to keep our forces in the field.  What happens if we finally get a foe that is technologically capable and smart enough to go for the soft spot and not attack our combat forces? 

Aftermath of Ambush on Ukrainian Forces (WARNING GRAPHIC!)

Thanks for the vid Andre!



Did you see all that unexploded ordnance?  EOD is gonna have fun for years trying to clean that mess up.  People will be dying for YEARS after the fighting ends.

Is the Israeli Defense Force leadership incompetent?

via War Is Boring.

The spy services discovered dozens of fresh tunnels last year, and their reports “were disseminated to the prime minister, defense minister and the heads of the security services,” Harel writes. “Thus when the war began, the army knew with relative accuracy where all the tunnels were located.”
But here lies one of the Military Directorate’s main beefs with the government, according to Haaretz. The government was aware of the tunnels, but never bothered to prepare.
In July, as the conflict spiraled into a series of mutual escalations after the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens in the West Bank, and as the Israeli government rationalized the tunnel threat after the conflict had already escalated, it sent IDF troops into an ill-fated operation they hadn’t planned, trained or equipped for.
Israeli troops stayed in Gaza for weeks, vulnerable to Hamas ambushes despite statements from Israeli officials that destroying the tunnels would take “days,” as Israeli defense minister Moshe Ya’alon said on July 20.
The death toll continued to rise to the worst loss of Israeli life since the 2006 war with Hezbollah. “In the end, the IDF had to get help from civilian companies, and the tunnels were mainly destroyed via a series of improvisations,” Harel notes.

Read the entire article.

I just don't know.  What I do know is that civilian leadership emphasized the missile threat at the start of the hostilities and that it switched to tunnels later.

I do know that while the rocket fire was harassing, the threat from the tunnels actually took Israeli lives.  Additionally I read a story where they had to get people from their Engineer school house to actually deal with the threat instead of having people in units that were capable of handling it out in the respective units.

Intel didn't reach the man at the sharp end of the spear....not talking about the Special Ops units, but the Infantry and Armor battalions that were hooking and jabbin with HAMAS.

This is a troubling story.  But if true it just means that the IDF has more in common with the US military than even I imagined. 

Heavy fighting outside Mariupol

via Russia Times.

Scores of casualties were reported as eastern Ukrainian militias were allegedly closing in on Mariupol port hours before a ceasefire pledged by President Poroshenko was announced. Authorities say they repelled the attacks and the city is calm.
The fighting near Mariupol has cost the cost the lives of seven civilians, including two children, during the two days, Konstantin Batozsky, adviser to the Head of Dnipropetrovsk Region, said on Friday.
“Yesterday, the fighting led to the deaths of four civilians, including two combine operators involved in harvesting. Today, three civilians were killed (including two children). A total of 23 people were injured,”Batozsky wrote on his Facebook page.

On Friday, Shirokino village, some 20 kilometers west of Mariupol, remained the main battleground in the Donetsk Region, with “no fighting taking place within Mariupol’s city limits,” Batozsky said at a press conference.

The cameraman for RT’s Ruptly video agency confirmed that fighting is currently taking place outside Mariupol – in Shirokino village.

If the above photo is accurate then there is no longer any doubt.

Russian forces are definitely in Ukraine.

NATO was negotiating from a position of weakness.  They have no forces in the area and indications are that they're not willing to commit any in the future.  Meanwhile, according to the Pentagon, the Russians have assembled an extremely capable, technological impressive fighting force on the border---and apparently inside the country.

They can talk of negotiated peace all they want.  This won't end until the Russians consolidate their positions, achieve all strategic/tactical goals and only then will their guns be silenced.

That's simply the way of war. 

Golan Heights clusterfuck. India, the Philippines & UN....UPDATED!

Thanks to Kristoffer for the links.

First read the story here, and here.

UPDATE!  Check out Weaponsman's Blog  take on the events here.  Its a GREAT "quick look" at what transpired!

UPDATE 1!  I wanted to give a day for people to weigh in before I offered my opinion.  The Filipino soldiers did the warrior thing.  You never surrender if you have the means to resist.  A commander that orders the surrender of a combat capable unit is issuing an unlawful order and it is to be ignored and if in the field, he is to be arrested/relieved of command.

Cliff Notes?  Syrian Rebels surrounded Philippine troops.  Philippine troops broke out, escaped, evaded...whatever...they made it to safety.  Indian General in charge calls them unprofessional because he was working on safe passage.  On this I'm a bit fuzzy.  Did the Rebels have other captives and they wanted to safeguard them too?  I'm not sure.

I'm not positive on the exact details although I had read that the UN had forces in trouble there....what I do know is this.  Any force that operates under the UN banner is going to be much less effective than if it operated under its nations colors.  This seems like a ton of bullshit stuffed in 8oz bottle.

Russian armored column advancing toward the port of Mariupol

via Fox News.

UNITED NATIONS – Ukraine's U.N. ambassador says a convoy of Russian tanks and armored vehicles has moved from the resort town of Novoazovsk toward the key port of Mariupol and was stopped by Ukrainian forces and civilians.
Yuriy Sergeyev told a news conference that the convoy started moving Thursday morning and "the fight is still going on right now."
He said the convoy from Novoazovsk, which was captured by heavily armed Russian-backed separatists last week, had four tanks, three armored vehicles and about 50 soldiers, and "most probably" was a reconnaissance mission to test Mariupol's military defenses.
Novoazovsk lies along the road linking Russia to Mariupol and onto Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in March.
Sergeyev said Russia is "most probably" trying to build a land corridor to Crimea.

Again.   This is just a common sense move (if true) by the Russians to consolidate their positions before a harsh winter sets in.

This is probably the closing gambit before operations begin to clean up the battlefield, repair civilian infrastructure and formally put the region under Russian control.

NATO is meeting but in my opinion the endgame is already in motion. 

MSPO 2014 News via Military Technology Magazine.

All photos via Military Technology Magazine.

Above you see a new version of the Tiger helicopter and a newly developed RWS for the Rosomak (Patria AMV) which is aimed at replacing the BMP-1.

Military Technology is doing a great job of covering this event and you can read about these platforms here and here.

Royal Australian Airforce Hawk 127

11th MEU & Malaysian Forces @ MALUS AMPHEX 14...photos by Sgt. Melissa Wenger

Poland's WILK Fire Support Vehicle.

Thanks Galvars for the images!

I just can't help but think about the Marine Personnel Carrier and the word that I got that Lockheed Martin Ground was already developing a family of vehicles for the USMC.

If Dunford goes forward with the program then I think we might see an instant upgrade in the firepower available to our Infantry forces.  Tanks might not hit the beach until things are secured and won't be available until the push inland.  Putting direct fires on our APC's (just a few of them) would seem like a no brainer and a throw back to the LVTH-6 from years ago.

Monsters: Dark Continent

Breaking News. Mistral deal on hold!

Thanks CoffeeJoeJava for the link!

via Yahoo

PARIS (AP) — President Hollande: France suspends plans to deliver warship to Russia amid Ukraine tensions.

Interesting.

No one is talking about it, but all these sanctions have done is to push the biggest economy in Europe (Germany) into the red, sank the Italian economy (they're back in recession..the third largest economy) and will soon affect the US.

The world is spiraling toward recession and these idiotic "sanctions" policies will be the blame.  Congratulations globalist, the world is so intertwined that we're all victims of weak, passive, ineffective foreign policy. 

The Marine Corps Colonel no one talks about...

History tends to repeat.

We've been through this time before.  Terrorism on the upswing.  European powers refusing to act.  Middle Eastern powers refusing to act.  Everyone looking to the US to do...something.

Well one time we tried to "do something" under the banner of the UN.

Let me introduce you to the Marine Corps Colonel no one talks about.  Meet Colonel William R Higgins.  A short blurb from Wikipedia (make sure to read it all).

On February 17, 1988, Higgins disappeared while serving as the Chief, Observer Group Lebanon and Senior Military Observer, United Nations Military Observer Group, United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. Higgins was driving alone on the coastal highway between Tyre and Naqoura in southern Lebanon, returning from a meeting with a local leader of the Amal movement, when he was pulled from his vehicle by armed men.[2][3] He had been abducted by the Lebanese group Hezbollah.[4] During his captivity, he was interrogated and tortured.[1]
As a reaction to his abduction, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 618, demanding his release. A year and a half after his abduction, images of his body, hung by the neck, were televised around the world from a videotape released by his captors. The exact date of Colonel Higgins' murder is uncertain; he was declared dead on July 6, 1990. Finally, on 23 December 1991, his remains were recovered by the late Major Jens Nielsen (Royal Danish Army) attached to the United Nations Observation Group Beirut.[5] His remains had been "...dumped beside a mosque near a south Beirut hospital." [6] He was interred atQuantico National Cemetery on December 30, 1991.

I never met the guy, but reputation is that he was solid across the board.

Do you get the force of connection with his capture?  While returning from a meeting he was abducted?  Did you catch the name of the organization that tortured and killed him?  Hezbollah.

The only thing that will solve the mess in the Middle East is round the clock B-52 raids with diversions to terrorist camps in Africa if targets can't be found.

Its past time to settle the score and put these animals back in their cages.  Savages only respect strength and violence.  We've played the "reasonable" man card for far too long.  Time to get Medieval with these bastards.