India vs. China...the fight no one talks about.

I am so glad that the Wall Street Journal is finally covering this issue.  No one is talking about it and even my readers in India down play the dangers...but make no mistake about it.

When China and India finally come to blows it will be a sight to behold and will shake the world.

The thing that people are missing is that both sides are girding for war.  India has formed a Mountain Brigade Corps (a reader informs me that my info is outdated...they will have a couple of divisions facing the Chinese) that might soon swell to a division.  China is doing the same.  Both sides are developing infrastructure to rush forces to the region and weapons are being bought with an eye to fighting on the border.

We might not see full scale warfare but skirmishes will happen and I would bet that the soldiers involved will swear they fought WW3....the fighting will be that intense.

Blast from the past. Corregidor. Temp-plate for future Airborne/Amphibious Assault Ops?

How many of you know about the Battle for Corregidor?

Not that many huh?  Not surprising.  For some reason the US Army emphasizes its exploits in Europe during WW2 but is silent about what it did in the Pacific. The fight for Corregidor should be required reading for both Marine and Army leadership.

If we are going to fight in the Pacific in the future, I believe that the fight will look somewhat like Corregidor...except we won't have as much naval gunfire...we won't have as much close air support...and we'll still lack armored firepower to take the fight to the enemy.

What caught my attention about this fight wasn't the amphibious assault portion of it. No, what made me pause is how the airborne assault was carried out.  Check this out from HyperWar.

In formulating final plans for the drop, planners had to correlate factors of wind direction and velocity, the speed and flight direction of the C-47 aircraft from which the 503d RCT would jump, the optimum height for the planes during the drop, the time the paratroopers would take to reach the ground, the 'troopers' drift during their descent, and the best flight formation for the C-47's. Planners expected an easterly wind of fifteen to twenty-five miles per hour with gusts of higher velocity. The direction corresponded roughly to the long axes of the drop zones, but even so, each C-47 could not be over the dropping grounds for more than six seconds. With each man taking a half second to get out of the plane and another twenty-five seconds to reach the ground from the planned drop altitude of 400 feet, the wind would cause each paratrooper to drift about 250 feet westward during his descent. This amount of drift would leave no more than 100 yards of ground distance at each drop zone to allow for human error or sharp changes in the wind's speed or direction.
The 503d RCT and the 317th Troop Carrier Group--whose C-47's were to transport and drop the paratroopers--decided to employ a flight pattern providing for two columns of C-47's, one column over each drop zone. The direction of flight would have to be from southwest to northeast because the best line of approach--west to east--would not leave sufficient room between the two plane columns and would bring the aircraft more quickly over Manila Bay, increasing the chances that men would drop into the water or over cliffs. Since each plane could be over the drop zone only six seconds, each would have to make two or three passes, dropping a "stick" of six to eight 'troopers each time. It would be an hour or more before the 1,000 or so troops of the first airlift would be on the ground. Then, the C-47's would have to return to Mindoro, reload, and bring a second lift forward. This second group would not be on the ground until some five hours after the men of the first lift had started jumping.

Think about that.

You're conducting a parachute drop and you're basically circling the drop zone dropping six to eight paratroops on each pass?

This is the poster boy operation for a confined battle zone.  I don't know if today's planner are actually considering the type of land that they're going to be sending our forces to fight over but its going to be extremely compact and that will bring difficulties that are not being properly anticipated.

Study Corregidor.  Its the future of the fight in the Pacific....at least for ground pounders.

F-35 News. Can the plane take carrier punishment?

via Breaking Defense.

After several months of uncertainty whether CF-3 and CF-5 would both be ready to fly — complete with new tail hook assemblies and huge amounts of test instrumentation — Bogdan told us yesterday they would both fly to the ship. As Breaking D readers know, thetail hook on the F-35Cs had to be redesigned. The initial design did not reliably engage the cable and wasn’t strong enough. The Arresting Hook System got better damping, changed the shape of the hook and made it and where it connects with the airframe, much stronger. During tests over the last five months, F-35C test pilots had to deliberately land their aircraft on the nose gear to mimic what can happen when pitching seas may drive a carrier deck right up into a plane as it lands. A Navy pilot I spoke with said the physical punishment of such a landing is “pretty impressive” — not to mention the stresses it can place on the plane. I’ll be in San Diego and on the Nimitz all next week covering the tests for you.

If we weren't talking about the future defense of the fleet---and a crazy amount of money....This would be funny.

Do you notice it?  Can you sense the same attempt to generate headlines like they did when the push was on to fly the F-35 to Europe? But what really has me curious and I have yet to hear anyone talk about is the lead that Breaking Defense buried...

A Navy pilot I spoke with said the physical punishment of such a landing is “pretty impressive” — not to mention the stresses it can place on the plane.

Can a stealth airplane take the punishment of carrier landings?

Can the F-35 handle the stress after its been subjected to weight reduction and had so much of it structure "shaved" down?

I just don't know.

What I do know is that this program is setting up an artificial make-or break moment and I don't know why.

Something is going on with this program.  I just can't piece it together.

Frein captured? He's lucky the Feds got him before the State Troopers.

Interesting.

So they finally captured Frein.  I don't know his motivation but after a 48 day manhunt either he thought he could evade capture...or he changed his mind and didn't want to die.

Did you notice who actually laid hands on him?  Yeah.  One of the two Federal Law Enforcement Agencies that would give me serious pause if I were ever to go over the deep end and start attacking.

One is the FBI Hostage Rescue Team.  They're badass and train with the best around the world.  The other guys (the people that grabbed Frein) is the US Marshals Special Operations Group.  I don't even know if you would classify them as "law enforcement".  They're something else entirely.  They're really like a bunch of badge wearing SOCOM dudes (you can call me a fan boy but they actually ran missions in Iraq..supposedly they were active in Afghanistan but I don't know).

Everyone else I'd feel confident in taking my chances with.  Those two..especially US Marshals SOG?  Not a chance.  Still.  Frein is lucky that the Feds got him first.  If the State Troopers got him, I'd bet body parts that he would be DRT..Dead Right There.

Sidenote:  I don't understand why Frein would stay in the area of his initial assault.  Why didn't he stay in the woods and attempt to get out of the area?  I'm sure we'll find out more but I find that confusing.

Anyone ever heard of Exercise Blue Chromite?

Marines maneuver an assault amphibious vehicle onto the USS Germantown (LSD 42) Oct. 30 in preparation of exercise Blue Chromite 2014. Blue Chromite demonstrates the Navy and Marine Corps’ amphibious and expeditionary capabilities from the sea. The Marines are with Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Thor J. Larson

Anyone ever hear of Exercise Blue Chromite?  Where does it take place, who participates and is this an annual thing?

Super Hornets forever?

via STLtoday.

Boeing’s defense chief remains optimistic about the F/A-18 fighter assembly line in north St. Louis County, saying there's a good chance the line could stay open beyond 2017, according to Bloomberg News.
Current orders will keep the assembly line open until 2016. If approved, a Congressional proposal to buy 12 EA-18G Growlers, an electronic warfare version of the Super Hornet carrier-based fighter, would allow Boeing to keep the line up running end of 2017.
However, the aircraft maker has more than a “50-50 chance” of receiving enough Navy and foreign orders to keep the Super Hornet line open beyond that date, Chris Chadwick, president of St. Louis County-based Boeing Defense, Space and Security, told Bloomberg News today.

Something is going on behind the scenes.  Can I prove it?  Nope, not at all.  Can I sense it?  Yeah...absolutely.

All the announcements about the program being in trouble.  All the talk about the manufacturers making new initiatives to lower cost.  The extremely long development with continued engineering changes...

And finally the biggest booster of the program, the United States Marine Corps, has a new leader that hasn't said squat about the plane since he took office.

Add in the fact that we're looking at the probablility of Republican Senate with a serious mix of "small war" hawks, fiscal hawks, and Democrats that want to slash spending and you have one unmistakable conclusion.

Sequestration will continue and the days of killing programs and cutting personnel to wall off the F-35 from cuts are over.  The F-35 is gonna take a haircut, the Navy will still need to fill those carriers and the F-18 will by default be the only thing that is affordable.

The craziest thing?  We might see it in USAF colors.  There is no way they're gonna get the F-35 in the numbers requested, the next gen bomber and the new aerial tanker in this budget environment.  That means a new hi-lo-lo mix that will be the F-22, F-35 and new build F-18's or F-16's...with the idea of saving money and simplifying the Pentagons procurement, I can see the F-18 getting USAF colors.

Israel's V-22 cancellation. What's the real deal?

via Times of Israel.

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced the deal during a visit to Israel in April 2013. “The introduction of the V-22 into the Israeli Air Force will give the Israeli air force long range, high-speed maritime search and rescue capabilities to deal with a number of threats and contingencies,” he said during a joint press conference with Ya’alon.

The deal was to include, Hagel said at the time, anti-radiation missiles, advanced radars for Israel’s F-15s, KC-135 refueling aircraft and, “most significantly,” the V-22.
Ya’alon, according to Yoav Limor’s account in Israel Hayom, decided to cancel the acquisition, against the advice of the IDF chief of General Staff and the Israel Air Force’s commander, on account of budgetary constraints and lessons learned in the wake of the 50-day battle in Gaza this summer, during which a need for improved armored vehicles, for instance, rose to the surface.
The reported decision to cancel the deal came three days after Israeli officials said the army would buy a second squadron of US-made F-35 fighter jets.
That news came amid strained ties between Israel and the US. A Tuesday story in The Atlantic magazine reported that senior administration officials had called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a chickenshit” and alleged the relationship between the countries was in crisis.

My theory?  The extra F-35's are a token of good faith to the Pentagon.  A gift that negates the need to buy the V-22 that they really don't have a need for...but it does clear the decks for them to get the helicopter they really want.

The CH-53K.

The cancellation of the V-22 might be consequential.  No one is buying it and Japan won't save it with their buy.  I see that line coming to a close in the near future.

Despite the furious propaganda for the airplane, the V-22 appears to be viewed as a boutique airplane that doesn't justify its enormous cost.

F-35 News. Desperation hits...

via The Wall Street Journal.

The Pentagon plans to offer deals to international buyers of the F-35 fighter jet that would undercut the price paid for planes destined for U.S. forces, the program’s military chief said Thursday.
Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan said he planned to offer multiyear deals to overseas buyers, a move that would help boost production of the jet and aid efforts to reduce its average cost.
The Pentagon negotiates deals on behalf of overseas nations with the F-35’s prime contractors, Lockheed Martin Corp. and the Pratt & Whitney unit of United TechnologiesCorp.
However, U.S. weapons-buying rules bar the Pentagon from negotiating multiyear deals for the Air Force, the Marine Corps. and the Navy until 2019 at the earliest.
Gen. Bogdan told reporters that this would allow overseas governments to secure cheaper pricing than the U.S. and others who didn’t sign up for the multiyear deals, though didn’t detail the potential savings.
A contract for the latest batch of F-35s—known as LRIP-8—is expected to be completed with Lockheed by Thanksgiving, said Gen. Bogdan. The two sides have reached a preliminary deal that would reduce the cost of the planes—which are destined for the U.S. and five other countries—by 3.4% from the previous batch.

This article has my spidey sense tingling.

He's going to offer multi-year buys to boost production?  Does he really think allied air forces are going to go for this?

Uh...NO!

The only thing this will do is to add a bit of clarity to the entire situation.  Everyone is waiting to see how this turns out, and foreign forces will still wait.  No one trusts a fire sale and that's what the Program Manager is offering.  All this will do is take the cost excuse off the table.  Looks like allied generals will need to find a new excuse.

But what really has me jazzed is the blurb that the writer buried.  The Pentagon can't make multi-years buys by law until the plane has finished flight testing..and 2019 is the hoped for date.

I've lost track of the numbers but consider this exhibit XXXX-X to prove that the death spiral has already hit and the program office is scared shitless.

I saw this coming. According to The Nation Magazine, the USMC has an anti-gay agenda.

via The Nation.

With thousands of such walking weapons from the most homophobic of America’s armed services prowling Olongapo’s streets on R&R after testosterone-raising military exercises, the murder of Jennifer Laude was an event waiting to happen. The volatile mix of training in the lethal arts and aggressive homophobic socialization was likely to be among the factors that led Pemberton to cross the line from anger to murder that fateful night. And violence such as that meted out to Jennifer is likely to occur again and again, as the United States stations more and more troops in the Philippines in pursuit of Washington’s grand geopolitical design to contain China.

Warning.

If you decide to read the entire left wing, dripping with hatred against the military in general and the Marine Corps in particular, sob story...then do yourself a favor and line the walls with pads.

You're gonna be punching hard.

I saw this coming and its for one reason.  The push to allow transgenders to serve openly is about to go full bore.  Why?  Because it seems to me that liberals see it all slipping away and will do whatever it takes to get every one of their agenda items done in the last 2 years of the Obama term.

Gabonese Republic set to receive 12 Ararvis Protected 4x4's.

Thanks for the link Jonathan.

via Nexter Press Release.

Versailles, October 29th, 2014 – Philippe Burtin, CEO of Nexter, signed today a contract in the presence of the French and Gabonese Ministers of Defence, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Ernest Mpouho Epigat, to supply the Gabonese Republic with 12 highly protected 4x4 vehicles ARAVIS®.
These 12 ARAVIS® will be equipped with Nexter remotely controlled 20mm turret ARX20 and RPG protections PG-Guard, but also with Nexter Robotics reconnaissance UGV NERVA®LG. These vehicles will join a battalion which will be deployed in Central African Republic within the MINUSCA under the United Nations authority.

I've been wondering why Nexter hasn't been selling more vehicles.  After this announcement it looks like they're about to hit their stride.

The Aravis will provide a nice upgrade to the Gabonese armed forces and should be able to handle any ground vehicle they encounter (especially since the most I imagine they'll face is probably Toyota technicals).

Vehicle info here. 

French Air Commando lost in Mali anti-terror raid...

via Armée de l'air...

Chief Sergeant Thomas Dupuy was engaged in Mali since August 2, 2014. The NCO was holder of the cross of the military Valor with Silver Star and bronze star, the overseas medal clip Sahel and Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, the silver of national defence Medal and the Medal of the wounded.
The Aviator lived in concubinage, without children.
32 years old, he died in the accomplishment of its mission in the service of the France.
The air force share the pain of his family and his brothers in arms. (Translated by Bing)

A couple of things here.

My sympathy goes out to his family.  Next.  I don't know what an Air Commando is.  Are they similar to USAF Special Ops or are they somewhat like a type of "Ranger" unit?  I have no idea.

But the point of this post is that the low grade war in Mali appears to be raging on.

Now we have the US in Liberia.  The Brits are in Senegal and Kenya.  The French are in Mali.  I don't know where the Dutch are but they're roaming the continent.

Africa is really lining up to be the next battle ground for the Western world.

F-35 News. The 2015 IOC & Dunford's first test of character...

Major Hat Tip to ELP Blog for the link.

The F-35B’s “combat capability” at IOC may end up being flatly untrue, and its best realistic case might be as a mere paper tiger. Korean-War vintage F-9 Cougar jets would be “combat capable,” too, in the sense that they could take off, land, and fire weapons. That isn’t an adequate standard for entrusting them with the safety of an MEU in 2016.
Defense Industry Daily

This will be the first test of Dunford ... well one of the first tests for him as Commandant.  I've been reviewing the presentation given to industry during the last Modern Day Marine (MDM) and it appears that he AMOS was rather sinister in his dealing with the budget.

In essence he's AMOS front loaded the F-35, CH-53, and MV-22...while delaying every vehicle program in the Corps.

The push for a 2015 IOC seems to be designed to benefit the F-35 program and not to meet the needs of the Marine Corps.

The question.  Will Dunford outright delay the F-35 until its finished flight testing or will he go forward and place aircraft into service that cannot provide the same support as the AV-8B?  At risk?  Marine lives.  This one move will be telling.  Either he is a man of morals and will "take care of his Marines" or he's a bought and paid for political hack in the mold of Amos.

I'll be watching this carefully. 

BAE's proposed vehicle mounted rail gun...we're on the verge of a revolution in warfare.

via DefenseTech.

BAE Systems officials said an electromagnetic rail gun firing a kinetic energy warhead could be a real option for the Army’s next generation Future Fighting Vehicle, which the service hopes to replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
Following the cancellation of the Ground Combat Vehicle, Army officials said they want the defense industry to offer a wide range of technologies before the Army decides whether to pursue the Future Fighting Vehicle, or an additional Bradley upgrade.
BAE Systems presented a host of possible technologies at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference last week. Among those was a model of the electromagnetic rail gun the company is developing for the Navy.
The rail gun, which can hit ranges of 100 miles or more, uses electricity stored on the ship to generate a high-speed electromagnetic pulse sufficient to propel a kinetic energy warhead. The result is an inexpensive, high-impact and long-range offensive weapon, service officials said.

That little blurb on DT got little notice.

BAE has done nothing to shout the news to the roof tops.  But if they're right this could place us on the verge of a revolution in warfare that will rival the introduction of gunpowder, jet propulsion for airplanes and nuclear powered aircraft carrier.

This literally could change armored warfare forever.  Imagine.  Being able to put fire on targets from a tank gun that normally would require rocket artillery!  Think about the possibility of miniaturizing it so that IFV suddenly become tank killers with their standard guns.  Naval artillery could strike from offshore deep into a continent.  Combat on the high seas would see the aircraft carrier revert to a supporting role for modern day battleships.

I'm just spit balling these examples but you get the point.

One little blurb on DT has HUGE implications for the future...and most people missed it.

F-35 News. Investors warned about Lockheed future earnings.

Thanks to Joe for the link.

via Fool.com

The thing about technology is that it's always changing. What was cutting edge tech in 2001 could be obsolete by 2021. If that happens, and if the F-35 is ultimately not built in the quantities originally anticipated (as was the case with Lockheed Martin's similarly high-tech F-22 Raptor fighter jet, you'll recall), then Lockheed Martin stock could be worth less than investors are counting on.

A few things about this.

The DWL002 is being looked at and reported on as a stand alone system.  Its anything but!  Its part of the Chinese integrated Air Defense Network and that system has its origins in Russia.  Additionally, these systems are being sold world wide.

Last, it appears that the critics...and it must be pointed out, especially APA (Air Power Australia) were the first to see this inevitability.

The planning on the part of air power theorists was faulty.

If a capability is unique and rarely encountered then planning for it is spotty.  Once you attempt to make that "unique" capability mainstream then EVERYONE will be working on counters.

But a warning about the future worth of Lockheed Martin stock because of a newly "discovered" weapon designed to counter a plane they're developing and trying to get into service?  That is brand new.

Public Service Message...

I was watching Morning Joe and I get the sense that they're already girding themselves to the fact that the Democrats are going to lose control of the Senate.

The public service message is to vote...vote early if you can.

The reality is that we're living George Orwell's Animal Farm.  Never did I believe that a book that my 8th grade English Teacher forced on us would ever come back to deliver the message that I failed to fully comprehend all those years ago.

The Democrats.  The Republicans.  The more you look at them the more you can't tell them apart.

Latest CGI of the ATD-X ShinShin (F-3) via Bantay Spratly

I just hit upon something.

If the F-35, J-31 and the F-3 all make it into service,  pilots are going to have a real hard time with visual recognition!

Is it just me or do they all look remarkably similar...especially the J-31 and the F-35.  Maybe its the fact that those planes have two engines?

Z-10 Fierce Thunderbolt via China Military Review...

Ok World of Tanks pros...explain this!

Blow up the above pic and explain to me why the top damage dealing player on my LOSING team didn't end up with high caliber!

I read all the explanations (and yeah Spudman...I'm a tomato) but your previous explanations just don't jive with what I'm seeing above.

Explain please!

Africa is on the verge of a full blown pandemic...

First check out the above video.

Now check this out from Shepherd of the Gurneys...

Apparently, someone seems to have found whatever was keeping the needle stuck.
To wit:
24 Oct 2014 12,008 cases 5,078 deaths
19 Oct 2014 9,936 cases 4,877 deaths
17 Oct 2014 9,693 cases 4,811 deaths
2000 new cases in the last FIVE days?!!
Sweet blazing hell! If you're in Africa, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
Look at the chart on the page; it hasn't increased by 2000 cases in the last 3 weeks.
Earlier today, I was about to note that I missed a WaPo news report a couple weeks back that related the Pentagon has revised their timetable for completing the 1700 beds; it's now going to take until early December, rather than mid-November, i.e. another 2-3 weeks.
I was going to note how far behind they'd be when they finally get to December.
But now, that whole post is pointless.
Those 1700 beds just became obsolete between last Sunday and last Friday morning.
And it's taking us 9 weeks to make 1700 beds' worth of facilities.
Ebola is making 400 new patients per day.
For the love of God, get our troops the hell out of there right fucking now!
Just tell them to drop their shit where it is, grab their duffel bag, and be on the runway ready to go in 5 minutes, fly in, pick them up, and just GO!

I couldn't understand the State Dept memo.

Yeah, it was a leak, but something like this to be leaked this close to an election made me pause.

Then I read the article that SoG's posted and it all made sense.

Africa is on the verge of a full blown pandemic.

For those that are of a certain mindset get ready.  For those that think all is well...it is.  I stand by my initial assessment.  They're gonna try and keep a lid on things till after the Christmas holidays...and then watch out.

Oh and consider this.  This administration has been lurching from one crisis to another.  This will just be par for the course.

Breaking! NASA unmanned supply rocket to the space station explodes on the launch pad.

More to come I'm sure.

A once great agency is such a joke.  Its really sad.