2nd Cav training with Polands 12th Mechanized Brigade..via Defense 24

Thanks for the link Galvars!

Oshkosh & ATK demo a 30mm cannon in a .50 cal package.

EOS Remote Turret for 30-40 mm Cannon. (PRNewsFoto/Electro Optic Systems Holdings..)

R-400S with ATK M230LF 30mm cannon mounted on Oshkosh M-ATV. (PRNewsFoto/Electro Optic Systems Holdings..)

High speed photograph of M230LF firing bursts from M-ATV. (PRNewsFoto/Electro Optic Systems Holdings..)

R-400S with ATK M230LF 30mm cannon mounted on HMMWV. (PRNewsFoto/Electro Optic Systems Holdings..)

High speed photograph of M230LF firing from R-400S on HMMWV. (PRNewsFoto/Electro Optic Systems Holdings..)

via Press Release.

CANBERRA, Australia, Feb. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Electro Optic Systems Pty Ltd (ASX: EOS) has announced two developments that will open up opportunities for the supply of weapons and defence systems to meet a growing demand to increase the firepower of armoured infantry vehicles.
The company has completed significant testing milestones of two new weapon systems. The systems, first revealed at the Army USA Show in Washington DC (21-23 October 2013) are:

1. Remotely Operated Turret for 30-40 mm cannon. This product is a new category of high performance turret, intended to deploy the Orbital ATK Mk44 30-40 mm cannon. The turret is lightweight at just 1300 kg and allows precision engagement from a moving vehicle to targets beyond 4 km.

1. R-400S Remote Weapon System. This is an upgraded version of EOS's R-400 [CROWS] RWS. It enables deployment of the Orbital ATK M230LF 30mm cannon in a lightweight 400kg system, allowing precision engagement from a moving vehicle to targets beyond 2 km.

According to EOS CEO, Dr Ben Greene, the two new products meet a growing demand for increased firepower across the entire range of next-generation combat vehicles, both tracked and wheeled. The EOS products set new benchmarks for firepower while, importantly, offering significantly reduced weight.
Both products have now successfully completed major qualification processes, in each case spanning two years of testing.

This has really been a no brainer.  I've called for the possibility of doing a massive upgrade to the AAV using the ATK lightweight 30mm package on these very pages (along with the compact 1500 hp diesel engine from MTU), so this really isn't a surprise.

What is shocking is that its taken so long for someone to actually get them on a vehicle to see what it could do.

You can bet that others are watching and instead of 50 cal machine guns on light vehicles we're going to see larger caliber cannons instead.

ISIS is acting on Islamic end of days prophecy?

A quick heads up.

On a newscast tonight a Middle Eastern reporter stated that ISIS is operating on an end of days prophecy spoke about in the Korhan.

Ordinarily I'd ignore her comments but she had an interesting take.

She believes that the game plan for the organization is laid out because of their beliefs.  Additionally (according to her) this prophecy means that ISIS' main effort will be in Syria with Damascus being the goal (didn't quite catch it all but it concerned Jesus and Imam Mahdi praying there) before heading on to Israel.

I did a Google search with the terms Damascus, Korhan and then again substituting Bible with it.

Both books mention it.

I believe in Jesus, but definitely don't understand how he allows the evil in the world or how he operates.  Why did I mention that?  Because more searching reveals that devout Christians are becoming quite alarmed by what is happening.

Long story short to this post?

Civilian and Military leaders need to reorient themselves on this ISIS threat. I will not provide my view on what civilian leadership needs to do.  They're too far gone, believe that they're right and will not alter course until its too late.  I've seen it too many times before.

As far as military leadership is concerned, I believe that this not an insurgency in the form that we've ever seen before.  Many point to the crusades but that is NOT what we're dealing with here.  At its core the crusades concerned reclaiming the holy land and filling coffers.

ISIS is seeking to spark a global world war (if my quick reading of the details of the Muslim end of days scenario is correct).  The problem?  If Syria is the main effort and Iraq is simply a distraction/diversionary fight, then teaming with IRAN and Russia to support the Assad regime against ISIS might be necessary.

This thing is a terrible mess.  I still say the best move is to pull out, let the sectarian warfare play out and avoid further entanglements.  But current US policy will not allow that.

This will get much worse before it gets better.

NOTE:  Forgive the lack of response to the comments on this one.  I've read everyone and this is a personally thought provoking topic.  This subject has me sitting back in my chair, adding bourbon to my coffee and grabbing multiple cans of Copenhagen.  Long story short....I need to chew on this one a bit more before I dig back into this subject.  We have never fought an enemy like this one and the personal, social, and military implications are profound...

25th ID participates in North Wind 2015...Pics by Sgt. Eric-James Estrada

I told you to keep an eye on the 25th ID.  It seems like they're acting as the Army's vanguard in the drive to ensure their "relevance" in the Pacific.  When we see Army vessels pull into Japan and offloading Strykers, even HQMC will finally understand what is happening here.  What I don't get is how the Army can still push into the Pacific with increased ops in the Middle East and Europe.

Note:  Sorry folks.  The small size is the result of DVIDS only providing low rez pics.  I hope this isn't a trend.

F-35 News. Propaganda from two sources.

Top Criminal in the F-35 Scandal...Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Marillyn Hewson

Something is brewing behind the scenes with the F-35.  I've talked about it already being in the death spiral, but when you add Carter taking over the Pentagon and sequestration probably remaining in place...added to the fact that you can't cut personnel from the services anymore as a cost saving move...it all points bad news for the F-35.  Want proof?  Check out these tidbits...first from FoxNews.

Lockheed is working closely with the U.S. government to lower the $400 billion projected cost for developing and building three models of the stealth fighter jet.
Changes include new tools to apply coatings to the jet, high tech lasers to remove excess paint, and a new cryogenic process for cooling tools used during machining, Martin said.
Martin said changes already adopted had trimmed the cost of each jet in the eighth production lot by $260,000, and those savings were slated to triple in the ninth batch, which includes 57 jets, for cumulative savings of over $1 million per jet.
Lockheed has submitted a proposal to the Pentagon for the ninth and 10th batches of jets, with an eye to completing those contract by the end of the fiscal year.

and then this...

 Martin said the program was rapidly maturing, with 120 jets playing at nine operating bases, and more than 26,000 flying hours. She said more than 158 pilots and 1,640 technicians had been trained to fly and service the jets.The program's development was 65 percent complete, and was on track to be finished in 2017, she said.

But if that isn't enough, check out this morsel from Forbes...

So the only reason left for keeping the F-35 program at its current, relatively depressed, level of production is that politicians or policymakers want to use the money thereby saved for other purposes. Taking that route won’t just waste money over the long run, it could end up wasting the lives of America’s warfighters and the goodwill of key allies. F-35 is ready to soar. Let’s not put additional obstacles in its path.

Just plain wow.

Saving 260K on a multi-million dollar airplane is like a dealership throwing in free mats on your 65K Ford 4x4.  Nice gesture but not really something to gush over.  Next.  Its 2015 and we're barely past halfway there with development of this jet?  Really?  Seriously?  But the thing that has me punching walls is the plea to increase production at this early stage.

Lockheed Martin swindled the US Govt so badly with this plane that its embarrassing.  These are the same people that are managing your healthcare!  Someone should go to jail.  People from the military and industry need to go to jail over this boondoggle.

Ukrainian News. Bellingcat Report provides "evidence" of Russian artillery fires into Ukraine.

Thanks to Galvars for the link.

via Bellingcat.

Read the entire report here.

I consider it eye opening and damn near conclusive proof of Russia firing into Ukraine.  I don't know who these boys are but they've provided information that the DoD surely has but isn't shared with the public.

These guys are definitely worth following.

So much for the vaunted German Army...

via Sputniknews.com

German soldiers used painted broomsticks instead of machine guns on armored personnel carriers as part of NATO Response Force (NRF) drills in Norway.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Equipment shortages forced German soldiers to mount painted broomsticks instead of machine guns on armored personnel carriers as part of NATO Response Force (NRF) drills in Norway several months ago, two German magazines have revealed.
Kontraste and Report Mainz magazines gained access to a German armed forces' internal report published Tuesday, which detailed the absence of equipment during the course of exercises conducted in September 2014 in southeast Norway.
"Painted broomsticks were installed on GTK Boxer armored personnel carriers during training in Norway since no machine-gun barrels were available," the internal report reads as quoted by the publications.
The document goes on to say that in addition to full-scale shortages concerning personnel carriers, 41 percent of German soldiers lack P8 Luger semi-automatic pistols, and another 31 percent – the MG3 machine gun.

Two points.

If you thought that the Germans were a restraint on Russia because of their military then this should change your mind real quick and in a hurry.

Next.

WTF are we doing?  We are straining our military...our US Army by sending Brigade Combat Teams on rotations to Europe and the largest economy on the continent isn't even properly equipping its soldiers?

We need to have a come to Jesus meeting with our SOME of our so called partners.

Ukraine News. Lt describes withdrawal through Rebel lines.

via The Wall Street Journal.

LUHANSKE, Ukraine—Nine hours after a cease-fire was supposed to take effect, rockets and mortars slammed into Ukrainian Lt. Yuriy Prekharya ’s redoubt on the outskirts of the besieged city of Debaltseve “like never before,” he said.
Three days of relentless pounding later, he appealed to a neighboring commander for help after advancing Russia-backed separatists destroyed his unit’s final armored vehicle.
“Buddy, I’ve got nothing to help you with,” came the reply.
So Lt. Prekharya, a 37-year-old financial analyst, gathered his 50 men and led them on a 14-mile overnight march across fields, streams and hills and through separatist lines. As dawn broke Wednesday, he was among the first of hundreds of soldiers fleeing Debaltseve to arrive in trucks, tanks or on foot at Ukrainian forces’ closest checkpoint near the village of Luhanske.

Read the whole depressing thing here.

I wonder where this guys HQ Staff is?  You never let your people talk to the media after a difficult operation.  You do a debriefing, you call in Officers and SNCOs and give them an overview of the situation so they can pass it along to their people.

You give an overview of the situation so that they better understand what everyone was dealing with and they don't feel like they were unnecessarily left on the vine.

You do it better than this.  Or you should.  What you should never do is having news media crawling around grabbing a guy after he just made a withdrawal through enemy lines to safety.

They describe this guy as being a financial analyst.  Doesn't Ukraine have a professional military...I'm talking about guys that fight for a living?

Where did your comment go?

Where did your comment go?

OK.  Here's the story.  I switched to Disqus so that I could properly corral some trolls that appeared on the page.  The results I thought were great.  No more trolls and a much better user experience.

The bad?

Conflict between the Blogger platform and Disqus.  Specifically the Mobile Blogger comments system.

The solution?

I have to manually edit the HTML to get it to work.  It appears to be simplicity itself but I'm still getting an error message after its formatted.  Still working on the problem and I hope to have it solved shortly.

What do I require from you?

A small bit of patience.  The issue is being worked.

Debaltseve falls.

via WTVR.com

UKRAINE — Ukraine’s military said Wednesday that 80% of Ukrainian armed forces have now pulled out of a strategic railroad hub that’s been the focus of bitter fighting with pro-Russian separatists. The two sides have been battling for weeks for control of Debaltseve, and continued conflict there has undermined a truce that apparently went into effect Sunday, raising concerns it is all but dead. The ramifications for the West are huge because the 10-month-long conflict in eastern Ukraine has hiked tensions with Russia to a level not seen since the end of the Cold War, affecting trade and raising the specter of Russian expansion into Eastern Europe.

Putin made a calculation and he'll be proven correct.  The European leaders want a return to "normalcy" so bad that they're willing to lose Ukraine.

The Rebels observed the situation and continued their offensive until they could win this city and consolidate their lines.

Good gamble that paid off.

I'll be watching for a European/Ukrainian response to this news.  Why not the US?  Because the peace deal that Germany and France hammered out left the USA on the sidelines.  This is a European problem now.

About MARSOC approving Glocks.

By now everyone has heard about MARSOC approving Glocks for use by their Marines.

I don't have a problem with that.  I DO HOWEVER find it interesting that just a few short years ago there was big news about how MARSOC was all wrapped up in buy .45's for its Marines and how everyone was so happy about them sticking with a "real" gun.

I would really be impressed if the Marine Corps stepped away from trends and started doing the "Marine Thing" again.  Think about it.  The new combat fitness test is nothing but modified crossfit.    There was nothing wrong with "old skool" PT but because you had a zealot in the ranks that was into crossfit a change was made.  Now we're seeing it again in the weapons selection.

This yo-yoing needs to stop.  Change for change sake is nothing but manufactured chaos.

F-35 News. 5th Gen isn't about stealth anymore? Wait! What?

via SLDInfo.

From General Hostage’s last interview before retirement and one which he did with us:
People focus on stealth as the determining factor or delineator of the fifth generation. It isn’t; it’s fusion.Fusion is what makes that platform so fundamentally different than anything else.And that’s why if anybody tries to tell you hey, I got a 4.5 airplane, a 4.8 airplane, don’t believe them.All that they’re talking about is RCS (Radar Cross Section).Fusion is the fundamental delineator. And you’re not going to put fusion into a fourth gen airplane because their avionic suites are not set up to be a fused platform.And fusion changes how you use the platform.

So its not about stealth anymore?  Wait!  What?

So now that the Chinese are building not one but two stealth fighters, 5th gen fighters are no longer about stealth?

What kind of magical bullshit is this?

Now its about fusion?  Now you're trying to sell us the idea that fusion is the winning ingredient for future aerial combat?

Just plain wow.  This is fucking amazing.


Sidenote:  The article talks about using the F-35 to fight Hypersonic cruise missiles.  That really seems like a mission for AWACS, AEGIS and Growler...not the F-35.  The gyrations that many are going through to find the F-35 a mission are amusing.

This wasn't a tackle...it was a takedown MMA style.

This clip is going viral and everyone is talking about the cop having great tackling skills.  Some are even saying that he should be drafted.

They're wrong.

That's a double leg takedown.  That's an MMA move.  Additionally check out  what he does once he has the guy on the ground (a move where he delivered the full blow by planting the guy into the concrete)...he moves into a full mount.  If the guy didn't surrender immediately we were looking at a ground and pound from hell.

Ok.  To me this is good news.  The cops are training.  They're learning at least basic, modern fighting techniques and that means a more professional force.  This isn't good news.  Its great news.

Open Thread. What is your solution to the ISIS problem?

This thread is inspired by William and Meint...they are of the mind that there is nothing that can be done and that patience and understanding are needed to deal with the issue (paraphrasing their intent...I could easily be wrong).

I disagree vehemently.  I'm tired of the waste of blood and treasure.  Especially the lives of Soldiers and Marines in that God forsaken region.  I will be clear.  The people of that region have not shown themselves to be worthy of our sacrifice.  As a matter of fact, the more we give, the more they demand.  In my mind its time to break that dependency.  The first step is to either nuke the region or step away and let them deal with their homegrown problems.

But that's me.  What do you think is the solution to the ISIS problem? 

US Personnel still in Yemen?

Nasser Atta @nasseratta5 · Feb 16

After the #UN took the US Embassy's armored vehicles, the UN gave the cars to the #US marines stationed at Sheraton

Nasser Atta, a self described ABC News producer states in a tweet found here, that US personnel are still in Yemen and that the UN issued abandoned US embassy vehicles to personnel there.

So instead of a messy get-away from that fractured country we have personnel still in harms way.

The hits keep coming.

3rd ID sending 3000 soldiers to Europe.

via WJCL.com

FORT STEWART, Ga. (WJCL) — More than 3,000 soldiers from 3rd Infantry Division (3rd ID) will deploy for a three-month rotation to Europe in March.
The deployment is in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. Soldiers from the 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, and the Division Artillery comprise the majority of the soldiers participating in the deployment.

OK.

The taskings are getting a bit out of hand.  Quick tally of US Army deployments off the top of my head.  Elements of the 82nd are in Iraq.  The 4th ID is sending a BCT to Iraq.  Some unit (forgot which one) is scheduled to head to Korea for UDP.  You have potential deployments to Australia.  Oh and the rest of the 82nd and 101st are currently serving as the "Global Response Force".  What did I leave out?  The Army boys that are in Africa dealing with Ebola and the 25th that is participating in Cobra Gold in Thailand.  The only unit that's been quiet as of late is the 10th Mountain.  What they're up to is anyone's guess.

One thing is sure though.

The USMC isn't the only service dealing with hellacious ops tempo.

What ISIS Really Wants?

If you want to end up punching walls, cursing like a madman and then finally understanding why we can't win against the terrorist then go here and read this piece of garbage from the Atlantic.

Question.

If someone kicks in your door, and your family is at risk do you wonder why they're there?  Do you wonder about their ideology or motives?  Or do you simply shoot them in the face, twice in the chest and keep shooting till you're out of ammo, do a quick reload and keep shooting?

This is why I utterly despise Washington academics.  This is why our State Dept needs to be ignored by our Defense Dept and we need to (militarily) prepare for diplomatic failure at every stage.

The King of Jordan gets it.  Thats why he acted and spoke decisively about the threat.  Even Egypt gets it.

The current administration doesn't.

That's why we will have wild animals rampaging thru the US soon.  They want to understand the criminals instead of stopping them before they can hurt others.

Rant over.

Ford Trucks being used by China to fight protests?

How greedy have our capitalist become?

So greedy that we provide materials to potentially fight pro-democracy protesters in a Communist country.  Check this out...

Police in Hangzhou, China are getting tough – Ford Tough – when it comes to defusing riots. Dubbed the “Saber-Toothed Tiger”, the heavily modified and armored Ford F-550 Super Duty truck is ready to put the bite on fomenters of urban unrest.
Decked out in Vader Black and bearing a “SABERTOOTH” badge below its grille, the formidable Ford was displayed to an admiring public on February 15th. Somewhat surprisingly, gawkers were allowed to inspect the vehicle up close and personal, even to the point of climbing inside the capacious cabin. 

Read the entire story here...at Inventorspot.

The next Chinese Navy shock. The 055A "Burke-inese"

Two years.

That's when this ship is expected to enter production.  Between 2018 and 2020.  When they reach critical mass with this Burke-killer, that is when the US Navy will be credibly challenged at sea.

This will be the next Chinese Navy shock.  It'll be an even bigger worry point than the J-20.

Ukraine News. The ceasefire is faltering...

via CNN..

Five more Ukrainian service members have been killed in the past 24 hours, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Tuesday -- another sign that the truce between the government and pro-Russian separatists is falling apart.
The news comes three days into a ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and the separatists in eastern Ukraine. But clearly, the fire has not ceased.
On Monday, Ukrainian defense spokesman Andriy Lysenko reported five deaths from the previous day and at least 129 violations of the ceasefire since it went into effect at midnight Saturday.
And there are more signs that the international efforts to stop the bloodshed are failing.

Go here to read the rest of the story and see the video.

Civilians are suffering, the Red Cross is strained and the average person is getting throat punched/heel stomped

This is not working.