Blast from the past....AAV-Laser Test Bed...

pic via Bmashina Tumblr Page.

High-energy laser anti-aircraft land-based MTU (Mobile Test Unit) on the basis of AAV7 brought down in 1979 on the test helicopter and ATGM. The tests took place under strict secrecy on the basis of Arsenal “Redstone”. After test firing the car handed over to NASA.

How long has the US had workable lasers?  Since 79 if this vehicle actually accomplished what it's said it did.  Shooting down a helicopter and ATGM?  In 79?  And you think that we don't have secret programs that have advanced the art since then?

Open Comment Post. Feb 1, 2017

What's on your mind, with one caveat...No Trump Talk....we're all dug in like ticks so no need to raise blood pressures and ruin walls....keep it on the military stuff...like crazy ass Ukraine....or Vietnam in the desert Iraq/Syria and Afghanistan.

Wait!

Can we say that Vietnam was a more successful conflict than our fights in the Middle East when taken in total?  Did the class of generals that swore there would be no more Vietnams instead give us something worse?

What is going on in Ukraine? Why has the fighting suddenly flared up????

Avdiivka is the current flashpoint in this fight.

via BBC

Fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian armed forces is escalating, officials have warned.
A higher number of ceasefire violations were reported between Sunday and Monday evenings, compared with the previous 24 hours, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine said Monday.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said eight Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the Donbass region in two days.
"Russian occupation forces carried out massive attacks across the contact line using all available weapons, including (artillery, mortars and tanks) -- all prohibited by the Minsk agreements -- and small arms," the ministry said. At least 26 troops were wounded.

The above is the Ukrainian side of the fight.  The Russian Foreign Ministry put out this simple but quite clear statement, from the same article.

 

We urge the Ukrainian authorities to immediately put an end to the armed provocations in #Donbass https://t.co/x5DE1vKZEg pic.twitter.com/9KaoAQglyb

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) January 31, 2017

Story here.

If you watched the attached vid the observers are stating that both sides are in violation.  What has me scratching my head are two points.  They talk about the "Viking" symbology of the Ukrainian fighters.  I find that interesting the last I saw they were sporting Nazi swastikas.  The next thing is that IF the Russians are behind the sudden flare up it makes no sense.  Why would Putin launch an attack shortly after talking to Trump with the strong possibility of crushing sanctions (which are affecting both Russia and the EU) lifted?

What is going on in Ukraine!  This makes no sense.  On a side note I have heard a conspiracy theory.  Some are saying that the "National Security Elite" are demanding that Trump maintain the sanctions and position US troops in Europe to "deter" aggression.  Never mind that Putin and Trump seem to have the ability to actually reach agreements on a number of subjects, most importantly tamping down the violence in the Middle East and solving the refugee problem.  The NSE don't care about that....at least that's how the theory goes.

I don't know what to believe.  The only thing I'm sure of is that we're facing a concerted information warfare offensive by both sides.  We are in the land of mirrors.

Trump's leadership style. If you've been in the military you've seen this before....

Everyone is all buzzing about the whirlwind trip that Trump is on.  Many are calling this a "shock and awe" start to his administration but if you've been in the military you've seen it before.

I personally call it the "dogging out" phase.

Others will call it the "setting expectations and standards" phase.

Everyone calls it about two or three months of hell.

What do I mean.  You have an old battalion commander.  The unit runs like clock work, everyone knows their job, knows what's expected and can get the job done without even thinking about it.

Then the usual hits.

A change of command.

Everyone braces themselves (either consciously or subconsciously) cause they know what's about to happen.  If they're married they tell the wife that they probably won't be getting home at the usual time.  The guys that are dating and aren't really serious that have a little time in know to just break up.

Why?

Because everything is about to get spin washed.  Everything that was done before that had the unit the glittering star in the battalion is going to change.  Old procedures for doing things will be re-examined and if even one I isn't dotted or a T crossed then it will be totally revamped.

Oh and rocks will be painted.

Again you ask why?

The reason is simple.  The new guy has to put his personal stamp on the battalion.  I forgot to add one thing.  In the most extreme cases someone is going to get fired.

I didn't put this analogy together till the firing of the Acting Attorney General was announced.  That didn't really solidify my thinking because in my opinion she deserved to be fired.  It hit me hard when he fired the director of ICE.

Long short?  This whirlwind won't last past summer.  Expect Trump to set his expectations, to fire a few more people and then for him to sit back and manage in a relaxed manner because he's "set the stage".

Why am I so sure.  Because if you've been anywhere near the military you've seen this before too.

Kurdish anti-ISIS forces say Trump supplied them with armored vehicles...

I can't see enough of this vehicle to identify it.  Could it be armor placed over a F550 platform?

via Middle East Eye. net

Syrian Democratic Forces say they have received first shipment of armour from US, and Trump has promised 'extra support'
A Kurdish-led militia fighting the Islamic State group in northern Syria said on Tuesday it had received armoured vehicles from the Donald Trump administration, claiming them to be the first such weapons supplied by the US.
The vehicles were paraded on Monday by the SDF, a coalition of Arab and Kurdish militias led by the YPG which is fighting the Islamic State in the north of Syria.
"American armoured vehicles have arrived for the Syrian Democratic Forces for the first time," said spokesman Talal Sello. "This happened after the new US administration came to power."

Hmm.  Don't know about this.  If they arrived shortly after Trump's inauguration then that means they were enroute during the Obama term.  Could the Pentagon have released these vehicles from local stores?  Sure.  Could Mattis have signed off on it and they arrived within the week that he's had the reigns of the DoD?  Sure.

Would this fit the pattern of Trump ticking off his list of promises during the election in a rapid manner?  Absolutely.

But I just don't know.  If this is true then this is sticky.  This would be the building blocks of a Kurdish Army that could face off with the Turks and carve out a homeland between Syria and Iraq.

More to come.  On that I'm positive.

UPDATE!
http://www.dailysabah.com/war-on-terror/2017/01/31/pentagon-confirms-it-delivered-armored-vehicles-to-ypg-dominated-syrian-democratic-forces

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/31/us-led-coalition-delivers-armored-vehicles-to-syrians-fighting-isis.html

Blast from the past...Japanese general Hisao Tani is executed in 1947

Japanese general Hisao Tani, orchestrator of the Rape of Nanking, is executed in 1947. His executor was one of the only survivors from the Chinese Army’s 88th Division.

Open Comment Post. Jan 31, 2017

Blast from the past....Go my son!

pic via Historium Tumblr Page.

“Va, mon fils !” (Go, my son! You will have the most beautiful death that could be wished for.), France, 1914

US Army preparing to fight in the Pacific...top of the shopping list EW gear, Anti-Air & Ship Killing Missiles...

via AOL Breaking Defense.

There are lots of things the Army needs to buy. “Number one is Electronic Warfare (EW),” Brown said, detecting, jamming, and deceiving enemy sensors and communications while protecting one’s own. The general envisions “thousands” of cheap decoys generating signals to hide the true locations of Army radars, for example. Another priority is Short-Range Air Defense (SHORAD), made newly relevant in the age of drones. Both SHORAD and EW suffered massive cutbacks after 1991 and will take years to recover.
But there is plenty the Army can do right now to train itself for Multi-Domain Battle, said Brown. “I never had to worry about cyber (as a young officer),” Brown said. “A company commander from just a few years ago never had to worry that much about cyber, never had to worry that much about space (or) the sea.”

I'm glad to see the focus on electronic warfare.  We're behind, it makes sense and its an obvious capability gap that when filled will save lives.  The talk about "tactical cyber" is beyond me.  I have yet to hear anyone explain how that will work and what the need is.  It sounds more like marketing than a real capability.  With the Army and Marine Corps talking about giving IPads to ground forces it really sounds like a capability the enemy will need more than us...but disrupting those devices seems to fall under EW so what is cyber suppose to do?

Back on task.  From the same article.

Embracing initiative this way is a competitive advantage for Americans, Brown said. On a recent trip to China to visit the People’s Liberation Army, he was very impressed in many ways: “Very tough soldiers, amazing equipment,” and in some areas, such as electronic warfare and long-range weapons, “they have surpassed us.”

And then this.

With one eye on China and another on North Korea, US Army Pacific is injecting cyber warfare and new joint tactics into every wargame it can. At least 30 forthcoming exercises — culminating in the massive RIMPAC 2018 — will train troops on aspects of Multi-Domain Battle, the land Army’s effort to extend its reach into the other “domains” of air, sea, space, and cyberspace. Meanwhile, USARPAC simulations of the concept test near-future weapons such as ship-killer missiles and cruise missile-killing cannon.

They're finally doing it.  The US Army is finally going to RIMPAC.  About freaking time!  They're slow but they're listening....no charge Army...consider it free....

Blast from the past. F-35 EOTS already obsolete...

via Daily Beast (Dec 2014)

“The F-35 will, in my opinion, be 10 years behind legacy fighters when it achieves [initial operational capability],” said one Air Force official affiliated with the F-35 program. “When the F-35 achieves [initial operational capability], it will not have the weapons or sensor capability, with respect to the CAS [close air support] mission set, that legacy multi-role fighters had by the mid-2000s.”


The problem stems from the fact that the technology found on one of the stealth fighter’s primary air-to-ground sensors—its nose-mounted Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS)—is more than a decade old and hopelessly obsolete. The EOTS, which is similar in concept to a large high-resolution infrared and television camera, is used to visually identify and monitor ground targets. The system can also mark targets for laser-guided bombs.


“EOTS is a big step backwards. The technology is 10-plus years old, hasn’t been able to take advantage of all the pod upgrades in the meantime, and there were some performance tradeoffs to accommodate space and stealth,” said another Air Force official familiar with the F-35 program. “I think it’s one area where the guys are going to be disappointed in the avionics.”

Ironically, older jets currently in service with the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps can carry the latest generation of sensor pods, which are far more advanced than the EOTS sensor carried by the F-35. The latest generation pods—the Lockheed Martin Sniper ATP-SE and Northrop Grumman LITENING-SE—display far clearer high-definition video imagery in both in the infrared and optical spectrum—and from greater distances. Further, both pods have the ability to beam those full-motion video feeds to ground troops, which provides those forces with vital intelligence information.

Both pods also incorporate the ability to mark targets with an infrared laser beam—which the EOTS lacks—that helps pilots and ground controllers coordinate their attacks. Some pilots consider the infrared marker to be crucial to the close air-support mission to support ground troops. The F-35 EOTS, which is an integral component of the new stealth fighter, was envisioned as a replacement for targeting pods altogether to preserve the JSF’s stealth frame. (Targeting pods can bulge out a bit, and leak out unwanted signals.) But along with the stealth came performance compromises that also hinder the ability to upgrade the system—the specifications of which were set more that 15 years ago—far before anyone imagined a jet would be providing video imagery to ground forces.

When the Pentagon had initially drawn up the Joint Strike Fighter program’s specifications during the later half of the 1990s, the EOTS would have been bleeding-edge technology. However, in the 14 years that have passed since the Pentagon awarded Lockheed the contract to develop the F-35, technology has evolved—and the services have gained experience from over a decade of war.

Story here. 

People are so quick to forget.  Ignore the cost!  The Program Office and Lockheed Martin could make the plane cost a dollar with all the accounting gimmicks they use.

FOCUS ON THE CAPABILITY!

Before the plane enters service it will be obsolete.

Politics. Meme war in full effect.

The meme war is in full effect.

F-35 cost drops, Trump takes credit..We should have pivoted to capabilities.

Thanks to Spock for the link!

via Reuters.

President Donald Trump said on Monday his administration had been able to cut some $600 million from the latest U.S. deal to buy about 90 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, the Lockheed Martin aircraft the president has criticized for cost overruns.
Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said Lockheed Martin had been responsive to his concerns about the high cost of the stealthy, high-tech warplane.
"We cut approximately $600 million off the F-35 fighter, and that only amounts to 90 planes out of close to 3,000 planes," Trump said, attributing that figure to Lockheed chief executive Marillyn Hewson.
Negotiations for the 10th batch of F-35 aircraft - about 90 planes - have been under way, with a deal expected by the end of the month. The contract was expected to be around $9 billion, with the price per plane falling below $100 million.
Trump said he became involved in the discussions over the cost of the aircraft about a month ago when he was still president-elect because the negotiations were not progressing.


"They were having a lot of difficulty. There was no movement. And I was able to get $600 million approximately off those planes. So I think that was a great achievement," Trump said, suggesting the savings would be even larger as more planes are bought and as the administration looks at other contracts.

Once again the anti-F35 community has dropped the ball.  I shouted that we should focus on capabilities and push the meme that the avionics on the F-35 were already obsolete compared to what we're hanging off our legacy aircraft and the so called brainiacs shot me down.

You see they're smart.  They have engineering degrees and are accounting freaks so they like digging into the weeds on those issues.

So what's happened.  They alienated guys like me from their discussions (I won't go into detail but never again), and they've been slow to react to a changing battlefield.

This fight requires agility.  It requires recognizing a changing battlefield.  It requires common sense.

When Trump entered the fray based on price it was obvious that the program office/Lockheed Martin would do anything possible to give him a win.  Accountants can do that.

The reality?  We should have focused on the Mattis lane of attack.  CAPABILITIES!

But no.  They're the brains and I'm just a blogger.  They jumbled the fight badly.  Its not over but the so called "smartest" guys in the room have made it much harder because they lack the agility to win.

Hey Canadian Prime Minister..your terrorist attack on Muslims was done by an immigrant Muslim!

Thanks to Eric H for the link!

via Heavy.

Witnesses told Reuters that two to three gunmen opened fire on worshippers inside the mosque Sunday night.
Along with the six killed and eight injured, at least 39 other people survived the attack, police said.
A witness told Radio-Canada the gunmen wore masks, the CBC reports.
“It seemed to me that they had a Quebecois accent. They started to fire, and (while) they shot they yelled, ‘Allahu akbar!’ The bullets hit people that were praying. People who were praying lost their lives. A bullet passed right over my head,” said the witness, who asked not to be named. “There were even kids. There was even a three-year-old who was with his father.”

Heavy.com's five facts you need to know is here. 

This totally destroys the narrative that the Canadian Prime Minister was trying to line up and proves that Trump is more spot on than his critics want to admit.

This terrorist attack on Muslims was done by an immigrant Muslim.  Don't get me wrong, this is still a tragedy and its compounded because these people were in their place of worship.

But it does point out that extreme vetting of combat age males that are trying to enter our country is the smart thing to do.

Open Comment Post. Jan 30, 2017.

Things on my mind this morning...

1.  Still puzzling together that SEAL Team 6 Raid.  Who that V-22 belongs to will tell a lot.  A reader confirms that that the USS Makin is in the area and 5th MEB is handling all forces in the region (well at least we know the answer to that question...distributed operations and independent ship ops are indeed a thing and they're gonna be moving MEBs forward to provide the extended command and control...suddenly those Colonel billets to command a MEU are gonna be alot less desireable...guess you have to justify enough stars to command an Army sized Marine Corps even though its only 3 active divisions).  SEAL Team 6 being involved makes me think that this was a bigger action than we're thinking.  If those bubbas got hit hard enough to have one killed, three injured and be involved in a two hour firefight then the intel was trash or someone was smelling their manhood and went in much too light.  I'm a dog on a bone with this one.  I need to know more.  I'll never see the after action but I bet it would make some fascinating reading.

2.  A mosque was attacked in Canada.  If it wasn't for the fact that people died in a house of worship it would be filled with irony.  The left fully expected this type of thing in America but for it to happen in progressive Canada is eye opening.  The optics on this thing make it look like immigration supporters are carrying the day.  I'm not so sure.  Take for instance the Starbuck CEO that stated that he's gonna hire 100K refugees.  Do you think that goes over well in the heartland?  I might be wrong but I don't.  There is a bunch of knee jerk reactions to get on this bandwagon but I think people are miss reading this situation.  Time will tell.

3.  I was looking at my favorite firearm porn and one guy had "cash me outside" written on his dust cover.  I was mystified so I looked it up on Google.  You do the same cause this isn't a "high class" blog but I won't dirty it with that idiocy.  Suffice it to say the world is coming to an end, we're all gonna die, and we have some truly troubled kids out there.

4.  The craziness about Trump is beyond crazy.  The guy has been in office one week and people are talking about how he's trampled their rights, turned back the clock on women's reproduction and totally destroyed the Obama legacy.  It's been one week!  The fear and loathing has gone from funny to boring. This almost seems like the last gasp of the hippie generation along with their spoiled grandkids.  The one thing that I've noticed that has shocked me is how unified the world is when it comes to a weakened US.  The outrage by certain countries is telling.  Russia hasn't said a thing.  Neither has China.  Japan, Singapore, Australia, Philippines, S. Korea and Israel have been quiet.  Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden have also said nothing (at least officially from what I recall).  Canada, Germany, France, the UK...they've been at the forefront for public ridicule of Trump.  That means something but I don't know what.

Anyway that's on my mind.  What's on yours.

The vid is fake so where did the MV-22 launch from?

Ok.  We know the vid is fake (thanks Galvars...good find) but that still leaves the question of where the MV-22 launched from.

It also makes me wonder about the intel.  US Navy SEALs would not wander into a fight that big in just platoon strength...if they did someone messed up real bad in their pre-raid assessment.  Unless they've changed up massively I'm still guessing that they were augmented by someone.

Since USMC aircraft were involved I'm still guessing that there was a Marine Ground Component attached to this op.  Was it MARSOC?  Strong possibility.  They're suppose to be getting closer to the MEUs and we do have one in the area.

Could they have used the helo company attached to the MEU?  Yeah but SOCOM likes to keep shit in house so that's unlikely.  We also know that Davis is pushing hard to get the MV-22 used by SOCOM so we might be looking at berthing (aboard the big deck MEU) and a taxi service by Marine Air for this raid.

What I don't know and can't figure is if the raid was this big then how did they work air cover?  They could have launched F-15's from Djibouti along with tankers so they could stay on station but since it was a snatch mission they probably wouldn't have used them much.

I don't know.  Still trying to puzzle this together.

Unknown Marine Corps landing...could this be in Yemen????

Galvars did work and totally proved this vid was faked...I'm gonna leave this posted here as a reminder of disinformation from these foreign bastards touting themselves as real info from the region.  Lesson learned.


Thanks to Robert for the link!

فيديو | لعملية انزال بري وبحري
لـ #التحالف_العربي في مدينة وميناء #المخاء بعد السيطرة عليها وتطهيرها بالكامل من جيوب الحوثي وعفاش . pic.twitter.com/o2sIiZza4j

— عبدالله الفطيسي (@alfutaisi_2) January 28, 2017

vid via @alfutaisi_2 Twitter page.

This is curious.  According to that Twitter page this is a landing by what looks like US Marines (he doesn't identify the force) in Yemen.  Below is his description of the vid...

Naval and ground landing process for #التحالف_العربي #المخاء port city after control and cleared entirely of huthi's pockets weavash.

I highlight Huthi because that means Yemen.  I checked the date and it was posted yesterday.  Could we have seen both an air and mechanized raid on the target where the SEAL was killed?

I just don't know.

ST Kinetics unveils new tracked AFV

Thanks to Costas TT for the pic.

Strange Patria AMV 28A

Thanks to MicMac 80 for the pic

Obviously its got gobbs of add on armor.  Its mounting a 30mm RWS with what looks to me like a SPIKE anti-tank missile.

Who was that built for?

A few more pics from Dragon!

CV90 @ Bushmaster APC river crossing...

I find it interesting that the Nordic nations are really sold on using MRAPs in the APC role in Northern Europe.  I don't get it but it seems kinda popular.  Do they compare that favorably (in their studies) to 8x8's that it seems doable or is it all about money?

Side note.  Did anyone else see that "ETS" type clear AK mag on that soldiers rifle?  When it comes to small arms everyone else is clearly copying US innovators.

Namer with Trophy APS

Thanks to Dragon for the pic!

Nice.  While not my favorite APS at least its in service getting a workout.  Raytheon better step up its game before it gets left behind when the spending flurry begins on modernizing the Pentagon ground fleet.