Leonardo - M60A3 Main Battle Tank Upgrade

Open Comment Post. Nov 5, 2017

Sorry for the late and spotty posting lately.  Going thru a slight health thing and trying to pursue fleeting opportunities as well.  Things should smooth out shortly.  Appreciate your patience.

A Type 16 Prototype involved simply adding a turret to a wheeled APC....

pic via Bmashina Tumblr Page.

Bmashina jumbled the caption on this one but its a great find none-the-less.  That's a Type 96 wheeled apc hull with what really looks like a Type 10 turret but I have a hard time believing that!

Doesn't matter.  When you find a guys that's good at scouring the net in Asia you have to ride with the dude till he dies in a ditch!  Never even knew this existed.  I love this guy (No homo...but who you want to fuck is your business...just talking about me...)!

So this is that new Chinese Amphibious APC...

pic via Sputnik...story here...

I'm looking forward to a few more pics of this beast.  Don't where to look on the Chinese forums but the search continues.

From what I can see it looks like the evolution continues.  It seems like we're getting a mix of Russian, Western and Chinese design aesthetic.  Yeah, I definitely need to see more pics.

Blast from the past. Mussolini knew it wasn't gonna work!

pic and caption via Tanks-a-lot Tumblr Page.

when you just signed the munich agreement but know shits gonna go down anyway

I love reading some of these kid's take on history.  It's all filled with humor, irony and modernism to the extreme in their wording.

In other words it's cool as hell.  Tumblr isn't all porn.  Much to my amazement some of the web that is mostly known for vile or pornographic material has much to be desired...if you know where to look.

Japanese Type 16 MCV on static display with 14th Tank Co in Naga via Bmashina Tumblr Page!

UK's Defence Ministerial Crisis hits at a terrible moment for the island nation...

via Business Insider.

Theresa May is facing a major backlash after appointing her chief whip Gavin Williamson as the new defence secretary, with some Conservative MPs "livid" at the promotion.

Williamson was appointed on Thursday morning following Sir Michael Fallon's shock resignation as defence secretary on Wednesday evening after he was implicated in the Westminster sexual harassment scandal.

One senior Conservative backbench MP described the surprise promotion of Williamson as "Unbelievable. Ludicrous. Astonishing."

Former Chief of the General Staff Lord Richard Dannatt said the appointment was "quite surprising" and not the best option "from a defence point of view."

Story here.

I've been looking at my blogroll and NO ONE is talking about this brewing controversy.

Theresa May is having a HORRIBLE month.  First the economic impact of BREXIT which is considered a state secret is being pushed for release to the public.  Next she lost her majority because of a terrible miscalculation on her part. Then we had her loyal Defence Minister swept up in the Weinstein mess and forced to resign...and now we have her appointing another loyalist to replace him and having her own party going ape shit over the person chosen.

This couldn't happen at a worst time for the UK.

They are in the midst of another reshuffling of their armed forces so that they can afford many of the big ticket items that are on their shopping list, the Carriers are being completed on time but the cost is outrageous so they're looking at retiring capable amphibious ships to make the difference, the F-35 continues to be the hole at the bottom of the bucket sucking up huge amounts of money and they still have to do something with nuclear modernization.

No one is noticing but we could see the rapid de-evolution of British combat power.  This might seem an unfortunate personnel matter but it's indicative of much bigger problems.

The UK is facing a defense crisis.

Open Comment Post. Nov 3, 2017

Indian Air Force AH-64E Guardian

Denmark's National Audit Office says F-35 will not perform as promised...

via Sputnik.

To the dismay of Denmark's Air Force, which had been betting on F-35s replacingthe country's aging fleet, the National Audit Office has decided that the pricey war toy is overrated, arguing that the Defense Ministry has been far too optimistic in its evaluation.
For Denmark, where the acquisition of the US F-35 fighter jets is set to become the largest-ever state purchase, the new report highlighting the shortcomings of its prized possession, is hardly good news.

The new fighter jets, which are expected to set Danish state coffers back DKK 66 billion ($10 billion), could actually yield much more modest performance than that stated by the Defense Ministry, the National Audit Office (NAO) found in a report.

According to the NAO, the Defense Ministry has overestimated the amount of tasks the 27 new F-35 aircraft can handle. Another blunder regards how many hours the aircraft can spend in the air. While the Defense Ministry proceeded from a solid 250 hours a year, the same fighter jets only are airborne 168 and 210 hours in Norway and Holland respectively, Danish Radio reported.

Story here. 

Wow.  This thing is far from over.  The Program Office can do their best to manage the message and keep support up via F-16.net, other fanboys, retired and active military officers and the uninformed but reality is coming....AND FAST!

At some point the program will run out of time and excuses.

That's what we've been warning about.  Prior performance is NOT indicative of future outcomes, but it does give you an idea of what to expect.

We can expect the F-35 to continue to limp along, underperform, cost an outrageous sum of money and fail to deliver as promised.

When the patience of the zealots has run out and it's obvious even to them that they've been duped is when WE (the critics of the program) need to have solid alternatives mapped out.  That's what we'll chew on in a blog post tomorrow.  

It's time to chart a plan B for the Marine Corps, Navy and USAF (God help our allies...I have no idea what they'll need to do!).

Test team deploys to expand UH-1Y's wind envelope...Why wasn't this done at introduction of the helicopter?

via DCMilitary.com

“It all got started when a deployed fleet pilot, Maj. “Rudy” Neagle, reached out directly to the HX-21 pilots asking if they could help expand the UH-1Y wind envelope,” said Kristen Finnegan, the test team’s lead engineer.

The flight envelope refers to the conditions in which an aircraft can safely operate. The UH-1Y helicopters had been operating within the restrictive generic wind envelope for six-to-seven years.

As Neagle—the aviation combat element LPD detachment officer in charge (OIC) from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 365 (Reinforced), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)—began researching the limited flight envelope, he was looking for the lessons learned from other pilots who had faced similar challenges.

“It had not occurred to me to conduct testing on Mesa Verde while deployed,” he said. “I was looking for information to mitigate risk while flying outside the wind envelope.”

Story here. 

I know my rep.  Another day another chance for SNAFU! Blog to beat up on Marine Air.

That ain't happening here.

Quite honestly I think Major Neagle was on the ball and damn near heroic with his actions not to go with the status quo.  I think HX-21 personnel were cut from the same cloth. To conduct flight testing while a unit is deployed?  They broke every rule and for the right reasons.

What has me scratching my head is this passage...

 The UH-1Y helicopters had been operating within the restrictive generic wind envelope for six-to-seven years.

From its inception the UH-1Y was built as a SUBSTANTIAL improvement over the UH-1N.  It's faster, lifts more, flies farther and faster...It's just better in all areas.  So why did they just roll with the "restrictive generic wind envelope"?  I'm not bashing Marine Air or the personnel that work there.  I am questioning leadership! 

Am I wrong or does this seem like a no-brainer?

White Sands Missile Range assists US Army in search for next Air Defense System ...Stryker Maneuver Short Range Air Defense, K-21 Air Defense Variant & Multiple Missile Launcher tested.

Russia Mulls Upgrading Su-57 to 6th Gen

via The Diplomat

Russia’s first indigenously designed and built fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Su-57, could be turned into a sixth-generation fighter aircraft, the former head of the Russian Aerospace Force, Viktor Bondarev told TASS news agency on November.

“This is actually a splendid plane and it can embrace both fifth-and sixth-generation features. It has huge modernization potential,” Bondarev, now chairman of the Federation Council Defense and Security Committee, said. “Importantly, it is the best among the existing versions by its stealth characteristics. It incorporates all the best that is available in modern aviation science both in Russia and in the world,” he added.

As I reported in July 2016, Russian defense officials have repeatedly claimed that hardware elements designed for a future sixth generation fighter have been tested on the Su-57 prototype, including flight and navigation systems as well as advanced electronic warfare  and radar systems.

Story here.

This sounds good.  Uh.  What qualities make an airplane a 6th gen?

MCLIC tested aboard the Combat Center...pics by Lance Cpl. Christian Lopez

S. Korea launches new Navy landing ship

via xinhuanet.com

 South Korea on Thursday launched its new Navy landing ship capable of conducting a massive landing operation, according to local media reports.
The launching ceremony was held at the shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries, the country's largest shipbuilder, in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan.
The 4,900-ton landing ship was the fourth of its kind, which was built under the LST-II program to replace smaller amphibious landing vessels.
The new vessel is 127 meters long and can sail at a maximum speed of 23 knots, or about 40 km per hour. It is operated by some 120 crew.
It can carry as many as 300 soldiers in full armor, transporting high-speed landing craft, amphibious assault armored vehicle and tank.

Story here. 

Why would the USAF be collecting specimens of Russian body fluids?

Thanks to Cynical for the link!

via ZeroHedge.

A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised members of Russia’s human rights council by informing them that some shadowy entity - possibly with ties to the United States - had been collecting biological tissues from Russians from different ethnic groups, the group responsible for harvesting the tissue has revealed itself.

While some initially discounted Putin's remars as another loony conspiracy theory, as it turns out, he was right: The group responsible for the tissue collection was none other than the US Air Force, proving that yet another conspiracy theory has become a conspiracy fact.

A representative for the US Air Force Education and Training Command explained to Russia Today that the choice of the Russian population was not intentional, and is related to research the Air Force is conducting on the human musculoskeletal system.

Eyebrows were first raised in July when the AETC issued a tender seeking to acquire samples of ribonucleic acid and synovial fluid from Russians, adding that all samples (12 RNA and 27 synovial fluid) “shall be collected from Russia and must be Caucasian.” The Air Force said it wouldn’t collect samples from Ukrainians, but didn’t specify why.

Story here. 

AETC is taking the blame on this?  I don't believe that for a second!  The real question, the million dollar question is WHY!  Why would an element (cause we don't know who the real perpetrators are) of the US govt do this?

You want a real indication of warlike intent?  Let the N. Koreans get caught doing the same to us and you'd have to read about 10 days worth of blog posts about how we should launch relentless airstrikes till we can build a McDonalds on the DMZ without resistance.

This thing reeks!

This is what future Chinese air power will look like. pic via AllAboutMilitary192781 Tumblr Page.

J-20s and J-11s.

One on one I still believe our airmen can win the day. But I don't believe the fight will be one on one.  I am concerned about China's manufacturing might. We're already seeing it with the high rate of production when it comes to their Navy and turning up the volume on aircraft and armor will be child's play.

Additionally while they are hardly innovative they are excellent at "acquiring" (I actually mean stealing) technology that they find useful thru whatever means necessary.

In short we'll be fighting an enemy that is just a tad less sophisticated but not markedly so, with a numbers advantage that will simply engage us in a war of contrition attrition (thanks to a reader for the correction, I'm obviously brain dead this morning)...a war we can't win.

Don't think about China gear in a one on one matchup.  Think about China outnumbering us in aircraft, ships, tanks and troops.  Think about them being just a step behind us in tech.  And finally think about our forces being stretched around the globe attempting to fulfill too many missions.

My prediction?  Marine Corps and Army ground officers better start studying Guadalcanal.  My bet is that in the near future, more than one unit will be left far out on a short limb.

F-35 deliveries were halted and we're just hearing about it now?

via Reuters

The Pentagon halted shipments of Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 fighter jets for 30 days this fall after it discovered corrosion around fasteners and a fix was devised, the Pentagon and Lockheed said on Wednesday.

.........

“While the issue was being evaluated, all F-35 deliveries to our customers were temporarily suspended by the F-35 Joint Program Office from Sept. 21 - Oct. 20 while we determined the corrective action plan,” Lockheed said in a statement.

Story here. 

Wow.

Aren't they suppose to be at the stage where they're able to push down the cost because they now know how to build the plane?

The most transparent program in history is anything but.

The F-35 is like the Walking Dead TV show.  It was great in the beginning but it's been terrible after the first few years.

Side note:  Watch the UK.  Theresa May has lost her majority, her defense minister and strong loyalist has resigned and everyone is expecting rates to rise today because a recession is expected in the country and their version of the Fed has NO bullets to fire to kick start things unless they do something now.  What does all this have to do with the F-35?  Expect the Pound to fall even more in value to the Dollar which will raise the price of the plane to the UK at a time when the public will DEMAND a decrease in defense spending.

UK Defense Minister resigns after getting caught up in the Weinstein mess...the social implications worry me...

via Reuters.

British defense minister Michael Fallon quit on Wednesday saying his conduct had fallen below the high standards demanded of his position, the first resignation in a sexual harassment scandal in parliament.

Prime Minister Theresa May, weakened after losing her parliamentary majority in a June election, loses a loyalist at a time when she is trying to break a deadlock in talks to leave the European Union. Fallon was described by sources in her ruling Conservative Party as a political “Rottweiler”.

His was the first high-profile resignation after a growing number of allegations of inappropriate behavior have been made against ministers and lawmakers, fueled by sex abuse allegations against Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Story here. 

Jesus. 

I thought Tailhook was bad.  I thought the Marine Corps Facebook scandal took scalps of guys that were caught unaware.

This Weinstein fueled mess is taking it to a new level!

This thing is spiraling in ways that is beginning to make me pause.  I don't know what these guys did.  I don't know if they're actually all guilty or if some of the women are simply piling on to get 15 minutes of fame but the sheer number of Hollywood A listers means that this is going to change things.

This isn't hitting some Marine, some Naval Aviator or another part of the unwashed masses.

This is hitting the elite!

Even the news media is taking their lumps on this thing.  The NPR editor resigned today and Mark Halperin one of the rising stars on MSNBC got blasted too.

The number of actors and directors accused is becoming almost legion.

But as bad as this is I wonder what comes next.  This dirty laundry got aired in public and you can bet that some of those that got named will be looking for their pound of flesh.

Could we be seeing the "collapse" of the assumed superiority of those that thought themselves our betters?

I can only hope but I have to wonder about the 13 year old boys that are just getting interested in girls have waiting for them in the future.  Will it come down to being so careful that written agreements are made before even casual conversation is attempted?  Will it have the opposite effect of women being viewed only as sex objects and only "bad girls" are deemed safe enough to even talk to?

You might think that I'm blowing the social implications of this out of proportion but I really think that we're gonna see a "male pushback" in some way.  Not this generation of males but the next.

1st Battalion the Irish Guards conducting a live firing exercise in the Belize Jungle...pic by Sergeant Rupert Frere RLC (winner in the 2017 Army Photographic Competition)

Wow! Marine Colonel calls for the "permanent" SPMAGTF to go away and return to the MEU concept!

via DOD Buzz.

After completing a seven-month deployment earlier this month, the commanding officer of the Marine Corps crisis response force for Africa has a recommendation for the brass: repurpose the task force and return a shipboard Marine expeditionary unit to the Mediterranean.

At a deployment debrief near Washington, D.C., Salene said the three-ship MEU was simply a better fit to meet the region’s needs and widely varied range of potential missions.

“A special purpose [Marine air-ground task force] is not designed to be something in perpetuity,” said Col. Sean Salene, commanding officer for Special Purpose MAGTF-Crisis Response-Africa. “It doesn’t have the same capabilities and capacities as the MEU/ [Amphibious Ready Group] team. Reestablishing that presence in the Mediterranean as a more capable, larger-capacity force, we think would work better to meet all the demands that are out there.”

Story here. 

GOOD GOD!

Either this Colonel has ran out of fucks to give or he's the most brilliant strategist of the age!

Do you get the ramifications of what he's saying?

*  SPMAGTF-CR is an AVIATION CENTRIC formation!  That is suppose to be the future of the Marine Corps and this guy (I'm reading into his words) is saying that not only is it incapable of performing the missions asked of it, but that its very creation was an abomination!

*  Additionally he's calling for a renewed EMPHASIS on the COMPLETE Marine Air-Ground Task Force!  By stating that the SPMAGTF-CR is not as capable as an MEU reinforces the statement above.

Wow!

This dude either guaranteed himself a star or he's ready to sit on that plot of land he bought in Montana (he's got a cowboy name so I figure he needs some of that "big sky" country).

Either way I wish him well.  We need alot more like him!