China is building its 3rd aircraft carrier.

via SCMP.com

China started building its third aircraft carrier, with a hi-tech launch system, at a Shanghai shipyard last year, according to sources close to the People’s Liberation Army.

One of the sources said Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard Group was given the go-ahead to begin work on the vessel after military leaders met in Beijing following the annual sessions of China’s legislature and top political advisory body in March.

“But the shipyard is still working on the carrier’s hull, which is expected to take about two years,” the source said. “Building the new carrier will be more complicated and challenging than the other two ships.”

China has been trying to build up a blue-water navy that can operate globally and support its maritime security, but it so far has only one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning – a repurposed Soviet ship it bought from Ukraine that went into service in 2012.

Story here. 

Hmm.  Other websites are adding that this ship will be smaller than the other two and have a two island layout like the Queen Elizabeth Class.

Interesting.

Does anyone know the number of carriers China is seeking to field in total?

Could this be a move to not only meet our forces on a quality vs quality basis but by building a number of somewhat smaller carriers, also beat us on numbers?

Is this a weird blend of US Navy offensive operations (in the form of carriers) along with the Russian anti-access doctrine (fast missile boats, subs, and long range anti-ship firing bombers)?

Do you know why I keep screaming that Russia isn't the enemy, that China is the threat?

Because of moves like this.

Look at the force that Russia is building vs. the one that China is!  Russia is building a capable DEFENSE force.  This is seen across the board from their land to naval to air force.

China however is building an offensive capability that is designed to match our strengths and exploit our weaknesses.

The longer we keep letting leadership distract us with the idiotic Russia threat the longer it will be till we can pivot to confront the real evil...the Communist Chinese!

Open Comment Post. Jan 5, 2018

I Have a Rendezvous with Death by Alan Seeger

Read about this brave guy here.

If you just don't have the time to follow the link to his Wikipedia page then here is a quick rundown.  Born and bred American.  Volunteered for the French Foreign Legion.  Participated in the Battle of the Somme.  Killed by machine gun fire while cheering his comrades on.  A monument honoring fallen Americans (WW1) is erected in France with a statue of him located prominently on it.

WW1 deserves more study. 

The more I think of it the more I think we're gonna see that type of fighting in the next peer war.  I can see lines being drawn that can't be crossed and both sides fighting over broken ground to claim yards of terrain.

But even if that doesn't come to pass the industrial scale slaughter of the first modern war is stunning to behold.

Think about it.

It was common for men to rise up out of trenches and cross open terrain KNOWING that they would be facing a fuselage of machine gun, small arms and artillery fire.

That takes a kind of guts I don't have.

I can quite honestly imagine me asking whoever gave that order if they're fucking high.

But these guys did it.  And they did it knowing the likely outcome.

That's sterner stuff than I'm made of.

N. Korea suffered a failed ballistic missile test in 2017

via Sputnik.

An allegedly unsuccessful test of a North Korean ballistic missile that exploded over a densely populated area has raised concerns about the possibility of similar accidents happening over the country’s capital Pyongyang or other populated areas, The Diplomat has reported.

The Hwasong-12/KN17 intermediate-range ballistic missile reportedly failed minutes after it was launched on April 29, 2017 and crashed in the North Korean city of Tokchon with a population of about 240,000, causing “considerable damage to a complex of industrial or agricultural buildings,” the Tokyo-based international news magazine wrote, citing a source in the US government with knowledge of North Korean weapons programs.

Story here. 

Hmm.  Why would this just be coming to light now?  This is another case where information was probably over classified and should have been open source.

If they can tell us when a missile test is probably gonna take place then telling us of a failure shouldn't be a stretch.

Aku from Samurai Jack never looked better!

Open Comment Post. Jan 4, 2018

Nudelman Precision - Russia Sosna-R Autonomous Supersonic ADMS Armoured Vehicle

Our potential foes have fully integrated anti-air complexes that can protect their formations while on the move.

The old chestnut of trying to win air superiority, then knocking back enemy air defenses and finally providing close air support might not be applicable in the future.

Think about it like this.

Even during WW2 the US did not operate against a fully functioning threat from enemy aircraft.  On the Eastern Front, both the Russian and German Air Forces simultaneously fought the air superiority, close air and even strategic air (limited though it was) fight at the same time.

We HAVE NEVER had to.

I wonder how we'll handle having to.

Let me put it another way.  What happens to the US way of war if the enemy is able to so press and harass our air arm that they aren't able to help with the ground fight?  Could our ground forces repel an enemy assault with artillery being the primary means of supporting fires?

CMI Defence - Missile Solutions Simulation

Interesting little sales video.  I see that barrel launched anti-tank missiles are back in style.

What has me scratching my head is why isn't anyone working to make these things faster.  I don't know if tankers were just pulling my leg and deciding to fuck with me but they always talked about how they practiced looking for the smoke signature, flash, whatever and they doing snapshots to throw off the missile-man.

I'm looking for higher speed, all top attack for the next gen anti-tank missiles.

A-29, AT-6 Dirt Runway Landing/Take Off Vid & a modest proposal...

I'm jumping on the bandwagon.

My modest proposal is this.  Since HQMC won't just simply DUMP the idea of SPMAGTF-CR then at least do a few things to fix it.  Problem?  The F-35 costs too damn much to operate, they aren't gonna send it anywhere where support isn't available/exquisite and no one wants to bang around 150 plus million dollar piece of hardware.

The answer?

Buy the freaking A-29, make it the escort and close air support for the SPMAGTF-CR and put an end to the dreams of the tilt-rotor UAV that is a jack of all trades.

Reality time.  Someone is gonna have to be the adult and tell the wing that they can't keep gobbling up every spare cent the Marine Corps has.

Additionally, some knuckle dragging bastard (I volunteer) is gonna have to tell leadership the bad news.  First, their plan to deal with the procurement train wreck is fucked beyond recognition and second, Congress/Trump might want to bail you out of your idiocy but they can't...and won't.

By my way of thinking I'm guessing a grand total of maybe 20-30 should just about do it.  Assign them to the AH-1Z/UH-1Y squadrons, rotate seats so you don't have to train additional pilots and make this happen by the end of summer (the protracted procurement timetable is really starting to grate).

It's the only answer.  If the AH-1Z/UH-1Y doesn't have the legs or speed to keep up with the MV-22, if the F-35 is just too damn special unicorn to even do the mission and if the tilt rotor UAV is just a twinkle in Mad Dogs eye then we've got to make moves now.

That move should be to buy the A-29 right fucking now.

East coast is about to get hit with a bomb cyclone? Better them than me!

via Earther.com

Earther can’t really give you any insights into our big button boy’s mindset on the nuclear front, but we’ve got you covered when it comes to this bomb cyclone thing that’s about to “blast the East Coast.”

Snow is falling in northern Florida thanks to moist air from the Gulf of Mexico intersecting with the frigid cold hanging over the eastern U.S. The impending storm will get really organized and march up toward the Mid-Atlantic this evening, where there are rare blizzard watches already in effect. By late tonight or early tomorrow, snow, storm surge, and powerful winds will smack the Northeast.

Story here. 

DAMN!  Shit is about to get real on the east coast!

Better them than me!

That bomb cyclone sounds like pure dee pain...plus it's cold?  FUCK THAT!

Gunner Wade is back spitting knowledge about barrel length and accuracy!

Weird questions coming from Marines.  Barrel length affects accuracy at distance.  Move those targets back to 400 yards using the M16A4 as your baseline rifle and then do your test.  That's when you'll see the difference...or am I wrong?  Fuck it.  I'm the stupid one for even questioning the man.  I mean he is paid to know and does this shit for a living.  Lesson learned.  Never question Big Jim Wade when it comes to weapons/weaponry...and especially weapons performance....

Regardless it's good to see Gunner Wade back spitting knowledge!

Frozen Fighters | Cold Weather Training

ABSOLUTELY LOVE these quick vids.  Nice to see the FMF still doing the Marine thing.

Great way to take the edge off after the news earlier today....

2nd Cav Regiment is still teasing pics of its shrink wrapped Dragoon....

Join us as we count down the days until more 30mm Dragoon Styrkers arrive to 2CR. This Stryker was named for our Regiment and will be fielded across the Squadrons throughout 2018. Happy New Year! #AlwaysReady #Dragoons #StrongEurope

A post shared by "Always Ready" (@2dcavalryregiment) on Jan 2, 2018 at 9:06pm PST

caption ....

Join us as we count down the days until more 30mm Dragoon Styrkers arrive to 2CR. This Stryker was named for our Regiment and will be fielded across the Squadrons throughout 2018.

Why are they still playing this shrink wrap thing?  Everyone knows what this damn thing looks like.  If they've made mods in the field then awesome but stop playing this game.

This is the first bad move from 2nd Cav public relations I've seen.  Too bad.  You don't tease pics of fucking fighting vehicles.  You let the beasts out into the wild. 

You toss that turret around, you send rounds down range....In other words you FUCKING ROAR!  

The Ne0-Cons and Dept of the Army says that Europe (your freaking backyard) might see hordes of Russians at anytime.  Start acting like you're forward deployed and ready to hook and jab with enemy forces! 

Take the fucking shrink wrap off.  I mean you are "ready to fight tonight" right?

US Army plans on trialing 2 finalist for it's light tank project by the end of the year...

via Army Times

As future war planning shifts to confront near-peer threats, Army leaders are looking at their ground combat formations and seeing something missing — a light tank.

By late 2018, the Army expects to start trials pitting two companies to produce 12 prototype light tanks each, according to a recently released Request For Proposal.

Originally reported by Defense News, a sister publication of Army Times. the competition will then yield a winner that will build up to 54 of the light tanks, with the first unit receiving the Mobile Protected Firepower, or MPF, in 2025.

The Army plans to spend more than $1.2 billion on the program over the next four years.

Story here. 

Wow.  The Army is doing the same crap the Marine Corps did with the ACV. Taking basically off the shelf vehicles, testing them for a year and then slow walking them to the units.

They're gonna start trials by the end of this year but it will be till 2025 till the first unit receives the vehicle?

I don't get it.

Why isn't anyone in the Pentagon able to act with a sense of urgency anymore?

You guys and this SWATTING incident...let me hit you with something else!

You guys and this SWATTING incident.

I tried to point out that there are incidents where it comes down to officer judgement and when its poor I HAVE PERSONALLY been on the opposite side of those cases with you folks.

But on this one I find it amazing that no one is taking the time to understand that this SWAT Team was primed to go face to face with an armed kidnapper and that the fault doesn't lie with the guys at the sharp end but the people sitting in the back in air conditioned (or heated) comfort, smoking and joking, having a good time and maybe even watching events playout like its some sick sporting event.

I'll simply ask you all to consider this.

You do know that dispatchers have Caller ID on anyone that calls in don't you?  You do know that "call blocking" doesn't work when it comes to the 911 service don't you?

Have you even considered that the dispatcher knew that the person that called this in was halfway across the country?

Did you even consider that they didn't gather even more information as to how he knew that there was a kidnapping/hostage taking in progress?

Did you even think that just MAYBE supervisors/the Chief...someone should have slowed the situation down and asked basic questions like...how does this fucker know something is going on?  Have we had any reports of disturbances in that neighborhood or at that address?

I WILL SECOND GUESS PEOPLE THAT ARE SUPPOSE TO BE IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS SITTING IN WARMTH, DRINKING COFFEE.  THERE WAS NO NEED FOR THEM TO ALLOW THE SITUATION TO GO FORWARD.

My basic point is that if this was a better world, not perfect...simply better, then this whole thing would have been squashed between the dispatcher and her supervisor...long before it even made it to patrol units or SWAT.

The US fucking Marine Corps cuts infantry to field cyber? Why aren't we resourcing that like the medical field from the Navy?

Thanks to FormerDirtDart for the link!

via Marine Corps Times

The Marine Corps is doing away with its 0351 infantry assaultman military occupational specialty and phasing out the assault section of Marine rifle companies in an effort to build up communities such as cyber and electronic warfare, Military.com has learned.

Commandant Gen. Robert Neller, who confirmed planning in December while on an annual tour of deployed Marine elements around the world, said he expects the move to happen in the next three to five years as part of a slate of changes designed to help the Corps prepare for future fights.

The 0351 infantry assaultman, one of the Marine Corps' five core infantry positions, is tasked with breaching, demolition, and rocket fire against fortified positions. Assaultmen carry the MK-153 shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapon, or SMAW.

Story here. 

Do you get the total disconnect here?  HQMC is pushing the idea that fighting in a MegaCity is unavoidable.  Now we're getting rid of our hip pocket breaching and demolition bubbas?

Even more irritating is the fact that we have yet to know what cyber and electronic warfare specialists are suppose to do...or rather how they fit into the Marine Corps way of war.

According to Marine Corps doctrine Marine Air delivers our electronic warfare set piece.  How cyber is gonna help in the assault or defense is beyond me, but why hasn't anyone asked the basic question....why is the Marine Corps trying to get into the cyber business in the first place!

We leverage medical care via Navy Corpsmen and use their hospitals and doctors.  Those bastards are so shit hot that they're just confused Marines that got led astray by Navy recruiters!

We could easily do the same with cyber and electronic warfare.  Have the Navy provide the training and have a school to get them up to Fleet Marine standards and leverage the whole thing off the Navy's money pot!

This is an idiot move.

I thought Neller was hitting his stride but this is batshit crazy!

Saudi Arabia to buy 3 FS56 Patrol Boats from CMN...via Naval News Instagram

French Shipbuilder CMN: the three patrol ships contract has finally come into force in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh has put into effect the contract for the sale of three FS56 patrol boats manufactured by the shipyard of Cherbourg, CMN. The amount of the order is estimated at 250 million euros.

Initialed at the end of 2015, the contract for the sale of three FS56 patrol boats built by the shipyard of Cherbourg, CMN (Mechanical Constructions of Normandy) to the Saudi navy was finally finally put into effect (first deposit paid), according to several sources concordant . The contract is evaluated for these three fighter-type patrollers at 250 million euros.

Initially, these three patrol boats were to equip the Lebanese navy under the tripartite Donas contract signed in 2014 between Saudi Arabia and ODAS, on behalf of Lebanon. In disagreement with Beirut, Riyad finally took over for his army the Donas contract, now called the Saudi-French Military Contract (SFMC). Despite the complicated relations between Saudi Arabia and France, Riyad has put into effect the contract signed by CMN, owned by Lebanese businessman Iskandar Safa. That's two years after the signing of this contract. This decision corresponds to a need of the Saudi navy for these warships and the strict application of the contract, whose execution continues under the control of ODAS, representing French interests in Riyadh.

East Africa Response Force (EARF) Soldiers Conduct Live-Fire Training

So the 10th Mtn is in the Horn of Africa?  I wondered where they went off to.  You hear about everyone except those guys lately.

I wonder how they're gonna run those missions when SOCOM leaves with its tail between its leg?  Are they gonna plus up the Response Force and increase aviation support so that our guys aren't on the wrong end of a very long rope?

God I hope so.

One thing to keep your eye on.  The planning section for these missions.  If SOCOM keeps their guys in the room and if the Combatant Commander is Special Ops crazy and is in love with the partner bullshit that is all the rage with the Pentagon then you'll see conventionals trying to run these missions just like SOCOM did.  Too light to survive and too far away for help to arrive in time.

Let's hope some basic infantry common sense is applied before we lose more guys on that forsaken continent.

IDF creates a new infantry unit along the Gaza strip...

via algemeiner.com

A new elite IDF infantry unit is about to take up its position along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.

The Haruv (Carob) unit, named after a renowned force that operated in Israel’s southern desert border in the 1960s and 1970s, was once a regular infantry battalion in the Kfir brigade, focusing on security operations in Judea and Samaria (the territories).

Several months ago, the IDF decided to convert this battalion into an elite unit, and to give it the training, weapons, vehicles and high-tech equipment to fight in Gaza.

Since then, the unit has been selectively recruiting cadets into its ranks and placing them under intense special force training. This process culminated at the end of December, in a large-scale war drill that simulated Gaza’s urban warfare settings.

Story here. 

Wait.  So Israel is starting to operate independent Infantry Battalions?  Are they still part of the Kfir Brigade?  I read that certain battalions in all IDF Brigades were "special operations capable"...is this a return to that old standard?

Tues Inspiration. I will act now. I will act now. I will act now.....