Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1/4 at work...pics by Lance Cpl. Cameron Parks

Pakistani JF-17 (Chinese Export Fighter) killed by Pakistani LY-80 SAM (Chinese Export Anti-Air System) in Pakistan...Friendly Fire Incident

Sad news guys. 😰
Our JF-17 was downed by our own surface-to-air missile system today in Multan.
LY-80 SAM(export variant of HQ-16) which we acquired recently from China proved to be fatal against ourselves.
Pilot lost his life.
May his soul rest in peace.#OnThisDay

— Majid Gulfam 🇵🇰 (@AliKhatna) March 25, 2019

Don't know the geography but it doesn't appear to be too far from the border with India.  I wonder if this is part of the continued "war footing" that both countries are on.  Regardless a friendly fire incident is always a tragedy.  Was the system set on automatic or were they in a weapons free status?

I'm sure they'll investigate.  Rest in peace to the pilot and best wishes to his family.

USMC back in the ground based air defense business!

via Marine Corps Times

Starting next year, counter-drone tech for the Marine Corps’ newest ground vehicle and an advanced radar system that can track everything from toy drones to cruise missile will be hitting the fleet.

Marine Corps budget request documents sent to Congress outline funding that will see early increments of the Ground Based Air Defense system installed on at least 28 JLTVs and see a total of 13 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar systems fielded before the end of 2020.

The GBAD system is a combined detection and strike system used by fire units in low altitude air defense or LAAD battalions, which support the Marine Air Ground Task Force.

Right now, those LAAD Marines have to pair up and use binoculars to spot incoming threats and then launch a shoulder-fired Stinger missile to knock them out.

With the GBAD, Marines can detect and launch the missiles from a variety of vehicles, from a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle or M-ATV or smaller units can divide the equipment between two small off road vehicles like the MRZR for an even lighter footprint.

The first counter-drone iteration coming in 2020 for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle will soon be followed by an increment in 2021 that will extend GBAD ranges and incorporate both kinetic (think missiles) and non-kinetic (think jammers and lasers).

The Corps spent $176 million in 2018 acquiring the GBAD and plans to spend nearly another $1 billion through 2024 buying the systems.

The GBAD can operate standalone, but by 2021 the Corps hopes to tie into the G/ATOR, an advanced radar system that replaces five systems that do everything from air defense to air traffic control to target acquisition and tracking.

They also want it to work with the Command Aviation Command and Control System, which helps all of the radar systems talk with each other and with tactical operations and command centers for a full-range, shareable operating picture.

Radars being replaced include the TPS-63 air defense; TPS-73 air traffic control; MPQ-62 short-range air defense; TPQ-46 counterfire target acquisition and UPS-3 target tracking radar systems.

That gives the Marine Expeditionary Unit better capability in one system than in a batch of slapped together systems that predate the G/ATOR.

The Corps bought 17 systems since 2015 with plans to procure another eight next year and in 2022, which completes the current plans for buying G/ATOR systems.

Wow.

The G/ATOR array seems like it's setup to basically carry the entire load.  That's the good (I guess...don't know and stand ready to be corrected).  The sorta good (but I wonder if we should be aiming higher) is the GBAD system.

Are you aware that the USMC once had robust ground based anti-air missiles? The HAWK anti-air missile was last used during Desert Storm.

Can't remember the time frame but the USMC soon became fixated on maneuver (probably shortly after this fight) and the LAV-AD was born to protect our forces while on the move.

 I've never seen this vehicle in real life.  Don't know if the above pic is correct or just another "possible" configuration that never saw service. What I do know is that its service life was incredibly short and for the longest time we've made due with LAAD using man portable Stinger anti-air missiles.

Long story short.  This is a move in the right direction but make no mistake. The gaps remain and will be getting bigger with the new operational concept of widely dispersed units.

But they are working the problem.  So that's a good thing.

For the first time a F-35 lobbyist admits that a death spiral is in the offing...

via Forbes

Given current federal budget deficits, rising interest rates, and mounting pressure from mandatory federal spending accounts, it will be increasingly difficult to sustain current defense spending. History tells us that budgets do not rise forever, but move up and down in cycles. When the next down cycle comes, it will unleash competition for finite dollars between the F-35 and F-15EX leading to a decrease in the F-35 buy rate. Ultimately, if funds are actually appropriated for F-15EX production, they will come out of future spending on the F-35. Reduced production will result in higher unit prices, inducing further program cuts. Indeed, we can already see this happening—DOD’s new five-year plan has the Air Force planning to buy 48 F-35s from 2021-2023, down from 54 per year as previously planned.

Story here. 

This is why the F-35 fanatics are pushing back so hard on the missile truck concept represented by the F-15EX.

This is why they're no longer laughing when I talk about death spiral.

The threat is real this time...all you have to do is follow the money.  What's amazing is that for the first time we see definitive proof that the full buy of F-35's is in jeopardy.

It's been teased before.

The US Navy's anemic buy of the F-35C was sending alarm bells.  The continued push to buy Super Hornets was a case of the same alarm bells ringing a bit louder.

The F-15EX is a direct shot across the bow.

Death spiral.

When I shout it now the fan boys ain't laughing.

Open Comment Post. 26 March 2019

Trump/Russia Report. Steve Bannon says Trump will go "pure animal" on enemies now!

* Note *  This is the last one.  We're moving on to regularly scheduled programing unless something wild and wooly happens!

via Fox News.

Following the submission of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and the subsequent summary showing that President Trump and his campaign did not collude with Russia, former White House adviser Steve Bannon said the president will “go full animal” against his political enemies.

In an interview with Yahoo! News over the weekend, Bannon predicted that the president will "come off the chains" and will use the Mueller report findings against opponents especially if they demand additional documents.

"He will use it to bludgeon them," Bannon said.

"When I saw no new indictments — I thought, Oh my God! They didn’t indict anybody regarding the Flynn investigation, they didn’t indict Don, Jr.! Maybe [Mueller] could have details about obstruction of justice that are not indictable, but are meaningful," Bannon, who was fired from his White House role in August 2017, told the outlet. "But right now, it looks like they have nothing."

Story here and make sure to watch the vid on their site. 

The world is burning...

People have said it with regard to this news story but are you paying attention to everything going on in the world?

*  The US just recognized Israel's claim to the Golan Heights.

*  Iran is building a couple of nuclear power plants.

*  The insurgency in the Philippines continues almost unchecked.

*  A cyclone hit Africa and killed hundred if not thousands of people.

*  Italy just joined the Chinese "Silk Road" initiative.

*  The Turks, Iran, and Others are preparing to carve up Syria and perhaps even parts of Iraq.

*  The terrorist continue to flow throughout Africa and have stepped up their attacks on govt forces.

*  Pakistan vs India is still simmering (the naval moves by India are extremely interesting).

*  A US  Navy Destroyer and US Coast Guard Cutter just sailed thru the disputed S. China sea.

*  The US just tested intercepts of ICBMs.

*  Continued dysfunction in the UK with the current govt on the verge of collapse.

*  Yellow vest protest continue in France with the govt signalling an intense crack down.

And last but not least this Trump/Russia report.

The world is burning folks...It's a raging fire and people are reaching for the gasoline instead of water.

Pass me another cold one and the popcorn....when Trump starts putting horse heads in beds it's gonna get good.

Joint Maritime Prepositioning Force Evolution During Pacific Blitz 2019....pics by Petty Officer 1st Class Heather Salzman

Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 and Marines from I Marine Expeditionary Force direct an AAV-7A1 amphibious assault vehicle off the ramp of Military Sealift Command vessel USNS SGT William R. Button (T-AK 3012) in a maritime prepositioning force training evolution in Port Hueneme, California during Exercise Pacific Blitz 2019 (PacBlitz19). The inherently dynamic, scalable, and combined-arms capability of MAGTFs joined with mobility and sustainability provided by amphibious ships gives us an asymmetric advantage over adversaries. PacBlitz19 increases the ability of all participants to plan, communicate and conduct complex amphibious operations.

Berserk Concepts

Thanks to PitchBlackUniverse for the pics!!!

I have no idea if this is a real concept under consideration or just another graphic artist dram vehicle.  Doesn't matter.  Looks good to me!

Soldier ran over by CV-90. What a terrible way to die...

via Sputnik.

The deadly incident occurred in the early hours of Monday morning outside the town of Överkalix in Norrbotten County, where international exercises involving 10,000 soldiers are being held.

A soldier was run down by a combat vehicle during the Northern Wind international military drill held in northern Sweden, the Swedish Armed Forces have confirmed.

The "serious accident" occurred in the eastern part of Norrbotten County. The soldier was confirmed dead after being run over by a Stridsfordon 90 combat vehicle.

"Only Swedish personnel were involved in the accident that occurred outside Överkalix. The Swedish Armed Forces' own personnel provided the first aid, where upon medics and the police were called", the Swedish Armed Forces informed.

A crisis support centre has been established.

Story here.

Sympathy to his family and friends.  My hope is that he didn't suffer.  Regardless this is a bit surprising.  The Swedes are usually pretty meticulous when it comes to exercises and I have no visibility on them, I always got the impression that they were as safety conscious as the best in the West.

It proves one thing.

Military training is inherently dangerous.  Operating in and around heavy vehicles, high performance aircraft etc...always carries risks that the average citizen can scarcely imagine.

E-7 is a mistake buy by the RAF? via HushKit Blog!

First do me a favor and make sure you visit HushKit Blog.  They do good stuff and need your support.  Consider subscribing.

Second check out this tidbit...

We also spoke to Thomas Newdick, Editor of Air Forces Monthly – “While choice of the E-7 may seem an obvious one, there are compelling reasons to suggest the RAF should have looked elsewhere. The E-7 is based on what’s now old technology. Aside from Australia, there’s little in the way of commonality with UK’s closest allies. There are even question marks about inserting the existing technology into a new basic airframe (production of the 700 series has ended) and will it be possible to plumb it for a probe (like the E-3D has)? Essentially, the UK is once again probably last in line to choose a specific AEW solution, as it was with the E-3, which then became a very expensive ‘upgrade vacuum’. The E-7 would seem to offer very little to the UK industrial sector in terms of workshare, despite the MOD’s claims to the contrary. Finally, it can be argued – as former RAF commander AVM Bagwell has – that the era of the manned conventional AEW platform is itself numbered and the UK would have been better off examining more radical (unmanned) solutions for the future….MESA was first rolled out in 2002 and the RAAF has since upgraded them -they faced obsolescence issues in radar processing hardware and IFF. It’s not the cutting edge any more, e.g. doesn’t have Gallium-nitride technology.”  Indeed AEW&C aircraft are considered high value assets by potential enemies- and preventing barrages of long-range missile shots from conventional aircraft, ships and the ground against AEW&C is hard enough, defending them from mass attacks from reduced RCS (radar cross section) aircraft like the J-20, may be close to impossible.

Story here! 

Wow.  I followed the herd on this one.  I assumed that the E-7 was cutting edge.  Could I have been wrong? 

Hash it out on their blog.  Aviation guys should make this a fun conversation to follow.

Griffon spotted in the wild...via @nobledefrance Twitter Page...

Still don't quite understand where this vehicle fits in the French scheme of maneuver.

They have VBCI's for the transport of infantry right?  This does the same.  Is it a complementary vehicle for lower end threats?  If so then why is it armored to almost the same level as the VBCI-1?

Additionally I've seen concepts for some pretty wild and wooly weapons fit. Its almost like it's designed to fight side by side with the VBCI, but it appears to be bigger than even the JLTV and once again approaching the size of the VBCI.

Just don't get it.  Anyone have any ideas?  Better yet can a Frenchman with definitive knowledge hit me with the thinking behind it?