Tuesday, April 09, 2019
F-35 missing. This ain't a show stopper but a warning to Program Officials to get their shit straight!
via Defense News.
A Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35A fighter jet has gone missing off the coast of northern Japan, with a search mission now underway.Story here.
Local media reported that contact with the Lockheed Martin-made stealth fighter was lost just before 7:30 p.m. local time, with the aircraft’s last reported location identified over the Pacific Ocean about miles 85 miles east of Misawa city in Aomori prefecture, in the northern part of Japan’s main island of Honshu.
Japan’s national public broadcaster, NHK, quoting Japan Air Self-Defense Force officials, reported that the missing F-35A was one of four JASDF F-35As that had taken off from nearby Misawa Air Base for a training mission at 7:00 p.m. local time.
The officials added that Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aircraft and vessels have begun a search mission. Japan’s Coast Guard said it is sending two vessels to join in the search. Other JASDF aircraft, most likely search-and-rescue U-125A jets and UH-60J Black Hawk helicopters that are deployed throughout Japanese air bases, have also reportedly joined the search efforts.
First.
I hope they find this bubba. Cold water. Rough seas. The waters off the coast of Japan are no joke! Japanese Maritime Forces are cracker jack. What I haven't seen and would hope is already happening is that USMC, USN and USAF aircraft are already assisting. I hope the Navy has sortied at least a couple of ships (hopefully more) to help out.
I hope they find this dude alive and well.
Second.
I'm a critic of the F-35A and F-35C (still sorting myself on the B....blog post coming on my thinking, muddled as it is on that airplane soon). But be advised.
This ain't a show stopper for the program.
This is a warning to Program officials.
They need to get their shit straight!
The rush to completion of testing is a mistake. The program has produced jets. The number of F-35s in service have already exceeded the number of initial Harriers bought (or in service for the USMC right now!). The number of F-16s in the initial run is approaching the number of F-35As in USAF service.
What the supporters (unabashed supporters of this program) should be demanding is that they take a beat, get oriented in the right direction, a solid program to correct deficiencies lined up AND THEN they need to supervise that plan to completion.
No more planes hit the fleet till they do that!
This ain't a production thing anymore. This is a confidence thing. This is a future fight thing.
We need planes that work right!
Then if its found that they've reached farther than they can grasp then they need a come to Jesus moment and shut this shit down. No more games. No more idiot optimism. Just decisions based on the facts!
If one of Japan’s F-35s is sitting at the bottom of the Pacific, we are probably about to see one of the biggest underwater espionage and counter-espionage ops since the Cold War. If it was operating without its radar reflectors pinpointing where it went in may be an issue. 1/2— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) April 9, 2019
Monday, April 08, 2019
143rd Infantry (Airborne) on Forcible Entry Exercise....
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| 143rd Infantry (Airborne) Forced Entry U.S. Soldiers of Bravo Company assigned to the 143rd Infantry (Airborne) returns fire with the Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) during The Joint Forcible Entry Exercise at Kelly Drop Zone, San Antonio, Texas on Mar. 23, 2019. The Joint Forcible Entry Exercise is an annual large scale Airborne drop and mobility mission that simulates a contested battlefield scenario as a way of training units for dangerous situations that occur while deployed. (US Army Reserve Photo by Spc. Jeffery Harris) |
One question.
Everyone examines the USMC/USN portion of forcible entry with a fine tooth comb. Everyone has an opinion.
What don't we hear?
Airborne/Air Assault Forcible Entry viability! Have you ever seen the USAF and US Army ever assembled all the portions of an Airborne Forcible Entry Force and do a credible exercise?
I haven't (yeah, there was an exercise earlier this year or late last year but they've classified the results).
My point?
The United States Of America has only one VIABLE and REALISTIC option when it comes to forcible entry. That option comes from the sea and is led by the Navy/Marine Team.
Full stop it ain't debatable.
Oh and before the cheerleaders start piling in here, Afghanistan doesn't count. Special Forces jumping in and leading insurgents against the hostile nation does not fall into this category. Neither does Desert Storm or Iraqi Freedom.
USMC doing it again with the CH-53K. "Concurrency Management" between testing and production????
via USNI
USNI News previously reported that the discovery of an “exhaust gas re-ingestion” issue in the engine, along with other deficiencies, slowed the testing – which was already behind schedule due to having too few aircraft and not all test flights counting towards program requirements.Story here.
To compensate for the ongoing bill of the developmental testing, and to allow for concurrency management between testing and production, the Marines asked to buy just six aircraft in their Fiscal Year 2020 budget request rather than the planned nine.
As the Marines seek to move into procurement while still working out those deficiencies and finishing up the test program, Rudder said, “we’re endeavoring right now to enter into a contract that addresses all the deficiencies as well as any new deficiencies as part of the delivery of that aircraft.”
Daniel Nega, the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for air programs, said at the hearing that the Department of the Navy is in talks with Lockheed Martin now about the next contract, but he said any future deficiencies would be on Lockheed Martin to address.
Found the highlighted jem while doing a bit of catch up reading.
Talk me off the ledge.
Tell me that I'm misreading this thing. Tell me that the USMC has learned the painful lessons from the F-35 and we're not doing the concurrency thing again!
Weird Monday (Bad Karma Edition). The Jungle does not waste...the circle of life is real...
via NY Times
A man suspected of being a rhino poacher was killed last week by an elephant and his remains devoured by a pride of lions at a South African park, officials said.Story here.
Rangers at Kruger National Park and other searchers found only a human skull and a pair of pants, the park said in a statement on Friday.
Four of the dead man’s accomplices were arrested, the authorities said.
The man’s accomplices told his relatives that they had been in the park to poach rhinos on Tuesday night when he was killed by an elephant, local officials said.
A search party, including rangers on foot and members of the park’s air wing, searched the area that was described by the family but could not find the body because light was fading, the statement said. Searchers found the remains on Thursday morning.
The managing executive of the park, Glenn Phillips, offered his condolences to the family of the dead man, who was not identified.
“Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise,” he said in the statement. “It holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that.”
Mr. Phillips said it was sad to see the daughters of the man “mourning the loss of their father, and worse still, only being able to recover very little of his remains.”
People forget (in the US) but as soon as you enter the wilderness you become part of the food chain. You get seriously hurt? No comms? No way to get help...or help arrives too late? You're part of the food chain.
You enter an active ecosphere with large predators and even larger herd animals wandering around and even if you're a hunter, if you're not smart, then you're lion/hyena food.
The reality? This probably happens far more often than we know.
Leonardo IM-SHORAD (Air Defense) appears in the Marine Aviation Plan...
Found the above pic on page 148 of the Marine Aviation Plan. Apparently the Leonardo (MOOG) IM-SHORAD solution that the Army selected for the Stryker is going to be incorporated on the JLTV to provide ground based air defense for the Ground Combat Element.
If that doesn't float your boat then maybe this will. On the same page they show an image of what I BELIEVE is an Iron Dome missile system.
Its listed as an anti-cruise missile system.
We might not agree with the moves but HQMC is working the problem. I still think that a Land Ceptor mounted on the back of an FMTV (just as we do the MLRS) would be a better solution to the ground based anti-air problem but that part is at least listed as interim (but we all know how interim turns into an enduring solution) so there is still hope on that front.
Overall I'm not thrilled but I'm encouraged.
Read the Aviation Plan here.
Blast from the past. You'll know them when they come to avenge me...
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| On 8 Feb 1943, the Nazis hung 17-year-old Yugoslav partisan Lepa Radić. When asked the names of her companions, she replied: “You will know them when they come to avenge me”. |
Sunday, April 07, 2019
Should Western (American) Military Forces stand apart or with society?
NOTE: Gonna ask your forgiveness on this one. It's disjointed and slightly rambling. I might take it down but if it's still up I hope you're able to follow my line of thinking.
My focus is the US military but this applies to all Western forces. Should the military of free nations stand apart from or with society?
Point.
The forces of the free world must represent and protect their nations. Standing with society is necessary for this to happen. Additionally it should reflect the tensions inside a nation, its strengths and its weaknesses. To separate the forces that protect a nation from the society it serves only weakens those institutions and breeds distrust.
Counterpoint.
Western culture is decadent and lazy. The military must reflect a different value system. The average citizen isn't required to put himself in harms way. The military is. What is allowable in society can't be tolerated in the military.
Point.
Separation breeds contempt. Creates a warrior class. Endangers the Republic because we're building into powerful institutions that they are superior to average citizens.
Counterpoint.
Separation breeds excellence. The separation from society was instituted when professional forces were established with the end of the draft. Citizens are no longer required to perform the civic duty of serving the nation for a set amount of time. There is no contempt implied by the fact that certain citizens have taken on the responsibility for protection of the nation.
Do you get where I'm going here?
This crossed my mind. Some of the issues that the US military is dealing with in my mind boiled down to this issue.
My opinion?
At this point in time the West needs a warrior class. The West needs a certain number of citizens that are willing to do the hard thing. To make the sacrifices necessary to protect their nations. If we no longer require citizens to serve a set amount of time in uniform then that means that those people (those that choose not to serve) are required to shoulder another responsibility. To ensure that those forces, their fellow citizens are asked to go into harms way in order to safe guard their nation. Not to protect others. Not to follow dubious global schemes, not to play masters of the universe.
The military must stand apart because they're being asked to do what others are not, can not and will not do. To expect the military to mirror society is to ask our military to fail.
USMC's Electronic Warfare Effort....Across various platforms based on the Intrepid Tiger II....
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| Marines assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 264 (Reinforced), and 2nd Radio Battalion Detachment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), prepare for departure to conduct the first operational flight of the Intrepid Tiger II (V)3 Electronic Warfare pod aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1). The Intrepid Tiger II EW is a network-enabled family of systems that provides a RDC (Rapid Deployment Capability) to support ground combat operations. 22nd MEU, deployed with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, is conducting naval operations in the 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Koby I. Saunders/ Released) |
A quick Google search and this is it. This is how the USMC is planning on conducting EW into the future. As I suspected it involves using the F-35B's AESA array but also the little jewel you see above. Never heard of the Intrepid Tiger II but that's what they're betting on. We'll see if it pays off but uncharacteristically the USMC is deviating from the Navy plan...and for now the Navy is allowing it.
Time will tell.
A nice write up on the USMC's electronic attack effort is here.
Has the USMC purposefully "downgraded" the Harrier II for years?
via National Interest.
The Marine Corps in its aviation plan lays out an ambitious suite of upgrades for the AV-8B. New software slated for 2020 will allow the Harrier to fire Advanced Precision-Kill Weapon System laser-guided rockets and GPS-guided Joint Stand-Off Weapon glide bombs.Story here.
In 2021 the Harriers will get AIM-9X and AIM-120C air-to-air missiles, the LITENING Gen 4 targeting pod and the Link 16 radio datalink. The Corps in 2023 plans to give Harrier pilots a helmet-mounted sight. The jump jets the same year will get a new satellite-communications system.
The Marines expect the old jump jets to remain highly capable in their last few years of service. "The Harrier has been and continues to be the premier [tactical air] platform aboard the MEU."
Just plain wow.
Harriers will finally be getting a long range missile, Aim-9X, advanced targeting pod, SATCOM and Link16?
This isn't cutting edge stuff.
This is stuff that's been around for awhile now.
Remember how I've been saying that the F-35B is the only model that's a clear win over the legacy model?
With these upgrades the cost vs capability arguments comes to the forefront and its not so clear cut that the F-35B is worth the price compared to an upgraded Harrier.
Additionally I keep seeing the USMC buy over capacity for the requirement. We have 120 odd Harriers and a couple hundred Hornets but we're buying 420 F-35Bs?
Sounds reasonable to you?
Well remember that its been stated that the Prowler mission is going away. That a future electronic attack version of the F-35 is suppose to fill this mission.
An additional worry is that the USMC is buying so many of them early that replacements of these replacements (for the Hornets) is almost guaranteed.
The Aviation Plan has unfortunately been a muddled mess. The vacillation between planning for the Harrier to remain in service till 2030, then switching to keeping the Hornet in service and now walking a line between keeping both planes till then while buying the F-35B is tying up funds better spent elsewhere.
Clarity.
We need clarity and fiscal responsibility.
What we don't need is starvation of the operating force to fund procurement. If the Harrier is here now and can be brought up to speed then that's exactly what we need to do.
The USS Wasp just deployed with 10 F-35Bs while the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier will carry 12 in peace time deployments?
I've been trying to wrap my head around the USMC's chase to turn LHDs into light carriers. For the life of me I can't understand it.
BUT! The back of the paper tally of things seems to indicate that it's at least "doable". I used for comparison the most capable carrier in allied service (in my opinion) the Queen Elizabeth. I used Wikipedia for a quick and dirty and got this....
 |
| The two ships of the Queen Elizabeth class are each expected to be capable of carrying forty aircraft, a maximum of thirty-six F-35s and four helicopters.[92] The 2010 SDSR anticipated the routine peacetime deployment of twelve F-35Bs, but a typical warload will be 24 F-35Bs and some helicopters.[15] These could be a Maritime Force Protection package of nine anti-submarine Merlin HM2 and five Merlin Crowsnest for airborne early warning; alternatively a Littoral Manoeuvre package could include a mix of Royal Navy Commando Helicopter Force Merlin HC4, Wildcat AH1, RAF Chinooks, and Army Air Corps Apaches.[15] As of September 2013 six landing spots are planned, but the deck could be marked out for the operation of ten medium helicopters at once, allowing the lift of a company of 250 troops.[15] The hangars are designed for CH-47 Chinook operations without blade folding and for the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, whilst the aircraft lifts can accommodate two Chinooks with unfolded blades.[93] |
Let's assume that the Marine Corps/Navy is looking at surge operations. Remember that before Mattis left office one of his initiatives was to change how deployments are carried out. Shorter deployments. Multiple ships leaving at the same time (we just saw that with a couple of carriers that departed their home port in San Diego together). In other words the ability to rapidly project naval power in short notice operations while preserving the fleet for high intensity ops.
Could part of the thinking involve tailored air wings not for the MEU, but for missions? The MAGTF concept but tailored toward the Wing and the big deck amphibs?
Sea Control? An LHD with F-35Bs and a few Sea Hawks. Our "new style" HA/DR? A deck full of CH-53s and UH-1Ys. SOCOM bitch work? A deck full of MV-22s, a couple of AH-1Zs and maybe 6 F-35s.
And of course the standard Air Wing mix to provide for our MEUs.
Is it in keeping with Marine Corps doctrine? I have to admit it is. Could this plan de-nude the MEU of what we consider standard air support? Depending on the situation, yes. Does it provide for alot more flexibility to the NCA and Combatant Commanders? Yeah. Yeah it does.
Does ANYONE know what the Marine Corps is thinking with the light carrier concept and am I anywhere close to the mark here or off on a wild tangent?
Sunday Creep-Fest....An Anaconda measuring more than 50 FEET
Thanks to Joe for the link!
I wanted to see how big the head was on this thing. I'm guessing bigger than a horse!
What do you do if you see this in the wild? If you can overcome the natural freeze instinct because you won't believe what you're seeing, then you dump the mag and run like hell (don't know how fast they are....can a man outrun them?).
The crazy thing?
There are probably bigger ones deeper in the Amazon. The batshit crazy thing? We're probably living on this planet with creatures that will chill our blood but they haven't been discovered yet!
An anaconda measuring more than 50 FEET (15m) was registered in the Xingu River, Brazil. pic.twitter.com/Ukksb724Jw— Nature is Scary (@TheScaryNature) March 26, 2019
I wanted to see how big the head was on this thing. I'm guessing bigger than a horse!
What do you do if you see this in the wild? If you can overcome the natural freeze instinct because you won't believe what you're seeing, then you dump the mag and run like hell (don't know how fast they are....can a man outrun them?).
The crazy thing?
There are probably bigger ones deeper in the Amazon. The batshit crazy thing? We're probably living on this planet with creatures that will chill our blood but they haven't been discovered yet!
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