Open Comment Post. 02 May 2019

Former CIA Officer Pleads Guilty to Chinese Espionage Conspiracy

via Free Beacon.

Former CIA operations officer Jerry Chun Shin Lee pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiracy to commit espionage for China in a case linked to the loss of numerous recruited CIA spies in China.

Lee, 54, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Hong Kong, supplied documents and information to Chinese intelligence officers from April 26, 2010, to Jan. 15, 2018 when he was arrested, according to court papers in the case.

The former spy handler initially had pleaded not guilty. The plea deal avoids what was expected to be a lengthy trial that may have risked further exposing CIA secrets Lee supplied to China.

Lee faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for the charge. Sentencing in the case was set for Aug. 23.

The case is one of three Chinese espionage-related cases in recent months as part of a Trump administration crackdown on Beijing's intelligence operations.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said Americans entrusted with the government’s most closely held secrets have a tremendous responsibility to safeguard secret information.

"Instead of embracing that responsibility and honoring his commitment to not disclose national defense information, Lee sold out his country, conspired to become a spy for a foreign government, and then repeatedly lied to investigators about his conduct," Terwilliger said in a statement announcing the plea deal.

"This prosecution should serve as a warning to others who would compromise our nation’s secrets and betray our country’s trust."

Edward MacMahon, Lee's lawyer, declined to comment on the case.

Lee was recruited by the Chinese Ministry of State Security during a 2010 meeting in Shenzhen, China. At the meeting, two MSS officers offered him money in exchange for secrets. The MSS officers told Lee "they had prepared a gift of $100,000 cash and that they would take care of him ‘for life' in exchange for his cooperation," a statement of facts in the plea deal states.

Story here. 

I wonder how easy the Chinese find the average American to turn into a traitor?  I wonder how deeply they're found within every dept in our government?

I wonder exactly how many people this guy got killed for his few bars of silver?

Doesn't matter.

God forgives.

The USA shouldn't.  A public execution should be the price for his treachery but we've grown soft so he'll continue to live at the expense of the taxpayer in some federal prison (if he doesn't get parole....crime is getting to the point of actually paying with weak laws).

We're already at war with China.  Most of our population and leadership just won't admit it and just don't want to see it.

Worse?

We're losing.

KAPLAN STA & PARS 4x4 STA

Barr senate testimony....game, set and match in 5 minutes....

Geez.

You ever hear a public servant speak and say to yourself...damn that dude is a beast!

I did today while listening to Barr give the tick tock on his decision regarding the Mueller report.

He eviscerated the Dems in about 5 minutes and it was a sight to behold. I don't know the guys internal thinking.  His true politics.  His motivations.

But I can tell one thing.

He's an old skool operator.

He could probably run any dept in the govt and make it tick like a clock.  I don't know if he made the right decision (but I'm leaning REAL HARD THAT WAY) but I must say.

Dude impressed me with this testimony so far.

Trump overrides decision to decommission a carrier...BAD move!

I am overriding the Decommission Order of the magnificent aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, built in 1998 (fairly new), and considered one of the largest and finest in the world. It will be updated at a fraction of the cost of a new one (which also are being built)!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 1, 2019

On the surface this might seem like an awesome move by the President.  IT'S NOT!

A few things come to mind.

1.  The defense budget glory days are over.  It's time to get smart.  It's time to take ACCEPTABLE risk.

2.  Have you seen how many planes our carriers are carrying today?  We have EXCESS capacity when it comes to carriers.  We could probably shave another two or three, get back to a once standard deployment of 100 plus airplanes AND STILL be over capacity!

3.  We are experiencing a kind of "military diplomacy" that MUST BE reversed. Have you heard the idea that service members are ambassadors?  That's great when you're insisting on decent behavior when in other lands but falls short when you start using the military as your PRIMARY diplomatic tool.  It's my opinion that President's have become lazy and relied too much on showing the flag worldwide.  Fewer carriers would help reverse that trend.

The above is just off the top of my head as I read Trump's tweet.  There are probably millions more.

The sad reality?

We're gonna have to accept cuts to the military if we're going to be able to afford the outrageously expensive weapon systems coming online.

In other words the Pentagon did not act with haste when the funding was high...that's why the F-35 was allowed to remain in development for so long...why it takes so long to build ships...why we have so many foreign bases.....

Cuts, modernization and streamlining should have occurred long ago.  Now the price must be made.  The Navy was willing but Trump won't allow the pain to come.

Too bad.

Kicking the can down the road will cost us dearly I fear.

Open Comment Post. 01 May 2019

Turning into FNSS Day on the blog. Next up the "ZAHA" (Turkish AAV)....

Thanks to Osmanoglu for the pic!

Note:  The title says this is turning into FNSS Day but that's a misnomer.  IDEF is going on now and thankfully we have someone providing us pics of various vehicles being shown at that event.  For that I'm grateful.

Wow.

This beast is huge!  But what has me spinning is that IF the USMC hadn't been chasing the holy grail of an armored vehicle with high water speed, then we might have seen something similar from an upgraded/modernized AAV.

Hydrodynamics being what they are, I don't expect this thing to go much faster (if at all) then the legacy AAV or the upcoming ACV, but it is tracked and that's something that continues to nag about the ACV.

HQMC is convinced that the benefits of the upcoming 8x8 rig for our force is the right move but I can't shake the feeling that we're gonna miss tracks when transitioning from the water, onto the beach and crossing onto land.

FNSS Pars Scout 6x6 & 8x8 going into service with Turkish Forces...

via Army Recognition.

With the contract for the Special Purpose Tactical Wheeled Armoured Vehicles (SPTWAV) Project that was signed between the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) and FNSS, the company shall supply PARS SCOUT 8x8 and 6x6 vehicles both for the Turkish Land Forces and the General Command of Gendarmerie.

The first stage of the project will involve the development of five different vehicle configurations, and production of a total of 100 vehicles. The project will cover the delivery of Command and Radar Vehicles as well as Sensor and CBRN Reconnaissance Vehicles for the Turkish Land Forces, and Armoured Combat Vehicles for the General Command of Gendarmerie.

Having conducted R&D on tactical wheeled armored vehicles for many years, FNSS reaped the first fruits of its labors in 2005, becoming the first company in Turkey to roll out a product family of such vehicles. After competing with the world’s other leading companies in land vehicles, this product family became the vehicle of choice of Malaysia in 2010, and of Oman in 2015. FNSS thus managed to export two members of its PARS product family, the 8x8 and 6x6 vehicles, before having delivered to Turkish users. These vehicles were developed in a variety of highly different configurations for both Malaysia and Oman, and development works on various configurations are still continuing.

Specifically for the SPTWAV project, FNSS designed a special PARS family vehicle, SCOUT, superior for reconnaissance operations. The PARS SCOUT 6x6 and 8x8 offer superior mobility and a comfortable and safe drive in all types of road and terrain conditions, as well as balanced and high-speed movement on straight roads, low risk of skidding in bends. Also, the vehicle’s transparent armor (ballistic glass) integration ensures high situational awareness. Together, these features make a big difference for reconnaissance operations.

Story here. 

TAI 10 ton utility helicopter (pic)..

Thanks to Osmanoglu for the pic!!!

Gonna keep asking this till I get an answer.  When is someone gonna put a "mini" AESA Array on a helicopter!  It should already be a thing on deep penetration Special Ops birds and since the MV-22 and CH-53K are doing similar things for the Marine Corps I don't know why someone hasn't scaled on down for use on those platforms.

Marine Corps May Have to Shrink to Afford Modernization, Readiness Goals....back to 150K Marines, cuts probable to the JLTV, CH-53K and Recon Vehicle...

via USNI News.

“Among the most significant challenges I will face as the Commandant if confirmed will be to sustain readiness at high levels for our operating forces while concurrently modernizing the force – under constrained resource limits,” Berger wrote in response to policy questions from the committee.
“We will need to conduct a deliberate redesign of the force to meet the needs of the future operating environment. We will also need to divest of our legacy equipment and legacy programs and also consider potential end strength reductions in order to invest in equipment modernization and necessary training upgrades.”

--------------------

Most recently, the Marine Corps has seen slight growth in its end strength to 186,100 to grow its cyber and information Marines. The current force will again grow slightly through Fiscal Year 2021 to 186,400 to support Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) increases that U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) requested.

That growth trend could reverse, though, if hard choices have to be made to keep the Marine Corps within its budget constraints.

“The NDS focuses heavily on modernization, and modernization comes with a significant price tag. If confirmed, I will work with Congress to communicate the investments the Marine Corps is making and the purpose of those investments,” Berger wrote. The service is currently buying F-35B Joint Strike Fighters and CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters in its aviation portfolio and the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) in its ground portfolio, among others.

Story here.

Wow.  This is why a good memory is needed when dealing with defense issues.  Remember a while ago when the idea of shrinking the Marine Corps down to 150K was floated?  Well expect that to come ROARING back.

Additionally with the Army cutting its buy of the JLTV, that's another no brainer.  The USMC will face increased cost because of the production number falling and that alone would lead to increased cost.  With budget reality becoming fashionable again then we can expect to see that number plummet.  Expect the Humvee to continue service into the foreseeable future.

The CH-53K buy of 200 has already been spot lighted by the GAO.  We're buying about an extra 50 in comparison to the CH-53E and according to the bean counters we didn't justify the increased buy. With that helicopter coming in at 100mil per you can expect that to be low hanging fruit too.

The rest?  I have no idea but I do have thoughts.

Treat Cyber like we do Medical.  Farm it out to the Navy and if we need folks in the field then let them be attached like we do Corpsmen.

The LAV replacement, the Amphibious Recon Vehicle?  Let that system rest.  Do a spiral upgrade of the LAV-A2.  Replace the gun with at least a 30mm and better yet trial the 50mm turret from the General Dynamics Next Gen Combat Vehicle (along with sensors) on it...should fit!

The big bear in the room is Aviation and manpower.  That's where alot of it resides.  Has anyone considered what the proper size of Marine Aviation should be?

Has anyone considered whether the roles assumed are the roles that NEED to be part of Marine Air's playlist?

Finally someone has to be the bastard and it might as well be me.  SOCOM is making too big a demand on the Marine Corps.  Supporting 3 Special Ops Battalions is just too much.  If this is to be an enduring requirement then it would be better to downsize it to ONE battalion with support elements and call it a day.

Don't throw rocks.  Tell me your thoughts!

TAI ATAK-2...pics & vid...

Thanks to Osmanoglu for the link & pics!

When Britain Invaded Cold War Europe....

Thanks to Grey Forest for the link!

GAO Podcast on F-35 deficiencies...

via Defense Aerospace!

GAO found that "According to DOT&E officials, since the start of operational testing (IOT&E), four new category  1 deficiencies have been identified, bringing the total to 17."
That's a 25% increase in Cat 1 deficiencies since December https://t.co/YkkBK2l2J5

— Giovanni de Briganti (@JoedeBrig) April 30, 2019

Open Comment Post. 30 April 2019

2nd CEB participates in the Robotic Complex Breach Concept

Bell V 280 Valor -- Fast Rope + PDAS

We've been toying with armed robotic vehicles for a couple of decades but the Royal Marines actually did an amphibious assault exercise with them...

via National Interest

Robots in the air, on the ocean surface and on the ground guarded British Royal Marines as they stormed a beach during an important April 2019 war game.

The ground robot, in particular, is a new capability for the Royal Marines. The gun- and rocket-armed, tank-like unmanned ground vehicle could boost the naval branch’s firepower while helping to keep human beings out of harm’s way.

Alpha Company of the Royal Marines’ 40 Commando and their robot guardians stormed a beach in Cornwall in southwest England as part of Exercise Commando Warrior. The Royal Marines’ 1 Assault Group supported the naval infantry.

Story here. 

How many of you remember the Carnegie Mellon Crusher circa 2007...



Or how about the more recent BAE Black Knight?



You don't want to talk about combat vehicles?  Well how about the TerraMaxx, basically a robotic MTVR!



The point?

We keep playing with robotic vehicles but we never put them into service.  Now?  Now our allies and threat nations are putting them into service while we waste what was once a technological lead.

Unmanned ground combat vehicles WILL BE the next wave in armored warfare.  We should be on our 3rd generation of such vehicles but bureaucratic stagnation along with two poorly planned and executed wars in the Middle East (or does Syria count as 3) mean that lead no longer exists.

Is this how Rome fell?  They became complacent while everyone else stayed hungry?

Australian Tigers deploy overseas .... Aussie Diggers getting their sea legs!

Thanks to Jamie for the pics/link!!!

* Above pics via Defense.gov.au...below story via Shepard Media...

 Australia despatched four Australian Army Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH) to join the Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019 (IPE 19) task force in Malaysia, marking the aircraft type’s first overseas deployment.

The four helicopters were transported by an RAAF C-17 to Subang Air Base, located near Kuala Lumpur, on 19 April. The Tigers then flew off in two flights on 21 April to land on HMAS Canberra docked at the Boustead Cruise Centre in Port Klang.

HMAS Canberra and the frigate HMAS Newcastle had arrived on 20 April, while two other ships of the task group, the frigate HMAS Parramatta and replenishment ship HMAS Success, were detached from the main group to other locations.

Story here. 

Are you keeping up with the Australian Army's forays into amphibious warfare?  It's a sight to behold and they're doing it at a "quick step!"

GAO F-35 JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER: Action Needed to Improve Reliability.... gives a shocking statement about life support systems...

via GAO Report

Life support system: The program has identified over 35 pilot physiological events, of which nearly 30 occurred in-flight. An action team made of government officials, contractors, and doctors completed their work by May 2018. A root cause investigation did not identify any F-35 system deficiencies, but reported it was difficult to fully determine the problem due to a lack of real-time data. Contracting officials stated that this is partially because the technology has not yet been developed to monitor pilot’s health in flight, in real time. The prime contractor continues to try to develop a means to monitor pilot health.

Report here. 

Kinda let's you know why the Japanese paper speculates that the pilot of their lost F-35 suffered some type of in-flight debilitating incident don't it.

Has this been known cause it's new to me.

I know we're suppose to listen to the pilots so why aren't they telling us about this.

International ‘Maritime Cooperation’ drills kick off in China....

via TASS

Bilateral Russian-Chinese naval drills "Maritime Cooperation" opened on Monday at the port of Qingdao, the press service of the Pacific Fleet reported.

"A group of Pacific Fleet ships consisting of the flagship Guards Order of Nakhimov missile cruiser Varyag, the large anti-tank ships Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Tributs, the corvette Sovershenny, the large landing ship Oslyabya, the rescue vessel Igor Belousov and the sea tanker Irkut arrived at the port of Qingdao on a business call several hours ago, and the official opening ceremony for the bilateral Russian-Chinese naval drills ‘Maritime Cooperation 2019’ was carried out. <...> After the end of the official part of the ceremony the commanders of the ship groups of the two countries received orders for actions at sea," the press service reported.
-------------
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian and Chinese sailors will train to carry out joint maneuvers and establish communication and carry out missile and artillery attacks on sea and air targets, as well as train some aspects of search and rescue support. 

Story here.

This didn't have to happen.  Wait.  Let me deal with what the trolls will say.  No.  I am not a mouth piece for the Russians.  No.  I do not think it was wise to push the Russians over to the Chinese.

Yes.  I think if Trump was smarter, more forceful and less prone to deal with the obvious provocation of the psy-ops campaign launched against him....and instead followed his instincts then all this could have been avoided.

There are reports that the Russian defense industry is in trouble.  I don't believe it.  What I do believe is that they're facing the same issues as we are but are exercising a bit more fiscal discipline.

In other words they're working between modernizing the force and maintaining gear they already have.  To be a bit more clear they're trying to balance spiral upgrades with leap ahead technology.  Their tank force is a perfect example.  So is the work they're doing with their IFVs...both wheeled and tracked.  That list goes on.

But China is a different beast.  Securing their flank and having Russia at least neutral, if not supportive will go a long way toward making their Belt and Road initiative a reality.  Talk of the Chinese moving from a physical presence to a cyber one in many of the "customer" nations should chill your bones.

This shouldn't have happened but it is.

So what do we do now? 

Will domestic politics allow us the room to make "frienemies" with the Russians so we can regain strategic dominance in the Pacific? 

If not then we're gonna have to strip the other oceans and seas of ships to deal with the Pacific.