Super Hornet Block III is zooming thru testing!

#SuperHornet Block III is on schedule to deliver in 2020. With the @USNavy, we have tested next-gen conformal fuel tanks, the advanced cockpit system, and infrared search and track. #SAS2019 pic.twitter.com/UN05igHCiA

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) May 8, 2019

Nice!  Very nice!

Personal Opinion?  

The F-35C should die immediately.  It's always been a boutique system whose only reason for existence is to keep alive the idea that all three service operate the same aircraft.

If the Marine Corps were smart it would reinstate its electronic warfare ability and buy a couple of squadrons of E/A-18s and fill its' carrier role by buying two seat Super Hornets that should be beyond valuable as close air support platforms.

Debate time. Is this dude spot on or dead wrong?

I'm pro diversity
I'm anti forced diversity

I'm pro woman
I'm anti feminism (3rd wave)

I'm pro free speech
I'm anti hate

I'm pro charity
I'm anti forced redistribution

If any of this doesn't make sense to you, then you've been indoctrinated well.

— ZUBY: (@ZubyMusic) May 7, 2019

Opinion time.

I just want to see where everyone is on this.  I'll keep my opinion to myself and let you guys hash it out (keep it civil).  Is this dude spot on or dead wrong?

Open Comment Post. 09 May 2019

Finnish Army’s mechanised exercise Arrow 19

The force on force training in Arrow 19 has started.  It's about enhancing the interoperability between Army`s mechanized units and service branches as part of mechanized units´ offensive. The effective and fast execution is vital. #arrow19 #maavoimat pic.twitter.com/ccAXSPyZ7D

— Panssariprikaati (@PanssariPR) May 8, 2019

I'm really becoming a bit fascinated with the Finnish Army.  If you aren't keyed into their Twitter pages then be advised that it's worth a look see.

MQ25 gets a new coat of paint

#MQ25 gets a new coat of paint – with a little flight test orange on the side. #SAS2019 pic.twitter.com/C5ZbGrbXO7

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) May 8, 2019

This is the incredibly strong soldier morale of China’s PLA. They fear nothing via People's Daily, China Twitter Page...

This is the incredibly strong soldier morale of China’s PLA. 🇨🇳They fear nothing. pic.twitter.com/AZeMaTzhuC

— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) May 8, 2019

A muddy obstacle course shows that the Chinese Soldier fears nothing?  I'm not even close to impressed.

I've been personally vacillating.  I wander between the old saying that the warhorses were saying during the Cold War.  "They keep telling us that Russian Soldiers are ten feet tall and bullet proof".

I wonder if I'm doing the same with the Chinese.  Then I look at different sectors of their defense industry.  It's not the individual soldier that is fearsome.  It's their industrial might that rivals our own...in many ways surpasses it due to ignorant leaders that gave away our industrial capacity so they could take advantage of cheap labor while at the same time feeding the beast that is set to devour us.

Man for man I think we win.  But it will be hordes of Chinese ships, planes and armor we're facing.

In the Korean war we faced a numerically superior enemy and were sent on the longest retreat in US military history.

How would that turn out if we're faced with a numerically superior enemy with technical equality?

CH-53K Propaganda Vids...

You have to give Lockheed Martin credit. Serious credit on at least one front. We, the public want to know about their programs/aircraft. For better or worse they're actually telling us their story. While I might disagree with the tune they're singing at least they're singing. BAE was once just as open (the European division, the North American division has always seemed rather closed) and the only other manufacturer of note (that I can pull out the brain housing group right now) is General Dynamics. Those guys have historically been front and center but have tailed off lately.

So while I used the title as click bait, the reality is that they're doing what ANY corporation would do. They're telling us the good, downplaying the bad. It's unusual for me to heap praise on those boys but well done. Just do me a favor LM. Fix your stuff. The pics and videos are great but its got to work.

160th SOAR | 2019 | "Night Stalkers Don't Quit"

Depressing News. V-22 Fleet Wide Readiness Rate Hovers At 52%

via Aviation Week (behind paywall).

The readiness rate for the Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey is at a dismal 52% and will not hit the target of 80% set by former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis “soon enough,” according to the tiltrotor aircraft’s program...

Jesus.

I thought we had turned the corner on the MV-22.  I thought that beast was finally performing but now we see this.

Disappointed doesn't begin to describe it.

This is down right depressing.

My issue?  Amos pushed an aviation centric Marine Corps but from my chair we seem to be failing miserably.  Obviously we don't have the CULTURE, maintainers or probably most importantly the money to achieve what they desire.

What's better.  To have 10 flyable airplanes or 20 airplanes in your inventory with only half flyable?

We keep increasing our capacity but seem unable to sustain it.  I've been beyond hard on Marine Air.  It's probably been over the top, but you must admit that something is wrong with this picture.

Let's run down the check list.

1.  We have MV-22's that are maintenance hogs and have a readiness rate just a tad over 50%.

2.  From what I understand the same applies to the CH-53E.

3.  We have a crazy expensive CH-53K coming online with hundreds of deficiencies that have to be sorted and STILL haven't justified buying 200 when the legacy number of E's was about 150.

4.  We're continuing to buy F-35Bs with their own problems and while deployments have been glorified, the reality is that it too has numerous problems that have yet to be resolved.  Oh and it too has readiness issues and is a maintenance hog.

Marine Air is NOT setup on a glide path of success.  We're building in failure due to decisions being made today.

My hope?

I hope the new Commandant commissions some kind of hardcore study to see what the problem is.  I hope he does a real assessment of whether or not this air centric Marine Corps is actually doable.  I pray that he makes some hard decisions on the course of Marine Air and sets it on a path toward success.

From my lips to God's ears.

What do we all know?  Hope is a useless emotion.  It takes work to make things work! 

Royal Marines Test Jet Packs for Amphibious Raids?

via Maritime Executive.

The Royal Navy's amphibious assault specialists, 1 Assault Group Royal Marines (1AGRM), recently brought emerging civilian technologies to their RM Tamar base in Devonport Dockyard for an innovation day. The idea was to study and think about how new tech can be brought to the battlefield.

It allowed the coxswains and operators of 1AGRM’s raiding craft the opportunity to open their minds further to future developments, using augmented and virtual reality kit, as well as the chance to question how unmanned systems can help them on operations.

As those on the frontline, the Royal Marines are looking to their commandos to give direction and share ideas as to how they could operate in the future. “This has been about exploring how we can take surface manoeuvre forward and all the different technologies that are out there,” said 1AGRM’s Commanding Officer, Colonel Chris Haw. “It’s not something we can specifically use today but something that has potential to be employed in the future.”

Story here. 

Uh.  Wow.  Are they serious?  Do they really see a future once this tech matures/evolves?

US Navy moving on its 6th gen fighter WITHOUT the USAF!

Thanks to Super Rhino for the link!

via Popular Mechanics.

Flightglobal, reporting from the Navy League Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Maryland, states the navy has decided it has different priorities than the U.S. Air Force. Angie Knappenberger, USN deputy director of air warfare, told reporters that the Navy does not plan on using the fighter to penetrate enemy airspace, a key requirement for the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) jet.
----------
The Navy, by contrast, plans to use standoff missiles for deep penetration missions, or hand the missions off entirely to the Air Force. The Navy doesn’t want capabilities it doesn’t plan to use, which should lower costs. The aircraft will likely share some commonality with the F-35C, the carrier-based version of the F-35.

Story here.

This confirms what we've long suspected.  The US Navy DOES NOT believe in stealth!  Richardson was the most influential CNO in recent years.  Remember his mantra and burn it into your brain....PAYLOADS OVER PLATFORMS!

Open Comment Post. 08 May 2019

General Dynamics European Land Systems overview

British Army loses a soldier on anti-poacher duty in Malawi...

Story here.

Didn't even know the Brits were running these kind of ops.  As the Israelis say..."May his memory be a blessing".

USMC back in the ship killing business thanks to the NSM...

via Naval News.

Raytheon will integrate the Naval Strike Missile into the U.S. Marine Corps' existing force structure under a $47.59 million Other Transaction Authority agreement with Marine Corps Systems Command, the US contractor announced at the Sea-Air-Space 2019 symposium in National Harbor.

“A USMC NSM supports the 2018 National Defense Strategy and Commandant of the Marine Corps modernization efforts,” said Raytheon, which confirmed that the USMC NSM will be similar to the one selected last year by the US Navy.

In June 2018, the U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon a $14.86 million contract to manufacture and deliver NSM as the Navy’s new over-the-horizon weapon system for littoral combat ships and future frigates. An order that could grow to as much as $848 million over the life of the contract.

“The Marine Corps’ selection of the Navy’s anti-ship missile enhances joint interoperability and reduces costs and logistical burdens,” Raytheon added. The company declined to detail which USMC platform will receive the NSM missile. “It’s up to the Corps”, Raytheon NSM Program Director Randy Kempton said.

Story here. 

I'm curious.  Will this be a ground based system?  Is this thing even capable of being launched from the air?  A quick glance at Raytheon's site left me blank.

Who does this fall under if its ground launched?  Arty?  Will a new "coastal defense unit" be established?  Will they stick it under LAR's umbrella (they seem to be picking up damn near every other job) or are they thinking something else entirely?

EU makes a move to standardize European procurement...

via Defense News (a-freakin-gain!).

The PESCO defense pact – a show of unity and a tangible step in EU integration – was set up in December 2017 between EU governments and involved two phases of joint initiatives, each consisting of 17 projects.

The third and latest phase, to be launched this week, is for an unspecified number of new projects. The founding PESCO members, including France, Germany and Italy, have been asked to table proposals by the summer with a view to these being approved by the end of 2019.

The new batch of projects is likely to be smaller than the previous two, the second of which was launched last November, and is expected to be more “mature” when it comes to the projects’ setup, including support by member states, one official said.

EU members are responsible for developing and implementing PESCO projects. An EU defence source said, “They are still at an initial stage, or incubation phase.”

Twelve of the existing 34 schemes are expected to reach initial operational capability by 2022, with four of these due to be implemented later this year, according to the source.

The 34 schemes include a harbor and maritime surveillance and protection (HARMSPRO) project, designed to deliver a new maritime capability with the ability to conduct surveillance and protection of specified maritime areas, from harbors up to littoral waters.

Another is the Training Mission Competence Centre which aims to improve the availability and professionalism of personnel for EU training missions. The list also includes a European armoured infantry vehicle and cyber rapid response teams.

Other projects involve developing new equipment, such as infantry fighting vehicles, amphibious assault vehicles, light armored vehicles, indirect fire support, strategic command-and-control systems for EU defense missions, minesweeping drones, upgrading maritime surveillance and developing a joint secure software defined radio.

Story here. 

Oh this is too delicious.

I'd love to see how they accomplish this.  Will they allow production in individual countries?

This is all leading to an EU army.  Will Poland/Nordic countries fall in line behind an obvious French attempt to lead it?

What about NATO?  Will this make calls to pull out of Europe more appealing? A move toward the Pacific is inevitable and every delay is putting the US at risk.  There ARE some hawks that insist that Russia is a threat that the US must face, but many (myself included) believe that the EU can stand alone against it.

My guess?

This is the beginning of the end of NATO.  How they've kept this beast alive this long is beyond me but it proves that bureaucracy at the end of the day exists to keep itself alive.

E/A-18 set to become the dominate aerial platform in the US Navy due to upgrades mid 2020s...

via Defense News.

First, Boeing plans to improve the Growler’s electronic attack sensors. For example, it is considering enhancements to Northrop Grumman’s ALQ-218 sensor system, which is used by the Growler for radar warning, electronic support measures and electronic intelligence, Tebo said.

It plans to add “adaptive and distributed processing” so that the E/A-18’s computers can quickly digest and pump out threat information. And because those computers will be processing more information and delivering it to the pilot and weapon system officer, it makes sense to improve interfaces so that data is easy to digest and the aircrew’s workload is minimized, she said.

Story here. 

Everyone knows my belief.  Stealth is not the future of aerial combat...electronic warfare is. 

I tend to believe that the Aussies are following this line of thinking.  They bought F/A-18s with the wiring to convert them to E/A-18s.

But none of that matters.

The US Navy is already planning for upgrades to the E/A-18 beyond the new pods its getting to do its job.

Richardson is turning into a Naval legend right before our eyes.  Many didn't properly appreciate the "payloads over platform" mantra that he started but its leaving a lasting legacy on the Navy.

The Squids have a plan and they're getting it done.

Impressive.

Navy is signaling that the Zumwalt will be the long hoped for "arsenal ship"...

via Defense News.

The Navy sidelined the guns after the service truncated the buy to just three ships, and after the ammunition, called the Long-Range Land-Attack Projectile, ballooned in price to more than $800,000 per round.

"The guns are in layup,” Smith said. “We're waiting for that bullet to come around that will give us the most range possible. But given that that is offensive surface strike, we're going to look at other capabilities potentially that we could use in that volume.”

The ships shifted missions from land attack to ship-hunting and -killing last year. The Navy is integrating the SM-6 missile, which has a surface-attack mode, and are integrating the maritime strike Tomahawk to fill out the new capabilities.

Story here. 

Ok.  I admit there is alot of speculation going on in the headline but it seems pretty clear.

1.  Land attack is no longer considered primary.  That's understandable.  The sea fight must be won before you're landing Marines...or at least being equaling contested.

2.  Ship killing by ships is back in style.  The article talked about a shift from land attack to ship killing and with the removal of the guns you're talking about alot of real estate to stack VLS onboard.

I won't even dare try and count the number of missiles these ships could carry if the above is true but I would bet if they decided to turn the Zumwalt's into ship killing arsenal ships that could free up the Burkes to concentrate on pure air defense.  That alone would be huge.  Toss in some frigates that could play the swing role between being superb anti-sub platforms to being able to pitch in with regard to anti-surface/anti-air and I think we're starting to see something.

Of course that makes the Zumwalt's priority targets but the same applies to all our battleship class ships (Zumwalt/Burke) and aircraft carriers.

I guess the only question is how do you distribute such a small class doing such an important role?

USMC plans to piggyback on the US Army-run FLRAA programme

via Flight Global.

US Marine Corps (USMC) Lieutenant General Steven Rudder, deputy commandant for aviation, is confident that a tiltrotor can meet the service’s minimum cruise speed goal of 270kt (500km/h) for its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA).

The USMC plans to piggyback on the US Army-run FLRAA programme, though it wants a next-generation utility rotorcraft with even more capability than the US Army is asking, in particular the ability to cruise at least 270kt, which is the cruise speed of the Bell Boeing V-22.

Such a desire appears to give an advantage to Bell’s tiltrotor, the V-280 Valor, which has reached a top speed of 300kt. Leonardo’s AW609 tiltrotor has a maximum cruise speed of 275kt, though the Italian company is limited in its ability to add armaments to the aircraft due to a licensing agreement with Bell who supplied the initial intellectual property for the project.

Story here. 

Wow.  I wonder.  What exactly does piggy back mean in this case?  Could we be looking at another F-16 vs F-17 type deal where the winner of one services competition is not chosen and the competitor picked?

If its a truly joint program then the USMC is seriously putting its finger on the scale.

I'm bit puzzled.  The UH-1Z is rather new.  The Corps has stated that they're sticking with the MV-22 and plan new upgrades to it.

So where does this aircraft fit into the scheme of things?  Even if you tag it for long range escort of MV-22s, it was my understanding the the MUX being developed was suppose to fill that role.

I await your answers cause this one has me spinning (ashamed to say).

Winter exercises of the Turkish army “Winter-2019”...via BMachine Tumblr Page.