Houthi Forces are definitely a hybrid force...why are we supporting the Saudis in their Vietnam?

Thanks to S300V4 for the link!

The Houthis are operating SA-6 missile systems?  Geez.  When did they acquire those, why didn't we interdict them and why haven't the Saudis totally dismantled Houthi anti-air complexes?

Without a doubt the Houthi freedom/terrorist (depending on your perspective) have successfully morphed into a hybrid force.

This should be more than a bit troubling.  Of course we've known that for awhile now.  No group of simple terrorist can lay their hands on ballistic missiles, lob them over the border at airports and capitals and be considered a minor threat.

What has me spinning is how ill conceived this fight was.

How poorly planned the operation was.

How a minor fight has evolved into a potential threat to the Saudi Kingdom.

What's even more puzzling?  As Commander Salamander would say...This.  Isn't.  Our.  Fight!  To be more precise.  This ain't our business.  We have enough on our plate...both at home and overseas.

Sunday protest in China even larger than last weeks...

I’ve never seen a protest this big in Hong Kong. This is definitely larger than last Sunday’s protest, which organisers said 1.03 million attended.

Crowd here chants “Hong Kongers, add oil!”

Add oil = keep it up in Cantonese#HongKong #Extraditionbill pic.twitter.com/F1sIUNqCAd

— Venus Wu (@wu_venus) June 16, 2019

Interesting.  This thing ain't dying down and the Hong Kong govt has suspended the extradition law.  

What will be the next move of authorities.  

Could we be looking at a Pacific "Yellow Vest" movement?  I'm not sure but this is the biggest internal challenge to China in years.  

Turkey presents a mockup of its new indigenous warplane TF-X at Paris Air Show....via Ali Özkök's Twitter Page...

Does form follow function or is this a copy of the F-35/F-22 on a smaller scale?

I just have to wonder how successful Turkey will be in development of a new fighter when they're so dependent on tech from the US and EU.  If that's pulled away then they're in development trouble.  Engines and avionics...especially with new tech coming online will see this project lagging. Even if they can overcome those obstacles it'll be behind the latest and greatest from the West.

Jagd-Abrams via Salacious Montgomery Crumb's Twitter Page...

Art by Alec Beals

John Onyemaechi, one of the most dangerous British prisoners, went full rampage, facing off against an entire riot police unit at HMP Full Sutton in East Yorkshire.

John Onyemaechi, one of the most dangerous British prisoners, went full rampage, facing off against an entire riot police unit at HMP Full Sutton in East Yorkshire. pic.twitter.com/FpkIQwrYqO

— RT (@RT_com) June 16, 2019

Who is this dude!

F-35 News. When did Category 1-B become a thing?

via National Interest.

Lockheed eventually hopes to sell over 2,400 F-35s to the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and over a thousand more to foreign operators. Already, over four hundred F-35s have been delivered under so-called “Low Rate of Initial Production,” many lacking the fixes and improvements implemented in later models. Theoretically, full-rate production should only be authorized once all major deficiencies being resolved.

However, on June 12, 2019, Valerie Insinna, Aaron Mehta and David B. Larter of Defense News published a series of articles based on newly acquired documents detailing thirteen Category-1B deficiencies impacting the ability of the Pentagon’s brand-new F-35 to perform their missions.

These flaws, many of which had never been previously disclosed—were formerly described as Category-1 flaws (posing risk of aircraft or pilot loss), but after the articles’ publication, they were retroactively accorded a new, less-serious Category-1B status.

Two previously unrevealed deficiencies suggest that the F-35B and F-35C models operated by the Marine Corps and Navy exhibit flaws that substantially degrading their ability to perform demanding air combat maneuvers and maintain supersonic speeds at very high altitudes.

Story here. 

Simple question.

When did Category 1-B Deficiencies become a thing?  I don't EVER recall that particular nomenclature before.

Is this new?

Are they now publicly pulling shit out their ass?

This is curious.  Extremely curious.

Sidenote.  They can call these deficiencies "1-B" but they can't escape the reality.  These flaws pose a risk to pilots and aircraft, and they're about to put this thing into full rate production.  That's criminal.  That's procurement malpractice.  That's a waste of resources when our nation can't afford it!

Open Comment Post. 16 June 2019

BALTOPS 2019 Amphibious Assault....pics by Lance Cpl. Antonio Garcia

Politics Talk. FBI Counterintelligence Is Focus of Trump Campaign Spying Probe

via Free Beacon.

The ongoing special Justice Department investigation into improper spying on the Trump campaign in 2016 highlights key failings by the FBI's once-storied counterintelligence division.

Two senior counterintelligence officials no longer with the bureau are among likely targets of the investigation by John Durham, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut. Both were key managers of the high-profile investigations in 2016 into classified information found on Hillary Clinton's private email server, and the now-discredited counterspy operation into links between the Trump presidential campaign and Russian government.

A central figure is Peter Strzok, deputy assistant FBI director for the counterintelligence division, who was fired in August. Another key player was his boss, Bill Priestap, assistant FBI director for counterintelligence, who quietly resigned in December.

In the three years since the controversial investigations, the FBI counterintelligence division has sought to rebuild its reputation by conducting aggressive operations untainted by past allegations of liberal political bias through recent high-profile spy cases. Three former CIA officials and a former State Department official in recent months were convicted of spying for China, and Russian military intelligence operatives, while out of reach of U.S. law enforcement, were indicted for cyber attacks in the 2016 election meddling scheme.

Story here. 

This bears watching.

Personal opinion?  There is much more to this than we see.  I expect bombshells by this fall at the latest.

Is it just me or does Army Special Forces seem the most anxious member of SOCOM that WANTS to team with Marine Expeditionary Units?

If you want to be the best, you have to train harder than everyone else. That’s why @USArmy soldiers from the 7th Special Forces Group are participating in integrated training with the @USMC at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in #TwentyNinePalms, Calif. #KnowYourMil pic.twitter.com/nYmxzLYX8V

— U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) June 14, 2019

I've noted various exercises in the past and if I'm not mistaken (and I very well could be) it seems like US Army Special Forces are the most anxious member of SOCOM that WANTS to team with MEUs.

Quite honestly I'm a little surprised.

The most natural fit would be MARSOC but I'm just not seeing it.  You would think that if it wasn't MARSOC then Navy SEALs would be the natural team up "buddy".

Even if you exclude those two then USAF Special Ops could even make sense especially with the move toward an aviation centric Marine Corps.

Instead we see this.

Its the Green Berets.  US Army Special Forces that seems to be wanting to team with our Marine Expeditionary Units.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased.  Just a bit confused.  What is the push for this pairing?

Could it be so simple that the Green Berets are further along the path of integrating themselves with conventional forces for a fight vs a near peer?

That's my guess.

The rest of SOCOM better climb out of the fighting hole they're in and smell the roses.  Special Forces is about to drink their milkshake.  I try and monitor the Army units of note and this isn't isolated to just the Marines.  SF is training with conventional Airborne, Light and Mech units in their own house too.

Army Special Forces seems to be way ahead of the curve...wonder if the other members of SOCOM can catch up.  The bug hunts are gonna be over soon.  Next we hunt Dragons, Lions (national animal of Iran), and maybe Bears...

Sunday Cooking...Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Four Ways

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Four Ways pic.twitter.com/ghijizJCj1

— Recipes GIFs (@Thelnteresting) June 15, 2019

AirBus Helicopters Pics by Anthony Pecchi...

Blast from the past. The USMC begins the invasion of Saipan...

#OTD in 1944, the invasion of Saipan begins. Within 20 minutes more than 700 armored tracs with 8,000 Marines are ashore. #USMCMuseum #Saipan75th pic.twitter.com/4YCVqiXlQx

— Marine Corps Museum (@MarineMuseum) June 15, 2019

America and the rest of the world was watching the Normandy landings while Marines were prepping for this big fight that would happen 15 days later.  

It would be a bloody affair.

Want to know why the Corps was so quick to adopt vertical envelopment? Most point to the atomic bomb.  I point to Tarawa and Saipan.  Marine Corps greats were looking for a better way.  They knew that the nation could not afford more battles like this one.

I've been quick to highlight issues with concepts that are being tossed around today.  But one thing I have to give every Commandant...from Neller back (to include Amos)...I might not agree with the solutions but they ARE working the problems.

We couldn't afford another Saipan in the '50s and we sure can't afford one today.

God bless those bubbas that stormed that beach.  May they rest in peace.

UK Royal Marines reportedly deployed to Gulf in wake of tanker attacks blamed on Iran...

via Sputnik.

The reported development comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East as the United States and its regional allies have accused Iran of orchestrating an attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman earlier this week. Tehran has strongly rejected the allegations as unfounded.

The Royal Marines are being deployed to the Gulf of Oman following an incident, in which two oil tankers were targeted near the Strait of Hormuz on 13 June, causing explosions and a fire on at least one of them, the Daily Star reported, citing unnamed sources.

The troops will purportedly be tasked with keeping British vessels safe, using equipment to search the open sea for “fast Iranian attack craft” and “terminate” them if deemed necessary.

Story here. 

Ok.  This crystalizes things for me.

The Brits obviously have intel that says that combat swimmers or fast boat teams laid the mines.

Forget drones.

This response tells me we're dealing with the Quds Force...again.

I'd love to see a Tom Clancy style response from a united NATO Special Ops Force that hunted those bastards to extinction.

This also brings up another issue though.

From my understanding of how the Quds Force operates, they have a level of autonomy that might be surprising to many.  They could have carried out these ops WITHOUT the approval of many in that govt.

Another reason (if I'm correct) for a measured response.

Just like we have various factions beating war drums so do they....

GlobalEye for HX by Corporal Frisk...SAAB is making a serious run at the Finns...

via Corporal Frisk

Saab stood for the biggest surprise so far in the HX-program, when it announced that the offer does not only include 52 single-seat 39E Gripen and 12 two-seat 39F Gripen, but two GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft as well.

It's hard to describe exactly how bizarre, and exactly how astute, the move is.

The background is obviously the way that the Finnish Air Force and MoD has written the Request for Quotations. To ensure a tough and fair competition, the quotation only sets the widest of boundaries to the delivered package (64 fighters, 7-10 billion Euros in one-time acquisition costs, annual costs to operate no bigger than current 64 aircraft strong Hornet-fleet), and then goes on to describe the concept of operations and the missions the fighters are expected to perform. This gives the companies free hands to tailor the packages offered when it comes to questions such as versions offered, sensors and weapon packages, and so forth. Apparently, it also leave open the possibility to squeeze in aircrafts other than the fighters as long as the budget allows for it. It is a daring approach from the authorities, but one that now pays off with these kinds of unconventional offers including force multipliers such as EA-18G Growlers in the Boeing package and now GlobalEyes in Saab's.

Story here. 

First!  Follow Corporal Frisk!

Second!  SAAB is spunky!  I'm loving their plays.  This is smart and will give the financial prudent and militarily savy Finnish govt something to think about.

I'm impressed.

The first shots of the armored car "#Tiger-2" Tiger Next

The first shots of the armored car "#Tiger-2" Tiger Next🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺
With a wheel formula of 4 x 4, it is designed to transport personnel and military goods with required level of protection, towing trailers, installing weapons, military and special equipment. @Ninja998998 @VinodDX9 pic.twitter.com/nIr2Zzbu0C

— Sukhoi Su-57 frazor🇷🇺🇮🇳 (@I30mki) June 15, 2019

Looks like they've beefed it up quite a bit.  Can't wait to get a good look at it.

If 100 People Lived On Earth...

If 100 people lived on earth... pic.twitter.com/Gip5Ri5kUQ

— James Melville (@JamesMelville) June 14, 2019

Open Comment Post. 15 June 2019

A bit more of the Hunter Armoured Fighting Vehicle

Thanks to LRD for the pics...

F-35 News. Quotes from Naval Aviators that you missed in the Defense News reporting...

via Defense News.

“The solution is: ‘Hey, we’ll just limit the afterburner to less than a minute at a time,’ ” one retired naval aviator said, when told of the issue. “Which, with what the aircraft is supposed to do and be capable of, that’s a pretty significant limitation.”

“If you want to use it on the first or second day [of a conflict], it has to be stealthy, so you can’t hang a lot of external stores, which means you have to use internal fuel and internal weapons. And that means you have to launch fairly close in and you’ve got to be close enough to do something to somebody. And that usually means you are in a contested environment,” the aviator said.

“So you’re saying that I can’t operate in a contested environment unless you can guarantee that I’m going to be however far away from the thing I’m trying to kill,” the aviator added. “If I had to maneuver to defeat a missile, maneuver to fight another aircraft, the plane could have issues moving. And if I turn around aggressively and get away from these guys and use the afterburner, it starts to melt or have issues.”

The issue is compounded for the Navy, which must operate forward for months at a time, because any significant issues with coatings or the structure of aircraft would require a depot-level repair. And so a damaged aircraft would remain damaged until its host ship return to home port, reducing the combat effectiveness of the air wing.

Story here. 

Circling back to this thing.  Having said that I want to pop this portion of the article back out for those that might have missed it.

F-35 fanboys say to "listen to the aviators". 

Ok.  Then listen to what they say above. 

Drink it in.

Let it marinate for a minute.

"Pretty significant limitation for what the airplane is suppose to do".

Do you get the force of connection now???