Open Comment Post. 9 Jan 25

 

We need a modernized LST, not the pathetic LSM.

General characteristics As built
Type	Tank landing ship
Displacement	4,793 long tons (4,870 t) light 8,342 long tons (8,476 t) full load
Length	522 ft 4 in (159.2 m) oa 562 ft (171.3 m) over derrick arms
Beam	69 ft 6 in (21.2 m)
Draft	17 ft 6 in (5.3 m) max
Propulsion	2 shafts 6 ALCO or GM diesel engines (3 per shaft) 16,500 shp (12,300 kW) Bow thruster
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) max
Range	2,500 nmi (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Troops	431 troops or 29 tanks and other vehicles
Complement	213
Sensors and processing systems	2 × Mk 63 GCFS SPS-10 radar
Armament	2 × twin 3"/50 caliber guns

Type

Tank landing ship

Displacement

• 4,793 long tons (4,870 t) light
• 8,342 long tons (8,476 t) full load

Length

• 522 ft 4 in (159.2 m) oa
• 562 ft (171.3 m) over derrick arms

Beam

69 ft 6 in (21.2 m)

Draft

17 ft 6 in (5.3 m) max

Propulsion

• 2 shafts
• 6 ALCO or GM diesel engines (3 per shaft)
• 16,500 shp (12,300 kW)
• Bow thruster

Speed

22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) max

Range

2,500 nmi (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)

Troops

431 troops or 29 tanks and other vehicles

Complement

213

Sensors and
processing systems

• 2 × Mk 63 GCFS
• SPS-10 radar

Armament

2 × twin 3"/50 caliber guns

If I hadn't said it before then let me say it now. The USMC needs a modernized LST. Not the Landing Ship Medium but a new LST.

The strange thing?  It fits the specs of the LSM (a bit bigger if I recall correctly) but it has or should have the ability to keep up with the fleet. In that regard I'm talking about the modernized LST.

One of the big sticking points with FD2030 is that its too regionalized.  I fully support that critique and the pathetic performance of the LSM adds to that concern.

A new build and modernized LST would allow global operations as part of a reinvigorated MEU.  Reinvigorated and ENHANCED MEU.

One of the juicy bits is that its capable of putting vehicles directly on the beach.  A big deal because you can fully unload from this beast in less time than it takes an LCAC to make sorties to and from a LPD.  

The biggest juiciest bit?  If the Marine Corps doesn't get tanks back we can put Army armor on these vessels and reclaim some shock to our ground component.

The Landing Ship Medium is idiocy on a stick.  A modernized LST just sings.

The Phantom Strike Next Gen AESA Radar concept art looks AMAZINGLY like the recent Chinese Fighter that was just displayed...

RTX concept aircraft shown during a promotional video for the Phantom Strike Next-Gen AESA Radar in late 2024 [album]
byu/Papppi-56 inWarplanePorn

2003 Artist’s concept of the San Antonio Class amphibious transport dock ships firing a missile from a vertical launch system in the ship’s bow.

2003 Artist’s concept of the San Antonio Class amphibious transport dock ships firing a missile from a vertical launch system in the ship’s bow.[1752x1500]
byu/iamnotabot7890 inWarshipPorn

As originally conceived the San Antonio Class was gonna be a BEAST! The war on terror gutted our shipbuilding because Rumsfeld was so freaking short sighted. Anyone remember the claim at the time that we would be fighting terrorists for the next 100 years in various hell holes in the Middle East?

Here is the interview everyone is talking about between Zelensky & Friedman....Zelensky is still batshit crazy

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admits possibility of Ukraine joining NATO without Russian-occupied territories. In interview with Lex Fridman he said invitation to join NATO is made to Ukraine within internationally recognized borders, but NATO's guarantees may apply to controlled territory
byu/Lion8330 inUkraineWarVideoReport

Open Comment Post. 8 Jan 25

 

Never had meatloaf that looked this good...

Someone needs to tell the Ukrainians to knock it the fuck off. They're out of hand with these snuff videos...

Last moments of a russian invader
byu/LowTechDroid inUkraineWarVideoReport

What a bunch of sick fucks.

Yeah he's the enemy but this son of a bitch has a family that loves him.  So what do the sorry fucks do?

They post snuff videos of the dying.

I stand by what I said.  They're a bunch of sick fucks.  Kill them.  Strike them with every weapon in your arsenal.  But snuff vids?  Too far in my book.

Ukraine needs to knock this shit out.

Open Comment Post. 6 Jan 25

1stSgt's Hill....I remember some crazy bastards actually running this thing for PT (not unit, personal)

Mount Motherfucker… …where many men experience their first anal action.
byu/Krazed-Freeman inUSMC

Maps of territory taken in 2024.

Is it just me or does Russia already have all the territory they wanted? I can't see them making a big push further inland so this war is frozen. I don't see how Ukraine can reclaim lost territory either. At this point we're funding a stalemate, the Ukrainian and Russians are wasting men in a conflict that is for all intents already decided and both sides will take at least a couple of decades to be ready for round 2 (talking about people, not material). The question is whether any side tries to make a huge last minute push before Trump takes office. Dude isn't even in the big chair yet but he's the wildcard in all this. Sidenote. One crazy thing. Biden used his drawdown authority to send an additional 2.5 billion in aid. Ya know what that means? It means that if Trump is serious about US DEFENSE then his hands are tied even if he wanted to help. The well for military aid is dry and we're looking at a massive resupply of our OWN DEFENSE STOCKPILE before we can help ANYONE else.

Maps of territory taken in 2024.
byu/Unlucky-Associate266 inUkraineWarVideoReport

America class light carrier conversion

 

I don't know if Force Design is going to survive into the future but if it does then you're gonna see a whole ton of unintended consequences (or intended, who knows). One of them is gonna be the loss of big deck amphibs. Why pay for a capability when amphibious assault is deemed by the very people who do it to be undoable? When those same people say they need small, non-combat worthy transports? This conversion is fictional but possible. I can see the Navy "taking" F-35Bs and having them as part of the sea battle with a distant secondary mission of providing air support to the ground. Berger and now Smith are taking a massive risk. I hope its based on more than faith but confidence is not high.

[1200x812] America class light carrier conversion. Not able to find the source.
byu/proelitedota inWarshipPorn

Open Comment Post. 3 Jan 25

IYKYK

Happy New Year

M60 2000

Open Comment Post. 31 Dec 24

Not fat shaming but this chic needs to workout and put down the fork....maybe try OMAD

 

We really need to make America healthy again. pic.twitter.com/IxuYJOuuiy

— Planet Of Memes (@PlanetOfMemes) December 29, 2024

We live in truly amazing times. Most of human history had us struggling to get enough to eat. Now we see people dying because they have TOO much to eat. We like to blame food additives and even the pharmaceuticul industry but the reality is that it all comes down to personal discipline. But back to this lady. I feel for her. Her quality of life has to suck. To be blunt I wonder how she even takes a shit much less walks to her car.

Compass Points – CSIS Reveals

 CSIS developed a wargame for a Chinese amphibious invasion of Taiwan and ran it 24 times. In most scenarios, the United States/Taiwan/Japan defeated a conventional amphibious invasion by China and maintained an autonomous Taiwan. However, this defense came at high cost. The United States and its allies lost dozens of ships, hundreds of aircraft, and tens of thousands of servicemembers. Taiwan saw its economy devastated. Further, the high losses damaged the U.S. global position for many years. China also lost heavily, and failure to occupy Taiwan might destabilize Chinese Communist Party rule. Victory is therefore not enough. The United States needs to strengthen deterrence immediately.

— Mark Cancian, et al., CSIS

-----------

 The 165 page report covering the full 24 invasion scenarios is worth reading in its entirety, including the findings about the usefulness of Marine Littoral Regiments (MLR).

Three MLR findings from the report:

1. “Although these units [MLRs and MDTFs] could contribute to the fight, neither played heavily in most scenarios. The problems of operating inside the Chinese defensive zone were insurmountable. In several games, the U.S. player tried to move an MLR onto Taiwan by air or sea, but in all cases the unit and transportation assets were destroyed while trying to transit the extensive Chinese defensive zones.301”

2. “Ground units will not provide a significant volume of fire. A squadron of bombers armed with long-range cruise missiles has a greater volume of fire than an entire MLR but without the challenges of transportation and logistics.”

3. “In another scenario, an MLR moved onto the Philippine islands north of Luzon. There, it could attack Chinese forces that moved south of Taiwan, but again resupply was impossible, limiting its value.302 All game iterations had an MLR and Army MDTF on Hawaii available for deployment by airlift, but no U.S. player called them forward.”

-----------

. . . Although these units [MLRs and MDTFs] could contribute to the fight, neither played heavily in most scenarios. The problems of operating inside the Chinese defensive zone were insurmountable. In several games, the U.S. player tried to move an MLR onto Taiwan by air or sea, but in all cases the unit and transportation assets were destroyed while trying to transit the extensive Chinese defensive zones.301 In most scenarios, political assumptions prevented any U.S. forces from being pre-positioned on Taiwanese or Philippine territory before the conflict begins. (See Chapter 4 for a description of the base case assumptions and above for a recommendation on verifying war plan assumptions.)

However, one scenario assumed that that the United States was willing to risk provocation by putting U.S. forces onto Taiwan, whether because Chinese mobilization generated sufficient concern, or the U.S.-China relationship had changed. In this scenario, before hostilities began, an MLR deployed from Okinawa with its load of missiles and one reload, augmenting the shore-based fires of Taiwanese Harpoons. The NSM’s 100-nautical-mile range could easily enable attacks on Chinese amphibious ships from Taiwan. Assuming that the MLR deployed with a load of 72 NSMs on 18 launchers, modeling showed that the MLRs would sink an average of five major Chinese amphibious ships. Because of the MLR’s ability to conduct distributed operations, it was assumed to be survivable in the face of Chinese counteraction. However, resupply proved impossible. A resupply mission of C-17s escorted by fighters attempted to break through the Chinese CAP but was shot down. After that, no further attempts were made at resupply. The MLR became a ground infantry battalion, augmenting the 114 combat battalions of the Taiwanese ground forces. 

----------

 Therefore, the project team recommends continuing to develop land-based forces to counter Chinese air and naval capabilities but also the need to recognize their employment challenges. While these new formations were more useful than traditional ground forces, multiplying these specialized units has limited value because only the first few can be deployed successfully. Others will sit unused. The maximum number is probably two or three. The acquisition of long-range ground-launched missiles might overcome this limitation. If ground launched Tomahawks have a similar range to their Vertical Launch System (VLS) counterparts, they could be employed from peacetime bases on Okinawa without moving in the Chinese defensive zone.

— Mark Cancian, et al., CSIS

----------

Read the Compass Points article here. 

This is turning into another Army mission.  They have the better infrastructure, better equipment and probably are better suited to conduct this mission.

I don't know how many paid attention but there is no "island hopping", no seizing of territory, no amphibious mission here.

The Marine Corps needs to get back to its roots of being America's Force In Readiness.  America's Shock Troops.  America's Elite.

Open Comment Post. 29 Dec 24

What mega animals still roam the earth in unexplored lands...

 

Tale of the Jala-Jala Monster: In 1823, a 27-foot Crocodile was killed near Lake Taal in Batangas, Philippines. It took nearly 40 tribesmen to bring it down. Upon dissecting it, people were shocked to see a horse sliced down to 7 pieces.
byu/Homunculus_316 inDamnthatsinteresting

Warplanes Art....