How long before SOCOM goes purple?

The Joint Force mafia has a dream of the services losing all identity and going purple.  The thinking is that the competition between the services is destructive and wasteful.

I believe that they're the same crowd that gives out medals to everyone at athletic events.  Kinda taints the desire to be the best don't it.

But I digress.

One area where they've made the greatest strides to achieve this joint force utopia is SOCOM.

In my mind its not a matter of when but rather of how long it takes for SOCOM to become its own unique, service irrelevant force.

I don't know whether that will be a good or bad thing...What happens when there are no more SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, USAF Special Ops or Marine Special Forces?  Just simply US Special Ops.

I'm really unsure.  What I believe will happen is that you will see the services simply re-invent these same units to perform those missions for the Combatant Commander.  Remember SOCOM is also pushing to operate outside the sphere of influence of the CC's..the SOCOM Chief of Staff or whatever they call him will be conducting wars world wide.

Will they get a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff?  Or will they fall under the Director of the CIA?  Or even the State Dept?  Or will they report directly to the President?

Will they fall under intelligence or law enforcement?  Intelligence will give them greater lattitude in mission sets but law enforcement will perhaps open the door to more countries.  Will they perhaps be split in two...a dark and light side.  It boggles the mind.

I can't wait to see it.

USAF Common Vertical Lift Support Platform (Huey)...games or reality?

via Defense News.

The UH-1N Huey has been a fixture in the U.S. Air Force since the 1970s. And that won’t be ending any time soon.
Air Force Global Strike Command is looking at flying the helicopters for another 30 years, meaning some could fly until they are 70 years old.
The Air Force is asking defense companies for suggestions on how to increase the venerable Huey’s endurance, range, speed, survivability, navigation and communications capabilities to meet Pentagon requirements for guarding nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile fields in the northern U.S.
The Air Force also wants to be able to fly the choppers in all types of weather, states an April 17 request for information. The goal is to install these capabilities on UH-1Ns between 2014 and 2018.

Read the rest at DN's site.

My question is this.  Is the USAF serious (which means they're crazy) or are they simply playing budget games?

The UH-60 is flying for all the services in one form or another and is still in production.  It would be simple to piggy back on an Army or Navy buy of that airframe and have new helicopters for their security teams to fly out on.

If the UH-60 is too expensive (which I doubt) then they could buy Army National Guard Lakota helicopters.

They could get Sikorsky S-92's for a song (Sikorsky would love to have a US military service induct those aircraft into service)....

Heck even Bell Helicoper would love to get a military sale for their new Super 525....

The point is simply this.

Why are they looking to upgrade these helicopters instead of getting new builds?  Oh and before you go high and to the right, I have nothing against upgraded equipment.  In most cases thats a sensible solution...but we're talking about the aircraft that help protect our nuclear missiles.

If we're going to have anything thats new, it should be protecting our nuclear weaponry.

And that's my point.  If I think that way then surely Congress Critters do too (or I would hope they do) so this has to be a budget game...right?

Marine Personnel Carrier Advice.

A bit of unsolicited advice for the Marine Corps Personnel Carrier Program Office.

Pick the best all around vehicle despite the price and work from there.

If the second best vehicle is the cheapest then its a no go.  If one vehicle has dazzling electronics but can't hack it in rough terrain then its a no go.  If it can swim like there is no tommorrow but has little room for future growth and is under armored then its a no go.

Its value time.

The best all around vehicle is what the Marine Corps needs....ITS BACK TO BASICS.  For all the hammering that the AAV receives its served in one form or another for 40 years.  Why?  Because we got the basic vehicle right.

We concentrated on what was important and didn't get caught up in "whats fashionable at the time" mindset.

I would contend that the Bradley suffered from a single type war mindset.  It was designed for the Fulda Gap...Desert Storm 1 just happened to fit into the Army's concept of operations...and we had wide open territory to fight in.

Notice that the Bradley hasn't appeared in Afghanistan and the Stryker has suffered when operating in that environment.

The Marine Corps should not make that mistake.

Despite being lighter in weight than the Stryker, the LAV-25 has performed well for both the USMC and the Australian Army in that theater.  We need a vehicle that has the longevity and performance value that both the AAV and the LAV-25 have given us.

Additionally it might be wise to flow some of our MPC's over to the LAR Battalions so that we can simplify logistics.

Having looked at all the candidates...the Terrex, the Havoc, the Super AV and the Piranha III...I believe that the Havoc is the best all around vehicle in this competition.

Its already been with our AAV Battalions out at Pendleton and its reportedly a great performer.  Additionally it swims well, has outstanding cross country mobility and can carry a proper number of Marines.

Its time to get these vehicle issues off the table.  Get the MPC competition done poste haste.  Pick the Havoc and get these vehicles into the hands of our AAV and LAV Marines this year or next.

11th MEU Recon gearing up.

The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.  Photo by Sgt. Elyssa Quesada

24th MEU BLT Assault Rehersal? We don't need no stinking rehersal!

Marines of 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Battalion Landing Team, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit assault an objective during a rehearsal of the final exercise at Exercise Africa Lion 2012, April 16. AL-12 is a U.S. African Command-sponsored, Marine Forces Africa-led exercise involving various types of training including command post, live-fire and maneuvering, peace keeping operations, an intelligence capacity building seminar, aerial refueling/low-level flight training, as well as medical and dental assistance projects. The annual exercise is designed to improve interoperability and mutual understanding of each nation's military tactics, techniques and procedures.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tyler Main)

Mythical Fleet. LSD Replacement? HNLMS Rotterdam

Continuing with my mythical fleet we come to an LSD replacement.

My choice would be the HNLMS Rotterdam class.  Stats via Wikipedia...

General characteristics
Type:	Landing platform dock
Displacement:	12,750t (Rotterdam), 16,800t (Johan de Witt)
Length:	166m (Rotterdam), 176.35m (Johan de Witt)
Beam:	25.0 m
Draft:	5.8 m
Propulsion:	Diesel-electric system 4 x Stork Wärtsilä 12SW28 diesel generators at 14.6 MW 4 x Holec electric motor (two in tandem per shaft) at 12 MW 2 shafts bow thruster
Speed:	19 knots (35 km/h)
Range:	6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 12-knot (22 km/h)
Endurance:	6 weeks
Boats and landing craft carried:	6 x LCU or 4 x LCVP (HNLMS Johan de Witt can accommodate 2 LCACs)
Capacity:	170 armoured personnel carriers or 33 main battle tanks
Troops:	611 marines
Crew:	128
Sensors and processing systems:	DA08 air / surface search IRSCAN SATCOM, Link 11, JMCIS
Electronic warfare and decoys:	4 x Sippican Hycor SRBOC MK36 launcher 1 x AN/SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo decoy
Armament:	2 x Goalkeeper CIWS guns 4 x Oerlikon Contraves 20 mm machine guns
Aviation facilities:	Hangar for 6 x AgustaWestland Lynx or NH-90 helicopter and stern helicopter flight deck

By US Navy standards this ship is light, simple and mass production shouldn't be an issue.  In my scheme of things this ship could even be specialized to act as mothership in roles in which the LCS would be too small.

Imagine switching out its normal compliment of landing craft for small boats and instead of NH-90's you replace them with AH-1Z's or MH-60S for sea control and attack missions.

You'd have a formidable ship with a battalion of Marines or Special Ops ready to act against pirates.  Drugs become a problem (well they already are but if a President ever gets serious about killing the importation of the poison) then you could replace them with Riverines and Master at Arms types and have a Joint Task Force 6 at sea.

My whole point (no insult to our allies that operate these ships...its a selling point) is that these ships are relatively modular, have great load capacity/troop berthing and should be cheap enough to build in large enough number to make a difference.

In my plan LHD's and LPD's would form the capital ships of our amphib forces with these LSD replacements acting as a jack of all trades to be ridden hard.

I like it.

CH-53E on the deck...Another Joe Copalman special...

Gents...If you're not subscribed to Joe Copalman's FLICKR stream then you're missing out.  He has to be one of the best aviation photographers her in the states.

This is just another one of his great photos.

Do me a favor though.  DO NOT COPY OR DISTRIBUTE this photo without his permission.  Like someone continuously says, but never seems to get done...It the right thing to do.

CV-90 upgrade for the Norwegian Army...

Massive hat tip to Bjørnar for the article.

The government submits an investment proposition to the Storting on new acquisition and renovation of tanks to the Army. - This investment will provide Armor Battalion and the Telemark battalion increased capacities and strengthening the army substantially the material side, says Defense Minister Espen Barth Eide.
The Government will this investment provide the Armoured Battalion and the Telemark battalion increased capacities and cover up for deficiencies in the structure of medium-weight armored vehicles. The bill will now be submitted to Parliament for further consideration
- The military has recently been modernized its equipment, especially on the waterfront. As many know, we have now proposed a procurement of new combat aircraft for the Air Force. I am therefore proud that we are now in line with our renovation plans looking to invest in just under 10 billion to provide the army 146 rebuilt / new armored vehicles of the type CV-90, says defense minister.
The new and redesigned vehicles will give the Army a significant boost in the form of improved combat power and increased protection for the crews that operate them. New capabilities will be such increased my protection, network integration, better self-protection in the form of remotely controlled weapon station and rubber belts for increased accessibility.

The Army currently has 103 pieces. CV-90 armored personnel carriers all of which will be built on. The project will deliver a total of 146 remanufactured / new CV-90-carts. The cars were acquired from the mid-1990s, and has been a reliable and dependable vehicle for the Army. The cars are based on a combination of new CV-90 hull, upgraded and redesigned CV-90 hull (ie the 103 pieces. Existing) and upgraded turret. Plans are also obtained including unmanned ground and aerial vehicles, various sensors and ground communications.

I continue to be amazed at the speed at which these "smaller" countries are able to procure defense items.

Regardless, the Norwegian Army is about to recieve a quick upgrade in capabilities and will find that they have an IFV that is at the very least the equal of any armored fighting vehicle currently in service.