SNAFU!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Farnborough 2012. F-18 Super Hornet flight display.

The best performance so far. Nothing special but it was done with flair. I wonder who the pilot is. That semi-cobra was cool though.

Black Five's Uncle Jimbo takes it to the danger zone.

Pretty funny. This is why grunts don't fly.

Rope Training.

Lance Cpl. Hung Q. Nguyen crosses a two-strand rope bridge at the Jungle Warfare Training Center at Camp Gonsalves July 7. Nguyen, along with his unit, are participating in a seven-day training package to develop their skills in a jungle environment. Nguyen is a ground communications organizational repairer with Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Marine Aircraft Group 36.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Erick Brooks)

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Kfir on approach. A Joe Copalman pic.

Colombian Air Force Kfir on final approach into Davis-Monthan Air Force Base during workups for the FAC's participation in Red Flag 12-4 starting next week at Nellis.

Hugo Chavez probably ain't too happy about all this

Whenever I see a Kfir now I always think about Neptunus Lex.

The Royal Air Force is whacking terrorist with drones...only they keep quiet about it!

Check this out.

Christopher Lee writes from London: Everyone knows about the US drones whacking the Taliban – or that’s how the Americans tell it. In the UK, the general attitude is: good on you Yanks. Blow away as many Taliban as your cowboys in Nevada Predator Control can spot.
It’s great stuff because no one gets killed except terrorists and a few civilians. Also, the military anoraks say this is the future as well as Now Warfare. It’s technology challenging the guy with the turban and bomb-lined waistcoat. If a few Human Rights Watch campaigners complain that a bunch of families got in the way, then that’s too bad. They shouldn’t hang out with the bad guys.
Anyway, not many dead and we never met any of them. End of US media briefing. British Media break into applause
What people in the UK don’t know is that the British have their own drones and they’re doing quite a bit of their own killing – including civilians. The RAF is operating Reaper drones and guiding them to targets – or as close as doesn’t seem to matter to the RAF – from a US military facility in Nevada.

Read the whole thing...and I'm not sure about the website but it makes you wonder doesn't it?

How many drone strikes have the Brits made and the US took the credit/blame for it? Oh and only a fool would believe that the Brits aren't making cross border drone raids into Pakistan.

The difference? The Brits know how to maintain operational security and we seem to have forgotten.

SIDENOTE:
This has been staring everyone in the face but to my knowledge no one (before this article) put it together. And the reason why we missed it is because they haven't been broadcasting the capability all over the place. Not only is the upper lip stiff but the mouth is closed. Bully for them.

F-35 pic dump.

Lockheed tossed a whole bunch of pics out today...tried to go through them and find the ones I haven't posted. If some are re-runs then ~~I apologize~~ get over it.

Fifth F-35B test aircraft returns to Patuxent River

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – The F-35B test aircraft BF-5 returned to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., on June 26 after a planned modification period in Fort Worth, Texas. BF-5 fills the complement of five F-35B test aircraft at NAS Patuxent River. The F-35B is the variant of the Joint Strike Fighter for the U.S. Marine Corps and international partners, capable of short take-offs and vertical landings for use on amphibious ships or expeditionary airfields to provide air power to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The F-35B is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to delivery to the fleet.