Revolutionary helmets???

The title of this by British Forces News was "The revolutionary helmets that are changing lives"...Pretty pompous title for pretty standard fare in western air forces.  I wonder where they're getting the idea that this is new and amazing?
That's perhaps a bit snarkey.  Let me restate.  The experience that BAE is gaining from this project should help on work being done for the F-35 alternate helmet.  Good stuff but hardly revolutionary.  Thanks to Grim for bringing me down a bit.  Hate Weds....like he hates Mon.

Landing Craft Wallpaper.

If this isn't the most beautiful landing site anywhere in the world I'd like to see it.  Your Landing Craft wallpaper...

Yeager is right when he talks about big dot front sights.

I'm gonna touch on a subject that many will disagree with me on.

That's ok.  Let's talk and see what happens.

My contention is this.  The close in fight is being bastardized by 3 gun matches.  Instead of studying and learning from history, doing legit lessons learned from those that have survived those encounters we're instead following gear trends/cool boy fashion and equipping our pistols for a fight that they shouldn't be used in.

And this applies to civilian defensive carry users and the military.  Police are operating off a totally different set of principles here.

But back to the subject.  What's the hottest trend with pistols today?

Holographic sights on your pistol.

But that's designed for the wrong fight.  That's a setup for 10 to 50 yards.  Its not a setup for the ranges that most gunfights occur at....3 to 7 feet.

For that fight James Yeager is right.  A big dot front sight is best.  Forget the 3 dot alignment just concentrate on front sight and put the attacker down.  But how did we get to the point of using holographic sights on our pistols?

Is a Marine going to purposely clear a house with his pistol?  Unless he's an MP in one of the Law Enforcement Battalions probably not.  So when will the pistol come into its own?  As his weapon of last resort engaging enemies at close range.  If you're caught in a bad situation with the enemy closing in would you waste rounds unless you knew they were hits?

Same with a civilian.  The situation is similar but different.  How are you going to justify feeling like your life is in danger with the crimminal over 25 feet away?  You probably can't  ( there might be a circumstance where you can but more than likely not) and that makes the holographic sight movement a false one.

Give Yeager credit.  On this one he's as right as rain.

Otokar Arma 8x8. The bar is getting raised.

The wheeled 8x8 market is heating up and the Otokar Arma 8x8 might be the best of the sleeper vehicles out there.  Consider this.  Turkey (which probably should be considered one of the BRIC countries) has a robust defense industry, they're supporting it to the hilt and they're more than willing to team up with any and everyone willing to advance their state of the art.  With comps in S. Africa and the UAE, you can bet that the price will be competitive and the armor protection up to snuff.



Not much info is available on the turret but it reminds me of a German offering.  I'll try to find out more.

Lockheed Martin Air and Missile Defense Radar...the answer to ballistic missile attacks on surface groups.

I continue to marvel at how easily the news has been taken that China is willing to use ballistic missiles against carriers.  The Russians pitched a bitch and even Ronald Reagan backed off on Pershing 2's, yet the Chinese have drastically escalated the stakes in naval warfare and no one bats an eye.  The US Navy considered conventional ballistic missiles for use against hardened land targets and the PUSSIES INSIDE THE PENTAGON killed the idea before the enemy could.

Amazing.

Someone You Should Know: Gunnery Sergeant Timothy P. Haney

There is hard.  

Real hard.  

Crazy hard

...and then there's Marine Corps Hard.  Gunny Haney is Marine Corps hard.  Listen to his act of valor here.

3D Printing. Why a magazine ban is now a joke.

Soldier Systems has an article up that asks very important questions about 3d printing an how it will affect firearms.

Read it at his house but I have a much more basic question.

How do you limit magazine size when this is possible?  A Glock Mag is tailor made for this process and I can take the sizing on a 33 round mag and plus size it up to a 50 rounder without problem and circumvent any attempts by authorities to limit my capacity.  That's taking it to extremes but you get the idea.

Technology is making us slaves and technology is setting us free...how do you limit the spread of knowledge especially in a community as tight knit as the shooting community is?  The gun grabbers have already lost.  They just don't know it.

Even the beaches are sweet at RIMPAC.

BELLOWS AIR FORCE STATION (July 28, 2012) A landing craft air cushion delivers personnel and equipment during a training exercise as part of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012 exercise. Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in the RIMPAC exercise from June 29 to Aug. 3, in and around the Hawaiian Islands. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2012 is the 23rd exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason Daniel Johnston/Released)
120728-N-RJ303-158

Damn!

Even the beaches are sweet.