Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Wow Lt. isn't that special! How about leading Marines instead of playing patty cake?


Will someone in Headquarters Marine Corps spare us the sight of an of Officer of Marines playing patty cake?

If she can't find something better to do with her time then its time for a serious reduction in force.  Guys in Afghanistan are fighting and dying and this officer is playing.

Amazing!


Army Operating Concept.

Well I definitely haven't been paying enough attention to the Army Guys lately. 

The decision about the GCV was telegraphed for months...the Army Chief of Staff himself was expressing doubt about the weight of the vehicle and I still don't believe that they'll get it across the finish line, but perhaps more interesting is this new Army Operating Concept.

Security Stabilization Operations?

Give me a break.  Its a new name for a Three Block War.  But the ball busting part of this whole thing is how they've settled on the 2016-2028 timeline.

Didn't I once see something like an Army 2020???? 

Regardless its here for you to read ...

tp525-3-1                                                            

Monday, August 30, 2010

You guys rock!


You guys are the best.  Once again, readers here have clued us in to information before the rest of the web has picked up on it.

I could point to more than a couple of issues but the latest is the ongoing saga with the Kel-Tec PMR-30.

We've been looking at the slow delivery of this firearm to the market place for a while but now it seems that the dedicated firearms blogs are noticing...the "Firearm Blog"...is one of the best and they have finally keyed in on this.  Read it here.

Again, you guys rock.  Thanks.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Singapore's answer to the LPD as mini-LHD.

I posted yesterday that the idea of using LPD's as mini-LHD's has merit.  Well my friends Leesa and Marcase were a bit skeptical.

Fair enough.

But the main area of disagreement dealt with the limited space for aviation and in particular the limited areas for aviation maintenance.

My rebuttal comes in the form of what Singapore is doing with their LPD.  Below you'll see a sales brochure (yeah I know a Sales Brochure) but the point is this...there is plenty of space...on the San Antonio class the space is evident and on the older LSD's and LPD's the space has been made available with the use of removable hangars.

If we're going to do distributed operations.  If we're going to have mini-ARGs then this is something that must be done.

572N81fXA1DTA3OViRd                                                                    

SAAB Networked Enabled Capability.

Leopard 2A7+


KMW has been pretty busy lately.  Not to the level of BAE (which really might be from the fact that BAE is a collection of companies and not one single entity) but they've been busy none-the-less.

Still this latest offering is curious.

Over the years we've seen the super long barreled Leopard 2A6, and the Peace Support Operations Leopard.  With the 2A7+ we see them returning to the PSO variant, dropping the long barrel, adding machineguns and bolt on armor and the now common dozer blade.

I'm not sure if this is really qualifies for a new model designation or not.  It seems to be more inline with what the US Army did a couple of years ago with its TUSK upgrade. 


Leopard 2A7+ Specifications (From the KMW Website)
 Weight  67.5 t
 Length 
(gun at 12 o'clock)  10.97 m
 Width  4.00 m
 Height (turret roof)  2.64 m
 Engine power  1,100 kW (1,500 hp)
 Maximum speed  72 km/h
 Cruising range  450 km
 Armament


 
 120 mm / L55 smoothbore
 cannon and 12.7 mm MG
 oder 40 mm granade launcher
 7.62 mm coaxial MG

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Time to dust off Galrahn's list of Amphibious Ops.


Galrahn of Information Dissemination wrote a piece for USNI Blog that detailed the amphibious operations that the Marine Corps has conducted since the 90's.

With so many actually taking the SecDef's threat seriously its time to take a look at this again.  Read it here and here.

LSD's and LPD's as Mini- Carriers.

The above photo is another example of the tremendous amount of aviation that even an ancient LSD can carry.

Perhaps this is the best kept secret in the Navy.  LSD's and LPD's can (in a high density operation) almost rival the first Iwo Jima Class LHA's in the number of helicopters they can carry.


The mini-ARG concept can work but it will require a careful balancing of assets and the LPD-17 class should be the centerpiece of the effort.

With this in mind it might make sense to re-class the LHD and especially the USS America Class LHA's as Amphibious Assault Carriers, limit our buy of them and fill them only with F-35s.

Imagine an amphibious fleet of 4 America Class Amphibious Assault Carriers with the balance of the ships being LPDs and LSDs.  You could have reinforced companies all over the place and a forward presence that the Navy has been clamoring for.

Protection could be an issue but a Burke Class destroy to accompany each Mini-ARG should be sufficient for operations other than war.

I think I've hit on something.

Lockheed Martin C-130 Demonstration Video!

Orange County Register Graphic on the EFV.

The Orange County Register has a great graphic on the EFV and the issues facing it...

EFV raw video. The info war is on.

So the SecDef wants to fire a shot across the Marine Corps bow by having a commission take a look at the Marines roles and missions?

Yeah right!

Who in the Congress has the balls to go head to head with the USMC?

Does the White House really want the battle?

The answer to the first is no one and to the second...are you crazy!

So having properly evaluated the enemies strength on this subject the power that be have ignored the sound of the blast and are moving forward with a head on assault on the SecDef's position.  Besides, he fired his rounds in haste...his tactics are confused (he did after all signal that he's going to retire within a year) and the only real obstacle is the bean counters in OMB.

Oh and there is one more danger.  Remember the LVTP-5?  That was the last amphibian that was optimized toward the water mission against evidence that most missions would be focused on land.  It was a failure in Vietnam...maybe we should just get BAE or General Dynamics or Lockheed Martin to modernize the AAV-7---radically modernize it.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Kel-Tec speaks up on the PMR-30.


Anonymous posted this on the PMR-30.  Its a statement from Kel-Tec regarding the PMR-30...
Kel-Tec Ok folks, since this question is being asked relentlessly I'll address it.

No, we are not at full production on PMR-30s. It has nothing to do with the product but more with the time line we set to release the PMR-30.

Back in January we ann...ounced that Q2 was the release date. It was based on estimated time to move from prototype to full production. What we had in January was a working model, but was not made on production CNC machines.

Our estimation proved to be quite off in terms of development. We noticed it before release but felt if we really pushed ourselves we could meet the Q2 release. The first batch of 80 or so, were done by that deadline, but had not been tested extensively (as we do with any first production run). After testing we found some inconsistencies in the CNC work and did some re-tweaking to fix it.

Since that first batch we've sent several other batches out, each with it's own new little fix. All of the fire arms that have been sent out work, but in the course of production we've found little adjustments here and there that are improvements.

In all honesty this is stuff that should have been going on before release.

What should have happened (because hindsight is 20/20) was that we push back that official release date until October at the earliest.

Basically we underestimated the time it would take us to get these badboys into full production.

So we had a choice: either stop production completely and just wait until a later date (angering those that were told July as a release date) or release smaller batches so the guns can at least see the light of day as production catches up (also angering customers as they see guns coming out but can't seem to get one). Obviously
we chose the latter (the right choice? this remains to be seen). The PMR-30s going out now are in working condition, but we've made that they may want to upgrade to, depending on serial number.

These parts will of course be free.

One thing we've discovered since shipping is that the PMR-30 does NOT like ammunition made in the Philippines (Armscor/Fiocci). The brass is weak and blows out.

So in conclusion: We are still making and shipping PMR-30s while production can get on track. They are still in small batches (30-70) and we are waiting on various redesigned parts to come back from heat treatment so we can start producing them in larger quantities.

Simply put we jumped the gun a bit on release (no pun intended), we acknowledge it, accept it, and are doing everything in our power to get things moving. In the meantime we are still sending out PMR-30s in small batches as we make them.

I hope this clarifies some things. My suggestion is to just pretend as if we set a release date for sometime in October and if you happen to come across a PMR-30 then it will be a pleasant surprise.

I will be happy to answer any additional questions that I can.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Lockheed Martin UAVs.



The future looks (at least in unmanned aviation) bright.

AH-1Z. Why isn't it in Afghanistan yet?



I'm a big supporter of the AH-1Z and UH-1Y project...but....why hasn't the AH-1Z made it into battle yet?  The UH-1Y is getting its first taste of battle but the AH-1Z remains a work in progress.  What gives?

Sunday, August 22, 2010

RST-V. Remember this?

Remember the next big thing in vehicle technology a few years ago?  It was the RST-V and it was suppose to be revolutionary.  Well at least before IEDs became the threat that they are now.
Hybrid Electric Byerly                                                            

4 Servicemen died in Afghanistan but the military wants your eyes on this?

4 Servicemen died in Afghanistan.  3 by enemy gunfire, and 1 by an explosion.

But what are we getting from military Public Affairs Offices?

We're getting inundated with news of the "feel good" story of the moment....the Pakistan relief effort.

We should all be ashamed.  You and I for not pushing our military's Public Affairs Officers to turn back on the tap of information from the war zone and the military for embargoing news of the conflict.

Here are a couple of photos of what THEY want your attention on.
UPDATE.
My buddy Marcase seems to doubt me on the 'lack' of news and information coming out of Afghanistan.  Well consider this.  The above photos are what we're seeing now.  Those below are what was coming out in April and May.

You be the judge.  Also consider that since the McCrystal firing, the info has been beyond sparse...we aren't seeing it.


A case for simplicity.

Warrior Talk News Blog has an excellent article for those of us that practice concealed carry.  The theme is simplicity and its worth a few minutes.  Read it here.

Mungo-An option to keep your Airborne or Heliborne Infantry Motorized.

What's one of the many issues for Heliborne or Airborne Infantry the minute their feet touch ground? 

Mobility.

Fortunately, their is a compact solution that is capable of transporting 10 Infantryman per vehicle and is capable of being carried internally in CH-53 or CH-47 aircraft.

Introducing KMW's Mungo.
Multimission deployment range 
The MUNGO family of air-portable vehicles is tailored specifically to the requirements of highly-mobile airborne forces: airportable in a CH53 or CH47, protected, highly-mobile, multi-purpose and logistically easy to supply. Weighing just 5.3 tons overall, the MUNGO can transport ten fully equipped soldiers. The MUNGO is the ideal solution for deploying airportable forces in crisis situations. The vehicle can be disarmed for loading on a CH53 or CH47 transport helicopter or armed for deployment in only five minutes. C130 and A400M transport aircraft can even be used for transporting two or three MUNGOs together with their ten-man crew. The MUNGO can also be transported by helicopter as an external load.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

The EFV has a new page.

It looks like Colonel Moore and his boys have been busy not only testing and getting the EFV ready for its budget battle but also have finally decided to revamp their website.

If you've read SNAFU! then you know I've been a little bit annoyed at how this program has been run.

At what I considered a critical point in the "info" wars concerning this vehicle the website even went off line.  I wondered why, I questioned the wisdom of those in charge and I even believed a little "wall to wall" counseling was called for.

Looks like I was wrong.

Yep, the Marine Corps is all in when it comes to the EFV, and this revamped site with all the bells and whistles is another shot toward getting the word out.

Friday, August 20, 2010

LITEF IMU ... what?????


Northrop Grumman LITEF IMU on Typhoon

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a contract by EADS Defence & Security to deliver inertial measurement units (IMU) for Tranche 3A of the Eurofighter Typhoon. The IMUs will be built by the company's German navigation systems subsidiary, Northrop Grumman LITEF.
Developed as part of the flight control system of the Eurofighter Typhoon, the IMU system, with its highly accurate inertial sensors and built-in redundancy, is the sole sensor which measures the motion of the aircraft and continuously provides motion data to the flight control computer to drive the control systems and actuators. This closed control loop stabilization system enables the aircraft to perform with extreme agility as well as a high degree of maneuverability, ensuring it can operate to the maximum of its capability and to the limit of its flight envelope. In a secondary function, the IMU provides backup navigation data.

United States Tanker


Ok this is pure propaganda but it has historical flashes none-the-less. Follow the link.


United States Tanker

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Stalker UAS

Nice Product, Weird Company.


I just found another of those weird little businesses that provides specialized military equipment but does it behind a veil of serving the needs of residential consumers.  Check out NetStar Technologies.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Tactical-Life.com's review of the Kel-Tec PMR-30 Sub Gun...



Sweet.

They're flubbing the sales effort with these delays but it looks like alot of fun!

Thanks Tactical-Life.com~(you too Anonymous for pointing this out)!

Hey SecDef, you want to save money? How about killing the Navy's new uniform!


The Navy has appropriated the Marine Corps Charlie Uniform but is attempting to field a brand new set of digital cammies?  Wow.

What a waste!

And on top of all that they have a new website AND FaceBook page!  Check it out here.  Oh and if you're curious, this is the press release...
Navy Working Uniform Type II/III Website Launched





WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) launched a Web site for the Navy Working Uniform (NWU) Type II/III Aug. 9.

The website is intended to provide detailed information about the new uniforms, including development history, conformance testing data, frequently asked questions and answers, news and updates, photographs, and contact information.

"We want to provide the best Web site possible to inform our expeditionary Sailors about the new uniforms," said Andy Hu, NAVFAC NWU Type II/III program manager.

NAVFAC also has a Facebook page so the program manager can receive additional feedback, and visitors are encouraged to join or start a dialogue about the NWU Type II/III.

These new tactical uniforms are undergoing conformance testing this summer and are scheduled to be issued to the expeditionary Navy in spring 2011.

Visit the NWU Type II/III website at http://www.navfac.navy.mil/nwu, and the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/NWU-Type-II-II/147583515252522?v=wall.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The real war? Between the Army and the Air Force...the Marines and Navy are bit players.


Scoop Deck has a story on the New York Times editorial which recommends cutting the Air Force and Navy.  Beautiful.  Read it here.  Also note the spirited defense by McGrath.  Amazing but predictable.  The war in Afghanistan isn't even won yet he's ready to gut land forces!  Wow.

Why do I still hear the whispers of Rumsfeld's "Transformation" in the Air-Sea Battle concept?  Is it because certain think tankers are deluding themselves about the type of combat we'll see in the future?  Insurgents...Internal Defense Missions...Training of Foreign Military....the classic 3-block war...that's the future.  Push button combat using UAV's, hi-tech bombers and such is a fantasy.  

Update on the Kel-Tec PMR-30.


I did a story on this new gun here.  The long story short is that I wanted to add this weapon to my arsenal, the end of the story is that Kel-Tec is botching its release.

After all the drama and speculation, I'll be sticking to Ruger.

If you want a primer on how not to do business then look up Kel-Tec.

Gates to retire, Marines to win.


via Reuters.
(Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a driving force behind both the Afghan war plan and in overhauling the Pentagon's finances, said in an interview published on Monday he aims to retire next year.
So what does this mean?

1.  It means that the F-35 will most definitely survive.  Gates retirement should be near initial operational capability for the F-35 into Marine Corps service.
2.  It means that the Marines will get the EFV.  Gates can kill programs but with a Republican House on the horizon (and possibly Senate) then you can bet that the defense industry will get a boost.
3.  It means that the developing Air-Sea Battle is officially in danger.  Gates is the biggest driver behind this new concept.  With his departure and with a focus on ongoing combat in Afghanistan, you can bet that extra expenditures for expensive new airplanes (looking at you next gen bomber) will be tough to swallow.
4.  Lastly, it means that the next SecDef will be almost powerless.  With Gates retirement close to the start of the next presidential election cycle this person will have almost no sway over the services.  He/She will be able to tinker at the edges but thats about it.

EFV wins, EFV wins, EFV wins....

Is this the best thing to come out of RIMPAC?

When do you know that an exercise has become a joke? 

When the best thing to come out of it is a photo op.

If this is what RIMPAC has become ... a formation of ships that get together to attempt to look good together then its time to save money by scrapping the exercise. 

Monday, August 16, 2010

3 Attack Helicopters...3 different operating principles.

What do the AH-64 Apache, AH-1Z Viper and the KA-52 Alligator have in common?  Not a thing.  They all represent differing design philosophies and approaches to the Attack Helicopter.  I became  interested because of the announcement that the Russians would be placing the KA-52 on the Mistral class LHD they'll be building soon.  First a comparison of the 3 helicopters via Wikipedia.

AH-1Z Viper/General characteristics
  • Crew: 2: pilot, co-pilot/gunner (CPG)
  • Capacity: 6,661 lb (3,021 kg)
  • Length: 58 ft 3 in (17.8 m)
  • Rotor diameter: 48 ft (14.6 m)
  • Height: 14 ft 4 in (4.37 m)
  • Disc area: 1,808 ft² (168.0 m²)
  • Empty weight: 12,300 lb (5,580 kg)
  • Useful load: 5,764 lb (2,620 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 18,500 lb (8,390 kg)
  • Powerplant:General Electric T700-GE-401C turboshaft, 1,800 shp (1,340 kW) each
  • Rotor systems: 4 blades on main rotor, 4 blades on tail rotor
Performance
AH-64D Apache/General characteristics
  • Crew: 2 (pilot, and co-pilot/gunner)
  • Length: 58.17 ft (17.73 m) (with both rotors turning)
  • Rotor diameter: 48 ft 0 in (14.63 m)
  • Height: 12.7 ft (3.87 m)
  • Disc area: 1,809.5 ft² (168.11 m²)
  • Empty weight: 11,387 lb (5,165 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 17,650 lb (8,000 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 23,000 lb (10,433 kg)
  • Powerplant:General Electric T700-GE-701 and later upgraded to T700-GE-701C (1990–present) & T700-GE-701D (AH-64D block III) turboshafts, -701: 1,690 shp, -701C: 1,890 shp, -701D: 2,000 shp (-701: 1,260 kW, -701C: 1,490 kW, -701D: 1,490 kW) each
  • Fuselage length: 49 ft 5 in (15.06 m)
  • Rotor systems: 4 blade main rotor, 4 blade tail rotor in non-orthogonal alignment
Performance
KA-52 Alligator/General characteristics
  • Crew: One (for Ka-52: two)
  • Length: 13.50 m (44 ft 3 in)
  • Rotor diameter: 2x 14.50 m (2x 47 ft 7 in)
  • Height: 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in)
  • Disc area: 330.3 m² (3,555 ft²)
  • Empty weight: 7,800 kg (17,200 lb)
  • Loaded weight: 9,800 kg (21,600 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 10,800 kg (23,810 lb)
  • Powerplant:Klimov TV3-117VK turboshafts, 1,660 kW (2,226 shp) each
  • For Ka-52:

    • Loaded weight: 10,400 kg (22,930 lb)
Performance
I'm not sure how I would rank them but it appears that heavy weight, heavily armored helicopters are as passe' as wheeled personnel carriers.  The Russians have practically said so with the adoption of the KA-52 over its rival, the Mi-28.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

3-D Warrior.

Second Line of Defense Website (thanks Energo) has an interesting read on the Marine Corps Aviation efforts or rather where those efforts are going.  Enjoy.
SLD3-DWarrior                                                            

BS METER IS SPIKING!!!!

Ok gents.  I've said this before but after an hour of looking for news on individual units involved in combat in Afghanistan, I'm sure of it.

NEWS ON THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN----AT THE UNIT LEVEL----IS BEING EMBARGOED!!!

The Bull Shit Meter is spiking!

What's going on and why is this happening!-?????


F-35 critics read this and weep.


via Haaretz.com
Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved the purchase of 20 F-35 fighter planes for the Israel Air Force on Sunday.
The planes, manufactured by the American company Lockheed Martin, are expected to be delivered to Israel between 2015 and 2017.
Barak's approval of the $2.7 billion deal came after more than two years of tough talks between the Israeli defense establishment, the U.S. Pentagon, and Lockheed Martin.
So another win to offset any losses and we still have Singapore, Japan, S. Korea and a possible additional set of purchases from Australia for their LHD to look forward to.

Game, set, and match...the F-35 has already seen more success than the F-22.

Snafu!'s one time statement on the Mosque issue.


Politics are personal.  I try and stay away from the discussion but this Mosque issue is becoming more than a bit painful.  I've tried to be patient, I've tried to be even handed but as usual the "elite" inside the Beltway (including the President and those "think tankers" that blog about military issues) are on the outside looking in of American public opinion.

For once Bill Kristol and I agree...while I think that his thinking on military matters is misguided...while I think that his thinking on democratizing the Middle East is a horrible joke that has helped get us into bad situations...this time he's right.

Read it here.

F-35 collection of must reads.


Energo over at F-16.net has a collection of articles on the F-35 from the "Second Line of Defense"...this website hadn't been on my radar but its moved to my must reads.  Check it out...

Energo's collection

and

Second Line Of Defense Website

So much for the Mistral Carriers to Russia not posing a threat...


Via Rio Novosti...
Mistral-class helicopter carriers, which Russia plans to buy from France, will be armed with Russian Ka-52 Alligator helicopters, Air Force Commander Colonel General Alexander Zelin told the Ekho Moskvy FM station on Saturday.
and...

The Russian military has said it plans to use Mistral ships in its Northern and Pacific fleets.
Many Russian military and industry experts have questioned the financial and military sense of the purchase, and some believe that Russia simply wants to gain access to advanced naval technology that could be used in the future in potential conflicts with NATO and its allies.
In April, the head of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, Mikhail Dmitriev, said the Mistral deal would be concluded by the end of the year.
Read the whole thing here.  One thing is certain, Georgia and the other small European countries near the sea should be concerned.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Gates and the force structure review.


Wow.

How can so many people be so wrong about so simple an issue.

Yes Secretary Gates ordered a force structure review.

No, the Secretary is not talking about "killing" the Marines.  More the opposite.  Take this for example...
Since then, Marines have fought on the beaches, mountains and trenches of Korea, the highlands and rice paddies of Vietnam, and the deserts of Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. Although many of these operations saw Marines initially projected from the sea, “they soon turned into long, grinding, ground engagements,” Gates said.
The nation does not need a second land army, Gates said, but rather forces that can deploy quickly and sustain themselves for a short period of time.
Sounds like he is endorsing the work already done by the current Commandant to get the Marines feet wet again.

But just to show that I am paying attention, this is the part where many are all-a-twitter...
“Looking ahead, I do think it is proper to ask whether large-scale amphibious landings along the lines of Inchon (Korea in 1950) are feasible,” the secretary said. Anti-access technologies, such as more accurate cruise and ballistic missiles, will work to drive the starting point for amphibious operations farther and farther out to sea.
All will gain from a serious and balanced look at military missions, with an emphasis on balance, Gates said. “The United States will continue to face a diverse range of threats that will require a flexible portfolio of military capabilities,” he said. The military must be equally adept in counterinsurgency and full-spectrum operations. Any enemy is going to confront perceived American weaknesses, and how the military responds to asymmetric tactics must be considered, he added.
The funny thing here is that Forcible Entry in general and Amphibious Assault in particular has been reaffirmed once again.  This is honestly a shot at only one part of the Marine Corps and that's the EFV.  This entire speech was a thinly veiled shot across the bow at a weapon system and not the Marine Corps.

If anything, this is showing that Gates is willing to play hardball with the Marines when it comes to the fight for that vehicle.

I wonder what the powers that be are going to do for a counter move over in Quantico.  This will get ugly.

An RAF test pilot speaks about the F-35.


via AviationNews.EU.
As the UK public got its first glimpse of the RAF’s stunning Harrier replacement at Farnborough, Squadron Leader Steve Long said:
“It is like an iPhone on speed. It is a quantum leap in terms of technology and aerodynamics.”
'Nuff said.

Read the whole thing here.

Another confusing article on the F-35 engine debate.


I'm a fan of aviation.  I have no actual experience with it (outside of riding in the back of helicopters and cursing the pilots and crew chiefs for seeming to try and make me sick or because the damn thing leaks fluid like a new born baby pees its pants)...so articles like this don't help one bit in trying to determine who's right or wrong.

Take these segments of Guy Norris' article in Aviation Week...
The intense battle over powering the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could be heading to new levels following test results that show the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 alternate engine has more than 15% thrust margin against specification, significantly exceeding the power of the baseline Pratt & Whitney F135.
and then this later on...
“Initial results show we have more than 15% margin at sea level combat-rated thrust than the specification. That’s significantly beyond the thrust requirement right out of the chute,” says GE-Rolls. In March this year, following the first maximum afterburner test of a system development and demonstration engine, the team quietly expressed confidence the F136 would exceed the thrust of the baseline F135 by 5%. Actual thrust achieved in the test remains undisclosed, but it is in excess of 40,000 lb.
So for an observer and not expert, I'm left with the thought that...ok, the F136 produces 5% more thrust than the F135...but haven't we known that all along?

I'm not an engine guy (there actually is a guy that goes by that name over on F-16.net...maybe I should ask him) but I believe it has to do with engine cores or something like that.  But I'm off topic.  The point is that this article didn't clear up a thing for me, and  it actually muddied the waters.  Read it for yourself here

Another great photo stream on Flickr.

Think Defence first brought his photos to my attention and while I've been admiring them for a while, I finally decided to share them here with you.

Just like Stremph's excellent photos covering aviation, Brian Aitenhead has covered the maritime environment.  If you get a chance spend an hour or two looking over his offerings.  They're both well worth your time.

HMS Ocean transiting the Suez Canal

HMS Ocean leaving the Suez Canal

Now if I could only figure out what this guy does for a living to be able to take all these cool photos!

C-5M first flight.

Thank God this program is finally going.  We shouldn't have to rely on the Russians for outsized cargo.  Via Lockheed Martin.

Identify please.

The above photo is from the Air Combat Command and a recent exercise where B-52's and F-15's dropped everything from GBU-28's to Small Diameter Bombs.

Really basic stuff that is done everyday.

What I need help with is the pod hanging between (I believe) the 1st and 2nd engines on the above photo.

What is it?

BAE is promoting Band Tracks.


While doing my usual weekend surfing I ran across a slight change in the BAE list of offerings.

Its seems that they're now promoting Band Tracks and have them listed separately under the Combat Vehicle section.  According to BAE, Band Tracks offer...
Band track is a high-performance, low-maintenance alternative for the segmented metal track traditionally used for tracked combat vehicles. Lightweight rubber composite, band track travels smoothly around suspension components with minimal vibration and noise.
With the wheeled combat vehicles having shown their limitations in moderate combat (I know the silliness of that designation but currently high intensity combat would mean operations against a technological capable enemy...the Taliban and Insurgents just don't qualify) the after market for this type of track might be large.

The only question I would have is...how do you fix it if you throw one when you're out in the boonies???

What exactly is the UH-72 for anyway????


First we were told that it was a light weight utility helicopter that the US Army and National Guard needed for homeland security missions.

Now we're seeing it upgraded with what I consider to be almost combat kit.  Will someone tell me again what the UH-72 is for again. 

This is from EADS.

The first flight of the UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) equipped with the Security and Support Battalion (S&S Battalion) Mission Equipment Package (MEP) occurred in June at the company’s American Eurocopter facility in Columbus, Miss.
The S&S Battalion MEP will greatly expand the Lakota’s use for reconnaissance, command and control and air movement operations in support of U.S. homeland defense and security missions with the U.S. Army National Guard.
The maiden flight with this mission package on a UH-72A version represents another milestone in the Lakota’s highly successful development for the U.S. Army and also demonstrates EADS North America’s ability to evolve complex systems to meet warfighters’ mission needs.
“This is a very significant milestone in the maturation of the UH-72A Lakota for the U.S. Army and National Guard user,” said EADS North America COO David R. Oliver. “The fleet of Lakota aircraft is approaching 40,000 flight hours and as the Army continues to fly Lakotas they’re realizing the versatility and reliability of the aircraft. The S&S Battalion first flight illustrates the continued expansion and validation of the Lakota’s capabilities.”
Excuse me.  But I have seen multi-million dollar command and control vehicles with the FBI, ATF, State and Local Police Agencies, FEMA and practically the whole host of alphabet soup departments in the US government.  Now the Army and National Guard need additional recon and Command and Control assets?

Ok, enough of the non-sense, what's going on with this program.