Tuesday, November 30, 2010

We finally get a look at the Internally Transportable Vehicle.

Marine Tanks land in Afghanistan. The Video.

Marine Tanks in Afghanistan!


Five M1A1 tanks have arrived to Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, and another dozen or so are expected to arrive in the coming weeks. The tanks will undergo maintenance inspections before being assigned missions elsewhere in Helmand province as another tool in waging counterinsurgency operations. In addition to increased maneuverability and precision firepower, M1A1 tanks will provide superior optics and night vision capability, allowing coalition forces to spot improvised explosive devices being emplaced by the Taliban.

AH-1Z approved for full rate production.



via NAVAIR.

AH-1Z approved for full rate production

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- The U.S. Marine Corps’ AH-1Z Cobra was approved for full rate production Nov. 28.

The H-1 program office received official word on the milestone III approval decision from Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics, Dr. Ashton B. Carter through an acquisition decision memorandum.

"This is the culmination of a lot of focused hard work by a lot of dedicated professionals," said Col. Harry Hewson, the Marines' program manager for light and attack helicopter programs. "We spent the past two years executing a very detailed risk reduction program that tested every part of the weapons and fire control system on the AH-1Z. It performed very well in operational test last spring and I am confident that it will do as well in combat as the UH-1Y is doing right now in Afghanistan. The next phase of this program is getting the Zulu into the hands of the fleet and into combat. The Zulu is going to give the Marines on the ground a whole new level of long range targeting and precision firepower for close air support."

After completing operational testing this summer, the AH-1Z was determined to be operationally effective and suitable, a finding that is a prerequisite to the full rate production decision.

"Getting the Zulu into full rate production is very important for the Marines and for our Nation," said Rear Adm. Steve Eastburg, Program Executive Officer for Air, Assault and Special Mission Programs. "Both the UH-1Y and AH-1Z deliver superb combat effectiveness to the Marine warfighter. We continue to build in production cost efficiencies to ensure that the taxpayer is getting the most for every dollar spent."

The AH-1Z Cobra helicopters are part of the Marine Corps’ H-1 Upgrade Program. The program’s goal is to replace AH-1W helicopters with new and remanufactured AH-1Z which provide significantly greater performance, supportability and growth potential over their predecessors.

A total of 189 new and remanufactured AH-1Z helicopters are anticipated, with deliveries expected to be complete by the end of 2021.

The AH-1Z is expected to achieve initial operating capability and embark on its first deployment in 2011.

The AH-1Z and the UH-1Y, the Marine Corps’ combat utility helicopter, are 84 percent identical. The UH-1Y was approved for full rate production in 2008.

-30-

The Amphibious Triad. Ship to Shore Connector (Future LCAC)

Riedel Ship to Shore Connector                                                             Lcac Datasheet

Sunday, November 28, 2010

The Amphibious Triad. EFV.

Monty_EFV_AG_working_group_overview_Mar08_resize                                                            

China seeks a way out.


It appears that China and N. Korea are looking for a face saving way out of this mess. I guess the actions of the 'little' people in S. Korea calling for retaliation are starting to pay off. Via Fox News.

China calls for urgent talks on North Korea 
Published November 28, 2010
Associated Press

China's nuclear envoy is calling for an emergency meeting of North Korean disarmament talks to discuss the tensions on the Korean peninsula. Wu Dawei says chief negotiators at the six-nation nuclear talks are being asked to come to Beijing in early December for the emergency session. He said in a statement Sunday that the international community, particularly members of the six-party talks, are deeply concerned about recent developments on the peninsula. China was slow at first to react after ally North Korea pummeled a South Korean island with an artillery barrage on Tuesday, but has quickened its diplomatic intervention in recent days. 

Looks like relations with China will be entering a new phase.  First, this attempt by China and N. Korea to achieve a face saving way out will probably fail.  Public passions in the South are running too high.  Second, China was unable to 'enforce' their verbal blockade of the Yellow Sea.  And lastly, China has buckled to US demands that they become involved.

All in all a bad week for the Communist.

Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion Technology Forum.


Did you know that the National Security Space Office held a technology conference on the Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion Concept (SUSTAIN) on 24-26 Feb 2009?



I didn't  and I don't recall any coverage of it either.  It appears that work had been conducted on a couple of concepts and one that seems rather well thought out (better said is that they had glossy power points) is the K2.  More to come....I can't find out whether this is ongoing or has been swallowed up by the Air Force's X-37 project.



Saturday, November 27, 2010

Hmmm, we're worried about WW3 in Asia when the real news is happening in Europe.


Sometime I wonder if we're not being caught up in a massive shell game.  While everyone is focusing on the crisis in Asia between the two Korea's, the really big news that could plunge the world into the 2nd great depression is occurring in Europe.  Specifically Ireland and how Germany's people react to another bailout.

Read more here...and here....and here....

I hope you've participated in the "new" fashion trend of being frugal.  But if you splurged then be careful.  Something appears to be brewing in Europe and few seem to be paying attention.

While America was shopping and eating turkey, her military was at war...

Lance Cpl. Zachary Allen, an infantryman with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, walks through a corn field during an operation, Nov. 23. Allen, a 21-year-old native of Fruita, Colo., and his fellow Marines stayed in the Southern Green Zone for more than a day to observe and hunt the Taliban.
Lance Cpl. Adam Zaugg, an assaultman with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, crosses a canal during a mission, Nov. 24. Zaugg, a 20-year-old native of Eagle Mountain, Utah, and fellow Marines often had to cross knee to waist-deep canals during multiple patrols while on a mission to hunt Taliban fighters.
Lance Cpl. Michael Brown, an infantryman with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, uses a metal detector to sweep for improvised explosive devices during an operation, Nov. 23, 2010. Brown, a 20-year-old native of Kansas City, Mo., and his fellow Marines maintain constant awareness for IEDs and sweep every area.
A Jamaican native, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. McCarthy Phillip (center), an infantry squad leader who resides in Decatur, Ga., assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, Task Force Bulldog, and other soldiers patrol in a small village in the Pech River Valley in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, Nov. 20.

The military is protesting in S. Korea? This might be more serious than the pundits think.


When the military starts protesting, you've got a serious shit sandwich on your hands.  Well that's whats happening in S. Korea.  This will MIGHT not end well.  I have to admit that I didn't think much of what was going on over there but now it seems that the possibility of some type of military action occurring might be up from 1% to about 25% now.  One miscalculation by the North and its stone age time for Seoul and refugee crisis for China (at least thats what the 'chattering' class believes...I would bet that the minefields on the border with S. Korea would get a heavy workout).  This is via CNN.
Members of the South Korean military protested on the streets of the nation's capital Saturday, stating they were angry that their country's government had not done enough to respond to recent shelling by North Korea.

Now these are the RoK Marines that I remember.


via Yahoo News.
"All Marines, including Marines on service and reserve Marines, will avenge the two at any cost, keeping today's anger and hostility in mind," said Lieutenant General Yoo Nak Joon, commander of the South Korean Marine Corps.
"We will put our feelings of rage and animosity in our bones and take our revenge on North Korea."
~Lieutenant General Yoo Nak Joon, commander of the South Korean Marine Corps.

Brazil's Marines bring AAV's to the fight.


via The Wall Street Journal.

I'll let you read the article for yourself, but what's interesting is that Brazil's Marines are using AAV's to give their police armored transport.  The Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais  are a para-military police organization thats well respected and quite capable in their own right.  As a matter of fact they have several armored vehicles that have stood the test in the slums of Rio.

Things are much worse than I even thought if they need BOPE, Special Military Police, Brazilian Marines and the Brazilian Army to fight in these areas.  Interesting.  All photos are from either the Wall Street Journal (AAV with police above) or Wikipedia (BOPE emblem to the right).

Friday, November 26, 2010

For sale to the highest bidder. How sad for a once mighty Navy.


Thanks Joe.  I wish they had sunk her instead.


Sale by Tender - HMS Invincible 
HMS Invincible is for sale by tender. Laid down in 1973 at Vickers Shipbuilding, Barrow-in-Furness, she was completed in 1980. She is currently stable for tow, subject to buyer confirmation.
Displacement - Current 17000 Tonnes
Estimated metal weight - 10000 Tonnes
Estimated metal % - 95% mild steel
Length - OA 210m, W/L 193m
Draught - Fwd 5.2m, Mid 5.8m, Aft 5.8m
Beam - Extreme 35m, Ex-walkways 32m, W/L 27.53m
Height - 46m (estimated at current draught
Engines - Removed
Generators and Pumps - Generally unserviceable or not working
For fuller information, please see the General Particulars.
Manufacturer: Vickers Shipbuilding

Yeah and I know they're selling her for scrap...still. Its just sad.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Brazillian Marines join the fighting in the city slums.


Amazing. Via Reuters.

"We have no deadline to stop operations. We're going to continue giving logistical support ... to transport police troops for as long as needed," said Colonel Carlos Chagas, commander of the Marine logistics battalion.

F-35C on the tanker

I never get tired of the F-35, and if you wonder why I post so much about it then check out all the anti- JSF sites out there.  All photos are from Lockheed Martin.








Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Strategy Page's TSA bumper stickers.

Too funny, but too true.

Aftermath of the N. Korean artillery strike.


More at Military Photos.net

If this didn't rate a retaliatory response then what does?

German CH-53's in Afghanistan.

Kinda makes you wonder if the early retirement of the MH-53J was really a smart move by the USAF doesn't it?

What the F-35C will bring to the fleet.


Hat tip to ELP...I'm starting to like this Dr. Goure!

There is no more strategically agile, operationally responsive and tactically flexible platform in the U.S. arsenal than the aircraft carrier. Properly supported as part of a carrier strike group (CSG) and sustained by the world’s best aerial and sea-based logistics system, the aircraft carrier can exploit the vast spaces of the open oceans to threaten U.S. adversaries and provide needed assistance to friends, all while minimizing its vulnerability to hostile action. This is accomplished by the CSG’s ability to establish a broad section of the open ocean as its operational maneuver space. The boundaries of this space are determined by the maximum range at which carrier aircraft can strike their targets, the maximum range at which threats to the carriers from missile and air-breathing threats can be detected and the greatest distance the resupply flights can reach the carrier. The greater the range at which sensor platforms, strike systems and resupply aircraft can operate, the larger the strike group’s operational maneuver box and the more flexibility and survivability it will have.
Over the years potential adversaries have paid the CSG the singular complement of focusing much of their naval strike assets on defeating it or at least denying it a workable operational maneuver box. The Soviet Union tried trailing the carriers with surface ships and submarines, tracking it with airborne and even space-based sensors and threatening it with massed raids by supersonic bombers. China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy is reported to have developed a maneuvering warhead for a long-range ballistic missile with the intention of using them to defeat the CSG.
But the carrier strike group is deploying a number of capabilities designed to counter the emerging threat and ensure that the carrier and its escorts have the maximum operation space within which to maneuver. First, there is the new F-35C Joint Strike Fighter. With around double the range of the current FA-18 E/F, a more powerful radar and better avionics, the F-35C can increase the strike range for the strike group and provide enhanced air defense. Then there is the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, just entering deployment, The E-2D is a game changer when it comes to managing the air defense battle and supporting strikes against land and sea targets. With its improved radar, new sensor suite, upgraded avionics and a massive communications sweep, the Advanced Hawkeye can significantly expand the safe operational box in which the CSG will operate. Finally, there is the certainty of resupply anywhere in the operational box. Today, that job is performed by the venerable C-2 Greyhound which carries supplies, personnel and mail out to the carrier. The Greyhound’s substantial range, high service ceiling, pressurized cockpit and large cargo ramps allows it to support the carrier’s under all kinds of environmental conditions, and at extreme ranges. The F-35C, E-2D and C-2 will contribute to making the aircraft carrier one of the most effective and survivable platforms in the U.S. Navy’s fleet.
The reports of the demise of the aircraft carrier are premature to say the least. The above mentioned programs will provide the aircraft carrier a new lease on life. Moreover, other technologies now under development such as electromagnetic launch, high-powered lasers and unmanned combat air vehicles will fundamentally change the role and power of the carrier in future warfare.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

New Combat Water Survival Training Requirements.

Galrahn is back at USNI blog?!?

Galrahn is back blogging at USNI blog...Interesting.  Read his latest here.  


But note.  


No explanation.


No note from the editors.


Nothing.


He's just back, acting as if nothing happened.


BULLSHIT!!!!!


The whole enterprise reeks.


What gives guys.  The people want to know!  And how about a little sauce for the goose?  He's right back at it taking on Navy leadership!  This isn't bullshit, its amazing bullshit.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Suppression of enemy awesomeness.

They call the Prowler's mission "Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses," but they should call it "Suppression of Enemy Awesomeness," because there's no way you and your stupid C3I network can be awesome when an EA-6B is on station.
~photo & caption by Joe Copalman

Why are we still buying MRAPs?


I got this from Jonathan.  Thanks dude.  This is amazing.  This is nonsense.  This makes no sense!  Read it and weep, your tax dollars at work.  More MRAPs when we don't know what to do with the ones we already have.
Navistar Defense, LLC today announced that it received a delivery order for 250 International® MaxxPro® Recovery vehicles from the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command. The $253 million order was placed under the company’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) indefinite delivery / indefinite quantity contract and includes contractor logistics support. This is Navistar’s eighth major MRAP variant.
Navistar originally unveiled the MaxxPro Recovery vehicle, also known as a wrecker variant, in February 2009 as a new utility vehicle offering.

Galrahn bails on USNI blog.


I lurk on the USNI blog from time to time and to be honest when I first read this blog post, I didn't see anything controversial...just another statement from an inside the beltway blogger that spends too much time at Navy Headquarters.

This statement though has me scratching my head...
I apologize to the United States Naval Institute for failing to meet editorial standards on the blog in my November 10, 2010 post titled Leadership and Accountability. In that post it has been suggested I made an ad hominem attack against Admiral Jonathan Greenert. US Naval Institute blog rules forbid ad hominem attacks on the blog. I am responsible for all content posted under my name on the United States Naval Institute blog, and I strongly believe I should always be held accountable by USNI for any violation by me of their rules.
 I didn't see the 'ad hominem' attack.

The US Navy is in bigger trouble than I thought if they're to the point of pushing Politically Correct THOUGHT!

If you have an interest in Naval Services then this should send a chill down your spine.

The leading blog of the US Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard has now instituted a type of censorship of opinion that does not support the views of leadership.

I once lurked over at the USNI blog.  I won't even do that now.

PS.
And if you believe that this was simply a voluntary exit on Galrahn's part then I suggest you notice these words..."it has been suggested I made an ad hominem attack'...from reading his blog I can tell you that the only people that would carry weight when it comes to that suggestion with the G-man would be Navy leadership or the USNI blog editors.  Since the editors allowed the posting then it would have to be Navy leadership.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

You have got to watch this.

Massive hat tip to War News Updates.  This is a part of history I never knew.

K-Max UAV...the video.

K-max UAV would make the tank deployment make sense.



Ok, now this is making sense.  If the K-max UAV comes online then a whole lot of stuff comes together.  A certain blog has criticized the F-35 for requiring too much gas in forward operating base.

My response was that it would require less than a full gas tank to accomplish its mission since it would be forward based.  The same critique could be applied to tanks in Afghanistan.

This would seem to make Distributed Operations a nice dream but realistically undoable due to exposed supply lines....but bring into the equation not only the CH-53K but also the K-max UAV that's able to operate around the clock without worry of pilot fatigue and suddenly it comes together nicely.

Now the only thing left is to get the thing to Afghanistan and see if the experiment works!

Memorial planned for F-22 pilot.


A memorial service is being planned for the pilot of an F-22 which was lost over Alaska.
Capt. Jeffrey Haney's remains have not been found, but the Air Force says evidence at the remote crash site indicates he could not have survived. Part of the fighter jet's ejection seat was found at the site, which means Haney, of Clarklake, Mich., never ejected, Col. Jack McMullen said Friday.
Haney was on a nighttime training mission at the time of the crash Tuesday.


My question is this.

I'm by no means an aviation expert, but this is the second time that an F-22 appears to have abruptly departed controlled flight.  Why do I say that?  There has been no indication that a 'mayday' call was put out by the pilot.  It also appears that these airplanes were conducting some type of air intercept mission and were perhaps aggressively throwing the planes around the sky.

This is to be expected if you're flying the premier fighter in the world.

What isn't to be expected is that an airplane departs controlled flight without warning to the pilot.  The last time this happened that I can recall is to a Lockheed Martin test pilot in Nevada.

What gives with the F-22?

And please oh please spare me the tired old pilot error thing.

AH-1z onboard the USS Makin Island.

USMC makes the call...Tanks will stay in the force structure.


Wow.  Hard to believe but earlier this month I did a blog post about Tanks and the USMC.  While my premise was that ...
Just a few intense facts...

1.  Marine Corps tanks haven't deployed to Afghanistan.

2.  Distributed Operations (at least as I've read it) doesn't account for tanks in its doctrine.
3.  The Marine Corps is attempting to become more expeditionary.  Tanks don't allow for that luxury and even in the best case scenario would be relegated to Division or higher.
4.  Tanks are a tremendous burden to the MEU.
5.  The MEU could deploy more AAVs/EFVs/JLTVs, howitzers, MTVRs etc...if it didn't have the burden of having a tank platoon attached.
The big brains at Headquarters Marine Corps have obviously decided that Tanks are going to continue to be organic to the Marine Corps.

But is this really the case?

Are we perhaps seeing --- right before our eyes --- an experiment in logistics for Distributed Operations?

This from the ARES blog... Paul Mcleary is the author and has spent as much time with ground units as the other authors have with air forces quotes Jason Fritz (I never heard of him)...
You know what scares the hell out of dismounted insurgents? 70 tons of badassery that will make them dead if they mess with it…If the problem in Helmand is a highly-active insurgency that requires a firepower solution, then the M1A1 is what you want to bring to the fight….The bottom line is that the Abrams provides a highly mobile, well armored platform for long distance, highly accurate fire. To question that is to not understand tanks at all. It seems that the Marines need long distance, highly accurate firepower or they wouldn't be asking for it.
The all-weather fire support for these beasts has never been in doubt.

The ability to keep insurgent heads down has never been in doubt.

The idea that tanks or other ground based fire support is more responsive to the needs of the Ground Combat Element has never been in doubt.

What has been in doubt is the logistics train to keep these beasts in the field.

What will matter is this.

1.  How will they operate? 
a.  Will they operate as Platoons?
b.  Will they be shopped out to individual companies as mobile pillboxes?
c.  Will they assemble and sortie out from the direction of the MEF?
2.  What will this do to our already strained logistics train?
3.  Are our rules of engagement going to allow them to be used for anything but shows of force?
4.  Does it make sense to use them as convoy escorts?
5.  What happens and do we have the system in place to recover them if one is battle damaged?

There are many more issues I'm sure.  I hope this experiment is successful but I do wonder if this has been properly war gamed at 29 Palms....

More reading at...
Think Defense (European perspective in the article...but in the comments section they're beating chests saying I told ya so)
Ares (generally anti-Marine in the comments but McLeary has a nicely balanced article)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Pic of the day. Nov. 17, 2010.

A U.S. Navy Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk helicopter, flown by Lt. Brian Roberts, assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 37, and Cmdr. Brian Gebo, the commanding officer of the squadron, lands next to the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor on Ford Island in Hawaii Nov. 16, 2010. The helicopter was delivered to become a part of the museum?s collection after reaching the end of its service life cycle. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Logico, U.S. Navy/Released)

The C-141 did the A400 before the A400 did!

Once the USAF had a capable airlifter that had about the same carry capability as the A400, was cheaper, faster and could fly further...as a matter of fact this airplane (if it were still in production) would be the main rival to the A400.

What is that airplane from years ago?

The C-141.

Might be time to dust off the old birds from the scrapyards and stick modern engines on them and put them back into service!




UPDATE!
Thanks to everyone for their comments but a few points...
1.  The C-141 cubing out before reaching its max takeoff weight was examined and to a certain degree rectified by the stretched C-141B.
2.  In the light that the C-141 was tweener...between the C-5 and the smaller C-130 makes it similar to the A400 in mission profile..
3.  If you think that any of the partner nations in the A400 project are going to be using the A400 on rough fields, etc, then I've got a bridge in a dark swamp to sell ya...it ain't going to happen.
4.  The idea that in addition to A330, the A400 will make a superior tanker is nonsense.  The A400 will not be procured in large enough numbers for it to perform a swing role...a role that the A330 is more than adequate for.
5.  The C-141 is faster, flies farther and carries as much as the A400...the only place where the A400 might be superior is the fact that it can carry SOME outsized cargo.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

LHD Juan Carlos.

Got this from MilitaryPhotos.net...no english translation but it gives a good view of the ship.  Enjoy.

Pic of the day. Nov. 16, 2010.

101102-N-8069G-169
GULF OF ADEN (Nov. 2, 2010) Marines assigned to 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26th MEU) embarked aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), depart Djibouti in an amphibious assault vehicle after conducting amphibious training exercises. Carter Hall is part of Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and is supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kristin L. Grover/Released)

Monday, November 15, 2010

Cameron to the British people..."keep calm and carry on"...


Keep calm and carry on is a catch phrase often quoted by "Morning Joe" headliners.  Unfortunately the British people sense that the massive defense cuts forecast by their leadership is helping to diminish the UK on the world stage. 

They're right and just like here in the US, the people are getting it before the politicians.  Additionally with the UK and the rest of Europe (with the exception of the former Soviet bloc countries and 'gasp' France) falling back into a fortress Europe crouch, its up to the US, Australia, Japan and S. Korea to keep China at bay.

Read the whole story here, but I posted a snippet below.

"The reality of the Prime Minister's foreign policy so far is a shrivelled role for Britain in the world at the expense of British interests."
Sky News' political editor Adam Boulton said: "If you wanted to sum the speech up in a phrase it would be 'keep calm and carry on'.
"Sometimes these annual speeches by the Prime Minister on foreign policy come at moments of crisis and they have become very significant in the years that follow.

A magazine you should read and subscribe to.

Shepard Group out of the UK has a couple of digital magazines that you've got to check out.  My favorite is Defense Helicopter. 
DH NovDec10 Digital Ed                                                                    


Diplomacy I can get behind.


This via Alert 5 and the Jerusalem Post...

Second squadron of F-35s is ‘an offer hard to refuse’


Defense officials say arrival of joint strike fighters was of critical importance for the security of the State of Israel.


  Top IDF officers and Defense Ministry officials claimed Sunday that the arrival of a second squadron of F-35 joint strike fighters was of critical importance for the security of the State of Israel.

In an effort to convince the Netanyahu government to impose a three-month moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank, the Obama administration offered Israel last week a long list of security and diplomatic benefits, including 20 F-35s for free.

Israel signed a contract for 20 F-35s – a fifth-generation stealth fighter jet made by Lockheed Martin – in early October in a deal valued at $2.75 billion. Under the offer made to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his meeting last week with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Israel would receive a second, free squadron of the advanced fighter jet if it agrees to impose a three-month freeze on settlement construction.

The F-35 will be one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world and will enable Israel to phase out some of its older F-15 and F-16 models.

According to the IAF, the plane will significantly boost Israel’s deterrence in the Middle East and provide it with an edge over adversaries that operate advanced anti-aircraft systems, since it cannot be detected by existing radars.

The offer of a second squadron of F-35s was first made to Israel in early September, in talks which Defense Minister Ehud Barak led in Washington ahead of the expiration of the previous 10- month freeze on settlement construction, in a bid to get Israel to extend the freeze. At the time, Israel rejected the offer.

After the offer in September, the IDF established a team consisting of officers from the air force and the military’s Strategic Planning Division, which analyzed the effect the arrival of an additional squadron of F- 35s would have on Israel and its strategic standing in the Middle East.


“This is a very difficult offer to say no to,” a senior defense official said on Sunday, amid news that Netanyahu was working to obtain a majority in his cabinet to approve a new moratorium.

It is unclear when the additional squadron would arrive, if Israel accepts the US offer.

Delivery of the squadron Israel ordered last month is scheduled to begin sometime between 2016 and 2017.


My boy does it again!



Way to go Loren....I'm sure a certain group of Australians are going nuts!

Rumor Of Marine F-35 Termination Talks Is Wrong

The Navy has made its latest run against the Marine Corps version of the F-35 joint strike fighter, and for something like the twentieth time, it has been rebuffed. The latest failed assault came after the United Kingdom decided to switch its buy of joint strike fighters from the Marine vertical-takeoff version to the Navy carrier-based version. The Navy trotted out the same tired arguments it has been using for a decade -- lack of range, lack of forward support, etc. -- and the Marine Corps responded with its equally aged rationale for why tactical aircraft need to be where the troops are. The Marine Corps prevailed, as usual.
These ritualized exchanges have been going on for a long, long time. I well remember running into my old friend Gordon England in the Pentagon's E-Ring shortly after he was made Navy secretary in 2001, and hearing his misgivings about the Marine variant. He said he wanted to commission studies of the subject, but the more operational doubts he cited, the more he started to sound like studies that OpNav had already conducted. It seemed that certain admirals were trying to maneuver the SecNav into believing he had discovered problems they had long since decided should doom the new jumpjet.
So now rumors that the Marine variant is in trouble have surfaced once again, and as is often the case, by the time word started getting around the issue had already been resolved. The plane is safe for the fiscal 2012 budget request, because there is no other option for replacing Harriers in the vital role of providing firepower and protection to forward-deployed Marines. The range issue doesn't matter much if the planes are located close to the troops, which is what having vertical agility makes possible. What matters is being there when the air cover is needed. And while it might be nice to have forward-deployed jamming aircraft too, the fact that F-35 is too stealthy to be seen by enemy radars greatly mitigates that concern.
The main reason this argument never goes away is that Marine programs are funded out of the Navy budget, and the Navy usually has some other purpose to which it wants to apply the money. That's why the argument over how many amphibious warfare vessels the Marines need also never dies. Each new amphibious assault vessel is a destroyer or submarine the Navy will never have. But let's be realistic about what it would mean to the Marine Corps to lose the vertical agility it is buying in F-35. It would mean tethering expeditionary warfare to a handful of aircraft carriers that can't be all the places the Marine Corps needs to be. Or it would mean sending Marines in harms way without the continuous air cover that the rest of the joint force counts on for its survival. Since the Navy doesn't seem to have a solution for these dilemmas other than sticking with the program of record, we already know how similar arguments are likely to turn out in the future.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Republicans are back in charge and Senators are being courted...

Sen. John McCain visits Marines

Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain, along with Maj. Gen. Richard P. Mills, commander, regional command (southwest) and the commanding general, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), make their way off of the Forward Operating Base Jaker landing zone during a visit to Nawa, Afghanistan, Nov. 11, 2010. Graham, a senior senator from South Carolina, and McCain, a senior senator from Arizona, along with Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, a junior senator from New York, and Joseph I. Lieberman, a junior senator from Connecticut, visited Marines of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, where they toured Khalaj High School, the Nawa District bazaar and the Nawa District Governance Center as well as meeting with Nawa government officials. (Official Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Mark Fayloga)

 After seeing this, do you really think the V-22 will be canceled?  Do you think that a leading Republican Senator that championed killing the F-22 will suddenly switch and revive it?  Our friends from across the sea (includes ex-pats) have alot to learn about the current political environment.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

The F-22 cabal...diverse with a single goal.


via Alert 5 and the Atlanta Journal Constitution...

“This isn’t just for the sake of home-cooking, but also for the sake of the country,” Gingrey said in a telephone interview.
But Gingrey conceded that concerns over spending and the federal deficit could make the funding battle a difficult one. The planes have a price tag of $120 million each. “We would have to look at it with a very, very sharp pencil,” he said. “It would take some negotiating.”
Suggestions from the debt commission, made public this week, may hold some possibilities A three-year freeze on federal pay and a 10 percent reduction of the federal workforce “are things that really get me excited,” the Marietta congressman said.
Production of the F-22 ended with its omission from the 2009 defense bill. Critics called the plane a Cold War relic poorly suited for anti-insurgent battles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Secretary of State Robert Gates, a Republican holdover from the Bush administration, recommended the end to F-22 production, and President Barack Obama threatened to veto the defense bill if more funding for the stealth fighter were continued.
Originally, 381 F-22s were to be built. Production ended nearly 200 short. Gingrey said he and many military analysts think the planes are necessary to meet a scenario in which the United States faces two hot wars at the same time.
Is the F-22 Dracula or what? 

What does it take to make this issue go away!