Thursday, February 28, 2013

Sequestration Will Force Marines To Choose Between JLTV, MPC

Major league hat tip Lee!  Great catch!

via DefenseNewsStand.com (if you have a subscription shoot me a copy!)
The Marine Corps will have to choose between the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and the Marine Personnel Carrier if sequestration is implemented, according to a service official.
I can't get behind the firewall but we can assume a few things...

1.  The US Army will be putting major pressure on the Marine Corps to continue the JLTV buy.
2.  Inside the Marine Corps there is a large group of Officers that believe that the JLTV is not needed and that the Marines should pursue upgraded HUMVEEs instead.
3.  The MPC testing that is about to commence will be more important than I initially thought.
4.  The decision on what capabilities the ACV will have will impact the rest of the Marine Corps vehicle fleet.

Consider this.  If the Marine Corps ends up just doing a major upgrade of the AAV then the MPC probably goes forward.  If the Marine Corps selects essentially a new build AAV with redesigned hull---depending on the water speed then the MPC goes forward.  If the Marine Corps gets a completely clean sheet ACV then expect the MPC to be jettisoned.

But those are all guesses.

Whats becoming apparent is that sequestration isn't the simple paper exercise that some believe.  That CRAZY schedule of upgrading the AAV, building the ACV and then the MPC was always questionable to me.

Now its looking like a non-starter.  It was probably a non-starter when the Commandant missed his latest deadline on the ACV.

The issue?

However this plays out the Marine Corps will probably have to make do with a 50 year old Armored Fighting Vehicle carrying Devil Dogs from ship to shore and then on to the objective in the 2020's.

Chesty would be pissed.

Homeland Security are a bunch of dicks but....



Homeland Security are a bunch of dicks but I have mixed feelings about this vid.

On one hand we need people to actively resist but on the other hand these goons are just at the end of the leash dancing to their masters commands.

I just don't know.

Blast from the past. Interim Fast Attack Vehicle (IFAV)


The USMC Interim Fast Attack Vehicle (IFAV) is a modified version of the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen 290. It replaces the modified M-151A2 1/4 ton truck (MUTT jeep) used by the Marines as an FAV in the 1990s. 

The IFAV.  Essentially faces the same requirements as the current Fast Attack Vehicle except that it was sized to fit inside a CH-53 instead of the MV-22.

I wonder if all the effort and money to develop these vehicles could be considered well spent?

Senator Joe is running scared.



I got this from the blog "The Truth About Guns" and it made my morning.

Senator Manchin is working hard on a flawed universal backgrounds  check bill and he's obviously catching hell from the citizens that he represents.

Awesome.

There is a world outside of the Northeast Corridor and the West Coast....and those that live there definitely DO NOT agree with the feminized males and butched up females that populate those regions.


Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Troop Pay is the real issue facing the Pentagon.

Time for some brass tacks.

Do you really want to know why Sequestration will cause so much damage to the Pentagon?

If you're thinking bloated weapons programs like the F-35, F-22, canceled EFV, Crusader or the like then you're wrong.

If you think that its because the military has too many bases it doesn't need...nope.

Its all about the troops, benefits and E-1's with kids.

First a tidbit from AOL.
Manpower costs dominate the Army budget, dwarfing all other expenses, from training to equipping to running bases, as the official graphic above makes clear. (Click on the image to see it full-size). Army spending on manpower soared 54 percent from 2000 to 2013 -- but the number of soldiers is only 4 percent higher. Base pay has risen by over 50 percent, set-asides for retirement pay by over 65 percent, housing allowances are up over 300 percent.
Next a tidbit from the Weekly Standard.
 According to the House Armed Services Committee, the 2011 Budget Control Act (the law that imposed both spending caps and sequestration) will force the Marine Corps to shrink by 25 percent--from 202,000 Marines to 145,000. What's more, "by the end of calendar year 2013, less than half of our ground units will be trained to the minimum readiness level required for deployment," Marine Corps commandant James Amos testified to Congress this month.  
Wait.  Before we continue I need to pat myself on the back for being right...not now but in the near future.

Remember that I said the real end strength for the Marine Corps would be 150K?  Remember when I said the Marine Corps would get rid of Marines before it got rid of weapon systems?

You're watching that play out now.

But back on subject.
Army spending on manpower soared 54 percent from 2000 to 2013 -- but the number of soldiers is only 4 percent higher. Base pay has risen by over 50 percent....
That is the real issue.  The Pentagon has launched so many morale and welfare programs, done so many family outreach services, allowed pay to rise so fast that it now can't afford its basic building block...the individual Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine.

Want to know a secret?  The Marine Corps turns over approximately a third of its force every year.  The reason?  It saves money.

The troops deserve every cent.  But its caused an unbalance in the Pentagon and it will probably be solved by a massive reduction in force.

Don't hate me.  I'm just the messenger.

Note:  Name an industry anywhere in the free world where the workers have seen their pay increase by 50% over the same span of years.  I tried and couldn't think of one.  Whether Sequestration hits or not is irrelevant.  The services must shed personnel in order to absorb future budget cuts.

A community conducts patrols to protect itself from crime.



Welcome to the future.

Normalcy bias will keep you from seeing it but see it you must.  Cuts in law enforcement budgets, money diverted to other "needs" and communities left in the lurch.

The future is staring you in the face but you still support bills to ban assault weapons?  You still think that a "law" will keep criminals from committing crimes?  Wow. Just plain wow.

USS Freedom Sports New Paint; Gears Up for Deployment Vid

Camp Bastion/Leatherneck suffers rocket attack.



Amazing.

A rocket attack and I have to hear about it from British news. Geez!

If Sequester kills the F-35, the rebirth of the Raptor? You're smoking crack!


via Flight Global.  Please go there to read the whole thing!
"I would have to refurbish the [F-15] and [F-16 fleets] and the legacy hardware I have today. I also have a very small fleet of tremendously capable airplanes in the F-22s. I would push to buy more of those," Hostage told the AFA.  If the F-35 were to be culled off in the wake of the sequester, the USAF would need 225 more Raptors, Hostage says.
I don't think that many in the Pentagon (as indicated by this comment by General Hostage) realize the situation that they're faced with.

The current administration is in FAVOR of huge, what were once undreamed of cuts in defense.

Exhibit number one for that fact?  Sending Hagel to head the Pentagon!  I often blame McCain for being a senile angry old man but he's spot on when he questions whether Hagel is worthy of the position.

Hagel is a dove at best.  Anti-military at worst.  It would be like putting an old fashioned oil baron in charge of the EPA.  The baron would be effective in the job but not in the manner intended.

But what is troubling to me is the fact that this has even been war gamed.

I believe that the option of killing the F-35 has actually been floated before the Joint Chiefs. 

If true then that indicates that the depth of cuts will be much deeper than even I feared they could be.  We could see several programs killed and money diverted to support other "needs" (make that social programs...especially Obamacare which I truly believe will be in serious trouble when finally rolled out).

The Pentagon is about to get dragged into an alley and beaten like a rag doll.  What's worse is no one sees it coming.

Consider this your Warning Order...action on General Dynamics Marine Personnel Carrier Tests.



NOTE:  All information contained in this brief is considered Eyes Only.  Do not duplicate!  Do not distribute!  Criminal and Civil Penalties apply! (just joking...)

(A)Situation.
(1)General Dynamics is moving to test its "Top Secret" Marine Personnel Carrier.
(2)Allied Bloggers and Traditional News Media.
(3)The above images serve as all available intel regarding the testing site.  More info will be forthcoming.
(B)Mission.
You are to seek entry onto the test site without being detected and to photograph and make notes of the vehicles performance in the water and on land.
(C)Execution.
You are granted wide lattitude in how you conduct this mission. If you are captured (read that arrested) SNAFU! will disavow any knowledge of you or your mission.
(D)Service Support.
None.  You are on your own.
(E)Command.
Consider this a mission from the halls of Valhalla.  Good luck.

Faith in US Military at all time low.

via Politico.

Americans’ opinion of the country’s military strength is at a low point, with 50 percent saying the nation’s armed forces are indisputably the strongest in the world, according to a poll released Wednesday.That represents a 14 percent drop from two years ago, when 64 percent of Americans told Gallup the U.S. military was clearly the world’s strongest. The 50 percent mark is the lowest in Gallup’s polling on the issue, which dates back to 1993. In Wednesday’s poll, 47 percent said the U.S. was just one of several military powers in the world, up from 34 percent in 2010.The U.S. is responsible for about 40 percent of the world’s military spending, and spends around six times as much as its closest competitor, China.Republicans are far more likely to believe it is important for the U.S. to be the world’s dominant military power, with 80 percent saying so. Only 62 percent of independents and 48 percent of Democrats believe the same. Overall, 62 percent of Americans said being the top force is important and 37 percent said it is not.The poll of 1,015 adults was conducted from Feb. 7 to Feb. 10. It has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
I'll put out a couple of things first.

*the sampling size is incredibly small...I hate when pollsters use mini-samples to determine where the public is on issues.

*I dislike the fact that we don't know the percentage of Republicans, Democrats or Independents that were surveyed.

Having said that, I will add that this is just the beginning.  House Republicans no longer see a need to protect the military from budget cuts BECAUSE they see deficits as a bigger threat to our national security than a rising China.

I tend to agree.

We will see what we'll see but it seems like the US military has been bitten by the "normalcy" bug.  Its just like every other institution in America...its a shattered shell of its once glorious self, so why shouldn't it be held in the same contempt as other organizations.  That's what normal is these days...not outstanding, doesn't stand out, just conforms and fits in.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Before the mission starts...


General Dynamics gets ready to test its MPC.


MAJOR HAT TIP to Jonathan for finding this.

Check this out via the Examiner.

Spokesperson for the local General Dynamics manufacturing facility, Tommy Pruitt, would give little information or insight into the super-secret piece of military equipment being tested this week near Charleston.Pruitt stated that the newly designed vehicle is not manufactured in General Dynamic’s Force Protection plant in Ladson but will be tested locally March 4, and April 20, in a fresh water situation at a local boat landing.The vehicle is meant for both land and water travel.While no pictures of the vehicle are available to the public, and the exact location of the testing site will not be revealed, Mr. Pruitt indicated that “once they start maneuvers out here, anybody can take pictures.”The Ladson plant manufactures military vehicles known MRAPs like Cougars and Buffalos. After the vehicles are complete at the plant, they are transported to other contactors, such as the local SPAWAR facility at the old Navy base, for communication devices, cameras and other electronics.Examiner’s Note: Having personally toured the Force Protection plant in Ladson, I can verify that security it of the upmost importance. No cameras are allowed and non-disclosure forms are signed before entering the manufacturing plant; as it should be.
Amazing how the Marine Personnel Carrier is suddenly going by a super secret military vehicle!

Its time to get out the ghillie suit, evade roaming guard dogs and sneak onto a facility to conduct a bit of industrial espionage blogging!



They actually fired the thing!?! Jobaria MCL Multiple Cradle 122mm rocket launcher

The Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft Vid.

The Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC)

via The Paramount Group...





Cute puppy overload vid.

Peruvian MI-35P's and a rant about partnership missions.




Every time a S. American country that we have relations with buys aircraft from Russia or Europe we're losing points. Effective military to military relations should have them lusting, wanting, begging to buy US equipment.  If partnership missions can't even accomplish that small feat then the very reason for partnership missions should be called into question.

Ka-32A1BC cleared for ops in Australia.


via Press Release.

The Russian-made multi-role coaxial Ka-32A11BC received a certificate of airworthiness in Australia.This certificate allows Australian helicopter operators to use the Ka-32S11BC as a search & rescue and firefighting helicopter as well as for sling load operations and in construction and installation work.
Don't know why but this helicopter is starting to grow on me.  At least in this photo its neat and looks right.

Russian Airborne to get BMD-4M & BTR-MD





Via Rianovosti.

MOSCOW, December 27 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Airborne Troops will receive the first BMD-4M airborne combat vehicles and BTR-MD Rakushka multirole transport vehicles by the end of 2013, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Alexander Kucherenko said on Thursday.“Paratroopers are planning to receive 10 modernized BMD-4M airborne infantry fighting vehicles and 10 tracked Rakushka armored personnel carriers by mid-2013 for final testing and commissioning by the end of 2013,” Kucherenko said.A decision to adopt the long-awaited BMD-4Ms has been made in the beginning of December despite an earlier statement by former deputy defense minister Alexander Sukhorukov that the vehicle had not met the requirements and would not be bought by the military.The BMD-4M is the latest modification of an armored combat vehicle that can be para-dropped to provide firepower and support for airborne troops. It features a new chassis, a digital fire control system and a set of high-precision weaponry, including a 100-mm gun.The 13-ton vehicle has a crew of two and can carry six paratroopers.The Russian military is expected to acquire at least 1,000 BMD-4Ms under the current rearmament program until 2020.At present, 123 BMD-3 and 60 BMD-4 airborne combat vehicles are in service with the Russian Airborne Troops, with the rest being outdated BMD-2 models.
This isn't exactly earth shattering news but it does indicate a capability gap.

The Russians will be able to deploy their Airborne Forces and once they hit the ground they will be mechanized versus our foot mobile forces.

Someone said that the US should develop a joint IFV that could be used by our Airborne, Air Assault, Marine Corps and attached to SOCOM when needed.

The Russians have done it.  So should we.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Beechcraft ... born again hard?

via Press Release.
Beechcraft, formerly Hawker Beechcraft, today announced that its Defense Company team is participating in the Air Force Association’s (AFA) Annual Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition this week in Orlando, Fla.The team’s participation comes on the heels of the company’s announcement that it has formally emerged from the Chapter 11 process as a new company well-positioned to compete vigorously in the worldwide business aviation, special mission, trainer and light attack markets, including the anticipated Afghanistan Light Air Support contract.
And they're at Avalon in Australia.




USS Freedom Sports New Paint; Gears Up for Deployment










RUAG Armor package for Leopard 2A4.

via Defesa Global.



Sunday, February 24, 2013

If I had the pennies and the price wasn't crazy...

This would be my next rifle carbine!  Too cool.

via TacBlog



Blast from the past...CL-84






What if we had concentrated on a Huey sized platform for our first tilt-wing/tilt rotor?  We might be at a point now where we have tilt wing attack airplanes etc...its really a shame that we didn't follow the turbine into helicopters route by starting small and working up.

Our guys are better too.

via The Truth About Guns...
In fact, anyone with basic metalworking tools available from most hardware stores and plans that are freely available on the Internet can make magazine fed, fully automatic firearms (yes, machine guns) in their garage. Don’t believe me?  Late last year Australian authorities arrested man for doing just that.
Read the whole thing at his house but the point is this.

In the Philippines gun making is big business.  Same in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Same in a number of other countries  with restrictive gun laws.

Our machinist are better than they are simply because we have better tools to work with.  Quite honestly I've heard of people working in high tech industries obtaining scraps of Titanium and developing some pretty interesting bullets (just a rumor so don't send the ATF my way...it was just in passing so I couldn't tell ya who or where even if I wanted to...AND I DON'T).

The point is this.

Gun bans will never work.  Never.  

Lockheed Martin's DAGR.



Sequestraton might set new base line.



The Pentagon is beyond politicized now.

Everyone knows it, no one admits it...

But a silver lining out of this sequestration mess might be that a wedge is finally driven between the Pentagon and the White House (as it should be).  Especially when all this chicken little talk finally gets tallied up.

Check this out...via the Washington Times...
In an 11-page briefing sent to Congress and obtained by The Washington Times, the Navy said it will be forced to “shut down at various intervals” the USS John C. Stennis, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Ronald Reagan and the Roosevelt.
The Navy’s active carrier fleet already has been reduced to 10 vessels because of the retirement of the USS Enterprise in November. Removing more carriers from action will leave the Navy unable to surge a large number of ships and strike fighters to a hot spot like the Persian Gulf.
Suspending all operations on four carriers means the Navy also would close four of its nine carrier air wings — the F-18s that project power overseas.
What happens if the Navy follows through and shuts down 4 carriers.  Let's say they shut down 4 carriers at the same time.

What happens when Congress...Extreme Left Wing Democrats and Fiscally Minded Right Wing Republicans...look out on the world and realizes that nothing went boom.

What happens when a bean counter says that this shutdown is helping to solve the nations debt or fund government entitlements?

In essence, the Navy is about to put a huge amount of cash on the table in an attempt to show all the damage that sequester might impose on the nation and the nation's leaders might say thank you, may we have some more.

What if Congressional leaders look at the sequestration-"nated" military and consider that the new baseline?

What then?

Friday, February 22, 2013

Tree top Rangers....

Thanks for this story Joe!!



Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.

via CNN.

They are widely considered among the top in the U.S. military.But for three Army Rangers who got stuck in trees while parachuting Thursday afternoon in Washington state, their only aim was to get down.The members of the 75th Ranger Regiment -- a U.S. special operations force -- were training at Joint Base Lewis-McChord when they jumped from a plane and got entangled in towering evergreen trees that canvass the sprawling military installation between Tacoma and Olympia.Video from CNN affiliate KOMO showed rescue workers climbing the trees to reach the stranded soldiers.They were ultimately brought down safely and with only minor injuries, said base spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield."(The soldiers had) a couple of bumps and bruises," Dangerfield said.Dangerfield noted that this was the second time in the past year alone that parachutists have gotten hung up in tall trees around the base.
Washington State sucks.

Damn near jungle on one side...Desert on the other....and the Army actually put a base up there.


CH-53K offer from Sikorsky..



via Flight Global.  March 2012.

The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is evaluating a proposal from Sikorsky to build four production-representative CH-53K Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters, says the US Marine Corps' programme manager.
"We're looking at the proposal now," says Col Robert Pridgen.

NAVAIR received the proposal at the beginning of March, he says. A contract award is expected some time after this has been evaluated, although Pridgen says: "I don't want to nail down a date."
The four pre-production aircraft will be "fleet-representative" and be used for operational evaluations, as well to finish developmental testing.
We still have no word on whether or not NAVAIR has taken Sikorsky up on its offer.

Now they're calling for Transsexuals in the military.

via the Daily Caller.

In a revealing presentation at Claremont McKenna College, birth-control activist  said the U.S. military should accept transsexual recruits. The demise of the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” program, she said, should be only a first step toward a more inclusive American fighting force.Referring to what she called “the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning” community, Fluke said lawmakers didn’t go far enough in ending the military’s official but often unenforced ban on homosexuals.“We still don’t let trans-folk join the military,” Fluke said February 13. “That needs to change.”
Wow.

Four years ago I would have said never in a million years.

Now?

With the Haynie's and USNI's of the world along with the "change artists" in power it'll probably happen.  Probably sooner than we all expect too.

Textron developing "Light Tank" for Afghan National Army.


via Shepard Media.

Textron is contracted to deliver 627 Mobile Strike Force Vehicles (MSFVs) to Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and 344 have been delivered or are in transit to date. The mortar variant will comprise 50 of the total number.The new mortar variant vehicle has a base platform that can house any mortar system that can fire rounds up to 120mm through open hatches in the roof and it can hold 82 rounds. The mortar mount can fire at an azimuth of up to a 360-degrees and a firing elevation of 45 to 85 degrees. Feser said that a 90mm direct fire variant is also in development for the ANA.
Interesting.

Another Infantry Support Vehicle (or Light Tank) is soon to hit.

I think we're seeing a trend.

Gunsngear's Operator of the week.

Operator of the Week
Name: Ethel Bergman
Hometown: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Operations Type: Private Security
Weapon of Choice: Kriss Super V
Freaking Awesome Man!

18th Airborne Corps wants light tanks...


via Military.com

 Airborne units may one day have tank-like firepower they can jump with on future forced-entry operations.U.S. Army requirements officials at Fort Benning, Ga., are in discussions with the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C., to develop "mobile protected firepower for light airborne infantry," Col. Rocky Kmiecik, director of the Mounted Requirements Division at the Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence, said Thursday at AUSA's winter meeting.Army leaders at Training and Doctrine Command are working on a Joint-entry Operations Concept that involves using the airborne community's forced-entry capabilities to thwart future enemy forces from using area-denial tactics against U.S. military forces, said TRADOC Commander Gen. Robert Cone Wednesday.
Pretty awesome but its only a toe in the water.

Time for the Airborne Force to jump all in.  They need to mech up.  There is no reason for them not to experiment using Mike Sparks idea of air dropping M-113's and riding, not walking off the drop zone.

Whatever they finally do in the future, Mike Sparks is somewhere laughing his ass off.  Slowly, after much criticism his ideas are winning the day. 

Thursday, February 21, 2013

USS Freedom gets her new paint job!


CH-53K. What's going on with it?


I'm in a mood today so forgive the numerous posts.

Think about this.  With all the budget concerns, the one essential Marine Corps project you haven't heard a thing about is the CH-53K.

The Marine Corps is putting together a CRAZY procurement schedule for the AAV/ACV/MPC program.

Upgrade the AAV's by 2017.  Put the ACV in production by 2020 and then the MPC after that.  Only the MPC project seems ready to go but that's the vehicle that HQMC seems least enthused about (we really need both).

But to add to that misery, the Marine Corps has essentially placed the CH-53K program on hold.  Sikorsky offered to build a demonstrator of the helo on its own dime and the Marine Corps is still considering the offer.

Of all the aviation projects that the Marine Corps absolutely needs, the CH-53K is at the top of that list.

Why its disappeared from the talking points is a mystery to me but rebuilds WILL NOT do when it comes to these airplanes.  They've been ridden hard, served admirably and its time for the next gen.

A little birdy tells me that the real issue is that the Marine Corps is pleased by the performance of the K-Max and is looking at extending the CH-53E and filling the void by procuring a fleet of those smaller helicopters.

I hope that isn't true.  The CH-53 has served as a troop transport, casualty evacuation platform, performed TRAP missions and moved practically everything in the vehicle/aircraft fleet except for M1 Tanks.

The Marine Corps has to have an AAV replacement.  It has to replace the CH-53E with the K model and it needs to sort it out now.

If other projects need to be delayed then so be it, but its time to prioritize on the essentials.

The CH-53K is an essential.

UPDATE:  Want a little more misery?  Defense Tech is reporting that the US Army expects to have a milestone C decision by 2019.  That means that they will have started development of their Bradley replacement AND gotten it into production before the Marine Corps gets the AAV replacement going.  Read about the GCV here.

BAE has developed an airborne spy master...



Persistent surveillance.

Orwell would be proud.

The tech is there.  The only thing left is to determine if the will to use it (and deal with the consequences) exists.

War time use?  I'm ok with it.  Border security?  Yes!  Law enforcement?  Wow.  Its legal (no one has an expectation of privacy once they walk out the door)...but it sure seems....wrong.

Tech vs. Civil liberties is going to come to a head real soon.

Colorado Reps get death threats...



Brandon Rittiman is reporting that Representative Salazar is getting death threats in Colorado over his magazine ban.

Interesting.

Not surprising.  This issue has been pursued with the intention of getting a visceral response from gun owners and some have fallen for the tactic.

I truly believe that this issue is designed to separate the rural portion of the GOP from the suburban wing.  Additionally it can serve as another wedge issue between genders and races.

Well played by the White House.  Instead of focusing on a weak economy, an ill timed minimum wage increase, implementing Obama care, solving the unemployment problem, PUTTING FORTH A FREAKING BUDGET, working on the Iran issue, working on the N. Korea issue, stopping Chinese hacking, deciding what to do about the Canadian pipeline, and working to solve sequestration, they instead have the nation tied up over social issues and gun control.

Absolutely marvelous.

G5 vid.



Awesome find Paralus!

The US Army's Riverine Force in Vietnam.

All photos are from the Army Historical Site.

Note:  The next war on the river will tell us whether small, lightly armed and armored boats are as survivable as those used by the Army's Riverine Force in Vietnam.  I'd bet that they aren't and that someone will have to re-invent the wheel.

LST WITH ARMORED TROOP CARRIERS AND MONITORS

ARMORED TROOP CARRIER

SELF-PROPELLED BARRACKS SHIP WITH AMMI BARGE MOORED ALONGSIDE

ASSAULT SUPPORT PATROL BOAT. A high-speed armored boat used for waterway interdiction, surveillance, escort, mine-sweeping, and fire support.

COMMAND AND COMMUNICATIONS BOAT

MONITOR