SNAFU!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

EC725...Saturday Photo Fix.

The latest from EuroCopter...the EC725.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Done Deal. Israel to buy F-35's.

A ministerial panel headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak made a final decision Thursday to purchase 20 new F-35 fighter jets, despite opposition from a number of senior defense officials over the high cost of the deal.
Barak gave his go-ahead last month to purchase the jets in a deal valued at around $2.75 billion. The first planes are expected to arrive in 2015.

Read more here.

I luv it! You know Sweetman is reaching into the back of his cabinet pulling out the real strong stuff after hearing this news.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Pic of the day Sep. 17, 2010. Battalion Commander gettin' some.

U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Chris S. Richie, commanding officer of Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Continuing Promise 2010, performs live-fire drills with his Marines and Sailors, aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), Sept. 14. Service members and civilians are deployed in support of CP providing humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and subject-matter exchanges to the Caribbean, Central and South America.

A U.S. Airman directs an F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 18th Aggressor Squadron for takeoff during Valiant Shield at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Sept. 16, 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jamie Powell/Released)

A line of MV-22 Osprey aircraft from Marine Medium Tilt-Rotor Squadron 266 (Reinforced) arrives at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, Sept. 10, 2010. The squadron is deployed aboard USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), which is en route to provide relief to flood-stricken regions of Pakistan. (DoD photo by Lt. Cmdr. Dean Sears, U.S. Navy/Released)

U.S. Sailors deployed aboard high speed vessel Swift (HSV-2) demonstrate proper techniques for maneuvering a rigid-hull inflatable boat during a small-boat operations subject matter expert exchange with Dominican service members in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sept. 14, 2010. Swift is deployed in support of Southern Partnership Station 2010, which is designed to promote information-sharing with navies, coast guards and civilian services throughout the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Rachael L. Leslie, U.S. Navy/Released)

Singapore AH-64 Propaganda....

Sikorsky X-2 does 250 knots???

Don't know how I missed this. From ASDNews.com.

The speed, reached during a 1.1-hour flight, is an unofficial speed record for a helicopter. The demonstrator also reached 260 knots in a very shallow dive during the flight.

"The aerospace industry today has a new horizon," said Sikorsky President Jeffrey P. Pino. "The X2 Technology demonstrator continues to prove its potential as a game-changer, and Sikorsky Aircraft is proud to be advancing this innovative technology and to continue our company's pioneering legacy."

Naval Officer Talks Future Australian Amphibious Ops

Note* This article is focused on the entry into Australian service of the LHD01 which is based on the Spanish Juan Carlos 1 (L-61).

Question: You have an extensive amphibious background - what are the main lessons we can learn from the USN and other Navies using LHDs?
The main areas that we need to focus on in terms of running the ship itself are how they run a large multi-spot flight deck with a mixture of aircraft and how the run a well dock. These are skills that I am sure with the professionalism we already have in the ADF we can pick up pretty quickly to deliver a basic safe operational LHD for lower end amphibious operations. What will take us some time is the ability to generate the tempo of flight and well dock operations that is required to deliver combat capability rapidly across the shore. It is this tempo that will determine how successfully the ADF can mount amphibious operations at the higher end of war fighting. So we need to learn how they simultaneously operate large numbers of aircraft and watercraft in an effective, efficient and yet safe manner.
One other less understood area that we can learn about is providing full logistic support to a land force when they are engaged in combat. Making sure when the force leaves Australia it has all it needs to conduct the first period of the operation without any further logistic resupply or access to supporting infrastructure is essentially what makes an amphibious operation so unique and so powerful.

Read the whole thing here.

American Expedition Vehicles Jeep Brute.

Johnathan sent me an article about the Israeli Military acquiring Jeep Storm. Thanks Buddy...I initially thought..ok, no big deal. The Israeli military is in love with the Jeep...they use it the way the Hummer was initially suppose to be used and because they stayed true to form, they can use it into the future.

What made me stop and say wow! was the fact that the company sending the kits to Israel is known as American Expeditionary Vehicles....and the fact that they make a kit that I've been dreaming about for years but only now realize is available to the public...the Jeep Brute kit. Check them out here.

SkyNews slams the British Tanker deal and shows F-35's.

Even SkyNews in the UK is caught up in the silliness of the anti F-35 paranoia. Check out this article...its a blurb on the Tanker deal but they use illustrations of the F-35 in the story. Amazing!