This is inflammatory but showed up in my news feed. Does anyone know of this operation in Syria?

NOTE:  I have several news feeds that link to articles of interest.  Occasionally they point to obscure sources.  That's why I constantly tell you guys that I just post the stuff.  You decide.  About this story.  It's inflammatory as FUCK!  I've tried to find a bit of info about MINA but there isn't an "about us" section or anything.  Additionally I can't find any information from any other news source about Russian MPs being surrounded....but at the same time they have a Russian General supposedly talking about this operation.  Check this out via MINA....

Now this is something you won’t see on NBC nightly news.

The Russian military spokesman General Sergei Rudskoi in his latest briefing (detailed below), in a matter-of-fact deadpan, explains that 'US Secret Services’, and their Al Qaeda proxies, had a very, very bad day yesterday.

Americans love bombing small, defenseless countries into the stone age, it’s part of their culture like baseball, apple pie, and obesity. One of the things they never do, however, is pick on a country that can fight back.

Well this time they messed with the Russian Bear and so... reality ensued.

Yesterday, according to General Rudskoi, an army of “moderate” decapitators, directed by their ‘US Secret Service’ handlers and special ops, double-crossed the Russians by violating a ceasefire agreement, launched an attack with tanks and artillery on the Syrian Government north of Hama in the de-escalation zone, in an attempt to halt the Syrian Army’s successful advance.

A key part of the plan was to capture 29 lightly armed Russian soldiers (military police), which would have been a major embarrassment for Moscow.

Here’s where the story gets gripping.

The 29 Russians were trapped for several hours by the militants, engaged in a heavy fire-fight for their very survival.

Finally, a Spetsnaz (Russian Special Operations) unit, partially composed of ‘military natives of the North Caucusus’ (these are probably Chechens, one of the fiercest soliders in Russia), broke through the terrorist line.

Then, like lightning over the skies of Syria, Russian Sukhoi jets conducted pinpoint strikes against the opposition force, which was subsequently bombarded with an artillery salvo, providing cover for the Russian rescue squad.

They successfully reached their comrades, and though three operators were injured, Russia suffered no casualties. How many US "advisors" to Al Nusra were lost is not known. The US does not report losses in covert operations.

The story and vid (along with pics of dead rebels) is here. 

Let's do this.

Assume that there was a fight but assume that the terrorists weren't being directed by US Special Ops.

Or better yet.

1.  Did a fight as described actually take place?

2.  Who were the Russians actually fighting?  Moderates under our direction or not?

3.  Is this part of a psyops campaign by Macedonia?

I just don't know.  You guys play detective and figure out the truth, motivations etc...with this thing.

Head is hurting again.

Taiwan conducted an "all service" readiness exercise....

via FocusTaiwan.tw

The MND statement was released following a local media report that members of the public noticed fighter jets flying overhead islandwide. Some also saw armored vehicles on the streets, according to the United Daily News.

Some feared the maneuvers could be a response measure against possible Chinese fighter jets invading Taiwanese airspace, as several types of Chinese military aircraft have been reported flying close to the nation's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the past few months, the report said.

In response, the MND said that the take-off and landing of fighter jets were part of a scheduled air defense drill to test all three main branches of the armed forces -- the Air Force, Navy and Army -- response measures in the event of an enemy invasion at night.

Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) gave special credit to all the servicemen and women who took part in the exercise, which was led by Chief of the General Staff Adm. Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明). 

Story here. 

Am I missing something in Taiwan?

An "all service" night time exercise?

You don't think that the Taiwanese believe that if there is action against N. Korea this winter that the China could use the distraction to launch an invasion do you?

Naw.  That's crazy talk.  Right?

Open Comment Post. Sep 21, 2017

Note.  I started following this dude on Instagram and he's all about Swedish aviation.  I love his pics so expect at least a few more days of it before I move on to the next thing that grabs my attention.

US Army 7.62mm Rifle Program is dead.

Thanks to Samuel for the link!

via The Firearms Blog.

The US Army’s program to field a new standard-issue 7.62mm caliber rifle is dead in the water, it seems. Multiple anonymous sources have informed TFB that the Interim Combat Service Rifle program has been cancelled as part of a massive review of US Army small arms programs. The program was officially announced on August 4th, and lasted just over a month before its cancellation.

Few specifics about the cancellation have been revealed, but TFB’s sources cited the lack of a pressing threat necessitating the change, poorly written requirements, little or no support from the ranks, and no backing holistic DOTMLPF assessment. If these reflections are accurate, then it indicate that ICSR may have been a poorly-constructed program driven by the preferences of the brass and not the needs of the actual soldier.

Story here. 

TFB nailed it.  This program came out of nowhere!  No one saw it coming, no one could explain the why behind it and I never heard one person speak out in favor of it.

I hope TFB stays on this story and digs in to find out how the hell this became a "thing" in the first place.

The SecNav seems ready to put the Combatant Commanders back in their cage!

via Breaking Defense.

How will the new Navy Secretary  get people to understand the fleet is being worked too hard? “Because we’ll start every conversation with 17 dead sailors,” Richard Spencer told reporters this morning in his first media roundtable as SecNav.

The 10 deaths aboard the USS McCain last month and the seven aboard the USS Fitzgerald in June have many causes, which Spencer addressed in a Senate hearing yesterday. But the fundamental problem is a collision between a shrinking fleet, growing operational demands, and erratic funding for training and maintenance.

“When I said yesterday that the Navy has a problem and we’re going to fix it, *that means) we’re going to have to come to…some sort of balance between supply and demand,” said Spencer. “The COCOMs (Combatant Commanders) are going to have to understand it, and the Hill is going to have to understand it.”

Story here. 

Wow!  This dude gets it!

IF the Navy/Marine Corps learn to say no.  If the SecNav is willing to run interference and push his thinking on Combatant Commanders requesting forces for no good reason, then we might see this drama sort itself out.

But Combatant Commander MUST be put back in those cages for this to happen!

What will we see if the SecNav has the courage of his convictions?  We should see an immediate and noticeable drop in the number of exercises worldwide. We should see targets hit for the amount of dwell time that our troops get.

Doing this one thing could help reset the force, reinvigorate personnel and maybe slow the rush to the exits that we're seeing now.

I hope this is more than just words but time will tell.

Block 4 will bring the real "combat package" to the F-35...this is worse than I thought...

 

via Aviation Week.

“From a production perspective, we have literally 150 to 160 modifications that have to occur on some of our tails to get it to a Block 3 configuration,” Winter said during a Sept. 18 speech at the Air Force Association’s annual Air, Space and Cyber conference here. “Our mods program is almost as exciting and dwarfing our production program.”

With that in mind, Winter said it is time to consider perhaps not modifying every aircraft to the Block 3F standard that would enable it carry a full complement of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. Testing of Block 3F could be delivered by the end of this year. “We’re looking at a solution space that gives our warfighter options,” he said.

Story here.

Check out this passage from Flightglobal back in Feb of this year.

 Given numerous issues on the F-35, including 270 high-priority deficiencies in Block 3F performance identified in a recent review, Michael Gilmore expects Lot 10 will be delivered without the full Block 3F capability.

Story here. 

Now check out this comment from a reader at Aviation Week under the story listed at the top of the page.

The US delayed/has delayed needed upgrades to the F-16, F-15 and F-22 fleets for years/decades while adding funding to the development of the F-35, as well as dealing with the overseas conflict funding needs.

So now the US is in a bind that because of these upgrade delays these aircraft really need them, as well to compensate for the truncated buy of F-22s.

Now there's up to 200 expensive F-35s that need structural and other upgrades due to the policy of producing an aircraft while its being developed (concurrency). And as AWST reports, "are too limited to fly in combat", but other officials have stated they are ready for combat.

While AWST and the USAF claims that.." the Block 3F standard that would enable it carry a full complement of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons", in fact this complement is rather limited, and cannot use a range of other US and foreign weapons planned for Block 4 which really enable the F-35 to meet its potential.

So now the US and other users face this upgrade quandary. Many have known this situation was coming.

In short?

A reader of this blog stated that this thing is worse than I thought and he was right.

THIS IS CRIMINAL!

We know of this issue and Lot 10 will be bought with the full knowledge of the Pentagon that they're mistake jets.  

This is why so few people are willing to buy the airplane now.  This is why the "projected" sales into the future are so full of nonsense.

In short the US is asking its allies to buy airplanes before they're completed. It was a stupid on a stick idea and it shows how far the Pentagon has fallen.

One airplane program has thoroughly corrupted the Pentagon.  If I didn't see it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it.

In case you ask....

Here's the original in case you ask....I never know which header pic will capture ya'lls imagination.

Joint India-US Military Exercise – Yudh Abhyas "Training For War"...this is why ops tempo is out of control!

Three things.

1.  Is it just me or does it look like Indian troops have some pretty antiquated battle rattle?  Those helmets look prehistoric and their webbing looks like its from the 60's.  They are a mysterious force.  They have nuclear weapons, first rate aircraft but it seems like their infantry is poorly equipped.  No hate, just stating what I'm seeing here.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

2.  One weekend I'm gonna catalog all the formal exercises that the US has run/will run with foreign nations this year.  If you want to know why the ops tempo is out of control then simply keep track of that number.  What I find amazing is that while they had a chance to rest and reset the force they've instead increased things.  I don't get it but that's what my eyeballs tell me.

3.  One other issue that dovetails with ops tempo.  Forward presence.  I don't believe that "concept" works.  Overseas bases just places US forces in areas where they can be destroyed in place if a sudden war breaks out.  It's almost like they're trying to do the ink blot strategy from Vietnam on a global scale.  It won't work and its another reason why the force is being artificially worn out.  Someone needs to get a handle on things.  If "forward presence" is the way we're going then I guarantee you'll see a replay of that concept like we had in the early stages of WW2.  US garrisons being overrun.

Aurora 17. Another of those exercises you've never heard of...

Aurora 17.

Another one of those large scale military exercises that include US forces for no apparent reason other than to say the Americans participated.

What irks me isn't the obvious dog and pony aspects of the thing (but you can't help but cringe at all the politicians & defense officials that show up....just get the fuck outta the way please!) but the scenarios...all scripted, very little free play and the desired outcomes which validate all the assumptions going in.

If it was free play with tight control by umpires whenever live fire happened, with the ability for ground commanders at the Battalion level and below to respond to unanticipated issues then I wouldn't complain.

But from my chair its looking like another field op with an opening ceremony, lots of pics with politicians, a closing ceremony where generals and politicians pat themselves on the back bragging about jointness and no one getting any training benefit out of the entire drama.

I'll monitor this thing to see if my preconceived notions are wrong, but I'd bet valuable body parts I'm spot on.

Evacuate or die?

via MarketWatch.

Puerto Ricans have been warned to evacuate or risk their lives as Hurricane Maria barrels toward the U.S. territory, brining life-threatening winds, storm surge and rainfalls.

The weather system is forecast to hit the islands, with a population of 3.5 million people, Wednesday morning as a Category 5 storm. It is expected to wreck more havoc than Hurricane Irma that destroyed large parts of the Caribbean just two weeks ago.

The National Hurricane Center said in its early Wednesday advisory that Maria is heading toward the southeastern part of Puerto Rico at 10 miles per hour, packing sustained winds of as much as 165 miles per hour. It was just 85 miles southeast of San Juan at 2 a.m. Eastern Time.

Story here. 

Wow.

They're actually telling poor Puerto Ricans that while realizing that many don't have the means to leave?

That's why you prep.

Between the hurricanes (with more to come I'm sure) and the earthquakes in Mexico this is turning into another crazy year.  The teenage years of this century are a real bitch.

What happens to the production numbers if the current F-35B's aren't upgraded?

Check this out from Wikipedia.

Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General James Amos has said that, in spite of increasing costs and schedule delays, there is no plan B to the F-35B.[360] The F-35B is larger than the aircraft it replaces, which required USS America to be designed without well deck capabilities.[361] In 2011, the USMC and USN signed an agreement by which the USMC will purchase 340 F-35B and 80 F-35C fighters, while the USN will purchase 260 F-35Cs. The five squadrons of USMC F-35Cs will be assigned to Navy carriers; F-35Bs will be used on amphibious ships and ashore.[277][278]

My question is simple.

The Program Office Chief has stated that the Block 2 is not combat capable. Former Commandant and current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dunford said that the F-35B with Block 2 IS COMBAT CAPABLE.

So what happens to the numbers programmed to be bought?

The USMC is suppose to get 340, so are these jets that are currently operating simply "demonstration" models and won't count against that figure or do they count against the number and the number bought is in essence going to have to be increased.

Wait.  That sounds like the same thing, but that's what we have with the modern Pentagon.

I hate the fact that you can't talk about this shit plainly but have to enter the world of legalize to even discuss it but we are where we are.

In short.

Is 340 the number and the current jets can be deducted from the total or is the 340 the number of REAL combat capable jets as the Program Manager states it which means that the Marine Corps' buy of the plane hasn't even begun yet?

Yeah.  It's clear as mud.  Read between the lines cause I can't even begin to figure out how to ask it any better.

My guess is that they're gonna state that the real buy of the jets hasn't even begun so that means that every jet the US military has already bought isn't worth anything except money for Lockheed.

Concurrency has COMPLETELY failed.  I predict the F-35 fanclub will be saying....

U.S. Marine Corps Advances SAIC to Next Phase of AAV SU Production

via Business Wire.

The U.S. Marine Corps Program Executive Officer Land Systems (PEO LS) approved the Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) Survivability Upgrade (SU) program to enter into the Production and Deployment Phase following a Milestone C decision. As a part of the decision Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE: SAIC) was awarded an initial Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) option to provide the Marine Corps additional AAV SU vehicles. As part of the LRIP decision, SAIC will deliver a total of 25 vehicles over a two-year period for operational test and evaluation and initial fielding to USMC expeditionary units.

Story here. 

This is good news...especially for SAIC.  What I don't understand is the snails pace.  Why two years to deliver a paltry 25 vehicles?

They bought more mistake F-35B's that they won't upgrade in the same amount of time, yet a vehicle that is to carry Marines into battle is slow walked?

I don't understand today's Marine Corps.  I don't think I want to.