India on verge of deal for French Rafale jets

via Reuters.

(Reuters) - India is close to finalising a deal for dozens of Rafale fighter jets during its Prime Minister's visit to France on Friday, four French officials said, an agreement that would come after three years of talks between the two countries on a larger contract.
Le Monde newspaper reported earlier on Friday that talks centred on the purchase of 63 Rafale jets for $7.7 billion.
A French diplomatic source said there could be an announcement as early as Friday evening but the deal could involve fewer planes: more than the 24 France sold to Egypt in February but fewer than 50.
"There were discussions that lasted throughout the night," said a French government source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the talks. "We are probably in the final straight. We have never been so close."

Read it all here.

I don't get what the Indians are doing.  First they're delaying the development of their own aircraft industry.  Second they're paying abnormally high prices for this jet...they could get Super Hornets at about half the price...and last, they're throwing away interoperability with the US Navy that has a much stronger presence in their neighborhood than the French.

This is curious, but best of luck to them.

F-35 rumor alert. Pratt's upgraded engine....

Aviation Week has an article behind a paywall...which I haven't read yet...but according to some the "upgraded" F-35 engine will provide 10% more thrust by 2018 and 22% by 2022...just in time for most foreign customers.

Isn't that amazing?

Before the plane has even entered service, one of the major contractors is already attempting to angle itself into a position to do more of the same. Damn the engine fire.  Damn the mad max fixes and workarounds....

Ya know what the saddest part of the whole thing is?  Even if they're "successful", they'll only give back the performance that was promised initially...so with these upgraded engines it MIGHT be able to keep up with  Super Hornet.

2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion (2nd AABN) well deck ops...pics by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Markus Castaneda

What's with that new Russian Self Propelled Artillery?

Major hat tip to s300v4!

I've personally been focused on the MBTs and IFVs that Russia is soon to roll out.  Its in my wheelhouse so I guess that's natural...but what about the new self propelled artillery that Russia is also teasing?

On this I have no idea.  Hopefully an artillery guy can point out what's new (at least from what little we can see), what's different, how they're deviating from past practices, etc...

One thing we can "spot" because of the above pic is the relative size.  This is one HUGE vehicle!  Check out the BTR behind it, the utility vehicle to the left and the mobile strategic missile in the background.  My guess?  Its an autoloader.  It looks like it has a  203mm gun...which would be a throwback to when artillery was taken seriously...yeah...this thing could be a beast!

UPDATE:  Galvars thinks that we're simply seeing a modified 2S19 MSTA.  I disagree.  Check out the pic below.  Pay careful attention to the barrels.  We're seeing something more powerful and more substantial in this new vehicle.  I could easily be wrong but I don't think so.

Close-up pics of the Armata Main Battle Tank...

Major hat tip to Mr. T!

Did you notice the vision blocks all the way across the front of the vehicle?  I wonder if that means the driver and the commander are side by side? with the gunner behind them?  Additionally I only saw one spot that might indicate a hull mounted camera (in the front) and none in the rear.  Laser dazzlers (and not the "eye safe" kind) will be all the rage when facing these beasts.  Why use a missile when an accurately aimed, industrial size laser pointer can get an "operational" kill?

Washington D.C. is vulnerable...

This doesn't appear to be a "probing" type thing but the totality of what we know indicates one thing....Washington D.C. is vulnerable to small unit attacks.

We've seen individual gunman twist this city into knots (to include some drunk Secret Service agents) with little difficulty.

The crazy thing?  The bureaucracy seems to be making the situation worse.  There are so many conflicting areas of responsibility that cooperation means that proper and effective response to threats is difficult (this is my opinion...I'm sure authorities and many of you will disagree).

After this latest incident I'm convinced than ever.  If terrorist get smart, bold and can put in place the proper logistics, they can basically shut down the North East United States.

"Rosomaks on the road" via Defense 24..

More than 120 soldiers and 20 military vehicles, including transporters, Wolverine was moved by road from the barracks 12 Mechanized Brigade in Szczecin to the training center of the United States Army in Germany Hohenfels

What is the General Dynamics Peacekeeping Security Vehicle for?

  Peace Keeping Security Vehicle.

CSBA Think Tank calls for B-1R Type Fighter/Interceptors....UPDATED!

Everyone has been talking about the end of the manned fighter.

In my opinion they're wrong.  We've talked about it on these pages in the past but a quick and dirty is this...the future is going to belong to B-1R sized Fighter/Interceptors.

Why?

Simple.  That's where the tech is headed.  You're not going to be talking about engagements at 50 or 100 miles but at twice that.  You're going to need to be able to generate enough energy to power your lasers, electron beams and whatever else the brainiacs are working on.  You're going to need an AESA array that can reach out, coupled with datalinks to satellites  in orbit to help with targeting.

But if you don't believe me then check out the report below...

  CSBA Trends in Air-To-Air Report

UPDATED:  
But of course if we're being honest what the authors of this study are actually calling for is what the boys down in Australia Air Power already dreamed up.  Remember the F-111 Missilier Concept????  Click on image to enlarge.  Why did I include this?  Simple.  The USAF will never go to super large fighters that are bomber sized.  They could be pushed into an F-111 sized fighter/interceptor though...and the plane could deliver the desired performance, range and power generation in something that USAF traditionalist could accept.

2nd CAV's Stryker Mortar Carrier during live fire exercise in Romania (pics)...