CV90 with Active Suspension is going to be the fastest armored vehicle over rough terrain in the world.

via Endgadget.

Unlike conventional, passive suspensions that simply absorb the shock of a bump or divot in the road as it occurs, active suspensions calculate vehicle speed against upcoming terrain to selectively tighten the suspension and keep the vehicle level. This eliminates both body roll and pitch acceleration as well as translates into a higher top speed since all four wheels (or in this case, both tracks) stay in firm contact with the ground. It works well enough for the CV90 to set a speed record on a "rough terrain course",

Go here to read the entire story.   Interesting isn't it.  Just when wheeled vehicles finally "catch up" to tracked when it comes to cross country mobility, we find out that tracked roars back and takes back the crown.

F-35 News. IOC this year? Not likely!

via Bloomberg

As of late December, engines on the Marine Corps’ complex version of the F-35, designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings, flew about 47 hours between failures caused by engine design issues instead of the 90 hours planned for this point, according to GAO officials. Air Force and Navy model engines flew about 25 hours between failures instead of the 120 hours planned.

If that isn't bad enough then check this out from the same article.

F-35 engines from United Technologies Corp. are proving so unreliable that U.S. plans to increase production of the fighter jet may be slowed, according to congressional auditors.

Where ya at F-35 fanboys?

Your beloved airplane has fallen and it doesn't appear that it can get back up.....Oh and as far as that USMC IOC this year?  Not likely!  Not if they keep their word and do an assessment that the airplane meets requirements before its put into service.

The debate about Police MRAPS is over...

Well you can scratch this debate off your list.

It is now a given that law enforcement needs MRAPS and they're just not toys.  As a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken we're seeing an escalation in the violence with regard to riots.  Sooner or later those rocks are going to be replaced with small arms fire.

Yeah.

Not even the most bleeding heart liberal or staunch libertarian can deny the fact that LEO's need these beasts.

Oh and consider this.  We're seeing these outbreaks of violence over (in this case) a slow release of information from the Mayor's office (she appears unable to properly deal with this situation...any dream of higher office is dead)...what happens if a brownout along the eastern seaboard hits?  What happens if truckers go on strike in our just in time food delivery system?  The next freak hurricane that goes up the east coast instead of hitting the gulf?

If you live in a big city in the eastern corridor, you're freaking nuts!

The elite are fiddling while the country burns...

Did you take the time to check out the above vid?  Did you know that Baltimore basically descended into chaos last nite?  Did you know that instead of covering the breaking news the networks (all of them ... including Fox) decided to talk about "nerd prom"/White House Correspondents Dinner?

Make no mistake about it.

If you weren't at or invited to that celebration then you're just another one of the unwashed masses.

Oh and what did you miss?  How about a credible ISIS threat inside the US that has local law enforcement agencies in that state on heightened alert...read about this looming cluster here.

Vitaly Kuzmin's Blog has different views on the new Russian armor...

Note:  If you're not visiting Vitaly Kuzmin's blog on a daily basis then you're missing out.  Good stuff and I've only focused on the armor.  He also covers small arms and obscure Russian units.  Check him out here.

German MBT rounds ineffective against Russian modern armor????

via Tank & AFV Blog.

A recent article in German newspaper Die Welt makes the claim that German tungsten based APFSDS 120mm ammunition is ineffective against the armor of Russian T90 MBTs. The author of the article, Han Ruhle, was the Chief of Policy Planning Staff in the German Department of Defense 1982-1988. He lays the blame for the lack of effective depleted uranium APFSDS round in the German inventory at the feet of German environmentalists and anti-nuclear activists.

Go here to read the entire article.

And so it begins!

I TOLD YOU THAT THE NEW RUSSIAN ARMOR WOULD START AN "AFV" RACE and now you see it!

First the 2nd ACR wants bigger guns, now we hear that German rounds are ineffective against current much less projected Russian armor?  Note that this is what we're hearing in the clear.  What's being said behind closed doors might be even more stark.  Understand that the CIA, DIA, MI-6 and everyother intelligence service in the West is pumping assets to see whatever they can about the new Russian gear as we speak.

I'd bet body parts that tentative assessments have already been made and the bad news has been passed to leadership.

What should you look for?

Expect improvements in the entire anti-tank inventory.  Upgrading main caliber weapons will be a given (I don't think the plan of sticking to a 50 cal for the ACV will work now...they're almost gonna have to bump it up to a 30mm out of the box...at the very least).

Oh.  And talk of shelving the A-10 is about to take another big hit. The USAF was in a rush and now we know why.  You can't retire the ultimate tank killer if tanks are back in vogue.

Sidenote:  I AM NOT ALL OVER THE MAP ON THE STRYKER UPGRADE.  I still believe its the wrong move in the way that they Stryker Brigade concept calls for the vehicles to be used.  In conventional combat against other armored forces you would see a Heavy Tank Brigade take the lead.  That's why I think an armored task force needs to replace the 2nd ACR in Europe...to include attached attack helicopters and dedicated regimental artillery.  That would be a deterrent!  Upgunning the Stryker will allow them to engage enemy armor but would be violating the doctrine that they operate under!  For the USMC its different.  ACVs will be part of the initial landings and push to objective.  The chances of them running into enemy armor and the need for them to be able to defeat that armor is extreme.  I want an APC, but we need an IFV.

Upgunning the Stryker? I smell budget games!

via Fox News.

The 2nd Cavalry Regiment is requesting that 81 of its 8-wheel-drive Stryker infantry carrier vehicles be equipped with 30-mm. automatic cannons -- double the caliber of the 12.7-mm. guns they already carry, the military news website Breaking Defense reports.
The House Armed Services committee is already setting aside money for the upgrade, which the Army approved Wednesday, according to a memo obtained by the website.
The upgraded cannons would give the Strykers added firepower against other light-armored vehicles.
The 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based in Vilseck, Germany, had been deployed to the Baltic States to deter aggression following Russia’s seizure of Ukraine’s Crimea region, Breaking Defense reports.

So let me get this straight.

Troops with the 2nd ACR say that they need to upgun their Strykers due to the threat of current Russian vehicles.

The House Armed Services Committee already has set aside money and Big Army already approved?

Government doesn't work that fast.  Its no where near that efficient.  This shit was baked in the cake.  This is going to come out of "wartime contingency funds" which makes this whole thing bullshit! 

2nd ACR continues training in Romania.

Note:  Is it just me or does Romania look like perfect tank country?

Let's talk about the Army effort to "upgun" the Stryker.

We've been talking about the idea of "outgunning" the 2nd ACR's Strykers with a 30mm gun.  Everyone seems sold on the Kongsberg system and while I like it, I think we're missing the bigger issue.



The issue isn't about turning the Stryker...an APC...into an IFV.  No, the issue is why is this having to be discussed in the first place.

The answer is simple.  The Mobile Gun System doesn't work and Army leadership chose not to fix it.

IF the MGS worked and IF it was fielded in the numbers planned then we wouldn't be hearing about an upgunned Stryker.

Oh and as a sidenote.  Is it just me or did we suddenly hear about how the Stryker needed a 30mm cannon shortly after the 2nd ACR visited Polish troops who were driving Wolverines with that system mounted?

Question.  Is this a backdoor attempt by the Army to get not only upgrades on the Stryker but also the Bradley's?  Its hard to imagine one unit in Europe with upgraded guns and not the entire Stryker fleet.  Additionally its difficult to see the Stryker sporting a bigger and newer gun while the Bradley struggles on with its 25mm cannon.

Glock 43 mag catching issues.

Thanks to Tony for the info.

Have you been to the Glock and various other gun forums?  One of the issues that has been popping up over and over again is the magazine catching.  Tony tracked down Glock and this is what they told him...

They are saying its a wear in issue and it happens when the pistol is turned to the left. So I tried it. It happens if you are not inserting the mag directly into the frame. There is enough play and the offside mag release is protruding in the mag well so far that the mag is getting caught.

I'm still chewing on the Glock 43.  Tony just got his so I'll wait to see what he thinks after he's fired a few hundred rounds through it.

My main issue is the capacity.  I imagine it'll be perfect for summer carry.....but that's what appendix is for with my G19 and G26 stuffed with 19 mags.  The idea of the wolf finally showing up at the door and running out of rounds during a life and death situation....just because I wanted to be a bit more comfortable chills my bones.

Oh and the idiots run in packs.  Maybe I'm just looking for it but most attacks seem to involve more than one assailant.  You do the math.  The G43 carries 6 rounds.  If you have two attackers you better be perfect or you might lose in the end.

I gotta think a bit more on this one.