Yemen is getting nasty. Debka File is reporting two Saudi Armored Brigades in country.

via Debka File...

After clinching its conquest of the Yemeni port of Aden – contrary to all Western predictions - Saudi Arabia teamed up with the United Arab Republic and, together, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, landed by sea and air two armored brigades and several commando battalions. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that this was the first time that any Gulf nation had shown itself capable of a sea landing on this scale.
Tuesday night, the roads heading north out of Aden resounded with the thunder of convoys of heavy Saudi Abraham M1 tanks and long lines of heavy French made Leclerc tanks contributed by the UAE army.
The landings from the Red Sea were covered by intense gun and missile fire from the multi-Arab fleet of Saudi, Egyptian and UAE missile vessels and warships offshore.
Among the heavy vehicles freighted in by air were hundreds of armored personnel carriers, some of them Russian-made BMD3s, others Humvees made in America - and all fitted with short-range ground-to-ground missiles - as well dozens of US-made mine-resistant, ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles designed to withstand roadside bombs.
To speed the arrival in Yemen of mountains of armored military reinforcements, plus equipment, supplies, ordnance and medical evacuation services, the Saudis and UAE hired an Abu Dhabi firm specializing in airport construction, Within 48 hours, the Aden airport which had been badly damaged in the fighting was ready for large transport planes to come in to land.
Tuesday night, the workmen were busy on a second project, preparing Al-Anad, Yemen’s biggest airport 48 km north of Aden, for Saudi and UAE fighter-bombers to take off for air strikes.
The newly-arrived tanks, APCs and commando fighters were meanwhile advancing rapidly toward Yemen’s next largest town, Taiz.
Our military sources report that the Houthi insurgents have nowhere near the quantity or quality of equipment and weaponry to withstand the assault coming their way from a combination of armored, naval, air and commando firepower, and so they began falling back.Their patron, Iran, was caught unawares by the massive onslaught and is in no shape to render immediate assistance for redressing the huge imbalance which now charactises the state of the Yemen war..

Well ain't that a bitch!

Looks like alot of crow is going to be eaten.  The GCC is kicking ass, taking names and winning.

Meanwhile the US and its Western allies are being stalemated by ISIS.

Do they have better leadership than we do or is it something else?  Either way we tried to hold them back, they ignored us and now they're winning.

Sidenote:  Still waiting for confirmation of the new offensive going in Yemen.  If true then we're seeing the balance of power shift in the Middle East and possibly and newly assertive Saudi Arabia. 

China is building a unique aircraft carrier...possibly nuclear...

via National Interest...

China has all but confirmed that it is building an indigenous aircraft carrier, and that it may even be a nuclear-powered one.
On Thursday, huanqiu.com, the Chinese-language version of the state-run Global Times, published an internal document of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, one of China’s two largest shipbuilding companies. CSIC is a state-owned company.
The report lists building nuclear submarines and an aircraft carrier as the company’s “priority missions.” It also states that progress on these projects has been smooth.
"The priority missions of building the aircraft carrier and nuclear-submarines have been carried out smoothly and with outstanding achievements," the document states, according to a translation provided by Taiwanese media outlets. The same Taiwanese reports go on to say that the document suggests that China’s first homegrown aircraft carrier is likely to be nuclear-powered, without elaborating.
Adding credence to this viewpoint is that this week huanqiu.com also featured promiently a new Russian report that claims that China’s first homegrown aircraft carriers will be nuclear powered. Specifically, earlier this week Sputnik News reported, citing an assessment by Vasily Kashin, an expert from the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, that “it is known that China plans to build large nuclear aircraft carriers, equipped with electromagnetic catapults. Work on the main units and elements of the ship is already underway, and the project documentation part of it has been completed.”

Here.

They are trying to drink our milkshake!

Military power isn't anything like  "Game of Thrones" television show....in real life you can't tame a dragon....

Wednesday motivation via Gruntworks....

The Chinese People's Liberation Army in 2025

Thanks to UtahBob62 for finding this!



Finally!

The military institution is slowly but surely recognizing that "outreach" and "partnerships" is nothing but meaningless drivel.  Society can play those games, a professional military CANNOT!

China still has its straw out to drink our milkshake but it seems like we're at last moving the glass away (I'm particularly fond of the different trajectories that this can take...from them being Hercules to an insignificant force...I'm seeing some good work here...no rosey scenarios just covering the possibilities).

Read it all.

Royal Australian Navy's Canberra LHD...

Just a few new pics that the RAN posted to their facebook page....

Jade Helm 15 soldiers fired upon. Predictable, stupidity brought on by secrecy...

via Heavy.com

Authorities say shots were fired at a group of soldiers training at the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, where a large-scale training exercise is being held as part of Jade Helm 15.
No one was injured, WDAM-TV reports. The incident was reported at about 12:15 p.m., about 45 minutes after the shots were fired.
Police say they are searching for two men who fired from a two-door red Ford Ranger pickup truck with “broken arrow” written across the top, WLOX-TV reports.
The gunmen were reported to be two white males.
The soldiers were at a checkpoint on a county-owned road on the outskirts of Camp Shelby, Perry County Sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith said.

Read the entire article here.

This was predictable.  Not because of so called conspiracy theorists but because SOCOM played the "secret", "trust us" and "fuck you if you don't believe us" line.

There are waaaaaay too many people in the South with military training and experience.  Too many people are aware of the CRAZY amount of training areas that the US military has access to.  Too many know about the elaborate combat towns that are at most large military bases.

Too many are aware of the fact that the excuse of training in civilian areas to be prepared for operations overseas is an outright lie.

Quite honestly I expected to see alot more of this than we've seen.  We'll see how this plays out but SOCOM is tossing away all the good will they've bought thru the work of those that came before.

I'm waiting for the truth behind the Jade Helm 15 exercise but preparation for overseas contingencies is pure bullshit.

US Navy taking the Chinese "Carrier Killer" Ballistic Missile threat seriously after all!

Read the entire article (here...via Breaking Defense) but the operative statement is below...

As a result, Clark went on, “SM-3 can defend a large area against ballistic missiles, but can’t defeat a large number of missiles”: We simply can’t afford enough of them to stop a Chinese Second Artillery-style “salvo.” On the other hand, he said, SM-3 is perfect when you have relatively few incoming missiles to worry about but a large area to protect — say, defending Japan against North Korea.
SM-6 is shorter-ranged but cheaper and more versatile, Clark continued. It can’t defend a wide area, but you can afford enough of them to deal with a major attack on a point target: a crucial base or an aircraft carrier, for example. And once you’ve stocked up on SM-6s, he said, you can use them for a wide range of missiles: ballistic missile defense, cruise missile defense, anti-aircraft, or — “since the Navy is equipping SM-6 with GPS” — strike missions against surface targets.

This boys and girls is reason for cheer.

I guess in the backrooms out of earshot, leadership is taking the threat from China seriously.  Good to know.  So they're working on checkmating the Carrier Killer.  Awesome.

Now if someone from HQMC can explain to me how the Company Landing Team will survive a an assault from a Chinese Mechanized Infantry Battalion I might be able to chill out...at least for a few minutes.

Sidenote:  So I guess its true.  The SM-6 can be used in the strike role.  Again, awesome...but why would you?

Blast from the past. The "other" Lightning...

via retrowar...

Amazing.

Many years later and the same is being said about the F-35.  Tech might change but marketing?  NEVER!

Royal Irish Regiment (Light Mechanized Battalion) at Exercise Wessex Storm...

The Royal Irish Regiment is leading a major international exercise in Europe in their new role as a Light Mechanized Battalion.

Exercise Wessex Storm sees the Royal Irish working alongside American, Canadian, Czech and other nations as they get to grips with tactics and skills for close combat with their range of military vehicles, including the Foxhound, RWMIK, Wolfhound, Husky and Ridgback.

The Royal Irish Battlegroup, including a number of Army Reservists from 2 Royal Irish, are being put through their paces in Germany. Ranger Stephen Tan from Belfast says the terrain is challenging not only for the soldiers but for the vehicles. “This is a tough and realistic environment pushing us hard,” he said, “but when the adrenalin kicks in we really get going. It is what we joined the army for.”

Interesting.  As far as I know the Brits and Aussies are the only western militaries that have taken MRAPs and made them an actual part of their "regular" maneuver forces.  I believe the Foxhound is more suited to the role than the Bushmaster but time will tell.  This is another one of those exercises that I've never heard of before.  The caption says that they're working out with Americans, Canadians, Czech and other nations.  If this is force on force I'd love to hear how the Royals Irish Regiment did.

Happy 225th Birthday to the U.S. Coast Guard!

Happy birthday boys.

Just cause I don't cover ya doesn't mean I don't respect ya.  It means you're doing your damn job!  Again.  Happy birthday.