Russia orders 2 battalions of T-14 Armata MBTs...

Thanks to s300v4 for the link!

via The Diplomat.

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) placed an order for two battalions of the third-generation T-14 Armata main battle tank (MBT) and one battalion of the T-15 heavy infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) in December 2017, according to Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov. Both the T-14 MBT and T-15 IFV are based on the “Armata” universal chassis system, which serves a platform for as many as 13 different tracked vehicles, including a self-propelled artillery platform, and an armored military engineering vehicle.

“It’s no secret that we already have a contract for trials and combat operations: two battalions of Armata tanks and one battalion of heavy infantry fighting vehicles,” Borisov said on February 9, as quoted by Jane’s Defense Weekly. A Russian tank battalion consists of around 40 main battle tanks, excluding support vehicles.

Furthermore, last month Borisov noted: “In accordance with the 2018-2027 State Armaments Program, the serial production of the T-14 tanks based on the Armata platform is planned to begin in 2020; hundreds of tanks will be made.”

Story here. 

Cobra Gold 18: RoK, Thailand and U.S. forces perform amphibious assault...Video by Airman 1st Class Timothy Tweet

Open Comment Post. Feb 16, 2018

China is the Air Force’s “pacing threat.”

via Breaking Defense.

It’s explicit: China is the Air Force’s “pacing threat.” That was the clearest message from Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, who met with the press the day after the Pentagon budget’s release.

China’s rapid modernization is driving the Air Force to respond, Wilson said, though she declined to detail any of the service’s efforts beyond noting the PRC’s anti-satellite test.

Story here.

The rest of the article is basically a sales brochure for the B-21.  It follows the path of the F-35 in tone.  It will revolutionize the way we fight, not only will it be a bomber but it will be a sensor node extraordinaire, it will be capable at cyber and electronic warfare and it's the lynchpin to our future success against the Red Chinese.

But the acknowledgement is news.

Finally they're wrapping their brains around the China threat.

Normally I'd cheer but I'm suspicious.  Why now?  What's changed to alter the talking points to "it's Russia and China" to now only China.

I love winning arguments, I'm sure the former USNI Chief of Naval Intel for the Pacific is feeling vindicated, but I want to know why the change.

Freaking Australia strikes again. Tiger snake crawls a single wire like a commando/ninja goon from my tortured dreams....

Yeah.

Freaking Australia strikes again.  That's a Tiger snake crawling/slithering/doing whatever it is these God forsaken creatures do to move, along a single wire like a commando/ninja goon from my tortured nightmares.

Australia.

Beautiful vistas.  Good dudes.  Beautiful women.  Cosmopolitan cities....and animals that would make the creatures from Alien run back to their hive in fear.

Luv ya Australia, but fuck you at the same time.

Side note.  Have you noticed that people sneak all kinds of critters into the country but you never hear about someone stupid enough to important one of those big ass bird eating spiders?  Or some man eating croc?  Or some of the have to be 1000 plus venomous snakes they have?  We have stupid people in America but not that damn stupid.  Turn one of these things loose in the deep dark bayou and its flee the state time!

DDG-1000 goes from land attack to anti-surface/anti-air platform...there goes our naval guns AGAIN!

via Defense News.

The Navy has a new vision for what its enormous high-tech destroyers will do: Killing enemy warships at extended ranges.

The Navy is asking Congress to fund a conversion of its 600-foot stealth destroyers from primarily a land attack ship to an anti-surface, offensive strike platform, according to budget documents released Feb. 12.

The service’s 2019 budget request includes a request for $89.7 million to transform its Zumwalt-class destroyers by integrating Raytheon’s long-range SM-6 missile, which can dual hat as both an anti-air and anti-surface missile, as well as its Maritime Strike variant of the Tomahawk missile.

Converting DDG-1000 into a hunter-killer is a win for the surface warfare community’s years-long drive to beef up the force’s offensive capabilities. It also answers the bell for U.S. Pacific Command, which has been pushing for the Navy to add longer range weapons to offset the increasing threat from Chinese long-range missile technology.

The SM-6 is a versatile missile that the Navy has been excited about. In August, the Navy shot down a medium-range ballistic missile target with the SM-6, which uses a fragmenting explosion near its target as the kill mechanism. This is different from the SM-3 Block IIA in development that hits its target directly. It can also be used to hit surface targets at sea and on land from hundreds of miles away.

Story here. 

And there goes our naval guns...AGAIN!

So exactly what will we get with these ships?  Supersized Burkes that will be the focus of enemy action due to their large magazine size?

I should have seen this coming though.  When they didn't make moves to properly equip/fund the cannons that told us everything we needed to know.

Never LISTEN to leadership.  Always follow the money.

PLA Marine's amphibious assault breacher vehicle in action via China Defense Blog...

This is interesting.

It also give an indication of how China Defense Blog and probably many others are viewing this vehicle compared to how I see things.

Remember every problem that we're dealing with today is NOT NEW.  The greats that came before dealt with the same issues.  Different means of delivering the threat but still the same obstacles.

The Chinese are looking at amphibious assaults and incorporated "Breacher Vehicle" type capabilities on one of their vehicles that would be involved in the assault phase.

CDB is saying that their vehicle isn't as impressive as the USMC model and I disagree.

They have a vehicle that will land with the assault forces whereas our current stead will land with the assault follow on.

So what is the Chinese military doing?  They're ignoring what we're doing today and taking a page from our past when we were proponents of "more energetic" amphibious assaults.  Check out the pic below of a properly equipped LVTP-5.

I wish to GOD that Marine Corps historical society would release these pics to the public so I don't have to post pics with watermarks running down there lengths...how can people take open source history and bastardize it.  Not just this website BUT MANY others!

Back in the day we had all the capability and it could float ashore too!

German military short on tanks for NATO mission

via DW.com

The German military has secretly admitted that it can't fulfill its promises to NATO, according to documents leaked to Die Welt newspaper on Thursday.

The Bundeswehr is due to take over leadership of NATO's multinational Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) at the start of next year, but doesn't have enough tanks, the Defense Ministry document said.

Specifically, the Bundeswehr's ninth tank brigade in Münster only has nine operational Leopard 2 tanks — even though it promised to have 44 ready for the VJTF — and only three of the promised 14 Marder armored infantry vehicles.

The paper also revealed the reason for this shortfall: a lack of spare parts and the high cost and time needed to maintain the vehicles. It added that it was also lacking night-vision equipment, automatic grenade launchers, winter clothing and body armor.

The German air force is also struggling to cover its NATO duties, the document revealed. The Luftwaffe's main forces, the Eurofighter and Tornado fighter jets and its CH-53 transport helicopters, are only available for use an average of four months a year — the rest of the time the aircraft are grounded for repairs and rearmament.

"The state for all part-time forces are similarly worrying," Hans-Peter Bartels, parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, told Die Welt. Opposition politicians blamed Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen for allowing the military to deteriorate.

Story here. 

I could gloat and state that this is another indication that the threat of Russia invading Western Europe is a complete fabrication based on the stance of the Germans but I'll ignore that for a moment.

Instead I'll look at the current military makeup of the European countries and put this theory to my readers.

France, Poland, Italy, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands and others are now jointly the caretakers of European defense (with a HUGE help from the United States).

Germany has simply chosen to leave the field.  Whether they decide to comeback is open to debate but I don't think so.  I personally believe that their society has become so "hippified" that defending themselves is no longer considered important.

The real solution is to simply tax member states that won't step up to participate in the common defense.  Additionally the idea that a nation will have defense corporations yet not provide for its own defense is batshit crazy.

I'd like to see other European countries further develop their in house companies so that the Germans have even less of a say in matters that they won't participate in.

That's just my opinion.

Turkey's "Thank You America" article reveals they're hurting....

via Yenisfak.com

The evil you committed against us woke us up. Thank you so much!

Now we have unmanned aerial vehicles

You did not deliver our unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) even though we paid for them. So we have produced our own UAVs. Thanks to you, today, we have become one of the largest UAV producers!

Our defense industry has obtained one of its greatest powers because of the evil you've done. Now, our army is using the tools we produce safely, and by this means it is achieving great success in its struggle against terror.

This is not all! We produced armed UAVs as well. These devices, which only a few countries in the world possess today, are produced by our own engineers with our own technology.

Thanks to the covert sanctions you imposed on drone spare parts, our patriotic engineers have worked harder and started to produce each and every part on their own.

Today we have become capable of exporting to many countries in the world.

All of this came to pass thanks to you! Good thing you didn’t deliver those devices. Thank you!

Now we have a national helicopter

You didn’t deliver our helicopters although you were paid for them. And we have worked even harder to produce the Atak helicopters. We have a national helicopter thanks to you! Today, our troops fly safely with these helicopters, and they are succeeding in the fight against terrorism.

We will become even more powerful, skilled, and become capable of exporting helicopters to the world. Thank you!

Now we have guns, rifles and armored vehicles

You didn’t provide guns to our police, rifles to our soldiers and armored vehicles to our troops. So, we produced our own infantry rifle, our own guns, and our own armored vehicles. Besides, they are of such good quality that they rank among the most prominent weapons in the world.

We no longer need NATO's outdated rifles. We no longer beg for guns, rifles, armored vehicles, or wait at the door.

Story here. 

Interesting.

They're doing a whole lot of chest thumping about their defense industry but if you look at the pieces of it then you'll realize how fragile that advance is and how easily it can be turned around.

Beyond that they accuse us of being part of the coup attempt and close with the thought that ya, the US is evil but all will be forgiven if we shake hands.

I'm not buying any of this.

Turkey is hurting and this little olive branch hides the pain...almost desperation.

I'm enjoying this but wonder if instead of reveling we have an opportunity to get them to moderate a bit.  A cooperative Turkey could be a real good thing.

A Legacy Remembered ...the flag raising on Mt Suribachi...

Hmm.

Not sure how I feel about this being reduced to a ground action to "achieve" air superiority.

The implications are mind boggling.  That means that the lives lost and injuries sustained were because a greater value was placed on airmen than on the ground forces that did the bleeding.

Thankfully my reading of the history shows the operation to have been about much more than securing a landing strip for damaged aircraft.

Thank God for classic, old fashioned history education (plus I had an old skool history teacher that made it interesting and inspiring).