Stand Off Missile for the Joint Strike Fighter (SOM-J)

Ofek Heavy APC (based on the Merkava 2)...the Namer before the Namer!

Thanks to Vodknar for the pic!

Hat Tip to Vodknar and Military Today.  The above pic was posted on open comments and was totally new to me.  Come to find out its a Merkava 2 mod. It's the Ofek Heavy APC.  We've seen the Israelis do this with other tanks (especially the Centurion), transforming them into heavy APCs or engineer vehicles and it should have been a no brainer that they would do the same to early Merkavas.

The fact that it took me this long to lock onto a vehicle that has been in service with the IDF for a bit is irritating.

I thought we (me and my readers) had a good lock on armor development around the world.

Appears that we didn't!

2nd LAR participates in West Coast DFT ...pics by Pfc. Nicholas Guevara, plus my speculation on the next gen LAV...

Have you been following the talk of what the next gen LAV will have included?

I've seen talk of stuffing UAVs, electronic warfare, cyber warfare and advanced sensors (could they finally be thinking of getting a mast for the thing?).

My thoughts?

That's a real tall order.

They want to basically back door an electronic warfare vehicle into service but they want to do it on the back of LAR so they can "build on what we have" instead of developing new capabilities.

The problem?

LAR won't be LAR anymore.

With those new  toys it will morph into something different.

Of course that is in keeping with the thinking coming out of HQMC.  Close Air no longer requires a gun and can be conducted from 15K feet.  Scouting and screening will also have a different look I guess.

Even if you have no problem with the concept then you have to wonder how they'll stuff all that on vehicles.

Questions that have to be asked.

Will this rig need to float?  Do we want to lift it by CH-53?  Are we willing to break up the modules and have mission specific variants inside the LAR Bn?

This means a choice of two vehicles.

Either you slap a 30mm cannon on the JLTV, up armor it slightly and have a UAV, Electronic Warfare and Cyber Warfare variant (as well as traditional scout vehicles) or you use the upcoming Amphibious Combat Vehicle winner and put it all inside of each vehicle.

If you want it to fly and don't mind splitting up tasks then the JLTV wins. If you need it to float and want it under one roof then the ACV takes it.

Either way I believe the LAV is the last of its line.

There will be no more lightweight 8x8s in service anywhere.

Bigger is better is the new hotness...

Open Comment Post. March 6, 2018

Funny thing with the above pic?  I don't see the killing wound on the Zebra. With a Lion attack we'd see blood around the neck.  Same with Jaguars/Leopards.  I just don't see it here.

Oh and nature is vicious.  You're never at the top of the chain...something can always kill you.

Stealth features responsible for half of F-35 defects

So much for stealth on the F-35 being cheap and easy.  Check this out via Defense News.

As the production rate of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 joint strike fighter goes up, the company is wrestling with quality escapes involving the jet’s low observability features, which now amount to about half of all defects on the aircraft, the company’s vice president of the program revealed Monday.

Last week, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, the head of the government’s F-35 Joint Program Office, slammed Lockheed for what he sees as its too-slow progress on eliminating so-called “quality escapes”— errors made by Lockheed’s workforce that could include drilling holes that are too big or installing a dinged part.

While those errors are minor, the rework done to bring the plane up to requirements is driving up the amount of money and time spent producing an airplane, Winter said.

---------------

 “It’s not a human problem; that’s just the result of our ability. We’re approaching the limits of our ability to build some of these things from precise-enough technology,” Babione said.

Story here. 

This is interesting.

It's bad enough that we're now being told of issues with the manufacturing of stealth (to go along with the software boondoggle) but did you read the portion I highlighted?

They're reaching the limits to build these things from a precise enough tech level at the speed they need to ramp up properly!

From my reading and I could be wrong, but it appears that we're looking at a natural "max build" feature being introduced into this process.

By that I mean they can only build jets so fast.

They attempt to go faster and they make mistakes that cost more money.

In essence they have a manufacturing fueled death spiral going on.  If they build quality jets that DO NOT have stealth deficits then that means a slower production line. 

If they build jets according to plan (at a high rate) then that means they're accepting deficient aircraft that need to be fixed before they meet standards at a high cost.

This is a self imposed death spiral.

Operation NUNALIVUT....pic by Major Jean-Francois Robert

F-35Bs Join USS Wasp...this has the potential to be illuminating...

This morning we're hearing a bit of crowing from HQMC, the F-35 Program Office and others about the plane making it out to the 31st MEU/USS Wasp form its first cruise.

Unfortunately it's in the Pacific so it'll only see scripted action in wargames.

Still, this could be telling.

I don't expect any kind of transparency from the Marine Corps or the Program Office on this deployment.

We know better.

But you can't hide ugly and if this plane is a maintenance hog, and has other issues then we should get whiffs of it.

You can't keep secrets on ships with so many people aboard.  So watch this thing.  Separate the wheat from the chaff.  Understand that this is more publicity stunt than actual combat deployment and that we're gonna have to dig a bit to find the truth of things.

Keep watching the skies (and this deployment)!

German Mountain Troops on exercise via Bundeswehr Instagram Page.

Unsere Gebirgsjäger übten gemeinsam mit dem Hochgebirgsspähzug zu Beginn des Jahres in Norwegen. Bei der Übung "Eiskristall", wurde unter arktischen Bedingungen im Schwerpunkt der Gefechtsdienst geübt. Mehr zur Übung "Eiskristall" gibt es auf unserem YouTube Kanal. // Our mountain troops had an exercise with the high mountain platoon at the beginning of the year in Norway. During "Eiskristall" they practiced combat service. More about exercise "Eiskristall" is available on our YouTube channel.(Video: #Bundeswehr ) #milstagram

A post shared by Bundeswehr (@bundeswehr) on Mar 5, 2018 at 6:03am PST

Hmm.  Kinda expected the Germans to be excellent in the snow but for some reason their performance has always been kinda middling.  Not to say they're bad but that they don't meet the same standards (at least in my mind) that we see from The Netherlands, Poles, Swedes etc....

If I'm right (and I stand ready to be corrected) is that because of some cultural issues, history?  Yeah, Americans don't meet the standards of the countries I listed either so put away the flags.

Taurus Kepd 350 via Saab Instagram Page.

It’s #missilemonday and we give you the TAURUS KEPD 350! 👊 It is a missile designed to penetrate dense air defences by means of a very low level terrain following flight. The accuracy of the missile’s guidance system on its extremely low-level (“nap-of-the earth”) flight requires a highly agile and manoeuvrable missile. As a result, it has the most powerful turbo-fan engine of its class, thus allowing for high cruise speed at low level. This combined with the guidance system, allows for quick and agile manoeuvres ensuring that the missile stays precisely on the planned flight path 👍#saabinthesky

A post shared by Saab (@saab) on Mar 5, 2018 at 7:45am PST

Never really paid attention to this missile.  Might have to dig into it.

US Navy wants 72 more Super Hornet Block III's. More evidence that the Super Hornet killed the F-35C in that ordered comparison!

Thanks to Super Rhino for the link!

via Inside Defense.

The Navy is proposing a new three-year, consolidated contract to buy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft, a $3.7 billion deal that locks in orders through 2021, as a hedge against the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter taking longer than planned to be fielded. The service's fiscal year 2019 budget request seeks permission from Congress to negotiate a multiyear contract to buy 72 aircraft -- a new variant of the Super Hornet called the Block III -- under a single fixed-price, incentive-fee contract

Just plain awesome.

First things first.  This is just more evidence that the comparison that Mattis commissioned between the Super Hornet and the F-35C was without a doubt won by the Super Hornet.

In my mind that is no longer debatable.  Remember the F-35 is supposed to be going into full rate production by 2019.  If that plane was where its promised to be then the US Navy should be buying that many planes between 2019 and 2021.

You're only talking about a difference of ONE year.]

Full rate production could be shifted to pump out that many F-35C's if they wanted them...so obviously they don't!

Next.

Single fixed price, incentive fee contract?

Boeing is about to put together something real nice for the Navy and will have a price tag that will make Lockheed Martin punch walls.

This will affect the Canadian competition!

The Canucks will be looking at this contract, looking at the F-35C, looking at their budget and will see the light.

So will many of our European allies.

Oh and since the Navy sails the world, has almost as many airplanes as the USAF, does it not make sense to have those same allies fall in on a US Navy contract and supply chain?

The Super Hornet is about to get a huge boost.  The plan to neck down to the F-35 has failed miserably.