Brazilian army takes delivery of the 300th Guarani armored vehicle

Story at Army Recognition.

By any measure this has been a wildly successful program for the Brazilian Army and Marine Corps as well as for Iveco Defense.

What I can't wrap my brain around is why we haven't seen more sales of this vehicle.

It's a winner, hits the sweet spot for size/weight and appears to be affordable.  Considering the push and pull we're seeing over future recon vehicles the Guarani would seem to check every box.  Big enough for a sophisticated observation mast, could carry onboard UAVs and most importantly from a Marine perspective the damn thing can swim.

Considering the obvious commonality with the Super Av I can't believe that no one has shouted about the possibility of making LAR's next ride the Guarani....especially if the BAE/Iveco offering wins the ACV contest.

Let me take another swing at explaining why I don't cover India & deal with the India bashing from yesterday's post...

Let's talk India bashing and why I don't cover them as much as some would like.

Everyone needs to remember that it was in response to an article that reported that the Indian Army declared much of it's equipment to be obsolete and that they weren't ready for war.

I remarked how stunning that was considering the recent dust up with China. The bluster that I heard from the Indian side was beyond interesting.  It bordered on the almost arrogant.  While I agreed that the Indians would give China all it could handle and more that wasn't good enough for some.

I heard outright declarations that the Indians would curb stomp China and would win even if it escalated.  The impression I got was that included into the realm of nuclear war.

So to hear that from the Indian Army gobsmacked me.

As with all the posts I do on this blog, readers commented and many were anything but subtle in their criticism of Indian procurement.

I can't blame them.  I've been beyond frustrated in my attempts to cover them.  How long have we heard of the Tejas fighter?  How many stops and starts have we had?  What about the Arjun?  The purchase of the Rafales from France?  Their toying with buying Super Hornets, the idea of a production line for F-16s and other deals?

You know how I've railed against the F-35, you know how I've bitched about what I consider the delayed ACV purchase and many other projects worldwide.

But when it comes to India there is always smoke but no fire.

After a certain point you say I'll get to it when I see something concrete.

I don't know how to make it anymore clear.  I have nothing against India but even they admit that their procurement is fucked up from the floor up.

As far as the bashing is concerned.

Alot of it is in the eye of the beholder.  I haven't monitored the conversation on that post but I'll swing thru this morning to see what was said. 

Don't get me wrong.  I know for a fact I have racists that read this blog.  I know for a fact that I have trolls here that will take any opportunity to post offensive shit just for giggles.

But I also know that uncomfortable truths are uncomfortable truths and while they might sting if you're the particular party being discussed it doesn't make it any less true.

The point of all this?

I received an e-mail complaining about that blog post.  He wanted to know who posted that link to the article and the circumstances regarding the conversation (I assume he thinks it was given in the open comments section).

Well I got it via e-mail and I decided to run with it because I considered it important.

As far as the comments?  I will police them but if they don't cross the line they'll stay up.

No hate on India but no special treatment either.  If your Ministry of Defense is fucking up then I'll call balls and strikes.  Just the facts.  Nothing else.

Open Comment Post. March 16, 2018

2020 Bronco is hinted to be the same as the concept....

Remember the Ford Bronco Concept that we saw a few years ago?  Everyone including me was raving about it (less since...its sized like the first gen, not the second...back to a direct Jeep competitor?).

Well we got our first teaser pic of the 2020 Bronco and it looks like it's gonna be very close to the concept that most people loved.

I just don't know.  If it's gonna be jeep sized then why not just buy a jeep? The gen one is a classic but in my opinion the Bronco came into its own and became ICONIC because of gen 2.  I'll wait to see how this turns out.

Story here.

It begins in Australia. Accusations of pork barrel spending w/regard to the Boxer CRV selection...

via The Australian.

One of Rheinmetall’s selling points had been a promise to build the vehicles at Redbank just west of Brisbane.

The announcement infuriated the Victorian government, which had hoped the contract would be awarded to a BAE Systems proposal that would have involved assembling its Patria vehicles at Holden’s former manufacturing plant at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne. The bid would also have involved supply-chain company Marand looking to build the Patria’s hulls and turret shells in Geelong where the state government hoped about 60 jobs could be created for former car workers.

Victorian Premier Daniel ­Andrews took to Twitter blasting the decision and referencing the fact the Liberal National Party had nine marginal seats in Queensland.

“We were best placed to build these vehicles that would defend our nation — but we couldn’t provide the electoral boost that would defend Malcolm Turnbull’s ­career,” he said.

Frustrated Victorian Industry and Employment Minister Ben Carroll described the decision as purely political.

“This is a disgraceful decision that is based on the political interests of Dan Tehan and Malcolm Turnbull, not the national security interests of our country,’’ he said.

Story here. 

Interesting.

I don't know Australian politics but I've heard from Australian readers over and over and one thing both boosters and critics of the Boxer have agreed on.

Where the damn thing would be built would play a role.

Am I surprised?

Nope.

The F-35 led the way with this filthy business so I would expect others to follow thru.

What can we expect now?

A hiring spree so that jobs can be linked to the project to make it cancel proof.  I would even expect expedited production if things start to look iffy.

Welcome to the brave new defense procurement world.

It ain't about the defense of a nation, its about votes and jobs, taxpayer cost be damned.

India Army says its equipment is obsolete and not ready for war...

Thanks to Jonathan for the link!

via atimes.com

While the Indian Army has stated on record that 68% of its war fighting equipment is obsolete, the report has an even more disturbing fact. “Every year the military has to allocate a large part of its capital budget to pay for old and ongoing projects. This is known as the ‘Committed Liability.’ The actual amount left for new purchases is about 10% to 12%. But this year we have noticed that the Indian Army is actually facing a deficit,” a member of the committee told Asia Times on condition of anonymity. The budget, which was presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Feb. 1, has allocated less than even the ‘Committed Liability’ for past projects. “This is shocking,” the member said.

Former military chiefs agree that this has never happened before. “We have always had shortages in the capital budget. But this time, we noticed that the capital budget is actually short by Rs80 billion,” a senior Indian Army official familiar with the issue told Asia Times. “This means, that not only do we not have money to pay for new projects, we don’t even have money to pay for the ongoing ones.”

Lieutenant General Chand told the Committee that the “Allocation of Rs213.38 billion for modernization is insufficient even to cater for committed payments of Rs290.33 billion for 125 on-going schemes, emergency procurements…”

Interestingly, this budgetary deficit comes at a time when political rhetoric over the Modi government’s security policies are at their highest. The much-publicized “surgical strikes” by the Indian Army’s Special Forces in September 2016 and the 78-day stand-off with China at Doklam last year raised expectations. Frequent stories leaked to the media that the Indian Army made emergency purchases to address critical shortages was an attempt to paint the picture of an efficient government.

In fact, the government also actively aided books and films in an attempt to establish that its strategy against its adversaries was working. However, the standing committee’s report is a stark reminder of the actual state of India’s military.

Story here. 

Wow. This is stunning especially concerning their latest standoffs against China and their perpetual "almost" state of war with Pakistan.

Is this a money play?

I'm not sure but this is another example of why I don't cover India as much as many would like.

I just don't understand the place.

On one hand they're a nuclear power, on the other hand they give their troops substandard (recently corrected) battle rifles.

They're all over the map on procurement, every other day you hear of a new purchase and then its canned out of the blue.

I can only wish them well and hope they sort things out.


NOTE!!!!  It's not my intention to start a "bash" India blog post.  It IS my intention to bring attention to why I don't cover defense issues in that country the same way I do in others.  It's just been my observation that so many projects are started, stopped, re-started and then canceled again that its become extremely frustrating and I'd rather leave it to India military blogs to fill in the gaps rather than try and do it myself.  My point?  There is no point except to say again that this was not intended to be a bash India blog post.

LAV on the beach...pic by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Michael McNabb

120mm Mortar is gone from the Marine Corps...

via IHS Janes

The US Marine Corps (USMC) has phased out its General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GDOTS) 120 mm Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS), an official revealed at the Omega Conferences & Events Mortar Systems conference held in Bristol, United Kingdom.

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Butler, Indirect Fire Capabilities Integration officer at the USMC’s Combat Development and Integration, explained that the decision to phase out the EFSS included concerns about the time required to load and unload from the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, as well as the reliability of the Internally Transported Vehicles (ITVs) which tow and transport the 120 mm mortar and its associated ammunition.

The EFSS comprises the French TDA MO 120 RT 120 mm rifled mortar which is designated the M327, a suite of ammunition, and two ITVs, plus a Light Strike Vehicle for command and control (C2) and fire-direction control (FDC).

The ITV-Prime Mover (ITV-PM) tows the mortar and its crew while the ITV-Ammunition Trailer (ITV-AT) carries the 120 mm projectiles, charges, and fuzes, with 36 rounds typically carried.

Lt Col Butler noted that the remaining stock of 120 mm ammunition cannot be passed to the US Army as it operates smoothbore mortars. He added that the EFSS will be assigned to the USMC’s Basic School to provide training in call for fire/fire-support applications until the ammunition stockpile is expended.

The USMC also fields 60 mm and 81 mm mortars at the rifle company and battalion levels respectively, as well as the BAE Systems 155 mm/39 calibre M777A2 lightweight towed howitzers (LTH) which replaced the heaver 155 mm/39 calibre M198. A total of 478 M777A2 LTHs have been acquired, with 370 operational guns and 108 kept in reserve.

Most of the time I either cheer or bitch and whine about a decision.

On this one I'm at a loss.

Does anyone know the rationale behind this?  What are they thinking?  Is it simply a cost cutting move, they decided that this was ineffective or that it duplicated what we have with the 155?

I just don't know but sure wonder....

Patrolling Exercise conducted by 1/3 Marines....pics by Lance Cpl. Trevor Rowett

26th MEU, Romanian Naval Forces Conduct Amphibious Assault & MOUT training @ Exercise Spring Storm 18...pics by Staff Sgt. Dengrier Baez