Sunday, March 25, 2018
Finnish planes land on a US carrier? Not quite. It's all show pony, no real "go"....
Thanks to Iron V for the link!
via Yahoo News.
This Plane Just Landed on a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier. The Catch: It’s Not AmericanStory here.
On March 17, 2017 in the Atlantic, a fighter jet landed onto the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The only difference this time was that the pilot was Finnish, not American.
Capt. Juha “Stallion” Jarvinen’s landing was the first landing on an aircraft carrier by a Finnish air force pilot in history, according to the U.S. Navy. Jarvinen was flying a U.S. Marine F/A-18C Hornet with Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 as part of a pilot exchange program — also a first between the U.S. Marines and the Finnish air force.
Yahoo's title, not used here, is pure click bait. You see an airplane, in this case an F/A-18C with a Finnish roundel on it and the assumption is that a Finnish fighter did the deed.
Not quite.
It's simply a Finnish exchange pilot flying a US MARINE CORPS fighter that did the deed.
When viewed thru that lens this is nothing new.
So why are they trumpeting this to unknowing members of the mainstream news media?
Because most of those bastards don't know and will simply repeat whatever they're told if the person telling them this shit wears stars.
The amount of utter hatred that I have for the caviar class of journalists increases everyday. Investigative reporting is dead. They're simply mouth pieces for people with agendas.
That's why watching the news coverage out of DC is so frustrating. No one has even the basic knowledge to ask the simplest of questions.
To sum it up.
This shit happens every damn day. The difference? We usually don't put foreign insignia on the planes that the exchange pilots fly.
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Israel's ballistic and cruise missiles
Ya know when you think about it Israel is in a unique position militarily. They are covered when it comes to strategic attack. No hostile nation in the region can credibly risk nuclear war because the response will be so devastating that it will be a pyrrhic (hope I'm using this word correctly) victory AT BEST.
On the conventional side they've demonstrated in the past that they can defeat the combined military power of several countries. That's more than doubly true today.
When it comes down to it the only force in the region that can destroy Israel (besides its own politicians) are the weakest people in the region (well one of several forgotten peoples), the Palestinians.
I find that ironic.
The only people in the region are the same people that are in some ways integrated into the Israeli economy.
Makes ya say Wow when you think about it.
India's quiet defense success story..ASTRA Air-To-Air Missile
via LiveFist.
Instead, India’s state-owned missile maker Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) has already been enlisted to tool up for the Astra. The idea is that by the time the IAF is ready to place bulk orders for the missile beyond the 50 already contracted, a warm production line would have been progressively debugged and ready to churn out Astras on or ahead of schedule.Story here.
“This is to ensure the production line is created quickly so that the final series production Astra comes out without any flaws. The 50 missile order is currently being serviced,” Christopher said.
The Indian Air Force will conduct further tests of the Astra this year and the next as part of a user trial phase before it commits to orders of the final Astra missile. DRDO expects such an order to be in the hundreds, given that the Astra will arm not just the IAF’s Su-30 MKI, but also its upgraded MiG-29s, LCA Tejas and other platforms.
This is good to hear. People discount the real facts when it comes to building a defense industry but from my chair there are a couple of issues to over come.
The first are the interests of those that want to sell you weapons. They'll sell damn near everything but tech transfers are limited...even with Russian or Chinese weapons. Next is the fact that it takes time. The Chinese got supercharged because of idiotic US foreign policy and the greed of our manufacturers. If they weren't "assisted" in the advancement of their industry then they would be BEHIND the Indians today. They were in just that bad shape before Bush-Clinton saved them by opening the door to our markets for stuff manufactured there.
Last there is the usual domestic stuff. Guns or better debates.
It's all a balancing act and while I find covering India's defense industry/procurement to be frustrating it's also understandable. Additionally while I have at time criticized them when they've failed, its only right to cheer when they get it right.
The ASTRA air to air missile seems to be something to cheer about....next I want to see if version 2 can actually come close to meeting Meteor performance...they do that and they'll have cracked the code!
US Army getting even MORE serious about deep strikes!
via Breaking Defense.
The Army’s plan is not just to trade salvos of missiles from a distance, but to combine its long-range artillery with other combat arms in what it calls a multi-domain battle.Story here.
As Maranian and his counterpart for aviation, Brig. Gen. Wally Rugen, explained to me in interviews, long-range artillery will have a symbiotic relationship with airpower. (WTF IS THIS GENERAL THINKING...Air Power advocates seek to dominate and control...a symbiotic relationship is impossible!) Drones will find targets for the artillery, artillery will destroy enemy anti-aircraft systems, and manned aircraft will strike deep through the resulting weak points.
Artillery will also be symbiotic with air and missile defense, Maranian said: “We provide offensive fires, they provide defensive fires.” The artillery will take out enemy aircraft and missiles on the ground — “left of launch” — so the air defenders aren’t overwhelmed by too many incoming threats to shoot down. The air defenders will stop the aircraft and missiles that do launch before they can destroy the Army’s artillery batteries. (It’s even possible that Hyper Velocity Projectiles now in testing could turn regular howitzers into dual-purpose offensive and missile defense weapons).
The artillery will also get targeting data from ground vehicles and foot troops, Maranian said, and provide them supporting fire in return.
In order to move all this data from sensors and spotters across the force to the artillery’s shooters, over long distances despite enemy jamming and hacking, Maranian’s Cross-Functional Team is working particularly closely with Maj. Gen. Pete Gallagher’s CFT for the Army network: “I was just on the phone with (Gallagher) right before we called you,” Maranian said.
In fact, all eight Cross Functional Teams coordinate with each other in weekly video-teleconferences. But the Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, has made very clear that Long Range Precision Fires is the top priority of them all.
Why? Partly that’s because artillery was so badly neglected during the counterinsurgency era, to the point that a 2008 essay by three artillery officers called it a “dead branch walking.” Partly artillery is the top priority because the Army believes it can no longer rely on airpower.
This makes my heart sing.
They're taking baby steps but slowly the generation of Flag Officers that were raised at the knee of Vietnam era warriors are starting to learn the lessons of the now distant past.
You know the past when air supremacy was NEVER guaranteed?
The first highlighted portion is instructive. They want a symbiotic relationship? I believe that's wishful thinking and the influence of air power advocates. They will fight and claw for a seat at the table even though they NOW KNOW they threw it all away with their blind faith in the F-35.
NOTE: Ogden posted a note saying that even the Marine Corps is about to put AESAs in its legacy Hornets....even the Corps' leadership is coming around to the idea that the F-35 will not deliver in the near future...MAYBE long term but in the short term not even close!
The second portion is telling.
Now we're hearing talk of artillery clearing a lane for airpower? That says it all in my book.
The third highlighted portion is just fact.
The ground forces of the United States (and our allies) can no longer count on airpower.
I've been screaming this to the rooftops for years. Good to see leadership FINALLY locking onto something we've all know for quite awhile.
Japanese standing up their Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (Japanese Marines) next Tues!
via Nippon.com
Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force will launch on Tuesday an amphibious rapid deployment brigade regarded as the Japanese version of the US Marine Corps through the GSDF’s largest-ever reorganization in response to China’s growing assertiveness in the East China Sea and tensions on the Korean Peninsula.I consider this good news.
The 2,100-strong force, to be based at Camp Ainoura in Sasebo in the southwestern prefecture of Nagasaki, is expected to play a key role in missions to recapture southern remote islands if they fall into enemy hands.
It will comprise a mainstay amphibious unit and a landing unit to operate assault amphibious vehicles, which are currently used by US Marines. As soon as a remote island is invaded, its troops will be sent to the front line by AAVs and Osprey tilt-rotor transporters the GSDF plans to acquire from the United States.
Also through the structural reform, the GSDF will newly have a general army to oversee its five regional armies across the country for smooth joint operations with the Air SDF and Maritime SDF as well as U.S. forces. The general army’s command will be set up at Camp Asaka, which saddles Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture, and Japan-US joint division at the US Army’s Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.
The GSDF will also revamp its 15 divisions and brigades in stages. Eight of them will be equipped with mobile combat vehicles to enable quick responses to military contingencies, including on the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China.
The Japanese have at least in the modern era been a heavy Air-Sea force and with good reason.
The need to counter Chinese efforts on their outlying islands can only be addressed by putting boots on the ground and I expect the Japanese Marines to be at the forefront of that effort.
Say it till it sticks...Combined Arms wins battles..not air or sea or ground alone. Combined Arms!
With this move the Japanese are well on their way to having a complete military and will become even better partners to the US.
Subscribe to:
Comments
(
Atom
)