USAF not cutting the F-35...pushing down costs instead....

via Breaking Defense.

The Air Force does not plan to cut its planned purchase of 1,763 F-35As — in fact, it’s not even not considering doing so — but it is pushing hard to bring down the sustainment costs of Lockheed Martin‘s prize program, the Air Force Chief of Staff told reporters this morning.

“We are all very concerned about sustainment costs,” Gen. Dave Goldfein told the Defense Writers Group. That “we” includes Ellen Lord, the head of Pentagon acquisition, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. Lord, who said in January the F-35 was unaffordable at current sustainment cost levels, and Shanahan both boast long careers in the defense industry and “know how this business works,” Goldfein said.

Story here.

Simply amazing.

Dude does not refute in anyway the story that talked about the NEED to cut 500 plus fighters if cost can't be cut, instead he throws up a strawman and says that the USAF DOES NOT PLAN to cut fighters!

Just plain wow.

This won't be a planned cut, it will be a budget mandated cut!

The crazy thing?

From my reading of the document the sustainment costs being talked about doesn't even include UPGRADING TO FULL COMBAT CAPABILITY the planes already bought!

This program is dead man walking!

They've played every card in the deck but the deck has finally run out and reality is about to set in.

But they know that and they're turning to even if they won't admit it.

The US Army is already buying/investing in air defense.  It's like they know that the USAF won't be able to provide close air support, defend against aerial attacks on our ground forces and do the deep strike mission. 

The US Navy is buying Super Hornets and has finally bit on a SLIGHTLY watered down Advanced Super Hornet variant.  They still talk about buying a few F-35C's but with that model being the most rare/most expensive I expect that funding to be zeroed out and decks filled with Super Hornets and initially refueling tankers later to be upgraded to attack/ISR/refuel variants.

Even the USMC is looking at a plan B   in the form of a Super UAV that can take off vertically, perform close air support, escort the MV-22 and do ISR for the fleet.

The F-35 fanboys said there was no plan B?  As usual it looks like they were full of shit.  Plan B's are all over the place and they're moving with speed.

The only thing that has remained constant with the F-35 is the fact that its making a shit load of money for Lockheed Martin, stalling real defense programs that add real benefits to the US/allies and the talking point from leadership that all is well.

Everything else is in flux.

Open Comment Post. March 30, 2018

THE AERMACCHI M-346FA: Multirole Master....future best seller?

via Leonardo.

A low-cost tactical solution

The M-346FA, the low-cost multirole master, was developed from the M-346's AJT advanced training version already in service with the Italian, Israeli, Polish and Singapore Air Forces. In comparison with the latter, the FA version's unique features consist of the upgraded avionics and the two additional wing tip hardpoints (seven in total) in order to have two air-to-air missiles, maintaining at the same time the full dual role capability and the entire extremely advanced Integrated Training System.

The M-346FA will be equipped with a DASS (Defensive Aid Sub System) self-defence system, which includes a Radar Warning Receiver, a Chaff and Flare dispenser as well as a Missile Approach Warning System, with six sensors and a comprehensive 360° protection against any missile threat. The aircraft will be safely able to exchange in real time all the tactical data thanks to a dedicated Tactical Data Link according to the NATO Link 16 or other standards.

A key on board attribute will be the pulse-doppler multimode radar GRIFO-346, produced by Leonardo's Airborne & Space Systems Division. This radar is specifically optimised for the M-346FA and originates from the Grifo family that, with over 450 units sold worldwide, represents a great commercial success.

The M-346FA’s cost per flying hour is 80% lower compared to a heavier and more expensive fighter used for close air support missions.

Source here. 

Considering the cost of the F-35 and other modern fighters the light weight multi-role is gonna make a comeback.

The M-346FA is one of the best examples but on a higher and a bit more costly plain would be the Gripen.

Contenders for Brit MIV Program...

Hmm.

Eyeballing this thing I think  the ST Kinetics Terrex 3 and the Patria AMV-XP should be the top dogs.

The reality?

It's probably Boxer's to lose with the GD LAV 700 being promoted to compete against it in down select.

The pity?

The Brits could go their own way and bring into service a paradigm breaking vehicle.  They won't so Boxer will win despite being older than many of the vehicles its going against.

Romania is weaker than/rated lower than Ethiopia....

via Business-review.eu

Romania is considered to be the 42nd military power in the world, just after Colombia and Ethiopia, but ranks better than all its neighbors with the exception of Ukraine, according to Newsweek, which uses globalfirepower.com data.

Romania has 72,750 military personnel and its military strength relies on 134 military aircraft (out of which 31 attack aircraft and 68 helicopters), 827 combat tanks, 1,456 armored fighting vehicles, 413 units of towed artillery, 188 rocket projectors and 48 naval assets (including 3 frigates and 7 corvettes).

Weaker than Ethiopia.

But better than its neighbors with the exception of Ukraine?

Parts of Europe are a defense mess!

My suggestion?  Forget trying to build forces that resemble their larger neighbors.  Build enabling infrastructure and light infantry that can fight in built up areas.  Forget armor and aircraft and focus on anti-tank and anti-air systems.

They're different and rebuilding after Communism.  If the big countries won't help then they have to build a different type force that can hold on till help arrives (assuming the Russians do decide to invade).

Open Comment Post. March 29, 2018

Hamas Mobilizes 30,000 Terrorists for Military Drill

via NewsMax

Despite a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Hamas carried out a two-day, large-scale military drill in Gaza earlier this week featuring 30,000 terrorist operatives, according to a Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center report.

Operatives from across Hamas' military wing — including air, land, and sea units — participated in the military exercises, demonstrating the terrorist organization's efforts to improve interoperability among its various components.

Fighters practiced attacking armored vehicles depicting IDF tanks, while test firing missiles into the Mediterranean Sea. Hamas also deployed drones with "Ababil" markings — one of Iran's signature unmanned aerial vehicles.

Story here. 

Climbing on my soapbox so bear with me.

This is where the SOCOM/Small Wars/Terrorism forever got it so wrong.

Quite honestly SOCOM and the Small Wars crowd are building forces to deal with terror cells in Western Countries.

A SEAL Platoon, or a Special Forces A-Team can successfully engage up to probably 50 man (depending on how they're equipped) terror formations.

The problem?

Terrorist have morphed.

SOCOM along with their sycophants in the Marine Corps are trying to make a terror/small wars fight part of the effort to block and eventually engage China while continuing the fight they're in.

IT CAN'T WORK!

Terrorist now are challenging AND BEATING nation state armies across the board.  Hell they're built like conventional military forces!

The future that we should see is MARSOC and Army Rangers take the lead in the fight against these modern day terrorist and deploy in at least COMPANY SIZED formations and in some cases larger.

We've already seen fights where a Ranger or MARSOC Battalion would be better suited to the fight than SEAL or Green Berets.

If you don't believe me then do a solid search on Hamas' order of battle.  You'll see that they now operate a force that has every tool a nation state army has.

Plus there is the terrible truth that SOCOM fan boys will never admit but has been known for DECADES.

Special Operations Forces are vulnerable to conventional forces.

Side note.  Israel is screwed.  If even a quarter of that force is fanatical and if they can properly martial them, they can't destroy the Jewish state but they can cause enough mayhem to make the 2015 French Terror Attacks look like a nice night out.

Air Force Risks Losing Third of F-35s If Upkeep Costs Aren't Cut

via Bloomberg

The U.S. Air Force may have to cut its purchases of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 by a third if it can’t find ways to reduce operations and support costs by as much as 38 percent over a decade, according to an internal analysis.

The shortfall would force the service to subtract 590 of the fighter jets from the 1,763 it plans to order, the Air Force office charged with evaluating the F-35’s impact on operations and budgets, in an assessment obtained by Bloomberg News.

While the Defense Department has said it has gained control over costs for developing and producing a fleet of 2,456 F-35s for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps -- now projected at $406 billion -- the internal analysis underscores the current and looming challenges of maintaining and operating the warplanes.

Story here.

Hey F-35 fanboys!

Get this thru your thick skulls!

This fight ain't over and what you're seeing above is the outcome that MANY before have been predicting for OVER A DECADE!

What they're saying in a politically correct way is that the DEATH SPIRAL is coming.

Oh the program office has delayed things, played games and fudged the books on this thing but the reality is simple.

The F-35 is too damn expensive.

The rebound effect is gonna be stunning too.  The USAF cuts its buys then the allies planes go up in price, they're too expensive now so that vaunted "cost curve" will NEVER be pushed down.

LCAC coming aboard USS Wasp...pics by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michael Molina

How the US Marine Corps Pacific helped Japan build a Marine Corps....

via Atimes.co

When the 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck, the Japanese Self-Defense Force’s lack of an amphibious unit cost lives. When the US Marines’ 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit landed on Oshima island in Operation Tomodachi, reformers among the Ground Self Defense Force ensured that the Japanese media were there to see it.

But after that operation wound down, momentum for an amphibious unit evaporated. Fortunately, some things happened.

A group of Pacific-based US Marines had been angling for years to place an officer in Tokyo, where he would have the freedom and latitude to explain and promote the Marine Corps – and better yet – create a Japanese amphibious capability. GSDF reformers had wanted a US Marine in place as early as 2009, but US Marine Corps bureaucracy is difficult.

Finally in mid-2011, a major at the Marine Forces Pacific headquarters in Honolulu wrangled an agreement from both sides to place a liaison officer at the GSDF’s Ground Research Development Center on the outskirts of Tokyo. This was where the Japanese Army thought up new ideas – and was far enough from GSDF Headquarters in Ichigaya to attract no attention.

The colonel assigned was yours truly. Having lived in Japan for 20 years, I knew the key reformers and had been recalled to active duty for Operation Tomodachi, so it made sense to stick around.

In fact, assigning a Marine to the JSDF in Tokyo was so sensitive the GSDF asked that we not tell anyone: A US Marine helping Japan assemble an amphibious capability would have been the worst kind of news. Alliance managers on both sides would have howled.

Even sensible people on both sides said an amphibious capability was impossible. It conjured up images of Japan’s World War II invasions and was deemed “offensive” and so was claimed by leftist politicians – inaccurately, it turned out – to be unconstitutional.

There were three main reasons for an amphibious JSDF. First, it was an essential capability to defend Japan’s southern islands, and when the next natural disaster hit, would save lives. Second, it would force JSDF services to cooperate – thus addressing JSDF’s fundamental weakness. Third, it would make the JSDF a more useful ally.

We weren’t looking to transform the JSDF and we didn’t want a separate “Marine Corps.” An amphibious team would be enough. To make it relevant, we described what sort of amphibious force was required to defend Japan’s southern islands – and how to bring it about.

We pointed out that JSDF already had 90% of the hardware, but none of the know-how – they’d forgotten everything they’d learnt in the Pacific War. US Marines could provide that. JSDF needed to reorganize what they already had. And it wasn’t expensive.

I put these ideas into a 4,000-word paper – and injected it into the GSDF/JSDF bloodstream via certain reformers. It was nothing they didn’t know, but a foreigner saying these things provided cover.

A colonel at the Ground Research Development Center was the key player. He arranged GRDC study trips to Okinawa and Sasebo to see the Marine/Navy amphibious team. Riding in an amphibious assault vehicle in the ocean is nauseating – so why did we push GSDF to buy them? Aside from being a useful vehicle, using it would force the GSDF and MSDF to cooperate.

Other GSDF groups (with a few Japanese Navy and Air Force tagging along) went to Okinawa and Sasebo. They returned converted.

GSDF Chief of Staff Eiji Kimizuka was a long-time acquaintance. He needed little convincing and made amphibious capability a top priority, having seen the Americans in action during Operation Tomodachi. His deputy, Lt-General Koichiro Bansho, was the principal GSDF reformer.

Things fell into place.

Story here. 

THIS IS A GREAT STORY AND A MUST READ!

I love reading stuff like this.  Oh and you heard it here first.  Amphibious Brigade?  Naw, this will be a full fledged Marine Corps is just over a decade...I'd bet body parts on it!