Friday, May 18, 2018
Blast from the past. USS Enterprise Class Battle Cruiser (sci-fi)..
Going thru my photo files this morning and ran across this. It's so futuristic steampunk that it baffles the mind.
A helicopter sitting on its flight deck?
CIWS dotting the hull?
The ship itself points to the future but the flourishes practically yell a new steampunk just waiting to be unleashed (I wonder why others aren't doing more of this?).
Taking a moment of fantasy.
Why aren't hypervelocity guns portrayed in sci-fi more often? When I think of powerful space weapons I can see them going before "photon" torpedoes!
USMC to receive its final UH-1Y at the end of 2018...
via Flight Global.
Bell Helicopter is set to finish deliveries of the UH-1Y Venom utility helicopter to the US Marine Corps by the end of 2018.Story here.
The USMC will continue to take deliveries of the Venom’s sister aircraft, the Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter, until 2022.
The Venom and the Viper are based on the Vietnam-era family of Huey helicopters, the UH-1 Iroquois and the derivative AH-1 Cobra. The modern variants share 85 percent of their parts including a common tail boom, engines, rotor system, drivetrain, avionics architecture, software and controls.
“This allows us to reduce our ownership costs and it reduces our footprint on board ships,” said David Walsh, programme manager for the UH-1. “Anytime you are on board a maritime ship space is at a premium.”
Wow. So I guess part of my critique is proving false. WTF am I talking about. The budget trainwreck of course. I was high and to the right about nothing being cleared off the books and everything being pushed to the right.
With deliveries of the UH-1Y ending that means that at least one item is finished and the others can start getting knocked down.
Does that mean we're out of the woods?
Hell no it doesn't!
But it does mean that the problem is being worked which pleases me.
I can hate the plan. I can think they're slow. I can shout at the moon but one thing can't be denied.
They at least have a plan.
If you take the time to read the article you'll also note that they're embarking on a series of upgrades. This also pleases. I'm still wrapping my head around the UAV "benefit thing" but if they can actually make it possible for UAVs to be controlled from UH-1Y's then the load on the Squad Leader might be reduced a bit, he still might get that UAV support and he should be able to focus on fighting his squad and keeping his people alive instead of concentrating on being a sensor node.
I like it.
When HQMC lays out what its doing instead of having us guessing and extrapolating stuff from articles I think they'll find they have massive support just waiting to beat the drum for them.
3/4 running the range @ ITX-18....major league suckage!
 |
| How hot and bright is it? I'm not sure but I'd bet he has a filter on the lens! |
I love the caption that they put on this pic. "Running to the sound of chaos!"
Kinda stirs the soul doesn't it.
Young pups get raging hard ons thinking "Man that shit is cool...I want to do that!".
Of course reality doesn't hit till ya do it.
What does the pic actually show but the uninformed don't get? This pic was taken in the freaking Mojave desert. In case you don't know that region then trust me on this. Full on summer is already there. Sleeves are down. Why? Because if you show those guns you work so hard in the gym to get you'll at best get the worst farmers tan of your life or at worst, sunburned so bad they actually might have to hospitalize you (plus its cooler...never understood that but it is).
More on the desert. It's probably 100 degrees already with bouts of it almost hitting 110.
Then there is the distance to the objective.
I don't know if those are simulated impacts or if they're real deal. Doesn't matter to the infantry. That's where you're going in full gear.
Most here know the deal so I'm not ruining a Recruiters time on the trail (hope you hit your mark...heard they have no sympathy if ya don't) so no foul. But make no mistake. The shit you see above sucks donkey dick.
The weird thing?
This is major league suckage but one of the best times of your life.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
UK to cut its buy of F-35s? This story will not go away....plus more background info on top level discussions!
Thanks to Spinflight for the link!
Via Telegraph.
The British Government is committed to buying 138 F-35 fighter aircraft from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has so far bought 48 aircraft at a cost of £9.1 billion but is now reconsidering its pledge to buy a further 90 F-35s.Story here.
Instead, the Telegraph understands it is looking at purchasing Eurofighter jets, made by a European consortium that includes the UK. The European manufactured jets are currently, on best estimates, about half the price of an F-35.
Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, is publishing a defence review in July, which may cast doubt on the affordability of the further 90 F-35 Lightning II aircraft, the most expensive but technically advanced fighter jet in history.
He has also launched a Combat Aircraft Industrial Strategy, due to report in the summer, which is set to decide the balance of future spending on jet fighters - and whether the UK goes for a predominantly European fighter, despite Brexit, or a US-developed jet.
Something is happening in the UK that bears watching with regard to the F-35. Earlier this week we got a story that the F-35 was gobbling up a huge portion of the UK defense budget.
As usual the F-35 supporters shot it down.
UK readers that frequent this blog shot it down.
Now we have a story with meat on the bones that the UK Defense Minister, a dude that is a rising political star, is considering cutting the extra buy of planes?
But that's not the real kicker.
The Brits are a tier 1 partner. They have access to EVERYTHING! Every ounce of top secret gear in the plane is known to them and they're considering buying more Eurofighters instead of F-35s?
Eyes on the UK military/defense industry folks.
They're the REAL canary in the coal mine.
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Hamas just stepped on the idea of peaceful protests by Palestinians...
via Free Beacon.
A senior Hamas official said Wednesday that 50 of the 62 Palestinians reported killed in riots at the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Monday and Tuesday were members of the Islamist terrorist group.Story here.
"In the last rounds of confrontations, if 62 people were martyred, 50 of them were Hamas," Dr. Salah Albardawil said in an interview with an Arabic news outlet, according to the Times of Israel. Albardawil was responding to a question about Hamas sending kids to die in the border riots as political fodder.
GEEZ!
First Netanyahu spouts that Jerusalem is and will always be the UNDIVIDED capital of Israel starting this nonsense (well at least pouring gas on the fire) and now this Hamas joker practically admits that the rioting was anything but peaceful.
They stepped all on the visuals of protesters being gunned down in a few paragraphs.
It's like the two sides are demanding two fight and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
My first instinct was right.
I support Israel but the Middle East is just one big cesspool. Constant warfare seems like a way of life for them.
If that's right then we need to get out the way and pick up the pieces after the deed is done.
Side note. I'm not vacillating. I'm getting new information and adjusting to it. That's called common sense. If you're driving down the road and you get info over the radio that the road is closed do you find a new route or do you continue on? If you made the adjustment to a new route then its not vascillation it's adapting to changing information. I'm doing that with my views on the protests that turned deadly.
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