Armor Porn. Indonesian Leopard 2's in the jungle!

DRDO - India Arjun Mk II Main Battle Tank

Russian Caspian Flotilla Marines receive BTR-82A

Story via Army Recognition here.

I don't get what the Russians are doing.  They have some fantastic vehicles that are supposedly ready to go but instead they keeping pushing out past gen rigs to their forces.

Why?

Make no mistake about it.  I think the BTR-82A is a serviceable vehicle.  Not up to Western standards but still a deadly foe (I'm personally amazed by the solution they came up with regarding that low profile 30mm turret...very nicely done).  Having said that the Boomerang is thoroughly modern and ready to go. Why haven't they switched to issuing that beast?

We are talking about Russian Marines though and they tend to operate in the "classic" Marine way.  Meaning they're the last to get the latest gear.

Open Comment Post. 6 June 2018

Thanks to Random Reader for the pic!

2nd AABn fires MICLIC

Hammerhead Worm

Bipalium, aka, the Hammerhead Worm is a genus of large predatory land planarians. The are a predatory species that track and feed on earth worms, snails, and slugs. Before the prey can escape the hammerhead worm will attach itself to it by using its muscles as well as gluey secretions which makes escape impossible.

I have no idea where this thing is from but if I had to guess it would be one of two places.

Either the bowels of hell or Australia...which is pretty much the same thing when it comes to wildlife.

F-35's to Turkey is starting to become a real issue...

This thing is becoming interesting.

I've been watching talk of NOT selling Turkey F-35's and thought it was a lot of bluster without real meaning.  Turkey is a partner nation.  The program office can't afford to have 100+ F-35's taken off the books...not now...not when the program is desperate to ramp up to drive down costs.

But apparently this is real.  Check it out from Almasdarnews.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoglu stated on Monday that the U.S.’ hesitancy to sell the F-35 fighter jets has caused friction between the two NATO nations.

“There really is tension between Ankara and Washington over a contract for the delivery of fifth generation fighters, but do not forget that Turkey, even before the contract with Russia, discussed the issue of air defense procurement with its ally,” Cavusoglu stated.

“The US Washington refused to sell them to us. If they are ready to sell such systems to Turkey today, we are ready to buy them,” Cavusoglu said at a meeting organized by the Turkish-American National Coordinating Committee (TASC), as quoted by Anadolu Agency.

Yep.

This is getting good and illustrates the idiocy of international development of weapon systems.  Alliances are always short lived things.  Friends today transform into enemies tomorrow.

Even among allies international weapons development has ALWAYS been painful and rarely fruitful.

The best course has always been for a single nation to develop a system and if it works others will buy it.  Building to committee always fails.

When you add in wild cards like geo-politics of the Middle East and S. Europe and you have nothing but a mess.

Turkey should be sold the F-35.  Bug them, put in kill switches and plant explosives so that they explode mid flight if they head toward a target we don't like...but sell the plane.  If it works like I expect then we can anticipate the Turkish Air Force to be combat ineffective in months.

Italy finally buys the Centauro II.

via Shepard Media.

After years of delay caused by budgetary uncertainty, the Italian Army is expected to sign a contract that will finally kick start low-rate production of the long-awaited Centauro II mobile gun system.

The new tank destroyer – developed by the Iveco-Oto Melara consortium, CIO – was first shown off two years ago at Eurosatory 2016 and a production contract was expected soon after once government approval was received.

But fast forward to June 2018 and a production contract has still not materialised, with Italian lawmakers holding off funding a programme that will cost nearly half a billion euros for the first tranche of vehicles.

An official from the CIO consortium speaking in the lead up to Eurosatory said that despite these delays, the negotiations for low-rate production were now in their advanced stages and a contract for the first 11 vehicles was imminent.

The Italian Army has previously stated a need for 136 vehicles as it sought to begin replacing the legacy Centauro I MGS, although it appears this has since been increased to 148 vehicles across two tranches (74+74).

The industry official said that all acceptance tests for the Centauro II had now been completed. The additional 11 vehicles will be used to fully optimise the vehicle’s capabilities before it goes into full production.

The 8x8 Centauro was developed over 30 years ago for the Italian Army, with its main weapon system being a low-recoil 105mm Hitfact gun turret from Oto Melara (now Leonardo) giving it the same lethality as an MBT.

The new Centauro II features an improved Hitfact Mk 2 turret with a 120/45mm smoothbore gun and integrated muzzle brake. The turret has an ammunition rack for 12 NATO standard 120mm rounds, or if an autoloading system is installed, six in a drum and six in the ammunition rack, which sits in a space that is separated from the crew by ballistic steel.

For additional crew safety, the vehicle can support add-on armour and spall liners for ballistics protection as well as energy absorbing systems on each crew seat for mine protection.

The vehicle can be operated by just a drive and gunner, although space is provided for a gun loader that can assist during missions as the Italian Army operates the vehicle.

As part of its sensor suite, the turret features stabilised sights for the gunner and driver that both have third generation IR channels and daylight TV sensor.

According to information seen by Shephard, the Italian Army configuration will also utilise an extensive C4I suite that will include the SDR VM3 soldier radio (UHF), a HCDR radio (UHF), a SRT-635 SINCGARS radio (VHF) and CNR2000 radio (HF). In addition, it will have a Harris AN/PRC-152 for SATCOM communications and a Guardian H3 IED jammer from Leonardo.

Politics Talk. If this is a trade war, the United States will win

via American Spectator..

Donald Trump is following through on his threat—or promise, as his voters see it—to impose steep tariffs on foreign goods in the name of supporting American industry, starting with levies of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium imports. Allies and neighbors that had been granted temporary exemptions are now set to feel the brunt of the tariffs: Canada is America’s leading source of foreign steel, and Mexico and the European Union will also feel the pain. They’re all threatening to retaliate, and the press is calling this a trade war.

If this is a war, it’s one the United States will win. The thing to keep in mind when reading about retaliation is that the US has trade deficits with all of these countries—as well, of course, with China, which is not one of America’s leading sources of steel but whose state-subsidized steel industry is responsible for depressing prices globally. Because the US buys far more goods from these countries than they buy from us, they stand to lose much more in a tit-for-tat over tariffs. How can China or Canada put tariffs on American goods that they don’t actually buy? They can’t, and what they do buy, while not insignificant, pales before what Americans buy from them.

Story here. 

THIS!

THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT!

When Americans say that we've been carrying the rest of the world's economic growth this is what they're referring to.

This is what I was talking about when I asked foreign readers to explain how these tariffs would affect THEIR countries.  They went on and on about how it was bad for America.  They went on and on about how it was bad for the globe, but they never explained why they would "crush" us if a trade war actually started.

Don't get me wrong.

I know and expect a bit of pain.

It's normal.  Change does not come without a bit of pain.  Whether in the gym or personal finances or even national finances.

My point is simple though.

If Trump is bold enough to follow thru.  If somehow he summons up the courage of his convictions and stays the course...and if the American people don't turn pussy and start whining then we can win big.

That's my opinion. What's yours?

FFG wins contract to supply the Armoured Combat Support Vehicle to Norway

Thanks to Jonathan for the link!

via linkin.

The Norwegian Defense Material Agency (NDMA) has awarded FFG Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH with the contract to supply an Armoured Combat Support Vehicle (ACSV) and upgrades of mobility and protection on their M577 and M113 Family of Vehicles (FOV). The contract award for both is evidence of the trust between the partners, building on the experience of several successful projects.

The ACSV is a multi-role support platform on tracks that will be available as cargo version and as a closed version. The flexible layout of the cargo area allows the use of the ACSV as a carrier for containerized mission kits, e.g. for combat air defence, radars, or electronic warfare, and as cargo transport vehicle. Examples of the closed version variants include Command Post, APC, and Ambulance.

The ACSV is based on the technology of FFG’s PMMC G5 and combines outstanding mobility with a high level of protection for the crew and equipment. FFG has successfully tested the PMMC G5 in the desert and in deep snow conditions.

FFG will have the PMMC G5 on display, together with the WiSENT 2 in Armored Engineering Vehicle (AEV) configuration, at the Eurosatory in Paris booth K658 in hall 6.