Boeing YC-14 and McDonnell Douglas YC-15 1977 US Air Force; from “Aerospace Power”

Always was a huge fan of the YC-14...would have made an ideal C-130 replacement!

UK Air Component Commander made a tweet about donning protective gear to defeat Daesh...what brought that on?

If the threat dictates, our personnel will don Personal Protective Equipment and carry weapons. A lot of the PPE issued is maintained by our Survival Equipment Technicians 😎

Our teams operate in a safe, but swift manner. 👊Every role plays its part to #DefeatDaesh 🤝 pic.twitter.com/Mw55pTF0zT

— Air Cdre Simon Strasdin (@UKACCMiddleEast) July 4, 2021

Happy 4th Of July!

Battle of Savo Island 1942: America's Worst Naval Defeat

 

Tata Motor's Indoor Fighting Vehicle...

 

Story here.

Another unit bites the dust...VMM-166 Final Flight

 

The flagship aircraft with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 166, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, touches down following the final flight of the squadron on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, June 30, 2021. VMM-166 conducted its final flight in preparation for deactivation in accordance with Force Design 2030, which is a plan that will ensure the Marine Corps is prepared to stand as the nation’s naval expeditionary force-in-readiness.

You wanted a post on the F-35? How about I paraphrase Cpl Frisk...

 via Cpl Frisk (read it all here)

The point about staying in service further resonates with the product support question. ALIS gets good points, the maintenance system is modern and simple, and the large number of both fighters produced in general and European operators in particular ensure cooperation opportunities in both training and operational usage.

ALIS gets good points?  Do I really need to dig in here?  ALIS is a joke and a disgrace.  The idea that Lockheed Martin and the USAF were able to sell this thing as being good to go is a sin.

 I could write a long-winding paragraph about it, but Steve Trimble summed it up perfectly in 280 characters:

There is, I admit, a cognitive dissonance between what USAF chief of staff & HASC chairman say about F-35A's operating cost and evaluation results in international tenders, and I'm not quite able to explain it without access to comparable data from European fighters.

— Steve Trimble (@TheDEWLine) July 1, 2021

No need to dig in here.

Something is WAAAAAY off.  The USAF is supplementing the F-35 with additional buys of the F-15.  That practically says it all.

 There is a significant difference between those struggling with whether to upgrade early blocks and export customers now jumping aboard and getting what presumably will be TR-3 hardware (slated for introduction in 2023) from the start. Especially considering the significant maturity the program has achieved in the past few years it is likely that the maintenance and operating costs will continue on a downward spiral.

However, the GAO isn't overly impressed, and while originally deliveries from 2026 should have been Block 4, that standard is pushed back, and GAO isn't sure that the current schedule will hold either.

In 2020, the program added a year to its Block 4 schedule and now expects to extend Block 4 development into fiscal year 2027. We found, however, that the program office did not formulate its revised schedule based on the contractor’s demonstrated past performance. Instead, the schedule is based on estimates formulated at the start of the Block 4 effort, increasing the likelihood that the scheduled 2027 completion date is not achievable.

The Swiss are a brave lot.  The US military is facing flat budgets and you can bet that as soon as the Next Generation Fighter is ready to go then money will be SHOVED into that program as fast as possible.

It might be worse than even I imagine because they're looking at a family of aircraft and the US military is getting big into unmanned systems.

The F-35 might NOT EVER achieve Blk 4 status.

 This difference is evident in the DSCA-notices as well, were the Swiss DSCA-notification include a grand-total of 40 AIM-9X Sidewinders, 12 Mk 82 500-lb bombs with JDAM-guidance kits, and 12 SDB-II small glide-bombs. You do not fight a war with that kind of stock, although the possibility to carry on the weapons currently used by the Hornets are there. As has been discussed for Finland, the weapons and spares bought will be a huge part of the overall acquisition costs, suddenly making the 8.2 Bn EUR Swiss pricetag look less than stellar (although granted the Swiss DSCA-notification included more spare engines compared to the Finnish bid). Comparing costs is a case of apples against pears against olives with the occasional mango thrown into the mix, but the resulting smoothie evidently tastes like Finland won't be able to acquire and operate 64 F-35As at Swiss prices.

More confusingly, if that is 20% cheaper than everything else, there's some serious discrepancies between what the Swiss asked for and the five packages offered to Finland for 9.6 Bn Euros.

Read Cpl Frisk's entire article.  He lays it out quite well and deserves better than me parsing out his statements.

Long story short?

Quite honestly this win is not impressive.

The Swiss aren't serious about warfighting with this package and even if they are the US has signalled to all involved that its going a different way.

The USMC is cutting its purchase.  You can bet the USN will follow suit and so will the USAF.

The F-35 will have a truncated service life in the US military and most of its "active duty time" will be spent in development, not in operation.

This plane is a failure. 

It's marketing genius.

I guess we've found the reality of things.  Marketing can make up for a bad product as long as you develop a few "true believers". 

Open Comment Post. 3 July 2021

 

Two Rheinmetall questions... (1) Why isn't the KF31 selling? & (2) Are they even offering it anymore?

 

Arquus Defense "Hornet" Remote Weapon Station...

 

via Press Release.

Hornet presents its Remote-Controlled Weapon Stations  for the first time in France at SOFINS 2021 

The 2021 edition of SOFINS is the opportunity for Hornet to present its range of Hornet  remote-controlled weapon stations, already chosen by the French Army to equip its  new generation of combat vehicles, the Griffon, Jaguar and Serval.  

Within the framework of the exhibition, Hornet wishes to contribute in its own way to  the reflection on the evolution of the equipment of Special Forces vehicles. This  reflection is done today by inviting discussion on the relevance of modern tools such  as remotely operated turrets for Special Forces units, both in France and abroad.  

The remote-controlled weapon stations of the Hornet range are very versatile products, combining  an effector and latest generation sensors. This makes them the tool of choice for observation,  reconnaissance and intelligence, but also for information sharing, blue/red force tracking,  designation of enemy targets and indirect fire guidance. It can be a tool of choice for search patrols  or deep attack groups, complementing traditional Special Forces skills. 

In the configuration presented at SOFINS, the Hornet turret offers unique performance in a very  limited space, with a weight of only 260 kg for the turret without its options. This weight limitation  makes it possible to consider using it for long-range, autonomous missions with limited equipment  and ammunition. The Hornet turrets are also incomparably more accurate than a circular-mounted  weapon, particularly in movement. They are gyro-stabilised from the optronic unit, which gives them  exceptional stability and accuracy. The probability of hitting on the first shot is enhanced by a  sophisticated ballistic solution calculation system that takes into account various parameters such  as weapon, ammunition type, range, target movement and vehicle behaviour. These different  capabilities allow for the reduction of ammunition carriage where necessary, while still allowing for  superior tactical effects. 

Designed for conventional forces as part of the Scorpion programme, the Hornet RCWS can be  adapted to the very specific employment framework of Special Forces, respecting the essence of  Special Forces: using equipment in a different way to carry out their own missions.  

Building on the experience of the Scorpion programme RCWS, Hornet now offers high-end remotely  operated weapons systems with the most advanced technologies and capabilities. The current  offering includes the Hornet, the flagship product of the new range, and the Hornet Lite, a lighter  version with the same optronic systems. These RCWS fully enhance the capabilities of the vehicles  equipped with them, taking them to fully new operational levels. All Hornet RCWS users will benefit  from the feedback and possible upgrades to the range.