How did Ukrainian trainees do this?

Ukrainian drone drops a grenade on a wounded Russian invader

Ukrainian drone drops a grenade on a wounded Russian invader
by u/sunlegion in UkraineWarVideoReport

Did Berger go rogue with Force Design 2030? Compass Points lays out a compelling case that he DID!!!!

 

Did the Commandant Of The Marine Corps go rogue with Force Design 2030? There are compelling reasons to believe he did!

Compass Points - House Flippers and Congress https://t.co/eu88b189jA

— Solomon (@SnafuBlogspot) April 17, 2023

Supporting Ukraine is disrupting European food markets..

 via Stars & Stripes

Slovakia became the third European Union country to ban food imports from Ukraine on Monday, deepening the challenge for the bloc as it works to help Ukraine transport its grain to world markets.

Slovakia followed Poland and Hungary, both of which announced bans Saturday on Ukrainian food imports through June 30. They did so in response to rising anger from farmers who say that a glut of grain in their countries is causing them economic hardship. (NOTE* The EU is particularly sensitive to the plight of its farmers after the massive protests earlier over European climate change regulations/targets that practically gutted their farms)

The EU's executive branch, the European Commission, manages trade on behalf of the 27 member countries and objects to them taking unilateral or uncoordinated measures.

At a briefing in Brussels, two spokespeople stressed gratitude to Poland and other Central European countries for supporting Ukraine, but said a solution must be found that respects the EU legal framework.

"We are dealing with a war, right? And this war has consequences, obviously, on farmers and more generally, the population in Ukraine and the European Union and its member states," said Eric Mamer, chief spokesperson.

Here 

Shit is getting real for Europe now.  It took alot longer than I thought but its hitting.

Let me hit you with this.

Russia is being supplied by China.  If you think they're not providing lethal support then you're not paying attention.  Additionally the Chinese Defense Minister was just in Russia meeting with his counterpart and Putin, the Russian SecState was in Brazil and China is playing nice with neighbors in the Pacific.

We're seeing a full court press on the diplomatic and military fronts.

For all intents and purposes we're beyond the "competition" stage already.

Full bore gray zone activity?

I think so.

Opening moves of WW3?  Possibly.  Historians will have the final say but the drumbeat of war is picking up in my opinion (and that doesn't count what we're seeing in the Middle East - China brokered a peace deal that harvested the return of POWs).

If our leadership ever decides to match its words to action then we will start seeing complete societal mobilization soon.

Sidenote.  I believe Macron's moves indicate that he sees the same and wants to get ahead of the dustup he sees coming.

2nd Battalion, 7th Marines Tests Scout Platoon Capabilities for IBX-30

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, participated in a scout platoon mobile training team event at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, March 20-31.

The training increased the Marines’ knowledge of scouting and reconnaissance fundamentals to test future infantry battalion scout platoon capabilities.

The Marines and Sailors of 1st Marine Division continue to lead the way in Infantry Battalion Experiment 2030, or IBX-30, initiatives. The training the battalion recently completed was another area the Marine Corps is looking to develop more versatile and lethal units to compete in austere environments. The scout platoon transition is also part of a renewed focus on basic reconnaissance and looks to provide ground combat commanders with early indications and warnings, real-time battlefield analysis, and undetected observation of adversary forces.

“A likely vision of warfare centers on the recon/counter-recon contest,” U.S. Marine Gen. David H. Berger, commandant of the Marine Corps, wrote in his 2019 Commandant’s Planning Guidance. “This demands an agile, stealthy, tactical system employing forces that are able to locate, target, and fire precisely first.”

Under the guidance of a mobile training team from Advanced Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry - West, the “War Dogs” of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines went through a challenging program of instruction designed to give the foundational skills expected of a scout platoon member. The course focused on individual reconnaissance skills such as reporting, surveillance, communications, and patrolling. The course also introduced various collective skills on scout employment in the offense and defense.

“The scout platoon mobile training team provided the foundational reconnaissance and surveillance skills that will be required moving forward for the V27 scout platoon,” explained Maj. Neil Simmons, the operations officer for AITB. “As we continue to transition toward this FD2030 concept, these competences will be key factors to our success in future operating environments.”

The 10-day training event included instruction and practical application on all-weather, ground, reconnaissance and surveillance tactics, techniques, and procedures with an emphasis on support to battalion intelligence collections. Throughout the course, the instructor cadre stressed the importance of effectively operating in an all-domain environment to include capabilities not historically found within an infantry battalion.

“2/7’s scout platoon learned how to effectively operate and manage their signature in a multi-domain environment, to include the electromagnetic spectrum, while also integrating enhanced technical capabilities such as ground sensors and special intelligence/electronic warfare teams,” said Capt. Mike Larson, the company commander for Weapons Company, 2nd Bn., 7th Marines. “The training allows our scout platoon to assist the commander’s decision-making ability and also extend the battlefield through employment of small unmanned aerial systems.”

Scout platoon integration is the most recent step in the IBX-30 evaluation process. With an organic scout platoon, along with other integrated units, weapons, and skillsets, future infantry battalions can provide more versatile, more experienced, and more lethal forces to commanders around the world.

Wow.

Are they trying to bitch up each Infantry Bn to the point to where they're their own "self contained" ground combat element?

FD2030 once implemented will mean that the USMC no longer has a ground offensive capability.

Have you not noticed that in all the experiments we're hearing about they're not talking about offense?  When they do (only that Marine Gunner talked about offensive ops) it appears (from my chair) to be highly scripted.

The biggest complaint I heard about Scout Snipers was that the average Marine Infantry Officer just didn't know what to do with them and that they would disappear doing their own thing.

Instead of jacking up a world class organization perhaps they should have done more work on Officer education.

ROMEO-M17 pistol mounted red dot sight, developed from the ground up for the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System

Story here.  Don't know if "big" Army will foot the bill for red dots for conventional forces but as far as SOCOM is concerned those bubbas are gonna buy the fanciest, highest priced option available...I hear the ARCO is real popular with the SEAL Teams now but haven't seen any visual proof.  As far as the Sig is concerned I just don't see how they won the contest.  If you go to the Reddit Sig page you'll see all kinds of problems.  A Modular gun up to a POINT is good but from some of the issues I'm seeing they might have gone a step too far.

 

South Korea plans to build three “arsenal ships” capable of carrying 80 ballistic missiles by end of 2020s

via Reddit
Republic of Korea Navy has reportedly selected Daewoo Shipbuilding & Engineering (DSME) to design its future arsenal ships on 11 April 2023.

Locally known as “Joint Firepower Vessel (합동화력함),” three arsenal ships are expected to enter service with the ROKN by late 2020s. They’re expected to displace around 5~8,000 tons and armed with up to 80 ballistic missiles, CIWS, torpedos, and other defensive armaments.

ROKN’s future arsenal ships are similar in deign to US Navy concept devised in the 90s, though its operating concept will be and operational environment will be quite different from what USN envisioned. Designed solely for land attack mission,arsenal ships are a practical solution that will address current shortcomings faced by South Korean kill chain and massive retaliation networks.

Despite possessing a large inventory of Hyunmoo-series conventional land-attack ballistic and cruise missiles, South Korea reportedly possesses only around 60+ transporter erector launchers (TEL). These specialized launch vehicles are expensive, maintenance & manpower heavy, require lengthy reload period, and vulnerable to North Korean attacks. With current TEL inventory, it is impossible to launch mass missile salvo that is required in the initial stage of the war against North Korea.

The arsenal ship will address this shortcoming by providing a relatively low-cost, mobile, and survivable launch platform capable of mass salvo fire at a moment’s notice. South Korea is currently undertaking a massive effort to consolidate its strategic strike & missile defense assets under a single umbrella of the ROK Strategic Command slated to become online in 2024. These arsenal ships will likely fall under its operational control.

Although these arsenal ships are extremely vulnerable against modern anti-ship threats posed by adversaries like China, they are being designed exclusively for a North Korean contingency. They will operate far from reaches of North Korean coastal defense cruise missiles and submarines, likely in relative safety of South Korea’s southern coastline or far off the Easter coastline.

The ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff initially identified arsenal ships as part of its long-term procurement plan in 2018. Once DSME completes conceptual design this year, arsenal ships will become part of next year’s mid-term procurement plan and undergo necessary procurement procedures.

I cannot properly describe how much this frustrates me.  Not that the S. Koreans are running full speed ahead with the Arsenal Ship Concept, but that we had these YEARS AGO and did nothing with it.

So many awesome ideas that would be helpful (refuse to call anything a game changer anymore UNLESS it actually is!) in a fight with China.

Imagine if we had one of these ships assigned to every Carrier Battle Group!

Whether the fight is at land or sea we would have tremendous long range striking power regardless of weather!

Instead we're left with these middle powers (S. Korea, Poland, Turkey and others...really like what the French are doing if you ignore their politics) rapidly gaining because they have the ability to step beyond their military complex (which includes generals) to grab hold of evolutionary power that is well within our grip.

Ya know when we ALL saw the start of our decline when it comes to advancements?

When we lost our ability to imagine.

During the 50's and 60's you saw all kinds of advancements being attempted.

Many times the tech was beyond reach but we tried.  Today our defense industry is like our movie industry.  They're building the same shit just putting a new spin on it, calling it fantastic because its slightly different but at the end of the day you see very little forward movement (some of you freaks will point to FD2030..that is an evolutionary step BACKWARDS to an FMF that is totally defensive...more precisely it is an admission of failure).

Patria - Protected Mobility and Defence Systems

 

EU is removing the link between winning in Ukraine and deterring China...

The EU is under pressure from the US to take a tougher stance on China's strategic expansion in Southeast Asia. However, European leaders say they want to avoid being seen as an extension of Washington.https://t.co/dTqXlZ2Sxv

— DW News (@dwnews) April 11, 2023

Amazing.

Macron said out loud what was obviously percolating behind the scenes.

The EU has been talking the good talk about how winning in Ukraine is important in the fight (upcoming) against China.

It seems that the truth is much different from their press releases.

Which leaves me with this.

If Ukraine and the fight against China aren't linked (which I've long stated), then isn't it time to prioritize our own interests especially since the EU is apparently doing the same?

Told ya so, but you didn't want to believe your own eyes with regard to corruption in Ukraine...

 

Hersh: CIA Knows Zelensky & Top Generals Are Skimming Hundreds Of Millions In US Aid https://t.co/NP9raudlEL

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 13, 2023

Told ya so. The mysterious thing is that despite the leaks, the White House, Congress and the Pentagon is full speed ahead with even more AID!