Open Comment Post. 23 May 23

 

Japanese Type-16 MCV Recon variant?

Thanks to J Palisbo for the link!

共通戦術装輪車（偵察型） pic.twitter.com/P0sMYiFgRY

— かっつぁん (@T_NKM_N) May 22, 2023

Could it be? Could someone finally put a mast mounted ISR setup on their armored recon vehicle? Seen plenty of concepts elsewhere but they always go nowhere. You would think that with all the "see first, shoot first" talk going on in the Pentagon that someone would have latched onto this idea.

One other thing.

Why are recon vehicles getting so freaking big?  I remember reading back during the cold war that the Army once talked about using Abrams for recon cause they operated on the idea that they would have to "fight" to conduct the mission.  With the size of current recon vehicles it seems like that idea continues.

China's Electronic Warfare Ground Force. Detect - Degrade - Destroy

These real-life combat training scenes of the Electronic Warfare Force are epic! （Source: CCTV Military）#PLA #ElectronicWarfareForce #CombatTraining #RealLifeCombat #MilitaryPower pic.twitter.com/8I8ZskVJXJ

— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) May 23, 2023

British Army advocates are alarmed by rumors of cuts to the force from 72K down to 60K

 

I have written a short article about the rumoured further reduction in British Army headcount. It makes the case for maintaining a critical mass of numbers. https://t.co/vJjLHJg9Yo

— Nicholas Drummond (@nicholadrummond) May 22, 2023

Love him or hate him (I think he's good people), Drummond is connected. If he's writing articles defending the number of Army personnel then you know its more than a proposal. The crazy, sneaky thing? If they cut that much then every Army program will get cut and anything in the Royal Air Force or Royal Navy that supports Army personnel will be up for cuts too. This looks bad especially in a time when the world is looking more dangerous not less (not talking about full scale combat either but evacuations, HA/DR etc...). I hope the Brits know what they're doing and what they're risking.

5/19 Special Warfare Training Detachment - Airborne train in extreme cold weather & Arctic Edge 23

Members of @socnorth and 5/19 Special Warfare Training Detachment - #Airborne train in extreme cold weather environments during @USNorthernCmd exercise #ArcticEdge23.#SpecialForces #GreenBerets #SpecialOperations #ArcticSecurity #HomelandDefense pic.twitter.com/43X4u73rbz

— USSOCOM (@USSOCOM) May 22, 2023

The US Navy has no choice if it wants to catch up to China...we've got to use S. Korean and Japanese ship yards

 

Top 15 Shipbuilding Countries in the World by Tonnage:

15. 🇮🇳 0.12%
14. 🇳🇱 0.19%
13. 🇹🇷 0.22%
12. 🇷🇺 0.22%
11. 🇳🇴 0.29%
10. 🇫🇷 0.29%
9. 🇹🇼 0.30%
8. 🇫🇮 0.36%
7. 🇻🇳 0.61%
6. 🇩🇪 0.63%
5. 🇮🇹 0.82%
4. 🇵🇭 1.06%
3. 🇯🇵 17.6%
2. 🇰🇷 32.4%
1. 🇨🇳 44.2%

United States 0.05%

— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴‍☠️ (@mercoglianos) May 21, 2023

S. Korea and Japan have the capability to fill the huge gap we have in our ship building. If we're gonna build a Navy capable of challenging China on the high seas then we need to leverage their production power.

Ukrainian Special Ops reported to have attacked Belgorod border guards

 

What's happening in Belgorod region?

Mig of Russia: "Ukrainian channels publish videos of dead Russian border guards at the border crossing in the Belgorod region. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like a fake at all"https://t.co/cneGWQ2AnW pic.twitter.com/aQBbFRsJpE

— Faytuks News Δ (@Faytuks) May 22, 2023

Interesting. I've beat around the bush on this subject but the warhawks have been incapable of following the bouncing ball.

Ukraine has conducted a number of crossborder attacks.

What happens when they hit a target that actually hurts?  What happens when an attack can't be ignored by the Russian leadership (I contend we've already reached that point but Putin has proved me wrong)?

I contend that this can escalate to a war of survival.

If I'm right and battlefield nukes come into play then how does NATO respond?

Would NATO declare war if a nuke were used on Kyiv?  Would the world risk nuclear retaliation?

If a nuke were used and say Poland were to rush in and annex Kyiv would they still be covered by NATO?  Would NATO protection extend if they were to begin launching air/ground/sea attacks against Russian forces inside Ukraine?  What about forces inside Russia?

Weapons are being given freely to Ukraine.  My only ask is that a BIG leash be put on the Ukrainians as far as their use.

Open Comment Post. 22 May 23

 

Neville Chamberlain reassessed...

 

Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940, is possibly best known today for his ill-fated speech after his meeting with Hitler in 1938 where he declared that war with Germany had been averted. Generally he is regarded as a weak and militarily inept appeaser… pic.twitter.com/TgmmOKJfVU

— Calum E. Douglas (@CalumDouglas1) May 21, 2023

History needs to be better taught.

Bravado is a terrible thing when you're talking war...

We’ve never been more back https://t.co/3Fgl33etBr

— Battle Order (@battle_order) May 21, 2023

I know many are cheering this "diss" but the question was serious, the Russian statement was serious and the response of our President was a joke.

"It is for them".

One liners might be good if you're picking up a brain dead, drunk and drugged out chic at the club.  Might be good if you're fighting a brain dead and drugged out idiot on the street but in international diplomacy especially at a time of war?

By giving the Ukrainians F-16s they now have the capability to strike large swaths of Russian territory.  Add the Storm Shadow to that equation and its easy to see that this thing will get bigger real soon.  Let's rotate back to the question and the President's statement.

"How would you respond to the [claims of Russian Foreign affairs ministry] that supplying F-16s is a colossal risk?" - @POTUS was asked in Hiroshima at the G7 Summit.

"It is for them" he replied.

Naw bro.

You're being led by impassioned fools.  Giving Ukraine F-16s is a risk for us all.