Forget the Russian slat armor...Army Recognition has the info on the 6S21RWS.

via Janes.

The Russian defence industry has developed a slat armour system designed for tracked and wheeled armoured fighting vehicles (AFV) for enhanced survivability against anti-tank weapons fitted with a single high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead.
These include the PG-7 rocket fired by the RPG-7, PG-9S fired by the tripod mounted SPG-9, as well as the PG18 disposable anti-tank weapon.
The slat armour can be installed on the Russian BTR-60, BTR-70 and BTR-80 8x8 amphibious armoured personnel carriers (APCs), the BMP-1 and BMP-2 tracked infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), and the 4x4 BRDM-2 amphibious scout car.
In the case of the BTR-80 the slat armour is installed on the both sides of the vehicle and covers the upper part of the road wheels to just above the hull roof line. Provision has been made to protect the gap between the second and third road wheels on either side to enable the dismounts to enter and leave the vehicle via its side hatch.
For travelling the lower part can be folded up 180° and locked in position alongside the upper part.
The front and rear of the BTR-80 is also protected and when travelling the upper part of the front-mounted slat armour package can be folded back under the nose of the BTR-80 for improved vision in low-threat environments.

Janes dropped the headline on this one.  Forget the slat armor.  What's going on with that remote weapon station?  A little Google search took me to Army Recognition.

"At Russian Arms Expo 2015, being held from 9-12 September 2015, the Russian defense giant UralVagonZavod unveild a modernization kit installend onto the famous BTR-80 armored personnel carrier. This new kit features i.a. a 6S21 remotely-controlled weapon station.
According to UralVagonZavod, this new kit is not only dedicated to the BTR-80 APC, but can also be installed on various types of fighting/special-purpose vehicles.
The modernization kit disclosed by UVZ at RAE 2015 comprises first a 6S21 remote-controlled weapon station used to solve the reconnaissance, battlefield surveillance and target recognition using TV and IR cameras and engagement of point and group targets, both moving and fixed, by means of, in this case, of a 14.5 mm KPVT machine-gun from short halts, on the move and on the float…"

This is interesting.

The Russians are working the issues with RWS hard.  They definitely see a future for mechanized warfare.

The F-35 Program Office just subsidized Lockheed Martin shareholders.

via Defense Aerospace.

Yet the Pentagon authorized a $1 billion cash payment to Lockheed in early August,Defense News reported August 12, five months earlier than Lockheed expected and for $100 million more than Lockheed’s claimed shortfall.

Furthermore, the payment – reportedly made under an existing undefinitized contract action (UCA), has not been made public.

Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), told Defense News that “with what we have provided, Lockheed will be able to continue the LRIP 9 production without bearing any undue burden.”

DelleVedova did not reply to an Aug 15 e-mail asking for clarification.

The cash payment to Lockheed appears all the more surprising that the company apparently does not have any cash-flow problems.

For the first half of the year, Lockheed posted an operating profit of $2.86 billion, dwarfing its claimed $900 million shortfall on the F-35. Lockheed also said it “generated cash from operations of $1.5 billion,” so it was hardly pinched for cash, especially as its F-35 sales increased -- during just the second quarter -- by $390 million, and its profit by $60 million.

This is fraud.

This is criminal.

This is corporate welfare.

Everyone associated with this program is getting smeared because of it.  Fanboys should be proud.  You're not only getting used by the Generals, F-35 program, Lockheed Martin but now you can add shareholders to the list. You're being whored out.

The USMC pushes ahead with Company Landing Teams.

via Marine Corps Times

The Marine Corps must be prepared to counter and defeat a range of adversaries in high-tech environments, leaders say. And the company landing team, which has long been considered the backbone of the infantry, could get a major makeover.
Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, was tapped by Commandant Gen. Robert Neller earlier this year to help the Corps figure out what these teams need to be successful. The grunts were recently sent out to the desert in varying-sized teams, equipped with new high-tech gear like drones, robotic vehicles — some with weaponry — and self-supporting energy systems.
The goal is to make this updated force, which was coined the expeditionary landing team, more self-sufficient and combat ready.
Neller dropped in on the company at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms to get a close look at the gear the Marines tested. The 18-month experiment will rely heavily on user feedback from the Marines and sailors involved, who formed a company landing team during an integrated exercise here.
“One of the best parts of this is [that] we're giving them some tools and seeing what they come up with — and hopefully we'll be smart enough to listen to what they tell us,” Neller told Marine Corps Times.

You are looking at a United States Marine Corps in the middle of confusion, churn and wishing on a star.

Company Landing Teams were born during the time when endless wars against terrorists that looked like they did in Afghanistan during 2011 or Iraq in 2009.  It ignores the battlefield we're seeing in Syria and Ukraine today.

So instead of adjusting to the new realities they stick to concepts that were born more than two decades ago.

We are seeing the purposeful dismantling of the combined arms team in order to create a small high tech infantry force that's overly reliant on airpower with the hope they will be able to stand toe to toe with  mechanized battalions of threat nations.

I personally don't think they could stand up against the hybrid forces we're seeing in the Middle East and Africa.

The Marine Corps is creating a future disaster.

Side Note:  This all but confirms it.  Tanks is dead.

Outrage of the day. South Sudan troops after defeating rebels went on a 4 hour rampage against foreign women...singling out Americans.

via Free Beacon.

On July 11, South Sudanese troops, fresh from winning a battle in the capital, Juba, over opposition forces, went on a nearly four-hour rampage through a residential compound popular with foreigners, in one of the worst targeted attacks on aid workers in South Sudan’s three-year civil war. They shot dead a local journalist while forcing the foreigners to watch, raped several foreign women, singled out Americans, beat and robbed people, and carried out mock executions, several witnesses told The Associated Press.
For hours throughout the assault, the U.N. peacekeeping force stationed less than a mile away refused to respond to desperate calls for help. Neither did embassies, including the U.S. Embassy.

These are the people that we're siding with.  Worse?  You have so called educated people that encourage their daughters to go on these missions under the belief that "nothing" will happen and that the rules of behavior in the US applies to the rest of the world.  But wait.  It gets worse.

One female aid worker interviewed by the Associated Press said a soldier pointed an AK-47 at her and demanded she have sex with him. She was successively raped by 15 South Sudanese soldiers and described how everyone at the complex was contacting anyone they could for help, including the U.N. peacekeeping force and the U.S. Embassy.

I can't even get upset with the UN or the US State Dept.  I've come to expect this type of behavior from them (vile as it is).  My anger goes to the men in these women's lives that knew better (or should have) yet still let the ladies that they supposedly care about walk into the jaws of hell.

Note:  Did you hear about this on mainstream media?  We are seeing something evil.  News is being tailored to hide the truth of the world from the American people.

Russia increases its strategic reach in the Middle East.

Thanks to Amir for the link!  Pics via Warfare Worldwide Twitter Page!

Russian strategic bombers and tankers at Iran's Hamedan Air Base?  Do you really think this is just about Syria?  Maybe but it also sends a message to the US and the GCC.  Russia is a major player in the Middle East and can conduct punitive raids against anyone in the region now.  It also helps with the issue of force protection.  I can imagine that these aircraft based in Syria would be juicy targets for both the terrorist (the bad head choppers that we don't support and the so called good ones that we do) and possibly even a covert raid by guys that run around the woods with knives between their teeth.

Love them or hate them but this is a good move on their part.

NOTE:  I stand by my previous statements.  The Middle East is a cesspool.  Better a dictator that can be controlled instead of a radical terrorist that can't.  We should support Assad and the Russians.  Reform Syria to the best that we can and kill every terrorist we see.  If we got to work on it I think it would take 3 months at most.

Turkey tries to push the EU around!

via Reuters

Turkey could walk away from its promise to stem the flow of illegal migrants to Europe if the European Union fails to grant Turks visa-free travel to the bloc in October, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a German newspaper.
His comments in Bild's Monday edition coincide with rising tensions between Ankara and the West that have been exacerbated by the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15. Turkey is incensed by what it sees as an insensitive response from Western allies to the failed putsch, in which 240 people were killed.
Long wary of Turkey's ambitions to join the EU, Europe has been alarmed by the crackdown since the coup, fearing President Tayyip Erdogan is using purges to quash dissent. The unease has relations between Turkey and Austria and Sweden. Ankara has summoned diplomats from both countries to protest what it says are false reports about changes to its child abuse laws.
Asked whether hundreds of thousands of refugees in Turkey would head to Europe if the EU did not grant Turks visa freedom from October, Cavusoglu told Bild: "I don't want to talk about the worst case scenario - talks with the EU are continuing but it's clear that we either apply all treaties at the same time or we put them all aside."

Wow.

Turkey is about to put foot to Europe and I don't think the EU has the resources to deal with it.  This is really a nightmare scenario no matter how it turns out.  Grant visa free travel and suddenly you have tons of jihadist flowing to Europe from Turkey.  Don't do it and suddenly you have tons of migrants mixed with jihadist flowing to Europe.

The EU is fucked!

The big fight with China is coming. China May Reclaim Scarborough Shoal Next Month

via Sputnik

Tensions continue to mount in the South China Sea and with Beijing increasingly desperate to fundamentally alter the balance of power in the wake of The Hague ruling the possibility for a conflict in one of Asia's most dangerous flash points has never been greater.

The People’s Republic of China may soon look to fundamentally alter the status-quo in the South China Sea by seizing the disputed Scarborough Shoal within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines – a move that Washington considers a "red line" with President Obama warning of "serious consequences" in March if China attempted to reclaim the land.
An article in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post raises the specter of the potential incursion quoting "a source familiar with the matter" detailing that Beijing would not look to reclaim the territory before hosting the G-20 next month, but could begin construction efforts on the land mass sometime between September and when Americans go to the polls in November.
The source suggests that Beijing may look to take advantage of the domestic distractions put on President Obama during the political season. "Obama will focus on domestic issues ahead of the election as he needs to pass down legacies before leaving office," said the source. "That might make him busy and he might not have the time to take care of regional security issues."
The potential move is seen by security analysts as a way for China to counteract the recent ruling by The Hague arbitration court and effectively nullify any possible claims to the important body of water. The ruling came after the Philippines submitted for unilateral arbitration, at the behest of the Obama administration, with the court ruling against China’s historic claim to the area citing in large part the Scarborough Shoal.

This is HUGE!

If China does make this move then the balance of power will not only shift, but any credibility the US has in the Pacific will evaporate.  More importantly this is an indication that the Chinese are sensing weakness...not only politically but militarily.

The big fight with China is coming...and we're so far from ready that we've already lost.

Mob attacks in your car. Legally you're screwed....but its better to be judged by your peers.

I've been looking at the incident in Milwaukee (serious overtones involved here that I'll let you dig into on other blogs) and I wondered what the legal ramifications of doing "what comes natural" happens.

What is natural?  To floor your car or grab your weapon and defend your life.  A Google search led me to the above story and I was flabbergasted.  I'll be checking with some guys I know in the local Sheriff's Dept to see what the rules are in my neck of the woods but regardless of the law, its better to be legally screwed and judged by your peers than seriously injured or worse killed.

This fall is going to be serious (in my opinion).  Prepare mentally, physically and morally for the challenges ahead (moral preparedness is probably the most important of these).

Could the Vice Presidential picks be the most consequential in US history?

The latest "hotness" on right wing websites is discussion about Hillary's health.  I don't know whether the lady is jacked up or not, what I do know is that even without the video editing it does look like something weird is going on with her.

Moving over to Trump, its apparent that the guy is more interested in the "movement" and not actually governing.  Quite honestly I'm not entirely sure he wants to be president.

Having said all that are we looking at another first in American history?  Are we looking at a time where the VP picks are consequential because the actual presidential candidates are almost doomed to a crackup of some type?

Are we doing this wrong?  Do we need to do a deep dive on Pence and Kaine?

Anyone have experience with dwarf fruit trees?

I'm switching out my plants in the house and instead of just the usual potted plants I'm wondering if dwarf fruit trees might be a better option.  Doing the usual Google searches makes it seem like a real no brainer.  Better than that it makes more sense than the "grow your own herbs" fad that's sweeping the nation.  Real fruit that you can grab off your inside plants?  Not having to portion off at least half the trees yield to birds and other critters?

Sounds good but I'm wondering what are some of the issues with it.  I know this isn't for everyone especially on a blog like this but someone might dabble and any intel you could give me would be appreciated.

Canada jumping on the ultra light weight vehicle bandwagon...

Thanks to Jonathan for the link!

via GlobalNews.ca

As the Canadian government continues to come under fire for exports of armoured personnel carriers to countries like Saudi Arabia and South Sudan, our own military is looking to augment its capabilities with an entirely new type of ground vehicle.

Following in the footsteps of the American military, Canada has issued a call for tender for 52 new ultra-light combat vehicles, or ULCVs.

The ULCVs will be four-passenger, Jeep-like vehicles that are small and light enough to fit inside a Canadian Forces’ CC-177 Globemaster aircraft, a CC-130 Hercules aircraft or a CH-147 Chinook helicopter (or to be lifted externally by helicopter).

According to the tender documents, published earlier this week, they must also be designed “to be air dropped with a 900 kg payload” from either the Globemaster or the Hercules, and detached/offloaded from the helicopter within five minutes.

They need to be able to operate in extreme temperatures (-32C to +49C), handle a combination of urban and rural environments (mountainous, plains, jungle and woodland) and will be off-road 75 per cent of the time, the documents note.

“The Department of National Defence (DND) will be using the ULCV as a complimentary vehicle to increase mobility across a spectrum of operations,” confirmed department spokesperson Ashley Lemire in an email to Global News.

“The ULCV is a new type of vehicle and will be used in concert with the current fleet of DND ground vehicles to increase mobility on operations.”

Serious question.  Are ground forces world wide simply buying vehicles so that they can get a slice of the budget that the F-35 is gobbling up?  The reason why I ask is because the ultra light combat vehicle is basically becoming type cast as the Polaris MRZR and its a fairly cheap purchase.

These purchases could easily be cheered except for one thing.  In my opinion they signal continued fighting in the middle east.  I have yet to see any serious trials in any locale other than the desert.  How will they perform in the jungle, urban areas or arctic?  Can they perform in swamps or bogs (the answer is yes but they'll need even more modifications than you're seeing with the current vehicle).

I like the MRZR, but its time questions started being asked about the concept of operations and whether this is just the latest SAS "Pink" Land Rover....in other words a one theater vehicle.

Andrew Morffew Nature Shots...

If nature shots are your thing then you should check out Andrew Morffew's nature shots (here).  Awesome stuff in my opinion.