We're suffering growing pains...

If you check out the top of the page it's gone from blogspot.com to .com.  Because of that Disqus is temporarily offline.  Migration is in progress.

Just roll with it...consider it growing pains...it'll be back up shortly.

The bottom line news on the F-35C's problems from Navy Test Pilots!

Thanks to Filippo for the link!

via Inside Defense

Further, Navy pilots determined the catapult launch for the Joint Strike Fighter is "not operationally suitable" after conducting extensive at-sea testing, according to a Navy carrier qualification report viewed by Inside Defense.

Major props to my bro, Filippo for finding that nugget.

What is it that a certain Air Force General is running his cock holster about over at Business Insider?  Don't have time to search?...here it is...

Pleus began his remarks, his delivery blunt and confident, "I'm hopeful that as we continue to grow this fleet, we all take the opportunity to form opinions on this airplane from experts. And the only experts in the F-35 business, are those that fix, maintain, and fly the F-35 on a day-to-day basis."
"Whether they be at Eglin, Luke, Edwards, Nellis, or Hill, if you go and talk to them they will give you the ground truth. If you are forming your opinions by somebody that has not fixed or flown the airplane I would tell you you're wrong."

Hey General!  The experts HAVE spoken and they say the C model is unsuitable for carrier operations.

Italian woman is hanged by soldiers of the fascist Italian Social Republic

pic/caption via Bag of Dirt Tumblr Page.

An Italian woman is hanged by soldiers of the fascist Italian Social Republic as German soldiers look on with curiosity. On her skirt is pinned a sign with the charges of helping the partisans for which she was summarily executed. The Italian Social Republic (Italian: Repubblica Sociale Italiana, or RSI) was the second and last incarnation of the Fascist Italian state, a puppet state created by Germany. After the Italians overthrew Benito Mussolini and began negotiations to change sides during the war, the Germans freed him from arrest and placed him as head of the puppet state in the German-occupied north. Rome, Lazio, Italy. Summer 1944.

Wow. Is this what the SPMAGTF-CR is reduced to crowing about?

Thanks to Josephine for the link!

via Military.com

During a six-month rotational deployment last year, which wrapped up as U.S. forces began conducting airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Sirte, Libya, at the behest of the country's government, the task force received a call to conduct the rescue, said Col. Martin Wetterauer, commander of the 8th Marine Regiment.
The U.S. has acknowledged that a small number of special operations troops have been on the ground in Libya to assist Libyan forces in defeating ISIS militants.
"It was a no-notice," Wetterauer said of the mission during a December post-deployment briefing near Washington, D.C.
The response element, stationed in Moron, Spain, was on its normal "N-plus-6" alert, Wetterauer said, meaning the Marines would be able to respond to a crisis within six hours. They received their mission between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., he said.
"We got the call that one of our [special operations forces] partners had been injured down on the continent; basically, he ended up with something in his eye," Wetterauer said. "So we went through the planning cycle. We initially didn't know if it was going to be an Osprey/C-130 mix, or a C-130 CASEVAC."
Ultimately, he said, the unit learned from the special operations team on the ground that they would be able to move the injured operator to Misrata, in the northwest corner of the country. Based on that decision, he said, the task force opted to leave the MV-22 Ospreys in Moron and execute the rescue with a single C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Here.

A few things.  First is this the type of mission that SPMAGTF-CR is forced to crow about?  Its a big nothing burger.  It hardly demonstrates the utility of the force and to be honest this was hardly a combat situation.  Second the SPMAGTF-CR concept is doing nothing but jacking up rotations and wearing out aircraft.  If Combatant Commanders are actually calling for this unit then we need new CC's.

Last.  Want to know how valuable this setup actually is?  They recently pulled the MV-22's from a SPMAGTF-CR that was forward deployed.

Its past time to put another one of Amos' idiot ideas into the trash b

UK's 3rd Para at Exercise Listed Paratrooper...

This is for one of you "Para-pups"....why do the Europeans (and quite a few folks in the Pacific region) all jump from the ramp in their C-130's?

I just don't get it.  Going out the doors seems just as fast if you're using two sticks and is a bit safer since you won't have guys crowding the ramp on the way out the plane.  Seems like it would give the same kinda elevator ride that going out of a helicopter would too.  Like I said...I don't see the advantage.

Turk anti-air system winds up in Greek hands...UPDATED! Previous info wrong!!!

Thanks to AL Z. for the link!



via Popular Mechanics

Earlier this week in the Aegean Sea, the M/V Alcatras, a Turkish-flagged vessel, lost rudder control. The 29-yard-long fishing boat began to drift and eventually ran aground on the Greek island of Kos. No injuries among the crew were reported.
Turkey and Greece, although NATO allies, are bitter rivals that have almost gone to war several times. And while this isn't the first such naval mishap, this time things were different. Alcatras was not carrying a cargo hold full of fish, but a prototype weapon system—one that would be used to shoot down Greek planes if the two countries ever went to war.

The fishing vessel was apparently being used as a test bed for a naval version of the Korkut air defense system. Korkut (Turkish for "stern" or "resolute", or even "big hailstone") consists of two 35-millimeter autocannons that can fire 1,100 rounds per minute.

Simply amazing.  Its not like there is anything earth shattering on this vehicle...the Germans developed the Gepard almost 30 years ago and the Russians a similar anti-aircraft cannon based vehicle years before that (interestingly only the US tried and failed to develop a comparable system...long live the Sgt York!).

The anger in Ankara must be delicious to the Greeks!

UPDATED!!!

Thanks to Faithon for more up to date info on this incident!

via ptisidiastima.com

My Google Translator has gone tits up on the webpage but Faithon tells me that the weapon system was a naval variant with 35mm cannons designed to be a CIWS for Turkish warships and the export market.

That explains the early reports of this being a prototype when we've seen the armored vehicle anti-air system for at least a couple of years now.

The tears really must be flowing!

The latest problem with the F-35C will all but kill the plane for the US Navy.

Thanks to Super Rhino for the link!

If the story is important I usually put a link at the top of the portions that I quote on the page.  This one is so stunning that you can read it all at Business Insider here.

Essentially the problem, detailed in a Navy report with data dating back to 2014, deals with rough takeoffs that hurt and disorient pilots at the critical moment when they're taking off from a carrier.
The Pentagon's red team found the problem was due to several factors central to the plane's design, and recommended several fixes that will take several months to several years to fully fix. The report states that long term actions to address the problem will not take place until 2019, at which point they'll take 12-36 months to implement.

Redesigns to the plane, as well as to carriers, may be necessary to fully address the problem.
A Pentagon deficiency report in 2015 stated that extreme movements in the cockpit during launch risked pilot health.

One hundred and five pilots completing catapult launches rated their level of pain or discomfort on a scale of one to five. Of the 105, 74 pilots reported "moderate" pain or a 3, 18 pilots reported "severe" pain or a 4, and one pilot reported "severe pain that persists" after launching from an aircraft carrier.

But wait boys and girls.  IT GETS WORSE!

"The oscillations shake the pilot's head sufficiently to impair their ability to consistently read flight critical data, which poses a safety of flight risk," reads the report cited by Inside Defense.
This pain, more than a mere inconvenience, threatens the ability of pilots to read flight-critical data as they perform the complicated task of launching from a moving platform at sea. Exacerbating the problem, some pilots locked down their harnesses to avoid jostling around during the launch, but this makes it more difficult for the pilot to eject, should they need to.

Much of the article is the usual double talk that I've come to expect from the program.  LM saying that all catapult launches were successful...WTF!  If the plane doesn't crash into the ocean its successful, it doesn't tell us if the airplane is trying to shake its pilot apart!

I'll save my fire for Bogdan but this quote from him is telling...and in my mind damning.

At a roundtable discussion in December, F-35 Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan assured reporters that F-35C takeoff problems only occur when the planes takeoff with low weight load outs, saying " you don't see this problem at all" when the plane is more laden with ordnance or fuel.

Is he a program manager or a cheerleader?

One thing is clear.  Naval Aviation can't wait till 2020 at the earliest to get a working model of the F-35C.  This will all but kill this model and the F/A-18 Super Hornet will remain the king of the carrier.

Add Bogdan to the list of generals that needs to be fired.

KFX-GSC single engine, stealth concept fighter!

Thanks to 61 Mech for the link!

Note:  I believe this is concept art but have no visibility on what the Koreans are doing.  Still a mini F-23?  Freaking awesome!

Houthi "Scud like" Missile kills scores of Saudi Troops.

via Press TV

A large number of Saudi soldiers have been killed in a Yemeni missile attack against a military base in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern border region of Asir.
An unnamed Yemeni military source said military forces and their allies launched a ballistic missile at the al-Montazah base in Asir on Tuesday, leaving scores of Saudi troopers and their mercenaries dead and injured, Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.
The source added that two Saudi armored vehicles were also destroyed in the attack.
Shortly afterward, Yemeni soldiers and fighters from the Popular Committees fired several artillery rounds at the Mosallas al-Rakbah base in the Saudi Jizan region, located 967 kilometers southwest of the capital, Riyadh.
A blaze swept through the military site as the projectiles struck.
Separately, Yemeni soldiers and allied fighters launched a domestically-manufactured Zelzal-2 (Earthquake-2) missile at a gathering of Saudi-sponsored militiamen loyal to the former government in the al-Maslub district of Yemen’s northern province of Jawf.
Several pro-Saudi gunmen also lost their lives and sustained injuries when their military camp was targeted by Yemeni forces in the al-Hariqiyah area of the southwestern province of Ta’izz.

Story here. 

I wonder if anyone has wargamed mass firing of tactical ballistic missiles against a high value target?  How would a battalion in the attack handle the added stress of facing precision ballistic missile fire?  I know a Marine Corps Task Force wouldn't be equipped/able to defend itself against such an attack but could a similar US Army formation?

There is a lesson here but I'm not sure what it is.  Is this a credible threat or a one off that's giving the Saudis fits?

ROK Marines to get 30 Surions.

via Flight Global.

Korea Aircraft Industries has secured a KRW630 billion ($523 million) contract with Seoul’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to provide KUH-1 Surion transport helicopters to the country’s marines.
The package covers 30 helicopters to be delivered from 2017 to 2023, says a source familiar with the transaction.
Originally, KAI had anticipated the initial marine order to be for 36 examples.

 And then this.

The marine variant’s rotor blades can be folded. In addition to a four man crew (two pilots and two gunners) it can carry nine fully-armed marines. The type has emergency floats that can deploy with the press of a button. If required by the mission, crews can quickly add special internal long-range fuel tanks.

I'm sorry but I am so unimpressed with this helicopter.  A modded Puma in an age of heavily upgraded UH-60, NH-90, and Mi-8/Mi-38s?  It might be built in S. Korea but I don't see it keeping up with the competition.

KFX 홍보영상

Household Cavalry Regiment on Ex Iron Scout 3 on Salisbury Plain.