Jesus! I never realized how big the latest gen wheeled IFVs are! I look forward to seeing how the Aussies (and Brits with their AJAX-Scout) are able to do the recon/cav job with vehicles this big!
Wednesday, June 07, 2017
Austrailian ACV contenders size compared to an M1A1.
Pic credit goes to "Save The Black Berets" Facebook page courtesy of Mark Thomas!
Jesus! I never realized how big the latest gen wheeled IFVs are! I look forward to seeing how the Aussies (and Brits with their AJAX-Scout) are able to do the recon/cav job with vehicles this big!
Jesus! I never realized how big the latest gen wheeled IFVs are! I look forward to seeing how the Aussies (and Brits with their AJAX-Scout) are able to do the recon/cav job with vehicles this big!
That attack in Iran is much bigger than I thought. Iran Republican Guard promises revenge...
Our MidEast strategy should be so clear now. We can easily bring Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria into our sphere of influence or at least get them to work with us.
Everyone of those nations have suffered terror attacks by ISIS. They've already committed forces to the fight so all we have to do is de-conflict the theater and go after ISIS whole hog.
What will it take? Putting the Cold War zealots back in the cage. Tell Saudi Arabia to pound sand and to understand that ISIS is a threat to them too (eventually if not now). And tell Israel to chill out...we got this shit...and to work with Russia specifically to keep Syria and Iran in quiet mode once ISIS is eradicated.
This could work. We just need the will to try.
Comey gives a preview of his statement...Trump will slide by...
MSNBC has gotten a preview of Comey's statement tomorrow. My take on things is that Trump has some goofy and silly ways of doing business. He is borderline paranoid about this Russia collusion thing but at the end of the day he will be free and clear of obstruction of justice charges.
So we will see a lingering investigation by the Special Counsel and at the end of the day the Democrats and Neo-Cons and establishment Republicans will accomplish what they wanted. Trump's agenda is stalled (thanks in no small part to Ryan...that dude is clueless).
What will be Trump's next move? Bannon will probably continue to rise. Kushner will try and play "game of thrones" to get back in his good graces and the world will keep spinning.
We won't see a Watergate 2 no matter how much Chris Matthews wants it.
So we will see a lingering investigation by the Special Counsel and at the end of the day the Democrats and Neo-Cons and establishment Republicans will accomplish what they wanted. Trump's agenda is stalled (thanks in no small part to Ryan...that dude is clueless).
What will be Trump's next move? Bannon will probably continue to rise. Kushner will try and play "game of thrones" to get back in his good graces and the world will keep spinning.
We won't see a Watergate 2 no matter how much Chris Matthews wants it.
Man opens fire in the Iranian Parliament?
via Reuters.
A man opened fire in the Iranian parliament on Wednesday and injured a guard, a witness said.And then this...also from Reuters.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that a guard was hit in the leg, and two members of the public were also injured.
The identity and the motivation of the assailant was still unclear, Tasnim said.
The witness told Reuters that security forces had massed inside and outside parliament, and that the incident was now over.
Attackers raided Iran's parliament and set off a suicide bomb at the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday, killing up to seven people in a twin assault at the heart of the Islamic Republic, Iranian media reported.Wow.
The Iranian Intelligence Ministry said security forces had arrested a "terrorist team" planning a third attack, without giving further details.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement. If confirmed, they would be the first assaults by the hardline Sunni Muslim group inside the Shi'ite Muslim country.
The attacks, targeting parliament and the shrine of the Republic's revered founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, took place less than a month after the re-election of President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate.
Three assailants, one with a pistol and two with AK-47 assault rifles, attacked the parliament building in central Tehran, lawmaker Elias Hazrati told state television.
Iran's state broadcaster IRIB reported that one attacker detonated a suicide vest there, though some other news agencies said the explosion might have been caused by grenades thrown by the assailants.
Tasmin news agency said there were unconfirmed reports the attackers had taken four hostages inside the parliament building. Up to seven people died and several others were wounded, it added.
About half an hour later, attackers opened fire at the mausoleum a few kilometers south of the city, wounding several members of the public, Iran's English-language Press TV said.
One attacker detonated a suicide vest, one was killed by security forces and other assailants were arrested, the Governor of Tehran was quoted as saying by IRIB.
I wonder what this is about. Iran is facing a terror threat?
Mars Rover Concept (Exploration Vehicle)
I detect a huge influence from Andromeda:Mass Effect. I wonder how practical this vehicle really is.
The reason I ask is because I always imagined stripped down to the bare bones type rigs for our era of space exploration. Fancy is heavy and this vehicle looks heavy as hell. Could they even transport it to Mars and how big would the lander have to be to get it to the surface?
This has to be a tool to generate interest in the space program. Note the earlier concept for an exploration vehicle that NASA was once touting as the future (below).
Trump is clear on collusion with Russia, interference in an investigation is another matter though.
via Newsmax
Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats told associates in March that President Donald Trump asked him to get FBI Director Jim Comey to lay off his probe of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, The Washington Post reported.Trump let his insecurities get the better of him. There was no there there when it came to his campaign colluding with the Russians. The Dems and the Media and Establishment Republicans beat on that drum in the hope of stalling his agenda (and it appears they succeeded). There was no thought of getting him out of office. This was a chess move to clear the way for the next presidential election. They were working to make sure that he was a one term president.
The request reportedly came March 22, just days after Coats' Senate confirmation.
According to the Post, Coats attended a White House briefing with several other officials from government agencies. As the meeting wrapped up, Trump asked everyone to leave except Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Once alone, Trump complained about Comey's handling of the investigation into Flynn's possible role in the FBI probe into Russian meddling in the presidential election.
Coats talked about the issue with associates and decided it would not be proper to act, according to sources who talked to the Post.
Coats is set to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, one day before Comey talks to the same panel.
But back on task.
Have you watched the news conferences and sessions held by the Senate Intel Committee? Check this out via Free Beacon.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.), who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she had seen no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump's associates and Russia during the 2016 campaign.So all the chest thumping from the liberal side and all the breathless talk by the news media speculating that Comey has found ties between Trump and the Russians is completely false.
CNN host Wolf Blitzer recalled Feinstein previously saying she hadn't seen any evidence of collusion and asked her on Thursday: "Has anything changed since we spoke last?"
"No it hasn't," Feinstein responded on Blitzer's show "Situation Room."
Feinstein touted newly-named special counsel Robert Mueller as "sophisticated." Blitzer responded by continuing to press her on whether she saw any evidence of collusion.
"I just want to be precise Senator… All the access you've had to very sensitive information. So far, you've not seen any evidence of collusion. Is that right?" he asked.
"Well, evidence that would establish that there's collusion," Feinstein said before citing "rumors" and "newspaper stories" apparently suggesting collusion.
The problem is that Trump went "full retard". He was frantic to get someone to tell the world that he didn't collude with the Russians.
But interfering with an investigation? He might be in a jam. Will he get impeached? I don't think so. The investigation continued so obviously no one felt compelled to stop working. But this looks awful.
The end result will probably be that Trump's agenda is wrecked for the next two years. He'll have to depend on his agency heads to push his agenda.
BAE/Iveco & SAIC/ST Kinetics in the ACV competition
via USNI News.
The Marine Corps’ Amphibious Combat Vehicle is on track for testing this year and a down-select and contract award a year from now, the Program Executive Officer for Land Systems told lawmakers and reporters today.
The ACV 1.1 test schedule had to be pushed back three months due to a contract award protest filed by General Dynamics Land Systems in December 2015, after the Marine Corps awarded its two engineering and manufacturing development contracts to BAE Systems and SAIC. But since the test schedule was revised, PEO Land Systems John Garner said the two competitors have been delivering vehicles and conducting multiple types of tests at facilities across the country.
“Both contractors are delivering, it is a competitive environment. One of them is ahead on the delivery schedule, is meeting all criteria and is ahead on testing, and by the end of this week we will have 13 vehicles from one of them, we currently have 12 already,” Garner said during a hearing at the Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee. USNI News understands he was referring to BAE Systems when discussing the company that has delivered 12 vehicles.
“The other one, we’re accepting four vehicles today. … We already had two, so we’ll have six. By the end of next week it will be 15 from one and it will be 12 from the other, and that’s enough to fully support the test schedule and maintain the critical milestones, the Milestone C about this time next year.”First. Oh My God! They're gonna be testing in Mississippi? If anyone knows when that will happen and where then PLEASE let me know! That's right around the corner and I'd LOVE to get there to take pics!
Garner told reporters after the hearing that testing is currently taking place at two locations now: blast tests and other assorted assessments at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland, and mission-focused testing at Amphibious Vehicle Test Branch in California. The vehicles will also undergo soft soil testing in Mississippi and various other test events around the country, in about five locations total, he said.
An ACV operational assessment will take place early next year, Garner told reporters, with a Milestone C declaration made around June 2018 and a low-rate initial production contract awarded to one of the two bidders around the same time.
Second. If you've been keeping up with ACV news then you know that BAE/Iveco are ahead of schedule in delivering their vehicle. I'm really kinda surprised that ST Kinetics/SAIC are lagging.
Knowing ST Kinetics they probably went over their vehicles with a fine tooth comb and then got behind a bit when they probably did a last minute design change right before delivery. It's just speculation but I seriously get the impression that ST Kinetics is on the verge of being "anal" when it comes to their gear...and I know from talking to enough people that they really want this contract bad.
I still think its going too slow. Still believe we should have a bigger buy but its going forward.
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