What turret is on this Patria AMV in the desert?

Pic via  Paolo Nurra Twitter Page.

What turret is that?  Anyone know who this vehicle belongs to?  Is it just a demonstrator for potential buyers?

Air Combat Command, Commander says F-22 and F-35 need to be upgraded to keep advantage over the SU-57!

.@ACC_Commander on Su-57: "That’s a good-looking airplane," threatens F-16, F-15. F-22, F-35 need upgrade to keep advantage @laraseligman pic.twitter.com/LiLjJc0ojM

— James Drew (@JamesDrewNews) August 18, 2017

I'll just leave this here and let you guys hash it out!

Japan's first MV-22 via The Aviationist.

Looks good.  The Japanese have a way with color coordination for their aircraft.  I wonder if they give it to a fashion bureau to make sure they look good...

Story here.

The new hope to save the F-35? An adaptive engine...

via Next Big Future.

The U.S. hasn’t designed a clean-sheet fighter in twenty years, and Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) will differ from the F-22 and F-35 in some ways to deal with new strategic realities. PCA will emphasize range to fly escort missions for B-2 and B-21 bombers over Russia and against China in the Asia-Pacific.

The Air Force hopes for the best of both worlds with so-called “three-stream propulsion,” which uses a third air stream to make the engine more efficient or provide more thrust.

PCA will also be stealthy, and likely lose vertical tail fins that are standard on all aircraft, from the P-51 Mustang to the F-22 Raptor.

Funds are being requested to create a new super missile – Air Dominance Air-to-Air Weapon to replace the 30 year old AIM-120 AMRAAM.
The Air Force Research Laboratory has been working with GE and Pratt and Whitney on adaptive, “three-stream” engine technology for several years, under a science and technology program called Adaptive Engine Technology Development (AETD).

Fixed-cycle engines powering today’s military aircraft are limited to one capability: either maximum power or fuel efficiency. The adaptive engine concept enables new engines to switch between the two. Where most fighter jet engines have two “spools” of air, the adaptive engine design adds a third stream around the outside of the engine. By changing that air stream, engineers can adapt the engine to get optimal performance throughout the flight envelope.

“It’s like shifting a gear in your car, shifting a gear on your bicycle,” Kenyon explained. “You change the way the machinery works together so you match the conditions you are running out.”

The AETP funds building and test full-up engines. AETP program should boost fighter and bomber engines by 20% thrust and 25% fuel efficiency and range by 30% in mid-2020s.

Story here. 

A few things....

1.  This airplane has NOT entered full rate production.  Forget the IOC declared by the USAF and Marine Corps.  That's bullshit.  The plane cannot enter full rate production BY LAW until it completes development.  The Pentagon has so lost its way that it has begun "lawyering" the law to get around the spirit of it and to play with the wording.

2.  The plane hasn't entered FULL RATE PRODUCTION yet and they're already looking to upgrade the engines.  That's telling.  That lets you know one thing. All the talk about its kinematics being adequate for the mission is bullshit.  How much money has been pumped down this rabbit hole?  Too much.  I lost the e-mail but Denmark is getting a bit of buyers remorse because the hidden cost of BASE MODIFICATION (wonder how much the USAF & USMC are being hit) is tearing up their budget...that's in addition to buying the airplane.

3.  Does anyone have a problem with every system we're designing geared toward offensive warfare.  Penetrating fighters, penetrating bombers, and penetrating tankers?  The best defense is a good offense but I wonder what that tells you when we are basing our entire military on fighting over someone else's country instead of defending ourselves and our allies.

Much more to come I'm sure but this is interesting.  I wonder if these new engines will cost as much as a gripen fighter!

Mayweather vs. McGregor...the super fight that's NOT capturing the imagination...

Been trying to see the excitement over the past week for the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight but there is none.  This is a super fight that is NOT capturing the imagination.

Maybe sports fans are knowledgeable enough to know that this freak show just isn't going to deliver....maybe people understand that mixed martial arts or perhaps more proper said MIXED COMBAT SPORTS should be just that...different styles enter the ring and go at it to see how a person adapts and wins against styles they're not familiar with.

Either way and for whatever reason this fight is sparking out, not flashing brightly.

At weigh in McGregor was 153.  Mayweather 149.  That alone doesn't tell us much.  At fight time McGregor will probably be up to around 165 if not a bit bigger.  Heard he walks around normally at about 175-180 (don't know if that's true).  Mayweather walks around at about 155 to a high of around 160.

McGregor is bigger and just as quick but its a different kind of quick.  Mayweather is hand quick, head fast with great lateral movement. McGregor is hand fast but a heavy puncher...he loads up for a knock you the fuck out punch.  He also has great ring movement but its more for shooting in for takedowns so while fast its more forward back, not side to side like Mayweather.

Guaranteed purse for the fight?  Mayweather is 100 million and McGregor is 30 mill.

What I can't figure out is what the aftermath will be.  Will fight fans demand a rematch with different rules?  Will fight fans demand a more MIXED COMBAT style fight instead of a boxing match?  I'm betting that's the hook for Mayweather vs. McGregor II.

Anyway this one is obvious.  It's a boxing match.  Mayweather wins.

The Russian Navy is a more capable foe than it appears...via National Interest.

via National Interest.

Imagine in a not so distant future a group of Russian Kalibr missiles closes in on a U.S. destroyer at supersonic speed, sprinting to target in their terminal phase. In this moment the captain will find little comfort in the stack of articles behind him arguing that the Russian Navy is no more. That Russia had spent so little on the corvettes that fired this salvo, and the United States so much on the ship about to receive it, will leave a great deal to reflect upon in the aftermath.

Analysis of Russian military capabilities tends to either portray the Russian military as a giant or as though it were on the verge of disappearance. These narratives trend towards the factually incorrect and profoundly unhelpful. This is why we study adversaries: to understand their strategy, doctrine, and the capabilities they’re investing in so as not to speak nonsense to power, but instead offer sound analysis and perspective.

The modern Russian Navy is not designed to compete with the U.S. Navy, but instead to counter it, and to support the strategy of a twenty-first-century Eurasian land power. 

Story here. 

The modern Russian Navy is not designed to compete with the US Navy but instead to counter it....  Mark those words and apply them to every potentially hostile nation around the globe (with the exception of China...they seek to meet us straight up and kick our ass).

Hurricane Harvey Report #3.

Not a thing is happening here but Texas .. South Texas is getting bombed!  The usual has happened and I heard of a report of a gremlin breaking into someone's house but unfortunately for them the homeowner decided to ride the storm out.

He should recover from the gunshot wound in time for his trial.  Interesting. I thought Texans could shoot straight.  Someone obviously missed (yeah if you don't put down your target for good then you've missed!).

The forecast is all over the place and I'm bored already.  Bring the rain but bring it soon and get this crap over with (well I can say that now...probably be whining later).

Anyway thanks for the well wishes and more to come....

Can't gain muscle? Can't lose fat? Have piss poor workouts? Check your sleep!

I've heard it a million times but Athlean-X finally explains it in detail.  Who knew?  You could actually optimize your own body's growth hormone just by being disciplined enough to get some sleep!

Open Comment Post. Aug 26, 2017

Blast from the past. 82nd Airborne Green Ramp Disaster.

via Wikipedia.

Shortly after 1400 hours on Wednesday, March 23, 1994, a two-seat F-16D Fighting Falcon (AF Ser. No. 88-0171, c/n 1D-25, of the 74th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Operations Group) with two pilots on board was conducting a simulated flameout (SFO) approach when it collided with a C-130E Hercules, (AF Ser. No. 68-10942, c/n 4322, of the 2nd Airlift Squadron, 317th Group). Both aircraft were members of the 23rd Wing, which was the host unit at Pope AFB at the time. The aircraft were on short final approach to runway 23 at an altitude of about 300 feet (90 m) above ground level. The nose of the F-16D severed the C-130E's right elevator. On impact, the F-16 pilot applied full afterburner to try to recover the aircraft, but it began to disintegrate, showering debris on the runway and a road that ran around it. Both F-16 crewmembers ejected, but their aircraft, still on full afterburner, continued on an arc towards Green Ramp. At the same time, the C-130 crew took their aircraft away from the airfield and checked to ensure it could safely land. While the C-130 crew knew they were most likely struck by the F-16, they had no idea how it happened or the extent of the damage. After performing their checks, the crew returned to Pope and landed on the debris-littered runway.

By the time the C-130 landed, the F-16 had hit Green Ramp heading west. The aircraft struck the ground in an empty parking place between two Air Force C-130s with crews on board preparing the aircraft for departure. When the F-16 hit the ground, its momentum carried the wreckage westward through the right wing of a C-141B Starlifter (AF Ser. No. 66-0173 of the 438th Airlift Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey) parked on the ramp. The C-141B crew was preparing the aircraft for joint Army-Air Force operations, however, no Army troops besides the jumpmaster team had yet boarded it. The wreckage of the F-16 punctured the fuel tanks in the C-141's right wing, causing a large fireball, which combined with the F-16 wreckage and continued on a path taking it between Building 900 and the pax shed, directly into the area where the mass of Army paratroopers were sitting and standing. Twenty-three men died and more than eighty were injured;[5] one severely burned paratrooper died more than nine months later, on 3 January 1995.

Paratroopers at the scene pulled troopers from the flames and the exploding 20 mm ammunition from the F-16.[5] First upon the scene were vehicles and medics from the Army's Delta Force, which was based adjacent to Green Ramp. Numerous US Army tactical ambulances with medical teams were immediately dispatched from the 55th Medical Group and 23rd Medical Group (USAF) to ferry the injured to Womack Army Medical Center. These medics were among the first upon the scene and provided assistance after notification to MSG Richard Young of the 44th Medical Brigade Operations at Fort Bragg by a cell phone call from SFC Juan Gonzales at HQ, 44th Medical Brigade who was awaiting an airborne jump at Pope AFB.[6] Others were transported to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, and others were flown to the UNC Hospitals' Burn Center in Chapel Hill.[7]

President Clinton visited the site two days after the incident and met with the injured at Womack at Fort Bragg.[8] Several of the more severely burned victims were taken to the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at Brooke Army Medical Center, Texas.[2] Two months after the accident, only one paratrooper remained critical, while the others were either in satisfactory condition or convalescing at home.

A subsequent U.S. Air Force investigation placed most of the blame for the accident on the military and civilian air traffic controllers working Pope air traffic that day.[9] One of the enlisted controllers was later subject to Article 15 action. A later investigation, however, stated that pilot error by the F-16 pilots also contributed to the mishap, but no disciplinary action was taken against the pilots.

Article here and more information readily available on the web. 

No commentary.  Just a reminder.  Military training is inherently dangerous. But everyone that signs on the dotted lines understands that...or should.

Hurricane Harvey Report #2.

Well that was fast.  This bad boy was a Category 2 this morning, moved up to Cat 3 and I just got a news flash that its Cat 4!

It's moving slow too.

This is gonna be interesting.  More to come.

Hurricane Harvey Report #1.

Gonna keep ya'll updated on this big hurricane coming.

I just realized it but the wildlife is gone.  I don't hear or see any birds, the occasional wandering dog...nothing.  Even the mosquitos have been almost non-existent.

It is cool as hell though.  Really enjoying temperatures in the mid 80's at the end of August.  This has been a relatively mild summer for Louisiana.