Saturday, October 19, 2019
What I've been into...
Been up to my neck so much to my surprise and astonishment the blog e-mail is jam packed and I have to sort thru stuff you guys have sent. Sorry bout that. Anyway below is a new purchase and a project I'm working on...
Poor pic quality ... I KNOW ... but the rub of it is that I bought a Glock 43X as a CCW and Back Up. Awesome gun. Round count is not "ideal" but with a spare mag more than reasonable. Cell phone to call for help while I extricate myself from the madness is what I'm looking for and this fills the need. Side note to retired military, law enforcement, reserve law enforcement etc. You can't beat Glocks Blue Label pricing. My armory is standardized (to a large part) and I can even add to it with that program. GREAT STUFF!
Again, poor pic quality! But the rub is this. Glock 19 is my "war gun" and I wanted to update/make it more effective. Eye site taking a hit the solution is obvious. I need a red dot to get me back to one shot one stop.
Above you see a Glock 19 slide milled for an RMR by Brownells. I'm not made of money and after a bit of research I decided that the Brownells delivered what I wanted, has added slide serrations toward the front sight and has great reviews.
I'll build this out myself. Just need a slide kit to get the guts in and then off to the range (once the RMR is mounted) to see if theory meets reality.
An additional benefit was that my original slide will be available as a back up if this doesn't perform as expected.
So besides work, this has been my play.
As far as jumping on the red dot bandwagon. What do you guys think?
Poor pic quality ... I KNOW ... but the rub of it is that I bought a Glock 43X as a CCW and Back Up. Awesome gun. Round count is not "ideal" but with a spare mag more than reasonable. Cell phone to call for help while I extricate myself from the madness is what I'm looking for and this fills the need. Side note to retired military, law enforcement, reserve law enforcement etc. You can't beat Glocks Blue Label pricing. My armory is standardized (to a large part) and I can even add to it with that program. GREAT STUFF!
Again, poor pic quality! But the rub is this. Glock 19 is my "war gun" and I wanted to update/make it more effective. Eye site taking a hit the solution is obvious. I need a red dot to get me back to one shot one stop.
Above you see a Glock 19 slide milled for an RMR by Brownells. I'm not made of money and after a bit of research I decided that the Brownells delivered what I wanted, has added slide serrations toward the front sight and has great reviews.
I'll build this out myself. Just need a slide kit to get the guts in and then off to the range (once the RMR is mounted) to see if theory meets reality.
An additional benefit was that my original slide will be available as a back up if this doesn't perform as expected.
So besides work, this has been my play.
As far as jumping on the red dot bandwagon. What do you guys think?
Friday, October 18, 2019
Pentagon says decision on full-rate F-35 jet production possibly delayed until 2021
via Reuters.
The Pentagon’s decision to move into a full-rate production contract for the F-35 jet, made by Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), could be delayed until 2021 because of issues integrating the jet with its testing and training simulators, an official said on Friday.Story here.
Full-rate production contracts are more lucrative for defense companies than low rate production contracts, suggesting larger payments for F-35 deliveries to Lockheed from the U.S. government and its allies could be delayed by as much as a year.
Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord told reporters she had signed off on a report that indicated the final decision on full-rate production could be delayed up to 13 months.
I was puzzled by this news till I realized that for all intents and purposes they're already in full rate production.
Lockheed Martin couldn't pump out more jets right now anyway and the air arms aren't setup to accept them.
My guess.
They're trying to give LM and the various air arms time to deal with Turkey being out of the program (at least for now) and a fucked up supply line.
I could be wrong but I'd bet body parts that's the real deal.
Tulsi Gabbard just went off on Hillary Clinton...
Note. Can't stray into politics full throttle anymore but I will observe certain statements and let you guys go at it. Check this entire thread out. Gabbard went full tilt buggy, Attila the Hun, and Ugly American burning villages in this one!
Great! Thank you @HillaryClinton. You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain. From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a ...— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) October 18, 2019
Northrop Grumman 50mm chain gun
The US Army has reset the Infantry Fighting Vehicle baseline. No longer is a 30mm adequate. No longer is the 35mm formidable and the 40mm consider powerful.
The Northrop Grumman 50mm chain gun is now the new gun against which everything else will be measured.
What's scary?
When this ammo gets the same treatment that the 30mm has gotten then we could potentially see this thing not only defeating every APC/IFV on the planet but also challenging a great many MBTs that are still in service.
The response will be even more armoring and soon 40 - 60 ton IFVs will be considered common.
Makes those analysts in the US Army that saw a need for an 80 ton GCV kinda prophetic huh?
It's Chinese so I guess a "Dragon" Mom gave this to her child...
Here is a special birthday cake for those who love to study! A cream cake full of math formulas designed by a Chinese baker has gone viral on Chinese social media. pic.twitter.com/hhAXYel7pD— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) October 18, 2019
Even their birthday celebrations are hard....
The forces we have in theater are the forces that will fight...the enemy won't give us time to set up?
“Why would they give us a month and a half to set the theater? What force you have over there is the force you’re fighting with.” Powerful words from @CMC_MarineCorps during his visit to @MarineCorpsU. Is your brain ready to fight tonight, to adapt what you have at hand to win? pic.twitter.com/uKfuhnDvNZ— The Krulak Center (@TheKrulakCenter) October 17, 2019
I get the thinking but I think it's wrong.
This gets back to the rapid deployment issue AND the forward deployment thing that is so rampant in the Pentagon.
Berger is asking everyone to challenge preconceived notions. Well in the backdrop of this Tweet let me hit you with a few of my thoughts.
1. Forward deployment as a deterrence is lunacy. Small units will simply be speed bumps IF an enemy force decides to attack. Therefore forward deployment makes no sense. All it does is hazard our forces.
2. Forward bases on allied lands that are within range of enemy artillery/rockets (conventional) is additional lunacy. You could render entire squadrons combat incapable within a few minutes under the right scenarios.
3. Forever wars make no sense. Think about US force distribution currently. If the big one was to happen in the Pacific then could we stop the onslaught? I don't think so. Of course this goes back to this tweet and the Commandant's thinking but it shouldn't be that way. Under the current world situation if an even minor skirmish were to occur in the Pacific between Chinese and American warships we would probably immediately see fighting breakout in Africa, the Middle East (bigger) and Russia could even seize more land in Ukraine. We're so spread out we're making ourselves VULNERABLE!
The answer?
In my mind its to tilt the script.
We need fewer overseas bases in the modern era and we need a return to Rapid Deployment Forces.
Expeditionary should disappear from the vocabulary of the US Army and Air Force. Only the Navy and Marine Corps should cling to that verbiage. The Army and Air Force should focus on being rapidly deployable to any region on the planet. Snap exercises where units can go wheels up in 18 hours needs to be a standard again.
A new fleet of fast transports that can move an entire division should be a priority of Transportation Command. A new C-17 Mega should be started and put into service.
Penny packets of forward deployed forces?
It should be a thing of the past. In many locations they're not appreciated. In others they really serve no purpose except as a drain on the treasury.
We're rapidly running out of money.
It's past time to get smart.
German Sub sporting an unusual screw setup...
Thanks to Hristo for the link!
Story here.
Supposedly this is common but I don't recall seeing it on other subs. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Story here.
Supposedly this is common but I don't recall seeing it on other subs. Correct me if I'm wrong.
French Serval Multipurpose Light Armored Vehicle
We talk about vehicles that just look right. There are a few examples of vehicles looking all wrong.
No offense French readers, this bad boy just looks wrong. I wonder what they're seeing that everyone else is missing. I don't see any of the same design cues that we're seeing from other nations and to be honest this almost looks like a blast from the past, not a modern vehicle.
I stand ready to be corrected on its capabilities.
The Best Twitter Thread (Analysis) of the Syria/Kurd issue I've read...
Note. The title says it all and the author of this Tweet Thread says it better than I ever could.
But I must add this. Is Washington, the Congress and the Dept Of Defense caught up in Normalcy Bias? What do I mean? I hear constant whining, crying and gnashing of teeth about the pullout.
Did anyone think that a withdrawal would be anything BUT nasty and problematic?
After almost 20 years stuck in a quagmire with seemingly NO SOLUTION to the crisis/drama the answer from most of the so called smartest people in foreign/military policy is just to do more of the same?
The word for that (if you're expecting change) is INSANITY!
So we have no solutions, no plans, no epiphany on solving this issue but they decry a withdrawal? If that ain't Normalcy Bias then I don't know what is.
Back on task. Read the Tweet and follow the link so you can read the whole thing.
Then comeback and IF you disagree then give me your solution besides more of the same. No one polls on the question but my sense is that the American people are sick and tired of the Middle East.
But I must add this. Is Washington, the Congress and the Dept Of Defense caught up in Normalcy Bias? What do I mean? I hear constant whining, crying and gnashing of teeth about the pullout.
Did anyone think that a withdrawal would be anything BUT nasty and problematic?
After almost 20 years stuck in a quagmire with seemingly NO SOLUTION to the crisis/drama the answer from most of the so called smartest people in foreign/military policy is just to do more of the same?
The word for that (if you're expecting change) is INSANITY!
So we have no solutions, no plans, no epiphany on solving this issue but they decry a withdrawal? If that ain't Normalcy Bias then I don't know what is.
Back on task. Read the Tweet and follow the link so you can read the whole thing.
Then comeback and IF you disagree then give me your solution besides more of the same. No one polls on the question but my sense is that the American people are sick and tired of the Middle East.
There is a national security strategy behind Trump’s withdrawal from Syria.— Bryan Dean Wright (@BryanDeanWright) October 14, 2019
You may not like it (neocons). You may doubt it will work (Beltway “experts”). Or you may just hate Trump (Dems).
But there is a plan.
Here it is...
General Dynamics Mobile Protected Firepower Concept...
Interesting.
An Abrams turret on an ASCOD hull? Should be well protected AND provide tremendous firepower.
But will it be too heavy? If I recall this is aimed at Airborne/Infantry Brigade Combat Teams. If the focus is on Airborne then I'm guessing the BAE offering might have an edge. If the IBCT and survivability is the need AND you're looking to standardize your logistics lines to the greatest extent possible (with a smaller training syllabus) then General Dynamics all day.
How do I think this will turn out?
I think the US Army will buy both!
Hear me out.
I didn't post on it but concern has been building in Congress (much too late in my opinion) about our industrial base. From my seat the only "industrial base" we have left is in the defense sector.
Word is that everyone is all onboard protecting it AND growing it.
The BAE M8 Buford will be purchased for the Airborne and a few might even get tossed to the 101st Air Assault. The General Dynamics offering will be tossed to the rest of the IBCTs (Stryker based).
You heard it here first.
Subscribe to:
Comments
(
Atom
)