Wednesday, June 03, 2020
Pentagon Says It Doesn’t Want Active Duty Troops Facing Protesters
via Breaking Defense.
The Pentagon is distancing itself from President Trump’s suggestion to use active duty troops to quell the protests and rioting that have erupted across the country, even as more National Guard forces from around the country pour into the nation’s capital.Story here.
A senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon today that “we really would like all of this to stay a National Guard response. We don’t want to see Title X forces. That’s not what we want to do.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity. Title 10 is the law that governs the active duty military, while Title 32 is the legislation under which the National Guard is normally mobilized by governors of the states.
The remarks come as Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley come under fire from civilians and several recently retired generals for remarks made Monday comparing US cities to a battlefield, and for following the president through Lafayette Park just after it was cleared of peaceful protesters by federal police firing tear gas, using flashbangs and driving protesters back.
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith, is calling on both men to come to Capitol Hill next week to explain what’s going on. Smith made his announcement of a planned hearing minutes after the defense official gave the Pentagon’s version of what happened Monday..
Esper and Milley, according to the Pentagon’s telling, apparently did not know what was going to happen when they left the White House alongside the president and other Cabinet officials. “Their understanding was they were walking out of the White House to walk through Lafayette Park to review efforts to quell the protests,” the official said, suggesting the two most powerful military leaders in the country didn’t understand, or weren’t briefed, on the presidential stroll. The official also said Esper and Milley did not know the people outside had been gassed and pushed out of the park.
Thoughts???
Russia dawdles on improving naval infantry equipment
via Shepard Media.
An official keel-laying ceremony is expected in the coming weeks for two Project 23900 amphibious assault ships at the Zaliv Shipyard in Kerch, as Russia aims to show it can build large warships without using foreign expertise or technologies.Story here.
The programme is certainly ambitious and its implementation by Russia is a matter of international prestige, to compensate for the suspension by France of the sale of two Mistral-class vessels in 2015.
Project 23900 does raise one pressing question: how capable and combat-ready is the Russian Naval Infantry (RNI)?
Amphibious assault ships would add the capability to carry out expeditionary operations all over the world – but in conflicts involving the Russian armed forces over the last 20 years, marines were involved mainly as ordinary motorised infantry or to perform security functions.
The RNI therefore requires new equipment to meet the demands of modern amphibious operations. Specifically, it urgently needs highly protected AFVs capable of carrying out over-the-horizon landings and providing fire support during amphibious assaults.
The current RNI inventory is a mishmash of mostly obsolete and unsuitable APCs (the BTR-80 and its modernised BTR-82A version); the PTS-M tracked amphibious vehicle; MT-LB light auxiliary tracked vehicles; T-80BVM and T-72B3 MBTs; and the BMP-2 IFV.
As the backbone AFV for the RNI, the BTR-80/82 APCs have been repeatedly criticized for poor seaworthiness. This has led to numerous accidental deaths during exercises.
The armoured vehicles available to the RNI do not meet the specific requirements of naval infantry, being almost completely identical to the platforms used by the Russian Ground Forces. Consequently, the vehicles possess the same drawbacks such as inadequate survivability, weak mine protection and poor ergonomics.
Re-equipping the RNI has been repeatedly raised as a priority by the Russian MoD, yet decisions to develop and purchase new types of armoured vehicles have constantly been postponed.
I thought that things had changed after Russian operations in Crimea where Russian Naval Infantry played a bigger role than they had previously but the truth is that Russian Airborne Forces have always been the preferred unit of action.
If we follow the money looks like that remains the case.
Funny thing?
The RNI could credibly claim to be more powerful than the USMC after we finish stripping our forces of firepower and become essentially a raid and missile force (won't even go into a comparison of the USMC and Chinese Marines in a few years).
Despite the fact that they're operating older vehicles they're still going to match up well with the USMC.
By holding in place they're actually moving ahead of us...especially since we're going in reverse.
Badger IFV late and can't meet price projections..
via Janes
The South African parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence has called on the country’s defence minister to intervene over Denel’s inability to meet contractual obligations related to the acquisition of Badger armoured fighting vehicles under Project Hoefyester.Denel is obviously in trouble. This should not have been this much of a lift for that company but they've taken a proven vehicle that should have easily flowed to their forces with a determined price point and delayed it to hell.
In a statement released by the committee on 29 May co-chairperson of the committee Cyril Xaba said, “The unfortunate thing is that there seems to be a misalignment on progress status between Denel and Armscor. The committee has called upon all the parties involved to converge and agree on where the project is and what is the best possible way forward.”
Denel is significantly behind on the Badger infantry fighting vehicle programme, which is based on the Patria AMV.
The committee has asked for Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula to investigate the situation and report back on potential ways to remedy the crisis, with Denel and procurement body Armscor and the Department of Defence at apparent loggerheads.
The delivery of 264 Badger vehicles, which is based on the Patria 8×8 AMV, is currently three years and nine months behind schedule, with the committee noting that Denel “is unable to deliver on the agreed contractual specifications and price”.
According to a Denel presentation made during the committee meeting and seen by Janes, the company was allocated ZAR1.2 billion at 2007 values (then-USD171 million) for the Phase 1 development of the vehicles, and a further ZAR8.392 billion at 2013 values (then-USD932 million) for the Phase 2 production. Currently, there are ZAR6.4 billion (USD367 million) in multi-year unfunded Phase 2 contracts for the vehicle.
Disappointing. The question becomes. Did this happen because they ran into financial difficulty or did this cause financial difficulty for them.
Italy Clears Initial Order for 40 Centauro II Tank Destroyers
via Defense Aerospace.
The Italian Ministry of Defence announced May 28 that it had authorized the award of a production contract to the IVECO-OTO-Melara consortium for a second batch of 40 Centauro II wheeled tank destroyers, with an option on a further 56.Story here.
Including the option, a comprehensive ten-year support package, related equipment and an extended warranty, the contract is valued at 1,159 million euros excluding value-added tax. It will be jointly financed by the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The vehicles will be delivered in “3.0” standard, which will be able to operate in the Italian Army’s new digitalized Medium Brigades, alongside the Freccia wheeled infantry combat vehicle. The details of the vehicle’s capabilities are classified, but according to the explanatory memo issued May 28 by the National Armaments Director, the overall objective is to deploy “an adequate line of armored vehicles, capable of incorporating the characteristics of mobility, protection, firepower, speed, versatility and interoperability with the VBM Freccia, which is the main vehicle of the combat regiments deployed in operational theaters with medium to high threat levels, including Improvised Explosive Devices (IED).”
According to Italian media, the changes in version 3.0 mainly consist of improvements to the fire control system allowing the use of programmable ammunition, improved observation and sighting systems, and an uprated electrical system.
The B1 version of Centauro currently in service cannot match the capabilities of the Freccia.
A further batch of 100 vehicles, which will complete the Italian Army’s requirements, is awaiting ministerial approval, the memo adds.
James Mattis Denounces Trump as a Threat to the Constitution
James Mattis, the esteemed Marine general who resigned as secretary of defense in December 2018 to protest Donald Trump’s Syria policy, has, ever since, kept studiously silent about Trump’s performance as president. But he has now broken his silence, writing an extraordinary broadside in which he denounces the president for dividing the nation, and accuses him of ordering the U.S. military to violate the constitutional rights of American citizens.Thoughts???
“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” Mattis writes. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.” He goes on, “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”
In his j’accuse, Mattis excoriates the president for setting Americans against one another.
Navy completes first AARGM-ER captive carry flight on F/A-18
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| The Navy conducts the first captive carry flight test of an Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) missile on an F/A-18 Super Hornet June 1 at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River test range in Maryland. (U.S. Navy photo) |
Jolly Green II tests with Apache....pics by Samuel King
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| An HH-60W Jolly Green II taxies in followed by an AH-64 Apache May 19 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Air Force and Army aircraft (respectively) completed a joint test of the HH-60W systems leveraging the unique configuration of the Apache to provide capabilities normally not available at Eglin AFB. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.) |
Interesting. I would have thought that the natural pairing would have been with either A-10's, F-16's or perhaps even a few Super Hornets. Testing with the Apache makes me wonder if the idea of rescuing pilots deep has gone by the wayside.
The Jolly Green II will probably serve well in its intended role and its not a slam against the helicopter but it does have short legs. Apparently the CV-22 will be tasked with deep rescue.
Tuesday, June 02, 2020
I think he made his Drill Sgt's day...
#Fitness: A Basic Combat trainee from 1st Battalion, 79th Field Artilley finishes the 2-mile-run in 12:02 — the fastest time of any trainee so far in class 28-20.— US Army Fort Sill (@OfficialFtSill) June 2, 2020
What’s your time?#FiresStrong #Readiness@6_fires @FCoE_CSM @USArmy @FORSCOM @TRADOC @TradocDCG @PaulFunk2 pic.twitter.com/JTSNQyhr21
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