Royal Marines "Vanguard Strike Company"

Story here.

Interesting.  This part of the article stood out but read it all..

Commandant General Royal Marines, Major General Matt Holmes, said: “The Vanguard Strike Company will lead and inform how the Royal Marines and Army Commandos will operate and fight in a dynamic, technological era of warfare.

“We envisage several of these networked sub-units persistently forward deployed around the globe, with an array of sophisticated enabling capabilities, to present dilemmas to adversaries whilst supporting partners. These will all be at high-readiness, as a capable forward contingency force at the core of the Royal Navy’s Littoral Response Groups.”

I see the Royal Marines are on the same path as the Missile Marine Corps except with less gear.

In essence we're FORWARD DEPLOYED (the RM's too) in penny packets, expecting these EXTREMELY SMALL FORCES to somehow deter a determined enemy that has overwhelming firepower.

We're setting up the modern version of that old western...Ft Apache...but on a global scale.

The enemy will find, fix and destroy these units in place...with EASE!  Part of their issue gear should be a box of napkins for the mothers of these Marines to cry into when that notification officer and the Chaplain show up.

Russian BMO-T Heavy APC...

Pics via Vitaly Kuzmin's Instagram Page...

US Army @ Defender 20 - Europe

Baby steps now (relatively) but the Army is getting back into its old REFORGER type days of moving forces around the globe.  Can't wait to see what they're gonna do in the Pacific but mark my words.  The US Army will be there and they're gonna yank out a seat at the table.

It might seem far fetched but the Army is talking REAL BIG about multi-domain operations so them buying a few batteries of anti-ship missiles shouldn't come as a surprise.  Additionally I'm betting we're gonna see a proposal to sail Patriot missiles on US Navy ships to be landed with Missile Marine Forces or even alone.

There is alot more to the naval battle than just lobbing missiles at ships.  Extending the range of the anti-air umbrella is important too. 


IF the Missile Marine Corps concept is valid then placing anti-air missiles in forward locations (meaning alongside anti-ship missile vehicles) would seem beyond reasonable.  It would seem essential.

The Army has straws out and they're actually drinking everyone's milkshakes.  Of course it's brother services made it easy but they're doing it none-the-less.

10 Indian Airforce Jaguars Armed with Harpoon Anti ship missile have arrived at Car Nicobar island.

Around 10 Indian Airforce Jaguars Armed with Harpoon Anti ship missile have arrived at Car Nicobar island.

Message is clear for PLAN Navy😎 pic.twitter.com/6IDrRerGCt

— MaverickⓂ️ (@Maverick_bharat) July 20, 2020

DAVID's SLING / Sky Ceptor Flight Test

DAVID's SLING / SkyCeptor  - Defeating Current & Emerging Threats
The system protects against multiple targets at long range ‒ including artillery, rockets, short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles.

Who we are | The Infantry | British Army

Russian Marines, Airborne, Armored Forces, Aircraft and Ships participate in Emergency Readiness Exercise...

Need a Russian speaker to translate this thing...article here.

USAF with KC-10's and F-117's...you cheeky bastards!

An real life example:The US Airforce tried to sneak two F117 through Austrian airspace by hiding them in a tanker's radar shadow

The KC10 flight was registered + approved, but air command thought something was fishy and scrambled Draken. They came back with this picture: pic.twitter.com/tniEWzLq9C

— Susanne Auer 🇪🇺 (@AuerSusan) July 20, 2020

It's probably wrong as hell but I luv it!  USAF!  You live in luxury but you're sneaky as hell.  LUV IT!

Armenian army destroys 4 Azerbaijani armored vehicles...we are entering a period of many small wars globally

via AlmasdarNews

BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:45 A.M.) – The Armenian army recently delivered a powerful blow to the Azerbaijani forces, as new photos showed the aftermath of an Armenian attack on the former’s positions along the border.

In a photo that has been widely shared on social media, four destroyed vehicles belonging to the Azerbaijani forces can be seen from an aerial image taken near the border of the two countries.

“A day earlier it became known that Azerbaijan had already lost at least four tanks in the regions bordering with Armenia, however, the military from Armenia published new photos – as a result of the strikes, another Azerbaijani tank and an armored recovery and recovery vehicle (ARV) were destroyed. , according to some reports, under the cover of the same destroyed tank, several more units of damaged equipment were to be removed from the attacked area, which could indicate much greater losses from Azerbaijan,” the Russian publication, Avia.Pro, reported.

Previously, the Armenian Ministry of Defense announced that their air defense forces shot down as many as 15 Azerbaijani drones.

The clashes between the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces broke out on July 12th, and since then, the two sides have traded accusations over who is to blame for this flare up in violence.

I call what's going on in the Middle East right now a REGIONAL war.  It could however be broken down into many small wars between different combatants but similar supporters over the region.

The big and middle powers are using proxies like street hookers in the bad part of town.

This thing though surprises me.  Did not see this coming.  Guess all the saber rattling would finally shake something loose.

What has me spinning just a bit is the fact that we didn't see this skirmish escalate.  Kinda makes me wonder if you didn't have a Company Commander sink his fangs in and not know how to extract them before people started dying. 

Lengthy F-35 Upgrade List To Transform Strike Fighter’s Future Role

Article is at Aviation Week (here).  This is the part I want you to focus on ... it's towards the end of the thing and he lays out the optimistic, neutral and pessimistic possibilities going forward.  See them below then head over and read the whole thing.

Optimistic
After short-term stagnation, global defense spending resumes growth and Lockheed delivers 4,000 F-35s overall
Despite early concerns, Lockheed completes the Block 4 modernization program on-time and on-budget

Neutral

Global defense spending stagnates through 2040, increasing downward pressure on programs of record
Block 4 modernization suffers some delays and overruns but does not affect aircraft procurement

Pessimistic
Global defense spending enters a long-term decline, setting off a 1990s-style “procurement holiday” for fighters
TR-3 Refresh and Block 4 are delayed significantly, with cost overruns leading to further cuts in the procurement budget

If you're neutral or optimistic then I applaud your faith.  The trainwreck is here and the F-35 is gonna make it harder than it should have been....and it still won't be worth a bucket of spit.

FNSS Korgan – Fortress on Wheels

via FreeNews.

The word korgan, translated from the ancient Turkic language, means “protected place” or “castle”. It is with a well-fortified and safe structure, as conceived by the designer, this vehicle should be associated.

FNSS Korgan – a military-designed amphibious hybrid car with remote control, ballistic protection, and modularity, which, if necessary, allows you to transform it to perform various missions.

The concept provides for a large enough interior space to accommodate many different modular solutions. The combat vehicle is capable of transporting 14 people, acting as a command post, an ambulance, a fire engine, as well as transporting ammunition and fuel.

With intelligent drive control, a diesel-electric hybrid power supply, and easily replaceable two battery modules, Korgan delivers top performance in any terrain.

When developing the hull and the concept of the layout of the armored vehicle, special emphasis was placed on maximum practicality. Electrically operated double-wing gullwing side doors and a wide tailgate with a retractable ramp allow servicemen to exit the vehicle at high speed.

The independent suspension system, airless tires, and the highest lean angles give Korgan countless advantages over rough terrain. Thanks to two unmanned drones located in the niches in front of the combat vehicle, it is possible to conduct reconnaissance of the surrounding area in advance in order to avoid possible threats.

In addition, with the help of a retractable 360-degree front camera and four lidar sensors, the vehicle can be remotely controlled or, if necessary, complete unmanned missions.

The project was created by Turkish designer Emre Husmen for the FNSS Mildesign International Land Vehicle Design Contest, hosted annually by the US-Turkish military-industrial consortium FNSS, and won one of its prizes in 2019.

If you're not checking out their design contests then you're missing out.  They actually invent people to conceptualize future vehicles.  Many of the designs flat out look terrific.

Hoping to see alot more of it this year.

Open Comment Post. 20 July 2020