Where are the liberals on this???

Fascinating.

The liberals in the US and Europe were all over the story of the unrest in Egypt.  They pushed hard for Mubarak to step down and refused to see the danger that his unplanned ouster would mean to the rest of the Middle East.

Now we have this drama going on not only in Bahrain but in the rest of the M.E. and all we hear is silence.

Why?

Graphic images...probably too strong for liberal stomachs.

XP-67...First blended wing, semi stealth fighter?

My love affair with airplanes from the past continue.  Introducing the XP-67...if they had gotten the engines to work this would have been a war winner!

What The F*CK!!!!

Thanks Phil for sending me this link!!!

ELP Defens(c)e Blog is in favor of the F-35?????

Now that the latest USAF gathering in Orlando–which in recent years doesn’t
produce much of anything–is over, we can have the week of wild alternatives
for the USAF fighter roadmap. How to fix a force structure in the coming
years of shrinking budgets? Well, we need ideas. And these will be thrown
around mostly for entertainment purposes. And when I state “shrinking
budgets”, I mean real bad stuff. All plans will assume the stupids in D.C.
let F-22 production close.

Plan one.

The F-35 program will be composed of 20 Fighter Groups. Each group will have
one squadron of 24 F-35B STOVL aircraft. They will be procured at 48 per
year for 10 years. This does not count extras for test, training and
development. This will support 10 AEFs and allow for home air defense of the
most basic kind.

A-10s stays as-is. Refurb as much and as many times as needed.

Ok, if ELP is in favor of the F-35B then the world is spinning backwards, the end times are here and there is hope for the world to get right again!

The Battle of Iwo Jima began today.

Today marks the 66th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions, under the command of the V Amphibious Corps,  participated in this battle along with an enormous Naval Task Force under the command of Marc Mitscher

Another page of American history worth relearning.

Weekend Humor.

Weekend humor is being provided by Cracked Magazine.  First up is...

The 11 Most Badass Last Words Ever Uttered

and then we have...

7 Historical Figures Who Were Absurdly Hard To Kill

yep, its slightly morbid but entertaining none-the-less.

Montage of German WW2 Concept Aircraft.

I am constantly impressed by the innovation shown by the pioneers of aerial engineering.  Whether friend or foe they were brilliant.

Wow.

Everyday, No Days Off Blogspot posted this and its down right...I don't know what it is....

An unknown USMC core competency

"The questions raised last summer by deputy Navy Secretary Robert Work and by Gates himself about the Marines' future "created not a little bit of angst," in the Corps, Dunford said.

"Paranoia is one of our core competencies," he added, "but rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated."

Assistant Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford. 

via Ares Defense Blog.

Hmm.  Have I been acting paranoid in regards to the future of the Marine Corps?

I don't think so!

Why is the discussion of the F-35 so contentious.

On Ares, the commenter Horde, asks the question...am I posting under another name (in particular his current nemesis "JackJack").

I can assure you I don't --- and I won't.

Why is the discussion so contentious about the F-35?  In my opinion ---especially after this latest episode---is because we're all operating in a vacuum and some would rather state opinions as facts instead of acknowledging the lack of information that we all suffer from.

MV-22 the best rotor aircraft in the Marine Corps???

via Lexington Institute...

V-22 Is The Safest, Most Survivable Rotorcraft The Marines Have

Here's a surprise: the V-22 Osprey has turned into the safest, most survivable rotorcraft the U.S. Marine Corps operates. The Osprey had its first fatal accident in ten years last April during a combat mission in Afghanistan, when an Air Force version hit the ground at high speed. But because of safety features built into the airframe, 16 of the 20 personnel on board survived. If you think that's still one crash too many, then you better not look at the safety records of other rotorcraft in theater, because many of them are not faring as well. After 14 operational deployments and 100,000 flight hours, the Osprey is beginning to look like a real life-saver.

That's not the way the V-22 began its history. Conceived as a versatile aircraft that could combine the land-anywhere agility of a helicopter with the speed (280 miles per hour) and range (375 miles) of a fixed-wing aircraft, the Osprey suffered two serious accidents during its development. Those accidents delayed fielding and left a lasting impression on critics, who to this day allege it is a flawed aircraft. The Marine Corps vigorously disagrees, arguing it is a safer and more flexible way of getting troops from ship to shore than any other means available. A mounting body of evidence from operational deployments indicates the Marines are right. Not only is the V-22 less likely to be hit by ground fire than conventional helicopters (because it flies faster and higher), but when it is hit it suffers less damage and if it crashes occupants are more likely to survive.
Over the last ten years, the V-22 mishap rate has been about half the average for the entire Marine aircraft fleet, and it is currently the lowest of any rotorcraft in that fleet. These averages are adjusted to reflect time actually flown, so it really is a surprisingly safe aircraft, considering it only recently entered service. New airframes usually have higher mishap rates than aircraft that have been operated for many years. Of course, none of this would matter if the Osprey couldn't do much, but in fact it is living up to its potential for versatility, conducting everything from night raids and medical evacuations in Afghanistan to logistical support and humanitarian assistance in Haiti. It is also proving to be the most flexible airframe employed by Air Force special operators, who use it for an array of harrowing combat and rescue missions. Readiness rates for the Marine version are around 70 percent, which is quite respectable for a new and novel airframe.
But much of this progress has not been noticed by the political system, which finds it hard to forget the testing accidents that occurred many years ago. In fact, three different amendments are currently pending in Congress to delete some or all of the funding for the Osprey, and the president's bipartisan deficit panel suggested ending production early because the program had a "troubled history" of developmental problems. That's kind of like saying that Mr. Obama does not deserve reelection because he had a tough childhood, without looking at what he's done lately. With only $15 billion left to be spent in a $70 billion acquisition program, it makes no sense to cut the V-22 program just as the Marines are about to reach their inventory goal. Costs are down, readiness is up, and the Osprey has become the safest way of moving troops around combat zones. This is one program that deserves to stay on track.
Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D.

Solid argument.  Not sure I still don't want more CH-53K's.  More thought necessary on this one.

The Commandant speaks about future roles...

We are a middle weight force...Light enough to get their quickly, but heavy enough to carry the day upon arrival...

Its long but listen to the whole thing...its worth it.

UK's Minister of Defense crows about potential export of Ocelot to Australia.

Southern Partnership Photos.

Marines, operating amphibious assault vehicles with the Security Cooperation Task Force, prepare to debark the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall during Amphibious Southern Partnership Station 2011. A-SPS 11 will focus on strengthening existing regional partnerships and encouraging the establishment of new relationships through the exchange of subject matter expertise. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Lorraine S. Mendoza)

Amphibious assault vehicles with Security Cooperation Task Force member debark the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall during Amphibious Southern Partnership Station 2011. A-SPS 11 will focus on strengthening existing regional partnerships and encouraging the establishment of new relationships through the exchange of subject matter expertise. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Lorraine S. Mendoza)

Info on BAE's upgraded HUMVEE.

Baes PDF Brochure Isv

USAF to start training on the F-35 before the end of the year.

via Defense News.

The 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will take delivery of 20 F-35A-model conventional take-off variant aircraft with Block 1 training software after a brief informal operational evaluation so that instructor pilots can begin their training, said Vice Adm. Dave Venlet, the new JSF program executive officer.

 "We're going to put them in the hands of the fleet and the Air Force is going to be operating [Conventional take-off and landing aircraft] in training at Eglin before the year ends," Venlet told a luncheon hosted by the National Aeronautic Association.

Why is the discussion of the F-35 so contentious.

Click here and the link will take you to an article written by Sweetman about the F-35.

From the start the conversation was contentious, with a commenter named JackJack being double and triple teamed...all because he supports the program.

What surprised me even more was the fact that even Sweetman (whos come out in the past against outing commenter s because it could deny a link to the inside story on these program) goes so far as to insist that JackJack come out and identify himself by name.

All of the above is neither here nor there...the question is this...Why do conversations about the F-35 become so contentious.

F-35C.

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- Lt. Cmdr. Eric "Magic" Buus performs the first F-35C flight by a Navy test pilot at Naval Air Station Patuxent River on Feb. 11, 2011. The F-35C is the carrier variant of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter currently undergoing test and evaluation. Photo courtesy Lockheed Martin.

You just knew I had to add this pic to the blog.  Remember..."except for discussions about my beloved F-35B" I can be quite lucid!

Pic of the day. Feb 15, 2011.

Marines with Combat Assault Battalion, Ground Combat Element, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade Forward, III Marine Expeditionary Force, in amphibious assault vehicles train with smoke grenades here Feb. 11, 2011. The training evolution also included courses of fire with the M2 50. caliber heavy machine gun and the Mk19 automatic grenade launcher at a newly-constructed range built for multinational training by Marines from 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III MEF, and Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd MarDiv, both assigned to GCE during Exercise Cobra Gold 2011.Cobra Gold 2011 is a yearly multinational, joint training exercise designed to improve partner nation interoperability. Courtesy PFC Mark Stroud.

BAE's ugraded HUMVEE.

all photos courtesy of BAE...

We lost on the EFV but won a Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) Vessel!

Defense Tech reports...

The Navy is also asking to buy 11 ships: Two Virginia class attack subs, one DDG-51 class destroyer, four Littoral Combat Ships, One San Antonio class amphibious transport ship, two Joint High Speed Vessels and one Mobile Landing Platform.

We lost on the EFV but the bigger battle...the battle to make the sea base a reality seems to be well in hand.  The biggest obstacle, the US Navy is onboard (notice another San Antonio Class LPD is also to be bought along with 2 JHSVs)...

All the hand wringing about the Marine Corps future is beyond premature...it was wishful thinking by a cabal of critics.