EMOD Stock and P-Mags...

Sgt. Michael Trevino, personal security detail, non-comissioned officer, 172nd Infantry Brigade, utilizes a foot bridge to cross a swollen river outside of the village of Marzak while locals wash clothing on the far bank. Marzak has historically been a stronghold for the insurgency over the past decade until the Afghan and U.S forces took advantage of the winter months to establish a local police force at the request of the elders and secure the village from foreign fighters who transit the area during the fighting season.

I'm digging his EMOD stock and P-Mags...I thought chest rigs for your sidearm was a no-no now...and I can't identify his optics.  Was this a unit or private purchase?

Interesting News. HMH-461 have been some busy, quiet boys.

via Navy Recognition.

Off the coast of Djibouti, a Sikorsky CH-53 "Sea Stallion" from United States Marine Corps (USMC) Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 (HMH-461) conducted several approaches and landings on the Dixmude, French Navy's newest LHD.

Dixmude is the third ship of Mistral Class and is curently used to form and train future French Navy's Officers. The French vessel's flight deck directors dubbed "yellow dogs" were present on the flight deck to assist the Marines crew of the Sea Stallion in his deck landing maneuvers. The CH-53 was able to perform all its TAG (Touch and Go), and obtain the landing qualification on this French type of LHD.

Marines mechanics disembarked from the CH-53 to spend some time on the Dixmude and watch the approach of their aircraft. It was an opportunity for sailors of both nations to exchange a few words, visit parts of the French ship and exchange their unit patches.

Thanks Navy Recognition!

Now we know the name of the unit operating those CH-53's at Camp Lemonnier.  We also know for a fact that the images of that base have indeed been frozen...indeed the images of the region have been frozen.

But even more telling is the fact that in addition to French Foreign Legion, French Airborne Marines and French Paratroopers (and not counting French Special Ops Forces) we also have a French Warship operating off the coast of Africa.

Interesting indeed.

UPDATE:  Bryaxis states that this is indeed a training cruise for the junior officers.  Wow.  I couldn't imagine the US Navy taking out a frontline warship and using it for a training cruise.  Different ways of doing business I guess.  BUT!  The Legion, Airborne Marines and Paratroopers from France are all running wild and wooly on the African Continent.  

Marines in or headed to--The Fight.

Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, navigate the water before loading their Assault Amphibious Vehicle onto the USS New York, March 29 before embarking upon a scheduled eight-month deployment. The 24th MEU, partnered with the Navy's Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, is deploying to the European and Central Command theaters of operation to serve as a theater reserve and crisis response force capable of a variety of missions from full-scale combat operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Michael Petersheim)

Marines with Engineer Support Company Detachment, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward) dig into the Afghan dirt during a two-day road reconstruction project along Route Yellow near Shir Ghazay, Afghanistan, March 13-14.
(U.S. Marine Corps phot by Cpl. Anthony Ward)

The Wild Man of the Air Force..

Read about this Wild Man (and hero) over at Black Five's place.

Seriously jacked up Harrier.

The amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) arrives in Sasebo, Japan. Bonhomme Richard is relieving USS Essex (LHD 2). (U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Joe Kane/Released)

That is one seriously jacked up Harrier.

I've seen training jets moved around.  Cars in hangars but I wonder what the story is behind this airplane.

If you know then please hook me up.  I'm beyond curious.

F-35C High Speed Fly-by

Suck on that AW!

Mythical Fleet Part 2. Sea Control Ship (Littoral)

The next thing my mythical fleet needs is a mothership/sea control/littoral support ship.  My choice?  The Mistral class.

Specs from Wikipedia...

General characteristics
Type:	landing platform helicopter
Displacement:	16,500 tonnes (empty) 21,300 tonnes (full load) 32,300 tonnes (with ballasts)
Length:	199 m (653 ft)
Beam:	32 m (105 ft)
Draught:	6.3 m (21 ft)
Installed power:	3 Wärtsilä diesels-alternators 16 V32 (6.2 MW) + 1 Wärtsilä Vaasa auxiliary diesel-alternator 18V200 (3 MW)
Propulsion:	2 Mermaid azimuth thrusters (2 × 7 MW), 2 5-bladed propellers
Speed:	18.8 knots (35 km/h)
Range:	10,800 km (5,800 nmi) at 18 knots (33 km/h) 19,800 kilometres (10,700 nmi) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Boats and landing craft carried:	4 CTM (chaland de transport de matériel) alternatively, 2 LCAC (Landing Craft, Air Cushion)
Capacity:	59 vehicles (including 13 Leclerc tanks) or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion
Troops:	900 (short duration) 450 (long durations) 150 (serving as operational headquarters)
Complement:	20 officers, 80 petty officers, 60 quarter-masters
Sensors and processing systems:	DRBN-38A Decca Bridgemaster E250 navigation radar MRR3D-NG air/surface sentry radar 2 optronic fire control systems
Armament:	2 x Simbad systems 4 x 12.7 mm M2-HB Browning machine guns
Aircraft carried:	16 heavy or 35 light helicopters
Aviation facilities:	6 helicopter landing spots

The vehicle capacity is really over kill, in my vision it'll be used for enhanced aviation and munitions storage.  I'd fill this ship with Navy MH-60's armed to the gills and then I'd stuff the back end with Riverines and make this a US Navy Special Ops platform.

SOCOM would get its mothership, Riverines would get its mothership and NAVAIR would get a sea control beast from hell.  MH-60's patrolling off the coast of Africa could shut down piracy in a week.  In addition you'd have Riverines running patrols and SOCOM conducting raids from its deck.

What ship would be canned in order to bring this true mult-role ship to the fleet? 

LCS.

What capability would we lose?

Mine hunting.  Every other trick the LCS was expected to perform would be covered by these Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH).  Its not much of a stretch either.  They displace less than a San Antonio Class LPD so they would be considered relatively small ships.  I envision a total of 4 being procured.

Gunfighters at sunset...

The sun sets as UH-1Y Huey crews with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, the "Gunfighters," fly across the flight line on Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, April 1. The Gunfighters continued combat operations while celebrating their 40th anniversary(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lisa Tourtelot).

NOTE:

I wish to all that's right in the world that Marine Corps Combat Photographers would standardize on a simple standard.  Place the name of the Combat Photographer at the end of the caption.  Too many times I'm seeing great shots like this and no credit can be given because the name isn't included.  Come on PAO's.  You can make this happen!
Thank You!

Gwetzel and Gbloore's art.

Gwetzel's work...

And now Gbloore's work...

Both are great photographers and both have been kind enough to share there work.  The only thing I would ask is that if you use their photos then at least be kind enough to credit them.  If you don't then we'll see amazing photos like those above plastered with watermarks or sold to the public instead of being shared freely.

Keep the internet free.  Follow the Wikipedia Commons Code!

Sidenote:  The British and a few of our other allies have detachments here in the US that rival any forces that we have in there countries.  Interesting.

Piranha USV Concept

Via Gizmag.

I won't reinvent the wheel.  Go to Gizmag to read their article on this waterborne UV.  My question is basically this.  What purpose will surface UVs fill?  Just like the search for ground unmanned vehicles I just don't see these taking off.  I could easily be wrong but I just don't see the niche that they're gonna fill.  I mean seriously...the Army's been looking at these for over a decade and they're relegated to backpack sized robots.  The Navy's been searching too and haven't hit on anything.

But again, I could be wrong.  Here's the link to the company website for more info.

Follow up: Lies, Damn Lies and Wheeler Lies!

Wheeler took a post of mine and played with the title to make it fit his latest for Time Magazine.  Read it for yourself but its another Sweetman/Horde special.

But even better is the way that Bruce McQuain from Black Five pushes back on the nonsense...

It would be nice to know what cost is being quoted on the F-35 here.  Most use Unit Recurring Flyaway Cost (URF) which is no where near what is being quoted. Is it TOC or Total Ownership Cost?  Life Cycle Cost? Acquisition Cost? (PAUC)  Which is it?
Secondly, the F-35 comes mission capable (i.e. the engine is included in the URF price).  That is not true of the legacy 4th generation fighters.  Or to simplify, the F-35 is a "combo meal" not an ala carte "do you want fries with that" meal.

Bruce is too much of a gentleman to state what's actually on his mind.  Let me fill in the gaps...

Presence Patrol.

Afghan children walk alongside Lance Cpl. Jacob Kartchner, a team leader with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and 28-year-old native of Long Beach, Calif., in the hopes of receiving candy from Kartchner as he patrols with fellow Marines and Afghan National Police outside the Hazar Joft Bazaar here, April 8, 2012. On the patrol, the Kilo Co. Marines partnered with members of the ANP to maintain security in and around the bazaar, one of the busiest commercial centers in Helmand province's Garmsir district. Their partnership is a vital part of preparing the Afghan National Security Forces to assume lead security responsibility in Garmsir.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder)

Please note that you don't see an Afghan Policeman in the picture.  That's what I call outstanding force protection.

SAAB tries to play in F-35 territory.

via Alert 5 from The Local.se (English Version).

An aggressive marketing campaign from Swedish defence firm Saab is extolling the virtues of weapons that help users to ”see first – kill first” and can be adjusted to focus specifically on ”soft targets”. 
At a weapons fair in Qatar in late March, the company informed potential buyers that its Gripen fighter planes guaranteed a high ”death ratio”, newspaper Expressen reports.

In its marketing materials, the firm also boasts that its Bill 2 anti-tank guided weapon contains a ”soft target mode” that can be used to hone in on civilian houses, cars, and groups of people.

Asked about the JAS 39 Gripen's ”See first – Kill first” slogan, Saab spokeswoman Marie Karlsson told Expressen:

”I actually don’t know what we were thinking when we used those words. I wasn’t involved in making that judgment or taking that decision,” she said.

Pressed further, she declined to criticize the company’s choice of wording.

”We are after all a defence and security company working with defence-related products. Like any other company, we make use of marketing messages.”

But Henrik Westander at PR agency Westander Publicitet & Påverkan lamented the fact that very little appeared to have changed in the defence industry in marketing terms over the last three decades.

”I remember how [Swedish defence firm] Bofors marketed an anti-aircraft gun in the United States in the 1980s using an image of a sharp-shooting cowboy drawing both his pistols at the same time.

"They wanted to give the impression that it was all a game, and it’s still like that now,” he told Expresssen.

Just plain wow.

The F-35 is single handed changing the fighter industry.  You can (and the critics will) attempt to question the meaning behind this ad campaign but its pretty evident that every 4th gen fighter manufacturer on this planet is trying to copying/match the F-35's abilities.

They'll fail.

But they'll try.

See first-kill first?  That's straight out of the stealth handbook.  SAAB has always been a plucky little fighter but this is pathetic.  They're not playing to their stregnths.

All they're actually doing is highlighting how far behind the F-35 they really are.

I love it.

Sidenote:  The above video is interesting.  Its labeled as a heavy load but its just barely more than a F-35A carries internally.  Add two pylons for the Meteor missiles and you're equaling it without any strain.  I guess heavy is relative.

USS San Diego (LPD-22)

The USS San Diego (LPD22) travels through the harbor as it makes its way to its homeport at Naval Base San Diego, April 6. The amphibious transport dock class ship will be commissioned May 19. The USS San Diego is equipped with advanced technology and will assist in the transportation and support of Marine landing forces.

That's 6 San Antonio Class LPD's on active duty.

The rest of Navy ship building might be in a rut but they're pumping these puppies out quick!

Mythical Fleet Part 1. My pick for patrol boat.

Part 1 of my mythical fleet series.

For a patrol boat I want speed, firepower and the ability to strike hard and get away clean.  There are many boats that qualify but my pick for the patrol boat in my fleet is the Skjold.

General characteristics
Type:	coastal corvette
Displacement:	274 tonnes full load
Length:	155.83 ft (47.50 m) 46.8 ft (14.3 m) (Length on cushion)
Beam:	44.29 ft (13.50 m)
Draught:	3.3 ft (1.0 m)
Propulsion:	2 × Twin gas turbines →12,170 kilowatts Twin diesel engines →1,490 kilowatts
Speed:	In rough sea: 45 knots In calm sea: 60 knots
Range:	800 nmi at 40 knots (74 km/h)
Complement:	15-16
Sensors and processing systems:	Thales MRR-3D-NG air/surface radar Ceros 200 FC CS-3701 electronic warfare suite Sagem Vigy 20 Electro-optical sensor
Armament:	8 Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile SSMs (when available) kept in an internal weapons bay 76mm Otobreda Super Rapid multi-role cannon Mistral Surface to air missile 12.7mm gun
Notes:	Soft kill: TKWA/MASS (Multi Ammunition Softkill System) Other: Link 11 and Link 16

Cannons, anti-air and anti-ship missiles.

60 knots in calm seas!

Imagine stationing a squadron of these boats at strategic locations throughout the Pacific.  The Chinese or whoever our enemy is, would have to worry about American swarm tactics.  In reality all I'm doing with this pick is reviving the Hydrofoils of the 60's and 70's and bringing them to the future.

Range would be an issue but for extended operations I have that covered in part 2 of this series.  An early warning.  My list has a Nordic feel to it (at least in the early rounds). 

One thing is becoming apparent though.  Necking down might apply to aircraft, but it becomes much more problematic when it comes to ships.

Mike at New Wars was a big proponent of small, inexpensive ships.  I disagreed at the time because I thought that your force would be killed piecemeal and the idea that ships are disposable didn't sit well.

My position has since changed.  I like small ships...but not because I think that they're disposable, but because large ships can't hope to accomplish all the missions that need to be done.  Perhaps the problem with US ship building can be traced to the demise of small ships in our fleet?

I'm honored!

This has been a great year for the SNAFU! Blog.  Not only have I seen other writers pilfering my stuff (that's cool...its almost flattering) but now I see that I'm in the head of the enemy.

Check this out!  Winslow Wheeler has an article on Time Magazine and guess what the title is?!!!!Lies, Damned Lies, and The Pentagon’s Latest Budget Numbers

Now I know what you're thinking...you're saying WTF Sol?  How does the title of an article by Wheeler mean that you're inside the loop on an opponent?  It's because only a few days ago I wrote an article titled...Lies, Damn lies and What The Fuck Lies.

I feel good.  You can copy me but you can't be me....

 

I'm surprised this sale was approved.

The first of twenty Block 52 F-16s for Egypt completed its first flight on 6 April 2012 from NAS Fort Worth JRB. Called Peace Vector VII, the latest purchase of F-16s by Egypt includes sixteen single-seat and four two-seat versions. Deliveries will begin later this year.

Company's sell products.

So Lockheed Martin can't be blamed for this sale of advanced fighters to Egypt...but the State Dept can.

Why would they sell these advanced jets to Egypt when the Muslim Brotherhood is about to take over?

When they held US Aid workers prisoner?

When we really don't know the future of that country.  This one is a mystery.

A build up right before our eyes.

Marines from 3rd Battalion, 14th Marines don their packs and prepare for in-processing after arriving in Agadir, Morocco, April 7 to support Exercise African Lion 2012. These Marines are responsible for overseeing the field training portion of the exercise. AL-12 is a U.S. African Command-sponsored, Marine Forces Africa-led exercise involving various types of training including command post, live-fire and maneuvering, peace support operations, an intelligence capacity building seminar, aerial refueling/low-level flight raining, as well as medical and dental assistance projects. AL-12 will promote multi-national cooperation and mutual understanding of each nation's military tactics and procedures.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tyler Main)

African Lion.

Camp Lemonnier.

Two MEU's operating in Central Command's area of operations.

Two carriers operating in Central Command's area of operations.

Images at Camp Lemonnier have been frozen.  As a matter of fact images of the region have been frozen for at least the past two weeks (check Google Earth and the exact same pic from almost a month ago of Camp Lemonnier is still shown...not one airplane has moved....they're all in the same spots).

We're seeing a military buildup right before our eyes.  Notice I haven't included what Army units are doing.  Nor have I listed USAF or SOCOM assets.

Something seems to be brewing, I just can't put my finger on it.

Generation Kill...

I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes; If you fuck with me, I'll kill you all. - US Marine General James Mattis, to Iraqi tribal leader

 

The Buccaneer Aviation Group Rollout

Via UK Air Show Review

I don't know if this is a public or private group but they're worthy of support either way.  Its a cliche but if you forget it, you'll repeat it.  Latest evidence is Afghanistan.  We sought to fight terrorist, got roped into nation building and repeated the mistakes that the Russians made.  But I'm off on a tangent.  If you get a chance check out UK Aviation Review.  I think you'll really like their site.