USAF was right the first time. The CH-47 should have been the rescue helicopter.

Interesting.

We almost had the Pentagon's worst nightmare come to pass.  What happens when you throw a competition and no one bids?  Well it kinda happened this time...everyone stayed home except for Sikorsky.

The shame of it all is this.  The USAF was right to select the MH-47 as its next rescue helicopter.  When Para-Rescue was at its height it had the HH-53 Jolly Green Giant that it could rely on for either heavy rescue (many persons) or deep rescues.

That capability has been lost for several decades now.  IF the Air Force had been institutionally strong enough to with stand the criticism and defend its choice it would be well positioned for extended rescues over water in the Pacific AND could assist SOCOM in many of its missions...basically because of the capabilities, range and lift power of the MH-47, the nation would be getting two aircraft in one.  A very capable rescue platform and an adhoc penetrator to deliver or retrieve Special Operations personnel.

I'm a fan of the H-60.  I absolutely love the S-92.  But for this mission and with the direction that I see Para-Rescue headed (especially when you consider that they're looking at dropping off at one location traveling maybe 50 miles to rescue a pilot and then 50 miles further in another direction for pickup) the lift power of the MH-47 is needed.

Additionally common sense indicates that the Para-Rescue bubbas are heading toward bigger platoon sizes, just as Scout Snipers have done.  The days of a pair of Para-Rescue fast roping in as a team of two and fighting off the bad guys with a knife in one hand and a syringe of morphine in the other are as dead as disco.

Grow some balls Air Force.  Either pick the MH-47 or wait on the CH-53K.  The days of small rescue helos is over.

F-35 might carry 8-12 Cuda AAM's internally.

Or so Elements of Power Blog surmises at the end of his post.  Read it all here, but be warned...I guess he couldn't help it but he went nerd boy in a big way two lines in and didn't come up for air until the very end.  I would love to hear Elements of Power, Sweetman, Goon and Christina all debating the F-35 (oh and I would add the cowboys from the Heritage Foundation but I forgot their names) with the Dave from the Dew Line playing referee.  I bet we could find out motives real quick.  When it happens you heard it here first.

CF-5

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – Aircraft CF-5, flown by Navy test pilot Lt. Cmdr. Michael Burks, takes off from the F-35 Lightning II manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 11. The aircraft, which arrived here the same day, is the final permanently assigned F-35C for the Integrated Test Force at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and designated primarily for ship suitability and high angle of attack testing. The Lightning II F-35C carrier variant is distinct from the F-35A and F-35B variants with larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear built to withstand catapult launches and deck-landing impacts associated with the demanding aircraft carrier environment. The F-35C is undergoing flight test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River before delivery to the fleet. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin)

Aerosonde unmanned air vehicle

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — Marines in Afghanistan witnessed AAI Corp.’s Aerosonde Unmanned Air System (UAS) first flight Dec. 2. under NAVAIR’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services contract. 

AAI field services representatives conducted the nearly 10-hour mission and provided real-time full-motion video (FMV) to Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) 3.

Under ISR services, the Aerosonde 4.7G UAS is a contractor-owned and operated system. The 70-pound air vehicle provides real-time FMV and other sensor capability to Marines deployed in Afghanistan. 

“ISR services continue to be a very important piece of our kit and allows us to quickly and efficiently fill the demand for our current theaters of operations,” said Col. Jim Rector, program manager for the Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical UAS (STUAS) Program Office (PMA-263). “Until we field our current expeditionary STUAS Program of Record for this class/group of UAS, the requirement for both land- and ship-based ISR services are going to continue for the Marine Corps.”

PMA-263 currently supports the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Special Operations Command with ISR services, Rector said.

In June 2012, PMA-263 awarded a land-based task order to AAI under the NAVAIR ISR services contract. Under the contract, AAI provides up to 3,600 hours per month of ISR services and manages all operations and maintenance of the UAS for up to one year, with options to extend.

AAI is concurrently supporting training and UAS familiarization exercises at Twentynine Palms, Calif., for the Marine Corps.

Its going to get real interesting when someone realizes that the bad guys have UAVs too.

Do we use MANPADS against them or the old World War 2 anti-air drills for infantry?

Either way air power will probably be too stretched to shoot them all down.

Combat Cock (NSFW Language).

Too funny.  The Combat Cock gets around.

Active Shooter. Face it. You're on your own.

Quick rant.

Another animal with a gun decided to go on a shooting spree in Oregon.  Sympathy to the families of the victims.  But I also have a warning to those that remain.  In an active shooting situation you're on your own.  

Face up to it.  Accept it.  Deal with it.

The police response we saw yesterday was text book.  They arrive at the scene, contain it and then they sort the good from the bad.

That's all well and good if you're on the outside looking in...but if you're trapped inside that police perimeter with your family then you're dog meat.

Between the incident yesterday and a glance at other active shooting incidents its obvious.

You must protect yourself.

F-35B Flight No. 1,000

Marine Corps test pilot Maj. Russell Clift makes a vertical landing in F-35B test aircraft BF-01 at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, on 7 December 2012. This flight, the 268th in BF-01, marked the 1,000th flight for the short takeoff/vertical landing variant of the Lightning II. The first flight of the F-35B came on 11 June 2008 and the first vertical landing came on 18 March 2010. BAE Systems test pilot Graham Tomlinson was at the controls for both of those F-35B milestone flights.

Know your enemy. FARC has SA-7's.

Islamic terrorist have by my estimation three routes into Central and S. America in order to attack the US.

Venezuela, Mexican Drug Cartels and FARC operating out of Columbia.

Well FARC just got SA-7's.  Where they got them from I have no idea, but if they're from stockpiles in Libya then the international gun trade is bigger than I thought.

Notice too the helicopter that they fired against.  That's a Battle Hawk of the Colombian Air Force.  Commenters on Military Photos think that they simply missed.  My guess is that its a fight they didn't want and that this was simply a publicity stunt.  If they had succeeded in shooting down a helicopter on routine patrol then you'd see US Special Forces Teams hopping all over that country like bunnies on a golf course...operating along side Colombian Marines.

S. America.  The next war zone.

Exercise Steel Knight 2013

Steel Knight 2013 is an annual exercise designed to train and prepare the 1st Marine Division for deployment as the Ground Combat Element (GCE) of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). The focus of the exercise is to ensure that 1st Marine Division is fully prepared to deploy as a military force across the full spectrum of conflict and is capable of responding to any crisis across the globe.

FANCY FANGS

Joe Copalman does it again.  Another great shot!

AM General’s BRV-O Photos.

Zooming through manufacturers sites this morning and ran across this collection from AM General.  You might have already seen them but they're new to me.

AH-64E Apache Block III Attack Helicopter

The X-47B taxies aboard USS Harry S. Truman

Know your enemy. ZTZ-99 (Type 99) Main Battle Tank.

Main battle tank Type 99

Entered service 2001
Crew 3 men

Dimensions and weight
Weight 54 t

Length (gun forward) 11 m

Hull length ?
Width 3.4 m
Height 2.2 m

Armament
Main gun 125-mm smoothbore
ATGW 9K119 Refleks (AT-11 Sniper)
Machine guns 1 x 7.62-mm, 1 x 12.7-mm
Elevation range ?

Traverse range 360 degrees

Ammunition load
Main gun 41 rounds
Machine guns 2 000 x 7.62, 300 x 12.7

Mobility
Engine diesel
Engine power 1 500 hp
Maximum road speed 80 km/h
Range 400 km

Maneuverability
Gradient 60%
Side slope 40%
Vertical step ~ 0.8 m
Trench ~ 3 m
Fording ~ 1.2 m
Fording (with preparation) 5 m

The Type 99 main battle tank is a further development of the Type 98 MBT. It is generally similar to the Type 98, but has a number of improvements. The Type 99 was revealed in 2000 and entered service with the Chinese Army in 2001. Only a limited number of these MBTs are operational (approximately 200), because of the high unit price. This main battle tank shows a mixture of Russian and Western influence in it's design and technology.

The Type 99 MBT features improved armor protection over the Type 98. Turret of the Type 99 has a Leopard 2A5-style wedge-shaped modular add-on explosive reactive armor. Damaged sections to be replaced or upgraded when more advanced armor is available. It is claimed that the front protection of the Type 99 MBT is equivalent to 1 000 - 1 200 mm of steel armor. Vehicle is equipped with NBC protection and automatic fire suppression systems.

This main battle tank is fitted with unique active laser protection system, which uses a high-powered laser to disrupt missiles laser or infrared guidance signal, disable enemy observation optics and damage eyesight of enemy gunner. This active laser protection system can also be used against helicopters.

The Type 99 tank is armed with a fully-stabilized ZPT98 125-mm smoothbore gun, fitted with a carousel-type autoloader. Both the main gun and the autoloader were copied from the Soviet/Russian designs. The Type 99 has a rate of fire in 8 rpm using autoloader and 1 - 2 rpm loading manually. It fires APFSDS, HEAT and HE-FRAG rounds. It is reported that this MBT also uses more capable APFSDS rounds with depleted uranium penetrators.

The Type 99 main battle tank is compatible with Russian 9K119 Refleks (AT-11 Sniper) gun-launched anti-tank guided missiles, fired in the same manner as ordinary projectiles. China produces this anti-tank missile system under license. This missile has a maximum effective range of 4 - 5 km and can target helicopters. Four AT-11 Sniper missiles are carried.

Secondary armament consists of 7.62-mm coaxial machine gun and 12.7-mm anti-aircraft MG.

Unusual feature for main battle tanks is a laser communication device. It is mounted behind commander's hatch and is used for a line of sight information transmission. It can send encrypted text, data or voice messages. Furthermore it is used for friend or foe identification. This system has an effective range of 3 600 m. Tank can also be fitted with GPS receiver for navigation and positioning.

The Type 99 has a crew of three, including commander, gunner and driver.

Hull of the Type 99 MBT is very similar to the Soviet T-72, but is one meter longer. Vehicle is powered by a turbocharged diesel engine, developing 1 500 horsepower. This engine is based on the German MTU 871 Ka-501 technology. The Type 99 has a high power to weight ratio and subsequently good mobility and cross-country performance. It is worth mentioning that the hull of the Type 99 is very similar to that of the Soviet T-72 main battle tank. External fuel tanks can be carried at the rear of the hull for longer range.

Some of the Type 99's technologies were used to upgrade Chinese Type 96 main battle tanks.

Variants

Type 99G, sometimes referred as Type 99A2. It has a number of improvements, related with fire control, targeting and countermeasures systems.

Type 99 Main Battle Tank | Military-Today.com

China has shown the ability to steal or copy any tech that it desires.  So why its tanks remain so primitive when compared to Western examples is beyond me.

Quite honestly I've been looking and waiting for a major announcement from the Chinese when it comes to their tank programs but none so far.

I don't know why.  Could it be that the Chinese see the tank at the end of its development cycle?  Could they believe that the tank has no place on the future battlefield?

Again.  I just don't know.  What I do know is that China is at least a generation behind the Western powers and they're not keeping up with the BRIC countries...most notably Turkey when it comes to armored development.

In the Pacific region the ZTZ-99 is clearly inferior to the Singaporean's Leopard 2+, Japan's Type 99 and Type 10, Australia's M-1 Abrams and S. Korea's K-1.  They're probably on par with tanks found in service with Vietnam and Thailand and only clearly outpace the financially cash strapped armor found in the Philippines Army.

I'm still digging but this is an area where the US and its allies are clearly ahead.  If China were to find itself in mechanized combat against any of the regional Pacific powers, it should find its tanks overmatched.

UPDATE:  Could the future for Chinese armor be found in their imitation Stryker Brigade?  Particularly in the ZBL09 Assault Gun (think MGS except that it works)?  If their main focus is on operations in the Pacific Rim...with value placed on combined arms...especially if they're looking at a Infantry centric mechanized force then the move to all wheels and an assault/infantry support gun system makes sense.  Time will tell.  Below are pics of the ZBL09 taken from a Chinese photo site.

M728 Engineer Vehicle.

The M728 was designed with combat across a broad spectrum in mind.  From urban to desert to jungle, the M728 was built to destroy obstacles to the manueveur force.

Does the Assault Breacher Vehicle provide the same support?  Quite honestly I don't think it does.  Line charges are able to defeat some obstacles but probably not the majority of them.  Its a powerful vehicle but the lack of the 165mm gun found on the M728 will be missed.

Time will tell but if the Army and/or Marine Corps ever finds themselves in urban combat against a skilled opponent, the lack of a bunker busting/obstacle clearing gun will NOT go unnoticed.

Is it government's responsibility to save the stupid?

One major caveat.

I don't know all the details of the Doctors work.  He very easily could have been a member of the CIA (for all I know) and was acting in an undercover capacity or he could have been providing valuable intel while doing his mercy work.  But this news has me shaking my head and wondering...via FoxNews.

A U.S. official has told Fox News that a member of the Navy SEAL Team Six -- the same special ops group used for the raid on Usama bin Laden's compound -- was killed during a weekend rescue mission in Afghanistan that freed an American doctor abducted by the Taliban outside of Kabul five days ago.
President Barack Obama praised the special forces on Sunday, saying the mission was characteristic of U.S. troops' "extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism."
A spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan said Dr. Dilip Joseph of Colorado Springs, Colo., was rescued early Sunday, local time, in eastern Afghanistan. Joseph, a medical adviser for Colorado Springs-based Morning Star Development, was rescued after intelligence showed he was in imminent danger of injury or possible death, according to the U.S. military.
The U.S. did not immediately identify the SEAL Team Six member killed in the mission.
"He gave his life for his fellow Americans, and he and his teammates remind us once more of the selfless service that allows our nation to stay strong, safe and free," Obama said in a statement.
In a separate statement Sunday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, "In this fallen hero, and all of our special operators, Americans see the highest ideals of citizenship, sacrifice and service upheld."

But the question has to be asked.

If you're a US citizen and you're working in a war zone...without government sponsorship...acting under the banner of an NGO, then if you're captured do we have a responsibility to put other people's lives in jeopardy to save you?

Let's take it a step further.  If you're a fighting man and walk away from your post and into the hands of the enemy do we have a responsibility to save you?

Boiled down to its crust.

If you're stupid do we have a responsibility to come to your aid?

LPD-24 delivered to the Navy...

The amphibious transport dock Arlington (LPD 24) returned from successful U.S. Navy acceptance sea trials in November. The ship had an opportunity to steam in formation with Anchorage (LPD 23) while at sea.

The amphibious transport dock Arlington (LPD 24) returned from successful U.S. Navy acceptance sea trials in November. The ship had an opportunity to steam in formation with Anchorage (LPD 23) while at sea.

Remember when this was a troubled class of warship?

Well they've already delivered 8 of an 11 ship class with another (LPD-25) due to be delivered soon and God help us all the John Murtha soon after that one.  (Why did a true American hero named John Glenn get a Mobile Landing Platform and talking dung get an LPD is beyond me).

Press release is via Naval Open Source Intel.

PASCAGOULA, Miss., Dec. 7, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has delivered the amphibious transport dock Arlington (LPD 24) to the U.S. Navy. Arlington is the eighth ship in the LPD 17 class of ships Ingalls has delivered to the Navy.

M22 Light Tank.

A light tank, designed to be transported by glider and able to support Para-Troopers in the attack.

They got it done in WWII and it went by the name of the M22.  Read about it at the "World War Two Vehicle Site".

Hillbilly Engineering!

Talk about hillbilly engineering!

The rebels use cheap LED screens coupled with a playstation controller to fashion a remote weapon station and if that wasn't enough they use surveillance cameras to help them drive the armored car!

They basically did a FCS or GCV on the cheap....desperation makes you inventive.

Major Hat Tip to Jalopnik via RT.

Good news from Afghanistan is bad news for information management.

I expected better.

Did you know that an American Doctor had been kidnapped in Afghanistan five days ago?

Neither did I.

Read it for yourself here.