Blast from the past. BAE's concept "Jumping Jeep"

The 'Jumping Jeep' was a concept reconnaissance vehicle capable of leaping over obstacles - a 4x4 transporter flanked by 12 vertical lift fans, whose angle could be adjusted dependant on the situation - allowing the jeep to overcome enemy barriers.

Developed by BAC Warton at the request of the British army in the 1960s, the design was an attempt to adapt vertical take-off and landing technology to vehicles and was developed with the Ministry of Defence's Fighting Vehicle Research and Development Establishment.

The project was cancelled in the mid-1960s, due to assessments that production of the design would be too expensive

BAE Intercity Vertical-Lift Aircraft. AWESOME!

The Ultimate Close Air Support Airplane.

via Sobchak Blog. ..you really should pay him a visit.  Good stuff.  Fun stuff.

The new multi-purpose attack aircraft TAMARR-1 comes under the philosophy that the firepower is never too much. To avoid unnecessary complications of contemporary F-35, its simple cell is already built amphibious, terrestrial, hydro and VTOL version as the only one in the assembly line. Its wide range of weapons, fixed and launch, allows him to cover the whole spectrum of missions desirable: Cas, Coin, ASW, anti-tank, anti-ship, air superiority, strafing, strike, ect. It 'also equipped with an internal bomb bay capable for special loads. Thanks to the double probe bivalent its autonomy is unlimited and does not need fighter escort. In the R & D was discarded each configuration recce, because useless arrives, it finds and destroys everything is gone. A reconnaissance mission post is superfluous.

1st MEB Press Release goes full retard. "Historic" landing on Japanese ships? Really? Seriously?

This is getting embarrassing.

You put out a press release that you're going to "cross deck" the Marine Corps MV-22's on Japanese helo capable ships and instead of looking at it as business normal, you loudly proclaim that its HISTORIC!

Really?

Seriously?

Can someone in that head shed PLEASE take a step back and realize how stupid this sounds.  Its suppose to be able to take off and land like a helicopter, so whats historic about this?  Check out this quote from the release....

"The very first landing of an MV-22 Osprey on a Japanese ship is a historic moment for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Marine Corps at large. Dawn Blitz provides us an opportunity to enhance our longstanding relationship with the Japanese and to highlight the capabilities of the MV-22 Osprey, which allows the Marine Corps to quickly respond to a crisis when launched from sea or land." – Brig. Gen. John Broadmeadow, 1st MEB commanding general.

Wow. I think the General hit all his marks...

**Buzzwords inserted into the statement?  Check!
**Proper brown nosing of the Commandants policy on promoting the V-22?  Check!
**Demonstrated kiss ass-itude required for promotion to the next rank...with added brown nosery to demonstrate that deep selection to the rank of Commandant and 4 stars will result in policy makers have a properly polished "hole"?  Check!
**Going full retard to show the world that you're an idiot?  Check!  

Failure abounds.  The Marine Corps is fucked.

The Aviation Mafia is killing the Corps.

Go here and read the article.

Then come back.

Once you've done that check out the passages that I've highlighted below...

Former Marine Corps deputy commandant for aviation Lt. Gen. George Trautman agreed that the service will return to its traditional role in the vast stretches of the Pacific. “The presence of strength breeds prosperity and peace,” he said.

Another Aviator is being quoted in a story about the Marine Corps future.  Hold onto your wallet when the wing is in charge of anything.

Overall, the Marines are in good shape for the Pacific theater, having procured the Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor and the Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, Trautman noted. The only real problem is that the U.S. Navy has not agreed to provide the service with as many amphibious assault ships as the Marines believe they need.
“Other than the fact that the United States Navy is unable to provide them the amphibious lift that’s essential to moving large amounts of equipment and men and materiel around a vast ocean,” Trautman said, the service is in good shape.

No.  The General is wrong.  Marine Aviation is in good shape.  MARSOC is in good shape.  The conventional forces are in disarray.

Because of sequestration automatically cutting Pentagon outlays by 10 percent every year for 10 years, the U.S. government does not have a lot of spare cash. While the Marines clearly would like to have the high speed of the ACV, Work said the service simply may not be able to afford it. “The Marine Corps with LCACs, MV-22s, and the amphibious capabilities they have right now is a very capable force able to conduct complex ship-to-shore maneuver,” he said.
And with all of the capabilities the Marines are scheduled to receive in the coming years, like the heavy-lift Sikorsky CH-53K helicopter, the Marines will remain “a pretty damn good” force ideally suited for the Pacific even without the ACV, Work noted. Given the competing priorities of paying for the MV-22 and F-35B, there is a dearth of financial resources available to the Marines, especially if the sequestration law is not overturned. Whether and how the ACV fits into the mix will depend on exploratory work now being conducted on whether the Marines can get a platform capable of high water-speeds for an affordable price. “Ultimately, it’s a trade off,” he said. “What do you want to keep?”

Its clear.

They're setting up a scenario to make a pitch that the ACV is not needed.

Additionally they're setting it up to make the argument that an upgraded AAV will be sufficient, and that with the JLTV the ground side will be more agile and as protected as ever...especially in light of the new toys that the wing is getting.

So count on the ACV & the MPC to be cancelled by the aviation MAFIA riding roughshod over the Marines.

Amos has to go.

We don't need another Aviator in the Commandants Chair and where are the retired Marine Corps Commandants from the Infantry side of the house to fight all this?

An aviation centric Marine Corps is no longer the Marine Corps.  

This game trailer should scare the shit out of you!

Galvars!  Thanks!  You just made me plop down money for more ammo and food.  You bastard (joking)!



The Black Helicopter crowd was right about government spying.

They're right about our society being so complex that breakdown is inevitable.

Are they right about a society without rule of law?  I don't know but I'm lifting harder, dieting even stricter and practicing even more.

This is how it would look!

A U.S. Navy landing craft utility (LCU) from USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) prepares to move equipment and personnel ashore for Pacific Partnership in Tonga. Working at the invitation of each host nation, Pacific Partnership is joined by partner nations that include Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Japan, Malaysia Singapore, South Korea and New Zealand to strengthen disaster response preparedness around the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tim D. Godbee)

An LCU stops far short of the beach and discharges its cargo.

This is how the concept would work if the Marine Corps adopted this method to achieve over the horizon surface assaults utilizing both its LCAC/LCU and Marine Personnel Carriers and Amphibious Combat Vehicles.

The Ships would launch its LCACs and LCUs from over the horizon to a predetermined set of coordinates...they would discharge the first wave of vehicles.  For the second wave the LCAC/LCU would make the entire run to the beach and we would use airpower and naval artillery to keep the enemy away from our landing area.

Additionally the first wave could motor inland and establish a different beachhead to keep the enemy off balance.

The whole point of this is that we have the tools necessary already.  We don't need to make the same mistake of designing a high water speed amphibian.

First select the right vehicle for the MPC and get it into the fleet asap.  Next decide what you want in an ACV but understand that we have workarounds already on hand to negate the need for high water speed over great distances.

WE CAN DO THIS NOW!  We just lack the leadership with the vision to get it done.

The U.S. Army

Marines, Army form quick-strike forces for Africa

via USA Today.

WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps and Army have developed quick-reaction forces to respond to attacks such as the one in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.
The Marines will base 500 troops at Moron Air Force Base in Spain, about 35 miles southeast of Seville, said Capt. Eric Flanagan, a Marine Corps spokesman. They can be flown on short notice to African crises aboard six Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.
Those aircraft can take off and land like a helicopter and cruise at more than 300 mph. Two KC-130 tanker aircraft have been dedicated to refuel them in flight, which will expand their reach.
The unit is known as the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force for Crisis Response. It will act as a first responder to U.S. embassies in the region on behalf of U.S. Africa Command, Flanagan said. It will be on standby to help evacuate Americans from hot spots and to provide disaster relief and humanitarian missions.
The Army has developed the East Africa Response Force, which operates under the Combined Joint Task Force — Horn of Africa. Its headquarters are at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. The company-size unit is equipped with aircraft to conduct evacuations and rescue missions in the region.
"Soldiers have been on the ground in Djibouti to support this mission since April and have the capabilities they need to conduct it," said. Brig. Gen. Kimberly Field, deputy director of strategy, plans and policy for the Army.
The soldiers for the force come from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division based at Fort Riley, Kan.
The Benghazi attack on Sept. 11, 2012, exposed the vulnerability of U.S. outposts in dangerous countries. Although Pentagon officials knew of the attack as it was happening, they lacked forces in the region capable of responding fast enough to help. The consulate was overrun by Islamist militants, killing Ambassador Christopher Stephens. A nearby U.S. facility was also attacked.
The light, quick forces deployed by the Marines and Army are designed to fill that gap in north and east Africa.
"Benghazi really throttled things up," Flanagan said. "Everybody has looked at the threat and decided this is the new normal. We need something more responsive in the North Africa area."
Benghazi proved that the Pentagon needs to respond quickly to "flare-ups," said Loren Thompson, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute and a defense industry consultant. The Marines are his choice for the job.
"This mission should be given to the Marines, because they have Osprey tilt-rotors that can get to fights fast and then land anywhere," he said. "They also have amphibious warships that allow them to act without access to land bases. The Army doesn't have the right equipment for quick-reaction forces in the Mediterranean or Middle East."
Peter Singer, director for the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution, said there have been about two embassy emergencies or evacuations each year for the past decade, making the Marine and Army quick-reaction forces necessary into the foreseeable future.
They're a "good idea," Singer said. "The response time at Benghazi was unacceptable. Period."

And the bad ideas keep coming.

*  1st ID is now one of those geographically aligned divisions the Army is so quick to want to experiment with.  What happens if it hits the fan and they're needed somewhere else though?

*  Why isn't SOCOM shouting from the roof tops for this mission?  Its probably because they know what everyone inside the military knows. This is gonna be a Security Forces type setup.  You train your ass off, you stand inspection upon inspection, go through all kinds of "readiness exercises" and you never do it for real.  The dirty little secret is that the State Dept will evacuate an embassy faster than you can say...whatever it is you want to say.  These units will NOT be used as designed.

*  The head shed is finding another reason for being as far as the V-22 is concerned.  Nicely played...but we still need new armor more than we need new V-22s.

China's looming Expeditionary Airborne Forces.

Do you remember the Chinese Heavy Transport Airplane that they've recently started testing?

I do.

I hope you did more than me and simply dismiss it as another example of the Chinese copying more plans from foreign governments and building weapon systems.

I hope you put it together in a way that I didn't and realize that this seems to be part of a greater strategy.

Its really quite obvious when you step back.

I've called for the US Army to forward deploy a Battalion or two of its 82nd Airborne to the Pacific to act as rapid deployment forces to be used in conjunction with Marine Forces.  I'm not as enthused about Stryker Brigades in an air transported role but the US Army had that as a requirement when the vehicles were first developed/delivered.

But what happens if your doctrine is pure?  What if you didn't suffer a decade plus of IED warfare?  What happens if your vehicles are in the 15-25 ton class and air transportable.

What if your wheeled vehicle is something like this...

ZBD-09.  The Chinese Stryker...20 tons lighter than the Double V-Hull US Army Stryker.

We've all been pumped up by the tech coming to the Chinese Air Force and Navy but have missed the improvements at a more basic level.

They're putting together the parts to have a truly expeditionary, air transportable, mechanized infantry unit that will augment several airborne divisions already in service.

What does this mean for our defense posture?

We could be looking at Chinese naval activity as a clue to their intentions and miss aerial transports operating inland that suddenly sortie out to land an air mech/airborne infantry force on a strategically or politically important island.

I could be wrong, but if you put the new air transport together with vehicles that appear to geared more toward pure expeditionary operations rather than stabilization or extended ground combat then I think my guesses might be spot on.

Police Officer killed in standard ambush. Is this just the beginning?

via LEX18.com

The Bardstown Police Department chief says the the agency has received threats against its officers in the wake of the shooting of Officer Jason Ellis.
Ellis was shot to death in an ambush along an onramp to the Bluegrass Parkway back on May 25.
Chief Rick McCubbin confirmed the threats, but did not reveal their nature or how the department received them. He says his agency has notified the Kentucky State Police.
Police continue the investigation into Ellis' murder. A reward for information in the case has grown to more than $125,000.
Anybody with tips can call KSP Post 4 at (270) 766-5078 or email norman.chaffins@ky.gov. You can also visit www.kentuckystatepolice.org and follow the links to our Text-A-Tip line.

The reaction by LEOs will be telling.  If its another over reach I would expect to see more of this.

Quite honestly I expected to see this much sooner.

Just a bit more civil strife...Just a few more changes to social norms....and the table will be set (especially if the economy remains weak).  Police always talk about the streets being a warzone.

If this kicks off they'll find out exactly how wrong they were.

Lockheed Martin Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV)

26th MEU. Eager Lion 2013.

Propaganda: Chinese Aircraft Carrier Strike Group with J15, J20

I believe we've reached (in the common vernacular...especially inside the beltway) a tipping point when it comes to the Pacific.

The approach that the US Navy is taking versus that of the Chinese is telling.

We (America) is doing the "politically correct" thing.  Partnership missions.  Military to military contact with China.  Expressing the desire for greater visibility on defense systems and spending.  Encouraging our allies to buy our equipment for greater interoperability....

China however is doing something else entirely.  Over the past year their were dust ups between China and Japan, China and the Philippines, China and India...They've been hyper aggressive in their cyber espionage and reportedly have stolen the plans for our most important programs.  And they've made alliances with everyone from Australia to Iraq and Iran, to various African nations for natural resources.

The US is involved in an untested, perhaps useless exercise in partnership missions while China doggedly attempts to increase its strategic reach, solidify its supply of natural resources and increase the effectiveness of its military.

Now tell me which approach do you think will be successful.

31st MEU. Pre-deployment Training. Helo Dunk Tank.

Is it my imagination or are we seeing a whole bunch of activity suddenly from almost ALL the MEUs?  26th is taking care of business in Jordan, basically splitting in two with about half exercising with the Jordanian military and the other half on the Syrian border...11th is doing stuff with the Japanese at Dawn Blitz...you have the CARAT exercises going on....its an interesting time.

First Flight of the A350 XWB will take place on 14 June

Well.  Looks like AirBus just doesn't give a damn and they're going "balls to the wall" on the A350XWB.  Why do I say that?  Because I got this in my Blogs EMail this morning.  Good job on their part and I post it here because I expect AirBus to continue to be aggressive into the future and I'm betting that we might see an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), Maritime Patrol and perhaps even a Tanker version.

300: Rise of an Empire - Official Trailer

Hmmm.  When I saw the '300's trailer it grabbed me immediately.  I saw the trailer and knew that I would see the movie and buy the DvD.

This one?  I can't say why but it just isn't singing to me.  I think they're really missing out on what the public loved about the first film.  I see a big flop ahead.

China launches manned Shenzhou-10 craft to experimental space station.

More Faulty Thinking From HQMC.

This is killing me.

Doctrine is being developed on the back of note cards and wishful thinking.  I don't believe any of this can actually have been wargamed.

Quite honestly its a doctrine that simply enshrines current Pentagon Group Think.  via National Defense Magazine.

Working with allies and helping to train their armed forces — or what the Pentagon calls “phase zero” operations — would help avert armed conflict as the United States would have a huge coalition on its side to deter a potential enemy, Simcock said.
Navy and Marine Corps officials in Asia are convinced that “engagement” is the ticket to peace in the region, he said. “Countries are very receptive to the type of engagement that the Navy and Marine Corps bring to the maritime theater,” he said.

No country wants to see the United States increase its military presence in the area permanently, but Asian allies welcome opportunities to train with U.S. forces and buy U.S. technology so their weapons are compatible. “That type of engagement and access is what we build upon” to push back against enemies that would seek to deny entry to U.S. forces, he said. “The relationships we build today, before any crisis hits, will pay off when a crisis occurs,” regardless of whether it is a man-made or a natural disaster.

Read the whole thing at NDM.

But a question.

Do you remember being in a bar and watching two guys going at it.  You might know them both...and you're sure that they have other friends in the room too, but everyone kicks back and watches the festivities.

Why?

Because its not your fight.  At most you might break it up, but you won't weigh in on one side or the other.

That's the Pacific region.

If China decides to make a run on the Spratly Islands claimed by Japan, who would come to Japan's aid?  The US?  We would debate the issue until it became a done deal.  Thailand, Australia and Singapore intervening on Japan's behalf?  Not likely.  The Chinese are not idiots.  They'll be doing prepping operations too.  Diplomatic prepping operations.  The stage will be set where no country will aid Japan.

A Marine General show know this.

As a matter of fact I'm sure he does.  What this is, is a strategy to fool the public into believing that we're keeping pace with the Chinese militarily while our forces are being gutted.

What do partnership missions bring?  An active looking military that is in essence being hollowed but still giving the impression of being robust and vigorous.

I really hope the Pentagon realizes what its doing.  The left never supported them and soon the right won't either (when they figure all this out).  What happens when America's most trusted institution is no longer trustworthy?

Chinese Stealth Bomber?

The above photo is floating around the internet and I have no idea where it came from.  The usual Chinese websites that I frequent haven't made a fuss and all and I haven't seen it on them.

What is interesting is that they have a concept out.  If they follow usual practice we should see the real thing in about 6 months or so after they release the image to Chinese bloggers.

If China is developing a first rate air force that rivals or is even superior to our own, then US Army and Marine Corps planners are going to have to plan for an eventuality they haven't faced since before WW2.

Having to win a fight against armored infantry forces that are qualitatively equal, and numerically superior without the benefit of air support.

That should chill the bones of every analyst in every think tank in Washington.

Note:  All it will take for the Chinese to gain "quality" equality with US ground forces is a much improved Main Battle Tank.  Whether they steal the tech, buy it or develop it, once they do that then all bets are off in a sustained ground campaign...especially if they commit all available forces to the fight.  As it now stands, I seriously doubt that the US could prevent China from taking Taiwan...and I'm sure we couldn't take it back if they dug in.