Ultra Light Tactical Vehicle. JLTV Killer???

Read about it here....and subscribe...I love these guys.

Blast from the past. Sky Raider.

An AD-5 Skyraider of Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 332 pictured on the ground in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 12, 1955, fifty-eight years ago today

F-35. Lifting the UK economy?

via Lockheed Martin press release.

LONDON, United Kingdom, Sept. 12, 2013 – Thirteen British companies and the U.K. Minister of Defence Equipment, Support and Technology participated in a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Industry Recognition Event during the DSEI tradeshow today. Over the next 40 years, British industry will continue to play a vital role in the F-35’s global production, follow-on development and sustainment, bringing strong economic benefits to the kingdom.
“The F-35 is the largest defence programme in the world,” said U.K. Minister of Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Philip Dunne. “The U.K.’s involvement will generate billions of pounds and tens of thousands of jobs for the British economy for decades to come, with over 500 suppliers across the U.K. already contributing to the production of the F-35. Backed by this government's strategic vision for U.K. aerospace, the F-35 programme allows us to continue to build on the strengths of our nations avionics, systems and sensors industry.”
Steve O’Bryan, vice president, F-35 Business Development, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics added, “Our suppliers here in the U.K. are essential to the success of this program. Together, they will produce 15 percent of each one of the more than 3,100 F-35s planned for the global fleet. We are leveraging their proud legacy of innovation in aerospace to deliver this unprecedented capability to the warfighter.”

Read the whole thing here.

My considered analysis of the claims being made?

Bullshit.

We're seeing a monetary scheme that rivals the fraud seen on Wall Street.  Money is flowing from the US government to Lockheed Martin.  That money is then spread around the world to different sub contractors in strategic countries...countries that are either part of the program or those that tey want to join.  Next, Lockheed Martin charges the US govt and its allies crazy prices for the airplane and when those govts balk at the price, Lockheed Martin can claim all the jobs that are provided by this project.

Its diabolical.  Its fraudulent.  It shouldn't have been allowed.  And it won't work in the end.

The writing is on the wall.  Sequestration will continue and the F-35 will die (Who's gonna save it?  Government deficit reducing Republicans or social spending Democrats?  The budget hawks rule the roost and the F-35 is the biggest pigeon flying).

Nuff said.

WTF Putin!!!

Everyone is going crazy about Putin saying that America isn't an exceptional country and that its dangerous for Americans to thinks so.

To that I say ... Ok.  To each his own.

But what has me saying what the fuck is this section...

Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored.

What did he just do there?

Is Israel about to be gassed by Hezbollah?  If they do it they better be real careful and real clever.  If Israel gets gassed and it can be traced to Assad then that country will be turned to glass.

A few people were talking WW3 with the nonsense that is the Obama Administration foreign policy.  I laughed it off, but this puts things in a new light.  Putin is old skool Soviet Union Operator.  If he's determined that they can do it with few fingerprints then more people will die.

Shit just got real. 

F-35C. This is how it ends...

Thanks for the article Andrew.

via Reuters.

Defense officials say the Navy is looking at an array of options, including buying fewer coastal warships built by Lockheed Martin Corp and Australia's Austal, and delaying orders for the Navy's F-35 C-model, also built by Lockheed to land on aircraft carriers.
Lockheed, Austal and other Navy suppliers such as General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc are awaiting news about how the Navy would cut spending in its fiscal 2105 budget plan now being prepared.
The services are working to finalize their plans in coming days so they can send them to top Pentagon leaders for review.
Mabus said the Navy was doing all it could to protect training and readiness, but warned that if the cuts stayed in place, sailors and Marines might have to deploy without adequate training within 12 to 18 months.
Training and maintenance had already been scaled back, while protecting funding needed for deployments, but the forecast cuts would eventually begin to affect those areas, he said.
He said naval forces remained in the Middle East at the ready to deal with Syria, but ongoing budget cuts could undermine the Navy's ability to provide those military options to the president in the future.
"Unless we act to address the damage of continuing resolutions and sequestration, there are options which may be limited or just not available in the future," Mabus said.
Continued budget cuts could force the Navy to eliminate more than three dozen planned maintenance periods for its warships, and ground more than 200 aircraft.
Mabus also warned that the Navy's efforts to rebuild its fleet and drive down acquisition costs would be jeopardized if budget cuts forced it to break multiyear acquisition contracts.

Follow the link to read the whole thing but make no mistake about it...

If the Navy has to choose between carriers with Super Hornets or fewer carriers with F-35Cs, the more carrier argument will win everytime. 

Its nothing sinister.  Its just the way things are.

Combatant Commanders will insist on having carriers available.  Combatant Commanders don't see a slowdown in the need for forward deployed forces in this chaotic world.  What this also means is that the death spiral (as I've predicted) is about to hit full force this fall.  Left unsaid is what will happen to the other variants.  Amos will die in a ditch over the F-35B but he's in a much weakened position and opponents of this program will drop a few well placed e-mails to Congressional staffers and he won't testify.  Additionally many will be driven mad by the idea that he will once again offer up the Amphibious Combat Vehicle for delay.

This is almost a done deal.  They'll fight it but the F-35 program is being recognized for what it is.  An unaffordable boondoggle.

Patria AMV Concept. More pics. UPDATE!

I just noticed it.  Do you see that weapon mount?  Looks to me like its sporting an ATK 25mm light weight chain gun and a 7.62 machine gun.  The 25mm cannon is the stunner though.  I've always like the concept, but never thought that anyone would bite.  The fact that Patria is showcasing the weapon on its concept vehicle is telling.  We might see this on a allied or US vehicle soon.

Blog Note.

I want to thank Jonathan for the info on the Patria Concept and Nexter Titus.  DSEi was (I thought) a non-event.  I'm glad he was paying attention.

Titus Multi-Role Armored Vehicle Brochure.

  Press Kit Titus

Nexter "Titus" Multi-Role Armored Vehicle Vid.

Nexter "Titus" Multi-Role Armored Vehicle Pic.

Patria DSEi Vid. (historical)

Patria AMV Concept Vehicle Brochure.

  Patria New Vehicle Concept Brochure

Patria AMV Concept Vehicle.

Looks good!

Type 26 Global Combat Ship (latest vid)

Syria fallout?

Thanks for the article Matthew!

via France24...

AFP - Russian President Vladimir Putin will offer to supply Iran S-300 air defence missile systems as well as build a second reactor at the Bushehr nuclear plant, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday.
Putin will renew an old offer to supply Iran with five of the sophisticated ground-to-air missile systems at a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rowhani on Friday, Kommersant said, quoting a souce close to the Kremlin.
Putin is set to meet Rowhani at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation held in Kyrgyzstan on Friday.

Well that didn't take long.

The verdict is now in on whether Russia played the US like a two year old at feeding time.

Yeah they played us.  They're drinking our milkshake.  Read the entire article here.

Blast from the past. M-52 105mm Self-propelled Howitzer

Thanks Galvars for the idea!

Photos and vehicle description via Olive Drab.

The Howitzer, Self-propelled 105mm M52 / M52A1 was developed starting in 1948 as one of a set of post-WW II self-propelled artillery weapons. It replaced the M-7 Priest 105mm SP and M37 105mm HMC. With the advent of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the Army specified that the new artillery platforms would be fully enclosed to provide not only protection from conventional weapons, but also for the NBC protection required by the nuclear battlefield.
The M-52 was based on components of the M41 Walker Bulldog Light Tank. The rear track idler wheel was lowered to the ground to resist firing shock and no recoil spade was provided. The engine and transmission were in the front section of the hull, while the rear hull was the base of a large turret with a 60° traverse left or right of center. The turret had access doors and hatches for the driver, gunner, and commander. An anti-aircraft .50 cal. machine gun was mounted at the commander's hatch. During development, the vehicle was known as the T98, then the T98E1 which was standardized as the M-52.
The main gun of the M-52 was the 105mm M49 Howitzer.
A total of 684 M-52 105mm Self-propelled Howitzers were built by Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. in Milwaukee, WI starting in 1954.

This is the granddaddy of the M-109.  

What will be interesting is what happens on a modern battlefield.  A battlefield where we receive counter battery fire in the form of 122mm rockets hitting us with the Chinese/Russian version of steel rain.

Marine Corps leadership preached killing Iraqi artillery in the first Gulf War.  They told every pilot over and over again that we (meaning the ground forces) could handle Iraqi Tanks, AFVs and Infantry.  Artillery was a different matter.  Even then, Russian guns out ranged our own.

Future  artillery doctrine isn't talked about a lot but it will be as interesting any other development on the battlefield.

Marine Corps Times goes full retard. Warning. Rant.

Marine Corps Times is in full retard mode over a promotional video put out by the 26th MEU.  I saw this days ago and to be honest I was waiting for the whole thing because this little warmup didn't exactly press my buttons.  To be honest it seemed warmed over.

Not to Marine Corps Times though.  Check this out from the Chick reporter....

A new promotional video released by the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit features surprisingly political language, courtesy of a voiceover from a 1964 Ronald Reagan speech.
The nearly five-minute video, produced by 26th MEU combat cameramen, is billed as a teaser for a longer multimedia documentary project following the unit through its current deployment in the Navy’s 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility, embarked with the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group.

It real simple.  This female needs to go back to working for the DNC.

President Reagans speech is a famous speech by an American President.  Would we be hearing this complaint if the 26th had chosen to run with a quote from a Democrat?  Doubtful.

I don't expect much from Marine Times.  They're a bunch of reporters that occasionally get to hang out with Marines.  But to invent controversies is simply bullshit.  AND MAKE NO MISTAKE.  THIS IS AN INVENTED CONTROVERSY!

A quick note to Hope Seck, Staff Writer for Marine Corps Times and author of this bullshit.

You went full retard lady.  You never go full retard. 

General Dynamics. A small peek at their pitch to the Army.

I found these while surfing the web.

We're getting a small look at GD's pitch to the US Army.  Even if they fail to win the AMPV project.  Even if they fail to win the GCV project.  Upgrading the US Army and Marine Corps M1 Abrams with diesel engines would be a nice, long term project to keep them busy for a few years.

That alone would be impressive, but they've taken it a step further.  If you click here, it'll take you to a website called "A leaner, more agile ABCT (Armored Brigade Combat Team)" and it has a calculator that shows all the savings possible if the Army follows GD's advice.  In light of the budget issues we're facing its a real nice pitch.

Official Call of Duty®: Ghosts

Pretty cool, but over the top trailer...definitely gonna check out the game.  They did give me an oh shit moment though.  The voice over actor makes the statement, "a man that truly loves his country doesn't give his life...he gives his son's"... that left me cold.

Syria. Wouldn't it be funny...

Wouldn't it be funny if the Russians pull the rug out from underneath the administration just later this week?

I mean, the Democrats are acting like this is a done deal and a way out.

What if this is all a game?