In Texas, even the cats are crazy...cat vs rattlesnake

via UPI

A Texas police department shared photos from the capture of a massive rattlesnake spotted by bird-watchers hanging out next to a "fearless cat."
The Laguna Vista Police Department said the Bay Area Birders of LV reported they were on a walking trail Thursday when they spotted the snake.
The department shared several photos from the capture, including one of the snake appearing to be in the strike position while a "fearless cat" watches it from mere feet away.
"We ask that you all use caution and are aware of your surroundings when walking on the walking trail or any other locations. Generally, rattlesnakes emerge from hibernation in March or April, or when the average daytime temperatures reach and remain about 60F and higher," the department said.
Experts said the snake appears to be about 4 feet long, but seems much longer in some of the police photos due to forced perspective.

Cats are cool.....

I messed up...but its corrected now!

Hey Tribe,

I messed up.  I posted a link to Google Docs on a TRADOC brochure regarding the Army's Future Bradley Replacement.

It was listed as private but is now open to everyone.

My bad but get over it.  Shit happens and when it does we reorient and keep moving forward.  

Mother Of All Bombs Infographic via USA Today...

Hmm.

Maybe this thing is more impressive than I thought.  Might need to reassess!

F-15 on afterburner down low...Glamour pic!

pic via EyesToTheSkies Tumblr Page.

57mm Valhalla Turret

Thanks to Checkers for the link!

That a BIG setup, but I'm assuming it doesn't penetrate into the cabin.  If that's true then we're seeing something nice.

Check out the Odin 570 here (note the caliber...that's a 57mm gun...naval artillery on a ground vehicle...if we went this way then engaging old tanks would be easy...even new ones could suffer damage)

Next Generation Combat Vehicle Prototype 1.0

As promised I posted the link to this PDF on my Google Docs page.  You can find it here.

Side note.  I absolutely hate this "me too-ism" that seems to sweep the pentagon.  "Leveraging the F-35", "Game Changer" for damn near every weapon system being considered and now this "1.0", "2.0" bullshit is almost too much to stand.

Mattis is right.  Powerpoints make people stupid.

Open Comment Post. April 23, 2017

Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle (TAPV) in the snow with Canadian Forces...

Anti-Assad terrorists have been taking a beating this week...pics via AlmasdarNews.com

More pics and story here.

Why do I see pics of guys standing on burnt out and destroyed vehicles and immediately think "battlefield tourists"?

Cockerill 90 on LAV...Glamour pic of the day...

Thanks to Help for the pic!

Hovercraft in the Arctic...the Russians appear to be planning for it...

Thanks to Gregory for the pics!

CoffeeJoeJava recommended an "open comment" post so that readers could comment on stuff that wasn't covered that day on the blog.  The idea is that readers could stay on topic on particular post and use the open comment section for free ranging discussion.

It's been a raging success.

As usual, the conversations go all over the place and due to the fact that we have people commenting from all over the globe, we tend to get peeks at what other nations are up to.

It annoys many but I have a few Russian readers that give us looks at what their govt is working on (I wonder if the CIA and Defense Intel guys are looking at what we're talking about here?).  The latest was a "combat capable" icebreaker.

Yeah you read that right.

The Russians are going to build/are building, an icebreaker with a large caliber cannon on the front and vertical launch systems midsection.

But what has me jazzed is the fact that they're also including a hovercraft! Colin caught it and if you look carefully at the above pics you'll see it too. So what is the hovercraft?  Google was not kind but I tracked it down.  Pic is from Defense Blog (matches perfectly doesn't it?).

Go here to read his take on the vehicle.  I find it noteworthy that while we're just getting units tasked with fighting in the Arctic (again...after around 20 years when no one had the mission...to when we've been talking about it for the last 10) the Russians are not only arming icebreakers, building vehicles specifically tailored for arctic combat and even getting high speed hovercraft to take advantage of their all terrain capability, we're still crawling toward the idea.

The Russians are ahead of us when it comes to prepping for a fight in the arctic.  No shame there, were had other priorities.  How about this though.  Instead of reinventing the wheel we simply take their solutions and match the capabilities now, and later work on overmatching them?  Its the only way to rapidly close the gap.  The 2nd ID is gonna hate it but they're gonna have to take that mission on with gusto.  At least a Brigade of Arctic troops will be necessary...not rotating, but permanently assigned to the mission.  If the Marine Corps wants to play then I guess I could see a SPMAGTF being formed for that task.  Either way its gonna suck.  The cold hurts!

The current state of the Marine Corps...

Check out the below passage...

The Marine Corps is a fermenter; it is divided into two distinct camps—the Old Salts and the Boots—who are forever warring: the Old Salt defending his past and his traditions against the furious assault of the Boot who is striving to exalt the Present at the expense of the Past, seeking to deflate the aplomb of the Old Salt by collapsing this puffed-up Past upon which it reposes.
But the Boot will forever feel inferior to the Old Salt; he must always attack, for he has not the confidence of defense.
The moment he ceases to slash at Tradition with the bright saber of present deeds, the instant he restrains that impetuous sword hand, trusting instead to the calm eye of appraisal—upon that change he passes over to the ranks of the Old Salts and ceases to be a Boot forever.
Youth rebels and age conserves; between them, they advance. The Marines will cease to win battles the moment either camp achieves clear-cut ascendancy.
— Helmet For My Pillow, by Robert Leckie (via uss-edsall)

Makes sense....but I ask....Are the boots and the feminists and the "transformationalist" tilting the axis?

Every Day Carry. What makes a flashlight tactical?

The flashlight above is the Nitecore P10GT.  It's labeled on Battery Junction as both a tactical and everyday carry flashlight.

My question is simple.  What makes a flashlight tactical?

Personally I like the clicker on the back (side switches which are all the rage today are just a pain in the ass to find) and I wanted more than 600 lumens (on a cloudy night in Louisiana it gets DARK!).

Anyway my searching of Battery Junction continued and when I checked out the "tactical lights" the main distinguishing feature was crenelated bezels.

Is that what makes a flashlight tactical?  Or is it simply if a matter of how a flashlight is used?

Does that cheap Rayovac that puts out 9 lumens on two D-cells and goes for 1.75 become tactical if a cop's light goes out in the middle of shift and he has to search a building for a burglary suspect?

Do labels even matter anymore?  If not then are we paying a premium unnecessarily?  These aren't burning questions but I wonder.

Open Comment Post. April 22, 2017

F-35 News. Australian media finally asking questions...

via The Australian.

A host of problems are still troubling Australia’s F-35 strike fighter, including structural flaws, software and weapon sight glitches, humidity impacts and even the connectivity of laptops used for maintenance.

The issues are among dozens of problems identified in a US milit­ary test and evaluation report about the stealth aircraft — 72 of which Australia has ordered from the US at a cost of about $100 million each.

Defence confirmed earlier this month that some of the issues were yet to be fixed and may not even be resolved until 2022 — two years after the F-35A planes are supposed to achieve initial operating capability in Australia.

Then this.

 But developing the hi-tech aircraft from scratch has proved costly and problematic.

Earlier this year, the US milit­ary’s operational test and evalua­tion director Mike Gilmore released his annual report on the aircraft, finding fault with numerous aspects of its development, ­including everything from targeting problems to structural joints failing.

One area of concern was the plane’s “electro-optical targeting system”, or EOTS.

The system uses sensors on the aircraft and computers feeding targets to the pilot’s hi-tech ­helmet visor display.

Dr Gilmore’s report noted that the system was affected by “high humidity”, which caused pilots to have to fly closer to targets than desired. He also stated that the system was “inferior to legacy ­systems”.

Some of Australia’s F-35As are due to be deployed to the Northern Territory, which experiences high levels of humidity during the wet season from about December to March.

However, Defence says it is not concerned about the issue as ­enhancements to improve the EOTS performance were planned for delivery in 2022 as part of the “follow-on” modernisation prog­ram. The first aircraft in Australia are supposed to be at initial operating capability by 2020.

Story here.

This is how it begins.  You support the program but then you start asking questions.  The program replies with insanity or unmitigated bullshit and those questions start becoming shouts.

It happened to me and it has happened to others.  Now its happening to the Australian media.

The problem?  I've accused the program supporters of lying.  But what if they actually believe all this?  What if they think that after all these years and putting into production an airplane that will never meet performance goals set in 2009, that it'll still be a world beater?

I think when reality hits heads will explode.  Before that reality is accepted the blame, anger and refusal to accept the truth will have those people lashing out.  My point?  The F-35 has already been nasty, but I think it will get worse before this program is finally killed.

The Russia and Trump drama is about to come to an end that will piss off liberals...

via CNN.

The FBI and other US agencies have been combing through information obtained through that FISA as part of its ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign's links to Russia.

Intelligence analysts and FBI investigators who analyzed various strands of intelligence from human sources to electronic and financial records have found signs of possible collusion between the campaign and Russian officials. But there is not enough evidence to show that crimes were committed, US officials say.

Story here.

So this is a HUGE HINT that the investigation into Trump/Russia ties are about to come to an end.

While that's good news, the bad is that the liberals are about to go ape shit. We have witnessed the savaging of an administration that was coordinated between main stream media, establishment Republicans/Democrats and deep state operatives.

We can only wait patiently for the next drama to raise its head but this is the best indication that I've seen that the FBI is close to wrapping this up with no prosecutions.

Atlantic Trident. Red vs. Blue.

So let me get this straight.  THE USAF IS PUTTING UP F-15Es and T-38s against Typhoons, Rafales, F-22s, and F-35s?

This shit is so rigged they might as well not even do the exercise!  I need more info!!!!!

Not a Chevy guy but this K-5 Blazer is sweet!

Russia's May Day Practice is happening...Watch Vitaly's page for Russian armor updates!

Russia is already practicing for its May Day and if you want to keep up on the latest and greatest from them then I advise you to watch Vitaly Kuzmin's Blog.

The dude takes fantastic pics and if you play "CIA Analyst" then you can pick out details and changes to their kit.

Small side note.  Did you know that every intel agency in the West used coverage of the parade during the cold war to see what the Soviet Union was up to?  Consider it an old form of "open source" material!  Anyway his blog is here.

US Army's Next Gen Combat Vehicle to sport 50mm Cannon!

Special Thanks to my "inside" source for this!


Note:  Below are PDF conversions to JPG for posting on the blog...still viewable and can be enlarged by clicking on the pic.  The original is going up on the Google Hangout later today....

Are you freaking seeing that????  The Army is going for a 50mm cannon on this beast!

Award by end of this fiscal year???  Army is cooking with gas!  They really want their new ride and lethality upgrade!

Three things stood out....

1.  Mobility is getting its just due.  They want a 1000 Horsepower engine???This puppy should move!

2.  Protection isn't being sacrificed...yet.  I want to see how they accomplish this part.  They want lighter weight but better protection than the Bradley/Stryker?  How can that be done?  The USMC tried an underbody blast kit on the EFV when IEDs changed the view of the Pentagon to get that vehicle "up to spec".  Will the Army succeed?

3.  Up Gunning is now the rage.  The Army dawgs are seeking to maintain parity with the Russians.  A 50mm cannon?  That's intense.  IFV guns are making leaps ahead in lethality.  The Brits thought that everyone would standardize on the work they did with the 40mm but that seems to be a nonstarter out the box.  I wonder how long it takes for IMI to rebirth the 60mm HyperVelocity Gun they built so many years ago?