Friday, March 06, 2020
Wednesday, March 04, 2020
Infographic. CLASH REPORT's "Lethal Fusion of Armed & Electronic Attack UAVs"
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The thing is that you must have a fleet of UAVs that you're basically willing to throw away...that you can risk without question.
In this case its obvious that Turkey considered Russian Air Defenses to be such a high priority that they were willing to have a portion of their "fleet" attrited.
Of course this does raise other questions.
Why do this instead of attack with long range missiles? Are they caught up in the same "penetration of air space" that the US air arms are locked into? Do they have missiles that could accomplish the task? Would missiles be easier to spoof?
Could the same have been accomplished with the US Marine Corps focus on using UAVs for targeting and having artillery (cannon or rocket) accomplish the kill instead?
Does using ground based fires present a potential risk to those systems? If so what are they? Can the risk be mitigated and lower cost assets used?
Many questions few answers and at the end of the day I'm left with this....Turkey just did something that at least to me seems to be a new "revolution in warfare".
Tuesday, March 03, 2020
Aviation Centric Assault Ship delivered...
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Full stop.
I like the idea of medium amphibious assault ships because the Ground Combat Element still needs a ride.
Of course this brings me to the real point.
Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU) need to be totally revamped.
From my chair the divergence is complete. We have Marine Aviation that will be the main Corps force in fighting the sea battle (and make no mistake about it...all the talk from critics about being a second land army has made a terrible impression on the brass...so much so that I fear the loss of capability on the ground) while the GCE will still do MOST of the heavy lifting in small wars/embassy evacuations etc...
Since we tend to send MEUs to the hotspots around the globe and since in the past 50 years its been mostly a ground affair I propose we develop two separate MEUs.
One aviation based and the other biased toward the GCE.
How would that look? MEU-Aviation would include a new jack LHA, a San Antonio Class LPD and that's it. You could carry a Company Landing Team, JLTVs, and howitzers for limited ground actions. It would be biased toward F-35s and MV-22s. Extra space that would come from leaving a Battalion Landing Team behind would go toward aviation stores and enhancing attached artillery.
The GCE based MEU would contain a LHD, San Antonio Class LPD, 3 Medium Amphibious Assault Ships, an MLP (still can't latch onto the new designation). It would have a reduced air wing based mostly on MV-22s, would carry what is now standard loadout for ground action in addition to reinforced artillery (both cannon and rocket).
Enough of the middling. Time to get this done.
Chinese supermarkets are the latest flashpoint for Coronavirus infections...
China’s top health authority warns the public to spend less time in supermarkets and buy things directly rather than spend unnecessary time there, since at least 10 staff members from six supermarkets have been found to be infected with #COVID19. https://t.co/TdNtQXmBoV pic.twitter.com/0lhNrIO696— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) March 3, 2020
This is rather ominous but makes total sense...
Biden accepts Buttigieg's endorsement...
Biden accepting Buttigieg’s endorsement like— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 2, 2020
pic.twitter.com/BQuu6ETIF6
Why is this burned into my brain? I can't unsee this...it's like a sick horror film!
Actic Edge 2020: Marines and soldiers conduct a raid near the Arctic Circle
Kinda backwards...US Marines providing logistics to US Army forces? Interesting. This is kinda the vision that the Commandant is pushing for in the Pacific...where USMC provides logistical support to the joint force.
Don't see how its workable and the Corps is heading into new territory but so be it.
The future is hazy. We'll see if this works or if it's dumped in a few years.
A tornado thru Nashville? Ok, this seems a bit unusual...
BREAKING: Nashville mayor, area sheriffs confirm unspecified number of deaths after tornadoes shred buildings across Tennessee. https://t.co/gTuEEdRNKI— The Associated Press (@AP) March 3, 2020
Most here know me. I don't go yelling "global warming" after every weather event. Having said that this seems unusual. May the memory of those that died be a blessing. God be with the survivors. Hopefully the rebuilding will be swift and sturdy.
US Special Operations Command needs a new 6x6...the solution is obvious!
#USSOCOM Seeks to Procure New Armored Tactical Vehicle Under #JAGMS Program. #AGMS https://t.co/JLTsAGzxWf pic.twitter.com/eUz22KneMq— DefPost (@defpostmedia) March 2, 2020
SOCOM needs a new ride? The solution is obvious in my opinion and they have a couple of choices. The first is the AMV...
The second is the S. Korean offering...
The last vehicle on my list would be the Brazilian rig just heavily modified by BAE for US forces (mostly upgraded armor)...
This ain't exactly a heavy lift. Actually we know what SOCOM wants. Probably a 6x6. More than likely nothing that's in use by American forces. It has to be air deployable by C-130 and it should be able to take a variety of weapons.
The above vehicles check all the boxes. Put some SOCOM bubbas on airplanes and send them around to evaluate those vehicles at their countries of origin, put forward an urgent request to Congress, start having them roll off the production lines in a couple of years and get this off the books.
Comment on the F-35's performance at the Finnish Air Forces' HX Challenge...
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Despite my delight at this news I'll wait for a more definitive statement on what's being said here.
One bubba said this might be lost in translation. Caution is advised...maybe.
As predicted the US (and presumably the Europeans) won't fight Russia/Syria for Turkey...
via Al Monitor.com
Geez. What's up with Graham and his fellow travelers? Those guys want the US involved in every conflict around the globe! What is their thinking? How can they look back over the past two decades and still think that they steered our foreign policy in the right direction?
Back on task.
Love it. Turkey made their bed. They get to lay it in alone. As it should be.
The US administration has ruled out retaliatory airstrikes in Syria after at least 34 Turkish troops were killed in an attack last week, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said today.Here.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, the US military’s top officer, said today that the United States "doesn't have clear, unambiguous intelligence on who was flying which planes." But the deadly strikes took place at night, and Al-Monitor’s Amberin Zaman reported on Sunday that only Russian pilots have the capability to fly in Syrian airspace after dark.
Esper and Milley’s comments appeared to further steer the US administration away from a possible military response in Syria, even after President Donald Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-Sc., called for an immediate no-fly zone over Idlib on Thursday. Graham spent hours with Trump on Friday at a rally in his home state.
Geez. What's up with Graham and his fellow travelers? Those guys want the US involved in every conflict around the globe! What is their thinking? How can they look back over the past two decades and still think that they steered our foreign policy in the right direction?
Back on task.
Love it. Turkey made their bed. They get to lay it in alone. As it should be.
General Atomics Combat UAV - Aerial Air Defense Variant...
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Check out Tyler & Joseph's story here.
USMC Warfighting Exercise 2-20...A new better way of doing exercises....FREEPLAY in the Van Ripper style...
Wow. This is an extremely short vid but if they actually follow thru then this alone will spark massive churn in the system.
Instead of standardized hit all your check marks you have free play in the style that sent shock waves thru the DoD like Millenium Challenge did so many years ago?
How would you like to be the Battalion or higher Commander that gets body slammed by the opposition force (assuming its a rival Marine, or God forbid US Army, Royal Marine or other allied unit)? This could be career altering.
Even better it could identify "naturals" that could be the future ranking leaders of the Corps.
Sauce for the goose? If done correctly it could quickly and easily identify weapon systems that should be retained, modified or discarded. Same goes for warfighting concepts.
This! This right here!
These type exercises if they hold true to the promise should come LONG before any drastic changes in our force structure. It should determine how much of system X, Y or Z we should purchase. It should help us decide if we're resilient enough to last against a peer force.
My hope?
I hope they hold true to the promise. I hope the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force and every real ally we have decides to participate.
Doing exercises right could revolutionize the US military (and our allies) going into the future.
IF THEY DO IT RIGHT. IF THEY ACTUALLY ADOPT FREE PLAY WITH NO TIME LIMIT!
This could be thrilling.
MGS-25 "Aleksandar" Wheeled Self Propelled Howitzer (155/52 caliber).
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Is the answer to long range artillery simply to bring back 8in guns? We had them at one time and they could really reach out. Is it time to consider a return to that standard for ultra long range?
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