2nd AAB conducts amphibious training event....pics by Lance Cpl. Patrick King

Info Comments Post. 13 June 2020

Open Comment Post. 13 June 2020

Chinese Army armor operating in the Himalayas

Ya know who I actually feel sorry for?  Poor, small, cash strapped Nepal!  They're gonna get hammered if China and India actually cross swords.

Taiwan's new indigenous advanced jet trainer (AJT), or "Brave Eagle" (勇鷹, Yung Yin)

Thanks to Kobudo for the pic/link!

Story here.



Good looking airplane.  Looks familiar though I can't place it.

A new "everyday page on SNAFU! Introducing a daily "info" page for tips on defense systems/small wars etc...

Lets get actual and factual.

I love getting info about wars/rumors of wars that are happening around the planet.  I love getting info about weapon systems...especially from medium powers.  I love the interaction when I have active participation on the blog.

But I've been a bit miffed that a reader (yeah ALPAY) was getting so much grief about the information he posted.  Quite honestly we're lucky to have him here.  He could easily start his own blog and I believe it would be bigger than this one in a couple of months max.  But instead he commented here.  Many bitched and moaned about his style but that's irrelevant.  He posted stuff that I wasn't aware of or wasn't keeping track on.

As things played out I gave into the cries of the mob (sound familiar with the anguish over the LVNR?) and asked him to limit his comments.

Well it just don't sit well with me.  I want that info.  So the compromise I'm working out is that I'm starting a new info page that will go along with open comments for specific information on wars, defense systems etc.

Open comments will continue which will focus on whatever topics you guys bring up but this new one will focus on defense systems from other countries.

Read it or not but I hope Alpay and readers like them toss their hats into this new page and make it sing.

EOS Defense Systems USA ... Interoperable Engagement at RTC 2020 FINAL (RS 400 Mk2)

I wonder if EOS is working on an anti-air setup that could be offered to the USMC for their latest RFI?

USMC solicits industry to provide mobile air-defence system for JLTV vehicles

Story here.

The door is open for other corporations (hello EOS Defense Systems USA!!!) to slide in and scoop this thing up.

Still a bit disappointed at MOOG.  I'd really be interested in finding out what the point of failure was in their system but since this is opening up it'll have to wait till it all shakes out.

May the best system win.  God knows I fear we'll need it.

Two 8×8 MUTT Unmanned Ground Vehicles Delivered to the British Army

Note: We posted about this early but the YouTube vid is worth a watch. Enjoy.

Technology Transfer – Trust and Cooperation with Patria

Can't help but this is Patria sticking their head back up after getting roasted by Lockheed Martin during the ACV competition.  Oh you don't remember that?  Well let me remind you.  Patria and Lockheed Martin initially partnered to offer the AMV to the Marine Corps for the ACV contest.

I was torn at the time.  The Patria AMV is in my opinion a good vehicle and the battle with BAE/Iveco was shaping up to be a world title match.



Then Lockheed Martin dumped Patria, produced a vehicle that looked like a rough copy of the AMV and the rest is history.  After the dust settled it appears that Lockheed Martin (especially after a terrible showing in the JLTV competition) decided to exit the armored vehicle market before they even really got started and Patria stayed silent but you could tell there were some wounds that would need to be healed.

Now they're back and I'm happy for them.

AJAX Bridging: For the British Army of the Future

Japanese Hitomaru-shiki (Type 10)

Navy Kicks Off Most Advanced Wargames Since 1930s

via Breaking Defense.

 Looking for new ways to accelerate its nascent modernization push,  the Navy has set up a new Warfighting Development office that will blend force planning, strategic thinking, and officer education under one roof.

The push comes at a heady time for the Navy, as the service settles in under its fourth civilian secretary in seven months while continuing work on its 30-year shipbuilding plan — which was due to be sent to Congress almost four months ago — along with a major rethink to a new force structure plan rejected by Defense Secretary Mark Esper earlier this year.

The force structure plan is aimed at plotting the way to grow the fleet through a mix of smaller, often unmanned, vessels, while retaining the ability to defend US interests against Chinese and Russian naval modernization. It’s a tall order at a time of flat or declining budgets and rapidly emerging offensive and defensive weaponry that have eroded the traditional US superiority at sea, but all the more reason, Navy leaders say, for the new focus on strategy and education in its ranks.

Vice Adm. Stuart Munsch, head of the Warfighting Development (N7) office, said he sees the present moment as akin to the post-Vietnam years. “We were a Navy then that was focused on power projection ashore against a nation that didn’t have much in the way of naval capability, namely Vietnam,” he told reporters earlier this week. “We saw the future coming, and knew we would have to change the Navy to be more focused on sea control against a Navy that had considerable capability, and that was the Soviet Union.”

Today, after 20 years wholly focused on ground wars in the Middle East, Munsch said there’s again the “need to shift to sea control against an adversary with considerable capability, namely China.” 

Here. 

So let me get this straight.  The USMC is changing its entire force structure to support a US Navy that MIGHT NOT EVEN EXIST in its present form in 10 years?

We went first and the Navy has yet to even get started on planning to confront the pacing threat that is China?

What are they thinking?  This is craziness!

Where is the coordination?  We could in essence see a US Navy that finally gets itself together (surface and aviation sides) and is capable of properly engaging the Chinese Fleet on the high seas....while the US Marines are providing redundant support from sea bases.

Additionally at the end of the day this island hopping missile and raid force (that will be useless once the balloon goes up) will be more of a hindrance than a help!

The only thing broken with the Marine Corps are the many futurists that think they have a handle on this thing and believe that they can make the hard thing easy.

Open Comment Post. 12 June 2020

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley apologizing for being at Lafayette Square last week. ...NICELY DONE!

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley apologizing for being at Lafayette Square last week.

Civilian and military leaders of the military are rhetorically breaking in the most public way possible with their commander in chief, Pres Trump.pic.twitter.com/I7C8hICIWW

— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) June 11, 2020

Don't care about your politics.  This was an ESSENTIAL statement from the CJCS and was nicely done.

I'm glad he did it and I've wondered what the participation of the military (to include the National Guard) would do the relationship between the people and their forces.

Again.

This was nicely done, essential and if you think its wrong you're gonna have to hit me with facts.

This is about the republic and it's military.  This had to be done.

F-15QA is painted in its custom livery.

Watch as the F-15QA is painted in its custom livery. The most advanced #F15 fighter jet ever built, this aircraft – and the paint scheme – were specifically designed for @MOD_Qatar Emiri Air Force. pic.twitter.com/P3C8rseHCJ

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) June 11, 2020

Policy makers should slow down on the rush to ban the Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint LVNR

via Police One.

Officers Need To Learn This
Here are four reasons I believe all police officers need to be trained in proper application of neck restraints:

1.    Because of the dynamics of street confrontations a combatant in a street struggle can go from top to bottom in an instant. With these dynamics in play, it’s reasonable to believe that at some time in an officer’s career he or she is going to find themselves with an arm around a suspect’s neck in an effort to literally hold on for dear life. Because of this, officers should know the difference between a Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint and a Trachea Hold. If you don’t train officers on how to apply this hold properly under stress, one of your officers will accidentally apply it improperly.

2.    Officers will run into suspects who are well-versed in the application of this hold. It is imperative that in training, officers learn how these holds are applied, so they can practice countering these holds when they are used against them.

3.    Lateral Vascular Neck Restraints are a non-lethal hold when properly applied. They are an effective way to control combative individuals without inflicting injuries on suspects, while preventing injuries of officers.

4.    These holds work!

Here 

Ok folks I'm going full bore on this one.  Let's have a real discussion instead of the stuff I've been seeing too much.

Imagine having to go hands on with an individual not in a methodical, planned way, but straight out of the blue.

Do you realize that at that moment the LEO is almost always in full defense mode?  Not only is he/she attempting to prevent themselves from being seriously injured but they've also brought a deadly weapon to the encounter which could (probably will) result in their death if they're rendered unconscious or dazed.

So besides attempting to protect yourself, you're also having to protect your weapon(s)...weapons applies to your collapsible baton, stun gun besides your firearm.

So how does an undersized male (or female) quickly render a hostile person compliant IF they're unable to retrieve another less than lethal device (oh and let me add...if you're going full tilt boogey cause the bad guy basically said "FIGHTS ON!" then you won't even be able to radio for backup/assistance) then you're left with what you can do with your hands/body.

Remember.

Most LEOs aren't six feet two, two hundred seventy five pounds.

In those instances the LVNR can be a lifesaver.  To take it away because of what we saw in Minneapolis would just be wrong and COULD lead to more LEO involved shootings.

Just the thing these "reforms" are seeking to avoid.

Let me close with this.  What we saw in Minneapolis WAS NOT an LVNR.  I have NEVER read, watched, heard of or seen the move that the accused officer used ANYWHERE!  Additionally the idea that the move used was approved by his Dept boggles my mind.

The LVNR if properly applied would have a person handcuffable in less than 30 seconds MAX.  The idea of it being applied for more than 8 minutes would justify intentional murder in my opinion and that I BELIEVE would apply to all 50 states.

Tell me where I'm wrong.  But as things stand.  Policy makers should pump the brakes on outlawing the LVNR.

Open Comment Post. 11 June 2020

French Army Griffon Training...

Hmm.  This vehicle is shaping up (or at least appears to) as being the backbone of infantry transport in the French Army.  Surprising.  What is the relationship between their VBCI and the Griffon?  What sets them apart in how they'll be used by the French Army?

Boeing Super Hornet Block III Test Jet Takes Flight