Pakistan fires artillery into India...

Thanks to Righteous Snow Dragon for the link!

via Times Of India.

Pakistan targets innocent Indian civilians and Indian villages in Uri region in the Baramulla district, in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. 5 civilians have been injured and several residential structures have been damaged in Pakistani shelling.
Despite so many successes by the Indian forces, Pakistan is not learning its lesson.
Mir Fareed, J&K Bureau Chief says " Violations have been increased and it won't be right to call it violations anymore as it is happening every day. There is firing every day at LAC, let it be Jammu or the Kashmir Valley. Since yesterday, there has been heavy shelling by Pakistan and it has been retaliated in the equal measure by the Indian army."

Here 

I'm guilty on this one.  I had been focused on China vs India that I failed to notice (obviously for quite awhile) the Pakistan vs India fight.

This Bureau Chief is saying that these "violations" (interesting terminology...anywhere else on the planet and this would be viewed as an act of war...) are occurring and even increasing recently?

Extremely curious.

That's one mystery I can't seem to wrap my head around.  How are their so many small wars going on at the same time?  It would seem to me that for the safety and security of your nation that eventually you would just declare war and get it done.

Instead we've been locked into these simmering quasi fights for more than two decades.

Open Comment Post. 21 June 2020

Navy upholds firing of carrier captain in virus outbreak

via AP

In a stunning reversal, the Navy has upheld the firing of the aircraft carrier captain who urged faster action to protect his crew from a coronavirus outbreak, according to a U.S. official familiar with the report.

The official said the Navy also extended the blame for the ship’s pandemic crisis, delaying the promotion of the one-star admiral who was also onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt — concluding that both men made serious errors in judgment.

The spread of the coronavirus aboard the carrier while on deployment in the Pacific in March exploded into one of the biggest military leadership crises of recent years. More than 1,000 members of the crew eventually became infected, and one sailor died. The ship was sidelined for weeks at Guam but recently returned to duty.

The decision by Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, to hold both Capt. Brett Crozier and his boss, Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, accountable is a confirmation of concerns expressed by top Pentagon officials who demanded a deeper investigation last month when the initial probe recommended Crozier’s reinstatement as the ship’s captain. The official described the findings on condition of anonymity to discuss a report not yet made public.

Here 

I almost feel vindicated.  I remember when this issue first popped up and many were saying how heroic the skipper was and how he had the best interest of his ship in mind.

I argued that he showed incredible weakness and that since he commanded one of the premier ships in our Navy that he threatened our national security with his actions.

Seems like Navy leadership agreed.

He faced a difficult situation but he could have fallen back on boot camp 101.

Mission first.

His position and command dictated that mission, regardless of peace or war, had to come first.  Carrier aviation in particular and service in the military in general is inherently dangerous.

This Commanding Officer forgot that simple rule.

Serbian M-20 MRAP 6x6

Thanks to Class BOSNIT for the link!



A long time reader provided another domestic product that his country is working on.  This is an example of what I hope for.  Despite recent "issues" that have popped up on the blog, I have a burning desire to learn about projects/armored vehicles/aircraft/naval vessels that are being developed in every nation on the face of the earth.

At it's best this is what this blog should be about.  If you got something that I've missed then send it!

Open Comment Post. 20 June 2020

Serbian M84-AS1 MBT

Thanks to Class BOSNIT for the link!



Notes included in the e-mail sent...

The new version of the M84-AS1 tank is a modernized M84 tank of the Serbian Army. It is expected that the Armed Forces will soon receive a donation from the Russian Federation in the form of modernized T72 tanks and by then we hope that AS1 will be in the arsenal of the Serbian army. The planned modernization of the M84AS1 tank will now enter the testing phase and we hope that the project will come to life soon. The novelty known for now on the M84-AS1 is the new ERO armor a new DUBS-M15 station and a new MS-2 metal sensor have been added. A new optoelectronic device has also been added. The inside of the tank ie the positions of all three crew members have been totally digitized. As part of the modernization the AS1 also has completely new caterpillars and the 125mm topaz tube itself is new. It has a diesel engine V-46TK of 1000 hp which is supposed to be only strengthened for now. The drive unit will probably not change. The M84 had an operating range of about 700km. The main tank is 1200l plus additional tanks of another 400l which are not seen on the new AS1 version for now. Its maximum speed is about 70km-h although it weighs over 40 tons. The planned modernization is planned to take place in two phases.

Looks like a neat modernization but I can't lie.  That armor package has my interest.  Anyone have details on it?

Friday Funny. Reverse Flash is a savage!

View this post on Instagram

Reverse Flash is a damn Savage! #theflash #reverseflash ~ Bruce Wayne

A post shared by Comic Cave (@comic.cave) on Jun 19, 2020 at 6:31am PDT

Korean Aerospace Industries "Surion" Medical Evacuation Helicopter...

I was worried about this. Atlanta PD has entire zones uncovered in sickout...

via Star Tribune.

Atlanta police officers called out sick Thursday to protest the filing of murder charges against an officer who shot a man in the back, while the interim chief acknowledged members of the force feel abandoned amid protests demanding massive changes to policing.

Interim Chief Rodney Bryant told The Associated Press in an interview that the sick calls began Wednesday night and continued Thursday, but said the department has sufficient staff to protect the city. It's not clear how many officers have called out.

"Some are angry. Some are fearful. Some are confused on what we do in this space. Some may feel abandoned," Bryant said of the officers. "But we are there to assure them that we will continue to move forward and get through this."

Here 

I was worried this was coming.  Worse?  I can see this going nationwide.  The problem?  Let's say that many LEOs in your dept decide to participate in this type of action.

You (assuming you're a LEO) know the deal and know that instead of backup being a few minutes away because your buddy will drive like Mad Max to get to you, you now know it'll be 15 minutes because the closest backup is across the city?

How do you walk into that snake pit knowing that reality?

Even worse?  From my chair we've seen these "pop up" mobs (I make the distinction between protests and mobs that are surrounding police cruisers/assaulting police etc..) and you're asking a force that is already under staffed to operate in even MORE understaffed condition in this environment?

I have to admit that I saw the shooting in Atlanta as justified.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe the prosecutor overcharged but the end result of all this will be the same.

You can expect ever major urban area to become even more unsafe than they are today.  We're on the cusp of a major crimewave and at the end of the day the reasons are irrelevant.

T-90 tanks, Su-30 fighter jets, Mi-28 helicopters, Buk-M2 air defense systems on exercise in Algeria...

Cezayir'in gerçekleştirdiği tatbikata ait görüntüler.

Tatbikatta T-90 tankları, Su-30 savaş uçakları, Mi-28 helikopterler, Buk-M2 hava savunma sistemleri kullanıldı. pic.twitter.com/wpRNqOMC47

— Turkish Defence Agency (@tdefenceagency) June 18, 2020

China CAPTURED 10 Indian soldiers during the recent border clash!

via Bloomberg

China’s military has released 10 Indian soldiers captured on Monday during deadly clashes between troops from the two nations along their contested Himalayan border, senior Indian officials with knowledge of the matter said.

The Indian Government did not ever confirm the troops -- including two officers -- were missing. Instead it issued a statement on Thursday saying there were no soldiers missing in action.

Their release followed talks between senior military commanders in Galwan, the officials said, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public.

The skirmishes with stones, iron rods and bamboo poles wrapped in barbed wire laced with nails left 20 Indian soldiers dead along with an unknown number of Chinese casualties. The scuffle is the worst border incident between the two nations in at least 45 years, and signaled a sharp deterioration in ties between the two regional giants.

The violence broke out Monday afternoon and went on until midnight on the Tibetan plateau along the freezing Galwan river.

Indian Army spokesman Aman Anand declined to comment, while India’s spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs, Anurag Srivastava, referred Bloomberg to the one-line statement denying Indian soldiers were missing.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Curious.

I really can't explain this except that is magnanimous behavior on the part of the Chinese AND it appears to be an attempt at de-escalation.

Gotta give credit where it's due.

This move plays to even a critic like myself of the Chinese govt so it should play extremely well in the court of international opinion.

On the other side of the table is the Indian govt reaction.

Surely they knew that their soldiers had been captured.  So why no mention of it?  Did they assume that the Chinese would kill them?  I don't know but its curious indeed.

More to come.  Obviously alot more happened on that mountain pass than we're being told.

Rheinmetall Pionierpanzer 3 KODIAK (PiPz3)

Successful first firings of Saab’s Lightweight Torpedo

U.S. Army Soldiers Participate in Exercise Allied Spirit

Open Comment Post. 19 June 2020

Single Seat A-6 Intruder variant mockup, for the program to replace the A-4...via Reddit Weird Wings...

Never heard of this before.  I'm rather intrigued.  If they could have kept the same avionics and fuel carriage (which I seriously doubt with regard to fuel) then this thing would have given the A-7 Corsair II a run for it's money.

General Dynamics European Land Systems Dragon 8x8...pics by JM Serrano

Thanks to Toni Hawk for the link!

India moving more troops to "Line Of Actual Control", authorizing emergency buildup of war stocks

via Times of India.

The government has given powers to the armed forces to make emergency procurements to stock up its war reserves in the wake of escalating conflict with China along the Line of Actual Control.

While India has initiated dialogue to contain the conflict in Ladakh, sources said, the government did not want to leave anything to chance at this stage, especially after the violence on Monday night.

Story here. 

I really don't know if either country will be able to pull back due to their cultures (I don't mean that in an insulting way so don't get it twisted).

The weird thing?

I've talked about an aggressive battalion commander kicking this off but its much worse than that.  All it will take is one macho company commander, hyped up platoon commander, balls to the wall squad leader on either side to possibly start a war.

This is the terrible thing about forward deployed forces within close proximity to enemy troops.

One miscalculation on either side could turn deadly.

Pacific Power Display..

Pacific Power ✈︎ Aircraft fly in formation over #USSNimitz in the Pacific Ocean, while the aircraft carrier is underway for a composite training unit exercise. pic.twitter.com/YMEXHa6wBl

— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) June 18, 2020

I saw this vid and all I could think is that line from the Star Wars movie by Darth Sidious...



Sidenote.

The Commandant is talking about more and better integration with the Navy.  Cool.  But he's bypassing the low hanging fruit.  The purchase of F-35C's should be cancelled immediately and the Marines should be buying Super Hornet Blk 3's like candy before Halloween.

Ground based anti-air efforts...

Thanks to Snafuperman for the idea...

Snafuperman asked what happened to the US Army's Multi Mission Launcher. The quick answer?  They quit the project.

For whatever reason (I believe its the fighter mafia combined with the ground forces belief that the aviation would get the job done so there was no need to invest in the capability) US ground forces have had a pathetic record when it comes to ground based anti-air capability.



The LAV-AD had perhaps the shortest active run of any vehicle in the US Marines in recent memory.  It seems like one day it was in service, the next day retired.

I don't know anything about how the Army views the Avenger but it has been around awhile.  Biggest obvious plus?  8 ready rounds to engage the enemy (or 4 plus the laser in butched up versions).

Moving toward the future the US Army has a new SHORAD Stryker based setup that looks right.  Problem for the Marines?  Fitting it on a JLTV will be beyond problematic.  If the MOOG system is too heavy then this will flatten the roof of a JLTV while you're setting it up much less driving cross country.

The Russians always have emphasized ground based anti-air and use the Tigr platform as the baseline for the Gibka anti-air command vehicle and missile carrier.

The Poles use the POPRAD that also comes with a radar (mounted on the same vehicle type) that just entered service.

Even the Chinese have a ground based anti-air system with more than 4 ready rounds!

Long story short?

I'm not sure US ground forces have taken the idea of organic anti-air seriously. There are various examples around the world of how it could be done.

What has me spinning?  If its about killing UAVs then EOS Defense Systems USA has shown that its R400 Mk 2 has an organic anti-air capability.

If we're not gonna get serious about building the capability in a unique vehicle then our IFVs should have the ability to at least defend themselves with the proper weapons fits.