Friday, June 17, 2022

China launches its Super Carrier..


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Biden weighs limits on fuel exports.


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10K head of cattle drop dead because of heat?

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Russian natural gas flows to France via pipeline from Germany have ceased


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Thursday, June 16, 2022

Next Gen Abrams Vid....Massive props to General Dynamics Public Relations Team...

 
They're trolling the hell outta us! I'm beginning to wonder if the next vehicle will by hybrid? They'll never hear us coming? Great tease. Well done.
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Rheinmetall Introduces Loitering Munition-Armed Mission Master XT UGV

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Army Force Design 2030 Initiative creates 5 new divisions....The JLTV might get chopped...

 via Congressional Report on the JLTV

The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle replaced the Humvee and is already in service across multiple Department of Defense branches.

“The Army’s current modernization strategy is primarily focused on six modernization priorities that do not include the JLTV,” the report explains. “Furthermore, the Army announced in January 2022 that under the Army 2030 Force Design Initiative, the Army would either redesignate existing divisions or create new divisions into five new types of divisions.”

These five new types include Standard Light, Standard Heavy, Penetration, Joint Force Entry Air Assault, and Joint Force Entry Airborne.

“The Army also announced in May 2022 that it would create a new Alaska-based division, the 11th Airborne Division, by activating new units and reconfiguring two Alaska-based Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs). With the creation of new division types and an additional division in Alaska, it is possible that the Army’s requirement for JLTVs could change significantly.”

As a part of the commandant of the Marine Corps’ Force Design 2030 vision, the Marine Corps is moving from a large, land-based force optimized for the kinds of grinding, long-term campaigns that defined the United States’ involvement in the Middle East to its roots as a maritime force.

As a part of that change, the Marine Corps is returning to its amphibious heritage and divesting platforms that would not survive in a littoral environment. To that end, the Corps has divested all its tank battalions, as well as much of its artillery and tube mortar capabilities. The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle could be next.

“With the Marine Corps downsizing in accordance with its March 2020 Force Design Initiative and adoption of a more expeditionary posture (possibly requiring fewer JLTVs), original JLTV procurement plans for both the Army and Marine Corps might no longer be accurate.

Well, well, well...this kinda explains why the Brits have dropped the JLTV from consideration.

I've long suspected that the British MOD was trying to tie itself at the hip to the Pentagon and this confirms it for me.  I've seen enough.

Want to know where the Pentagon is going?  Follow the puppies in the British MOD.  They're not moving in any direction that the Pentagon isn't going.

Of course this brings up the question.

Are the Brits worth this "partnership"?  Do they bring enough to the fight to have them almost directly integrated with our forces?

To be blunt, I see the French forces as being more capable and just as compatible.

Is there any benefit besides the historic alignment which indicates that this is a profitable, beneficial relationship to the US?

The Aussies punch above their own weight and they're in the theater of concern.  So are the Japanese and the S. Koreans. If we're talking about Europe then the French (again), the Poles, Netherlands and perhaps even Finland might be as capable (or more) partners.

Just throwing it out there. 


 

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Lockheed Martin to modernize more US army M270 MLRS rocket launchers to M270A2 standard

 


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I will never for the life of me understand why US armored vehicles have such low ground clearance.  Its a feature that should NOT be desired....and it doesn't have to be that way.

Just like with wheeled vehicles, the lower the track the more shit you end up dragging with your vehicle making it less effective cross country.

I'll never be a believer in a 8in lift on my truck but give me 4 over stock and I'm happy...especially during hurricane season. The same should apply to the US Army's armor dept.

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Rila 8x8

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Bulgaria has entered the fray.  Looks like they've done some nice upgrades to this vehicle.  First marketed as an MRAP, I'm sure its approaching IFV territory now.
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Royal Netherlands Air Force selects KC-390 as its C-130 replacement!

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Open Comment Post. 16 June 22

Heavy Firepower Small Unit Support Vehicle? 

I think I just developed a new classification! 

Imagine every Marine Infantry Squad equipped with one of these. Logistics would probably be problematic but they would gain tremendous direct fire potential.  I can't properly judge its size....might be too big.  Marine Rifle Company instead?  Teaming vehicle with ACVs?
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Brief on KF51 Panther with a focus on situational awareness...

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Axe wielding man in body armor rushes out to attack a police officer from the Naperville PD during a traffic stop.

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Wednesday, June 15, 2022

An awesome Tweet Thread on how the German & Russian economies are intertwined and compatible....

Read this entire Twitter Thread!

This answers so many questions for me.  It also explains why the current situation is so much more dangerous for the Europeans than I imagined.

Russia and Germany WERE co-dependent.

The Russians can replace the Germans with the Chinese.  Who will the Germans replace the Russians with?

I've heard it said that Merckel was Putin's bitch.  I don't think that's right.  From what I'm reading here,she was dealing with economic circumstances that were beyond her control and in the best interest of her economy (assuming she wanted to keep it growing).

Sadly the Russians are now playing the energy card (or suffering the blight of western corporations leaving).  They're throttling back fuel deliveries to the west.

That means the summer will be uncomfortable (although I heard parts of Europe are suffering a heat wave), but the danger is in the winter...especially if its a cold winter.
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Where should loitering UAVs live? Tanks/IFVs or Artillery on dedicated vehicles?

I totally disagree with this concept. As BlackTail said, properly fighting your vehicle while directing a UAV (even with a dedicated crewmen) is a waste of an asset. Loitering UAVs of the type above have such great distance that they should live with artillery. 

Additionally a dedicated vehicle capable of launching at least 12 should be developed. As part of a combined arms team it would be a TERRIFIC asset. 

Push it down to Tanks/IFVs, hell even infantry is a waste. Those units fight close (from my seat close in the modern era is about ... 5 miles and in?). Artillery is for the deep fight. 60km? That's getting deep....isn't that further than a standard 155mm round can fly?
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Biden officials privately express concern that rather than dissuade the Kremlin as intended, US sanctions have instead exacerbated inflation, worsened food insecurity and punished ordinary Russians more than Putin

Say it with me. 

The sanctions as applied by the US/EU was STUPID! Hammers were used when scapels were necessary!
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Hearing reports that a couple of Americans have been captured in Ukraine...this Tweet is unconfirmed though...

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I've changed my mind. We need the A400M Grizzly

NOTE!  I have a couple of clowns deriding this airplane because armored vehicles have grown in weight. To those individuals YOU DO REALIZE that carrying armored vehicles is a beyond small amount of the gear that they carry.  Even the C-17 and C-5 carry armored vehicles only on a limited basis.  Its a bragging point, not a feature of modern cargo aircraft.  If carrying armored vehicles was the main job of these airplanes then we'd have nothing but C-5s and C-17s in inventory!  To claim that the A400M is no longer viable because it can't carry modern IFVs is a joke not worthy of discussion.  Grow The F*ck Up!


I've changed my mind.  We need the A400M Grizzly.

Why?  Because we have a kinda glaring hole in our airlift.  Since the retirement of the C-141, we don't have a true medium lifter.

Having finally seen the A400M in person, comparing it to the C-17 and C-130 I'm more than convinced that its what our airlift force is missing.

Sauce for the dish that helped change my mind?  Confidence is not high that the KC-46 will be able to successfully flex into the refuel & limited lift role.  It was a great idea but I'm not sure its worked out the way many hoped.

Its past time to get ready for the next big one.  I'm pretty damn sure that we're in the interwar period before the big one.  We need to make sure that when that war comes (probably not on our timeline either), we're ready to go with what we've got.

Time to stack it high and deep.  The A400M should be part of our national preps (along with plenty of missiles, tanks, aircraft, bombs, etc...).

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Well this is a bit ominous...

Wow.

The dream was to ally with Russia...or at least have them neutral when the fight with China roles around.

Now?

Now they're gonna be damn near allied.  Xi scratches Putin's back in Ukraine and Putin scratches Xi's back against Taiwan.

Serious strategic error.

Even worse?  This is gonna open up the flood gates to Chinese trade with Russia.  Those sanctions are soon gonna be meaningless to both countries.
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Russia's Gazprom throttles gas supplies to Germany

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