F-35. USAF kills A-10 to protect it, but at what price?

via POGO

The Air Force is so blinded by the allure of the multi-mission F-35 that it cannot, or will not, understand the nature of close air support (CAS) on today’s battlefield; how very close our young troops are to the enemy and the special equipment, controllers, and pilots it takes to perform CAS.
Until recently, without the knowledge of Congress, the Air Force was moving fast on a secret plan to help fund the F-35 by abolishing the A-10 fleet. Thanks to some closet patriots contacting the Hill, the cat is now out of the bag, but the damage has already been done.
A-10 training hours have been cut back and the last class of A-10 pilots is going through training. Three A-10 units have been deactivated or are in the process of being deactivated. Next year there will be no A-10 class at the Weapons School. Each step has increased the unit costs of the remaining A-10s and soon the fleet will be too expensive to keep. By the time Congress is aware of the plot, there will be no A-10s.
The plan to get rid of the A-10 has been on the desk of General Mark A. Welsh III, Air Force Chief of Staff. His decision will be one of the most important of his career, because this is not about losing an aircraft; it is about losing the CAS mission. There is no other aircraft in the Air Force inventory that can do what the A-10 does. The stories from the battlefield are countless. One will suffice.
In Afghanistan a Special Forces team attacked the compound of a Taliban leader. The Taliban reacted with heavy fire and the Air Force combat controller with the team was severely wounded. A Predator was overhead but could not get a shot. Nor could an F-16 which ran low on gas and departed. When two A-10s arrived, the gravely wounded controller called for them to make their gun runs “danger close.” The pilots fired high explosive cannon shells that impacted a mere 65 feet from the team. The A-10s broke up the attack and provided cover so the friendlies could leave the kill zone.
Every member survived. Every member returned to base. The combat controller, who had almost bled to death on the battlefield, survived and was awarded the Air Force Cross.
Few aircraft in history have so directly saved the lives of so many combat troops and civilians as has the A-10.
Pentagon insiders report that the Air Force fears the efficacy of the A-10 so much that today combat controllers are not allowed to call for the aircraft. Rather they are ordered to radio the results they desire and headquarters will dispatch the appropriate aircraft. Today when troops are in contact and the enemy is close, controllers call for an aircraft with two-hour loiter time and more than ten combat trigger pulls, attributes possessed only by the A-10.
The Air Force says the F-35 can perform CAS. That would mean using GPS coordinates and standing off at high altitude to fire missiles or drop bombs. No $160-million F-35 is going to get down in the weeds where a single bullet can take it out. A host of small arms fire hitting an A-10 can be fixed with what amounts to duct tape. No F-35 can maneuver under an 800-foot ceiling with two-mile visibility as can an A-10. No F-35 has more than three combat trigger pulls before running out of ammo. The A-10 has twenty. No F-35 has the battlefield survivability of the A-10.
But the Air Force has staked 60 per cent of its aircraft budget on the claimed multi-mission versatility of the F-35, and that is what General Welsh wants to protect.
By all accounts, General Welsh is a highly-respected leader and a fine man. But he has been on the job only a year and is facing so many issues, some strategic and immediate, that he has not had time to conduct due diligence regarding the A-10. If he allows the A-10 to wither away by the end of 2015, he will have broken faith with the young men and women on the ground in faraway places. He will have deceived Congress about the force structure of the Air Force. He will have violated his doctrinal obligation to protect America’s ground troops.
He will probably get his F-35. But he will have paid for it with the blood of brave young warriors.

The truth is rather stark.

For a small ulta high tech air arm, we're abandoning our people on the ground.  How much is the payout on SGLI?  I guess a squad of Soldiers or Marines is still cheaper than losing a F-35.  I imagine Rummy would be proud of the metrics done in that type of analysis. 

Ketchup on the wall via SuperHero Blog.

Sweep the Leg Drill

The Commandant finally gets a chance to crush a Marine in the urination case...

via Business Insider.

The court case concerning the video of six Marines urinating on Taliban corpses in Afghanistan has taken a bizarre turn toward the truly weird.First, the Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos recently came under fire for allegedly exerting undue influence over the case and, for such, is reportedly under investigation.But then Hope Hodge of Marine Corps Times reported a true humdinger late Thursday when one Maj. James Weirick was relieved of his post "following allegations of harassment via email."
Weirick, staff judge advocate at Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Va., sent emails to Amos' former defense attorney accusing Amos of misdeeds and advising his lawyer to "come clean" about them.
That's not the weird part though. Throughout the entire communication, Weirick refers to himself in the third person. From Marine Times:

“You are being offered the opportunity to unburden yourself. Weirick sleeps well every night knowing that honesty allows such freedom. You too can know this freedom. Just be honest,” Weirick wrote.
In the email, Weirick repeatedly refers to himself in the third person.
“Come to the side of the honest and truthful. Delay, obfuscation, and intimidation are not working. Those tactics will never work against Weirick,” he writes at one point. “Do whatever you want. Hunker down with the dishonest and hope for the best. Best of luck. You will need it.”

Hodge reports that Weirick ended with a threat: “He can’t offer you protection from Weirick. That protection can’t be offered by anyone. Ever," Weirick writes.
Aside from being relieved of command, Weirick has turned in his weapons and been asked to enter a voluntary psychiatric evaluation.

First.

I don't believe a press release coming out of the Commandant's Office.  He has proven that he will lie and spin to make himself look better.

Second.

I believe this Major is being railroaded.  This is the first time in my memory that I can remember the Military Justice System bucking an Officer of Amos' rank...of course we expect better behavior from those that sit in his chair but you get the point.  We can all applaud this Major's courage but he is paying the price for it.

This Commandant is a disgrace.  He has adopted the Administration habit of causing some type of crisis every few months to get attention off himself and onto a divisive issue.

Hopefully Amos will be investigated and relieved.  Hopefully.

UK ranked below Argentina militarily.

Oh this is gonna be fun.

Argentina is ranked ahead of the UK militarily.

If this ranking is to be believed then all my British friends that discount Argentine strength are gonna wake up one day with the Falklands reverting back to their former owner.

Read about it here.

Royal Navy buys an ice breaker...HMS Protecteur.

via Naval Today.

The vessel has been on a bareboat charter to the buyer since the spring of 2011. The sale provides GC Rieber Shipping with an accounting gain of about NOK 370 million (around USD 61Mln), while the cash effect is NOK 485 million (around 80 million USD).
“HMS Protector” (ex “Polarbjørn”) was purpose-built in 2001 for long expeditions to the Antarctic and for subsea assignments offshore. The UK MoD, a long standing client of GC Rieber Shipping, has been using the ship as an icebreaker and patrol vessel for the Royal Navy in the South Atlantic and the Antarctic since 2011.
It has also provided support for UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office and British Antarctic Survey. “HMS Protector” is the second vessel which MoD has chartered and later purchased from GC Rieber Shipping, the first one being “HMS Endurance”.

Irene Waage Basili, CEO of GC Rieber Shipping, comments: “We are very satisfied with the collaboration we have had with the MoD. They are highly professional and we have found them both challenging and rewarding to work with. We are known for having highly technical vessels and unique expertise for operations in icy waters and we see this transaction as an acknowledgement that a long-term customer is so satisfied that it wants to own our vessel. New investments in the ice segment are very interesting for us going forward.”

As part of the sale contract, GC Rieber Shipping will continue to support the vessel on a Contractor Logistic Support agreement for 1 year.

So....the Royal Navy isn't as broke as we were told.

And....

I wonder what info they have that is pushing them to buy an ice breaker?  Is something going on waaaay up North (or South) that I've missed? 

Russian version of TUSK

Thanks DWI for the link!

Women in the Infantry. That's what the "discipline" crackdown is all about.

About to take on new meaning in Infantry units....

Marine Corps Times is running an article talking about a new series of actions that the Commandant is ordering SUPPOSEDLY to get Marines back on the straight and narrow.

Read the article here.

I have not commented on it before, because I wanted to see what the reaction was from other Bloggers and Defense Writers.

Suffice it to say they don't know what they're talking about.

This is a preemptive strike, to sanitize the barracks for females to become part of Infantry units.

SNCO's and NCO's along with Officers making walkthroughs especially during the hours of 2000 and 0400?  No TVs or Video Games in duty rooms?  CAMERAS in the barracks areas?

They're practically yelling out that women in the infantry is GOING to cause problems.

Don't listen to their words.  Make note of their actions.  Surveys to male Marines, studies of the issue with regards to women in the Infantry, behind the scenes discussions with Commanders and exit interviews with Marines leaving the fleet tell the story.

They're scared beyond words that this will blow up in their faces.  It will too.  I can't wait to watch the cluster bomb explode.

NOTE:  Most of the reporting by the reporters covering the military missed the real issue for a couple of reasons.

*  They have knowledge of the military but no experience.  You can read any book you want, you can embed, you can talk to Soldiers or Marines everyday for a year and you'll never know the real story until you've actually lived it.
*  They are too quick to accept press releases put out by HQMC.  They assume that they're dealing with old skool Marines in the Commandant's office.  Amos is many things but he ain't that.  He'll bend over and suck down what ever liquid happens to be flowing from his civilians masters.
*  They assumed that barracks life is the same as college dorm life.  Having tasted both I can tell you its totally different.

Between personal bias leading them to believe the press release and HQMC, arrogance to think that "book knowledge" equals experience and the falsehood that college dorm experience equals military barracks life led them astray.

This is why military reporters fail so often.

Argentinian Propaganda...

Quite honestly I'm catching this while going out the door to get my workout on, but my history must be failing me cause I don't get the half slash through the Invincible.

Regardless, the issue with the Falklands still burns deep for the people of Argentina.    Something tells me that with some smart thinking by one of their Navy Admirals the Argentines could find a new benefactor that would trade goods for J-31's and long range anti-ship/anti-air missiles.

Now that would make things interesting.

Only in Peru.

That's a frog that's trying to eat a bat.

Read about it here.

Blast from the past. A-7F

Check out the numbers on the A-7F and marvel.  The plane was developed in 1985 and was meant to replace....the A-10 which at the time was being criticized by the USAF for being too slow!  via Wikipedia.

General characteristics

• Crew: One pilot

• Length: 50 ft 1/2 in (15.25 m)

• Wingspan: 38 ft 9 in (11.81 m)

• Height: 16 ft 11 in (5.16 m)

• Empty weight: 23,068 lb (10,463 kg)

• Max takeoff weight: 46,000 lb (20,865 kg)

• Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 turbofan dry, 26,000 lbf (120 kN) with afterburner

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 1.2

• Range: 2,302 mi (2,000 nmi; 3,705 km) maximum with four 300 gallon external tanks

• Service ceiling: 55,000 ft (16,764 m)

Armament

• Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan gatling gun

• Hardpoints: external with a capacity of over 17,000 lb of ordnance,

HMAS Canberra.

Thanks to Tom for correcting me!

J-31 to be an "export" only fighter.

via WantChinaTimes.

The J-31, China's second prototype fifth-generation stealth fighter, designed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, will be produced for the export market instead of for China's air force and navy, according to Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong of the PLA Navy in a People's Daily report.
While the Washington-based Strategy Page said the J-31 has the potential to become a future carrier-based stealth fighter for the PLA Navy, Zhang said it is unlikely the plane will serve aboard Chinese aircraft carriers. Unlike the J-20 designed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, the J-31 was never a development program intended for the Chinese military, Zhang said.
Like the FC-1/JF-17 Xiaolong or Thunder multirole fighter designed jointly by China and Pakistan, the J-31 will be most likely be a model intended for export to China's allies and strategic partners, which may include countries like North Korea and Iran. Chinese fighters are a much cheaper alternative to US fighters for developing countries, even those which are able to buy military hardware from the United States.
A model of the J-31 was first displayed at the Zhuhai Air Show in Guangdong province last November, where it was described as a fighter to open China's overseas market. It was called the "Advanced Fighter Concept," according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The model was displayed again at the opening of the Beijing international Aviation Exposition on Sept. 25, under the new name of "China Concept Fighter." Sources from AVIC told People's Daily however that the "China Concept Fighter" is not the J-31.

The J-31 is for export only?

An interesting development.  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.  Additionally its shocking to note that a F-35/F-22 clone is deemed not good enough for Chinese forces.

Interesting indeed.

US Army considering 30mm Cannons on Strykers.

via Military.com

"The Stryker needs to get up-gunned; a World War II weapon system on a Stryker? It needs a bigger gun," Carabello said. "It needs something that is a better platform than a MK 19 or a .50 caliber machine gun."
The need is now greater, officials maintain, since the Army is cutting the number of MGS Strykers from 27 to 10 per SBCT.
Currently, Training and Doctrine Command is working with Stryker program officials on a plan that could mean mounting a 30mm cannon on to the remote weapons stations on Stryker infantry carriers.
This would give much greater firepower and still not require a turret be mounted on the Stryker, Army officials say. The plan is to purchase a company set of 30mm cannons, test them, and also try to determine should they be issued for every Stryker of have one per company, officials said.
"Looking at the fire fights we have had on a continuous basis … we see the need to be able to provide an overmatch in the close fight as well for the purpose of ensuring freedom of maneuver and action of our infantry squads," McMaster said.
A .50 caliber machine gun can be very effective, "but you don't get a round that blows up and ends firefights," McMaster said.
Lightly-armed IBCTs also need mobile protected firepower such as a light tank for forced-entry style missions, Army leaders began saying earlier this year.
The conventional Army's primary unit for that mission is the XVIII Airborne Corps' 82ndAirborne Division, "but all of our IBCTs are pretty strategically mobile," Brig. Gen. David Haight, chief of infantry at Benning.
"So in the early hours and days of forcible-entry missions, we need a light-tank force that can facilitate movement and provide those light forces with additional protection and firepower."
The 82nd Airborne Division was equipped with the M551 Sheridan Armored Reconnaissance Airborne Assault Vehicle until the mid 1990s. Developed during the Vietnam War, the Sheridan resembled a light tank and featured a 152mm main gun capable of firing standard ammunition or the MGM-51 Shillelagh antitank missile.
The Sheridan was used in the Invasion of Panama in 1989 and Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1991, but it was considered ineffective since its lightweight, aluminum armor was thin enough to be pierced by heavy machine-gun rounds, and the vehicle was particularly vulnerable to mines.
Army officials were considering the Stryker MGS, but it has proven to be less effective in off-road operations.
Maneuver officials say they would want a platform that could be air-dropped from a C-130 aircraft. It should have a base armor package capable of defeating 14.5mm ammunition. Once follow-on forces arrive, addition armor packages could be bolted on as necessary.
One option could be to take another look at the Armored Gun System, a 105mm light tank that the Army had considered as a replacement to the Sheridan in the mid 1990s.
It met the requirement in 1996 and still does, according to Benning officials, who described the AGS as "old technology that kills T72 tanks."

Hmm.

Wonder how I missed this.

Its interesting that at least one publication has identified the Elbit UT-30 as the weapon system of choice.  Nothing against Elbit but there are better systems available like the Canada Rheinmetall Lance or the Pence 30.

The thought that Big Army is also talking about a Airborne Light Tank again is thrilling.

If the Army keeps this up I might have to setup an alert for news from that service. 

Another sweet AR build by Keuch!

Yeah.

Another sweeeeet build (You're getting big into silencers huh Keuch?  I thought your days of hiding in the bushes waiting for the bad guys were over! ;).

I like it.  Wouldn't change a thing!

F-35. An eye opening fact...

The fact?  via Bloomberg News.

The Pentagon’s projected price tag of $391.2 billion for a fleet of 2,443 aircraft is up 68 percent from the projection in 2001, as measured in current dollars. The number of aircraft also is 409 fewer than called for in the original program.

Read about issues with quality control here. 

Massacre in Kenya.via TotallyCoolPix. WARNING! GRAPHIC.

 Click here to see the entire photo essay.

TERREX Marine Personnel Carrier

Thanks Daniel!

Marines Would Be 'All In' In Major War

via Defense Daily.

With plans to shrink in size, the Marine Corps will remain capable of acting in a major combat operation but there will be some limitations, and will potentially be unable to engage in routine theater security operations, a senior general recently said.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, who is heading up the service’s force posture review known as the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), said there will be “some risk” in a major war given the reduced size resulting from budget constraints.
“If we had to go in to a major combat operation, the Marine Corps would be all in,” McKenzie said at an event hosted by the Navy League last week. “Everybody goes. Nobody comes back till it’s over. There’d be no rotation.”
The military branches are currently developing their QDRs that are due out during the first part of next year. Marine Corps leaders have said they intend to trim the size of the Marine Corps to 182,000, a reduction of about 20,000.
McKenzie said the QDR will reflect a Marine Corps committed to the overall military strategy that calls for a greater focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
“We will protect our shift to the Pacific,” he said.
As far as weapons programs, McKenzie identified the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) as the two biggest priorities to shield from budget cuts. The Marine Corps is already acquiring the F-35B, its variant of the jet designed for short-take off and vertical-landing (STOVL).
The ACV is currently in the early stages of defining requirements, and was created after the cancellation of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle in 2011 because of cost increases.

Wow.

I hope everyone realizes exactly how powerful the statement that "everyone goes, no one comes back till its over" actually is.  I need a clarification on what he considers a major war though.  I wonder if that includes the initial invasion into Iraq?

Second, I'm really getting tired of the talk about the ACV being the second biggest priority for the Marine Corps.

That's pure bullshit.

I'm to the point where I'll take the Marine Personnel Carrier now and hope for the ACV later.

Under the leadership of this crowd, we'll probably get neither.

US Army looking at G-Code Holsters?

KitUp! is reporting that the US Army is looking at G-Code Holsters.

They make quality stuff (or so I've heard) and this would be a good step toward getting the military back on the same sheet of music.

The USMC should piggyback off whatever holster the Army settles on (if it meets specs and I'm sure it will).  Lets hope that G-Codes are as good as I've heard and that they can handle the ramp up in production if the Army goes that way.

Sidenote:  Civilian shooters are definitely ahead of the military.  If gun control ever passes and the gun community is forced underground then you'll see alot of innovation being kept to that small group of gun enthusiast.  All the materials are already in hand too.  Kydex, Leather Works, Gunsmithing, and now 3d Printing etc...  We could look at a situation where federal agents assault the wrong compound and are confronted with gear and tactics that have been developed and honed by vets but kept out of view of the wider public.  The results would be devastating.