M224 Mortar.

United States Marine Corps Weapons & EquipmentM224 60mm Lightweight Mortar
Length: 40 inches (101.6 centimeters)Weight: 46.5 pounds (21.11 kilograms)Bore diameter: 60mmMaximum effective range: 2.17 miles (3490 meters)Rates of fire:Maximum: 30 rounds/minuteSustained: 20 rounds/minuteUnit Replacement Cost: $10,658
Mission: To provide the company commander with an indirect-fire weapon.
Features: The M224 60mm Lightweight Mortar is a smooth bore, muzzle loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon. The cannon assembly is composed of the barrel, combination base cap, and firing mechanism. The mount consists of a bipod and a base plate which is provided with screw type elevating and traversing mechanisms to elevate/traverse the mortar. The M64 sight unit is attached to the bipod mount via a standard dovetail. An additional short range sight is attached to the base of the cannon tube for firing the mortar on the move and during assaults. It has a spring-type shock absorber to absorb the shock of recoil in firing.
Background: The M224 replaced the older (WWII era) M2 and M19, 60mm Mortars. These weapons only possessed 2,200 yards of effective range. The M224 was designed to fire all types of the older ammunition, but its primary rounds are of the newer, longer-range type.

A quick primer on this system.

Consider it the Commander's pocket artillery, if the prohibition against the use of the M224 drags on it will degrade combat effectiveness.

What I don't know is if the safety stand down for the system extends to combat zones or if its just for training.

Old Skool Pirates in formation.

via War Machine.  Corsair II's and Buccaneers about to deliver some pain.

7 Marines killed in Nevada. Military training is inherently dangerous.

Consider this.  In one training accident more Marines were lost stateside than in the last two weeks (maybe longer) in Afghanistan.  

Military training is inherently dangerous.

This will happen to a SWAT Team in the US one day.

I haven't heard of this happening in the US and the Law Enforcement Officials in this GIF appear to be from a different country but you can bet it will happen here.

Austal sees it slipping away.

Question.  Where is the Independence?  The USS Freedom for all its warts and new paint job is zooming to Singapore to begin its first overseas deployment.

But Independence is missing.  We haven't seen her.  And now we have this from DoD Buzz.

It appears the U.S. Navy is preparing to buy only one of the two variants of the Littoral Combat Ship after 2015, according to a Defense News report.
Vice Adm. Tom Copeman, the head of Naval Surface Forces, issued a classified report at the end of 2012 called “Vision for the 2025 Surface Fleet” in which he recommended a “re-evaluation of the next flights of LCSs — beyond the 24 ships now delivered, under construction, on order or with contract options,” wrote Chris Cavas of Defense News.
The Navy had planned to build 52 LCS ships. If the services chooses to cut that order in half, the service will likely purchase only one of the LCS variants — either the Freedom-class or Independence-class designs, according to the senior Navy officials that Defense News cited.

If I'm right and the end is near for the Independence then Austal should kick itself.

The Independence with its huge flight deck, tri-hull design and futuristic looks has been the darling of the blogging community and military theorists.  When people were trying to add missions sets to the LCS class it was with the Independence in mind.

Now?

Not so much.

The damn ship can't get out of port!

If Lockheed Martin wins this battle, if the Navy picks the Freedom class over the Independence and if this report is true then we are looking at a defense leviathan.  Lockheed Martin will (if they win in the JLTV and MPC contests) become an even bigger defense giant.  Right now they're looking like the first defense mega-corporation.

One or two smart acquisitions and there will not be a defense project in the free world that could go forward without their participation.

Pic of the day. 31st MEU. A walk in the park.