F-35C test aircraft validates catapult launch connections

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – Navy test pilot Cmdr. Eric “Magic” Buus brings F-35C test aircraft CF-3 into launch position on a test catapult July 19. The test demonstrated proper catapult hook up in preparation for the first launches at Lakehurst, N.J., scheduled for later this month. CF-3 is the designated carrier suitability test aircraft. The F-35C carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is distinct from the F-35A and F-35B variants with its larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear for greater control in the demanding carrier take-off and landing environment. The F-35C is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to eventual delivery to the fleet. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin)

BAE enters the LHD fray.

Think Defense gives us basically a two-fer in a post on BAE's attempt to grab some of the LHD market. 

*Sidenote*  I don't know whats up with your feed Think Defense but I can't for the life of me make it over to your regular website...just the Tumblr nonsense!  Fix it bud.

The two-fer involves ...
1.  The author is obviously concerned about the fact that once the Ocean goes away, so does the LHD concept in the Royal Navy.  It remains to be seen whether a full deck aircraft carrier can fulfill the role---in my mind it cannot, but we will see.
2.  The second point is that the author appears to be concerned about the lack of expeditionary potential that remains with the Royal Navy and gives a couple of options to recapture that lost capability.  I like it but I doubt that it will fly with a nation that is looking to gut its military in order to pay for social programs.

Its definitely worth a read...if you can get into his website.

Bae PDF Lhd Datasheet

British Army fades away...

The Brits have finally decided.

Social programs win out over the defense of their nation.  Pity.  The Brits have always held themselves apart from mainland Europe.  I would call it being European without being European.  Those days are apparently over. 

via Defense Management....

In a memo, the head of the army revealed that an extra 5,000 redundancies are to come by 2015 on top of the 7,000 redundancies announced in last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The cuts are said to form part of plans to reduce the size of the regular armed forces and increase the number of reserves.

Chief of the General Staff General Sir Peter Wall revealed the cuts in a memo to officers, the Daily Telegraph has reported.

"Regular Army manpower will be cut more steeply, with an additional reduction of 5,000 over and above the 7,000 already in progress as a result of the SDSR," wrote General Wall.

"This takes the Army to around 90,000 by 2015. The additional manpower cuts are now being scoped but will inevitably require a further redundancy programme.

24th Marines train at Bridgeport...

BRIDGEPORT, Calif.-Marines of 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, arrive at Landing Zone Sparrow, July 20. The Marines are transitioning from the Hawthorne Army Ammunition Depot in Nevada, to the MWTC to complete Javelin Thrust., Lance Cpl. Christofer Baines, 7/20/2011 11:48

BRIDGEPORT, Calif.-Sgt. George Schaub, a platoon sergeant with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, teaches Marines how to use a water purifier, July 20. The Marines took time to learn these skills, passed down by the unit’s Mountain Warfare Leader’s Course graduates, as they settled into their new home at the MWTC., Lance Cpl. Christofer Baines, 7/20/2011 15:04

BRIDGEPORT, Calif.-Lance Cpl. Blain Giddings, a Papillion, Neb., native and Lance Cpl. Thomas Leach, an Armstrong, Iowa, native, operate a water purification system, July 20. The Marines took time to learn these skills, passed down by the unit’s Mountain Warfare Leader’s Course graduates, as they settled into their new home at the MWTC., Lance Cpl. Christofer Baines, 7/20/2011 15:33

Trimble decides to participate in APA stupidity.

Trimble has lost it.

Instead of playing it straight, he instead decides to be a shill for the Dark Lord, Bill Sweetman and post tripe like this!

Notice the photo above?  What do you see?  PL-9 air to air missiles and PL-12 air to air missiles in the J-20's internal weapons bay.  What else do you notice?  How about the fact that the PL-9 is physically larger than the PL-12 in this mock up!

But in his story, Trimble conveniently ignores the obvious and instead tries to play a game with his readers, by misdirecting them to the "not a pound for air to ground" when he's really attempting to highlight the "supposed" weapons carriage of the J-20.

Obvious.

Contrived.

Silly.

And beneath his dignity.  When we have journalist that know better doing SHIT like this then no wonder they're losing respect.

MultiCam vulnerable to a $120 uv filter?

Check this out from Military Photos.  Amazing.

The reddish image is the uv filtered photo and the greenish one is the unfiltered one.  Against a first tier enemy, multicam is trash when it comes to preventing detection.

2 articles from DEFESA Global that you should check out.

First up from DEFESA Global is a write up on the Piranha 3 with a new turret.  Interesting.  They then have an article on a multi-purpose modular maritime action ship  there version of our LCS.  To be honest, I like there version better.