F-35 News. Desperation hits...

via The Wall Street Journal.

The Pentagon plans to offer deals to international buyers of the F-35 fighter jet that would undercut the price paid for planes destined for U.S. forces, the program’s military chief said Thursday.
Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan said he planned to offer multiyear deals to overseas buyers, a move that would help boost production of the jet and aid efforts to reduce its average cost.
The Pentagon negotiates deals on behalf of overseas nations with the F-35’s prime contractors, Lockheed Martin Corp. and the Pratt & Whitney unit of United TechnologiesCorp.
However, U.S. weapons-buying rules bar the Pentagon from negotiating multiyear deals for the Air Force, the Marine Corps. and the Navy until 2019 at the earliest.
Gen. Bogdan told reporters that this would allow overseas governments to secure cheaper pricing than the U.S. and others who didn’t sign up for the multiyear deals, though didn’t detail the potential savings.
A contract for the latest batch of F-35s—known as LRIP-8—is expected to be completed with Lockheed by Thanksgiving, said Gen. Bogdan. The two sides have reached a preliminary deal that would reduce the cost of the planes—which are destined for the U.S. and five other countries—by 3.4% from the previous batch.

This article has my spidey sense tingling.

He's going to offer multi-year buys to boost production?  Does he really think allied air forces are going to go for this?

Uh...NO!

The only thing this will do is to add a bit of clarity to the entire situation.  Everyone is waiting to see how this turns out, and foreign forces will still wait.  No one trusts a fire sale and that's what the Program Manager is offering.  All this will do is take the cost excuse off the table.  Looks like allied generals will need to find a new excuse.

But what really has me jazzed is the blurb that the writer buried.  The Pentagon can't make multi-years buys by law until the plane has finished flight testing..and 2019 is the hoped for date.

I've lost track of the numbers but consider this exhibit XXXX-X to prove that the death spiral has already hit and the program office is scared shitless.

I saw this coming. According to The Nation Magazine, the USMC has an anti-gay agenda.

via The Nation.

With thousands of such walking weapons from the most homophobic of America’s armed services prowling Olongapo’s streets on R&R after testosterone-raising military exercises, the murder of Jennifer Laude was an event waiting to happen. The volatile mix of training in the lethal arts and aggressive homophobic socialization was likely to be among the factors that led Pemberton to cross the line from anger to murder that fateful night. And violence such as that meted out to Jennifer is likely to occur again and again, as the United States stations more and more troops in the Philippines in pursuit of Washington’s grand geopolitical design to contain China.

Warning.

If you decide to read the entire left wing, dripping with hatred against the military in general and the Marine Corps in particular, sob story...then do yourself a favor and line the walls with pads.

You're gonna be punching hard.

I saw this coming and its for one reason.  The push to allow transgenders to serve openly is about to go full bore.  Why?  Because it seems to me that liberals see it all slipping away and will do whatever it takes to get every one of their agenda items done in the last 2 years of the Obama term.

Gabonese Republic set to receive 12 Ararvis Protected 4x4's.

Thanks for the link Jonathan.

via Nexter Press Release.

Versailles, October 29th, 2014 – Philippe Burtin, CEO of Nexter, signed today a contract in the presence of the French and Gabonese Ministers of Defence, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Ernest Mpouho Epigat, to supply the Gabonese Republic with 12 highly protected 4x4 vehicles ARAVIS®.
These 12 ARAVIS® will be equipped with Nexter remotely controlled 20mm turret ARX20 and RPG protections PG-Guard, but also with Nexter Robotics reconnaissance UGV NERVA®LG. These vehicles will join a battalion which will be deployed in Central African Republic within the MINUSCA under the United Nations authority.

I've been wondering why Nexter hasn't been selling more vehicles.  After this announcement it looks like they're about to hit their stride.

The Aravis will provide a nice upgrade to the Gabonese armed forces and should be able to handle any ground vehicle they encounter (especially since the most I imagine they'll face is probably Toyota technicals).

Vehicle info here. 

French Air Commando lost in Mali anti-terror raid...

via Armée de l'air...

Chief Sergeant Thomas Dupuy was engaged in Mali since August 2, 2014. The NCO was holder of the cross of the military Valor with Silver Star and bronze star, the overseas medal clip Sahel and Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, the silver of national defence Medal and the Medal of the wounded.
The Aviator lived in concubinage, without children.
32 years old, he died in the accomplishment of its mission in the service of the France.
The air force share the pain of his family and his brothers in arms. (Translated by Bing)

A couple of things here.

My sympathy goes out to his family.  Next.  I don't know what an Air Commando is.  Are they similar to USAF Special Ops or are they somewhat like a type of "Ranger" unit?  I have no idea.

But the point of this post is that the low grade war in Mali appears to be raging on.

Now we have the US in Liberia.  The Brits are in Senegal and Kenya.  The French are in Mali.  I don't know where the Dutch are but they're roaming the continent.

Africa is really lining up to be the next battle ground for the Western world.

F-35 News. The 2015 IOC & Dunford's first test of character...

Major Hat Tip to ELP Blog for the link.

The F-35B’s “combat capability” at IOC may end up being flatly untrue, and its best realistic case might be as a mere paper tiger. Korean-War vintage F-9 Cougar jets would be “combat capable,” too, in the sense that they could take off, land, and fire weapons. That isn’t an adequate standard for entrusting them with the safety of an MEU in 2016.
Defense Industry Daily

This will be the first test of Dunford ... well one of the first tests for him as Commandant.  I've been reviewing the presentation given to industry during the last Modern Day Marine (MDM) and it appears that he AMOS was rather sinister in his dealing with the budget.

In essence he's AMOS front loaded the F-35, CH-53, and MV-22...while delaying every vehicle program in the Corps.

The push for a 2015 IOC seems to be designed to benefit the F-35 program and not to meet the needs of the Marine Corps.

The question.  Will Dunford outright delay the F-35 until its finished flight testing or will he go forward and place aircraft into service that cannot provide the same support as the AV-8B?  At risk?  Marine lives.  This one move will be telling.  Either he is a man of morals and will "take care of his Marines" or he's a bought and paid for political hack in the mold of Amos.

I'll be watching this carefully. 

BAE's proposed vehicle mounted rail gun...we're on the verge of a revolution in warfare.

via DefenseTech.

BAE Systems officials said an electromagnetic rail gun firing a kinetic energy warhead could be a real option for the Army’s next generation Future Fighting Vehicle, which the service hopes to replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
Following the cancellation of the Ground Combat Vehicle, Army officials said they want the defense industry to offer a wide range of technologies before the Army decides whether to pursue the Future Fighting Vehicle, or an additional Bradley upgrade.
BAE Systems presented a host of possible technologies at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference last week. Among those was a model of the electromagnetic rail gun the company is developing for the Navy.
The rail gun, which can hit ranges of 100 miles or more, uses electricity stored on the ship to generate a high-speed electromagnetic pulse sufficient to propel a kinetic energy warhead. The result is an inexpensive, high-impact and long-range offensive weapon, service officials said.

That little blurb on DT got little notice.

BAE has done nothing to shout the news to the roof tops.  But if they're right this could place us on the verge of a revolution in warfare that will rival the introduction of gunpowder, jet propulsion for airplanes and nuclear powered aircraft carrier.

This literally could change armored warfare forever.  Imagine.  Being able to put fire on targets from a tank gun that normally would require rocket artillery!  Think about the possibility of miniaturizing it so that IFV suddenly become tank killers with their standard guns.  Naval artillery could strike from offshore deep into a continent.  Combat on the high seas would see the aircraft carrier revert to a supporting role for modern day battleships.

I'm just spit balling these examples but you get the point.

One little blurb on DT has HUGE implications for the future...and most people missed it.

F-35 News. Investors warned about Lockheed future earnings.

Thanks to Joe for the link.

via Fool.com

The thing about technology is that it's always changing. What was cutting edge tech in 2001 could be obsolete by 2021. If that happens, and if the F-35 is ultimately not built in the quantities originally anticipated (as was the case with Lockheed Martin's similarly high-tech F-22 Raptor fighter jet, you'll recall), then Lockheed Martin stock could be worth less than investors are counting on.

A few things about this.

The DWL002 is being looked at and reported on as a stand alone system.  Its anything but!  Its part of the Chinese integrated Air Defense Network and that system has its origins in Russia.  Additionally, these systems are being sold world wide.

Last, it appears that the critics...and it must be pointed out, especially APA (Air Power Australia) were the first to see this inevitability.

The planning on the part of air power theorists was faulty.

If a capability is unique and rarely encountered then planning for it is spotty.  Once you attempt to make that "unique" capability mainstream then EVERYONE will be working on counters.

But a warning about the future worth of Lockheed Martin stock because of a newly "discovered" weapon designed to counter a plane they're developing and trying to get into service?  That is brand new.