Amphibious Combat Vehicle on life support?

A yellow bird landed on my window and passed along a bit of depressing information.

According to my source the Amphibious Combat Vehicle program is floundering.  

What exactly is the problem?  I have no idea..but consider this.  Do you remember all the wild gyrations that we witnessed in the last two years?  First the Marine Personnel Carrier program was canceled outright.  Then it was resurrected.  Then we saw HQMC rename the program and break it into two parts.  First the ACV 1.1 was basically the Marine Personnel Carrier with new wrapping and second we had the ACV 1.2 that was supposed to be the old EFV but this time it would work and be affordable.  Also remember the late interviews given by Amos as he was heading out the door.  I can't remember the source but I distinctly recall him suddenly claiming that funding was just not there.

This points to the procurement train wreck being even more devastating than even I imagined.  I spent yesterday afternoon trying to get in contact with the Program Office but they've been moved behind a fire wall, are no longer even listed on the PEO Land website and the e-mail address that I had to Manny Pacheco is no longer working (I don't even know if he's still the spokesman for the program).

The reality is stark.

Can we with good conscious continue to send Marines into combat in almost 50 year old AAVs?  If not then how do we fix this?  

J-31 arrives at big Chinese Air Show.

Note:  China is soon to put on one of the largest air shows in the world.  The location is the city of Zhuhai and its called the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition 2014 (Airshow China 2014).  Unfortunately I can't find one major publication that is sending journalist to cover the event.  Once again I'll have to rely on Chinese Bloggers to keep us all updated.

Norinco AH-4 155mm Light-weight Howitzer, AKA Chinese M777 via Chinese Defense Blog.

According to Norinco, this AH-4 weighting in about 3,000kg, just a bit lighter than the US M777 counter part and chambered to fire all standard NATO 155mm rounds.

Hmm.  Lighter than the M777?  I wonder how many rounds it can fire before it breaks.  Confidence is not high.

85th Test and Evaluation Squadron. Photos by Samuel King Jr

Libyan Navy Ship sinking...fighting between govt forces and rebels with tanks & aircraft...UPDATE!

via Reuters.

(Reuters) - A Libyan navy ship was hit and 13 people killed during heavy fighting with aircraft and tanks on Monday between the army and Islamist militants near the port of Benghazi, residents of the Mediterranean city said.
The battle was part of a wider conflict in the North African state where former rebels who helped oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 are fighting for power and a share of Libya's large oil revenues.
Army special forces, backed by troops of an ex-general, launched an offensive in the Benghazi area two weeks ago against Islamist militants blamed by Washington for a 2012 assault on the former U.S. consulate which killed the American ambassador.
The Red Crescent evacuated 53 foreign workers and 14 sick people trapped inside a hospital next to the port, medics said, while the army moved more tanks and artillery into the city.
A Reuters reporter could see smoke rising from the port, an important conduit for food, wheat and fuel supplies to eastern Libya. A security source said the unidentified navy ship was sinking but this could not immediately be confirmed.

Its off the front pages but the world continues to burn.  What seemed to be just another run of the mill insurgency is taking on the look of the fighting in Ukraine, with almost conventional style forces engaging in combat.

All this and yet gas prices continue to fall.

How do you explain it?  Where is all this excess capacity coming from? 

UPDATE:  Fox Business is speculating that the Saudi's are trying to kill the shale oil boom in the US.  They fear both the US becoming energy independent AND a competitor on the global market.  It makes sense but that would mean that this shaky ally is actually attempting to hurt our economic interests.  That takes them from shaky ally to outright enemy.

Royal Marines go ashore in Sierra leone.

Note:  The work is worthy but I can't help but think that some of those Royal Marines will catch Ebola.  From these pics it looks like an absolute certainty.

Warrior Morality. What would you do Lt?

A couple of videos are burning up the internet.  The theme?  ISIS is training children to use real weapons to engage their enemies.

My outlandish scenario.

You're on patrol and suddenly you start taking fire from the front.  Your men are well trained and execute a flawless "react to ambush" drill and everyone is good to go.
Firing dies down a bit (meaning you're only taking a sporadic fire at best) and you get eyeballs on the enemy.  Much to your surprise you're dealing with 4 teens that appear to be no more than 16 years old and much to your horror you also spot two young boys around 7 or 8.

What do you do Lt?

Explain why you made the choice that you did.  Lay out the ramifications of that decision (for example, casualties if you decide against a forceful defense, failure to complete your patrol etc...).

This is new so I'll cut you some slack.  You have 30 seconds to decide.  No cheating.