Royal Air Force Tumblr Page.

The services run too many image sites and its hard to keep up with them all?  Yep, I agree, but don't get pissed just pick out the best ones and monitor them.  You should add the Royal Air Force Tumblr Page to your docket if you haven't already.  

F-35 News. Defense-Aerospace.com reports price decline a lie.

Hat tip to Peter for the article.

via D-A.

The average unit cost of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter continues to rise, despite claims by the program’s Joint Program Office and the prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, that they are decreasing with each annual production lot.

The program office bases its claim of lower costs on just a few of the many contracts it awards for each lot, and disregards the others. When announcing the main LRIP Lot 6 and Lot 7 contracts on Sept 27, 2013, for example, the JPO stated that:

”This award increases the value of the aircraft and associated production efforts on the LRIP 6 contract to $4.4 billion ($3.7 billion awarded …[in]…December 2012 ….and $0.7 billion awarded today) ….for production of 36 aircraft, with average aircraft unit cost approximately 2.5 percent lower than LRIP 5 aircraft.”

In fact, the real LRIP Lot 6 unit cost ($ 215.5 million) is fully 5% higher than the Lot 5 unit cost ($205 million), according to our analysis of DoD contract data.

JPO’s claim of lower Lot 6 unit prices is based on the two contracts identified above whereas, in fact, it awarded 27 Lot 6 contracts between Feb 9, 2012 and 0ct 9, 2014. The total value of these contracts is $7,757.3 million (see Table 1), almost double the $4,400 million cited by JPO.

D-A.com makes a VERY compelling case in this article.  Its highly recommended reading.

I'm waiting for other media outlets to check this article (although I sense that it is spot on) but for General Bogdan shit just got real....

Regardless of the actions of your subordinates, the responsibility for decisions and their application falls on you. You must issue all orders in your name...via Marine Officer's Guide 1985 edition

Lets be clear.

The Marine Corps has fired Commanders for less.

If the Defense-Aerospace report is true then we're seeing dereliction of duty, public deception, malfeasance in office, theft of govt funds and bringing discredit to the armed force of the United States. 

Bogdan needs to be fired and the program canceled.

ACV News. Japan using AAVs as "reference" will build their own ACV?

via PressTV.

The United States is set to provide Japan with a number of amphibious vehicles amid tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over the disputed islands in the East China Sea.
A Defense Ministry official said on Monday that Japan plans to buy 52 amphibious vehicles through 2018, but it has not decided on a model yet, Stars and Stripes reported.
The military deal comes as the disputed islands, called Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese, have been a source of tension between Japan and China for decades.
Japan claimed to nationalize a part of the island chain by buying them back from private ownership.
Last year, China established an Air Defense Identification Zone over the East China Sea, urging all military and commercial aircraft to inform the Chinese government before entering the region.
However, the United States and Japan violated the air zone several times after China’s declaration.
Japan and China have scrambled fighter jets over the islands during the past two years.
The Japanese government now wants to assemble a Marines-like unit within its Self-Defense Forces.
A spokesman from Japan’s Defense Ministry said the Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV-7) is among the country’s options.
“We have purchased four AAV-7s in fiscal 2013 and two AAV-7s in fiscal 2014 as samples for reference,” the unnamed spokesman said.
According to the spokesman, the Defense Ministry started reviewing options in April, but it has not decided on a model yet.
AGB/AGB

Why would a nation that that has a technologically advanced military and manufacturing base, is developing stealth fighters and is a leader in electronics put into service a vehicle that the Marines are looking to retire.

It never made sense.

But as a reference vehicle?  As a baseline model for desired capabilities?

Yeah.

The news that General Dynamics and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries were teaming to enter the ACV contest now becomes clear.   What are the calculations here?  Does GD really believe that they need Mitsubishi's help with the ACV or have they done the math and realize that upgrades are the only thing coming from the USMC due to budget constraints and they're trying to tap into greener Japanese pastures for future work...while riding Mitsubishi's coat tails?

ACV News. General Dynamics teams with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries...

Thanks to Slowman for the tip.

Nikkei.com is reporting that General Dynamics and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are teaming up to work on the Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle.

The above pics illustrate what I believe is going on here.

Mitsubishi is currently developing a heavy wheeled 8x8 capable of carrying 11 soldiers.  Could they be working on an amphibious version of the same vehicle?  I don't know but if they're successful...even if the Marine Corps doesn't select it...then Mitsubishi should have a leg up on the obvious Japanese Self Defense Force's need for an ACV of their own.

Sidenote:  RPG cage and ERA blocks?  That's alot of add on weight to an already large vehicle!  A wheeled APC topping 40 tons?  Read Army Recognition's info on Mitsubishi's proposed APC here.

CMMG just revolutionized the AK.

I would love to get my hands on one of these to give it a whirl.  The concept seems good to me, I just wonder how it shoots...and if it shoots straight!

Note:  Think 1500 bucks is too much to pay for a rifle that is chambered for the AK round but has operating systems that mimic the AR-15?  Check out the pic below and tally up the costs to make it AR like....

"Cuda" Missile. What happened to it?

Elements of Power Blog wrote an article a year or so ago (I think) that covered the development of a new missile by Lockheed Martin called the "Cuda".

Since then I've heard absolutely nothing.

Why am I curious about it?  Well the thought of F/A-18's filled to the gills with the missile (how many could they carry...20?) is pretty exciting, my focus is on a mid-level player for ground based air defense.  Longer ranged than the Stinger but more mobile than the Patriot and able to keep up with maneuver forces...that's where I see a "Cuda" based ground system coming in.

I wonder what's going on with it.

Strykers in Afghanistan.

War is Boring posted an absolutely awesome article about Strykers in Afghanistan.  Read it here....the referenced book is below.

  Stryker Sin Afghanistan