And BAE was kind enough to supply a few photos of this new beast.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Thales Australia at Eurosatory.
I am really impressed by some of the efforts made by defense contractors at getting the word out on their products. Most have come up short....waaaaaaaaaaay short.
Some have gone above and beyond.
BAE is one such company.
And Thales Australia is the other.
If you want to check out a nifty piece of advertising then go here. Well done Thales!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
When in doubt send in the Military?
Via the American Spectator.
Ray Mabus long-term Gulf Coast restoration plan. Well, okay, but... why the Secretary of the Navy?Isnt the Navy important enough? If Mabs is to do that, it should be his only job, and somebody else should be Sec-Navy. Frankly, this is an outrage. And what does the Navy have to do with Gulf Coast shore restoration anyway?!?!?!?!?!?!?They said it better than I could. This is just plain sad. I have recently learned that the Netherlands, and several other European countries offered technology to clean up the oil spill and they got no response from our government!
But a bigger mystery to me is why select the Secretary of the Navy to perform this mission? Maybe because the President finally understands that is the only competent section of the US government. Maybe because he looked at the heads of his other agencies and realized that they're not up to the job.
Either way, the Secretary of the Navy has personnel in harms way.
He does not need this additional duty.
And the French betrayal begins.
via RiaNovosti.
Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Tuesday it had signed several contracts with the French defense firm Thales on the transfer of technology and delivery of communications equipment for Russian armored vehicles.My problem with this is that this gear will eventually wind up in the hands of our enemies. Whether its the Iranians or the Chinese, the Russians are a gateway supplier of advanced technology.
"The first contract involves transfer of technologies to Russia, which now will have the right to produce officially licensed thermal imagers at Vologda Optical and Mechanical Plant," said Igor Sevastyanov, Rosoboronexport deputy director general.
"The second contract provisionally allows Russia to bring in communications equipment for integration into Russian armored vehicles for testing," Sevastyanov said. He added that the communications equipment would be mounted on T-90 tanks and BMP-3 armored personnel carriers.
What should also give many PAK-FA fans pause is Russia even needing to procure this type of tech transfer...to even demand it in order to complete the buy of Mistral BPC's.
Are they truly capable of producing a 5th gen fighter if they can't even get communications gear into BMP-3's and T-90's?
photo from RiaNovosti.
Marine Aviation Supporting Marines on the Ground.
Call me tin foil hat, but Marine TV releases this video the day after our next Commandant...an Aviator...is announced to the public. I smell a rat. And the vid isn't even up to snuff. Feel my pain when you watch it.
Support for the smaller European nations the Marine Corps way.
via Marines.com
MPF offload demonstrates Navy-Marine Corps Team, Latvian interoperability
6/15/2010
By Sgt. Rocco DeFilippis , Marine Forces Europe
VENTSPILS, Latvia — A simulated earthquake brings a humanitarian crisis to the Baltic Sea region and the Marines and Sailors from Charlie Company, 4th Landing Support Battalion and Naval Beach Group 2 arrive at the port to help. Working in close coordination with members of the Armed Forces of Latvia, local civilian and port authorities, and Latvian contractors, the Navy and Marine Corps Team delivered a robust maritime preposition force (MPF) offload during exercise Baltic Operations 2010.
“This is another example of when we as Marines and Sailors are working together with our NATO partners to further develop our interoperability,” said Mike Harvey, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe prepositioning officer. “When we come together and conduct the three objectives of MPF offload, it not only shows that we are able to work together to prove and improve MPF concepts, but it also gives us a chance to strengthen our ties and continue to build partnerships and professional relationships.”
To prove those concepts, the Marines, sailors and Latvians conducted equipment offload at sea and in port, staged the equipment in a logistics support area (LSA), and then transported the equipment throughout the country via three modes of transportation, according to Harvey.
Harvey said the purpose of the transportation was to allow the Latvians to demonstrate their ability to integrate into the U.S. MPF offload process and stress their infrastructure.
“The ability to take military equipment and vehicles from ship to shore, stage it and prepare it for onward movement and then conduct that movement with tactical convoy, commercial trucking and railways shows the importance of this exercise,” Harvey said.
While the focus of the exercise was on the MPF offload in support of a simulated humanitarian aid crisis, the training didn’t only benefit the Latvians.
“This kind of training is hard to come by, so it benefits our Marines greatly by giving them more experience with beach and pier-side operations and the specific platforms that they utilize,” said Staff Sgt. Jamison Johnson, beach operations/port operations group chief with Charlie Company.
According to Johnson, the ability for the Marines to work with the Latvians throughout the entire process provided vital experience in working in a coalition environment.
“If the port is full or inadequate, the ability to conduct beach operations allows the mission to continue unhindered,” said Lance Cpl. Adam Bath, landing support specialist with Charlie Company. “So, to come out here and get to do all the aspects of our job, that is really important. Especially since it is in a coalition environment and that is how we operate more and more these days.”
During a demonstration portion of the two-week exercise, the Marines, Sailors and Latvians had a chance to show the fruits of their collective labors to the highest ranking individuals in the Latvian military.
Latvian President Valdis Zatlers, Minister of Defense Imants Lieģis, and the Commander of National Armed Forces of Latvia Maj. Gen. Juris Maklakovs all toured the training areas here and had a first-hand look at what the two forces had accomplished during the exercise.
“I’m very impressed with the skills and the cooperation between the American and Latvian forces,” said President Zatlers. “It gives me a sense of security and that is the most important message I get from this event. I’m grateful to the United States, the other allies participating in the exercise and to my countrymen for making this exercise such a success.”
Wow, what a beautiful concept that's finally gaining traction but much too late. This is another concept that won't die but will be truncated. How much? I really don't know but the idea of having ships dedicated to the Sea Base and only the Sea Base would seem a stretch. An LHA dedicated only for Sea Base? Ain't gonna happen now. High speed connectors? Yeah, probably. Other than that we'll just have to see.
Iveco SuperAV for the Marines?
via Defense News
Iveco Defence Vehicles and BAE Systems are teaming up to pursue the U.S. Marine Corps personnel carrier contract with a vehicle based on Iveco’s amphibious SUPERAV 8×8.This announcement is a kick in the balls. I really like the look of the SEP and was hoping that BAE would enter that vehicle (the wheeled version) in this contest.
Iveco declared its intention to enter the SUPERAV in the MPC contest last year; BAE adds U.S. market savvy and U.S. production facilities.
Its probably not to be anyway. I can easily see the Marine Personnel Carrier Program getting sliced, delayed or out right canceled.
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