F-35 and Israel.

via Alert 5 from the Jerusalem Post.

The defense establishment will hold a series of high-level consultations over the next month with the aim of determining, by the end of July, whether it will buy the fifth-generation stealth Joint Strike Fighter.

The first meeting will be held in the coming weeks and be led by IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.- Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi as well as OC Israel Air Force Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan. The second meeting, scheduled for the end of this month, will be led by Defense Ministry director-general Udi Shani. The final meeting, scheduled for July, will be headed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Despite a recent round of JSF-related talks between Israeli and American officials, the parties have yet to reach an agreement regarding the sale of the plane to Israel.

The F-35 will be one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world and, according to the IAF, would significantly boost Israel’s deterrence in the region.

Prediction.  They'll buy the airplane and if my hunch is correct they'll even buy a batch of B models.  Israel is feeling besieged right now.  I imagine that Lockheed Martin might get that vaunted high rate production.  I can easily see the Israeli's buying their airplanes in the less than full capability mode that the Marines will be operating.

PS.
Alert 5 (I love those guys) also dropped this tidbit.  Canada is expected to purchase the F-35....without competition.

Defense Review on the "super mag".

David Crane of Defense Review has an outstanding write up of the next gen magazine for the Infantry Automatic Rifle.

This is a must have if this system is going to work.  I'm still not convinced and STILL believe that this is a boutique purchase to satisfy a small segment of Marine Corps leadership.

The Gunners are getting their way.

PS.    

First.  The drop test that they performed was silly.  If it works then we'll know when its tested out at 29 Palms with the boys from the 7th Marine Regiment.

Second.  I can tell you what's going to happen operationally with this weapon once it hits the fleet.  Officer, SNCO's and Squad leaders are going to scoop them up and take the tracer rounds from their boys.  They're going to use this to mark targets for their Marines or as a way for them to apply suppressive fire themselves at targets of opportunity.  I guarantee SAWs will still be humped and this will be used in ways that are not being thought of at Headquarters Marine Corps.

 

More Info on the IAR can be found here.

Kel-Tec PMR 30. Hitting store shelves soon?

I despise made up "must have" items.  I have a second gen I-pod that I waited to buy and refuse to upgrade as long as this one works.

I make an exception when it comes to firearms though.  Just like not having enough money or being handsome enough, you can't have enough guns.  I want this gun!  This comment was made in a previous post on the SMG version of this weapon (its theoretical so don't expect that one anytime soon).

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Kel-Tec PMR 30 SMG Prototype.":

finally got the skinny on when the pmr-30 will hit stores. my ffl said he ordered five and they told him they will definatly fill his order (that means to his door step ), by june 25th.So i should be shooting my pmr-30 the 26th at the latest...

OOOH  I hope he's right. 

I wonder if there's a waiting list?  I better start calling my FFL buddies today....got to get in the line!

Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson. His 14 Rules.

Kelly Johnson, the famous aeronautical engineer was a revolutionary thinker.  What's even more revolutionary but often overlooked are his management principals.  Maybe we should insist on making his 14 rules a part of any reform that's pushed through the Defense Dept.

(You'll need to enable full screen to read his rules)

Http Www.lockheedmartin.c..

New justification for Mistral BPC's. Island Patrol!

via Defense News.

Russia is close to purchasing a Mistral-class French warship and needs such a vessel to patrol waters around Pacific islands that are the subject of a long-running dispute with Japan, a top general said June 8.
Russia's plan to purchase the Mistral - capable of carrying up to 16 helicopters and a 750-strong landing force - has alarmed some of its neighbors amid expectations it would become part of its Black Sea fleet.

and then this juicy tidbit...

He said in the region around the Kuril Islands "we need mobile means so that a landing force can be rapidly sent there at the necessary time".

Read the whole thing but if Japan is thinking about scaling back defense spending this should give her pause.  Wolves are lurking and territory is at stake.

MV-22 vid.

Defense Update has a video channel that they haven't been advertising but its pretty awesome.  You can see it here.

Forgotten Concepts. Cormorant UAV.

The US military has a history of pushing forward exciting new concepts and then letting them die on the vine.  The Cormorant UAV is one such concept.  This from Aviation Week...back in 2005!

A new contract to Lockheed Martin marks the beginning of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program to study the feasibility of deploying an unmanned aerial vehicle from submarines, a DARPA spokeswoman said.
The UAV, called Cormorant, after the sea bird, would "provide close air support for vessels such as the Littoral Combat Ship and SSGN," a specialized version of the Trident ballistic missile submarine, Jan Walker said. "This is the very first award ... this is the beginning of the program," she said.
Its aim, she said, is to "explore concepts that launch from both the sea surface and submarines."

But since then not a word, not an official update on the program.  You can read the Lockheed Martin page on the program here.

Amazing.  The video advertisement is exciting and if it could deliver just half of what is on it then subs would become a viable part of Air-Sea Battle.  A very viable part. 

Crazy Idea Time.

Ok, this is my crazy idea.  But has anyone thought or considered taking the gun system from the Stryker Mobile Gun and fitting it to the hull of the M1 Abrams?  That should (at least theoretically) shave about 30 tons from the weight of the vehicle and since horsepower would remain the same, it should literally turn into a hot rod.  If a further modification is done and its engine is switched out to an MTU turbo diesel then fuel savings might be found while we're at it.  Just tossing it out there.

Thanks to Military Today.com my vision of the future in a slightly different form is illustrated with the Chieftan Falcon Turret.  BAE has teamed with KADBB so its technology that we could acquire rather easily. 

Fully missionized F-35B flying at PaxRiver.

Major Hat Tip to B. Bolsøy Oslo---I don't know how I missed this....from F-16.net.

"This mission systems aircraft adds a new dimension to the F-35 flight testing under way at PAX River," said Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and general manager of F-35 Program Integration. "Now, in addition to validating the aerodynamic capabilities and flying qualities of these jets, we will have the opportunity to confirm the performance of what we expect to be a transcendent avionics capability – the most capable ever in a fighter." A fifth F-35B, along with the first Navy carrier variant, is expected to join the fleet later this year at Patuxent River.

I was promised that I was on their mailing list.  Time to send a nasty gram to Lockheed Martin!

F-35C Pics.

I saw some unauthorized pics.  I saw the video.  But I wanted to wait for Lockheed's official pic release of the F-35C's first flight.  I wasn't disappointed.

Royal Air Force knocks down the Rolling Stones.

Wow.  Things are different in the UK.  Read the whole thing here.

The Royal Air Force Squadronaires have scored the highest ever chart position for a military band when it's album "In The Mood: The Glenn Miller Celebration" reached No.9 in the UK pop album charts, overtaking The Rolling Stones. The album also knocked Michael Bublé off his long-standing position at the top of the jazz charts.

Either they have great military bands or the British public has weird taste in music.

New Crane for Sea Basing.

If you're a fan of the Sea Basing Concept then you might enjoy what the Office of Naval Research has been doing.  ONR coupled with Advanced Technology and Research Corporation to develop a new Naval Crane.  What's really exciting about this is that its applicable to Navy operating doctrine of the future.  You see ISO containers, I see mission modules.  The transfer of vehicles at sea is still iffy in my opinion and this crane could prove to be a very nice backup...if that method proves troublesome.