North Korea did LCS before LCS was cool.

Planeman's blog has an interesting article on the Soho class Frigates.  Read more here.  What's amazing is how similar the ships specifications are to the LCS.  To be quite honest they appear to be a bit more heavily armed AND to have a superior anti-ship capability.  I'm quite certain that the reason why this is a one ship class is due to poor sea keeping qualities.  Catamaran's are notorious for being..."vomit comets".  This from Wikipedia.

Class overview
Name:	Soho
Operators:	Korean People's Navy
In commission:	Unknown
Planned:	Unknown
Completed:	1
Active:	1
General characteristics (as per Janes)
Type:	Twin-hulled frigate
Displacement:	1640 tons full load
Length:	73.8m
Beam:	15.5m
Draught:	3.8m
Propulsion:	Unknown
Speed:	23 kts
Range:	Unknown
Complement:	Unknown
Sensors and processing systems:	Radar Surface search - Square Tie Fire control - Drum Tilt Sonar Stag horn sonar; hull-mounted active search/attack
Electronic warfare and decoys:	China RW-23 Jug Pair (Watch Dog) ESM
Armament:	Missiles four CSS-N-2 SSM; Guns One 100mm/56; four 37mm/63 (2 twin); four 25mm/60 (2 twin); Anti-submarine mortars Two RBU 1200 5-tube fixed launchers
Armour:	Light
Aircraft carried:	None?
Aviation facilities:	landing platform for medium helicopter, no visible hangar
Notes:	Twin-hulled design; continuous maindeck from stem to sternShips in class include: Experimental - only one built, Pennant number 823

In short the N. Koreans attempted to LCS before LCS was cool. This design according to Planeman's Blog, dates back to 1983.  Impressive.

Note.  Photo is from Wikipedia.

LPD-22 San Diego.

They are pumping these ships out like candy from a pez dispenser.  With the next generation LSD to be built on the same hull this is good news.  It appears that production has finally smoothed out and with these ships having demonstrated the ability to keep up with other ships in the fleet (read DDG-51's), they will be an asset for at least 2 decades...

From the Department of Defense

...Designated LPD 22, San Diego is the sixth amphibious transport dock ship in the San Antonio class. As an element of future expeditionary strike groups, the ship will support the Marine Corps "mobility triad,"� which consists of the landing craft air cushion vehicle, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle and the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft...

...San Diego will provide improved warfighting capabilities, including an advanced command and control suite, increased lift capability in vehicle and cargo-carrying capacity and advanced ship survivability features. The ship is capable of embarking a landing force of up to 800 Marines...

...The 24,900-ton San Diego is 684 feet in length, has an overall beam of 105 feet and a navigational draft of 23 feet. Four turbo-charged diesels power the ship to sustained speeds of 22 knots.

NAVAIR's LOGIR closer to fleet use.

LOGIR moves a step closer to the fleet
The LOw-cost Guided Imaging Rocket (LOGIR) completed its concept demonstration phase in May with a successful launch and direct hit at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) Point Mugu sea range.

“It was our graduation exercise and it was a complete success,” said Howard McCauley, head of the Precision Guidance Office in NAWCWD’s Weapons and Energetics Department (4.7). “We have shown that the LOGIR concept is feasible and its technology is mature enough to transition into a program of record.”  Follow the link to read the rest.

Nice.  A reader has been pushing this as the solution to low cost, precision destruction of enemy vehicles, boats and emplacements.  Beneath the radar it appears to have progressed quickly.

2nd AAV BN and the Combat Hunter course.

Camp Geiger, N.C.-Sgt. Colin E. Lafferty, an Amphibious Assault Vehicle crewman with Company A, 2nd Amphibious Assault Vehicle Battalion, looks through a pair of binoculars to spot targets during the Combat Hunter course at the School of Infantry aboard Camp Geiger, N.C. The Combat Hunter course is a five-day and ten-day training exercise, taught regularly at SOI East that trains deploying Marines on the fundamentals of observation, profiling and tracking., Cpl. Daniel A. Negrete, 5/26/2010 4:47 AM



How do you say pre-sniper course without calling it a pre-sniper course?  You call it Combat Hunter! 

The Combat Hunter course is a five-day and ten-day training exercise, taught regularly at SOI East, that helps prepare Marines for upcoming deployments, so they can learn the fundamentals of observation, profiling and tracking.
 “We’ve combined material taught at sniper courses and outside law enforcement agencies and put it all into one course to supplement the training Marines undergo before stepping into theater,” said Capt. Modesto L. Gutierrez, Combat Hunter course officer-in-charge. 
As the name denotes, Combat Hunter gives Marines the predatory skills to gain the edge on the battlefield. It gives Marines training on how to identify and determine potential threats and persons of interest. 
“Were placing an interest in Marines on how to be more proactive versus reactive,” said Gutierrez. “The Marines are taught how body language in humans and how abnormalities in terrain features can indicate that a threat is present.”

 Read more here .

Hemet CA Police Dept. under siege.

The police dept is under siege.  When you have the bad guys firing rockets and placing bombs under police cars then you're dealing with a different breed of gang-banger.  I wonder if the ATF or FBI is assisting or if they're too busy hanging out at gunshows to help?  Watch the vid and be amazed. 

Magpul is now making... wait for it....motorcycles?

I had to see it to believe it and I'm still not sure.  First the Magpul Unimog (well actually that's quite cool) and now this.  Amazing.

Check out the Magpul Ronin here.

And the regular Magpul site is found here.

Wow.  I wrote "what for it"...amazing.  Sleep and spell check can help.

Australian Navy's "Minor War Vessel Concentration Period (MWVCP)"

I believe that the US Navy would consider this a type of combined Amphibious - Littoral Ops type operation.  From the Royal Australian Navy website...

The Minor War Vessel Concentration Period (MWVCP) sea phase has commenced in waters off Darwin, with five Royal Australian Navy ships practising general mariner, surface and amphibious warfare skills.

Interesting.  Since they practice amphibious warfare I wonder if the Canberra Class LHD's will be allowed to participate once they come online.

Chinese are stealing F-35 weapons?

This photo is from the China Defense Blog.

I looked at the pic and to be honest the first thought that crossed my mind was that the weapons under the aircraft look like they were taken straight from the original F-35 brochure.  The author disagrees (he was quite polite...this is no flame war or an "intervention" just a couple of blogger with differing opinions)...having said all that, am I right or are these actually Chinese weapon systems that I've misidentified?

Pics of the day. June 9, 2010.

Joe Stremph's photo of an F/A-18D and a CH-53D

 no caption provided............

 1/1 Marines secure the LZ while a CH-53D Sea Stallion from HMH-363 "Lucky Red Lions" lands to offload more Marines during a noncombatant evacuation exercise in Yuma, Arizona. WTI 2-10.

AFSOC Para-rescue Vehicle.

Its been months since an undisclosed (well I won't give his name without permission) sent me the Request For Information regarding a new Para-rescue vehicle for the AFSOC.  Well, I found another vehicle--besides Force Protection's Jamma---that fits the bill.



Wired.com ran a story back in 2007 that covers the vehicle in the video above.  Follow the link for the story from back then but this part of it stands out...

The CERV incorporates the latest technology to improve weight trade off and battery capability, both in materials and in software management, to further increase performance and range. The hybrid vehicle will be compatible with current and future renewable recharging methods and can be modified to add a generator/fuel cell technology to remotely recharge in the event that commercial power is not available. The CERV will also meet size requirements to be air-transported on AFSOC’s CV-22. Vehicle will carry up to 4 personnel.

That my friends is the exact requirements of the vehicle that para-rescue is searching for today.   What's even more surprising is that the USAF actually expended research and development dollars to get this vehicle ready.

But don't despair if you're worried that the money's been wasted...it hasn't.  A refined version was on display recently.