Tuesday, January 11, 2011
F-35B Vertical Landing...part 2.
Monday, January 10, 2011
2nd Battalion 9th Marines--Operation Oasis...
The Land, Air, and Sea Special Operations (LASSO) vehicle
Thanks Anonymous...whoever you are! This vehicle reminds me of a stretched British Tomcar for some reason...
F-35B Vertical Landing
China testing Indian Border Defences.
via West-Bengal.com...
China crosses Ladakh line again; stops work
The soft talk of premier Wen Jiabao on his recent visit to India apart, Chinese dadagiri on the border in Ladakh continues.I haven't paid much attention to the happenings in Asia. My mistake. It appears that part of our world is heating up.
In a revelation that threatens the warming of relations between the two South Asian majors of late, Chinese troops crossed over to the Indian side sometime during September-October and forced the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government to suspend building of passenger sheds atDemchok in Leh district.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) personnel said the territory where the construction was taking place was “disputed”.
Fearing tension, the J&K government stopped work and reported the matter to the Indian army, which guards the line of actual control (LAC) in Ladakh.
“Chinese troops came andtold us to stop work. Our armyalso said unless clearance comes from the ministries of defence and external affairs, no work will be done,” Leh district development commissioner T Angchok said.
He said the work had just begun when it was stopped by the Chinese army.
This is the second time a developmental work has been abandoned in Ladakh under Chinese pressure. Earlier, the J&K government had stopped building a road after PLA objected.
“A portion of the road had been laid when objection came from the Chinese side.We had to abandon the project,” J&K minister for rural development Ali Mohammad Sagar said.
Of late, the Chinese army has been intruding at will. Sometime ago, the troops crossed over and threatened nomads grazing cattle near the border.
In 2009, the Chinese army had violated the international border in Ladakh and painted boulders and rocks in the area red. The troops had entered nearly 1.5 km into India on July 31 near Mount Gya.
Before this, Chinese helicopters had violated Indian air space on June 21 and heli-dropped rotten food.
While China has been preventing construction by India, its own misadventures continue. In 2009, for the first time after the 1962 standoff between the two countries, the Chinese army carried out construction along the international border across the Karakoram ranges in Ladakh.
A J&K government reporthad then claimed that the Chinese were taking “land in inches, not in yards”.
Union minister for new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah has a word of caution.
“We want friendship with China, but at the same time we have to take steps for our security. The Chinese prime minister recently visited India and there was a lot of hope. But unfortunately, water has been poured on some of our expectations,” he said.
—With PTI inputs
Sunday, January 09, 2011
INTERESTING! Gates warns China over J-20 and ASBM.
via Los Angeles Times...
Wow. With those few words it seems that US defense strategy is about to change. Dirt wars are out...big dawg enemies are back in.Reporting from a U.S. military aircraft —Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned Saturday that China's development of advanced missiles and a new stealth fighter could endanger U.S. naval and air forces, and he said the Pentagon would "respond appropriately." They clearly have the potential to put some of our capabilities at risk, and we have to pay attention to them. We have to respond appropriately with our own programs," Gates told reporters as he traveled to Beijing for three days of talks with senior Chinese leaders.
3rd Marine Air Wing in Afghanistan....
The
first and only KC-130J Harvest Hawk in Afghanistan sits on the
flightline at Forward Operating Base Dwyer with its four Hellfire
missiles ready for takeoff. The Harvest Hawk, which is a 3rd Marine
Aircraft Wing (Forward) asset, has only been in country since October,
but has already detected three improvised explosive devices and fired
one GPS guided Hellfire. The battle damage assessment was five enemy
forces killed in action and no civilian causalities. The aircraft
carries four Hellfire and 10 Griffen GPS guided missiles, and houses an
infrared and television camera. Its mission is to provide close air
support, conduct intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance missions
and find improvised explosive devices.
A
UH-1Y crew chief with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, 3rd
Marine Aircraft Wing (forward) mans the GAU-17/A 7.62mm machine gun
while gathering key coalition personnel to be inserted into the Ismaat
Bazaar in Helmand province, Afghanistan Sept. 27. The insert was in
support of operation Oasis, which established coalition presence in a
suspected insurgent logistic hub.
A
CH-53D Sea Stallion assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362,
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), prepares to land during a general
support mission. HMH-362 transports coalition forces, local Afghans,
Afghan National Police, civilians and any type of cargo the aircraft can
lift.
via Marines.mil..3rd MAW (Fwd) makes explosive impact in Afghanistan
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Coalition forces present in Afghanistan continuously patrol the country’s vast landscape and cities while conducting operations and gathering information from local citizens. Sometimes this can lead to hostile insurgents who seldom desire negotiation – which is when more than just bullets start flying.
On standby at the flightline, or already airborne in support of other operations, aircraft with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) are never far from the fight. Whether postured for close air support, cargo missions or transportation platform, these aircraft are armed with enough ordnance to make it rain anywhere in their area of operations – no matter how arid the climate.
The AH-1W Super Cobra brings unrivaled capabilities to the war effort despite its small frame. The Cobra is armed with rockets, missiles and a 20mm cannon, enabling it to be utilized in an array of assault scenarios.
The GPU-A2 gun pod, fixed to the nose of the Cobra, has a vertical and horizontal swivel, which directs the fire of a three-barrel M197 20mm cannon onto any identified threat. The cannon can host a variety of ammunitions to include high explosive, incendiary and semi-armor piercing rounds, and fire at a selectable rate of 750 or 1500 rounds per minute.
For a more explosive effect, the Cobra employs the use of several variants of the AGM-114 Hellfire missile. Though the Hellfire is now fired from multiple platforms, it was originally developed as a helicopter-launched fire-and-forget, or “HEL-L-FIRE,” weapon.
The missile’s warhead can range from blast fragmentation, armor-piercing shape charges and blast-emphasizing charges, which produce lengthened blast wave durations. By making use of the Hellfire alone, a Cobra can disable soft targets, devastate hard targets and even implode structures, limiting any collateral damage to the footprint of the target structure.
To suit a more utilitarian purpose, Cobras are also equipped with 2.75” LAU-61/68 rocket pods. Rockets fired from the pod can serve support or assault functions. Aside from high explosives, the Hydra 70 rocket can be armed with a lethal, non-explosive, flechette warhead. A flechette, French for ‘baby arrow,’ is a small arrow-shaped projectile, which weighs roughly 3.8 grams. The flechette rocket detonates mid-flight, firing more than 1,000 flechettes towards its target similar to a shotgun-like blast. This particular rocket eliminates soft targets without any significant damage to nearby structures.
The Cobra is also able to fire standard and infrared illumination rockets to aid coalition troops in low-light situations.
Like the Cobra, in the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron, the UH-1Y Huey also employs Hydra 70 rockets via the LAU-68.
The Huey, being the combat oriented utility helicopter, does not carry the Hellfire missile, but makes up for it with bullets – and lots of them. Two Marines man door guns on both sides of the aircraft. Typically, this consists of one GAU-16/A or GAU-21 .50 cal. machine gun and a GAU-17/A 7.62mm machine gun.
The GAU-17, more commonly known as the ‘minigun,’ is a six-barreled air-cooled machine gun, which fires 7.62mm rounds at a selectable rate of fire between 2,000 and 4,000 rounds per minute. The GAU-17 is electronically driven and fires standard and armor piercing rounds, as well as tracers.
Though still in use, the dated GAU-16/A, also known as the "Fifty," has been identified for replacement by the GAU-21, which comes with a series of additional benefits to include an open bolt design, a rate of fire greater than 1,000 rounds per minute and a barrel life of 10,000 rounds.
As for the CH-53E Super Stallion, it’s armed with three GAU-21 or XM-218 .50 cal. machine guns. With the ability to push out a combined total of more than 3,000 .50 cal. rounds per minute and potentially 32 combat-loaded Marines onboard, the CH-53 has proven its capabilities numerous times over.
This heavy-lift helicopter plays a vital role in many named operations by inserting and extracting coalition forces across Regional Command (Southwest).
The Osprey, however, often flies with the 240D 7.62mm machine gun in lieu of the GAU-16. While the Osprey is only equipped with one on its tail, its unique tilt-rotor design allows it to fly high and fast enough to mitigate potential threats.
An even larger, deadlier, plane is the newly combat modified KC-130J Hercules, known as “Harvest Hawk.” The Harvest Hawk is equipped with high-altitude Hellfire missiles on the wing as well as a Griffin missile pod mounted on the rear of the aircraft, enabling the Harvest Hawk to provide close air support from forward and rear-facing positions while maintaining its capability as an aerial refueling aircraft.
Though the Harvest Hawk is a unique asset to the Marine Corps in Afghanistan – nothing says fixed-wing firepower quite like the F/A-18C Hornet. The Hornet houses a 20mm, six-barreled, Vulcan Cannon, which is capable of firing high explosive, incendiary rounds at a rate of fire as fast as 100 rounds per second.
The Vulcan is an effective weapon, though it is not commonly during an initial engagement. The Vulcan Cannon is more often used to eliminate ‘leakers,’ or residual enemy combatants, who become exposed after Hornet has delivered several GBU bombs on target. The GBUs used by the F/A-18 weigh either 500 or 1000 pounds and can be laser-guided for increased accuracy.
For long-ranged precision strikes, the Hornet relies on the AGM-65E Laser Maverick. The Maverick is a laser-designated missile, which can devastate soft targets and fortified structures alike from distances more than 10 miles away. To avoid the possibility of collateral damage or non-combatant injuries, the missile will automatically become a ‘dud’ and pull upwards, away from its target, upon losing its ‘lase’ from a ground or airborne designator.
Alternatively, the Hornet can also fire ordnance from the LAU-10 rocket pod. The pod is used to mark target locations with smoke or fire high explosive five-inch rockets.
The Hornet is also able to be armed with the AIM-9M/X Sidewinder and AIM-120C air-to-air missile systems; however, they are not actively used in currant operations due to the lacking of need for air-to-air weaponry.
Given the extensive arsenal at the disposal of the 3rd MAW (Fwd), the wing is able to accomplish the mission – no matter what obstacles lay in its way.
Editor’s Note: Statistical information in this story has been compiled from weapons manufacturers, Department of Defense databases and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) Aviation Logistics Department.
Say it ain't so Canada!
Robert Farley of Information Dissemination is doing his GvG thing (meaning giving info on the European naval defense industry) and passing this startling bit of news...
Canada has expressed a "strong interest" for the purchase of two vessels of the Manufacturer's DCNS Mistral class, read The Tribune Friday.Read his whole post here but if they are buying the Mistral then the US shipbuilding industry along with the US Navy/Marine Corps missed an opportunity to get a close ally to buy our latest and greatest amphibs...
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