First production F-35 to the Marines...

BF-6, the first F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) production jet delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps, arrives at its new assignment with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing's Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501 at Eglin AFB, Fla. The 5th Generation fighter jet, piloted by U.S. Marine Corps pilot Maj. Joseph Bachmann, touched down on Florida’s Emerald Coast at 3:13 p.m. CST after a 90-minute ferry flight. It was followed by BF-8, which landed at 4:39 p.m. CST piloted by U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Matt Taylor. BF-6 and BF-8 are the first F-35s delivered to the base in 2012 and the seventh and eighth F-35 now stationed there. The aircraft will be used for pilot and maintainer training at the base’s new F-35 Integrated Training Center. (photo by Angel DelCueto)

HQMC gets it a little...flunks out alot.

Saw this story on DOD Buzz.  Go there for the whole thing but check out these passages....

The Marine Corps can’t sacrifice its wholesale modernization plans to budget cuts because another “bow wave” of programs await the Corps in the 2020s, said Lt. Gen. Richard Mills, Marine Corps deputy commandant for combat development and integration.

About time.  I'm repeating myself here but how can the US Army go through 3 generations of Fighting Vehicles and the Marine Corps barely make it to a second gen...doubt me?  The US Army has gone from the M-113 (with upgrades) to the Bradley IFV (with upgrades) to the Stryker (with upgrades) and are fighting tooth and nail to get a GCV going.  You damn right there is a bow wave and its here and now!

 Mills said he’s tired of hearing how the Corps “needs to return to ships.” Despite the past ten years fighting mostly ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan “we’ve never left the ships,” he the Surface Navy Association’s trade show on Wednesday.

 Another HQMC issue.  The talk about becoming a second land army originated there and it took off.  I'm glad to see a little push back but it appears to be too little too late.  Just hunker down and get it done.

Corps acquisition officials also remain focused on the ACV program and ensuring it doesn’t meet the same fate as the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Much like the JLTV, Marines can’t allow requirements for the program to spiral out of control in this budget environment.
Setting realistic expectations for its fighting vehicles in light of an evolving battlefield remains a challenge, Mills said. For example, Marine Corps officials must figure out just how far Marines must plan to travel from ship to shore and determine if current combat strategies meet those expectations.

 From what I've been told the Marine Corps Acquisition officials are fired up about the Humvee Upgrades.  Why the Marine Corps is even still playing with the JLTV is doing nothing but keeping a vehicle issue on the table that should be solved.  Remember where I talked about hunkering down and getting it done?  This is what I'm talking about.  Pull the trigger and get the Humvee Upgrade (which ever is best and cheapest) into the field poste haste!

 The Marine Corps must look to grow certain portions of its force despite the future drawdown. Mills listed special operations, cyber warfare, civil affairs, intelligence, route clearance and reconnaissance, military police and unmanned aerial vehicles as areas the Corps needs to expand.

You're going to draw down to a possible low of 150,000 Marines yet you're still talking about expanding Special Ops?  How?  You're going to lower the quality if the pool is diminished.  Cyber warfare?  Why is this a Marine Corps mission?  Why isn't this given to the Navy like medical services?  Route clearance and recon?  So you're going to be expanding Combat Engineers too?  Why do we need an expanded civil affairs force?  We could leverage off Army assets!  Military Police?  I need more details.  And UAVs?  I hope you're talking about rotary winged versions...otherwise why take business away from the USAF?  They have the resources in place already!  What was the answer in boot camp when someone asked why we're using Army Manuals?  It was said, why reinvent the wheel!

Alot of these moves look like Army light.  Alot of them seem spot on.

I guess time will tell.

How about a little more F-35 porn?

BF-6 on a ferry flight.

Flown by Major O.D. Bachman

Arctic Marines. An opportunity for the Marine Corps.

I saw this story on Jalopnik.  Go there to read it...

But the issue that stands out to me is the lack of dedicated US ground forces to this region.  The Russians have arctic troopers.  The Canadians have regular forces that train extremely hard in arctic conditions Canadians have there Rangers...but the US only has the Coast Guard.

While other nations are dedicated their navies and ground forces to this soon to be vital region, we have done nothing.

The US Marines already have a world class mountain and cold weather training facility in Bridgeport.  Maybe its time to leverage the winter package and create a SPMAGTF-Arctic and co-locate them at Ft. Wainwright to deal with this opportunity.  The summer packages served us well for the mountains of Afghanistan so lets do it for this future battlefield.

Heavy armor in amphibious raid...an unknown UK capability.

A Challenger 2 Tank storms ashore from a Royal Marine Landig Craft during an amphibious capability demonstration in Hampshire.

Members from the 1st Mechanized Brigade were involved in the Maritime Component Power Demo held at Browndown Beach, Gosport on the 28th October 2010. The event took place in October 2010 for the ISCC (Immediate Staff Command Course) which involves Royal Marines coming a shore along with members from the Royal Welsh Regiment.  NOTE: The captions for the following pictures is the same.

 

Remember this raid that the Royal Marines carried out in 2011?

The commandos carried out a dramatic amphibious landing using Viking armoured vehicles launched from landing craft, according to the Daily Mail.

Heavily-armed personnel from 539 Assault Squadron pushed deep inland through the lawless zone to seize the influential clan chief.

He was taken off for talks with MI6 and Foreign Offfice officials aboard a Royal Navy support ship ancored off the coast, centring on issues such as terrror training camps and the seizing of hostages.

The raid in July was the first time British forces have conducted a military operation in the troubled area in 40 years, according to the Mail.

Special Forces have been focusing on the region amid a rise in ships seized offshore by pirates for ransom, the kidnap of citizens from Western countries, and the threat of the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab terror group.

Well I personally always wondered why the British never deployed any heavy armor from their amphibious ships.  Little did I know.  They have the capability.  Its organic to the British Army and as the USMC has demonstrated, even a Tank Platoon retains shock action...especially in a mechanized raid scenario.

If the British Army is looking for work in the post Iraq/Afghanistan world, it might be to send detachments out with the Royal Marines!

NavAir year in review.

Busy day for F-35 news...now this from the 2nd Marine Air Wing...

Check out this blurb from the 2nd MAW....

2ND MAW TO REVOLUTIONIZE MARINE AVIATION WITH F-35B
By Lance Cpl. Andrea Dickerson
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. - In keeping with its highest traditions, Marine Corps aviation has been and will continue to expand throughout the next year.
In order to continue to be the nation’s expeditionary force in readiness, the Marine Corps has introduced the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter as the newest aircraft intended to hit the fleet, and contribute to the expansion of the Corps’ arsenal of aircraft.
The single engine, single seat, short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft will replace older F/A-18 Hornets, AV-8B Harriers and EA-6B Prowlers, allowing close air support in hazardous conditions and locations that more traditional aircraft would not be able to access. The new aircraft will also be used to assist the Marine Air-Ground Task Force.
To provide close air support, the F-35B can operate from amphibious warships. In October, the Corps’ test fighter BF-2 performed the first successful at-sea vertical landing when it landed on the flight deck of the USS Wasp as part of initial ship trials of the aircraft.
“The first at-sea vertical landing is a huge milestone,” said Roger Cordell, military site director for F-35 test and evaluation at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
The F-35B has performed more than 250 vertical landings this year, 72 of which happened aboard the USS Wasp.
“The Marine Corps has to be ready to fight across the spectrum of war; a force that is most ready when the nation is least ready,” said Maj. Gen. John M. Davis, commanding general of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. “The F-35B gives us the capability to do just that.”
Second MAW is expected to receive its first F-35B in early January at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., where the Marine Corps stood up Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501. The Warlords are the Marine Corps’ first Joint Strike Fighter squadron.
“The arrival of the F-35B at the Marine Corps’ first F-35 squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, is truly a monumental event for the Corps and our nation,” said Davis.

So.


VMFAT-501 just got its first airplane.  Training IS going ahead as scheduled!