2nd Tanks to play in Bold Alligator.

Some thoughts....


* I hope this doesn't kill 2nd Tanks budget. A little birdy told me that they have jack squat for funding this year.
* The exercise itself is impressive but the assembly of ships is too. This has got to be one of the biggest fleet exercises since the end of the Cold War.
* Still waiting to see the Royal Marines make an appearance. I know they have an exercise going on near Norway right now but I really hoped to see a company show up (if I'm wrong let me know).
*Also, I'm trying to find out the numbers of Canadian troops assigned to this exercise. The list of nations participating is for all to see...the number of troops (even our Marines) is alot harder to come by.
* Where is the Army in all this? We're talking about sea base and this is suppose to be a joint force thing. I'd like to see more than a few helos flying out to ships. It shouldn't have been hard to get a Stryker Brigade to self deploy to the coast for a force on force opportunity.

LCAC vs. L-Cat. Capabilities comparison.

L-CAT


LCAC


I'm not a buyer or seller on the L-CAT concept.  Color me...curious.  But after the photo published by Combat Camera yesterday I became more convinced that it isn't the end all be all solution improving landing craft.

My biggest issue is this factoid from CNIM.

"Landing to beaches with up to a 2% gradient"

That my friends works in a European, African or Middle Eastern scenario but will NOT work in the Pacific.  Additionally experience has shown that coral reefs can upset the best laid landing plans.

If you notice the promotional videos put out by CNIM, you'll also see that the L-CAT is more often than not loading cargo from a prepared port facility.

That's just not real life.

As the disasters in Haiti and Japan showed, port facilities are remarkably vulnerable to natural disasters.  The ability to get cargo ashore...and do it feet dry is a capability not to be overlooked.

Also to be considered is the fact that Japan, S. Korea and China have all chosen to go with LCAC type landing craft...the Australians chose to go with a legacy type LCM (high speed though) and it appears to me that the L-CAT is an evolutionary dead end and a one off example of solving the ship to shore problem.

NOTE*
What I would love to see but haven't yet is compatibility testing.  We've seen the LCAC go in and out of Mistral Class BPC's forever now...what we haven't seen is the L-CAT do the same with US amphibious ships.  Now that WOULD be interesting!

L-CAT Characteristics via Wikipedia

Name: Engin de débarquement amphibie rapide

Operator: French Navy

Builder: Socarenam

Completed: 2011

Acquired: 8

In service: 0

General characteristics

Class and type: Roll-on/roll-off catamaran landing craft

Tonnage: tons (light)

Length: 30 metres (98 feet 43 inches)

Beam: 12.8 metres (42 feet)

Draft: 2.5 metres (8 feet 2 inches, fully loaded)

0.6 metres (2 feet, empty)

Installed power: Four MTU Friedrichshafen 12V2000 M92 Diesel engines each producing 300 kW

Propulsion: Four Wärtsilä Pump-jets

Speed: 20 kts (economical)

30 kts (warranted)

Range: 1,000 NM @ 15 kts (laden)

Capacity:

Troop capacity:

Cargo capacity:

1 Cavalry Platoon including 3 Véhicule Blindé Léger and 3 AMX-10 RC or

1 Reinforced Infantry Platoon including 6 Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or

1 Field Engineering Platoon or

1 First-Aid Post.

LCAC Characteristics via Wikipedia

Place of origin United States

Service history

In service 1986–present

Production history

Manufacturer Textron Marine and Land Systems/Avondale Gulfport Marine

Specifications

Length 87 feet 11 inches (26.4 meters)

Width 47 feet (14.3 meters)

Main

armament two 12.7 mm machine guns. Gun mounts will support: M2HB .50 cal machine gun; Mk 19 Mod 3 40 mm grenade launcher; M60 machine gun. Tests conducted with GAU-13 30mm gatling gun.[1]

Engine gas turbine

Payload capacity 60 tons/75 ton overload (54/68 metric tons)

Operational

range 200 miles at 40 kt (370 km at 75 km/h) with payload

300 miles at 35 kt (550 km at 65 km/h)with payload

Speed 40+ knots (46+ mph; 74 km/h) with full load, 70+ knots maximum speed

2nd AAV Battalion splashes in support of Bold Alligator.

French display their new landing craft at Bold Alligator.

A French landing craft unit practices a beach landing at Onslow Beach at Camp Lejeune, N.C., as part of Bold Alligator 2012. Exercise Bold Alligator 2012, the largest naval amphibious exercise in the past 10 years, represents the Navy and Marine Corps' revitalization of the full range of amphibious operations. The exercise focuses on today's fight with today's forces, while showcasing the advantages of seabasing. This exercise will take place Jan. 30 - Feb. 12, 2012 afloat and ashore in and around Virginia and North Carolina. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gregory N. Juday)

I told you in a post earlier that the French and Australians (as well as our own Navy/Marine Corps...in particular the beginings of the sea base) were worth watching this week.

Well it looks like we're starting to see some of things that I was talking about.  If I'm not mistaken the above photo shows the L-cat.  I wondered how the new French landing craft would perform and it seems like we're going to get a good look at it during Bold Alligator.

More to come.

Best Sci-Fi book for Marines...

The Legacy and Inheritance trilogies by Ian Douglas are hard to beat when you're talking about the best Sci-Fi in general and in particular for Marines.

The author Ian Douglas is a former Navy Corpsman and its obvious from his writing that he spent almost his entire time with the green side...

Most sci-fi writers attempt to recreate a new universe, villains etc...Ian does that but what will appeal to the readers is his sticking with units that are familiar to all Marines.  MEU's?  Oh he does that but on an enter galactic level.  Rules of Engagement?  He talks about that issue but in regards to first contact with alien species.

Its a thrill ride and I don't think you'll be disappointed.  Check it out for yourself on Amazon here.

And this is why I love Lex!

If you don't subscribe to Neptunus Lex then you're missing out.  This is his latest....

European Doubts

By lex, on February 4th, 2012

Secretaries Panetta and Clinton are on a little fence-mending mission in Evropa:

The Obama administration sought to reassure anxious European allies Saturday that budget cuts won’t undercut the U.S.’s commitment to their security.
The Pentagon announced plans last month to cut the permanent U.S. force in Europe to two brigades, down from four, as part of efforts to trim its budget over the next 10 years and to refocus its attention on Asia and the Middle East.
“We made this decision only after ensuring that our force posture adjustments will not weaken our ability to meet our commitment to the security of Europe,” U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told a security conference in Munich, Germany.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a rare joint appearance in Europe with Mr. Panetta, brushed aside “some of the doubts” expressed in European capitals about Washington’s continued commitment to the continent, saying the U.S. still sees Europe as its “partner of first resort.”

The population of core Europe, excluding Russia and Turkey, consists of over 730 million souls, almost twice that of the US. The EU has a GDP of nearly $18 trillion, three trillion dollars more than the US – it is the largest economy in the world. But the EU’s proportion of defense spending to GDP is 1.6%, nearly one third of that spent by the US. Each US citizen spends $2274 per year on national defense. The proportion spent across Europe is $410 per soul. If you exclude the peripheral European countries and focus only on the Eurozone, that contribution rises to – wait for it: $967. Maybe three months worth of car payments on a BMW or Mercedes. Used.
Most of Europe marched in the streets to protest the US going to war in defense of its own security in 2003.
Remind me again why we should be reassuring Europe of anything?

This is coming to a head.

Europeans are proud to proclaim that they have a larger GDP.  Brag that they have a higher standard of living.  Boast that they are civilized.  Cultured.  Refined.  Un Warlike.

Lets see what happens when the inevitable arrives.  The US focuses on its own interests.  The US stops subsidizing European defense.

When the US turns its back and closes not some, but all of its bases.  And that day is going to be sooner rather than later.

High Value Escort?

Interesting.

We have the Riverine escorting an LPD into port.

Hmmm....we have Harbor security that's suppose to do that and they're co-located inside NECC.

We have US Marines that can do that from attached UH-1Y's and AH-1Z's...

My main point is this.  We're seeing some pretty extreme mission creep on the side of Riverine and I don't understand why its being allowed.

I've said before and I'll say again.  If Riverine want to get into the fight then they need to petition to get to the Horn of Africa and go after Pirates.  If they want to get into the fight then they need to get out to Japan and especially the Philippines and start patrolling between islands.

But I don't think its about getting into the fight...It looks like they'd rather get into the news.