From the Ministry of Defence. French Marines and Arctic Training.

A French Marine is pictured on Exercise Boar's Head at the Otterburn Training Camp, Northumberband with a Famas assault rifle.

Exercise Boar's Head was a company level live firing exercise which took place at Otterburn Training Area involving a British Army infantry company from 5 SCOTS, a unit of 16 Air Assault Brigade; and a company from 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment a unit of the French 11th Parachute Brigade.

The exercise was part of the continuing relationship between French and British Army units following the signing of the Defence and Security Co-operation Treaty by Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in November 2010.

The exercise involved a wide range of live firing exercises from platoon to company level involving a range of supporting weapon systems and saw the French company conducting live fire attacks supported by a British fire support team in a demanding environment.

Royal Navy Sea King Mk4 helicopter pilots and aircrews from Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) carry out a load lifting exercise as part of their Arctic flying training in Norway.

The training takes place some 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle at the Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) base near Bardufoss, Norway. The JHC base known as “Clockwork” provides survival and operational training and support facilities to enable aviation capable unit’s arms to survive, operate and fight in extreme C2 environments.

USS Freedom porn.

Has anyone noticed that we haven't heard a thing about the Austal version of this ship? 

US Army Aviation innovates. First datalink for UAVs delivered.

 

via Lockheed Martin Press Release

LONGBOW LLC DELIVERS FIRST PRODUCTION BLOCK III APACHE DATA LINK SYSTEM TO THE U.S. ARMY

 

ORLANDO, Fla., February 21, 2012 – The LONGBOW Limited Liability Company, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] and Northrop Grumman [NYSE: NOC], recently delivered the first production Unmanned Aerial Systems Tactical Common Data Link Assembly (UTA) to the U.S. Army for the Apache Block III helicopter.

 

“The delivery of the first Apache Block III UAS [Unmanned Aircraft Systems] control system, called the UTA, marks the next major capability advancement for the Apache, which continues to be the deciding factor on the battlefield,” said Lt. Col. Dan Bailey, U.S. Army Apache Block III product manager.  “When fielded, the UTA capability will significantly enhance the game-changing perspective of the Apache.”

 

This delivery follows the successful completion of the LONGBOW UTA system design and development phase.  Low-rate initial production is currently underway to equip the first U.S. Army Apache Block III helicopters with this capability.

 

“The delivery of the first UTA system to the U.S. Army is the successful culmination of a nearly six-year design and development program,” said Mike Taylor, LONGBOW LLC president and director of LONGBOW programs in Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business.  “The UTA provides Apache aircrews with increased situational awareness and net-centric interoperability significantly reducing sensor-to-shooter timelines.”

 

LONGBOW UTA is a two-way, high-bandwidth data link for the Apache that enables aircrews to control the sensor and flight path of Unmanned Aircraft Systems.  UTA-equipped Apache aircrews can operate a UAS at long range and receive real-time, high-definition streaming video on their multi-function displays.  The new Block III Radar Electronics Unit enhances the LONGBOW Fire Control Radar system performance while reducing size, weight, maintenance and power requirements.  The UTA will be fielded on the Apache Block III aircraft beginning in 2012.

 Masking behind terrain takes on a whole new meaning now.
 

Black rifles finally going away.

Finally!

It looks like the Marine Corps is finally getting around to painting rifles.  It would be better if they duracoated them or something better but I'll take what I can get.  Fast forward to the 57 second mark to see what I'm talking about.

Scout Snipers train with Thai Special Forces

Old Faithful Holsters.

Old Faithful Holsters.

Remember me saying that Kydex is Kydex?

Well it looks like we've stumbled onto a manufacturer that's really tapped into the thinking of the cutting edge consumer.

Not only do they offer holsters for sale but also kits to complete your own.  I just found this site this morning and will do more research, but to be honest I LOVE what I'm seeing from this company.  Now if someone could tell them to remove the lady talking when you go to the site they'll be cooking with gas.

Is the F-16V sporting F-35 wing pylons?

Stop the video at the 6 second mark and take a good look at the wing pylons.  Are those the same from the F-35 that we saw yesterday(specifically the AIM-9 pylon...the others not so much)?  If so, and I'm really not sure, then this should be a pretty carefree part of the test program.

Act of Valor blowback part 6.

Navy SEALs at the Red Carpet of the movie.

via Yahoo News.  Go to that site to read the whole thing...just a few snippets though.

US defense officials did not find out about the movie until after the fact, causing consternation at the Pentagon, which has an office that vets scripts and negotiates cooperation deals with Hollywood producers.

and...

 "It's one thing to be filmed parachuting out of a plane, but it's another thing to be parachuting and land on the red carpet," a defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

and...

 But the screen debut of active duty troops from a community that has always shunned media attention has irked some inside the military, who worry that a line has been crossed.
Defense officials at one point even weighed whether to prevent the film's release by withdrawing legal permission for footage of the SEALs and military hardware

and...

The Pentagon, however, does not want a repeat of the episode and is spreading the word to commanders that future movie projects -- including a possible film on the Bin Laden raid -- must be approved beforehand, the defense official said.
"This hasn't been swept under the carpet," he said.

It appears that the SEALs ran a black op to get this movie done.  No approval from the Pentagon before filming began?

Now I know why the Navy Press Office released that statement stating that the film costs taxpayers no money...now I know why the Admiral in charge of SOCOM bristled when the SOCOM creator told him to get out of the press.

Israel is looking to buy a second F-35 squadron

Via the Jerusalem Post.

The Israel Air Force is moving forward with plans to purchase a second squadron of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and hopes to be able to place the order in the coming year and after resolving the standoff with the Treasury over the defense budget.
According to initial plans, the IAF would place the order for the second squadron in late 2012-early 2013 and begin receiving the planes in 2020. It is possible however that the US would attach the new squadron to the one ordered in 2010 and expedite the delivery if the order is placed soon.
Israel finalized the procurement of its first squadron of 20 F-35s in a $2.75 billion deal in October, 2010. The aircraft are manufactured by Lockheed Martin and IAF pilots are expected to begin training on them in the US in 2016 with their planned arrival in Israel in early 2017.
IAF chief Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan, who will step down in April, was a big proponent of the deal and overcame heavy opposition within the defense establishment to gain the government’s approval for the 2010 deal.
His successor, current head of the IDF Planning Directorate Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel, was also supportive of the deal and is expected to push for the second squadron immediately after taking up the post in a month.
The fifth-generation stealth F-35 is purported to be one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world with the ability to fly undetected in enemy territory.
Its uniqueness stems not only from its stealth capabilities but also from its integrated sensor suite that provides pilots with unprecedented situational awareness and enables information sharing between the various aircraft.
The second contract would likely be for a similar number of aircraft and could mean – depending on when the second deal is signed – that the IAF could have 40 operational aircraft by the end of the decade. Nehushtan recently decided that the F- 35s would be operated out of the Nevatim air force base in the Negev.
News of the possible procurement of a second squadron comes amid increasing speculation that Israel is preparing to launch an aerial strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In recent years, the IAF has invested in qualifying some of its older model aircraft for long-range strike missions. In addition to the F-15I and F-16I, the IAF has reportedly already qualified an additional two F-15 squadrons for long-range missions armed with smart bombs and conformal fuel tanks.
The IAF is also moving forward with the Barak 2020 program aimed at extending the lifespan of its F-16 C/D models to the next decade.
The first aircraft arrived in the 1980s.
The upgrades include the installation of new systems for avionics, mission-debriefing and flight-control system.
The aircraft will also be fitted with new central display units and high-resolution screens aimed at increasing pilots’ situational awareness.

Hmmm.

If this sale goes through (and it should quite easily, I mean seriously) then any spots unfilled by the UK or the Italians will be made up in full and with the Japanese buy then the program is on track to be a best seller.  We haven't even talked about what Singapore is going to do yet either.

Nay sayers just caught another black eye.  Whoever is pulling the strings of this program is brilliant, for every set back it appears that rays of sunshine blot it out with a quickness.

Elevated Causeway System. A sea base work around?

Elevated Causeway System-Modular.

Are we being smart in our approach to sea basing?

Since this is in essence a Marine Corps centric attempt to solve the ship to shore logistics problem, it can be forgiven for seeing this as a connector problem for use during an amphibious assault.

But lets be honest.

Even a large scale assault will bring resources to bear that will render the need for a sea base redundant.

Of course that is during the assault phase.  But what about the more obvious issues.  What about the need to provide port facilities during a time of natural disaster?  What about humanitarian assistance?

Those will be the times when the sea base will be used most often.  And the optimum solution isn't a group of ships, the optimum solution will be to further develop the Elevated Causeway System-Modular and get it to be easier to setup, quicker to deploy and if necessary have enough in storage to allow them to be left behind when the "first responders" leave/redeploy.

If necessary, Navy Research should be turned loose to tackle this issue AND money dedicated to building MLP's and other sea basing ships should be reprogrammed toward amphibious lift.  Money is tight and money should be spent for essentials.  Sea Base as its currently planned can wait.

The Elevated Causeway System is a nice, cheaper workaround.

*Note*

My friend over at Think Defence has a couple of articles that point out the history of the elevated causeway AND offer another fascinating work around for the problem of unloading our MPS ships without the high cost of LCACs...the MEXEFLOTE.  Check out the articles here and here .

The main point of all this is simple.  Our allies have solved parts of the ship to shore problem, perhaps we need to rethink the sea base.  Maybe we should simplify it by saying that its an assemblage of ships (anything from an aircraft carrier, amphibs, logistics ships...heck even LCS's) that have transitioned from an assault to providing logistics ashore.  If "kinetic" activity is absent from the equation then that same assembly is by essence of its arrival at the scene of aid, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief etc, properly named a sea base.

F-35 external weapons stores...

On Feb. 16, 2012, the first external weapons test mission was flown by an F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif

David Cenciotti reports that AFSOC lost an airplane.

David Cenciotti's been on a roll lately.  Today he tells about a plane crash in Northern Africa...

On Feb. 18, 2012, a U.S. spy plane crashed six miles from Djibouti International Airport during “a routine flight.” As a consequence, all four U.S. military personnel on board, belonging to the 319th and 34th Special Operations Squadrons, and to the 25th Intelligence Squadron, both based at Hurlburt field, Fla., died.
The accidednt occurred around 8.00 PM LT.
As usual in similar cases, a special investigation team has been dispatched to determine the cause of the crash.
Noteworthy, the doomed military plane was a U-28A, that is equipped with 21 such aircraft to perform intra-theater transport of small numbers of special operations troops.
The U-28A (where “U” prefix stands for “utilitarian”), purchased at a unit price of 3.5 million USD from the Swiss company Pilatus, is a militarized version of the PC-12. Although much similar in terms of basic design as the civilian plane, the U-28A is equipped with special navigation equipment, weather radar and other undisclosed equipment.
The plane has a crew of two (even if  can be flown by one pilot only) and it is able to operate from short and unimproved runway surfaces
According to the information released by the Air Force Special Operations Command, depending  on the internal configuration, the aircraft can carry up to nine passengers, or about 3,000 pounds of cargo.
Hard to say what the type of mission the aircraft was flying from Camp Lemonnier, a U.S. forward operating base involved in the recent Special Forces raid to free two Western worker in Somalia, but, according to the first rumors, it looks like the aircraft did not crash as a consequence of any hostile act.

Bad day for AFSOC.

They don't talk like SEALs so we'll never know what mission they were on.

That's a good thing.

Hearts go out to the families and victims.

*NOTE*
Maybe its time to reclassify Djibouti.  11th MEU just lost a Corpsman to training in that area and now we have an airplane go down.  Its quite obvious that the secret war has moved to that continent.  It seems to me that Djibouti is at the very least a hazardous location if not actually part of the war zone.