Open Comment Post. Syria/Ukraine front and center!

This is the spot where you chop it up about whatever has caught your attention.

I was gonna go with a mythical redone F-35 as the conversation starter but Syria and Ukraine are front and center.  My thoughts?  The US is posturing.  What is everyone missing?  The Kurds have basically started an insurgency in southern Turkey.  The number of attacks over the past couple of weeks have increased dramatically.  There is real fear that the Kurds could carve out an enclave in the region....that would set a dangerous first.

UFC 202: Diaz vs McGregor 2 ....Who you got?

Did you check out the above vid?  Did you see the press conference?  These dudes REALLY don't like each other.

Who you got in the fight tomorrow?

All I know is this.  McGregor is the kind of guy that will kick your ass, piss on you and take pics to put on the internet.  Diaz is the kind of guy that will kick your ass, heel smash your throat and then call his buddies to hide your body while you die in a shallow grave.

They're both gun worthy.  If they have you in their sights you don't do any hand to hand nonsense, you go straight to guns....hope you have a good sight picture and you're hitting true...and if you miss that you either have a spare mag ready to go or your cardio is on point.

Personally I think it will be Diaz in the 3rd.  It will be bloody.  It will be epic.  It will be one for the ages....and sometime in 2017 (late) we'll be doing this all over again.

Blast from the past. Do you remember Candied Apples?

I'm suffering a sweet tooth from hell and I'm trying to fight it off but I had a dip in the memory banks and I thought about that sweet, tasty, summertime treat that I had when I was little.

Candied apples (caramel too).

If you've never had one then you're missing out.  Thinking a bit on it I don't think anyone makes them anymore...and if they do then they're abominations that deserve to be put on a fence post and shot from 10 yards away.  So for the foodies in the group and the uninitiated look at what was once a common household treat.

US send fighter jets to protect forces on the ground in Syria.

Thanks to William for the link!

via Daily Mail.

The U.S. scrambled fighter aircraft Thursday to protect American special operations forces and allies from Syrian government warplane attacks near the northeastern Syrian city of Hassakeh, the Pentagon said Friday.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said the U.S. has increased combat air patrols in that area and has warned Syria that America will defend coalition troops. He also said he believes this is the first time the U.S. has scrambled aircraft in response to an incident like this involving Syrian government bombings.
He said a small number of U.S. commandos were in the area training and advising Syrian Democratic Forces. The strikes, he said, "did not directly impact our forces. They were nearby - close enough that it gives us great pause."

A few things....

*  The coordination between the White House, State Dept and Media on this subject is obvious.  I was watching Morning Joe this morning and Joe Scarborough droned on and on about a little boy that had been injured and how they needed to setup safe havens and no fly zones.  Fucking seriously?  When the 11 year old was decapitated by "moderate" rebels no one said a thing.  Now?  Now we need to take action?  Its obviously coordinated.

*  I suspect this is political.  Do you really believe this has anything to do with the war in Syria or setting the ground to aid Hillary in her election?  That's whats so disgusting about this.  I personally believe that lives are being risked for political expediency and not military necessity.

*  Notice that the story states Syrian warplanes.  Morning Joe talked about bombing Syrian planes on the ground.  What happens if Russia responds by stepping up their air campaign?  Are they really willing to risk an escalation by getting into a furball over some terrorist head choppers?

In short this whole thing reeks.

I don't buy many parts of this story.  First I know this administration.  They're not going to deploy American forces close enough to the frontlines to have them get snatched...especially after the close call a couple of weeks ago when the terrorist showed the ID of an American soldier on the internet.

We're being played but this is a game that could get out of hand.  We have zealots in charge...not professionals.

Navy To Modernize Boeing Super Hornets

via Investors Business Daily.

The Navy plans to "continue to modernize" Boeing's (BA) F/A-18 Super Hornets, said Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, the commander of Naval Air Forces, calling newer versions "4.5-generation" fighters.
During a talk Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Shoemaker said he isn't minimizing the need for Lockheed Martin's (LMT) F-35, a fifth-generation fighter. Instead, he sees a role for both of them.
"We absolutely need the F-35 as soon as we can get it," he said. " We want to pair those two up together."
Shoemaker said the two jets could be flown in tandem to take advantage of the planes' "very good complement of high-low mix."

The Admiral's words betray him.  It isn't hard to read between the lines here.  He has to say the good stuff about the F-35 because...he has to.  The problem is that he exposes some serious reality here.

First by calling the F-18 a 4.5 gen bird, he's essentially stating that the F-18 in its latest versions has everything the F-35 has except for stealth.

Second, he's practically screaming that the F-35 has no chance at coming in at the cost projected by the Program Office.  If it did then the Navy wouldn't buy one more Super Hornet and they'd be looking to fill the carrier decks with the F-35.  They aren't because the F-35 won't meet performance or price specs.

Shoemaker said alot by saying only a little! 

Russian K4386 "Typhoon" Airborne MRAP....do they have TOO MANY vehicles in development?

Thanks to Robert, Olgerts and my other readers that sent me the link!

via Live Journal.

An interesting photograph of two prototypes of the new K4386-protected vehicle "Typhoon Airborne" with the wheel formula 4x4 in the workshop "Plant special cars" (Naberezhnye Chelny).On the left - the first prototype ballast simulating combat weight of the module to the right - one of the subsequent samples have already established a new remote-controlled weapon stations

Interesting.  This vehicle reminds me of the old Force Protection Cheetah that the Marine Corps was lusting after so long ago but couldn't get the Army to bite on.

Back on task.  The Russians have ANOTHER vehicle in development.  How many is that?  I'm convinced that at least half the vehicles they're working on MUST be for foreign sales.  Even if that's true I don't know how successful that marketing strategy can be.  The Chinese have a number of vehicles that are designed for the foreign market and aren't being used by their own forces and the only sales they get are when they basically give them away.

My favorite tank company that died an undeserved death ...the late great Vickers...made a number of tanks that should have been world beaters but they didn't have the stamp of British Army use on them.  Same can be said of the Textron V-600 that would be viable even today.

If the home military isn't using it then many foreign forces just aren't interested.

Go down the list of Russian vehicles in development right now...its way too many.....so what is the thinking?

Side Note;  Anyone know the development status of the beast below?  Its totally dropped off the radar.

China wades into the Syrian conflict...they're going to support Assad.

via ABC News.

A top Chinese military officer visited Syria this week in a show of support for President Bashar Assad's embattled regime, official media reported Thursday, underscoring Beijing's backing of fellow authoritarian governments and concerns about the spread of religious militancy.
Rear Adm. Guan Youfei met on Sunday with Syrian Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij in Damascus, the Xinhua News Agency said. He also met the following day with a Russian general who is coordinating his country's military assistance to Assad's fight against armed opposition groups, the agency said.
Xinhua said Guan expressed China's willingness to boost military cooperation with Syria, while the newspaper Global Times cited the Chinese Defense Ministry as saying that both sides agreed to expand personnel training and humanitarian aid via the Chinese military.
The Chinese military "is willing to strengthen cooperation with its Syrian counterparts," it quoted the ministry as saying.
Guan is head of the Office for International Military Cooperation under the Central Military Commission that oversees China's 2.3 million-member armed forces.
While China has followed Russia's approach in backing Assad, it hasn't directly contributed forces in keeping with its policy of opposing outside intervention in domestic conflicts. During the early months of the 5-year-old civil war, China joined Russia in blocking motions at theUnited Nations calling for Assad to work for a resolution of the conflict.

Our military strategist, diplomats and Think Tanks (along with Neo-Cons) have utterly failed.

The Chinese wading into the Syrian civil war and siding with Assad will almost guarantee his survival.  You can kiss a UN sponsored no-fly zone good bye, and you can bet your last dollar that NATO will NOT participate in helping us enforce it if we try and go it alone.

There is only one solution.  Try and salvage something from this mess.  Switch back to the talking point of wanting to destroy ISIS, take credit for killing them and then get as much rebuilding work for US firms as possible.

Who am I kidding.  The world knows better and rebuilding contracts is why the Chinese are stepping ashore now.

Once again our best and brightest have once again dropped the ball.

Ukraine's Donetsk sector heats up.

via Interfax.com

"Positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were attacked 96 times over the past day. Most shelling incidents, 45, were observed in the Donetsk sector, and heavy artillery was used in ten cases," the report said.
Donbas militants launched six artillery attacks on Avdiyivka in the Donetsk sector; 134 projectiles whose caliber is 122mm were fired on Ukrainian army positions and similar weapons were used in Pisky, Novoselivka Druha and Pershe Travnya; four dozen shells were lobbed into the village of Luhanske, the report said.
Mortar and grenade launcher attacks on Ukrainian army positions continued throughout the contact line in that area, the press center said. The militants used infantry combat vehicles in Novhorodske and Zaitseve, an anti-tank missile system in Novoselivka Druha, and Avdiyivka was also under sniper fire, it said.
Thirty-two enemy attacks with the use of 122mm artillery systems were recorded in the town of Maryinka in the Mariupol sector; 152mm weapons were used against Ukrainian army fortifications in the village of Sionitne; mortars, grenade launchers and large-caliber machine-guns were fired in the Krasnohorivka-Shyrokyne area, an armored personnel carrier was engaged in Shyrokyne, and an infantry combat vehicle was used near Krasnohorivka, while a sniper was active in Maryinka, the report said.

Interesting.

Rumors that nuclear weapons have been moved from Turkey to Romania.

Thanks to Alex for the link!

via Euractiv.com

EXCLUSIVE/ Two independent sources told EurActiv.com that the US has started transferring nuclear weapons stationed in Turkey to Romania, against the background of worsening relations between Washington and Ankara .
According to one of the sources, the transfer has been very challenging in technical and political terms.
“It’s not easy to move 20+ nukes,” said the source, on conditions of anonymity.
According to a recent report by the Simson Center, since the Cold War, some 50 US tactical nuclear weapons have been stationed at Turkey’s Incirlik air base, approximately 100 kilometres from the Syrian border.
During the failed coup in Turkey in July, Incirlik’s power was cut, and the Turkish government prohibited US aircraft from flying in or out. Eventually, the base commander was arrested and implicated in the coup. Whether the US could have maintained control of the weapons in the event of a protracted civil conflict in Turkey is an unanswerable question, the report says.
Another source told EurActiv.com that the US-Turkey relations had deteriorated so much following the coup that Washington no longer trusted Ankara to host the weapons. The American weapons are being moved to the Deveselu air base in Romania, the source said.
Deveselu, near the city of Caracal, is the new home of the US missile shield, which has infuriated Russia.

I'm not sure if I buy this.  

Australian CH-47F conducting flight trails aboard HMAS Adelaide

50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. A warning for the future.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan.  As a side note, Vietnam and Australia have reached an agreement that allows Aussies to visit the battlefield.  Vietnam just a few days ago refused to allow Aussies to commemorate the battle by visiting the site.  I'm glad they worked it out.

How is this battle a warning to the future?

The Aussie Task Force that participated in the fighting here are one of the modern day examples of the vulnerability that the Company Landing Team will experience in future fights.  NOTE:  While trying to "figure out" how the Company Landing Team will fair in battle, I've found that the closest analogy is the US Army's 1st Cav (Airmobile) Division during Vietnam. More on that later.

But back on task. Watch the video, drink it in and marvel that men such as these were willing to do the hard thing.

Russia's BT-3F Armored Personnel Carrier is revealed.

Thanks to ArmorFan for the link!

via Live Journal

As it became known to our blog, in Russia created the first prototype of the new tracked armored BT-3F (full name - an armored personnel carrier on the basis of the BMP-3F infantry fighting vehicle). The machine was developed by the Special Design Bureau of Machine Building (mound), which is part of "Corporate Governance Company" Concern "Tractor Plants" (KTZ).

As stated earlier this year in an interview with " Moscow Defense Brief is " Deputy General Director - Head of the Export Department and current planning KTZ Alexey Losev, GTC at its own expense razrabatal design documentation for the BT-3F, and a prototype is planned to show the exhibition of arms "Army 2016". According to him, the interest in this machine has already expressed Indonesia. The prototype armored BT-3F (c) bmpd

The Russians are either engaged in a weapons buildup that we don't know/understand the true scale of it, they're attempting to modernize legacy vehicles while acquiring new ones or they're just confused as all outdoors.

I don't understand the push to modernize legacy vehicles when they have new models ready to go...of course the USMC is doing the same with the AAV Survivability Upgrade while supposedly pursuing the ACV so maybe I'm just confused.