Open Comment Post. Aug 21, 2016.

Have at it guys.

Oh and Nate Diaz was robbed!

K-90 Amphibious Tank. Blast from the past.

 

I can't quite make out the information from the Russian sites on this and the "Tank Gaming Sites" are more interested in possible stats for game play rather than historical information.

What I'm sure of is that it was light, coming in at under 15 tons, had a punchy gun and a hull form that seems ideal for the intended role.

Iran's Karrar Main Battle Tank via Defence Blog.

Here.

Looks like a reskinned T-72.  I guess they're trying to incorporate lessons learned from the fighting in Syria when it comes to tank protection/armor.  I notice slat armor around the engine compartment is becoming a world wide standard.  What surprises is that they don't extend it to between the third and fourth road wheel.

Saudi Jets Bomb Peaceful Pro-Houthi Rally of 100,000 in Yemen’s Capital

via Sputnik.

The move by Saudi Arabia in violation of international human rights law comes at a time when the United States has withdrawn support for the Riyadh-led coalition due to the rising civilian death toll.
Saudi-led coalition fighter jets struck the Yemeni capital of Sanaa during a massive demonstration that attracted over 100,000 pro-Houthi rebels and supporters of the former President Abdullah Saleh.


Tens of thousands rallied in Sanaa’s central square in a dynamic display of democratic power in favor of the Shiite Houthi rebels with demonstrators proudly cheering a recently established Supreme Political Council including members of the Houthi movement.
But then the powerful moment of human dignity and expression turned tragic as fighter jets began bombing Yemen’s capital, including the area near the Presidential palace where protesters were assembled according to AP. The strike resulted in an “unknown number of casualties” according to the news agency although eyewitnesses say that at least three civilians were killed and dozens were wounded.

A few things...

*  I'm getting a bit frustrated that Western news media aren't covering issues of importance in some of the trouble spots around the world.

*  I'm getting a bit frustrated that I'm having to depend on Sputnik, RT, and to a lesser extent The Daily Mail and Telegraph for what little new we do get.

*  I'm a bit alarmed at the thought that this information is part of a campaign by the Russians.  Have we really gotten to a point where knowing about events around the world can actually discredit US policy and shame our so called allies?

One last thing.  I've taken my eye off the Saudi's but its obvious that they're losing their freaking minds.  How do you bomb a protest and think that won't add fuel to the insurgency that you're fighting?

Militarily they have no clue.  They better hope Erik Prince can assemble a division worth of S. American former troops that don't mind being dropped into that meat grinder.  Otherwise we'll see them kicked out of Yemen by the end of next year and probably the Kingdom teetering on collapse.

Russia is pushing to use Incirlik AB in Turkey.

Thanks to Don for the link!

via The Australian

Russia is pressing Turkey for ­access to a key airbase used by the US as it tries to extend its ­influence in the Middle East.
The American-built Incirlik base, about 100km from the ­Syrian border, is used by NATO and has about 50 US tactical ­nuclear warheads stored on site.
A senior Russian politician said allowing Russian jets and bombers to use it would be a “logical continuation” of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts to rebuild Turkey’s relations with the Kremlin.
“It just remains to come to an agreement with Erdogan that we get the NATO base Incirlik as our primary airbase,” said Igor Morozov, a member of the Senate committee on international affairs.
This would allow the Russian air force to subject Islamic State and other jihadist groups to “constant bombing” and bring the war to a quicker conclusion, he said.
“You’ll see, the next base will be Incirlik,” he told Izvestia after the Kremlin revealed this week its bombers had started using a base in Iran to launch attacks in Syria.
Senator Viktor Ozerov told the RIA Novosti news agency: “It’s not certain that Russia needs Incirlik, but such a decision would be seen as a real willingness on Turkey’s part to co-operate with Russia in the war against terrorism in Syria.”

The above was posted yesterday.  But check this out from July of this year via Pravda.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu admitted that Russia would be allowed to use Turkish air base Incirlik for the purpose of the struggle against the Islamic State terrorist group.

Ankara may soon give Russia permission to use Incirlik air base for operations against the Islamic State Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with TRT TV channel.
"We will cooperate with everyone who oppose the Islamic State. We have been struggling against them since the very start and we have opened the Incirlik base for those who want to take part in it. Why can't we cooperate like this with Russia? The Islamic State is our common enemy, and we all must fight against it. This is of paramount importance for the implementation of this mechanism into practice and for the prevention of any undesirable incidents. We agree with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov on the subject," he said.

Incirlik Air Base has the territory of about 3320 acres. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, 32 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The primary users of the base are the US Air Force and the Turkish Air Force. The base is also used by the Royal Air Force and by Saudi Arabia.

I don't know if an agreement has been reached to allow the US a "face saving" exit from Incirlik but this signals a couple of things.

Most ominously I think it means Turkey is done with NATO.  Second it means that the strategy to "fight ISIS and Assad" has failed.

Something huge is going on folks.  This has implications I can't even begin to imagine.

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.