IDF Chief of Staff rides in the Eitan 8x8 APC.

via Jerusalem Post.

IDF Chief of Staff LtGen Gadi Eisenkot rode in the military’s newest armored personnel carrier in recent days, marking a milestone in the wheeled platform’s journey to becoming fully operational.
During a war drill held by the 7th Armored Brigade on the Golan Heights, held together with infantry and the air force, Eisenkot boarded the Eitan APC, which the Defense Ministry unveiled on August 1, following years of research and development.

This all but confirms it for me.  The Israelis are gonna fast track this vehicle.  Additionally it looks like they might be expanding its possible roles in their armored formations.  Could we be looking at a mixed fleet of Namers and Eitans with the 8x8's forming the backbone of infantry transport?

We need better numbers on the true cost of the Namer (not only procurement but maintenance etc...) but I'm beginning to think that we're seeing the economics of the Israeli defense budget driving procurement.

Consider this.  The Eitan from my chair looks to be the most heavily armored 8x8 entering service anytime soon.  Does that sound like a vehicle that is simply a M113 replacement?  The concept that the Israelis have laid out would indicate that any of the current 8x8 would suffice.  They're going much heavier instead.  We'll know for sure soon enough.

High-Protein Salmon Meatballs (vid)

This is via Bodybuilding.com and I like it because I love Salmon and its quick/easy to make.  Ingredients list is below.

Why are the Turks using M60 Sabra Tanks instead of their Leopards in Syria?

I asked on an earlier blog post why the Turks were using their M60 Sabra MBTs in Syria instead of their Leopards.  According to Wikipedia the Turks have around 300 Leopards but we haven't seen them in action except during the coup attempt.  SvD, a reader of this blog,  has this explanation...

The M-60 Sabra is the only tank in Turkey's arsenal that has modern armor, to withstand ATGM hits.
The Leopard 2A4 is the vintage version...

That couldn't possibly be true could it?  A 1960's era tank with add on armor is more survivable than a more modern design?

Kurds destroying Turkish MBTs in Syria...

I give up.  Everyone and his mother is putting this vid into my comments section on various posts and instead of fighting it I'll pop it out and let you guys have at it.

Personally I don't see anything revealing here.  I don't know the Turkish order of battle but they're holding back their Leopard Tanks and pushing forward the kinda old M60 variants.

The long short?  The Turks are gonna cut loose on the Kurds, the Kurds won't go quietly and the US will be on the sidelines trying to figure out how to save face.

Open Comment Post. Aug 28, 2016.

Open thread for Sunday.

The"Snowden" movie and how did he evade our security services?

I saw the trailer for the new "Snowden" movie and I have one question that has never been asked.  How did Snowden successfully evade US intel/law enforcement agencies and make it first to China and then onto Russia?

Its freaking inexplicable!

The dude was a computer geek not a trained operative!  Going from the city and hiding in the woods is one thing (and even that's iffy unless you're willing to live hard) but to make it out of the country?

Snowden didn't have that skill set.  He had to have help.

Did I miss a joint Chinese/Russian mission to extract a defector/agent/useful idiot/patriot(some will argue that what he did was extremely patriotic) from US soil?

Polish PT-16?

Thanks to Random Reader for the link!

What's with the "air intakes" above the tracks?

Saudi troops are not ready for this fight (screen captures)

Below are screen captures of the previous vid.  I personally think we're seeing some of the Houthi's "finest moments" and it could probably be labeled as propaganda.

We are seeing recurring themes though.  Piss poor fighting positions.  Outposts that are in shit shape.  Rebels capturing unused/prepped ammo.

Saudi troops and their allies are not ready for this fight.

I added this pic because I find it fascinating.  Can you imagine the fear in the hearts of these guys?  They've piled into the back of a compact truck, overloading it, and they're praying to Allah that they don't catch a round in the back.  What has me wondering is that no one is in the turret and no one seems to even be thinking about returning fire.  The only thought is to flee.  I wish we had better info on this engagement.  What happened to their personal weapons and how many attackers were there?  Could they be running from a force that they outnumber?

Shiny new rounds calling to me and every other gun collector.  This is why ammo prices spiked.  They're making rounds for people that won't even use it.  Ok, that's a bit too far but these guys were lavishly equipped and don't appear to have even tried to fight back.

Watch the vid.  If you're like me then you thought this was simply a trash dump.  You're wrong.  The rebel is video tapped popping open one of those ammo cans and its filled to the rim...the brass is shiny.  For some reason the Saudi troops have piss poor fighting positions and create hazards to themselves as a matter of habit.

NOTE:  Shakespeare was right...

Saudi troops fleeing Houthi rebels is turning into a tragic clown show.

Thanks to Info Infantrie for the link!



The craziness starts at 3:18.

Wow.  I almost feel sorry for these guys.

Open Comment Post. Aug 27, 2016.

Anything not covered in the blog posts or just tidbits that you want to bring to the tribes attention goes in the comments section here.

I'll do these on a daily so we can keep blog posts on topic.  With the world burning and so many fights going on its not enough to do these once or twice a week.

Eitan 8x8 APC begins mobility test in the Golan

Thanks to Ariel for the link!

via I-HLS.com

The Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD) continues the tests series for IDF’s first wheeled armored personnel carrier (APC), this time at the Golan Heights training field.
The MoD Merkava Tank Program Administration in collaboration with IDF’s ground forces, reported on another stage of the first development of the Israeli Eitan – a first prototype test drive at the IDF training fields, with the harsh and diverse terrain conditions of the Golan Heights.
The Eitan is an advanced multi-purpose APC with diverse capabilities, designated for combat and transport of soldiers at the battlefield under harsh and diverse conditions. The Eitan will be the most advanced and armor-protected wheeled combat vehicle in the world. It will be equipped with an active defense system (similar to the Namer series and the Merkava IV tanks) as well as with additional unique protection systems.

The Eitan’s most remarkable advantage will be its excellent mobility capabilities among different combat zones, and the fact that it is compatible for driving at a 90 km/h speed on paved roads without the help of a transporter.

Obviously the video I posted earlier this week was highlighting this test.  What I didn't know is how rapidly this program would move once it came out of the shadows.

Everyone is estimating production to start around 2020.  If past is prologue then that's being extremely conservative.  The Israeli's are kicking the tires hard and it wouldn't surprise me if we see them start rolling out models for testing with operational units within a year or two.

When it comes to IDF priorities we're all guessing.  They play their cards close to the vest but it would appear that the Eitan is a top priority for their ground forces.

Note:  What is up with that goofy ass banner they hung on the side of their vehicle?  Its got to be a Middle East thing because every force in the region does the same. 

Norwegian Army picks Hanwha Techwin K9 and RUAG upgraded M109 for down select...panzerhaubitze 2000 rejected!

Thanks to Bjørnar for the link!

via TU.NO

Korean K9 Thunder and Swiss, upgraded M109.
It is these two guns that stands between when the Norwegian military planned to acquire 24 new artillery pieces and put them to use by 2020.
The Korean candidate has an advantage, and may be the preferred artillery system in the Nordic region.
Decisive winter test
After a market survey (RFI) asked defense last June about offers from four artillery manufacturers .
The candidates were then put to the test in three weeks in January this year on Regionfelt eastern Norway by Rena.
In the very thorough and well-documented tests, should the four shoot towers with 155 mm cannons demonstrate its ability to move forward and to shoot under Norwegian winter conditions.
Key requirements for the new Norwegian artillery goes on range, firepower, mobility, protection and life cycle costs.
The two candidates who scored best in the overall evaluation is Hanwha Techwin (formerly Samsung) with their K9 Thunder and RUAG with their upgraded M109 (Krait).

It also means that Defence equipment (FMA) so far has rejected German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and their panzerhaubitze 2000 and French NEXT Caesar.

Follow the link to see a vid of the comp.

Amazing.  Conventional wisdom had the Panzer 2000 as being the best self propelled gun in the West.  Seems like we need to rethink that.