A few more pics of the Moog Reconfigurable Integrated weapon Platform (RIwP) @ Modern Day Marine..

Note:  I haven't seen much to get pumped up about from this years Modern Day Marine, but the Moog RIwP and BAE's SuperAV have made up for the lack of thrill.  Below are a few more pics from Moog's Twitter Page.

72 F-15E Strike Eagles to Kuwait!

Thanks to William for the link!

via DefenseNews.

The White House has approved long-pending fighter jet sales to Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, the chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker confirmed Wednesday.

The package reportedly includes 72 Boeing F-15E Strike Eagles for Qatar and up to 40 Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets for Kuwait. Bahrain’s package includes Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters.

The cases have gone forward to the Hill, where relevant committees will review them ahead of a formal notification, Corker, R-Tenn., told Defense News. The Pentagon and State Department had already cleared the sales.
"I'm glad where we've gotten to the point where the notification is coming to Congress. We've been pushing for it for some time," Corker said.

Kuwait and Qatar first requested those potential sales more than two years ago.

Interesting.

So I guess Boeing isn't out of the fighter business...yet.  This has implications for the F-35 but I'll leave that to others to discuss.

About that turret on the modded LAV @ Modern Day Marine....

Thanks to 2468wheels for the link!



Thanks to our bud 2468Wheels we go a bit more information on that turret we saw on that modded LAV at Modern Day Marine.

So what's the deal?  Well its built by an outfit I never heard of called Moog Space and Defense Group (website here).  The setup they've come up with impresses.  They're claiming that its modular and can be reconfigured in under 30 minutes.  Long story short?  I like it.  Below are PDF conversions of their product brochure.

SM-6 sets distance record for destroying target over the horizon.

via Raytheon Press Release.

In the longest range surface-to-air intercept of its kind in naval history, a Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) Standard Missile-6 successfully destroyed an over-the-horizon, threat target.
The mission also demonstrated the combat capabilities that SM-6 brings to Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air, an effort designed to link U.S. Navy ships and airborne sensors into a single network via Cooperative Engagement Capability. The SM-6 was fired from the USS Princeton (CG59), a U.S. Navy Cruiser equipped with the latest Aegis baseline 9 combat system.
The active radar and extended range of the 'smart missile' allow it to track and destroy over-the-horizon targets, out of sight of operators on deck.
"The multi-mission SM-6 is in a class of its own as it demonstrates its ability to go further, faster and counter more threats to offer maximum mission flexibility," said Mike Campisi, Standard Missile-6 senior program director. "The missile's ability to defend against so many different threats makes it the go-to solution to meet modern fleet defense needs across the globe."
This is not the first time that SM-6 has shattered its own distance record. The missile broke the previous long-range intercept record in January of this year, a milestone it set itself in June of 2014.

SM-6 provides U.S. Navy vessels with extended-range protection against fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles in the terminal phase of flight, and an offensive capability against surface targets.

This press release is a bit frustrating.  They talked alot but said very little.  Over the horizon is relative.  If you're standing at the top of Mount Everest then OTH is 209 miles.  If you're a U-2 pilot flying at 70,000 feet its 324 miles.

So while this sounds fantastic we still don't know if the Navy has a credible tool to deal with threat supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles.

A radically upgraded LAV variant?

Thanks to Costas TT for the eagle eyes!

The above is a screen cap of the vehicle that Costas TT picked up on and I missed from Modern Day Marine.  It looks like General Dynamics gave the LAV the "high tech demonstrator"/'LAV 5 treatment.

The other thing of interest is that turret.  It looks like a modernized AAV setup with the addition of optics and anti-tank missiles.

Interesting vehicle.  General Dynamics is still on the grind.

Open Comment Post. 30 Sept 2016

Note:  Below are pics of the Battle of Hue City.  I hope members of the Ellis Group go back to Marine Corps 101 and review our history.  Hue City was bad. What they're setting future Marines up for will be worse.  For those unaware of the fight make sure you do a little research.  You will marvel at the valor displayed, and punch walls by the arrogance shown by some of the leadership.

For those that don't have time to research it then think about it like this.  Imagine Fallujah and make the city 10 times larger and you still don't have a "mega city".  Now imagine trying to clear something like that with  USMC Infantry Squads and some SOCOM bubbas.  Unless you have a Deathstar or the Starship Enterprise overhead you're looking at alot of body bags.

Marine Commandant Speaks at Modern Day Marine Expo

My God! The "Ellis Group" must be smoking crack! They're looking at a fight in a Mega-City?

Take a good look at the image above.  You're looking at a shanty town outside of one of the world's mega cities.  Why are we looking at this potentially grim battlefield?  Because of this headline from Military.com.

Marines May See Future Fights in Mega-Cities, Planners Say

Yeah that's right.  Someone in the Ellis Group is actually thinking that a future fight in a mega city is actually doable.  Those fuckers have to be smoking some Grade A Crack! Check this out from the article.

Company- and field-grade officers are rehashing a major effort: Operation Littoral Resolve, the largest integrated naval force operation since the 1950 Battle of Inchon during the Korean War.
It's never made clear where this fictional offensive takes place, but the officers in the scenario describe operations in a dense coastal city, during which Marines must monitor social media patterns to get a sense of who's friendly and how to interact with the population.
In this world, drones are everywhere providing real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, various Marine Corps elements from dispersed small infantry elements to special operations teams to coastal riverine elements integrate seamlessly, and the emerging technology of today features prominently in the fight.
"Working from our F-35 feeds, we sent up our [unmanned aircraft system] killers to take out their crew-served positions and command posts," a Marine expeditionary unit company commander reports in the debrief, referring to the new Joint Strike Fighter. "The mortar section got fire capped and was able to drop precision rounds right where the squad leaders told us to put 'em. They tapped the app and had rounds on target."
Futuristic, yes, but also an educated projection of what fights 10 years from now will look like, according to the 32-page Marine Corps Operating Concept released Wednesday.

Has the Marine Corps become so wedded to an idea that they can't see the flaws and pitfalls?  Do they not see the dangers here?  Do they really believe that Expeditionary Squads can do what Battalions and Regiments can't?  Do they really think that those squads and Special Ops bubas will survive in this type of environment?

If they do then the Marine Corps is lost.

Mark my words.  The seeds of our future defeat are being planted now.

Open Comment Post. 29 Sep 2016

Royal Canadian Armour School @ Exercise WORTHINGTON CHALLENGE (pics)

US Army getting its first Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle this Dec.

Thanks to Jonathan for the link!

via Shepard Media.

The US Army is on schedule to receive its first Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle (AMPV) prototype from manufacturer BAE Systems this December, company officials have said.
It will be the first of 29 prototypes that will be delivered to the army as part of a 52-month-long engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract, awarded in December 2014.
According to James Miller, business development director at BAE Systems Combat Vehicles, six vehicles are currently going through the production line at the company’s York, Pennsylvania, facility.
‘The first one is starting the final assembly,’ said Miller. ‘We are going to deliver our first vehicle in December, so we are on schedule.’
BAE Systems will manufacture all five variants of the AMPV as part of the initial delivery of 29 prototypes. These variants include mission command, medical treatment, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), general purpose and mortar carrier.

The project has already achieved several important milestones including its preliminary design review and critical design review, the latter occurring earlier this summer.

Miller said one design change to the vehicle has been to increase the height of the vehicle, in order to increase space and survivability for the soldiers in the back. That has increased the weight, but it remains within the weight limits set by the army.

And although initially described as a ‘turret-less Bradley’, the AMPV does not share the same hull as the Bradley M2 owing to the survivability requirements from the army.

Wow.  How and when did the Army pull this one on us?  I remember this being called a turretless Bradley and there was no pushback.  Now we hear that they've snuck and gotten an upgraded hull?

It seems that the Army is playing the procurement game to the "t".  How long before they slap a turret on these vehicles and talk about how its more survivable than the Bradley and how they're saving the taxpayers money by not having to develop an entirely new vehicle for an interim replacement?

McMasters and company are playing chess while the Congress is clueless. 

USMC Offensive Air Support 1 (pics)