USMC CH-47's...it looks right!

The pics above are from a movie but they look right.  A CH-47 in USMC service makes too much sense on too many levels.

More to the point, the cost of the CH-53K is insane.

Cut the buy of CH-53Ks from 200 to 100 and make up the difference by buying 200 CH-47s!  I have yet to hear the rationale for the CH-53K.  I hear the talking points of it being the most advanced helicopter in service anywhere in the world when it reaches IOC.  I hear the talking point that it can lift x amount of weight, etc... What I haven't heard is why the CH-53K is absolutely essential to Marine Corps operations and why the CH-47 is unsuitable.  Take that a step further and tell me what percentage of CH-53K missions that the CH-47 is incapable of performing.  If it's over 5% I'd be surprised.

As things stand I like the CH-53K but unless we're given the "why" then the buy should be truncated and CH-47's bought instead.

This is why women in combat units will fail...

Check this out via Navy Matters Blog (make sure to read the whole thing).

Well, you knew this would happen.  The scared sheep of Navy/Marine leadership have opted to make the male portion of the nude photo sharing incident a criminal act under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and have done nothing about the female portion, the actual posing for nude photos (1).  This kind of man-hating misandry (meaning, strongly prejudiced against men;  the counterpart word to misogyny) has been demonstrated by shallow minded, timid, PC-cowed Navy/Marine leaders before but this incident has raised the phenomenon to new levels.  The actual posing and generation of nude photos/pornography, no matter how reprehensible, is allowed because it is done by women but the sharing of the photos has been criminalized because it is done by men.

Does this seem like a common sense solution?

Do you think that criminalizing the sharing of photos of women (some of them stripping in uniform) is the only crime and to punish the women who took the pictures is punishing the victim?

If you believe the above then you're part of the problem.

If you believe the above then you're why women in combat units will utterly fail.

The issue is that for better or worse, men believe that women get special shakes in the military.  For better or worse men believe that women use their sexuality as weapons for special treatment.  Am I saying that they're sleeping around?  No.  I am saying that the perception is real.

The best thing that leadership can do is to do everything possible to ensure that everyone is getting hammered in this deal.  This isn't just about revenge porn.  Much of this has to do with a culture of sending "selfies" in all types of undress.

As things stand now this issue will simply go underground.  The rules will be circumvented and the perpetrators will find ways to degrade fellow female service members in new ways.

YOU MUST TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME OR THIS WILL BE A PROBLEM FOR GENERATIONS!

Coalition Forces (including US & Australian troops) come under chemical attack in Mosul?

Thanks to Overwatch DVA for the link!

via Southfront.org

An Iraqi army unit with US and Australian advisers came u nder an ISIS chemica attack in the western part of the Iraqi city of Mosul on Sunday.
According to CBS News national security correspondent David Martin, the alleged mustard agent attack resulted in injuring 25 Iraqi soldiers. No American or Australian troops were injured by the toxic agent.
However, no official identification of the agent used in the attack has been released.
The ISIS chemical attack in western Mosul was the second in a row. Earlier, reports appeared that ISIS used a toxic gas against Iraqi troops in the al-Abar neighborhood in western Mosul.
It’s important to note that the ISIS reportedly uses self-made chemical weapons in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Washington denies that any militant group could make chemical weapons in Syria and de-facto argues that the only Syrian government could be responsible for any chemical attacks.

Damn.

How do you respond to this?  As far as making home made chemicals?  I've done it by accident and almost killed myself breathing in fumes from common household cleaners.

The response to this incident will be interesting.

Open Comment Post. April 20, 2017.

S. Korean Defense Industry Overview via 21st Century Arms Race Blog.

Story here.

Interesting.  I didn't notice it but it appears that S. Korea is basically self sufficient when it comes to providing arms to their military.

That's something I can applaud.

A strong Korea means a strong alliance.  I'm sure Japan is keeping a wary eye on them but from a US perspective this is nothing but good news.

China’s ‘Heavenly Ship’ prepares for inaugural flight

Pics via Fuck Yeah Space Ships Tumblr Page.

Caption...

China’s ‘Heavenly Ship’ prepares for inaugural flight, paving way for larger orbital station.

China’s space program is about to reach a new milestone Thursday (April 20) as the country prepares to launch the Tianzhou-1 spacecraft. Tianzhou-1 is China’s first space station cargo freighter and will be used to resupply the upcoming Chinese Space Station. Weighing over 13 tons, the mission will also be the heaviest payload China has ever sent into orbit.

Set for a five-month mission, Tianzhou-1 will perform the country’s first orbital logistics mission with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory. The space station testbed last saw occupants in September 2016 with the Shenzhou-11 crew.

The spacecraft will conduct three autonomous rendezvous with Tiangong-2 as well as the demonstration of the necessary logistics required to maintain an orbital outpost such as propellant transfer, orbit raising, and an expedited rendezvous to and from Earth.

Tianzhou vessels will be able to carry up to 14,330 pounds (6,500 kilograms) of cargo into orbit; for comparison, Russian Progress vehicles that resupply the International Space Station can carry up to 5,180 pounds (2,350 kilograms) of cargo, though it is a smaller vessel.

Bonus material from the same page...

Artist’s rendering of the Chinese Space Station which is scheduled to be fully assembled by the early 2020s.

Yeah.

China is drinking our milkshake.

Are we even keeping pace in the "new" space race or are they as far ahead of us as it appears?

76 Classic Ford Bronco for $184,000?

Truck found here.

Don't get me wrong...this is one good looking rig but for that price?  Only if I'm using your money or I win the lottery!

What is the rationale for the CH-53K? Could a navalized MH-47 do the job?

Honest question.

What is the rationale for the CH-53K?  How can the USMC justify the purchase of a helicopter that costs over 135 mil per copy?

Unless a case can be made that the CH-53K is absolutely essential and that a navalized MH-47 couldn't do the job (or at least most of the job) then how can it be justified?

I have yet to even read a justification for the numbers being sought (200).

Maybe the CH-53K is absolutely essential to future Marine Corps operations. Maybe only the CH-53K can meet the needs of the Marine Corps. But if we're going to ask the public to swallow a price tag that large then the case needs to be made why a unique platform is needed instead of going with a cheaper option modified to meet the needs of the Marine Corps.

Consider the following...

1.  The CH-47 comes from the factory sealed against dust and water.  Water landings are part of the certification (or were) process.

2.  Other forces use the CH-47 from amphibious ships.

3.  SOCOM/US Army CH-47s are frequent visitors to US Navy ships.

4.  From the outside looking in safety features for deck and aircrew would be the major modifications.  Folding rotors, corrosion resistance, mods to allow air crew passengers escape from the airplane over water and of course mods to its electronics.

In short it should be an engineering challenge, not a show stopper.

Just a reminder of why this is a burning issue.  Via Bloomberg....

Lockheed Marine Helicopter Came With Unpublicized Cost Increase
The Pentagon’s approval for the Marine Corps to start buying Lockheed Martin Corp.’s new heavy lift helicopter came with a hidden surprise: the projected total acquisition cost for the King Stallion program has increased 6.9 percent to $31 billion.

The updated estimate was provided in an April 4 decision memo by James MacStravic, the Pentagon’s acting weapons buyer, that authorized production of the initial batch of 26 helicopters. The memo, labeled “For Official Use Only,” was obtained by Bloomberg News.

The estimate for the total acquisition cost -- which includes everything from research to purchase of the aircraft, including spare parts -- climbed to $31 billion from about $29 billion that the Navy reported in March 2016. No aircraft were added beyond the 200 planned.

Likewise, the “program acquisition unit cost” estimate, with everything included, increased to $138.5 million per copter from $131.2 million as of August 2016. The latest projection is a 20 percent increase from the initial goal of about $115 million established in late 2005, according to data in the memo.

How much longer can the USMC be considered viable...how long will we be considered a value to the taxpayer with gear that costs this much? 

German OV-10 night time glamour shots...

If this airplane was a female I'd lust after her!  So damn sexy!

Ft Stewart is on crack. LITERALLY!

via Popular Military

Authorities arrested several soldiers at Fort Stewart on Tuesday. The soldiers are believed to have used, had or involved in the sale of cocaine.

Officials at the base were reluctant to speak with Popular Military, only offering a small statement in a press release.

“We dedicate resources and work closely with our local law enforcement partners to identify and suppress illegal drug use in our ranks,” Maj. Gen. James Rainey, senior commander of Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, said in a news release.

An anonymous source at the base told Popular Military that sixty four soldiers from the 3-15 Infantry Battalion and the 1-30 Infantry Battalion are involved.  It is not clear how many of them have been arrested.  The source said the soldier at the top of the drug ring had ties to a known drug cartel.

The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office arrested Pvt. First Class Mario Figueroa on drug trafficking charges, according to Maj. Jeff Hein of the LCSO Drug Task Force.  The arrest was the result of a 90-day investigation by LCSO, Fort Stewart’s Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

This story is real.  Not a gag.  You can also find it here. 

The US Army is following current DoD practice of saying practically nothing about this except for a terse press release but good God!  This is the kinda shit my old man talked about during the post Vietnam era in the Army!

A soldier with ties to a drug cartel?

I think its past time to get serious about proper screening of service members.  SEALs and now an Army Infantry Battalion is caught up in illegal drugs?

Too many years at war is destroying our military.  As the Romans once said...It's time to bring our boys back from the frontier.

Blast from the recent past. Terrex 3 (pics)

Note:  I was going over comments and someone remarked that the USMC should automatically go with the BAE SuperAV.  The reasoning?  They thought that the US shouldn't buy an armored vehicle from Singapore.  That annoyed me.  ST Kinetics are solid!  Singapore produces some great engineers and the only reason why the vehicle didn't make it to the downselect is because of some jacked up procurement decisions that rated it "not off the shelf".

When it comes to the ACV contest I'm agnostic.  If we wind up with the Terrex I won't shed a tear and will still pop open the bottle of Jack!

Even if the F-35 works (and it won't) the AIM-120D will let it down....

Yesterday I did a post about a retired USMC Major defending the F-35's dogfighting ability.  In short he stated that if the plane got into a dogfight then they're doing it wrong.  A tidbit from that blog post.

"If you try to fight it like a fighter, it isn’t. You’re going to have terrible results," Flatley said of the F-35. Like any new weapons system, the F-35 takes some getting used to. In 2015, F-35 pilots were pulled from other fighters and introduced to a plane that fundamentally reimagined aerial warfare. A learning curve had to be covered.

Unlike dogfighters from World War II, the F-35 mainly focuses on flying undetected while using its array of fused sensors to paint a clear picture of the threat environment for miles out and to engage with targets before they're ever seen.

The Major's talking point has turned into a plea from the Program Office.  Those marvelous sensors they're bragging about?  Simply AESA radar setups that almost everyone has.

But ignoring the usual F-35 furball, the conversation quickly turned to the F-35's long sword...the AIM-120D.

Supposedly the F-35 would use its stealth to remain undetected and launch its AIM-120D's at distance.  But the AIM-120D is already seen as lacking and because of the long delay/tremendous cost of the F-35, planners doesn't have a follow on missile in the pipeline.  Check this out from National Interest, May 16, 2016...

The Navy is currently working on software upgrades to enhance the missile’s resistance to enemy jamming, Stoneman said. The service has also added a home-on-jam capability to help deal with some of the advance jamming capability that is being fielded by potential adversaries, Stoneman said.

Those potential foes include Russia and China, whose jammers pose a huge challenge for the AMRAAM. Stoneman said it would take more than one missile to counter the new Russian and Chinese jammers—instead it would take a system-of-systems approach.

Meanwhile, an industry source told me that the United States needs a new air-to-air missile to take full advantage of the range of the new Active Electronically Scanned Array radars found onboard aircraft like F-22, F-35 and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The radars can track targets far before they are in missile range—and moreover—American missiles are grossly outraged by new Chinese weapons like the PL-15. Even some of the newest U.S. industry developments don’t match the estimated range of the Chinese weapon. However, the source did note that American estimates of the last alleged Chinese super weapons, the PL-12, were grossly overblown.

How long has this problem been known?  How about since 2014...or at least publicly discussed since then!  Check this out from Defense Tech Feb 18, 2014....

 The AIM-120 is an advanced medium-range air-to-air missile and America’s premiere air-to-air weapon in the fleet. The latest model, the D-model, can fly Mach 4 with a range of about 180 kilometers or about 97 nautical miles. William Gigliotti, Lockheed Martin’s lead test pilot at the Fort Worth site, said he wants to see that range extended to take advantage of the advanced radars inside the F-22 and F-35.

He highlighted the recent advances made by the Chinese and the range of their missile defenses and fighter aircraft.

“When we war game it out, that’s the Achilles heel of the U.S. fighter fleet,” Gigliotti said referring to the AIM-120 at a F-35 panel session at a Navy conference here. Two other Navy F-35 pilots and one Marine Corps F-35 aviator, who also sat on the panel, agreed with Gigliotti.

Gigliotti didn’t challenge the U.S. military to develop an improved variant. He instead challenged the defense industry to start developing one now.

Of course, the Air Force and Navy are in the last stages of operational testing for the AIM-120 D model. Most aircraft are equipped with the AIM-120C3-C7 variants.

Operational testing on the D-model was delayed when the Pentagon halted the program in 2009 to allow Raytheon, the lead contractor, to address four performance and reliability deficiencies. The program was restarted in 2012, but was then again delayed because of sequestration funding levels.

Besides the F-35 and the F-22, the AIM-120 is also carried by the F-15, F-16 and F/A-18 along with other fighters.

Why are they hollering for more range for the AIM-120 when it's being carried by a stealth fighter that they're saying shouldn't get involved in dog fighting?

Is it because the current range of the AIM-120 is insufficient?

I could be wrong but from what I've been able to piece together (and I am so far from being an expert on this corrections are welcomed) it's because of the operating altitude of the F-35.

On an air-to-air mission with a radius of 200 n miles, no external fuel tanks but the same missile load and a requirement to accelerate from Mach 0.8 to Mach 1.8 at 30,000 ft, the F-35 was shown coming second last. With a requirement involving the same acceleration and the aircraft tasked for a 600 n mile 'out and back' mission, Mazanowski said the F-35 was "nothing stellar but certainly not an underperformer in this category".

The specs on this plane keep changing and this quote is from Live Science 2009.  I searched for additional articles but couldn't find any.  The point I'm trying to make is that everything I've read indicates that the optimized operating altitude for the F-35 is about 35K feet.  The same altitude as most airliners.  Its optimized speed is about the same as a 777 high subsonic.

What does this have to do with the AIM-120D?  Below is an image from X-planes.org.

What are you seeing? The fact that the lower you are at missile launch the shorter the range of your missile.  If you give the AIM-120D a rough range of 100 miles but you're launching at 30 to 35K feet then you're probably gonna knock off a 1/3rd of that range.  The super high flying, super cruising F-22 will get every ounce of that distance but not the F-35 at its optimized cruise height/speed.

So long story short?

Even if the F-35 works (and it won't) then the AIM-120D will let it down. The only real answer is to bite the bullet and buy Meteor missiles while we develop a follow on...not for the F-35 but for our legacy jets.