Australian Defence Force’s Amphibious Ready Group (vid)

What exactly are they talking about when they say "Amphibious Ready Group"?

The Aussies bought a couple of surplus Brit LPDs if I recall correctly so are they planning on combining them with the LHDs and putting half their Army on them?

If true that's interesting.

One thing I failed to consider is that the Aussies have enough amphibious capability to float almost 2 battalions if I'm counting correctly.  It would be high density but its possible.

Excuse me.  Time to take a hard look at Australian amphibious ships, see what their loadout is and how they plan on using their forces.

Your Daily Motivational. 0311 and Proud!

Thanks to Terrence for the link!

0311 and Proud.

Do I look like I’m enjoying it?

Hell, yeah! There’s no amount of time, money, wine or women that I would trade for being an 0311. Earning the title of Marine was cool and all that and I’m proud to be a Marine but I swear to the ghost of Chesty Puller and Dan Daly that being an 0311 is the best job in the world.

Where can you shoot guns, drink endlessly, hang out with all your closest friends, rip cigs, party, workout, hate yourself and everything around and still somehow laugh about it?

That’s right, being a damn 0311. For me being an 0311 was like being a member of a cult. An underpaid, oversexed, overworked, overseas cult.

The worst times I had (that last picture was definitely high on the list) were the best moments of my life. -35 and the worst blizzard to hit Hokkaido in 20 years? Bring it on Mother Nature, get ready to piss your panties ’cause nothing is holding us back. 130 degrees of hellish heat? They call us Devil Dogs for a reason, we come from what your nightmares are made of. Might as well call me Noah because I’ve been through 40 days and 40 nights of rain.

You might ride in a car everywhere you go but I’ll be reppin’ them brown Cadillacs.

Go here to read it all!  YOU MUST read this all....good stuff! 

Open Comment Post. July 19, 2017

NAVAIR video shows F-35B landing blind on LHA due to HMD glitch. Quote:"We got real lucky that night."

via Defense Tech.

The video that recently surfaced appears to indicate a new nighttime visibility problem, in addition to others that have been publicly identified.

In his presentation, Fields gave credit to the pilot, who positioned himself on the flight deck using two generators he remembered walking past on his way to the aircraft.

“I think his words later were, ‘screw you, ship, I’m landing on you,'” Fields said. “We got lucky. There is no way around it. We got very lucky that night.”

Story here.

Read it and fucking weep F-35 fanboys.  Your program was just saved by a fantastic USMC Aviator that has elephant sized balls  and somehow squeezed them into a cockpit to strap on a plane that is substandard, has faulty tech, jacked up leadership and by the grace of God made it all work.

Now do you get the force of connection all you guys that worship anyone with stars on their shoulders?  This plane still doesn't work and you're being lied to.

McGregor BLASTS US Army General leadership AND says they're gonna lose the next war unless they change!

via National Interest.

The Army is on track to lose more than money unless President Trump appoints a forceful and informed Secretary of the Army—one who is prepared to impose accountability on his generals and demand sweeping change. It’s going to lose the first battle of the next war. And, in the twenty-first century, Americans may not get a chance to fight a second battle.

Then this!

 On July 18 the 173rd Airborne Brigade, along with allied NATO airborne units, will conduct a Joint Forcible Entry exercise near Bezmer Air Base, Bulgaria. The goal is to demonstrate an airfield seizure operation that will then allow for the “all wheeled” Second Cavalry Regiment to “build up combat power” and prepare for follow-on operations.

This exercise equates to practicing for suicide. Our East European partners know it and the Russians know it. Any joint theater-entry operation requires U.S. aerospace and maritime supremacy, as well as, overall battle-network superiority in the objective area. Try this “forced entry” against a defended Russian, Chinese or North Korean Airfield and the “exercise” would end in minutes with the total annihilation of the paratroopers and the brigade of light, armored trucks. The Army four-star generals are stuck in a World War II fantasy.

If that's not enough it gets even more brutal!

 Today’s Army is spread too thinly around the world and its fighting formations are Cold War relics. If today’s Brigade Combat Teams faced an air-defense threat, rocket artillery and loitering munitions (drones that loiter over the battlefield for hours and attack targets by flying into them), let alone a capable, opposing Army, then it would face certain defeat.

No fucking commentary on this one!  Go here to read it all for yourself! 

Open Comment Post. July 18, 2017

It's Chinook week I guess.  Anyway, what's on your mind....

The magnificent concepts of Zetor Engineering...a new 8x8 and tracked IFV...

via Janes.

Zetor Engineering, a subsidiary of Czech agricultural machinery producer Zetor Tractors, is developing a family of modular wheeled armoured vehicles that the company hopes to enter into upcoming public tenders for such platforms. These tenders are expected to be announced by a number of armed forces in Central and Eastern Europe, and beyond.

“In general the (armoured vehicle) project is geared towards future tenders and requirements where it will fulfil the criteria (of potential users), “Zetor Engineering's Isabela Vrskova told Jane's on 17 July.

Zetor Engineering has dubbed the flagship vehicle of the development programme as the Projekt 8x8, which boasts an enlarged hull capable of accommodating a crew of three (vehicle commander, driver, and gunner) and up to eight fully equipped infantry.

The company website is here. 

I don't know about you but personally I like it!  Small countries that are doing the work of innovating for their home defense needs?

This is the kind of national independence that I can get behind.  If we want our allies to take a bigger role in their own defense then I'm thinking that building up their "at home" defense industries and not forcing them to rely on outside products is probably the best way to go.

Develop a NATO/Western standard and build to it.  It doesn't have to look alike or work the same way...just get the job done and we should all be satisfied.  If it increases a nation's spending on defense but cuts off exports from our own industry?  A monetary loss but a big integrated defense win!

Modest Proposal. Bring back the S-3/ES-3 Vikings to make the carrier air wing great again!

pic via zainisaari.tumblr.com

A real quickie.

We've heard talk and studies about bringing back frigates from the boneyards to get the surface fleet back up to speed but what about naval aviation?

There is a major gap in our capabilities and frigates will only cover a portion of the problem.  We need dedicated electronic attack/surveillance platforms that can operate from the carrier and we need long range anti-sub planes that can do the same.

The answer is gathering dust in the boneyards.

The S-3/ES-3 Vikings have TONS of time left on them and can be quickly and easily brought back into service.  One squadron per ship of each type along with a nice allotment of anti-ship/anti-sub weaponry with buddy refueling tanks to pick up the load when the UAV refuelers go down would save wing time for the Super Hornets, provide a much needed capability for the carriers and add a new option for everything from Electronic Attack, Electronic Surveillance, Anti-Ship Strike, Long Range Anti-Sub work, Bomb Truck duties in permissive environments and tanker duties when necessary.

When the CMV-22 fails at the COD mission because its just too short legged we can even dust off the plans for this plane to fill that role.

We have a jewel in the boneyards.  Time to scrap off the dust and get it back in service!

AV8B Harrier II's buzzing the USS Wasp...pics by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michael Molina

Japan to introduce Supersonic Anti-Ship Missile ASM-3 next fiscal year....

Thanks to Alert 5 for the link!

via Yomiuri Online.

　From next year, the government has decided to introduce the new type of air-to-ship missile under development to the Air Self Defense Force's F 2 fighter aircraft.

The procurement cost of several hundred million yen is posted in the estimate request for FY 2018, and the mass production system is entered. It is the first supersonic speed as a domestic air-to-ship missile, which is characterized by being difficult to intercept. There is an aim to check the Chinese Navy where the aggressive activities are prominent in the East China Sea.

　The domestically produced air-to-ship missile that has already been introduced has "80 type" and "93 type" close to the sound speed, but the new model has a dramatically faster speed of about 3 times the flight speed of 93 type than the 93 type . In terms of speed, we line up with the most advanced missiles of the same kind abroad.

　The time to hit the target is greatly shortened, and the enemy ships are less likely to intercept the missiles because they can fly at low altitude near the sea surface that can not be caught by the radar. It is said that the range will be longer than 93 types (hundreds of kilometers).

Story here, and you will need a translator. 

Interesting isn't it.  Unless we get on our horse with a quickness we will need to start importing major weapon systems from our allies.

Not because we want to be nice but because we let develop lag so much that they're now ahead and we need quick replacements now.

What do I mean?  How about anti-air systems.  If we're smart we'll probably have to buy Meteors from the Brits.  What about anti-ship missiles?  If we go supersonic we're buying the ASM-3 from Japan and if internal carry is important then we're buying the Norwegian solution.

How did we get to a point where we have to buy weapons from people that can't last more than 10 days during a relatively low scale affair in Libya without begging us for more bombs?  Our procurement priorities have been jacked up.

Sabre Guardian Exercise by US Army Europe...

Should be interesting.  I'd like to see more "defense" scenarios rather than the constant "always on the offense" stuff we've seen.

Hell let's get real.

A realistic scenario will be one where they model Spetznaz running all over the place creating havoc in the rear, paratroopers dropping in, Russian Naval Infantry making landings along the coast and communication with higher headquarters cut off for every unit in the field requiring independent action across the board.

But they won't do that...will they?

Muddy Water..... photo by Cpl. Aaron S. Patterson

A weird mix of pain and anger....muddy snot bubbles are next if he got water up his nose..