Turkey warns Syria "not to play with fire" after strikes on convoy...

via I24

Turkey warned Damascus on Tuesday "not to play with fire" a day after a Turkish military convoy was cut off by an air strike in northwest Syria.

"The regime should not play with fire... As we have previously said, we will do whatever is necessary to ensure the security of our soldiers and observation posts," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara.

But, he added, "we hope it does not reach that point".

Story here. 

So Turkey is in essence annexing Syrian territory in order to meet it's security needs.  Syria is defending its territory against Turk annexation in order to meet it's security needs.

Pass the popcorn.

The fire in the Middle East is about to get turned up a notch.

Boxer APC Recover Module by FFG via

Pics/story via esut.de (here)...

Boeing YC-14 STOL airlifter presentation (1976)...

When you think about Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations what sticks out?  In my mind it's the logistics train.  Pushing Marines out to these various locations is the easy part.  Keeping them supplied is gonna be hard.  Additionally the F-35B (assuming it can be made to work right) drinks gas like a Sailor on shore leave drinks beer.  Its gonna need alot!

Even the mighty CH-53K will fall short in properly supplying it, the MV-22 is a bit short on carriage (with regard to this platform) and speed will be essential.

I said all that to say this.  A STOVL transport that can get in and out of these tiny airstrips is probably something that we need to circle back to and have another look at.

The YC-14 from long ago fits that bill.

Elbit Systems / Active Protection Solutions Vid plus a pic of the Eitan IFV...

*Note. Another dude you should follow. Lucky for us all he posts quite a few stories on his Twitter page so we don't have to deal with a paywall. Good stuff. Check him out...

Israeli MoD has announced that the new Eitan IFVs will have Elbit's Iron Fist Light Decoupled active protection system. Nice image of the vehicle with the system and @ElbitSystemsLtd has a new video out of it in action: https://t.co/2VgDalcOQ4 pic.twitter.com/8xVyD901Es

— Jeremy Binnie (@JeremyBinnie) August 20, 2019

Russia's Altius-U UAV takes flight...

Just two weeks after the Okhotnik UCAV's first flight, the MoD published footage of a 32 minute flight by the Altius-U UAV that reached an altitude of 800 meters. The Altius program has faced several delays and a change in its developer.
https://t.co/UvqcZoi5YM pic.twitter.com/pSqRIm4Yb3

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) August 20, 2019

Taiwan approved to purchase F-16Vs...the configuration will be a security challenge...

via FlightGlobal.

The Trump administration has approved the sale of new Lockheed Martin F-16Vs to Taiwan, a long considered decision that will likely worsen tensions with China, which wants to bring the island nation back under its control.

Several media outlets pegged the sale at $8 billion for 66 jets, citing anonymous sources. The deal was confirmed by a joint statement from House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, a Democrat, and ranking member Michael McCaul, a Republican.
-----------------------------------------------
Approval of the sale of F-16s to Taiwan does not mean the deal is finalised. The final configuration of the aircraft need to be decided and Taipei needs to sign off on it.

Story here. 

Most of you will disagree with this, but I believe this is a bargaining chip in the negotiations over trade with China.

If I'm wrong then it leaves open another possibility.

The Pentagon and State Dept see a fight coming with the Chinese and they want to have Taiwan as a point of friction/concern.

My worry?

Again most will disagree but I believe Taiwan to be already a lost cause. Militarily I view it as already gone.  It's too close to China, will be a blood bath from the sunny side of hell if we do try and defend it and we're faced with the worst of all possible contingencies if they make a move on the island.

All that before we talk about the spies, sympathizers and paid politicians that actually support reunification.

If we sell them these planes then I hope they're detuned without a shred of advanced tech inside.  If we can't do that then the mythical "kill switch" everyone believes we have on every piece of gear we sell has triple redundancy and tamper proof qualities too boot.

This might seem simple.  To some this might appear to be a no brainer.  Me?  I'm not so sure.

Army Officer that took an Armored Personnel Carrier out for a joy ride is not guilty by reason of being BATSHIT crazy....

via Task & Purpose.

The soldier who was arrested for taking an armored personnel carrier on a slow-speed police chase through Virginia has been found not guilty by reason of insanity on two charges, according to The Richmond-Times Dispatch.

Joshua Phillip Yabut, 30, entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle — in this case, a 12-ton APC taken from Fort Pickett in June 2018 — and violating the terms of his bond, which stemmed from a trip to Iraq he took in March 2019 (which was not a military deployment).

The judge accepted Yabut's pleas and will determine the type of treatment he'll receive at a hearing on Oct. 4, The Richmand-Times Dispatch reported.

In case you forgot about this internet-famous soldier, Yabut, a first lieutenant with the Virginia National Guard, was arrested in June 2018 by Virginia State Police, who said they chased him for 65 miles while he was behind the wheel of an M577 Armored Personnel Carrier, which he drove from Fort Pickett to near Richmond City Hall.

Before all of this, Yabut was tweeting some clues to his plan, and then later, a selfie to commemorate his legendary status (note: This Twitter account is unconfirmed, but it certainly looks to be Yabut's, given that he tweeted his full name, rank, DoD ID#, and other personal information in the weeks prior).

Story here. 

Hey Army.

Your officer accession system is broken as fuck!

Might want to fix that...or put tank traps around your motor pools....

Tues Righteousness...This is a thing of beauty!

Messing with a girl and her boyfriend pic.twitter.com/8VCJN9gwE0

— Instant Regret (@lnstant_Regret) August 15, 2019

Nicely done sir!  Very well played!

Open Comment Post. 20 Aug 2019

11th MEU conducts nighttime mortar live-fire @ Camp Buehring, Kuwait

F-35 boosters had CLEAR conflicts of interests while lobbying in support of the plane.

Thanks to BlackTail Defense for the link!

via POGO

This year’s Department of Defense budget request included six fewer F-35 Joint Strike Fighters than planned, setting off a firestorm of protests from the program’s boosters. Part of that pushback, organized by the Congressional F-35 Caucus, was a letter in support of the program signed by 128 retired senior military officers. The letter failed to disclose that 50 of the signatories stand to benefit if Congress authorizes more F-35 purchases because of their actual or potential personal or financial ties to the program.

Story here. 

Just plain wow.

Interesting isn't it.  Many have said this but I always shuttled it off to the side and didn't dig into it.

I should have.

This is classic conflict of interest requiring full disclosure.  If the law doesn't require it, then the "honor code" of the US military does.

This program is the living embodiment of waste (the tremendous amount of money spent and the failure to execute), fraud (shoddy bookkeeping) and abuse (stuff like the story covers).

I wish I could say I was surprised but that would be a lie.  The real question is this.  Are you?

Turkey's new long range anti tank missile is using concept art against a US Abrams MBT...

Story here.

Not much to this, just my observation that we're seeing some artwork depicting a Turk anti-tank missile being fired at a US Abrams MBT. Does it mean something?  Probably not but in light of current relations it is interesting.