Wednesday, December 04, 2019
AW-159 weapons loadout... 20 Missiles on a helo this small?
Great to catch one of two AW159s trialing stub-wings at Yeovil yesterday. It looks like it packs quite a punch!— Tom Jones (@athetommyj) December 4, 2019
Anyone (@Rotorfocus?) have any idea what dummy munitions these are? pic.twitter.com/90GiRzOR5D
What missile is small enough for a tiny helo like the AW-159 to be able to carry 20 of them?
Time for a little professional reading guys...
@USNavy's guidance to the Fleet is out. Our mission = the operational readiness of today’s Navy with a focus on the warfighter, warfighting, & our future Navy. https://t.co/ZiLpdLBoSm pic.twitter.com/IQibVAZioW— Chief of Naval Operations (@USNavyCNO) December 4, 2019
The Commandant of the Marine Corps seems fired up about this product so maybe we should all dig in and see what the CNO is talking about.
Iranian Security Forces are up to their old games...this time against their own people...
This heartbreaking video shows wild thugs of Special Pasdaran Unit of #Iran's Islamic Regime Police raiding home of a protester, arresting & then beating him to death during recent #IranProtests in November. This is an example videos which the regime didn't want the World see. pic.twitter.com/bSdj2AacdF— Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) December 4, 2019
Wonder how long it'll be before protester start seeing police assembling for a raid and instead of opening the door they start fighting back?
The weird thing?
Protests seem to be breaking out/continuing all over the world. For the most part (except for some idiocy in the UK w/climate change, the usual stuff in France and the usual protests against the US at NATO) it's not happening in Western countries.
I wonder if that will change soon.
Royal Marines (40 Commando) training with US Marines @ Exercise Green Dagger, 29 Palms...
40 Commando Battlegroup have been training alongside the @USMC in the deserts of California on Ex GREEN DAGGER.— Commandant General Royal Marines (@MajGenHolmes) December 4, 2019
An excellent mini-documentary covering the exercise will be released tomorrow.@40commando @RoyalMarines pic.twitter.com/PFEVqykACn
Mini-Documentary about 40 Commando training with US Marines at 29 Palms? Coming tomorrow?
YES PLEASE!
Bladed Hellfire Missile? Jesus! Just microfragment my ass instead!
The US struck with precision 2 terrorists in a minivan in Atmeh, Syria (10 miles from where ISIS leader al-Baghdadi was killed). The weapon used was a “Ninja” missile that, to minimize civilian deaths, carries no explosive warhead. After smashing in, 6 sword-like blades open up. pic.twitter.com/Ey4aHh2BAQ— Mike (@Doranimated) December 4, 2019
Swinging thru the Twitter-verse and saw the above post.
My reaction?
What the fuck is a "bladed" Hellfire Missile!
This is craziness.
Some mad scientist/weapons designer came up with an inert but lethal Hellfire Missile.
Amazing.
Weird, deadly and spooky as hell but amazing. Just microfragment my ass instead. Seems like a more painless way to die in my opinion. I can't even imagine what the remains look like but I bet sliced ham would be a good start.
Another Gripen E in the air (with a beautiful paint job!)...
Another Gripen E in the air. #smartfighter pic.twitter.com/v4FMYLvy4o— Saab AB (@Saab) December 3, 2019
What a sexy beast! That camo is striking. I like it.
British Army is chest thumping about Boxer, Ajax and Strike Brigades. Why are they still pushing a modernized Warrior?
Captain Appleyard is at the @NATO Leaders Meeting today in London, showcasing the @BritishArmy's new BOXER mechanised infantry vehicle. #NATOLondon | #WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/94qE8DPaZg— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 4, 2019
Interesting.
I'm going from this short vid but from reading other news coming out of the UK, the impression of a bit of chest thumping over the Boxer, Ajax and Strike Brigades rings like a New Year's Day parade.
I get it.
They're getting their house in order and the Brit Army is attempting to form middleweight, quick reaction force that can scale up and down the spectrum.
On paper at least it should be formidable.
But one thing is off.
Why are they still pushing the modernized/upgunned Warrior?
We've seen this type thing before...especially with regard to aviation. The USMC has been continuing to upgrade both the F-18 and Av-8B while awaiting the F-35B.
The reality?
Wasted money.
Why?
Because the F-35 shouldn't be bought in numbers till it delivers on its promise. Purchasing planes that aren't ready while still upgrading planes that will be put out to pasture as soon as they GET READY is wasteful in my opinion.
The Brits seem to be doing a variation on that theme.
Instead of holding place with the legacy Warrior as it is, they're upgrading it while purchasing obviously superior vehicles at the same time. Additionally they're attempting a middle ground by incorporating that old rig into new formations.
I consider it both wasteful and unnecessarily expensive. Logistically it simply adds friction. Why keep an old vehicle along with its supply/training chain when you could "neck" down to its replacement?
Maybe Brit officers should head over to Australia to see procurement done right.
Why does the US pay so much for the defense of its allies? 5 questions answered
Interesting article.
We get a few general questions answered about how the US public views our "forward deployed" military and our allies views as well.
It's a mixed bag.
Public opinion polls like this are a mixed bag. Most Americans have a better view of Kim Kardashian's ass than they do about our foreign policy (I wonder if that's by design).
Regardless. This is a great little read and I believe worth your time. Check it out here.
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