After almost a quarter century the F-35 might FINALLY be cleared to carry the JSM in the 2023-2025 time period...

Block 4 is the pot at the end of the F-35 rainbow.
Will (maybe) deliver by 2023-2025 (almost a quarter century after development contract award) the capabilities that the F-35 was originally to have demonstrated around 2010. https://t.co/H0uzZp4s9V

— Giovanni de Briganti (@JoedeBrig) August 13, 2020

The fact that no one has gone to jail for this MASSIVE fraud on the US (and foreign govts) makes the criminal justice system in America a lie.

We regularly arrest, charge and jail people for stealing far less money everyday, but when you do it (and participation in the scheme should make you liable too) big you can get away with it.

College kid gets a chick drunk and takes advantage?  Done as soon as authorities figure out his name.  Rich and famous do the same on a casting couch (or on a private island) and it takes decades...and even then some still get away.

The Pentagon needs a SERIOUS audit.  Full stop, no excuses!

Blast from the past....M1A1 on the beach

I wonder if the Army is taking possession of Missile Marine Corps deep fording kits?  If they're going to provide that "capability" then that means we'll probably see Army tanks in the well decks of Navy ships soon.  It'll be essential for any activity in the Middle East or Africa to have attached direct fire support.

For that matter I wonder if any of those former tankers that moved on to join the Army will be their new subject matter experts since Army Tankers are about to get "feet wet"

FNSS PARS III 8x8

Note:  Feel like I gotta say this in light of potential (unconfirmed) hostilities between Greece and Turkey.  On a personal level I just don't care.  FNSS is a great company, they post on their Instagram account on a regular basis, and they have products that I'm interested in...I WILL continue to post their pics (if you have a problem with it then just look away).  They're active in a way that I wish more companies were.  As far as the geo-political aspect of all this?  We're all pawns and expendable to the powers that be.  Sad fact but a fact nonetheless. 

Back to the Basics

Note.  The photographer listed the title as you see above.  I'm not buying it. The Missile Marines are adrift being tossed about by a confused concept, social issues not of its own and a general state of unease that I have never seen before (heard about something like this phase during and after Vietnam but our PREVIOUS culture was strong enough to not go thru this nonsense again...however the culture has changed).  Back to basics?  Not under current leadership.  It will take a clean slate.  A re-dedication to excellence and a push to excel in our core missions for the Marine Corps to regain its footings.  The Missile Marines will never make it.  Where is Gray, Conway, Mundy or Krulak when you need them?

Missile Marines conduct Exercise Deep Water 20 at Camp Lejeune, July 2020

Missile Marines with 2d Marine Division improve on their battle tactics and fighting capabilities during exercise Deep Water at Camp Lejeune, N.C., July 29, 2020.
The exercise was designed to refine Marine Missile-Air Task Force capabilities, which increases lethality and combat effectiveness for future combat operations.
The exercise included the largest air-assault conducted in decades.

The Missile Marines are all about building an A2/AD network....and that'll work worldwide in battles against other forces?

It just hit me.

The Missile Marine Corps is designing itself to be a Coastal Defense Force.  I disagree with the very idea of it but so be it.  What has me spinning is Berger's contention that this type formation will have applications in other areas of the world.

That somehow the Missile Marine Corps will STILL BE ABLE to scale up and down the spectrum of battle.  That the Missile Marine Corps will stand up to hybrid terrorist forces that we've seen armed with MBTs, APCs, IFVs, Technicals and advanced missiles themselves.

That somehow the Missile Marine Corps will STILL BE ABLE to hold the northern flank in case a mythical Russian push occurs.

That it will be able to fight in Africa (even though our allies like France are sending full on mechanized/motorized infantry to that fight...and still not seeing the effects on the battlefield I imagine they want).

It's silly.

It's insane.

It's ruination.

The US Army is the Premier Force in Readiness for the US now.  The Missile Marines will be on the sidelines of every fight until we see real reform (I can see the unit history of the 1st Mar Div in the fight against China...the Marines fired 100 missiles and sunk 5 ships, end of story).  A return to basics, an evolution of the force instead of this jacked up transformation these radicals at HQMC are seeking...and finally new vigorous leadership to see it happen.

We so need a General Gray, Conway, or Krulak now!

The US Army has "deep strike" brigades? B/2-20FA (Deep Strike) 75th Fires Brigade

Got a chance to visit with B/2-20FA (Deep Strike) 75th Fires Brigade in their Table XV and recognize some of their Warriors. They are killing it and definitely lethal. -Fires 7 #PursuingExcellenceintheFundamentals@FORSCOM @OfficialFtSill @USArmy @6_fires @16thSma pic.twitter.com/k6AfbBrqgs

— 7_Fires (@7Fires3) August 10, 2020

The Missile Marines are reinventing the wheel.  The US Army already has the organizations to conduct deep land and anti-ship strikes (from land).  All they have to do is add the missiles and "away they go!"

What is my answer to the Missile Marines?

Naval traditions/attitudes is a frame of mind, not a function of gear.  But what we're giving up in order to "gain" this capability far outweighs what we will gain.

The tragedy in Beirut?  That's an MEU mission and you don't see one sailing to the sound of that chaos to render aid.  Showing the flag off the coast of Africa? That's a Marine Corps mission but we're nowhere to be found.  Mechanized Amphibious Assaults/Raids?  That's a Marine Corps mission that the Missile Marines won't be able to do.  The list goes on. 

Icarus Aerospace TAV

Introducing our TAV™, a clean-sheet aircraft. A force-multiplier solution for the world’s security and armed forces. #armedoverwatch #persistentpresence #closeairsupport #maritimepatrol #antisubmarinewarfare #coastalpatrol #ussocom #socom #cansof https://t.co/oHbb0FZvcL pic.twitter.com/01U58odWfc

— Icarus Aerospace (@IcarusAerospace) August 10, 2020

Defender Europe 2020 Pics...

#BOOM! @USArmy Soldiers fire their guns during #DefenderEurope20. @US_TRANSCOM's enduring mission it to project and sustain combat credible forces needed to deter war, protect the security of our Nation, and win decisively should deterrence fail. #Togetherwedeliver @USArmyEurope pic.twitter.com/QKTLTtaWQP

— USTRANSCOM (@US_TRANSCOM) August 12, 2020

We've got to find a better way to do this .... 8yr old with disabilities handcuffed and arrested...

Newly released footage shows police arresting an 8-year-old boy with disabilities — and he was so small, his hands didn't fit the handcuffs (warning: distressing) pic.twitter.com/DRJR0mgiMd

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 13, 2020

Next-Gen Jammer Mid-Band pod takes first flight on Growler

Thanks to Fillipo for the link!

via Press Release

The Navy’s Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) successfully completed its first mission systems flight with an EA-18G Growler at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, Aug. 7.

“What an incredible day for the U.S. Navy, our Australian partners, and the Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) community,” said Capt. Michael Orr, AEA Systems (PMA-234) program manager. “We witnessed a successful first flight with the NGJ-MB capability fully integrated onto the EA-18G Growler, validating the last four years of development and the extensive efforts of these last several months in preparation. I’m extremely proud of the entire Government and industry team.”

The first flight, conducted by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, is a Safety of Flight (SOF) checkout that ensures the pods can be safely flown on the EA-18G aircraft for follow-on test flights.

“There was a lot of discussion on how the NGJ-MB pod would affect how the Growler handles and it was exciting to have the jet feel like any other flight,” said Lt. Jonathan Williams, VX-23 test pilot. “We have a great test team to thank for making today happen and I look forward to seeing how the Growler team brings out the full potential of the NGJ-MB pod.”

The NGJ-MB system, developed by Raytheon Intelligence and Space, is part of a larger NGJ system that will augment, and ultimately replace the legacy ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS) currently used on the EA-18G Growler. NGJ-MB is an external jamming pod that will address advanced and emerging threats using the latest digital, software-based and Active Electronically Scanned Array technologies and will provide enhanced AEA capabilities to disrupt, deny and degrade enemy air defense and ground communication systems.

“The AEA community has been relying on the ALQ-99 TJS for decades,” said Lt. Jonathon Parry, NGJ-MB Aeromechanical Project Officer. “Gone are the days of isolated Surface-to-Air Missile systems that operate on a small frequency spectrum and do not integrate into a larger Integrated Air Defense System. Modern adversaries are developing complex emitters that use advanced techniques to defeat legacy jamming. NGJ-MB will provide new capabilities to the fleet to ensure spectrum dominance against current and future threats.”

PMA-234 is responsible for acquiring, delivering and sustaining AEA systems, providing combatant commanders with capabilities that enable mission success.

Marine Air needs to be climbing back into the dedicated Electronic Warfare Mission with a vengeance!  When they aren't being clubbed back into it is beyond me but its low hanging fruit for the sea battle.

The Russian MoD released a new video of the Su-57

The Russian MoD released a new video of the Su-57.https://t.co/BRUSSSx8OJ pic.twitter.com/IMW5Hglt63

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 25, 2020