Friday, October 15, 2021

Just another day in Beirut

This is a tribute to the spirit of humanity to adapt to difficult siutations. It's also a nod to the guy in the green shirt and other normal people in that city. Life must suck but they're getting by and making the best of a bad situation...hopefully while avoiding getting curb stomped by fighters of either side. I don't think I've ever fully appreciated how life must be for those living in combat zones (yeah I know that's an indictment of my character but it's real).

 

SAMSON ALL-IN-ONE

 
Nice RWS.

But I'm an EOS fanboy.

I believe in bringing our Marines home safe.  How do you do that? Kill the enemy before he kills you!  The sound, the looks of your weapon, the flash it makes mean nothing.  I'll take a hyper accurate system everyday and twice on Sunday.

Still.  This is a nice system.

Bicycles and bodies of Chinese protestors strewn across the street during the Tiananmen Square Massacre, 1989 via Reddit

GSD LuWa in test drive

That's how you camouflage a tank!

Hmm. I give him maybe 3 shots if the ambush is good before he has to move? If the ambush is perfect then an entire tank company wiped out by his platoon before they even know what hit them?

Baccarat 2021

Australian Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle capability pushed to the limit...are we seeing the iron triangle being re-arranged?

 
Circling back to this video because after watching it again something became obvious.

There was a quick...real quick nod to its mobility.  Tanks are the benchmark for mobility across broken ground and it was stated that this vehicle can keep up.

Then the focus was mostly on the digital part of the spectrum.  Especially situational awareness.

I found that stunning.


Are we seeing a new era where protection, firepower & situational awareness have replaced mobility?

I tend to think so.

I use the current crop of IFVs (tracked and wheeled) as examples.

The Namera, Eitan (the top two in their class by my estimation), along with the Lynx, Boxer, AS21, CV90, VBCI, Jaguar, and others all have "adequate" mobility.  Outside of the CV90 I don't see one that has what I would call blistering mobility.

But as we can see the Australian contest and what's brewing with the US Army's contest, it would appear that situational awareness is now paramount.

Shoot first, kil first is everything.

Potential stowed kills mean nothing if (1) you can't hit what you see and (2) you see them after they see you.

My prediction?

Armor values will go down in future vehicles.  Armor isn't enough to protect and anti-missile tech just ain't quite there (despite the push to mount them on vehicles).

I think we'll see more situational awareness.  Bigger guns.  Attempts to increase mobility (I'm thinking tracks will return in a big way...across the board) and a new acknowledgement that what we've been doing is in essence building E100's to accomplish strategic mobility missions.



'Intelligent UGV’ Unveiled

 

Lockheed Martin IS delivering when it comes to the Army's Precision Strike Missile project...

I've bashed LM hard in the past few years. Stomped on the F-35 like it stole something (taxpayer dollars?), and I've even been disappointed with the CH-53K and it's outrageous price tag. Having said all that they ARE delivering when it comes to the Army's Precision Strike Missile project. I'll treat them like a wayward Marine. They might be fuck ups but when they do good I'll acknowledge it. Nicely done LM!

Open Comment Post. 15 Oct 2021