BAE's Amphibious Combat Vehicle at Modern Day Marine. (pic)

Open Comment Post. Sept 26, 2016

LAV-A2 (formerly known as LAV-25A2) is set for ANOTHER upgrade.

via Marine Corps Times

The Marine Corps' light armored vehicles qualify for antique license plates in most states, but the service is planning to upgrade half the fleet and keep them in service until 2035 while it searches for a next-generation replacement. 
It’s not a best-case scenario, officials said, but it is the best option as the Corps tries to find money to replace old vehicles and implement new technologies. 

And this.

 Koch doesn’t expect any leap-ahead vehicle technology in the coming decades. That means the next-generation vehicle may closely resemble the upgraded LAV. What he is looking for is “a good base vehicle with plenty of growth margin” that has sufficient maneuverability, protection, and lethality. The key is the ability to easily and incrementally add new technologies as they mature. 
“This is not merely a reconnaissance and surveillance asset. It possesses the organic ability to grab the enemy by the collar and punch them in the face in order to get information,” Koch said. “We’re going to have to improve the organic lethality, both direct and indirect fires. We think we will be doing that in a broader and more complex battle space. The ranges and capabilities and capacities will be stretched beyond what we currently treat as normal.” 
Koch spoke of expanded network capability, the need for more effective sensors, and the ability to counter unmanned air and ground systems. Topping Walsh’s list was more signals intelligence and longer range fires. Both spoke of organic electronic warfare, and a greater use of unmanned assets to extend the battlespace. 
“What we see in the future is these scouts launching an unmanned system off their vehicle,” the three-star said. “That UAS is out there scouting, and could be scouting autonomously to search a designated area for specific silhouettes. It may be programmed to report such findings, or pre-approved to attack.” 

Thankfully most Marine Officer don't become either stupid or batshit crazy till they start seeing stars on their collars.  One Marine Major quoted in the story has his feet planted firmly on the ground without being awestruck by the latest "gee whiz" gadgetry the think tanks are promoting.

“Something that is survivable and reliable is good enough,” he said. “We’ve benefitted from not requiring contractor support to run and operate this system. I generally agree with a modular platform, as long as it doesn’t require extensive contractor support and crazy training.” 
While his Marines have used the Raven UAS with great results, he said such benefits should never come at the expense of having eyes on the objective. 
The major said a new LAV should maintain the ability to maneuver water obstacles, commonly called its swim capability. If possible, he would like to see lighter and scalable armor. Increased weight has not been a problem, but is a consideration in amphibious delivery and combat maneuver. Simply put, “mobility is central to our platform.” 

The big picture that is coming into focus is rather stark.  The USMC is basically taking another 20 year holiday when it comes to recapitalizing its ground forces.

If it ain't the wing then it ain't getting money.

So whats the list of vehicles that the Marine Corps will be operating in 2020 that are 40 years or older in their basic design?  The M1A1 (assuming they're not completely cut which I expect), LAV-A2, AAV, Humvee (it'll still be around they're not all being replaced by the JLTV) and weirdly enough the MTVR will be close to joining that group.

What new vehicles have we seen bought recently?  New Fire Trucks for the wing and new logistics vehicles to handle offloading the CH-53K.

This story proves I was right.  The Marine Corps is taking a drastic turn toward aviation at the expense of its ground combat power.

"My War" Controversial Chinese propaganda movie on the Korean War.

Wow.

In all the talk about the Chinese NOT forgetting about the Japanese activities during the 2nd World War, I ignored the fact that the Chinese haven't forgotten about the Korean War.

While not a victory for US forces, we definitely gave better than we got....and many say that if MacArthur was given the go ahead that they would still be recovering from that setback to this very day.

Regardless, check out the web on this movie and see how they're insulting the S. Koreans, talking smack about the US and basically stoking up nationalism at home.

Note:  If you know a Korean War vet then don't let him near this one.  Not even the trailer.  You'll be dealing with a grumpy grandpa for at least two months.

BAE's Amphibious Combat Vehicle rolls into Modern Day Marine.

Land 400 News. Australian General hides behind Troopers death to defend downselect.

Thanks to Dave for the link!

via ABC News Australia.

Trooper "Poppy" Pearce died in 2007 when the Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) he was sitting in drove over an IED in Uruzgan in Afghanistan.
Shortly after his death, Australia withdrew ASLAV from service in Afghanistan.
As part of the multi-billion-dollar Land 400 project, the Army is now assessing options to replace its current fleet of 257 light armoured vehicles.
The massive project is being overseen by the army's head of modernisation and strategic planning, Major General Gus McLachlan.
"I do get hounded a lot, but I'm loving every minute of it," Major General McLachlan said.
"This is a vehicle that we think we'll use for 30 years and sadly it will probably be used in its lifetime — it'll be shot at and potentially blown up — so we want a tough competition and we want the best outcome to protect our soldiers for the next 20 to 30 years."
Major General McLachlan said the memory of his popular fallen colleague was at the forefront of his decision-making.
"There was nothing different we could've done for Trooper Pearce," he said.
"The vehicle he was in was the best vehicle that was available, but as we look to the future, the ability to protect our people is what's driving us.
"We are determined that the vehicles we buy next will have the capacity for a soldier to survive that kind of blast."

This is borderline disgusting, edging toward obscene.  Am I reading this right?  Gus is actually using the death of Trooper Pearce to defend his decision on Land 400?

Just plain wow.

Nothing is bomb proof and terrorists have demonstrated the ability to build bombs so large that no land vehicle in existence or planned could survive them.  So the fact that Gus is trying this idiocy is galling.

The only truth in this article is Gus saying that he gets hounded alot.  In my opinion deservedly so.

Land 400 Phase 2 is a mess.  Quite honestly I expect more of the same in Phase 3.

Another F-35 catches fire on the runway!

Thanks to Ronald for the link!

via Defense News.

An F-35A caught fire during an exercise at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, the Air Force confirmed to Defense News. 
The incident took place at around noon and involved an F-35A aircraft from the 61st Fighter Squadron located at Luke Air Force Base, the service said in a statement. No serious injuries seem to have been sustained by the pilot or nearby crew. 
"The pilot had to egress the aircraft during engine start due to a fire from the aft section of the aircraft," Air Force spokesman Capt. Mark Graff said in an email. "The fire was extinguished quickly. As a precautionary measure, four 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit Airmen, three Airmen from the 366th Maintenance Group and the 61st Fighter Squadron pilot were transported to the base medical center for standard evaluation."  

Hmmm.  So was this one of the airplanes that was part of the USAF's IOC or is it a "training" airplane?

Doesn't matter.  The program is failing and will never deliver what was promised.

BREAKING! Ted Cruz says he will vote for Donald Trump

That is all.  Nothing follows.

They just released one of the Charlotte videos. This is why police are hated.

Wow.  You guys hash this out among yourselves.  I'm not even gonna reply to your comments on this because I don't care what you think.  Seeing this video its easy to understand why the police are viewed as oppressors, revenue generators and generally evil.

To shoot a man down in front of his wife?  To have total control of a vehicle with 4 fellow officers and others arriving but to default to shooting?

This simply looks bad.

Then the news media shows what appears to be police planting evidence AND removing evidence!

Sidenote:  I'm hearing many people say that black people hate white.  Why is that a surprise?  Many white people hate blacks so why shouldn't you hate someone that hates you?  This thing is off the rails.  A woman filmed her husband being shot by cops but there is no sympathy for her.  Amazing.

Note 1:  This is the last I'll write about social issues on this blog.  I'm starting an invitation only setup where open and frake discussions will take place.  So no worries.  You won't read about this stuff anymore on these pages....the social setup is going up as we speak.

Friday Funny. Military to Civilian translation guide.

 

http://spectre-130.tumblr.com/post/150817994339/goosedawg-southernsideofme-military-to

 

Weird Armor. GAZ-68 (STS-76) Soviet wheeled tank destroyer

Pics via bmashina Tumblr Page.

Open Comment Post. Sept 23, 2016