Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Open Comment Post. Oct 19, 2016.



Thinking about food porn and the news that the Navy is unsure that their ship was actually targeted.  Just wow.  And remember the Houthis are a low tech force...what happens when they're faced with sophisticated jamming/countermeasures and missile swarms?

Anyway what's on your mind?

Mi-28N destroys large ISIS convoy (vid)

Thanks to Info Infantry for the link!



I'm assuming this is a Russian vid and they say that it shows the destruction of an ISIS convoy, but to my eyes it looks like they caught the vehicles at a laager point.

What I'm curious about is the type of munition used.  It almost looks like they're shooting 2.75mm rockets but those were hitting with precision.  Do the Russians have laser guided rockets now?  They're just entering US and allied service.  I didn't even think they were working on that tech.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Medieval Warfare. Polish Winged Hussars

Major Hat Tip to Pinturasdeguerra Tumblr Page








Wow.  Winged Hussars?  I looked at this post several times and finally Googled it because I thought it was just some type of fan fiction that the Medieval Warfare guys sometimes push.  You know the type...Knights in gleaming armor fighting giants or 6 knights holding off 2000 fighters at the gates of Jerusalem.  But no.  These crazy Polish bastards actually attached wings to their armor and played beserker in combat.

I've always dismissed Medieval Warfare as being uninteresting and overly romanticized.  Maybe I need to take a second look.  This shit is fascinating!

Oh and for those that still doubt, below is a piece of armor that is displayed in a Polish museum (don't ask me which one) showing how it looked in real life.


Why the Queen Elizabeth flexing between carrier and LHA is a bad idea.


via STRN
The RN is currently developing its concept of operations for the QEC with a broad definition of their purpose called Carrier-Enabled Power Projection (CEPP). CEPP offers four main capabilities – Carrier Strike, Littoral Manoeuvre, Humanitarian Assistance and Defence Diplomacy. The carrier strike role is what the QEC were originally designed for but the requirement to perform the littoral manoeuvre/LPH role has been added and then expanded during their construction. HMS Queen Elizabeth will go to sea without the full modifications for the role and will be occupied working up and operating as a strike carrier with the F-35, at least for most of her first commission. She could be expected to enter major refit around 2025 when she will be modified. HMS Prince of Wales is being constructed with these modifications from the outset, essentially internal changes to accommodation, equipment storage and access for the embarked military force. F-35 trials will be conducted with HMS PoW in 2020/21 but she may then be configured and tested in the LPH role soon after.
READ THIS ARTICLE! 

The USMC is facing the same issues with the America Class LHA (when did we start calling them L-class carriers?).  Davis is talking about leaving the ground combat element on the dock and sailing with only F-35s.  What that will do to Marine Corps combat power ashore is anyone's guess but he put forward the idea with NO pushback.

Save The Royal Navy saved its venom for British planning but a closer look at USMC plans would show the same issues.

Scuttlebutt? US Army Special Forces Commander killed in push to Mosul?

Thanks to Overwatch DVA for the link!

via Farsnews.
TEHRAN (FNA)- A commander of the US Army Special Forces deployed in Northern Raqqa was killed by unknown assailants, local sources disclosed on Monday.

"The commander of the US Special Forces in Tal Abyadh was shot in the head and killed by unknown assailants," the Arabic-language Sham Times said.
The Arab media outlet said the death of the unnamed commander is leading to chaos among the US-backed Kurdish forces.
"The Command Center of the US military forces in Northern Raqqa and the Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) have launched joint probe into the incident," they added.
Kurdish sources said Saturday that the US Army has deployed nearly 300 fresh forces in Northern Raqqa near the border with Turkey.
"120 US army soldiers have been deployed in North of Tal Abyadh. Also 60 other soldiers have been dispatched to a base near the village of Shabadeq close to a road towards the town of Salouk," the sources said.
"The Shabadeq base is a camp to train the Kurdish fighters for war against the ISIL terrorists in the Eastern battlefields of Raqqa up to the Northern banks of the Euphrates River," the sources added.
"In the meantime, over 100 US soldiers have entered Ein Issa via an illegally-established US army base in the village of Kharab Isq to coordinate Kurdish fighters' operations and meanwhile guard the US political officials who have been dispatched to Syria to form a new coalition, allegedly for the capture of Raqqa," the sources said.
I don't know what to make of this stuff.  Remember a little while ago when Fars reported Special Ops personnel injured in Syria and we got nothing from the Pentagon?  We didn't get a denial, confirmation or even an acknowledgement that the question was asked.

Now we have this report and I'm expecting more of the same.

Special Ops is Special Ops.  Guy might be killed in combat and the story given to the public is that it was a training accident.  Shot in the head turns into a horrible parachute accident.

Fog of war stuff I guess.  The truth?  We'll never know.  We ain't there. 

Open Comment Post. Oct 18, 2016


I'm still watching the news but I find little interesting.  Mosul?  They've been planning that offensive for over a year.  What kind of military commander telegraphs an attack and allows an enemy to fortify their positions for a year?  Plus its an urban area?  The stupidity is astounding but most will wave the flag, shout USA and not question military leadership.

Same applies to a "worldwide conference on ISIS".  General Dunford is calling a meeting of over 50 nations to deal with the aftermath of the defeat of ISIS.  Seriously?  40K troops and they've been allowed to fight almost the whole world to a standstill for a couple of years?  Sorry I don't buy the fight, don't care about the outcome anymore.

US ships were targeted for a third time near Yemen.  Independent ship operations, a lack of a plan to kill the missiles and a jacked up alliance with Saudi Arabia has me wondering why I should care.

Maybe I'm in a bad mood but that little snippet of issues happening shows why blogging has been light.

I want to care, but just can't make myself.  But enough about me.  What's on your mind?

UH-34 Seahorse in Vietnam via National Naval Aviation Museum Facebook Page.

Troops run from a UH-34 Seahorse helicopter of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 362 in a landing zone in South Vietnam.

HUS-1 Seahorses from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 362 insert Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) troops in a landing zone in a rice paddy in South Vietnam. As part of Operation Shufly, HMM-362 became the first Marine aviation unit to fly operationally in country in South Vietnam beginning on April 15, 1962.

Marine Corps HUS Seahorse helicopters carrying vehicles operate from an amphibious assault ship.

Flight deck personnel carry wounded Marines across the deck of the amphibious assault ship Valley Forge (LPH 8) after UH-34 Seahorses of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 361 flew the casualties out to the ship.

USMC & Singapore Army @ Exercise Mark Valiant 2016

Ex Valiant Mark is an annual bilateral exercise between the SAF and USMC and that provides various opportunities for both militaries to build stronger bonds. This year, about 1,300 personnel from the 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade, and the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, as well as supporting components from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF)'s Peace Carvin II Detachment and the 1st Marine Division took part in the exercise.







Monday, October 17, 2016

L-CAT 2? via Defesa Global.


Defesa Global has an article up on the L-CAT 2 (I'm calling it that..I have no idea how CNIM Defense is labeling this boat) and its kinda interesting.  via DG
On the occasion of the EURONAVAL 2016 naval technologies trade show, which is taking place 17- 21 October in France, CNIM Defense is presenting the new version of its L-CAT ship-to-shore fast landing catamaran, the L-CAT Shore-to-Shore version.
The ship-to-shore version was supplied to France (4) and to Egypt (2). All operates from BPC (Bâtiment de Projection et de Commandement ) amphibious assault ships supplied by DCNS and STX France to France and Egypt. The L-CAT boats were built by SOCARENAM, In French Navy service, the boat is designated as EDA-R (Engin de Débarquement Amphibie Rapide).
I went to CNIM Defense website but couldn't find any information on the boats specs, how much its rated to carry, how fast it is or its range.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Т-14 Armata Main Battle Tank Capabilities



Zhuhai Airshow Vehicle Display is shaping up....

Thanks to MicMac80 for the link!

Am I mistaken or is this the first "uparmored" Chinese 8x8 we've seen?  The extra armor on the turret and sides is obvious.  What we don't know is if its a local development, stolen tech or a mixture of the two.  If the Chinese are gonna get into the "adding armor" game then I wonder what the implications are?  Is there view of combat in the future changing?  Will we see a swing toward heavier base vehicles to gain the added protection that they desire?
I consider the above IFV as being the best in Chinese service.  They took the Russian design and tweaked it but the changes make sense.  Oh and it also seems to have additional armor applied.





Open Comment Post. Oct 16, 2016.



Don't know why but I do love Land Cruisers...especially the classic models.  I wonder why Toyota isn't pushing a retro-modern version for the US market, not those luxury abominations they've been building but a real deal off road vehicle to compete with Jeep and other backwoods rigs.

Anyway.  What's on your mind?