Latest from Lexington Institute.

 

 The V-22, Like The Bumble Bee, Successfully Confounded Its Critics Dr. Goure nails it again. 

Read the entire article but check out this snippet... 

Long-time critics of the V-22 program are again trying to go after the program, seeking now not to terminate it but merely truncate the production run and substitute for the Osprey slower and less capable aircraft. This is ironic since both the Marine Corps and the Air Force would like to see production of the V-22 increase.

Substitute the F-35 for the V-22 and you see history repeating itself.  Its funny too.  The same supporters of additional F-22's, the A-330 tanker and cutting the V-22 are all opposed to the F-35.

Amazing.

PEO Soldier's Equipment Piece of the week.

PEO Soldier has been running an "Equipment Piece of the Week" article for a while now.  This is their latest.
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Jungle Training.

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan (Aug. 5, 2010) -- -Second Lt. Brett Howard, platoon commander for Combined Anti-Armor Team 1, teaches Marines how to pick alternate positions in case of compromise, August 3. The training prepares Marines for an upcoming deployment with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler C. Vernaza), Lance Cpl. Tyler Vernaza, 8/3/2010 7:25 AM

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan (Aug. 5, 2010) ---Lance Cpl. Vernon Graham, vehicle commander with Combined Anti-Armored Team 1, briefs a plan of approach before conducting a foot patrol, August 3. The training prepares Marines for an upcoming deployment with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler C. Vernaza), Lance Cpl. Tyler C. Vernaza, 8/3/2010 9:53 AM

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan (Aug. 5, 2010) -- -Gunnery Sgt. John Schmuck, platoon sergeant with Combined Anti-Armor Team 1, talks with Marines about different types of ambushes and the best ways to employ them during jungle warfare training, August 3. The two-day exercise taught various techniques to help Marines operate in a jungle environment. The training prepares Marines for an upcoming deployment with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler C. Vernaza), Lance Cpl. Tyler C. Vernaza, 8/3/2010 8:26 AM

Some F-35 news you didn't hear...

This from Defense News.com

U.S. Air Force chief Gen. Norton Schwartz is considerably "more optimistic" than he was this spring about the future of the F-35 Lightning II program given the significant progress being made on the plane's test program
"I am more confident than I was, to be sure," about the F-35A - the Joint Strike Fighter version his service will fly - due to a recent string of testing successes with the jet, Schwartz said during an Aug. 4 meeting with the editorial staff of Defense News and Air Force Times.

Read the whole thing but the Air Force buy is critical.  To hear the Air Force Chief stating such reasoned thought when it comes to the F-35 is a pleasant surprise.

The critics have failed.  This airplane will be placed into full rate production.

Oh and for my boys at Lockheed...go on and destroy the tooling for the F-22...we won't be needing it!

They report, you decide.

This story from FoxNews is...breathtaking.  If the accusations are true then those that state that the Obama administration is weak and apologetic are completely vindicated.

The son of the U.S. Air Force pilot who dropped the first atomic bomb in the history of warfare says the Obama administration's decision to send a U.S. delegation to a ceremony in Japan to mark the 65th anniversary of the attack on Hiroshima is an "unsaid apology" and appears to be an attempt to "rewrite history."

That's just a snippet.  Read the whole thing here.

CH-53K advances.

via Hartford Business.com

The Stratford helicopter maker, a unit of United Technologies Corp. in Hartford, says the new design of the 47-year-old copter has passed muster with military reviewers and is now headed for assembly, testing and evaluation of a K-model prototype of the CH-53.

Hmm.  This re-design seems to either be sliding in under everyone's radar or we're seeing a new trend in future weapons procurement.

Don't go with a clean sheet design, simply upgrade an existing platform to the hilt...If the 53K can escape the bean counters barbs because its "an upgrade" then we should do this across the board in the future.

Still no information regarding the circumstances for the murdered Sailors.

Its been seven days since news first broke of the missing and since murdered Sailors in Afghanistan.

What's puzzling is that no further information has been released regarding the circumstances that led to them taking the wrong turn into Taliban controlled territory.

In every previous instance of a missing US serviceman being captured or missing, the circumstances have come out rather quickly.  This time its different.

The only hint that we have is the rather cryptic statement from Admiral Mullen...

"from what I know right now, this is an unusual circumstance."

What does that mean?

What do they know that they're not telling us?

The Wikileak scandal is eye opening in one regard.  The US government/military has classified information that is widely available.

These Sailors were not in a Special Ops Unit.  They weren't in a Combat Outfit.  They were admin...So the question remains....What were they doing out there???

NAVAIR's Helo Neck Down is a success.

NAVAIR's neck down campaign for its helicopters is a success.  Not only have they been able to streamline maintenance, pilot training etc...but they've enhanced capability across the board.  As a bonus, I got a little clarity on the EFSS on the MH-60.

Its just one of several systems that have migrated from the Army's Blackhawk over to the SeaHawk fleet.

Interesting.
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