Monday, September 06, 2010

BAE Alligator/SEP survives????

Anonymous (who ever you are) thanks for adding to my confusion (just kidding)...what am I talking about?

I'm talking about the article from the Ottawa Citizen ... it seems that the Alligator yet lives.  Interesting.  What's even more mysterious is that two articles on opposite sides of the Atlantic have come to completely different conclusions.


UPDATE*
RAF sent me an additional news source that is declaring the Alligator/SEP dead.  As a matter of fact it has a BAE spokesman stating that there will be layoffs at the Hagglunds facility which builds the SEP.  Too bad.

The Marine Corps has placed all its amphibious assault vehicle eggs in the EFV basket and its about to crash.  In hindsight an evolutionary approach with an upgraded AAV would have been advisable to the revolutionary EFV.

Now instead of just the EFV being endangered, its also going to wreck the Marine Personnel Carrier Program along with it.

The Marine Corps Procurement system is broken...our at least the program office for the EFV.  Anyway here is the operative passage from the article...
BAE Systems Hägglunds in Örnsköldsvik shed during the day about 150 of its employees, according to Swedish Radio Västernorrland.The reason for the lack of redundancy is ordered, inter alia, for the Swedish defense.
"There are a hundred officers and 50 workers affected by the terminations. Cutbacks will occur during the first half of 2011," said communications director Ola Thorén.
BAE Systems Hägglunds. BAE Systems Hagglunds has also decided to phase out both the SEP and the slimmed-down version, Alligator.
  Bandvagn and CV90 are our main activities.  We will have two product base, but also a leg for service and maintenance that has grown as customers want to add more and more of service with us.  We will have three legs in the future and wheeled vehicle operations are not there, "says Ola Thorén of all sorts.
  Following the workforce reduction will be about 700 left to work at BAE Systems in.

T-100 (Alenia Aermacchi's entrant to replace the T-38)

The T-100 Integrated Training System (ITS) is the world’s most modern, advanced, and comprehensive 4th & 5th generation flying training system.  The T-100 ITS builds upon the proven technology, systems and the international success of Alenia Aermacchi’s M-346 advanced jet trainer system. In production now for the Italian Air Force, it is the only 4th & 5th generation advanced jet trainer system to have won an open international competition.  The M-346 is participating in advanced jet trainer competitions on four continents.
The T-100 ITS is the ideal system to replace the U.S. Air Force’s current fleet of aging T-38 advanced jet trainers. Incorporating state of the art U.S. technology, the T-100 ITS is READY NOW to provide the U.S. Air Force with the capability it needs today to meet the training requirements of tomorrow.

BAE Alligator/SEP canceled???


Thanks RAF for the heads up on this story!  Appreciate it!

It seems that BAE is canceling the Alligator/SEP.  Is this part of a new effort by BAE to consolidate in the face of upcoming budget cuts?  I don't know but expect recently acquired companies like Hagglunds to become independent again. This is translated text from the original article which can be found here.
Alligator sold no more
By: Eddie Pröckl
Posted September 3, 2010 15:41 44 comments

Hägglunds suspends the development of the SEP / Alligator.
If there is a new procurement of vehicles for the Swedish defense, the company will not participate.
For Hagglunds and Alligator Friday August 13 was a bad luck day.
 - We are still disappointed, but we have reached a point where we move forward and turn the page. We willdo better to focus on other business, says Ola Thorén, Senior Vice President at BAE Systems Hägglunds in Örnsköldsvik.
The procurement of 113 vehicles for the Swedish military is now halted pending a ruling of the Administrative Court. FMV gave the order to the Patria, but the whole contract was challenged by Mowag, one of the companies that like Hagglunds was disqualified. Mowag, among other things, claims that the entire contract must be repeated.
- Even if it happens, we will not participate. And that decision is based on an understanding of how the FMV reason, says Ola Thorén, but would not go into details.

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Is this legal...and if so why?!?!

I was watching Meet the Press this morning and a curious thought crossed my mind.

Colonel Graham is also Senator Graham. 

Senator Graham sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Senator Graham confirms all General Officer appointments.

Senator Graham just did his Reserve Duty obligation in Afghanistan (something he was quick to point out) so he was working for the same person that he voted to confirm only a few months ago.

This is obviously legal or much smarter people than me would have jumped all over it but I wonder if its RIGHT.

Its great for re-election campaigns in the South where military service is still valued, but is it good for the service?

Have you seen this?

I saw this first on Gawker of all places.  It shows US soldiers playing a prank by planting a grenade in an unsuspecting Iraqi's car.

Bad joke.

Hmm, makes me wonder where the leadership was and why this was allowed.  Anyway, judge for yourself.  What I do know for a fact is this.  Unless the guy that was playing the prank was an extremely fast talker this Iraqi could have ended up real dead, or at the very least beat to a few inches of his life.

Again.  Bad joke.


F-35 critics weep softly this time. France and UK won't share aircraft carriers.

I first read the story of France and the UK sharing aircraft carriers over at Aviation Week and to be honest it seemed overblown.

Yes, the story was sourced from a reputable British newspaper.

Yes, the story was confirmed by a noted aviation expert/writer.

Yes, it seemed like something to make critics of the F-35 jump for joy.

And yes, it seemed like something from a think tank.

All of the above made the story suspect and this latest piece of information confirms it.
France and Britain announced Friday they are talking about sharing the cost of military aircraft programmes, but rejected reports that they plan to merge their aircraft carrier fleets."In terms of actually being able to share an aircraft carrier, I would have thought that that was utterly unrealistic," Defence Minister Liam Fox told reporters after talks with his French counterpart Herve Morin.
"But when it comes to pooling assets in other areas such as strategic or tactical lift I would have thought that that was a different case altogether," he added, referring to military transport planes and helicopters.
Read the whole thing here and get in a corner F-35 haters.  I'm tired of the whining.