Monday, September 05, 2011

Are we going to be losing capability when the CH-46 retires?


I'm beginning to wonder if we're going to be losing capability when the CH-46 retires for good and we're using only the MV-22.

Don't get me wrong, the MV-22 is a technical marvel that has and is proving itself in Afghanistan.  But when it comes to getting men and material into tight places...when added stability is needed to get back aboard ship...when simplicity trumps a complex system...are we going to miss these old helicopters?

The V-22 is obviously tailor made for the Special Ops mission.

It has no peer in the rotary winged category when it comes to getting personnel ashore in an assault.

But what happens during those conflicts when its all about the dirty, grimy boring tasks of moving people and supplies around?

In the assault the V-22 is king.  For everyday work, we'll miss the CH-46.

22nd MEU TRAP training...

All photos by CPL Raufmann 

 

Battalion PT. Marine Corps Style...

Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 5 participate in their monthly battalion physical fitness session at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Aug. 25. The 7-mile hike was planned to condition the Marines for the battalion’s upcoming deployment.

Responding to sniper fire...

Soldiers from C Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, survey the ridgeline after taking in sniper fire from an insurgent during Operation Diamond Head in Afghanistan, July 29.

Friday, September 02, 2011

31st and 11th MEU's in action...

U.S. Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Battalion Landing Team, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU), provide security while conducting loading exercises with the Internally Transportable Vehicle (ITV) on a CH-53 Super Stallion with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 (HMM-265, REIN), Air Combat Element, 31st MEU, during training events at Landing Zone Swan. The 31st MEU is the only continuously forward-deployed MEU and remains the nation's expeditionary force in readiness in the Asia-Pacific Region.  Photo by LCpl Acuff.
U.S. Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Battalion Landing Team, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU), conduct loading exercises with the Internally Transportable Vehicle (ITV) on a CH-53 Super Stallion with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 (HMM-265, REIN), Air Combat Element, 31st MEU, during training events at Landing Zone Swan. The 31st MEU is the only continuously forward-deployed MEU and remains the nation's expeditionary force in readiness in the Asia-Pacific Region. Photo by LCpl Acuff.
An AH-1Z Viper approaches the amphibious assault ship Makin Island during a sea-based exercise here Sept. 1. The attack helicopter belongs to a detachment of skid-landing helicopters attached to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (Reinforced), the aviation combat element of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit embarked Makin Island and the amphibious transport dock New Orleans in San Diego to begin its second seagoing exercise since becoming a complete Marine air-ground task force in May.  Photo by Sgt. Quesada
Marines with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (Reinforced) disembark a CH-53E Sea Stallion on USS Makin Island during a sea-based exercise here Sept. 1. The squadron is the aviation combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is scheduled to deploy this fall.  Photo by Sgt. Quesada

Thursday, September 01, 2011

CDR Salamander nails the J-20.

Read his post here, but I think CDR Salamander nails it when it comes to the J-20.  Many believed the J-20 to be a fighter.  Why?  Because thats what the US, and Russia are working on.  This is what Salamander says....
I don't know about you - but the J-20 looks less like a fighter and more like a penetrating attack aircraft; almost an update of the F-111 concept.

Even with allowances for Chinese technology not being as compact as Western technology (which I think is slightly a bogus argument in 2011) - that bird is big for a reason. I don't think air superiority is it.
Read the whole thing but I would bet good money that by this time next Tuesday every think tank in the US will be switching gears and following the CDR's lead.

Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyer HMS Dragon