Blast from the recent past. General Dynamics ACV contender.

General Dynamics ACV prototype.

I was doing my morning sweep thru the internet and tried to find the latest and greatest on the ACV contest.

All I could find is a rehashed story from National Defense that once again promises that the ACV contest is about to heat up after Request for Proposal are received after Feb.

We talked about sequestration and the F-35.  I think the same can be applied to the Marine Personnel Carrier program.

The point though is that of all the competitors, the General Dynamics version has been the most elusive...until Defense Daily published the above pic.  More info here and here.

While reading the comments from my previous blog post, something I said earlier still haunts....

so what you're telling me is that our new ACV is now barely more capable than the AAV in the water, probably less mobile than a legacy AAV over broken terrain but the plus side is that its more heavily protected?
do you get what you're saying?
we canned a high speed EFV that was (according to HQMC) only suffering from reliability problems...they said that it had attained MRAP type levels of protection before it was canceled. we declined to buy a non-planning version of that same vehicle because we said that high speed in the water was important. we not only threw away all the work that was done on the EFV but then we turned around, wasted 4 years debating this issue and in the end we're going to rely on a vehicle, the Marine Personnel Carrier that was intended from the start to be a surrogate vehicle to the EFV.
we invest over 15 years of work...waste millions of dollars and in the end we're getting a vehicle that only equals (at best) what we have now?
sorry. i want to be fired up, but this just makes me want to choke someone in leadership. don't piss on my back and tell me its sunshine. additionally lets be real. we'll actually be lucky to have these vehicles in service by 2025. so again. tell me why i should be happy?

One thing the USMC must NOT do is fool itself.

Its currently operating an obsolete Amphibious Assault Vehicle and the ACV 1.1 will at best MATCH, not exceed the combat capabilities of threat vehicles...especially Chinese and Russian IFV/APCs.

We're playing catch up and if more delays occur then we might be in the uncomfortable position of having to retain the AAV (or give it up entirely because its so old and having our boys ride into combat in that other threatened program, the JLTV) until possibly 2040 or later.

I want to be optimistic but I just can't.  Not after so much failure.

Another Marine has died because an LAV-25 seat malfunctioned???

via FAYObserver

Lance Cpl. Steven J. Szymanski reached over the front seat of a light armored vehicle to grab his helmet.
In doing so, the lever that raises the seat was accidentally triggered and Szymanski was trapped with his neck between the back of the driver's seat and the ceiling of the vehicle.
At least 15 minutes passed before a fellow Marine found Szymanski and pulled him out. By then, according to officials, it was too late.
A 147-page report obtained Thursday by the Observer details the Marine's accidental death on Fort Bragg last year and shows that at least 11 other Marines from his unit had experienced similar seat malfunctions.
The malfunctions, however, were never reported to the appropriate personnel.
Szymanski, 24, of Midland, Michigan, was training on Fort Bragg with his unit, the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Lejeune, when he was killed on Oct. 21.
A light-armored vehicle crewman, Szymanski was conducting post-operation checks from inside the LAV when he reached to grab his helmet.
According to the command investigation, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the LAV seat was not locked into place because the locking pin, which would have prevented the seat from moving up or down, was rusted and seized in the open position.
The Marine investigator ruled Szymanski's death, most likely caused by traumatic asphyxiation, an accident.

JESUS!

You have got to be fucking me!  Another young Marine has died, a family is in mourning and a life of promise ended because a fucking seat malfunctioned?

The fact that this isn't a scandal should shock us all.

Death in combat is one thing.

Even a training accident can be accepted (won't like it but shit happens and the job is dangerous)...but to die because of a malfunctioning seat?

HQMC and the LAV Community need to fix this post haste.  

Taiwan C-11 "Brave Tiger" Tanks get Explosive Reactive Armor...

via Janes from TANK & AFV NEWS Blog.

Recent photographs have confirmed that at least part of the Republic of China Army (RoCA) fleet of CM11 main battle banks (MBT) have been upgraded with the installation of explosive reactive armour (ERA).
The CM11 MBT is essentially a brand new US-supplied General Dynamics Land Systems M60 hull fitted with a modified turret from the older M48 MBT. The CM11 is also referred to as the M48H 'Brave Tiger'.
The ERA, shown in photographs taken during exercises earlier in January, is fitted on the glacis plate as well as the front and turret sides to provide a higher level of protection against weapons fitted with a high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead.
This ERA is not normally fitted during peacetime training as there is no threat.
The exact origins of the ERA fitted to the CM11 MBT has not been confirmed, but it is very similar to that developed by France some years ago rather than the Blazer ERA fielded by the Israel Defense Forces.

The analysis at the end of the Janes' article does raise a question.

Why haven't we given the Republic some of our used M1 Tanks?  Of course China would object but it would be a simple show of solidarity, would disrupt the balance of power in the region and would provide added firepower to the RoC's effort to stop them on the beach strategy.

Sidenote:  If you're into armor then you really should check out TANK & AFV NEWS Blog...they cover it all from tanks, AFVs, IFVs, APCs etc....both modern and historical.  Additionally they keep track of new armor books and even models.  Definitely worth a look see.

Lost Dog...

If this don't touch a heart string then you don't have one...

F-35 News. This is why the proposed production increase is nuts....

via Military.com

The Pentagon's base budget is currently $496 billion, plus another $64 billion for overseas missions. Obama's increases would allow for new next-generation F-35 fighters, ships and submarines and long-range Air Force tankers. Military leaders have also said the earlier cuts forced reductions in flying hours, training and equipment maintenance.
On the domestic side, Obama has proposed offering two free years of community college and creating new or expanded tax credits for child care and spouses who both work. He's called for raising the top capital gains rate on some wealthy couples and consolidating education tax breaks, although some of those ideas have already faced intense opposition.
"Until he gets serious about solving our long-term spending problem, it's hard to take him seriously," said Cory Fritz, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner.
Still, the president's budget proposal is just that - a proposal- and will not become law.

And there you have it.

Defense Hawks are going to get stymied by Domestic Welfare Zealots and they're both gonna get steam rolled by the Deficit Warriors.

So all those news reports of Lockheed Martin stock rising on increased orders for the F-35 are simply people being taken to the bank and swindled.  To properly understand defense procurement you must watch the defense corporations and the Pentagon but also politics.

Sorry F-35 fanboys.  The Program Office and the Pentagon are trying mightily to save the F-35 from the death spiral by upping production.

It ain't gonna happen.

The window of opportunity closed and IF it had remained on schedule then the full buy would have occurred.  It didn't and now it won't.

You think China's modernization is no big deal? Kendall disagrees.

via The Free Beacon

“The intelligence estimates were correct,” he said, of China. “And I became, I think it’s fair to say, alarmed as soon as I started seeing technical intelligence reports on China’s modernization programs.”
“And I can say the same with Russia’s modernization programs as well,” he added.
The U.S. military was dominant following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he said, and the U.S. action in the Persian Gulf war demonstrated the nation’s conventional force prowess.
But beginning in 2001 the military has focused on counterinsurgency and counterterrorism campaigns against a very different kind of threat.
“No one observed more carefully the dominance that we demonstrated in 1991 than the Chinese,” Kendall said, referring to U.S. precision arms capabilities, stealth forces, and ability to conduct wide area surveillance.
“And what I’m seeing [now] in foreign modernization, again, particularly China’s, is a suite of capabilities that are intended, clearly to me, at least, to defeat the American way of doing power projection, [the] American way of warfare when we fight in an expeditionary manner far from the United States,” Kendall said.

I've been beating this drum for awhile now.

China is doing its best to match us.

If you don't believe me then believe Kendall.  They're trying to drink our milkshake.

US bases in the Philippines? We're walking into another insurgency.

Image via Bantay Spratly showing the remains of the 44 Police Officers ambushed by terrorist forces.

If your focus is solely on China and its dealings with its neighbors then US bases in the Philippines makes perfect sense.

If you're paying attention to the issues inside that country (economic, social and political) and then add that governments fight against the MILF (no, not mothers you'd like to fuck...I'm talking about a group of hardcore terrorists) then it makes you wonder if anyone has addressed force protection issues for our people there.

Why is this a concern?

Because it was reported on Monday that 44 Elite Police Officers walked into an ambush that had MILF participation...even though the government signed a treaty allowing that terrorist group to establish a state within the Philippines that would be governed by Islamic law.

The Philippines that the old skool Marines knew is gone.

When our bases there are up and running all we'll be doing is walking out of one insurgency into another.

Read about the ambush here and here.

Air Power Australia's Zhuhai 2014 Air Show Photo Essay...

Check it out here.

Brazilian Police find two M-41 Walker Bulldogs in a car "chop" house!

via Latin Post.

Brazilian police in the city of São Paulo made an unexpected discovery when they stumbled upon two old military tanks inside a warehouse. The armored vehicles were stashed away along with stolen items and the police are currently investigating how they ended up there.
On Monday the military police of Sao Paulo state stumbled upon the two engineless tanks inside a warehouse in the Sacoma, a low-income neighborhood in São Paulo, according to the Guardian.
In a statement posted on their Facebook page, the police recount how an inquiry into the theft of car led them to the very unusual discovery. Police discovered a warehouse that contained various stolen products, the statement said.
"The warehouse is located in Vila Carioca, near Tamanduateí train station, and inside it [police] found a truck with a container, loaded with approximately 500 42-inch LED televisions," the police statement said. "Beyond that container, they found a semi-trailer truck, various automotive parts and two armored tanks of the armed forces, without any identification. [Police] located the owner of the warehouse; he said he rents it for an individual and was unaware of its use."

I've never explored it but have heard that the black market in the US is truly a sight to behold.  Supposedly you can buy everything from prohibited firearms (talking real deal automatic weapons) to drugs and everything inbetween.

Now fast forward that theory of the US black market to what can be found in places like Brazil, or Italy or Japan or Saudi Arabia (just examples don't go high and to the right) and it must be truly mind boggling.

But two M-41 Walker Bulldogs?  That's just awesome...I bet the "owner" is crying!

Thai trials CMI 90mm turret on their BTR-3E1

Thanks to Info-infanterie for the link.

via Live Journal.

I know that would be happen ! Just like rumours I've heard ,the MGS for mechanized infantry regiment(s) has been tested . I don't know whether It has been chosen or not but This is another confirmation of the MGS requirement. The Army has sought for establishing the "SBCT wanna be " regiment(s) **(A.K.A. mechanized infantry regiment) for a long time ,the oldest record I have is 20+ years ago (and the winner was Piranha or LAV ,If my memory served me right) but the economic crisis in '97 struck down all military programs (e.g. RTAF- F-18C/D ,RTN -subs and RTA -AFVs) . And 3 years ago ,the dream to mechanized the infantry came true . The BTR-3E1 project fulfilled the wish of highly mobile infantry with reasonable firepower but there are some missing puzzles ,the MGS ,which will provide the heavy punches for this (these) regiment(s),IMO,this 90 mm is more than enough firepower to support the infantry (but 105 should do some jobs better,i.e. tank hunting .)

But there're still some problems with the SBCT wanna be regiment(s) such as the artillery that is not Self propelled , the Ukraine's problem which still plagues the delivery of 2nd phase BTRs and other future shortcomings,e.g. The indigenous 8x8 program which will be denied common logistics with BTR equipped regiment , the Ukraine's political problems which will lead to logistical problem of all Ukrainian's equipments .

Just like Buddha said "You shouldn't chase after the past or place expectations on the future." I just love this MGS !
Photos Credit : Army Eastern Command .(Burapha Command )

It keeps happening but the USMC seems to be ignoring the development.

The fight in the Pacific will not be infantry vs. infantry.  It will not be dominated by air power in the jungle canopy or in the dense urban centers that dot the landscape.

The nations of that region are armoring up!  Everywhere you look all you see is either armor in development or serious upgrade programs that aim to make them more lethal.

The current focus on "Company Landing Teams"..."Distributed Operations from the sea"....and "Dispersed Amphibious Ready Groups" will lead to our forces being deployed in a piecemeal fashion and then found, fixed and destroyed by the enemy at their leisure. 

The focus is all wrong.  We never left the sea...but we ARE having a time leaving the counter insurgency war in the desert!