Open Comment Post. Dec 1, 2016.

Japanese X-2 Stealth Demonstrator continues flight tests

CH-53K King Stallion Heavy Lift Helicopter Expands Flight Speed

This vid is interesting.  I didn't see any press releases from NAVAIR or the USMC talking about the CH-53K expanding its flight envelope.  Wonder what's going on.

US Army going heavy! Converts and IBCT to ABCT

Thanks to D90 for the link!!!

via US Army.mil

WASHINGTON -- The Department of the Army announced today that the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division, stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, will convert from an Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) to an Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT). Conversion of the 4,200 Soldier IBCT to an ABCT, equipped with Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles, better postures the Army to execute contingency plans in response to future potential adversaries.

"The complexity of global security challenges is increasing, and as Secretary of Defense Carter has said, addressing these challenges requires some new thinking on our part, new posture in some regions and also new and enhanced capabilities. The conversion of an IBCT to an ABCT better postures the Army to meet the defense strategic guidance by developing force structure capabilities to regain and retain overmatch in key warfighting functions," said Maj. Gen. Andrew Poppas, Army director of force management.

Conversion of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, which begins in the summer 2017, will provide the nation a 15th ABCT; 10 ABCTs in the Regular Army and five in the Army National Guard, ensuring a more balanced distribution between its light and heavy fighting forces. Once the conversion is complete, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division will mirror its sister ABCT at Fort Stewart, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, which recently returned from deployment to Eastern Europe as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve.

This is huge people.

The US Army has looked into the future and is adjusting to meet it.  Everyone is talking about the upcoming big fight, but only the Army and to a certain extent the Navy are actually preparing to fight it.

It also marks the point at which the CounterInsurgency Mafia finally starts to lose its influence.

Well done McMasters!  You still irritate but you're making the right moves.

Open Comment Post. Nov 30, 2016.

Polish Badger IFV moves forward.

via Defense 24.

Implementation of the program Polish combat infantry Badger car accelerates, as evidenced by the approval of the current phase of work and the feasibility study and the initial tactical and technical assumptions (WZTT) program, allowing you to unlock financing. Serial production of new cars is expected to start in 2019 years. Huta Stalowa Wola declares that in addition to the base, floating variant will be able to achieve harder armored version weighing even more than 40 t - writes Jerzy Reszczyński.

Huta Stalowa Wola is currently working on floating combat infantry car code-named "Badger", implemented under the project NCBiR based on the agreement signed on 24 October 2014. According to Defence24.pl in 2019. The vehicle has to be ready for production, and the first the supply of serial cars will occur in 2021 or in 2022.

Jesus!  I thought this was just a demonstrator but it looks like this puppy will be ready by 2021.  That's quick.  I'm curious though.  Poland has the Wolverine 8x8 and now they're developing a tracked IFV.  What have they learned about their wheeled vehicles that has them reverting to tracks?  Is the theory of wheels better than the reality?

Gun rights group takes aim at possible Patraeus appointment to SecState.

via Gun Owners of America Newsletter.

Dear Solomon:

Anti-gun activist David Petraeus is under consideration for the position of Secretary of State in the Trump administration.

Although Petraeus seldom speaks publicly on domestic issues, he hates guns so much that he teamed up with anti-gun leader Mark Kelly and his wife, Gabrielle Giffords, to co-found the Veterans Coalition for Common Sense, an anti-gun organization devoted to "do[ing] more to prevent gun tragedies" by "urging lawmakers to toughen gun laws."

Not surprisingly, the Leftist media is elated that a gun-hater like Petraeus might be awarded the top Cabinet post by Trump.This is true even though Petraeus, in November 2012, resigned as CIA Director and pleaded guilty to leaking classified information to a biographer with whom he was having an extramarital affair.

But Petraeus' "Clinton-like" disregard for American security is the least of his problems.

As Secretary of State, Petraeus would play a key role in deciding whether to remove the U.S. from the UN Arms Trade Treaty (UN ATT). This agreement would mandate gun registration, and would authorize comprehensive gun bans -- all goals supported by Petraeus' colleagues Kelly and Giffords.

Petraeus would effectively decide whether to push for ratification of the anti-gun UN Small Arms Treaty.
Finally, Petraeus would have jurisdiction over the international trade (ITAR) regulations. Under Clinton/Kerry "guidance," these regulations have been expanded to outlaw gunsmithing. In addition, a gun technician who communicates "how-to" information about guns on the Internet (without purchasing a $2,250 State Department license) could be prosecuted and imprisoned.

You can read GOA's comments against these anti-gun State Department regulations here.
If anti-gun Patraeus is nominated and confirmed, we can expect these policies to be continued and expanded.

Donald Trump was elected with the broad support of members of the Second Amendment community. We believe it would be a huge mistake to begin his transition by putting an anti-gun activist in a position whether he could regulate and ban guns.

Stick a fork in Patraeus.

I don't know if he was ever a serious candidate for this position but the long knives are out and if he looks like he's getting any closer to winning then the Gun Owners of America will activate and squash him like a bug.

No one is talking about it but the gun rights community came out hard in support of Trump.  They stuck when others wavered and went all in on him. Trump isn't crazy.  He can piss off or disappoint certain parts of his base without running into trouble.

Making an anti-gun Patraeus SecState would be seen as a betrayal.  For a calculating General Officer, he seriously miscalculated how his support of anti-gun groups/legislation would affect his political future...at least in the short run.  Maybe he gets a second look in a future Dem administration but for anything of importance now?  He damaged goods.

US Marines and Norwegian Army laager @ Exercise Reindeer II in Blåtind, Norway...photo by LCpl. Timothy J. Lutz

U.S. Marines work together with the Norwegian Army to conduct offensive and defensive operations at the battalion and brigade-level during Exercise Reindeer II in Blåtind, Norway, Nov. 22, 2016. Reindeer II is a bilateral training exercise hosted by the Norwegian military to increase support capabilities between NATO allies in extreme conditions. Black Sea Rotational Force is an annual multilateral security cooperation activity between the U.S. Marine Corps and partner nations in the Black Sea, Balkan and Caucasus regions designed to enhance participants’ collective professional military capacity, promote regional stability and build enduring relationships with partner nations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Timothy J. Lutz)

Click on this pic to enlarge.  Its panoramic and beautiful in full screen!

1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment @ Range 410A 29 Palms...photo by LCpl. Juan A. Soto-Delgado

Marines suppress simulated objectives at Range 410A Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twenty-nine Palms, California, Oct. 21, 2016. The exercise is part of a qualification for deployment in which Marines with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment are slated to integrate as a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force.
(U.S Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Juan A. Soto-Delgado)

IDF soon to put out RFI for new heavy transport helicopter

via Globe.co.il

Israel's Defense Ministry will soon publish an RFI for the overhaul of its system of transport helicopters.
There are those in the US who are revving up their engines in advance of the next huge Israeli Ministry of Defense deal. The Israeli air force, which will receive two of the 33 F-35 stealth fighters it has ordered from Lockheed Martin, is also planning to overhaul its system of transport helicopters, based on outdated Yasours, in the coming years. It is believed that the Ministry of Defense will publish a request for information (RFI) in the matter in the coming year. Various sources said that the deal would be in the billions of shekels.
The contract is expected to pit two major US arms manufacturers with deep roots in Israel against each other: Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Lockheed Martin thinks that Israel should not change horses in midstream; since the Israeli air force likes its old Yasour helicopters, the company is offering its completely new and far more advanced CH-53K.
Boeing, on the other hand, is not sitting on its hands. It is likely to offer the air force its twin-engine, tandem rotor CH-47, the first models of which were produced in the early 1960s. This helicopter differs substantially from the CH-53K.
Informed sources say that the air force is seeking to procure 20-25 helicopters to replace the Yasour. The value of the deal is still unclear, and informed sources are finding it difficult to estimate it. "Lockheed Martin's proposal will be more expensive than the Boeing alternative of an outmoded helicopter that is still being manufactured despite its lack of new technologies. The air force will have to choose between price and capabilities: if you want more capabilities, you have to pay more. If the air force decides to settle for the Boeing helicopter, it can pay less," Lockheed Martin Israel CEO Brigadier General (res.) Joshua Shani told "Globes." "Our proposal will be more expensive than Boeing's, but the air force knows and likes the Yasour. There is no doubt that there will be a struggle between the two offers on the table. The Ministry of Defense will send air force pilots to try out the two helicopters and get their impressions. In any case, no decision will be taken on the matter before 2018.

This is gonna be interesting.  Everyone is looking at this as Boeing offering the basic US Army variant CH-47, but I don't think people are looking at how the Israelis have used their Yasour in actual combat.

They're more rescue helicopters or deep insertion platforms than they are transports or logistics planes.

If Boeing is smart they'll offer some form of the MH-47 with the chance of Israeli firms to put specific equipment into the bird, maybe uprated engines, of course the enlarged fuel tanks and maybe even an advanced radar so that it can put Sayeret Matkal bubbas into the Iranian desert to mark targets for that eventual strike on their nuclear enrichment plants.

This looks like a done deal for Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky but don't count out the MH-47 (if I'm right) just yet.  Its still a formidable airplane...and with the low numbers being bought and the chance for industrial offsets for Israeli industry it just might win this competition.

Open Comment Post. Nov 29, 2016.

I've been off lately.  Need to take a beat, reset and come back at it.  Posting will be light till the irons in the fire are sorted...till then have at it.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has designed a new suspension for an upgraded Bradley!

via Business Insider

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has designed a new suspension for the U.S. Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, potentially the first Japanese defense hardware built for export in decades.
The design is for an upgrade of the mainstay infantry carrier proposed by Britain's BAE Systems . If adopted, it would be the first Japanese component designed specifically for a foreign military to be exported in seven decades.
MHI and other Japanese defense companies are seeking overseas sales after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted a ban on arms exports two-and-a-half years ago. However, no significant export deals have been secured yet.
"It could be a pretty good deal for Mitsubishi Heavy," said one of the sources who know about the partnership with BAE, asking not to be identified because he is not authorized to talk to the media.
The U.S. Army currently has around 6,000 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and has asked BAE and rival General Dynamics Corp to submit proposals for new or upgraded vehicles to improve mobility, fire power and survivability.
The sources did not say how much the Japanese suspension will cost. Twelve of the suspension components would be needed for the twelve road or "bogie" wheels per vehicle to cushion its tracks.
BAE displayed a prototype upgraded Bradley for the first time at the Association of the United States Army exposition in Washington in October, where it also displayed a mock up of MHI's suspension.
“It was simply displayed alongside the vehicle and at this time remains an early prototype, not a part of the vehicle,” said a spokesman for BAE Systems.
MHI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Why would BAE go outside their own pretty experienced and capable design teams to tap MHI for this job?

The only thing that makes sense is that perhaps they're looking at that variable height/adjustable setup like the Japanese have on their heavy tanks but would the US Army want the added expense/maintenance requirements that come with that?  Raising the hull to aid in IED resistance might be desirable but that smacks of fighting the last war, not getting ready for the big fight that Army HQ says is coming.