This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than the enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. My rifle and I know that what counts in war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, or the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit. My rifle is human, even as I am human, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and I are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy. - Marine Corps Rifleman's Creed.
the only game in town in terms of confronting or trying to disrupt the al Qaeda leadership,” Panetta told the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles.
Pakistan has complained repeatedly about what it says are airstrikes on its territory by U.S.-operated drones. The U.S. military in neighboring Afghanistan does not comment on the attacks, which typically target Islamic militants in the border region, but the United States is the only country operating in the region known to have the capability to launch missiles from remote-controlled aircraft.
The 10-ton vehicle must be transportable on a C-130 cargo plane. It should have a minimum range of 300 miles, and a turning diameter of 49 feet, And the crew has to be able to get out quickly, in case of a rollover. (“Of the 38 MRAP accidents between Nov. 7 and June 8, only four did not involve a roll-over,” Army Times noted.)
The Zumwalt-Class Destroyer (DDG 1000) was to be a class of next-generation, multi-mission surface combatants tailored for land attack and littoral dominance, with capabilities designed to defeat current and projected threats as well as improve battle force defense.
adaptable, affordable, survivable, flexible and responsive.
Evidently, the goal of affordability was not attained.
Growing costs and vulnerability to anti-ship missiles sank the Navy’s once-heralded “stealth destroyer,” a highly advanced warship designed to slip close to the shore unnoticed and pummel targets with big guns boasting pinpoint accuracy.
Faced with cost estimates upward of $5 billion per ship, the Navy had no choice but to let its prized Zumwalt destroyer program end after the first two ships are built, analysts said Wednesday.
The official rationale provided by the Navy for discontinuing the DDG 1000 is the cost.
The scuttlebutt, however, suggests that sailors were troubled by a Z-gram that indicated that they may be forced to wear sideburns if assigned to one of the destroyers. In all likelihood this is rumor is completely unfounded.
Ok, that is not a direct quote. Major General Charles R. Davis, USAF, the Program Executive Officer for the F-35 Lightning II Program Office, is far to articulate, educated, and gentlemanly to utter such a comment. But, reality is not that far off.
According to Flightglobal, LtGen Davis is not pleased with, what he characterizes as “lies and half-truths,” being spread by Boeing about the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
“That’s just pissing us off,” Davis says. “If Boeing has to say something negative about JSF to sell their aircraft, that tells me there is something wrong with their aircraft.”
Davis specifically faults Boeing executives for predicting further cost overruns and delays for the F-35 programme. By comparison, Davis says, he has heard BAE Systems make no such predictions in their efforts to sell the Eurofighter Typhoon.
However, it was pointed out to Davis that Boeing had delivered hundreds of F/A-18E/Fs on time and on budget, while the JSF programme has reported a 50% cost increase and an at least 18-month delay during the first seven years of development.
Davis acknowledges the F-35’s record, but refuses to back down in his criticism of Boeing.
The Marine Corps version of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) – aka the Lightning II – the F-35B , is the version of the JSF intended for vertical takeoff and landings. According to Aviation Week,
Lockheed Martin has flown the first short-take-off-and- vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35B, in conventional-take-off (CTOL) mode, clearing the way for funding to be released for production of the first six U.S. Marine Corps aircraft.
The 44-minute flight of aircraft BF-1, the first production-representive F-35, from Lockheed’s Fort Worth, Texas, plant also marked the start of a five-year, 5,000-plus test program involving three variants of the Joint Strike Fighter: the CTOL F-35A, STOVL F-35B and aircraft carrier-capable F-35C.
From the best technology-military blog Danger Room, comes the story of the Air Force’s desire to replace the Reaper with a new “hunter-killer” drone. MQ-9 Reaper first deployed to Iraq in the fall of 2007. It looks like the Air Force wants some of the $500 million budgeted for drone aircraft.
By the year 2025 the CVW will include a squadron of UAV, dubbed the Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS). The UCAS will replace the F/A-18s. This will extend the range and loitering ability of the CVW.
As reported on Kotaku, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory intends to purchase 300 PlayStation 3 40GB gaming systems. The reason for the purchase is not clear, though the Air Force maintains it is for “conducting a technology assessment of certain cell processors.”
The Air Force has determined that airmen will find no useful information on blogs. Thus, from this point forward the Air Force will block all websites with “blog” in the name. A spokesman for the Air Force explained that sites such as the New York Times will be authorized, because it is a reputable media outlet. Reputable? Does anyone remember Jayson Blair?
To suggest that any site with “blog” in its name has no useful information for servicemembers is preposterous. Take for example CAAFlog, a blog administered by a Marine Corps colonel dedicated to news and opinion on military justice and the latest developments in case law from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. No useful information there.
Also there is a bit of irony in the Air Force’s move vis-à-vis CAAFLog. The Marine Corps colonel who administers CAAFlog is employed by the Air Force as a civilian working for the Air Force Appellate Government Division representing servicemembers during their criminal appeals. Just to keep things straight, the Air Force has hired Col Sullivan, precisely for his education, experience, and opinions, yet members of the Air Force are prohibited from accessing a blog he administers, which relates to the subject matter for which he was hired. Is there a disconnect?
Let us hope that this does not spread to the other services.
According to Aviation Week, the Navy, specifically the Marine Corps, will stick with the US 101, aka the VH-71, helicopter for the helicopter version of Air Force One, known as Marine One. The upgrades will cost an additional $1 billion, on top of the original $6.1 billion price tag. The Navy had also considered the Sikorsky H-3s as an alternative airframe.
The original decision by the Navy to select the VH-71 caused some controversy because the aircraft is manufactured by a foreign company. The VH-71 is manufactured by AgustaWestland, a joint partnership between British and Italian companies.
In October 2007 the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard released their combined proposal for maritime strategy: A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower. As would be expected, given the group preparing the report, the strategic importance of the world’s oceans was stressed. The report lists six key tasks, or strategic imperatives:
Limit regional conflict with forward deployed, decisive maritime power.
Deter major power war.
Win our Nation’s wars.
Contribute to homeland defense in depth.
Foster and sustain cooperative relationships with more international partners.
Prevent or contain local disruptions before they impact the global system. Continue reading →
On 18DEC07, Lockheed Martin gave a demonstration of the F-35B, Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), to the U.S. Marine Corps. The F-35B uses short-takeoff/vertical-landing (STOVL) to allow it to launch from either a short runway or to launch vertically. The F-35B will replace the AV-8B Harrier. Lockheed Martin is scheduled to make its first delivery of F-35Bs to the Marine Corps in 2012. That is if Lockheed does not experience further redesigns, as it was forced to do three years ago.
In a previous post, it was discovered that the propeller of an U.S. Ohio-Class ballistic-missile submarine was viable on Microsoft’s Live Search.
Now the Russians are having a problem with submarine details being released on the web. According to a post at zerohostel, the commander of a submarine met with local city officials and revealed the project number, technical, and tactical characteristics of his boat. The data then appeared on the city’s website. This was later removed.
The speculation is that this new submarine is either a combination-diesel- atomic submarine or that it is equipped with a new type of nuclear reactor. See Javno for details.
Details of new Russian top-secret submarine revealed on city website.
The Internet, can’t live with it, can’t live without it.
The views expressed on this blog are offered in the contributors' personal capacity. They do not purport to be speaking for, and their views should not be imputed to, any other organization, agency, or entity.