Raw Intel

An F-35 Lightning II maneuvers overhead during its first flight at Eglin Air Force Base, April 23, 2009. The jet is a fifth generation, single engine, stealth capable strike fighter and can perform close air support, tactical bombing and air defense missions. If you've been paying attention to the battle for US air dominance, you might be, like me, a little wary of the comparisons and the rhetoric. Since there are numbers flying all over the place with regards to cost (mostly from PR firms), I thought we ought to take a look at what the REAL cost of an F-35 is...and we'll look at it in the same terms that the DoD/USAF use to evaluate the bids. First, we need to ta…

Not really wading into the debate on the 2nd Amendment (let's keep it), but going after some of the morons who think they have the moral authority and bright ideas to change it/eliminate it. Take this supposedly retired LTC, Bob Bateman, writing in Esquire about how true gun control might be brought about... For starters, this retired LTC living in England is embarrassed by our country when among the Brits. There's plenty to be embarrassed about - first, I'd start apologizing to Her Majesty for Bruno Mars, the POTUS, and what we did with plaid in the 70s. But they owe us because that bumbling idiot, Piers Morgan, lives here. Anyway, I digress...you should read the Esquire…

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A few thoughts on the revolutions, and how to respond. Responses are meant to be effective without opening a new ground war, which is a condition that has to be avoided for obvious reasons. Bahrain: This one of the three is the most significant in terms of US power projection because of the 5th Fleet; it is also the one that will require the lightest touch, because we have long been aligned with the monarchy. The military's -- without even a warning shot -- is a quality we should not want in an ally. The Constitutional Monarchy being demanded is a reasonable step; we should publically condemn the shootings of protestors, and begin to push for negotiations betwee…

The transnational police agency Interpol has done tremendous work making sure that criminals cannot simply escape justice by moving out of one country's jurisdiction. But if the following is true, they may have become just another group afraid to cross the Islamists. Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old columnist, stands accused of blasphemy in his homeland of Saudi Arabia for tweets he posted on Islam’s prophet Mohammed that many of his countrymen find insulting to Islam. In his postings on the occasion of Mohammed’s birthday last week, Kashgari imagined a skeptical discussion with the founder of Islam. Many Saudis are enraged, demanding that he be arrested and pu…

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, attend a ceremony at the Pentagon, Feb. 10, 2012. Mabus announced the naming of the U.S. Navy's newest next variant littoral combat ship, USS Gabrielle Giffords, at the ceremony. Giffords was critically wounded in 2011 by a gunman in Tucson, Ariz. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley --------------------------------------------------------------------- While I'm glad that Congresswoman Giffords is doing better than expected, I'm not sure why the Navy would name a ship after her. She seems like a great l…

Today was the official casing of the colors for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. An awful lot of military folks have moved through there over the years and have received some of the best medical care in the world. There may have been some glitches, but all in all it was a safe haven for our wounded and sick. There was quite a going away party today and I attended w/ my girlfriend who is in the Wounded Warrior program there. The Golden Knights jumped in and started things off which is always fun. My girl went to introduce me to a double amputee skydiver who used to be a member of the Knights and actually returned to the team after losing both legs at the knee. F…

There has been a lot of talk about weapons carry status for our troops in Afghanistan and whether they are being told to carry in amber status i.e. no round in the chamber. I asked ISAF HQ and got the following response. Jim, Headquarters ISAF, the ISAF Joint Command and the Regional Commands have not issued guidance to units instructing them to conduct patrols without rounds chambered. Force protection levels are dictated by the local threats and determined by commanders at the lowest possible tactical level, so without knowing the specific unit from which this report came I can't verify with absolute certainty that verbal or written guidance has not been issue…

SSG Sal Giunta was awarded the Medal of Honor today. It has been since Vietnam that the medal has gone to a living recipient, and Sal Giunta was a perfect choice. He has been nothing but humble and self-effacing, pointing out that he was just one of many brave paratroopers that day. He is absolutely correct, but he is the one who charged the enemy and stopped them from capturing one of his compatriots. There was a reception held by the Bravo Bulls who represent the same company (Bravo/Battle) of the 2nd of the 503rd, 173rd Airborne since the Second World War. This unit has always been called on when we need to break glass in case of war and has always delivered. SSG Giu…

The latest lament of the lames in the Lamestream Media is that somehow, upon further inspection, Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan doesn't have enough Private Sector experience for the job of Vice President. For one thing, Ryan has no significant private-sector experience. Besides summer jobs working at McDonald’s or at his family’s construction company, or waiting tables as a young Washington staffer, Ryan has none of the business-world experience Romney frequently touts as essential for governing. The New Yorker, and specifically, Ryan Lizza, might want to take a moment to let the irony of saying something as galactically ridiculous as that sink in. I …

In this age of austerity I am an unrepentant and unapologetic supporter of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Let's get a few things straight about what that means. It means I think this jet and the program are absolutely critical to our national defense and our continued air dominance. It means we made a very bad mistake cancelling the F-22 program after 182 aircraft (to replace 700-800 aging air superiority fighters) and the JSF is the last and greatest hope for bridging that self-inflicted 5th generation fighter gap and retaining our technological and tactical air edge. Perhaps what it doesn’t mean is important as well. My support requires a well thought out a…

Just in case there was any doubt that head wanker Julian Assange was a self-promoting, narcissistic jackwagon, he is catching shite from people who should be allies. First a bunch of human rights groups said, "Hey dumbass, what part of stop getting civilians killed don't you understand?". Now he gets a letter from the head of Reporters without Borders calling him out for acting like a first rate bandito of ass. Dear Mr. Assange, Reporters Without Borders, an international press freedom organisation, regrets the incredible irresponsibility you showed when posting your article “Afghan War Diary 2004 - 2010†on the Wikileaks website on 25 July together with 92…

Following is an address delivered by Claude Berube, PhD in which he was asked to address the issue of readiness for war at the Annual Congress of the Naval Order of the United States. I asked him to make it available here. Claude, over to you! Thank you, John, for your kind introduction and to my fellow companions of the Naval Order of the United States for having invited me to speak at this annual congress. The views I express today are my own and not those of the Navy or any other organization with which I am affiliated. When John Shanahan and others invited to address you, they asked me to talk about the navy of yesterday and of today with regard to readiness and discu…

General Sir Patrick Sanders, GBR A, Chief of the General Staff (GBR), made a statement, in part, this week that at first I thought was a bit of an exaggeration; "This is our 1937 moment," the army chief said, referring to the crucial period leading up to World War Two. "We are not at war - but must act rapidly so that we aren't drawn into one through a failure to contain territorial expansion… I will do everything in my power to ensure that the British Army plays its part in averting war." The challenge means the army must modernise, embracing new technologies such as cyber warfare and long-range missiles, but also retain traditional soldiering skills. General Sanders s…

LT B .... gird your loins. View the full article

Sigh. Her sporty older sister is in the background too. I still think we made a huge mistake not going with the F-14D new production. Range, range, range; payload, payload, payload. H/T B. View the full article

If you are a regular in the chat room during the live airing of Midrats or EagleOne's homeblog - then you know who Saturn 5 is. He even visits here now and then. Though most may not know it - he is also one of the few regular commenters from Turkey in the Navy milblogosphere. After my post earlier this week - I asked if he wanted to offer up a guest post here on the topic of Turkey today, Kemalism, and where things are headed - from the Turkish perspective. BZ to S5 - he dove right in with a quick response. Thanks S5! The rest of this post is from Saturn5.While the dust cloud around Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla last week is settling down, informed minds…

Ummmm ... errrr .... DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Boston Dynamics, Inc., Waltham, Mass., is being awarded a $10,882,438 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The contractor will develop and build a set of identical humanoid robot systems for use by performers in both phases of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Robotics Challenge Program. This effort will develop robotic platforms consisting of two legs, a torso, on board computing, two arms with hands, and a sensor head. The robots to be delivered to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will be distributed to the top software development teams based on the results of th…

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A very neat poster. Very neat. (click for larger) Where is one for the surface forces? View the full article