Mil News USA, Canada & Caribbean Nations Military News & Discussion Thread

[BravoZulu]

USA:
Lockheed Martin won a $15 billion deal for C-130J development, integration, retrofit and production activities for all C-130J variants.

The contract provides flexibility to accommodate the broad enterprise of activities associated with the C-130J program. The C-130J can carry tons of supplies more than 3,000 miles, according to the company, and can operate with only two pilots and a loadmaster for most missions.

Military operations the aircraft is suited for include weather reconnaissance, electronic warfare, medical evacuation, search and rescue, paradrop, maritime mission, special operations, personnel support, as well as both in-flight and ground fueling. Work will take place in Marietta, Georgia and is expected to be finished on July 16, 2030.

 

[BravoZulu]

USA:
Gen. Mike Holmes, Air Combat Command commander and Lt. Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) commander declared Full Operating Capability for Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) during a virtual ceremony held at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland

The declaration of FOC signifies that the Air Force’s Information Warfare organization met a rigorous set of criteria, including an approved concept of operations and demonstrated performance of mission under stress in simulated and real-world conditions.

“Today’s declaration of FOC demonstrates the Air Force’s trust and confidence in the Airmen of Sixteenth Air Force to deliver information warfare outcomes for the nation,” Haugh said.

In nine months and three days, the Airmen of the Sixteenth Air Force proved they are able to fully employ and maintain readiness to meet operational requirements. This is a testament to the commitment of every Airman who ensures the IW force is ready to defend the nation.

Haugh highlighted the IW Numbered Air Force’s readiness through the approach of convergence in response to our adversaries.

“We have adopted an approach of convergence that enables a clear focus on these hard problems,” Haugh said. “Convergence takes a global viewpoint and uses access to data across each functional area to generate insights and ... integrates IW capabilities to produce timely effects in the information environment.”

As the Sixteenth Air Force looks towards the future, it will realize convergence by leveraging the inherent strengths of all the Sixteenth Air Force units.

https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Dis...ing-capability-for-sixteenth-air-force-air-f/

 

[muck]

On July 20, a friendly fire incident between two U.S. Army M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks at Fort Bliss left one soldier wounded. A 120 mm training shell reportedly hit another tank during a moving gunnery exercise at a distance of about 2600 metres. Moderately graphic images released by defence-blog.com show considerable impact damage to the loaders' hatch, sights and adjacent turret area. (Source, English)

A speedy recovery to the wounded trooper. Looks like he took a full blast of shrapnel to the head and neck. A grim reminder that the kinetic energy of a training round is enough to cause injury or death. Had those poor sods been riding in something less armoured – say an MRAP – they'd been toast.

 

[TheKiwi]

A hit on a moving target at 2600 meters says good things about the gunnery skills - less so about the judgement involved.

 

[BravoZulu]

A hit on a moving target at 2600 meters says good things about the gunnery skills - less so about the judgement involved.

Especially when it was the platoon leader than fired on his own number 3 tank

 

[Mike1976]

Blue Force Tracking is for amateurs

 

[BravoZulu]

Polaris Defense Deployable Advanced Ground Off-road (DAGOR) with R400S Mk 2 D

 

[Mike1976]

Polaris Defense Deployable Advanced Ground Off-road (DAGOR) with R400S Mk 2 D

Autocannon + ATGM in an open vehicle = concussion to the max ...

 

[BravoZulu]

Autocannon + ATGM in an open vehicle = concussion to the max ...

Plus an added 1,000 pounds above the roofline

 

[muck]

A USMC Amtrac has sunk off the coast of California, killing at least one inhabitant and leaving at least one other fighting for their life. 8 marines are still missing and are likely beyond rescue, the amphibious vehicle having sunk hundreds of feet to the bottom of the ocean. (Source, English)

Damn. Terrible way to go. ?

 

[BravoZulu]

The US Air Force may replace its 218 F-15Es with F-15EXs, which could expand the new program to over 400 aircraft, according to service documents justifying the sole-source contract to Boeing.

In its F-15EX Justification and Approval (J&A) document, which was dated March 2018 but only published this month, the flying branch said while the F-15EX acquisition program is “initially” intended to refresh the aging F-15C/D, a decision to similarly replace the F-15E Strike Eagle fleet with the EX “has not been made, but remains an option.”

The documents also disclosed that Boeing will most likely build 144 F-15EX fighters to replace the 234 F-15C/Ds that are currently in USAF service. It also quoted the F-15 system program office as saying the EX will enjoy “90-95 percent commonality” with the F-15QA that Qatar has ordered. Deliveries of the F-15QA will commence soon.

It further justified the purchase by stating that it takes approximately “six months or less to transition from the F-15C/D to the F-15EX.” And transitioning from “F-15s to the F-35 (or any other airframe) will take approximately 18 months for an Active-duty squadron and 36 months for an Air National Guard squadron.”

 

[BravoZulu]

via National Interest.

The Army continues to analyse options for basing new long-range precision weapons in the Indo-Pacific region, to be used by one of its new multi-domain task forces, the service's top officer said July 31.

The Indo-Pacfic continues to grow in strategic importance for Pentagon planners as great power competitor China modernizes its military and takes a more aggressive posture toward its neighbours and deployed U.S. forces.

The Army's multi-domain operating concept envisions the service employing advanced capabilities — such as hypersonics, anti-ship missiles, anti-aircraft systems and cyber weapons — to aid the other services in countering near-peer adversaries. The multi-domain task force pilot program was assigned under the Army’s Pacific Command in 2017. The Army is using information from the program to establish additional task forces.

“We're standing up a new organisation, it’s called multi-domain task forces that provide the ability to do long-range precision effects," said Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville.
Long-range precision fires is the No. 1 modernisation priority for the Army. The capabilities will boost deterrence in the region, McConville said.

 

[BravoZulu]

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Officials with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), identified on Aug. 2 the one Marine who was killed and seven Marines and one Sailor who are presumed dead after an amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) mishap July 30.

Lance Cpl. Guillermo S. Perez, 20, of New Braunfels, Texas, was pronounced dead at the scene before being transported by helicopter to Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego. He was a rifleman with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 1/4, 15th MEU.

Presumed dead are:

Pfc. Bryan J. Baltierra, 19, of Corona, California, a rifleman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU.

Lance Cpl. Marco A. Barranco, 21, of Montebello, California, a rifleman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU.

Pfc. Evan A. Bath, 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a rifleman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU.

U.S. Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California, a hospital corpsman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU.

Pfc. Jack Ryan Ostrovsky, 21, of Bend, Oregon, a rifleman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU.

Cpl. Wesley A. Rodd, 23, of Harris, Texas, a rifleman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU.

Lance Cpl. Chase D. Sweetwood, 19, of Portland, Oregon, a rifleman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU.

Cpl. Cesar A. Villanueva, 21, of Riverside, California, a rifleman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU.

Injured were:

A Marine rifleman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU. The Marine was transported from the scene to Scripps Memorial Hospital by helicopter and was in critical condition.

A Marine assault amphibious vehicle crewmember with Mechanized Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU. The Marine was transported from the scene to Scripps Memorial Hospital by helicopter and was in critical condition. He has since been upgraded to stable condition per a competent medical authority.

In total, 16 personnel were aboard the AAV when on July 30 around 5:45 p.m. they reported taking on water while conducting shore-to-ship waterborne operations training in the vicinity of San Clemente Island off the coast of Southern California. Five Marines were rescued and brought aboard USS Somerset.

The incident is under investigation.

Photos of the deceased are not immediately available.
Imagery of the search and rescue efforts, as well as the current recovery efforts, are available at https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/15thmeurecovery.

 

[BravoZulu]

Officials with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), and the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) positively identified on Aug. 3 the location of the amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) that sunk off the coast of San Clemente Island on July 30.

The U.S. Navy’s Undersea Rescue Command confirmed that human remains have also been identified using their underwater remotely-operated video systems from the merchant vessel HOS Dominator, a ship specializing in undersea search and rescue.

The Navy has expedited the movement of assets to recover the remains of the Marines and Sailor, as well as raise the AAV. The equipment to properly and safely perform the recovery from the sea floor will be in place at the end of this week, and a dignified transfer of our Marines and Sailor will occur as soon as possible after the conclusion of recovery operations.

The AAV sunk to a depth of approximately 385 feet after taking on water during a shore-to-ship maneuver approximately 1,500 meters off the coast of San Clemente Island. One Marine was pronounced dead at the scene, and seven missing Marines and one Sailor were subsequently presumed dead Aug. 2 as search and rescue efforts ceased.
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/37527...WUPubtznFazg0AmlRbmLQKm2VQBhsD25EQ5uxX8g4l4Hk

 

[BravoZulu]

via Janes.

The US Marine Corps (USMC) has retired 200 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, M88 armoured recovery vehicles, and armoured vehicle launched bridges, and is planning to transfer them over to the army.

Over the past few weeks, the USMC has been standing down various ground vehicles as part of Commandant General David Berger’s Force Design 2030 plan. On 6 July, for example, the service announced that the last tank assigned to 1st Tank Battalion had departed the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, California.

The service is now consolidating the vehicles at a logistics base in Barstow, California, and recently announced that its Railhead Operations Group staff is now verifying that everything is in order before sending the vehicles on to army depots in Herlong, California, and Aniston, Alabama.

“We have Marines from several units here to assist with the offload, on load, and securement of the equipment,” Chad Hildebrandt, the railway operations supervisor for the logistics base, said in a 30 July announcement. The loaded cars will be stored on base until we have all tanks loaded and secured, then they will all ship out to the army at the same time”.

Earlier this year, Gen Berger unveiled his vision for how his service should be manned and operating by 2030 to compete with China and Russia. One of his ultimate goals is to design a smaller force that is more nimble to support naval expeditionary warfare operations, and to achieve this the service is funneling dollars away from legacy systems and towards modernised ones.

 

[BravoZulu]

USA:
The Defense Department expects to stand up its first battalion of Stryker vehicles outfitted with high-powered laser weapons by sometime next year, Army officials say.

“Expect to have the first battalion fielded in 2021 with four battalions by 2023,” U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command chief Lt. Gen. Dan Karbler told the audience at the virtual Space Missile Defense symposium on Tuesday

The so-called "laser battalion," as Defense One described it, would eventually deploy the new 50 kw Directed Energy-Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (DE-MSHORAD) Stryker that the Army is working to field by 2022, a ten-fold power increase over the 5 kw-class system that artillery soldiers have been testing in Germany since early 2018.
Defense contractors Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are currently competing to manufacture the new laser system, with plans for a "shoot off" between the two prototypes at Fort Sill in Oklahoma sometime in May 2021, according to Breaking Defense.

A platoon of four laser Strykers prototypes will end up in the hands of an actual combat unit sometime in 2022, according to Breaking Defense, with the laser system integrated into the vehicles' existing hardware as soon as this December.

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https://taskandpurpose.com/military-tech/army-stryker-laser-battallion-fielding

 

[BravoZulu]

Officials with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), and the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) positively identified on Aug. 3 the location of the amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) that sunk off the coast of San Clemente Island on July 30.

The U.S. Navy’s Undersea Rescue Command confirmed that human remains have also been identified using their underwater remotely-operated video systems from the merchant vessel HOS Dominator, a ship specializing in undersea search and rescue.

The Navy has expedited the movement of assets to recover the remains of the Marines and Sailor, as well as raise the AAV. The equipment to properly and safely perform the recovery from the sea floor will be in place at the end of this week, and a dignified transfer of our Marines and Sailor will occur as soon as possible after the conclusion of recovery operations.

The AAV sunk to a depth of approximately 385 feet after taking on water during a shore-to-ship maneuver approximately 1,500 meters off the coast of San Clemente Island. One Marine was pronounced dead at the scene, and seven missing Marines and one Sailor were subsequently presumed dead Aug. 2 as search and rescue efforts ceased.
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/37527...WUPubtznFazg0AmlRbmLQKm2VQBhsD25EQ5uxX8g4l4Hk

via DVIDS

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – The remains of seven Marines and a Sailor were successfully recovered Aug. 7, 2020, after underwater salvage operations following the July 30 mishap involving an amphibious assault vehicle off the coast of San Clemente Island.

The recovered Marines and Sailor will soon be transferred to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, for preparation by mortuary affairs teams for burial. Marine and Navy pallbearers will place the remains aboard an aircraft bound for Dover AFB in a solemn transfer. From Dover AFB, their remains will then be released to their families in accordance with their wishes.
The transfer of remains will not be open to the public, and we ask that the privacy of the families be respected as they make final arrangements for their loved ones.

“Our hearts and thoughts of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit are with the families of our recovered Marines and Sailor,” said Col. Christopher Bronzi, commanding officer of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. “We hope the successful recovery of our fallen warriors brings some measure of comfort.”

The U.S. Navy has led the underwater search and salvage efforts. Specialized equipment on a diving and salvage ship to recover the remains and AAV arrived Aug. 6 to relieve the crew of HOS Dominator, who stayed in position after locating the site.

Lance Cpl. Guillermo S. Perez, 19, of New Braunfels, Texas, also died in the AAV mishap and was pronounced dead at the scene July 30. His remains were transferred Aug. 5 to Dover AFB.

The sunken AAV has been successfully recovered. The cause of the July 30 incident is under investigation.

 

[BravoZulu]

The USMC Postmortem...a series of essays
The Brute Krulak Center calls it "The USMC Postmortem" and its a sobering read.

https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/USMCPostMortem.pdf

 

[BravoZulu]

USN:
One of the Navy’s biggest shipbuilders could get back to work now that a labor union representing 4,300 workers at Maine’s Bath Iron Works has struck a tentative deal to end a six-week strike.

The walkout slowed work being done on seven new destroyers, pushing ships already six months behind schedule further to the right.

The announcement that representatives from General Dynamics/Bath Iron Works and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local S6 reached a tentative agreement on a deal was made over the weekend.

The partial shutdown of the production line came at a heady time for the Pentagon’s industrial and supplier base that is reeling from the effects of the COVID pandemic, as factories and small manufacturers close or operate with skeleton staffs to that encourage social distancing stem the tide of the virus.

A new Pentagon memo estimates that between March 15 and June 15, defense contractors are expected to experience $11 billion in cost increases due to supply chain issues, with the Navy taking the brunt of it. The document, which asks Congress to fund the services for unforeseen expenses, lists $4.7 billion for the Navy, $4.3 billion for the Air Force; $1.1 billion for the Army; $594 million for the Missile Defense Agency; and $190 million for the Special Operations Command.

Worryingly for the Navy, the Pentagon expressed concern that “at least one of the big seven shipyards may shut down” in the near future, but it’s unclear from the memo which one may be in danger, or why.

On the Air Force side, there are “major program delays” likely on the F-35 program, along with the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, Long Range Standoff Weapon, and KC-46 tanker as slowdowns and shutdowns continue. Likewise, production of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile are being slowed due to short staffing.

While Bath has been hit by COVID-related delays, its problems run deeper, and stem from a wave of worker retirements over the past two years that the company hasn’t been able to find workers to replace. Parent company General Dynamics has pumped money into the shipyard in recent years to reverse the tide, spending $13 million to train 1,500 unionized workers at the shipyard in 2019.

“We worked hand-in-hand with the union negotiating committee to ensure that we addressed the concerns of our valued employees,” Dirk Lesko, the president of BIW, said in a statement. “We are hopeful they will return to work soon so we can get on with our important mission of building ships for the U.S. Navy.”

An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer under construction at Bath Iron Works.

 

[Chazman]

The USMC Postmortem...a series of essays
The Brute Krulak Center calls it "The USMC Postmortem" and its a sobering read.

https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/USMCPostMortem.pdf

I read the first few essays last night. Depressing. But I guess they were meant to be.