Monthly Archives: September 2018

Distributed lethality & Naval Strategy 2025: More aircraft, more missiles, more platforms, less money

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A lot of people worry that there could be a great power naval war sometime in the next generation. As such, the “fleet you have,” which last fought a live-fire fleet engagement with a near-peer opponent in 1944, may not be the “fleet you want” but some easy fixes could help.

Marine Col. Thomas X. Hammes (Ret), now a PhD and heavy hitter on the military of the future, has an interesting take over at Task & Purpose on how to bring a lot of missiles and airframes to the naval engagement of the near-future: pick up gently used container ships for peanuts and convert them into haulers for combat-capable UAV’s and containerized missile systems. It’s a lot cheaper than risking a traditional CVBG or repackaging an LHD to use F-35s. Such a vessel could be fielded with a much smaller crew than a big-deck CVN.

As pointed out by Hammes: “a carrier and air wing alone cost $20 billion and 5,000 Americans live aboard. This is an enormous investment of eggs is a possibly fragile basket,” and that “Suggesting the use of amphibious big decks is not a different way – it’s just a very similar but much less capable basket.”

The alternative:

Thinking differently, we could envision any container ship – from inter-coastal to ocean-going as a potential aircraft carrier. It could carry from a couple dozen to thousands of cruise missiles as well as hundreds of autonomous drones ranging from short to long range and both reusable and expendable. And, of course, the containers could also be land based — with nearly unlimited basing and hide sites.

More here.

USS Sicily (CVE-118) at New York City, September 1947. Courtesy of The Marines Museum, Newport News, Va. Ted Stone Collection. Catalog #: NH 66791. Escort carriers were commercial hulls converted to flattops in WWII and proved remarkably effective. Today’s version, fitted with combat UAVs and containerized missiles could be as well

Also for your consideration is LCDR Daniel Wiltshire, USCG, and his take in the latest Proceedings that the Navy should man up and put anti-ship missiles on the new Offshore Patrol Cutters and National Security Cutters, some 35~ frigate-sized warships without frigate-equivalent weapons. A large part of his case is, since the Coast Guard often gets sent into harm’s way with the Navy, it should be able to keep its promise of being war-like.

Some will argue that cutters are not optimized for high-intensity combat. While it is true that the NSC and OPC were not designed for high-intensity combat, the distinction between high and low intensity becomes meaningless during a great power conflict. It is a distinction predicated on the luxury of being able to choose when, where, and with whom to fight and which ships are deployed to do the fighting. Great power conflict at sea affords no such luxury and typically entails a whole-of-fleet approach.

More here

USCGC Mellon fires a Harpoon missile back in the Cold War. It used to be a thing. It can be a thing once again

Happy Fall, now get shooting

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I, for one, am ready for it to cool down a bit. Being in the South, with the exceptions of traveling to other parts of the country during the summer that isn’t so steamy and taking advantage of their local weather to get rounds in, I like to keep my range time in the sticky months to professional outings to perform T&E and maintain muscle memory.

However, as soon as it starts getting cooler– hello Fall!– I ramp up my MW&R time on the range and actually enjoy what I am doing sans the 100-degree temps and 99-percent humidity.

The above is a sample of a big box of rounds that I just got from Ammo-to-Go to spend some quality time with these classics for an upcoming series of articles and they are on point with the selection.

For the circa-1920 M1914 Pocket Mauser in 7.65mm Browning:

S&B 73 grain FMJ.

For the circa-1960s FN Browning 1910/22:

PMC 90 grain FMJ

For the circa-1943 FN Browning Pistole 640 Hi-Power

Lots of Winchester White Box 124 grain FMJ

For continuing past the 2,500-round mark on my ongoing G19X and S&W M&P M.20 Compact tests, I also got a bunch of  Winchester NATO 124 Grain FMJ (this is loaded slightly hotter than standard, roughly +P), Speer Gold Dot 124 Grain +P and  Federal HST 147 Grain JHP

Plus, I plan on breaking out the gel on Federal’s new HST loads as well in .380 Federal HST 99 Grain JHP with an LCP etc.

How to paint Tiger tanks, correctly

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The Tank Museum at Bovington had a couple of rare German WWII tanks– an early pre-production Tiger and a Jagdtiger– that need to be repainted from their incorrect schemes to a more appropriate Wehrmacht camouflage RAL color. Curator David Willey breaks it down in a very scholarly way, above.

I do like an old Rossi

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Stick your nose up all you want. I find the classic old Smith & Wesson cloned Rossi wheelguns imported by Interarms in the 1970s-90 to be decent shooters and I have had a few cycle through my collection over the years with nary a problem from them. They are beefy, reliable, and are “point and shoot.” Decent fit & finish, trigger feels pretty good. Not quite up to S&W quality from the same era, and not quite as pretty, but close enough.

Two of the herd from the current collection: an M685 2-inch snub in .38SPL with walnut grips and a full-lug stainless M720 in .44 Special with a 3-inch barrel. They are like boat anchors but I really dig ’em. The M720 has been a hog hunting companion in days past along the Pearl River.

What’s not to love? Interarms imported these old Rossi’s from 1978-97, and both of these are from about the middle of that period

With that being said, since the late 1990s, Rossi’s revolvers have been made under contract by Taurus, and the long run recently came to an end. Rossi does not have any handguns currently listed in their 2018 catalog but does list the more recently-made BrazTech-marked revolvers as having a lifetime repair policy.

And, more importantly, BrazTech-Rossi last week issued what they term to be a “voluntary safety warning” for their newer .38 Special and .357 Magnum-caliber revolvers that may, under certain circumstances, fire if dropped.

The warning involves guns made between 2005 and 2017 and covers models R351, R352, R461, R462, R851, R971, and R972 with serial numbers beginning with the letter Y, Z, or A through K.

These are the style of the newer guns. Note the distinctive grips, BrazTech markings and big ROSSI on the barrel.

Those with a revolver that may be part of the safety warning should stop using the gun and go to www.RossiSafetyNotice.com where they can verify their serial number and find further instructions. Alternatively, consumers can call (855) 982-8787 for assistance.

Pascagoula periscopes

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As a Pascagoula kid, I spent a lot of time looking at boats and ships growing up as they made their way through Ingalls. I remember the Spru-cans and their Ticonderoga half-sisters cranking through the yard alongside every LHA and LHD ever made as well as a share of LPHs/LSDs/LPDs and LSTs.

I saw two of the four Iowa-class battleships towed in past “The Point” alongside Singing River Island from mothballs and then sail back out again on their own power in the 1980s. Then in my 20s, I worked in the yard on DDG-51s.

And I also remember the submarine races as a kid.

Unofficial trials of course. It became something of town lore. There were even t-shirts made showing two periscopes running neck and neck. The real thing was more sedate, I’m sure.

Here we see USS Puffer (SSN-652), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, underway at Pascagoula, Mississippi, 15 July 1969.

Importantly for her class, Puffer was the first built with Raytheon Harmonic Power Conditioners, which used harmonic conditioning to get rid of an electrical bus noise problem that plagued the Sturgeons. NARA Catalog # USN 1140314

The Sturgeons were important, bridging the early 1950s often one-off SSN classes with the more modern Los Angeles (SSN-688) boats. As such, they were a redesign of the Thresher/Permit class using lessons learned from the loss of Thresher. Also, since there was so much sub building going on back then, it wasn’t just a Newport News/Electric Boat world when it came to submarines, a lot of Naval shipyards and, yes, even Ingalls, got in on the action.

The first of the Goula boats was the Barbel-class diesel sub USS Blueback (SS-581), awarded in 1956.

May 16, 1959, Barbel-class diesel submarine USS Blueback (SS-581) launched in Pascagoula. That dock is now a great place to get big dinner-plate sized flounder

In the 13 years between 1961, when USS Tautog (SSN-639) was ordered and 1974 when the famous Cold Warrior USS Parche (SSN-683) was commissioned, Ingalls produced seven Sturgeons on their East Bank facility. They also went on to refuel/refit a dozen subs throughout the 1970s. USS Sunfish (SSN-649) sailed out of Pascagoula in October 1980, the last sub ever to grace the yard.

Today, all of the Sturgeons are scrap metal and sealed reactors, although a number of fairwater planes (including Puffer‘s) have been preserved in parks.

Speaking of preserved, the pace car of the Pascagoula Submarine Races, Blueback, is a floating museum at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland of all places, after 31 years of active duty and tons of film and TV appearances.

The ACOG leash…

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Army’s PS Magazine put out the correct way to retain a CCO.

“No more disappearing sights,” the Army on CCO leashes via infotoon from last year:

“Too many times we are seeing Soldiers use lacing wire or 550 cord incorrectly causing damage to the weapon and optic. Note, if you are still using 550 cord make sure that it is not wrapped around the gas tube under the handrail, the cord can melt due to high heat,” says PSM.

Is that a Thompson M4?

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This great picture popped up on MilMag, a Polish firearm magazine, showing a group of U.S. Army Soldiers milling about, digging the heat somewhere sand-colored.

On a closer look, one, a Spc. Lord, has what looks like a dead ringer for a Thompson M1921/28 submachine gun foregrip affixed to his M4 handguard, like a baller.

Now, THIS is a field mod I can get behind.

Some reverse image searching (thanks for not listing anything about the photo, Mil Mag!) found that the group was from the Tomahawks of the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th SBCT, 2ID as they were operating in in Takhteh Pol district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. The photo was taken 05.02.2013 by Staff Sgt. Shane Hamann with the 102nd Public Affairs Det.

In search of more images of Spc. Lord’s epic Tommy gun M4, it was no joy. A follow-up image by Hamann took three weeks later showing the specialist involved in personnel searches at a traffic control point in Panjwai district, shows him with a more traditional forward grip.

Sigh. I bet it was magnificent while it lasted.

Army adds an armored brigade

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Looks like Big Green wants more M1s on active duty. Hmm, armored warfare. So 1980s Fulda Gap…

DoD’s presser:

Today the U.S. Army announced that the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division (1/1 AD) stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, will convert from a Stryker brigade combat team (SBCT) to an armored brigade combat team (ABCT); and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division (2/4 ID) stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, will convert from an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) to an SBCT.

“Converting a brigade combat team from infantry to armor ensures the Army remains the world’s most lethal ground combat force, able to deploy, fight, and win against any adversary, anytime and anywhere,” Secretary of the Army Mark T. Esper said.

This conversion contributes to Army efforts to build a more lethal force and is an investment to increase overmatch against our potential adversaries — one more critical step to achieving the Army Vision. This effort also postures the Army to better meet combatant commander requirements under the 2018 National Defense Strategy.

“The Army leadership determined that we needed to covert two brigade combat teams to armor and Stryker in order to deter our near-peer adversaries or defeat them if required,” said Maj. Gen. Brian J. Mennes, director of force management.

Conversion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, will begin in the spring of 2019 and spring of 2020 respectively.

This will provide the nation a 16th ABCT bringing the total number BCTs in the Regular Army (RA) and Army National Guard (ARNG) to 58. There will be a total of 31 BCTs in the RA, to include 11 ABCTs, 13 IBCTs and seven SBCTs. The ARNG will have a total of 27 BCTs, to include five ABCTs, 20 IBCTs and two SBCTs, ensuring a more balanced distribution between its light and heavy fighting forces.

A big stick in Portsmouth harbor once more, 32 years ago today

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20 September 1986: US Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) enters Portsmouth Naval Base, note HMS Victory, and several 372-foot long Royal Navy Leander-class frigates in the background for size comparison.

Absent any of HM’s battleships since HMS Vanguard (23) was scrapped in 1960, Portsmouth had gone a quarter-century without seeing a dreadnought of any class before Iowa‘s appearance. In the interval, all of the Iowas had been laid up (save for New Jersey‘s short 20-month reactivation for Vietnam), with the class leader only recommissioned 28 April 1984.

And the LCS just keep coming

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Lockheed-Martin’s Freedom-class LCS 11, the future USS Sioux City, will be the first combat ship ever commissioned at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. She was delivered to the Navy last month. (Photo: Lockheed-Martin)

From DOD:

Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a fixed-price-incentive firm target modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-18-C-2300) for construction of one littoral combat ship (LCS). The Navy may release a competitive solicitation(s) for additional LCS class ships in fiscal 2019, and therefore the specific contract award amount for this ship is considered source selection sensitive information (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104) and will not be made public at this time. Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin (40 percent); Washington, District of Columbia (7 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (6 percent); Beloit, Wisconsin (2 percent); Iron Mountain, Michigan (2 percent); Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1 percent); Waunakee, Wisconsin (1 percent); Crozet, Virginia (1 percent); Coleman, Wisconsin (1 percent); Monrovia, California (1 percent); and various other locations of less than one percent each (totaling 38 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2024. Fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract modification was awarded via a limited competition between Austal USA and Lockheed Martin pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(3) and FAR 6.302-3. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a fixed-price-incentive firm target modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-17 C-2301) for the construction of two littoral combat ships (LCS). The Navy may release a competitive solicitation(s) for additional LCS class ships in fiscal year 2019, and therefore the specific contract award amount for these ships is considered source selection sensitive information (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104) and will not be made public at this time. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama (61 percent); Pittsfield, Massachusetts (20 percent); Cincinnati, Ohio (4 percent); Kingsford, Michigan (1 percent); Bristol, Connecticut (1 percent); and various other locations of less than one percent each (totaling 13 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2024. Fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract modification was awarded via a limited competition between Austal USA and Lockheed Martin pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(3) and FAR 6.302-3. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

It should be noted that, while the Navy wanted to term the program at 32 vessels, Congress has directed that they take it to 35, but has zeroed out funds for the ship’s critical mission modules, basically the thing that is designed to make them actual ships and not just a low-budget loveboat.

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