My Father

I should have posted this on December 7th.

This photo of my father in Panama was taken on December 7th 1941.

He was an aviation instrument mechanic in in the Air Corp. He was stationed in the jungles above the Panama Canal when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. When they took this photo that day they had no idea what had happened in Hawaii.

--Is that an M1 Garand he is holding? Click the photo for a larger version.

Meet the Vulture

So Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is taking autonomous robots to the next level.

The Vulture is an Unmanned Ariel Vehicle that can go up and stay up for five years without refueling or landing. How long before it is a persistent weapons platform!!??

"Vulture technology enables a re-taskable, persistent pseudo-satellite capability, in an aircraft package. The technology combines the key benefits of an aircraft (flexibility & responsiveness, sensor resolution, reduced transmit/receive power, affordability) with the benefits of space assets (on-station persistence, no logistics tail, energy independence, fleet size, absence of in-country footprint)."

--There is no fate but what we make for ourselves...

Osama is Dead

A team of Navy Seals were in and out of the compound where he was living. They did not lose a man. Made it out with his body and later confirmed his identity with DNA. 

Out there somewhere is a soldier that should never have to buy his own drinks for the rest of his life.

When the news was announced, a flash mob rushed to the Whitehouse to celebrate the death of this evil man. Some people just need to get off our planet.

I hope there is no retaliation.

I also hope that we will be faster in the future with the whack-a-mole hunting. 


--Be careful out there folks.

Spring Break

It was Spring Break and time for my annual tourist wander around DC.

Today we went to the Iwo Jima memorial. I love this monument and surrounding park. In all the pictures you see of this monument you really don't get the scale of this thing. It's huge!

I love the detail in this sculpture. Even the firearms depicted are to scale and have excellent detail.

The M1 Carbines are beautifully rendered and are even part of the reason the action and movement is so well captured. Slung perfectly on the soldiers backs as they raise the flag.

 

 

The other side has a beautifully done M1 Garand. Even the K-Bar is perfect. If you are visiting DC make sure you get across the river to see the Iwo Jima Memorial. You'll be glad.


--And make sure, the next time you see a soldier in uniform, thank them for their service.

LASER Cannon!

Navy tests laser gun by blasting empty boat

By W.J. HENNIGAN

 

Navy LASER Cannon

LOS ANGELES-The U.S. Navy has fired a laser ray gun mounted on a warship, zapping - and setting fire to - an empty motorboat as it bobbed in the Pacific Ocean.

The test demonstration, off Southern California near San Nicolas Island, could be the beginning of a new era in Navy weaponry, officials said.

"This is very important to the Navy's future weapon systems," said Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, chief of the Office of Naval Research. "By turning energy into a weapon, we become more efficient."

The laser system, built by Northrop Grumman Corp., could someday be used against cruise missiles, enemy drones or even ballistic missiles, Carr said.

"In the distant future, I can envision a day when this technology is outfitted on cruisers and destroyers," he said.

Click here for the whole story.

--They neglected to mention Pirates. Toasty, toasty, Pirates...

"Our Son"? WTF?

I saw this today here and provide it without comment...

Gaddafi's letter to Obama in full

Here is the complete text of Gaddafi's letter to Barack Obama. His spelling and grammatical errors have been reproduced as originally written.

Our son, Excellency,
President Obama
U.S.A

We have been hurt more morally that physically because of what had happened against us in both deeds and words by you. Despite all this you will always remain our son whatever happened. We still pray that you continue to be president of the U.S.A. We Endeavour and hope that you will gain victory in the new election campaigne. You are a man who has enough courage to annul a wrong and mistaken action. I am sure that you are able to shoulder the responsibility for that.

Enough evidence is available, Bearing in mind that you are the president of the strongest power in the world nowadays, and since Nato is waging an unjust war against a small people of a developing country. This country had already been subjected to embargo and sanctions, furthermore it also suffered a direct military armed aggression during Reagan's time. This country is Libya.

Hence, to serving world peace ... Friendship between our peoples ... and for the sake of economic, and security cooperation against terror, you are in a position to keep Nato off the Libyan affair for good. As you know too well democracy and building of civil society cannot be achieved by means of missiles and aircraft, or by backing armed member of AlQuaeda in Benghazi.

You, yourself, said on many occasions, one of them in the UN General Assembly, I was witness to that personally, that America is not responsible for the security of other peoples. That America helps only. This is the right logic.

Our dear son, Excellency, Baraka Hussein Abu oumama, your intervention is the name of the U.S.A. is a must, so that Nato would withdraw finally from the Libyan affair. Libya should be left to Libyans within the African union frame.

The problem now stands as follows:-

1. There is Nato intervention politically as well as military.

2. Terror conducted by AlQaueda gangs that have been armed in some cities, and by force refused to allow people to go back to their normal life, and carry on with exercising their social people's power as usual.

Mu'aumer Qaddaffi
Leader of the Revolution
Tripoli 5.4.2011

--I believe if radical Islam is not brought into the light of the 21st centuary, piss ant wars like this will never end.

WANT: K-11

South Korean K-11

I have been looking for a combination rifle/shotgun rig that could kick ass and take names.

Requirements are as follows:

• Uses AR lower and mags.
• Same trigger can fire either via switch.
• 12 gauge upper.
• Mag fed 12 gauge.
• Picitinny top and bottom.

This is the solution to several other variations I have seen that position the shotgun below and in the front. This architecture solved several design issues. Do it right and it would not weigh a ton. The photo is of a new system designed in South Korea. Reviews of the thing are not good and even if they were, we would be hard pressed to get one here in the USA.

--This design has potential!  You want one. You know you do...

Operation "Odyssey Dawn"

The US is now in a shooting war with Libya.

Hundreds of Tomahawks have been launched at command and control sites within Lybia.

Say goodbye to another Trillion dollars in Tomahawk missiles. Say hello to $5 a gallon for gas...

--Three Front War.

The ’Punisher’ Smart Weapon

The new XM25 grenade launcher or, as many soldiers have affectionately nicknamed it, “The Punisher” is a big old can of whoop ass.

"No longer can the enemy shoot at American forces, then hide behind something,” said Brig. Gen. Peter Fuller of Program Executive Office Soldier.  “We’re going to reach out and touch you.”

“This is a revolutionary weapon. This is a game-changer,” he added.

The XM25 has a target acquisition system that calculates range with the push of a button. The data is transferred to an electronic fuse, enabling the 25mm round to explode over the target and rain shell fragments on the enemy.

All five prototypes were sent to Afghanistan in November. Officials are putting the final touches on data and analysis, but said Col. Douglas Tamilio, project manager for soldier weapons, said the weapons “performed flawlessly” and no maintenance issues showed.

Soldiers have been so pleased with the XM25 that they are carrying it as a primary weapon, and not bothering to bring an M4 as a secondary weapon, said Maj. Christopher Conley, who monitored the employment of XM25 on behalf of PEO Soldier.

Lehner said the tests revealed only one problem: The units didn’t want to give the Punisher back.

--I would love to try one of these babies!

Killer Robot Sentry

There are now more than 4,000 U.S. military robots on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. That number does not include thousands of unmanned aircraft that have clocked hundreds of thousands of flight hours.

The combat robots fitted with large-calibre machine guns deployed to Iraq for sentry duty, proved so successful that many more are on order. They have multiple eyes for 360 degree vision, night vision, zoom lenses, motion sensors, vid and audio capture, automated targeting, vast amounts of armor piercing ammo,

Up to now, a human hand has always been required to push the button or pull the trigger. Military leaders "are quite clear that they want autonomous robots as soon as possible, because they are more cost-effective and give a risk-free war." The units are actually inexpensive. They never get tired, hungover or bored.

Several countries, led by the United States, have already invested heavily in robot warriors developed for use on the battlefield.

--Sitting safe in a bunker, a single controller can secure a large area. I want that!

Very rare pic

This is a very rare pic of a HUGE can of Whoop-Ass in the moments that it is actually opening...

--Just think about how much each of those rounds cost.

Made to Enter Through Doors or WALLS!

Another Killer Robot is in production.

It is designed to keep you safe. To do so, it has infrared vision, can break down doors, crash through walls and track targets with LASERs as well as remote cameras to keep an eye on you.

--Run if you want. You'll just die tired.

Happy Veterans Day

I wanted to thank all those Men and Women, who stand ready to do violence, so that I may sleep safe at night.