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Masakari

Masakari

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defence-blog.com

US Army incorporates augmented reality goggles into combat vehicles

The U.S. Army last week announced that it is working to incorporate augmented reality technology and sensors into vehicle platforms for optimal battlefield visibility at every stage of the mission. According to a story from Courtney Bacon, Army is working to provide situational awareness while...
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Big Phoenix

Big Phoenix

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Masakari said:
defence-blog.com

US Army incorporates augmented reality goggles into combat vehicles

The U.S. Army last week announced that it is working to incorporate augmented reality technology and sensors into vehicle platforms for optimal battlefield visibility at every stage of the mission. According to a story from Courtney Bacon, Army is working to provide situational awareness while...
defence-blog.com defence-blog.com

7002072-1920x1445.jpg
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Thats sure to help with chip shortages and cost of equipment.
phisey said:
That missile looks way more expensive than any of the drones it destroyed.
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Monumental disregard for the economics of warfighting have been the SOP since the beginning of the "war on terror". Weve spent decades now using hundreds of millions of dollars of assets(B1s flown across the world and the logistical system that requires) to drop million dollar bombs on $1000 pickups.

Incompetent Generals/Admirals lost everything since 9/11 on economic reasons alone. Of course their careers and bank accounts sure won when they got nice cushy jobs at military contractors.
 
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Masakari

Masakari

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phisey said:
That missile looks way more expensive than any of the drones it destroyed.
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Couldn't find any pricing data related to it but it's supposed to be a "cost effective" option for bringing down drones. Can't be any worse than the Saudis using Patriot missiles, lol.
 
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phisey

phisey

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Big Phoenix said:
Thats sure to help with chip shortages and cost of equipment.

Monumental disregard for the economics of warfighting have been the SOP since the beginning of the "war on terror". Weve spent decades now using hundreds of millions of dollars of assets(B1s flown across the world and the logistical system that requires) to drop million dollar bombs on $1000 pickups.

Incompetent Generals/Admirals lost everything since 9/11 on economic reasons alone. Of course their careers and bank accounts sure won when they got nice cushy jobs at military contractors.
Click to expand...
At first that was fine because we were using legacy hardware and doctrines meant to slow down multi-trillion-dollar Soviet formations in central Europe. Then we had two decades with no credible peers and so it looked like it was all purely wasteful.

But now, the over-correction is biting us in the ass. Cancelling the F-22 was a mistake with the Chinese and Russian 5th-gen fleets coming online. Every single littoral combat ship is even more worthless. The Zumwalt is probably worthless without its railgun which we cancelled. Cancelling the AIM-90 phoenix was a mistake and now AMRAAM is sixty years old and every single Chinese air superiority fighter outranges us. Dropping the ball on EW is gonna get us fucked in a conventional ground war just like how the Ukrainians got massacred by the Russians' EW advantage.

Now we're rushing some near-peer projects to catch up like the JATM missile to replace the AMRAAM, the LRASM which is technically in service and we're spooling up SM6 and SM3 production for the Aegis ships. But there's a window between now and when we have enough of those stockpiled when every wargame we play out will show the Chinese kicking our ass in the South China Sea.
 
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Big Phoenix

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phisey said:
At first that was fine because we were using legacy hardware and doctrines meant to slow down multi-trillion-dollar Soviet formations in central Europe. Then we had two decades with no credible peers and so it looked like it was all purely wasteful.
Click to expand...
It was always purely wasteful. The second you had leaders happily deploying B1s to drop bombs on towel heads in trucks it showed a complete lack of forward thinking and long term strategy.

Its all shoddy military corporate welfare. The politicians dont give a shit, all they want is contracts in their state/district and the current crop of military leaders are more than happy to suck the politicians dick to make sure they get that next star so they will happily say bullshit program/system xyz is amazing and is needed. The LCS program is probably the paradigm of that. "Oh lets test our two different designs and buy the best!" "Oops were just gonna buy both for some reason!". And what do you know, one of the designs ends up being fundamentally flawed and the whole concept the designs where built around was an utter failure so the designs as a whole are worthless. And of course we built like 20 of the worthless fucking things.
phisey said:
But now, the over-correction is biting us in the ass. Cancelling the F-22 was a mistake with the Chinese and Russian 5th-gen fleets coming online.
Click to expand...
Stealth in its current incarnation IMO is going to go down as the most useless feature in the history of warfare. Stealth aircraft might have been a serious threat in the 80s and 90s, but that was it. If Yugoslavia can shoot down a F-117 with an outdated SAM, you think modern sophisticated Russian and Chinese air defense systems wont be able to hit F-35s and F-22s? Weve put an insane amount of eggs into the basket of stealth when history has clearly shown time and time again wonder weapons are never really all that wonderful.
phisey said:
Dropping the ball on EW is gonna get us fucked in a conventional ground war just like how the Ukrainians got massacred by the Russians' EW advantage.
Click to expand...
Sadly I think the next big conflict will be akin to the beginning of WW1. Out of touch commanders leading their troops to slaughter because they never learned to appreciate this new thing called machine guns.
 
phisey

phisey

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Masakari said:
Couldn't find any pricing data related to it but it's supposed to be a "cost effective" option for bringing down drones. Can't be any worse than the Saudis using Patriot missiles, lo
Click to expand...

There are already cheaper-per-shot solutions in the navy. The LaWS directed energy weapon and the Dazzler in particular was designed as anti-drone/fastboat weapons with extreme magazine depth. That LaWS did a testing tour on the Ponce and had been deployed in the Gulf and this year the Dazzler entering service in the Pacific aboard the Burke-class USS Dewey:

defbrief.com

Destroyer boasting new dazzler laser joins US Navy's Japan-based fleet

The first US Navy guided-missile destroyer to receive a new laser weapon system has joined the service's Japan-based 7th Fleet in Yokosuka. Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) arrived in Japan on September 8 "to support defense strategic initiatives in support of peace, security and
defbrief.com defbrief.com

We'd still need a terminal phase interdictor with much higher magazine depth than the SM6 and SM3 missiles though. Either that or add three or more aegis consorts to every carrier group that sails in the South China Sea. Even if the SM6 was dedicated to intercepting ASBMs, the Chinese can blow their inventory to overwhelm the Reagan's escorts and at the very least effect a mission kill on the carrier even if it doesn't cripple it.

Current estimates of the Chinese DF21 and DF26 puts them at 80 to 180 ASBM's. Combined with air- and land-launched vampires (which, again, is at peer-level or better than our tomahawks and harpoons), that's likely enough to credibly deny the entire South China Sea until we can get enough unmanned tankers to support a mission tempo from way outside their ASBM ranges.
 
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Masakari

Masakari

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F-35 that was recovered in the Mediterranean. It's ridiculous we have to go through so much trouble to protect the tech on these birds for something that's supposed to be a workhorse.


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phisey

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We've done some crazy shit to recover enemy technology from the bottom of the ocean. Not surprised we'd panic when we drop something in the drink.
 
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Masakari

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Oh boy, in the South China Sea? No indication if the a/c is still on the deck or went overboard.

news.usni.org

Pilot Ejects After F-35 Lightning II 'Landing Mishap' on USS Carl Vinson in South China Sea - USNI News

An F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter had a “landing mishap” on the deck of USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Monday in the South China Sea, the Navy announced. The F-35C Lightning II, which is assigned to Carrier Air Wing 2, was conducting routine flight operations in the South China Sea when...
news.usni.org news.usni.org
 
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phisey

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~98% of its life will be trucking bored people around and between bases during peacetime. If they just use it for that and retain the IC versions for combat it'll be worth it.
 
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