From the monthly archives:

February 2010

MV-22: Collapse the battlefield…for this?

by Craig Hooper on February 24, 2010

Somebody tell me why we need to devote a platform–worth tens of millions of dollars–to “collapse the battlefield” for the hapless new Mayor of Marjah? Zahir arrived in Marjah aboard a U.S. Marine MV-22 Osprey helicopter with a contingent of Marine officers and a small retinue of tribal elders who have been living in other […]

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PR games after MV-22 Osprey starts (another) grassfire…

by Craig Hooper on February 21, 2010

The V-22 Osprey program has a magical ability to generate “good news” just as “bad news” breaks. This PR gamesmanship has happened before.  Back in 2007, just hours after the MV-22 Osprey flubbed it’s arrival into Iraq, a CV-22 was sent out for a domestic SAR.  (Here are some details) This week, an MV-22 Osprey […]

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CNO's rhetoric meets reality:

by Craig Hooper on February 18, 2010

Given the ongoing troubles with USS New York (LPD 21),  CNO Admiral Gary Roughead’s November 7, 2009 speech at LPD-21’s commissioning ceremony is rather distressing.  Here’s the relevant snippet: “…The ship across the way is now ready to serve our great nation; ready to sail in cialis soft price harms way on any point on […]

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Enter the Littoral Combat Boat (LCB):

by Craig Hooper on February 18, 2010

Israel has a lot invested in doing littoral combat right.  And, right now, the IDF is sending their Merkava Main Battle Tank to sea in LCTs. Rather than call the LCTs mere landing craft, why not call them Littoral Combat Boats (LCBs)?  That’s what they are. Look. There’s plenty for IDF littoral combat forces to […]

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Mulling the LCS down-select:

by Craig Hooper on February 12, 2010

As the Littoral Combat Ship program faces an abrupt down-select to a single hull, the Navy must brace for some nasty litigation. The spurned party–either Lockheed or General Dynamics–will be poised to contest the selection process. With little in the way of “real world” operational data available, advocates of either platform will have ample grounds to poke holes in the […]

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