Say hello to America's newest 40mm grenade machine gun
Harold C. Hutchison
The 40mm grenade has become a very valuable asset for a small infantry unit. Each fire team of four grunts usually has at least one 40mm grenade launcher. These grenades can pack a punch, too.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, a M433 high-explosive, dual-purpose grenade can punch through about two inches of steel and inflict casualties to a distance of roughly 17 feet.
Often, these grenades were used on single-shot systems like the M79 or the M203. But soon, automatic grenade launchers were developed. One that became iconic was the Mk-19 automatic grenade launcher. With a range of 1,500 yards, it could fire a grenade a second, and it weighs nearly 73 pounds. The Mk-19 is in service with 23 countries.
A US Army soldier with an MK-19 grenade launcher. | Photo by Sgt. Benjamin Parsons
That said, it is getting long in the tooth. It entered service in 1967, so it's been around for 50 years. That means that it's about time to think about a replacement. According to General Dynamics that replacement may be available.
The Mk-47 Mod 0 40mm Advanced Grenade Launcher fires the same grenades as the Mk-19, but it also comes with a lot of advances to make it deadlier. One that the grunts will like is the weight: it comes in at just under 40 pounds – 32 pounds less than the Mk 19. The system also adds a new video sight that adds laser ranger-finding and night vision, allowing for better target acquisition.
Marines with 2d Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment field-test the MK47 40 mm Advanced Lightweight Grenade Machine Gun at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The new weapon system may one day replace the MK-19. (Photo courtesy of General Dynamics)
Perhaps the deadliest accessory for the Mk-47 is the Mk-285 grenade. This is airburst ammunition, much like the 25mm rounds fired by the XM25 Punisher. How does it know when to airburst? It's programmed with data from the advanced sight.
This new automatic grenade launcher may prove to be more popular than the new Carl that Saab released among American troops and their allies. The bad guys probably won't like it very much, but who really cares what they think?
This insane anti-aircraft gun chased the Israelis out of the sky
Posted On February 05, 2020 18:59:43
The Israeli Air Force has long been dominant over the skies of the Middle East. They have superb pilots and they use their planes very well. There was a time, however, when that dominance was challenged – and it was arguably Israel's darkest hour.
In 1973, Israel stood triumphant in the Middle East. For a quarter-century, it had fended off efforts to wipe it off the map. But on Yom Kippur, Egyptian and Syrian forces launched an attack. To protect their armored forces, the Egyptian-Syrian forces used a combination of two Soviet-designed systems: The SA-6 "Gainful" surface-to-air missile and the ZSU-23-4 "Shilka."
Recognition graphic of a ZSU-23-4. (U.S. Army)
The latter system was truly deadly, considering Israeli tactics. Radar-guided and with four 23mm cannon capable of firing as many as 1,000 rounds per minute, the ZSU-23-4 was able to hit targets almost two miles away. Many Israeli pilots in A-4 Skyhawks, Mirage IIIs, Neshers, and F-4 Phantoms soon found out the hard way that flying low to avoid surface-to-air missiles was hazardous. In one strike, six aircraft were lost taking out a missile battery.
The Israelis eventually came up with workarounds to defeat the SA-6/ZSU-23 combo, but they needed aircraft replacements from the United States, due to losing roughly 100 aircraft. The Israelis would learn their lesson, and in 1982, Syrian forces found themselves on the wrong end of a turkey shoot.
Having proven itself in combat, the ZSU-23-4 was widely exported. As of 2014, 39 countries use this system to provide tactical air defense for their forces. Russia has since replaced the ZSU-23 in front-line units with the 2S6 Tunguska and the Pantsir gun-missile combo systems but this mobile gun will forever be known for the time it almost chased one of the best air forces in the world from the skies over a battlefield.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zEcPEIzekM
(Dung Tran | YouTube)
Meet the Navy's 'Swiss army knife'
The rate of machinist's mate has a long and proud history in the United States Navy. Established in 1880 as finisher, the rate changed names a couple of times before being settled as machinist's mate in 1904.
According to the Navy CyberSpace website on enlisted jobs, "Machinist's mates (non-nuclear) operate, maintain, and repair (organizational and intermediate level) ship propulsion machinery, auxiliary equipment, and outside machinery, such as: steering engine, hoisting machinery, food preparation equipment, refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, windlasses, elevators, and laundry equipment; operate and maintain (organizational and intermediate level) marine boilers, pumps, forced draft blowers, and heat exchangers; perform tests, transfers, and inventory of lubricating oils, fuels, and water; maintain records and reports; and generate and stow industrial gases."
With such a wide array of skills and responsibilities, the machinist's mates in George Washington's engineering department prove the value and versatility of the rate to the ship and to the Navy as a whole.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Austin Huizar samples liquid nitrogen in the cryogenics shop aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, October 14, 2016.
(US Navy photo by Seaman Krystofer Belknap)
Machinist's Mate Fireman Gopika Mayell checks a steam usage reading in one of the flight deck catapult rooms aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, June 14, 2012.
(US Navy photo by MCS 3rd Class William Pittman)
"The main ways that machinist's mates and engineering department support naval aviation is through the catapult shop and [oxygen and nitrogen] shop," said Huizar.
"The catapult shop makes sure that all of the machinery is up to date and fully functioning in order to operate the catapult that launch the jets. As for [oxygen and nitrogen], we create aviator's breathing oxygen and we also have a cryogenic plant that creates liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen. The liquid oxygen is used as aviator's breathing oxygen and the liquid nitrogen is used as gaseous nitrogen for the airplane tires because it expands and contracts less at various altitudes."
Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Duane Hilumeyer, left; Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Kexian Li, center; and Machinist's Mate Fireman Jacob Tylisz close a valve to maintain accumulator steam pressure on a catapult aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, Sept. 24, 2014.
(US Navy photo by MCS 2nd Class John Philip Wagner, Jr.)
In order to convert each gas into liquid form, the air expansion engine lowers the temperature of the air to reach negative boiling points, separating oxygen and nitrogen from air.
The air in the expansion engine is frozen to negative 320 degrees Fahrenheit to separate nitrogen, and negative 297 degrees Fahrenheit to separate oxygen.
Air separation is vital to the mission of George Washington, regardless of where the ship finds herself in her life cycle.
According to navy.mil, "O2N2 Plants Bring Life to Airwing Pilot," O2N2 plants provide oxygen to the aviators, nitrogen to the air wing, and gas forms of both for use throughout the ship.
Machinist's Mate 1st Class Robert Howard, front, Machinist's Mate Fireman Austin Martin, center, and Chief Warrant Officer 5 Glen Spitnale, test a package conveyor aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Aug. 5, 2019.
(US Navy photo by MCS 3rd Class Kaleb J. Sarten)
Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Brandon Amodeo performs maintenance on a pressure regulator in emergency diesel generator room aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Sept. 16, 2019.
(US Navy photo by MCS Seaman Apprentice Trent P. Hawkins)
The current refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) environment enables them to put their skills to the test in. Sailors from engineering department, such as Machinist's Mate 1st Class Larissa Pruitt, auxiliary division leading petty officer, have provided significant support to accomplishing major ship milestones while in RCOH.
"The machinist's mate is like the Swiss army knife of the Navy," said Pruitt. "Since being in the shipyards, we have repaired all four aircraft elevators, started the five-year catapult inspection, restored fire pumps to support Ready to Flood operations, and refurbished the air conditioner and refrigeration units."
Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Teran Vo, left, and Fireman Billy Price perform maintenance on a deck edge door track in the hangar bay aboard aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, Nov. 4, 2019.
(US Navy photo by MCS 2nd Class Pyoung K. Yi)
As a rate that has been around for roughly 140 years, machinist's mates will continue to make an impact throughout the surface fleet and the naval aviation community. The hard work of the machinist's mates ensures that George Washington will have a successful redelivery to the fleet.
Navy leaders threat quit if Trump block expulsion Navy SEAL ...
Navy confirms mysterious videos show pilots spotting UFOs ...
Navy SEALs explain consequences of ego - Business Insider
Navy littoral combat ships in South China Sea to send message to ...
Navy's Special Warfare Combat Crew - Business Insider
These are the differences between Airborne and Air Assault
Short answer: One is still used as a tactically viable way of getting troops into the fray and the other is more ceremonial.
Benjamin Franklin once said "Where is the prince who can afford to cover his country with troops for its defense, so that ten thousand men descending from the clouds might not, in many places, do an infinite deal of mischief before a force could be brought together to repel them?"
Both of these troops fit that bill over two hundred years later.
Out of all of the current military rivalries, this one still ranks pretty high on the list. As someone who's Air Assault and let his personal rivalry simmer a bit, there's no reason to keep it up. The differences between the two just keeps growing with each conflict.
(U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Sean McCollum, 29th Infantry Division Public Affairs)
By World War II, many forces developed their own form of Airborne infantry that soared into combat. Allied forces captivated folks back home with the tales of jumping into the European theater. Over the years, airborne operations can be performed in essentially two ways: static jumps (think of the age-old cadence "Stand up, Hook up, Shuffle to the door! Jump right out on the count of Four!") and HALO/HAHO, or High Altitude, Low Opening and High Opening (free-falling).
Air Assault rose in the Cold War and became more prominent in the Vietnam War. There are usually two means for getting troops into combat, FRIES, or Fast Rope Insertion/Extraction, where you grab a piece of rope and slide out of a hovering helicopter and just Air Insertion, where the helicopter lands on the ground and troops hop out. Technically, there's also Sling Load operations, where you attach things underneath a helicopter, but that's more of a special task that's assigned to Air Assault qualified troops.
There's several more ways of leaving a helicopter. Like SPIES and Helocasting, as seen above (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Codie Mendenhall)
But in the wars since 9/11, you can count on one hand the number of combat jumps performed by US troops. They were done twice in Iraq and once in Afghanistan — and all three to command and control airfields.
Making a combat jump authorizes you to wear a Combat Jump Device. It's a gold star that adorns the Parachutist Badge and is often referred to as a "mustard stain." Finding one of these bad asses outside of Jump School is like finding a CW5 — you know they have to exist somewhere because you've seen the badges at the PX, but it still sounds as plausible as any other barracks rumor.
There isn't as comprehensive list on total Air Assault missions because it's far more common. It's just another way to get around.
Many combat arms guys can tell you that they never went to Air Assault school, but still do Air Assault operations in country. The only Air Assault task restricted to someone who actually went to the school is the previously mentioned sling load operations. Even that has its "volun-told" feel to it. Sling loading has a risk to it that could be deadly if not done properly. Only Airborne school qualified personnel are allowed to complete airborne jumps (because of the weeks they spend just learning how to fall properly).
(U.S. Army photo by Visual Information Specialist Jason Johnston)
Sure. We have our disagreements and will probably flame each other in the comment section. They're both ways to get men out of a perfectly good aircraft.
We both deal with a heavy amount of prop / rotor wash that training can never prepare you for. And both of our badges are still highly sought after by badge-hunters — usually a staff lieutenant or junior NCO. And they both will probably correct you by saying "well actually, according to Army regulation…"
Wear your blood wings proud, my brothers and sisters.
This folding machine gun hides in plain sight
Orvelin Valle
The Magpul FMG9 (Folding Machine Gun 9mm) gives a whole new meaning to "concealed weapon." Unlike a handgun tucked away in a pair of pants or coat, this gun hides in plain sight.
Related: One of the world's shortest sniper rifles is actually a long rifle in disguise
"This weapon system could be described as a chameleon, it totally disappears," said the host in the American Heroes Channel video below. "It's sort of innocuous and then when you snap it out, you have little mini submachine gun."
You may have seen a similar weapon used by Hob, the drug dealing teenager in RoboCop 2 (1990), played by Gabriel Damon. The weapon in the film is an ARES FMG designed by Francis J. Warin for ARES Inc. Warin made the weapon with personal security in mind after a spree of kidnappings and murders of VIPs and CEOs in South America during the early 1980s.
RoboCop 2 (1990), Orion Pictures
The FMG9 is the latest weapons system in the folding machine gun class and a nod to the 80s design by ARES Inc. It's the perfect covert firearm when applied for its intended use, unlike the little violent Hob in RoboCop 2. Simply show up to your operation like an innocent bystander and snap it out when things get hot.
American Heroes Channel, YouTube
After clearing the room fold it back into place and walk out like nothing ever happened.
Now watch this short (three-minute) feature:
Air Force grounds F-35s after reports of serious oxygen deprivation
Daily Caller News Foundation
The Air Force has grounded 55 F-35s after several pilots reported serious oxygen deprivation during flights.
Air Force spokesman Capt. Mark Graff released a statement Friday noting that in five cases pilots "reported physiological incidents while flying." Luckily, a backup oxygen system on the F-35 kicked, which allowed pilots to land without further trouble, Defense One reports.
U.S. Air Force photo/R. Nial Bradshaw
The incidents occurred at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, marking the second time Air Force F-35s have been grounded in a year.
According to Graff, the fighter jets at Luke Air Force Base will likely be cleared to fly again Monday.
"Wing officials will educate U.S. and international pilots today on the situation and increase their awareness of hypoxia symptoms," Graff said in a statement. "Pilots will also be briefed on all the incidents that have occurred and the successful actions taken by the pilots to safely recover their aircraft."
In late March, Bloomberg reported that Navy pilots have suffered bouts of hypoxia because of a loss of cabin pressure, leading to oxygen deprivation. These issues have steadily increased every year since 2010 on all F-18 models, which includes the Super Hornet. Navy officials are still trying to get to the bottom of what they're referring to as "physiological episodes."
The Navy has also recently ground its T-45 Goshawk planes after pilots complained of headaches and oxygen deprivation. The problem was so dire that 100 instructor pilots flat-out refused to fly the planes, forcing the Navy to ground all 195 planes in the T-45 fleet.
Air Force F-35s on other bases like Hill Air Force Base and Eglin Air Force Base are still cleared for flying, and next week, a group of F-35s will fly to France for the Paris Air Show. Those F-35s will come from the Hill base.
China might have radar tech that can see the F-35
The United States is banking on the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning to provide an advantage in a major war with China or Russia. These high-performance planes use stealth technology to evade enemy radars.
The first operational stealth combat jet, the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, was a gamechanger. It was able to penetrate air defenses, giving the enemy no idea that they were overhead — until the bombs hit their targets. The F-117 was followed by the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. Those planes gave China and Russia some real problems. Although they weren't entirely invisible, the detection range was so short that… well, let's just say that by the time you detected them, you had mere seconds to find cover before the bombs hit.
According to The National Interest, Communist China now claims they have a way to counter stealth aircraft: The KJ-600, a carrier-launched airborne radar plane that will be launched from the People's Liberation Army Navy's Type 002 and 003 classes of aircraft carriers. One of the biggest weaknesses of China's carrier aviation was the lack of a plane comparable to the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye.
The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is the latest variant of the long-running E-2 Hawkeye series of aircraft, which employs long-range radar and electronic communications capabilities to oversee the battlespace and detect threats beyond the sensor range of other friendly units. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Farbo)
The KJ-600 aims to fill that gap in capacity. The Chinese Communists claim that this plane can detect stealth fighters like the F-22 and F-35 at a range of 200 miles through use of an Active Electronically-Scanned Array (AESA) radar, but this capability may be oversold. An expert, quoted in the South China Morning Post, admitted that the 200-mile range comes from "a certain angle."
Those three words may be the catch for Communist China. There is no guarantee that the F-35 will come in at "a certain angle" conducive to 200-mile detection. It is far more likely the KJ-600 won't detect the F-35 until the American fighter has fired a pair of AIM-120D Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles. Then, the Chinese Communists will find their navy's been blinded, and are now sitting ducks.
Writing funny stuff on ammo is over 2000 years old
Do you have that buddy who scratches messages into his M4 rounds? Or maybe you're the sailor who Sharpies "This one's for you" onto JDAMs destined for a flight over the Gulf. Regardless, it turns out that you're part of a tradition that dates back to a few hundred years before Jesus.
Yeah, we're all comedians.
(Air Force Master Sgt. Dave Nolan)
Writing messages on bombs, missiles, and other munitions is a common and long-standing tradition. After the 9/11 Attacks, messages of solidarity for New York and vengeance against al Qaeda and the Taliban started popping up on bombs headed for Afghanistan. Hussein and the Ba'ath party were favorite targets for graffiti over Iraq in the early 2000s.
More recently, bombs headed for Iraq and Syria have had messages for ISIS and Baghdadi, and messages supporting Paris were popular after the attacks in 2015.
Obviously, there's about zero chance in Hell that anyone on the receiving end will actually read the messages. After all, the bomb casings will get obliterated when they go off. But it's fun for the troops and lets them get a little steam out. Most service members will never fire a weapon, drop a bomb, or throw a grenade in anger.
(Imperial War Museum)
So it can sometimes be hard for support troops to connect their actions to dismantling ISIS, defeating Saddam, or destroying al Qaeda. It helps the ordnance crews reinforce their part of the mission, and they can imagine their Sharpie-soaked pieces of shrapnel shredding enemy fighters.
But this tradition really dates back. In World War II, British troops designated bombs to destroy the German battleship Tirpitz. And these Americans were hoping their bombs would be great party favors for the Third Reich.
(U.S. Army Signal)
But the British museum has sling shot, the actual projectiles used in slings and slingshots, that have funny little messages carved into them. Messages like "Catch!" But, you know, the messages are written in Ancient Greek because they were carved 300 or so years before Jesus was born.
So if you ever get a chance to write one of these messages, do it. Just think of something pithy and fun, "Catch!" is old news by now.
9 examples of the military's dark humor
5 military jokes that will keep you laughing for hours
Message On Bunker Buster Bomb Tells ISIS "This Is For Making Me ...
Top 10 Military Humor | Military.com
FUNNY MILITARY JOKES FROM THE ARMY, AIR FORCE, NAVY ...
How a Pave Hawk helicopter gets to the War in Afghanistan
While the Air Force is best known for dropping bombs on the enemy — and they've done a lot of that throughout the War on Terror — there is one critical mission that some elite airmen carry out: evacuating wounded troops in the middle of a firefight. Air Force Pararescue took that mission on in Afghanistan, even though it's not exactly what they were trained for — the original mission was to recover downed aircrews.
As a result, the Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk has had quite a workout. This is the Air Force's standard combat search-and-rescue helicopter, which replaced the older HH-53s. According to an Air Force fact sheet, the HH-60 has a top speed of 184 miles per hour, a maximum unrefueled range of 504 nautical miles, and the ability to use 7.62mm miniguns or .50-caliber machine guns. It has a crew of four and has a hoist that can haul 600 pounds.
Members of the 26th and the 46th Expeditionary Rescue squadrons scramble for a personnel mission at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, Dec. 29. From notification, the units have 15 minutes to be airborne and must transfer the patient to Camp Bastion's Role 3 in one hour. (USAF photo)
But there is one question: How do you get a Pave Hawk to Afghanistan? Or to other disaster areas, like Mozambique in 2000? Well, believe it or not, the helicopters fly in — but not by themselves. Despite the fact that they can be refueled in mid-air thanks to a probe, the helicopters often are flown in on the Air Force's force of C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes.
You may be surprised, but the HH-60 is actually an easy cargo for one of these planes to carry. It comes in at 22,000 pounds — or 11 tons. The C-17 can carry over 170,000 pounds of cargo, per an Air Force fact sheet. The C-5 carries over 281,000 pounds. With weight out of the way, the only remaining issue is volume — and the HH-60 addresses that with folding rotor blades.
Believe it or not, the Pave Hawk is easy for a C-17 to lift. However, it is a tight fit in terms of volume. (U.S. Air Force photo)
So, if a Pave Hawk needs to go to Afghanistan, they fold the rotor blades, roll the chopper onto the C-5 or C-17, and take off. The cargo planes reach Afghanistan with a bit of mid-air refueling. Once it lands, the HH-60 rolls off, the rotor blades are unfolded, and it's ready to save lives.
Check out the video below to see an HH-60 arrive in Afghanistan:
Russia is presenting its new fighter as a cheap alternative to the F-35
A Russian lawmaker said that Su-57 stealth jets will be way cheaper than F-22s and F-35s, according to Sputnik, a Russian state-owned media outlet.
"The fifth-generation fighter jets are undoubtedly competing with US F-22s and F-35s, but it is considerably cheaper even though it has similar characteristics, while in some aspects, for example, maneuverability, it does better than the US jets," Vladimir Gutenev, a member of State Duma's expert panel on the aviation industry, told Sputnik.
Gutenev added that Su-57s will be two and a half times cheaper than F-22s and F-35s, even though the two US aircraft have different price tags and their prices range greatly.
Sputnik reported that F-22s cost 6.2 million and F-35s cost between and 8 million. The Pentagon published a report late last year, however, saying that F-22s cost 3 million, while Lockheed Martin published a report in June 2018 saying that F-35s cost between .3 and 2.4 million (depending on the variant).
The Russian lawmaker's comments came after Moscow ordered a dozen Su-57s, which are expected to be delivered in 2019, Russian media reported.
But Russia is still testing the Su-57's new Izdelie-30 engine, according to Russia's Interfax news agency. Therefore, the Su-57 is still flying on the Su-35's AL-41F1 engine, and cannot be considered a fifth-generation aircraft yet.
Gutenev also said Russia gained "additional information" about F-22s and F-35s from the Su-57s deployment to Syria.
"The time our four Su-57 aircraft spent in Syria definitely allowed us to get additional information on this aircraft's ability to detect [using communications systems] US F-22 and F-35 aircraft which are operating in the same airspace," Gutenev said, Sputnik reported.
While Russia may have learned "about Western air operations and capabilities in the shared skies over Syria," Justin Bronk, an expert on aerial combat at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider in early 2018, "that process goes both ways since whatever Russian military aircraft do is done within airspace heavily surveilled by Western assets."
Jet is Walmart's biggest weapon vs. Amazon - Business Insider
The 25 best restaurants in the world, according to millionaire private ...
German military fighters jets reportedly not ready for combat ...
We flew in the newest private jet in Warren Buffett's NetJets fleet ...
Most luxurious private jets in the world - Business Insider
These are 6 other weapons legal for open carry in the United States
Blake Stilwell
Posted On December 03, 2020 05:05:00
As we all know by now, the Second Amendment protects the right for citizens of the U.S. to bear arms. In 48 states and territories, it is also legal for Americans to carry their weapons in the open, in public, in plain sight. While these "open carry" laws allow users to wear various firearms, it doesn't allow for all weapons. Some non-firearms are legal for open carry, some aren't so much.
Depending on where you are in the United States, you'll want to check the local ordinances before you strap on your other weapons. Seriously, this site is We Are The Mighty, not We Are The Lawyers — so check those laws.
1. Swords – California
In California, any fixed blade must be sheathed. But not only is it legal to openly carry a sheathed sword, it's the law. Any kind of concealment for bladed weapons is a misdemeanor. Bladed weapons in most states where they are legal to carry, are usually illegal if they're longer than five inches. Concealed blades, like cane swords, are always illegal.
Just one of the many things wrong with the movie Blind Fury.
2. Religious Knives – U.S. Military and all States
Because Sikh religious practices sometimes require the use of a kirpan, a small sword used in religious practices. Because the bladed weapon is anywhere from three to nine inches long, it can be illegal in most states, but many state courts and legislatures found this violates the Sikh's religious rights. The U.S. military allows for Sikhs to wear the bladed weapons in uniform.
Also, turbans (photo via The Sikh Coalition)
3. Flamethrowers – Everywhere except Maryland and California
The perfect tool for melting snow and killing insects is now commercially available and legal for open carry in 48 states. Why? Because it runs on good ol' 87 octane gasoline. Homemade flamethrowers were previously regulated based on the fuel they used. Now nothing can stop you from getting to work in those deep February snows.
Pesky mosquitos!
4. Tomahawks – Not California, Colorado, or Texas
Unless you're carrying a tomahawk made of wood and stone (in which case you should also be wearing a Native American headdress and traveling with a construction worker, policeman, and cowboy), then a tomahawk is actually a pretty popular weapon. Battle tomahawks are legal to own in most states that allow a fixed blade, except Colorado. Texas prohibits "any hand instrument designed to cut or stab another by being thrown." In California, you should be on your way to a re-enactment or camping while holding your tomahawk, otherwise the law can give you a headache over it.
But not the same headache you can give them.
5. Battle Axes – Washington State
Washington State Football Coach Mike Leach famously announced he uses a Viking battleaxe for home defense, instead of his firearms. It is legal to open carry any type of weapon in Washington State, so long as it is "not carried in a way that may cause others alarm."
Time for a kinder, gentler battleaxe.
One trailblazing action group is working on getting restrictions to battle axes lifted in Texas.
6. Ninja Stars – Montana
In Montana, it is legal to openly carry any weapon that is legal to own. So, throwing knives, lightsabers, ninja stars, you name it: anything not expressly forbidden by case law or state legislation is fair game. Go nuts, ninjas in Montana!
Cowboy ninjas rejoice!
This is how the F-35 is being tested against Russian and Chinese air defenses
Courtesy of Lockheed Martin
The Air Force wants the F-35 to be able to elude the best enemy air defenses well into the 2030s and 2040s.
The Air Force F-35 is using "open air" ranges and computer simulation to practice combat missions against the best Chinese and Russian-made air-defense technologies – as a way to prepare to enemy threats anticipated in the mid-2020s and beyond.
The testing is aimed at addressing the most current air defense system threats such as Russian-made systems and also focused on potential next-generation or yet-to-exist threats, Harrigian said.
Air Force officials have explained that, looking back to 2001 when the JSF threat started, the threats were mostly European centric – Russian made SA-10s or SA-20s. Now the future threats are looking at both Russian and Chinese-made and Asian made threats, they said.
"They have got these digital SAMS (surface-to-air-missile-systems) out there that can change frequencies and they are very agile in how they operate. being able to replicate that is not easy," Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, former Director of the F-35 Integration Office, told Scout Warrior in an interview.Surface threats from air defenses is a tough problem because emerging threats right now can see aircraft hundreds of miles away, service officials explained.
Furthermore, emerging and future Integrated Air Defense Systems use faster computer processors, are better networked to one-another and detect on a wider range of frequencies. These attributes, coupled with an ability to detect aircraft at further distances, make air defenses increasingly able to at times detect even stealth aircraft, in some instances, with surveillance radar.
Lt. Col. Christine Mau, 33rd Operations Group puts on her helmet before taking her first flight in the F-35A at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Marleah Robertson)
Russian media reports have recently claimed that stealth technology is useless against their air defenses. Russian built S-300 and S-400 air defenses are believed to be among the best in the world; in addition, The National Interest has reported that Russia is now working on an S-500 system able to destroy even stealthy targets at distances up to 125 miles.
While the Air Force aims to prepare for the unlikely contingency of a potential engagement with near-peer rivals such as Russia or China, Harrigian explained that there is much more concern about having to confront an adversary which has purchased air-defense technology from the Russians or Chinese. Harrigian emphasized that, while there is no particular conflict expected with any given specific country, the service wants to be ready for any contingency.
Harrigian explained that the F-35 is engineered with what developers call "open architecture," meaning it is designed to quickly integrate new weapons, software and avionics technology as new threats emerge.
"One of the key reasons we bought this airplane is because the threats continue to evolve – we have to be survivable in this threat environment that has continued to develop capabilities where they can deny us access to specific objectives that we may want to achieve. This airplane gives us the ability to penetrate, deliver weapons and then share that information across the formation that it is operating in," Harrigian explained.
While training against the best emerging threats in what Harrigian called "open air" ranges looks to test the F-35 against the best current and future air defenses – there is still much more work to be done when it comes to anticipating high-end, high-tech fast developing future threats. This is where modeling and simulation play a huge part in threat preparation, he added.
"The place where we have to have the most agility is really in the modeling and simulation environment – If you think about our open air ranges, we try to build these ranges that have this threats that we expect to be fighting. Given the pace at which the enemy is developing these threats – it becomes very difficult for us to go out and develop these threats," Harrigan explained.
The Air Force plans to bring a representation of next-generation threats and weapons to its first weapons school class in 2018.
In a simulated environment, F-22s from Langley AFB in Virginia could train for combat scenarios with an F-35 at Nellis AFB, Nevada, he said.
The JSF's Active Electronically Scanned Arrays, or AESA's, the aircraft is able to provide a synthetic aperture rendering of air and ground pictures. The AESA also brings the F-35 electronic warfare capabilities, Harrigian said.
Part of the idea with F-35 modernization is to engineered systems on the aircraft which can be upgraded with new software as threats change. Technologies such as the AESA radar, electronic attack and protection and some of the computing processing power on the airplane, can be updated to keep pace with evolving threats, Harrigian said.
Engineered to travel at speeds greater than 1,100 miles per hour and able to reach Mach 1.6, the JSF is said to be just as fast and maneuverable at an F-15 or F-16 and bring and a whole range of additional functions and abilities.
Overall, the Air Force plans to buy 1,763 JSF F-35A multi-role fighters, a number which will ultimately comprise a very large percentage of the service's fleet of roughly 2,000 fighter jets. So far, at least 83 F-35As are operational for the Air Force.
The F-35 can connect to most any friendly force on the battlefield, feeding information from its sensors to freindlies and grabbing information from other planes and sensors. (Graphic: Lockheed Martin)
4th Software Drop
Many of the JSF's combat capabilities are woven into developmental software increments or "drops," each designed to advance the platforms technical abilities. There are more than 10 million individual lines of code in the JSF system.
While the Air Force plans to declare its F-345s operational with the most advanced software drop, called 3F, the service is already working on a 4th drop to be ready by 2020 or 2021. Following this initial drop, the aircraft will incorporate new software drops in two year increments in order to stay ahead of the threat.
The first portion of Block IV software funding, roughly $12 million, arrived in the 2014 budget, Air Force officials said.
Block IV will include some unique partner weapons including British weapons, Turkish weapons and some of the other European country weapons that they want to get on their own plane, service officials explained.
Block IV will also increase the weapons envelope for the U.S. variant of the fighter jet. A big part of the developmental calculus for Block 4 is to work on the kinds of enemy air defense systems and weaponry the aircraft may face from the 2020's through the 2040's and beyond.
In terms of weapons, Block IV will eventually enable the F-35 to fire cutting edge weapons systems such as the Small Diameter Bomb II and GBU-54 – both air dropped bombs able to destroy targets on the move.
The Small Diameter Bomb II uses a technology called a "tri-mode" seeker, drawing from infrared, millimeter wave and laser-guidance. The combination of these sensors allows the weapon to track and eliminate moving targets in all kinds of weather conditions.
These emerging 4th software drop will build upon prior iterations of the software for the aircraft.
Block 2B builds upon the enhanced simulated weapons, data link capabilities and early fused sensor integration of the earlier Block 2A software drop. Block 2B will enable the JSF to provide basic close air support and fire an AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile), JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) or GBU-12 (laser-guided aerial bomb) JSF program officials said.
Following Block 2B, Block 3i increases the combat capability even further and Block 3F will bring a vastly increased ability to suppress enemy air defenses.
Block 3F will increase the weapons delivery capacity of the JSF as well, giving it the ability to drop a Small Diameter Bomb, 500-pound JDAM and AIM 9X short-range air-to-air missile, service officials explained.
The AIM 9X is an Air Force and Navy heat-seeking infrared missile.
In fact, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missile for the first time recently over a Pacific Sea Test Range, Pentagon officials said.
The F-35 took off from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and launched the missile at 6,000 feet, an Air Force statement said.
Designed as part of the developmental trajectory for the emerging F-35, the test-firing facilities further development of an ability to fire the weapon "off-boresight," described as an ability to target and destroy air to air targets that are not in front of the aircraft with a direct or immediate line of sight, Pentagon officials explained.
The AIM-9X, he described, incorporates an agile thrust vector controlled airframe and the missile's high off-boresight capability can be used with an advanced helmet (or a helmet-mounted sight) for a wider attack envelope.
Watch the Marines' F-35 fire an 80-round burst from its gun pod.
F-35 25mm Gun
Last Fall, the Pentagon's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter recently completed the first aerial test of its 25mm Gatling gun embedded into the left wing of the aircraft, officials said.
The test took place Oct. 30, 2015, in California, Pentagon officials described.
"This milestone was the first in a series of test flights to functionally evaluate the in-flight operation of the F-35A's internal 25mm gun throughout its employment envelope," a Pentagon statement said several months ago.
The Gatling gun will bring a substantial technology to the multi-role fighter platform, as it will better enable the aircraft to perform air-to-air attacks and close-air support missions to troops on the ground.
Called the Gun Airborne Unit, or GAU-22/A, the weapon is engineered into the aircraft in such a manner as to maintain the platform's stealth configuration.
The four-barrel 25mm gun is designed for rapid fire in order to quickly blanket an enemy with gunfire and destroy targets quickly. The weapon is able to fire 3,300 rounds per minute, according to a statement from General Dynamics.
"Three bursts of one 30 rounds and two 60 rounds each were fired from the aircraft's four-barrel, 25-millimeter Gatling gun. In integrating the weapon into the stealthy F 35Aairframe, the gun must be kept hidden behind closed doors to reduce its radar cross section until the trigger is pulled," a statement from the Pentagon's Joint Strike Fighter said.
The first phase of test execution consisted of 13 ground gunfire events over the course of three months to verify the integration of the gun into the F-35A, the JSF office said.
"Once verified, the team was cleared to begin this second phase of testing, with the goal of evaluating the gun's performance and integration with the airframe during airborne gunfire in various flight conditions and aircraft configurations," the statement added.
The new gun will also be integrated with the F-35's software so as to enable the pilot to see and destroy targets using a helmet-mounted display.
The gun is slated to be operational by 2017
New flame-resistant uniforms will keep troops from feeling the burn
"Feeling the Burn" might be nice when you're at the gym, but otherwise, it's probably not good to be on fire.
Actually, burns are among the worst injuries to come out of war. They are disfiguring and excruciatingly painful — and the effects can be long-lasting.
U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) on fire after air operations 14 January 1969. (U.S. Navy)
Unfortunately, burns are a military risk – particularly on ships, in combat vehicles, and around aircraft on flight lines. Take a good look at the photos of the fires on the USS Oriskany (CV 34), USS Forrestal (CV 59) or on USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Those three fires killed 206 sailors and injured 631, and caused over $198 million in damage. While the treatment of burns is improving, they are still very grave injuries. The best option is to avoid them in the first place.
Flame-resistant uniforms for the military have been a long-running pursuit. During World War II, sailors would be required to wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants – even in the hot and humid climates of the South Pacific. Uncomfortable in the steamy conditions, long layers were still far better at protecting sailors from burns than the shorts worn by other Allied navies (notably the Royal Navy).
A release from the Marine Corps Systems Command details the latest advancements in the effort to prevent burns: a new fabric combining cotton, nylon, and meta-aramid fibers (for example, Nomex) used in the Enhanced Fire Resistant Combat Ensemble. This upgrade will replace the Flame Resistant Combat Ensemble currently in service with the Marines and sailors involved with the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC).
Marines extinguish a fire during a controlled burn training exercise aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Feb. 17, 2016. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Jonah Lovy/Released)
These new uniforms also bring a bonus: they are twice as durable as the ones currently being used, which will save money previously spent replacing less effective uniforms.
Of course, more important than saving money is that these new uniforms could potentially save lives and will certainly mitigate flame-induced injuries — the real bargain of the Enhanced Fire Resistant Combat Ensemble.