US military advantage has eroded, study says

What most forget, unlike Russia or the Chi-Coms those in America building our weapons platforms are extremely well paid and most are union jobs.
While Russian and Chi-Coms receive lousy pay.
It cost less (cost of labor) to build a plane, gun, tank or ship in Russia or China.

As for Europe, most of the R&D for weapons platforms was done by America.
R&D is expensive.

America does the R&D and shares it with NATO countries.

 

Thanks to history. Our geopolitical position is remarkable, but the idea that it was always going to be what it was in the 90s or even 00s was never one to take seriously. The deck is in shuffle. We are going to face a threat that approximates that of the USSR again. And if we survive that, it'll happen again. And eventually, we're going to fail to meet the threat.

The Democrats have little to do with it. Iraq and Afghanistan have more to do with US military degeneration than any budget cuts Obama could dream up. We have all the best toys, just no idea what to use them for.

 

American public schools have always been about "agendas." That's why we waste a lot of money on football stadiums, proms, etc.

Schools are about as good as they were several decades ago. The "lies, perversion, and hate" are what you support...

A grossly stupid claim.

Your friends...?

 

Clinton is a Democrat just in case you forgot.

Meanwhile, still awaiting proof of the ridiculous claim that they have allowed the military to erode despite giving several trillion dollars in welfare to the military industrial complex.

 

You're talking about a tiny fraction of technical developments over several decades.

 

Vipers biting vipers...

 

Better to deal with tanks?

 

Sure they do, they design a $100,000 missile to destroy a Russian tank and instead they use the $100,000 Hellfire missile to kill on Taliban fighter.

 

When President Obama as Commander in Chief left the White House, only 3 of the Army's 33 combat brigades were capable of being deployed.

Only 1/2 of the Fleet Marine Force was combat capable and deployable.

3/4 if the Maine Corps FA-18's couldn't fly.

1/2 of the Navy's fixed wing aircraft couldn't fly.

Over 50% of the Navy's warships were NOT capable of putting to sea and able to fight.

Moral in the U.S. military was lower than any time in history.

 

Come on, lower than the 70's?

 

Like I said, look around you, most what you see came from the military industrial complex.

LanglyMan, ever been on the campus of CalTech (California Institute of Technology)?

One thing you notice are these office buildings each with a different sign in front, "U.S. Army," U.S. Navy." U.S. Air Force."

Then you notice just about every department at CalTech is associated with DARPA.

Meet the geeks who design the weapons of war.

Team Caltech
Vehicle NameAliceTeam E-mail Websitehttp://www.team.caltech.eduLocationPasadena, CATeam Description*Team Caltech returns for the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge with much the same makeup as our 2004 team — we are primarily an undergraduate-oriented team of students from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. More than seventy students have participated over the last two years in developing the software, sensors, computers, and vehicle hardware. Graduate students, faculty, and staff are also involved in the project, which is the center of a curriculum in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering. This year Caltech’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURFs) will focus twenty five selected students on the final goal of winning the 2005 Grand Challenge.

Team Caltech has a new vehicle for the 2005 contest, as “Bob”, our well worn, barbed wire-scarred veteran of the 2004 Grand Challenge, has been retired to test-platform status. Our new 2005 Sportsmobile 4WD, “Alice”, is a highly-modified off-road Ford E350 van which is being outfitted for us as an autonomously-controlled, mobile computing lab by our primary sponsor, Sportsmobile West, Inc. of Fresno, California. During the nine months leading up to October 8, Alice will accommodate four team members in onboard computing work stations who will be able to develop code in real time as the van undergoes desert testing. Our sensor suite will include GPSs, IMUs, two stereo vision camera pairs, up to three LADAR units, a magnetometer, and a road-following camera, all talking to up to fourteen blade server computers mounted in a clean, climate-controlled, shock-mounted enclosure.

Sponsors*California Institute of Technology, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, Sportsmobile West, American Racing, BF Goodrich, and Wright Tools Technology. http://archive.darpa.mil/grandchallenge05/Team_Applicants/Team_Caltech.html

 

That was the idea. I use to date the girl who's father who designed the 30mm depleted urainium round that the A-10 Warthog cannon was chambered for.

The A-10 was designed as a Battlefield Air Interdiction attack aircraft to destroy Soviet tanks in Europe.

It wasn't until 1991 during the first Gulf War (Desert Storm) that it was discovered that the A-10 was pretty good at providing Close Air Support for the grunts on the ground.

The A-10 is the best CAS aircraft flying today.

There are a lot of weapons platforms that were designed for one mission and later it was discovered they were really good at performing other missions.

One example was the ONTOS.
First designed to destroy Soviet tanks but it never had a chance to do so. The ONTOS was credited for winning the Battle of Hue during the Vietnam War.


M-50 ONTOS

And in my opinion the best counter sniper weapons platform ever deployed.

When Charley heard that there was an ONTOS in the area they would haul ass back over the border into Laos.

 

Proud to say I have a brother that is one of those geeks that works at China Lake.

 

Yes, lower than the 1970's.

Obama as Commander in Chief had the lowest approval rating of the troops than any other CnC in history including Jimmy Carter during the 70's.

 

I was aboard China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division once during the early 80's.

All kinds of cool jobs at China Lake.

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division
China Lake, in California’s Mojave Desert, is home to NAVAIR’s Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD). Few areas in the world offer such wide variety of geographical features in close proximity...mountains, deserts, canyons, caves and forests. The unencroached air and land ranges at China Lake provide unmatched geographic conditions in which to develop and test weapon systems and explore tactics for desert and mountain environments.

China Lake provides efficient deployment of new weapon systems through its collocated laboratories, ranges, weapons test squadrons and the Navy’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX-9). The site supports fleet training and tactics development, including major exercises on the Land Range, Superior Valley Tactical Training Range and Electronic Combat Range.


Mission
NAWCWD China Lake’s mission is to support NAVAIR programs in providing unsurpassed products and services to the Sailor and Marine by:

• Performing research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E), logistics, and in-service support for guided missiles, free-fall weapons, targets, support equipment, crew systems and electronic warfare
• Integrating weapons and avionics on tactical aircraft
• Operating the Navy’s western land and Sea Range test and evaluation complex
• Developing and applying new technology to ensure battle space dominance

China Lake is a leader in RDT&E of guided missiles, advanced weapons and weapon systems. This is proven through 50 years of unparalleled products and the following attributes:

• World leader in complex weapon systems and software integration
• World leader in energetic materials and subsystems
• Developed the Sidewinder missile (the world’s premiere dog-fight weapon) used by 31 countries
• Unique world-class facilities and test ranges
• Finest weather in the world for testing, with 360 clear days per year

Products and Services
Missiles and Free-Fall Weapons Research and Development
China Lake conducts basic and applied research in science and technology, develops explosives and propellants, and provides developmental and in-service engineering. Weapon systems developed at China Lake include Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), High-Speed Antiradiation Missile (HARM), Hellfire, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), Penguin, Phoenix, Sidewinder, SeaSparrow, Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM), SLAM-ER, Standard Missile, Tomahawk and Vertical Launch Anti-submarine Rocket (VLA).

Aircraft Weapons and Battle Space Integration
China Lake integrates weapons and avionics onto tactical aircraft. Expertise includes systems integration, mission system design, software development and testing, full-up system testing, operator/maintainer handbooks, mission planning system development, fleet support, and foreign military sales. Tactical aircraft currently supported are F/A-18, AV-8B, AH-1W, AH-1Z, EP-3E and the F-22. To support network centric warfare, the concept of weapon/platform integration is being extended to battle space integration. Virtual, real, and hardware-in-the-loop facilities are being interconnected across NAVAIR and at other services to develop and test network interoperability between systems.

Test and Evaluation and Training
China Lake’s extensive, unencroached land ranges support developmental and operational test and evaluation of weapon components and integrated weapon systems in realistic environments. These environments support full-scale, joint-live-fire survivability tests, network centric warfare and interoperability, modeling and simulation, and parachute testing at the National Parachute Test Range. Extensive training of operational forces is carried out on China Lake’s Land Range, Superior Valley Tactical Training Range and Electronic Combat Range.


People
NAWCWD China Lake employs more than 3,100 civilians (including tenants), and over 840 active-duty military personnel.


Facilities

• China Lake encompasses more than 1.1 million acres (larger than Rhode Island)
• One airfield accessing 17,000 square miles of restricted airspace over land
• R-2508 restricted airspace, jointly managed with Edwards Air Force Base and Fort Irwin, encompasses 12% of California’s total airspace
• More than 2,000 buildings

Website
http://www.navair.navy.mil/nawcwd/

 

And prior to 1947 Mikhail Kalashnikov had no formal education whatsoever. So your point is?

 

I'm smarter than my smart phone...

This is the most efficient computer.

 

I know that Obama had a low approval rating, but I'm not sure the moral level was all due to him. I suspect the two fronts, Iraq, and Afghanistan had something to do with it. Both are pretty discouraging places to fight.

 

There are a lot of technological developments that have to do with business. See Amazon. The integregation of accounting, inventory, and sales have driven a lot of advances.

I'm not dismissing the connection with the demands of the military, but it is only part of what drives technology. BTW, the space program pushed a lot of advances that helped the military.

 

This is the way not to build warships.

The Zumwalt class destroyer.



The ship was designed by a computer.
The Zumwalt has a " tumblehome hull."

The computer says it will work.

Old schooled naval architects and engineers say it will not work.

 

Legalizing buggery in the military !!!

Being forced to attend PC diversity classes instead of training for war.

Drag queens on military bases.

The CnC not trusting those who serve under his command and having the troops turn in their weapons into the armory when the CnC is in the area.

Gender friendly commodes on warships !!!

Lowering the academic standards for minorities who want to serve in the military Officers Corps. (Obama's Moron Officer Corps)

Politically correct Rules of Engagement on the battlefield that favor the enemy and caused American troops to bleed and die on the battlefield in the name of liberal political correctness.

 

NASA is part of the military industrial complex.

 

Get over it.

 

All PX's on military bases and all ships stores now carry soap on a rope so you don't have to worry about bending over.

 

We faced a lot of Soviet tanks and needed something to take them out from above.

By that time, I was long gone from the game. My guess... improved weapons.

Ever thus for human beings from when they picked up a rock.

We failed to give the Vietnamese people the weapons and local political independence to organize an effective defense against the communists. For whatever reason, likely our WW2 experience, we thought we could defeat the North and then hand back Vietnam to the Vietnamese people.