That's not a gun. This is a GUN!!!

Known on US Navy ships as the Close In Weapon System, or CIWS (or Phalanx), in Iraq somebody had the totally awesome idea to mobilize them and use them at ground facilities for. . . . . wait for it. . . . shooting down rockets and mortars!  Wicked!!  This version is goes by the much cooler name of Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar, or C-RAM.  Other countries have 30mm and 40mm versions, but the US CIWS/C-RAM is a 20mm gun.


Rate of fire for the latest system is reportedly 4,500 rounds per minute, and doing the math shows that to equate to 75 rounds per second!  That's nasty.  I guess it has to be to be able to shoot football sized objects down from several miles away while they're traveling at 3,000+ feet per second.  I didn't have this system where I was at, so all incoming rounds just landed wherever, but I would have been glad to have this beast shooting stuff down.  Now I wonder how much each round costs so that I can calculate how much a four second burst costs.

ETA:  And another one that shows thermal imaging where you can see the actual mortar taking hits and blowing up from the 20mm rounds. 

This one's even better!



ETA:  All right, so apparently this concept is way more high tech than the CIWS/C-RAM system.  The Germans have a 35mm "Revolver" that is way cool at shooting down incoming threats.  Hang in there towards the end of the video to see what the rounds do to missiles and such.  Awesome!

I love it when a plan comes together

Some Brits and Afghanis were saved from Taliban execution this weekend by British SAS and US Navy SEALs.

The soldiers moved into the darkness shooting dead the kidnappers with silenced weapons. Several were dispatched with a “double tap” the preferred method of killing - two bullets in the centre of the forehead.

The US special forces cleared and secured their target, killing seven kidnappers in the process but no hostages had been found.

For an instant commanders faced the dreadful possibility that the four aid workers had been moved. Seconds later, however, the tension was broken when the SAS team commander’s radio crackled into life, reporting that all four hostage were alive and well, before adding that a further four kidnappers had been killed.

Sounds stealthy.  I imagine the hostages felt a good deal of relief when they were set free and flown back home.  I'm glad to hear that they were all good to go.

Rapists beware

Women these days are likely to be more than you bargained for.

Something is missing

The Prince William County Police have released some tips on how to prevent home invasions, but they do not mention what to do to protect yourself if confronted in your home by a criminal.

Why, it's as if they don't think that your responsible enough to handle the proper tools that will keep you alive until the cops get there.

And check out those comments!

Happy Birthday my fellow Marines!!

Stay safe out there, and keep your head down!

More about our military and the US role in the world

From Armed Canadian. Here's a piece:

Since the rest of the world seems ecstatic at the rise of Obama to the Presidency, the expectation is in their minds that those war-mongering, pesky, ignorant, brutal Americans won't be butting their noses where they don't belong. Given his stated intention to hobble the military, bloggers are already reporting people planning to leave the service rather than re-enlist. Given the way a socialist Obama and Congress view the military as an evil thing, I can't blame them. I'd be physically ill at the thought of having to obey the orders of this new C-in-C.

Yup! I'm one of those individuals on the way out, and my future proclivities are gone for good as well. Not. Interested.

Now, AC is right in that countries have been critical of our worldly help, despite the fact that we have to bail them out of trouble on a regular bases. Once the excitement wears off and they realize that we don't have the resources to help them, then the real whining will begin:

So in a couple years, with ships tied up due to lack of funds or having maintenance drawn out, combat experienced vets gone and tanks and vehicles sitting unused for a lack of spare parts, when a natural disaster or conflict comes along somewhere in the world, call for someone else to help you. Go cry to the fucking United Nations to save you.

Too bad a shit-ton of our hard earned tax dollars are going to be shovelled into that corrupt organization in a vain effort to make the world "fair."

There's more where that came from, so go and read it.

The future of our military

Here's a rundown of what Blackfive thinks will happen to our military, and I would have to agree:

I believe we will see the following:

1. Immediate reduction of 4 brigades in Iraq. 2 will be pulled back to 'staging' in Kuwait, and likely the other 2 sent to Afghanistan. On the Pakistan border.

2. Immediate cuts in bonuses and benefits for those that re-up.

3. Immediate cuts in recruitment funding.

4. Drastic cuts in defense spending on equipment. Bring what yas got, 'cause ya aint's gettin' no mo'.

5. Immediate reduction of senior enlisted and officer ranks. This will have two effects: one, senior experienced leadership will drastically lack; and two, those oxygen thieves that DO stick around will become the leaders. Gawd help us. (Caveat: if the economy tanks WORSE, they'll stick around until it gets better. When and if it DOES improve, the exodus will be even WORSE).

Before you say it, when a lefty gets into office it is always followed by a decline in the military. My mother-in-law told me yesterday that the world is happy with our decision, and my response was that that's not a good thing considering most of the world hates us, and can't wait to blow through the straw man that is to be our leader.

For what it's worth, I believe spending on DoD programs to be the first to go. Expanding the US Army and Marine Corps will do nothing if they're not equipped. Waving a magic wand and enlisting 27,000 Marines and 65,000 Soldiers sounds great, but when you consider the staggering cost of such an endeavor, not counting the enlistment incentives which will certainly be rescinded, one would have to wonder why anyone would suggest it in the first place.

I don't think our new administration has the know-how to get the job done in Iraq or Afghanistan, but I hope I'm wrong. I'm just glad I'm on my way out!