US Marine Corps (USMC)

http://snafu-solomon.blogspot.fr/2014/06/exercise-eager-lion-2014photos-by-sgt.html a écrit:

Exercise Eager Lion 2014...photos by Sgt. Austin Hazard, USMC


A Jordanian Armed Forces AH-1F Cobra helicopter flies past U.S. Marine Corps assault amphibious vehicles with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary
Unit (MEU) toward targets during a combined arms live-fire exercise, the culminating event of Exercise Eager Lion 2014.


The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) light armored vehicles and M1A1 Abrams tanks provide direct-fire support with Jordanian Armed
Forces YBR-765 armored personnel carriers and HMMWVs during a combined arms live-fire exercise rehearsal as part of Exercise Eager Lion 2014


The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) amphibious assault vehicles carry infantry Marines while M1A1 Abrams tanks provide direct-fire
support during a combined arms live-fire exercise rehearsal as part of Exercise Eager Lion 2014.


U.S. Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), advance on foot during
a combined arms live-fire exercise rehearsal as part of Exercise Eager Lion 2014

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More Eager Lion 2014 pics....photos by Sgt James A. Hall, USMC

Ça c'est un exercise   

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  Irak : Les Etats-Unis envoient dans les eaux du Golfe un navire avec 550 Marines à bord

Posté dans Amériques, Forces navales, Irak par Laurent Lagneau Le 16-06-2014



Après l’annonce du déploiement du porte-avions USS George H.W. Bush, accompagné par le destroyer USS Truxtun et le croiseur USS Philippine Sea, un autre navire américain est arrivé dans les eaux du golfe arabo-persique, ce 16 juin.

En effet, le contre-amiral John Kirby, un porte-parole du Pentagone a indiqué que le navire de transport amphibie USS Mesa Verda venait de franchir le détroit d’Ormuz, avec à son bord 550 Marines et plusieurs appareils de type V-22 Osprey (mi-avion, mi-hélicoptère). Ce bâtiment, de classe San Antonio, est « capable d’effectuer toute une variété d’opérations de réaction rapide et de réponse aux situations de crise », a-t-il avancé.

Devant l’avance des jihadistes de l’Etat islamique en Irak et au Levant (EIIL), le département d’Etat américain a pris plusieurs mesures, dont l’évacuation d’une partie de son personnel diplomatique à Bagdad vers les consulats d’Erbil et de Bassorah, deux secteurs épargnés par les violences qui secouent le pays depuis quelques jours, ainsi qu’en Jordanie. Par ailleurs, Washington a également été décidé de renforcer la sécurité de la zone verte de la capitale irakienne en y envoyant d’un cinquantaine de Marines supplémentaires.

Sur le terrain, les combattants de l’EIIL ont attaqué, ce jour, la localité de Tal Afar, une enclave chiite situé dans la province – majoritairement sunnite – de Ninive. Cette ville, située à 380 km au nord-ouest de Bagdad est stratégique dans la mesure où elle se trouver sur la route menant vers la frontière syrienne.

Selon un responsable municipal, Abdulal Abbas, 200.000 personnes (soit la moitié des habitants) ont pris la fuite devant l’avancée des jihadistes. Ces derniers n’ont aucune pitié : ils ont revendiqué, via Twitter, le massacre 1.700 militaires des forces irakiennes, tous de confession chiite.

« Des terroristes capables de perpétrer des actes aussi abominables sont les ennemis communs des Etats-Unis, de l’Irak et de la communauté internationale » a commenté Jennifer Paski, la porte-parole du département d’Etat.

Outre le déploiement de plusieurs navires dans le golfe arabo-persique, le chef de la diplomatie américaine, John Kerry, a indiqué que le président Obama étudiait plusieurs options, dont de possibles frappes aériennes réalisées par des drones. Par ailleurs, il a également affirmé que Washington était disposé de discuter avec Téhéran de la situation en irak. « Je n’exclurais rien qui puisse être constructif, a déclaré à ce sujet », a-t-il confié à Yahoo! News.

http://www.opex360.com/2014/06/16/irak-les-etats-unis-envoient-dans-les-eaux-du-golfe-navire-avec-550-marines-bord/

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UPDATE 3-U.S. Marines resume F-35B flights; F-35A engine parts found after fire


(Reuters) - The U.S. Marine Corps on Friday resumed flights of its Lockheed Martin Corp F-35B jets that were suspended following a fire on an Air Force F-35A and prepared for the jet's global debut in Britain next month after the discovery of engine pieces from the F-35A pointed to an issue with that specific model.

"We are continuing with our plans to deploy to the UK next month," said Marine Corps spokesman Captain Richard Ulsh. He said the Marine Corps resumed F-35B flights on Friday.

Four F-35B jets arrived early evening on Friday at an air base in southern Maryland, where they will be readied for their first trans-Atlantic flights, according to sources familiar with the program. The jets came from a Marine Corps base in Yuma, Arizona.

The deployment of the jets to Britain had been called into question after a fire broke out in the rear of an Air Force A-model F-35 on Monday as the pilot was preparing to take off for a training flight.

The Air Force on Thursday suspended flights of all F-35 A-model jets while it investigates the fire. Flights of some Navy jets were also suspended, but others continued to fly, according to Navy officials.

Sources familiar with the situation said engine pieces and fragments were found on the runway at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida after the fire, the first confirmation that the fire involved the plane's engine, which was built by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp.

The Air Force has not released any details about its investigation and a spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the report that engine components were found.

Pratt builds the engines for all three models of the F-35: the Air Force's conventional takeoff A-model, the Marine Corps' B-model, which can land vertically, and the Navy's C-model, which is for use on aircraft carriers.

The sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, said the discovery of the engine parts did not point to a specific cause of the fire and said the investigation was continuing.

But they said it cleared the way for the Marine Corps and Navy to resume flights since their B- and C-model jets have a different engine.

Pratt & Whitney spokesman Matthew Bates said his company was ready to assist in the Air Force investigation, and referred all further questions to the Air Force.

Lockheed also said it was ready to assist with the investigation, but declined to comment on the latest news.

One of the sources said discovery of engine fragments on the runway after the fire could point to several different possible causes, including a manufacturing quality issue affecting just the engine in question, which had flown for about 150 hours.

Engine damage could also stem from debris in the engine, or a maintenance problem, the sources said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Jolie prouesse en video d'un pilote d'AV8 harrier sans train d'atterissage.....
http://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/20140630trib000837667/il-pose-un-avion-de-chasse-sur-un-porte-avion-sans-train-d-atterrissage.html

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USMC to reduce Shadow budget to fund Blackjack engine upgrade



The US Marine Corps (USMC) has requested that the US Congress allow it to shift USD18.75 million from its RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to its RQ-21 Blackjack UAV programme in order to extend the latter's range.

"Force rebalancing and the Marine Corps focus on shipboard operations have prioritised the need to accelerate amphibious intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)."

Integration of a heavy fuel engine "will be the first step in enabling the extension of the current RQ-21 range and will influence a significant area of the battle space and reduce ground control station requirements," the document said.

Funds would be taken from the Shadow programme "because of a shift in focus to shipboard operations" and because the "RQ-7B is not shipboard compatible", according to the document. The USMC would forego upgrades for two of its 13 RQ-7B Shadow UAVs with the Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL).

The RQ-21A is a larger follow-on to the Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said in May 2014 that the system made its first operational deployment overseas at the end of April.

An RQ-21A system constitutes five air vehicles, two ground control stations, and payloads to support ISR and communications relay for up to 12 hours per day continuously with a short surge capability for 24 hours a day. Payloads include day/night full-motion video cameras, infrared marker, laser range finder, communications relay package, and Automatic Identification System receivers. The air vehicle can travel up to 80 kt and has a ceiling of 15,000 ft (4,572 m), with a minimal operating radius of 50 n miles (92.6 km).

http://www.janes.com/

Il est moche a voir cet engin   

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UHAC Ultra Heavy-lift Amphibious Connector

U.S. Marine Corps test new Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector UHAC during RIMPAC 2014.
Members of the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) tested a model version of the Ultra Heavy-lift Amphibious Connector (UHAC) at the RIMPAC 2014, the world's largest international military maritime exercise. The UHAC is an amphibious craft that has three times the lift capacity and greater coastal access than the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC.)



The UHAC began testing on July 9 at the Marine Corps Training Area Bellows on Oahu, Hawaii and it is taking part in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2014 which is currently underway until August 1.

The AWE is taking part during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2014. Lt. Col. Don Gordon, the current technology officer at MCWL, said the UHAC is one of those experimental technologies that displays a possible capability of being able to insert Marines in areas where current technology wouldn’t be able to insert them based on current systems that are fielded.

The AWE (Advanced Warfighting Experiment) is the culmination of a decade of progressive experimentation conducted by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) where they are testing potential future technologies, solutions and concepts to future Marine Air Ground Task Force challenges.

The UHAC prototype is a ship-to-shore connector and is half the size of the intended machine. Currently, the UHAC travels at four knots using a track system with floatation-like pads that propels itself through different terrain



Less than half the size of the actual UHAC, the Warfighting Laboratory was here to see their project in action for the first time after years of planning.

If the concept model goes through, the UHAC could work side by side with the LCAC, which currently does all the ship-to-shore transportation of everything from High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) to tanks.

“The full-scale model should be able to carry at least three tanks and a HMMVW,” said Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Perera, the lab’s Infantry Weapons Project Officer. “It’s going to save a lot of time and fuel for the Marine Corps as well.”

Although the concept model doesn’t appear to be armored well, the final production is planned to have armor plating and .50-caliber machine guns, which Perera says are needed on the UHAC to be able to protect itself.

http://www.armyrecognition.com/weapons_defence_industry_military_technology_uk/u.s._marine_corps_test_new_ultra_heavy-lift_amphibious_connector_uhac_during_rimpac_2014_1107142.html

ca rappel les premiers british tanks Mark I de WW1

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Marine Corps Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC)

The Legged Squad Support System (LS3) walks around the Kahuku Training Area July 10, 2014 during the Rim of the Pacific 2014 exercise. The
LS3 is experimental technology being tested by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab during RIMPAC 2014. It is programmed to follow an operator
through terrain, carrying heavy loads like water and food to Marines training. There are multiple technologies being tested during RIMPAC
, the largest maritime exercise in the Pacific region. This year's RIMPAC features 22 countries and around 25,000 people.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Sarah Dietz/RELEASED)

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Marine Corps Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC)

They Call Me....GUSS (6 photos)

The Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate (GUSS) is experimental technology being tested by Marine Corps Warfighting Lab during Rim of the
Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014; it's a multi-purpose support vehicle equipped with sensors to allow operation with or without a driver.  


  

PHOTOS:

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26.07.2014

Drones, F-16 et QRF de l'USMC pour évacuer l'ambassade US de Tripoli



C'est temporaire, assure le State Department (DoS): un convoi de 27 SUV et un camion a évacué ce matin tous les personnels civils et militaires (80 marines) présents à Tripoli (150 personnes au total), dans le compound de l'ambassade US en Libye.

Le Department of Defense (DoD) a expliqué avoir assuré la sécurité de l'opération avec des chasseurs F-16, des moyens ISR (des drones certainement) et une "Airborne Response Force" équipée de MV-22 Ospreys.

L'évacuation par voie terrestre résulte des combats à la roquette et à l'artillerie entre milices rivales qui font rage depuis deux semaines dans Tripoli.

http://lignesdedefense.blogs.ouest-france.fr/archive/2014/07/26/drones-f16-et-qrf-de-l-usmc-pour-evacuer-l-ambassade-us-de-t-12228.html

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Aiirsource

US Marines Scout Snipers. (14 photos)


  

PHOTOS:

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Marine Corps Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC) a partagé le statut de Marine Rotational Force Darwin.

MRF-D training hard.

Check out the photos from the final part of Exercise Koolendong!

PHOTOS:

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USMC Super Stallion helo crashes in Gulf of Aden, no casualties

Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

02 September 2014


A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter similar to this crashed while attempting to land aboard the USS Mesa Verde. All 25 on board
were recovered safely. Source: US Navy  

A US Marine Corps (USMC) Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopter crashed while trying to land on a US Navy (USN) ship in the Gulf of Aden on 1 September.

The helicopter crashed into the sea after attempting to land on the USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship. All 25 crew aboard the helicopter were safely recovered onto the ship shortly after.

While the USMC and USN are investigating the incident, the US Department of Defense said it was not caused by hostile action.

The USMC currently has about 150 CH-53E helicopters that have been in service since 1981.

http://www.janes.com/article/42628/usmc-super-stallion-helo-crashes-in-gulf-of-aden-no-casualties

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Final Flight of Huey for 'Red Dogs'




NAVAL AIR STATION JOINT RESERVE BASE, New Orleans -- After more than 40 years of service, the Marine Corps retired the aging UH-1N Huey helicopter during a “sundown ceremony” Aug. 28, 2014, aboard Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, New Orleans.

The UH-1N Huey is a twin engine, utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopters in 1969. Bell began the delivery of 205 UH-1N helicopters, to the Navy and Marine Corps in 1971. For more than 40 years of service, the UH-1N has been operationally employed in Vietnam, Grenada, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq. The UH-1N flew its last combat flight in 2010 in Afghanistan.

“Over the years the Marine Corps has developed a number of upgrades for the aircraft including improved avionics, aircraft survivability equipment and a forward looking infrared sensor,” said Maj. Joseph C. Begley, an AH-1W pilot with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 Detachment A, Marine Aircraft Group 49, during the ceremony opening remarks.

The UH-1N holds sentimental value for many who attended the final flight. During the ceremony, many shared their personal accounts about the aircraft.

“The UH-1N is American history; it’s a touch tone aircraft of combat for a full generation,” said Col. Philip M. Pastino, commanding officer of MAG-49. “I was a lieutenant at the El Toro airshow in 1990 manning my Huey, [during] a static display, when an older gentleman stood back and stared for a good while. After a pause he asked me in a shaky voice if he could touch the Huey. He slowly approached the aircraft and placed his hands on the cargo deck and he started to cry. I didn’t know what to do so I put my hand on his shoulder. He told me that his brothers that didn’t come home, and were now on the Vietnam Memorial Wall, flew their last flight in a UH-1N. I knew then that it wasn’t my Huey at the airshow, it was his and a whole generation’s.”

The UH-1N platform flown by HMLA-773, has been replaced by the new UH-1Y Venom platform which provides drastically improved capabilities to its predecessor in terms of range, airspeed, payload, survivability and lethality.

In 1996, the Marine Corps launched the H-1 upgrade program, signing a contract with Bell Helicopter for upgrading 100 UH-1Ns into UH-1Ys. The largest improvement was the increase in engine power. Replacing the engines and the two-bladed rotor system with four blades, the Y-model will return the Huey to the utility role for which it was designed. Originally, the UH-1Y was to be remanufactured from UH-1N airframes, but in April 2005, approval was granted to build them as new helicopters.

“A big thing for us is training and the UH-1Y is really going to help us be combat ready and have a more predominant place in Marine Corps aviation,” said Lt. Col. Mark Sauer, commanding officer of Det. C, MAG-49.

Though the UH-1N has retired, the Marine Corps and HMLA-773 have great expectations for their new platform, the UH-1Y Venom.

http://www.marforres.marines.mil

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Aiirsource

U.S. Marines & French Foreign Legion Small Arms Cross Training

 

excellentes vidéos.

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Flight Test Successful on V-22 Engine Upgrade



WASHINGTON — Rolls-Royce has completed a successful flight test of its new engine upgrade for the V-22.

Company officials say the test, conducted in New Mexico earlier this summer, met expectations of a 17 percent power increase to the engines. That will enable the Osprey to fly at 6,000 feet in 95 degree temperatures, an improvement that would address a major challenge to V-22 operations in regions such as the Middle East.

Tom Hartmann, Rolls’ senior vice president for customer business, said the biggest driver of the power improvement comes from a relatively new turbine added to the engine.

The Block 3 turbine design, based on a commercial product Rolls-Royce has used on other aircraft, began being installed on new production models in July 2012.

Also playing a role in the extra power is improvements to flow capacity of the fuel valve and a software update.

“You don’t need the extra power all the time, so when you don’t need it you’re running cooler, and when you run cooler it lowers operational cost,” Hartmann said. “We will give operators what they need when they need to run certain missions, but for the vast number of missions it will have a positive effect on durability.”

The Rolls AE 1107C engine powers the V-22s across the services. The US Air Force’s fleet of CV-22s are used for special operations missions. The US Marine Corps’ MV-22 has two variants, the B and C models, which are used in the transportation of troops and equipment.

“That’s our goal and desire,” Hartmann said when asked if he expected the Marines to use the new upgrade. “We are putting all Block 3 turbines in and replacing older turbines under our mission care construct. So not every engine will have it right away on the V-22s, but eventually everyone will be converted over to that configuration.

“Whether the Marines want to unlock the extra power or not, I think they still need to evaluate down the road.”

In the meantime, the Air Force was “thrilled” with the test flight, Hartmann said. Upgrades to the existing V-22 fleet could begin within 18-24 months of going on contract, depending on whether long-lead items can be procured ahead of time.

Getting on contract, of course, isn’t easy in this day and age.

“We are supporting them by providing them estimates on what it would take to convert,” Hartmann said. “I would hope that if its mission essential they will find a way to prioritize it high enough.”

In addition to the V-22 upgrade, the company received certification from the Air Force in July for its Series 3.5 engine upgrade for the T56 engine, used in the global C-130 fleet. Rolls officials have said they expect to be on contract with the Air Force in the next year to upgrade the C-130H models used primarily by the National Guard.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) became the first customer to adapt the Series 3.5 upgrade for two P-3 “Hurricane Hunter” surveillance aircraft, which also use the T56 engine.

Hartmann said the company was “pleased” with how the P-3 test flights have been going, and noted the company has had interested both domestically and international on its Series 3.5 solution.

“We’re excited to start exploring with those customers how to make it a reality,” he said, while declining to identify potential customers.

Asked whether relying on smaller upgrades to existing engines is part of a corporate strategy to deal with ongoing budget reductions worldwide, Hartmann described the V-22 and Series 3.5 upgrades as in line with the history of upgrading the T56 engine.

“As time moves on, technologies get better and you like to spiral them in,” he said. “That has been a focus of this company for a long time.”

The difference is even low-cost, high-saving upgrades have to fight for budget space these days, Hartmann said.

“The big challenge is once you get it invented you have to get the budget and the attention of the customer to field it, and that’s often the hardest part,” he said. “Figuring out the cool new thing to provide to the customer to improve their affordability and capability is something we can do pretty readily. Then you have to do the hard thing of getting it actually in the field.”■