Cause Assad don't play ball with USA. He's in the Russian camp - which is why the Russians are supporting them by bombing FSA.

As for attacking ISIS... they've been doing it on a low level since waaaay before the Russians did, in support of the Arab Coalition.

Basically in the Middle East nothing is black and white.

While modified prop-engine COIN planes may be costly as a whole, they are not as costly individually as high-tech strike aircraft like Scorpion(Embraer Super Tucano typically only costs around $ 10-14 million USD per unit).

Good precision stand-off weapons and advanced electro-optical sensors can place them as far away from insurgent's AA guns as needed. As they are mostly being powered by piston or turboprop engines, they generate less IR signature compared with a plane with jet engines making it very difficult to aim with MANPADS.

Being slow also makes the IR signatures generated from friction be reduced dramatically. Powered by propellers also makes them far less noisy than jet engined planes.

Nonetheless, I think for this type of operation, armed UAV like Reaper are more suited.

I dunno, there has to be a reason why the superpowers aren't going for it. I believe I read that once you factor in the EO/laser targeting pods the cost goes up significantly... but I may be remembering wrong.

Reapers perform most of the UK airstrikes in Iraq. Brimstone is a real wonder weapon.

for USAF, their love for prop planes ended with Vietnam War. Even fast jet mud movers were somehow kept in the cold (no promotion, doing dead end jobs).

Russian Marines Deploy to East Homs Amid Syrian Army’s Operations near Palmyra



TEHRAN (FNA)- A unit of more than 60 Russian Marines arrived in the Homs province's Eastern part in order to advise and overlook the Syrian Army’s counter-offensive against the ISIL terrorists in Western side of the ancient city of Palmyra (Tadmur).

Prior to the arrival of the Russian Marines in Eastern Homs, the ISIL was on the offensive at the strategic villages of Al-Bayarat and Al-Dawa; however, the situation changed after the terrorist group failed to bypass the Syrian army’s defense lines, an army source said.

After the arrival of the Russian military advisors, the Syrian army’s 67th Brigade of the 18th Tank Division and the National Defense Forces (NDF) of Homs city, under the command of the Russian Marine advisors, launched a counter-offensive at al-Bayarat, seizing the lost territory from the ISIL terrorists in the village’s Eastern part.

The pro-government forces, including the army, the NDF, the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Syrian and Russian Air Forces, have been coordinating in recent weeks for a large-scale operation to end the ISIL control over Palmyra.

On Saturday, fierce fighting resumed between the Syrian army troops and ISIL terrorists West of Palmyra.

The Syrian troops engaged in heavy clashes with ISIL terrorists in al-Bayarat region West of Palmyra, inflicting heavy losses on them.

The news also said that the Syrian warplanes intensified their airstrikes on ISIL strongholds in several regions across the province of Homs on Saturday.

The Syrian air raids hit ISIL positions in the high-profile Quaryatayn city and al-Shindakhiyeh al-Janoubiyeh village in Homs province.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940915000410

Watch the first aerial test of the F-35's gatling gun



Woo, boy. Here’s video showing Lockheed Martin conducting the first aerial test for the F-35’s gatling gun. Called the GAU-22/A, the weapon can pop off 3,300 25mm rounds per minute. The gun fires so fast that your eyes might miss it. Even though the test was successful, the GAU-22/A won’t be combat ready until 2019 because the control software is still being developed.



http://sploid.gizmodo.com/watch-the-first-...-gun-1746723916

Malaysia to Help Australia in Islamic State Fight





http://thediplomat.com/2015/12/malaysia-to...ic-state-fight/

What It Looks Like to Load and Fire Inside an Abrams Tank



​Ever wondered what it looks like inside an Abrams tank when the main gun is fired? A GoPro video from the perspective of the tank's loader shows the action in the cramped space of the turret.

In the video, the tank loader picks up a blue-labeled M831A1 TP-T, or Target Practice Tracer round, loads it into the breech, and closes the breech. The tank commander, to his right, gives the order to fire. Out of sight, the gunner fires the gun and the breech block slides backward—straight toward the camera—ejecting the casing.

The American M1 Abrams tank is one of the last tanks to have a human main gun loader. All other tanks, including the new Russian T-14 Armata tank, have mechanical loaders. Mechanical loaders take up less volume inside a tank than a human being, meaning tanks can be made smaller. Mechanical loaders also don't have to be paid—an important consideration in volunteer armies—and cutting personnel costs by 25 percent in tank units is a very attractive proposition.

That doesn't mean human loaders don't have their advantages. The French LeClerc main battle tank has an autoloader that can load 12 rounds a minute, or one every five seconds. That may sound fast, but human loaders are actually faster—skilled U.S. Army tank loaders can load the gun in three seconds, and in the first Gulf War, an M1 Abrams tank destroyed three enemy vehicles in five seconds.

Tank crews are also useful in other roles. The more crew around to do tank maintenance and upkeep the better. During lulls in combat, a four man tank can still have one man outside the tank, keeping watch, while the rest of the crew can still man all the tank's essential functions. A three man tank will have to send the gunner, driver, or commander outside—meaning the tank either can't shoot, can't move, or the commander can't quickly issue commands to the crew.

American tankers have a suspicion of tanks that don't have human loaders. During the Cold War, it was rumored that the automatic loader on a Soviet T-72 tank would occasionally mistake a tanker's arm for a main gun round and attempt to feed it into the gun. And during the development of the XM-8 Armored Gun System, the tank's autoloader was derided for jamming while ejecting the round outside the turret, necessitating a crew member getting out of the tank and expose himself to enemy fire in order to clear the jam.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/w...an-abrams-tank/

Did a blind Bulgarian clairvoyant predict the rise of ISIS?







http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-33...m-war-2016.html

This Is The Navy's New Zumwalt-Class Destroyer Out At Sea For The Very First Time









http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/this-is-t...he-v-1746694657

UAE conspiring to end Tunisia's fledgling democracy: Source



http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/details-...racy-1134923414

"Great Muslim war"

Sorry but when hasn't there been one...?

Syrian Army and Hezbollah Advance in Southern Aleppo as the Islamist Rebels Struggle to Halt the Onslaught



Over the last 24 hours in the Aleppo Governorate’s southern countryside, the Syrian Arab Army’s 43rd, 82nd, and 155th Brigades of the 4th Mechanized Division – in coordination with Hezbollah, Harakat Al-Nujaba (Iraqi paramilitary), and the National Defense Forces (NDF) of Aleppo City – have captured and reclaimed several villages from the Islamist rebels of Jabhat Al-Nusra (Syrian Al-Qaeda group), Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, Harakat Nouriddeen Al-Zinki, and Liwaa Suqour Al-Sham after a day filled with violent firefights.

On Monday morning, the Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Mechanized Division and their allies advanced towards the Islamist rebels main supply route along the Aleppo-Damascus Highway (M-5 Highway), capturing the villages of Zeitan and Al-Qa’layjiyah after Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham and Harakat Nouriddeen Al-Zinki retreated towards the strategic town of Al-Zorba.


Following the capture of Zeitan and Al-Qa’layjiyah near the strategic towns of Al-Zorba and Khan Touman, the Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Mechanized Division and their allies imposed full control over the contested villages of Khalsah and Al-Hamra; this powerful assault resulted in the death of several enemy combatants and the capture of 4 fighters from Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham and Jabhat Al-Nusra.

With the capture of the aforementioned villages, the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies are now in position to strike the town of Al-Zorba along the Aleppo-Damascus Highway; this leaves the Islamist rebels in a dire position to protect their main supply route to the provincial capital of the Aleppo Governorate.

However, before the Syrian Armed Forces launch a large-scale assault on Al-Zorba, they will need to secure the village of Burnah, which is situated directly north of Tal Al-‘Eiss – Hezbollah and the SAA’s 43rd Brigade control 80 percent of the village.

http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian...-the-onslaught/

TURKISH F-16 TO WITHDRAW AFTER BEING CONFRONTED WITH RUSSIAN SU-34





http://www.in4s.net/index.php/turski-f-16-...i-suhoji-su-34/

ISIS loses ground: Iraq military recaptures neighborhood outside Ramadi





http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/12/08/is...outside-ramadi/

How the military is designing new tactical gear for female soldiers





http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2015/1...female-soldiers

IS TURKISH SUDDEN BATTLE TANK ATTACK ON S-400 A POSSIBILITY?





http://interpolit.ru/blog/vozmozhen_li_tan...2015-11-30-6095

This post has been edited by BorneoAlliance: Dec 9 2015, 12:33 AM

Russia strikes ISIS targets in Syria from sub in Mediterranean for first time (VIDEO)



Russia has, for the first time, targeted Islamic State targets in Syria with Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles launched from a submarine in the Mediterranean Sea, according to Russia’s Defense Minister.

The 3M-54 Kalibr missiles were launched from the Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine “Rostov-on-Don”, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Russia’s warships based in the Caspian and Mediterranean seas launched similar missiles targeting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) positions in late November. This is the first time that Russia has targeted IS in Syria from a submarine.

“[The missiles] targeted two major terrorist positions in the territory of Raqqa,” he said.

“We can say with absolute confidence that significant damage has been inflicted upon ammunition warehouses and a mine production plant, as well as the oil infrastructure.”



https://www.rt.com/news/325143-russia-strik...isis-submarine/

US Army Tests Venom System to Kill Drones at Maneuvers - Northrop Grumman



The US Army’s new Venom detection and tracking system to destroy drones has been successfully demonstrated at military maneuvers, defense contractor Northrop Grumman said in a press release on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Venom is a ground-based targeting system that incorporates Northrop Grumman's Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder to provide target designation for delivery of precision-guided munitions.

"At the Army Maneuver-Fires Integrated Experiment (MFIX) held at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Northrop Grumman's Venom demonstrated the ability to identify and track small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and to provide accurate targeting data while on the move," the release stated.

In the test, the Venom system supported counter-drone functions from two vehicles, providing precision target coordinates for fire support then locked onto and tracked low-flying, small unmanned aircraft, the release added.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20151208/1...l#ixzz3tmOnjiOs

The 55+ tons of the Indonesian Army Leopard 2A4 tank operating well in the Indonesian tropical soil & environment.



Credit to original uploader.