Tom W.

@pinstripedline @ColdWarPod @NavyLookout @geoallison @OnthisdayRN @militaryhistori @TheDreadShips @DramaWarship @IBallantyn @warshipworld @WarshipPorn @fightingsailor Thank you, I really enjoyed that and it answered a few questions I had from being a boy and seeing them.

This thread on the secret Cold War history of how the Imperial War Museum acquired its 15" guns against the odds may interest: @ColdWarPod @NavyLookout @geoallison @OnthisdayRN @militaryhistori @TheDreadShips @DramaWarship @IBallantyn @warshipworld @WarshipPorn @fightingsailor @DrHelenFry @navalhistorian @FennellJW among others

The 15" guns outside of the Imperial War Museum in London are one of its most prized exhibits. They are a memorial to the 'big gun' ship. Yet the story of how they came to be there is little known but involves atomic weapons, the space race and lots of financial paperwork…

@KampfmitKette @thinkdefence @Mark1_1984 @ArmouredSapper

@historicfirearm I’d be very interested to know how tungsten superior matrix shot performs against drones. I believe standard bird shot struggles to deliver a knockout blow.

Infantry Counter-Drone Solutions If you were tasked with evaluating kinetic counter-drone ammunition (frangible rifle calibre, conventional shotgun, net/bolo shotgun cartridges) how would you do it?

@thinkdefence youtube.com/shorts/2v-mdKE… Joe Hewes Cheiftain pulling a 6 Tine plough at speed at little over tick over. This would make even a 8000 series fastrac work hard.

@thinkdefence Probably doesn’t have the net traction for most close support MilEng tasks. You need at least 300kN of DBP, which is leo1 type vehicles. Good is around 600kN, like CR and Leo2. Fastrac is probably around 140kN, great for farm work.

Inspired by that earlier post about the Romanian tractor manufacturer turning one into a high capacity UGV. A JCB Fastrac AI mashup Start with a forward control version, remove the cab, paint it green

@thinkdefence What’s the draw bar pull of a fastrac?

Add your own, fascines maybe, a DROPS trailer, a smoke generator. The point is to start with a vehicle already designed, especially one that doesnt need sporadic defence orders to keep production going and has a global support infrastructure

@thinkdefence @AdjutantsDog @BO3673 What’s the VLCI of RCH and K9?

@AdjutantsDog @BO3673 God job we are getting Boxer RCH then, oh, hang on 😀

Why wouldn't we just buy more of these? They exist, I assume it's very de-risked, and they appear to work. Is it particularly defective in some area or other?

@thinkdefence People say you can’t taste a picture…

Pictured The Kellogg Brown and Root water bottling facility at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan

@thinkdefence Canada was difficult for having a rock hard top surface on top of total muddy slop. If you broke through you were knackered.

Pictures: Why mobility matters

@vickersmg Yeh used them at RMAS in 2009

Pointer, Staff, Mark 1. Used to help indicate a target to someone looking over your shoulder. Part of a machine gunner’s kit on the Second World War but a general piece for instructors ever since it seems.

@vickersmg @historicfirearm Cool, where was that?]

@08681234a @historicfirearm Had one in our hands last week. Made by Vickers too!

Grayburn will probably be won by the company that makes the best business case to do the most within the MoD's small arms inventory: manufacture, maintenance, support for as much of the fleet as possible. Cost and utility will be strong factors but it's gonna be 5.56 and an AR.

@thinkdefence Schrödingers DIP. Defence is both alive and dead whilst the DIP isn’t released…

Oddly, although there has been a lot of noise about the lateness of the Defence Investment Plan, I haven't seen much speculation about what it will contain. My view is it will contain a lot of pain tempered with some shiny glitter, but beyond that, am only guessing

@Mark1_1984 @John_ForemanCBE @blagden_david Yes. A lack of fully trained officers was a key issue in both Wars. Haig wanted to delay the Somme until Aug, partly because of this. Foch made him go in July due to the situation in Verdun.

@John_ForemanCBE @blagden_david Were those Officers who fought the war that weren't trained at Dartmouth, Sandhurst or Woolwich any less effective?

Given BRNC successfully trained highly aggressive and successful officers for WW1, WW2, and the Falklands etc, how will this move make new officers any more ‘warfighting’ ready?

@thinkdefence Seen them made of bits of Chinese wheel chairs in Ukraine. Impressive but not sure how long they’d last.

I would like to propose the MoD and DSTL hold a competition to see who can create the cheapest logistics UGV, not the best. We need to start thinking seriously about cost. The rules 1. The UGV should be no larger than a standard NATO pallet 2. Any communications and control equipment must be contained in a 600x400x400 Eurobox 3. Any batteries must also be contained within a 600x400x400 Eurobox 4. The top must be free from obstruction and fitted with tie down points 5. They should be stackable such that two can be carried inside a standard ISO container (20 per container) 6. They should have fork lift pockets such that they can be moved by forklifts and telehandlers 7. The sides must feature a rail system to support tie downs accessories 8. The top must accommodate removable fixed side rails 9. All components must be readily available, commercial or military off the shelf 10. The design selected will become sovereign owned 11. The design must use standard fasteners 12. It can be tracked or wheeled 13. Design can be autonomous or remote control, or a combination. 14. No upper target on range, but minimum should be 30km 15. No upper target on payload, but minimum should be 300kg Extra marks for being the cheapest Double extra marks for being able to be fabricated in unit What about your rules?

Big Jack in Crasta

@thinkdefence Genuinely blows my mind that the THawk was cutting edge when I was a Lt, surely that wasn’t that long ago…

Counter IED drone, in Afghanistan, the technology changes, but the job remains (more or less)

@thinkdefence Can you also cover CBR implications on bank seats for tactical bridging.

It could have even had a cheeky nod to cone penetrometers and the role of the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment (MEXE) in inventing them

Was thinking of writing a thread on California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and Load Classification Number (LCN) as they relate to aircraft runways, especially for soft surfaces of the kind those US MC-130 aircraft experienced, but would probably be just called a blue tick wanker

@thinkdefence Yes 100%, BBMF, Red Arrows, White Helmets, Blue Angels, Red Devils, Bands, ceremonial et al are a vital part of defence staying connected to the population.

Do you think this should come from the defence budget, do we really need to keep 80 odd year old aircraft flying? I would extend this question to other services heritage equipment