Viv Forbes pointed out that no Climate Prediction in the past 50-years evaaa came true, yet the pundits, gurus and greenfools march on, unabashed, unfazed and with 97% certainty that they will get it right one day ….

So, let me make a prediction: he who relies on electrified vehicles (armoured and soft-skinned) on the battlefield to power their mobility will LOSE any war against their fossil fuelled opposition. Even if the enemy is armed with clubs.

Electrification will have specific relevance to the combat effectiveness of the ADF. In 2020, the UK defence R&D organisation, Qinetiq, published Powering the Electrified Battlespace, a study of the electrification of warfare, which concluded that ‘the fundamental enabler for all future warfare is electric power’. Rubbish!

The ADF is increasingly deploying platforms and systems relying on batteries for their operation. Hybrid and EV versions of the Bushmaster troop carrier are being developed. How to effortlessly lose the next war without really trying. They are understood to be short on range currently and take hour upon hour to recharge but with operationally significant rates of acceleration.

The Navy is exploring battery powered autonomous craft such as the Bluebottle surface surveillance drone and the Ghost Shark uncrewed underwater vehicle, while the Army is evaluating high-performance electric bikes Define ‘High Performance’ for stealthy scouting missions. In February, Australia announced it was sending $33 million worth of electrically powered aerial drones to Ukraine. No less significant are the logistics required to support the great number of batteries used in the field at individual and unit level.

Defence’s strategy for exploiting the renewable energy transition is currently unclear. We have suggested organisational changes Defence needs to made to better understand and adapt to REJECT the electrified battlespace. Regardless, Defence will be major users of renewable energy systems, including batteries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlO2gcs1YvM

Consequently, government support for the development of battery manufacturing, at least underwriting the nation’s renewable energy transition, appears unavoidable. This is not popular in policy formation but the decade of the 2030s is likely to be far from normal. If such times justify spending $300-ish billion on one aspect of maritime security, it seems more than justified to spend $17-23 billion to 2030 on a fundamental of national security—building a battery manufacturing industry. A staggering level of moronicity

Army’s special-ops helicopter purchase cancelled

The Australian Army has reportedly cancelled its requirement for 16 light helicopters for use by Special Operations Command.

FILE PHOTO: H145M helicopter with ‘plug-and-play’ weapon systems was one of the contenders for Army’s Project LAND 2097 Phase 4, now cancelled. Airbus Helicopters photo by Anthony Pecchi.

This requirement for a new fleet of helicopters was identified in the 2016 Defence White Paper, but now cancelled in light of the acquisition of new Black Hawk and Apache fleets and the expansion of the Chinook and UAV fleets.

In 2018, Project LAND 2097 Phase 4 formally explored concepts that could help bring this capability to fruition.

The helicopters being sought were to have been already proven, commercial- or military-off-the-shelf, optimised for operating in dense urban environments, and capable of being rapidly deployed by C-17A Globemaster.

Initial requests for info, which progressed to a formal tendering process in 2020, said the helicopter should also be capable of being fitted with simple, proven, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) equipment and weapon systems.

However, speaking at the Australian International Air Show at Avalon, Victoria, this month, the Australian Army’s Aviation Command boss Major General Stephen Jobson reportedly said the project was cancelled because of overlapping capabilities in Army’s new and expanding helicopter and UAV fleets.

“The UH-60M Black Hawk will come into service as an aircraft system that will provide dedicated support to Australia’s special forces,” Major General Jobson said.

“All 22 Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters will be replaced by 29 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters later in the decade, and the CH-47 fleet has already been increased from 10 to 14 aircraft.

“We’re also moving from two batteries of Shadow tactical unmanned aerial systems to three batteries of the Insitu Integrator UAS.”

Three bid teams were in the running for Project LAND 2097 Phase 4 – Airbus with its H145M (pictured) and two teams both with solutions based on the Bell 429.

Project LAND 2097 Phase 4 was initially valued at between $2 to $3 billion.

While Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, top executive pushed ‘woke’ programs – by Katherine Donlevy – for the New York Post – 11.03.23

Consider: “These ~~banks~~ western armies are badly run because ~~everybody~~ to get ahead, senior officers are focused on diversity and all of the woke issues and not concentrating on the one thing they should, which is, ~~shareholder returns~~, warfighting and defeating our potential enemies, That is (or should be) their full time job. Most would run a mile at the sound of the first shot” Marcus said.

“Instead of protecting the ~~shareholders~~ nation and their ~~employees~~ soldiers, sailors and airmen, they are more concerned about the ~~social policies~~ and how shiny their medals look on their next Pride march. And I think it’s probably a badly run ~~bank~~ and war losing military that is distracted by irrelevancies.

“They’ve been there for a lot of years and it is time we had Cromwellian cleanout for our foppish generals and climate fighting admirals

along the lines of https://youtu.be/efmiutIr97c

Poem #05

General Macavity:

A Modern Hero for Today …

Text Box: General Macavity Alistair Pope

31^st December 2020

BLANK

Macavity: A Very Modern General and the Hero of the Day …

With apologies to Andrew Lloyd Webber & ‘Cats’.

General Macavity’s a mystery officer, he’s called the buffoons paw

For he’s the deskbound hero who can defy the physics law

He’s the bafflement of common sense, the combat troops despair

For when they’re in the thick of battle Macavity’s not there!

General Macavity! There’s no one like Macavity

He’s broken every physics law, he can break the law of gravity

His powers of teleportation would make a wizard stare

For when you reach the scene of battle, Macavity’s not there!

You may seek him in a bunker, you may look up in the air

But I’ll tell you once and yet again that Macavity’s not there!

Macavity’s a modern General, he’s neither tall nor thin

You’d know him if you saw him for his eyes are sunken in

His brow is deeply lined in thought, his medals are all chromed

His dress is clean, with never dirt nor blood as it is often combed

He nods his head and proclaims: “I know which side to take!”

But when you think ‘he’s one of us’ he turns into a snake.

General Macavity! There’s no one like Macavity

He’s a villain and a fake, an ‘officer’ without honour or honesty.

You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square

But when a battle’s at its height, Macavity’s not there!

He’s outwardly respectable, but I know he is a dud

He’s never found in any action where there’s danger or blood.

Be assured that when the fighting is at its very toughest

When the enemy is attacking and at his very roughest

When death is close and our bravest soldiers are in despair

There’s the wonder of the thing, General Macavity’s not there!

General Macavity! There’s no one like Macavity!

There never was a General who’s so perfected deceit and bureaucratic suavity

He always has an alibi and one or two to spare

Whenever a real battle was fought Macavity wasn’t there!

And they say that there are soldiers whose wicked deeds are known

For which Macavity collected medals, but claims it can be shown

Although he was the commander, like Napoleon in his time

He gets to keep his medals, because he knew nothing of their crime.

Brave soldiers who faced death, who were willing to take risks and dare

Are condemned by tin-medalled Generals, who now deny they were EVER there!

General Macavity! There’s no one like Macavity

He’s a very modern General, with a ‘Doctorate in Dishonesty’

You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square

But when a war crime is discovered then Macavity!

Macavity! Macavity! Macavity!

When a war crime is discovered then Macavity was not there!

I wrote the original first draft in 15-minutes mocking our Gilbert & Sullivan modern (Major) Generals. I wanted to quickly post a comment excoriating the PC, woke desk-Generals that disgrace their uniform every day by not resigning, or better still, falling on their sword. I know that will not happen as it would require a modicum of military honour.

The poem is, of course, pure fiction. It took two hours to ‘clean-up’, but it might stick in the reader’s mind every time they see another ‘Press Conference’ and ‘clarification’ by those who model themselves on George MacDonald Fraser’s General Flashman in our hierarchy of military midgets.

Nothing changes COMBAT Samizdat: A Medal for Horatio

The lyrics from ‘Macavity, the Mystery Cat’. Macavity the Mystery Cat Part 1 | Cats the Musical – Bing video

Macavity’s a mystery cat, he’s called the hidden paw
For he’s the master criminal who can defy the common law
He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair
For when they reach the scene of crime Macavity’s not there!

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity
He’s broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare
And when you reach the scene of crime Macavity’s not there!
You may seek him in a basement, you may look up in the air
But I tell you once and once again Macavity’s not there!

Macavity’s a ginger cat, he’s very tall and thin
You’d know him if you saw him for his eyes are sunken in
His brow is deeply lined in thought, his head is highly domed
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed
He sways his head from side to side with movements like a snake
And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity
He’s a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square
But when a crime’s discovered then Macavity’s not there!

He’s outwardly respectable, I know he cheats at cards
And his footprints are not found in any files of Scotland Yard’s
And when the larder’s looted or the jewel case is rifled
Or when the milk is missing or another peke’s been stifled
Or the greenhouse glass is broken and the trellis past re~~pair~~
There’s the wonder of the thing, Macavity’s not there!

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity
There never was a cat of such deceitfulness and suavity
He always has an alibi and one or two to spare
Whatever time the deed took place Macavity wasn’t there!

And they say that all the cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone
Are nothing more than agents for the cat who all the time
Just controls the operations, the Napoleon of crime!

Macavity’s not there!

Alistair Pope 31^st December 2020