Preparing for conflict in the Pacific: Weapons and Warfare

Hello and welcome to another episode of Weapons and Warfare

For Straight Arrow News, I'm your host, Ryan Robertson. Just ahead this week, from rifles to tiltrotors, the army goes on a designation spree

We've got the details. Plus, the mortar gets a glow-up. We check out the Scorpion Light mobile mortar system in our Weapon of the Week

And Fairbanks Morse Defense is bringing the pit stop to the fleet

In our comps check, see how this innovative idea is keeping American ships on the job and out of the docks

But we're going to dive into our main story first, preparing for conflict in the Pacific

It's a subject we've been following almost from the beginning here at Weapons and Warfare

As China continues to grow its military strength and make bold moves in the South China Sea

the Department of Defense is working to keep China's influence in check

and ensure everyone can operate freely in the waters of the world's largest ocean

Over the course of the past few months, we've traveled to Aurora, Colorado

Washington, D.C. several times, and Tampa, Florida, each time hearing from different branches of the U.S. military about the issues they're facing

While many of those issues are unique to those individual services, some, like China, are universal

There's a recognition among senior leadership, like Lieutenant General Stephen Skalinka, that their troops will likely be tested in a way they have not been before

None of us wearing a uniform today have ever experienced a time when you've had to operate where you were challenged in the strategic domains and in the operational domains

We've always had unfettered access in the global commons. That's not going to be the case in the Indo-Pacific, and that's a significant piece

That's what really drives a lot of the priorities that we're having, not just in the Marine Corps, but I think within the joint force

The threat presented by China in the Pacific is more than a talking point for American military leadership

In a very short period, China's People's Liberation Army Navy has grown in size and stature

While exact numbers are hard to pin down, China's Navy is estimated to have a fleet of approximately 370 surface ships and submarines with a total personnel strength of 384,000

For the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral Blake Converse, those numbers line up with what he's seeing in the Pacific theater

When I was a young officer driving submarines across the Pacific almost 30 years ago, you could drive across the Pacific through the South China Sea, through the Andaman Sea and into the Indian Ocean

And it was very unlikely that you would see a Chinese warship, Chinese aircraft or Chinese submarine during the entire transit

Today, on any given day, on our common operating picture, there will be over 100 Chinese warships, submarines, and auxiliaries operating in the Indo-Pacific waters

One of the reasons why the Pacific Theater presents such a unique challenge is the size of it all, something Vice Admiral Andrew Tiongson acknowledged at Sea Airspace 2025

I think you talked about the AOR that I'm responsible for right now, and it is vast

It's about 74 million square miles. It's got over 70 nations that are in it

I always talk about it from polar bears to penguins, from Hollywood to Bollywood

and a little bit more to the east coast of Africa. So it's pretty wide. Perhaps surprisingly one place where the joint forces are looking for possible solutions

is the Middle East, where the U.S. is fending off threats by the Iranian-backed Houthis

with troops stationed at sea and on land, something General Kevin Schneider, commander of Pacific Air Forces

spoke about at this year's AFA Warfare Symposium. We're continuing to find ways of taking those lessons from base defense

to be able to go, all right, what do each of the components bring to the fight

and recognize, at least in the Indo-Pacific, the Air Force and the Army are probably going to power project from land

We're probably going to power project from similar locations. So are there capabilities that they have in their formations

Are there capabilities we have in our formations that we can build on this

And that's incumbent upon having a command and control system that allows systems and capabilities to plug into that that quickly

That inter-service capability is something now retired Army General and former commander of the U.S. Army Pacific

Charles Flynn talked about last October at AUSA We concede no domain in the Pacific We can lose in any one of them So the strength that we have to apply not just in the air domain not just in the maritime domain

not just in the space and cyber domain, there is also strength that's required in the land domain

to integrate all of these things. And the interdependencies of the joint force

they're reliant upon land forces bringing these things together. While the number does vary, according to recent estimates, the US military has approximately 350,000 personnel stationed in the Pacific region

The largest concentration of troops are in Japan and South Korea, with significant numbers also stationed in Guam and Hawaii

And the one thing they all depend on to stay mission ready is space, a factor not lost on Brigadier General Anthony Mostelaire, commander of U.S. Space Force's Indo-Pacific

We need to establish space superiority first. And the reason why that's a challenge for us in the Indo-Pacific is exactly because China is racing toward parity in those other domains

So the other components, the air domain, the maritime domain, the land domain

depend on the Space Force more than ever to provide that protection

again, protecting the joint force from space-enabled attack. As China continues building up its Navy

its impact on stability in the Pacific region is becoming increasingly important

It's one of the many reasons why American military leadership says it's crucial for the United States and its allies to come together and respond effectively

to maintain peace in the Pacific. Okay folks, time now for some headlines you may have missed

The U.S. Army is on a naming spree announcing the future long-range assault aircraft will be called

the MV-75, previously known as the V-280 Valor. The M indicates it's designated for multi-mission

use, especially for special forces and attack operations. The first MV-75s will be fielded by

the 101st Airborne Division, with deliveries expected in 2028. And the Army removed the X

from the weapons designated for their close combat troops, officially recognizing their

newest rifle and automatic rifle as the M7 and M250. Both weapons have been classified

confirming they meet the Army's standards for performance and safety. Sig Sauer, the manufacturer

disputed claims that the M7 is unfit for use, emphasizing their thorough examination of the rifle

The nuclear triad is in need of modernization. That's the word from Air Force General Thomas

Boussier, commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command. Testifying in front of an

armed services subcommittee, Boussier pointed to China and Russia, who possess modern and diverse

arsenals, along with the potential of a nuclear-armed Iran, as reasons to push toward modernization

There is no operational margin remaining, and our resources continue to be stretched

impacting the readiness and well-being of our dedicated airmen. Today, I request your

continued support as we confront these pressing challenges while upholding our nation's security

In the push for modernization, General Boussier detailed the need for continued support of

initiatives like upgrades to intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as the B-21 Raider

and B-52 Stratofortress bombers, and the Nuclear Command Control and Communications Infrastructure

According to multiple reports, North Korea made at least four arrests as a result of their

investigation into the failed launch of its second naval destroyer, which Kim Jong-un blamed on

criminal negligence. The 5,000-ton warship was damaged when a transport cradle detached

leaving it mostly submerged. State media reported the damage is repairable, noting scratches and some seawater in the stern, but denied claims of holes in the hull

According to North Korea's state-run news agency, KCNA, the deputy director of the ruling Workers' Party's Munitions Industry Department

was largely accountable for the serious accident. Ri-Hyung-sun was one of four individuals arrested following the incident

The damaged ship is believed to be in the same class as North Korea's first destroyer

recently unveiled and claimed to carry nuclear weapons. So

PB&J, bacon and eggs, mortars, and military assaults. Some things just go together, right

And the history between mortars and militaries goes back more than 500 years

While there have been technological leaps and improvements over the decades, or centuries

the basic function remained largely the same. Depending on the size of the mortar, the number of troops needed to operate it varies between three and seven

But as you'll see in our Weapon of the Week, that's changing. meet the scorpion mobile mortar system built by global ordinance they call it the world's

fastest automated and fully digital mortar system this is an 81 millimeter mortar mounted onto a

polaris 6x6 m razor it's part of a family of systems built to bring an improved shoot and

scoot capability to American troops. The system right now has 48 rounds on it, and it can in-place

and displace in less than 30 seconds. What that means is that the system can be set off the back

of the vehicle, stopped, the mortar set on the ground, able to fire in less than 30 seconds

in-place back onto the vehicle in less than 30 seconds, and move out without the enemy even

knowing that you were there. As James Knight, Global Ordinance's Senior Manager for Defense

Systems and Energetics tells us, they see it as an evolutionary leap that can keep pace with the

needs of today's warfighters. Traditional mortars have a spaded base plate which actually digs into

the ground. Those spades are there to stabilize the system and take the shock recoil profile and

push it into the ground. This system has a revolutionary style base plate which is a

non-seeding base plate so it's able to fire from concrete in all different surfaces and terrains

There's no other base plate like it in the world, and we feel like it helps the system be able to employ in any environment

It only takes a crew of two to operate the Scorpion, so troops are literally doing more with less

And like the infamous invertebrate it's named after, the Scorpion strikes fast enough to keep operators out of harm's way of counter-battery fire

So counter-battery fire just means once you shoot the system and the rounds are up in the air, they can detect where you're at before you can leave

So what this does, it allows them to emplace the system in less than 30 seconds

shoot more than two rounds, really eight rounds in two minutes, and be gone in less than three minutes off of that firing point

Before those rounds even land, they'll be moving on into a safe position before any counterfire can engage them

The real secret sauce to making the Scorpion a weapon that can make a difference is sitting in the dashboard

It's equipped with a modern fire control system that enables auto-aiming, re-aiming, and sequenced in-zone targeting

Users can select up to 1,000 pre-mission targets or add new ones on the fly using an interactive map that seamlessly integrates data from forward observers, headquarters, or drones

And, oh yeah, it's highly adaptable. They can go on any platform

So behind me right now, we have one on the ISV, which is a GM defense vehicle, the player six by six, and also over here on the Humvee

So if it can carry the system itself, it can go on it. Toyota Hilux, it can go on a small vehicle, a large vehicle, anything

We will tailor the solution to that. While the DoD has not yet inked a deal for the Scorpion system, several entities have, including Saudi Arabia

which took delivery of 100 Alacrin units, a variant of the Scorpion, mounted on Toyota land cruisers

And Ukraine operates eight of the mortar systems integrated into the rear of BARS-8 4x4 APCs

It's a problem we've covered at length here at Weapons and Warfare. The U.S. Navy is really up against some tough challenges when it comes to keeping its fleet in top shape

But a long-time industry partner has something they think could be a difference maker

and that's the subject of this week's comms check. It no secret the Navy is dealing with a shortage of spare parts not enough staff and some older systems that just aren cutting it anymore Added together and all of these issues make it hard to carry out regular maintenance and repairs

Fairbanks Morse Defense may have an answer though, the pit stop. Unlike a pit stop in motorsports where the driver and car come in for work, FMD is taking

the shop to the ship. We, along with our partners at NAVC, developed a concept that could bring that work, the

diesel maintenance work into a CMAV, into a very short window of time. What it takes to do that

is all the parts, all of the tools, all of the people, and all the processes to come together

in a very organized fashion so that you have a game plan on day one. So you're not doing traditional

open and inspect and incremental discovery. You're coming in, you know exactly what you're going to do

and you know exactly what the outcome is going to be. The idea is to treat maintenance like a pit

stop in a race where efficiency is key to getting back in action as quickly as possible. We bring

all the mandatory replacement parts that we have for the activities we plan. We're also bringing

contingency parts along for the things that you know might bite you when you get into the process

And how we do that then is instead of sending a report up and waiting for a response, every day

we meet with the right folks and we talk about those and we can approve it that fast and we can

move that fast. So everything's adjudicated in real time and it allows us to keep moving

The good news for the Navy is this isn't theoretical. It's already taking place

We did our very first one in January of 2024, about a year ago, a little over a year ago. We've

done eight of them now on ship service diesel generators and main propulsion diesel engines on

LSDs. So they understand it. I think the fleet's really happy with the turnaround time. I think

they're really happy with the readiness. I know NAVC is happy and I know that we're happy because

we're getting in, we're solving a problem, and we're getting off. And the ship goes right back

out to sea. From an observer's viewpoint, FMD's concept leans into the principle of proactive

maintenance, where the focus is not just on fixing problems as they arise, but anticipating and

preventing them before they affect operational readiness. All opinions expressed in this segment

are solely the opinions of the contributors. All right, folks, that's going to just about do it for us this week on Weapons and Warfare

If you like what you saw and you want to see more of our reporting, please be sure to download the Straight Arrow News app today

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You can also leave us a comment there and let us know your thoughts

And it's from the comment section that I found this week's wrap topic

the military-industrial complex. Now, I understand our show is called Weapons and Warfare, so that will naturally lead to some people thinking we're shills for the same complex of organizations President Eisenhower was warning about in his 1961 farewell address to Congress

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex

The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes

I want to let you all know the truth. The military-industrial complex doesn't really exist

at least not in the form of the boogeyman Eisenhower thought it would be

where a select group of rich and powerful military-minded individuals control virtually all aspects of a society

Yes, U.S. defense contractors and high-level military officers wield power and influence

but they aren't exactly shaping government policy in their favor. If the military-industrial complex in the United States were real

the U.S. Navy would not have a problem building ships, the Air Force would not need to decide between upgrading its fighters or its ICBMs

and there certainly would not be worker shortages at so many key points in the production process

You know who does have military-industrial complexes? Russia, yes. And China, absolutely

two of the United States' biggest adversaries. Russia's economy is so dependent on war right now, Putin cannot afford to stop the fighting

That's why President Trump accused the despot of playing with fire. And China's military-industrial complex is so pervasive

even companies like TikTok are ultimately under the control of the nation's military leaders

The point is, just because people talk about the MIC in the USA

doesn't mean it's real. As is often the case, the truth is more layered and nuanced

For senior producer Brett Baker, video editor Brian Spencer, and graphics artist Dakota Patio

I'm Ryan Robertson with Straight A Row News, signing off