French military (catch all)
Mon Dieu
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ents-show.html
According to confidential defence documents leaked to the French press, less than half of France's Leclerc tanks – 142 out of 346 – are operational and even these regularly break down.
Less than half of its Puma helicopters, 37 per cent of its Lynx choppers and 33 per cent of its Super Frelon models – built 40 years ago – are in a fit state to fly, according to documents seen by Le Parisien newspaper.
Two thirds of France's Mirage F1 reconnaissance jets are unusable at present.
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According to army officials, the precarious state of France's defence equipment almost led to catastrophe in April, when French special forces rescued the passengers and crew of a luxury yacht held by pirates off the Somali coast.
Although ultimately a success, the rescue operation nearly foundered at an early stage, when two of the frigates carrying troops suffered engine failure, and a launch laden with special forces' equipment sunk under its weight.
Later, an Atlantic 2 jet tracking the pirates above Somali territory suffered engine failure and had to make an emergency landing in Yemen.
Look for the same thing elsewhere.
Everything has gotten so expensive that the maintenance and infrastructure costs are killers. Defense procurement generally fails to account for the fact that annual O&M costs are typically 10-20% of purchase price and long term support typically adds 25-35% to the per item cost.
A Viet Nam era camouflage band cost Seven cents; today they're over a buck. The average Joe in an Infantry unit has about $12K worth of gear vs. his 1960s counterpart's $500. An M1A2 costs over $4M, UH-60s are up to around $20M.
Not to mention that each $10.00 per Barrel rise in oil prices costs the USAF about $600M...
The Anti War types will win; soon no one will be able to afford a war...:wry:
True, Wilf. This in particular:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
William F. Owen
Actually, military equipment SHOULD be getting cheaper, and so should armies.
If you want to see true corruption, look at the companies that build Sniper Rifles!!...
The Sako TRG 22/42 are more than good enough for virtually all purposes and are the cheapest in their respective calibers out there by far.
Hardware procurement has really gotten to be a con game. Reminds me of Ernie King during WW II -- FDR told him to buy what he needed and he took that as a license to steal and bought more ships and stuff for the USN than we could have ever manned. Thus setting the USN on course to keep buying more and more...
(NOTE to Squids; no attack, the first part is historical fact, the second is the way the game is played today. Not the Navy's fault)
Funny youse guys should mention the spike in spending
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/2008060...h-c1b2fc3.html
AFP - Tuesday, June 10 <- AFP. Qu'elle surprise
STOCKHOLM (AFP) - - World military spending grew 45 percent in the past decade, with the United States accounting for nearly half of all expenditure, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said Monday.
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Military spending grew six percent last year alone, according to SIPRI's annual report.
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The United States spends by far the most towards military aims, dishing out 547 billion dollars last year, or 45 percent of global expenditure.
Britain, China, France and Japan, the next in line of big spenders, lag far behind, accounting for just four to five percent of world military costs each.