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Syrian Lannister
Aug 25, 2007

Oh, did I kill him too?
I've been a very busy little man.


Sugartime Jones
Last one I read was Teeth of the Tiger where his son is some high speed operator who killed terrorists in a mall sporting goods store.

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McNally
Sep 13, 2007

Ask me about Proposition 305


Do you like muskets?

BIG HEADLINE posted:

There was the *potential* for a good movie in "Sum of All Fears," but they hosed it up. Great cast, completely wasted because Affleck tried to 'overplay' Jack Ryan in the hopes of scoring a franchise. Oh well, there's always watching the scene where Baltimore gets nuked over and over and over again. :v:

And Clancy's slavish devotion to Gary Stu-ing Jack Ryan is nothing compared to Stephen Coonts' love affair with Jake Grafton. I didn't bother reading any more after "The Intruders."

I don't know what you're talking about. Jake Grafton died in the last book of his trilogy.

Flight of the Intruders -> The Intruders -> Final Flight

Right?

Godholio
Aug 28, 2002

Does a bear split in the woods near Zheleznogorsk?

shame on an IGA posted:

Every single one after it was worse than the last

I actually forgot the next couple, and had no idea that they're still being written. Four have been published since Clancy died.

Read the early ones, stop at Sum of All Fears...that one's interesting but it's definitely rounding the corner away from good.

Notgothic
May 24, 2003

Thanks for the input, Jeff!
Sum of all Fears was the first novel where I looked at it and said "wow, that book is VERY long." I was probably 12 or 13 at the time, and Red Storm Rising hadn't bugged me in nearly the same way (I probably skipped over 100 pages of war-buildup in Red Storm Rising to get to the good stuff, though). I'll give Sum of all Fears points for having a plot where the nuclear-bomb climax isn't the end of the book, though.

Also, ahaha: "According to an audio commentary in the DVD release of the film adaptation, Clancy has said that he based [President] Fowler on 1989 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, further explaining that left-wing politicians are more likely to use nuclear weapons than right-wing ones."

Notgothic fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Nov 4, 2018

hobbesmaster
Jan 28, 2008

Notgothic posted:

Sum of all Fears was the first novel where I looked at it and said "wow, that book is VERY long." I was probably 12 or 13 at the time, and Red Storm Rising hadn't bugged me in nearly the same way (I probably skipped over 100 pages of war-buildup in Red Storm Rising to get to the good stuff, though). I'll give Sum of all Fears points for having a plot where the nuclear-bomb climax isn't the end of the book, though.

Also, ahaha: "According to an audio commentary in the DVD release of the film adaptation, Clancy has said that he based [President] Fowler on 1989 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, further explaining that left-wing politicians are more likely to use nuclear weapons than right-wing ones."

Checks out, only a Democrat ordered nuclear weapons to be used in anger

Terrible Robot
Jul 2, 2010

FRIED CHICKEN
Slippery Tilde

RandomPauI posted:

I'm glad I stopped the reading the books and watching the movies at "Hunt for Red October"

:same:

Jonny Nox
Apr 26, 2008




Tom Clancy's biggest problem was the general collapse of large-scale communism in the '90s

Once war with the Soviet Union was impossible and war with China or Russia was a laughable idea (remember the '90s?) he had no big enemies for the US to go head to head with. Iraq was being good boys and no one thought they would get in America's face after they beating they got in '91 and no one knew who Osama Bin Laden was.

Clancy was ruined by the eye-blink that was the Pax Americana

Jonny Nox
Apr 26, 2008




Notgothic posted:

Sum of all Fears was the first novel where I looked at it and said "wow, that book is VERY long." I was probably 12 or 13 at the time, and Red Storm Rising hadn't bugged me in nearly the same way (I probably skipped over 100 pages of war-buildup in Red Storm Rising to get to the good stuff, though). I'll give Sum of all Fears points for having a plot where the nuclear-bomb climax isn't the end of the book, though.

Also, ahaha: "According to an audio commentary in the DVD release of the film adaptation, Clancy has said that he based [President] Fowler on 1989 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, further explaining that left-wing politicians are more likely to use nuclear weapons than right-wing ones."

I actually had a similar passing thought about Trump and Russia back in the days right after he was elected. The thinking is Democrats would look at the situation in (say) Syria and need to do something to establish peace in a region America has recently been pretty hands-on with.

Trump, who was really pushing the America-First agenda at the time, would look at it and say "Not our problem" and leave them to suffer.

Dandywalken
Feb 11, 2014

Carrier scene in Sum of All Fears was good too. And raised public awareness of Vampires.

The Arab!
May 22, 2010
There's a cracked article on the Sum of all Fears DVD commentary. http://www.cracked.com/article_23866_6-hilariously-uncomfortable-rants-dvd-commentaries.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKLxmkSbSOk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrLIpxh_mbA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVCQq-m3IUg

It's worth a listen if you can find the commentary online, makes me wish Clancy had a podcast. :rip:

BIG HEADLINE
Jun 13, 2006

"Stand back, Ottawan ruffian, or face my lumens!"
Clancy: "How the hell do they know the stealth bombers have just lifted off?"

Because it's not illegal to be Russian and standing outside Aviano with a cell phone, rear end in a top hat.

Solaris 2.0
May 14, 2008

Jonny Nox posted:

Tom Clancy's biggest problem was the general collapse of large-scale communism in the '90s


There’s a line in Rainbow Six where some counter intelligence operative (gently caress if I remember the name) is watching 24 hour news and laments how “boring” international affairs was now and how much he missed the Cold War.

This was circa 1998 and yea, I think that summed up Tom Clancy perfectly. The collapse of the Soviet Union was a huge hit to his career and if not for the video game series I feel like he would have fallen into obscurity by 2000 or so.

Chillbro Baggins
Oct 8, 2004
Bad Angus! Bad!

Murgos posted:

Everything after Cardinal is pretty much crap.

Clancy, like Stephen King, got so famous that their later works could've been good, but their editors were too scared of being laid off to tell them to unfuck their drafts. "Red October" was good, Clancy kinda went off the rails with Clark's origin story.

BIG HEADLINE
Jun 13, 2006

"Stand back, Ottawan ruffian, or face my lumens!"
Clancy also started using a lot of ghostwriters in the 90s.

Alaan
May 24, 2005

BIG HEADLINE posted:

Clancy also started using a lot of ghostwriters in the 90s.

I know he did on the named series, but did he on the mainline books?

Gnoman
Feb 12, 2014

Come, all you fair and tender maids
Who flourish in your pri-ime
Beware, take care, keep your garden fair
Let Gnoman steal your thy-y-me
Le-et Gnoman steal your thyme




As far as I know, not until Teeth Of The Tiger's sequel Dead Or Alive.

Tythas
Oct 3, 2013

Never felt at home in reality
Always hiding behind avatars


japanese type 10 prototype https://gfycat.com/BleakUnlinedIndianringneckparakeet

bewbies
Sep 23, 2003

Fun Shoe

that is a cool tank

edit I meant armored mobile tracked self defense vehicle

Raenir Salazar
Nov 5, 2010

College Slice
Bear and the Dragon was especially noteworthy in missing virtually every single military and economic reform China undertook since 1979 despite identical or analogous international events and incidents to serve as similar foil for their decision making apparatus.

bewbies posted:

that is a cool tank

edit I meant armored mobile tracked self defense vehicle

I love that it bows.

Back Hack
Jan 17, 2010


bewbies posted:

that is a cool tank

edit I meant armored mobile tracked self defense vehicle

Armored whats-whoese? All I see in that gif is the new 2019 Toyota Corolla.

feedmegin
Jul 30, 2008

Jonny Nox posted:

I actually had a similar passing thought about Trump and Russia back in the days right after he was elected. The thinking is Democrats would look at the situation in (say) Syria and need to do something to establish peace in a region America has recently been pretty hands-on with.

Trump, who was really pushing the America-First agenda at the time, would look at it and say "Not our problem" and leave them to suffer.

I feel like isolationist/interventionist is a different axis to leftwing/rightwing, though. (See also: noted leftwinger George Bush and Iraq)

feedmegin
Jul 30, 2008

Jonny Nox posted:

Iraq was being good boys and no one thought they would get in America's face after they beating they got in '91

I mean, they didn't, as it happens...

Deptfordx
Dec 23, 2013

Chillbro Baggins posted:

Clancy, like Stephen King, got so famous that their later works could've been good, but their editors were too scared of being laid off to tell them to unfuck their drafts. "Red October" was good, Clancy kinda went off the rails with Clark's origin story.

I've called 'Author gets too big to be edited' as 'Clancy Syndome' for the last 20 years.

Deptfordx
Dec 23, 2013


That's neat as hell. You have to wonder about how the increased capability vs maintenance nightmare equation balances out though.

I assume the whole idea is because Japan is famously a little hilly.

Edit: Not sure how much, but that videos clearly speeded up as well.

Deptfordx fucked around with this message at 15:11 on Nov 5, 2018

mlmp08
Jul 11, 2004

Prepare for my priapic projectile's exalted penetration
Nap Ghost
I saw this guy over the weekend, including seeing it fly around in "not-fully-forward" mode a bit with a smaller fixed wing plane either as escort or photo-op bird. It's rather small in person and kind of odd looking. The interior was filled up with gear, maybe related to travel and/or test, so you couldn't climb all around on it.

https://twitter.com/AgustaWestland/status/1058766622444404736

Jonny Nox
Apr 26, 2008




Deptfordx posted:

That's neat as hell. You have to wonder about how the increased capability vs maintenance nightmare equation balances out though.

I assume the whole idea is because Japan is famously a little hilly.

Edit: Not sure how much, but that videos clearly speeded up as well.

Ask the Swedes. They did a less capable version in the 60s kept it for 30 years about.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsDOH4yDacU

Tias
May 25, 2008

Pictured: the patron saint of internet political arguments (probably)

This avatar made possible by a gift from the Religionthread Posters Relief Fund

Dandywalken posted:

Carrier scene in Sum of All Fears was good too. And raised public awareness of Vampires.

I get an inexplicable sense of fist-pump hearing about the figher-bomber Vampire. Was it ever actually used in combat?

mlmp08
Jul 11, 2004

Prepare for my priapic projectile's exalted penetration
Nap Ghost

Tias posted:

I get an inexplicable sense of fist-pump hearing about the figher-bomber Vampire. Was it ever actually used in combat?

It saw some use in a COIN role in Malaya, and Egypt used some against Israel during the Suez Crisis. In both cases, they were used for ground attack rather than as fighter on fighter aircraft.

But the Vampire referenced above is the brevity word for a hostile anti-ship missile unless there was some scene from that movie I totally forgot involving obsolete aircraft.

That Works
Jul 22, 2006

Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy


Tias posted:

I get an inexplicable sense of fist-pump hearing about the figher-bomber Vampire. Was it ever actually used in combat?

mlmp08
Jul 11, 2004

Prepare for my priapic projectile's exalted penetration
Nap Ghost
well played.

david_a
Apr 24, 2010




Megamarm

Jonny Nox posted:

Ask the Swedes. They did a less capable version in the 60s kept it for 30 years about.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsDOH4yDacU
Stridsvagn 103 has a fixed barrel though. I’m trying to figure out what the point of it is in the Japanese tank.

Valtonen
May 13, 2014

Tanks still suck but you don't gotta hand it to the Axis either.

david_a posted:

Stridsvagn 103 has a fixed barrel though. I’m trying to figure out what the point of it is in the Japanese tank.

Higher elevation and depression. Depression is important on finding a firing position and having the suspension do that you get like 15 degrees more meaning you can utilize places where you normally couldnt get a shot out low enough.

Japan has a ton of hilly terrain where you normally couldnt angle the main gun down enough.

Blistex
Oct 30, 2003

Macho Business
Donkey Wrestler

Valtonen posted:

Higher elevation and depression. Depression is important on finding a firing position and having the suspension do that you get like 15 degrees more meaning you can utilize places where you normally couldnt get a shot out low enough.

Japan has a ton of hilly terrain where you normally couldnt angle the main gun down enough.

It's an older concept and technology than a lot of people would have guessed as well.



Other benefits of being able to control your suspension like this is the ability to hide your lower glacis, which is universally the most vulnerable part of your tank from the front. You can also use it to raise the front to shoot at elevated targets from a closer distance, or to level your tank so that a grade or slope you're currently on doesn't play havoc with your targeting computer.

Kafouille
Nov 5, 2004

Think Fast !
It's not a first for the Japanese, the old Type 74 had it way back then too



Also demonstrates one of the tactical uses.

Mazz
Dec 12, 2012

Orion, this is Sperglord Actual.
Come on home.
The US had it with the MBT-70 but the costs ballooned and it didn’t make it into the follow up XM-1.

Murgos
Oct 21, 2010

Mazz posted:

The US had it with the MBT-70 but the costs ballooned and it didn’t make it into the follow up XM-1.

Was it cut for costs or because it was not needed? From what I have seen the M1 family can depress the main gun far enough to keep the hull down as is.

Mazz
Dec 12, 2012

Orion, this is Sperglord Actual.
Come on home.

Murgos posted:

Was it cut for costs or because it was not needed? From what I have seen the M1 family can depress the main gun far enough to keep the hull down as is.

Probably both, they cut a lot of the higher tech poo poo to save money going into the XM-803 (which didn’t work) but neither the German or US followups continued down that path in the end. Probably judged as not worth the expense/risk when you have -10/+20 or whatever already. Obviously Japan saw differently and given those pictures you can see the usefulness in a hilly country. I’ll have to look up if any of the countless OBJs experiements with it in the USSR too, never checked. EDIT: T-14 supposedly uses something similar, not sure about RoM. Probably doesn’t matter since they’ll build like 80 total.

Mazz fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Nov 5, 2018

TheFluff
Dec 13, 2006

FRIENDS, LISTEN TO ME
I AM A SEAGULL
OF WEALTH AND TASTE

Blistex posted:

It's an older concept and technology than a lot of people would have guessed as well.



Other benefits of being able to control your suspension like this is the ability to hide your lower glacis, which is universally the most vulnerable part of your tank from the front. You can also use it to raise the front to shoot at elevated targets from a closer distance, or to level your tank so that a grade or slope you're currently on doesn't play havoc with your targeting computer.

That's one of the UDES test rigs from the 1970's when they were trying to develop an S-tank that had both chassis elevation and conventional elevation. It's newer than the S-tank itself.

The benefits of chassis elevation in a conventional turreted tank are sort of questionable, though. The main benefit is actually weight savings, or at least weight savings given a fixed angle of gun depression and a fixed level of protection (well, really, everything in a tank is bought with weight). When you depress the gun the breech goes up, which means to get more depression you need a higher turret roof, which means the turret gets bigger, which means the protected volume is larger, which means you need more armor surface to cover it, which means more weight. It seems pretty much everyone in the West stopped caring all that much about this back in the 1970's though. 10 degrees of depression was good enough for your father so it should be good enough for you. If it's anything like in Sweden, the actual actual benefit is a tactical - and therefore ostensibly apolitical - reason to develop and procure a domestic solution rather than purchase something foreign. Our hills are different, you see, so we need a different tank.

On the S-tank it was used to make the gun completely fixed to the chassis, which among other things meant they could give it a very fast and very reliable autoloader that was also very easy to do a magazine refill on even in NBC hazard conditions - the ammo was stored outside of the fighting compartment.

The system doesn't necessarily need to be all that complicated either, it's just a gas-hydraulic suspension with some gimmicks to it (more specifically being able to force certain swing arm pairs up or down - on the S-tank only the frontmost and rearmost pairs were controllable, but then it also only had four pairs of roadwheels). Here's a schematic and a demonstration of how it works on the S-tank. It suffered from a number of teething problems (mainly hydraulic leaks) but once those were worked out, reliability was decent. That tank had a lot of other boondoggle solutions going on as well though.

edit: on the S-tank max elevation speed was 3 degrees per second IIRC

edit edit: ask me about the S-tank, I'm, uh, sort of an expert on the subject, I guess

TheFluff fucked around with this message at 21:09 on Nov 5, 2018

Mazz
Dec 12, 2012

Orion, this is Sperglord Actual.
Come on home.
I tried to summon you to the A/T milhist thread today to right some bad s-tank posting but that’ll do

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C.M. Kruger
Oct 28, 2013
A week later, the crane remains on the Kuznetsov.
https://twitter.com/ShadenFM/status/1059380300596342787


According to this article the drydock is currently resting halfway off a 100 meter deep hole.
https://lenta.ru/news/2018/11/02/pd50/

Google Translate posted:

However, if the sunken PD-50 will still be lifted, the engineers will have to quickly solve several complex problems. “The main one is how to prevent the dock from slipping on the edge of a pit about 100 meters deep into this natural dimple at the bottom of the 82nd shipyard,” the source said.

According to the source, currently the dock lies at the bottom with a significant bias along the centerline at the edge of the pit. One of its extremities is at a depth of about 10 meters, the other is at a depth of about 30 meters. According to experts, its slipping into the pit can hold back an air bubble that has formed in the unfilled water compartments in the upper part of the dock.

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