Military & War News and Discussions

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caltrek
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The Dogs of War Will Eat Your Future
by Jeff Faux
April 26, 2023

Introduction:
(Jeff Faux) Two years ago, Joe Biden’s agenda signaled that the Democratic party wing of our governing class was finally ready to deal with the long accumulating crises facing the country – rising economic insecurity and inequality, crumbling competitiveness, armed insurrection, and a relentlessly hotter plant.

It was never going to be easy. The costs of transition to a secure and prosperous future are enormous – and it is a task of decades.

Still, in his first year Biden took important steps– investment in infrastructure, technology, clean energy, social programs, and work force diversity. He spent what was needed to stop a Covid depression. And he withdrew us from the 20-year quagmire in Afghanistan, forswearing “regime change” and promising a foreign policy for the middle class.

A year later, we Americans can kiss tomorrow goodbye.

With the support of our politicians, plutocrats and pundits, Biden has now committed us to a 4-front global crusade against Russia, China, Iran and a confused, contradictory “terrorist” hit-list of mostly African nations and people. Even if we are lucky enough to avoid a nuclear catastrophe, the wars will drain away resources required for domestic renewal.

Read more here: http://www.jefffaux.com/?p=828
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Time_Traveller
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RAF Fairford's 'Dragon Lady' U-2 spy plane will disappear by 2026
06:00, 7 MAY 2023

For the past few months in Gloucestershire, if you have stood at the right spot at the right time and looked up, you might have spotted the distinctive shape of the historic U-2 spy plane. Some people have seen it on their way to work, and some more serious fans of the iconic recon plane have parked up at RAF Fairford to watch a US Air Force (USAF) pilot land one of the most difficult planes in the world.

The plane that has flown reconnaissance missions all over the world from 70,000 feet in more or less the same configuration, with a few high-tech upgrades over the years, is to be withdrawn from service by 2026, USAF's Congressional budget proposals have revealed. By the year of its retirement the U-2, nicknamed the Dragon Lady, will have flown spy missions for 70 years.

U-2s operating out of USAF's Gloucestershire airbase have left the county on countless unknown and almost daily missions since basing here, around the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, quickly climbing out of radar range to 70,000 feet and switching off their transponders. Because of the altitude, hardy U-2 pilots have to wear partially pressurised space suits with oxygen masks.

This shake-up in how the US surveils the globe is unlikely to see a new generation recon plane gracing Fairford's tarmac any time soon, with the RQ-4 surveillance drone also getting the axe a year later. A move that will likely see the US place greater reliance on space-based sensors and drones to collect images from high altitudes, per budget documents.

The Drive reports that USAF has been looking to replace its fleet of legacy aircraft, which it views as vulnerable in a high-tech future conflict. There are rumours that an unnamed prototype drone could be in development to replace the U-2, which remains the highest altitude flyer that the US military has in its arsenal, including all of its current drones.
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/n ... u2-8412903
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caltrek
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U.S. Sold Weapons to Roughly 60% of World's Authoritarian Nations in 2022
by Kenny Stancil
May 13, 2023

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) President Joe Biden claims that the United States is leading "democracies" in a fight against "autocracies" to establish a peaceful international order, but his administration approved weapons sales to nearly three-fifths of the world's authoritarian countries in 2022.

That's according to a new analysis conducted by Security Policy Reform Institute co-founder Stephen Semler and published Thursday in The Intercept.
The U.S. has been the world's largest arms dealer since the end of the Cold War. Data released in March showed that the U.S. accounted for 40% of global weapons exports from 2018 to 2022.

As Semler explained:
  • In general, these exports are funded through grants or sales. There are two pathways for the latter category: foreign military sales and direct commercial sales.
  • The U.S. government acts as an intermediary for FMS acquisitions: It buys the materiel from a company first and then delivers the goods to the foreign recipient. DCS acquisitions are more

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-s ... countries

caltrek’s comment: Nothing undermines the argument (which I have embraced) that we should support Ukraine because of its small “d” democratic leanings than headlines like above. We seem to be more interested in being an arsenal than we are in being an arsenal for democracy.
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Nanotechandmorefuture
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wjfox wrote: Tue May 16, 2023 1:08 pm
Oh look its the plane from STEALTH from the 2000's! Remember that? Lol
weatheriscool
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Estonia, Latvia plan joint purchase of German medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems
Source: ABC News

Estonia and Latvia plan jointly to acquire German air defense systems for the protection of the two NATO nations' airspace in what would be the biggest defense cooperation deal between the Baltic neighbors that border Russia, the Estonian and Latvian defense ministries said Sunday.

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur described the deal as “a joint project of historical proportions for our defense cooperation, the largest one to date” between Tallinn and Riga.

“Our jointly selected medium-range air defense system will further secure the skies of Latvia and Estonia and will provide the maximum possible protection for our people, as well as civil and military infrastructure,“ Latvian Defense Minister Inara Murniece said in a statement.

Germany has delivered IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine where, according to media reports, they have been successfully used against Russian targets since late last year during Moscow's war on Kyiv.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wi ... e-99489236
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Warring factions in Sudan agree to temporary ceasefire, say US-Saudi mediators
Source: AP

By MATTHEW LEE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sudan’s warring factions have agreed to a new short-term ceasefire, U.S. and Saudi mediators announced on Saturday, after several previous attempts to broker a truce that holds have failed.

Meeting in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces signed off on a seven-day ceasefire that is due to take effect on Monday 9:45 p.m. local time in Sudan, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said in a joint statement. The ceasefire could be extended if both sides agree.

“Both parties have conveyed to the Saudi and U.S. facilitators their commitment not to seek military advantage during the 48-hour notification period after signing the agreement and prior to the start of the ceasefire,” it said.

The talks in Jeddah had previously produced an agreement between the two sides on protecting civilians and easing the flow of humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict. But, earlier ceasefire deals have foundered amid accusations by both of violations.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/sudan-ceasef ... 16ed4448d0
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caltrek
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weatheriscool wrote: Sun May 21, 2023 2:07 pm Warring factions in Sudan agree to temporary ceasefire, say US-Saudi mediators
Source: AP

...
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/sudan-ceasef ... 16ed4448d0
This topic is also being covered in the Africa news and discussion thread: https://www.futuretimeline.net/forum/v ... &start=130
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caltrek
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Biden Taps Geneneral Charles "C.Q." Brown as Joint Chiefs Chairman
by Kathryn Watson
May 25, 2023

Introduction:
(CBS) Washington — President Biden announced he is nominating Gen. Charles "C.Q." Brown Jr. to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, unveiling his selection in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday.

The president said he can think of no one more qualified to help lead in protecting the nation than Brown, currently the Air Force chief of staff. The Joint Chiefs chairman is the nation's highest-ranking military officer, and serves as the primary military adviser to the president, defense secretary and National Security Council.

"General Brown is a warrior, descended from a proud line of warriors," Mr. Biden said Thursday. "He knows what it means to be in the thick of battle and how to keep your cool when things get hard, like when your F-16 was on fire and you returned to the base in Florida in 1991. C.Q. had to eject at more than 300 miles an hour, landing in the Everglades. That's a lot of fun, huh? Well, I tell you what, he was back in the cockpit the next week, with a new call sign — Swamp Thing."

Brown would replace Gen. Mark Milley, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2019. The chairman serves at the pleasure of the president for a four-year term. Milley held the job during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol and the deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Read more here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charles-b ... f-staff/
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weatheriscool
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Senators urge Pentagon to investigate price gouging by military contractors after 60 Minutes report
Source: CBS News

Updated on: May 26, 2023 / 6:27 PM / CBS News
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators asked the Department of Defense to launch an investigation into longstanding price gouging by defense contractors Wednesday.

In a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mike Braun (R-IN) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) said they were prompted by a six-month investigation by 60 Minutes that uncovered extensive price gouging. Experts told 60 Minutes that military contractors overcharge the Pentagon on almost everything the DOD buys each year.

"Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and TransDigm are among the offenders, dramatically overcharging the Department and U.S. taxpayers while reaping enormous profits, seeing their stock prices soar, and handing out massive executive compensation packages," the senators wrote. "These companies have abused the trust government has placed in them, exploiting their position as sole suppliers for certain items to increase prices far above inflation or any reasonable profit margin."

In March, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced the largest Pentagon budget ever: $842 billion. Almost half will go to defense contractors. "Dollars that are wasted on overpriced weapons or spare parts cannot be spent to counter adversaries or support service members," the senators wrote.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senators-u ... es-report/
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