Pentagon debuts its new stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider
Source: AP
By TARA COPP today
PALMDALE , Calif. (AP) — America’s newest nuclear stealth bomber made its debut Friday after years of secret development and as part of the Pentagon’s answer to rising concerns over a future conflict with China.
The B-21 Raider is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than 30 years. Almost every aspect of the program is classified.
As evening fell over the Air Force’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, the public got its first glimpse of the Raider in a tightly controlled ceremony. It started with a flyover of the three bombers still in service: the B-52 Stratofortress, the B-1 Lancer and the B-2 Spirit. Then the hangar doors slowly opened and the B-21 was towed partially out of the building.
“This isn’t just another airplane,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. “It’s the embodiment of America’s determination to defend the republic that we all love.”
Helicopter raid kills Islamic State officials in Syria, US says
Source: ABC News
A U.S. helicopter raid killed two members of the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria early Sunday morning local time, U.S. Central Command announced later that day.
Among those killed were Anas, a provincial official in eastern Syria who was involved in the group's plotting and facilitation operations, according to a statement from Central Command, also known as CENTCOM. CENTCOM said it appears that no civilians were hurt or killed in the raid.
"ISIS continues to represent a threat to the security and stability of the region. This operation reaffirms CENTCOM's steadfast commitment to ensuring the group's enduring defeat," said Joe Buccino, a CENTCOM spokesperson.
"The death of these ISIS officials will disrupt the terrorist organization's ability to further plot and carry out destabilizing attacks in the Middle East," Buccino said.
War Crimes Conviction at Kosovo Court is First of Its Kind by Molly Quell
December 16, 2022
Introduction:
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Courthouse News) — The Kosovo Specialist Chambers convicted Salih Mustafa of three counts of war crimes Friday and sentenced him to 26 years in prison, marking the strongest guilty verdict to date from a tribunal still in its infancy.
The 47-year-old Mustafa rocked in his chair while listening to the translation of the ruling through headphones, as Presiding Judge Mappie Veldt-Foglia described the witness testimony against him as “graphic, rich in detail and narrated with emotion.”
In the late 1990s, Mustafa belonged to a military force called the Kosovo Liberation Army, made of ethnic Albanians like himself who were fighting for Kosovo's independence from Serbia. Mustafa commanded a unit of fighters near Pristina, the capital.
The charges stemmed from the treatment of prisoners at the Zllash detention compound, which held mostly fellow Kosovar Albanians suspected of collaborating with Serbian forces.
Russian military announces plan to expand, create new units
Source: AP
By The Associated Press an hour ago
Russia on Wednesday announced an ambitious plan to beef up its military from 1 million to 1.5 million and create multiple new units, an attempt to bolster the forces that have lost momentum and many soldiers in the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s military chief cited NATO’s plans to incorporate Finland and Sweden as a factor in the buildup. Here is a glance at Moscow’s military plans.
A PUSH FOR A BIGGER FORCE
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared Wednesday that the country needs a force of 1.5 million “to guarantee the fulfillment of tasks to ensure Russia’s security.” He did not say when the military will reach that size.
The Russian military currently has about 1 million soldiers, compared with China’s force of 2 million and the U.S. force of about 1.4 million. India also has more than 1.4 million soldiers.
Russia's Only Aircraft Carrier Catches Fire
Source: MSN
The blaze started on the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's only aircraft carrier, while it was docked at the Zvyozdochka shipyard in the Barents Sea port city of Murmansk, located in the far north-west of Russia, news agency Tass said.
An emergency services source told the agency on Thursday morning that 20 people had been evacuated, the fire was extinguished and that "there were no casualties."
Alexei Rakhmanov, head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), which is overseeing renovation of the vessel, told RIA Novosti that the incident occurred during repair work.
The Admiral Kuznetsov has been out of service and in dry dock for repairs since 2018.
Flag Iran Work is progressing on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' first aircraft carrier (We should ignore the infamous fake aircraft carrier target barge). The 240 meter long drone carrier is based on a large merchant ship hull. Two of the vessels are expected to be built, the Shahid Mahdavi and Shahid Bagheri.
Based on analysis of open sources I believe the first one to be the Shahid-Mahdav (110-3) although it is also being reported in Iranian social media sources as Shahid Bagheri. The two ships are likely similar or identical so this detail may be less important at this point.
South Korean president travels to UAE, seeks arms sales
Source: AP
By JON GAMBRELL46 minutes ago
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol received an honor guard welcome Sunday on a trip to the United Arab Emirates as he hopes to expand its military sales here.
Yoon’s visit comes as South Korea conducts business deals worth billions of dollars and stations special forces troops to defend the UAE, an arrangement that drew criticism under his liberal predecessor. Now, however, it appears the conservative leader wants to double down on those military links even as tensions with neighboring Iran have already seen Tehran seize a South Korean oil tanker in 2021.
“I think that the situation in the Middle East is changing very rapidly when it comes to geopolitics,” said June Park, a fellow with the International Strategy Forum at Schmidt Futures. “So Korea wants to make sure some of the strategic partnerships and the components ... with the UAE.”
Yoon arrived at Qasr Al Watan palace in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. He was greeted by Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who took office in May after serving as the country’s de facto ruler for years.
TanishaTanTan wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 2:58 pm
The documentary "Navalny" was nominated for an Oscar!!
"The award-winning documentary Navalny could be crowned with an Oscar nomination later this month, but the man whose story is told in it has never seen the film. Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, remains behind bars under a lengthy sentence after daring to criticize President Vladimir Putin."
U.S. military raid in northern Somalia kills a senior ISIS leader, 10 ISIS fighters
Source: NBC News
On Wednesday night a U.S. military operation in northern Somalia killed a senior ISIS leader and 10 other ISIS fighters, according to two senior administration officials.
Bilal al Sudani, who the officials described as a key operative and facilitator for the terror group’s global network, was the target of the raid. In a statement Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said al-Sudani was “responsible for fostering the growing presence of ISIS in Africa and funding the group’s operations worldwide, including in Afghanistan.”
President Joe Biden ordered the operation after Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley recommended it.
The officials said no civilians were wounded or killed in the operation, but they did not identify any of the 10 others killed beyond characterizing them as ISIS operatives. The only injury the officials reported was a U.S. service member who was bitten by one of the American military service dogs.
Aerospace company Lockheed Martin confirms successful hypersonic missile test
Source: UPI News
Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin and the U.S. military have successfully completed a Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept test flight, the Maryland-based aerospace firm confirmed Monday.
The recent test of the hypersonic weapon doubled the amount of scramjet powered vehicle data, the company said in a statement. A scramjet is a supersonic-combustion ramjet engine, capable of reaching speeds up to Mach 15.
The HAWC program is being jointly developed by Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne on the private side, along with the U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Air Force Research Lab.
The military did not specify exactly when the test was conducted.
Philippines says China ship used laser against coast guard
Source: AP
By JIM GOMEZ 9 minutes ago
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines on Monday accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting a Philippine coast guard vessel with a military-grade laser and temporarily blinding some of its crew in the disputed South China Sea, calling it a “blatant” violation of Manila’s sovereign rights.
The Chinese ship also maneuvered dangerously close, about 137 meters (449 feet), to block the Philippine patrol vessel BRP Malapascua from approaching Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef that has been occupied by Philippine forces, on Feb. 6, the Philippine coast guard said in a statement.
The Philippines has filed nearly 200 diplomatic protests against China’s aggressive actions in the disputed waters in 2022 alone.
China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety, putting it on a collision course with other claimants. Despite friendly overtures to Beijing by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in January in Beijing, tensions have persisted, drawing in closer military alliance between the Philippines and the U.S.
Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for illegal US military strikes on Mexico
Source: Alternet
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is calling for the U.S. Armed Forces to militarily attack Mexico, specifically Mexican cartels, which under international law would be illegal and could be seen as a declaration of war.
The extremist Republican congresswoman on Monday said the U.S. Military should be “stationed at our southern border,” and called for the American troops to “strategically strike and take out the Mexican Cartels,” while specifying, “not the Mexican government or their people, but the Mexican Cartels which control them all.”
“They are international terrorists and criminals murdering Americans everyday with drugs and crime!” she continued, echoing Donald Trump’s 2015 presidential announcement.
“They are making BILLIONS on drug and human trafficking and are terrorizing anyone who stands in their way. Our military is competent and should take them out swiftly. Make an example out of these monsters. The only difference between the Cartels and ISIS is that the Cartels are on our southern border.”
U.S. launches airstrikes in Syria after suspected Iranian drone kills a U.S. worker
Source: NPR
The U.S. is retaliating after a drone strike killed a U.S. contractor, injured five American service members and wounded one other contractor in Syria, Defense Department said on Thursday.
Intelligence sources found the drone, which struck a Syrian coalition base near Hasakah, was of Iranian origin, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
In response, the U.S. Central Command conducted "precision airstrikes" on targets it believed were connected with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Pentagon said.
"As President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing," Austin said. "No group will strike our troops with impunity."
Big Emphasis On “Spectral Warfare” In Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance Plans by Joseph Trevithick
March 27 , 2023
Introduction:
(The Drive) Concepts described as "spectral warfare" and "spectral dominance," and related technologies, are emerging as key factors in work related to the U.S. Air Force's multi-faceted Next-Generation Air Dominance program, or NGAD.
Budget documents point to a central goal for the service to be able to 'dominate' in a future aerial warfare battlespace defined on all sides by things like infrared search and track systems and missiles with multi-mode seekers, as well as advanced radars and electronic warfare systems. This is already having impacts on the design of a future sixth-generation stealthy crewed combat jet and that of advanced drones called Collaborative Combat Aircraft all being developed under NGAD.
Details about the Air Force's spectral warfare and spectral dominance plans are spread across various items in its latest budget request for the 2024 Fiscal Year, as well as those from previous years. These efforts are also linked to an initiative within NGAD to take various steps to ensure that the service can reliably achieve air superiority, even against high-end potential adversaries like China or Russia, in the next decade.
NGAD is a broad effort that includes work on new weapons, sensors, networking and battle management suites, advanced jet engines, as well as the sixth-generation combat jet and advanced drones, as you can read more about here.
Congress Has Been Captured by the Arms Industry by William Hartung
March 28, 2023
Introduction:
(Counterpunch) On March 13th, the Pentagon rolled out its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The results were — or at least should have been — stunning, even by the standards of a department that’s used to getting what it wants when it wants it.
The new Pentagon budget would come in at $842 billion. That’s the highest level requested since World War II, except for the peak moment of the Afghan and Iraq wars, when the United States had nearly 200,000 troops deployed in those two countries.
$1 Trillion for the Pentagon?
It’s important to note that the $842 billion proposed price tag for the Pentagon next year will only be the beginning of what taxpayers will be asked to shell out in the name of “defense.” If you add in nuclear weapons work at the Department of Energy and small amounts of military spending spread across other agencies, you’re already at a total military budget of $886 billion. And if last year is any guide, Congress will add tens of billions of dollars extra to that sum, while yet more billions will go for emergency aid to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia’s brutal invasion. In short, we’re talking about possible total spending of well over $950 billion on war and preparations for more of it — within striking distance, in other words, of the $1 trillion mark that hawkish officials and pundits could only dream about a few short years ago.
The ultimate driver of that enormous spending spree is a seldom-commented-upon strategy of global military overreach, including 750 U.S. military bases scattered on every continent except Antarctica, 170,000 troops stationed overseas, and counterterror operations in at least 85 — no, that is not a typo — countries (a count offered by Brown University’s Costs of War Project).
BAE Systems and the US Army have successfully test fired a Sub-Caliber Artillery Long-Range Projectile with Enhanced Lethality from a 155 mm XM907E2 cannon at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico with double the range of current precision guided munitions.
The recent test, which was the latest for the US Army's XM1155 sub-caliber program, is particularly pertinent because of the arms buying spree sparked by NATO countries sending arms to Ukraine to battle the Russian invasion now in its second year. The US arsenal has been virtually stripped of 155 mm artillery shells and the US Department of Defense has ordered production of these munitions to sextuple over the next five years.
This has produced a situation where the US military has a powerful incentive to not only buy more 155 mm shells, but to buy the most technologically advanced version.
