Military & War News and Discussions

[Time_Traveller]

Lithuania Builds Massive Military Base to Host 4,000 Troops on Russia’s Doorstep

Aug.21 - 2024 8:31 AM CET

On August 19, Lithuania began constructing a new military base that will house up to 4,000 German troops.

According to United24 News, this is the first permanent foreign deployment of German forces since World War II.

The base is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

Lithuania’s Chief of Defence, Raimundas Vaiksnoras, announced that the country will invest over 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion) in the base over the next three years. He described it as one of the largest construction projects in Lithuania’s history.

Vaiksnoras emphasized that having the German brigade stationed there will reassure Lithuania’s people and act as a deterrent against Russian aggression.

The base is located in Rudninkai, near the capital Vilnius, and only 20 km from Belarus.

https://www.dagens.com/news/lithuania-b ... s-doorstep

[Time_Traveller]

World order 'under threat not seen since Cold War'

7 September 2024, 12:49 BST

The international world order is “under threat in a way we haven’t seen since the Cold War”, the heads of the UK and US foreign intelligence services have warned.

The chiefs of MI6 and the CIA also said both countries stand together in "resisting an assertive Russia and Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine".

In a first-ever joint article, Sir Richard Moore and William Burns wrote in the Financial Times, external that they saw the war in Ukraine coming "and were able to warn the international community", in part by declassifying secrets to help Kyiv.

And they said there was work being done to "disrupt the reckless campaign of sabotage" across Europe by Russia, push for de-escalation in the Israel-Gaza war, and counterterrorism to thwart the resurgent Islamic State (IS).

In the FT op-ed, they wrote: “There is no question that the international world order – the balanced system that has led to relative peace and stability and delivered rising living standards, opportunities and prosperity – is under threat in a way we haven’t seen since the Cold War.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2gz4re394o

[Time_Traveller]

Hundreds of Afghan commandos to be brought to Britain as minister finally admits troops were employed by UK

6 minutes ago



Hundreds of Afghan special forces soldiers and their family members will be brought to safety in Britain after ministers admitted that new evidence has confirmed they were paid by the UK.

Armed forces minister Luke Pollard has told the Commons that a Ministry of Defence review, sparked by campaigning MPs and a joint investigation by The Independent, has found that members of Afghan specialist units were directly employed by the UK government, despite previous denials.

Thousands of these soldiers, who fought side-by-side with British troops, had been denied relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap). Conservative ministers had told parliament that these soldiers, known as the Triples, were not directly employed by the UK.

However, Mr Pollard confirmed on Monday that this was wrong. Around 2,000 applications by members of Afghan specialist units, who had previously been rejected for help, are being reviewed.

25 per cent of these are expected to have their decisions overturned, Mr Pollard said. More than 75 per cent of the applications have been re-assessed so far.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 29053.html

[weatheriscool]

New M230LF chain gun cannon swaps ammo at the flip of a switch
By David Szondy
October 20, 2024

If, like me, you can't decide which ammunition to load into your chain gun, Northrop Grumman has a variant of its 30 x 113mm M230 Link Fed (M230LF) Dual Feed Bushmaster Chain Gun that can swap from one ammo to another at the flip of a switch.

If you've watched enough old war movies, you've certainly seen an episode where anti-aircraft fire is racking the sky, sending streaks of light upward that look like something from a Star Wars blaster. These are tracer rounds. The idea behind them is that these brightly-burning rounds are loaded into the ammo feed at intervals of four-to-one with the more lethal ones so that the gunner can see where the spray of shot is flying.

It's a system that's still used today, especially in machine guns carried on battle tanks, but it also illustrates a common, and often wasteful practice that the military employs out of necessity. Very often, a gunner isn't sure about exactly which ammunition will be needed on a particular mission, so erring on the side of caution means loading up with more than one kind in the feed belt, just in case an armor-piercing round is needed instead of shrapnel.

https://newatlas.com/military/m230lf-ch ... ip-switch/

[firestar464]

SEND IT TO UKRAINE

[Time_Traveller]

Keir Starmer scores first major Brexit reset success with landmark defence deal

4 hours ago

Sir Keir Starmer has scored the first major breakthrough in his great Brexit reset with a landmark new defence deal with Germany.

Less than four months into his premiership, the prime minister has struck an agreement with the most influential and powerful member state in the European Union.

Under the plans, German aircraft in the Luftwaffe, Germany’s air force, will operate from a base in Britain to help protect the North Atlantic from the growing threat from Russia, while around 400 jobs are set to be created in a new munitions factory in the UK.

Defence secretary John Healey said the agreement represented a “major strengthening of Europe’s security” and was a “milestone moment” in the UK’s relationship with Germany.

But the prime minister was urged to go further in strengthening the UK’s relationship with the EU and seize other areas of cooperation.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 33594.html

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

More on that by The Hill:

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4983 ... ates-drop/

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-s ... s-7ebaa606

(archived at https://archive.ph/5DBnV)

You know it's bad when even the WSJ has attempted to do a half decent job of calling him out

[firestar464]

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgr ... tion-yemen

The US must learn that “managing escalation” actually encourages escalation and protracts conflicts.

Sums up American foreign policy

[caltrek]

Defense World Reacts to Trump’s Surprise Pentagon Pick of Pete Hegseth
by Joe Gould, Robbie Gramer, Paul McLeary, Connor O'Brien, and Jack Detsch
November 12, 2024

Introduction:

(Politico) President-elect Donald Trump’s Tuesday night surprise pick of a conservative commentator and television host as his Pentagon chief shocked Washington, which had expected the nominee to be a seasoned lawmaker or someone with defense policy experience.

National security officials and defense analysts had braced for surprises from Trump after experiencing his first four years in office. But even grading on that curve, they say the announcement of Fox News host and decorated Army veteran Pete Hegseth caught them totally off-guard.

“[Trump] puts the highest value on loyalty,” Eric Edelman, who served as the Pentagon’s top policy official during the Bush administration, said in an interview. “It appears that one of the main criteria that’s being used is, how well do people defend Donald Trump on television?”

One assessment was more blunt. “Who the f*ck is this guy?” said a defense industry lobbyist who was granted anonymity to offer candid views. The lobbyist said they had hoped for “someone who actually has an extensive background in defense. That would be a good start.”

The pick will do little to quell fears inside the Pentagon and beyond that Trump, who jousted with his own defense secretaries, plans this time to install a loyalist who will unquestioningly carry out his policies. Trump’s campaign trail rhetoric has primed fears that his second term could see a swift and divisive overhaul at the Pentagon.

Read more here: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/ ... -00189221

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

Japan Cabinet Approves Record Defense Budget as it Pushes Strike-back Capability to Deter Regional Threat
December 27, 2024

Introduction:

(AP via Asahi Shimbun) The Japanese Cabinet on Friday approved a record 8.7 trillion yen ($55 billion) defense budget for 2025 as Japan accelerates building up its strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles and starts deploying Tomahawks to fortify itself against growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia.

The Cabinet-endorsed draft defense budget marks the third year of Japan’s ongoing five-year military buildup under the national security strategy adopted in 2022. The defense spending is part of the more than 115 trillion yen ($730 billion) national budget bill — also a record — that requires parliamentary approval by March to be enacted.

Japan is preparing to deploy U.S.-made Tomahawks late in the fiscal year 2025 as part of its ongoing effort to acquire strike-back capability with long-range missiles that can hit distant targets. The budget allocates 940 billion yen ($6 billion) for the so-called “standoff” defense system that also includes long-range missiles, satellite constellation and other arsenals.

The cost includes 1.8 billion yen ($11.4 million) for the purchase and addition of equipment to launch Tomahawks from an Aegis-class destroyers.

In order to reinforce its missile defense system, Japan plans to spend another 533 billion yen ($3.37 billion) that includes purchases of interceptors and a mobile reconnaissance radar to be placed on Okinawa, where more than half of about 50,000 American troops are based.

Read more here: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15568068

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

Duckworth Slams Hegseth on His Lack of Qualifications to Serve as Defense During Confirmation Hearing
Press release from Office of U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth
January 14, 2025

Introduction:

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee who served 23 years in the Reserve Forces—slammed U.S. Secretary of Defense expected nominee Pete Hegseth on his utter lack of experience and qualifications to lead the Department of Defense at his confirmation hearing. Pointing to a framed copy of the Soldier’s Creed—a copy that hangs over her desk in the Senate and hung above her bed during her recovery at Walter Reed Medical Center after the helicopter she co-piloted was shot down—Duckworth urged Mr. Hegseth to follow this Creed as our servicemembers do every day, placing the mission above personal ambition. Duckworth’s full remarks can be found on the Senator’s YouTube.

“Every day, our servicemembers follow the Soldier’s Creed as we ask them to leave their families, walk into enemy fire and be ready for the mission until their very last breath,” said Duckworth. “How can we ask these warriors to train to the absolute highest standard, if we confirm a guy who is asking us to lower the standard to make him Secretary of Defense? The very idea that Pete Hegseth is the person to lead our heroes is an insult to the troops who sacrifice so much for the rest of us.”

At the hearing, Duckworth demonstrated some of the areas where Mr. Hegseth lacks the experience or knowledge that a serious Defense Secretary nominee should have, grilling him on basic questions that he failed to answer. She asked him if he ever led an audit. He would not confirm. She asked him to describe at least one of the main international security agreements a Secretary of Defense is responsible for leading. He could not name any. She asked him to name at least one nation that is a part of ASEAN, an organization with several member states who have mutual defense treaties, alliances or enhanced defense cooperation agreements with the U.S. None of the three countries he named were correct.

Read more here: https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/ ... -hearing

[weatheriscool]

'Happening quickly': Hegseth announces 'Iron Dome for America' on first day as defense sec

January 27, 2025

Newly-confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Monday — his first day in the job — that President Trump will be issuing a spate of executive orders for the military, including one to create an "Iron Dome" defense system like the one used by Israel to deflect incoming missiles.

Trump promised to create an iron dome as a candidate if he were to win a second term.

Hegseth made the comments as he arrived at the Pentagon, where he was greeted by Joint Chiefs Chairman General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., whom Hegseth has disparaged in the past as "woke" while calling for his resignation.

"Today, there are more executive orders coming that we fully support on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of Covid mandates, Iron Dome for America. This is happening quickly and as the secretary of defense, it's an honor to salute smartly, as I did as a junior officer and now as the secretary of defense to ensure these orders are complied with rapidly and quickly."

Snip

https://www.rawstory.com/secy-hegseth-a ... r-america/

[caltrek]

Here is Executive Order 14152 rescinding the security clearance for various former intelligence officials:

https://public-inspection.federalregist ... 01954.pdf

[weatheriscool]

Defense secretary says invading Mexico is 'on the table'

Source: Daily Kos

Donald Trump’s brand-new secretary of defense spoke with Fox News’ morning crew Friday and said that invading countries such as Mexico is a very real option.

“The drug cartels have been declared terrorist organizations,” “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade said, adding that invading countries such as Somalia, Sudan, and Syria would be prime for an American military strike if a terrorist organization such as al-Qaida was found there.

“As the secretary of defense, are you permitted now to go after them in Mexico or wherever they are?”

“Brian, I don't want to get ahead of the president and I won't, but that's ultimately going to be his decision,” Hegseth said. "But let me be clear. All options will be on the table.”

Read more: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1 ... -the-table

[caltrek]

'Happening quickly': Hegseth announces 'Iron Dome for America' on first day as defense sec

January 27, 2025

...

Snip

https://www.rawstory.com/secy-hegseth-a ... r-america/

Executive Order 14186 has recently been issued to proceed with the implementation of Hegseth's "Iron Dome for America" proclamation. Here is a link to that Executive Order:

https://www.federalregister.gov/docume ... r-america