Author: Michael

PUBLISHED on August 12, 2025, 7:45 PM EDT – Key Points and Summary – In a significant display of allied sea power, a British F-35B stealth fighter has landed on the Japanese carrier JS Kaga for the first time.

-The historic event took place during “Operation Highmast,” a nine-day multinational exercise in the Philippine Sea involving four aircraft carriers from the U.S., UK, and Japan.

-This major interoperability drill, conducted amid rising tensions with China, demonstrates the growing military cooperation between NATO and Indo-Pacific partners.

PUBLISHED on August 12, 2025, 7:37 PM EDT – Key Points and Summary – In a hypothetical battle between a Cold War legend and a modern stealth fighter, the Chinese J-20 “Mighty Dragon” would decisively defeat the F-14 Tomcat.

-While the F-14 was a formidable interceptor in its day with its powerful radar and Phoenix missiles, its technology is now obsolete.

-The J-20’s superior stealth, advanced AESA radar, and longer-range missiles like the PL-15 would allow it to achieve a “first look, first shot” kill long before the Tomcat could respond.

In May, the Department of the Air Force announced that transgender airmen with 15 to 18 years of service could apply for early retirement under exceptions in the Temporary Early Retirement Authority (or TERA) policy. This month, however, the Air Force backtracked, denying early retirement to airmen who already had their retirement agreements approved and were making plans for a life after military service. The Air Force said that they had been “prematurely approved,” and those retirement orders were reversed.
The sudden reversal has upended the lives of affected airmen.

As the Army explores scaled employment of commercial-off-the-shelf artificial intelligence, the service’s chief information officer wants to make sure the technology’s use is being optimized in a way that it doesn’t break the bank.
“Our big lesson learned is, this is expensive stuff to do. I think that’s really driving our peeling back and tightening the guardrails on use cases,” Army CIO Leonel Garciga said Monday in an interview with DefenseScoop.

The Army’s eighth unmanned aerial systems summit is providing a path to more quickly equip units with drones, according to officials.
The event, hosted at Fort Rucker, Alabama, is taking guidance from multiple levels of government to rapidly supply UAS — to include lethal systems — at every echelon from squad to corps.

PUBLISHED on August 12, 2025, 4:09 PM EDT – Key Points and Summary – The French-made Dassault Rafale is a highly versatile “omnirole” fighter jet, combat-proven in numerous conflicts since 2007.

-The 4.5-generation aircraft is a formidable dogfighter, boasting exceptional agility, a powerful 30mm cannon, and an advanced electronic warfare suite called SPECTRA.

-While not a true stealth fighter, it incorporates features to reduce its radar signature.

If you feel the USA & Canada are being taunted, it is because we are

Commander Salamander Substack
Alas, poor American icebreakers! I knew them, Shipmate: a fellow of infinite use, of most excellent capability: he hath borne me honor, commerce, and discovery a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it!
-Apologies to the Bard
When you have the world’s largest navy, you soon realize you can be everywhere, all at once, because you want to.

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The Army has initially charged the soldier who allegedly wounded five in a shooting at Fort Stewart, Georgia, last week with premeditated murder, assault, and domestic violence.
Sgt. Quornelius Radford faces a slew of preliminary charges: two specifications of attempted premeditated murder, four specifications of attempted unpremeditated murder, one specification of domestic violence, three specifications of aggravated assault inflictingbodily harm, and three specifications of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon.

PUBLISHED on August 12, 2025, 3:54 PM EDT – Key Points and Summary – China has released rare and unusually detailed footage of its DF-100 supersonic cruise missile, a deliberate show of force ahead of a major military parade on September 3.

-The video, aired on state television, shows the highly secretive weapon being fired from a mobile launcher in an urban environment, highlighting its operational flexibility.

-With a range of up to 4,000 km and a speed of Mach 4, the DF-100 poses a serious threat to U.S.