Author: Michael

Ukraine Seeking 300 Patriot Interceptor Missiles to Survive Winter: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed an agreement with the country’s NATO and other allied partners to participate in the ​design and production of a European-developed anti-ballistic missile defensive shield. The proposed system would be an alternative to the US-made Patriot system.

However, development of any such system – or even the already agreed participation of Ukraine in the Aster-30 program – will take years to become active hardware in Ukraine’s inventory.

U.S. Targets Iranian Military Sites Ahead Of Blockade: The United States launched a new wave of military strikes against Iran on Monday, July 13, this time targeting military infrastructure along the country’s southern coastline. The attacks took place just hours before Washington plans to reinstate its naval blockade of Iranian ports. In a statement, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) described a five-hour mission that concluded at 10:15 pm Eastern Time and struck Iranian coastal defense systems and missile and drone sites.

Russia and Ukraine have now been at war for almost four and a half years. And as pointed out this week in a New York Times op-ed, the state of play in the war has changed quite a lot, as have the weapons being used.

The op-ed, with the headline “The Ukraine-Russia War Reaches a New Phase,” was written by Serge Schmemann, the Times’ former Moscow bureau chief who won a Pulitzer Prize in the early 1990s for his coverage of the German reunification.

The U.S. and Iran continue to trade blows as they fight for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. carried out another round of strikes against IRGC military targets, with Iran responding by striking more tankers in the Strait.

STRAIT OF MALACCA (June 18, 2021) As seen from the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67), the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) transits the Strait of Malacca with the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97).

Infanteers from 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha

President Trump has announced that he’s reimposed the naval blockade on Iran. The US has continued its air campaign against Iranian military targets.

He also formally notified Congress in a letter, on Monday, that military action against Iran had resumed. The administration sees the letter as starting a new 60-day clock to use the military in the region without congressional approval.

Iran Army Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it would “resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports,” beginning at 4 p.m.

About 4,000 soldiers assigned to Hawaii are in barracks without central air conditioning due to mechanical failures at a water treatment plant, which left only one pump able to provide water to installations in north and central Oahu, according to U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii.
Underground water pumps at the plant began experiencing problems on July 10, a garrison official told Task & Purpose, drastically reducing the water available to Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfield, Helemano Military Reservation, and other bases.

Russia Seeks New Grain Export Routes: In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture said that it is exploring alternative routes for grain shipments from the Sea of Azov following Ukrainian strikes. The news follows yet more drone and missile strikes that Kyiv claims hit more than 11 Russian vessels overnight into Tuesday, July 14. According to the statement, Russia is now preparing to use “alternative shipping routes” for vessels in the Sea of Azov, and much of the cargo may be rerouted via land.

Neptune Missile. Image Credit: Government of Ukraine.

The US Department of War (DoW) has suspended implementation of Phase II of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), previously due to come into force in November 2026, after concerns were raised about the burden on small defence contractors.

Birmingham holds a place in the “soul of our