Author: Michael

Lockheed Martin’s company Sikorsky has filed a formal protest to oppose the US Army’s recent decision on the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) contract award.
The protest has been filed with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review its decision.
The US Army has recently closed the FLRAA competition by awarding a contract to Textron’s subsidiary Bell Textron.

Bell, earlier this month, revealed that its V-280 Valor has been selected as Army’s next-generation assault aircraft to replace existing UH-60M Black Hawk medium-lift utility helicopter.

A composite image of KRI
Halasan
and KRI
Kerambit
, conducting sea trials as part of a commodore inspection process.
(PT PAL)
Indonesia’s state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL has fully integrated the BAE Systems Bofors 57 Mk3 naval gun on the country’s third and fourth KCR-60M-class fast attack craft (FAC), KRI Halasan (630) and KRI Kerambit (627).
The milestone was marked with a commodore inspection on 27 December.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call for European countries. Against the backdrop of a systemic shift in European security, Italy has accelerated a process of force modernization and defense policy review. Indeed, Italy’s military expenditure has been rising since 2015, reaching an estimated budget of 28.7 billion euros ($30.4 billion) this year, or […]
The post Toward a More Dynamic Italian Military appeared first on War on the Rocks.

According to a report by investigative journalist Jack Murphy that was released Sunday, the CIA has been using the intelligence services of a European NATO country to conduct sabotage attacks in Russian territory since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The report cites multiple unnamed former US intelligence and military officials.
While the report states that no US personnel are on the ground in Russia, it does confirm that the operations are being directed by the CIA with the use of an ally’s intelligence which adds a second layer of plausible deniability.

Moscow has pushed hard against Bakhmut for nearly six months but has achieved little at the cost of thousands of troops and hundreds of weapon systems.
The post Russian forces may ‘be nearing culmination’ in their offensive against Bakhmut appeared first on Sandboxx.

Ryan recently traveled to Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base where he was joined by three of the many big thinkers teaching servicemembers down there: Andy Akins, Anna Batta, and Mark Conversino. They covered the risk of nuclear war over Ukraine, the prospects for negotiations, why so many struggle with strategic empathy, and efforts […]
The post Nukes, Negotiations, and Lessons From the War in Ukraine appeared first on War on the Rocks.

Pavel Antov died Sunday after falling from a hotel window in India, making him the second critic of President Vladimir Putin to die this way in 2022.
The post Another Putin critic dies after falling out a window appeared first on Sandboxx.

As the Army-Navy rivalry continues ahead of Saturday’s game, we took a look at some of the best pranks between the Military Academies.
The post The 4 best Army-Navy pranks of all-time appeared first on Sandboxx.

The Department of Defense and the armed services published various strategies, plans and doctrine in 2022 for operating in the information environment. Congress, too, has continued its pursuit to push the DOD to improve in this area, seemingly concerned it is not moving fast enough to beat back adversaries.
Information has become a more prominent aspect in modern military ops. Adversaries have sought to exploit the information environment on a daily basis short of actual conflict, in what many experts refer to as the “gray zone.

Two of the Royal Swedish Navy Koster-class mine countermeasures vessels are scheduled to receive service life extension work. (Royal Swedish Navy)
Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has awarded Saab a contract to extend the operational life of two of the Royal Swedish Navy’s (RSwN’s) five Koster-class mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs).
The FMV confirmed to Janes that the ships concerned are HMS Kullen and HMS Vinga, but declined to disclose the timeframes for the life extension refits.