Author: Michael

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, head of the National Wisdom Movement, at the Christmas mass held at St Joseph Church in Baghdad, Iraq, on 24 December 2022. (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)The Iraqi government, headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, a former Islamic Dawa Party member, is supported by the Shia Coordination Framework (SCF), a hydra-headed coalition of competing Shi’ite parties and Iran-allied paramilitary groups.

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Main features of the Blue Spear missile. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)
In his May 2023 interview with Janes, Commander of the Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN’s) First Flotilla Colonel Ng Kok Yeng Daniel disclosed that the service will replace the Harpoon surface-to-surface missile (SSM) on its Formidable-class frigates with the Blue Spear SSM.
The missile will be incorporated as part of the Formidable class’s mid-life upgrades (MLUs). This makes the RSN the first operator service to deploy the Blue Spear missile from seaborne units.

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The Royal New Zealand Air Force’s four Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft will be used for a diverse range of air operations, including maritime reconnaissance and combat operations, tracking transnational criminal activity, environmental and weather activities, and search and rescue. (New Zealand Ministry of Defence)
New Zealand has received its fourth and final Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
The New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the arrival of the fourth aircraft on 17 July.

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By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
 
In a special address to the Bundestag on the 27th of February 2022, Chancellor Olaf Scholz referred to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a Zeitenwende (meaning: turning point) in the history of Europe. In his speech, Scholz reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to spending 2% of its GDP on defence in 2024. Additionally, the German government set up a €100 billion fund for immediate investments in its military.

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