Author: Michael

Joseph Zadeh / @aboveaverage.joe

If you happened to be passing by Norfolk Southern’s rail yard in Bellevue, Ohio, recently you might have come across something very usual. Two flatbed railcars were spotted there carrying what look exactly like Russian-made S-300 and Tor-M1 surface-to-air missile systems, but are very likely extremely high-fidelity mockups of them.
Joseph Zadeh, a trainspotter who goes by @aboveaverage.joe on Instagram, was kind enough to share pictures he took of these railcars and their cargo with us.

Ryan sat down with Mike Kofman at WOTR HQ in Washington, DC to talk about Ukraine’s coming offensive; the manpower, materiel, and politics behind it; and lingering questions about Team Biden’s theory of success.   Are you a member yet? If not, why not? Image: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
The post The Calm Before the Storm: Waiting for Ukraine’s Offensive appeared first on War on the Rocks.

The TR-85M1 MBT, an upgraded version of the TR-85, entered service with the Romanian army, starting in 1997. It is among the least capable MBTs serving in NATO, with lower capabilities in firepower, mobility, and survivability compared with its peers.

Much excitement is coming to what’s known as “the front porch of Kansas City” this spring. Not only does the multi-state city have another chance to celebrate its recent Super Bowl win with the Chiefs, but it will also host the NFL’s 2023 Draft.
In downtown Kansas City, Missouri, the historic location is home to many recognizable buildings, including Union Station, a 109-year-old beaux-arts train station, which will host the event’s main stage. The National World War I Memorial and Museum will also be a key player in the event.

It was just one plane out of thousands of identical ones, all known for hydraulic problems and dangerous landings. The manufacturer called the B-26 the Marauder. But some crews called it the “Baltimore Whore,” because its wings provided little support. Ya know, like an undersized bra.
But despite its troublesome flight characteristics, the B-26 became legendary. It had the best survival rate of any aircraft in combat and could handle a bit like a fighter. The Army Air Force lost only 0.5% of its Marauders.

If you need an inexhaustible source of steady power, what’s even better than a nuclear reactor? Well, the military is now targeting geothermal engineers to harness geothermal energy. It’s basically a nuclear reactor that contains about a third of the earth’s mass and can never meltdown. And you can pee on it safely. If you’re into that. Or you could eat off of it. Or like, tailgate, I guess. Look, it’s really safe.
What is geothermal?

If you’re not at the forefront of the lava flow that is the geothermal energy, here’s a quick primer.

As the Pentagon explores how generative artificial intelligence capabilities like ChatGPT can be deployed to support the department, Space Systems Command Chief Information Officer Col. Jennifer Krolikowski is hopeful that the technology can be useful while recognizing it still has its shortfalls.
“I’m cautiously optimistic with it,” Krolikowski said Wednesday during a virtual conference hosted by C4ISRNET. “The enablement of that tech is very, very exciting to see, but I also think you need to have a bit of a critical eye on it.

Retired U.S. Air Force Sr. Airman Brian Kolfage speaks with the media during a 2016 groundbreaking ceremony for a new home he and his family were receiving through the Gary Sinise Foundation’s RISE program at Sandestin, Fla. (AP photo).

Brian Kolfage, the disabled Air Force veteran who pleaded guilty last year to fraud in connection with a public fundraising campaign he co-founded known as “We Build the Wall,” was sentenced this week to more than four years in prison. 
Kolfage, 41, of Miramar Beach, Florida, received a sentence of 51 months.

There are few organizations that more expected to end up in a hand-to-hand or knife fight than the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II. Their weapons were, at the start of the war, often leftovers from World War I or small-batch experimental weapons. Their bayonets would sometimes jam their rifles and their submachine guns were prone to breakages and featured non-interchangeable parts. And the Corps expected Marines to close with and fight the enemy on remote islands where visibility could be anything from hundreds of yards to a few feet at a time.

A view of the ATAK 2 heavy attack helicopter, being developed for the Turkish Armed Forces and export customers. (Aytac Unal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))
Turkey’s new T929 ATAK 2 broke cover on 24 April, with Turkish Aerospace (TA) releasing new imagery and information on the heavy attack helicopter to coincide with its first engine run trials.
The new imagery was released by TA and the Turkish Defence Industry Agency, which are both developing the T929 to equip the Turkish Armed Forces and potential export customers.