With Finland’s recent addition to NATO, the United States and Germany are preparing for the largest deployment of US air forces to Europe since the creation of the US-led security alliance in exercise Air Defender 2023.
Next exercise Air Defender 2023
Lt. Gen. Michael Loh, the Air National Guard director, said the upcoming exercise would test the Air National Guard’s “rapid deployment and rapid force deployment capability,” simulating a scenario similar to what the United States would face if the conflict in Ukraine spilled over into NATO.
Author: Michael
The Air Defense Identification Zone was breached by 45 Chinese aircraft, including fighters, bombers, and surveillance planes, according to the Taiwanese Defense Agency.
Taiwan’s defense office reported 71 Chinese military planes and 9 naval ships approaching the island as of the afternoon of April 8. At least 45 military planes, including J-10s, J-11s, J-16s, Y-20 transports, H-6K bombers, and KJ-500 reconnaissance planes, have crossed the strait’s median line or flown inside the island’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
Jon Stewart interviews Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. (Screenshot via C-SPAN).
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks got defensive over the Pentagon’s budget this week, after comedian Jon Stewart pressed her on spending priorities in the military. The conversation turned argumentative as the two debated what counts as abuse and corruption in the Department of Defense and how that hurts active-duty service members.
The former The Daily Show host spoke to Hicks at a symposium put on by the War Horse at the University of Chicago on Thursday, April 6.
USNI News
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The U.S.
David Greggs, RealClearDefense
PopMech
The two countries both need defenses that can counter Mach 5+ missiles.
Friedman, Geopolitical Futures
The massive spring offensive against Ukraine that Russia threatened has not materialized.
Francis Sempa, RCDefense
Two of our greatest military leaders were also two of our greatest presidents.
Two bulldogs of the service, General Smedley D. Butler and “Jiggs” of the Marine Corps
MG Smedley D. Butler (1881-1940) is still a legend in the United States Marine Corps. One of only 19 Americans to win the Congressional Medal of Honor twice, his 34-year distinguished military career included engagements in the Spanish American War, Philippines, Boxer Rebellion, Banana Wars, and WW1.
After retiring from military service in 1931, he became increasingly concerned over defense contractor profiteering from America’s wars.
The aging of the Navy’s F/A-18 fleet was a factor in the Pentagon’s consideration of converting the F-22 to a carrier-launched aircraft. This would have been the first stealth aircraft ever to be launched from the sea, long before the F-35C was developed.
The F-22 Raptor can do it all.
The requirement for a carrier-based fighter such as the F-22 was obvious. The Navy attempted to acquire additional F/A-18 Block III Super Hornets for a number of years before and after the F-35C’s introduction.