Author: Michael

The Pentagon’s Silicon Valley-based Defense Innovation Unit finally has a new leader in Doug Beck, a vice president of Apple Inc.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday named Beck as the new director. Austin also announced an elevation of the role, reporting directly to the secretary himself rather than to the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. As such, “DIU will be under the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense,” per a release from the DOD.

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The U.S. Navy has always had a strong affiliation with NASA and space flight, providing some of the most skilled pilots to become astronauts. Fittingly, NASA’s Artemis II crew includes two Naval Aviators, one of whom is the mission commander. The historic crew also includes astronauts who will be the first African American, the first female and the first Canadian to fly to the moon.

Artemis I launches on November 16, 2022 (NASA)

Artemis II marks the first crewed mission aboard the Space Launch System, NASA’s foundational deep space rocket.

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A Ukrainian Air Force official has confirmed that the service is already using air-delivered precision-guided weapons operationally. The Ukrainian Air Force has confirmed that it is using the US-supplied JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) air-launched precision weapon against Russian forces in the country. 
U.S. authorities confirmed that Ukraine had received the JDAM-ER, a long-range variant of the weapon capable of striking targets up to 45 miles away with great devastating capability, prompting the announcement.

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Paramount/CBS composite

Star Trek has inspired throngs of people to serve in the military, become astronauts, take up STEM careers, recognize a general sense of duty within, and just dream bigger in whatever their enterprise may be. But in order for any star treks to occur, the universe its stories inhabit has to be built… literally. The guy currently tasked with the tall order of making the 25th Century come to life is Production Designer David Blass.
Star Trek is an international icon as much as it is an entertainment franchise.

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The Army has increased its procurement request for electronic warfare funding since last year in almost every major program.
Army budget documents note that the service requested a total of $67 million for electronic warfare procurement in fiscal 2024, which is more than triple the $21 million enacted for fiscal 2023.
While these types of jumps in funding are often anticipated in future years defense program requests, many significant Army electronic warfare programs didn’t include any procurement funding for fiscal 2024 in the fiscal 2023 budget released last year.

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As Russia seemingly doubles down on its historic blunder of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Nato Alliance has been strengthened with the formal accession of Finland as its 31st member, adding some 1,300km of border frontier to the opposed blocs.
Announced on 4 April, Finland’s move into Nato has been months in the making since it and fellow Scandinavian country Sweden applied to join the Alliance in mid-May last year. Traditionally neutral, Finland sought to assure its own security in the wake of Moscow’s decision to remake the boundaries of the world through force.

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The Orbiter 2 mini UAS in operation with the FDF will receive a mid-life upgrade, bolstering its performance. (Janes/Patrick Allen)
The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) Orbiter 2 mini unmanned aircraft system (UAS) will receive a mid-life upgrade following a contract signed between the authority and manufacturer Aeronautics.
According to an Aeronautics announcement on 3 April, the company will provide the FDF Orbiter 2 UAS with a comprehensive mid-life upgrade package that includes a full suite of sensors, avionics, and data-processing systems to enhance performance.

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Iraqi Kurdish soldiers on parade during the inauguration of the 1st and 2nd Peshmerga divisions. (Presidency of the Kurdish Region – Iraq)
An inauguration ceremony for the 1st and 2nd divisions of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG’s) unified forces was held in northern Iraq on 4 April.
In his speech during the event, KRG President Nechirvan Barzani said the new divisions are being formed with personnel from the Joint Brigade, 70 Forces, and 80 Forces who are being transferred to the KRG’s Ministry of Peshmerga.

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Even Kim Jong-un’s bodyguards use this horrible weapon that almost seems as if it was designed badly on purpose.
The post This is North Korea’s wacky Type 88-2 AK rifle first appeared on Sandboxx.
The post This is North Korea’s wacky Type 88-2 AK rifle appeared first on Sandboxx.

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