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The Netherlands will be procuring new U.S. and Israeli-made long-range weapons systems for the Dutch Air Force, Navy, and Army, citing an outstanding need for such capabilities in each of the domains. The move comes amid an expansive overhaul of the country’s military strategy spurred in part by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the growing threat posed by Russia.
The United States Air Force’s sixth-generation stealth fighter has taken to the skies, signaling the beginning of a new era of aerial dominance.
Sixth generation fighter
Most details of the sixth-generation demo plane remain elusive for safety reasons, but Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and other service leaders have clearly characterized it as a “family of systems.”
Miniature drones will work in groups or swarms, which pilots will manage in larger aircraft. Some of these unmanned systems are called Collaborative Combat Aircraft by the Air Force.
The British Army will own 14 Archer SPHs from early April. (BAE Systems Bofors)
UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace and Swedish Minister of Defence Pål Jonson signed a letter of intent (LOI) in London on 29 March on a bilateral strategic partnership. The Swedish and UK ministries of defence (MoDs) said in press releases on 28 and 29 March, respectively, that the signing of the LOI strengthened bilateral military co-operation and the two countries’ defence relationship.
A few days ago, we told you the story of an attempt by Ukrainian intelligence to “buy” a Russian Su-34 fighter bomber from the Russian Aerospace Forces [VKS].
Ukrainian “Bogdan,” speaking to Yahoo News, describes in detail his weeks-long effort to convince Russian pilot Roman Nosenko to flee the battle zone over Ukraine with his Su-34 and turn up the jet to Ukraine or its Western partners. Bogdan owed the pilot $1 million.
Bogdan has been running this operation since the beginning of the war with the support of Ukrainian intelligence.
Jakub Hałun/wikicommons
Ukraine’s growing collection of foreign-donated MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters was recently bolstered by Poland.
“Several Polish [Mig-29s] have already arrived in Ukraine,” Marcin Przydacz, head of the Presidential Office of International Policy, told the Polish RMF FM radio station Monday. “According to my information, this process has already been completed. Of course, there will be talks about possible further support.”
🎥@marcin_przydacz w #RozmowaRMF: Kilka polskich MIG-ów 29 już trafiło na Ukrainę.
Ukrainian Air Force Major Denis Kirilyuk, who commanded an aviation squadron, was killed in an attack. The Ukrainian 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade has corroborated the reports. The 831st Tactical Brigade did not specify how the Ukrainian pilot was shot down in their press release.
Simultaneously, Izvestia reported that Iranian Shahed 136 [Geran-2] drones shot down Commander Denis Kirilyuk. The news agency made reference to a statement issued by the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Defense.
According to a news release, the Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by Russian forces.
NATO countries will hand over two Leopard 2 tank battalions as well as four Leopard 1 battalions to Ukraine. In total, there are 160 tanks, according to what German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius declared in an interview for Die Welt newspaper.
Leopard tanks in Ukraine
According to him, Germany, Poland, and other allies will send two Leopard 2 battalions consisting of 60 tanks to Ukraine. And by the end of the year, four battalions of Leopard 1 – 100 tanks will be added to them.
U.S. Navy Capt. Victor Glover (left) and Capt. Reid Wiseman (right), crew members on NASA’s upcoming Artemis II mission, which will be the first to travel to the moon in more than 50 years. (NASA).
It’s been more than 50 years since astronauts last traveled to the moon, or even distanced more than 400 miles from Earth’s surface. In November 2024, though, the National Aeronautics and Space Organization (NASA) plans to launch Artemis II, the first manned mission to orbit the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The Navy is exploring a new concept to vastly expand the reach of its emerging, ultramodern training environments that fuse live, virtual and constructive (LVC) capabilities by equipping ships that go out to sea with technologies that have previously only been deployed ashore.
“We have to figure out a way to train at a larger distance than we are today,” Rear Adm. Andrew Loiselle, director of Air Warfare Division, N98, in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, said Monday during a panel at the 2023 Sea Air Space conference.
In the early hours of Monday morning, Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group claimed at least partial victory over Bakhmut by raising both the Russian and Wagner group flags over government administration buildings in the city.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin noted that Bakhmut is “ours” but in a “legal sense” only. Prigozhin wrote on Telegram, “The commanders of the units that took city hall and the whole center will go and put up this flag,” he said, referring to a Russian flag that is shown being raised in a video that accompanied the Telegram post.
