Author: Michael

Stratolaunch

Steve Rainey is the test pilot for the largest airplane in the history of the world in terms of wingspan, and he has made it clear that operating it comes with its fair share of intricacies. 
The behemoth, owned by Stratolaunch, is known affectionately as the Roc — named after a bird of giant proportions from ancient mythology. It was originally designed to launch payloads into orbit, but now, Rainey and his team are aiming to for the Roc to launch recoverable hypersonic vehicles that the aerospace industry will use for high-speed flight testing.

Nashville police have released body camera footage of Marine veteran Michael Collazo (right), firing at a school shooter. (Video footage and photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.).

When a shooter attacked a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Marine veteran Michael Collazo ran toward the sounds of gunfire to quickly stop the armed assailant’s rampage.
Collazo served in the Marine Corps from 2010 to 2016 as an 0311 Infantry Rifleman, according to his service record.

The UK and Sweden have signed a letter of intent (LoI) for a contract to deliver 14 Archer 155mm self-propelled artillery systems, announced earlier this month, as well as Carl-Gustaf M4 recoilless rifles, in replacement of systems granted to Ukraine.  
Since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the UK has moved to grant a significant quantity of weapons and munitions to aid in Kyiv’s fight. In total, the combined value of military support topped £2.3bn in 2022, with a commitment made recently to sustain this level of support through 2023.

The Patriot missile system is fast becoming the standard backbone for a country’s air defence system in an age of wide-ranging strike capabilities. The Swiss are the latest in a string of countries that have adopted the Patriot system in earnest.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has procured Patriot missile system fire units from Raytheon Missiles and Defence in a military foreign sale contract on behalf of the Swiss Government on 28 March. The production of Patriot missile systems is a costly process, with funds reaching $1.2bn.

An illustration of an extended-range Precision Strike Missile. Lockheed Martin is one of two industry teams working on the US Army’s Precision Strike Missile Increment 4. (Lockheed Martin)
US defence companies have begun competing for the fourth increment of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM Inc 4), officials said on 27 March.

Even when most nations dismissed the idea, Baltic countries were working behind the scenes to convince the West to send tanks to Ukraine.
The post This is how Ukraine’s closest allies turned the tide on sending advanced tanks, and could do the same for military jets first appeared on Sandboxx.
The post This is how Ukraine’s closest allies turned the tide on sending advanced tanks, and could do the same for military jets appeared first on Sandboxx.

It has been 399 days since the Russian invasion began. On Wednesday, the Russian forces are still trying to find a breakthrough. No Breakthrough in Sight The Russian campaign in Ukraine is stuck in the Donbas. Despite tens of thousands of killed and wounded Russian troops, the town of Bakhmut is still contested. Wagner Group […]
The post The Russian military is stuck in the Donbas first appeared on Sandboxx.
The post The Russian military is stuck in the Donbas appeared first on Sandboxx.

Sako rifles for Finnish and Swedish armed forces. (Sako)
Finland and Sweden are jointly procuring assault and sniper rifles from Finnish company Sako. The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and the logistics department of the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) signed a framework agreement on the joint procurement with Sako at its factory in Riihimäki on 27 March.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense has launched its latest surveillance satellite, Ofek-13, which will be operated by the IDF’s 9900 Intelligence Unit, part of the Directorate of Military Intelligence. (Israel Ministry of Defense Spokesperson’s Office)
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Israel launched its latest surveillance satellite onboard the Shavit rocket on 29 March, the MoD announced.

Airbus demonstrated its Auto’Mate autonomous aerial refuelling of drones using an A310 MRTT and DT-25 target drones during two trials held earlier in March 2023. (Airbus)
Airbus Defence and Space has trialled the autonomous air-to-air refuelling (AAR) of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), flying two test sorties earlier in March.