Author: Michael

(Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

France is not currently considering a plan to buy back Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and give them to Ukraine.
“No buy-back for shipment to Ukraine is envisaged at this stage,” a French official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, told The War Zone Tuesday.
The official was responding to information in a report by Intelligence Online that part “of Abu Dhabi’s Mirage 2000-9 fleet could be used to make a first delivery of French fighter aircraft to Ukraine.

With Moscow’s attrition offensive in the east seemingly nearing completion, attention is once again focused on Ukraine’s planned spring counteroffensive, which Kyiv and its foreign partners hope will break down the Russian lines and release another major part of the occupied territory.
Intensive Russian attacks in the Bakhmut area of ​​Donetsk province, and in the past week also in the area around the city of Avdiivka, have had limited success at great cost.
 Western officials believe tens of thousands of Russian troops have been killed in recent fighting in the area.

With the successful completion of a full course acceptance test, the massive Type 055 Wuxi destroyer of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has achieved operational capability, becoming the fourth combat-ready 10,000-ton class destroyer of the PLA’s North Sea Fleet. Experts said on Monday that having more Type 055 ships at the PLA’s disposal means greater capabilities in the far seas.
The Type 055 Wuxi large destroyer recently completed a three-day full acceptance test in the Yellow Sea, hosted by a ship training center affiliated with the PLA Northern Theater Command Navy.

Despite claims to the contrary, there may be concrete evidence that Ukraine has gotten hold of useful Pakistani military hardware. On March 26, images of Ukrainian troops firing Yarmouk rockets of Pakistani origin appeared on social media and soon went viral.
A Twitter account called “Ukraine Weapons Tracker,” which tracks weapons being used on the battlefield, tweeted: “More ammunition made by Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) in the hands of the Ukrainian Army: this time Yarmuk HE-Rockets.” 
122mm Frag for the BM-21 Grad.

KC-135. USAF

The U.S. Air Force looks set to finally add winglets to a portion of its KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling fleet. The service says putting upturned devices on the tips of the wings on the over half-century-old aircraft will improve their fuel efficiency and reduce drag, saving up to $65 million each year in operating costs as a result.
Winglets are already in widespread use on commercial airliners for exactly these reasons.

Nope. Nope. Nope. (Twitter).

Among the many tools of war available to the average infantryman, or really, anyone in combat, is the hand grenade. The grenade, though, does not exist in a vacuum. It travels through the air, and like any other object, it can be knocked down by the branches of a tree. Which is to say, maybe look up for a second before you throw this small munition toward your target. 
A recent video on social media demonstrates what happens when you don’t do that.

Russian soldiers showing how NOT to throw a grenade correctly. pic.twitter.

The Marine Corps doesn’t have an adequate pipeline of trained pilots to fully operate its growing drone fleet, and Department of the Navy components need their own “school” or custom education solution for their uncrewed systems-aligned workforce, Gen. David Berger told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Bettmann via Wikimedia Commons/unknown author via Wikimedia commons/Ted H. Lambert via Wikimedia Commons.

The mushroom clouds pictured following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 are among the most recognizable images taken in history. Yet the visual documentation of the only uses of atomic weapons in armed conflict has an intriguing history all its own. As it turns out, the famous imagery was actually the product of good luck rather than the result of successful planning.

According to local media reports, the Romanian Ministry of National Defense asked for Parliament’s consent to acquire several weapons systems for a total cost of some 10 billion euros.
Most of the details have been disclosed in various interviews given by Lieutenant General Teodor Incicaş, General Director of Armaments at the Ministry of Defense and National Director of Armaments of Romania.
Initial plans call for the majority of the funds to finance the acquisition of 41 short- and very-short-range missile systems (SHORAD/VSHORAD) valued at €4.2 billion.

Another sign that the Middle East is declining to be a priority for the United States is that A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes will replace more advanced American fighter jets that are moving from that region to Europe and the Pacific. 
The A-10 “Warthog,” an impressive attack plane with special features that make it great for close air support, may not be the plane the United States needs right now in that region.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to publish the news. It quoted retired US Air Force Maj. Gen.