Author: Michael

DoD

There was a time when elements of the U.S. Navy appreciated the complexity, effort, duration, and assets anti-submarine warfare, or ASW, demanded of a fleet. Expecting to fight a blue-water war-at-sea campaign against a maturing Soviet Navy, serious investment was made toward developing the best sensors and weapons that could defeat any undersea threat.
Designed in response to the existential crisis created by the speed, endurance, and performance of nuclear-powered submarines, as first demonstrated by the USS Nautilus, 63 frigates were built for service in the U.S.

Iran claims the missile, which can travel five times the speed of sound, can evade and destroy air defense systems.
On Tuesday, Iran unveiled what authorities described as its first domestically-made hypersonic ballistic missile; the official IRNA news agency reported, an announcement likely to deepen Western concerns over Tehran’s missile capabilities.
Iranian state media released images of the missile, dubbed Fattah, or “Conqueror” in Farsi, at a ceremony attended by President Ebrahim Rahisi and commanders of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Japan is about to break a long-standing taboo to allow men and women with tattoos to serve in the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), once again underscoring the personnel crisis plaguing the country’s armed forces.
Despite having become commonplace in many other countries, tattoos are still regarded by many in Japan – especially the older generation – as a symbol of belonging to “yakuza” organized crime groups. Tattoos began to be used in the early 18th century to mark people who had committed a crime, from a band on the wrist to a “kanji” character on the forehead.

Ukrainian forces are moving into southern Ukraine. On June 4 and 5, the army’s 23rd and 31st mechanized brigades, with their T-64BV tanks, reportedly pushed back the Russian defenders, which could include the 71st Motor Rifle Regiment and the 37th Motor Rifle Brigade of the Russian Army. Guard, in and around Novodonetske, in the south of Donetsk Oblast, just east of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
It is not clear how big and determined the Ukrainian attack is; in other words, whether it is a small-scale raid or probe or the start of a larger, nationwide counter-offensive.

The Space Force has tapped L3Harris as the third vendor to develop sensor prototypes for the service’s upcoming satellite constellation designed to track hypersonic missiles from medium-Earth orbit (MEO).
The company received a design contract worth nearly $29 million from Space Systems Command (SSC) to develop prototypes for Epoch 1 of the Resilient Missile Warning and Missile Tracking MEO effort, the service announced Monday.

Northrop Grumman has delivered to the Navy the first E-6B Mercury aircraft outfitted with Block II modifications, the contractor announced Tuesday.
As part of the upgrade, five kits were integrated onto the platform, “implementing efficiencies and improving aircraft command, control and communications functions,” according to a release.
The E-6B, which was first deployed in the late 1990s, is a derivative of a Boeing 707 commercial aircraft and carries a crew of 22 personnel.

A U.S. Marine Corps Hero-400 loitering munition drone is staged before flight on San Clemente Island, California, May 25, 2022. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Daniel Childs).

If there’s one major lesson the Marine Corps leaders have taken from the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, it’s that swarming loitering munitions are the way of the future. 
As part of the Marine Corps’s annual update on Commandant Gen.

US Air Force pilots can now earn up to $50,000 a year in bonuses under a pair of programs designed to keep airmen in their uniforms.
The perennial shortage of pilots in the military is driving the Air Force’s monetary bonuses to new heights as it tries to bolster its air force in anticipation of a possible war with China.
Under the new version of the bonus program, airmen who sign a new contract this year will receive between $15,000 and $50,000 a year for three to 12 years, Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Rachel Salpietra said.

Russian MoD / Guilhem Vellut via Wikimedia

The Russian Ministry of Defense has released a video that it says shows Ukrainian armored vehicles, including at least one German-made Leopard tank, being destroyed. However, the footage, which appears to have been shot via the targeting system on a Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter, shows anti-tank guided missiles being fired on civilian farming equipment. This would not be the first time Russian officials have tried to pass off sloppy propaganda like this.

Recent movements in the Baltic Sea related to military practices raise growing concerns and heighten tension in the region.
NATO and Russia: Simultaneous naval maneuvers in the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea, modest in size but historically a conflict arena, is witnessing military maneuvers carried out by both NATO and Russia. Both entities have summoned a considerable amount of resources, including almost 100 ships and multiple aircraft, accompanied by thousands of people.
Despite its size, the Baltic Sea is shared by nine nations, seven of which are NATO members.