Author: Michael

23d Wing Commander via Facebook.

An A-10C Warthog has emerged at Moody Air Force Base (AFB) sporting a heritage livery that commemorates the First American Volunteer Group (AVG), also known as the “Flying Tigers,” which flew during World War II, and one of the unit’s pilots in particular, Charles R. Bond Jr.
Images of the freshly-painted aircraft were released on February 8 by Col. Russell “Bones” Cook, commander of the U.S. Air Force’s 23rd Wing, which is based at Moody AFB in Lowndes County, Georgia.

Nepal is to receive two new M28 airlifters, bringing its total fleet to five such aircraft. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
Nepal has contracted the US government to deliver a pair of PZL Mielec M28 Skytruck short take-off and landing (STOL) light transport aircraft by the end of April 2025.
Announced by the US Department of Defense (DoD) on 3 February, the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) covers two M28 Block 05 aircraft, and is valued at USD30.4 million.

Rep. Matt Gaetz
On Thursday, Matt Gaetz will introduce a resolution in the House that calls for the Biden administration to cease U.S. military and financial assistance to Ukraine. The measure also calls for a peace agreement as the war will enter its second year on February 24.

BREAKING: I introduced the “Ukraine Fatigue” Resolution today to suspend additional military & financial aid to Ukraine and urge combatants to reach a peace agreement immediately.
America is in a state of managed decline, and it will exacerbate if we https://t.co/8X51page0y… https://t.co/CU0VYohkBD
— Rep.

US Army

The U.S. Army says it has gotten rid of its entire fleet of Airborne Reconnaissance Low-Enhanced aircraft, or ARL-Es, and is now in the process of divesting dozens of smaller Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System types, or EMARSSs. The service is planning to supplant these and other existing fixed-wing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft with a new fleet of business jet-based designs. However, the intended replacements are still years away from becoming operational in significant numbers.

Members of the USS Barb’s crew hold the submarine’s battle flag aloft after returning from a final patrol in 1945. The train kill can be seen in the bottom-center of the flag. (U.S. Navy).

In August 1945, eight members of the crew of the USS Barb posed for a photo at Pearl Harbor holding up the submarine’s battle flag. The different patches on the flag represented the boat’s myriad accomplishments over 12 patrols in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.

The U.S. and Canadian militaries are developing a sensor network with classified capabilities that officials hope will strengthen the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)’s capacity to identify airborne threats — like the suspected, high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon that President Biden ordered shot down last week after it traversed over multiple states and sensitive national security assets. 
During a Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing on Thursday, lawmakers raised grave concerns about the balloon incident and U.S.

Twitter screengrab

Ukrainian forces have put an advanced Russian BMPT Terminator armored fighting vehicle out of commission for the first time, according to the Ukrainian Marines. The Terminator is a relatively new addition to Russia’s ground arsenal and only a small number of them are known to be in service, making this kill quite the trophy for the Ukrainian military.
Members of the Ukrainian Marine Corps’ 140th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion helped destroy the BMPT, according to a post on the service’s official Facebook page.

A Turkish woman is winning hearts by kissing an Indian Army officer on the cheek. The officer is in the quake-stricken country to help with rescue and relief work.
The Indian Army posted a picture of the two women with the caption “We Care.” This was a great way to show how quickly India helped its “dost” Turkey.
India started Operation Dost to help Turkey and Syria after Monday’s earthquakes and aftershocks, which caused buildings to fall and cities to be leveled.

A Special Forces Soldier conducts weapons training with partner forces on a range in Southwest Asia, Sept. 2, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kyle Alvarez).

The U.S. military’s Global War on Terrorism may be heating up again on distant battlefields, but a bipartisan group of American lawmakers at home is pushing to rein in the ever-expanding global campaign by repealing part of its legislative foundation.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN), joined by Reps.

The Army Research Laboratory plans to evaluate unmanned platforms and autonomy technology at Aberdeen Proving Ground this summer, and it’s reaching out to industry to see who wants to participate.
Capability areas of interest for ARL’s Tech Assess ’23 event include autonomous mobility, air-ground teaming, coordinated behaviors of unmanned platforms, object tracking and identification, “global localization,” human language-guided operations, and weather-resistant drones, according to a request for information published on Sam.gov.