Author: Michael

Royal Netherlands Air Force

Repeated calls from Ukrainian officials and pilots for F-16 fighter jets look like they finally could be a step closer to being answered, with confirmation from the Dutch government that it will look at any request to transfer its aircraft with an “open mind.” Those were the words of Wopke Hoekstra, the Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, speaking yesterday ahead of the meeting of defense ministers from around 50 countries at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, which you can read more about here.

U.S. soldiers drive an M1131A1 Stryker Vehicle to the Tapa Training Area to begin winter camp in Estonia, Feb. 15, 2016. (Staff Sgt. Steven M. Colvin/U.S. Army).

The 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers that Ukraine will receive from the United States in the coming months will allow Ukrainian forces to increasingly exploit openings in Russian lines as part of future offensives while adding to the challenge Ukraine faces as it tries to maintain its eclectic assortment of fighting vehicles, experts said.
The Strykers are part of the latest U.S.

The F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet have been the mainstay of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation for the last four decades. The Hornet is also in service with the air forces of allies such as Canada, Australia and Spain, as well as several non-aligned countries, including Switzerland.
First entering Marine Corps service in 1983 and Navy service in 1984, the F/A-18 eventually replaced a variety of aircraft, including the A-4 Skyhawk, A-6 Intruder, A-7 Corsair II, S-3 Viking, and the F-4 Phantom II.

Ukrainian fears of a Northern Front opening up soon may not be as unfounded as some believed just a few short months ago. Russia and its longtime ally Belarus have expanded their joint military drills inside Belarus in the past few days, adding soldiers, weapons, and specialized equipment based on the Russian experience in Ukraine. 
Unconfirmed reports from Telegram channel lead experts to believe anywhere from 1,400 to 1,600 additional Russian troops have moved to training areas inside Belarus.

We all watched it happen on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Whenever a member of the Enterprise crew needed an injection, Dr. Crusher simply grabbed a hypospray and delivered the drugs, vaccine or whatever medical-plot device was necessary into the crew member’s neck, no needle required. 
At the time, we may have been thinking that it would be nice to have such medical trek-nology, hoping one day doctors come up with a way to make it happen.

When making epics and historical dramas such as the story of the Alamo, only Hollywood could come close to making a production as thrilling as the actual event. Perhaps more thrilling! Patton’s real-life drive through Sicily was of course gritty, bloody, horrific. Onscreen, it is made memorable by, for example, the eccentric general’s reading of his own poem to General Omar Bradley, amid ruins from long-ago battles.
T.E. Lawrence’s forays through the Middle East were defined by sweltering heat and warring tribal factions.

On January 8, 2023, a nearly 40-year old retired satellite weighing more than two tons began to fall out of low-earth orbit and back to the cradle of mankind. Its course had it falling on a track passing over Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the westernmost areas of North and South America. That’s a lot of potential targets to hit on the way down. But researchers agree that the probability of being struck by falling satellite debris is very low for us targets here on Earth.

KMW photo

Despite another plea this morning from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for additional western tanks, the eighth meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group wrapped up at Ramstein Air Base in Germany with that request unfulfilled.
While several of the 50 member nations of that group came forward with new donations of armored vehicles and air defense capabilities, there were no tanks on the list.

Germany is still mulling over whether to offer any Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. (Bundeswehr photo) Bundeswehr
Neither the U.S.

Some think that Putin might be threatening to conduct a nuclear strike on Ukraine. But what would that look like?
The post Living in the ‘what if’ zone of nuclear war appeared first on Sandboxx.

Army Staff Sgt. Jimmy Lee Smith III, 24, was killed on Jan. 18, 2023. (Army photo.).

An airborne soldier assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group was killed in a Jan. 18 shooting in Raeford, North Carolina, Army officials announced on Friday.
Staff Sgt. Jimmy Lee Smith III, 24, served as a culinary specialist with the Group Support Battalion for 3rd Special Forces Group, according to a news release from U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
“Jimmy was a tremendous teammate and paratrooper,” Col. John D. Bishop, commander of 3rd Special Forces Group, said in the news release.