Author: Michael

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in the Afghanistan rescue drama “Guy Ricthie’s The Covenenant,” set to be released in theaters on April 21. (The Covenant).

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a former Army sergeant and Dar Salim as his former interpreter now trapped in an Afghanistan once again ruled by the Taliban, debuts this weekend. 
At the Los Angeles premiere earlier this week, Gyllenhaal offered some perspective on what drew him to the role and why he enjoys portraying service members on the big screen.

Ukraine MOD

Among the disclosures to emerge from the U.S. Department of Defense’s recent leak of sensitive materials, one of the most alarming — from the point of view of the Ukrainian Armed Forces — is a purported assessment of the precarious quantity of missiles available to Kyiv’s hard-pressed ground-based air defense systems.

The commander of U.S. Cyber Command suggested he’d like lawmakers’ help with addressing the readiness of the forces under his purview.
“I think it has to do with the way that we look at readiness,” Gen. Paul Nakasone said at Cybercom’s legal conference Wednesday when asked what he’d like to see in regards to the annual defense policy bill. “As I take a look at it, we’re going to need to have people that spend more time at U.S. Cyber Command than less.

Iran reportedly received the first batch of Su-35S fighters from Russia. The first delivery batch is claimed to include 3 Su-35S fighters.
Egypt had ordered 24 Sukhoi Su-35s fighters from the Russian Federation in recent years as part of the Egyptian Air Force’s (FAE) needs. However, the manufactured Su-35S was not received by Egypt, citing technical reasons.
The buyer of the Su-35s that Egypt did not receive was Iran. Iran, which is one of the suitors for the Su-35S produced for Egypt, has completed official arrangements with the Russian Federation in recent weeks.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Fearing significant delays in getting a number of new technology initiatives off the ground, the Department of the Air Force has submitted a request to lawmakers for the ability to start projects without a congressionally approved budget, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said Wednesday.
The department is requesting $55.

The first French-donated AMX-10RC 6×6 armored anti-tank and reconnaissance vehicles were delivered to the Ukrainian naval infantry unit on April 18, according to a video uploaded on the Ukrainian Defence Ministry’s Twitter account.
Experts agree that the AMX-10RC model France sold to Ukraine is an improved variant known as the AMX-10RCR.
French AMX-10RC / AMX-10RCR 6×6 armored anti-tank reconnaissance vehicles were reportedly sent to Ukraine on February 15. Our information suggests that Ukraine will receive thirty AMX-10RCs.

By Stijn Mitzer, Joost Oliemans and Elmustek
 

This
list aims to comprehensively catalogue the equipment losses during the 2023 Sudan Crisis. This list does not discern between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Captured equipment and (destroyed) technicals are not included
in this list. This list is updated as new losses are uncovered. For a dedicated list of Sudanese aircraft losses during the 2023 Sudan Crisis click here.

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans in collaboration with Gerjon

This
list aims to comprehensively catalogue the (operational) aircraft and helicopters destroyed and damaged during the 2023 Sudan Crisis. Captured aircraft and helicopters as well as derelict aircraft are not included in this list. This list is updated as new losses are uncovered.

Andrew Moore has been appointed as the first-ever U.S. Central Command adviser for artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing and data analytics, Centcom announced Wednesday.
The personnel move comes as the command is undertaking digital transformation with units like Task Force 59, Task Force 99, Task Force 39 and other high-tech initiatives which seek to leverage AI, unmanned systems, the cloud and big data.
Moore previously worked as general manager for AI and industry solutions at Google Cloud.

USN

All four of the U.S. Navy’s Ohio class nuclear-powered guide missile submarines, or SSGNs, are set to be decommissioned by the end of 2028, according to its latest long-term shipbuilding plan. The USS Ohio, USS Michigan, USS Florida, and USS Georgia are among the most capable and in-demand submarines in U.S. service today.
Depending on which course of action the service proceeds with, the first examples of a new class or subclass of guided missile submarines or more specialized “Large Payload Submarines” may not arrive until 2044, at the earliest.
The U.S.