Author: Michael

Twitter screencap

We are getting what appear to be new views of the three Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessels (USV) that took part in a multi-domain attack on Sevastopol, home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, on Wednesday.
The grainy, black-and-white video, set to techno music and first posted on Telegram, splices together several angles of the USVs attempting to enter the largest harbor on the occupied Crimean peninsula. As the USVs approached the harbor, some appear to have encountered an obstacle.

The second of Japan’s Taigei-class diesel-electric attack submarines (SSKs) has been commissioned into service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
Christened JS Hakugei (pennant number SS 514), the new ship joined Escort Division 1 of Escort Flotilla 1, based at the Kure naval base in Hiroshima prefecture, shortly after to be handed over by shipbuilder Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) at a ceremony held at its facility in the city of Kobe, in Japan’s western Hyogo prefecture, on March 20.
Hakugei translates to “white whale” in Japanese.

The Turkish technology company Robit Technology has developed a new multipurpose kamikaze drone called “Azab” with a long flight range.
The hang glider platform has a high payload capacity and has successfully passed all flight tests. It is planned to carry out shooting tests of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) soon.
“We have carried out all the flight tests. We move on to ammunition testing. We will carry out ammunition tests in the coming months,” Selçuk Fırat, product manager at Robit Technology, told Anadolu Agency (AA).

Department of Defense.

‘Elephant walks,’ airpower exercises designed to demonstrate the readiness of large numbers of aircraft in anticipation of a major contingency, are always a treat to see. A recent elephant walk involving U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning And Control System, or AWACS jets, was especially unique, and quite topical.
Photos released by the Department of Defense show seven E-3G Sentry aircraft (the latest E-3 variant) assigned to the 552nd Air Control Wing performing an elephant walk, which took place on March 21.

Regarded as “the best wall” against China’s aggressive moves or as “the worst deal in Australia’s history,” the AUKUS submarine deal should be considered a very logical strategic decision to reassure at least one regional player – India – to continue betting on the nuclear. France could then take revenge.
UKUSA and AUKUS, two sides of the same medal
Distance should not erase history. Australia has always been a key player in the US strategy in the Pacific.

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

The Battle for Luxembourg was a short battle between the Luxembourg Gendarmerie, Volunteer Corps and the German Wehrmacht that resulted in a swift victory for Nazi Germany. The invasion that prompted it began on the 10th of May 1940 and lasted just one day. As a result of the 1867 Treaty of London, Luxembourg had no army and relied on a small force of Gendarmes and volunteers for its defence.

A U.S. Air Force RC-135V/W Rivet Joint has conducted a sortie inside Finnish airspace for the first time, at least in recent memory, flying opposite the border with Russia. These flights look set to become routine as Finland continues to move through the process of joining NATO, something the country’s leadership decided to pursue following the Russian military’s all-out invasion of Ukraine last year. Today’s sortie highlights how the Finnish ascension to the alliance will allow for expanding already robust efforts to surveil Russia from the air.

Ukrainian special forces underwent a big modernization and are now very effective against Russia, yet supplying them with equipment is hard.
The post Ukrainian special forces are getting one of the world’s best sniper rifles thanks to Estonia first appeared on Sandboxx.
The post Ukrainian special forces are getting one of the world’s best sniper rifles thanks to Estonia appeared first on Sandboxx.

An American B-52 nuclear bomber was flanked by six NATO fighters in a spectacular V formation. Spanish F-18s, Romanian F-16s, and Italian Typhoons joined the display.
The spectacular moment when NATO fighters flanked a US nuclear bomber in a show of force before Vladimir Putin was caught on camera.
NATO published photographs from yesterday showing a V formation of Spanish, Italian, and Romanian fighter jets protecting the bombers.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – APRIL 22, 2018: A metal plaque on the facade of the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington, D.C., features a quotation by Abraham Lincoln. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images).

Sometimes a story seems too good to be true — and not actually in a good way. Like the possibility of means-testing disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs based on income, which would mean that the more money one earns at work, the less one would receive based on a service-related disability.