Author: Michael

US Army

The U.S. military has announced a new aid package for Ukraine that is packed with drones and loitering munitions, among other things. This includes AeroVironment Switchblade 600s and Jump 20s, CyberLux K8s, and Area-I ALTIUS-600s. This appears to be the first time the latter three types have been included in a tranche of American military assistance for the Ukrainian armed forces. The ALTIUS-600s, especially, could give Ukrainian forces all-new long-range precision strike capabilities, among other potential benefits.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine that began a year ago today has sparked widespread international condemnation of Russian military action and of President Vladimir Putin personally.
In the last 12 months, how has the opinion of Russian citizens about the United States changed? And what do the Americans think of Russia now?
Always enemies?
As Cold War protagonists for much of the late 20th century, Russia and the United States have often been adversaries.

The Pentagon’s chief information officer is preparing to potentially direct changes in security measures that govern cloud service providers (CSPs) hosting Defense Department data — based on findings that will stem from an unfolding investigation associated with recent reports that emails with sensitive military data hosted on Microsoft’s Azure government cloud were unintentionally left exposed online this month.
The problem first came to light a few days ago when a non-government researcher flagged it.
In an email Thursday night, DOD spokesperson Cmdr.

!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src=”https://rumble.com/embedJS/u2y1af”+(arguments[1].video?’.’+arguments[1].video:”)+”/?url=”+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+”&args=”+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.

As I noted in a previous article on the stealthy Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers (DDGs), Admiral Elmo Russell Zumwalt Jr.’s name is highly revered in the annals of US Navy history, and with good reason.
Elmo Zumwalt was the youngest chief of naval operations in history. Zumwalt was 49 years old when he was appointed to the position in July 1970, and he proved himself more than worthy of the position.

The Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland photo

After months of negotiations, global political pressure, and constant urging by Kyiv, Ukraine’s foreign-provided tank force is finally beginning to materialize in-country. The first four of 14 Leopard 2 tanks promised by Poland are now in Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced Friday during a visit to Kyiv on the first anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion.

On my travel list in the United States is a visit to Arlington National cemetery. Like many, I want to pay respects to the men and women who came before me and offered their lives in service of this country. Of course, I would very much like to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier […]
The post SIG’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Pistol appeared first on Sandboxx.

USMC

After completing its evaluation of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Singapore has announced it will buy another eight of the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B versions, for a total of 12 so far. The move cements Singapore’s commitment to the stealth jet, which in its STOVL form will offer some key advantages to the small Southeast Asian nation, whether operating independently of runways or potentially from the flight deck of larger amphibious ships in the future.

A computer-generated image of the BR71 MK II corvette design. (Edge)
Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB), a subsidiary of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) Edge Group, will build three 71 m corvettes and an unspecified number of smaller vessels for the Angolan Navy under a EUR1 billion (USD1.05 billion) deal announced at IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi.
“Signing a EUR1 billion defence export deal represents a momentous achievement for Edge as well as ADSB,” said Khalid al-Breiki, Edge’s president for platforms and systems.

Training of Ukrainian soldiers on British Challenger 2 main battle tanks continues apace in south-west England after the UK pledged to provide 14 vehicles and related ammunition to support the defense of Ukraine.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace visited the training facility to meet with British instructors and Ukrainian soldiers. In the program, which will last several weeks, experienced Ukrainian soldiers will learn how to drive main battle tanks in combat effectively.