Tony Lentini, RCDefense
I grew up an Army Brat and served in the Army myself as a young man.
Author: Michael
The announcement on December 22 that the U.S. Navy is scheduled to procure ten unprecedentedly large missile armed surface combat ships has fuelled considerable speculation regarding whether there will be a turning point in fleet capabilities in the 2030s. Informally referred to by U.S. President Donald Trump as ‘Trump class’ warships, and otherwise as ‘battleships,’ the vessels are expected to be large missile cruisers that succeed the Ticonderoga class cruisers which are currently being phased out of service.
From The Great Escape to Elf…🎄🎬
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The Belarusian Defence Ministry has signed a new contract with Russia’s leading producer of air defence equipment Almaz-Antey for the maintenance and repair of Belarusian Armed Forces air defence equipment at a new centre in the country. The ministry reported regarding the agreement: “The air defence repair service centre, established this year in the Republic of Belarus, will begin servicing and repairing Minsk-owned air defence equipment in the coming months in cooperation with Russian companies.
A new batch of Su-35 fighter aircraft has ben delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces, marking the latest delivery of the year following successful efforts to significantly expand the type’s scale of production. Russian state defence conglomerate Rostec reported regarding the delivery: “The United Aircraft Corporation of the Rostec State Corporation has manufactured and delivered another batch of Su-35S multirole fighters to the Russian Defence Ministry.
North Korean state media on December 24 published the first images of the country’s long anticipated first nuclear powered submarine, revealing that the ship is currently under construction and displaces 8,700 tons. This follows reports from South Korean military sources in October 2024 that the North had begun construction of the first nuclear submarine, an reports for several years from North Korean government sources that the development of such a ship is planned.
New footage released by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command Air Force has for the first time shown a J-10C fighter carrying a new type of air-launched ballistic missile. The missile closely resembles the YJ-21 anti-ship ballistic missile which is carried by H-6K bombers, and appears to be a miniaturised version. The YJ-21 was first unveiled at the 2022 Zhuhai Airshow, and combines a 1500 kilometre range and Mach 10 speed, making it among the most potent anti-ship weapons fielded anywhere in the world.
As the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force has continued to retire its Russian-sourced fighter aircraft from service, state media outlets have revealed that the first retired J-11A fighters from the type’s first production batch have been sent to the Air Force Engineering University for ground crew training. These aircraft can be seen carrying the Russian-made R-27 air-to-air missile, as well as its successor domestically produced PL-12 missile, with ground crew seen arming the aircraft and servicing them.
An annual report by the U.S. Department of Defence to Congress on Chinese military capabilities has highlighted that the country’s increasingly capable new fighters being offered for export appear poised to gain more dominant positions on global markets. The report specifically singles out the J-35 fifth generation fighter, J-10C lightweight fourth generation fighter, and its very light counterpart the JF-17, as aircraft which have particularly high export prospects.
Ukrainian forces repelled a Russian cavalry assault using FPV drones in Donetsk Oblast. Cavalry, in this case, actually using horses.
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