Browsing: All news

William McHenry, RealClearDefense
In the global arena of the 21st century, national security is inextricably linked to technological superiority

The U.S. Army expended over 150 anti-ballistic missile interceptors Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) long range air defence system to intercept Iranian ballistic missile attacks during 11 days of Iranian-Israeli hostilities from June 13-24, far exceeding prior estimates for the quantities of interceptors used. This represented over 25 percent of the Army’s total arsenal deployed around the world, raising serious concerns regarding the ability of American air defences to withstand sustained bombardments in theatres across much of the world.

During a June 17 speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Steve Koehler declared that despite an ongoing campaign of intimidation against its smaller neighbors in the South China Sea, “China’s pressure is not working well. It has failed to intimidate Southeast Asian claimants and make them surrender their sovereign rights.

Lockheed Martin Chief Executive Officer Jim Taiclet has renewed calls for a major increase in investment in the F-35 fifth generation fighter program to integrate technologies that can bridge the gap between the fighter’s capabilities and those of the sixth generation F-47 currently under development. The F-35 is “here to stay, in a big way, for a long time,” Taiclet stated, adding that it was “the only fifth-generation fighter aircraft in production right now [in the U.S.] and it’s proved itself in combat. So we will continue with our allies and with our U.S.

On July 25 the Russian Navy re-floated the Project 11442M Kirov Class nuclear-powered cruiser Admiral Nakhimov after a deep refurbishment lasting over a quarter of a century, placing it on course to undergo sea trials and return to active service. The protracted nature of the refurbishment was largely a result of the economic crisis that followed the disintegration of the Soviet Union, which meant that work on the ship only began in 2013, while the majority of the time the ship spent out of water saw little to no work done.

An Israeli Air Force officer speaking under the pseudonym Lieutenant Colonel I. has provided new insight into the role of the service’s F-35I fifth generation fighters during the country’s recent air assault on Iran. Launched from June 13-24, the attack saw the Israeli Air Force deploy over 300 fighters and large fleets of drones and support aircraft to attack strategic targets across the country, in parallel to attacks by paramilitary forces on the ground. Having operated an F-16I twin seat fighter as a weapons systems officer in its second seat during the campaign, Lt. Col. I.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced six legislative proposals this week that would codify reforms to the U.S. government’s procedures for selling or transferring weapons and other defense assets to allies and international partners.
Introduced by members of the committee’s bipartisan Foreign Arms Sales Task Force set up to investigate and help resolve existing acquisition hurdles, the six bills include provisions to incentivize domestic capabilities and munitions manufacturing, and expand other nations’ options to adopt American-made defense articles.

The number of casualties the U.S. military would suffer in a war against China could be unlike anything it has experienced during the post-9/11 wars, said Lt. Gen. Joel “JB” Vowell, deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Pacific.

Adm. Daryl Caudle, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be chief of naval operations, told lawmakers that the sea service needs to field a sixth-generation fighter jet as quickly as possible or risk losing its edge over adversaries.
The next-gen aircraft program, known as F/A-XX, has encountered funding shortfalls which are expected to slow down the initiative. The Navy delayed around $1 billion for the project in fiscal 2025 due to spending caps imposed by the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act.

A soldier’s hidden camera allegedly caught a maintenance contractor stealing from their barracks room. Officials said the incident at Fort Gordon, Georgia, is under investigation.
The video, which the soldier posted to Reddit after filming with his laptop’s camera on July 17, shows two men entering a barracks room in construction vests. One worker seems to look directly at the camera and appears to take something off the desk and put it into his pocket. The worker then walks over to the camera and turns it around before the video feed ends.