Browsing: All news

When the Confederacy fired the first shots of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861, Gordon Granger was on leave from the Union Army.
Granger took time off because he was ill. But once hostilities broke out, Granger soon returned to uniform and later distinguished himself, both as a soldier and officer, during the Civil War.

The Russian Armed Forces have significant expanded their infrastructure along the border with Finland, as part of a broader effort to reinforce the country’s northwestern flank following Finland’s accession to NATO in April 2023. Satellite imagery and intelligence assessments indicate that new barracks, warehouses, vehicle parks, ammunition depots, and logistics facilities have been constructed, while long-abandoned Soviet-era bases have been reactivated. These projects appear designed to support a much larger permanent military presence once forces and equipment become available.

The British Armed Forces have launched their first armed takeover of a Russian civilian ship, as part of broader efforts being pursued by multiple NATO members to undermine the Russian economy by targeting its exports. British Royal Marines from 42 Commando boarded the tanker CMR Smyrtos as part of a six hour maritime interdiction operation. While the large majority of attacks on Russian shipping have been carried out in international waters, it is notable that the latest operation by the Marines was in British territorial waters.

Warsaw, Poland – On Wednesday morning, 17 June, officers from the Central Directorate of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained the high-profile St. Petersburg businessman Ilya Traber. His arrest comes as a surprise to many, as he is a famous figure in Russia’s second city in two specific respects.

One is that he is well-known as being a major kingpin in St. Petersburg’s criminal underworld, where he has acquired the nickname “the Antiquarian,” or the “Antiques Dealer.

The Russian defence sector has been widely assessed by Western analysts to have achieved considerable successes in expanding production of the country’s most capable type of operational main battle tank, the T-90M, as the rapid wartime depletion of Soviet era tank reserves has made it critical to rapidly replace losses with new T-90s.

The U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division, has demonstrated an effective transition from a cavalry reconnaissance formation to a parachute infantry battalion capable of conducting airborne assaults, forcible-entry operations, and rapid deployment missions across the Arctic and Pacific regions. This was demonstrated at the Red Flag-Alaska 26-2 exercise.

The Iranian government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia to acquire 20 Mi-171 helicopters, which are reportedly intended to serve in the Iranian Red Crescent Society for emergency response and disaster relief. The helicopters will be used for search and rescue, medical evacuation, firefighting, and other emergency operations. They are expected to be equipped with modern systems, including night-vision capability and specialised medical equipment, with the first four helicopters are scheduled for delivery before March 2027.

The U.S. Marine Corps has deployed F-35B fifth generation fighters for operations from Finnish highways in Tervo during Ramstein Flag 2026 exercises, highlighting the U.S. Armed Forces’ growing focus on dispersed combat operations to allow advanced airpower to continue to function away from major air bases. Although all variants of the F-35 can deploy from specially reinforced highways, the F-35B’s entirely unique short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities make the aircraft particularly optimal for operations from austere sites.

A mentor of mine, a superb scholar, once told me that good defense analysis starts with a trade-off. The classic example is combined arms doctrine, which is the foundation of modern warfare. Infantry, armor, artillery, and aviation work together to offset each other’s weaknesses. Each brings a combination of mobility, firepower, or protection, though none individually has all three. Infantry has a lot of mobility, but little protection. Tanks have mobility and a lot of protection, but limited magazines. Artillery in the rear has nearly limitless firepower, but no protection.

Fire Point’s CEO spoke with Army Technology about her plans to cultivate a sovereign ballistic missile and interceptor sector in Ukraine.