Image by Balon Greyjoy

AFP has a long and close relationship with U.S. special operations, and AFSOC in particular, as several of our team have flown these aircraft for the command.
Satellite images emerging online show at least five MC-130J Commando II multi-mission combat transport planes are now at Rafael Hernandez International Airport (RHIA) in Puerto Rico. The Commando IIs appear to have arrived on Dec. 17.

This video describes the military situation in

The Department of Veterans Affairs must build hundreds of new housing units on its massive West Los Angeles campus, a federal appeals court ruled this week. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2024 ruling from a federal district court judge, which ordered more than 2,500 permanent and temporary housing units be built on the campus.
A three-judge panel from the appeals court largely agreed with the district court ruling. On Tuesday, after eight months of deliberation, it issued its decision, finding that the VA had “strayed from its mission.

This video describes the military situation in

Daniel Lippman, Politico
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth got an unexpected Christmas gift from President Donald Trump this year: Hegseth’s embattled chief of staff — who’d been doing the…

Hurwitz, M.J. Cobalt, lithium, and other minerals are being stockpiled at the expense of climate action, a new report warns.

Frankie Lister-Fell, Metro Ukraine’s Kyiv was targeted with missiles and drones in a Russian attack last night that killed at least one person and injured dozens

John Waters & Ross Calvin, RealClearWorld You know about the annual meeting in Davos, where anonymous shareholders and genderless bureaucrats mingle at private chalets.

Sen. Jim Banks, The American Mind Americans are choosing to serve because they believe in the mission, trust their leaders, and take pride in this great country.

For Anna Richardson, service was never just about wearing the uniform; it was about becoming someone who could help others heal. She joined the Army at just 19, seeking structure, purpose, and a healthier way forward. 
“At that time, my life didn’t have much direction,” she told We Are The Mighty. “I saw the military as an opportunity not just to serve, but to find discipline and meaning.” 
What drew her in most was the chance to work in behavioral health, a field where she could make a tangible difference while simultaneously growing into the person she wanted to be.

President Donald Trump announced on Christmas Day that U.S. forces had conducted “powerful and deadly” airstrikes against Islamic State (ISIS) militants in northwest Nigeria, describing the operation as a direct response to what he called the “vicious killing” of innocent Christians by the terrorist group.

After years of failing to get a vessel in the w

This video describes the military situation in

This video describes the military situation in

The Russian Armed Forces have begun construction of strategic missile facilities at multiple locations in Belarus, which are intended to host Oreshnik intermediate range nuclear-capable ballistic missiles that are currently beginning to be brought into frontline service.

The Republic of China National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCIST) has budgeted 9 billion New Taiwan Dollars ($290 million) to developing a number of advanced key technologies for aircraft engines, which are widely reported to be intended to power fighter aircraft. The powerplant is reportedly expected to replace the F124 engine currently powering the indigenous Republic of China Air Force F-CK Ching Kuo and Brave Eagle fourth generation fighters. An engine with equivalent thrust to the F124 would allow these U.S.-supplied engines to be phased out of both of these programs.

The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence has confirmed that manufacturing of the Challenger 3 main battle tank will not begin on a fixed timetable, instead proceeding only after performance trials are successfully completed, signalling a more risk averse approach to bringing the new vehicle into service. Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the program is “currently undergoing demonstration phase trials to prove the performance of the tanks,” and that manufacturing will start once performance is validated “rather than being tied to a specific deadline.

The new Russian Defence Ministry State Armaments Program for 2027-2036 has paid specific attention to the modernisation of the country’s nuclear triad and air defences, according to the Kremlin’s materials prepared for the Russian president’s meeting on the program. “Special attention is paid to building up the capabilities of land troops, maintaining and modernising the nuclear triad, creating an all-embracing air defence system and boosting the export potential of Russian armaments and equipment,” the materials were reported by state media to have stated.

The Korean People’s Army has successfully test fired a new type of long range surface-to-air missile, which demonstrated the ability to destroy a target 200 kilometres away. The launch was conducted over the Sea of Japan, referred to in Korea as the East Sea, and was observed by figures from the country’s political leadership including Chairman of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party Kim Jong Un.

This video describes the military situation in

If you ask a civilian to imagine war, they almost always picture the noise. They imagine the deafening crack of outgoing artillery, the scream of low-flying jets, or the chaotic exhilaration of small-arms fire. It is a sensory overload designed for the cinema, an almost-symphony of violence where the danger is loud, visible, and unnervingly human.
But if you ask a veteran about their worst day in the field, there is a good chance the memory is less about the combat and more about the environment.

Military life is the world’s most reliable chaos generator. Schedules shift, phones die, inboxes become landfills, and the one document you need suddenly exists only in the dimension where missing socks go. A binder doesn’t prevent emergencies, but it does prevent emergencies from turning into administrative horror. 
Start with five buckets: identity, medical, financial, legal, and property. Milspouses need to add military-specific tabs for deployment contacts and key documents, but civilians can probably save that space for other things.

The Defense Department’s latest report to Congress on China’s military developments stated that Beijing has been catching up with the United States in the race for new generative AI capabilities.
This year’s iteration of the annual study was quietly released by the DOD this week before the Christmas holiday.
“In 2024, China’s commercial and academic AI sectors made progress on large language models (LLMs) and LLM-based reasoning models, which has narrowed the performance gap between China’s models and the U.S. models currently leading the field,” Pentagon officials wrote.

American forces carried out strikes northwest Nigeria on Thursday, targeting Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria. 
President Donald Trump announced the operation on social media Thursday afternoon. He said the attack was against ISIS, which he said was killing Christian Nigerians in the country’s northwest. Trump did not provide many details on the operation, although U.S. Africa Command said in its own release that it hit several ISIS camps in the Sokoto state.

The RAF women’s football team have domina

Anastasia Obis, Federal News Network This year the Army has embarked on one of its biggest transformations in decades, while the Air Force dropped most of its sweeping plans.

Ticku, E.T. The US is the world’s preeminent military power.

Paul Kengor, Spectator I recently had a strange, sad experience while watching an old movie with the family.

Francis P.

Hard Choices Create Quiet Professionals | Milit

Almost exactly 6 years after the Space Force was founded, a basic training class made history as the first to march in the traditional boot camp graduation ceremony wearing the service’s own, distinctive dress uniform.
Until the Dec. 18 ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio–Lackland, Texas, enlisted troops in the Space Force had graduated in modified versions of the Air Force’s “blues” dress uniforms.

Next year will likely focus on building digital networks, intercepting European drone incursions and securing critical subsea infrastructure.

TASL has begun delivering WhAP armoured vehicles to Moroccan Army following the commencement of local manufacturing operations in Morocco.

This video describes the military situation in

Astor Defence is a winner in the Business Expansion category in the 2025 Army Technology Excellence Awards.

“An incredibly busy year, operationally”✨
Tho

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force has or the first time deployed a contingent to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for joint exercises with the UAE Air Force. Spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defence Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang revealed that the drills were conducted from December 9 to 22, and represented the third iteration of the “Falcon Shield” exercises between the two countries, after the previous two rounds of exercises were hosted in China.

The Chengdu Aircraft Corporation has made significant further progress in the development of a very heavy ultra long range sixth generation fighter, bringing the program’s third flight prototype into flight testing. Images showed the aircraft in flight alongside a J-10C fighter on December 25, with the prototype having visible differences from its two predecessors signalling continued evolution and refinement of the design.

The Belarusian Air Force has received a new batch of Russian Su-30SM2 fighters, marking the latest in multiple deliveries since 2019 to significantly enhance the post-Soviet state’s aerial warfare capabilities.

The U.S. Army has confirmed that the M270A2 rocket artillery system has for the first time been involved in live-fire testing in South Korea, marking its debut in a forward-deployed environment. The deployment reflects the prioritisation of positions in Korea for the receipt of the most capable equipment available in the U.S. Armed Forces, as the Korean People’s Army deployed north of the inter-Korean demilitarised zone continues to field one of the most capable land forces in the world and to rapidly modernise its capabilities.

More people have completed the task of climbing

Eighty years ago, American troops were home for Christmas for the first time in years. For the previous four years, troops had faced holidays away from family, and in whatever conditions the war presented, from snowless tropics to brutal winters of northern Europe. But even in the most expansive footprint of the war, cooks, supply troops, and even frontline leaders did their best to make sure Christmas dinner wasn’t forgotten.

During World War II, some 9,000 chaplains served in the U.S. military, representing a wide spectrum of faiths, including Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish traditions. These men did not carry weapons, yet they repeatedly placed themselves in harm’s way to comfort the wounded, counsel soldiers, and uphold morale in the most dangerous theaters of the war. They marched with infantry units across Europe, stormed beaches under fire in Normandy and the Pacific, parachuted behind enemy lines, and ministered in muddy foxholes under relentless artillery bombardment.

Ryan Thomas LaBee, Military.

S&S

Tony Lentini, RCDefense
I grew up an Army Brat and served in the Army myself as a young man.

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…🎄🎬
What wi

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.