The Scottish poet, novelist, and historian Andrew Lang once quipped that politicians use statistics the way a drunkard uses a lamppost: “for support rather than illumination.” Indeed, the same line might be applied to the way policymakers use, or rather misuse, history. From incongruous analogies to procrustean parallels, the lamentable catalogue of abuses has prompted some historians to question the value of historical lessons and analogies as signposts for strategists.

The IAF seeks to acquire the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft Mk 1A to replace its ageing MiG-21 fleet. The Mk 1A has a greater payload and fuel capacity than the earlier Mk 1 aircraft (pictured), plus improved avionics and cockpit features. (Indian Air Force)
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is preparing the first two units of the improved Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk 1A for delivery to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in March.
A source in HAL told Janes that the company aims to deliver the first two aircraft by 31 March.

APS SKYctrl skid C-UAS with FIELDctrl 3D MIMO radar, CyView C2, and the Mk 44 Bushmaster II single 30 mm cannon. (APS)

Polish company Advanced Protection Systems (APS) is delivering its SKYctrl skid counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) to a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) customer,
Janes
learnt.

A spokesperson from APS told
Janes
on 14 February that the GCC customer has ordered an undisclosed number of SKYctrl skidss, with deliveries ongoing since December 2023. They were unable to elaborate on the order for security reasons.

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What is Sonic Booms and Mach Cones in Fighter Jets ?
The sonic boom is produced by exceeding the speed of sound, generating thunderous and audible shock waves.
The Physics Behind Sonic Booms: Speed ​​and Shock Waves
When an object like an airplane travels faster than the speed of sound, it creates an acoustic phenomenon known as a sonic boom. The speed of sound is approximately 750 miles per hour (1,207 kilometers per hour) at sea level, according to the United States Department of Defense.

The Space Force has seen some early successes from its new centralized units known as Integrated Mission Deltas (IMDs) and is now considering how to scale that structure across additional mission areas, according to the new head of Space Operations Command (SpOC).
Over the last five months, the Space Force has been experimenting with two Integrated Mission Deltas: one focused on positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and a second on electromagnetic warfare (EW).

The next version of the famed Little Bird helicopter for the U.S. Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, also known as the Night Stalkers, has reportedly been designated the MH-6R. This comes as U.S. Special Operations Command continues to move ahead with its Mission Enhanced Little Bird-X upgrade effort amid new uncertainty about the future of these helicopters following the U.S. Army’s cancellation of its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program, or FARA.

U.S. Army officials are crafting and refining a broad but adaptable new plan to help ensure all artificial intelligence capabilities across the service are responsibly adopted and deployed now and in the future.
“We’re developing what we’re calling the ‘Army’s Responsible AI Strategy,” Dr. David Barnes, the chief AI ethics officer at the Army AI Integration Center (AI2C), said at the Advantage Defense and Data Symposium.
“The strategy isn’t the end in itself.

With Taiwan’s first domestically made submarine seen entering the water for the first time and about to start at-sea trials, observers have had their best chance to look at the boat in more detail, revealing some intriguing — and advanced — aspects. The Hai Kun (SS-711), which was launched in the southern port city of Kaohsiung last September, as you can read about here, is a diesel-electric design, part of eight planned hulls that are set to revamp Taiwan’s desperately aging submarine force.

U.S. Army air defenders assigned to 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Delta Battery pose on a 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command Patriot launching station. The Army is adding positions for 7,500 soldiers in air and missile defense while also cutting thousands of unfilled positions for its plan to restructure the entire force. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Smith).

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Zelensky: 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in the fighting
President Zelensky said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since fighting broke out two years ago, but refused to reveal the number of wounded.

“31,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in the conflict. Not 300,000 or 150,000 as President Vladimir Putin and his subordinates claimed. However, this is still a heavy loss for us,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference in Kiev today.
This is the first time Ukraine has announced loss of life in more than a year.

Irwin Winkler has captured audiences and critics’ attention on the silver screen for over 50 years. He is a force of nature known for such hits as Rocky, Raging Bull, The Right Stuff, Goodfellas, The Irishman, Double Trouble, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, Rocky II through Rocky V, Creed I through Creed III, The Wolf of Wall Street, Rocky Balboa, The Net and The Mechanic (1972 and 2011).

He has worked with such stars as Elvis Presley, Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Michael B.

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Russian S-500 system passes anti-hypersonics test
Imagine a device with the ability to annihilate ballistic missiles and neutralize targets traveling at hypersonic speeds. That is the promise of Prometheus. But his abilities don’t stop there.
The S-500 Prometheus, under the supervision of the Russian Armed Forces, has undergone recent tests to evaluate its capability against hypersonic targets, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry to Izvestia.

Captain Dale Dye is known to audiences around the world for his military advising and acting work in some of the greatest military films and series of all time. He is most notably known for his work on Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Last of the Mohicans, Starship Troopers, JFK, Greyhound, Tropic Thunder, Casualties of War and Mission: Impossible. He is known for his long-time collaborations with Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone and Tom Hanks. Dye has appeared on popular TV shows such as JAG, Las Vegas, Chuck, Cold Case and Falling Skies.

Yugoslav Partisans in the summer of 1944. (Courtesy, Grey Beret Association via Brian Carnes).
In the annals of history, no secret mission can boast a better codename than Operation Bunghole, which U.S. intelligence launched in February 1944.
How exactly the mission was named “Bunghole” is a question lost to the ages. It wasn’t until decades after World War II that the animated series “Beavis and Butthead” made the term “Bunghole” part of the mainstream repertoire.

Top Aces, the Canada-based advanced training provider, that specializes in ‘red air’ adversary support, has shown off one of its Cold War-era A-4 Skyhawk jets fitted with an infrared search and track (IRST) system. The development brings the veteran A-4 right up to date in terms of the kind of threat sensor replication it can offer, especially as the company has already been adding advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars to the same type.

L Todd Wood speaks to former Green Beret John Frankman on his persecution and decision to leave the US Army over the Covid vaccine mandate.
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Russian forces are being blinded in Ukraine
The neutralization of A-50 reconnaissance aircraft erodes the already questioned Russian air preeminence in Ukraine.
The strategic decline in Russian air intelligence capacity
The Ukrainian armed forces have achieved a significant milestone with the downing of a second A-50, a Russian aerial reconnaissance aircraft, between the cities of Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar, more than 200 km from the front.

Following a series of pilot efforts, the Pentagon’s main network defense command is rolling out a new model for measuring the readiness of the network.
Beginning March 1, Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network (JFHQ-DODIN) will establish the Cyber Operational Readiness Assessment (CORA) program, marking a shift from compliance to operational readiness.
Over the past few years, JFHQ-DODIN, a subordinate headquarters under U.S.

The Army Reserve has grounded its helicopter fleet after a series of crashes in February. Photo by Capt. Travis Mueller.
The Army National Guard announced a safety stand down for its helicopter fleet after two crashes within two weeks earlier this month.
Two pilots died when a Mississippi National Guard AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed on Feb. 23 during a routine training mission. That crash came after a Feb. 12 crash of a Utah National Guard Apache. There were no fatalities in the Utah crash.

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Indra and Thales Sign Collaboration Agreement to Promote Cutting-Edge Defense Systems
Introduction: Indra and Thales, two major global technology companies, have signed a collaboration agreement in defense to accelerate the development of European technologies and compete in both the Spanish and international markets.
Business Opportunities: Indra and Thales aim to capitalize on emerging business opportunities, particularly in radar systems, cybersecurity, communications, and simulation systems.

If you’re ever injured in an accident, you ca

The German armed forces are reportedly set to be the first military operator of a version of Heckler & Koch’s HK433 assault rifle. Germany’s special operations forces community is said to be in the process of acquiring a specialized short-barrel sound-suppressed version of the HK433, known as the HK437, which is chambered in the .300 Blackout cartridge. Invented in the United States, .300 Blackout was specifically designed to offer an optimal mix of accuracy and power even when fired from guns with exactly this kind of configuration.

The increase in Russian language specialists working in UK defence infrastructure coincides with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

KYIV – Our attention caught the following leak from the Office of the President of Ukraine. The leak is not confirmed. We read similar leaks in the past and the information was confirmed later.
What it means is that General Syrsky ordered to build a defense line around Pokrovsk, with foreposts in Selidovo, that means that the next expected advance of Russians is expected to be 30 km deep. We are very much worried about the situation.

The Bundesheer and Rheinmetall signed a contract on 21 February for the German company’s Skyranger 30 turret. (Georg Mader)
The Bundesheer (Austrian Armed Forces) and Rheinmetall announced on 23 February that they had signed a contract for the German company’s Skyranger 30 turret, making Austria the launch customer for the air-defence system.

How many patents did Thales submit related to future of work last quarter, and how many were granted? Discover the latest information here.

With the Black Hawk set to remain in US Army service through to the 2070s, Lockheed Martin says the helicopter can serve as a bridge through to future rotorcraft now being developed. (Janes/Patrick Allen)
Lockheed Martin is touting its S-70 Black Hawk medium-lift helicopter as a bridge to next-generation rotorcraft now being developed, with new technologies intended to take it out to 2070.

The MDH MD 530F, as it was designated then, was showcased at IQPC International Military Helicopter (IMH) conference in February 2023. Now known as the TH/AH530, it is again being promoted at the IMH 2024 event, with the company telling
Janes
it expects to close sales of “several dozen” platforms in Eastern Europe alone.

Despite setbacks with the US Army, Lockheed Martin will continue to develop and offer its X2 technologies to the international market. (Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin is to continue developing its X2 technologies for the international market despite suffering setbacks with its offerings to the US Army.

Austria has ordered 225 Pandur EVO AFVs for the Bundesheer. (GDELS)
A contract for 225 Pandur Evolution (EVO) armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) for the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer) was signed by Minister of Defense Klaudia Tanner, Chief of Defence Staff General Rudolf Striedinger, and managing director of General Dynamics European Land Systems-Steyr (GDELS-Steyr) Martin Reischer on 19 February.
Present at the signing were Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Karl Hufnagel, managing director of ESL, which will supply the AFV’s 12.

The UK government has formally launched the second half of the NMH procurement process to replace the Puma HC2, with the release to industry of the invitation to negotiate on 27 February. (Janes/Patrick Allen)
The UK government has launched the second half of its New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme to replace the Airbus SA 330E Puma HC2 in military service.

The UK Ministry of Defence will take the next step in its New Medium Helicopter programme, inviting three prospective suppliers to negotiate.

Gas emanates from a leak on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in September 2022 following sabotage to the pipeline. Concerns are growing about seabed infrastructures security.

The presidential campaign of Javier Milei of Argentina was one of a kind, from the chainsaw he wielded at rallies to his promise to create a marketplace for human organs. He shouted “long live liberty” to screaming crowds and described his cloned dogs as his closest advisers. Those idiosyncrasies, however, overshadowed the most radical item on Milei’s platform — a foreign policy designed to distance Argentina from China, a top trading partner.

In Moscow last December, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar praised the “exceptional” nature of Indian-Russian relationship, describing it as the “one constant in world politics.” The reality, however, is that this relationship is a shell of its former self and, rather than being a constant, it is in fact undergoing a managed decline. This is demonstrated by New Delhi downgrading its interactions with Moscow on several fronts, including bilateral summits and multilateral forums, economic engagement, and defense cooperation.

Crowds of onlookers greeted a captured U.S.-supplied Ukrainian M2A2-ODS-SA Bradley Fighting Vehicle that is now on a rail-bound propaganda tour of Russia. It is an unprecedented and somewhat jarring thing to behold, but one that should come as no surprise.
Bradley Fighting Vehicle pictured in Russia today. Unknown author via X/Twitter
Where or when exactly the pictures of the Bradley strapped to the train car were taken is unclear. However, several Russian accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, suggest it arrived in Moscow on February 26, but this remains unconfirmed.

Access and buy GlobalData’s databook on the latest filings and grants activity for Joby Aviation here.

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Access and buy GlobalData’s databook on the latest filings and grants activity for Avon Protection here.

Access and buy GlobalData’s databook on the latest filings and grants activity for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions here.

Access and buy GlobalData’s databook on the latest filings and grants activity for Hyundai Rotem here.

Access and buy GlobalData’s databook on the latest filings and grants activity for China Aerospace Times Electronics here.

Access and buy GlobalData’s databook on the latest filings and grants activity for Mercury Systems here.

A U.S. Air Force B-52H bomber made an emergency landing at Minot Air Force Base North Dakota recently due to a fire in one of its eight TF33 engines. The fire was successfully extinguished on the ground and none of the crew members onboard were injured in the mishap.
Officials at Minot confirmed to The War Zone that the incident occurred and that the mishap is now under investigation.
A B-52H bomber at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota on January 7, 2024.

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The Future of the Russia-Ukraine War After Two Years
The Future of the Russia-Ukraine War After Two Years” – the article focuses on the ongoing conflict and its potential trajectory, offering a concise and informative preview of the content.
The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which has entered its third year, presents a complex and evolving situation with significant implications for both countries and the broader international community.

The Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office is poised to put its new and highly anticipated minimum viable capability for Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) to work at the Army’s latest Project Convergence experiments kicking off this week.

HMS Diamond, the Type 45 destroyer that shot down multiple Houthi drones while spending months on patrol around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, has been reloaded with surface-to-air missiles and is supposedly going to head back to the troubled region soon. The news comes just a couple weeks after the warship had docked in Gibraltar after being relieved on station by the less capable Type 23 Frigate HMS Richmond. At the time, it was reported that HMS Diamond would return home to Portsmouth after a months-long deployment.

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Israeli Submarines could have a big Nuclear Secret
The origin of the Dolphin class dates back to the aftermath of the 1991 Persian Gulf War when Germany agreed to compensate Israel for the development of Iraqi ballistic missiles capable of reaching its territory.
The Dolphin class of Israeli submarines is part of the country’s nuclear deterrence strategy, standing out for their possible nuclear arsenal and advanced features.

Army Reserve Col. Reece Roberts was indicted on Feb. 21,2024 for allegedly defrauding the Defense Finance Accounting Service of more than $62,000 in benefits that he didn’t earn. (Sgt. 1st Class Brent C. Powell/U.S. Army Reserve).
Federal prosecutors say an Army Reserve colonel created bogus lease documents and claimed to live in a different state in order to collect more than $62,000 in travel and family benefits to which he was not entitled, according to the Justice Department.
Col. Reece Dennis Roberts was indicted by a federal jury on Feb.

A major cold weather training exercise wrapped up in Alaska with a long list of lessons and new ideas, said Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler commander of the 11th Airborne division. One of them: beards.
Soldiers may not have to shave when they’re deployed in the Arctic, the Army’s commanding general for the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division said Monday.
The comments came from Maj. Gen.