Iraq said the US airstrike violated its sovereignty and killed civilians, while Damascus accused Washington of “inflaming the Middle East conflict.”

The Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office today announced that a US airstrike targeting pro-Iranian militia groups in the country had killed 16 people, including civilians, and injured 25 people. “This is the latest aggressive act targeting Iraq’s sovereignty,” the agency said.
Iraqi officials also denied reports that Washington coordinated with Baghdad before the attack. “The US lied and distorted the truth.

The US military began airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on Friday night in response to a drone strike in Jordan on Sunday that killed three US soldiers. The attacks began around 4 pm EST against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated militia groups, hitting at least seven facilities, US defense officials said.
President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed that the strikes would continue in retaliation for the deaths of the Army reservists. “Our response began today.

John Carl Baker, Jacobin North Korea is taking an increasingly hostile posture toward the US.

John B.

Segers, New Republic The Biden administration’s open-ended escalations in the Middle East are starting to feel like the sequel to a bad movie.

Wills Robinson, Daily Mail Blasts were reported at multiple locations in Syria on Friday night as America weighed up when to launch a wide military operation in the region.

John J. Waters, Real Clear Defense
In most places around the country, the point of acquiring power is to do something with it.

With Ukraine in desperate need of new stocks of ammunition to feed its prodigious use of artillery, the Czech Republic has reportedly called on its European allies to cast the net wider and look for suitable munitions outside of the European Union.
According to a report today from Politico, Europe “is falling way short on its pledge to send one million artillery shells to Ukraine by March.”
Instead, the European Union will deliver 524,000 shells to Ukraine by March, with a total of 1.1 million promised by the end of the year.

We look at how artificial intelligence transforms defense, from ethical implications to autonomous robots on the battlefield. How Will AI Shape Future Warfare?
Debate on AI in Defense: Perspectives and Challenges
In a recent interview with CNN, former President Obama highlighted the revolutionary contributions of artificial intelligence (AI) to society while highlighting its inherent limitations. He stated that, despite advances, machines cannot replicate human emotions such as joy.

This report delves into the evolution, capabilities and legacy of the F-111 Aardvark, a combat aircraft that marked a before and after in military aviation history.
The F-111 Aardvark: Beginnings and fundamental technical characteristics

The F-111 Aardvark, initially developed as a medium-range supersonic fighter, represented a milestone in military aviation history. Its entry into service in the United States Air Force and later in the Royal Australian Air Force resulted from a series of technological innovations.

Switchblade 600 kamikaze drones are among the first set of systems Pentagon leadership and Congress are evaluating to be mass produced and rapidly scaled through the ambitious new Replicator initiative, multiple sources told DefenseScoop this week. 
The DOD’s stated goal of Replicator is to counter China’s massive, ongoing military buildup by fielding thousands attritable autonomous systems in multiple domains by August 2025.

Brian Floyd served 10 years as a paratrooper in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and 82nd Airborne. But in January, his lifelong dream of owning a farm fell apart when a barn caught fire, killing 16,000 turkeys.
While Brian Floyd’s fellow paratroopers were enjoying nights out and shenanigans that young soldiers usually get themselves into, he was saving money as an enlisted 18-year-old towards a dream of one day owning a farm.
By the time he finished 10 years on active duty, Floyd had bought over 100 acres in Arkansas.

The U.S. Navy has completely abandoned plans to acquire a subvariant of the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile with the added ability to strike targets ashore, according to a newly released Pentagon report. The service had previously expected the AGM-158C-3 version to enter service sometime this year, but further changes in the scope of its development have now pushed this back to the fall of 2026, at which time it will not feature the extra ground-strike capability.

The U.S. has launched its much-anticipated strikes in retaliation for the drone attack that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan on Jan. 28, a U.S. official confirmed to The War Zone.
The strikes were carried out by U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, Politico reported.

Breaking: this was sent to me from Al-Qaem, Iraq moments ago, you can hear the huge explosions in the distance from the Syrian-Iraqi border area. pic.twitter.com/A4fccWLJ9u
— Steven Nabil (@thestevennabil) February 2, 2024

The attacks are the first of many expected to take place.

ORLANDO, Fla.  — In an effort to have more maneuverable and longer-lasting satellites on orbit, the Space Force wants to lean heavily on commercial innovations in refueling, maintenance and other logistics technologies that can be used for military spacecraft. However, despite some initial forward movement by the service, industry is still looking for some direction — as well as critical funding — from the Pentagon that will steer technology developments in the right direction and give a boost to the overall market.

FORT MEADE, Md. — Gen. Timothy Haugh assumed command of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency during a ceremony at Fort Meade on Friday, taking the reins from Gen. Paul Nakasone, who is retiring as the longest-serving Cybercom chief after six years in the job.
Haugh was most recently the deputy commander of Cybercom since August of 2022. He will be the first Air Force officer to helm the organization — the first three commanders came from the Army, Navy and Army — and the first Air Force officer to direct the NSA since the mid-2000s.

After a one-way enemy attack drone killed three American troops and hurt dozens more in Jordan on Jan. 28, former defense officials and other experts are urging Pentagon leaders to more hastily deploy technologies that can sense and counter such weapons that are progressively threatening U.S. assets in the Middle East and elsewhere.
“This incident is absolutely not a fluke. U.S.

Joe Kent (left) during his time in Special Forces, and Travis Denman (right) during his time as an Army Ranger. (courtesy photos).
The U.S. Army Special Forces, or Green Berets, and their tan beret-wearing brothers — Army Rangers — have proven their grit on the battlefield over decades of war. But their roles have been skewed so much during the War on Terror that many have a hard time understanding how they are different and what they have in common.

Ukraine’s latest fake military equipment has been rolled out onto the battlefield and they are some of the most realistic we’ve seen since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Measures to deceive the enemy have been extensive throughout the war so far, on both sides, but dummies of ground-based air defense systems — among the most prized targets for the opposition — have been notable for their considerable fidelity.
Among the most recent — and authentic — dummies used by Ukraine are those replicating the German-supplied IRIS-T SLM surface-to-air missile system and the U.S.

German fighters were particularly tenacious in their defense of the skies over the Fatherland. During the day, they would get as close as possible to American bombers before unleashing their deadly barrages of machine gun, cannon and rocket fire. Combined with the lack of long-range fighters that could escort the bombers into Germany and back to England, Eighth Air Force airmen had a 75% chance of being wounded, captured or killed. In an effort to increase survival rates and strike a massive blow to German war industry, the Eighth planned a combo punch with the Regensburg-Schweinfurt mission.

The Pentagon has approached SpaceX regarding the purchase of Starship space launch vehicles for sensitive, high-risk missions, the company has said. At present, the U.S. government relies on non-military contractors to launch payloads for various operations, including satellite launches, and does not have its own space launch vehicles — at least any that are disclosed — which it could deploy in a potential contingency scenario.

Welcome to Mid-Afternoon Map, our exclusive members-only newsletter that provides a cartographic perspective on current events, geopolitics, and history from the Caucasus to the Carolinas. Subscribers can look forward to interesting takes on good maps and bad maps, beautiful maps and ugly ones — and bizarre maps whenever possible. *** As cliches go, the rise and fall of French Marxists was particularly dramatic.

The USS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB 3) is a massive, floating Spec Ops base, somewhere in the zone of hostilities

Public Domain

Right after Iranian proxies killed three Americans and wounded several dozen more at a previously undisclosed base camp at the tip of Jordan where it meets Syria and Iraq, the Houthis are saying they’ve attacked one of our floating base ships.
The USS Lewis B. Puller and its sister ships (the Navy has three in service and is building three more) are created from an oil tanker design and provide a versatile and mobile base for multiple missions.

Various UAVs and munitions have gathered extensive battlefield experience in the Russia-Ukraine and Middle Eastern conflicts.

If your company has a system in production that can counter aerial drones and could start integrating it onto a warship within 12 months of getting a contract, the U.S. Navy is interested. The urgency here comes as American Arleigh Burke class destroyers have been shooting down dozens of drones launched by Houthi militants at ships in and around the Red Sea. The War Zone just did a deep dive into the ever-growing challenges these threats pose to Navy ships and their current arsenals in the context of the service’s future Constellation class frigates.

In light of the recent political changes in Poland, South Korean pivoted its focus towards diversifying its defence exports in Europe.

Naval Group’s XLUUV demonstrator, which completed sea trials in late 2023, will be a key component of the UCUV project. (Naval Group)
Naval Group has been awarded a contract by French defence procurement agency Directorate General of Armament (DGA) for the development of an unmanned combat underwater vehicle (UCUV) demonstrator.
Under a framework agreement announced by both parties on 29 January 2024 but formalised on 28 December 2023, Naval Group will design, produce, and test a 10 m-long UCUV prototype.

The NDMA has ordered NASAMS from Kongsberg to replace systems donated to Ukraine, with deliveries to the Norwegian Armed Forces expected in 2026–27. (Forsvaret)

The Norwegian government has ordered new National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMSs) from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace to replace systems donated to Ukraine, the company announced in a press release on 31 January. Kongsberg valued the contract with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) at approximately NOK1.4 billion (USD133 million),

with deliveries expected in 2026–27.

A screengrab from the video shows the Kodiak 100 that has been modified into a surveillance aircraft for the FAN. (Forças Armadas Angolanas)
The Armed Forces of Angola (FAA) revealed on 1 February that it has acquired a Kodiak 100 utility aircraft that has been modified into a surveillance aircraft when it released a video to highlight the role of its female crew members.

Hosts L Todd Wood and Col John Mills (USA, Ret) discuss Chinese unrestricted warfare against the US.
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OCCAR and Eurosam sign a contract amendment that will see the armed forces of France, Italy and the UK update their air defences.

In developing an open system architecture for the NGRC programme, Lockheed Martin through its Sikorsky subsidiary will leverage work already done for its X2 (pictured) high-speed technology demonstrator programme. (Lockheed Martin)
The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has awarded Lockheed Martin its third study contract related to the Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) programme.

A mock-up of the Eurodrone shown at the ILA Berlin Airshow in 2022. Germany has said that contractor and technology problems have delayed the project. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
Germany has cited problems between leading contractors and immature technologies for delays to the Eurodrone project.

Brent Ramsey, The Patriot Post
The existential threat represented by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is outlined in the documents cited below.

Michael Peck, PopMechanics
Here’s how the U.S. Army is wargaming alternative history to enhance its weapons strategies.

Stars&Str.

Decker, DOne
Air Mobility Command is testing a new tool that might help in a Pacific conflict.

Mark Pomerleau, DefenseScoop
As the Air Force is looking to reinvigorate electronic warfare within its operations, exercising new capabilities and exposing the force to these capabilities…

The advanced air and missile defence capabilities are made available to the warfighters through an expedited production schedule.

The Jackal 3 vehicle is the latest variant of a platform that entered service with the British Army in the mid-2000s.

In his introduction to Vol. 7, Issue 1, of TNSR, the chair of our editorial board, Frank Gavin, reflects on the joys of being a professor and the importance of higher education. He also expresses concern about the health of American universities and calls on them to defend values such as asking big questions and encouraging debate. I love being a professor. To paraphrase something Allan Bloom wrote four decades ago, I am beyond grateful to live in a world that allows me to read, think, write, and teach young people.

Germany, the Netherlands and Poland form a military transportation corridor for smoother troop and asset deployment to Eastern Europe.

For all but the biggest countries, this century is going to be one of hard choices. Britain’s armed forces face fundamental questions, but the most crucial is: Can the United Kingdom continue to possess “full-spectrum” military capability? Can it undertake every kind of military operation, on land, in the air, and at sea, and do so if necessary independent of any other nation? Unfortunately, the answer is no. It should be to the United Kingdom’s embarrassment that allies can see this. The U.S.

Iron Fist Light Decoupled system mounted on the Lance turret of the 8×8 Rheinmetall Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle. (Elbit Systems)
The US Army is a step closer to awarding General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems a sole source contract to upgrade Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) with Elbit Systems’ Iron Fist active protection system (APS), following a pre-solicitation notice published on 18 January.

Four days after a deadly drone attack on U.S. troops in Jordan, plans are leaking out about the expected American response, sending many of the intended targets scrambling for cover. 
“U.S. officials have confirmed to CBS News that plans have been approved for a series of strikes over a number of days against targets — including Iranian personnel and facilities — inside Iraq and Syria, the news outlet reported on Thursday. 

The U.S. is planning to strike Iran-backed groups, and Iranian personnel, in Iraq and Syria, and while some Iranians are nervous, their leaders remain defiant.

Robert Rudd was 32 when World War II broke out, but his mother was chronically ill in Gatesville, Texas and he was the only family member who could look after her. He took a draft deferment to care for her.
When she passed away in 1942, Rudd enlisted in the Army and by the fall of 1944 was fighting in Europe with the 2nd Infantry Division.
On January 30, 1945, Rudd’s 38th Infantry Regiment attacked heavily fortified German positions near Rocherath, Belgium in the farthest-north fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.

This report critically examines the stealth claims of the Su-57 and J-20 fighters, contrasting them with established technical parameters. Do Su-57 and J-20 Stand a Chance in Stealth Against F-22 and F-35?
Technical analysis of the Chengdu J-20 and its controversial origins
J-20
The development of the Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon originated in the J-XX program in the late 90s. This fighter, intended to be an exponent of the fifth generation, shows influences from previous designs such as the J-10.

Exploring Ukraine’s prowess in long-range strikes against Russian forces and assets.
Introduction
Ukraine’s military capabilities to carry out long-range strikes against Russian troops and installations have become a crucial element in today’s geopolitical landscape. Despite facing challenges in the supply chain and funding from the US, Ukraine has managed to not only maintain but advance its long-range capabilities. This article explores Ukraine’s arsenal and strategic advancements in its military capabilities.

After watching the first episode of the new Apple original series, Masters of the Air, audiences everywhere agree: It’s incredible. Last week, service members, veterans and their families had a once-in-a-lifetime experience for an advance screening of the series, in, of all cities, Dayton, Ohio, courtesy of USAA. With a population of only about 137,000 people, one wouldn’t expect too much out of Dayton, but USAA certainly knew what they were doing.

Col. Nick Hague will be the first Space Force guardian to travel to space this fall as part of a NASA mission to the International Space Station.
Photos courtesy U.S. Space Force Photo and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet).

The Space Force may have its first boots off the ground and into orbit this year. Space Force Col. Nick Hague will join a NASA mission to the International Space Station sometime this fall, a flight that would make him the first member of the nation’s new space-focused military branch to launch into space.
The trip will be Hague’s third flight toward space.