North Korea’s Hwasal-2 cruise missile. (Janes)
North Korea has carried out a test-firing of its Hwasal-2 cruise missile.
The test was carried out by a Korean People’s Army (KPA) unit and the weapon was fired into the Yellow Sea (West Sea) on 30 January, according to a statement published by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the next day.

Washington is about to transfer to Ukraine GLSDB guided rockets with a range of about 150 km and can be fired from HIMARS rocket artillery, according to US officials.

Politico newspaper on January 30 quoted two unnamed US officials and two well-informed sources as saying that the Pentagon has successfully tested a Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) and will soon transfer to Ukraine a long-range rocket model.

During my November 2023 visit to the front lines in eastern Ukraine, a commander from the 120th Territorial Defense Battalion described the country’s military as “swimming” between an outdated, secretive, and backward Soviet-era force and a modern NATO one. “Without transparency,” the commander lamented, “we cannot expect trust.” Emphasizing the crucial role of transparency in building trust, the commander underlined the consequences of withholding the truth from foreign journalists, equating it to betraying the country’s partners.

Every time a Chinese fighter jet crosses the Taiwan Strait’s median line flying faster than the speed of sound, Taiwanese officials have mere minutes to respond. Over the course of 2023, more than 1,700 Chinese aircraft breached Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, 703 of which crossed the median line. These included fighter jets, bombers, drones, and spy balloons, not to mention the ships and aircraft carriers that have sailed around Taiwan’s waters. Each intrusion and incursion requires a difficult decision.

The British Army is understood to be interested in procuring a new SHORAD system to replace British Army Stormer SP-HVMs (seen here on exercise with the 3rd (UK) Division on Salisbury Plain in 2015) sent to Ukraine. Given that the Stormer SP-HVM is scheduled to be retired in 2026, this new system could serve as an interim capability until the procurement of GBAD systems based on the Land Mobility Programme’s Medium Protected Vehicle.

The Ground Based Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), promised to Ukraine last February, could arrive on the battlefield as soon as Wednesday, Politico reported on Tuesday.
The U.S. Army oversaw the testing of the new precision-guided weapon before providing its stamp of approval to send it to Ukraine, an industry source told the publication.

SCOOP: The Pentagon has successfully tested a new long-range precision bomb for Ukraine that is expected to arrive on the battlefield as soon as tomorrow, according to a U.S. official & 3 other people with knowledge of the talks.

The three phases of Ranger School will take candidates through the woods and mountains of Georgia, and ends in the swamps of Florida. Army Ranger School. US Army Photo/Patrick Albright.
The U.S. Army Ranger Course, commonly referred to as Ranger School, is the U.S. Army’s premier leadership course. Graduating from the two-month course is something most combat leaders strive for, and is unlike any other school in the military, transforming soldiers into the best leaders on the battlefield while enduring extreme field conditions.

The origin and technical characteristics of China’s J-20 Mighty Dragon stealth fighter, putting accusations of technological theft into context.
Parallels between the Chinese J-20 and the American F-35: A critical analysis
J-20
China’s J-20 Mighty Dragon, China’s stealth fighter, has sparked debate around its design and technology. There are consistent allegations suggesting that some of its technology comes from cyber theft targeting other countries’ defense programs, in particular  Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program.

An Iranian drug lord backed by the Iranian government tried to hire two Hells Angels motorcyle club members to kill two Maryland residents, US officials alledge in a newly unsealed indictment. Photos from DOJ, Facebook.
An Iranian agent tried to hire two Hells Angels motorcycle club members to assassinate two Maryland residents, federal officials alleged Monday.
The Iranian agent is in Iran, officials said, while the two Hells Angels are already in prison in Canada for unrelated crimes. The criminal indictment and a simultaneous set of sanctions announced by the U.S.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), has revealed that it has developed, built, and in-flight released a brand new and hitherto unknown small uncrewed aerial system (SUAS) as the Advanced Air-Launched Effects (A2LE). Shown in new images released by the manufacturer, the new A2LE is seen being deployed from the internal weapons bay of a company-owned MQ-20 Avenger drone.
The A2LE demonstration took place on November 28, 2023, over the Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, under a manufacturing, structural test, and flight demonstration effort.

As the Biden administration ramps up plans to respond to a deadly attack on U.S. forces in Jordan on Sunday, an Iranian-backed militia group responsible for numerous strikes on U.S. troops in the Middle East says it is putting a pause on those actions.
Khataib Hezbollah (KH) announced “the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces – in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government,” the group said on Telegram Tuesday. “We will continue to defend our people in Gaza in other ways.

The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit issued a new solicitation to industry for autonomous maritime drones that can operate in packs to monitor and intercept adversary ships.
DIU is on the hunt for low-cost platforms that could go into production next year. The aim is to build 10 or more systems per month, which would be an annual production rate of 120 or more robo-boats.

It was probably right after the first battle between armed humans that other humans began thinking of ways to not die in the next battle. Ever since, armies have come up with some pretty inventive ways of protecting themselves from the enemy’s weapons. Some were better than others. Bronze, iron and steel all provided a good degree of protection, but for every armor innovation, someone out there would try to use something like magic. Even in the modern era. 
But as they say, any significantly advanced technological innovation is indistinguishable from magic.

As Putin throws his forces relentlessly into the meat-grinder of Avdiivka, Mike and Ryan sort through the state of Russia’s offensive there, Moscow’s efforts to bleed Ukrainian air defense, and Kyiv’s success on the Black Sea. They also discuss how Ukraine can defend and rebuild in 2024 so that it can go on the offensive again next year. Ryan and Mike also return to Europe’s ongoing failure to muster the political will and resources needed to do its part. And listeners will be treated to a rant from Ryan on the turmoil over President Zelenksy’s reported decision to fire Gen.

A second amendment has been signed to a night vision goggle contract for up to 3,500 new pairs with a consortium of Hendsoldt and Theon.

The US Army will benefit from increased procurement of M109A7 Paladin self-propelled howitzers and M992A3 ammunition carriers.

The War Zone recently spoke with the commander of Nellis Air Force Base’s 57th Wing, Brig. Gen. Richard Goodman about the latest developments at the famed installation. He explained how Nellis’s role as the nexus for evolving cutting-edge capabilities and tactics development, training, and the latest warfighting rehearsals, is expanding. This includes a brand new large-scale exercise, dubbed Bamboo Eagle, which is keenly focused on preparing to fight a major war in the Pacific.
The U.S.

The Dutch Government has allocated €87m to fund artillery shells, €25m for equipment, and €10m for cyber defences in Ukraine.

British intelligence said Russia produces about 100 main battle tanks every month, enough to compensate for the number of losses on the Ukrainian battlefield.

An intelligence report from the British Ministry of Defense on January 29 said that Russian forces in Ukraine have lost a maximum of 365 main battle tanks since October 2023, meaning more than 100 per month. However, Russia’s current monthly tank output appears to be enough to compensate for losses on the battlefield.

The Syrian Ministry of Defense said Israel fired missiles at many targets on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus, killing and injuring several civilians.

The missile was launched from the direction of the Golan Heights area controlled by Israel at 13:00 Damascus time, the Syrian Ministry of Defense said on January 29. The agency initially said the attack killed “several Iranian advisers” but later retracted the information.

Turkey could be poised to return to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in what would be a remarkable turnaround after the country was ejected from the multinational effort back in 2019 after it acquired S-400 air defense systems from Russia. Once again, the S-400 is the critical factor in what happens next, with the United States seemingly stipulating that Turkey gives up these systems before it can get its hands on any F-35s.

FILE: The 1st Cavalry Division’s patch. (Sgt. Froylan Grimaldo/U.S. Army).
A Fort Cavazos soldier allegedly shot and killed another as they fought for control of a pistol in the front seat of a car, police and Army officials said.
The two soldiers were driving on Interstate 14 near the base on Jan. 27 when they got into an argument inside the vehicle, Lt. Scott Rowe of the Nolanville Police Department told Task & Purpose.
“At some point during the altercation a pistol was brandished by the passenger who then shot the driver in the leg,” Rowe said.

The M10 Booker combat vehicle will equip US Army infantry BCTs starting in 2025. (US Army/Bernardo Fuller)

The US Army’s first M10 combat vehicle is scheduled to be delivered in February,
Janes
learnt at Defence iQ’s International Armour Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference held in London from 22 to 25 January. The first phase of low-rate initial production (LRIP 1) of the M10 began in the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2023, following a USD1.4 billion contract award to General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) in June 2022.

It is sometime in the future and the U.S. is at war. The 82nd Airborne Division has been ordered to conduct a Joint Forcible Entry in enemy territory. After the paratroopers seize an airfield and secure its perimeter, the call goes out for the next stage of the operation, and combat-ready armor support commanded by the division is flown in.
The first armor rolling off the C-17 in this scenario will be the M10 Booker Combat Vehicle, an armor expert with deep knowledge of how it was developed tells The War Zone.

The NHIndustries (NHI) MRH90 Taipan has several key components, including some systems tailored to Australian requirements. (Janes/Commonwealth of Australia)
Airbus and NHIndustries (NHI) are negotiating with the Australian government to harvest high-value parts and critical components from the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF’s) decommissioned fleet of NHI MRH90 Taipan helicopters.

Airbus told
Janes
that these parts are being sought for other NH90 customers “in order to support their flight operations”.

Goldman Sachs, Chase, Lazard and Barclays are among the banking companies to hire ex-CIA, GCHQ, MI6 and US military personnel.

The current rate of Russian tank losses since it began its winter counter-offensive can be met by Moscow’s production capacity.

Alarms regarding the number of casualties and the depth of destruction to Gaza’s physical infrastructure continue to ring loudly in the throes of the Israel-Hamas conflict. At the time of writing, more than 23,000 people have been killed in the conflict, and a staggering amount of collateral damage has made everything from medical care to burial in death exceedingly challenging in the war-torn area. This is the level of death and destruction despite the Israeli government’s assertion that it has conducted a “precision, focused and process-based campaign.

Seen in Spanish service, the H215 will soon be fielded by Romania also with the anticipated procurement of two helicopters by the country’s navy. (Airbus Helicopters)
The Romanian Navy is to receive a pair of Airbus H215M helicopters equipped for anti-surface vessel warfare (ASuW), the manufacturer confirmed to Janes on 30 January.
The anticipated procurement was revealed in a European Union (EU) notification posted on 19 January, which said that the two helicopters would be acquired by Industria Aeronautică Romană (IAR) as the prime contractor for an estimated RON823.

Scott Sturman & Doug Goodman, RCD
Executive Order 14057 justifies the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions as necessary to counteract the existential threat…

D1
The year’s $80.9 billion total for Foreign Military Sales is up more than half from the previous year.

Mark Pomerleau, DefenseScoop
The multi-channel, software-defined radios will ensure communications equipment does not fall into obsolescence.

Naval Tech.
A strategic investment of $913m aims to reinforce U.S. naval capabilities through an overhaul project.

Kris Osborn, Warrior Maven
The U.S.

Rheinmetall has received an order in the three-digit-million-euro range to provide Fuchs 2 armoured carrier components.

To all our incredible readers, welcome aboard TWZ.com! 
Today is truly a special day. I’m ecstatic to formally announce that The War Zone is finally its own site. Not only that, but we are under a new web address that reflects the short-hand name that we, and many of our readers, refer to The War Zone as — TWZ.com. 
We also have a great launch sponsor for the new site, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. They are leaders in the uncrewed aircraft space and we are leaders when it comes to writing about uncrewed systems. It’s a great match and we really appreciate their support.

The VMIMS (seen here at DefExpo in October 2022) consists of a modified MDSL ALSV 4×4 armoured vehicle fitted with a two-door cab and an Alakran-L deployable mortar system equipped with an 81 mm mortar. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)
Milanion NTGS, the UK manufacturer of the Alakran deployable mortar system, has said deliveries of the Indian Army’s Vehicle Mounted Infantry Mortar System (VMIMS) are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.

The MH-139A, a developmental version of which is seen here on 19 December 2019 at Duke Field in Florida. (US Air Force)

Boeing conducted the first flight of a production MH-139 Grey Wolf on 23 December at Leonardo Helicopters’ facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the company told
Janes
on 26 January.

The helicopter is the first of 13 ordered by the US Air Force (USAF) under a March 2023 low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract. The LRIP helicopter is scheduled for delivery to the USAF between June and August, Boeing said.

A model of Lockheed Martin F-35A in Czech colours at the IQPC International Fighter Conference on 6 November 2023. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
The Czech Republic has signed a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for the procurement of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, the country’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 29 January.

Host L Todd Wood speaks with former IDF/Defense Contractor/Author Niv Kaplan on situation on the ground in Israel.
!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src=”https://rumble.com/embedJS/u2y1af”+(arguments[1].video?’.’+arguments[1].video:”)+”/?url=”+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+”&args=”+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.

Exploring the Saab 29 Tunnan, this article breaks down its technical characteristics, history and legacy in military aviation.
History and innovative design of the Saab 29 Tunnan in aviation
The Saab 29 Tunnan, also known as “The Flying Barrel,” is distinguished in the history of military aviation for its unique design and operational capabilities. Produced by the renowned Swedish firm Saab, the Tunnan marked a milestone by being the first Western European fighter with a swept wing after World War II, a feature it shared with the German pioneer Messerschmitt Me 262.

Scientists at the Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine are looking to update the rules that govern Army training and operations in cold weather environments. Photo is from 2017 of soldiers doing cold weather training. U.S. Army Photo by Jamal Wilson.
How cold is too cold? Army researchers want to find out. 
For soldiers in arctic conditions, cold injuries are a constant threat.

The Department of Defense has started the first round of a crowdsourcing effort to find “bias” in large language models, as the Pentagon explores the upsides and risks of generative artificial intelligence capabilities.
The DOD has been using so-called bug bounty programs, such as Hack the Pentagon, to discover cyber vulnerabilities. Now, it aims to apply a similar concept to look for flaws in artificial intelligence tools.
The so-called AI bias bounty, which is being led by the Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO) in partnership with ConductorAI, Bugcrowd and BiasBounty.

Many U.S. Naval installations are right on the water’s edge and are at risk from climate change and dangerously aging infrastructure. But according to two of the Pentagon’s top climate officials, the Navy is deploying emerging and advanced technologies to maintain and modernize its onshore stations.
During the Google Defense Forum presented by DefenseScoop on Jan.

Public Domain

CNN is reporting the Biden administration is considering direct attacks on Iranian soil after the deaths of American troops in Jordan by a drone strike yesterday.
After admittedly leaving American forces exposed, and saying ‘it’s only a matter of time before they are killed,’ Biden got his wish yesterday as American were murdered, and many more wounded.
The OBiden regime wants World War III.
It seems they are going to get it.
Spend time with your kids, they may not be around much longer.

Ep. 69 War with Iran? Yes. We’re already in it.

Three Army Reserve soldiers from Georgia were killed in Jordan by a drone attack. The three soldiers were identified as, from left, Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23. Photos from US Army and Facebook.
The three American soldiers killed in a drone attack at a U.S. base in Jordan this weekend were Army Reservists from a Georgia-based engineer unit.
Sgt. William Rivers, Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett were killed in the Jan.

via X/Telegram
The remains of a Ukrainian-developed R-360 Neptune ground-launched cruise missile have reportedly washed ashore on Russia’s Sea of Azov coastline. This looks to be the first look at any part of one these missiles actually fired in anger. Ukraine’s forces famously used Neptunes to sink the Russian Navy’s Project 1164 Slava class cruiser Moskva in 2022 and reportedly began employing a new land-attack version last year.

USAF
The Czech Republic has become the latest customer of the F-35 stealth fighter, following several years of planning between the country and the United States. This comes amid a ballooning F-35 footprint in Europe as of late, particularly amongst NATO member states.
It was officially confirmed today by Lockheed Martin, the aircraft’s manufacturer, that the Czech government has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) marking its intent to procure 24 fifth-generation F-35 aircraft through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sale (FMS) program.

Costas Metaxakis/AFP via Getty Images
Reports in the Greek media suggest that the country is preparing to transfer to Ukraine much-needed S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems. Unusually for a NATO member, Greece has fairly significant stocks of Soviet-era and Russian-made air defense systems, some of which it has now apparently agreed to hand over to Kyiv.

The al-Shaddadi base in northeast Syria came under an attempted rocket attack today, U.S. officials say. Google Earth image
As the Biden administration mulls over how and when to respond to Sunday’s deadly attack on U.S. troops in Jordan by Iranian-backed militias, a U.S. patrol base in Syria was attacked, two U.S. official stold The War Zone.
“On the morning of Jan. 29, multiple rockets were launched at patrol base al-Shaddadi,” one of the officials said. “There were no injuries or damage reported.” The officials did not specify who carried out that attack.