Director David Ayer and Jason Statham on set. (Credit: Daniel Smith / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures).
With Navy veteran David Ayer’s latest film, The Beekeeper, he’s stepping somewhat outside of his usual work. Ayer has a filmography rooted in the streets of Los Angeles, with movies such as the cop drama End of Watch or the action film Street Kings. He’s done historic war films like the tank classic Fury and more fantastical movies like Suicide Squad and Bright, but with a certain grittiness ot them.

Introduction
In the dynamic landscape of international relations, military collaborations between nations often shape geopolitical dynamics. A recent development that caught global attention is India’s decision to rent nuclear submarines from Russia. This move has roots dating back to the late 1980s when the Soviet Union provided India with a nuclear-powered submarine, marking the beginning of a longstanding military partnership.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Carney. (Photo courtesy U.S. Navy).
The U.S. Navy launched another attack on Houthi sites in Yemen today, two days after a series of air strikes across Yemen. The attack took place approximately 3:45 a.m. local time on Saturday, with the destroyer the USS Carney launching Tomahawk missiles at a Houthi-operated radar site.
It’s the second attack on Houthi installations, following Thursday evening’s wave of strikes. U.S. and British forces attack more than 60 targets at more than two dozen locations inside Yemen.

A picture shows the logos of the US Navy 5th Fleet Command at their headquarters in Bahrain’s capital Manama on August 13, 2023. As Iranian seizures threaten oil tankers plying the Gulf, the United States is raising its military presence, a move long demanded by Arab Gulf states who accused Washington of retreating from the region. (Photo by Mazen Mahdi / AFP) (Photo by MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images).
The U.S. Navy is currently conducting rescue operations after two sailors went missing off of the waters of Somalia, U.S. Central Command announced on Friday, Jan. 12.

Via mmy.ye
The Iranian-backed Houthis have threatened to attack any nation in the region that allows its bases to be used by the U.S.-led campaign against it. The group also claimed that a U.S. Navy Tomahawk missile attack on one of its radar sites early Saturday morning local time caused little damage.
“This new strike will have a firm, strong and effective response,” Nasruldeen Amer, a Houthi spokesperson, told Al Jazeera, adding there had been no injuries nor “material damages.”

https://t.

(‘Top Gun: Maverick’/IMDB).
You can’t keep a good aviator down. Especially if said aviator is played by Tom Cruise and the most recent film grossed more than $1.4 billion internationally. Yes, a third Top Gun film is in development.
Early, early development that is. Superstar actor, producer and Pete “Maverick” Mitchell himself Tom Cruise recently signed a non-exclusive deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to act in and produce several of the studio’s movies.

The scarcity of artillery shells forced many Ukrainian units to use suicide UAVs to hold off Russian forces, although this was not the optimal solution.

In a blockhouse on the southeastern front of Ukraine, the decline in artillery ammunition of front-line units can be clearly seen. Ukrainian soldiers could only fire one shot back after receiving 5 to 6 bullets from Russia.
The Russian army is shifting to an offensive stance and maintaining its weapons supply thanks to the wartime economy.

Ukrainian officials say Kyiv needs more fighter jets, including A-10 attack aircraft and planes that can fire long-range missiles to deal with Russia.

“The A-10 attack aircraft is one of the weapons we want to transfer. This is not a new fighter model, but it has proven its reliability through many wars. It is equipped with many types of weapons. Weapons to destroy ground targets and support infantry,” Ukrainian army commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview published on January 12.

The US raided another Houthi radar facility in Yemen one day after a large-scale attack on this force.

Two unnamed US officials said the second US attack on the Houthi forces took place on the morning of January 13 and was much smaller in scale than the previous coordinated attack with the UK.
The number of assets mobilized in this raid is unclear, but officials said that this was a unilateral action by the US and did not involve the participation of allies. Houthi officials have not commented on the information.

(Photo by: Fireman Roderick Eubanks)
U.S. forces have conducted another attack, this time against a Houthi radar site associated with yesterday’s strikes. The attack occurred at 3:45 a.m. Sana’a time, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is stating.
The strike was conducted by the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Carney using Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles. It was a follow-on action on “a specific military target associated with strikes taken on Jan. 12 designed to degrade the Houthi’s ability to attack maritime vessels, including commercial vessels.”

At 3:45 a.m.

Screenshot Youtube

While the story is still unfolding, US and British military forces have struck Houthi rebel forces in Yemen in an effort to protect shipping in the Red Sea.  The shipping lanes lead to the ports of Akaba and Eilat, where significant goods for both Jordan and Israel transit, as well as the Suez Canal, where 30% of all container ships pass.  The importance of these shipping lanes cannot be underestimated.  But the bigger story is how a weak Biden administration has encouraged enemies of the West to attack in the first place.

NASA capture
NASA and Lockheed Martin’s famed Skunk Work advanced projects division have formally debuted the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology experimental test aircraft, or QueSST. With build work on the X-59 now complete, the countdown for the first flight is on, with the future of supersonic passenger flight perhaps dependent on its successful outcome.
Today’s rollout, which took place at the Skunk Works facility within the U.S. Air Force’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, was much hyped by NASA and Lockheed Martin.

ULA’s Vulcan rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral on 8 January, launching the Peregrine lunar lander into a trans-lunar injection orbit. (ULA)
United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched its first Vulcan launch vehicle the morning of 8 January, paving the way for a slate of national security, scientific, and private launches.
The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex-41 at 0218 h local time. Vulcan launched in the VC2S configuration, with two GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters and a standard 5.4 m (17.7 ft) payload fairing.

China’s recent deployment of “carrier killer” missiles in front of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group has heightened tensions in the South China Sea. This move comes in response to the USS Carl Vinson’s incursion into the region, prompting a strong reaction from Chinese maritime experts who question the effectiveness of US maneuvers in the area.
Strategic Confrontation in the South China Sea
The deployment of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group to the South China Sea has triggered outrage from China.

The U.S.- and U.K.-led strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen late Thursday involved more than 150 various munition types and targeted drones, weapons, radar and surveillance assets across nearly 30 precise locations, Director of the Joint Staff Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims II told reporters on Friday.

Army Spc. Charles Conrad of the 11th Airborne Division’s 5th Infantry Regiment mans a fighting position during training at Yukon Training Area, Alaska, in April 2023. The Army’s commanding general in the Pacific. Gen. Charles Flynn, said Friday that there are portions of the Indo Pacific that will require “arctic capable forces.” Air Force photo by Senior Airman Patrick Sullivan.

Russian MoD capture
The Russian military has offered the first clear look at a new glide bomb conversion kit with pop-out wings for the massive 1,500-kilogram (3,300-pound) class FAB-1500 M54. This weapon is three times larger than the Russian bombs with pop-out wing kits that have already become a major issue for Ukrainian forces and that have prompted notable shifts in that country’s air defense tactics.

U.S. Navy aircraft took part in the Jan. 11 strikes against more than 60 Houthi rebel targets in Yemen. (Screenshot from U.S. Central Command video).
U.S. and British forces attacked more than 60 targets at 28 different locations in Yemen as part of Thursday’s retaliatory strikes against Houthi rebels, said defense officials, who provided reporters with the latest information about the operation on Friday.
More than 150 precision-guided munitions were used in the strikes, said Army Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II, the Joint Staff’s director for operations. U.S.

The Air Force has awarded Raytheon a $407.6 million contract modification to continue ​work on the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) after its initial delivery in 2027, according to the service.
The Pentagon announced the award in late December but few details were provided at the time. The contracting action is an addition to the nearly $1 billion awarded to Raytheon in 2022 to develop the air-launched hypersonic weapon.

(AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo, File)
A week after the Pentagon first revealed that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, 70, had been hospitalized, serious questions remain about the transfer of his authorities to his top deputy. Several reviews are underway to find out why there was limited notification about that transfer and how much Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks knew about the situation.
On Jan. 2, Hicks was notified by officials at the Pentagon while she was vacationing with her family in Puerto Rico that she would be acting as defense secretary and given the authority to do so.

Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below. *** North Korea In the past few weeks, North Korea has issued threats against the United States and South Korea, revised its unification policy, and fired artillery shells near its disputed border with the South. In a significant shift that affects inter-Korean relations, leader Kim Jong Un declared that North Korea’s longstanding policy goal of unification (one nation, two systems) will be dropped.

Two former Rangers pulled in a Great White Shark to tag it in honor of fallen Ranger Kevin Pape. Photos courtesy of Jimmy Armel.
Former Army Rangers Eric Cox and Jimmy Armel went above and beyond to honor a fallen Ranger by catching and tagging the apex predator of the sea: a great white shark. It’s no easy task, but they closed the deal on their fifth shark during a 12-hour day on the water. 
“We had one line in, and we were prepping the second line — before we can even get the tag stick prepared — the line just ran,” Cox said.

The Defense Information Systems Agency expects to have a new intelligence unit up and running later this year, according to the agency.
Last year, DISA’s director Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner announced the agency would adopt what are known as J codes in an effort to more closely align with the entities it works with as a combat support agency. Those J codes refer to directorates that include personnel, operations, plans and intelligence, among others.

The Navy is about to put its first jumbo-sized uncrewed submarine out to sea for a series of trials that will be key to the service’s plans for introducing a new type of maritime drone into the fleet.
The Orca unmanned undersea vehicle is an “85 ton, 85-feet-long unmanned diesel-electric submarine. They don’t like me to call it that. It’s an extra-large UUV [XLUUV]. But let’s be honest, it’s 85 tons — it’s an unmanned submarine,” Capt.

CENTCOM
Overnight strikes on Yemen led by the United States and the United Kingdom will be met by “punishment or retaliation,” the military spokesperson of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels has said. In the meantime, however, the threat to Red Sea shipping from the Houthis — which the group says is in retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza — shows no sign of abating. Indeed, one shipping industry source told The War Zone “We don’t believe that [the strikes] will help short-term.”
“The Houthis have not been impressed by any military action until now,” the same source contended.

Hosts L Todd Wood and Col John Mills (USA, Ret) discuss the upcoming Taiwanese election on January 13.
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German defence prime, Rheinmetall, has successfully tested the Skyranger 30 A1 testbed, which paves the way for customer variants.

The French Air and Space Force is to receive a further 42 Rafale combat aircraft, the country’s minister of armed forces has announced. (French Air and Space Force)
France has ordered additional Dassault Rafale combat aircraft, the country’s Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu announced on 12 January.
Lecornu said that 42 new aircraft will be acquired for the French Air and Space Force.
“A new decisive step has been taken with the order for 42 Rafale for the air force.

The Lithuanian MND completed the purchase of Boxer IFVs at the end of 2023. (Lithuanian MND/SFC A Čemerka)
The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) announced in a press release on 12 January that it had completed the procurement of Boxer infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) at the end of 2023, with the acquisition of a total of 89 vehicles and two prototypes.
The completion of this first phase of Lithuania’s Boxer programme was delayed from mid-2023. Explaining the cause of the delay, an MND spokesperson told Janes, “Testing of the last Boxers took longer than planned.

The Italian Army operating SitaWare HQ, known internally by the army as Imperio, during military exercise ‘Cursor 2023′. (Italian Army)

The Italian Army has opted for Systematic’s SitaWare Headquarters (HQ) command-and-control (C2) software for its higher echelons of command,
Janes
has learnt.

The Lithuanian Government has established a facility to maintain its forthcoming UH-60M Black Hawks, but yet to full train personnel.

Kosovo had a request for the sale of FGM-148F Javelin anti-tank missiles approved by the US State Department.

Kosovo has requested 246 FGM-148F Javelin missiles and related equipment from the US. (Javelin Joint Venture)
The US State Department notified the US Congress on 11 January of a possible Foreign Military Sales of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Kosovo for an estimated cost of USD75 million, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced in a press release later the same day.

The assassination of Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, via Operation Anthropoid, is one of those WWII missions that everyone should know about … but few do.
This meticulously planned mission to assassinate a high-ranking Nazi official remains a testament to the unwavering determination of those who dare to challenge tyranny. In the heart of World War II, the Nazi war machine tightened its grip on Europe Many despaired, unsure of what to do. Then, from the shadows, Operation Anthropoid emerged as a daring plan conceived by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile.

Grocery shopping these days comes with an entire slew of items that were first made possible by Uncle Sam. Decades after their invention, however, those foods have stuck around for the masses to enjoy. Take a look at these popular food items that you never knew were first introduced by the U.S. Government. 
Cheetos
Crunchy Cheetos, image via Wikimedia Commons.
Yes, Cheetos, as in the stain-your-hands orange crunchers that you either love or hate. The cheesy concoction has a much richer history than most realize. The powder that makes Cheetos possible was actually invented by the U.S.

Kayla Corbitt took the stage at the Military Influencer Conference in November 2023 for the Second Service Foundation pitch competition. With her baby on her hip, the military spouse and forensic psychology researcher had the room enthralled with the correlation of childcare to force readiness. It was no surprise she won. But her work in this space is just getting started. 
“I had zero military exposure as a child growing up in West Virginia. What I knew I gleaned from television commercials I saw,” Corbitt laughed.

Houthi said US and British forces launched more than 70 attacks on Yemen, killing 5 members of this armed group.

“73 raids left 5 of our members dead and 6 injured,” Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Houthi forces, said on social network X today.
Houthi announced casualties after US and British forces on the same day launched a series of missiles to attack armed group positions in Yemen. Saree announced that the Houthis would respond to the attack and continue to target ships bound for Israel.

The United States faces a naval shipbuilding dilemma. On the one hand, China now has the world’s largest number of battle force ships, with over 370 platforms compared to 291 for the United States. China’s fleet is expected to grow to 435 ships by the end of this decade while the U.S. fleet will not change in size. China enjoys an asymmetric military advantage in the Western Pacific where most of its ships are concentrated, while the U.S. Navy is overstretched defending all of the world’s oceans.

The first of five Dutch navy landing craft utility (LCU) Mk IX vessels to undergo its MLU,
L 9525
, is launched at De Haas Shipyards in Rotterdam on 9 January.
(Dutch MoD)
The first modernised Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) landing craft utility (LCU) Mk IX vessel was launched at De Haas Shipyards in Rotterdam on 9 January.
De Haas Shipyards is carrying out the LCU mid-life upgrade (MLU) programme for the RNLN’s five LCUs under a contract awarded in 2022, with work to be completed by 2025.

In a strategic move to counter Houthi aggression, the US and its allies executed a forceful missile attack on January 11, marking a pivotal moment in the Red Sea region. Here’s a breakdown of the events surrounding this critical decision:
Ignored Warnings and Escalating Tensions
The attack came after the Houthis blatantly disregarded an ultimatum from the US and its allies to cease their assaults on cargo ships navigating the Red Sea, a vital route representing 12% of global trade. The armed group’s continuous missile and drone attacks posed a severe threat to international commerce.

Britain announced that it would provide 2.5 billion pounds (nearly 3.2 billion USD) in aid to Ukraine in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, an increase of 200 million pounds compared to the past two years.

According to the British government’s January 12 announcement, at least 200 million pounds ($255 million) in the aid package will be used to purchase thousands of unmanned equipment for Ukraine, including drones ( reconnaissance UAVs, long-range attack UAVs and unmanned boats, most of which will be produced in the UK.

NatDefMag
The defense industrial base is facing a number of significant challenges, and the release of the Defense Department’s National Defense Industrial Strategy signals the government is…

L. Thompson, Forbes
Polls indicate that Donald Trump is favored by most Republican voters as their party’s nominee in the 2024 presidential election.

Colin Demarest, DNews
Experts interviewed by C4ISRNET said the militant group based in Yemen, from where Red Sea and Gulf of Aden bombardments have sprung, is using Iranian technology and…

Lara Seligman & Lauren Egan, Politico
The administration had been under pressure to respond to the Iran-backed attacks.

Schwartz, et al., FT
Joe Biden authorises military action against Iran-backed militia attacking ships in the Red Sea.

A Hermes 900 in maritime configuration. The Indian Navy will induct two Hermes 900 Starliner UAVs by the end of February. (Elbit Systems)
The Indian Navy will induct two Hermes 900 Starliner unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the end of February, a spokesperson for the Indian Navy told Janes on 10 January.
Elbit Systems’ Hermes 900 Starliner is manufactured in India by Adani Defence and Aerospace under the name ‘Drishti 10′ for Indian customers. Drishti 10 was unveiled on 10 January in the presence of India’s Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar.

The UK locks-in a new and improved bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, the first of the G7 nations to do so.

The threats of unexploded ordnance left over from legacy or current conflicts will remain for years to come.

The first four G2000 Mk II fast interceptor crafts that were received by the Royal Malaysian Navy on 12 January 2024. (Royal Malaysian Navy)
The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has taken delivery of its first locally built G2000 Mk II fast interceptor craft (FIC).
The vessels were handed over by local shipbuilder Gading Marine on 12 January, the service disclosed on the same day.
Gading Marine received a contract for 13 G2000 Mk II FICs from the Malaysian government in 2022. The contract is a repeat order following the delivery of six older G2000 Mk I vessels in April 2021.