Brais Seara via Getty Images (Background)/Rama via Wikicommons (Sword)
One of the great strengths of the Roman army was its ability to evolve over time — tactically, strategically, and technologically. Anything that could give its soldiers an extra edge on the battlefield was enthusiastically embraced, and as the enemies they fought changed over time, so too did the kit of the typical infantry soldier.
The gladius sword was a perfect example of this — but it too was abandoned once it no longer offered the advantages in combat it once had, in favor of the long-bladed spatha sword.

U.S. Air Force photo by Ben Strasser/Ken LaRock
The National Museum of the United States Air Force (NMUSAF) has just completed its full restoration of the Boeing X-32A, the loser to Lockheed’s X-35 in the Joint Strike Fighter competition nearly two and a half decades ago. The transformation from beaten-up relic — which is already regularly derided as one of the ugliest fighters ever flown — to gleaming showpiece is incredible.
The museum took custody of the X-32A, the only one on Earth, back in 2005.

Members of Congress want the Pentagon to do a feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis of the space functions conducted by the Air National Guard — and the possibility of moving those missions to the Space Force or creating a Space National Guard.
Under the directive, which was included in the compromise draft of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, the secretary defense must conduct a study “to assess the feasibility and advisability of transferring all covered space functions of the National Guard to the Space Force,” according to the bill text.

IDF video screencap)
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Monday announced the first operational use of its new “Guided Supply” parachute guidance system during combat in Gaza. The IAF said it recently used the system to conduct the first airdrop of this war, delivering about seven tons of water to hundreds of soldiers fighting in Khan Yunis. Beyond the introduction of a new system to the battlefield, the IAF’s deployment of this system highlights the challenges Israel faces keeping its troops supplied during a fierce fight in urban pockets that are difficult to access.

Air Force Col. Sean D. Riley was promoted to the rank of Colonel on June 21, 2019. (Tech. Sgt. Thomas Swanson/U.S. Air Force).
The Air Force has fired the former commander of the intelligence wing to which Airman 1st Class Jack Douglas Teixeira was assigned following an investigation into how the junior airmen allegedly shared a trove of classified documents on private Discord servers, the service announced on Monday.

Representative Rob Wittman, Republican of Virginia and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on Tactical Air and Ground Forces expressed his “deep disappointment” at the continued setbacks in the TR-3 technological upgrade of the F-35 fighter. During the Reagan National Defense Forum, Wittman highlighted that these delays would trigger a domino effect, complicating future essential modifications to the aircraft.

The Marines are about to wrap up a new publication focused on the practical applications of the service’s information doctrine, according to a senior officer.
Last year, the service released Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication-8, Information, that aimed to describe the purpose and mechanics of using information as a warfighting tool for the entire force. A follow-on publication, known as Marine Corps Warfighting Publication 8-10, has been in the works.
“MCDP-8 was a cognitive discussion, you know, more of a discussion than educational,” Lt. Gen.

The UK government faces questions on how to deploy its limited defence resources between the Arctic and Indo-Pacific, a Lords’ report finds.
The post Lords’ defence report prioritises Arctic High North over Indo-Pacific appeared first on Army Technology.

Net Assessment is back! Chris, Melanie, and Zack return after a hiatus and start by debating a recent article entitled “The Dysfunctional Superpower” by Robert Gates. They agree that Washington is deeply dysfunctional, but disagree about what can be done to overcome political obstacles and the degree to which this dysfunction gives Russia and China an edge.

The Indian ministries of Finance and Defence have set up a non-lapsable fund to invest further in the country’s defence modernisation.
The post India sets up non-lapsable fund for defence modernisation appeared first on Army Technology.

The air force’s new C3 vehicles are based on a military variant of the Volkswagen Crafter, also in service with the Portuguese and Bangladesh army in an ambulance role. (Abicon AB)
The Swedish Air Force has received new command, control, and communications (C3) vehicles to bolster its tactical mobility.
The vehicles are based on a military variant of the Volkswagen Crafter and are meeting an urgent requirement for light, robust, and highly modular C3 platforms, according to an announcement by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) on 11 December.

The Latvian Defence Minister, and the US Ambassador, unveiled the agreement that enhances Latvia’s national security.
The post Latvia and USA partner with $105m deal for coastal defence appeared first on Army Technology.

Things are developing fast between Venezuela and Guyana. The Biden Team has announced “flights” in coordination with Guyana along their border with Venezuela as a deterrence measure.
Not a bad idea, but all of this is a result of 30 years of failure of enforcing the Monroe Doctrine. Maduro spent five days in Beijing in September on a head of state visit. Five days is a long time for a head of state meeting.

The US Army announced the Precision Strike Missile had undergone qualification testing in November 2023. (US Army)
The first Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) weapons have been delivered to the US Army, representing the programme reaching initial operating capability (IOC), the service announced on 8 December.

The UK’s artillery can be transformed through the solution offered by the Archer artillery alliance, where BAE Systems leads the charge.
The post Artillery alliance aims for UK’s next-gen fires platform appeared first on Army Technology.

The first of 34 F-35A aircraft for Belgium was formally presented on 10 December 2023. (Lockheed Martin)
Belgium formally received its first Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) during a roll-out ceremony at the Fort Worth production facility in the United States.
Aircraft AY-01/FL001 was presented to the Belgian government and military leaders on 10 December, ahead of delivery to the international F-35 training school at Luke Air Force Base (AFB) in Arizona in early 2024.

Aegis Ashore is a four-storey deckhouse and launch tower, which will provide a static home in Romania and Poland for the SPY-1D(V) radar, SM-3 missiles, and other systems taken from the US Navy’s BMD ships. (Missile Defense Agency)
The US Navy (USN) is scheduled to officially accept the Aegis Ashore site in Poland by mid-December, according to Rear Admiral Douglas Williams, the acting director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).

Jaspreet Gill, BrDefense
“We’ve had tremendous experience. But the scope, scale, sophistication of the threat has changed,” US Cyber Command chief Gen. Paul Nakasone said.

The War Zone
The Precision Strike Missile lets the Army hit targets much further away than it can using the current Army Tactical Missile System.

Pomerleau, DefScoop
The Electromagnetic Battle Management – Joint has released its first minimum viable capability for situational awareness of the spectrum.

NatDefMag
When the Navy and Northrop Grumman announced the MQ-4C Triton had reached initial operational capability in September, the declaration represented a milestone achievement in a…

Kyle Mizokami, PopMech
Four accidents involving the V-22 Osprey in less than two years have killed 20 military personnel

The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, has waived the congressional review for the Israeli purchase of 120mm M830A1 anti-tank rounds.
The post US State Dept approves Israeli purchase of anti-tank rounds without Congressional review appeared first on Army Technology.

The Series A funding will help accelerate ProvenRun’s product roadmap and geographic expansion into North America.
The post Signal: ProvenRun secures €15m funding to accelerate IoT-related expansion appeared first on Army Technology.

The PLAAF has introduced an augmented reality (AR)-assisted maintenance programme for an air brigade newly equipped with SAC J-16 aircraft, coupled with “intelligent” warehousing to improve sustaining and support. This photo shows a J-16 in flight during the 2022 Zhuhai Air Show. (Qian Baihua/VCG via Getty Images)
Another Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) air brigade has converted from legacy aircraft to new 4.5-generation Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-16 fighter aircraft.

The Croatian government is procuring 89 Bradley combat vehicles donated by the US. (Croatian MoD/F Klen)
The first batch of 22 M2A2 Bradley ODS (Operation Desert Storm) infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for the Croatian Army arrived in the port of Rijeka on 6 December, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced later the same day.
The vehicles will be overhauled by Đuro Đaković Special Vehicles in Slavonski Brod so that they are ready for operational service by 2026.

The unveiling ceremony occurred at a military academy in Tehran’s capital, where Iranian army chief Abdolrahim Mousavi emphasized that adding these UAVs would compel adversaries to reassess their strategies. Mousavi declared, “The enemy will now have to rethink its strategy,” as the Iranian armed forces have significantly fortified their capabilities.
Karrar Interceptor UAVs
According to IRNA, the Karrar interceptor UAV, introduced in its initial version in 2010, features a domestically developed heat-seeking missile named “Majid” with an impressive range of 8 km.

An American F-16 fighter crashed during a training flight at sea in Korea; the pilot was able to eject.

The F-16 fighter crashed into the Yellow Sea after taking off at about 9:00 a.m. (7:00 a.m. Hanoi time) today from the air base in Gunsan city, 178 km south of Seoul, military sources said. US and South Korea said.
According to sources, the pilot ejected the emergency chair, but whether this person was rescued is unclear.
The Korean Ministry of Defense and US forces in Korea have not commented on the information.

The Israeli army sent tanks into the center of Khan Younis, a Hamas stronghold in the southern Gaza Strip, a week after expanding its ground offensive.

Residents in Khan Younis said Israeli tanks appeared on the main road in the city center on December 10 after experiencing intense fighting that lasted all night in the east. Israeli fighter jets are bombing the western area of ​​the city.
Images on social networks showed loud explosions, machine gun fire and thick columns of white smoke rising in many places in Khan Younis.
“It was one of the most terrible nights.

Outer space is infinite, but the parts of space most important to life on Earth are becoming increasingly congested. Satellites vital for infrastructure, economy, and security are filling up the thousands of miles above the Earth’s surface. With this crowding comes an increase in close approaches between satellites, placing communications, navigation, weather monitoring, missile warning, and other satellites at risk.  There are many reasons to fear close approaches — also known as conjunctions — in space, even if they are accidental.

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CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE – DECEMBER 10: Residents and visitors work to clear debris in search of pets and belongings of a destroyed home in the aftermath of a tornado on December 10, 2023 in Clarksville, Tennessee. Multiple long-track tornadoes were reported in northwest Tennessee on December 9th causing multiple deaths and injuries and widespread damage. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images).
The U.S. Army’s Fort Campbell installation is ordering only “mission essential” soldiers to report to work on Monday, Dec. 11 after a major tornado struck the surrounding area over the weekend.

With plans to acquire 100 B-21 Raiders, the Air Force is looking to replace its fleets of 45  B-1Bs  and 20  B-2s. This acquisition could even mean the gradual retirement of the veteran  B-52, who has been in service for more than seven decades.

Strategic bombing, a devastating game of aerial chess, emerged in World War I. The German Empire, a pioneer in this tactic, deployed zeppelins to besiege London, ushering in an era of total war from the skies.

Israeli security officials said more than 7,000 members of the armed group Hamas died in Tel Aviv’s campaign in the Gaza Strip.

“This is just a minimum estimate. The actual number may be much larger because we do not know everything underneath the collapsed tunnels and buildings,” said Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi during the interview on December 9.
Israel insists its campaign is making progress. However, Israeli commander Herzi Halevi told soldiers that “we need to make more efforts.