People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on 14 January. North Korea was said to have fired a ballistic missile that day and this was confirmed by Pyongyang on 15 January. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)
North Korea has claimed that the weapon it tested on 14 January was a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that was tipped with a hypersonic warhead.

North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile, a weapon capable of threatening the US base in Guam, in its first launch of 2024.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea launched a ballistic missile from an area near the capital, Pyongyang, into the eastern sea of ​​the peninsula at 2:55 p.m. today. The projectile landed in an area about 1,000 km from the launch pad, in the sea between North Korea and Japan.
The Japanese Coast Guard said the missile fell outside the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Immediately after I completed my upgrade to F-15E multi-ship flight lead in 2017, my squadron deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. A flight lead is trusted to command a four ship of fighter jets and, as part of this upgrade training, I had spent the previous six months learning how to lead counter-air and contested air-to-ground missions against a peer threat. Put simply: I was trained to fight and defend against other fighter jets.

U.S. defense planning has long been undergirded by a sense of technological optimism. This is nowhere more evident than in official statements concerning command and control networks, which inevitably assert that this or that new network will make the joint force “greater than the sum of its parts.” In response, the Chinese government has spent nearly two decades developing the ability to target U.S. military networks as part of its doctrine of “systems destruction warfare,” with which it hopes to induce operational paralysis resulting in a loss of U.S.

A screengrab from the 501st Separate Marine Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Grifon 501) destroying a Russian armoured vehicle with a UAV, possibly an MBT or TOS-1 MLRS, because of the large explosion. (501st Separate Marine Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine)
Russia is said to have lost approximately 90% of its military equipment in Krynky, Kherson, likely because of a shortage of Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems in the area, according to a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) intelligence update on 12 January.

Russian MoD
A Russian A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) jet and an Il-22M airborne command post were successfully engaged by Ukrainian air defense over the Sea of Azov Sunday, according to a Ukrainian legislator who heads a prominent defense committee, as well as Ukrainian media.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has not officially commented on this claim, which The War Zone cannot independently verify. If true, losing these two command and control aircraft would be a major blow for Russia because only a handful of each exists.

The USS Laboon patrolling the Red Sea on Dec. 25, 2023. (Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alice Husted/U.S. Navy).
Despite two waves of attacks on their installations in recent days, Houthi rebels in Yemen appear undeterred. On Sunday afternoon the group fired an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea in the direction of the US Navy destroyer the USS Laboon, U.S. Central Command announced.
U.S. fighter jets shot down the missile before it could reach the USS Laboon. No one was injured, according to CENTCOM. The missile was shot down at around 4:45 p.m.

USN
An unspecified U.S. fighter shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen. The missile was heading toward the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Laboon in the southern Red Sea, U.S. Central Command said Sunday evening eastern.
The incident happened about 4:45 p.m. Sanaa time, according to CENTCOM. The missile was shot down in vicinity of the coast of Hudaydah by U.S. fighter aircraft. There were no injuries or damage reported.

On Jan. 14 at approximately 4:45 p.m.

One of two F-16s handed over to Slovakia. (Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin has formally handed over to Slovakia its first F-16 Block 70 Fighting Falcon multirole combat aircraft, the manufacturer announced on 10 January.
The first two of 14 jets were delivered to the Slovak Air Force at Lockheed Martin’s Greenville production facility in South Carolina.
Lockheed Martin told Janes that, in this context, ‘delivery’ “refers to the acceptance of the two Slovakia F-16 Block 70s by the [US] Defense Contract Management Agency.

The configuration of China’s J-11B fighter favors air superiority, although it can also attack ground targets. The J-11B, although not comparable to the F-22, is a formidable fighter, crucial in Chinese military strategy in the Taiwan Strait.
Technical analysis of China’s J-11B fighter and its operations in the Taiwan Strait
The Shenyang J-11B, a variant of the  Russian Sukhoi Su-27SK, plays a significant role in Taiwan Strait tensions. Manufactured by  Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, this single-seat twin-engine fighter has carried out several raids, challenging Taiwan’s sovereignty.

The aircraft carriers Gerald R. Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower along with their strike groups operating together in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea on Nov. 3, 2023. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Janae Chambers/U.S. Navy).
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is a massive vessel and the lead ship in a carrier strike group. It’s currently in the Red Sea, taking part in operations meant to stop attacks on shipping routes by the Houthi movement out of Yemen. On Thursday, Jan. 11 it launched F/A-18 fighter jets that took part in joint U.S.-U.K. strikes on Houthi-controlled areas around Yemen.

AVDIIVKA AREA, UKRAINE – DECEMBER 4: A Ukrainian soldier is seen near a Bradley Fighting vehicle as the Russia-Ukraine war continues in Avdiivka, Donbas, Ukraine on December 4, 2023. (Photo by Marek M. Berezowski/Anadolu via Getty Images).
One of Russia’s most modern main battle tanks, a T-90, was captured of video losing a face-to-face duel with a Ukrainian Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a far lighter-armed and armored U.S. made troop carrier whose design dates to the Vietnam War.

If your child recently decided to join the Army, you may be wondering about their new career as a soldier. It can be an emotional journey from the moment your soldier leaves for Basic Combat Training (BCT). 
No matter what your soldier’s job is or where they go, always remember what they are fighting for as you both embark on this journey.
Basic Combat Training (BCT)
You may have heard of reception. It’s where basic training starts after your son or daughter arrives on base.

Public Domain

After my 30 year USAFA reunion, I wrote an article titled, “The United States Air Force Academy Doesn’t Train Warriors Anymore.”
It seems nothing has changed in the last decade, in fact, it’s gotten worse.
I read this weekend an article in The Epoch Times about a female USAFA grad, who became Miss Colorado apparently while at the Academy, and now is being allowed to compete for Miss America as an officer.

KAGOSHIMA – JAPAN – DECEMBER 01: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY – MANDATORY CREDIT – ‘JAPANESE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE / HANDOUT’ – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) A screen grab captured from a video shows Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force conducts search operation after US Air Force base Yokota’s CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashed into the sea on Wednesday 29th off coast of Japan Island Yakushima, in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kagoshima, Japan, on December 1, 2023.

With its F-35s stationed at Evenes Air Base, the Royal Norwegian Air Force also plays a crucial role in policing Norwegian and adjacent airspace.
January 13, 2024, in War zone
Norwegian F-35 fighter jets operate from Iceland on NATO air policing missions.
From 15 January to mid-February 2024, Norway deployed four F-35 fighter jets to Keflavík Air Base, Iceland, marking its fourth participation in NATO air policing missions. This deployment is part of a broader NATO effort to secure airspace in the High North region.
The Norwegian contingent is the first of three deployments planned for 2024.

Houthi forces announced that US troops were “illegally present” in the area and warned that they would raid US bases.

Nasreddin Amer, deputy director of the Houthi media agency, said on January 13 that recent air strikes by the US and UK against Yemen “will immediately lead to retaliation” by the forces.
“The US is illegally present in the area, so we consider US military facilities here to be legitimate targets for attacks,” Mr. Amer said, warning that this force would attack US warships on the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced its military airstrikes on nearly 30 targets overnight in northern Iraq and Syria.

“The Turkish Air Force destroyed 29 enemy targets in northern Iraq and Syria. The aircraft returned to base safely after the operation,” the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on January 12.
On the same day, this agency released a video showing fighters departing from the base and fires burning at the location hit by the air strike. The airstrike took place after 9 Turkish soldiers were killed in an attack on their base near the city of Metina, northern Iraq.

In modern warfare, introducing F-16 fighters into Ukraine would represent a significant change in the dynamics of the conflict. Russian troops attack military infrastructure in Ukraine amid the possible entry of F-16 fighters into the Ukrainian arsenal.
Intensification of Russian bombing in Ukraine due to the threat of F-16
Recent reports from the Intelligence Center of the Estonian Defense Forces, led by Colonel  Ants Kiviselg, show an increase in Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian military infrastructure.

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.