SpaceX
SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket lifted off for its second test flight over the weekend. Among the stunning imagery and video to have emerged from the launch that caught our attention was the sight of its super-heavy rocket booster generating gargantuan “mach diamonds” or “shock diamonds.” What’s particularly impressive is how the rocket booster’s 33 Raptor Vacuum (RVac) engines combined to create a perfectly formed mach diamond as the stack lifted off the pad.

Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. government says we are “closer than we’ve ever been” to a deal to free at least some of the approximately 240 hostages held by Hamas in the wake of the militant group’s attack on Israel on October 7. The Biden administration meanwhile says it’s “doing everything we can” to forge an agreement under which those hostages will be released.
These statements were provided to reporters today by John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the U.S. National Security Council.

Marine veteran Joel David Beal was killed in Ukraine on Oct. 13, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Chosen Company).
Marine veteran Joel David Beal was a standout among foreign volunteers who had come to Ukraine to fight against the Russians, said a fellow U.S. veteran who fought with Beal.
On one mission, Beal was driving a Humvee when another volunteer dropped an M320 40mm grenade launcher outside the vehicle, Ryan O’Leary told Task & Purpose on Monday. O’Leary leads foreign volunteers in “Chosen Company,” which is attached to Ukraine’s 59th Motorized Brigade.

Lockheed Skunk Works
Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works is celebrating its 80th anniversary. A marketing push around this milestone has been underway and today we got a new ad for it that includes a look at an intriguing tailless manned tactical jet concept. It’s in line with what we have seen from the bleeding edge design firm in the recent past surrounding the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.

With the United States experiencing a constrained supply chain of solid rocket motors, Colorado-based Ursa Major plans to design and manufacture the key components with 3D printing technology.
On Monday, the rocket and engine manufacturer announced the technique — dubbed Lynx — as a solution for America’s solid rocket motor (SRM) industry, which is “plagued by a broken supply chain and an overextended industrial base,” according to a company press release.

Houthi screencap
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Monday released a video showing Sunday’s helicopter-borne raid on the Galaxy Leader, a Bahamian-flagged vehicle carrier transiting the Red Sea. The Houthis still hold the ship and its 25 crew members. A U.S. military official told The War Zone it is believed to be the first Houthi helicopter attack on a ship.
The video opens with a view of a Houthi Mi-171Sh variant transport helicopter with what appear to be UB-32 rocket pods and a PKM light machine gun at the door flying toward the vessel.

USAF
The U.S. Air Force is exploring the possibility of buying up to 10 commercial airliners modified to serve as VIP transports to augment its existing fleet of aging C-32A aircraft. Two years ago, the service dropped plans to acquire an outright replacement for its C-32As, which are commonly referred to by the callsign “Air Force Two” that is used when the Vice President is onboard.

FILE: U.S. soldiers deployed to Syria to support the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve mission. (Spc. Jensen Guillory/U.S. Army).
U.S. troops and partner forces have conducted 387 operations against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria so far in 2023, far more than they did in all of 2022, according to U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM. 
But while the tempo of operations is up, far fewer suspected ISIS fighters have been killed during those missions than last year.
Through October, Centcom says U.S.

via X
Video has emerged showing the apparent use of guided standoff cluster bombs by Russian forces in Ukraine. While both Kyiv and Moscow have previously used different kinds of cluster munitions in the conflict, Russian media and military bloggers state that this is the first large-scale use of these weapons with guidance packages and wing kits, since the start of the war.

The first documented use of RBK-500 five-hundred-kilogram cluster bombs by Russian forces in Donetsk. pic.twitter.

We’re sure you know the Pentagon is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. Located in Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., the Pentagon was constructed during WWII from September 1941 to January 1943, the building cost $83 million ($1.19 billion in 2021). Following a pattern of fives, the five-sided edifice features five floors above ground (along with two basement levels, and five ring corridors.
Sticking with that theme, here are five things you didn’t know about the Pentagon.
1.

The Department of Defense has recognized it needs a surge capability to respond to activity that occurs within the information environment.
Tucked inside the DOD’s Strategy for Operations in the Information Environment, released publicly Nov. 17 but published in July, the department notes it will need to build up its workforce to take on an increase in adversary activity within the information sphere.
“DoD needs the ability to surge capability and capacity to quickly respond and maneuver in and through the IE.

To address the emerging threats, the military fleet of Germany is set to be reinforced by the funds approved by the German Bundestag.
The post Germany boosts defence with major investments in Dingoes and P-8A Poseidon appeared first on Army Technology.

Often, the worst place to be in a war is on the losing side, even if you have the moral high ground. But spare a thought for the conscripts of German static divisions at Normandy. Germany forced them into the war. To fight on behalf of the same fascists who’d conquered their own country. And they undersupplied them. Then, they used them as essentially human speed bumps against Allied advances.
And at D-Day, two of them bore the brunt of the Allied attack. And then one of them saw a panzer attack relieve them only for German forces to abandon them, again, to capture or death.

When Air Force veteran Evan Kaufman witnessed firsthand the difficulty of navigating the VA Home Loan process, he built a company to fix it.
“I grew up in Wichita, Kansas, which is coincidentally considered the ‘Air Capital’ of the world and a center of entrepreneurship. The influences of entrepreneurship met me at a young age,” he explained. “I started my first company, Grassmasters Landscaping, in high school and ended up successfully selling that business right before college.”
Building businesses was always on his mind but so was raising his right hand to serve.

Nick sat down in Tokyo last week with Satoru Mori and Yasuhiro Izumikawa to discuss the evolution of Japan’s threat perceptions and defense planning. They also shared their thoughts on how Japan views the challenge posed by China, a potential Taiwan scenario, and the current conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. Image: Japanese Ministry of Defense
The post Japan Re-evaluates Regional Threats appeared first on War on the Rocks.

Ukraine is reportedly building two schools, with more on the way, designed to withstand direct S-300 attacks or other Russian fire. The Ukrainian schools include supplies to last for days, as well as ventilation, power generation, and more.
Basically, Ukrainian schoolchildren now need the same level of protection to go to school that Winston Churchill needed for himself and his cabinet in World War II.
Hard to imagine why Ukrainians didn’t welcome Russia’s armored columns as liberators back in February 2022.

The Myasishchev M-55 ‘Mystic-B’ high-altitude aircraft may be returned to service by Russia to fill an ISTAR gap over Ukraine. (Janes/Paul Jackson)
Russia may be about to return to service its Soviet Union-era Myasishchev M-55 ‘Mystic-B’ high-altitude aircraft as it looks to fill an intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability gap, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ascertained.

An RCH 155 displayed at Defence Vehicles Dynamics (DVD) in September 2022. This example is fitted with at least three SETAS modules, which can be seen next to the driver’s hatch and on the sides of the drive module. (Janes/Christopher Petrov)
Ukraine was revealed as the launch customer for Hensoldt’s See Through Armour System (SETAS) at SAE Media Group’s Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability (FAVS) 2023 conference held in London from 13 to 15 November.

The first flight of the Protector RG1 in UK airspace saw the unmanned aircraft fly within the confines of the airspace over RAF Waddington, and under full human control. (Crown Copyright)
The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has flown for the first time in national airspace the recently received General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9B Protector RG1 medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The milestone was announced by the service on 17 November, with the first flight understood to have taken place some days earlier.

A Mojave short take-off and landing unmanned aircraft lines up for the first landing aboard a Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier. (General Atomics)
The UK Royal Navy (RN) and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) have completed a first-of-its-kind trial of GA-ASI’s Mojave remotely piloted air system (RPAS) from an aircraft carrier.

ChatGPT is celebrating its first birthday – the past year has seen many businesses intergrate the technology into their practises.
The post ChatGPT one year on: how have businesses been affected? appeared first on Army Technology.

Both parties have identified opportunities in the UK market, including the Border Force vessel replacement programme.
The post Signal: Harland & Wolff signs MoU with Austal Australia appeared first on Army Technology.

WT
A new U.S.

CRS
From the report
The aircraft carriers CVN-78, CVN-79, CVN-80, and CVN-81 are the first four ships in the Navy’s new Gerald R.

Lariosa, USNI News
A new American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) landed and took off for the first time from an aircraft carrier during HMS Prince of Wales‘ (R09) trials off the East…

R. Tiron & A. Capaccio, Bloomberg
The U.S.

Joe Kunzler, Simple Flying
A few reasons why the B-21 Raider will be a revolutionary platform for the U.S. Air Force.

The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System – pictured above firing an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile at Woomera Test Range in South Australia in mid-November – provides air defence against a variety of aerial threats, including UAV, missile, helicopter, and aircraft attacks within 40–50 km. (Commonwealth of Australia)
The Australian Army has test-fired the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) at Woomera Test Range in South Australia, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said in a press release in mid-November.

FFG is working on the Boxer RRV variant. (FFG )
Lieutenant Colonel Karlheinz Boehnke, Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle (MRAV) Boxer representative in the German Army Concept and Capabilities Development Centre, presented a Boxer jamming variant and an update on other planned versions on the second day of SAE Media Group’s Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability (FAVS) 2023 conference held in London from 13 to 15 November.
The Boxer Knifefish jamming variant would exist in two versions – ultra-high frequency (UHF)/very high frequency (VHF) and high frequency (HF).

This series of images shows the Diamant hard-kill APS intercepting and defeating a test projectile representing an ATGM. (Thales)
The French Direction générale de l’armement (DGA) procurement agency confirmed at SAE Media Group’s Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability (FAVS) 2023 conference – held in London from 13 to 15 November – that it had begun to test the Thales Diamant hard-kill active protection system (APS).

The DART AE is a 3.5 m long single-use hypersonic vehicle powered by a SPARTAN scramjet engine that, according to developer Hypersonix, has a top speed of Mach 7 and a range of 1,000 km. (Hypersonix Launch Systems)
Australian firms Hypersonix Launch Systems and Nominal Systems signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 15 November to develop digital twin technologies for Hypersonix’s new hypersonic vehicle.

There is an emerging threat to the United States that will “endanger everyone,” one that can cause “escalation and misunderstandings” and even increase “the risk of a crisis or conflict that might turn nuclear.” No, these descriptors are not about Russia’s latest doomsday nuclear weapon or China’s provocative military behavior toward its neighbors. Instead, these are the purported consequences of a three-way nuclear “arms race” that some analysts believe the United States is about to ignite.  The Joseph R.

In recent years, Hamas has continuously upgraded its arsenal, especially anti-tank systems, to hinder Israeli forces fighting in Gaza.

In the first days of Israel’s campaign to attack the Gaza Strip, a Hamas anti-tank missile hit an armored vehicle, killing at least 9 Israeli soldiers. Other armored vehicles in the convoy were also affected.
That was the attack that caused the greatest casualties to Israel in the campaign to respond to Hamas. It also shows the strength of the Palestinian armed group’s anti-tank arsenal.

In the crucible of conflict, Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade, armed with modern vehicles and rigorous training, faces a formidable challenge in countering a relentless Russian offensive. The dynamics of the war are shifting, plunging Ukraine into a precarious position. This article delves into the complexities and risks that Ukraine grapples with as the war reaches a deadlock.
The Battlefield Shift
From Lightning Counterattack to Defensive Struggle
The once-expected lightning counterattack by Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade is now a defensive struggle.

Supported by Iran, the armed group Ansar Allah [or “Houthis”] has equipped itself with an arsenal as large as it is diversified to counter the military coalition that Saudi Arabia launched to support the troops loyal to Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi, recognized Yemeni president. As a result, it now has ballistic missiles and drones with sufficient range to reach southern Israel, as demonstrated by the recent attacks it has launched in support of Hamas.

An outbreak of diseases is expected in Ukraine

Public Domain

KYIV – Helsi, a state-owned medical agency of the Ukrainian government reported an outbreak of Hepatitis A in the Vinnytsia region.  262 people were identified with this disease.
Several other incidences were identified in other regions of Ukraine: Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Sumy.
Later the Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported that the “outbreak of Hepatitis” is not an outbreak and that the numbers are very traditional to this time of year.
We consider the source of Helsi as original.

Actor and wrestler Dwayne Johnson with U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy A. George at the Pentagon. (Photo by Henry Villarama/U.S. Army).
Finally, the Rock has come back to Capitol Hill and the Pentagon.
Yes, really. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, one of the biggest movie stars currently and the man who once helped break the news of SEAL Team 6’s successful killing of Osama bin Laden (again: yes, really), stopped by the halls of the Pentagon this week as part of a wider trip to the area.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs building is seen in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2019. (Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images).
The Department of Veterans Affairs is reversing course and extending a COVID-19 pandemic-related program that will help prevent foreclosures on veterans’ homes.
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when millions of Americans were hit by a loss of income, the department set up a program where homeowners with a VA loan could enter forbearance, between six-12 months.

Image by ליזי שאנן

This story is developing…
On Nov 14, CDM/Tsionizm reported the following:
Russian media in Moscow is reporting a 5 day ceasefire will be soon announced in the Gaza conflict, in order to allow for humanitarian aid to be delivered. This will happen concurrently with a prisoner exchange for Hamas prisoners in Israel and Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
A permanent ceasefire will be then possibly be negotiated as well.
This morning the Washington Post verified our early reporting, writing:
Israel and Hamas are close to agreement on a U.S.

Being under constant threat, Israel has established some of the world’s most elite and well-respected special forces units. Israel Each unit has a defining characteristic specialty and job to keep Israel and its citizens safe at any cost.
Here are Israel’s top seven special forces units.
7. REFAIM

REFAIM Translated to “ghosts,” it is Israel’s newest multi-dimensional Elite unit.
It consists of IDF personnel from the Air Force, Armored Core, Intelligence, telecommunications, cyber, and reconnaissance divisions.

British intelligence says Russia may be deploying A-50U early warning aircraft in Ukraine to protect S-400 missiles against threats.

In an intelligence report on November 17, the British Ministry of Defense said Russia most likely used the A-50 early warning aircraft in Ukraine to detect targets targeting the S-400 long-range air defense system.
British intelligence said that the A-50U line that Russia deployed to Ukraine is equipped with advanced radar, which can detect targets at a greater distance than the S-400’s ground radar and increase system protection capabilities.

Hamas’s medical agency accused Israel of attacking a school at the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing 50 people.

The health authority of the Gaza Strip led by Hamas on November 18 accused Israel of attacking Al-Fakhura school, a United Nations-managed facility in the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing at least 50 people. The second attack hit a building in Jabaliya, killing 32 people in the same family, including 19 children.

Ukraine said the “Black Box” military project, including a UAV with a flight range of 800 km, caused more than 900 million USD in damage to Russia in the first 8 months of the year.

The General Directorate of Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR), in conjunction with the NGO Come Back Alive and Ukrainian blogger Ihor Lachenkov, called for fundraising for a secret military project called “Black Box” and collected more than 230 million hryvnia (6.4 million USD) in donations.

DOD
The State Department on Friday approved a potential $2.35 billion sale of 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles to Japan. The deal would allow for Japan to receive up to 200 Tomahawk Block IV and 200 Tomahawk Block V All Up Rounds (AUR) and related equipment.
The approval comes after years of talk that Japan would procure long-range land attack cruise missile capability via Tomahawk and is another glaring example of the country’s changing military policy when it comes to ‘offensive’ weaponry.

The U.S. Army recruitment booth at Anime NYC 2023. (Photo by u/nonewadeptness, courtesy r/USMC).
Anime NYC is currently happening in Manhattan’s Javits Center. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the three-day anime and general nerdy convention between Nov. 17-19. Some of those people are with the U.S. military.
At least two branches of the armed forces are at Anime NYC. Not to sit in on any panels, watch screenings of new anime films or pick up some Gundam model kits — well, not explicitly anyway — but to recruit. The U.S. Army and U.S.

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We recently received feedback from a young military man who bought the My Pillow Mattress Topper.
He was amazed.
“I had an old bed, the mattress was ‘springy’, very hard to get a comfortable night’s sleep.
“In my business, sleep is important, and I have to make the best of the little time I do get for shuteye.

Fort Gordon was renamed Fort Eisenhower on October 27, the last of nine Army bases to replace the name of a Confederate officer. Army photo.
An Army spouse at Fort Eisenhower was arrested this week and charged with killing her 11-month-old baby. 
April Evalyn Short was arrested on Thursday, Nov. 16 and charged with the murder of her son. According to the criminal complaint filed by the Department of Justice, Short’s husband, Staff Sgt. James Short, was on duty just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15 when he started to receive strange texts from his wife.

The stolen National Guard Humvee on Nov. 14, 2023 after police recovered it. (Photo courtesy California Highway Patrol).
The night before the Fourth of July, someone broke into the Santa Rosa National Guard Armory in northern California.The thief managed to get into a Humvee and get it going, crashing through a gate to get out. Beyond a few sightings in the region, the stolen Humvee vanished.
Until this week.
California Highway Patrol, along with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office captured the car after a car chase on Tuesday, Nov. 14. It started early in the morning, just before 7 a.m.

Author and founder of CDM, L Todd Wood continues his series of reports from within Israel.
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J.D.