Since last year’s COP27 summit, what events and government acts, if any, have made a positive impression on the climate?
The post What in the world has happened since COP27? appeared first on Army Technology.

The first-of-class Type 125 frigate,
Baden-Württemberg
, which will be deployed to the Indo-Pacific region in 2024.
(TKMS)

The German Navy will deploy its first-of-class
Baden-Württemberg
(Type 125) frigate and its second Berlin (Type 702)-class combat support ship,
Frankfurt Am Main
, to the Indo-Pacific region in 2024.

Janes
was able to confirm this with the Chief of the German Navy, Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, while he was in Singapore on 6 November.

In Douglas Adams’ book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, as calculated by a supercomputer for 7.5 million years is 42. While no one knows for sure what the question is, one possibility is, “How old can I be to join the Air Force or Space Force?”
Airmen attend Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB, Texas (U.S. Air Force)
All branches of the military require enlistees to be at least 17 years old (with parental permission if under 18).

James Gilboy
Update: The car has been recovered and is now in storage at a friend’s house to throw thieves off the trail. The only damage was to the underside of the dashboard, which was forcibly pried back to hotwire the car.
My 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo has disappeared from outside my house without a trace. I’m trying to get the word out in the hope that my first car can be recovered safely.
It was stolen from its (legal) street parking spot outside of my house in Portland, Oregon some time within the last 36 hours.

James Gilboy
Update: The car has been recovered and is now in storage at a friend’s house to throw thieves off the trail. The only damage was to the underside of the dashboard, which was forcibly pried back to hotwire the car.
My 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo has disappeared from outside my house without a trace. I’m trying to get the word out in the hope that my first car can be recovered safely.
It was stolen from its (legal) street parking spot outside of my house in Portland, Oregon some time within the last 36 hours.

A recent setback means it’s unlikely that the Army will achieve its goal for fielding its first set of Dark Eagle hypersonic missiles by the end of the calendar year, according to the service’s top weapons buyer.
A critical flight test for the system was slated for Oct. 26 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, but it didn’t go forward as planned.
“I can’t go into details, but it was before launch when a problem was detected.

Israel recently submitted a request to the U.S. government that’s now under review for 200 Switchblade 600 attack drones, DefenseScoop has learned.
The high-tech loitering munitions were included among multiple other capabilities Israeli leadership explicitly asked their American counterparts for on or before Oct. 30, according to a Pentagon document obtained by DefenseScoop and multiple officials who confirmed this request on the condition of anonymity.
It’s unclear how long it will take U.S.

Video still from the Army’s new “Jump” recruitment commercial released Nov. 4.
A new Army commercial launched last weekend evokes a familiar feeling for new soldiers and even most young people – anticipation, or even fear, of what’s to come.
On Nov. 4, the Army released  “Jump,” the fourth commercial in its “First Steps” campaign, which features the moments before a soldier’s first parachute jump from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter.

(Composite image/Task & Purpose).
The Senate Rules Committee will vote next Tuesday on a resolution that may allow most of the military promotions being blocked by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to advance to a floor vote.
Under Senate rules, it would take 60 votes to advance the measure to a final vote, so Democrats would need help from Senate Republicans and Independents to override Tuberville’s holds. If the resolution passes, the Senate could approve hundreds of military promotions with a simple majority vote, bypassing the hold Tuberville has put on the process for most of the year.

Dutch Ministry of Defense
The first five F-16s that will be used to train Ukrainian pilots as part of a European initiative touched down in Romania today. The arrival of the Dutch jets at the new training center is an important milestone toward the Ukrainian Air Force introducing F-16s itself, something that Kyiv long pushed for, and which is now also being assisted by a parallel training effort being run in the United States.

USAF
The Air Force’s AC-130J Ghostrider gunships might lose their iconic 105mm howitzers, starting within the next two years or so. The deliberations center heavily on a desire for more stand-off strike capacity, especially ahead of any potential future high-conflict, such as one against China. The service has already been testing special operations C-130s, along with other cargo aircraft, as possible cruise missile carriers using palletized launch systems.

(Photo by Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
A historic World War II-era airship hangar in California caught fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Despite attempts to extinguish the flames, firefighters have been forced to abandon their efforts — allowing the fire to run its course. The exact cause of the fire has yet to be identified by law enforcement, and no injuries have been reported.
Hangar 1, also known as the North Hangar or ‘Building 28,’ is part of the former Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Tustin in Orange County.

MANDY CHENG/AFP via Getty Images
Another classic Cold War-era fighter is fast approaching its retirement, this time in Taiwan, which is preparing to bid farewell to its F-5E/F Tiger II jets. Taiwan has operated the type for nearly half a century. While the veteran F-5E/F fighters will stand down from operational use by the end of this year, the unique RF-5E Tigergazer reconnaissance aircraft will remain in use.
Pilots salute from a ROCAF F-5F during an annual drill at Chihhang Air Base, southeast Taiwan on January 30, 2018.

IDF/Screencap via Twitter
With Israel having surrounded Gaza City and staging forces for a deeper incursion there, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) gave civilians another window of opportunity to flee.
“Oh residents of Gaza, join the many who are heading to the south of Wadi Gaza at this hour!,” Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic spokesman, said in a message posted on Twitter Tuesday morning eastern time.

We asked and you provided. The top ten informal, retired, and formal unit patches from the U.S. Army. (Task & Purpose composite image).
Every unit patch — officially the “shoulder sleeve insignia” — has a storied history behind it. It’s the hallmark of your newfound home in the Army and defines the mission you’re been trained to do. Retire that big Army star patch from basic with a badboy of a patch. You won’t regret it. 
To be sure, Army unit patches vary greatly. Some patches are dull, while others are badass.

17 members of Congress sent a scathing letter to Pentagon officials over reports of “reprehsible” conditions in military barracks. Photo from GAO report.
Six senators have told the Pentagon they want to see the U.S. military implement specific plans to fix its long-standing problem of unacceptable living conditions in barracks.
The Government Accountability Office issued a blistering report in September about how thousands of service members are faced with appalling living conditions. The report found numerous problems at barracks on 10 U.S.

Poland expects to sign a production contract with General Atomics for the MQ-9B SkyGuardian UAVs within weeks, according to a senior Polish military official, as part of a broad air force modernization effort that has been boosted by the Russian invasion. from Ukraine.
The Polish Ministry of National Defense announced in October 2022 a plan to acquire the new aircraft in order to replace the MQ-9A platforms leased to the US. However, Major General Cezary Wisniewski has revealed that it is just a few days away from the signing of the contract.

As America’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels through the Middle East trying to avoid a regional war. He has been joined in the region by one of the military’s main deterrents, a nuclear submarine.
An Ohio-class submarine – one of the most formidable warships ever built and the largest built by the US Navy – is now patrolling the waters surrounding the Middle East, the US military announced on November 5.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is preparing to modernize how forensic evidence is processed.
NCIS told DefenseScoop that it plans to implement a new Evidence Management Portal (EMP) in the first quarter of 2024. The tracking technology is already used by both the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The Army is credited for developing the system and currently serves as the program manager.

MBDA and PGZ will deliver Narew air defences for £4bn, making it the largest ever commercial contract between UK and Poland.
The post MBDA and PGZ sign £4bn air defence contract, largest UK-Poland deal ever appeared first on Army Technology.

The military is always looking toward tomorrow, the future, and the big picture. The routine of deployment lets you focus on one thing only, the task at hand: Mission first, no distractions. The days are counted by today and tomorrow—just get through today, and you are going home tomorrow.
Eventually, that statement becomes true, but for your family back home the chaos of everyday life continues, thousands of miles away. The focus for them is always today.

Al Seer Marine 11 m USV that was unveiled at NAVDEX 2021. (NAVDEX)
The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) Coast Guard Group contributed an unmanned surface vessel (USV) to the ‘Union Fortress 9′ demonstration that was held on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on 5 November.
‘Union Fortress’ is held every year in different locations to show the public the capabilities of the UAE Armed Forces and security organisations.

When Craig Morgan reenlisted on the Grand Ole Opry stage in the summer of 2023, he made history. Now he’s about to do it again with a brand new, recently released duets album while managing his role back in uniform.
“It all started with my managers hammering about re-recording Redneck Yacht Club and I kept saying no, for basically an entire year. Then I wrote a song with Billy Dean called Raise the Bar,” he laughed. 
Though he initially thought of superstar country singer Luke Combs for the song, Morgan recorded the song for him and got ready to pitch it.

As of March 28, 2023, the Federation of American Scientists reports that the United States possesses a stockpile of 5,244 nuclear warheads, and 1,670 of these are deployed on ballistic missiles and gravity bombs. That’s right, America’s nuclear arsenal still includes traditional gravity bombs. The primary model in the stockpile is the B61 nuclear bomb. Designed in 1963 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, production engineering of the B61 began two years later. Thirteen versions of the bomb, Mod 0 through Mod 12, have been designed; nine of these entered production.

The slow-moving L-4 Grasshopper was the ideal plane for spotting hidden German armor during World War II. With a top speed of around 75 miles per hour, it wasn’t the ideal fighter-bomber or ground attack aircraft. That role was best left to the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, which could blaze across a field strafing enemy targets at well over 425 miles per hour. Or was it?
If you asked Major Charles Carpenter, also known as “Bazooka Charlie,” he would tell you that it all depends on what the little L-4 Grasshopper is shooting at those targets.

Certain battles in naval history mark significant evolutions in technology and doctrine. On March 9, 1862, the Battle of Hampton Roads saw the first engagement between ironclad warships, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. In May 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea validated the importance of naval air power as neither the American nor Japanese fleets sighted or fired on each other, instead conducting battle from over the horizon with their respective carrier aircraft.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy shuts down prospect of elections, calling it “irresponsible” in a time of war.
The post “Now is not the right time for elections,” Ukraine president declares appeared first on Army Technology.

With the Luftwaffe to field the Eurofighter EK in the electronic attack role, a mock-up was showcased at the ILA Berlin Airshow 2022. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
The German Luftwaffe intends to operate its Eurofighter Elektronischer Kampf (EK) electronic warfare (EW) aircraft alongside a dedicated unmanned ‘loyal wingman’, it was disclosed on 6 November.
Commanding General of Air Force Forces Command, Lieutenant General Günter Katz, revealed the Electronic Combat Wingman (ECW) in a briefing slide presented at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2023 in Madrid.

Thailand has signed a contract with Norinco to become the first international customer of the Chinese company’s Sky Saker FX80 UAV, a scale model of which was displayed at the Defense & Security 2023 exhibition in Bangkok. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)
China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) has signed a contract with the Royal Thai Army (RTA) to supply its fixed-wing/vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) Sky Saker FX80 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the company has confirmed.

The US State Department has given the green light to a plan to supply Israel with SPICE-guided bombs valued at $320 million, pending approval from Congress. This decision was recently disclosed in a letter from the US State Department to Congress, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The letter explained that the Biden administration has permitted Rafael USA, a defense enterprise, to modify its technical assistance agreement with its parent company, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in Israel.

Russia has officially pulled out of the Convention on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, and they’re pointing the finger at the US, claiming that post-Cold War security is being undermined.
The Russian Foreign Ministry made the announcement that they completed the withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) as per the rules, at midnight on November 7. They stated, “All those international legal documents that Russia suspended back in 2007 are now a thing of the past for us.

First-time job seekers will face a lot of uncertainty when looking for work, especially in today’s market. It’s important to mitigate that uncertainty by focusing on the things you can control. Whether looking for work for the first time after leaving the military, switching jobs or switching careers, avoiding these four common mistakes will help anyone save a lot of time, effort and heartbreak.
1. Focusing on take-home pay
Don’t make the mistake of thinking your compensation package is the same as your base salary.

With the F-16 providing the US Air Force with its affordable mass, the service will shortly begin considering what follows the aircraft type in the future. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
The US Air Force (USAF) is to shortly begin assessing its longer-term requirement for an “affordable” aircraft that it can operate in the post-Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon timeframe.

The Spike NLOS missile has a range of 25 km. (Janes/Patrick Allen)
Thailand’s Defence Technology Institute (DTI) has entered an agreement with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to collaborate on producing the Spike family of lightweight multi-purpose electro-optical guided missile systems in the Southeast Asian country.

Chaiseri unveiled its new armoured wheeled amphibious vehicle (AWAV) at the Defense & Security show in Bangkok. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)
Thai firm Chaiseri has unveiled its new 8×8 Armoured Wheeled Amphibious Vehicle (AWAV) at the Defense & Security exhibition in Bangkok.

A company official told
Janes
that the AWAV on display at the exhibition is a prototype, but that Chaiseri has started producing seven vehicles for the Royal Thai Marine Corps (RTMC) under a contract awarded in August.

Deliveries of these vehicles will start mid-2024.

According to the  Israel Defense Forces  (IDF), recent attacks in the northern  Gaza Strip have caused considerable damage to  Hamas structures. Likewise, the death of an Israeli soldier in previous clashes was confirmed.
Significant Damage to Hamas Infrastructure from Night Attacks
The IDF reported offensive actions against  Hamas targets, hitting both underground and aerial infrastructure. These attacks are believed to have caused the death of several field commanders of the terrorist group, who were hiding in tunnels.

The Pentagon confirmed the use of drones in support of Israel in the framework of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Confirmed Drone Operations in Palestinian Territory
The Pentagon, through Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, verified the use of drones in the Gaza Strip. These unmanned aircraft are part of a broader collaboration provided by the United States armed forces to Israel, which has been maintained since October 7 after the massacre carried out by Hamas in Israel.
As of October 7, drones have been instrumental in combat strategies and advising on hostage rescue missions.

When asked about ground operations and the danger they pose to hostages, Netanyahu said they are considering all variables.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Israel will take charge of security in the Gaza Strip indefinitely following conflicts with Hamas.

Netanyahu Lays Out Continued Security Need in Gaza
During an interview with  ABC News,  Benjamin Netanyahu stated the importance of  Israel maintaining an active role in the security of the  Gaza Strip.

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The Israel Army, which is currently engaged in combat operations inside Gaza, has seen significant investment into armoured vehicles.
The post Merkava, Namer, and Eitan: inside Israel’s new model army appeared first on Army Technology.

Corey Dickstein, Stars and Stripes
Several senators are demanding the Pentagon improve the poor conditions of its barracks across the armed forces and better track costs associated with…

Boguslaw, Intercept
The U.S. intelligence community is facing calls to reform the spying tool known as 702, which is set to expire at the end of the year.

Paul W. Viscovich, CIMSEC
Vale la pena (“It is worth the effort”) was the motto of Naval Special Warfare Group EIGHT when it was stationed in Panama some 30 years ago.

Bloomberg
The Biden administration’s $14 billion aid request for Israel would significantly expand its missile defenses, including new Iron Dome launchers equivalent to more than twice the…

Axios
Sensitive, highly detailed personal data for thousands of active-duty and veteran U.S.

US CENTCOM broadens its deterrence against militant groups joining the fighting amid the Israel-Hamas war with an Ohio-class submarine.
The post Signal: US Ohio-class submarine sent as a new form of Middle East deterrence appeared first on Army Technology.

The UK is procuring the GM200 multimode radar under a government-to-government deal with the Netherlands. (Thales Nederland)
The UK has elected to pursue a government-to-government deal with the Netherlands for the procurement of a new Deep Find radar as part of a wider recapitalisation of the British Army’s weapons locating capability under Project Serpens, Janes has learnt.

The Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat is one of the international ‘loyal wingman’ programmes being considered by Poland for its Harpii Szpon programme. (Commonwealth of Australia)
Poland is assessing the market as it looks to field an unmanned ‘loyal wingman’ for its future fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II combat aircraft, the Deputy General Commander of the Polish Armed Forces said on 6 November.

For the last several months, the Chinese government has steadily ramped up its coercive gray-zone tactics in order to interfere with Philippine civilian resupply missions of troops aboard the BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. In 1999, Manila intentionally ran the World War II-era ship aground on this disputed shoal, establishing a permanent military presence, to demonstrate Philippine sovereignty there. Since then, Philippine resupply missions have consistently faced Chinese harassment.

Dr. Paul Edgar, the executive director of the William P. Clements, Jr. Center for National Security at the University of Texas-Austin, sat down with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson to discuss energy and national security. The conversation focused on energy security, its relevance for U.S. national security, and how a more effective energy policy would allow for a more robust response to global crises. Image: Wikipedia
The post A Conversation with Dr. Paul Edgar and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison appeared first on War on the Rocks.