Maine’s Senators sent a letter to the Army, asking for information about what went wrong with its reservist who committed the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images).
Two U.S. Senators are pressing the Army to investigate its own handling of the reservist who carried out the “largest mass shooting in Maine’s modern history” and procedures that could’ve prevented it, according to a letter sent Monday. 
Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) sent a letter to the Inspector General of the Army, Lt. Gen.

Jack Lowe holds his Eagle Globe and Anchor out after becoming an “Honorary Marine,” during a ceremony at the Lowe family residence on November 1, 2023. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Warren Smith.
Jack Lowe wanted nothing more than to be a United States Marine. Service in the Marine Corps is in Jack’s blood. His great-grandfather was a Marine pilot and both his parents are Marines
He planned to enlist in the Marines right out of high school until, in March of his junior year in 2022, he was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

Now that the offensive launched by Ukrainian forces is possibly in the process of petering out,  Mike Kofman shares some of his exploratory thoughts on where Ukraine stands and what 2024 might look like. Image: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
The post Some Preliminary Thoughts on Ukraine’s Position in the War appeared first on War on the Rocks.

Task Force Lima continues to gain momentum across a variety of pursuits in its ambitious, 18-month plan to ensure the Pentagon can responsibly adopt, implement and secure powerful, still-maturing generative artificial intelligence technologies.
Department of Defense leadership formed that new hub in August ​​within the Chief Digital and AI Office’s (CDAO) Algorithmic Warfare Directorate.

As the entire Pentagon works to better understand artificial intelligence and machine learning, the Defense Information Systems Agency is taking a more comprehensive approach to analyzing AI capabilities and their potential use cases.
In its so-called “Tech Watchlist” for fiscal 2024, DISA now has multiple items that cover specific capabilities and issues related to artificial intelligence — from leveraging large language models to what guardrails are needed when deploying AI.

Jordanian Armed Forces
The armed forces of Jordan airdropped medical supplies and food to a field hospital the country operates in the war-torn Gaza Strip overnight. Jordanian personnel used what look to be U.S.-made Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS) GPS-assisted parachute kits, which would have helped ensure the critical cargo got to the right place on the ground and allowed the crew dropping it to stay further away from threats on the ground.
The airdrop took place at midnight local time, according to the Jordanian armed forces.

Ukrainian MoD
An image has emerged on social media showing serious damage to a Russian Black Sea Fleet warship after a Ukrainian cruise missile attack on Nov. 4.
The image shows the Project 22800 Karakurt class corvette Askold with extensive damage to its port side, including to its superstrcuture and mast, which includes its radar arrays, one of which can be seen exposed in the image. The image also shows damage to the dock where the Askold – designed to carry eight Kalibr cruise missiles – was berthed at the Zaliv shipyard in the Crimean port of Kerch.

Dan McWilliams
I cursed into my oxygen mask, as my little fighter wallowed in the thin air above 20,000 feet, dropping inexorably behind the Boeing 707 tanker. The day before, the same jet had felt very responsive – but that was at 420 knots at 100 feet above ground, in the cold, dense northern Alberta air mass.
Accelerating to 480 feet for the practice target run-in was a bit of a chore, though, because the CF-5 fighter-trainer was ‘hogged up’ with two underwing fuel tanks, a rocket dispenser, and a practice bomb dispenser, plus wingtip fuel tanks.

The Pentagon now says 46 US troops have been injured in attacks on bases in Iraq and Syria in the last month, most in a 2-day spain in mid-October. Photo by Spc. Roland Hale.
The number of U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria who have been injured by attacks from Iranian-backed groups now stands at 46, more than double the U.S. military’s last figure of wounded service members, according to the Pentagon.
“This is information that we’re literally getting towards the later half of this last week/ weekend,” said Air Force Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman.

IAF via X
With the current Gaza-Israel conflict now almost a month old, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has generally been extremely discriminating about the kinds of photos and videos that it releases for public consumption during this campaign. This makes what appears to be a recent social media slip-up showing a mysterious version of the Hellfire air-to-ground missile with a prominent red stripe painted around the middle of its body all the more intriguing.

The U.S. is setting up formal agreements with partners and allies to share military and civilian blood supplies to overcome logistics challenges in the Indo Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alexandra Munoz).
In the event of a prolonged war in the Pacific, injured U.S. troops might be saved by blood provided by U.S. allies, thanks to a series of formal international blood pacts the military says will soon be in place.
“If something kicks off in Taiwan, we’ve said we will come to the defense of Taiwan,” said Navy Capt.

A spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Forces said that following a week of manoeuvres the strip has been split in to North and South Gaza.
The post IDF encircle Gaza City, splits the Gaza Strip appeared first on Army Technology.

The Navy is removing “acting” from Jane Rathbun’s job title, officially making her the department’s chief information officer on a more permanent basis.
She will also serve as special assistant for information management, according to a release issued Nov. 3 by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, and be the principal staff assistant to the SECNAV on information technology, digital modernization, cybersecurity and data management.
Rathbun had been performing the duties of CIO since Aaron Weis departed in March to take a job with Google Public Sector.

Naval Sea Systems Command issued a sources-sought notice for a robo-ship initiative that is a centerpiece of the service’s plans to field lethal, uncrewed vessels at sea as part of a “hybrid fleet” of manned and unmanned systems.
The RFI for the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) was posted Nov. 3 on Sam.gov on behalf of the Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office (PMS 406), under Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants, which is developing requirements for the detail design and construction of the ship.

Army Staff Sgt. Felix A. Berrios, 33, died at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on Nov. 3 in a non-combat related incident. (Facebook).
The Defense Department has identified a soldier who died in a non-combat incident in Qatar as Army Staff Sgt. Felix A. Berrios, 33, of Houston.
Berrios died on Nov. 3 at Al Udeid Air Base, a Defense Department news release says. No specific information about the circumstances of his death were available on Monday. Al Udeid Air Base is not one of the bases in the region that Pentagon officials have said have been under drone and rocket attacks in recent weeks.

Oshkosh Defense, a defence contractor, has increased its production of military vehicles to cater to the needs of the US Armed Forces.
The post Oshkosh Defense awarded $208m contract to deliver JLTVs appeared first on Army Technology.

A soldier aims a XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement system during testing at Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland. (US Army)
The US Army’s contest for a follow-on contract for its high-explosive airburst munition system, Precision Grenadier System (PGS), is now down to two finalists.
The army’s xTechSoldier Lethality has been awarding companies cash prizes for their solutions to replace legacy M320 grenade launchers. The army earlier tried to replace the grenade launchers with the XM25, which failed after the army terminated Orbital ATK’s contract in 2017.

The DP18A UCAV – developed by Thai firm ATIL – has a top speed of 200 km/h, an endurance of 12 hours, and an operation radius of 200 km. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)
Thai firm Aero Technology Industry Company Limited (ATIL) has unveiled a new X-tail unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) at the Defense & Security 2023 exhibition in Bangkok.
The company said the DP18A UCAV is a “tactical attack UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] for reconnaissance, surveillance, [and] intelligence gathering” that can also provide “real-time strikes against enemy targets”.

This Veterans Day weekend will cause some base mailroom closures, which may delay the delivery of your letter to your recruit at basic training. Below you will find the mailroom closure information for each basic training location and the holiday printing schedule for Sandboxx.

The Royal Thai Air Force has recently completed an exercise using its newly inducted Korean GPS-Guided Bomb (KGGB), a model of which is pictured above at the Defense & Security 2023 exhibition in Bangkok. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has taken delivery of an initial batch of Korean GPS-Guided Bomb (KGGB) kits, an official from manufacturer LIG Nex1 told
Janes
at the Defense & Security exhibition in Bangkok on 6 November.

The official also confirmed that the RTAF has held its first exercise using the KGGB.

The Polish Land Forces will field SitaWare Frontline (pictured) and Headquarters. (Systematic)
Systematic’s SitaWare Frontline command-and-control (C2) software will be installed in all of the Polish Land Forces’ Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs), and the service will also receive the company’s SitaWare Headquarters system, Janes has learnt.

The D11A, pictured at the Defense & Security 2023 show in Bangkok, is intended to launch guided and unguided rocket systems of different calibres, with an effective range between 40 and 300 km. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)
The Defence Technology Institute (DTI) – an agency under the Thai Ministry of Defence – has furthered the development of the D11A, a local version of Elbit Systems’ multicalibre Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS).

Russia is preparing to expand its military presence in eastern Libya, a plan that could lead to a naval base, which would give it an important foothold at the gates of southern Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the military commander of eastern Libya, Khalifa Haftar, are negotiating a defense agreement after meeting in Moscow in late September, according to people briefed on the matter who asked not to be identified because they are delicate matters.

The Israeli army announced that its infantry had occupied a Hamas base in Gaza, attacking about 450 targets of this organization.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said today that during a night attack, Israeli soldiers occupied a Hamas base, including many observation posts, training grounds and tunnel systems, and took down a number of soldiers. Hamas members.
According to the IDF, Israeli fighter jets also struck more than 450 targets, targeting tunnels, military facilities, observation posts and Hamas anti-tank rocket launch positions in Gaza.

Tehran announced that it had coordinated with the Taliban in Afghanistan to arrest three Mossad agents, the Israeli intelligence agency, for allegedly preparing to attack Iran.

Iranian news agency IRNA said on November 5 that the counterintelligence campaign was conducted in the mountains between Iran and Afghanistan. Three Mossad agents were arrested while planning to carry out a suicide drone (UAV) attack on Iranian territory from the Afghan border.
The Taliban media agency also published photos of the arrested suspects, saying they were Iranian nationals.

The USS
Gerald R Ford
carrier strike group participated in a dual-carrier exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
(Janes/Michael Fabey)
Ships, aircraft, and personnel from the USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) Carrier Strike Group (CSG 12) and the USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN 69) Carrier Strike Group (CSG 2) trained on high-value unit defence, ballistic missile defence, replenishments-at-sea, cross-deck flight operations, and maritime security operations in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in early November, US Navy (USN) officials confirmed on 3 November.

Seth Cropsey, RealClearDefense

An intelligence source has recently disclosed the use of the  Su-57 Felon in Ukrainian space.
Su-57 Aircraft Raids Reported   in Ukraine
Recent reports note that the  Su-57 Felon, Russia’s fifth-generation fighter jet, has suspended long-range operations in the current Ukraine conflict. According to a report by the pro-Ukrainian channel eRadar, closely linked to the Ukrainian military forces and shared on its Telegram account, the presence of the Su-57 has been recorded in the airspace over Luhansk.

The HMCS
Ottawa
‘s CH-148 helicopter lowers supplies onto the flight deck of the USS
Ralph Johnson
(DDG 114) in the South China Sea on 10 September. HMCS
Ottawa
is currently on deployment in South East Asia as part of Canada’s commitment to increase the number of Canadian warships annually deployed to the Indo-Pacific region from two to three, starting from 2023.

Israel said its army’s ground campaign had cut Gaza into two parts but still allowed civilians to evacuate the north.

“Today, Gaza has been divided into northern and southern parts,” Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said on November 5, adding that the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit has reached the Mediterranean coast and is holding this position.
The Golani Brigade is the unit that entered the central Gaza Strip to form an attack to cut this territory in half.

KNDS has bene contracted to modernise the Swedish Army’s fleet of Leopard 2A5s long after the German Army upgraded their fleet in 2001.
The post KNDS to modernise Sweden’s Leopard 2 main battle tank fleet appeared first on Army Technology.

Ukraine will receive $425m in aid from the US, including HIMARS, NASAMS, 155mm artillery munitions, as well as counter-UAS systems.
The post US announce $425m security assistance for Ukraine appeared first on Army Technology.

Leonardo DRS has taken a step towards enhancing battlefield accuracy and protection by developing an advanced multi-sensor targeting system.
The post Leonardo DRS to equip forward observers with JETS II appeared first on Army Technology.

India seeks to develop long-range surface-to-air missile systems to provide interception capabilities similar to the Russian S-400 Triumf air-defence system (pictured above) recently inducted by the Indian Air Force. (Janes/Peter Felstead)

India has initiated a programme to develop long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) systems for the Indian Air Force (IAF) to strengthen its air-defence capabilities, an official at India’s state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) told
Janes
in early November.

The Royal Netherlands Army wants to add more punch to its Boxer armoured vehicles. (Dutch Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Netherlands Army has a formal requirement to up-arm its Artec Boxer armoured personnel carriers, Janes learnt at Defence iQ’s 2023 International Dismounted Soldier conference in London.
Operated by the army’s 13th Light Brigade, the Dutch Boxers were originally procured with the Kongsberg M151 remotely operated weapon system (ROWS), armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun (HMG).

The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation and Spanish Missile Systems signed a contract on the Hypersonic Defence Interceptor Study in Bonn, Germany, on 31 October 2023. (Diehl Defence)
The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) and Spanish Missile Systems (SMS) signed a contract on the Hypersonic Defence Interceptor Study (HYDEF) in Bonn, Germany, on 31 October. SMS represented 13 other entities in addition to itself from seven European countries.

China’s growing nuclear arsenal has prompted a debate — in think tanks and research institutions and, more quietly, in the bowels of the Pentagon and U.S. Strategic Command —about how the United States should adapt its nuclear posture to the emergence of a second “nuclear peer.” The central issue is the arcane subject of nuclear targeting: the question of what facilities the United States should, in the detached language of nuclear strategists, “hold at risk,” or in plain English, threaten to nuke. America’s current targeting policy is often described as “counterforce.

A Finnish soldier with an RK 62M3 rifle. The Finnish Army has several small arms programmes under way. (Finnish Army)
Further details regarding the Finnish Army’s ongoing and future soldier modernisation efforts emerged at Defence iQ’s International Dismounted Soldier 2023 conference in London.
Janes
has learnt that alongside deliveries of Sako’s M23 7.62 mm precision rifles and TRG M10 8.6 mm sniper rifles, additional Glock 17 and Glock 19 9 mm pistols are on order as part of the ongoing small arms modernisation effort.

Houthi launched a series of missiles and UAVs into Israel to support Hamas, not for military purposes, but mainly to serve the group’s political calculations.

After the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, a number of armed groups spoke out in support of the Islamic movement in the Gaza Strip. However, in addition to the Hezbollah force in Lebanon, a long-time ally of Hamas, only the Houthi force in Yemen has shown support through military action.

FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Marine fires an M777-A2 Howitzer in the early morning in Syria, June 3, 2017. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Matthew Callahan).
As the United States and its partners pushed ISIS out of seized territory in Syria and Iraq, American artillery barrages were key to the strategy.
Now those troops who crewed the artillery batteries are dealing with lingering psychological damage, apparently brought on by the sheer scale of the artillery fire they participated in. They are “plagued by nightmares, panic attacks, depression and, in a few cases, hallucinations.

IDF
The Israel Defense Forces have declared that they have Gaza City — historically the largest population center in the Gaza Strip — surrounded. With Israeli forces on three sides inside or outside the northern Gaza Strip and the Mediterranean Sea on the other, they basically have placed a state of siege over the war-torn city. As a result, Hamas and any other militants there are cut off from surface resupply and a situation where any tunnels connecting to areas outside the cordon can be identified and destroyed is set in place.

MBDA Deutschland is offering more applications for the Enforcer missile system, including anti-tank, air-launched, and V/SHORAD versions. (MBDA)
MBDA Deutschland presented international journalists visiting the company on 27 October with more applications for the Enforcer missile system being procured by the Bundeswehr for its Leichtes Wirkmittel 1800+ requirement for a lightweight, day/night, precision-guided, shoulder-launched 89 mm weapon with a range of more than 1,800 m. The new applications are anti-tank, air-launched, and very short- and short-range air defence (V/SHORAD).

Meet Mosab Hassan Yousef, a man whose life reads like the plot of a spy thriller, but it’s a true story. Mosab, the son of a co-founder of Hamas, spent nearly a decade working as an insider for Israeli intelligence under the code name “Green Prince.” In a recent series of appearances on American and Western television channels, he openly condemned the actions of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, accusing the organization of knowingly escalating the conflict and disregarding the lives of Palestinian civilians.

(Photo courtesy Hoke County Sheriff’s Office).
A soldier stationed at Fort Liberty is facing 34 charges for sex crimes against children. 
Sergeant First Class Shawn Michael Lima, a civil affairs team sergeant assigned to the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade, part of 1st Special Forces Command, is currently in jail after being arrested on Oct. 10. His arrest came following an investigation spurred by a tip from the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division.

A UH60L Blackhawk helicopter assigned to Fort Wainwright. (Photo by Cpt. Jesse Long, courtesy U.S. Army).
Soldiers with Charlie Company, 1-52 General Support Aviation Battalion, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade were on a training mission Halloween night when they got the notification that several people were hurt in an isolated part of northwestern Alaska. They quickly returned to base to prep their helicopter for a medical evacuation.

In the vast expanse of the White Sea, a profound testament to Russian naval prowess unfolded as the strategic nuclear submarine Emperor Alexander III embarked on a momentous journey. The Russian Ministry of Defense proudly declared the successful launch of the formidable Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile. This mighty projectile, with its astonishing range of over 9,000 kilometers, soared into the horizon as a testament to technological marvel and military precision.

The Israeli army announced attacks on more than 2,500 targets in the Gaza Strip after about a week of expanding military operations in this area.

“The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue to defeat enemy fighters in direct battles and target aircraft to destroy infrastructure, weapons depots, observatories and Hamas command posts in Gaza Strip”, IDF announced on November 5.
The IDF said that since it began expanding military operations in the Gaza Strip about a week ago, Israeli armed forces have attacked more than 2,500 targets in the area.

Israel wants to “erase” Hamas when conducting a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, but many challenges may prevent them from achieving this goal.

“Every member of Hamas is now like a fish on the chopping block,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared when ordering the launch of Operation Iron Sword targeting the armed group controlling the Gaza Strip.
Israeli leaders want to “destroy” Hamas and make the Gaza Strip “never be the same again” with this ground attack campaign.

Following the October 7 attack, Gallant said responsibility lies with Hamas leaders and vowed that Israel would reach out to them.

The Israel Defense Forces increased their offensive in the Gaza Strip, targeting  Hamas leaders.

Intensification of the Israeli Offensive in the Gaza Strip
Saturday was marked by an escalation in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) offensive, which included ground incursions and armed clashes in the Gaza Strip. Airstrikes continued to focus on  Hamas targets, with the stated goal of dismantling the group’s military capabilities.

Leader Hassan Nasrallah’s tough stance could push Hezbollah into a fierce war with Israel, causing the conflict in Gaza to spread to the Middle East.

Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group with widespread political influence in Lebanon, on November 3, gave his first speech on the Israel-Hamas conflict since the Hamas raid on the territory. Israel early last month.