The shock of Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault continues to reverberate around the world amidst fears it will be the catalyst for a wider regional war. Many observers are comparing it to the 1973 Yom Kippur war, arguing that Israel repeated many of the same mistakes in failing to anticipate the attack. But this was more than an intelligence failure. It was failure of imagination. Israel grew comfortable managing its relationship with Hamas in Gaza, keeping rocket attacks and suicide bombings to a relatively low level for almost a decade.

USAF
The U.S. Air Force says an unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was “safely terminated” over the Pacific Ocean after an unspecified “anomaly” occured during a routine test launch overnight. A delegation from South Korea also observed this particular test, in line with a new bilateral strategic cooperation agreement the country signed with the United States earlier this year.
The most recent LGM-30G missile test flight came to an end at approximately 12:06 AM PST, according to a press release from Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC).

NASAMS, or the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, is the world’s first Network-Centric short-to-medium-range ground-based air defense system. It features numerous simultaneous engagements and Beyond Visual Range capabilities that are tightly integrated and tailored to a nation’s integrated air and missile defense.
NASAMS’ network widens the protected area and improves the Armed Forces‘ overall combat capacity. It has been evolving continuously since its inception in Norway.

U.S. Green Berets and elite Marine special operators are learning languages that aren’t always useful on deployments and missions abroad, a Government Accountability Office report found.
And those elite troops often let their skills in those languages lapse as their careers go on.
The new report sites examples like Special Forces soldiers who learn French as their assigned language, but find it useless in most European assignments, especially since the U.S. trains directly with French forces less often than many other allies in the region.

Marine Corps Gen. Eric M. Smith salutes during a Relinquishment of Office ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C. on July 10, 2023. (Staff Sgt. Kelsey Dornfeld/U.S. Marine Corps).
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith was listed in stable condition on Tuesday following a medical emergency over the weekend, Corps officials have announced.
Smith was admitted to a local hospital on Oct. 29 after experiencing the emergency near the Home of the Commandants at Marine Corps Barracks Washington, a Corps news release says.

USN
The U.S. Navy has released pictures that offer an unusually good look at a tethered communications buoy found on its Ohio class ballistic missile submarines. This is a critical piece of equipment that is designed specifically to help ensure these boats can receive nuclear strike orders. Communicating with submerged submarines, especially those that have gone very deep to avoid detection, can be a very challenging proposition.
The Trident Refit Facility (TRF) in Kings Bay, Georgia, posted the pictures of USS Tennessee undergoing a so-called “bouy fly” on its Facebook page.

Russian Ministry of Defense
The National Intelligence Service (NIS), the chief intelligence agency of South Korea, said in a briefing today that it assesses that North Korea has so far sent more than 10 shipments of munitions to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine. Arms supplied by Pyongyang to Moscow are said to include more than one million artillery rounds, according to the NIS.
There are meanwhile more reports emerging that Russia may have provided North Korea with satellite launch technology to help it pursue its burgeoning ambitions in space.

Since Israel activated the Iron Dome in 2011, the state-of-the-art rocket defense system has intercepted thousands of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. The system has given residents a sense of security, and Israelis can often be seen watching the projectiles fly through the skies and destroy their targets.
But the current war with Gaza’s Hamas militant group could be the toughest challenge yet. In just two weeks, Hamas has fired 7,000 rockets toward Israel, according to the Israeli military.

A critical flight test for the Army’s hypersonic missile program that was scheduled to launch on Oct. 26 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, did not go forward as planned, DefenseScoop has learned.
“The flight test did not occur,” Army spokesperson Ellen Lovett said in response to questions from DefenseScoop on Wednesday.
This marks the latest in a series of hiccups associated with the Army’s in-development Dark Eagle missile, which was previously known as the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW).

The US secretaries of state and defense on Tuesday urged Congress to maintain support for Ukraine. They warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to use the war between Israel and Hamas to reduce Western support for Kyiv.
President Joe Biden has combined military aid to Ukraine and Israel in a proposed $106 billion package, but a significant number of Republicans in Congress, among whom support for Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion wavers, are opposed to linking both.

IDF
With the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launching missiles and drones at Israel and promising more such attacks as they essentially declared war, the Israeli Navy has moved an unspecified number of Sa’ar 5 class missile corvettes into the Red Sea.
“In accordance with the assessment of the situation and as part of the strengthening of the defense effort in the area, missile ships of the Sea Arm arrived in the Red Sea area yesterday,” the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced Wednesday.

The Army issued multiple special notices this week to garner feedback from industry to inform its first AI program of record.
The service’s Project Linchpin aims to provide an artificial intelligence and machine learning development and delivery operational pipeline for intelligence, cyber and electronic warfare sensor systems.
An RFI posted Monday on Sam.gov seeks information about computer vision technology.

Ukrainian military officials and commanders admit that the country lacks not only Western weapons aid but also the manpower to operate them.

Some Ukrainian officials have complained that the country’s military has not been able to repel Russian forces because Western allies were slow to hand over weapons according to aid commitments. However, some of Ukraine’s armed forces face a shortage of personnel that is more serious than the problem of weapons and ammunition.

Ansar Allah’s video purportedly showing the weapons launched at Israel showed what appeared to be a Zulfiqar ballistic missile. (Ansar Allah)
The Iranian-backed Yemeni group Ansar Allah (Houthis) confirmed on 31 October that it has launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Israel, warning that it would continue to do so for as long as the military operation against Hamas continues.

As it strives to become data- and AI-ready by 2025, the Department of the Air Force’s Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office is focused on attracting, training and retaining the highly skilled workforce necessary to achieve its goal.
“It really comes down to your talent. We’re in a fierce competition for talent, we’re competing with all of our industry partners for great talent,” Department of the Air Force CDAO Eileen Vidrine said Wednesday during a keynote at Microsoft’s Federal Innovation Series, hosted by FedScoop.

USAF
A report on the controversial close air support-focused flyoff between the A-10C Warthog and F-35A Joint Strike Fighter that took place between 2018 and 2019 has finally emerged. The declassified review, which was only completed last year and has been essentially buried until now, is heavily redacted and raises more questions than it provides answers in many areas. However, it does still offer valuable details that have not previously been made public even as the U.S. Air Force looks to retire the last of the Warthogs no later than the end of the decade.

A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it. *** Last week, Chinese ships — a coast guard vessel and ships that are part of China’s notorious maritime militia — rammed a Philippine coast guard vessel and military-run supply ship off of Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

Special operations forces have long held the primary responsibility for irregular warfare within the U.S. military, but other Department of Defense components should now take on a larger role, according to a senior official.
“I actually push back on the notion that that [U.S. Special Operations Command] should be the lead for irregular warfare. I think we need the rest of the department to embrace it as well,” Chris Maier, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, said at the NDAI SO/LIC Symposium Tuesday.

Estonian-based Milrem Robotics has partnered with Leonardo to develop the next generation of unmanned ground vehicles.
The post Milrem Robotics unveils combat UGV with AI-assisted weaponry appeared first on Army Technology.

A U.S. Marine assigned to Reconnaissance Company, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, rides an MMX motorcycle enroute to a raid site during the ground interoperability exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, July 25, 2023. (Cpl. Joseph Helms/U.S. Marine Corps).
A company of Recon Marines will have a new addition to their military kit when it deploys next year: Zero MMX electric dirt bikes.
All the Marines in Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion have been testing the electric motorcycles, said Capt. Jonathan Bender, Bravo Company commander.

Since 2014, We Are The Mighty has selected the best of the best to our MIGHTY 25 list and 2023 is no exception. This was a year of change, strong advocacy and undeniable courage. With endless challenges to force readiness, resource shifting and need — the MIGHTY 25 of 2023 answered the call to better the military community.
The WATM editorial team recognizes people working in the activity duty, veteran and military family space in partnership with the Military Influencer Conference. Those selected started from a list of over 100 individuals who are all exceptional at what they do.

Brittany Boccher waited in the wings for her Air Force Office of Special Investigations agent husband through multiple deployments and challenges. Once he retired, she found herself and brought everyone along with her. 
Raised in a loving home, tragedy struck at a young age. Boccher’s father was killed by a drunk driver when she was just a child. The impacts of his loss would reverberate through her life and forge a path of service. 
“I immediately went into becoming a victim advocate at 11 years old,” Boccher shared.

Cailin Crockett has spent her career dedicated to underserved communities and preventing violence against women. Now, she’s directing her passion for helping the military community, too. 
“I am really lucky to be the Director of Military Personnel Policy at the National Security Council and that means I am on the broader team of Joining Forces. We coordinate policy that is intended to improve quality of life and promote equity for military families,” Crockett explained.

Charles Moore was a military brat for the first part of his childhood and it left a deep impression. His experiences then – and after – led to a lifetime of service. 
Both parents served in the Army, though his mother got out to raise him and his sister. They traveled the world together as a family until the couple divorced. His mother brought the children to Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
“Even though she wasn’t in anymore, she had a lot of friends in the area. It goes back to that aspect of community that the military provides, even after your transition.

Ashley Gutermuth can turn just about anything into a joke and has spent the past few years helping the military community not only laugh, but heal. 
“My parents always said I was basically born 40,” she laughed. “I was never really into cartoons as a kid but chose Mel Brooks movies instead. Both of my parents were helicopter mechanics. The pilots and the flight nurses would go off and sleep in their own little room while the mechanics got all greasy and toiled away. My parents always told me to stay away from pilots and then I grew up and married one.

When Marine veteran Thomas Brennan had the idea to create The War Horse, the mission was simple. Ethical journalism steeped in integrity and an unwavering commitment to telling the stories of the military community without holding back. Seven extraordinary and award-winning years later, he’s just getting started. 
Every good story has a beginning. 
“My family and I joke that my Marine Corps career started or happened when my mom was rear-ended by a recruiter in a car accident,” he laughed.

Senior advisor to Joining Forces and attorney for the VA Elizabeth “Libby” Jamison used her platform to champion an executive order for military spouse employment – and she’s just getting started.
Understanding the challenges of military life is nothing new for Jamison. 
“I’m a Navy brat, my dad was a submariner and I grew up moving all over the place. My mom was a computer science graduate from the 70s and I watched her struggle balancing a career and us kids,” she explained. “It was hard back then and they’d go months without any communication.

Monica Bassett had a roadmap for her life before meeting her soldier and it certainly didn’t involve becoming a fierce advocate for the military community. Her early years laid the foundation of strength she’d lean on to stand up despite the challenges. 
“I grew up on the border of Mexico in Texas as the daughter of a Vietnam War Veteran and I am both Mexican and native Indian,” she shared. “Growing up as a minority with having blue-collar workers as parents wasn’t easy.

Serving in the military is a family business, according to Stacy Pearsall and for her, it became a lifetime of dedication. 
“I’ve had family members serving since all the way back to the Revolutionary War on one side and World War I on the other. My sister was the first woman to serve in our family because I dragged my feet a bit,” she laughed. “I enlisted in 1997 after graduating from high school in South Dakota when things were relatively calm. The plan was to see the world so I put all these overseas assignments down on my list and I ended up in Nebraska.

Nolan Peterson could have quietly left the service after serving in combat as a pilot with Special Operations in the Air Force. But, that’s not the way it went.
“Both of my grandparents served during World War II and that inspired me to apply to the Air Force Academy when I graduated high school in 2000. Initially, I wanted to see the world and look cool as a pilot,” he laughed. “That quickly changed when I sat in class watching the towers fall. My instructor had served in combat during Desert Storm and said ‘You guys are going to war.

Kathy Roth-Douquet is the co-founder and CEO of Blue Star Families, a nonprofit organization now serving millions of military families. It was an explosion of growth she’d never imagined. 
“I didn’t come from a military family and didn’t know anyone serving. I had all sorts of apprehensions or myths I believed. The first time I was on a military base was to protest nuclear weapons and was arrested for it,” she laughed. “I was 19 and a college student; it was a time.

Epirus has delivered the first prototype under its contract with the U.S. Army for a directed energy weapon that can fry the electronics of unmanned aerial systems, the company announced Wednesday.
High-power microwaves, which are relatively inexpensive per shot and possess nearly unlimited magazines, are considered particularly advantageous for defeating drone swarms and small UAS such as quadcopters.
“You won’t have enough interceptors to one-for-one match [the enemy’s drones].

Artist’s impression of the Pohjanmaa-class corvettes. (RMC)
Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) has announced the start of production of the first Pohjanmaa-class multi-purpose corvette on order for the Finnish Navy.
A steel-cutting ceremony was staged at RMC’s shipyard in Rauma, Finland, on 30 October.
Under its Squadron 2020 fleet renewal programme, the Finnish Navy is procuring four Pohjanmaa-class corvettes from RMC under a EUR647.6 million (USD707.

Raytheon and Rafael are expanding their Iron Dome System joint venture with the establishment of a manufacturing facility in Camden, Arkansas.
The post RTX and Rafael to establish a missile production facility in Arkansas appeared first on Army Technology.

Air Force recruiter Greg Butler put on a show during a recent recruiting event captured on video. (Screen capture/Instagram).
When Air Force recruiter Greg Butler arrived at a recent event in Springfield, Missouri, he found that the space reserved for his recruiting booth was right next to a display from a local gym.
And it had an open challenge: how many times can you bench press your own weight?
“Even though I was in my blues I had to try it,” Butler told Task & Purpose.

The Philippinos have little resources, but are not backing down

Right now there is serious bumping, grinding, shoving, and pushing going on at two shoals, each roughly 100 miles off of the Philippines. Both of these rock outcroppings are important fishing grounds and well within the Philippine 200 mile international standard for sovereign maritime Economic Zones. Scarborough Shoals is the upper red oval and Second Thomas Shoals is the bottom red oval in the map below.

A Teal 2 unmanned aerial vehicle in flight. (Teal Drones)
Red Cat announced a USD2.6 million purchase order to supply 172 Teal 2s to the US Defense Logistics Agency on 23 August. The company had announced an initial order for the same number of systems on 8 August. The small unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs) are to be operated by the US Air Force (USAF).

Red Cat is one of three companies shortlisted for the US Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) programme intended to procure inexpensive, rucksack-portable sUASs.

Children scavenged cardboard to make fires, adults lined up to buy bread and water, while bombs and bullets continuously rained down on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians sell water by horse cart in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, October 31.

On October 31, Gazans continued to experience a sleepless night due to Israeli air strikes. Israel has continuously bombed the Gaza Strip since October 7, in retaliation for the surprise attack by Hamas. The area was devastated on a large scale.

People carrying cans wait for water in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, on October 31.

MBDA Deutschland is developing the MILOS-P laser for infantry and for installation on an unmanned ground vehicle. (MBDA)
MBDA Deutschland is developing the Modular Integrated Laser Optic System (MILOS) for the German Army, the company’s head of laser solutions, Doris Laarmann, told international journalists including Janes visiting her company on 27 October.

The Bayraktar TB2 UAV was once considered the “savior” of the Ukrainian army but is now almost useless against Russian air defense and electronic warfare systems.

In the first weeks of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made by the Turkish company Baykar was praised for repeatedly attacking Russian tanks, armor, and artillery.
The Bayraktar TB2 UAV was then hailed as the “savior of the Ukrainian army” and was a weapon that helped the country’s army change the war situation, repelling Russian forces in the northern region.

With over 1.7 million verified, active VetTixers, the non-profit organization Vet Tix is comparable in size and reach to the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, making it among the most impactful veteran non-profit organizations in the nation. And their size and impact is growing every day. 
At Vet Tix, the mission is simple: offer opportunities for vets and all currently serving members of the armed forces to have a good time.

Switzerland selects the PAC-3 MSE missile interceptor to furnish its recent acquisition of MIM-104 Patriot missile defence systems.
The post Switzerland selects the PAC-3 MSE missile, the fifteenth nation to do so appeared first on Army Technology.

Israel announced that seven soldiers died when the armored vehicle carrying them was hit by a Hamas-guided missile in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense today announced that the armed group Hamas launched an anti-tank guided missile at an armored vehicle of the Givati ​​Infantry Brigade operating in the northern Gaza Strip, killing 7 soldiers and wounding 4.
This is the heaviest casualty in a day for the Israeli army since the country sent infantry to attack the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas.

Politico
A top Senate Democrat said that the Marine Corps commandant’s recent medical emergency may be due in part to the fallout from Sen.

Donald M.

The Israeli Navy dispatched missile ships to the Red Sea to strengthen defense capabilities following raids by the pro-Iranian Houthi group in Yemen.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said missile boats were dispatched to the Red Sea on October 31 in an effort to strengthen defense in the area after the Houthi group in Yemen conducted raids in the south of the country.
The IDF said it had deployed multiple layers of air defense in the area to block Houthi attacks. US forces deployed in the Red Sea have shot down a number of Houthi drones (UAVs) and missiles aimed at Israel.

A Hamas capture confirmed that the organization uses hospitals and clinics because they are sure that Israel will not attack them.

Moussa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, states that the network of tunnels in Gaza is designed primarily to protect members of the terrorist group.

Moussa Abu Marzouk of Hamas’s political bureau stated that the organization has no responsibility to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip.
This claim emerged in an interview with Russia Today’s Arabic channel.

India prioritizes self-sufficiency by contemplating the local production of the R-73E air-to-air missile, key in its air defense and used in aircraft such as the MiG-29 and Su-30 MKI.
The Indian Air Force relies on a notable series of aircraft, with special mention going to the Bison, MiG-29 and Su-30 MKI. These vehicles play a crucial role in fortifying the national air defense system.
Within this set, the R-73E missile stands out, a short-range air-to-air tool with strategic weight.

The acquisition of five Thales Ground Master 200 radars has paved the way for a defence partnership between Denmark and the Netherlands.
The post Thales to bolster Denmark’s air surveillance and defence with GM200 radars appeared first on Army Technology.

A KF-21 prototype launches an InfraRed Imaging System-Tail control (IRIS-T) guided missile in tests in April. (Defense Acquisition Program Administration)
South Korea has identified a list of 31 priority defence procurements it wants to leverage through its defence offset policy over the next two years.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in Seoul said on 31 October that the new 2023–25 list has been made public so that local firms can position to bid for offset contracts with foreign suppliers.