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☆ Germany outlines wartime plans: Mandatory conscription and subway stations as bunkers
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Conscription, rationing, and subway stations turned into bunkers. For the first time since the Cold War, Germany has updated its plans should conflict erupt in Europe, with ministers citing the threat posed by Russia. It also outlines civil protection measures including transforming underground stations into makeshift bunkers and preparing hospitals for an influx of patients. Unveiling the plans, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said it was necessary for her country to arm itself better in the face of Russian aggression. ‘Ready for war by 2029’Germany’s updated wartime plans come as Russian President Vladimir Putin presents an ongoing security threat to Europe.

Persons: Nancy Faeser, ”, “, Vladimir Putin, Pistorius, Der Spiegel, ” Pistorius, Putin, Ben Wallace Organizations: CNN, Overall Defense, German, NATO, Deutsche Welle, UK, Wednesday Locations: Germany, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, –, Baltic, Britain, Moscow

☆ Global military spending saw its steepest spike in more than a decade, with the US vastly outspending everyone else
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Global military spending in 2023 rose to the highest levels ever recorded, analysts said. All five of the institute's defined geographical regions saw rises in military spending for the first time since 2009, with Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania recording particularly large increases, it said. This, in turn, has ramped up military spending. It also highlighted Ukraine, which ranked eighth in terms of overall defense spending, following a 51% year-on-year increase. At the same time, Israel saw its defense spending rise by 24% to reach $27.5 billion in 2023, mostly due to its large-scale offensive in Gaza, SIPRI's report found.

Persons: —, SIPRI, Nan Tian, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Lorenzo Scarazzato, spender, Israel Organizations: Global, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Service, International Crisis, Getty, NATO Locations: Stockholm, Europe, East, Asia, Oceania, Ukraine, Gaza, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Anadolu, China

☆ China is reportedly developing military drones that can split into 6 to overwhelm enemy defenses
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The multiplying drones could expand into swarms that would confuse air defense systems, experts told Business Insider. But even when separated into single units, these drones' flight efficiency remains 40% higher than most small drones. Advertisement"When drones are detected, defense systems deploy a certain amount of resources proportional to the threat. If that threat suddenly multiplies, it provides an opportunity to overwhelm the air defense resources being deployed," Shumate said. Small, affordable drones are reshaping the modern battlefield in unprecedented ways, and forcing militaries to rapidly modernize their defense systems.

Persons: —, Getty, Will Shumate, Shumate, Huang, Sean Gallup, Admiral John Aquilino, Admiral Aquilino Organizations: Service, China Morning Post, Nanjing University of Aeronautics, Astronautics, Acta Aeronautica, Army, RAND, Getty, US Army, Pacific Command, Armed Locations: China, Russia, Ukraine

☆ The GOP could be about to cost Ukraine the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But House Republicans under Speaker Mike Johnson have no plans to take up the deal, effectively blocking the $60 billion in Ukraine aid it includes. AdvertisementThe war has reached a stalemate even with this support, and a sudden shortage as could come this year drastically weakens Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, analysts told Business Insider. Without US arms support, Ukraine will simply be outgunned and more of its troops will die, experts warn. Other aid will save Ukraine just for monthsA Ukrainian defeat would not be immediate, as Europe could step up its military aid, Herbst said. Losing Ukraine would come at a devastating cost for NATO and the USThese dynamics are perilous for Ukraine and its backers.

Persons: —, Mike Johnson, John Herbst, Herbst, Ukraine’s, Gustav Gressel, Stringer Mark Cancian, they'd, Cancian, Vladimir Putin, Johnson, Hakeem Jeffries Organizations: Service, Business, Patriot, Council’s Eurasia Center, Archer Artillery, Roman, Getty, American Enterprise Institute, Martens, European Council, Foreign Relations, REUTERS, US Marine Corps, Center for Strategic, International Studies, NATO, Russia, Democrats, House Republicans Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Russia, Ukrainian, Iran, North Korea, Donetsk Oblast, Europe, Zaporizhzhia region, Russian, Soviet Union, Belarus, Africa, Balkans, America

Jeon Ha Gyu, a spokesperson for the South Korean Defense Ministry, told reporters Monday that the country’s first military spy satellite will be launched from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base on Nov. 30. Under a contract with SpaceX, South Korea plans to launch four more spy satellites by 2025, according to South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration. South Korea currently has no military reconnaissance satellites of its own and relies on U.S. spy satellites to monitor moves by North Korea. South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers last week that North Korea is likely receiving Russian technological assistance on a spy satellite launch program. The possession of spy satellites is part of ambitious arms build-up plans announced by leader Kim Jong Un in 2021.

Persons: Jeon Ha, Lee Choon Geun, Lee, it’s, Vandenberg, Kim Jong Un, Kim Organizations: South Korean Defense Ministry, California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, SpaceX’s, SpaceX, South, Korea’s, Administration, North, South Korea’s Science, Technology Policy Institute, National Intelligence Service Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, North Korea, U.S, Korean, Korea, Russia, Ukraine

That happened Sunday when Trump posted on social media, in capital letters, that Powell “was not my attorney, and never was." Smith's indictment notes Trump privately told others that he thought her election fraud ideas sounded “crazy." Campaigning in New Hampshire on Monday, Trump appeared to refer to Powell and Cheesbro as “good people” and said prosecutors worked to “hound” and “scare” them. Steve Sadow, Trump's lead attorney in the Georgia case, expressed confidence that Powell’s plea wouldn’t hurt Trump, saying last week that any truthful testimony offered would be "favorable to my overall defense strategy." The Georgia indictment accuses Powell in a plot to illegally access a county's voting equipment.

Persons: — Sidney Powell, Donald Trump, Kenneth Chesebro, Trump, Joe Biden, —, “ It's, it’s, John Fishwick, Powell, “ She's, — Powell, Chesebro, That's, Fani Willis, winnow, ”, Anthony Michael Kreis, Jack Smith, Smith, “, Jessica Roth, “ They're, Jack Smith's, Powell “, Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, ” Kreis, she'd, Giuliani, Ellis, Hugo Chavez, Biden, Kreis, Cheesbro, Steve Sadow, Trump's, he's, John Eastman, Randall Eliason, you've, ___ Tucker, Jill Colvin Organizations: ATLANTA, White, Trump, Western, of, Georgia State University, Cardozo School of Law, Twitter, Fulton County, Biden, Georgia Republicans, George Washington University, Associated Press Locations: Fulton County , Georgia, U.S, of Virginia, Fulton County, Georgia, Germany, New Hampshire, Washington, Derry , New Hampshire

In some ways, attaching Ukraine aid to other pressing matters could improve the odds of passing it quickly. Some lawmakers will be more inclined to vote for Ukraine assistance if it gets included with say, disaster relief for their home state. He said the focus needs to be on first passing an overall defense spending bill as well as the other spending bills. House Republicans hope to bring up for a vote this week a stopgap spending bill that doesn't include Biden's aid package for Ukraine. Still, Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, voiced confidence that Ukraine aid will continue.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy's, Joe Biden, ”, Kevin McCarthy, Zelenskky, “, Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump's “, McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, McConnell, ” McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Zelenskyy, Sen, Thom Tillis, ” Tillis, Putin, Ken Calvert, ” Calvert, Mike Garcia, he's, ” Garcia, ” Schumer, Michael McCaul, ” McCaul Organizations: WASHINGTON, Ukraine, Republican, Republicans, House Republicans, Washington, ”, Foreign Affairs, NATO Locations: Washington, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, U.S, R

Taoyuan, Taiwan CNN —Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport became the scene of a simulated Chinese invasion on Wednesday for the first time ever as the island’s military conducted an anti-takeover drill to fend off any possible attack from Beijing. The drill was designed to test the Taiwanese military’s cross-branch coordination and emergency response capabilities during a simulated Chinese invasion, the Ministry of National Defense previously said. At Taoyuan on Wednesday, soldiers wearing red helmets to mark themselves as simulated infiltrators engaged in a shootout drill with airport police. As they approached an airport building, they exchanged fire along the way with the Taiwanese military defending the facility and those hiding in makeshift covers. Elsewhere, Taiwan’s military canceled some Han Kuang exercises as Typhoon Doksuri made landfall in the northern Philippines on Wednesday.

Persons: China’s, Moscow’s, Han, Han Kuang, Doksuri Organizations: Taiwan CNN — Taiwan’s, Airport, Ministry of National Defense, Communist Party, Firefighters, Taoyuan International, CNN, Weather Bureau, Taiwan’s Air Force Locations: Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taiwan CNN — Taiwan’s Taoyuan, Beijing, Taipei, Ukraine, Airports, Kyiv’s, Philippines, China, Fengnian

☆ Space Force chief says U.S. is facing a 'new era' of threats beyond Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Morgan Brennan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Chance Saltzman took the stage for his keynote at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this week, his message was simple: The U.S. is in a new era of space activity. "The threats that we face to our on-orbit capabilities from our strategic competitors has grown substantially," Saltzman, the U.S. Space Force's second-ever chief of space operations, said in a CNBC interview after the speech. Case in point: the Space Force's recently announced procurement strategy for more launch services. With business to be awarded next year, the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 is estimated to run into the billions of dollars and is expected to draw bids from the likes of Rocket Lab , Relativity Space and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, among others. While still just a fraction of the country's overall defense budget, the Space Force's $30 billion request for fiscal 2024 represents a 15% increase from this year's enacted levels.

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine faced widespread power outages Thursday as the country’s energy system struggled to cope with the damage from a wave of Russian attacks. Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, said Thursday the government was seeking a 20% reduction in energy use and that Ukrainians had responded to the appeal to ease pressure on the country’s grid. She also has a sleeping bag designed for below freezing temperatures, a thermal blanket and even skiing clothes in case temperatures continue dropping and the strikes on energy targets continue. Current restrictions are worth it.”For months, the Kremlin said it was only after military targets — not civilian or critical infrastructure in Ukraine. The British Defense Ministry also said in an assessment this week that causing widespread damage to Ukraine’s energy network is likely the “key objective” of the Kremlin’s strike campaign.

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