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☆ North Korea's antique fighter jets are still keeping the US and South Korea on their toes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Even with an aging fleet, Pyongyang has been able to catch the attention of South Korea and the US. On October 6, 12 North Korean jets were detected practicing air-to-ground attacks near the DMZ, prompting South Korea to scramble 30 of its fighters. On November 4, 80 South Korean fighters were scrambled after 180 North Korean planes were detected on South Korean radar. The activity and scale is unusual given North Korea's air force is widely regarded as the weakest branch of North Korea's military. South Korean troops guard a MiG-19 used by a North Korean pilot to defect to South Korea in May 1996.

☆ Decades after winning the world's first jet-powered dogfights, US fighter pilots are still flexing their muscles over Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

That November, US Air Force and Navy pilots notched the first victories between jet-powered aircraft. The first, involving an Air Force Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star piloted by Lt. Russel Brown, occurred on November 8, 1950. Air superiorityUS Air Force F-80C fighters return from a mission in August 1952. The Air Force's 'first'A US Air Force F-80C armed with napalm bombs takes off from a Korean airfield in February 1951. The exercise, called Vigilant Storm, involved roughly 100 US aircraft and some 140 South Korean aircraft flying more than 1,600 sorties.

☆ As US planes bombed Japan in World War II, the Japanese sent balloons across the ocean to try to set the US on fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

During World War II, Japan used balloons to strike the US as US troops advanced across the Pacific. They were the first and only victims of a Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb, and the only Americans killed by enemy action in the continental US during the war. A complex weapon with a simple missionAn exploding fuse releases a sandbag from a "chandelier" on a Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb. A strange legacyA Japanese Fu-Go balloon inflated for testing at a California base after it was recovered in Alturas, California, on January 10, 1945. Since it traveled over 5,000 miles, the Fu-Go balloon is the first weapon system ever to have intercontinental range.

☆ 55 years after sending a hit squad on a deadly raid in Seoul, North Korea has found new ways to threaten South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

In January 1968, North Korean commandos slipped across the border into South Korea. Infiltrations into South Korea, both across the DMZ and by sea, by North Korean agents and commandos were also increasing. After cooperating with South Korean authorities, Kim Shin-jo was released in 1970 and received South Korean citizenship, which led North Korean officials to execute his parents and siblings. In December, a North Korean drone flew into a no-fly zone around South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's office in Seoul. It was one of five North Korean drones that flew into South Korea, the first to do so in five years.

☆ Only 3 countries have managed to build 5th-generation fighters, but nearly a dozen are already working on 6th-gen jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

(The recently unveiled B-21 bomber is billed as the world's first sixth-gen aircraft, but little is known about its capabilities.) Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, and Boeing are believed to be competing to build the jets, and all have released illustrations of sixth-gen aircraft. FCAS/SCAFA full-scale model of the Future Combat Air System at the Paris Air Show in June 2019. An illustration of Japan's next-generation fighter aircraft concept. While China is making heavy investment in military aviation, Russia's ability to develop next-generation jets may be shrinking.

☆ Taiwan's remote islands are on the frontline with China — sometimes only a few hundred yards from Chinese troops
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Taiwan is roughly 100 miles from mainland China, but some Taiwanese islands are much closer. Taiwan's outlying islands would stand little chance against China, but they wouldn't be easy to take. While celebrated, this year's anniversary was also a reminder of Taiwan's islands' growing vulnerability to Chinese attack. Taiwan's islands are much easier to reach. Tourists watch a Chinese military helicopter fly over Pingtan Island, one of mainland China's closest points to Taiwan, on August 4.

☆ Japan may build 2 huge warships to counter the growing missile threat from North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

That has led Japan to examine its missile defense, which relies on specially designed warships. The launches have forced Japan to examine its unique ballistic-missile defense system, which relies heavily on specially equipped warships to intercept incoming missiles. US Missile Defense Agency/Heather CavaliereJapan began developing its current BMD system in 2004. US Navy/MCS3 Quinton A. LeeThe Aegis-equipped BMD ships are the most important part of Japan's BMD system. US Navy/MCS Seaman Aleksandr FreutelThere are advantages to relying on maritime-based platforms for missile defense.

☆ A jet built by China and Pakistan may soon be the most widely operated combat aircraft in the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

China and Pakistan jointly developed the JF-17 combat jet, which first entered service in 2007. At the same time, China was showcasing the JF-17 at the annual China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zuhai, China. The events were the latest attempts by China and Pakistan to market their jointly developed fourth-generation fighter jet to international customers. JF-17 ThunderA Pakistan Air Force JF-17 takes off at a base in northern Pakistan in June 2013. The single-seat, single-engine jet is known in Pakistan as the JF-17 Thunder and as the FC-1 Xiaolong in China.

☆ Russian fighter jets can't control the air over Ukraine, and Russia's attack helicopters are paying for it
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The toll has been especially high for Russia's Ka-52, one of its newest attack helicopters. Because it's been the most active, the Ka-52 also appears to be taking the most losses of Russia's helicopters. The AlligatorA Russian Ka-52 helicopter at the Dubai Airshow in November 2021. A wrecked Russian Ka-52 helicopter at Hostomel Airport near Kyiv in July. Russia's helicopters have changed tactics in response to Ukraine's successful use of shoulder-fired missiles and other air-defense systems, but Russian forces still need close air support.

☆ An embarrassing defeat 73 years ago is a preview of the problems China would face in an attack on Taiwan today
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The Chinese Communist troops who stormed Kinmen island in October 1949 expected a quick victory. The planChinese Communist troops take prisoners at bayonet point after heavy fighting in Shanghai on May 21, 1949. Kinmen Island, 59 square miles in size and home to some 40,000 people, was essential to this plan. A model of a soldier in a bunker near the Hujingtou Battle Museum in Little Kinmen, Taiwan in April 2018. By day's end, the PLA troops who had retreated to the beaches had also surrendered.

☆ A rout by the US in an air battle around Taiwan led Japan to adopt desperate tactics in World War II's final months
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Their goal was to destroy as much of Japan's air and naval strength before US troops landed on the Philippine island of Leyte. A diversionA Japanese heavy cruiser after being bombed by US Navy aircraft during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. But Japan's air and naval power were still major threats, and to ensure the Philippines could be liberated, they had to be degraded, if not eliminated. By 1944, Japanese military leaders recognized their situation and devised a plan to prepare for US invasions of Japanese-held territory. Japanese attempts to attack the carriers were fruitless, with 42 more Japanese planes shot down trying to conduct attack runs.

☆ With Russia lurking on NATO's southern flank, Italy is working on new jets and new carriers to keep an eye on things
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Protecting NATO's southern flankAn Italian soldier stands guard at NATO's Joint Force Command in Naples in March 2011. MARIO LAPORTA/AFP via Getty ImagesWhile often overshadowed by Europe's other major military powers, Italy is an important part of NATO's defense posture. Russian navy ship Veliky Ustyug at Russia's base in Tartus, Syria in September 2019. US Navy/MCS3 Crayton AgnewItaly's air force and navy both operate the F-35B, the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing version of the F-35. Italian navy and air force F-35s have already operated together aboard Cavour.

☆ 80 years after launching the first drone from an aircraft carrier, the US Navy is planning to fill its flattops with them
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Navy officials now say that they hope to have drone aircraft compose 60% of their carrier air wings. That distinction belongs to Naval Aircraft Factory's TDN-1, which on August 10, 1943 became the first US Navy drone to take off from an aircraft carrier. The first carrier droneA TDN-1 drone on its first piloted flight over Traverse City in Michigan on May 19, 1943. A TDN-1 drone aboard US Navy training carrier USS Sable off of Traverse City on August 10, 1943. On August 10, three TDN-1s made history when they took off from the training aircraft carrier USS Sable in Lake Michigan.

☆ The US Navy's new high-tech aircraft launcher is being prepped for deployment on France's new nuclear-powered carrier
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The new carrier will have the same aircraft launch and recovery systems as the US's newest carriers. It is the latest development in France's ambition to build a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, a project known as the Porte-Avions de Nouvelle Génération, sometimes called PANG, which translates to "New Generation Aircraft Carrier." Charles de GaulleFrench aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. It is the only non-US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the world. Sailors prepare an F/A-18F for launch during testing with Ford's Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System in January 2020.

☆ How a remote lagoon and a 'secret weapon' allowed the US Navy to overwhelm Japanese forces during World War II
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In September 1944, the US Navy captured Ulithi Atoll and used it to support the Allied advance. US NavyService Squadron 10 oversaw the rearming, resupplying, and repairing of Navy ships and aircraft, and otherwise supported the war effort's logistical needs. In all, the unit had over 400 vessels, including repair ships, tankers, floating dry docks, crane ships, desalination ships, tugs, floating barracks, and floating workshops. US NavyBy the end of the war, Ulithi was the world's largest naval facility, hosting as many as 617 vessels. An airfield and a high school damaged by Typhoon Maysak on Falalop Island in Ulithi Atoll in December 2015.

☆ Despite Biden's assurances, Middle East militaries are buying their own weapons to take on Iran at sea and in the air
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been investing heavily in new military hardware in order to Iran. The Royal Saudi Air Force's core strength are its 232 F-15 Eagles, at least 84 of which are F-15SA variants designed specifically for Saudi Arabia. A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 at King Faisal Air Base in Saudi Arabia in February 2021. US and Bahraini officials in front of unmanned naval vessels at at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Manama in January. US Navy/MCS1 Mark Thomas MahmodIMX 2022 was also the first time Israel and Saudi Arabia, which don't have diplomatic relations, officially took part in an exercise together.

☆ Here are the sidearms the US military has carried into battle since first taking on the British
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-15 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Since 2017, US military service branches have been rolling out new M17 and M18 handguns. The M17 and the compact M18 variant are the latest in a long line of sidearms that US troops have carried into battle since 1776. This flintlock saw service in the War of 1812 and remained the US Army's standard-issue pistol for over 50 years. Two Model 1805s are featured on the US Army Military Police Corps insignia, and a similar pistol can be seen on the US Navy SEAL emblem. National ArchivesThe most popular Colt design of the 19th century was the Colt Army Model 1860, a .44-caliber revolver adopted just before the Civil War.

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