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☆ A showdown with one senator over hundreds of generals and admirals is set to ripple through the US military
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Waiting to replacing him is Gen. Eric Smith, and he will continue waiting until one senator lifts holds on the promotions of more than 250 generals and admirals. Tuberville's hold targets uniformed military officers over a policy set by the US military's civilian leadership, diverging from the longstanding manner in which members of Congress have expressed displeasure with such policies. Kelsey Dornfeld"Uniformed military officers do not set policy. 'We will lose talent'Maj. Gen. Eric Smith receives his three-star rank insignia during a ceremony in Okinawa in August 2018. "It is the personal development, it is the family understanding and predictability" that will be affected, Adm. John Aquilino, head of US Indo-Pacific Command, told senators in April.

Persons: Sen, Tommy Tuberville, Tuberville, David Berger, Eric Smith, Biden, —, Katherine Kuzminski, Sergeant, Marine Corps Troy Black, Kelsey Dornfeld, They're, Kuzminski, Berger, It's, Defense Lloyd Austin III, Austin, that's, Smith, Olivia G, Ortiz, Benjamin Northcutt, Christopher Cavoli, Michael Gilday, Lisa Franchetti, MCS2 La’Cordrick Wilson, John Aquilino, James McConville, McConville, Frank Kendall, Charles Brown Jr, Kendall, Brown, Drew Angerer, Mitch McConnell, Jack Reed's, Defense Lloyd Austin, Mark Milley, Alex Wong, Reed, Elizabeth Warren Organizations: Service, US Marine Corps, Pentagon, Department, US, Military, Veterans, Center, New, New American Security, Marine Corps, Staff, Uniformed, Defense, United States, Washington DC, Senate Armed Services Committee, US Army Europe, US Army, US European Command, NATO's Military, Naval Reactors, US Navy, Pacific Command, " Air Force, Savannah, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Capitol, Republican, CNN, Joint Chiefs Locations: Wall, Silicon, New American, Okinawa, Germany, Cavoli, Pacific, California, South Korea, Alabama

☆ Russia is 'accepting risks' and dropping its guard against other threats to hold its ground in Ukraine, British military says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Shifting the bulk of its military to Ukraine has made Russia vulnerable elsewhere, experts say. The war has become a nearly all-consuming effort for Russia's military. Units from across Russia are now "bearing the brunt" of the Ukrainian counteroffensive that kicked off in early June, the British Ministry of Defense said in an update published Thursday. "The way Russia is accepting risks across Eurasia highlights how the war has dislocated Russia's established national strategy," the ministry said. "Russia has really made itself vulnerable globally," Dara Massicot, an expert on the Russian military at the Rand Corporation think tank, said in April.

Persons: —, Ukraine's, Ben Wallace, Muhammed Enes Yildirim, Dara Massicot, Adm, Tony Radakin, Radakin, ANATOLII STEPANOV, Christopher Cavoli, Cavoli, we've, Justin Bronk, They'd, Bronk, they're Organizations: Service, British Ministry of Defense, Russian, Eastern Military District, 61st Naval Infantry Brigade, NATO, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Arms Army, Rand Corporation, US European Command, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia, Belarus, Zaporizhzhia, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Crimea, Velyka, Donetsk Oblast, Bakhmut, Moscow, Russian, Oskol, Ukraine's Kharkiv, AFP, British, Kaliningrad, Finland

☆ Putin is facing a new threat at home while Russia's military is making itself 'vulnerable globally,' experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

It comes as Russia's military is tied down in Ukraine and less able to respond to crises elsewhere. Those questions come as a Ukrainian offensive bears down on Russia's military, which since late last year has been replenishing its forces in Ukraine with aging equipment and under-trained personnel. These efforts have bolstered Russian units in Ukraine but left the Russian military more vulnerable elsewhere and undermined its ability to respond to other crises, experts say. Russia's military has tried to show it still has muscles to flex, mostly with air and naval forces that are largely undamaged by the war. Russian troops board a military aircraft on their way to Kazakhstan in January 2022.

Persons: Wagner, it's, Putin, —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Russia's, Dara Massicot, Maxym, I've, there's, Massicot, Gorshkov, Kassym, Tokayev, Mark Galeotti, Galeotti, It's, Prigozhin, SERGEI GUNEYEV, Angela, John Kirby, Kirby Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Rand Corporation, Georgetown University, Getty, Russia's, Fleet, Northern Fleet, Iranian Army, Anadolu Agency, Moscow, Russian Defense Ministry Press, Kremlin, SPUTNIK, Center for, East European Studies, Brookings Institution, National Security Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Ukraine's Kharkiv, Siberia, Norway, Georgia, Central Asia, Russia, Syria, Kazakhstan, Russia's, Armenia, Tajikistan

☆ On its first deployment, the US Navy's newest aircraft carrier makes historic visit near NATO's northern frontline with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

US Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford arrived in Oslo for a port call on Wednesday. The Ford is the first US aircraft carrier to visit Norway in 65 years, according to the US Navy. During a major NATO exercise in late 2018, USS Harry S. Truman became the first US aircraft carrier to sail into the Arctic in nearly 30 years. Rick Burgess, called it "an honor, joy, and thrill to visit Oslo and show our cherished partner the Navy's newest class of aircraft carriers." USS Gerald R. Ford in the Oslo fjord with Norwegian navy vessels on May 24.

☆ The US Navy has its eyes on a new submarine base that will help it keep track of China's growing undersea fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

As part of the AUKUS agreement, US and British subs will operate out of western Australia by 2027. The deal on the base comes as rivals, mainly China, increase their submarine activity in the region. Ray Mabus, then US navy secretary, departs a Chinese Yuan-class submarine in Ningbo in November 2012. The Defense Department report also says China's six operational Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile subs are likely already conducting "near-continuous at-sea deterrence patrols," a sign that China's submarine force continues to improve its operational capabilities. For the US Navy, those developments make the ability to base subs closer to the Western Pacific a greater priority.

☆ Russia's navy is flexing its muscles around the world, but it may end up paying for Moscow's losses in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Russia's navy has had little involvement in Ukraine, losing only one major warship so far. Russia's military closed off parts of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan to practice firing torpedoes, missiles, and artillery. Russia's navy received heavy investment in the 2000s, as President Vladimir Putin rebuilt the military after a decade of post-Soviet decay. While it still struggles with its larger ships, Russia's navy now has dozens of frigates and corvettes armed with effective long-range weapons. Russian navy corvette Gremyashchiy, front, and the frigate Admiral Kasatonov in St Petersburg in July 2019.

☆ The US Navy is putting its submarines on rare public display in a message to Russia's growing undersea force
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The US Navy has announced several visits by its subs to North Atlantic ports in recent years. Since 2020, when Norway allowed NATO subs to use a port near Tromsø, announcements of such visits appear to have increased. 'We're in your backyard'British Royal Navy attack submarine HMS Astute sails to the base at Faslane in November 2009. Russian Navy Yasen-class submarine Kazan at its base in Severomorsk on Russia's Arctic coast in June 2021. During the Cold War, US attack subs operated in the high north to get the Soviets to keep their attack subs close by to protect their ballistic-missile subs.

☆ How Putin spent 20 years rebuilding Russia's military 'and then just simply destroyed it' in Ukraine, according to an expert who watched it happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Vladimir Putin has spent his two decades in power rebuilding and reforming Russia's military. Below, Galeotti describes those reforms, what they achieved, and how, in a devastating war in Ukraine, Putin has squandered the military he built. IGOR SAREMBO/AFP via Getty ImagesWhen Putin came to power at the end of the 1990s, what was the state of the Russian military? How did the Russian military underperform in that conflict in Georgia? What did those conflicts show about the capabilities of the Russian military and about the impact of those reforms?

☆ Ukraine's fighter jet fleet is slowly growing, but its weapons to bring down Russian jets are dwindling, leaked US document shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The jets will bolster Ukraine's fighter fleet, which is still under fire from Russia's larger air force. But air-defense ammunition is a more urgent need, one underscored in recently leaked US documents. Berlin approved Warsaw's request to send jets to Ukraine on Thursday, the same day it was received. Both air forces have shifted tactics and now operate farther from the front line, playing to the advantage of the Russian aircraft, which have an edge at longer ranges. Without the threat posed by those interceptor missiles, Russian aircraft would have greater freedom to attack Ukrainian aircraft and bomb Ukrainian targets, including in support of Russian front-line troops, the leaked document says.

☆ The newest US aircraft carrier is heading for deployment after a decade of hard lessons the Navy says it should 'never' do again
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

USS Gerald R. Ford, the US Navy's newest aircraft carrier, will deploy in early May. USS Ford is the first carrier of its class and has an array of new and advanced technology. 'We should never do that again'An aviation boatswain's mate (handling) directs an F/A-18E aboard USS Gerald R. Ford in October. The final weapons elevator was completed in December 2021, with Rear Adm. James Downey, program executive officer for aircraft carriers, calling it "a significant milestone." "She's earned every certification she needs to deploy, and I fully believe that the aircraft carrier, her air wing, and her battlegroup are capable of defending themselves."

☆ Ukraine's air force is now allowing foreigners to sign up as pilots as it pushes for Western fighter jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine's Air Force will now allow foreigners to serve as pilots, engineers, and specialists. Ukraine said that its air force has been inundated with offers from people willing to fight Russia. Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for the commander of Ukraine's air force, said in a statement Thursday that foreign citizens will be able to join if they have suitable military training. Despite bipartisan calls in the US for President Joe Biden's administration to send F-16s, Biden himself said on February 24 that Ukraine "doesn't need F-16s now." Serhii Holubtsov, chief of aviation of Ukraine's Air Force, however, told The Times of London that Ukrainian fighter pilots would be ready to fly F-16 jets after fewer than six months of training.

☆ Even with F-16s, Ukraine's pilots still wouldn't be 'out of the woods' against Russia's air force, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Polish and Slovakian MiG-29s would add to Ukraine's fleet and be familiar to Ukrainian pilots but won't bring much more capability than Ukraine's current MiG-29s. 'The hard work'A pilot exits a Polish Air Force F-16 at an airbase in Poznan in November 2006. If the US or another NATO country elected to supply Ukraine with F-16s, Kelly said his first question would be "what sustainment depot are they going to use? "Again, that's just for the short-term of being able to launch or recover aircraft," Baum said. Ukraine's new jets would also be flying against Russian air-defense weapons that have claimed dozens of Ukrainian aircraft and continue to contest the airspace around the front lines.

☆ Fighter jets are 'worthless' over Ukraine, and it's a sign of what US pilots and troops may face in future battles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

As a result, neither side is able to provide close air support to its troops on the front line. US pilots and ground troops may face a similar situation in future wars, US Air Force leaders say. They're not doing a whole lot because they can't go over and do close air support," Hecker said. "Close air support in a contested environment, that's not what we do, no matter who you are," Brown added. William GreerSince taking over as the top Air Force officer in August 2020, Brown has stressed that future battlefields will be more complex and deadly for the Air Force.

☆ Ukrainian pilots are calling the US Air Force for tips on using US-made missiles and bombs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Members of the US Air National Guard have been providing advice for using US-made weaponry. Despite US support, Ukraine's air force is still at a disadvantage against Russia's larger force. Ukraine's air force still faces a tough operating environment. A California Air National Guard officer discusses exercise Safe Skies with his Ukrainian counterparts in July 2011. Ukrainian Air Force via Twitter"We've just got them some precision munitions that have some extended range and go a little bit further than a gravity-dropped bomb," Hecker added.

☆ Chinese military gear may not be enough to bail out Russia's poorly led troops, former top US general in Europe says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The US is again warning China not provide military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Russia's military has structural problems that foreign gear can't fix, a retired US general says. While lower-level Russian units have been able to adapt, "I think the big problem in the Russian military is that the culture is not very conducive to" learning, added Lee, an expert on Russia's military. Russian military leadership failings and inability to perform under fire will limit the utility of whatever hardware Beijing may provide, Breedlove said. While US officials have not specified what military support China may provide, there are signs Russia is using artillery ammunition more sparingly.

☆ PHOTO: A U-2 pilot took a selfie with the Chinese spy balloon the day before the Air Force shot it down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jake Epstein | Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A US Air Force pilot took a selfie with the Chinese spy balloon before it was shot down. The pilot, flying a U-2 spy aircraft, took the image a day before the balloon was downed by an F-22. A US Air Force pilot looked down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovered over the Central Continental United States February 3, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Department of DefenseThe U-2's involvement in gathering intelligence on the spy balloon was first reported by The Drive on February 6. Just days later, US Air Force fighter jets downed three unidentified aerial objects flying in North American airspace in three separate engagements on February 10, 11, and 12.

☆ US officials say getting their hands on China's spy balloon was a 'key' reason for shooting it down near a South Carolina beach
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

US officials say balloons have crossed over the US before as part of a wider Chinese surveillance program. The eight-day wait and the sensitivity of those bases have alarmed lawmakers, who called defense officials to Capitol Hill on Thursday to explain their handling of the incident. US sailors recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off of Myrtle Beach on February 5. US sailors recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off of Myrtle Beach on February 5. A Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the South Carolina coast on February 4.

☆ The US military didn't know if the missile that took out a Chinese spy balloon would work when an F-22 took the shot, commander says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An F-22 downed a Chinese spy balloon on Saturday with a single AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. But the Pentagon wasn't sure if the missile would work when the pilot fired it, a top commander said. US Marines transport an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at Iwakuni in Japan in September. Weapons evaluators for the Air Force could not immediately address Insider's inquiry on the matter. The AIM-120, on the other hand, is a "new generation" missile that succeeded the AIM-7 Sparrow, according to the Air Force.

☆ Ukraine has its sights on US-made fighter jets, but those aren't Kyiv's 'most pressing need,' top Democrat says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Having received Western-made tanks, Ukrainians say their next goal is getting Western fighter jets. Ukraine operated roughly 82 MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter jets at the start of the war, as well as Su-24 and Su-25 ground-attack aircraft. Russia's newer Su-30s and Su-35s still have technical advantages, however, and downed several Ukrainian jets in the first days of the war. Calls to supply Ukraine with fighter jets picked up after the US, Germany, and other countries said they would send tanks. That pattern, seen with long-range rocket artillery and advanced air-defense systems, leads some to believe the US and other countries will ultimately relent on fighter jets.

☆ US scrambles F-22s following reports of unidentified flying object over Montana believed to be a Chinese spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US is tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon first spotted over Montana, per NBC News. The balloon has been hovering over the US "for the past few days," NBC reported Thursday. Video published by an NBC affiliate in Billings, Montana, shows a bright, unidentified object in the sky, which prompted flights to be diverted from the local airport on Wednesday. "It is not the first time that you've had a balloon of this nature cross over the continental United States," the official said. After the balloon was spotted, the US military responded by scrambling F-22 Raptors and other aircraft near Billings, prompting the civilian airport to be shuttered for some time.

☆ US Marines are taking position on 'key terrain' around Taiwan as tensions rise with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The US and Japan said in January that a Marine Littoral Regiment will be set up in Japan by 2025. That unit, the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, is the second of three Marine Littoral Regiments planned for the Indo-Pacific region, the first of which was activated in March 2022 and is based in Hawaii. Within weeks of its activation, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment was participating in the US-Philippine military exercise Balikatan. New threat, new forceUS Marines provide security for an amphibious landing during Balikatan 22 in northern Luzon in March 2022. US Marines during an amphibious landing as part of Balikatan 22 in northern Luzon in March 2022.

☆ New US Marine units are taking position on 'key terrain' around Taiwan as tensions rise with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The US and Japan said in January that a Marine Littoral Regiment will be set up in Japan by 2025. A Marine Littoral Regiment will also hold a major exercise in the northern Philippines this spring. That unit, the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, is the second of three Marine Littoral Regiments planned for the Indo-Pacific region, the first of which was activated in March 2022 and is based in Hawaii. Within weeks of its activation, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment was participating in the US-Philippine military exercise Balikatan. Members of 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment in Hawaii in August 2022.

☆ Ukraine's battlefield success surprised Russia, but US troops who trained Ukrainians saw it coming, National Guard chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Army National Guard Sgt. Anthony JonesUS National Guard units began rotating through Ukraine in 2015 to conduct training as part of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine. Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Ukrainian NCOs "were able to lead from the front at the lowest level of supervision. That's where our NCOs really are effective because the things that our commanders empower them to do," Whitehead added.

☆ Hundreds of armored vehicles are now heading to Ukraine to help fight off a looming Russian 'onslaught,' US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Christopher Woody | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The US, UK, and Germany have agreed to provide their tanks to Ukraine, as have some other countries. Those tanks now join hundreds of other armored vehicles delivered or promised to Kyiv. The 31 Abrams tanks the US will send to Ukraine likely won't arrive for months or longer, but the US and European countries have already committed to sending Ukraine several different types of armored vehicles. (On Wednesday, US officials said M88 recovery vehicles would be delivered with the Abrams tanks.) The US and Germany have agreed to send M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine is getting a new heavy-duty armored vehicle to haul its damaged tanks off the battlefield, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Christopher Woody | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

US officials announced on Wednesday that US-made Abrams tanks would be sent to Ukraine. Ukraine will receive other armored vehicles, including a US-made vehicle designed to haul others off the battlefield. Along with the Abrams, the US will send another armored vehicle designed to haul tanks and other vehicles off the battlefield. The US announcement that it would send Abrams tanks to Ukraine comes after the US and other European partners announced that they would be sending other armored vehicles to Ukraine in the near future. This opened the door for other countries to send armored combat vehicles to Kyiv.

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