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☆ US Special Operations Command's workhorse helicopter is getting upgrades to replace parts that are nearly 50 years old
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US special operators rely on their variant, the MH-47, for missions at night and behind enemy lines. As such, the US special-operations community's workhorse helicopter is getting upgrades to replace parts that are nearly 50 years old. US Army Special Operations Command has used Chinooks for several decades. Early versions had modifications for special operations. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, nicknamed "the Night Stalkers," is the cream of the crop when it comes to US military aviation.

☆ US and Philippine forces fire on mock enemy warship in South China Sea military exercise
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —United States and Philippine forces fired on a mock enemy warship in the South China Sea on Wednesday, the latest display of American firepower in Asia as tensions with China continue to rise. Earlier this month, China’s state-run media labeled the drills as an “attempt to target China.”US and Philippine military leaders said Wednesday’s exercise was designed to synchronize combat forces. “Together we are strengthening our capabilities in full-spectrum military operations across all domains,” Jurney said. The four bases joined five included earlier, including three on the main island of Luzon, close to Taiwan, and one on Balabac Island close to Chinese installations on the disputed islands in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, in another sign of increasing US-Philippine military cooperation, the US Pacific Air Forces said Tuesday a key air exercise will return to the Philippines next month for the first time since 1990.

☆ Progressives Convinced Us to Get a Gun
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Gerard Leval | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Wonder Land: When we began to devalue conscience, blurring a pragmatic understanding of right from wrong, we unleashed the whirlwind that engulfs us now. Our father wouldn’t allow it. He had his reasons: In depriving us of the revolvers, he often would cite his experience during World War II. During that service, a rifle shot grazed the back of his neck and came close to taking his life. He made it clear that, having been wounded and seen the horrors wrought by firearms, he didn’t believe anyone should think of such weapons as playthings.

Border of Steel is one of eight new storm brigades totalling 40,000 soldiers that Ukraine wants to use during a counter-offensive against Russian occupiers in coming weeks or months. Ukraine beat back Russian forces from Kyiv last year before liberating swathes of the northeast and of the southern Kherson region. But Russian forces still occupy tracts of the east, the strategically important south and the Crimean peninsula. "For them, the objective is to liberate Ukraine," Klymenko said of the recruits during an interview in Kyiv. He gave no clues as to when or where Ukraine would launch its counter-offensive.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Finland set to formally join NATO; Russian blogger bombing suspect has been 'framed,' husband says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Finnish reservists of the Guard Jaeger Regiment take part in a military exercise at the Santahamina military base in Helsinki, Finland on March 7, 2023. -Finland is set to formally become a member of the NATO defense alliance on Tuesday, ending years of "military non-alignment." On Tuesday, the country's President Sauli Niinisto will travel to the NATO headquarters in Brussels for the accession. Turkey, the last holdout on Helsinki's accession to the military coalition, gave its approval on Finland's membership bid on March 30. Sweden's membership bid, made at the same time as Finland's, is still awaiting approval.

☆ How the US Army's Best Ranger competition uses days of grueling challenges to find the military's best 2-man team
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US troops will gather in Georgia in April for the US Army's Best Ranger Competition. The Best Ranger competition is organized and run by the US Army in conjunction with the National Ranger Association. 101st Airborne Division soldiers compete in the Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning in April 2022. David DumasThe Best Ranger competition typically starts strong with a 10-mile run followed by a swim event and an obstacle course. 10th Mountain Division soldiers complete a casualty evacuation lane during the Best Ranger Competition in April 2022.

☆ Russia's newest army corps lost many of its tanks in an offensive because it simply copied tactics that failed in the past, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's new army corps is losing tanks at a fast rate as it tries to encirle Avdiivka, the UK said. And that's because it's repeating tactics that have failed Russia's military in the past, according to UK intelligence. Avdiivka is a town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, which the UK MOD said Russia has recently made a priority. Videos show Russian tanks and armored vehicles being blown up by mines and anti-tank missiles in and around Vuhledar. The UK MOD said that the 3rd Army Corps has been "particularly dogged by problems with ill-discipline and poor morale," referencing open-source accounts.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: China's Xi leaves Moscow after mixed talks with Putin; drones target Kyiv and Crimea, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The original plan was to send Ukraine 31 of the newer M1A2 Abrams, which could have taken a year or two to build and ship. Officials said the M1A1 also will be easier for Ukrainian forces to learn to use and maintain as they fight Russia's invasion. The officials spoke on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been publicly announced. Pentagon officials are expected to make the announcement Tuesday. The Biden administration announced in January that it would send the tanks to Ukraine — after insisting for months that they were too complicated and too hard to maintain and repair.

☆ A regiment of drafted Russian soldiers who made video plea to Putin to stop them being 'slaughtered' are now mostly dead, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Drafted Russian soldiers made a video appeal to Vladimir Putin for help. Most of the soldiers in the regiment have died in Donetsk since recording the video, a report says. "Please help," the soldiers say in the video while in their uniforms with their faces covered. In the video, which was published by Telegram channel of the Siberian news outlet Lyudi Baikala on February 25, the soldiers directly ask Putin for help. The video was the soldiers' third such appeal, according to the Russian outlet The Insider.

☆ A Ukrainian drone operator being followed by a film crew feared his life could end at 'any moment.' He was killed the day before the documentary aired.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An Israeli documentary followed Evgeniy "Dodge" Markarov, a Ukrainian drone operator in the Donbas. One day before it broadcast, the team received a call saying Markarov had been killed. Evgeniy "Dodge" Markarov in the trenches in Ukraine. "This life may be finished at any moment, everything may be finished at any moment," Markarov said in the film. Evgeniy "Dodge" Markarov holding a Ukrainian military award.

☆ Matt Gaetz unknowingly cites Chinese Communist newspaper during Ukraine military funding hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Matt Gaetz unknowingly cited from a Chinese propaganda outlet during a congressional hearing. Gaetz asked Colin Kahl, the US's undersecretary of defense for policy. Gaetz asked Kahl. "Is this the — I'm sorry, is this the Global Times from China?" Watch the exchange below:Asked for comment, a spokesman for Gaetz told Insider: "Congressman Gaetz wanted to ask if the report was true.

☆ Amid sea of Ukrainian flags, Mariupol defender finally laid to rest
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Vitalii Hnidyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KHARKIV, Ukraine, Feb 22 (Reuters) - For months, Natalia Honcharenko had clung to the hope that her son, a Ukrainian soldier who helped defend the Mariupol steelworks against relentless Russian attack, might still be alive. But DNA tests proved that the remains of a body brought back to Ukraine in September as part of a POW exchange were his. And on a cold late January day, Natalia finally laid him to rest, among a sea of Ukrainian flags set on hundreds of other graves of fallen Kharkiv soldiers. [1/5] A view shows graves of killed Ukrainian defenders, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a cemetery in Kharkiv, Ukraine January 31, 2023. "What I know is that they were moving across a bridge, and something happened there," his friend added.

☆ Chinese air force bombers show off their growing reach with a long-range drill over the South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Kristin Huang | South China Morning Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Chinese H-6K bomber patrolling over islands and reefs in the South China Sea. "Probably, the fighter aircraft [was] deployed from the bases on the artificial islands in the Spratly Islands to support simulated strikes in the South China Sea. "The early warning aircraft can help monitor potential threats in the air, most notably enemy fighter aircraft that may try to shoot down the bomber. The early warning aircraft can also help coordinate activities among the different planes. Although the drill showed the enhanced ability of the Chinese air force, the bomber's capability boosted the threat already posed to US military forces by only a little, Heath said.

[1/5] Aerial view of the northern border state of Sonora where state electric utility CFE is building the largest solar plant in all of Latin America, in Puerto Penasco, Sonora state, Mexico February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha/PoolCompanies Alchimie SA FollowPUERTO PENASCO, Mexico, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The first power from a giant solar energy park in the desert of northern Mexico will enter the country's electricity grid in April, officials said on Thursday, as the nation aims to burnish its green credentials with the flagship project. Mexican officials on Thursday, during a tour of the solar park with a group of over 60 foreign diplomats, sought to dampen concerns over Lopez Obrador's commitment to renewables and energy transition. Mexico is looking for partners to help fund the park and the country's broader transition to greener energy sources. Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher in Puerto Penasco, Mexico Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

☆ The US's powerful Abrams tanks are heading to Ukraine, but generals disagree over how hard it'll be to use them on the battlefield
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Sebastien Roblin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

The US has pledged to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, joining a bevy of Western-made tanks. Here comes the M1 Abrams for UkraineA M1A2 Abrams tank fires at a target during an exercise. The same day, word spread that US President Joe Biden would announce he was sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. But Hertling disagreed that withholding the M1 Abrams was a "political decision" and didn't find the examples of non-US Abrams operators persuasive. M1 Abrams: training and sustainmentAn M1A2 Abrams drives into the woods during an exercise in Hohenfels, Germany.

☆ France may be the next country to send its tanks to Ukraine, but officials worry they could be 'a poisoned chalice'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

France is also considering sending its Leclerc tanks to Ukraine. A French Leclerc tank during an exercise in Germany in November 2019. Some claim it performed better than the M1 Abrams tanks that Saudi Arabia has used in that conflict. The Leclerc's lighter weight may make it more maneuverable than the other Western tanks headed to Ukraine. But other than Rafale jet fighters, the most powerful weapon — symbolically and militarily — that France could provide would be Leclerc tanks.

☆ This is the M1 Abrams, the powerful US battle tank that Kyiv wants but can't have
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But German Leopards and American Abrams tanks are still off the table. "I just don't think we're there yet," Colin Kahl, undersecretary for defense policy, said this week, "The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment," he argued. Just over 2,000 Abrams tanks were deployed with combat units during the war, and only 23 were damaged or destroyed. In the aftermath of the Gulf War, the US military developed the M1A2 Abrams, which has steadily been upgraded over the past two decades. The Abrams tank also saw extensive combat early in the Iraq War and was used to some extent in Afghanistan.

☆ A Ukrainian soldier died on the battlefield in Bakhmut. His death has sparked a fierce dispute between some American veterans and a volunteer trainer.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

While entering a house in Bakhmut, two Ukrainian soldiers were ambushed by Russian troops. While he was doing laundry, Wang said a dark-green SUV suddenly pulled up and he heard a Ukrainian soldier shout, "De medyky?" More muscle than the pork ribsWang, by his own admission, decided to take charge of rescuing the wounded Ukrainian soldier. Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesIn the phone conversation with Insider, Wang defended his involvement in the death of the Ukrainian soldier. A wider tapestry of issuesThe SOLI instructors said the Bakhmut deaths were just one part of a wider tapestry of issues caused by Wang's inexperience and overzealousness.

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend the Japan-U.S.-Australia-India Fellowship Founding Celebration event, in Tokyo, Japan, May 24, 2022. Kishida is in Washington as the last stop in a tour of countries of the G7 industrial powers. U.S. and Japanese foreign and defense ministers met on Wednesday and announced stepped-up security cooperation and the U.S. officials Tokyo's praised military buildup plans. He called the Japanese defense reforms "really, really significant." Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina; Editing by Don Durfee and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The United States will significantly increase its anti-ship missile capabilities in Japan as part of a broader effort to deter China, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday. The anti-ship missiles would arrive in Japan under a revamped Marine Corps regiment of 2,000 troops that will focus on advanced intelligence, surveillance and transportation, the officials said. Japan has watched with growing concern China's belligerence toward Taiwan as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims over the island. Japan hosts 18,000 U.S. Marines, the biggest concentration outside the United States. In total, there are about 54,000 U.S. troops in Japan.

REUTERS/Joshua RobertsWASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The United States and Japan on Wednesday announced stepped-up security cooperation in the face of shared worries about China, and Washington strongly endorsed a major military buildup Tokyo announced last month. At the briefing, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced plans to introduce a Marine Littoral Regiment in Japan, which would bring significant capabilities, including anti-ship missiles. A senior administration official told Reuters that Biden and Kishida are expected to discuss security issues and the global economy and that their talks are likely to include control of semiconductor exports to China after Washington announced strict curbs last year. The large U.S. presence has fueled local resentment, with Okinawa's government asking other parts of Japan to host some of the force. In total, there are about 54,000 U.S. troops in Japan.

☆ The US relied on a secret force of Japanese-Americans to win World War II in the Pacific — while their families were locked up at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Katie Sanders | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Japanese-American Nisei soldiers at US Army Military Intelligence Service language school. Not many people know that we had Japanese-Americans fighting the Pacific war. The very first Japanese language school was started by the Army a months before Pearl Harbor. A US Army Nisei soldier gives water to a child in Okinawa. US Army Nisei soldiers interrogating a Japanese prisoner of war.

☆ Russia Blames Cellphone Use for Deadly Ukrainian Strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Workers removed the debris of a destroyed building that was used to house Russian soldiers in Makiivka, in Russian-controlled Ukraine, on Tuesday. MOSCOW—Russia’s Ministry of Defense blamed the use of banned mobile phones for a deadly strike by Ukrainian forces on a facility that housed newly mobilized Russian soldiers, shifting responsibility for the incident to the victims and raising the death toll to 89, including the regiment’s deputy commander. The update of the death toll Wednesday came as Russian defense officials said a commission was investigating the circumstances of the strike that it said occurred at 12:01 a.m. on New Year’s Day, the deadliest known assault on Russian forces during the war.

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