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☆ A senior ISIS leader is dead, but the raid went sideways when an explosion injured several US troops and a dog
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US troops and the Syrian Democratic Forces carried out a joint helicopter raid in Syria on Thursday. The target, a senior Islamic State leader named Hamza al-Homsi, was killed during the operation. Although the target, Hamza al-Homsi, was killed, the operation went sideways when an explosion wounded the four Americans and their working dog. Meanwhile, the US military and its partner forces continue to hunt down ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria. Local Syrian forces killed the Islamic State's leader, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, during an October raid.

☆ Russia's death toll in Ukraine could be as high as 60,000. Western intel says its forces are being ripped apart by artillery and not getting proper care.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Britain's defense ministry said Russian casualties in Ukraine could be as high as 200,000. They are being torn apart by artillery and not getting proper care, it added. Britain's defense ministry shared in a Friday intelligence update that Russian forces have likely suffered between 175,000 and 200,000 causalities on the battlefield. Britain's defense ministry said that between 40,000 and 60,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the fighting. The 200,000 casualty toll offered by Britain's defense ministry echos a similar estimate provided by a top US diplomat earlier this week.

☆ The mystery objects shot down by US fighter jets were 'most likely' harmless civilian objects, Biden says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Three mysterious objects were shot down by the US military in North American airspace last weekend. The three unidentified objects are "most likely" just civilian objects, he said on Thursday. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. Biden on Thursday also said he's directed his team to create "sharper rules" for dealing with unidentified objects moving forward, distinguishing between those that pose a security risk and those that don't. In total, four objects — one Chinese surveillance balloon and the three smaller objects that remain unidentified — have been shot down over North American airspace since early February.

☆ The US military let artificial intelligence fly a fighter jet and even battle simulated enemies in air-to-air combat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A recent series of US military tests saw AI fly a fighter jet and battle simulated enemies. The modified jet practiced beyond-visual-range engagements and dogfighting, the 412th Test Wing revealed. It can be piloted by autonomous AI programs and mirror the flight characteristics of aircraft like the F-16 jet or MQ-20 drone. One of the two programs tested by the US military was a product of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Autonomous Air Combat Operations, or AACO. This program piloted the VISTA in one-on-one engagements against a simulated enemy beyond visual range, the 412th Test Wing said.

☆ US military weighs sending Ukraine weapons and ammo seized from gunrunners in repeated raids on smuggling boats
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US and partner forces have been seizing weapons from ships smuggling weapons from Iran to Yemen. US and partner forces have regularly intercepted small boats attempting to illegally smuggle guns, ammunition, and explosives from Iran to Yemen. U.S. naval forces seized 2,116 AK-47 assault rifles from a fishing vessel transiting along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen. US Navy photoIf the US military does send these seized weapons to Ukraine, it would not be the first time weapons from Iran have made their way to the eastern European country. Considerations on whether or not to send the intercepted weapons to Ukraine comes shortly before the one-year-anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late-February 2022.

☆ An F-16 fighter jet missed on its first try to shoot down a mysterious object over Lake Huron, top US general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An F-16 fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile to take down a flying object over Lake Huron on Sunday. "On the fourth one, over Lake Huron, the first shot missed, the second shot hit," Milley said in response to a reporter's question, confirming earlier reports. "And in this case, the missile landed harmlessly in the water of Lake Huron. Sunday's operation marked the fourth instance in about a week in which a US Air Force fighter jet shot down a flying object over North American airspace. The general leading North American Aerospace Defense Command and US Northern Command offered an explanation on Sunday for why there has been a seemingly sudden increase in flying objects appearing over North American airspace.

☆ A top general said the US could use balloons in the Middle East, where the US military has seen suspected Chinese spy balloons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A top US general said the US military could use balloons for surveillance in the Middle East. His comments come after the US downed a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina. A Thunderhead High-Altitude Balloon System, launched by US Army Pacific Soldiers takes flight during Balikatan 22 on Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, April 1, 2022. The general's comments come a little over a week after the US shot down a high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon that had crossed over the continental US, fueling tensions between Washington and Beijing. The Pentagon later revealed that the Chinese balloon is part of a broader global network that Beijing operates.

☆ NATO chief warns Ukraine is using an 'enormous' amount of munitions and firing them faster than alliance partners can make them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NATO's chief said Ukraine is expending an "enormous" amount of munitions on the battlefield. Kyiv is firing these munitions faster than the US and its European partners can produce them, he said. NATO members and partner countries have sent tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine. "The war in Ukraine is consuming an enormous amount of munitions and depleting allied stockpiles. "Key capabilities like ammunition, fuel, and spare parts must reach Ukraine before Russia can seize the initiative on the battlefield," he warned.

☆ Here's why mysterious flying objects are suddenly popping up all over the place, according to the military command that's been shooting them down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Jake Epstein | Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Four suspicious flying objects have been shot down over North American skies in recent days. NORAD changed its radar filters to help spot smaller, slower objects after a Chinese spy balloon drifted over the US. The command has changed the way it looks for them and is now finding more of these objects. Since the US Air Force shot down the Chinese balloon in early February, fighter jets have downed three additional airborne objects. US officials said this object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a threat to civilian aircraft.

☆ Eagles lead Chiefs 24-14 at halftime of Super Bowl
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Steve Keating | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GLENDALE, Ariz, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Jalen Hurts ran for two touchdowns and passed for another as the Philadelphia Eagles led the Kansas City Chiefs 24-14 at halftime of the Super Bowl on Sunday. An entertaining opening half ended in a cliffhanger when Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes appeared to re-injure his right ankle that had been a major worry entering the National Football League championship game. Kansas City answered right back with Mahomes hitting his favorite target Travis Kelce with an 18-yard pass to cap their own 75-yard drive. The fireworks continued into the second when Hurts, on the first play of the quarter, spotted A.J. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott kicked a 35-yard field goal on the final play of the half to send Philadelphia into the break 24-14.

☆ Western forces are raiding gunrunners at sea and throwing wrenches into Iran's plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

CENTCOM said this month that it supported "partner naval forces" during a January raid in the Gulf of Oman. U.S. naval forces seized 2,116 AK-47 assault rifles from a fishing vessel transiting along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen. UK naval forces also seized surface-to-air missiles and cruise-missile rocket engines that came from Iran. U.S. naval forces seized 2,116 AK-47 assault rifles from a fishing vessel transiting along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen. It remains to be seen whether the increase in raids will actually impact Iran's regional influence over the long-term.

☆ After nearly 2 decades in service, the F-22 has its first air-to-air kills — neither against the jets it was designed to fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The F-22, the top US air superiority fighter jet, finally has it's first air-to-air kills. In a week, this jet downed a Chinese spy balloon and an unidentified "object" in two separate engagements. Neither kill was a jet that the F-22 was designed to fight. A US Air Force F-22 prepares for aerial refueling over the Nevada Test and Training Range on March 2, 2011. Despite having operational experience in Syria in the 2010s targeting Islamic State assets, the advanced fighter has never recorded a confirmed air-to-air kill, but now it has two.

☆ US fighter aircraft shot down an 'object' threatening flights over Alaska just days after downing a Chinese spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The US military recently shot down an unidentified object in US airspace over Alaska, a senior official said Friday. "I can confirm that the Department of Defense was tracking a high-altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours. On that order, a fighter jet assigned to US Northern Command shot down the object off the northeastern part of Alaska, near the Canadian border. "We do not know who owns it, whether it's state owned or corporate owned or privately owned. This incident comes nearly a week after a US Air Force F-22 fighter jet fired a single AIM 9X air-to-air missile to take down a high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

☆ Ukrainian troops equipped with devastating HIMARS are waiting for US targeting data before firing on Russian forces, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Chris Panella | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian troops usually won't fire their HIMARS without targeting data from the US, officials said. The US-provided HIMARS have been a key weapon for Ukrainian forces throughout the war. According to a senior Ukrainian official who spoke to the Post, the targeting process often involves Ukrainian forces identifying a Russian target, requesting more accurate coordinates from US partners, and then waiting to receive said coordinates. In one particular noteworthy incident from earlier this year, Ukrainian troops used their HIMARS to carry out a deadly strike on Russian positions in the eastern occupied city of Makiivka. The attack left scores of Russian troops dead and triggered widespread criticism of Moscow's military leadership.

☆ After months of stalemate, it looks like Russia's long-feared new offensive in Ukraine has begun
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's threats of a renewed assault on Ukraine are already coming to pass, a military chief said. Multiple reports indicate a flurry of Russian attacks along the front line in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine says Russia hasn't had much success so far but "fighting has intensified," one soldier said. Ukrainian politician Anton Geraschenko tweeted on Wednesday that the Russian offensive is already taking place. Officials and analysts have been predicting for months that a new Russian offensive would begin in the spring, with the country likely to commit hundreds of thousands of additional soldiers to the fight.

☆ North Korea shows off design for new, more dangerous missile while rolling out enough ICBMs to possibly overwhelm US defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

North Korea boasted its progress on a new and dangerous solid-fueled missile at a military parade. In recent years, North Korea has indicated that its missile program is pivoting toward the use of solid fuel, Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the CSIS, told Insider. North Korea has displayed large canisters before, but the ones displayed on Wednesday appear to be more legitimate than those in the past, Williams said. This is because the defense system's interceptors would not have the capacity to engage all credible threats. Furthermore, missile defense should be thought of as one part of a larger "missile defeat complex," he added.

☆ There's nothing but 'zombie arguments' for not giving Ukraine fighter jets, one of its closest partners says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has placed advanced Western fighter jets at the top of its military hardware wishlist. He said the way some Western countries approach giving Ukraine weapons needs to be altered, saying there's "certain psychological taboos and I think we need to revise this negative approach." RADOSLAW JOZWIAK/AFP via Getty ImagesAmong the countries that initially rejected the idea of sending fighter jets to Ukraine are the US and UK. On Wednesday, the British government said it would offer to train Ukrainian pilots to fly "sophisticated" NATO-standard fighter jets in the future. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the UK was considering the provision of fighter jets.

☆ China has a global spy balloon operation collecting intel on other countries' militaries, including 'strategic bases' in the US, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The downed Chinese surveillance balloon is part of a global network, US officials say. This is what we assess is part of a larger Chinese surveillance balloon program," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Ryder said the purpose of the Chinese surveillance balloons was to study "strategic sites," including "strategic bases" in the continental US. The Chinese balloon program has gathered information on military assets belonging to the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, India, and Taiwan, the Washington Post reported. It was not immediately clear when, exactly, previous balloons in other regions were determined to be Chinese surveillance devices.

☆ 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.

☆ US allies bordering Russia are buying up HIMARS, weapons that have devastated Putin's forces in Ukraine, and longer-range rockets and missiles for them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US State Department has approved the sale of HIMARS launchers, missiles, and rockets to Poland. The country is among several other US allies bordering Russia that have sought to obtain this capability. The HIMARS has proven to be a highly effective weapon for Ukraine, which has used the system to devastate Russian forces on the battlefield. With this sale, Poland would become the latest eastern European country that borders Russia to secure the much-celebrated HIMARS. The State Department last year approved a sale of HIMARS to Estonia, which borders mainland Russia.

☆ The UK plans to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the kind of NATO-standard fighter jets the alliance is refusing to give them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The UK government plans to train Ukrainian pilots on how to fly NATO-standard fighter jets. Ukraine has long requested advanced fighter jets, but NATO has been reluctant to provide them. The British government will offer to train Ukrainian pilots to fly advanced NATO-standard fighter jets in the future, Downing Street said on Wednesday, even as the military alliance refuses to actually send the physical aircraft to Ukraine. "The training will ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future," it said. Since obtaining the Western-made tanks, Ukraine has pivoted its focus to fighter jets, fourth-generation jets like the American F-15 or F-16.

☆ Photos capture the moment US Navy sailors pulled the downed Chinese balloon out of the ocean
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Newly released photos show US sailors pulling a downed Chinese spy balloon out of the ocean. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. It then traveled southeast across the continental US before it was downed off the Coast of South Carolina. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023.

☆ The US military says China now has more ICBM launchers than it does, but the US still has the nuclear edge
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US military says that China now has more ICBM launchers than Washington does. However, the US still has an edge in the number of ICBMs and nuclear warheads it has. "The number of land-based fixed and mobile ICBM launchers in China exceeds the number of ICBM launchers in the United States," Cotton wrote in letters sent to the respective committees on January 26, letters obtained by Insider. He also said that the "number of nuclear warheads equipped on such missiles of China has not exceeded the number of nuclear warheads equipped on such missiles of the United States." That said, China's edge in land-based fixed and mobile launchers does bring Beijing closer to fielding a more robust ICBM capacity.

☆ Meet the 'Arizona Balloon Buster,' the ace WWI pilot famous for shooting down enemy balloons on 'suicide' missions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For his efforts in the skies above the battlefield, Luke became famous as the "Arizona Balloon Buster," according to the US Air Force. Shortly after the US entered World War I in the spring of 1917, the 20-year-old enlisted in the military and trained to become a pilot. These expensive assets were protected by anti-aircraft guns and aircraft, so trying to attack them was "practically suicide," the Air Force said. American World War I fighter ace, Frank Luke Jr (1897 - 1918), with his SPAD S.XIII biplane, France, 18th September 1918. Luke Air Force Base in Arizona is named after Frank Luke Jr., and the ace pilot also has a statue in Phoenix.

☆ Israel is considering sending its Iron Dome air defense system to Ukraine, Netanyahu says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Israel is looking into sending its Iron Dome system to Ukraine, Prime Minister Netanyahu said. The Iron Dome is arguably the world's most advanced missile defense system, designed to intercept barrages of rockets and artillery shells. In an interview with French TV outlets TF1 and LCI broadcast on Sunday, Netanyahu was asked about sending the missile defense system to Ukraine, in response to the country's continuing appeals for military support. Ukraine made a formal request to Israel for Iron Dome and other high-tech defense weaponry in October last year, as The Times of Israel reported. Asked about the attack, Netanyahu stopped short of denying responsibility, but gave no definitive answer as to whether Israel was responsible.

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