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☆ Putin lands in Belarus for talks amid fears of new assault on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Russian President Vladimir Putin walks after disembarking from a plane upon his arrival at the National Airport Minsk in Minsk, Belarus December 19, 2022. Russian forces used Belarus as a launch pad for their abortive attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in February, and there has been Russian and Belarusian military activity there for months. Adding to the ominous mood music, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, one of the few officials in Lukashenko's government with any rapport with the West, died suddenly last month. His successor, Sergei Aleinik, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday. The talks are seen by the Belarus opposition as a vehicle for a creeping Russian annexation.

☆ US pilots are testing the aging A-10 Warthog for a new kind of mission against more advanced enemies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A US Air Force crew chief prepares to launch an A-10 for Green Flag-West in California on November 9. Samara TaylorFor years, the Air Force has sought to scrap the Warthog, believing the aging plane might not survive against modern Russian and Chinese air defenses. (Congress finally relented this month, allowing the Air Force to begin retiring A-10s in the coming year.) Since 1981, the Air Force has used the exercise to train to provide air support to Army units. US Air Force Capt.

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army on Monday awarded the contract for its next-generation helicopter to Textron Inc's (TXT.N) Bell unit, ending a years-long competition for the technology that will replace the Black Hawk utility helicopter. The Army's "Future Vertical Lift" competition is aimed at finding a replacement as the Army looks to retire more than 2,000 medium-class UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters built by Sikorsky since the 1970s. The Army was looking for an aircraft capable of moving about a dozen troops 400 nautical miles. Ultimately, the contract is potentially worth around $70 billion - over decades - depending on how many the Army and U.S. allies order, the Army told reporters on Monday evening. In the FLARAA competition was Bell's V-280 "Valor," a tiltrotor aircraft that has reached speeds in excess of 340 mph (547 km) according to the Army.

☆ Russia has stopped using its Iranian suicide drones because they don't work in the cold, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has stopped using Iranian-made suicide drones due to cold weather, a Ukrainian official said. Russia started to use the Iranian drones in October, as part of a new playbook that targeted power distribution and other critical infrastructure from afar. A composite image showing an Iranian drone in the sky and the aftermath of a strike on Kyiv on October 17, 2022. And it reported that Iran and Russia had reached an agreement for Russia to start producing the drones itself. Multiple reports have also said that Iran has been training Russia on how to use the drones and other weapons.

☆ Search effort intensifies after Indonesia quake killed 268
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

With many missing, some remote areas still unreachable and more than 1,000 people injured in the 5.6 magnitude quake, the death toll was likely to rise. Photo by ADEK BERRY/AFP via Getty Images Adek Berry | Afp | Getty ImagesBy Wednesday morning, the government appeared to be focused on finding bodies, and wherever possible, survivors. But he said that he will not give up until they can pull his sister and his nieces out of the mud. Villagers salvage items from damaged houses on Nov. 22, 2022 following a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 162 people in Cianjur, Indonesia. Aditya Aji | AFP | Getty Images

Over recent years, NATO allies and Russia have scaled up military exercises in the region; Chinese and Russian warships conducted a joint exercise in the Bering Sea in September. Four Arctic experts say it would take the West at least 10 years to catch up with Russia's military in the region, if it chose to do so. "NATO is increasing its presence in the Arctic with more modern capabilities," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters. Now NATO and Arctic allies are changing their stance. Sweden and Finland have begun investing in surveillance and deterrence capabilities and military hardware including jets so their air forces can fight alongside Arctic NATO allies.

☆ After 40 years of safe skies, US special operators have to worry about threats from above, SOCOM commander says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AP Photo/Efrem LukatskyUkraine's military claims to have shot down over 1,000 Russian drones, but unmanned aerial systems continue to proliferate. Ukraine is also using its fair share of unmanned aerial systems. Special operators vs. dronesA member of the Iraqi federal police with a destroyed drone used by ISIS in Mosul in March 2017. "But now with everything from quad-copters that very small up to very large unmanned aerial vehicles, we won't always have that luxury." DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty ImagesGenerally, US special operators can take out unmanned aerial systems in two ways.

☆ Kenya deploys troops to Congo to help end decades of bloodshed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Edwin Waita | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thomas MukoyaNAIROBI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Kenya's President William Ruto on Wednesday officially deployed troops to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to join an East African regional force aiming to end decades of bloodshed. The seven countries of the East African Community (EAC), which Congo joined this year, agreed in April to set up a joint force to fight militia groups in Congo's east. Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the United Nation's largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 armed groups continue to operate across large swathes of east Congo, including the M23 rebels, which Congo has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting. Uganda has already sent troops into Congo as part of separate deployment to chase down an Islamic State-linked armed militants, one of the warring groups in eastern Congo. "We have been working very hard to mobilise the international community to support the east African force," Kenya's defence minister Aden Duale said at the event.

Lukashenko has ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near the Ukraine border, and his defence ministry says "combat readiness" drills are under way. On Tuesday, the interior ministry held exercises to eliminate "sabotage groups" near Yelsk, only 20 km (12 miles) from the border with Ukraine. "It's not exactly a combat-tested armed force," said Samir Puri, author of "Russia's Road to War with Ukraine". It's unclear who would provide such a force, as Moscow would veto any U.N. role and NATO or EU observers could be drawn into clashes with Russian forces. Not all the evidence suggests the Belarus military is on the verge on joining the fight.

☆ 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.

☆ Belarus's Lukashenko warns Ukraine, deploys troops with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The remarks from Lukashenko, who has held power in Belarus since 1994, indicate a potential further escalation of the war in Ukraine, possibly with a combined Russian-Belarus joint force in the north of Ukraine. "Their owners are pushing them to start a war against Belarus to drag us there." Lukashenko said that a warning was delivered to Belarus through unofficial channels that Ukraine planned "Crimean Bridge 2", though he did not give details. On Sunday, the head of Belarus's border guards accused Ukraine of provocations at the border. Russian forces used Belarus as a staging post for their Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, sending troops and equipment into northern Ukraine from bases in Belarus.

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missile in a show of 'defiance' days before Vice President Kamala Harris visits region
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile into the sea. "It's North Korea's way of showing defiance of the [US] alliance," said an analyst at the Rand Corporation. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyNorth Korea fired a ballistic missile toward South Korea just days before Vice-President Kamala Harris's visit. It is the most significant deployment yet under a new push by the Biden administration to use the US "strategic assets" to deter North Korea, Reuters reported. On the 29th, she will travel to South Korea, which a senior White House official says is an "opportunity for the Vice President to demonstrate our solidarity with our South Korean allies on the threat posed by the North."

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