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☆ The US Air Force's big plan to spread out and take on China may actually make things easier for Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For the Air Force, a key part of the plan is to spread jets and airmen across bases in the Pacific. The problem is that the Air Force would need a logistical system that could sustain numerous bases across a wide area. US, Australian, Japanese, and other militaries' aircraft taxi in formation at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in February 2022. Civil engineer airmen conduct rapid airfield damage repair on Northwest Field at Andersen Air Force Base in October 2019. Air Force officials have acknowledged the complexity of defending dispersed forces.

☆ Russia may not be positioned to carry out a large-scale offensive, says former U.S. diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRussia may not be positioned to carry out a large-scale offensive, says former U.S. diplomatWilliam Courtney, adjunct senior fellow at Rand Corporation and former U.S. ambassador to Georgia and Kazakhstan, says Russian forces have been depleted and it's not clear that they will be able to mount "a new effort that will seriously challenge the Ukrainians."

☆ 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.

☆ Putin, secure in power, sets stage for long and draining war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

One senior Russian source with knowledge of decision-making said Putin's hopes of burnishing his reputation had been dashed. "Ahead, it will be even more difficult and more costly for both Ukraine and Russia," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. For all the geopolitical shock waves Putin has caused, he still has no serious rival for power, according to five senior Russian sources close to decision-making. The source said Russia was at a disadvantage in both military technology and motivation, but that the war would still continue "for a very long time". "The president believes he can win in Ukraine," said one senior Russian source.

☆ 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.

The reaction in the United States to what appears to be an ill-timed spying mission will have lingering consequences for efforts to stabilize ties – already near historic lows. Since then, the Biden administration has said it hopes to build a "floor" for the relationship and ensure that rivalry does not spiral into conflict. The mood in China over the balloon was also glum. "Overall, I do think the Biden administration would like to reschedule, as there are many issues on the table and a real chance for a thaw. But the balloon incident probably means the thaw is postponed indefinitely," said RAND Corporation Indo-Pacific analyst Derek Grossman.

☆ Shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon could be a lot harder than it sounds, former Navy pilot says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Shooting down the suspected Chinese spy balloon is harder than it seems, a former Navy pilot told Insider. The military said there were also concerns that shooting the balloon down could result in safety risks from falling debris. Still, some have urged that the Chinese balloon be shot down, despite the risks. Yu said that the US has the "capability" to shoot down the balloon, but doesn't have "the will." The Pentagon, however, has insisted it is a surveillance balloon, but there are no immediate plans to shoot it down.

☆ Crimea is shaping up to be the battleground that will decide the Russia-Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Crimea is poised to be the next big battlefield, and one that could decide the Ukraine war. "The decisive terrain for this war is Crimea," Ben Hodges, a former commander of US Army Europe, told Insider. Ukraine will "never be safe or secure" if Russia retains control of Crimea, Hodges siad. The fight to retake Crimea could be extremely bloody, in a war that's already led to massive casualties for both sides. President of UkraineUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pledged to expel Russian forces out of all occupied territory, including Crimea.

One man carried out his attack with a gun banned by the state, while the other used a gun he legally owned, police said. Even in California, a state with some of the country's strictest gun laws, the limits can be sidestepped. The prospects for new federal gun laws are dim. The majority of guns used in mass shootings were obtained legally, according to the nonprofit Violence Project, which maintains a database of attacks. Chunli Zhao legally owned the gun used in the Half Moon Bay attack on Monday, police said.

☆ Crashes behind the front lines hint at a looming problem for isolated Russia's Air Force
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia lost several combat aircraft to crashes in the final months of 2022. The question is what has changed in Russian aircraft reliability and maintenance? The site where a Russian military aircraft crashed into a residential building in the city of Irkutsk on October 23. REUTERS/StringerFor example, measuring the impact of mobilization on Russian manufacturing is difficult, as is determining how many aircraft parts Russia is covertly importing. In the end, Russian aircraft maintenance may face a mix of problems.

☆ Russia's top general has inherited a poisoned chalice in Ukraine, after his predecessor lasted just 3 months. This could lead to an escalation in the war.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia appointed a new general in charge of Ukraine war, replacing predecessor after just 3 months. The ministry described Gerasimov not as a simple replacement, but as occupying a new role with even greater oversight over Russia's war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov in Moscow, Russia, on December 21, 2020. McGlynn said Gerasimov's appointment "is definitely a commitment to keep fighting. McGlynn said Gerasimov's appointment "leaves him in an impossible situation and one that is only likely to get worse."

☆ Walter Cunningham, last surviving Apollo 7 astronaut, dies at 90
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Walter Cunningham, the last surviving astronaut from the first successful crewed space mission in NASA’s Apollo program, died Tuesday in Houston. It was NASA’s first crewed space mission since the deaths of the three Apollo 1 astronauts in a launch pad fire Jan. 27, 1967. “We never even knew that there were astronauts when I was growing up,” Cunningham told The Spokesman-Review. After retiring from NASA in 1971, Cunningham worked in engineering, business and investing, and became a public speaker and radio host. Although Cunningham never crewed another space mission after Apollo 7, he remained a proponent of space exploration.

☆ North Korea's Kim orders 'exponential' expansion of nuke arsenal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

During the six-day meeting meant to determine new state objectives, Kim called for "an exponential increase of the country's nuclear arsenal" to mass produce battlefield tactical nuclear weapons targeting South Korea. They still reaffirmed that the door to dialogue with North Korea remains open, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry. Worries about North Korea's nuclear program have grown since the North last year approved a new law that authorized the preemptive use of nuclear weapons in a broad range of situations and openly threatened to use its nuclear weapons first. Earlier Sunday, South Korea's military detected a short-range ballistic missile launched from the North's capital region. North Korea test-fired more than 70 missiles last year, including three short-range ballistic missiles detected by South Korea on Saturday.

How much does insulin cost? People with Type 1 diabetes need, on average, one to three vials of insulin per month, according to the American Diabetes Association. Patients with Type 2 diabetes don't always need to take insulin, but those who do can sometimes require more than people with Type 1 diabetes. Even people with what's considered good health insurance coverage can face steep costs in certain situations. In addition to insulin and insurance premiums, Gibson also must spend $550 every three months for glucose monitors and $1,100 for insulin pumps.

☆ For 60 years, the US Navy has been training dolphins and sea lions to keep rivals away from its most sensitive hardware
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Gidget Fuentes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

The US Navy has been training dolphins and sea lions to detect undersea threats since the 1960s. A US Navy trainer with a Mark 5 Marine Mammal sea lion in Key West in October 1990. The program worked with sharks, rays, and sea turtles but settled on dolphins and sea lions. US NavyThe Navy Marine Mammal Program's budget for 2023 provides $40 million for "food, medicine, veterinary care, husbandry, and facilities," Wilson said. A US Navy sea lion jumps into a riverine command boat during a mine-countermeasures exercise in Bahrain in November 2014.

☆ 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.

☆ North Korea says latest launches tested 1st spy satellite
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The rocket carrying the test satellite was launched Sunday to assess the satellite’s photography and data transmission systems, KCNA said. He said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were analyzing further details of the launches but declined to elaborate. A rocket carrying an experimental satellite is launched from Tongchang-ri, North Korea, in images released Monday. In February and March, North Korea said it conducted tests to check a camera and data transmission systems to be used on a spy satellite. Lee said North Korea may be able to covertly get a more advanced camera that enable it to monitor tanks and the deployment of U.S. strategic assets to South Korea.

☆ North Korea says its new spy satellite hit a major milestone, but it may be 'too crude' to be useful
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Park Chan-Kyong | South China Morning Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

North Korea launched a rocket carrying a test satellite was launched on Sunday. The rocket carrying the test satellite was launched on Sunday to assess its photography and data transmission systems, state media said. North Korea launched Hwasong-17 ICBMs in February and March, claiming they were spy satellite test launches. South Korea, Japan and US authorities on Sunday said they detected a pair of ballistic-missile launches by North Korea from its northwestern Tongchang-ri area, where the North's satellite launch pad is located. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter with what North Korean media called a Hwasong-17 ICBM in Pyongyang on November 18.

☆ North Korea's record-setting missile tests are showing off weapons it has tried to keep hidden for decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In October, North Korea claimed that it had launched an underwater ballistic missile from a lake. In October, North Korea claimed that it had launched an underwater ballistic missile from a lake. A missile launch from a North Korean lake in a photo released on October 10. The entrance to an "intrusion tunnel" under the DMZ between South and North Korea in September 2006. During the Korean War, UN forces used airpower to relentlessly pound North Korean troops, emplacements, and supply lines.

☆ Kim Jong Un's daughter makes her second public appearance
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter made a public appearance again, this time with missile scientists and more honorific titles as her father’s “most beloved” or “precious” child. Others showed Kim’s daughter clapping her hands, exchanging handshakes with a soldier or talking to her father as people cheered in the background. “Kim Ju Ae is expected to appear occasionally at Kim Jong Un’s public events and take a succession training.”Revealing the young Ju Ae came as a huge surprise to foreign experts, as Kim Jong Un and his father Kim Jong Il were both first mentioned in state media dispatches after they became adults. Cheong, however, said Kim Jong Il had Kim Jong Un in mind as his heir when his son was 8 years old. Cheong cited his conversations with Kim Jong Un’s aunt and her husband, who defected to the United States.

☆ 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.

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missile toward sea, South says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile toward its eastern sea on Wednesday as it extended a recent barrage of weapons demonstrations including what it described as simulated attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets last week. Some experts earlier said the results of the U.S. elections were not likely to change the Biden administration’s policies on North Korea. North Korea fired dozens of missiles last week, including an intercontinental ballistic missile that set off evacuation warnings in northern Japan, in an angry reaction to the U.S.-South Korea military exercises. Some experts say it’s possible that North Korea reached into the inventory of some of its older weapons to support the expanded scale of last week’s launches. “It may be in North Korea’s interest to hold some of its modern capabilities in reserve and test them at opportune occasions.

☆ Paul Pelosi break-in shows the Republican Party needs a counterradicalization strategy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Marc Polymeropoulos | Marc Polymeropoulos Served For Years In The Cia | Retired The Senior Intelligence Service In He Is An Msnbc National Security | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

It actively promulgated the killing of Americans and motivated adherents to conduct terrorist attacks around the globe, publishing bomb-making instructions online, for example. Terrorist propaganda is particularly dangerous because lone wolf attacks have been our greatest challenge in the international counterterrorism arena. That means calling out those in the right-wing ecosphere who for years have demonized, and at times even promoted and encouraged, attacks on Pelosi. While a few members of the GOP have spoken out against the attack on Pelosi, far too many are silent. In Saudi Arabia, for example, government officials took the lead in identifying at-risk individuals at all stages, including those in prison who had already perpetrated terror attacks.

☆ The US and Canada are updating a Cold War-era system to keep an eye on Russian and Chinese missiles. Experts say they need to add a lot more territory too.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US and Canada are modernizing NORAD to watch for Russian, Chinese, and North Korean missiles. At the same time, some experts argue that the command should expand beyond North America to include Denmark and its North American territory, Greenland. North American Aerospace Defense Command, as it's now known, is also responsible for detecting and tracking North Korean missile launches. But the North Pole is still a dagger pointed at North America. The defense of North America is still on NORAD's radar.

By pointing to 2027 as the moment when East Asia's power balance may tip in China's favour, Japan's government can rally support for greater defence spending, he added. At a congressional hearing last year, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Admiral Philip Davidson said that China's threat against Taiwan could "manifest" that year. Japanese defence ministry officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In July, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida won national upper house elections with a pledge to "substantially" increase defence spending. The splurge of defence spending should also benefit U.S. suppliers such as Lockheed, Boeing Co (BA.N) and Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N).

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