9/27/2023 Weekly Frontline Update: Ukrainian attacks paralyze Russian army command  Last week, the Ukrainian Army advanced further on the southern front and continued to decimate Russian military targets in Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, the Ukrainian missile attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in occupied Sevastopol (Crimea, southern Ukraine) allegedly eliminated 34 Russian officers. |
9/27/2023 Another Ukraine’s MiG-29 Parked Fighter Jet ‘Falls Prey’ To Russian Lancet-3 Kamikaze Drone Around a week after a Russian Lancet-3 loitering munition destroyed a parked Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) fighter, another MiG-29 jet was hit in the same way and, coincidentally, in the same region where the UAF air bases are located. The attacks are another landmark moment for drone warfare in general and Russian and Iranian kamikaze UAVs like the Lancet and the Shahed-136 in particular, that have consistently redefined warfare throughout multiple stages in the war. |
9/27/2023 Romania Begins Largest Ever Arms Deal with Request to Buy F-35 Jets  Romania has begun the process for the most expensive purchase in the history of the armed forces by officially requesting legislative approval in a document sent to the parliament’s leadership to launch the program to buy 32 F-35 fighter jets worth 6.5 billion dollars. The Supreme Council of Defence of the Country, CSAT, decided in April that Romania would purchase the stealth multirole combat aircraft from the US in a government-to-government deal. |
9/27/2023 ‘Cash Cows’ Saudi Arabia & Japan Could Dramatically Boost GCAP Fighter Jet Program; Eclipse Franco-German FCAS  After Japan, resource-rich Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in jointly developing the 6th generation fighter jet, which is expected to take to the skies by 2035 and could eclipse the best contemporary fighter jets. |
9/26/2023 Japan’s growing military power will help the West challenge China’s threat  Last December, the UK, Italy and Japan agreed to combine their respective projects and build next-generation military fighter aircraft in a scheme dubbed the Global Combat Aircraft Programme (GCAP). At the DSEI international arms fair in London earlier this month, the three principal contractors, BAE Systems, Leonardo SpA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries concluded a Collaboration Agreement to develop long-term working arrangements and capability requirements for GCAP. |
9/26/2023 Air Capabilities of the Taliban: A Geospatial Analysis  When the Taliban overran the last government held positions, the bulk of the Afghan Air Force departed for Tajikistan. After the fall of Kabul, the United States likewise left an inordinate amount of military hardware. A good amount of that hardware included rotorwing assets. Attention has now turned towards whether or not the Taliban are capable of fielding offensive air assets. |
9/26/2023 Generate Airpower, Check: Kadena ACEs no-notice exercise  The U.S. Air Force’s ability to rapidly generate airpower at a moment’s notice was put to the test at Kadena Air Base, when the 18th Wing conducted a no-notice agile combat employment exercise Sept. 22, 2023. Airmen from the 18th Wing partnered with deployed Airmen from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, and Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, to launch multiple F-15C/D Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles and F-35A Lightning IIs without prior notice. |
9/26/2023 In Argentina’s fighter competition, Washington and Beijing fight for regional influence  The global influence struggle between the United States and the People’s Republic of China has quietly arrived in America’s backyard, with Washington attempting to fend off Beijing establishing a sizeable military relationship with Argentina. The competition, as it so often does between large powers, is playing out through a defense industrial decision: Namely, whether Buenos Aries buys second-hand Danish F-16 A/B Fighting Falcons or newly-made Chengdu JF-17 Thunder Block Three fighters from Chi |
9/24/2023 ASEAN concludes first-ever joint military drills in Indonesia  Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have strengthened cooperation in maritime security through their first-ever joint military exercise on Indonesian islands in the South China Sea, where China has been increasing maritime activities. Indonesia hosted the military drills that took place from Tuesday through Saturday on the Natuna Islands and elsewhere. Jakarta holds this year's rotating chair of ASEAN. |
9/24/2023 A Month After Prigozhin’s Suspicious Death, the Kremlin Is Silent on His Plane Crash and Legacy  Why Yevgeny Prigozhin's private jet plummeted into a field northwest of Moscow is still a mystery. The Russian military leaders he tried to oust with his armed rebellion remain in power. His mercenary army is under new management. And President Vladimir Putin, whose authority was badly dented by the short-lived mutiny, seems as strong as ever, with Prigozhin's fiery death sending a chilling message to anyone challenging him. |