Free Republic

A Georgia man shot and killed his daughter’s boyfriend after the boyfriend shot her in the back, authorities said. About 4:30 a.m. Sunday, investigators responded to a home in the 3400 block of Jet-Wright Road, Hall County sheriff’s Lt. Scott Ware said. According to the preliminary investigation, the boyfriend, identified as 25-year-old Thomas McNutly, shot his girlfriend after an argument at the home.

The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system destroyed a mock intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific last Tuesday.  The test revealed the efficacy of a new hit-to-kill vehicle meant to protect the United States against ballistic missile threats. The interception of the mock ICBM fired from Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands validated the performance of the GMD interceptor missile which was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.  The test was necessary to move forward with US plans to add eight more interceptors to the inventory by the end of 2017, bringing the total to...

In a “critical milestone” for the program to provide a missile defense umbrella over the U.S. homeland, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency on Tuesday reported the first successful interception and destruction in flight of a target with ICBM characteristics. A ground-based interceptor launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California collided with and destroyed an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)-class projectile that had been launched from at atoll in the Marshall Islands, more than 4,500 miles away, the MDA reported. Tuesday’s was the 18th text since October 1999, and the tenth to have been declared successful. Three of the eight...

As recently as 1990, the United States was the world’s largest producer of minerals—a collection of nonfuel resources that are the building blocks of today’s technologies. In the ensuing decades, quite a different trend has emerged. Of 88 mineral commodities tracked by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the United States is more than 25 percent import-dependent for 62 of them. That trend is growing worse. In its annual Mineral Commodity Summary, USGS notes: Several U.S. metal mines and processing facilities were idled or closed permanently in 2016, including iron ore mines in Michigan and Minnesota; three primary aluminum smelters in...

Lockheed Martin is planning to add 500 new jobs at its Missiles and Fire Control plant in South Orlando, and the defense contractor is seeking $3.5 million in incentives for the expansion. Lockheed will pay the 500 new employees an average salary of $87,000, according to a proposed county resolution to authorize the tax refunds. The hiring would be phased in over the next five years. The Orange County Board of County Commissioners is set to vote Tuesday on its portion of the incentive package, $700,000. According to the resolution, other regions are competing for the Lockheed expansion, but it...

WASHINGTON: All hands, brace for disappointment. The president’s promised naval buildup won’t begin in the 2018 budget out next week — or maybe ever. Sure, before the election, candidate Donald Trump promised a 350-ship Navy. Sure, just this morning, House Speaker Paul Ryan repeated the 350 figure. Sure, this week the Chief of Naval Operations emphasized the buildup should and could be fast. US shipyards could deliver 29 additional ships over the next seven years, said the CNO, Adm. John Richardson. That averages to 4.1 additional ships per year, although the first years would probably be lower because the shipyards...

Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday provided an update on the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, including on two significant changes President Trump has authorized that will accelerate progress and defeat the terrorist group. First, James Mattis said, Trump has authorized him to delegate more decision-making authority down to U.S. commanders who are on the ground with Iraqi and Syrian partners fighting ISIS, to speed up the program. “No longer will we have slowed decision cycles because Washington D.C. has to authorize tactical movements on the ground. I have absolute confidence as does the president, our...

  The X-37B spaceplane on the runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after landing May 7. Some argue it’s time for the Air Force to start planning to use its capabilities to preempt hostile actions in space. (credit: US Air Force) It’s time for the US Air Force to prepare for preemption in space by Edward G. Ferguson and John J. KleinMonday, May 8, 2017 The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the US Air Force, Falcon Research or those of the United States government. A version...

The United States could reduce Pentagon spending by over a trillion dollars in the next decade-spending $5.2 trillion rather than the currently planned $6.3 trillion- by adopting strategy of military restraint. That’s the bottom line of a study I produced along with several colleagues as part of “Developing Alternative Defense Strategies 2016,” an exercise organized by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, where groups from five think tanks used CSBA’s “Strategic Choices” software to reimagine the U.S. military budget.The others all increased military spending. The teams from the Center for New American Security and the Center for Strategic and...

Top generals have been insisting for years that if North Korea launched a missile at the United States, the U.S military would be able to shoot it down. But that is a highly questionable assertion, according to independent scientists and government investigators. In making it, the generals fail to acknowledge huge questions about the effectiveness of the $40 billion missile defense system they rely on to stop a potential nuclear-armed ballistic missile fired by North Korean or Iran, according to a series of outside reviews. "They are leading political leaders to believe that they have a military capability that they...

April 18 (UPI) -- ...According to the Yonhap news service the hit-to-kill missile system will undergo final evaluation next month to determine it's suitability for production and deployment...The indigenously developed M-SAM is a key element of the country's Korea Air and Missile Defense system. It has the capability to destroy incoming ballistic missiles at an altitude of about 12.4 miles. The missile was developed by South Korea's Agency for Defense Development and LIG Nex1...

U.S. defense contractors Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General dynamics noticed surge in their shares following tomahawk missile strikes by Donald Trump government on Thursday. The budget Trump proposed last month includes an additional $52 billion for the Department of Defense. “I’m proud that I have successfully advocated in Congress to keep the Tomahawk missile line at Raytheon in Tucson open so that this weapon was ready and available when our armed forces needed it”, McSally said in a statement early Friday. There are many versions of the Tomahawk, which Raytheon produces for the navies of the United...

Yesterday there was a thread discussing, somewhat critically, the F-35. I have heard good things about the plane from the fighter jock community, but these guys were older pilots, none of whom flew the F-35. I personally know almost nothing about it, and I asked them for info. They sent the following comments and links which seem pretty positive: http://whythef35.blogspot.com/2012/05/comparing-f-16s-development-with-f-35.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2016/03/28/solid-progress-f-35-fighter-pentagons-biggest-program-is-moving-forward-fast/#1d07166d4b57 From a pilot, who has not flown the F-35: The F-35 is very complicated—3 different variants (USAF, USN, USMC), millions of lines of code, stealth, new technology, etc.; Building a new fighter is ALWAYS difficult, but given the notes...

Army chief Gen. Mark Milley had just warned the House Armed Services Committee that if Congress punts on a new defense budget at the end of this month, it will result in American deaths on the battlefield. . . . Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., cut off the general during his answers and argued that lawmakers should not have to approve new war funding without details on how it will be spent. "General, where is the war plan for ISIS? You were told to have it done in 30 days," Garamendi said. Milley declined to discuss what he said is classified...

President Trump’s “skinny budget” — which would shift $54 billion in non-defense discretionary spending over to defense — has been unfairly savaged for allegedly eviscerating the social safety net.Headlines such as “How Trump’s Budget Cuts Could Hurt Low-Income Americans” (CNN) and “If You’re a Poor Person in America, Trump’s Budget is Not For You” (Washington Post) were accompanied by a New York Times editorial describing the budget as a sadistic attempt to “impose pain for pain’s sake.”Such headlines may lead people to wonder just how deeply President Trump’s budget proposal would cut federal anti-poverty spending below current levels: Ten...

A Florida mom sent a burglar 'running for his life' with a shotgun after he broke into her home. The burglary attempt was caught on surveillance video that shows the alleged thief on the woman's front porch. In the shocking video, the man is seen pulling up on the woman's front lawn. He walks up to the door and appears to knock. After a few moments, he tries to break through the door.

In this interesting video of an attempted robbery, the clerk's situational awareness allows him to respond quickly. The shooting occurred on March 10, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio. The clerk is suspicious of the customer coming in the door with his hand hidden. The clerk draws his semi-auto from his right side back pocket.  The lack of a holster is a good clue to a lack of training. Store personnel armed themselves after three armed robberies in a year. Link to video: In the video, I was only able to detect two shots.  One can be heard as the suspect...

The pleasantries, lack of handshake between Trump and Merkel notwithstanding, are officially over. One day after Trump returned to his favorite medium to slam Germany for abusing NATO's funding scheme, and US defense spending generosity, accusing Germany of owing "vast sums" of money to both NATO and the US, Germany has struck back. As a reminder, this is what Trump tweeted on Saturday morning: "Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more...

In a clash with President Trump's environmental team, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has declared that climate change is a threat to national security and one military planners must consider in drawing up strategies. According to a report from ProPublica, Mattis told Democratic senators that climate change is real and "can be a driver of instability." His position, at odds with President Trump and his Environmental Protection Agency chief, came in answers to questions from senators following his confirmation hearing. They were released to ProPublica which reached out to the White House and Pentagon for comment without success. _____________________________________________ Andy Revkin...

Washington Examiner’s Daily On Defense Newsletter WHO WILL TILLERSON MEET WITH? With the unanimous vote of South Korea’s constitutional court, President Park Geun-hye has been impeached and removed on corruption charges, and elections for a new president must be held in 60 days. Demonstrators filled the streets of Seoul today, and several have died in the protests. The government crisis comes as North Korea has been ratcheting up tensions with its missile tests, and China has been pressing the South to reject the American missiles defense system known as THAAD. And into the fray goes Secretary of State Rex Tillerson,...