Interesting articles:
Next Generation Air Dominance Fighter’s Future Increasingly Uncertain
The Air Force is reassessing what it wants out of a new crewed sixth-generation stealth combat jet set to cost triple the price of an F-35.
https://www.twz.com/air/next-generation-air-dominance-fighters-future-increasingly-uncertain
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New Electronic Warfare Pod Turns Marine MQ-9 Reaper Into “A Black Hole”
The new electronic warfare and intelligence collection pod enables MQ-9 Reapers to be “mostly undetectable,” according to the Marine Corps Commandant.
https://www.twz.com/news-features/new-electronic-warfare-pod-turns-marine-mq-9-reaper-into-a-black-hole
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Ukraine Situation Report: Russia Strikes Airbase In Drone-Directed Missile Attack
While both sides confirm that an attack took place at the Mirgorod Air Base in central Ukraine, the extent of the damage is in dispute.
https://www.twz.com/land/ukraine-situation-report-russia-strikes-airbase-in-drone-directed-missile-attack
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Russia Jumps Into Purpose-Built Drone-Hunting Drone Weapons Space
The kamikaze drone is billed as the latest Russian effort to try and counter Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicles on the battlefield.
https://www.twz.com/air/russia-jumps-into-purpose-built-drone-hunting-drone-weapons-space
Good shooting. In one more way (specialty steels), Russia is totally dependent on China.
Kyiv Independent reports:
“A Ukrainian drone attack on July 1 seriously damaged the Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant in Belgorod Oblast, a military intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent on July 3...
...The plant is located in the area of the Stariy Oskol city, nearly 115 km (72 miles) from the Ukraine-Russia border. It is the only full-cycle metallurgical enterprise in Russia, according to the source.
The facility is vital for the Russian military-industrial complex, the source noted...
...The source described the scale of damage from the Ukrainian attack as “serious.”
Work at the plant was suspended after Ukrainian “kamikaze” drones hit two major power substations near the villages of Neznamovo and Volokonovskoye in Belgorod Oblast.
The Metallurgicheskaya substation near the Volokonovskoye village is one of the largest power substations in Europe, the source said.
The strikes resulted in a complete blackout at the plant, shutting down all electric arc furnaces with frozen metal inside. The furnaces need to be completely cleaned and the arc elements to be replaced to restart. It could take several months, the source told the Kyiv Independent.
“Some of the plant’s employees believe that the furnaces will have to be replaced with new ones. Considering that the plant was built by German specialists using German technology, it will likely be difficult to restart the plant’s operations without their participation,” the source added.
The facility produces high-quality steel, including alloyed specialty steels (SBQ), for the automotive and mechanical engineering industries. It uses the blast-free direct reduction technology MIDREX and electric arc melting.
The plant’s products are used by GAZ, UAZ, and KamAZ, among other Russian military-industrial enterprises.
The Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant, as well as its owner, Metalloinvest company, were included in the sanctions lists of the U.S. and U.K. in April 2023 in light of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.”
Here's a picture:
Supposed to receive guidance from ground based radar as well as laser guidance.
The article states that the "operator is also said to be responsible for triggering the explosive warhead in the nose of the drone."
IMHO, this will cause a lot of misses.