Free Republic

The U.S. military operation in Venezuela, which neutralized air bases, military barracks, and strategic nodes across the country—and ultimately achieved its objective of removing Nicolás Maduro from power—laid bare one of the main structural weaknesses of the Venezuelan Armed Forces: the fragility of its Chinese-origin air defense system when confronted by an adversary with supremacy in electronic warfare, intelligence, and precision strike capabilities. During the short duration of the operation, U.S. assets succeeded in degrading and blinding key sensors within the defensive network, paving the way for the employment of expeditionary air-mobile capabilities from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment,...

However, these radars did little to defend Venezuela against an impending attack. A military observer who writes on defense matters said on X: “In the 3 hr operation to capture/arrest Maduro, US forces not only proved Russian air defense useless but also proved Chinese technology useless. This is a Chinese promo for its JY-27 ‘anti-stealth’ radar, of which Venezuela bought 9, all of which failed to detect the incoming aircraft.”

".......Lisandro Barazarte, a photographer with the local newspaper, Notitarde, caught images of several of the men shooting into the crowd while steadying their firearms on their palms. "They were practiced shooters," Barazarte said. "More were armed, but didn't fire." When it was over, two La Isabelica men were dead: a 22-year-old student, Jesus Enrique Acosta, and a little league baseball coach, Guillermo Sanchez. Witnesses told the AP the first was shot in the head, the second in the back. They said neither was at the barricades when he was killed.... ....."They put a pistol in my face and said they...

The most senior member of the United States military has offered a grippingly detailed account of how Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured. General John Daniel 'Raizin' Cane, who is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said 150 US military aircraft stationed across the western hemisphere had waited for weeks for the perfect moment to strike, before it finally arrived on Friday. Addressing journalists at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday, Cane said preparations to capture Maduro and his wife Cilia began in August 2025 when CIA spies began monitoring the Maduros movements. Cane...

The U.S. Army’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request includes the acquisition of 233 PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors, scaling up PAC-3 MSE procurement by a factor of four to close the munitions gap in active theaters. The 233 missiles are funded through a combination of sources: 130 from base discretionary accounts and 103 from the Overseas Operations Cost (OOC) budget. An additional 96 interceptors are covered by $366 million in mandatory reconciliation authority, which is additive to the 233 previously mentioned. The combined total requested for FY2026 is $1.311 billion, consisting of $945.9 million in discretionary funding and $366...

Russia - Masque Of The Red Death Vladimir Putin has been hailed perhaps as the pivotal post cold war Russian leader. He has executed a skillful dog and pony show, convincing both the Bush and Blair administrations that the former Soviet Union was not only no longer a military threat to the West but was indeed now becoming a close ally. Obviously Russia's cooperation with the French and German UN delegation's intransigence in dealing with Iraq has done much to throw cold water on this heretofore-budding union. It's important to note that such a relationship offered hope, though ultimately unfounded,...

The United States is working with NATO partners to locate additional Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 20 during Senate testimony on the State Department's budget. Ukraine has consistently warned that its current air defense capacity is insufficient to counter the scale of Russia's intensified missile and drone attacks. "The U.S. is looking for Patriot batteries to be able to transfer from other NATO nations into Ukrainian hands," Rubio told lawmakers, adding that no country is willing to give up these systems, and the U.S. cannot produce them quickly enough. Kyiv...

Saturday's strike was not just a threat; it was a promise that reached the heart of Tehran. As dawn broke over Tehran on Saturday, it wasn’t the usual hum of a busy city greeting the morning. Instead, the reverberations of precision strikes echoed across Iran’s strategic landscape. You could almost picture the startled faces behind closed doors in Iran’s power centers, scrambling to understand how Israel managed to pull off an operation so audacious, so brazen, and, yet, so meticulously calculated. For more than three hours, Israel struck with unprecedented precision, unmasking a simple truth: Tehran, for all its bluster,...

IGAZA: IDF says it attacked Hamas terrorists in former school compound in Gaza City ■ LEBANON: Two drones that crossed into Israel from Lebanon intercepted over open areas■ Iran's parliament speaker says response to Israel 'is certain...IDF: Some 70 Hezbollah members killed in airstrikes; dozens of targets destroyed....RECAP: Israel destroyed air defense systems near oil refineries in Iran; According to a New York Times report, in Israel's retaliatory strike against Iran, Israeli planes first attacked air defense batteries and radars in Syria and Iraq. After clearing the path, Israeli planes flew in the direction of Iran, a distance of more...

Could this have involved weapons supplied by Russia?

Preliminary results of the most massive attack by the Russian Armed Forces on objects in Ukraine in recent times: ▪️At least five explosions were recorded in the area of ​​​​Zhulyany airport in Kyiv, where the positions of the American Patriot air defense system may be located ▪️A total of about 10 arrivals were recorded in Kyiv ▪️The strikes in Vinnytsia and Poltava hit the locations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units for rotation ▪️Emergency power outages began throughout Ukraine after the strikes ▪️Power grid facilities were hit in Poltava, Lutsk and Odessa ▪️There are arrivals at industrial and infrastructure facilities...

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department in Florida reported a 72-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly shooting down a Walmart delivery drone. Dennis Winn, 72, was arrested after he allegedly shot down a Walmart Delivery drone that was making mock deliveries in his neighborhood. According to Local 12 News, Winn fired shots at the drone because he believed it was watching him. Winn is being charged with”shooting at an aircraft, criminal mischief with damage over $1,000, and discharging a firearm on public or residential property.” Despite taking a bullet, the drone was able to fly back safely to Walmart, but...

A new high-tech laser weapon developed by the UK that is capable of shooting down enemy drones and missiles could be sent to Ukraine. The weapon, dubbed DragonFire, was originally slated for deployment by 2027, but Grant Shapps, the UK defense secretary, said he hoped to "speed up" production so it could be put to use on Ukraine's front line. Speaking to journalists on a visit to the Porton Down military research hub in Salisbury, England, Shapps said he would look to see if the pace can be increased even further "in order for Ukrainians perhaps to get their hands...

The response to the ongoing attack on Israel is underway. This is the first time that Iran has fired on Israel from its own territory proper, so that's a bad progression in the direction of more direct involvement. U.S. forces in the area have reportedly shot down "dozens" of drones targeting Israel. They've also reportedly taken out missiles, as well. US shoots down Dozens of Iranian Drones & … pic.twitter.com/2dwlOTHMmk— cagrown5 (@cagrown5) April 14, 2024The U.S. was also coordinating with Jordan and Egypt. Jordan reportedly also took out ones crossing their airspace. Fox's Jennifer Griffin suggested the first wave might...

President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with national television on April 6, called on international partners to provide Ukraine with modern air defense systems to defend against Russian attacks. Russian troops have intensified their attacks during the spring, mainly targeting energy and civilian infrastructure. According to Ukraine's Interior Ministry, Russia has conducted around 30,000 strikes on Ukrainian territory in 2024. As Moscow increased its attacks, the shortage of air defense systems in Ukraine became more tangible, particularly in the territories proximate to the front line. "I will not tell you how many Patriot systems we have. I can say that...

KYIV: Ukraine could run out of air defense missiles if Russia keeps up its intense long-range bombing campaign, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in remarks aired on Saturday. The Ukrainian leader’s starkest warning to date of the deteriorating situation faced by his country’s air defenses follows weeks of Russian strikes on the energy system, towns and cities using a broad arsenal of missiles and drones. “If they keep hitting (Ukraine) every day the way they have for the last month, we might run out of missiles, and the partners know it,” he said in an interview that aired on Ukrainian television.

Ukraine has doubled down on demands for U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, pressing for vital, sophisticated assets to shield its cities at a moment of deepening concern over the future of military aid destined for Ukraine. "Give us the damn Patriots," Kyiv's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told Politico in an interview published on Monday. Ukraine is thought to have a handful of Patriot batteries, considered the gold-standard of air defenses. The exact number and locations are not known, but Ukraine is believed to have batteries stationed around major cities, like Kyiv, as well as close to the front lines. According...

A court on Tuesday sentenced a former senior officer in the National Guard to six years in a prison colony after convicting him of buying equipment unable to protect the bridge which links southern Russia to Crimea, the TASS state news agency reported. TASS said that Colonel Sergei Volkov had purchased two radar-based air defence systems for 395 million roubles ($4.5 million) which were meant to be able to bring down Ukrainian attack drones by suppressing their signal. A military court in Moscow had determined that the equipment - which was also meant to protect a gas pipeline running from...

I have no idea why the DOJ is putting out a press release about this. It seems more like the sort of thing to never mention again. A U.S. Navy service member was sentenced today to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,500 fine for transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to an intelligence officer from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in exchange for bribery payments. According to court documents, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, aka Thomas Zhao, of Monterey Park, California, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of conspiring with the intelligence officer and...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is encouraging U.S. allies to “dig deep” and provide more air defense systems for Ukraine, saying that the munitions could be critical to stop Russian missile barrages. “Air defense is saving lives,” Austin said at a meeting of NATO and allied military leaders in Germany. “So I urge this group to continue to dig deep on ground-based air defense for Ukraine. We must continue to push hard to provide Ukraine with air-defense systems and interceptors.” Tuesday marked the 15th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, made up of military leaders from more than 50 nations...