Free Republic

The US Air National Guard is preparing for the largest movement of forces across the Atlantic Ocean in its history. The service will send 100 aircraft to the US to take part in the Air Defender 2023 military exercise. Here's What We Know The upcoming exercise will take place from June 12 to 22. They are designed to demonstrate the US Air National Guard's ability to quickly deploy and use forces across Europe in the event that war in Ukraine spreads to NATO countries. Lieutenant General Michael Loh made the announcement. The United States will send approximately 100 aircraft to...

"We now estimate 97% of the whole Russian army is in Ukraine," Wallace told the BBC on Wednesday. "We haven't actually seen this massing of a single force to punch through in a big offensive," Wallace told BBC. "We've just seen an effort to advance, and that has come at a huge cost to the Russian army."...Western officials are skeptical of Russia forging an all-out offensive next week, partly because it has already activated the vast majority of ground forces inside Ukraine territories.

Citing a Zerohedge report, The Gateway Pundit noted that the Chinese altimeter satellite ICESAT-2/43613, fired green laser bursts over Maunakea, Hawaii on January 28, 2023. That Chinese military operation occurred simultaneously with the arrival of a Chinese spy balloon, which entered U.S. airspace over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska also on January 28, 2023. After being allowed to fly over the entire U.S. mainland, including sensitive military installations, the Chinese spy balloon was finally shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4, 2023. Within the last 24 hours, a “high altitude object,” presumably another Chinese spy balloon,...

Defence sources warn Britain will be unable "credibly" to offer as many troops as NATO allies would expect to a major new force structure being drawn up by the alliance to bolster its defences. At the same time, the sources said a "refresh" of UK defence policy - that was meant to inform the spending plans of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - could be delayed until after the March budget because an initial draft failed to reflect sufficiently the transformed security environment in Europe, where a land war is raging. "It is not very joined up...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia was being threatened by German tanks, like during World War Two, speaking at an event in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, marking the Soviet victory over Nazi forces in the city. 'It's unbelievable but true. We are again being threatened by German Leopard tanks,' Putin said, adding that Russia had an 'answer' to any country that threatened it. Putin appeared to have brought his 'nuclear football' to Volgograd. Aides were seen close to the dictator carrying two black bags. Observers believed one was a fold-up shield to protect Putin in the event of shooting,...

As a follow up to our previous item asking questions about our grand strategy toward Russia, Iran, and the Ukranian war (such as whether the Biden Administration has a grand strategy at all), this item from today’s Wall Street Journal jumps out:Yet the largest ground war in Europe since World War II isn’t translating into boom times for U.S. defense contractors. Hobbled by supply chain disruptions, a tight labor market and a Pentagon procurement process that can take years, arms makers have been struggling to respond to the soaring demand. . .When the Pentagon ordered new Stinger antiaircraft missiles—widely used...

The recent decision by Olaf Scholz’s German government to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks – after weeks of clear reluctance to provoke Vladimir Putin – was more than a domestic policy shift. It also demonstrated how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could prove to be a tipping point in a long-running battle of ideas between two schools of thought in the field of international affairs. Scholars refer to the two camps as liberals and realists. A defining characteristic of liberalism is its view that global politics is an arena where moral values, legal norms and institutions are crucial for regulating...

WASHINGTON ― The U.S. defense-industrial base is not ready for a battle over Taiwan, as it would run out of key long-range, precision-guided munitions in less than one week, according to a new report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.U.S. military aid to Ukraine has helped prevent a Russian victory against the neighboring nation, but that assistance has depleted Pentagon stockpiles and shown that the American defense industry cannot surge for a major war, the think tank found.“As the war in Ukraine illustrates, a war between major powers is likely to be a protracted, industrial-style conflict that needs...

The U.S. will not be able to restock inventories of critical munitions sent to Ukraine for years, even as some stockpiles have become nearly depleted, the Center for Strategic and International Studies found. The U.S. has provided 1.1 million rounds of 155mm ammunition to Ukraine as of Thursday, according to the Pentagon.

Negotiations Russia "does not reject" negotiations with Ukraine, but there are some "delays that complicate the process" of negotiations. This was said by Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov quoted by Tass. In an interview with Rossiya-1 television, Lavrov reported that Vladimir Putin convened a meeting with the Duma, the lower house of parliament, and leaders of the different factions. "The president told the participants that we do not reject negotiations," Lavrov stressed, but he accused the Ukrainians of delaying the process of negotiations. Kiev, Putin said again according to Lavrov's account, "should understand that the longer it delays the process, the...

WASHINGTON—The war in Ukraine has depleted American stocks of some types of ammunition and the Pentagon has been slow to replenish its arsenal, sparking concerns among U.S. officials that American military readiness could be jeopardized by the shortage. The U.S. has during the past six months supplied Ukraine with 16 U.S. rocket launchers, known as Himars, thousands of guns, drones, missiles and other equipment. Much of that, including ammunition, has come directly from U.S. inventory, depleting stockpiles intended for unexpected threats, defense officials say. One of the most lethal weapons the Pentagon has sent are howitzers that fire high-explosive 155mm...

US military aid has been key to Ukraine's effective defense against Russia's renewed invasion. Most of those weapons have come from US military stocks, but some are coming straight from the design table. The Phoenix Ghost tactical unmanned aerial system is one of them. In late April, the Pentagon announced it would send 121 Phoenix Ghost drones to Ukraine. According to the Pentagon, the US Air Force had been working on the Phoenix Ghost well before Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border on February 24. However, once the war started, the Pentagon decided that the drone would be well suited...

Chinese president Xi Jinping has set a timeline for his nation's military to be capable of taking Taiwan by 2027 — just five years from now. Recent events in the Taiwan strait have some questioning the strategic situation and prospects of a near-term invasion. Colin H. Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said that while China is very interested in expanding its sphere of political and military influence in the Indo-Pacific region, it's likely going to be more cautious when it comes to a move as aggressive as an invasion of Taiwan. "I do not think that China wants...

The Pentagon is preparing detailed analysis and working out how to support Ukraine's military in the medium and long term, including after the war with Russia has ended, according to three defense officials. The efforts are being led by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and would build on the billions of dollars in military aid the US has given to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February. The process is at an early stage and a senior defense official said it is looking at the "future of Ukrainian forces," aiming to answer key questions about "what...

Russia slapped Hollywood stars Ben Stiller and Sean Penn with sanctions on Monday in response to their public criticism of Moscow's war on Ukraine. Putin's foreign ministry included the actors on a new list of 25 US citizens banned from the country. Those affected are mainly politicians, trade officials and industrial executives. The sanctions bar them from entering Russia. Stiller and Penn have been vocal supporters of Ukraine in the conflict and have met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in high-profile shows of support. In a televised meeting in Kyiv in June, Stiller, star of Zoolander, Meet the Parents and Dodgeball,...

Yesterday, Medvedev posted a rant on his messaging app (for some reason) in which he accused the United States and NATO of plotting to “break up” the Russian Federation. But he warned that even if the alleged plot succeeded, the result would be “doomsday,” and any country attempting it would be engaged in a “chess game with Death.” And I think we all know what that means. (Associated Press)

BRUSSELS (AP) – Weapons stocks in the European Union are running low as member countries continue to sends arms and ammunition to Ukraine, the bloc’s top diplomat warned Monday as he urged EU nations to better coordinate their spending on military materiel. “The military stocks of most member-states has been, I wouldn’t say exhausted, but depleted in a high proportion, because we have been providing a lot of capacity to the Ukrainians,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a debate with European lawmakers.

Liz Truss has been made Prime Minister of Britain. This was expected, but also the darkest day possible for Britain. Previously, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had backed Liz Truss’ view that Russian forces must be pushed out of “the whole of Ukraine” – and suggested this should include Crimea. Even the Guardian at the time had accused Liz Truss’ position was “recklessly inflaming Ukraine’s war to serve her own ambition.” Meanwhile, in Russia, this was playing out on TV endorsing World War III. Everything that can possibly point to war is unfolding before our eyes. There are no peacemakers...

Well, that was quite the show. The Nazi background theme was an interesting choice. I'd love to know who came up with that one. Using US Marines in a thinly veiled threat against fellow Americans was in bad taste. The implication that Biden is going to use the military to eradicate MAGA Republicans is the concerning. Karine Jean-Pierre, the nitwit who masquerades as the White Press Secretary, assured us ahead of time that Biden's speech was going to be optimistic and not political. Lying is about the only thing she does well. After Biden's Hitleresque diatribe she declared that the...

The war currently underway in Ukraine, which pits Ukraine as a proxy for the collective West against Russia, is primarily an ideological or religious one, with Russia representing what is left of Christian Europe, and “the West” representing a totalitarian ideology that abhors religion in general and Christianity in particular. This statement may sound strange, given the fact that some Westerners – though fewer every day – still see “the West,” (basically Europe and North America) as Christian, and Russia as Communist, or crypto-Communist.