Free Republic

Three National Guard members were killed when a military helicopter crashed in upstate New York Wednesday evening, officials said. The aircraft, a UH-60 medical evacuation helicopter, was on a routine mission when it crashed in Mendon, a rural town near Rochester, around 6:30 p.m., according to the New York National Guard.

Designed to replace the variants of the Saab 35 Viggen and Saab 37 Draken combat aircraft, Sweden’s JAS 39 Gripen was first flown in December 1988 and entered operational service with the Swedish Air Force in 1997. Developed as part of a joint effort by an industrial consortium that consisted of Saab, Saab Microwave Systems (formerly Ericsson), Volvo Aero Corporation, Saab Avitronics and FFV Aerotech, the Gripen was the first Swedish multirole combat aircraft – capable of conducting interception, ground-attack, and reconnaissance.

I'm just wondering if the illegitimate, usurping Biden regime has a timeline for withdrawing the troops from Washington. It's over, isn't it? The long-dreaded armed insurrection never materialized. Everything is fine and peaceful now. Time to de-Trumpify America, right?

The B-21 Raider, named after the Doolittle Raiders of World War II fame, could make its maiden flight sometime in mid-2022, according to reporting by Air Force Magazine. B-21 airframe number one has already completed, with construction on the second airframe already underway.

One of the most iconic scenes in the over-the-top Rambo: First Blood Part II involves the shirtless Sylvester Stallone wielding the M60E3 while firing from the hip. Even those who don’t know guns would recognize it as “Rambo’s gun.” While Stallone’s handling was cinematic, to say the least, it was still a very real weapon that saw use with the U.S. military around the world.

As the Biden administration prepares to inherit the Space Force, it has a profound choice to make: Is space a commons to share or a territory to defend? Yes, the Biden administration could try to convince Congress to formally change where the Space Force fits into the Pentagon’s organization chart, demoting it from its standing as a branch of the military. But the more meaningful action would be to choose to see space as a commons, breaking with Trump’s orbital policies that treated a war in space as inevitable—and America’s to win.... ...The best way for the Biden administration to...

...A bust of Winston Churchill has been removed from display..Flags of the US military branches, which Trump originally added to the decor of the room, have been removed.

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ ARMORED HORIZON An armored vehicle sits on the horizon during Trident Juncture 2015 in Almería, Spain, Oct. 30, 2015. The exercise enabled Reserve Marines to gain experience within their military occupational specialty and demonstrate their readiness with other foreign nationals. The vehicle is assigned to the 4th Marine Division. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl Gabrielle Quire Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. VIPER FIRE Marines fire a BGM-71 missile...

Despite all the fearmongering, the violence never erupted. It's worth asking why.Following the violence that overtook our nation’s Capitol after a group of extremists breached the historic building during the congressional certification of the 2020 Electoral College votes, Democrats and the corporate media breathlessly reported that state capitols all over the nation would face a similar fate at the hands of deplorable Trump supporters.After the FBI allegedly leaked to the press a bulletin about the coming attacks, the media and their lawmaking friends readily amplified it. States then called in the National Guard and fortified their capitols, and Americans around...

In 2004, the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) issued a solicitation that called for a new weapon for special operators. However, the Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle wasn’t just to be a single rifle, but actually, a platform that would be designed around two different calibers yet maintain a high commonality of parts while having identical ergonomics. The weapon was to replace the various AR-15 derived 5.56x45mm rifles as the updated M-14s that were then in service with the special operators. Among the entries included the Heckler & Koch HK416 modular system, but in the end, the FN...

~ Freeper Canteen ~--Canteen Mission Statement--Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Today We Want You To Take The.....Are You A Citizen Of The World Quiz Click HERE and take the quiz!To share your results, click on the green "HTML" button, then copy and paste the code into a "Reply" box. Have fun!Please remember that The Canteen is here to support and entertain our troops and veterans and their families, and is family friendly.

When it comes to getting from point A to point B, taking to the air is the quickest way possible, obviously. For commercial fliers, nothing was faster than the British-French designed Concorde SST, which could reach Mach 2.04 (2,180 km/h) at cruise altitude. The supersonic transport had an excellent safety record until 2000 when Air France flight 4590 crashed just after taking off from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. It re-entered service, but rising costs grounded the plane permanently three years later. The Concorde’s record for cross Atlantic commercial travel has yet to be beaten, but when it comes to raw...

Just before the outbreak of the American Civil War, inventor Richard Jordan Gatling designed the world’s first successful rapid-fire weapon. Technically not a “machine gun” in the modern sense, it was spring-loaded and hand-cranked. The forerunner to the weapons that were to come, the Gatling gun’s operation centered on a cyclic multi-barrel design that allowed for its rapid-fire, but also facilitated cooling of the barrels. The Gatling gun did see some limited use in the Civil War but proved its worth during the Spanish-American War when it was employed to great success in the campaign in Cuba. Declared obsolete in...

The GAU-8 Avenger is one impressive weapon system and the foundation of the A-10 Warthog, despite its age, won’t go away anytime soon. Used for combat during the time of the Gulf War in 1991, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt – also known commonly as the “Warthog” – destroyed more than 900 Iraqi tanks, some 2,000 other military vehicles, and approximately 1,200 artillery pieces. The aircraft also reportedly shot down two Iraqi helicopters.

Developed by the Russian-based Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) and officially unveiled during the May 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade, the T-14 Armata is the new generation of main battle tank (MBT). Unlike many current Russian military platforms, which are largely legacy holdovers from the Soviet era, the T-14 is truly something new. Design The outline of the tank, from its hull to its long and boxy turret, more closely resembles modern western tank turret designs and is quite the departure from past Soviet designs.

U.S. Marshals at 8:00 a.m. Monday, January 18, 2021, announced that 2,000 National Guard troops were sworn in as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals. The official Twitter account of the U.S. Marshals posted photos showing Chief Lamont Ruffin from D.C. District Court swearing-in 2000 National Guard troops as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals prior to the upcoming presidential inauguration. LinkThe tweet was posted the morning after U.S. defense officials announced they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from actual service members in the National Guard that are involved in the security of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Deputation gives the...

During the 1950s Sweden may have maintained a policy of neutrality, yet it still sought to develop a rather well-stocked arsenal of domestically-produced military hardware. From 1952-57 the Scandinavian nation even conducted a feasibility study to develop a delta-wing supersonic bomber that would have a nuclear strike capability.

Could Iran develop a nuclear weapon on President Biden’s watch? Yes. While Democrats might blame President Donald Trump’s abrogation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for recent Iranian nuclear violations, they should not: The 2015 Iran deal reversed decades of non-proliferation precedent which demanded a complete accounting and dismantlement of nuclear infrastructure. Exculpating Iran due to hatred of Trump also ignores that Iran is treaty-bound to uphold its Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement commitments. To understand just how close the Islamic Republic is to nuclear weapons, consider the three general components of a nuclear weapons capability: enrichment, warhead design,...

Our Troops Rock! Thank you for all you do! For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today! ~ Hall of Heroes ~CWO Frederick Ferguson Info from here and here and here. Frederick Edgar Ferguson (born August 18, 1939) is a former United States Army warrant officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Vietnam War. He was the first Army aviator to receive the Medal of...

...Joe Biden will inherit Milley as his senior military adviser, and although Biden could replace Milley, he likely won’t.... ...The chairman of the Joint Chiefs does not command troops but advises a president and a secretary of defense on approaches to major military problems.... ...Milley seems amenable to the prospect of Biden seeking to find savings in defense budgets. “We in the Pentagon, civilian and military alike, have got to do a quick reality check on the national budget and what is likely to happen in the not-too-distant future,” Milley said recently. “I suspect that at best the Pentagon’s budgets...