Free Republic

The weapons stockpile of the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies are becoming “dangerous low” with no “short term” solutions, according to a top U.S. Air Force commander. Gen. James Hecker, the commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, made the remarks at the Chief of the Air Staff’s Global Air & Space Chiefs’ Conference in London, reported Breaking Defense. The air force general urged NATO allies to think seriously about their stockpiles. “I think it’s very important that we kind of take stock of where we are in our weapons state across...

The U.K. on Wednesday said Kyiv should show appreciation for the donations of weapons in order to convince Western politicians to provide further support in its fight against Russia. What Happened: The U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, speaking on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Lithuania, said he had warned Kyiv that its Western allies were “not Amazon," Reuters reported. Wallace said Ukraine had to persuade U.S. lawmakers and “doubting politicians in other countries that it’s worth it,” adding that “whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude.” Wallace’s comments came in response to media queries...

A Florida man has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. This comes after a traffic stop revealed a variety of weapons in the man’s vehicle. Basilio Amaury Bron, Jr. 43, Cape Coral, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to court documents, on March 12, 2022, at around 5:00 p.m., Bron was driving carelessly and more than 100 miles per hour northbound on Interstate 75 near the Laurel Road exit. A deputy from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office stopped Bron’s vehicle for speeding. The...

The Biden administration is actively considering sending cluster munitions to Ukraine to help Kyiv’s counteroffensive punch through Russia’s defenses, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the debate said. The discussion to send dual-purpose improved conventional munitions has intensified in recent days as Ukraine’s effort to break through Russia’s frontline has stalled. The belief among some senior U.S. officials is that the munitions could be one of many tools that makes Ukraine’s campaign more successful. Late last year, the administration said it had “concerns” about delivering the munitions to Ukraine, mainly for humanitarian reasons and also the U.S. didn’t...

Democratic presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a NewsNation town hall on Wednesday night he would sign an “assault weapons” ban if it reached his desk. When RFK Jr. was asked about an “assault weapons” ban, the question was framed to reflect strong Democrat support for such a measure. RFK Jr. responded, “If we can get a consensus on it, if Republicans and Democrats agreed and it passed Congress, I would sign it.”

A recent live-fire test saw an F-15E Strike Eagle destroy a “full-scale surface vessel” in the Gulf of Mexico with a new, experimental anti-ship munition—a unique foray into anti-ship warfare.The test, carried out by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), demonstrated the feasibility of using a GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) as a low-cost solution to quickly get mass into the fight against ships. The Air Force has dubbed its effort QUICKSINK, a nod to the modified JDAM’s role against ships and the rapidity with which the Air Force would like to validate this munition.“QUICKSINK is an answer...

Vice President Kamala Harris kicked over a beehive after she said some firearms have "no place" in civil society on Twitter Thursday. Biden’s vice president has a history of verbal gaffes, but she was very clear in a tweet that called for an "assault weapons ban" from Congress, promising the president himself would sign it. "Weapons of war have no place on the streets of a civil society," she tweeted. "Congress must pass an assault weapons ban. President Biden will sign it." **SNIP** "That's why we left $7 billion dollars in real weapons of war on the streets of Afghanistan...

This seems to be an increasingly common theme on a global scale. We are continually warned that the United States is running low on arms and munitions and may not be prepared to supply Taiwan if China invades. We are similarly assured that we need to continue spending vast amounts of money we don’t have to arm Ukraine or they will likewise run low and be unable to fend off the Russians. But now their enemy in that conflict is making an identical claim. Vladimir Putin told a group of pro-war bloggers this week that his country is running very...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that during the special military operation it became clear that Russia lacks many types of weapons, including precision-guided munitions, drones, communications equipment. "In the course of a special military operation, it became clear that many things were missing. These are high-precision ammunition, communications equipment, aircraft, drones, and so on," Putin said at a meeting with war correspondents on Tuesday. "We have them, unfortunately, we lack them quantitatively," the president said. "We had a 2.7-fold increase in production for the main types of weapons over the year, and 10 times for the most demanded areas," Putin...

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Sunday: “We don’t want to go toward nuclear weapons because of our Islamic principles, and if it were not for this, they (the West) could not have stopped us, just as they couldn’t stop our nuclear progress so far.” According to the Diplomacy, Law, Police forum, Islam demarcates specific limits with reference to the use of force during times of war. Although the concept of nuclear weapons did not exist during the revelation of Islam, several Quranic verses do indicate a clear prohibition when it comes to...

Russia will start deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus after special storage facilities are ready on July 7-8, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, Moscow’s first move of such bombs outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. More than 15 months into the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two, Putin says the United States and its Western allies are pumping arms into Ukraine as part of an expanding proxy war aimed at bringing Russia to its knees. Putin in March announced he wanted to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, an apparent warning to the...

U.S. President Joe Biden is reportedly set to announce another $375 million in weapons aid for Ukraine. The United States is to hand over another $375 million in so-called “military aid” to Ukraine, officials in both the Biden and Zelensky administrations have claimed. President Joe Biden is set to announce the new injection of guns and ammo imminently, with his government repeatedly shovelling billions of dollars worth of munitions into the country since it was invaded by Russia last year.

Within days of confirmation by the UK Defense Secretary that the country had sent long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, its first use had already been recorded and widely shared on social media. A missile attack on the Luhansk region in the eastern Ukrainian region on May 12 was carried out by Anglo-French-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, the representative office of the Lugansk People’s Republic in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of Issues Related to War Crimes of Ukraine reported on its Telegram channel. “According to updated information, on May 12, 2023, during a rocket attack on...

A new watchdog report reveals that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been stockpiling $10 million worth of weapons, ammunition, and combat gear since 2020.The New York Post reports that the findings, released by the group OpenTheBooks, show the IRS spending $5 million in 2021 alone as the agency ramped up the militarization of its agents. In the last three years, the IRS has spent a total of $2.3 million on ammunition, $1.2 million on ballistic shields, $474,000 on Smith & Wesson rifles, $463,000 on Beretta tactical shotguns, and $243,000 on body armor.In addition to these purchases, the IRS’ expenditures...

The war in Ukraine is so profitable for defense companies in the US and Europe that they're having trouble finding thousands of skilled workers to satisfy a record influx of orders, according to the Wall Street Journal.Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions with a U.S.-supplied howitzer. Photo: LIBKOS/Associated PressPart of the issue is that jobs in the defense industry require niche skills and security clearances - a problem compounded by a flood of defense companies trying to hire at the same time in an industry which has long struggled to meet recruitment goals."Our first priority is really to ramp up...

Winning!Injunction against Illinois' Un-Constitutional "Assault Weapons Ban" has been granted by the US District Court! They cite the clear violation of the Second Amendment which includles the indivual right to bear arms (in common use) and US Supreme Court Precedent. Clearly the court recognized that Illinois' "Assault Weapons Ban" was written in defiance of the US Constitution and legal precedent. At this point, JB PRICKSTER and KWAME RAOUL are all but guaranteed to lose if they appeal to the IL Supreme Court, who'll simply uphold the Appellate Court's finding. Fatboy PRICKSTER and RAOUL wouldn't stand an ice cubes chance in...

A coalition of GOP lawmakers has urged the Biden administration to stop sending “unrestrained” aid and weapons to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with neighboring Russia. “We write to express concern regarding the U.S. response to Ukraine. Over a year ago, Russia launched an invasion that has upended decades of peace in Europe,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Biden on Thursday. “We are deeply concerned that the trajectory of U.S. aid to the Ukrainian war effort threatens further escalation and lacks much-needed strategic clarity.” The lawmakers noted in their letter the risks associated with supplying Ukraine with necessary...

China will not sell weapons to either side in the Ukraine war, the country’s foreign minister has said, amid Western fears Beijing was considering providing military assistance to Russia. Beijing has backed Russia politically, rhetorically and economically since the invasion began, yet officially it has maintained it is neutral in the conflict. Meanwhile, Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and sought to isolate the country following its invasion of its neighbour. Speaking at a news conference on Friday alongside visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, Quin Gang said: “Regarding the export of military items, China adopts a prudent and responsible...

The Biden administration should be ashamed of themselves. That briefing from John Kirby on the Afghanistan withdrawal was an insult to the 13 servicemembers who lost their lives, veterans and those in uniform, and to every single American. On behalf of the administration, he deflected all responsibility, painting Biden as a “helpless” president, while having the audacity to brag about the administration’s “planning.” He claimed “there’s a lot to be proud of” about the withdrawal, and then insisted “for all this talk of ‘chaos,’ I just didn't see it.” He insisted this report is not about “accountability” a full 18...

KIRBY: "This idea...is just LUDICROUS! That we left millions of dollars of stuff in Afghanistan?! We didn't!" (video in the link below) https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1644047580202954761