Sunday, February 02, 2025

Weekend Data Dump

I post at The Dignified Rant: Evolved on Substack. I'd appreciate it if you subscribe, and liking and sharing posts. I continue posting here on TDR seven days a week, including Weekend Data Dump and Winter War of 2022. I occasionally post short data dump-type items on my Substack "Notes" section.  

That's useful: "Air Force wings in Japan and South Korea dispersed aircraft and airmen during weeklong rehearsals this month for flying and fighting on the move." Just don't disperse to death traps.

That's what NATO does: "A senior military official of the European Union has urged the bloc to refine its mutual-defense clause and start considering the division of labor in the event of a conflict." The EU will exploit any real or imagined crisis to kill NATO and strip away the prefix of its proto-imperial project.

That's bad: "Families of U.S. service members who live in Afghanistan are stuck in the country and blocked from relocating to the United States due to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump this week." But why are they still there after 3-1/2 years? Why didn't our airlift skedaddle get them out?

Russia is an autocracy seeking to be a dictatorship, with a list of countries to conquer. Ukraine is a democracy fighting to remain independent.

There are a lot of ways to kill small, simple drones. One method of overcoming electronic warfare is wire-guided suicide drones. Another is "a fire and forget guidance system. This works by equipping the drone guidance system with images of the desired targets from different angles." As I foretold.

Drones are clearly important. The situation at the front in the Winter War of 2022: "The front in Ukraine is a thousand kilometers long and soldiers are increasingly trapped in their bunkers and trenches." Do drones make the front static-ish? Or does a static-ish front empower those cheap, short-range drones.

Since Turkey engineered the HTS victory, that ship already sailed: "If it is to yield positive change, Syria’s transition cannot become the object of a geopolitical struggle." I suspect the transition will be spoiled by Islamism becoming radical jihadism. Western aid will be considered the tribute of frightened inferiors.

Britain joined the EU after shooting itself in the foot, making the EU seem like it was a more promising example. Britain is lucky to be out. The EU is stalling and will either fragment or unify as a U.S.-like federation. So close. I think a politically unified EU will be a bureaucracy-run empire.

Comparing and contrasting American and Chinese frigate construction. Mostly contrasting.

MADIS, the Marine drone counter-measures system, arrive: "The system is intended to counter the smallest drone threats with a suite of countermeasures that include electronic jamming, an M240C machine gun, a 30 mm cannon[.]"

Nobody liberated the Soviet gulags: "Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed the role of the Red Army in the liberation of Auschwitz, in a message marking the freeing of the Nazi death camp 80 years ago." And pity the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact gave Hitler time to conquer and kill more Jews.

Huh: "NATO officials are investigating damage discovered on Sunday to another undersea cable running across the Baltic Sea, this time a telecommunications link between NATO member states Sweden and Latvia." Round up the usual suspectsky.  

I won't comment on China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence released. Isn't it odd China released it? If China is ahead, why reveal their progress now? Or is it to worry us that they are ahead of even what they revealed? If they aren't lying. Is it to bolster their rule at home by boasting? Hell, is it good for America?

Good: "The Air Force is reinstating a basic training class Monday that was suspended last week for revisions, with its materials on World War II-era Black and female pilots intact but diversity, equity and inclusion components removed." Perhaps it was simply editing and not malicious compliance.

China pretends it owns the area. It doesn't. But if nobody stops them, they do: "Chinese cutters, small boats and aircraft blocked a Philippine scientific research mission to the South China Sea features of Sand Cay on Friday, according to Philippine officials." 

Either get more human pilots or accelerate AI pilots: "The U.S. Air Force needs to address its dwindling number of fighter pilots if it wants to remain combat ready, according to a recent report by a Washington aerospace think tank." Warrant officers would have helped long ago. 

It would have been funnier to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of X.

If your suicide drone can't penetrate vehicle point defenses, don't try: "One new concept that has already been used is First Person View/FPV drones to plant magnetic mines on the edge of a road or trail Russian armored vehicles are headed for." One more way to skin a cat, eh? And I did call the concept!

Christianity fades in the Arab world: "This is all the result of long standing Islamic disdain for other religions. During the last century that disdain has increasingly turned to violence and outright hatred. Most Christians, and other religious minorities, fled to the West, often the United States."

The return of Air Force warrant officers.

It's America's fault that Russia is aligned with China? Bullshit. People wrongly think we can bribe enemies into becoming friends rather than understanding a solid flip is based on having a greater common enemy.

Mission accomplished: "Denmark said Monday that it would spend 14.6 billion kroner ($2 billion) to bolster security in the strategic Arctic region near the United States and Russia."

The end of America's “pathological altruism” in immigration policy. Will Europe follow the trail America forges in the West? Or has the EU "Court of Justice" guaranteed more pathology there?

Via Instapundit, Trump: "the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons,” with private users and enhanced attention, to make a mini-hysteria. No enemies were involved. I suspected research purposes, but what kind?

Russia's horrific tolerance of battlefield casualties. Well, this did surprise me. But all I can really say is that Russian troops and civilians will accept the death toll--until they don't. Even Iranian religious fanaticism to attack eventually broke in the long Iran-Iraq War.

Maximum pressure on Iran requires more pressure on Russia: "Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally shifted and intensified the Russo-Iranian relationship." Each of them uses the other's resources to challenge America and expand their territory and influence.

Information operation: "The Philippines launched a comic book on Friday to counter what the country says is China’s disinformation campaign to push its expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea."

Guns: "The U.S. Navy expanded a contract with BAE Systems, awarding the company more money to upgrade and overhaul the service’s Mk 45 naval gun systems in an effort to improve their long-range strike and air defense capabilities, the company announced Monday."

NATO is patrolling the Baltic Sea because Russia (or their agents) is suspected of sabotage: "At least 11 Baltic cables have been damaged since October 2023[.]" Is Russia's provocation from a position of strength or from weakness in its war against Ukraine?

Suicide Squad: "Detonating a grenade under the chin rather than being captured. Using a fellow soldier to lure out attack drones. Removing body armor plates and helmets to enable faster attacks on foot. Writing pledges of allegiance to ... Kim Jong Un." Kim doesn't want troops "infected" by the outside world back.

China is unlikely to conquer Taiwan? "China lacks the experience to carry out such an operation and the Americans have pledged to aid in the defense of Taiwan." I am not filled with such confidence

Huh: "Swedish defense manufacturer Saab recently introduced Autonomous Ocean Core or AOC. This system allows naval commanders to remotely control ships." 

Russia is aggressive because it is an empire that doesn't accept it lost imperial holdings. People often neglect this because Russia has a contiguous empire rather than an overseas empire like Western countries pursued. In college a teaching assistant was very upset with me because I called the USSR an empire.

Wow: "For decades, the existence of the Parcae satellites was one of the U.S. government’s most closely guarded secrets, concealed even from those within much of the military establishment. It wasn’t until July 2023 that the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) acknowledged the existence of these satellites[.]" 

Ending destructive and divisive DEI in the military. We urge our services to think and act "purple"--jointly and not based on parochial service "colors". But encouraged our troops to think in virtually tribal terms about irrelevant genetic characteristics. But remember the military rots from the FOGOs down.

What was the purpose of the Winter War of 2022? FFS, Ukraine didn't want to be conquered by the brutal Russians intent on exterminating their nation; and by hard Cold War experience we should have learned that no buffer is deep enough for the Russians. Keep the bastards as far east as possible. Don't blame us.

The Last Hamas War is just another one if the Hamas fighters emerging from behind their human shields to reassert control as Israel withdraws are allowed to live. Will Israel pursue them in the shadows? Or are they being identified for a new round in this war? Israel needs to do something better to end these wars.

News from the Heart of Darkness: "The M23 rebel group, which has taken control of large parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in recent years, now says it has captured the key city of Goma, the largest in the area, from government forces." The airport and part of the city exempted, maybe.

Huh (tip to Instapundit): "China touted its robotics advancements through a fleet of dancing humanoid robots at a festival in Beijing." Dance for you, kill you, whatever the CCP wants.

Putin absolutely has more territorial ambitions. Luckily, Ukrainians are willing to nip this in the bud right now--as long as America continues to provide military aid. How we will do that remains unclear.

A reminder that America did not cause the instability in the Middle East. Israel is equally innocent. The locals have a lot to fix within their societies before blaming others. And if they want to blame foreigners, the Turks who ruled much of the Middle East and North Africa for centuries should get the first look.

The HTS-led government of Syria issues a de-Baathification policy: "The victory conference separately announced the disbanding of all Assad regime institutions and its constitution." 

Ukraine is using drones to take down Russian fiber-optic wire-guided suicide FPV drones. The cycle of drone measures and counter-measures continues, with both sides putting air-to-air drones into service. As the prophecy foretold.

HTS is open to letting those Assad-supporting Russians stay if the payment is high enough: "Syria’s new government pressed Russia for compensation during its first talks with a Kremlin delegation since the ouster of President Bashar Assad." Does Russia have enough money to suppress poison gas memories?

Good: "The United States and Algeria formally pledged to deepen their militaries’ partnerships and pursue possible weapons exchanges and new joint asset deployments[.]" This keeps Russia out. And drone bases for dealing with jihadis in the Sahel is likely on tap after we were ejected from Niger.

I've seen Ted Galen Carpenter's prolific work since I started blogging. There is no foreign problem whose solution in his view doesn't involve a figurative or literal American retreat. Here's another. It's "Let the Wookie win" advice from him 24/7. I have zero respect for his advice.

The Philippines offers to eject the U.S. Army Typhon missile system if China will pretend to be peaceful: "President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offered on Friday to remove a U.S. missile system from the Philippines if China halts what he called its 'aggressive and coercive behavior' in the disputed South China Sea."

Oh? "Russia's intercontinental ballistic missile program is in trouble, facing persistent struggles with its new Sarmat missile. And it doesn't help that the country has cut off expertise it once depended on by waging war on its neighbor." Imagine that

Is a U.S.-Venezuela showdown brewing?  "The bottom line is that the U.S. wants regime change, and the most telling sign toward that end was Rubio’s suggestion to review U.S. policies toward Chevron." We let Chevron resume oil production in Venezuela in exchange for free elections. Maduro did not comply.

Fingers crossed: "The Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) became the first warship to deploy with a program-of-record artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Its creators say the system will help the fleet predict and tackle maintenance needs in a far less disruptive fashion."

Providing security: "Sweden will provide Ukraine with 13.5 billion kronor (US$1.23 billion) in funding and equipment in its biggest military aid package yet, the government said on Thursday." Best to stop Russia in Ukraine before Russia turns its covetous gaze to the Baltic Sea region.

Israel and Russia no longer have a working relationship. It died with closer Russia-Iran ties and the end of Israel's need to bargain with Russia and show some restraint in Syria because Russia had bases there. How long before Israel is arming Ukraine and Armenia?

Sudan SITREP: "Instability and violence are becoming Sudan’s normal state of affairs."

Canada is a defense joke, unable to procure trucks let alone fighter jets, warships, and artillery. If Canada would focus on protecting their far north, they'd at least have an objective to define what they need to do. A secure North America is a foundation for American power projection.

If Americans in Congo need to be evacuated because of the eroding security situation there, the Marines won't be coming to rescue them, it seems.

Good observation: "Why is it that every time the Palestinian issue flares up, Arab nations are quick to offer condemnation but slow to offer real, tangible solutions?" Arab governments won't sacrifice because the "Arab street" obviously couldn't care less now.

Germany extends its military missions in the EU Red Sea presence, the UN mission to South Sudan, the EU naval mission to enforce an arms embargo on Libya, and the NATO Mediterranean mission to stop terrorist and arms smuggling in the sea. I'd like a focus on the Baltic Sea and Russia's Kaliningrad.

Is Mexico a friend or an enemy? Not sure that's the right question. Mexico has believed it can avoid difficult--and personally dangerous--decisions because we didn't care enough to pressure them to end the attacks on America across our border. We must change the terms of our relationship. Via Instapundit.

China lied about cheaply developing DeepSeek. Not too shocking. Via Instapundit.

Which is why I don't think Kim Jong Un wants his soldiers to survive their tour of war duty: "'When North Korean workers, who have lived their entire lives trapped in a restrictive system, experience life abroad, they come to see North Korea as nothing short of a prison,' Ahn said." Even seeing Russia at war.

Gazans work very hard to undermine my basic sympathy for them as people who are used by Hamas as human shields and cannon fodder.

The European Union has a mission: "The European Union on Friday started its support mission for the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip." Will it work? The EU doesn't care! All is proceeding according to the EU plan.

Iran has a choice to make after its 2024 defeats: "God will provide, but not in terms of infrastructure restoration and restocking the military rocket and missile arsenal."

Maybe we should charge China for  the Navy to suppress the protection racket: "While the United States and its Western allies use warships and airstrikes against those who try to disrupt maritime trade, China prefers to bribe those who are attacking shipping to not attack Chinese ships." 

What is China's economic outlook? They mean in reality and not based on published Chinese statistics, of course. 

Russia used a UAV to destroy a Ukrainian USV in the Black Sea.

Is "counter-terrorism" a failure when the population supports terrorists? I think counter-terrorism is only appropriate when it is a law enforcement problem. Counter-insurgency is the way to go to separate people from terrorists. But I've long recognized pacifying an enemy population is hard. But we can't be brutal. 

The United States killed ISIL (ISIS) terrorists in Somalia with an air strike. The only good jihadi is a dead jihadis.

Russia is deploying at sea and working on a land-based Mach 9 Zircon anti-ship missile: "Zircon has capabilities that should be able to get past current American naval and land based air defense systems."

Complaints that America is picking a tariff and deportation fight with close ally Colombia ignores the fact that Colombia's peace deal with FARC to "end" their long leftist insurgency simply invited the Marxist insurgents into the government. Colombia was and may be a friend again. Now? Not so much.