I post at The Dignified Rant: Evolved on Substack. Help me out by subscribing and by 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.
Zelensky stated “on February 7 that thousands of North Korean troops have returned to active combat in Kursk Oblast after a brief pause.”
Russia equips its BM-21s with crew-protection armor, anti-drone mesh for the rocket section, and electronic warfare system. Add an active protection system and that defines drone point defense.
Hmmm: “Senior Iranian military leaders have urged Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in recent months to approve the construction of a nuclear weapon, according to an unspecified Iranian official speaking to the Telegraph.” I suspect a decision to proceed means they already have nukes.
Japan is increasing its defense budget but relies on imports for a lot of defense equipment.
The Germans haven’t managed to down them or figure out where they come from: “A Bundeswehr spokesperson reportedly told Süddeutsche Zeitung that the German military has observed an increase in drones flying over German military facilities in an unspecified timeframe.”
Russia will reconstitute its military: "A partially reconstituted Russian military will still pose a significant
threat to U.S. and Western interests in the European theater." That early threat is what I wrote about in Army magazine here.
Drone Line project: "the Ukrainian military will 'scale up' five existing drone regiments and brigades in the Ukrainian military and border guard service and will integrate infantry and drones into a single strike system, which will enable Ukrainian forces to create [defensive] kill zones 10 to 15 kilometers deep[.]"
Is France's quasi-empire in Africa over?
Ponzi scheme? "China has numerous economic problems, but the worst has to do with real estate debt and 200 million unneeded housing units."
Crawl, walk, run? "The Missile Defense Agency is moving quickly to gather ideas for President Donald Trump’s proposed 'Iron Dome for America' and hopes to make progress on some within the next two years." The need is there.
Seeking modular anti-mine unmanned surface vessels: "The MCM Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) is central to this effort, a diesel-powered craft designed for various operational launching platforms, including the LCS, vessels of opportunity, or even shore locations."
That's just swell: "A Chinese spy balloon that crossed over the United States in 2023 was packed with American technology that could have enabled it to spy on Americans, according to two sources with direct knowledge of a technical analysis conducted by the U.S. military." Why bother with TikTok already here?
Hamas lets the world know it has not been defeated. TDR has film:
Fort Bragg is back. Named after another Bragg.
The Dutch also work on logistics to sustain a NATO fight in the east.
More active duty military troops are committed to the southern border.
Britain's century-long security deal with Ukraine.
That may protect against suicide drones but traditional artillery fire would defeat it: "Russian troops have set up a 2km (1.24 mile) mesh netting 'tunnel' on a road linking Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine."
Huh: "Canada and the Philippines are in the final stages of negotiating a key
defense pact that would allow their forces to hold larger military
drills, said the Canadian ambassador to Manila while raising concerns
over China’s 'provocative and unlawful actions' in the region." That's in addition, right!?
It's not a mothership launching anti-drone drones. It's a friggin' fighter drone launching guided weapons to knock down enemy drones. The prophecy is fulfilled.
Remember when the Army's need to be light and airmobile led to the Stryker light, wheeled vehicle? Well, it's getting up-armored. "Agile" light vehicles can't out-agile guided weapons.
I'm pretty sure it must be larger than a European corvette that's in the combat zone when it leaves port, but yes: "Eric Labs, senior analyst for naval forces and weapons at the Congressional Budget Office, said one option to expand the fleet quickly is to develop a 'small missile corvette.'" Finally! And networks!
When Trump says Putin wants to stop so many people from dying in the war, people seem to assume Trump is saying something nice about Putin. I take it as a ploy to get information into Russia that lots of Russian troops are dying in the invasion. Which is similar to what I've wanted to do to Iran.
No Minsk III, okay?
FFS, what are we teaching Marine officers? And if the Marines are that bad, how bad are the other service academies?
China sure hopes nothing unfortunate happens during our Taiwan Strait FONOPS. I hope we have significant overwatch.
The American secretary of defense has no plans to draw down troops in Europe, but it will certainly review needs for American forces globally. Hold what we have achieved.
The busy dozen Ukrainian F-16s: "Because the air defenses on both sides are so robust, no one has air superiority and keep their aircraft out of range of enemy air defense systems. The F-16s are most useful as another air defense weapon to destroy Russian cruise missile attacks."
If China can detect our stealth aircraft at very long range, why advertise the capability rather than ambush us in a war?
That's the big tragedy of the bloody war? "The consumption of aviation fuel has been significantly increased by the on-going war in Ukraine, according to a journal report published on Wednesday." FFS.
Somebody (coughrussiacough) has attempted to sabotage a German corvette while under construction. It's part of a pattern of attacks.
That's sad. But it's Russia's problem now, with its new naval base there, no?
I absolutely agree that Ukraine should be included in negotiations with Russia. Don't let Putin delegitimize Ukraine's sovereignty. We made that mistake in Afghanistan. And our European allies should participate. But if "Europe" means the EU, to Hell with that.
This involves using Purchasing Power Parity: "Based on one key economic metric, Russian
defense spending eclipsed all other European countries combined last
year and is projected to increase further in 2025, according to a
leading defense think tank."
Diego Garcia is important for American missions in INDOPACOM and CENTCOM. Indeed.
The Axis of Atomic a-holes. Would Pakistan help Iran get nukes? Seems unlikely. But who knows?
And it is not deployed via torpedo tubes: "China has reportedly developed a drone that can operate under water, on the surface and in the air."
The Pentagon is establishing a counter-drone task force. How about fighter drones, as I proposed in Army?
Is Bangladesh the next failed state? It's long been a bastion of Islamic calm largely unaffected--until recently--by the Islamist radicalism that seeks to define all Islam in their murderous image.
Can Europe avert a Third Congo War? Put Belgium in charge of that mission.
The terrorist is the weapon, not the particular means to murder.
The Philippines will buy short-range Indian air defense missiles.
China is a-hole: "A People’s Liberation Army Air Force J-16 fighter released flares 30 meters away in front of a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon on patrol in the South China Sea on Tuesday prompting the Australian government to express its concern to China on such actions."
Good: "Within a year, the United States could have a single integrated grid of sensors from under the sea to space to bolster its air and missile defenses[.]" CONUS is not a sanctuary.
China appears to be building a new class of super carrier. I wonder what their--or the PLAN's in general--purpose is. Sea control? Distractions? Peacetime global power projection? Or is there any plan for use at all?
Sending old artillery shells to Russia paid off: "North Korea sought to acquire priceless combat experience, test weapons systems, gain access to Russian military technologies, and secure Moscow’s further assistance in countering economic sanctions." And they can rebuild their stockpile with new shells.
India (again) vows to reform its dysfunctional and corrupt defense industry. Not that we don't have problems.
China is rehearsing for an invasion of Taiwan. No doubt. That's a core objective. I have no idea when China might consider that option.
Could the B-21 be the most important warplane of the century? Well, it's early yet. But long-range anti-ship and ground attack in support of ground operations will be very important.
Potemkin Peter the Great: "The Kremlin reportedly ordered Russian government-linked media to reduce reporting about US President Donald Trump and portray Russian President Vladimir Putin as a strong and decisive leader after the February 12 Trump-Putin phone call."
I'm doubtful our modern practice of ending a career with a single mistake is the right practice, but right now this represents the end of at least one Navy career. There will be an investigation.
The center-left proto-imperial EU fanboys (and girls) are worried their purple wall will fall: "Leftist parties in Brussels are terrified that their undemocratic cordon sanitaire against the Right will eventually collapse if the CDU-led EPP follows the lead of the German party at the European Union level."
China's vassal, Myanmar, is getting a bit ... unsettled.
The stealthy Zumwalt trilogy is losing its empty guns and getting hypersonic missiles.
China's "partnership without limits" doesn't prevent China from exploiting sanctioned Russia by demanding deep discounts for its purchase of Russian natural gas. But it is unreasonable for America to want access to Ukrainian strategic rare earths in exchange for our military help?
I've noticed that European media types are increasingly abandoning their thin facade of neutrality to openly--and dishonestly--stomp their feet about Trump. Note that they were in thrall to Obama. Those are the types who would run Europe if the proto-imperial European Union gets its way.
Why didn't Israel intercept or sink those Iranian transport ships? "Iran received a large shipment of a chemical precursor for solid missile propellant from China on February 13."
China's J-36 prototype versus the operational American F-35.
LEED to replace Nulka as a ship decoy to distract inbound missiles.
I suspect HTS lets this drag on to leverage Western aid: "Russian cargo vessels have continued to evacuate military assets from the port of Tartus as Russia negotiates its presence in Syria with the interim government. "
Israel wants the ceasefire amended to retain five hilltop positions in southern Lebanon.
Decades of rot aren't fixed overnight: "The German army's battle-readiness is less than when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, military officials, lawmakers and defence experts told Reuters."
In space, no one can hear you wage war.
I'm experimenting with shorter entries.
