I post at The Dignified Rant: Evolved on Substack. Help me out by subscribing and by liking and sharing posts. I also post 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.
In case you missed it on Substack: Change Your Armor! Don't Take It Off!
In case you missed it on Substack: Can Europe Form a New Defense Architecture?
In case you missed it on Substack: Can Pain Deter China From Invading Taiwan?
In case you missed it on Substack: Transforming the Army 'in Contact
DARPA builds a small robot version of my Modularized Auxiliary Cruiser proposal.
Navy ships wouldn't have enough crew even if recruiting enough sailors wasn't a problem.
A British nuclear-powered attack submarine has loaded Tomahawk cruise missiles while in Gibraltar. This is routine, they say. Nothing to do with Iran, I'm sure.
The Army stopped its plans for new brigade-level aerial drones.
China's dangerous Long March through the imposed green energy revolution.
There was dangerous panic that the people might speak in the Romanian election (damn them). The approved candidate handily won. Well, an election if you dim the lights and wear sunglasses. I didn't like the disapproved candidate. But how will the rules be warped the next time? Vance had a point, eh?
Despite the banner of a "single market", "the EU’s internal trade barriers are actually higher than the ones Donald Trump has just imposed on Europe and the rest of the world." I have been wrong to say the EU should go "back" to being a free-trade area. Britain will not be stronger in this Europe.
Has India escalated its military means in fighting Pakistan's terror campaign by using air and missile power? To me it seems that relying on this means rather than ground power is a de-escalation.
Should Australia build a SSN shipyard capable of servicing American SSNs, too, to tie America more closely to Australia's defense? The issue for Australia is always being lunge worthy.
The U.S. deployed four F-15s to Diego Garcia in light of Iranian threats to strike the base.
Did the British government align with the EU to kill Brexit? Sadly, I was right to worry about the power of 10,000 EU cheese regulations. Did Starmer surrender to a waning EU? Will enough people (tip to Instapundit) resist this submission?
A three-step solution to rebuilding the Marine Corps.
China is building a long-range UAV mothership that can carry over 100 suicide drones. It sounds like the B-52 of drone carriers. I wonder how many SDBs the F-52 could carry?
Mission accomplished! Which is a sedative so the host forgets it is dying.
The Navy briefed industry on its needs for USVs armed with containerized weapons. The aim is for payload space for two standard containers that plug into a vessel less than 200 ft. long and under 500 tons.
When everybody is special, nobody is. Be careful out there. This is dangerous regardless of which party promotes it. The stars can't shine without a cast of thousands backing them up. An the stars could burn out.
Why people insist America lost the Iraq War is beyond me: "Most Iraqis want some Americans to stay, more economic activity with Arab neighbors and an end to Iranian meddling in Iraq." To be fair, Phase IX is still in doubt.
American military and civilian security agency recruiting is skyrocketing. Tip to Instapundit.
A combination torpedo/underwater drone.
Woke Point. I think the service academies should only teach military history and engineering.
Golden Dome in three years? Clearly a thin initial shield mostly against small numbers of incoming ballistic or cruise missiles.
Detecting drones and distinguishing between friendly and enemy is nice. Shooting down what is detected would be awesome.
Would the Air Force buy new F-16s to maintain numbers?
Quasi-war between Russia and Estonia in the Baltic Sea.
I fear Syria's HTS rulers would recruit prisoners if they took over guarding jihadi prisoners held by our SDF allies in eastern Syria.
Good! "For the first time since 1945, the Royal Canadian Navy is undergoing a major expansion. This begins with the construction of fifteen 8,000-ton River Class destroyers."
Is Israel's new counter-drone system that disables or takes over drones with radio signals in effect an area bubble defense that reduces the need for missiles, rockets, or guns to shoot down drones?
There are certainly reason why America and its allies should defend Taiwan. But the foundation of our intervention is the willingness of Taiwanese to arm up, fight, and die to resist China.
I've long argued this reality: "NATO remains superior in numbers and technology to Russia on paper. However, it lacks the operational integration, logistics, and joint force capabilities needed to quickly counter Russian mass and tempo near its borders." America provides what other NATO states lack.
Good article questioning assumptions. Yeah, I've never assumed war with China would be short and glorious/bloody. I've also assumed a long war requires cheaper weapons to mass produce. Shermans--not King Tigers.
Does India have enough conventional superiority over Pakistan to pound it in retaliation for Pakistani terror attacks? Or will Pakistan believe Chinese backing lets Pakistan punch above its weight class?
I get worried when the "tame" Islamists of Erdogan's Turkey have a really good week.
Casualties don't matter to Putin? They should. Is he really worried? He should be. You never can tell how the cogs will feel about being cogs.
China's dangerous "watermelon" export.
A Putin advisor sets up territorial ambitions "the Supreme Soviets of the Union Republics
did not have the legal authority to ratify the December 1991 Belovezha
Accords, the internationally recognized document in which the Soviet
republics of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus agreed to dissolve the Soviet
Union."
Russian--and now Ukrainian--motorcycle units are a speed adaptation to drones. But if there was adequate infantry on the front line with mines and obstacles, this would be a suicidal Charge of the Bike Brigade.
Russia still occupies its main Syria air base and somebody attacked it.
A call to restore REFORGER to defend Europe. Way ahead of you, admiral.
Russia beats its chest and flings nuclear poo with nuclear-tipped air-to-air missiles. Those are relics of pre-precision days. [yawn] What's the point?
Despite recent questions about testing, the new Army XM7 rifle advanced to being the M7.
Golden Nome? "Work will start this summer on a Pentagon “mega-project” in Alaska intended to boost the Air Force’s training capability to defend North America."
I did say that broad sweeps for DEI material would be followed by restoration of most after review. Breathe, people.
Well, an LCS makes it a more fair fight ... .
I hope the British haven't screwed us: "A deal that would see the UK hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius can go
ahead, the High Court has said, after lifting a temporary block on the
agreement." You may recall the place.
Germany is spending to rearm. But: "The Bundeswehr is short a quarter of the personnel it needs to operate all these weapons." But ignore the part about America ending its defense commitment to NATO.
Wokeness isn't deterring recruits, but young people still suffer from being "overweight, poorly educated, had criminal records or other problems that barred them from military service."
It was once "racist" to call Covid-19 the "China Virus." Now it is common knowledge.
If Ireland is America's friend on the tech industry in Europe, you must admit the European Union is our enemy.
"Oopsy" isn't going to cut it. This will be a fatal for everyone deemed responsible.
Sounds like a "mission accomplished" moment--and not the fake one put on Bush 43 in the Iraq War.
The Navy will decommission the Sixth Fleet command ship. Which for a long time was basically the entire fleet.
World leaders have a new dread that stalks them--an Oval Office smackdown by Trump. Makes Conquest, War, Famine, and Death child's play problems, eh? Still, it's nice that the media insists on a strict definition of "genocide" now. Gosh, I'm an optimist!
The Philippines is arming up and has a missile frigate now. All is proceeding as I foretold.
France's new carrier air wing will include drones.
CRS report to Congress on Russia's nuclear arsenal. No mention about how many actually work.
China's coast guard outclasses America's post-Cold War de-fanged Coast Guard.
Iran stokes mayhem via non-Persian actors: "Currently Iran has about two dozen of these proxies throughout the Middle East." Targets have noticed and reacted. But Iran's cannon fodder still dies for Iran.
We keep getting told that right wing domestic terrorism is about to explode; but all we get is the usual left-wing domestic terrorists. Tip to Instapundit. Stochastic terrorism? OUT! And as always, IN! Focus on the potential backlash and never on the bloody lash.
A call for the European Union to weaken Russia's power to threaten Europe. America must remain in NATO to undermine the So another mission for the EU plan to strip away the pesky prefix of their proto-imperial entity.
I wouldn't say American military reliance on contractors couldn't be done at a lower price. But support contractors can be added or subtracted more quickly. And contractors paid more while working aren't a long-term cost for the VA or retirement benefits as a military personnel can be.
The Marines still want old-fashioned landing ships able to unload on beaches within range of Chinese missiles and planes in order to move and sustain its Marine Littoral Regiment detachments. FFS.
The Army's planned MV-75 tilt-rotor craft designed for 101st Airborne Division deep air assaults is under scrutiny. Somebody needs to save the Screaming Eagles from themselves.
Every time a Russian official speaks, my support for a nuclear first strike inches up: "Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov demanded that any future peace agreement in Ukraine include conditions to prevent the election and establishment of future pro-Western governments in Ukraine." Figurately.
At least a half dozen so far: "Since late 2024 a growing number of Russian ships in the Black and Baltic Seas have been damaged by limpet mines placed on the hulls of Russian oil tankers." I mentioned one of these in the May 11th data dump, and noted a Cold War precedent.
Seeking bases America can use: "In January Filipino security forces arrested about a dozen Chinese and Filipino citizens and charged them all with spying for China."
As a general guide, okay: "Vice President JD Vance told military academy graduates Friday that President Donald Trump is working to ensure that U.S. armed forces are only sent into harm’s way with clear goals rather than the 'undefined missions' and 'open-ended conflicts' of the past." Gird yourself for exceptions.
If we could do this to enemy military academies I'd call it an amazing success.
Tensions are rising in the Arctic. POLARCOM, anyone? Recall that China proclaims itself a "near-Arctic" power. America should declare itself a "near-Tibet" power.
Is America's steel industry on the way to recovery?
Hmmm: "What proves that Nato is no longer a genuine military alliance was that nothing was done in the last pre-war days before Putin’s invasion finally began." Ukraine isn't in NATO. An alliance should jump in to fight for a non-member? That isn't even automatic for a NATO member!
