Turkey launches airstrikes against Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria after 9 soldiers were killed
Source: AP
By ANDREW WILKS
Updated 9:29 AM CST, January 13, 2024
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey carried out airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq and Syria on Saturday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said, coming a day after an attack on a Turkish military base in Iraq killed nine Turkish soldiers.
Turkey often launches strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq it believes to be affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a banned Kurdish separatist group that has waged an insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s.
The defense ministry said that aircraft struck targets in Metina, Hakurk, Gara and Qandil in northern Iraq, but didn’t specify areas in Syria. It said fighter jets destroyed caves, bunkers, shelters and oil facilities “to eliminate terrorist attacks against our people and security forces ... and to ensure our border security.” The statement added “many” militants were “neutralized” in the strikes.
On Friday night, attackers attempted to infiltrate a military base in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, killing five soldiers. Four others died later of critical injuries. The Turkish government said that 36 militants were killed in Iraq, and nine others in Syria, in the 24 hours following the attack.
First Of Russia’s New Diesel-Electric Submarines Enters Service by Thomas Newdick
January 31, 2024
Introduction:
(The Drive) The Russian Navy has received its first series-produced Project 677 Lada class submarine, named Kronstadt. Development of the new boat has been dogged by problems, leading to long delays, but its acceptance by the Northern Fleet confirms that, unlike the U.S. Navy, the Russian Navy remains committed to fielding new conventionally powered submarines, as well as their nuclear-powered brethren.
Zvezda, the Russian Ministry of Defense’s media network, today reported on the commissioning of the Kronstadt into the Northern Fleet’s 161st Submarine Division. At the ceremony, likely held at the naval base of Polyarny, in the Murmansk region, the St. Andrew’s flag of the Russian Navy was presented to the commander of the new submarine by the head of the Russian Navy, Nikolai Evmenov.
(See also Twitter feeds in linked article)
Built at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg, the Kronstadt is around 200 feet long and has a displacement of 2,700 tons when submerged. Its armament includes Kalibr land attack cruise missiles — a weapon used extensively in Russia’s war in Ukraine — launched from the six 21-inch torpedo tubes. These can also be loaded with torpedoes or mines.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims a diving depth of more than 300 meters (984 feet) and the ability to operate submerged for relatively long periods without needing to surface to recharge its batteries.
Other notable features include extensive automation, resulting in a crew of just 35 people.
Ex-Afghan special forces to have UK relocation claims re-examined
8 hours ago
Former Afghan special forces who served alongside the British but were denied relocation to the UK will have their cases re-examined, the government says.
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said ineligible applications with credible claims of links to Afghan specialist units would be reassessed.
The so-called "Triples" were elite units set up, funded and run by the UK.
But hundreds had their relocation claims denied following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
Campaigners have been fighting for them ever since the Taliban swept into Kabul in August 2021, with one describing the government announcement as "a momentous decision and a life-changing day."
British army would exhaust capabilities after two months of war, MPs told
Sun 4 Feb 2024 10.32 GMT
The UK’s ability to fight an all-out war would be marred by the armed forces’ capability, stockpile shortages and a recruitment crisis, MPs have been told.
The Commons defence committee heard that the “hollowing out” of the armed forces since 2010 had undermined the UK’s war fighting resilience, and the army would exhaust its capabilities “after the first couple of months” in a peer-on-peer war.
Jeremy Quin, the chair of the committee, said operations and continuing commitments meant the military was “unable to devote sufficient training and resources to high-intensity war fighting”.
“While able to deploy at short notice and to fulfil commitments, our inquiry found that readiness for all-out, prolonged war has received insufficient attention and needs intense ongoing focus,” he said.
“The high tempo of operations and unrelenting pressure on our services has led to a drop in retention, compounded by a period of low recruitment and difficulties introducing and maintaining capabilities, thereby creating a vicious cycle.”
Russia, China and Iran could target UK via Irish ‘backdoor’, thinktank warns
Sun 4 Feb 2024 15.12 GMT
Britain faces a “backdoor” threat to its security from a Russian, Chinese and Iranian presence in the Republic of Ireland, according to a report by an influential thinktank that accuses Dublin of “freeloading” when it comes to European defence.
The UK should also expand its air and naval presence in Northern Ireland, to counter a growing Russian threat on the UK’s western flank, according to the Policy Exchange report, which is backed by two former defence secretaries, Michael Fallon and George Robertson.
The UK and Ireland are at risk from an “acute maritime menace” posed by a Russian doctrine of targeting undersea networks and pipelines and the presence of Russian warships, they say in a foreword to the paper.
Concerns about Russian intelligence operations in Ireland and its vulnerability to cyber-attack are also highlighted in the report, which cites what it describes as an “inordinately large Russian diplomatic outfit in Dublin”.
The embassy had 30 members of staff in 2022, which was more than many other European states with which Russia had closer ties at the time.
Azerbaijan is planning a "full-scale war" against Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned Thursday, two days after a skirmish on their border left four Armenian troops dead.
Tensions between the two Caucasus neighbours have remained high since Baku re-captured the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh last September in a lightning military offensive.
"Our analysis shows that Azerbaijan wants to launch military action in some parts of the border with the prospect of turning military escalation into a full-scale war against Armenia," Pashinyan said at a government meeting.
"This intention can be read in all statements and actions of Azerbaijan," he added.
Yerevan is concerned that Azerbaijan, emboldened by its success in Karabakh, could invade Armenian territory in order to create a land bridge to its exclave of Nakhchivan.
New thermal scope lets snipers see bullets in flight without tracers
By David Szondy
February 15, 2024
Defense contractor Teledyne FLIR has unveiled its new thermal sniper scope that can see its own bullets fly by day or night at ranges up to 2,200 m (1.3 miles). First seeing light at the annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas, the ThermoSight HISS-HD allows snipers and machine gunners to engage targets at long range while remaining unseen.
Snipers are one of the most skilled jobs in the armed forces and law enforcement. Operating from places of concealment, they need to be able to identify, lock onto, and destroy targets at ranges sometimes measured in miles – and preferably with the first shot.
The problem is that sniping has evolved far beyond the days when all that was needed was a keen eye and a steady hand. Today, snipers use specialized rifles and rounds, sophisticated optics, and computer processors that handle all sorts of variables like windage, air pressure, muzzle velocity, fall of shot and others.
However, with all of this, snipers and machine gunners need to fall back on an old and reliable device, the tracer round. If you've watched enough old war movies, you've probably come across night battle scenes where bullets light up the sky like the pew-pew lasers from a sci-fi epic. These are tracer rounds. They're bullets incorporating an incendiary charge that are mixed in with the regular rounds as a way for a sniper or a gunner to gauge where shots are landing.
Israel: GPS disabled and IDF leave cancelled over Iran threat
12 minutes ago
GPS is being blocked across Israel in an attempt to disrupt incoming missiles and drones, as tensions rise with Iran.
Iran has vowed to respond after a strike on its consulate building in Syria on Monday - which Israel was widely believed to be behind - killed 13 people, including a senior general.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also announced it was halting all leave for soldiers serving with combat units.
It comes a day after reservists were called up to bolster air defence units.
Israeli authorities seem to believe an Iranian response is imminent and could come as soon as Friday, which is Quds Day - or Jerusalem Day - the last Friday in the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan.
weatheriscool wrote: ↑Fri Aug 04, 2023 7:39 pm
Air Force pulls off first AI flight in pilotless plane
Source: Stars and Stripes
Air Force researchers are touting the achievement of the first unmanned flight using artificial intelligence algorithms after a successful three-hour sortie by an XQ-58A Valkyrie.
The flight took place at Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base on July 25, according to a statement issued Thursday by the Air Force Research Lab, which developed the unmanned plane in partnership with Kratos.
The AI algorithms used in the flight were created by the lab and honed through millions of hours of simulations, the statement said.
“AI will be a critical element to future warfighting and the speed at which we’re going to have to understand the operational picture and make decisions,” said Brig. Gen. Scott Cain, the research lab commander. “We need the coordinated efforts of our government, academia and industry partners to keep pace.”
First known test dogfight between AI and human pilot carried out, US military says
Friday 19 April 2024 14:33, UK
The world's first known combat between a human pilot and a fighter jet controlled by AI has been carried out in California, the US military has said.
In a drill over Edwards Air Force Base, the pair of F-16 fighter jets flew at speeds of up to 1,200mph and got as close as 600 metres during aerial combat, also known as dogfighting.
One was manned, while the other jet was a modified version of the F-16, called the X-62A, or VISTA (variable in-flight simulator test aircraft).
While in flight, the AI algorithm relies on analysing historical data to make decisions for present and future situations, according to the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which carried out the test.
This process is called "machine learning", and has for years been tested in simulators on the ground, said DARPA, a research and development agency of the US Department of Defense.
