(Common Dreams) The costs and consequences of America’s twenty-first-century wars have by now been well-documented — a staggering $8 trillion in expenditures and more than 380,000 civilian deaths, as calculated by Brown University’s Costs of War project. The question of who has benefited most from such an orgy of military spending has, unfortunately, received far less attention.
Corporations large and small have left the financial feast of that post-9/11 surge in military spending with genuinely staggering sums in hand. After all, Pentagon spending has totaled an almost unimaginable $14 trillion-plus since the start of the Afghan War in 2001, up to one-half of which (catch a breath here) went directly to defense contractors.
“The Purse is Now Open”: The Post-9/11 Flood of Military Contracts
The political climate created by the Global War on Terror, or GWOT, as Bush administration officials quickly dubbed it, set the stage for humongous increases in the Pentagon budget. In the first year after the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Afghanistan, defense spending rose by more than 10% and that was just the beginning. It would, in fact, increase annually for the next decade, which was unprecedented in American history. The Pentagon budget peaked in 2010 at the highest level since World War II — over $800 billion, substantially more than the country spent on its forces at the height of the Korean or Vietnam Wars or during President Ronald Reagan’s vaunted military buildup of the 1980s
Conclusion:
…a new strategy is needed, one that increases the role of American diplomacy, while focusing on emerging and persistent non-military security challenges. “National security” needs to be redefined not in terms of a new “cold war” with China, but to forefront crucial issues like pandemics and climate change.
It’s time to put a halt to the direct and indirect foreign military interventions the United States has carried out in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and so many other places in this century. Otherwise, we’re in for decades of more war profiteering by weapons contractors reaping massive profits with impunity.
An F-15E Strike Eagle from Bagram Air Base deploys flares over Afghanistan Nov. 12, 2008. Photo: U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon
(Inverse) CONGRESS MAY TAKE STEPS TO RAMP UP INVESTIGATIONS OF UFOS — UAPs, in the new terminology — following a Department of Defense report to Congress over the summer recognizing the reality of these “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” but found no evidence of extraterrestrial involvement.
Sections of two proposed intelligence appropriation bills, H.R. 4350 (the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act in the House of Representatives) and S.2610 (the FY 22 Intelligence Authorization Act in the Senate) take different approaches to expand the work of the Pentagon’s UAP Task Force.
Those hoping for a full-throated Congressional hunt for technologically advanced aliens of UFO lore may be disappointed, however. The bills appear driven more by entirely Earthly national security and safety concerns than little green men in hypersonic lozenge-shaped vessels.
In June, the UAP Task Force presented a report to Congress that covered 144 UAP sightings by military and other federal sources between 2004 and 2021. While the report found no evidence of aliens, it did note that “UAP clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to U.S. national security,” and that “Some UAP many be technologies deployed by China, Russia, another nation, or non-governmental entity.”
WHAT WOULD THE BILLS DO? If the bill becomes law, Section 345 of S.2610 would require the entire intelligence community to share any information about UAPs with the task force and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center immediately. It would then mandate classified reports about any UAP events to Congress beginning 90 days after the act's passage and quarterly from then on.
caltrek's comment: This sounds like the makings of a television entertainment series. Maybe they could call it The Y Files - or something like that.
China sends more than three dozen warplanes in skies near Taiwan in largest incursion yet
Source: CNN
By Eric Cheung and Brad Lendon,
Taipei, Taiwan (CNN)China sent 38 warplanes into the skies around Taiwan on Friday, the highest number of Chinese military aircraft to breach the island's Air Defense Identification Zone in a single day since Taipei began publicly reporting such activities last year, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said Friday night.
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft came in two waves, the Defense Ministry said.
Twenty-five PLA warplanes entered the southwestern corner of the ADIZ during daylight hours, and another 13 planes entered the island's southwest ADIZ on Friday night, the ministry said in a statement.
While the Chinese planes in the afternoon sortie stayed in the extreme southwestern part of the ADIZ, the planes involved in the evening flight flew through the defense zone and hooked up toward the northeast before reversing course and returning to the Chinese mainland, the Defense Ministry said.
(The Asahi Shimbun) U.S. F-35B fighter jets took off from and landed on the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s destroyer Izumo in a test off the Shikoku region on Oct. 3, the Defense Ministry said Oct. 5.
The ministry plans to convert the helicopter-carrying destroyer into an aircraft carrier, and the test was designed to check the heat-resistance of the renovated deck.
The F-35B is a stealth fighter capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings. The ministry plans to deploy the aircraft to Air Self-Defense Force’s Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi revealed the test at an Oct. 5 news conference after the Cabinet meeting.
It was the first time for F-35Bs to use an MSDF naval vessel for takeoffs and landings.
HMS Prince of Wales launches Banshee drones in fighter attack drill
By David Szondy
October 06, 2021
The Royal Navy's latest supercarrier, HMS Prince of Wales, has launched jet-propelled drones from its flight deck for the first time as an experiment to see if autonomous aircraft can replace crewed fighters in simulated in-coming attack exercises.
If you ask the average person what makes one navy a better fighting force than another, odds are they will point to things like ships, submarines, missiles, fighter planes, and other pieces of hardware. While these are important, the real deciding factor is constant training that is repeated so often that it becomes a matter of reflex and combat feels like an unusually realistic drill.
Unfortunately, such training is incredibly expensive and often dangerous for the participants. One example of this is the drills needed to train sailors in carrier task forces to counter attack low-flying fighter planes that get close enough to launch missiles well inside the defense umbrella.
China says it carried out beach landing drills in province opposite Taiwan
Source: Reuters
BEIJING, Oct 11 (Reuters) - China's military said on Monday it had carried out beach landing and assault drills in the province directly across the sea from Taiwan, though it did not link the exercises to current tensions with Taipei.
Democratically ruled Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, has complained of stepped-up military and political pressure from Beijing to force it to accept Chinese rule, including massed air force incursions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone. read more
The official People's Liberation Army Daily newspaper, in a brief report on its Weibo microblogging account, said the drills had been carried out "in recent days" in the southern part of Fujian province.
The action had involved "shock" troops, sappers and boat specialists, the Chinese military newspaper added. The troops were "divided into multiple waves to grab the beach and perform combat tasks at different stages", it added, without providing further details.
(The Drive) On October 7, 2021, we learned that one of the U.S. Navy's prized Seawolf class nuclear fast attack submarines—one of just three ever built—had suffered a serious underwater collision. The incident supposedly occurred while the USS Connecticut (SSN-22) was operating in or very near the tumultuous South China Sea. The damaged submarine subsequently limped its way to Guam so that the damage can be assessed. Thankfully, nobody on board died and the vessel's nuclear reactor remained in a safe condition.
Exactly what Connecticut hit remains a mystery, but many have expressed their utter puzzlement to us as to how a multi-billion dollar nuclear submarine that is laden with some of the most capable sensors on the planet — literally one of the most advanced vehicles mankind has ever built — can just run into something below the waves.
With that question in mind, we reached out to veteran submariner Aaron Amick, a friend and contributor to the site and the proprietor of Sub Brief, who spent 20 years as a sonarman aboard America's attack and ballistic missile submarine force, as well as an instructor to new sonarmen. If anyone could give us the bottom line on how incidents like this can keep happening, as well as what would have happened aboard Connecticut after the collision and what might come next for some of the crew, he could.
Just as we thought, he certainly did just that. Here is our exchange:
USS San Francisco pulling into Guam after its impact with a seamount.
Witnesses: Ethiopian military airstrikes hit Tigray capital
Source: AP
By CARA ANNA
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopian military airstrikes have hit the capital of the country’s Tigray region and killed at least three people, witnesses said Monday, returning the war abruptly to Mekele after several months of peace.
The airstrikes, confirmed by two humanitarian workers, came days after a new military offensive was launched against the Tigray forces who have been fighting Ethiopian and allied forces for nearly a year.
Mekele hasn’t seen fighting since late June, when the Tigray forces retook much of the region and Ethiopian troops withdrew. Since then, Ethiopia’s federal government has called all able citizens to crush the Tigray fighters who dominated the national government for 27 years before being sidelined by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. What began as a political dispute in Africa’s second-most populous country has now killed thousands of people.
Spokespeople for the military and the prime minister didn’t immediately respond to questions. The foreign ministry in a statement a few hours after the airstrikes didn’t mention them and instead called on the international community to “support Ethiopia’s overtures for peace.”
(Other Words) Everyone who followed the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan was horrified by the drone attack, called a “tragic mistake” by the Pentagon, which killed 10 members of a single family, including 7 children.
Zemari Ahmadi, who worked for Nutrition and Education International, a U.S.-based aid organization, became the target because he drove a white Toyota, went to his office, and stopped to pick up containers of clean water for his extended family.
Those actions, deemed suspicious by the drone surveillance program and its human handlers, were enough to identify Ahmadi falsely as an ISIS-K terrorist and place him on the kill list for that day.
It would be comforting to think that the Ahmadi killing was one of those one-in-a-thousand tragic affairs, but that would be a mistake. In fact, as many as one-third of people killed by drone strikes have been found to be civilians.
While it is difficult to get an accurate count of deaths resulting from drone strikes, there are many documented reports of civilians being mistakenly targeted and killed.
Sudan's military detains prime minister and dissolves government in coup
Source: Washington Post
NAIROBI — Sudan’s military on Monday detained the prime minister, dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency, in what could be the end of a democratic transition propelled by the millions of Sudanese who marched in the streets for the overthrow of longtime dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir more than two years ago.
The Biden administration will suspend $700 million in bilateral assistance to Sudan in response to the military’s takeover, the State Department said Monday. Speaking to reporters in Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price called for the military to release civilian leaders, restore civilian control and refrain from using violence, including live ammunition, against protesters.
“We are watching very closely to see how the military responds, to do everything we can to see to it that the military respects the right of peaceful assembly and ultimately to see to it that the military respects the aspirations of the Sudanese people to restore the country’s path to democracy,” Price said. “Our entire relationship with this entity in Sudan will be evaluated in light of what has transpired unless Sudan is returned to the transitional path.”
The coup comes just days after the U.S. envoy to the region met with Sudan’s military leaders and warned them that American support — which aims to prop up an economic renewal after decades of sanctions — was conditional on sticking to an agreement that would see power put squarely in civilian hands this year.
Israel tests massive inflatable missile detection system
Source: AP
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Wednesday it has begun testing a massive inflatable missile detection system designed to hover at high altitudes and detect long-range threats.
Israel already boasts an array of sophisticated missile defenses, which were used successfully during the 11-day Gaza war this year.
The High Availability Aerostat System resembles a giant blimp or zeppelin. The Defense Ministry says it’s one of the world’s largest systems of its kind. It was developed in cooperation with a subsidiary of state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and TCOM, a U.S. aerostat manufacturer.
Israel has moved aggressively in recent years to counter potential threats from Iran, the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, all of which boast large arsenals of rockets capable of hitting major cities.
South Korean Hyundai Rotem unveiled its leg-wheel military robot during the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2021.
Dubbed the DOSS (daring operations in service and search), the ultimate mobility vehicle has wheels for flat terrain and nimble legs that allow the robot to walk on uneven terrain such as boulders and narrow mountain trails.
Using its sophisticated leg-and-wheel locomotion, the robot can perform a variety of missions, including surveillance, reconnaissance, and transportation of goods and injured soldiers.
According to Hyundai, DOSS is “the world’s first transformable future ground platform that combines intelligent robot technology and wheels to freely move on rough terrain where off-road vehicles cannot go.”
Hyundai's DOSS military robot as shown during the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2021. Photo: Hyundai Rotem
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
“If you want to send robots where you don’t want to send soldiers, you need a solution for that,” said Elad Levy, CEO and founder of Roboteam.
His company, together with Elbit Systems, on Tuesday, announced the debut of what they are calling “the mothership of unmanned vehicles”: ROOK, a multi-payload military 6x6 Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV).
The UGV’s innovative design and built-in autonomy suite offers improved capacity, maneuverability and agility from its previous models, creating “a human machine” that is “really part of the team,” said Yoav Poizner, the senior director of Elbit C4I and Cyber.
He said the ROOK is the next step toward enabling “everything that happens in the sky” through use of drones and aerial robots to occur on the ground and in the field where soldiers need it, too.
The ROOK was developed based on the operational experience accumulated through fielding of the 4x4 PROBOT UGV systems, which became operational a few years ago through a first collaboration between the two companies.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
“If you want to send robots where you don’t want to send soldiers, you need a solution for that,” said Elad Levy, CEO and founder of Roboteam.
His company, together with Elbit Systems, on Tuesday, announced the debut of what they are calling “the mothership of unmanned vehicles”: ROOK, a multi-payload military 6x6 Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV).
The UGV’s innovative design and built-in autonomy suite offers improved capacity, maneuverability and agility from its previous models, creating “a human machine” that is “really part of the team,” said Yoav Poizner, the senior director of Elbit C4I and Cyber.
He said the ROOK is the next step toward enabling “everything that happens in the sky” through use of drones and aerial robots to occur on the ground and in the field where soldiers need it, too.
The ROOK was developed based on the operational experience accumulated through fielding of the 4x4 PROBOT UGV systems, which became operational a few years ago through a first collaboration between the two companies.
Wow they are wasting no time over there! Between the patrol robot they showed earlier this year with a gun and this ROOK its going to be quite the transformation to the battlefield.
A short promotional video, made jointly by the United States Air Force and Space Force, shows a model of what appears to be the SR-72 spy plane, also known as the Son of Blackbird.
The aircraft appears at the very end of the video, with only an outline and a few details visible. The object is most likely a computer-generated image or a mockup, but it provides confirmation that the US military is working on the mysterious plane.
The rumors that Lockheed Martin is planning a successor to the SR-71, a famous cold war-era reconnaissance plane, date back to the late 2000s.
Very little is known about the project. According to Lockheed Martin, it is intended to be unmanned and fly at speeds exceeding Mach 6, or six times the speed of sound. To reach such speeds, the aircraft should use a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) engine, which blends a turbine engine for below-Mach 3 flight and a ramjet for higher speeds.
It was also said to be capable of carrying hypersonic missiles, shifting the focus from a pure reconnaissance platform. According to the manufacturer, the prime purpose of such a plane would be penetrating contested airspaces and striking highly valuable targets.
However, the video, published on November 18, 2021, by the USAF Profession of Arms Center of Excellence (PACE) Youtube channel, focuses on intelligence gathering capabilities of the service, touting its ability to “[conduct] recon faster than the speed of war”. This might show that the military still considers the SR-72 as a spy plane, or at least as a platform capable of performing as one.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
BANGKOK (AP) — An army vehicle barreled into a peaceful march of anti-government protesters in military-ruled Myanmar’s biggest city on Sunday, reportedly killing at least three people, witnesses and a protest organizer said.
Sunday’s march was one of at least three held in Yangon, and similar rallies were reported in other parts of the country a day ahead of an expected verdict in the first of about a dozen criminal cases against Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was toppled in a military takeover Feb. 1.
A video posted on social media showed a speeding small army truck heading into the marchers from behind. Voices can be heard, saying: “The car is coming ... Please help! It hit the children ... Oh! ... Dead! ... Run, ... run!” The video shows about a dozen people running from the spot.
A witness told The Associated Press that the protesters had been on his street for just two minutes when the military truck hit them, leaving three people lying motionless on the road.
Artificial intelligence can outperform humans in designing futuristic weapons, according to a team of Chinese naval researchers who say they have developed the world’s smallest yet most powerful coilgun.
The prototype weapon has a 12cm (4.5-inch) barrel, about the size of a pistol, which contains three battery-powered coils that generate an electromagnetic field
This electromagnetic field means that, unlike a conventional gun, the bullet does not touch the sides as it passes through the barrel.
Researchers found the bullet’s kinetic energy as it was could reach almost 150 joules, more than twice the energy needed to fire a fatal shot
The researchers say it would have been impossible to achieve this level of performance without using AI in the design process
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
In war games simulating a high-end fight against Russia or China, the US often loses, two experienced military war-gamers have revealed.
"In our games, when we fight Russia and China, 'blue' gets its ass handed to it," David Ochmanek, a RAND warfare analyst, explained at the Center for a New American Security on Thursday, Breaking Defense first reported. US forces are typically color-coded blue in these simulations.
"We lose a lot of people. We lose a lot of equipment. We usually fail to achieve our objective of preventing aggression by the adversary," he said.
At the outset of these conflicts, all five battlefield domains — land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace — are contested, meaning the US could struggle to achieve the superiority it has enjoyed in the past.
In these simulated fights, the "red" aggressor force often obliterates US stealth fighters on the runway, sends US warships to the depths, destroys US bases, and takes out critical US military systems.
"In every case I know of, the F-35 rules the sky when it's in the sky," Robert Work, a former deputy secretary of defense and an experienced war-gamer, said Thursday. "But it gets killed on the ground in large numbers."
