Tag: M142 HIMARS

Lockheed’s HIMARS plant gearing up to meet demand after Ukraine ‘success’

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Lockheed’s HIMARS plant gearing up to meet demand after Ukraine success

On an earnings call with investors Lockheed’s CEO said “on HIMARS specifically, we’ve already met with our long lead supply chain to plan for increasing production to 96 of these units a year.” Lockheed started 2022 with a HIMARS launcher production rate of 48, but has since ramped up to 60 year.

Amazed that they make them, manually! No wonder they only make 60 a year! I used to work in automotive manufacturing and we made more than 96 per day! Lots of automation and air-powered tools were involved!

Ukrainian Military Appears to Be Using US-Made Black Hawk Helicopter

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Ukrainian military intelligence operatives are seen with a US-made Black Hawk military helicopter following a combat operation, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, February 21, 2023. (Credit: Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine)

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has shared photos of a Black Hawk helicopter. The American-made aircraft was painted with a Ukrainian flag, and the intel org suggested it was used in military operations.

Ukrainian Military Appears to Be Using US-Made Black Hawk Helicopter

How Ukraine war has shaped US planning for a China conflict

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Yes, I do think the US has an eye on instigating a conflict with China.

As the war rages on in Ukraine, the United States is doing more than supporting an ally. It’s learning lessons — with an eye toward a possible clash with China. No one knows what the next U.S. major military conflict will be or whether the U.S. will send troops — as it did in Afghanistan and Iraq — or provide vast amounts of aid and expertise, as it has done with Ukraine. But China remains America’s biggest concern. U.S. military officials say Beijing wants to be ready to invade the self-governing island of Taiwan by 2027, and the U.S. remains the island democracy’s chief ally and supplier of defense weapons.

How Ukraine war has shaped US planning for a China conflict

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How Ukraine war has shaped US planning for a China conflict

Pentagon Wants To Return Special Ops Propagandists To Ukraine

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

An article by The Washington Post titled “Pentagon looks to restart top-secret programs in Ukraine” contains some interesting information about what US special ops forces were doing in Ukraine in the lead-up to the Russian invasion last year, and what they are slated to be doing there in the future.

Pentagon Wants To Return Special Ops Propagandists To Ukraine

Previously:

Report: Pentagon wants to revive top secret commando program in Ukraine

Report: Pentagon wants to revive top secret commando program in Ukraine

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

According to a report in the Washington Post this morning, Pentagon officials want to revive pre-Ukraine war orders that would allow them to insert commandos in the form of “control teams” to direct Ukrainian operatives to counter Russian disinformation and monitor troops movements on the ground.

Report: Pentagon wants to revive top secret commando program in Ukraine

Ukraine can’t retake Crimea soon, Pentagon tells lawmakers in classified briefing

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

Ukrainian forces are unlikely to be able to recapture Crimea from Russian troops in the near future, four senior Defense Department officials told House Armed Services Committee lawmakers in a classified briefing. The assessment is sure to frustrate leaders in Kyiv who consider taking the peninsula back one of their signature goals.

Ukraine can’t retake Crimea soon, Pentagon tells lawmakers in classified briefing

NATO countries’ silence on Novoaidar strike proves their involvement

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

NATO countries’ silence on Novoaidar strike proves their involvement

The deliberate attack at an operating medical facility and targeted killing of civilians is “grave war crime by the Kiev regime and its western colleagues,” Russian diplomats said. “A lack of reaction from the USA and other NATO countries to this horrible trampling of international humanitarian law by Kiev is another proof of their direct involvement in the conflict and crimes which are being committed.”

In so doing, they are demonstrating a double standards policy. “The West, together with Kiev, got hysterical in connection with the provocative fake “crimes” of the Russian army in Bucha and Irpen which had never really happened, but keep turning a blind eye to outrages and barbaric actions by the Nazi Kiev regime which kills civilians with American, British, French and German weapons. They dash around with the ideas to set up an illegitimate “tribunal” against Russia, but say nothing about the trial of the Ukrainian leadership and military for their obvious daily crimes. The clumsy tactic is an apparent attempt to divert attention from one’s responsibility for their perpetration.

Related:

Russia Accuses Ukraine of Killing 14 in Hospital Strike Using US-Provided HIMARS

In August 2022, a Ukrainian intelligence official said that Kyiv had to consult with US officials before launching HIMARS strikes and that the US has veto power over the attacks. “So it makes the US directly complicit. US taxpayers should be aware of how their money is used,” Polyansky added.