Tag: maintenance

Israel will boost its military industry with the construction of an equipment factory

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

It’s not looking good for the IOF!

Israel will boost its military industry with the construction of an equipment factory

The news comes when 300 days have passed since the Israeli military operation against the Islamic terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, for which US military aid is being necessary.

The IDF has already warned that it is suffering a personnel crisis, but according to a recent article in The New York Times it is also facing a shortage of tank shells and parts to repair military vehicles.

This while the country is preparing for a possible regional war, after the escalation of tension on the border with Lebanon with the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah and threats from Iran after an attack in Tehran that caused the death of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the political office of Hamas, which the Islamic Republic attributes to Israel.

Washington even delayed sending certain types of bombs to Israel, citing the possibility that they would be used against civilians in the Gaza Strip, highlighting Israel’s strong dependence on American weapons.

Related:

Facing manpower shortage, government backs raising mandatory IDF service to 3 years

Israel’s Military starts drafting Ultra-Orthodox Jews, but will they Dodge the Draft on Religious Principle?

Biden Pledges New Military Deployments To Defend Israel In Netanyahu Call

Australian-based Marines ready to support Manila in sea-territory skirmish

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Australian-based Marines ready to support Manila in sea-territory skirmish

“We were given a warning order to support the Philippines defense forces in resupplying of the Second Thomas Shoal,” Marine Rotational Force — Darwin commander Col. Brian Mulvihill told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday at an Outback training camp in the Northern Territory.

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The Marines have been monitoring events at the shoal over a drone feed, Mulvihill said.

“We were ready to support the Philippine defense forces,” he said, noting that Marines across the Pacific are also ready to back the U.S. ally.

The rotational force can airlift food and water by pushing pallets out of helicopters, he added.

“We can control airspace and aircraft from many nations,” he said. “We provide a range of options if a host nation, through the embassy, requires assistance.”

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Darwin is an excellent platform for launching forces into Southeast Asia, according to Grant Newsham, a retired Marine colonel and senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo. 

“It’s good to see Darwin and Northern Territory being used this way … rather than just as a training area for Marines, Air Force, and Australian and other forces,” he said by email Thursday.

The Marines can offer the Philippines fire support coordination. They can help with logistics and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and guard locations that support Philippine forces operating towards the disputed shoal, he said.

“Of course, Marines can deploy aboard Philippine resupply boats alongside [Philippine] personnel,” he said.

Marine engineers could repair the Sierra Madre at the shoal and Marine helicopters could resupply it, Newsham added.

“A U.S. amphibious ship or two with Marines and their aircraft and other hardware aboard deployed to Second Thomas Shoal would be a serious force — and also sending a clear message,” he said. “Deploying Marines in the Philippines with their aviation, long-range rockets, and other hardware has a political significance in itself.”

Related:

Japan Forum for Strategic Studies

South China Sea: Philippines says to solely run Second Thomas Shoal resupply missions

SeaLight, formerly Project Myoushu

A US aircraft carrier and its crew have fought Houthi attacks for months. How long can it last?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)2 Comments

Fatigue is setting in as a U.S. aircraft carrier nears its ninth month waging the most intense running sea battle since World War II

A US aircraft carrier and its crew have fought Houthi attacks for months. How long can it last?

As Russia Advances, NATO Considers Sending Trainers Into Ukraine

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

As Russia Advances, NATO Considers Sending Trainers Into Ukraine

So far the United States has said no, but Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Thursday that a NATO deployment of trainers appeared inevitable. “We’ll get there eventually, over time,” he said.

For now, he said, an effort inside Ukraine would put “a bunch of NATO trainers at risk” and would most likely mean deciding whether to use precious air defenses to protect the trainers instead of critical Ukrainian infrastructure near the battlefield. General Brown briefed reporters on his plane en route to a NATO meeting in Brussels.

As a part of NATO, the United States would be obligated under the alliance’s treaty to aid in the defense of any attack on the trainers, potentially dragging America into the war.

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But in February, President Emmanuel Macron of France said that “nothing should be ruled out” when it comes to sending Western troops to Ukraine. Mr. Macron has doubled down on his comment since, including after senior American diplomats asked him to stop.

Littoral Combat Ship Still Fighting to Prove Its Worth

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The Littoral Combat Ship was meant to start the Navy’s operational renaissance. But a chorus of naysayers and critics have put service leaders on the defensive, insisting that the troubled program has turned a corner.

Littoral Combat Ship Still Fighting to Prove Its Worth

They’ve increased the crew size and have been training them to maintain the ships themselves rather than relying on the original contractors. 

Related:

The Littoral Combat Ship: How We Got Here, and Why (PDF)

Littoral Combat Ship: Actions Needed to Address Significant Operational Challenges and Implement Planned Sustainment Approach

USNI Proceedings Podcast – Littoral Combat Ships: How the Navy is Employing Them (Ted LeClair, Marc Crawford, Mark Haney)

Previously:

The Inside Story of How the Navy Spent Billions on the “Little Crappy Ship”

The Navy just launched a brand new ship it doesn’t even want

China exposes Philippines’ reneging on South China Sea commitment

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Source

Related:

China exposes Philippines’ reneging on South China Sea commitment

Wang pointed out that the Philippines has made a solemn promise to tow away the military vessel illegally grounded at Ren’ai Jiao, noting that 25 years have passed, and the Philippines has still not towed away the warship.

Noting that the Philippines has violated the understanding reached between the two sides on the proper management of the situation on Ren’ai jiao, the spokesperson said despite the Philippines’ commitment not to reinforce the grounded warship and to notify China in advance of any plans to resupply it, China, out of humanitarian considerations, has made temporary special arrangements for Philippine vessels transporting necessary supplies to the warship multiple times.

“However, the Philippines continues to send government vessels and warships to forcibly enter Ren’ai Jiao, attempting to transport construction materials for large-scale repairs and reinforcement of the warship in order to achieve permanent occupation of Ren’ai Jiao,” Wang said.

PH did promise to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin

Philippines Budgets for a Permanent Base at Second Thomas Shoal

It’s Time to Build Combined Forward Operating Base Sierra Madre

The Growing Weakness of Western Artillery Capabilities

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

After decades of waging war against impoverished nations with destitute armies, or no standing armies at all, the US has suddenly found itself in a rapidly changing world where peer and near-peer competitors are outpacing it in military capabilities. Many of these capabilities are showing up on the battlefield in places the US has until recently enjoyed relative military superiority.

The Growing Weakness of Western Artillery Capabilities