Tag: Mark Cancian

How the US is preparing a military staging ground near Venezuela + the 160th SOAR(A)

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The United States military is upgrading a long-abandoned former Cold War naval base in the Caribbean, a Reuters visual investigation has found, suggesting preparations for sustained operations that could help support possible actions inside Venezuela. 

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“The land is going to be next,” he said.

How the US is preparing a military staging ground near Venezuela

Related:

Venezuela Flashpoint: Real-Time Intelligence Analysis

Compounding these indicators is also the confirmed presence of United States special forces support assets (Ocean Trader / Night Stalkers) in the theatre of operations. Washington also authorised Langley to conduct covert action in Venezuela through a presidential finding reported on October through credible media outlets. Grey Dynamics’ real-time monitoring and analysis of the situation aims to deliver continuous updates and verified intelligence on the ongoing flashpoint.

Night Stalkers = 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), abbreviated as 160th SOAR(A), is a special operations force of the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support for special operations forces. Its missions have included attack, assault, and reconnaissance, and these missions are usually conducted at night, at high speeds, low altitudes, and on short notice.

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

Related:

How Ukraine war has shaped US planning for a China conflict

US Ammunition Supplies Dwindle as Ukraine War Drains Stockpiles

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The United States will soon be unable to provide Ukraine with certain types of ammunition that are essential to Kyiv’s battle against Russia’s invasion, as supplies are being used up faster than they can be replaced.

US Ammunition Supplies Dwindle as Ukraine War Drains Stockpiles

Previously:

07-24 – West Can Not Sustain Prolonged Conflict In Ukraine, Says Pentagon Supplier

09-30 – Pentagon stockpiles ‘uncomfortably low’ due to Ukraine arms transfers: DoD

10-10 – Whoops, the U.S. Sent So Many Missiles to Ukraine That It Depleted Its Own Stockpiles

Most-accurate US artillery shell Excalibur quietly added to Ukraine aid

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Most-accurate US artillery shell Excalibur quietly added to Ukraine aid

Source

The Defense Department will spend $92 million in congressionally approved supplemental funds “for procurement of replacement M982 Excalibur munitions transferred to Ukraine in support of the international effort to counter Russian aggression,” according to a budget document last month that wasn’t previously disclosed.

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“The $92 million addition to Excalibur more than doubles the program’s budget, adding about 900 projectiles in fiscal 2022, up from $56.7 million that Congress approved this fiscal year,” according to Mark Cancian, a defense analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies who’s monitoring Ukraine-related spending.

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“This also confirms what had long been suspected, that the United States is providing this advanced weapon to Ukraine,” Cancian said. Each round currently cost from $98,700 to $106,400 in fiscal 2021 and 2022 dollars depending on the quantities purchased, according to Army budget documents.

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In addition to the previously undisclosed Excalibur, the budget documents also spell out supplies of well-known items such as conventional 155mm artillery rounds, Javelin anti-armor and Stinger anti-air missiles, the HIMARS mobile rocket system and its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, missiles. There are also smaller purchases of MK-19 grenade launchers, “precision sniper rifles” and “spotting scopes” and “replacement battery coolant units” for Stingers.

EXPLAINER: Why Dutch soldiers were at Indiana military camp

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Before three Dutch soldiers were shot, one fatally, in downtown Indianapolis, they were training in a southern Indiana military camp where international soldiers enter highly specialized urban combat simulations they might not be able to get in their own country.

EXPLAINER: Why Dutch soldiers were at Indiana military camp

Related:

Indianapolis police quiet on fatal shooting of Dutch soldier