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A Russian cargo ship claimed to be heading to Syria, to take part in the Kremlin’s military withdrawal from that country, has sunk in the Mediterranean. The Ursa Major went down overnight between Spain and Algeria, with 14 crew members rescued and another two still unaccounted for. The incident comes amid uncertainty over the fate of the Russian naval base at Tartous on the Syrian coast, which provides Moscow with a vital foothold on the Mediterranean.
Syria

What We Know About The Russian Cargo Ship That Sank In Mediterranean

Ukrainian intel claims the cargo ship was headed to Syria to take Russian materiel out of the country, but Moscow says otherwise.

F/A-18F Was Shot Down By Friendly Fire As Jets Were About To Land On The Carrier
F/A-18E/F

F/A-18F Was Shot Down By Friendly Fire As Jets Were About To Land On The Carrier

The friendly fire incident also came amid a sustained Houthi drone and missile attack targeting the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group.

The U.S. Army says it is planning to award a sole-source contract to BAE Systems to produce a prototype self-propelled 155mm howitzer for use as a novel air defense system.
U.S. Army

Railgun Ammo-Firing 155mm Air Defense Cannon Set To Be Awarded To BAE Systems

The U.S. Army wants to demonstrate the highly-mobile and lower-cost 155mm air and missile defense system by 2028.

Gold Apollo pager
Israel

Ex-Mossad Agents Reveal Details Of How They Turned Hezbollah’s Communications Devices Into Bombs

“We create a pretend world... We write the screenplay, we’re the directors, we’re the producers, we’re the main actors, and the world is our stage.”

North Korea may be preparing to send additional troops and weapons to Russia to help its fight against Ukraine.
North Korea

North Korea To Send More Troops To Fight For Russia Against Ukraine: South Korean Intel

Ukraine Situation Report: North Korean casualties in Kursk are climbing but more troops and weapons may be on the way.

US Navy ship in maintenance.
U.S. Navy

What’s In The Bill That Aims To Revitalize America’s Decaying Naval Industry

As China's shipbuilding continues to operate in overdrive, the SHIPS Act seeks to rejuvenate America's eroding maritime industrial base.

A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet was conducting a refueling mission over the Red Sea when it was downed in a friendly fire incident this past weekend.
U.S. Navy

F/A-18F Shot Down By Friendly Cruiser Was In The Middle Of A Refueling Mission

The friendly fire incident in the Red Sea also involved the most advanced Ticonderoga class cruiser in Navy service that had just been upgraded.

Salem Nuclear Power Plant in New Jersey was one of 22 energy infrastructure sites in the state that the FAA banned drone flights over.
U.S. Homeland

Nuclear Power Plants Report Massive Uptick In Drone Sightings

Drone reports filed by nuclear power plant operators for the entire year nearly doubled in just the week after Dec. 10.

Bomb shelter bunker at Bentwaters Park, former USAF military base, Suffolk, England, UK. (Photo by: Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week

It's cold outside but the bunker is toasty warm!

The commander of a Ukrainian Abrams tank talked about surviving Russian FPV drone strikes.
Russia

Ukrainian M1 Abrams Commander Talks Tank’s Major Vulnerabilities, Advantages In Combat

The M1 commander highlighted glaring issues with the M1 that make it vulnerable on a drone drenched battlefield, while also praising its resilience.

Recent satellite imagery of Belbek Air Base, near Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, shows new hardened aircraft shelters and additional construction to help shield aircraft from drone attacks and other indirect fire.
Flankers

Russia’s Belbek Air Base In Crimea Is Getting Hardened Aircraft Shelters

Satellite imagery shows major construction underway at Russia's air base just outside of Sevastopol.

Substantial differences in the designs of the B and C variants of the F-35 mean that they each require variant-specific 25mm gun pods.
F-35A

F-35B And F-35C Use Different 25mm Gun Pods Unique To Each Variant

The fact that the F-35B and F-35C cannot use the same gun pods underscores the substantial differences between all three main F-35 variants.

Russia Pummels Kyiv In Retaliation For ATACMS, Storm Shadow Strikes On Its Soil
Russia

Russia Pummels Kyiv In Retaliation For ATACMS, Storm Shadow Strikes On Its Soil

Ukraine Situation Report: Russia vowed revenge earlier this week after a key fuel production site in the Rostov region was struck.

A Spanish Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon participating in NATO exercise Ramstein Flag 24 flies over the west coast of Greece, Oct. 4, 2024. Over 130 fighter and enabler aircraft from Greece, Canada, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States are training side by side to improve tactics and foster more robust integration, demonstrating NATO’s resolve, commitment and ability to deter potential adversaries and defend the Alliance.
F/A-18A-D

Spanish Typhoon Buy Signals Upward Trend For Eurofighter

Spain is the latest nation to buy more Typhoon fighters, as new weapons and capabilities for it prepare to come online.

Marine Corps Medium Landing Ship.
Force Design 2030

Marine-Moving Medium Landing Ship Critical To China Fight Put On Hold Again By Navy

The Marines say they really need a Medium Landing Ship for a future conflict in the Pacific, but Navy requirements have ballooned its costs.

In the face of post-Cold War drawdowns, the U.S. Air Force pushed ahead with buying the famously expensive F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in part because of a perhaps unexpected reason: concerns about Syrian air defenses.
F-22

Syria’s Air Defenses Helped Make The F-22A Raptor A Reality

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall recalled how the F-22's cost was justified during the dawn of the post-Cold War era.

As the world’s only operator of the legendary F-14 Tomcat swing-wing fighter, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) has a unique airpower status. A recent airshow provided the chance for a very rare close-quarters look at the Cold War-era jet, which by now has very questionable capabilities and serviceability, while there are persistent reports that it could soon be replaced entirely by Russian-provided Su-35 Flanker multirole fighters.
F-14

Iranian F-14 Tomcat Encounter At An Airshow Unlike Any Other

A single F-14 took center stage at an airshow on the island of Kish, in the Persian Gulf, with the Tomcat's days in Iranian service likely numbered.

The FAA has banned drone flights over 22 New Jersey power infrastructure sites.
U.S. Air Force

Drone Flights Banned Over New Jersey Energy Infrastructure Sites

The threat to power infrastructure from drones has grown in recent years but little action has been taken to mitigate it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted today that his country is still exploring its options for retaining a pair of bases in Syria that have uniquely strategic value following the fall of longtime ally Bashar Al Assad.
Syria

Putin Claims No Final Decision Yet On Russia’s Bases In Syria Despite Withdrawals

The Russian president also downplayed how big of a deal losing its Syrian bases is after the fall of dictator Bashar Al Assad.

Israeli has launched airstrikes on multiple targets in Yemen, including the capital of Sana’a, in response to an overnight missile launch from Yemen toward Israel. The Israeli raids come after an uptick in attacks against Israel by the Yemen-based Houthi militant group, including two in the past week.
F-15

Israeli Air Force Strikes Yemen With Popeye And Rampage Standoff Missiles

One of Israel's oldest and newest standoff missiles appears to have been at the forefront of a new round of IAF long-range airstrikes targeting the Houthis.