Rnews Crooked Bough News Round-up: Military Watch

Military Watch

— Now Combat Tested in Ukraine, Russia Confirms Stockpiles and Serial Production of New Oreshnik Ballistic Missiles: at 11/22/24 4:51am
Following Russia’s first ever <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-icbm-targeting-ukraine" target="_blank">combat use</a> of an intermediate range ballistic on November 21, new details have continued to emerge regarding the Oreshnik missile class. Initially erroneously reported by Ukrainian sources to have been an intercontinental range platform, the missile deployed&nbsp; six warheads, each with several submunitions, for a strike against military and industrial targets in the city of Dnipro. Speaking at a meeting of the Ministry of Defence and defence industry representatives, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that the Oreshnik would continue to undergo testing, including under combat conditions, indicating plans for continued use in Ukraine. “The tests will continue, especially since we have enough of these weapons for the duration of this phase,”&nbsp; he stated, confirming that the missile was set to enter serial production.&nbsp;Although the Soviet Union developed multiple classes of intermediate range ballistic missile, the&nbsp;Oreshnik remains the first fielded by&nbsp;post-Soviet Russia. Moscow was previously bound by the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty with the United States, and after the treaty’s dissolution in 2019 continued to refrain from developing new missile types.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/23/article_67412b02a93b80_22049406.png" title="Yars ICBM Launch">“You can assume that the decision on production has been made. In fact, it is organised,” the Russian president further noted regarding the&nbsp;Oreshnik, stressing that the missile was a clean sheet post Soviet design. “As you know, no one in the world has such a weapon yet… Other countries are working on similar developments, but they will not have this system for at least another year or two. And we already have it today. This is an important advantage,” he added. “There are no means to counteract or intercept such a missile in the world today,” the president elaborated, adding that “the Oreshnik is a unique weapon, and we will continue to test and deploy it as needed to secure our country.”&nbsp;The President Putin stated that the missile travelled at Mach 10 speeds, or 2.5-3 kilometres per second, although this is standard for ballistic missiles with such ranges, and does not indicate that hypersonic glide vehicles were carried.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/23/article_67412a117e5900_90422950.jpg" title="North Korean Hwasong-16B Ballistic Missile with Hypersonic Glide Vehicle">It remains uncertain how Russia’s new missile class is unique or what sets it apart from competing missiles, most notable the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/a-reminder-to-america-what-is-behind-china-s-launch-of-a-df-26-long-range-carrier-killer-ballistic-missile" target="_blank">Chinese DF-26</a> which was previously for years considered the world’s most formidable intermediate range ballistic missile class. Statements by Russian officials in the past have notably often described weapons systems’ superiority solely in the context of their capabilities relative to Western Bloc systems, with the Oreshnik having no equivalents in the Western world where ground based ballistic missile arsenals are limited. Much remains unknown regarding the new missile system, including whether it may be equipped with hypersonic glide vehicles - a capability North Korea <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorea-hwasong16b-hypersonic-changer" target="_blank">pioneered</a> with its Hwasong-16B intermediate range ballistic first test launched in March. An intermediate range ballistic missile capability provides a valuable means of striking targets deep into Europe and into the Atlantic, while also placing Western military facilities in Japan, South Korea, and on Guam within reach.&nbsp;The ability to test the missile under high intensity combat conditions in Ukraine is likely to help accelerate development, while also providing an opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities to Moscow’s Western adversaries.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Missile and Space]
— Merkava IV Barak Down: How Israel’s Enhanced New Tank Was Designed to be Near Indestructible Before Being Taken Out: at 11/22/24 4:38am
On November 15 the first footage emerged showing the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-merkavaiv-barak-destroyed-gaza" target="_blank">destruction</a> of a Merkava IV Barak main battle tank, a heavily enhanced variant of the Israeli Merkava design which entered service in 2023 with significant improvements to its situational awareness and armour protection levels. The vehicle was neutralised by Palestinian paramilitary groups operating in the Gaza Strip, with three of four crewmembers killed. The baseline Merkava IV which entered service in 2005 was considered to have insufficient armour protection, particularly after it took heavy losses during an <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/how-powerful-hezbollah-trained-nkorea-hardened" target="_blank">attempted Israeli invasion</a> of Southern Lebanon in 2006 to local Hezbollah forces. The tank class had begun development in 1999, and was intended to bridge the performance gap with enhanced variants of the<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-t72-evolution-2020s" target="_blank"> T-72 tank </a>fielded by neighbouring Syria. The Merkava IV was later enhanced with the integration of the Trophy active protection system in 2009, which was one of the world’s first systems of its kind. It functioned by using a radar to continuously monitor the surrounding environment for incoming threats, and automatically tracking such threats, calculating their trajectories, and deploying protective munitions to intercept and destroy them before impact.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/21/article_673eabfe0ef556_57203778.png" title="Merkava IV Barak Destroyed">The Merkava IV Barak was designed to significantly further improve survivability, and was seen as the culmination of almost five decades of work on the Merkava design. Among its most notable features were a directed energy weapon installed to intercept drones, autonomous target acquisition sensors, a 360-degree camera, and artificial intelligence systems that assist the crew in identifying and prioritising targets. The tank was designed to operate as part of a network with aerial reconnaissance drones, which would transmit real-time data to the crew on potential threats including the deployment of improvised explosive devices. The tank integrated further sensors to continuously monitor its mechanical condition, enabling predictive maintenance to reduce downtime. While the vehicle’s cost is unknown, the extent of the complex subsystems integrated have led several analysts to estimate that it is the most costly in the world, despite the Merkava design dating back to the 1970s.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/21/article_673eacbc29e0d1_09630135.jpg" title="Israeli Army Merkava IV Barak">Facing new Merkava tanks, paramilitaries in the Gaza Strip notably lack access to advanced anti-tank weapons, and rely heavily on improvised explosive devices and relatively basic rocket propelled grenades such as the North Korean RPG F7. This contrasts sharply to the other adversary with which Israeli ground forces are <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/three-israeli-merkava-tanks-neutralised-in-southern-lebanon-reports" target="_blank">currently engaged</a>, the Lebanese paramilitary Hezbollah. Hezbollah has demonstrated not only advanced drone capabilities, but even the deployment of non-line of sight anti tank missiles with top attack capabilities - similar to those of the American Javelin system widely used in Ukraine. In spite of their limited armaments, Palestinian paramilitaries have nevertheless taken a significant toll on Israeli armour, with several dozen Merkava tanks and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/hamas-capture-merkavas-vehicles-offensive" >hundreds more</a>&nbsp;armoured vehicles from&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israeli-army-88-armour-five-days" >other classes</a>&nbsp;being lost since the outbreak of full scale hostilities on October 7, 2023. Footage of successful attacks on Israeli armour have been&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-footage-hamas-kills-armour" >published</a>&nbsp;multiple times, and have at times resulted in the deaths of senior officers. While Israel has been able to replenish its aerial warfare and air defence assets with the support of its Western Bloc allies, the fact that the country’s armour has not been exported, and is unique to the country, seriously limits its ability to replace such assets.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Middle East, Ground]
— Russia Launches World’s First Ever ICBM Attack Targeting Ukraine: A New Role For the World’s Longest Ranged Weapons: at 11/21/24 4:57am
The Russian Armed Forces have launched the first intercontinental range ballistic missile strike in history, according a report by the Ukrainian Armed Forces Strategic Command, with six independently retargetable warheads from a single missile used against industrial targets in Dnipro, Ukraine. Each of the six warheads in turn reportedly deployed several submunitions. Dnipro is home to the Pivdenmash missile production facility, which has been speculated to be among the targets. The fitting of ICBMs with non-nuclear warheads is a relatively novel innovation, and one which the United States Navy has considered under the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/u-s-congress-pushing-navy-to-give-zumwalt-stealth-destroyers-hypersonic-intercontinental-range-missiles" target="_blank">Prompt Global Strike</a> program. The ranges across which such missiles travel, and the high costs needed to accommodate these, mean that using them to deliver conventional attacks has not been considered cost effective in the past. Significant increases to the precision which can be achieved at such ranges, however, has made conventional attacks using ICBMs increasingly viable. The Russian strike has the potential to set a precedent for other states with ICBMs in their arsenals to increasingly consider options for using them for conventional attacks.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/21/article_673f6089108ab7_17410153.jpg" title="RS-26 Missile Test Launch">A number of Western sources have notably disputed claims that an ICBM was used, asserting that the strike was instead launched using an RS-26 missile which Western governments have long classified as an intermediate range ballistic missile. The RS-26’s range notably depends on its warhead, with an intercontinental range achievable if fitted with a single warhead, although the range falls below the 5000 kilometre threshold if using a full payload of six warheads. Work on the missile’s development was reported to have ceased in 2017, in part due to concerns that an intermediate range ballistic missile would violate the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty between Russia and United States. Washington’s withdrawal from the treaty in 2019, however, would make resumed work legal if confirmed. The use of the new missile to launch a fundamentally new kind of attack on Ukrainian targets is likely to have been done in order to retaliate for joint strikes by Ukraine and its Western allies using U.S. and British ATACMs and Storm Shadow missiles respectively against Internationally recognised Russian territory, which <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-atacms-russia-doctrine-respond" >first occurred</a> on November 19 and has been considered an unprecedented escalation.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Missile and Space]
— Chinese J-10C Fighters Complete Complex Multi-Service Exercises: What Makes Them So Dangerous?: at 11/20/24 7:14pm
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s J-10C fighter has participated in complex training exercises, and&nbsp;demonstrated a range of advanced capabilities under&nbsp;realistic combat conditions. The fighters were employed in a range of scenarios, which included successive takeoffs by multiple J-10Cs, and manoeuvres that required very high levels of coordination. These exercises tested the pilots’ ability to deploy rapidly, engage in mid air, and integrate effectively with other units. The exercises are intended to increase interoperability among the various branches of the People’s Liberation Army, to improve the individual capabilities of pilots, and to enhance the collective capabilities of the unit involved - the name of which was not disclosed. The ability of Chinese fighter units to stage particularly complicated exercises is facilitated by the very high levels of flight training which pilots receive annually, which significantly exceeds hours allocated to fighter pilots in the U.S. Air Force, in the large majority of Western countries, or in Russia.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/21/article_673ed19e194821_56779944.jpeg" title="J-10C Fighter">The J-10C is one of three fighter classes that has been acquired by China’s air force over the past five years, alongside the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-phase-single-crystal-blade-ws15" target="_blank">J-20 fifth generation fighter</a> and the&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-j16-fleet-surpasses-350-thirteenth-batch" target="_blank">‘4+ generation’ J-16</a>. Where the other two are heavyweights, the J-10C is a lightweight fighter with a single engine and half the thrust of the J-16, and is restricted by its much smaller combat radar and shorter range. Despite the limitations of its size, the fighter is highly prized for its sophistication, and is widely considered to be overall the most capable class of single engine fighter in the world other than the American fifth generation F-35. China is one of just two countries to widely deploy indigenous fifth generation fighters, alongside the United States, with many of the technologies that were developed for the J-20 program having benefitted the development of the J-10C and J-16. The J-20’s development and continuous modernisation has been among the most important indicators of the world leading position which China’s fighter aviation industry has gained.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/21/article_673ed1076b3061_83671137.png" title="J-16, J-10C and J-20 Fighters in the Late 2010s">The J-10C has been acquired in very large numbers, with over 300 thought to be in service at the most conservative estimates, allowing multiple air units to rapidly be modernised to a cutting edge standard far more cheaply than would be possible if equipping them with the similarly advanced but much larger J-16, or with the J-20. The aircraft is not only much less costly to produce, but also has much lower operational costs and maintenance needs than its larger counterparts. The J-10C’s production scale, estimated to be around 50 fighters per year, is by far the greatest of any fourth generation fighter class in the world, and is surpassed only by those of the J-20 and F-35. Domestic acquisitions of the fighter have notably slowed since 2021, both due to a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-surge-j20-120-f35s-48" target="_blank">major surge</a> in J-20 production, and in order to allow a portion of productive capacity to be allocated to meeting <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/first-j-10c-4-generation-fighters-arrive-in-pakistan-a-revolution-in-air-defence-capabilities">Pakistani orders</a> for the fighters. Pakistan is expected to acquire 72 of the aircraft. The J-10C has continued to gain significant interest from a range of foreign clients, with some of the most interested parties reported to include Azerbaijan, Iran, Egypt and Sudan.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/21/article_673ed0ad9bf454_55840748.jpeg" title="Pakistan Air Force J-10C with External Fuel Tanks and PL-15 Missiles">Despite its small size, the J-10C has proven capable of outperforming much larger fighters in air to air combat, with the aircraft reported in 2020 to have <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-s-j-10c-reportedly-crushed-the-russian-su-35-in-combat-exercises-how-the-firebird-came-out-on-top" >consistently outperformed</a> the Russian Su-35&nbsp;in simulated engagements. The fighter class has also at times <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/j-16-vs-j-10c-chinese-pilot-reveals-which-elite-fighter-is-superior" target="_blank">outperformed the J-16</a> in such engagements, albeit far less consistently, with the two considered well matched if the J-10C is able to compensate for its weaker sensors by sharing data with supporting assets. A notable advantage the fighter retains over the vast majority of foreign rivals is its integration of the PL-10 air to air missile, which is designed for visual range engagements and can engage targets at far more extreme angles away from the fighter’s nose than almost all rival missile classes. The fighter’s PL-15 was also considered the most capable beyond visual range air to air missile class in the world when it entered service around 2015, although it has since faced a serious challenge from the American AIM-260 which was developed specifically to restore an American advantage in the field.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Asia-Pacific, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— U.S. Submarines Are Getting a Nuclear Cruise Missile Strike Capability: Destroyers Likely to Follow: at 11/20/24 6:19pm
A class of nuclear tipped cruise missile is planned for development for the U.S. Navy for the first time since the end of the Cold War, with the first prototype expected to be created in the next three years, according to new government documents <a href="https://sputnikglobe.com/20241119/us-plans-to-develop-new-nuclear-cruise-missile-in-next-3-years---document-1120923090.html" >viewed</a> by Russian state media. The Navy previously deployed nuclear tipped variants of the Tomahawk cruise missile from the 1980s, but retired these shortly after the Cold War ended. The Pentagon has requested that defence industry representatives <a href="https://sputnikglobe.com/20241116/pentagon-spends-187-mln-on-audit-fails-seventh-year-in-a-row-1120903399.html" >conduct research</a> to determine whether resources are sufficient for a nuclear cruise missile class, and to assess industrys readiness to move ahead with prototype production. The new missile class is intended to be ready for deployment by the Navy by 2034, and is planned to be integrated onto the Navy’s Virginia Class attack submarines. It is likely that other attack submarine classes, and potentially the country’s Arleigh Burke and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/9billion-zumwalt-first-deployment-upgrades" target="_blank">Zumwalt Class destroyers</a>, will also deploy them, with all ship classes using vertical launch systems with high levels of commonality.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/21/article_673ec5f9610a18_85658405.jpg" title="Los Angeles Class Attack Submarine">It remains uncertain whether the new missile class will be a derivative of the Tomahawk design already widely in use, although this is considered highly likely. What is known is that all&nbsp;operations related to nuclear warheads, including warhead installation, missile storage, loading and unloading, are planned to be carried out at U.S. strategic weapons sites at Naval Submarine Base King’s Bay in Georgia, and at Bangor Base, Washington State. If commissioned, the new missiles will revolutionise the ability of the U.S. Navy to conduct tactical nuclear strikes, with the service currently relying heavily on both <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35s-cert-stealthy-nuclear-strike" target="_blank">air launched nuclear weapons</a>, and on strategic ballistic missile submarines which can only contribute to a full scale nuclear exchange and are ill suited for smaller scale attacks. The U.S. Navy currently deploys 22 Virginia Class attack submarines, with the service’s 24 Los Angeles Class attack submarines potentially also integrating the missiles. With planned expansion of the Virginia Class fleet, this will provide over 50 intercontinental range nuclear powered ships capable of launching nuclear cruise missile attacks anywhere in the world. Adding the Navy’s fleet of over 70 destroyers would further complicate adversary planning for defence against nuclear attacks. Four closely U.S.-aligned states currently deploy nuclear weapons, namely Britain, France and Israel, while three potential Western adversaries have such weapons, namely China, Russia and North Korea. The U.S. has invested heavily in modernisation of its tactical nuclear strike capabilities, and continues to share nuclear weapons with the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Turkey.&nbsp;Analysts have <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/09/why-provide-nuclear-submarines-to-australia-but-not-south-korea-or-japan/" target="_blank">posited for some years</a> that the development of a nuclear tipped submarine launched cruise missile class would facilitate a nuclear sharing agreement with Australia, which is set to acquire American nuclear powered submarines.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: North America, Western Europe and Oceania, Naval]
— Israel’s Rare Merkava IV Barak ‘Supertank’ Destroyed in Gaza - 75 Percent of Crew Killed: at 11/20/24 4:54am
Palestinian paramilitary groups in the Gaza Strip have destroyed an Israeli Army Merkava IV Barak main battle tank, with footage published on the internet confirming the successful kill. Three of the tank’s four crew were killed in the attack. The new Merkava IV variant boasted advanced defensive systems including an enhanced variant of the Trophy active protection system designed to counter anti-tank missiles, as well as greater use of artificial intelligence, and improved survivability systems and a fighter plane style helmet mounted display for the commander to make better use of new sensors. The new variant entered service in 2023, and further boasted a new electronic warfare suite, more advanced processing systems and greater top armour for protection against <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/footage-hamas-drone-kill-merkavaiv" target="_blank">drone strikes</a>. Its features led it to widely be promoted in Israeli and Western media as a futuristic ‘supertank’ with particularly high levels of survivability, although very few have been produced. Israel has remained far ahead of its allies in NATO in integrating many of these features onto its frontline armour, and has received major contracts to integrate the Trophy system onto German Leopard 2A8 and American M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams tanks.&nbsp;The performance of the tank’s subsystems thus has broader implications for Western Bloc ground force capabilities.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/21/article_673ea259cbdcf7_58102652.jpg" title="Destruction of Merkava Tank in July 2024">Despite militias in the Gaza Strip being lightly armed, they have taken a significant toll on Israeli armour with several dozen Merkava tanks, and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/hamas-capture-merkavas-vehicles-offensive" target="_blank">hundreds more</a> armoured vehicles from <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israeli-army-88-armour-five-days" target="_blank">other classes</a>, having been lost. Footage of successful attacks on Israeli armour have been&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-footage-hamas-kills-armour" >published</a>&nbsp;multiple times since Israel began an invasion of Gaza in October 2023, with attacks by local paramilitaries frequently involving attaching explosives such as magnetic mines to Israeli armour, often in conjunction with rocket propelled grenades. An example was <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/footage-palestinian-merkava-zero-range" >seen in early July</a>, when two Palestinian personnel were shown approaching the tank from its left side, planting explosives under its turret, then retreating in the opposite direction shortly after which a detonation disabled the vehicle.&nbsp;A notable landmark in the successful attacks on Israeli armour was the killing of the commander of the commander of the Israel Defence Forces 401st Armoured Brigade, Colonel Ehsan Daqsa, who died in Northern Gaza in mid-October.&nbsp;In parallel to operations in Gaza, the Israeli Merkava fleet has simultaneously <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/three-israeli-merkava-tanks-neutralised-in-southern-lebanon-reports" target="_blank">taken significant losses </a>operating in Southern Lebanon against the Hezbollah paramilitary group, which remains <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/hezbollah-javelin-israeli-armour-first" target="_blank">much better equipped</a> than Palestinian paramilitaries.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Middle East, Ground, Battlefield]
— Poor Performance of British Aircraft Carriers in Simulated Combat Fuels Calls For Retirement: at 11/20/24 2:04am
The British Ministry of Defence on November 20 publicised plans for a range of spending cuts which would affect the capabilities of the Army, Navy and Air Force, with the new Labour government expected to continue to consider further cuts following years of austerity under the preceding conservative administration. The new cuts coincide with a rise in scrutiny towards the country’s two newly commissioned aircraft carriers, which have demonstrated major vulnerabilities in recent exercises. A defence source informed the local paper The Times regarding the carriers’ performance that the ships had been put through a “whole load of scenarios” simulating a large scale conflict, which tested their “ability to survive” against an “overwhelming force.” The war games involved both ships of the class - HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. An informed informed the Times: “in most war games, the carriers get sunk,” with the ships being particularly vulnerable to missiles.&nbsp;This bodes particularly poorly for their survivability at a time when China, NATO’s most powerful potential adversary, leads the world in its anti ship missile capabilities, while Russia and North Korea make significant advances.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/21/article_673e87dd5ff657_97973943.png" title="F-35B Takes of From Queen Elizabeth Class Carrier">The Times was among several local papers to highlight that at a time when means of cutting spending were being sought out, discussions were underway about the continued utility of a two-carrier fleet. “The prospect of scrapping at least one carrier to help with financial problems was raised,” it reported of a recent high profile meeting. A particular source of concern regarding the fleet is that the United Kingdom is not in a position to afford anything near the required complement of F-35B fighters for the two carriers, with the stealth aircraft being the most expensive fighters in production anywhere in the world. The F-35B is the only fighter class capable of deploying from the ships due primarily to their lack of arresting gear for conventional landings. The lack of fighters forces the Navy to accommodate high operational costs without gaining anything approaching full utility from the vessels.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/21/article_673e88639b2cf1_70304539.jpg" title="Queen Elizabeth Class Carrier and Type 45 Destroyer">A further major issue remains that the ships have been particularly highly prone to accidents, with HMS Queen Elizabeth<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/unreliable-carriers-drills-problems" > forced to miss</a> upcoming joint NATO drills due to an unexpected “issue” in one of its propeller shafts. Other issues have ranged from&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/britain-s-5-billion-heavy-carrier-suffers-critical-flooding-repairs-to-take-over-six-months" >flooding</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/britain-wants-american-help-f35b" >fighter crashes&nbsp;</a>and a range of other issues that have seriously hampered their&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/britains-troubled-carrier-another-accident-powales" >operational readiness</a>. HMS Prince of Wales was in 2023&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/hmsprinceow-cannibalised-breakdowns-outservice" >cannibalised for parts</a>&nbsp;to keep HMS Queen Elizabeth sailing. Navy reports have frequently highlighted issues such as&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/british-f35-crash-report-unprepared" >insufficient training</a>&nbsp;for carrier operations, which places personnel at risk.&nbsp;The carriers’ primary escort the Type 45 Class destroyer has also become particularly notorious for its poor reliability, and in 2021 the number of ships out of action reached 83 percent with&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/83-percent-type-45-destroyers-non-operational" >only one of the six&nbsp;</a>ships capable of operating. The ships have suffered from far greater reliability issues and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/british-type-45-destroyers-cant-do-ballistic-missile-defence-small-arsenals-have-limited-versatility" >significantly lower versatility&nbsp;</a>than destroyers in the United States, China, Japan and South Korea, while carrying only half as much firepower or less.&nbsp;Britain thus lacks either the destroyer numbers or the fighter numbers to effectively operate its two aircraft carriers. Options for retiring one aircraft carrier, including leasing it to the U.S. Navy, or offering it for sale to the Indian Navy after adding arresting gear, have been considered in the past.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: North America, Western Europe and Oceania, Naval]
— Yemeni Ansurullah Strikes Turkish Bulk Carrier Supplying Cargo to Israel: at 11/19/24 4:03am
The <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/yemeni-ansurullah-amazing-arsenal-shocked" target="_blank">Yemeni Ansurullah Coalition</a> has launched a successful strike on the Turkish cargo ship Anadolu S, a large 183 meter long vessel operating in the Red Sea, to prevent it from supplying cargo to Israel. The attack is consistent with the Yemeni coalition’s policy of targeting shipping in order to impose a partial naval blockade of Israel, with such operations having been initiated in October 2023 in response to Israel’s alleged genocide of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. Israel launched of a large scale air campaign and ground invasion of Gaza that month, in response to attacks on Israeli targets by Gaza-based militias on October 7. The Ansurullah Coalition and the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah have both closely coordinated their military actions against Israel to place pressure on Israel. Turkey, as the Middle East’s only NATO member, has previously attacked Hezbollah positions and shared intelligence on these engagements with Israel, and has continued to provide tremendous support to jihadist militias in Syria which target Hezbollah positions, leading analysts to widely consider it a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/escalation-turkey-join-war-israel" target="_blank">de-facto ally of Israel</a> in the ongoing conflict.&nbsp;In parallel to its strikes on NATO members’ shipping, the&nbsp;Ansurullah Coalition has also launched multiple&nbsp;successful strikes on Israel, with a notable example being its&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/yemen-strike-israeli-defences-fail" target="_blank" >attack</a>&nbsp;on September 15 which was reported to have struck a power station in the country. On July 19, coalition forces carried out a&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/yemeni-forces-drone-strike-tel-aviv-navy" >successful drone strike</a>&nbsp;in central Tel Aviv, targeting an area near the American consulate and causing several casualties. In response, Israel conducted an&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israeli-f15-fighters-strike-yemeni" >air strike</a>&nbsp;on an oil depot in the city of Al Hudaydah, located in western Yemen. In addition to drone and ballistic missile attacks, the Ansarullah Coalition has previously launched&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israeli-f35-missile-defence-yemeni" >cruise missile strikes</a>&nbsp;against Israeli targets.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Middle East, Naval]
— Ukraine Launches First ATACMs Strikes on Russia Proper: Moscow Revises Nuclear Doctrine to Respond: at 11/19/24 1:56am
On November 19 the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched the first precision guided strike using Western-supplied missiles on targets on internationally recognised Russian territory, attacking the city of Bryansk 280 kilometres southwest of Moscow. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that six missiles were launched, and claimed that five were shot down and one was damaged. Previously strikes using Western supplied missiles were only permitted to be launched against targets on what Western countries consider to be Ukrainian territory - namely the disputed Crimean Peninsula and the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukraine has launched missile and drone strikes on internationally recognised Russian territory in the past, but only using its more limited arsenals of Soviet-built missiles, namely the OTR-21 Tochka, as well as using a range of drones. European states have for months been strongly lobbying the United States to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons, which rely on the American GPS for guidance, to strike freely across Russian territory.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/20/article_673d3458b38f62_11931266.png" title="ATACMS Ballistic Missile Launch" >The Russian Foreign Ministry had previously stated that the country would perceive the launches of long-range missiles controlled by U.S. military experts as a qualitatively new phase of the war on the part of the West. While the full extent of Russia’s response to this escalation remains uncertain, President Vladimir Putin on November 19 approved an updated nuclear doctrine for Russian Federation which was widely seen as a response. The new doctrine significantly lowered Russia’s threshold for use of nuclear weapons, and included the following provisions:&nbsp;Aggression against Russia and its allies by a non-nuclear state with the support of a nuclear state would be considered a joint attackRussia can use nuclear weapons in the event of a critical threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia or of Belarus&nbsp;The conditions for the use of nuclear weapons include the launch of ballistic missiles against Russia&nbsp;A nuclear response from Russia is possible in the event of a "critical threat to its sovereignty" even with conventional weapons, such as a large scale attacks involving military aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, or other aerial systems crossing the Russian borderThe provision of territory and resources for aggression against the Russian Federation is also the basis for nuclear deterrence<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/20/article_673d34a62fecc6_90940165.png" title="Launch of British Storm Shadow Cruise Missile by Ukrainian Su-24 Fighter">Despite several <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/france-uk-lobbying-deep-missile-strikes" >European states lobbying strongly </a>for unrestricted attacks very deep into Russia, it is expected that the compromise reached with the United States would only allow for limited attacks focused on regions adjacent to Ukraine such as Kursk and Bryansk. Such strikes are unlikely to lead Russia to threaten a nuclear response, but have the potential to seriously disrupt supply lines and complicate Russia’s defence posture, while also slowing down the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-20650-personnel-kursk" target="_blank">rapid destruction </a>of Ukrainian and allied Western forces in the Russian Kursk region. The complexity of attacks using satellite guided missiles requires an extensive presences of Western forces on the ground in Ukraine to facilitate them, which when considered alongside the missiles’ heavy reliance on Western Bloc satellites, and particularly the American GPS network, had led them to be widely considered to be jointly launched by Western Bloc states and by Ukraine. Ukraine’s capacity to launch such attacks is <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/london-cruise-missile-escalate-strikes" >expected to be expanded </a>as European states escalate deliveries of cruise missiles to the country, including French SCALP cruise missiles for the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/france-mirage2000-ukraine-2025" >Mirage 2000 fighters&nbsp;</a>set to be delivered to the country, and possibly missiles that can be <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/denmark-netherlands-f16s-russia" >integrated</a> onto Ukrainian F-16 fighters. The Biden administration was notably&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-reluctant-f16s-ukraine-euro-pressure" >highly hesitant to provide&nbsp;</a>Ukraine with F-16s, and only provided a green light for<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/netherlands-f16s-ukraine-open-mind" >&nbsp;European states to supply </a>their older F-16s after an extensive lobbying campaign by multiple European countries.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Missile and Space]
— Yemeni Ansurullah’s ‘Amazing’ Arsenal is ‘Getting Scary’: Pentagon ‘Shocked’ By Military Capabilities: at 11/17/24 4:14am
Following over a year of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/dangerous-bomb-first-combat-gbu57" target="_blank">ongoing hostilities </a>between the United States Armed Forces and several of its Western allies with the Yemeni Ansurullah Coalition, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Bill LaPlante has provided new insight into the Pentagon’s latest assessments of its military capabilities. His statement comes at a time when a growing consensus is increasingly being made public that the Yemeni force’s military capabilities far exceed previous estimates, which has allowed it to sustain a conflict and continue to take to the offensive. Ansurullah’s arsenal includes missiles which “can do things that are just amazing," according to LaPlante. "Im an engineer and a physicist, and Ive been around missiles my whole career. What Ive seen of what the Houthis [Ansurullah] have done in the last six months is something that — Im just shocked,” he stated. He reiterated that their arsenal "can do some pretty amazing things," allowing for strikes both against Western ships far into the Red Sea, as well as against targets in Israel. Alongside missiles, Ansuruallh coalition forces have also made effective use of advanced drones, including submersible platforms.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/18/article_673aa3b9360d20_01479537.png" title="Ballistic Missiles in Ansurullah Coalition Parade">Further commenting on the capabilities of the Ansurullah Coalition’s arsenal, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Behnam Ben Taleblu observed that their anti ship ballistic missile arsenal was particularly of note, stressing that the zeal of the organisation combined with alleged support from Iran "have proven to be a lethal combination." The Yemeni group has demonstrated a long reach by launching successful strikes on Israel, with a notable example being its <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/yemen-strike-israeli-defences-fail" target="_blank">attack</a> on September 15 which was reported to have struck a power station in the country. Ansurullah Coalition forces reported that the strike involved “a new hypersonic ballistic missile,” which was able to hit its target. “The enemy’s defence systems failed to intercept and confront [the missile]. It crossed a distance of 2,040km in eleven and a half minutes, and caused a state of fear and panic” in Israel, the statement added.&nbsp;On July 19, coalition forces carried out a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/yemeni-forces-drone-strike-tel-aviv-navy" >successful drone strike</a> in central Tel Aviv, targeting an area near the American consulate and causing several casualties. In response, Israel conducted an <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israeli-f15-fighters-strike-yemeni" >air strike</a> on an oil depot in the city of Al Hudaydah, located in western Yemen. In addition to drone and ballistic missile attacks, the Ansarullah Coalition has previously launched <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israeli-f35-missile-defence-yemeni" >cruise missile strikes</a> against Israeli targets.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Middle East, Missile and Space]
— Why North Korean Military Support is Vital For Russia’s Security: New Study Reveals Key Details: at 11/16/24 8:46pm
Since early 2022 when it became increasingly apparent that conventional ground force supplies such as artillery rounds, tank shells and anti-tank missiles would be key to determining the outcome of the Russian-Ukrainian War, speculation quickly grew that Russia could look to its neighbour North Korea to help seriously enhance its combat potential. While the first reports of North Korean<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-north-korean-rail-lines-reopen-white-house-claims-pyongyang-supplying-large-quantities-of-artillery-for-ukraine-war" target="_blank"> arms transfers</a> to the country would <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/north-korea-arming-russia-millions-artillery" target="_blank">emerge</a> in the second half of that year, the scale of supplies has grown considerably, with a major landmark in January 2024 being the confirmed acquisition and use of North Korean ballistic missiles on a large scale by Russian forces. Providing a detailed assessment of North Korea’s role in the Russian-Ukrainian War, and the war’s significance in the broader context of Pyongyang’s 75 year long conflict with the Western world, scholar A. B. Abrams’ new book Surviving the Unipolar Era: North Koreas 35 Year Standoff with the United States contains a range of valuable insights.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/17/article_67395f428fe9a3_35315678.jpg" title="North Korean KN-23B: Currently Russia`s Longest Ranged Tactical Ballistic Missile">Abrams’ new book answers the primary question of how North Korea survived an era from 1989 when, with the Cold War over, hostile Western countries intent on its destruction gained undisputed dominance over global order and sought to exert maximum pressure to end the country’s existence. In assessing this, the major improvements in North Korea’s relations with Russia are among the developments that the scholar observes herald an end to Pyongyang’s post-Cold War isolation, as the West’s ability to pressure states across the world to shun the country gradually diminishes. Abrams notably places North Korea’s support for the Russian war effort in a new context, namely that of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-personnel-ukraine-strikes" target="_blank">major Western personnel contributions</a> to the Ukrainian war effort which have been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/cia-stealth-network-ukraine-proxy-war-russia" target="_blank">central to the country’s ability</a> to sustain the war past its initial months, to highlight that North Korean contributions provide a means of countering its Western Bloc adversaries directly.&nbsp;Abrams further places North Korean contributions in the context of its long history of supporting countries at war with Western powers, including the dispatch of a large number of fighter pilots to fight in the Vietnam War, and the involvement of pilots, tank crews and other personnel in multiple Middle Eastern conflicts such as the War of Attrition, Yom Kippur War and Lebanon War. He posits that material and manpower contributions to the Russian war effort are thus wholly in line with Pyongyang’s history of bolstering Western adversaries, as part of an understanding that the global conflict between the West and its adversaries has significant implications for the country’s own security.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/17/article_67395ae241ff03_51475816.jpeg" title="Launch of North Korean Bulsae-4 - Russia`s First Non Line of Sight ATGM">While North Korea stands out for the degree of support it has provided the Russian war effort, in Surviving the Unipolar Era Abrams highlights the factors which allow the small East Asian state to play such a pivotal role in the conflict. He observes the fact often overlooked by other analysts that North Korea’s artillery forces are by far the largest in the world, with its stockpiles and production capacities thought to be proportionally great. In a war where artillery has been identified from the outset as<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/u-s-army-chiefs-stress-importance-of-artillery-as-key-lesson-of-ukraine-war" target="_blank"> playing a very central role</a>, this made North Korea the most ideal supplier. Regarding the country’s surpassing of Russia in artillery forces after the Soviet Union disintegrated, Abrams observes (pp.358-359):&nbsp;“Where in the final year of the Cold War, 1989, the Soviet Army had fielded 1184% as much towed artillery as North Korea, 350% as much self-propelled artillery and 284% as much rocket artillery, by contrast in 2021 North Korea at a conservative estimate fielded 412% as much towed and self-propelled artillery and 625% as much rocket artillery as the Russian Army. This reflected the extent to which Russian forces had contracted, and that to which the KPA [Korean People’s Army] had sustained vast conventional ground capabilities past the Cold War era. The extreme contraction of Russia’s frontline forces and stockpiles, its defence sector and its general military readiness resulted in a very different balance of power between the two states, which yielded dividends for Pyongyang as its neighbour came to depend on it heavily.”&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/17/article_67395acda33e42_82822298.jpeg" title="North Korean 170mm Artillery During Exercises">Abrams’ work provides a detailed assessment of future trajectories in the conflict between North Korea and the United States, with significant attention devoted to how Moscow’s war with Kiev and its Western allies provides significant opportunities for Pyongyang to further strengthen its position, including through greater access to Russian markets for a range of exports, and the securing of access to valuable defence and other technologies. He highlights, however, that the balance of power between North Korea and Russia has changed significantly since the Soviet era, allowing the two to form a far more equal relationship today - albeit one in which Russia has much less to offer its neighbour than the Soviet Union did in its time. As North Korea’s role in the conflict is set to continue to expand, with new Korean equipment ranging from firearms to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorean-koksan-170mm-ukraine" target="_blank">170mm howitzers</a> entering the war zone, Western Bloc interests are expected to be set back significantly not only in Eastern Europe, but also on the Korean Peninsula as the North’s equipment and personnel are combat tested, its economy boosted, its defence sector invigorated, and its international isolation subsided. For Russia, which has seen all but one of its former European allies absorbed into NATO, and its primary strategic partners in the Arab world <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ten-years-since-the-wests-war-against-libya-how-it-served-as-a-warning-regarding-us-and-european-intentions" target="_blank">devastated</a> by <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/atrocity-fabrication-iraq-interview-ab-abrams" target="_blank">Western assaults</a>, North Korea remains one of the few of Moscow’s former partners that it can continue to heavily depend on.&nbsp;Note: This content was not sponsored. Surviving the Unipolar Era is available to purchase from the publisher at a 30 percent discount <a href="https://www.claritypress.com/product/surviving-the-unipolar-era-north-koreas-35-year-standoff-with-the-united-states/" target="_blank">here</a> using the following code:&nbsp;QEN8FNGX.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ground, Foreign Relations]
— New Details on China’s Powerful Hypersonic Glide Vehicle with Drone and Bomb Submunitions: at 11/16/24 2:25am
The Guangdong Aerodynamic Research Academy based in southern China has unveiled the design of a new hypersonic glide vehicle, the GDF-600, which has a number of new features never before seen on systems of its kind. China is currently leading the world in the development of hypersonic glide vehicles, and although <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/second-avangard-regiment-prepares-alert" target="_blank">Russia</a> and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorea-hwasong16b-hypersonic-changer" target="_blank">North Korea also field</a> such systems, the Chinese tech sector’s much higher standing in areas such as material science has allowed it to develop novel applications of the new technology. While hypersonic glide vehicles are conventionally known for their ability to delivery payloads, usually nuclear, to their targets at very high speeds and with high manoeuvrability, which makes them <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/putin-avangard-hypersonic-defence-obsolete" target="_blank">nearly impossible to intercept</a>, the GDF-600 is a much more versatile design. The vehicle is designed with payload options that include electronic warfare and reconnaissance suites, as well as bombs and both supersonic and subsonic drones that detach from the vehicle during flight.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/17/article_673946f593d583_97876307.jpeg" title="GDF-600 on Display with Submunitions at Zhuhai 2024">The GDF-600 has a launch mass of 5000 kilograms, a payload of 1200 kilograms, and a range of up to 600 kilometres, making it one of the smallest and shortest ranged hypersonic glide vehicles in the world. This is reflected in its speed of Mach 7, in contrast to older designs such as the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/delivering-thermonuclear-strikes-to-america-russian-president-putin-elaborates-on-new-avangard-hypersonic-weapon" target="_blank">Russian Avangard </a>which fly at intercontinental ranges and at speeds of well over Mach 20. The GDF-600 is expected to be considerably less costly than larger longer ranged designs, which combined with its versatility could lead it to be favoured for very widespread deployments in the Pacific theatre. Although its range appears short, the vehicle requires a rocket booster to reach optimal altitude, which will likely more than double its reach. Furthermore, the launch of drones as submunition payloads would fly further than the vehicle itself to reach targets greater distances away. The vehicle’s ability to release sub-payloads, potentially at several points along its trajectory, allows a single vehicle to engage multiple targets, whether with bombs, drone strikes or electronic attacks.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/17/article_6739475e895761_24905216.jpg" title="Hypersonic Glide Vehicle in Flight - artwork">The Guangdong Aerodynamic Research Academy&nbsp;has notably claim that the GDF-600’s concept for a hypersonic glide vehicle with versatile submunitions could be scaled up for a 6000 kilometre range, which when combined with a boost vehicle would have an intercontinental reach. The capabilities of Chinese intercontinental range hypersonic glide vehicles have caused very considerable concern in the Western world, which have been exacerbated by the results of flight testing. Vice Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Hyten, for one, in November 2021 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/chinese-hypersonic-around-world-jcs-vice-chair" >observed</a> of a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/chinese-avangard-glide-revolutionises-strikes" target="_blank">test earlier that year</a>: “They launched a long-range missile. It went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that glided all the way back to China, that impacted a target in China.” He stressed that the vehicle struck accurately, in spite of its extreme range and speed, and called the pace at which Chinas military is developing capabilities "stunning.” Hyten warned that China it could gain the capability to launch a surprise nuclear attack on the U.S. despite the small size of its nuclear arsenal, with hypersonic glide vehicles serving as major force multipliers in this regard.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Asia-Pacific, Missile and Space]
— Poland Deploys Advanced Korean K2 Tanks on Russian Border: Why Moscow Should Be Concerned: at 11/14/24 6:22pm
The Polish Army has deployed South Korean <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nato-top-tankfirst-live-fire" target="_blank">K2 Black Panther main battle tanks</a> in Braniewo, a few kilometers from the border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad region, according to a statement by press secretary of the 16th Pomeranian Mechanised Division Major Magdalena Koszczynska. The deployment has occurred amid rising tensions between Warsaw and Moscow primarily over the ongoing war in Ukraine, and at a time when the Polish Army is rapidly receiving new batches of K2 tanks after placing a $3.4 billion for 180 of the vehicles in August 2022. The Polish Defence Ministry has planned to acquire close to 1000 K2s, with rapid deliveries having been particularly vital due to the large scale divestment of the country’s older German Leopard 2 and Soviet T-72 tanks which have been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/neutralise-leo2a6-kursk-casualties" target="_blank">sent to Ukraine as aid</a>. The rapid deployment of a very large K2 forces in Eastern Europe, and by a state that has consistently taken a particularly hardline position against Russia, is one of the developments in NATO’s ground forces that is thought to be of greatest concern to security planners in Moscow.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/16/article_6737f454973a58_68733364.jpg" title="Polish K2 Tanks">The K2 is in many respects the most capable tank fielded by any NATO member state today, with the vehicle notably using an autoloader which reduces crew requirements by 25 percent, while boasting a faster rate of fire, much greater fuel efficiency, lower maintenance needs, and the ability to operate as an artillery system with an indirect fire mode - all major advantages over Western tank designs. The South Korean tank class also integrates a radar which sets it apart from other vehicles, and combined with a laser rangefinder and a crosswind sensor provides a lock-on targeting.&nbsp;Its thermographic camera with a lock on mode allows it to track specific targets at very long ranges of of 9.8 kilometres, while its millimetre band radar system can serve as a Missile Approach Warning System. This works with the K2’s computers ability to triangulate incoming projectiles and fire visual and infrared screening smoke grenades. The South Korean supplied tank is expected to outperform Russia’s top tank classes the T-90M and T-80BVM, although it may compare less favourable to Russia’s two new tank classes currently under development, including the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/t14-tested-troop-trials-armata" target="_blank">next generation T-14 </a>and an <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/t100-incoming-tank-production" target="_blank">enhanced new T-80 variant</a>.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/16/article_6737f4a43b4878_94011457.jpg" title="K2 Black Panther Tanks">The deployment of K2s near Kaliningrad could be cause for serious concern in Russia, with the enclave being surrounded by NATO forces and cut off from the Russian mainland. The Polish decision follows a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/poland-triple-forces-belarusian-border">tripling of the country’s forces </a>on the Belarusian border from August. Alongside acquisitions of K2s, Poland has placed very large orders for Korean K9 mobile howitzers and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/poland-expands-skorean-chunmoo-order">Chunmoo rocket artillery</a>, as well as American M1A1 and M1A2&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/delivery-116-m1a1-poland-major-war">Abrams tanks</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/poland-486-himars-purchase">HIMARS rocket artillery systems</a>, fuelling projections that it will soon deploy the second most potent ground force in NATO after the United Sates. While South Korean exports fuel the rise of Poland’s army, Russia has seen its <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russias-iskander-north-korean-kn-23-ababrams" target="_blank">missile</a> and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorean-koksan-170mm-ukraine" target="_blank">artillery capabilities</a> bolstered significant by acquisitions from North Korea. Russian ground units’ anti tank capabilities have also been bolstered in 2024 by the acquisition of their first anti tank missile class with Non Line of Sight targeting capabilities, the <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/north-korea-closes-russias-anti-tank-missile-gap-with-ukraine/" target="_blank">North Korean Bulsae-4</a>, which has a comparable performance to the American Javelin but 250 percent as long a range. If acquired on a large enough scale, the North Korean system will revolutionise the anti tank targeting capabilities of the country’s ground units.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ground]
— Russian Su-57 vs. Chinese J-35: Felon Pilot Comments on Which Fifth Generation Fighter Has an Edge: at 11/14/24 4:56am
The 2024 Zhuhai Airshow, officially known as Airshow China 2024, has become the first in history in which three entirely different classes of fifth generation fighter aircraft participate together. These include all three classes of fifth generation fighter developed outside the United States, the Russian Su-57, and the Chinese J-20 and J-35, which represent three of the world’s four fighter classes of their generation in production - the fourth being the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/air-force-general-warns-f-35-still-far-from-ready-for-war-problematic-jets-not-worth-including-in-war-plans" target="_blank">American F-35</a>. While the J-20, which increasingly <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-chinese-fighter-brigade-deploys-j-20s-new-taiwan" target="_blank">forms the backbone</a> of the Chinese fleet, has appeared at Zhuhai since 2016, shortly after the first serial production airframes were delivered to China’s air force, the Su-57 and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-new-stealth-fighter-j35-export" target="_blank">J-35 are new additions</a>. With the J-20 widely considered the world’s premier air superiority fighter today, and reserved for use by China’s own air force exclusively, the presence of the Su-57 and J-35, both which which are being marketed for export, has fuelled comparisons of the two aircraft which could soon go head to head on international markets.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/15/article_67369ceccf9648_54217337.JPG" title="Su-57 Prototype at Zhuhai 2024">Comparing the two aircraft, Su-57 test pilot and holder of the title Hero of Russia Sergey Bogdan elaborated on why he believed his aircraft would retain an advantage. "We never lag behind . We create our weapons against some competitors and always have a certain temporal reserve. We take into account many things. Our aircraft always boast a competitive edge. In my opinion, the Su-57 fifth-generation airplane is superior to any of the existing ones in the world. As for the newest Chinese J-35 airplane presented, at aerospace shows you can only see general aerodynamic parameters. When it comes to manoeuvrability, stability, and controllability, our competitors and rivals do not show everything. But in terms of what has been demonstrated, Russian aircraft are always a little bit ahead," he stated.&nbsp;Bogdan added that the the Su-57 "has already been practically fully tested as far as air worthiness, manoeuvrability, stability and controllability are concerned. Its weapons, too, have been polished to perfection. We continue to test new types of missiles and weapons.” He further stressed that it was a worthy successor to the Su-27 Flanker, which had appeared at the first ever Zhuhai Airshow in 1996 as the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/final-gift-from-the-soviets-how-china-received-three-of-the-ussr-s-top-fighters-weeks-before-the-superpower-collapsed" target="_blank">world’s premier air superiority fighter</a> at the time. The Su-57 “has the most magnificent characteristics of aerodynamics, stability, controllability and strength" in performing the tasks expected of a fifth generation aircraft, he claimed, adding that “its weapons - powerful, far-reaching and long range - are inside. The defensive capabilities are remarkable. It is a very worthy aircraft with vast, global prospects.”<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/15/article_67369d235e9862_99071789.jpeg" title="FC-31 Prototype - The Basis for the J-35`s Development">Bogdan’s assessment notably focused on the Su-57’s particularly high levels of manoeuvrability - an area in which it was previously unrivalled among fighters of generation, but is expected to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-j20-off-the-leash-manoeuvrability" target="_blank">soon face competition </a>from China’s J-20B with <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-phase-single-crystal-blade-ws15" target="_blank">new WS-15 engines</a> and thrust vectoring controls. When comparing the Su-57 to the J-35, the new Chinese fighter is generally expected to retain an advantage reflecting the Chinese tech sector’s far stronger standings in areas such as material sciences and electronics, with the J-35, much like the J-20, expected to deploy a much more sophisticated radar. The discrepancy in avionics between the Chinese and Russian aircraft is already clear, most notably due to the J-35’s integration of a distributed aperture system to improve situational awareness - a feature previously seen only on the J-20 and F-35. With the two set to compete for many of the same export clients, the J-35 and Su-57 are in many respects one another’s primary rivals on international markets, with Russia having the advantage of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-stealth-drone-nato-hands" target="_blank">extensively combat testing</a> its fighter, while China has the advantage of a much larger and more mature fifth generation fighter industry that has already built well over 300 fighters and has had them in service for well over twice as long.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— North Korean Koksan Superheavy Artillery Arrives in Russia: Why 170mm Guns Are Bad News for Ukraine: at 11/13/24 6:44pm
Newly released images have confirmed the arrival of North Korea’s largest calibre of artillery gun, the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/world-s-biggest-guns-north-korea-s-massive-koksan-howitzers-and-the-evolution-of-the-country-s-strike-capabilities" target="_blank">170mm Koksan self propelled system</a>, in Russia. In a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorean-artillery-saved-russia-6million" target="_blank">previous assessment </a>on October 31, Military Watch highlighted the possibility that Koksan guns could join the ongoing Russian war effort against Ukraine and its&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-personnel-ukraine-strikes" >Western supporters</a>, on the basis of widespread reports that Korean People’s Army personnel had been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/skorean-12000-nkorean-support-russia" target="_blank">deployed</a> in considerable strength to Russia for combat operations. The Koksan is the second largest howitzer in the world, exceeded in size only by the Soviet 2S7M Malka currently fielded by both Russia and Ukraine. Unlike the Soviet system, however, which has a relatively short range and was only ever fielded in a small number of units, the Koksan is very widely deployed by the Korean People’s Army and has one of the world’s longest ranges. Its central role in the country’s artillery forces make it one of the most likely assets to be deployed should North Korean ground units be <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorean-kursk-frontlines-contributions" target="_blank">joining a war effort</a>. With North Korea deploying by far the world’s largest artillery force, the country’s expertise in the field has long been highlighted by Russian and overseas analysts as an area where support would be <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/08/will-we-see-north-korean-forces-in-eastern-ukraine/" target="_blank">particularly valued</a> in the Ukrainian theatre.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/14/article_67360efc3a59c9_25146257.jpeg" title="North Korean Koksan 170mm Guns">The Koksan is deployed on the chassis of the Soviet Type 54/55 tank, a reliable and widely used vehicle which formed the backbone of North Koreas armoured units until the 1980s. The chassis simplicity makes the Koksan relatively easy to service and maintain. The artillery system has been modernised and enhanced multiple times to improve its efficiency, its ammunition carriage and its range, while operations on a considerable scale during the Iran-Iraq War in Iranian hands ensured that the system was combat tested over several years.&nbsp; Details on the multiple newer variants of the Koksan developed since the 1970s remain limited, however. The 170mm system’s service entry in the late 1970s closely coincided with the North Korea’s development of its first ballistic missiles, and while the standing of the country’s defence sector has risen tremendously over the past 45 years, the guns are&nbsp; still highly prized for their ability to lay down fire over great distances and at very low costs compared to rocket artillery or missiles.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/14/article_67360f1e9629d8_03303875.jpeg" title="North Korean Leadership Inspect 170mm Artillery Units">Previously approximately 75 percent of North Korean artillery rounds shipped to Russia were of a 152mm calibre, with the remainder being 122mm rounds.&nbsp;The arrival of 170mm guns, which are likely to be manned by North Korean forces at least initially, will necessitate shipments of a third calibre of Korean artillery round to Russia - which has already <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorean-artillery-saved-russia-6million" target="_blank">received over 6 million rounds</a> from its eastern neighbour. North Korea’s wholly unrivalled capability to supply artillery is likely to have been a major game changer for Russia’s ability to wage war in the Ukrainian theatre, providing a distinct advantage over the Ukrainian Army’s much more limited supplies from the West.&nbsp;The Koksan’s estimated 65 kilometre firing range&nbsp;provides it with a significantly longer reach than the much smaller 152mm and 155mm guns Ukraine currently deploys, although it remains uncertain whether precision guided rounds have been developed for the system. The deployment of Koksan guns opens a number of possibilities for further defence cooepration between Moscow and Pyongyang, including the guns eventually being inducted into the Russian Army, or Russia and North Korea potentially jointly developing new classes of guided 170mm round to further enhance performance.&nbsp;Should the fielding of 170mm gun prove to have a significant impact on the battlefield, the development of a mobile howtizer of this calibre by Russia with North Korean support also remains possible.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ground]
— Russia Confirms First Su-57 Export Deal Already Signed: Expanding Production Could Allow Quick Deliveries: at 11/13/24 4:57am
An unnamed foreign client has already signed its first contract with Russian state run arms export conglomerate Rosoboronexport to acquire Su-57 fifth generation fighters, fuelling considerable speculation as to which state had made the purchase. Speaking at Airshow China in Zhuhai on November 13, Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheyev stated regarding the sale: "The system of military-technical cooperation should bring new armaments and military hardware to the market. We have already signed the first contracts for the Su-57.” Mikheyev a day prior commented at the event that the fighter “fully meets all requirements to fifth-generation aircraft. Its major competitive advantage is the real combat engagement experience. The Russian Defense Ministry said it excellently performed in combat. The jet is distinguished by powerful weapons with the latest missiles, as well as a high survivability due to low signature and modern onboard defence.” It was notably not specified when the contract for the sale of Su-57s was signed, raising the possibility that it may have been signed long before the Zhuhai Airshow, and possibly as early as 2020 when Algeria was <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/algeria-hosts-russian-military-technical-cooperation-director-to-finalise-su-57-deal-reports" >reported</a> to have placed an order.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/14/article_67354c9b6d9262_53502788.JPG" title="Su-57 at the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow">Commenting on the Su-57’s export prospects, CEO of the state run United Aircraft Corporation Vadim Badekha stated that “a certain queue has formed” for the aircraft, noting that “for a long time, it has attracted legitimate interest from our long-term partners.” The reference to a queue for the fighter highlights that production of the Su-57 on a meaningful has only begun relatively recently, with just <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-delivered-ruaf-production-double">six fighters delivered </a>in 2022, <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/batch-su57-completed-production-doubled">12 in 2023</a>, and according to schedule <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-production-surging-2024-others">20 fighters in 2024</a>. While it has been confirmed that the Russian Air Force is scheduled to have received 76 fighters by the end of 2027, it remains uncertain what scale production is intended to have reached by that time, with the rapid rate at which production has been expanded raising a significant possibility that many more than 76 fighters will have been produced by then, with close to two dozen or more being built for export. The<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-leading-fighter-fourth-phase">&nbsp;Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant</a>&nbsp;in the Russian Far East in August saw&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/facilities-expanded-su57-fighter-production">new facilities opened</a>&nbsp;to facilitate expanded production of the Su-57, with leading potential clients reported to have shown an interest in the aircraft including Algeria, India and Vietnam among others.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/14/article_67354c0954f875_25073763.jpeg" title="Newly Delivered Su-57 Fighter on November 11">The Su-57 has seen a far higher degree of combat testing than any other fighter of its generation, with the aircraft having contributed to the Russian air campaign in the Ukrainian theatre from early 2022. Operations have included&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-su57-suppress-ukrainian-air-defence" >air defence suppression</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/british-sources-su57-r37m-shoot-down-ukrainians" >air to air combat</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-stealth-drone-nato-hands" >operations in&nbsp;</a>heavily defended enemy airspace, as well as a range of&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-fifthgen-squadron-intensify" >precision strike missions</a>&nbsp;using&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-fighter-cruise-missiles-externally" >both internally and externally</a>&nbsp;deployed missiles. The fighter is one of just four in its generation in production today worldwide, alongside the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-phase-single-crystal-blade-ws15" >Chinese J-20</a>&nbsp;and FC-31 and the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35-surpasses-1000-numerical-edge" >American F-35</a>. The Su-57’s immediate predecessors the Su-27 and Su-30 were highly successful on global export markets, and were purchased in much greater numbers by foreign clients than by the Russian Defence Ministry itself. The vast majority of Su-27s produced in the 1990s were acquired by China, while the majority of Su-30s produced in the 2000s were acquired by India. The Indian Air Force is expected to be the leading client for the Su-57, and while the country pulled out of a deal for extensive technology transfers and joint ownership of the program, it has continued to show a strong interest in either license production or off the shelf purchases. Discussions on a license production deal were <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/license-fifthgen-su57-aeroindia" target="_blank">reported to be underway</a> in February 2023.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— ‘Fait Accompli’: France and Britain Lobbying U.S. to Allow Deep Missile Strikes on Russia Before Trump Administration: at 11/13/24 4:35am
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are reportedly making a final attempt to persuade the Joe Biden administration to provide a green light for <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/london-cruise-missile-escalate-strikes" target="_blank">joint attacks from Ukrainian territory</a>&nbsp;against targets across internationally recognised Russian territory. Citing sources in the British government, The Telegraph was the first to reported on these ongoing efforts, stating that talks on the issue were to take place in Paris. Both European states have delivered significant quantities of Scalp and Storm Shadow air launched cruise missiles to Ukraine, with France set to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/france-mirage2000-ukraine-2025" target="_blank">deliver Mirage 2000 fighters </a>to the country capable of launching the former of the two missile classes. The complexity of the attacks requires an extensive presences of British and French forces on the ground in Ukraine to facilitate the attacks, while the missiles rely heavily on Western Bloc satellites, and particularly the American GPS network, for guidance while in flight. Such strikes are thus widely considered to be jointly launched by Western Bloc states and by Ukraine, and if expanded deep into Russia could pose a serious risk of escalation.&nbsp;Deeper missile strikes have been strongly supported by several other European states, with Denmark and the Netherlands which were the first to donate F-16 fighters and made clear that the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/denmark-netherlands-f16s-russia" target="_blank">would support use </a>of the fighters in such attacks.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/13/article_6733feb0aedc09_46052240.jpeg" title="Crashed Storm Shadow Missile Captured By Russian Forces">President-elect Donald Trump has consistently made clear his opposition to further escalation or continuation of the war in Ukraine, with his election victory providing European states seeking larger scale attacks on Russia with a much more limited window to pursue this. The Joe Biden administration has itself taken a consistently far more moderate position than its more hawkish European allies, with the U.S. having refrained from providing Ukraine with weapons for deep strikes into Russia long after European states began to do so. The Biden administration was also <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-reluctant-f16s-ukraine-euro-pressure" target="_blank">highly hesitant to provide </a>Ukraine with F-16 fighter aircraft, and only provided a green light for<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/netherlands-f16s-ukraine-open-mind" target="_blank"> European states to provide</a> their older F-16s after an extensive lobbying campaign by multiple European countries. The provision of American Abrams tanks, too, was condoned only following extensive British and broader European pressure campaigns, with the United Kingdom, followed by Spain, Poland and others, having sought to provide their own tanks far earlier than the U.S. did. European leaders such as Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer, who have long faced an uphill struggle to bring the U.S. deeper into the war, are only expected to face greater resistance under the new Trump administration.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Missile and Space]
— Su-35 Fighters Deployed to Support Major Russian Offensives in Kursk: at 11/11/24 6:16pm
The Russian Air Force has deployed Su-35 fighter aircraft to support ongoing air to surface operations against Ukrainian and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/contractors-kursk-polish-french-details" target="_blank">allied Western forces </a>in the Kursk region, where a major Russian offensive is currently underway to fully secure the territory. The Su-35 is Russia’s premier class of air superiority fighter, and although optimised for air to air combat it also retains significant secondary air to ground capabilities. The Russian Defence Ministry reported regarding the fighter class’ participation in ongoing operations: "While performing their combat missions, crews of Su-35S multipurpose fighter jets worked to provide air cover in the designated area of operations of bomber and ground-attack aircraft, as well as helicopters of the army aviation as they carried out airstrikes on Ukrainian armoured vehicles and servicemen.” It added that one of the fighters used onboard weapons systems to detect enemy air defence sites, as a number of mobile air defence systems having been deployed by Ukrainian forces to provide cover for their assault on Kursk since early August.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/12/article_6733654d1fee69_87912815.jpg" title="Ukrainian Army Leopard 2A6 Tank Destroyed in Kursk">The deployment of Su-35s to support strikes in Kursk was reported just a day after the state run United Aircraft Corporation announced that a new batch of the aircraft had been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/recieves-su57-ambitious-acquisitions-target" target="_blank">delivered</a> to the Russian Air Force, alongside a batch of Su-57 fifth generation fighters. Su-35s have played a leading role in air to air operations in the Russian-Ukrainian War since February 2022, with one of the class’&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/four-su-27-flankers-shot-down-over-western-ukraine-in-march-5-battle-which-russian-asset-could-have-done-it" >most notable successes&nbsp;</a>occurring in the war’s initial days on March 5, 2022, when the aircraft reportedly&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su-27-flanker-sees-first-ever-losses-in-air-to-air-combat-four-shot-down-in-massive-battle-over-zhytomir" >shot down four&nbsp;</a>of the Ukrainian Air Force Su-27s near the city of Zhytomir. Multiple&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-su-35s-claims-three-air-to-air-kills-over-donetsk-one-mig-29-and-two-su-25s-reports" >further kills</a>&nbsp;have included more Su-27s, as well as MiG-29s,<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/did-russia-s-su-35s-fighter-just-get-another-kill-over-ukraine-su-24-shot-down-near-belarusian-border" >&nbsp;Su-24M</a>&nbsp;strike fighters, Su-25 ground attack jets, Mi-8 helicopters, and a wide range of drone classes. Although Ukrainian air power has been diminished considerably, some of the country’s remaining Su-27 fighters have been deployed to attempt to provide air support to forces in Kursk, albeit on missions that were <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/bukm3-frontline-air-defence-su27-kursk" target="_blank">far from successful</a>. The limited capabilities of Ukrainian air power make the need for fighter escorts for Russian strike missions questionable, and it remains highly likely that Su-35s involved were armed for both air to air and air to surface missions allowing them to contribute to air strikes.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/12/article_67336565a49092_05148927.jpg" title="Su-35 Carrying Kh-31 Air to Surface Missiles">The Su-35 is <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su35-vs-su27-ten-top-improvements" >closely based</a> on the Soviet Su-27 Flanker air superiority fighter, but has been comprehensively modernised with new engines, sensors, avionics, weaponry and a high composite airframe with a reduced radar cross section. Where the Su-27 was near unanimously considered the world’s most capable fighter for air to air missions in the waning years of the Cold War, however, the Su-35’s standing today is considerably lower, and while totally unrivalled in the Ukrainian theatre it is less advanced than rival fighters such as the&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-phase-single-crystal-blade-ws15" >Chinese J-20</a>&nbsp;and the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35-surpasses-1000-numerical-edge" >American F-35</a>. The fighter class has been involved in multiple close encounters with American combat aircraft, including U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drones over Syria, against which Su-35s have at times&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su35-american-drones-syria-2ndfront" >conducted aggressive manoeuvres</a>&nbsp;which in one incident <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/reaper-serious-damage-su35-syria" >resulted in severe damage</a>&nbsp;to one of the drones.&nbsp;More recently in September a Su-35 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su35-headbutting-f16-alaska" >made a threatening approach</a> to a U.S. Air Force F-16 near Alaska, cutting in front of and across the American fighter’s path at very close range, in what has been referred to by some sources as a ‘headbutting’ manoeuvre. The fighter class is expected to see production continue until close to 2030, bringing the total production run to close to 250 fighters.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft, Battlefield]
— NATO Military Chief Reveals: Western Bloc Would Fight Russia Directly if it Didn’t Have a Nuclear Deterrent: at 11/11/24 3:47am
Chair of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer has highlighted the key role played by Russia’s nuclear forces in deterring the Western world from entering an open conflict with Moscow directly. Speaking on November 10 during a defence summit in the Czech Republic, the chairman stated that Russia’s nuclear arsenal was the central factor distinguishing it from the Taliban in Afghanistan regarding its ability to combat NATO forces. “I am absolutely sure if the Russians did not have nuclear weapons, we would have been in Ukraine, kicking them out,” he added. His statements follow consistent allusions to the possibility of nuclear escalation by Russian officials, and can be interpreted in the context of the significant decline in the standing of Russian conventional forces in the aftermath of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Although Russia’s armed forces remain vastly outspent by those of the collective Western Bloc, however,&nbsp;the massive expansion of its ground forces and defence sector since early 2022, the sharp contraction of Western air and ground forces over the last 20 years, and major inefficiencies in European militaries in particular, have led several analysts to assess that claims of NATO’s conventional superiority are largely exaggerated.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/11/article_6732250b892833_45611180.png" title="Russian Thermobaric Bombardment in Ukraine and TOS-1A Rocket Launcher">Security analysts have for decades alluded to the importance of nuclear weapons as a vital asset to deterring Western military offensives, with this considered a key rationale for Russia, China and North Korea’s strong investments in their nuclear arsenals as all three perceive considerable threats of Western attacks. Despite Russia’s nuclear deterrent, which remains by far the largest in the world, calls from within the Western world, and within Europe in particular, for an escalation of Western combat operations in Ukraine have been widespread. Admiral Bauer’s statement comes at a time when Britain and France are strongly lobbying the United States to allow for joint cruise missile strikes to be launched from Ukraine deep into Russian territory, while French President Emmanuel Macron has since <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/macron-expanded-nato-ukraine">stated</a>&nbsp;that greater deployments of ground forces in Ukraine were not ruled out as part of a policy to “do everything necessary to prevent Russia from winning this war.” The French government notably began considering options for major ground force deployments to Ukraine from June 2023, while calls for such options to be considered <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/european-states-ground-ukraine-momentum">have been raised</a> by figures such as Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, and Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/11/article_67321ef43db4c3_01310330.png" title="Forward Observations Group Personnel in Kursk">While the Biden administration consistently took a much less hawkish position on the issue than its European allies, the inauguration of a second Trump administration in January 2025 is expected to significantly further widen the rift, and thus limit the possibility of European states proceeding with major ground force deployments due to American opposition. Amid increasingly extreme Ukrainian losses, a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-defeat-posture-polish-chief" >new consensus</a> has increasingly emerged in the Western world that the conflict has been lost, and that the Western Bloc needs to plan for a future where the large majority of Ukraine, if not its entire territory, is under Russian control or influence. Although not escalating to operations to levels advocated by many hardline European leaders, Western advisors, logisticians, combatants, and other personnel have nevertheless played a very major role on the ground in the Ukrainian theatre since early 2022, ranging from<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/royal-marines-fighting-russia-months" >&nbsp;British Royal Marines deployed</a>&nbsp;for frontline combat operations from April that year at the latest, to&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/royal-marines-fighting-russia-months" >SAS advisors</a>&nbsp;reportedly supporting armoured offensives against Russian positions.&nbsp;More recently the Forward Observations Group American military organisation has confirmed the deployment of its personnel to support a Ukrainian offensive into the Russian Kursk region, with reports of English, Polish, and French speaking personnel <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/contractors-kursk-polish-french-details" >operating</a> in the region in significant numbers having emerged. Western ground forces, often operating as volunteers or contractors, have played central roles on the frontlines throughout the conflict, albeit not on the scale referred to by Admiral Bauer and others who alluded to a possible more overt deployment for a higher level conflict.&nbsp;Thus while Russia’s nuclear forces have deterred the West from escalating to an open war, they have fallen short of deterring very significant Western contributions to the war effort up to and including frontline personnel deployments.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Missile and Space, Foreign Relations]
— Russian Air Force Receives New Su-57 Fighters: Can It Meet the Ambitious 2024 Acquisition Surge Target?: at 11/10/24 6:38pm
The Russian Air Force has received a new batch of Su-57 fifth generation fighters, with footage of the aircraft delivered by the state owned United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) released on November 11. This follows the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-air-force-receives-new-su-57-fifth-generation-fighters-can-industry-meet-the-year-s-ambitious-delivery-target" >receipt of the previous batch</a> in mid-September, at which time Russian military pilots were cited expressing satisfaction with the aircraft’s performance. UAC CEO Vadim Badekha stated regarding the latest delivery: "UAC enterprises continue rhythmical operation to fulfil the commitments. Other batches of Su-57 fifth generation and Su-35S multirole fighter jets of generation 4++ will be delivered by the end of the year. The aircraft are at various production and test stages.” Regarding expected further deliveries over the next 50 days, he added that “other batches of Su-57 fifth-generation and Su-35S multirole fighter jets of generation 4++ will be delivered by the end of the year.”Russian industry has set a highly ambitious target of a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-production-surging-2024-others" target="_blank">67 percent surge </a>in the production of Su-57s in 2024, with 20 fighters expected to enter service this year compared to just <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/batch-su57-completed-production-doubled">12 fighters</a>&nbsp;in 2023. The increase is nevertheless considered likely to be achieved, with industry having achieved an increase in deliveries by six fighters in 2023 - as only&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-delivered-ruaf-production-double">six fighters</a>&nbsp;were delivered in 2022. Should the program avoid further delays, the fleet will nearly double in size this year, from 22 to 42 fighters, although one&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-historic-victory-fifth-gen">may have been lost&nbsp;</a>in a Ukrainian long range strike on a Russian airbase in the Astrakhan region in early June.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/11/article_673209eda4d7d1_00217366.jpeg" title="Su-57s (red) and Su-35s in Production at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant">The<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-leading-fighter-fourth-phase">&nbsp;Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant</a>&nbsp;in the Russian Far East in August saw&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/facilities-expanded-su57-fighter-production">new facilities opened</a>&nbsp;to facilitate expanded production of the Su-57. The fighter’s production scale is currently rivalled only by that of the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su34-intensive-strikes-kursk" target="_blank">Su-34 strike fighter </a>within Russia, although it is dwarfed by the massive production scales of the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35-surpasses-1000-numerical-edge" target="_blank">American F-35</a> and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-phase-single-crystal-blade-ws15">Chinese J-20</a> fifth generation fighters which are built at rates of approximately 140 and 100 per year&nbsp;respectively. J-20 production is expected to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-surge-j20-120-f35s-48" target="_blank" >reach 120 aircraft</a> in 2025. A significant advantage the Russian Su-57 retains is its degree of high intensity combat testing, which remains wholly without equal for a fighter of its generation due to its operations in the Ukrainian theatre from early 2022. Operations have included&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-su57-suppress-ukrainian-air-defence" >air defence suppression</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/british-sources-su57-r37m-shoot-down-ukrainians" >air to air combat</a>, and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-stealth-drone-nato-hands" >operations in </a>heavily defended enemy airspace, as well as a range of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-fifthgen-squadron-intensify" target="_blank" >precision strike missions</a> using <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-fighter-cruise-missiles-externally" >both internally and externally</a> deployed missiles.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/11/article_67320e1c55e950_27946197.jpg" title="Su-57 Fifth Generation Fighter ">Su-57 production is expected to expand to between 40 and 50 per year, and possibly significantly more, by the early 2030s, as Russia gradually phases its older Su-30 and Su-35 fighters out of production, and as the new aircraft receives anticipated export orders. A number of unconfirmed reports <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/algeria-hosts-russian-military-technical-cooperation-director-to-finalise-su-57-deal-reports" target="_blank">indicate</a> that Algeria has already placed orders for the fighters, while India has continued to show a strong interest in them, and Moscow’s growing ties with North Korea have <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/why-nkorean-pilots-deploying-russia" >fuelled speculation</a> that <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/expert-russia-nkorea-joint-fighter-units" >loopholes in the UN arms embargo</a> could be found to facilitate a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/future-of-north-korean-aviation-in-russia-kim-jong-un-tours-plants-producing-su-35-and-su-57-fighters-and-sukhoi-airliners" target="_blank">sale</a>.&nbsp;The future of the fighter program depends heavily on the scale of export orders received, as well as the extent to which reports of an expansion of the number of operational Russian fighter squadrons materialise, with a larger fleet being able to accommodate a much greater production capacity. The scale of production will also very likely be influenced significantly by the Russian Air Force’s satisfaction with the Su-57’s performance in the Ukrainian theatre, much as many weapons systems such as the T-80 tank have received much greater attention since open hostilities began due to their <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-german-armour-stuck--mud-t80-turbine" target="_blank">demonstrated</a>&nbsp;high performances.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Eurofighter Program’s Slow Death Continues: Britain Rejects Further Purchases in Favour of F-35s: at 11/9/24 6:04pm
The British Armed Forces have reportedly decided in favour of focusing funding for the procurement of new fighter aircraft on F-35B fifth generation fighters, deciding against the possibility of acquiring additional ‘4+ generation’ Eurofighters. An unnamed British official spoke to local media outlet Jane’s, and stated regarding planned purchases: "We have a foot in both [the F-35 and Eurofighter] camps, and for the RAF I very much see that the F-35 is where we are looking at to add combat mass. We are committed to an onward buy [of the F-35], so that is where we are looking." The reference to a “foot in” both programs pertains to Britain’s prior acquisitions of both aircraft for its fleet, and its position as a top tier program partner in the development of both. While Britain and Germany led the Eurofighter program, the country was also the sole Tier One partner in the F-35 program - albeit in a still very junior role compared to the United States with only a small fraction of the investments and technological contributions.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/10/article_6730da5f5ce260_93346273.jpg" title="F-35B Fifth Generation Fighter">Britain’s rejection of further possible Eurofighter acquisitions follows<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/european-fighters-are-fast-losing-world-markets-lagging-industry-f-35s-and-east-asian-competitors-ensure-failure" target="_blank"> multiple successive losses</a> for the program, which has continued to lose consistently and overwhelmingly when bidding against the F-35 for major contracts. Major recent losses have included&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/losing-sorely-president-macron-claims-belgium-s-choice-of-american-f-35-over-rafale-undermines-european-security-as-french-media-slams-brussels-lack-of-continental-solidarity" >Belgium</a>, Poland,&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/european-lost-finland-signs-f35" >Finland</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/rafale-vs-f-35-switzerland-chose-american-stealth" >Switzerland</a>&nbsp;and the Czech Republic, which were all considered leading potential clients for the Eurofighter, its closely related French rival the Rafale, or the Swedish Gripen, but selected the F-35 due to its significantly superior fifth generation capabilities.&nbsp;This trend appears set to continue as countries across the Western world&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/disastrous-european-fighter-f35-new-markets" target="_blank" >lean towards the F-35</a>&nbsp;over European rivals, while even Germany itself under the new Olaf Scholz&nbsp;administration has unprecedentedly also&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/german-once-fired-its-air-force-chief-for-supporting-the-f-35-now-it-will-order-f-35s-for-nuclear-bombing-missions" target="_blank" >committed to F-35 purchases&nbsp;</a>despite prior administrations being highly protective of the Eurofighter.&nbsp;Although the U.S. Air Force has notably resumed acquisitions of fourth generation fighters, and is set to field over 100 of the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/more-f15ex-needed-ageing-fleet" target="_blank">new F-15EX jets</a>, these much larger fighters offer significant performance advantages over both the Eurofighter and the F-35 including far higher speeds, longer ranges, much higher weapons carrying capacities, and the deployment of a much larger more powerful radar. The relatively light Eurofighter by contrast, which continues to be built on a relatively small scale due in large part to its lack of export successes, not only lacks significant advantages relative to the stealthy F-35, but is also very far from cost competitive against it.&nbsp;The lack of orders has left the future of the program in serious question, and raised the significant possibility that production could be terminated by the early 2030s far sooner than initially expected.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: North America, Western Europe and Oceania, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]

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