Category Archives: US Military

US and Australia to launch second joint spy satellite from site in New Zealand

Posted on by

Some in space industry bewildered by Australia’s lack of fanfare about the launch of the satellites, which will be used to collect intelligence for allied nations

A second spy satellite built by Australia and the United States is scheduled for liftoff on Tuesday from a launch site in New Zealand.

The first of the two satellites, which will be used to collect intelligence for the allied nations, launched two weeks ago.

Continue reading...

China’s targeting of Australian military planes ‘aggressive and irresponsible’, US says

Posted on by

Defense department’s Ely Ratner says such incidents represent ‘one of the most significant threats to peace and stability in the region’

China’s targeting of Australian military planes was “aggressive and irresponsible”, the United States Department of Defense says, and it “represents one of the most significant threats to peace and stability in the region”.

In comments released on Thursday morning, the US defense department’s Ely Ratner said Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific was an attempt to challenge the rules-based order and assert greater control in the area.

Continue reading...

Chinese military has become more aggressive and dangerous, says US chief of staff

Posted on by

As Washington seeks to shore up alliances in the Pacific, Gen Mark Milley says Beijing’s attempts to expand its influence are ‘not benign’

The Chinese military has become significantly more aggressive and dangerous over the past five years, the United States’ top military officer said during a trip to the Indo-Pacific that included a stop in Indonesia.

Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said on Sunday that the number of intercepts by Chinese aircraft and ships in the Pacific region with US and other partner forces had increased significantly over that time, and the number of unsafe interactions has risen by similar proportions.

Continue reading...

China’s challenges to Australian ships: three reasons not to panic | Adam Lockyer

Posted on by

It’s important to view encounters between the two militaries in operational context

Last week it was reported that in early July an Australian warship had been closely followed by a Chinese guided-missile destroyer, a nuclear-powered attack submarine and multiple military aircraft as it travelled through the East China Sea.

This incident followed a confrontation on 26 May, when an Australian maritime surveillance plane was dangerously intercepted by a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea.

Continue reading...

US army general suspended for mocking Jill Biden’s support of abortion rights

Posted on by

Gary Volesky, three-star general who took on lucrative consulting role, suspended over Twitter post that appeared under his name

The US army has suspended a retired three-star general from a lucrative consultant’s role after a social media post appearing under his name taunted first lady Jill Biden’s support of abortion rights.

Former top army spokesperson Gary Volesky, who retired as a lieutenant general and earned a silver star for gallantry while serving in Iraq, was making $92 an hour advising military officers, staff and students who were taking part in war games and other similar activities.

Continue reading...

Israel and Saudi Arabia ‘in talks over joint defence against Iran’

Posted on by

US-brokered summit discusses shared threat of Tehran’s growing missile and drone capabilities

Top military officials from Israel and Saudi Arabia have met in secret US-brokered talks to discuss defence coordination against Iran, according to a report.

Delegations from Riyadh, as well as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt, met the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) chief of staff in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh in March, the Wall Street Journal revealed on Sunday, citing US and regional officials.

Continue reading...

Zelenskiy calls on G7 leaders to help end war in Ukraine by winter

Posted on by

President speaks on video link, as leaders discuss economic measures and US confirms plans to send air defence system

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has urged G7 leaders gathered in Germany to help end the war in Ukraine by the winter as they planned new economic measures against Russia and vowed to “stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes”.

A six-page communique from the group of seven industrialised countries – the US, UK, Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Italy – said it was “committed to helping Ukraine to end Russia’s war … to defend itself and to choose its future”. It said it would provide materials, training, logistics, intelligence and economic support.

Continue reading...

China says anti-missile test not ‘aimed at any country’ despite rising tensions

Posted on by

Ballistic missile interception system trial follows North Korean tests and deployment of US THAAD system in South Korea

China has claimed a successful test of a land-based ballistic missile interception system amid heightened tensions in Asia, in a move its defence ministry described as “defensive and not aimed at any country”.

Beijing has in recent years been ramping up research into all sorts of missiles, from those that can destroy satellites in space to advanced nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, as part of a modernisation overseen by President Xi Jinping. It came after North Korea conducted a series of missile tests, which prompted South Korea and the US to warn that Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear test at any time.

Continue reading...

‘It gives us great hope’: mom of missing US serviceman says video is authentic

Posted on by

A video of Alexander Drueke expressing his love for his mother has not yet been validated by the state department

The mother of an American military veteran who volunteered to defend Ukraine from Russian invaders and was reportedly captured recently said a video of him expressing his love for her gave her “great hope”.

Lois Drueke told the Guardian on Friday that she believes the video of her son Alexander Drueke – distributed by Russian state media – is authentic because of a phrase he uttered in the clip with his distinctively deep voice.

Continue reading...

Two US volunteers in Ukraine feared taken prisoner by Russia

Posted on by

The pair’s disappearance, the first believed to have been captured in Ukraine, would add another layer of complexity to US efforts against Russia

Two American volunteers in Ukraine have gone missing and are feared to have been taken prisoner by Russia, officials and family members said on Wednesday.

Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, are both US military veterans who had been living in Alabama and went to Ukraine to assist with war efforts. Relatives have been in contact with Senate and House offices seeking information on the men’s whereabouts.

Continue reading...

Retired US general resigns as Brookings president amid FBI lobbying inquiry

Posted on by

New court filings detail Gen John Allen’s behind-the-scenes efforts to help Qatar influence US policy in June 2017

The president of the Brookings Institution resigned Sunday amid a federal investigation into whether he illegally lobbied on behalf of the wealthy Persian Gulf nation of Qatar.

John Allen, a retired four-star Marine general, wrote in a letter to the thinktank that he was leaving with a “heavy heart” but did not offer a direct explanation.

Continue reading...

South Korea and US fire eight missiles into sea in show of force to North Korea

Posted on by

Monday morning launches demonstrate ‘capability and readiness to carry out precision strikes’ on regime, a day after it carried out its own launches

South Korea and the US have fired eight surface-to-surface missiles into the sea in response to North Korea’s launch of a similar number of ballistic missiles the previous day, a South Korea defence ministry official said.

South Korea said Monday’s tit-for-tat launch off its east coast was a demonstration of Seoul’s “capability and readiness to carry out precision strikes” against the source of North Korea’s missile launches or the command and support centres, the Yonhap news agency cited the South Korean military as saying.

Continue reading...

North Korea fires ballistic missiles a day after US-South Korean naval drills

Posted on by

Pyongyang’s 18th round of missile tests this year comes after US aircraft carrier leads exercises in the Philippine Sea

North Korea has fired eight short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast, a day after South Korea and the US wrapped up military exercises involving an American aircraft carrier.

Possibly setting a single-day record for North Korean ballistic launches, the missiles were fired in succession over 35 minutes on Sunday from at least four different locations, including from western and eastern coastal areas and two inland areas north of and near the capital, Pyongyang, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said.

Continue reading...

Adm Linda Fagan becomes first female to lead US armed forces branch

Posted on by

Fagan, who has been second-in-command at the coast guard, will serve as the 27th commandant

Adm Linda L Fagan will be the first woman to lead a branch of the US armed forces, serving as the 27th commandant of the US coast guard.

Fagan will lead the coast guard after being sworn into the position on Wednesday, reported the Associated Press.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow warns US over rocket shipments to Kyiv; Ukraine losing up to 100 soldiers a day – live

Posted on by

US president claims supply of rockets move will enable Ukraine ‘to more precisely strike key targets’; Ukraine’s president says 500 wounded each day

Away from the war in their homeland, Ukraine’s men’s football team are competing for a place in this year’s Fifa World Cup in Qatar. Nick Ames writes for us:

When Ukraine face Scotland at Hampden Park tonight it will be less a rebirth than a reminder that, much as Russia might wish to erase the country’s cultural identity, its football heritage remains truly alive. The act of playing for a World Cup place on Wednesday night, and over the next five days if all goes well, is both one of defiance and of expectation that, despite everything, good things can lie ahead.

Continue reading...

US air force academy cadets denied commission over vaccine refusal

Posted on by

Trio will receive college degrees but will not be commissioned ‘as long as they remain unvaccinated’, spokesperson says

For refusing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, three US air force academy cadets won’t be commissioned as military officers, though they will receive college degrees, a spokesperson for the school said Saturday.

Academy spokesperson Dean Miller said in a statement that the three cadets in question won’t be commissioned as air force officers “as long as they remain unvaccinated,” though they would get their bachelor’s of science degrees. The military branch had not decided yet whether to require the trio to reimburse the US for education costs in lieu of service, Miller said.

Continue reading...

Biden reverses Trump withdrawal of US army trainers from Somalia

Posted on by

Up to 500 special forces advisers will train Somali forces to combat growing threat of al-Shabaab militants, says White House

The US will send up to 500 soldiers back on full-time deployment to Somalia, to train the country’s army to combat the increasing threat posed by al-Shabaab militants.

The White House insisted that the move, deepening the US long-term military commitment in an intractable foreign conflict, did not contradict Joe Biden’s overall policy of disengaging from “forever wars”, which underlay the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Continue reading...

US defence chief urges Ukraine ceasefire in call with Russian counterpart – as it happened

Posted on by

Psaki’s final White House briefing continues.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t get emotional,” she says. She succeeds.

Continue reading...

Trump sought strike on top Iran military figure for political reasons – Esper book

Posted on by

Robert O’Brien told top general shortly before 2020 election that Trump wanted to kill unnamed official, according to Esper memoir

Shortly before the 2020 election, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, “stunned” the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff by saying the president wanted to kill a senior Iranian military officer operating outside the Islamic Republic.

“This was a really bad idea with very big consequences,” Mark Esper, Trump’s second and last secretary of defense, writes in his new memoir, adding that Gen Mark Milley suspected O’Brien saw the strike purely in terms of Trump’s political interests.

Continue reading...

Esper book details Trump rage at Pence and proposal to hit Mexico with missiles

Posted on by

Memoir from ex-defense chief Mark Esper details extraordinary outbursts he says he helped to defuse

In the heated summer of 2020, thwarted in his desire for a violent crackdown on protesters for racial justice, Donald Trump included his vice-president in a complaint that senior advisers were “losers”.

Trump’s second defense secretary, Mark Esper, details the Oval Office outburst in a new book. A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Defense Secretary in Extraordinary Times, will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.

Continue reading...