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October 12, 2022 | International, Land

America's arsenal is in need of life support

The key problem is Washington's failure to procure munitions in sufficient quantities in the form of signed contracts with industry.

https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2022/10/12/americas-arsenal-is-in-need-of-life-support/

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  • L’Italie va porter son budget militaire à 2% du PIB

    March 18, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    L’Italie va porter son budget militaire à 2% du PIB

    L'Italie a décidé d'augmenter ses dépenses militaires, afin d'accorder 2% du PIB à sa défense, comme prévu par l'OTAN. Mercredi 16 mars, la Chambre des députés a approuvé un ordre du jour qui engage le gouvernement à poursuivre l'effort destiné à moderniser et à mieux équiper les armées, autorisant une hausse des dépenses d'environ 15 Mds€ par an. L'Opinion du 18 mars

  • US moving ahead with $500 million in arms aid for Taiwan, source says

    May 5, 2023 | International, Other Defence

    US moving ahead with $500 million in arms aid for Taiwan, source says

    U.S. President Joe Biden's administration plans to send $500 million worth of weapons aid to Taiwan using the same emergency authority that has been used more than 35 times for Ukraine, a source familiar with the plan said on Friday.

  • Russian drones can jam cellphones 60 miles away

    November 19, 2018 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

    Russian drones can jam cellphones 60 miles away

    By: Kelsey D. Atherton Russia's Defense Ministry announced Nov. 6 that the nation had extended the range on its drone-carried jammers to 100 km, or over 60 miles. Drones as a platform for, and not just the target of, electronic warfare means that the sight of a flying robot overhead could signal incoming strikes as well as a sudden inability to call for help. “Russia has been using a UAV-mounted cellphone jammer for a number of years now,” said Samuel Bendett, a research analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses. The drones operate in a two- or three-vehicle pod with a ground station, collectively grouped as a “Leer-3” system. “When these UAVs fly in teams, one acts as a signal-and-comms relay while another acts as a jammer,” Bendett said. “These Leer-3 systems have been around for about two years at this point.” What is changed is the range of the jammer. The Orlan-10 drones already have a range of 75 miles, which means that, with the latest update on the jammer, the drone pod can interfere with signals up to 135 miles away from where the drone was launched. TASS reports that the 60-mile range is a 3.5 times increase in distance from the initial range. In addition, Bendett said there's a chance this capability, or an earlier version of it, has already been witnessed in conflict. “Ukrainian forces claim to spot Leer-3 systems in eastern Ukraine, while there is potential evidence that Leer-3 was used in Syria as well,” Bendett said. “Russian forces are constantly training with Leer-3 UAVs as they practice adversary signal and cell comms suppression, identification and eventual destruction of the enemy force. In fact, this kind of training is part of the official [tactics, techniques and procedures] in electronic warfare and other forces across the Russian military.” Advancements in electronic warfare are one of the key components guiding the development of autonomous systems for the military. For now, drones are conducting electronic warfare against cellular communications, but it's not hard to imagine the same doctrines applied with new technology. In that scenario, it easy to picture other vehicles transforming into jamming machines on future battlefields ... and maybe even present ones. https://www.c4isrnet.com/newsletters/unmanned-systems/2018/11/16/russian-drones-can-jam-cell-phones-60-miles-away

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