31 May 2023
by Akhil Kadidal
A Chinese SAC J-16 fighter flies in front of a USAF RC-135V Rivet Joint aircraft over the South China Sea on 26 May 2023. This is a screen-grab from a video of the incident. (US Department of Defense)
The United States has said that a Chinese Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-16 fighter aircraft conducted an unsafe manoeuvre near a US Air Force (USAF) Boeing RC-135V Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft on 26 May.
US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said in a statement on 30 May that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) J-16 “performed an unnecessarily aggressive manoeuvre during the intercept of a US Air Force RC-135 aircraft”.
INDOPACOM added that the Chinese “pilot flew directly in front of the nose of the RC-135, forcing the US aircraft to fly through its wake turbulence”. This action describes the buffeting turbulence experienced by an aircraft caused by another jet aircraft flying in close proximity ahead of it.
The incident took place over the South China Sea, according to INDOPACOM.
29 March 2024
by Michael Fabey
The USN CNO noted the need for the development of directed energy weapons, such as the laser system shown in this artist's rendition. (Lockheed Martin)
Recent US Navy (USN) operations in the Red Sea have underscored the importance of logistics, according to Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the USN chief of naval operations (CNO).
Adm Franchetti also noted the importance of developing new weapons and related capabilities to match emerging threats.
The CNO made the comments during a discussion for Defense One that was shown online on 27 March.
“I've focused a lot especially on contested logistics and the need to think creatively about how to resupply our ships that are out there on the pointy end,” Adm Franchetti said. “We've been able to do that.”
22 March 2024
by Michael Fabey & Ridzwan Rahmat
BAE Systems was confirmed as the UK shipbuilding partner for AUKUS submarines, shown here as an artist rendition. (BAE Systems)
Britian's BAE Systems will partner with Australian shipbuilder ASC to build Canberra's nuclear-powered submarines for the trilateral AUKUS defence agreement, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed on 21 March.
The partnership deal follows “months of negotiations” and could be worth “billions of pounds”, theMoD said in a release.
First announced in September 2021, AUKUS calls for the three countries – Australia, the UK, and the US – to work together on a range of capabilities, including a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability for Australia, the ministry release noted.
Phase Two of AUKUS involves the sale of three US Virginia-class submarines to Australia with an option for up to two more, subject to US Congressional approval. Phase Three is the construction of the trilateral nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) for AUKUS.
The first UK submarines built to this design will be delivered in the late 2030s to replace the current Astute-class vessels, and the first Australian submarines will follow in the early 2040s.
19 March 2024
by Nicholas Fiorenza & Andrew MacDonald
The Swedish flag was raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels on 11 March to mark the country's accession to the alliance as its 32nd member on 7 March. (NATO)
NATO welcomed Sweden as its 32nd member on 7 March. The Scandinavian country had intended to join together with Finland, but Turkey and Hungary blocked Swedish accession until the Grand National Assembly of Turkey approved it on 23 January, followed by the Hungarian parliament on 26 February.
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership on 18 May 2022 and were invited to join the alliance by the Madrid summit of allied leaders on 4 July 2022. Finland joined NATO on 4 April 2023.
As Enhanced Opportunities Partners under NATO's Partnership Interoperability Initiative, Finland and Sweden were able to skip joining the alliance's Membership Action Plan that has been required of the most recent countries to become NATO members, reflecting the fact that the two Nordic countries are more interoperable with allies than some NATO countries.
The United States has said that a Chinese Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-16 fighter aircraft ...
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