The European Union has approved a French-run military training mission for thousands of Ukrainian troops as well as some €500 million for additional weapons procurement. Countries that aren’t part of the bloc will be allowed to take part in the training of 15,000 Ukrainian troops mainly in Poland and Germany. [node:read-more:link]
Ukraine’s capital was struck October 17 by waves of explosive loitering munitions, Iranian-supplied Shahed drones, which hit energy infrastructure, set buildings afire and killed civilians. The barrage was the second in as many weeks. [node:read-more:link]
Senior Iranian officials have confirmed that their government will provide Russia with more loitering munitions and missiles for use against Ukraine. A deal was agreed to October 6 in Moscow during a visit by Iran's First Vice President and representatives of the Supreme National Security Council and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. [node:read-more:link]
Thirty-nine armoured troop carriers and eight tactical vehicles promised or delivered by Canada to Ukraine aren’t enough for one of the country’s MPs. Inna Sovsun wants more western tanks and other armoured vehicles. An additional $47 million in support announced last week by Defence Minister Anita Anand, whose department is seeing stockpiles diminished, did not mention vehicles or more howitzers Ukraine requested. [node:read-more:link]
As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to rely on artillery barrages, the U.S. is urging allies to synchronize their artillery capabilities as a more effective response. “From watching what’s happening to our east is fires formations are very relevant in 2022 and in the future,” says MGen Stephen Maranian, head of the U.S. Army’s 56th Artillery Command in Germany. He says the concept was validated during a multinational exercise under the command and control of NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. [node:read-more:link]
Representatives of more than 50 Western countries are meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels today to discuss the logistics of supplying Ukraine with more weapons for its counteroffensive against Russia, particularly air defences. More than 100 missile strikes have killed at least 26 Ukrainians this week, an intensification NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says is evidence that Russia is “losing on the battlefield.” [node:read-more:link]
Military forces are being asked by companies which have developed robotic “dogs” not to fit them with weapons. In an open letter, companies such as Boston Dynamics say that weaponizing their products “raises new risks of harm and serious ethical issues” and undermines public trust in a technology which offers “tremendous benefits” to society [node:read-more:link]
The Canadian Army expects to begin receiving the first of at least 7,200 new Sig Sauer P320s sem i-automatic pistols next summer under a US$3.2-million contract signed with Victoria-based M.D. Charleton Co. Announced today, the contract, which also includes holsters, spares and training, has an option for up to 9,500 pistols for the RCAF, Navy and Military Police, which would boost the procurement to US$7.6 million. [node:read-more:link]
Air raid sirens went off in Japan October 3 when North Korea tested a ballistic missile which reached an altitude of some 1,000 kilometres before eventually falling into the Pacific 4,500km away. The first such launch since 2017, it resulted in Japan, South Korea and the U.S. conducting military exercises today in response, including firing four surface-to-air missiles off the Korean peninsula’s east coast. [node:read-more:link]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he wants Canada to head a “swift and large-scale” landmine removal effort to deal with munitions left by Russian forces. “I invited Prime Minister Trudeau to lead a global effort,” he said September 27. “Ukraine's territory has one of the greatest concentrations of mines in the world.” Canada has spearheaded global campaigns since the 1990s and was instrumental in the 1999 Ottawa Convention signed by 133 states (but neither the U.S. nor Russia) to outlaw the weapons. [node:read-more:link]
U.S. companies stand to benefit most from a Lithuanian government decision to increase its current military budget “in the context of the war started by Russia” in Ukraine. The additional funding paves the way for procurement of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems from Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control as well as Switchblade loitering munitions from AeroVironment in Virginia and light tactical vehicles from Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense. [node:read-more:link]
The Canadian Army, in cooperation with Colt Canada, is addressing problems with many of the company’s C6A1 general purpose machine guns despite the fact that they’re based on a proven design used by more than 80 other countries. Defective parts and other issues have been found in more than 1,000 of the 3,331 weapons delivered to date under a contract for 4,774. [node:read-more:link]
Norway is considering letting its stocks of key munitions drop below required levels, a short-term price to pay to keep weapons flowing to Ukraine even as it contemplates increases stockpiles in the future. Acknowledging that that the concept requires parliamentary approval, Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said the need to balance current and projected needs will be a major focus in the coming months. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages eight weapons research and production facilities, has been criticized by the Government Accountability Office for lacklustre cybersecurity policies. The GAO says the NNSA and its contractors’ “ability to effectively respond to emerging cyber threats” has been undermined by their failure to fully implement federally-mandated security practices, notably a continuous monitoring strategy. [node:read-more:link]
Raytheon Technologies has received a $985-million U.S. Air Force contract to to develop and demonstrate a scramjet Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile. It is designed to move the technology out of prototyping and into fighter operations by 2027. [node:read-more:link]
