#marshall defense industries

[megafreeman]

Saints Row reboot gang emblems + city crest

From Frank Marquart's ArtStation

[lastoneoutofsantoileso]

Hi! I'm a recently returned veteran RPer looking for new friends and RP opportunities! I have 10 years of RP experience on tumblr and elsewhere!

Both mun and muse are over 18.

Please feel free to dm any inquiries!

Thank you for your time!

[whoredmode]

@megafreeman mainly wanted to make sure i had the topography of santo ileso right since i’d only ever looked at a map of it once. i also wanted to see if there was any connection between ultor and santo ileso. seeing as you’ve played it you’d probably know: are there any references to ultor in the reboot?

ok i think i’ve figured out the general look and plot for the new in-between story. also decided on something that’s gonna be going on concurrently to it in the background that sets up a dynamic in the sriv rewrite lol

[ralfmaximus]

Here's the complete list of DHS flagged search terms. Don't use any of these on social media to avoid having the 3-letter agencies express interest in your activities!

DHS & Other Agencies

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

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SOCIAL MEDIA?!

[theyvegotsomuchtowhisperabout]

Hello! And welcome to Marshall Defense Industries!

We know it wasn't easy getting here. Your journey began with one of the most unforgiving job interviews we could devise. But you did more than just survive a few fire exercises. You excelled, and in doing so proved that you were Marshall material.

But don't take my word for it, hear it from the man himself.

[usafphantom2]

Russia reduces Su-75 'Checkmate' costs to win the sale of the fighter in India

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 02/07/2024 - 21:05in Military

Russia's effort to improve the fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-75 'Checkmate' single-engine combat aircraft program is facing some obstacles. The project cannot move forward with state funding alone. Last year, potential partnership discussions with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were started. Now, the opportunity to become a partner of India has come to the table.

ROSTEC reported substantial cost reductions in the Su-75 project, attributing them to certain "technical changes". These changes were influenced by the "feedback from a potential buyer" that led to decreased costs. Without any official confirmation, some sources suggest that India could be this potential buyer, as the Hindustan Times said.

Retired Indian Marshal Anil Khosla, in a recent interaction with the media, raised some significant points. He mentions caution, requiring that a detailed cost-benefit analysis be made by New Delhi before making any commitments. He also adds that it is essential for India to strategically assess whether a mutual pact can extract more benefits for India. Any decision must produce favorable results for both parties involved.

Interestingly, India is currently working on its own advanced jet fighter. The ambitious fifth generation combat aircraft (FGFA) project is already underway and New Delhi is heavily invested in its success. From the perspective of Indian defense and industry, can a potential alliance with Russia, a complex geopolitical partner, compromise India's local project?

Unmanned version of the Su-75.

However, this did not dissuade Russia. They are committed to seeking help for the Su-75 Checkmate project. Although India remains on the list of potential partners, Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade, says that Moscow is also keeping an eye on other foreign customers. The update of the aircraft's layout, control and weapon systems based on customer feedback has led to certain modifications.

It is worth remembering that ROSTEC recently presented the Su-75 at the World Defense Show 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a way to attract the interest of potential partners or customers in the region. Russia has continuously expressed the importance of the Middle East in the development and trade of its armaments.

Sukhoi (United Aviation Corporation, UAC) is currently working on the first functional prototype of the Su-75 Checkmate. The plan is to be ready later this year, with tests scheduled from next year. They plan to offer the Su-75 Checkmate in three variants: a single-seat, two-seater and unmanned aircraft. All versions were patented in July 2023.

According to the UAC, improvements are being made to a new anti-radar coating paint scheme that aims to increase the aircraft's stealth performance. They made an announcement earlier this year, revealing that they had obtained a patent for the scheme. The vision, according to Russian UAC engineers, is to camouflage the aircraft so well that not only does it become difficult for radars to detect it, but also for the human eye, under cloudy weather conditions, has difficulty detecting it.

Sukhoi Aircraft Company, part of United Aircraft Corporation at ROSTEC, revealed the Light Tactical Fighter Checkmate at the international air show MAKS-2021, held in Zhukovsky, near Moscow. The foreign launch of this new model took place at the Dubai Airshow 2021, in the United Arab Emirates. Essentially a derivative of the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter, the new warplane is developed in an innovative way by the state-owned technology giant, Rostec.

Tags: Military AviationCheckmateIAF - Indian Air Force/Air Force of IndiaROSTECSu-75sukhoi

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[mariacallous]

MUSKO NAVAL BASE, Sweden—In a control room carved out of a mountainside near Stockholm, with seats four rows deep, Swedish Navy chief Ewa Skoog Haslum and a close gaggle of her staff look up at a giant monitor to see a troubling scenario unfolding in the Baltic Sea, almost in real time. Their ships are outnumbered. No one, it seems, is coming to help.

This is real life, not a simulation or a war game. It’s October 2023, some 17 months since Sweden launched its bid for NATO membership, and the country is still outside of the alliance. On a filtered maritime traffic map of the region projected above the sailors’ heads, several lonely Swedish and Finnish ships, marked in blue, make their way through the straits, gulfs, and thoroughfares of the eastern arm of the Atlantic Ocean. Without the help of the 31-nation alliance, they are dwarfed by red dots—Russian ships, some military, and others that the Swedes fear might have bad intentions—moving up and down the waterway.

Add Sweden to NATO, and the map changes completely. 

“Can we unfilter the picture?” one of Skoog Haslum’s aides asks. Dozens of green ships—NATO vessels—light up the map. The Russian fleet is vastly outnumbered. The tables have turned, Swedish officials said. Taking a shot at one of a handful of Swedish or Finnish ships is one thing. How are the Russians going to take a shot at the Swedish Navy when it has dozens of allied vessels at its back? Defense industry bigwigs, former generals, and think tankers visiting the maritime operations center at Musko Naval Base whisper in hushed awe. 

For the better part of 200 years, dating back to the time of Napoleon, Sweden was a neutral country, with its armed forces not venturing beyond its large archipelagoes. Sweden flirted with a defensive nuclear weapons program and mass conscription during the long years of the Cold War but formally stayed neutral. 

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 changed all of that. Fearing Russia’s expansionist impulses wouldn’t stop with Ukraine, Sweden, along with Finland, applied for NATO membership in a once-in-a-lifetime political swerve. “There is absolutely a before and after,” Skoog Haslum said last October. “We are more on our toes today.” Now, a step closer to membership in the alliance after Turkey moved to approve Sweden’s bid—but with the Hungarians still holding out—Swedish and NATO officials are hoping that swerve will give the Russians pause before causing problems on their northern border. 

The first thing you see when you hit the docks at Berga Naval Base, a short boat ride across the Stockholm Archipelago from the control room at Musko Naval Base, is the 230-foot-long gray camouflage hull of the HSwMS Helsingborg. It doesn’t look like any old U.S. or European ship. The carbon fiber-reinforced frame resembles a pyramid, pointing skyward, to hide from Russian radar. 

In a darkened room of computer banks on the ship’s bridge, sailors look at a sea of blue, green, and red ships, too. They are tracking anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 ship movements in the Baltic Sea every day. On screen, cargo ships such as the Marshal Rokossovsky, the Aleksandr Evlanov, and the Sparta II sail past the Baltic Sea inlets. 

If the sailors look nervous, they have a right to be. All of the Nordic countries—including Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden—are heavily dependent on the latter’s western port of Gothenburg for trade. Sweden is especially so: About 30 percent of the country’s foreign trade flows through the port. Shutting down that one port could wreak havoc on the entire region’s economy. 

And the screens on the computer banks are constantly changing. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian vessels have been moving out and staying away from the Baltic much longer. But the Kremlin is playing a bit of a shell game, Swedish officials said, switching bigger ships for smaller ones. By swapping out destroyers and frigates, which raise alarm bells for NATO countries, for smaller roll-on, roll-off vessels and maintenance ships that aren’t typically used in combat but can still be up-armed with cruise missiles, Russia can keep a foot on this vital chokehold without provoking suspicion. 

The Kremlin has also been running tests right in Sweden’s backyard. Russia has begun trials of St. Petersburg-class submarines in the Baltic Sea, conducting live-fire exercises in international waters near Gotland, an island off Sweden’s eastern coast. The Kremlin tries to mask the new submarines by navigating through rivers and internal lakes before unleashing them in exercises that are clearly visible to nearby ships. From a signals intelligence ship parked just outside Kaliningrad’s bay, Sweden has detected Russia test-firing missiles from the submarines.

It all sounds pretty ominous. But the Swedes had to deal with the Russian threat long before the United States even existed. The two sides fought 11 wars, mostly over control of the Baltic Sea, before Stockholm began its two-century drift under neutrality. And with assets such as the Visby-class corvette—a stealthy surface ship armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles, named after the main city on Gotland—Sweden wants to be NATO’s eyes and ears in the region. 

Sweden can “be a very good NATO member,” Skoog Haslum said, including by providing targeting data for allies in the region.

The country has begun to field Link 22 command-and-control, a secure digital radio system that ties together NATO planes and ships. They are allowed to speak with other nations across those links but on a very low level, such as to point out unidentified or threatening vessels. It’s much easier for Skoog Haslum and her staff to call up Denmark and say hello than it was before the NATO bid, she said. 

There’s just one problem: Sweden doesn’t have access to NATO’s encryption. Sweden creates new lines of communication for exercises with NATO countries, but most of those lines go dark once the exercises end. There are no classified communications—yet. 

“When we join NATO, that would be on the screen all the time,” said Henrik Rosen, Sweden’s naval attache in Washington. “That is obviously a total game-changer for us.”

In almost every other way, the 31 allies are treating Sweden like one of their own. At NATO’s military headquarters in Mons, Belgium, officials point out that they have already built the flagpole where Sweden’s Nordic cross will eventually fly. At NATO’s official headquarters about an hour’s drive away, just about the only meetings the Swedes can’t get into are with the alliance’s nuclear planning group. 

“We act as though they are a member,” a Nordic military official said at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters, where reporters arrived on Jan. 23, the day of Turkey’s parliamentary vote on Sweden’s accession, to discover a flagpole had been built for the Swedes there, too. 

Although Turkey has finally, after months of foot-dragging, voted Sweden into the alliance, Hungary has not backed off its objections about Sweden’s NATO membership. Hungary wants Swedish opposition figures that are publicly critical of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s authoritarian leanings to shut up. (Orban came out publicly supporting Sweden’s bid after a call this week with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, but Hungary’s top lawmakers still had harsh words for Stockholm.) 

But even with the NATO bid still on hold, Sweden appears to be taking a victory lap. In December, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson traveled to the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California—an event full of national security high-rollers—and then on to Washington to sign a defense cooperation agreement with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that gives the U.S. military access to 17 Swedish military bases in the event of a regional war. 

Jonson said Sweden’s muscular new foreign policy will push the country past NATO’s agreed-on 2 percent defense spending mark. 

“This is the biggest shift in our doctrine for 200 years,” Jonson said in an interview at the Reagan Forum in the rolling southern California hills. “We will continue beyond 2.1 percent [of GDP].”

Where is the money going? Sweden is buying more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems. It is building a whole new fleet of Gripen fighter jets. It is building new Collins-class submarines and new corvettes. And it is arming its troops with British-made light anti-tank weapons that have torn up Russian tanks in Ukraine as well as fresh armored personnel carriers. 

If the name of the game is deterrence in Sweden, then it’s all hands on deck. 

“Just being a ship at sea, with maybe a rifle or something, that is not deterrence,” Skoog Haslum said. “Deterrence is to have all assets you can have. The sensors, the weapons systems—that is deterrence.”

Sweden stayed out of both world wars. And after the dust settled in World War II and the Iron Curtain came down, neighbors Norway, Iceland, and Denmark joined NATO. Sweden didn’t.

In secret, though, the Swedes were building up their defenses. During World War II, Sweden built emergency bomb shelters and landing strips as a fallback plan. In 1950, with the United States and the Soviet Union racing to test the first hydrogen bomb, the Swedish government began blasting 1.5 million tons of rock out of a mountainside on the island of Musko, about 25 miles south of Stockholm, to build a top-secret underground naval base. 

It took them 19 years. But by the time Musko was completed, Swedish sailors could service submarines and destroyers through a cavernous labyrinth of underground tunnels—and even hunt Soviet submarines. Sweden even briefly pursued nuclear weapons of its own, until officials realized they would cost too much.

After the Cold War, the threat had cooled down enough that Sweden began a widespread process of hollowing out its military, a downturn that lasted nearly 30 years. Sweden gave away most of its 2,000 fighter jets. It shed troops. It got rid of bases. 

By 2004, though Swedish troops were in Afghanistan and patrolling the coast of Lebanon, the Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament, was openly stating that the country faced no significant military threats and that it should pare down its defense capabilities to reflect that fact. Defending the homeland wasn’t a mission for the Swedish military anymore. 

“The political slogan was, Sweden is best defended in Afghanistan,” said Oscar Jonsson, a defense specialist at the Swedish Defence University. “That was the armed forces we had.” 

The only reason that the Swedish government didn’t get rid of Musko was because it would have been too expensive to scrub down the 12 miles of tunnels to make them safe for other uses. So the lights were kept on, but the massive facility was put on a strategic lull, with a skeletal staff. People still worked there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even when the base was at its least active point, but civilian contractors came in to fill up the vacant shipyards, and tourists were even allowed in. 

“It was a little bit of a pity,” Jonsson said. “First of all, you make a secret naval base that can withstand nuclear weapons. Then, at the end of the Cold War, you declassify it. Then, all of a sudden, you realize that it actually needed to be classified again.”

In the Musko mountainside, in a conference room whose wood-paneled walls were made out of the remnants of an old Swedish destroyer, Skoog Haslum and her aides described the bruising effects of the belt tightening on the military. The first thing to go was personnel. The Army downsized from brigades, anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 troops, to singular battalions, about 1,000 soldiers apiece. Weapons were next. The Navy decommissioned all of its big warships, such as destroyers and frigates, in the 1980s, leaving only smaller ships. The Air Force cut planes. In the mid-2010s, Sweden bottomed out, spending only about 1 percent of its GDP on defense, down from 4 percent in 1963. 

But even though Sweden was still neutral, the irritations from Russia had started to pick up. Russian ships were aggressively maneuvering in the Baltic Sea, elbowing Swedish and Finnish ships out of their sea lanes. And Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, biting off Crimea and pieces of the Donbas region, made it clear to the Swedes that they could also have a target on their backs. 

Sweden’s military budget began to grow in small steps. In 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, the Swedish naval staff returned to Musko. In 2020, the defense budget started to jump, to around $6.25 billion that year, or 1.2 percent of Sweden’s GDP.

Sweden decided to build two new submarines and four new surface ships with surface-to-air missile defenses, which hadn’t been aboard the pyramid-like Visby-class corvettes. Next year’s budget is getting boosted by nearly a third, bringing the overall defense tally to about $11 billion. Sweden is expecting to hit NATO’s 2 percent of GDP defense spending target by the time of the alliance’s Washington summit, which is penciled in for July. 

“The rise of the last 10 years of defense spending [has] been very, very steep,” said Rosen, the Swedish naval attache.

Still, Sweden is mostly building more of what it already has. Long-range land attack capability that could challenge Russia is not part of the plan yet. 

But Musko is buzzing again. The mess halls are full of Marines with the Swedish Viking emblem pinned to their lapels. The bike racks are full, too, with sailors dropping off their two-wheeled rides—unlocked—after cycling around the miles of tunnels to meetings and maintenance yards. 

Sweden’s defense industry is buzzing, too. The onetime carmaker Saab, which uses two of Musko’s drydocks to conduct maintenance on destroyers, has stopped building automobiles and is instead focusing on building Gripen fighter jets and diesel-electric submarines. Volvo builds a line of logistical trucks. Ericsson makes military telephones. 

“There is no other country of 10 million that can produce submarines, fighter aircraft, surface combatants, [infantry fighting vehicles], and very advanced artillery systems,” said Jonson, the defense minister. 

But unlike next-door neighbor Finland, which can mobilize nearly 300,000 troops from civilian ranks, Sweden faces the problem of getting enough people ready to man those weapons. The nation’s conscription model, which once could mobilize up to half of Sweden’s population, was cut down in the 1990s, tossed altogether in 2010, and has only recently been brought back. 

Stockholm is hoping to bring the mobilization number from the current cap of 60,000 to 100,000 conscripts by the end of the decade. Swedish officials are open about the growing pains. 

“We are growing, but it’s quite slow,” Skoog Haslum said. “It’s hard to grow, especially when you come from a capacity that is very, very short, actually.” 

The boyish-looking sailor had just two words for the group: Strap in.

This reporter soon found out why. Richard Cooke, the young Swedish Marine barking orders, and his driver Emil Munkve, proceeded to send the CB90 fast assault boat we were sitting in screaming through the Musko harbor at almost 50 miles an hour, putting the dozen or so American interlopers straight back in their seats. 

Sweden boasts more than 267,000 islands (though, according to the Swedes, an “island” is any piece of land you can stand on with two dry feet). 

And fighting here is not like fighting out in the great wide open of the Pacific Ocean. In fact, the U.S. Marines don’t have anything like the CB90. As it drives from Musko to Berga, islands and landforms pop out of the rock. But even in contested waters, the Swedish Marines can go almost anywhere in Stockholm’s island chain, dropping more than a dozen troops ashore at once. 

“As long as there aren’t rocks sticking up, we can go right up on the beach,” Munkve said. “We can go as far as the Swedish coast goes.”

Adding that 2,000-mile-long coastline to territory under the alliance’s protection will change NATO. It’s a vast region spanning the Arctic Ocean to the North Sea inlets to the Atlantic, with data cables that undergird much of global communication deep beneath the water’s surface. NATO will get Swedish bases in the north to contend with Russian troops in Murmansk and on the Kola Peninsula. 

The Nordic and Baltic countries can’t survive financially without keeping their archipelagoes and the inlets to the Baltic Sea open to maintain commerce through the region. And NATO will get another capable navy that can deal in shallow waters less than 200 feet deep dotted with gulfs, islands, narrow straits, and critical infrastructure.

“In our neck of the woods in the Baltic Sea region, the Western Sea, [and] the Nordic Sea, there’s a lot of infrastructure,” Rosen said. “There’s oil rigs, gas rigs, there’s underwater pipelines, there are underwater cables from communication to power. There are wind parks and windmills out at sea. And there’s a lot of traffic.”

There have been more NATO vessels in the Baltic Sea in the last two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And the Nordic countries have teamed up to follow Russian vessels across the sea with electric optical sensors and an encyclopedic ship base. Starting from Norway’s western coast, the Nordic countries track Russian ships all the way back to St. Petersburg, following them with fixed and mobile sensors, handing off country-by-country as the boats steam through the Baltic. 

The Kremlin used to harass U.S. ships in the region. Now the shoe is on the other foot. “[Russia] followed every American vessel that entered the Baltic Sea before,” Skoog Haslum said. “They really followed it. They can’t do that any longer.”

Now, the Kremlin’s game plan is to surround and show presence toward the United Kingdom, the door jam at the western gate of the North Sea. Russia is almost equally as paranoid about keeping trade lanes open through the Baltic and is heavily dependent on getting through it and on to St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, where the Kremlin has a great deal of its war industry, including shipyards for surface vessels and submarines, which can fire cruise missiles off their backs. 

But even though Russia’s Baltic Fleet is largely intact, most of the Kremlin’s troops and ships are tied down by the war in Ukraine. 

“Russia has now a long border with NATO … but doesn’t get more forces,” said Dutch Adm. Rob Bauer, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee. “If they want to invest in more forces, it will cost them.”

The Swedes have three watchwords for how they train to fight: Hide inside, run out fast, and hit hard. And they can make it tougher on the Russians by mining the narrow straits before raining missiles on the invaders. 

“We use the archipelago. We hide in the archipelago. We fire our long-range weapons from within the archipelago or from the open sea,” one Swedish sailor said. There are still 50,000 mines on the Baltic seabed from World War I and World War II, forcing ships to navigate tight corners laden with explosives.

Sweden’s geography also tightens the squeeze on Russia. Everything in Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg will now be in range of NATO missiles. Gotland gives Sweden and NATO an opportunity to build out a logistical hub or block the Russian navy’s attempts to harass Western shipping lanes. The Bay of Bothnia is a lot closer to Russia’s northern sea bases than NATO’s borders currently sit. 

On the flip side, NATO countries will have to defend another big Nordic state that is entirely within striking distance of Russian missiles. And Russia has finally hit Sweden with the avalanche of disinformation and cyberattacks it expected when the country’s NATO bid was announced in May 2022.

But Sweden is not backing down. Though the military shift in the country has been gradual, the political shift has been frenetic. 

After two centuries of neutrality, a majority of Swedes only began to favor NATO membership in March 2022, one month after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. A month later, that number surged to nearly 60 percent.

In Brussels, NATO allies are ready to welcome them with open arms. But there is still a palpable sense of disbelief at how quickly the tectonic shift has taken place. 

“If I told you Finland and Sweden were going to join, you would have thought I was smoking something,” the Nordic military official said. “We are part of a different landscape. Now we have to think completely differently.”

[workersolidarity]

Photo: France24

🇺🇦🇺🇲 UKRAINE HOLDS DEFENSE INDUSTRY FORUM: SEEKS TO RAMP UP DOMESTIC ARMS PRODUCTION

The Ukrainian government held a Defense Industry Forum on Friday, seeking to find partners to help ramp up domestic military production in the war-torn country living under Marshall Law.

Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelensky spoke to representatives of the Western-aligned global defense Industry, as well as the Defense Ministers and officials of several countries that attended the conference. About 250 delegates representing 30 countries attended the event held in Kiev.

Speaking by video-link to the Forum, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltonberg told the audience, "heroism alone cannot intercept missiles. Ukraine needs capabilities, high quality, high quantity, and quickly. There is no defense without industry."

General Stoltonberg further acknowledged the depletion of Western stocks of weapons and ammunition by adding that this support "was the right thing to do, but now we need to ramp up production, both to meet Ukraine's needs and to ensure our own deterrence in events."

Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelensky told the audience about his most recent meeting with embattled US President Joe Biden where they agreed to "the establishment of a new industrial ecosystem that will strengthen both Ukraine and all the partners."

Further, Zelensky announced the creation of a new "Defense Industries Alliance" cosigned by 13 Defense industry companies with an eye to getting further signatories in the near future.

The Ukrainian government told the audience that they would be setting up a "special fund" to support the creation and development of an industry complex. The "special fund" would be funded through dividends from state defense resources as well as the sale of "confiscated Russian assets," according to Ukraine's President Zelensky.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Foreign Minister who also attended the event, said that talks about joint production began in the Fall of 2022, "At first, we were talking about repairs within Ukraine, and then about joint production. And now, this topic is prevalent everywhere."

Kubela also said that while in discussions with partners, there is much interest in the experience and production capabilities of Ukrainian businesses.

“Just as we have benefited from Western weapons, Western arms manufacturers also gain unique advantages in the market to improve their models and create even more powerful weapons,” Kubela explained.

Meanwhile, newly appointed Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that everything must be done to produce all the necessary services and products Ukraine needs for its Army, with the secondary priority being the development of the Military technologies that play an important role on the modern battlefield.

"Our vision is to develop world-class military products" Umerov said.

#source

--- OPINION:

*** Telling right now, this is just a money laundering scheme for Western and Ukrainian elites.

There is absolutely ZERO chance of developing a domestic Military Industrial Complex in Ukraine in the middle of a war it's losing with virtually no more ammunition left in the West (as admitted in the source article by Stoltonberg) and daily missile strikes by Russian Forces on domestic Military and infrastructure targets like ammunition depots, ports, fuel storage facilities, tank repair centers (this is why it had to be done in Poland and not Ukraine since the beginning of the war), trains and train stations and train repair facilities, manufacturing plants and warehouses, etc etc etc ad infinitum.

It's a FANTASY to develop a Military Industrial Complex in Ukraine in the middle of war. They KNOW this is a fantasy! Yet they perpetuate this myth in order to acquire funding, because that's what this has ALWAYS been about (besides the obvious goals like attrition of Russian Forces) transferring Tax-Payer $$ to US and Ukrainian Oligarchs. Period. It's money laundering for Western Elites.

They never cared if Ukraine won or not, in fact they make the most profits through STALEMATE rather than their side winning outright. That's an unquestionable fact.

This "Martyrdom of the Ukrainian people" (as Pope Francis has termed it) on the altar of Western Neoliberal Capitalism, in this view, has gone swimmingly. That's why you see Mitt Romney, Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell going on TV and joyously lapping praise on this Proxy-war and declaring it a huge success. Because for their wallets, it is a huge success.

[megafreeman]

All the major factions in the game had high level ingredients that manifested in different ways. For Los Panteros, they were orange with red and yellow accents, favored blocky shapes, had chrome as their metal, and fire as their element. For the Marshall, they were blue with white and green accents, favored round shapes, had stainless steel as their metal, and air as their element. For the Idols, they were pink with blue and yellow accents, favored sharp shapes, had gold as their metal, and water as their element.

From Frank Marquart's ArtStation

[sapper-in-the-wire]

I feel like with the atomic weapons there’s a lot of backwards application of later US attitudes to war. Yes in later wars the US would switch to a body count strategy, but that was because the material victory strategy they came up with in ww2 couldn’t be applied to countries with little to no heavy industry (Korea and Vietnam). The US generally always targeted some kind of industry, it was the British that preferred to bomb civilians, I guess as a sort of reprisal for German terror bombing. However, even by mid 44 US air authorities were pointing out how British bombing was largely ineffective, and killing random civilians en masse really didn’t do anything. It was only political separation and Air Marshal Harris’ popularity did they avoid any pressure from the US Air Force to switch up their targets.

Hiroshima was a military target, and it was the only military target that had yet to be bombed. It was the headquarters of the 2nd Army, which was the army that was in charge of the defense of Kyushu, the landing point of the future invasion of the home islands. It also was a rail center and industrial base, with tens of thousands of Korean slave laborers present (some 10,000 were killed in the bombing).

Nagasaki was not a military target, but all other military targets had been leveled or reduced to cinders at that point, and the second bomb used was an entirely different kind. At least at Los Alamos, the need to communicate to Japanese scientists the full extent of what had been developed was a priority. So an untouched city was chosen, one that still had power lines intact. The blast radius could be measured, and power lines would hold evidence of atomic ejecta that the Japanese scientists could analyze. Iirc they did just that, and were able to communicate that this wasn’t just a new conventional bomb, and calculate the atomic efficiency of it. The entire world’s scientific community was chasing atomic weapons prior to the war, so the hope was that the Japanese scientists could pass on that the atomic weapons were easily produced, and that more either were ready or would quickly be.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Tomorrow (July 30) at 1530h, I’m appearing on a panel at Midsummer Scream in Long Beach, CA, to discuss the wonderful, award-winning “Ghost Post” Haunted Mansion project I worked on for Disney Imagineering.

#20yrsago Briefing the court on Fuck https://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/passionate-defense-f-word

#15yrsago UK’s ISP-record industry deal won’t stop infringement, but will make it harder for the record industry to cash in https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/jul/29/internet.digitalmusic

#15yrsago TSA destroys the RepRap’s first child http://blog.reprap.org/2008/07/tsa-really-wreck-reprap-child.html

#10yrsago MIT report on Aaron Swartz’s prosecution is out, and it’s a “whitewash” https://tarensk.tumblr.com/post/56881327662/mit-report-is-a-whitewash-my-statement-in

#10yrsago Rotolight sends fraudulent takedown notice to censor unfavorable review https://notesonvideo.blogspot.com/2013/07/using-copyright-infringement-claim-to.html

#10yrsago US spies supplied intelligence on investigative journalist to NZ military http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8972743/US-spy-agencies-eavesdrop-on-Kiwi

#10yrsago Kill City Blues: Sandman Slim versus the elder gods of the dead mall https://memex.craphound.com/2013/07/30/kill-city-blues-sandman-slim-versus-the-elder-gods-of-the-dead-mall/

#5yrsago Quiet Skies: Air Marshals are following thousands of random Americans through airports and on planes, for no articulatable purpose https://apps.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/graphics/2018/07/tsa-quiet-skies/?p1=HP_SpecialTSA

#5yrsago Sacha Baron Cohen confronts Roy Moore with a beeping “pedophile detector” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kaJaDx51iw

#5yrsago Universal, having learned nothing from its “dancing baby” ass-kicking, is once again attacking Prince fans https://www.techdirt.com/2018/07/30/universal-right-back-it-issuing-dmca-reporters-video-prince-fans-singing-purple-rain/

#5yrsago Wall Street landlords are slumlords https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-housing-invitation/

#5yrsago GOP candidate who campaigned with a white supremacist condemned for Bigfoot erotica https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bigfoot-porn-house-race-virginia_n_5b5ec4f5e4b0de86f4988800

#5yrsago John Oliver’s scorching debullshitification of Facebook’s apology ads https://www.vice.com/en/article/bjb745/john-oliver-facebook-ads-last-week-tonight

[whoredmode]

the antagonists in this game suck ass i’m sorry. marshall defense industries is so bland and laughably evil (literally like mustache-twirling bad guys), los panteros are just a watered-down brotherhood with the most Nothing leader we learn zero about, and the idols, while an intriguing concept, are so poorly executed that their purposeful vagueness just comes off as confusing and uninteresting. and i’m pretty sure the nahualli is gonna betray us or something bc like. just look at him. and that’s too bad bc aside from some insufferable mission writing, the whole idea of his character has felt the most believably saints row imo.

i’m gonna expand on this a LOT more when i actually finish the main story and do my long written retrospective but i can say now that the antagonists of this game have just been so disappointing.

[moviespopcorn]

Review of the Sky Force Movie (2025): An account of the bravery and patriotism of those who gave their lives in defense of the nation

Akshay Kumar in Sky Force film (Credit: Poster/Jio Studios, Maddock Films)

Introduction

Sky Force is a Sandeep Kewlani and Abhishek Anil Kapoor directed action drama that will be released on January 24, 2025. Its tone is a patriotic action drama, with the theme of sacrifice. In addition to amusing, the Sky Force film conveys the lesson that nothing is more important than serving one's country. When a nation exists, we are there; when it does not, we are not. The film looks just as good onscreen as it does in the trailer. Wing Commander Ajjamada Boppaiya Devayya MVC, Pakistani Squadron Leader Amjad Hussain, Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh, Air Commodore David Lawrence, and Air Vice Marshal Amit Narang were soldiers from our Air Force at the time. Akshay Kumar, Veer Pahariya, Nimrat Kaur, Sara Ali Khan, and Sharad Kelkar have all played lead parts in films based on real-life heroes. This movie was effective in keeping the audience hooked to their seats.

What is Sky Force movie about?

This film is based on a true incident: India's first air strike on Sargodha Airbase during the Into-Pakistan Air War in 1965.

Is Sky Force Released?

Yes, Sky Force was released on 24th January 2025.

What is the budget of Sky Force?

150–160 Crore

Is Sky Force based on a true story?

Sky Force is based on the true story of Squadron Leader Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya of the Indian Air Force's No.1 Squadron. His tremendous fortitude during the 1965 conflict went unnoticed for decades, making his narrative one of the most spectacular but lesser-known tales of valor in Indian military history.

Is Sky Force a remake of Fighter?

No, Sky Force is not a remake of Fighter.

Plot:

Sky Force is based on the story of a wing commander and a squadron leader, depicting their friendship, love, and emotions. During India's first air strike against the Sargodha airfield in Pakistan, an occurrence occurs that causes the squadron leader to disappear. Where and how did he disappear, and will he ever be found? Will the wing commander be able to locate him? Will his wife be able to learn about her husband? To find out the answers to all of these questions, watch the film.

Acting and characters:

Akshay Kumar delivers an outstanding performance as Wing Commander Kumar Om Ahuja. He took the task very seriously. He is an artist who is completely absorbed in his role, heart, and mind. His dialogue delivery is excellent. He is regarded as one of India's top performers, having played a variety of roles during his career. While seeing Sky Force, the memories of his last two films, Rustom (2016) and airlift (2016) return, for which he received the National Award for Best Actor. Sky Force is based on the same storyline, with Nimrat Kaur reprising his role as his wife in Airlift (2016). This is Veer Pahariya's first debut Hindi film as Squadron Leader Tabby, and based on his performance, you would never know it. He may be a long-distance horse in the Hindi film industry. His dialogue delivery, attitude, and body language are all fantastic. He played the role in an entirely different manner. His performance is fresh. Nimrat Kaur and Sara Ali Khan's acting in the roles of Preeti and Geeta can also be considered decent; the length of their roles was not extensive and there was not much for them to do either. Sharad Kelkar's performance as Ahmed Hussain was also decent. Manish Chaudhary, Mohit Chauhan, and Varun Badola deliver decent performances in the supporting cast.

Direction:

Sky Force is directed by Sandeep Kewlani and Abhishek Anil Kapoor. Both of them are making their directorial debut. Abhishek Anil Kapoor previously worked as an associate director on Amar Kaushik's films Stree (2018) and Bala (2019), as well as an assistant director on Laxman Utekar's Mimi (2021). He demonstrated his abilities by directing a film on such a delicate and difficult subject, demonstrating that if the story is great, a good film can be produced. The air strike scenes were skillfully captured. Technology has been used quite well. He's done an excellent job directing the flick. It's hard to believe this is his first directorial effort. He kept the audience interested from start to finish and did not allow them to get bored any place. His total control is evident in all departments. The director has captured the emotional scenes on screen in a way that touches the heart deeply, and the audience feels linked to them after viewing them.

Akshay Kumar and Veer Pahariya in Sky Force film (Credit: Screenshot/Jio Studios, Maddock Films)

Story-Screenplay-Dialogue:

The story, screenplay, and dialogue were written by Aamil Kiyan Khan, Sandeep Kewlani, Carl Austin, and Niren Bhatt. The narrative is based on a real-life event. The screenplay is quite strong. After each scene in the film, one has no idea what will happen next. The dialogues have also been nicely crafted, but because they are in English, they will be lost on viewers who are unfamiliar with the language. Dialogues filled with patriotism and significance have been written.

Cinematography:

S. Krishnan Ravichandran has done an excellent job with the cinematography. The scenes of the air strike were very nicely captured. The aerial views have been magnificent. The scenes of ships battling in the skies are terrifying. Top-notch cinematography.

Editing:

A. Sreekar Prasad's editing is tight. The film is never dull from beginning to end. The scene transitions are very well done, and the pace is rapid.

Music:

Tanishk Bagchi's music is magnificent, particularly the patriotic song Maaye, which B Praak sings in a melodic and powerful voice. Satinder Sartaj and Zehrah S Khan's voices complement the music in the Rang song. Vishal Mishra's Kya Meri Yaad Aati Hai is an emotional song that touches the heart. Tu Hai To Main Hoon by Arijit Singh and Afsana Khan is a lovely song worth listening to only once.

Lyrics:

Irshad Kamil's songs, including Kya Meri Yaad Aati Hai and Tu Hai To Main Hoon, are brilliantly crafted. Manoj Muntashir wrote the song Maye in a very profound way.

Background Score:

Justin Varghese's background score is explosive and wonderfully complements the film's tone and theme.

Choreography:

Vijay Ganguly's choreography works nicely only in one song, rang.

Sound Design:

Ganesh Gangadharan's sound design is quite effective.

Production Design:

Mayur Sharma, Sujeet Subhash Sawant, and Sriram Kannan Iyengar's production design has limited scope in the film.

Costume Design:

Shivank Kapoor and Neena Borah's bespoke designs were appropriate for 1965.

Action:

Craig Macrae and Parvez Shaikh's acts are incredible, dangerous, and frightening.

Visual effects:

The visual effects are also incredibly vivid and can be described as the film's spirit.

Climax:

It's emotional and brings tears to your eyes.

Opinion:

People who enjoy good cinematography, patriotism, and emotional films should watch this film.

Rating:

7.5/10

Popular Dialogue:

The Pakistani says over the phone, “Janaab Kaun, Janaab Kaun.” Akshay Kumar responds, “Tera Baap Hindustan.”

Flaw:

It would have been preferable if the film's dialogues had been entirely in Hindi, as people with limited English understanding would have missed out on them. Sky Force box office collection?160.81 crore globallyWhen Sky Force movie release date on OTT?By March First WeekSky Force movie download Filmyzilla?I do not know much about movie downloads from Filmyzilla.Where Sky Force movie available?In Cinemas and Multiplexes.Sky Force movie hit or flop?It's still running in cinemas and multiplexes, so I can't judge if it's a hit or flop.Sky Force movie Trailer?You can watch it on YouTube. CBFC-U/A Movie time: 2h05m Genre: Patriotic Action Drama Release: 24 January 2025 Sky Force movie cast: Akshay Kumar, Veer Pahariya, Nimrat Kaur, Sara Ali Khan and Sharad Kelkar Producers: Dinesh Vijan, Jyoti Deshpande, Amar Kaushik, Sahil Baber Khan, Directors: Sandeep Kewlani, Abhishek Anil Kapoor, Sound Design: Ganesh Gangadharan, Costume Design: Shivank Kapoor, Nina Borah, Music: Tanishk Bagchi, Lyrics: Irshad Kamil, Manoj Muntashir, Shlok Lal, Background Score: Justin Varghese, Production Design: Mayur Sharma, Sujeet Subhash Sawant, Sriram Kannan Iyengar, Editor: A Sreekar Prasad, Cinematography: S Krishnan Ravichandran, Choreography: Vijay Ganguly, Story-Screenplay-Dialogues: Aamil Kiyan Khan, Sandeep Kewlani, Carl Austin, and Niren Bhatt, Action: Craig Macrae, Parvez Shaikh, Visual Effects: Prime Focus, Casting Directors: Casting Bay, Anmol Ahuja, Ranveer Wadhwani Read the full article

[ramcosystem]

Ramco Aviation Software 6.0: Your Wingman for Aviation MRO Maintenance Success

Tired of juggling a million moving parts in your aviation business? With so many components and regulations to keep track of, it's easy to get overwhelmed.

That's where Ramco Aviation Software 6.0 comes in. Think of it as your wingman, always there to assist you. This software isn't just an upgrade; it's a game-changer. Apart from handling engine maintenance, supply chain optimization, compliance, and more—all in one place, it uses predictive maintenance to solve the rise in delayed TAT in aircraft maintenance. Whether you're running a commercial airline, working with helicopters, or managing defense contracts, this software is built to make your life easier and less stressful by offering AI-driven insights, advanced automation, and seamless integration of processes—each custom-built for the aviation industry. It helps transform your business for process automation, visibility, scale, and profitability.

So, what makes Ramco Aviation software 6.0 so special?

Purpose-Built Engine MRO—Simplify the Complex

Whether you're dealing with engines, modules, or individual parts, Ramco Aviation Software V6.0 simplifies the entire process. From configuration management to workscoping and execution, it's got you covered. For example, maintenance through the gates, a graphical intuitive hub for kitting and marshalling, etc. Ramco Aviation Software V6.0 is designed specifically for engine MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul), which means it's got all the tools you need to manage engine lifecycles from start to finish.

Source Url

[bllsbailey]

What (RINO) McConnell Did After the Hegseth Vote Is Infuriating

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had good qualities. He pushed through Trump’s judicial nominees during the first presidency, got his tax cuts passed, and is a noted legislative strategist and tactician. It doesn’t mean he always bats a thousand, but McConnell got key portions of the Trump agenda passed after the 2016 election. Now, he’s erased all that goodwill with this dastardly vote against Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense. McConnell’s defection, plus that of Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME),

led to Vice President JD Vance performing his constitutional duty to break the tie.  

McConnell explained his decision in a lengthy statement, but after he voted, he was caught frolicking with Senate Democrats: 

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, issued the following statement today on the nomination of Pete Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense: 

“The most consequential cabinet official in any Administration is the Secretary of Defense. In the face of the gravest threats to U.S. national security interests since World War II, this position is even more important today. 

“Major adversaries are working closer together to undermine U.S. interests around the world. And America’s military capabilities and defense industrial capacity are increasingly insufficient to deter or prevail in major conflict with China or Russia, especially given the real risk of simultaneous challenges from other adversaries like Iran or North Korea. 

“Stewardship of the United States Armed Forces, and of the complex bureaucracy that exists to support them, is a massive and solemn responsibility. At the gravest moments, under the weight of this public trust, even the most capable and well-qualified leaders to set foot in the Pentagon have done so with great humility – from George Marshall harnessing American enterprise and Atlantic allies for the Cold War, to Caspar Weinberger orchestrating the Reagan build-up, to Bob Gates earning the wartime trust of two Commanders-in-Chief, of both parties. 

“Mere desire to be a ‘change agent’ is not enough to fill these shoes. And ‘dust on boots’ fails even to distinguish this nominee from multiple predecessors of the last decade. Nor is it a precondition for success. Secretaries with distinguished combat experience and time in the trenches have failed at the job.

“Effective management of nearly 3 million military and civilian personnel, an annual budget of nearly $1 trillion, and alliances and partnerships around the world is a daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people and our global interests. 

“Mr. Hegseth has failed, as yet, to demonstrate that he will pass this test. But as he assumes office, the consequences of failure are as high as they have ever been. 

“The United States faces coordinated aggression from adversaries bent on shattering the order underpinning American security and prosperity. In public comments and testimony before the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Hegseth did not reckon with this reality. 

“President Trump has rightly called on NATO allies to spend more on our collective defense. But the nominee who would have been responsible for leading that effort wouldn’t even commit to growing America’s defense investment beyond the low bar set by the Biden Administration’s budget requests. 

“In his testimony before the Committee, Mr. Hegseth provided no substantial observations on how to defend Taiwan or the Philippines against a Chinese attack, or even whether he believes the United States should do so. He failed, for that matter, to articulate in any detail a strategic vision for dealing with the gravest long-term threat emanating from the PRC. 

“Absent, too, was any substantive discussion of countering our adversaries’ alignment with deeper alliance relationships and more extensive defense industrial cooperation of our own. 

“This, of course, is due to change. As the 29th Secretary of Defense, Mr. Hegseth will be immediately tested by ongoing conflicts caused by Russian aggression in Europe and Iranian-backed terror in the Middle East. He will have to grapple with an unfinished FY25 appropriations process that – without his intervention – risks further harming the readiness of our forces. 

“By all accounts, brave young men and women join the military with the understanding that it is a meritocracy. This precious trust endures only as long as lawful civilian leadership upholds what must be a firewall between servicemembers and politics. The Biden Administration failed at this fundamental task. But the restoration of ‘warrior culture’ will not come from trading one set of culture warriors for another.

“The single most important way for Secretary Hegseth to demonstrate his professed devotion to America’s warfighters will be to equip them – urgently – to deter aggression… and rebuild the defense industrial capacity to restock the depleted arsenal of democracy. In this cause, he will find willing partners on the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, which will expect and receive his candid testimony. 

“I wish Secretary Hegseth great success, and I look forward to working closely with him to restore American hard power. Every member of the uniformed services will be looking to him for decisive, principled, and nonpartisan leadership.”

[usafphantom2]

RAF and Boeing explore sustainable aviation opportunities in Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 08/19/23 - 13:00 in Military

A joint structure was signed at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo by representatives of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and Boeing to explore sustainable aviation opportunities in the Poseidon MRA1 fleet.

The joint structure will focus on life cycle assessments, end-of-service aircraft value capture, digital tools to optimize flight activity and environmentally sustainable maintenance activities.

The initiative follows the launch of the Net Zero Defense Aviation Strategy, which details how military aviation will contribute to Her Majesty's Government's Net Zero 50 goal. Boeing was one of the first signatories of the Charter.

Representatives of RAF and Boeing signed a new letter on sustainability initiatives alongside Deputy Chief of Staff Air Marshal Richard Maddison. The letter was signed in Squadron 603 (Edinburgun City).

The structure will explore opportunities to improve the resilience and operational effectiveness of the RAF fleet of nine Poseidon, reducing operating costs and environmental impacts.

The Poseidon MRA1 is a multifunctional maritime patrol aircraft, equipped with sensors and weapon systems for anti-submarine warfare, as well as surveillance and search and rescue missions. The aircraft is a military derivative of a Boeing 737-800 Next Generation and presents opportunities to improve operational effectiveness.

“Boeing is proud to take this step forward with the RAF as we work together to explore opportunities to make the defense aerospace sector more sustainable and develop our recent commitment to the Net Zero Defense Aviation Strategy and our continued investment in Scotland. The UK P-8A fleet based on RAF Lossiemouth and housed in The Atlantic Building, a joint £100 million investment by Boeing and the Ministry of Defense, offers opportunities to test and leverage sustainable technologies that will further increase the operational effectiveness of the fleet and reduce its environmental impact,” said Steve Burnell, managing director of Boeing Defense UK.

The Defense Aviation Net Zero Strategy describes the steps necessary to fulfill the commitment to decarbonize Defense's aviation capacity, as well as to mitigate the potential risks to operational effectiveness that are likely to arise due to climate change (Defense aviation emissions currently represent approximately 60% of the operational emission capacity of the MoD).

Boeing and RAF co-chair the Defense Supplier Forum Climate Change and Sustainability Aviation Group, which provides leadership and strategic direction in defense aviation activity. Initiatives already underway include the RAF working with industry leaders Zero Petroleum Ltd to research and develop synthetic fuel technology, which has the potential to eventually eliminate dependence on fossil fuels. In November 2022, RAF and industry partners flew a Voyager (A330) using 100% sustainable fuel, a world premiere for a military aircraft of its size and the first of any type of aircraft in the United Kingdom.

Tags: Military AviationboeingP-8A PoseidonRAF - Royal Air Force/Royal Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Daytona Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work around the world of aviation.

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