War Machine

On a sombre note just to cheer all up MOD running costs have been examined. Deficit ~£16b may turn out to be up to 20 odd. Criticised for wasted expenditure.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has not credibly demonstrated how it will manage its funding to deliver the military capabilities the Government wants. In a report published today, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) calls on the Government to get firmer control of defence procurement, amid the largest deficit ever between the MoD’s budget and its military capability requirements.
Despite a budget increase of £46.3 billion over the next ten years compared to last year’s Equipment Plan, this year’s Plan’s £16.9bn deficit marks an unmistakable deterioration in its financial position. The PAC warns that the real deficit would actually be £12bn bigger than the £16.9bn estimate if all parts of the Armed Forces took the same approach to including the full costs of all the capabilities that the government expects them to deliver.

From the full report summary
In this Committee’s report on last year’s Plan, we commented that we saw the same problems recurring year-on-year, with many defence procurement programmes being delayed and over-budget. We are disappointed, if not surprised, that these failings are evident yet again. The need for the MoD to assert firm control on defence procurement remains as acute as ever.

Some don't work out let alone go over budget.
 
The navies of China, Iran and Russia have begun joint drills in the Gulf of Oman, their fifth common military exercise in recent years. Russia’s defence ministry said the exercises that will run through Friday and involve warships and aviation would focus on the protection of “maritime economic activity”.

State media reported that a grouping of ships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet, led by the Varyag cruiser, arrived at the Iranian port of Chabahar on Monday ahead of the drills that will see representatives from the navies of Azerbaijan, India, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan and South Africa act as observers.

Al Jazeera.com

Azerbaijan has a navy - who knew? Alongside the Royal Navy and the Americans i'm sure they'll all get along swimmingly. Those Hootys have really stuck their oar into global affairs this time.
 
With all this tension at sea next thing the Swiss navy will be putting out to sea
 
Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member countries agreed to the overhaul of the European Peace Facility (EPF) fund at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday after months of wrangling, with EU heavyweights France and Germany at the centre of much of the debate...The fund operates as a giant cash-back scheme, giving EU members refunds for sending munitions to other countries. Diplomats said compromise was eventually reached allowing flexibility on the “buy European” rules and taking into account part of the value of bilateral aid when calculating members’ financial contributions.

The United States on Tuesday announced a new $300m weapons package for Ukraine, but a further $60bn in funding remains stalled by Republicans in Congress.

Meanwhile, Russia has stepped up its arms production by putting its economy on a war footing and has received major deliveries of weapons from Iran and North Korea.

Al Jazeera
 
EU leaders agreed to push the European Investment Bank to be more flexible in its lending policy to defense companies, which is now too risky for the bank. But they disagreed on the bigger picture of a grand push for European financing of weapons to Ukraine, for example through defense bonds. The possibility of EU joint bonds is backed by France, Estonia, Poland and others but strongly opposed by the more frugal countries, such as Germany, The Netherlands and Austria.

The head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak said: "I once again heard from Mr. Sullivan that the US supports Ukraine. We know that the Biden administration does everything possible for the so-necessary $60 billion aid bill to be adopted. I also want to say our strategic partner even in this situation finds a way to help us. We got $300 million in military aid last week."
 
  • The summit in Brussels came as Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, dealt with the aftermath of a massive missile attack. Russia fired more than 30 missiles at Kyiv early on Thursday. Ukraine’s air force said it shot them all down; regardless, 17 people were wounded in the city and surrounding region by falling debris. A later strike on the southern city of Mykolaiv killed one woman and injured six, Ukraine’s emergency services said.
The attack cost Russia almost $400m and achieved the square root of sod all - money well spent.(y)
 
Japan’s Cabinet OK’d a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets to other countries on Tuesday, its latest step away from the pacifist principles the country adopted at the end of World War II. The controversial decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in a year-old project to develop a new fighter jet together with Italy and the U.K., but it’s also part of a move to build up Japan’s arms industry and bolster its role in global affairs. For now, Tokyo says that it doesn’t plan to export co-developed lethal weapons other than the new fighters, which aren’t expected to enter service until 2035.

Associated Press

Another major economy adjusting to the new geopolitical reality by strengthening its arms industry: China is making everyone very nervous as their avowed declaration to take back Taiwan by 2042 creeps closer. It might seem like a long way off but the origins of WW1 lay in the arms race at the end of the 19th century and took a generation to lead to all out war. Be prepared. The next generation will have their hands full, by the looks of things to come.
 
Russian forces continued to make minor gains on Ukraine’s eastern front in the past week, as they have done since the fall of Avdiivka on February 17.

Much of the pressure on Ukrainian defenders comes from Russian glide bombs – enormous munitions capable of creating a crater 6 metres (20 feet) deep and 20 metres (66 feet) wide, with a destructive radius hundreds of yards across. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba recently said Russia dropped 700 of these in just one week, and that the only way to counter them was to shoot down the aircraft that carry them. Glide bombs were originally inertial munitions retrofitted with wings to give them range, but the IISS recently said Russia had developed a smarter glide bomb that was satellite-guided.

On Friday, Ukrainian media quoted military intelligence and security service sources as saying Ukraine had struck four airfields using drones – Engels, 730km southeast of Moscow; Morozovsk, 870km southeast of Moscow; Yeysk, 1,000km south of Moscow; and Kursk, 450km southwest of Moscow.

A day before the Ukrainian strike, Russian ground forces renewed their efforts to edge westwards from Bakhmut, a city they captured last May. Their strategic objective appeared to be Chasiv Yar – a town barely 5km west of Bakhmut, which they pushed towards intensively in the last 10 days of March. The other notable direction of Russian advance was west of Avdiivka, where Russian forces overtook the village of Krasnohorivka over the weekend. By Saturday, seven weeks after taking Avdiivka, they found themselves 10km west of it, close to the village of Umanske and halfway inside the village of Pervomaiske.

More news...@Al Jazeera
 
2024-04-09T095616Z_970621116_RC2I27AE5VCP_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CRIMEA-1712738382.jpg


Portraits of Russian service members killed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the pro-war symbol ‘Z’ are projected onto the State Council building in Simferopol, Crimea [Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters]
 
Meanwhile Ukraine is having power problems as this is what the Russians are hitting.
US a bit concerned about Ukraine hitting Russian oil as it might cause price rises.

Another area. A UK analyst thinks Lebanon has enough kit to cause Israel serious problem. However he also thinks neither them, Iran or Israel really fancy an all out war. An academic pundit has somewhat different views as an Iranian embassy has been hit. He thinks Israel wants a war and the decision to hit the embassy relates to this.
 
JonathanM said:
It wouldn't surprise me. Netanyahu will go to extreme lengths to save his own skin.
Click to expand...
Maybe to drag the USA in. I wonder if they would be happy with that. There is a view that Biden's handling of Gaza will interfere with his election but on the other hand no way will some vote for Trump.
 
China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine, according to a U.S. assessment. Two senior Biden administration officials, who discussed the sensitive findings Friday on the condition of anonymity, said that in 2023 about 90% of Russia’s microelectronics came from China, which Russia has used to make missiles, tanks and aircraft. Nearly 70% of Russia’s approximately $900 million in machine tool imports in the last quarter of 2023 came from China.

Chinese and Russian entities have also been working to jointly produce unmanned aerial vehicles inside Russia, and Chinese companies are likely providing Russia with nitrocellulose used in the manufacture of ammunition, the officials said. China-based companies Wuhan Global Sensor Technology Co., Wuhan Tongsheng Technology Co. Ltd. and Hikvision are providing optical components for use in Russian tanks and armored vehicles. The officials said Russia has received military optics for use in tanks and armored vehicles manufactured by Chinese firms iRay Technology and North China Research Institute of Electro-Optics, and China has been providing Russia with UAV engines and turbojet engines for cruise missiles.

Russia’s semiconductor imports from China jumped from $200 million in 2021 to over $500 million in 2022, according to Russian customs data analyzed by the Free Russia Foundation, a group that advocates for civil society development. Beijing is also working with Russia to improve its satellite and other space-based capabilities for use in Ukraine, a development the officials say could in the longer term increase the threat Russia poses across Europe. The officials, citing downgraded intelligence findings, said the U.S. has also determined that China is providing imagery to Russia for its war on Ukraine.

Associated Press

The US and EU had better get their industry into gear before the end of this year otherwise it could all end badly for Ukraine. China is using this war as a testing ground for tech. and developing new weapon systems. The recent military exercise between America, Japan, UK, Australia and Phillipines was unprecedented. By the time it's all over in Crimea the next war should be ready to rock.
 
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