FRIDAY PDB – Chinese escalations could spark war – China flies 38 warplanes near Taiwan, 6 navy vessels in area. It is the biggest such flight display since the large military exercise in which it simulated sealing off the island earlier in April.
AT THE SAME TIME – Tense face-off: Philippines confronts China over sea claims. A Chinese coast guard ship blocked a Philippine patrol vessel steaming into a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, causing a near-collision in the latest act of Beijing's aggression in the strategic waterway.
AND – China's secretive quest for heavier artillery. A now-deleted post reveals a research contract to test-fire 203mm shells, bigger than anything in the U.S. or Chinese arsenal.
MEANWHILE – China-focused panel preps proposals to rapidly arm Taiwan. The House committee dedicated to countering China is preparing bipartisan proposals for the fiscal 2024 defense authorization bill that would accelerate U.S. munitions production and arms transfers to Taiwan.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
POLITICS
GOOD – House rejects Rep. Gaetz pitch to withdraw all US forces from Somalia. The House voted against withdrawing U.S. troops from Somalia, and an AFRICOM unfunded priorities list requests additional funding to review troop levels.
NATIONAL SECURITY
‘SMALL NUMBER' IS WHAT TEAM BIDEN SAID ABOUT FOLKS IN AFGHANISTAN – Pentagon says ‘small number' of Americans in Sudan still trying to get out of the war-torn country. There are still those who want to leave as dangers from a violent power struggle linger in the northeastern African country.
HOMELAND SECURITY
MENTALLY ILL, POTENTIAL MASS MURDERER, WITH A CLEARANCE – Prosecutors: guardsman in leak case wanted to kill a ‘ton of people.' The 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents kept an arsenal of weapons, talked of “violence and murder” on a social media platform and an “assassination van.”
Two commanders suspended at base where alleged Pentagon leaker worked. The Massachusetts Air National Guard commanders were temporarily suspended last week in connection with a federal investigation into alleged classified intelligence leaker Jack Teixeira.
CHINA THREAT
Why China is trying to mediate in Russia's war with Ukraine. Chinese leader Xi Jinping says Beijing will send an envoy to Ukraine to discuss a possible “political settlement” to Russia's war with the country.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Russian warplanes are ‘trying to dogfight' US jets over Syria. “Don't take the bait,” the region's top Air Force general warns pilots.
NATO: Ukraine allies sent 1,550 combat vehicles, ‘vast' ammo. NATO allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine during Russia's invasion and war, the military alliance's chief said Thursday, giving Kyiv a bigger punch as it contemplates launching a counteroffensive.
Russia hits Ukraine with deadly missile salvo, killing at least 12. Russia fired a barrage of more than 20 cruise missiles and two explosive drones at Ukraine early Friday.
Ukrainian troops repel Russian attacks, and hope Western arms turn the tide. Fierce fighting has yielded heavy casualties but little movement. Ukraine needs heavy weapons to change that, but that's no guarantee.
Pace of US tank delivery to Ukraine draws fire in Senate. Sen. Tom Cotton took aim at President Biden, while Sen. Angus King bemoaned what he called “the longest windup for a punch in the history of the world.”
Russia needs more troops but is wary of public anger, leaked documents say. Putin's military commanders urgently need more troops, but Russian officials are wary of public anger.
IRAN THREAT
Iran seized oil tanker headed for Texas, US Navy says. Thursday's seizure by Iran was the latest in a string of hijackings and explosions to roil the region amid wider tensions over Tehran's nuclear program.
The Iranian drones deployed by Russia in Ukraine are powered by stolen Western technology, research reveals. It shows that Iran has built a powerful weapons industry based on Western technology, and how that technology is being used by Russia against Ukrainian cities.
SPACE THREAT
Space Force woos new launch bidders—but startups aren't quite ready. Established giants are likely to win the first contracts awarded under a novel “two-lane” approach.
Why can't they declassify the Space Force? Sorry. That's classified. A year after the Pentagon was to report to Congress on whether it could declassify more Space Force programs, lawmakers are still waiting.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Russia boosting combat readiness of its Central Asia bases to counter US. The Russian Defense Minister said on Friday that Moscow was boosting the combat readiness of its military bases in the region to counter U.S. efforts to grow its presence.
NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS BEING ON THE GROUND – How effective are US ‘Over-the-Horizon capabilities' in Afghanistan? A key part of “Over-The-Horizon capabilities” is information gathering.
US nuclear-powered submarine stops in Iceland for first time. The sub briefly visited Iceland this week, after the NATO ally approved such visits for the first time amid increased Russian underwater activity in the North Atlantic.
Why the French army will continue to prioritize quality over mass. Is the current French model of warfare viable? In 2021, this expert co-authored a study suggesting the answer is no.
US MILITARY
Robot rescue? Air Force seeks new way to recover downed troops. The Combat Search And Rescue (CSAR) helicopters it's currently buying can't handle the mission in a conflict with China.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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