MONDAY PDB – At least 3 Marines killed, more injured in Osprey crash in Australia. Five others were in serious condition, and others unaccounted for, after an MV-22 Osprey crashed with 23 service members aboard. There may be more dead.
The crash occurred at 9:30 a.m. local time on Melville Island, north of Darwin, Northern Territory, during Exercise Predators Run. The 12-day exercise is scheduled to end Sept. 7.
About 150 U.S. Marines are currently based in Darwin, and up to 2,500 rotate through the city every year. They're part of a realignment of forces in the Asia-Pacific to face an increasingly aggressive China.
The Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft that can take off and land vertically but fly forward like an airplane, has had fatal accidents in the past.
This was the second deadly Marine aircraft crash in less than one week. Maj. Andrew “Simple Jack” Mettler died on Thursday after his F/A-18D Hornet jet crashed near Miramar, California.
SEMPER FI AND RIP, BROTHERS
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
NO – SURPRISE – IT IS THE PRESIDENT AND HIS PENTAGON TAXPAYER-FUNDED ABORTION TRAVEL MANDATE – Our military is being held as political hostages. Imagine this: One person wielding arbitrary power over 1.5 million military family members. But surprise, it's not the president — it's Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
NATIONAL SECURITY
AND TOO MANY CONSERVATIVES FALL FOR IT – Newly declassified US intel claims Russia is laundering propaganda through unwitting Westerners. Russian intelligence systematically launders pro-Kremlin propaganda through private relationships with unwitting US and western targets.
BIDEN'S AFGHAN DISASTER
THE BUCK STOPS WITH BIDEN – GOP rep introduces resolution to impeach Austin over Afghanistan retreat. Conservative lawmaker Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) introduced articles of impeachment Friday against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, accusing him of ignoring key intelligence and pushing through the chaotic 2021 retreat that resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members.
BIDEN KILLED THEM – Biden honors service members killed during Afghanistan withdrawal. A bomb by the Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Aug. 26, 2021, killed 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians.
Slain Marine's family plans to refile lawsuit against Alec Baldwin. Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum was killed at age 20 during the 2021 suicide attack in Kabul.
HOMELAND SECURITY
NORAD scrambled 2 F-16 fighters that fired flares to flag down a civilian aircraft that got too close to Biden's billionaire's vacation spot. NORAD fighters ultimately helped escort the plane out of the Lake Tahoe area.
CHINA THREAT
China sends aircraft, ships toward Taiwan after US approves arms sale. The dozens of aircraft and vessels were sent just days after the U.S. approved a $500-million arms sale.
EVERYTHING WITH CHINA TOUCHES ON SENSITIVE ISSUES! – US will not compromise with China on national security. US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo began her China tour Monday with a warning that Washington would not bend on national security, but saying she saw opportunities in most bilateral trade that did not touch on sensitive issues.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
WHO KNOWS! – Russia says it confirmed Wagner leader Prigozhin died in a plane crash. Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement on Sunday that genetic testing had identified all 10 bodies recovered at the site of the crash.
Kremlin issues executive order that could require Wagner mercenaries to take loyalty oath to Russia. This follows the apparent death/murder of the Wagner chief.
Russia shells northern Ukraine as UK warns of second Russia takeover. Russian forces struck a cafe in a key front-line area in northeastern Ukraine Saturday, killing two civilians.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 551. Russia launched an overnight cruise missile attack on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine. While Ukraine's air defenses intercepted the incoming missiles and falling debris damaged a dozen homes.
Ukraine's counteroffensive might yet surprise critics. The rapid Ukrainian breakthrough and advance that many hoped for has not occurred. Media coverage has grown gloomier in recent weeks with fragmentary journalistic accounts from the front. But there is more to the story.
RIP – Ukraine investigates incident that killed three top military pilots. Russian forces, in the meantime, targeted central and northern regions of Ukraine with cruise missiles overnight.
SPACE THREAT
24 hours to launch: Space Force, DIU kick off new ‘Tactically Responsive Space' mission. The program, called Victus Haze, builds on the on-going Space Systems Command Victus Nox mission to rapidly launch a prototype satellite for keeping tabs on objects in low Earth orbit.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Australia, Philippines hold military drills, plan South China Sea patrols. Approximately 1,200 Australian soldiers and 560 Filipino marines took part in military exercises that involved storming a beach.
US airstrike kills 13 Al-Shabab militants. The U.S. military in Africa (AFRICOM) reported a “collective self-defense” airstrike against al-Shabab militants — killing 13 fighters in Somalia.
PLAYING WITH FIRE – Balancing act: Asked about China's Middle East arms sales, Qatari PM lauds US ‘defense alliance.' Qatar's Prime Minister Sheik said that while the Gulf nation “welcomes” cooperation with any country, it won't come at the expense of relationships with another.
Russia has highly likely cancelled ZAPAD 23, UK says. Russia has highly likely cancelled its planned joint strategic exercise, which should have taken place in September.
Russia's Wagner mercenaries face uncertainty with chief presumed dead. The Group's presence extends from the ancient battlegrounds of Syria to the deserts of sub-Saharan Africa, projecting the Kremlin's global influence with mercenaries accused of using brutal force and profiting from seized mineral riches.
US MILITARY
Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings the robot wingman to aerial combat. An Air Force program shows how the Pentagon is starting to embrace the potential of a rapidly emerging technology, with far-reaching implications.
FIGHTING AND DRINKING – Former Navy SEAL who claims he killed Osama bin Laden arrested. The former Navy SEAL was charged in Texas on a third-degree misdemeanor.
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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