Drones Are Transforming Modern Warfare, Can US Keep Up?

MONDAY PDB – Japan's defense chief calls for more counter-drone tech. This, after drone footage posted on Chinese social media showed a Japanese aircraft carrier docked at a restricted port west of Tokyo. But it's not just Japan being targeted.

US Navy probes apparent drone footage of USS Ronald Reagan posted on social media. The Navy has not concluded that a drone flew over the home of the U.S. 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan.

MEANWHILE – Swarm pilots will need new tactics — and entirely new training methods: Air Force special-ops chief. AFSOC will expand on groundbreaking experiments this summer.

AND A NEW THING – Air Force jets are sporting new kill markings after downing drones. One of the fighter squadrons that helped shoot down dozens of Iranian missiles last month has some fresh paint honoring those kills.

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:

NATIONAL SECURITY

Former passenger jets bought by US firm tasked with creating next generation of nuclear ‘Doomsday' planes. Also known as the E-4B “Nightwatch,” the planes are designed to be command-and-control centers in the event of a national emergency that sees command facilities on the ground destroyed, such as nuclear war.

HOMELAND SECURITY – LAW ENFORCEMENT

Experts say gun alone doesn't justify deadly force in airman shooting. On May 3, Roger Fortson opened the door of his Florida apartment with a gun in his hand and was immediately shot six times by a sheriff's deputy responding to a complaint about an argument.

POLITICS

Democrats impeached Trump over this. Why not Biden? Threatening to withhold weapons from an ally for a political purpose—sound familiar? BIDEN IS NOW DOING THE SAME THING WITH ISRAEL TO GET FAR-LEFT AND MUSLIM VOTES.

Graham says he trusts Israel more than Pentagon chief. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he trusts Israel more than Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after Team Biden warned it will stop sending weapons to Israel if it invades Rafah.

Blinken delivers some of the strongest US public criticism of Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israeli tactics have meant “a horrible loss of life of innocent civilians” but failed to neutralize Hamas leaders and fighters and could drive a lasting insurgency. Blinken also noted findings of a new Biden administration report to Congress that said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law.

US POWER OVERSEAS

American aid ship heads to Gaza from Cyprus, but the system for unloading it still isn't in place. The temporary floating pier constructed by the U.S. military is not in place to unload the food and supplies meant for the enclave.

Pentagon orders all US combat troops to withdraw from Niger. The timeline could still shift and congressional negotiations are ongoing.

New strategic military sites in Philippines exercised in Balikatan. New military sites designated under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the U.S. and the Philippines allowed forces during the bilateral Balikatan exercise to test their strategic effectiveness and to work on improvement projects there.

Virginia National Guard forges partnership with Finland's armed forces. Finland is the latest country to join the U.S. National Guard's state partnership program, an initiative that aims to strengthen allied forces by connecting them to American reserve forces for long-term collaboration.

Is a US-Saudi defense pact ‘very close'? There are two big reasons for skepticism. Despite optimistic talk from top diplomats in both the US and Saudi Arabia, regional experts don't see any movement in the near term, due both to Riyadh's demands and the Gaza conflict.

German Defense Minister: Restart conscription, pursue 3 percent GDP on defense. He encouraged allies, including the US, to “arrive” at military expenditure of 3 percent GDP – though declined to put forward a timeline for such change to occur.

ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST TERRORISTS

Israel moves deeper into Rafah and fights Hamas militants regrouping in northern Gaza. The exodus of Palestinians from Gaza's last refuge accelerated Sunday as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the southern city of Rafah. Israel also pounded the territory's devastated north, where some Hamas militants have regrouped in areas the IDF said it had cleared months ago.

CHINA THREAT

Make China stop helping Russia's war — the hard way, if necessary. Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to China to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other Chinese dignitaries. They focused part of their discussion on Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Former US Marine pilot arrested in Australia worked with Chinese hacker, lawyer says. The pilot fighting extradition from Australia on U.S. charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers, unknowingly worked with a Chinese hacker.

US aims to stay ahead of China in using AI to fly fighter jets. Two Air Force fighters recently squared off in a dogfight in California. One was flown by a pilot. The other wasn't.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

Putin replaces defense minister. Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed replacing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu with former vice prime minister Andrei Belousov. The shakeup also comes as Russia launched a new major offensive Friday in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, making critical advances in the Donetsk region after a monthslong delay of new U.S. military aid to Kyiv.

Pentagon announces $400 million in Ukraine arms transfers. This, its second package since Congress passed a foreign aid bill last month with additional Defense Department funding to support Kyiv.

Germany to buy US HIMARS launchers for Ukraine. It will buy three HIMARS from U.S. military stocks and give them to Ukraine.

OF COURSE HE WAS. RUSSIANS USED STANDARD ‘HONEY POT' PLOY – Mother of soldier being held in Russia believes he was lured there. The U.S. soldier being held in Russia on theft charges was lured by intelligence officials trying to capture a politically valuable prisoner.

US MILITARY

OOOORAH! Marine shielded his student from grenade with his body — and survived. When then-Sgt. Brett Meil saw one of his students inadvertently activate a grenade during Marine infantry training in June 2023, he yelled at him to toss the grenade into the target area.

WATCH – Special ops jet packs? See SOF pilots soar over the Garrison Channel during capabilities demo.

US special operations leaders are having to do more with less. Commanders are juggling how to add more high-tech experts to their teams while still cutting their overall forces by about 5,000 troops over the next five years.

On a DC sidewalk, a race to save a Marine general's life. Gen. Eric M. Smith collapsed in cardiac arrest while out for a run. This is the remarkable, previously untold story of how he survived.

Marine reunites with good Samaritan who saved his life. A good Samaritan named Tim LaLonde, who had run an ultramarathon that morning and happened to be nearby, did CPR for 10 minutes on Gen. Smith before an ambulance arrived.

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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