THURSDAY PDB – The Luna 25 mission – Russia's first trip to the moon in almost 50 years – aims to explore the south polar region, eyed by the U.S. and other nations as a site for future lunar bases. It is expected to launch aboard a Soyuz-2 Fregat rocket on August 11.
A successful Luna-25 touchdown would represent a major milestone in Russia's quest to revive its lunar program after years of dormancy, especially as questions swirl about the health of Moscow's space program.
Moon base prep: Luna-25's upcoming visit to the south pole comes as Russia and China are working on an ambitious long-term plan to set up a permanent ILRS moon base at the lunar south pole by 2028.
The Luna-25 mission is expected to provide valuable insight on the local environment ahead of ILRS development and future crewed missions. (RELATED: If China Wins Space Race – US Could Lose The Moon – And A Lot More)
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 QUOTAS OR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION – Air Force leadership pushing for greater diversity among officers, as Academy sees roughly stable numbers among women, rise in Asian students. Across the lines of freshmen joining their new squadrons at the Air Force Academy Wednesday marched 325 women representing a little less than a third of the class.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The US wants witnesses to report UFOs. But there's not always a clear way to do so. Witnesses say they're getting frustrated and feel forced to turn to Capitol Hill or outside groups to tell their stories.
DARPA, White House launch $20M AI, cybersecurity challenge. The Biden administration also unveiled a new executive order targeting US investment in Chinese AI, quantum and microelectronic tech.
CHINA THREAT
China's war planners are leaning harder on its militia. The PLA's reserve auxiliary force dwarfs the regular military, but is understudied and too often overlooked.
Taiwan reports second large-scale China air force incursion this week. Ten Chinese air force aircraft entered Taiwan's air defense zone on Wednesday accompanying five Chinese warships engaged in “combat readiness” patrols. (RELATED: Devastating US War With China Over Taiwan Coming Soon – But When?)
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Russia destroys drones near Moscow, as deeper attacks intensify. It was the 12th time in the past three weeks that Russian officials had reported intercepting such aerial attacks in the heart of the capital.
Explosion rocks Russian military optics plant near Moscow. Russian officials said one person was killed and dozens were injured in the blast. The warehouse is on the grounds of a plant that has produced night vision devices and binoculars.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 533. Two people were killed and seven wounded in an apparent Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
Poland plans to deploy 10,000 troops to its border with Belarus. This as Warsaw worries about the presence of Russian-linked mercenaries in Belarus and migrants trying to cross the border.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
Kim Jong Un fires top general, orders North Korean military to ‘gird for war.' North Korea's leader is creating a shakeup of the country's military leadership and wants his army to “gird for a war.”
IRAN THREAT
Iran says it has technology to build supersonic cruise missile. The announcement is likely to heighten Western concerns about Tehran's missile capabilities.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Inside the Air Force's massive mobility war game in the Pacific. Mobility Guardian helped solidify the use of the so-called “Second Island Chain” as a key logistics hub for the U.S. and its allies in a future war.
First flight test for Guam missile defense planned for end of 2024. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is planning a first flight test of some elements that will make up the air and missile defense architecture of Guam.
US troops in Syria and Iraq launched 31 anti-ISIS missions in July. US and partner troops have carried out 279 missions in seven months in Iraq and Syria, killing 81 people and taking 380 prisoners, according to CENTCOM figures.
India, Japan, US, Australia hold first Malabar naval exercise off Sydney, Australia. It is the first time the war games previously held in the Indian Ocean have taken place in Australia.
In New Zealand, defense and security become election issues amid China's Pacific push. This, for the first time in decades, as opinion surveys show public concern about the security environment and how to respond to an assertive China.
Marines tapped to aid Papua New Guinea in wake of volcanic activity. Marines are preparing to assist Papua New Guinea with humanitarian aid after an active volcano erupted on the eastern island of Bougainville last month. (RELATED: Thousands Flee As Blazes Sweep Maui, Leaving Historic Town Destroyed)
Niger's ousted president reduced to eating dry rice as hopes for a peaceful resolution of the coup fade. Mohamed Bazoum, the democratically elected president of Niger, said he is being kept isolated and forced to eat dry rice and pasta by the military junta who overthrew him.
Time to change US policy toward Niger and its West African neighbors. There are three main problems—including that it's not working.
A US ally promised to send aid to Sudan. It sent weapons instead. U.A.E. arms shipments are fueling a war that has killed more than 3,900 people and run counter to Biden administration efforts to end the conflict.
US MILITARY
Beyond ‘bullet on bullet': NORTHCOM's new defense plan looks to kill missiles before they launch. “The best missile strategy is to destroy the missiles prior to launch. Need to focus on distributed non-kinetic systems with larger magazines and the ability to engage missiles before they can deploy complex decoys, countermeasures, maneuvers or multiple reentry vehicles.”
Fighting with lasers: Army to experiment with 50kw laser combined with kinetic air defenses. “What we don't know yet from directed energy systems, necessarily, is… how to fight [with] lasers on the battlefield, how to integrate kinetic and non-kinetic effectors,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch.
Navy extends service lives of four more destroyers. Each warship will now serve 40 years instead of 35.
USAF, Northrop test new tech that lets the B-2 update mission parameters ‘in seconds.' They successfully demonstrated the new mission update system for the B-2 at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., last month.
Frat house behavior: National Guard leader fired after sexism, toxic culture complaints. The National Guard's personnel chief was fired for being at the center of an office that was “a toxic cacophony of misconduct.”
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.
READ NEXT: Man Killed In FBI Raid Connected To Threats Against Biden, Democrat Officials
