The Muslims have a word for it: Inshallah, or "God wills it." As I said above, "I recall reading" and that is the extent of where it came from. I do not remember what I was reading, only that the gist of it is what I wrote.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 - 05:07 pm: Edit

The Arabs did do it, but the effect was negligible and Israel built massive desalinization plants to provide potable water so the Arabs abandoned the effort.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 - 05:21 pm: Edit

Quote: ... the effects on Israel are likely to be less than what you're doing to your own grandchildren ...

Do you really think they care?? To them, as long as they hurt the Infidels, nothing else matters.


Garth L. Getgen

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 - 06:56 pm: Edit

I suspect that what is being remembered here is reference to the counter-scheme that was attempted regarding the Israeli Jordan headwaters diversion scheme.

In early 1964, when Israel announced that the first stage of its diversion scheme was about to go into effect, the Arab heads of state convened their first summit meeting and decided to finance and protect militarily their own scheme. The director general of this Arab project, Subhi Kahhaleh, wrote that the Arab plan "would have recovered between 250 and 300 million cubic meters of their water resources for use in their own essential irrigation projects rather than losing all of it to Israel," and would have raised the salinity of Lake Tiberias, making its waters less suitable for Israeli irrigation projects. Israel responded with military strikes against the Syrian construction efforts and moved ahead with its own scheme.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 - 01:18 am: Edit

That was only one of several such Arab projects.

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 - 07:11 am: Edit

Looks like the IRA is becoming very vocal about Illegal Immigration....
The Protestants and Catholic citizens are joining together, to protest and even more, to get illegals out of Ireland....

One statement from IRA stated the illegals had 24 hrs to leave the country or they would be removed...

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 - 01:08 pm: Edit

There is a webblog (that I can identify if needed) that I cant post without violating the restrictions.

Suffice it to say, that it/they/them etc… are reporting that Ukraine managed to infiltrate an underwater drone up the Volga river deep into Russian territory to sink the vessel that is used to deliver missiles for Russian S-400 missile batteries used in the war against Ukraine.

In particular, they are reporting that 62 missiles (said to be the last scheduled delivery of 2026.) were loaded on ONE vessel. (Talk about putting all your eggs into one basket…)

If true, Russian air defense will have to “make do” with what is left on hand until 2027 . And even then, it has to get delivered to be of any use to the Russian forces.

I have looked for confirmation, but its only this one webblog reporting the event.

With Ukraine apparently able to strike river targets, Russian logistics are getting very seriously compromised given Ukraines proven ability to destroy cargo aircraft, rail bridges and road traffic bridges.

I sure would not want to be the messenger ordere$ to inform Putin….

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 - 02:58 pm: Edit

I would advise caution, in terms of gauging from a distance what is happening on either side of the Irish border; which iteration of a given paramilitary organization is being discussed; and what, if any, mandate such groups can reasonably claim.

-----

The "original" Irish Republican Army was involved in the Irish War of Independence. It operated as the (para-)military wing of the self-(re-)proclaimed Irish Republic; in political terms, those who had run, and won, as candidates for (the original) Sinn Féin in the 1918 UK General Election refused to take their seats in Westminster, and instead convened as the "First Dáil".

But even at the time, there was a quite stark difference in terms of how effective this campaign was on one side of the nascent Border: on the other side, things went rather less well, not least due to the presence of paramilitary forces on the Unionist/Loyalist side of the political spectrum.

-----

This "Original" IRA split in the wake of the Anglo-Irish Treaty - which both formalized the partition between the new Irish Free State and Northern Ireland; and obliged the former to be a Dominion of the British Empire, rather than a republic.

Those on the pro-Treaty side helped form the present-day Irish Defence Forces, and were bolstered by Irish veterans of the First World War. (Notably, those "Irish" regiments in the British army which had been mustered from the territory of the modern-day Irish state were disbanded, rather than being re-assigned to the new Irish armed forces.)

Those on the anti-Treaty side rejected anything short of a 32-county Republic, and took part in the Irish Civil War in order to further their aims.

In the end, the pro-Treaty side won, and the Free State began the gradual process of increasing its degree of self-governance through further negotiation - the "freedom to achieve freedom", as Michael Collins would have put it.

-----

In the decades since, a regular process of fission would take place in the anti-Treaty camp, as each generation would find itself choosing between the gun and the ballot box.

The first major case of this led to the formation of Fianna Fáil, which would go on to become one of the two main parties in (Republic of) Irish politics.

FF would itself clamp down on dissident groups during the "Emergency", so as not to compromise the State's neutrality during the Second World War.

Ironically, while a FF government introduced the present-day Constitution of Ireland, it would be a "rainbow coalition" led by Fine Gael - the heirs of those who had signed the Treaty - which would formally proclaim the Irish State as a Republic.

-----

The "IRA" which most people think of nowadays is/was the Provisional IRA, the result of several further splits within the dissident movement.

This was one of the Republican armed groups which was one one side of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland, with various Loyalist paramilitaries on another.

To be clear, however, neither the "Provo"-era Sinn Féin, nor the Loyalist parties claiming to speak for their side's armed groups, had majority support at the polls during this era.

During the peace process of the 1990s, things changed. As both Republican and Loyalist groups agreed to decommission their arms, in a process overseen by Canadian General John de Chastelain, a Sinn Féin committed to peaceful means via the Good Friday Agreement saw major gains at the ballot box, first in Northern Ireland, and more recently in the Republic.

On the Loyalist side, their representative parties did not gain comparable ground, but perhaps did not need to: the larger Unionist parties were, perhaps, sufficient for their would-be voters.

Yet still, there are a handful of groups who reject the Good Friday accords. It should be clear, however, that none of these groups have much, if any, popular electoral support, on either side of the Irish border.

-----

Which is not to say that things are entirely settled in Northern Ireland, alas.

There are still so-called "peace lines" in certain parts of Belfast. Perhaps not coincidentally, some of these barriers are in areas where the communities on either side of them have more acute struggles with economic deprivation.

Yet, despite this, the vast majority of people in Belfast, and elsewhere in Northern Ireland, have exactly zero interest in going back to the time of the Troubles.

The current "situation" might have its challenges to confront. But still, it's far preferable than the alternative.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 - 03:30 pm: Edit

To defeat a "superior" enemy you have to identify his weak points.

Russian logisitics. Russian manpower.

Strait of Hormuz. Israeli politics.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 - 05:04 pm: Edit

Paramilitary: Burner Phones Get Burned
August 12, 2026: The American government is seeking to eliminate or greatly reduce the use of burner phones. These are cheap, disposable phones that are often purchased by criminals and discarded after a crime is committed. The government plan involves requiring all telecommunications companies to create a database of personal information for all phone customers, including a government-issued identification number and their physical address. Criminals or intelligence agencies like the CIA, KGB, GRU, and MI6 will seek ways to obtain anonymous phones. These groups have the resources to make this happen, so burner phones will survive; they will just be more difficult to obtain. Currently there are about nine billion phones in use worldwide, and about five percent of those are burners.
One reason the intel agencies want to maintain a supply of burner phones is that the military has the means to intercept phone calls and use that information to get their job done. For example, the U.S. Army has MC-12 twin-engine propeller aircraft equipped to carry out phone traffic monitoring. These aircraft, or the larger four-engine versions, may be operating off Iranian borders right now, seeking interesting conversations.
There are ample opportunities for this sort of thing; in the past, Indian police in Kashmir revealed that they had uncovered the Islamic terrorist use of stolen cell phone IDs. Police had earlier tapped into terrorist satellite phones and two-way radio networks, forcing the rebels to use cell phones. The cell phone scam was discovered, and since then, police tracked down several dozen terrorists and supporters via lists of stolen cell phone numbers. The police discovered the scam when one rebel called in to take credit for an attack. They traced the cell phone number and found it did not belong to the person it was supposed to belong to.
FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 - 07:45 pm: Edit

Apparently Ukraine launched some kind of attack on the Kerch bridge but it failed. No details yet.

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Thursday, August 13, 2026 - 09:43 am: Edit

The Army MC12 were divested IIRC. I used to be the ground safety guy for the MC12 flying for TF Odin/ Thor in Afghanistan.

As a side not there are a lot of variant MC12s.

Vader with ground tracking radar
Liberty
EMARRS
Java Man (laser topo IIRC)
RC12G (called "pursuit" by the leadership, IIRC)
RC12H
RC12 guardrail (according o pilots really tough to fly)
MC12 w
MC12 S

At one point my 6 aircraft were flying around 18% of ALL US Army fixed wing hours. 3-4 sorties per day. So we'd swap them for refreshed ones & fly the tired ones back to the US. Afghanistan via he -stans to Turkey, Italy, Germany,, Britain, etc...

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Thursday, August 13, 2026 - 11:42 pm: Edit

The U.S.S. George Washington CVN-73, has been ordered to relieve the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.

The MSM (mainstream media) makes it sound like it is a reinforcement (strengthening) of the blockade of Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, but it actually is a relief of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln which has been on station for 250 days.

I feel for the crew, that is a very long time for a deployment (not to mention during combat operations…)

I predict that President Trump will NOT fly out to the ship before she reaches homeport, and there surely will not be a photo of POTUS standing on the deck of the carrier underneath a banner proclaiming “Mission Accomplished,”

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 02:12 am: Edit

About 1/4 of the 1.5 million square foot Wildberries warehouse in Voronezh was destroyed by drones on Aug 11.
THE MILITARY SHOW

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 07:46 am: Edit

Ukrainian spies blew up a train in Siberia. The train was completely loaded with North Korean artillery ammunition and KN23 solid fuel ballistic missiles. The train was totally obliterated, leaving a crater fifty feet deep. The trans Siberian railway is now completely cut and will take weeks to restore. Cargo can travel only if unloaded on one side of the crater and trucked to the other side in an area without paved roads.
SUCHOMIMUS

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 08:33 am: Edit

Pres. Trump is ordering the Navy to remove both EMALS and the electric weapons elevators from CVN-81 and return to using steam catapults and hydraulic elevators, per a directive issued Thursday in a memorandum to Sec. Hegseth:

Sec. 2. Restoring Steam and Hydraulic Systems to Carriers. Within 60 days of the date of this memorandum, the Secretary of War, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, shall provide to the President, through the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), a plan on the required measures to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Weapons Elevators with steam and hydraulic systems for the construction of CVN-81, including timelines and resourcing requirements.

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 11:22 am: Edit

Not going to happen in any reasonable time frame or budget.

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 02:44 pm: Edit

This is the Ford program. When did time frame, budget or even functionality ever matter?

--Mike

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 03:32 pm: Edit

Information Warfare: The Volhynia Files
August 14, 2026: Last month, Russia published the Volhynia Files, which described Ukrainian nationalist groups that murdered Polish civilians during World War II. This data was published on Poland's National Day of Remembrance. The Volhynia massacres continue to be a controversial matter between Poland and Ukraine, with each nation having a different interpretation and different attitudes toward these violent events.
Poland and Ukraine are also a large part of an Eastern European area called the Bloodlands where over 14 million people were slaughtered in the 1930s and World War II. The victims included 6 million Poles (20% of Poland’s population) murdered by the Nazis (half of them Jews) and 3.3 million Ukrainians (11% of Ukraine’s population) who died in the Holodomor, or Great Famine. Dictator Josef Stalin wanted to exterminate Ukrainians and ethnic Poles who resisted collectivization in the Soviet Union. Both Russia and Germany sought once more to eliminate Poland and incorporate its territories into the victorious nations.
Once the Germans invaded Russia in 1941, they proceeded to create 4.2 million victims of the Soviet Hunger Plan. The German plan included the deaths of up to 45 million Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Czechs as part of a plan for the land impoverished of their populations to be replaced by German farmers and tradesmen. Another 700,000 civilians, mostly Belarusians and Poles, were murdered by the Germans as reprisals during the German occupation of Belarus and the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Finally, there was the Holocaust that killed 5.4 million European Jews, plus another 300,000 deaths outside the Bloodlands.
Another factor in the history of the Bloodlands is the Cossacks, who for centuries were mounted warriors living on the fringes of the expanding Russian empire. Most of them were Russian but, in southern Russia, the region known as Ukraine also produced Cossacks, who fought nations to the west like Poland and Turks and Tartars to the south and east. Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian Cossacks have been used to augment the police force, while many joined the Russian army to fight in Ukraine. Over the last few years, a growing number of Russian Cossacks have been uniting with Ukrainian Cossacks to oppose Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Earlier, Russia, desperate to find more manpower to reinforce its troops in Ukraine, turned to its small Cossack population. Russia made a deal with the Cossack leadership to persuade the millions of Ukrainian and Russian Cossacks living in Russia to support the Russian war effort in Ukraine. Prior to 2024, Russia had not sought to recruit Cossacks. This was part of an effort to maintain and improve good relations with Cossacks in Russia. Eventually, more than 50,000 Cossacks had served in the Russian forces in Ukraine or the forces gathered to push Ukrainian forces out of Russia’s Kursk province. The Ukrainians entered Kursk in August. Russia also used 12,000 North Korean mercenaries for its Kursk counterattack.
FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 03:33 pm: Edit

You do have to consider that Trump just signed the order after the Navy could no longer define a path to working equipment. It's not like steam is a pet project of Trump.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 03:34 pm: Edit

Air Weapons: Affordable Cruise Missiles
August 14, 2026: The American military is planning to purchase 28,000 less expensive cruise missiles over the next five years. The cost is $450,000 each, about a third of what current cruise missiles cost. Eventually, the cost per missile will fall to half that price. Manufacturers of cheap missiles include Anduril, supplying its Barracuda-500; CoAspire, for its Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile; and Zone 5 Technologies, for its Rusty Dagger. These three firms are competing to drive prices down further. This will increase sales to the military, which is rebuilding its missile arsenal to replace heavy missile use during the Iranian War.
Existing American cruise missiles slated for replacement are still being upgraded. Three years ago, the American military placed a multi-year contract for 10,000 GMLRS guided rockets per year through 2026, at a cost of $170,000 each. An unspecified number will be the longer-range SDB version, which uses an SDB glide bomb as a second stage and extends range to 150 kilometers, compared with 70 kilometers for the standard rocket. The SDB uses multiple guidance systems to strike targets, including moving ones, with greater precision. Some SDB versions have been used effectively in Ukraine. Because of growing export orders, plans call for increasing total GMLRS production to 14,000 rockets per year. Ukraine is currently the largest GMLRS user, having received about 3,000 rockets and at least 20 HIMARS launcher vehicles in the past year, making it the largest combat user of GMLRS. U.S. forces previously used GMLRS in Iraq and Afghanistan. GMLRS entered service in 2004, followed by the smaller, truck-mounted HIMARS launcher in 2005. Together, GMLRS and HIMARS have proved popular with a growing number of export customers. GMLR-ER, the longer-range, 150-kilometer version of GMLRS, recently entered service.
Raytheon, the American manufacturer of Tomahawk cruise missiles, has received orders from Japan and Australia for a total of 600 of the new Mark V (5) version of the Tomahawk. Both countries will install the missiles on their warships to provide a long-range guided missile capable of hitting moving targets over 1,000 kilometers away. The Tomahawk has undergone a number of improvements over the last decade and is currently one of the most effective land-attack and anti-ship weapons available to American and allied warships.
In 2020, the U.S. Navy introduced Tomahawk Block 5, the first new version since Block 4 in 2005. The block versions actually represent an accumulation of individual upgrades that have turned the current Tomahawk into a substantially different cruise missile than the previous block. The unique new features of Block 5 include the ability to hit ship-sized targets at maximum range (over 1,600 kilometers) using a new target seeker. Block 5 also uses a new warhead with greater penetrating power against large warships and greater effectiveness against all targets. There are also upgraded communication and navigation systems which are more resistant to jamming and other EW (Electronic Warfare) measures. All this means Block 5 communications are more difficult to detect and disrupt. The navigation system can function even with heavy GPS jamming thanks to a more accurate, unjammable INS (Inertial Navigation System). Another notable feature is that Block 5 does not increase the price, which remains between $1 million and $1.5 million per missile, depending on the features. That’s a lot cheaper than high-speed missiles that cost three or four times more, are heavier and have shorter range. The relatively low cost of the Tomahawk makes it effective for more missions, like attacking land targets or being used in large numbers. All Block 4 Tomahawks are being upgraded to Block 5, and the remaining Block 3s will be retired because most were built in the 1990s and are no longer worth the expense of an upgrade and refurbishment.
Most Tomahawks in U.S. service are carried and fired from surface ships or nuclear submarines (SSNs) in VLS (Vertical Launch System) cells. There is also a torpedo-launched version which all British SSNs use. The Tomahawk has quietly become the primary offensive weapon for the American fleet.
The RGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile weighs 1.2 tons, is six meters (18 feet) long, and has a range of 1,600 kilometers. It reaches its target at a speed of 600-900 kilometers an hour, flying at an altitude of 17-32 meters (50-100 feet), and is propelled by a jet engine generating only 273 kg (600 pounds) of thrust. Accuracy is on a par with JDAM (10meters/31 feet). Tomahawk can be reprogrammed in flight to hit another target and carries a digital video camera to allow someone to check on prospective targets.
With Block 4 came the new JMEW (Joint Multi-Effects Warhead System) warhead. This is a 450 kg (1,000-pound) warhead designed mainly to penetrate underground bunkers, but it will also provide an excellent blast effect against less robust targets. Exact penetration was not revealed. JMEW uses laser terminal guidance, enabling it to hit within a few meters (ten feet) of its aiming point. JMEW can also hit moving targets, like ships.
The Tomahawk, when it showed up in 1983, was one of the first combat UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), but it wasn't reusable. The Tomahawk has been a primary land attack weapon for surface ships and submarines since the 1990s. Over 6,000 have been manufactured so far. The U.S. Navy has fired over 2,200 in combat and over 600 for training and testing. The U.S. Navy currently has over 3,000 Tomahawks on its warships or in storage. Tomahawk is expected to remain in service until 2040, with older ones refurbished to extend their useful lives. That usually means batteries and electronics are replaced or upgraded, along with elderly mechanical components.
Block 0, 1 and 2 Tomahawks were introduced during the Cold War, which ended in 1991. Some Cold War versions of Tomahawk were optimized for ranges of up to 2,500 kilometers, or for use from aircraft carrying nuclear warheads. These were gone by the time Block 3 entered service in 1994. In between new blocks, there were often major upgrades. Block 4 received a major upgrade in 2012 with the addition of GPS and in-flight remote control. The more recent upgrades improved the guidance system and defensive capabilities against electronic jamming. The need for these new features was recognized in 2015, when the Navy tested the current Block 4 Tomahawk to determine whether its new two-way communications capability could enable it to hit moving targets effectively. The Block 4 managed to do so, but not under combat conditions. That is, not with warships using defensive or electronic weapons to shoot down the incoming missile or mislead its guidance system. One navy test used a nearby aircraft, possibly a drone, to track the target ship's exact location. That could also be done from a space satellite. A fully developed anti-ship capability for the Tomahawk requires regular upgrades to the guidance system to enable it to operate without constant two-way communications.
The U.S. Navy is aware that the Tomahawk is not the ideal anti-ship missile. Against modern defenses, anti-ship missiles must travel faster than a Tomahawk and be equipped with a better terminal guidance system. The speed problem cannot be fixed, but the Tomahawk could be equipped with a more capable terminal guidance system. That might be able to handle the tracking and targeting systems for guns and missiles designed to knock down anti-ship missiles when they get close. In any event, Tomahawk Block 4 has a way to go before it is a competitive anti-ship missile against modern warships. But developing and testing upgrades will give Tomahawk a useful anti-ship capability without making it the most effective anti-ship missile on the market.
There are apparently some novel proposals for using a radically new anti-ship warhead that turns Tomahawk into a two-stage missile with the warhead making the final attack at much higher speed. That increases the cost and weight of the Tomahawk, a stable, reliable design with extensive combat experience. It was easier to tinker with the guidance system, warhead, and range and come up with affordable new capabilities that work. One reason for the continued usefulness of Tomahawk is its ability to do more and more things reliably and affordably. Many new cruise missile designs can do high-speed attack, but at great expense. Tomahawk can carry out a wide range of missions, many of which do not require high speed or a more elaborate terminal guidance system.
Because of these constant improvements and consistent reliability, American (and other) warships continue to use Tomahawks in combat regularly. The targets tend to be on land and not mobile. Most of these uses are publicized, but some are not. Several hundred Tomahawks were used in massed attacks against Libya in 2011, which demonstrated the effectiveness of Tomahawks in delivering major airstrikes on short notice, anywhere in the world without losing more expensive manned aircraft and exposing their pilots to getting shot down and captured. Tomahawk is also an ideal weapon for a potential war in the Pacific against China. This would be a war featuring large distances between targets, and Tomahawk can handle that, in addition to many other tasks. The fleet goes to sea with lots of Tomahawks, and quantity is an asset as well as reliability and a track record of success.
The planned Tomahawk replacement is currently the NGLAW (Next Generation Land Attack Weapon). Development of a successor to the Tomahawk has been underway since the 1990s, and the current (NGLAW) effort is for a cruise missile that will be heavier (2.2 tons), have a longer range (2,000 kilometers), and a larger (1-ton) warhead than the Tomahawk. NGLAW will be stealthier and use a combination of new guidance and targeting systems to improve the chances of success. Price will probably be the key factor, but it is expected to cost at least twice as much as Tomahawk. NGLAW has been going on for so long because it’s not easy to develop a Tomahawk replacement that justifies the higher weight and cost of a new missile while so many navies are satisfied with updated Tomahawks.
FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 03:34 pm: Edit

Making Poland Great Again
August 13, 2026: Currently, Poland ranks 9th in Europe by GDP at $1.13 trillion. Germany is the highest at $5.45 trillion, while Russia is 5 th with $2.09 trillion. In 1939, before Germany and the Soviet Union/Russia attacked Poland, it had a GDP of $74.6 billion, compared to Germany’s $351 billion, the Soviet Union’s $359 billion, America’s $800 billion, and Japan’s $169 billion. This explains the outcome of World War II, and the 2026 numbers make it clear that Poland is no longer a minor military power in Europe. Poland currently has the largest modern tank forces in Europe.
Three years ago, Poland ordered a thousand South Korean K2 tanks, most of which will be produced in Poland under license. The 55-ton K2 is similar to the American M1 but without annoying American export controls. K2 has a 120mm gun that can fire guided missiles, extensive electronic systems, and an autoloader. That means the crew size is three.
Poland is rapidly replacing its older tanks, giving most of them to Ukraine. Before the Russian invasion, Poland had 233 German Leopard 2s. These were acquired between 2002 and 2015. Poland also had 230 locally manufactured PT-91s, a major upgrade of the T-72 but still not on a par with Western designs (M1, Leopard 2, Challenger 2, and Leclerc). Ukraine is slowly receiving small numbers of M1s, Leopard 2s and Challenger 2s. Because of that, the PT-91s are welcome. Ukrainian tank and maintenance crews don’t require much additional training to use the PT-91.
The K-2 replaced older American M-48 tanks and completed the transformation of the South Korean tank force. Three decades ago, South Korea developed and built its own K-1 tank using assistance and licensed tech from the United States. The 51-ton K1 is based on the American M1 design but is somewhat smaller and equipped with the same 105mm gun used by the U.S. M60 tank. The K1 has a 1,200-horsepower diesel engine instead of the 1,500-horsepower gas turbine engine in the M1. Production of the K1 ended in 1997, with about a thousand built. There have since been some upgrades to the fire control and communications systems, as well as the development of the K1A1, which has the same 120mm gun as the M1, along with other equipment used by the M1, but not the K1. The K1A1 appears to be part of the K2 development project, as only two K1A1 prototypes were built and successfully tested.
Poland is also buying 1,400 locally designed and manufactured Borsuk (Badger) IFVs (infantry fighting vehicles). Poland has already retired its Russian-designed BMP IFVs, retaining only a few used for special duties. Poland also has 690 of the 22-ton Rosomak 9x9 wheeled IFVs. These are built in Poland under license from Finland’s Patria. Delivery to troops began in 2005. Some pre-production models were sent to Afghanistan in 2001, where Polish peacekeepers needed a vehicle like the Rosomak. The wheeled armored vehicle performed well in Afghanistan, withstanding Taliban attacks using RPGs.
Russia has openly named portions of Poland as some of its future targets for absorption into Greater Russia, otherwise known as the Russian empire. Belarus, the Baltic States and some former Soviet territories in Central Asia are also on the acquisition list. None of these targets for Russian aggression are willing to go peacefully. As the largest and wealthiest East European NATO member, Poland is leading the way by rearming to confront any future threat. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Poland decided to increase the size of the armed forces to 300,000 personnel and spend as much as 5 percent of GDP on defense. Current spending is 4.8 percent. NATO agreements call for 2% of GDP, but few European NATO members have met it. Now, more NATO members are reaching or exceeding 2%, and increases are higher the closer a country is to Russia.
Poland’s military achievements have been marred by a spat with Ukraine over events that took place during World War II. The Volhynia and Eastern Galicia massacres were blamed on Ukrainian UPA partisan units that were accused of murdering over 100,000 Polish civilians. The Ukrainians pointed out that Polish partisans killed at least 20,000 Ukrainians. Polish and Ukrainian partisans were both fighting the German forces occupying their territory.
Because of these 82-year-old events, opinion polls revealed that negative attitudes towards Ukrainians increased by nearly 50%. Mediators in both countries are urging Poles and Ukrainians to stay focused on defeating the Russians in Ukraine, because Russia admits that it will go after Poland and other portions of Eastern Europe once Ukraine is subdued.
FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 03:35 pm: Edit

Russia: Russian Designer Creates Ukrainian Missile
August 13, 2026: Russian entrepreneur Mikhail Kokorich founded Russia’s first non-government space company and is now designing inexpensive long-range drones for Ukraine. Kokorich founded Destinus, a manufacturing firm based in the Netherlands. Initially, Destinus built high-performance airplanes and propulsion systems. That changed after Ukraine was invaded. Kokorich renounced his Russian citizenship and turned to developing hypersonic drones with satellite-free navigation systems, as well as facilities to produce key components for his missiles and drones. At the same time, Destinus has produced thousands of its long-range drones and Ruta Block 1 mini cruise missiles for Ukraine. In addition, the Ruta Block 2 missile , with a range of over 700 kilometers, will enter production by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is developing a replacement for the American Patriot air defense system, the FP-7.x, that is cheaper, at $700,000, just as effective, and safer to use because Patriot radars, since their inception 44 years ago, have inadvertently broadcast their location to listening enemies. Each FP-7.x costs less than a fifth of the price of a Patriot PAC-3 anti-ballistic missile interceptor. FP-7.x also requires fewer personnel to maintain and operate a battery. For example, a Patriot battery is manned by about 100 troops, and each battery contains a radar and four launchers. A battery can fire two types of Patriot missiles. The more expensive $3.8 million PAC-3 missile is smaller than the PAC-2 anti-aircraft version. Thus, a Patriot launcher can hold sixteen PAC-3 missiles, versus four PAC-2s. A PAC-2 missile weighs about a ton; a PAC-3 weighs about a third of that. The anti-missile PAC-3 has a range of 20 kilometers, compared to 160 kilometers for the PAC-2 anti-aircraft version, which is used against low-flying drones. Given this long range, one Patriot PAC-2 anti-aircraft battery can cover more than 200 kilometers of land and coastal borders. Patriot can also take down cruise missiles, giving users some protection against just about everything the enemy can throw at them.
After nearly five years of war in Ukraine, both sides are relying on cheap, unmanned drones to replace most artillery and aircraft-delivered bombs and missiles. Drones are doing most of the reconnaissance and surveillance, as well as confirming the accuracy of aerial attacks and the enemy's current location. The latest Ukrainian innovation is a line of long-range drones capable of striking targets over 2,000 kilometers away. Using GPS/INS navigation and jam-resistant terminal pattern-recognition guidance, these drones have proved to be formidable aerial weapons. Recently, Ukraine began using longer-range attack drones to hit targets in and around Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Smolensk, and the nearby Crimean Peninsula. Russian air defenses shoot down many of these drones, but there are so many inexpensive drones being used that some get through and cause significant damage. When these exploding targets are within sight of a major city, it is difficult for Russian propagandists to claim nothing happened and all the Ukrainian drones were shot down. While the attacks on Moscow, St Petersburg and other large cities made Russian civilians aware of the war they were losing, they became even more aware when Ukraine destroyed several Wildberries warehouses. This is the Russian equivalent of Amazon, and Russians felt this loss very personally.
At the start of the war, Ukraine soon developed longer-range drones. Russia was playing catch-up. By early 2023, it was obvious that drones were dominating the battlefield in Ukraine. In July 2024, a senior Ukrainian defense official once more confirmed this and observed that the dominance of drones in combat was increasing. Since the war began in early 2022, drone use has increased at the expense of traditional artillery. The reasons are obvious. Drones are more flexible, cheaper, and come in many different models. Drones can be controlled by nearby operators and sent after targets over a thousand kilometers distant using GPS guidance and several backup systems if electronic jamming of GPS signals is encountered.
This drone revolution was made possible by increasingly inexpensive, more powerful electronics, as well as a highly developed amateur remotely controlled aircraft hobby. China dominated the consumer drone market, selling over a million of its Mavic quadcopters between 2021 and 2023. Hobby firms worldwide sold quadcopter and other drone parts so enthusiasts could build their own. A lot of those enthusiasts were Ukrainian and, when Russia invaded in early 2022, the many Ukrainian drone users, modifiers, builders and commercial manufacturers all got to work to defend the motherland.
Drones soon became the weapon of choice because, soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, both sides quickly lost most of their conventional offensive weapons in combat. These losses included armored vehicles, especially Russian tanks. Longer-range weapons, like artillery, which delivered most of its firepower to targets 30 kilometers distant, and a smaller number of guided missiles, which could reach targets over a hundred kilometers distant, tended to survive the heavy losses suffered by armored vehicles that fought at close range. The Ukrainians quickly ran out of artillery ammunition and were the first to adopt drones because they had to. The Russians are still trying to catch up.
The Russians lost most of their tube artillery in 2023-2024 by burning out their irreplaceable tube liners. By the second half of 2023, both sides had turned to drones, which were cheaper, easier to obtain, and provided more flexible alternatives. It was soon discovered that drones had seemingly endless new capabilities. One of the more crucial qualities was the ease of obtaining drones and modifying them or building larger or smaller versions. The technology required for current drone warfare has evolved over the last few decades as commercial quadcopters and hobbyist fixed-wing remotely controlled aircraft have achieved greater design and reliability maturity. This made it possible for users or developers to confidently and quickly modify existing drones to meet their needs.
Most of the resulting drones were short-range models operating no farther than ten kilometers from their user. Currently, this is over 40 kilometers. This made the combat zone much more dangerous than it had ever been. The surveillance was constant and round the clock. More expensive drones with night-vision sensors, usually based on a combination of object and heat detection and interpretation, provided adequate surveillance at night or in fog or misty conditions. Then there are logistical considerations. Reusable drones have to be recharged or refueled between missions. Drones built as single-use weapons must be checked out before use. This is especially true for the long-range attack models. These fixed-wing drones target targets a thousand kilometers or more away and tend to use a single diesel- or gasoline-powered engine. These engines must be sturdy and reliable because everything depends on a reliable propulsion system. Another critical component is the navigation and target acquisition system. Resistance to electronic jamming is essential. Electronic jamming technology constantly evolves to counter improved guidance systems, rendering earlier jammers ineffective or less effective. This makes every new drone design likely to be compromised and obsolete in short order. With the inexpensive technology drones use, rapid evolution is easier to achieve, and the ability to quickly develop ways to disrupt new tech is essential.
A major limitation is the need for trained drone operators. They require many hours of training before they can start operating these drones, and a few dozen more hours of actual use before they can make the most of the system. These drones are difficult to shoot down until they get close to the ground, and the shooter is within a few hundred meters, making it possible to target a drone with a bullet or two and bring it down. Troops are rarely in position to do this, so most of these drones can complete their mission, whether it is a one-way attack or a reconnaissance and surveillance mission. The recon missions are usually survivable and enable the drone to be reused. All these drones are constantly performing surveillance, which means that both sides commit enough drones to maintain constant surveillance over a portion of the front line to a depth of at least a few kilometers into enemy territory. The Ukrainians penetrate farther – they often have effective drone coverage 20 kilometers into Russian-held territory. This makes it extremely difficult for the Russians to supply their front-line troops, even with drinking water.
This massive use of FPV (First Person View) armed drones has revolutionized warfare in Ukraine, and both sides are producing as many as they can. Not having enough of these to match the number the enemy has in a portion of the front means you are at a serious disadvantage in that area. These drones are still evolving in design and use, becoming more effective and essential.
Ukraine has created a new branch of its military, the Drone Force. This is in addition to the Ukrainian Air Force that consists of manned aircraft. The Drone Force does not control the drones Ukrainian forces use regularly, but it does contribute to developing new drone models and organizing mass production of those that are successful. Drones have been an unexpected development that has had a huge impact on how battles in Ukraine's current war are fought. Drones were successful because they were cheap, easily modified, and expendable.
Both Russian and Ukrainian forces were soon using cheap quadcopter drones, at about $500 each, controlled by soldiers a kilometer or more away, using FPV goggles to see what the drone's day/night video camera could see. Adding night vision at least doubles the cost for each drone, so not all of them have that capability. Each of these drones carries half a kilogram of explosives, so it can instantly become a flying bomb that strikes a target and detonates. This is an awesome and debilitating weapon when used in large numbers over the combat zone. If a target isn’t moving or requires more explosive power than the drones can supply, one of the drone operators can call in artillery, rocket, or missile fire, or even an airstrike. Larger, fixed-wing drones are used for long-range operations, often over a thousand kilometers, against targets deep inside Russia.
FYEO

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 04:50 pm: Edit

By the Navy's own accounts, the lengthy teething problems with both EMALS and AWE were finally ironed out by the end of the post-deployment maintenance that wrapped up in April 2024 (the ship's sewage system, however, remains an unholy mess). At this stage, with the EMALS and AWE systems for CVN-81 roughly 50% built, a redesign to move back to steam catapults and hydraulic elevators - complete with the extensive piping, condensers, etc. in spaces no longer designed for those systems, to say nothing of reactivating manufacture of systems that haven't been in manufacture for close to two decades - is going to greatly set back the timeline for CVN-81 at a time when we're already holding over CVN-68 and CVN-69 due to a shortage of active carriers.

As for steam and Pres. Trump: I'm not so sure about it not being a pet cause of his, given his longstanding defense of "beautiful clean coal". Remember, it was just a few months ago that he ordered the Pentagon to secure long-term contracts with coal-powered generation plants.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Friday, August 14, 2026 - 05:07 pm: Edit

Jessica

"the ship's sewage system, however, remains an unholy mess"

That made me laugh

The relevant point is - will EMALS ever be 'fixed' enough to work... or is it felt to be terminal?

Wasn't EMALS able to launch planes faster than Steam?