Pacific Perspective:Marine Rotational Force Reports to RAAF Darwin - plus Australia's Optimal Path

The first of 2500 US Marines arrived by chartered airliner at RAAF Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory on 16 March 2023.The Marines are part of Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) under 1st Marine Regiment,Camp Pendleton,California.They will stay in Australia till October,training primarily with Indo-Pacific Region partners and deterring adversaries such as China and North Korea.It is their twelfth iteration of the annual deployment,which was initiated by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and President Barack Obama. Included in this year's deployment is the massive biennial Exercise Talisman Sabre,which brings together thousands of troops from Allies such as Australia,Japan,New Zealand,South Korea,the UK and the US.MRF-D will participate in high-end live fire drills.Besides the Northern Territory,they will train in Queensland and South Australia.* Eventually,US Navy and Royal Navy nuclear-powered attack submarines will rotationally deploy to Australia under the AUKUS defence pact beginning in 2027.According to the Royal Australian Navy:The pathway delivers significant long-term strategic benefits for Australia,the United Kingdom and the United States.It strengthens the combined industrial capacity of the three AUKUS partners,with increased cooperation making trilateral supply chains more robust and resilient.Key features of the AUKUS Optimal Pathway for Australian acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines include Increased Forward Presence of Royal Navy and US Navy nuclear-powered submarines to Australia to aid Australia in developing their knowledge base and industrial capabilities;the delivery of at least three Virginia-class attack submarines for the Royal Australian Navy beginning as soon as the early 2030s,with the potential to acquire up to two more if needed;the development,construction and delivery for the Royal Australian Navy of an advanced nuclear-powered submarine called 'SSN - AUKUS' incorporating Australian,UK and US technologies.* The Virginia-class attack submarines are designed and built by General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries.* General Dynamics (GD),Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)

Elk herd relocated from Salt Lake City golf course to mountains

Dynamic Front 23:Drills Prepare NATO Artillery for Crisis or Conflict

The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps announced that,working to the US Army 56th Artillery Command,it will be conducting Exercise Dynamic Front 23 from 13-31 March 2023 at Oksbol,Denmark,with concurrent drills for other formations at Grafenwoehr Training Area,Germany.More than 1700 military personnel from 18 NATO Allies and Partners will participate,including:Bulgaria,Czech Republic,Denmark,France,Greece,Georgia,Germany,Italy,Kosovo,Lithuania,Poland,Romania,Slovakia,Spain,Turkiye and the US.Dynamic Front will launch a training mission of synchronised command and fires planning,manoeuvring through a complex landscape of assembly area operations,artillery acumen,and live firing drills.The objective is to ensure that NATO forces are equipped with the capability to execute lethal fire support in wide-area ground combat across Europe.Said 56th Artillery Command commanding general Major General Stephan Maranian,US Army:With 18 nations participating,it will include artillery,air and naval gunfire with participants arrayed from Denmark in the north to Romania in the south.This year's exercise will extend our logisitics chains and exercise our communications systems,collectively demonstrating that our Alliance stands ready for any challenge,anywhere,at any time.* Promoting understanding,collaboration and interoperability,Dynamic Front 23 contributes significantly to regional stability and security by improving the ability of Alliance forces to operate effectively together in times of crisis or conflict,ARRC Public Affairs explained.* Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) provides NATO with a rapidly deployable,flexible HQ that can act as a Joint,Land or Corps HQ for operations or crisis response.Its multinational ethos,combination of cultures and innovation,strong professional reputation in NATO and proven track record in interoperability are unique among its High Readiness Force (Land) HRF(L) peers.HQ ARRC grew out of its antecedant,1st (British) Corps.Today it is based at Imjin Barracks,Gloucester,UK,and is the UK's largest deployable Land HQ.Unlike other HRF(L)s,it falls under the direct Operational Command of Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) during peacetime.About 60% of HQ ARRC's staff is drawn from the framework nation,the United Kingdom,but the organisation is fully multinational in nature and organisation,with 21 NATO and Partner Nations contributing personnel.HQ ARRC is prepared to deploy as a Corps HQ;a Land Component HQ;or a Theatre-level Joint Task Force HQ in order to meet NATO,EU,national or multinational requirements.Commander of HQ ARRC is Lieutenant General Nicholas R M Borton,British Army,DSO,MBE.* HQ ARRC is supported by 1st (UK) Signal Brigade's ARRC Support Battalion,providing a bespoke and resilient staff working environment,which can be deployed anywhere in the world at short notice to allow the ARRL to carry out its command role in any type of conflict.

Innoflight CEO Says Northrop Contract Represents "More Agile Approach To Space" - Avionics International

Innoflight CEO Says Northrop Contract Represents "More Agile Approach To Space" - Avionics International: Northrop Grumman chose Innoflight as a strategic avionics supplier for the Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL) program. The Space Development Agency is a unit of the US Space Force charged with developing disruptive space technology. Northrop Grumman (NOC)

Actions of Russian pilots were 'uncommon, unfortunate and unsafe' - Pentagon

U.S. Air Force, NATO. Powerful F-15 Eagle fighters intercept in Eastern Europe

Allied Air Command:Combined Air Operations for the Eastern Flank

On 9 March 2023,Allied Air Command led a dynamic,long-range operation above Romania.The Combined Air Operations Centre at Torrejon,Spain coordinated Allied bomber and fighter aircraft,NATO said.Romania is one of the Allies closest to the Ukraine War,being on NATO's Eastern Flank.During the drill,Italian Eurofighter Typhoons and US Air Force Boeing F-15E Strike Eagles supported by USAF B-52H strategic bombers carried out a simulated combined air offensive against adversary Air Defence systems simulated by Romanian F-16 Fighting Falcons,Spanish F/A-18 Hornets and the French Mamba Surface-Based Air and Missile Defence system (SBAMD) deployed in Romania. The participants were pitted against an intricate scenario based on near-peer threats,thus demonstrating Alliance readiness and capability for air control.The Allied units practised techniques,tactics and procedures (TTPs) designed to defeat a complex set of potential real-world challenges in a congested air domain,applying NATO standards against a full spectrum of threats.The operation was part of a programme of regular and repeated Vigilance Activities aimed at shielding NATO's Eastern Flank and reassuring Allies in the region.* The Boeing B-52Hs are currently on rotational deployment to Moron Air Base (pronounced Mor-OWN),Spain.Moron AB provides expeditionary combat support as an expandable Forward Operating Base to support transient/bed-down of aircraft operations;to provide staging of aircraft and personnel in support of US and NATO plans,exercises and contingency operations;and to provide Base Operating Support to tenant units. The B-52Hs at Moron are out of the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron,Minot Air Force Base,North Dakota.Such Bomber Task Force missions familiarise air crews with air bases and operations in different geographic combatant command Areas of Responsibility,validating our always-ready global strike capability.* Boeing (BA)

Boeing and Shield AI Explore Bringing AI-Enabled Autonomy to Military Aircraft - Avionics International

Boeing and Shield AI Explore Bringing AI-Enabled Autonomy to Military Aircraft - Avionics International: Boeing signed an MoU with Shield AI to explore leveraging capabilities in artificial intelligence and autonomy for autonomously piloting aircraft. Boeing (BA)

Dynamic Manta 2023:Anti-Submarine Warfare in the Mediterranean

NATO Exercise Dynamic Manta 2023 began on 27 February and continues through 10 March.It provides complex and challenging maritime warfighting training to all nine participating Allies:Canada,France,Germany,Greece,Italy,Spain,Turkiye,the UK and the US.The techniques,tactics and procedures (TTPs) emphasise anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and surface warfare in the context of Anti-Access/Area Denial operations in the Central Mediterranean Sea.The drills are meant to shape a collectively trained and interoperable force ready to operate as the maritime component of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).According to NATO,its maritime power relies on the capability to combine NATO Standing Forces with high capability national forces to deliver effects whenever and wherever needed.In this iteration of the exercise,Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2) provides surface warfare assets. SNMG 2 currently consists of the flagship,US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG 95);Spanish Armada ESPS Juan Carlos I,an amphibious assault ship/aircraft carrier that can launch the AV-8B Harrier II or the F-35B Lightning II;and frigates Hellenic Navy HS Psara (F 454),Italian Navy ITS Carlo Margottini (F 592),and Royal Canadian Navy HMCS Fredericton (FFH 337).* Dynamic Manta 2023 is conducted under NATO Maritime Command (MARCOM) headquartered in Northwood,Hertfordshire,UK.Said US Navy Rear Admiral Stephen Mack,Commander Submarines NATO:Strategic defense of the Alliance must incorporate a planned,multi-threat response.* DM 23 involves submarines from Greece,Italy,Turkiye and the US.Air assets,including Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA),are being provided by Canada,France,Germany,Italy,the UK and the US.Host nation Italy is providing support at Catania and Augusta harbours;Naval Helicopter Base Catania;Naval Air Station Sigonella and Trapani;and Augusta Naval Base.* In one drill,Italian Navy Todaro-class submarine ITS Scire (S 527) conducted a Special Operations Forces exercise with Hellenic Navy frigate HS Psara (F 454).For its part,the UK deployed two Poseidon MRA1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft from CXX Squadron,and associated communications and engineering specialists,out of RAF Lossiemouth,Scotland to NAS Sigonella and Trapani,Italy for DM 23.The MPA will coordinate with warships and submarines at searching for and locating submarines.During DM 23,submarines and surface combatants take turns hunting and being hunted.*