Drumbeat of War:Truman Carrier Strike Group Braces European Waters

The US Navy's Harry S. Truman Carrier Strke Group (CSG 8) has deployed to the U.S. 6th Fleet Area of Responsibility (Europe/Africa).On 1 December 2021,it departed its homeport of Norfolk,Virginia.It was ordered to remain in the Mediterranean by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III to provide assurance to European Allies,considering the escalating threat posed by about 100,000 Russian forces gathered along NATO Partner Ukraine's borders. A series of three diplomatic encounters between the US,NATO,Europe and Russia has failed to resolve the crisis.Russia has cynically demanded what it knows NATO cannot do:exclude Ukraine from NATO membership and withdraw forces from NATO'S Eastern Flank.According to U.S. Ambassador to the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Michael R. Carpenter: We must never stand for the flouting or erosion of our bedrock principles.That means no tolerance for overt or tacit spheres of influence,no restrictions on the sovereign right of nations to choose their own alliances,no privileging one state's security requirements over those of another.* CSG 8,commanded by Rear Admiral Curtis Renshaw,consists of the flagship aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75);Carrier Air Wing 1;the staffs of Carrier Strike Group 8 and the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56).It also includes: the guided missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 28 (DESRON 28) under Captain Todd Zenneri,namely,USS Bainbridge (DDG 96),USS Cole (DDG 67),USS Gravely (DDG 107),and USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109); a special member in NATO Ally Norway's Fridtjof-Nansen class frigate HNoMS Fridtjof-Nansen (F 310) for the duration of the deployment; and likely up to two nuclear-powered attack submarines.* Carrier Strike Groups have the flexibility and sustainability to fight major wars and ensure freedom of the seas,the Navy said.CSG 8 is capable of conducting the full spectrum of combat operations to ensure security in the maritime,noted Rear Admiral Renshaw,adding that: I have no doubt that we are prepared for any challenge while we are deployed.* Painstaking maintenance of the CSG air assets is one of the primary tasks of the Group's Sailors.In January 2022,two of the Truman's F/A-18E Super Hornets drilled with two F-16 Fighting Falcons of the Hellenic Air Force over the Mediterranean Sea.*

U.S. Air Force Makes New AFWERX Investment in Boom Supersonic Airliner Research - Aviation Today

U.S. Air Force Makes New AFWERX Investment in Boom Supersonic Airliner Research - Aviation Today: The U.S. Air Force has made a new $60 million investment in Boom Supersonic for the development of its supersonic Overture airliner demonstrator aircraft.

NATO Secretary General following the meeting of the NATO-Russia Council ...

NATO Secretary General with Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine 🇺🇦 Olga Ste...

The F-35 Program is Essential to the Norwegian Armed Forces

F-35s:Norway's New Solution for Rapid Response

On 6 January 2022 at 1145 hours local,Norway's Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters officially assumed the Quick Reaction Alert mission from F-16 Fighting Falcons that had carried out the mission for 42 years,according to the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.The transfer occurred at the mission's new home,Evenes Air Base in Northern Norway,a bit farther north than the previous site at Bodo Air Base. Said Major General Rolf Folland,Chief,Royal Norwegian Air Force: F-35 has now received the baton from F-16,continuing to keep a constant guard.I sense a great pride today.* The Quick Reaction Alert mission is executed on behalf of NATO.It provides a response to unknown aircraft within 15 minutes.The interceptors find,observe and document any unknown aircraft that near Norway and NATO airspace.The Evenes F-35s are a detachment from the main F-35 base at Orland Air Base in Central Norway.Evenes is to be the most significant air base in Northern Norway,also serving as the main base for a fleet of P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft.By 2025,Evenes will host about 500 employees and 300 conscripts to staff the base.Among the personnel will be an air defence battalion and a force protection squadron.Norway will acquire 52 F-35s by 2025.* Lockheed Martin says the F-35 is a decisive differentiator in near-peer warfare as the most advanced node in the networked 21st Century Warfare operational vision.It delivers vast amounts of information to accelerate critical decisions and prevail in warfighting.In additon to weapons in its internal weapons bay,the F-35 will also be capable of carrying the JASSM and JASSM-ER long-range,conventional strike air-to-ground cruise missile and the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) under its wings,once integration is complete.* Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Coalition: Iran-backed militia attacks a dangerous distraction from mission

Coalition: Iran-backed militia attacks a dangerous distraction from mission: Coalition forces were targeted this morning by eight rounds of indirect fire at Green Village, a Syrian Democratic Forces base with a small Coalition advisory presence, in northeast Syria. According