Page 13 - Us Military

Military takeovers in Africa's Sahel hamper fight against terrorism: US

The United States warned Friday that the string of military takeovers in Africa's Sahel region will hamper the fight against terrorism and demanded that Afghanistan's Taliban rulers deny safe haven to terrorist groups including al-Qaida and the Islamic State. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a U.N. Security Council meeting that the United States is focused on the increasing terrorism threat across Africa and continues providing its African partners with critical assistance in disrupting and degrading IS and al-Qaida affiliates. The long-scheduled council meeting on combating terrorism took place days after the head of Russia's Wagner Group, Yevgeny Progozhin, and top associates were reportedly killed in a plane crash after leaving Moscow. They had just returned from Africa where Wagner mercenaries are active in now military-ruled Mali and Burkina Faso, which face escalating terrorist threats. Thomas-Greenfield was asked after the council meeting what the West should do t

US sanctions military leaders accused of exacerbating violence in Congo

The United States has imposed sanctions on six people it accuses of exacerbating violence in eastern Congo. The sanctioned Rwandan and Congolese individuals belong to one of four key militias or armed forces contributing to instability in the eastern (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and perpetrating serious human rights abuses, including targeting children and systematic sexual assault, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement Thursday. The new round of economic penalties comes amid a recent spike in armed conflict along Congo's northeastern border with Rwanda. Three decades of violence in the region displaced over 6 million people, according to the U.N., with the crisis intensifying since the rebel group M23 staged a resurgence in November 2021. M23, whose intelligence commander Bernard Byamungu is among those sanctioned, is one of more than 120 armed groups in the region fighting for control of valuable mineral resources, territory or community protection. Mass killings

Why the likelihood of UFOs, aliens playing peekaboo with humans is remote

Among those who have reported sightings are highly trained pilots equipped with cutting-edge technology, but…

US to expand military footprint in Australia to counter China's dominance

The two countries also announced plans to further cooperate on space issues as well as step up integration of Japan into military planning

US President Joe Biden announces military aid package of $345 mn for Taiwan

Using a Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) that Congress granted last year, Biden authorised the shipment of weapons to Taiwan

Sensitive US military emails reach Russian ally due to 'typo leak'

Millions of US military emails were mistakenly sent to Mali; the leak has exposed highly sensitive information, including diplomatic documents, tax returns, travel details of top officers

US military drone strike kills ISIS leader Osama al-Muhajer in Syria

Osama al-Muhajer was killed in the strike on Friday, according to a statement released on Sunday by the US Central Command

AI-powered US military drone kills operator during simulated test: Report

The drone was advised to destroy the enemy's air defence systems and killed the operator when he interfered with its efforts to complete it

US military complains of unsafe, aggressive move by Chinese fighter jet

The US military said Tuesday that a Chinese fighter jet flew aggressively close to a US reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, forcing the American pilot to fly through the turbulent wake. The Chinese J-16 fighter pilot "flew directly in front of the nose of the RC-135,"" which was conducting routine operations in international airspace last Friday, US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. It called the Chinese move an " unnecessarily aggressive maneuver. US defense leaders have complained that China's military has become significantly more aggressive over the past five years, intercepting US aircraft and ships in the region. And tensions with China have only grown in recent months over Washington's military support and sales of defensive weapons to self-governing Taiwan, China's assertions of sovereignty to the contested South China Sea and its flying of a suspected spy balloon over the US. In a further sign of the tensions, China said its defense chief will not meet

Harris to be 1st woman to give commencement speech at US Military Academy

Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday will become the first woman to deliver a commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy, an institution that has made slow progress diversifying its ranks in the four decades since the first class of female cadets graduated. This year some 950 men and women are expected to take part in the graduation ceremony in West Point, New York. While Harris visits West Point, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Manhattan, President Joe Biden heads to Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday to address graduates at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Vice presidents typically travel to one of the federal service academies to address graduating classes. Harris' visit will be her first to the U.S. Army academy. Today, about one quarter of the student body are women. Only a few dozen graduates each year are Black women, like Harris, though the number has ticked up in recent years. The academy didn't admit women until 1976 and had its first female graduates i

Nominee for top US military post advocates strong defence ties with India

For the first time, the Pentagon would be led by African-Americans, with Lloyd Austin as Defence Secretary and Brown as the highest-ranking officer.

US Navy hobbled by failures as the risk of conflict with China looms

"Potential adversaries, most notably China and Russia, have developed and enhanced their own capabilities," said the Government Accountability Office's military readiness director

International govts race to rescue diplomats, citizens from Sudan

The US military airlifted embassy officials out of Sudan on Sunday and international governments raced to evacuate their diplomatic staff and citizens trapped in the capital as rival generals battled for control of Africa's third-largest country for a ninth straight day. Fighting raged in Omdurman, the city across the Nile from Sudan's capital, Khartoum, residents reported. The violence came despite a declared truce that was to coincide with the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. We did not see such a truce, said Amin al-Tayed from his home near state television headquarters in Omdurman. He said heavy gunfire and thundering explosions rocked the city. The battles did not stop, he said. Thick black smoke filled the sky over Khartoum's airport. The paramilitary group battling the Sudanese armed forces claimed the military unleashed airstrikes on the upscale neighbourhood of Kafouri, north of Khartoum. There was no immediate comment from the army. After a week of bloody battles

Who leaked the alleged classified US documents online & what do they tell?

Multiple tranches of documents have appeared on social media sites over recent weeks, some of them reportedly intended only for those with the highest levels of US security clearance

US-China balloon row: Lack of global consensus on airspace reignites debate

On 28th January, a Chinese spy balloon was flying over the Atlantic Ocean which was later shot down by the US military. Watch the video to know what are the limits to a nation's airspace.

As US brings down third UFO in three days, here is all you need to know

The latest event is of the US military shooting down a fourth flying object over Lake Huron in Michigan. This comes after the US has already taken down UFOs in US and Canadian airspace

US shoots down another unidentified flying object over North America

The United States has shot down another unidentified airborne object in its airspace, a day after it brought down a similar "cylindrical" object over Canada. An F-16 fighter jet, at the direction of President Joe Biden, fired an AIM9x to successfully shoot down the airborne object flying at approximately 20,000 feet altitude in US airspace over Lake Huron in the State of Michigan, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig Gen Pat Ryder said on Sunday. The object was shaped like an octagon with strings hanging off it and no discernible payload, CNN reported, quoting an official and another source briefed on the matter. Although the United States has no indication that the object has surveillance capabilities, that has not been ruled out as yet. After the shooting down of a Chinese surveillance balloon in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday, this is the third such shooting down of an unidentified airborne object in a week. The previous two were shot down by US fighte

Chinese intercept over South China Sea could have caused air collision: US

The US military says a Chinese navy fighter jet flew dangerously close to an Air Force reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea earlier this month, forcing the American pilot to maneuver to avoid a collision. US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement Thursday that the incident occurred December 21 when the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy J-11 flew in front of and within 6 metres (20 feet) of the nose of an RC-135, a type of large reconnaissance plane operated by the US Air Force. The US plane was lawfully conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, the statement said. Its pilot was forced to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision," it said. China frequently challenges military aircraft from the US and its allies, especially over the South China Sea, which China claims in its entirety. Such behaviour led to a 2001 in-air collision in which a Chinese plane was lost and pilot killed. The US Indo-Pacific Joint Force is dedicated t

Defence chiefs of US, India discuss global security, bilateral cooperation

Seeking to deepen US-India military ties, the defence chiefs of the two countries have shared their assessments of the regional and global security environment and discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation and interoperability. The call between US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark A Miley and his Indian counterpart Chief of the Indian Defence Force Gen Anil Chauhan took place amidst increased tension between India and China on the border. The two military leaders shared assessments of the regional and global security environment and discussed ways to deepen bilateral military ties and interoperability, Joint Staff Deputy Spokesperson Joseph R. Holstead said on Wednesday in a readout of the call. The US and India share a strong military-to-military relationship under the US-India Major Defence Partnership," Holstead said, adding that India plays a "key role" in maintaining a free Indo-Pacific. "India is a key regional leader and an important partner in maintaining a free and open

Russia, Iran turmoil limited meddling in US midterm election, says official

Russia's war in Ukraine and anti-regime protests in Iran limited both Moscow and Tehran's ability to try to influence or interfere in the recent U.S. midterm elections, a senior American military official said. U.S. agencies were on high alert before November's vote for potential cyberattacks or foreign influence operations, particularly after adversaries were judged by intelligence agencies to have meddled in the last two presidential elections. But there was little sign of disruption in the midterms. I was surprised by the lack of activity we saw from the Russians, the Iranians, or the Chinese, said Army Maj. Gen. William Hartman, who leads the U.S. Cyber National Mission Force, which partners with the National Security Agency in detecting and stopping election intrusions, on Monday. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been mired in a prolonged war with tens of thousands of casualties since he ordered an invasion of Ukraine in February. And Iran's leaders are waging a bloody ...