Japan has a stealth fighter ...

ReutersA prototype of the first Japan-made stealth fighter is pictured at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' factory in Toyoyama town, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, January 28, 2016. Picture taken January 28, 2016.

On Thursday, Japan joined the US, Russia, and China as one of the only countries to produce its own fifth-generation stealth fighter.

Japan's X-2 stealth fighter prototype is the country's answer to the American made fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II, Russia's T-50, and China's J-20.

The X-2 also called the "Shinshin" which translates to "Spirit of the Heart," has been in development for over a decade costing Japan a cool $294 million ( 2.3 billion yen).

Iran flies drone over US aircraft carrier

THE GUARDIAN: 

Iran flew a surveillance drone over a US aircraft carrier and took “precise” photographs of it as part of an ongoing naval drill, state media has reported. The US navy said an unarmed Iranian drone flew near a French and American carrier earlier this month, but couldn’t confirm it was the same incident.

The reported overflight by the unmanned aircraft came after a series of naval incidents between Iran and the US in the greater Persian Gulf, including test rocket fire by the Islamic Republic and its brief capture of American sailors who strayed into its territorial waters.

The US navy said it did not open fire as the drone was unarmed and not threatening the ship’s safety, but the incident again highlighted that tensions remain between America and Iran in Gulf waters despite their recent diplomatic detente.

The Associated Press could not independently verify the footage, published on Friday by Iranian state television and the semi-official Fars news agency, which has close ties to the Revolutionary Guard.

Commander Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the US navy’s 5th fleet based in Bahrain, said an unarmed Iranian drone flew near the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and “directly over” the USS Harry S Truman on 12 January as the vessels were in international waters in the Persian Gulf.

He said the navy launched a helicopter that determined the drone was not armed and “posed no danger to the ship” as the carrier was not conducting flight operations at the time. His comments implied that had there been active takeoffs and landings of US aircraft, the situation might have changed.

Stephens called the drone’s flight “abnormal and unprofessional”. He added that the US navy was “not in a position to verify the authenticity of the video as there are countless examples of similar footage to be found on the internet”.

The report by state television said the drone flight occurred on the third day of the naval exercise, suggesting it happened on Friday.

First Cyberspace Weapon System Attains Full Operational Capability (FOC) Status

by AFSPC Public Affairs

1/19/2016 - Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. -- A major milestone was achieved on 7 January 2016 when the Air Force Intranet Control (AFINC) Weapon System became the first cyberspace weapon system to reach FOC status.

Achieving FOC means the AFINC weapon system is fully capable to serve as the top-level defensive boundary and entry point for all network traffic into the Air Force Information

Network. The AFINC weapon system controls the flow of all external and inter-base traffic through standard, centrally managed gateways.

The AFINC weapon system consists of 16 Gateway Suites, 15 SIPRNET Nodes, 200+ Service Delivery Points, two Integrated Management Suites, and is operated by the 26th Network Operations Squadron (26th NOS) located at Gunter Annex, Montgomery, AL.

"It was an amazing team effort to achieve FOC," said Lt Col Omar Velasco, 26th NOS commander. "We couldn't have done it without our Air Force Lifecycle Management Center Program Office at Hanscom AFB, HQ AFSPC and 24th Air Force staffs, and most importantly our dedicated military, civilian, and contractor personnel employing the AFINC cyber weapon system to sustain and defend the Air Force network."

The AFINC weapon system replaced and consolidated 100+ regionally managed disparate Air Force network entry points into 16 centrally managed access points for all traffic through the Air Force network. The AFINC weapon system provides greater agility to take defensive actions across the network. AFINC was officially designated a weapon system by the Air Force Chief of Staff in March 2013 and achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in May 2014.

"As the first line of defense for our network, the 26th NOS team is responsible for more than one billion firewall, web, and email blocks per week from suspicious and adversarial sources," stated Col Pamela Woolley, 26th Cyberspace Operations Group commander. "Our network is under constant attack and it is a testament to the dedication of our 26th NOS team that our network reliability and traffic flow remains consistently high."

The AFINC Cyberspace Weapon System serves more than 1M Air Force users at 237 sites worldwide. Their infrastructure is among the largest in the world, yet operated and maintained by a single Air Force unit. As the weapon system and 26th NOS operations have evolved, their mission set now includes intelligence gathering, cyberspace surveillance and reconnaissance, interdiction, and security.

After declaring the AFINC weapon system FOC, Brigadier General Stephen Whiting, HQ AFSPC Director of Integrated Air, Space, Cyberspace and ISR Operations stated, "This is a great achievement for the Air Force and the first cyberspace weapon system to achieve FOC. We look forward to continued rapid progress and maturation of the Air Force Cyberspace mission. As we all know, our mission is to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace."

Other cyberspace weapons systems include the Air Force Cyberspace Defense Weapon System, the Cyber Security and Control System Weapon System, the Cyber Command and Control Mission System Weapon System, the Cyberspace Defense Analysis Weapon System, and the Cyberspace Vulnerability Assessment/Hunter Weapon System

North Korea claims to have successfully tested hydrogen bomb.

SEOUL, Jan 6 (Reuters) - North Korea said it successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen nuclear device on Wednesday, claiming a significant advance in the isolated state's strike capability and setting off alarm bells in Japan and South Korea.

The test, the fourth time North Korea has exploded a nuclear device, was ordered by young leader Kim Jong Un, state media said.

"Let the world look up to the strong, self-reliant nuclear-armed state," Kim wrote in what North Korean state TV displayed as a handwritten note.

The announcement on North Korean state TV followed detection of a 5.1 magnitude earthquake near its known nuclear test site earlier. The state claims the test was done in "self defense against the U.S. having numerous and humongous nuclear weapons."

The reported nuclear test drew condemnation abroad, including from China and Russia, North Korea's two main allies. China expressed "resolute opposition" and said it would lodge a protest with Pyongyang.

The White House, while it could not yet verify the success of the nuclear test, quickly condemned Pyongyang's violation of international law and promised to defend its South Korean ally.

"We have consistently made clear that we will not accept it as a nuclear state," a White House spokesperson said in a statement.