Lukashenko: Russia moving tactical nukes to Belarus.

MINSK - President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said today that Russian tactical nuclear weapons are currently in transit to the country

"The movement of the nuclear weapons has already begun" Lukashenko said .

He was asked if any nuclear weapons have already arrived in Belarus.

He replied, “We had to prepare storage facilities and the rest over there [in Belarus]. We’ve done all of that. This is why the relocation of nuclear munitions began,” Lukashenko said during a summit of the Eurasian Economic Forum in Moscow.

The remarks came hours after Russian and Belarusian military officials signed a pact that provides for Moscow to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, marking a shift in the Kremlin’s nuclear posture that could raise the stakes of any future instability in Belarus.

The plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on foreign soil is Russia’s first since 1991. The Kremlin has defended the decision saying that it is being provoked by western powers supporting Ukraine.

Russia has said it will maintain control over the tactical nuclear weapons, which may be launched on Iskander-M missiles or from Su-25 planes, both of which Belarus has in its arsenal. Belarus borders three NATO countries and has missiles that could reach several capitals.

The US also has about 100 such weapons stationed at bases around Europe.

The transfer will further align Russia and Belarus’ militaries as Russia seeks a closer alliance with Minsk, which some have predicted will lead to Belarus’s loss of sovereignty. The Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, said the two countries would look for other ways to integrate their militaries.

That decision came as Russia is bracing itself for a potential Ukrainian counterattack that could put Moscow on the defensive in its 15-month-old war.

The head of the Wagner group said his Russian paramilitary organization had begun to withdraw from the city of Bakhmut and would hand all its positions over to the regular Russian army by 1 June.

Russia claims it intercepted American bombers over Baltic Sea.

(C) Steve Douglass 

Russia said on Tuesday it had scrambled a Su-27 jet to intercept two US Air Force B-1B strategic bombers flying over the Baltic Sea and prevent them from violating Russian state borders.

The Russian ministry of defense said: “On March 23, 2023, Russia’s airspace surveillance spotted two air targets approaching the state border of the Russian Federation over the Baltic Sea. An Su-27 fighter from the Baltic Fleet’s air defense quick reaction alert forces was scrambled to identify the air targets and prevent the violation of the Russian state border.”

The ministry added that after turning the foreign military aircraft away from Russian state borders, the Russian fighter jet returned safely to its airbase.

The ministry stressed that the flight of the Russian fighter jet was carried out in strict accordance with international rules on the use of airspace over neutral waters.

The Baltic Sea has witnessed in recent months several interceptions by Russian, US and NATO aircraft.

Tensions over airspace and aerial conduct heightened between Moscow and the West last March when a US military surveillance drone (MQ-9 Reaper) crashed into the Black Sea, after an encounter with Russian Su-27 fighter jets in international airspace near territory Russia claims to have annexed from Ukraine.

Meanwhile the USAF issued this release:

"U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers returned to RAF Fairford, May 23, for Bomber Task Force Europe 2023-3 to conduct a long-planned bomber rotation in support of U.S. European Command and NATO deterrence initiatives.

Two of the Texas-based supersonic bombers from Dyess Air Force Base’s 7th Bomb Wing entered the theater today by first integrating with Allies and Partners conducting NATO’s Air Policing and Air Shielding missions throughout the Baltic Sea region. The Baltic Sea serves as a critical economic corridor, and consistent coalition surveillance of the international air and maritime space preserves safe and secure passage for all.

The highly agile aircraft’s 12-hour mission from North America to Europe demonstrates the U.S. Air Force’s rapid ability to deploy anywhere, anytime, and provide lethal precision and global strike options U.S. and Allied commanders.

Bomber Task Force rotations support U.S. National Defense Strategy objectives through “strategic predictability” and “operational unpredictability,” and the steady rotation of strategic bombers into the European theater enables interoperability and enhances operational readiness.

This Bomber Task Force iteration will include four B-1B strategic bombers, and the remaining two bombers are scheduled to arrive at RAF Fairford on Thursday afternoon."

FAKE NEWS OF PENTAGON EXPLOSION CREATES KNEE JERK REACTION IN STOCK MARKET

U.S. stocks briefly tumbled this morning reacting to social media reports of an explosion near the Pentagon.

Interestingly, many social platforms re-tweeted Twitter with images of a explosion that resulted in a significant albeit not durable market sell-off.

The S&P 500 index has now recovered and stabilized, since major media outlets have debunked the incident. Images of the explosion have been analyzed and shown to be fakes, possibly generated with the help of artificial intelligence.

RT (a major Russian news agency with millions of followers) tweeted the single image of billowing smoke next to the Pentagon and then took it down without explanation. Many Twitter users continue to re-tweet the image. 

The repercussions and fallout of re-tweeting "breaking news" from verified and un-verified Twitter sources will undoubtedly have long time consequences, especially since it had an effect (albeit a short-lived one) on international markets. The original source of the Tweet has  not yet been ascertained. 

Cannon Air Force Base group commander relieved of command due to 'loss in confidence'

 CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (KVII) — Cannon Air Force Base has announced that Colonel Michael Shreves was relieved of command from the 27th Special Operations Group on Tuesday due to a loss of confidence in his ability to effectively lead.

“The decision to remove Col Shreves was not based on any character issue or indiscretion,” said Colonel Terence Taylor, 27th Special Operations Wing Commander. “The 27th Special Operations Wing holds its leaders to the highest standard, and each of them bears a great responsibility to maintain good order and discipline within their formation.”

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Air Force solicits source selection proposals for NGAD Platform - will award in 2024!

Air Force solicits source selection proposals for NGAD Platform

Published May 18, 2023
Secretary of the Air Force Public AffairsARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) --

The Department of the Air Force released a classified solicitation to industry for an engineering and manufacturing development contract for the Next Generation Air Dominance Platform with the intent to award a contract in 2024.

"The NGAD Platform is a vital element of the Air Dominance family of systems which represents a generational leap in technology over the F-22, which it will replace," Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said. "NGAD will include attributes such as enhanced lethality and the ability to survive, persist, interoperate, and adapt in the air domain, all within highly contested operational environments. No one does this better than the U.S. Air Force, but we will lose that edge if we don't move forward now."

This solicitation release formally begins the source selection process providing industry with the requirements the DAF expects for NGAD, as the future replacement of the F-22.

The NGAD acquisition strategy will invigorate and broaden the industrial base to deliver rapid and innovative warfighting capabilities.

The strategy incorporates lessons learned from recent Air Force acquisition programs and will leverage open architecture standards. This approach will enable the government to maximize competition throughout the life cycle, provide a larger, more responsive industry base and drastically reduce maintenance and sustainment costs.

The NGAD Platform is one of many critical combat capabilities that will enable counter-air missions with the ability to strike both airborne and ground-based threats to achieve air superiority and support the Joint Force.

Further information on the NGAD Platform's technical and programmatic details are classified to protect operational and technological advantages.

The Collaborative Combat Aircraft program is not part of this NGAD Platform source selection.

Is this Northop Grumman advertisement showing us a secret aircraft or is it just vaporware?

 

Kremlin attacked by drones - Ukraine claims it wasn't them.

NYTIMES: 

RIGA, Latvia — Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of staging a drone attack intended to kill President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, an incendiary allegation that was forcefully denied by Ukrainian officials, some of whom warned it could be a pretense for Russia to escalate its war.

Russia said it thwarted the attack and that Putin was not in the building at the time.


The allegation of an assassination attempt — which could not be independently confirmed and was broadly rejected by military experts — was made in a statement shared by the Kremlin press service with Russian state news agencies on Wednesday afternoon.

In the overnight hours early Wednesday, “the Kyiv regime attempted a drone strike on the Kremlin residence of the President of the Russian Federation,” the statement said. “Two drones were aimed at the Kremlin.”

“We regard these actions as a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the life of the president of the Russian Federation, carried out on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 parade,” the Kremlin said, referring to the annual commemoration of the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II.

“Russia reserves the right to respond to an attempted strike on the Kremlin where and when it sees fit,” the statement said.

Videos circulating on social media and verified by The Washington Post show two drones streaking toward the Kremlin at around 2:30 a.m. local time. The first drone appears to hit the dome of the Kremlin Senate, a building within the fortress that houses Putin’s office, causing an eruption of flames; the second drone appears to explode over the Senate dome. Two people are visible on the roof during the second explosion.

Ukraine swiftly and categorically denied any involvement in the alleged attack.

“We are not attacking either Putin or Moscow, we are fighting on our own territory, we are defending our villages and cities. We do not have enough weapons even for that,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday at the summit of Northern European countries in Finland.

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UPDATED ANALYSIS;

Note two figures climbing stairs on left side of dome just before 'done" strikes.

Also note reflection in top right corner - something most of the media has missed - of what looks like someone holding a phone or quite possibly a drone controller. Could this be the best evidence of a false flag attack? 

Also curious is the taking of the video itself. Who is the source of the video? It doesn't look like security camera or media cam video or cell phone video playback. It appears to be cell phone video out a window across from the Kremlin. How happenstance that someone was shooting video of the Kremlin dome just before a done strike? 

B-21 well on the path to first flight ...

NG: In early May, Northrop Grumman successfully completed the first — and most critical — loads calibration test of the first B-21 aircraft. The recent test is one of three major conditions the aircraft will undergo in this phase of ground testing as it progresses toward first flight. Loads calibration, which focuses on calibrating instrumentation prior to flight and verifying structural integrity, has yielded positive and consistent results. During testing, the B-21’s airframe endures varying percentages of stress to ensure the aircraft can proceed on its path to flight readiness.

During the ground test phase, in addition to loads calibration, the team will power up the aircraft, test its subsystems, and apply coatings and paint. The next steps will include carrying out engine runs as well as low-speed and high-speed taxi tests, and then on to first flight.

From day one, Northrop Grumman has proactively worked to burn down as much production risk as possible. Throughout the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development phase, the company has emphasized risk reduction efforts and production readiness as one of the many priorities for the B-21 program. In line with the risk-based approach, the successful calibration test is a significant milestone that further validates the efficacy of the company’s digital design capabilities and advanced manufacturing techniques.

Northrop Grumman has invested in a robust production program — one that is foundational to the National Defense Strategy — to deliver the B-21 at a rate that will have a real effect for the U.S. Air Force in combating the threat. Innovative application of digital engineering and commercial off-the-shelf digital tools continue to deliver an advanced degree of precision and efficiency in the build process, with production risk reduction progressing every day as B-21 test aircraft move down the actual production line.

The first flight projection of 2023, as is now being reported by the Air Force, is aligned with the information communicated during the company's Q1 earnings call and remains on-schedule to the government Acquisition Program Baseline.

As the Air Force has indicated, the focus is on a safe first flight of a production representative aircraft. With six aircraft in various stages of production and test, Northrop Grumman is progressing toward that objective as it continues to reduce risk, refine the building process, and mature the test fleet ahead of first flight.

Randy Walden, director of the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and program executive officer of the B-21 Raider program, recently said, “The B-21 test aircraft is the most production-representative aircraft, both structurally and in its mission systems, at this point in a program, that I’ve observed in my career.” With the first aircraft in the ground test phase and a successful loads calibration under its belt, Northrop Grumman is paving the way for the B-21 Rollout later this year and first flight in 2023.