Alert 5

Iran’s mission to the UN confirms the purchase of Su-35s

Posted on March 11, 2023 by alert5

Iran has recently finalized a deal to purchase Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, deepening their defense and economic cooperation, in defiance of sweeping sanctions and coercive measures. According to Iran’s mission to the United Nations, Russia was ready to sell the fighter jets to Iran, who after October 2020, and the end of Iranian restrictions on conventional weapons purchases, finally agreed to buy them. However, the mission did not specify the exact time of the deal, nor the time Russia would deliver the fighter jets to Iran, stating the information was classified.

Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Next-generation Stinger missile program details to emerge in upcoming budget request

Posted on March 10, 2023 by alert5

The U.S. Army has plans to develop a next-generation Stinger missile as a replacement for the current inventory, which is in decline. The Biden administration is expected to deliver its budget request to lawmakers soon, with additional details about the next-generation Stinger program expected to emerge. The Army plans to begin the design, development, and testing of a replacement missile in FY23, leading to the production of 10,000 M-SHORAD Inc 3 missiles beginning in FY27. The future missile will be launched from the Stinger Vehicle Universal Launcher to target rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft and Group 2-3 unmanned aircraft systems.

OKINAWA, Japan – A U.S. Army Green Beret with 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), fires a training round with the Stinger Missile System during a field exercise hosted by the Marine Low Altitude Air Defense Unit on Sept. 9, 2021 at Okinawa, Japan. This realistic training familiarizes Green Berets with the portable air-defense system and gives them the ability to rapidly deploy it in diverse environments across the Indo-Pacific. (This photo has been altered for security purposes.)

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Japan plans to use drones for intercepting balloons

Posted on March 9, 2023March 9, 2023 by alert5

The Japanese Ministry of Defense has assessed that the use of manned fighter jets has limitations in responding to the increased number of scrambles needed to counter the risk of unauthorized entry into Japanese airspace.

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Jokowi inspects newly acquired C-130J

Posted on March 8, 2023 by alert5

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) attended the handover ceremony of the country’s first Lockheed Martin C-130J cargo plane on Mar. 8th at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in East Jakarta.

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Ukraine considers adapting submunitions from MK-20 cluster bomb for anti-armor drone strikes

Posted on March 8, 2023 by alert5

According to U.S. lawmakers Jason Crow and Adam Smith, Ukraine has expressed interest in obtaining the MK-20 cluster bomb to use its bomblets for dropping on Russian armored units via drones. The Ukrainian military reportedly considers these submunitions to have superior armor-piercing capabilities compared to the current drone weaponry being used.

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