US POURS BILLIONS INTO COLD WAR SUBMARINE PROGRAM AS CHINA BOLSTERS NAVY
By Anders Hagstrom
The U.S. Navy is investing billions of dollars to revamp its Cold War-era submarine detection system in the Pacific Ocean as China bolsters its own navy and becomes more belligerent. The U.S. Integrated Undersea Surveillance System was first built in the 1950s as a top secret program aimed at countering Russia’s naval capabilities in the Cold War. Now, however, the fleet of surveillance ships and maze of undersea sensor cables are being modernized, three people with direct knowledge of the effort told Reuters.
The modernization effort aims to make the surveillance cables smaller while covering a larger area. The U.S. is also selling the same technology to Australia. The plan also includes implementing artificial intelligence to review surveillance data for anomalies and potential foreign craft, something the technology could do far faster than a human analyst.
Courtesy: Fox News.
CHINA, RUSSIA SEND NAVAL WARSHIPS NEAR ALASKA, TRIGGERING FORCEFUL US RESPONSE
By Thomas Catenacci
China and Russia conducted a joint naval operation near U.S. territory earlier this week, triggering a large response from the U.S. Navy, Fox News Digital has learned. The joint operation, conducted by two significant American adversaries, consisted of 11 ships and neared Alaska’s southwestern coast, according to Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who was briefed on the matter earlier this week by U.S. defense officials. Sullivan said the U.S. Navy ultimately mobilized four destroyers to guide the Chinese and Russian ships away from American waters.
“This is unprecedented in terms of the size and scope of this joint naval task force between Russia and China, working very closely together,” Sullivan told Fox News Digital in a phone interview late Saturday. “Whether you live in Alaska like I do, or on the East Coast of the United States, a very large surface action task force between our two main adversaries, probing very closely to United States shores is concerning.” “It just solidifies this idea that we’ve entered a new era of authoritarian aggression led by the dictators in Beijing and Moscow who are increasingly aggressive,” he continued.
Courtesy: Fox News.
CHINA DEPLOYS OVER 40 PLANES TO TAIWAN STRAIT, IS MASSING FORCES AT COASTAL MILITARY BASES, TAIWAN WARNS
By Anders Hagstrom
In order to get a window into the top secret program, Reuters interviewed more than a dozen people in the Navy or working as contractors. It also reviewed hundreds of Navy contracts. That examination identified at least 30 deals linked to the surveillance program signed over the last three years with defense giants as well as a string of startups working on unmanned sea drones and AI processing.
“The systems have and will experience growth and recapitalization as subsea technologies are developed and as defense priorities are updated,” a spokesperson for the Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement when asked about the effort. The ramp-up of capabilities comes as China has grown increasingly aggressive toward Taiwan. China has vowed to reunify the island by force if necessary, and the U.S. has maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity” as to its position regarding the island.
Courtesy: Fox News.
ISRAEL’S NEW MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR AI TANK PROVIDES TOTAL BATTLEFIELD VISION: ‘A NEW ERA’
By Peter Aitken
Israel unveiled the “Barak” tank as its newest artificial intelligence (AI)-powered military advancement, promising a “new era” in combat capabilities. “The Barak tank is very innovative it takes our maneuvering capabilities to another level, and it is a clear expression of our technological capabilities,” Israeli Minister of Defense (IMOD) Yoav Gallant said of the tank, whose name translates to “lightning.”
“I would like to express my appreciation to the engineers of the Tank and APC Administration, the Israeli Ground Forces and all those involved in the professional process,” he added. The fifth-generation Barak tank introduces a 360-degree awareness capability, giving a total vision of the battlefield. In a video that features animated segments to demonstrate the tank’s potential, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operator is able to identify targets both in front and behind his tank, thanks to a specially designed helmet that helps him filter battlefield data.
The Barak took five years to develop, and mass production started last month. The tank’s unveiling occurred some two decades after the Merkava’s introduction, which officials believe the Barak will replace by the end of 2025 in the 401st Brigade.
Courtesy: Fox News.
CANADA HAS EVIDENCE LINKING INDIAN DIPLOMATS TO KILLING OF SIKH ACTIVIST, MEDIA REPORTS
As pressure mounted on Canada to release evidence of an extraterritorial assassination on its soil, media reports indicated that the government is believed to be in possession of intelligence linking Indian officials and diplomats to the killing. Among the trove of information gathered in the months-long investigation into the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar were communications involving Indian officials, including Indian diplomats working inside Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday (21/09/2023).
In recent weeks, the head of Canada’s intelligence agency and the national security and intelligence adviser have travelled to India in a bid to gain Delhi’s cooperation in the killing of Nijjar, a prominent Sikh activist fatally shot in a parking lot in June. The revelations from Canada’s national broadcaster come amid mounting domestic pressure to release more information into the “credible allegations” first outlined by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in parliament earlier.
“We are not looking to provoke or cause problems, but we are unequivocal about the rule of law and unequivocal about protecting Canadians and standing up for our values,” Trudeau said. However, Canada’s deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland appeared to reject similar retaliatory measures. “This is not about geopolitics. This is about Canada, the safety of Canadians in Canada. This is about the rule of law,” she told reporters.
Courtesy: The Guardian.
SAUDI ARABIA SAID HIS COUNTRY MOVING RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that his country was moving steadily closer to normalizing relations with Israel and also warned that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, we have to get one. “Every day we get closer,” the crown prince told Fox News, according to excerpts of an interview to be shown later on Wednesday, when asked to characterize talks aimed at long-time foes Israel and Saudi Arabia reaching a landmark agreement to open diplomatic relations. The conservative US network’s interview with the crown prince, widely known as MBS, comes as President Joe Bidens administration presses ahead with an effort to broker historic ties between the two regional powerhouses, Washington’s top Middle East allies.
The normalization talks are the centerpiece of complex negotiations that also include discussions of US security guarantees and civilian nuclear help that Riyadh has sought, as well as possible Israeli concessions to the Palestinians.
“For us, the Palestinian issue is very important. We need to solve that part, MbS said when asked what it would take to get a normalization agreement. And we have a good negotiations continue until now.” “We got to see where we go. We hope that will reach a place, that it will ease the life of the Palestinians, get Israel as a player in the Middle East,” he said, speaking in English. MBS also voiced concern about the possibility that Iran, a mutual adversary of Saudi Arabia and Israel that the US wants to contain, could obtain a nuclear weapon. Tehran has denied seeking a nuclear bomb.
“That’s a bad move,” he said. “If you use it, you got to have a big fight with the rest of the world.” Asked what would happen if Iran did get a nuclear bomb, MBS said: “If they get one, we have to get one.”
Courtesy: Daily Dawn.