As ensign Stål said, "Yea, of those scenes can I declare, If so you will, for I was there."

BREAKING on TAC/Intel: UPS Airlines says it has grounded the MD-11F fleet after Boeing recommendation

Note the upper aircraft is a (somewhat poorly drawn) Tu-22M2, the early production variant (or possibly the pre-production Tu-22M/M1 versions). This matches the topic of Il-76 'CANDID' tanker conversions (i.e. Il-78 'MIDAS'), as the Tu-22M later lost the refueling probe as part of SALT-limitations.

The Norwegian Forsvaret has a really nice YouTube-channel with historical films. Including this gem detailing how No. 333 (Norwegian) Squadron of the Banff Strike Wing plans and conduct anti-shipping strikes (also featuring Catalina ops and RNZAF Beaufighter).

Where else to spend Svenska dagen? 😎

So Colts now all-in with an ex-Giants QB and an ex-Jets CB1. If I would be mean I'd say it says something about the state of New York football ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You can't compare the stock of *value* like corporate valuation to economic *output* like GDP. It's like saying your car makes up "30% of your annual income" because it's worth $30k and you make $100k. A $5T valuation is big but total US household net worth is like $167T

This is one of those waymarkers that might give you some really bad ideas 😎 Turns out my local (medieval) parish church is now officially the northern terminus for the (re-)created St Olav pilgrims trail from Ostrobothnia to his tomb in Nidarosdomen.

I'm not saying November is a grey month here in Finland. But it is a pretty grey month here in Finland.

It's a proven strategy that usually works for a while, but at some point the smaller countries trying to get the larger ally invested in (or entangled, if you want to be that way) their defence will start asking difficult questions about the actual capabilities the larger partner is bringing.

It says something about the times when reactivating long-range ground-based air defences is seen as needing a stop-gap because the eventual system to be delivered is coming "only" in three years. A while back that would have been seen as a rushed procurement, leaving little time for training.

Germany likely have the hulls they need after the multi-billion Euro deal for 31 dedicated ASW-roled helicopters after having earlier ordered the general maritime/SAR-version NH90 Sealion www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

I'm just going to note that there are 14 NH90NFH available on the cheap, six of which supposedly are ASW-configured and with limited time in the air (the other eight are reconfigurable to this configuration as well). Finnish joint-UTJR/MERIVE mission to go to the factory and kick the tires when? 😎

This is a very good (and sobering account) of the situation for the UK (and NATO at large) frigate situation. One of things that was quickly pointed out when the Norwegian programme kicked off was that if Type 26 was supposed to fill it, at least one RN hull was likely to be diverted.

Vintage Friday: 3 Piper L-18C Super Cub, in the Hjerkinn/Dovrefjell area in March 1964. They are being refuelled and made ready after the day's sorties.

To the surprise of nobody, I believe in the value of teaching one’s kid history at all levels, down to their family history. As such, we this All Saint’s Day drove a few parishes away to show the kids family graves four-five generations back, and the hill of the homestead of their ancestors.

Bask in the unfeasible glory that is Aotearoa New Zealand's only locally designed and built Tank.

Peak Animals and War content

I mean... In a normal world this is correct, but I can't help seeing a scenario where someone asks "What's stopping us from just dropping a B61 on a suitable patch of desert?" and over the screams of a thousand smart people explaining why it's a bad idea someone goes "Yeah, that'd be a good test."

The paradox of reading headlines like "would the US military obey illegal orders by Trump" while illegal orders are obeyed on an almost daily basis

While yesterday's small arms decision might be more fun and feel more relevant to the average reservist like you and me, to be completely honest this is probably more impactful equipment news when it comes to the defence of Finland during the next few years ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

BREAKING - Finnish small arms modernisation programmes picks 5.56 NATO as new standard round for assault rifles, with 7.62 NATO and .50 BMG/12.7x99 mm as the standard calibres for supporting arms. 9x19 mm continues as the standard pistol round. puolustusvoimat.fi/-/1950813/pu...

by popular request, reupping my 'how did the Chinese Embassy in Ireland come to make a very weird post' explanation. (for fuller background, see here, also w/commentary by me - www.theguardian.com/world/2021/a...)

It’s an afternoon of Pigstory at #AnimalsAndWarStockholm, first with Eeva Nikkilä discussing the piglets gifted from Sweden to Finland after the Winter War in the autumn of 1940.

Det här är läsvärt! Robin är en duktig analytiker! Hur vi hanterat ett "nationell säkerhetsintresse" som ubåtarna är ju en rejäl skandal! Går att jämföra med beslutet, av "genomförandegruppen" 2008, att inte utrusta Visbykorvetterna med luftvärn! #Reinfeldt

I think we can all sympathise with Douglas Walker, a 44-year-old fruit salesman of no fixed abode, who was charged with being drunk on Havelock Road on 26 August 1939. Two days later he pleaded guilty and said: “I think Mr Hitler had got on my nerves a bit during the day. I had certainly had a few.”

🇯🇵 Japan’s smart industrial policy of maintaining stable submarine build cycles through national arms procurement only (as 🇯🇵 arms exports were forbidden until very recently) is something to study. I had already pointed to this 💡example in Chapter 3 of my 2015 book, “Assessing China’s Naval Power”.

Good article...Some ideas about how to maintain your fleet from the Japanese...

There is a lot of room for improvement in defence R&D and procurement, but at the same time there is a reason processes, entities, and products look the way they do. If you want to do things differently, you need to start by saying why your way is better at solving the task at hand.

Great post, I think in addition a smaller sub would lend itself better to a numerous fleet as well as littoral operations. Something in the 500t size perhaps?

With the news of massive delays and cost overruns for the Swedish A26 Blekinge submarines, it is clear that ordering a new class every twenty years isn't working. But a radical solution may be found in Japanese fleet management methods.

This is quite the package. Will be interesting to see which way the Canadian deal will go.

Everyone thinks Gripen when talking about defence industry in Linköping, but IIRC Linköping is also the location of Saab's part of the Taurus program.

😁

Today we're talking intelligence analysis/assessment:

…

Ah, yes, the Israeli strikes are the test of the ceasefire, not Hamas firing first. The war was bad. Really bad. But this is why it’s hard to take much of the reporting at face value. You can’t write a headline where the first sentence is the opposite message.

Posting as a total shot in the dark - Does anyone in Western Washington have an electric piano with weighted keys that they no longer use and would be willing to give away for free? I have a ten year old ADHD kid whose heart is set on one for Christmas but it's just not in our budget this year.

From about 2 weeks ago

This one is more spicy than the headline looks - and it is related to everyone's favourite firearms programme. In short, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) does not want to be scapegoated, in particular related to decisions the Army has taken counter to their recommendations.

Kawasaki in talks to develop #Taurus missile engines, sources say. So far it’s an US engine. www.reuters.com/business/aer...

Hell yeah

🥳

First generation self-propelled artillery 😍

Interesting brigade structure for the French.

Now, I am only half-trolling when I say there is a timeline in which Finland by 2032 has more and better submarines in service than Sweden 😎

This is a really interesting read, regardless of whether you is the kind who usually is interested in African authoritarians or not!

Four years ago I wrote a long text on the Swedish A26 Blekinge-class that ended with the phrase: "The A26 is great, but that doesn’t mean it’s a great choice for Sweden."

Nu när Hamas istället för Israel dödar Gazabor antar jag att Palestinakommittéen och alla andra som protesterat mot kriget, inklusive Greta, går ut och börjar protestera mot Hamas?