The following is the Feb. 13, 2023, Congressional Research Service report, Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
Category Archives: China
U.S., Japan, South Korea Hold Ballistic Missile Defense Drills after North Korean Launches
JS ATAGO conducted an information sharing EX on BMD with U.S. and ROK naval vessels in the Sea of Japan. JSDF Photo
The U.S., Japan and South Korea carried out a trilateral Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) drill in the Sea of Japan Wednesday in response to North Korean missile launches Saturday and Monday. Read More
Chinese Naval Aviation to Allow Female, Non-Military College Pilots for the First Time
People’s Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier Shandong berths at a naval port in Sanya, China. PLAN Photo
For the first time, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is recruiting females and graduates from non-military colleges to be naval aviators, it announced through a recruitment drive released Monday. Read More
U.S. Marines, Japan Self Defense Force Kick Off Iron Fist Exercise in Western Pacific
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Matthew Danner, commanding officer of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, right, and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Col. Yoshikazu Nishida, the commanding officer of the 1st Amphibious Rapid Deployment Regiment, left, visit U.S. Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 31st MEU, conducting defensive posturing for Iron Fist 23 at Hijudai, Japan, Feb. 19, 2023. US Marine Corps
The U.S Marine Corps and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) began the bilateral Iron Fist 2023 exercise last week. It’s the first exercise that has been held in Japan since it began in 2006. Previous iterations were held at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. Read More
Navy, Coast Guard Wrap Chinese Spy Balloon Recovery off South Carolina
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.– Sailors assigned to Assault Craft Unit 4 prepare material recovered in the Atlantic Ocean from a high-altitude balloon for transport to federal agents at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek Feb. 10, 2023. US Navy Photo
The Navy and Coast Guard have finished collecting the remnants of a Chinese high altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina, U.S. Northern Command announced Friday. Read More
Coast Guard Moving Cutter to Pacific as Regional Missions Expand
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Bear, a 270 foot, medium endurance cutter, arrives in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to deliver supplies, Oct. 9, 2017. US Coast Guard Photo
SAN DIEGO – Driven by greater demand for its partnerships and presence in the Indo-Pacific region, the U.S. Coast Guard is growing its operational presence in the vast region that’s unsettled by continuing incursions from China’s naval militia and fishing fleet, the Pacific Area commander told an audience today. Read More
Nimitz Strike Group, Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group Drill in South China Sea
An MV-22 Osprey from the “Ugly Angels” of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 362 flies by the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) in the South China Sea on Feb. 11, 2023. U.S. Navy Photo
A United States Navy carrier strike group and amphibious ready group are drilling in the South China Sea in the service’s latest effort to test how the formations can operate together with their respective platforms. Read More
U.S., Allies Need to Operate in the High North More to Deter China, Russia, Experts Say
The crews of Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) and Canadian coast guard ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier conducted a search and rescue exercise near Point Hope, Alaska, Oct. 12, 2022. US Coast Guard
Physical presence by allied navies and coast guards is increasingly important as Russia builds up its military presence and China’s expands its intentions beyond commerce in the waters of the High North, senior maritime officers from three countries and a National Security Council official agreed last week. Read More
UPDATED: U.S. Downs 3 Unidentified Flying Objects Nearly a Week After Shooting Down Chinese Spy Balloon
F-22 Raptor takes off for a training mission at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on May 16, 2014. US Air Force Photo
This post has been updated with additional details on a third shootdown of a high-flying object over U.S. airspace.
The U.S. downed two high-altitude flying objects that flew into North American airspace near Alaska on Friday and over Canada on Saturday, a Pentagon spokesman said. On Sunday, the U.S. downed a third unidentified object over Lake Huron, Mich. Read More
Officials Confirm Suspicious Balloon Overflights of Japan, Won’t Say They Came From China
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosts Japan’s Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada for talks at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Sept. 14, 2022. DoD Photo
The Japanese have had their own instances of unidentified flying objects and surveillance balloons sighted over the country in the past few years, Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Friday. Read More
