Mil News NATO Military News

[muck]

NATO picks Boeing E-7A Wedgetail as E-3 AWACS replacement: Source

From 14 aircraft down to 6? I do understand the E-7A will offer better availability rates than those ancient E-3A's, but still …

 

[Fluff]

NATO picks Boeing E-7A Wedgetail as E-3 AWACS replacement: Source

From 14 aircraft down to 6? I do understand the E-7A will offer better availability rates than those ancient E-3A's, but still …

U.K. needed 5, but cut to 3…. But we already ordered 5 radars…..

I know uk has 14 drones coming as well, but it does seem wafer thin.

 

[av405]

NATO picks Boeing E-7A Wedgetail as E-3 AWACS replacement: Source

From 14 aircraft down to 6? I do understand the E-7A will offer better availability rates than those ancient E-3A's, but still …

Maybe 6 is just the initial order, with follow up orders to come?

 

[PEMM]

DCA agreement between Finland and USA to be signed.

US soldiers can access these areas of Finland - see the map

Finland allows US troops to a total of 15 storage and training areas.

The DCA (Defense Cooperation Agreement) between Finland and the United States was published on Thursday.

In the agreement, the countries agreed, among other things, on the transfer of US troops and defense equipment to Finland.

In Finland, the United States is granted access to a total of 15 areas, including storage and training areas.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that the starting point for choosing the areas has been strengthening Finland's defense and relying on the existing infrastructure of the Defense Forces.

The map below shows storage and training areas that US forces and defense equipment have access to under the DCA. You can read the comprehensive list at the end of the story.

Näille Suomen alueille USA:n sotilaat pääsevät – katso kartta

Suomi päästää Yhdysvaltain joukkoja yhteensä 15:lle varasto- ja harjoitusalueelle.

www-is-fi.translate.goog

Paper itself (in Finnish)

DCA-sopimus.pdf

drive.google.com

American troops would be quite close to Northern fleet.

 

[muck]

U.K. needed 5, but cut to 3…. But we already ordered 5 radars…..

I know uk has 14 drones coming as well, but it does seem wafer thin.

I do hope @av405 is right and there'll be further aircraft, but maybe the smaller fleet has something to do with the fact that Europe is (finally) making some investments into ISR assets. There's the UK with its considerable fleet; Poland has recently bought two AEW aircraft; Germany has three ELINT planes on order; and, of course, NATO has now its own Global Hawks in Sigonella.
It's possible that planners concluded these additional assets have made some of the 14 AWACS redudant.

 

[Fluff]

I do hope @av405 is right and there'll be further aircraft, but maybe the smaller fleet has something to do with the fact that Europe is (finally) making some investments into ISR assets. There's the UK with its considerable fleet; Poland has recently bought two AEW aircraft; Germany has three ELINT planes on order; and, of course, NATO has now its own Global Hawks in Sigonella.
It's possible that planners concluded these additional assets have made some of the 14 AWACS redudant.

Yes, everyone is suddenly making decisions, after decades of meetings, reports, powerpoints.

I hope the RAF will at least buy the 2 extra, even if its in a couple of years time.

 

[NoOne]

Sweden Another Step Closer to Joining NATO

All eyes will be on Orbán soon I expect.

 

[PEMM]

Nothing new from the Finnish-Chinese border.

Russian diplomat: Finland would be the first to suffer in Nato conflict

A senior Russian diplomat has said Finland would be the "first to suffer" in a conflict between Russia and Nato.

Mikhail Ulyanov, who serves as Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organisations in Vienna, made the comments in an interview with the Russian news agency RIA.

"They [the Finns] had lived calmly and in peace and suddenly found themselves between Russia and Nato as a member of the military alliance, but since they are our neighbours, if, God forbid there is some escalation, they will be the first to suffer. Of course, I would certainly not want that," Ulyanov said replying to a question about Finland joining the defence alliance. https://yle.fi/a/74-20066844

Finns just out of the blue decided to apply...

It's funny how one hand they say that Finland was practically already in Nato, and on the other hand Finland was neutral and just suddenly joined.

EDIT: Personally I would be more worried in large Russian cities. They lack proper shelters for population in case of war. I doubt russian civilian authorities are all that well prepared either. In comparison, Finland is sparsely populated and in cities we have, all apartment blocks have bomb/fallout shelters. Even in that last big war, quite few Finnish civilians died in bombings and not for lack of trying by the Soviets.

So it would be good, for russians, to wake up from their power dreams and start building their own country. From this side, no-one is lacking anything from them.

 

[PEMM]

@muck I think one reason people in other countries have bad view of conscription is that it was mostly spent of nonsense (potato peeling, making bed, cleaning). Doesn't have to be though

The conscripts' will to defend their country continues to rise - the best results of the time series in the final survey

Record-high results in the final survey of conscripts discharged in December 2023.

The final surveys, which are collected upon departure, tell the Finnish Defense Forces about the conscript's view of his service time. In the final survey of conscripts discharged in December 2023, the highest results of the current survey (2014-2023) were achieved.

In the final survey of returning conscripts, assessments are given on a scale of 1–5. In the survey of those who returned home in December 2023, conscripts' will to defend the country (4.6), time in the army (4.3) and physical education (3.8) rose to a record level. In addition, e.g. satisfaction with the staff (4.3), assessment of squad leaders (4.0) and officer cadets (4.3) have remained at a high level.

Feedback surveys support the development of the Defense Forces

Feedback surveys play a significant role in the development of training. The feedback surveys are analyzed at all management levels of the Defense Forces, from the General Staff to the base unit. In the long term, the results have been on an upward trend. The feedback surveys will be renewed from the beginning of 2024, but some of the results will remain comparable to previous years.

The war in Ukraine shows in the results

The results of the final survey also show that the war in Ukraine has strengthened conscripts' service motivation and will to defend their country. Overall, there has been an increase since 2022 precisely in terms of conscripts' will to defend the country and service motivation.

Varusmiesten maanpuolustustahto jatkaa nousuaan – kotiutuneilta loppukyselyssä aikasarjan parhaat tulokset -

puolustusvoimat-fi.translate.goog

 

[Picanha]

1000 MIM-104 (PAC3 MSE most probably) have been ordered by 4 european NATO members.

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_221626.htm?selectedLocale=en

 

[muck]

This is not just a step into the right direction, it's also a reminder of a deeper issue at the same time. I just read that these missiles will be delivered from 2030 onwards. That's six years from now. And yes, other orders came in first, but it's still amazing to me that it's apparently not worth it for Raytheon to increase their production capacities more quickly, or that they cannot do it more quickly for reasons beyond their control.

 

[NoOne]

This is not just a step into the right direction, it's also a reminder of a deeper issue at the same time. I just read that these missiles will be delivered from 2030 onwards. That's six years from now. And yes, other orders came in first, but it's still amazing to me that it's apparently not worth it for Raytheon to increase their production capacities more quickly, or that they cannot do it more quickly for reasons beyond their control.

We continue with business as usual while our adversaries prepare.

 

[muck]

Exactly. Not only do Western governments not place enough orders, they do not even create the conditions making it worthwhile for defence companies to invest in their production capacities. It's not worth the hassle if they can't be sure the capital is indeed fully committed. Heck, most governments probably don't have the foggiest idea as to where to start.

 

[Mike1976]

Exactly. Not only do Western governments not place enough orders, they do not even create the conditions making it worthwhile for defence companies to invest in their production capacities. It's not worth the hassle if they can't be sure the capital is indeed fully committed. Heck, most governments probably don't have the foggiest idea as to where to start.

Governments AFAIK often use pension funds for this kind of (indirect) investment, but any pension fund that has commented on the subject says they will not invest in the arms industry under any circumstance.

The rot runs very deep.

 

[Mike1976]

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[PEMM]

MTS survey: Finns are very ready to defend other NATO countries - the majority would increase defense spending

Nine out of ten Finns are ready to fulfill NATO's Article 5 joint defense obligation, according to a recent survey by the National Defense Information Planning Board (MTS).

Of the respondents, 65 percent fully and 26 percent somewhat agree that Finland should be ready to defend another NATO country that is the target of an armed attack. Compared to other member countries, Finland is in the top of NATO in this respect.

In practice, all respondents to the MTS survey (97 percent) consider that other allies should also reciprocally come to the aid of attacked Finland.

A record three out of five respondents would be ready to further increase Finland's own defense budget. 30 percent of respondents would consider spending at the current level (that higher than in previous years). Only four out of a hundred respondents would be ready to reduce the defense budget, which is the lowest number in MTS surveys since 1970. https://yle.fi/a/74-20070259

Good numbers but still, 6% think that we should not help other Nato countries, while we should be helped.

 

[Mike1976]

Good numbers but still, 6% think that we should not help other Nato countries, while we should be helped.

I think you'll find roughly the same percentage of brain rot across NATO on the extreme left and right.

 

[NoOne]

Turkey's Parliament to Vote on Swedish Ascension to NATO

Then Orbán will have no clothes.

A disgusting image, yes.

EDIT:

Hungary's Orbán invites Swedish PM to discuss NATO membership bid

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he has sent a letter inviting his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, to discuss Sweden's NATO membership bid. "Today I sent an invitation letter to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for a visit to Hungary to negotiate on Sweden’s NATO accession," Orbán...

news.yahoo.com

 

[NoOne]

Turkey Votes Sweden In

Well,Viktor?

 

[NoOne]

Hungary Exposed on Swedish NATO Membership

Hungary needs to be ostracized, maybe not kicked out completely, but sat at the kiddie table prepared especially for them with a second chair ready to welcome Slovakia. They are having it both ways and that cannot continue.