Af/Pak & Other News (3/20/2021)

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Terrifying new video shows moment Afghan military helicopter crash

https://defence-blog.com/news/terrifying-new-video-shows-moment-afghan-military-helicopter-crash.html



Untangling Taliban's Ties With Al-Qaeda 'Extremely Difficult'

https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-peace-deal-taliban-ties-with-al-qaeda/31160060.html



Biden Considering Extending US Troops’ Stay in Afghanistan Until November

https://sofrep.com/news/biden-considering-extending-us-troops-stay-in-afghanistan-until-november/



Pakistan PM Khan tests positive for COVID-19, urges people to vaccinate

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pakistan-prime-min/pakistan-pm-khan-tests-positive-for-covid-19-urges-people-to-vaccinate-idUSKBN2BC09W









India’s New Aircraft Carrier: Armed with 5th Generation Fighters?

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/03/indias-new-aircraft-carrier-armed-with-5th-generation-fighters/



U.S. defense secretary urges India to avoid buying Russian equipment

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-asia-austin-india/u-s-defense-secretary-urges-india-to-avoid-buying-russian-equipment-idUSKBN2BC071









Iran Probably Already Has the Bomb. Here’s What to Do about It

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/03/iran-probably-already-has-the-bomb-heres-what-to-do-about-it/









Saudi-led coalition intercepts and destroys Houthi drone: Saudi TV

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-saudi/saudi-led-coalition-intercepts-and-destroys-houthi-drone-saudi-tv-idUSKBN2BC0AM



Saudi Coalition Retaliates Against Iran-backed Houthi Forces in Yemen

https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/saudi-coalition-retaliates-against-iran-backed-houthi-forces-yemen



Saudi Arabia Says Missiles in Aramco Attacks Were Made in Iran

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-20/saudi-arabia-says-missiles-in-aramco-attacks-were-made-in-iran




Turkish Navy’s UCAV engages sea target for the first time

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/03/turkish-navys-ucav-engages-sea-target-for-the-first-time/



After big wins, interest in Turkish combat drones soars

https://www.defencetalk.com/after-big-wins-interest-in-turkish-combat-drones-soars-76889/









First Turkish Air Strikes On Kurdish Zone In Syria In 17 Months: Monitor

https://www.barrons.com/news/first-turkish-air-strikes-on-kurdish-zone-in-syria-in-17-months-monitor-01616280904?tesla=y



Assad’s Violence Started a Conflict That Will Burn for Decades

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/19/syria-protests-civil-war-anniversary-assad/



10 years into Syrian civil war, warning of 'catastrophic' conditions in last rebel stronghold of Idlib

https://abcnews.go.com/International/10-years-syrian-civil-war-warning-catastrophic-conditions/story?id=76489781



Further evidence emerges of Russia’s systematic targeting of hospitals in Syria

https://medium.com/dfrlab/further-evidence-emerges-of-russias-systematic-targeting-of-hospitals-in-syria-89e5a9bcce15




Lebanon's economic meltdown, fear of chaos push army to the edge

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2021/03/19/lebanon-army-crisis-collapse-salary/1361616175776/









Is Israel Slowly Building a Military Alliance in Persian Gulf?

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/israel-slowly-building-military-alliance-persian-gulf-180004



British analyst: Israel could deploy F-35s to UAE

https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/48920



Israel: The Hawk Evolves Into A WASP

https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htintel/articles/20210320.aspx









Libya orders investigation after bodies found in Benghazi

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/libya-investigation-bodies-benghazi



West's Libya Bombing 10 Years Ago Drove Vladimir Putin to Middle East Showdown with U.S.

https://www.newsweek.com/west-libya-bombing-ten-years-ago-putin-showdown-mideast-1577266



10 Years Ago Today, The Beginning Of The Air War In Libya

https://theaviationist.com/2021/03/19/10-years-ago-today-the-beginning-of-the-air-war-in-libya/



Disaster at Tarhuna: When Haftar Lost Another Stronghold In Crushing Defeat To The GNA

https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2020/09/disaster-at-tarhuna-how-haftar-blew-yet.html




Algeria has ordered 300 Russian-made BMPT-72 Terminator 2 fire support armored vehicles

https://www.armyrecognition.com/defense_news_march_2021_global_security_army_industry/algeria_has_ordered_300_russian-made_bmpt-72_terminator_2_fire_support_armored_vehicles.html




US deploys Green Berets to defeat ISIS-linked insurgents accused of beheading children on a new front in southern Africa

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-deploys-green-berets-defeat-093131735.html




Indian sailors are being caught in a piracy boom off West Africa. One captain held hostage shares his story

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/20/asia/piracy-indian-sailors-gulf-of-guinea-intl-hnk-dst/index.html




Russia’s Increasing Global Reach: 2nd Navy Ship Calls At Port Sudan in Red Sea

http://www.hisutton.com/Russian-Navy-Base-In-Sudan.html









NATO warships train with Ukrainian Navy

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/nato-warships-train-with-ukrainian-navy/



How Russians tried to sell a flying saucer | EKIP Part 2

https://www.aerotime.aero/27393-How-Russians-tried-to-sell-a-flying-saucer-EKIP-Part-2



What is left of the Russian flying saucer? | EKIP Part 3

https://www.aerotime.aero/27504-What-is-left-of-the-Russian-flying-saucer-EKIP-Part-3



Russia Is Jamming Royal Air Force Transport Aircraft Flying Out Of Cyprus: Reports

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39872/russia-is-jamming-royal-air-force-transport-aircraft-flying-out-of-cyprus-reports




Learning the lessons of Nagorno-Karabakh the Russian way

https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2021/03/lessons-of-nagorno-karabakh




Bulgarian PM tells Russia to stop spying after intelligence ring charges

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-russia-espionage/bulgarian-pm-tells-russia-to-stop-spying-after-intelligence-ring-charges-idUSKBN2BC0MR




Hacker Leaked Secret Details Of GlobalEye AEW&C On Dark Web

https://fighterjetsworld.com/air/hacker-leaked-secret-details-of-globaleye-aewc-on-dark-web/24834/




Berlin Assassination: New Evidence on Suspected FSB Hitman Passed to German Investigators

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/03/19/berlin-assassination-new-evidence-on-suspected-fsb-hitman-passed-to-german-investigators/



Armed Drones: A Very German Drama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PBXtVcfr34



Proposed US submarine-hunting plane prompts hand-wringing in Germany

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/03/19/proposed-us-submarine-hunting-plane-prompts-hand-wringing-in-germany/




France and Italy to develop New Generation NG of SAMP/T air defense missile system

https://www.armyrecognition.com/defense_news_march_2021_global_security_army_industry/france_and_italy_to_develop_new_generation_ng_of_samp/t_air_defense_missile_system.html




Belgian Cops Tasked With Guarding NATO Headquarters Still Wield The Iconic Uzi Submachine Gun

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39474/belgian-cops-tasked-with-guarding-nato-headquarters-still-wield-the-iconic-uzi-submachine-gun









China's Next Geopolitical Goal: Dominate Antarctica

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/chinas-next-geopolitical-goal-dominate-antarctica-180579





Chinese anti-submarine aircraft enters Taiwan’s ADIZ

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4156099



Rumors of War in the Taiwan Strait

https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/rumors-of-war-in-the-taiwan-strait/





North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Center: Additional Activity at the Radiochemical Laboratory and Uranium Enrichment Plant

https://www.38north.org/2021/03/north-koreas-yongbyon-nuclear-center-additional-activity-at-the-radiochemical-laboratory-and-uranium-enrichment-plant/





South Korea looks to buy AGM-114R multi-purpose Hellfire II missiles

https://defence-blog.com/news/army/south-korea-looks-to-buy-agm-114r-multi-purpose-hellfire-ii-missiles.html





International pressure on Myanmar generals grows as protesters march, one killed

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics/international-pressure-on-myanmar-generals-grows-as-protesters-march-one-killed-idUSKBN2BC026










US Military Has “A Lot More” on UFOs Ex-Intelligence Director Confirms

https://thedebrief.org/us-military-has-a-lot-more-on-ufos-ex-intelligence-director-confirms/



More 'Difficult to Explain' UFO Sightings to Be Declassified, Says Former Trump Intel Chief

https://www.newsweek.com/former-dni-more-ufo-sightings-declassified-unexplained-1577595



Wow. Previous intelligence chief basically tells Fox News that UFOs are real (video)

https://hotair.com/archives/jazz-shaw/2021/03/20/wow-previous-intelligence-chief-basically-tells-fox-news-ufos-real-video/



Hackers Accessed Security Cameras Inside Tesla and Beyond

https://www.wired.com/story/verkada-hack-github-exchange-server-exploit-security-news/



“Expert” hackers used 11 0-days to infect Windows, iOS, and Android users

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/03/expert-hackers-used-11-zerodays-to-infect-windows-ios-and-android-users/



U.S. Sentences Cybercriminals From Russia, North Macedonia To Stiff Prison Terms

https://www.rferl.org/a/us-sentences-cybercriminals-from-russia-and-north-macedonia-/31160664.html



U.S. military branches gather data, conduct training on extremism

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2021/03/19/military-pentagon-extremism-standdown/7481616172871/



Nothing But Images Of Precision Guided Weapons Taken Just Before They Obliterate Their Targets

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39870/nothing-but-images-of-precision-guided-weapons-taken-just-before-they-obliterate-their-targets



Elon Musk denies Tesla cars are used for spying in China

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56471681



Biden administration to launch cyber attacks on Russia as feud with Putin escalates

https://news.yahoo.com/biden-administration-launch-cyber-attacks-173336952.html



Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner Pilot Injured By Laser Attack

https://fighterjetsworld.com/air/virgin-atlantic-boeing-787-dreamliner-pilot-injured-by-laser-attack/24841/



High-Performance Target Drone Washes Up On Florida Beach

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39863/high-performance-target-drone-washes-up-on-florida-beach



Slandering the U.S. Military . . . Again

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/03/slandering-the-u-s-military-again/



Pilots Could Be Eligible for Up to $420K to Stay in Service

https://www.airforcemag.com/pilots-could-be-eligible-for-up-to-420k-to-stay-in-service/



A Fighter Pilot And YouTuber Wants To Put Flight Sim Enthusiasts In Real Jets To Dogfight So We Can Watch

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2021/03/19/a-fighter-pilot-and-youtuber-wants-to-put-flight-sim-enthusiasts-in-real-jets-so-we-can-watch-them-struggle/



Microdrones, AI, and VR glasses: A sneak peek into the future of war and how we’ll train for it

https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/military-future-war-training-ai-vr-drones/



Army Outlines Ambitious Schedule For Robots, Armor

https://breakingdefense.com/2021/03/army-outlines-ambitious-schedule-for-robots-armor/



NTC's New OPFOR Combat Vehicles Will Look and Perform Like Modern Enemy Battle Wagons

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/03/17/ntcs-new-opfor-combat-vehicles-will-look-and-perform-modern-enemy-battle-wagons.html



‘Robo’ Tanks: The U.S. Army Wants Robot Combat Vehicles

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/03/robo-tanks-the-u-s-army-wants-robot-combat-vehicles/



US Air Force’s T-38 trainer could soon dogfight with augmented reality adversaries

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/03/19/the-air-forces-t-38-trainer-could-dogfight-with-augmented-reality-adversaries-soon/



Folding Jayhawks to boost U.S. Coast Guard reach at sea

https://verticalmag.com/news/folding-jayhawks-boost-us-coast-guard-sea-reach/



US Navy eyeing manned/unmanned teaming upgrade for E-2D fleet

https://defbrief.com/2021/03/20/us-navy-eyeing-manned-unmanned-teaming-upgrade-for-e-2d-fleet/



F-35A Carried Out First In-Flight Drop Of JSM (Joint Strike Missile) Anti-Ship And Land-Attack Missile

https://theaviationist.com/2021/03/20/f-35a-carried-out-first-in-flight-drop-of-joint-strike-missile-jsm-anti-ship-and-land-attack-missile/



Drones Could One Day Make Up 40% of a Carrier Air Wing, Navy Says

https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2021/03/drones-could-one-day-make-40-carrier-air-wing-navy-says/172799/



Navy Wants Triple-Packed Hypersonic Missile Modules On Its Stealthy Zumwalt Destroyers

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39867/navy-wants-triple-packed-hypersonic-missile-modules-on-its-stealthy-zumwalt-destroyers



Columbia Submarine Program Challenges Supply Chains

https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/3/19/columbia-submarine-program-challenges-supply-chains