Af/Pak & Other News (6/2/2021)

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U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan at least 30% complete, CENTCOM says

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2021/06/01/Afghanistan-US-withdrawal-30-44-percent-complete-Central-Command/3091622577019/



A Month Into the US Withdrawal From Afghanistan

https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/a-month-into-the-us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/



U.S. Will Reportedly Hand Over Bagram to Afghan Forces

https://www.airforcemag.com/us-reportedly-transfer-bagram-afghan-forces/



A Siege, a Supply Run and a Descent Into a Decade-Old Battle

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/31/world/afghanistan-helmand-marja.html



Taliban Making ‘Strategic’ Military Gains In Afghanistan As Foreign Forces Pull Out

https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-strategic-military-gains-afghanistan-/31284934.html









Chemical cargo ship sinks in one of Sri Lanka's worst-ever marine disasters

https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20210602-chemical-cargo-ship-sinks-in-one-of-sri-lanka-s-worst-ever-marine-disasters



Sri Lanka Issues Fishing Ban Along Coast Amid Fears of Chemical Leak from Sinking Ship

https://www.newsweek.com/sri-lanka-issues-fishing-ban-along-coast-amid-fears-chemical-leak-sinking-ship-1596842









Kharg, biggest warship in Iran's navy, catches fire and sinks in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kharg-iran-navy-warship-fire-gulf-oman/



Iranian Warship Thought to be Headed to Venezuela Left Port with 7 High-Speed Missile Boats Aboard

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/01/iranian-warship-thought-to-be-headed-to-venezuela-left-port-with-7-high-speed-missile-boats-aboard



OSINT on Iranian Ship Makran, Sailing To Venezuela

http://www.hisutton.com/OSINT-Update-Makran-Iran-Venezuela.html



Massive fire breaks out at oil refinery near Iran’s capital

https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-iran-business-ba9925e4df84bacd5036b18e7f3e1d0b



Iran ducking questions about uranium at undeclared sites, UN watchdog says

https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-ducking-questions-about-uranium-at-undeclared-sites-un-watchdog-says/









Erdogan Says Turkey Could Target Refugee Camp Deep Inside Iraq

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-06-02/erdogan-says-turkey-could-target-refugee-camp-deep-inside-iraq









Bashar al-Assad’s decade of destruction in Syria

https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/jun/02/bashar-al-assads-decade-of-destruction-in-syria-podcast



Israel Says Destroys Syrian Army Post in Golan

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/06/02/israel-destroys-syrian-army-post-golan/









Israel will ask US for $1bn to ‘replenish’ Iron Dome

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/2/israel-will-ask-us-for-1-billion-to-replenish-iron-dome



Defiant Israel Military Says U.S. Should Copy Gaza Strategy, Not Criticize

https://www.newsweek.com/defiant-israel-military-us-copy-gaza-strategy-not-criticize-it-1596739



Israel arrests senior Hamas commander in the West Bank

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-arrests-senior-hamas-commander-in-the-west-bank/









Libya’s two surviving Mirage F-1s fighter jets fly again

https://www.africanmilitaryblog.com/2021/06/libyas-two-surviving-mirage-f-1s-fighter-jets-flies-again




How These Mali Coup Plotters Staged a False Flag Pro-Russia March

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pro-russia-demonstration-was-false-flag-operation-staged-by-mali-coup-plotters




The project of a Russian Naval base in Sudan may be canceled

http://navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2021/june/10235-the-project-of-a-russian-naval-base-in-sudan-may-be-canceled.html




Nigeria rules out paying ransom for hundreds of kidnapped school children

https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20210602-nigerian-authorities-refuse-to-pay-ransom-for-kidnapped-school-children










Russia still has a military edge over Ukraine, but Ukraine has plans to make a future war more costly for Moscow

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-still-has-a-military-edge-over-ukraine-but-ukraine-has-plans-to-make-a-future-war-more-costly-for-moscow/ar-AAKD7g5



Russia Will Monitor Ukraine-U.S. Military Drills and React if Necessary -Defence Ministry

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-06-02/russia-will-monitor-ukraine-us-military-drills-and-react-if-necessary-defence-ministry



Russia Announces Arctic Military Drills In Further Sign Of Increasing Presence

https://coffeeordie.com/russia-announces-arctic-military-drills/



US says cyber attack on world's largest meatpacker likely from Russia

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20210602-us-says-cyber-attack-on-meatpacking-giant-jbs-likely-from-russia



Russia Focuses on Arms Sales to ‘Like-Minded’ Generals in Myanmar

https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/russia-focuses-on-arms-sales-to-like-minded-generals-in-myanmar/





Azerbaijan says it forced around 40 Armenian troops to retreat after border incursion

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/azerbaijan-says-forced-around-40-armenian-troops-retreat-after-border-incursion-2021-06-02/





UK: Cammell Laird ‘ready to deliver’ new National Flagship

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/cammell-laird-ready-to-deliver-new-national-flagship/



Japanese Air Force One spotted flying low over Cornwall, England

http://alert5.com/2021/06/02/japanese-air-force-one-spotted-flying-low-over-cornwall-england/









Chinese fishing armada accused of plundering waters around Argentina

https://www.yahoo.com/news/chinese-fishing-armada-accused-plundering-031831689.html



Chinese Fishing Vessels Are Going 'Dark' Off of Argentina's Waters

https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-fishing-vessels-going-dark-off-argentina-waters-2021-6









PLANAF J-15 fighters seen operating from Lingshui Airbase in South China Sea

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/planaf-j-15-fighters-seen-operating-from-lingshui-airbase-in-south-china-sea



Mike Pompeo Says 'Every Piece of Evidence' Points to Wuhan Lab Leak

https://www.newsweek.com/mike-pompeo-says-every-piece-evidence-points-wuhan-lab-leak-1596759



What Happens if the Coronavirus Wuhan Lab Leak Thesis Is True?

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/06/what-happens-if-the-coronavirus-wuhan-lab-leak-thesis-is-true/





Sea trial of Taiwan’s Sea Oryx short-range air defense system

http://alert5.com/2021/06/02/sea-trial-of-taiwans-sea-oryx-short-range-air-defense-system/





16 Chinese Airlifters Made A Run Over The South China Sea At Malaysian Airspace

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40868/16-chinese-airlifters-made-a-run-over-the-south-china-sea-at-malaysian-airspace





Salvage of Indonesian submarine ends as questions over military hardware loom

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-ends-salvage-efforts-sunken-submarine-2021-06-02/





Philippines: South China Sea Escalation

https://www.strategypage.com/qnd/phillip/articles/20210602.aspx





Australia: Defence looking at alternatives to French submarines in case $90 billion program falters

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-02/defence-contingency-planning-french-submarine-program-germans/100184644



Cyborg Dynamics Engineering unveils ATGM-equipped Warfighter UGV concept

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/land-forces-2021-cyborg-dynamics-engineering-unveils-atgm-equipped-warfighter-ugv-concept










The congressional UFO report is expected soon. Here's what we know about it and when you can expect it

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/06/01/congressional-ufo-report-expected-month-whats-it/5288989001/



New Details Emerge On The "Highly Modified Drone" That Outran Police Helicopters Over Tucson

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40756/new-details-emerge-on-the-highly-modified-drone-that-outran-police-helicopters-over-tucson



Pentagon shrugs after Michael Flynn apparently calls for military coup

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/pentagon-michael-flynn-military-coup/



For CIA, protecting defectors is a daunting task

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jun/1/cia-protecting-defectors-daunting-task-secret-keep/



COVID-19 Expands Military Use of AR, VR Glasses

https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/6/2/covid-19-expands-military-use-of-ar-vr-glasses



Taking Underwater Communications And Power to New Depths With Light

https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/sensors/remote-sensing/new-approach-could-take-underwater-communication-using-light-to-new-depths



When Foreign Adversaries Purchase Americans’ Data

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2021/06/02/when_foreign_adversaries_purchase_americans_data_779732.html



U.S. Navy destroyer successfully intercepts ballistic targets

https://defence-blog.com/u-s-navy-destroyer-successfully-intercepts-ballistic-targets/



Helicopter UAV Loss Rate

https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htnavai/articles/20210602.aspx



Arizona Lawmakers Voice Opposition To Proposed A-10 Fleet Cuts

https://www.overtdefense.com/2021/06/02/arizona-lawmakers-voice-opposition-to-proposed-a-10-fleet-cuts/



Pentagon Shelves Plans for New Air Force Two

https://www.defenseone.com/business/2021/06/pentagon-shelves-plans-new-air-force-two/174434/



Aerospace & Defense Roundup: June 01

https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/light-attack-advanced-training/aerospace-defense-roundup-june-01



Rocket Delivery Of Cargo Anywhere In An Hour In New Air Force Budget Proposal

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40865/rocket-delivery-of-cargo-anywhere-in-an-hour-in-new-air-force-budget-proposal



Rocket Resupply Sounds Cool, But There Are Smarter Ways For The U.S. Military To Spend Its Money

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2021/06/02/rocket-resupply-sure-sounds-cool-but-there-are-probably-better-ways-for-the-us-air-force-to-spend-its-money/



Space Force To Develop Tech For New Types Of Launch

https://breakingdefense.com/2021/06/space-force-to-develop-tech-for-new-types-of-launch/



SPMAGTF-CR-CC Marines practice using Drone Buster

http://alert5.com/2021/06/01/spmagtf-cr-cc-marines-practice-using-drone-buster/



Air Force asks for more F-15EX jets in FY22 unfunded wish list, not F-35s

https://www.defensenews.com/congress/budget/2021/06/02/air-force-asks-for-more-f-15ex-jets-in-fy22-unfunded-wish-list-not-f-35s/



Pentagon Eyes New Bombs for War With China, Not ISIS

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/06/01/pentagon-eyes-new-bombs-war-china-not-isis.html



Navy Keeps Next-Generation Fighter Research Costs Classified

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/01/navy-keeps-next-generation-fighter-research-costs-classified



US Air Force to skip a year of Grey Wolf helicopter procurement in FY22

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/06/02/air-force-to-skip-a-year-of-grey-wolf-helicopter-procurement-in-fy22/



U.S. Navy Funds New Submarine-Launched Nuclear Cruise Missile Biden Called “A Bad Idea”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2021/06/02/us-navy-funds-new-submarine-launched-nuclear-cruise-missile-biden-called-a-bad-idea/



Analyst Says Pentagon ‘Walked Away From the 500-ship Navy’

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/01/analyst-says-pentagon-walked-away-from-the-500-ship-navy



Surveillance planes test Harpoon missiles in NATO exercise

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2021/06/02/p8a-harpoon-missilkes-nato/2691622648555/



The Navy's Railgun Looks Like It's Finally Facing The Axe In New Budget Request

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40875/the-navys-railgun-looks-like-its-finally-facing-the-axe-in-new-budget-request



Report to Congress on Navy SSN(X) Next-Generation Attack Submarine

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/02/report-to-congress-on-navy-ssnx-next-generation-attack-submarine-2