eCrow Newsletter

NATO Allies Begin Transfer of F-16s to Ukraine, Blinken Says

July 10, 2024 -- Industry News

The first batch of United States-built F-16 fighter jets are being transferred to Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says, as world leaders pledge continued support for Kyiv at a NATO summit in Washington. (Al Jazeera)

More Than 2 Dozen Gazans Killed in Israeli Strike

July 10, 2024 -- Industry News

Palestinian officials said an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza Strip killed more than two dozen people while advancing tanks in Gaza City forced residents to flee under fire as Israel on Tuesday stepped up an offensive that Hamas warned could jeopardise ceasefire talks. (Reuters)

How Some Ukrainian Artists Use Their Talents to Support the War Effort

July 10, 2024 -- Industry News

For most of the past two years, ETC has painted nearly five days a week. They estimate they’ve done over 600 cars, several tanks and recently a helicopter. They do the work on a volunteer basis and fundraise their own materials for the cause when they need to. (NPR)

Evacuation Order Brings New Chaos to Southeastern Gaza

July 3, 2024 -- Industry News

The Israeli army ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from much of Khan Younis on Monday, a sign that troops are likely to launch a new ground assault into the Gaza Strip’s second-largest city. (NYT)

AI Begins Ushering In an Age of Killer Robots

July 3, 2024 -- Industry News

In a field on the outskirts of Kyiv, the founders of Vyriy, a Ukrainian drone company, were recently at work on a weapon of the future. To demonstrate it, Oleksii Babenko, 25, Vyriy’s chief executive, hopped on his motorcycle and rode down a dirt path. Behind him, a drone followed, as a colleague tracked the movements from a briefcase-size computer. (NYT)

Rohde & Schwarz to Supply ESM Suite for New Polish Frigates

July 3, 2024 -- Industry News

PGZ Stocznia Wojenna shipyard has contracted Rohde & Schwarz to provide an integrated communications-band/radar-band electronic support measures suite for the Polish Navy’s new Miecznik frigates. (JED)

Armed With Quantum Sensors, France Eyes Leaps in EW

June 26, 2024 -- Industry News

The French Navy took delivery of its first serial-produced, quantum-technology sensor this year, a quantum gravimeter used for mapping the seabed, the head of the country’s defense innovation agency AID said. Future uses of such sensors could be for navigation or detecting enemy submarines. (Defense News)

Zelensky Sacks Top General Accused of Incompetence

June 26, 2024 -- Industry News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dimissed a top general after public criticism about excessive casualties and accusations of incompetence. Lt. Gen. Yuriy Sodol had been in the post of commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since earlier this year. (BBC)

Next Phase of Israel’s War on Hamas May Shift Focus to Hezbollah

June 26, 2024 -- Industry News

Israel’s prime minister says the war in the Gaza Strip will soon enter a new phase. “The intense stage of the war with Hamas is about to end,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a television interview on Sunday. “This does not mean that the war is about to end, but the war in its intense phase is about to end.” But whatever relief those comments may bring after more than half a year of horrific bloodshed, Netanyahu quickly made two things clear: A cease-fire in Gaza is not at hand. And the next fight might be in Lebanon, with the forces of a Hamas ally, Hezbollah. (NYT)

US Navy Outlines F-35 Active Expendable Decoy Plan

June 19, 2024 -- Industry News

The US Navy has revealed fast-track plans to procure a military-off-the-shelf active expendable decoy for deployment from Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II strikefighters. (JED)

Putin Will Head to North Korea as Ukraine War Redefines Ties With Kim

June 19, 2024 -- Industry News

President Vladimir Putin of Russia will head to North Korea for the first time in 24 years on Tuesday after vowing to bring ties with Pyongyang to new heights and jointly combat what he called the “global neocolonial dictatorship” of the United States. (NYT)

Netanyahu Dissolves War Cabinet

June 19, 2024 -- Industry News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disbanded his war Cabinet Monday, a move that consolidates his influence over the Israel-Hamas war and likely diminishes the odds of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip anytime soon. (AP)

DE: Where Does It Fit in the EMSO Puzzle?

June 12, 2024 -- Industry News

The realm of directed energy technologies, while promising, remains a challenging field in terms of its integration into broader electromagnetic spectrum operations. Despite significant advancements and growing interest in DE systems, these technologies struggle to find a definitive place within Department of Defense programs, primarily due to a lack of sustained leadership support, coherent funding streams and clear demonstration of value to potential military customers. (JED)

US Will Send Ukraine Another Patriot Missile System

June 12, 2024 -- Industry News

The United States will send Ukraine another Patriot missile system, two US officials said Tuesday, answering Kyiv’s desperate calls for more air defenses as it battles an intense Russian assault on the northeastern Kharkiv region. (AP)

Hamas Seeks Changes to Cease-Fire Plan, US ‘Evaluating’ the Reply

June 12, 2024 -- Industry News

Hamas said Tuesday that it gave mediators its reply to the US-backed proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza, seeking some “amendments” on the deal. It appeared the reply was short of an outright acceptance that the United States has been pushing for but kept negotiations alive over an elusive halt to the eight-month war. (AP)

Inside Ukraine, Startups Try to Edge Russia in the EW Race

June 12, 2024 -- Industry News

Local inventors are stepping up with homemade solutions to try and give their countrymen on the front lines an edge. (Breaking Defense)

China Denies Fuelling Russia-Ukraine War Tensions, Says it Supports Peace

June 5, 2024 -- Industry News

China has said it believes “all efforts” should be recognised in supporting peace measures around the Russia-Ukraine war, rejecting accusations from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that it was trying with Russia to undermine this month’s planned peace summit in Switzerland. (Al Jazeera)

South Korea Says It Will Suspend Peace Deal with North Korea Over Balloon Launches

June 5, 2024 -- Industry News

South Korea announced Monday it’ll suspend a rapprochement deal with North Korea to punish it over its launches of trash-carrying balloons, even after the North said it would halt its balloon campaign. (NPR)

Some US Weapons Stymied by Russian Jamming in Ukraine

June 5, 2024 -- Industry News

Some American-made, precision-guided weapons supplied to Ukraine have proved ineffective on the battlefield, their accuracy badly diminished by Russian jamming efforts, according to Ukrainian commanders and a Ukrainian military research project. (NYT)

The View from Here: Drones, Drones, Drones

May 29, 2024 -- Industry News

In his latest edition of The View from Here, JED Editor John Knowles discusses the strengths and weaknesses of drones. (JED)

France’s Macron Urges a Green Light for Ukraine to Strike Targets Inside Russia with Western Weapons

May 29, 2024 -- Industry News

Western countries should let Ukraine strike military bases inside Russia with the sophisticated long-range weapons they are providing to Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron said, pressuring his allies in the most recent sign of a potentially significant policy shift that could help change the complexion of the war. (AP)

Netanyahu Acknowledges 'Tragic Mishap' in Strike on Rafah that Killed Dozens

May 29, 2024 -- Industry News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that a “tragic mishap” was made in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah that set fire to a camp housing displaced Palestinians and, according to local officials, killed at least 45 people. (AP)

JED Writer Richard Scott Shortlisted for Aerospace Media Award

May 22, 2024 -- Industry News

JED contributing writer Richard Scott has been shortlisted for an Aerospace Media Award in the Best Military Aviation Submission category. (JED)

Russia Begins Nuclear Drills in Apparent Warning to West Over Ukraine

May 22, 2024 -- Industry News

Russia’s military has begun drills involving tactical nuclear weapons that were announced by Russian authorities earlier this month in an apparent warning to senior Western officials who had spoken about the possibility of deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine. (AP)

Egypt Changed Terms of Gaza Ceasefire Deal Presented to Hamas

May 22, 2024 -- Industry News

Egyptian intelligence quietly changed the terms of a ceasefire proposal that Israel had already signed off on earlier this month, ultimately scuttling a deal that could have released Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and set a pathway to temporarily end the fighting in Gaza, according to three people familiar with the discussions. (CNN)

AFRL Solicits Advanced EW Algorithms

May 15, 2024 -- Industry News

The Air Force Research Lab's Integrated Capabilities Directorate is seeking white paper proposals from industry for its Ephemeral Paragon program, which will improve the situational awareness and EW performance of individual weapons platforms. (JED)

Fighting Intensifies Between Israel and Hamas-Led Militants in North and South Gaza

May 15, 2024 -- Industry News

Gun battles between Israel and militants from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and smaller Palestinian factions intensified overnight into some of the fiercest in months in both northern and southern Gaza, both sides said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Blinken in Kyiv Tries to Rally Sagging Ukrainian Spirits as Russia Makes New Military Gains

May 15, 2024 -- Industry News

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought Tuesday to rally the spirits of glum Ukrainians facing a fierce new Russian offensive, assuring them during a visit to Kyiv that they are not alone and that billions of dollars in American military aid on its way after months of political delays will make a “real difference” on the battlefield. (AP)