TEL AVIV: Even as Mideast tensions escalate, with new Israeli strikes on Syria over the weekend and Iran exceeding international limits on enriched uranium, no less a figure than the director of Mossad sees a historic opportunity for peace. Why? Because Iran’s escalating aggression — especially attacks on its neighbors’ economic lifeline, oil exports —… Keep reading →

Israeli experts fear that the Iranian attacks aim to drive a wedge between the US and Europe.

TEL AVIV: The Syrian civil war may seem to be winding down, but Israel is increasingly anxious after Russia’s surprise announcement it will give Syria full control of sophisticated S-300 air defense systems that could threaten Israeli aircraft. That’s not just a theoretical concern, because Israel has been hitting targets linked to Iran and its… Keep reading →

How are Air Force pilots training for a war with Russia or China?

“The Russians are really good at this, better than us,” said the UK’s Maj. Gen. Felix Gedney, who just wrapped up a year as deputy commander of Operation Inherent Resolve. “We saw a very clever, assiduous information campaign aimed at discrediting the campaign of the coalition. And I would argue in many of our nation’s capitals, we didn’t realize we were being played.”

WASHINGTON: “You get whacked a lot.” Those are the words of someone who should know, the leader of the aggressor squadron at Red Flag, the man who tries to kill U.S. forces. Lt. Col. Tyler Lewis, commander of the 57th Adversary Tactics Support Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, echoed comments we’ve heard before, that… Keep reading →

Twenty-five years after the end of the Cold War, it may be time for NATO to adopt a new AirLand Battle-like concept to help guide its plans and capability priorities to counter the growing threat of Russia. This concept could take advantage of high-capacity air and missile defense systems and a new generation of long-range precision… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Leading Republicans hastened today to denounce China’s deployment of anti-aircraft missiles to the South China Sea. But what can the US actually do about it? The arrival of the sophisticated HQ-9 missiles in the Paracel islands — claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan but occupied by China — is just the latest step in Beijing’s steady extension… Keep reading →

PENTAGON: Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh. Marine Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford. National Guard Bureau Chief Army Gen. Frank Grass. Gen. Hawk Carlisle, head of Air Force Air Combat Command. That’s a lot of stars and command authority gathered in one place and they all came together at… Keep reading →