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Azerbaijan may freeze assets of mass destruction weapon distributors

29Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation

Azerbaijan may freeze assets of mass destruction weapon distributors

Assets of distributors of mass destruction weapons may be frozen in Azerbaijan, Trend reports. This issue was reflected in a bill ‘On targeted financial sanctions' put up for discussion at a joint meeting of the Azerbaijani Parliament’s committees on defense, security and combating corruption and the Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship, held on December 7. According to the bill, targeted financial sanctions have a preventive character and envisage a number of measures aimed at preventing the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. These measures include the immediate freezing of assets, and the prohibition of the provision of individuals and institutions subject to sanctions, assets, economic resources, and financial and oth...

AI In Space And Its Future Use In Warfare

29Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Space Defense

AI In Space And Its Future Use In Warfare

Artificial intelligence (AI) has graduated from the hype stage of the last decade and its use cases are now well documented, spanning a wide range from healthcare applications to autonomous vehicles – but its introduction to warfare will likely be the deciding factor in who will dominate the information age. Today, AI machine learning algorithms support a whole host of media and web-based consumer platforms. Much like the aviation and nuclear technologies adopted in decades past, AI techniques are relatively neutral; however, properly harnessed AI technology will afford an asymmetric advantage that advances and adapts far more quickly than previous technologies. Since AI is largely software running on commercial processors it doesn’t require the decade long development cycles of nuclear...

Changing geopolitics and the emergence of a new global order

29Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Geopolitics and International Security

Changing geopolitics and the emergence of a new global order

As the year 2022 comes to an end, some of the major global issues have not been resolved. One of them is the strife between Russia and Ukraine. Russia has continuously bombarded Ukraine’s energy infrastructure using missiles and drones. Vladimir Putin defends his government’s actions by calling it a response to the blast on a Russian bridge in early October. This move from the Moscow is a clear target on the moral of the Ukrainian population which is reeling under the hit to its energy supplies. Under the growing concern of Iran supplying Russia with long-range ballistic missiles, the United States (US) has started supplying Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine as a response. There have been continuous calls for dialogue on the global level, but the possibility of anything positive m...

China Military Power Report Examines Changes in Beijing’s Strategy

28Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Defense Strategy and Capabilities

China Military Power Report Examines Changes in Beijing’s Strategy

The 2022 China Military Power Report lays out the challenges facing the United States military as it works to manage relations with the emerging superpower. The report, released today, calls the Peoples' Republic of China "the most consequential and systemic challenge to our national security and to a free and open international system." A senior defense official speaking on background said China is increasingly clear, in its ambitions and intentions. "It's important to understand the contours of [Peoples' Liberation Army] modernization to include their thinking about what the PLA's way of war would look like, to kind of survey their current activities and modernizing capabilities and to assess their future military modernization goals," he said to reporters prior to the release of th...

Why Japan’s Missile Defense Requires ‘Counterstrike Capabilities’

28Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Missile Defense

Why Japan’s Missile Defense Requires ‘Counterstrike Capabilities’

Japan’s strike capability debate must be accompanied by the political will of decision-makers. By Kenji Nagayoshi * As Japan prepares to release three critical security documents – its National Security Strategy, National Defense Program Guidelines, and Medium-Term Defense Program – by the end of 2022, its policymakers have been discussing Japan’s acquisition of strike capabilities in the context of missile defense. The debate about adopting “counterstrike capabilities” – formerly known as “enemy base strike capabilities” – accelerated exponentially when the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) Research Commission on Security proposed that Japan must consider acquiring such capabilities to deter missile attacks. Although this active discussion reflects the severe regional security ...

PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES FOR RESILIENCE

28Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Defense Strategy and Capabilities

PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES FOR RESILIENCE

BY SHANNON HOUCK * When the National Socialists assumed power in Germany in 1933 and ushered in a series of laws that segregated Jews from “Aryan” society, most Jews believed that the Nazi regime would not remain in power for long. It was not until the “Night of Broken Glass” in 1938 — when Nazis coordinated violent, widespread attacks against Jewish synagogues, schools, businesses, hospitals, and homes — that most German Jews realized the gravity of the threat and urgently tried to flee. Resistance movements did not begin in earnest until 1943. Today in 2022, the need for the will and ability to protect civil liberties and defend sovereignty is once again clear, after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and China’s escalatory threats to use military force to annex Taiwan. In any so...

Guard’s Global Reach, Capabilities Support National Defense Strategy

28Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Defense Strategy and Capabilities

Guard’s Global Reach, Capabilities Support National Defense Strategy

ARLINGTON, Va. – What the National Guard brings to the global stage directly contributes to significant pieces of the 2022 National Defense Strategy, said Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau. “Today, we are an integral part of the Joint Force and our nation’s second-largest military organization after the U.S. Army,” said Hokanson, the Guard’s top officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “The Department of Defense cannot implement the National Defense Strategy without the National Guard.” The recently released, unclassified version of the NDS serves as a strategic guide for the Defense Department, outlining how it aims to meet “top-level defense priorities,” said defense officials. At the top of those priorities is addressing the “multi-domain threa...

Putin tells Russian defense industry to up its game for Ukraine war

28Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Defense Industry, Acquisition, and Innovation

Putin tells Russian defense industry to up its game for Ukraine war

President Vladimir Putin on Friday told Russia’s defense industry chiefs to up their game to ensure that the Russian army quickly got all the weapons, equipment and military hardware it needed to fight in Ukraine. Putin, who has cast Russia’s war in Ukraine as part of an historic effort to push back against what he says is excessive Western influence over global affairs, made the comments during a visit to Tula, a center for arms manufacturing. “The most important key task of our military-industrial complex is to provide our units and frontline forces with everything they need: weapons, equipment, ammunition, and gear in the necessary quantities and of the right quality in the shortest possible timeframes,” said Putin. “It’s also important to perfect and significantly improve the tech...

Canada Proceeds With CH-149 Mid-Life Upgrade | Thyssenkrupp is investing in Israel’s VSense Technologies | Norway Orders NSMs

28Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Defense Industry, Acquisition, and Innovation

Canada Proceeds With CH-149 Mid-Life Upgrade | Thyssenkrupp is investing in Israel’s VSense Technologies | Norway Orders NSMs

Canada has tasked Leonardo with executing the CH-149 “Cormorant” Mid-Life Upgrade (CMLU) Project by awarding a contract $736 million to the Italian aerospace giant. Americas Canada has tasked Leonardo with executing the CH-149 “Cormorant” Mid-Life Upgrade (CMLU) Project by awarding a contract $736 million to the Italian aerospace giant. The mid-life upgrade of the CH-149 search and rescue helicopters will enhance the aircraft’s systems and technologies, ensuring compliance with emerging airspace requirements and extending the life expectancy of the fleet to 2042+. In addition, the upgrade will enable the return of the Cormorant helicopters to the Main Operating Base (MOB) Trenton. The upgrades will include the installation of state-of-the-art avionics, a new glass cockpit, more pow...

The Ukraine war will shape global politics for years to come

28Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Long-Term Futures, Europe

The Ukraine war will shape global politics for years to come

BY HARSH V. PANT * The Ukraine war will shape global politics for years to come When the year began, the debate on Ukraine had already started. Vladimir Putin was amassing his troops around Ukraine. It was widely believed that this was part of a diplomatic manoeuvre to push for a renegotiated settlement with Europe. The West was trying to ensure that war doesn’t return to Europe. The world was nervous but few believed that a full-fledged war was in the offing. And, yet, it happened, forever changing the geopolitics of Europe and the world. Since that fateful day on February 24, when the Russian invasion began, it has been estimated that more than 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured, along with some 40,000 civilian deaths. Over 7.8 milli...