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Earlier in December, an A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support aircraft made a rare appearance in southeast Asia in what could be a picture from the future.

The American aircraft worked with the Philippine Air Force, sending a clear message to China.

A-10s in the Indo-Pacific

Between December 9 and 13, U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II close support aircraft from the 25th Fighter Squadron completed a Dynamic Force Employment (DFE) as part of a bilateral exercise with the Philippine Air Force. The American aircraft operated alongside Philippine’s A-29B Super Tucanos, another close air support aircraft, and other conventional and special operations aircraft.

“DFE’s are important because it allows us to project airpower at the time and place of our choosing with as small footprint as possible at the location we conduct these DFE’s at,” Maj. Gregory St. Clair, Pacific Air Forces chief of future operations, said in a press release. “In addition to that it allows us to train closely with our allies and partners which is our greatest strength.”

The Philippines is a key U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific. Too close to China for comfort, the Philippines looks to the United States to ensure its sovereignty in the region. In exchange, the United States has a willing ally and a great expeditionary base for its aircraft, warships, and other assets.

“Flying with the Philippine Air Force has been incredible; I was blown away by how willing they were to work and engage with us to continue to strengthen this alliance we have in the Indo-Pacific. We continue to promote stability and freedom to all our partners in the region,” Capt. Ben Burmester, 25th Fighter Squadron project officer, stated.

The 25th Fighter Squadron participated in the training event with eight A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.

“The main goal of this DFE was to show we are super close with our allies and partners so that we can train and be effective together,” added Major St. Clair. “DFE’s are not a new concept and we will continue to do them in the future and we’re only going to get stronger by continuing to do them.”

The A-10 Thunderbolt II is beloved by ground forces. It is, after all, a dedicated close air support aircraft that can bring impressive firepower and save the day for a beleaguered ground unit. A-10 Thunderbolt IIs saved many an infantry and special operations unit in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the A-10 Thunderbolt II was almost retired by the Air Force and was only saved after Congress prohibited the service from pushing out the venerable aircraft.

The aircraft’s biggest shortcoming is probably its inability to effectively operate in a permissive or semi-permissive operational environment. Designed to take out enemy tanks and infantry, the A-10 Thunderbolt II is slow and cumbersome. As such, its survival rate in a near-peer environment with potent enemy air defenses is low. But in an environment of air superiority, the A-10 Thunderbolt II can really shine.

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MA from Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

Image: StockPhotosLV / Shutterstock.com

Sur les marchés d’Abidjan, l’originalité n’est pas juste un atout, c’est une arme de séduction massive. Ici, les vendeurs ne se contentent pas de crier « Approchez, madame ! » : ils sortent l’artillerie lourde… de l’humour. Entre « Libanais est tombé! » et un savoureux « Ton mari est fauché, mais tu seras bien habillée », les allées des marchés se transforment en scènes de stand-up à ciel ouvert.

The Kremlin claimed on Thursday that it shot down an American-made F-16 Fighting Falcon. The multirole combat aircraft was allegedly struck by a Russian air defense system over southeastern Ukraine. Kyiv has not confirmed the loss of the F-16, which if true would be the first Western-made and Western-supplied fixed-wing aircraft to be lost in the conflict, which has been raging since February 2022.

"An F-16 aircraft was shot down in the Zaporizhzhia region at its launch site," Russian state news agency RIA Novosti announced via the Telegram social messaging app on Thursday.

Tass also reported, "Chairman of Russia's Civic Chamber Commission on Sovereignty, Patriotic Projects and Support of Veterans Vladimir Rogov [said] that the F-16 aircraft was downed in the Zaporozhye Region when preparing for a missile strike on the region."

Russia had previously claimed in September that it had shot down a Fighting Falcon, but that was later proven to be false. However, Kyiv did confirm in August that an F-16 was lost while attempting to shoot down a Russian cruise missile, and there have been reports since then that it may have been a friendly fire incident involving one of Ukraine's U.S.-supplied MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems.

Bounty Paid!

According to Bulgarian Military (not to be confused with the Bulgarian Armed Forces), Sergey Shmotyev, CEO of the Russian energy firm Fores, had said he would pay a 15 million ruble ($145,000) reward for the first Fighting Falcon that was downed. It is unclear if it would apply to the aircraft that was reported to have been shot down on Thursday or a future F-16.

This isn't the first such bounty that Russian oligarchs have offered to the country's military—while the Kremlin has also put bounties on Western-made hardware including the German Leopard 2 and American M1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs). The firm had put a bounty on the fighter in July.

The F-16 in Ukraine

In August 2023, U.S. president Joe Biden approved the transfer of the F-16 from multiple NATO members. One year later, in early August 2024, Ukraine received the first ten Fighting Falcons.

NATO members Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway pledged to provide around ninety of the fourth-generation aircraft.

However, Ukrainian aviators have largely received a "crash course" of sorts, with the training on the F-16s reduced to several months instead of the years that Western pilots have received. That fact may have led to the loss of one of the F-16s just weeks after it arrived in the country. Efforts have been made to increase the training the Ukrainian aviators are receiving on the F-16.

The American-made multirole fighter has been employed to successfully down Russian missiles and drones fired at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. In addition, in October, a Ukrainian Air Force F-16 was also credited with shooting down a Russian Sukhoi Su-34 (NATO reporting name Fullback).

Airliner and Santa Sleigh Down!

The news of the downing of the F-16 came just a day after an Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer jet crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing at least thirty-eight of the sixty-seven people on board. It has been alleged that the airliner was shot down by a Russian air defense system.

And on Friday, a Russian blogger released a propaganda video that showed Santa Claus being shot down over Moscow with assistance from De Moroz—a Slavic version of Saint Nicholas or Father Christmas. The video ends with Ded Morz telling a Russian serviceman, "We don't need anything foreign in our skies. Happy New Year!"

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.

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En Guinée, un opposant politique a été arrêté jeudi à la frontière entre la Guinée et la Sierra leone. Aliou Bah président du parti Mouvement Démocratique Libéral est accusé d’offense au chef de la transition le Général Mamadi Doumbouya. Son avocat ainsi que les principaux partis politiques guinéens dénoncent une arrestation arbitraire et exigent sa libération immédiate et sans conditions. Les explications avec Malick Diakité, correspondant à Conakry.

L'assemblée devait être renouvelée en 2015 mais le scrutin a connu plusieurs reports en raison de la menace djihadiste, puis de difficultés financières et de l'épidémie de coronavirus. La mort du président Idriss Deby suivie par la transition pilotée par son fils, ont fourni des raisons supplémentaires de repousser le vote.

Opération rattrapage sur Mayotte pour le gouvernement Bayrou. Le Premier ministre doit se rendre dans l'archipel ce dimanche. Il sera accompagné d'Élisabeth Borne, ministre de l'Éducation nationale et de Manuel Valls pour les Outremers, alors que sur place le défi de la reconstruction s'annonce immense.

Au Sénégal, le Premier ministre Ousmane Sonko a fait face vendredi aux députés dans le cadre de sa déclaration de politique générale. Un rendez-vous était très attendu, depuis sa nomination il y a presque neuf mois. Plusieurs annonces ont été faites par le premier ministre face a une opposition parlementaire critique. Les précisions sur place de Elimane Ndao.

C'est l'histoire rocambolesque de tableaux italiens volés par les nazis et qui se sont retrouvés à Belgrade pendant la Guerre froide... Au centre de l'affaire, un Croate à la réputation sulfureuse, agent secret, escroc, faussaire et amateur d'art éclairé, qui a donné son nom à un musée à Zagreb : Ante Topić Mimara.

- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Croatie, Serbie, Histoire, Culture et éducation

C'est l'histoire rocambolesque de tableaux italiens volés par les nazis et qui se sont retrouvés à Belgrade pendant la Guerre froide... Au centre de l'affaire, un Croate à la réputation sulfureuse, agent secret, escroc, faussaire et amateur d'art éclairé, qui a donné son nom à un musée à Zagreb : Ante Topić Mimara.

- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Croatie, Serbie, Histoire, Culture et éducation

Baltic nations are on alert after a string of outages of power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The post NATO to boost Baltic Sea presence after cables broken appeared first on Euractiv.

The US said Ivanishvili had implemented "actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the United States or abroad" favouring Russia.

The post US imposes sanctions on Georgian ex-prime minister, billionaire Ivanishvili appeared first on Euractiv.

Zelenskyy said the Korean people "should not be losing their lives in battles in Europe. This is something that Korea's neighbours, including China, can influence."

The post North Koreans suffering ‘significant losses’, unprotected by Russian forces appeared first on Euractiv.

The Apple+ miniseries The Masters of the Air, which debuted in January 2024, tells the story of World War II aviators who served in the U.S. Army Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. The follow-up to Band of Brothers and The Pacific by producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks has already been noted for its gritty realism. It features the vast armadas of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress during its missions over occupied Europe.

Those bombers were able to strike deep into German-held territory, hitting individual factories and other precision targets. Still, they whittled away at the fighter strength of the Luftwaffe in some of the largest and bloodiest air battles in history. The B-17 flew more than 290,000 sorties in the European theater of operations and dropped in excess of half a million tons of bombs.

Daytime Attacks

While the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) conducted night-time bombing raids over Germany, the U.S. 8th Air Force bombed during the day, and the B-17 proved especially well-suited for the task—yet it came at a steep price. As noted in the Apple+ series, the Flying Fortress was easy to fly and absorbed a lot of returning fire. The aircraft could be shot up and remain in the sky, and its Norden bombsight gave American forces bombing accuracy unmatched by any other nation during the war.

Newspapers hype crowed that the bomber could “drop a bomb into a pickle barrel” from thousands of meters in the air. That was a bit of hyperbole, and the truth was that only one of every ten bombs landed within close range of their target. On the second bombing raid against the ball-bearing factories at Schweinfurt in October 1943, the 8th Air Force sent more than 250 B-17 bombers at the target, yet the attackers failed to destroy the factory completely.

As further depicted in The Masters of the Air, the tactics to bomb German targets around the clock were costly. Tragically, more than 47,000 U.S. 8th Air Force crewmen were killed in those daylight raids over Germany.

Truly, A Flying Fortress

Development of what was to become the B-17 began in the mid-1930s, and it first took to the skies in July 1935. While it was already a well-armed warbird for the era, Boeing soon began to plan the development of the next-generation bomber. That led to the development of the B-29, but Boeing also continued to refine and improve the B-17. The aircraft increased in size and weight while it also received increased armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, and notably greater armament.

It also earned its now infamous nickname from a supportive journalist’s report.

The often-repeated story is that after Richard Williams, a reporter from The Seattle Times, observed the Model 299 prototype on the ground, he described it as a “15-ton flying fortress” in a photo caption. Boeing quickly responded by trademarking the name, and the rest is history.

The aircraft went on to be even more heavily armed to deal with the threats from enemy fighter aircraft after it entered service.

A Lucky Thirteen

The B-17G variation that saw service in the tail end of World War II was armed like no other aircraft before it, with up to a “lucky thirteen” M2 .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns placed in nine positions located throughout the airframe, each able to fire upwards of 700 rounds per minute. This aircraft variant of the famous “Ma Deuce” was dubbed the AN/M2 (officially the “Browning Machine Gun, Aircraft, Cal. .50, AN/M2”)—and it was fitted with a substantially lighter thirty-six-inch length barrel.

Ten crew members —the pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, navigator, radio operator, and five gunners—were crammed into the small cabin for six to eight hours per mission. The main cabin was barely tall enough for the crew to stand up straight, and flying at altitudes above 27,000 feet meant the aircraft got very cold, often below freezing.

Crews had to be careful when touching the guns, which could be dangerously cold until fired. When enemy fighters approached, everyone but the pilot and co-pilot was expected to operate a machine gun.

Each B-17 initially carried around 5,000 rounds of ammunition—with the tail gunners and turret gunners having around 1,000 rounds available. According to some sources, the ammunition supply was doubled by the end of the war.

The B-17G’s thirteen machine guns were positioned throughout the aircraft to allow it to take on enemy fighters from nearly any direction, while the bombers also flew in tight formations.

There were two machine guns in the main cabin operated by the waist gunner(s) to defend from side attacks. Two more machine guns were positioned in the nose for the bombardier and navigator to operate when they weren’t conducting other duties. At the same time, twin .50 caliber machine guns were also positioned in the “chin turret” to the front of the aircraft and operated remotely.

It should be noted, too, that the bombardier was located at the extreme front end, protected only by a Plexiglas window. Just behind him, the navigator sat on a mounted table with access to maps and charts to best plot the bomber’s course during each mission. However, the B-17 was most vulnerable to a head-on attack—with many bombardiers and navigators killed in the early stages of the daytime bombing missions. The added .50 caliber machine guns provided them a chance to fire back at approaching German fighters.

Directly behind the flight deck, where the pilot and co-pilot were seated, were twin .50 caliber machine guns in a top or dorsal turret. It was the turret gunner’s job to scan the horizon for any incoming enemy fighters. A radio operator, located behind the turret, also operated one machine gun that fired upwards.

The underside of the B-17 was equipped with a Sperry ball turret, a spherical space about four feet in diameter and capable of rotating 360 degrees. After takeoff, the ball turret gunner—who was typically one of the smallest crew members—would crouch into a fetal position while entering the turret to operate a pair of machine guns. It may have provided a stunning view of the ground, but the ball turret gunner was still only protected by his flak jacket and the Plexiglas.

At the extreme end of the fuselage were two more twin .50-caliber machine guns, which the tail gunner operated. His job was to protect the rear of the aircraft from attack.

Initially, the bomber crews wore only heavy flight jackets and sheepskin flight trousers, which were about protecting the wearer from the cold at extreme altitudes. However, the effects of Triple-A (anti-aircraft artillery)—also known as flak—resulted in the development of flak jackets and even specialty helmets.

Though the B-17 was not literally a fortress in the sky, it should be remembered that sometimes fortresses need some outside support. This turned out to be the case with the B-17. The huge losses seen in raids like the one over Schweinfurt convinced the Allied leadership that the B-17 could not go to war over German-held territory unescorted. In the latter stages of the war, the P-51 Mustang fighter plane proved to be the bomber’s little friend all the way to Berlin and back.

The B-17 Flying Fortress went on to make its mark on history and became among the most famous aircraft of the Second World War. Yet, it wasn’t actually the bomber that was produced in the largest number. A total of 12,731 B-17s were produced, while 18,482 Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers were also built by the end of World War II. However, both heavy bombers had a well-earned reputation for being the workhorses of the USAAF.

Today, there are reported to be only forty-five surviving B-17s, of which thirty-eight are in the United States. Just ten are airworthy. Among the most famous of the surviving aircraft is the “Memphis Belle,” which is currently on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites, with over 3,200 published pieces and over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

Image: VanderWolf Images / Shutterstock.com.

"If it is unavoidable, we will halt the electricity supplies that Ukraine needs during grid outages. Or we will agree on a different course of action," said Robert Fico.

The post Slovakia to consider reciprocal measures if Ukraine stops Russian gas transit appeared first on Euractiv.

On November 30, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump made a resounding statement on X, declaring that BRICS countries are moving away from the dollar “while we stand by and watch is OVER.” This statement’s timing not only came a month after dignitaries from thirty-six countries and six international organizations attended the sixteenth BRICS summit held in Kazan, Russia, but also doubled down that countries would “face 100 percent tariffs” whether they intended to replace the dollar with the BRICS currency or any other currency. 

Trump’s bold threat comes at a critical point in international economic relations, as many world leaders like Russian president Vladimir Putin have openly criticized the dollar’s role as a “weapon.” Additionally, Trump’s call for 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico and a 10 percent tariff on China calls into question whether this new raft of tariffs can safeguard the dollar’s primacy and the underlying financial hegemony of G7 institutions.

Once a moniker from a Goldman Sachs banker Jim O’Neill’s report from 2001 raising concerns of a coalition of countries that could challenge, if not supplant, the G7 nations, the group has now expanded and rolled out an array of parallel institutions to offer small and middle power countries an alternative to the liberal international order. As of 2024, BRICS countries’ share of global GDP in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) is 34.9 percent as opposed to the G7’s 30.05 percent, whereas, in 2000, the G7 stood at 43.28 percent, and the BRICS constituted only 21.37 percent.

Trump’s return to the White House has also raised concerns about whether the G7 nations, with an avowedly isolationist leader in Washington, can weather the BRICS bloc. In one of his campaign rallies in battleground Wisconsin as early as September 8, 2024, Trump adamantly condemned the de-dollarization of global trade, stating clearly, “You leave the dollar and you’re not doing business with the United States because we are going to put a 100 percent tariff on your goods.” This threat explains why BRICS-aligned nations have been seeking to build alternatives to the dollar for the last sixteen years. In fact, during Trump’s first administration, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi observed in November 2017 how it has become “increasingly difficult for Western governance concepts, systems, and models to keep up with the new international situation,” arguing further that Western-led global governance has “malfunctioned” and reached a point “beyond redemption.” 

It is no surprise, then, that BRICS was established in 2009, immediately after the 2008 global financial crisis. According to a report from the Boston Consulting Group, trade among BRICS economies has outpaced trade between BRICS and G7 nations. Representing half of the world’s population and between a quarter and a third of the global economy, the group of nine countries has a fourfold purpose: (1) create an alternative financial system to the Western one, (2) better coordinate economic policy, (3) seek greater representation in global governance, and (4) reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar. 

While the strategic discourse laid out by analysts attempts to provide threat assessments from Western capitals, Western academics in the field of international relations have better constructed a framework to explain this unique phenomenon through power transition theory. Coined in 1958 by University of Michigan political scientist A.F.K. Organski, power transition theory explains how the prevailing hegemon in the international system finds itself in danger of systemic war as a rising challenger catches up with or overtakes a declining hegemon. Organski explains how the aggressor originates from a small group of dissatisfied, strong countries, where the weaker, rather than the stronger power, is most likely to be the aggressor. Applied to the BRICS countries, this explains how Russia and China can alternate in leading the charge of leveraging geography, population, and economic heft to propose a new set of international organizations bent on replacing G7-led Western institutions. 

In pursuit of the alternative financial system goal, the BRICS countries, through the economic heft of China, have created the New Development Bank (NDB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) in order to challenge the prominence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). Professors Saori Katada, Cynthia Roberts, and Leslie Elliott Armijo argue in their book, BRICS and Collective Financial Statecraft, how this unique club of rising powers has united over their shared interest in “global revisionism” through military and financial power resources to impact international outcomes through club theory. 

Professors Deborah Larson and Alexei Shevchenko, in their book The Quest for Status: Chinese and Russian Foreign Policy, explain how social psychology explains the need for these two rising powers to seek preeminence in a new area to enhance their realization of great power status. With these new multilateral institutions, spearheading the creation of these alternative institutions reflects their increased power and status, motivated by their frustration of not receiving recognition commensurate with China’s power and rise.

However, skeptics of the BRICS and the China-Russia axis’s stewardship of an alternative global financial system are quick to point out the vast disparities in economic capacities between the BRICS countries and the prevailing G7 institutions. Professor of Economics and Political Science at UC Berkeley, Barry Eichengreen, lays out these limitations by listing how the Chinese renminbi accounts for less than 6 percent of trade settlements, Chinese banks manage only 3 percent of daily transactions by value of U.S.-based clearinghouses, and Beijing’s ability to provide liquidity, privacy and data-protection laws remain murky. 

Within the BRICS, security and geopolitical faultlines between member states also raise doubt over whether this forum can be conducive to any sort of cooperation. For instance, China and India have treaded carefully since the 2020 Galwan border clash, which led to the death of twenty Indian and four Chinese soldiers. The aftermath of this episode of border conflict along the Sino-Indian border has led to New Delhi deepening ties with the United States, as evident in Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s 2023 state visit to Washington, resulting in the largest U.S.-Indian defense cooperation deals. The DoD confirmed that twenty years ago, there was no defense cooperation at all, whereas, as of 2023, the two countries are “co-producing and co-developing major systems together.” 

Additionally, the recent inclusion of Middle Eastern states like Iran, Egypt, and the UAE after the 2023 BRICS Summit raises questions about BRICS cohesion, given the regional rivalry such a big tent would now inherit. Saudi Arabia’s recent inclusion also draws doubt, given its ongoing endemic security rivalry with Iran. Riyadh made this point clear during the 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan, where the Saudi foreign minister only attended the last day, making clear that it is hedging its commitment to a club it perceives as a hedging club for middle powers.

While the BRICS members have clear attributes, such as their status as non-Western states, the security rivalries they carry may and have proven to stand as impediments to becoming a fully-fledged treaty-bound organization with any semblance of a security commitment. Commentators are quick to couple the relative lack in economic heft to U.S.-led organizations in addition to this big tent of geopolitical rivals, which has shown serious flaws, particularly with the India-China and Iran-Saudi rivalries as well as its framing as an anti-Western coalition.

There is no clear formula for what makes an ideal BRICS member, just as no clear path exists for these member states to chart any form of coordination. Negative assessments of the BRICS as a paper tiger or house of cards are still as common in 2024 as they were in the early 2000s and 2010s when the group did not have its China-led multilateral institutions in place or carry as much economic clout. While some players like New Delhi, Brasilia, and Ankara are hedging against uncertainties to garner more negotiating power with Washington, others argue that new members like Egypt and Ethiopia are simply deepening ties with non-Western members, unlike Russia or Iran. Bringing Trump into the equation at the helm of the G7 bloc doesn’t immediately signal any tightening of alignment within BRICS. Still, it can potentially accelerate common causes over concerns like climate cooperation and financial statecraft in the interests of member states already under heavy sanctions. 

Rimon Tanvir Hossain is a Research Assistant with the Middle East Institute’s Program on Strategic Technologies and Cybersecurity. He received his M.P.P. from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and his B.A. from UC Berkeley. He is an MPhil/PhD Candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and an Assistant Policy Researcher at the RAND Corporation. Previously, Rimon served as a congressional staffer for the Office of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, where he led the State Department portfolio as a Constituent Services Representative.

Image: Irzhanova Asel / Shutterstock.com. 

Dans une lettre officielle reçue par les autorités indonésiennes le 19 décembre, la France demande le rapatriement de Serge Atlaoui, un Français condamné à mort en 2007 dans l'archipel pour trafic de drogue.

Carmen Souza's latest album is inspired by the little-known British influence on the Cape Verde islands.

World War II saw a de facto rematch between the Mauser and the Mosin-Nagant, but it was with new versions of each respective rifle. Following a trend that had begun with the British Army's Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE), which proved better suited to the trench warfare of World War I than the longer rifles of the era, and without compromising range or accuracy—the length of both the Soviet (Russian) and German rifles decreased.

The Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30

Production of the Mosin-Nagant continued in the Soviet Union, but in 1930, the rifle underwent some notable changes. The basic M1891/30 saw the barrel shortened by about 3.5 inches to the length of the "Dragoon variant" produced for the Imperial Russian Army's cavalry before World War I.

The M91/30 was the standard issue weapon of Soviet troops when the nation was invaded by the Germans in 1941, and it remained in production throughout the war. As the manufacture of the semi-automatic Tokarev SVT-40 was disrupted following Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, emphasis was placed again on the Mosin-Nagant—which was easier to produce. It also proved to be more reliable and rugged, both necessities as the Motherland was fighting for her very survival.

Millions of Soviet rifles were made during the war, and it remained the main small arm of the largest mobilized army in history with some 17.4 million being manufactured from 1941 to 1945. Numerous variations were produced notably a sniper version and a carbine version that was introduced in 1944. Arguably one of the most widely produced firearms ever (with the possible exception of the AK-47 assault rifle), some 37,000,000 were made between 1891 and 1965.

The Karabiner 98 Kurz

Officially designated the Karabiner 98 Kurz or Kar98K, it wasn't technically a "carbine" in the traditional sense, although there had been a carbine version of the Gewehr 98. Rather, it was a short rifle and became the standard service rifle of the German military when it was adopted in 1935.

As for why it wasn't the Kar35K comes down to restrictions placed on Germany under the Treaty of Versailles. The development of a new rifle was concealed, but it was a direct descendant of the Model 98 rifle. The new model resembled its preceding version in its basic shape, except for being almost six inches shorter, while also incorporating a few design improvements. The Kar98K used the same controlled-feed bolt-action system of its predecessor, while the most immediate difference is the straight bolt handle of the Gewehr 98 that was replaced by a turned-down bolt handle that made it easier to rapidly operate, and reduced the amount the handle projected beyond the receiver. That enabled the mounting of options directly above the receiver. The Langevisier—rollercoaster—rear sights were also replaced with a more conventional tangent leaf sight.

Though it was the standard infantry weapon of the Wehrmacht at the start of World War II and continued to serve in that role until Germany's defeat in May 1945, it was gradually supplemented by the semi-automatic Gewehr 43/Karabiner 43 (G43/K43), which almost ironically incorporated an improved short-stroke pistol gas system employed in the aforementioned SVT-40. Yet, while more than 9 million Kar98Ks were manufactured by the war's end, only around 402,000 K43s were produced.

As the war drew to a close, Germany was in the beginning stages of slowly replacing its bolt action rifle with the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44) assault rifle designed by Hugo Schmeisser—and that weapon would go on to influence the AK-47 and other post-war assault rifles.

The Rifles Compared (Again)

Neither the Model 90/31 nor the Kar98K could be seen as a revolutionary step forward, and they were really simple evolutionary changes. The same level of German precision design and engineering is present with its rifle, while the Soviet weapon retained the same rugged reliability.

Both rifles could hold five rounds and could be loaded with a stripper clip or individually by hand. As with the previous models, the range and accuracy are about the same. The Soviet weapon was produced in massively larger numbers, which is fitting as Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was quoted as saying "Quantity is a quality of its own." Truer words were never spoken in wartime. The Mosin-Nagant M91/31 was certainly among the weapons that helped save the motherland during her darkest days.

So is one better than the other?

Now with nearly eighty years of hindsight, it may come down to collectability. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Kar98Ks were so common that tens of thousands (perhaps more) were "sporterized" and converted into a poor man's hunting or target rifle. Throughout much of the Cold War, Mosin-Nagants weren't exactly rare, but certainly not as widely available as they are now.

Then in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Mosin Nagant flooded the market. As noted, those are still collectible, but not quite in the same way as the Mauser that the Doughboys brought home after the Great War or the Greatest Generation came back with following World War II. It should be noted that Mauser collectors can look to countless variations made for countries around the world, while Mosin-Nagants were made in far fewer flavors.

As the better rifle, it may be a matter of personal preference, but both will have a legacy that lasts for eons to come!

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

Le journal de l'Afrique s'intéresse à la mythologie africaine et à l'un de ses personnages phares: Kankan Moussa, empereur du mali du 14e siècle... Solo Niaré, écrivain malien-guinéen, passionné d'histoire, auteur de plusieurs romans et contes pour enfants s'est attaqué à ce mythe historique fondateur de l'histoire africaine dans son ouvrage "l'Eunuque et l'Empereur" publié chez Nimba Littérature.

Au Sénégal, le Premier ministre Ousmane Sonko a fait face ce vendredi aux députés dans le cadre de sa déclaration de politique générale. Un rendez-vous était très attendu, depuis sa nomination il y a presque neuf mois. Plusieurs annonces ont été faites par le premier ministre face a une opposition parlementaire critique.