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LA CHRONIQUE DE SOPHIE COIGNARD. Reparation d'un oubli ou gage de perennite, l'annonce de cette nouvelle instance montre combien l'executif est sans boussole.

Supplies of Russian gas via Ukraine are due to stop from the early hours of 1 January, as Kyiv has refused to negotiate a new transit deal.

The post Russian gas flows via Ukraine for last day as transit deal crumbles appeared first on Euractiv.

Environ 450 enfants orphelins issus de quatre communautés tribales de l’Ituri sont initiés à la culture de la paix et de cohabitation pacifique, dans le cadre d’une retraite de deux jours, organisée depuis le lundi 30 décembre par l’ONG Bacone Of Hope à Bogoro.

Selon le coordonnateur de cette ONG, Arali Bagamba, l’objectif de cette activité est de combattre la haine tribale qui est souvent à l’origine de cycles des violences dans cette province.

L'actualité est souvent maussade, oui, mais il y a aussi des raisons d'espérer. Progrès médicaux, avancées dans les droits humains, découvertes… France 24 a sélectionné dix bonnes nouvelles qui nous ont mis du baume au cœur en 2024.

À partir de mercredi, le vaccin contre les méningocoques – toutes souches confondues – devra être administré à tous les nourrissons de manière obligatoire pour les protéger contre la méningite, une malade grave dont on observe une hausse des cas, notamment depuis l'après-Covid.

In recent years, Iran's security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.

The post Iran confirms arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala appeared first on Euractiv.

The Treasury Department said it was working with the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI to assess the hack's impact.

The post US Treasury says Chinese hackers stole documents in ‘major incident’ appeared first on Euractiv.

Investigators said the Eagle S broke the undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia, and damaged four fibre optic lines by dragging its anchor across the seabed for dozens of kilometres.

The post Owner seeks release of oil tanker seized in Finland cable probe appeared first on Euractiv.

The prospect of presidential and parliamentary elections in Romania in November and December had triggered a spending surge that was expected to push the 2024 budget deficit to 8.6% of GDP.

The post Romania’s new government hikes taxes, caps public sector wages and pensions appeared first on Euractiv.

La coordination de la société civile de l’Ituri a appelé, lundi 30 décembre, les miliciens à cesser les violences perpétrées depuis 7 ans et à adhérer au Programme de désarmement, démobilisation et réinsertion communautaire et stabilisation (PDDRCS).

Le coordonnateur de cette organisation citoyenne, Dieudonné Lossa a lancé cet appel dans son message de vœux à la population, à partir de la ville de Bunia, chef-lieu de l’Ituri :

A US official said the $3.4 billion in budget funding brings the total in US budget aid to Ukraine to just over $30 billion since Russia's invasion in February 2022.

The post US announces $5.9 billion in military and budget aid to Ukraine appeared first on Euractiv.

The Royal Australian Air Force received its seventy-second—and probably last—F-35A Lightning stealth fighter jet, completing its fifth-generation fighter jet fleet for the time being.

Australian F-35s

In December, the Australian military received its seventy-second F-35A stealth fighter jet, completing the roster of the third operational squadron.

“The delivery of the final F-35A Lightning II aircraft is a practical demonstration of the Air Force’s ability to deliver highly effective air power as part of an integrated and focused force, in line with the National Defence Strategy,” chief of air force, Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, said in a press statement.

With the delivery of the last F-35, the Royal Australian Air Force becomes the strongest in the southeastern Pacific and one of the most powerful in the entire Indo-Pacific area of operations.

“Australians should be proud that our Air Force is flying the most advanced multi-role fighter in the world,” he added.

Now, the Royal Australian Air Force flies three types of fighter jets: the F-35A Lightning II, the F/A-18F Super Hornet, and the EA-18G Growler.

The F-35 is a fifth-generation stealth aircraft and the most advanced fighter jet in the skies today. The “A” version Australia is operating is the conventional take-off iteration—the F-35 has two other versions, B and C, with different landing and take-off capabilities.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet is an agile and capable fourth-generation fighter jet. Australia has twenty-four of those aircraft.

The third type of aircraft in service, the EA-18G Growler, is a variation of the F/A-18 Hornet/Super Hornet that specializes in electronic warfare—tracking and destroying enemy air defenses. Australia has twelve EA-18G aircraft.

“The F-35A aircraft fleet, in conjunction with the EA-18G Growler and F/A-18F Super Hornets, are the cornerstone of Australia’s air defence and strike capability, as outlined in the 2024 National Defence Strategy,” the Australian Air Force states about its fleet.

How Many F-35s?

Initially, the Royal Australian Air Force had planned for the procurement of 100 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets. Indeed, if you take a look at Lockheed Martin’s publicly released data on F-35 orders, it lists Australia with an order of 100 aircraft. However, earlier in 2024, the Australian military decided not to procure a fourth squadron of F-35A, thus limiting its order to seventy-two stealth aircraft. It is unclear whether Canberra will exercise its right to a fourth F-35 squadron down the line.

The reason for not procuring additional F-35 was dual: first, Canberra decided to upgrade its F/A-18F Super Hornet fleet to allow the fourth-generation aircraft to be competitive in a near-peer environment and fly well into the 2030s; and second, the F-35A proved to be a bigger success than Australian officials expected.

“We’ve decided to keep the Super Hornets in service for two reasons: one, they’re doing great work, and secondly, the Joint Strike Fighter is even more capable than we initially thought,” Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in April.

“We can delay the replacement of the Super Hornet, which frees up funding to invest in more long-range missiles, for example,” the Australian defense official added.

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: moh_bagusov2 / Shutterstock.com

Why the Chinese military struggles to take advantage of new technology.

Trump must gain more leverage to bring Putin to the negotiating table.

Americas Performance Drone Works (PDW) has received more than $15.3 million in contracts to deliver its proprietary C100 small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) to the US Army. The drones will support the force’s posture across high-profile theaters, according to the Alabama-based company, with most to be distributed across the Indo-Pacific, European, and Central Command areas of responsibility. The “game-changing” capabilities are expected to provide medium-range reconnaissance and tactical air support. Raytheon has been awarded a $401.2 million full-rate production contract by the US Navy for 131 Block V Tomahawk missiles. As part of the contract, 26 missiles will be delivered to the US Army, 16 to the US Marine Corps, 11 to Australia, and 78 to Japan. Work will be performed in various locations across the US, with expected completion by March 2028. Middle East & Africa Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar has purchased Italy’s Piaggio Aerospace, reflecting Baykar’s growing global ambitions while marking a timely rescue for the troubled Italian aircraft producer. The deal, which was announced on Friday by Italy’s industry ministry, follows six years of Italian state management at Piaggio after it went into receivership in 2018. Europe Austria is to purchase 12 Italian Leonardo M-346FA jets to serve in both […]

Dix jours après l’attaque à la voiture bélier contre un marché de Noël à Magdebourg qui a fait 5 morts et 200 blessés, deux commissions parlementaires se sont réunies et ont interrogé des responsables pour tenter d’en savoir plus sur les erreurs qui ont pu être commises en amont de l’attaque malgré des alertes sur le réfugié saoudien en cause.

En Géorgie, un grand rassemblement aura lieu mercredi 1er janvier devant le Parlement. Les opposants au régime pro-russe au pouvoir appellent à une nouvelle mobilisation. Déjà deux mois de contestation qui pèse aussi sur le secteur économique et particulièrement sur le tourisme.

The Russian Navy is ending 2024 with a new Project 885 (also known as the Yasen-M) nuclear-powered submarine in its fleet. The Arkhangelsk officially entered service on Friday as Captain First Rank Alexander Gladkov received the St. Andrew's naval flag.

"An official ceremony took place at the Sevmash Shipyard to deliver the Yasen-M-class fourth-generation nuclear-powered submarine Arkhangelsk to the Russian Navy. The ceremony was held under the direction of Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev," the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement to Tass.

The latest Project 885 submarine is named for the northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk, also known as "Archangel" in English.

"The Arkhangelsk is the third serial-built sub in the family of Yasen-M-class multi-purpose nuclear-powered submarines," Tass added. "A ceremony of rolling out the submarine from the Shipyard's slipway took place on November 29, 2023. The Arkhangelsk has become the 141st nuclear-powered submarine constructed for the Russian Navy at the Sevmash Shipyard. The project was designed by the St. Petersburg-based Malakhit Design Bureau of Marine Engineering."

Slow But Steady Progress on Russia's Nuclear-Powered Boats

Development of Project 885 boats began at the end of the Cold War, initiated by the Leningrad-based (now St. Petersburg-based) Malakhit Design Bureau. It intended to replace the aging Akula-class nuclear-powered attack submarines in service with the Soviet Navy.

However, the program only progressed slowly following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The baseline Project 885 lead nuclear-powered underwater cruiser Severodvinsk was laid down in 1993, but due to funding issues as a result of the post-Cold War Russian financial crisis, the project languished for more than a decade. Only in the late 2000s was Moscow able to return to the project—Severodvinsk was finally launched in June 2010, and subsequently commissioned in late December 2013. The submarine entered service with the Russian Navy in 2014.

The delay meant that the submarines were on the verge of obsolescence, resulting in the program's modernization.

The second boat, the upgraded Project 885M lead submarine Kazan, also saw delays, yet it was built in eight years—half the time of the Severodvinsk.

Capable Submarines

Despite the turmoil involved in the program's development and construction, the Yasen class should be seen as capable vessels. Each has a submerged displacement of 13,800 tons and can reach a maximum speed of up to thirty-five knots.

The Yasen-M revision further offered revamped onboard electronics, a slightly reduced overall length, and reportedly a new KTP-6 rector that is believed to reduce the submarine's noise levels significantly. The upgraded Project 885 submarines are also noted for utilizing new technological developments that emerged since Severodvinsk started construction in 1993.

Unlike older attack submarines built in the late Soviet period, the Project 885/885M boats were developed as multipurpose vessels that could carry different weapons, including the new, long-range Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles. There are ten silos for vertically launched cruise missiles, and according to reports, the submarines can also be equipped with Kalibr-PL and Oniks cruise missiles as their basic strike weapons. The Kazan is also equipped with the UKSK (3P-14B) vertical launch system comprised of 8SM-346 modules.

"This enables Yasen-M-class submarines [to] remain an effective and advanced weapon. Thanks to this, they make their invaluable contribution to maintaining global and regional security in peacetime," Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev told Tass.

Four additional Project 885M submarines are now under construction at Russia's Sevmash Shipyard in Severodvinsk on the White Sea. Named for Russian cities, these include the Perm, the Ulyanovsk, the Vladivostok, and the Voronezh. Those submarines will be based either with the Northern Fleet on the coast of the Barents Sea or with the Pacific Fleet in the Far East.

"The construction of a series of submarines of this Project will continue," Moiseyev continued. "You shoulder high responsibility: you make the necessary, complex and serious weapons for our country. The ships built by the Sevmash Shipyard are our pride, strength and mightiness and Russia’s reliable shield."

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.
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