The US military will be scaled down in the next seven years, according to the plans of the US government, which is aiming to create an “affordable military” by 2021. A report published Wednesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), focused on coping with an across-the-board drawdown while still maintaining US security, has provided recommendations that would overturn the last 10 years of US defense policy–which has focused on unconventional warfare against terrorist insurgents and a shift to the Far East–to focus instead on today’s most pressing threats to the US. “The post-9-11 US defense drawdown will be significantly deeper than is generally recognized,”
Archives for Weapons
CSIS Report to US Government: How the US Military Can Scale Down Across-the-Board to Create an “Affordable Military” in 7 Years, Overturning Past 10 Years Defense Strategy, Focus on Today’s Two Main Threat Nations
First Vehicle-Mounted Drone-Killing Laser Made Public
The first publicly demonstrated drone-killing laser was mounted to a US battleship in 2012. Since then, power-source challenges have been overcome to the degree that the lasers can now be mounted on personal vehicles. The purpose of laser weapons as a defense against drones is that while more conventional weapons can take down nearby drones, distant and fast moving drones are difficult to hit with metal projectiles. Drone-killing lasers fire in bursts. The burst burns through the surface layers of the drone. The ADAM laser mounted on the battleship was capable of 50 kilowatt power, and the new 400-pound vehicle-mounted
500 American Communities Are Now Armed With Military Tanks and Military Vehicles, and Have Reportedly Lied on Their Applications to Get Them for Free
Military surplus equipment, including vehicles–most familiarly the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Proof (MRAP) BearCat–are becoming common tools of community law enforcement in the US. These battlefield tools are now owned by over 500 communities nationwide. At a cost of around half a million dollars each vehicle–although the first one is often free–police departments seek grants by applying for various federal programs–applications council members have admittedly lied on. BearCats are heavily-fortified MRAP vehicles usually used by specialized military tactical teams. The vehicles are build to withstand mines and bombs in combat zones. They are equipped to be mounted with weapons the US military specifically refrains from
Over 20 Countries Developing Weaponized Drones
Currently, more than 20 countries are developing military drones, or UAVs, including Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran and China. Drone weapon dominance is not limited in the way nuclear weapons was. Nuclear weapons require high-level engineering to make the warhead as well as the rocket that propels it, and the material required is also rare, costly and protected. Drones can be made by any individual or team. Progress in drone technology is much more open than some other serious forms of weapons. Any country could rival any other in drone weapon technology, theoretically. Read more: First Vehicle-Mounted Drone-Killing Laser Made
Russia Has Sent Tanks Into Ukraine, Says US State Department
According to the US State Department, Russia has sent tanks, heavy weapons and rocket launchers into Ukraine over the past days, in order to support pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, confirming statements recently provided by Ukrainian media sources. The State Department said there was video proof. “We assess that separatists in eastern Ukraine have acquired heavy weapons and military equipment from Russia, including Russian tanks and multiple rocket launchers,” said US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf in a statement Friday. Three T-64 tanks, several MB-21 “or Grad” multiple rocket launchers, as well as military vehicles crossed into Ukraine from Russia in recent days, Harf said.
Arms Trade Treaty Almost Accomplished, Amnesty Urges
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) needs 50 ratifications to become legally binding international law, and it already has 40 ratifications, with the eight ratifications added June 3. Ten were expected to ratify. A total of 118 states have signed the treaty. Four of the world’s major arms producers–USA, France, Germany and USA–signed in September. Appeals have been made to the 155 states who voted last year to adopt the ATT at the UN General Assembly in New York last June 3, groups such as Amnesty International have made appeals to stop hesitating. Most of the 43 states who have yet to
UN Security Council Votes to Lift “Conflict Diamonds” and Arms Bans for Cote d’Ivoire
The 15-member UN Security Council unanimously voted to lift the 2005 resolution banning rough diamond imports from Cote d’Ivoire, as well as partially lift the 2004 arms embargo on the West African nation. A review of progress made by the Republic of the Ivory Coast showed that the nation had made headway towards the 2003 Kimberley Process Certification Scheme implementation and better governance of the sector, which had aimed to prevent conflict diamonds from entering mainstream markets. Another review–of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of combatants as well as security sector reform (SSR), national reconciliation and the fight against
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms in the U.S.A.
James Madison wrote 19 proposed Amendments to the Constitution. Ten were ratified in 1791, becoming the Bill of Rights. The right to bear arms is the second Amendment: “A well guarded Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The U.S. Constitution drew upon the Virginia Constitution, written by Geoge Mason, for its language. The Virginia Constitution, adopted in 1776, had 16 sections. The right to bear arms was the 13th: “That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to
